 |
The ILL reactor core.
The ILL's neutron source is the finest in the world, being based on a single element 58.3 MW nuclear reactor designed for high brightness.
Picture courtesy of
ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin. |
 |
The backscattering spectrometer IN13 at the ILL.
Picture courtesy of ILL - Institut Laue-Langevin. |
 |
Picture courtesy of ISIS, CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
High Resolution picture: (TIF,6,4 MB) |
Picture courtesy of ISIS, CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
ISIS IMAGE ARCHIVE 98RC2695 - Magnetism |
High resolution picture: ( JPG 840KB) |
"Forest"
Deactivation of catalysts is a major financial burden to the chemical industry and understanding how it happens is the key to preventing it. Using vibrational neutron spectroscopy on TOSCA, it was shown in one particularly crucial industrial process that methyl (CH3) groups had covered the surface of a commercial palladium metal catalyst. As the image illustrates, the methyl groups prevent the reactants from reaching the surface and so stop the reaction. This is the first time tat methyl groups have been identified as the cause of the deactivation.
Picture courtesy of ISIS, CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
ISIS IMAGE ARCHIVE 98RC2695 - Magnetism
|
(JPG, 1.4 MB) Science_GKSS014.jpg
(JPG, 1.4 MB) Science_GKSS014.jpg
(JPG, 1.4 MB) Science_GKSS035.jpg
|
Aerospace: The safe performance of high efficiency jet engines over a long lifetime depends on reducing stresses that are produced during the manufacture of the turbine blades. Computer calculations (?finite element modeling?) can be used to predict how the stresses might depend on the manufacturing process, but these predictions need to be tested. Neutron diffraction is one of the best techniques because the neutron can penetrate easily into materials, allowing the engineers to obtain a picture of the stresses inside a turbine blade without actually cutting into it. The computer calculations can then be refined using the information from the experiments. (Research carried out at Forschungszentrum Geestacht, Germany.)
Picture courtesy of Institut fuer Werkstoffforschung - GKSS Forschungszentrum - Geesthacht, Germany
Picture courtesy of Institut fuer Werkstoffforschung - GKSS Forschungszentrum - Geesthacht, Germany
Picture courtesy of Institut fuer Werkstoffforschung - GKSS Forschungszentrum - Geesthacht, Germany |
(TIF, 1.4MB) Science_PSI_FC.tif
(TIF, 1.4MB) Pictures/Science_PSI_FC.tif |
Fuel cells are promising for the supply with electric energy in different applications (cars, mobile phones, PC, ?).
The water management is a key parameter for the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells.
Due to the ability of neutrons to detect hydrogen (as water compound) very sensitively, the humidity inside a running electric fuel cell can be investigated with good spatial and time resolution.
As shown in the pictures, a method was derived at PSI (Switzerland) to distinguish the water content either in the membrane or in the flow field.
Picture courtesy of Neutron radiography station NEUTRA, SINQ, PSI - Villigen, Switzerland
Picture courtesy of Neutron radiography station NEUTRA, SINQ, PSI - Villigen, Switzerland |
(JPG, 1.4MB) Science_BCN.jpg |
Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis Station at BNC
Picture courtesy of Budapest Neutron Centre, Hungary
Cultural heritage - materials science from the past: The methods that are applied to study modern materials can also be used to provide information on how, and where, materials were produced in the past. Neutron based techniques are non-destructive - they can be applied to whole archaeological objects (which are often very valuable) without damaging them in any way. Boron is an element that is found in many glasses; it tends to lower the melting point and make the glass easier to work with. In the Baroque period some manufacturers started to put boron into glasses by adding borax as a raw material. The amount of boron in a glass object can therefore give archaeologists information on which glass manufacturer produced it. The neutron technique being applied here is known as 'prompt gamma activation analysis'. Neutrons are absorbed by boron atoms in the material and emit a gamma ray with an energy which is a 'signal' of boron. Measuring the intensity of these gamma rays then gives an accurate value for the amount of boron. (Research carried out at Budapest Neutron Centre, Hungary.)
|
(TIF, 1.4MB) Science_Tor_Marble.tif
|
Pieces of marble from parietal covering (archaeological diggings 2005) from Edificio con Tre Esedre in Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.
Picture courtesy of Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio
Cultural heritage - TOF diffractometer ROTAX at the neutron spallation source ISIS (UK)
Why neutrons?
• High penetration capability allows for non-destructive analysis (no drilling, coring, cutting, scraping).
• Complementary information to X-ray diffraction.
• A large neutron beam allows for good sampling, i.e. the characterisation data may represent the whole object.
Pure marble is typically composed of either calcite or dolomite or a combination of the two. Neutron diffraction can identify mineral components down to a 0.5 wt% level. Texture analysis can give information on preferred orientations of grains in the marble tiles and fragments and will serve as a fingerprint that may be characteristic for a particular type of marble and would be used to identify its origin. Indeed it has been proposed that part of the artifacts might have originated from quarries in the Mediterranean area of known texture.
Neutron Diffraction Groups Universita' degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata - Universita' degli Studi di Milano Bicocca
|
(PSD, 1.4MB) Science_Triolo.psd
|
Unique piece of marble worked in excisione (archaeological diggings 2005) from Edificio con Tre Esedre in Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.
Picture courtesy of Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio |
(TIF, 1.4MB) Science_INFN.tif
|
Particular of the ceilling decoration in Palestra complex in Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.
Picture courtesy of Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio
The National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) will apply the newest technologies and techniques to characterise the wall decorations and linings (paintings, stuccoes, mosaics); either fixed or portable equipment will be used.
The INFN group of Catania has designed and constructed portable apparatuses; these include the PIXE-alfa system, that is dedicated to the analysis of chemicals on surfaces such as pigments, corrosion layers and stains, linings, ..., and also the Microfascio X system that is dedicated to the analysis of inks and miniatures; in the case of paintings the combined use of the two systems will allow to detect any possible over layer covering the base painting.
|