Comment on 'processing and microstructure of single grain uranium-doped Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor'

We comment on the paper by N Hari Babu et al. (2002 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 15 104-10) and point out misinterpretations of the chemical composition of U-bearing deposits observed in Y123. The observed small deposits are those of new compounds which do not contain Cu, rather than refined Y211 plus U, as stated by the authors. We further note that extensive literature, not quoted, is in disagreement by nearly an order of magnitude concerning the values of Pt and U doping at which the optimum value of Jc is obtained. Other related information, presently in the literature, which may be helpful to those working with this high temperature superconducting chemical system, is presented.

Development of the microstructure of uranium-doped Nd-Ba-Cu-O

Melt grown Nd-Ba-Cu-O (NdBCO) has been reported to exhibit higher values of critical current density, Jc and irreversibility field, Hirr, than other (RE)BCO superconductors, such as YBCO. The microstructure of NdBCO typically contains 5-10 μm sized inclusions of the Nd4Ba2Cu2O10 phase (Nd-422) in a superconducting NdBa2Cu3O7-δ phase (Nd-123) matrix. The average size of these inclusions is characteristically larger than that of the Y2BaCuO5 (Y-211) inclusions in YBCO. As a result, there is scope to further refine the Nd-422 size to enhance Jc in NdBCO. Large grain samples of NdBCO superconductor doped with various amounts of depleted UO2 and containing excess Nd-422 have been fabricated by top seeded melt growth under reduced oxygen partial pressure. The effect of the addition of depleted UO2 on the NdBCO microstructure has been studied systematically in samples with and without added CeO2. It is observed that the addition of UO2 refines the NdBCO microstructure via the formation of uranium-containing phase particles in the superconducting matrix. These particles are of approximately spherical geometry with dimensions of around 1 μm. The average size of the nonsuperconducting phase particles in the uranium-doped microstructure is an order of magnitude less than their size in un-doped Nd-123 prepared with excess Nd-422. The critical current density of uranium-doped NdBCO is observed to increase significantly compared to the undoped material.

EBSD characterisation of Y2Ba4CuUOx phase in melttextured YBCO with addition of depleted uranium oxide

Melt-textured YBCO samples processed with added Y2O3 and depleted uranium oxide (DU) contain nano-particles, which have been identified previously as Y2Ba4CuUOx (U-411). This phase has a cubic unit cell, which is clearly distinct from the orthorhombic Y-123 and Y-211 phases within the YBCO system. In samples with a high amount of DU addition (0.8 wt-% DU), U-2411 particles have sizes between 200 nm and several νm, so identification of the Kikuchi patterns of this phase becomes possible. Together with a parallel EDX analysis, the particles embedded in the Y-123 matrix can be identified unambiguously. In this way, a three-phase EBSD scan becomes possible, allowing also the identification of nanometre-sized particles in the sample microstructure. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Assessment of homogeneous thorium/uranium fuel for pressurized water reactors

The homogeneous ThO2-UO2 fuel cycle option for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) of current technology is investigated. The fuel cycle assessment was carried out by calculating the main performance parameters: natural uranium and separative work requirements, fuel cycle cost, and proliferation potential of the spent fuel. These performance parameters were compared with a corresponding slightly enriched (all-U) fuel cycle applied to a PWR of current technology. The main conclusion derived from this comparison is that fuel cycle requirements and fuel cycle cost for the mixed Th/U fuel are higher in comparison with those of the all-U fuel. A comparison and analysis of the quantity and isotopic composition of discharged Pu indicate that the Th/U fuel cycle provides only a moderate improvement of the proliferation resistance. Thus, the overall conclusion of the investigation is that there is no economic justification to introduce Th into a light water reactor fuel cycle as a homogeneous ThO2-UO2 mixture.

Electronic structures and mechanical properties of uranium monocarbide from first-principles LDA plus U and GGA plus U calculations

The electronic structure, elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and phonon dispersion curves of UC have been systematically investigated from the first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. In order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the local density approximation (LDA) + U and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) + U formalisms for the exchange correlation term. We systematically study how the electronic properties and elastic constants of UC are affected by the different choice of U as well as the exchange-correlation potential. We show that by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U parameter within the GGA + U approach, most of our calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Therefore. the results obtained by the GGA + U with effective Hubbard parameter U chosen around 3 eV for UC are considered to be reasonable. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

~(40)Ar+~(238)U实验介绍

主要介绍了利用兰州重离子加速器提供的270 MeV的40Ar离子束轰击238U靶,通过熔合蒸发反应进行试合成Z=110附近的新同位素的实验情况。分析了目前关于超重核研究的现状并描述了这次实验的目的、可行性分析、实验装置以及实验过程等。本次实验仍然用氦喷嘴技术对产物进行传输,并用一套具有数对探测器组的转轮收集探测系统对产物进行收集和测量。

Production of new superheavy Z=108-114 nuclei with U-238, Pu-244, and Cm-248,Cm-250 targets

Within the framework of the dinuclear system (DNS) model, production cross sections of new superheavy nuclei with charged numbers Z=108-114 are analyzed systematically. Possible combinations based on the actinide nuclides U-238, Pu-244, and Cm-248,Cm-250 with the optimal excitation energies and evaporation channels are pointed out to synthesize new isotopes that lie between the nuclides produced in the cold fusion reactions and the Ca-48-induced fusion reactions experimentally, which are feasible to be constructed experimentally. It is found that the production cross sections of superheavy nuclei decrease drastically with the charged numbers of compound nuclei. Larger mass asymmetries of the entrance channels enhance the cross sections in 2n-5n channels.

单次分子镀法制备部分La系及~(238)U靶的实验研究

采用单次分子镀方法研究了异丙醇-硝酸体系中电流密度、分子镀持续时间及两极间距离对镀层性能和电沉积效率的影响,确定了制备La,Sm,Eu,Gd,Tb靶及238U靶的最佳工艺条件。因制备的靶不同,电流密度一般介于2—8mA/cm2之间,两极间最优距离为3cm,分子镀1h,用分光光度法测定各靶的沉积效率均高于85%。利用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对部分靶的表面形貌分析后发现靶面结构均匀致密。目前制得的Gd靶和Tb靶已用于中国科学院近代物理研究所加速器SFC低能核化学终端上,利用19F束流轰击,分别产生了Ta和W的短寿命同位素,从而成功完成了Db(Z=105)及Sg(Z=106)的模型试验。

Experimental study of the U-238(S-36,3-5n)(269-271)Hs reaction leading to the observation of (270)Hs

The deformed doubly magic nucleus (270)Hs has so far only been observed as the four-neutron (4n) evaporation residue of the reaction Mg-26+Cm-248, where a maximum cross section of 3 pb was measured. Theoretical studies on the formation of (270)Hs in the 4n evaporation channel of fusion reactions with different entrance channel asymmetry in the framework of a two-parameter Smoluchowski equation predict that the reactions Ca-48+Ra-226 and S-36+U-238 result in higher cross sections due to lower reaction Q values, in contrast to simple arguments based on the reaction asymmetry, which predict opposite trends. Calculations using HIVAP predict cross sections for the reaction S-36+U-238 that are similar to those of the Mg-26+Cm-248 reaction. Here, we report on the first measurement of evaporation residues formed in the complete nuclear fusion reaction S-36+U-238 and the observation of (270)Hs, which is produced in the 4n evaporation channel, with a measured cross section of 0.8(-0.7)(+2.6) pb at 51-MeV excitation energy. The one-event cross-section limits (68% confidence level) for the 3n, 4n, and 5n evaporation channels at 39-MeV excitation energy are 2.9 pb, while the cross-section limits of the 3n and 5n channel at 51 MeV are 1.5 pb. This is significantly lower than the 5n cross section of the Mg-26+Cm-248 reaction at similar excitation energy.

Biosorption of uranium by chemically modified Rhodotorula glutinis

The present paper reports the biosorption of uranium onto chemically modified yeast cells, Rhodotorula glutinis, in order to study the role played by various functional groups in the cell wall. Esterification of the carboxyl groups and methylation of the amino groups present in the cells were carried out by methanol and formaldehyde treatment, respectively. The uranium sorption capacity increased 31% for the methanol-treated biomass and 11% for the formaldehyde-treated biomass at an initial uranium concentration of 140 mg/L The enhancement of uranium sorption capacity was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, with amino and carboxyl groups were determined to be the important functional groups involved in uranium binding. The biosorption isotherms of uranium onto the raw and chemically modified biomass were also investigated with varying uranium concentrations. Langmuir and Freundlich models were well able to explain the sorption equilibrium data with satisfactory correlation coefficients higher than 0.9. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

~(23)Si + ~(238)U非完全熔合裂变与跟随裂变测量

用~(28)Si束流在15.0 Mev/A和21.7 Mev/A两个能量轰击~(238)U靶，裂变碎片由六片PSAD来探测，六片PSAD分为两组，前角组覆盖角度为5°～ 74 °，后角组覆盖角度为-60 °～ -168。在这能区出现了非完全线性动量转移现象，线性动量转移分布是双峰结构，小线性动量转移部分对应于跟随裂变，大线性动量转移部分对应于非完全熔合裂变。用线性动量转移将它们区分开来，得到了跟随裂变截应的相对激发函数。用简单的引导粒子模型对非完全熔合裂变线性动量转移最可几值进行了估算，并与21.7Mev/A的实验进行了比较。用跟随裂变线性动量转移最可几值修正后对其类靶核激发能进行了估算，用单体耗散能对其进行了解释。在这能区，考虑了线性动量转移修正后，总动能仍符合Vio/a系统化公式。由于轻粒子蒸发使裂变碎片产生出反应平面角，得到出反应平面角分布的标准偏差与激发能的关系。发现对Zcn> 100的重系统，有额列轻粒子发射现象