High fidelity measurements of time-dependent strain in the plastic-bonded explosives LX-17-1 and PBX 9502 have been performed under constant, uni-axial, compressive load using a custom designed apparatus. The apparatus uses a combination of extensometers and linear variable differential transformers coupled with a data acquisition system, thermal controls, and gravitational loading. The materials being tested consist of a crystalline explosive material mixed with a polymeric binder. The behavior of each material is related to the type of explosive and to the percentage and type of binder. For any given plastic-bonded explosive, the creep behavior is also dependent on the stress level and test temperature. Experiments were conducted using a 3 x 3 stress-temperature matrix with a temperature range of 24 C to 70 C and with stresses ranging from 250-psi to 780-psi. Analysis of the data has shown that logarithmic curve fits provide an accurate means of quantification and facilitate a long-term predictive capability. This paper will discuss the design of the apparatus, experimental results, and analyses.

Many chemists have been fascinated with the development of discrete supramolecular structures that encapsulate guest molecules. These structures can be assembled through covalent or hydrogen bonds, electrostatic or metal-ligand interactions. These host structures have provided valuable insight into the forces involved in small molecule recognition. Our work has focused on the design and study of metal-ligand clusters of varying sizes. The naphthalene [M{sub 4}L{sub 6}]{sup 12-} cluster 1, shown in Figure 1, has demonstrated diastereoselective guest binding and chiral induction properties as well as the ability to catalyze reactions carried out inside the cavity in an enzyme-like manner. However, the size of the cavity (ca. 300-500 {angstrom}{sup 3}) has often limited the scope of substrates for these transformations.

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Lithium borohydride, magnesium hydride and the 2:1 'destabilized' ball milled mixtures (2LiBH{sub 4}:MgH{sub 2}) underwent liquid phase hydrolysis, gas phase hydrolysis and air oxidation reactions monitored by isothermal calorimetry. The experimentally determined heats of reaction and resulting products were compared with those theoretically predicted using thermodynamic databases. Results showed a discrepancy between the predicted and observed hydrolysis and oxidation products due to both kinetic limitations and to the significant amorphous character of observed reaction products. Gas phase and liquid phase hydrolysis were the dominant reactions in 2LiBH{sub 4}:MgH{sub 2} with approximately the same total energy release and reaction products; liquid phase hydrolysis displayed the maximum heat flow for likely environmental exposure with a peak energy release of 6 (mW/mg).

The hyperfine-induced 2s2p {sup 3}P{sub 0}-2s{sup 2} {sup 1}S{sub 0} transition rate for Be-like {sup 47}Ti{sup 18+} was recently measured in a storage-ring experiment by Schippers et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 033001 (2007)]. The measured value of 0.56(3) s{sup -1} is almost 60% larger than the theoretical value of 0.356 s{sup -1} from a multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculation by Marques et al. [Phys. Rev. A 47, 929 (1993)]. In this work, we use a large-scale relativistic configuration-interaction method to calculate these hyperfine-induced rates for ions with Z = 6-92. Coherent hyperfine-quenching effects between the 2s2p {sup 1,3}P{sub 1} states are included in a perturbative as well as a radiation damping approach. Contrary to the claims of Marques et al., contributions from the {sup 1}P{sub 1} state are substantial and lead to a hyperfine-induced rate of 0.67 s{sup -1}, in better agreement with, though larger than, the measured value.

We examine the response of Arctic gas and aerosol concentrations to perturbations in pollutant emissions from Europe, East and South Asia, and North America using results from a coordinated model intercomparison. These sensitivities to regional emissions (mixing ratio change per unit emission) vary widely across models and species. Intermodel differences are systematic, however, so that the relative importance of different regions is robust. North America contributes the most to Arctic ozone pollution. For aerosols and CO, European emissions dominate at the Arctic surface but East Asian emissions become progressively more important with altitude, and are dominant in the upper troposphere. Sensitivities show strong seasonality: surface sensitivities typically maximize during boreal winter for European and during spring for East Asian and North American emissions. Mid-tropospheric sensitivities, however, nearly always maximize during spring or summer for all regions. Deposition of black carbon (BC) onto Greenland is most sensitive to North American emissions. North America and Europe each contribute {approx}40% of total BC deposition to Greenland, with {approx}20% from East Asia. Elsewhere in the Arctic, both sensitivity and total BC deposition are dominated by European emissions. Model diversity for aerosols is especially large, resulting primarily from differences in aerosol physical and chemical processing …

Both MD simulations and experimental studies have shown that liquid and gas flow through carbon nanotubes with nanometer size diameter is exceptionally fast. For applications in separation technology, selectivity is required together with fast flow. In this work, we use pressure-driven filtration experiments to study ion exclusion in silicon nitride/sub-2-nm CNT composite membranes as a function of solution ionic strength, pH, and ion valence. We show that carbon nanotube membranes exhibit significant ion exclusion at low salt concentration. Our results support a rejection mechanism dominated by electrostatic interactions between fixed membrane charges and mobile ions, while steric and hydrodynamic effects appear to be less important. Comparison with commercial nanofiltration membranes for water softening reveals that our carbon nanotube membranes provides far superior water fluxes for similar ion rejection capabilities.