Hydrogen entry into steel during atmospheric corrosion process

Hydrogen entry and permeation into iron were measured by an electrochemical method during atmospheric corrosion reaction. The hydrogen permeation was enhanced on passive films because the hydrogen adsorption increased by the hydrogen evolution mechanism which is different from that on a bear iron surface. The permeation rate during a wet and dry corrosion cycle showed a maximum in the drying process depending upon the surface pH and the corrosion potential. The pollutant such as Na₂SO₃ which decreases the pH and the corrosion potential causes an increase in the permeation rate. The mechanism of the change in the permeation rate during the wet and dry cycles is explained by the polarization diagram of the electrode covered by thin water layer.     

“Greening Up” Cross-Coupling Chemistry

New methodologies that enable palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions to be performed under environmentally benign conditions (in water and/or at room temperature) have been developed. Described approaches involve in situ activation of carbon–halogen or carbon–hydrogen bonds using zinc metal, or cationic palladium, respectively.     

Dynamic Control of a Self-Controlled Synchronous Motor Drive System

Dynamic performance of a speed control system containing a self-controlled synchronous motor is analyzed in detail. It is shown that a field voltage control combined with a margin angle control secures safe commutation of the inverter during transients that cause a large variation in the dc link current and that a current limiter enables the motor speed to change almost linearly at a maximum torque. A simple and efficient control strategy for a fast speed response without an overshoot is then proposed, and the effectiveness of this proposed control as well as the field voltage and margin angle controls is confirmed by experimental investigation.     

Thermally assisted recording of holographic gratings in semicrystalline azobenzene-containing polymers

We examine optically induced birefringence in semicrystalline azopolymer films that are held at glass-transition temperature Tg. The birefringence increases markedly after interception of the pump beam; the saturation value depends on exposure time. In addition, the induced birefringence is completely erased by irradiation with a circularly polarized beam at Tg. Using this thermally assisted method, we demonstrate the holographic recording of a test image. The intensity of the diffracted beam also increases after interception of the writing beams. Furthermore, the retrieved image is found to have a resolution of approximately 30 lp/mm. This resolution is comparable with that of the optical setup that is used. Accordingly, the thermally assisted recording by use of semicrystalline azopolymers is a promising method for reversible holographic storage.     

Anticorrosive behavior of hydroxyapatite as an environmentally friendly pigment

From the point of view of waste recycling, hydroxyapatite (HAp) can be synthesized using the waste sludge from semiconductor process. The possibility of using HAp as an anticorrosive pigment was investigated. The water absorption of coating pigmented with anticorrosive pigment, HAp, red lead (RL) and zinc potassium chromate (ZPC), and the corrosion at interface between coating and substrate were monitored using AC impedance technique. The amount of absorbed water decreased in the order of ZPC- > HAp- > RL-pigmented > unpigmented film. However, the water absorbed into HAp- or ZPC-pigmented film seems to be beneficial to anticorrosive function. The anticorrosive performance of HAp is superior or at least comparable to those of ZPC and RL, which have been known as representative anticorrosive pigments. It seems that the anticorrosive properties of HAp is mainly achieved by passivating the substrate, namely the soluble component of HAp reacts with Fe to form iron phosphate in the presence of water.     

Preparation and characterization of poly(amide-imide) multilayer films

Multilayer films of poly(amide-imide)s were prepared as follows: (1) monolayers of long alkyl amine salts of poly(amide-amic acid) were prepared at the air- water interface; (2) these monolayers were deposited on an appropriate plate by the Langmuir-Blodgett method; (3) the multilayers of poly(amide-amic acid) salts on the solid support were treated with acetic anhydride to afford poly(amide-imide) multilayer films. The monolayer thickness of the poly(amide-imide) multilayer films were 0.43–0.55 nm.     

Performance analysis of shaft generator systems

A shaft generator system supplies electrical power required in a ship by using a part of the power produced by the main engine. Since the speed of the main engine can vary over a wide range, an externally commutated thyristor inverter, which has high reliability, is generally used to produce ac power with constant voltage and frequency. In this paper, a set of system equations, by which the total harmonic distortion of the output voltage, for example, can be estimated, is derived first. The effects of leading angle of the inverter and the reactance of ac reactor located in the output side of the inverter on the system performances and the operation limit of the system are then clarified. Moreover, a way of taking the system losses into account is proposed to obtain precise calculation results. Finally, the apparent power for the synchronous condenser to provide reactive power in the system is discussed. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 131(3): 70–79, 2000     

Corrosion behaviour of carbon steel,titanium and titanium alloy in simulated underground water in Beishan area preselected for nuclear waste repository in China

The groundwater will completely infiltrate to the surface of nuclear waste container after the closure of its deep geological disposal. Therefore, the corrosion behaviour of Q235 carbon steel, titanium and titanium alloy, which were the candidates as the container materials for high-level nuclear waste disposal in simulated groundwater solution of Beishan to be served as the preselected high-level nuclear waste disposal area in China at different temperatures, was studied through electrochemical methods including open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarisation curve measurements. The results show that the corrosion rate of titanium and titanium alloy is lower than that of carbon steel at all temperatures, and they are more promising as container materials. Another phenomenon is that higher temperatures facilitate the protection performance of corrosion products compared with lower temperatures.     

Studies on a Wind Turbine Generating System that Employs a Thyristor Inverter

A new wind turbine generating system that employs a current‐source thyristor inverter is proposed, and the steady‐state and dynamic performances for a practical system are discussed. The proposed system is essentially based on the shaft generator system that is widely used in large ships, and it has many features such as high reliability and generation of output power of high quality. It is shown that electric power with constant frequency and voltage with low distortion can be obtained by using this novel system despite the changes in the velocity of natural wind. A dynamic model of the system is also developed, and a good agreement between simulated and experimental performances is obtained, thereby confirming the validity of the model.