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IOM3 Home › Materials World

Materials World October 2008

The October issue looks at materials in extreme environments. Related features focus on corrosion in the offshore industry and the difference between corrosion engineering and management.

News examines a super lattice that offers ionic conductivity at near room temperature, quantum tunnelling composites to prevent hacking of personal data, and a method to improve the dispersion of functional fillers in polymers.

News

Pooling resources in oil and gas

Nearly a year after its launch, OPITO – the UK’s Oil & Gas Academy, is making strides to secure a safe and effective workforce in the sector. Rupal Mehta explores how the industry-led body acts as a focal point for skills, learning and workforce development.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Concrete carbonation

Manufacturing of durable precast concrete blocks using carbon dioxide emitted in cement production will be subject to industrial-scale pilot trials this winter. Canadian company Carbon Sense Solutions Inc, based in Halifax, claims its technique to accelerate concrete curing will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but will replace conventional energy-intensive steam and heat accelerated curing techniques. This could decrease energy and water consumption by as much as 155MJ and 142l/t of concrete, respectively, says the firm.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

PATCHwork for frayed wires

A cheap but effective polymeric coating to repair damaged aircraft wires and prevent them from sparking and causing an explosion is available, says a chemist at the University of Dayton Research Institute, USA. The Power-Activated Technology for Coating and Healing (PATCH) is a smart material available as a spray and a water-soluble solid material.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Fullerene solutions to chip manufacture

A water-soluble fullerene resist for lithography could make electronics manufacturing safer and more environmentally friendly by removing the need for toxic and flammable solvents. Using the resist, a team at the University of Birmingham, UK, has demonstrated a high resolution of about 30nm for the transfer of integrated circuit patterns onto silicon wafers and a strong durability to etching of these substrates.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Inspecting textured ceramic tiles

Dynamic Photometric Stereo (PS) is new approach to inspect fast moving, difficult to analyse surfaces, such as glazed or textured ceramic tiles. It allows manufacturers to produce images of complex 2D and 3D features or flaws, and reduce waste caused by defective tiles.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Metals extraction strikes gold

A sulphide reduction process (SRP) that enables ‘fast and cheap’ extraction of gold from sulphide ores is available from Haber Inc, based in Arlington, USA. It is a water-based solution that does not rely on toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. and is said to have an extraction efficiency of 97%, producing gold powder with purities of 98.8%.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Dispersing functional fillers in polymers

Polyfect, a spin-out company from Loughborough University, UK, hopes to license a technology for dispersing functional fillers to improve the mechanical quality and reduce the weight and cost of polymer products. This could benefit applications such as automotives, packaging and electronics, where fillers enable electrical conductivity, fire retardancy, pigmentation, or barrier and anti-static properties. The technique could also be applied to polymer composites that incorporate carbon fibres or nanotubes.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Stopping identity fraud with quantum tunnelling composites

The risk of fraudsters or terrorists hacking into our personal data will reduce if novel ultrathin switches are incorporated into biometric passports and contactless credit cards, says the team at Peratech in Richmond, UK. The technology is made from quantum tunnelling composites (QTCs) and allows the owner to restrict when sensitive information, contained in radio frequency identification (RFID) microchips, is read by pressing the control. Quantum tunnelling composites are metal-filled polymeric insulating materials that turn to conductors upon loading or mechanical deformation.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Aluminium adds value to fibre lasers

Applying aluminium instead of phosphorous dopant ions to optical fibre glass lasers may help manufacturers better tackle photodarkening, which reduces the lifetime of the device. This could aid materials processing where lasers are used for cutting, drilling and welding.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Improving ionic conductivity in fuel cells

Spanish researchers hope to enhance the efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) by producing a super lattice that improves ionic conductivity near room temperature by a factor of almost 100 million. The scientists have combined yttria stabilised zirconia (a typical fuel cell electrolyte material) with strontium titanate (an insulator). Existing electrolytes – zirconia, samarium and gadolinium – have to achieve high temperatures of 800-1,000ºC for ionic conductivity, restricting application into the full range of heat and power products and placing high demands on the materials used.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Material Matters

The coal industry and solutions to global warming

I recently noticed that in Hellemans and Bunch’s outstanding chronology of science and technology, The Timetables of Sciences, there was only one item in the ‘Technology’ column for 1,000AD â€Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Features

Engineering a solution — Corrosion engineering and management

There is a common misunderstanding that corrosion engineering and corrosion management are identical concepts with similar features and applications, this article explains the difference and importance of both.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Well thought out — Managing corrosion offshore

The importance of managing corrosion in the offshore industry, the difficulties faced and the drivers for action.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Containing carbon — carbon capture and storage

A report on carbon capture and storage as part of the energy materials series from Materials UK.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Turning the heat on — the Centre for Structural Ceramics

The Departments of Materials and Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, UK, have been awarded roughly £5.5m by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to set up a national Centre for Structural Ceramics we discuss the plans.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

IMPRESSive research — the IMPRESS project

The Intermetallic Materials Processing in Relation to Earth and Space Solidification Integrated project (IMPESS) project led by the European Space Agency is finding novel applications for intermetallic materials.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Pushing the limit — the ExtreMat project

ExtreMat partners are working to generate new commercial materials, multi-material components and crosscutting processing technologies for use in fields such as nuclear fusion, space and aerospace.
Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Book reviews

Electrochemistry in Light Water Reactors – Reference Electrodes, Measurement, Corrosion and Tribocorrosion Issues

Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

Intellectual Property Management

Materials World, 01 Oct 2008

The Nanotech Pioneers

Materials World, 01 Oct 2008
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