Nanoindentation and scratch behaviour of Ni–P electroless coatings

ABSTRACT

In the present paper, the mechanical properties and the scratch failure mechanisms of Ni–P electroless coatings are described. The material microstructure was studied in as-deposited and annealed conditions through SEM and EDS analyses. Nanoindentation measurements on the coatings showed a remarkable hardening due to the crystallization and precipitation behaviour produced by annealing. The scratch tests, conducted by increasing the load during scratch, revealed the coating failure mechanisms in a broad range of applied stresses up to delamination.     

Damage propagation and strength prediction of a single-lap interference-fit laminate structure

Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering - Experimental and finite element research was conducted on the bolted interference fit of a single-lap laminated structure to reveal the damage propagation...     

Role of Nucleotide Excision Repair in Cisplatin Resistance

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug used for the treatment of a number of cancers. The efficacy of cisplatin relies on its binding to DNA and the induction of cytotoxic DNA damage to kill cancer cells. Cisplatin-based therapy is best known for curing testicular cancer; however, treatment of other solid tumors with cisplatin has not been as successful. Pre-clinical and clinical studies have revealed nucleotide excision repair (NER) as a major resistance mechanism against cisplatin in tumor cells. NER is a versatile DNA repair system targeting a wide range of helix-distorting DNA damage. The NER pathway consists of multiple steps, including damage recognition, pre-incision complex assembly, dual incision, and repair synthesis. NER proteins can recognize cisplatin-induced DNA damage and remove the damage from the genome, thereby neutralizing the cytotoxicity of cisplatin and causing drug resistance. Here, we review the molecular mechanism by which NER repairs cisplatin damage, focusing on the recent development of genome-wide cisplatin damage mapping methods. We also discuss how the expression and somatic mutations of key NER genes affect the response of cancer cells to cisplatin. Finally, small molecules targeting NER factors provide important tools to manipulate NER capacity in cancer cells. The status of research on these inhibitors and their implications in cancer treatment will be discussed.     

Al-Tolerant Barley Mutant hvatr.g Shows the ATR-Regulated DNA Damage Response to Maleic Acid Hydrazide

ATR, a DNA damage signaling kinase, is required for cell cycle checkpoint regulation and detecting DNA damage caused by genotoxic factors including Al³⁺ ions. We analyzed the function of the HvATR gene in response to chemical clastogen-maleic acid hydrazide (MH). For this purpose, the Al-tolerant barley TILLING mutant hvatr.g was used. We described the effects of MH on the nuclear genome of hvatr.g mutant and its WT parent cv. “Sebastian”, showing that the genotoxic effect measured by TUNEL test and frequency of cells with micronuclei was much stronger in hvatr.g than in WT. MH caused a significant decrease in the mitotic activity of root cells in both genotypes, however this effect was significantly stronger in “Sebastian”. The impact of MH on the roots cell cycle, analyzed using flow cytometry, showed no differences between the mutant and WT.     

532 nm laser damage and nonlinear absorption of Cr2O72− doped KDP crystals

Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) single crystals doped with a series of trace dichromate (Cr₂O₇^2?) were prepared using “point seed” technique. The IR spectra suggest that the KDP crystal network becomes compact with trace of Cr₂O₇^2? while the lattice of crystal also can be destroyed by excessive doping. The UV–Vis spectra show that the transmittance percentage is descended of the doped KDP crystals. Z-scan analysis demonstrates that with increasing of Cr₂O₇^2? concentration, a gradual raise has been observed for the nonlinear absorption coefficient (β). The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) at 532 nm of the KDP crystal doped with 3000 ppm Cr₂O₇^2? is found to be 28.29 J/cm² which is higher than that of pure one under the R-on-1 model. However, as the doping concentration continues to increase, the LIDT decreases significantly. The variation of photoluminescence (PL) results is also consisted with the trend of LIDT for the doped samples. The LIDT of pyramidal sample is higher than that of prismatic one with the same doping concentration. The results suggest that the laser damage of doped crystal may be due to a synergistic effect of the concentration of micro defects and nonlinear absorption.     

Laser damage resistance of plasma-sprayed alumina and honeycomb skeleton/alumina composite ceramic coatings

Al₂O₃ and honeycomb skeleton-Al₂O₃ composite coatings on Titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) were prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying. A laser ablation experiment on as-sprayed coatings was performed. In this paper, the laser damage resistance, microstructure, phase composition of Al₂O₃ coatings were examined. 3D Dimensional Confocal Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) characterized the laser damage morphology, microstructure, phase composition, and element analysis, respectively. The influence of the honeycomb skeleton on the laser ablation damage on as-sprayed coatings was investigated by a comparative analysis of the laser damage morphology with different laser ablation times and gas flow. The results show that the honeycomb skeleton raises thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity. Moreover, a “tower”-like dendrite was generated during the laser irradiation of the composite coating. The honeycomb skeleton refined the structure, suppressed crack propagation, and reduced the influence of gas flow on cracks. Under the same experimental laser ablation parameters, the laser damage area of the honeycomb skeleton-Al₂O₃ composite coating was smaller than that of the Al₂O₃ coating. It was demonstrated that the laser damage resistance of the honeycomb skeleton-Al₂O₃ composite coating was superior to that of the Al₂O₃ coating.     

多堆厂址始发事件分析探讨

多堆厂址一级概率安全评价（PSA）研究中，机组数目的增加使得建模工作量剧增，给整个核电厂的风险评估带来困难。结合已有基础，本文研究了多堆厂址始发事件分析的筛选方法，提出利用堆芯损伤频率（CDF）上下限值评估方法，分析厂址内不同机组数对厂址CDF的影响。结果表明，双机组厂址适合优先进行具体分析。针对双机组核电站，对多堆厂址内各始发事件进行筛选。结果表明，丧失厂外电、丧失热阱等事件适合建模分析，并对其他筛选结果给出后续分析建议，为多堆厂址一级PSA后续事故序列建模工作提供了重要基础。     

Crowdsourcing the perceived urban built environment via social media: The case of underutilized land

Crowdsourcing the public’s perceptions of the built environment in real time enables more responsive and agile infrastructure and land use planning. Social media has emerged to be an effective platform for citizens, engineers, and planners to communicate opinions and feelings transparently. However, a comprehensive terminological resource of the perceived built environment (BE) for consistent data collection and a specified analytical framework are still lacking, particularly for different underutilized land issues. To fill this knowledge gap, we demonstrate a BE-specific term construction and expansion method specifically for collecting Twitter data and propose a Geo-Topic-Sentiment analytical framework for retrieving and analyzing relevant tweets. We conduct a demonstrative study on un(der)utilized land-related BE terms across ten metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. Findings reveal spatial variations in contents and sentiments about underutilized land environments, and more localized efforts may be required to address specific land use issues across different urban contexts. The research demonstrates Twitter as a useful platform in crowdsourcing perceived BE and sentiments at fine temporal and spatial scales in a timely manner. It contributes to engineering informatics by investigating the role of social media in environmental planning and proposing integrated domain-specific data analytic approaches for engineering practices.     

螺旋弹簧断裂失效分析

采用扫描电子显微镜、金相显微组织观察分析、硬度测试、喷丸覆盖率检测和材质的化学成分分析等,对断裂失效的弹簧进行分析。检测结果表明:弹簧在试验前已经裂开,如控制好回火条件,可减少缺陷产生的可能。