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The neutron beam expansion program at the Bragg Institute
No full textThe Bragg Institute is operating the neutron scattering science facilities at the
Australian research reactor OPAL. The first set of seven neutron scattering instruments was
provided as part of the OPAL construction project which was completed in 2007. During the
period 2008 - 2013, the instrument suite was significantly expanded by a further seven
instruments. In addition to this, major investments were made to establish a world-class infrastructure for supporting these instruments, including new sample environments, 3He polarisers/analysers, additional neutron guides and a Be filter option for chemical
spectroscopy. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence
An Investigation of Residual Stress, Hardness, and Texture on Stress Corrosion Cracking in a Gas Pipeline
No full textStress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) may be a serious problem in gas pipelines. This work studies the hardness and residual stress profiles in two nominally identical sections of adjacent pipe with similar environment and coating, one of which was affected by detectable SCC and the other that was not. The results show changes in texture, residual stress, plastic strain, and hardness at the pipe surface which may be responsible for the altered susceptibility to SCC. © 2014, Trans Tech Publications
Magnetic phase transitions and entropy change in layered NdMn1.7Cr0.3Si2
No full textA giant magnetocaloric effect has been observed around the Curie temperature, TC ∼ 42 K, in NdMn1.7Cr0.3Si2 with no discernible thermal and magnetic hysteresis losses. Below 400 K, three magnetic phase transitions take place around 380 K, 320 K and 42 K. Detailed high resolution synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction (10–400 K) confirmed the magnetic transitions and phases as follows: TN intra ∼ 380 K denotes the transition from paramagnetism to intralayer antiferromagnetism (AFl), TN inter ∼ 320 K represents the transition from the AFl structure to the canted antiferromagnetic spin structure (AFmc), while TC ∼ 42 K denotes the first order magnetic transition from AFmc to canted ferromagnetism (Fmc + F(Nd)) due to ordering of the Mn and Nd sub-lattices. The maximum values of the magnetic entropy change and the adiabatic temperature change, around TC for a field change of 5 T are evaluated to be −ΔSM max ∼ 15.9 J kg−1 K−1 and ΔTad max ∼ 5 K, respectively. The first order magnetic transition associated with the low levels of hysteresis losses (thermal <∼0.8 K; magnetic field <∼0.1 T) in NdMn1.7Cr0.3Si2 offers potential as a candidate for magnetic refrigerator applications in the temperature region below 45 K. ©, AIP Publishing LLC
Hydrogen induced vacancy formation in tungsten
No full textAtomic scale modelling methods have been used to study the change in vacancy population when H is introduced into the W bulk matrix. Vacancy defects are predicted to dominate in pure W, and the vacancy concentration is expected to be very small. A mechanism whereby H solutes facilitate vacancy formation has been outlined and a single H interstitial is predicted to reduce the vacancy formation energy from 2.95 eV to 2.23 eV. Clustering of H interstitials in W is predicted to be unfavourable without a W vacancy. H has also been shown to affect the vacancy binding characteristics in W, changing the behaviour from a repelling interaction in pure W, retarding the formation of small vacancy clusters, to an attractive interaction when vacancy-H clusters are considered. The changes in defect behaviour predicted, will have observable implications to operational properties and the application of W in fusion reactor components. © 2014, Elsevier B.V
Photosensitive oxide semiconductors for solar hydrogen fuel and water disinfection
No full textHydrogen is expected to become a commonly used energy carrier on the global scale in the near future. However, hydrogen as a fuel is environmentally friendly only when generated from water using renewable energy, such as solar energy. Therefore, intensive research aims to develop a new generation of solar materials, which may be used for the production of hydrogen fuel from water using solar energy. The highly promising candidates for solar energy conversion are photosensitive oxide semiconductors (POSs), particularly the TiO2-based semiconductors, which may be used for converting solar energy into the chemical energy required for hydrogen generation from water, as well as water purification (removal of microbial agents and toxic contaminants from water). The present work considers an R&D strategy for developing TiO2-based systems capable of converting solar energy into the chemical energy via water oxidation. The effect of surface versus bulk semiconducting properties on the performance of POSs is considered in terms of partial and total water oxidation. The progress requires modification of the key performance-related properties (KPPs) in order to enhance the light-induced reactivity of the POSs with water. The most recent approach in the development of POSs with enhanced performance is deposition of metallic islets of different size and shape in order to induce a plasmonic effect. The development of high-performance POSs can be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach. It is shown that defect disorder has a critical effect on the light-induced reactivity of POSs and the solar energy conversion. Therefore, defect engineering may be applied in the development of high-performance POSs. This work considers the hurdles in the development of high-performance POSs for specific applications and formulates the key questions that must be addressed to overcome these hurdles. The concepts developed for TiO2 may be expanded for other metal oxides. © 2014, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and ASM International
Magnetic structure and magnetocalorics of GdPO 4
No full textThe magnetic ordering structure of GdPO 4 is determined at T=60 mK by the diffraction of hot neutrons with wavelength λ=0.4696 Å. It corresponds to a noncollinear antiferromagnetic arrangement of the Gd moments with propagation vector k=(1/2,0,1/2) . This arrangement is found to minimize the dipole-dipole interaction and the crystal-field anisotropy energy, the magnetic superexchange being much smaller. The intensity of the magnetic reflections decreases with increasing temperature and vanishes at T≈0.8 K, in agreement with the magnetic ordering temperature T N =0.77 K, as reported in previous works based on heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The magnetocaloric parameters have been determined from heat capacity data at constant applied fields up to 7 T, as well as from isothermal magnetization data. The magnetocaloric effect, for a field change ΔB=0−7T , reaches −ΔS T =375.8mJ/cm 3 K −1 at T=2.1 K, largely exceeding the maximum values reported to date for Gd-based magnetic refrigerants.© 2014, American Physical Society
A Validated Numerical Model for Residual Stress Predictions in an Eight-Pass-Welded Stainless Steel Plate
No full textWelding processes create a complex transient state of temperature that results in post-weld residual stresses. The current work presents a finite element (FE) analysis of the residual stress distribution in an eight-pass slot weld, conducted using a 316L austenitic stainless steel plate with 308L stainless steel filler metal. A thermal FE model is used to calibrate the transient thermal profile applied during the welding process. Time-resolved body heat flux data from this model is then used in a mechanical FE analysis to predict the resultant post-weld residual stress field. The mechanical analysis made use of the Lemaitre-Chaboche mixed isotropic-kinematic work-hardening model to accurately capture the constitutive response of the 316L weldment during the simulated multi-pass weld process, which results in an applied cyclic thermo-mechanical loading. The analysis is validated by contour method measurements performed on a representative weld specimen. Reasonable agreement between the predicted longitudinal residual stress field and contour measurement is observed, giving confidence in the results of measurements and FE weld model presented
Guanidine hydrochloride denaturation of dopamine-induced α-synuclein oligomers: A small-angle X-ray scattering study
No full textAlpha-synuclein (α-syn) forms the amyloid-containing Lewy bodies found in the brain in Parkinson's disease. The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) reacts with α-syn to form SDS-resistant soluble, non-amyloid, and melanin-containing oligomers. Their toxicity is debated, as is the nature of their structure and their relation to amyloid-forming conformers of α-syn. The small-angle X-ray scattering technique in combination with modeling by the ensemble optimization method showed that the un-reacted native protein populated three broad classes of conformer, while reaction with DA gave a restricted ensemble range suggesting that the rigid melanin molecule played an important part in their structure. We found that 6 M guanidine hydrochloride did not dissociate α-syn DA-reacted dimers and trimers, suggesting covalent linkages. The pathological significance of covalent association is that if they are non-toxic, the oligomers would act as a sink for toxic excess DA and α-syn; if toxic, their stability could enhance their toxicity. We argue it is essential, therefore, to resolve the question of whether they are toxic or not. © 2013,Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Deuterated Polymers for Probing Phase Separation Using Infrared Microspectroscopy
No full textInfrared (IR) microspectroscopy has the capacity to determine the extent of phase separation in polymer blends. However, a major limitation in the use of this technique has been its reliance on overlapping peaks in the IR spectra to differentiate between polymers of similar chemical compositions in blends. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of deuteration of one mixture component to separate infrared (IR) absorption bands and provide image contrast in phase separated materials. Deuteration of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) was achieved via microbial biosynthesis using deuterated substrates, and the characteristic C–D stretching vibrations provided distinct signals completely separated from the C–H signals of protonated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). Phase separation was observed in 50:50 (% w/w) blends as domains up to 100 μm through the film cross sections, consistent with earlier reports of phase separation observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of freeze-fractured protonated polymer blends. The presence of deuterated phases throughout the film suggests there is some miscibility at smaller length scales, which increased with increasing PHB content. These investigations indicate that biodeuteration combined with IR microspectroscopy represents a useful tool for mapping the phase behavior of polymer blends
Investigation of residual stresses distribution in titanium weldments
No full textTitanium and its alloys have increasingly become a material of choice for applications in high-performance structures due to their superior corrosion resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio. However, in contrast to conventional steel alloys, there exist little design and manufacturing experience in the heavy fabrication industry with large welded structures made of titanium materials. In addressing the above concern, the University of New Orleans funded by Office of Naval Research (ONR) initiated program on investigation of manufacturability and performance of a titanium mid-ship section. The uniqueness of this program is its focus upon a representative full-size mid-ship section upon which relevant scientific and technological challenges are simulated and experimentally validated. This paper reports the measurements of residual stresses using neutron diffraction in titanium T-joints. The residual stresses were measured using Engin-X at ISIS (UK) and the Kowari Strain Scanner at ANSTO (Australia). This experimental research was used to validate our in house predictions and significantly improved the knowledge and understanding of the welding process of titanium alloys