The ultimate bearing capacity of shallow strip footings using slip-line method

Based on the limit equilibrium theory, an accurate approach is proposed to solve the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow strip footings under general conditions. The foundation soil is considered to be an ideal elastic-plastic material, which obeys the Mohr-Coulomb yield criterion, and is assumed to be an ideal continuous medium which is isotropic, homogeneous and incompressible or non-expansive. Through analyzing the relative motion and interaction between the footing and soil, the problem of the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow strip footings is divided into two categories. A minimum model with the total vertical ultimate bearing capacity as its objective function is established to solve the ultimate bearing capacity using the slip-line method with no need to make any assumptions on the plastic zone and non-plastic wedge in advance. A convenient and practical simplified method is also proposed for practical engineering purposes. Furthermore, the first category of the problem in the case of the same uniform surcharges on both sides of footings is the focus of the study: the applicable conditions of Terzaghi’s ultimate bearing capacity equation as well as the theoretical exact solutions to its three bearing capacity factors are derived, and a new bearing capacity equation is put forward as a replacement for Terzaghi’s equation. The geometric and mechanical similarity principle is proposed by a dimensionless analysis. The results show that for perfectly smooth footings, the total vertical ultimate bearing capacity obtained by the present method is in good agreement with those by existing methods, whereas the existing methods underestimate the ultimate bearing capacity in the case of perfectly rough footings. The classic Prandtl mechanism is not the plastic failure mechanism of the ultimate bearing capacity problem of perfectly smooth footings on weightless soil.     

LaO_x(OH)_y supported platinum catalysts for CO oxidation:Deactivation by formation of lanthanum carbonate

Platinum catalyst for CO oxidation has been studied for decades,due to its high activity and good stability.In this work,we prepared three different lantha num oxide or hydroxide supports(LaO_x(OH)_y),and deposited platinum(Pt) with 0.5 at% via an impregnation approach to synthesize Pt/LaO_x(OH)_y catalysts.However,we find that these catalysts perform a poor stability for the CO oxidation reaction.The fresh and used samples were comprehensively characterized by multiple techniques including power X-ray diffraction(XRD),X-ray absorption fine structure(XAFS),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),temperature-programmed reduction by carbon monoxide(CO-TPR) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),to demonstrate that the oxidized platinum atoms or clusters,without any component of Pt-Pt metallic bond,are highly dispersed on the surface of LaO_x(OH)_y.Furthermore,the as-formed lanthanum carbonate(La₂O₂CO₃) during the exposure to ambient circumstances or in the reaction atmosphere of CO+O₂,severely impair the reactivity of Pt/LaO_x(OH)_y.On the basis of the obtained experimental results,we have drawn a conclusion that the oxidized P_tO_x atoms or PtxOy clusters are the active species for CO oxidation,while the formation of lanthanum carbonate is the origin of deactivation on reactivity.     

One-pot synthesis of Cu-Ce co-doped SAPO-5/34 hybrid crystal structure catalysts for NH_3-SCR reaction with SO_2 resistance

SAPO-34,SAPO-5/34 based catalysts doped with Cu,Ce as active components were synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal method by using different amounts of additive(a-cellulose),and their catalytic activities were measured for selective catalytic reduction(SCR) of NO with NH3.The synthesized Cu-Ce co-doped products switch from cubic SAPO-34,to flower-like aggregated SAPO-5/34,hybrid crystal SAPO-5/34,and finally to spherical aggregated SAPO-34 with the increase of α-cellulose amount.The Cu-Ce co-doped SAPO-5/34 hybrid crystal structure catalysts with 0.75 mol ratios of C/P(Cu-Ce/SP-0.75)exhibit excellent NH3-SCR activity with higher than 90% NO_x conversion in the temperature range of 180-450℃,at WHSV of 20000 mL/(g·h).Furthermore,the catalyst displays outstanding sulfur resistance and NO_X conversion maintains above 90% at 200-450℃ after adding 100 ppm of SO_2.The characteristic results suggest that the high deNO_X performance of Cu-Ce/SP-0.75 is due to the enhanced accessibility,abundant activity species,excellent redox property and high adsorptive and activated capacity for NH3.     

Segregation and intermixing in polydisperse liquid–solid fluidized beds: A multifluid model validation study

Multifluid model (MFM) simulations have been carried out on liquid–solid fluidized beds (LSFB) consisting of binary and higher-order polydisperse particle mixtures. The role of particle–particle interactions was found to be as crucial as the drag force under laminar and homogenous LSFB flow regimes. The commonly used particle–particle closure models are designed for turbulent and heterogeneous gas–solid flow regimes and thus exhibit limited to no success when implemented for LSFB operating under laminar and homogenous conditions. A need is perceived to carry out direct numerical simulations of liquid–solid flows and extract data from them to develop rational closure terms to account for the physics of LSFB. Finally, a recommendation flow regime map signifying the performance of the MFM has been proposed. This map will act as a potential guideline to identify whether or not the bed expansion characteristics of a given polydisperse LSFB can be correctly simulated using MFM closures tested.     

Consolidated theory of fluid thermodiffusion

We present the Onsager–Stefan–Maxwell thermodiffusion equations, which account for the Soret and Dufour effects in multicomponent fluids. Unlike transport laws derived from kinetic theory, this framework preserves the structure of the isothermal Stefan–Maxwell equations, separating the thermodynamic forces that drive diffusion from the force that drives heat flow. The Onsager–Stefan–Maxwell transport-coefficient matrix is symmetric, and the second law of thermodynamics imbues it with simple spectral characteristics. This new approach allows for heat to be considered as a pseudo-species and proves equivalent to both the intuitive extension of Fick's law and the generalized Stefan–Maxwell equations popularized by Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot. A general inversion process facilitates the unique formulation of flux-explicit transport equations relative to any choice of convective reference velocity. Stefan–Maxwell diffusivities and thermal diffusion factors are tabulated for gaseous mixtures containing helium, argon, neon, krypton, and xenon. The framework is deployed to perform numerical simulations of steady three-dimensional thermodiffusion in a ternary gas.     

Pyrazine-interior-embodied MOF-74 for selective CO2 adsorption

A series of pyrazine-interior-embodied metal–organic framework-74 composites (py-MOF-74) were successfully synthesized by a post-synthetic vapor modification method. Here, pyrazine molecules occupy the cavity to block the wide pores of MOF-74, which accentuates the difference in adsorption of a pair of gases on MOFs and consequently reinforces the adsorption selectivity. Different from the “physical confinement” of occupants, the pyrazine molecule with dual “para-nitrogen” atoms donates one N atom to bond with the open metal ion of MOF-74 for stability and the other N atom for potential CO₂ trapping. Typically, py-MOF-74c with the highest pyrazine insertion ratio displays selectivity greatly superior to that of MOF-74 in equimolar CO₂/CH₄ (598 vs. 35) and in simulated CO₂/N₂ flue gas (471 vs. 49). Py-MOF-74 entities are long-lived adsorbents, and their CO₂ capacity can be maintained even after storage for 1 year in air. Py-MOF-74 also showed a sharp molecular sieve property in fixed-bed cycle adsorption tests, which implies its great potential in real applications.     

Active learning boosted computational discovery of covalent–organic frameworks for ultrahigh CH4 storage

As an environmental-benign fuel, methane (CH₄) has received considerable interest for developing high-capacity energy storage systems. Herein, we aim to rapidly discover covalent–organic frameworks (COFs) for ultrahigh CH₄ storage among 530,000+ COFs, including one experimental (Curated) and two hypothetical (Berkeley and Genomic) databases. First, the feature space of all the three COF databases is projected by t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) technique, which reveals a potential but unexplored regime in Genomic COFs. Subsequently, an active learning (AL) approach is developed by integrating parallel acquisition with molecular simulation to efficiently explore Genomic COFs. The parallel AL model demonstrates remarkable screening efficiency and shortlists top COFs by evaluating only 50 out of 445,845 Genomic COFs. A record-breaking Genomic COF is identified with CH₄ deliverable capacity of 222.2 v/v, surpassing the current world record (208.0 v/v from experiment and 217.9 v/v from simulation). Our AL approach is significantly faster than brute-force simulation and conventional machine learning, it would accelerate the discovery of advanced porous materials for broad applications.     

Improved electrical and optical properties in epitaxial Cd2SnO4 films

Epitaxial Cd₂SnO₄ films were fabricated on MgO(00l) single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique at various substrate temperatures and growth oxygen pressures. The microstructure, transport, and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that all the Cd₂SnO₄ films are grown epitaxially on MgO(00l) substrates. Atomic force microscope images indicate that the films have smooth surface morphologies. Hall-effect measurements reveal that the epitaxial film grown at 680^°C and 40 Pa presents the minimum resistivity value of 0.61 mΩcm and maximal Hall mobility of 32.87 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The metal–semiconductor transitions of Cd₂SnO₄ films were observed and explained by competitive effects of two conductive mechanisms. The optical transmittance of the Cd₂SnO₄ films is higher than 75% in the visible and near-infrared range, and the optical bandgap was determined to be about 3.09 eV for the film grown at optimal condition. The band structure and density of states of the Cd₂SnO₄ were calculated by the density functional theory.     

Synthesis of SBA 15 graphene oxide composite membrane using phenol–formaldehyde resin pore modifier for CO2 separation

Present study highlights the development of carbon-loaded SBA 15 membrane on clay-alumina tubular support and its performance on the CO₂ separation efficiencies from different mixture gases. To modify the large pores of SBA 15 by graphitic carbon, low molecular weight phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resin was incorporated into the mesoporous channel followed by calcination under inert atmosphere. The modified ordered pore structure of the membrane has been characterized by low-angle XRD, TEM, and pore size distribution analysis. The chemical state of the deposited carbon phase into the SBA 15 pores was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. Carbon having graphitic nature mainly in graphene oxide has been deposited into the mesopore of SBA 15 resulting decrease in pore size from 8.9 to 1.0 nm. Finally, the developed SBA 15 carbon membranes were characterized by CO₂ permeation and separation selectivity of CO₂/CH₄, CO₂/CO. Highest CO₂/CH₄ separation factor was achieved as 16.9 with CO₂ permeance 13.6 × 10^–8 mol/m²/s/Pa at 200 kPa feed pressure by the 20% resin with 2 times coated membrane. In flue gas analysis, highest CO₂/CO separation factor of 32.8 was achieved. This study offers an observation on CO₂ separation from simulated BF gas for the first time and the results show the potential of the developed SBA 15/C composite membranes in commercial application.