Piezoelectric properties and microstructure of ceramicrete-based piezoelectric composites

Inorganic piezoelectric ceramic composite is the potential sensing element for long-term structural health monitoring due to its excellent durability and compatibility. In this study, a Ceramicrete-based piezoelectric composite is proposed preliminarily, in which the magnesium potassium phosphate cement is used as the matrix and the lead zirconate titanate particle is utilized as the functional phase. Piezoelectric properties test and microstructure analysis are performed to evaluate the testing samples. Results show that the piezoelectric performance of the composite increase with the increase of piezoelectric ceramic particle size. The value of the piezoelectric strain factor (d₃₃) can reach 83.8 pC/N, while the corresponding piezoelectric voltage factor (g₃₃) is 50.1 × 10^-3 V•m/N at the 50th day after polarization. Microstructure analysis illustrates that the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the matrix and the particles is dense. Moreover, the influence of aging on the composite is attributed to the continuous hydration after polarization. It indicates that the composites have a higher piezoelectric performance, which can be regarded as a promising sensing element material.     

In vitro cyclic fatigue and hydrothermal aging lifetime assessment of yttria-stabilized zirconia dental ceramics

The in vitro lifetime assessment of dental zirconia has been the focus of researchers. This work mainly studied the cyclic fatigue lifetime in saliva and aging lifetime of three commercial zirconia dental materials: two kinds of 3 mol%-yttria stabilized zirconia ST(super-translucence) and MT(medium-translucence), in which MT contains a small amount of alumina; a 5 mol%-yttria stabilized zirconia TT(tooth-translucency). ST and MT materials have higher initial mechanical strength (flexural strength) and initial crack propagation threshold than TT materials, thus they have longer cycle fatigue lifetime, but TT has best aging resistance(no aging) in existing aging procedures. MT has a higher initial mechanical strength and better aging resistance than ST samples due to the influence of alumina at grain boundary, but has lower strength reliability. Finally the service lifetime of the three materials was evaluated, and some guidance for their use is provided.     

The prevalence of olfactory deficits and their effects on eating behavior from childhood to old age: A large-scale study in the French population

Olfaction is crucial for many aspects of daily life and its alteration is quite common. Here, we set up a large-scale investigation of olfactory deficits in a sample of French individuals in order to examine the prevalence of smell dysfunction and its effects on eating behavior across lifespan, by combining self-reports and psychophysical testing. In a sample of 3685 male and female individuals aged 4 to 89 years old, we showed that the overall prevalence of olfactory dysfunction as measured by psychophysical testing was 17% and varied with age and gender: from 10% in 4–12 year-old children to >30% after 60 years of age; overall, women were less often affected than men. When olfactory abilities were self-evaluated, the prevalence was 6%, suggesting that a large majority of participants were unaware of their olfactory disorder. The prevalence of qualitative smell disorders (parosmia and phantosmia) was much lower (1%). In terms of eating behavior, the effects were present but small: olfactory deficits impact eating behavior of people in different age groups differently. Taken together, these findings highlight the high prevalence of olfactory dysfunctions in the general population, not only in the elderly. They also emphasize the potential consequences of smell dysfunctions on eating behavior. The present results should attract health services’ attention since smell dysfunctions may have consequences on nutrition and health especially in the elderly.     

Criteria and methodology for the evaluation of conservation interventions on treated porous stone susceptible to salt decay

Susceptibility of stone to salt decay is directly related to its microstructural and mechanical characteristics. In the present work, a porous stone from a quarry in Cyprus was examined. Samples of this stone were consolidated and protected with certain conservation materials. The modification of microstructural characteristics of the stone was evaluated by mercury intrusion porosimetry, while its mechanical characteristics were measured by compressive and bending strength tests. From these data, the susceptibility of Cyprus stone to salt (NaCl) decay was estimated. The values of crystallization pressure of NaCl were calculated and compared to the experimentally measured compressive and tensile strength of the stone, in order to examine the probability of stone disruption due to salt crystallization. The development of the phenomenon after coarse pores’ filling with crystals, i.e. crystallization of salts in capillaries or mechanical failure of the stone, was determined by thermodynamic analysis. Additionally, artificial weathering tests of marine salt spray were performed for the evaluation of stone’s durability after the conservation. The treated stone proved to be resistant to salt decay, as it presented ameliorated microstructural and mechanical characteristics, concerning decay due to soluble salt crystallization. The most possible thermodynamic scenario was small pores repletion with crystals, avoiding mechanical failure of the stone.     

时效和重新训练对Cu－Zn－Al合金组织与记忆性能的影响

用约束训练法对时效后的Ｃｕ－Ｚｎ－Ａｌ形状记忆合金进行了重新训练。结果表明，在未发生贝氏体转变的条件下，时效所导致的记忆衰减可以通过重新训练予以改善。透射电镜分析指出，重新训练后，发生了马氏体的再取向，因时效而导致的细条状、台阶状变体大部分消除，且变体间的结合方式变为自协作性良好的孪晶关系，从而改善了合金的记忆性能。     

人工气候老化后状态调节时间对芳纶纤维拉伸测试的影响

依据GJB 8496—2015标准中的拉伸方法,对人工气候老化前及老化后不进行状态调节、状态调节1 h、状态调节24 h、状态调节48 h、状态调节96 h后的芳纶纤维的拉伸强度进行测量、比较,从而得到结论:芳纶纤维在人工气候老化后,样品的性能有一定程度下降。在刚刚结束老化后立即进行测试,性能下降达到峰值,待状态调节24 h以后,其老化后性能逐步达到一个相对稳定的状态。建议在实际测试中,人工气候老化后的样品应该在老化结束后,放入恒温恒湿间调节24 h以后再测试。     

Nb微合金化建筑钢筋微观组织与屈服行为的关系

采用力学拉伸试验、显微组织观察等手段，对屈服平台长度不同的Nb微合金化建筑钢筋进行了金相组织定量分析，并对无屈服平台的试样进行了时效处理。结果表明：贝氏体含量影响着钢筋屈服平台的变化；随贝氏体含量的增大，钢筋屈服平台长度逐渐缩短直至消失；一定温度下，长时间的时效保温处理可使得钢筋的屈服平台得以恢复。在此基础上，讨论了贝氏体的影响机理、生成原因以及改善措施。     

基于WLF方程的硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料贮存寿命评估

对硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料进行了105℃条件下的高温老化试验，试验前后检测了其压缩性能的变化情况。结果表明，硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料老化后其压缩性能没有明显变化，因而不能应用Arrhenius方程来推导其贮存寿命。为此从时温等效原理出发，通过对硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料压缩蠕变曲线的平移推算出了其WLF方程，利用此方程，可以很容易地推导出硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料高温老化的低温等效贮存时间；该种硬质聚氨酯泡沫塑料在20℃、25℃及30℃条件下的存贮寿命应至少分别在50．3a、45．3a及40．5a以上。     

Study of siloxane additives migration to the surface of polyester-(melamine)-polyurethane coatings: Aging effects after ethanol cleaning

This study determines the influences of siloxane flow agents’ migration on the outermost surface composition of clearcoats, before and after ethanol cleaning. This evaluation is undertaken to improve adhesion of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) on automotive paint systems. Most of the siloxane flow agents segregate from the bulk to the clearcoat outermost surface during curing. These additives can cover until 50% of the surface area but X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analyses indicate that they can be removed by ethanol cleaning. Composition of the cleaned clearcoats surfaces are similar as the composition of clearcoat formulated without siloxane additives: the polyester-(melamine)-polyurethane network is more detected than before cleaning. However, outermost surface analyses show that several aging weeks increase the siloxane additives segregation. This post-cleaning migration modifies the clearcoat surface composition and cancels the chemical modifications due to the ethanol cleaning. XPS analyses show that silicon concentrations after cleaning and aging are inversely proportional to the initial silicon concentrations measured after curing. It highlights that aging has to be controlled to improve adhesion of PSAs on clearcoats. A second ethanol cleaning on aged clearcoats is not effective to remove these new siloxane additives. Their formulation should be different from the flow agents and it could modify their solubility in ethanol. This result could also indicate that these new siloxane additives are not located on the last molecular layer of surface and they would not be soluble in ethanol.     

Aging characteristics of high-power lithium-ion cells with LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 and Li4/3Ti5/3O4 electrodes

The impedance rise that results from the accelerated aging of high-power lithium-ion cells containing LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂-based positive and graphite-based negative electrodes is dominated by contributions from the positive electrode. Data from various diagnostic experiments have indicated that a general degradation of the ionic pathway, apparently caused by surface film formation on the oxide particles, produces the positive electrode interface rise. One mechanistic hypothesis postulates that these surface films are components of the negative electrode solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that migrate through the electrolyte and separator and subsequently coat the positive electrode. This hypothesis is examined in this article by subjecting cells with LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂-based positive and Li_4/3Ti_5/3O₄-based negative electrodes to accelerated aging. The impedance rise in these cells was observed to be almost entirely from the positive electrode. Because reduction products are not expected on the 1.55 V Li_4/3Ti_5/3O₄ electrode, the positive electrode impedance cannot be attributed to the migration of SEI-type fragments from the negative electrode. It follows then that the impedance rise results from mechanisms that are “intrinsic” to the positive electrode.