A Colossal barocaloric effect induced by the creation of a high-pressure phase

Zhang, Z.*; Jiang, X.*; Hattori, Takanori; Xu, X.*; Li, M.*; Yu, C.*; Zhang, Z.*; Yu, D.*; Mole, R.*; Yano, Shinichiro*; et al.

Materials Horizons, 10(3), p.977 - 982, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1039/d2mh00905f

As a promising environment-friendly alternative to current vapor-compression refrigeration, solid-state refrigeration based on the barocaloric effect has been attracting world wide attention. Generally, both phases in which a barocaloric effect occurs are present at ambient pressure. Here, instead, we demonstrate that KPF exhibits a colossal barocaloric effect due to the creation of a high-pressure rhombohedral phase. The phase diagram is constructed based on pressure-dependent calorimetric, Raman scattering, and neutron diffraction measurements. The present study is expected to provide an alternative routine to colossal barocaloric effects through the creation of a high-pressure phase.

Characterization and corrosion behavior of Al-added high Mn ODS austenitic steels in oxygen-saturated lead-bismuth eutectic

Haoran, W.*; Yu, H.*; Liu, J.*; Kondo, Sosuke*; Okubo, Nariaki; Kasada, Ryuta*

Corrosion Science, 209, p.110818_1 - 110818_12, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2022.110818

The corrosion behavior of newly developed AlO forming high Mn oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) austenitic steels was examined in oxygen-saturated lead-bismuth eutectic at 450C for 430 h. Compared with non-ODS steels, the ODS steels possessed superior resistance to corrosion and spallation. The high density grain boundaries in the ODS steels acted as channels for the rapid outward diffusion of metallic elements, forming an internal continuous CrO scale at the original surface. Accelerated Al diffusion, along with oxidation prevention by the external (Fe, Mn) oxide scale and the internal CrO scale, jointly resulted in the formation of a continuous Al-rich oxide scale in ODS-7Al steel, contributing to its superior corrosion resistance.

Neutron spectroscopy evidence on the dual nature of magnetic excitations in a van der Waals metallic ferromagnet FeGeTe

Bao, S.*; Wang, W.*; Shangguan, Y.*; Cai, Z.*; Dong, Z.-Y.*; Huang, Z.*; Si, W.*; Ma, Z.*; Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Ikeuchi, Kazuhiko*; et al.

Physical Review X, 12(1), p.011022_1 - 011022_15, 2022/02

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.12.011022

Evidence for strong correlations at finite temperatures in the dimerized magnet NaCuTeO

Shangguan, Y.*; Bao, S.*; Dong, Z.-Y.*; Cai, Z.*; Wang, W.*; Huang, Z.*; Ma, Z.*; Liao, J.*; Zhao, X.*; Kajimoto, Ryoichi; et al.

Physical Review B, 104(22), p.224430_1 - 224430_8, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.224430

Evidence for magnon-phonon coupling in the topological magnet CuTeO

Bao, S.*; Cai, Z.*; Si, W.*; Wang, W.*; Wang, X.*; Shangguan, Y.*; Ma, Z.*; Dong, Z.-Y.*; Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Ikeuchi, Kazuhiko*; et al.

Physical Review B, 101(21), p.214419_1 - 214419_8, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.214419

An Experimental setup for creating and imaging He excimer cluster tracers in superfluid helium-4 via neutron-He absorption reaction

Sonnenschein, V.*; Tsuji, Yoshiyuki*; Kokuryu, Shoma*; Kubo, Wataru*; Suzuki, So*; Tomita, Hideki*; Kiyanagi, Yoshiaki*; Iguchi, Tetsuo*; Matsushita, Taku*; Wada, Nobuo*; et al.

Review of Scientific Instruments, 91(3), p.033318_1 - 033318_12, 2020/03

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5130919

Colossal barocaloric effects in plastic crystals

Li, B.*; Kawakita, Yukinobu; Kawamura, Seiko; Sugahara, Takeshi*; Wang, H.*; Wang, J.*; Chen, Y.*; Kawaguchi, Saori*; Kawaguchi, Shogo*; Ohara, Koji*; et al.

Nature, 567(7749), p.506 - 510, 2019/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1042-5

Refrigeration is of vital importance for modern society for example, for food storage and air conditioning- and 25 to 30% of the world's electricity is consumed for refrigeration. Current refrigeration technology mostly involves the conventional vapour compression cycle, but the materials used in this technology are of growing environmental concern because of their large global warming potential. As a promising alternative, refrigeration technologies based on solid-state caloric effects have been attracting attention in recent decades. However, their application is restricted by the limited performance of current caloric materials, owing to small isothermal entropy changes and large driving magnetic fields. Here we report colossal barocaloric effects (CBCEs) (barocaloric effects are cooling effects of pressure-induced phase transitions) in a class of disordered solids called plastic crystals. The obtained entropy changes in a representative plastic crystal, neopentylglycol, are about 389 joules per kilogram per kelvin near room temperature. Pressure-dependent neutron scattering measurements reveal that CBCEs in plastic crystals can be attributed to the combination of extensive molecular orientational disorder, giant compressibility and highly anharmonic lattice dynamics of these materials. Our study establishes the microscopic mechanism of CBCEs in plastic crystals and paves the way to next-generation solid-state refrigeration technologies.

Origin of dramatic oxygen solute strengthening effect in titanium

Yu, Q.*; Qi, L.*; Tsuru, Tomohito; Traylor, R.*; Rugg, D.*; Morris, J. W. Jr.*; Asta, M.*; Chrzan, D. C.*; Minor, A. M.*

Science, 347(6222), p.635 - 639, 2015/02

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1260485

Given that solute atoms interact weakly with the long-range elastic fields of screw dislocations, it has long been accepted that solution hardening is only marginally effective in materials with mobile screw dislocations. This accepted wisdom has recently been questioned by first-principles calculations suggesting that solutes may interact much more strongly with the screw dislocation core. We report here the results of a combined experimental and computational study undertaken to elucidate the profound hardening effect of oxygen in pure hexagonally-close-packed structured -Ti. High resolution and in situ transmission electron microscopy nanomechanical characterization establish that the strengthening is due to the strong interaction between oxygen and the core of screw dislocations that mainly glide on prismatic planes. First-principles calculations of the screw dislocation core reveal a simple crystallographic source for the oxygen-dislocation interaction that is consistent with experimental observations. The distortion of the interstitial sites at the dislocation core creates a very strong but short-range repulsion for oxygen atoms. These mechanisms effectively pin the dislocation near the oxygen interstitial. These results establish a highly effective mechanism for strengthening by interstitial solutes that, contrary to prior understanding, may be significant in many structural alloys.

Benchmarking of mechanical test facilities related to ITER CICC steel jackets

Vostner, A.*; Pong, I.*; Bessette, D.*; Devred, A.*; Sgobba, S.*; Jung, A.*; Weiss, K.-P.*; Jewell, M. C.*; Liu, S.*; Yu, W.*; et al.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 23(3), p.9500705_1 - 9500705_5, 2013/06

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2013.2243895

The ITER Cable-In-Conduit Conductor (CICC) used in the superconducting magnet system consists of a cable made of 300 to 1440 strands housed in a stainless steel tube (a.k.a. jacket or conduit). There are circular, square, as well as circle-in-square jackets, made of either a very low carbon AISI 316LN grade stainless steel or a high Mn austenitic stainless steel developed for ITER called JK2LB. Selected mechanical properties of the base material and weld joint were tested at room temperature and/or cryogenic temperatures ( 7 K). The Domestic Agencies (DAs) reference laboratories and the ITER-IO appointed reference laboratories, CERN and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) performed mechanical tests. This paper will compare the test results (e.g. elongation to failure) from different laboratories.

Simultaneous generation of ions and high-order harmonics from thin conjugated polymer foil irradiated with ultrahigh contrast laser

Choi, I. W.*; Kim, I. J.*; Pae, K. H.*; Nam, K. H.*; Lee, C.-L.*; Yun, H.*; Kim, H. T.*; Lee, S. K.*; Yu, T. J.*; Sung, J. H.*; et al.

Applied Physics Letters, 99(18), p.181501_1 - 181501_3, 2011/11

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3656338

We report the manufacturing of a thin foil target made of conjugated polymer, and the simultaneous observation of laser accelerated ions and second harmonic radiation, when irradiated with ultrahigh-contrast laser pulse at a maximum intensity of 410 W/cm. Maximum proton energy of 8 MeV is achieved along the target normal direction. Strong second harmonic with over 6% energy ratio compared to fundamental is emitted along the specular direction. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations confirm the simultaneous generation of protons and high-order harmonics, which demonstrates the feasibility of applications requiring particle and radiation sources at once, effectively using the same laser and target.