ANSTO Publications Online

Welcome to the ANSTO Institutional Repository known as APO.

The APO database has been migrated to version 7.5. The functionality has changed, but the content remains the same.

ANSTO Publications Online is a digital repository for publications authored by ANSTO staff since 2007. The Repository also contains ANSTO Publications, such as Reports and Promotional Material. ANSTO publications prior to 2007 continue to be added progressively as they are in identified in the library. ANSTO authors can be identified under a single point of entry within the database. The citation is as it appears on the item, even with incorrect spelling, which is marked by (sic) or with additional notes in the description field.

If items are only held in hardcopy in the ANSTO Library collection notes are being added to the item to identify the Dewey Call number: as DDC followed by the number.

APO will be integrated with the Research Information System which is currently being implemented at ANSTO. The flow on effect will be permission to publish, which should allow pre-prints and post prints to be added where content is locked behind a paywall. To determine which version can be added to APO authors should check Sherpa Romeo. ANSTO research is increasingly being published in open access due mainly to the Council of Australian University Librarians read and publish agreements, and some direct publisher agreements with our organisation. In addition, open access items are also facilitated through collaboration and open access agreements with overseas authors such as Plan S.

ANSTO authors are encouraged to use a CC-BY licence when publishing open access. Statistics have been returned to the database and are now visible to users to show item usage and where this usage is coming from.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Recent Submissions

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Using neutron tomography to examine guitar strings
(International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), 2017-12-01) Edwards, AJ; Garbe, U; Salvemini, F; Edwards-McKeown, CF; Close, J; Tregear, P
The application of the DINGO neutron imaging facility[1] at ANSTO has opened up the possibility of examining many items of interest across a broad range of cultural pursuits. In the commissioning phase of the instrument build, a project was proposed as part of an undergraduate project in the Australian National University, Department of Physics, to examine as manufactured, and as used guitar strings to probe whether any differences between the two classes of objects could be observed. Guitarists have long asserted the there is a phenomenon of “deadening” which practitioners can hear in the sound produced from strings which have reached the end of their useful lifespan and we were curious to probe whether any observable differences could be discerned. In undertaking the experiment in the commissioning phase, we were able to exploit the nature of the sample to assist in validation of the procedures employed to create the tomographic reconstructions from the 2-D radiographic images which are recorded across a succession of rotations. We chose to place the strings around a cylindrical support with air in between which allowed a straightforward visual verification of the reconstruction compared directly to the object examined - the approximately linear nature of the components was also useful in this regard (see figure at left below). The initial examination was undertaken at a resolution of 25 microns and yielded images which gave useful tomographic information in addition to the validation of the procedures being implemented. The metal wound stings were readily identified with strong contrast between interior and exterior materials - in line with expectations. Intriguingly, within the used Nylon strings, apparent variations in contrast were observed (see figure at right below) which are not seen in the new strings. Interesting contrast variations in the metallic windings were also noted in both used and unused strings. At this stage no conclusions have been drawn about whether these variations signify real effects and it is hoped that higher resolution studies may, in the future, provide further insight into the nature of the wear in these and perhaps other instrument strings. It is interesting to note that the predictions by some proposal referees that it would be futile to undertake studies on material including Nylon elements proved to be incorrect. [1]Garbe, U; Randall, T; Hughes, C, (2011) Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 651(1), 42-46. © International Union of Crystallography
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Ceramic materials for nuclear waste storage*
(Trans Tech Publications, 1990) Reeve. KD
The operation of a nuclear power reactor producing 1300 MW of electrical power typically results in the accumulation of around 30 tonnes of spent fuel per annum. The fuel elements are intact but highly radioactive. Many of the isotopic species comprising the one tonne or so of fission products in the spent fuel are short-, medium-_ and/or long-lived beta- or gamma-emitters. In addition, various isotopes of the transuranic elements neptunium, plutonium, americium and curium - amounting typically to 250 kg in the same mass of fuel - have grown in by various nuclear reactions which follow the absorption of fast neutrons by “EU. Most of these transuranics are medium- to long-lived alpha-emitters. Because of its initially very high and then eventually much lower but very long-lived radioactivity, the management of spent fuel is technically and socially challenging in both the short and long term. In the short term, i.e. for several decades, spent fuel is routinely stored in water-filled pools and later may be transferred to air-cooled dry storage vaults. Further management depends on whether or not the fuel is reprocessed to remove most of its reusable uranium and plutonium. Some spent fuel may eventually be disposed of as ‘waste’ in deep geological repositories without ever having been reprocessed. In the reprocessing option, the nuclear waste contains only the residual fission products, the transuranics neptunium, americium and curiumand a very small fraction of the uranium and plutonium. It is widely accepted that this high level waste (HLW) - which is, as produced, a corrosive nitrate solution - must be solidified, perhaps then stored in air-cooled vaults for up to 50-100 years and eventually disposed of by deep geological burial. It is also accepted that the solidified waste form will be, in the broad sense of the term, a ceramic material. The ceramic may be either crystalline, partly crystalline (glass—ceramic) ‘or non-crystalline (glass).
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Preformed minerals as Synroc precursors - a technique for mitigating acid attack during Synroc processing
(Trans Tech Publications, 1989) Stewart, MWA; Bartlett, JR; Reeve, KD
The chemical durability of "preformed mineral-route" Synroc precursors in acidic simulated high level nuclear waste (HLW) solutions was examined. The precursor powders were prepared from mixtures of CaTiO3, BaTiO3, CaZrO3, Ca3Al2O6, AI(OH)3 and TiO2. Except for Ca3Al2O6, less than 5% of the Ba and Ca was leached from these powders over a 4 hour interval in 2 mole per dm3 HNO3 solutions, whereas essentially all the Ba and Ca were leached from conventional "alkoxideroute" precursor powders under comparable conditions. Leaching in this latter case can be minimised by neutralising with NH4OH during mixing of the HLW and precursor powder. However, this strategy has a number of disadvantages, namely: (5) the NH4NO3 formed may decompose explosively during calcination; (ii) it will lead to hydrolysis and subsequent inhomogeneous precipitation of some cationic species from the HLW solution; and (iii) it represents an additional processing step. Hot-pressed Synroc samples prepared from the "preformed mineral-route" powders had properties similar to those of consolidated "oxide-route" Synroc. The microstructure, chemical durability and phase composition of monoliths incorporating HLW will be discussed.
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Ti-AI-O-N spinel composite
(Trans Tech Publications, 1989-08) Perera, DS; Cassidy, DJ; Ripley, MI; Clare, TE
A composite in the Ti-AI-O-N system consisting of a spinel as the matrix with a dispersion of TiN and AIN was fabricated from a mixture of Ti2, AI2Q3 and AIN powders by hot pressing at 1800°C. The Ti-AI-O-N phase had a unit-cell edge of 7.959 A, which was larger than that previously reported on the AI-O-N system. Preliminary investigation of physical and mechanical properties of the composite formed from the starting composition TiO.6AI3,2O3.0N2.O showed good potential for use as a high-temperature engineering ceramic.
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Structure of powders produced by hydrolysis of metal alkoides
(Trans Tech Publications, 1989-08) Bendeich, PJ; Buykx, WJ
Ceramic powders consisting of monosized, spherical, 0.5μm diameter particles can be made by hydrolysing metal alkoxides in a very dilute environment. However, to avoid large amounts of effluent when producing powders on a large scale, it is necessary to work with high concentrations. The structure of powders was studied as a function of concentration, ranging from 20% alkoxide in ethanol to pure alkoxide. Alkoxide solutions were hydrolysed in thin layers by atmospheric moisture, i.e. at a slow but uncontrolled rate, and examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen sorption analysis and mercury porosimetry. The densification behaviour in uniaxial hot pressing was also evaluated. The powder structure changes from discrete spheres of 0.5μm diameter at 20% concentration, to interconnected open agglomerates at 50% concentration and to relatively dense irregularly shaped pieces of material at 100% concentration.