High-Temperature Chemical Stability of Plasma-Sprayed Ca05Sr05Zr4P6O24 Coatings on Nicalon/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composite and Ni-Based Superalloy Substrates

The potential application of Ca05Sr05Zr4P6O24 (CS50) as a corrosion-resistant coating material for Si-based ceramics and as a thermal barrier coating material for Ni-based superalloys was explored. A ∼200 (xm thick CS50 coating was prepared by air plasma spray with commercially available powder. A Nicalon/SiC ceramic matrix composite and a Ni-based superalloy coated with a ∼200 (xm thick metallic bond coat layer were used as substrate materials. Both the powder and coating contained ZrP2O7 as an impurity phase, and the coating was highly porous as-deposited. The coating deposited on the Nicalon/SiC substrate was chemically stable upon exposure to air and Na2SO4/O2 atmospheres at 1000°C for 100 h. In contrast, the coating sprayed onto the superalloy substrate significantly reacted with the bond coat surface after similar oxidation in air.     

Stress relaxation in the interface between creep particle and elastic matrix-strengthening mechanism

The effect of a power law creep particle on interface behavior between the particle and elastic matrix is investigated by stress analysis. Using the results obtained through the stress analysis, the forces due to interaction of an applied stress and stress concentration with an edge dislocation are determined. The direct interaction between the edge dislocation and the creeping particle is studied under fully relaxed stress conditions. Through the investigation the following results are derived. Stress relaxation in the interface can be caused by power law creep along or by diffusion, or a combination of both mechanisms. The degree of stress relaxation caused by diffusion can be defined in terms of the relaxation time for both boundary diffusion and volume diffusion. The amount of stress relaxation caused by the power law creep particle is characterized by the quantity ₂ which is a function of Γ₀ = 2(1/√3)^{1 + m} × (σ_∞/2μ)^m(σ₀/σ_∞t^m), where m is strain rate hardening exponent, σ_∞ is applied stress, μ is the shear modulus, σ₀ is the material constant of the power law creep particle, and t is elapsed time. The value ₂ = 1.0 corresponds to the fully relaxed condition and ₂ = −0.6 corresponds to the initial state. The time to reach a fully relaxed condition is very sensitive to the strain rate exponent, with the smaller m values leading to longer times. The stress state of complete relaxation in the elastic matrix is equivalent to the solution of a void in an elastic matrix superposed on the solution of positive surface traction on the void. This result is identical to that obtained by Srolovitz et al. [Acta. Metall.32, 1979 (1984)]. When the stress is completely relaxed in the particle, all stress components (σ_r, σ_θand σ_rθ) are relaxed, while in the matrix relaxations are observed only for σ_rand σ_θ. The critical resolved shear stress and critical stress to climb the dislocation in the neighborhood of the particle exceed the Orowan stress. Also, the particle attracts the dislocation. Therefore the strengthening of a power law creep particle in an elastic matrix is caused by the Orowan mechanism and by attraction of the dislocation.     

Neurotoxicity following the ingestion of a Chinese medicinal plant, Alocasia macrorrhiza

1. A case of poisoning due to the raw root tuber of a Chinese medicinal plant, Alocasia macrorrhiza is presented. 2. The patient developed neurological (severe pain and numbness in the perioral area and throat) and gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain) symptoms immediately after eating the root tuber. 3. A macrorrhiza has properties and morphology very similar to another medical plant. A. odora. The root tuber of the latter is known to contain a neurotoxin sapotoxin.     

Pore‐free mold‐pattern‐transfer method for barrier ribs of HD PDPs

Abstract— Among various barrier‐rib manufacturing processes, the mold‐pattern‐transfer method has potential to reduce processing cost as well as the manufacture of high‐resolution pixels. In this study, the effects of major processing variables of the mold‐pattern‐transfer process on the formation of air‐trapped pores within barrier ribs were examined. The results indicated that with an optimum combination of the processing variables, barrier ribs without trapped defects can be produced, demonstrating the possibility of reducing the number of processing steps and costs of barrier ribs.     

Development of a physics analysis procedure for the prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactors

A new physics analysis procedure has been developed for a prismatic very high temperature gas-cooled reactor based on a conventional two-step procedure for the PWR physics analysis. The HELIOS and MASTER codes were employed to generate the coarse group cross sections through a transport lattice calculation, and to perform the 3-dimensional core physics analysis by a nodal diffusion calculation, respectively. Physics analysis of the prismatic VHTRs involves particular modeling issues such as a double heterogeneity of the coated fuel particles, a neutron streaming in the coolant channels, a strong core-reflector interaction, and large spectrum shifts due to changes of the surrounding environment and state parameters. Double heterogeneity effect was considered by using a recently developed reactivity-equivalent physical transformation method. Neutron streaming effect was quantified through 3-dimensional Monte Carlo transport calculations by using the MCNP code. Strong core-reflector interaction could be handled by applying an equivalence theory to the generation of the reflector cross sections. The effects of a spectrum shift could be covered by optimizing the coarse energy group structure. A two-step analysis procedure was established for the prismatic VHTR physics analysis by combining all the methodologies described above. The applicability of our code system was tested against core benchmark problems. The results of these benchmark tests show that our code system is very accurate and practical for a prismatic VHTR physics analysis.     

Accelerating Refractive Rendering of Transparent Objects

In this paper, a technique is proposed for the rendering of transparent objects interactively using the method of refractive rendering. In the proposed technique, the refractive rendering algorithm is performed in two stages, namely the pre‐computation stage and the shading stage. In the pre‐computation stage, ray‐traced information, including directions and positions of rays, are generated by a ray tracing process and are stored in a set of ray lists. In the shading stage, these data are retrieved from the ray lists for computing the shading of an object. Using the proposed technique, photorealistic image of transparent objects and gemstones with various cuttings, material properties, lighting and background can be rendered interactively. By combining the refractive rendering technique with conventional shading techniques, jewelry and crystal designs can be rendered at a much higher speed comparing with conventional ray tracing techniques.     

Volumetric three‐dimensional up‐conversion display medium

Abstract— Several rare‐earth‐doped fluoride crystals that are excited to emit visible light by sequential two‐photon absorption have been investigated as display‐medium candidates for static volumetric three‐dimensional displays. Dispersion of powders of these materials in a refractive‐index‐matched polymer is reported because such a medium may result in a scalable display. The scattering problem in such a medium is greatly reduced by index‐matching the polymer to the crystalline particles. An index‐matching condition that optimizes the performance is identified.