Corrosion behaviour of Ni-Zr-Ti-Si-Sn amorphous plasma spray coating

Ni₅₉Zr₂₀Ti₁₆Si₂Sn₃ amorphous material was deposited by a vacuum plasma spraying technique onto steel and copper substrates in order to investigate their behaviour in a corrosive environment. For comparison, the same alloy was prepared as amorphous ribbons by melt spinning. The amorphous nature of the coatings and ribbons was characterized by XRD, DSC and TEM, while XPS and AES analyses were performed to understand the origin of passivation and mode of corrosion. The corrosion behaviour of the coating was studied in H₂SO₄ and HCl solutions open to air at room temperature. Potentiodynamic polarisation and galvanic coupling tests were carried out on the substrate and the coating. It was found that the formation of Zr-, Ti- and Si-rich passive oxide layers provide a high corrosion resistance in H₂SO₄ solution while the breakdown of the passive layer by chloride ion adsorption was responsible for pitting corrosion of the Ni₅₉Zr₂₀Ti₁₆Si₂Sn₃ amorphous ribbons in HCl solution. Galvanic corrosion was the dominant corrosion mechanism for the coating/copper hybrid structure, in contrast to the Ni₅₉Zr₂₀Ti₁₆Si₂Sn₃ amorphous coating, which efficiently protected the steel substrate in the corrosive environment.     

Changes in electrochemical impedance with microstructural development in TBCs

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are improving the performance and efficiency of advanced gas turbine engines by allowing higher inlet temperature and insulation of critical hot-section components. Monitoring the integrity of TBCs prior to failure is critical to the overall performance of gas turbine en gines and requires a robust nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique. In this paper, changes in electrochemical impedance with microstructural degradation of critical constituents in TBCs are summarized for the development of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as an NDE technique for TBCs.     

Effects of prestressing the reinforcement on the behavior of reinforced granular beds overlying weak soil

The effects of prestressing the reinforcement on the strength improvement and settlement reduction of a reinforced granular bed overlying weak soil are being investigated through a series of laboratory scale bearing capacity tests. The influences of parameters such as strength of underlying weak soil, thickness of granular bed, magnitude of prestressing force, direction of prestressing forces and number of layers of reinforcement are being examined. Finite element analyses are carried out using the FE program PLAXIS to study the effect of prestressing the reinforcement. Results obtained from finite element analyses are found to be in reasonably good agreement with the experimental results.     

Optical,electrical, mechanical,and thermal properties and non-isothermal decomposition behavior of poly(vinyl alcohol)–ZnO nanocomposites

Iranian Polymer Journal - Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposites incorporated with ZnO nanofiller were prepared and examined to study the influence of nanofiller on their properties. All the...     

Performance and emission evaluation of a diesel engine fueled with methyl esters of rubber seed oil

Recent concerns over the environment, increasing fuel prices and scarcity of its supply have promoted the interest in development of the alternative sources for petroleum fuels. At present, biodiesel is commercially produced from the refined edible vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, palm oil and soybean oil, etc. by alkaline-catalyzed esterification process. This process is not suitable for production of biodiesel from many unrefined non-edible vegetable oils because of their high acid value. Hence, a two-step esterification method is developed to produce biodiesel from high FFA vegetable oils. The biodiesel production method consists of acid-catalyzed pretreatment followed by an alkaline-catalyzed transesterification. The important properties of methyl esters of rubber seed oil are compared with other esters and diesel. Pure rubber seed oil, diesel and biodiesel are used as fuels in the compression ignition engine and the performance and emission characteristics of the engine are analyzed. The lower blends of biodiesel increase the brake thermal efficiency and reduce the fuel consumption. The exhaust gas emissions are reduced with increase in biodiesel concentration. The experimental results proved that the use of biodiesel (produced from unrefined rubber seed oil) in compression ignition engines is a viable alternative to diesel.     

Red luminescence from hydrothermally synthesized Eu-doped ZnO nanoparticles under visible excitation

Eu-doped ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The Eu-dopant concentration has been varied by varying the amount of Eu-dopant concentration. These nanoparticles were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction and it confirms the formation of nanoparticles having standard wurtzite structure. Photoluminescence studies show that these nanoparticles exhibit a sharp red luminescence due to the intra-4f transitions of Eu³⁺ ions at an excitation of 397 nm and 466 nm. Luminescence quenching is observed in the nanoparticles as the Eu-dopant concentration increases. Incorporation of Eu in the nanoparticles was confirmed by the energy dispersive X-ray studies.     

发展迅速的中东办公用品市场

中东，是指地中海东部与南部区域，从地中海东部到波斯湾的大片地区，中东地理上也是非洲东北部与亚洲大陆西南部的地区。包括阿联酋、沙特阿拉伯、科威特、巴林、阿曼、卡特尔、黎巴嫩、叙利亚、伊拉克、伊朗、阿富汗、也门、埃及、土耳其、约旦、以色列、苏丹、埃塞俄比亚、坦桑尼亚、索马里、哈萨克斯坦、巴基斯坦、俄罗斯（部分地区）、印度（部分地区）等24个国家和地区，人口达到3．7亿，如果将非洲部分国家、俄罗斯、印度以及巴基斯坦部分地区包括在内，人口则为7亿。     

A review on recent developments in new refrigerant mixtures for vapour compression‐based refrigeration,air‐conditioning and heat pump units

In the present paper, an attempt has been made to review the performance of new refrigerant mixtures employed in vapour compression‐based refrigeration, air‐conditioning and heat pump units. The studies reported with refrigerant mixtures are categorized into six groups as follows: (i) hydrocarbon (HC), (ii) hydroflurocarbons (HFC), (iii) HFC/HC, (iv) hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFC), (v) carbon dioxide (R744) and (vi) ammonia (R717). This paper explores the studies reported with new refrigerant mixtures in domestic refrigerators, commercial refrigeration systems, air conditioners, heat pumps, chillers and in automobile air conditioners. In addition, the technical difficulties faced with new refrigerant mixtures, further research needs in this field and future refrigerant options for new upcoming systems have been discussed in detail. This paper concludes that HC based refrigerant mixtures are identified as a long‐term alternative to phase out the existing halogenated refrigerants in the vapour compression‐based systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.