New Years Resolution Time: Systems - Synergy 4 Motivation, Innovation in Our Professional Disciplines: Materials-Minerals-Mining.

Materials Science, Technology and Engineering news feed is moving fast.

On the contrary slower moving realisation, seldom lives-up to expectations. Arguably this can result in a lowering of expectations with an accompanying lowering of standards?

Now is the time for making New Years Resolutions - Few will regret the end to 2008!

Someone who wished to remain anonymous, but granted me permission to publish, recently wrote in a personal and confidential document the following statements:

"NB. Currently Studying Opportunities for a new concept(s) for CO2 absorption with simultaneous production of Hydrogen, industrially oriented; Steelmaking, mining and metallurgical extraction =>energy production, distribution & control of industrial gas emissions:

From local (motivation) to global...

Systems /Synergy 4 Approach:
-click to enlarge the Venn Diag image opposite.

1. Focus: CCS-Carbon, Capture & Storage,
2.Mining (Coal)– Motivation, Coal reserves France(58)-Scotland, Ayrshire...
3.Coal Powered Electricity & Heat generation,
4.Metallurgy/Materials/Advanced Processes,

It is common knowledge that immediate action is required and plebiscited. The 2009 clean economy appears to be the time to start -get over this crises stuff and no hedging!

One of my resolutions will be to report on these fields and contribute as far as my professional skills permit.

I strongly believe a concurrent engineering approach is the best way forward, if the coal burning lobby is to avoid being named and shamed globally!

Having failed to post regularly on the many advances during 2008 I shall echo a couple of news items from our pro-association IOM3 (UK)



1. Peridotite

Peridotite carbonation can be accelerated via drilling, hydraulic fracture, input of purified CO2 at elevated pressure, and, in particular, increased temperature at depth. After an initial heating step, CO2 pumped at 25 or 30 °C can be heated by exothermic carbonation reactions that sustain high temperature and rapid reaction rates at depth with little expenditure of energy. In situ carbonation of peridotite could consume >1 billion tons of CO2 per year in Oman alone, affording a low-cost, safe, and permanent method to capture and store atmospheric CO2.

ref: In situ carbonation of peridotite for CO2 storage,PNAS By Peter B. Kelemen and Jürg Matter of the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964

NB. P.B.K. and J.M. have a preliminary patent filing for the technique of heating peridotite to achieve self-sustaining, rapid carbonation. Good luck with the realisations.

2. Coal of Africa.
A new coal mine in RSA-Republic of South Africa has started production. The company aims to Produce 5-6 MT/y, 70% for exportation.

The Full ASM Handbook Catalogue on Scribd - Wow!

Speechless - an overwhelming resource for the metallurgist, materials scientist, technologist, technician and graduate engineer.

For a large selection of about 1000 handbooks go to the Scribd link provided below and use the Scribd site search tool. Key words "ASM Metals HandBooks" should produce a list of 10 or so excellent, ASM Metal HandBooks, and again keying in just "Metals HandBooks generates a list of about 2000 Handbooks!

Large ASM Catalogue and about a 1000 more HandBooks

Another must- ASM Metals HandBook Volume 7 Powder Metal Technologies and Applications

This ASM Metal HandBook weighs almost 60Mo. Download maybe slow on many personal computers but well worth the wait and a pdf or text version may downloaded for frequent personal use.
ASM Metals HandBook Volume 7 - Powder Metal Technologies and Applications
Publish at Scribd or explore others: US Federal Reference Handbook of

Great online metallurgical reference work links ASM Handbooks

This is certainly worth a quick post and pointer
ASM Metals HandBook Volume 8 - Mechanical Testing and Evaluation

Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering

Serendipity or rather signing-up for a Google Alert for the new record breaking R and D achievement, Inverse Temperature HSLA-High Strength Low Alloy Steels, (cf. my earlier post - challenge) introduced me to the excellent, Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering.

Several papers have already been brought to my attention. It is with pleasure that I invite colleagues to join me in reading their favourite subjects-alerts not forgetting to support Brazil's efforts to save the planets rain-forests - by the excellence of our professional skills in metallurgical exergy and information-entropy theory -fairly shared.

NB. Free online with the usual restrictions (for personal use etc. cf policy) The journal should be abbreviated in citations as J. Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. & Eng.

Good luck, make good use of this resource and best wishes over the festive season and beyond.

Nine Top Search Tips for Research and Innovation Ideas on the European Union (EU) Framework Programme 7 (FP7)

It is not always easy to know where to look in the huge European Research and Innovation data base for project ideas and possible collaborations, hence the following guide from my recent experience. (LINK)

I know that all of my colleagues in materials science, physics, chemistry and engineering... are a very intelligent lot but like most highly solicited professionals, short for time (and "time is money").

If the above link is sufficient for some, it many not be sufficient for all?

To do you and the EU - Cordis web site justice, I promise to post on rapid search tips specifically for the hard pressed Materials Scientist and Engineer and perhaps also to our Journalist friends who need breaking news information in the advanced materials and processes revival. From the early days of the first highly successful, peaceful re-structuring of the sensitive EU Coal Iron and Steel Economic Community, ERA. much may be learned in the present recessionary circumstances. Shake your blue's away! Progress in the advanced materials and processes has not only opened vast new and fabulous fields for in scientific and technological development but has also encouraged vigorous competition for new solutions to life saving themes. Indeed a renewed interest for traditional mature technological advances such as coal and steel, cement and clay can be seen in attempts to face the colossal energy and climate change challenges. Similarly a reappraisal of wood and forestry management must be put firmly on the global the agenda. New bio-materials, synthetic and natural and mans genius in bio-mimicry will spur the international community to bigger and better things!

Green and Powerful - Energy Materials - Happy Birthday 1st Year of Materials UK KTN-Knowledge Transfer Network

A one page conference report appeared in the Nov.2008 issue my professional Institute journal cf Sources below (1 of 4).

The figure left is due to the Energy Technologies Institute-ETI.(2)

What was a good summary, yet appeared to be a fairly small window to one of the pillars of all materials, technology and engineering fields; namely, the so-called "Energy Materials", ie. materials used for energy harnessing-generation-conversion and storage.

One way to make sure of the readers degree of interest?

Well I checked link given - Materials UK, (2) proof if needed, that the summary was good and that my interest was of the required level-stimulated!

This turned out to be a rich resource on Advanced Materials: Technological and Engineering overview, pointers-roadmaps, Strategies for progress. This is an excellant structuring of the UK combined effort to find the necessary synergies to face the great challenges which the Future undoubtably holds in particular due to Climate Change and fossile based energy sources.

Dare I say "multi-national or better multi-cultural?" structuring of this island-commonwealth?

NB. Great Graphics for you blog or company presentation. cf above due to ETI. The more echo the better and progress greener! (2)

But that is not all!

To the brave hearted; this can also open more avenues to the earlier collaborative European Union co-ordinated EuMaT (3) series of initiatives. "Energy Materials" ie. materials used for energy harnessing-generation-conversion and storage.
These advance materials, especially those called-upon to operate under very high temperatures in corrosive gas environments such special steels and alloys with or without complex ceramic coatings are commonly refered to as high-duty, high integrety materials incidentally naturally calls for and supports massive R and D effort in short the medium and longterm. eg. such as that in which I was involved in at my old out-fit "Imphy SA"- now Eramet-Aubert and Duval and Arcelor-Mittal - suffering albeit on a smaller scale, a similar fate to that of the the UK Nuclear Industry, (4) but in reverse!

NB1. I had pre-posted the above and was checking appearance and links when I found a further link on (4) with precious information on the potential of Scotland as a prime renewable energy source, specifically the example of Isle of Jura, Argyll, described and commented by the highly experienced Sir William Lithgow Scottish Shipbuilding Industrialist and Fellow of Engineering. W. Lithgow treats two of the themes main subjects sessions at the Conf. (1) and (2) Power Generation and Distribution cf. (4) additional information.

NB2. Great Graphics for you blog or company presentation. The more echo the better and progress greener! (2)

Sources:

1 Materials World Nov 2008
NB. Appologies- The Materials World Feature "Talking Energy is available to members only, however allow me to invite you to read the many features open to all and point out the many other open features in the abondant archives. I purposely avoided giving to much detail in order to respect the Journal. However if there are requests for a shortened version of the Feature, I will be pleased to consider this as an opporunity.

More importantly, The Institute (IoM3) publishes 20 peer reviewed very high quality specialised journals both in print and online for a global audience.

2. Energy Materials UK-KTN Knowledge Transfer Network

3. European Technology Platform for Advanced Materials and Technologies

4. Comparing nuclear power in France and England by Prof Jack Haris FRS FEng.FRS.

European Round-up of Metallurgists and Materials Scientists I - France's Society of Metals and Materials SF2M

In many ways this may appear as a "Tale of Two Cities" - London and Paris, by reference to the famous book by Charles Dickens. By some coincidence the opening line :

“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... ”

is in many ways still relevant today, highlighted of course by the current crises and generally of opportunities and menace so dear to our colleagues in marketing and more...

As a long-standing french resident and oft-times visitor to my local Metallurgical and Materials Society - The French Society of Metallurgy and Materials, LA SOCIETE FRANCAISE DE METALLURGIE ET DE MATERIAUX (SF2M)- I feel it is high-time that I personally introduce my english speaking colleagues, of whatever nationality, to this fine effort by our french colleagues.

Of course many of you may have attended the many conferences and meetings organised by SF2M in Paris, elsewhere in France and globally in association with her sister organisation in the European Union.

Unfortunately only their Home Page is in English but then you do know where to seek expert help, or do you?

But let me invite you to visit their many pages and high quality peer reviewed papers, conferences etc., or follow my first professional footsteps in French as a translator of abstracts from English to French and vice verso for some of the leading British and Metallurgy publishers at the time, who also published global abstracts of all publications relevant to metallurgy and materials.

I shall close with the the most famous quotation from the same Dicken's Book

“ It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done;
it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. ”
—Final sentence of A Tale of Two Cities

I am, or translated in french, Je reste;

Yours in Metallurgy and Materials and related - Le votre en Métallurgie et Materiaux et connexe.

Cordially -Cordialement

Source:

English Presentation

SF2M-Main site in french