ACCUGRAM: A novel approach based on classification to frequency band selection for rotating machinery fault diagnosis

Frequency band selection (FBS) in rotating machinery fault diagnosis aims to recognize frequency band location including a fault transient out of a full band spectrum, and thus fault diagnosis can suppress noise influence from other frequency components. Impulsiveness and cyclostationarity have been recently recognized as two distinctive signatures of a transient. Thus, many studies have focused on developing quantification metrics of the two signatures and using them as indicators to guide FBS. However, most previous studies almost ignore another aspect of FBS, i.e. health reference, which significantly affect FBS performance. To address this issue, this paper investigates importance of a health reference and recognize it as the third critical aspect in FBS. With help of the health reference, the frequency band where the fault transient exists could be located. A novel approach based on classification is proposed to integrate all three aspects (impulsiveness, cyclostationarity, and health reference) for FBS. Classification accuracy is developed as a novel indicator to select the most sensitive frequency band for rotating machinery fault diagnosis. The proposed method (coined by accugram) has been validated on benchmark and experiment datasets. Comparison results show its effectiveness and robustness over conventional envelope analysis, the kurtogram, and the infogram.     

Fabrication of novel silicon carbide-based nanomaterials with unique hydrophobicity and microwave absorption property

Novel SiC-based nanomaterials, namely the nitrogen and aluminum co-doped SiC@SiO₂ core-shell nanowires and nitrogen-doped SiO₂/Al₂O₃ nanoparticles, have been fabricated through a facile thermal treatment process based on the chemical vapor deposition and vapor-liquid reaction. These nanomaterials show remarkable hydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) over 140°, which are aroused by the surface zigzag morphology of the nanostructures and the hydrocarbyl groups generated during the preparation process. Moreover the nanocomposites also exhibit relatively prominent microwave absorption (MA) properties in the frequency range of 2.0-18.0 GHz. The minimum reflection loss (RL) value as low as −23.68 dB can be observed at 14.16 GHz when the absorber thickness is 2.6 mm with a loading rate of 16.7 wt%. And the nanocomposites-based absorbent can achieve an effective absorption bandwidth (RL < −10 dB) of 4.48 GHz with the absorbent thickness of 2.5 mm. This enhanced microwave attenuation performance can be attributed to multiple polarizations and perfect impedance matching conditions, as well as multiple internal reflections. These marvelous properties make these N and Al co-doped SiC@SiO₂ core-shell nanowires and N-doped SiO₂/Al₂O₃ nanoparticles display extensive application potential as MA materials in harsh environment.     

Microwave drying performance of lignite with the assistance of biomass-derived char

Microwave lignite drying with assistance of biomass-derived char was addressed and effect of bio-char on drying rate and energy consumption was investigated in this work. Effective diffusion coefficient and activation energy for the drying process were also analyzed. The results indicated the drying process was largely dependent on the variation of sample temperature. Bio-char originated from pine wood was most favorable for lignite drying, considering its better promoting effect and advanced security. There existed an optimal bio-char addition ratio for drying process at different power. The corresponding optimal ratio was 10% at 231?W and 15% at 385?W, at which the biggest drying rate and the least energy consumption were reached. It was compared lignite drying initiated at 385?W was better for energy conservation. Effective diffusivity was improved and activation energy was simultaneously reduced, with the addition of bio-char. The minimum activation energy was 15.54?W?·?g^?1, which was gained at bio-char addition ratio of 10%. The results revealed the effect of bio-char on depressing activation energy could rival that of metal-based additives. The drying process with assistance of microwave and bio-char could present technical and economical benefits on lignite upgrading.     

Preliminary Evidence on the Diagnostic and Molecular Role of Circulating Soluble EGFR in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Assessment of biological diagnostic factors providing clinically-relevant information to guide physician decision-making are still needed for diseases with poor outcomes, such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a promising molecule in the clinical management of NSCLC. While the EGFR transmembrane form has been extensively investigated in large clinical trials, the soluble, circulating EGFR isoform (sEGFR), which may have a potential clinical use, has rarely been considered. This study investigates the use of sEGFR as a potential diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC and also characterizes the biological function of sEGFR to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in the course of action of this protein. Plasma sEGFR levels from a heterogeneous cohort of 37 non-advanced NSCLC patients and 54 healthy subjects were analyzed by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The biological function of sEGFR was analyzed in vitro using NSCLC cell lines, investigating effects on cell proliferation and migration. We found that plasma sEGFR was significantly decreased in the NSCLC patient group as compared to the control group (median value: 48.6 vs. 55.6 ng/mL respectively; p = 0.0002). Moreover, we demonstrated that sEGFR inhibits growth and migration of NSCLC cells in vitro through molecular mechanisms that included perturbation of EGF/EGFR cell signaling and holoreceptor internalization. These data show that sEGFR is a potential circulating biomarker with a physiological protective role, providing a first approach to the functional role of the soluble isoform of EGFR. However, the impact of these data on daily clinical practice needs to be further investigated in larger prospective studies.     

Structures and properties of chicken myofibrillar protein gel induced by microwave heating

Structures and properties of myofibrillar protein gel prepared at different power (300–800 W) were evaluated. Amino acid analysis demonstrated that changes in microwave power did not alter primary structure of gel. However, an increase in microwave power could change higher structures of gel. As microwave power increased, α-helix content decreased and β-sheet content increased. Increased microwave power probably facilitated protein to unfold and expose the internal groups, causing surface hydrophobicity and the formation of disulphide bonds were enhanced, which indicated changes in tertiary and quaternary structures of protein. At 500 W, gel had the best ultrastructure where surface morphology, springiness and water holding capacity reached the optimum. Our findings suggested that microwave at an appropriate power (500 W) could change higher structures of myofibrillar protein gel to achieve desired processing and quality protein gel characteristics.     

Microwave dielectric properties of SrLa[Ga1−x(Mg0.5Ti0.5)x]O4 and SrLa[Ga1−x(Zn0.5Ti0.5)x]O4 (x = 0.2-0.8) ceramics

SrLa[Ga_1−x(R_0.5Ti_0.5)_x]O₄ (R = Mg, Zn) ceramics were prepared by a standard solid state sintering method. The single-phase ceramics with K₂NiF₄-type layered perovskite structure and I4/mmm space group were obtained, indicating that SrLa(R_0.5Ti_0.5) and SrLaGaO₄ can form the unlimited solid solutions. With increasing x for R = Mg and Zn, ε_r increases monotonously, the Qf value first increases and then decreases, while τ_f increases from a negative to a positive value. The optimized microwave dielectric properties were obtained as following: ε_r = 23.3, Qf = 89 400 GHz, τ_f = −0.8 ppm/°C for SrLa[Ga_0.6(Mg_0.5Ti_0.5)_0.4]O₄ and ε_r = 23.3, Qf = 76 200 GHz, τ_f = 0.2 ppm/°C for SrLa[Ga_0.7(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5)_0.3]O₄, indicating that the present solid solution ceramics are the promising candidates as microwave resonator materials for the telecommunication applications.     

多共振分量融合CNN的行星齿轮箱故障诊断

针对行星齿轮箱中各部件所激起的振动成分混叠、早期故障特征经常被较强的各级齿轮谐波成分以及环境噪声所湮没的问题，提出一种多共振分量融合卷积神经网络（multi-resonance component fusion based convolutional neural network，简称MRCF-CNN）的行星齿轮箱故障诊断方法。首先，对振动信号进行共振稀疏分解，得到包含齿轮谐波成分的高共振分量和可能包含轴承故障冲击成分的低共振分量；其次，构建多共振分量融合卷积神经网络，将得到的高、低共振分量和原始振动信号进行自适应的特征级融合，通过有监督的方式训练模型并进行行星齿轮箱故障诊断。对行星齿轮箱实验数据的分析结果表明，该方法能够有效分类行星齿轮箱中滚动轴承和齿轮的故障，成功对行星齿轮箱故障进行诊断，同时能够进一步增强卷积神经网络对振动信号所蕴含的故障信息的辨识能力。     

微波合成无机纳米材料的研究进展

微波加热作为一种合成纳米材料的新方法，近年来得到飞速发展。介绍了微波加热原理，阐述了微波合成无机纳米材料的一些研究进展，主要是液相微波加热在制备金属氧化物和金属硫化物纳米材料以及微波烧结在合成陶瓷材料的应用，并对该领域未来作了一些展望。