Twenty-five year later: Retrospective comments by members of the original Harvard Commission.

This article offers a collection of retrospective comments by members of the original Harvard Commission. Each member provides his own comment and discusses his experiences in life and work. Comments are provided by: Detlev W. Bronk, Leonard Carmichael, John Dollard, Ernest R. Hilgard and John C. Whitehorn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuere Untersuchungen zur Aluminiumbestimmung mit Chromazurol S

Die photometrische Bestimmung von Aluminium im Stahl mit Chromazurol S unter Zusatz von Polyvinylalkohol als Schutzkolloid wurde untersucht. Der Aluminium-Komplex wird bei pH 6 gebildet, die Extinktion bei 620 nm gemessen. Störende Elemente werden durch eine Natronlaugefällung in Gegenwart von Zinkchlorid und Borsäure entfernt. Die Nachweisgrenze des Verfahrens liegt bei 0,0008% Al. Die Standardabweichung bei der Bestimmung von 0,0032% Al beträgt 0,00028% Al. Der Extinktionskoeffizient liegt bei 73 400 l/Mol · cm.     

Growth of Boric Acid Crystallites on the Surface of Boron-Doped Silicon Carbide Samples

White crystallites were visually observed on fractured or polished surfaces of SiC samples (grain sizes below ∼500 nm) during exposure to air at room temperature for several days. Characterization of the crystallites by scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction identified B(OH)₃ crystals with a strong (002) texture. The rate of boric acid formation was determined by a gravimetric experiment. The rate of weight gain increased significantly after an incubation period of 1 week. Nucleation is initially the rate-limiting process. Subsequently small B(OH)₃ crystals form on the surface, whose growth rate is determined by grain boundary diffusion of boron to the SiC surface. An estimated grain boundary diffusion coefficient of boron in SiC was many orders of magnitude higher than extrapolated literature values.     

Solvent-Based Synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nano</Emphasis>-Bi<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>0.15</Subscript> for Low-Temperature Thermoelectric Applications

In this study we show a preparation method for nanostructured Bi_0.85Sb_0.15 powders via a chemical reduction route in a polyol medium, yielding material with particle sizes of 20–150 nm in scalable amounts. The powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) in order to maintain the nanostructure. To investigate influence of the sinter process, the powders were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements before and after SPS. Transport properties, Seebeck effect, and thermal conductivity were determined in the low temperature range below 300 K. The samples showed excellent thermal conductivity of 2.3–2.6 W/m × K at 300 K and Seebeck coefficients from ?97 μV/K to ?107 μV/K at 300 K with a maximum of ?141 μV/K at 110 K, thus leading to ZT values of up to 0.31 at room temperature. The results show that Bi-Sb-alloys are promising materials for low-temperature applications. Our wet chemical approach gives access to scalable amounts of nano-material with increased homogeneity and good thermoelectric properties after SPS.     

Stability of coconut oil in food products

The active oxygen method (AOM) stability of refined coconut oil is generally 250 hr; however, samples with as low a stability as 30 hr have been obtained. The addition of BHA, BHT and citrate increased the AOM stability to about 350 hr even though the initial stability was 30 or 250 hr. Refined coconut oil samples which hydrolyzed from 2 to 10 times as rapidly as normal oils have been encountered. Such samples are undesirable for food production as soapy off-flavors may be produced. The rate of hydrolysis of coconut oil samples was evaluated by a simple laboratory test. Coconut oil free fatty acids produced a soapy off-flavor at a lower level in sweet foods than in salty ones. Soapy off-flavors were produced in a low moisture food containing coconut oil by the lipase activity of cinnamon.     

Kinetic Process of Reoxidation of Base Metal Technology BaTiO3-Based Multilayer Capacitors

Base metal technology, mainly using Ni electrodes in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs), is now well established. This technology requires a so-called reoxidation treatment after sintering the MLCCs in a reducing atmosphere to guarantee a sufficient electrical reliability. Large numbers of electrodes, and production of physically larger components for high-voltage components, are two technological trends that make the control of the reoxidation process rather difficult. The reoxidation process has been studied to determine oxygen diffusion pathways into commercial MLCCs, using ¹⁸O tracer diffusion and finite element calculations. In MLCCs oxygen diffusion mainly occurs along the Ni electrodes. Furthermore, the reoxidation process is mostly controlled by the thermodynamic potential of the Ni/NiO equilibrium in the interior of the capacitor, but it is the short circuit diffusion along the interface of the electrode that controls the kinetics of the oxygen transport into the interior of the capacitor device.     

Hydroxyl Defect Effect on Reoxidation of Sc‐Doped (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3 Fired in Reducing Atmospheres

The behavior of grain and grain‐boundary conductivity of acceptor (Sc)‐doped (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O₃ ceramics sintered in moist reducing atmosphere and subsequently reoxidized in dry and moist atmosphere was investigated by means of impedance spectroscopy (IS). In moist firing atmosphere, water vapor was found to react with oxygen vacancies, forming positively charged hydroxyl defects on regular oxygen sites in the crystal lattice. Proton hopping is considered to raise the ionic conductivity significantly. Therefore, hydroxyl defects in turn influence the grain conduction. Hydroxyl defects are also considered to be responsible for alternations of the dielectric maximum at the Curie point.     

Detection of Wear in One-Cathode Plasma Torch Electrodes and its Impact on Velocity and Temperature of Injected Particles

Wear at the electrode surfaces of a one-cathode plasma torch changes the characteristic fluctuation pattern of the plasma jet. This affects the trajectory of the particles injected into the plasma jet in a non-controllable way, which degrades the reproducibility of the process. Time-based voltage measurements and Fourier analysis were carried out on a one-cathode F4 torch at different wear conditions to determine the evolution of wear dependant characteristics. A significant correlation is observed between increasing torch wear and decreasing voltage roughness and high frequency noise. Furthermore, by means of particle diagnostic systems, the change in the particle velocity and temperature has been measured. The variations of the particle characteristics are significant and thus an influence on the sprayed coating microstructure is to be expected. This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the 2007 International Thermal Spray Conference and has been expanded from the original presentation. It is simultaneously published in Global Coating Solutions, Proceedings of the 2007 International Thermal Spray Conference, Beijing, China, May 14-16, 2007, Basil R. Marple, Margaret M. Hyland, Yuk-Chiu Lau, Chang-Jiu Li, Rogerio S. Lima, and Ghislain Montavon, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 2007.     

Correlation between spraying conditions and microcrack density and their influence on thermal cycling life of thermal barrier coatings

It is generally known that the porosity of thermal barrier coatings is essential to guarantee a sufficiently high strain tolerance of the coating during thermal cycling. However, much less is known about the influence of the specific morphology of porosity, such as microcracks and typically larger pores, on the performance of the coatings. Both features are usually formed during plasma spraying of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). In this investigation, the influence of microcracks on the thermal cycling behavior was studied. The amount of microcracks within YSZ thermal barrier coatings was changed by changing the powder-feeding rate. Only small changes of the total porosity were observed. Mercury porosimetry served as a tool to investigate both the amount of microcracks and pores in the coating. Additionally, microcrack densities were determined from metallographical investigations. A linear dependence between the amount of fine pores determined by Hg porosimetry and the crack density was obtained for one set of coatings. Thermal cycling TBC specimens with different microcrack densities were produced and tested in a gas burner test facility. At high surface temperatures (above 1300 °C), failure occurred in the ceramic close to the surface. Under these conditions, the samples with increased horizontal microcrack densities showed a significant increase of thermal cycling life.