Exploration on the origin of enhanced piezoelectric properties in transition-metal ion doped KNN based lead-free ceramics

In this work, we studied effects of Ni₂O₃ and Co₂O₃ doping on crystal structures, microstructures, orthorhombic and tetragonal phase transition temperature (T_o-t), and electrical properties of [Li_0.06(Na_0.57K_0.43)_0.94][Ta_0.05(Sb_0.06Nb_0.94)_0.95]O₃ (LNKTSN) lead-free ceramics. The experimental results showed that the Ni₂O₃ addition with appropriate amount could shift the T_o-t downwards to the room temperature, and thus obviously increasing the room-temperature piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃), dielectric coefficient (ε_r) and electromechanical coupling coefficient (k_p) of the LNKTSN ceramics. These were consistent with previous experimental results obtained in Fe₂O₃ doped LNKTSN ceramics. On the contrary, Co³⁺ doping shifted continuously the T_o-t upward and deteriorated obviously piezoelectric properties of LNKTSN ceramics. Fe, Co and Ni had similar ion radii and were expected to result in the same (donor or acceptor) doping effects on electrical properties of LNKTSN ceramics. The different doping effects between Co³⁺ (deterioration) and Ni³⁺ or Fe³⁺ (improvement) on the electrical properties of LNKTSN ceramics suggested that the coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases at room temperature due to downward shift of T_o-t, rather than ion doping (donor or acceptor doping) effects was the main cause for enhanced room-temperature piezoelectric properties. This conclusion can be extended to all KNN-based materials in general, thus offering principle guide for future development of new lead-free materials with good piezoelectric properties.     

Reversible,repeatable and low phase transition behaviour of spin coated nanostructured vanadium oxide thin films with superior mechanical properties

Smooth, uniform and crystalline vanadium oxide thin films were deposited on quartz by spin coating technique with four different rpm i.e., 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 and subsequently post annealed at 350, 450 and 550?°C in vacuum. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were utilized for microstructural characterizations and phase analysis, respectively, for vanadium oxide powder and deposited film. Nanorods were observed to be grown after vacuum annealing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique was utilized to study the elemental oxidation state of deposited vanadium oxide films. Thermo-optical and electrical properties such as solar transmittance (τ_s), reflectance (ρ_s), absorptance (α_s), infrared (IR) emittance (ε_ir) and sheet resistance (R_s) of different thin films were evaluated. Based on the optical characteristics the optimized condition of the film processing was identified to be spin coated at 3000?rpm. Subsequently, the nanoindentation technique was utilized to measure hardness and Young's modulus of the optimized film. The measured nanomechanical properties were found to be superior to those reported for sputtered vanadium oxide films. Finally, temperature dependent phase transition characteristics of optimized vanadium oxide films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. Reversible and repeatable phase transition was found to occur in the range of 44–48?°C which was significantly lower than the phase transition temperature (i.e., 68?°C) of bulk VO₂.     

Synthesis and characterization of calcium aluminate compounds from gehlenite by high-temperature solid-state reaction

The mineral transition mechanism and self-pulverization property of the sintered products in the Ca₂Al₂SiO₇-CaO system were systematically studied using pre-synthesized gehlenite determined by XRD, SEM, FTIR and particle size analyses. The minerals of Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃, CaAl₂O₄, Ca₃SiO₅ and Ca₂SiO₄ are formed by the direct reactions of Ca₂Al₂SiO₇ with CaO. CaAl₂O₄ reacts with CaO to form Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ or Ca₃Al₂O₆, while Ca₃SiO₅ reacts with Ca₂Al₂SiO₇ to form Ca₂SiO₄ and calcium aluminate compounds. The sintered products mainly contain CaAl₂O₄, Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ and Ca₂SiO₄ at 1350?°C or above 1500?°C when the molar ratio of CaO to Al₂O₃ is 1.0. Increasing the sintering duration or the CaO consumption promotes the transition of Ca₂Al₂SiO₇ to Ca₂SiO₄ and calcium aluminate compounds when sintered at 1350?°C, which accordingly improves the self-pulverization property of the sintered products. The formed minerals of Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃, CaAl₂O₄ and Ca₂SiO₄ transform into Ca₂Al₂SiO₇ again when the sintering temperature is between 1400?°C and 1450?°C, and the corresponding self-pulverization property of the sintered products deteriorates sharply.     

Coexistence of three ferroelectric phases and enhanced piezoelectric properties in BaTiO3–CaHfO3 lead-free ceramics

Perovskite ferroelectrics possess the fascinating piezoelectric properties near a morphotropic phase boundary, attributing to a low energy barrier that the results in structural instability and easy polarization rotation. In this work, a new lead-free system of (1-x)BaTiO₃-xCaHfO₃ was designed, and characterized by a coexistence of ferroelectric rhombohedral-orthorhombic-tetragonal (R-O-T) phases. With the increase amount of CaHfO₃ (x), a stable coexistence region of three ferroelectric phases (R-O-T) exists at 0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.08. Both large piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃～400 pC/N), inverse piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃^*～547 pm/V) and planar electromechanical coupling factor (k_p～58.2%) can be achieved for the composition with x = 0.08 near the coexistence of three ferroelectric phases. Our results show that the materials with the composition located at a region where the three ferroelectric R-O-T phases coexist would have the lowest energy barrier and thus greatly promote the polarization rotation, resulting in a strong piezoelectric response.     

Quantitative relationship between time margin and human reliability

Operator reliability in complex systems is influenced by various performance shaping factors (PSFs). Time is a particularly important PSF; however, empirical studies of human reliability analysis (HRA) are rarely focused on modeling the effect of time PSF on human error probability (HEP). This study contributes to HRA literature by investigating the empirical relationship between time margin and HEP. Time margin is defined as the difference between the time available to complete a task and the time required to successfully complete the task, divided by the required time. We investigate and compare two models (logistic and linear) to explain HEP based on time margin. The empirical HEP data for model testing were extracted from a microworld simulator (Study 1) and a full-scope simulator (Study 2) in two existing studies relevant to procedural tasks in nuclear power plants. For Study 1, both models exhibited an acceptable, equivalent explanatory power; for Study 2, although both models exhibited an acceptable explanatory ability, the logistic model explained more variance in HEP. Our findings indicate the potential of the logistic model in explaining and predicting HEP based on time margin in time-critical tasks.     

5×5棒束通道内流动转捩特性研究

棒束通道的特殊结构导致其内部流动转捩情况较为复杂，探究其内部流动转捩规律具有重要意义。本文针对棒束通道内的流动转捩特性开展实验与CFD模拟研究，通过实验获得了棒束通道内沿程阻力系数的变化规律；采用不同湍流模型进行了数值模拟。结果表明，SST k-ω模型能较好地反映实验结果。进一步对比了不同雷诺数工况下通道内不同位置的沿程阻力系数与湍流强度，发现对于不同子通道，中心子通道湍流强度与沿程阻力系数高于边角子通道；对于同一子通道，子通道中心处湍流强度与壁面切应力高于子通道边缘处。这一结果说明，受壁面影响，棒束内湍流强度、壁面切应力、阻力特性具有不均匀性，这些空间上的不均匀性相互作用会引起总体上棒束转捩点不明显。     

Inline Spectroscopy-Based Optimization of Chemical Reactions Considering Dynamic Process Conditions

The demand for sustainable energy sources, like biomass, solar energy, hydro and wind power, is connected to challenges like energy storage and fluctuating energy supply. Regarding the second challenge, industry has to evolve their existing processes from steady state processes to dynamic ones. This work is concerned with the conception of an inline spectroscopy-based optimization routine for chemical reactions under dynamic process conditions, which implements the search for a well applicable optimization algorithm. The studied reaction to reach this goal is a nitroaldol condensation.     

A comparative study on hygroscopic and physiochemical properties of chicken powders obtained by different drying methods

Abstract

Different drying methods (spray drying (SD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), and infrared vacuum drying (IFVD)) were applied in order to compare the hygroscopicity behavior of chicken powders. The hygroscopicity curves and glass transition temperature were used to evaluate the influence of ambient humidity and temperature on moisture absorption of powders. The results showed that the chicken powder dried by MVD had the lowest moisture absorption, followed by IFVD, VD, and SD. The hygroscopicity of SD chicken powders was different from other three kinds of chicken powders due to the physical properties of particles and the changes of protein secondary structure as detected by the Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer. For the three vacuum drying methods, the difference of protein secondary structure was the main reason of differences in hygroscopicity. Although MVD chicken powders were slightly inferior to SD chicken powders in taste, MVD chicken powders were the best in terms of smell and color as suggested by instrumental sensory parameter evaluations. It was found that MVD had a positive effect on reducing moisture absorption and maintaining sensory quality of chicken powders.     

Gd3+掺杂La2Mo2O9的相稳定性及热导率

La2Mo2O9具有极低的热导率,但其在580℃左右会发生α-β相变,严重影响其性能和应用。本实验以Gd203掺杂La2Mo2O9制备了一系列La2-xGdxMo2O9 (x=0.0~0.5)固溶体,研究了掺杂Gd3+对La2Mo2O9相稳定性和热导率的影响。结果表明,随着Gd3+掺杂量的增加,相变得到有效抑制,当x≥0.2时样品以β相存在。样品的热导率随Gd3+掺杂量的增加先减小后增加,室温下在x=0.2时达到最低,此后缓慢上升,但所有样品的热导率均小于1 W/(m·K)。     

Multi-stage intelligent operation optimization for a hydrocracking fractionation system with a multi-fractionator series-parallel structure

A fractionation system is an essential unit in the hydrocracking process. Its optimal operation is challenging because of the complexity in the structure of the distillation tower and composition of the stream. In addition, the series-parallel structure between the distillation towers of different techniques aggravates the coupling and complexity of the hydrocracking fractionation system (HFS). This, in turn, increases the time complexity of the optimization problem. In this paper, a rigorous mechanism model of an actual HFS is first applied to describe the operating conditions of the HFS. Then, an improved state transition algorithm (STA) with a staged evaluation strategy is proposed to solve the above problem. To overcome problems caused by the series-parallel structure of HFS, the model is divided into multiple stages for evaluation by mechanism analysis. Furthermore, several typical convergence estimation criteria are introduced to reduce unnecessary model calculations. To solve time-consuming problems associated with HFS optimization, the adaptive change operator is used to improve the search function of the original algorithm and two performance criteria are presented to reduce the optimization time. The proposed algorithm is successfully applied to the operational parameter optimization problem of HFS with a multi-fractionator series-parallel structure. The experimental results indicated that the staged evaluation strategy improved the fast convergence probability of the HFS mechanism model and reduced unnecessary calculations, whereas the improved algorithm increased accuracy and significantly decreased optimization time.