This article summarizes the development of laser peening without coating (LPwC) during the recent quarter century. In the mid-1990s, the study of LPwC was initiated in Japan. The objective at that ...time was to mitigate stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of structural components in operating nuclear power reactors (NPRs) by inducing compressive residual stresses (RSs) on the surface of susceptible components. Since the components in NPRs are radioactive and cooled underwater, full-remote operation must be attained by using lasers of water-penetrable wavelength without any surface preparation. Compressive RS was obtained on the top-surface by reducing pulse energy less than 300 mJ and pulse duration less than 10 ns, and increasing pulse density (number of pulses irradiated on unit area). Since 1999, LPwC has been applied in NPRs as preventive maintenance against SCC using frequency-doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers (λ = 532 nm). To extend the applicability, fiber-delivery of intense laser pulses was developed in parallel and has been used in NPRs since 2002. Early first decade of the 2000s, the effect extending fatigue life was demonstrated even if LPwC increased surface roughness of the components. Several years ago, it was confirmed that 10 to 20 mJ pulse energy is enough to enhance fatigue properties of weld joints of a structural steel. Considering such advances, the development of 20 mJ-class palmtop-sized handheld lasers was initiated in 2014 in a five-year national program, ImPACT under the cabinet office of the Japanese government. Such efforts would pave further applications of LPwC, for example maintenance of infrastructure in the field, beyond the horizons of the present laser systems.
The development of laser peening without coating(LPwC) in the recent quarter century is summarized. Experiments showed thatwater on the laser-irradiated material confines ablation plasma and ...intensifies the pressure beyond the yield strengths of most metals.Time-dependent elasto-plastic FEM simulation reproduced the experimental results of the residual stress depth profile. LPwCsignificantly reduced the susceptibility of sensitized SUS304 to stress corrosion cracking(SCC) and improved the fatigue propertiesof SUS316L. LPwC was attempted using a microchip laser with a pulse energy of 1.7 mJ, which introduced compressive residualstresses and enhanced the fatigue properties of A7075 aluminum alloy.
We give a moment map interpretation of some relatively balanced metrics. As an application, we extend a result of S. K. Donaldson on constant scalar curvature Kähler metrics to the case of extremal ...metrics. Namely, we show that a given extremal metric is the limit of some specific relatively balanced metrics. As a corollary, we recover uniqueness and splitting results for extremal metrics in the polarized case.
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•Femto Laser Shock Peening (fLSP) substantially enhances corrosion resistance.•Development of water repellency correlates with corrosion resistance.•Femto LSPed surface indicate ...reduced corrosion activity and long-term stability.•With fLSPed sample reduction in pitting and complete eradication of IGC attack.
This work reports for the first time the effect of femtosecond laser shock peening (fLSP) without a sacrificial overlay under atmospheric conditions (no confinement) on the corrosion behaviour of AA2024-T3. After fLSP and additional exposure to air a superhydrophobic state (θ=160 ± 4°) is achieved. Moreover, fLSPed corrosion-resistant surface contributes to increased polarization resistance, reduced corrosion current and lower anodic dissolution, with long-term stability in aggressive chloride solution. Furthermore, SEM/EDS characterisation reveals reduction in pitting and complete eradication of intergranular corrosion (IGC) attack due to reduced metal/electrolyte contact area and homogeneous, refined microstructure which prevents chain-link IGC propagation.
We introduce an invariant on the Fano polytope of a toric Fano manifold as a polar dual counterpart to the momentum of its polar dual polytope. Moreover, we prove that if the momentum of the polar ...dual polytope is equal to zero, then the dual invariant on a Fano polytope vanishes.
A large number of gases are releasing from the medium-high temperature geothermal fields distributed along the large-scale strike-slip fault zones in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. ...In this study, 11 hot spring water and the associated bubbling gas samples were collected along the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zones (XSH-ANHFZ) and analyzed for chemical and isotopic compositions. The
δ
18
O
H
2
O
and
δ
D
H
2
O
values indicate that hot spring waters are predominantly meteoric origin recharged from different altitudes. Most water samples are significantly enriched in Na
+
and HCO
3
−
due to the dissolution of regional evaporites, carbonates and Na-silicates.
3
He/
4
He ratios of the gas samples are 0.025–2.73 times the atmospheric value. The
3
He/
4
He ratios are high in the Kangding region where the dense faults are distributed, and gradually decrease with increasing distance from Kangding towards both sides along the Xianshuihe fault zones (XSHFZ). Hydrothermal fluids have dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations from 2 to 42 mmol L
−1
,
δ
13
C
DIC
from −6.9‰ to 1.3‰,
δ
13
C
CO
2
from −7.2‰ to −3.6‰ and Δ
14
C from −997‰ to −909‰. Combining regional geochemical and geological information, the CO
2
sources can be attributed to deep-sourced CO
2
from mantle and metamorphism of marine carbonate, and shallow-sourced CO
2
from the dissolution of marine carbonate and biogenic CO
2
. The mass balance model shows that 11±6% of the DIC is sourced from the dissolution of shallow carbonate minerals, 9±8% formed by pyrolysis of sedimentary organic matter, 80±9% derived from deep metamorphic origin and mantle-derived CO
2
. Among them, the deep-sourced CO
2
in Anninghe fault zones (ANHFZ) is merely metamorphic carbon, whereas ca. 12% and ca. 88% of the deep-sourced CO
2
in the XSHFZ are derived from the mantle and metamorphic carbon, respectively. The average deep-sourced CO
2
flux in the Kangding geothermal field is estimated to be 160 t a
−1
. If all the hot springs in various fault zones in the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau are taken into account, the regional deep-sourced CO
2
flux would reach ca. 10
5
t a
−1
. These results show that the deep-sourced CO
2
released from non-volcanic areas might account for a considerable proportion of the total amount of global deep-sourced carbon degassing, which should be paid more attention to.
The accretion of small bodies in the Solar System is a fundamental process that was followed by planet formation. Chronological information of meteorites can constrain when asteroids formed. ...Secondary carbonates show extremely old (53)Mn-(53)Cr radiometric ages, indicating that some hydrous asteroids accreted rapidly. However, previous studies have failed to define accurate Mn/Cr ratios; hence, these old ages could be artefacts. Here we develop a new method for accurate Mn/Cr determination, and report a reliable age of 4,563.4+0.4/-0.5 million years ago for carbonates in carbonaceous chondrites. We find that these carbonates have identical ages, which are younger than those previously estimated. This result suggests the late onset of aqueous activities in the Solar System. The young carbonate age cannot be explained if the parent asteroid accreted within 3 million years after the birth of the Solar System. Thus, we conclude that hydrous asteroids accreted later than differentiated and metamorphosed asteroids.
Laser peening without coating (LPwC) involves irradiating materials covered with water with intense laser pulses to induce compressive residual stress (RS) on a surface. This results in favorable ...effects, such as fatigue enhancement; however, the mechanism underlying formation of the compressive RS is not fully understood. In general, tensile RS is imparted on the surface of the material due to shrinkage after heating by laser irradiation. In this study, we assessed the thermo-mechanical effect of single laser pulse irradiation and introduce a phenomenological model to predict the outcome of LPwC. To validate this model, RS distribution across the laser-irradiated spot was analyzed using X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation. In addition, the RS was evaluated across a line and over an area, following irradiation by multiple laser pulses with partial overlapping. Large tensile RSs were found in the spot irradiated by the single pulse; however, compressive RSs appeared around the spot. In addition, the surface RS state shifted to the compressive side due to an increase in overlap between neighboring laser pulses on the line and over the area of irradiation. The compressive RSs around a subsequent laser spot effectively compensated the tensile component on the previous spot by controlling the overlap, which may result in compressive RSs on the surface after LPwC.
•Five new microfossils were discovered in the 1.9 Ga Gunflint Formation, Canada.•New morphological and geochemical data proved the biogenicity of microfossils.•Some microfossils showed early ...acquisition of dormancy and nutrient storage function.•Novel microfossils with cell projection show eukaryotic affinity morphologically.•Early eukaryotic evolution coincidentally occurred with prokaryotic diversification.
The evolutionary history of early prokaryotes is recorded in Paleoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. The ca. 1.88 Ga Gunflint Formation is considered key to constrain the course of Paleoproterozoic microbial evolution. However, whether the multicellularity of prokaryote and eukaryote was already present by the Gunflint age remains uncertain. Here, we report novel morphotypes of prokaryotes including colonial, ellipsoidal, spherical, with intracellular inclusions (ICIs), spinous-type, and tail-bearing type, in the Gunflint stromatolitic chert. Biogenicity of such morphotypes was indicated based on their unique microstructures with the parallel C, N, and S distributions and lack of evidence of their post-depositional artifact origin. The new finding of colonial-type microbes in the Gunflint Formation indicates global flourishment of the colonial-type in this age. Moreover, unknown spherical cell-like structures with ICIs were identified, along with microfossils bearing strong similarities to cyanobacterial akinetes. ICIs were more enriched in N-bearing organic compounds than cell wall organic matter. Those ICIs were interpreted as biological contracted protoplasts. These new findings suggest that Paleoproterozoic prokaryotes were more diverse and complex than previously considered and had already acquired adaptability to survive drastic environmental changes. Furthermore, the protruding appendages in the novel spine- and tail-bearing type microfossils likely provided them with advantages in nutrient access and motility respectively, resulting in the promotion of the intercellular interactions. This suggests that functional evolution toward eukaryotes had already started in the Gunflint age.
We proposed an exponentiation conversion circuit which can change its power exponent to any value to compensate the nonlinearity of electronic devices. The proposed circuit is a small scale circuit ...utilizing the exponential characteristic in the subthreshold operation of MOSFET. In the proposed circuit, the new exponential conversion circuit converts signal multiplied logarithmically transformed input signal by the power exponent value, thereby obtaining the exponential power raised power function characteristic. The proposed circuit is suitable to integrate on a microcomputer chip used for IoT. The performance of the circuit was evaluated by a prototype IC made by 0.6 μm CMOS process. In measured results, the exponential conversion characteristics as set were obtained, the exponent value was set to 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00. By using the cascode exponential conversion circuit, the signal dynamic range was expanded by 5.2 dB when the exponent value was set to 2.00.