Exploring to direct the reaction pathway for hydrogenation of levulinic acid into γ-valerolactone for future Clean-Energy Vehicles over a magnetic Cu-Ni catalyst

A cheap and magnetic Ni/Cu/Al/Fe catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of LA into GVL catalysts was prepared by sol-gel method. The reaction pathway was systematically studied by examining the reaction conditions, such as reaction pressure, catalyst loadings, water content, and reaction temperature. Higher reaction pressure and catalyst loadings were prior to form HA, then MHV, finally GVL; ML was easily to form with a higher reaction temperature. Water, as a key role, which was in favor to form HA, then MHV, finally GVL; more important, a higher LA conversion could be obtained in methanol as the solvent with some certain content of water. And, it can give a reference for future new clean energy vehicles' application.     

Effects of Color,Scouring Method,and Age on the Visual Sensibility of Naturally Colored Organic Cotton (NaCOC)

In parallel to the social trend of green consumerism and well‐being, the demand for naturally colored organic cotton (NaCOC) continually increases in the textile and clothing industry. The present study examined the effects of NaCOC color, scouring method, and age on the visual sensibility of NaCOC. Two age groups (20s and 30s; 40s and 50s) of women rated three color sets of NaCOC specimens (ivory, green, and coyote brown) treated by two chemical scouring methods (Na₂CO₃ and NaOH) and two bioscouring methods (enzyme and boiling water) using 7‐point scales of nine visual sensibilities (bright‐dark; clear‐murky; heavy‐light; vivid‐subdued; warm‐cool; fresh‐stale; strong‐weak; showy‐plain; and luxurious‐cheap). Preferred scouring methods by NaCOC color and/or age group were recommended for each visual sensibility (e.g., preferred scouring methods for fresh sensibility are Na₂CO₃ for ivory NaCOC, Na₂CO₃ and NaOH for green NaCOC, and boiling water for coyote brown NaCOC). In addition, the representative visual sensibilities of each NaCOC color (e.g., those of coyote brown NaCOC are dark, murky, heavy, vivid, warm, stale, strong, plain, and luxurious sensibilities) were identified for the women participants. Last, it was demonstrated that a bioscouring method can replace the traditional chemical methods for selected visual sensibilities (e.g., boiling water for luxurious sensibility). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

乡村建院散落于村庄的教育

中国南方的乡村保留了过去传统生活的记忆,在接受着现代科技文明渗透的同时,等待着无限可能的到来.我们选择了较为熟悉的安徽省黄山市黟县碧山村作为思路的起点.在极具特色的徽派建筑中,碧山村未被过度商业开发,保有淳朴的民风,生活气息和历代传承下来的文化气氛浓郁.参与建筑学学习两年后,我们渴望在这儿建造一个能够真正融入村庄、开放自由的建筑学院,将传统的建筑教育回归到人人都可以参与其中的“泛建筑”状态.此次设计意在为村民和学生之间的双向沟通构筑一个平台,将建筑分散到村庄中,在对其进行合理的组织之后,既不破坏乡村肌理,又为他们之间提供更多的可能的联系.徽派建筑是长期适应地方气候的产物,当地夏季高温多雨,冬季寒冷潮湿,我们充分借鉴徽派建筑对气候与环境的回应,将其与现代技术相结合,应用到此次的设计中.如果在村庄中建一所大学会是怎样的情景?在碧山,我们一同做了一次美好的畅想.     

Influence of Composition and Thermomechanical Training Process on the Transformation Behavior and Shape Memory Properties of NiTi Based Alloys

The effects of composition, specially the Cu element and thermomechanical training process on the transformation and one way shape memory behavior (OWSM) of NiTi based alloys were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and microstructural analysis. The hot rolled strips with different compositions were trained under various applied pre-strains by bending test at martensitic state. It was found that the presence of Cu in the NiTi alloy results in an improvement of the OWSM effect by reducing the transformation hysteresis and forming the longer martensitic variants with lower interfacial energy than the NiTi binary alloys. Increasing the applied pre-strain and the number of thermomechanical training cycles caused OWSM effect to decrease. Although the transformation temperature increased at the higher applied pre-strain, it was reduced during the thermomechanical training process.     

Inhomogeneous softening during annealing of ultrafine-grained silver processed by HPT

The softening in ultrafine-grained silver processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT) was studied during annealing using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Two separate exothermic peaks were observed in the DSC thermogram of the HPT-processed sample. It is shown that the first and the second peaks are related to the recrystallization of the middle volume and the surface regions of the HPT-processed disk, respectively. Therefore, a very inhomogeneous sandwich-like microstructure develops during annealing with a soft interior and hard surface layers. The lower thermal stability of the middle region appears to be related to the stronger twinning activity since the twinned volumes can act as nuclei for recrystallized grains. The higher twin-fault probability in the interior is attributed to the larger strain due to the outflow of material between the anvils of the HPT facility during quasi-constrained processing.     

Reflectance,dielectric constant and chemical content of selected sedimentary rocks

Relationships among average spectral reflectance measured in the visible and near infrared (VNIR) region (0.4-2.5 w m), dielectric constant measured in the microwave region (0.5-18 GHz) and chemical content of 34 sedimentary rock samples were measured. The natural logarithm of the average spectral reflectance and that of the imaginary part of the dielectric constant were negatively correlated ( 𝜌 =-0.60). The average spectral reflectance correlated negatively with Fe2O3 ( 𝜌 =-0.61), Al2O3 ( 𝜌 =-0.63), K2O ( 𝜌 =-0.60), TiO2 ( 𝜌 =-0.64), and P2O5 ( 𝜌 =-0.60). The average imaginary part of the dielectric constant correlated positively with Fe2O3 ( 𝜌 =0.76), K2O ( 𝜌 =0.62), and TiO2 ( 𝜌 =0.70). The average real part of the dielectric constant is highly correlated with the weight loss of the rocks due to burning (burnt loss) ( 𝜌 =0.92), SiO2 ( 𝜌 =-0.96), and CaO ( 𝜌 =0.91).     

Thermal shock behavior of nano-sized SiC particulate reinforced AlON composites

Aluminum oxynitride (AlON) has been considered as a potential ceramic material for high-performance structural and advanced refractory applications. Thermal shock resistance is a major concern and an important performance index of high-temperature ceramics. While silicon carbide (SiC) particles have been proven to improve mechanical properties of AlON ceramic, the high-temperature thermal shock behavior was unknown. The aim of this investigation was to identify the thermal shock resistance and underlying mechanisms of AlON ceramic and 8 wt% SiC–AlON composites over a temperature range between 175 °C and 275 °C. The residual strength and Young's modulus after thermal shock decreased with increasing quenching temperature and thermal shock times due to large temperature gradients and thermal stresses caused by abrupt water-quenching. A linear relationship between the residual strength and thermal shock times was observed in both pure AlON and SiC–AlON composites. The addition of nano-sized SiC particles increased both residual strength and critical temperature from 200 °C in the monolithic AlON to 225 °C in the SiC–AlON composites due to the toughening effect, the lower coefficient of thermal expansion and higher thermal conductivity of SiC. The enhancement of the thermal shock resistance in the SiC–AlON composites was directly related to the change of fracture mode from intergranular cracking along with cleavage-type fracture in the AlON to a rougher fracture surface with ridge-like characteristics, crack deflection, and crack branching in the SiC–AlON composites.