Toward a continuous synthesis of porous carbon xerogel beads

A continuous process for producing porous carbon xerogel beads has been developed. It consists in injecting a pre‐cured aqueous solution of resorcinol and formaldehyde on top of a column filled with hot oleic acid. The latter is pumped on the top of the column and fed at the bottom, generating an upward flow that can be adjusted to match the terminal velocity of the settling beads. Thus, the bead residence time in the column can be adjusted to match the gelation time, allowing the beads to solidify before reaching the bottom of the vessel. The obtained beads are subsequently dried and pyrolyzed. The developed experimental setup proved the continuous synthesis of porous carbon beads is possible. Nevertheless, the shaping process caused various texture changes of the porous carbon, which mainly yields macropores instead of micro and mesopores. This process also leads to the build‐up of a denser skin around the beads. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1049–1058, 2018     

An enhanced state estimation for linear parabolic PDE systems with mobile sensors

This paper studies an enhanced state estimation problem of distributed parameter processes modeled by a linear parabolic partial differential equation using mobile sensors. The proposed estimation scheme contains a state estimator and the guidance of mobile sensors, where the spatial domain is decomposed into multiple subdomains according to the number of sensors and each sensor is capable of moving within the respective subdomain. The state estimator is desired to make the state estimation error system exponentially stable while providing an performance bound. The mobile sensor guidance is used to enhance the transient performance of the error system. By the Lyapunov direct technique, an integrated design of state estimator and mobile sensor guidance laws is developed in the form of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs) to meet the desired design objectives. Moreover, to make the performance bound as small as possible, a suboptimal enhanced state estimation problem is formulated as a BMI optimization one, which can be solved via an iterative linear matrix inequality algorithm. Finally, numerical simulations are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

1.5 mm厚热轧高强耐候SPA-H带钢的开发

薄规格带钢生产中面临温降大、板形控制难、穿带速度快、轧制稳定性差等难题，通过对SPA-H带钢化学成分、连铸工艺、温度和板形控制的分析研究，确定了合理的工艺参数，开发出1.5 mm极限规格高强耐候SPA-H带钢。结合连铸拉速和结晶器液面控制，过程温度控制和设备精度控制，实现了1.5 mm热轧集装箱用SPA-H带钢的稳定轧制和批量供应，其板形和尺寸精度高，力学性能稳定，满足了用户的要求。     

Jute and hollow conjugated polyester composites for outdoor & indoor insulation applications

The research work aims at investigating the fitness of jute and hollow conjugated polyester (HCP) composites for indoor and outdoor applications. Limiting oxygen value index, natural weathering exposure was done on four optimized composite structures; i) sandwich structure composite (A); ii) blended non-woven structure composite (B); iii) multiple layers with 5% of low melt polyester added composite (C); (iv) multiple layers of non-woven stitched composite (D) were produced. Their tensile strength, strain at break, and Young’s modulus values were evaluated both before and after the coating of acrylic-based silicon emulsion (ASE). From the experimental results, it is suggested that sample A can be used for an interior trim, sample B can be a base material for interior designing, sample C can replace the usage of wood, plastics, metals, and alloys in hardware applicationsand sample D can be used in interiors as an insulation material in commercial buildings for the purpose of internal cooling or heating.     

云南富宁良子老寨钛铁矿成矿规律和矿床成因

云南富宁地区钛铁矿是我国重要的钛铁矿矿床,成矿条件优越。本文对良子老寨矿区残坡积风化壳型钛铁砂矿床的地质特征、矿体、矿石特征进行了总结和研究,探讨了矿床的矿床成因和成矿规律。海西—印支期偏碱性基性钛辉辉长辉绿岩体为该区钛铁矿的形成提供了物质来源。富宁地区温热潮湿多雨气候有利于风化作用形成,岩体出露地表后,岩体中的钛矿物经风化剥离、水解作用、次生富集、原地残留或近距离搬运沉积,形成了残坡积风化壳型钛铁砂矿床。陡坡、临近河流区域矿体厚度薄,风化作用弱部位品位低;山脊缓坡、河谷阶地、地形低凹地段矿体厚度较大、品位高。本文研究成果能够指导滇东南地区残坡积物风化壳内钛矿的找矿工作。     

Combining Electricity and Fuel Supply: Operational Strategies for Biogas Plants

The operational consequences resulting from the combination of a flexibly operated combined heat and power unit (CHP) and an off‐grid biomethane filling station at one biogas plant were investigated. Four different operating scenarios were compared to evaluate the storage capacity needed to balance biogas demand fluctuations and biogas production. The scenario in which fuel production was given priority and electricity was produced within the remaining hours proved to cause the lowest additional costs since it does not require additional installation of biogas storage capacity and causes minor opportunity cost in electricity marketing. Giving fuel demand the priority reduces the necessary biogas storage capacity by 75 % compared to parallel optimization of the electricity and fuel demands.     

Photoluminescence and energy transfer of Lu3Al5O12:Ce3+, Pr3+ phosphors

Ce³⁺ and Pr³⁺ co?doped Lu₃Al₅O₁₂ phosphors were synthesized by the sol–gel process, and their crystal structure, photoluminescence (PL) properties, and energy transfer (ET) from the Ce³⁺ to Pr³⁺ were studied. The Lu_2.94?yAl₅O₁₂:0.06Ce³⁺, yPr³⁺ phosphors (0.002 ≤ y ≤ 0.008) showed the green?yellow emission from the ²D_3/2 → ²F_{5/2, 7/2} transition of Ce³⁺ and the red emission at 610 and 637 nm, which were caused by the ¹D₂→³H₄ and ³P₀→³H₅ transitions of Pr³⁺, respectively. The optimal concentration of Pr³⁺ for efficient ET was found to be x = 0.006. The electric quadrupole?quadrupole interaction was responsible for the concentration quenching in the Lu_2.94?yAl₅O₁₂:0.06Ce³⁺, yPr³⁺ phosphors, based on Dexter's theory. The incorporation of Pr³⁺ for Lu³⁺ enhanced the red PL intensity in the Lu_2.94Al₅O₁₂:0.06Ce³⁺ phosphor.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of B4C matrix composites prepared via hot-pressing sintering with Pr6O11 as additive

High-performance B₄C-PrB₆ composites were prepared via hot-pressing sintering with matrix phase B₄C and with 2–5 wt% Pr₆O₁₁ as additive. The effects of different sintering processes and Pr₆O₁₁ content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were studied in detail. It is found that increasing sintering temperature and pressure will contribute to the densification of B₄C-PrB₆ composites. Coarse grains are formed in B₄C without additives at high temperature conditions, resulting in the decrease of the densification. Pr₆O₁₁ can effectively hinder the formation of coarse grains and finally promote the densification of the composites. The main toughening mechanisms of composites was crack deflection. The composites with 4 wt% Pr₆O₁₁ prepared at 2050 °C and 25 MPa had the best comprehensive mechanical properties. The relative density, hardness, flexural strength and fracture toughness reached to 98.9%, 37.6 GPa, 339 MPa and 4.4 MP am^1/2, respectively.