On the evaluation of stability of rare earth oxides as face coats for investment casting of titanium

Attempts have been made to evaluate the thermal stability of rare earth oxide face coats against liquid titanium. Determination of microhardness profiles and concentration profiles of oxygen and metallic constituents of oxide in investment cast titanium rods has allowed grActation of relative stability of rare earth oxides. The relative stability of evaluated oxides in the order of increasing stability follows the sequence CeO2 — ZrO2 — Gd2O3 — didymium oxide — Sm2O3 —Nd2O3 — Y2O3. The grading does not follow the free energy data of the formation of these oxides. A better correlation with the experimental observations is obtained when the solubility of the metallic species in titanium is also taken into consideration.

Banking psychographics: an Indian empirical study

India has been witnessing an economic boom which fuelling a huge growth in the financial sector especially the banks. The spending power and consumerism has been increasing along with the growth in GDP. The numbers of banks are around 3000 (data according to Reserve Bank of India). With a population base of close to 1.1 billion and a diverse culture that has been dictating the mindset and lifestyle of the population, it has been a challenge for the banks to understand the customer better and hence a the need of the hour is a proper psychographic study of retail banking customers.