Leaching of a copper flotation concentrate with ammonium persulfate in an autoclave system

The leaching behavior of a copper flotation concentrate was investigated using ammonium persulfate （APS） in an autoclave systee. The decomposition products of APS, active oxygen, and acidic medium were used to extract metals from the concentrate. Leaching experiments were performed to compare the availability of APS as an oxidizing agent for leaching of the concentrate under atmospheric conditions and in an autoclave system. Leaching temperature and APS concentration were found to be important parameters in both leaching systems. Atmospheric leaching studies showed that the metal extractions increased with the increase in APS concentration and temperature （up to 333 K）. A similar tendency was determined in the autoclave studies up to 423 K. It was also determined that the metal extractions decreased at temperatures above 423 K due to the passivation of the particle surface by molten elemental sulfur. The results showed that higher copper extractions could be achieved using an autoclave system.     

Simulation of rock deformation and mechanical characteristics using clump parallel-bond models

To properly simulate hard rock with a high ratio of the uniaxial compressive strength to tensile strength（UCS/TS） and realistic strength-failure envelope,the rock deformation and mechanical characteristics were discussed in detail when the particle simulation method with the clump parallel-bond model（CPBM） was used to conduct a series of numerical experiments at the specimen scale.Meanwhile,the effects of the loading procedure and crack density on the mechanical behavior of a specimen,which was modeled by the particle simulation method with the CPBM,were investigated.The related numerical results have demonstrated that：1） The uniaxial compressive strength（UCS）,tensile strength（TS） and elastic modulus are overestimated when the conventional loading procedure is used in the particle simulation method with the CPBM; 2） The elastic modulus,strength and UCS/TS decrease,while Poisson ratio increases with the increase of the crack density in the particle simulation method with the CPBM; 3） The particle simulation method with the CPBM can be used to reproduce a high value of UCS/TS（10）,as well as a high friction angle and reasonable cohesion strength; 4） As the confining pressure increases,both the peak strength of the simulated specimen and the number of microscopic cracks increase,but the ratio of tensile cracks number to shear cracks number decreases in the particle simulation method with the CPBM; 5） Compared with the conventional parallel-bond model,the CPBM can be used to reproduce more accurate results for simulating the rock deformation and mechanical characteristics.     

Facile synthesis of Zn_2GeO_4 nanorods toward improved photocatalytic reduction of CO_2 into renewable hydrocarbon fuel

Zn2GeO4 nanorods were prepared by a surfactant-assisted solution phase route.The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）,inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer（ICP-AES）,UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy and photoluminescence（PL） spectroscopy.The possible formation mechanism of Zn2GeO4 nanorods was discussed.It was supposed that the CTA＋ cations preferentially adsorb on the planes of Zn2GeO4 nanorods,leading to preferential growth along the c-axis to form the Zn2GeO4 rods with larger aspect ratio and higher surface area,which showed the improved photocatalytic activity for photoreduction of CO2.The photoluminescence（PL） property of Zn2GeO4 nanorods was investigated through the emission spectra.     

Effect of annealing on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-2.5Zn-0.5Y alloy

The microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-2.5Zn-0.5Y alloy before and after annealing treatments were investigated. The as-extruded alloy exhibits a yield tensile strength （YTS） of 305.9 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength （UTS） of 354.8 MPa, whereas the elongation is only 4%. After annealing, the YTS and UTS decrease to 150 MPa and 240 MPa, respectively, and the elongation increases to 28%. Interestingly, the annealed alloy maintains an acceptable stress level even after a much higher ductility is achieved. These excellent mechanical properties stem from the combined effects of fine α-Mg dynamic recrystallization （DRX） grains and a homogeneously distributed icosahedral quasicrystalline phase （I-phase） in the α-Mg DRX grains. In particular, the superior ductility originates from the coherent interface of I-phase and α-Mg and from the formation of the secondary twin {101 1}-{101 2}（38°〈1 2 10〉） in the tension twin {1012}.     

Influence of silicon on the microstructures,mechanical properties and stretch-flangeability of dual phase steels

Uniaxial tension tests and hole-expansion tests were carried out to determine the influence of silicon on the microstructures, mechanical properties, and stretch-flangeability of conventional dual-phase steels. Compared to 0.03wt% silicon, the addition of 1.08wt% silicon induced the formation of finer ferrite grains （6.8μm ） and a higher carbon content of martensite （Cm≈ 0.32wt%）. AS the silicon level increased, the initial strain-hardening rate （n value） and the uniform elongation increased, whereas the yield strength, yield ratio, and stretch-flangeability decreased. The microstructures were observed after hole-expansion tests. The results showed that low carbon content martensite （Cm ≈ 0.19wt%） can easily deform in coordination with ferrite. The relationship between the mechanical properties and stretch-flangeability indicated that the steel with large post-uniform elongation has good stretch-flangeability due to a closer plastic incom- patibility of the ferrite and martensite phases, which can effectively delay the production and decohesion of microvoids.     

Influence of current density on nano-Al2O3/Ni＋Co bionic gradient composite coatings by electrodeposition

Metal and nano-ceramic nanocomposite coatings were prepared on the gray cast iron surface by the electrodeposition method. The Ni-Co was used as the metal matrix,and nano-Al2O3 was chosen as the second-phase particulates. To avoid poor inter-face bonding and stress distribution,the gradient structure of biology materials was found as the model and therefore the gradient composite coating was prepared. The morphology of the composite coatings was flatter and the microstructure was denser than that of pure Ni-Co coatings. The composite coatings were prepared by different current densities,and the 2-D and 3-D morphologies of the surface coatings were observed. The result indicated that the 2-D structure became rougher and the 3-D surface density of apices became less when the current density was increased. The content of nanoparticulates reached a maximum value at the current density of 40mA·cm^-2,at the same time the properties including microhardness and wear-resistance were analyzed. The microhardness reached a maximum value and the wear volume was also less at the current density of 40mA·cm^-2. The reason was that nano-Al2O3 particles caused dispersive strengthening and grain refining.     

Mechanical response of transmission lines based on sliding cable element

In order to study the sliding characteristics when the cable is connected with the other rods in the transmission line structures, a linear sliding cable element based on updated Lagrangian formulation and a sliding catenary element considering the out-of-plane stiffness coefficient are put forward. A two-span and a three-span cable structures are taken as examples to verify the sliding cable elements. By comparing the tensions of the two proposed cable elements with the existing research results, the error is less than 1%, which proves the correctness of the proposed elements. The sliding characteristics should be considered in the practical engineering because of the significant difference between the tensions of sliding cable elements and those of cable element without considering sliding. The out-of-plane stiffness coefficient and friction characteristics do not obviously affect the cable tensions.     

In situ fabrication and properties of AlN dispersion strengthened 2024 aluminum alloy

Nanoscaled aluminum nitride （AlN） dispersion strengthened 2024 aluminum alloy was fabricated using a novel approach in which Al-Mg-Cu compacts were partially nitrided in flowing nitrogen gas. The compacts were subsequently consolidated by sintering and hot extrusion. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the material were preliminarily investigated. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction results revealed that AlN particles were generated by the nitridation of Al-Mg-Cu compacts. The material exhibited excellent mechanical properties after hot extrusion and heat treatment. The ultimate tensile and yield strengths of the extruded samples containing 8.92vol% AlN with the T6 heat treatment were 675 and 573 MPa, respectively.     

Damage prediction of 7025 aluminum alloy during equal-channel angular pressing

Equal-channel angular pressing （ECAP） is a prominent technique that imposes severe plastic deformation into materials to en- hance their mechanical properties. In this research, experimental and numerical approaches were utilized to investigate the mechanical prop- erties, strain behavior, and damage prediction of ECAPed 7025 aluminum alloy in various conditions, such as die channel angle, outer comer angle, and friction coefficient. Experimental results indicate that, after the first pass, the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and hardness magnitude are improved by approximately 95%, 28%, and 48.5%, respectively, compared with the annealed state, mainly due to grain re- finement during the deformation. Finite element analysis shows that the influence of die channel angle is more important than that of outer comer angle or friction coefficient on both the strain behavior and the damage prediction. Also, surface cracks are the main cause of damage during the ECAP process for every die channel angle except for 90°; however, the cracks initiated from the neighborhood of the central re- gions are the possible cause of damage in the ECAPed sample with the die channel angle of 90°.     

First-principles study on mechanical properties of LaMg3 and LaCuMg2

Abstract： With the substitution of part Mg in LaMg3 by Cu, the elastic constants CH and C12 increase while C44 decreases, implying an enhanced Poisson effect and smaller resistance to 〈001〉（100） shear. Furthermore, the bulk modulus B increases, while the shear modulus G, elastic modulus E and anisotropie ratio A are reduced. The calculated Debye temperature of LaCuMg2 is lower, implying the weaker interaction between atoms in LaCuMg2. Then, the stress-strain curves in entire range and the ideal strength at critical strain are studied. The present results show that the lowest ideal tensile strength for LaMg3 and LaCuMg2 is in the 〈100〉 direction. The ideal shear strength on the 〈 1 ^-1 0〉（110） slip system of LaMg3 is greater than LaCuMg2. The density of states and charge density distribution are further studied to understand the inherent mechanism of the mechanical properties.     

Preparation and properties of PMMA modified silica aerogels from diatomite

Diatomite was used as raw material to prepare sodium silicate with a modulus of 3.1 by alkalidissolution method and the resulted sodium silicate solution was employed as a precursor. Methyl methacrylate monomers were introduced in wet gels through solution-immersion, and upon heating at 70 ℃, the mesoporous surfaces throughout the skeletal framework were coated with the polymer layer. PMMA modified silica aerogels were successfully synthesized via ambient pressure drying. The properties were investigated by FTIR, NMR, TGA, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, FESEM and nano-indentation, etc. Results indicate that with the increasing of PMMA incorporated into silica aerogels, the bulk density and the BET surface area increase, the porosity decreases. Through the observation of FESEM, it is found that the interconnecting pores and the big pores add, the pore size distribution expands from 5-17 to 28-150 nm. By comparison, the PMMA modified silica aerogels achieve a 52-fold increase in hardness and a 10-fold increase in modulus.     

Preparation and characterization of regenerated MgO-CaO refractory bricks sintered under different atmospheres

Regenerated MgO-CaO brick samples containing 80wt%, 70wt%, and 60wt% MgO were prepared using spent MgO-CaO bricks and fused magnesia as raw materials and paraffin as a binder. The bricks were sintered at 1873 K for 2 h under an air atmosphere and under an isolating system. The microstructure, mechanical properties at room temperature, and hydration resistance of the regenerated samples were measured and compared. The results indicated that the isolating sintering generated a strongly reducing atmosphere as a result of the incomplete combustion of paraffin, and the partial oxygen pressure was approximately 6.68 × 10^-7 Pa. The properties of the regenerated bricks sintered under air conditions were all higher than those of the bricks sintered under a reducing atmosphere. The deterioration of the bricks was a result of MgO reduction and a decrease in the amount of liquid phase formed during sintering under a reducing atmosphere.     

Mechanical genesis of Henan（China） Yima thrust nappe structure

Considering the serious coal and rock dynamic disasters around the main slip plane called F16 in the coal mining area） of Henan Yima（China） thrust nappe structure,the mechanical genesis of the Yima thrust nappe structure was studied comprehensively using geomechanics,fault mechanics,elastic mechanics,and Coulomb＇s law of friction.First,using the centrifugal inertia force of Earth＇s rotation as a source,a mechanical model of N-S compression superimposed with W-E reverse torsion was established to explain the formation of the early Yima coal basin and Jurassic Yima Group coal measures.Second,an equation for the ultimate stress in the forming stage of F16 was derived using the plastic slip-line field theory and the parabolic Mohr failure criterion.Moreover,the distribution of ultimate stress and the geometric characteristics of the fault profile were obtained using the field model parameters.Finally,the stress field of F16 and the mechanical genesis of the large-scale reverse thrust sheet were discussed based on elastic mechanics theory and Coulomb＇s law of friction.The results show that the tectonic framework of the early Yima coal basin and the formation pattern of Jurassic Yima Group coal measures given by the model are consistent with the in-situ explorations.The geometric characteristics of the fault profile obtained by numerical calculation can better reflect the shape of F16 in its forming stage,and the mechanical genesis of the large-scale reverse thrust sheet also concurred with the field situations.Thus,this work can provide a foundation for further studies on the genesis of the thrust nappe structure,the mechanism of rock bursts induced by F16,and the characteristics of the residual stress field in the Yima mining area.     

Effect of tempering temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructure of an copper-bearing low carbon bainitic steel

The effect of tempering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ultra-high strength, copperbearing, low-carbon bainitic steel has been investigated in the experiment. The results showed that the microstructure was mainly the laths of bainite in the as-quenched steel. The bainitic laths were restored and combined after the steel tempered at various tempera- tures. There were rnartensite/austenite （M/A） islands and numerous dislocations within and between the bainitic laths, while very t-me precipitates of ε-Cu were also observed within the laths. With increasing the tempered temperature from 400 to 600℃, the yield strength （YS） increased from 877 to 957 MPa, whereas the ultimate tensile strength （UTS） decreased from 1020 to 985 MPa. The Charpy V-notch （CVN） varied from 68.5 to 42 J, and the value was minimal for the steel tempered at 500℃. 2008 University of Science and Technology Beijing. All rights reserved.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-8Sn-1Al-1Zn-xNi alloys

Mg-8Sn-1Al-1Zn-xNi（x=0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, mass fraction） alloys were designed and prepared. The microstructures and the mechanical properties were studied by using optical microscope, scanning electronic microscope, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope, X-ray diffraction and a standard universal testing machine. The results show that the microstructure of Ni-containing alloys consist of α-Mg, Mg2 Sn, β-Mg-Ni-Al and γ-AlNi phases. No β-Mg-Ni-Al phase was observed in TAZ811-2.0Ni alloy due to its 1：1 atomic ratio of Ni/Al. The addition of Ni refines the α-Mg dendrites and suppresses the formation of coarse Mg2 Sn phase. The tensile properties results show that the TAZ811-0.5Ni alloy presented the best mechanical properties, which is due to the rod-like β-Mg-Ni-Al phase, refined α-Mg dendrites and Mg2 Sn phase, as well as γ-AlNi phase. The tensile fracture mechanism transits from cleavage to quasi-cleavage fracture with the increasing Ni addition.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ31 alloy ingot fabricated by semi-continuous casting

The AZ31 alloy ingot with diameter of 110 mm and length of 3500 mm was fabricated successfully. The compositions and microstructure morphologies of the ingot at different locations were performed, which indicated that the chemical composition distributed homogeneously through the whole alloy ingot and the average grain size increased from the surface to the center. The results of the EDS and element face-scanning illustrated that the eutectic compounds mainly consisted of fl-Mg17Al12 and a small amount of fl-Mgl7（AlZn）12. Furthermore, slight improvements of the strength and ductility were observed from the center to the surface along the axial direction of the alloy ingot, while both the strength and elongation to failure of the samples along the radial direction are higher than that along the axial direction. The fine grain strengthening was the main contributors to the strength of the as-casted AZ31 alloy.     

Effects of magnetic fields on Fe-Si composite electrodeposition

Coatings containing Fe-Si particles were electrodeposited on 3.0wt% Si steel sheets under magnetic fields. The effects of magnetic flux density （MFD）, electrode arrangement and current density on the surface morphology, the silicon content in the coatings and the cathode current efficiency were investigated. When a magnetic field was applied parallel to the current and when the MFD was less than 0.5 T, numerous needle-like structures appeared on the coating surface. With increasing MFD, the needle-like structures weakened and were transformed into dome-shaped structures. Meanwhile, compared to results obtained in the absence of a magnetic field, the silicon content in the coatings significantly increased as the MFD was increased for all of the samples obtained using a vertical electrode system. However, in the case of an aclinic electrode system, the silicon content decreased. Furthermore, the cathode current efficiency was considerably diminished when a magnetic field was applied. A possible mechanism for these phenomena was discussed.     

Interference management via access control and mobility prediction in two-tier heterogeneous networks

Abstract： Two-tier heterogeneous networks （HetNets）, where the current cellular networks, i.e., macrocells, are overlapped with a large number of randomly distributed femtocells, can potentially bring significant benefits to spectral utilization and system capacity. The interference management and access control for open and closed femtocells in two-tier HetNets were focused. The contributions consist of two parts. Firstly, in order to reduce the uplink interference caused by MUEs （macrocell user equipments） at closed femtocells, an incentive mechanism to implement interference mitigation was proposed. It encourages femtoeells that work with closed-subscriber-group （CSG） to allow the interfering MUEs access in but only via uplink, which can reduce the interference significantly and also benefit the marco-tier. The interference issue was then studied in open-subscriber-group （OSG） femtocells from the perspective of handover and mobility prediction. Inbound handover provides an alternative solution for open femtocells when interference turns up, while this accompanies with PCI （physical cell identity） confusion during inbound handover. To reduce the PCI confusion, a dynamic PCI allocation scheme was proposed, by which the high handin femtocells have the dedicated PCI while the others share the reuse PCIs. A Markov chain based mobility prediction algorithm was designed to decide whether the femtoeell status is with high handover requests. Numerical analysis reveals that the UL interference is managed well for the CSG femtocell and the PCI confusion issue is mitigated greatly in OSG femtocell compared to the conventional approaches.     

Desulfurization ability of refining slag with medium basicity

The desulfurization ability of refining slag with relative lower basicity （B） and Al2O3 content （B = 3.5-5.0; 20wt%-25wt% Al2O3） was studied. Firstly, the component activities and sulfide capacity （Cs） of the slag were calculated. Then slag-metal equilibrium experiments were carried out to measure the equilibrium sulfur distribution （Ls）. Based on the laboratorial experiments, slag composition was optimized for a better desulfurization ability, which was verified by industrial trials in a steel plant. The obtained results indicated that an MgO-saturated CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-MgO system with the basicity of about 3.5-5.0 and the Al2O3 content in the range of 20wt%-25wt% has high activity of CaO （αCaO）, with no deterioration of Cs compared with conventional desulfurization slag. The measured Ls between high-strength low-alloyed （HSLA） steel and slag with a basicity of about 3.5 and an Al2O3 content of about 20wt% and between HSLA steel and slag with a basicity of about 5.0 and an Al2O3 content of about 25wt% is 350 and 275, respectively. The new slag with a basicity of about 3.5-5.0 and an Al2O3 content of about 20wt% has strong desulfurization ability. In particular, the key for high-efficiency desulfurization is to keep oxygen potential in the reaction system as low as possible, which was also verified by industrial trials.     

Production of HfO2 thin films using different methods： chemical bath deposition,SILAR and sol-gel process

Hafnium oxide thin films （HOTFs） were successfully deposited onto amorphous glasses using chemical bath deposition, successive ionic layer absorption and reaction （SILAR）, and sol-gel methods. The same reactive precursors were used for all of the methods, and all of the films were annealed at 300℃ in an oven （ambient conditions）. After this step, the optical and structural properties of the films produced by using the three different methods were compared. The structures of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffTaction （XRD）. The optical properties are investigated using the ultraviolet-visible （UV-VIS） spectroscopic technique. The film thickness was measured via atomic force microscopy （AFM） in the tapping mode. The surface properties and elemental ratios of the films were investigated and measured by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDX）. The lowest transmittance and the highest reflectance values were observed for the films produced using the SILAR method. In addition, the most intense characteristic XRD peak was observed in the diffraction pattern of the film produced using the SILAR method, and the greatest thickness and average grain size were calculated for the film produced using the SILAR method. The films produced using SILAR method contained fewer cracks than those produced using the other methods. In conclusion, the SILAR method was observed to be the best method for the production of HOTFs.