Influence of Co/W co-doping on structural and electrical properties of Na0.5Bi2.5Nb2O9 piezoelectric ceramics

Co/W co-doped Na_0.5Bi_2.5Nb_2-x(Co_1/3W_2/3)_xO₉ (NBNCW-x) ceramic samples were prepared by the conventional solid state reaction method. The electrical properties and crystal structure of the NBNCW-x ceramic samples were analyzed in detail. The XRD and Rietveld refinement results showed that the samples lattice distortion decreased with the increment of Co/W doping. The XPS results showed that the number of oxygen vacancies in the Na_0.5Bi_2.5Nb₂O₉ ceramics could be reduced by the substitution of a small amount of Co/W. The weakened lattice distortion and reduced number of oxygen vacancies of the Na_0.5Bi_2.5Nb₂O₉ ceramics synergistically contributed to its improved electrical properties. In particular, the Na_0.5Bi_2.5Nb_1.97(Co_1/3W_2/3)_0.03O₉ ceramic exhibited the best performance, and its T_c, d₃₃ and P_r were 780 °C, 24.9 pC/N and 12.6 μC/cm², respectively. The dielectric loss was only 3.3% at 550 °C. In addition, this ceramic exhibited excellent thermal stability, with the d₃₃ value of the ceramic being 95.2% of its original value when annealed at 750 °C. These properties indicate that the Co/W co-doped Na_0.5Bi_2.5Nb₂O₉-based ceramics have potential application in the high-temperature field.     

优化GD-模糊规则的滑坡预报模型研究

为了提高滑坡灾害预报准确率，改善传统的滑坡监测和预报中存在的参数选取困难及模糊控制系统作为预报模型精确度不高的问题，首先采用山体结构稳定性分析法进行滑坡灾害参数的选取，得出降雨量、含水率、土压力及岩土表面位移增量作为预报参数的结论；其次将选取的参数作为模糊系统的输入，建立滑坡灾害发生概率模型，并引入优化的GD算法修正预报模型中的动态参数，使模糊控制模型具有自适应性；同时与未优化的模糊控制模型以及单独模糊控制模型进行仿真对比，仿真结果表明，该控制算法收敛速度快，具有很好的收敛性；最后将该模型在某滑坡重点灾区实验区进行实验测试，实验结果显示该模型具有较好的收敛性，且预报精度达到90%。     

An adjusted K‐medoids clustering algorithm for effective stability in vehicular ad hoc networks

Recently, the routing problem in vehicular ad hoc networks is one of the most vital research. Despite the variety of the proposed approaches and the development of communications technologies, the routing problem in VANET suffers from the high speed of vehicles and the repetitive failures in communications. In this paper, we adjusted the well‐known K‐medoids clustering algorithm to improve the network stability and to increase the lifetime of all established links. First, the number of clusters and the initial cluster heads will not be selected randomly as usual, but based on mathematical formula considering the environment size and the available transmission ranges. Then the assignment of nodes to clusters in both k‐medoids phases will be carried out according to several metrics including direction, relative speed, and proximity. To the best of our knowledge, our proposed model is the first that introduces the new metric named “node disconnection frequency.” This metric prevents nodes with volatile and suspicious behavior to be elected as a new CH. This screening ensures that the new CH retains its property as long as possible and thus increases the network stability. Empirical results confirm that in addition to the convergence speed that characterizes our adjusted K‐medoids clustering algorithm (AKCA), the proposed model achieves more stability and robustness when compared with most recent approaches designed for the same objective.     

Approaching Ultrastable High‐Rate Li–S Batteries through Hierarchically Porous Titanium Nitride Synthesized by Multiscale Phase Separation

Porous architectures are important in determining the performance of lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs). Among them, multiscale porous architecutures are highly desired to tackle the limitations of single‐sized porous architectures, and to combine the advantages of different pore scales. Although a few carbonaceous materials with multiscale porosity are employed in LSBs, their nonpolar surface properties cause the severe dissolution of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). In this context, multiscale porous structure design of noncarbonaceous materials is highly required, but has not been exploited in LSBs yet because of the absence of a facile method to control the multiscale porous inorganic materials. Here, a hierarchically porous titanium nitride (h‐TiN) is reported as a multifunctional sulfur host, integrating the advantages of multiscale porous architectures with intrinsic surface properties of TiN to achieve high‐rate and long‐life LSBs. The macropores accommodate the high amount of sulfur, facilitate the electrolyte penetration and transportation of Li⁺ ions, while the mesopores effectively prevent the LiPS dissolution. TiN strongly adsorbs LiPS, mitigates the shuttle effect, and promotes the redox kinetics. Therefore, h‐TiN/S shows a reversible capacity of 557 mA h g^?1 even after 1000 cycles at 5 C rate with only 0.016% of capacity decay per cycle.     

Phase portraits of Abel quadratic differential systems of second kind with symmetries

We provide normal forms and the global phase portraits on the Poincaré disk of the Abel quadratic differential equations of the second kind having a symmetry with respect to an axis or to the origin. Moreover, we also provide the bifurcation diagrams for these global phase portraits.     

Photoluminescence and thermal expansion of zirconium vanadate

The optical property and phase transition of ZrV₂O₇ were investigated by temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectra. It was found that the material exhibited PL emission in the visible region. The temperature-dependent PL emission showed that the peak energy for emission (at red wavelength) presented a red shift from 10 to 80 K, and then a blue shift with the increase in temperature. The PL emission bands of ZrV₂O₇ shifted with change in temperature relating to its phase transition (80-100 K), which could be confirmed by temperature-dependent Raman spectra.     

Unconditional stability and error estimates of the modified characteristics FEMs for the time-dependent incompressible MHD equations

This paper focuses on the unconditional stability and convergence of characteristics type methods for the time-dependent incompressible MHD equations. For this purpose, we introduce a new characteristics time-discrete system. The optimal error estimates in $L^2$ and $H^1$ norms for the typical modified characteristics finite element method unconditionally can be deduced, while the whole previous works require certain time-step restrictions. Some numerical experiments document performance of the characteristics type methods for the time-dependent incompressible MHD equations.