This collection presents papers from a symposium on extraction of rare metals as well as rare extraction processing techniques used in metal production. Topics include the extraction and processing of elements like antimony, arsenic, gold, indium, palladium, platinum, rare earth metals including yttrium and neodymium, titanium, tungsten, and vanadium. Rare processing techniques are covered, including direct extraction processes for rare-earth recovery, biosorption of precious metals, fluorination behavior of uranium and zirconium mixture of fuel debris treatment, and recovery of valuable components of commodity metals such as zinc, nickel, and metals from slag.

This book gives an overview of the existing self-healing nanotextured vascular approaches. It describes the healing agents used in engineering self-healing materials as well as the fundamental physicochemical phenomena accompanying self-healing. This book also addresses the different fabrication methods used to form core-shell nanofiber mats. The fundamental theoretical aspects of fracture mechanics are outlined. A brief theoretical description of cracks in brittle elastic materials is given and the Griffith approach is introduced. The fracture toughness is described, including viscoelastic effects. Critical (catastrophic) and subcritical (fatigue) cracks and their growth are also described theoretically. The adhesion and cohesion energies are introduced as well, and the theory of the blister test for the two limiting cases of stiff and soft materials is developed. In addition, the effect of non-self-healing nanofiber mats on the toughening of ply surfaces in composites is discussed. The book also presents a brief description of the electrochemical theory of corrosion crack growth. All the above-mentioned phenomena are relevant in the context of self-healing materials.

This book discusses microstructure-property correlations and explores key microstructure features and how they affect the properties of a material. The authors discuss the effect of manufacturing and processing routes on microstructure and properties. They identify appropriate microstructure and mechanical characterization techniques essential for developing accurate microstructure-property relationships. The techniques include high resolution imaging methods and properties measurements such as hardness, strength, elastic modulus, and fracture toughness. Current and future trends in hard and superhard material design are revealed by the authors, including nanostructured materials, biomimicry, and novel manufacturing technologies.

This book discusses the physics of the dynamics of ions in various ionically conducting materials, and applications including electrical energy generation and storage. The experimental techniques for measurements and characterization, molecular dynamics simulations, the theories of ion dynamics, and applications are all addressed by the authors, who are experts in their fields. The experimental techniques of measurement and characterization of dynamics of ions in glassy, crystalline, and liquid ionic conductors are introduced with the dual purpose of introducing the reader to the experimental activities of the field, and preparing the reader to understand the physical quantities derived from experiments. These experimental techniques include calorimetry, conductivity relaxation, nuclear magnetic resonance, light scattering, neutron scattering, and others. Methods of molecular dynamics simulations are introduced to teach the reader to utilize the technique for practical applications to specific problems. The results elucidate the dynamics of ions on some issues that are not accessible by experiments. The properties of ion dynamics in glassy, crystalline and liquid ionic conductors brought forth by experiments and simulations are shown to be universal, i.e. independent of physical and chemical structure of the ionic conductor as long as ion-ion interaction is the dominant factor. Moreover these universal properties of ion dynamics are shown to be isomorphic to other complex interacting systems including the large class of glass-forming materials with or without ionic conductivity.By covering the basic concepts, theories/models, experimental techniques and data, molecular dynamics simulations, and relating them together, Dynamics of Glassy, Crystalline and Liquid Ionic Conductors will be of great interest to many in basic and applied research areas from the broad and diverse communities of condensed matter physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers. The book also provides the fundamentals for an introduction to the field and it is written in such a way that can be used for teaching courses either at the undergraduate or graduate level in academic institutions.

Membrane techniques provide a broad science and technology base. Although there are several books in the traditional membrane field, there is a great need for a highly comprehensive book. This refereed book covers materials from highly respected researchers. This title is highly multidisciplinary in nature and should be extremely valuable to scientists and engineers involved in a variety of activities. Students and faculty members around the world will find this title to be an excellent reference book.
- Invited contributions from leading researchers in the field.
- Coverage of topic is of value to scientists/engineers working in a variety of related fields [separations/reactions, advanced biofunctional materials, contactor designs].
- Aims to fill market gap for a highly comprehensive book containing advances in both synthetic and biofunctional/bimimetic membranes.

This volume contains studies on the evolution and function of lightweight constructions of planktonic and other organisms, and examples of how they can be used to create new solutions for radical innovations of lightweight constructions for technological application. The principles and underlying processes responsible for evolution and biodiversity of marine plankton organisms are highly relevant and largely unresolved issues in the field of marine science. Amongst the most promising objects for the study of evolution of stable lightweight constructions are marine organisms such as diatoms or radiolarians. Research in these fields requires interdisciplinary expertises such as in evolutionary modelling, paleontology, lightweight optimization, functional morphology, and marine ecology. Considerable effort and expert knowledge in production engineering or lightweight optimization is necessary to transfer knowledge on biogenic structures and evolutionary principles into new lightweight solutions. This book show methods and examples of how this can be achieved efficiently.

This book introduces the materials and traditional processes involved in the manufacturing industry. It discusses the properties and application of different engineering materials as well as the performance of failure tests. The book lists both destructible and non-destructible processes in detail. The design associated with each manufacturing processes, such Casting, Forming, Welding and Machining, are also covered.

This book begins by providing basic information on single-molecule magnets (SMMs), covering the magnetism of lanthanide, the characterization and relaxation dynamics of SMMs and advanced means of studying lanthanide SMMs. It then systematically introduces lanthanide SMMs ranging from mononuclear and dinuclear to polynuclear complexes, classifying them and highlighting those SMMs with high barrier and blocking temperatures - an approach that provides some very valuable indicators for the structural features needed to optimize the contribution of an Ising type spin to a molecular magnet. The final chapter presents some of the newest developments in the lanthanide SMM field, such as the design of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive magnetic materials as well as the anchoring and organization of the SMMs on surfaces. In addition, the crystal structure and magnetic data are clearly presented with a wealth of illustrations in each chapter, helping newcomers and experts alike to better grasp ongoing trends and explore new directions. Jinkui Tang is a professor at Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Peng Zhang is currently pursuing his PhD at Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a specific focus on the molecular magnetism of lanthanide compounds under the supervision of Prof. Jinkui Tang.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to numerical modeling of size effects in metal plasticity. The main classes of strain gradient plasticity formulations are described and efficiently implemented in the context of the finite element method. A robust numerical framework is presented and employed to investigate the role of strain gradients on structural integrity assessment. The results obtained reveal the need of incorporating the influence on geometrically necessary dislocations in the modeling of various damage mechanisms. Large gradients of plastic strain increase dislocation density, promoting strain hardening and elevating crack tip stresses. This stress elevation is quantified under both infinitesimal and finite deformation theories, rationalizing the experimental observation of cleavage fracture in the presence of significant plastic flow. Gradient-enhanced modeling of crack growth resistance, hydrogen diffusion and environmentally assisted cracking highlighted the relevance of an appropriate characterization of the mechanical response at the small scales involved in crack tip deformation. Particularly promising predictions are attained in the field of hydrogen embrittlement. The research has been conducted at the Universities of Cambridge, Oviedo, Luxembourg, and the Technical University of Denmark, in a collaborative effort to understand, model and optimize the mechanical response of engineering materials.

The importance of the nanoscale effects has been recognized in materials research for over fifty years, but it is only recently that advanced characterization and fabrication methods are enabling scientists to build structures atom-by-atom or molecule-by molecule. The understanding and control of the nanostructure has been, to a large extent, made possible by new atomistic analysis and characterization methods pioneered by transmission electron microscopy. "Nano and Microstructural Design of Advanced Materials" focuses on the effective use of such advanced analysis and characterization techniques in the design of materials.
* Teaches effective use of advanced analysis and characterization methods at an atomistic level.
* Contains many supporting examples of materials in which such design concepts have been successfully applied.

This book includes advanced materials and nanocomposites based on silica and layered silicates obtained from resources in China. Using nanotechnology, these inorganic materials can be filled, in-situ polymerised and combined with polymers with nanoscale dispersions. In this book, many practical examples are presented to show how to prepare the nanocomposites.
Several kinds of polymer (PET, PBT, PE, PP, etc.)-layered silicate and silica nanocomposites are prepared and investigated based on our research works, inventions and applications. They are prepared and modified aiming at their applications to such fields as, functional films, barrier materials, coatings, and engineering plastics. Their structure-property relationship, especially the nano effects from them are investigated under different techniques to show how the critical load of the inorganic phase has the effect on the final properties of the nanocomposite materials.
Obviously, this new generation of materials has revolutionary effects on the traditional materials or industry as petroleum. Some of the prospects of them are thus included.
Focus on the inorganic phase, which is of wide practical and industrial significance
Dealing with many first report of the nanoeffect, nanostructure and its functional properties
Especially, it covers the particle assembly and self-assemble by interaction with polymer matrix.

The papers in this collection cover a diverse range of topics on the topic of fatigue of materials. The editors have grouped the papers into five sections. Sections 1 and 2 contain papers that (i) review the current state of knowledge both related and relevant to the subject of fatigue behavior of materials, and (ii) present new, innovative, and emerging techniques for experimental evaluation of the fatigue behavior. Sections 3 and 4 focus on advanced materials that are used in performance-critical applications in the aerospace and automotive industries, such as the alloys of titanium, nickel, aluminum, and magnesium. Section 5 presents papers relating to other materials of engineering interest, such as iron and steel, polymer, rubber, and composites.

This book highlights the processing, characterization and applications of various green composites. Composites are known for their unique properties, which are derived by combining two or more components. This yields properties such as greater strength and rigidity than that of the individual components, as well as reduced weight. To help achieve such outcomes, the book discusses the potential applications of hybrid bio-composites and sisal-fiber-reinforced epoxidized non-edible oil-based epoxy green composites.

This monograph is centered on mathematical modeling, innovative numerical algorithms and adaptive concepts to deal with fracture phenomena in multiphysics. State-of-the-art phase-field fracture models are complemented with prototype explanations and rigorous numerical analysis. These developments are embedded into a carefully designed balance between scientific computing aspects and numerical modeling of nonstationary coupled variational inequality systems. Therein, a focus is on nonlinear solvers, goal-oriented error estimation, predictor-corrector adaptivity, and interface conditions. Engineering applications show the potential for tackling practical problems within the fields of solid mechanics, porous media, and fluidstructure interaction.

This book presents selected papers from the international conference on advanced manufacturing and materials sciences (ICAMMS 2018). The papers reflet recent advances in manufacturing sector focusing on process optimization and give emphasis to testing and evaluation of new materials with potential use in industrial applications.

This volume shines a new light on short fibre reinfoced cementitious composites and particle reinforced ceramics. It offers insight from various disciplines like civil engineering, material sciences and micro-mechanics, and collects 9 experimental, numerical and theoretical studies written by top researchers in composite concrete science. The book presents the outcome of the EUROMECH 582 colloquium "Short Fibre Reinfoced Cementitious Composites and Ceramics" held 20 - 22 March 2017, Tallinn, Estonia.

This work sheds new light on fundamental aspects of phase separation in polymer-blend thin films. A key feature underlying the theoretical models is the unification of one-dimensional thermodynamic phase equilibria with film evolution phenomena in two- and three dimensions. Initially, an established 'phase portrait' method, useful for visualising and calculating phase equilibria of polymer-blend films, is generalised to systems without convenient simplifying symmetries. Thermodynamic equilibria alone are then used to explain a film roughening mechanism in which laterally coexisting phases can have different depths in order to minimise free energy. The phase portraits are then utilised to demonstrate that simulations of lateral phase separation via a transient wetting layer, which conform very well with experiments, can be satisfactorily explained by 1D phase equilibria and a 'surface bifurcation' mechanism. Lastly, a novel 3D model of coupled phase separation and dewetting is developed, which demonstrates that surface roughening shadows phase separation in thin films.

This book introduces readers to fundamental information on phosphor and quantum dots. It comprehensively reviews the latest research advances in and applications of fluoride phosphors, oxide phosphors, nitridosilicate phosphors and various quantum dot materials. Phosphors and phosphor-based quantum dot materials have recently gained considerable scientific interest due to their wide range of applications in lighting, displays, medical and telecommunication technologies. This work will be of great interest to researchers and graduate students in materials sciences and chemistry who wish to learn more about the principles, synthesis and analysis of phosphors and quantum dot materials.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the main nuclear characterization techniques used to study hydrogen absorption and desorption in materials. The various techniques (neutron scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, ion-beams, positron annihilation spectroscopy) are explained in detail, and a variety of examples of recent research projects are given to show the unique advantage of these techniques to study hydrogen in materials. Most of these nuclear techniques require very specialized instrumentation, and there are only a handful of these instruments available worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this book is to reach out to a readership with a very diverse background in the physical sciences and engineering and a broad range of hydrogen-related research interests. The same technique can be used by researchers interested in the improvement of the performance of hydrogen storage materials and by those focused on hydrogen ingress causing embrittlement of metals. The emphasis of this book is to provide tutorial material on how to use nuclear characterization techniques for the investigation of hydrogen in materials - information that cannot readily be found in conference and regular research papers. Provides a comprehensive overview of nuclear techniques used for hydrogen-related research Explains all nuclear techniques in detail for the non-expert Covers the whole range of hydrogen-related research Features chapters written by world-renowned experts in nuclear technique and hydrogen-related research

This book provides an outline of theoretical concepts and their experimental verification in studies of self-organization phenomena in chemical systems, as they emerged in the mid-20th century and have evolved since. Presenting essays on selected topics, it was prepared by authors who have made profound contributions to the field. Traditionally, physical chemistry has been concerned with interactions between atoms and molecules that produce a variety of equilibrium structures - or the 'dead' order - in a stationary state. But biological cells exhibit a different 'living' kind of order, prompting E. Schroedinger to pose his famous question "What is life?" in 1943. Through an unprecedented theoretical and experimental development, it was later revealed that biological self-organization phenomena are in complete agreement with the laws of physics, once they are applied to a special class of thermodynamically open systems and non-equilibrium states. This knowledge has in turn led to the design and synthesis of simple inorganic systems capable of self-organization effects. These artificial 'living organisms' are able to operate on macroscopic to microscopic scales, even down to single-molecule machines. In the future, such research could provide a basis for a technological breakthrough, comparable in its impact with the invention of lasers and semiconductors. Its results can be used to control natural chemical processes, and to design artificial complex chemical processes with various functionalities. The book offers an extensive discussion of the history of research on complex chemical systems and its future prospects.

The ancient Greeks believed that all matter was composed of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. By a remarkable coincidence (or perhaps not), today we know that there are four states of matter: solids (e.g. earth), liquids (e.g. water), gasses (e.g. air) and plasma (e.g. ionized gas produced by fire). The plasma state is beyond the scope of this book and we will only look at the first three states. Although on the microscopic level all matter is made from atoms or molecules, everyday experience tells us that the three states have very different properties. The aim of this book is to examine some of these properties and the underlying physics.

Infrared Thermography in the Evaluation of Aerospace Composite Materials: Infrared Thermography to Composites provides an update on infrared thermography, a fast and reliable method for non-destructive evaluation of composite materials used in the aerospace field. The book describes composites and the main problems that can arise both during manufacturing and when in service, and then covers different thermographic non-destructive testing and evaluation techniques, including pulse thermography, lock-in thermography, and pulse phase. Each technique includes key examples and relevant references, with sections devoted to the usefulness of an infrared imaging device to monitor the behavior of a material under load, such as impact and bending. The book also includes discussions on standards, personnel certification, and training.