Generalized differential quadrature analysis of MHD mixed convective motion of Casson fluids past an isothermal irregular slender geometry via Cattaneo–Christov's approach

Classical Fourier's theory is well-known in continuum physics and thermal sciences. However, the primary drawback of this law is that it contradicts the principle of causality. To explore the thermal relaxation time characteristic, Cattaneo–Christov's theory is adopted thermally. In this regard, the features of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convective flows of Casson fluids over an impermeable irregular sheet are revealed numerically. In addition, the resulting system of partial differential equations is altered via practical transformations into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. An advanced numerical algorithm is developed in this respect to get higher approximations for temperature and velocity fields, as well as their corresponding wall gradients. For validating our numerical code, the current outcomes are compared with the available literature results. Moreover, it is revealed that the velocity field is more prominent in the suction flow situation as compared with the injection flow case. It is also found that the Casson fluid is hastened in the case of lower yield stress. Larger values of thermal relaxation parameters create a lessening trend in the temperature distribution and its related boundary layer breadth.     

Initial and residual trapping of hydrogen and nitrogen in Fontainebleau sandstone using nuclear magnetic resonance core flooding

Hydrogen is among a few promising energy carriers of the future mainly due to its zero-emission combustion nature. It also plays an important role in the transition from fossil fuel to renewable. Hydrogen technology is relatively immature and serious knowledge gaps do exist in its production, transport, storage, and utilization. Although the economical generation of hydrogen to the scale required for such transition is still the biggest technical and environmental challenge, unlocking the large-scale but safe storage is similarly important. It is difficult to store hydrogen in solid and liquid states and storing it in the gaseous phase requires a huge volume which is just available in subsurface porous media. Sandstone is the most abundant and favourable medium for such storage as carbonate rock might not be suitable due to potential geochemical reactions.It is well established in the literature that interaction of the host rock-fluid and injected gas plays a crucial role in fluid flow, residual trapping, withdrawal, and more generally storing capacity. Such data for the hydrogen system is extremely rare and are generally limited to contact angle measurements, while being not representative of the reality of rock-brine-hydrogen interaction(s). Therefore, we have conducted, for the first time, a series of core flooding experiments using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to monitor hydrogen (H₂) and Nitrogen (N₂) gas saturations during the drainage and imbibition stages under pressure and temperature that represent shallow reservoirs. To avoid any geochemical reaction during the test, we selected a clean sandstone core plug of 99.8% quartz (Fontainebleau with a gas porosity of 9.7% and a permeability of 190 mD).Results show significantly low initial and residual H₂ saturations in comparison with N₂, regardless of whether the injection flow rate or capillary number were the same or not. For instance, when the same injection flow rate was used, H₂ saturation during primary drainage was 4% and it was <2% after imbibition. On other hand, N₂ saturation during the primary drainage was 26% and it was 17% after imbibition. However, when the same capillary number of H₂ was utilised for the N₂ experiment, the N₂ saturation values were ～15% for initial gas saturation and 8% for residual gas saturation. Our results promisingly support the idea of hydrogen underground storage; however, we should emphasise that more sandstone rocks of different clay mineralogy should be investigated before reaching a conclusive outcome.     

Effects of multiple freeze–thaw cycles on meat quality,nutrients, water distribution and microstructure in bovine rumen smooth muscle

This study investigated the effect of 5 freeze–thaw cycles (freezing at −18°C for 12 h and then thawing at 4°C for approximately 12 h) on the meat quality, proximate composition, water distribution and microstructure of bovine rumen smooth muscle (BSM). As the number of freeze–thaw cycles increased, BSM pH, shear force, water content and protein content decreased by 3.06%, 35.50%, 14.49% and 21.11%, respectively, whereas BSM thawing loss, cooking loss, pressing loss, total aerobic count (TAC), ash content and fat content increased by 108.12%, 47.75%, 78.33%, 90.99%, 105% and 35.20%, respectively. The freeze–thaw cycles resulted in greater protein and lipid oxidation, as evidenced by a 36.46% reduction in the sulfhydryl content and a 209.06% and 338.46% increase in the carbonyl and malondialdehyde contents, respectively. Ice crystal formation disrupted the structural integrity of the muscle tissue. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance results showed that the freeze–thaw cycles prolonged the relaxation times (T_2b, T₂₁ and T₂₂), indicating that immobile water shifted to free water, and consequently, free water mobility increased. After 3 freeze–thaw cycles, the decline in shear force slowed, the increase in thawing loss became accelerated, and the TAC approached the domain value (6 log colony-forming units/g). Therefore, the number of freeze–thaw cycles of smooth muscle during transport, storage and distribution should be controlled to 3 or fewer. The current results provide a theoretical basis and data support for the further utilisation and culinary processing of smooth muscle.     

Bio-Based,Self-Crosslinkable Eucommia ulmoides Gum/Silica Hybrids with Body Temperature Triggering Shape Memory Capability

At present, the synthesis of body temperature triggering shape memory polymers usually requires elaborate structural design, which limits their wide application. Herein, starting from bio-based Eucommia ulmoides gum (EUG), a series of EUG/silica hybrids (ESHs) are prepared through a facile one-pot process, in which EUG is epoxied and then self-crosslinked with SiO₂ by epoxy ring-open reaction. Varying the amount of H₂O₂, the shape memory transition temperature (T_trans) of ESHs is adjusted to 47.4–36.6 ℃, which is close to human body temperature (37 ℃). Among them, ESH-17 exhibited the best body temperature triggering shape memory ability (T_trans = 36.6 ℃), which can restore the permanent shape within 60 s at 37 ℃ with a shape fixity ratio of 99% and shape recovery ratio near 100%. In addition, the shape memory mechanism is discussed and shows some application scenarios of ESHs. The as-produced materials can be used as smart biomaterials such as self-tightening sutures, self-sealing root canal filling materials, and so on.     

High-Throughput Screening for Phase-Change Memory Materials

Phase change memory (PCM) is an emerging non-volatile data storage technology concerned by the semiconductor industry. To improve the performances, previous efforts have mainly focused on partially replacing or doping elements in the flagship Ge-Sb-Te (GST) alloy based on experimental “trial-and-error” methods. Here, the current largest scale PCM materials searching is reported, starting with 124 515 candidate materials, using a rational high-throughput screening strategy consisting of criteria related to PCM characteristics. In the results, there are 158 candidates screened for PCM materials, of which ≈68% are not employed. By further analyses, including cohesive energy, bond angle analyses, and Born effective charge, there are 52 materials with properties similar to the GST system, including Ge₂Bi₂Te₅, GeAs₄Te₇, GeAs₂Te₄, so on and other candidates that have not been reported, such as TlBiTe₂, TlSbTe₂, CdPb₃Se₄, etc. Compared with GST, materials with close cohesive energy include AgBiTe₂, TlSbTe₂, As₂Te₃, TlBiTe₂, etc., indicating possible low power consumption. Through further melt-quenching molecular dynamic calculation and structural/electronic analyses, Ge₂Bi₂Te₅, CdPb₃Se₄, MnBi₂Te₄, and TlBiTe₂ are found suitable for optical/electrical PCM applications, which further verifies the effectiveness of this strategy. The present study will accelerate the exploration and development of advanced PCM materials for current and future big-data applications.     

Magnetically Guidable Proteinaceous Adhesive Microbots for Targeted Locoregional Therapeutics Delivery in the Highly Dynamic Environment of the Esophagus

The esophagus is a tubular-shaped muscular organ where swallowed fluids and muscular contractions constitute a highly dynamic environment. The turbulent, coordinated processes that occur through the oropharyngeal conduit can often compromise targeted administration of therapeutic drugs to a lesion, significantly reducing therapeutic efficacy. Here, magnetically guidable drug vehicles capable of strongly adhering to target sites using a bioengineered mussel adhesive protein (MAP) to achieve localized delivery of therapeutic drugs against the hydrodynamic physiological conditions are proposed. A suite of highly uniform microparticles embedded with iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles (MAP@IO MPs) is microfluidically fabricated using the genipin-mediated covalent cross-linking of bioengineered MAP. The MAP@IO MPs are successfully targeted to a specific region and prolongedly retained in the tubular-structured passageway. In particular, orally administered MAP@IO MPs are effectively captured in the esophagus in vivo in a magnetically guidable manner. Moreover, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded MAP@IO MPs exhibit a sustainable DOX release profile, effective anticancer therapeutic activity, and excellent biocompatibility. Thus, the magnetically guidable locomotion and robust underwater adhesive properties of the proteinaceous soft microbots can provide an intelligent modular approach for targeted locoregional therapeutics delivery to a specific lesion site in dynamic fluid-associated tubular organs such as the esophagus.     

高熵形状记忆合金的研究进展

高熵形状记忆合金是在等原子比NiTi合金的基础上,结合高熵合金的概念,逐渐发展起来的一种新型高温形状记忆合金。近年来,已开发出了综合性能优异的(TiZrHf)50(NiCoCu)50系和(TiZrHf)50(NiCuPd)50系高熵形状记忆合金,引起了广泛的关注和研究兴趣。本文从物相组成、微观组织、马氏体相变行为、形状记忆效应和超弹性等角度出发,综述了高熵形状记忆合金的研究进展,并对高熵形状记忆合金未来的研究重点进行了展望。     

4D Printing of Shape Memory Materials for Textiles: Mechanism,Mathematical Modeling,and Challenges

Shape memory materials (SMMs) in 3D printing (3DP) technology garnered much attention due to their ability to respond to external stimuli, which direct this technology toward an emerging area of research, “4D printing (4DP) technology.” In contrast to classical 3D printed objects, the fourth dimension, time, allows printed objects to undergo significant changes in shape, size, or color when subjected to external stimuli. Highly precise and calibrated 4D materials, which can perform together to achieve robust 4D objects, are in great demand in various fields such as military applications, space suits, robotic systems, apparel, healthcare, sports, etc. This review, for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, focuses on recent advances in SMMs (e.g., polymers, metals, etc.) based wearable smart textiles and fashion goods. This review integrates the basic overview of 3DP technology, fabrication methods, the transition of 3DP to 4DP, the chemistry behind the fundamental working principles of 4D printed objects, materials selection for smart textiles and fashion goods. The central part summarizes the effect of major external stimuli on 4D textile materials followed by the major applications. Lastly, prospects and challenges are discussed, so that future researchers can continue the progress of this technology.     

Images of a First‐Order Spin‐Reorientation Phase Transition in a Metallic Kagome Ferromagnet

First‐order phase transitions, where one phase replaces another by virtue of a simple crossing of free energies, are best known between solids, liquids, and vapors, but they also occur in a wide range of other contexts, including even elemental magnets. The key challenges are to establish whether a phase transition is indeed first order, and then to determine how the new phase emerges because this will determine thermodynamic and electronic properties. Here it is shown that both challenges are met for the spin reorientation transition in the topological metallic ferromagnet Fe₃Sn₂. The magnetometry and variable temperature magnetic force microscopy experiments reveal that, analogous to the liquid–gas transition in the temperature–pressure plane, this transition is centered on a first‐order line terminating in a critical end point in the field‐temperature plane. The nucleation and growth associated with the transition is directly imaged, indicating that the new phase emerges at the most convoluted magnetic domain walls for the high temperature phase and then moves to self‐organize at the domain centers of the high temperature phase. The dense domain patterns and phase coexistence imply a complex inhomogenous electronic structure, which can yield anomalous contributions to the electrical conductivity.