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The influence of paper type and state of degradation on laser cleaning of artificially soiled paper
(2011)
Lasers can be a supplemental tool for restorers to overcome some of the limitations of traditional dry cleaning techniques for works of art on paper. The laser working range has to be optimized allowing for safe removal of contamination and limitation of damage to the substrate. This paper addresses the influence of paper type and state of degradation on laser working range. Three types of new paper (pure cellulose, bleached pulp paper, rag paper) were degraded and characterized with respect their degree of polymerization. Laser-induced damage thresholds of new and degraded paper were determined using SEM and viscometry. Additionally, artificially soiled model samples were made using two kinds of soiling, namely pulverized charcoal and soot-blackened standard test dust. Cleaning thresholds of soiled paper samples were evaluated. A working range for all combinations of paper and soiling between 0.05 J/cm2 and 0.5 J/cm2 was found for the application of 8-ns laser pulses at 532 nm wavelength.
The strength of laminates distinctly depends on the transverse strength of the laminas. The transverse failure is dominated by the adhesion between fiber and matrix. Usual strength criteria however do not take into account the adhesive strength explicitly. The determination of the interface strength is performed on the micromechanical scale using single fiber specimens. The fibers are loaded under off-axis loading while the debonding is monitored under a microscope. The stresses acting in the Interface are calculated by finite element analyses. It is found that for off-axial angles up to 35° interfacial debonding is the dominant failure mode while fiber breakage takes place at lower angles. The occurrence of fiber breakage and debonding under off-axis loading shows that the restriction to two potential failure planes - perpendicular or parallel to the fibers - as applied in common failure criteria has to be put in question.
Ingress of moisture and harmful ions (e.g. Chloride, sulfate) into cementitious materials is one of the major factors in defining their durability. Modifications of building materials by targeted deposition of surface functional agents that make the surface hydro- and/or oleophobic aim to minimize moisture and ion ingress, and thus extend Service life of the cement based structures. Water repellent and easy-to-clean coatings for inorganic Substrates have gained strong attention during the last few years and various formulations based on silicones or alkylpolysiloxanes have been developed. Cementitious building materials are highly complex Systems with many components and changing properties in the course of a building’s Service life. The interactions between the Chemical agents and the cement based materials depend on many factors. The Chemical properties of the material Substrate appear to be the most important but in the context of their influence on the functionality of silanes and/or siloxanes these characteristics have not been well understood yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different blended cements on water repellent agents’ performance. Two organosilicon compounds
were applied on fresh blended cements containing limestone (L), fly ash (F), slag (S) and trass (T), and investigated in terms of their functionality.
The surface properties of functionalized blended cements were studied based on wettability, i.e. contact angle measurements, before and after exposure to artificial and natural weathering. The first results indicate that slag and trass more distinctly affect the water repellent Surface performance after aging.
The goal of this study was to find a correlation between cleaning efficacy of substrates protected with anti-graffiti systems (AGS) and their porosity, surface roughness, and composition as well as usability of the Technical Testing Guideline for Anti-Graffiti Systems (TP-AGS, issued by BASt) for natural stone and brick/clinker masonry. The results showed that the cleaning efficacy mainly depends on the porosity of the substrate and the type of AGS. Also, higher surface roughness contributed to a lower cleaning efficacy. The results showed also that concrete panels and cement joints in masonry represented the worst case. The color change of all substrate materials compared to concrete was mostly within acceptable limits. Gloss changes were significant for a number of substrates. In particular, several of the wax-treated low-porosity substrates exceeded the threshold value of 10. The limit of water vapor permeability of the AGS prescribed in the TP-AGS might be too high for natural stone substrates. In general, the TP-AGS is useful for the determination of the efficiency factor of anti-graffiti agents on various substrates.
Although identified on the basis of so-called instationaiy creep-tests the constifrvtive model of Eurocode 3 (EN 1993-1-2, 2010) - hereinafter refened to as EC3 - represents a non-linear rateindependent relationship between stress and meclianical strain. I.e. the experimentally observed phenomenou of creep at constant stress but linear time varying temperature is described only through the temperature dependence of the material parameters characterizing the EC3 constitutive model. As a consequence some important phenomena cannot properly be described: E.g. creep or relaxation at constant temperature, creep or relaxation at non-monotonic temperature rates or sensitivity of the instationary creep process on the temperatme rate.
The concept and technical details of the implementation of the developed integrated monitoring system within the IMO-WIND project are presented. The tasks of the components of the system and its requirements are described. Selected results from the continuous monitoring during operation of the plant M5000_2 regarding the task design verification and dynamic structural analysis are given.
Main topics of the research project BEGLARES are the restoration of "dalle de verre" concrete Windows and the development of repair techniques and mortars. This project is executed in Cooperation between Glasmalerei Peters GmbH, the University of York and the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The main mechanism of damages, the development of repair mortar and special test specimens are presented.
Paper is one of the most important materials representing and witnessing human culture particularly as a carrier medium for text and image. As soiling hampers the reception of information, paper cleaning techniques are needed. Traditional mechanical and chemical cleaning methods are used by conservator-restorers. In some cases, a classical cleaning procedure of paper objects yields unsatisfactory results or a conventional treatment is even impossible. Especially, fragile paper objects cause problems due to mechanical instabilities. Laser cleaning as a non-contact method might be a way to overcome some of the limitations of classical cleaning techniques. Laser parameters have to be chosen to achieve removal of the soiling without influencing the artwork. Any immediate as well as long-term effects causing an irreversible change of the artwork have to be avoided. At present, most laser applications are found in stone and metal conservation, while laser treatment of complex organic materials like paper is still not fully developed for application in conservators' workshops. This contribution describes recent work of pulsed laser cleaning of soiled model samples. Pure cellulose, rag paper and wood-pulp paper were mechanically soiled with pulverized charcoal in a standardized procedure to make model samples representing essential characteristics of contaminated real-world artworks. Afterwards, model samples were cleaned using short and ultrashort laser pulses in the nanosecond and femtosecond time domain, respectively. An extensive analysis of the model samples after laser treatment using an optical microscope and a multi-spectral imaging system allows a comparison of the cleaning results obtained with both laser sources.
The 9 meter drop onto an unyielding target is one of the important mechanical tests within the safety assessment of transport casks for radioactive material. In general, the cask is equipped with impact limiters to reduce the dynamic load on the cask body by absorbing a major part of the kinetic energy. The impact limiters are often made of wood or aluminium. In this study an elastic-plastic material model with volume change was used to describe the stress-strain behaviour of wood found in crush tests. For aluminium, an elastic-incremental plastic material model with Cowper-Symonds parameters for strain rate depending material hardening was used to model the adiabatic stress-strain relations measured at specimens at constant ambient temperature. Hereafter simulations with a sophisticated finite element model were carried out and compared with different drop tests. Four drop tests of a half-scale cask model equipped with wood and aluminium impact limiters with different drop positions were selected to investigate the impact limiter behaviour during a 9 meter drop test. All drop tests were simulated with the same FE mesh but under different boundary and initial conditions.
This paper describes a structural reliability analysis utilizing monitoring data in the ultimate limit state with consideration of the uncertainties of the monitoring procedure. For this purpose the uncertainties of the monitoring data are modeled utilizing a new framework for the determination of measurement uncertainties. The approach is based on a process equation and Statistical models of observations for the derivation of a posterior measurement uncertainty by Bayesian updating. This facilitates the quantification of a measurement uncertainty using all available data of the measurement process. For the reliability analysis in the ultimate limit state, monitoring data can be utilized as a loading model Information and as proof loading, i.e. resistance model Information. Both approaches are discussed with generic examples and it is shown that the modeling of monitoring data in a reliability analysis can result in a reduction of uncertainties and as a consequence in the reduction of the probability of failure. Furthermore, the proof loading concept is developed further to account for the uncertain characteristic of proof loading due to the measurement uncertainties which is consistent with the framework for the determination of measurement uncertainties. These approaches and findings can be utilized for the assessment of structures for life cycle extension and the design of monitoring Systems.
To ensure a high operational reliability of offshore wind turbines (OWEC) with economically acceptable repair and maintenance efforts, comprehensive diagnosis and supervision concepts are required. Automatic monitoring Systems will be an essential part of such concepts. Because of the fact, that during Operation there will be static and dynamic interaction between the components ‘structure’, ‘machinery’ and ‘blades’ it is necessary to develop the monitoring techniques in an overall concept. These monitoring Systems are supposed to be applied for the design and testing as well as for the Operation and maintenance phases. The knowledge of the dynamic behavior of wind turbines is important both for the design and for a safe Operation. The available monitoring data from a period of three years, allow first conclusions on the long-term Operation of such Systems in terms of quality requirements to the instrumentation to the structure and the rotor blades
Standardized test methods by which the efficacies of conventional Chemical wood preservatives against insects determine their toxic effects against larvae of wood boring beetles or their feeding prevention by termites. Although alternative control strategies to the application of biocides exist, such as interference with insect behavior during mating or when searching for suitable breeding and feeding sites, their acceptance, too, depends on efficacy evaluation. This is why new test set ups are needed which take behavior modifying control strategies into account. This paper will demonstrate how new laboratory tests must be designed or how existing Standards can be altered to reliably interpret insect behavior including its successful manipulation in a standardized format.
The debonding of a fiber in a glass fiber / epoxy composite under transverse loading is studied. The stress field in the interface as well as the energy release rate are analysed for two fiber volume fractions.
The circumferential propagation of an Interface crack starting at the center of a fiber which is located within a hexagonal fiber array is studied. The analysis is performed by a finite element Simulation under plane stress conditions. Two fiber volume fractions are considered, this is 30% and 70%. The stress distribution before and during crack propagation is calculated for different stages of the
crack. The crack opens by dominating tensile stresses in the first phase while it closes when propagating along the interface. The total energy release rate as well as the mode I and mode II parts are calculated. In the first phase the crack is driven by an increasing mode I energy release rate, indicating an unstable crack propagation. Then the mode II energy release rate increases rapidly and dominates the debonding process while the mode I part decreases and finally vanishes. Subsequently also the mode II part decreases, indicating stable crack propagation. In the last phase the crack becomes unstable again due to a strongly increasing mode I energy release rate. During the debonding process a remarkable change the mode ratio takes place.
The main features of the debonding process are similar for low and high fiber volume fraction. In case of the high fiber content, however, the mode I part is more pronounced and the maximum of the total energy release rate is shifted to lower crack angles.
Fibre-optic sensors for early damage detection in plastic insulations of high-voltage facilities
(2011)
Fibre-optic sensors (FOS) have great potential as online damage detectors when integrated in HV accessories. Among their well-known use as temperature and strain sensors, there are some more opportunities of use, e. g. they can intimately be embedded in polymeric insulations of HV cable terminations and joints to detect and monitor partial discharges right at the location of their origin. Two FOS types for early PD detection were investigated: an embeddable fibre-optic acoustic sensor to measure acoustlc waves in polymeric insulations generated by PDs, and a fluorescent optical fibre to detect first optical effects during ionization processes in the insulation material. The paper descrlbes these methods, related monitoring Problems and shows first test results.
Fiber optic sensors are increasingly used because of their outstanding performance or if special requirements avoid the application of conventional electrical sensors. The scientific background for optical fiber sensors is well developed; however, the characteristic of sensors applied in rather harsh environment are almost always different from characteristics determined in laboratory or before its installation. In order to achieve long-term stable function and reliable measurement data after application and under harsh environmental conditions, guidelines for characterization and specification of sensor components are needed as well as methodologies for testing the sensor performance must be developed. Performance tests carried out revealed that there are still some restrictions with respect to long-term reliable use: first, some sensor products available on the market are not very often appropriately characterized, described and validated; second, application procedures are not always defined due to a lack of understanding the micromechanical issues in the interface zone between sensor and measuring object. Application procedures and profound knowledge of materials behaviour are necessary to get results from the sensor that can be reliably used. The paper describes first guidelines to prove the quality of fiber optic strain sensors, a testing facility developed for unbiased tests and certification of surface-applied sensors as well as result from comparison of commercially available strain sensors.
Residual stresses arising during welding, especially in high energy beam welding, can reach levels up to the material specific yield strength causing service life mitigating consequences through stress relaxation or stress corrosion cracking. A number of processes were developed like stress relief annealing or the low-stress-no-distortion-technique to reduce these stresses.
But such methods are only applicable for wider welds and simple component geometries or they are cost-intensive. The method presented in this paper uses the welding beam after welding in a defocused mode for heating the material regions in a certain distance from the weld on both sides. With this process it is possible to decrease the stresses in small welds with high stress gradients without any contact surfaces or additional equipment. Dependent on the component geometry and on the laser power it is possible to use different parameters for this process. The adjustable process parameters are the radius and the power of the defocused beam and the transversal and longitudinal distances between the welding and the defocused beam. In this work the mechanism and the influence of the process parameters are investigated by FEM-simulation and a number of experiments on the ferritic steel S355J2+N with 5 mm thickness. The best experimental result presented in this paper shows a stress reduction of about 73 %.
Three new offset Delta11B isotope reference materials for environmental boron isotope studies
(2011)
The isotopic composition of boron is a well established tool in various areas of Science and industry. Boron isotope compositions are typically reported as 5nB values which indicate the isotopic difference of a sample relative to the isotope reference material NIST SRM 951.
A significant drawback of all of the available boron isotope reference materials is that none of them covers a natural boron isotope composition apart from NIST SRM 951. To fill this gap of required 5UB reference materials three new solution boric acid reference materials were produced, which cover 6096o of the natural boron isotope Variation (-20 to 40%oo B) of about 100%o. The new reference materials are certified for their B values and are commercially available through European Reference Materials® (http://wwrv.enn-cmi.org). The newly produced and certified boron isotope reference materials will allow straightforward method Validation and quality control of boron isotope data.
The traceabiiity requirements for certification analyses of reference materials are much more stringent than for routine analysis, where certified matrix reference materials (CRM) can be used for calibration and to establish traceabiiity. Although the ISO-Guides related to CRM production and certification are not fully clear concerning calibration, many established CRM-producers do not accept matrix-CRMs for calibration in case of certification analyses, e.g. to avoid circular reasoning. These requirements limit the methods used for certification to those that can be calibrated using Standards of known high purity and stoichiometry or mixtures of such Standards. Powerful solid sampling techniques such as glow discharge mass spectrometry (GD-MS) or spark-optical emission spectrometry (SOES), where usually compact CRMs are used for calibration, seem not be applicable for certification analyses. Especially GD-MS is a powerful tool for trace element determination of solid samples. Beside metallic impurities the use of specific gas mixtures enables also the determination of interesting nonmetallic impurities such as sulfur and phosphorus. Within BAM a calibration approach, was developed which enables to use mixtures of Standards of known high purity and stoichiometry also for GD-MS. Analogue to matrix adaption in solution based techniques, the calibration approach is based on doped pressed powder pellets.
Approach and application on the certification analyses of copper and Steel CRMs are presented.
Dry cask storage of spent fuel and high active waste front reprocessing is licensed and established in Germany for up to 40years so far. About 10years ago, the strategy has been shifted from centralized storage using facilities in Ahaus and Gorleben to cit-site storage facilities in Order to avoid immediate cask shipping from nuclear power plants. At present, several hundred casks are stored safeiy and without any major problem. BAM is highly involved in cask specific safety evaluations within the scope of licensing procedures as well as of quality assurance procedures during cask fabrication, loading and storage.
A major prerequisite for any cask storage license is a valid transport Type B license. Subsequently, cask transportability has to be ensured at any point during the entire storage period. So far, this requirement is met by continuous maintenance of the Type B license. Anyhow, IAEA Type B regulations do not consider permanently loaded storage casks that have the sole purpose of being finally shipped öfter decades of storage inducing ageing effects. No transport safety demonstration has to be performed on aged cask components.
Metal seals are in common use as an essential component for the leak tight closure of transport and storage casks for spent fuel and vitrified high active waste from reprocessing. They are placed between the massive monolithic cask body made of ductile cast iron or forged steel and the primary and secondary lids, which are fixed with screws around the lid circumference, in order to ensure long term safe enclosure of the radioactive cask inventory. Hereby, long term reliable pressure forces in combination with a tight surface contact are as important as well maintained seal and surface qualities and dry and clean conditions during seal assembly and operation. A few years ago BAM started systematic investigation on the long term seal behavior with re-spect to longer storage periods and seal behavior in accidental cask scenarios with dynamic de-formations of the seal groove geometry or short term drop in pressure force up to lid lifting. BAM has developed test flanges for seals with full scale cross section diameter but much small-er outer diameter to gain representative data for metal-sealed lid systems. They are placed in appropriate testing machines for relevant mechanical loading under static and dynamic condi-tions with the ability to measure the standard helium leakage rate continuously during each test phase. This paper focuses on BAM long term tests of different seal types with aluminum and silver jackets at three different temperatures of +20°C, +100°C and +150°C under static conditions over longer periods of time. Due to creeping effects, a reduction of the pressure force does ap-pear during loading and unloading depending on prior holding times. So far, test results of up to 2 years indicate a clear correlation between seal pressure forces and holding time, temperature and seal type allowing for extrapolating to much longer periods of time. The paper presents basic correlations, test and evaluation procedures as well as important provisional results and gives an outlook on further investigations.
In Germany the concept of dry interim storage of spent fuel and vitrified high active waste in dual purpose metal casks is implemented (currently for periods of up to 40 years). The casks being used have an approved package design in accordance with the international transport regulations. The license for dry storage is granted on the German Atomic Energy Act with respect to the guidelines of the German Reactor Safety Commission for dry interim storage of spent fuel. Currently part of the assessment process of the cask design for transport on public routes is to evaluate the suitability of the used materials with respect to their properties and their compatibility for possible transport periods. For transport on public routes during or after long term interim storage periods, it has to be ensured that the transport and storage casks fulfill the specifications of the transport approval or other sufficient properties which satisfy the proofs for the compliance of the safety objectives at that time. This paper describes the state-of-the-art technology in Germany and points out arising prospective challenges and which related questions have to be answered in future. Present research and knowledge concerning the long term behavior of transport and storage cask components (such as gaskets and shielding components) have to be consulted as well as experiences from interim cask storage operations. Challenges in the safety assessment are therefore i.e. the behavior of aged metal and elastomeric gaskets under IAEA test conditions to ensure that the results of drop tests can be transferred to the compliance of the safety objectives at the time of transport after the interim storage period (aged package). Assessment methods for the material compatibility, the behavior of fuel assemblies and the aging behavior of shielding parts (e. g. influence of radiation) are further issues as well.
Within the framework of the G8 partnership, the German Ministry of Economics and Technology has been realizing a 300 EUR million project of the storage of decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines based on a German-Russian agreement. The main parts of the project are the construction of the long-term storage facility as well as a radioactive waste storage facility at Sayda Bay. Long-term interim storage facility for this particular case has a period of about 70 years. The Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN) under the technical controlling of BAM carried out the project management. Foremost in this presentation is the finalization of the long-term storage facility for nuclear submarine compartments and the planning and realization of the radioactive waste storage building with special emphases of the parts carried out by BAM. Because BAM staff cannot stay permanently on site, a random inspection of different topics was the bases for the activities of BAM. The key aspects of activities are the long-term storage of the nuclear compartments, maintenance building, the decommissioning of the compartments and the transportation of the very heavy weight compartments (1600 metric tons). Details relating of the progress of the construction work as well as information about technical recommendations will also be briefly illustrated. Within this scope, problems and difficulties during the construction of the storage facility as well as logistical challenges including transportation of the reactor compartments will also be discussed.
Laser thermal shock experiments - performance and evaluation on the basis of advanced ceramics
(2011)
The thermal shock behaviour in air and vacuum of three different advanced ceramics is investigated by introducing a new testing method. This thermal shock testing system permits the reproducible setting of defined temperature profiles in thin disks. In order to perform heating - up thermal shock experiments under reproducible conditions and to measure the transient temperature fields, a laser beam is directed spirally across the surface of the specimen. In this process, the specimen is heated up faster than the temperature gradient is compensated by thermal conductivity. Resulting temperature fields were recorded space and time resolved. Based on the knowledge of the local temperature distribution at the moment of failure, the critical fracture stress can be calculated. The scatter of thermal shock strength is quantitatively determined for the tested ceramics by using a improved statistical method.
Formic and acetic acids are often responsible for damage of cultural objects, e. g. glass and metal corrosion or changing and fading of colours. Museums all around the world are equipped with different show cases. Display cases should protect cultural objects from dust as well as from mechanical damage. Several construction materials which are used for display cases, including wood, glue and coatings, are possible sources of very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). These construction products can emit formic and acetic acids into the indoor or display case air. Modern display cases with small air change rates can cause higher concentrations of formic and acetic acids if any source is installed in the display case (Salthammer and Uhde, 2009). To minimize the risk of damage emissions from building products must be quantified. There is a need for a method for identification and quantification of acetic and formic acid. Some possibilities for the identification of acetic acid exist. The quantification of acetic acid for example after sampling on TENAX® or CARBOTRAP and thermal desorption-GC in accordance with ISO 16000-6 and ISO 16017-1 results in very low recovery rates. A new method should be stabile, robust, reproducible and comparable, with an easy local sampling and determination in laboratories. Miniaturised emission test chambers and model display cases were used to study the recovery rates.
VOC emissions from building materials accompanying sensory tests for different evaluation schemes
(2011)
Within a follow up project of a former study (Horn et al. 2005) emissions and odor from different types of construction products were investigated (financed by the German Federal Environmental Agency - FKZ 37 07 62 300).
The tested materials were mainly those used for construction of floors indoors. For this type of materials in Germany several labeling procedures exist which are based on Emission chamber testing. Two important labeling procedures in Germany are based on the AgBBevaluation scheme (Däumling et al. 2005). For some applications (flooring material) it is the mandatory Ü-mark of DIBt (German Institute for Construction Technology). Furthermore for carpets, adhesives and many other products, like sealants, mattresses, furniture and so on the voluntary blue angel mark exist. Within this scheme the volatile organic compounds (VOC) compounds are measured with well established procedures and are evaluated with LCI-values which were derived from health information.
Beyond that many complaints according to building products are caused by odors. Therefore an evaluation procedure for the odor is very important and should be implemented into all of the mentioned labeling schemes.
Quality and trueness of results received from measurements are very important for all involved parties, producers and consumers as well; for instance, if the results were used for acceptance of a product within a labeling procedure. Based on an inter-laboratory study with many German, European and US-American laboratories an extemal quality assurance System for the analysis of VOC emitting from products or the measurement in indoor air should be implemented (financed by the German Federal Environmental Agency).
A focus was set on the emission test chamber experiments and the connected analytical procedure. VOC have a dominating influence when applying the German AgBB scheme for health evaluation of building products.
Therefore it is necessary to ensure that the results between the testing laboratories are comparable. The successful participation to such round robin tests is offen essential for the acceptance of results given by an analytical laboratory.
The labelling of construction products or building materials as “low-emitting” is based on measurements using third-party emission test chambers. Unfortunately there is no method to validate the performance of such test chamber measurements. This might give a Variation of results when testing one material at different laboratories. Therefore it is necessary to hold round robin tests as part of the quality management System to ensure comparable results.
A research project financed by the Federal Environmental Agency focused on the development of an external quality management System for the detection of relevant Chemical compounds from products and in ambient air. The project was structured in four phases (Horn et al., 2009 and 2011; Wilke et al., 2009a) This paper shows results of the fourth phase of the project, which was an inter-laboratory study for VOC-emission testing by means of emission test chambers.
Wood and wood products are often used as construction material for buildings and even more for furniture and indoor decoration. Therefore Chemical emissions from wood have an influence on the indoor air quality. A research project financed by the Federal Environmental Agency focused on VOC emissions from oriented Strand boards (OSB) and also from plywood made from pine and spruce (Wilke et al., 2011a). This paper shows results of the plywood testing because only little information is available about plywood emission behaviour and its impact on indoor air quality.
The fire behaviour of composites clearly differs in comparison to polymers. Even though fibres and inorganic particles may be inert with respect to pyrolysis, they are clearly not with respect to fire behaviour. They change heat absorption and transfer within the Condensed phase, the melt flow/dripping behaviour of pyrolysing melts, the amount and properties of the fire residue and so on. Flame retardancy concepts tailored to composites are needed. Furthermore tasks that are specific for composites such as the structural integrity in fire get into the focus. Thus understanding of fire behaviour and flame retardancy mechanisms in composites is a key for target-oriented future development. The field is illuminated by Spotlights on different length scales. The examples are taken from different projects carried out in the group of the authors in the recent years. Flame retardancy mechanisms in nanocomposites are discussed, advanced halogen-free flame retardants for carbon and glass fibre composites presented as well as an approach to mechanical intermediate scale testing of carbon fibre composites under fire.
The cement and concrete market in East, Central and Southern Africa is highly fragmented. The concrete industry in this area consists of multiple parties, including producers and suppliers of construction materials, formal and informal contractors, engineers and architects, unions of trades persons and workmen, governmental bodies and formal institutions of research and education. All these institutions mostly do not interact adequately, which makes building with cementitious materials susceptible to damage and failures. Completely opposed to the situation in Europe or North America, cement in Africa is often unaffordable, while manpower is cheap, which results in a questionable economisation of cement. Typically, there is not sufficient awareness of methods to sensibly reducing the cement content in concrete or replace Ordinary Portland Cement by adequate alternative materials. Research activities in this field of technology are often missing completely. Only few countries in the area, such as South Africa, are exempted from these issues.
This paper presents the SPIN project, which is a joint project of a consortium of 8 African and 3 European partners within the ACP Science and Technology Programme. The project is funded by the EC and ACP Secretariat is the project body. The main objective of the current project is to strengthen the cement and concrete industry in the East and Central African regions. The project shall generate reasonable solution strategies to implement clean, safe and sustainable cement and concrete technology on the African continent, including general and specific guidelines for sensible application. Furthermore it shall be the kick-off for future projects, research activities and the world-wide expansion of a European-African network.
The paper addresses special problems the cement and concrete market in Eastern, Central and Southern African countries has to face. Several options are presented in detail, which shall help overcoming the current situation. Customized solutions for the African market include rational methods for reducing the amount of cement used and the replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement with cheaper alternatives. The use of recycled concrete through a new and economically effective method, as well as the opportunity of using locally available resources is also discussed.
Concrete technology was exposed to a rapid development during the last three decades. For the longest time in its history, concrete was considered as a three component System consisting of aggregates, which are bound by the hardened cement paste consisting of hydrated cement. Traditionally, the only way of adjusting the consistency of concrete was using well adjusted aggregates and grading curves and adding excess water to the concrete, accepting that the latter in return reduces strength and durability. During the last three decades, however, concrete has developed further from a three component System towards an (at least) five component system, since the use of mineral additions and Chemical admixtures has become state of the art. Both components are able to enhance the workability, the compactability, and the density of the microstructure with effects on strength, ductility and durability, while cement can be saved in parallel. Due to reasonable use of admixtures and additions, concrete can be designed to match mechanically high performance specifications. Traditionally, cement paste was considered the weakest component in concrete. Flowever, in modern concrete a good paste composition can yield highest performance, passing the role of the mechanical bottleneck towards the aggregates.
Today polycarboxylate ether based superplasticizer (PCE) is commonly used in concrete technology when high flow properties and water reduction are specified. The ionic strength of the polymers’ backbones determines the adsorption behaviour of polymers on clinker and early hydration products. The amount of required polymers for specified flow properties and the performance over the time of casting is thus determined by the molecular structure of the superplasticizer. The time depending consumption of polycarboxylate ether polymers strongly affects the reaction of aluminates and sulphate ions as well as the hydration process in general. Hence, the choice of polymers for particular flow properties greatly affects the very early properties of cementitious materials such as setting, heat evolution and autogenous deformations.
In order to better understand how PCEs influence the early properties, mixes from cement, limestone filler, viscosity modifying agent and water were varied with a high and a low charge density superplasticizer in differing amounts. Results are presented from measurements with an automatic Vicat device, an isothermal heat flow calorimeter, and shrinkage cones. Tests were conducted at 5, 20, and 30 °C.
It is shown that in presence of PCE the final set correlates well with the inflexion point of the heat flow curve, which emphasises the interrelation between C-S-H formation and setting. No such clear correlation can be found for the initial set, which is attributed to the fact that the initial set is rather a rheological than a structural phenomenon, so that other effects overlap with C-S-H formation. The results demonstrate that for a given polymer concentration low charge density polymers yield earlier setting than high charge polymers. However, this influence is overridden by the influence of the total amount of polymers in a cementitious system. Since PCE is typically added according to rheological specifications, and low charge PCE typically requires higher amounts of polymers than high charge PCE for comparable flow performance, low charge PCE retards setting more than high charge PCE.
The paper furthermore points out that there is no significant influence of the polymer type or amount on the early deformations. Since type and amount strongly affect the hydration, it is demonstrated that early setting causes higher strain after the final set. It is hence concluded that higher PCE solid contents reduce the risk of early cracks that occur at time of setting, when a solid structure has already been formed but without resistance against cracks yet.
The SPIN project
(2011)
Globally, cement and concrete experts are at the cutting-edge to sustainable, green, healthy but nonetheless high-performance concrete. In the present age, concrete is not yet well established in Africa, which öfters the unique opportunity to build up a cement and concrete market based on the highest available state of technology. As this industry needs high level expertise, a central issue in implementation of skilled technology is cross-linking research institutions and laboratories. It should not be neglected that concrete is a product with comparably low transport ranges, which means that an improved concrete market will mainly support the local economy without exceeding financial drains to the international market, thus fostering the fight against poverty, which is an urgent need in most African countries.
The SPIN project highlights recent developments in the field of cement and concrete research with impact on the local and global economy. Challenges, future developments and opportunities for the African construction industry are in the focus.
The SPIN project is funded by the European Commission (EC) and supported by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States under the project body of the ACP Science and Technology Programme. SPIN is acronym for “Spearhead network for Innovative, Clean and Safe Cement and Concrete Technologies”. The project aims to cross-link experts with industry and policy making bodies, aiming to establish sustainable cement and concrete construction in Africa.
Use of higher-alloyed metallic materials and duplex steels for transport tanks of dangerous goods
(2011)
Compatibility evaluations of selected metallic materials under the influence of dangerous goods are published in the BAM-List - Requirements for Tanks for the Transport of Dangerous Goods” as basis for substance-related prototype approvals for tank Containers designed for the carriage of dangerous goods.
There is a request of the tank manufacturing industry and transportation Companies to incorporate additional materials into the BAM-List, especially corrosion-resistant materials because of the large number of corrosive dangerous goods. One solution to solve corrosion Problems is to line the tank with a polymer, an alternative solution is the application of high-alloyed stainless steels and nickel-based alloys as there are 1.4529 (XINiCrMoCu 25-20-7, alloy 926), 1.4562 (X1NiCrMoCu32-28-7, alloy 31) and 2.4605 (NiCr23Mo16AI, alloy 59).
There is an interest to use cost-efficient steels with high strength values and concomitant adequate corrosion resistance such as duplex steel 1.4362 (X2CrNiN23-4).
This steel grade was originally developed as a substitute for the austenitic grades 1.4404 (X2CrNiMo17-12-2) and 1.4571 (X6CrNiMoTi17-12-2). Due to the lower content of the alloy elements nickel and molybdenum this duplex steel is a cost-efficient alternative to molybdenum containing austenite.
Due to the limited number of corrosion test results with welded test samples of these high-alloyed materials and the duplex steel under the influence of corrosive dangerous goods a comprehensive test Programme was performed with these materials in Cooperation with ThyssenKrupp VDM and Deutsche Edelstahlwerke GmbH. It can be concluded from the test results that the superaustenitic steels 1.4529 and 1.4562 as well as the nickel-based alloy 2.4605 are a really good alternative as tank materials for the transport of dangerous goods in comparison to the lining of the tanks. The nickel-based alloy 2.4605 shows the best resistance and is suitable as material for tanks transporting all tested corrosive substances. One exception is the temperature limit during the transport of hydrochloric acid.
The superaustenit 1.4562 is a resistant material with a wide ränge of application. Exceptions for use are: ammonium bifluoride, brine, 34 % calcium Chloride solution, hydrochloric acid, perchloric acid, 90 % 2-chloropropionic acid, nitrating acid with nitric acid content > 50 % and molten monochloroacetic acid. The alloy is limited suitable for allyl Chloride, aluminum Chloride, copper (II) -Chloride and ferric Chloride. The superaustenit 1.4529 showed the lowest resistance compared to the other two materials. This steel is not resistant in hydrochloric acid, perchloric acid, sodium Chlorite and sodium hypochlorite. The application is limited in the concentration ränge of aqueous Solutions of aluminum Chloride, copper (II) Chloride and ferric Chloride. Due to the reduced alloying content of the duplex steel 1.4362 (X2CrNiN23-4) compared to the austenitic CrNiMo-steels, a lower resistance especially in acidic media like formic, acetic or sulfuric acid was observed. Within the more than 7.000 substances contained in the BAM-List there is a large amount of dangerous goods such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, ethers, esters, and inorganic alkaline substances which have a large transport volume and do not corrode the duplex steel 1.4362 (X2CrNiN23-4).
The test results are included in the actual 11th edition of the BAM-List and therefore available for the costumer.
For the last decades vibration based identification of damage on civil Engineering structures has become an important issue for maintenance operations on transport infrastructure.
Research in that field has been rapidly expanding from classic modal Parameter estimation using measured excitation to modern operational monitoring. Here the difficulty is to regard to the specific environmental and operational influence to the structure under observation. In this paper, two methods accounting for statistical and/or operational uncertainties are applied to measurement data of a progressive damage test on a prestressed concrete bridge. On the base of covariance driven Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) an algorithm is developed to monitor and automatically compute confidence intervals of the obtained modal parameters. Furthermore, a null space based non-parametric damage detection method, utilizing a statistical χ2 type test is applied to the measurement data. It can be shown that for concrete bridges the proposed methodology is able to clearly indicate the presence of structural damage, if the damage leads to a change of the structural system.
The geological storage of carbon dioxide (Carbon Capture and Storage, CCS) in depleted gas reservoirs or in saline aquifers is a widely discussed issue. Carbon dioxide may induce corrosion on the piping steels during compression, transportation and injection. Therefore,
selection of appropriate piping steels is a key factor in order to increase the safety and reliability of the CCS technology, and to keep the processes cost-effective.
The here described subproject of the COORAL project (German acronym for “C02 purity for capture and storage”) deals with the levels of impurities in the C02 stream that will be acceptable when using specific steels. Material exposure to carbon dioxide (C02) containing
specific amounts of water vapor, oxygen (02) sulfur dioxide (S02), nitrogen dioxide (N02), carbon monoxide (CO) can be a challenge to steels. Within this subproject 13 different Steels are tested for suitability as materials used for compression, transportation and injection Units within the CCS chain.
In Operational Modal Analysis, the modal parameters (natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes) obtained from Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) of a structure, are afflicted with statistical uncertainty. For evaluating the quality of the obtained results it is essential to know the respective confidence intervals of these figures. In this paper we present algorithms that automatically compute the confidence intervals of modal parameters obtained from covarianceand data-driven SSI of a structure based on vibration measurements. They are applied to the monitoring of the modal parameters of a prestressed concrete highway bridge during a progressive damage test that was accomplished within the European research project IRIS. Results of the covariance- and data-driven SSI are compared.
For the last decades vibration based damage detection of engineering structures has become an important issue for maintenance operations on transport infrastructure. Research in vibration based structural damage detection has been rapidly expanding from classic modal parameter estimation to modern operational monitoring. Methodologies from control Engineering especially of aerospace applications have been adopted and converted for the application on civil structures. Here the difficulty is to regard to the specific environmental and operational influence to the structure under observation. A null space based damage detection algorithm is tested for its sensitivity to structural damage of a prestressed concrete road bridge. Specific techniques and extensions of the algorithm are used to overcome difficulties from the size of the structure which is associated with the number of recorded sensor channels as well as from the operational disturbances by a nearby construction site. It can be shown that for concrete bridges the proposed damage detection methodology is able to clearly indicate the presence of structural damage, if the damage leads to a significant change of the structural system. Small damage which do not result in a System change when not activated by loading, do not lead to a modification of the dynamic response behavior and for that cannot be detected with the proposed global monitoring method.