Effects of surface preparation on tribological behaviour of a ferritic stainless steel in hot rolling

Some defects on the surface of carbon steel do not need to be removed before hot rolling because the surface will be vigorously oxidised in a reheating environment. Thus the defects can be minimised by oxidising and then removed by the de-scaling process. The defects on the surface of ferritic stainless steels, however, are not easily removed by oxidation when a high chromium concentration is used. In this paper, a ferritic stainless steel grade 445 was selected as a research material. The effects of different surface features on oxidation and tribological behaviour in the hot rolling process were investigated. Three surface states were prepared, namely, smooth surface, surface with 45° grinding marks and surface with oscillation marks. The samples were put into an electric furnace at 1100 °C for reheating. Hot rolling tests were carried out on a 2-high Hille 100 experimental rolling mill. Rolling forces were measured, and the coefficient of friction was calculated and compared under various rolling parameters. It was found that the original surface profiles with grinding marks were still maintained during oxidation. The original oxide scale on the surface with oscillation marks caused the formation of irregular oxide nodules and the spallation of the oxide scale. Surface morphology and the reduction in thickness had a significant impact on the oxide scale integrity and coefficient of friction in the hot rolling process

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Influence of Cr-Rich oxide scale on sliding wear mechanism of ferritic stainless steel at high temperature

The tribological tests of a ferritic stainless steel (FSS) 445 in contact with high-speed steel (HSS) were performed on a high-temperature pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear exhibited significant difference when the FSS 445 was oxidised with a Cr-rich oxide scale on the surface. The HSS pin displayed adhesive wear when there was no oxide scale on the stainless steel disc, and in the early stages, the coefficient of friction fluctuated significantly, but the level of wear changed as Cr2O3 particles formed. The wear was then reduced, and the coefficient of friction remained stable. The Cr-rich oxide scale which formed on the stainless steel was able to stabilise the coefficient of friction, to reduce the wear rate and to help form a glazed layer on the HSS surface. The abrasive wear of the HSS pin took place at 850 °C, indicating that the hardness of the Cr-rich oxide scale increased as the temperature decreased

Effect of extreme pressure additives on the deformation behavior of oxide scale during the hot rolling of ferritic stainless steel strips

High-speed steel (HSS) materials are universally used as work rolls for the hot rolling of stainless steels. Their use has increased the output of the rolling mill and decreased roll material consumption and grinding. Sticking defects often occur, however, during the hot rolling process. In this article, extreme pressure (EP) additives were dropped on the HSS samples at high temperature. Zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) was chosen as the most effective EP additive by scratch tests on the HSS samples. In order to determine the optimum proportion of ZDDP in the lubricant, two reduction rates were tested on a Hille 100 experimental rolling mill by hot rolling ferritic stainless steel 445J1M at five different concentrations of ZDDP. The mechanism of EP additive action during the hot rolling process was also investigated. By analyzing the deformation behavior of the oxide scale of samples after hot rolling using different proportions of ZDDP, it was found that 20% ZDDP in the lubricant is the preferred concentration for industrial application

High Temperature Oxidation of Indefinite Chill Roll Material Under Dry and Humid Atmospheres

In this paper, the isothermal oxidation of the indefinite chill (IC) roll is investigated by using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) from 550 to 700 °C under dry and humid atmospheres. It is found that the oxidation kinetics follow a linear trend and the oxide scale consists of two layers after the oxidation in dry air but three layers in humid air above 600 °C. In dry air, the graphite is covered by the oxide scale above 650 °C. The water vapor accelerates the oxidation of the matrix and the graphite. The graphite is covered by the extension of the oxide scale above 600 °C in humid air. The as-treated samples are examined with SEM and XRD, while the kinetics is based on TGA results

Protection genes in nucleus accumbens shell affect vulnerability to nicotine self-administration across isogenic strains of adolescent rat.

Classical genetic studies show the heritability of cigarette smoking is 0.4-0.6, and that multiple genes confer susceptibility and resistance to smoking. Despite recent advances in identifying genes associated with smoking behaviors, the major source of this heritability and its impact on susceptibility and resistance are largely unknown. Operant self-administration (SA) of intravenous nicotine is an established model for smoking behavior. We recently confirmed that genetic factors exert strong control over nicotine intake in isogenic rat strains. Because the processing of afferent dopaminergic signals by nucleus accumbens shell (AcbS) is critical for acquisition and maintenance of motivated behaviors reinforced by nicotine, we hypothesized that differential basal gene expression in AcbS accounts for much of the strain-to-strain variation in nicotine SA. We therefore sequenced the transcriptome of AcbS samples obtained by laser capture microdissection from 10 isogenic adolescent rat strains and compared all RNA transcript levels with behavior. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis, a systems biology method, found 12 modules (i.e., unique sets of genes that covary across all samples) that correlated (p<0.05) with amount of self-administered nicotine; 9 of 12 correlated negatively, implying a protective role. PCR confirmed selected genes from these modules. Chilibot, a literature mining tool, identified 15 genes within 1 module that were nominally associated with cigarette smoking, thereby providing strong support for the analytical approach. This is the first report demonstrating that nicotine intake by adolescent rodents is associated with the expression of specific genes in AcbS of the mesolimbic system, which controls motivated behaviors. These findings provide new insights into genetic mechanisms that predispose or protect against tobacco addiction