Grain refinement of low carbon steel produced by CSP process

In comparison with conventional production for hot strips, compact strip production (CSP) brings about some new micro-structural phenomena. Investigations were carried out to clarify the grain refinement mechanism of low carbon steel strips produced by the EAF-CSP process. Samples, obtained from the same rolling stock during continuous rolling, were examined through SEM, TEM and XEDS. Thin slabs have a dominant columnar structure and the spacing of the secondary dendrite arms ranges from 90 to -125 μm. The average grain sizes for the central area of the samples from the 1st to 6th pass are 41.6, 25.2, 21.4, 20.2, 13.1, 6.7 μm, respectively. Large number of nanometer oxide and sulfide have been found in the low carbon steel produced by the CSP process. The grain refinement mechanism can be summarized as follows: finer solidification structure of the thin slab; austenite recrystalliza-tion at higher temperature and stain accumulation at lower temperature caused by the great reduction of single rolling pass during continuous rolling; nano-scaled precipitates of sulfide and oxide which drag grain boundaries of austenite or ferrite to prevent the grain coarsening.

Study on Strengthening of RC Slabs with Different Innovative Techniques

This paper presents a focused study on using different methods to enhance the ultimate capacity of flexural behavior in RC slabs. Four RC specimens were casted with common compressive strength and reinforced with steel mesh. Specimens were strengthened with different methods such as usage of GFRP sheets, carbon fibers laminate strips and near surface mounted steel rebars. All specimens were subjected to two-point loading setup. Load was increased from zero to failure load. First crack was recorded and crack pattern was observed. The behavior of strengthened specimens was compared to that of the control specimen to judge the efficiency of the used techniques. Test results showed that the used techniques were effective in enhancing the behavior of the strengthened slabs by noteworthy values.

A voltammetric sensor for simultaneous determination of lead,cadmium and zinc on an activated carbon fiber rod

In this work, a simple, low cost and sensitive voltammetric sensor was developed for the simultaneous detection of lead （Pb2＋）, cadmium （Cd2＋）, and zinc （Zn2＋） ions based on a disposable carbon fiber rod （CFR）. The important factors to enhance the sensing property were creation of a clean surface by dealing with CFR at a high potential and electrochemical deposition of bismuth （Bi） film to improve the accumulation of heavy metal ions. The morphology and conductivity of such activated CFR was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, respectively. In terms of application, differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry （DPASV） was employed for the simultaneous detection of Pb2＋, Cd2＋, and Zn2＋ on Bi film-coated activated CFR. Experimental parameters, such as the pH value of buffer solution, stirring speed and enrichment factors were optimized. Under optimal conditions, the DPASV peak currents showed good linear relationships with Pb2＋, Cd2＋ and Zn2＋ concentrations in the range of 0.5-2.25 μg/L, 0.5-4.0 μg/L and 1.0- 4.0 μg/L with detection limits of 0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 μg/L （SIN = 3）, respectively. Finally, the proposed analysis system was successfully utilized for the simultaneous detection of Pb2＋, Cd2＋, and Zn2＋ contents in rice samples. This study indicated that Bi film-coated activated CFR based DPASV sensor can be a promising and reliable tool for rapid analysis of emergency Dollution affairs of heavv metal ions in food.

A study of differential potentiometric stripping analysis for lead and cadmium with Nafion coated carbon fibre electrode

The differential potentiometric stripping analysis (DPSA) with Nafion coated carbon fibre electrode has been studied, and a method to determine lead and cadmium in urine directly has been attempted. The effect of various experimental parameters on the DPSA response is discussed. The experimental conditions include 0.2M sodium perchlorate, deposition potential of-1.0 or -1.1 V and using 20 ppm mercuric ion as oxidizing agent. The response of the signal is in linear relation with the concentrations of lead and cadmium respectively up to 0.5 ppm. The electrode coated with Nafion film alleviates the interference from organics in urine samples.

Flexible Strip Supercapacitors for Future Energy Storage

Flexible strip supercapacitors are developed and their electrochemical properties are characterized. Activated carbon is used as the electrode material and it is found to have a good porous structure which provides a large surface area for energy storage.Furthermore, this activated carbon performs well. The manufacturing processes for the supercapacitors are described in detail and the preparation process has good reproducibility. The strip supercapacitors are combined in series and parallel to measure their electrical properties. The performances of these two samples in series or in parallel both follow the theoretical models. The electrochemical potential window of a series circuit of these two strip supercapacitors is 4.8 V. The energy and power of the series or parallel circuits are equal to the sums of the two strip supercapacitors.