Surface analysis of CVD diamond exposed to fusion plasma

Microcrystalline undoped and heavily boron-doped polycrystalline diamond layers have been deposited on various substrates by hot filament CVD and exposed to hydrogen plasma in a linear plasma reactor (Pilot-PSI, The Netherlands) that simulates the high flux and high density plasma conditions of tokamak divertors, as well as in the DIII-D tokamak (US). Pre- and post-exposure analysis by SEM and Raman spectroscopy characterised the surface appearance and the sp³ and sp² components of the diamond films respectively. Surface roughness variation was measured by AFM. Hardness and Young's modulus were assessed by nanoindentation in order to characterise the effect of the plasma on the mechanical properties. HRTEM and EELS have been used to evaluate the nature of the modification induced at the diamond surface by the plasma exposure. The measurements have shown that, despite some surface amorphisation of the exposed layers, further long-term exposure studies are warranted as neither delamination, dramatic film failure nor entire erosion of the film were observed.     

Analysing metals in bottle‐grade poly(ethylene terephthalate) by X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry

After a rigorous cleaning process, recycled food‐grade poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), can be mixed with virgin PET resin in different concentrations and used for packaging of soft drinks. Therefore, it is important to have an experimental method to distinguish the presence of recycled polymer in a batch and to check its “true quality.” One of the issues to be verified is the presence of inorganic contaminants due to the recycling process. X‐ray fluorescence technique is one alternative for this kind of analysis. The results obtained in this work show that bottle‐grade PET samples (PET‐btg) are made either via direct esterification or by a transesterification process. Samples that were subjected to thermo‐mechanical processings (superclean® processing, PET‐btg blends processed in our laboratory and soft drink PET packaging) present Fe Kα emission lines with higher intensities than those presented by virgin bottle‐grade PET. After applying principal component analysis, it can be concluded that Fe is an intrinsic contaminant after the recycling process, furnishing a way to indicate class separations of PET‐btg. A calibration and validation partial least squares model was constructed to predict the weight percent of post‐consumption bottle‐grade PET in commercial PET samples. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Design and characterization of a one‐compartment scale‐down system for simulating dissolved oxygen tension gradients

BACKGROUND: A laboratory scale one‐compartment scale‐down system (1‐CSDS), used to generate dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) gradients was designed and characterized. The system consists of a 1.5‐L stirred‐tank bioreactor coupled to an automatic DOT controller that changes the oxygen partial pressure in the inlet gas through a feedback proportional–integral–derivative algorithm, while maintaining the hydrodynamic conditions constant. Oscillatory control of DOT was achieved by employing time‐dependent square wave or sinusoidal setpoints. RESULTS: The 1‐CSDS can be modeled as a first‐order dynamic system, but showing a permanent lag between the system response and the setpoint. The 1‐CSDS had a faster response rate for generating oscillating DOT when a square wave setpoint was used rather than a sinusoidal setpoint. The 1‐CSDS generated symmetric DOT oscillations at periods above of 100 s. CONCLUSION: The 1‐CSDS is suited to investigate the responses of microorganisms and cells, of biotechnological importance, to oscillatory DOT conditions. It was found that the response of the 1‐CSDS was limited by the k_La. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effects of thermal annealing on the optical characteristics of k -na + waveguides

We present a systematic study of the changes induced in the refractive-index profile of different sets of K -Na + ion-exchanged waveguides on soda-lime and BK7 substrates because of thermal annealing in the presence or absence of salt vapors. The concentration of potassium is recovered by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and the propagation losses are measured by means of the three-prism configuration.     

A pilot study on the content and the release of Ni and other allergenic metals from cheap earrings available on the Italian market

The capability of alloys used in cheap jewellery to release metal ions on contact with the skin causing allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is generally acknowledged. To reduce the diffusion of the Ni-induced ACD the Council Directive 94/27/EC [Council Directive 94/27/EC of 30 June 1994. Official Journal L 188, 22/07/1994, 1.] limited the total Ni content in alloys and its release rate in artificial sweat. In this work, three different aspects were explored: i) the frequency of skin sensitization to Ni-containing earrings in patients before and after the introduction of the Directive's limit; ii) metal composition of alloys by X-ray analysis; iii) metal leaching in artificial sweat followed by Sector Field Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) quantification. Well-known allergenic metals, as Ni, Cr and Co, and possible emergent allergens, as Al, Ag, Au, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ir, Mn, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sn, V and Zn, were studied. Results showed that the frequency of allergy due to earrings did not decrease after the introduction of the Ni limit: in 1994 and in 2005 patients positive to Ni patch tests were 54.3% and 53.5%, respectively. The earring components analyzed were Fe-based or alloys of Cu/Zn or Fe/Cr/Ni, plated with a thin film of precious metal (Ag, Au) which, in several cases, was combined with a Ni layer beneath. Five out of 10 items were not in compliance with the Ni Directive 94/27/EC having a total Ni content >0.05%. In three cases the release of Ni concentrations was higher than the safe sensitizing limit given by the above mentioned Regulation (i.e., <0.5 microg/cm(2)/week). The release of Cu and Zn was very variable among the different pieces (Cu: 0.134-30.9 microg/cm(2)/week; Zn: 0.141-160 microg/cm(2)/week); two objects released high amounts of Fe (358 and 586 microg/cm(2)/week) and one released considerable Mn (21 microg/cm(2)/week). Lead was released from 70% of the objects, while Ag, Al, Cd, Co, Cr and Sn from ca. 30% of the items and concentrations of these elements were well below 0.5 microg/cm(2)/week. Vanadium was released by only one item whereas Au, Ir, Pd, Pt and Rh were never leached.     

我国省会城市势力圈划分及与其行政范围的叠合分析

用HAP软件对全国省会城市(含直辖市)势力圈进行划分,比较势力圈的面积大小及分布情况,并在势力圈基础上叠加省域行政范围,揭示省会城市势力圈与省域行政范围的相互关系,研究成果可为全国行政区划调整等提供参考。     

Study of modeling and simulation of full digital controlled PMIG／MAG welding system based on Matlab／Simulink

This paper presents an integrated simulation model for full digital controlled PMIG/MAG welding system with Matlab/Simulink, and it consists of power inverter, digital control system and dynamic arc-load model. An integrated simulation study was done for fuU digital PMIG/MAG welding, and a method of connecting dynamic arc-load model to the system with controlled current source was presented, in addition, the simulation results were utilized to study the issues of digital control PMIG/MAG welding in this paper. The experimental results validated the developed simulation model, and this simulation study can be applied in implementation of the full digital PMIG/MAG welding and analysis of system dynamic process.     

Microstructure and properties of TiB/Ti-6Al-4V coatings produced with laser treatments

TiB/Ti-6Al-4V metal-matrix composite (MMC) layers were produced on Ti-6Al-4V substrates by laser cladding. A TiB₂/Ti powder mixture was used as a precursor to obtain a dispersion of TiB needles in the Ti alloy matrix, with the aid of an exothermic reaction between TiB₂ and Ti. A eutectic microstructure was obtained that consisted of an extremely homogeneous dispersion of TiB eutectic needles in the Ti alloy matrix, having a volume fraction as high as 0.33. Also, an equilibrium-like microstructure was found, consisting of a dispersion of both primary and eutectic TiB needles inside the Ti alloy matrix. An analysis of the geometry of the layers was performed and proved successful in determining the percentage of B. Further, it correctly predicted the variation of atomic B content as a function of laser power. The relative wear resistance coefficient, defined as the wear coefficient of the uncoated matrix divided by that of coating, shows an improvement by a factor as high as 1500 for the eutectic microstructure. This paper was presented at the 2nd International Surface Engineering Congress sponsored by ASM International, on September 15–17, 2003, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and appeared on pp. 411–18 of the Proceedings.