Real-time corrosion monitoring of aluminium alloys under chloride-contaminated atmospheric conditions

In this study, the use of electrical resistance (ER) sensors to monitor the corrosion of Al₉₄Cu₆ alloy is assessed and compared with 2024-T3 coupons. Under uniform corrosion, a good correlation was found between the ER sensors and mass loss on coupons. Three different chloride depositions are studied: (i) pre-contamination with dry/wet cycles, (ii) Volvo standard accelerated corrosion test and (iii) neutral salt spray test. The obtained results show good reproducibility of the ER sensors under all tested conditions. This suggests that ER sensors more levelled the effect of localised corrosion through a large surface evaluation compared with cross-sections. The corrosion thickness obtained with the ER sensors does not correspond to the mean depth obtained by cross-sections. This can be explained by the distribution and size of the localised corrosion events according to a finite element model proposed. The ER method allows obtaining useful real-time corrosion data for the understanding of the corrosion mechanisms and the development of accelerated tests. The chloride concentration, the frequency of salt application and wet/dry cycles have a strong influence on the corrosion rate of aluminium alloys.     

Characterization, morphology and composition of biofilm and precipitates from a sulphate-reducing fixed-bed reactor

The characteristics of the biofilm and the solids formed during the operation of a sulphate-reducing fixed-bed reactor, fed with a moderately acidic synthetic effluent containing zinc and iron, are presented. A diverse population of delta-Proteobacteria SRB, affiliated to four distinct genera, colonized the system. The morphology, mineralogy and surface chemistry of the precipitates were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The XRD patterns observed are characteristic of amorphous solid phases. Peaks corresponding to crystalline iron sulphide, marcasite, sphalerite and wurtzite were also identified. SEM-EDX results confirm the predominance of amorphous phases appearing as a cloudy haze. EDX spectra of spots on the surface of these amorphous phases reveal the predominance of iron, zinc and sulphur indicating the formation of iron and zinc sulphides. The predominance of these amorphous phases and the formation of very fine particles, during the operation of the SRB column, are in agreement and can be explained by the formation pathways of metal sulphides at ambient temperature, alkaline pH and reducing conditions. Solids are precipitated either as (i) amorphous phases deposited on the bed material, as well as on surface of crystals, e.g. Mg(3)(PO(4))(2) and (ii) as rod-shaped solids characterized by a rough hazy surface, indicating the encapsulation of bacterial cells by amorphous metal sulphides.     

An integrated device for monitoring time-dependent in vitro expression from single genes in picolitre droplets

Microdroplets have great potential for high-throughput biochemical screening. We report the design of an integrated microfluidic device for droplet formation, incubation and screening. Picolitre water-in-oil droplets can be stored in a reservoir that contains approximately 10(6) droplets. In this reservoir droplets are stable for at least 6 h, which gives an extended timescale for biochemical experiments. We demonstrate the utility of the system by following the in vitro expression of green fluorescent protein. The high efficiency allows protein expression from a single molecule of DNA template, creating "monoclonal droplets" in which genotype and phenotype are combined in one emulsion compartment.     

Thermal annealing as a new simple method for PTFE texturing

The present work demonstrates how polytetrafluoroethylene can be textured at both nanometric and microscopic scales by simply controlling the duration and temperature of the polymer annealing. Two main phenomena responsible for the PTFE surface texturing are identified which are the crystallite growth and the stress relaxation. The patterned surfaces were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and contact angles measurements. As expected, an enhancement of the hydrophobic and oleophobic properties due to the texturation of the treated PTFE is observed.