Further studies of the effects of oxidation on the surface properties of coal and coal pyrite (open access)

Further studies of the effects of oxidation on the surface properties of coal and coal pyrite

The objective of this research was to investigate the oxidation behavior of coal and coal pyrite and to correlate the changes in the surface properties induced by oxidation, along with the intrinsic physical and chemical properties of these organic and inorganic materials, with the behavior in physical coal cleaning processes. This provide more fundamental knowledge for understanding the way in which different factors interact in a medium as heterogeneous as coal. Fourteen coal samples of different ranks ranging from high to medium sulfur content were studied by dry oxidation tests at different temperatures and humidities, and by wet oxidation tests using different oxidizing agents. The concentration of surface oxygen functional groups was determined by ion-exchange methods. The changes in the coal composition with oxidation were analyzed by spectroscopic techniques. The wettability of as-received and oxidized coal and coal pyrite samples was assessed by film flotation tests. The electrokinetic behavior of different coals and coal pyrite samples was studied by electrokinetic tests using electrophoresis. Possible oxidation mechanisms have been proposed to explain the changes on the coal surface induced by different oxidation treatments.
Date: December 31, 1994
Creator: Herrera, Miguel Nicholas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Thermal modeling of the lithium/polymer battery (open access)

Thermal modeling of the lithium/polymer battery

Research in the area of advanced batteries for electric-vehicle applications has increased steadily since the 1990 zero-emission-vehicle mandate of the California Air Resources Board. Due to their design flexibility and potentially high energy and power densities, lithium/polymer batteries are an emerging technology for electric-vehicle applications. Thermal modeling of lithium/polymer batteries is particularly important because the transport properties of the system depend exponentially on temperature. Two models have been presented for assessment of the thermal behavior of lithium/polymer batteries. The one-cell model predicts the cell potential, the concentration profiles, and the heat-generation rate during discharge. The cell-stack model predicts temperature profiles and heat transfer limitations of the battery. Due to the variation of ionic conductivity and salt diffusion coefficient with temperature, the performance of the lithium/polymer battery is greatly affected by temperature. Because of this variation, it is important to optimize the cell operating temperature and design a thermal management system for the battery. Since the thermal conductivity of the polymer electrolyte is very low, heat is not easily conducted in the direction perpendicular to cell layers. Temperature profiles in the cells are not as significant as expected because heat-generation rates in warmer areas of the cell stack are lower than …
Date: October 1, 1994
Creator: Pals, C. R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The photosynthetic acclimation of Lolium perenne growing in a free-air CO{sub 2} enrichment (FACE) system (open access)

The photosynthetic acclimation of Lolium perenne growing in a free-air CO{sub 2} enrichment (FACE) system

Stands of Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. Bastion) were grown in the field at ambient or elevated (600{mu}mol/mol) CO{sub 2} concentration, high (560Kg/ha) or low (140Kg/ha) nitrogen addition and with a frequent (every 4 weeks) or infrequent (every 8 weeks) cutting regime. Plants were in the second year of a 3 year experiment. Exposure to elevated CO{sub 2} was carried out with a Free-Air CO{sub 2} Enrichment (FACE) system which provides the most {open_quote}realistic{close_quote} system of CO{sub 2} fumigation currently available. Elevated CO{sub 2} increased diurnal CO{sub 2} assimilation by between 34 and 88% whilst reducing rates of stomatal conductance by between 1 and 42%. However, analysis of the A vs. Ci response showed considerable acclimation of the photosynthetic apparatus in response to elevated CO{sub 2} - Vc{sub max} as an in vivo measure of RubisCO activity, decreased by between 29 and 35% in high CO{sub 2}, whilst J{sub max}, as a measure of the RubP regeneration capacity, showed no significant change. Two out of three additional perennial grassland species studied showed similar acclamatory behavior to Ryegrass. Diurnal assimilation rate, J{sub max} and, in most cases, Vc{sub max}, increased significantly directly after cutting of Ryegrass stands, but nitrogen treatment had …
Date: November 1, 1994
Creator: Bryant, J. B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Vibrational spectroscopy of water interfaces (open access)

Vibrational spectroscopy of water interfaces

The second order nonlinear optical processes of second harmonic generation and sum frequency generation are powerful and versatile tools for studying all kinds of surfaces. They possess unusual surface sensitivity due to the symmetry properties of the second order nonlinear susceptibility. The technique of infrared-visible sum frequency generation (SFG) is particularly attractive because it offers a viable way to do vibrational spectroscopy on any surfaces accessible to light with submonolayer sensitivity. In this thesis, the author applies SFG to study a number of important water interfaces. At the air/water interface, hydrophobic solid/water and liquid/water interfaces, it was found that approximately 25% of surface water molecules have one of their hydrogen pointing away from the liquid water. The large number of unsatisfied hydrogen bonds contributes significantly to the large interfacial energy of the hydrophobic surfaces. At the hydrophilic fused quartz/water interface and a fatty acid monolayer covered water surface, the structure and orientation of surface water molecules are controlled by the hydrogen bonding of water molecules with the surface OH groups and the electrostatic interaction with the surface field from the ionization of surface groups. A change of pH value in the bulk water can significantly change the relative importance of …
Date: December 1, 1994
Creator: Du, Q.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Centrifugal Atomization of Lanthanide Materials for Cryogenic Coolers (open access)

Centrifugal Atomization of Lanthanide Materials for Cryogenic Coolers

Until recently, Pb was the preferred heat exchanger matrix material used in low temperature cryocoolers; however, the heat capacity of Pb drops drastically below {approximately}15K and new matrix materials based on the lanthanide elements have been developed. These materials magnetically order at low temperatures and the entropy change associated with ordering contributes to the materials` heat capacities. The drawback to widespread use of lanthanide intermetallic compounds in cryocoolers has been the difficulty in manufacturing high-quality particulates. The purpose of this project was to develop a technique for producing high-quality powders of lanthanide metals and lanthanide intermetallic compounds for use in cryocooler heat exchangers. A series of atomization experiments was performed using Er{sub 3}Ni, Nd, Nd{sub 3}Ni, and (Er{sub 0.5}Nd{sub 0.5}){sub 3}Ni. Atomization of these materials resulted in particles ranging from mostly spherical to extremely flattened. Analyses of size distributions for the experiments indicate that increased atomization disk speed and superheat result in smaller mean particle diameters and narrower size distributions. Chemical analyses of the atomized powders indicate that the CA/RQB technique produces particulate with much lower interstitial contamination than other techniques. The Er{sub 3}Ni and Nd{sub 3}Ni powders were predominantly of the desired phase and the (Er{sub 0.5}Nd{sub 0.5}){sub 3}Ni …
Date: January 4, 1994
Creator: Osborne, Matthew G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A photoemission study of the diamond and the single crystal C{sub 60} (open access)

A photoemission study of the diamond and the single crystal C{sub 60}

This report studied the elctronic structure of diamond (100) and diamond/metal interface and C{sub 60}, using angle-resolved and core level photoemission. The C(100)-(2X1) surface electronic structure was studied using both core level and angle resolved valence band photoemission spectroscopy. The surface component of the C 1s core level spectrum agrees with theoretical existence of only symmetrical dimers. In the case of metal/diamond interfaces, core level and valence photoelectron spectroscopy and LEED studies WERE MADE OF B and Sb on diamond (100) and (111) surfaces. In the case of single-crystal C{sub 60}, photoemission spectra show sharp molecular features, indicating that the molecular orbitals are relatively undisturbed in solid C{sub 60}.
Date: March 1, 1994
Creator: Wu, Jin
System: The UNT Digital Library
Pion single charge exchange in three body nuclei at intermediate energies (open access)

Pion single charge exchange in three body nuclei at intermediate energies

The purpose of this thesis is to present new experimental information about modifications to the pion-nucleon single charge exchange interaction, {pi}{sup +}n {yields}{pi}{sup 0} p or {pi}{sup {minus}} p {yields} {pi}{sup 0}n, due to the presence of other nucleons. The results of two experimental studies of pion single charge exchange in the three nucleon system near the {triangle}-resonance are presented. Both of these experiments were performed at the Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF), a division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Each explored different aspects of pion single charge exchange in three body nuclei--{sup 3}He and {sup 3}H. Since the nuclear wavefunctions of the three nucleon systems are believed to be well understood, it should be possible to perform theoretical calculations of pion interactions with this system and compare their predictions with the experimental results.
Date: January 1, 1994
Creator: Dowell, M. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Magnetohydrodynamic simulation of solid-deuterium-initiated Z-pinch experiments (open access)

Magnetohydrodynamic simulation of solid-deuterium-initiated Z-pinch experiments

Solid-deuterium-initiated Z-pinch experiments are numerically simulated using a two-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic model, which includes many important experimental details, such as ``cold-start`` initial conditions, thermal conduction, radiative energy loss, actual discharge current vs. time, and grids of sufficient size and resolution to allow realistic development of the plasma. The alternating-direction-implicit numerical technique used meets the substantial demands presented by such a computational task. Simulations of fiber-initiated experiments show that when the fiber becomes fully ionized rapidly developing m=0 instabilities, which originated in the coronal plasma generated from the ablating fiber, drive intense non-uniform heating and rapid expansion of the plasma column. The possibility that inclusion of additional physical effects would improve stability is explored. Finite-Larmor-radius-ordered Hall and diamagnetic pressure terms in the magnetic field evolution equation, corresponding energy equation terms, and separate ion and electron energy equations are included; these do not change the basic results. Model diagnostics, such as shadowgrams and interferograms, generated from simulation results, are in good agreement with experiment. Two alternative experimental approaches are explored: high-current magnetic implosion of hollow cylindrical deuterium shells, and ``plasma-on-wire`` (POW) implosion of low-density plasma onto a central deuterium fiber. By minimizing instability problems, these techniques may allow attainment of higher temperatures …
Date: February 1, 1994
Creator: Sheehey, P. T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Toward resolving model-measurement discrepancies of radon entry into houses (open access)

Toward resolving model-measurement discrepancies of radon entry into houses

Analysis of the literature indicated that radon transport models significantly and consistently underpredict the advective entry into houses of soil-gas borne radon. Advective entry is the dominant mechanism resulting in high concentrations of radon indoors. The author investigated the source of the model-measurement discrepancy via carefully controlled field experiments conducted at an experimental basement located in natural soil in Ben Lomond, California. Early experiments at the structure confirmed the existence and magnitude of the model-measurement discrepancy, ensuring that it was not merely an artifact of inherently complex and poorly understood field sites. The measured soil-gas entry rate during structure depressurization was found to be an order of magnitude larger than predicted by a current three-dimensional numerical model of radon transport. The exact magnitude of the discrepancy depends on whether the arithmetic or geometric mean of the small-scale measurements of permeability is used to estimate the effective permeability of the soil. This factor is a critical empirical input to the model and was determined for the Ben Lomond site in the typical fashion using single-probe static depressurization measurements at multiple locations. The remainder of the dissertation research tests a hypothesis to explain the observed discrepancy: that soil permeability assessed using relatively …
Date: October 1, 1994
Creator: Garbesi, K.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Measurement of magnetic turbulence structure and nonlinear mode coupling of tearing fluctuations in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch edge (open access)

Measurement of magnetic turbulence structure and nonlinear mode coupling of tearing fluctuations in the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed field pinch edge

Linear and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability of current-driven modes are studied in the MST reversed field pinch. Measured low frequency (f < 35 kHz) magnetic fluctuations are consistent with the global resistive tearing instabilities predicted by 3-D MHD simulations. At frequencies above 35 kHz, the magnetic fluctuations were detected to be localized and externally resonant. Discrete dynamo events, ``sawtooth oscillations,`` have been observed in the experimental RFP plasmas. This phenomenon causes the plasma to become unstable to m = 1 tearing modes. The modes that may be important in different phases of these oscillations are identified. These results then assist in nonlinear studies and also help to interpret the spectral broadening of the measured data during a discrete dynamo event. Three-wave nonlinear coupling of spectral Fourier modes is measured in the MST by applying bispectral analysis to magnetic fluctuations measured at the plasma edge at 64 toroidal locations and 16 poloidal locations, permitting observation of coupling over 8 poloidal and 32 toroidal modes. Comparison to bispectra predicted by resistive MHD computation indicates reasonably good agreement. However, during the crash phase of the sawtooth oscillation the nonlinear coupling is strongly enhanced, concomitant with a broadened k-spectrum. During the sawtooth formation the …
Date: January 1, 1994
Creator: Assadi, S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Instability heating of solid-fiber Z pinches (open access)

Instability heating of solid-fiber Z pinches

The Los Alamos High Density Z Pinch-II (HDZP-II) facility is used to study the dynamics of z-pinch plasmas generated from solid fibers of deuterated polyethylene CD{sub 2} with a range in radii of 3--60 {mu}m. HDZP-II is a pulsed-power generator that delivers a current that rises to 700 kA in 100 ns through an inductive load. A multiframe circular schlieren records the evolution of the shape and size of the plasma on seven images taken at 10-ns intervals. These circular-schlieren images show very strong m=0 instability at the onset of current and a rapid radial expansion of the plasma. No higher-order instabilities are observed. An interferometer is used to infer the electron density and electron line density, giving a measure of the fraction of plasma contained within the outline of the circular-schlieren image at one time during the multiframe sequence. A three-channel x-ray crystal-reflection spectrometer provides the time-resolved, spatially-averaged electron temperature. The magnitude of the x-ray emission at these energies also gives qualitative information about the electron temperature and density at late times. A lower bound on the ion temperature is inferred from the particle pressure needed to balance the magnetic field pressure. The ion temperature rose above that of …
Date: February 1, 1994
Creator: Riley, R. A. Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Z + {gamma} cross-section measurement, {sigma}*BR(Z + {gamma}), in the electron channel for p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV, and limits for the ZZ{gamma} and Z{gamma}{gamma} anomalous couplings (open access)

Z + {gamma} cross-section measurement, {sigma}*BR(Z + {gamma}), in the electron channel for p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.8 TeV, and limits for the ZZ{gamma} and Z{gamma}{gamma} anomalous couplings

The Z + {gamma} cross-section x branching ratio in the electron channel has been measured using the inclusive Z data sample from the CDF 1988--1989 collider run, for which the total integrated luminosity was 4.05 {plus_minus} 0.28 pb{sup {minus}1}. Two Z{gamma} candidates are observed from central photon events with {Delta}R/{sub {gamma}} > 0.7 and E{sub t}{sup {gamma}} > 5.0 GeV. From these events the {sigma} * BR(Z + {gamma}) is measured and compared with SM predictions: {sigma} * BR(Z + {gamma}){sub e} = 6.8{sub {minus}5.7}{sup +5.7}(stat + syst)pb {sigma} * BR(Z + {gamma})SM = 4.7{sub {minus}4.7}{sup +0.7}(stat + syst)pb. From this ZZ{sub {gamma}} cross section measurement limits on the Z{sub {gamma}{gamma}} and couplings for three different choices of compositeness scale {Lambda}{sub Z} are obtained. The experimental sensitivity to the h{sub 30}{sup Z,{gamma}}/h{sub 10}{sup Z,{gamma}} couplings is in the range of {Lambda}{sub Z} {approximately} 450--500 GeV and for the h{sub 40}{sup Z{gamma}}/h{sub 20}{sup Z,{gamma}} couplings {Lambda}{sub Z} {approximately} 300 GeV.
Date: February 1, 1994
Creator: Roach-Bellino, M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in plant-soil systems: Plant responses to a chemical stress in the root zone (open access)

Fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in plant-soil systems: Plant responses to a chemical stress in the root zone

Under laboratory conditions selected to maximize root uptake, plant tissue distribution of PAH-derived {sup 14}C was largely limited to root tissue of Malilotus alba. These results suggest that plant uptake of PAHs from contaminated soil via roots, and translocation to aboveground plant tissues (stems and leaves), is a limited mechanism for transport into terrestrial food chains. However, these data also indicate that root surface sorption of PAHs may be important for plants grown in soils containing elevated concentration PAHs. Root surface sorption of PAHs may be an important route of exposure for plants in soils containing elevated concentrations of PAHS. Consequently, the root-soil interface may be the site of plant-microbial interactions in response to a chemical stress. In this study, evidence of a shift in carbon allocation to the root zone of plants exposed to phenanthrene and corresponding increases in soil respiration and heterotrophic plate counts provide evidence of a plant-microbial response to a chemical stress. The results of this study establish the importance of the root-soil interface for plants growing in PAH contaminated soil and indicate the existence of plant-microbial interactions in response to a chemical stress. These results may provide new avenues of inquiry for studies of plant …
Date: January 1, 1994
Creator: Hoylman, A. M. & Walton, B. T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Models to evaluate magnicon architectures and designs suitable for high-perveance beams (open access)

Models to evaluate magnicon architectures and designs suitable for high-perveance beams

The magnicon, a new high-power, radio frequency (rf) deflection- modulated amplifier, was recently developed at the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk, Russia. The first magnicon achieved a peak output power of 2.6 MW for 50-{mu}s pulses at a frequency of 915 MHz with a dc-to-rf conversion efficiency of 73%. The conversion efficiency achieved by the original magnicon represents a significant improvement over state-of-the-art conventional velocity- and density-modulated devices. Therefore, if properly exploited, the magnicon could substantially reduce the operating expenses of industrial, scientific, and military facilities that require large amounts of rf power. This dissertation describes the operational principles of the magnicon, provides small-signal analytical theory (where practical), presents a large-signal numerical model to characterize magnicon performance, and then utilizes this model to investigate the characteristics of the component magnicon structures. Using these modeling tools, the first-generation magnicon architecture is analyzed for its performance sensitivity to electron-beam size and is found to support beams of only limited diameter. Finally, an alternate magnicon geometry, called a ``uniform-field`` magnicon, is presented and shown to support beams of larger diameter.
Date: March 1, 1994
Creator: Rees, D. E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Depth migration in transversely isotropic media with explicit operators (open access)

Depth migration in transversely isotropic media with explicit operators

The author presents and analyzes three approaches to calculating explicit two-dimensional (2D) depth-extrapolation filters for all propagation modes (P, SV, and SH) in transversely isotropic media with vertical and tilted axis of symmetry. These extrapolation filters are used to do 2D poststack depth migration, and also, just as for isotropic media, these 2D filters are used in the McClellan transformation to do poststack 3D depth migration. Furthermore, the same explicit filters can also be used to do depth-extrapolation of prestack data. The explicit filters are derived by generalizations of three different approaches: the modified Taylor series, least-squares, and minimax methods initially developed for isotropic media. The examples here show that the least-squares and minimax methods produce filters with accurate extrapolation (measured in the ability to position steep reflectors) for a wider range of propagation angles than that obtained using the modified Taylor series method. However, for low propagation angles, the modified Taylor series method has smaller amplitude and phase errors than those produced by the least-squares and minimax methods. These results suggest that to get accurate amplitude estimation, modified Taylor series filters would be somewhat preferred in areas with low dips. In areas with larger dips, the least-squares and minimax …
Date: December 1994
Creator: Uzcategui, O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A calorimetric measurement of the strong coupling constant in electron-positron annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 91.6 GeV (open access)

A calorimetric measurement of the strong coupling constant in electron-positron annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 91.6 GeV

In this work, a measurement of the strong coupling constant {alpha}{sub s} in e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} annihilation at a center-of-mass energy of 91.6 GeV is presented. The measurement was performed with the SLD at the Stanford Linear Collider facility located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in California. The procedure used consisted of measuring the rate of hard gluon radiation from the primary quarks in a sample of 9,878 hadronic events. After defining the asymptotic manifestation of partons as `jets`, various phenomenological models were used to correct for the hadronization process. A value for the QCD scale parameter {Lambda}{sub bar MS}, defined in the {sub bar MS} renormalization convention with 5 active quark flavors, was then obtained by a direct fit to O({alpha}{sub s}{sup 2}) calculations. The value of {alpha}{sub s} obtained was {alpha}{sub s}(M{sub z0}) = 0.122 {plus_minus} 0.004 {sub {minus}0.007} {sup +0.008} where the uncertainties are experimental (combined statistical and systematic) and theoretical (systematic) respectively. Equivalently, {Lambda}{sub bar MS} = 0.28 {sub {minus}0.10}{sup +0.16} GeV where the experimental and theoretical uncertainties have been combined.
Date: April 1, 1994
Creator: Martirena, S. G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A research study to determine the effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) on employee morale in Plant Procedures Division at EG&G, Rocky Flats, Inc. (open access)

A research study to determine the effect of Total Quality Management (TQM) on employee morale in Plant Procedures Division at EG&G, Rocky Flats, Inc.

EG&G at Rocky Flats, Golden, Colorado, experienced a high amount of low morale, due to the plant site having been designated to close, and the uneasiness of the working force was very visible. Some employees accepted early retirement in October 1992, however, all received letters of 120 days notice in March 1993, and were advised several cuts Would be made by October 1, 1993. This information alone caused many insecurities in employees, and caused morale to decrease even more. This is an in depth study of morale, which was upgraded in Plant Procedures Group (PPG), through the effect of TQM. The primary research included a survey of employees with results included. The study also increased additional questions in PPG, some of which were added to the agenda of the Process Improvement Team (PIT) to improve PPG in the eyes of customers. Statistics did show that morale improved, not necessarily because of TQM or the progress of the Process Improvement Team (PIT), but due to efforts of the staff implementing the principles of TQM the best they knew how.
Date: January 1, 1994
Creator: Casey, E. F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
High resolution electron diffraction analysis of structural changes associated with the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin (open access)

High resolution electron diffraction analysis of structural changes associated with the photocycle of bacteriorhodopsin

Changes in protein structure that occur during the formation of the M photointermediate of bacteriorhodopsin can be directly visualized by electron diffraction techniques. Samples containing a high percentage of the M intermediate were trapped by rapidly cooling the crystals with liquid nitrogen following illumination with filtered green light at 240K and 260K respectively. Difference Fourier projection maps for M minus bR at two temperatures and for M{sub 260K} minus M{sub 240K} are presented. While it is likely that a unique M-substate is trapped when illuminated at 260K produces a mixture of the M{sub 240K} substate and a second M-substate which may have a protein structure similar to the N-intermediate. The diffraction data clearly show that statistically significant structural changes occur upon formation of the M{sub 240K} specimen and then further upon formation of the second substate which is present in the mixture that is produced at 260K. A preliminary 3-D difference map, based on data collected with samples tilted up to 30{degree}, has been constructed at a resolution of 3.5{angstrom} parallel to the membrane plane and a resolution of 8.5{angstrom} perpendicular to the membrane. The data have been analyzed by a number of different criteria to ensure that the differences …
Date: April 1, 1994
Creator: Han, B.-G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hadronic wavefunctions in light-cone quantization (open access)

Hadronic wavefunctions in light-cone quantization

The analysis of light-cone wavefunctions seems the most promising theoretical approach to a detailed understanding of the structure of relativistic bound states, particularly hadrons. However, there are numerous complications in this approach. Most importantly, the light-cone approach sacrifices manifest rotational invariance in exchange for the elimination of negative-energy states. The requirement of rotational invariance of the full theory places important constraints on proposed light-cone wavefunctions, whether they are modelled or extracted from some numerical procedure. A formulation of the consequences of the hidden rotational symmetry has been sought for some time; it is presented in Chapter 2. In lattice gauge theory or heavy-quark effective theory, much of the focus is on the extraction of numerical values of operators which are related to the hadronic wavefunction. These operators are to some extent interdependent, with relations induced by fundamental constraints on the underlying wavefunction. The consequences of the requirement of unitarity are explored in Chapter 3, and are found to have startling phenomenological relevance. To test model light-cone wavefunctions, experimental predictions must be made. The reliability of perturbative QCD as a tool for making such predictions has been questioned. In Chapter 4, the author presents a computation of the rates for nucleon-antinucleon …
Date: May 1, 1994
Creator: Hyer, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The crosswell electromagnetic response of layered media (open access)

The crosswell electromagnetic response of layered media

Crosswell electromagnetic measurements are a promising new geophysical technique for mapping subsurface electrical conductivity which can provide information about the subsurface distribution of water, oil or steam. In this work the fields from a low frequency vertical magnetic dipole have been examined from the specific point of view of their application to the determination of the conductivity of a layered medium. The source and the receiver were placed inside two separate boreholes. The range of penetration of such a crosswell system for typical earth resistivities and for currently available transmitter and receiver technologies was found to be up to 1,000 meters so problems in ground water and petroleum reservoir characteristics can be practically examined. An analysis of the behavior of the magnetic fields at the boundary between two half-spaces showed that the horizontal magnetic field component, H{rho}, and the vertical derivative of a vertical component, {delta}H{sub z}/{delta}z, are more sensitive to conductivity variations than H{sub z}. The analysis of derivatives led to the concept of measuring the conductivity directly using a second vertical derivative of H{sub z}. Conductivity profiles interpreted from field data using this technique reproduced accurately the electrical logs for a test site near Devine, Texas. It was …
Date: April 1, 1994
Creator: Deszcz-Pan, M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Time-resolved electron thermal conduction by probing of plasma formation in transparent solids with high power subpicosecond laser pulses (open access)

Time-resolved electron thermal conduction by probing of plasma formation in transparent solids with high power subpicosecond laser pulses

This dissertation work includes a series of experimental measurements in a search for better understanding of high temperature (10{sup 4}-10{sup 6}K) and high density plasmas (10{sup 22}-10{sup 24}cm{sup {minus}3}) produced by irradiating a transparent solid target with high intensity (10{sup 13} - 10{sup 15}W/cm{sup 2}) and subpicosecond (10{sup {minus}12}-10{sup {minus}13}s) laser pulses. Experimentally, pump and probe schemes with both frontside (vacuum-plasma side) and backside (plasma-bulk material side) probes are used to excite and interrogate or probe the plasma evolution, thereby providing useful insights into the plasma formation mechanisms. A series of different experiments has been carried out so as to characterize plasma parameters and the importance of various nonlinear processes. Experimental evidence shows that electron thermal conduction is supersonic in a time scale of the first picosecond after laser irradiation, so fast that it was often left unresolved in the past. The experimental results from frontside probing demonstrate that upon irradiation with a strong (pump) laser pulse, a thin high temperature ({approximately}40eV) super-critical density ({approximately}10{sup 23}/cm{sup 3}) plasma layer is quickly formed at the target surface which in turn becomes strongly reflective and prevents further transmission of the remainder of the laser pulse. In the bulk region behind the surface, …
Date: February 1, 1994
Creator: Vu, B. T. V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Quaternary liquid/liquid equilibria of sodium sulfate, sodium sulfite and water with two solvents: Acetone and 2-propanol (open access)

Quaternary liquid/liquid equilibria of sodium sulfate, sodium sulfite and water with two solvents: Acetone and 2-propanol

Aqueous solutions of sodium sulfate and sodium sulfite are produced from sodium carbonate in flue-gas scrubbers; recovery of these salts often requires multi-effect evaporators; however, a new energy-efficient unit operation called extractive crystallization has been shown to have reduced energy costs. In this process, an organic solvent is added to the aqueous salt solution to precipitate salt. Acetone is a suitable solvent for this process, better than 2-propanol. Liquid/liquid/solid equilibria for ternary systems containing a salt, water, and an organic solvent were measured. Systems investigated were sodium sulfite/water/acetone and sodium sulfite/water/2-propanol. Experiments were conducted at salt saturation covering a temperature range between the lower consolute temperature and 48.6{degrees}C. In the attempt to improve the extractive crystallization process for recovery of sodium sulfate from flue-gas scrubbers, attention was given to a feed containing a mixture of sodium sulfite and sodium sulfate. Liquid-liquid equilibria for quaternary systems containing two salts, water, and an organic solvent were experimentally determined at 35{degrees}C. The systems investigated were sodium sulfate/sodium sulfite/water/acetone and sodium sulfate/sodium sulfite/water/2propanol. The systems were studied at three salt ratios. For each salt ratio, experiments were conducted starting at saturation, water was then added until the one-phase region was reached. Mixtures of the …
Date: March 1, 1994
Creator: Schiozer, A. L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An investigation of the vortex method (open access)

An investigation of the vortex method

The vortex method is a numerical scheme for solving the vorticity transport equation. Chorin introduced modern vortex methods. The vortex method is a Lagrangian, grid free method which has less intrinsic diffusion than many grid schemes. It is adaptive in the sense that elements are needed only where the vorticity is non-zero. Our description of vortex methods begins with the point vortex method of Rosenhead for two dimensional inviscid flow, and builds upon it to eventually cover the case of three dimensional slightly viscous flow with boundaries. This section gives an introduction to the fundamentals of the vortex method. This is done in order to give a basic impression of the previous work and its line of development, as well as develop some notation and concepts which will be used later. The purpose here is not to give a full review of vortex methods or the contributions made by all the researchers in the field. Please refer to the excellent review papers in Sethian and Gustafson, chapters 1 Sethian, 2 Hald, 3 Sethian, 8 Chorin provide a solid introduction to vortex methods, including convergence theory, application in two dimensions and connection to statistical mechanics and polymers. Much of the information …
Date: May 1, 1994
Creator: Pryor, D. W. Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ion beam synthesis of SiGe alloy layers (open access)

Ion beam synthesis of SiGe alloy layers

Procedures required for minimizing structural defects generated during ion beam synthesis of SiGe alloy layers were studied. Synthesis of 200 mm SiGe alloy layers by implantation of 120-keV Ge ions into <100> oriented Si wafers yielded various Ge peak concentrations after the following doses, 2{times}10{sup 16}cm{sup {minus}2}, 3{times}10{sup 16}cm{sup {minus}2} (mid), and 5{times}10{sup 16}cm{sup {minus}2} (high). Following implantation, solid phase epitaxial (SPE) annealing in ambient N2 at 800C for 1 hr. resulted in only slight redistribution of the Ge. Two kinds of extended defects were observed in alloy layers over 3{times}l0{sup 16}cm{sup {minus}2}cm dose at room temperature (RT): end-of-range (EOR) dislocation loops and strain-induced stacking faults. Density of EOR dislocation loops was much lower in alloys produced by 77K implantation than by RT implantation. Decreasing the dose to obtain 5 at% peak Ge concentration prevents strain relaxation, while those SPE layers with more than 7 at% Ge peak show high densities of misfit- induced stacking faults. Sequential implantation of C following high dose Ge implantation (12 at% Ge peak concentration in layer) brought about a remarkable decrease in density of misfit-induced stacking faults. For peak implanted C > 0.55 at%, stacking fault generation in the epitaxial layer was suppressed, owing …
Date: May 1, 1994
Creator: Im, Seongil
System: The UNT Digital Library