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Straw bale construction is a bio-based building system whose durability largely depends on the control of interfaces with adjacent building components. This article examines critical junctions (base of walls, wall-to-roof connections, openings, horizontal surfaces and service penetrations) from hygrothermal, structural and regulatory perspectives. It proposes an engineering methodology integrating risk prioritization, climate adaptation and coordination of applicable standards to ensure long-term robustness and reliability.

The atomic absorption Sspectrometry, elemental quantification technique, is based on analysing the wavelengths generated by a light source and not absorbed by the element; the degree of absorption is proportional to the concentration. The detection limits are in the order of mg/L or µg/L depending on the atomisation method used (flame or graphite furnace). It also allows the analysis of mercury by cold vapours, as well as hydrides of several elements (As, Sn, Se, etc.). After reviewing the fundamental theoretical principles, this article describes the equipment in detail, highlights issues related to quantification and interference, and provides numerous examples of applications.

The ISO/IEC 17025 standard ‘General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories’ requires measurement methods to be validated when they are not standardised or when they are used outside the scope of application provided for by the standard, and to associate an uncertainty with the measurement value. Chemical analysis laboratories generally know how to validate their measurement methods, but they sometimes encounter difficulties in assessing measurement uncertainty. This document outlines the various ways, covered by the ‘Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement’ (GUM), of assessing it, using data from within or outside the laboratory.

Dissolution, slag infiltration into the porosity of refractories, and erosion of the transformed surface are all mechanisms involved in the degradation of refractories by slag in steelmaking. The examples presented—based on industrial practices—illustrate the corrosion of different families of refractories during the stages of steel production.

A wide variety of refractory materials are used in a steel mill, with approximately 500 commercial grades for consumable refractories alone. This is due to an ongoing effort to optimize their performance and costs. From the upstream to the downstream sections of the plant, several major families of refractories are used, all of which are absolutely essential and whose development has at times been a key factor in the emergence of steelmaking processes—for example, magnesia-carbon bricks for the oxygen-blown converter process in the 1970s. During steel production, slags and temperatures vary significantly across different furnaces and equipment; this is the primary reason why different types of refractories must be used.

This article deals with the production of stainless steel. Stainless steels are produced in various grades, forms and finishes. The main process routes include: stainless steel melting: raw materials are melted in an electric arc furnace (EAF); refining process: refining takes place in a refining vessel using either a process gas (Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) converter) or vacuum (Vacuum Oxygen Decarburization (VOD) vessel); ladle metallurgy: before casting, various metallurgical operations can be performed; casting: ingot casting (old technique) or continuous casting (slab caster or bloom caster); hot coil rolling or hot bar rolling; cold rolling and finishing of flat products or cold drawing and finishing of long products.

This article compiles the numerical values of enthalpy variations, between 25°C and various temperatures, for pure substances, elements, and compounds. It also includes the temperatures and enthalpy variations associated with phase transformations of some of these pure substances. Enthalpy of formation values for compounds at different temperatures are also reported. Secondly, a technique for evaluating the enthalpy of dissolution of elements in pure or low-alloyed liquid iron is presented. Finally, the document also presents data relative to various industrial materials such as steelmaking slags, fuels, coke, and pig iron.

The standard electrode potential is used to represent the thermodynamic state of a system and its value is measured versus a stable and well-known electrode potential (reference electrode). It allows predicting the reactivity of the oxydo-reducing species in solution. The oxydo-reducing systems (so-called redox), in aqueous solution, are conventionallyclassified according to their standard potential, expressed in volt, compared with the H+/H2 system. That list, established from several works, is very useful in surface treatments in aqueous media.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping industrial processes—predictive maintenance, quality control, energy optimisation—yet many projects fail due to poor organisational readiness. This article introduces an AI maturity audit—a simple method to assess a company’s ability to adopt such technologies. Built around six key levers—strategy, organization, people, offer, technology and environment—the audit reveals hidden barriers and supports a structured, sustainable approach before launching any AI project.

If we are looking for a food that has its roots in Antiquity, cereals and more specifically ancient wheats are a model of culture that has fed billions of people in the past and still does today. This process sheet immerses us in a vast field that continues to improve to meet consumer expectations in terms of pasta and noodles that are already flooding the planet, with competitive prices and practicality of use.