Bi-annual report on the activities at the ROssendorf BeamLine (ROBL) at the ESRF in Grenoble. The report contains selected contributions on actual research topics, a list of all scheduled experiments, and short experimental reports.

The paper describes the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) built by the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf at the ESRF. ROBL comprises two different and independently operating experimental stations: a radiochemistry laboratory for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of non-sealed radioactive samples and a general purpose materials research station for X-ray diffraction and reflectometry mainly of thin films and interfaces modified by ion beam techniques. The radiochemistry set-up is worldwide an unique installation at a modern synchrotron radiation source.

The presented work reports on the solidification studies in two alloy systems: the niobium bearing γ-TiAl, relevant for the automotive and aero-engine applications, and aluminium rich Raney-Ni, precursor alloys for catalyses used in the chemical industry. The time-resolved observations of equilibrium liquid-solid phase transformations, as well as non-equilibrium solidification from the undercooled melt, are performed by combination of in situ structural studies using high-energy X-rays at a synchrotron source and the electromagnetic levitation technique. Containerless processing assured the contamination-free environment leading to high undercooling levels even at moderate cooling rates. For the critical part of the Ti-Al-Nb phase diagram an equilibrium involving the liquid phase is deduced from the phase transformations gathered on heating periods of levitation experiment. New experimental data on the partial liquidus and solidus surfaces are delivered as well as the information on the nature of the reactions along the univariant lines. These data provide a valuable contribution to the reassessment of the thermodynamic description. The primary phase selection as function of undercooling is studied in ternary Ti-Al-Nb alloys. The metastable formation of the cubic β phase within the primary solidification region of the hexagonal α phase is observed with increasing melt undercooling. Furthermore, the microstructure evolution of the β solidifying Ti-46Al-8Nb alloy discloses the transition to the thermal growth mode for ∆T>200−250 K, accompanied by complete solute trapping. Supplemented with the data on the solidification velocity determined as function of melt undercooling, this results are discussed within the local non-equilibrium model of the free dendrite growth. The in situ observations of the non-equilibrium solidification of the binary Al-Ni system give insight into multiple phase transformation sequence. The achieved undercooling levels up to 320 K for the aluminium alloys containing 18–31.5 at.% Ni did not alter the primary phase selection. However, during further cooling of L+Al3Ni2 semisolid samples the peritectic formation of a metastable decagonal quasicrystalline phase is observed providing a critical undercooling below the peritectic temperature of Al3Ni phase is reached. On further cooling the metastable phase subsequently transforms into the equilibrium Al3Ni. A similar solidification pathways are expected for the Raney-Ni alloys produced by gas atomisation, where the associated high cooling rates allowed to retain the metastable phase at room temperature.

<div>Metallic uranium-10 weight percent zirconium (U-10wt.%Zr) nuclear fuels are classified as potential fuels for fast breeder reactors as they possess a high fissile density and have increased compatibility with sodium, a frequently used reactor coolant. Despite their advantages when exposed to neutron irradiation in reactors, the fuels are subject to damage cascades and microstructural alterations. Fuel constituent re-distribution, phase transformation, fuel swelling, and fuel cladding chemical interactions (FCCI) are a few of the major interdependent microstructural alterations that occur in these fuels at the onset of neutron irradiation. The primary objective of this research is to understand the above-mentioned microstructural alterations in different regions of a neutron irradiated U-10wt.%Zr fuel and HT9 cladding that has achieved a cross-sectional burnup of 5.7 atomic percent (at%.). Additionally, this study also aims to provide a relationship between the microstructural alterations and local mechanical property changes exhibited at different regions of the HT9 cladding as a consequence of neutron irradiation, FCCI, and fission product migration.</div><div>To achieve this goal, a coordinated group of experiments was performed on the neutron irradiated U-10wt.%Zr/HT9 (fuel/cladding) at the nanoscale, microscale, and mesoscale, respectively. The experimental techniques used for microstructural analysis included the following: (1) transmission electron microscopy of focused ion beam (FIB) lamellas for nanoscale assessments, (2) serial sectioning of FIB cuboids for microscale assessments, and (3) synchrotron micro-computed tomography of FIB obelisks for mesoscale assessment. Following the microstructural assessments, nano-indentation experiments were performed on the neutron irradiated HT9 cladding to determine the changes in mechanical properties as a function of distance from cladding edge to FCCI locality, and the changes in mechanical properties as a consequence of several microstructural alterations. Furthermore, the results produced from the various experiments in this study were compared and correlated to existing literature (both in-reactor and out-of-reactor experiments), and new theories to explain the reason for the observed changes were established. This research also revealed several novel observations such as probable radiation induced segregation in fuels, localized fuel swelling and porosity distribution at different regions in the fuel, crystal structure of phases present at different regions in the fuel and their influence on pore morphologies, and nano mechanical properties of a neutron irradiated HT9 cladding.</div>

The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) injection system plays a fundamental role to preserve the quality of injected high-brightness beams for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) physics program and to maintain the maximum storable intensity. The present system is the result of years of upgrades and patches of a system not conceived for such intensities and beam qualities. In this study, we first investigate the effect of emittance growth due to amplitude-dependent tune shifts for erroneously injected beams. As a next step, we propose the design of a completely new injection system for the SPS using multi-level numerical optimisation, including realistic hardware assumptions. Methods and pseudo-algorithms of how this hierarchical optimisation framework can be adapted to other situations for optimal accelerator system design are shown. In addition, we explore the benefits of a numerical optimisation framework for the current SPS injection kicker timing system to minimise residual injection oscillations for maximised delivered beam intensity. We also demonstrate how a simple neural network based upon recorded data can approximate the injection system as a surrogate model, allowing for further studies of different optimisation algorithms even without beam time.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19709号 / 工博第4164号 / 新制||工||1642(附属図書館) / 32745 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科材料工学専攻 / (主査)教授 辻 伸泰, 教授 乾 晴行, 教授 安田 秀幸 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第20189号 / 理博第4274号 / 新制||理||1614(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 三宅 亮, 教授 平島 崇男, 教授 山 明 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第21432号 / 人博第870号 / 2018||人博||870(吉田南総合図書館) / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科相関環境学専攻 / (主査)教授 内本 喜晴, 教授 田部 勢津久, 教授 吉田 鉄平 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

<p>Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting more than 6 million individuals in the United States and more than 50 million worldwide. Currently, there exists no cure for AD and there are very few treatments to limit disease progression. Understanding the mechanisms through which AD develops and the risk factors associated with disease onset and progression is imperative in diagnosis and treatment of AD. Metal dysregulation has been implicated in disease pathogenesis through a number of mechanisms. Toxic heavy metals, such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) are known to have deleterious effects on the central nervous system (CNS) and have been shown to increase AD pathology in animal models. However, there are significant knowledge gaps on how these metals deposit in human and animal brains at the microscopic scale, how they interact with essential metals in brain, and the relation of heavy metal exposure and AD. In this project, we aimed to investigate the distribution of heavy metals and their interactions with essential elements in transgenic mouse and human brain tissue models. We report, for the first time, Pb distribution and its co-deposition with Se in mouse brains following subchronic Pb exposure, Hg distribution and its co-deposition with Se in post-mortem AD and no cognitive impairment (NCI) brains, and the association of Pb, Hg, and other metals in these brains. All the data were obtained using synchrotron x-ray fluorescence (XRF), a powerful technique that allows for localization and quantification of multiple biological elements, as well as heavy metals, with a high spatial resolution and low detection limit. The work will shed light on the role essential metals, especially Se, play in neurotoxicity of Pb and Hg, and pave the way for potential future directions on heavy metal exposure and neurodegeneration.</p>

<p> Monolithic uranium molybdenum alloys (U-Mo) are considered a candidate for converting high-performance research and test reactors from high-enriched uranium to low enrichment alternatives. The metallic fuel is capable of conversion due to the high U loading and favorable radiation performance. During irradiation, the fuel undergoes a three-part swelling behavior, with an initial linear swelling rate followed by an increase in the swelling rate represented by an increase in the nucleation of fission-gas bubbles, and ending with stabilization at the highest fission densities. Understanding the high burnup regime is critical to extending the life of the reactor and creating accurate fuel performance models. To accurately inform swelling models, it is necessary to experimentally characterize the pore evolution as a function of burnup and the influence of diffusion barrier-fuel interaction on the morphology. Therefore, a systematic approach was conducted to experimentally characterize the influence of irradiation and fuel-diffusion barrier interaction on the pore morphology and then empirically model the porosity evolution. Initially, three separate locations in a monolithic U-Mo fuel plate with burnups ranging from 8.9-9.4x1021 fissions/cm3 were investigated using scanning electron micrography (SEM) to characterize the morphological porosity dependence on fission density. To investigate the impact of the Zr-fuel interface on the pore morphology, two specimens were imaged using synchrotron microcomputed tomography (Sr-µCT) from a U-Mo monolithic miniplate irradiated to 9.8x1021 fissions/cm3, one at the diffusion barrier and one in the bulk fuel. Synchrotron microcomputed tomography allows for the characterization of the influence of fuel-Zr diffusion barrier interaction on the pore morphology in three dimensions; however, due to the novelty of this technique applied to nuclear fuels the results were verified with SEM serial sectioning. The multimodal comparison between the Sr-µCT and SEM serial sectioning allows for a direct assessment of the capabilities of each technique for nuclear fuel applications. Due to the complex microstructure and imaging challenges in analyzing these samples, several model-based image processing and characterization tools were developed to aid in the analysis. An empirical model for porosity evolution in high-burnup U-Mo was developed and accurately modeled the porosity behavior. The experimental results from the current work and the empirical model developed can be used to inform mechanistic modeling efforts in the community. </p>