Welcome to the November issue of Materials World
While the many harsh environments featured in this issue are nothing new, and have challenged industry and academia time and time again, there is a concerted effort to confront them with a new perspective to better serve the end-applications that must thrive in these environments.
Dr Katy Voisey FIMMM literally talks about turning over a new leaf in corrosion resistance. Leaf extracts are being explored as corrosion inhibitors at the University of Nottingham, UK, in line with growing interest in natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals. But the challenges in pushing forward with a new take on an age-old problem are clear.
Voisey acknowledges that while there are 'hundreds of papers on using plant extracts as corrosion inhibitors, commercial applications are rare to find'. Reproducibility and variability in feedstock being two concerns.
She also notes, 'Simply being plant derived does not make an extract ‘green’. Analysis of the environmental impact is needed before it can properly be described as such, and the analysis needs to include comparison with alternative uses of the source material.'
Meanwhile, Dr Adam Cooper FIMMM talks about needing to break from the past when conducting fracture toughness testing of structural steels for nuclear reactor pressure vessels. He points out, 'Materials we are now regularly testing and qualifying for new nuclear builds are on the limits of what the testing standards were originally developed to handle.'
He says, 'To maximise the value of materials test data, we are seeking to understand how testing approaches need to develop to ensure the data continues to be valid and meaningful and they remain fit for purpose in the context of modern manufacturing technologies.'
We hope you enjoy this issue.
