YOLSO: You Only Look Small Object

Small object detection is challenging and far from satisfactory. Most general object detectors suffer from two critical issues with small objects: (1) Feature extractor based on classification network cannot express the characteristics of small objects reasonably due to insufficient appearance information of targets and a large amount of background interference around them. (2) The detector requires a much higher location accuracy for small objects than for general objects. This paper proposes an effective and efficient small object detector YOLSO to address the above problems. For feature representation, we analyze the drawbacks in previous backbones and present a Half-Space Shortcut(HSSC) module to build a background-aware backbone. Furthermore, a coarse-to-fine Feature Pyramid Enhancement(FPE) module is introduced for layer-wise aggregation at a granular level to enhance the semantic discriminability. For loss function, we propose an exponential L1 loss to promote the convergence of regression, and a focal IOU loss to focus on prime samples with high classification confidence and high IOU. Both of them significantly improves the location accuracy of small objects. The proposed YOLSO sets state-of-the-art results on two typical small object datasets, MOCOD and VeDAI, at a speed of over 200 FPS. In the meantime, it also outperforms the baseline YOLOv3 by a wide margin on the common COCO dataset.     

Anti-coking and anti-carburizing behavior of amorphous AlPO4 coating

The aim of the present study was to examine the anti-coking and anti-carburizing behavior of amorphous AlPO₄ coating. So, aluminum phosphate composition was synthesized by sol-gel process and applied on the AISI 304 stainless steel by dip coating technique. Anti-coking performance was examined in a tube furnace at 1000 °C for 30 min under Ethane (C₂H₆) atmosphere. Carburizing test was performed in a sealed charcoal medium at 1100 °C for a total of 30 h exposure time. Phase composition of the samples was analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) after coking and carburizing tests. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to study the morphology and elemental analysis of the samples after coke and carbon formation experiments. Microhardness indenter was applied on the cross section of the carbon-exposed specimens to plot the hardness profile through the carburizing zone. The results of the coking experiment revealed catalytic coke formed on the uncoated surface, while irregular spherical coke with no trace of catalytic coke was formed on the coated surface, indicating the great anti-coking performance of the amorphous AlPO₄ coating. The results of pack-carburizing test demonstrated that the thickness of the carbide layer formed on the bare surface was ～10 times greater than that of the coated sample. Hardness measurement for the amorphous AlPO₄ coated sample detected lower values compared to those for the uncoated one at all distances from the surface, indicating less carbon diffusion occurred beneath the coated surface. In overall, the results declared that the amorphous AlPO₄ coating could be a good candidate for surface protection of stainless steel against catalytic coke formation and carbon diffusion.     

Ammonia production using iron nitride and water as hydrogen source under mild temperature and pressure

Ammonia generation was studied in the reaction between water and nitrogen-containing iron at 323 K and atmospheric pressure. Similar to metallic Fe, the interstitial compound Fe₃N reduced water through Fe oxidation to produce hydrogen gas, while the N combined with atomic hydrogen to produce ammonia as a byproduct. The addition of carbon dioxide to this system accelerated the reaction with concomitant consumption of carbon dioxide. The promoted ammonia production upon addition of carbon dioxide can be attributed to the generation of atomic hydrogen from the redox reaction of carbonic acid and Fe, as well as removal of used Fe from the reaction system through the formation of a soluble carbonato complex. When carbonate was added to the reaction system, the production rates of ammonia and hydrogen increased further. The results here confirmed that ammonia can be synthesized from iron nitride under mild conditions by utilizing carbon dioxide.     

The corrosion of mild and stainless steel in alkaline anaerobic conditions representing the Belgian “supercontainer” concept and the Swiss L/ILW repository

Deep geological repositories for radioactive waste contain metallic materials, either used to construct disposal canisters or as low-/intermediate-level waste (L/ILW). The safety relevance of corrosion is linked to canister lifetime in the former case and gas generation in the latter. More specifically, the Belgian “supercontainer” concept envisages mild steel for the used fuel disposal canister, and in the case of the Swiss L/ILW repository, mild steels are the largest metallic waste component due to the decommissioning of civilian power-generating facilities. For these circumstances, the corrosion environment is dominated by the chemistry of cement, which is used as buffer or backfill material. The corrosion behaviour of mild steel in anoxic environments was studied through the analysis of the hydrogen end-product. Hydrogen analysis was conducted by periodically purging the cell head-space and analysing the gas using a solid-state hydrogen sensor. While this method is limited to providing only uniform corrosion rates averaged over periods of time, ranging from weeks to months, it provides excellent resolution and sensitivity. The test cell environments were matched against the anticipated Belgian high-level waste and Swiss L/ILW repository environments, and also against experiments that have been conducted by other researchers for comparative purposes. Samples were exposed to synthetic cement pore waters, representing fresh and degraded cement. In young cement waters, the formation of initial corrosion products resulted in steel wire corrosion rates of the order of µm/year, which, at 80°C rapidly declined to ∼10 nm/year. In contrast, SA516 grade 70 steel plate corroded much more slowly under similar conditions. In aged cement waters, initial corrosion rates were higher but declined faster towards a longer-term rate of ∼10 nm/year. 316L stainless steel, embedded in cementitious material, corroded at a rate of <1 nm/year at 50°C.     

Effect of spheroidized microstructure on the impact toughness and electrochemical performance of a high-carbon steel

The influence of cementite spheroidization on the impact toughness and electrochemical properties of a high-carbon steel has been thoroughly investigated in this study. Heavy warm rolling, followed by 2 h of annealing, has resulted in near-complete spheroidization, leading to a microstructure consisting of nano-cementite globules dispersed in the ultrafine-grained ferritic matrix. The Charpy impact test exhibited superior impact toughness with increased spheroidization. It is validated by the presence of abundant dimples in the fractographs of spheroidized specimens, in contrast to the as-received one that experienced a brittle failure due to its lamellar pearlitic structure. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) carried out in a 3.5% NaCl solution revealed that the corrosion resistance of the alloy gets improved with the increase in the degree of spheroidization. This is attributed to the lower susceptibility of the spheroidized specimen to microgalvanic corrosion owing to the minimum area of contact between nano-spheroidized cementite and ferrite, as elucidated with the help of EIS results aided by equivalent electrical circuit model.     

Potential influence of microorganisms on the corrosion of carbon steel in the French high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste disposal context

In the context of the high-level radioactive waste disposal CIGEO, the corrosion rate due to microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) has to be evaluated. In France, it is envisaged to dispose of high- and intermediate-level long-lived radioactive waste at a depth of 500 m in a deep geological disposal, drilled in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (Cox) formation. To do so, a carbon steel casing will be inserted inside disposal cells, which are horizontal tunnels drilled in the Cox. A specific cement grout will be injected between the carbon steel casing and the claystone. A study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of MIC on carbon steel in the foreseeable high radioactive waste disposal. The corrosiveness of various environments was investigated at 50°C and 80°C with or without microorganisms enriched from samples of Andra's underground research laboratory. The monitoring of corrosion during the experiments was ensured using gravimetric method and real-time corrosion monitoring using sensors based on the measurements of the electrical resistance. The corrosion data were completed with microbiological analyses including cultural and molecular characterizations.     

Corrosion behavior of T24, T92, VM12, and AISI 304 steels exposed to KCl–NaCl–K2SO4–Na2SO4 salt mixtures

The corrosion mechanisms of T24, T92, VM12, and AISI 304 steels are studied under the influence of NaCl–KCl, NaCl–Na₂SO₄, and KCl–K₂SO₄ salt mixtures in a dry air atmosphere at 650°C for 15 days. NaCl–KCl was the most aggressive deposit and AISI 304 stainless steel exhibited the highest corrosion resistance. There was no relation between the Cr content of the ferritic steels and their corrosion resistance in NaCl–KCl. In contrast, the resistance of high-Cr steels was better when exposed to NaCl–Na₂SO₄ and KCl–K₂SO₄. The high-Cr and the low-Cr steels were more susceptible to NaCl–Na₂SO₄ and to KCl–K₂SO₄, respectively.     

基于材料力学性能的最低设计金属温度曲线分析

铁素体钢在低温条件下存在明显的韧脆转变现象。为防止脆断事故的发生,需要确定铁素体钢制压力容器的最低使用温度。针对ASME中的A^D四条冲击豁免曲线,对应地选取了4种材料,基于材料实际的屈服强度和参考温度,按照ASME中豁免曲线的计算方法,计算得到4种材料的最低设计金属温度曲线,并与对应的A^D曲线对比,定量地分析ASME中豁免曲线的保守性。结果表明,ASME中的豁免曲线相对于材料自身的最低设计金属温度曲线保守性较大;韧性相近的材料被划分到不同的豁免曲线,使得韧性富裕量差异较大,对于某些材料,其断裂韧性被低估。     

Preparation of biphasic hydroxyapatite/ β-tricalcium phosphate foam using the replication technique

Biphasic hydroxyapatite/β-tricalcium phosphate foams were prepared using the replication technique starting from a precipitated hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂: HAP) powder, and sodium glycerophosphate (GP). The effect of the grinding time, solid loading, dispersant amount, and etching, replication, and sintering processes were investigated. The SEM, OEM and FTIR analyses proved that the surface of the polyurethane template must be treated with NaOH solution to make it more hydrophilic prior to the coating process. With a solid loading of 40 wt-%, the slurries prepared from the precipitated hydroxyapatite presented a shear thinning behavior, which was useful for the coating process. The SEM analysis of the foams showed that the optimum number of coating layers to obtain foam with an identical structure with the template was limited to three. The use of GP and the optimized preparation parameters helped to decrease the consolidation temperature of the ceramic foams to 1000 °C. The XRD and FTIR analyses of the prepared foams showed that the thermal treatment of the GP and the HAP mixture led to a partial decomposition of the HAP to tricalcium phosphate. The fitting of the XRD patterns and the obtained lattice parameters proved that the decomposition was accompanied by the insertion of sodium from GP toward the lattice of tricalcium phosphate and the formation of Na-β-tricalcium. The results of the SEM analysis, the pore size distribution and the mechanical strength showed that the presence of the Na-β-tricalcium reduced the pore size distribution from 500-2700 to 100–1700 μm, decreased slightly the total porosity from 80 vol-% to 70 vol-%; and improved the mechanical strength of the obtained foam from 1.56 MPa to 2.60 MPa.     

钢管套筒灌浆连接轴向受拉性能模拟试验研究

为研究钢管套筒灌浆连接轴向受拉破坏过程及破坏机理，试验中设计了16组48个钢管套筒灌浆连接试件，试件采用钢板代替圆钢管，并进行静载试验。分析了灌浆料裂缝扩展过程、荷载-相对位移曲线，并对抗剪键高距比、灌浆料厚度、侧向力等因素对破坏过程及承载力的影响进行分析。结果表明：对于不设置抗剪键的套筒灌浆连接试件，斜裂缝随机产生，裂缝分布不均匀；对于设置抗剪键的套筒灌浆连接试件，裂缝首先出现在底部抗剪键位置处，与水平方向夹角约为30°，随后在中部和上部抗剪键位置处分别出现斜裂缝。由于每个抗剪键上荷载分担并不均匀，与抗剪键接触的灌浆料逐渐达到极限压应力，达到极限状态时，承载力全部由抗剪键间的机械咬合力承担，在连接承载力中，可忽略摩擦力和胶结力作用。随着抗剪键高距比h/s增大，各试件初始剪切刚度相差不大，承载力增大，但增幅逐渐减小，建议抗剪键高距比0.06g/s>0.3，同时需要满足灌浆料灌注的施工要求。