Influence of temperature and the role of chromium on the kinetics of sulfidation of 310 stainless steel

The sulfidation of 310 stainless steel was studied over the temperature range from 910 K to 1285 K. By adjusting the ratio of hydrogen sulfide, variations in sulfur potential were obtained. The effect of temperature on sulfidation was determined at three different sulfur potentials: 39/sqNm, 0.014/sqNm, and 0.00015/sqNm. All sulfide scales contained one or two surface layers in addition to a subscale. The second outer layer (OL-II), furthest from the alloy, contained primarily Fe-Ni-S. The first outer layer (OL-I), nearest the subscale, contained FE-Cr-S. The subscale consisted of sulfide inclusions in the metal matrix. At a given temperature and sulfur potential, the weight gain data obeyed the parabolic rate law after an initial transient period. The parabolic rate constants obtained at the sulfur potential of 39/sqNm did not show a break when the logarithm of the rate constant was plotted as a function of the inverse of absolute temperature. Sulfidation carried out at sulfur potentials below 0.02/sqNm, however, did show a break at 1145 K, which is termed as the transition temperature. This break was found to be associated with the changes which had occurred in the Fe:Cr ratio of OL-I. Below the transition temperature the activation energy was found to be approximately 125 kj/mole. Above the transition temperature the rate of sulfidation decreased with temperature but dependent on the Fe:Cr ratio in the iron-chromium-sulfide layers of the OL-I. A reaction mechanism consistent with the experimental results has been proposed

Sulfidation of 310 stainless steel at sulfur potentials encountered in coal conversion systems

The sulfidation of SAE 310 stainless steel was carried out in gas mixtures of hydrogen and hydrogen sulfide over a range of sulfur potentials anticipated in advanced coal gasification processes. The kinetics, composition, and morphology of sulfide scale formation were studied at a fixed temperature of 1,065 K over a range of sulfur potentials from .00015 Nm to the -2nd power to 900 Nm to the -2nd power. At all sulfur potentials investigated, the sulfide scales were found to be multilayered. The relative thickness of the individual layers as well as the composition was found to depend on the sulfur potential. The reaction was found to obey the parabolic rate law after an initial transient period. Considerably longer transient periods were found to be due to unsteady state conditions resulting from compositional variations in the spinel layer. The sulfur pressure dependence on the parabolic rate constant was found to best fit the equation K sub p equals const. (P sub S2) to the 1/nth power, where n equals 3.7. The growth of the outer layers was found to be primarily due to the diffusion of metal ions, iron being the predominant species. The inner layer growth was due to the dissociation of the primary product at the alloy scale interface and depended on the activity of chromium

Phase relations in the Fe-Ni-Cr-S system and the sulfidation of an austenitic stainless steel

The stability fields of various sulfide phases that form on Fe-Cr, Fe-Ni, Ni-Cr and Fe-Cr-Ni alloys were developed as a function of temperature and the partial pressure of sulfur. The calculated stability fields in the ternary system were displayed on plots of log P sub S sub 2 versus the conjugate extensive variable which provides a better framework for following the sulfidation of Fe-Cr-Ni alloys at high temperatures. Experimental and estimated thermodynamic data were used in developing the sulfur potential diagrams. Current models and correlations were employed to estimate the unknown thermodynamic behavior of solid solutions of sulfides and to supplement the incomplete phase diagram data of geophysical literature. These constructed stability field diagrams were in excellent agreement with the sulfide phases and compositions determined during a sulfidation experiment

Localization transitions in non-Hermitian quantum mechanics

We study the localization transitions which arise in both one and two dimensions when quantum mechanical particles described by a random Schr\"odinger equation are subjected to a constant imaginary vector potential. A path-integral formulation relates the transition to flux lines depinned from columnar defects by a transverse magnetic field in superconductors. The theory predicts that the transverse Meissner effect is accompanied by stretched exponential relaxation of the field into the bulk and a diverging penetration depth at the transition.Comment: 4 pages (latex) with 3 figures (epsf) embedded in the text using the style file epsf.st

Corrosion of 310 stainless steel in H2-H2O-H2S gas mixtures: Studies at constant temperature and fixed oxygen potential

Corrosion of SAE 310 stainless steel in H2-H2O-H2S gas mixtures was studied at a constant temperature of 1150 K. Reactive gas mixtures were chosen to yield a constant oxygen potential of approximately 6 x 10 to the minus 13th power/cu Nm and sulfur potentials ranging from 0.19 x 10 to the minus 2nd power/cu Nm to 33 x 10 to the minus 2nd power/cu Nm. The kinetics of corrosion were determined using a thermobalance, and the scales were analyzed using metallography, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Two corrosion regimes, which were dependent on sulfur potential, were identified. At high sulfur potentials (p sub S sub 2 less than or equal to 2.7 x 10 to the minus 2nd power/cu Nm) the corrosion rates were high, the kinetics obeyed a linear rate equation, and the scales consisted mainly of sulfide phases similar to those observed from pure sulfication. At low sulfur potentials (P sub S sub 2 less than or equal to 0.19 x 10 to the minus 2nd power/cu Nm) the corrosion rates were low, the kinetics obeyed a parabolic rate equation, and scales consisted mainly of oxide phases

Radial honeycomb core

Core alleviates many limitations of conventional nacelle construction methods. Radical core, made of metals or nonmetals, is fabricated either by joining nodes and then expanding, or by performing each layer and then joining nodes. Core may also be produced from ribbons or strips with joined nodes or ribbons oriented in longitudinal planes

A generalized theory of semiflexible polymers

DNA bending on length scales shorter than a persistence length plays an integral role in the translation of genetic information from DNA to cellular function. Quantitative experimental studies of these biological systems have led to a renewed interest in the polymer mechanics relevant for describing the conformational free energy of DNA bending induced by protein-DNA complexes. Recent experimental results from DNA cyclization studies have cast doubt on the applicability of the canonical semiflexible polymer theory, the wormlike chain (WLC) model, to DNA bending on biological length scales. This paper develops a theory of the chain statistics of a class of generalized semiflexible polymer models. Our focus is on the theoretical development of these models and the calculation of experimental observables. To illustrate our methods, we focus on a specific toy model of DNA bending. We show that the WLC model generically describes the long-length-scale chain statistics of semiflexible polymers, as predicted by the Renormalization Group. In particular, we show that either the WLC or our new model adequate describes force-extension, solution scattering, and long-contour-length cyclization experiments, regardless of the details of DNA bend elasticity. In contrast, experiments sensitive to short-length-scale chain behavior can in principle reveal dramatic departures from the linear elastic behavior assumed in the WLC model. We demonstrate this explicitly by showing that our toy model can reproduce the anomalously large short-contour-length cyclization J factors observed by Cloutier and Widom. Finally, we discuss the applicability of these models to DNA chain statistics in the context of future experiments

Flow properties of a series of experimental thermoplastic polymides

The softening temperature to degradation temperature range of the polymers was about 440 to 650 K. All of the polymers retained small amounts of solvent as indicated by an increase in T(sub g) as the polymers were dried. The flow properties showed that all three polymers had very high apparent viscosities and would require high pressures and/or high temperatures and/or long times to obtain adequate flow in prepregging and molding. Although none was intended for such application, two of the polymers were combined with carbon fibers by solution prepregging. The prepregs were molded into laminates at temperatures and times, the selection of which was guided by the results from the flow measurements. These laminates had room temperature short beam shear strength similar to that of carbon fiber laminates with a thermosetting polyimide matrix. However, the strength had considerable scatter, and given the difficult processing, these polymides probably would not be suitable for continuous fiber composites

Photometric study of southern SU UMa-type dwarf novae and candidates -- III: NSV 10934, MM Sco, AB Nor, CAL 86

We photometrically observed four southern dwarf novae in outburst (NSV 10934, MM Sco, AB Nor and CAL 86). NSV 10934 was confirmed to be an SU UMa-type dwarf nova with a mean superhump period of 0.07478(1) d. This star also showed transient appearance of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) during the final growing stage of the superhumps. Combined with the recent theoretical interpretation and with the rather unusual rapid terminal fading of normal outbursts, NSV 10934 may be a candidate intermediate polar showing SU UMa-type properties. The mean superhump periods of MM Sco and AB Nor were determined to be 0.06136(4) d and 0.08438(2) d, respectively. We suggest that AB Nor belongs to a rather rare class of long-period SU UMa-type dwarf novae with low mass-transfer rates. We also observed an outburst of the suspected SU UMa-type dwarf nova CAL 86. We identified this outburst as a normal outburst and determined the mean decline rate of 1.1 mag/d.Comment: 13 pages, 23 figures, to appear in MNRAS. For more information, see http://www.kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp/vsnet

Some studies on a solid state sulfur probe for coal gasification systems

Measurements on the solid electrolyte cell (Ar + H(2) + H(2)S/CaS + CaF(2) + (Pt)//CaF(2)//(Pt) + CaF(2) + CaS/H(2) + H(2)+Ar) show that the emf of the cell is directly related to the difference in sulfur potentials established at the Ar + H(2) + H(2)S/electrode interfaces. The electrodes convert the sulfur potential gradient across the calcium fluoride electrolyte into an equivalent fluorine potential gradient. Response time of the probe varies from approximately 9 hr at 990 K to 2.5 hr at 1225 K. The conversion of calcium sulfide and/or calcium fluoride into calcium oxide is not a problem anticipated in commercial coal gasification systems. Suggestions are presented for improving the cell for such commercial applications