The book describes the valorization of biomass-derived compounds over gold catalysts. Since biomass is a rich renewable feedstock for diverse platform molecules, including those currently derived from petroleum, the interest in various transformation routes has become intense. Catalytic conversion of biomass is one of the main approaches to improving the economic viability of biorefineries. In addition, Gold catalysts were found to have outstanding activity and selectivity in many key reactions. This book collects information about transformations of the most promising and important compounds derived from cellulose, hemicelluloses, and woody biomass extractives. Since gold catalysts possess high stability under oxidative conditions, selective oxidation reactions were discussed more thoroughly than other critical reactions such as partial hydrogenation, acetalization, and isomerization. The influence of reaction conditions, the role of the catalyst, and the advantages and disadvantages of using gold are presented for all of the reactions mentioned above. This book provides an overview of the recent research results focusing on application of gold catalysts for synthesis of valuable chemicals using renewable feedstocks.

The first International Conference on Thermoelectric Properties of Metallic Conductors was held at Michigan State University on August 10-12, 1977. The conference was sponsored and supported by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Ford Motor Company. Although the topic may appear, at first glance, rather narrow and of limited interest, it impacts significantly on numerous fields of research, in each instance providing a unique and fru- ful technique for securing important data that is frequently difficult to obtain by other means. Thus, though thermoelectricity is the thread that binds these pages together, the papers constitute a patchwork quilt that includes critical phenomena, superconductivity, many-body theory, quasi one-dimensional systems, liquid metals, to mention only a few. This volume contains the 12 invited and 31 contributed papers, arranged in the order in which they were presented, as well as much of the frequently spirited and always illuminating discussion that followed these papers. Regrettably, not all of the discussion is included. Difficulties with the recording system during the first session (Wednesday morning) did not become apparent before the end of that session, and, consequently, none of the discussion--some of it fairly heated--appears in the proceedings; other remarks were lost to posterity through occasional malfunctioning of the record ing facilities and/or failure of speakers to come near a microphone."

The rare earths have a unique place among the elements. Although very much alike chemically and in most phy ical properties they each have very different and striking magnetic properties. The reason, of course, lies in their 4f electrons which determine the magnetic properties but have little effect on other chemical and physical behaviour. Although they are not rare, some indeed are among the more common heavy elements in the earth's crust, the difficulty of separation has meant that their intricate magnetic properties have only recently been unravelled. Now, however, the general pattern of their magnetism is well charted and the underlying theory is well understood. Both are thoroughly summarised in this book. It provides an excellent example of the kind of extensive synthesis which is possible with modem solid state physics. it represents only a high plateau in the ascent to complete understanding. But It will become clear to the reader that while the overall position is satisfactory there are many details still to be elucidated experimentally and much to be done theoretically before all the underlying forces are identified and estimated from a priori calculations. It is hoped that the book will provide a useful stimulus in this direction. It should also be of use to those who are interested in related disciplines, for example the rare earth compounds, or the transition metals. In addition rare earths promise to be important technologically as alloy constituents.

Industrial advances frequently depend on the development of new, special-purpose ma terials possessing specific magnetic, electrical, optical, strength, friction, antifriction, and other properties. Metal alloys produced by the conventional technique of metallurgical reduc tion often do not meet these new requirements. Powder metallurgy, therefore, is of consider able importance in solving many problems of present-day materials science. Its production techniques-solid-phase and liquid-phase sintering, impregnation, hot pressing - make it pos, ... sible to obtain materials from metallic components which are immiscible in the liquid state and also materials in which metals are combined with nonmetallic components such as refract ory compounds- oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides, sUicides, sulfides, etc. The properties of sintered parts depend essentially on the processes occurring during their formation. One of the most promising methods of producing sintered materials of high density with the best combination of various properties is liquid-phase sintering. In recent years, many publications have appeared concerning processes of sintering specific combinations of com ponents, the theoretical basis of liquid-phase sintering, and the laws governing this process. The present work examines liquid-phase sintering processes and the action of capillary forces in models of dispersed solid-liquid systems, and also gives data from theoretical and experi mental studies of liquid-phase sintering in various metal and metal-ceramic systems. Some theoretical generalizations on the principles of sintering processes are presented, and the driv ing forces of sintering and the effect of different conditions on liquid-phase sintering processes are considered."

Mechanical alloying (or mechanical milling) was invented in the 1970's as a method to develop dispersion-strengthened high temperature alloys with unique properties. With the discovery of formation of amorphous alloys using this technique, it has received new research interest in developing different material systems. Potential applications of this technique have been demonstrated in different areas of materials research. This book is intended as an introduction to mechanical alloying technique used in difference areas. This book contains basic information on the preparation of materials using the mechanical alloying technique. It is useful not only to undergraduate and post-graduate students, but also to scientists and engineers who wish to gain some understanding on the basic process and mechanisms of the process. The book begins with a brief introduction to provide a historical background understanding to the development of the mechanical alloying process. The experimental set-up in the alloying process is important. Currently there are different types of ball mills available. Some of them are specially designed for mechanical alloying process. Since the resultant materials are milling intensity and milling temperature dependent, ball mills should be carefully selected in order to obtain the desired materials and structures. This is discussed in chapter 2. The actual mechanical alloying process is being considered in Chapter 3. As it is essential to understand the use of processing control agents, the physical properties of some commonly used processing control agents are listed.

Electrometallurgy is a broad field but it is not a new one. It was the great Faraday in the 1830s who discovered laws covering the electrodeposition of metals and its relation to the current passed and equivalent weight of the metal undergoing depo- tion. Since that time, applications and developments of his discoveries have spread to many areas of technology. Electrowinning is the most well known, partly because it embraces the process by which aluminum is extracted from its ores. In electrorefining, the impure metal is made into anode and the pure metal dissolved therefrom is deposited on a cathode. Electroplating is exemplified by its use in the manufacture of car bumpers. Finally, in electroreforming, objects may be metallized, often with a very thin layer of the coating desired. The numerous technologies vary greatly in the degree to which they are intell- tualized. Until the work of Popov et al. , electrometallurgy has been regarded as largely empirical, an activity in which there was much art and little science. This will all change with the publication of this book. Several aspects of the background of its senior author, Konstantin Popov, make him uniquely suited to the job of intellectual- ing electrometallurgy. First, he had as his mentor the great surely the leading electrochemist in Eastern Europe since the death of Frumkin. Second, he has had ample experience with the leading electrochemical engineer in America, Ralph White.

The increasing use of powder metallurgy techniques to make an almost infinite variety of materials and products places greater emphasis on utilization of sophisticated experimental techniques. Usually research and development efforts initiate the use of newly developed equipment and analytical procedures. Indeed, the contents of this book are strongly linked to research endeavors, in both the academic and industrials worlds. However, this volume can serve a much needed function in industrial applied powder metallurgy. Although many research ers will find the contents of great value, the technical personnel more involved with production, quality control, customer services and product design now have at their dispo sal a means to learn about the potential uses of several very important techniques. With today's "knowledge explosion" the present set of papers greatly facilitates the comprehension and adoption of new procedures. If powder metallurgy is to continue its rapid rate of growth in virtually all segments of industry, then the transition of modern equipment and procedures from tools of research and development laboratories to everyday plant operations and applications must be hastened. The editors hope that this volume aids in this process, as well as assisting students and researchers by providing a ready source of up-to-date useful information.

High-technology and environmental applications of the rare-earth elements (REE) have grown dramatically in diversity and importance over the past four decades. This book provides a scientific understanding of rare earth properties and uses, present and future. It also points the way to efficient recycle of the rare earths in end-of-use products and efficient use of rare earths in new products. Scientists and students will appreciate the book's approach to the availability, structure and properties of rare earths and how they have led to myriad critical uses, present and future. Experts should buy this book to get an integrated picture of production and use (present and future) of rare earths and the science behind this picture. This book will prove valuable to.non-scientists as well in order to get an integrated picture of production and use of rare earths in the 21st Century, and the science behind this picture.

Stereology is the science that relates three-dimensional structure to the two-dimensional images that can be measured. The most common field of application is in microscopy, both of man-made materials (metals, ceramics, composites, etc.) and of biological tissue samples. This book covers the applications and terminology of both fields. Recent emphasis in stereology is concerned with sampling strategies to avoid bias due to directionality and non-uniformity, and these methods are fully covered. So are the classic techniques that measure size distributions, surface curvature, etc., which are widely useful but not discussed in other recent texts. Finally, most stereology is taught as manual procedures using counting and grids, but this text also covers the use of modern desktop computers for image analysis and processing to obtain and interpret the stereological data.

This monograph describes mathematical models that enable prediction of phase compositions for various technological processes, as developed on the base of a complex physico-chemical analysis of reaction. It studies thermodynamics and kinetics of specific stages of complex pyrometallurgical processes involving boron, carbon, sulfur, tungsten, phosphorus, and many more, as well as their exposure to all sorts of factors.

First and foremost, this enables to optimize processes and technologies at the stage of design, while traditional empirical means of development of new technologies are basically incapable of providing an optimal solution. Simulation results of metals and alloys production, welding and coating technologies allow obtaining materials with pre-given composition, structure and properties in a cost-saving and conscious manner. Moreover, a so-called "inverse problem," i.e., selecting source materials which would ensure the required results, cannot be solved by any other means.

THE PHYSICAL BASIS FOR HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS is the proceedings of the ninth Battelle Colloquium in the Materials Sciences, held in Gstaad, Switzerland, September 2-6, 1974. It took as its theme the application of modern theoretical and experimental surface physics to heterogeneous catalysis. Progress in the field by classical chemical methods seemed to have slowed down, at a time when the need for better catalysts was particularly great. The Organizing Committee thought it might be possible to accelerate progress by the application of the powerful techniques evolved in recent years for studying atomically clean surfaces. However, the translation of ideas derived from clean single crystal surfaces with well characterized chemisorbed layers to real catalysts with high ratios of surface to mass on which reactions were taking place and requiring transport of mass and energy is a giant step, raising many questions and requiring thorough discussion by surface physicists on the one hand and catalytic chemists on the other. The 1974 Battelle Colloquium provided a forum for this exchange. As its usual custom, the Colloquium started the first day of introduc tory lectures by three distinguished scientists who have contributed impor tantly over many years to this field."

Composite Materials in Aerospace Design is one of six titles in a coherent and definitive series dedicated to advanced composite materials research, development and usage in the former Soviet Union. Much of the information presented has been classified until recently. Thus each volume provides a unique insight into hitherto unknown research and development data. This volume deals with the design philosophy and methodology used to produce primary and secondary load bearing composite structures with high life expectancies. The underlying theme is of extensive advanced composites research and development programs in aircraft and spacecraft applications, including the space orbital ship `BURAN'. The applicability of much of this work to other market sectors, such as automotive, shipbuilding and sporting goods is also examined in some detail. The text starts by describing typical structures for which composites may be used in this area and some of the basic requirements from the materials being used. Design of components with composite materials is then discussed, with specific reference to case studies. This is followed by discussion and results from evaluation of finished structures and components, methods of joining with conventional materials and finally, non-destructive testing methods and forecasting of the performance of the composite materials and the structures which they form. Composite Materials in Aerospace Design will be of interest to anyone researching or developing in composite materials science and technology, as well as design and aerospace engineers, both in industry and universities.

Silicon Carbide Microsystems for Harsh Environments reviews state-of-the-art Silicon Carbide (SiC) technologies that, when combined, create microsystems capable of surviving in harsh environments, technological readiness of the system components, key issues when integrating these components into systems, and other hurdles in harsh environment operation. The authors use the SiC technology platform suite the model platform for developing harsh environment microsystems and then detail the current status of the specific individual technologies (electronics, MEMS, packaging). Additionally, methods towards system level integration of components and key challenges are evaluated and discussed based on the current state of SiC materials processing and device technology. Issues such as temperature mismatch, process compatibility and temperature stability of individual components and how these issues manifest when building the system receive thorough investigation. The material covered not only reviews the state-of-the-art MEMS devices, provides a framework for the joining of electronics and MEMS along with packaging into usable harsh-environment-ready sensor modules.

This book deals with a novel and practical advanced method for control of tandem cold metal rolling processes based on the emerging state-dependent Riccati equation technique. After a short history of tandem cold rolling, various types of cold rolling processes are described. A basic mathematical model of the process is discussed, and the diverse conventional control methods are compared. A detailed treatment of the theoretical and practical aspects of the state-dependent algebraic Riccati equation technique is given, with specific details of the new procedure described and results of simulations performed to verify the control model and overall system performance with the new controller coupled to the process model included. These results and data derived from actual operating mills are compared showing the improvements in performance using the new method. Material is included which shows how the new technique can be extended to the control of a broad range of large-scale complex nonlinear processes.

In the preliminary stage of designing new structural hardware that must perform a given mission in a fluctuating load environment, there are several factors the designers should consider. Trade studies for different design configurations should be performed and, based on strength and weight considerations, among others, an optimum configuration selected. The selected design must be able to withstand the environment in question without failure. Therefore, a comprehen sive structural analysis that consists of static, dynamic, fatigue, and fracture is necessary to ensure the integrity of the structure. During the past few decades, fracture mechanics has become a necessary discipline for the solution of many structural problems. These problems include the prevention of failures resulting from preexisting cracks in the parent material, welds or that develop under cyclic loading environment during the life of the structure. The importance of fatigue and fracture in nuclear, pressure vessel, aircraft, and aerospace structural hardware cannot be overemphasized where safety is of utmost concern. This book is written for the designer and strength analyst, as well as for the material and process engineer who is concerned with the integrity of the structural hardware under load-varying environments in which fatigue and frac ture must be given special attention. The book is a result of years of both acade mic and industrial experiences that the principal author and co-authors have accumulated through their work with aircraft and aerospace structures."

In an attempt to meet the demand for new ultra-high strength materials, the processing of novel material configurations with unique microstructure is being explored in systems which are further and further from equilibrium. One such class of emerging materials is the so-called nanophased or nanostructured materials. This class of materials includes metals and alloys, ceramics, and polymers characterized by controlled ultra-fine microstructural features in the form oflayered, fibrous, or phase and grain distribution. While it is clear that these materials are in an early stage of development, there is now a sufficient body of literature to fuel discussion of how the mechanical properties and deformation behavior can be controlled through control of the microstructure. This NATO-Advanced Study Institute was convened in order to assess our current state of knowledge in the field of mechanical properties and deformation behavior in materials with ultra fine microstructure, to identify opportunities and needs for further research, and to identify the potential for technological applications. The Institute was the first international scientific meeting devoted to a discussion on the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of materials having grain sizes down to a few nanometers. Included in these discussions were the topics of superplasticity, tribology, and the supermodulus effect. Lectures were also presented which covered a variety of other themes including synthesis, characterization, thermodynamic stability, and general physical properties."

This book is intended to give an introduction and a comprehensive overview concerning the main areas of surface magnetism with special emphasis on rare earth metals. Investigations in this ?eld require experimental techniques which are sensitive to the topmost layers on the one hand and simultaneously to magnetic properties on the other hand. Using additionally tools with a high lateral resolution the visualization of magnetic domains becomes possible. Theunderstandingofmagneticandelectronicbehaviorrequirestheknowledgeof the structure on a microscopic scale. Due to this important relationship the dep- dence of electronic on structural properties is the ?rst topic. This contains inves- gations not only on rare earth metals but additionally on 3d ferromagnetic systems. It is important to keep in mind that the chemical behavior of a surface det- mines the surface electronic properties. Thus, variations, e.g. due to adsorbate atoms, have a signi?cant in?uence. This aspect will be focused on as the next topic with the description of selected substrate layers which were exposed to different types of gaseous molecules. Investigations on the surface magnetism of itinerant ferromagnetic materials, including the in?uence of adsorbates on surface magnetic properties, and magnets with localized moments is the ?nal and main topic of this volume. It will end with the realization of laterally resolved spin polarized vacuum tunneling which enables to image magnetic domains on the nanometer scale. Acknowledgements This work summarizes my research on the above-mentioned topics performed at the Universities of Bielefeld, Mainz, Hamburg, and Dusseldorf."