No abstract

No abstract

The tribological properties of cast iron have been investigated to determine the effects of micro-texturing the surfaces. The micro-textured surfaces were prepared by shot blasting or milling using a shaper. The surfaces with groove patterns and mesh patterns had higher friction coefficients than the flat surfaces. The surfaces with dimpled patterns had lower friction coefficients than the flat surfaces. The results indicated that the dimpled pattern had a beneficial effect by decreasing the friction.

No abstract

A natural single crystal of zircon, ZrSiO 4, from Sri Lanka exhibited zonation due to alpha-decay damage. The zones vary in thickness on a scale from one to hundreds of micrometers. The uranium and thorium concentrations vary from zone to zone such that the alpha-decay dose is between 0.2 × 10 16 and 0.8 × 10 16 alpha-events per milligram (0.15 to 0.60 displacement per atom). The transition from the crystalline to the aperiodic metamict state occurs over this dose range. Differential expansion of individual layers due to variations in their alpha-decay dose caused a systematic pattern of fractures that do not propagate across aperiodic layers. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed a systematic change in the microstructure from a periodic atomic array to an aperiodic array with increasing alpha-decay dose. At doses greater than 0.8 × 10 16 alpha-events per milligram there is no evidence for long-range order. This type of damage will accumulate in actinide-bearing, ceramic nuclear waste forms. The systematic pattern of fractures would occur in crystalline phases that are zoned with respect to actinide radionuclides.