Corrosion of hot-dip-galvanised steel and zinc alloy-coated steel in ammonia and ammonium chloride

There are many potential causes of corrosion in animal buildings. Animals exhale large quantities of moisture into the air creating high relative humidity in the building if the moisture is not properly vented. High humidity increases the potential for condensation. In addition, ammonia may be found in large quantities in animal buildings. Ammonia is released from manure and urine. In addition, ammonium chloride is used as a nitrogen source in fertilisers. In this study, the atmospheric corrosion of hot-dip-galvanised steel and zinc alloy-coated steel such as zinc–aluminium and zinc–aluminium–magnesium has been studied in atmospheres containing different levels of ammonia. Investigations have also been conducted at different levels of ammonium chloride. The results are discussed in view of the mechanisms of corrosion of zinc and zinc alloy-coated steel in ammonia and ammonium chloride-containing environments.     

Fully automatic welding of thick-walled pressure vessels by the narrow gap subarc process

The demands for welding of thick-walled pressure vessels are very stringent. The cost of repairing a weld defect deep down in a weld joint could be very high. As submerged arc welding is considered to be a reliable process for both the welding of pressure vessels and other demanding applications, ESAB chose this process when developing their narrow gap welding technique. This two-pass narrow gap process is described together with the welding and control equipment. The welding results using two types of agglomerated fluxes are presented.     

Disc filtration for separation of flocs from a moving bed bio-film reactor.

A Discfilter with 10 and 18 microm filter openings, respectively, was placed in parallel to a flotation plant for separation of biological flocs from a post-denitrifying Kaldnes Moving Bed Process, the last treatment step at the municipal wastewater treatment plant at Sj?unda, Malm?, Sweden. The effluent concentrations from the 10 and 18 microm filter were 2-5 and 2-8 mg SS L(-1), respectively, which is comparable to, or better than, the flotation plant. Comparison with experiences from activated sludge plants shows that the Discfilter works especially well after the Kaldnes process. Particle size distribution (PSD) studies show that particles larger than the filter openings of 10 and 18 microm are separated with approximately 90% efficiency, whereas most of the smaller particles pass the filter. This fact indicates that the major particle separation mechanism is physical blocking. These findings point to the possibility of improving the prediction of the separation efficiency by combining measurements of turbidity and suspended solids with particle size analysis.     

A survey of the training of computer users in Swedish companies

This study concerns how user training on newly introduced computer application programs is carried out. Questionnaire data from the computer managers of 265 Swedish companies were analysed. The results show that formal training, i.e., teacher-directed group instruction, and self-studies using instruction manuals represented nearly two-thirds of all reported training forms. For the most recently introduced program, classes (group instruction) with simultaneous computer exercises was the form of formal training that was nearly always used. When formal training was given it was compulsory in over half of the cases. However, substitutes for users attending a training course were only provided by the company in very few of these cases. The implications of these findings for effective user training are discussed.