Colossal dielectric response and relaxation behavior in novel system of Zr4+ and Nb5+ co-substituted CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

In this work, we developed a novel system of isovalent Zr⁴⁺ and donor Nb⁵⁺ co-doped CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) ceramics to enhance dielectric response. The influences of Zr⁴⁺ and Nb⁵⁺ co-substituting on the colossal dielectric response and relaxation behavior of the CCTO ceramics fabricated by a conventional solid-phase synthesis method were investigated methodically. Co-doping of Zr⁴⁺ and Nb⁵⁺ ions leads to a significant reduction in grain size for the CCTO ceramics sintered at 1060 °C for 10 h. XRD and Raman results of the CaCu₃Ti_3.8-xZr_xNb_0.2O₁₂ (CCTZNO) ceramics show a cubic perovskite structure with space group Im-3. The first principle calculation result exhibits a better thermodynamic stability of the CCTO structure co-doped with Zr⁴⁺ and Nb⁵⁺ ions than that of single-doped with Zr⁴⁺ or Nb⁵⁺ ion. Interestingly, the CCTZNO ceramics exhibit greatly improved dielectric constant (~10⁵) at a frequency range of 10²–10⁵ Hz and at a temperature range of 20–210 °C, indicating a giant dielectric response within broader frequency and temperature ranges. The dielectric properties of CCTZNO ceramics were analyzed from the viewpoints of defect-dipole effect and internal barrier layer capacitance (IBLC) model. Accordingly, the immensely enhanced dielectric response is primarily ascribed to the complex defect dipoles associated with oxygen vacancies by co-doping Zr⁴⁺ and Nb⁵⁺ ions into CCTO structure. In addition, the obvious dielectric relaxation behavior has been found in CCTZNO ceramics, and the relaxation process in middle frequency regions is attributed to the grain boundary response confirmed by complex impedance spectroscopy and electric modulus.     

Spark plasma sintering of UO2 nanopowders: Pressure,heating rate and current effects

We analysed with different methods the densification of UO₂ nanopowders in SPS under constant heating rate (CHR) and isothermal sintering conditions. The apparent activation energy of densification in SPS (75 kJ/mol with CHR method) is significantly smaller than in conventional sintering. It is shown that this is likely not an effect of the applied current. We also observed a threshold stress at 64 MPa for the transition from pressure-insensitive sintering (stress exponent n≈0) to pressure-assisted sintering, suggesting that the contribution of the capillary stresses in such nanopowders is comparable with the typical stress applied in SPS.     

Electric field-assisted synthesis/sintering cerium oxide: 5 wt.% gadolinium oxide

Gadolinium oxide ceramic powders were mixed to cerium oxide ceramic powders, pressed to pellets, and sintered either at 1450 °C or applying 200 V cm⁻¹ electric field at 800 °C, 900 °C and 1000 °C. The structural phases and the microstructure of the sintered pellets were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The formation of substitutional solid solution was followed by monitoring the increase of the electrical conductivity by impedance spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The main results show that Joule heating due to the flow through the pellets of the electric current, which was produced by the application of the electric field, allows for promoting partial solid solution as well as partial sintering the ceria-gadolinia pellets. Moreover, grain growth that occurred in the high temperature sintered pellets was inhibited in the electric field-assisted synthesized/sintered pellets, being an alternative technique for producing cerium oxide-gadolinium oxide solid solutions.     

小型无线场强探测传感器研究

近年来,微波加热因其高效性和清洁无污染等优点广泛应用于各个领域。然而,微波加热的不均匀性限制了微波作为高效加热能源的应用。通过测量和分析加热腔中的电场分布情况可以帮助设计人员改进微波加热腔体设计,提高微波加热的均匀性。现有的场强测量设备均为有线设备,应用场景极为有限。因此,本文提出了一种由探头、接收机和上位机三部分组成的无线场强探测传感器。介绍了无线场强探测传感器的结构和原理,采用横电磁波小室进行校准。通过一系列测量实验表明实测值与标准场强仪测量值一致性较好,可满足工程测量需求。     

Steering feel improvement by mathematical modeling of the Electric Power Steering system

Currently, the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system is an essential component of the vehicle because it provides assistive steering torque to the driver. To ensure a faster steering response, the position of the EPS in some vehicles is moved closer to the tire rather than the steering wheel. The steering torque, which is provided by the EPS in the steering system, mainly affects the driver’s feel while steering. Therefore, the driver often feels uncomfortable owing to such positioning of the EPS in the steering system. In particular, the nonlinearity of the Universal Joint (UJ), which is one of parts of the steering system, can be felt at the steering wheel side.In this paper, we proposed an algorithm based on the mathematical model of the steering torque in the steering system to improve the steering feel. The mathematical model is structured using parameters that can be obtained from the information of the steering system. Moreover, the formulation of the steering torque consists of the two parts, namely the deformation part, which describes the propagation inside the steering system, and the friction part that describes the inherent friction in the UJ.Simulation and experiments were conducted to verify the proposed mathematical model with similar conditions to the real tire load during the steering motion. Furthermore, to improve the driver’s feel during steering, a torque compensation algorithm is proposed and verified through experiments.     

Microcrack healing in zirconia ceramics under a DC electric field/current

Flash event caused by a DC electric field/current was applied to the crack healing in 8 mol % Y₂O₃ stabilized cubic ZrO₂ polycrystals (8Y-CSZ). The flash event, which occurred by applying the DC power higher than a critical value of 100 mW/mm³, successfully healed the microcrack within several minutes without any healing agents at a furnace temperature of 800 °C. As compared to the healing treatment under static annealing, the healing phenomena were accelerated about 2 times under the flash treatment even at the same temperatures, suggesting that the enhanced healing phenomena cannot be explained only by the temperature effect. Since the rate of grain growth was accelerated under the flash treatment, the flash healing would be accelerated through the current-enhanced diffusional processes. This study shows for the first time that the flash event has a potential to apply to the crack healing process in the ceramic materials and composites.     

Tailoring the chemical heterogeneity of Mn-modified 0.75BiFeO3-0.25BaTiO3 ceramics for piezoelectric sensor applications

The Mn-modified 0.75BiFeO₃-0.25BaTiO₃ (75BFBTMn) piezoelectric ceramic possesses a high depolarization temperature of 500 °C and a large piezoelectric coefficient of 110 pC/N, showing the potential for high temperature piezoelectric sensors. However, 75BFBTMn ceramic usually suffers dielectric degradation and abrupt drop of piezoelectric coefficient in the range of 300 °C to 500 °C. Combined the high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction analysis with Backscatter-SEM results, it is demonstrated that the electrical thermal instability is owing to the existence of chemical inhomogeneity. The Air-annealing treatment is able to decrease the volume fraction of pseudo-cubic phase and the lattice distortion, removes the chemical inhomogeneity in the grain and free Bi₂O₃ at grain boundary, and then eliminates dielectric anomalies and piezoelectric degradation with temperature. These results indicate that air-annealing is a simple but effective method to eliminate the chemical inhomogeneity in 75BFBTMn ceramics, thereby improving the property thermal stability for high temperature piezoelectric sensor applications.     

An improved cuckoo search algorithm for the problem of electric distribution network reconfiguration

Power loss reduction has an important role in operating electric distribution network system. There are a lot of methods for reduction power loss such as capacitor placement, distributed generation placement and electric distribution network reconfiguration (EDNR). Among these methods, the EDNR is an efficient technique to reduce power loss due to without taking any costs. However, the EDNR problem is a nonlinear, discrete problem and lots of extreme points. Therefore, it is necessary to have efficient methods for solving the EDNR problem. In this paper, an improved cuckoo search algorithm (ICSA) is proposed for solving the EDNR problem. In which, based on disadvantages of exploration and exploitation process of cuckoo search algorithm (CSA) for solving the EDNR problem, a local search mechanism is added to exploit candidate solutions existing around the current best solution. The calculated results on the simple distribution networks to complex distribution networks show that ICSA has ability for finding the global optimal solution with much smaller iterations and better quality of obtained solution compared with CSA and some other improved versions of CSA. The performance comparisons with other existing methods available in previous studies and the software of Power System Simulator/Advanced Distribution Engineering Productivity Tool (PSS/ADEPT) also lead to the better electric distribution network configuration with smaller total power losses. As a result, ICSA is a potential and reliable method for solving the EDNR problems.     

An agile model for the eco-design of electric vehicle Li-ion batteries

Numerous design choices need to be made at several levels when designing high-tech products: technology, processes, architecture, components, materials… and these choices need to be made in relation to the product life cycle with the corresponding experts for each stage of the life cycle. At the same time, to ensure product sustainability, a specific focus on the future potential environmental impacts is highly recommended. In this research, an agile model is proposed to help designers make decisions while monitoring environmental performance indicators of high-tech solutions. The concept of Critical Product Life Cycle Parameters had to be introduced to facilitate the eco-design of the final product. The approach is illustrated by the Electric Vehicle Li-Ion Batteries case study.     

无轨辅助运输现状及发展前景

随着现代化矿井的高产高效,井下无轨辅助运输以载重大、速度快、运输灵活等优势替代了有轨辅助运输。经过多年的发展,无轨辅助设备种类多,功能全,适应于井下各种运输需要。但在发展的同时,无轨辅助运输也存在很多不足之处。针对此现状,从设备智能化、自动化和市场规模扩大化的角度阐述了无轨辅助运输的远大发展前景,对无轨辅助运输行业的发展具有一定的借鉴作用。