Degradation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in a multiphase mixed system by subaquatic gas-liquid discharge plasma

In recent years, antibiotic pollution has become a serious threat to human health. In this study, a gas-liquid discharge plasma is developed to degrade ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in a multiphase mixed system containing inorganic and organic impurities. The discharge characteristics are analyzed by diagnosing the applied voltage and discharge current waveforms, as well as the optical emission spectra. The work investigates how degradation efficiency is affected by applied voltage, gas flow rate, treatment time, initial concentration as well as the addition of γ-Al_(2)O_(3) pellets and peanut straw. After 70 min, the degradation efficiency of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride in the multiphase mixed system reached 99.6%. Its removal efficiency increases as the initial concentration decreases and the applied voltage increases. Besides, there is still a good degradation efficiency of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride with the addition of peanut straw.The degradation mechanism of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride is investigated through the analysis of degraded intermediates and reactive species.

Diagnostics of First Wall Materials in a Magnetically Confined Fusion Device by Polarization-Resolved Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） is a powerful analytical tool for real- time diagnostics and detection of multiple elements deposited at the first wall of magnetically confined plasma ft^sion devices. Recently, we have tested LIBS in our laboratory for application to in situ real-time diagnostics in the fusion device EAST. In this study, we applied polarization- resolved LIBS （PR-LIBS） to reduce the background continuum and enhance the resolution and sensitivity of LIBS. We used aluminium （A1） （as a substitute for Be） and the first wall materials tungsten （W） and molybdenum （Mo） to investigate polarized continuum emission and signal-to- background ratio （SBR）. A Nd：YAG laser with first, second and third harmonics was used to produce plasma. The effects of the laser polarization plane, environmental pressure and polarizer detection angle were investigated. The spectra obtained without using a polarizer （i.e. LIBS） were compared with those obtained with a polarizer （PR-LIBS）. Distribution of emission spectral intensity was observed to follow Malus＇ law with respect to variation in the angle of detection of the polarizer. The spectra obtained by PR-LIBS had a higher SBR and greater stability than those obtained by LIBS, thereby enhancing the reliability of LIBS for quantitative analyses. A comparison of A1, Mo and W showed that W exhibited a higher continuum with stronger polarization than the low-Z elements.

Effect of Nb additions on microstructure and properties of γ-TiAl based alloys fabricated by selective laser melting

The γ-TiAl based Ti.Al.Mn.Nb alloys with different Nb additions were fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) on the TC4 substrate. The effects of Nb content on microstructure and properties of the alloys were investigated. The results reveal that the alloys consist of γ-TiAl phase with tetragonal lattice structure and α2-Ti3Al phase with hcp lattice structure, and show a sequential structure change from near full dendrite to near lamellar structure with the increase of Nb addition. Owing to the higher Nb content in γ-TiAl phase and the formation of near lamellar structure, the alloy with 7.0 at.% Nb addition has the best combination of properties among the studied alloys, namely, not only a high hardness of HV 2000, a high strength of 1390 MPa and a plastic deformation of about 24.5%, but also good tribological properties and high-temperature oxidation resistance.

Microstructure and properties of Ti64.51Fe26.40Zr5.86Sn2.93Y0.30 biomedical alloy fabricated by laser additive manufacturing

From the perspective of biomechanics and forming technology,Ti−Fe−Zr−Sn−Y eutectic alloy was designed using a“cluster-plus-glue-atom”model,and then the alloy was prepared by laser additive manufacturing(LAM)on pure titanium substrate.The mechanical properties of the alloy were evaluated using micro-hardness and compression tester,and the elastic modulus was measured by nanoindenter.The results show that the alloy exhibits a high hardness of HV(788±10),a high strength of 2229 MPa,a failure strain of 14%,and a low elastic modulus of 87.5 GPa.The alloy also has good tribological,chemical,forming,and biological properties.The comprehensive performances of the Ti64.51Fe26.40Zr5.86Sn2.93Y0.30 alloy are superior to those of the Ti70.5Fe29.5 eutectic alloy and commercial Ti−6Al−4V alloy.All the above-mentioned qualities make the alloy a promising candidate as LAM biomaterial.

Plasma diagnosis of tetrahedral amorphous carbon films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Filtered cathodic vacuum arc(FCVA)deposition is regarded as an important technique for the synthesis of tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C)films due to its high ionization rate,high deposition rate and effective filtration of macroparticles.Probing the plasma characteristics of arc discharge contributes to understanding the deposition mechanism of ta-C films on a microscopic level.This work focuses on the plasma diagnosis of an FCVA discharge using a Langmuir dualprobe system with a discrete Fourier transform smoothing method.During the ta-C film deposition,the arc current of graphite cathodes and deposition pressure vary from 30 to 90 A and from 0.3 to 0.9 Pa,respectively.The plasma density increases with arc current but decreases with pressure.The carbon plasma density generated by the arc discharge is around the order of10^(10)cm^(-3).The electron temperature varies in the range of 2-3.5 eV.As the number of cathodic arc sources and the current of the focused magnetic coil increase,the plasma density increases.The ratio of the intensity of the D-Raman peak and G-Raman peak(I_(D)/I_(G))of the ta-C films increases with increasing plasma density,resulting in a decrease in film hardness.It is indicated that the mechanical properties of ta-C films depend not only on the ion energy but also on the carbon plasma density.

Features of transport induced by ion-driven trapped-electron modes in tokamak plasmas

As an obstacle in high-performance discharge in future fusion devices,disruptions may do great damages to the reactors through causing strong electromagnetic forces,heat loads and so on.The drift waves in tokamak are illustrated to play essential roles in the confinement performance as well.Depending on the plasma parameters and mode perpendicular wavelength,the mode phase velocity is either in the direction of electron diamagnetic velocity(namely,typical trapped electron mode)or in the direction of ion diamagnetic velocity(namely,the ubiquitous mode).Among them,the ubiquitous mode is directly investigated using gyro-fluid simulation associating with gyro-fluid equations for drift waves in tokamak plasmas.The ubiquitous mode is charactered by the short wavelength and propagates in ion diamagnetic direction.It is suggested that the density gradient is essential for the occurrence of the ubiquitous mode.However,the ubiquitous mode is also influenced by the temperature gradients and other plasma parameters including the magnetic shear and the fraction of trapped electrons.Furthermore,the ubiquitous mode may play essential roles in the turbulent transport.Meanwhile,the relevant parameters are scanned using a great number of electrostatic gyro-fluid simulations.The stability map is taken into consideration with the micro-instabilities contributing to the turbulent transport.The stability valley of the growth rates occurs with the assumption of the normalized temperature gradient equaling to the normalized density gradient.

Effect of parameter setting and spectral normalization approach on study of matrix effect by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy of Ag–Zn binary composites

The complex nature of laser-material interaction causes non-stoichiometric ablation of alloy samples.This is attributed to matrix effect, which reduces analyzing capability. To address this issue, the analytical performance of three different normalization methods, namely normalization with background, internal normalization and three point smoothing techniques at different parameter settings is studied for quantification of Ag and Zn by Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS).The LIBS spectra of five known concentration of silver zinc binary composites have been investigated at various laser irradiances(LIs). Calibration curves for both Ag(I) line(4d^(10)5s^2S_(1/2)→4d^(10)5p^2P_(1/2) at 338.28 nm) and Zn(I) line(4s5s^3S_1→4s4p^3P_2 at 481.053 nm) have been determined at LI of 5.86?×?10^(10)W cm^(-2). Slopes of these calibration curves provide the valuation of matrix effect in the Ag–Zn composites. With careful sample preparation and normalization after smoothing at optimum parameter setting(OPS), the minimization of sample matrix effect has been successfully achieved. A good linearity has been obtained in Ag and Zn calibration curve at OPS when normalized the whole area of spectrum after smoothing and the obtained coefficients of determination values were R^2?=?0.995 and 0.998 closer to 1. The results of matrix effect have been further verified by analysis of plasma parameters. Both plasma parameters showed no change with varying concentration at OPS. However, at high concentration of Ag, the observed significant changes in both plasma parameters at common parameter setting PS-1 and PS-2 were the gesture of matrix effect. In our case, the better analytical results were obtained at smoothing function with optimized parameter setting that indicates it is more efficient than normalization with background and internal normalization method.

Effect of high-energy Ne ions irradiation on mechanical properties difference between Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5)metallic glass and crystalline W

In this paper,high-energy Ne ions were used to irradiate Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5) metallic glass(MG)and crystalline W to investigate their difference in mechanical response after irradiation.The results showed that with the irradiation dose increased,the tensile micro-strain increased,nano-hardness increased from 7.11 GPa to 7.90 GPa and 8.62 GPa,Young’s modulus increased,and H3/E2 increased which indicating that the plastic deformability decreased in crystalline W.Under the same irradiation conditions,the Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5) MG still maintained the amorphous structure and became more disordered despite the longer range and stronger displacement damage of Ne ions in Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5) MG than in crystalline W.Unlike the irradiation hardening and embrittlement behavior of crystalline W,Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5) MG showed the gradual decrease in hardness from 6.02 GPa to 5.89 GPa and 5.50 GPa,the decrease in modulus and the increase in plastic deformability with the increasing dose.Possibly,the irradiation softening and toughening phenomenon of Zr_(63.5)Cu_(23)Al_(9)Fe_(4.5) MG could provide new ideas for the design of nuclear materials.

Effects of diamagnetic drift on nonlinear interaction between multi-helicity neoclassical tearing modes

A numerical study of the diamagnetic drift effect on the nonlinear interaction between multi-helicity neoclassical tearing modes(NTMs) is carried out using a set of four-field equations including two-fluid effects.The results show that,in contrast to the single-fluid case,5/3 NTM cannot be completely suppressed by 3/2 NTM with diamagnetic drift flow.Both modes exhibit oscillation and coexist in the saturated phase.To better understand the effect of the diamagnetic drift flow on multiple-helicity NTMs,the influence of typical relevant parameters is investigated.It is found that the average saturated magnetic island width increases with increasing bootstrap current fraction f_(b) but decreases with the ion skin depth δ.In addition,as the ratio of parallel to perpendicular transport coefficients χ_(‖)/χ_(⊥) increases,the average saturated magnetic island widths of the 3/2 and 5/3 NTMs increase.The underlying mechanisms behind these observations are discussed in detail.

Abnormal transition of the electron energy distribution with excitation of the second harmonic in low-pressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas

The self-excited second harmonic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was significantly enhanced by adjusting the external variable capacitor.At a lower pressure of 3 Pa,the excitation of the second harmonic caused an abnormal transition of the electron energy probability function,resulting in abrupt changes in the electron density and temperature.Such changes in the electron energy probability function as well as the electron density and temperature were not observed at the higher pressure of 16 Pa under similar harmonic changes.The phenomena are related to the influence of the second harmonic on stochastic heating,which is determined by both amplitude and the relative phase of the harmonics.The results suggest that the self-excited high-order harmonics must be considered in practical applications of lowpressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas.

Simulation of deuterium pellet ablation and deposition in the EAST tokamak with HPI2 code

Pellet injection is a primary method for fueling the plasma in magnetic confinement devices.For that goal the knowledges of pellet ablation and deposition profiles are critical.In the present study,the pellet fueling code HPI2 was used to predict the ablation and deposition profiles of deuterium pellets injected into a typical H-mode discharge on the EAST tokamak.Pellet ablation and deposition profiles were evaluated for various pellet injection locations,with the aim at optimizing the pellet injection to obtain a deep fueling depth.In this study,we investigate the effect of the injection angle on the deposition depth of the pellet at different velocities and sizes.The ablation and deposition of the injected pellet are mainly studied at each injection position for three different injection angles:0°,45°,and 60°.The pellet injection on the high field side(HFS)can achieve a more ideal deposition depth than on the low field side(LFS).Among these angles,horizontal injection on the middle plane is relatively better on either the HFS or the LFS.When the injection location is 0.468 m below the middle plane on the HFS or 0.40 m above the middle plane of the LFS,it can achieve a similar deposition depth to the one of its corresponding side.When the pre-cooling effect is taken into account,the deposition depth is predicted to increase only slightly when the pellet is launched from the HFS.The findings of this study will serve as a reference for the update of pellet injection systems for the EAST tokamak.

Plasma potential measurements using an emissive probe made of oxide cathode

A novel emissive probe consisting of an oxide cathode coating is developed to achieve a low operating temperature and long service life.The properties of the novel emissive probe are investigated in detail,in comparison with a traditional tungsten emissive probe,including the operating temperature,the electron emission capability and the plasma potential measurement.Studies of the operating temperature and electron emission capability show that the tungsten emissive probe usually works at a temperature of 1800 K-2200 K while the oxide cathode emissive probe can function at about 1200 K-1400 K.In addition,plasma potential measurements using the oxide cathode emissive probe with different techniques have been accomplished in microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasmas with different discharge powers.It is found that a reliable plasma potential can be obtained using the improved inflection point method and the hot probe with zero emission limit method,while the floating point method is invalid for the oxide cathode emissive probe.

Effect of a negative DC bias on a capacitively coupled Ar plasma operated at different radiofrequency voltages and gas pressures

The effect of a negative DC bias,|V_(dc)|,on the electrical parameters and discharge mode is investigated experimentally in a radiofrequency(RF)capacitively coupled Ar plasma operated at different RF voltage amplitudes and gas pressures.The electron density is measured using a hairpin probe and the spatio-temporal distribution of the electron-impact excitation rate is determined by phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy.The electrical parameters are obtained based on the waveforms of the electrode voltage and plasma current measured by a voltage probe and a current probe.It was found that at a low|V_(dc)|,i.e.inα-mode,the electron density and RF current decline with increasing|V_(dc)|;meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more capacitive due to a widened sheath.Therefore,RF power deposition is suppressed.When|V_(dc)|exceeds a certain value,the plasma changes toα–γhybrid mode(or the discharge becomes dominated by theγ-mode),manifesting a drastically growing electron density and a moderately increasing RF current.Meanwhile,the plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition is enhanced with|V_(dc)|.We also found that the electrical parameters show similar dependence on|V_(dc)|at different RF voltages,andα–γmode transition occurs at a lower|V_(dc)|at a higher RF voltage.By increasing the pressure,plasma impedance becomes more resistive,so RF power deposition and electron density are enhanced.In particular,theα–γmode transition tends to occur at a lower|V_(dc)|with increase in pressure.

Structure-preserving algorithms for guiding center dynamics based on the slow manifold of classical Pauli particle

The classical Pauli particle(CPP) serves as a slow manifold, substituting the conventional guiding center dynamics. Based on the CPP, we utilize the averaged vector field(AVF) method in the computations of drift orbits. Demonstrating significantly higher efficiency, this advanced method is capable of accomplishing the simulation in less than one-third of the time of directly computing the guiding center motion. In contrast to the CPP-based Boris algorithm, this approach inherits the advantages of the AVF method, yielding stable trajectories even achieved with a tenfold time step and reducing the energy error by two orders of magnitude. By comparing these two CPP algorithms with the traditional RK4 method, the numerical results indicate a remarkable performance in terms of both the computational efficiency and error elimination. Moreover, we verify the properties of slow manifold integrators and successfully observe the bounce on both sides of the limiting slow manifold with deliberately chosen perturbed initial conditions. To evaluate the practical value of the methods, we conduct simulations in non-axisymmetric perturbation magnetic fields as part of the experiments,demonstrating that our CPP-based AVF method can handle simulations under complex magnetic field configurations with high accuracy, which the CPP-based Boris algorithm lacks. Through numerical experiments, we demonstrate that the CPP can replace guiding center dynamics in using energy-preserving algorithms for computations, providing a new, efficient, as well as stable approach for applying structure-preserving algorithms in plasma simulations.

Experimental studies of H_(2)/Ar plasma in a cylindrical inductive discharge with an expansion region

The electrical parameters of H_(2)/Ar plasma in a cylindrical inductive discharge with an expansion region are investigated by a Langmuir probe,where Ar fractions range from 0%to 100%.The influence of gas composition and pressure on electron density,the effective electron temperature and the electron energy probability functions(EEPFs)at different spatial positions are present.In driver region,with the introduction of a small amount of Ar at 0.3 Pa,there is a rapid increase in electron density accompanied by a decrease in the effective electron temperature.Additionally,the shape of the EEPF transitions from a three-temperature distribution to a bi-Maxwellian distribution due to an increase in electron-electron collision.However,this phenomenon resulting from the changes in gas composition vanishes at 5 Pa due to the prior depletion of energetic electrons caused by the increase in pressure during hydrogen discharge.The EEPFs for the total energy in expansion region is coincident to these in the driver region at 0.3 Pa,as do the patterns of electron density variation between these two regions for differing Ar fractions.At 5 Pa,as the discharge transitions from H_(2)to Ar,the EEPFs evolved from a bi-Maxwellian distribution with pronounced low energy electrons to a Maxwellian distribution in expansion region.This evolve may be attributed to a reduction in molecular vibrational excitation reactions of electrons during transport and the transition from localized electron dynamics in hydrogen discharge to non-localized electron dynamics in argon discharge.In order to validate the experimental results,we use the COMSOL simulation software to calculate electrical parameters under the same conditions.The evolution and spatial distribution of the electrical parameters of the simulation results agree well with the trend of the experimental results.

Numerical studies for plasmas of a linear plasma device HIT-PSI with geometry modified SOLPS-ITER

The HIT-PSI is a linear plasma device built for physically simulating the high heat flux environment of future reactor divertors to test/develop advanced target plate materials.In this study,the geometry-modified SOLPS-ITER program is employed to examine the effects of the magnetic field strength and neutral pressure in the device on the heat flux experienced by the target plate of the HIT-PSI device.The findings of the numerical simulation indicate a positive correlation between the magnetic field strength and the heat flux density.Conversely,there is a negative correlation observed between the heat flux density and the neutral pressure.When the magnetic field strength at the axis exceeds 1 tesla and the neutral pressure falls below 10 Pa,the HIT-PSI has the capability to attain a heat flux of 10 MW·m-2 at the target plate.The simulation results offer a valuable point of reference for subsequent experiments at HIT-PSI.

Time-resolved characteristics of a nanosecond pulsed multi-hollow needle plate packed bed dielectric barrier discharge

In this paper,self-designed multi-hollow needle electrodes are used as a high-voltage electrode in a packed bed dielectric barrier discharge reactor to facilitate fast gas flow through the active discharge area and achieve large-volume stable discharge.The dynamic characteristics of the plasma,the generated active species,and the energy transfer mechanisms in both positive discharge(PD)and negative discharge(ND)are investigated by using fast-exposure intensified charge coupled device(ICCD)images and time-resolved optical emission spectra.The experimental results show that the discharge intensity,number of discharge channels,and discharge volume are obviously enhanced when the multi-needle electrode is replaced by a multihollow needle electrode.During a single voltage pulse period,PD mainly develops in a streamer mode,which results in a stronger discharge current,luminous intensity,and E/N compared with the diffuse mode observed in ND.In PD,as the gap between dielectric beads changes from 0 to250μm,the discharge between the dielectric bead gap changes from a partial discharge to a standing filamentary micro-discharge,which allows the plasma to leave the local area and is conducive to the propagation of surface streamers.In ND,the discharge only appears as a diffusionlike mode between the gap of dielectric beads,regardless of whether there is a discharge gap.Moreover,the generation of excited states N_(2)^(+)(B^(2)∑_(u)^(+))and N2(C^(3)Π_(u))is mainly observed in PD,which is attributed to the higher E/N in PD than that in ND.However,the generation of the OH(A^(2)∑^(+))radical in ND is higher than in PD.It is not directly dominated by E/N,but mainly by the resonant energy transfer process between metastable N_(2)(A^(3)∑_(u)^(+))and OH(X^(2)Π).Furthermore,both PD and ND demonstrate obvious energy relaxation processes of electron-to-vibration and vibration-to-vibration,and no vibration-to-rotation energy relaxation process is observed.

Effects of external parameters on plasma characteristics and uniformity in a dual cylindrical inductively coupled plasma

The dual cylindrical inductively coupled plasma source,compared to the conventional structure of inductively coupled plasma source,can significantly improve the uniformity of plasma.It has an enhanced potential for application in processes,such as etching and ashing.A uniform plasma can be obtained by allowing the remote plasma from the upper chamber modulate the main plasma generated in the lower chamber.In this study,a fluid model was employed to investigate a dual cylindrical inductively coupled Ar/O_(2)discharge.The effects of external parameters on electron density,electron temperature,O atomic density,and plasma uniformity in the main chamber were studied,and the reasons were analyzed.The results of this study show that remote power can control the plasma uniformity and increase the plasma density in the main chamber.As the remote power increased,plasma uniformity improved initially and then deteriorated.The main power affected the plasma density at the edge of the main chamber and can modulate the plasma density in the main chamber.The gas pressure affected both the uniformity and density of the plasma.As the gas pressure increased,the plasma uniformity deteriorated,but the free radical density improved.

Effect of grain size on gas bubble evolution in nuclear fuel:Phase-field investigations

Numerous irradiation-induced gas bubbles are created in the nuclear fuel during irradiation, leading to the change of microstructure and the degradation of mechanical and thermal properties. The grain size of fuel is one of the important factors affecting bubble evolution. In current study, we first predict the thermodynamic behaviors of point defects as well as the interplay between vacancy and gas atom in both UO_(2) and U_(3)Si_(2) according to ab initio approach. Then, we establish the irradiation-induced bubble phase-field model to investigate the formation and evolution of intra-and inter-granular gas bubbles. The effects of fission rate and temperature on the evolutions of bubble morphologies in UO_(2) and U_(3)Si_(2) have been revealed. Especially, a comparison of porosities under different grain sizes is examined and analyzed. To understand the thermal conductivity as functions of grain size and porosity, the heat transfer capability of U_(3)Si_(2) is evaluated.

Quantum State-Resolved Nonadiabatic Dynamics of the H+NaF→Na+HF Reaction

The H+NaF reaction is investigated at the quantum state-resolved level using the time-dependent wavepacket method based on a set of accurate diabatic potential energy surfaces.Oscillatory structures in the total reaction probability indicate the presence of the short-lived intermediate complex.