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This work deals with the archaeometric investigation on 25 fragments of terra sigillata (red‐coated ceramic ware and moulds) found in the city of Arezzo, Tuscany (central Italy), and attributed to several important workshops from the first century BCE to the second century CE. Optical and spectroscopic techniques were used to analyse both the ceramic bodies and the red slips. All the potsherds showed a very fine‐grained ceramic body, sharing similar mineralogical compositions, mainly consisting in quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, hematite, K‐feldspars, and illite/muscovite. The mineralogical data suggest that both the red‐coated wares and the moulds were produced using the same calcareous‐illitic clay and fired under oxidising conditions at temperatures between 850°C and 1000°C. A K‐rich illitic clay with a Fe content around 10–15% (in wt%) was used to elaborate the slips. Al‐substituted hematite was found in red slips by micro‐Raman spectroscopy. Comparison of the chemical data with terra sigillata from other important production areas in Italy and from other regions of the Meditteranean Sea, allowed to define that the studied samples, locally produced in Arezzo, differ systematically from all others, although they show similarities with nearby Pisan productions as well as those Puteolan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful utilization of innovative sulfide‐based solid‐state batteries in energy storage hinges on developing scalable technologies and machinery for upscaling their production. While multiple Gigafactories for lithium‐ion batteries are already operational worldwide, the upscaling of solid‐state batteries exhibiting their full potential remains to be seen in the near future. In this study, the conventional production of lithium‐ion batteries is reconsidered, and the feasibility of seamlessly integrating sulfide‐based solid‐state batteries into the existing process chains is discussed. Scalable technologies and key challenges along the process chain of sulfide‐based solid‐state batteries are accordingly addressed. Experimental investigations yield crucial insights into enabling large‐scale production of sulfide‐based battery components while highlighting remaining challenges from a production perspective. An overview of the roll‐to‐roll machinery housed in microenvironments under an inert atmosphere in the "Sulfidic Cell Production Advancement Center" at the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management at the Technical University of Munich is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As oxygen negatively affects most production processes in the metalworking industry, a truly oxygen-free production environment appears attractive in terms of the resulting material and component properties. This overview summarizes research conducted within the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1368. The objectives of this CRC are twofold. First, a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that govern the interaction between a metal surface and the environment is established. Second, it is researched how this understanding can be exploited to improve current production processes and even develop completely new ones. Herein, data obtained within the first funding period, which already demonstrate that significant effects can be realized in processes such as thermal spraying, cold rolling, compound casting, laser brazing, milling or hot stamping to name just a few examples, are presented. In addition, key aspects such as initial deoxidation of the workpieces, their transport under conditions that prevent reoxidation, and the tools needed to establish and control an oxygenfree process environment are given, and the ramifications with respect to actual applications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a lightweight composite facade element for new buildings and for the refurbishment of existing facades. These composite elements have been developed combining an insulation layer of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) with an external ultrahigh‐performance concrete (UHPC) supporting layer. This solution allows avoiding the use of connectors and facilitates the production procedure. The structural behavior of the facade elements is mainly influenced by the presence of the upturning edges that are able to increase the stiffness of the element and reduce the thickness of the external layer. The insulation material has no influence on the structural behavior of the UHPC boxes. Flexural tests were carried out to investigate a potential detachment of the external layer from the upturning edge. The photogrammetric analysis used during the flexural tests essentially confirmed that the bond between the two UHPC layers cast in two steps is reliable. The quality of the bond between the external layer and the upturning edge is a key parameter to define the bearing capacity of the element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With their low thermal conductivity ( λ), silica aerogels can reduce carbon emissions from heating and cooling demands, but their widespread adoption is limited by the high production cost. A one-pot synthesis for silica aerogel granulate is presented that drastically reduces solvent use, production time, and global warming potential. The inclusion of the hydrophobization agent prior to gelation with a post-gelation activation step, enables a complete production cycle of less than four hours at the lab scale for a solvent use close to the theoretical minimum, and limits the global warming potential. Importantly, the one-pot aerogel granulate retains the exceptional properties associated with silica aerogel, mostly λ=14.4±1.0 mW m−1⋅K−1 for the pilot scale materials, about half that of standing air (26 mW m−1⋅K−1). The resource-, time-, and cost-effective production will allow silica aerogels to break out of its niche into the mainstream building and industrial insulation markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medieval pottery from excavations at Novo Brdo, Serbia, an important mining and trading centre during the 14th and 15th centuries, was investigated by a combination of optical microscopy, inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared, micro-Raman and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction methods in order to determine its composition and firing temperature. The samples investigated were made of medium- to coarse-grained, non-calcareous clay, by a relatively well-controlled firing procedure in an oxidizing atmosphere. The firing temperature was estimated to be 850-950°C. The similarity between the chemical composition of the investigated pottery and the local raw clay, combined with the outward appearance and the archaeological findings, indicate domestic production. The pottery is covered with the transparent lead-rich glaze. Iron and copper were used as colourants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the production technology of Portuguese hospitals using various statistical tests and highlights the importance of technology assessment before efficiency estimates are done. Two different models were considered, one based on monetary units and another on quantities for a 4-year period (2005-2008). An analysis involving all observations (all years) simultaneously led to the conclusion that the technologies of the Portuguese hospitals are globally nonincreasing returns to scale for a confidence interval of 95%. Based on this technology, we found significant inefficiency levels in the Portuguese hospitals. We also concluded that most groups of hospitals had improvements in the studied period and, on average, both models prove that single hospitals and those located in the North were the most efficient. An analysis of returns to scale seems to indicate that hospitals should reach an optimal scale by reducing their cost levels and increasing their assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the physical–chemical and mineralogical–petrographic investigations (OM, SEM–EDS, EPMA, ICP, XRpD, Mössbauer and IR) conducted on first- and second-firing wasters belonging to two types of incised slipware (sgraffito), manufactured at Castelfiorentino between the late 15th and the early 17th centuries. Raw materials, colouring agents and firing products were analysed in order to establish the production technology of the ceramic coatings, by means of detailed microtextural and chemical investigations. The pottery underwent two firing processes: the firing of the white slip-coated ceramic body and a further firing after application of the glaze. The homogeneity of the raw materials, white slip and glaze is remarkable, and demonstrates the use of well-established recipes with a constant supply of raw materials from the same places. Highly efficient kiln management during both firings is revealed by body–glaze interface reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scanning electron microscopy coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDS) has been used to study samples of Sasanian glazed pottery. Analysis of ceramic bodies revealed a general homogeneity in composition among the studied samples and the use of calcareous clay for their manufacture. Glazes are typically alkaline in composition, with sodium and potassium oxide contents between 8 and 13%, and between 3 and 5%, respectively; calcium and magnesium oxide contents are between 7 and 10%, and between 3 and 5%, respectively. These data suggest the use of plant ash together with a silica source for glaze production. Coating thickness is highly variable among different samples, from some 400 up to 1200 µm, but it is generally uniform when a single sample is concerned. Glazes are mostly coloured blue or blue-green; copper and iron are the colouring agents detected; abundance of bubbles, silicate crystals and relics of unmelted material are responsible for their generally opaque appearance, together with the presence of weathering products. The characteristics of the body to glaze contact zone, together with the widespread presence of bubbles, would not rule out production by a single firing process. A few samples feature a peculiar gritty coating on one side of their surface; SEM images show that they are actually partially vitrified, and EDS data denote a rather heterogeneous composition. It seems possible that they result from mixing clay together with the frit used for glaze development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contribution of the physical sciences to the reconstruction of the production technology (i.e., processing of raw materials, forming, surface treatments and firing methods) for earthenwares, stonewares, porcelains and stonepaste bodies are summarized. The organization of production and the reasons for technological choice are considered. Provenance studies based on both chemical analysis and thin-section petrography are discussed, with the investigation of Minoan and Mycenaean pottery being taken as the case study. The approaches to determining how pottery vessels were used in antiquity are outlined. Finally, future developments in ceramic studies are briefly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work deals with the archaeometric study of the Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery from Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna (central-western Syria), where the complete cycle of ceramic production is well documented. Petrographic, chemical and diffractometric analyses were carried out on both potsherds and a clayey material found in a separation basin within the area of the workshops. Petrographic groups were defined and maximum firing temperatures and redox firing conditions were estimated, providing constraints on identifying the production technology and its evolution with time. The studied potsherds turned out to be locally produced, with only a few cases of possible similarities with those described for other localities along the Orontes Valley, and in a couple of cases with evidence of pottery exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study is to reconstruct the production technology of Sienese ‘archaic’ majolica in the early decades of the 14th century ad. The integration of archaeological data with archived data revealed the presence of numerous workshops, suggesting that the Sienese tradition of majolica production was well developed up until the end of the 16th century. Sixty-seven uncoated and coated waste products were analysed. The ceramic bodies were examined by OM, XRDp, SEM–EDS, XRF, ICP–OES, ICP–MS and INAA. The coatings (enamels and glazes) were analysed by SEM–EDS and Raman microspectroscopy. The results showed that ceramics were rejected due to poor control of the firing temperature (technological wastes), faulty production technology (wastes of uncertain classification) and accidents (post-firing wastes). Finally, the analyses revealed extreme homogeneity of the ceramic bodies, indicating the continued use of the same raw material over the whole period studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five sherds of green glazed pottery excavated at Canosa (Apulia) in Italy have been analysed by scanning electron microscopy. The aim of the investigation was to determine the chemical composition of the glazes and thus obtain information on the methods used in their production. The glazes were all of the high-lead type, coloured green by the addition of copper. Intermediate layers, observed at the interface between the glaze and body and giving the appearance of an applied white slip, were the result of the crystallization of lead feldspar from the molten glaze. Non-calcareous clays were used in the production of the pottery bodies. Concentration profiles from the glaze exterior to the body suggested that the glazes were produced by applying a suspension consisting of lead oxide plus silica to the bodies. On the basis of the glaze and body compositions, it is suggested that the Canosa glazed pottery was produced locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study of the production technology of sulfate-potassium magnesium from Jinaier Salt Lake Brine in Qinghai, China. It mentions that potash magnesium sulphate fertilizer has high nutrient utilization rate without affecting soil pH. Results demonstrated that the recovery ratio of potassium is up to 77.17% at first transformation.