The Architectonics Features of Heterostructures for IR Range Detectors Based on Polycrystalline Layers of Lead Chalcogenides

A model is developed for the formation of porous intragranular architectonics of nanostructured polycrystalline layers of lead chalcogenides for photodetectors and IR emitters. The layers are obtained under the conditions of thermal evaporation in a quasi-closed volume by the “hot wall” method followed by sensitizing heat treatment in an iodine-containing atmosphere. Model concepts are developed considering the experimental results of studying the intragranular structure of lead chalcogenides through original combined AFM methods over the cross-section of porous grains (cores) encapsulated by an oxide shell (lateral force microscopy and local tunneling I–V spectroscopy).

Evolution of dust porosity through coagulation and shattering in the interstellar medium

The properties of interstellar grains, such as grain size distribution and grain porosity, are affected by interstellar processing, in particular, coagulation and shattering, which take place in the dense and diffuse interstellar medium (ISM), respectively. In this paper, we formulate and calculate the evolution of grain size distribution and grain porosity through shattering and coagulation. For coagulation, we treat the grain evolution depending on the collision energy. Shattering is treated as a mechanism of forming small compact fragments. The balance between these processes are determined by the dense-gas mass fraction ηdense, which determines the time fraction of coagulation relative to shattering. We find that the interplay between shattering supplying small grains and coagulation forming porous grains from shattered grains is fundamentally important in creating and maintaining porosity. The porosity rises to 0.7–0.9 (or the filling factor 0.3–0.1) around grain radii $a\sim 0.1~{\rm \mu m}$. We also find that, in the case of ηdense = 0.1 (very efficient shattering with weak coagulation) porosity significantly enhances coagulation, creating fluffy submicron grains with filling factors lower than 0.1. The porosity enhances the extinction by 10–20 per cent at all wavelengths for amorphous carbon and at ultraviolet wavelengths for silicate. The extinction curve shape of silicate becomes steeper if we take porosity into account. We conclude that the interplay between shattering and coagulation is essential in creating porous grains in the interstellar medium and that the resulting porosity can impact the grain size distributions and extinction curves.

Experimental and numerical optimization study of shock wave damping in aluminum panel sandwich

Sandwich panels with polymer composite and light core composites are widely used in aircraft and spacecraft, vessels, trains, submarines, and cars. Due to their high strength to weight ratio, high stability, and high corrosion resistance, these structures have become particularly important in the industry. Reduction in impact energy, shock waves, and noise in many industries, including the automotive and military industries. Porous materials have always been the focus of attention due to their shock-reducing effects in various protective applications. For this reason, the study of physics governing shock propagation problems in porous media is of particular importance, and the complexity of the governing equations also results in the numerical solution of these equations with many computational problems and costs. In this paper, shock wave damping is investigated numerically and experimentally in aluminum blocks with porous grains scattered inside aluminum. The deformations of the specimens in numerical simulation and experimental testing have been compared. The results show that this material behaves similarly to the aluminum foam in both static loadings (practical pressure testing) and dynamic loading (explosion simulation) results, again similar to aluminum foam.

Inner dusty regions of protoplanetary discs – II. Dust dynamics driven by radiation pressure and disc winds

ABSTRACT We explore dust flow in the hottest parts of protoplanetary discs using the forces of gravity, gas drag, and radiation pressure. Our main focus is on the optically thin regions of dusty disc, where the dust is exposed to the most extreme heating conditions and dynamical perturbations: the surface of optically thick disc and the inner dust sublimation zone. We utilize results from two numerically strenuous fields of research. The first is the quasi-stationary solutions on gas velocity and density distributions from mangetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of accretion discs. This is critical for implementing a more realistic gas drag impact on dust movements. The second is the optical depth structure from a high-resolution dust radiation transfer. This step is critical for a better understanding of dust distribution within the disc. We describe a numerical method that incorporates these solutions into the dust dynamics equations. We use this to integrate dust trajectories under different disc wind models and show how grains end up trapped in flows that range from simple accretion on to the star to outflows into outer disc regions. We demonstrate how the radiation pressure force plays one of the key roles in this process and cannot be ignored. It erodes the dusty disc surface, reduces its height, resists dust accretion on to the star, and helps the disc wind in pushing grains outwards. The changes in grain size and porosity significantly affect the results, with smaller and porous grains being influenced more strongly by the disc wind and radiation pressure.

Evolution of porous dust grains in protoplanetary discs – I. Growing grains

ABSTRACT One of the main problems in planet formation, hampering the growth of small dust to planetesimals, is the so-called radial-drift barrier. Pebbles of cm to dm sizes are thought to drift radially across protoplanetary discs faster than they can grow to larger sizes, and thus to be lost to the star. To overcome this barrier, drift has to be slowed down or stopped, or growth needs to be sped up. In this paper, we investigate the role of porosity on both drift and growth. We have developed a model for porosity evolution during grain growth and applied it to numerical simulations of protoplanetary discs. We find that growth is faster for porous grains, enabling them to transition to the Stokes drag regime, decouple from the gas, and survive the radial-drift barrier. Direct formation of small planetesimals from porous dust is possible over large areas of the disc.

Does denitrification occur within porous carbonate sand grains?

Carbonate sands form a major sediment type in coral reef environments and play a major role in organic matter recycling. It has previously been postulated that porosity of carbonate sand grains may lead to the formation of anoxic microniches that promote denitrification within these sediments. Under this conceptual model, we expect diffusion to exert an influence on process rates, which can be tested by determining their dependence to reactant concentrations. Here, we use two experiments in flow-through reactors to test this hypothesis in carbonate sediments collected from Heron Island, Australia. Denitrification was only observed to commence at substantial rates below 10 μM O2, suggesting anoxic microniches do not exist. Furthermore, denitrification rates were constant above 18 μM nitrate, suggesting no diffusion limitation, as would be expected if significant rates of reaction were occurring within porous grains. Potential rates of denitrification rates relative to respiration were broadly consistent with those previously reported in silicate sands.