231 Matching Results

Results open in a new window/tab.

Suppression of Type-I ELMs Using a Single Toroidal Row of Magnetic Field Perturbation Coils in DIII-D (open access)

Suppression of Type-I ELMs Using a Single Toroidal Row of Magnetic Field Perturbation Coils in DIII-D

None
Date: March 19, 2008
Creator: Fenstermacher, M. E.; Evans, T. E.; Osborne, T. H.; Schaffer, M. J.; deGrassie, J. S.; Gohil, P. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Suppression of Type-I ELMs Using a Single Toroidal Row of Magnetic Field Perturbation Coils in DIII-D (open access)

Suppression of Type-I ELMs Using a Single Toroidal Row of Magnetic Field Perturbation Coils in DIII-D

None
Date: March 18, 2008
Creator: Fenstermacher, M. E.; Evans, T. E.; Osborne, T. H.; Schaffer, M. J.; deGrassie, J. S.; Gohil, P. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improving the Performance of Lithium Manganese Phosphate Through Divalent Cation Substitution (open access)

Improving the Performance of Lithium Manganese Phosphate Through Divalent Cation Substitution

Highly crystalline samples of LiMnPO{sub 4} and its analogs with partial substitution of Mn by divalent Mg, Cu, Zn, and Ni were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by x-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. Chemical oxidation produced two-phase mixtures of the initial phases LiMn{sub (1-y)}M{sub y}PO{sub 4} and the delithiated forms, Li{sub y}Mn{sub (1-y)}M{sub y}PO{sub 4}, all with the olivine structure. The extent of oxidation depended upon the quantity of oxidizing agent used and on the identity of the substituent ions. Mg, Ni and Cu were found to increase the level of delithation relative to that in pure LiMnPO{sub 4}. Mg was also shown to reduce the tendency of the oxidized phase to absorb water.
Date: March 3, 2008
Creator: Chen, Guoying & Richardson, Thomas J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Radiating Divertor Behavior in Single- and Double-Null Plasmas in DIII-D (open access)

A Comparison of Radiating Divertor Behavior in Single- and Double-Null Plasmas in DIII-D

'Puff and pump' radiating divertor scenarios, applied to both upper single-null (SN) and double-null (DN) H-mode plasmas, result in a 30-60% increase in radiated power with little or no decrease in {tau}{sub E}. Argon was injected into the private flux region of the upper divertor, and plasma flow into the upper divertor was enhanced by a combination of deuterium gas puffing upstream of the divertor targets and particle pumping at the targets. For the same constant deuterium injection rate, argon penetrated the main plasma of SNs more rapidly and reached a higher steady-state concentration when the Bx{del}B-ion drift direction was toward the divertor (V{sub {del}B{up_arrow}}) rather than away from the divertor (V{sub {del}B{down_arrow}}). We also found that the initial rate at which argon accumulated inside DN plasmas was more than twice that of comparable SN plasmas having the same Bx{del}B-ion drift direction. In DNs, the radiated power was not shared equally between divertors during argon injection. Only in the divertor opposite Bx{del}B ion drift direction were both significant increases in divertor radiated power and an accumulation of argon, based on spectroscopic measurements of ArII, observed. Our data suggests that a DN shape that is biased in the direction away from …
Date: March 25, 2008
Creator: Petrie, T. W.; Brooks, N. H.; Fenstermacher, M. E.; Groth, M.; Hyatt, A. W.; Isler, R. C. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transcriptional Response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough to Oxidative Stress Mimicking Environmental Conditions (open access)

Transcriptional Response of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough to Oxidative Stress Mimicking Environmental Conditions

Sulphate-reducing bacteria are anaerobes readily found in oxic-anoxic interfaces. Multiple defence pathways against oxidative conditions were identified in these organisms and proposed to be differentially expressed under different concentrations of oxygen, contributing to their ability to survive oxic conditions. In this study, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough cells were exposed to the highest concentration of oxygen that sulphate-reducing bacteria are likely to encounter in natural habitats, and the global transcriptomic response was determined. 307 genes were responsive, with cellular roles in energy metabolism, protein fate, cell envelope and regulatory functions, including multiple genes encoding heat shock proteins, peptidases and proteins with heat shock promoters. Of the oxygen reducing mechanisms of D. vulgaris only the periplasmic hydrogen-dependent mechanism is up-regulated, involving the [NiFeSe]hydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase(s) and the Hmc membrane complex. The oxidative defence response concentrates on damage repair by metal-free enzymes. These data, together with the down regulation of the Fur operon, which restricts the availability of iron, and the lack of response of the PerR operon, suggest that a major effect of this oxygen stress is the inactivation and/or degradation of multiple metalloproteins present in D. vulgaris as a consequence of oxidative damage to their metal clusters.
Date: March 12, 2008
Creator: Pereira, Patricia M.; He, Qiang; Xavier, Antonio V.; Zhou, Jizhong; Pereira, Ines A.C. & Louro, Ricardo O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Estimation of fracture flow parameters through numerical analysis of hydromechanical pressure pulses (open access)

Estimation of fracture flow parameters through numerical analysis of hydromechanical pressure pulses

The flow parameters of a natural fracture were estimated by modeling in situ pressure pulses. The pulses were generated in two horizontal boreholes spaced 1 m apart vertically and intersecting a near-vertical highly permeable fracture located within a shallow fractured carbonate reservoir. Fracture hydromechanical response was monitored using specialized fiber-optic borehole equipment that could simultaneously measure fluid pressure and fracture displacements. Measurements indicated a significant time lag between the pressure peak at the injection point and the one at the second measuring point, located 1 m away. The pressure pulse dilated and contracted the fracture. Field data were analyzed through hydraulic and coupled hydromechanical simulations using different governing flow laws. In matching the time lag between the pressure peaks at the two measuring points, our hydraulic models indicated that (1) flow was channeled in the fracture, (2) the hydraulic conductivity tensor was highly anisotropic, and (3) the radius of pulse influence was asymmetric, in that the pulse travelled faster vertically than horizontally. Moreover, our parametric study demonstrated that the fluid pressure diffusion through the fracture was quite sensitive to the spacing and orientation of channels, hydraulic aperture, storativity and hydraulic conductivity. Comparison between hydraulic and hydromechanical models showed that the …
Date: March 16, 2008
Creator: Cappa, F.; Guglielmi, Y.; Rutqvist, J.; Tsang, C.-F. & Thoraval, A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pion and photon production in heavy ion collisions (open access)

Pion and photon production in heavy ion collisions

Measurement of neutral pions and direct photons are closely connected experimentally, on the other hand they probe quite different aspects of relativistic heavy ion collisions. In this short review of the {pi}{sup 0} results from the PHENIX experiment at RHIC our focus is on the {phi}-integrated nuclear modification factor, its energy and system size dependence, and the impact of these results on parton energy loss models. We also discuss the current status of high p{sub T} and thermal direct photon measurements both in p+p and Au+Au collisions. Recognizing the advantages of measuring not only the 'signal', but also all the 'references' needed for proper interpretation in the same experiments (with same or similar systematics) we argue that RHIC should regularly include d+A and even d+d collisions into its system size and energy scan.
Date: March 16, 2008
Creator: Gabor,D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Laboratory Investigations of a Low-Swirl Injector with H2 and CH4 at Gas Turbine Conditions (open access)

Laboratory Investigations of a Low-Swirl Injector with H2 and CH4 at Gas Turbine Conditions

Laboratory experiments were conducted at gas turbine and atmospheric conditions (0.101 < P{sub 0} < 0.810 MPa, 298 < T{sub 0} < 580K, 18 < U{sub 0} < 60 m/s) to characterize the overall behaviors and emissions of the turbulent premixed flames produced by a low-swirl injector (LSI) for gas turbines. The objective was to investigate the effects of hydrogen on the combustion processes for the adaptation to gas turbines in an IGCC power plant. The experiments at high pressures and temperatures showed that the LSI can operate with 100% H{sub 2} at up to {phi} = 0.5 and has a slightly higher flashback tolerance than an idealized high-swirl design. With increasing H{sub 2} fuel concentration, the lifted LSI flame begins to shift closer to the exit and eventually attaches to the nozzle rim and assumes a different shape at 100% H{sub 2}. The STP experiments show the same phenomena. The analysis of velocity data from PIV shows that the stabilization mechanism of the LSI remains unchanged up to 60% H{sub 2}. The change in the flame position with increasing H{sub 2} concentration is attributed to the increase in the turbulent flame speed. The NO{sub x} emissions show a log …
Date: March 5, 2008
Creator: Cheng, R. K.; Littlejohn, D.; Strakey, P.A. & Sidwell, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Chemical Analysis of Impurity Boron Atoms in Diamond Using Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (open access)

Chemical Analysis of Impurity Boron Atoms in Diamond Using Soft X-ray Emission Spectroscopy

To analyze the local structure and/or chemical states of boron atoms in boron-doped diamond, which can be synthesized by the microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition method (CVD-B-diamond) and the temperature gradient method at high pressure and high temperature (HPT-B-diamond), we measured the soft X-ray emission spectra in the CK and BK regions of B-diamonds using synchrotron radiation at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). X-ray spectral analyses using the fingerprint method and molecular orbital calculations confirm that boron atoms in CVD-B-diamond substitute for carbon atoms in the diamond lattice to form covalent B-C bonds, while boron atoms in HPT-B-diamond react with the impurity nitrogen atoms to form hexagonal boron nitride. This suggests that the high purity diamond without nitrogen impurities is necessary to synthesize p-type B-diamond semiconductors.
Date: March 29, 2008
Creator: Muramatsu, Yasuji; Iihara, Junji; Takebe, Toshihiko & Denlinger, Jonathan D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Design, Installation and Performance of the New insulator for NSTX CHI Experiments (open access)

Design, Installation and Performance of the New insulator for NSTX CHI Experiments

Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI), a non-inductive method to initiate plasma and generate toroidal plasma current, is being investigated in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). The center stack and outer vacuum vessel are separated by insulating gaps at the top and bottom of the slim central column so that a high voltage (up to 2 kV) can be applied between them from a pulsed power supply or a capacitor bank to initiate an arc discharge. In the presence of a suitable poloidal magnetic field, the discharge is initiated at the lower gap (the injector gap) and because of the strong toroidal field develops a helical structure resulting in substantial toroidal plasma current being driven. In NSTX, up to 390 kA of toroidal current has been generated for an injected current of 25 kA. The early investigations of CHI however frequently developed arcs across the insulator at the top of the machine (the absorber gap), which terminated the desired discharge. This arcing greatly restricted the operational space available for CHI studies. During 2002, the absorber region was modified to suppress these arcs. The new design includes a new ceramic insulator on the high field side of the absorber region with a …
Date: March 5, 2008
Creator: Mueller, D.; Chrzanowski, J.; Gates, D.; Menard, J.; Raman, R.; Jarboe, T. R. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Electrical Safety and Arc Flash Protections (open access)

Electrical Safety and Arc Flash Protections

Over the past four years, the Electrical Safety Program at PPPL has evolved in addressing changing regulatory requirements and lessons learned from accident events, particularly in regards to arc flash hazards and implementing NFPA 70E requirements. This presentation will discuss PPPL's approaches to the areas of electrical hazards evaluation, both shock and arc flash; engineered solutions for hazards mitigation such as remote racking of medium voltage breakers, operational changes for hazards avoidance, targeted personnel training and hazard appropriate personal protective equipment. Practical solutions for nominal voltage identification and zero voltage checks for lockout/tagout will also be covered. Finally, we will review the value of a comprehensive electrical drawing program, employee attitudes expressed as a personal safety work ethic, integrated safety management, and sustained management support for continuous safety improvement.
Date: March 4, 2008
Creator: Camp, R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The First Aerosol Indirect Effect: Beyond Twomey (open access)

The First Aerosol Indirect Effect: Beyond Twomey

The traditional first aerosol indirect effect or the Twomey effect involves several fundamental assumptions. Some of the assumptions (e.g., constant liquid water content) are explicitly stated in studies of the Twomey effect whereas others are only implicitly embedded in the quantitative formulation. This work focuses on examining the implicit assumptions. In particular, we will show that anthropogenic pollution not only increases aerosol loading and droplet concentrations but also alters the relative dispersions of both the aerosol and subsequent droplet size distributions. The indirect effects resulting from the two altered relative dispersions (aerosol dispersion effect and droplet dispersion effect) are likely opposite in sign and proportional in magnitude to the conventional Twomey effect. This result suggests that the outstanding problems of the Twomey effect (i.e., large uncertainty and overestimation reported in literature) may lie with violation of the constant spectral shapes of aerosol and droplet size distributions implicitly assumed in evaluation of the Twomey effect, and therefore, further progress in understanding and quantification of the first aerosol indirect effect demands moving beyond the traditional paradigm originally conceived by Twomey.
Date: March 10, 2008
Creator: Liu, Y.; Dunn, M. & Daum, P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Structural characterization of terrestrial microbial Mn oxides from Pinal Creek, AZ (open access)

Structural characterization of terrestrial microbial Mn oxides from Pinal Creek, AZ

The microbial catalysis of Mn(II) oxidation is believed to be a dominant source of abundant sorption- and redox-active Mn oxides in marine, freshwater, and subsurface aquatic environments. In spite of their importance, environmental oxides of known biogenic origin have generally not been characterized in detail from a structural perspective. Hyporheic zone Mn oxide grain coatings at Pinal Creek, Arizona, a metals-contaminated stream, have been identified as being dominantly microbial in origin and are well studied from bulk chemistry and contaminant hydrology perspectives. This site thus presents an excellent opportunity to study the structures of terrestrial microbial Mn oxides in detail. XRD and EXAFS measurements performed in this study indicate that the hydrated Pinal Creek Mn oxide grain coatings are layer-type Mn oxides with dominantly hexagonal or pseudo-hexagonal layer symmetry. XRD and TEM measurements suggest the oxides to be nanoparticulate plates with average dimensions on the order of 11 nm thick x 35 nm diameter, but with individual particles exhibiting thickness as small as a single layer and sheets as wide as 500 nm. The hydrated oxides exhibit a 10-A basal-plane spacing and turbostratic disorder. EXAFS analyses suggest the oxides contain layer Mn(IV) site vacancy defects, and layer Mn(III) is inferred …
Date: March 19, 2008
Creator: Bargar, John; Fuller, Christopher; Marcus, Matthew A.; Brearley, Adrian J.; Perez De la Rosa, M.; Webb, Samuel M. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Java Metadata Facility (open access)

Java Metadata Facility

The Java Metadata Facility is introduced by Java Specification Request (JSR) 175 [1], and incorporated into the Java language specification [2] in version 1.5 of the language. The specification allows annotations on Java program elements: classes, interfaces, methods, and fields. Annotations give programmers a uniform way to add metadata to program elements that can be used by code checkers, code generators, or other compile-time or runtime components. Annotations are defined by annotation types. These are defined the same way as interfaces, but with the symbol {at} preceding the interface keyword. There are additional restrictions on defining annotation types: (1) They cannot be generic; (2) They cannot extend other annotation types or interfaces; (3) Methods cannot have any parameters; (4) Methods cannot have type parameters; (5) Methods cannot throw exceptions; and (6) The return type of methods of an annotation type must be a primitive, a String, a Class, an annotation type, or an array, where the type of the array is restricted to one of the four allowed types. See [2] for additional restrictions and syntax. The methods of an annotation type define the elements that may be used to parameterize the annotation in code. Annotation types may have default …
Date: March 6, 2008
Creator: Buttler, D. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Modeling Results for Proposed NSTX 28 GHz and EBWH System (open access)

Modeling Results for Proposed NSTX 28 GHz and EBWH System

A 28 GHz electron cyclotron heating (ECH) and electron Bernstein wave heating (EBWH) system has been proposed for installation on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). A 350 kW gyrotron connected to a fixed horn antenna is proposed for ECH-assisted solenoid-free plasma startup. Modeling predicts strong first pass on-axis EC absorption, even for low electron temperature, Te ~ 20 eV, Coaxial Helicity Injection (CHI) startup plasmas. ECH will heat the CHI plasma to Te ~ 300 eV, providing a suitable target plasma for 30 MHz high-harmonic fast wave heating. A second gyrotron and steered O-X-B mirror launcher is proposed for EBWH experiments. Radiometric measurements of thermal EBW emission detected via B-X-O coupling on NSTX support implementation of the proposed system. 80% B-X-O coupling efficiency was measured in L-mode plasmas and 60% B-X-O coupling efficiency was recently measured in H-mode plasmas conditioned with evaporated lithium. Modeling predicts local on-axis EBW heating and current drive using 28 GHz power in β ~ 20% NSTX plasmas should be possible, with current drive efficiencies ~ 40 kA/MW.
Date: March 20, 2008
Creator: Taylor, G; Ellis, R A; Fredd, E; Greenough, N; Hosea, J C; Wilgen, J B et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evaluating cloud retrieval algorithms with the ARM BBHRP framework (open access)

Evaluating cloud retrieval algorithms with the ARM BBHRP framework

Climate and weather prediction models require accurate calculations of vertical profiles of radiative heating. Although heating rate calculations cannot be directly validated due to the lack of corresponding observations, surface and top-of-atmosphere measurements can indirectly establish the quality of computed heating rates through validation of the calculated irradiances at the atmospheric boundaries. The ARM Broadband Heating Rate Profile (BBHRP) project, a collaboration of all the working groups in the program, was designed with these heating rate validations as a key objective. Given the large dependence of radiative heating rates on cloud properties, a critical component of BBHRP radiative closure analyses has been the evaluation of cloud microphysical retrieval algorithms. This evaluation is an important step in establishing the necessary confidence in the continuous profiles of computed radiative heating rates produced by BBHRP at the ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) sites that are needed for modeling studies. This poster details the continued effort to evaluate cloud property retrieval algorithms within the BBHRP framework, a key focus of the project this year. A requirement for the computation of accurate heating rate profiles is a robust cloud microphysical product that captures the occurrence, height, and phase of clouds above each ACRF site. Various …
Date: March 10, 2008
Creator: Mlawer,E.; Dunn,M.; Mlawer, E.; Shippert, T.; Troyan, D.; Johnson, K. L. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Quantum Operation Time Reversal (open access)

Quantum Operation Time Reversal

The dynamics of an open quantum system can be described by a quantum operation: A linear, complete positive map of operators. Here, I exhibit a compact expression for the time reversal of a quantum operation, which is closely analogous to the time reversal of a classical Markov transition matrix. Since open quantum dynamics are stochastic, and not, in general, deterministic, the time reversal is not, in general, an inversion of the dynamics. Rather, the system relaxes toward equilibrium in both the forward and reverse time directions. The probability of a quantum trajectory and the conjugate, time reversed trajectory are related by the heat exchanged with the environment.
Date: March 25, 2008
Creator: Crooks, Gavin E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Localized Pd Overgrowth on Cubic Pt Nanocrystals for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid (open access)

Localized Pd Overgrowth on Cubic Pt Nanocrystals for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid

Binary Pt/Pd nanoparticles were synthesized by localized overgrowth of Pd on cubic Pt seeds for the investigation of electrocatalytic formic acid oxidation. The binary particles exhibited much less self-poisoning and a lower activation energy relative to Pt nanocubes, consistent with the single crystal study.
Date: March 20, 2008
Creator: Lee, H.; Habas, S.E.; Somorjai, G.A. & Yang, P.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Post-Translational Modifications of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough Sulfate Reduction Pathway Proteins (open access)

Post-Translational Modifications of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough Sulfate Reduction Pathway Proteins

Recent developments in shotgun proteomics have enabled high-throughput studies of a variety of microorganisms at a proteome level and provide experimental validation for predicted open reading frames in the corresponding genome. More importantly, advances in mass spectrometric data analysis now allow mining of large proteomics data sets for the presence of post-translational modifications(PTMs). Although PTMs are a critical aspectof cellular activity, such information eludes cell-wide studies conducted at the transcript level. Here, we analyze several mass spectrometric data sets acquired using two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, 2D-LC/MS/MS, for the sulfate reducing bacterium, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. Our searches of the raw spectra led us to discover several post-translationally modified peptides in D. vulgaris. Of these, several peptides containing a lysine with a +42 Da modification were found reproducibly across all data sets. Both acetylation and trimethylation have the same nominal +42 Da mass, and are therefore candidates for this modification. Several spectra were identified having markers for trimethylation, while one is consistent with an acetylation. Surprisingly, these modified peptides predominantly mapped to proteins involved in sulfate respiration. Other highly expressed proteins in D. vulgaris, such as enzymes involved in electron transport and other central metabolic processes, did not contain this …
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Gaucher, S. P.; Redding, A. M.; Mukhopadhyay, A.; Keasling, J. D. & Singh, A. K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Investigation of EBW Thermal Emission and Mode Conversion Physics in H-Mode Plasmas on NSTX (open access)

Investigation of EBW Thermal Emission and Mode Conversion Physics in H-Mode Plasmas on NSTX

High β plasmas in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) operate in the overdense regime, allowing the electron Bernstein wave (EBW) to propagate and be strongly absorbed/emitted at the electron cyclotron resonances. As such, EBWs may provide local electron heating and current drive. For these applications, efficient coupling between the EBWs and electromagnetic waves outside the plasma is needed. Thermal EBW emission (EBE) measurements, via oblique B-X-O double mode conversion, have been used to determine the EBW transmission efficiency for a wide range of plasma conditions on NSTX. Initial EBE measurements in H-mode plasmas exhibited strong emission before the L-H transition, but the emission rapidly decayed after the transition. EBE simulations show that collisional damping of the EBW prior to the mode conversion (MC) layer can significantly reduce the measured EBE for Te < 20 eV, explaining the observations. Lithium evaporation was used to reduce EBE collisional damping near the MC layer. As a result, the measured B-X-O transmission efficiency increased from < 10% (no Li) to 60% (with Li), consistent with EBE simulations.
Date: March 20, 2008
Creator: Diem, S. J.; Efthimion, P. C.; Kugel, H. W.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Phillips, C. K.; Caughman, J. B. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Differentiating neutrino models on the basis of $\theta_{13}$ and lepton flavor violation (open access)

Differentiating neutrino models on the basis of $\theta_{13}$ and lepton flavor violation

The authors show how models of neutrino masses and mixings can be differentiated on the basis of their predictions for {theta}{sub 13} and lepton flavor violation in radiative charged lepton decays and {mu} - e conversion. They illustrate the lepton flavor violation results for five predictive SO(10) SUSY GUT models and point out the relative importance of their heavy right-handed neutrino mass spectra and {theta}{sub 13} predictions.
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Albright, Carl H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The U.S. Department of Energy's Aerial Measuring System (AMS) (open access)

The U.S. Department of Energy's Aerial Measuring System (AMS)

For nearly 40 years, aerial radiological search and survey missions have been performed by the United States Department of Energy's (USDOE) Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL). Originally created in 1967 as Aerial Measurement Operations (AMO), the AMS mission has expanded to include acquiring baseline measurements, performing periodic area monitoring, and responding to radiological emergencies. In an accident scenario, AMS fixed-wing and/or rotary-wing systems can be deployed to map radiological deposition. A fixed-wing system is on standby twenty-fours per day, seven days per week and can be deployed within four hours of notification. It can quickly evaluate high levels of radiation which may constitute immediate health risks. To accomplish its mission the fixed-wing aircraft utilizes the Spectral Aerial Radiological Computer System (SPARCS) which records gross count and spectral information. Data from SPARCS is telemetered to ground stations and secure websites where it can be viewed and evaluated in near-real time. The rotary-wing system deploys following the critical phase of an accident and supports the DOE's Consequence Management Response Team (CMRT) in determining long term consequences of the accident. The rotary wing aircraft utilizes the Radiation and Environmental Data Acquisition and Recording System (REDAR). A 25-liter sodium iodide (NaI) spectral system and precise …
Date: March 1, 2008
Creator: Marianno, Craig
System: The UNT Digital Library
Evolution of the Surface Science of Catalysis from Single Crystals to Metal Nanoparticles under Pressure (open access)

Evolution of the Surface Science of Catalysis from Single Crystals to Metal Nanoparticles under Pressure

Vacuum studies of metal single crystal surfaces using electron and molecular beam scattering revealed that the surface atoms relocate when the surface is clean (reconstruction) and when it is covered by adsorbates (adsorbate induced restructuring). It was also discovered that atomic steps and other low coordination surface sites are active for breaking chemical bonds (H-H, O=O, C-H, C=O and C-C) with high reaction probability. Investigations at high reactant pressures using sum frequency generation (SFG)--vibrational spectroscopy and high pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (HPSTM) revealed bond breaking at low reaction probability sites on the adsorbate-covered metal surface, and the need for adsorbate mobility for continued turnover. Since most catalysts (heterogeneous, enzyme and homogeneous) are nanoparticles, colloid synthesis methods were developed to produce monodispersed metal nanoparticles in the 1-10 nm range and controlled shapes to use them as new model catalyst systems in two-dimensional thin film form or deposited in mesoporous three-dimensional oxides. Studies of reaction selectivity in multipath reactions (hydrogenation of benzene, cyclohexene and crotonaldehyde) showed that reaction selectivity depends on both nanoparticle size and shape. The oxide-metal nanoparticle interface was found to be an important catalytic site because of the hot electron flow induced by exothermic reactions like carbon monoxide oxidation.
Date: March 6, 2008
Creator: Somorjai, Gabor A. & Park, Jeong Y.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A High-Flux, Flexible Membrane with Parylene-encapsulated Carbon Nanotubes (open access)

A High-Flux, Flexible Membrane with Parylene-encapsulated Carbon Nanotubes

We present fabrication and characterization of a membrane based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and parylene. Carbon nanotubes have shown orders of magnitude enhancement in gas and water permeability compared to estimates generated by conventional theories [1, 2]. Large area membranes that exhibit flux enhancement characteristics of carbon nanotubes may provide an economical solution to a variety of technologies including water desalination [3] and gas sequestration [4]. We report a novel method of making carbon nanotube-based, robust membranes with large areas. A vertically aligned dense carbon nanotube array is infiltrated with parylene. Parylene polymer creates a pinhole free transparent film by exhibiting high surface conformity and excellent crevice penetration. Using this moisture-, chemical- and solvent-resistant polymer creates carbon nanotube membranes that promise to exhibit high stability and biocompatibility. CNT membranes are formed by releasing a free-standing film that consists of parylene-infiltrated CNTs, followed by CNT uncapping on both sides of the composite material. Thus fabricated membranes show flexibility and ductility due to the parylene matrix material, as well as high permeability attributed to embedded carbon nanotubes. These membranes have a potential for applications that may require high flux, flexibility and durability.
Date: March 14, 2008
Creator: Park, H. G.; In, J.; Kim, S.; Fornasiero, F.; Holt, J. K.; Grigoropoulos, C. P. et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library