Naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungsergebnisse an Gebrauchskeramikproben vom mittelbronzezeitlichen Arbeits- und Siedlungsplatz Schlosser/KG Schwarzenbach/OG Trieben

A chemical and mineralogical analysis was made at the chair of Ceramics, Montanuniversit?t Leoben, of six items of pottery chosen from the objects yielded by the mining archaeological excavations (2000) at the mid-bronze age working site and settlement "Schlosser", cadastral community of Schwarzenbach, parish of Trieben, Austria. In order to distinguish between fine and ordinary (coarse) pottery, a visual assessment of the maximum grain was applied. In pottery making, the most common nonplastic materials used are quartz and feldspar as well as feldspar substitutes; in two cases considerable quantities of muscovite were found. The fine ceramic samples have a maximum grain size of up to 2 mm, for the ordinary ceramic samples it is over 2 mm. The number of large grains in the fine ceramics is up to 3.8/cm², while the ordinary ceramics show up to 8.4 large grains /cm². This is an indication that in the manufacture of fine ceramics a grogging strategy was employed deliberately that differed from the one for ordinary ceramics. It is proved that the distribution of large grains was a quality criterion in the ceramics production at this site. The above mentioned flux stones as well as traces of minerals found in the pottery samples correspond to a paragenesis that is typical of the crystalline phase. It is therefore likely that the raw materials came from an area not far from the find location of the pottery in the Palten Valley. Comparisons with the results of tests performed on samples of pottery from the smelting site Versunkene Kirche corroborate this thesis.     

Measuring ultrasonic attenuation in concrete

The author, who is head of the physics division at the Institut für Stahlbeton, Dresden, describes work on the calculation of friction and scatter attenuation in the ultrasonic testing of concrete.     

Efficient Recovery of Zn and Fe from Steel Mill Residues with the RecoDust-Process

For every industrial process, the enhancement of efficiency and effectiveness is always a topic. Especially new processes have to be highly efficient concerning energy consumption and costs. With RecoDust there is a new recycling process in pilot plant status that fulfils nearly all demands on an efficient and effective process.     

The Effect of Zr Incorporation Caused by Ball Abrasion in a Milled Fe-Y2O3 Model Alloy

Y-O nanoparticles which are homogeneously distributed in the matrix can improve the thermal properties of steels. Several studies of mechanically alloyed steels showed that especially Y-Ti-O particles can cause a further improvement of the mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. It is also assumed that an addition of Zr instead of Ti may have a similar or even stronger effect. This study presents a new way of producing nanostructured ferritic alloys as Zr is incorporated by attrition of yttrium-stabilized zirconia balls during milling. Additionally, the effect of Zr incorporation is demonstrated as well as the particle size distribution of the Y-Zr-O nanoparticles analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. This is compared to a specimen milled with common steel balls. Atom probe tomography and transmission electron microscopy show that the incorporated zirconia lowers the minimum particle size and causes a finer particle distribution. This particle refinement causes a higher hardness after hipping.