Research of influence of heat treatment on metallophysical properties of metal of welded seams

Цель настоящего исследования - оценка влияния локальной термической обработки (нормализации и закалки с отпуском для продольных сварных соединений труб, сваренных контактной сваркой токами высокой частоты, а также высокотемпературного отпуска и термического отдыха для кольцевых стыков трубопроводов, сваренных дуговой сваркой) на показатели механических свойств и металлургического качества металла сварных соединений. Для проведения исследований в области продольных сварных соединений использовались трубы диаметром 530 мм с толщиной стенки 10 мм класса прочности К56, для оценки свойств металла кольцевых стыков были выбраны катушки длиной 500 мм с односторонней симметричной разделкой кромок с углом скоса 30°, изготовленные из труб диаметром 219-530 мм с толщиной стенки 8-15 мм из сталей класса прочности К42, К48, К56. В частности, показано, что высокий отпуск повышает пластичность, снижает уровень остаточных сварных напряжений (более чем на 30 %), твердость и прочность. Термический отдых сварных стыков способствует снижению уровня остаточного водорода в металле сварных соединений, что позволяет повысить свариваемость трубной стали при проведении ремонтных работ. В целом сделан вывод о том, что локальная термообработка позволяет оптимизировать показатели механических свойств металла сварных соединений и при необходимости получать требуемый уровень механических свойств. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of local heat treatment (normalizing and quenching with tempering for longitudinal welded joints of pipes welded through contact welding with high frequency currents, and high-temperature tempering and cooling for arc welded circular joints of pipelines) on the mechanical properties and metallurgical quality of welded joint metal. To carry out research in the field of longitudinal welded joints, pipes with a diameter of 530 mm and a wall thickness of 10 mm with the K56 strength grade were used; to assess the metal properties of ring joints, 500 mm long spools with unilateral symmetrical beveling with a bevel angle of 30°, made of pipes with a diameter of 219-530 mm with wall thickness of 8-15 mm made from K42, K48, K56 strength grade steel, were used. In particular, it is shown that high tempering increases ductility, reduces the level of residual weld stresses (by more than 30 %), hardness and strength. Cooling of welded joints helps to reduce the level of residual hydrogen in the welded joint metal, which increases the weldability of pipe steel during repair works. In general, it is concluded that local heat treatment allows to optimize the indicators of mechanical properties of the welded joint metal and, if necessary, to obtain the required level of mechanical properties.

In Situ Evolution of Pores in Lithium Hydride at Elevated Temperatures Characterized by X-ray Computed Tomography

The evolution of defects such as pores at elevated temperatures is crucial for revealing the thermal stability of lithium hydride ceramic. The in situ evolution of pores in sintered lithium hydride ceramic from 25 °C to 500 °C, such as the statistics of pores and the 3D structure of pores, was investigated by X-ray computed tomography. Based on the statistics of pores, the porosity significantly increased from 25 °C to 200 °C and decreased after 200 °C, due to the significant change in the number and total volume of the round-shaped pores and the branched crack-like pores with an increasing temperature. According to the 3D structure of pores, the positions of pores did not change, and the sizes of pores went up in the range of 25–200 °C and went down after 200 °C. Some small round-shaped pores with an Equivalent Diameter of less than 9 μm appeared at 200 °C and disappeared at elevated temperatures. Some adjacent pores of all types connected at 200 °C, and some branched crack-like pores gradually disconnected with an increasing temperature. The expansion of pores at 200 °C caused by the release of residual hydrogen and the contraction of pores after 200 °C because of the migration and diffusion of some hydrogen in pores might be the reason for the evolution of pores with an increasing temperature.

Integration of Renewable Hydrogen Production in Steelworks Off-Gases for the Synthesis of Methanol and Methane

The steel industry is among the highest carbon-emitting industrial sectors. Since the steel production process is already exhaustively optimized, alternative routes are sought in order to increase carbon efficiency and reduce these emissions. During steel production, three main carbon-containing off-gases are generated: blast furnace gas, coke oven gas and basic oxygen furnace gas. In the present work, the addition of renewable hydrogen by electrolysis to those steelworks off-gases is studied for the production of methane and methanol. Different case scenarios are investigated using AspenPlusTM flowsheet simulations, which differ on the end-product, the feedstock flowrates and on the production of power. Each case study is evaluated in terms of hydrogen and electrolysis requirements, carbon conversion, hydrogen consumption, and product yields. The findings of this study showed that the electrolysis requirements surpass the energy content of the steelwork’s feedstock. However, for the methanol synthesis cases, substantial improvements can be achieved if recycling a significant amount of the residual hydrogen.

To cool is to keep: residual H/He atmospheres of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes

ABSTRACT Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are commonly thought to have accreted hydrogen/helium envelopes, consisting of a few to ten percent of their total mass, from the primordial gas disc. Subsequently, hydrodynamic escape driven by core-powered mass-loss and/or photoevaporation likely stripped much of these primordial envelopes from the lower mass and closer-in planets to form the super-Earth population. In this work, we show that after undergoing core-powered mass-loss, some super-Earths can retain small residual H/He envelopes. This retention is possible because, for significantly depleted atmospheres, the density at the radiative–convective boundary drops sufficiently such that the cooling time-scale becomes shorter than the mass-loss time-scale. The residual envelope is therefore able to contract, terminating further mass-loss. Using analytic calculations and numerical simulations, we show that the mass of primordial H/He envelope retained as a fraction of the planet’s total mass, fret, increases with increasing planet mass, Mc, and decreases with increasing equilibrium temperature, Teq, scaling as $f_\mathrm{ret} \propto M_\mathrm{c}^{3/2} T_\mathrm{eq}^{-1/2} \exp {[M_\mathrm{c}^{3/4} T_\mathrm{eq}^{-1}]}$. fret varies from <10−8 to about 10−3 for typical super-Earth parameters. To first order, the exact amount of left-over H/He depends on the initial envelope mass, the planet mass, its equilibrium temperature, and the envelope’s opacity. These residual hydrogen envelopes reduce the atmosphere’s mean molecular weight compared to a purely secondary atmosphere, a signature observable by current and future facilities. These remnant atmospheres may, however, in many cases be vulnerable to long-term erosion by photoevaporation. Any residual hydrogen envelope likely plays an important role in the long-term physical evolution of super-Earths, including their geology and geochemistry.

Lower methane emissions were associated with higher abundance of ruminal Prevotella in a cohort of Colombian buffalos

Background Ruminants burp massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere and significantly contribute to the deposition of greenhouse gases and the consequent global warming. It is therefore urgent to devise strategies to mitigate ruminant’s methane emissions to alleviate climate change. Ruminal methanogenesis is accomplished by a series of methanogen archaea in the phylum Euryarchaeota, which piggyback into carbohydrate fermentation by utilizing residual hydrogen to produce methane. Abundance of methanogens, therefore, is expected to affect methane production. Furthermore, availability of hydrogen produced by cellulolytic bacteria acting upstream of methanogens is a rate-limiting factor for methane production. The aim of our study was to identify microbes associated with the production of methane which would constitute the basis for the design of mitigation strategies. Results Moderate differences in the abundance of methanogens were observed between groups. In addition, we present three lines of evidence suggesting an apparent higher abundance of a consortium of Prevotella species in animals with lower methane emissions. First, taxonomic classification revealed increased abundance of at least 29 species of Prevotella. Second, metagenome assembly identified increased abundance of Prevotella ruminicola and another species of Prevotella. Third, metabolic profiling of predicted proteins uncovered 25 enzymes with homology to Prevotella proteins more abundant in the low methane emissions group. Conclusions We propose that higher abundance of ruminal Prevotella increases the production of propionic acid and, in doing so, reduces the amount of hydrogen available for methanogenesis. However, further experimentation is required to ascertain the role of Prevotella on methane production and its potential to act as a methane production mitigator.

Observation of the Reversible Ice III to Ice IX Phase Transition by Using Ammonium Fluoride as Anti-Ice II Agent

Ice III is a hydrogen-disordered phase of ice that is stable between about 0.2 and 0.35 GPa. Upon cooling, it transforms to its hydrogen-ordered counterpart ice IX within the stability region of ice II. Because of this metastability, detailed studies of the ice III to ice IX phase transition have so far not been carried out. Using ammonium fluoride doping to prevent the formation of ice II, we now present a detailed study on this phase transition using in-situ powder neutron diffraction. The <i>a</i> and <i>c</i> lattice constants are found to expand and contract, respectively, upon hydrogen ordering yielding an overall negative volume change. Interestingly, the anisotropy in the lattice constants persists when ice IX is fully formed and negative thermal expansion is observed. Analogous to the isostructural keatite and <i>b</i>-spodumenes, the negative thermal expansion can be explained through the build-up of torsional strain within in the <i>a</i>-<i>b</i> plane as the helical ‘springs’ within the structure expand upon heating. The reversibility of the phase transition was demonstrated for the first time upon heating. The ammonium fluoride doping induces additional residual hydrogen disorder in ice IX and is suggested to be a chemical way for ‘excitation’ of the ice-rules configurational manifold. Compared to ices II and VIII, the induced hydrogen disorder in ice IX is smaller which suggests a higher density of configurational states close to the ground state. This study highlights the importance of dopants for exploring water’s phase diagram and underpins the highly complex solid-state chemistry of ice.

Observation of the Reversible Ice III to Ice IX Phase Transition by Using Ammonium Fluoride as Anti-Ice II Agent

Ice III is a hydrogen-disordered phase of ice that is stable between about 0.2 and 0.35 GPa. Upon cooling, it transforms to its hydrogen-ordered counterpart ice IX within the stability region of ice II. Because of this metastability, detailed studies of the ice III to ice IX phase transition have so far not been carried out. Using ammonium fluoride doping to prevent the formation of ice II, we now present a detailed study on this phase transition using in-situ powder neutron diffraction. The <i>a</i> and <i>c</i> lattice constants are found to expand and contract, respectively, upon hydrogen ordering yielding an overall negative volume change. Interestingly, the anisotropy in the lattice constants persists when ice IX is fully formed and negative thermal expansion is observed. Analogous to the isostructural keatite and <i>b</i>-spodumenes, the negative thermal expansion can be explained through the build-up of torsional strain within in the <i>a</i>-<i>b</i> plane as the helical ‘springs’ within the structure expand upon heating. The reversibility of the phase transition was demonstrated for the first time upon heating. The ammonium fluoride doping induces additional residual hydrogen disorder in ice IX and is suggested to be a chemical way for ‘excitation’ of the ice-rules configurational manifold. Compared to ices II and VIII, the induced hydrogen disorder in ice IX is smaller which suggests a higher density of configurational states close to the ground state. This study highlights the importance of dopants for exploring water’s phase diagram and underpins the highly complex solid-state chemistry of ice.

Efficacy and Safety of Disinfectants for Decontamination of N95 and SN95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators: A Systematic Review

Background: Decontaminating and re-using filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) for healthcare workers is a potential solution to address inadequate FFR supply during a global pandemic.Aim: The objective of this review was to synthesize existing data on the effectiveness and safety of using chemical disinfectants to decontaminate N95 FFR. Methods: We conducted a systematic review on disinfectants to decontaminate N95 FFRs using Embase, Medline, Global Health, Google Scholar, WHO feed, and MedRxiv. Two reviewers independently determined study eligibility and extracted and verified predefined data fields. Original research reporting on N95 FFR function, decontamination, physical appearance, safety, or mask fit following decontamination with a disinfectant was included. Findings and Conclusions: A single cycle of vaporized hydrogen peroxide successfully removes infectious pathogens without affecting mask function or fit, and with little change in FFR physical appearance. Residual hydrogen peroxide levels following decontamination were below the safety limit. More than one decontamination cycle of vaporized hydrogen peroxide may be possible but further information is required on how multiple cycles would affect mask fit in a real world setting before the upper limit can be established. Although immersion in liquid hydrogen peroxide does not appear to adversely affect mask function, there is no available data on its ability to remove infectious pathogens from FFRs or its impact on mask fit. Sodium hypochlorite, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol and EtO are not recommended due to safety concerns or negative effects on mask function.