Is there, in fact, a substantial reservoir of hydrogen left in the substrate, which gradually migrates through the outer plating over time?
There seems to be quite a bit in the bulk. BTW, do you know much about the use of cadmium as a barrier metal to prevent embrittlement.?
do you know much about the use of cadmium as a barrier metal to prevent embrittlement.?
Not as much as I would like.
Interestingly, we had far fewer problems with embrittlement when most high tensile bolts were cadmium plated. There also seems to be conflicting studies, and theories, surrounding this - some saying that cadmium is porous to hydrogen, and some saying that extra porosity has to be induced in the cadmium to "allow the hydrogen out".
The changes in legislation in the 1990s meant that cadmium plating was discouraged unless it was for aircraft use - and so bolt manufacturers swapped to zinc plating for all other customers. This had near disastrous consequences in one early-90s (land-based) defence project I was working on - when bolt heads started randomly "jumping off" in safety critical situations. It seemed that the processes used to de-embrittle cadmium plated bolts didn't work properly for zinc plating. The safest solution was to just ban zinc plating on all fasteners of strength grade greater than ISO 8.8 or SAE Gr 5 (and use black oxide coatings instead).
Alan Smith I guess you have seen this paper?: https://www.phase-trans.msm.ca…6/preventing_hydrogen.pdf
Also this one: https://files.core.ac.uk/pdf/23/139858.pdf
Also this thesis: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu…ticle=2100&context=theses
Ed Storms he said to me at the end was particularly interesting. "use thin metal for the working electrode."
After all, there's nothing much thinner than plating is there?
It is not just a thin plating but rather how it is layered. In George Miley patent, he bases the amount heat produced on dislocation cores. The abstract starts "Techniques to form dislocation cores along an interface of a multilayer thin film structure are described." US 8,227,020 B1.
My next LEC has some components brewing now. 48 hours electrolysis in 0.1M K2CO3 - Nickel Foam working electrode and Aluminium tube counter-electrodes. Pictures soon.
My next LEC has some components brewing now. 48 hours electrolysis in 0.1M K2CO3 - Nickel Foam working electrode and Aluminium tube counter-electrodes. Pictures soon.
Is this the first one towards the “LECs for a LED” goal?
Nickel Foam working electrode and Aluminium tube counter-electrodes. Pictures soon.
Pictures, schmitures. We want numbers! Seriously, I can't wait to hear whether it works. This could be one of the most important experiments in the history of cold fusion. Assuming this is cold fusion . . . Whatever it is, if you can scale it up, bravo!
Don't get too excited Jed. All guarantees get thrown out with yesterdays sandwiches
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This is the cell format. Plastic jar with modified lid, nickel foam working electrode that goes right around the jar walls, cut to be a snug fit. Aluminium tube counter-electrode. This was just a test assembly - not a working model yet
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This is the view inside.
This is the view from beneath -electrode gap around 7 mm all round. Larger than I like but it can be reduced.
This is a nickel foam working electrode. Easy to cut btw, with scissors or a knife.
This is two connected nickel foam strips being electrolysed - 48 hours in 0.01M Potassium carbonate at 2.5V and around 0.4W. Lots of hydrogen evolved at the cathode. Copper tube anode central in the tank. 2 down, 2 to go.
The Nickel foam strips are washed (to remove electrolyte) and dried at 60C for an hour then assembled into a cell. Glad I told Jed there were no gurantees - this one only produces around 50mV. It looks the part, but that's all. I am not sure why, but I am going to re-electrolyse the Ni Foam- perhaps with a little co-dep.
Drying the foam..
The assembled cell - looks good but poor performance.
Display MoreThe Nickel foam strips are washed (to remove electrolyte) and dried at 60C for an hour then assembled into a cell. Glad I told Jed there were no gurantees - this one only produces around 50mV. It looks the part, but that's all. I am not sure why, but I am going to re-electrolyse the Ni Foam- perhaps with a little co-dep.
Drying the foam..
The assembled cell - looks good but poor performance.
I was wondering Alan Smith , if the side facing to the wall of the reactor gets less exposure. I'm probably the less qualified to comment about that, but it strikes me as one possibility.
I was wondering Alan Smith , if the side facing to the wall of the reactor gets less exposure. I'm probably the less qualified to comment about that, but it strikes me as one possibility.
I think that 'sunny-side shady side' preferential exposure happens with any electrolysis- some commercial systems use quite elaborate geometry or moving electrodes to over come that problem.
It would be simpler to reverse it and expose both sides. Going to set up something interesting to morrow, to see if I can kick some life into this with co-dep. All will be revealed then, working or not. I am not used to this stuff not behaving btw, bit of a blow.
he Nickel foam strips are washed (to remove electrolyte) and dried at 60C for an hour
I wonder if the high surface area to volume ratio of the mesh is allowing too much hydrogen to "bake out" during the drying process.
The co-dep might help to keep the hydrogen locked-in, I guess.
The co-dep might help to keep the hydrogen locked-in, I guess
Nickel is fickle- when it comes to hydrogen absorption- some will suck it up and some just won't. I am not sure why, but as we know, Pd is the same. I guess it's down to impurities and surface oxidation states.
I guess it's down to impurities and surface oxidation states.
I don't know how your foam was made - but some stuff I worked with once was made by mixing bubbly material into molten nickel - which was then dissolved-out after solidification. Goodness knows how it left the surfaces on a microscopic scale - but as we were just using it in an air/oil separator, it didn't matter for our purposes.
If yours can be cut with a knife, and can be folded, it must be quite different (ours had to be machined, as it was quite brittle)
I don't know how your foam was made - but some stuff I worked with once was made by mixing bubbly material into molten nickel - which was then dissolved-out after solidification. Goodness knows how it left the surfaces on a microscopic scale - but as we were just using it in an air/oil separator, it didn't matter for our purposes.
If yours can be cut with a knife, and can be folded, it must be quite different (ours had to be machined, as it was quite brittle)
This stuff looks like it is made from felted wire. But I'll take a picture ro check.
Nickel is fickle
And candy is dandy,
But liquor is quicker.
(Can't help myself.)
Ogden Nash
Liked a splash.
This is the nickel foam, not felted wire, but looking like something created by chemical etching. But it is ductile and not brittle.
Is there meant to be a photo attached to this post Alan Smith ? 
I still wait for the 3 months excess wattage measurement!
Don't waste your live time just for a voltage that tells nothing.
