Experimental investigation on preparation and performance of clear asphalt

Abstract

Coloured micro-surfacing technology has become increasingly popular in pavement construction because of its economic benefit and ability to accept traffic quickly. The main goal of this study was to produce a clear asphalt with superior performance that can be easily emulsified. Two types of resin that are easy to emulsify and one kind of extract oil were used to synthesise the clear asphalt. The clear asphalt was mixed with a styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) modifier at different proportions using a mechanical agitator. The physical properties of the samples were determined via conventional bitumen tests and the optimum formula was obtained by changing the mixture ratio through orthogonal experimentation. The thin-film oven test evaluated the ageing property of the clear asphalt. The surface energy components corresponding to the advancing process and the receding process were determined using the Wilhelmy plate method. The surface free energy (SFE) of the aggregates was measured with a gravimetric sorption analyser. The adhesive bond energies between asphalt samples and aggregates were calculated using their SFE components to evaluate their properties of fracture and healing. Results show that depending on the amount and type of resin added, different synthetic clear asphalts can be obtained. Further, the clear asphalt mixed with SBS is capable of synthesising better properties at high or low temperature. The clear asphalt with aggregates had fracture and healing properties similar to common base asphalt.     

Is floating photovoltaic better than conventional photovoltaic? Assessing environmental impacts

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy installations are growing all over the world as a promising renewable alternative to generate electricity. However, many studies have highlighted some drawbacks associated with the installation and operation of conventional solar energy power plants. Thus, floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems have been emerging as a new concept in solar energy to lessen negative environmental impacts caused by allocation of conventional PV facilities. This paper is an overview of the potential negative and positive environmental impacts caused by photovoltaic systems with particular interest on large-scale conventional and floating photovoltaic. This study addresses and compares the impacts at all phases of project implementation, which covers planning, construction, and operation and decommissioning, focusing on ambient located in the tropics. The overall impacts associated with project allocation such as deforestation (for the project implementation and site accessing), bird mortality, erosion, runoff, and change in microclimate are expected to have higher magnitudes for the implementation of conventional PV facilities. The results highlight advantages of FPV over conventional PV during the operational and decommissioning phases as well. Though, further studies are required to assess both qualitative and quantitative aspects of installations in similar areas.     

Composite‐Structure Material Design for High‐Energy Lithium Storage

High‐energy storage devices are in demand for the rapid development of modern society. Until now, many kinds of energy storage devices, such as lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), sodium‐ion batteries (NIBs), and so on, have been developed in the past 30 years. However, most of the commercially exploited and studied active electrode materials of these energy storage devices possess a single phase with low reversible capacity or unsatisfied cycle stability. Continuous and extensive research efforts are made to develop alternative materials with a higher specific energy density and long cycle life by element doping or surface modification. A novel strategy of forming composite‐structure electrode materials by introducing structure units has attracted great attention in recent years. Herein, based on previous publications on these composite‐structure materials, some important scientific points focusing on the design of composite‐structure materials for better electrochemical performances reveal the distinction of composite structures based on average and local structure analysis methods, and an understanding of the relationship between these interior composite structures and their electrochemical performances is discussed thoroughly. The lithiation/delithiation mechanism and the remaining challenges and perspectives for composite‐structure electrode materials are also elaborated.     

Simplified Perovskite Solar Cell with 4.1% Efficiency Employing Inorganic CsPbBr3 as Light Absorber

Perovskite solar cells with cost‐effectiveness, high power conversion efficiency, and improved stability are promising solutions to the energy crisis and environmental pollution. However, a wide‐bandgap inorganic–semiconductor electron‐transporting layer such as TiO₂ can harvest ultraviolet light to photodegrade perovskite halides, and the high cost of a state‐of‐the‐art hole‐transporting layer is an economic burden for commercialization. Here, the building of a simplified cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr₃) perovskite solar cell with fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO)/CsPbBr₃/carbon architecture by a multistep solution‐processed deposition technology is demonstrated, achieving an efficiency as high as 4.1% and improved stability upon interfacial modification by graphene quantum dots and CsPbBrI₂ quantum dots. This work provides new opportunities of building next‐generation solar cells with significantly simplified processes and reduced production costs.     

铜在碳钢中扩散及其对碳钢耐腐蚀性的影响

用水溶液电沉积法在碳钢表面电镀铜并进行高温扩散退火,用Den-Broeder法计算铜在碳钢中的扩散系数,研究了铜在碳钢中的扩散行为及其对碳钢耐腐蚀性的影响。结果表明,铜在碳钢中的扩散主要沿晶界进行,铜的扩散抑制了热处理过程中碳钢晶粒的长大。铜在碳钢中的扩散系数为1.11×10-16～3.03×10-11 cm2/s,扩散系数随着退火温度的提高而升高,随着铜浓度的提高而降低。铜在碳钢高温奥氏体区中扩散所需的激活能为126～167 kJ/mol,在高于低温铁素体+奥氏体混合区中激活能为90～108 kJ/mol。通过铜在碳钢中的扩散制备的Cu-Fe梯度材料,具有优良的耐腐蚀性。     

神经元膜电位噪声取值范围的评估

大脑神经元的活动是在复杂的生理学环境下工作的，而生理学环境中的噪声来源于多个方面．如何定量地正确评估神经系统中的噪声环境是神经信息处理的基本问题．本文通过神经能量的计算给出了噪声对神经元膜电位及对应的能量波形产生显著影响的临界值的估计范围，从而定义了神经元赖以活动的生理学意义上的噪声环境．     

基于LMD的PWM整流电路故障特征提取新方法

脉冲宽度调制(PWM)整流电路结构日益复杂,对其可靠运行提出了更高的要求;对局域均值分解(LMD)用于PWM整流电路的故障特征提取进行研究,提出一种基于LMD和加权频带能量法的特征提取新方法;该方法通过逐步抽取调频调幅成分将故障信号在频域上展开,然后基于信号能量的频带分布特点,充分考虑各频带成分与故障的相关性,构造故障特征向量,实现特征提取;最后以PWM整流电路为例进行仿真,相电压380V,仿真时间0.5s,0.1s时注入故障;结果表明,该方法能有效地提取故障信号的特征,并降低特征向量的维数。     

磁悬浮飞轮储能系统机电耦合非线性动力学研究

针对磁悬浮飞轮储能系统的"磁悬浮飞轮-发电机"机电耦合非线性动力学特性进行研究.通过推导磁悬浮飞轮储能系统在偏心条件下的动能、势能、发电机系统的磁场能以及系统的耗散函数,由Lagrange-Maxwell方程建立磁悬浮飞轮系统和两相四极永磁发电机系统的机电耦合动力学方程.采用数值法对0.6MW磁悬浮飞轮储能系统进行了仿真分析,研究结果表明,系统机电耦合非线性方程存在稳定的与转速同频的基频和三倍频周期运动解,且基频振动幅值比三倍频振动幅值大.对于稳定的磁悬浮储能飞轮机电耦合系统,飞轮转速增大,或磁轴承系统刚度减小或阻尼增大,或磁场能(电枢反应磁场能或永磁励磁磁场能)减小,可使系统的非线性振动幅值减小.而增大磁轴承系统的刚度,或减小磁轴承系统的阻尼,或增大系统的磁场能有可能破坏机电耦合系统的稳定性,使飞轮失稳.