Lattice vibrational spectra of vitreous silica densified by pressure

The results of the measurement of Raman scattering spectra and infra-red absorption spectra of densified vitreous silica are reported. Raman active-low frequency vibrations are largely changed by compression.     

Study of radon transport through concrete modified with silica fume

The concentration of radon in soil usually varies between a few kBq/m³ and tens or hundreds of kBq/m³ depending upon the geographical region. This causes the transport of radon from the soil to indoor environments by diffusion and advection through the pore space of concrete. To reduce indoor radon levels, the use of concrete with low porosity and a low radon diffusion coefficient is recommended. A method of reducing the radon diffusion coefficient through concrete and hence the indoor radon concentration by using silica fume to replace an optimum level of cement was studied. The diffusion coefficient of the concrete was reduced from (1.63 ± 0.3) × 10⁻⁷ to (0.65 ± 0.01) × 10⁻⁸ m²/s using 30% substitution of cement with silica fume. The compressive strength of the concrete increased as the silica-fume content increased, while radon exhalation rate and porosity of the concrete decreased. This study suggests a cost-effective method of reducing indoor radon levels.     

Observation of the onset of strong scattering on high frequency acoustic phonons in densified silica glass

The linewidth of longitudinal acoustic waves in densified silica glass is obtained by inelastic x-ray scattering. It increases with a high power alpha of the frequency up to a crossover where the waves experience strong scattering. We find that alpha is at least 4, and probably larger. Resonance and hybridization of acoustic waves with the boson-peak modes seems to be a more likely explanation for these findings than Rayleigh scattering from disorder.     

Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT–silica fume cement composites

PZT–silica fume cement (PZT–SFC) composites were produced using PZT (at 50% and 60% by volume) and silica fume cement (cement containing silica fume of 5% and 10% by weight). PZT–Portland cement with no silica fume was also produced to allow comparison of the results. Dielectric constants of PZT–SFC composites are found to be higher than that of PZT–PC composite where ε_r value was found to increase with increasing SF content (ε_r values of composite with SF at 0%, 5% and 10% are 117, 125 and 178, respectively). PZT–SFC composites were successfully poled and d₃₃ results of PZT–SFC composites (d₃₃ = 18 pC/N) were found to be marginally higher than that of PZT–PC composite (d₃₃ = 17 pC/N). SEM micrograph also shows a dense matrix of SFC hydration product surrounding the PZT particles. From the results, these PZT–SFC composites are therefore promising materials for use in structural applications and should be ideal for high strength structures where SFC is used in the host structure.     

Optical and structural properties of polycrystalline CVD diamond films grown on fused silica optical fibres pre-treated by high-power sonication seeding

In this paper, the growth of polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond thin films on fused silica optical fibres has been investigated. The research results show that the effective substrate seeding process can lower defect nucleation, and it simultaneously increases surface encapsulation. However, the growth process on glass requires high seeding density. The effects of suspension type and ultrasonic power were the specific objects of investigation. In order to increase the diamond density, glass substrates were seeded using a high-power sonication process. The highest applied power of sonotrode reached 72 W during the performed experiments. The two, most common diamond seeding suspensions were used, i.e. detonation nanodiamond dispersed in (a) dimethyl sulfoxide and (b) deionised water. The CVD diamond nucleation and growth processes were performed using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition system. Next, the seeding efficiency was determined and compared using the numerical analysis of scanning electron microscopy images. The molecular composition of nucleated diamond was examined with micro-Raman spectroscopy. The sp³/sp² band ratio was calculated using Raman spectra deconvolution method. Thickness, roughness, and optical properties of the nanodiamond films in UV–vis wavelength range were investigated by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry. It has been demonstrated that the high-power sonication process can improve the seeding efficiency on glass substrates. However, it can also cause significant erosion defects at the fibre surface. We believe that the proposed growth method can be effectively applied to manufacture the novel optical fibre sensors. Due to high chemical and mechanical resistance of CVD diamond films, deposition of such films on the sensors is highly desirable. This method enables omitting the deposition of an additional adhesion interlayer at the glass–nanocrystalline interface, and thus potentially increases transmittance of the optical system.     

The effect of the autoclaving process and addition of silica fume on Portland cement in shielding gamma radiation

An autoclaving treatment for disks made of neat Portland cement and cement with 5% silica fume hardened pastes was carried out to obtain suitable shield blocks for gamma radiation sources. The attenuation parameters such as the total linear attenuation coefficients, the mean-free-paths and the half-value thickness for different thicknesses at various periods of autoclaving were obtained. It was found that the attenuation by the neat cement disks autoclaved for 12 h and of 13.8 cm thickness and the disks of cement with 5% silica fume autoclaved for 6 h and of 12.9 cm thickness were the same and identical to that obtained by 3 cm thick sheets of lead. These results are interpreted by measuring the bulk density of the samples and are supported by measuring the compressive strength for the hardened samples.     

Enhancement of ultrasonic cavitation yield by multi-frequency sonication

The paper reports the enhanced effect of multi-frequency ultrasonic irradiation on cavitation yield. The cavitation yield is characterized by electrical conductivity determination, fluorescence intensity determination and iodine release method. Two-frequency (28 kHz/0.87 MHz) orthogonal continuous ultrasound, two-frequency (28 kHz/0.87 MHz) orthogonal pulse ultrasound and three-frequency (28 kHz/1.0 MHz/1.87 MHz) orthogonal continuous ultrasound have been used. It has been found that the combined irradiation of two or more frequencies of ultrasound can produce a significant increase in cavitation yield compared with single frequency irradiation. The possible mechanisms of the enhanced effect are briefly discussed.     

Conversion of silica by-product into zeolites by thermo-sonochemical treatment

The fine powdered silica by-product of processing of aluminum fluoride (fertilizer plant, Lithuania) was used for zeolite synthesis as silica and aluminum source. The effect of sonication time and the time of hydrothermal synthesis on crystallinity of the synthesized zeolite were studied. This allowed the transformation of the by-product to the mixture of Na–P zeolite and Na–X zeolite. It was determined that ultrasonic-assisted hydrothermal action effected the “diamond” shape formation of Na–P zeolite with clear crystal edges. Na–P zeolite had the morphology of pseudo-spherical forms constituted by small plates when hydrothermal treatment (without sonication) was use for the preparation of zeolites. Moreover, it was determined that ultrasonic-assisted hydrothermal method effected a reduction in the crystal size compared with the zeolites which were synthesized only by using hydrothermal synthesis. The total amount of zeolites as high as 88–93% was achieved after 24 h of hydrothermal treatment followed or unfollowed by sonication. By using longer duration (20 min) of ultrasound pretreatment it is possible to reduce the duration of hydrothermal synthesis: from 24 h to 12 h of hydrothermal treatment. In this case, similar results of total amount of zeolites were detected. In the present work, low-cost raw materials, such as silica by-product have been investigated for the production of zeolites.     

Increase in the fatigue durability of stainless steel by electron-beam surface treatment

The structure, phase composition and dislocation substructure of 20Cr23Ni18 steel subjected to electron-beam treatment and subsequent multicycle fatigue loading until destruction were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. It was shown that electron-beam treatment with an energy density of 20 J/cm² increases the fatigue durability by a factor of 2.1. The cause of steel fatigue destruction is analyzed and a way of further increasing the fatigue durability is proposed.     

Heat treatment of pure silica glass studied by positron annihilation

The crystallinity of silica glass fused from Brazilian quartz was studied by Doppler-broadening techniques after heat treatment in the temperature range between 1000°C and 1500°C. Paper F13 presented at 4th Internat'l Conf. Positron Annihilation, Helsing?r, Denmark (August 1976)     

Treatment of dye wastewater by using photo-catalytic oxidation with sonication

The degradation of Acid Orange 52 in aqueous solutions was investigated by using three processes (photocatalysis, sonolysis, and photocatalysis with sonication). In the case of photocatalysis, although the concentration of Acid Orange 52 decreased to 35% in 480 min, the color of the solution was not disappeared. In the case of sonolysis, it was decomposed completely in 300 min, but the total organic carbon concentration decreased down by only about 13% in 480 min. In the case of photocatalysis with sonication, the concentration of Acid Orange 52 reached to 0 in 240 min and the total organic carbon concentration decreased by about 87% in 480 min. These results indicate that the ultrasonic irradiation enhanced the photocatalytic degradation. The addition of chloride ion (50 ppm) into Acid Orange 52 solution decreased the decomposition efficiency for photocatalysis. In the cases of sonolysis and photocatalysis with sonication, the decomposition efficiency did not change significantly by the addition of chloride ion. These results indicate that chloride ion disturbs the photocatalysis of dye, but the decomposition of dye using the irradiation of ultrasound is not influenced by chloride ion. From these results, it is considered that the photocatalysis with sonication is most effective for the decomposition of dye in the three processes in this study.     

Comparison of enhancement of pentachlorophenol sonolysis at 20 kHz by dual-frequency sonication

The comparison of enhancement effect of pentachlorophenol sonolysis at 20 kHz by different dual-frequency ultrasonic irradiations has been investigated. Dual-frequency (20 kHz/40 kHz, 20 kHz/530 kHz, 20 kHz/800 kHz and 20 kHz/1040 kHz) ultrasounds have been used. It has been found that the rate of pentachlorophenol degradation at dual-frequency ultrasonic irradiation is the highest compared to mono-frequency ultrasonic systems. The combination of dual-frequency systems has synergistic effect and the enhancement effect of sonochemical degradation of pentachlorophenol at 20 kHz by dual-frequency systems appears to be remarkable frequency sensitive. The order of contribution to the enhancement effect of sonochemical degradation of pentachlorophenol at 20 kHz is as follows: 530 kHz > 800 kHz > 40 kHz > 1040 kHz.     

Effect of sonication frequency on the disruption of algae

In this study, the efficiency of ultrasonic disruption of Chaetoceros gracilis, Chaetoceros calcitrans, and Nannochloropsis sp. was investigated by applying ultrasonic waves of 0.02, 0.4, 1.0, 2.2, 3.3, and 4.3 MHz to algal suspensions. The results showed that reduction in the number of algae was frequency dependent and that the highest efficiency was achieved at 2.2, 3.3, and 4.3 MHz for C. gracilis, C. calcitrans, and Nannochloropsis sp., respectively. A review of the literature suggested that cavitation, rather than direct effects of ultrasonication, are required for ultrasonic algae disruption, and that chemical effects are likely not the main mechanism for algal cell disruption. The mechanical resonance frequencies estimated by a shell model, taking into account elastic properties, demonstrated that suitable disruption frequencies for each alga were associated with the cell’s mechanical properties. Taken together, we consider here that physical effects of ultrasonication were responsible for algae disruption.     

Sonochemically synthesis of pyrazolones using reusable catalyst CuI nanoparticles that was prepared by sonication

A simple and green process to prepare copper iodide in nano scale via sonication was carried out. Subsequently, this nanoparticles was used as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aryl-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-3-pyrazolones via four-component reaction of hydrazine, ethyl acetoacetate, aldehyde and β-naphthol in water under ultrasound irradiation. The combinatorial synthesis was attained for this procedure with applying ultrasound irradiation while making use of water as green ambient. Simple work-up, excellent yield of products and short reaction times are some of the important features of this protocol. Notably, this catalyst could be recycled and reused for five times without noticeably decreasing the catalytic activity.     

Hydrothermal treatment of gadolinium oxide in presence of silica

Abstract

Hydrothermal and solvothermal (isopropanol) treatments of gadolinium oxide and silica were investigated under different pressure and temperature conditions. Products were examined by infrared vibrational spectroscopy (IR), x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermal analysis (DTA, TG). Hexagonal gadolinium hydroxide was obtained in hydrothermal conditions, even in presence of silica, while no change was observed from isopropanolic medium treatment. Hydrothermally treated samples are more reactive as precursors for solid state reactions in inorganic synthesis.     

The effects of heat treatment on microfluidic devices fabricated in silica glass by femtosecond lasers

We fabricated complex microfluidic devices in silica glass by water-assisted femtosecond laser ablation and subsequent heat treatment.The experimental results show that after heat treatment,the diameter of the microchannels is significantly reduced and the internal surface roughness is improved.The diameters of the fabricated microchannels can be modulated by changing the annealing temperature and the annealing time.During annealing,the temperature affects the diameter and shape of the protrusions in microfluidic devices very strongly,and these changes are mainly caused by uniform expansion and the action of surface tension.     

Modification of nano-fibriform silica by dimethyldichlorosilane

The modification of nano-fibriform silica by dimethyldichlorosilane was studied by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, physical N₂ adsorption techniques, differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analyzer.The results show that dimethyl silane derivatives have been successfully covalently grafted on nano-fibriform silica. The polarity of the modified product decreases with the substitution of -OH groups by siloxyl groups. Therefore, the modified product can be easily dispersed in organic solvent and its compatibility with organic molecules is improved. After modification the pore volume decreases and the ductility greatly increases, indicating that the modified product is of a higher strength than before. The study demonstrates that the modified product can be used as an ideal additive to reinforce the strength of organic materials.     

Destruction of silica fiber cladding by the fuse effect

The phenomenon of destruction of silica fiber cladding by the fiber fuse effect has been observed for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Experiments on the optical discharge propagation along a fiber were conducted with fibers of decreased cladding thickness. The destruction of fiber cladding led to expansion of the optical discharge plasma and to a decrease of its density. This resulted in the termination of optical discharge propagation. The section of a fiber with decreased cladding thickness can act as a safety device to halt damage propagation.