Mechanical and Structural Properties of Ion Implanted Yttria Stabiizeed Zirconia Ceramics

Single crystal yttria stabilized zirconia was implanted with 100 keV Ca+, Al+, and O2+ ions at fluences of 1015 to 6 × 1016 ions/cm2; . Blistering was observed at doses of 3 × 1016; O2;+ cm−2; and 6 × 1016; Al+ cm−2; but none was evident with Ca+. Knoop microhardness with a shallow indenter penetration depth peaked at a dose of 1016; ions/cm−2; for both Al+ and O2;+ but Ca+ produced no effect on microhardness. Vicker's microhardness with a much greater indenter penetration depth was not changed detectably by implantation but fracture toughness measurements from the same Vicker's indentations exhibited 10–23% increases at the highest O2+ doses and 20–25% increases at high Al+ doses. Annealing the highest implant doses at 1200° reduced the fracture toughness to pre-implant levels. Reflection electron diffraction showed that the surface had not been made amorphous by the 6 × 1016; Al+ dose as a well crystallized diffraction pattern was obtained.

Fabrication and Properties of Hollow Sphere Nickel Foams

A novel method of fabricating low-density hollow sphere metallic foam has been developed. Utilizing pre-existing technology, thin-wall, hollow oxide spheres, ∼ 2mm in diameter, were formed from powder slurries with a coaxial nozzle process. Oxide foams were constructed by bonding sintered spheres at points of contact and firing. The oxide foams were reduced to the metallic state in a hydrogen atmosphere. Successful precursor compositions for transformation included NiO, Cu2O, and NiO-Cu2O. After reduction, the metal foams were sintered to increase strength and resulting foam densities were generally 10–20% of theoretical density. Wall thickness of the spheres which constitute the foams ranged from 50–100 μ m. Nickel foams were crushed under uniaxial compressive stress, and mechanical properties (yield stress, elastic modulus, and energy absorption) were investigated under varying density in order to determine parametric relationships to compare to existing models of foam properties. The effects of sintering, reduction, and compressive deformation on the microstructures were examined with SEM and EDS.

Steel and Titanium Hollow Sphere Foams

Metal hollow sphere foams are fabricated by bonding millimeter sized metal alloy hollow spheres at points of contact. The spheres are formed as powder shells from slurries. For stainless steel spheres, the starting powder is a mixture of iron and chromium oxide. Thermal treatment in hydrogen reduces the oxides to Fe/Cr alloys with less than 2% porosity in sphere walls. The nominal composition is close to that of 405 stainless. Carburization in CO/CO2 atmosphere followed by heat treatment produces foams of either 410 or 420 type stainless steels depending on carbon content. Compressive stress-strain behavior was measured on point contact bonded stainless foams both before and after carburization. Hardness measurements on steel sphere walls were used to estimate the yield strength. Relative strengths of the foams were positioned between open and closed cell models. This was encouraging because bonding in the foams was less than optimum and the hollow sphere walls contained defects. As processing improves, strengths should increase. To produce titanium alloy spheres, the starting powder is titanium alloy hydride. Thermal treatment in an inert atmosphere decomposes the hydride and sinters the titanium powder in the sphere walls to greater than 96% relative density. Both titanium and Ti-6V-4V spheres and foams have been produced. Oxygen contents are a concern for titanium compositions and processing is being altered to reduce oxygen levels to increase ductility

Arctic Ocean sea ice drift origin derived from artificial radionuclides

Since the 1950s, nuclear weapon testing and releases from the nuclear industry have introduced anthropogenic radionuclides into the sea, and in many instances their ultimate fate are the bottom sediments. The Arctic Ocean is one of the most polluted in this respect, because, in addition to global fallout, it is impacted by regional fallout from nuclear weapon testing, and indirectly by releases from nuclear reprocessing facilities and nuclear accidents. Sea-ice formed in the shallow continental shelves incorporate sediments with variable concentrations of anthropogenic radionuclides that are transported through the Arctic Ocean and are finally released in the melting areas. In this work, we present the results of anthropogenic radionuclide analyses of sea-ice sediments (SIS) collected on five cruises from different Arctic regions and combine them with a database including prior measurements of these radionuclides in SIS. The distribution of (137)Cs and (239,240)Pu activities and the (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio in SIS showed geographical differences, in agreement with the two main sea ice drift patterns derived from the mean field of sea-ice motion, the Transpolar Drift and Beaufort Gyre, with the Fram Strait as the main ablation area. A direct comparison of data measured in SIS samples against those reported for the potential source regions permits identification of the regions from which sea ice incorporates sediments. The (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio in SIS may be used to discern the origin of sea ice from the Kara-Laptev Sea and the Alaskan shelf. However, if the (240)Pu/(239)Pu atom ratio is similar to global fallout, it does not provide a unique diagnostic indicator of the source area, and in such cases, the source of SIS can be constrained with a combination of the (137)Cs and (239,240)Pu activities. Therefore, these anthropogenic radionuclides can be used in many instances to determine the geographical source area of sea-ice.

Time-series sampling of 223Ra and 224Ra at the inlet to Great South Bay (New York): a strategy for characterizing the dominant terms in the Ra budget of the bay

Ra isotopes are a powerful tool for quantifying the flux of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into the sea. Previous studies of 223Ra and 224Ra mass balances in coastal embayments have shown that the Ra balance is dominated by supply via SGD, exchange with the open ocean and radioactive decay. The current study shows that a single time series over a tidal cycle at the principal inlet to Great South Bay (NY, US) is sufficient to determine the net flux of Ra across the inlet, and also can be used to estimate the decay of short-lived Ra in the bay. Estimates of the net Ra flux obtained from a single tidal time-series by using three different approaches agree with those determined from a more time-consuming survey of Ra within the bay, and may represent a first step of estimating SGD in bays and coastal lagoons.

Flow rates and reaction rates in the Galapagos Rise spreading center hydrothermal system as inferred from Ra/Ra in vesicomyid clam shells

The (228)Ra/(226)Ra ratios in a previously dated vesicomyid clam shell were used to determine that seawater was in contact with mid-oceanic-ridge basalt glass for 22-45 years prior to arrival to the surface at 350 degrees C at the Galapagos Rise Spreading Center. The minimum rate of reaction for the 45-year sojourn time, based on a water/rock ratio of 2.8 derived from (226)Ra concentrations, is 8 g of basalt altered per kg of seawater per year.

210Pb and 137Cs as chronometers for salt marsh accretion in the Venice Lagoon - links to flooding frequency and climate change

Five salt marsh sediment cores from different parts of the Venice Lagoon were studied to determine their depositional history and its relationship with the environmental changes occurred during the past approximately 100 years. X-radiographs of the cores show no disturbance related to particle mixing. Accretion rates were calculated using a constant flux model applied to excess (210)Pb distributions in the cores. The record of (137)Cs fluxes to the sites, determined from (137)Cs profiles and the (210)Pb chronologies, shows inputs from the global fallout of (137)Cs in the late 1950s to early 1960s and the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Average accretion rates in the cores are comparable to the long-term average rate of mean sea level rise in the Venice Lagoon ( approximately 0.25 cm y(-1)) except for a core collected in a marsh presumably affected by inputs from the Dese River. Short-term variations in accretion rate are correlated with the cumulative frequency of flooding, as determined by records of Acqua Alta, in four of the five cores, suggesting that variations in the phenomena causing flooding (such as wind patterns, storm frequency and NAO) are short-term driving forces for variations in marsh accretion rate.

Multitracer study of anthropogenic contamination records in the Camargue, Southern France

Contaminants are supplied to the coastal zone by the atmosphere, rivers and point sources like wastewaters or industrial area. Wetlands retain many of these contaminants and can be used to reconstruct sources and magnitudes of contaminant inputs. Radionuclides ((137)Cs, (210)Pb, (239)Pu and (240)Pu) and stable lead isotope ((206)Pb, (207)Pb) profiles were investigated in two cores collected in wetlands of the Rhône River delta, south of France (Camargue), to estimate the recent sediment accumulation rates and reconstruct the deposition of pollutants during the last century. One site was affected by storm or flood deposition from the Rhône river and showed the influence of Marcoule reprocessing plant releases on the plutonium isotopic ratios. The other site appears suitable for the reconstruction, even if mixing is evidenced at the surface by the radionuclides profiles. Plutonium isotopic ratios are characteristic of global fallout and the (210)Pb inventory of 4240 Bq m(-2) is approximately 30% higher than atmospheric deposit estimation. The pollutant lead inventory is 139 microg cm(-2), slightly higher than previous estimation from direct fallout. This difference can be partly due to an over-collection at this site (due to canopy cover) but also to variations with time in the deposition.

234Th and 7Be as tracers for transport and sources of particle-associated contaminants in the Hudson River Estuary

The natural radionuclides 234Th and 7Be have known sources in estuaries and strongly and rapidly associate with particles. They are thus good tracers of the transport and sources of particles in the suspended sediment reservoir, and, by implication, of particle-associated contaminants such as heavy metals. In the Hudson River estuary, 234Th is produced from decay of dissolved 238U, which varies linearly with salinity, while 7Be is added directly to the estuary from the atmosphere. The 234Th/7Be activity ratio eliminates variations in radionuclide specific activities that result from changes in sediment grain size or composition. Sampling in the Hudson under conditions of low and high river flow shows that 234Th/7Be in suspended sediment increases from low salinity to higher salinity waters at all sampling times. The Th/Be activity ratio may thus be used as a tracer of where particles are labeled with these radionuclides in the estuary and of the relative importance of resuspension and particle transport through the estuary. The distribution of heavy metals in the suspended sediment reservoir can be compared with that of 234Th/7Be by normalizing the metals to Fe. Iron and Al are well correlated in suspended sediments of the Hudson, indicating that either element can be used to normalize grain size effects on specific concentrations of metals. Ratios of Ag and Pb to Fe in suspended particles generally increase down-estuary at all sampling times, whereas Cu, Zn and Cd-to-Fe ratios show more scatter and less consistency in trends. Both source(s) and chemical behavior affect the metal/Fe ratios. The strongest positive correlation with 234Th/7Be is seen for Ag/Fe, reflecting the dominance of lower estuary sources of this trace metal to the Hudson. Relationships between Pb/Fe, Cu/Fe and 234Th/7Be are less strong, reflecting multiple sources of these elements. No correlation is seen for Cd/Fe with 234Th/7Be, indicating either a source up-river or release of Cd as its Kd decreases with increasing salinity.

Growth Rate of a Vesicomyid Clam from the Galapagos Spreading Center

The shell of a 19-centimeter-long vesicomyid clam, collected live at the Galápagos spreading center hydrothermal field, was sampled along growth lines and analyzed for members of the (238)U and (232)Th decay series. The growth rate, determined from the (210)Po/(210)Pb and (228)Th/(228)Ra couples, is about 4 centimeters per year along the axis of maximum growth, which is 12 centimeters long. This yields an age of 3 to 4 years for this clam.

Slow growth rate of a deep-sea clam determined by 228Ra chronology

The age of a deep-sea clam, Tindaria callistiformis, from 3803 m depth has been determined by 228Ra (6.7 year half-life) chronology of separated size fractions of a captured population. A length of 8.4 mm is attained in about 100 years. Shells of this size fraction show about 100 regularly spaced bands, indicating that the growth feature may be an annual one.