Innovations: 2006 Archive

December 2006

  • High Strength Copper Steel for Rail Tank Cars to Bridges
    This paper shows that the new Copper Steel has advantages over steel presently used in railroad tank cars. The higher strength leads to weight saving; higher impact fracture toughness mitigates against brittle failure particularly at low temperatures. An update of recently completed bridge using the Cu Steel is also provided.

September 2006

  • High Copper Alloys - High Strength Coppers for Demanding Electrical Applications
    For many electrical applications, the demands of electrical technology require copper to have higher mechanical properties and to be capable of use at elevated operating temperatures while still retaining the good conductivity for which it is selected in the first place. The copper industry has invested much research effort over the years to create materials capable of meeting these demanding needs. The products of this research are found in the large variety of high copper alloys, materials whose properties are equal to or, in some cases, higher than those of many other engineering metals, yet, which have conductivities high enough for electrical applications.

July 2006

  • Copper Makes Beer Better: Control of Hydrogen Sulfide in Beer with a Copper Electrolysis System
    Hydrogen Sulfide (H 2S), a volatile sulfur compound, is a normal byproduct of the fermenting process. But, research has shown that people are very sensitive to the odor of H 2S and can detect this odor as an off-flavor at very low concentrations. Researchers have found that the most effective means to control H 2S is by using copper which removes the H 2S as copper sulfide (CuS) which can then be removed from the final product.

June 2006

  • Copper and Your Skin: Facelift In A Bottle
    A new rage has hit Hollywood — a chemical facelift! The ancient Egyptians applied perfumes and anointing oils to their body as early as 4000 BC. Even then, copper was a part of their cosmetics. The most popular colors were green and black. The green was originally made from malachite, an oxide of copper.

March 2006

  • Neptune’s Daughters: Copper-Nickel Creates Two Dream-team Alloys for Seawater Applications
    Sitting comfortably at atomic number 29 in the Periodic Table, the element Copper is a friendly, outgoing sort of person, getting on superbly well with both of her nearest neighbours...But it is with the element Nickel, at atomic number 28, that copper has a really special affinity. The elegant simplicity of their mutual relationship results in the uniquely performing, two copper-rich nickel alloys, CuNi 90/10 and 70/30. These two alloys are both so compatible with the exacting marine environment of seawater, that they could truly be regarded as the "daughters" of Father Neptune.

January 2006

  • Copper and Nanotechnology
    According to experts in the field, nanotechnology will have an impact on the global economy of more than $1 trillion within a decade...While the role copper will finally play in nanotechnology is yet to be determined, the metal is already filling a number of notable applications. In addition, there are a number of recent technical developments that indicate promise for expansion of copper's role in nanotechnology.