Analog pile-up circuit technique using a single capacitor for the readout of Skipper-CCD detectors

With Skipper-CCD detectors it is possible to take multiple samples of the charge packet collected on each pixel. After averaging the samples, the noise can be extremely reduced allowing the exact counting of electrons per pixel. In this work we present an analog circuit that, with a minimum number of components, applies a double slope integration (DSI) and at the same time averages the multiple samples, producing at its output the pixel value with sub-electron noise. For this purpose, we introduce the technique of using the DSI integrator capacitor to add the skipper samples. An experimental verification using discrete components is presented, together with an analysis of its noise sources and limitations. After averaging 400 samples it was possible to reach a readout noise of 0.18 e- rms/pix, comparable to other available readout systems. Due to its simplicity and significant reduction of the sampling requirements, this circuit technique is of particular interest in particle experiments and cameras with a high density of Skipper-CCDs.

The Formation of Sulfide Scales on Carbon Steel in Saturated H2S

There are three contributing elements of corrosion of Carbon Steel in H₂ S environment: the effect of H2S on water chemistry; electrochemical reactions of the bare iron surface (both anodic and cathodic processes); and the formation and growth of corrosion product layers. The electrochemical reaction commonly contains three stages: first, the reactant transported from the solution (bulk) to the metal surface; then the transfer of the charge reaction on the surface, followed by the reaction product transported away from the iron surface to the bulk solution or the formation and development of the corrosion product which then can decrease the corrosion rate. Development of a robust corrosion model to predict the corrosion process in H2S requires a mechanistic understanding of all these elements. An experimental study was carried out to assess the corrosion of C-steel under open-circuit technique conditions and in solutions at several ranges of time and temperatures. The effect of film composition, morphology, structure, thickness, and ion- concentration of corrosion product films formed on pipeline Carbon Steel in an acid sour solution were examined. The electrochemical behavior of the filmed steel was measured, and the film properties assessed using a range of advanced techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy (RS). The data will be discussed in terms of film formation mechanisms.

Evaluation of Corrosion Behavior of Different Grades of Cast Iron Insodium Chloride Solutions

In this work, the corrosion behavior of different grades of cast iron in 3.5% and 5% of NaClsolution was evaluated. The samples used in this work are; Grey cast iron (GI), ductile cast iron(DI), austempered ductile cast iron (ADI), intercritically austempered cast iron (IADI) and Ni-Resist cast iron. The study was carried out using the Open- Circuit technique (OPC),Potentiodynamic polarization (PP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)measurements and complemented by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energydispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The results obtained showed that the austempering heattreatment and nickel addition improves the corrosion resistance of cast iron. The order ofcorrosion resistance in NaCl solution is as follows: Ni-Resist > ADI > IADI > DI > GI.

Tunable metamaterial beam using negative capacitor for local resonators coupling

This article presents a theoretical study of a tunable metamaterial beam for low-frequency broadband vibration suppression. First, the mechanism of employing the shunt circuit technique to realize the internal coupling between two adjacent local resonators is introduced. The working principle of the proposed metamaterial beam by integrating the shunt circuit technique is demonstrated. The stability of the proposed metamaterial beam is then analysed, and the corresponding criterion is proposed. Subsequently, analytical models of the proposed metamaterial beam are developed. The band structures and the transmittances are calculated. The analytical study demonstrates the generation of multiple band gaps using a shunt negative capacitance circuit, which is equivalent to a coupling spring. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effect of the equivalent coupling stiffness on the band gaps and the corresponding suppression regions. It is found that the band gaps are controllable by varying the equivalent coupling stiffness. Finally, to verify the analytical solutions, a finite-element model of the proposed metamaterial beam is developed. The simulation results confirm the existence of multiple band gaps, which are tunable through modification of the negative capacitance. The broadband vibration-suppression ability of the proposed metamaterial beam is thus confirmed.