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The present series of reports, the NanoDefine Methods Manual, has been developed within the NanoDefine project 'Development of an integrated approach based on validated and standardized methods to support the implementation of the EC recommendation for a definition of nanomaterial', funded by the European Union's 7th Framework Programme, under grant agreement 604347.
In 2011 the European Commission (EC) published a recommendation for a definition of the term 'nanomaterial', the EC NM Definition, as a reference to determine whether an unknown material can be considered as a 'nanomaterial' for regulatory purposes1. One challenge is the development of methods that reliably identify, characterize and quantify nanomaterials (NM) both as substances and in various products and matrices.
The overall goal of NanoDefine was to support the implementation of the EC NM Definition. It can also support the implementation of any NM definition based on particle size. The project has developed an integrated approach, which allows identifying any material as a nano- or not a nanomaterial according to the EC NM Definition. NanoDefine explicitly supported the governance challenges associated with the implementation of legislation concerning nanomaterials by:
- addressing the issues on availability of suitable measuring techniques, reference materials, validated methods, acceptable to all stakeholders (authorities, policy makers, commercial firms),
- developing an integrated and interdisciplinary approach and a close international co-operation and networking with academia, commercial firms and standardization bodies.
Thus, the NanoDefine Methods Manual provides guidance on practical implementation of the EC NM Definition throughout the nanomaterial characterization process, and on the characterization techniques employed as well as their application range and limits. It assists the user in choosing the most appropriate measurement method(s) to identify any substance or mixture for a specific purpose, according to the EC NM Definition of a nanomaterial. The NanoDefine project also explored how to assess a material against the criteria of the definition through proxy solutions, i.e. by applying measurement techniques that indirectly determine the x50. Those findings were developed through empirically based scientific work and are included in Part 1 of this Manual. As they go beyond the text of the EC NM Definition, they may be used as practical approach to indicate whether a material is a nanomaterial or not, but keeping in mind that they should not be taken as recommendation for the implementation of the EC NM Definition in a regulatory context.
The NanoDefine Methods Manual consists of the following three parts:
Part 1: The NanoDefiner Framework and Tools
Part 2: Evaluation of Methods
Part 3: Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Part 1 covers the NanoDefiner framework, general information on measurement methods and performance criteria and tools developed by NanoDefine such as a materials categorisation system, a decision support flow scheme and an e-tool.
Part 2 discusses the outcome of the evaluation of the nanomaterials characterisation methods for measuring size.
Part 3 presents the 23 Standard Operating Procedures developed within the NanoDefine project.
The current document is part 1.
Small-angle scattering data from particle dispersions with narrow size distributions are usually analysed by fitting a model function to the data, which is composed of a monodisperse form factor with a size distribution and, optionally, a structure factor. For common particle shapes like solid spheres, core-shell particles, ellipsoids or rods, the form factor can be computed analytically, and several software packages are readily available which provide a compilation of form factors.1,2 Recently, highly monodisperse nanoparticles with a variety of shapes have been synthesized, e.g. cubes and bipyramids3,4 with lightly capped edges, for which analytic form factors are harder to derive.
We compute an approximation to the scattering curve of arbitrary shapes by filling the shape with a quasi-random distribution of point scatterers and using Debye’s formula to get the overall scattering curve. The highly optimized debyer code is used to perform an efficient evaluation of Debye’s formula,5 which can perform the evaluation of 500,000 point scatterers in two minutes on commodity hardware. Moderate polydispersity is handled by interpolating the computed scattering curve over q from a master curve. In this way, the code is fast enough to perform data fitting of particle ensembles with moderate polydispersity for arbitrary shapes to experimental data.
This work was partly funded by the 17NRM04 nPSize project of the EMPIR programme co-financed by the EMPIR participating states and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
This study reports on the development of a single-particle (sp) inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique suitable for the multi-mode determination of nanoparticle (NP) metal mass fraction and number concentration. The described technique, which is based on a dual inlet System consisting of a pneumatic nebulizer (PN) and a microdroplet generator (MDG), allows for the sequential introduction of ionic metal calibrant solutions and nanoparticle suspensions via all combinations of the two inlets; thus allowing for a combination of three independent modes of analysis. A novel interface, assembled using standard analytical components (a demountable quartz ICP-MS torch, flexible nonconducting silicon tubing and various connectors), was used to interface the dual inlet system to an ICP-MS. The interface provided improved functionality, compared to a previous design. It is now possible to conveniently exchange and introduce standard solutions and samples via all inlet combinations, analyze them, and also wash the sample inlet systems while the whole setup is still connected to an operating ICP-MS. This setup provided seamless and robust operation in a total of three analysis modes, i.e. three ways to independently determine the metal mass fraction and NP number concentration. All three analyses modes could be carried out within a single analytical run lasting approximately 20 min.
The unique feature of the described approach is that each analysis mode is based on a different.
Im europäischen Warenhandel kommt es durch immer mehr EU‐Vorschriften und damit verbundener Verschärfung gesetzlicher Anforderungen zu deutlich höherer Nachfrage von Konformitätserklärungen. Davon hängt nicht nur die Sicherheit der Endverbraucher sondern überhaupt die Einfuhrerlaubnis für Produkte ab. Um in diesem Wirrwarr an Regularien herauszufinden, welchen Vorschriften ein spezielles Produkt unterliegt und welche Konformitätsdokumente von wem auszustellen sind, gibt der Autor mit diesem Buch einen ersten Überblick zu den derzeit existierenden Regularien und den geforderten Konformitätsdokumenten.
Auch wenn das Buch sich nicht unbedingt als Leitfaden für Produkthersteller eignet, hat der Autor hier zahlreiche nützliche Informationen zur Konformität von Produkten zusammengetragen und interpretiert, um dem Leser etwas Durchblick auf diesem komplexen Gebiet zu verschaffen.
Our recent study was focused on the emission from Laser Induced Plasma (LIP) at the delay times of tenths of microseconds after the laser pulse. At these long delays, the spectrum is dominated by the broadband molecular emission and plasma induced luminescence (PIL) produced by a luminescent matrix; only solitary atomic emission lines can be seen. Barium fluoride BaF2 activated by thulium (Tm) is a famous scintillator that presents the promising object for LIP in terms of both the potential for BaF molecular emission and Tm3+ PIL. The detection of molecular and PIL bands presents a new opportunity for analysis of halogens and rare-earth elements, which are the difficult objects for LIBS. In this paper, we show that the UV, Green, Extreme Red, and Infrared molecular bands from BaF and blue luminescence from Tm3+ are present in the LIP emission spectra while the detection of atomic Emission from F I and Tm I was impossible with the same experimental setup. Thus, the detection of molecular emission and PIL can be more sensitive than the traditional detection of Emission from atoms and ions.
One of the most commonly used bonds between two biomolecules is the bond between biotin and streptavidin (SA) or streptavidin homologues (SAHs). A high dissociation constant and the consequent high-temperature stability even allows for its use in nucleic acid detection under polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions. There are a number of SAHs available, and for assay design, it is of great interest to determine as to which SAH will perform the best under assay conditions. Although there are numerous single studies on the characterization of SAHs in solution or selected solid phases, there is no systematic study comparing different SAHs for biomolecule-binding, hybridization, and PCR assays on solid phases. We compared streptavidin, core streptavidin, traptavidin, core traptavidin, neutravidin, and monomeric streptavidin on the surface of microbeads (10–15 μm in diameter) and designed multiplex microbead-based experiments and analyzed simultaneously the binding of biotinylated oligonucleotides and the hybridization of oligonucleotides to complementary capture probes. We also bound comparably large DNA origamis to capture probes on the microbead surface. We used a real-time fluorescence microscopy imaging platform, with which it is possible to subject samples to a programmable time and temperature profile and to record binding processes on the microbead surface depending on the time and temperature. With the exception of core traptavidin and monomeric streptavidin, all other SA/SAHs were suitable for our investigations. We found hybridization efficiencies close to 100% for streptavidin, core streptavidin, traptavidin, and neutravidin. These could all be considered equally suitable for hybridization, PCR applications, and melting point analysis. The SA/SAH–biotin bond was temperature-sensitive when the oligonucleotide was mono-biotinylated, with traptavidin being the most stable followed by streptavidin and neutravidin. Mono-biotinylated oligonucleotides can be used in experiments with temperatures up to 70 °C. When oligonucleotides were bis-biotinylated, all SA/SAH–biotin bonds had similar temperature stability under PCR conditions, even if they comprised a streptavidin variant with slower biotin dissociation and increased mechanostability.
The DNA in living cells can be effectively damaged by high-energy radiation, which can lead to cell death. Through the ionization of water molecules, highly reactive secondary species such as low-energy electrons (LEEs) with the most probable energy around 10 eV are generated, which are able to induce DNA strand breaks via dissociative electron attachment. Absolute DNA strand break cross sections of specific DNA sequences can be efficiently determined using DNA origami nanostructures as platforms exposing the target sequences towards LEEs. In this paper, we systematically study the effect of the oligonucleotide length on the strand break cross section at various irradiation energies. The present work focuses on poly-adenine sequences (d(A4), d(A8), d(A12), d(A16), and d(A20)) irradiated with 5.0, 7.0, 8.4, and 10 eV electrons. Independent of the DNA length, the strand break cross section shows a maximum around 7.0 eV electron energy for all investigated oligonucleotides confirming that strand breakage occurs through the initial formation of negative ion resonances. When going from d(A4) to d(A16), the strand break cross section increases with oligonucleotide length, but only at 7.0 and 8.4 eV, i.e., close to the maximum of the negative ion resonance, the increase in the strand break cross section with the length is similar to the increase of an estimated geometrical cross section. For d(A20), a markedly lower DNA strand break cross section is observed for all electron energies, which is tentatively ascribed to a conformational change of the dA20 sequence. The results indicate that, although there is a general length dependence of strand break cross sections, individual nucleotides do not contribute independently of the absolute strand break cross section of the whole DNA strand. The absolute quantification of sequence specific strand breaks will help develop a more accurate molecular level understanding of radiation induced DNA damage, which can then be used for optimized risk estimates in cancer radiation therapy.
Introducing fluorine into organic molecules leads to new chemical/physical properties. Up to now, the OECD identified and categorized 4730 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances-related CAS numbers. Especially in the field of technical applications (e.g. surface coatings, fire extinguishing foams) as well as pharmaceuticals, fluorinated substances gain in importance. Thus, an increasing release of fluorinated compounds into the environment is expected.
The high environmental persistence of perfluorinated compounds leads to the risk of bioaccumulation. Partially fluorinated substances (polyfluorinated compounds) undergo degradation; thus, further possible fluorine species occur, which may exhibit different toxic/chemical properties. However, current target methods (e.g., HPLC/MS-MS) are not applicable for a comprehensive screening as well as assessment of pollution.
Thus, the poster presents a new sum parameter method for quantitative determination of extractable organically bound fluorine (EOF) in surface water samples. The method is based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) for fluorinated compounds as well as quantitative separation of interfering inorganic fluoride in combination with high-resolution-continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS GF MAS) for quantitative analysis. By means of this technique, the detection of high resolution molecular absorption spectra (MAS) is enabled upon the addition of a modifier and the formation of a diatomic molecule (e.g. GaF)
After successful optimization of the SPE procedure (maximum concentration of extractable organic fluorine), enrichment factors of about 1000 were achieved, allowing for highly sensitive fluorine detection. Next to a species-unspecific response, limits of detection in the low nanogram per liter range were achieved and real surface water samples were analyzed. EOF values in the range of about 50-300 ng/L were detected.
The developed method allows for a fast and sensitive as well as selective screening of organically bound fluorine (EOF) in surface water samples, helping to elucidate pollution hotspots as well as discharge routes.
Polymer nanoparticles (NPs) can be highly attractive in numerous applications including biomedicine where the use of inorganic matter may be detrimental for living tissues. In conventional wet chemistry, polymerization and functionalization of NPs with specific chemical groups involves complex and often numerous reactions. Here, we report on a solvent-free, single-step, low temperature plasma-based synthesis of carboxylated NPs produced by polymerization of acrylic acid under the conditions of a glow discharge. In a monomer-deficient regime, strong fragmentation of the monomer molecules by electron impact results in the formation of 15 nm-sized NPs with <1% retention of the carboxyl groups. In an energy-deficient regime, larger 90 nm-sized NPs are formed with better retention of the carboxyls that reaches 16 %. All types of the NPs exhibit the glass transition above the room temperature which makes them highly stable under aqueous environment with no dissolution or swelling. They are also found to degrade thermally when heated above 150 °C with a decrease of the mean NP size, yet with the retention of the chemical composition. Thus, plasma polymerization proves to be a versatile approach for the production of polymer NPs with tuneable size distribution, chemical composition and physical properties.
Ammonium nitrate (AN) prills are commonly used as an ingredient in industrial explosives and in fertilisers. Conventional techniques (such as BET or mercury intrusion porosimetry) can measure the open porosity and specific surface area of AN prill, but the closed porosity is not obtainable. This work was focused on evaluating X-ray computed tomography (XCT) as a non-destructive technique for the assessment of porosity in AN prills. An advanced data processing workflow was developed so that the segmentation and quantification of the CT data could be performed on the entire 3D volume, yet allowing the measurements (e.g.; volume, area, shape factor…) to be extracted for each individual phase (prill, open porosity, closed porosity) of each individual prill, in order to obtain statistically relevant data. Clear morphological and structural differences were seen and quantified between fertiliser and explosive products. Overall, CT can provide a very wide range of parameters that are not accessible to other techniques, destructive or non-destructive, and thus offers new insights and complementary information.
An introduction into absolute isotope ratios is given, with application fields ranging from fundamental science to geochronology and forensics. This is followed by a proposal for developing new calibration approaches for obtaining absolute isotope ratios at unrivaled uncertainty levels. This new developments will set the basis for improvements in all scientific fields.
Investigations on weldability often deal with hot cracking, as one of the most popular failure during weld fabrication. The modified varestraint transvarestraint hot cracking test (MVT) is well known for the assessment of the hot cracking susceptibility of materials. The shortcoming of this approach is that the information is only from the very near surface region, which inhibits access to the characteristic of the hot crack network in the bulk. Here, we report about a new approach, illustrated in the example of low transformation temperature (LTT) weld filler materials, to monitor the entire 3D hot crack network after welding by means of microfocus X-ray computer tomography (μCT).
Durch den großflächigen Einsatz der Computertomographie (CT) in unterschiedlichen Industriebereichen steigen auch die Anforderungen an die quantitative Bildanalyse. Subjektive Bildwahrnehmung muss durch objektive Algorithmen ersetzt werden. In diesem Artikel stellt die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), die seit den 1980er Jahren an der Entwicklung der industriellen CT beteiligt ist, anhand ausgewählter Beispiele den aktuellen Stand ihrer Analysemethoden an verschiedenen Anwendungsbeispielen der CT vor.
The primary screening of hybridoma cells is a time-critical and laborious step during the development of monoclonal antibodies. Often, critical errors occur in this phase, which supports the notion that the generation of monoclonal antibodies with hybridoma technology is difficult to control and hence, a risky venture. We think that it is crucial to improve the screening process to eliminate most of the critical deficits of the conventional approach. With this new microarray-based procedure, several advances could be achieved: Selectivity for excellent binders, high-throughput, reproducible signals, avoidance of misleading avidity (multivalency) effects, and performance of simultaneous competition experiments. The latter can also be used to select clones of desired cross-reactivity properties. In this paper, a model system with two excellent clones against carbamazepine, two weak clones, and blank supernatant containing fetal bovine serum was designed to examine the effectiveness of the new system. The excellent clones could be detected largely independent of the immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration, which is usually unknown during the clone screening since the determination and subsequent adjustment of the antibody concentration are not feasible in most cases. Furthermore, in this approach, the enrichment, isolation, and purification of IgG for characterization is not necessary. Raw cell culture supernatant can be used directly, even when fetal calf serum (FCS) or other complex media is used. In addition, an improved method for the oriented antibody-immobilization on epoxy-silanized slides is presented. Based on the results of this model system with simulated hybridoma supernatants, we conclude that this approach should be preferable to most other protocols leading to many false positives, causing expensive and lengthy elimination steps to weed out the poor clones.
A strain-based automated operational modal analysis algorithm is proposed to track the long-term dynamic behavior of a horizontal wind turbine under operational conditions.
This algorithm is firstly validated by a scaled wind turbine model, and then it is applied to the dynamic strain responses recorded from a 5 MW wind turbine system. We observed variations in the fundamental frequency and 1f, 3f excitation frequencies due to the mass imbalance of the blades and aerodynamic excitation by the tower dam or tower wake. Inspection of the Campbell diagram revealed that the adverse resonance phenomenon and Sommerfeld effect causing excessive vibrations of the wind tower.
This course will provide an introduction to plasma diagnostic techniques. The major focus of the course will be on the discussions of the practical procedures as well as the underlying physical principles for the measurements of plasma fundamental characteristics (e.g., temperatures, thermodynamic properties, and electron number density). Particular emphasis will be placed on inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry, but other analytical plasmas will also be used as examples when appropriate. Selected examples on how one can manipulate the operating conditions of the plasma source, based on the results of plasma diagnostic measurements, to improve its performance used for spectrochemical analysis will also be covered. Topics to be covered include thermal equilibrium, line profiles, temperatures, electron densities, excitation processes, microreactions, pump and probe diagnostics, tomography, temporal and spatial resolution. Basis of plasma computer modeling will be presented.
Die Korrosion in ihren zahlreichen Erscheinungsformen beschäftigt Fachleute und Laien. Um-so wichtiger ist es, die einzelnen Phänomene korrekt und eindeutig zu benennen. Nur so kann man eine saubere Beschreibung der Korrosionsvorgänge erreichen und damit in der wörtlichen und schriftlichen Kommunikation richtig verstanden werden. An zahlreichen Beispielen wird der richtige und normgemäße Sprachgebrauch beschrieben.
Photoluminescence techniques are amongst the most widely used tools in the life sciences, with new and exciting applications in medical diagnostics and molecular imaging continuously emerging. Advantages include their comparative ease of use, unique sensitivity, non-invasive character, and potential for multiplexing, remote sensing, and miniaturization. General drawbacks are, however, signals, that contain unwanted wavelength- and polarization contributions from instrument-dependent effects, which are also time-dependent due to aging of instrument-components, and difficulties to measure absolute fluorescence intensities. Moreover, scattering systems require special measurement geometries and the interest in new optical reporters with emission > 1000 nm strategies for reliable measurements in the second diagnostic for the comparison of material performance and the rational design of new fluorophores with improved properties.
Here, we present strategies to versatile method-adaptable liquid and solid fluorescence standards for different fluorescence parameters. Examples are multi-emitter glasses, spectral fluorescence standards, and quantum yield standards for the UV/vis/NIR.
Since its introduction mass spectrometric techniques like Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/ionization (MALDI) and Electrospray Ionization (ESI) have become indispensable for synthetic polymer analyses. Ideally, various polymer properties (monomer structure, masses, mass distribution, end groups) can be determined simultaneously. However, in real life these experiments are always affected by important structural parameters and instrumental limitations.
A short introduction focussing on latest findings with respect to ionisation principles and mechanisms will be given. Recent results from our group will be presented and efforts to avoid common drawbacks of polymer mass spectrometry will be discussed. In this regard, MALDI - Imaging mass spectrometry and the 2D hyphenation of MS with different chromatographic separation techniques were especially useful, since they can provide additional information and reduce the complexity of polymer analyses.
Es wurden erste Ergebnisse des Projekts extraWERT vorgestellt. Im Projekt werden monatlich Klärschlammproben von 10 kommunalen Kläranlagen untersucht, deren P-Gehalt im Grenzbereich der AbfKlärV liegt zwischen 1,7 und 2,3%. Die ersten Ergebnisse lagen zu fünf Kläranlagen vor, es wurden Daten zum TS-Gehalt, zur oTS und zu den Nährstoffgehalten präsentiert.
Die Korrosion in ihren zahlreichen Erscheinungsformen beschäftigt Fachleute und Laien. Um-so wichtiger ist es, die einzelnen Phänomene korrekt und eindeutig zu benennen. Nur so kann man eine saubere Beschreibung der Korrosionsvorgänge erreichen und damit in der wörtlichen und schriftlichen Kommunikation richtig verstanden werden. An zahlreichen Beispielen wird der richtige und normgemäße Sprachgebrauch beschrieben.
Die BAM betreibt ein QM-System, das stark an der DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 orientiert ist und welches in den meisten Fachabteilungen durch Akkreditierungen untersetzt wird. Mit der Zunahme der Forschungsaktivitäten in den letzten Jahren ist der DFG-Kodex zur Sicherstellung der Guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis deutlicher in den Fokus des Qualitätsmanagements gerückt. Der Vortrag zeigt auf, welche QM-Anforderungen an die Leistungen der BAM gestellt werden und mit welchen Instrumenten sie diese umsetzt, so dass Gute wissenschaftliche Praxis und Akkreditierungen gut harmonieren können.
Für Bauteile (Komponenten) von Versorgungsanlagen für flüssige Brenn- und Kraftstoffe muss die Beständigkeit der metallenen Werkstoffe und Polymere nachgewiesen werden. Im Anwendungsfall von Heizöl mit 20 % biogenen Anteilen in Form von Rapsölfettsäuremethylester (FAME, Biodiesel) ist es für eine konservative Beurteilung des Korrosionssystems Werkstoff/Medium/Umgebung wichtig, die Alterungseffekte des Mediums einzubeziehen.
Entwicklung eines Prüfverfahrens für die Untersuchung der Beständigkeit von metallenen Werkstoffen und Polymeren in Heizöl und Heizöl-Biodiesel-Blends, das für eine Vorauswahl der Werkstoffe und zum Nachweis der Beständigkeit im Hinblick auf die bauaufsichtlichen Zulassungsverfahren geeignet ist. Ein Schwerpunkt wird bei den metallenen Werkstoffen auf der Erprobung von Messmethoden liegen, mit denen sich in kurzer Versuchszeit ein Korrosionsangriff detektieren lässt.
In the last decade, applications of X-rays to the study of manuscripts significantly spread in both diversity and extent. They range from writing material analysis, mostly with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), permitting non-invasive characterization of inks and pigments used, to the investigation of the origin of writing supports. In addition, XRF mapping has proved to be an invaluable tool for recovering erased text. Finally, computed-tomography (CT) has shown potential in virtually unrolling rolls, making text readable without using-damaging mechanical methods. Despite their growing use, little attention has been paid to the side effects of such analytical tools. We observed irreversible parchment colour changes during some experiments on dead-sea scrolls with synchrotron radiation sources. Furthermore, partial photo-reduction of iron under high intensity beam during X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES) measurements of iron-gall ink on paper has been reported several times [5,6]. Such phenomena have mostly been overlooked so far, although there is an increasing awareness of the necessity to study them. We conducted experiments at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) facilities to investigate X-ray induced structural alteration of paper and parchment to see whether the presence of absorption centres (ink and pigments) has an impact. In addition to better understanding degradation processes, we are aiming to define an appropriate methodology of analysis of manuscripts with a tolerable risk of damage. The first results concerning X-ray induced damage of cellulose materials have already been presented at the Synchrotron Radiation and Neutrons in Art and Archaeology (SR2A). We are focusing here on the results on parchment materials.
Nowadays there are intumescent coatings available for diverse applications. There is no established assessment of their protection performance besides the standard time-temperature curve, but natural fire scenarios often play an important role. A reliable straightforward performance-based assessment is presented. The effective thermal conductivity per thickness is calculated based on intermediate-scale fire tests. The optimum thermal insulation, the time to reach it, and the time until contingent failure of the coating are used for an assessment independent of the heating curve. The procedure was conducted on four different commercially intumescent coatings for steel construction, one solvent-based, one waterborne, one epoxy-based, and a bandage impregnated with a waterborne coating. The performance was studied under four different but similar shaped heating curves with different maximum temperatures (standard time-temperature curve, hydrocarbon curve and two self-designed curves with reduced temperature). The thermal protection performance is crucially affected by the residue morphology. Therefore, a comprehensive morphology analysis, including micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy, was conducted on small-scale residues (7.5 x 7.5 cm2). Two different types of inner structures and the residue surface after different heat exposures were discussed in terms of their influence on thermal protection performance.
Tempo-spectral multiplexing in flow cytometry with lifetime detection using QD-encoded polymer beads
(2020)
Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) embedded into polymer microbeads are known to be very attractive emitters for spectral multiplexing and colour encoding. Their luminescence lifetimes or decay kinetics have been, however, rarely exploited as encoding parameter, although they cover time ranges which are not easily accessible with other luminophores. We demonstrate here the potential of QDs made from II/VI semiconductors with luminescence lifetimes of several 10 ns to expand the lifetime range of organic encoding luminophores in multiplexing applications using time-resolved flow cytometry (LT-FCM). For this purpose, two different types of QD-loaded beads were prepared and characterized by photoluminescence measurements on the ensemble level and by single-particle confocal laser scanning microscopy. Subsequently, these lifetime-encoded microbeads were combined with dye-encoded microparticles in systematic studies to demonstrate the potential of these QDs to increase the number of lifetime codes for lifetime multiplexing and combined multiplexing in the time and colour domain (tempo-spectral multiplexing). These studies were done with a recently developed novel luminescence lifetime flow cytometer (LT-FCM setup) operating in the time-domain, that presents an alternative to reports on phase-sensitive lifetime detection in flow cytometry.
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is the most prominent additive manufacturing (AM) technology for metal part production. Among the high number of factors influencing part quality and mechanical properties, the inter layer time (ILT) between iterative melting of volume elements in subsequent layers is almost completely unappreciated in the relevant literature on L-PBF. This study investigates the effect of ILT with respect to build height and under distinct levels of volumetric energy density (VED) using the example of 316L stainless steel. In-situ thermography is used to gather information on cooling conditions during the process, which is followed by an extensive metallographic analysis. Significant effects of ILT and build height on heat accumulation, sub-grain sizes, melt pool geometries and hardness are presented. Furthermore, the rise of defect densities can be attributed to a mutual interplay of build height and ILT. Hence, ILT has been identified as a crucial factor for L-PBF of real part components especially for those with small cross sections.
Porous ceramic diesel particulate filters (DPFs) are extruded products that possess macroscopic anisotropic mechanical and thermal properties. This anisotropy is caused by both morphological features (mostly the orientation of porosity) and crystallographic texture. We systematically studied those two aspects in two aluminum titanate ceramic materials of different porosity using mercury porosimetry, gas adsorption, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray refraction radiography. We found that a lower porosity content implies a larger isotropy of both the crystal texture and the porosity orientation. We also found that, analogous to cordierite, crystallites do align with their axis of negative thermal expansion along the extrusion direction. However, unlike what found for cordierite, the aluminium titanate crystallite form is such that a more pronounced (0 0 2) texture along the extrusion direction implies porosity aligned perpendicular to it.
The effect of particle grain sizes in different cement-based mixtures on the laser-induced plasma evolution is studied using two experimental methods: (i) temporal and spatial evolution of the laser-induced shock wave is investigated using shadowgraphy and two-dimensional plasma imaging, and (ii) temporal and spatial distribution of elements in the plasma is investigated using two-dimensional spectral imaging. This study is motivated by the interest in applying laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for chemical analysis of concrete, and subsequently obtain information related to damage assessment of structures like bridges and parking decks. The distribution of grain sizes is of major interest in civil engineering as for making concrete different aggregate grain sizes defined by a sieving curve (64mm to 0.125 mm) are needed. Aggregates up to a size of 180 μm can be excluded from the data set, therefore only the amount of small aggregates with a grain size below 180 μm must be considered with LIBS. All components of the concrete with a grain size smaller than 0.125mm are related to the flour grain content. Tested samples consisted of dry and hardened cement paste (water-cement ratio w/z=0.5), which served as a reference. Aggregate mixtures were made by adding flour grains (size 40 μm) and silica fume (size 0.1 μm) in different ratios to cement: 10%, 30%, 50% and 60%, all combined to the remaining percentage of dry or hydrated cement. The visualization results show that a dependance in the evolution of the plasma as a function of sample grain size can be detected only in the initial stages of the plasma formation, that is, at the initial 3 μs of the plasma life. Spectral information reveals the elemental distribution of the silicon and calcium in plasma, in both neutral and ionized form. Here also, a significant effect is observed in the first 1 μs of the plasma lifetime.
AlSi10Mg is one of the most applied alloys for laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, due to its great possibilities for implementing new lightweight concepts such as in automotive industries. For the component design it is necessary to know about the mechanical properties and the mechanical behaviour. The many published strength properties of LPBF processed AlSi10Mg show significant differences up to approximately 225 MPa in ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and 195 MPa in yield strength (YS). To understand these varying properties, a ring trial was carried out manufacturing specimens on 6 LPBF machines with different parameters and build-up strategies. They were studied in the as-built (AB) condition and after heat treatment at 300 °C for 30 min, respectively. For examining the mechanical properties, tensile tests and hardness measurements were carried out. The microstructure was characterized by optical light microscopy (OM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The identified differences in strength properties were discussed based on the 4 strengthening mechanism known for metallic materials and at the background of material defects. It was found that the size of the typical sub-cell structure of LPBF AlSi10Mg affected substantially the mechanical properties in the AB condition, in which with decreasing sub-cell size strength increased. If heat treatment was applied, the strength properties decreased and did not differ anymore. Since annealing led to coarsened sub-cells, whereas the grains itself did not change in size, the influence of sub-cell structure on strength was further confirmed. In addition, acicular precipitates in the AB condition were observed at specimens from one LPBF machine showing the lowest tensile elongation.
This paper demonstrates that the instrumented indentation test (IIT), together with a trained artificial neural network (ANN), has the capability to characterize the mechanical properties of the local parts of a welded steel structure such as a weld nugget or heat affected zone.
Aside from force-indentation depth curves generated from the IIT, the profile of the indented surface deformed after the indentation test also has a strong correlation with the materials’ plastic behavior. The profile of the indented surface was used as the training dataset to design an ANN to determine the material parameters of the welded zones. The deformation of the indented surface in three dimensions shown in images were analyzed with the computer vision algorithms and the obtained data were employed to train the ANN for the characterization of the mechanical properties. Moreover, this method was applied to the images taken with a simple light microscope from the surface of a specimen. Therefore, it is possible to quantify the mechanical properties of the automotive steels with the four independent methods: (1) force-indentation depth curve; (2) profile of the indented surface; (3) analyzing of the 3D-measurement image; and (4) evaluation of the images taken by a simple light microscope. The results show that there is a very good Agreement between the material parameters obtained from the trained ANN and the experimental uniaxial tensile test. The results present that the mechanical properties of an unknown steel can be determined by only analyzing the images taken from its surface after pushing a simple indenter into its surface.
Die Werkstoffklassen
(2020)
Es werden die vier Werkstoffklassen Metalle, Keramiken, Polymere und Verbundwerkstoffe sowie ihre Untergruppen vorgestellt. Die metallischen Werkstoffe umfassen die Eisen- wie die Nichteisenwerkstoffe und ihre Legierungen. Neben den Ingenieurkeramiken werden auch Glas und Glaskeramik, Naturstoffe und Erdstoffe sowie Baustoffe behandelt.
МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЕ ГИДРОДИНАМИЧЕСКИХ И ТЕПЛОВЫХ ПРОЦЕССОВ ПРИ ЛАЗЕРНОЙ СВАРКЕ СО СКВОЗНЫМ ПРОПЛАВЛЕНИЕМ
(2020)
Разработана модель физических процессов при сварке плавлением на основе концепции эквивалентных источников теплоты. Модель включает в себя две части: термогидродинамику сварочной ванны и теплопроводность свариваемого тела вне ванны. В задаче термогидродинамики учитываются температурные зависимости свойств материала, форма парогазового канала, термокапиллярная и естественная конвекция, фазовые превращения и другие физические явления.Приведено решение задачи термогидродинамики методом конечных элементов на примере сварки стальной пластины толщиной 15 мм со сквозным проплавлением лазерным лучом (по технологии "замочная скважина"). Показано, что термокапиллярная конвекция жидкого металла является основной причиной сложной выпукло-вогнутой формы границы ванны с увеличенными размерами в приповерхностных областях. Получено удовлетворительное совпадение расчетных и экспериментальных размеров сварочной ванны.
Well-absorbed iron-based nanoparticulated materials are a promise for the oral management of iron deficient anemia. In this work, a battery of in vitro and in situ experiments are combined for the evaluation of the uptake, distribution and toxicity of new synthesized ultrasmall (4 nm core) Fe2O3 nanoparticles coated with tartaric/adipic acid with potential to be used as oral Fe supplements. First, the in vitro simulated gastric acid solubility studies by TEM and HPLC-ICP-MS reveal a partial reduction of the core size of about 40% after 90 min at pH3. Such scenario confirms the arrival of the nanoparticulate material in the small intestine. In the next step, the in vivo absorption through the small intestine by intestinal perfusion experiments is conducted using the sought nanoparticles in Wistar rats. The quantification of Fe in the NPs Suspension before and after perfusion shows Fe absorption levels above 79%, never reported for other Fe treatments. Such high absorption levels do not seem to compromise cell viability, evaluated in enterocytes-like models (Caco-2 and HT-29) using cytotoxicity, ROS production, genotoxicity and lipid peroxidation tests. Moreover, regional differences in terms of Fe concentration are obtained among different parts of the small intestine as duodenum>jejunum>ileum. Complementary transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show the presence of the intact particles around the intestinal microvilli without significant tissue damage. These studies show the high potential of these NP preparations for their use as oral management of anemia.
This is a corrigendum to the original article "Determining the thickness and completeness of the shell of polymer core-shell nanoparticles by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission scanning electron microscopy" that was published in "The journal of physical chemistry C", vol. 123 (2019), no. 49 pp. 29765-29775.
ZnO nanoparticles are found in different food and consumer products, and their toxicological effects are still under investigation. It is therefore important to understand their behavior in the gastrointestinal tract. Here, we used an in vitro model to assess the physicochemical fate of ZnO nanoparticles during the digestive process in artificial saliva, stomach juice, and intestinal juice. Atomic absorption spectrometry and small-angle X-ray scattering were employed to investigate two ZnO nanomaterials, one intensively characterized reference material and soluble ZnCl2 in a broad range of concentrations between 25 and 1000 μg/mL in the intestinal fluid. Because food components may influence the behavior of nanomaterials in the gastrointestinal tract, starch, milk powder, and olive oil were used to mimic carbohydrates, protein, and fat, respectively. Additionally, ion release of all Zn species was assessed in cell culture media and compared to artificial intestinal juice to investigate relevance of typical cell culture conditions in ZnO nanotoxicology. ZnCl2 as well as the ZnO species were present as particles in artificial saliva but were solubilized completely in the acidic stomach juice. Interestingly, in the intestinal fluid a concentration-independent de novo formation of particles in the nanoscale range was shown. This was the case for all particles as well as for ZnCl2, regardless of the concentration used. Neither of the food components affected the behavior of any Zn species. On the contrary, all Zn species showed a Zn-concentration-dependent ion release in common cell culture medium. This questions the suitability of cell culture studies to investigate the effect of ZnO nanoparticles on intestinal cells. Our results show that Zn-containing nanoparticles reach the intestine. This underlines the importance of determining the influence of the test environment on nanoparticle fate.
One of the objectives of the EU Project EC4SafeNano (European Centre for Risk Management and Safe Innovation in Nanomaterials & Nanotechnologies) was to test and benchmark the services in order to check their relevance to address identified stakeholder needs, but also to evaluate the governance of the structure delivering the proposed services. The aim is to demonstrate the technical relevance of the services and the overall open structure organisation, including governance rules and operating procedures, by answering relevant identified questions (case studies) selected by a panel of stakeholders. Therefore, a significant part of the project will be devoted to this demonstration of the operational and functional basis of the organized network.
Characterization of Nanoparticles: Measurement Processes for Nanoparticles surveys this fast growing field, including established methods for the physical and chemical characterization of nanoparticles. The book focuses on sample preparation issues (including potential pitfalls), with measurement procedures described in detail. In addition, the book explores data reduction, including the quantitative evaluation of the final result and its uncertainty of measurement. The results of published inter-laboratory comparisons are referred to, along with the availability of reference materials necessary for instrument calibration and method validation. The application of these methods are illustrated with practical examples on what is routine and what remains a challenge.
In addition, this book summarizes promising methods still under development and analyzes the need for complementary methods to enhance the quality of nanoparticle characterization with solutions already in operation.
Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) Rubbers with the flame retardants tris(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, polyaniline, and aluminum trihydroxide were prepared and analyzed in this study. The homogenous dispersion of the fillers in the rubber matrix was confirmed by scanning electron microscope. To investigate the interplay of the different flame retardants, the flame retardants were varied systematically. The comprehensive study sought combinations of flame retardants that allow high loadings of flame retardants without deterioration of the physical and mechanical properties of the EPDM rubber. The eight EPDM rubbers were investigated via thermogravimetric analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer (Py GC/MS) to investigate the potential synergistic effects. In the Py-GC/MS experiments, 27 pyrolysis products were identified. Furthermore, UL 94, limiting oxygen index, FMVSS 302, glow wire tests, and cone calorimeter tests were carried out. In the cone calorimeter test the EPDM rubbers R-1AP and R-1/2P achieved an increase in residue at flameout of 76% and a reduction in total heat evolved of about 35%. Furthermore, the compounds R-1AP and R-1/2P achieved a reduction in MARHE to about 150 kW m−1, a reduction of over 50% compared to the unprotected rubber R.
Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) over tens of kilometers of fiber optic cables is well-suited for monitoring extended railway infrastructures. As DAS produces large, noisy datasets, it is important to optimize algorithms for precise tracking of train position, speed, and the number of train cars, The purpose of this study is to compare different data analysis strategies and the resulting parameter uncertainties. We present data of an ICE 4 train of the Deutsche Bahn AG, which was recorded with a commercial DAS system. We localize the train signal in the data either along the temporal or spatial direction, and a similar velocity standard deviation of less than 5 km/h for a train moving at 160 km/h is found for both analysis methods, The data can be further enhanced by peak finding as well as faster and more flexible neural network algorithms. Then, individual noise peaks due to bogie clusters become visible and individual train cars can be counted. From the time between bogie signals, the velocity can also be determined with a lower standard deviation of 0.8 km/h, The analysis methods presented here will help to establish routines for near real-time Train tracking and train integrity analysis.
Combined Raman and LIBS using Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer with High Repetition Rate Laser
(2020)
Spatial heterodyne spectroscopy is used for Raman and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of six rocks with various mineral content, using high repetition rate diode-pumped solid state lasers. While LIBS data are obtained for all samples, Raman signal was determined only for half of those. This work shows that it is possible to combine LIBS and Raman spectrometry into a single instrument consisting of a DPSS laser for excitation and SHS for spectral recording. For better results and gain from complementary spectrochemical information that the system provides, it is necessary to optimize light collection.
Für die Reinigung ihres Klassenzimmers von Klebstoffresten, Schmierereien u. ä. am Ende des Schuljahres verwendeten die Schüler einen 20 l-Blechkanister mit Lösemittel (Ethanol bzw. Spiritus für Matrizendrucker), der als leichtentzündlich gekennzeichnet war. Die Entnahme des Lösemittels durch die Schüler erfolgte durch vorsichtiges Kippen des in einem Regal stehenden Kanisters nach vorne, so dass Lösemittel auf die für die Reinigung verwendeten Papiertücher tropfte. Am 23. Juni 1997 kam es unter Bildung einer Stichflamme zur Entzündung verschütteten Ethanols und in der Folge auch zum Bersten des Behälters. In der Folge des Unfalls verstarb eine Schülerin und acht weitere Schülerinnen und Schüler wurden zum Teil schwerstverletzt. Zudem entstand infolge des Brandgeschehens erheblicher Sachschaden. Dieser Aufsatz stellt das Strafurteil gegen den verantwortlichen Lehrer vor und diskutiert die relevanten, aber im Urteil nicht benannten Anforderungen des Gefahrstoffrechts.
Eindimensionale Modelle des Gleises aus einem Schienenstützpunkt, zweidimensionale Modelle enthalten die Kraftverteilung der Schiene. Eindimensionale Modelle machen einen Fehler, weil sie eine zu große Fahrzeugmasse berücksichtigen. Man kann jedoch bei der Berechnung der Minderungswirkung von Gleiselementen eindimensionale Gleismodelle verwenden, um die Kraftübertragung des Gleises bzw. die Minderungswirkung des Gleises zu berechnen. Die Wechselwirkung mit dem Fahrzeug kann einfach mit der dynamischen Stützpunktsteifigkeit berechnet werden. Dabei muss die Stützpunktsteifigkeit mit einer charakteristischen Gleislänge multipliziert werden, die frequenz- und systemabhängig ist.
The train passages over intact or damaged slab tracks on different soils have been calculated by the finite-element boundary-element or the wavenumber-domain method. The influence of track and soil parameters on the distribution of the track displacements and the soil forces has been analysed. The measured and calculated displacement time histories of train passages could be used to identify track damages such as lose sleepers or a lose track plate. The time histories and spectra of the soil forces can explain the measured ground vibration reduction of slab tracks. The calculated displacement and force distributions of slab tracks on continuous soils do not fulfil the Winkler hypothesis and Winkler models should not be used for track analysis.
Effects of laser-induced periodic surface structures on the superconducting properties of Niobium
(2020)
It is well known that the use of ultrashort (fs) pulsed lasers can induce the generation of (quasi-) periodic nanostructures (LIPSS, ripples) on the surface of many materials. Such nanostructures have also been observed in sample’s surfaces irradiated with UV lasers with a pulse duration of 300 ps. In this work, we compare the characteristics of these nanostructures on 1-mm and on 25-μm thick niobium sheets induced by 30 fs n-IR and 300 ps UV pulsed lasers. In addition to conventional continuous or burst mode processing configurations, two-dimensional laser beam and line scanning modes have been investigated in this work. The latter allows the processing of large areas with a more uniform distribution of nanostructures at the surface. The influence of the generated nanostructures on the superconducting properties of niobium has also been explored. For this aim, magnetic hysteresis loops have been measured at different cryogenic temperatures to analyse how these laser treatments affect the flux pinning behaviour and, in consequence, the superconductor’s critical current values. It was observed that laser treatments are able to modify the superconducting properties of niobium samples.
While studying the socio-geographic history of inks, division 4.5 (Analysis of cultural artefacts and assets) of the BAM (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung) in Berlin together with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures in Hamburg has developed a protocol for ink analysis. It consists of a primary screening to determine the type of the ink, and a subsequent in-depth analysis using several spectroscopic techniques.
Using this protocol, scientists can assist scholars in addressing a rather broad range of historical questions that cannot be answered unequivocally through scholarly research alone. Among these are investigations on collaboration between scribes and scriptoria, on the usage and annotation of manuscripts and on their path through time and space in general. This research can thus help to reconstruct the circumstances of the production of written heritage as well as their history and transmission.
To facilitate the dialogue between the scholars and the scientists a simple optical tool was developed to allow the scholars to perform preliminary ink analysis required for formulation of the question that in turn can be answered by scientific in-depth investigations. In this paper, ink types and their identification method is accompanied by examples of the recent work conducted on parchment manuscripts in the Austrian National Library.
In the recent years multispectral imaging and X-ray Fluorescence element mapping have established themselves as a well working two step approach, when dealing with faded, erased or overwritten text in iron gall ink. During the last years a lot was done to improve the mere technical side of the techniques. Especially in the case of XRF mapping experiments the acquisition speed needed to be increased to allow mapping in the high resolution demanded by the challenges at hand. High resolution in moderate times can now be achieved, but with the price of proportionally increased amount of data that needs to be processed ideally in parallel to the measurement. The classical approach in XRF spectroscopy of elemental fitting of the spectral data does not even come close to fulfill any on the fly processing time constraints and will consume too much processing time in the foreseeable future. In this paper we will discuss the applicability of modern statistical data processing methods to XRF mapping of iron gall ink palimpsests. We will present a comparison of a new approach based on principle and independent component analysis (PCA and ICA) and the standard element mapping method. We will show that a reduction in processing time of almost two orders of magnitude can easily be achieved.
Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are often present when processing solid targets with linearly polarized ultrashort laser pulses. The different irradiation parameters to produce them on metals, semiconductors and dielectrics have been studied extensively, identifying suitable regimes to tailor its properties for applications in the fields of optics, medicine, fluidics and tribology, to name a few. One important parameter widely present when exposing the samples to the high intensities provided by these laser pulses in air environment, that generally is not considered, is the formation of a superficial laser-induced oxide layer. In this paper, we fabricate LIPSS on a layer of the oxidation prone hard-coating material chromium nitride in order to investigate the impact of the laser-induced oxide layer on its formation. A variety of complementary surface analytic techniques were employed, revealing morphological, chemical and structural characteristics of well-known high-spatial frequency LIPSS (HSFL) together with a new type of low-spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL) with an anomalous orientation parallel to the laser polarization. Based on this input, we performed finite-difference time-domain calculations considering a layered system resembling the geometry of the HSFL along with the presence of a laser-induced oxide layer. The simulations support a scenario that the new type of LSFL is formed at the interface between the laser-induced oxide layer and the non-altered material underneath. These findings suggest that LSFL structures parallel to the polarization can be easily induced in materials that are prone to oxidation.
Among additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is one of the most important technologies to produce metallic components. The layer-wise build-up of components and the complex process conditions increase the probability of the occurrence of defects. However, due to the iterative nature of its manufacturing process and in contrast to conventional manufacturing technologies such as casting, L-PBF offers unique opportunities for in-situ monitoring. In this study, two cameras were successfully tested simultaneously as a machine manufacturer independent process monitoring setup: a high-frequency infrared camera and a camera for long time exposure, working in the visible and infrared spectrum and equipped with a near infrared filter. An AISI 316L stainless steel specimen with integrated artificial defects has been monitored during the build. The acquired camera data was compared to data obtained by computed tomography. A promising and easy to use examination method for data analysis was developed and correlations between measured signals and defects were identified. Moreover, sources of possible data misinterpretation were specified. Lastly, attempts for automatic data analysis by data Integration are presented.
Manipulating the melt dripping of thermoplastics makes a fire scenario more or less dangerous. Yet, a detailed understanding of this phenomenon has remained a question mark in studies of the flammability of plastics. In this work, the individual and collective impacts of additives on the dripping behaviour of polyamide 6 (PA6) were studied. A set of materials compounded with melamine cyanurate (MCA) and glass fibre (GF) was investigated. Under UL 94 vertical test conditions, the dripping during first and second ignition was quantified and investigated in detail. The number, size and temperature of the drops were addressed, and the materials and their drops evaluated with respect to such aspects as their averaged molecular weight, thermal decomposition and rheological properties. PA6 with V-2 classification improved to V-0 with the addition of MCA, and achieved HB in the presence of GF. PA6/GF/MCA achieved V-2. Non-flaming drops of PA6/MCA consisted of oligomeric fragments. Flaming drops of PA6/GF showed a more pronounced decomposition of PA6 and an increased GF content. The dripping behaviour of PA6/GF/MCA can be understood as a combination of the influence of both additives. The results showed nicely that dripping under fire is neither a straightforward material property nor a simple additive influence, but the complex response of the material influenced by the interaction and competition of different phenomena.
Hyperbranched polyphosphoesters are promising multifunctional flame retardants for epoxy resins. These polymers were prepared via thiol-ene polyaddition reactions. While key chemical transformations and modes of actions were elucidated, the role of sulfur in the chemical composition remains an open question. In this study, the FR-performance of a series of phosphorus-based flame retardant additives with and without sulfur (thioethers or sulfones) in their structure are compared. The successful synthesis of thio-ether or sulfone-containing variants is described and verified by 1H and 31P NMR, also FTIR and MALDI-TOF. A decomposition process is proposed from pyrolytic evolved gas analysis (TG-FTIR, Py-GC/MS), and flame retardancy effect on epoxy resins is investigated under pyrolytic conditions and via fire testing in the cone calorimeter. The presence of sulfur increased thermal stability of the flame retardants and introduced added condensed phase action. Likely, Sulfur radical generation plays a key role in the flame-retardant mode of action, and sulfones released incombustible SO2. The results highlight the multifunctionality of the hyperbranched polymer, which displays better fire performance than its low molar mass thio-ether analogue due to the presence of vinyl groups and higher stability than its monomer due to the presence of thio-ether groups.
Scientific publications addressing the durability of the flame retardance of cables during their long-term application are rare and our understanding lacks. Three commercial flame retardants, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum diethyl phosphinate (AlPi-Et), and intumescent flame retardant based on ammonium polyphosphate, applied in ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) model cables, are investigated. Different artificial aging scenarios were applied: accelerated weathering (UV-irradiation/temperature/rain phases), humidity exposure (elevated temperature/humidity), and salt spray exposure. The deterioration of cables’ surface and flame retardancy were monitored through imaging, color measurements, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and cone calorimeter investigations. Significant degradation of the materials’ surface occurred. The flame retardant EVA cables are most sensitive to humidity exposure; the cable with AlPi-Et is the most sensitive to the artificial aging scenarios. Nevertheless, substantial flame retardance persisted after being subjected for 2000 h, which indicates that the equivalent influence of natural exposure is limited for several years, but less so for long-term use.
Flame retarded polymeric materials are used in various applications in which a certain fire behavior is demanded. Protection goals are defined, such as limited flammability in terms of hindered sustained ignition or limited contribution to a fire, and these protection levels are tested with defined specimens or components in defined fire scenarios, that is to say, different fire tests. Passing a specific fire test by meeting whatever its demands is often the most important development goal, so the parameters of the different fire tests vary widely to emphasize different fire properties. Some fire tests are used to screen or provide a general assessment of flame retardant polymers during development, while other fire tests and tailored experiments are performed to address special phenomena or understand the flame retardancy modes of action. For all fire testing, the devil is in the details – demanding know-how and crucial efforts to manage the quality of investigations and advanced interpretation. This chapter aims to offer a structured overview of all these aspects.
Imaging wood defects using air coupled ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers in reflection mode
(2020)
Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is used to detect defects in wood panels without physically contacting the sample and with a quick scanning rate. Transducers made of cellular polypropylene (PP) with a high signal-to-noise ratio are quite suitable for ACU testing of wood. The extremely low modulus of elasticity and low density of PP transducers results in a small difference in acoustic impedance for the Transmission of ultrasonic waves between the transducer and air, allowing new areas of application to become possible.
To demonstrate the suitability of the reflection technique, measurements are shown on the three samples Multiplex, LVL, and MDF and compared with transmission measurements. Due to this acoustic barrier and the use of cellular PP transducers, an exact detection of delamination and cavities is possible in wood panels up to 40 mm thick. If only one side of an object is accessible and the depth of the defect is of interest, the reflection technique is preferred at the expense of a reduced measuring accuracy and Penetration depth.
This article deals with the relevance and practical feasibility of micromechanical simulations for their application to general geomechanical problems involving fluid-saturated granular assemblies, whether frictional or cohesive. A set of conceptual and numerical tools is here presented, advocating for a parallel computation using graphical processing units (GPUs) to treat large numbers of degrees of freedom with conventional Desktop computers. The fluid phase is here simulated with a particle-resolved approach in the frame of the Lattice Botzmann Method (LBM) while the granular solid phase is modelled as a collection of discrete particles from a Molecular Dynamics DEM perspective. The range of possible material behaviours for the solid granular phase is intended here to cover a broad spectrum from purely frictional to viscous cohesive materials with either brittle or transient debonding features. Specific details of the implementation and some validation cases are put forward.
Finally, some exemplary applications in the fields of soil erosion and geotechnical profile installation are provided along with a discussion on the parallel performance of the presented models. The results show that a micromechanical approach can be feasible and useful in practice, providing meaningful insights into complex engineering problems like the erosion kinetics of a soil under an impinging jet or the penetration resistance of a deep foundation in a layered soil profile.
This paper describes the testing methods used to determine the thermal properties of insulation materials and mechanical properties of materials used for the load-bearing structure for pressure tanks (up to 4 bar, relative) and cryogenic liquids (LNG, −166 °C to -157 °C at atmospheric pressure). Goal is to design a transportation tank that does not exceed 4 bars (relative) within 10 h, starting at atmospheric pressure. PUR-foam is a suitable material for the insulation. A 12,5 l small scale tank prototype reached 4 bar (relative) within 87 minutes, which is, regarding the influence of the size, a satisfying result. The mechanical properties change significantly at cryogenic temperatures. The bending modulus is similar at first, but decreases at a certain point by appr. 50 %. However, the maximum stress is much higher and could not be reached within this testing setup.
Increasing traffic volume on the one hand and ageing infrastructure on the other hand have created many new challenges for maintenance and structural health monitoring of roads and bridges. In the past, many bridges and road structures have been neglected, often resulting in traffic congestion, road closure, and increased repair costs.
This research is concerned with the development of a system to improve the challenge of maintenance and early detection of damage, particularly moisture penetration and corrosion of steel reinforced concrete components. The objective is to develop a method that will also work after 30 years and longer. Many new IoT solutions are equipped with internal energy storage elements (accumulators or batteries) which are inappropriate here, since most relevant signs of concrete degradation occur after decades, where the functioning of such elements are more than questionable. The presented technology approach uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) and enables connectivity to sensors. It offers the advantage of an passive, completely independent energy supply without any energy storage components.
Since the system should be permanently embedded in concrete, it is crucial to develop a long-term stable device which is adapted to the environmental influences of the structure, e.g., long-term resistance in very alkaline environment of pH 13. In numerous experiments, the robustness of the system was tested and evaluated. Various tests with encapsulations to protect the electronics were performed, and for long-term validation different concrete specimens were instrumented with RFID-sensor-systems. Their operating time is now around two years and investigations for signs of fatigue and damage to the encapsulation and the electronics are ongoing.
Since nanoscience has a tremendous impact on the development of electrochemistry, Wiley‐VCH paid attention to that by publishing thisbook as volume 17 within the series “Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering”.
This collection of “nanoaspects”on electrodes provides a helpful overview on principles and current findings to readers interested in such applications. It fulfills its intention of being “a valuable resource for researchers working in such fields as electrochemistry, materials science, spectroscopy, analytical and medicinal chemistry”.
This chapter provides an introduction in secondary ion mass spectrometry as one of the leading surface chemical analysis and imaging techniques with molecular specificity in the field of material sciences. The physical basics of the technique are explained along with a description of the typical instrumental setups and their modes of operation. The application paragraph specifically focuses on nanoparticle analysis by SIMS in terms of surface spectrometry, imaging, analysis in organic and complex media, and depth profiling.
A review of the existing literature is provided, and selected studies are showcased. Limitations and pitfalls as well as current technical developments of SIMS application in nanoparticle surface chemical analysis are equally discussed.
A variety of methods used to prepare nano-objects for surface analysis are described along with information about when they might be best applied. Intrinsic properties of NPs which complicate their characterization and need to be considered when planning for surface or other analyses of NPs are identified, including challenges associated with reproducible synthesis and functionalization of the particles as well as their dynamic nature. The relevant information about the sample preparation processes, along with analysis details and data that need to be added to the collection of material provenance information is identified. Examples of protocols that have been successfully used for preparation of nano-objects for surface analysis are included in an annex.
Conclusions and perspectives
(2020)
This chapter briefly summarizes the methods selected within this book for the characterization of nanoparticles with regard to commonly accessible properties: nanoparticle size and size distribution, shape, surface area, surface charge, aggregation state, structure, chemical composition, surface chemistry, and nanoparticle number concentration. Current progress of measurement and analysis, as far as possible according to standard operation procedures, has been the focus of this work. A number of new and less commonly used methods have not been covered, and we outline some of these in this chapter. Future challenges such as automated measurement and analysis, read-across approaches for the prediction of properties, knowledge of measurement uncertainties, the need for certified reference materials, and the necessity to complement measurements methods to obtain more reliable results are covered, and the unmet measurement requirements for real-world nanoparticles are described.
Introduction
(2020)
The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive collection of analytical methods that are commonly used to measure nanoparticles, providing information on one, or more, property of importance. The chapters provide up-to-date information and guidance on the use of these techniques, detailing the manner in which they may be reliably employed. Within this chapter, we detail the rationale and context of the whole book, which is driven by the observation of a low level of reproducibility in nanoparticle research. The aim of the book is to encourage awareness of both the strengths and weaknesses of the various methods used to measure nanoparticles and raise awareness of the range of methods that are available. The editors of the book have, for many years, been engaged in European projects and standardization activities concerned with nanoparticle analysis and have identified authors who are experts in the various methods included within the book. This has produced a book that can be used as a definitive guide to current best practice in nanoparticle measurement.
Während das Instandsetzungsprinzip W bei carbonatisierungsinduzierter Korrosion seit vielen Jahren als Standardverfahren etabliert ist, wird seine Anwendbarkeit bei chloridinduzierter Korrosion (W-Cl) in der Fachwelt bis heute kontrovers diskutiert. Zwar ergeben sich aus seiner Anwendung gegenüber anderen Instandsetzungsverfahren auf den ersten Blick u. U. deutliche wirtschaftliche Vorteile, allerdings besteht bei diesem Verfahren ein deutlich höheres Risiko, dass das Instandsetzungsziel nicht erreicht wird.
Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die technischen Grundlagen des Instandsetzungsprinzips W-Cl sowie der aktuelle Kenntnisstand - sowohl für den gerissenen als auch für den ungerissenen Beton - dargestellt und baurechtliche Konsequenzen, die sich aus dem erhöhten Ausführungsrisiko ergeben, diskutiert.
Korrosionsmonitoring als Element zum Nachweis des Instandsetzungserfolgs bei Anwendung des Prinzips W-Cl wird vorgestellt.
Anhand von Anwendungsbeispielen werden sowohl die Risiken, die mit dem Verfahren verbunden sind, als auch das Potenzial bei erfolgreicher Anwendung veranschaulicht.
Der maßgebliche Korrosionsschutz von nicht rostendem Stahl in Beton basiert, anders als bei unlegiertem Betonstahl, auf der Ausbildung einer Chromoxidschicht. Die Chromoxidschicht ist in alkalischem und in carbonatisiertem Beton beständig, sodass nicht rostende Stähle in einem passiven Zustand vorliegen.
Die Initiierung von Lochkorrosionserscheinungen ist dagegen auch an nicht rostenden Stählen in Beton möglich. Der korrosionsauslösende Chloridgehalt ist neben dem Gehalt an Legierungselementen (insbesondere dem Chromgehalt) und der Oberflächenbeschaffenheit auch vom Konzentrationsverhältnis von OH“ zu CI“ im Elektrolyten abhängig. Daher ist prinzipiell zu erwarten, dass in karbonatisierten Betonen geringere Chloridgehalte Korrosion initiieren können als in Betonen mit höheren pH-Werten. Dies gilt in besonderem Maße für nicht rostende Betonstähle mit geringen Chromgehalten, wie z. B. Produkte aus dem Werkstoff 1.4003 (X2CrNi12) mit seiner im Vergleich zu den Standardausteniten geringen Beständigkeit. Um den kritischen korrosionsauslösenden Chloridgehalt am Beispiel eines am Markt verfügbaren ferritischen Chromstahls zu bestimmen, wurden an der Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) umfangreiche Untersuchungen zu beschleunigten Korrosionsversuchen in alkalischen und karbonatisierten Mörteln durchgeführt. Mittels Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) konnten die korrosionsauslösenden Chloridgehalte im Phasengrenzbereich Betonstahl-Mörtel ermittelt werden.
This chapter provides an overview of what standards are, why they are important, and how they are developed. There is a focus on the work of standards committees relevant to nanotechnology measurement and characterization with tables detailing the standards that are currently available for a large number of different techniques, materials, and applications at the nanoscale.
The Lycurgus cup is an ancient glass artefact that shows dichroism as it looks green when a white light is reflected on it and a red colouring appears when a white light is transmitted through it. This peculiar dichroic effect is due to silver and gold nanoparticles present in the glass. In this research we show the synthesis of dichroic silver nanoparticles and their embedding in a 3D printable nanocomposite. The addition of gold nanoparticles to the silver nanoparticle composite, gave a 3D printable nanocomposite with the same dichroism effect of the Lycurgus cup.
The two-part paper series provides an overview on the state-of-the-art in the application of engineering fracture mechanics to weldments limited to butt and fillet welds with crack initiation at weld toes. In the present second part, one focus is on welding residual stresses, their characteristics and stability under cyclic loading and their effect on structural integrity. Subsequently, features will be addressed which are essential for applying fracture mechanics to overall fatigue life and fatigue strength considerations of weldments. These comprise fatigue life relevant initial crack sizes and multiple crack initiation and Propagation due to various stress peaks along the weld toe. A concept is briefly introduced which covers all these aspects.
The high-cycle fatigue, small crack propagation behavior of an A357-T6 cast aluminum alloy is investigated. Laboratory X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) is used to assist in the manufacturing of two flat fatigue specimens containing subsurface shrinkage pores of different sizes (Pore 1 √A=522μm against Pore 2 √A=280μm). Surface crack monitoring is performed by means of optical microscopy and the cracked specimens are analyzed via scanning electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction techniques. The subsurface pores tend to induce intergranular crack nucleation, principally when the grain boundaries are oriented perpendicular to the loading direction. Pore 1 induces a fatigue life reduction of 500.000 cycles when compared to Pore 2. The crystallography is able to influence small crack propagation by slightly decelerating the crack growth rates as well as by altering the crack path topography. Tailoring of the crystallography for improved fatigue resistance requires an investigation of the optimal largest defect to grain size ratio.
Zinc ferrite and graphene composites have attracted considerable attention in wastewater treatment. In this work, a magnetically separable mesoporous composite of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was prepared through a simple and eco-friendly method with pure water as solvent and without the need for subsequent thermal treatment. Uniformly dispersed ZnFe2O4 NPs on the surface of rGO sheets exhibited good crystallinity and a large BET specific surface area. These factors contributed to good photocatalytic performance of the composite for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under simulated solar-light radiation, increased adsorptivity, increased separation efficiency of the photo-excited charges on the surface of the catalyst, and broadened light-absorption range of the composite. Efficient interfacial interaction between the ZnFe2O4 NPs and rGO sheets resulted in synergistic effects. The magnetically separable ZnFe2O4@rGO nanocomposite proved an efficient and stable catalyst in three consecutive photodegradation cycles for MB dye in aqueous solution under solar radiation. In addition, the synthesis method proposed in this study could be scaled-up easily due to the simplicity of the process, the lack of a toxic reagent, and the use of low temperatures.
Because of its excellent corrosion resistance, high tensile strength and high ductility, duplex stainless steel 2205 offers many areas of application. Though laser beam welding accompanied by high cooling rates, duplex steels tend to perform higher ferrite contents in weld metal as the base metal, which leads to a reduction of ductility and corrosion resistance of the weld joint. To overcome this problem, a solution, based on buttering the plate edges by laser metal deposition (LMD) with material containing higher Ni concentrations prior to laser welding was suggested.
In this context different process parameters for LMD process were investigated. In a second step the possibility of welding those edges defect free while achieving balanced austenite-ferrite ratio was verified with metallographic analysis, Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and impact testing according to Charpy.
Characterization of nanomaterials by transmission electron microscopy - Measurement procedures
(2020)
In this chapter, approaches are proposed for the descriptive and quantitative characterization of nano-objects with nanometer resolution. Measurements are based on the analysis of the characteristics of 2D projections of individual particles visualized on transmission electron micrographs.
Incorporation of spectroscopic methods (EDS and EELS) for elemental analysis of nano-objects is recommended to identify subpopulations of nano-objects in mixtures based on their chemical composition. The focus lies on the determination of physicochemical properties which are essential in a legislatory and regulatory context to define the material as a nanomaterial (NM), and to assess its safety and toxicological potential, using widely accessible equipment.
In this chapter sample preparation, image acquisition, and nanoparticle size and shape characterization methods using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) in reflective and transmitted working modes are described. These help in obtaining reliable, highly repeatable results. The best solutions vary case-by-case and depend on the raw (powdered or suspension) nanoparticle material, the required measurement uncertainty and on the performance of the SEM.
Auger electron spectroscopy
(2020)
An introduction in the application of Auger Electron Spectroscopy to surface chemical analysis of nanoparticles is given. Auger Electron Spectroscopy is a mature method in the field of surface chemical analysis. The chapter addresses the physical basis of the method, the principal design of recent instruments together with modes of operation and options for the presentation of spectra, as well as different approaches for qualitative (including identification of chemical species) and quantitative surface analysis of elements. An application paragraph on surface chemical analysis of nanoparticles by AES or SAM introduces the different measurement approaches and sample preparation strategies applied by analysts. The analysis of nanoparticle ensembles, the so-called selected point analysis where a narrow primary electron beam is centered on an individual nanoparticle, and chemical mapping of individual nanoparticles (or a line scan across) are addressed. Existing literature is reviewed and informative case studies presented. Limitations and pitfalls in the application of AES in surface chemical analysis of nanoparticles are also addressed.
Thermal decomposition of (NH4)2[OsxPt1-xCl6] as single-source precursors for Os-Pt binary alloys has been investigated under ambient and high pressure up to 40 GPa. Thermal decomposition of mixed-metal (NH4)2[OsxPt1-xCl6] precursor in hydrogen atmosphere (reductive environment) under ambient pressure results in formation of β-trans[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] and α-trans-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] crystalline intermediates as well as single and twophase Os—Pt binary alloys. For the first time, direct thermal decomposition of coordination compound under pressure has been investigated. A formation of pure metallic alloys from single-source precursors under pressure has been shown. Miscibility between fcc- and hcpstructured alloys has been probed up to 50 GPa by in situ high-pressure X-ray diffraction. Miscibility gap between fcc- and hcp-structured alloys does not change its positions with pressure up to at least 50 GPa.
Almost 500 municipal solid waste incineration plants in the EU, Norway and Switzerland generate about 17.6 Mt/a of incinerator bottom ash (IBA). IBA contains minerals and metals. Metals are mostly separated and sold to the scrap market and minerals are either disposed of in landfills or utilised in the construction sector. Since there is no uniform regulation for IBA utilisation at EU level, countries developed own rules with varying requirements for utilisation. As a result from a cooperation network between European experts an up-to-date overview of documents regulating IBA utilisation is presented. Furthermore, this work highlights the different requirements that have to be considered. Overall, 51 different parameters for the total content and 36 different parameters for the emission by leaching are defined. An analysis of the defined parameter reveals that leaching parameters are significantly more to be considered compared to total content parameters. In order to assess the leaching behaviour nine different leaching tests, including batch tests, up-flow percolation tests and one diffusion test (monolithic materials) are in place.
A further discussion of leaching parameters showed that certain countries took over limit values initially defined for landfills for inert waste and adopted them for IBA utilisation. The overall utilisation rate of IBA in construction works is approximately 54 wt%. It is revealed that the rate of utilisation does not necessarily depend on how well regulated IBA utilisation is, but rather seems to be a result of political commitment for IBA recycling and economically interesting circumstances.
The influence of heat input and welding speed on the microstructure and mechanical properties of single-pass hybrid laser arc welded 20mm thick plates of high-strength pipeline steel X120 were presented. The heat Input was varied in the range of 1.4 kJ mm−1 to 2.9 kJ mm−1, while the welding speed was changed between 0.5m min−1 and 1.5m min−1. A novel technique of bath support based on external oscillating electromagnetic field was used to compensate the hydrostatic pressure at low welding velocities. A major advantage of this technology is, that the welding speed and thus the cooling time t8/5 can be variated in a wide parameter window without issues regarding the weld root quality. The recommended welding thermal cycles for the pipeline steel X120 can be met by that way. All tested Charpy-V specimens meet the requirements of API 5 L regarding the impact energy. For higher heat inputs the average impact energy was 144 ± 37 J at a testing temperature of −40 °C. High heat Input above 1.6 kJ mm−1 leads to softening in the weld metal and heat-affected-zone resulting in loss of strength. The minimum tensile strength of 915 MPa could be achieved at heat inputs between 1.4 kJ mm−1 and 1.6 kJ mm−1.
Current analyses show a widespread occurrence of microplastic particles in food products and raise the question of potential risks to human health. Plastic particles are widely considered to be inert due to their low chemical reactivity and therefore supposed to pose, if at all only minor hazards. However, variable physicochemical conditions during the passage of the gastrointestinal tract gain strong importance, as they may affect particle characteristics. This study aims to analyze the impact of the gastrointestinal passage on the physicochemical particle characteristics of the five most produced and thus environmentally relevant plastic materials polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and subsequent image analysis were employed to characterize microplastic particles. Our results demonstrate a high resistance of all plastic particles to the artificial digestive juices. The present results underline that the main stages of the human gastrointestinal tract do not decompose the particles. This allows a direct correlation between the physicochemical particle characteristics before and after digestion. Special attention must be paid to the adsorption of organic compounds like proteins, mucins and lipids on plastic particles since it could lead to misinterpretations of particle sizes and shapes.
As one of the widely used analytical methods for the analysis of elemental composition of solid matter, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) has recently gained significant importance regarding its application to the chemical analysis of nanoparticles, especially in conjunction with the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the use of the transmission operation mode of SEM (STEM-in-SEM). This development was mainly driven by the technological progress with highly sensitive EDS detectors, such that individual nanoparticles can be quickly inspected with EDS at a SEM. Qualitative information on elemental composition with about 10 nm spatial resolution can be achieved complementary to the high-resolution information of the sample surface morphology within the same scanned area as provided by the electron microscope. Representative examples with successful EDS analysis on nanoparticles are presented, but also limitations of the method are described.
Minimum explosion concentrations of coal dusts with CH4/H2/CO below the gas lower explosion limit
(2020)
A 20-L spherical explosion chamber was used to investigate the explosion characteristics of dust clouds in air with the presence of flammable gas which is lower than its lower explosion limit (LEL).
including minimum explosion concentration (MEC) of dust. Explosion pressure (Pex) and explosion pressure rise (dp/dt)ex). Two dust samples (anthracite coal, bituminous coal) and were three flammable gases (CH4, H2 and CO) were tested. Experimental results showed that the explosion of hybrid mixtures occurs when both dust and gas concentrations are lower than the LEL/MEC of the single substances.
Meanwhile. all flammable gases with different volume fractions have distinct effects on the MEC. Pex and (dp/dt)ex of the dust samples.
With the increase of the flammable gas concentration. either the Pex and (dp/dt)ex increase or the MEC decreases for all the hybrid mixtures of both two dust samples. At the same concentration of coal dusts. the addition of CH4 promotes higher explosion risks than the other two flammable gases. The distribution of (dp/dt)ex is quite different with the restricted area defined by empirical formulas.
These results improve our understanding of the explosion behaviour and the explosion risk of hybrid dust-gas mixtures in air.
Multidrug solids have a potential use to efficiently treat and control a superfluity of medical conditions.
To address the current drawbacks of drug development in R&D, it was targeted to achieve new pharmaceutical solid forms of fenamic acids having improved solubility and thermal stability. Subsequently, five new multicomponent solids consisting of three salt hydrates of trimethoprim (TMP) with mefenamic acid (TMP-MFA-H2O), tolfenamic acid (TMP-TFA-H2O) and flufenamic acid (TMP-FFA-H2O), and two cocrystals of sulfamethazine (SFZ) with flufenamic acid (SFZ-FFA) and niflumic acid (SFZ-NFA) were prepared by liquid assisted grinding. Looking at the structures of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) molecules, it was quite expected that a wide range of supramolecular synthons would lead to cocrystallization.
New forms were characterized thoroughly by various solid-state techniques, including single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), which provided details of hydrogen bonding, molecular packing and interactions between drug and coformer. Kinetic solubility at pH 7.4 buffer study has been carried out and a comparison is made with respect to the parent drugs. A significant enhancement of NSAIDs solubility was observed in all salt hydrate systems of TMP. Thus with increasing physicochemical properties such as improved solubility further leads to the enhancement of bioavailability, which has implications to overcoming the formulation related problems of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Machine learning based multi-sensor fusion for the nondestructive testing of corrosion in concrete
(2020)
Half-cell potential mapping (HP) is the most popular non-destructive testing method (NDT) for locating corrosion damage in concrete. It is generally accepted that HP is susceptible to environmental factors caused by salt-related deterioration, such as different moisture and chloride gradients. Additional NDT methods are able to identify distinctive areas but are not yet used to estimate more accurate test results. We present a Supervised Machine Learning (SML) based approach to data fusion of seven different signal features to obtain higher quality information. SMLs are methods that explore (or learn) relationships between different (sensor) data from predefined data labels. To obtain a representative, labelled data set we conducted a comprehensive experiment simulating the deterioration cycle of a chloride exposed device in the laboratory. Our data set consists of 18 measurement campaigns, each containing HP, Ground Penetrating- Radar, Microwave Moisture and Wenner resistivity data. We compare the performance of different ML approaches. Many outperform the best single method, HP. We describe the intrinsic challenges posed by a data-driven approach in NDT and show how future work can help overcome them.
Ceramics and their composites are in general brittle materials because they are predominantly made up of ionic and covalent bonds that avoid dislocation motion at room temperature. However, a remarkable ductile behavior has been observed on newly developed 11 mol.% ceria-stabilized zirconia (11Ce-TZP) composite containing fine alumina (8 vol.% Al2O3) and elongated strontium hexa-aluminate (8 vol.% SrAl12O19) grains. The as-synthesized composite also has shown full resistance to Low Temperature Degradation (LTD), relatively high strength and exceptionally high Weibull modulus, allowing its use in a broader range of biomedical applications. In this study, to deepen the understanding of plastic deformation in Ce-TZP based composites that could soon be used for manufacturing dental implants, different mechanical tests were applied on the material, followed by complete microstructural characterization. Distinct from pure Ce-TZP material or other zirconia-based ceramics developed in the past, the material here studied can be permanently strained without affecting the Young modulus, indicating that the ductile response of tested samples cannot be associated to damage occurrence. This ductility is related to the stress-induced tetragonal to monoclinic (t-m) zirconia phase transformation, analogue to Transformation-Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels, where retained austenite is transformed to martensite. The aim of this study is to corroborate if the observed plasticity can be associated exclusively to the zirconia t-m phase transformation, or also to microcraking induced by the transformation. The t-m transformed-zones produced after bending and biaxial tests were examined by X-ray refraction and SEM/TEM coupled with Raman. The results revealed that the observed elastic-plastic behavior occurs without extensive microcracking, confirming a purely elastic-plastic behavior driven by the phase transformation (absence of damage).
In this in vitro study, we got a first insight of a possible potential of Hypericin for the treatment of pediatric soft tissue sarcoma. By coupling with radioiodine, we developed a novel approach for a combined anti-tumor treatment. The in vitro experiments lay the foundation for further in vivo experiments, which are needed to study the effects of a sequential administration of 131I-HYP and HYP.
This chapter first gives an introduction to the concepts of SSA and volume-specific surface area (VSSA) and an outline of the BET method. It continues with a discussion of the relationship between particle size, shape, and the VSSA, followed by an overview of instrumentation, experimental methods, and standards. Finally, sections on the use of the VSSA as a tool to identify nanomaterials and non-nanomaterials and its role in a regulatory context provide some insight on the importance of VSSA in the current Regulation of nanomaterials.
Automatic segmentation of cracks using crack detection methods fails when applied on concrete with embedded reinforcements; it results in artifacts called false-detected cracks. We present a two-step approach to trace the cracks which reduces significantly detecting the false ones. In the first step, the reinforcements were found and removed from the 3D data set, and in the second step, the cracks were detected in the 3D data set free from reinforcements. To visualize and determine the structure and the degree of damages nondestructively, planar tomography as a special case of laminography was used.
The surface erosion of soil samples caused by an impinging jet can be analyzed using the jet erosion test (JET), a standard experimental test to characterize the erosion resistance of soils. This paper specifically addresses the flow characteristics of a laminar impinging jet over the irregular surface of granular beds to discuss the pertinence and relevance of commonly used empirical estimations based on a selfsimilar model of a free jet. The JET is here investigated at the microscale with a coupled fluid-particle flow numerical odel featuring the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for the fluid phase combined with the discrete element method (DEM) for the mechanical behavior of the solid particles. The hydrodynamics of a laminar plane free jet are confronted with the results from a parametric study of jet impingement, both on solid smooth and fixed granular surfaces, that take into account variations in particle size, distance from jet origin, and jet Reynolds number. The flow characteristics at the bed surface are here quantified, including the maximal values in tangential velocity and wall shear stress, which can be regarded as the major cause of particle detachments under hydrodynamic solicitation. It is shown that the maximal velocity at the impinged surface can be described by the free jet self-similar model, provided that a simple empirical coefficient is introduced. Further, an expression is proposed for the maximal shear stress in laminar conditions, including a Blasius-like friction coefficient that is inversely proportional to the square root of the jet Reynolds number. To conclude, finally, the JET erosion of different cohesionless granular samples is analyzed, confirming that the threshold condition at the onset of granular motion is consistent with the Shields diagram and in close agreement with previous experimental results.
While there is a large body of literature on the micro-mechanical behavior of metal matrix composites (MMCs) under uniaxial applied stress, very little is available on multi-phase MMCs. In order to cast light on the reinforcement mechanisms and damage processes in such multi-phase composites, materials made by an Al-based piston alloy and containing one and two ceramic reinforcements (planar-random oriented alumina fibers and SiC particles) were studied. In-situ compression tests during neutron diffraction experiments were used to track the load transfer among phases, while X-ray computed tomography on pre-strained samples was used to monitor and quantify damage. We found that damage progresses differently in composites with different orientations of the fiber mat. Because of the presence of intermetallic network, it was observed that the second ceramic reinforcement changed the load transfer scenario only at very high applied load, when also intermetallic particles break. We rationalized the present results combining them with previous investigations and using a micromechanical model.
The ISO 16000 standard series provide guidelines for emission measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials. However, polymer-based consumer products such as toys may also release harmful substances into indoor air. In such cases, the existing standard procedures are unsuitable for official control laboratories due to high costs for large emission testing chambers. This paper aims at developing and comparing alternative and more competitive methods for the emission testing of consumer products. The influence of the emission chamber size was investigated as smaller chambers are more suited to the common size of consumer products and may help to reduce the costs of testing. Comparison of the performance of a 203 l emission test chamber with two smaller chambers with the capacity of 24 l and 44 ml, respectively, was carried out by using a polyurethane reference material spiked with 14 VOCs during the course of 28 days. The area-specific emission rates obtained in the small chambers were always similar to those of the 203 l reference chamber after a few hours. This implies that smaller chambers can provide at least useful numbers on the extent of polymer-based consumer product emissions into indoor air, thereby supporting meaningful exposure assessments.
The impact of femtosecond (fs) laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on tribological properties was investigated for metal-reinforced ceramic composites (Al2O3-ZrO2-Nb). For this purpose, the metallic niobium (Nb) phase was selectively structured with LIPSS in an air environment with different values of the fs-laser peak fluence by near-infrared fs-laser radiation (λ = 1025 nm, τ = 300 fs, frep = 1 kHz), taking advantage of the different light absorption behavior of ceramic and metal. The tribological performance was evaluated by reciprocating sliding tests in a ball-on-disc configuration using Ringer's solution as lubricant. The surfaces were characterized before and after laser irradiation by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and by measuring the contact angle with Ringer's solution. The LIPSS formation resulted in an increased wetting of the surface with the lubricant. Moreover, the selectively structured composite surfaces revealed a coefficient of friction significantly reduced by a factor of ~3 when compared to the non-irradiated surface. Furthermore, the formation of a laser-induced oxidation layer was detected with NbO as the most prominent oxidation state. Selectively structured composites with outstanding mechanical properties and enhanced tribological performance are of particular interest for biomedical applications.
The stability and geometric nonlinearities of slender structures are a major topic in structural design. While this topic is most relevant in the field of Structural Engineering, e.g. for steel or concrete structures, only few applications take the role of soil-structure-interaction explicitly into account. The focus of this paper is placed on the impact of soil support and its modelling for the buckling analysis based on examples both for pile foundations and for railway track stability. The general interaction between steel design and the geotechnical input will be addressed. The paper discusses and summarizes a range of subtopics based on experience and current research at the author’s institute.
Reliability analysis of deteriorating structural systems requires the solution of time-variant reliability problems.
In the general case, both the capacity of and the loads on the structure vary with time. This analysis can be approached by approximation through a series of time-invariant reliability problems, which is a potentially effective strategy for cases where direct solutions of the time-variant reliability problem are challenging, e.g. for structural systems with many elements or arbitrary load processes. In this contribution, we thoroughly Review the formulation of the equivalent time-invariant reliability problems and extend this approximation to structures for which inspection and monitoring data is available. Thereafter, we present methods for efficiently evaluating the reliability over time. In particular, we propose the combination of sampling-based methods with a FORM (first-order reliability method) approximation of the series system reliability problem that arises in the computation of the lifetime reliability. The framework and algorithms are demonstrated on a set of numerical examples, which include the computation of the reliability conditional on inspection data.
Uranium and thorium species in phosphate rock and sewage sludge ash based phosphorus fertilizers
(2020)
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all forms of life and is thus often applied as phosphate rock-based P-fertilizers in agriculture to enable continuous farming. However, these P-fertilizers contain also hazardous uranium (U) and thorium (Th), up to 660 and 220 mg/kg, respectively. On the contrary, novel P-fertilizers made from sewage sludge (ash) contain only low mass fractions of U and Th. In addition to the total amount of U and Th in P-fertilizers, their mobility and bioavailability is important, which depends to a large extent on their chemical state, especially oxidation state and chemical bonding. Thus, we analyzed their chemical state in various P-fertilizers by U and Th L3-edge HERFD-XANES spectroscopy. Phosphate rocks and sewage sludge-based P-fertilizers contain mainly U(IV) compounds which have only a low bioavailability. In contrast, acidic treatment of phosphate rock to produce super phosphates lead to an oxidation to U(VI) compounds (including formation of uranium phosphates) with a strongly increased bioavailability. On the contrary, all analyzed P-fertilizers contain Th in form of strongly insoluble phosphates and oxides with a low bioavailability. Additionally performed water extractions and Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films (DGT) experiments support these findings.