High temperature deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of wrought nickel-based superalloy GH4037 in solid and semi-solid states

Cylindrical samples of Ni-based GH4037 alloy were compressed at solid temperatures (1200, 1250 and 1300 °C) and semi-solid temperatures (1340, 1350, 1360, 1370 and 1380 °C) with different strain rates of 0.01, 0.1 and 1 s⁻¹. High temperature deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of GH4037 alloy were investigated. The results indicated that flow stress decreased rapidly at semi-solid temperatures compared to that at solid temperatures. Besides, the flow stress continued to increase after reaching the initial peak stress at semi-solid temperatures when the strain rate was 1 s⁻¹. With increasing the deformation temperature, the size of initial solid grains and recrystallized grains increased. At semi-solid temperatures, the grains were equiaxed, and liquid phase existed at the grain boundaries and inside the grains. Discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) characterized by grain boundary bulging was the main nucleation mechanism for GH4037 alloy.     

Local inhomogeneity of mechanical properties in stir zone of friction stir welded AA1050 aluminum alloy

The local inhomogeneity of the stir zone in friction stir welded face-centered cubic metal was investigated, which has multiple activated slip systems during plastic deformation, by selecting commercial AA1050 aluminum alloy as an ideal experimental material. The local inhomogeneity was evaluated by uniaxial tensile tests using small samples with a 1 mm gauge length. The corresponding microstructural parameters such as grain size, misorientation angle distribution, and micro-texture, were quantified by the backscattered electron diffraction technique. A comprehensive model was used to reveal the microstructure−mechanical property relationship. The experimental results showed that the uniaxial tensile property changes significantly across the weld. The maximum ultimate tensile strength (UTS) occurred in the center of the stir zone, which was 99.0 MPa. The weakest regions were located at the two sides of the stir zone. The largest difference value in UTS reached 14.9 MPa, accounting for 15% of the maximum UTS. The analysis on the structure−mechanical property relationship suggests that the micro-texture change with the location formed during the rotational material flow is the main reason for the local inhomogeneity.     

Compositional effect on oxygen reduction reaction in Pr excess double perovskite Pr1+xBa1-xCo2O6-δ cathode materials

The kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), being a prime requisite for electrode materials after the higher conductivity. Further, electrodes are observed to dissolute on reaction at triple phase boundary. However, the compositional effect on ORR is least understood. In order to inspect the ORR mechanism with substitution, a series of (1 + x) PrCoO₃ − (1 − x) BaCoO₃ (x = 0.2 to 1.0 with step of 0.2) compositions are prepared using conventional solid-state route method. The Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffractograms and specific heat curves confirms the formation of double phase comprising orthorhombic Pmmm phase corresponding to PrBaCo₂O_6-δ and Pnma phase corresponding to PrCoO₃ for x = 0.2 to 0.8 with well connected and porous microstructure. The triple phase boundary reactions suggest the formation of Co(OH)₃ along with H₂ gas on reaction of these composite electrodes with H₂O during electrochemical dissolution. However, chronoamperometric studies prove the suitability of x = 0.6 sample with higher ORR and liberation of H₂ gas at room temperature.     

Production and optimization of high grade cellulase from waste date seeds by Cellulomonas uda NCIM 2353 for biohydrogen production

Production of high grade cellulolytic enzymes from waste agricultural biomass would valorise these wastes to valuable products as well as avoid the pollution problems associated with landfilling of the biomass. In the present study, waste date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) seeds were valorised for cellulase production from Cellulomonas uda NCIM 2353 and for its subsequent usage in biohydrogen production. Optimization of key operational parameters such as date seed concentration, xylose, casein and initial media pH were performed using central composite design to obtain the maximum enzyme yield. The optimum values obtained were (g/L): date seed concentration 30.65, xylose concentration 0.55, casein 7.00 and pH 7.40 for a determination coefficient of 0.999. The results demonstrated a higher prediction accuracy of response surface methodology as the cellulase activity increased six fold (175.96 IU/mL) after optimization. The optimum pH and temperature of purified cellulase was 7 and 50 °C respectively where the enzyme retained nearly 80% of activity upto 180 min. Enzymatic hydrolysis studies showed that a high saccharification efficiency of 60.5% was obtained for acid pretreated sugarcane bagasse by the indigenous cellulase, equivalent to the performance of commercial cellulase. Further, the as-obtained reducing sugars were decomposed by Clostridium thermocellum to produce biohydrogen of maximum concentration 187.44 mmol/L at end of 24 h of fermentation. Results show that date seed substrate based cellulase protein can be employed for industrial processes of biohydrogen production.     

Ceria-Co-Cu-based SOFC anode for direct utilisation of methane or ethanol as fuels

Nickel-free solid oxide fuel cell anodes are an object of study for applications that aim at utilising primary carbonaceous fuels to generate power. In this study, a ceria-Co-Cu anode is produced and tested with hydrogen, methane and ethanol fuels at various temperatures.The produced catalysts were characterised by X-ray analysis and H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). Catalytic tests were performed and compared with the material under electrochemical operation. The cells were electrochemically characterised by recording i-V plots. The samples were assessed post-test for eventual carbon deposits by Raman spectroscopy investigations and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) analysis.The cells were able to operate with hydrogen, methane as well as ethanol, directly fed to the anode, with maximum power densities ranging from 400 to 540 mW.cm⁻², depending on the fuel stream utilised. The cells also kept their integrity demonstrating coking resistance for over 24 h of continuous operation. Important discussions and conclusions are drawn about carbon formation and the role of each compound in the anode composition. The bimetallic cell (ceria-Co-Cu) is herein compared to monometallic ones (ceria-Co and ceria-Cu) that served as baselines. The advantages of the bimetallic composition are listed and evaluated throughout the discussions.     

基于量子线路逻辑运算的单光子量子态测量方案

在量子探测领域,关键任务之一就是要对未知量子态进行测量以获取量子态信息。通过将量子计算中的量子门所组成的量子线路应用于量子探测领域,提出实现单光子未知量子态的测量方案。利用量子计算的叠加性、纠缠性、可纠错性以及量子线路的可集成性,可以使得探测更具高效性并简化探测的实验系统。利用本文提出的探测新方案,通过仿真计算对该方案进行了模拟。在该方案的理论计算与仿真模拟结果的基础上,得到了以下的结论:通过在不同信噪比等参数的条件下选择适当的测量次数,基于量子线路的方案可以得到较为精确的测量结果。     

海面油膜的偏振反射特性仿真实验

为了给海面溢油污染识别检测提供理论基础,根据菲涅尔反射公式的偏振反射系数,结合偏振双向反射率因子和粗糙海面的概率密度分布函数,建立了完善的pBRDF模型,仿真在不同太阳入射角度、不同探测器观测角度以及不同海面风速风向等条件下海水和油膜的偏振反射分布函数。结果表明:海水和油膜太阳天顶角为53°和56°时P偏振反射率分别为1.0×10^-5和2.5×10^-5,S偏振反射率随着太阳天顶角的增加而增加;海面风速越大偏振反射率峰值越小;海面风向只改变pBRDF的空间位置;海水和油膜线偏振度空间分布有明显差异。搭建实验平台相机以40°拍摄时,得出海水和油膜的线偏振度分别在0.2~0.4, 0.5~0.7之间,同时表明利用偏振探测获取目标场景的偏振度和偏振角图可提高图像质量。     

Flame spectroscopy of waste tire oils and waste cooking oils blends using coaxial burner

Waste tires and cooking oil pose a serious danger to human health and environment. Self-reacting pyrolysis system for waste tires is designed and constructed for converting waste tires into oil that could be used as a sustainable fuel. This study aims to analyze the thermal microstructure of conventional fuels like light diesel oil (LDO) and heavy diesel oil (HDO) as well as blended with waste cooking oil (WCO) and tires pyrolysis oil (TPO) using a co-axial burner via flame spectroscopy analysis. The first Blend 1 (B1) consists of 20% WCO + 80% LDO, the second one (B2) consist of 20% WCO+80%HDO and the last one (B3) was 20%TPO and 80% LDO by mass. This percentage was chosen carefully and according to previous combustion characteristics results. The experimental results showed that B1 will shrink C2 radicals by nearly 61% and 64.5% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. B2 will decrease C2 radicals by nearly 19% and 82% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. Finally, B3 will reduce C2 radical's intensity by nearly 39% and 58% at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96 respectively. TPO produced CH emission radicals lower than that of LDO by nearly 5.9%. LDO droplets absorbed more radiation energy needed for excitation than that of WCO due to droplet size and fuel physic-chemical properties. B2 fuel is recommended to replace LDO at Ф = 0.63 and 0.96.     

Reversible Na+-extraction/insertion in nitrogen-doped graphene-encapsulated Na3V2(PO4)2F3@C electrode for advanced Na-ion battery

NASICON-structured sodium vanadium fluorophosphate has caused widespread concern for sodium energy conversion and storage because of its high voltage platform and high theoretical energy density. However, the inferior electrical conductivity is still a big problem, which greatly prevent the applications of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ material. Herein, the nitrogen-doped graphene-encapsulated Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃@C (NG-NVPF@C) has been prepared using the sol-gel approach. The physical and electrochemical performances for the resulted NG-NVPF@C composite have been systematically characterized and compared with that of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃@C (NVPF@C) in this study. The electrochemical tests demonstrate that the as-fabricated NG-NVPF@C displays higher capacity, superior rate property and better cyclic life than NVPF@C. It displays the discharge capacity of 108.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 5C. Moreover, it also possesses the high capacity of 101.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 10C over 300 cycles with the capacity retention of about 96.5%. The improved properties of NG-NVPF@C electrode are assigned to the constructed conductive network by nitrogen-doped graphene, which can modify the conductivity of Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃.     

Effect of microbial hydrogen consumption on the hydrogen permeation behaviour of AISI 4135 steel under cathodic protection

The feasibility of microbial hydrogen consumption to mitigate the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) under different cathodic potentials was evaluated using the Devanathan-Stachurski electrochemical test and the hydrogen permeation efficiency η. The hydrogen permeation efficiency η in the presence of strain GA-1 was lower than that in sterile medium. The cathodic potential inhibited the adherence of strain GA-1 to AISI 4135 steel surface, thereby reducing the hydrogen consumption of strain GA-1. The adherent GA-1 cells were capable of consuming ‘cathodic hydrogen’ and reducing the proportions of absorbed hydrogen, indicating that it is theoretically possible to control HE by hydrogen-consuming microbes.