An ultrasonic study on ternary xPbO–(45-x)CuO–55B2O3 glasses

A series of xPbO–(45-x)CuO–55B₂O₃ glasses (5 ≤ x ≥ 40 mol %) were prepared by the melt-quenching technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the prepared glasses are found to have amorphous structure. An extensive ultrasonic study has been made to explore the structural role of PbO and CuO in the borate network. Various elastic properties were calculated from the measured data of density and ultrasonic velocity. Ultrasonic velocity and elastic moduli revealed broad humps at about 20 mol % PbO, which are attributed to the borate anomaly. Below 20 mol % PbO, all Pb²⁺ ions are considered to be entering the borate network as a glass modifier. This results in the transforms the borate network from an open structure to a denser three-dimensional structure due to BO₃ → BO₄ conversion. Beyond 20 mol, addition of PbO results in the formation of metaborate, pyroborate, and orthoborate units with NBOs. This weakness the glass structure and decrease both ultrasonic velocity and elastic moduli. The elastic properties were predicted and quantitatively analyzed by taking into account the effect of boron coordination number on the compositional and structural parameters involved in Makishima–Mackenzie's theory, ring deformation model and bond compression model. An excellent agreement between the computed theoretical and experimental elastic moduli, micro-harness and Poisson's ratio was achieved for majority of samples.     

Sub-band coding of hexagonal images

According to the circle-packing theorem, the packing efficiency of a hexagonal lattice is higher than an equivalent square tessellation. Consequently, in several contexts, hexagonally sampled images compared to their Cartesian counterparts are better at preserving information content. In this paper, novel mapping techniques alongside the wavelet compression scheme are presented for hexagonal images. Specifically, we introduce two tree-based coding schemes, referred to as SBHex (spirally-mapped branch-coding for hexagonal images) and BBHex (breadth-first block-coding for hexagonal images). Both of these coding schemes respect the geometry of the hexagonal lattice and yield better compression results. Our empirical results show that the proposed algorithms for hexagonal images produce better reconstruction quality at low bits per pixel representations compared to the tree-based coding counterparts for the Cartesian grid.     

Additive manufacturing,quasi-static and dynamic compressive behaviours of ceramic lattice structures

Ceramic lattice structures (CLSs) are used for construction in common and extreme environments because of the extraordinary properties of ceramics. In this study, we designed and additively manufactured CLSs with distinct structural parameters to explore their quasi-static and dynamic compressive behaviours in detail. It was demonstrated that both the relative density (?ρ) and inclination angle (ω) had a significant impact on the quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties of the CLSs. Furthermore, the mathematical relationships between the quasi-static compressive properties, including quasi-static compressive strength (QS), quasi-static Young’s modulus (QY), and quasi-static energy absorption (QE), versus ?ρ and ω obeyed the Gibson–Ashby and Deshpande and Fleck models, respectively. It was revealed by experiment and simulation that as the stiffness increased, the quasi-static failure mode of the CLSs changed from a parallel-vertical-inclined mixed mode to a parallel-vertical mode. In addition, the relationship between the dynamic mechanical properties of the CLSs versus ?ρ and ω also followed the Gibson–Ashby and Deshpande and Fleck models. The exceptional dynamic increase factor indicated that CLSs are highly suitable for extreme environments. These findings will aid in the research and development of customised additively manufactured CLSs.     

Degradation analysis of the core components of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack under dynamic load cycles

The durability of metal plate proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is still an important factor that hinders its large-scale commercial application. In this paper, we have conducted a 1000 h durability test on a 1 kW metal plate PEMFC stack, and explored the degradation of the core components. After 1000 h of dynamic load cycles, the voltage decay percentage of the stack under the current densities of 1000 mA cm^?2 is 5.67%. By analyzing the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, the surfaces of the metal plates are contaminated locally by organic matter precipitated from the membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The SEM images of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM) cross section indicate that the MEA has undergone severe degradation, including the agglomeration of the catalyst layer, and the thinning and perforation of the PEM. These are the main factors that cause the rapid increase in hydrogen crossover flow rate and performance decay of the PEMFC stack.     

复杂环境下氧化铝储槽定向爆破拆除

在较为复杂的环境下,爆破拆除钢筋混凝土氧化铝储槽。该储槽自重大、呈圆形,内有4根立柱支撑下料漏斗。为使储槽顺利定向倒塌,通过爆破方案选择、参数确定,采取梯形切口和预处理以及安全防护和减振措施,使储槽爆破拆除获圆满成功。     

Multi-criteria analysis for screening of reversible metal hydrides in hydrogen gas storage and high pressure delivery applications

Metals and alloys forming reversible hydrides with hydrogen gas are potential building blocks for compact, solid state hydrogen storage systems. Based on the materials’ thermodynamic characteristics, their use as temperature-swing gas compression and delivery systems in the hydrogen economy is also possible. Given the wide variety of materials developed and tested at laboratory and pilot scales, a harmonized method of selecting the feasible material(s) for a particular real-life application is required. This study proposes a system selection framework based on a normalized, multi-criteria metric. Using calculated values of multi-criteria metric, multi-criteria screening and ranking of potential materials has been demonstrated for a particular use case. It is found that the alloy TiMn_1.52 having value of additive metric between 0.25 and 0.35 represents the best material for a single stage system. The alloy pair CaNi₅–Ti_1.5CrMn represents the best alternative for a two-stage system with additive metric values between 0.63 and 0.82. Energy and economic characteristics of the metal hydride gas compression and delivery systems are evaluated and compared with an equivalent mechanical compression system producing the same final effect (i.e., delivery of a given quantity of gas at a defined pressure).     

Trade-off study between risk and benefit in safety devices for hydrogen refueling stations using a dynamic physical model

As hydrogen refueling stations become increasingly common, it is clear that a high level of economic efficiency and safety is crucial to promoting their use. One way to reduce costs is to use a simple orifice instead of an excess flow valve, which Japanese safety regulations have identified as a safety device. However, there is concern about its effect on refueling time and on risk due to hydrogen leakage. To clarify the effect, we did a study of model-based refueling time evaluation and quantitative risk assessment for a typical refueling station. This study showed that an orifice is an effective alternative safety device. The increase in refueling time was less than 10%, based on simulations using a dynamic physical model of the station. Neither was there a significant difference in the risk between a configuration with excess flow valves and one with an orifice.     

Effect of fiber-reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of sand approaching the critical state

Several types of ground improvement methods that employ fiber-reinforcement have been developed in recent years. A series of consolidated drained triaxial compression tests has been conducted here to examine the effect of short fibers on the mechanical properties of Toyoura sand. Sand with 0%, 0.2%, 0.4%, and 1% fiber contents, prepared to yield random distribution, was sheared under several confining pressures and controlled via their initial relative densities. The test results showed that the maximum and residual deviatoric stresses increased, whereas the volumetric expansion decreased with an increase in fiber content. Although the stress ratio η (=q/p′) and specific volume changed depending on the fiber content and confining pressure with shear progression, they each reached the same values for a definite fiber content at the end of shearing, independent of initial relative density. In other words, the unique critical state line can be found for a definite fiber content. Moreover, the greater the fiber content, the larger the slope of the critical state line at the end of shearing. Additionally, as the length of fibers shortened with the same percentage of fiber inclusions in sand, the deviatoric stress and the stress ratio decreased, approaching the shear-strain-volumetric response of unreinforced sand.