Judicial analysis of the contractual role of bills of lading as it stands in Greek, United States and English law

[From the introduction]: The aim of this thesis is the comparative examination of the contractual role of the bill of lading in Greek, United States and English law. First of all, the principles of law which have created the bill of lading either as the contract or as evidence will be investigated. Moreover, the axis of the development of the thesis will be the analysis of how and why the issued and accepted bill of lading becomes the contract of carriage. The recent efforts to pass from a paper bill of lading to an electronic one makes more important the establishment of a uniform contractual characteristic and function of the bill of lading. The creation and transfer of a bill of lading through the parties' computer brings forward the need to have a standard format of a bill of lading contract where the detailed terms of carriage will be stated and more important to have a uniform and harmonised function.However, there is an uncertainty and dispute about its contractual nature. A legal term has to be used to express the proper meaning of its language and, therefore, every legal term used internationally must have the same substance regardless of the type of the legal system. Hence, the term "bill of lading contract", taking into account the frequent circulation of the bill of lading in the three countries and its general circulation in international trade, should mean that the bill of lading is a contract in the three systems or that it is not to be used as such and that it is not contract in one and merely memorandum or receipt in the other.The bill of lading is a commercial document. It is issued in one jurisdiction and the delivery of the goods, under its terms, is completed in another, while any resulting dispute is litigated in a third jurisdiction. Hence, it cannot be treated as any other ordinary document which is only issued for circulation within the territory of a single legal system. Stability which arises out of a uniform legal functioning of a bill of lading is the primary concern of merchants. At the beginning there was a bailment receipt for goods. Later, this has been developed into a receipt containing the contract of carriage and acquired in time the third characteristic, that of a negotiable document of title. Consequently, the bill of lading has completed its metamorphosis, concerning its functions, through its mercantile usage. If the bill of lading being a contract is of no importance, then why has the historical mercantile usage internationally transformed the bill of lading from being merely a receipt into a receipt and contract, regardless of civil law or common law system? The protection of the shipper was the main reason of the incorporation of the terms of the contract in the bill of lading. Can the uncertainty regarding the terms of the contract under the ordinary principles of the different national laws of contract be applicable in the case of the bills of lading and the carriage of goods by sea? Has the use of the bill of lading changed in the three legal systems since its introduction in order to be attributed to a different contractual function? It is supposed that the contract is consummated when the goods are delivered by the shipper to the carrier and the bill of lading is issued. Has this view been accepted in the three legal systems? Taking into consideration the legal history of the bill of lading, the establishment of a single contractual role is fundamental, not only for its commercial use, but also for its definition as a legal document

On the effect of pre-formed scales in mitigating corrosion of steels in CO2 environments

Chromium (Cr) containing steels were tested to analyse corrosion behaviour in carbon dioxide saturated water of varying salinities with extended exposure time. Both potentiodynamic and mass loss data were collected to gain a better understanding of the corrosion mechanisms. It was found that both the high Cr steels displayed degradation in the form of pitting with increasing salinities. However, the carbon steel reference material showed uniform iron carbonate (FeCO₃) precipitation. The use of high salinity precipitated layers to aid corrosion protection in lower salinity seawater environments was then established as an interesting area for greater examination. Subsequently, samples of the carbon steel previously corroded in solutions of 7, 14 and 28% sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration were then tested in seawater salinities of 3.5% NaCl. It was found that both the 7 and 14% NaCl pre-corroded samples resulted in a significant reduction in the corrosion rate when compared with non-pre-corroded samples. The 7% NaCl pre-corroded sample showed the greatest reduction in corrosion rate, and through SEM analysis of the layer both on the surface and cross-section it was found to display an iron carbonate layer more densely packed and defect free. This indicated the potential benefits of high salinity pre-corrosion techniques to aid protection in seawater salinity environments

A note on a design protocol for deoxygenation of water

Selection of a water deoxygenation method presents some challenges due to the broad range of options including physical, chemical, electrochemical and biological techniques. This communication presents the design of an apparatus developed for efficient and simple deoxygenation of water for the purpose of electrochemical corrosion studies in a lab environment. The design is modular and can be scaled to meet processing needs. The operation of the apparatus is based on the combination of nitrogen bubbling and surface absorption to achieve complete and uncontaminated deoxygenation of water. Tests conducted on this apparatus revealed that pressurisation of the apparatus enhances economy and performance while increasing nitrogen injection rate accelerates deoxygenation. However, a point was identified, at which a balance between economy and performance is achieved and further injection rate increase suffers from diminishing returns

A study of raindrop impacts on a wind turbine material : velocity and impact angle effects on erosion MAPS at various exposure times

Within renewable energy, challenging climates can impose great limitations on power generation. In wind energy, rain erosion on turbine blades can create major disruptions to air flow over the aerofoil, reducing the efficiency of the blade and immediately affecting the power output of the turbine. The defects in the materials that cause these inefficiencies are known and can be observed on turbines that have been in operation for extended periods. This work explores the transitions between different wear states for G10 Epoxy Glass under laboratory simulated wind turbine conditions in operation and measures the wear periodically to identify a progression of erosion. Mass loss data and micrographic analysis revealed samples at 45° and 60° displayed increasing erosion when examining erosion performance for angles between 15° and 90° over various exposure and velocities. Erosion maps were constructed, showing the variation of wastage and identifying the performance window of conditions where degradation is minimised

Erosion Mapping of Through-Thickness Toughened Powder Epoxy Gradient Glass-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Plates for Tidal Turbine Blades

Erosion of tidal turbine blades in the marine environment is a major material challenge due to the high thrust and torsional loading at the rotating surfaces, which limits the ability to harness energy from tidal sources. Polymer-matrix composites can exhibit leading-blade edge erosion due to marine flows containing salt and solid particles of sand. Anti-erosion coatings can be used for more ductility at the blade surface, but the discontinuity between the coating and the stiffer composite can be a site of failure. Therefore, it is desirable to have a polymer matrix with a gradient of toughness, with a tougher, more ductile polymer matrix at the blade surface, transitioning gradually to the high stiffness matrix needed to provide high composite mechanical properties. In this study, multiple powder epoxy systems were investigated, and two were selected to manufacture unidirectional glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (UD-GFRP) plates with different epoxy ratios at the surface and interior plies, leading to a toughening gradient within the plate. The gradient plates were then mechanically compared to their standard counterparts. Solid particle erosion testing was carried out at various test conditions and parameters on UD-GFRP specimens in a slurry environment. The experiments performed were based on a model of the UK marine environment for a typical tidal energy farm with respect to the concentration of saltwater and the size of solid particle erodent. The morphologies of the surfaces were examined by SEM. Erosion maps were generated based on the result showing significant differences for materials of different stiffness in such conditions

Denying Patentability of Scientific Theories

337-346In general, intellectual property systems do not protect ideas but only their practical applications. To grant protection, patent law imposes stringent checks like novelty, non-obviousness, and utility, while copyright law involves a lower threshold of originality. Patentability determinations have undergone considerable disarray over the last few decades. The question to be answered is whether pure science has become patentable as against scientific development even as legal reforms have tightened the standards for patentability narrowing it to reduce the scope of patent-eligible subject matter and to make patents harder to acquire (thus easier to invalidate) based on obviousness. Can simple advances in science and its methods be regarded as patentable or should there be significant progress for satisfying patentability criteria is a question that needs to be answered. </span