Novel Methods for Recording Stress-Strain Curves in Proton Irradiated Material.

Proton irradiation is often used as a proxy for neutron irradiation but the irradiated layer is typically <50 μm deep; this presents a problem when trying to obtain mechanical test data as a function of irradiation level. Two novel methodologies have been developed to record stress-strain curves for thin proton-irradiated surface layers of SA-508-4N ferritic steel. In the first case, in-situ loading experiments are carried out using a combination of X-ray diffraction and digital image correlation on the near surface region in order to measure stress and strain, thereby eliminating the influence of the non-irradiated volume.

Towards Phosphate Detection in Hydroponics Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors.

An interdigitated electrode sensor was designed and microfabricated for measuring the changes in the capacitance of three phosphate selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) formulations, in order to provide hydroponics users with a portable nutrient sensing tool. The MIPs investigated were synthesised using different combinations of the functional monomers methacrylic acid (MAA) and -allylthiourea, against the template molecules diphenyl phosphate, triethyl phosphate, and trimethyl phosphate. A cross-interference study between phosphate, nitrate, and sulfate was carried out for the MIP materials using an inductance, capacitance, and resistance (LCR) meter.