Microstructure and coloring mechanism of iron spots on bluish white porcelain from Jingdezhen of the Song Dynasty

Jingdezhen is famous for its bluish white (Qingbai) porcelains of the Song Dynasty, and those decorated with iron spots are distinctive among them. Herein, iron spots on a bluish white porcelain were investigated using a series of microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations. We found the decreasing iron content from more than 8 wt% to about 2 wt% during the glaze color transition from rusty to brown and finally into green, which built a connection on the coloring mechanism of iron-rich crystallized glaze and celadon glaze. We identified the rare ε-Fe₂O₃, a promising magnetic material, in both the dark brown crystals and the triangular crystals in the rusty area, which is its first discovery among bluish white porcelains. Based on these findings, we discussed the coloring mechanism of iron-spot decoration along with the physical form of the iron oxide crystals, indicating the partially reducing atmosphere during firing process.     

Synthesis and plasma treatment of nitrogen-doped graphene fibers for high-performance supercapacitors

Graphene fiber-based supercapacitor has aroused great interest as a flexible power source in future wearable electronics. However, the low electrochemical performance of graphene fibers (GFs) usually causes the serious limitation of use in practical applications due to the material stacking, hydrophobicity and fabrication process complexity. In this work, a facile and effective plasma-assisted strategy is put forward to increase specific surface area, tune hierarchically porous structure and promote wettability of nitrogen-doped graphene fibers (NGFs), resulting in the improvement of electrochemical performance. The supercapacitor assembled from plasma-treated NGFs shows superior capacitance (878 mF/cm² at 0.1 mA/cm² current density) and high energy density (19.5 μW h/cm² at 40 mW/cm² power density), which is 23.7% and 131.4% higher than that of NGFs and GFs, respectively. Additionally, the fiber-based supercapacitor based on plasma-treated NGFs exhibits high rate capability of 59.8% and excellent cyclic performance (95.8% retention over 10,000 cycles). These plasma-treated NGFs can be promising candidates for high-performance and flexible power sources in future wearable electronics.     

Spray–turbulence–chemistry interactions under engine-like conditions

Turbulent multiphase combustion plays an important role in both nature (e.g., volcanos and pool fires) and industry (e.g., industrial furnaces, aeroengines, and internal combustion engines). It is a highly complex multiscale and multi-physicochemical process in which interactions between the dispersed and continuous phases, phase change, droplet collisions, evaporation, mixing, heat transfer, and chemical reactions occur simultaneously. In recent years, significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of spray flames and their behaviors in combustion engines. This paper covers key and representative developments in the area of turbulent spray combustion with a focus on spray–chemistry–turbulence interactions. The effects of turbulence–chemistry, spray–turbulence, and spray–chemistry interactions on the spray process, ignition, flame stabilization and emission are comprehensively discussed at elevated pressures and temperatures. Furthermore, spray–radiation and spray flame–wall interactions, which are important to engine performance and emission characteristics, are scrutinized. Supercritical spray flames and turbulent spray flames in dual-fuel engines are also discussed. Finally, outlooks and further challenges for the research field are outlined.     

Using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the provenance of the cobalt pigment of Qinghua porcelain from Jingdezhen in Yuan Dynasty of China (1271–1368AD)

The provenance of cobalt mineral of the blue decoration in Yuan Qinghua porcelain would reveal the technological and cultural interaction between ancient China and the Islamic world. However, the limitation of conventional methods in the determining trace elements of the blue decoration hampered the deep research on provenance of the cobalt mineral. In the paper, we employed the good advantage of Laser-ablation-inductively-coupled-plasma-mass-spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) to determine the major element and trace elements of blue decoration of the different type of Qinghua successfully. The blue decoration of all different types of samples shared the same characteristics of higher FeO and lower Mn, which suggested the potter adopted the non-native cobalt material of China to paint the Yuan Qinghua in Jingdezheng, and the difference on the outside appearance of blue decoration of different samples were supposed to be related to the tenor of ore, the different treatment process of cobalt material and the firing process in the kiln. In addition, the significant differences on the element concentrations of Cu, Ni, Pb, Zr and Sb in the blue decoration between Yuan Qinghua and the Islamic blue and white wares of 13–14th century provided a new evidence to discuss the provenance of the cobalt of Yuan Qinghua porcelain.     

Ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineering net shaping of ZrO2-Al2O3 bulk parts: Effects on crack suppression,microstructure, and mechanical properties

Laser additive manufactured zirconia-alumina ceramic (ZrO₂-Al₂O₃) parts demonstrate severe problems resulting from cracking and inhomogeneous material dispersion. To reduce these problems, we propose a novel ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser engineered net shaping (LENS) process for fabrication of bulk ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ parts. Results showed that the initiation of cracks and the crack propagation were suppressed in the parts fabricated by LENS process with ultrasonic vibration. For the parts fabricated without ultrasonic vibration, the sizes of cracks decreased with the increase of laser power. Scanning electron microscope analyses proved that the introduction of ultrasonic vibration was beneficial for grain refinement and uniform material dispersion. Due to the suppressed cracking, refined grains, and homogenized material dispersion, the parts fabricated with ultrasonic vibration demonstrated better mechanical properties (including higher microhardness, higher wear resistance, and better compressive properties), compared with the parts fabricated without ultrasonic vibration.     

用于金属密封联接的自动热压封接设备研制

针对手工作业难以保证铟封工艺的质量和一致性,研制了一台自动热压封接设备,用于实现某型号精密金属器件的密封。分析了金属铟封的热压工艺过程和工艺参数;介绍了自动热压封接设备的基本结构和控制系统;详细说明了设备温度、压力等工艺参数的控制方法,并对研制设备的压力、温度的控制性能进行了测试实验。使用研制的设备进行了热压铟封实验,并对连接的可靠性和密封性能进行了测试。结果表明,热压铟封后的金属器件符合产品要求。该设备能够保证精密金属器件的封接质量和一致性,提高了铟封工艺的自动化程度,提高了生产效率。     

Hot cracking tendency test and simulation of 7075 semi-solid aluminium alloy

The hot cracking tendency of 7075 semi-solid alloy under different conditions was studied by critical diameter method. The experiment and simulation results show that the dendrite arms of the rod grow from the edge to the center. The smaller the diameter of the rod is, the more obvious the directional growth of dendrite is, and the greater the tendency of hot cracking is. Compared with ordinary melt, for semi-solid slurry, increasing mould temperature or decreasing pouring temperature can significantly decrease hot cracking tendency of 7075 alloy, decreasing hot cracking grade from 256 to 100 mm². Furthermore, based on the RDG criterion, the effects of solidification conditions on the hot cracking tendency were discussed combined with simulation. At the same time, the application and development of RDG criterion were also researched.     

强流脉冲电子束M2高速钢表面改性组织和耐磨性能

目的 改善M2高速钢表面组织,提高其耐磨性和红硬性。方法 利用强流脉冲电子束(HCPEB)进行M2高速钢表面辐照改性处理,工作参数包括加速电压25 kV,脉冲宽度2.5μs,能量密度4 J/cm²,脉冲次数3、8和15次。采用MEF-4型光学显微镜和Zygo 9000型3D表面光学轮廓仪观察辐照前后样品表面形貌。采用XRD-6000型X射线衍射仪分析改性层组成。采用DMH-2LS型努氏显微硬度计测量样品表面和截面硬度。采用CFT-I型摩擦磨损试验机测量表面耐磨性能。在600℃下保温1 h后空冷,测量样品表面硬度变化用以比较红硬性。结果 HCPEB改性M2高速钢样品表面重熔并出现熔坑,随脉冲次数增加,熔坑数量减少且尺寸增加,表面粗糙度下降,15次脉冲处理样品表面形成大量孪晶,熔坑内部出现熔孔和微裂纹。重熔层组织细化致密,碳化物类型改变,碳化物颗粒尺寸减小,残余奥氏体数量增加。相对于未改性样品,15次脉冲处理样品表面硬度提高53.5%,磨损体积减小16.5%,红硬性提高19.2%。结论 HCPEB可有效改善M2高速钢表面组织,使表面显微硬度、耐磨性和红硬性指标均有明显...     

Effects of preparation methods on the properties of cobalt/carbon catalyst for methane reforming with carbon dioxide to syngas

The effect of different preparation methods on the physicochemical property, reforming reactivity, stability and carbon deposition resistance of cobalt/carbon catalyst was investigated through fixed bed flow reaction. The catalysts were prepared by the impregnation and characterized by the XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The result indicated that the active components of cobalt/carbon catalyst prepared by using ultrasonic wave distributed evenly, activity was high and the loading time was short. The Co/Carbon catalyst prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation, 10 wt% loading and 300 °C calcination, achieved the best activity. Furthermore, the effect of reaction temperature, air speed and CH₄/CO₂ ratio on the catalyst activity and CO/H₂ ratio in products was investigated. It was found that the conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ increased with the increasing of reaction temperature. However, the conversion of CO₂ and CH₄ increased first and then decreased with the increasing of air speed. With the increasing of CH₄/CO₂ in feed gas, both the catalyst activity and the CO/H₂ ratio in products decreased.     

A Novel Series of Refractory High-Entropy Alloys Ti_2ZrHf_(0.5)VNb_x with High Specific Yield Strength and Good Ductility

A series of Ti_2ZrHf_(0.5)VNb_x( x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0) refractory high-entropy alloys were prepared to investigate the alloying effect of Nb on the microstructures and mechanical properties.All the alloys displayed a simple BCC structure.The microstructures of the alloys changed from the initial single-phase columnar structure( x = 0) to dendrite microstructure( x 0).At room temperature, all the alloys exhibited high ductility(with the compressive strains of more than 50%).With the increase in Nb content, the yield strength slightly decreased from 1160 to 980 MPa and the hardness dropped from 338 to 310 HV.Moreover, the alloys exhibited low density from 6.47 to 6.84 g/cm~3 and high specific yield strength(SYS) from 143 to 179 kPa m~3/kg.The comprehensive performance of ductility and SYS was superior to most of the reported highentropy alloys.The yield strength of the alloys increased from 405 to 859 MPa and from 85 to 195 MPa with the addition of Nb element at 873 K and 1073 K, respectively.