Detection of Deoxynivalenol Using Fluorescence Excitation–Emission Matrix

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is an acutely toxic mycotoxin produced in wheat and other cereal grains when exposed to fungi such as Fusarium spp. In this study, DON aqueous samples at seven concentration levels were examined using the excitation–emission matrix (EEM). EEM is a graph composed of an excitation wavelength axis, an emission wavelength axis, and a fluorescence intensity axis. It is acquired by measuring the fluorescence intensity of a sample at consecutive excitation and emission wavelengths. The EEM of DON solution showed fluorescent peaks, which were nonexistent in that of water, particularly in the excitation (Ex) and emission (Em) wavelength ranges: Ex 200–240 nm/Em 300 nm and Ex 250–300 nm/Em 400–500 nm. Since the EEM is a multidimensional data composed of many wavelength conditions (667 in this case), principal component analysis was applied to reduce the data to lower dimensions. By plotting the scores of the first and second principal components, it was shown that DON could be discriminated from water and the concentration of DON in the aqueous solution could be judged.     

Microtexture in the friction-stir weld of an aluminum alloy

In order to characterize plastic flow during friction-stir welding, the microtextures in a friction-stir weld of the precipitation-hardened aluminum alloy 6063 have been analyzed by orientation imaging microscopy (OIM). The base-material plate has a Goss orientation. The weld center region, except for the upper surface, takes a typical shear texture component with two types of orientations. The orientations have a pair of common {111} and 〈110〉 parallel to the cylindrical pin surface and transverse direction of the plate, respectively. The typical texture component is also observed around the weld center on the midsection, although it rotates about the plate normal direction. A microtexture analysis after postweld heat treatment has suggested that dynamic recrystallization during friction-stir welding generates the recrystallized grains at the weld center.     

Microstructural characteristics in friction stir welded aluminium alloys

In order to elucidate distortion and residual stress generated by welding of high strength steel (HT780) by laser beam, a series of experiments and analyses were carried out. The angular distortion generated by bead-on-plate welding was V-shaped and its magnitude was about 2 mm. The longitudinal bending distortion was extremely small. On the surface of the plate, the residual stress component in the welding direction was tensile and it was smaller than the yield stress in the weld metal. The residual stress was almost zero outside the weld metal. The phase transformation range in the cooling stage and the temperature dependency of mechanical properties were obtained. The mechanical properties in the phase transformation range in the cooling stage could not be specified due to transformation expansion. Therefore, they were idealized by considering transformation expansion and transformation superplasticity. The validity of the idealized mechanical properties was verified by simulating the experiment by the thermal elastic–plastic analysis. It was elucidated that the welding out-of-plane distortion and tensile residual stress were largely controlled by phase transformation in the cooling stage, although the bead width of laser beam welding was extremely narrow.     

Crystal Structures and Mechanism of Thermal Expansion of High Cordierite and Its Solid Solutions

The crystal structure of high cordierite and that of high cordierite solid solutions containing either Mn or Ga or Ge were refined. The structural changes caused by substitutions and the characteristic features of deformations of each T1O₄, T2O₄ tetrahedron and MO₆ octahedron were clarified. Thorough crystal chemical considerations led to a conclusion that the structure of Mn-bearing solid solution at room temperature may be regarded as a model structure of high cordierite at an elevated temperature. On the basis of the thermal expansion mechanism derived from this consideration, the thermal expansion behavior of the solid solutions is presented.     

Effect of Zr/Ti Ratio on Microstructure and Electrical Properties of Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films Derived by Pulsed Laser Deposition

PZT films were fabricated using various targets of Pb(Zr_xTi_{1 – x})O₃ with Zr/Ti ratios of 70/30, 58/42, 52/48, 45/55 and 30/70, and with excess PbO of 20 wt% on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates. The rosette structure was observed in the films derived from the target with a Zr/Ti ratio of 70/30 and disappeared with increasing titanium composition. The observations on surface and cross-sectional microstructure were consistent with a higher perovskite nucleation for the higher Ti content films. The PZT films derived from the target with a Zr/Ti ratio of 45/55 had a polycrystalline columnar microstructure extending throughout the thickness of the film and no pyrochlore phase on the surface was observed. The PZT films derived from the target with a Zr/Ti ratio of 45/55 exhibited better electric properties than those derived from the target with a Zr/Ti ratio of 52/48.     

Microstructural factors governing hardness in friction-stir welds of solid-solution-hardened Al alloys

Microstructural factors governing hardness in friction-stir welds of the solid-solution-hardened Al alloys 1080 and 5083 were examined by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effect of grain boundary on the hardness was examined in an Al alloy 1080 which did not contain any second-phase particles. The weld of Al alloy 1080 had a slightly greater hardness in the stir zone than the base material. The maximum hardness was located in the thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ). The stir zone consisted of recrystallized fine grains, while the TMAZ had a recovered grain structure. The increase in hardness in the stir zone can be explained by the Hall-Petch relationship. On the other hand, the hardness profiles in the weld of Al alloy 5083 were roughly homogeneous. Friction-stir welding created the fine recrystallized grains in the stir zone and recovered grains in the TMAZ in the weld of this alloy. The stir zone and the TMAZ had slightly higher dislocation densities than the base material. Many small Al₆(Mn,Fe) particles were detected in all the grains of the weld. The hardness profiles could not be explained by the Hall-Petch relationship, but rather by Orowan hardening. The results of the present study suggest that the hardness profile is mainly affected by the distribution of small particles in friction-stir welds of Al alloys containing many such particles.     

Development of Corrosion‐Resistant Pressure Sensor with Semiconductor Strain Sensor

In automotive and industrial fields, pressure sensors are a key component for precisely controlling the mechanical systems. Conventional micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)‐based pressure sensors have an advantage in noise resistance, because both strain gauges and control circuits are integrated in one chip. However, the MEMS‐based pressure sensors are generally fabricated on an Si substrate, and have a low stability against various active gases. Thus, we have newly proposed a pressure sensor which consists of an Si‐based strain sensor set on a stainless steel diaphragm with a high stability against the active gases. The key technology is that a Koval plate is inserted between the strain sensor and the stainless steel diaphragm, for preventing the breakage or the delamination of the strain sensor at the bonding interface due to a difference in thermal expansion. Structure of the sensor including the shape and the size of Koval plate and the assembly position of the strain sensor were designed using structural simulation and experiments. Eventually, the 2.8 mm wide and 0.17 mm thick Koval beam was bridged on the stainless steel diaphragm for efficiently transmitting the diaphragm deformation to the strain sensor. The strain sensor was assembled at the edge of Koval beam with a glass bonding technique. Consequently, the developed pressure sensor has achieved a small dispersion of less than 1% F. S. in a temperature range from 0 °C to 85 °C.