Glide Rates Research Articles

Influence of enhanced Laves phase shape and distribution on atomic-scale frictional wear mechanisms in nickel-based single crystal alloys

This study aims to simulate the influence of different shapes and distribution states of Laves phases on the friction-wear behavior of nickel-based alloys using molecular dynamics (MD). The investigation systematically examined the mechanical properties, friction coefficient, number of worn atoms, dislocations, temperature, and other micro-deformation behaviors of materials incorporating horizontally and vertically distributed short rod-shaped, spherical, and short strip-shaped Laves phases. The presence of the Laves phase significantly impedes temperature transfer, defect motion, and atomic displacement in the workpiece, resulting in reduced dislocation glide rate and shorter average dislocation lengths. High dislocation densities accumulate at the Laves/γ phase interface, enhancing surface wear resistance. The short rod-shaped Laves phase, due to its large surface area at the Laves/γ interface, impedes defect motion more effectively than spherical and short strip-shaped phases. dislocation tangle, higher friction force, fewer worn atoms, a higher friction coefficient, and improved wear resistance. However, vertically distributed short strip-shaped and short rod-shaped Laves phases exhibit less effective defect interaction, resulting in increased wear and significant deformation. The spherical Laves phase, with its geometric symmetry, shows consistent wear resistance regardless of distribution state. Short rod-shaped Laves phase provides the best reinforcement due to its effective defect motion impedance, while the spherical Laves phase offers stable performance across different distribution states, making it the most suitable shape for Laves phase reinforcement.

The Astrometric Performance of the China Space Station Telescope (CSST) Sky Survey in Extending the Gaia Celestial Reference Frame

The multi-color imaging sky survey conducted by the China Space Station Telescope (CSST) holds significant promise for advancing the development of the celestial reference frame. In this study, we focus on assessing the astrometric performance of the CSST celestial reference frame (CSST-CRF) in extending the Gaia Celestial Reference Frame 3 (Gaia-CRF3). First, the orientation precision of the CSST reference frame is evaluated using a simulated set of extragalactic sources with CSST g magnitudes ranging from 18 to 25 mag. The estimated orientation uncertainty caused by random error insignificantly affects the alignment between Gaia-CRF3 and the CSST-CRF. Then, the systematic effect of incomplete CSST sky coverage on the alignment between CSST-CRF and Gaia-CRF3 is discussed by analyzing the differences between the subset of Gaia-CRF3 in the CSST observation region (Gaia-CRF3′) and Gaia-CRF3 as a whole. Using the third International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF3) S/X band as an intermediate reference frame, the orientation offset between Gaia-CRF3′ and Gaia-CRF3 is estimated to be 20 μas. This offset is marginally larger than the orientation offset between Gaia-CRF3 and the ICRF3, approximately 15 μas. The residual spin and glide rate of Gaia-CRF3′ are derived from the proper motions, consistent with that of Gaia-CRF3 within the formal error. Finally, we explore the role of CSST in establishing a multi-band celestial reference frame by comparing its limiting magnitude and observation accuracy with existing catalogs in the infrared and ultraviolet bands. Thanks to its broad wavelength coverage and high-precision measurements, CSST is well-positioned to make significant contributions to the development of a multi-band celestial reference frame.

Glide-snow avalanche characteristics at different timescales extracted from time-lapse photography

Abstract Glide-snow avalanches release due to a loss of friction at the snow–ground interface, which can result in large avalanches that endanger infrastructure in alpine regions. The underlying processes are still relatively poorly understood, in part due to the limited data available on glide processes. Here, we introduce a pixel-based algorithm to detect glide cracks in time-lapse photographs under changing illumination and shadow conditions. The algorithm was applied to 14 years of time-lapse images at Dorfberg (Davos, Switzerland). We analysed 947 glide-snow events at a high-spatial (0.5 m) and temporal (2–15 min) resolution. Avalanche activity and glide-crack opening dynamics were investigated across timescales ranging from seasonally to hourly. Events were separated into surface (meltwater percolation) and interface events (no meltwater percolation). The results show that glide activity is highly variable between and within seasons. Most avalanches released without crack formation or within 24 h after crack opening, and release was favoured in the afternoon hours. Glide rates often showed a stick–slip behaviour. The acceleration of glide rates and non-constant increases in glide crack aspect ratio were indicators for avalanche release. This comprehensive dataset provides the basis for further investigations into glide-snow avalanche drivers.

Crystal plasticity analysis of fatigue-creep behavior at cooling holes in single crystal Nickel based gas turbine blade components

We build a crystal plasticity finite element framework to investigate slip localisation and fatigue-creep behaviour at the cooling holes of single crystal Nickel (Ni) based components under cyclic thermomechanical loading. The total slip rate is decomposed into a thermally activated dislocation glide rate which dominates at moderate/low temperatures (T) and/or high stresses, and a climb rate which dominates at high temperatures and increases as inelastic strain accumulates. This formulation captures the monotonic and long-term creep response of Ni alloys in the wide range 20 <T < 1100 °C and indicates that room temperature plasticity during unloading increases the high temperature creep rate during loading (creep dwell), eventually increasing the total slip accumulation per cycle; the effect depends on the way the inelastic strain accumulates upon successive slip reversals. Elastic material anisotropy is shown to modify drastically the stress concentration around holes such that slip tends to localise at locations where the max principal stress, tangent to the hole surface, aligns with stiff crystallographic directions. This highlights the importance of plastic and creep anisotropy and creates new avenues for optimising hole shape to minimise slip activity. Our study brings to light key material-component relationships that concern the wider material science, high temperature and fatigue communities.

Dislocation Filter Based on LT-GaAs Layers for Monolithic GaAs/Si Integration.

The use of low-temperature (LT) GaAs layers as dislocation filters in GaAs/Si heterostructures (HSs) was investigated in this study. The effects of intermediate LT-GaAs layers and of the post-growth and cyclic in situ annealing on the structural properties of GaAs/LT-GaAs/GaAs/Si(001) HSs were studied. It was found that the introduction of LT-GaAs layers, in combination with post-growth cyclic annealing, reduced the threading dislocation density down to 5 × 106 cm-2, the root-mean-square roughness of the GaAs surface down to 1.1 nm, and the concentration of non-radiative recombination centers in the near-surface GaAs/Si regions down to the homoepitaxial GaAs level. Possible reasons for the improvement in the quality of near-surface GaAs layers are discussed. On the one hand, the presence of elastic deformations in the GaAs/LT-GaAs system led to dislocation line bending. On the other hand, gallium vacancies, formed in the LT-GaAs layers, diffused into the overlying GaAs layers and led to an increase in the dislocation glide rate. It was demonstrated that the GaAs/Si HSs obtained with these techniques are suitable for growing high-quality light-emitting HSs with self-assembled quantum dots.

A Study of Controlled Release of Nano Particle Liquid Medicated Formulation using the RP-HPLC Method for Determination of Norethindrone into Dissolution Media

The determination of norethindrone can be done using a variety of approaches. Both sophisticated and validation strategies are included in this technique. The purpose of this research was to improve and test a smooth overturned segment-excessive standard performance liquid chromatographic technique for assessing norethindrone in dissolution media. The column is a C18 column from Thermo Scientific (250 mm x 4.6mm ID, 5m length). Deionized water, acetonitrile (50:50, v/v), and 5 ml/l acetic acid was made up with the cellular phase. The detecting wavelength was changed to 245 nm and the glide rate was changed to 1.3 ml/minute. The basic approach that was utilised was to investigate norethindrone release from a nanoparticle liquid medication device (LMF). The results showed that the procedure has become easy, precise, and particular.

Physical Modeling of Snow Gliding: A Case Study in the NW Italian Alps

Snow gliding, a slow movement downhill of snow cover, is complex to forecast and model and yet is extremely important, because it drives snowpack dynamics in the pre-avalanching phase. Despite recent interest in this process and the development of some studies therein, this phenomenon is poorly understood and represents a major point of uncertainty for avalanche forecasting. This study presents a data-driven, physically based, time-dependent 1D model, Poli-Glide, able to predict the slow movement of snowpacks along a flow line at the daily scale. The objective of the work was to create a useful snow gliding model, requiring few, relatively easily available input data, by (i) modeling snowpack evolution from measured precipitation and air temperature, (ii) evaluating the rate and extent of movement of the snowpack in the gliding phase, and (iii) assessing fracture (i.e., avalanching) timing. Such a model could be then used to provide hazard assessment in areas subject to gliding, thereby, and subsequent avalanching. To do so, some simplifying assumptions were introduced, namely that (i) negligible traction stress occurs within soil, (ii) water percolation into snow occurs at a fixed rate, and (iii) the micro topography of soil is schematized according to a sinusoidal function in the absence of soil erosion. The proposed model was then applied to the “Torrent des Marais-Mont de La Saxe” site in Aosta Valley, monitored during the winters of 2010 and 2011, featuring different weather conditions. The results showed an acceptable capacity of the model to reproduce snowpack deformation patterns and the final snowpack’s displacement. Correlation analysis based upon observed glide rates further confirmed dependence against the chosen variables, thus witnessing the goodness of the model. The results could be a valuable starting point for future research aimed at including more complex parameterizations of the different processes that affect gliding.

Two modes of PRC1-mediated mechanical resistance to kinesin-driven microtubule network disruption

The proper organization of the microtubule-based spindle during cell division requires the collective activity of many different proteins. These include non-motor microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), whose functions include crosslinking microtubules to regulate filament sliding rates and assemble microtubule arrays. One such protein is PRC1, an essential MAP that has been shown to preferentially crosslink overlapping antiparallel microtubules at the spindle midzone. PRC1 has been proposed to act as a molecular brake, but insight into the mechanism of how PRC1 molecules function cooperatively to resist motor-driven microtubule sliding and to allow for the formation of stable midzone overlaps remains unclear. Here, we employ a modified microtubule gliding assay to rupture PRC1-mediated microtubule pairs using surface-bound kinesins. We discovered that PRC1 crosslinks always reduce bundled filament sliding velocities relative to single-microtubule gliding rates and do so via two distinct emergent modes of mechanical resistance to motor-driven sliding. We term these behaviors braking and coasting, where braking events exhibit substantially slowed microtubule sliding compared to coasting events. Strikingly, braking behavior requires the formation of two distinct high-density clusters of PRC1 molecules near microtubule tips. Our results suggest a cooperative mechanism for PRC1 accumulation when under mechanical load that leads to a unique state of enhanced resistance to filament sliding and provides insight into collective protein ensemble behavior in regulating the mechanics of spindle assembly.

Snow gliding and glide-snow avalanches: recent outcomes from two experimental test sites in Aosta Valley (northwestern Italian Alps)

Abstract. Snow gliding and glide-snow avalanches are gaining importance among scientists as global warming might induce conditions favourable to those phenomena. Our aim is to analyse such processes with a particular focus on the potential driving factors associated with the soil conditions. We equipped two experimental test sites in the Aosta Valley region (NW Italy) with glide-snow shoes, temperature and volumetric liquid water content (VLWC) sensors in the soil and in the basal snowpack layer; snow and weather parameters were also collected by automatic weather stations and at manual snow measuring sites. In the two monitoring seasons 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 we registered nine glide-snow avalanches, two cold and seven warm events, which were characterized by different snow and soil conditions. In the only warm glide-snow avalanche event, which presented a continuous gliding before, the daily glide rate showed a significant exponential relationship with the soil VLWC. We also found, though without a general trend, that gliding and non-gliding periods (either considering warm and cold periods separately or together) were characterized by significantly different predisposing factors. This study contributes to the assessment of the importance of soil VLWC, which seems to be one of the most important driving factors for gliding processes. Therefore, it supports the need, already suggested by other scientists, for analysing such processes with an interdisciplinary approach which integrates snow and soil sciences.

The role of soil volumetric liquid water content during snow gliding processes

In recent years, our understanding of snow gliding and glide-snow avalanches has improved; however, the contributing factors are still poorly understood and difficult to measure. In particular, the role of soil properties has not been considered as much as other environmental parameters (e.g. air temperature). Focusing on soil properties we established a monitoring site in the Italian Alps, in the release zone of a WSW-facing avalanche path. The area is typically characterized by intense snow gliding that results in the formation of large glide cracks, often leading to the release of a glide-snow avalanche. The site was equipped with four glide-snow shoes to measure snow gliding movement. Temperature and water content sensors were located at the snow-soil interface and at different depths within the soil. Meteorological data were recorded by a nearby automatic weather station, and snowpack properties were evaluated using manual snow profiles and SNOWPACK simulations; additionally, soils were characterized with special emphasis on the physical properties of the upper soil horizons. During two monitoring seasons, we registered a cold-temperature event characterized by gradual and continuous snow gliding and three warm-temperature events with glide-crack formation and evolution, in one case resulting in a glide-snow avalanche. Univariate (Mann-Witney U test) and multivariate (Classification Trees) analyses allowed us to find significant differences between gliding and non-gliding periods, and confirmed the importance of distinguishing between cold and warm-temperature events. In particular, for warm-temperature events we found that the most significant parameters were a large snow depth, strong settlement and high air temperature. For cold-temperature events we found that, together with a large snow depth, the volumetric liquid water content, both at the snow-soil interface and within the soil, played a fundamental role. Moreover, for the cold-temperature events we found a strong correlation between daily glide rates and the soil volumetric liquid water content, with an exponential relationship at the snow-soil interface and at 5cm depth within the soil. These results highlight the relationship between the snow gliding process and the soil conditions, which have been identified among the main environmental factors related to the development of snow gliding.

Soil erosion by snow gliding – a first quantification attempt in a subalpine area in Switzerland

Abstract. Snow processes might be one important driver of soil erosion in Alpine grasslands and thus the unknown variable when erosion modelling is attempted. The aim of this study is to assess the importance of snow gliding as a soil erosion agent for four different land use/land cover types in a subalpine area in Switzerland. We used three different approaches to estimate soil erosion rates: sediment yield measurements in snow glide depositions, the fallout radionuclide 137Cs and modelling with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). RUSLE permits the evaluation of soil loss by water erosion, the 137Cs method integrates soil loss due to all erosion agents involved, and the measurement of snow glide deposition sediment yield can be directly related to snow-glide-induced erosion. Further, cumulative snow glide distance was measured for the sites in the winter of 2009/2010 and modelled for the surrounding area and long-term average winter precipitation (1959–2010) with the spatial snow glide model (SSGM). Measured snow glide distance confirmed the presence of snow gliding and ranged from 2 to 189 cm, with lower values on the north-facing slopes. We observed a reduction of snow glide distance with increasing surface roughness of the vegetation, which is an important information with respect to conservation planning and expected and ongoing land use changes in the Alps. Snow glide erosion estimated from the snow glide depositions was highly variable with values ranging from 0.03 to 22.9 t ha−1 yr−1 in the winter of 2012/2013. For sites affected by snow glide deposition, a mean erosion rate of 8.4 t ha−1 yr−1 was found. The difference in long-term erosion rates determined with RUSLE and 137Cs confirms the constant influence of snow-glide-induced erosion, since a large difference (lower proportion of water erosion compared to total net erosion) was observed for sites with high snow glide rates and vice versa. Moreover, the difference between RUSLE and 137Cs erosion rates was related to the measured snow glide distance (R2 = 0.64; p &lt; 0.005) and to the snow deposition sediment yields (R2 = 0.39; p = 0.13). The SSGM reproduced the relative difference of the measured snow glide values under different land uses and land cover types. The resulting map highlighted the relevance of snow gliding for large parts of the investigated area. Based on these results, we conclude that snow gliding appears to be a crucial and non-negligible process impacting soil erosion patterns and magnitude in subalpine areas with similar topographic and climatic conditions.

Snow gliding on a south-facing slope covered with larch trees

Snow gliding is a downhill motion of snow on the ground; observations have shown gliding to be possible not only on open slopes but also in forest stands. Larch stands, with their low canopy density and open forest structure with clearings and gaps, are particularly prone to high glide rates. Snow gliding may have negative effects on juvenescent trees which can be damaged by extraction from the ground. The goal of this study was to determine whether snow gliding depends on forest cover (canopy) and size of clearings. Snow gliding was measured during eight winter periods at six measuring positions (ranging from ‘dense forest’ to ‘open slope’) in and beside a larch stand in the Stubai Valley, Tyrol, Austria. The results showed that gliding is strongly influenced by forest cover. Snow gliding increases with decreasing canopy density. The difference between the six measuring positions was highly significant (p < 0.005). The identified glide cracks on at least two measuring positions, indicating extreme glide rates and, therefore, strong negative effects on juvenescent trees. To prevent glide rates of a magnitude such as this requires a mature forest with at least 300 stems/ha.

The emergence of sarcomeric, graded-polarity and spindle-like patterns in bundles of shortcytoskeletal polymers and two opposite molecular motors

We use linear stability analysis and numerical solutions of partial differential equations toinvestigate pattern formation in the one-dimensional system of short dynamic polymersand one (plus-end directed) or two (one is plus-end, another minus-end directed) molecularmotors. If polymer sliding and motor gliding rates are slow and/or the polymer turnoverrate is fast, then the polymer–motor bundle has mixed polarity and homogeneous motordistribution. However, if motor gliding is fast, a sarcomeric pattern with periodic bands ofalternating polymer polarity separated by motor aggregates evolves. On the other hand,if polymer sliding is fast, a graded-polarity bundle with motors at the centeremerges. In the presence of the second, minus-end directed motor, the sarcomericpattern is more ubiquitous, while the graded-polarity pattern is destabilized.However, if the minus-end motor is weaker than the plus-end directed one, and/orpolymer nucleation is autocatalytic, and/or long polymers are present in thebundle, then a spindle-like architecture with a sorted-out polarity emerges with theplus-end motors at the center and minus-end motors at the edges. We discussmodeling implications for actin–myosin fibers and in vitro and meiotic spindles.

A Hearing Loss-Associated myo1c Mutation (R156W) Decreases the Myosin Duty Ratio and Force Sensitivity

myo1c is a member of the myosin superfamily that has been proposed to function as the adaptation motor in vestibular and auditory hair cells. A recent study identified a myo1c point mutation (R156W) in a person with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. This mutated residue is located at the start of the highly conserved switch 1 region, which is a crucial element for the binding of nucleotide. We characterized the key steps on the ATPase pathway at 37 °C using recombinant wild-type (myo1c(3IQ)) and mutant myo1c (R156W-myo1c(3IQ)) constructs that consist of the motor domain and three IQ motifs. The R156W mutation only moderately affects the rates of ATP binding, ATP-induced actomyosin dissociation, and ADP release. The actin-activated ATPase rate of the mutant is inhibited >4-fold, which is likely due to a decrease in the rate of phosphate release. The rate of actin gliding, as measured by the in vitro motility assay, is unaffected by the mutation at high myosin surface densities, but the rate of actin gliding is substantially reduced at low surface densities of R156W-myo1c(3IQ). We used a frictional loading assay to measure the affect of resisting forces on the rate of actin gliding and found that R156W-myo1c(3IQ) is less force-sensitive than myo1c(3IQ). Taken together, these results indicate that myo1c with the R156W mutation has a lower duty ratio than the wild-type protein and motile properties that are less sensitive to resisting forces.

A Hearing-Loss Associated Myo1c Mutation (r156w) Decreases the Myosin Duty Ratio and Force Sensitivity

Myo1c is a member of the myosin superfamily that has been proposed to function as the adaptation motor in vestibular and auditory hair cells. A recent study identified a myo1c point mutation (R156W) in a person with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. This mutation is located at the start of the highly conserved switch-1 region, which is a crucial element for the binding of nucleotide. We characterized the key steps on the ATPase pathway at 37oC using recombinant wild-type (myo1c3IQ) and mutant myo1c (R156W-myo1c3IQ) constructs that consist of the motor domain and three IQ motifs. The R156W mutation only moderately affects the rates of ATP binding, ATP-induced actomyosin dissociation, and ADP release. The actin-activated ATPase rate of the mutant is inhibited > 4-fold, which is likely due to a decrease in the rate of phosphate release. The rate of actin gliding, as measured by the in vitro motility assay, is unaffected by the mutation at high myosin surface densities, but actin gliding is substantially reduced at low surface densities of R156W-myo1c3IQ. We used a frictional-loading assay to measure the affect of resisting forces on the rate of actin gliding and found that R156W-myo1c3IQ is less force sensitive than myo1c3IQ. Taken together, these results indicate that myo1c with the R156W mutation has a lower duty ratio than the wild-type protein, and it has motile properties that are less sensitive to resisting forces.

Glide avalanche response to an extreme rain-on-snow event, Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, USA

AbstractRain-on-snow events trigger immediate and delayed avalanches as liquid water penetrates the snowpack. We present results from an extreme rain-on-snow event that triggered a glide avalanche near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, USA. Snoqualmie Pass recorded 463 cm of snowfall from 13 December 2008 to 6 January 2009. This period of snowfall was followed by a strong southwesterly tropical flow that resulted in an extreme rain-on-snow event. Sensors at Snoqualmie Pass recorded 285 mm of precipitation over a 52 hour period. Flooding, slush flows, landslides and avalanches resulted from the influx of precipitation. Snow heights decreased rapidly over the period, with settlement rates approaching 80 mm h−1. Liquid water infiltrated and flowed through the snowpack within a few hours of the arrival of rain, yet many of the major avalanches occurred 12–30 or more hours after the onset of rain and water outflow. A glide avalanche occurred ∼30 hours after the onset of rain and the establishment of drainage through the snowpack. Increasing glide rates correlate with periods of rapid snow settlement. Here glide rates approached 670 mm h−1. Although glide and settlement rates increased during periods of intense precipitation, glide failure occurred 8 hours after peak precipitation and outflow.

Assessment of the Effect of Irradiation Temperature on the Mechanical Anisotropy of the Zr+ Ion Irradiated Zr-2.5%Nb

ABSTRACTWe present here new information on the effect of irradiation temperature on the strength and mechanical anisotropy of Zr-2.5%Nb CANDU pressure tube material. Polished samples aligned normal to the transverse (TN), axial (AN) and radial (RN) directions of the pressure tube were irradiated at 300°C with 8.5 MeV Zr+ ions to assess the effect of concurrent thermal annealing of the irradiation damage. Constant-load micro-indentation creep tests were performed at 25°C at indentation depths from 0.1 to 2.0 μm on the ion irradiated samples.The increase in the initial indentation stress with increasing levels of Zr+ ion irradiation at 300°C was lower than that reported earlier for similar samples exposed to Zr+ irradiation at 25°C. While the anisotropy of the indentation stress decreased significantly with Zr+ ion irradiation, the level of the decrease was reduced when the irradiation was performed at 300oC compared to 25oC. The apparent activation energy ΔG0 of the obstacles that limit the rate of dislocation glide during indentation creep did not change with indentation direction but did increase with increasing levels of Zr+ ion damage. The values of ΔG0 were, again, lower for samples that were irradiated at 300°C than for those irradiated at 25oC.The observed differences in the magnitude of, and the anisotropy of, the initial indentation stress and also the decrease in the apparent activation energy of the indentation creep process of Zr-2.5%Nb samples irradiated with Zr+ ions at 300oC compared to those irradiated at 25oC indicate the effect that concurrent thermal annealing has on the accumulation of irradiation damage. The effect of irradiation temperature on reducing the degree of, and the strength of, irradiation induced crystallographic damage must therefore be considered when predicting the strength and thermal creep behaviour of irradiated nuclear materials.

Tau isoform‐specific modulation of kinesin‐driven microtubule gliding rates and trajectories as determined with tau‐stabilized microtubules

We have utilized tau-assembled and tau-stabilized microtubules (MTs), in the absence of taxol, to investigate the effects of tau isoforms with three and four MT binding repeats upon kinesin-driven MT gliding. MTs were assembled in the presence of either 3-repeat tau (3R tau) or 4-repeat tau (4R tau) at tau:tubulin dimer molar ratios that approximate those found in neurons. MTs assembled with 3R tau glided at 31.1 μm/min versus 25.8 μm/min for 4R tau, a statistically significant 17% difference. Importantly, the gliding rates for either isoform did not change over a fourfold range of tau concentrations. Further, tau-assembled MTs underwent minimal dynamic instability behavior while gliding and moved with linear trajectories. In contrast, MTs assembled with taxol in the absence of tau displayed curved gliding trajectories. Interestingly, addition of 4R tau to taxol-stabilized MTs restored linear gliding, while addition of 3R tau did not. The data are consistent with the ideas that (i) 3R and 4R tau-assembled MTs possess at least some isoform-specific features that impact upon kinesin translocation, (ii) tau-assembled MTs possess different structural features than do taxol-assembled MTs, and (iii) some features of tau-assembled MTs can be masked by prior assembly by taxol. The differences in kinesin-driven gliding between 3R and 4R tau suggest important features of tau function related to the normal shift in tau isoform composition that occurs during neural development as well as in neurodegeneration caused by altered expression ratios of otherwise normal tau isoforms.

Effect of Zr + ion irradiation on the mechanical anisotropy of Zr–2.5%Nb pressure tube material

Constant load pyramidal indentation creep tests were performed to study the effect of Zr + ion irradiation on the anisotropy of the local plastic deformation of Zr–2.5%Nb pressure tube material at 25 °C. The ratio of the average indentation stress σ ind t = 0 on the transverse normal (TN) plane relative to that on the axial-normal (AN) and radial-normal (RN) planes is 1.3 and 1.2 respectively. After Zr + ion irradiation the ratio of σ ind t = 0 on the TN plane relative to σ ind t = 0 on the AN and RN planes is 1.04 and 1.08 respectively indicating that the anisotropy of the yield stress is decreased as a result of irradiation hardening. The relative change in indentation stress Δ σ ˆ , as a result of irradiation damage, decreases with increasing resolved basal pole fraction in the indentation direction. This suggests that the Zr + ion irradiation damage has a greater effect on blocking the movement of dislocations on prismatic slip systems compared to pyramidal slip systems in the Zr–2.5%Nb pressure tubing. The activation energy Δ G 0 of the obstacles that limit the rate of dislocation glide during indentation creep at 25 °C does not change with indentation direction but does increase with increasing levels of Zr + ion irradiation damage.

Effect of ion irradiation and indentation depth on the kinetics of deformation during micro-indentation of Zr–2.5%Nb pressure tube material at 25 °C

Micro-indentation creep tests were performed at 25 °C on radial-normal samples cut from Zr–2.5Nb CANDU pressure tube material in both the as-fabricated condition and after irradiation with 8.5 MeV Zr + ions. The average indentation stress, and hence the yield stress, was found to increase with decreasing indentation depth and with increasing levels of ion irradiation. The activation energy of the indentation creep rate and hence the, activation energy of the obstacles that limit the rate of dislocation glide, was independent of indentation depth but increased from Δ G 0 = 0.185 to 0.215 μb 3 with increasing ion irradiation damage. The magnitude of the activation energy indicates that ion irradiation introduces a new type of obstacle into the microstructure which reduces the low temperature indentation creep rate of Zr–2.5Nb pressure tubes. This is supported by TEM images showing that Zr + ion irradiation produces small, nanometer size, dislocation loops which act as obstacles to dislocation glide and thus influence both the yield stress and the activation energy of the low-temperature thermal creep of Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube material. These findings suggest that neutron irradiation will have similar effect upon yield stress and low-temperature thermal creep as the Zr + ion irradiation since both create similar crystallographic defects in Zr–2.5Nb pressure tubes.