"The performance of a series of mineral oil based quenchants has been investigated using the CHTE Quench Probe System and probe tips of 4140 steel to determine the cooling rate, heat transfer coefficient, Hardening Power (HP) and Tamura’s V indices in terms of the physical properties of quenchants; e.g. viscosity and oil start temperature. The Quench Factor, Q, was also calculated in terms of the hardness of the quenched parts. The lumped parameter approximation was used to calculate the heat transfer coefficient as a function of temperature during quenching. The results revealed that the maximum cooling rate increases with decrease in quenchant viscosity. As viscosity increases, Tamura’s V is nearly constant, while the HP decreases. For the selected oils, cooling ability of quenching oil increases with the increase in oil operating temperature, reaches a maximum and then decreases. The heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase in hardening power and maximum cooling rate. As the viscosity increases, the quench factor increases, which indicates the cooling ability of the oil decreases since the higher quench factor means the lower cooling ability of the oil. The hardness decreases with the increase in quench factor. Also the effect of surface oxides during quenching in commercial oils is studied. It was found that for 4140 steel probes the formation of oxide in air increases the cooling rate and heat transfer coefficient, the cooling rate curve of 4140 steel probe heated in argon shows clear Leidenfrost temperature, the oxide layer may require a significant thickness to cause the decrease in heat transfer coefficient. For 304 stainless steel probes the cooling rate and heat transfer coefficient are quite similar in air and in argon."

In this thesis, microelectrode arrays of micropumps have been designed, fabricated and characterized for transporting microfluid by AC electro-osmosis (ACEO). In particular, the 3D stepped electrode design which shows superior performance to others in literature is adopted for making micropumps, and the performance of such devices has been studied and explored. A novel fabrication process has also been developed in the work, realizing 3D stepped electrodes on a flexible substrate, which is suitable for biomedical use, for example glaucoma implant. There are three major contributions to ACEO pumping in the work. First, a novel design of 3D “T-shaped” discrete electrode arrays was made using PolyMUMPs® process. The breakthrough of this work was discretizing the continuous 3D stepped electrodes which were commonly seen in the past research. The “T-shaped” electrodes did not only create ACEO flows on the top surfaces of electrodes but also along the side walls between separated electrodes. Secondly, four 3D stepped electrode arrays were designed, fabricated and tested. It was found from the experiment that PolyMUMPs® ACEO electrodes usually required a higher driving voltage than gold electrodes for operation. It was also noticed that a simulation based on the modified model taking into account the surface oxide of electrodes showed a better agreement with the experimental results. It thus demonstrated the possibility that the surface oxide of electrodes had impact on fluidic pumping. This methodology could also be applied to metal electrodes with a native oxide layer such as titanium and aluminum. Thirdly, a prototype of the ACEO pump with 3D stepped electrode arrays was first time realized on a flexible substrate using Kapton polyimide sheets and packaged with PDMS encapsulants. Comprehensive experimental testing was also conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties as well as the pumping performance. The experimental findings indicated that this fabrication process was a promising method to create flexible ACEO pumps that can be used as medical implants and wearable devices. / Thesis (Ph.D, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-05-06 10:57:48.077

With increasing environmental awareness, the desire to protect human beings and the environment from adverse effects induced by dispersed metals has become an issue of great concern and interest. New policies, such as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) within the European Community, have been implemented to reduce hazards posed by the use of chemicals on producers and downstream users. The generation of exposure assessment data and relevant test procedures able to simulate realistic scenarios are essential in such legislative actions. This doctoral study was initiated to fill knowledge gaps related to the metal release process of stainless steels. A wide range of stainless steel grades, fourteen in total, were investigated. They cover a very broad range of applications, and the focus in the thesis was to simulate a few selected exposure scenarios: precipitation, the human body and food intake. Comparisons were made between metal release from stainless steel alloys and the pure metals that constitute each stainless steel in order to explore the differences between alloys and pure metals, and to provide quantitative data on metal release rates of different alloy constituents. Because of similar surface properties between stainless steel and pure chromium, this metal exhibits similar release rates, whereas iron and nickel exhibit significantly lower release rates as alloy components than as pure metals. Detailed studies were also performed to elucidate possible relations between metal release and steel surface properties. Key parameters turned out to be chromium enrichment of the self-passivating surface film, surface roughness, the electrochemically active surface area and the microstructure of the steel substrate. The degree of metal release increased with decreasing chromium content in the surface oxide, increasing surface roughness, and increasing presence of inhomogeneities in the bulk matrix. More detailed studies were initiated to possibly correlate the nucleation of metastable pits and the extent of metal release. Evidence was given that metastable pits exist even when the stainless steel is passive, and may cause extremely short-lived bursts of released metal before the surface film repassivates again. / QC 20100810

The diploma thesis deals with morphology of cobalt thin film on clean Si(111) and on silicon dioxide thin film on Si(111) studied by AFM and XPS. It is also study of selective growth of cobalt on lattice made by focused ion beam and electron lithography. In the last part, the growth of metals (Fe, Co) on surface oxide on Ni3Al(111) was studied.

Do metal particles (including particles of pure metals, alloys, metal oxides and compounds) pose a hazard or risk to human health? In the light of this question, this thesis summarizes results from research conducted on metal particles, and describes the elaboration and implementation of an in vitro test methodology to study metal release from particles through corrosion and dissolution processes in synthetic biological media relevant for human exposure through inhalation/ingestion and dermal contact. Bioaccessible metals are defined as the pool of released metals from particles that potentially could be made available for absorption by humans or other organisms. Studies of bioaccessible metals from different metal particles within this thesis have shown that the metal release process is influenced by material properties, particle specific properties, size distribution, surface area and morphology, as well as the chemistry of synthetic biological test media simulating various human exposure scenarios. The presence of metal particles in proximity to humans and the fact that metals can be released from particles to a varying extent is the hazard referred to in the title. The bioavailable metal fraction of the released metals (the fraction available for uptake/absorption by humans through different exposure routes) is usually significantly smaller than the bioaccessible pool of released metals, and is largely related to the chemical form and state of oxidation of the released metals. Chemical speciation measurements of released chromium for instance revealed chromium to be complexed to its non-available form in simulated lung fluids. Such measurements provide an indirect measure of the potential risk for adverse health effects, when performed at relevant experimental conditions. A more direct way to assess risks is to conduct toxicological in-vitro testing of metal particles, for instance on lung cell cultures relevant for human inhalation. Induced toxicity of metal particles on lung cells includes both the effect of the particles themselves and of the released metal fraction (including bioaccessible and bioavailable metals), the latter shown to be less predominant. The toxic response was clearly influenced by various experimental conditions such as sonication treatment of particles and the presence of serum proteins. Thorough characterization of metal particles assessing parameters including chemical surface composition, degree of agglomeration in solution, size distribution, surface area and morphology was performed and discussed in relation to generated results of bioaccessibility, bioavailability and induced toxicity. One important conclusion was that neither the surface composition nor the bulk composition can be used to assess the extent of metals released from chromium-based alloy particles. These findings emphasize that information on physical-chemical properties and surface characteristics of particles is essential for an in-depth understanding of metal release processes and for further use and interpretation of bioaccessibility data to assess hazard and reduce any risks induced by human exposure to metal particles. / QC 20100803