Effect of phosphoric acid on the performance of low antimony grid of Pb‐acid cell under constant current charging and discharging

Effect of phosphoric acid on the performance of Pb‐1.7%Sb grid of lead‐acid cell is studied in 5 M H₂SO₄ by cyclic galvanostatic polarization and impedance spectroscopy. An increase in capacitance to a maximum is recorded during the initial stages of the electro‐reduction of PbO₂ into Pb(II) compounds and attributed to concurrent compositional and dimensional changes. These changes include removal of O₂ bubbles, insertion of large amounts of H₂SO₄ and H₂O. Efficiency of PbO₂ formation decreases, while its rate of self‐discharge increases with increasing the charging current and in the presence of H₃PO₄. The charge capacity increases with increasing the discharging current due to the decrease in the self‐discharge. The charge capacity is lower in the presence of H₃PO₄. On increasing the cycle number, the corrodibility of the grid increases, because more layers of the surface Pb are involved in the self‐discharge. H₃PO₄ significantly retards the effect of cycle number.     

AES for multiscale localization modeling in granular media

This work presents a multiscale strong discontinuity approach to tackle key challenges in modeling localization behavior in granular media: accommodation of discontinuities in the kinematic fields, and direct linkage to the underlying grain-scale information. Assumed enhanced strain (AES) concepts are borrowed to enhance elements for post-localization analysis, but are reformulated within a recently-proposed hierarchical multiscale computational framework. Unlike classical AES methods, where material properties are usually constants or assumed to evolve with some arbitrary phenomenological laws, this framework provides a bridge to extract evolutions of key material parameters, such as friction and dilatancy, based on grain scale computational or experimental data. More importantly, the phenomenological softening modulus typically used in AES methods is no longer required. Numerical examples of plane strain compression tests are presented to illustrate the applicability of this method and to analyze its numerical performance.     

Coatings against corrosion and microbial adhesion

A systematic study on anti‐corrosion and anti‐fouling effect of hydrophobic Langmuir–Blodgett and self‐assembled molecular layers deposited on metal surfaces, as well as anti‐microbial adhesion properties of coatings with biocide is presented. Both types of efficiencies produced by LB films are enhanced by Fe³⁺ ions built in the molecular film. The quaternary ammonium type biocide embedded into the cross‐linked gelatin decreased significantly the microbial adhesion, the biofilm formation.     

High‐temperature oxidation behaviour of model Co?Re?Cr alloys at low oxygen partial pressure

The oxidation behaviour of four model Co? Re? Cr alloys and a commercial Co‐based alloy was investigated at 1000 °C and a low‐oxygen partial pressure of p(O₂) = 10^?16 bar, in order to prove the feasibility of a pre‐oxidation treatment. Under suitable conditions of the pre‐oxidation treatment, the oxidation of the highly reactive alloying element Cr is possible. All the studied alloys form a continuous and dense Cr₂O₃ scale on the metal surface. The transport of chromium to the surface occurs mainly from the Cr‐rich σ‐phase, which becomes completely dissolved in the surrounding matrix after long exposure times. As a result of the Cr₂O₃ scale, growth depletion of Cr occurs in the near surface region, leading to internal oxidation.     

A novel energy‐retaining inverter for AC arc welding machines

A novel energy‐retaining power supply for AC arc welding machines is proposed in this paper. In this kind of power supply, current‐steering diodes connected across the output chokes keep the inductor current continuous and retain the energy during the commutation period, hence reducing the commutation time to ensure a better welding performance. In addition, the stored energy can be released in the next energy transfer cycle to raise the conversion efficiency. The circuit operations and design procedures are likewise examined thoroughly. Experimental results on a prototype inverter for driving a 100‐A AC arc welding machine are recorded to validate the effectiveness of the presented scheme. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.