A numerical study of the target system of an ADSS with different flow guides

The mechanical design of the target module of an accelerator driven subcritical nuclear reactor system (ADSS) calls for an analysis of the related thermal-hydraulic issues because of large amount of heat deposition in the spallation region during the course of nuclear interactions with the molten lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) target. The LBE also should carry the entire heat generated as a consequence of the spallation reaction. The problem of heat removal by the LBE is a challenging thermal-hydraulic issue. For this, one has to examine the flows of low Prandtl number fluids (LBE) in a complex ADSS geometry. In this study, the equations governing the laminar flow and thermal energy are solved numerically using the streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) finite element (FE) method. The target systems with a straight and a nozzle guide have been considered. The principal purpose of the analysis is to trace the flow and temperature distribution and thereby to check the suitability of the flow guide in avoiding the recirculation or stagnation zones in the flow space that may lead to hot spots.      

Atomic displacements due to interstitial hydrogen in Cu and Pd

The density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the atomic interactions in transition metal-based interstitial alloys. The strain field is calculated in the discrete lattice model using Kanzaki method. The total energy and hence atomic forces between interstitial hydrogen and transition metal hosts are calculated using DFT. The norm-conserving pseudopotentials for H, Cu and Pd are generated self-consistently. The dynamical matrices are evaluated considering interaction up to first nearest neighbors whereas impurity-induced forces are calculated with M₃₂H shell (where M = Cu and Pd). The atomic displacements produced by interstitial hydrogen at the octahedral site in Cu and Pd show displacements of 7.36% and 4.3% of the first nearest neighbors respectively. Both Cu and Pd lattices show lattice expansion due to the presence of hydrogen and the obtained average lattice expansion ΔV/V = 0.177 for Cu and 0.145 for Pd.      

Block copolymer containing poly(3‐hexylthiophene) and poly(4‐vinylpyridine): Synthesis and its interaction with CdSe quantum dots for hybrid organic applications

Poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) diblock copolymer was synthesized by RAFT polymerization of 4‐vinyl pyridine using a trithiocarbonate‐terminated poly(3‐hexylthiophene) macro‐RAFT agent. The optoelectronic properties and the morphology of the block copolymer blends with CdSe quantum dots were investigated. UV‐vis and fluorescence experiments were performed to prove the charge transfer between CdSe and poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(4‐vinylpyridine) diblock copolymer. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Enhancement of OFET performance of semiconducting polymers containing benzodithiophene upon surface treatment with organic silanes

Poly{4,8‐bis(4‐decylphenylethynyl)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene} ( P1 ) homopolymer and poly{4,8‐bis(4‐decylphenylethynyl)benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene ‐alt‐thiophene} ( P2 ) alternating copolymer have been synthesized by Stille coupling polymerization. The field‐effect mobilities of both polymers were measured on both untreated and silane‐treated OFET devices. Various silanes were selected to allow an incremental increase in the hydrophobicity of the silicon dioxide dielectric. A direct correlation was observed between the hydrophobicity of the silicon dioxide dielectric surface and the enhancement of the field‐effect mobilities. The highest mobilities for both polymers were measured on the OFET devices treated with heptadecafluoro‐1,1,2,2‐tetrahydro‐decyl‐1‐trimethoxysilane (FS) which generated the most hydrophobic surface. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Chemical synthesis and magnetic properties of HCP and FCC nickel nanoparticles

In this study, we successfully synthesized single-phase hexagonal closed packed (HCP) and face-centered cubic (FCC) nickel nanoparticles via reduction of nickel nitrate hexahydrate and nickel acetate tetrahydrate, respectively, in polyethylene glycol-200. Structural information of the as-synthesized nickel nanoparticles are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) as a function of the molar concentration of the nickel precursor. XRD results reveal that low concentrations of nickel precursor (0.005?M and below) favor the HCP, while high concentrations favor the mixture of HCP and FCC crystal structures. Particle size of HCP structure is found in the range of ～15?nm via transmission electron microscope analysis. Vibratory sample magnetometer is employed to study its magnetic behavior and the results reveal that FCC crystalline phase shows ferromagnetic nature with high saturation magnetization (M _s?～?39.6?emu?gm^?1) as compared to metastable HCP crystalline structure (M _s?～?2?emu?gm^?1). The surfactants bonding on the surface of nickel nanoparticles are studied.     

Determination of PuO2% in power reactor mixed oxide fuel blends (0.4–44% PuO2) by neutron well co-incidence counting technique

Neutron Well Coincidence Counting has been explored as a non destructive assay technique for determining the percentage of PuO₂ in blended mixture of UO₂ and PuO₂ powders. The method has been applied to MOX blends having PuO₂ content varying from 0.4 to 44% for both thermal and fast reactors. The use of Neutron Well Coincidence Counting technique is validated as a process control step for determining PuO₂ content in the fabrication of MOX fuel by comparing it with chemical analysis of sintered pellets. It has been used at Advanced Fuel fabrication Facility, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Tarapur during the manufacture of MOX fuel of various types for thermal and fast reactors.     

Poly(4-vinylpyridine) catalyzed hydrolysis of methyl bromide to methanol and dimethyl ether

The hydrolysis of methyl bromide with neutral water is performed in the presence and absence of various amines in a batch reactor at different temperatures (50–125 °C). Screening of poly(4-vinylpyridine) as a potential reusable solid amine catalyst showed maximum efficiency. This significant enhancement in efficiency is due to the capture of HBr by solid PVP and remains phase-separated driving the reaction forward. The major advantage of this process is that the polymer can be easily regenerated and reused without loss of activity making it a very effective catalyst for the conversion of methyl halides to methanol and dimethyl ether.     

High strain-rate behavior of ice under uniaxial compression

In the present study, a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) is employed to investigate the dynamic response of ice under uniaxial compression in the range of strain rates from 60 to 1400 s^?1 and at initial test temperatures of ?10 and ?30 °C. The compressive strength of ice shows positive strain-rate sensitivity over the range of strain rates employed; a slight influence of ice microstructure is observed, but it is much less than that reported previously for ice deformation under quasi-static loading conditions [Schulson, E.M., IIiescu, D., Frott, A., 2005. Characterization of ice for return-to-flight of the space shuttle. Part 1 – Hard ice. NASA CR-2005-213643-Part 1]. Specimen thickness, within the range studied, was found to have little or no effect on the peak (failure) strength of ice, while lowering the test temperature from ?10 to ?30 °C had a considerable effect, with ice behaving stronger at the lower test temperature. Moreover, unlike in the case of uniaxial quasi-static compression of ice, the effect of specimen end-constraint during the high rate compression was found to be negligible. One important result of these experiments, which may have important implications in modeling ice impacts, involves the post “peak-stress” behavior of the ice in that the ice samples do not catastrophically lose their load carrying capacity even after the attainment of peak stress during dynamic compression. This residual (tail) strength of the damaged/fragmented ice is sizable, and in some cases is larger than the quasi-static compression strength reported for ice. Moreover, this residual strength is observed to be dependent on sample thickness and the strain rate, being higher for thinner samples and at higher strain-rates during dynamic compression.