Structural dependence of crystallization in phosphorus-containing sodium aluminoborosilicate glasses

The article reports on the structural dependence of crystallization in Na₂O–Al₂O₃–B₂O₃–P₂O₅–SiO₂-based glasses over a broad compositional space. The structure of melt-quenched glasses has been investigated using ¹¹B, ²⁷Al, ²⁹Si, and ³¹P magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy, while the crystallization behavior has been followed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectroscopy. In general, the integration of phosphate into the sodium aluminoborosilicate network is mainly accomplished via the formation of Al–O–P and B–O–P linkages with the possibility of formation of Si–O–P linkages playing only a minor role. In terms of crystallization, at low concentrations (≤5 mol.%), P₂O₅ promotes the crystallization of nepheline (NaAlSiO₄), while at higher concentrations (≥10 mol.%), it tends to suppress (completely or incompletely depending on the glass chemistry) the crystallization in glasses. When correlating the structure of glasses with their crystallization behavior, the MAS NMR results highlight the importance of the substitution/replacement of Si–O–Al linkages by Al–O–P, Si–O–B, and B–O–P linkages in the suppression of nepheline crystallization in glasses. The results have been discussed in the context of (1) the problem of nepheline crystallization in Hanford high-level waste glasses and (2) designing vitreous waste forms for the immobilization of phosphate-rich dehalogenated Echem salt waste.     

The Effect of Thermal Pre-Treatment on Structure, Composition, Basicity and Catalytic Activity of Mg/Al Mixed Oxides

The goal of this work is to study the effect of thermal pre-treatment of Mg/Al mixed oxides (450–1,050 °C) on their structure, basicity and catalytic activity in transesterification of rapeseed oil. The catalytic activity of Mg/Al catalysts was shown to depend not only on the amount of basic sites, but also on crystallite size of MgO, specific surface area and population of medium/strong basic sites. Moreover, high stability of Mg/Al-550 was established by re-using the catalyst four times. It was associated with negligible magnesium leaching from the solid catalyst to liquid phases.     

Specification of surface parameters effects on corrosion behavior of the AISI 316Ti in dependence on experimental methods

Stainless steels usually suffer localized corrosion, such as pitting and crevice corrosion, in chloride containing oxidizing environments. Their corrosion resistance depends on materials chemical composition, microstructure, heat treatment, surface finishing, and also on environment character (composition of electrolyte, temperature, pH, flow, etc.). The subject of the work is investigation of mechanical (grinding) and combined (grinding + pickling) surface treatment effect on corrosion behavior of stainless steel AISI 316Ti. The selected properties of surfaces are determined including surface roughness, surface-free energy, topography (by atomic force microscopy) and chemical composition using scanning electron microscopy. Corrosion susceptibility of the specimens with ground or ground and pickled surfaces to local corrosion has been studied by the three types of corrosion tests (exposure test, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). The experiments enable not only to compare corrosion resistance after different surface treatment, but to follow response of the surface state on corrosion mechanism of the different experimental methods.     

Modification of carbon nanotubes and its effect on properties of carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposites

We have studied an effect of three types of modifications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on dispersion and mechanical properties of final epoxy‐amine based nanocomposites. First approach includes end‐walled covalent chemical modification at the ends of nanotubes. The second one is side‐walled covalent chemical modification along the whole length of nanotubes. The third procedure is noncovalent, physical modification done by the CNT surface coating with polyaniline. The modification of nanotubes was determined by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The prepared epoxy‐amine nanocomposites were characterized by dynamic‐mechanical analysis, tensile testing, light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetry. We observed an improvement of the mechanical properties and the thermal stability by addition of the carbon nanotubes to the epoxy matrix. The strong interactions between the nanotube and the polymer matrix were discovered in the nanocomposites with physically modified nanotubes. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Measurement of Specific Fracture Energy and Surface Tension of Brittle Materials in Powder Form

Studies of the influence of specimen geometry and size–effect on the K _R –curves and the related fracture parameters were carried out by the authors (Kumar and Barai 2008b). The present paper is a supplementary contribution and reports interesting results related to the effect of the loading condition and size–effect studies on the K _R –curves associated with the cohesive stress distribution for complete fracture process, the double–K fracture parameters, the CTOD–curves and the process zone length using two different loading conditions (i.e., three–point bending test and four–point bending test). The laboratory size specimen with initial–notch length/depth ratios 0.3 and 0.5 are considered in the work. The load–crack opening displacement curves for these loading conditions are obtained using well known version of fictitious crack model.     

In situ TEM investigation of congruent phase transition and structural evolution of nanostructured silicon/carbon anode for lithium ion batteries

It is well-known that upon lithiation, both crystalline and amorphous Si transform to an armorphous Li(x)Si phase, which subsequently crystallizes to a (Li, Si) crystalline compound, either Li(15)Si(4) or Li(22)Si(5). Presently, the detailed atomistic mechanism of this phase transformation and the degradation process in nanostructured Si are not fully understood. Here, we report the phase transformation characteristic and microstructural evolution of a specially designed amorphous silicon (a-Si) coated carbon nanofiber (CNF) composite during the charge/discharge process using in situ transmission electron microscopy and density function theory molecular dynamic calculation. We found the crystallization of Li(15)Si(4) from amorphous Li(x)Si is a spontaneous, congruent phase transition process without phase separation or large-scale atomic motion, which is drastically different from what is expected from a classic nucleation and growth process. The a-Si layer is strongly bonded to the CNF and no spallation or cracking is observed during the early stages of cyclic charge/discharge. Reversible volume expansion/contraction upon charge/discharge is fully accommodated along the radial direction. However, with progressive cycling, damage in the form of surface roughness was gradually accumulated on the coating layer, which is believed to be the mechanism for the eventual capacity fade of the composite anode during long-term charge/discharge cycling.     

Trajectory Planning and Control for Airport Snow Sweeping by Autonomous Formations of Ploughs

This article presents a control approach that enables an autonomous operation of fleets of unmanned snow ploughs at large airports. The proposed method is suited for the special demands of tasks of the airport snow shovelling. The robots have to keep a compact formation of variable shapes during moving into the locations of their deployment and for the autonomous sweeping of runways surfaces. These tasks are solved in two independent modes of the airport snow shoveling. The moving and the sweeping modes provide a full-scale solution of the trajectory planning and coordination of vehicles applicable in the specific airport environment. Nevertheless, they are suited for any multi-robot application that requires complex manoeuvres of compact formations in dynamic environment. The approach encapsulates the dynamic trajectory planning and the control of the entire formation into one merged optimization process via a novel Model Predictive Control (MPC) based methodology. The obtained solution of the optimization includes a complete plan for the formation. It respects the overall structure of the workspace and actual control inputs for each vehicle to ensure collision avoidance and coordination of team members. The presented method enables to autonomously design arbitrary manoeuvres, like reverse driving or turning of compact formations of car-like robots, which frequently occur in the airport sweeping application. Examples of such scenarios verifying the performance of the approach are shown in simulations and hardware experiments in this article. Furthermore, the requirements that guarantee a convergence of the group to a desired state are formulated for the formation acting in the sweeping and moving modes.     

Isothermal Section of the Al-Pd-Co Phase Diagram at 850 °C Delimited by Homogeneity Ranges of Phases Epsilon,U, and F

Eight alloys with metal compositions (at.%) ranging between (68-76)Al, (9-25)Pd and (5-20)Co were investigated after annealing at 850 °C for 500 h. In the investigation, the scanning electron microscopy including energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and the x-ray diffraction were used. In the investigated alloys, various combinations of phases β, U, F, ε₆, ε₁₆, ε₂₈, δ, Al₅Co₂, and Al₉Co₂ were identified. Partial isothermal section at 850 °C of the Al-Pd-Co phase diagram was proposed, containing homogeneity ranges of six phases (ε_n, U, F, β, δ, and Al₅Co₂).     

Development of Pull Strategies in Production Management in Order to Increase Efficiency of Manufacturing Enterprise

The article deals with possible approaches to the management of manufacturing organizations. The authors emphasize the need for integration of lean management with eco-innovation. This integration represents a sustainable development so that environmental impacts are reduced, more effective use of natural resources is achieved and production costs are reduced. Manufacturing organizations based on that approach must use so-called pull production control systems. Pull systems are most often presented in production management system--Kanban. This article also deals with specification of these systems and the development of pull strategies in production management in order to increase efficiency of manufacturing enterprise.     

Preparation and properties of ruthenium supported catalysts

Two types of impregnation solvents were suggested for preparation of the ruthenium supported catalysts. Charcoal, silica, alumina and titania supports were used. Special attention was paid to reduction and activation conditions of nonreduced and passivated forms, respectively. Hydrogenation of 1-heptene, cyclohexene, benzene and acetophenone in the liquid phase were studied using the prepared catalysts.