Sensitivity of the area method with mono isotopic fission chambers to reactivity changes in subcritical nuclear reactors

High-level waste is an important safety issue in the development of nuclear power.A proposed solution is the transmutation of waste in fast reactors.The exclusion of the risk of supercriticality by using subcritical reactors is currently under development.Controlling the subcriticality level in such reactors presents difficulties.A problem is posed by the so-called space effect observed when using in reactors many neutron detectors in different locations of the core and reflector.Reactivity obtained from measure-ments,for example,by the Sjo¨strand method,differs by nonnegligible values.Numerical corrections can partially improve this situation.The use of a monoisotopic fission chamber set,designed for a given reactor,when each chamber is intended for a specific position in the system,can improve the situation.A question arises about the sensitivity of the results to reactivity changes.This issue is analyzed by computer simulation for possible fissionable and fissile nuclides for the total range of control rod insertion,changes in reactor fuel enrichment,and fuel temperature.The tested sensitivity was satisfactory at most levels from several dozen to several hundred pcm.A case study was conducted using the VENUS-F core model.

Yield and tillering response of super hybrid rice Liangyoupeijiu to tillage and establishment methods

Tillering is an important agronomic trait for rice grain production. To evaluate yield and tillering response, Liangyoupeijiu(super hybrid rice) was grown in Hunan, China during 2011–2012 under different methods of tillage(conventional and no-tillage system) and crop establishment methods(transplanting at a spacing of 20 cm × 20 cm with one seedling per hill and direct seeding at a seeding rate of 22.5 kg ha-1). Our results revealed that, at maximum tillering(Max.) and at maturity(MA) stages, direct seeding(DS) resulted in 22% more tillers than transplanting(TP) irrespective of tillage system. Tiller mortality reached a peak between panicle initiation(PI) and booting(BT) stages, and was 16% higher under conventional tillage(CT) than under no-tillage(NT). Transplanting required 29% more time for the completion of tillering and less for DS. Tillering rate was 43% higher in DS than TP under either CT or NT. There was a positive correlation between panicle number per m2and maximum tiller number per m2, but not panicle-bearing tiller rate. The panicle bearing tiller rate was higher under DS than TP and higher under NT than CT. Tiller dry weight gradually increased up to heading(HD) stage, and was 14% higher under TP than DS. Leaf area(cm2tiller-1) gradually increased from Max. to HD stage and then decreased by 34% in conventional tillage transplanting(CTTP) and 45% in no-tillage transplanting(NTTP) from 12DAH–24DAH(days after heading), but was similar(35%) under DS under either CT or NT. Grain yield was higher under CTTP owing to the larger sink size(heavier panicle, more spikelets in per cm length of panicle) than under DS.

Resonance in flow past oscillating cylinder under subcritical conditions

Flow around an oscillating cylinder in a subcritical region are numerically studied with a lattice Boltzmann method(LBM). The effects of the Reynolds number,oscillation amplitude and frequency on the vortex wake modes and hydrodynamics forces on the cylinder surface are systematically investigated. Special attention is paid to the phenomenon of resonance induced by the cylinder oscillation. The results demonstrate that vortex shedding can be excited extensively under subcritical conditions, and the response region of vibration frequency broadens with increasing Reynolds number and oscillation amplitude. Two distinct types of vortex shedding regimes are observed. The first type of vortex shedding regime(VSR I) is excited at low frequencies close to the intrinsic frequency of flow, and the second type of vortex shedding regime(VSR II)occurs at high frequencies with the Reynolds number close to the critical value. In the VSR I, a pair of alternately rotating vortices are shed in the wake per oscillation cycle,and lock-in/synchronization occurs, while in the VSR II, two alternately rotating vortices are shed for several oscillation cycles, and the vortex shedding frequency is close to that of a stationary cylinder under the critical condition. The excitation mechanisms of the two types of vortex shedding modes are analyzed separately.

Investigation on the biodegradation levels of super heavy oils by parameter-striping method and refined Manco scale: a case study from the Chepaizi Uplift of Junggar Basin

The Carboniferous volcanic reservoir in the Chepaizi Uplift became an exploration hot target in recent years for its substantial amount of oils discovered. However, most of the Carboniferous heavy oils were biodegraded to PM7 or higher with orders of magnitude variation in oil viscosities. Two oil groups (I and II) exactly corresponding to the western and eastern Chepaizi Uplift were distinguished according to their source diagnose. Furthermore, three oil families (II1, II2 and II3), with the biodegradation level of PM7, PM8–8+, PM9+, respectively, were classified based on molecular compositions and parameter-stripping method of strongly bioresistant parameters. Allowing for this extremely high biodegradation case, more biodegradation refractory compound class were added to establish a refined Manco scale to quantitatively evaluate the biodegradation extent. Refined Manco number (RMN2) positively correlated with the oil density, NSO contents, and absolute concentrations of diasteranes and gammacerane, negatively correlated with the absolute concentrations of diahopane, summed tricyclic terpanes and pentacyclic terpanes. This refined scale showed higher resolution than the PM one to differentiate the biodegradation extent of Carboniferous heavy oils from the Chepaizi Uplift, especially those with same PM values but different oil viscosities.

Testing study of subcritical crack growth rate and fracture toughness in different rocks

Subcritical crack growth of double torsion specimens made of ore, lherzolite, marble and granite was studied using Instron1342 type electro hydraulic servo test machine. The relations of the mode-I stress intensity factor KI versus the subcritical crack growth velocity v and the fracture toughness KIC were obtained by the double torsion constant displacement load relaxation method. The behavior of subcritical crack growth was analyzed for different rocks. The results show that lgKI—lgv relations of four kinds of rocks measured by this method accord with linear rule, i.e. the relations between subcritical crack growth velocity and stress intensity factor have a power law, which is in good agreement with CHARLES theory. lgKI—lgv curves move to top left corner with the decrease of the elastic modulus, which implies that the subcritical crack growth velocity speeds up. The maximum subcritical crack growth velocity exhibits negative exponential increase, and mode-I fracture toughness KIC decreases with the decrease of elastic modulus. The testing results provide a basis for time-dependence of rock engineering stability.

Mechanism study on subcritical crack growth of flabby and intricate ore rock

Double torsion specimens were applied to study the subcritical crack growth of flabby and intricate ore in Jinchuan Ⅲ Mine. The relation between the subcritical crack velocity v and the stress intensity factor KI is obtained, and the fracture toughness KIC and the lower limit of stress corrosion K0 are determined respectively. The results of test show that the curves of lgKI—lgv and KI—lgv can be well linear, and the high discretion of data are caused by mineral composition, particle size and mechanical property of rock itself. In addition, the subcritical crack growth with stress corrosion of the ore is caused by the united function of two mechanisms, one is the tensile stress and the other is the material at the crack tip. Chemical reaction takes place between the materials and the corrosion medium in the environment and makes the chemical bond break. So, the obtained results provide reliable references for predicting the block caving velocity of the ore in Jinchuan Ⅲ Mine under high horizontal stress condition.

Eigen solutions of internal waves over subcritical topography

Diapycnal mixing plays an important role in the ocean circulation.Internal waves are a kind of bridge relating the diapycnal mixing to external sources of mechanical energy.Difficulty in obtaining eigen solutions of internal waves over curved topography is a limitation for further theoretical study on the generation problem and scattering process.In this study,a kind of transform method is put forward to derive the eigen solutions of internal waves over subcritical topography in twodimensional and linear framework.The transform converts the curved topography in physical space to flat bottom in transform space while the governing equation of internal waves is still hyperbolic if proper transform function is selected.Thus,one can obtain eigen solutions of internal waves in the transform space.Several examples of transform functions,which convert the linear slope,the convex slope,and the concave slope to flat bottom,and the corresponding eigen solutions are illustrated.A method,using a polynomial to approximate the transform function and least squares method to estimate the undetermined coefficients in the polynomial,is introduced to calculate the approximate expression of the transform function for the given subcritical topography.

A New Rational-based Optimal Design Strategy of Ship Structure Based on Multi-level Analysis and Super-element Modeling Method

A new multi-level analysis method of introducing the super-element modeling method, derived from the multi-level analysis method first proposed by O. F. Hughes, has been proposed in this paper to solve the problem of high time cost in adopting a rational-based optimal design method for ship structural design. Furthermore,the method was verified by its effective application in optimization of the mid-ship section of a container ship. A full 3-D FEM model of a ship,suffering static and quasi-static loads, was used as the analyzing object for evaluating the structural performance of the mid-ship module, including static strength and buckling performance. Research results reveal that this new method could substantially reduce the computational cost of the rational-based optimization problem without decreasing its accuracy, which increases the feasibility and economic efficiency of using a rational-based optimal design method in ship structural design.

REDUCTIVE PERTURBATION METHOD OF SUPER KdV EQUATIONS

By using reductive perturbation method, super KdV equations are changed into ordinary KdV equations, small amplitude perturbation solutions are obtained.

Solving ground eigenvalue and eigenfunction of spheroidal wave equation at low frequency by supersymmetric quantum mechanics method

The spheroidal wave functions are found to have extensive applications in many branches of physics and mathematics. We use the perturbation method in supersymmetric quantum mechanics to obtain the analytic ground eigenvalue and the ground eigenfunction of the angular spheroidal wave equation at low frequency in a series form. Using this approach, the numerical determinations of the ground eigenvalue and the ground eigenfunction for small complex frequencies are also obtained.

Buckling analysis of super-long rock-socketed filling piles in soft soil area by element free Galerkin method

In order to discuss the buckling stability of super-long rock-socketed filling piles widely used in bridge engineering in soft soil area such as Dongting Lake, the second stability type was adopted instead of traditional first type, and a newly invented numerical analysis method, i.e. the element-free Galerkin method (EFGM), was introduced to consider the non-concordant deformation and nonlinearity of the pile-soil interface. Then, based on the nonlinear elastic-ideal plastic pile-soil interface model, a nonlinear iterative algorithm was given to analyze the pile-soil interaction, and a program for buckling analysis of piles by the EFGM (PBAP-EFGM) and arc length method was worked out as well. The application results in an engineering example show that, the shape of pile top load-settlement curve obtained by the program agrees well with the measured one, of which the difference may be caused mainly by those uncertain factors such as possible initial defects of pile shaft and the eccentric loading during the test process. However, the calculated critical load is very close with the measured ultimate load of the test pile, and the corresponding relative error is only 5.6%, far better than the calculated values by linear and nonlinear incremental buckling analysis (with a greater relative error of 37.0% and 15.4% respectively), which also verifies the rationality and feasibility of the present method.

COMPUTATION OF SUPER-CONVERGENT NODAL STRESSES OF TIMOSHENKO BEAM ELEMENTS BY EEP METHOD

The newly proposed element energy projection(EEP) method has been applied to the computation of super_convergent nodal stresses of Timoshenko beam elements.General formulas based on element projection theorem were derived and illustrative numerical examples using two typical elements were given.Both the analysis and examples show that EEP method also works very well for the problems with vector function solutions.The EEP method gives super_convergent nodal stresses,which are well comparable to the nodal displacements in terms of both convergence rate and error magnitude.And in addition,it can overcome the “shear locking” difficulty for stresses even when the displacements are badly affected.This research paves the way for application of the EEP method to general one_dimensional systems of ordinary differential equations.

Self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method based on EEP method with optimal super-convergence order

Based on the newly-developed element energy projection （EEP） method with optimal super-convergence order for computation of super-convergent results, an improved self-adaptive strategy for one-dimensional finite element method （FEM） is proposed. In the strategy, a posteriori errors are estimated by comparing FEM solutions to EEP super-convergent solutions with optimal order of super-convergence, meshes are refined by using the error-averaging method. Quasi-FEM solutions are used to replace the true FEM solutions in the adaptive process. This strategy has been found to be simple, clear, efficient and reliable. For most problems, only one adaptive step is needed to produce the required FEM solutions which pointwise satisfy the user specified error tolerances in the max-norm. Taking the elliptical ordinary differential equation of the second order as the model problem, this paper describes the fundamental idea, implementation strategy and computational algorithm and representative numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach.

New WKB method in supersymmetry quantum mechanics

In this paper, we combine the perturbation method in supersymmetric quantum mechanics with the WKB method to restudy an angular equation coming from the wave equations for a Sehwarzschild black hole with a straight string passing through it. This angular equation serves as a naive model for our investigation of the combination of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and the WKB method, and will provide valuable insight for our further study of the WKB approximation in real problems, like the one in spheroidal equations, etc.

Steffensen-Type Method of Super Third-Order Convergence for Solving Nonlinear Equations

In this paper, a one-step Steffensen-type method with super-cubic convergence for solving nonlinear equations is suggested. The convergence order 3.383 is proved theoretically and demonstrated numerically. This super-cubic convergence is obtained by self-accelerating second-order Steffensen’s method twice with memory, but without any new function evaluations. The proposed method is very efficient and convenient, since it is still a derivative-free two-point method. Its theoretical results and high computational efficiency is confirmed by Numerical examples.

A Modified Four Path Method for Calculating Coupling Field of Super-Low Altitude Aircraft Target

A novel modified four path method (FPM) is presented for calculating coupling field of super-low altitude aircraft target. Based on the hybrid method PO + MEC (Physical Optics and Method of Equivalent Currents), the antenna radiation pattern is introduced to consider the multipath interference from side lobe of seeker. The modified FPM is used to calculate the coupling field from super-low altitude aircraft target above different terrestrial environments. The curves of scattering coefficient are analyzed. The influences of height of target, root mean square (RMS), and incident angle on coupling field characteristics are discussed. The simulation results can be used for reference in detection for super-low altitude target and optimization for radar system.

甘蔗渣/膨润土基复合高吸水性树脂性能及应用研究

采用微波法,以蔗渣和膨润土为基质,与丙烯酸(AA)和丙烯酰胺(AM)共聚合成甘蔗渣/膨润土复合高吸水性树脂(B/BCSAR)。选取辐射时间、膨润土用量、AM/AA(质量比)及中和度四个因素,利用正交试验得到树脂的最佳制备条件,即AM/AA=0.5,中和度为60%,膨润土用量为6%,辐射时间为3min时,产品的吸水倍数和吸盐水倍数最大,分别为402.65g/g和86.14g/g。通过对B/BCSAR性能研究,结果表明,B/BCSAR吸附速率先快后慢,8h时吸水倍数最大,达到吸附平衡,且保水能力良好,有一定的机械强度,耐热耐寒及耐光照性能良好。B/BCSAR应用实验结果表明,作为土壤掺杂剂,当B/BCSAR的掺杂量为4g时,应用效果最好,发芽率达到80%,平均茎长为6.13cm;作为种子包衣剂,当包衣比为1∶30时,应用效果最好,发芽率为100%,平均茎长为7.58cm。二者相比,后者对植物发芽及前期生长更有利。

响应面法优化亚临界水提取艾草总黄酮的工艺研究

借助于响应面法探究亚临界水提取艾草总黄酮的最佳工艺条件。在考察提取温度、提取时间、液料比以及磁力搅拌转速等单因素条件对艾草总黄酮提取率影响的基础上,用Design Expert软件对提取工艺进一步优化,建立亚临界水提取艾草总黄酮的多元二次回归方程,通过拟合回归分析得到最佳提取工艺条件为:提取温度127.3℃、提取时间20.8 min、液料比87.7∶1 mL/g,艾草总黄酮提取率的预测值15.28%与验证值基本吻合,说明该模型具有一定的可行性,能够较好的预测艾草黄酮的提取率。采用红外光谱及液相色谱-质谱联用技术对艾草总黄酮进行结构表征,通过综合分析,推测艾草总黄酮中可能含有大豆素。该提取工艺简单可靠,经济环保,可为黄酮类物质的提取提供一种可参考的方法。

船舶超大空间火灾环境下人员疏散模型

针对船舶超大空间火灾对人员疏散能力的影响难以量化问题,本文基于元胞自动机理论,构建了一种行人个体自主分析火灾环境下温度和能见度影响的疏散模型(cellular automata model considering visibility and temperature, CAVT)。CAVT模型采用Sigmoid函数和历史实验数据建立温度、能见度与人员运动能力的映射关系,基于FDS数值模拟结果建立火灾环境场对人员个体运动能力影响的时空耦合关系,使用熵值法计算温度场和能见度场在火灾环境场中的权重。以某客船超大空间为例开展研究分析,结果表明:火灾环境下人员疏散时间受火源功率影响较大,火源位置影响较小,出口宽度大于3 m,不影响疏散效率。与Pathfinder软件相比,CAVT模型可更准确模拟人员因高温和低能见度导致的运动能力的动态下降反馈。

AHP-改进物元法在整体钢平台顶升模架体系安全风险评估中的应用

针对整体钢平台顶升模架体系施工安全性的灰色特征,经实地调研及专家评审,建立了整体钢平台顶升模架体系的安全风险评估模型。首先,考虑人员、设备、环境、管理及技术5个方面,选取19个指标构建安全风险评估指标体系;其次,采用层次分析法计算各指标权重,基于改进物元法确定各指标的风险等级,然后将两者向量相乘,以最大隶属度原则确定整体钢平台顶升模架体系的安全风险等级;最后,将所建立的基于层次分析法(Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP)-改进物元法的安全风险评估模型应用到某超高层工程实例中,并将评估结果与实际施工情况对比分析。研究表明,该评估模型的计算结果合理且准确可靠,可为超高层整体钢平台顶升模架体系的安全管理提供参考。