Elizabeth Makhatha

By Olawale Samuel Fatoba, Mamookho Elizabeth Makhatha and Esther Titilayo Akinlabi

The deterioration of materials during industrial application poses a serious threat to the materials structural integrity. A material’s susceptibility to wear and surface damage can be reduced by alteration of its surface chemistry, morphology and crystal structure. Therefore, modification of surface properties plays an important role in optimizing a material’s performance for a given application. Modern industrial applications require materials with special surface properties such as high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, therefore materials engineers are vital to regularly examine how the microstructure of a material can be altered. Aluminium-based alloys have a wide application in the automotive, domestic and aerospace industries due to their excellent mechanical properties such as good weldability, sound castability and outstanding resistance to corrosion. The purpose of this research is to enhance inherent properties of the materials to create new products or improve on existing ones. The most effective engineering solution to prevent or minimize such surface region of a component is done by fibre lasers. It was concluded that Hypereutectic Al-Si alloys having transition metals are exceptional materials due to their specific properties. The addition of Cu, Fe, Cr, Si, Mg and Ni to Al-based alloys can improve the mechanical properties at both ambient and elevated temperatures.

Part of the book: Aluminium Alloys

By Olawale Samuel Fatoba, Esther Titilayo Akinlabi and Mamookho Elizabeth Makhatha

Modern industrial applications require materials with special surface properties such as high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance. The performance of material surface under wear and corrosion environments cannot be fulfilled by the conventional surface modifications and coatings. Therefore, different industrial sectors need an alternative technique for enhanced surface properties. The purpose of this is to change or enhance inherent properties of the materials to create new products or improve on existing ones. The most effective and economical engineering solution to prevent or minimize such surface region of a component is done by fiber lasers. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a breaking edge fabrication technique with the possibility of changing the perception of design and manufacturing as a whole. It is well suitable for the building and repairing applications in the aerospace industry which usually requires high level of accuracy and customization of parts which usually employ materials known to pose difficulties in fabrication such as titanium alloys. The current development focus of AM is to produce complex shaped functional metallic components, including metals, alloys and metal matrix composites (MMCs), to meet demanding requirements from aerospace, defense, and automotive industries.

Part of the book: Aluminium Alloys

By Godwin Okereafor, Mamookho Makhatha, Lukhanyo Mekuto and Vuyo Mavumengwana

In the Blesbokspruit area of Ekuhurleni, South Africa, previous gold mining activities resulted in many tailings dump sites. 20 representative soil samples were used in describing the distribution of metals. The soils were very strongly acidic ranging from 3.86 to 4.34 with a low cation exchange capacity (CEC). Based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, elemental composition of the soils revealed average values of major elements such as Na2O (0.18%), MgO (0.63%), Al2O3 (6.51%), SiO2 (81.83%), P2O5 (0.04%), SO3 (3.40%), K2O (1.98%), CaO (0.45%), TiO2 (0.51%), Cr2O3 (0.17%), MnO (0.04%), Fe2O3 (3.59%), NiO (0.04%), As2O3 (0.02%), with Rb2O and SrO falling below 0.01%. Trace metals (TM) contamination levels in the soils were evaluated using various pollution indices which revealed that over 60% of the soils were between the high degree and the ultra-high degree of contamination classes. The concentration of various trace metals varies from 860.3–862.6 mg/kg for Cr; 324.9–328.4 mg/kg for Al; 200.9–203.4 mg/kg for As; 130.1–136.2 mg/kg for Fe; 121.9–125.8 mg/kg for Pb; 27.3–30.2 mg/kg for Co; 23.8–26.8 mg/kg for Ni; 7.2–9.2 mg/kg for Ti; 7.1–9.2 mg/kg for Cd; 4.0–5.6 mg/kg for Zn and 0.1–0.6 mg/kg for Cu.

Part of the book: Trace Metals in the Environment

By Godwin Okereafor, Elizabeth Makhatha, Lukhanyo Mekuto and Vuyo Mavumengwana

In this study, the selected streams within the Blesbokspruit located in South Africa were characterised in this study. Because of prolonged mining activities coupled with ineffective management practices, several mine tailing (MT) dumps are widely distributed in this area. Metals and metalloid contamination from these tailing facilities have been reported to be major contributors to environmental hazards such as acid mine drainage (AMD). With increased agricultural activities in this area, an assessment of the general quality of water being utilised for irrigation purposes and feeding of farm animals becomes inevitable. A procedural method was implemented in a bid to identify relations between tailing and stream water contamination. Representative gold tailing sediments and water samples were collected, respectively. With the aid of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the mineralogical characterisation of the tailing sediments was successfully carried out, while acid digestion using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was utilised in the determination of trace metal contents. Samples of different water sources were also characterised. There was a clear description of the link between tailings, water contamination and possible implications to animals and humans in the long run.

Part of the book: Trace Metals in the Environment