Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/901126
NACE International releases results from corrosion career survey HOUSTON, Tex.—NACE Interna- tional has released the results of its 2017 Annual Corrosion Career Survey. For corrosion professionals in the US and the UK, the results of this year's annual corrosion career and salary survey are very positive. The average annual US salary for 2017, as determined by salaries reported by participating US members of NACE International, rose again this year to reach a new high. This continues an up- ward trend that started in 2005. Includ- ing salary and bonuses, the average an- nual US compensation is $118,369, a 2.75 percent increase over the 2016 av- erage annual salary of $115,203. The most notable change is seen for the UK's average annual salary, which in- creased more than 11 percent to reach its highest level since this group was added to the corrosion career survey in 2014. The average annual salary for survey par- ticipants in the UK is about $109,918, up 11.18 percent from 2016. Researchers eye new nanomaterial for protective coatings BELFAST, Ireland—A team of re- searchers in the UK say that when it c o m e s t o p r o t e c t i v e c o a t i n g s , graphene may not be the panacea some hope, but another material, hexagonal boron nitride, may be lead- ing a new pack of nanocoatings that could change the industry. An international group of researchers, including two scientists from Queen's University Belfast, announced recently that its research on graphene, the car- bon-based nanomaterial, has shown a notable weakness in the otherwise su- perstrong material. When multiple lay- ers of graphene are put together, the material develops superlubricity, which means layers can simply slide across one another without generating heat the way friction normally would. This means graphene, which is 300 times stronger than steel, becomes mechani- cally weaker and can easily break. Graphene, discovered in 2004, has been the subject of great speculation in recent years because of its strength and light weight. While some have moved to commercialize graphene in protective coatings, the biggest challenge has been making a viable 3D material from the single-atom layers. But the new research may be another strike against graphene as a supermaterial. The same research revealed some posi- tives in regard to another nanoscale ma- terial, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). Atomically thin hBN, a material already in use as a lubricant in some industrial applications, was found to develop dia- mond-like strength in just a few layers. The newly discovered strength of hBN at such ultrathin levels of thickness adds to a list of properties that already made the material a prime candidate for use as a protective coating, chief among them its insulative nature, which could help to protect against corrosion. Researchers are looking at a timeline of around 5 to 10 years to transform the dis- coveries into real products, but potential benefits include material reinforcement to mixture in solutions such as ink for paint, which would give further strength against corrosion and could potentially mean scratch-proof cars in future. How- ever, hBN may have its limits, such as in high-heat applications. OSHA reveals top violations for 2017 WASHINGTON, D.C.—OSHA has released the list of top 10 violations for 2017. Though it has remained largely unchanged from 2016, a new category has been added to the list: Fall Protec- tion–Training Requirements. Both the 2016 and 2017 OSHA reports share the top five violations on the list. The 2017 list is as follows: 1. Fall Pro- tection–General Requirements with 6,072 violations; 2. Hazard Communi- cations at 4,176; 3. Scaffolding at 3,288; 4. Respiratory Protection at 3,097; 5. Lockout/Tagout at 2,877; 6. Ladders at 2,241; 7. Powered Industrial Trucks at 2,162; 8. Machine Guarding at 1,933; 9. Fall Protection–Training Requirements at 1,523; and 10. Electri- cal–Wiring Methods comes in last with 1,405 violations. 4 POWDER COATING, November 2017 tractor requirements, allowing busi- nesses involved in hurricane relief the ability to prioritize recovery efforts. The Office of Labor-Management Stan- dards (OLMS) has issued a special en- forcement advisory that temporarily eases reporting and other regulatory burdens on labor organizations, labor relations consultants, and employers af- fected by Hurricane Irma. OSHA is helping employers keep their workers safe during cleanup and recovery opera- tions by providing a number of hurri- cane and flood resources. Public Service Announcements empha- sizing the need to work safely in English and Spanish will be broadcast in af- fected areas during recovery efforts. As the severity and geographical extent of the damage becomes known, the De- partment will monitor activities and take additional actions as necessary. College students win annual BASF science competition SOUTHFIELD, Mich.—Four stu- dents from the University of Colorado at Boulder won the third annual BASF Corp. science competition, held at the company's coatings headquarters in Southfield, Mich. The challenge for this year's competition was to create a supe- rior finish on carbon fiber composites. Lightweight carbon fiber is used in vehi- cles to improve fuel efficiency. It is diffi- cult to coat because when carbon fiber composites are heated and cooled, ridges form on the surface. The winning team, representing the Chemistry and Biochemistry; Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering; and Materials and Science Engineering de- partments at the university, used their combined expertise to solve the chal- lenge by adding a nanomaterial. Four teams of students presented pro- posals to a panel of BASF executive judges. The proposed ideas will be evaluated by the sponsoring BASF business units for possible further de- velopment. The three other finalist teams represented Queen's University, Southern Mississippi University, and the University of Massachusetts- Amherst with Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All four presenting teams received cash awards.