Thermally stable cellular poly(vinylidene) ferroelectrets: Optimization of CO2 driven inflation process

Electrically charged cellular ferroelectrets can show excellent thermally stable piezoelectric activity and are therefore progressively used in electrochemical transducers. Given that an optimized cellular structure is a key for improving charge density and the associated piezoelectric properties in this material, we investigated the influence of CO₂ inflation treatment using various gas diffusion expansion or inflation procedures on the piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient and thermal stability of cellular poly(vinylidene) ferroelectrets and compare with the results (partially) obtained by N₂ inflation as reported in our previous study (Jahan, Mighri, Rodrigue, Ajji, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47540). Samples were prepared using the conventional extrusion–stretching–inflation–corona charging method. Maximum d₃₃ coefficient for CO₂-inflated samples is found to be around 30% higher than that of N₂-inflated samples (327 pC/N compared to 251 pC/N) by stepwise pressure application method. The key parameters addressed in the inflation procedures are the changes in sample thickness, morphology, and the void-height distribution in both gas treatments. The ferroelectrets show excellent thermal stability for up to 4 days at 90, 110, and 120 °C in both treatments with a slightly improved performance in CO₂ gas. The higher activation energy of CO₂-inflated samples (0.52 eV) than the N₂-inflated ones (0.43 eV) further confirms the stability data. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47929.     

Experimental and numerical study on compressive performance of perforated brick masonry after fire exposure

This paper discusses the compressive performance of perforated brick masonry after fire exposure. Compressive strength tests of the mortar, clay perforated brick, and perforated brick masonry specimens were performed in accordance with ISO834 fire tests of different durations. The temperature distribution of the masonry materials and specimens was simulated using the finite element software ABAQUS, with the thermal parameters of masonry materials recommended by European standard Eurocode 6 and related literature. The compressive strength reduction factors of mortar and clay perforated brick exposed to different fire durations were calculated via the layered method suggested by European standard Eurocode 1. In addition, the compressive strength reduction factors after cooldown were obtained from the experimental data of the masonry materials, and by considering further reductions in the compressive strength after cooling from high temperatures. Experimental data of the masonry specimens were compared with the numerical results obtained using the reduction factors proposed in this work. The comparison revealed an overall acceptable approximation. Thus, the method presented in this paper can be used to evaluate the residual capacity of masonry structures after fire.     

First-principles study on the dissolution and diffusion behavior of hydrogen in carbide precipitates

To understand the hydrogen (H) behavior in the carbide precipitates, the dissolution and diffusion properties of interstitial H in the transition metal carbide (TMC; TM = Hf, Nb, Ta, Ti, V, and Zr) were studied by first-principles calculations. In these carbides, it can be seen that H tends to occupy the trigonal site (tri2-site) surrounded by three transition metal atoms and one carbon atom rather than the face center (fc-site) and the body center (bc-site) which with the larger space. We found that the bonding interaction between H atom and the nearest-neighbor (1NN) carbon atom is the dominant influence on the stability of H dissolution. Besides, we obtained the temperature-dependent solubility and diffusion coefficients of H in TMC and pure vanadium through Sievert's law and transition state theory. Compared with pure vanadium, H shows the worse solubility in TMC, and it is more difficult for hydrogen to migrate in TMC, but segregate toward the interface. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that, the diffusion barrier and the H solution energy show a linear relationship for transition metal carbides in the same period. These results can help us deepen the understanding of H behavior in vanadium alloys strengthened by carbide precipitates, and furtherly providing the theoretical guidance for the design of alloys with excellent performance.     

A side-sensitive synthetic coefficient of variation chart

Control charts for monitoring the coefficient of variation (γ) are useful for processes with an inconsistent mean (μ) and a standard deviation (σ) which changes with μ, by monitoring the consistency in the ratio σ over μ. The synthetic-γ chart is one of the charts proposed to monitor γ, and its attractiveness lie in waiting until a second point to fall outside the control limits before a decision is made. However, existing synthetic-γ charts do not differentiate between the points falling outside the upper control limit (UCL) and lower control limit (LCL). Hence, this paper proposes a side-sensitive synthetic-γ chart, where successive nonconforming samples must either fall above the UCL or below the LCL. Formulae to compute the average run length (ARL), the standard deviation of the run length (SDRL) and expected average run length (EARL) are derived using the Markov chain approach, and the algorithms to obtain the optimal charting parameters are proposed. Subsequently, the optimal charting parameters, ARL, SDRL and EARL values for various numerical examples are shown. Comparisons show that the side-sensitive synthetic-γ chart consistently outperforms the existing synthetic-γ chart, especially for small shifts. The proposed chart also consistently outperforms the Shewhart-γ chart, while showing comparable or better performance than the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) chart for most shift sizes, except for very small shifts. Finally, this paper shows the implementation of the proposed chart on an industrial example.     

里必井田承压水带压开采评估

煤层底板承压水突出是发生水害事故的原因之一,要减少该类事故的发生,需对底板突水危险性进行准确评价。为保障里必井田承压水带压开采的安全进行,基于煤层底板突水研究理论分析,采用常规突水系数法和等效厚度突水系数法,分别对里必井田内3#煤和15#煤的奥灰水突水危险性进行了研究。研究发现,奥灰水对于3#煤的开采影响不大,但在局部构造及陷落柱发育地段及采区东北部区域仍存在一定的突水可能性;奥灰水对15#煤开采具有较大威胁,大部分区域具有较大突水危险性。等效岩层厚度法计算的突水系数考虑了不同性质岩层的岩石强度和阻水能力,计算更接近生产实际,结果更可靠;且在对突水系数法进一步优化后,其评价的结果可以更精确。     

The control of paracetamol particle size and surface morphology through crystallisation in a spray dryer

The parameters governing the crystallisation of paracetamol using various conventional techniques has been extensively studied, however the factors influencing the drug crystallisation using spray drying is not as well understood. The aim of this work was to investigate the crystallisation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient through evaporative crystallisation using a spray dryer to study the physicochemical properties of the drug and to use semi-empirical equations to gain insight into the morphology and particle size of the dried powder. Paracetamol solutions were spray dried at various inlet temperatures ranging from 60 °C to 120 °C and also from a series of inlet feed solvent compositions ranging from 50/50% v/v ethanol/water to 100% ethanol and solid-state characterisation was done. The size and morphology of the dried materials were altered with a change in spray drying parameters, with an increase in inlet temperature leading to an increase in particle Sauter mean diameter (from 3.0 to 4.4 µm) and a decrease in the particle size with an increase in ethanol concentration in the feed (from 4.6 to 4.4 µm) as a result of changes in particle density and atomised droplet size. The morphology of the dried particles consisted of agglomerates of individual crystallites bound together into larger semi-spherical agglomerates with a higher tendency for particles having crystalline ridges to form at higher ethanol concentrations of the feed.     

东营凹陷深部储层流度属性提取及应用

东营凹陷深部储层埋深大、储层薄,为干燥环境下沉积的红层,采用常规储层描述与预测方法难以取得好的效果。在流度属性表征方法计算公式详细推导和流度属性本质含义解剖的基础上,根据研究区岩石物理参数和流体置换的特征,建立了含油层和干层的理论模型,发现将储层主频作为优势频率提取的流度属性,具有很好的有利储层识别度,含油砂体的流度属性能量团比干层及其它地层的能量要强。对东营凹陷深部实际三维工区数据进行目标处理,过井剖面的有利储层得到很好展示;沿层流度属性切片,其储层厚度、储层流体类型及其分布范围与井点图吻合度很高,进一步验证了方法的有效性。研究成果拓展了流度属性的应用范围(以往仅局限于低频),也为深部储层预测开辟了一条新的途径,具有重要的理论意义和较好的推广价值。     

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。     

Improvement of the electrical resistivity of epoxy resin at elevated temperature by adding a positive temperature coefficient BaTiO_3-based compound

The DC electrical resistivity-temperature characteristic is an important property for insulating materials to operate at a high stress level. In order to improve the DC electrical resistivity at elevated temperature in a targeted way, a positive temperature coefficient(PTC) material(Ba Ti O3-based compound(BT60)) was selected as the filler in this paper, whose electrical resistivity has a PTC effect when the temperature exceeds its Curie temperature. The BT60 was treated with hydrogen peroxide and(3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane. Epoxy composites with different loadings of BT60 fillers(0 wt%, 0.5 wt%, and 2 wt% of epoxy) were prepared, denoted as EP-0, EP-0.5, and EP-2. It was shown that BT60 was able to maintain the DC breakdown strength when its loading was less than 2 wt% of epoxy. As the temperature exceeds 60 °C,BT60 will compensate for the negative temperature coefficient effect of epoxy resin to some extent. The electrical resistivity of EP-2 was improved by 55% compared with that of neat epoxy at 90 °C. It was found that the potential barrier at the grain boundary of BT60 and the deep traps in the interface between BT60 and the epoxy resin hinder the migration of carriers and thus increase the electrical resistivity of epoxy composite.