The morphology of englacial drainage networks and their temporal evolution are poorly characterised, particularly within cold ice masses. At present, direct observations of englacial channels are restricted in both spatial and temporal resolution. Through novel use of a terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) system, the interior geometry of an englacial channel in Austre Brøggerbreen, Svalbard, was reconstructed and mapped. Twenty-eight laser scan surveys were conducted in March 2016, capturing the glacier surface around a moulin entrance and the uppermost 122 m reach of the adjoining conduit. The resulting point clouds provide detailed 3-D visualisation of the channel with point accuracy of 6.54 mm, despite low (<60%) overall laser returns as a result of the physical and optical properties of the clean ice, snow, hoar frost and sediment surfaces forming the conduit interior. These point clouds are used to map the conduit morphology, enabling extraction of millimetre-to-centimetre scale geometric measurements. The conduit meanders at a depth of 48 m, with a sinuosity of 2.7, exhibiting teardrop shaped cross-section morphology. This improvement upon traditional surveying techniques demonstrates the potential of TLS as an investigative tool to elucidate the nature of glacier hydrological networks, through reconstruction of channel geometry and wall composition.

A linear theory, based on wide-spacing and high-frequency approximations, is developed to describe resonant behaviour in two-dimensional water-wave problems involving a freely floating half-immersed cylinder in the presence of a vertical rigid wall. The theory is not able to describe the lowest-frequency resonance, but otherwise yields explicit approximations for the locations of resonances in the complex plane and for their corresponding residues. Two problems are investigated in detail: the time-domain motion following a vertical displacement of the cylinder from equilibrium, and the time-harmonic motion of a cylinder that is excited by an incident plane wave.

A multi-faceted, multi-institutional laboratory astrophysics program is carried out at the Livermore electron beam ion trap facility, which is a mature spectroscopic source with unsurpassed controls and capabilities, and an unparalleled assortment of spectroscopic equipment, including a full complement of grating and crystal spectrometers and a 6x6 micro-calorimeter array. Recent results range from the calibration of x-ray diagnostics, including the Fe XVII and Fe XXV emission lines, extensive lists of L-shell ions, the first laboratory simulation and fit of a cometary x-ray emission spectrum, and the discovery of new spectral diagnostics for measuring magnetic field strengths.

Natural and synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds for potential load-bearing bone implants were fabricated by two methods. The natural scaffolds were formed by heating bovine cancellous bone at 1325°C, which removed the organic and sintered the HA. The synthetic scaffolds were prepared by freeze-casting HA powders, using different solid loadings (20–35 vol.%) and cooling rates (1–10°C/min). Both types of scaffolds were infiltrated with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The porosity, pore size, and compressive mechanical properties of the natural and synthetic scaffolds were investigated and compared to that of natural cortical and cancellous bone. Prior to infiltration, the sintered cancellous scaffolds exhibited pore sizes of 100 – 300 μm, a strength of 0.4 – 9.7 MPa, and a Young’s modulus of 0.1 – 1.2 GPa. The freeze-casted scaffolds had pore sizes of 10 – 50 μm, strengths of 0.7 – 95.1 MPa, and Young’s moduli of 0.1 –19.2 GPa. When infiltrated with PMMA, the cancellous bone- PMMA composite showed a strength of 55 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 4.5 GPa. Preliminary data for the synthetic HA-PMMA composite showed a strength of 42 MPa and a modulus of 0.8 GPa.

Optical data over a broad energy range (∼ 0.01 eV to ∼ 6 eV) for a series of La2−xSrxCuO4-δ compounds are obtained in parallel with the Meissner effect and the superconductivity transition temperature, Tc. Two noteworthy trends in the optical spectra are observed as the Sr concentration is increased in small steps from x = 0 to x = 0.3. First is the appearance of a low frequency band in the reflectivity, R, whose strength follows closely the Meissner effect and Tc measured on the same set of samples. The position of the onset of this band is pinned at ∼0.9 eV for all values of x. The origin of this band in R is identified as an absorption process due to an electronic transition with a large oscillator strength. Second is the appearance and disappearance of an intense vibrational mode whose strength also tracks “superconductivity”. This sharp structure in the far infrared is a characteristic vibrational mode associated with the dopant induced electronic state.

Polymer-bonded explosives (PBXs) are being increasingly used as energetic fillings and components in many systems. They are perceived as more chemically and mechanically stable than traditional fillings such as RDX/TNT. They are castable into predetermined shapes, machinable and can be used as structural components. However, along with all these undeniable advantages, as a class, these materials are now undergoing extensive characterisation to ensure they comply with both the legal and technical requirements in energetic systems.

It is well-known that polymers display non-linear behaviour and are much more complex than, for example, simple metal systems at any rate of strain. The understanding of PBX systems involves areas as diverse as polymer chemistry, chemical compatibility, mechanical properties, impact tests, and thermal stability. In this paper, aspects of energetic material response are outlined which are relevant to the understanding of PBX sensitivity.

Uranyl-organic complexation in geologic fluids can have a profound impact upon uranium solubility and transport. Studies of uranyl organometallic crystal structures provide a basis for understanding complexation of the uranyl ion in solution.

The crystal structures of several novel uranyl oxalates, synthesized under mild hydrothermal conditions, have been determined. These structures demonstrate new features little seen or not previously known in this chemical system, in particular polymerization into infinite sheets and direct linkage of uranyl polyhedra. Further work on the chemistry of this and other systems of hexavalent uranium and low molecular weight carboxylic acids, especially formic acid, is likely to turn up new insights.

Although a hierarchical scheme exists for classifying inorganic uranyl compounds [1], no similar work has been done for organic compounds. Such a hierarchy would have practical benefits, in particular making structural information more accessible and understandable to workers studying related problems such as the environmental transport of hexavalent uranium as dissolved organic complexes. We offer a simple scheme that classifies uranyl oxalate structures by analyzing the long-range structural features and the coordination environments of uranyl ions, which leads to a structural symbol that can be used to easily identify uranyl oxalates with common structural features. This system is equally applicable to other carboxylate complexes with the uranyl ion, and could be extended to apply to any organic complex of the uranyl ion.

A process for volume production of ultra-low distortion (<200 ppm), thin polyimide membranes on silicon wafers was developed using the RotoEtch™ dynamic fluid confinement tool. A critical advantage of the process is that it exposes the sample to the etching solution over a selected area on one side only, without contacting, wetting, or otherwise contaminating the front surface. This unique feature allows the etching away of a circular portion (over 40 mm diameter) of the backside of a patterned silicon wafer to form a freestanding thin polyimide membrane (<1 μim thick). The polyimide film is patterned prior to wet etching with a sub-micron period grating (200 nm period). The resulting distortion of the grating on the freestanding membrane is less than 200 ppm over the entire membrane area. This process seems ideally suited for instances—like the one above—when immersion, contacting, or contamination of one side of the sample would be impossible or impractical. It also allows backetching finished micro-structures that would otherwise be disturbed or destroyed by immersion in the fluid. Finally, it speeds up the fabrication of freestanding films since it does not require masking or any other form of front-side protection or backside lithographic steps. In this paper we report on a silicon through-etch process based on an HF:HNO3 acid mixture which typically forms membranes in only 10–20 minutes. Since polyimide easily distorts due to excessive heat or mechanical strain, the etching process needs to be carefully controlled. This process is also ideal for forming large membranes of other HF:HNO3-inert materials such as silicon carbide or diamond.

A description is given of the profiling of CVD grown 3C SiC on undulant (001) Si using low temperature photoluminescence (LTPL). Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and X-ray Raman scattering (XRS) are compared for acoustical modes of 4H SiC. Schottky barrier heights are obtained for 4H and 6H SiC on different crystal faces using three different measuring techniques. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to display a variety of porous SiC morphologies achieved in n-type and p-type SiC.

This paper is intended to be the introduction to the “CHARACTERIZATION” section of this volume. To serve this purpose we illustrate the subject matter with new results using four distinct experimental techniques.

Zr-based alloy ingots with nominal compositions of Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10.0Ti5.0 (at.%), Vitre-loy 105, were isothermally annealed below the glass-transition temperature at 630 K for 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 minutes in vacuum to obtain samples with various states of structural relaxation and compared to the as-cast state. Structural studies were performed using time-of-flight neutron diffraction followed by pair distribution function (PDF) analyses. Differential scanning calo-rimetry (DSC) was conducted to examine changes in the specific heat, which were correlated to the amount of structural relaxation in the various samples. These samples exhibited increasing structural relaxation with longer annealing times, which was evidenced in the atomic PDF. Relaxation related to the exothermic peak results in changes in the PDF that are consistent with the elimination of short and long inter-atomic distances. Further annealing led to rearrangements in the second atomic shell that may be related to local phase separation.