Feedforward control of the transverse strip profile in hot-dip galvanizing lines

Hot-dip galvanizing is a standard technology to produce coated steel strips. The primary objective of the galvanizing process is to establish a homogeneous zinc layer with a defined thickness. One condition to achieve this objective is a uniform transverse distance between the strip and the gas wiping dies, which blow off excessive liquid zinc. Therefore, a flat strip profile at the gas wiping dies is required. However, strips processed in such plants often exhibit residual curvatures which entail unknown flatness defects of the strip. Such flatness defects cause non-uniform air gaps and hence an inhomogeneous zinc coating thickness. Modern hot-dip galvanizing lines often use electromagnets to control the transverse strip profile near the gas wiping dies. Typically, the control algorithms ensure a flat strip profile at the electromagnets because the sensors for the transverse strip displacement are also located at this position and it is unfeasible to mount displacement sensors directly at the gas wiping dies. This brings along that in general a flatness defect remains at the gas wiping dies, which in turn entails a suboptimal coating.In this paper, a model-based method for a feedforward control of the strip profile at the position of the gas wiping dies is developed. This method is based on a plate model of the axially moving strip that takes into account the flatness defects in the strip. First, an estimator of the flatness defects is developed and validated for various test strips and settings of the plant. Using the validated mathematical model, a simulation study is performed to compare the state-of-the-art control approach (flat strip profile at the electromagnets) with the optimization-based feedforward controller (flat strip profile at the gas wiping dies) proposed in this paper. Moreover, the influence of the distance between the gas wiping dies and the electromagnets is investigated in detail.     

Charge injection in metal/organic/metal structures with ZnO:Al/organic interface modified by Zn1−xMgxO:Al layer

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, AZO) electrodes were covered with very thin (∼6 nm) Zn_1−xMg_xO:Al (AMZO) layers grown by atomic layer deposition. They were tested as hole blocking/electron injecting contacts to organic semiconductors. Depending on the ALD growth conditions, the magnesium content at the film surface varied from x = 0 to x = 0.6. Magnesium was present only at the ZnO:Al surface and subsurface regions and did not diffuse into deeper parts of the layer. The work function of the AZO/AMZO (x = 0.3) film was 3.4 eV (based on the ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy). To investigate carrier injection properties of such contacts, single layer organic structures with either pentacene or 2,4-bis[4-(N,N-diisobutylamino)-2,6-dihydroxyphenyl] squaraine layers were prepared. Deposition of the AMZO layers with x = 0.3 resulted in a decrease of the reverse currents by 1–2 orders of magnitude and an improvement of the diode rectification. The AMZO layer improved hole blocking/electron injecting properties of the AZO electrodes. The analysis of the current-voltage characteristics by a differential approach revealed a richer injection and recombination mechanisms in the structures containing the additional AMZO layer. Among those mechanisms, monomolecular, bimolecular and superhigh injection were identified.     

Enhancement of optical and electrical properties of SILAR deposited ZnO thin films through fluorine doping and vacuum annealing for photovoltaic applications

Undoped and fluorine doped ZnO thin films were deposited onto glass substrates using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique and then annealed at 350 °C in vacuum ambience. The F doping level was varied from 0 to 15 at% in steps of 5 at%. The XRD analysis showed that all the films are polycrystalline with hexagonal wurtzite structure and preferentially oriented along the (002) plane. Crystallite sizes were found to increase when 5 at% of F is doped and then decreased with further doping. It was seen from the SEM images that the doping causes remarkable changes in the surface morphology and the annealing treatment results in well-defined grains with an improvement in the grain size irrespective of doping level. All the films exhibit good transparency (>70%) after vacuum annealing. Electrical resistivity of the film was found to be minimum (1.32×10⁻³ Ω cm) when the fluorine doping level was 5 at%.     

One-step synthesis of high purity ZnO micro/nanostructures from pure Zn and pre-alloyed brass powders by vapor phase transport

In this research, vapor phase transport (VPT) was introduced as a facile, inexpensive method to produce ZnO micro/nanostructures from various Zn sources such as pure Zn and alpha brass pre-alloyed powders (Cu–20Zn and Cu–28Zn) at different processing temperatures of 930 °C–1050 °C. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) was carried out to investigate Zn evaporation and ZnO micro/nanostructure formation. STA results showed an exothermic peck at 711 °C and 728 °C for Cu–20Zn and Cu–28Zn, respectively, due to oxidation of the evaporated Zn element and formation of ZnO micro/nanostructures. X-ray diffraction results showed that high purity ZnO micro/nanostructures were successfully synthesized via VPT process and the crystallite size was increased from ~60 nm to ~100 nm with increasing processing temperature. Field emission scanning electron microscopy observations showed morphology (e.g. rods, column, tetrapods, and combs) and size of the synthesized micro/nanostructures were dependent on the Zn sources and processing temperature, in which average diameter of the synthesized ZnO structures was increased with increasing the processing temperature. The smallest (98 nm) and largest (603 nm) average diameters of synthesized ZnO micro/nanostructures were attained from the pure Zn and Cu–28Zn brass powders at 930 °C and 1050 °C, respectively.     

Method for Preparation of Semiconductor Quantum‐Rod Lasers in a Cylindrical Microcavity

An efficient method for preparation of semiconductor quantum rod films for robust lasing in a cylindrical microcavity is reported. A capillary tube, serving as the laser cavity, is filled with a solution of nanocrystals and irradiated with a series of intense nanosecond laser pulses to produce a nanocrystal film on the capillary surface. The films exhibit intense room‐temperature lasing in whispering‐gallery modes that develop at the film–capillary interface as corroborated from the spacing detected for the lasing modes. Good lasing stability is observed at moderate pump powers. The method was applied successfully to several quantum‐rod samples of various sizes.     

Effects of surface roughness of substrates on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO films deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering

The c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO film is the most important factor for its successful application in piezoelectric devices. The effects of surface roughness of the substrate on the c-axis preferred orientation of ZnO thin films, deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, were investigated. During sputtering, the oxygen content in the argon environment used was varied from 0 to 70% at a total sputtering pressure of 10 mTorr. Very smooth Si, smooth evaporated Au/Si, smooth evaporated-Al/Si, and rough sputtered-Al/Si were used as substrates. Their r.m.s. roughnesses, as measured by atomic force microscopy, were 1.27, 17.1, 21.1 and 65-118 Å, respectively. The crystalline structure and the angular spread of the (0 0* 2) plane normal to the ZnO films were determined using X-ray diffraction and X-ray rocking curves, respectively. The crystallinity and the preferred c-axis orientation of the ZnO films were strongly dependent on the surface roughness of the substrates rather than on the oxygen content of the working environment or on the chemical nature of the substrate.     

高质量ZnO薄膜的退火性质研究

在LP－MOCVD中，我们利用Zn(C2H5)2作Zn源，CO2作氧源，在（0002）蓝宝石衬底上成功制备出皮c轴取向高度一致的ZnO薄膜，并对其进行500℃-800℃四个不同温度的退火。利用XRD、吸收谱、光致发光谱和AFM等手段研究了退火对ZnO晶体质量和光学性质的影响。退火后，（0002）ZnO的XRD衍射峰强度显著增强，c轴晶格常数变小，同时（0002）ZnOX射红衍射峰半高宽不断减小表明晶粒逐渐增大，这与AFM观察结果较一致。由透射谱拟合得到的光学带隙退火后变小，PL谱的带边发射则加强，并出现红移，蓝带发光被有效抑制，表明ZnO薄膜的质量得到提高。     

Atmospheric corrosion of reference metals in Antarctic sites

This paper presents the results obtained at three Antarctic test sites participating in the “Ibero-American Map of Atmospheric Corrosiveness” (MICAT), a project on atmospheric corrosion carried out during the period 1988–1994 at some 70 sites distributed across 12 countries of the Latin-American region, Spain and Portugal. The three Antarctic sites are located near the coastline.The singular climatic characteristics of Antarctic regions are related with the purity of the air, the absence of rainfall and the formation of ice on the metallic surface during an important part of the exposure time. However, electrochemical activity is possible below ice layers. This situation affects the structure and morphology of corrosion product films and the resulting corrosion rates of metallic surfaces.     

锌电积的节电探讨

分析厂影响锌电积电能消耗的因素，提出了锌电积的节电对策与展望。