"Review of the literature shows that the reported correlation between predictions and experimental data of flame spread vary greatly. The discrepancies displayed by the models are generally attributed to inaccurate input parameters, user effects, and inadequacy of the model. In most experiments, the metric to which the model is deemed accurate is based on the prediction of the heat release rate, but flame spread is a highly complex phenomenon that should not be simplified as such. Moreover, fire growth models are usually made up of distinctive groups of calculation on separate physical phenomena to predict processes that drive fire growth. Inaccuracies of any of these “sub-models” will impact the overall flame spread prediction, hence identifying the sources of error and sensitivity of the subroutines may aid in the development of more accurate models. Combating this issue required that the phenomenon of flame spread be decomposed into four components to be studied separately: turbulent fluid dynamics, flame temperature, flame heat transfer, and condensed phase pyrolysis. Under this framework, aspects of a CFD model may be validated individually and cohesively. However, a lack of comprehensive datasets in the literature hampered this process. Hence, three progressively more complex sets of experiments, from free plume fires to fires against an inert wall to combustible wall fires, were conducted in order to obtain a variety of measurements related to the four inter-related components of flame spread. Multiple permutations of the tests using different source fuels, burner size, and source fire heat release rate allowed a large amount of comparable data to be collected for validation of different fire configurations. FDS simulations using mostly default parameters were executed and compared against the experimental data, but found to be inaccurate. Parametric study of the FDS software shows that there are little definitive trends in the correlation between changes in the predicted quantities and the modeling parameters. This highlights the intricate relationships shared between the subroutines utilized by FDS for calculations related to the four components of flame spread. This reveals a need to examine the underlying calculation methods and source code utilized in FDS."

[Formulae and special characters can only be approximated here. Please see the pdf version of the Abstract for an accurate reproduction.] Several inert platinum complexes were synthesised: [(en)Pt([special character]-dpzm)2Pt(en)]4+, [{Pt(dien)}2[special character]-dpzm]4+, [{Pt(dien)}2[special character]-H2N-(CH2)6-NH2]4+, cis-[(NH3)2Pt([special character]--dpzm)2Pt(NH3)2]4+, trans-[Pt(NH3)2([special character]-dpzm)2]2+. Three active complexes, all with chloro ligands, were also synthesised: trans-[{Pt(NH3)Cl2}2[special character]-dpzm)], trans-[{Pt(NH3)2Cl}2[special character]-dpzm]2+ (di-Pt) and trans-[trans-{Pt(NH3)2Cl}2{trans-[Pt(NH3)2([special character]-dpzm)2]}]4+ (tri-Pt). 1H NMR established that multi-nuclear platinum complexes will preferentially associate in the DNA minor groove with a preference for A/T sequences, and with a binding constant [special character]-105 M-1, regardless of the charge, linking ligand, length or shape. Using [(en)Pt([special character]-dpzm)2Pt(en)]4+ and the oligonucleotide d(GC)5 it was determined that the metal complex binds G/C rich sequences also in the minor groove, but with a much reduced binding constant, 103 M-1. CD studies showed [(en)Pt([special character]-dpzm)2Pt(en)]4+ was able to induce a DNA conformation change from B-type to what appeared to be a partial Z-type. Transcription assays showed that even though the metal complex does not bind DNA covalently, it is still able to inhibit DNA transcription at particular sites. The complexes di-Pt, tri-Pt, [{Pt(dien)}2[special character]-dpzm]4+ and trans-[Pt(NH3)2([special character]-dpzm)2]2+ were tested for anti-cancer activity in the L1210 murine leukaemia cell line, and gave values of 3.8, 2.5, [special character]200 and 64 [special character]M respectively. In the cisplatin resistant line (L1210/DDP), trans-[Pt(NH3)2([special character]-dpzm)2]2+ showed an increase in activity with a drop to 32 [special character]M, while both di-Pt and tri-Pt showed decreases in activity to values of 8.8 and 3.6 [special character]M. In the human ovarian carcinoma 2008 cell line and its cisplatin resistant derivative C13[special character]5, both complexes showed good activity with values of 2.5 and 20.9 [special character]M respectively, but again both showed decreases in activity in the resistant line with values of 17.8 and 37.7 [special character]M respectively. To help explain the difference between activity of these complexes and the complexes BBR3464 and BBR3005, cell uptake and DNA interstrand cross-linking experiments were performed. The cell uptake studies showed that both di-Pt and tri-Pt are taken up by cells at very high levels, when administered at 100 [special character]M, thus indicating that the difference is unlikely to be due to large differences in cell uptake. The DNA interstrand cross-linking studies showed both complexes readily form interstrand adducts (50% interstrand cross-linking at 12 nM and 22 nM respectively, c.f cisplatin 3 [special character]M). These results suggest that the rigid nature of the dpzm linker may be affecting the DNA adducts formed, with more interstrand links being formed than BBR3464. Possibly, it is this that causes the large differences in cytotoxicity. The DNA binding of di-Pt and tri-Pt was examined with the nucleosides adenosine and guanosine and the dinucleotide d(GpG). Both complexes bound at the N7 of guanosine, but 2-fold slower than cisplatin. In addition, di-Pt bound at the N7 and either the N1 or N3 of adenosine, 7-fold slower than guanosine. Di-Pt forms a large variety of cross-links between two d(GpG) molecules, however it could not be established whether the 1,2-intrastrand adduct could be formed. Di-Pt, however, forms a 1,2-GG interstrand adduct with the oligonucleotide d(ATGCAT)2 resulting in a conformation change away from B-type DNA. The sugar pucker of the G3 nucleoside changes from 2[special character]-endo towards 3[special character]-endo, and the position of the nucleotide relative to the sugar changes from anti to syn. The ability of multi-nuclear platinum complexes to form covalent adducts in the DNA minor groove remains unclear. It appears that di-Pt can form up to 33% minor groove adducts with the oligonucleotide d(AT)5, but when added to the oligonucleotide d(GCCAAATTTCCG)2 no definite minor groove adducts are seen and the major adduct appears to be a 1,2-interstrand cross-link between the two A6's or between the G1 and G11. Finally, a study of the encapsulation of platinum complexes within cucurbit[7]uril (Q7) as a means of reducing drug toxicity was made. For complex A and di-Pt, encapsulation of the linker ligand occurred. The effect of Q7 on the rate of hydrolysis of di-Pt was at least a 3-fold reduction as compared to free di-Pt with guanosine. Studies with [{Pt(dien)}2[special character]-dpzm]4+/Q7 and the oligonucleotide d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2 showed that the metal complex could dissociate from the Q7 and associate with the oligonucleotide, where an equilibrium is achieved with 15 % of the metal complex bound to the oligonucleotide and 75 % encapsulated in Q7. Tests in the L1210 and L1210/DDP cancer cell lines showed that di-Pt/Q7 has almost the same activity compared to free di-Pt.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), together with the analyses of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies, confirm what our day to day experience of life attests :antimatter is far less present than matter in the Universe. In addition, these observables also permit to evaluate that there exists about one proton for every 10^{10} photons present in the Universe. This is in contradiction with expectations coming from the standard hot big bang, where no distinction between matter and antimatter is made, and where subsequent annihilations would lead to equal matter and antimatter contents, at a level 10^{−10} smaller than the observed one. The Standard Model of fundamental interactions fails to explain this result, leading us to search for ‘Beyond the Standard Model’ physics.<p><p>Among the possible mechanism which could be responsible for the creation of such a matter asymmetry, leptogenesis is particularly attractive because it only relies on the same ingredients previously introduced to generate neutrino masses. Unfortunatelly, this elegant proposal suffers from a major difficulty :it resists to any tentative of being probed by our low energy observables. In this thesis, we tackle the problem the other way around and propose a way to falsify this mechanism. Considering the type-I leptogenesis mechanism, i.e. a mechanism based on the asymmetric decay of right-handed neutrinos, in a left-right symmetric framework, we show that the observation of a right-handed gauge boson W_R at future colliders would rule out any possibility for such mechanism to be responsible of the matter asymmetry present in our Universe.<p><p>Another intriguing question that analyses of the anisotropies of the CMB confirmed is the presence of a non-baryonic component of matter in our Universe, i.e. the dark matter. As hinted by observations of galactic rotation curves, it should copiously be present in our galactic halo, but is notoriously difficult to detect directly. We can take advantage on the fact that antimatter almost disappeared from our surroundings to detect the contamination of cosmic rays from standard sources the annihilation products of dark matter would produce.<p><p>The second subject tackled in this work is the study of the imprints the Inert Doublet Modem (IDM) could leave in (charged) cosmic rays, namely positrons, antprotons and antideuterons. This model, first proposed to allow the Bout-Englert-Higgs particle to evade the Electroweak Precision Test (EWPT) measurements, introduces an additional scalar doublet which is inert in the sense that it does not couple directly to fermions. This latter property brings an additional virtue to this additional doublet :since it interacts weakly with particles, it can play the role of dark matter. This study will be done in the light of the data recently released by the PAMELA, ATIC and Fermi-GLAST collaborations, which reported e^± excesses in two different energy ranges. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Au cours de ce travail, un modèle physique et numérique 3D du procédé de soudage à l’arc TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) a été développé dans l’objectif de prédire, en fonction des paramètres opératoires, les grandeurs utiles au concepteur d’assemblages soudés.Le modèle développé, à l’aide du code de calcul aux éléments finis Cast3M, traite les phénomènes physiques agissant dans la pièce et, plus particulièrement, dans le bain de soudage, l’arc étant traité comme une source. Pour ce faire, les équations non-linéaires de la thermohydraulique couplées à celles de l’électromagnétisme sont résolues en régime stationnaire avec un modèle prenant en compte la surface libre déformable du bain de soudage.Une première étape du développement a porté sur la modélisation des phénomènes électromagnétiques par deux méthodes numériques différentes, à comparer les résultats numériques obtenus avec ceux de la littérature. Ensuite, afin de valider le pouvoir prédictif du modèle, des simulations de différentes configurations de soudage d’intérêt ont été étudiées, en variant la composition chimique du matériau, la vitesse de défilement, la pression d’arc imposée et, plus particulièrement, la position de soudage. Des comparaisons avec des expériences et des modèles numériques de la littérature confirment les bonnes tendances obtenues. Enfin, une approche de la modélisation de l’apport de matière a été abordée et des résultats de cette approche ont été montrés. Notre modèle complet constitue donc une base solide pour le développement de modèles de simulation numérique du soudage (SNS) 3D totalement couplés avec l’arc dans le futur et sera intégré dans le logiciel métier WPROCESS. / In this work, we develop a 3D physical and numerical model of the GTA (gas tungsten arc) welding process in order to predict, for given welding parameters, useful quantities for the designer of welded assembly.The model is developed in the Cast3M finite element software and takes into account the main physical phenomena acting in the workpiece and particularly in the weld pool, subject to source terms modeling the arc part of the welding process. A steady solution of this model is thought for and involves the coupling of the nonlinear thermohydaulics and electromagnetic equations together with the displacement of the deformable free surface of the weld pool.A first step in the development consisted in modeling the electromagnetic phenomena with two different numerical methods, in comparing the numerical results obtained with those of the literature. Then, in order to assess the predictive capability of the model, simulations of various welding configurations are performed : variation in the chemical composition of the material, of the welding speed, of the prescribed arc pressure and of the welding positions, which is a focus of this work, are studied. A good agreement is obtained between the results of our model and other experimental and numerical results of the literature. Eventually, a model accounting for metal filling is proposed and its results are discussed. Thus, our complete model can be seen as a solid foundation towards future totally-coupled 3D welding models including the arc and it will be included in the WPROCESS software dedicated to the numerical simulation of welding.

Detection of early pathophysiological changes of breathing in children with chronic respiratory disease MD. Vaclav Koucky - Ph.D. thesis Abstract Introduction: Currently, there are different methods for infant pulmonary function testing (iPFT) and morphological assessment of microscopic changes in endobronchial biopsy samples (EBB). In research setting, they allow detection of early pathophysiological changes of breathing in small children with chronic respiratory disease, respectively in risk of its development. Their clinical significance, however, is not fully acknowledged. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the safety, feasibility and clinical significance of iPFT and EBB in infants younger than 2 years of age. In addition, the relationship between functional and morphological changes of respiratory tract and the function of peripheral chemoreceptors was studied in selected patients' subgroups. Methods: Fifty-five infants with cystic fibrosis (CF), 35 physician-confirmed recurrent wheezers (AB), 9 infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 7 with interstitial lung disease (chILD) and 3 with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) were enrolled. All infants underwent iPFT and relevant clinical history data were recorded. Based on patients' age, CF group was divided into CFmalí (< 6 months) and CFvelcí (>...

Der hauptsächliche Bestandteil dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung einer kostengünstigen Methode zur Produktion von auf Silizium basierenden Dünnschicht-Solarzellen durch Sprühbeschichtung. Hier wird untersucht inwiefern sich diese Methode für die Herstellung großflächiger photovoltaische Anlagen eignet. Als Grundsubstanz für entsprechende Lacke werden Mischungen aus Organosilizium und nanokristallines Silizium verwendet. Eine Idee ist das Verwenden von Silizium-Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen als Si-Precursor (Cyclo-, Poly-, Oligo- und Monosilane). In jedem Fall, Organosilizium und Silizium- Nanopartikel, ist eine Umwandlung durch äußere Energiezufuhr nötig, um die Precursor-Substanz in photovoltaisch nutzbares Silizium umzuwandeln. Die Versuchsreihen werden mithilfe photothermischer Umwandlung (FLA-„flash lamp annealing“, einige 1 J/cm² bei Pulslängen von einigen 100 μs) unter N2-Atmosphäre durchgeführt. Zur Bereitstellung eines auf Laborgröße skalierten Produktionsprozesses wurden ein Spraycoater, eine Heizplatte, ein Blitzlampensystem und ein In-Line Ellipsometer in einem Aufbau innerhalb einer Glovebox unter N2-Atmosphäre kombiniert. Die Gewinnung von Proben und deren Charakterisierung fand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den beiden Arbeitsgruppen der anorganischen Chemie und der Koordinationschemie an der TU-Chemnitz statt. Die eingesetzten Charakterisierungsmethoden sind Raman-Spektroskopie, Infrarotspektroskopie, Rasterelektronenmikroskopie, Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie, Elektronenbeugung, Röntgenbeugung, energiedispersive Röntgenspektroskopie, Rasterkraftmikroskopie und elektrische Charakterisierung wie die Aufnahme von Strom- Spannungs-Kennlinien und Widerstandsmessung per Vierpunktkontaktierung.

Der hauptsächliche Bestandteil dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung einer kostengünstigen Methode zur Produktion von auf Silizium basierenden Dünnschicht-Solarzellen durch Sprühbeschichtung. Hier wird untersucht inwiefern sich diese Methode für die Herstellung großflächiger photovoltaische Anlagen eignet. Als Grundsubstanz für entsprechende Lacke werden Mischungen aus Organosilizium und nanokristallines Silizium verwendet. Eine Idee ist das Verwenden von Silizium-Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen als Si-Precursor (Cyclo-, Poly-, Oligo- und Monosilane). In jedem Fall, Organosilizium und Silizium- Nanopartikel, ist eine Umwandlung durch äußere Energiezufuhr nötig, um die Precursor-Substanz in photovoltaisch nutzbares Silizium umzuwandeln. Die Versuchsreihen werden mithilfe photothermischer Umwandlung (FLA-„flash lamp annealing“, einige 1 J/cm² bei Pulslängen von einigen 100 μs) unter N2-Atmosphäre durchgeführt. Zur Bereitstellung eines auf Laborgröße skalierten Produktionsprozesses wurden ein Spraycoater, eine Heizplatte, ein Blitzlampensystem und ein In-Line Ellipsometer in einem Aufbau innerhalb einer Glovebox unter N2-Atmosphäre kombiniert. Die Gewinnung von Proben und deren Charakterisierung fand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit den beiden Arbeitsgruppen der anorganischen Chemie und der Koordinationschemie an der TU-Chemnitz statt. Die eingesetzten Charakterisierungsmethoden sind Raman-Spektroskopie, Infrarotspektroskopie, Rasterelektronenmikroskopie, Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie, Elektronenbeugung, Röntgenbeugung, energiedispersive Röntgenspektroskopie, Rasterkraftmikroskopie und elektrische Charakterisierung wie die Aufnahme von Strom- Spannungs-Kennlinien und Widerstandsmessung per Vierpunktkontaktierung.:I Bibliographische Beschreibung II Abkürzungsverzeichnis III Abbildungsverzeichnis IV Tabellenverzeichnis 1 Einleitung 1 2 Grundlagen 3 2.1 Dioden und Photodioden 3 2.1.1 Schottky-Dioden 3 2.1.1.1 Schottky-Kontakt oder Ohmscher Kontakt 3 2.1.1.2 Schottky-Barriere 3 2.1.1.3 Arbeitsweise der Schottky-Diode 5 2.1.1.4 Ladungstransport durch eine Schottky-Diode 6 2.1.2 Schottky-Photodioden 8 2.2 Solarzellen 9 2.2.1 Aufbau einer Solarzelle 10 2.2.2 Charakterisierung einer Solarzelle 10 2.3 Moderne Photovoltaik 12 2.4 Transparente leitfähige Oxide (TCO) 13 2.5 Ultraschalldüse und Sprühnebel 14 2.6 Blitzlampenbehandlung (FLA) 17 3 Methoden zur Charakterisierung 18 3.1 Fourier-Transformations-Infrarotspektroskopie (FTIRS) 18 3.2 Lichtstreuung an Materie 20 3.2.1 Raman-Spektroskopie 20 3.2.1.1 Klassische Deutung des Raman-Effektes 21 3.2.1.2 Quantenmechanische Deutung des Raman-Effektes 22 3.2.1.3 Räumlich eingeschränkte Phononen 23 3.3 Änderung der Lichtpolarisation an Materie 26 3.3.1 Fresnel-Formeln 26 3.3.2 Jones-Formalismus 27 3.3.3 Spektroskopische Ellipsometrie (SE) 27 3.4 Röntgenbeugung (XRD) 29 3.4.1 Kalibrierung des Einfallswinkels 31 3.4.2 Kristallitgröße 31 3.5 Elektronenmikroskopie (EM) 31 3.5.1 Transmissionselektronmikroskopie (TEM) 32 3.5.2 Rasterelektronenmikroskopie (SEM und EDX) 33 3.6 Rasterkraftmikroskopie (AFM) 34 4 Experimentelles 37 4.1 Prozessaufbauten 37 4.2 Messgeräte 39 4.3 Probenherstellung 40 4.3.1 Lösungen und Dispersionen 41 4.3.2 Sprühlack 41 4.3.3 Substratreinigung 42 4.3.4 Drop- und Spraycoating 42 4.3.4.1 Dropcoating und Rohrofenprozess 43 4.3.4.2 Sprühen und Blitzlampenbehandlung 43 4.4 Infrarotspektroskopie 46 4.4.1 DRIFT-Spektroskopie an Silizium-Nanopartikeln im MIR 47 4.4.2 DRIFT-Spektroskopie an Silizium-Precursoren im MIR 48 4.4.3 Transmissions- und Reflexionsspektroskopie an Si-Schichten im FIR 49 4.5 Lichtstreuung 49 4.5.1 Mie-Streuung an Silizium-Nanopartikeln 49 4.5.2 Raman-Streuung an Silizium-Precursoren und –Schichten 50 4.6 AFM an Silizium-Schichten 51 4.7 Elektronenmikroskopie 51 4.7.1 SEM und EDX an Silizium-Schichten und –Folien 52 4.7.2 TEM an Silizium-Nanopartikeln und –Folien 53 4.8 XRD an Silizium-Folien 54 4.9 Elektrische Messungen an Silizium-Schichten und –Folien 55 5 Ergebnisse und Diskussion 56 5.1 Silizium-Nanopartikel als Pulver 56 5.1.1 Dispersionen von Silizium-Nanopartikeln 56 5.1.2 Oxidationsgrad von Silizium-Nanopartikeln 58 5.1.3 Verteilung von Silizium-Nanopartikeln in getrocknetem Ethanol 61 5.2 Gesprühte Silizium-Nanopartikel 64 5.2.1 Ellipsmetrie als In-Line Prozessmethode im Spraycoating 64 5.2.2 Oberflächenrauheit von Schichten von Silizium-Nanopartikeln 66 5.2.3 Effekt des FLA auf Schichten von Silizium-Nanopartikeln 69 5.2.4 Simulationen zum Phonon-Confinement 74 5.3 Organosilizium als Silizium-Precursoren 80 5.3.1 Vorversuche: Zersetzung von Phenylsilanen im Rohrofen 80 5.3.2 Photothermische Zersetzung von Monosilanen durch FLA 82 5.4 Monosilane als Haftmittel zwischen Silizium-Nanopartikeln 89 5.4.1 Bestandteile des verwendeten Lacks 90 5.4.2 Filme hergestellt von Si-Nanopartikeln gemischt mit Si-Precursor 92 5.4.3 Folien hergestellt von Si-Nanopartikeln gemischt mit Si-Precursor 106 5.5 Realisierung von Diodenstrukturen 120 6 Zusammenfassung 124 Literaturverzeichnis Anhang

<p>Proučavane su koroziona postojanost i tendencija lepljenja različitih<br />materijala u kontaktu sa tečnom Al&ndash;Si&ndash;Cu legurom. Ispitivanjem su<br />obuhvaćeni čelik za rad na toplo, plazma nitrirani čelik i dupleks<br />slojevi sa CrN, TiAlN, TiAlSiN i CrAlN prevlakama, različitog nivoa<br />površinske hrapavosti. Za ispitivanja pomenutih fenomena<br />primenjena je metoda izvlačenja, koja je unapređena kako bi se povećale<br />njena tačnost i verodostojnost simulacije procesa livenja. Korozioni<br />efekti su pojačani tako što su uzorci osim kratkog kontakta sa odlivkom<br />zadržavani i u dužim periodima u kontaktu sa tečnom legurom (5 i 20<br />min). Uprkos opštim stavovima, za ispitivane materijale je<br />ustanovljeno da su sile izvlačenja uzoraka iz Al&ndash;Si&ndash;Cu odlivaka<br />nezavisne od njihovog hemijskog sastava. Uticaj hrapavosti je izražen<br />kod uzoraka sa prevlakama kod kojih pri smanjenju hrapavosti dolazi do<br />povećanja sile izvlačenja. Sve ispitane prevlake su sklone mehaničkom<br />lepljenju Al&ndash;Si&ndash;Cu legure za svoje površine, ali sa aspekta korozije u<br />tečnom metalu značajno prevazilaze performanse čelika i plazma<br />nitriranog sloja. Duži kontakt livene legure sa površinama prevlaka<br />uzrokovao je niže vrednosti sila izvlačenja, što je posledica<br />oksidacije površina prevlaka. Ustanovljeno je da su ispitivane<br />prevlake inertne ka tečnoj leguri aluminijuma. Međutim, dolazi do<br />oksidacije i korozije materijala podloge kroz greške rasta koje su<br />prisutne u prevlakama. Stečena znanja o identifikovanim<br />mehanizmima habanja i propadanja zaštitnih slojeva prevlaka<br />poslužiće daljem razvoju dupleks slojeva namenjenih za zaštitu alata<br />za livenje pod pritiskom.</p> / <p>Corrosion resistance and soldering tendency of different materials in molten<br />Al&ndash;Si&ndash;Cu alloy were studied. Hot-working tool steel, plasma nitrided steel and<br />duplex layers with CrN, TiAlN, TiAlSiN and CrAlN top coatings, which were<br />produced to various degree of surface roughness, were covered by the study.<br />An ejection test was employed for investigation of the concerned phenomena.<br />The ejection test was improved in order to increase its accuracy and the<br />reliability of process simulation. Samples were examined in both short and<br />extended periods of contact (5 and 20 min) with liquid casting. Casting<br />solidification was extended in order to intensify the corrosion effects. Contrary<br />to common findings, it was found that the ejection force of the investigated<br />materials does not depend on their chemical composition. For the coated<br />samples, a pronounced dependence of the ejection force on the surface<br />roughness was found. The ejection force increases with decrease in surface<br />roughness. All investigated coatings are prone to mechanical soldering by Al&ndash;<br />Si&ndash;Cu alloy. Still, their corrosion resistance substantially exceeds the corrosion<br />resistance of steel and plasma nitrided layer. Longer exposure of coated<br />samples to cast alloy induced lower ejection forces, which is a consequence<br />of coatings oxidation. It was found that the investigated coatings are inert to<br />liquid aluminium. However, the underlying material undergoes oxidation and<br />corrosion through coating growth defects. The findings concerning the wear<br />mechanisms of protective layers support further development of duplex layers<br />intended for die casting tools protection.</p>