Calculation of fast neutron removal cross sections for different lunar soils

The interaction of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) and solar energetic particles (SEPs) with the lunar surface produces secondary radiations as neutrons. The study of the production and attenuation of these neutrons in the lunar soil is very important to estimate the annual ambient dose equivalent on the lunar surface and for lunar nuclear spectroscopy. Also, understanding the attenuation of fast neutrons in lunar soils can help in measuring of the lunar neutron density profile and to measure the neutron flux on the lunar surface. In this paper, the attenuation of fast neutrons in different lunar soils is investigated. The macroscopic effective removal cross section (_ΣR)$({\mathrm{\Sigma }}_R)$ of fast neutrons was theoretically calculated from the mass removal cross-section values (_ΣR/ρ)$({\mathrm{\Sigma }}_R/\rho )$ for various elements in soils. The obtained values of (_ΣR)$({\mathrm{\Sigma }}_R)$ were discussed according to the density. The results show that the attenuation of fast neutrons is more important in the landing sites of Apollo 12 and Luna 16 than the other landing sites of Apollo and Luna missions.     

Thermally evolved gas analysis (TEGA) of hyperarid soils doped with microorganisms from the Atacama Desert in southern Peru: Implications for the Phoenix mission

TEGA, one of several instruments on board of the Phoenix Lander, performed differential scanning calorimetry and evolved gas analysis of soil samples and ice, collected from the surface and subsurface at a northern landing site on Mars. TEGA is a combination of a high temperature furnace and a mass spectrometer (MS) that was used to analyze samples delivered to the instrument via a robotic arm. The samples were heated at a programmed ramp rate up to 1000 °C. The power required for heating can be carefully and continuously monitored (scanning calorimetry). The evolved gases generated during the process can be analyzed with the evolved gas analyzer (a magnetic sector mass spectrometer) in order to determine the composition of gases released as a function of temperature. Our laboratory has developed a sample characterization method using a pyrolyzer integrated to a quadrupole mass spectrometer to support the interpretations of TEGA data. Here we examine the evolved gas properties of six types of hyperarid soils from the Pampas de La Joya in southern Peru (a possible analog to Mars), to which we have added with microorganisms (Salmonella typhimurium, Micrococcus luteus, and Candida albicans) in order to investigate the effect of the soil matrix on the TEGA response. Between 20 and 40 mg of soil, with or without ∼5 mg of lyophilized microorganism biomass (dry weight), were placed in the pyrolyzer and heated from room temperature to 1200 °C in 1 h at a heating rate of 20 °C/min. The volatiles released were transferred to a MS using helium as a carrier gas. The quadrupole MS was ran in scan mode from 10 to 200 m/z. In addition, ∼20 mg of each microorganism without a soil matrix were analyzed. As expected, there were significant differences in the gases released from microorganism samples with or without a soil matrix, under similar heating conditions. Furthermore, samples from the most arid environments had significant differences compared with less arid soils. Organic carbon released in the form of CO₂ (ion 44 m/z) from microorganisms evolved at temperatures of ∼326.0 ± 19.5 °C, showing characteristic patterns for each one. Others ions such as 41, 78 and 91 m/z were also found. Interestingly, during the thermal process, the release of CO₂ increased and ions previously found disappeared, demonstrating a high-oxidant activity in the soil matrix when it was subjected to high temperature. Finally, samples of soil show CO₂ evolved up to 650 °C consistent with thermal decomposition of carbonates. These results indicate that organics mixed with these hyperarid soils are oxidized to CO₂. Our results suggest the existence of at least two types of oxidants in these soils, a thermolabile oxidant which is highly oxidative and other thermostable oxidant which has a minor oxidative activity and that survives the heat-treatment. Furthermore, we find that the interaction of biomass added to soil samples gives a different set of breakdown gases than organics resident in the soil. The nature of oxidant(s) present in the soils from Pampas de La Joya is still unknown.     

Soil carbon distribution and site characteristics in hyper-arid soils of the Atacama Desert: A site with Mars-like soils

The soil carbon content and its relation to site characteristics are important in evaluating current local, regional, and global soil C storage and projecting future variations in response to climate change. In this study we analyzed the concentration of organic and inorganic carbon and their relationship with in situ climatic and geological characteristics in 485 samples of surface soil and 17 pits from the hyper-arid area and 51 samples with 2 pits from the arid–semiarid region from the Atacama Desert located in Peru and Chile. The soil organic carbon (SOC) in hyperarid soils ranged from 1.8 to 50.9 μg C per g of soil for the 0–0.1 m profile and from 1.8 to 125.2 μg C per g of soil for the 0–1 m profile. The analysis of climatic (temperature and precipitation), elevation, and some geologic characteristics (landforms) associated with hyper-arid soils explained partially the SOC variability. On the other hand, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) contents, in the form of carbonates, ranged from 200 to 1500 μg C per g of soil for the 0–0.1 m profile and from 200 to 3000 μg C per g of soil for the 0–1.0 m profile in the driest area. The largest accumulations of organic and inorganic carbon were found near to arid–semiarid areas. In addition, the elemental carbon concentrations show that the presence of other forms of inorganic carbon (e.g. graphite, etc.) was negligible in these hyperarid soils. Overall, the top 1 m soil layer of hyperarid lands contains ∼11.6 Tg of organic carbon and 344.6 Tg of carbonate carbon. The total stored carbon was 30.8-fold the organic carbon alone. To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the total budget carbon on the surface and shallow subsurface on ∼160,000 km² of hyperarid soils.     

广义非线性强度与广义滑动面

广义Mises准则满足八面体面上的剪应力和正应力之比为常数,SMP(Spatially Mobilized Plane)准则满足空间滑动面上的剪应力和正应力之比为常数,那么对于包含或逼近现有非线性强度准则的广义非线性强度,在物理空间中应存在一平面,且满足该平面上的剪应力和正应力之比为常数.为此,提出了介于八面体面和空间滑动面之间的广义滑动面,与广义非线性强度相对应,广义滑动面上的剪应力与正应力之比为常数,并给出了广义滑动面上应力比的表达式,及主应力空间中的强度面形状.通过深入分析和对比,表明了广义非线性强度和广义滑动面在材料强度描述上的一致性.      

考虑土渐近状态特性的应力应变关系

在经典弹塑性理论框架下,根据SMP(Spatially Mobilized Plane)破坏准则并结合变换应力方法,通过引入准弹性体积模量的概念,建立了用增量法表示的考虑土渐近状态特性的三维应力应变关系式.针对三轴压缩应力条件,给出了相应的简化应力应变增量矩阵,以三轴压缩试验中的常规三轴压缩、不排水剪切和控制应变增量比的3种应力路径为例,推导出了便于应用的应力应变增量关系式.最后,利用文中的公式进行了预测分析和试验对比,结果表明:新推导的公式能方便地预测考虑渐近状态特性下土的应力应变关系,并能合理描述试验结果.     

月球采样机械臂系统设计及试验验证

在对月球采样返回任务需求及探测器系统任务剖面进行分析的基础上，设计并研制了一种轻量化、大负载、高精度、宽采样范围月球采样机械臂系统。该系统主要由4自由度机械臂及两种不同采样形式的末端采样器组成，可对不同指定区域浅层月壤进行铲、挖、浅钻等多形式采集。在综合考虑机械臂系统器上布局的基础上，基于运动学模型对采样机械臂的可达采样区域进行仿真分析，提出采样机械臂月面采样策略。基于等尺寸着陆器模拟平台，开展了针对3种不同密实度模拟月壤的采样试验，采样试验结果表明在可达采样空间内，采样机械臂对不同密实度月壤均具有较好的适应性，最大采样深度可达30 mm，最大单次采样量可达270 g，单次采样时间小于2 min。     

含水率对电动修复Cr（Ⅵ）污染高岭土的影响

实验选用重铬酸钾作为污染物，配制高岭土中Cr（Ⅵ）初始质量分数为500mg·kg^-1。实验研究了不同含水率对电动修复效率的影响程度。实验结果表明：含水率极低时，由于电迁移和电渗流作用都很小，去除效率很低，需要其它的方式提高去除效率；在达到饱和状态时，含水率对去除效率影响很小，几乎为零。在一般含水率情况下，含水率对去除效率影响很大，在以后的中试或现场试验中，建议通过改变含水率的大小来提高去除效率，还需进一步研究。     

成层土中缺陷桩瞬态响应及其参数分析

为了更好地解决基桩缺陷量化分析问题，从建立成层土中缺陷桩桩土系统模型入手，引入矩阵递推法，求解出成层土中多缺陷桩桩顶和桩身任意点的瞬态响应解析解，并应用此解对缺陷桩瞬态响应影响参数进行分析，得出在利用幅值比进行缺陷量化分析方法中的关键影响因素为桩侧土阻尼系数，为成层土中基桩缺陷量化分析和承载力评价奠定了理论基础。     

Decomposition of sodium formate and L- and D-alanine in the Pampas de La Joya soils: Implications as a new geochemical analogue to Martian regolith

The organic compounds on the Martian surface are still undetectable by the previous Viking mission that has been sent to Mars even though they are expected to be there by exogenous and/or endogenous synthesis. The high abiotic reactivity has been the most acceptable explanation for the apparently absence of organic matter in the regolith.