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In this study, cost-effective anthracite and industrial silicon powder were used as precursor and catalyst, respectively, to prepare graphite with various structure, during which the catalytic mechanism was analyzed. The results demonstrate that the as-obtained sample with 5% silicon catalyst (G-2800-5%) exhibits the best overall lithium storage performance. In detail, G-2800-5% display the best graphite structure with graphitization degree of 91.5%. As anode materials, a high reversible capacity of 369.0 mAh g−1 can be achieved at 0.1 A g−1. Meanwhile, the reversible capacity of 209.0 mAh g−1 can be obtained at the current density of 1 A g−1. It also delivers good cyclic stability with a 92.2% retention after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1. The highly developed graphite structure, which is favorable to the formation of stable SEI and reduced lithium ion loss should be responsible for the superior electrochemical performance.

Extensive use of selective catalytic reduction denitrogenation technology leads to the generation of a large amount of hazardous waste vanadium–tungsten–titanium catalysts. To valorize these waste ...

Zr-based amorphous alloy is a kind of material with broad application prospects in aerospace, national defense, and precision device fields. The micro-structure formation of these high-performance materials presents a major difficulty. In this paper, wire electrochemical micromachining (WECMM) technology used to process a Zr-based bulk amorphous alloy with a thickness of 1 mm is presented. Solution selection and mass transfer optimization are two important factors in WECMM. The dissolution characteristics of alloys in HCl and HClO4 solutions were analyzed, and the corrosion mechanism of Cl− and ClO4− on alloys was understood. The tetrahedral epoxy structure improved the localization of WECMM, reduced stray corrosion, and improved the processing accuracy. In this study, large amplitude vibrations of the anode are used to improve the quality and efficiency of the WECMM of Zr-based amorphous alloys. The flow field distribution in the gap of anode vibration under sine mode and step modes was calculated. In the sine mode, the variable speed vibration of the workpiece drove the fluid flow out of the gap rapidly in a fluctuating state. In step mode, the fluid moved at a very high velocity at the moment when the workpiece changed direction, and flowed at a low velocity under the action of inertial force at other times. Finally, using the optimized parameters, a micro-gear with an addendum circle of 2 mm was machined with Zr-based amorphous alloy at a thickness of 1 mm.

The hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of an Fe–30Cr–2Mo ultra-pure super ferritic stainless steel were investigated at the temperature range of 950–1150 °C and strain rate varying from 0.01 to 10 s−1. A strain compensated constitutive equation based on the Arrhenius-type model was established to predict the flow stress. The hot processing map based on the dynamic materials model was achieved to identify the optimum processing parameters. In addition, the features of microstructure evolution combined with the processing map were systematically investigated. The experimental results revealed that the flow stress increased with decreasing deformation temperature or increasing strain rate. Dynamic recovery was confirmed to be the predominant softening mechanism. The values of flow stress predicted by the strain compensated constitutive equation agreed well with the experimental values. The extent of dynamic recrystallization and recrystallized grain size increased with increasing deformation temperature or decreasing strain rate, and the continuous dynamic recrystallization was attributed to be the predominant mechanism of recrystallization during hot deformation. The optimum hot working parameters were determined to be the deformation temperature of 1070–1150 °C and strain rate of 0.1–1 s−1 with a peak power dissipation efficiency of 42%.

Glass fiber sphere (GFS), used as support of MIL-100(Fe) to treat dye wastewater, was successfully synthesized using glass fibers from waste printed circuit board. Structural and textural features of MIL-100(Fe) supported by GFS (GFS/MIL-100(Fe)) were characterized by different techniques. GFS/MIL-100(Fe) showed higher specific surface area and better rhodamine B (RHB) removal performance as well as reusability. RHB removal percentage by GFS/MIL-100(Fe) reached 92% in 11 h, compared with 79% in 7 h of MIL-100(Fe). The highest RHB removal rate was obtained with the GFS/MIL-100(Fe) concentration of 20 g/L. Increasing RHB concentration over 100 mg/L reduced the time needed for saturated adsorption from 11 to 7 h. The best RHB removal performance of GFS/MIL-100(Fe) was obtained at pH = 3, and the removal percentage was almost the same in the pH range 5-11. The adsorption data fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetics better than the pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherm data fitted Langmuir model better than Freundlich model. MIL-100(Fe) synthesized in organic solvents showed higher loading rate than that obtained in water. GFS/MIL-100(Fe) also showed promising removal performances for methylene blue, acid orange 7, and malachite green in water. The removal percentage of RHB was still 80% even after being used for 3 times. The results of this study indicate the prospect of synthesizing GFS with glass fibers from waste printed circuit boards and its use as the support of MIL-100(Fe).

A MoSi2 coating was prepared on the Mo1 wire mesh via pack cementation method, and its failure mechanisms under isothermal oxidation and hot-fire test using a hydroxylammonium nitrate based monopropellant were comparatively studied. Under isothermal oxidation at 1300 °C and 1400 °C, degradation of MoSi2 into Mo5Si3 caused failure of the coating, and interdiffusion made a much larger effect relative to oxidation. However, the MoSi2 coating failed because of the synergy of oxidation, ablation, and interdiffusion under hot-fire test. Besides, dissolution of mullite into SiO2 and ablation of high velocity flame contributed to the failure of the coating as well.

Hydrotreating of vacuum residue by ebullated bed shows tremendous significance due to more stringent environmental regulations and growing demand for lighter fuels. However, enhancing the catalyst stability still remains as a challenging task. Herein, two Ni-Mo/Al2O3 catalysts with distinct morphologies (i.e., spherical and cylindrical) were first designed, and the morphology effect on deactivation was systematically elucidated employing multi-characterizations, such as HRTEM with EDX mapping, electron microprobe analysis, FT-IR, TGA and Raman. It is found that spherical catalyst exhibits superior hydrotreating stability over 1600 h. The carbonaceous deposits on spherical catalyst with less graphite structure are lighter, and the coke weight is also smaller. In addition, the metal deposits uniformly distribute in the spherical catalyst, which is better than the concentrated distribution near the pore mouth for the cylindrical catalyst. Furthermore, the intrinsic reason for the differences was analyzed by the bed expansion experiment. Higher bed expansion rate together with the better mass transfer ability leads to the enhanced performance. This work sheds new light on the design of more efficient industrial hydrotreating catalyst based on morphology effect.

While offering high-precision control of neural circuits, optogenetics is hampered by the necessity to implant fiber-optic waveguides in order to deliver photons to genetically engineered light-gated neurons in the brain. Unlike laser light, X-rays freely pass biological barriers. Here we show that radioluminescent Gd2(WO4)3:Eu nanoparticles, which absorb external X-rays energy and then downconvert it into optical photons with wavelengths of ∼610 nm, can be used for the transcranial stimulation of cortical neurons expressing red-shifted, ∼590-630 nm, channelrhodopsin ReaChR, thereby promoting optogenetic neural control to the practical implementation of minimally invasive wireless deep brain stimulation.

This work presents a novel process to manufacture advanced Germanium-On-Insulator with integrated Silicon Nitride (GOIN) stripes as light waveguide for Ge photonic devices. Through the integration of GOIN stripes, larger tensile strain could be imposed to the bonded Ge layer which may could be used to tailor the bandgap of Ge material for short wave length infrared application. The successful fabrication of advanced GOIN substrate makes the opportunity for monolithic integration of high-performance Ge-based high mobility transistors with photonic components where silicon nitride is the waveguide with low optical loss.

Metallic wires are used in many industrial applications, where the diameter and conductivity are key parameters to be measured. In eddy currents testing, the inductance of the sensor is affected by both the diameter and conductivity of sample wire. Consequently, wire diameter and conductivity cannot be determined from a single inductance measurement. In this paper, a novel combined inductive and capacitive sensor is designed, in which the diameter can be inversed from the capacitance measurement of the sensor. Based on the diameter value, the inductance measurement can be used to accurately determine the conductivity of the wires using a look-up table approach. In addition, a model for a wire inside of the capacitive sensor is derived. Measurements have been carried out for 16 samples and the results have verified the proposed approach. This technique could contribute to real-time in-situ quality control of wire + arc additive manufacture processes.

Ultra-high-purity silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) is demanded as an electronic-grade chemical to meet the stringent requirements of the rapidly developing semiconductor industry. The high requirement for ultra-high-purity SiCl4 has created the need for a high-efficient process for reducing energy consumption as well as satisfying product quality. In this paper, a mass of production technology of ultra-high-purity SiCl4 was successfully developed through chlorination reaction in the ultraviolet (UV)-based photo microreactor coupled with the distillation process. The influences of key operational parameters, including temperature, pressure, UV wavelength and light intensity on the product quality, especially for hydrogen-containing impurities, were quantified by the infrared transmittance of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) at 2185 cm−1 and 2160 cm−1 indicating that characteristic vibrational modes of Si H bonds, as well as the operating conditions of distillation were also investigated as key factors for metal impurities removing. The advanced intensification of SiCl4 manufactured by the integration of photo microreactor and distillation achieves the products with superior specifications higher than the standard commercial products.

SiCp/Al composite is one of the key light metal matrix composites widely used in aerospace and electronics industries due to its excellent material properties. Understanding the mechanism of abrasive particle action and the cutting force generation is crucial for achieving desired hole quality and machining accuracy. However, there is no research on cutting force modeling in drilling of SiCp/Al composites. This paper proposes an energy-based mechanistic modeling method to predict the cutting force in drilling of SiCp/Al composites for the first time. A new comprehensive abrasive particle model considering different particle action mechanisms, such as cracking, debonding, and squeezing, is presented to depict the energy consumed by abrasive particle action. Experiments with a wide range of particle volume fractions and feed rates, and different particle sizes were carried out to validate the accuracy of the proposed model. Results show that the proposed model can accurately predict the cutting force with an average error of 6.55% in drilling of SiCp/Al composites. Furthermore, the energy consumed on abrasive particle action is estimated to be 8.2–13.6% of total cutting energy. The proposed model on SiCp/Al composites can be extended to other particle reinforced metal matrix composites.

The recently increasing interest in using super-elastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) for structural vibration control creates the need for a suitable mechanical model that considers the material’s close correlation with the strain amplitude and the strain rate. This paper proposes an improved Graesser-Cozzarelli (G-C) model for predicting the hysteretic responses of the super-elastic SMAs at various strain rates and strain amplitudes. A series of uniaxial tensile tests of super-elastic SMA wires are conducted first, and the effects of the strain amplitude and the strain rate on the characteristic parameters are quantified. Then, based on the original G-C model and experimental test results, an improved version is proposed. The revised model considers the nonlinear hardening behaviour of martensite and divides the complete hysteretic curve into two stages: a loading stage and an unloading stage. Finally, numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the model’s performance in predicting the hysteresis responses at various strain amplitudes and strain rates. High accuracy is realized in all comparisons with the experimental results; thus, the improved G-C model is highly suitable for the simulation of super-elastic SMA-based dampers in applications for vibration control.

The effects of ultrasound-enhanced hot air drying on the drying characteristics, microstructure and bioactive profile of germinated highland barley seeds (GHB) were studied. GHB was dried by hot air at 55 &deg, C and 70 &deg, C and ultrasonic intensities of 125.1 W/dm2 and 180.2 W/dm2, respectively. The results showed that when the drying temperature was 55 &deg, C or 70 &deg, C, the sonicated groups could shorten the drying time by 17.4&ndash, 26.1% or 18.8&ndash, 31.3%, respectively. Ultrasound drying at 125.1 W/dm2 and 55 &deg, C could mostly increase the content of organic selenium and the rehydration rate, improve the color and maintain the original structure of GHB. Compared with hot air drying alone, the phenolic content did not increase due to ultrasound-enhanced hot air drying. Therefore, drying at an ultrasonic intensity of 125.1 W/dm2 and a temperature of 55 &deg, C could effectively shorten the drying time, and enhance the quality of GHB.

The drying kinetics and detailed phytochemical profile of broccoli under microwave drying (500 and 900 W) and air-borne ultrasound (125.2 and 180.1 W/dm2) assisted air drying at 70 °C were compared...

Composite laminates are prone to delamination during hot pressing and cooling, this delamination is one of the most important defects that affect the properties of composite structures, the formation and propagation of delamination in composite materials can significantly reduce the structural strength of composite materials and even lead to catastrophic failure. In this paper, the two parameters of the initial stratified position and the initial stratified diameter are selected to research the effects of these two parameters on the mechanical properties of composite laminates through numerical simulation and experiment, and concludes that the influence of initial delamination along the thickness direction on the average compression modulus and strain of the linear segment is small; the influence of delamination on the ultimate bearing capacity increases with the decrease of the distance between the delamination and the center plane. When the diameter of the delamination is in the range of 8%~20% of the effective area(18~44 mm), the influence on the average compression modulus, ultimate bearing capacity and strain of the linear segment is not obvious. When the diameter is increased to 27% of the effective length(60 mm), the above properties have changed greatly. And then, this paper introduces the bilinear controlled cohesive elements into the progressive failure method to calculate the ultimate load capacity of composite laminates, and demonstrate the accuracy of the simulation method by experiments.

In this study, we designed an experimental system of surface potential during coal adsorption of gas to examine the characteristics of surface potential in this process. The results suggested that ...

Recently, the hydrodynamic cavitation (HC)-based pretreatment has shown high effectiveness in laboratories and even in industrial productions for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) into value-added products. The pretreatment capability derives from the extraordinary conditions of pressures at ∼500 bar, local hotspots with ∼5000 K, and oxidation (hydroxyl radicals) created by HC at room conditions. To promote this emerging technology, the present review summarizes the recent advances in the HC-based pretreatment of LCB. The principle of HC including the sonochemical effect and hydrodynamic cavitation reactor is introduced. The effectiveness of HC on the delignification of LCB as well as subsequent fermentation, paper production, and other applications is evaluated. Several key operational factors (i.e., reaction environment, duration, and feedstock characteristics) in HC pretreatments are discussed. The enhancement mechanism of HC including physical and chemical effects is analyzed. Finally, the perspectives on future research on the HC-based pretreatment technology are highlighted.

Edible fungi are rich in nutrition, but they are susceptible to spoilage, and often prolonged by drying. RF and microwave energy drying have the advantages of short drying time, high energy efficiency and good process control. However, to develop an effective dielectric drying method, it is important to understand dielectric properties, the major factor characterizing the interaction between the electromagnetic energy and the food. At present, there is a lack of research on dielectric properties of edible fungi. In this study, a vector network analyzer and an open-ended coaxial-line probe were employed to measure the dielectric parameters. The dielectric parameters were observed at different temperatures (25–85 °C) for edible fungi powder with moisture content ranging from 5 to 30% wet basis over a frequency range of 1–3000 MHz. The relationship between the dielectric properties and frequency, temperature, and moisture content were obtained via regression analysis. Further, the dielectric penetration depth was calculated, and the effects of frequency, moisture content, and temperature on the penetration depth were also analyzed. The results showed that the dielectric properties of edible fungi powder increased with an increase in moisture content and temperature, while they decreased with increasing frequency. At high moisture content and temperature, the increase in dielectric properties was slightly larger than that at low moisture content and temperature. The dielectric properties changed more evidently at lower radio frequencies than at higher radio frequencies. The penetration depth decreased with an increase in temperature, moisture content, and frequency. It can be concluded that a large penetration depth at radio frequencies below 100 MHz could be used to dry edible fungi on a large scale, whereas microwave energy could be employed for drying edible fungi on a small scale.

Graphical abstract, Highlights • Rapid disinfection of water containing E. coli is obtained by a pilot-scale ARHCR. • The ARHCR can cause serious cleavage and surface damages to E. coli. • Proposed disinfection mechanism includes hydrodynamical and sonochemical effects., Hydrodynamic cavitation is a promising technique for water disinfection. In the present paper, the disinfection characteristics of an advanced hydrodynamic cavitation reactor (ARHCR) in pilot scale were studied. The effects of various flow rates (1.4–2.6 m3/h) and rotational speeds (2600–4200 rpm) on the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) were revealed and analyzed. The variation regularities of the log reduction and reaction rate constant at various cavitation numbers were established. A disinfection rate of 100% was achieved in only 4 min for 15 L of simulated effluent under 4200 rpm and 1.4 m3/h, with energy efficiency at 0.0499 kWh/L. A comprehensive comparison with previously introduced HCRs demonstrates the superior performance of the presented ARHCR system. The morphological changes in E. coli were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the ARHCR can lead to serious cleavage and surface damages to E. coli, which cannot be obtained by conventional HCRs. Finally, a possible damage mechanism of the ARHCR, including both the hydrodynamical and sonochemical effects, was proposed. The findings of the present study can provide strong support to the fundamental understanding and applications of ARHCRs for water disinfection.

Highlights • Ultrasonic energy was input in both contact and airborne modes to dry blackberry. • Ultrasonic influences on heat and mass transfer were simulated numerically. • Shrinkage, input ultrasonic heat and temperature-dependent diffusivity were added. • Contact sonication was more capable to accelerate drying and save energy. • Contact sonication better preserved bioactives and flavors in blackberry., This study aimed at investigating the performances of air drying of blackberries assisted by airborne ultrasound and contact ultrasound. The drying experiments were conducted in a self-designed dryer coupled with a 20-kHz ultrasound probe. A numerical model for unsteady heat and mass transfer considering temperature dependent diffusivity, shrinkage pattern and input ultrasonic energies were applied to explore the drying mechanism, while the energy consumption and quality were analyzed experimentally. Generally, both airborne ultrasound and contact ultrasound accelerated the drying process, reduced the energy consumption and enhanced the retentions of blackberry anthocyanins and organic acids in comparison to air drying alone. At the same input ultrasound intensity level, blackberries received more ultrasound energies under contact sonication (0.299 W) than airborne sonication (0.245 W), thus avoiding the attenuation of ultrasonic energies by air. The modeling results revealed that contact ultrasound was more capable than airborne ultrasound to intensify the inner moisture diffusion and heat conduction, as well as surface exchange of heat and moisture with air. During air drying, contact ultrasound treatment eliminated the gradients of temperature and moisture inside blackberry easier than airborne ultrasound, leading to more homogenous distributions. Moreover, the total energy consumption under air drying with contact ultrasound assistance was 27.0% lower than that with airborne ultrasound assistance. Besides, blackberries dehydrated by contact ultrasound contained more anthocyanins and organic acids than those dried by airborne ultrasound, implying a higher quality. Overall, direct contact sonication can well benefit blackberry drying in both energy and quality aspects.

With the aim for a low-aspect-ratio flying wing configuration, this study explores the influence of wall temperature gradient on the laminar and turbulent boundary layers of aircraft surface and determines the effect on the transition Reynolds number and wall friction drag. A four-equation turbulence model with transition mode is used to numerically simulate the flow around the model. The variation of wall friction coefficient, transition Reynolds number, and turbulent boundary layer flow with wall temperature are emphatically investigated. Results show that when the wall temperature increases from 288 to 500 K, the boundary layer transition Reynolds number for the wing section increased by approximately 28% and the surface friction drags decreases by approximately 10.7%. The hot wall enhances the viscous effects of the laminar temperature boundary layer, reduces the Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy, and increases the flow stability. However, the velocity gradient and shear stress in the bottom of the turbulent boundary layer decreases, which leads to reduced friction shear stress on the wall surface. Therefore, for the low-aspect-ratio flying wing model, the hot wall can delay the boundary layer transition and reduce the friction drag coefficient in the turbulent region.

In this paper, study on sinter iron ores and titanium ores used in pelletizing was carried out. Bond work indexes of different sinter iron ores and titanium ores were measured. Ballability would be improved, and falling strength and compression strength of green pellets would be increased after fine-grinded sinter iron ores have been added. High-titanium pellets with good metallurgical properties and high compression strength could be produced by using fine-grinded titanium ores. The application of sinter iron ores and titanium ores used in pelletizing could not only reduce the cost of ironmaking but also expand the iron ore resources for pelletizing.

Titanium alloy is widely used in the area of aerospace and aviation due to its excellent properties. Eddy current testing (ECT) is among the most extensively used non-destructive techniques for titanium alloy material inspection. However, most previous research has focused on inspecting defects far from the edge of the material. It is a challenging task for edge crack detection because of edge effect. This study aims to investigate the influences of sensor parameters on edge effect and defect detection capability, and in the meantime, optimize sensor parameters to improve the capability of edge defect detection. The simulation method for edge effect evaluation is proposed including the 2k factorial design used for factor screening, and the regression model is fitted and validated for sensor design and optimization for edge defect detection. A simulation scheme is designed to investigate the defect detection capability. An approach comprehensively analyzing the influence of coil parameters on edge effect and defect detection capability is applied to determine the optimal coil parameters for edge defect detection.

The layout of temperature sensors mainly designed for the requirement of thermal management. The acquisition of temperature rise of lithium-ion battery is to get the condition for cooling on. However, in some extreme cases, the placed temperature sensors can not detect the precursor of thermal runaway of a specific cell. The objective of this paper is to optimize the temperature sensor placement to satisfy both thermal management and thermal runaway requirement. To achieve the goal, The temperature sensors placement of lithium-ion battery module was analyzed under charging and discharging conditions for thermal management requirement. Then, the temperature distribution of battery module was studied considering thermal runaway and the optimization results of temperature sensors placement was given. The temperature signal of the cell experiencing thermal runaway can be detected by the neighboring cell. In order to satisfy the requirement for thermal management and thermal runaway, one temperature sensor is placed every two cells on the middle part of the cell and two temperature sensors are placed on the upper part of the side cells.

Aramid fiber–reinforced plastic (AFRP) composites have been widely used in automotive, aerospace, and defense industries. The common AFRP drilling process tends to cause damage to the composite structures which subsequently affects their fatigue lives and in-service performance. Understanding the mechanism of cutting force generation is crucial in controlling the cutting process for achieving desired hole quality and machining accuracy. This study proposes a novel mechanistic model considering both the cutting action and the extrusion action of the chisel edge. For the first time, the extrusion force generated by the chisel edge has been considered as a rigid wedge penetrating into an elastic half space based on the Hertz contact theory. The total thrust force in AFRP drilling is divided into three components: (i) thrust force generated by the cutting lips, (ii) thrust force generated by the chisel edge cutting action, and (iii) extrusion force generated by the chisel edge extrusion action. The proposed model was then validated by experiments and data was compared with the case where extrusion was not considered. The results show that our novel mechanistic model can provide a more accurate thrust force prediction. The average error of our model was 2.54% against the experimental data, whereas the error seen in conventional model without accounting extrusion was 8.22%. This suggests that the chisel edge extrusion plays a significant part in the drilling of AFRP and hence confirms the necessity of considering extrusion in establishing the associated mechanistic model.

Warm frozen soil is very sensitive to temperature change in the near phase transition region, and the relationship between temperature and physical and mechanical properties can be expressed by con...

Here, we report the preparation of a Cr/ZrO2 composite catalyst for the reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS) that shows excellent low-temperature CO2 conversion and 100% CO selectivity. The catalyst was prepared from Cr-containing wastewater by photoreduction. Zirconia was used as a wide bandgap photocatalyst to photoreduce Cr(VI) under UV irradiation and immobilize the Cr species on the catalyst surface, resulting in a high dispersion. The results show that the obtained 1 wt%Cr/ZrO2 can catalyze the RWGS to reach the thermodynamic limit at 600 °C. The CO yield at 600 °C with photoreduced Cr/ZrO2 after calcination, 38.34%, is significantly higher than that of the catalyst prepared by impregnation. Metal hydrides were determined to be the key intermediates in the RWGS reaction with Cr/ZrO2 as the catalyst, and the cyclic conversion between Cr(VI) and Cr(III) caused by the hydrogen reduction and CO2 oxidation improves the catalytic activity. This study provides a strategy to acquire a promising RWGS catalyst for CO2 emission reduction and utilization and an attractive method to treat Cr-containing wastewater.

High-Manganese austenite-containing steels with superior combination of strength and ductility have shown potential for enhancement of passenger safety and body-in-white (BIW) weight reduction. Even though Zn-coated austenitic steels have improved corrosion resistance, they are highly susceptible to liquid metal embrittlement (LME) during welding. The present work is aimed to address LME susceptibility during restrained laser lap joining of high-Mn twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) and medium-Mn transformation induced plasticity (MMn-TRIP) steels. Electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) results showed that stress-assisted diffusion of Zn into the austenite grain boundaries and further liquid Zn formation by a peritectic reaction lead to grain boundary decohesion. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) results demonstrated that high angle and special grain boundaries are prone to Zn-penetration within the heat-affected-zone (HAZ). Additionally, LME sensitivity was observed to be highly dependent on the magnitude of applied stress.

A self-designed hot-air convective dryer coupled with contacting ultrasound system was used for the dehydration of garlic slices. Contacting ultrasound significantly accelerated the drying process. Compared with non-ultrasound treated samples, the drying time of garlic samples sonicated at 1513.5 W/m2 was shortened by 35.0% at 50 °C, 48.5% at 60 °C and 50.0% at 70 °C. According to water transport simulation using a diffusion model considering sample shrinkage, both water effective diffusivity and external mass transfer coefficient were enhanced when garlic samples contacted ultrasound directly during drying. In the meantime, internal water diffusion was more affected by contacting ultrasound. Furthermore, contacting ultrasound had a positive effect on the preservation of organosulfur compounds in garlic slices during drying. The browning problem of garlic products during hot-air drying was also alleviated if contacting ultrasound treatment was performed properly. Besides, no over-heating problem was observed during contacting ultrasound enhanced drying within the studied experimental range.

Here, we demonstrate a breathing-like passive thermal management material based on moisture adsorption and desorption of graphene oxide (GO) modified chromium (III) terephthalate metal organic framework (MIL-101Cr), which breaks the limitation of latent heat limitation of common phase change materials and is highly desirable for long-term heat dissipation of batteries and chips. Nanoscale MIL-101Cr (50∼100 nm) in-situ grown on the surface of GO (MIL-101Cr@GO) were prepared using a simple hydrothermal reaction method. In which, the MIL-101Cr acts as moisture adsorbent thus enables us to realize efficient heat dissipation through its moisture adsorption and desorption; while the GO acts as the nucleating agent for the growth of MIL-101Cr thus increases the nucleation rate and reduces the grain size of MIL-101Cr. As a result, the MIL-101Cr@GO shows high specific surface area and pore volume than that of pristine MIL-101Cr, resulting in higher moisture adsorption capacity and adsorption rate. In particular, the thermal management material MG6 (composed of MIL-101Cr and 6 wt% GO) shows a high moisture adsorption capacity of 1.391 g·g-1 (i.e., 1 g absorbent can absorb 1.391 g moisture), 35.44% higher than that of MIL-101Cr. The thermal management material MG6 achieves 9.0 °C temperature drop under 95% relative humidity for a ceramic heater with a heating power of 4W (similar to a typical Li-ion battery), and keep at ∼43.2 °C for at least 2 hours. In addition, the material MG6 can remain 95% moisture adsorption capacity after 144 hours of continuous operation, showing good thermal management performance and stability.

Process parameters of chicken 3D printing were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and genetic algorithm (GA), and the best 3D printing forming accuracy was obtained under 1.3 mm nozzle diameter, 9.8 mm filament diameter, 28.0 °C nozzle temperature, and 2.5% NaCl addition. The results of rheology and gel strength showed that NaCl-treated chicken paste had shear-thinning behavior and sufficient gel strength (>99.85 g mm), indicating that the chicken paste reached the balance between extruding smoothly from the nozzle and supporting the structure after deposition. On the other hand, the cooking feasibility of 3D-printed (3DP) product was explored by comparing with the mold-shaped (MS) product. Under the optimized condition, the cooked 3DP samples had similar texture characteristics with the MS samples, but showed more severe cooking loss. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results showed that due to the shear effect of 3D printing, water in the chicken gel gradually transformed to free water and was lost, leading to the relative concentration of protein. As a result, a more tight and uniform gel network structure was formed after cooking. In summary, the product using resulting optimum condition had good geometry and certain cooking feasibility.

Electronic packaging materials with efficient heat dissipation and anti-electromagnetic-interference performance are highly desirable to realize the long-term stable operation of highly integrated electronic devices. Such combined functions of heat dissipation and anti-electromagnetic-interference are achieved here by filling 3D CNF@C-Ni network skeleton in epoxy resins (EP). The CNF@C-Ni is a carbon nanofibers network skeleton embedded with micron flower-like C-Ni particles and has been obtained by carbonizing nickel metal–organic frameworks (Ni-MOF) embellished bacterial cellulose. The 3D CNF@C-Ni network skeleton provides a highly efficient heat transfer channel for EP, rendering a high thermal conductivity of 0.5 W·m−1K−1 at room temperature for the 5 wt% CNF@C-Ni filled EP, ~2.8 times higher than that of pristine EP. In addition, the flower-like C-Ni particles realize an optimization in the impedance matching of CNF@C-Ni/EP, enabling a high electromagnetic wave absorption performance in the wave-transparent epoxy resins. In particular, a lowest reflection loss value of −49.77 dB at 13.44 GHz with a maximum effective bandwidth of 5.44 GHz (from 12.08 to 17.52 GHz) has been achieved in the 5 wt% CNF@C-Ni filled epoxy resins with a thickness of 2.2 mm. Such a new dual-functionated epoxy resin with combined high electromagnetic wave absorption and thermal management performance shows great potential in manufacturing of highly integrated electronic devices.

In this study, a dynamic corrosion device for cement paste was developed according to the underground conditions of oil and natural gas wells, which possess a largely dynamic and constantly migrating corrosive medium. Using CO2 as the corrosion medium, the effects of the three corrosion conditions, namely static non-migration, dynamic non-migration, and dynamic migration of the corrosion solution, on the corrosion process of cement paste were studied. The results revealed that under static non-migration conditions, the corrosion products aggregated on the surface of the cement paste samples and filled the pores of the samples, thereby slowing the corrosion rate. Conversely, the ability of the corrosion products to fill the pores weakened and the leaching effect was enhanced in samples under dynamic non-migration conditions because of the flowing corrosion medium, which further accelerated the corrosion process. The migration of the corrosion medium strengthened the leaching effect of CO2 in the samples. The cracks on the surface of the samples were wider and longer than those of the non-migrated samples. This was more conducive to the invasion of corrosive media and for the acceleration of the corrosion process. These results not only enhance the understanding of cement corrosion, but also provide a new perspective and reference for corrosion research of oil-well cement paste.

Incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs) can significantly affect the mechanical properties of twin-structured metals. However, most previous studies have focused on the deformation mechanism of the coherent twin boundary (CTB), and metals with ITB-accommodated plasticity still require further investigation. In this study, deformation mechanisms of FCC-structured nanocrystal metals with ITBs were investigated using molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. We revealed that three deformation mechanisms occur in metals with ITBs. The first type of deformation was observed in Au, where the plasticity is governed by partial dislocation intersections with CTBs or reactions with each other to form Lomer–Cottrell (L–C) locks. In the second type, found in Al, the deformation is governed by reversible ITB migration. The third type of deformation, in Ni and Cu, is governed by partial dislocations emitted from the ITB or the tips of the stacking faults (SFs). The observed L–C lock formation, as well as the reversible ITB migration and partial dislocation emission from the tips of SFs, have rarely been reported before.

At supercritical conditions a porous strip (or slot strip) placed beneath a shock wave can reduce the drag by a weaker lambda shock system, and increase the buffet boundary, even may increase the lift. Passive shock wave/boundary layer control (PSBC) for drag reduction was conducted by SC(2)-0714 supercritical wing, with emphases on parameter of porous/slot and bump, such as porous distribution, hole diameter, cavity depth, porous direction and so on. A sequential quadratic programming (SQP) optimization method coupled with adjoint method was adopted to achieve the optimized shape and position of the bumps. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), force test and oil test with half model all indicate that PSBC with porous, slot and bump generally reduce the drag by weaker lambda shock at supercritical conditions. According to wind tunnel test results for angle of attack of 2° at Mach number M = 0 . 8 , the porous configuration with 6.21% porosity results in a drag reduction of 0.0002 and lift–drag ratio increase of 0.2, the small bump configuration results in a drag reduction of 0.0007 and lift–drag ratio increase of 0.3. Bump normally reduce drag at design point with shock wave position being accurately computed. If bump diverges from the position of shock wave, drag will not be easily reduced.

Various wall materials, including maltodextrin (MD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), whey protein isolate (WPI) and gum Arabic (Gum-A) were combined together as the wall materials for encapsulation of blueberry anthocyanin extracts through freeze drying. Simplex lattice mixture design was used to make the experimental design. Artificial neural network (ANN) combined with genetic algorithm (GA) was successfully applied to model the influences of formulation composition on encapsulation productivity (EP) and encapsulation efficiency (EE), as well as obtain optimum formulations. Four optimum formulations were provided by the ANN-GA approach. In all the optimum formulations, WPI had the highest content. Using the optimum formulations, EP values were higher than 96% and EE values exceeded 82%. On the other hand, the properties of resulting anthocyanin powders were analyzed from different aspects. Although there were some differences in bulk density, particle size and glass transition temperature among encapsulated powders using different formulations, all the samples exhibited similar moisture content, water activity, color property and crystallinity. More importantly, encapsulation using resulting optimum formulations was effective to protect blueberry anthocyanins against degradation during heating.

The structural and elastic properties of ZnSe with B3 and B1 phases under different pressure have been investigated by the first principle method based on density functional theory. The obtained structural parameters of ZnSe in both B3 and B1 structures are in good agreement with the available values. The transition pressure of ZnSe from B3 to B1 was predicted as 14.85 GPa by using the enthalpy–pressure data, which is well in line with experimental result. According to the obtained elastic constants, the elastic properties such as bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, ductile/brittle behavior and elastic anisotropy as a function of pressure for polycrystalline of ZnSe are discussed in details. In the frame work of quasi-harmonic Debye model, the temperature and pressure dependencies of the Debye temperature and heat capacity of ZnSe are obtained and discussed in the wide ranges.

With the unique properties such as high surface area to volume ratio, stability, inertness, ease of functionalization, as well as novel optical, electrical, and magnetic behaviors, nanomaterials have a wide range of applications in various fields with the common types including nanotubes, dendrimers, quantum dots, and fullerenes. With the aim of providing useful insights to help future development of efficient and commercially viable technology for large-scale production, this review focused on the science and applications of inorganic and organic nanomaterials, emphasizing on their synthesis, processing, characterization, and applications on different fields. The applications of nanomaterials on imaging, cell and gene delivery, biosensor, cancer treatment, therapy, and others were discussed in depth. Last but not least, the future prospects and challenges in nanoscience and nanotechnology were also explored.

In this paper, the basic performance of boron-containing concentrate and the method of pellet production with boron-containing concentrate was studied. Research results show that the granularity of boron-containing concentrate was finer; it had a good performance in pelletizing, and the green ball ballability index was at a higher level. If the boron-containing concentrate was heated, there was an obvious endothermic reaction between 550 and 700 ℃. This phenomenon had a negative effect on the compressive strength of preheated pellet. So the preheating temperature and preheating time of pellet should be increased in order to reduce the ring forming phenomenon of rotary kiln. The compressive strength of boron-bearing pellet decreased with the increase of the proportion of boron-bearing ore powder; the appropriate roasting system should be selected according to the proportion of boron-bearing concentrate. The metallurgical properties of boron-bearing pellets were similar to those of ordinary acid pellets.

The electrostatic powder spraying machine with excellent performance can effectively promote the application of electrostatic powder spraying production, which has the characteristics of low pollution, energy saving, economy and high film performance. In order to reasonably optimize structural parameters and ensure the reliability of the movable base of an electrostatic powder spraying machine, multi-objective optimization design and reliability analysis were carried out. Firstly, a parametric geometric model and numerical simulation model for the movable base were established according to the working principle and production conditions of the electrostatic powder spraying machine. Secondly, the static and dynamic characteristics of the movable base were analyzed using ANSYS Workbench software, and the distributions of stress, deformation and natural frequency were obtained. Thirdly, the mathematical model for optimum design of the movable base was established. Taking the thickness of the upper support plate, the spacing between the upper and lower support plates, the width of the angle steel edge and the thickness of the angle steel edge as design variables, and taking the mass, natural frequency and maximum deformation as objective parameters, the response surface method were used to analyze the sensitivity of design variables and to optimize the sizes of the movable base. Finally, taking the optimized sizes with high sensitivity as random input variables, the reliability analysis of the structure was carried out by using Monte Carlo method based on Latin hypercube sampling. The results show that the optimal design results satisfying reliability are effective and reliable.

In this study, a stress-oriented experiment of gas-containing coal extrusion was performed by establishing an experimental system integrating gas injection, loading, and electrical testing. Then, the apparent resistivity images in different stages of gassy coal extrusion evolution were obtained. Finally, multi-parameter electrical characteristic parameters were extracted, and the variation and characterization significance of characteristic parameters were analyzed. The results show that the overall values of apparent resistivity images decrease in the gas adsorption equilibrium and stress loading stages. After the extrusion occurs, the values grow remarkably; in addition, there exist abnormal resistance values in some areas, which is consistent with the distribution of coal fractures. The fundamental reason for this phenomenon lies in the changed conductive channel within gassy coal. Moreover, average and maximum values of apparent resistivity both decrease first before they increase, whereas the current and spontaneous potential both rise first and then fall, of which the current changes more obviously. These changes, which characterize the evolution process of gassy coal extrusion, can provide theoretical guidance and experimental basis for geophysical exploration of gas dynamic disasters in coal and rock.

Taking into account the advantageous and disadvantageous properties of mineral oil and natural esters, a novel three-element mixed insulation oil has been developed by our team. The main parameters of the novel three-element mixed insulation oil (76 v.% mineral oil + 19 v.% soybean oil + 5 v.% PFAE oil + 0.2 wt% $\mathbf{T}511+0.2$ wt% L06) meet the IEC standard (60296:2012) for mineral oil. The novel three-element mixed insulation oil has a similar kinematic viscosity as mineral oil. The oxidation stability properties of the novel three-element mixed insulation oil are superior to those of mineral oil. Its specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity values are higher than those of mineral oil between 30 °C and 100 °C. The saturated water content of the novel three-element mixed insulation oil is approximately 3–4 times larger than that of mineral oil above 45 °C. The mixed insulation oil has a higher AC breakdown voltage than mineral oil under the same absolute water content. In this research, without changing the insulation structure of the transformer, an old mineral oil distribution transformer (SBH15-M-400/10-0.4) serviced for 8 years was filled by the novel three element mixed insulation oil. In addition, a new distribution transformer (S11-M-400/10-0.4) was also filled by the novel three element mixed insulation oil. All the parameters of the both distribution transformer above meet the requirement of the standard. Compared with the same distribution transformer filled by mew mineral oil, the distribution transformer filled by the novel three-element mixed insulation oil has good insulation resistance, DC resistance, dielectric loss, no-load and load loss, etc. The good performance of the novel three-element mixed insulation oil could ensure the safe operation of the old and new 10kV distribution transformer.

Their excellent physical, chemical, and mechanical properties give ZrCu-based amorphous alloys a wide range of application prospects as advanced functional and structural materials for military and aerospace uses and in precision devices. Micro-electrochemical technology has been used to process amorphous alloys, and this paper reports the wire electrochemical micro-machining (WECMM) of the Zr67Cu15Ni11Al4Ti3 amorphous alloy. The dissolution characteristics and processing of the alloy in aqueous solutions are analyzed to understand the WECMM of this ZrCu-based amorphous alloy. Unlike with Cu-free Zr-based amorphous alloys, the Cu in the present case is electrolyzed quickly and generates a large amount of product deposition on the surface of the cathode after it is ionized, thereby seriously hindering the processing. Unlike the pure charge-transfer control process in an aqueous solution, the polarization process of the alloy in a glycol solution is controlled by both charge transfer and diffusion. In a glycol solution, the two-phase electric double layer comprises a compact layer and a diffusion layer, ions move relatively slowly between the cathode and anode, and products form relatively slowly. This is effective in (i) strengthening the reverse electric field effect of the bipolar pulse, (ii) hindering the migration of cations to the cathode, and (iii) directly avoiding the formation of products, thereby allowing the formation of high-quality micro-structures of ZrCu-based amorphous alloy with a relatively large thickness of 550 μm.

Lithium (Li) metal anode is attracting more attention because of its ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity and the lowest redox potential. However, the growth of Li dendrites caused by nonuniform Li-ion diffusion and distribution leads to safety hazards and hinders its practical application. Here, a fast-ion conducting interface is constructed on the Li surface to address the above issues by employing aluminum silicate (ASO) fibers. In addition, a stable inorganics-rich solid electrolyte interphase can be formed, which is revealed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As a result, a stable Li anode with long-term lifespan can be achieved (over 5500 cycles with low overpotential at 3 mA cm−2 in Li/Li symmetric cells). When paired with the LiFePO4 cathode, the cell with ASO can achieve more than 500 cycles with reduced capacity degradation. This work might shed new light on the facile design of fast-ion conducting interface for the Li metal anode and even other alkali-metal anodes.

Enhancing the thermoelectric performance of SnTe lies in the core of research, which has inspired effective and novel approaches such as point defects, electronic band structure engineering and nanostructuring. Herein, we propose an alternative route to enhance the thermoelectric performance of SnTe through a “top-down” hot deformation (HD) process. The HD induces a special orientation in the rock-salt SnTe, which is exclusive to layered structure materials and seldom achieved in cubic structure materials. In addition, the HD creates high density lattice defects such as dislocations and strain fluctuations in SnTe, a highly desired microstructure feature for low lattice thermal conductivity. As a result, the HD enables ∼45% and ∼58% enhancement in the maximum figure of merit ZT along the in-plane and cross-plane directions of SnTe. Such significant enhancement indicates great potential for the HD in enhancing the ZT of SnTe, which is extendable to other thermoelectric materials.