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This paper presents experimental and numerical results of butt friction stir welding of high density polyethylene. The FSW designed tool insulates the welded samples and preserves the heat gained from friction thus avoiding the appearance of blisters and splits after welding. The experimental tests, conducted according to combinations of process factors such as rotation speed, welding speed, pin diameter and hold time at beginning welding, were carried out according the Taguchi orthogonal table L27 in randomized way. Temperatures in the joint during the welding operation and flow stresses from the tensile tests of welded samples were measured and variances were analyzed. Identified models were used to simulate, by finite elements, the tensile tests performed on specimens having a weld cordon in their active area. The results show coherence between the numerical predictions and experimental observations in different cases of weld cordon mechanical behaviour.

This paper presents the results of the Power To Melt and Maneuverability (P2M) Simulation Exercise on past fuel melting irradiation experiments, organized within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency Framework for IrraDiation ExperimentS (FIDES) framework by the Core Group (CEA, EDF, and SCK‧CEN) and open to all FIDES members. The exercise consisted in simulating two past power ramps where fuel melting was detected: (1) the xM3 staircase power transient [ramp terminal level (RTL) 70 kW‧m−1, average burnup 27 GWd‧tU−1], carried out in 2005 in the R2 reactor at Studsvik (Sweden), where the rodlet maintained its integrity, and (2) the HBC4 fast power transient (RTL 66 kW‧m−1, average burnup 48 GWd‧tU−1), carried out in 1987 in the BR2 reactor at SCK‧CEN (Belgium), where the cladding failed during the experiment. The exercise was joined by 13 organizations from 9 countries using 11 different fuel performance codes. In this paper, the main results of the Simulation Exercise are presented and compared to available postirradiation examinations (PIE) or on-line measurements during the power ramps (fuel and clad diameters, rod elongation, pellet-clad gap, and fission gas release). Since the focus of the Simulation Exercise is on fuel melting assessment, determination of the boundary between melted/nonmelted fuel and the consequent definition of a melting radius from PIE are first discussed. During the HBC4 ramp, fuel melting was predicted by most of the codes despite differences in the melting models. Higher discrepancies were observed for the xM3 rod that can be attributed partly to power uncertainty and partly to the limited capability of the models to describe partial melting of the fuel during this ramp. Finally, possible code developments to improve simulation results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties of soot have been studied for many years with a particular attention focused on refractive index. In the present study, the two-excitation wavelength laser-induced incandescence technique has been applied to determine the ratio of the soot absorption function as a function of the wavelength. The advantage of this technique is to provide the determination of the E( m) ratio using a non-intrusive laser-based method without being disturbed by scattering. Measurements have been carried out in a methane premixed flat flame and in a diesel turbulent spray one. Four pairs of wavelength have been used to evaluate the spectral behavior of E( m) ratios from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR). The two-excitation wavelength LII method implies heating soot the same way using two different laser excitations. Particular operating conditions must be selected to insure the equality of the LII signals, such an equality being necessary to derive the E( m) ratio. A laser excitation at 1064 nm has been chosen as a reference, and the obtained results have been compared with those issued from the use of UV and visible wavelengths of 266, 355, 532 and 660 nm. Results show a significant decrease of the E( m) ratio from UV to visible while it tends to become constant from 532 nm to NIR. The use of different experimental conditions allows to analyze the dependence of the E( m) ratios with the height above the burner, the fuel type and the soot temperature. No significant influence of these parameters has been pointed out on the relative E( m) values determined in the flame conditions investigated here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal changes in biochemical composition of the edible bivalve Arca noae harvested from a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Bizerte lagoon, Tunisia) were investigated from October 2013 to September 2014. Potential food sources and nutritional quality indices (NQI) were determined by analyzing the fatty acid profiles of their tissues during an annual reproductive cycle. Results showed that A. noae had moisture (73.8–82%) and protein (24.1–58.6% dry weight) as major components, followed by lipid (10.4–28.8% dry weight) and glycogen (4.05–14.6% dry weight). A. noae accumulated lipid and glycogen for gonadal development during both maturation periods (late autumn/late spring–summer) to be used during spawning periods (winter/late summer–early autumn). However, proteins were mainly used to support reproductive allocation and played an important role on the energetic maintenance. Lipid and glycogen were found to be significantly related to temperature, salinity and chlorophyll a (p

Abstract: Americium is a strong contributor to the long term radiotoxicity of high activity nuclear waste. Transmutation by irradiation in nuclear reactors of long-lived nuclides like 241Am is, therefore, an option for the reduction of radiotoxicity and residual power packages as well as the repository area. The MARIOS irradiation experiment is the latest of a series of experiments on americium transmutation (e.g. EFTTRA-T4, EFTTRA-T4bis, HELIOS). MARIOS experiment is carried out in the framework of the 4-year project FAIRFUELS of the EURATOM 7th Framework Programme (FP7). During the past years of experimental work in the field of transmutation and tests of innovative nuclear fuel containing americium, the release or trapping of helium as well as swelling has shown to be the key issue for the design of such kinds of target. Therefore, the main objective of the MARIOS experiment is to study the in-pile behaviour of UO2 containing minor actinides (MAs) in order to gain knowledge on the role of the microstructure and of the temperature on the gas release and on fuel swelling. The MARIOS experiment will be conducted in the HFR (high flux reactor) in Petten (The Netherlands) and will start in the beginning of 2011. It has been planned that the experiment will last 11 cycles, corresponding to 11 months. This paper covers the description of the objective of the experiment, as well as a general description of the design of the experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Strong anharmonic coupling between vibrational states in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) produces highly mixed vibrational transitions that challenge the current understanding of the nature of the astronomical mid-infrared PAH emission bands. Traditionally, PAH emission bands have been characterized as either aromatic or aliphatic, and this assignment is used to determine the fraction of aliphatic carbon in astronomical sources. In reality, each of the transitions previously utilized for such an attribution is highly mixed with contributions from both aliphatic and aromatic CH motions as well as non-CH motions such as CC stretches. High-resolution gas-phase IR absorption measurements of the spectra of the aromatic molecules indene and 2-ethynyltoluene at the Canadian Light Source combined with high-level anharmonic quantum chemical computations reveal the complex nature of these transitions, implying that the use of these features as a marker for the aliphatic fraction in astronomical sources is not uniquely true or actually predictive. Further, the presence of aliphatic, aromatic, and ethynyl CH groups in 2-ethynyltoluene provides an internally consistent opportunity to simultaneously study the spectroscopy of all three astronomically important groups. Finally, this study makes an explicit connection between fundamental quantum mechanical principles and macroscopic astronomical chemical physics, an important link necessary to untangle the lifecycle of stellar and planetary systems., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.)