Piezo-assisted photoelectric catalysis degradation for dyes and antibiotics by Ag dots-modified NaNbO3 powders

NaNbO₃ is explored as a potential candidate for catalysis due to its excellent piezoelectricity. However, its photocatalysis is significantly limited for the inherent characteristics of wide band gap. In this work, NaNbO₃ and Ag dots-modified NaNbO₃ micron-sized powders are prepared and applied in piezo-photocatalysis to explore the coupling effects. The results show that the piezocatalysis degradation efficiency of RhB solution (the initial concentration C₀ = 5 mg/L) reaches 92.3% within 30 min, and the rate constant k is 0.0889 min^?1. The efficiency of piezo-photocatalysis degradation reaches 92.7% in 25 min, and the rate constant k is 0.11 min^?1 for NaNbO₃. The rate constant k of Ag dots-modified NaNbO₃ for piezo-photocatalytic degradation of RhB (C₀ = 5 mg/L) is increased to 0.16314 min^?1. The optical and electrochemical activities of NaNbO₃-0.75hAg are studied to reveal the role of Ag nanoparticles. The band gap of NaNbO₃ is 3.59 eV, which is decreased to 3.36 eV after the modification with Ag dots. The lower band gap means that e^? in the valence band is more easily excited to shift the conduction band, which is beneficial to the photocatalytic reaction process. In addition, NaNbO₃-0.75hAg has a higher photogenerated carrier density, a faster electron-hole pair separation and transfer rate, which are beneficial to the catalytic oxidation process. The work provides a useful means to decease the band gap of NaNbO₃ and achieve outstanding piezo-photocatalysis for degradation of hazardous organic dyes in contaminated water.     

Laser Ablation and Laser-Hybrid Ablation Processes: A Review

Laser beam machining (LBM) has proven its applications and advantages over almost all the range of engineering materials. It offers its competences from macro-machining to micro- and nano-machining of simple-to-complex shapes. The hybrid approaches in laser ablation have demonstrated much improved results in terms of material removal rate, surface integrity, geometrical tolerances, thermal damage, metallurgical alterations, and many more. The flipside of LBM is the existence of universal problems associated with its thermal ablation mechanism. In order to alleviate or reduce the inherent problems of LBM, a massive research has been done during the past decade in order to build a relatively new route of laser-hybrid processes. This paper reviews the research work carried out so far in the area of LBM and its hybrid processes for different materials and shapes. The article also highlights the research gaps and future research directions in the context of laser and laser-hybrid ablation.     

A novel adaptive deadbeat- based control for load frequency control of low inertia system in interconnected zones north and south of Scotland

An adaptive deadbeat (ADB) controller was developed to investigate its capability in providing a fast frequency response to an electrical power system. This controller was developed to meet the requirements of the National Grid System Operability Framework (SOF), which requires frequency to be accelerated in line with a fast rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) when a high rate of nonsynchronous machines are presented. The controller’s parameters were optimized using particle swarm optimization (PSO) to ensure a robust operation and to maintain the proper operation of the power system. The design of the ADB controller was then integrated with the multiarea model of the north and south zones of Scotland. This model was developed in order to conform to the future energy requirements scenario stated by National Grid whereby regional control can be provided in both the north and south of Scotland. In comparison with the standard PI and Fuzzy-PI controllers used in the four highlighted case studies, it was shown that the ADB controller was able to significantly reduce the RoCoF and deviation of frequency when a sudden loss of generation occurred in a low inertia zone. The ADB also showed high robustness against a wide range of operating conditions.     

Improved macroblock level rate control for the spatially scalable extension of H.264/AVC

An improved rate control algorithm, designed for scalable video coders incorporating interlayer prediction, is proposed. Firstly, a Rate Distortion (RD) model for interlayer prediction involving the spatial enhancement layers is devised. An optimised Mean Absolute Difference (MAD) prediction model for the spatial enhancement layers that considers both the MAD from the spatial base layer in the same frame and the MAD from the corresponding macroblock in previous frames is also proposed. Simulation results show that the resulting algorithm produces accurate rate control with an average bit rate error of less than 0.26%. Compared with the JVT-W043 default rate control algorithm of the JSVM, the proposed algorithm improves the average PSNR by up to 0.53 dB or reduces the bit rate by an average of 10.95%. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm can be combined with the existing rate control scheme for H.264/AVC, resulting in further improvements.     

Three-dimensional Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes/graphene/nickel foam electrode with high rate capability for supercapacitor applications

Supercapacitor, known as an important energy storage device, is also a critical component for next generation of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In this study, we report a novel route for synthesis of three-dimensional Ni(OH)₂/graphene/nickel foam electrode by electrochemical depositing Ni(OH)₂ nanoflakes on graphene network grown on nickel foam current collector and explore its applications in supercapacitors. The resulting binder-free Ni(OH)₂/graphene/nickel foam electrode exhibits excellent supercapacitor performance with a specific capacitance of 2161 F/g at a current density of 3 A/g. Even as the current density reaches up to 60 A/g, it still remains a high capacitance of 1520 F/g, which is much higher than that of Ni(OH)₂/nickel foam electrode. The enhanced rate capability performance of Ni(OH)₂/graphene/nickel foam electrode is closely related to the presence of highly conductive graphene layer on nickel foam, which can remarkably boost the charge-transfer process at electrolyte–electrode interface. The three-dimensional graphene/nickel foam substrate also significantly improves the electrochemical cycling stability of the electrodeposited Ni(OH)₂ film because of the strong adhesion between graphene film and electrodeposited Ni(OH)₂ nanoflakes. Results of this study provide an alternative pathway to improve the rate capability and cycling stability of Ni(OH)₂ nanostructure electrode and offer a great promise for its applications in supercapacitors.     

Performance prediction of hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in difficult ground

Performance prediction of TBMs is an essential part of project scheduling and cost estimation. This process involves a good understanding of the complexities in the site geology, machine specification, and site management. Various approaches have been used over the years to estimate TBM performance in a given ground condition, many of them were successful and within an acceptable range, while some missing the actual machine performance by a notable margin. Experience shows that the best approach for TBM performance prediction is to use various models to examine the range of estimated machine penetration and advance rates and choose a rate that best represents the working conditions that is closest to the setting of the model used for the estimation. This allows the engineers to avoid surprises and to identify the parameters that could dominate machine performance in each case. This paper reviews the existing models for performance prediction of TBMs and some of the ongoing research on developing better models for improved accuracy of performance estimate and increasing TBM utilization.     

An activated-state model for the prediction of solid-phase crystallization growth kinetics in dried lactose particles

Molecular-level understanding of solid-phase crystallization growth kinetics has the potential to improve the fundamental basis for understanding this process. This understanding has been developed here as part of an activated-state model, which accounts for the effects of the moisture content and the temperature on the crystallization rate. Water-induced crystallization (WIC) at different temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C, 40 °C) and a constant relative humidity (75%) environment has been used to analyze the changes in enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy of activation for the solid-phase crystallization of lactose. WIC showed that, at higher temperatures, crystallization commences at lower moisture contents. The enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of activation increased during the crystallization process, which suggested that the binding energy needed for the formation of an activated complex increased as the moisture content decreased, making the formation of the activated complex more difficult. The entropy of activation, on the other hand, decreased with the decrease in the moisture content. From the activated rate equation, the energy of activation has been estimated to be 39 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹, which is similar to the literature value (40 kJ mol⁻¹) for the solid-phase crystallization of lactose. The reaction rate constant at 25 °C is 1.4 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, which is similar to the literature value of 1.3 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. The WLF equation is inconsistent and hence unreliable in predicting the rates of crystallization at the glass-transition temperature from the analysis of experimental data at different temperatures.     

Improvement of a Measurement System for Surface Loss Rate of Ozone

Ozone molecules present in high-purity oxygen as a feed gas interact with surfaces and oxygen molecules in an enclosed container. Therefore, some of the ozone molecules are destroyed and the density of ozone decreases with time. An experimental system has been constructed to monitor the temporal decrease in ozone density in a container based on the HgI 254 nm photoabsorption method. Our investigation is focused on the dependence of the effective lifetime of ozone on the wall material at various gas pressures. During the experiments, distortion of the measured decay curves often caused by instabilities in the mercury lamp intensity. We thus attempted to build a simple setup that eliminates the effect of long-term intensity drift. This setup is based on light source intensity monitoring by a separate photodetector and data correction software. This article describes the setup of the experimental apparatus, the results including some preliminary experiments and the temporal variation of the surface loss rate of ozone by repeated measurement along with inspections of the wall surface by Auger electron spectroscopy.     

Ultraviolet Lamp Output Measurement: A Concise Derivation of the Keitz Equation

An equation relating the measured irradiance and the output power of a fluorescent lamp was derived by Keitz. The equation forms the basis for a new protocol that has been proposed for quantifying the total flux from an ultraviolet lamp. There has been confusion in the literature regarding the spatial distribution of flux from lamp emitters, which has led to emission models that are similar to the Keitz model but are incorrect. The Keitz equation is derived here from first principles in an effort to eliminate the confusion and present a correct method of calculating total flux.     

Driving on the motorway: the effect of alternating speed on driver's activation level and mental effort

When most of the driving tasks are performed automatically, a driver's level of alertness may decline, as has been pointed out in the study of the phenomenon called ‘highway hypnosis’. One possible countermeasure is to periodically vary the speed (Wertheim 1978), but the authors have not found any studies that directly assess the effectiveness of this countermeasure. The objective of our study has been to provide empirical evidence regarding the effects of this strategy on the level of driver activation on a motorway route in real traffic. In the present study activation level as indexed by a relative measure based on slow EEG activity tended to be significantly higher when speed was modified periodically than when it remained constant. In addition, this index tended to be progressively higher when the speed was constant during the first part of the route, while the same thing did not occur when the speed was modified periodically. Finally, no significant differences between the constant and varying speed conditions were obtained with respect to any of the cardiovascular indices related to the effort put into driving and the stress experienced in the situation.