Crystallization of Fe-Si-B metallic glasses studied by X-ray synchrotron radiation

We have studied the crystallization kinetics of Fe_90-x Si _x B₁₀ amorphous alloys withx ranging from 7 to 21, by synchrotron X-ray radiation. Using energy- dispersive X-ray diffraction, the kinetics of the different crystalline phases evolving during isothermal annealing were followed. These crystalline phases were identified as precipitation of-Fe(Si) and/or Fe₃Si in the amorphous matrix. At a later time or at a higher temperature, Fe₂B starts to crystallize (x < 21 ). Only at low iron concentration (x = 21) was the second phase different, namely Fe₅SiB₂ The hypo- and hyper-eutectic Fe-Si-B glasses were found to crystallize differently. The crystallization processes are discussed in some detail.     

Mechanical aspects of the rare-earth effect

In order to gain a better understanding of the reactive-element effect (REE), the improvement of the oxidation behavior of chromia- or alumina-scale-forming alloys by the addition of small amounts of elements with higher affinity to oxygen than the scale-forming element, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between isothermal oxidation and the behavior of the metal/oxide composite system during cooling. An approach is presented based on fracture-mechanical considerations which correlates critical differential strain between scale and substrate, fracture toughness of the metal/scale interface, scale thickness, defect size and interfacial amplitude. This approach allows a quantitative assessment of the REE for scale adhesion, and although the necessary experimental data are yet lacking, it describes the reported REE in a qualitatively correct manner.     

Combined hydration of tricalcium silicate and β-dicalcium silicate

The mutual interaction of tricalcium silicate (C₃S) and β-dicalcium silicate (β-C₂S) in their combined hydration was studied. The rate of β-C₂S hydration was accelerated significantly in the presence of C₃S. The rate of C₃S hydration was retarded, but only in the presence of large amounts of β-C₂S. The stoichiometric composition and the pore structure of the hydrates formed was altered only unsignificantly when both compound hydrated simultaneously.     

The action of various lime soap dispersants

The course of the lime soap-dispersing action of various surfactants has been examined by use of a titrimetric method. Two types of dispersants can be distinguished. With the addition of a surfactant of the first type, the concentration of the dispersed fatty acid increases gradually. If a surfactant of the second type is used, a definite increase of the fatty acid concentration first occurs after the addition of considerable amounts of the dispersant. Ethylene oxide adducts and sodium triethylene glycol monolauryl ether sulfate behave like dispersants of the first type whereas sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate and sodium lauryl sulfate belong to those of the second type. The dispersing action of both types of surfactants is discussed.     

An Asymptotic Preserving Method for Linear Systems of Balance Laws Based on Galerkin’s Method

We apply the concept of asymptotic preserving schemes (SIAM J Sci Comput 21:441–454, 1999) to the linearized \(p\) -system and discretize the resulting elliptic equation using standard continuous Finite Elements instead of Finite Differences. The fully discrete method is analyzed with respect to consistency, and we compare it numerically with more traditional methods such as Implicit Euler’s method.     

Transverse mixing and heat transfer in horizontal rotary drum reactors

The transverse mixing of quartz sand (mean particle sizes 157, 323, 794 and 1038 μm) and sodium carbonate (soda) (mean particle size 137 μm) has been investigated in a laboratory rotary drum reactor of 300 mm length and 310 mm diam. Solid movement in the drum was observed by means of colored tracers and successive exposures as well as by means of hot tracers and recording the local temperature in the bulk of particles. Three different types of the particles and bulk behaviour could be observed for stickly particles. The time constant of the mixing was estimated as a function of the rotational speed of the drum. The “cooling-down” curves of the bulk of particles were measured in a laboratory oven of 250 mm diam. and 600 mm length. The temperature variation as a function of the time can be described by the Newtonian cooling law, from which the heat transfer coefficient at the wall α_w was estimated.The absolute value of α_w's and their dependence on the contact time and particle diameter cannot be calculated by the heat penetration model, which disregards the film resistance at the bulk/wall contact. By taking into account this resistance a good quality of fitting can be achieved.     

The active grading ensemble framework for learning visual quality inspection from multiple humans

When applying machine learning technology to real-world applications, such as visual quality inspection, several practical issues need to be taken care of. One problem is posed by the reality that usually there are multiple human operators doing the inspection, who will inevitably contradict each other for some of the products to be inspected. In this paper an architecture for learning visual quality inspection is proposed which can be trained by multiple human operators, based on trained ensembles of classifiers. Most of the applicable ensemble techniques have however difficulties learning in these circumstances. In order to effectively train the system a novel ensemble framework is proposed as an enhancement of the grading ensemble technique—called active grading. The active grading algorithms are evaluated on data obtained from a real-world industrial system for visual quality inspection of the printing of labels on CDs, which was labelled independently by four different human operators and their supervisor, and compared to the standard grading algorithm and a range of other ensemble (classifier fusion) techniques.