Phase Evolution and its Effect on Magnetic Properties of Nd60Al10Fe20Co10 Bulk Metallic Glass

The thermal stability of nanocrystalline clusters, the phase evolution, and their effects on magnetic Propertieswere studied for as-cast Nd60Al10Fe20Co10 alloy using differential scanning calorimetry curves, x-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transition electron microscopy. Thermomagnetic curves and hysteresis loops of the bulk metallic glass were measured during the annealing process. The high thermostability of the hardmagnetic properties of the samples observed is attributed to the stability of the nanocrystalline clusters upon annealing, while the slight enhancement in the magnetization is due to the precipitation of some Nd-rich metastable phases. The mechanism of thermostability of the nanocrystalline clusters and the formation of the metastable phases are discussed.

Gamma-Ray Attenuation Technique For Measuring Void Fraction In Horizontal Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow

The measurement of void fraction is of importance to the oil industry and chemical industry. In this article, the principle and mathematical method of determining the void fraction of horizontal gas-liquid flow by using a single-energy gamma-ray system is described. The gamma-ray source is the radioactive isotope of Am-241 with gamma-ray energy of 59.5 keV. The time-averaged value of the void fraction in a 50.0-mm i.d. transparent horizontal pipeline is measured under various combinations of the liquid flow and gas flow. It is found that increasing the gas flow rate at a fixed liquid flow rate would increase the void fraction. Test data are compared with the predictions of the correlations and a good agreement is found. The result shows that the designed gamma-ray system can be used for measuring the void fraction in a horizontal gas-liquid two-phase flow with high accuracy.

Stability Of Adhesion Clusters And Cell Reorientation Under Lateral Cyclic Tension

This work is motivated by experimental observations that cells on stretched substrate exhibit different responses to static and dynamic loads. A model of focal adhesion that can consider the mechanics of stress fiber, adhesion bonds, and substrate was developed at the molecular level by treating the focal adhesion as an adhesion cluster. The stability of the cluster under dynamic load was studied by applying cyclic external strain on the substrate. We show that a threshold value of external strain amplitude exists beyond which the adhesion cluster disrupts quickly. In addition, our results show that the adhesion cluster is prone to losing stability under high-frequency loading, because the receptors and ligands cannot get enough contact time to form bonds due to the high-speed deformation of the substrate. At the same time, the viscoelastic stress fiber becomes rigid at high frequency, which leads to significant deformation of the bonds. Furthermore, we find that the stiffness and relaxation time of stress fibers play important roles in the stability of the adhesion cluster. The essence of this work is to connect the dynamics of the adhesion bonds (molecular level) with the cell's behavior during reorientation (cell level) through the mechanics of stress fiber. The predictions of the cluster model are consistent with experimental observations.

Effect of Fe content on the thermal stability and dynamic mechanical behavior of NdAlNiCu bulk metallic glasses

The dependence of microstructure and thermal stability on Fe content of bulk Nd60Al10Ni10Cu20-xFex (0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 20) metallic glasses is investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron micrograph (HRTEM). All samples exhibit typical amorphous feature under the detect limit of XRD, however, HRTEM results show that the microstructure of Nd60Al10Ni10Cu20-xFex alloys changes from a homogeneous amorphous phase to a composite structure consisting of clusters dispersed in amorphous matrix by increasing Fe content. Dynamic mechanical properties of these alloys with controllable microstructure are studied, expressed via storage modulus, the loss modulus and the mechanical damping. The results reveal that the storage modulus of the alloy without Fe added shows a distinct decrease due to the main a relaxation. This decrease weakens and begins at a higher temperature with increasing Fe content. The mechanism of the effect of Fe addition on the microstructure and thermal stability in this system is discussed in terms of thermodynamics viewpoints. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vacancy clusters in ultrafine grained Al by severe plastic deformation

Bulk nanostructured metals are often formed via severe plastic deformation (SPD). The dislocations generated during SPD evolve into boundaries to decompose the grains. Vacancies are also produced in large numbers during SPD, but have received much less attention. Using transmission electron microscopy, here we demonstrate a high density of unusually large vacancy Frank loops in SPD-processed Al. They are shown to impede moving dislocations and should be a contributor to strength. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Small angle X-ray scattering of the colloidal crystal

The monodisperse polystyrene spheres are assembled into the colloidal crystal on the glass substrate by vertical deposition method, which is aimed at the so-called photonic crystal applications. The structural information of the bulk colloidal crystal is crucial for understanding the crystal growth mechanism and developing the various applications of colloidal crystal. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique was used to obtain the bulk structure of the colloidal crystal at Beamline 1W2A of BSRF. It is found that the SAXS pattern is sensitive to the relative orientation between the colloidal sample and the incident X-ray direction. The crystal lattice was well distinguished and determined by the SAXS data.

Angular distribution and conversion of multi-keV L-shell X-ray sources produced from nanosecond laser irradiated thick-foil targets

An experimental study on the angular distribution and conversion of multi-keV X-ray sources produced from 2 ns-duration 527nm laser irradiated thick-foil targets on Shenguang II laser facility (SG-II) is reported. The angular distributions measured in front of the targets can be fitted with the function of f(theta) = alpha+ (1- alpha)cos(beta) theta (theta is the viewing angle relative to the target normal), where alpha = 0.41 +/- 0.014, beta = 0.77 +/- 0.04 for Ti K-shell X-ray Sources (similar to 4.75 keV for Ti K-shell), and alpha = 0.085 +/- 0.06, beta = 0.59 +/- 0.07 for Ag/Pd/Mo L-shell X-ray Sources (2-2.8 keV for Mo L-shell, 2.8-3.5 keV for Pd L-shell, and 3-3.8 keV for Ag L-shell). The isotropy of the angular-distribution of L-shell emission is worse than that of the K-shell emission at larger viewing angle (>70 degrees), due to its larger optical depth (stronger self-absorption) in the cold plasma side lobe Surrounding the central emission region, and in the central hot plasma region (emission region). There is no observable difference in the angular distributions of the L-shell X-ray emission among Ag, Pd, and Mo. The conversion efficiency of Ag/Pd/Mo L-shell X-ray sources is higher than that of the Ti K-shell X-ray sources, but the gain relative to the K-shell emission is not as high as that by using short pulse lasers. The conversion efficiency of the L-shell X-ray sources decrease, with increasing atomic numbers (or X-ray photon energy), similar to the behavior of the K-shell X-ray Source.

Self-photopumped neonlike x-ray laser

We propose a new x-ray laser mechanism that uses radiation from the strongest 3d --> 2p Ne-like resonance line in an optically thick plasma to radiatively drive population from the Ne-like ground state to the 3d state, which then lases to two 3p states. Collisional mixing of the 3p states with nearby 3s and 3d states depopulates the lower laser states. Modeling is presented for this mechanism in Ne-like Ar, and in experiments we observe one potential 3d --> 3p lasing transition at 45.1 nm in Ne-like Ar. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America

Energetic protons emitted from coulomb explosion dynamics of large-sized hydrogen clusters driven by an ultrashort intense laser pulse

Protons with very high kinetic energy of about 10keV and the saturation effect of proton energy for laser intensity have been observed in the interaction of an ultrashort intense laser pulse with large-sized hydrogen clusters. Including the cluster-size distribution as well as the laser-intensity distribution on the focus spot, the theoretical calculations based on a simplified Coulomb explosion model have been compared with our experimental measurements, which are in good agreement with each other.

Studies of ion energy and yield from argon clusters heated by intense femtosecond laser pulses

Using time-of-flight spectrometry, the interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with argon clusters has been studied by measuring the energy and yield of emitted ions. With two different supersonic nozzles, the dependence of average ion energy (E) over bar on cluster size (n) over bar in a large range of (n) over bar approximate to 3 x 10(3) similar to 3 x 10(6) has been measured. The experimental results indicate that when the cluster size (n) over bar <= 3 x 10(5), the average ion energy (E) over bar proportional to (n) over bar (0.5), Coulomb explosion is the dominant expansion mechanism. Beyond this size, the average ion energy gets saturated gradually, the clusters exhibit a mixed Coulomb-hydrodynamic expansion behavior. We also find that with the increasing gas backing pressure, there is a maximum ion yield, the ion yield decreases as the gas backing pressure is further increased.

Interactions of a femtosecond intense laser with rare gas clusters in a dense jet\

A study on the interactions of high intensity (similar to 10(16) W/cm(2)) femtosecond laser pulses with rare gas clusters in a dense jet is performed. Energy absorption by Ar and Xe clusters is measured and it can be as high as 90%. Very energetic ions produced in the laser interaction with a dense cluster jet are detected by time-of-flight spectrometry and the maximum ion energy of Xe is up to 1.3 MeV. The average ion energies are found to increase with increasing cluster size and get saturated gradually. The average ion energies also show a strong directionality and the average ion energy in the direction parallel to the laser polarization vector is 40% higher than that perpendicular to it. The findings are discussed in terms of a model of charge-dependent ion acceleration.

Studying atomic-resolution by X-ray fluorescence holography

In this work, the results of numerical simulations of X-ray fluorescence holograms and the reconstructed atomic images for Fe single crystal are given. The influences of the recording angles ranges and the polarization effect on the reconstruction of the atomic images are discussed. The process for removing twin images by multiple energy fluorescence holography and expanding the energy range of the incident X-rays to improve the resolution of the reconstructed images is presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of a multi-keV x-ray source produced by nanosecond laser irradiation of a solid target: The influence of laser focus spot and target thickness

The influence of focus spot and target thickness on multi-keV x-ray sources generated by 2 ns duration laser heated solid targets are investigated on the Shenguang II laser facility. In the case of thick-foil targets, the experimental data and theoretical analysis show that the emission volume of the x-ray sources is sensitive to the laser focus spot and proportional to the 3 power of the focus spot size. The steady x-ray flux is proportional to the 5/3 power of the focus spot size of the given laser beam in our experimental condition. In the case of thin-foil targets, experimental data show that there is an optimal foil thickness corresponding to the given laser parameters. With the given laser beam, the optimal thin-foil thickness is proportional to the -2/3 power of the focus spot size, and the optimal x-ray energy of thin foil is independent of focus spot size. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Coulomb expansion of deuterated methane clusters irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse

The simulations of three-dimensional particle dynamics show that when irradiated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse, the deuterated methane cluster expands and the majority of deuterons overrun the more slowly expanding carbon ions, resulting in the creation of two separated subclusters. The enhanced deuteron kinetic energy and a narrow peak around the energy maximum in the deuteron energy distribution make a considerable contribution to the efficiency of nuclear fusion compared with the case of homonuclear deuterium clusters. With the intense laser irradiation, the nuclear fusion yield increases with the increase of the cluster size, so that deuterated heteronuclear clusters with larger sizes are required to achieve a greater neutron yield.

Pure Coulomb explosions of highly charged methane clusters investigated by a simple electrostatic model

The pure Coulomb explosions of the methane clusters (CA(4))(n), (light atom A = H or D) have been investigated by a simplified electrostatic model for both a single cluster and an ensemble of clusters with a given cluster size distribution. The dependence of the energy of ions produced from the explosions on cluster size and the charge state of the carbon ions has been analysed. It is found that, unlike the average proton energy which increases with the charge q of the carbon ions, the average deuteron energy tends to saturate as q becomes larger than 4. This implies that when the laser intensity is sufficiently high for the (CD4)(n) to be ionized to a charge state of (C4+D4+)(n), the neutron yield from a table-top laser-driven Coulomb explosion of deuterated methane clusters (CD4)(n) could be increased significantly by increasing the interaction volume rather than by increasing the laser intensity to produce the higher charge state (C6+D4+)(n). The flight-time spectra of the carbon ions and the light ions have also been studied.