Uniform cobalt grafted on vanadium nitride as a high efficient oxygen evolution reaction catalyst

The rational design of highly effective and low-cost catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of prime importance for the development of water splitting. However, the activity of electrocatalysts still needs enhancement to satisfy the practical application. Herein, we report Co nanoparticles grafted on vanadium nitride (VN) surface via in situ phase separation method by nitriding Co₂V₂O₇ precursor. Benefiting the advantages of abundant active sites of Co, high conductivity and corrosion resistance of VN, the Co/VN achieves incredibly high activity and durability for OER with a low overpotential of 320 mV at a current density of 10 mV cm^?2 with a small Tafel slope of 50.4 mV dec^?1 and long-term stability. In addition, the in situ Raman further reveals the synergistic effect of Co and VN. Significantly, this study may enrich our knowledge and it can be extended to prepare other interconnected framework structures for the development of OER catalysts.     

Feasibility of non-destructive evaluation for apple crispness based on portable acoustic signal

In this paper, apple crispness was evaluated by sensory evaluation and compared with non-destructive measurements of portable acoustic signal to discuss the feasibility of non-destructive evaluation for apple crispness based on portable acoustic signal. Acoustic eigenvalues from the acoustic signal were processed by time domain and Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT), followed by analysing the correlations with apple crispness that had been evaluated via sensory evaluation. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) were applied to predict apple crispness. The results proved that crispness correlates significantly (P < 0.01) with four acoustic eigenvalues, including waveform index, sound intensity, energy of low frequency and energy of high frequency. The average relative error of apple crispness predicted by ANN was 1.42 ± 1.9%, remarkably lower (P < 0.01) that of MLR (6.79 ± 5.64%), implying that the model predicted by ANN is more accurate than that of MLR.     

Preparation and corrosion resistance of nonstoichiometric lanthanum zirconate coatings

Lanthanum zirconate is a promising thermal barrier coating material owing to its excellent thermophysical properties and La plays the key role in its corrosion resistance. Here, an amorphous precursor is used as raw feedstock material so as to synthesize lanthanum zirconate coatings with tailorable composition by atmospheric plasma spray (APS). Three lanthanum zirconate coatings of La_1.7Zr_2.3O_7.15, La_2.0Zr_2.0O_7.0 and La_2.3Zr_1.7O_6.85 are fabricated. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of the as-sprayed coatings against CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ at 1250℃ is investigated. The increased La content promotes the formation of a sealing layer of the crystalline Ca₂La₈(SiO₄)₆O₂ apatite, which slows down the penetration of molten CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂. Therefore, the infiltration rate of the La_2.3Zr_1.7O_6.85 coating decreased up to 42.6 % compared with the other two coatings. This work develops a feasible preparation strategy to control the La composition for the improved corrosion resistance, which is expected to guide the future coating design and synthesis for the materials with big composition changes during the APS process.     

Parallel chaos optimization algorithm with migration and merging operation

Chaos optimization algorithm (COA) utilizes the chaotic maps to generate the pseudo-random sequences mapped as the decision variables for global optimization applications. A kind of parallel chaos optimization algorithm (PCOA) has been proposed in our former studies to improve COA. The salient feature of PCOA lies in its pseudo-parallel mechanism. However, all individuals in the PCOA search independently without utilizing the fitness and diversity information of the population. In view of the limitation of PCOA, a novel PCOA with migration and merging operation (denoted as MMO-PCOA) is proposed in this paper. Specifically, parallel individuals are randomly selected to be conducted migration and merging operation with the so far parallel solutions. Both migration and merging operation exchange information within population and produce new candidate individuals, which are different from those generated by stochastic chaotic sequences. Consequently, a good balance between exploration and exploitation can be achieved in the MMO-PCOA. The impacts of different one-dimensional maps and parallel numbers on the MMO-PCOA are also discussed. Benchmark functions and parameter identification problems are used to test the performance of the MMO-PCOA. Simulation results, compared with other optimization algorithms, show the superiority of the proposed MMO-PCOA algorithm.     

Rule-based OneClass-DS learning algorithm

One-class learning algorithms are used in situations when training data are available only for one class, called target class. Data for other class(es), called outliers, are not available. One-class learning algorithms are used for detecting outliers, or novelty, in the data. The common approach in one-class learning is to use density estimation techniques or adapt standard classification algorithms to define a decision boundary that encompasses only the target data. In this paper, we introduce OneClass-DS learning algorithm that combines rule-based classification with greedy search algorithm based on density of features. Its performance is tested on 25 data sets and compared with eight other one-class algorithms; the results show that it performs on par with those algorithms.     

An experimental study of adaptive control for evolutionary algorithms

In this paper, we investigate how adaptive operator selection techniques are able to efficiently manage the balance between exploration and exploitation in an evolutionary algorithm, when solving combinatorial optimization problems. We introduce new high level reactive search strategies based on a generic algorithm's controller that is able to schedule the basic variation operators of the evolutionary algorithm, according to the observed state of the search. Our experiments on SAT instances show that reactive search strategies improve the performance of the solving algorithm.     

Study on the difference of dispersion behavior between hydrogen and methane in utility tunnel

Compared to liquid/gas hydrogen tank, the pipeline is an economical way for hydrogen transportation. With the quick development of utility tunnel in China, hydrogen pipeline enters the gas compartment can be expected soon. However, all the safety requirements of the gas compartment in the current standards are designed for natural gas, and the applicability for hydrogen is unknown. Therefore, a series of studies were started to investigate the safety of hydrogen in utility tunnel. In this work, a real utility tunnel locates at Shanghai was selected as the physical object. A 3D numerical model was built and successfully validated by a scaled tunnel test. The model has the maximum deviation of +9.5%. After that, a comparatively study of the dispersion behavior of CH₄ and H₂ was conducted. The assumed scenario was a 20 mm small-hole leaks with gauge pressure of 1.0 MPa in the middle of the tunnel. Numerical results shown that, H₂ has a larger dispersion velocity and higher concentration, and is more dangerous compared to CH₄. The current emergency ventilation strategy of air change rate of 12 times/h is not effective enough to dilute the H₂ flammable cloud. The alarm time of the testing points shown strong linear law. There was a sharp variation in the range of 20%–100% LFL (Lower Flammable Limit), so the alarm strategy in the tunnel standards is too ideal for both CH₄ and H₂. The numerical results in the present study could provide a guidance for the design and safety management of the hydrogen tunnel.     

Improved properties of scandia and yttria co-doped zirconia as a potential thermal barrier material for high temperature applications

Due to the limited temperature capability of current YSZ thermal barrier coating (TBC) material, considerable effort has been expended world-wide to research new candidates for TBC applications above 1200?°C. Our study suggested that Sc₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ co-doped ZrO₂ (ScYSZ) had excellent t’ phase stability even after annealed at 1500?°C for 336?h. The thermal expansion coefficient of ScYSZ was comparable to the value of YSZ. The thermal conductivity of fully dense ScYSZ was in the range of 2.13–1.91?W?m^?1?K^?1 (25–1300?°C), approximately 25% lower than that of YSZ. Although the fracture toughness of dense ScYSZ was slightly lower than YSZ, an evident decline in elastic modulus was found. Additionally, thermal cycling lifetime of plasma sprayed ScYSZ coating (914 cycles) at 1300?°C was about 2.6 times longer than its YSZ counterpart. The superior comprehensive properties confirm that ScYSZ is a prospective candidate material for high-temperature TBC application.