Journal of Material Sciences & Engineering

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) and biofouling both begin with an initial layer of bacteria accumulating on a hard surface exposed to the natural environment. These bacteria quickly form a biofilm which becomes the feeding source for marine life fouling and the root of both of these highly damaging, expensive types of corrosion. Preventative methods for biofilm development is an ongoing field of study due to critical necessity in many industries including healthcare, aerospace, and oil and gas. Today, biofilm inhibitors for the oil and gas industry may include regular cleaning or scraping of the affected surface, electrochemical processes, or biocide injections which have a negative impact on the environment and provide only temporary relief from MIC. This constant need for MIC and fouling remediation creates a great demand and thus market potential for long-term, more environmentally conscious methods to mitigate and control biofilm development. This study investigates the incorporation of well-known biocidal materials as well as one commercial additive into the fabrication process of underwater structures and surfaces. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) with antimicrobial additive were processed. Experiments were conducted per ASTM E2149-13a and F895 to evaluate antibacterial efficacy in the laboratory. Field tests were constructed per ASTM D3623 - 78a for material evaluation in offshore fouling conditions. The manufactured materials were tested against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and fouling microorganisms to analyze the effectiveness of biofilm prevention. Results showed positive efficacy of biocidal additives incorporated through the fabrication process in all cases including copper, multiple forms of zinc, and titanium dioxide. The commercially available additive produced the largest zone of inhibition and highest reduction of colony forming units in dynamic flow conditions. Fouling tests show that the incorporation of the additive into HDPE and FRP provides a surface protection and thus serves as an agent for material preservation. Results from this study demonstrate innovative and effective methods for surface protection from MIC and biofouling by incorporating antimicrobial additives into the structural matrix during the manufacturing process.

In the current work, the principle focus is to analyze the measurements of X-rays by the application of Fast Readout Charge-Coupled Device (pnCCD), which is a special form of CCD developed for the purpose of spectroscopy & imaging of X-radiation with high time resolution. As a part of this work, two phases are taken into consideration. In the first phase, highly accelerated electrons induced by high voltage are collided with a metal target (anode material-Mo in this case) in X-ray tube and emitted X-rays from the tube are measured by pnCCD. In this phase, the X-ray spectrum depends on the anode material and accelerating voltage. During the phase 1 experiment, various elements are noticed in the X-ray spectra, which are originated from the experimental apparatus (X-ray tube only) and its surrounding materials. Through proper energy calibration technique, elemental composition of the materials have been determined. In the second phase, fluorescence X-radiation (secondary radiation), emitted by the secondary target source (MnO2) is measured by pnCCD where, Mn is excited by being bombarded with high energy X-rays from X-ray tube. It is to be noted that MnO2 source is guarded by pure Al sheet foil that protects X-rays from other materials. That is why background radiation is decreased and as a result, clean Mn spectrum is observed. To avoid distortion of the intensity determination, the detector’s degree of illumination is maintained less than 2% in both phases by using Al filters with required thickness. In terms of intensity, it can be concluded that the intensity of K X-rays released from MnO2 source is approximately 0.06% in compare to the total intensity of direct emission spectra from experimental apparatus (X-ray tube) for 25 keV.

There is no denying that the future of liquid crystals is in the display industry. The use of the twisted nematic (TN) and the superwisted nematic (STN) is widespread. The twisting in these devices is achieved either by use of optical components such as polarizers or the use of chiral dopants in a guest-host system. The later has gained much more attention. This is because not only are the accompanying optical components not needed, but any desired colour can be achieved by varying the pitch length of the helix formed by the chiral nematic (cholesteric) compound. In such application, the ability to determine the pitches of the resulting helical superstructure accurately and quickly is essential. Currently there are many methods for measuring the pitch of a helical super structure. These methods mostly employ optical or spectroscopic techniques. In this paper, four such methods namely, Fingerprint, Diffraction, Selective Reflection and Cano-wedge, are discussed in terms of their theoretical foundation, suitability to given situations and the validity of the results obtained. The suitability of the method depends among other things on the type of mesophase and the length of the pitch in relation to the wavelengths of the visible light. While the Fingerprint and Selective reflection may be used for both cholesteric and chiral smectic C (SmC*), Diffraction and Cano techniques are most suitable for the cholesterics.

Many studies were devoted in our Laboratory to the determination of physico-chemical and thermodynamic properties of polymers and/or oxides by using the inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. More particularly, we studied the interactions of solid substrates with some model organic molecules and their acid-base properties, in Lewis terms, by determining the acidic and basic constants. We proposed in this paper to study the surface thermodynamic energetics, transition phenomena, specific interactions and acid-base properties of both the conducting polyaniline (PANI-HEBSA) and the non-conducting form (PANI-EB) on the light of the new progresses of IGC methods. This technique was used to obtain the net retention volume Vn and then the dispersive free enthalpy of n-alkanes adsorbed on PANI. The curves of the dispersive component of the surface energy of n-alkanes adsorbed on PANI, as a function of the temperature highlighted the presence of two transition temperatures on 383K and 430K respectively for PANI-HEBSA and PANI-EB. There results were confirmed by the curves of RTlnVn =f(1/T) of n-alkanes. The determination of the specific free enthalpy of polar molecules adsorbed on PANI proved a shift of 4K in the value of the glass transition of PANI-EB. From the variation of as a function of the temperature, one deduced the values of the specific enthalpy of the various polar molecules and determined the acidic constant KA and basic constant KD, the two constants characterizing the solid substrate. It was showed that PANI is highly more basic than acidic (about 2.6 times more basic) and an increase of the acid-base character was highlighted near the glass transition for PANI-EB.

The global bone cement and glue markets are sure to succeed in USD one, 322.6 Million by 2022 from USD 993.0 Million in 2017, at a CAGR of five.9%. Market development is primarily driven by the rising prevalence of sports injuries and accumulative developments in the regenerative drugs field. In 2009, the orthopedical biomaterial market recorded revenues of $236.5 million or thirty-seven.5% of the overall biomaterial merchandise market. This can be principally attributable to accumulative application areas and starter of refined technologies within the biomaterials market. Anyhow, the orthopedical biomaterial market is calculable to grow at a CAGR of seventeen. 2% from 2010 to 2015. vas biomaterial merchandise market is that the 2nd market, causative 12 months of the overall biomaterial merchandise market. The 3D bioprinting market is probably going to succeed in USD one, 332.6 Million by 2021 from USD 411.4 Million in 2016, at a CAGR of twenty-six.5% throughout the prediction amount. Growing claim for organ transplantation, growing R&D, increasing public and personal investments in analysis, and rising use of 3D bioprinting in drug discovery area unit driving the expansion of this market. The worldwide 3D printing medical devices market is projected to succeed in USD one.88 Billion by 2022 from USD zero.84 Billion in 2017, at a CAGR of seventeen.5% throughout the forecast amount. The international bone cement and glue market are predicted to reach USD one, 322.6 Million by 2022 from USD 993.0 Million in 2017, at a CAGR of five.9%.