Characterization of anisotropic gas permeability and thermomechanical properties of highly textured porous alumina

Porous alumina with a highly textured microstructure was fabricated by pulse electric current sintering (PECS) using alumina platelets. Highly oriented porous alumina with a porosity of 3%–50% was obtained by a pressure-controlled method of PECS. The properties of the highly textured porous alumina were measured in two directions. The nitrogen gas permeance and thermal conductivity at room temperature were higher in the direction along the platelet length due to the higher continuity of pores and the connectivity of alumina platelets, respectively. The anisotropy of the thermal conductivity at room temperature was investigated and explained by the effect of grain size of platelets as well as morphology and orientation of pores. The bending strength was higher with the loading direction along the platelet thickness. The thermal shock strength was clearly different in the two directions. The difference in the thermal shock strength was investigated by the measurement of properties and thermal stress analysis.     

Cyclic thermal shock resistance of h-BN composite ceramics with La2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 addition

The effects of La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ addition on the thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young's modulus and cyclic thermal shock resistance of hot-pressed h-BN composite ceramics were investigated. The samples were heated to 1000 °C and then quenched to room temperature with 1–50 cycles, and the residual flexural strength was used to evaluate cyclic thermal shock resistance. h-BN composite ceramics containing 10 vol% La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ and 20 vol% SiO₂ addition exhibited the highest flexural strength, thermal conductivity and relatively low CTE, which were beneficial to the excellent thermal shock resistance. In addition, the viscous amorphous phase of ternary La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system could accommodate and relax thermal stress contributing to the high thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the residual flexural strength still maintained the value of 234.3 MPa (86.9% of initial strength) after 50 cycles of thermal shock.     

Two-level intelligent modeling method for the rate of penetration in complex geological drilling process

The rate of penetration (ROP) model is of great importance in achieving a high efficiency in the complex geological drilling process. In this paper, a novel two-level intelligent modeling method is proposed for the ROP considering the drilling characteristics of data incompleteness, couplings, and strong nonlinearities. Firstly, a piecewise cubic Hermite interpolation method is introduced to complete the lost drilling data. Then, a formation drillability (FD) fusion submodel is established by using Nadaboost extreme learning machine (Nadaboost-ELM) algorithm, and the mutual information method is used to obtain the parameters, strongly correlated with the ROP. Finally, a ROP submodel is established by a neural network with radial basis function optimized by the improved particle swarm optimization (RBFNN-IPSO). This two-level ROP model is applied to a real drilling process and the proposed method shows the best performance in ROP prediction as compared with conventional methods. The proposed ROP model provides the basis for intelligent optimization and control in the complex geological drilling process.     

Improved Corrosion Resistance of Selective Laser Melted Ti–5Cu Alloy Using Atomized Ti–5Cu Powder

The different types of metal powder used for selective laser melting(SLM) process would cause distinct corrosion behavior due to the uniformity of the obtained microstructure.The SLM-produced Ti–5Cu alloy using atomized Ti–5Cu metal powder(SLMed Ti–5Cu) in this work reveals a relatively uniform microstructure with overwhelming acicular α/α′ phase and shows great advantages on corrosion resistance compared with the SLM-produced Ti–5Cu alloy using the mixture powder(SLMedM Ti–5Cu).The effect of the micro-galvanic cells decreases due to the undetectable Ti_2Cu phase in the microstructure of the SLMed Ti–5Cu.An apparent passivation behavior was observed for SLMed Ti–5Cu instead of severe pitting phenomenon for the SLMed-M Ti–5Cu.The charge transfer resistance of SLMed Ti–5Cu in this work is 10.09 ± 2.63 MΩ cm~2, which is significantly higher than that of SLMed-M Ti–5Cu(4.76 MΩ cm~2).The above result indicates the atomized Ti–5Cu powder plays an important role in the formation of the uniform microstructure of SLMed product, thereby enhancing its corrosion resistance in Hank's solution at 37 ℃.     

PAM-粉煤灰体系在煤泥水絮凝沉降过程中的作用及机理

以煤泥水COD、SS、动电位、污泥比阻为切入点,分析了煤泥水的特点及难以絮凝沉降的原因,并研究了PAM-粉煤灰体系在混凝沉降作用中的机理。研究结果表明:PAM-粉煤灰法在最优条件下,清水分离率47%、沉降速度0.357 mm/s;上清液:pH=7.35,SS=55.57 mg/L,COD=37.72 mg/L;污泥比阻为0.062×10^15 m/kg,满足煤泥水循环标准。     

Methyltransferase Contingencies in the Pathway of Everninomicin D Antibiotics and Analogues

Everninomicins are orthoester oligosaccharide antibiotics with potent activity against multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens. Everninomicins act by disrupting ribosomal assembly in a distinct region in comparison to clinically prescribed drugs. We employed microporous intergeneric conjugation with Escherichia coli to manipulate Micromonospora for targeted gene-replacement studies of multiple putative methyltransferases across the octasaccharide scaffold of everninomicin effecting the A₁, C, F, and H rings. Analyses of gene-replacement and genetic complementation mutants established the mutability of the everninomicin scaffold through the generation of 12 previously unreported analogues and, together with previous results, permitted assignment of the ten methyltransferases required for everninomicin biosynthesis. The in vitro activity of A₁- and H-ring-modifying methyltransferases demonstrated the ability to catalyze late-stage modification of the scaffold on an A₁-ring phenol and H-ring C-4’ hydroxy moiety. Together these results establish the potential of the everninomicin scaffold for modification through mutagenesis and in vitro modification of advanced biosynthetic intermediates.     

Formation and wear mechanism of nickel titanium intermetallics during heat treatment of nickel coating on Ti-6Al-4V substrate

In the present work, inter-diffusion of nickel and titanium and formation of Ni-Ti intermetallic compounds on Ti-6Al-4V substrate have been studied. Initially, nickel was electrodeposited on the alloy using a modified Watts bath solution at a current density of 2 A dm^?2 for 1?h. The coated specimens were then heat treated for different durations at 750, 800 and 850 °C under argon atmosphere. The effects of temperature and time on the characteristics, hardness and wear resistance of intermetallic phases were investigated. The results showed that a multilayer structure was formed after heat treatment, an outer layer of residual nickel, an area of intermetallic layers with different compositions followed by a solid solution of Ni-Ti. It was also observed that an increase in time or temperature at first led to the formation of thicker intermetallic layers; however, after passing a critical point, the intermetallic layers seem to dissolve into the substrate. Furthermore, the wear rates of the diffusion treated samples were four times lower compared to Ti-6Al-4V alloy when sliding against AISI 52100 hardened steel.     

Performance of insulated FRP-strengthened concrete flexural members under fire conditions

This paper presents the results of fire resistance tests on carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened concrete flexural members, i.e., T-beams and slabs. The strengthened members were protected with fire insulation and tested under the combined effects of thermal and structural loading. The variables considered in the tests include the applied load level, extent of strengthening, and thickness of the fire insulation applied to the beams and slabs. Furthermore, a previously developed numerical model was validated against the data generated from the fire tests; subsequently, it was utilized to undertake a case study. Results from fire tests and numerical studies indicate that owing to the protection provided by the fire insulation, the insulated CFRP-strengthened beams and slabs can withstand four and three hours of standard fire exposure, respectively, under service load conditions. The insulation layer impedes the temperature rise in the member; therefore, the CFRP–concrete composite action remains active for a longer duration and the steel reinforcement temperature remains below 400°C, which in turn enhances the capacity of the beams and slabs.     

托盘式湿法烟气脱硫塔阻力特性研究

采用冷态物理模型结合商用CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics)软件,对山东某火电厂300 MW机组配套托盘塔的流场和阻力特性进行了研究,取得了孔板阻力损失与液气比之间的二次函数关系。研究结果表明,塔内两相流场分布合理,入口处液滴受烟气的拖拽作用形成明显的干湿界面,负荷和液气比是影响脱硫塔阻力的重要因素。当液气比一定时,托盘上方能够维持相对稳定的持液层及鼓泡过程;满负荷运行时,脱硫塔阻力损失约为1600 Pa,其中孔板占1/4,持液层占3/4。拟合获得了托盘区阻力损失同液气比之间的关系,为托盘塔的应用、运行及优化提供了理论指导。     

Influence of SiC content on the oxidation of carbon fibre reinforced ZrB2/SiC composites at 1500 and 1650 °C in air

The microstructure and the oxidation resistance in air of continuous carbon fibre reinforced ZrB₂–SiC ceramic composites were investigated. SiC content was varied between 5–20?vol.%, while maintaining fibre content at ～40?vol.%. Short term oxidation tests in air were carried out at 1500 and 1650?°C in a bottom-up loading furnace. The thickness, composition and microstructure of the resulting oxide scale were analysed by SEM-EDS and X-Ray diffraction. The results show that contents above 15?vol.% SiC ensure the formation of a homogeneous protective borosilicate glass that covers the entire sample and minimizes fibre burnout. The scale thickness is ～90?μm for the sample containing 5?vol.% SiC and decreases with increasing SiC content.