Application of standardization for the design and construction of carbon nanotube-based product pilot lines in compliance with EU regulation on machinery

The "PLATFORM" manufacturing ecosystem for pilot production of pre-commercial CNT-based nano-enabled products, consists of three pilot lines (PPLs) for the manufacture of buckypapers, doped prepregs and doped veils. The PPLs have been constructed with the ultimate goal to commercialize these products in the European market in 2020/2022.This goal requires having the PPLs in compliance with the applicable product safety regulation by that date (CE marking). The main EU regulation for new machinery (as the PPLs) is the Directive 2006/42/EC on Machinery (MD). This Directive sets out the general mandatory Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) related to the design and construction of machinery, while particular technical specifications for fulfilling them are provided in European harmonized standards. Application of harmonized standards is voluntary but confers a presumption of conformity with the EHSRs they cover. The PPLs are unique machines for own use and must comply with the MD before they are put into service, in 2020/2022. But the MD does not provide specific EHSRs for nanosafety and no harmonized standards are available in this field for the safe design of the PPLs. In this context, this paper shows the standardization strategy followed by the project PLATFORM (GA 646307) to design the PPLs in compliance with the EHSR referred to the risks to health resulting from hazardous substances emitted by machinery (MD, Annex I, EHSR 1.5.13). In the absence of nanosafety harmonized standards to satisfy the aforementioned EHSR, the design and design verification of the PPLs were carried out through A & B - type harmonized standards (e.g. EN ISO 12100, EN ISO 14123-1/2), and other European and international standards.The projects PLATFORM and OASIS have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, under grant agreements Nº 646307 and Nº 814581, respectively. This paper reflects only the authors’ views, and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein

Environmental noise control during its transmission phase to protect buildings. Design model for acoustic barriers based on arrays of isolated scatterers

A new generation of acoustic barriers is being introduced into the noise control market. These barriers, based on arrays of isolated scatterers, present interesting properties to be used in cities to reduce the transmitted transport noise affecting buildings. Among them, both aesthetic and continuity factors of the urban landscape may be mentioned. This new kind of barrier is technologically advanced and acoustically competitive with respect to the current ones formed by continuous rigid materials. To design these barriers whilst taking into account their inherent acoustic complexity, we present an overlapping numerical model here that enables us to split the real three-dimensional problem into two twodimensional ones, allowing both the reduction of the computational cost and the separate analysis of each one of the noise control mechanisms involved. We analyse different cases, checking the numerical simulations with accurate experimental results.This work is supported by MEC (Spanish Government) under grant No. MTM2012-36740-C02-02.Castiñeira Ibáñez, S.; Rubio Michavila, C.; Sánchez Pérez, JV. (2015). Environmental noise control during its transmission phase to protect buildings. Design model for acoustic barriers based on arrays of isolated scatterers. Building and Environment. 93:179-185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.07.002S1791859

Different Behavior of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Clay and Sandy Soils after Biofertilization with Swine Digestate

Enteric pathogens from biofertilizer can accumulate in the soil, subsequently contaminating water and crops. We evaluated the survival, percolation and leaching of model enteric pathogens in clay and sandy soils after biofertilization with swine digestate: PhiX-174, mengovirus (vMC0), Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were used as biomarkers. The survival of vMC0 and PhiX-174 in clay soil was significantly lower than in sandy soil (ıPT90 values of 10.520 0.600 vs. 21.270 1.100 and 12.040 0.010 vs. 43.470 1.300, respectively) and PhiX- 174 showed faster percolation and leaching in sandy soil than clay soil (ıPT90 values of 0.46 and 2.43, respectively). S. enterica Typhimurium was percolated and inactivated more slowly than E. coli O157:H7 (ıPT90 values of 9.340 0.200 vs. 6.620 0.500 and 11.900 0.900 vs. 10.750 0.900 in clay and sandy soils, respectively), such that E. coli O157:H7 was transferred more quickly to the deeper layers of both soils evaluated (percolation). Our findings suggest that E. coli O157:H7 may serve as a useful microbial biomarker of depth contamination and leaching in clay and sandy soil and that bacteriophage could be used as an indicator of enteric pathogen persistence. Our study contributes to development of predictive models for enteric pathogen behavior in soils, and for potential water and food contamination associated with biofertilization, useful for risk management and mitigation in swine digestate recycling.RTA2014-00024-C04-01 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation and the Brazilian CNPq Project number 472804/2013-8, an dby CAPES/PNPD and CAPES/PDSE

Temporal flowability evolution of slag-based self-compacting concrete with recycled concrete aggregate

The addition of by-products, such as recycled concrete aggregate and ground granulated blast furnace slag, modify the in-fresh flowability of ordinary self-compacting concrete both initially and over time. A detailed study is presented in this paper of 18 mixtures (SF3 slump-flow class) containing 100% coarse recycled concrete aggregate, two types of cement (CEM I or CEM III/A, the latter with 45% ground granulated blast furnace slag), different contents of fine recycled concrete aggregate (0, 50, or 100%), and three different aggregate powders (ultra-fine limestone powder <0.063 mm, limestone fines 0/0.5 mm, and recycled concrete aggregate 0/0.5 mm). The temporal evolution of slump flow, viscosity, and passing ability, and the values of segregation resistance, air content, fresh and hardened density, and compressive strength were evaluated in all the mixtures. The addition of fine recycled concrete aggregate and CEM III/A improved initial slump flow and passing ability by 6%, due to their higher proportion of fines. Nevertheless, the temporal loss of flowability within 60 min was 5.8% lower when adding natural aggregate and CEM I. Viscosity and air content increased 26% on average following additions of fine recycled concrete aggregate, unlike with additions of ground granulated blast furnace slag. Flowability and strength increased with the addition of limestone fines 0/0.5 mm. According to multi-criteria analyses, the mixtures with CEM III/A, 50% fine recycled concrete aggregate, and limestone fines 0/0.5 mm showed an optimal balance between their flowability (SF2 slump-flow class 60 min after the mixing process), compressive strengths (around 60 MPa), and carbon footprints.Spanish Ministry MCIU, AEI and ERDF [grant numbers FPU17/03374 and RTI 2018-097079-B-C31]; the Junta de Castilla y León (Regional Government) and ERDF [grant number UIC-231, BU119P17]; the Youth Employment Initiative (JCyL) and ESF [grant number UBU05B_1274]; the University of Burgos [grant number SUCONS, Y135. GI], UPV/EHU (PPGA20/26) and, finally, our thanks also to the Basque Government research group IT1314-19

Fiber-reinforcement and its effects on the mechanical properties of high-workability concretes manufactured with slag as aggregate and binder

The feasibility of manufacturing fiber-reinforced concretes of high workability through additions of high volumes of electric arc furnace steel slag is evaluated in this paper, using sustainable binders with ground granulated blast furnace slag and ladle furnace slag as a supplementary cementitious material. An extensive experimental plan is developed to test four (self-compacting and pumpable) concrete mixtures, some reinforced with 0.5% vol. of (metallic or synthetic) fibers, in both the fresh and the hardened state. Very specific mechanical aspects are examined, such as the evaluation of both longitudinal and transversal stress-strain compressive behavior, and the assessment of direct tensile strength through the “dog-bone” test. The results of testing this sustainable concrete design yielded suitable mechanical strengths, and good toughness, ductility and impact strength, among other properties. Good adhesion between the fibers and the cementitious matrix was also evident from the fiber pull-out test results. Finally, the overall results confirmed that the use of electric arc furnace steel slag can make a real contribution to construction-sector sustainability and that the mechanical behavior of these novel concretes meets the basic design requirements for use in real structures.Spanish Ministries MCI, AEI, EU and ERDF [RTI2018-097079-B-C31; 10.13039/501100011033; FPU17/03374]; the Junta de Castilla y León (Regional Government) and ERDF [UIC-231, BU119P17]; the Basque Government research group [IT1314-19]; Youth Employment Initiative (JCyL) and ESF [UBU05B_1274]; the University of Burgos [Y135.GI] and the University of the Basque Country [PPGA20/26]. Likewise, our thanks to CHRYSO and HORMOR for supplying the materials used in this research

Standardisation of magnetic nanoparticles in liquid suspension

Suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles offer diverse opportunities for technology innovation, spanning a large number of industry sectors from imaging and actuation based applications in biomedicine and biotechnology, through large-scale environmental remediation uses such as water purification, to engineering-based applications such as position-controlled lubricants and soaps. Continuous advances in their manufacture have produced an ever-growing range of products, each with their own unique properties. At the same time, the characterisation of magnetic nanoparticles is often complex, and expert knowledge is needed to correctly interpret the measurement data. In many cases, the stringent requirements of the end-user technologies dictate that magnetic nanoparticle products should be clearly defined, well characterised, consistent and safe; or to put it another way—standardised. The aims of this document are to outline the concepts and terminology necessary for discussion of magnetic nanoparticles, to examine the current state-of-the-art in characterisation methods necessary for the most prominent applications of magnetic nanoparticle suspensions, to suggest a possible structure for the future development of standardisation within the field, and to identify areas and topics which deserve to be the focus of future work items. We discuss potential roadmaps for the future standardisation of this developing industry, and the likely challenges to be encountered along the way