Accelerant
Accelerants, or accelerators, are substances that increase the rate of a natural or artificial chemical process. They play a major role in chemistry, as most chemical reactions can be hastened with an accelerant. Understanding accelerants is crucial in forensic science, engineering, and other fields where controlled chemical reactions are essential. Accelerants function by either altering a chemical bond, speeding up a chemical process, or changing the reaction conditions. Unlike catalysts, accelerants may be consumed during the process. They are commonly used in contexts such as fire investigation where they can indicate arson, in construction to speed the curing of building materials, and in sulfur vulcanization to produce rubber products such as tyres. In fire investigation, accelerants are often detected through laboratory analysis of fire debris. Various types of accelerants exist, including liquids, solids, and gases, each with specific properties and applications. Ap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sulfur Vulcanization
Sulfur vulcanization is a chemical process for converting natural rubber or related polymers into materials of varying hardness, elasticity, and mechanical durability by heating them with sulfur or sulfur-containing compounds. Sulfur forms cross-linking bridges between sections of polymer chains which affects the mechanical properties. Many products are made with vulcanized rubber, including tires, shoe soles, hoses, and conveyor belts. The term is derived from Vulcan (mythology), Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The main polymers subjected to sulfur vulcanization are polyisoprene (natural rubber, NR), polybutadiene rubber (BR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM rubber). All of these materials contain allyl, alkene groups adjacent to methylene groups. Other specialty rubbers may also be vulcanized, such as nitrile rubber (NBR) and butyl rubber (IIR). Vulcanization, in common with the curing of other thermosetting polymers, is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Retarder (chemistry)
A retarder is a chemical agent that slows down a chemical reaction. For example, retarders are used to slow the chemical reaction hardening of plastic materials such as wallboard, concrete, and adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...s. Sugar water acts as a retarder for the curing of concrete. It can be used to retard the chemical hardening of the surface, so that the top layer can be washed off to expose the underlying aggregate. See also * Accelerant References Chemical reactions {{reaction-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactured material in the world. When aggregate is mixed with dry Portland cement and water, the mixture forms a fluid slurry that can be poured and molded into shape. The cement reacts with the water through a process called hydration, which hardens it after several hours to form a solid matrix that binds the materials together into a durable stone-like material with various uses. This time allows concrete to not only be cast in forms, but also to have a variety of tooled processes performed. The hydration process is exothermic, which means that ambient temperature plays a significant role in how long it takes concrete to set. Often, additives (such as pozzolans or superplasticizers) are included in the mixture to improve the physical prop ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Admixture (concrete)
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactured material in the world. When aggregate is mixed with dry Portland cement and water, the mixture forms a fluid slurry that can be poured and molded into shape. The cement reacts with the water through a process called hydration, which hardens it after several hours to form a solid matrix that binds the materials together into a durable stone-like material with various uses. This time allows concrete to not only be cast in forms, but also to have a variety of tooled processes performed. The hydration process is exothermic, which means that ambient temperature plays a significant role in how long it takes concrete to set. Often, additives (such as pozzolans or superplasticizers) are included in the mixture to improve the physical properties ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cold Regions Research And Engineering Laboratory
The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is a United States Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center research facility headquartered in Hanover, New Hampshire, that provides scientific and engineering support to the U.S. government and its military with a core emphasis on cold environments. CRREL also provides technical support to non-government customers. CRREL arose from a consolidation of three antecedent organizations whose purpose was to understand frozen ground, permafrost, snow and ice as factors which were important in strategic northern areas during the Cold War. In its first 25 years CRREL researchers contributed to the understanding of polar ice caps, permafrost, and the engineering technology for developing natural resources in cold climates, such as Alaska. More recently, CRREL researchers have made contributions to science in climate change, the understanding of wave propagation for sensor systems, the control of snow on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Calcium Nitrate
Calcium nitrate are inorganic compounds with the formula Ca(NO3)2(H2O)x. The anhydrous compound, which is rarely encountered, absorbs moisture from the air to give the tetrahydrate. Both anhydrous and hydrated forms are colourless salts. Hydrated calcium nitrate, also called ''Norgessalpeter'' (Norwegian salpeter), is mainly used as a component in fertilizers, but it has other applications. Nitrocalcite is the name for a mineral which is a hydrated calcium nitrate that forms as an efflorescence where manure contacts concrete or limestone in a dry environment as in stables or caverns. A variety of related salts are known including calcium ammonium nitrate decahydrate and calcium potassium nitrate decahydrate. Production and reactivity Norgessalpeter was synthesized at Notodden, Norway in 1905 by the Birkeland–Eyde process. Most of the world's calcium nitrate is now made in Porsgrunn. It is produced by treating limestone with nitric acid, followed by neutralization with ammonia: ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Calcium Formate
Calcium formate is the calcium salt of formic acid. It is also known as E238. Under this E number it is used as an animal feed preservative within EU, but not in foods intended for people. Calcium formate is stable at room temperature, is flammable and forms orthorhombic crystals. The mineral form is very rare and called formicaite, and is known from a few boron deposits. Uses Calcium formate is used within EU as an animal feed preservative. It acidifies the feed thus preventing microbe growth and increasing shelf life. About 15 g of calcium formate addition per kg of feed lowers its pH by one. 15 g/kg is the maximum recommended feed concentration within EU – this level is thought to be safe for pigs, chickens, fish and ruminants. The compound is not environmentally harmful in feed use at these levels. Calcium formate prevents the growth of bacteria such as ''E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus'' and '' Enterococcus hirae'' in growth mediums. It also prevent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sodium Nitrate
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. The mineral form is also known as nitratine, nitratite or soda niter. Sodium nitrate is a white deliquescent solid very soluble in water. It is a readily available source of the nitrate anion (NO3−), which is useful in several reactions carried out on industrial scales for the production of fertilizers, pyrotechnics, smoke bombs and other explosives, glass and pottery vitreous enamel, enamels, food preservatives (esp. meats), and rocket propellant, solid rocket propellant. It has been mined extensively for these purposes. History The first shipment of saltpeter to Europe arrived in England from Peru in 1820 or 1825, right after that country's independence from Spain, but did not find any buyers and was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fire Protection
Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially Conflagration, destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, Compartmentalization (fire protection), compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based, offshore or even ships, owners and operators may be responsible for maintaining their facilities in accordance with a design-basis rooted in law, including local building code, building and fire code, fire codes. Buildings must be maintained in accordance with the current fire code, enforced by fire prevention officers of a local fire department. In the event of fire emergencies, Firefighters, fire investigators, and other fire prevention personnel are called to mitigate, investigate and learn from the Fire damage, damage of a fire. Classifying fires When dec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Screed
Screed has three meanings in building construction: # A flat board (screed board, floating screed) or a purpose-made aluminium tool used to smooth and to "Wikt:true#Verb, true" materials like concrete, stucco and plaster after they have been placed on a surface or to assist in flattening; # A strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to act as a guide for a screed tool (screed rail, screed strip, screed batten); # The material itself which has been flattened with a screed (screed coat). In the UK, ''screed'' has also come to describe a thin, top layer of material (sand and cement, magnesite or calcium sulphate), poured in place on top of the structural concrete or insulation, on top of which other finishing materials can be applied, or the structural material can be left bare to achieve a raw effect. Screed board In the United States, a person called a concrete finisher performs the process of screeding, which is the process of cutting off excess wet concrete to bring ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fuel reaches its ignition point temperature. Flames from hydrocarbon fuels consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, and nitrogen. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce Plasma (physics), plasma. The color and Intensity (heat transfer), intensity of the flame depend on the type of fuel and composition of the surrounding gases. Fire, in its most common form, has the potential to result in conflagration, which can lead to permanent physical damage. It directly impacts land-based ecological systems worldwide. The positive effects of fire include stimulating plant growth and maintaining ecological balance. Its negative effects include hazards to life and property, atmospheric pollution, and water ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but has since also been applied to other sources of heat energy, such as Nuclear power, nuclear energy (via nuclear fission and nuclear fusion). The heat energy released by reactions of fuels can be converted into mechanical energy via a heat engine. Other times, the heat itself is valued for warmth, cooking, or industrial processes, as well as the illumination that accompanies combustion. Fuels are also used in the Cell (biology), cells of organisms in a process known as cellular respiration, where organic molecules are oxidized to release usable energy. Hydrocarbons and related organic molecules are by far the most common source of fuel used by humans, but other substances, including radioactive metals, are also utilized. Fu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |