A numerical study of dynamic behaviors of a unitized regenerative fuel cell during gas purging

The gas purging states affect electricity output and energy storage capacity of unitized regenerative fuel cells. In this study, a model of unitized regenerative fuel cell is established. Cell voltages and operating temperatures influences on the dynamic distribution of thermal fluid during purging process and the discharge of residual liquid water in electrolytic cell mode are investigated. The motivation of the present study is better understanding the gas purging characteristics and its effect on reaction behaviors of unitized regenerative fuel cells. Simulation results reveal a significant influence of purging gas temperature on the water flooding and a great effect of operating voltage on the water diffusion. The operating temperature of electrolytic cell model almost has little effect on purging results at different cell temperature and the same purging gas temperature. When the purging gas temperature is changed, higher temperatures of cell and purging gas facilitate liquid water discharging out from the cell regions. In cell water flooding situation, when having large liquid content, the purging gas has little effects on the water expelling process.     

High voltage and self-healing zwitterionic double-network hydrogels as electrolyte for zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitor/battery

The hydrogel electrolyte is an important part of safety and development potential in zinc-based energy storage equipment due to its inherent low mechanical strength and voltage decomposition. However, hydrogel electrolytes possess a reduced working life for zinc dendrites growth and a narrow voltage window. In this study, a hydrogel electrolyte prepares by the zwitterionic monomer [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) (MS) and sodium alginate (SA) alleviate these problems. The zwitterionic double-network hydrogel has good mechanical strength, inhibits the growth of zinc dendrites, enhances practicability, greatly increases the voltage window (0–2.4 V), and has self-healing properties to its rich functional groups. The assembled zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors (ZHSs) have a high-power density of 172.33 W kg^?1 and an energy density of 88.56 Wh·kg^?1 at 0.5 A g^?1. The assembled zinc-ion battery also has good electrochemical performance. Flexible ZHSs and batteries provide power to the timer stably under different bending angles. The zwitterionic double-network hydrogel can be applied to both zinc-based supercapacitors and batteries.     

Experimental study on the load bearing behavior of geosynthetic reinforced soil bridge abutments with different facing conditions

This paper presents an experimental study on reduced-scale model tests of geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments with modular block facing, full-height panel facing, and geosynthetic wrapped facing to investigate the influence of facing conditions on the load bearing behavior. The GRS abutment models were constructed using sand backfill and geogrid reinforcement. Test results indicate that footing settlements and facing displacements under the same applied vertical stress generally increase from full-height panel facing abutment, to modular block facing abutment, to geosynthetic wrapped facing abutment. Measured incremental vertical and lateral soil stresses for the two GRS abutments with flexible facing are generally similar, while the GRS abutment with rigid facing has larger stresses. For the GRS abutments with flexible facing, maximum reinforcement tensile strain in each layer typically occurs under the footing for the upper reinforcement layers and near the facing connections for the lower layers. For the full-height panel facing abutment, maximum reinforcement tensile strains generally occur near the facing connections.     

Microstructure,mechanical and tribological properties of Mo–V–Cu–N coatings prepared by HIPIMS technique

A combination of high wear-resistance and low-friction is crucial for improving the wear performance of self-lubricating coatings, which is generally determined by an excellent lubricating effect and mechanical strength. In this study, the Mo–V–Cu–N coatings were prepared by HIPIMS technique with a spliced target of Mo–V–Cu at various charge voltages. The results revealed that Mo–V–Cu–N coatings presented a solid solution phase of B1–MoVN with (200) preferred orientation, and the preferred orientation was enhanced at high charge voltages. Whereas the Cu atoms formed an amorphous phase in Mo–V–Cu–N coatings due to a low Cu content of 2.3–3.6 at.%. As the charge voltage increased to 750 V, more charged metallic ions were accelerated and bombarded substrate surface efficiently, forming smooth and dense Mo–V–Cu–N coatings with a high hardness of 31.0 GPa. All the coatings presented a low friction coefficient of 0.34–0.39 due to the formation of MoO₂, VO₂ and CuO mixed oxides, and the wear mechanism was dominated by abrasive and tribo-oxidation wear at room temperature.     

Construction and analysis of photovoltaic directly coupled conditions in PEM electrolyzer

The Markov model and the PEM electrolyzer system model for directly coupled photovoltaic are combined to construct an efficient and reliable working condition that fits the fluctuation characteristics of solar energy. The working condition is designed through genetic algorithm so that the average coupling efficiency of the system can reach 98.8%. Then, the durability and recovery test are conducted on the basis of the constructed conditions. It is found that the attenuation rate at the current density of 1A/cm² under the photovoltaic fluctuating condition reached 7.8mV/h, which is twice that under the constant current condition. The charge transfer impedance (R_ct) is the main factor leading to the degradation. It is proved by the recovery experiment that the increase of R_ct is related to the pollution of metal ions. After pickling to remove some metal ions, R_ct can be significantly reduced by 46.8% and 65.2%, respectively. After the durability test, the voltammetric charges under the photovoltaic fluctuating condition and the constant current condition are reduced by 48.3% and 19.1% It indicates that the photovoltaic fluctuation condition will accelerate the attenuation of the effective reaction area of MEA, which is irreversible even after pickling. It can be observed from the SEM images that the catalyst layer of MEA has more obvious peeling under the photovoltaic fluctuation condition, which is not conducive to material transmission and destroys the transmission channel of ions and electrons. This result can provide a reliable reference for the coupling design of PEM electrolyzer and renewable energy in the future.     

基于音频特征的工程车辆工况识别研究

高效率地使用工程车辆是工程项目管理中节约成本的有效方法，无人监管环境下工程车辆的工况识别，是实现工程车辆高效率使用的有效手段。目前以GPS等技术为核心的车辆智能管理系统未对工程车辆进行工况识别，提出一种基于GRU循环神经网络的工程车辆工况识别方法，通过对工程车辆在不同工况下产生的音频信号进行分析，从中提取Mel倒谱系数作为主要特征，构建GRU循环神经网络模型进行训练和识别。实验结果表明，该方法可以实现对工程车辆工况的有效识别。     

[2.2]Paracyclophane-Based TCN-201 Analogs as GluN2A-Selective NMDA Receptor Antagonists

Recent studies have shown the involvement of GluN2A subunit-containing NMDA receptors in various neurological and pathological disorders. In the X-ray crystal structure, TCN-201 ( 1 ) and analogous pyrazine derivatives 2 and 3 adopt a U-shape (hairpin) conformation within the binding site formed by the ligand binding domains of the GluN1 and GluN2A subunits. In order to mimic the resulting π/π-interactions of two aromatic rings in the binding site, a [2.2]paracyclophane system was designed to lock these aromatic rings in a parallel orientation. Acylation of [2.2]paracyclophane ( 5 ) with oxalyl chloride and chloroacetyl chloride and subsequent transformations led to the oxalamide 7 , triazole 10 and benzamides 12 . The GluN2A inhibitory activities of the paracyclophane derivatives were tested with two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiology using Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing selectively functional NMDA receptors with GluN2A subunit. The o-iodobenzamide 12 b with the highest similarity to TCN-201 showed the highest GuN2A inhibitory activity of this series of compounds. At a concentration of 10 μM, 12 b reached 36 % of the inhibitory activity of TCN-201 ( 1 ). This result indicates that the [2.2]paracyclophane system is well accepted by the TCN-201 binding site.     

Intrinsic Defect Limit to the Growth of Orthorhombic HfO2 and (Hf,Zr)O2 with Strong Ferroelectricity: First-Principles Insights

It is believed that promoting the fraction of ferroelectric orthorhombic phase (o-phase) through O-poor growth conditions can increase the spontaneous polarization of HfO₂ and (Hf,Zr)O₂ thin films. However, the first-principles calculations show that the growth may be limited by the easy formation of point defects in the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases of HfO₂, ZrO₂, and (Hf,Zr)O₂. Their dominant defects, O interstitial (O_i) under O-rich conditions and O vacancy (V_O) under O-poor condition, have low formation energies and quite high density (10¹⁶–10¹⁹ cm⁻³ for 800–1400 K growth temperature). Especially, O_i has negative formation energy in tetragonal HfO₂ under O-rich condition, causing non-stoichiometry and limiting the crystalline-seed formation during o-phase growth. High-density defects can cause disordering of dipole moments and increase leakage current, both diminishing the polarization. These results explain the experimental puzzle that the measured polarization is much lower than the ideal value even in O-poor thin films and highlight that controlling defects is as important as promoting the o-phase fraction for enhancing ferroelectricity. The O-intermediate condition (average of O-rich and O-poor conditions) and low growth temperature are proposed for fabricating HfO₂ and (Hf,Zr)O₂ with fewer defects, lower leakage current, and stronger ferroelectricity, which challenges the belief that O-poor condition is optimal.     

Synthesis and characterization of SrFeOx hetero-film resistance-switching device with low operation voltage

As a critical topological phase transition material, SrFeO_x could play an essential role in the field of resistive memory. How to implement resistance-switching more softly and ensure the stability of materials has always been a relevant research hotspot. Regulating the oxygen environment during the deposition process of the films can effectively control the stoichiometry of the functional layer and then improve the resistance-switching characteristics of the device. In this paper, a SrFeO_x hetero-film was prepared by oxygen pretreatment on the SrRuO₃ surface before SrFeO_x deposition, and the as-assembled micrometer-scale device exhibits a low set operating voltage of 0.6 V and favorable cycling characteristics. The SrFeO_x hetero-film reveals a vertical brownmillerite superlattice-like structure with ～20 nm perovskite buffer layer, which benefits the connection and rupture of conductive filament. Additionally, XPS and UV–vis were used to analyze the bonding energy and band gap of SrFeO_x hetero-film, and offers the experimental basis for the explanation of the conductive mechanism. Therefore, the device based on SrFeO_x hetero-film with low operation voltage provides a reference for low power consumption research on topological phase transition material.     

Recycling spent lead acid batteries into aqueous zinc-ion battery material with ultra-flat voltage platforms

The harmless disposal of lead paste in the spent lead-acid batteries (LABs) remains an enormous challenge in traditional pyrometallurgical recycling. Here, we introduced a hydrometallurgical method for the recycling of the spent LABs’ waste to obtain the β-PbO as a novel zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) active material. The obtained β-PbO exhibits ultra-flat charge/discharge voltage platforms (0.21 mV/(mAh g^?1)) and stable specific capacity. During the charge/discharge, the β-PbO spontaneously triggers the formation of (ZnSO₄)[Zn(OH)₂]₃·5H₂O (ZHS) micro-sheets as a surface passivation layer. Moreover, the ex-situ X-ray spectra reveal that the reversible phase transformation occurs between PbSO₄ and Pb with the assistance of ZHS by adjusting the PH value on the electrode-electrolyte interface. The synergistic two-phase-reaction mechanism generates ultra-flat voltage platforms upon the charge/discharge. This “energy-saving and environment-friendly” recycling route eliminates the major source of emission of pollution particulates/gases compared to the traditional pyrometallurgical recycling, while at the same time replacing energy-consuming and environmentally detrimental processes of synthesis of current ZIBs cathodes.