SIGMAPLUG—A NEW TEMPERATURE INDICATOR FOR REMAINING LIFE ASSESSMENT OF HIGH TEMPERATURE COMPONENTS

Improved life assessment techniques will enable engineering components to be replaced before failure, thereby reducing the risk of industrial accidents as well as minimizing financial loss due to unscheduled outages. For components operating at high temperatures, temperature measurement is very important. In many situations, the environmental conditions are too hostile for conventional techniques to be used. Researchers over the world have been looking for new techniques for temperature measurement and one such device, called Feroplug, has been developed previously by the and coworkers. The Feroplug has been patented in USA, UK and Europe by the British Technology Group. The underlying principle of the Feroplug is based on the transformation of ferrite in some specially designed duplex stainless steels. This paper describes a new invention called Sigmaplug which is a new development of the Feroplug but using an entirely different physical principle. It was discovered that the sigma phase in Fe

Association between Phthalate Exposure and the Use of Plastic Containers in Shanghai Adults

Objective Consuming phthalates may be due to the presence of food contact materials, such as plastic containers. In this study, we investigated the association between plastic container use and phthalate exposure in 2,140 Shanghai adults. Methods Participants completed a questionnaire on the frequency of using plastic containers in different scenarios in the previous year （e.g., daily, weekly） and on the consumption of plastic-packaged foods in the previous three days （yes or no）. Urinary phthalate metabolites were used to assess the association between phthalate exposure and the use of plastic containers. Results The metabolites of di-（2-ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP） were the most frequently detected in urine. The results revealed that phthalate exposure was associated with consumption of plastic-packaged breakfast or processed food items in the previous three days. The consumption of these two food items had strong synergistic effects on increasing urinary concentrations of most phthalate metabolites. Conclusion Our results of plastic-packaged breakfast and processed food may be explained by the use of flexible plastic containers, indicating the importance of risk assessment for the application of flexible plastic containers.

Evaluation of Environmental Impacts of Traction Motor Production and Disposal

By the application of life cycle assessment(LCA) methodology, this paper estimates the environmental impacts of production and disposal of traction motors used in electric vehicles in China. The results show that the total energy use, the criteria emissions and the greenhouse gases(GHG) emissions of a traction motor production and disposal are about 2,899,MJ, 4.5,kg and 259.5,kg per motor, respectively. Among the regulated emissions, the SOxemission ranks first by total mass, followed by CO, PM10, NOx, PM2.5, and volatile organic compound(VOC). The motor material production stage accounts for most of the energy consumption and emissions, followed by the assembly stage and the end-of-life disposal stage. In this study, the environmental performance analysis is extended to the comparison between the use of secondary material and primary material for the material production stage. It is found that using 100% secondary material results in a 52.9% reduction in energy consumption, a 49.8% reduction in regulated emissions, and a 49.3% reduction in GHG emissions compared with the use of 100% primary material.

Leakage of nuclear material powder from pressure container through a small orifice

Because of the radioactivity and toxic nature of nuclear materials, their containment within oxide matrices, encased in sealed containers, has been proposed as a suitable means for storage and transportation. However, container failures because of cracks or small orifices present a major leakage risk for nuclear materials, consequently posing a significant hazard to the environment and human beings. In this study, terbium oxide powder was used as a nuclear material representative to examine the leakage of nuclear material powder through orifices located at the base of a pressure container. The dependence of the orifice diameter, the powder layer thickness, and the internal pressure of the container on the leakage mechanism and amount was examined. A simplified model correlating the dependence of the above-mentioned parameters to determine the utmost leakage amount was also developed based on the present results. The leakage of the nuclear material powder was assessed by measuring its concentration using an optical particle counter. The diameter of the orifice determined the powder leakage mechanism, which in turn influenced the amount of leakage produced. Comparison studies showed that unlike the changes in the differential pressure, the volume of the container has little effect on the leakage amount. Under sufficiently high internal pressures, the oxide powder can be released as a fine aerosol. The work is not only crucial from the nuclear safety aspect, but is also beneficial for the safe application of powder and nanoparticles.