The objective of this book is to discuss the current status of research and development of boron-rich solids as sensors, ultra-high temperature ceramics, thermoelectrics, and armor. Novel biological and chemical sensors made of stiff and light-weight boron-rich solids are very exciting and efficient for applications in medical diagnoses, environmental surveillance and the detection of pathogen and biological/chemical terrorism agents. Ultra-high temperature ceramic composites exhibit excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance for hypersonic vehicle applications. Boron-rich solids are also promising candidates for high-temperature thermoelectric conversion. Armor is another very important application of boron-rich solids, since most of them exhibit very high hardness, which makes them perfect candidates with high resistance to ballistic impact. The following topical areas are presented: *Boron-rich solids: science and technology *Synthesis and sintering strategies of boron rich solids *Microcantilever sensors *Screening of the possible boron-based thermoelectric conversion materials; *Ultra-high temperature ZrB2 and HfB2 based composites *Magnetic, transport and high-pressure properties of boron-rich solids *Restrictions of the sensor dimensions for chemical detection *Armor

From reviews of previous volumes: 'This volume continues the valuable service that has been rendered by the Modern Aspects series.'-Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 'Extremely well referenced and very readable....Maintains the overall high standards of the series.'-Journal of the American Chemical Society

The clamor for non-carbon dioxide emitting energy production has directly impacted on the development of nuclear energy. As new nuclear plants are built, plans and designs are continually being developed to manage the range of challenging requirement and problems that nuclear plants face especially when managing the greatly increased operating temperatures, irradiation doses and extended design life spans. Materials for Nuclear Plants: From Safe Design to Residual Life Assessments provides a comprehensive treatment of the structural materials for nuclear power plants with emphasis on advanced design concepts. Materials for Nuclear Plants: From Safe Design to Residual Life Assessments approaches structural materials with a systemic approach. Important components and materials currently in use as well as those which can be considered in future designs are detailed, whilst the damage mechanisms responsible for plant ageing are discussed and explained. Methodologies for materials characterization, materials modeling and advanced materials testing will be described including design code considerations and non-destructive evaluation concepts. Including models for simple system dynamic problems and knowledge of current nuclear power plants in operation, Materials for Nuclear Plants: From Safe Design to Residual Life Assessments is ideal for students studying postgraduate courses in Nuclear Engineering. Designers on courses for code development, such as ASME or ISO and nuclear authorities will also find this a useful reference.

The main objective of this book is to cover the basic understanding of thermal conduction mechanisms in various high thermal conductivity materials including diamond, cubic boron nitride, and also the latest material like carbon nanotubes.

The book is intended as a good reference book for scientists and engineers involved in addressing thermal management issues in a broad spectrum of industries.

Leading researchers from industry and academic institutions who are well known in their areas of expertise have contributed a chapter in the field of their interest.

This is the first book on lock-in thermography, an analytical method applied to the diagnosis of microelectronic devices. This useful introduction and guide reviews various experimental approaches to lock-in thermography, with special emphasis on the lock-in IR thermography developed by the authors themselves.

A state-of-the-art report prepared by RILEM Technical Committee 116-PCD. At present, durability of concrete is controlled by specifying the materials to be used, the methods of mixing, placing, curing and so on. This approach is often unsatisfactory and it is a common objective of concrete researchers and engineers to develop performance criteria which allow the potential durability of a particular concrete mix or structure to be estimated. However, the complexity of concrete as a material and the difficulty of developing consistent and reliable test methods has meant that progress has been slow. International interest in the subject is growing strongly with the development of international standards and so this book is very timely in giving an authoritative, international review of the subject. It will set the scene for the next few years as a key source of information and advice.

The fundamental theories of simulating blast effects in elastic and elastoplastic media are presented in this monograph. Both classical and modern methods for modelling the processes of rock breakage by blasting are described. Contemporary methods for recording the processes occurring at high speeds are also presented. Physical and mathematical models of the major phenomena associated with blasting in open-cast and underground mines are illustrated. This monograph is intended for professionals involved in research and in the utilisation of blast energy in various sectors of the national economy.

This work discusses techniques for developing new engineering materials such as elastomers, plastic blends, composites, ceramics and high-temperature alloys. Instrumentation for evaluating their properties and identifying potential end uses are presented.;The book is intended for materials, manufacturing, mechanical, chemical and metallurgical engineers; ceramists; product development specialists; materials scientists; and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.

It brings together, in a concise format, the key elements of the loads produced from explosive sources, how they interact with structures and the way structures respond to them. Explosive sources include gas, high explosives, dust and nuclear materials.
It presents quantitative information and design methods in a useable form without recourse to extensive mathematical analysis. The authors, Peter Smith and John Hetherington, are staff members at the Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham and have been instrumental in establishing an active group comprising lecturing and research staff concerned with the response of structures to blast and ballistic loading.
Comprehensive coverage of a wide threat spectrum
Accessible style supported by relevant worked examples

Particulate products make up around 80% of chemical products, from all industry sectors. Examples given in this book include the construction materials, fine ceramics and concrete; the delicacies, chocolate and ice cream; pharmaceutical, powders, medical inhalers and sun screen; liquid and powder paints. Size distribution and the shape of the particles provide for different functionalities in these products. Some functions are general, others specific. General functions are powder flow and require at the typical particulate concentrations of these products that the particles cause adequate rheological behavior during processing and/or for product performance. Therefore, this book addresses particle packing as well as its relation to powder flow and rheological behavior. Moreover, general relationships to particle size are discussed for e.g. color and sensorial aspects of particulate products. Product-specific functionalities are often relevant for comparable product groups. Particle size distribution and shape provide, for example, the following functionalities:

- dense particle packing in relation to sufficient strength is required in concrete construction, ceramic objects and pharmaceutical tablets

- good sensorial properties (mouthfeel) to chocolate and ice cream

- effective dissolution, flow and compression properties for pharmaceutical powders

- adequate hiding power and effective coloring of paints for protection and the desired esthetical appeal of the objects

- adequate protection of our body against sun light by sunscreen

- effective particle transport and deposition to desired locations for medical inhalers and powder paints.

Adequate particle size distribution, shape and porosity of particulate products have to be achieved in order to reach optimum product performance. This requires adequate management of design and development as well as sufficient knowledge of the underlying principles of physics and chemistry. Moreover, flammability, explosivity and other health hazards from powders, during handling, are taken into account. This is necessary, since great risks may be involved. In all aspects, the most relevant parameters of the size distribution (and particle shape) have to be selected.

In this book, experts in the different product fields have contributed to the product chapters. This provides optimum information on what particulate aspects are most relevant for behavior and performance within specified industrial products and how optimum results can be obtained. It differs from other books in the way that the critical aspects of different products are reported, so that similarities and differences can be identified. We trust that this approach will lead to improved optimization in design, development and quality of many particulate products."

This book presents a liber amicorum dedicated to Wolfgang H. Muller, and highlights recent advances in Prof. Muller's major fields of research: continuum mechanics, generalized mechanics, thermodynamics, mechanochemistry, and geomechanics. Over 50 of Prof. Muller's friends and colleagues contributed to this book, which commemorates his 60th birthday and was published in recognition of his outstanding contributions.

With current moves towards international harmonization, there is a need for rationalization and standardization of test procedures and interpretation of test results in many fields. Testing of metals for use in structures, particularly steel and aluminium, is a subject where information on these aspects is generally lacking. In response to this, RILEM (The International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures) organized an international workshop to identify "need in testing metals". Invited experts from Europe, Japan and the USA have contributed papers not only on experimental procedures for testing metallic materials, joints and structural components, but also on analytical models for interpreting their behaviour and for use in calculations. The papers brought together in this book provide reviews of the current situation and signposts for future research and development needs. In response to the recommendations of the workshop, RILEM is setting up new international committees and initiatives on the behaviour of joints, high cycle fatigue, non-destructive testing, structural imperfections, composite and thin-walled structures. This book should be va

Growth of Crystals, Volume 21 presents a survey, with detailed analysis, of the scientific and technological approaches, and results obtained, by leading Russian crystal growth specialists from the late 1990's to date.

The volume contains 16 reviewed chapters on various aspects of crystal and crystalline film growth from various phases (vapour, solution, liquid and solid). Both fundamental aspects, e.g. growth kinetics and mechanisms, and applied aspects, e.g. preparation of technically important materials in single-crystalline forms, are covered.

A large portion of the volume is devoted to film growth, including film growth from eutectic melt, from amorphous solid state, kinetics of lateral epitaxy and film growth on specially structured substrates. An important chapter in this section covers heteroepitaxy of non-isovalent A3B5 semiconductor compounds, which have important applications in the field of photonics.

The volume also includes a detailed analysis of the structural aspects of a broad range of laser crystals, information that is invaluable for successfully growing perfect, laser-effective, single crystals.

This work reviews methods for the experimental determination of concrete toughness and presents theories and models suitable for describing cracking and fracturing phenomena in plain and reinforced concrete. Test methods based on classsical linear fracture mechanics cannot be applied to laboratory sized concrete specimens. The book compares the currently used methods and presents recommended test procedures for mode I fracture/toughness using notched beam and other specimens. Crack propagation under mixed-mode loading (Mode II) is discussed and current test methods are extensively reviewed. Effects of loading rate, temperature and humidity effects are treated in a separate chapter. The book concludes with descriptions and recommendations of techniques for detecting the fracture process zone in concrete, in particular, pulse velocity and laser interferometry techniques. The introduction of the concepts of fracture toughness and fracture energy into structural concrete design codes means that the experimental determination of fracture porperties is ceasing to be an academic exercise and is becoming a technical need. This book has been prepared by RILEM Technical committee 89-FMT and

As a follow up to these meetings the Fourth International Symposium has the purpose of emphasizing the role of mechanical tests in the characterization, design and quality control of bituminous mixes. Its basic objectives are to evaluate all information enabling the assessment of methods, their advantages and drawbacks and also the manner in which problems can be solved, to establish a better understanding and a documentation of results of research and practical engineering in order to establish a common ground between research, road authorities and contractors. Traditional test methods help avoid large errors, but the significance of the results is very restricted. Fundamental methods are more complex; they yield better, more significant paremeters but the application of these methods is limited to experts and special laboratories. Consequently, every effort should be made to develop tests having the advantages of both the traditional as well as modern methods and avoiding the restrictions of both. The particular aim of this symposium is to promote tests for the characterization, design and control of bituminous mixes, considering the needs of practice and science and the connecti

This thesis investigates the behavior of two candidate materials (a-SiO2 and MgO) for applications in fusion (e.g., the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ITER) and Generation IV fission reactors. Both parts of the thesis - the development of the ionoluminescence technique and the study of the ion-irradiation effects on both materials - are highly relevant for the fields of the ion-beam analysis techniques and irradiation damage in materials. The research presented determines the microstructural changes at different length scales in these materials under ion irradiation. In particular, it studies the effect of the irradiation temperature using several advanced characterization techniques. It also provides much-needed insights into the use of these materials at elevated temperatures. Further, it discusses the development of the ion-beam-induced luminescence technique in different research facilities around the globe, a powerful in situ spectroscopic characterization method that until now was little known. Thanks to its relevance, rigorosity and quality, this thesis has received twoprestigious awards in Spain and France.

The results in this dissertation set the ground to answer a fundamental question in data-driven polymer material science: "Why don't prepared composites show less fatigue than the pure plastics?" A simultaneous analysis of mechanical testing and small angle X-Ray scattering from the DESY source in Hamburg has been applied to approach this question, which is also central to the European research project "Nanotough", and the results are clearly presented in this book. The evolution of the materials structure is visualized and quantitatively analyzed from exhaustive sequences of scattering images. Three different classes of polymer composites are presented as typical and illustrative examples. The obtained results illustrate that the interactions of their components can cause unpredictable structural effects, ultimaltely leading to a weakening of the material, where a reinforcement was expected.

During the last decade we have been witness to several exciting achievements in electron crystallography. This includes structural and charge density studies on organic molecules complicated inorganic and metallic materials in the amorphous, nano-, meso- and quasi-crystalline state and also development of new software, tailor-made for the special needs of electron crystallography. Moreover, these developments have been accompanied by a now available new generation of computer controlled electron microscopes equipped with high-coherent field-emission sources, cryo-specimen holders, ultra-fast CCD cameras, imaging plates, energy filters and even correctors for electron optical distortions. Thus, a fast and semi-automatic data acquisition from small sample areas, similar to what we today know from imaging plates diffraction systems in X-ray crystallography, can be envisioned for the very near future. This progress clearly shows that the contribution of electron crystallography is quite unique, as it enables to reveal the intimate structure of samples with high accuracy but on much smaller samples than have ever been investigated by X-ray diffraction. As a tribute to these tremendous recent achievements, this NATO Advanced Study Institute was devoted to the novel approaches of electron crystallography for structure determination of nanosized materials.

This book highlights current advanced developments in bioepoxy and bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites and an optimisation of material formulation and processing parameters on fabrication of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites in order to achieve the highest mechanical properties in relation to their morphological structures, thermal properties, as well as biodegradability and water absorption, which is based on the use of Taguchi design of experiments with the consideration of technical and economical point of view. It also elaborates holistic theoretical modelling of tensile properties of such bionanocomposites with respect to the effect of contents of nanoclay fillers and epoxydised soybean oil (ESO).

This thesis presents a novel ultrasonic instrument for non-invasive and in-situ characterization of journal bearing lubricant viscosity. In particular, the application to journal bearings is described by non-invasively measuring the viscosity and localized power losses throughout operation. This ultrasonic viscometer is based on the reflection of polarized shear waves from a thin resonating coating layer to increase the measurement sensitivity, in comparison to conventional ultrasonic methods. This instrument allows for a full engine oil viscoelastic characterization in-situ. The book investigates the effects of temperature, pressure and shear rate, and describes in detail the ultrasonic setup and method. Further, it demonstrates that the same technique can be applied similarly to monitor the lubrication of other engine components. As such, it offers a unique instrument that can drive the research of oil formulations to improve engine performance and fulfill the requirements of international fuel economy regulations.

This thesis presents an in-depth study on the effect of colloidal particle shape and formation mechanism on self-organization and the final crystal symmetries that can be achieved. It demonstrates how state-of-the-art X-ray diffraction techniques can be used to produce detailed characterizations of colloidal crystal structures prepared using different self-assembly techniques, and how smart systems can be used to investigate defect formation and diffusion in-situ. One of the most remarkable phenomena exhibited by concentrated suspensions of colloidal particles is the spontaneous self-organization into structures with long-range spatial and/or orientational orders. The study also reveals the subtle structural variations that arise by changing the particle shape from spherical to that of a rounded cube. In particular, the roundness of the cube corners, when combined with the self-organization pathway, convective assembly or sedimentation, was shown to influence the final crystal symmetries.

The discovery of high temperature superconductors (HTS) in 1986 by two IBM scientists led to an unprecedented explosion of research and development efforts world-wide because of the significant potential for practical applications offered by these materials. However, the early euphoria created by the exciting prospects was dampened by the daunting task of fabricating these materials into useful forms with acceptable superconducting properties. Progress towards this goal has been hindered by many intrinsic materials problems, such as weak-links, flux-creep, and poor mechanical properties.

The above problems led to the development of the Second-Generation of HTS wires. Three methods were invented to produce flexible metallic substrates, which were also crystallographically biaxially textured, and resembled a long, mosaic single crystal. The first method invented is the Ion-Beam-Assisted-Deposition (IBAD). The second method developed was the Inclined-Substrate-Deposition (ISD). The third method invented is called the Rolling-assisted-biaxially-textured-substrates (RABiTS).

The book is divided into four sections. The first section discusses the three methods to fabricate biaxially textured substrates, upon which, epitaxial YBCO or other HTS materials can be deposited to realize a single-crystal-like HTS wire. The second section includes chapters on various methods of HTS deposition such as pulsed laser ablation (PLD), thermal co-evaporation, sputtering, pulsed electron beam deposition, ex-situ BaF2 by co-evaporation flowed by annealing, chemical solution based ex-situ processes, jet vapor deposition, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and liquid phase epitaxy (LPE).The third section includes detailed chapters on other HTS materials such as the various Tl-based and Hg-based conductors.

These Second-Generation HTS conductors, also referred to as "Coated conductors" represent one of the most exciting developments in HTS technology. HTS wires based on this technology have the potential to carry 100-1000 times the current without resistance losses of comparable copper wire. HTS power equipment based on these HTS conductors has a potential to be half the size of conventional alternatives with the same or higher power rating and less than one half the energy losses. Upgrading of the world-wide electric power transmission and distribution with HTS based devices can significantly help in meeting the growing demand for electricity world-wide. There is little question that superconducting technology based on the Next-Generation HTS Superconducting Wires will make a substantial impact on the way we generate, transmit, distribute and use electric power. Of course the question is - how soon?

The papers in this volume cover a broad spectrum of topics that represent the truly diverse nature of the field of composite materials. In recent years, composite materials have grown in strength, stature, and significance to become a key material of enhanced scientific interest and resultant research into understanding their behavior for selection and safe use in a wide spectrum of technology-related applications. This collection presents research and findings relevant to the latest advances in composites materials, specifically their use in aerospace, maritime, and even land applications. The editors have made every effort to bring together authors who put forth recent advances in their research while concurrently both elaborating on and thereby enhancing our prevailing understanding of the salient aspects related to the science, engineering, and far-reaching technological applications of composite materials.

The book presents the work of the RILEM Technical Committee 249-ISC. Addressing the effective application of new recommendations for non-destructive in situ strength assessment of concrete, it provides information about the different steps of the investigation and processing of test results, until the delivery of strength estimates, and includes tables giving the minimum required number of cores in a variety of situations as well as several examples of how the recommendations can be used in practice. The book explores a topic which is of major importance, i.e. the assessment of concrete compressive strength in existing structures. This property (both mean and standard deviation) is a key input in many cases, such as the reinforcement of structures, the safety checking, the extension of service life. As the new RILEM recommendations imply a deep revision (and improvement) of field practice, the book is intended for managers of structures, structural engineers and specialists of NDT that have to answer these issues. More widely, it will benefit engineers and students who are interested in NDT and in the safety analysis of structures.

This collection presents the papers from a symposium on extraction of rare metals as well as rare extraction processing techniques used in metal production. Paper topics include the extraction and processing of elements like antimony, arsenic, calcium, chromium, hafnium, gold, indium, lithium, molybdenum, niobium, rare earth metals, rhenium, scandium, selenium, silver, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, tungsten, vanadium, and zirconium. Rare processing techniques presented include bio leaching, molecular recognition technology, recovery of valuable components of commodity metals such as magnesium from laterite process wastes, titanium from ilmenites, and rare metals from wastes such as phosphors and LCD monitors.