Structure and Structural Nonrigidity of Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Radical Cations

Ab initio calculations showed that the tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin radical cations (TCDD RCs) with a planar structure have two steady states with asymmetric dioxin cycles. The activation barriers between these states are up to 2 kcal/mole, so that the RCs may be regarded as being structurally nonrigid within the dioxin cycle. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD RC is more stable than the 1,4,6,9-TCDD RC, the energy difference being 5.2 kcal/mole. The adiabatic ionization potential of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (7.54 eV) is 0.1 eV smaller than the corresponding potential of 1,4,6,9-TCDD. These factors account for the increased hemoproteide affinity and hence increased biological activity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.     

Stability and slightly supercritical oscillatory regimes of natural convection in a 8:1 cavity: solution of the benchmark problem by a global Galerkin method

The global Galerkin method is applied to the benchmark problem that considers an oscillatory regime of convection of air in a tall two‐dimensional rectangular cavity. The three most unstable modes of the linearized system of the Boussinesq equations are studied. The converged values of the critical Rayleigh numbers together with the corresponding oscillation frequencies are calculated for each mode. The oscillatory flow regimes corresponding to each of the three modes are approximated asymptotically. No direct time integration is applied. Good agreement with the previously published results obtained by solution of the time‐dependent Boussinesq equations is reported. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Least‐squares meshfree method for incompressible Navier–Stokes problems

A least‐squares meshfree method based on the first‐order velocity–pressure–vorticity formulation for two‐dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes problem is presented. The convective term is linearized by successive substitution or Newton's method. The discretization of all governing equations is implemented by the least‐squares method. Equal‐order moving least‐squares approximation is employed with Gauss quadrature in the background cells. The boundary conditions are enforced by the penalty method. The matrix‐free element‐by‐element Jacobi preconditioned conjugate method is applied to solve the discretized linear systems. Cavity flow for steady Navier–Stokes problem and the flow over a square obstacle for time‐dependent Navier–Stokes problem are investigated for the presented least‐squares meshfree method. The effects of inaccurate integration on the accuracy of the solution are investigated. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Status of heavy element research using a gas-filled recoil separator at RIKEN

A gas-filled type of recoil separator for heavy element research was installed at an experimental hall of RIKEN Linear Accelerator facility to realize getting higher intensity of primary beam and long beam time. Performance of the separator was studied using target recoils and various nuclear reactions. The results show the high performance of the separator for heave element research. As an application of the GARIS, production and identification of an isotope of the 110th element ²⁷¹[110] have been performed using the ²⁰⁸Pb(⁶⁴Ni,1n)²⁷¹[110] reaction. Three decay chains coincide well both in decay times and energies with the ones reported by the group of SHIP experiment at GSI, Germany. Our results provide a confirmation of the synthesis of an isotope ²⁷¹[110] of element 110.     

Kinetic interpretation of the structural-time criterion for fracture

The incubation-period-based criterion for fracture is considered in terms of the Zhurkov kinetic model of fracture. Within the kinetic model, fracture is treated as a continuously developing process, which starts immediately after the application of a tensile load to a sample and consists in breaking of the interatomic bonds and gradual accumulation of broken bonds in the material in the course of a fracture test. For certain materials, the inclusion of the thermal-fluctuation mechanism for fracture in the incubation-period-based criterion significantly affects the position of the static branch of the time dependence of strength. Time dependences of strength are calculated for a number of materials. The experimental data are analyzed using the structural-time criterion for fracture, which allows one to obtain a unified time dependence of strength for quasi-static and high-rate short-term loadings. The temperature dependence of the incubation period (latent time) is calculated analytically, and a relation is found between the latent fracture time and the thermal vibration frequency of atoms.     

Use of ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond for selective deposition of boron-doped diamond films

A suspension of ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond was used for introducing (in particular, selectively) high-density centers of diamond nucleation on various substrates. High-quality doped diamond films to be used as electrochemistry electrodes were deposited from the gas phase in a microwave discharge on certain substrates treated using ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond. A uniform distribution of nucleation centers with concentrations greater than 10¹⁰ cm^-2 on silicon substrates was obtained. Electrochemical current-potential curves were measured for continuous films. Diamond meshes of different transparency were grown using selective nucleation. Successful production of high-quality doped diamond meshes gives grounds to consider them the most promising electrodes for use in electrochemistry.     

Chain decay of low-angle tilt boundaries in nanocrystalline materials

In terms of two-dimensional dislocation-disclination dynamics, a theoretical model is developed to describe the decay of a low-angle tilt boundary in a deformed nanocrystalline material under the action of an externally applied elastic stress and of the elastic field of a neighboring decayed boundary. The critical external stresses are calculated at which the boundary decays and the dislocations making up this boundary either are trapped by the boundary that decayed earlier or break away from both boundaries. The decay of a low-angle tilt boundary is shown to result in a substantial decrease in the critical decay stresses for the neighboring boundaries, which can cause an avalanche-like chain decay of low-angle boundaries yielding high-density ensembles of mobile dislocations capable of carrying substantial plastic deformations and of forming shear bands in deformed nanocrystalline materials.