Changes in the surface compositions of FeCr alloys caused by heating in a high vacuum

The change in the alloy surface by heating in a vacuum up to 380°C has been studied for a series of iron—chromium alloys by means of X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS). Remarkable enrichment of chromium occurs in surface films on the alloys containing 13 % chromium or more. Dependence of composition and thickness of film and composition of alloy surface directly beneath the film on alloy composition has been examined in detail and has been interpreted in terms of the oxidation of chromium and the conversion of the pre-existing surface film, such as decomposition of the oxyhydroxide-like structure and reduction of oxidized iron.     

XPS study of surface film on nickel alloys in hot concentrated NaOH

X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy has been used to investigate the composition of surface films formed on Alloy 600 and Alloy 800 in 50wt. %NaOH at 120°C as a function of polarization potential. Anodic polarization from the corrosion potential successively revealed the active, primary passive, transpassive and secondary passive regions. The formation of hydrated chromium oxy-hydroxide resulted in the primary passivation; the chromium content in the passive film increased with the rise in potential. The transpassive reaction led to an abrupt decrease of chromium in the film with a consequent increase in nickel. The secondary passive film was composed exclusively of nickel hydroxide which transformed to hydrated nickelous oxy-hydroxide with an increase in potential.     

A genetic algorithm for the optimal sequential partitioning problem

The optimal sequential problem is defined as the problem of finding the minimum cost partition of the nodes of a directed acyclic graph into subsets of a given size, subject to the constraint that the precedence relationships among the elements are satisfied. A heuristic algorithm based on tabu search has been proposed for this problem [2]. However, there is a tendency for the solutions obtained by tabu search to become trapped in bad local optima in parallel graphs with random edge costs. In this paper we present a genetic algorithm for the optimal sequential partitioning problem. We develop an effective two‐point partial order crossover satisfying sequential conditions, which preserve better blocks that have a larger sum of edge costs. In this crossover we introduce the roulette selection method to escape local optima. We also assess the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results show that this proposed algorithm outperforms any other algorithm using tabu search in terms of solution quality. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 135(4): 43–51, 2001     

Solute atmosphere around an edge dislocation in Al-based ternary alloys

We evaluated the solute atmosphere around a moving dislocation and the dragging stress due to the atmosphere in binary and ternary Al-based alloys in terms of a chemical potential gradient by modifying the method proposed by Yoshinaga et al. In ternary alloys, we analyzed formation of the complex solute atmosphere around a straight edge dislocation and the dragging stress in terms of a misfit parameter of a solute element (positive or negative) and an interaction parameter between solute elements (attractive or repulsive).     

Removal of selected pharmaceuticals by chlorination, coagulation-sedimentation and powdered activated carbon treatment

Removal property of nine pharmaceuticals (clofibric acid, diclofenac, fenoprofen, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen, naproxen and propyphenazone) by chlorination, coagulation-sedimentation and powdered activated carbon treatment was examined by laboratory-scale experiments under the conditions close to actual drinking water treatment processes. Indomethacin and propyphenazone were completely degraded by chlorination within 30 minutes, but others remained around 30% (naproxen and diclofenac) or more than 80% of the initial concentration after 24 hours. A couple of unidentified peaks in a chromatogram of the chlorinated samples suggested the formation of unknown chlorination by-products. Competitive adsorption was observed when the mixed solution of the target pharmaceuticals was subjected to batch adsorption test with powdered activated carbon. Clofibric acid and ibuprofen, which were relatively less hydrophobic among the nine compounds, persisted around 60% of the initial concentration after 3 hours of contact time. Removal performance in actual drinking water treatment would become lower due to existence of other competitive substances in raw water (e.g. natural organic matter). Coagulation-sedimentation using polyaluminium chloride hardly removed most of the pharmaceuticals even under its optimal dose for turbidity removal. It is suggested that the most part of pharmaceuticals in raw water might persist in the course of conventional drinking water treatments.     

Design methodology for a braided cylinder

In this study, the design methodology for a braided cylinder was presented. The concept of an analytical model which involved both micro model and macro model was proposed. The analytical method was applied to estimate the rigidity and elastic limit of a braided cylinder subjected to bending and torsional load independently and as combined load. Using the analysis method, the design of a braided cylinder would be carried out in consideration of the factors that decide the mechanical properties of braided cylinder. This method has the possibility to be useful for structural design of braided composites and can be included as a unit in CAE systems for braided composites.     

Morphology and mechanical properties of polyolefinic thermoplastic elastomer I. Characterization of deformation process

The structural origin of rubber elasticity in the polyolefinic thermoplastic elastomers composed of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) matrix and ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) domains was investigated using scanning and transmission electron microscopes under uniaxial deformation and the computational analysis by a three dimensional finite element method. The rubber domains were dominantly deformed and elongated by accompanying localized yielding in iPP region between neighboring EPDM domains perpendicular to the stretching direction. The iPP region between adjacent EPDM domains in the stretching direction remained undeformed, suggesting that the undeformed iPP region plays the role in connecting rubber domains.     

Preparation of Cr(N,O) thin films by RF reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Chromium oxynitride thin films were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) reactive unbalanced magnetron sputtering at various O₂ flow rates onto Si(100) and glassy carbon substrates. The compositions of the thin films were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The thin films were found to contain up to 44 at.% oxygen. In Fourier-transform infrared spectra, a peak attributed to the Cr-N bond of CrN was observed, but no peak attributable to the Cr-O bond of Cr₂O₃ was found. The textures of the thin films were observed by transmission electron microscopy, which revealed that samples had a columnar structure. The hardness of the thin films was measured by nanoindentation. The hardness increased from 20 GPa to a maximum value of 31 GPa with increasing oxygen content.