Multi-Objective Parameter Optimization of Flexible Support System of Optical Mirror

During the processing of an optical mirror, the performance parameters of the bottom support system would affect the surface forming accuracy of the mirror. The traditional bottom support system has a large unadjustable support stiffness, which increases the difficulty of unloading the impact force generated by the grinding disc. In response to...

‘All sunshine makes a desert’. Building interdisciplinary understanding of survival strategies of ancient communities in the arid Zerqa Triangle, Jordan Valley

Archaeological studies typically describe arid areas as extremely unpleasant areas for human occupation and use. Without suggesting that arid areas are pleasant places, however, this paper provides a reassessment of the meaning of aridity for an area showing a vast amount of evidence of (past) human activities. Several climatic proxy data...

Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing of Manganese Aluminium Bronze: Microstructure control for corrosion resistance

Wire and Arc based Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) processes are novel technologies that are seen as promising candidates for fabricating complex 3-Dimensional large scale components. These processes offer avenues to locally tailor metallurgy of the melt pool and thus produce functionally and compositionally graded components for improved...

Mechanical and corrosion behaviour of 3D printed aluminium bronzes produced by wire+arc additive manufacturing: In collaboration with RAMLAB

The emerging field of 3D printing has expanded to the fabrication of metallic components during the last decade. Among the most prominent applications is the production of aluminium bronze marine propellers by the Wire+Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) method. This method incorporates a welding system attached to a robotic arm. The final product...

Artefact biography 2.0: the information value of corroded archaeological bronzes

The different phases in the life of archaeological objects can be described by artefact biography. This dissertation defines an updated version: artefact biography 2.0, and the life phases of Early Iron Age bronze studs from Oss-Zevenbergen, the Netherlands, are elaborated. Throughout the thesis, the research revolves around information value....

Curly malachite on archaeological bronze: A systematic study of the shape and phenomenological approach of its formation mechanism

Curly malachite (CM) is found as a green cupric carbonate hydroxide corrosion product on archaeological bronze, mostly on artefacts retrieved from graves. In this paper, a morphological characterization approach is proposed, enabling the investigation of the formation process of CM. It is suggested that curly malachite precipitates from an...

Hercules' head

Neutron beams are much more suitable than X-rays for scanning bronze statues. Good news for our art collections?

The Production of Bronze Geistingen Axes

Samples from two bronze Geistingen axes, one from Nijmegen and one from Tongeren, are examined and analysed in order to answer the question ‘How are they produced?’. It is concluded that both axes do not have the same composition: the Nijmegen axe is identified as a binary copper-tin bronze, while the Tongeren axe is regarded as a ternary copper...

Non-destructive bulk analysis of the Buggenum sword by neutron resonance capture analysis and neutron diffraction

Two neutron based techniques, neutron resonance capture analysis (NRCA) and time-of-flight neutron-diffraction (TOF-ND) have been used to determine the elemental composition and structure of a precious and very well preserved all-metal sword from the Bronze Age. This Buggenum sword was on loan from the National Museum of Antiquities (NMA) in...

The study of bronze statuettes with the help of neutron-imaging techniques

Until recently fabrication techniques of Renaissance bronzes have been studied only with the naked eye, microscopically, videoscopically and with X-radiography. These techniques provide information on production techniques, yet much important detail remains unclear. As part of an interdisciplinary study of Renaissance bronzes undertaken by the...

Thin films of the charge-density-wave oxide Rb(0.30) MoO(3) by pulsed-laser deposition