The Art of Masonry

Brick masonry is not only a question of building physics, building construction and durability, i.e. sustainability, but has much to do with aesthetics and making sense, which may have been forgotten in modern architecture with its absolute lack of décor. Masonry as an art form has been scarce since the era of brick expressionism. Recently, there have been some exceptions – and thoroughly welcome. The ”Fjordenhus“ in Vejle, Denmark, is an astonishing example.     

Natural Silk Film for Magnesium Protection: Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interaction and Self‐Healing Effect

Biodegradable implants are required in order to provide successful treatment of injuries. Temporary magnesium‐based implants with particular properties are needed in cases when it is desirable not only to maintain vital activity, but also to initiate the self‐healing process of damaged bones or tissues as well. Unfortunately, the use of magnesium alloys is limited due to the fast biodegradability of the applied material. The aim of this research is to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys by sonochemical treatment in silk solution followed by additional layer‐by‐layer deposition of natural silk on the magnesium surface. The sonication process is carried out at a frequency of 20 kHz during 5–10 min, while the duration of the silk layer deposition is 15 min. The corrosion behavior of magnesium substrates modified by natural silk layer‐by‐layer assembly is studied. Magnesium substrates sonochemically treated in silk solution demonstrate three times better corrosion resistance compared to control samples sonochemically treated in water. Additional deposition of a silk layer enhances obtained corrosion resistance by 18 times, resulting in a 54‐fold increase overall.     

Corrosion behavior of under‐, peak‐, and over‐aged 6063 alloy: A comparative study

The mechanical property of age‐hardenable Al‐alloys is governed by the state of ageing, which determines the microstructure and consequently, their corrosion behavior which is a vital aspect for a number of applications. This article presents a comparative assessment of corrosion behavior of under‐, peak‐ and over‐aged Al‐Mg‐Si alloy. Corrosion characteristics have been determined via immersion tests in 0.1 M ortho‐phosphoric acid solution and intergranular corrosion (IGC) tests. Corroded surfaces are examined by field emission scanning electron micrographs‐energy dispersive spectroscopy and 3D optical profilometer. The obtained results reveal that the corrosion rate at a specific immersion time as well as the depth of IGC increases in the order for under‐, peak‐, and over‐aged states. Irrespective of the state of ageing, corrosion loss increases linearly but the rate of corrosion decreases rapidly with increasing immersion time. The dominant mode of corrosion in under‐aged alloy is identified as localized pitting, while peak‐aged is highly susceptible to IGC in contrast extensive pitting corrosion is observed for over‐aged alloy. The observed differences in corrosion behavior are explained considering characteristics of precipitates. Formation of β (Mg₂Si) in case of over‐aged alloy and presence of inclusions like AlFeMnSi particles are found to accelerate pitting corrosion.     

M-estimator based Chinese Remainder Theorem with few remainders using a Kroenecker product based mapping vector

The Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) explains how to estimate an integer-valued number from the knowledge of the remainders obtained by dividing such unknown integer by co-prime integers. As an algebraic theorem, CRT is the basis for several techniques concerning data processing. For instance, considering a single-tone signal whose frequency value is above the sampling rate, the respective peak in the DFT informs the impinging frequency value modulo the sampling rate. CRT is nevertheless sensitive to errors in the remainders, and many efforts have been developed in order to improve its robustness. In this paper, we propose a technique to estimate real-valued numbers by means of CRT, employing for this goal a Kroenecker based M-Estimation (ME), specially suitable for CRT systems with low number of remainders. Since ME schemes are in general computationally expensive, we propose a mapping vector obtained via Kroenecker products which considerably reduces the computational complexity. Furthermore, our proposed technique enhances the probability of estimating an unknown number accurately even when the errors in the remainders surpass 1/4 of the greatest common divisor of all moduli. We also provide a version of the mapping vectors based on tensorial n-mode products, delivering in the end the same information of the original method. Our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art CRT methods not only in terms of percentage of successful estimations but also in terms of smaller average error.     

Relationship between the inductive response observed during electrochemical impedance measurements on aluminium and local corrosion processes

In situ real-time imaging and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were performed on pure aluminium, aluminium-copper and copper electrodes, with the aim to elucidate the relationship between the shape of EIS spectra and the local processes occurring on the surface of corroding aluminium, with particular attention to the appearance of inductive behaviour. When a stable oxide was present on the aluminium surface, the impedance modulus increased with decreasing frequencies, indicating the absence of inductive behaviour. Conversely, the presence of depassivating condition coupled with the availability of some anodic current, generated localized corrosion and associated hydrogen evolution at the corrosion front (also known as superfluous hydrogen evolution). In these conditions, a clear inductive behaviour was observed, regardless on the source of the anodic current at the corrosion front, i.e. galvanic coupling or external anodic polarization.     

Investigation of the relationship between intergranular corrosion and retrogression and reaging in the AA6063

AA6063 was heat treated with different retrogression temperatures and durations, and the effect of heat treatment conditions on the microstructure, hardness, electrical conductivity, intergranular corrosion (IGC) and electrochemical corrosion behaviours of the AA6063 was determined compared with the T6 condition. The IGC test was applied according to the BS EN ISO 11846: 2008 standard. Moreover, potentiodynamic polarization tests were applied to determine the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of the heat‐treated samples. Electrochemical corrosion tests were carried out by using a Ivium Compactstat potentiostat in 3.5 wt.%. NaCl solution at 24°C with a scanning rate of 0.5 mV/s. The corrosion test cell consisted of the reference electrode (Ag/AgCl), working electrode (test sample) and a reference electrode (platinum). The effect of IGC on the microstructure of AA6063 and corrosion depth values was investigated by using a stereo optical microscope and a light metal microscope, respectively. Corrosion depth examinations were performed on microstructures taken from the cross‐sections of the samples. The chemistry of the precipitates formed at grain boundaries and distribution of the precipitates in the microstructure were investigated by scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X‐ray and transmission electron microscope analyses. The results showed that retrogression and reaging heat treatment improves both the corrosion resistance and the mechanical properties of AA6063. After 50°C/15 min RRA heat treatment, the highest corrosion resistance and a higher hardness value than the T6 level were obtained.