Enhancement of super-hydrophilic/underwater super-oleophobic performance of ceramic membrane with TiO2 nanowire array prepared via low temperature oxidation

A gradient porous ceramic membrane with surface super-hydrophilic and underwater super-oleophobic performance was prepared by combining hydrogel directional freezing method and low temperature oxidation process. The effects of solid contents and sintering temperature on the ceramic membrane matrix were examined. The reaction time and synthesis temperature on the TiO₂ nanowire array were also evaluated. In addition, the related effects on pore size distribution, permeation flux, contact angle, and oil-in-water emulsion separation were systematically investigated. The ceramic membrane matrix pore size changed from 0.5 μm to 25 μm gradually, indicating the gradient structure controlled by the growth of ice. The super-hydrophilic and underwater super-oleophobic performance of ceramic membrane surface was obtained with surface modification by TiO₂ nanowire array, and the surface water contact angle and underwater oil contact angle were less than 5° and over 158°, respectively. The bonding strength between TiO₂ nanowire and ceramic membrane matrix was high enough to withstand ultrasonic waves. The ceramic membrane modified with TiO₂ nanowire array was used for 1000 ppm diesel oil-in-water emulsion separation, and the stable separation efficiency and flux were about 97% and 100–200 L/(m² h bar) even after 10 filtration cycles.     

Investigation into adsorption equilibrium and thermodynamics for water vapor on montmorillonite clay

The isothermal adsorption curves for water vapor on montmorillonite were measured by a gravimetric adsorption system. Dent's model was employed to estimate the adsorption behaviors of water vapor on primary adsorption sites and secondary adsorption sites. The thermodynamics analysis of water vapor adsorption was performed. At low vapor pressure region, primary adsorption predominates, and with increasing vapor pressure, secondary adsorption becomes notable. Primary adsorption sites have an evidently stronger adsorption affinity than secondary adsorption sites. With increasing vapor pressure, Gibbs free energy variation rapidly increases and then reduces slowly. Although increasing vapor pressure raises adsorption spontaneity on primary adsorption sites, the enhancement in vapor pressure decreases the spontaneity of water vapor adsorption on secondary adsorption sites. As adsorbed loading increases, isosteric heat of adsorption and entropy loss decrease first and then increase quickly. The gradually growing water clusters are responsible for the increase of entropy loss at late stage.     

A model of PEMFC-battery system to evaluate inner operating status and energy consumption under different energy management strategies

A hybrid system with jointed battery and PEMFC is popular and of great potential in New Energy Vehicle (NEV) application. However, reliability and efficiency remain to be improved for commercial products. To reflect the complicated physics inside the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the PEMFC model consisting of inner muti-physics process and other accessories was built, then a complete hybrid system was established when a matched battery, DC/DC, regenerative braking were taken into consideration. Based on the above model, the stack state and system performance under standard cycle for heavy duty vehicle-CWTVC were obtained. According to the simulation results, fuel cell states such as pressure, water content and voltage suffers severe oscillation with external load, especially in the highway cycle. Membrane electrode assembly (MEA) suffers from pressure impact with average value of more than 24 kPa in highway cycle. In the aspect of relative humidity, the PEMFC stack is most threatened in road cycle. As for the hybrid system, its efficiency and state of charge (SOC) fluctuation perform worst in urban cycle and road cycle respectively, while its highest efficiency occurs in road test. Operating mode of fuel cell has influence on hybrid system. When 3-level mode of fuel cell output was applied, the efficiency increased to its peak value at medium level of 28 kW and then declined gradually. H₂ consumption had an opposite trend compared to efficiency. In the aspect of battery SOC, it declines in operating process and its fluctuations decreases when medium level got bigger. The 3-level mode and 4-level mode were compared using this model. It can be concluded that although 3-level mode performs slightly better in hybrid system efficiency, H₂ consumption, pressure impact, it does not have absolute advantage over 4-level mode in other indicators.     

Anisotropy Effects in the Shape-Memory Performance of Polymer Foams

Isotropic and anisotropic shape-memory polymer foams are prepared by supercritical carbon dioxide foaming from a multiblock copolymer (PDLCL) consisting of poly(ω-pentadecalactone) and poly(ε-caprolactone) segments. Analysis by micro-computed tomography reveals for the anisotropic PDLCL foam cells a high shape anisotropy ratio of R = 1.72 ± 0.62 with a corresponding Young's compression moduli ratio between longitudinal and transversal direction of 4.3. The experimental compression data in the linear elastic range can be well described by the anisotropic open foam model of Gibson and Ashby. A micro-morphological analysis for single pores using scanning electron microscopy images permits the correlation between the macroscopic stress-compression behavior and microscale structural changes.     

一种X射线环焊缝图像质量评价方法

为了缩小增强后环焊缝图像质量主客观评价的差距,提出了一种基于人眼视觉的无参考质量评价指标。通过分析人眼的视觉特性,建立图像模糊评价模型,设定主观评价方法;主客观评价值进行曲线拟合,经验证,评价结果与主观评价结果具有线性拟合关系,评价结果接近人眼最佳视觉,验证了评价指标的可行性。     

Mesoscale pore structure of a high-performance concrete by coupling focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering

This contribution couples (a) Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments of a high-performance concrete (HPC) at the millimetric scale, and (b) Focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) of the cement paste of the HPC, with 10-20 nm voxel size. The aim is to improve the understanding of the 3D pore network of the HPC at the mesoscale (tens of nm), which is relevant for fluid transport. The mature HPC is an industrial concrete, based on pure Portland CEMI cement, and planned for use as structural elements for deep underground nuclear waste storage. Small angle X-ray scattering patterns are computed from the 3D pore images given by FIB/SEM (volumes of 61-118 μm³). They are positively correlated with SAXS measurements (volumes of 5 mm³). Aside from correlations with FIB/SEM data, experimental SAXS allows to investigate a wider range of effects on the pore structure. These are mainly the HPC drying state, the presence of aggregates (by analyzing data on cement paste alone), and the use of Poly Methyl MethAcrylate resin impregnation.     

页岩孔隙结构及多层吸附模型的研究

页岩气是指主体位于暗色泥页岩或高碳泥页岩中,以吸附态或游离态为主要赋存方式的非常规天然气。页岩孔隙结构复杂,一般以纳米孔隙占优势,用常规储层孔隙的表征方法难以解释美国的高产页岩气系统。因此,页岩纳米孔隙的表征成为制约页岩气资源评价的关键因素。就浅谈页岩孔隙结构及多层吸附模型等方面的研究。