New ways to improve the damping properties in high‐performance thermoplastic vulcanizates

The incorporation of viscoelastic materials represents an effective strategy to reduce the vibratory level of structural components. Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) are a special type of viscoelastic material that combines the elastomeric properties of rubbers with the easy processing of thermoplastics. In the present work, we propose innovative ways to improve the damping properties of high‐performance TPVs by using rubbers with carboxylic functionalities. For that, TPVs from physical blends of carboxylated hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (XHNBR) and polyamide 6 (PA6) were prepared. The chain dynamics of different mixed crosslink systems containing peroxide, metal oxides and hindered phenolic antioxidants were investigated in order to find the most suitable strategy to design a high‐performance TPV system with upgraded damping properties. The results indicate that the damping performance of the TPV system can be tailored by controlling the type and magnitude of the bonding interactions between the mixed crosslink system and the XHNBR rubber phase. Therefore, this study demonstrates the potential of TPV systems containing carboxylic rubbers as high‐performance damping materials. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fabrication of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC)/ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC) triple shape memory blends with cycling performance by constructing a co‐continuous phase morphology

In this paper, a triple shape memory material was prepared by ultra‐simple melt blending from poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC). The obtained material possessed a co‐continuous phase morphology and presented an excellent triple shape memory effect (triple‐SME). Theoretical prediction demonstrated that a special continuous phase morphology could be constructed by adjusting the proportions of the blend. Moreover, the results indicated that a close relationship existed between the phase morphology and the triple‐SME of PCL/PPC/OBC. The sample with 35 vol% PPC content contributed to the formation of a continuous phase morphology and exhibited the optimal triple‐SME. Additionally, the sample PCL/PPC/OBC (32.5/35/32.5) showed outstanding structure and performance stability during cycle loading–unloading tests, which evidenced the prominent cycling shape memory property (nearly 100% shape fixing and recovery of temporary shape). Overall, this work could provide an efficient, convenient and recyclable method to obtain high‐performance shape memory materials. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

朝凯煤矿露天台阶爆破装药结构优化应用研究

本文以神达朝凯煤矿正在开采的台阶为工程背景,针对该矿在台阶爆破过程中存在着大块率高、根底多的现象,通过改变装药结构的方式对爆破参数进行优化。实践证明,优化后大块率和根底问题的治理效果明显。     

Sustainable supply chain management in Indian organisations: an empirical investigation

The present work is an attempt to investigate the adoption of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices amongst manufacturing and process based organisations in India and its impact on organisational performance encompassing all three dimensions of sustainability. SSCM practices conceived in the present study include environmental management practices (EMP), socially inclusive practices for employees (SPE), socially inclusive practices for community (SPC), operations practices (OP) and supply chain integration (SCI) which were treated as exogenous variables. Organisational performance considered in this study includes five dimensions, namely environmental performance (EPR), employee-centred social performance (ESP), community-centred social performance (CSP), operations performance (OPR) and competitiveness, which were regarded as endogenous variables. The analysis was carried out with the help of structural equation modelling considering natural logarithm of manpower as a control variable. Few major findings are mentioned. EMP does not have any significant association with OPR, nor does it result in competitiveness. However, when jointly mediated through both EPR and OPR, EMP leads to competitiveness. SPC has significant negative association with competitiveness, when only direct relationship is considered. However, indirect relationship between SPC and competitiveness shows significant positive association when mediated through CSP. The resultant total effect between SPC and competitiveness turns out to be insignificant. Further, OPR fully mediates the relationship between OP and competitiveness. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed.     

Effect of thermomechanical processing on microstructure and mechanical properties of CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy

The CoCrFeNiMn high entropy alloy was produced by homogenization, cold rolling and recrystallization. The effects of thermomechanical processing on microstructures and tensile properties at different temperatures were investigated using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and multi-functional testing machine. The results show that dendritic structures in cast alloy evolve into equiaxed grains after being recrystallized, with single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase detected. The most refined alloys, stemming from the highest rolling ratio (40%), exhibit the highest strength due to the grain boundary strengthening, while the variation of elongation with temperature shows a concave feature. For the coarse-grained alloys, both the ductility and work hardening ability decrease monotonically with increasing temperature. Serrated flow observed at intermediate temperatures is attributed to the effective pinning of dislocations, which manifests the occurrence of dynamic strain hardening and results in the deterioration in ductility. Besides, dimples on the fracture surfaces indicate the typical ductile rupture mode.     

Optimization of three-dimensional boiling enhancement structure at evaporation surface for high power light emitting diode

A theoretical model of phase change heat sink was established in terms of thermal resistance network. The influence of different parameters on the thermal resistance was analyzed and the crucial impact factors were determined. Subsequently, the forming methods including ploughing–extrusion and stamping method of boiling enhancement structure at evaporation surface were investigated, upon which three-dimensional microgroove structure was fabricated to improve the efficiency of evaporation. Moreover, the crucial parameters related to the fabrication of miniaturized phase change heat sink were optimized. The heat transfer performance of the heat sink was tested. Results show that the developed phase change heat sink has excellent heat transfer performance and is suitable for high power LED applications.     

Influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings

This paper presents influence analysis of bracket set on seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings. Eight 1/1.5‐scale steel eave columns were constructed and tested under low cyclic reversed loading, including 4 specimens with bracket set and 4 specimens without bracket set. Based on the analysis of the strain of the specimens, the failure modes of the specimens were obtained. In addition, the hysteresis loops, skeleton curves, degradations of stiffness and strength, ductility, and dissipation capacities of the specimens were analyzed. Bracket set changed the force transfer mechanisms and failure modes of the specimens and had a significant influence on the seismic performance of the specimens. Compared with the specimens without bracket set, the yielded and ultimate bearing capacities of the specimens with bracket set improved by 30.7% and 24.0%, respectively. And also, the stiffness of the specimens with bracket set at the yielded and ultimate points increased by 52.8% and 135.6%. The dissipation capacities of the specimens with bracket set were 2.12 times those of the specimens without bracket set at yielded load. However, the ductility of the specimens with bracket set slightly decreased by 8.5%. It was shown that the seismic performance of the specimens with bracket set was better than that of the specimens without bracket set. The work in this paper provides a basis for further theoretical study on the seismic performance of steel eave columns in Chinese traditional style buildings.     

Assessment of toxic content in Balanites aegyptiaca seed cake and use of enzymatic-catalysed biodiesel in diesel engine

The present study deals with the estimation of toxic phorbol esters in Balanites aegyptiaca seed cake and to evaluate the performance and combustion characteristics of different blends of biodiesel in a diesel engine. The seeds were manually collected from arid regions of Rajasthan, India and the oil extracted from the powdered kernel with Solvent extraction process. The extracted oil processed by enzymatic catalytic reactions are carried out at optimum operating conditions such as the molar ratio of 8:1 (methanol:oil), reaction temperature at 40°C for 4?h reaction time and xylanase 1% based on oil weight. The total conversion rate of extracted oil to methyl ester by enzymatic reactions yields up to 98.3%. The toxic content of seed cake was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC, Shimadzu). The performance and combustion parameters such as BP, BTE and CP decreased, whereas BSFC and DP increased with biodiesel blends.     

Outcome‐based ventilation: A framework for assessing performance,health, and energy impacts to inform office building ventilation decisions

This article presents an outcome‐based ventilation (OBV) framework, which combines competing ventilation impacts into a monetized loss function ($/occ/h) used to inform ventilation rate decisions. The OBV framework, developed for U.S. offices, considers six outcomes of increasing ventilation: profitable outcomes realized from improvements in occupant work performance and sick leave absenteeism; health outcomes from occupant exposure to outdoor fine particles and ozone; and energy outcomes from electricity and natural gas usage. We used the literature to set low, medium, and high reference values for OBV loss function parameters, and evaluated the framework and outcome‐based ventilation rates using a simulated U.S. office stock dataset and a case study in New York City. With parameters for all outcomes set at medium values derived from literature‐based central estimates, higher ventilation rates’ profitable benefits dominated negative health and energy impacts, and the OBV framework suggested ventilation should be ≥45 L/s/occ, much higher than the baseline ~8.5 L/s/occ rate prescribed by ASHRAE 62.1. Only when combining very low parameter estimates for profitable impacts with very high ones for health and energy impacts were all outcomes on the same order. Even then, however, outcome‐based ventilation rates were often twice the baseline rate or more.     

极端耗水层带精准识别和调堵新技术

油田注水开发后期,部分油层存在极端耗水层带,存在耗水量大,注水驱油效率低,水循环成本高的开发问题,精准认识并有效封堵极端耗水层带,可提高注水利用率。目前国外出现了应用磁性纳米粒子的精细表征新技术及超顺磁性纳米颗粒封堵新技术,抑制极端耗水,实现低成本、高强度、深度堵调。