Industrial Earthquake Preparedness in Shizuoka and the Role of the Prefectural Government

The Shizuoka Prefectural Office in Japan plays an important role in promoting earthquake emergency preparedness among its industries. In addition to implementing regulatory requirements and enacting new regulations as necessary, the Prefectural Office also provides significant guidance to industry. This includes making publications available and periodic surveys of the status of industrial emergency preparedness. A pharmaceutical company in the prefecture has developed an impressive earthquake preparedness program and hazard reduction techniques. This program addresses both primary and secondary effects of earthquakes

Development of processing techniques for advanced thermal protection materials

The main purpose of this work has been in the development and characterization of materials for high temperature applications. Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) are constantly being tested, and evaluated for increased thermal shock resistance, high temperature dimensional stability, and tolerance to environmental effects. Materials development was carried out through the use of many different instruments and methods, ranging from extensive elemental analysis to physical attributes testing. The six main focus areas include: (1) protective coatings for carbon/carbon composites; (2) TPS material characterization; (3) improved waterproofing for TPS; (4) modified ceramic insulation for bone implants; (5) improved durability ceramic insulation blankets; and (6) ultra-high temperature ceramics. This report describes the progress made in these research areas during this contract period

Effects of welding electropolished 316L stainless steel as used in ultra-pure fluid delivery systems for the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries

In the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries, care is taken to prevent any contribution to product contamination or corrosion from the fluid delivery systems. Electropolished 316L stainless steel has become the industry standard due to its superior corrosion resistance. However, welding of the tubing often leads to discoloration in the heat affected zone (HAZ) which can lead to corrosion. Electropolished specimens from various lots of 316L stainless steel tubing were welded under identical parameters, but with varying concentrations of oxygen leaked into the argon purge gas during the welding, simulating on-site welding conditions. Various levels of discoloration were observed in the HAZafter welding. The chemical composition and thickness of the discoloration and an adjacent clean reference area on each specimen were analyzed by Auger Electron Spectroscopy. The cause of the discoloration was due to an iron-enriched oxide layer in the HAZin the sensitizing temperature range. The thickness and level of discoloration depended upon the concentration of oxygen in the purge gas. The presence of this oxide layer is due to the rapid growth kinetics of FeO compared to that of C^C^. The composition of the original steel was found to be only a minor factor in the extent of the discoloration

Santa Clara County Soft First Story Multi Unit Building Survey

The objective of this survey was to provide data to emergency managers in Santa Clara County on the number of soft first-story multifamily dwellings (MFD) located in their communities using a cost-effective town-gown partnership. Target areas of cities were found by identifying areas containing residential units of two or more stories that had four or more living units. The survey found that 2,630, or 36%, of the 7,391 MFD in Santa Clara County are of the soft first-story construction type. It was found that one out of every nine apartment units in Santa Clara County is located in a soft first-story building. It is estimated that approximately 83,000 persons could be affected in the event of a severe earthquake. Emergency managers were given maps indicating areas of high-, medium-, and low-volume clusters of soft first-story MFD in each city. Follow-up interviews found that the communities that contain 67% of the identified soft-story MFD are using the survey information in their post-earthquake planning