CeO2−CoO Phase Diagram

Phase equilibria in the CeO₂−CoO system at temperatures above 1500°C were investigated. The microstructures and the phase compositions of the DTA (differential thermal analysis) samples and the quenched solid pellets were analyzed using SEM (scanning electron microscope), EDX (energy dispersive X-ray), and WDX (wavelength dispersive X-ray). A eutectic reaction was found at 1645 ± 5°C. The eutectic point was calculated to be at 82 ± 1.5 mol% CoO. The eutectic phases were the CeO₂-rich phase (containing <5 mol% CoO) and the CoO-rich phase (containing ∼0.5 mol% CeO₂). At 1580°C, the solubility of CoO in CeO₂ was ∼3 mol%.     

Building and exports

The building recession in many western industrialised countries has obliged their construction industries to look abroad for new markets. A Swedish view of this situation and the scope for consultancy work overseas is given here by a partner in civil engineering consultants Kjessler and Mannerstråle, AB, of Stockholm.

Most recent estimates, incidentally, put the annual value of such Swedish construction consultancy work abroad as £50-£60 million, about 60 per cent of it in the Middle East.     

European wood pellet market integration - A study of the residential sector

The integration of European energy markets is a key goal of EU energy policy, and has also been the focal point of many scientific studies in recent years. International markets for coal, oil, natural gas and electricity have previously been investigated in order to determine the extent of the respective markets. This study enhances this field of research to bioenergy markets. Price series data and time series econometrics are used to determine whether residential sector wood pellet markets of Austria, Germany and Sweden are integrated. The results of the econometric tests show that the German and Austrian markets can be considered to be integrated, whereas the Swedish market is separate from the other two countries. Although increased internationalization of wood pellet markets is likely to contribute to European price convergence and market integration, this process is far from completed.     

Energy saving in existing housing

In one of several pilot projects financed through the Swedish Council of Building Research, the Department of Building Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, showed how energy consumption could be reduced by more than 50 per cent in a typical three-storey block of flats built around 1940. Thermal insulation levels of the building were low by Swedish standards — walls and roofs having U-values of 1.2 W/m². °C — and oil consumption was as high as 60 litres per m² of net dwelling area.     

High-resolution capillary zone and gel electrophoresis of structurally similar amphipathic glutathione conjugates based on interaction with beta-cyclodextrins

The tripeptide glutathione is a prominent intracellular constituent that provides protection against genotoxic and carcinogenic electrophiles and is also a component of several biological signal substances. Glutathione conjugates, free glutathione, and glutathione disulfide contain charged amino acid residues, which contribute to solubility in aqueous media. However, the amphipathic nature of glutathione conjugates and the small differences that may distinguish the S substituents, pose analytical problems in their resolution. The present study demonstrates how homologous S-alkyl and S-benzyl conjugates of high structural similarity can be efficiently resolved by capillary electrophoresis. Inclusion of beta-cyclodextrins in the buffer or in a polyacrylamide gel affords baseline separation of the analytes. The separation methods described are applicable to enzyme assays in vitro and to the identification and quantification of glutathione conjugates of importance in toxicology and physiology. The contribution of beta-cyclodextrin to the separation is primarily based on interactions between its hydrophobic cavity and the S-alkyl and S-benzyl groups of the analytes.     

Stabilizing effects for the supercritical GaAs n+nn+-transferred electron amplifier

In this paper effects of importance for the stabilization of supercritical n⁺nn⁺ GaAs transferred electron devices are considered. By small-signal impedance calculations and measurements it is shown that doping- as well as temperature gradients of correct polarity reduce the device negative resistance and enhance stability. It is also found that an increasing doping density reduces the negative resistance. Finally it is demonstrated that relaxation effects have a profound influence on the impedance, and that such effects have to be included in a small-signal analysis in order to give reasonable agreement with measurements.     

An energy condition for initiation of interfacial microcracks at inclusions

Fracture mechanics is applied to the problem of microcrack initiation on cylindrical (spherical) particles in a matrix. The numerical calculations have been performed by the finite element method.A stress criterion for the initiation of interfacial, cap shaped, microcracks is derived as function of inclusion size and bonding strength. It is found that the cracks are unstable below a minimum “cap angle”. Comparison with experiments shows reasonable quantitative agreement.