High-Yield High-Efficiency Positron Generation in High-Z Metal Targets Irradiated by Laser Produced Electrons from Near-Critical Density Plasmas

An improved indirect scheme for laser positron generation is proposed. The positron yields in high-ZZ metal targets irradiated by laser produced electrons from near-critical density plasmas and underdense plasma are investigated numerically. It is found that the positron yield is mainly affected by the number of electrons of energies up to several hundreds of MeV. Using near-critical density targets for electron acceleration, the number of high energy electrons can be increased dramatically. Through start-to-end simulations, it is shown that up to 6.78×10106.78×1010 positrons can be generated with state-of-the-art Joule-class femtosecond laser systems.

Mechanical properties of irradiated multi-phase polycrystalline BCC materials

Structure materials under severe irradiations in nuclear environments are known to degrade because of irradiation hardening and loss of ductility,resulting from irradiation-induced defects such as vacancies,interstitials and dislocation loops,etc.In this paper,we develop an elastic-viscoplastic model for irradiated multi-phase polycrystalline BCC materials in which the mechanical behaviors of individual grains and polycrystalline aggregates are both explored.At the microscopic grain scale,we use the internal variable model and propose a new tensorial damage descriptor to represent the geometry character of the defect loop,which facilitates the analysis of the defect loop evolutions and dislocation-defect interactions.At the macroscopic polycrystal scale,the self-consistent scheme is extended to consider the multiphase problem and used to bridge the individual grain behavior to polycrystal properties.Based on the proposed model,we found that the work-hardening coefficient decreases with the increase of irradiation-induced defect loops,and the orientation/loading dependence of mechanical properties is mainly attributed to the different Schmid factors.At the polycrystalline scale,numerical results for pure Fe match well with the irradiation experiment data.The model is further extended to predict the hardening effect of dispersoids in oxide-dispersed strengthened steels by the considering the Orowan bowing.The influences of grain size and irradiation are found to compete to dominate the strengthening behaviors of materials.

Multiscale frictional behaviors of sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films with different ion irradiation densities

sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films with large nanocrystallite sizes,smooth surfaces,and relative high hardness were prepared with different ion irradiation densities regulated with the substrate magnetic coil current in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering system.Their multiscale frictional behaviors were investigated with macro pin‐on‐disk tribo‐tests and micro nanoscratch tests.The results revealed that,at an ion irradiation density of 16 mA/cm^(2),sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon film exhibits the lowest friction coefficient and good wear resistant properties at both the macroscale and microscale.The film sliding against a Si_(3)N_(4) ball under a contact pressure of 0.57 GPa exhibited a low friction coefficient of 0.09 and a long wear life at the macroscale.Furthermore,the film sliding against a diamond tip under a contact pressure of 4.9 GPa exhibited a stable low friction coefficient of 0.08 with a shallow scratch depth at the microscale.It is suggested that sp^(2) nanocrystallites affect the frictional behaviors in the cases described differently.At the macroscale,the contact interface via the small real contact area and the sp^(2) nanocrystallited transfer layer dominated the frictional behavior,while the sp^(2) nanocrystallited structure in the film with low shear strength and high plastic resistivity,as well as the smooth surface morphology,decided the steady low nanoscratch properties at the microscale.These findings expand multiscale tribological applications of sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films.

Enhancement of ultrasonic disintegration of sewage sludge by aeration

Sonication is an effective way for sludge disintegration,which can significantly improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion to reduce and recycle use of sludge.But high energy consumption limits the wide application of sonication.In order to improve ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency and reduce energy consumption,aeration was introduced.Results showed that sludge disintegration efficiency was improved significantly by combining aeration with ultrasound.The aeration flow rate,gas bubble size,ultrasonic density and aeration timing had impacts on sludge disintegration efficiency.Aeration that used in later stage of ultrasonic irradiation with low aeration flow rate,small gas bubbles significantly improved ultrasonic disintegration sludge efficiency.At the optimal conditions of 0.4 W/m L ultrasonic irradiation density,30 m L/min of aeration flow rate,5 min of aeration in later stage and small gas bubbles,ultrasonic sludge disintegration efficiency was increased by 45% and one third of ultrasonic energy was saved.This approach will greatly benefit the application of ultrasonic sludge disintegration and strongly promote the treatment and recycle of wastewater sludge.