RESEARCH ON ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION IN HINDSIGHT AND FORESIGHT

Since the 1990’s my research group has published widely in the field of electrophoretic deposition with focus on the modeling of the process for coatings as well as for freestanding objects. The highlights of this research will be reviewed and the lessons learned, in particular with respect to operative mechanisms during EPD. In passing, some of the practical realizations will be illustrated such as ceramic laminates, which show (pseudo-)ductile behavior, functionally graded cutting tools, bioceramic implants with tailored nanostructure as well as functional ceramics with enhanced properties. Recent literature will be summarized as well, in order to formulate a vision for further research in the field

Influence of Surface Conditions on Wear and Friction of Hardmetals

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CLIMAR. Section report 3: adaptation measures to climate change impacts along the Belgian coastline

This is the third section report written by Flanders Hydraulics Research in the framework of the BELSPO project CLIMAR. The report is part of work package 3 of the case-study coastal flooding, in which alternative adaptation measures to the increasing risks of coastal flooding as a consequence of climate change are identified. The research is based on international literature and on the outcomes of an interactive workshop with stakeholders from different coastal sectors, organized in the scope of work package 3 of CLIMAR. First, an overview is given of all the feasible structural and non-structural adaptation measures which where found in literature or proposed during the workshop. Second, this variety of solutions is projected onto the Belgian coastline. A more detailed evaluation of the proposed scenario’s will be carried out in the next work package of the project

Assessing climate change impacts on flooding risks in the Belgian coastal zone

Within the scope of the Belgian project CLIMAR an attempt is made to develop an evaluation framework for adaptation scenario’s as a response to the climate change induced impacts in the North Sea area. Primary effects are direct consequences of climate change such as sea level rise, erosion, changes in temperature and precipitation and increased storminess. Secondary impacts are direct and indirect results of the primary effects on different sectors. A first phase of the project consists of identifying and scoping the secondary impacts on ecological and social-economic activities. In this paper results will be presented regarding the secondary impacts of flooding only.Climate change induced primary effects such as sea level rise and increased storminess lead to higher risks of flooding of low-lying coastal areas. One of the most significant social secondary effects is the number of people at risk due to flooding. An important economical effect of climate change is the amount of damage costs. Besides direct damages there will also be indirect economic results such as temporary suspension of production and loss of jobs. Other ecological effects of increased flooding risks are the loss of beach and dune area, as well as associated specific habitats such as wetlands. Indirectly this leads to loss of biodiversity.The magnitude of the most significant secondary effects is quantified by carrying out risk calculations. For each of the sets of the changing physical parameters a related storm scenario is statistically determined. In a first approach, the flooding risks during an extreme storm under present climate conditions and sea level rise are estimated. By means of a set of numerical models the areas susceptible to flooding in the Belgian coastal plain are identified. The resulting flooding risk maps are then used to estimate the scope of the secondary impacts

Ecosystem-functioning approaches for assessing and managing ecosystem services = Methodes voor evaluatie en beheer van ecosysteemdiensten op basis van ecosysteemfunctioneren

Ecosystem services are a general term for all the benefits that nature provides to humans. These include food, clean drinking water, control of greenhouse gasses, protection against floods as well as potential for recreation, a sense of well-being, … . The concept has emerged in response to the unabated loss of biodiversity and as a tool to increase support for nature and biodiversity conservation. Originally it had a main purpose of awareness raising and the most commonly used approach to assess them was to attach a value – often monetary – to land use types for their capacity to deliver certain ecosystem services. With increasing interest to include ecosystem services in spatial planning and using it to support decision-making, criticism started to grow on the lack of ecological underpinning of land-use based indicators. Because of the wide array of disciplines that the concept of ecosystem services covers, developing scientifically rigorous yet user-friendly and transparent methodologies poses a huge challenge. The main aim of this research is to develop practical methodologies to improve the consideration of ecosystem functioning in ecosystem services assessments and thus advance the implementation of ecosystem services in practice