[Neutron] LANSCE-December 2010 User Program Headlines

[Aundrea R. Espinosa]

December 21,2010


Colleagues,

 


If would like to be removed from the LANSCE Users Letter, please contact Aundrea Espinosa, e-mail aundrea at lanl.gov.


Science Highlight: Novel Neutron Detector

Science Highlight: Polymeric materials upon deformation

Announcement: LANSCE-Lujan Center wins graduate award

Announcement: UC Sponsored LANSCE Lujan Center Workshop



Science Highlight

 Novel Neutron Detector

Frederik Tovesson (LANSCE-NS) was among the recipients of a Best Poster Award at the recent second annual LDRD (Laboratory Directed Research and Development) Day event. Tovesson was a co-author of “A Novel Neutron Detector.” LDRD invests in potentially high-payoff projects at the discretion of LANL’s Director. These investments enable the Laboratory to anticipate and prepare for emerging national challenges. One of the goals of the event is to present Los Alamos’s science to the public in an approachable, understandable manner. Attendees had the opportunity to vote on the best poster.

    



Science Highlight


In situ characterization of multiphase polymeric materials upon deformation  






Polymers containing multiple phases are extremely important as lightweight structural materials. Tensile deformation of polymeric materials can cause alignment or orientation of the constituent chains. If the polymeric material has more than one phase, significant changes in the structure may occur upon deformation. The orientation of the polymer chains produces a material that exhibits extremely high mechanical strength in the stretch direction. A commercial application of this technology is the production of high strength fibers, such as Kevlar and Spectra, for bulletproof vests. The Laboratory’s Institute for Multiscale Materials Studies (a collaborative program with the University of California, Santa Barbara), and the LANSCE-Lujan Center have developed a capability to monitor in situ the morphological changes upon tensile deformation in polymeric materials. Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and isotopic labeling provide a mechanism to isolate the effects of deformation on various portions of the polymer chain. Previous SANS studies on PBX-9501 binder characterized the multiphase structure of a polyurethane elastomer under static conditions. The results will be used to develop a fundamental understanding of the effects that deformation has on the polymer structure and to model the mechanical properties in complex polymeric materials. The team consists of Cindy Welch, Bruce Orler, Debra Wrobleski and David Langlois (MST-7); Arthur Scholz (UCSB); Rex Hjelm and Monika Hartl (LANSCE-LC); Joe Mang (High Explosives Science and Technology, WX-7); Eric Brown (Neutron Science and Technology, P-23); and Dana Dattelbaum (Shock and Detonation Physics, WX-9).


 
Announcement

LANSCE-Lujan Center wins graduate award



Daniel Shoemaker, a University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) graduate student who has conducted numerous research projects at the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center the past four years, was awarded the Graduate Student Gold Award by the Materials Research Society (MRS) at the society’s recent annual fall meeting. Shoemaker, who is a UCSB/ Institute for Multiscale Materials Studies (IMMS) fellow, earned the award for his research in total scattering descriptions of local and cooperative Jahn-Teller distortions in the CuxMg1-xCr2O4 solid solution.



 
Announcement


UC Sponsored LANSCE Lujan Center Workshop


The “applications of Neutron Scattering to Materials and Earth Sciences” workshop was held Saturday-Dec. 11, UC Berkeley with around 70 participants. Intended for graduate students, postdocs and researchers in earth sciences, physics, chemistry, materials science and engineering, with an interest in applying neutron scattering to studies of synthetic and natural materials. Lectures were complemented by data analysis tutorials in the afternoon for data collected at four LANSCE – LC instruments: HIPPO, SMARTS, NPDF, and FDS. Workshop organizers:  Professor Rudy Wenk (UC Berkeley, Earth and Planetary Sciences Department), Sven Vogel (LANSCE – LC), and Hongwu Xu (LANSCE, and LANL-EES – 14).

 


 
 



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