Azole derivatives embedded in montmorillonite clay nanocarriers as corrosion inhibitors of mild steel

Azole derivatives such as 2-mercaptobenzothiazole(MBT) and 2-mercaptobenzimidazole(MBI) were introduced as corrosion inhibitors into the interlayer space of sodium montmorillonite clay(Na+-MMT). The corrosion protection behavior of mild steel in solutions containing MBT, MBI, MMT + MBT, MMT + MBI, Na~+-MMT, and NaCl(3.5 wt%) was evaluated using polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS). Also, the release of penetrated species into the medium from the clay nanocarriers was evaluated using ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis) spectroscopy. Small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS) confirmed the insertion of MBT and MBI into the inner space of the clay layers and the interaction between two organic and inorganic phases. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM) was used to assess the morphology of the surface of the steel samples after the samples had been immersed for 24 h in the extraction solution. The corrosion protection in the solutions with clay nanocarriers containing MBT and MBI was better than that in solutions without MMT. The UV-Vis results showed that the release of MBI species from Na+-MMT nanocarriers in neutral pH was far lower than that of MBT species.     

Effects of copper content on microstructure and mechanical properties of open-cell steel foams

The effects of copper content on the microstructural and mechanical properties of steel foams are investigated. Spherical urea granules, used as a water-leachable space holder, were coated with a mixture of iron, ultrafine carbon, and different amounts of copper powders. After the mixture was compacted and the space holder was removed by leaching, a sintering process was performed under an atmosphere of thermally dissociated ammonia. Microstructural evaluations of the cell walls were carried out using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In addition, compression tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of the manufactured steel foams. The results showed that the total porosity decreases from 77.2% to 71.9% with increasing copper content in the steel foams. In the foams' microstructure, copper islands are mostly distributed in pearlite and intergranular carbide phases are formed in the grain boundaries. When the copper content was increased from 0 to 4 wt%, the elastic modulus, plateau stress, fracture stress, and fracture strain of manufactured steel foams improved 4.5, 6, 6.4, and 2.5 times, respectively.     

Effect of speckle size on surface crack detection via digital image correlation

Digital image correlation (DIC) is an experimental stress analysis technique used in nondestructive tests. The accuracy of DIC in crack detection depends on various factors such as the sizes of speckles and pixels. In the current study, a speckle pattern based on the spreading of nanoparticles with small speckles is compared with a conventional sprayed pattern to understand whether crack detection via DIC is improved by reducing the sizes of speckles and pixels. Owing to the small size of nanoparticles, an optical microscope is used for magnification. The spreading method for crack detection is first investigated experimentally. Results show that cracks can be detected easily when a 250 nm opening appears in the crack edges. Subsequently, the spreading method is compared with the conventional DIC, in which the spraying method is used for patterning, in terms of crack detection. Results show that by reducing the speckle size and closely analyzing the speckle pattern, the DIC technique is considerably better than the conventional technique in detecting small cracks. Moreover, the conventional method is more suitable for detecting large cracks.     

低碳锰钢中周期性带状组织

用扫描电镜和电子探针研究了低碳锰钢中的周期性带状组织，结果表明，在全部研究用钢中，钢锭经热轧后均出现这种组织，其严重程度随钢的成分而异，并随坯带加工顺序而增加，带状组织与锰的显微偏析等因素有关，适当的调整碳锰以及形成模跨铁素体带的转变产物可降低带状组织的严重程度。     

Neurons in medial prefrontal cortex signal memory for fear extinction

Conditioned fear responses to a tone previously paired with a shock diminish if the tone is repeatedly presented without the shock, a process known as extinction. Since Pavlov it has been hypothesized that extinction does not erase conditioning, but forms a new memory. Destruction of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex, which consists of infralimbic and prelimbic cortices, blocks recall of fear extinction, indicating that medial prefrontal cortex might store long-term extinction memory. Here we show that infralimbic neurons recorded during fear conditioning and extinction fire to the tone only when rats are recalling extinction on the following day. Rats that froze the least showed the greatest increase in infralimbic tone responses. We also show that conditioned tones paired with brief electrical stimulation of infralimbic cortex elicit low freezing in rats that had not been extinguished. Thus, stimulation resembling extinction-induced infralimbic tone responses is able to simulate extinction memory. We suggest that consolidation of extinction learning potentiates infralimbic activity, which inhibits fear during subsequent encounters with fear stimuli.