An improved approach for hydrogen analysis in metal samples using single laser-induced gas plasma and target plasma at helium atmospheric pressure

We report in this paper the results of an experimental study on hydrogen analysis of solid samples in high pressure helium ambient gas employing the basic scheme of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). It is shown that the metastable excited state of helium atom can be utilized to induce delayed excitation of the ablated hydrogen atoms, and thereby avoid the Stark broadening effect as well as overcoming the undesirable mismatch effect, which are responsible for inefficient excitation respectively. It is further demonstrated that for samples of high boiling-point materials such as zircaloy, successful hydrogen analysis can be achieved by a newly introduced double excitation technique employing single laser realized in a modified configuration of the conventional LIBS method. PACS 51-52     

Surface and interfacial properties of PVDF/acrylic copolymer blends before and after UV exposure

Morphological and chemical properties of both the surface and interface of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(ethyl acrylate) (PVDF/PMMA-co-PEA) blend films have been investigated before and after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation using a xenon arc lamp at 50 °C and 9% relative humidity (RH) for 7 months. Surface and interfacial morphologies were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chemical composition information was obtained by confocal Raman microscopy, attenuated total reflection-FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Results show an enrichment of the PVDF material at the air surface, while the acrylic copolymer enriches the interface. Blends having greater than 50% mass fraction of PVDF show little change in the surface morphology after UV exposure for 7 months. However, for a lower PVDF content, blends exhibit significant degradation of PMMA-co-PEA copolymer and a much rougher surface after UV exposure. Microstructural changes in the PVDF spherulites are also observed after UV degradation. It is found that the surface and interfacial morphologies are correlated with the chemical properties.     

Towards cooling of high-intensity ion beams

Buffer gas beam coolers may become excellent beam preparation devices for high-resolution mass separation. The small beam emittance provided makes efficient isobar resolution a realistic goal. In order to fulfill the needs of future facilities providing high-intensity beams of rare isotopes, it is desirable to increase the beam intensity limit of such devices from typically several tens of nanoamperes to microamperes. This requires the usage of high-voltage radiofrequencies in a low-pressure gas environment. A buffer gas beam cooler, dedicated to this purpose, is under development at the NSCL. The study of voltage breakdowns under such conditions and the design of an electrode system minimizing them is mandatory.      

Thermomagnetic hysteresis and electrical transport in amorphous films

We report resistivity and magnetization measurements on an amorphous Ni₇₄Mn₂₄Pt₂ thin film in the temperature range of 3–300 K. Two significant features are apparent in both the magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity. A low-temperature (low-T) anomaly is observed at about 40 K, where a cusp appears in the resistivity, while a concomitant step-like increase in zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetization (M) appears with increasing temperature. The low-T anomaly is attributed to a crossover from a pure re-entrant spin-glass within individual domains to a mixed ferro-spin-glass regime at lower temperatures. By contrast, the high-temperature (high-T) anomaly, signaled by the appearance of hysteresis below 250 K, corresponds to the freezing of transverse spins in individual domains acting independently. Between the low-T and high-T anomalies a small but discernable magnetic hysteresis is observed for warming vs. cooling in the field-cooled (FC) case. This behavior clearly indicates the presence of domain structure in the sample, while the disappearance of this hysteresis at lower temperatures indicates the complete freezing of the spin orientation of these domains. According to these results, we have divided the magnetic state of this sample into three regions: at temperatures above 250 K, the sample behaves like a soft ferromagnet, exhibiting M vs. H loops with very small hysteresis (less than 5 Oe). As the temperature is lowered into the intermediate region (the range 40–250 K), spins become frozen randomly and progressively within the individual domains. These domains behave independently, rather than as a cooperative behavior of the sample. Weak irreversibility sets in, indicating the onset of transverse spin freezing within the domains. At temperatures below 40 K, the M vs. H loops exhibit larger hysteresis, for both the ZFC and FC cases, as in a pure spin-glass. We have also demonstrated giant noise in the resistivity at temperatures just below 250 K. Such noise can originate from fluctuations of the domains near the film surface because of competing effective bulk and surface anisotropy fields. The large observed amplitude may be explained by means of a large ferromagnetic anisotropy in the resistivity due to the large spin–orbit effect seen in NiMn systems. Finally, the low-T peak in the resistivity has been analyzed using Fisher and Langer's expression based on the Friedel Model proposed for critical transitions in transition metals (s–d systems). The fitted results are in satisfactory agreement with the predictions of this model.     

New methods for determining the volumetric flow rate in the column and the retention time of the unretained substance in gas chromatography

New methods for calculating the mean volumetric flow rate of the carrier gas and the retention time of the unretained substance in the column under conditions of gas chromatography were proposed. The methods are based on preliminary isothermal calibrations of the flow rate and holdup time for a packed column. A theoretical substantiation of the methods was given. Procedures of plotting calibration dependences for determining the indicated quantities at a desired temperature were described. The calculation results were compared to experimental data obtained by traditional methods. It was demonstrated that the use of calculation methods substantially simplifies the determination of the specific retention volume over a wide temperature range.     

Generalized green operator for an impulsive boundary-value problem with switchings

We establish constructive existence conditions and construct a generalized Green operator for the construction of solutions of a Noetherian linear boundary-value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations with switchings and pulse action in critical and noncritical cases. __________ Translated from Neliniini Kolyvannya, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 51–65, January–March, 2007.     

Synthesis of high-purity α- and β-PbO and possible applications to synthesis and processing of other lead oxide materials

Litharge, the red tetragonal form of lead oxide α-PbO and massicot, the yellow orthorhombic form β-PbO, are synthesized from lead(II) salts in aqueous media at elevated temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the size, morphology, and crystallographic structural forms of the products. The role of impurities in the experimental synthesis of the materials and microstructural variations in the final products are described. The implications of these observations regarding the synthesis of different conducting lead oxides and other related materials are discussed. PACS 71.20.Ps; 72.80.Jc; 74.62.Bf; 74.62.Dh; 75.50.Tt     

Artificial time integration

Many recent algorithmic approaches involve the construction of a differential equation model for computational purposes, typically by introducing an artificial time variable. The actual computational model involves a discretization of the now time-dependent differential system, usually employing forward Euler. The resulting dynamics of such an algorithm is then a discrete dynamics, and it is expected to be “close enough” to the dynamics of the continuous system (which is typically easier to analyze) provided that small – hence many – time steps, or iterations, are taken. Indeed, recent papers in inverse problems and image processing routinely report results requiring thousands of iterations to converge. This makes one wonder if and how the computational modeling process can be improved to better reflect the actual properties sought. In this article we elaborate on several problem instances that illustrate the above observations. Algorithms may often lend themselves to a dual interpretation, in terms of a simply discretized differential equation with artificial time and in terms of a simple optimization algorithm; such a dual interpretation can be advantageous. We show how a broader computational modeling approach may possibly lead to algorithms with improved efficiency. AMS subject classification (2000)  65L05, 65M32, 65N21, 65N22, 65D18     

Estimation of the convergence rate in a transfer theorem for centered random sums

Estimates of the convergence rate in a transfer theorem for random sums centered by constants are presented. The estimates are obtained as a consequence of the estimates of the stability of the distributions of the sums represented in the form of special mixtures to small variations in the mixing and miscible distributions.     

Existence Results for Semilinear Neutral Functional Differential Inclusions via Analytic Semigroups

In this paper we prove existence results for semilinear neutral functional differential inclusions with finite or infinite delay in Banach spaces. Our theory makes use of analytic semigroups and fractional powers of closed operators, integrated semigroups and cosine families.