Personalized broad learning system for facial expression

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Understanding human emotions through facial expressions is key enabling technology for interactive robots. Most approaches of facial expression recognition are...     

A distributed energy system integrating SOFC-MGT with mid-and-low temperature solar thermochemical hydrogen fuel production

Solar thermochemical hydrogen production with energy level upgraded from solar thermal to chemical energy shows great potential. By integrating mid-and-low temperature solar thermochemistry and solid oxide fuel cells, in this paper, a new distributed energy system combining power, cooling, and heating is proposed and analyzed from thermodynamic, energy and exergy viewpoints. Different from the high temperature solar thermochemistry (above 1073.15 K), the mid-and-low temperature solar thermochemistry utilizes concentrated solar thermal (473.15–573.15 K) to drive methanol decomposition reaction, reducing irreversible heat collection loss. The produced hydrogen-rich fuel is converted into power through solid oxide fuel cells and micro gas turbines successively, realizing the cascaded utilization of fuel and solar energy. Numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the system thermodynamic performances under design and off-design conditions. Promising results reveal that solar-to-hydrogen and net solar-to-electricity efficiencies reach 66.26% and 40.93%, respectively. With the solar thermochemical conversion and hydrogen-rich fuel cascade utilization, the system exergy and overall energy efficiencies reach 59.76% and 80.74%, respectively. This research may provide a pathway for efficient hydrogen-rich fuel production and power generation.     

Ni,Cr, and Fe surfaces corroded by molten ZnCl2

Understanding the corrosion of molten ZnCl₂ on metal surfaces is significant for the corrosion protection of metals, sustainable use of molten salts, preparation of ZnO coatings, and so on. In this paper, surfaces of pure Ni, Cr, and Fe corroded by molten ZnCl₂ were investigated. The results show that Ni suffered very slight corrosion, while Cr experienced more serious corrosion than Ni, but lighter corrosion than Fe. The morphology of the corrosion of Cr and Fe, respectively, presented pitting and intergranular corrosion characteristics. Furthermore, nanostructured ZnO coatings were obtained on the surfaces of Ni and Fe, but not on the surface of Cr. The ZnO coating on the Ni surface was doped with a small amount of Zn₅(OH)₈Cl₂, and the ZnO coating on the Fe surface was doped with ZnFe₂O₄ and Zn₂OCl₂. The coatings on the Ni and Fe surfaces had an average thickness of 1.5 and 50 μm, respectively.     

含煤盆地深层“超饱和”煤层气形成条件

中国深层煤层气资源丰富，但总体勘探和认识程度较低，尚未形成较为系统的深层煤层气地质理论。通过解剖分析准噶尔盆地白家海凸起和鄂尔多斯盆地临兴区块深层"超饱和"煤层气井的试气/生产动态，估算原地游离气的含气量，分析了深层"超饱和"煤层气的形成条件。研究表明：①深层"超饱和"煤层气储层中除吸附气外，还含有原地游离气，用常规试气方法可直接获得气流，煤层气的产出不明显依赖于排水降压；②埋藏超过一定深度，在煤阶和温度的综合作用下，煤的吸附能力将随埋深的继续增加而降低，煤层中吸附气的饱和度有增加的趋势，在达到吸附饱和后，出现原地游离气并形成"超饱和"煤层气，盆地深层具有"超饱和"煤层气形成的优势条件；③由于地温梯度和压力梯度的不同，不同盆地"超饱和"煤层气出现的临界深度不同，异常高压和异常高热流可以降低深层"超饱和"煤层气形成的临界深度；④深层"超饱和"煤层气开发具有大大缩短见气时间、充分利用地层能量和累积产水量低等优势，有望成为未来煤层气勘探开发的一个重要领域。     

Corrosion resistance of Al–Cr-slag containing chromium–corundum refractories to slags with different basicity

Al–Cr slag is the solid waste generated by the smelting of Cr metal. It presents a range of environmental hazards. This study addressed the corrosion resistance of Al–Cr slag containing chromium–corundum refractories to slags with different basicity. Herein, we provide suggestions for the use of Cr–corundum of different basicity in kilns. Al–Cr slag, brown fused Al₂O₃, and chrome green were used as the raw materials, with pure calcium aluminate cement being used as a binder. The brick samples, prepared using different blends of chrome green and corundum, were fired at 1600?°C, and subsequently subjected to a slag corrosion test. After corrosion by slag of different basicity, the phase composition and microstructure of the sample were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometer and scanning electron microscopy. There were two major findings. First, Cr–corundum brick made from Al–Cr slag has a better slag corrosion resistance than that made from Cr₂O₃ and brown fused Al₂O₃. Second, Cr–corundum brick made from Al–Cr slag has superior corrosion resistance to slag with a CaO:SiO₂ ratio of 2:1.     

基于Q-learning的不确定环境BDI Agent最优策略规划研究

BDI模型能够很好地解决在特定环境下的Agent的推理和决策问题,但在动态和不确定环境下缺少决策和学习的能力。强化学习解决了Agent在未知环境下的决策问题,却缺少BDI模型中的规则描述和逻辑推理。针对BDI在未知和动态环境下的策略规划问题,提出基于强化学习Q-learning算法来实现BDI Agent学习和规划的方法,并针对BDI的实现模型ASL的决策机制做出了改进,最后在ASL的仿真平台Jason上建立了迷宫的仿真,仿真实验表明,在加入Q-learning学习机制后的新的ASL系统中,Agent在不确定环境下依然可以完成任务。     

Preparation and polymerization of isopimaric acid derivatives

Isopimaric acid is a typical rosin compound and can account for 30% of the total mass of slash pine rosin. The molecular structure of isopimaric acid derivatives features an unsaturated double bond at the C13 position, opening up the possibility of their industrial polymerization. In this study, isopimaric acid (95.4%), methyl isopimarate (99.5%), and allyl isopimarate (95.1%) were prepared as highly pure monomers. New experimental results are presented and mechanisms based on the investigation of free-radical polymerization under UV irradiation are proposed. New rosin monomers for potential value-added utilization of woody biomass are also identified. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47817.     

Performance of LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 prepared from spent lithium-ion batteries by a carbonate co-precipitation method

Spherical LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ cathode particles were resynthesized by a carbonate co-precipitation method using spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as a raw material. The physical characteristics of the Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3CO₃ precursor, the (Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3)₃O₄ intermediate, and the regenerated LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ cathode material were investigated by laser particle-size analysis, scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical performance of the regenerated LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ was studied by continuous charge–discharge cycling and cyclic voltammetry. The results indicate that the regenerated Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3CO₃ precursor comprises uniform spherical particles with a narrow particle-size distribution. The regenerated LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ comprises spherical particles similar to those of the Ni_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3CO₃ precursor, but with a narrower particle-size distribution. Moreover, it has a well-ordered layered structure and a low degree of cation mixing. The regenerated LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ shows an initial discharge capacity of 163.5 mA h g^?1 at 0.1 C, between 2.7 and 4.3 V; the discharge capacity at 1 C is 135.1 mA h g^?1, and the capacity retention ratio is 94.1% after 50 cycles. Even at the high rate of 5 C, LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ delivers the high capacity of 112.6 mA h g^?1. These results demonstrate that the electrochemical performance of the regenerated LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ is comparable to that of a cathode synthesized from fresh materials by carbonate co-precipitation.