Low-temperature plasma modified Vulcan XC72R as a support to enhance the methanol oxidation performance of Pt nanoparticles

Vulcan XC72R as a kind of carbon material is widely used as a support to deposit metal catalysts. However, its low pore size, the difficulty of dispersion, and the rare sites have limited its application. In this work, we modified the surface of Vulcan XC72R by low-temperature plasma. It is detected that its original morphology and structure have been greatly changed by longtime plasma irradiation. The pore size increased and the specific surface area decreased with the increasing treatment time, while the pore volume initially increased and then decreased. Meanwhile, the outside surfaces of Vulcan XC72R were exfoliated to ultra-thin nanosheets and grafted with the oxygen-containing functional groups. Compared with the untreated Vulcan XC72R, Pt nanoparticles supported on treated Vulcan XC72R with smaller size exhibited higher catalyst activity and longer cyclic stability for the methanol oxidation reaction. This study demonstrates that plasma is an efficient approach to tuning the pore size and functionalizing the surface of Vulcan XC72R.     

Numerical investigation of thermal and electrical management during hydrogen reversible solid-state storage using a novel heat exchanger based on thermoelectric modules

In order to reduce the costs generated by the hydrogen solid storage tank's accessories such as the heat exchanger, this work was carried out. It shows thermal and electrical investigations of transient hydrogen (H₂) solid storage in a tank filled with porous medium (LaNi₅) to activate a potential PEM automotive fuel cell. For this purpose, we use a novel heat exchanger with a heat sink combined with thermoelectric modules (TEMs). We realize a simulation that helps us verify if thermoelectric exchanger will be an alternative to the conventional ones. The main results are that a thermoelectric cooler and heater with 127 couples of semiconductors coupled with 19 fins heat sink could be used during the reversible hydrogen solid storage. Also, results show that we can avoid the water freezing at negative temperatures when using a conventional heat exchanger by using TEM during hydrogen absorption. Finally, during the endothermic desorption of the hydrogen, TEG use can avoid boiling water used in the heating system. Also, the hydrogen tank will be lighter and compact without fins and water tubes.     

Regional consortia and transaction costs for sanitation services in Brazil

Studies on public cooperation usually focus on its impact on the service costs experienced by service providers. However, engagement in public cooperation in service provision often seeks other outcomes, like service coverage (measured by the population served) rather than simply minimizing service expenditure. Moreover, public cooperation by local governments, as either ‘providers’ or owners, generates transaction costs arising from negotiation, monitoring, agency costs and the enforcement of cooperative agreements. However, to date, little empirical effort has been directed at determining the impact of transaction costs on service provision owners and service outcomes. This paper addresses this gap in the empirical literature by examining the relationship between cooperative agreements between Brazilian municipalities for water and wastewater provision and service coverage in the light of transaction costs. We find that transaction costs are higher for cooperative providers due primarily to low service coverage levels, especially in sewage services that demand high investment in assets with high specificity. However, lower expenditures may occur after initial up-front investment.     

Shock/expansion fan interaction with real gas effects for Earth and Mars atmospheric conditions

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the real gas effects on shock/expansion fan interaction. Initial perfect gas simulations at low enthalpy capture the flow structures efficiently and outcomes are found to have excellent agreement with the analytical calculations. Furthermore, the simulations with the real gas solver for different enthalpies showed that the variation in enthalpy significantly changes the flow structures. It is observed that an increase in enthalpy leads to a decrease and increase in the postshock and postexpansion fan Mach numbers, respectively. Another important observation is the decrement in the peak pressure ratio with an increment in the enthalpy. These effects are noted to be more pronounced for Mars's environment due to the higher dependency of specific heat on temperature.     

氢的大规模制备及在钢铁行业的应用和展望

中国钢铁产量占世界总产量的一半以上,随着全球“碳达峰”“碳中和”的推进,钢铁行业面临着巨大的低碳发展挑战。氢能被认为是一种低碳能源,“以氢代碳”是实现源头降碳和流程低碳转型的重要途径之一。重点介绍氢气基本性质、制备来源与碳排放的关系,探讨煤制氢、天然气制氢、甲醇制氢和电解水制氢4种主流大规模制氢路线的技术特性、发展现状、制备成本和发展方向,结合钢铁行业的用氢特点,对氢在氢冶金和燃料替代方面的应用前景进行分析展望,提出中国钢铁行业通过实施氢能利用逐步实现低碳转型的发展路径。     

VCR采矿法在武山铜矿应用展望

为进一步提高武山铜矿综合采矿效益，根据武山铜矿地质条件、采矿经验，并结合安全、成本、效益等因素，浅述后期生产建设过程中如何发挥现有采矿方法的优势，并针对 VCR 采矿法在武山铜矿应用现状，分析了改进提升的方法。     

粗碲粉加压氧化浸出工艺研究

针对上游工序发生改变，研究了采用加压氧化浸出工艺处理粗碲粉。采用单因素试验考察了液固比、游离碱度、反应压力、反应温度、反应时间对浸出效果的影响，确定最佳工艺条件为：液固比10，游离碱浓度40g/L，反应压力0.8MPa，反应温度75℃，氧化时间2h。试验结果表明碲的浸出率可达95.45％，金银富集在20倍以上。     

Failure load prediction and optimisation for adhesively bonded joints enabled by deep learning and fruit fly optimisation

Adhesively bonded joints have been extensively employed in the aeronautical and automotive industries to join thin-layer materials for developing lightweight components. To strengthen the structural integrity of joints, it is critical to estimate and improve joint failure loads effectually. To accomplish the aforementioned purpose, this paper presents a novel deep neural network (DNN) model-enabled approach, and a single lap joint (SLJ) design is used to support research development and validation. The approach is innovative in the following aspects: (i) the DNN model is reinforced with a transfer learning (TL) mechanism to realise an adaptive prediction on a new SLJ design, and the requirement to re-create new training samples and re-train the DNN model from scratch for the design can be alleviated; (ii) a fruit fly optimisation (FFO) algorithm featured with the parallel computing capability is incorporated into the approach to efficiently optimise joint parameters based on joint failure load predictions. Case studies were developed to validate the effectiveness of the approach. Experimental results demonstrate that, with this approach, the number of datasets and the computational time required to re-train the DNN model for a new SLJ design were significantly reduced by 92.00% and 99.57% respectively, and the joint failure load was substantially increased by 9.96%.     

基于集员未知输入观测器的风力机桨距执行器故障诊断

风力机一般放置在恶劣的环境中,其桨距执行器极易出现故障。文中针对一类含有未知但有界干扰和噪声的风力机系统的桨距执行器故障问题,设计了集员未知输入观测器对桨距的执行器故障进行检测并分离。采用气动机理和现代辨识原理建立风力机系统模型,通过优化未知输入观测器设计对系统中的干扰解耦,基于中心对称多胞体估计不考虑故障时残差的区间包络,并将其作为残差估计的上下动态阈值,实现状态估计。在上述基础上提出了利用一组集员未知输入观测器进行故障诊断的策略。仿真结果表明,在实验过程中,文中所设计的集员未知输入观测器准确地诊断出了风力机桨距执行器的3阶和5阶线性系统在发生突变故障和缓慢时变故障的时间和位置,证明了所提故障诊断策略的有效性。     

New food safety challenges of viral contamination from a global perspective: Conventional,emerging, and novel methods of viral control

Food- and waterborne viruses, such as human norovirus, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis E virus, rotaviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses, and enteroviruses, are major contributors to all foodborne illnesses. Their small size, structure, and ability to clump and attach to inanimate surfaces make viruses challenging to reduce or eliminate, especially in the presence of inorganic or organic soils. Besides traditional wet and dry methods of disinfection using chemicals and heat, emerging physical nonthermal decontamination techniques (irradiation, ultraviolet, pulsed light, high hydrostatic pressure, cold atmospheric plasma, and pulsed electric field), novel virucidal surfaces, and bioactive compounds are examined for their potential to inactivate viruses on the surfaces of foods or food contact surfaces (tools, equipment, hands, etc.). Every disinfection technique is discussed based on its efficiency against viruses, specific advantages and disadvantages, and limitations. Structure, genomic organization, and molecular biology of different virus strains are reviewed, as they are key in determining these techniques effectiveness in controlling all or specific foodborne viruses. Selecting suitable viral decontamination techniques requires that their antiviral mechanism of action and ability to reduce virus infectivity must be taken into consideration. Furthermore, details about critical treatments parameters essential to control foodborne viruses in a food production environment are discussed, as they are also determinative in defining best disinfection and hygiene practices preventing viral infection after consuming a food product.