Rheology and sedimentation velocity of alkaline suspensions of hematite particles at elevated temperature

This study aims to characterize the sedimentation velocity and the rheology of suspensions of hematite particles suspended in strongly alkaline media at 100 and 110 °C, as done for an alternative electrochemical process in development for iron production by direct electrode reduction of hematite. Considering the medium used in the process, i.e. 12% (v/v) suspension of hematite particles in 50% sodium hydroxide aqueous, the sedimentation velocity of hematite particle at 110 °C is 0.010 mm/s, which is very slow because the average size of the solid particles is around 10 μm and the significant collisions and interactions occuring between the particles in the concentrated suspension. Two geometries were used to characterize the rheological behavior of the apparent viscosity of the suspension of 12% (v/v) (i.e. 33 wt%) at 100 °C: a conventional Couette geometry and a helical ribbon mixer. The suspension was found shear thinning in the range of shear rate studied. The rheological behavior of the suspension can be described by a power-law model. The apparent viscosity of the hematite suspension estimated at a shear rate between 0.5 and 10 s⁻¹ is between 100 and 20 mPa s for the two geometries. The apparent viscosity calculated from the terminal velocity of 10 μm particles is of the same order of magnitude of the results obtained with the two rheometer configurations. The effect of the particle concentration on the sedimentation velocity and viscosity of the hematite suspensions was also studied.     

Study of web crippling in ferritic stainless steel cold formed sections

Cold-formed stainless steel members are widely used due to their high corrosion resistance and high resistance-to-weight ratio but their susceptibility to buckle implies that instability phenomena such as web crippling, where the web locally buckles due to concentrated transverse forces, must be considered. On the other hand, the emergent ferritic stainless steel has very low nickel content and therefore, they are cheaper and relatively price stable compared to austenitics and duplex. Their promising future has aimed to develop efficient design guidance and as a result, a new unified web crippling resistance expression based on numerical simulations and thereafter validated with experimental results has been proposed.     

Coagulated concentrated anatase slurry leads to improved strength of ceramic TiO2 bone scaffolds

Slurry behaviour has an important influence on the properties of ceramic scaffolds produced by the polymer sponge method. By adding chloride salts to the TiO₂ slurry, the viscosity was increased depending on the chloride concentration at low pH and high particle concentration. Slurries with higher viscosity led to closed and dense scaffold struts combined with high porosity, resulting in a compressive strength over 1.6 MPa. Furthermore, scaffold prepared with 0.1 M CaCl₂ and SrCl₂ showed the formation of Ca- and Sr-rich phases at the grain boundaries. These ions were also shown to reduce the activation energy for grain growth in the TiO₂ scaffold as indicated by the significantly larger grain size. Ca²⁺-doped scaffolds had the highest compressive strength, while the strength of Sr²⁺-doped scaffolds was reduced by the formation of a solid solution phase below the sintering temperature.     

条形药包硐室爆破山体端部药包处理技术

采用条形药包与集中药包小间隔组合技术处理条形药包硐室爆破山体端部药包 ,可以控制端部药包的爆破安全问题和改善端部岩石的破碎效果。该技术的端部集中药包药量计算引入了折算系数Kz。两个爆破实例的介绍说明了这种技术的使用方法和其爆破效果。     

A novel beam-down,gravity-fed,solar thermochemical receiver/reactor for direct solid particle decomposition: Design,modeling, and experimentation

A novel solar-thermochemical reactor for the reduction of ZnO powder using concentrated sunlight has been designed, constructed and tested. The purpose of the reactor is to accomplish the first step in a two-step water-splitting process to generate hydrogen renewably from sunlight using the ZnO redox cycle. Abbreviated as GRAFSTRR (Gravity-Fed Solar-Thermochemical Receiver/Reactor), the reactor is closed to the atmosphere, and features an inverted conical-shaped reaction surface along which reactant powder descends continuously as a moving bed, undergoing a thermochemical reaction at high temperature upon exposure to highly concentrated sunlight within the reaction cavity. Heat transfer and Zn production within the cavity have been modeled, as well as the influence of effective reactant particle size on reactive surface area. Initial experiments using a high-flux solar simulator successfully demonstrated the mechanical stability of the reactor and primary systems, namely particle entrainment in the vortex flow, moving bed adhesion to the reaction surface, and the solid particle delivery and exit mechanism. This paper presents the GRAFSTRR concept, select design choices, and a summary of pertinent findings from experimental and numerical investigations.     

Experimental assessment of woody biomass gasification in a hybridized solar powered reactor featuring direct and indirect heating modes

Solar thermochemical gasification is an opportunity for the production of sustainable fuels from carbonaceous resources including biomass. Substituting conventional gasification processes by solar-driven technologies may enable cleaner production of H₂-rich syngas while saving feedstock resources and alleviating CO₂ emissions. This work addresses hybrid solar-autothermal gasification of mm-sized beech wood particles in a lab-scale 1.5 kW_th spouted-bed reactor. Hybridization under reduced solar power input was performed by injecting oxygen and additional biomass inside the gasifier for complementary heat supply. Increasing O₂:C molar ratios (in the range 0.14–0.58) allowed to heat the reactor cavity and walls progressively, while gradually impairing the reactor performance with an increase of the syngas CO₂ content and a decrease of the reactor cold gas efficiency (CGE). Gasification with mixed H₂O and O₂ was then assessed at thermodynamic equilibrium and global trends were validated experimentally, showing that control of H₂:CO ratio was compatible with in-situ combustion. The impact of reaction temperature (1200–1300 °C) and heating mode (direct or indirect) was experimentally studied during both allothermal and hybrid gasification. Higher H₂ and CO yields were achieved at high temperatures (1300 °C) under direct reactor heating. Hybridization was able to counterbalance a 40% drop of the nominal solar power input, and the measured CGE reached 0.82, versus values higher than 1 during allothermal gasification.     

Phase stability,physical properties and strengthening mechanisms of concentrated solid solution alloys

We review recent research developments in a special class of multicomponent concentrated solid solution alloys (CSAs) – of which the recently discovered high entropy alloys (HEAs) are exemplars – that offer a new paradigm for the development of next generation structural materials. This review focuses on the role of inherent extreme chemical complexity on the phase stability, electronic, transport, and mechanical properties of this remarkable class of disordered solid solution alloys. Both experimental observations and theoretical models indicate that the phase stability of HEAs goes beyond the original conjecture that these alloys are stabilized by configurational/mixing entropy; rather, it results from competition between the homogeneously disordered phase and phase separation/intermetallic compound formation. Although the number of single-phase HEAs with equiatomic composition is limited, those that do exist often exhibit remarkable electronic, magnetic, transport, and mechanical properties. For the mechanical response, we discuss the solution strengthening mechanism which governs the strength and deformation behaviors of the CSAs, as well as the increasing evidence that low stacking fault energies (deformation twinning) plays an important role in the low temperature strength and ductility of CrMnFeCoNi related alloys. We also review the current understanding of the role of the number and type of alloy elements in determining the electronic, magnetic, and transport properties, in particular the dominant role of magnetic interactions in the properties of 3d-transition metal based alloys. Finally, we emphasize that, despite rapid progress in characterization and understanding of the phase stability and physical/mechanical responses of CSAs, there remain significant challenges to fully exploring the new paradigm that these alloys represent.     

硐室爆破条形药包设计中的有关问题

综述了集中药包和条形药包的应用条件 ,介绍了硐室爆破中条形药包的优越性、药包的分类、药包间距以及装药量和压缩圈半径的计算 ,论述了条形药包设计时应注意的问题、条形药包布置时有关问题的处理办法、起爆技术以及堵塞工作中应注意的问题。这些可为硐室爆破工程作参考     

Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage

Present wind power is intermittent and cannot be used as the baseload energy source. Concept study of wind power utilizing direct thermal energy conversion and thermal energy storage named Wind powered Thermal Energy System (WTES) is conducted. The thermal energy is generated from the rotating energy directly at the top of the tower by the heat generator, which is a kind of simple and light electric brake. The rest of the system is the same as the tower type concentrated solar power (CSP). The cost estimation suggests that the energy cost of WTES is less than that of the conventional wind power, which must be supported by the backup thermal plants and grid enhancement. The light heat generator reduces some issues of wind power such as noise and vibration.     

Similarity and generalized analysis of efficiencies of thermal energy storage systems

This paper examined the features of three typical thermal storage systems including: 1) direct storage of heat transfer fluid in containers, 2) storage of thermal energy in a packed bed of solid filler material, with energy being carried in/out by a flowing heat transfer fluid which directly contacts the packed bed, and 3) a system in which heat transfer fluid flows through tubes that are imbedded into a thermal storage material which may be solid, liquid, or a mixture of the two. The similarity of the three types of thermal storage systems was discussed, and generalized energy storage governing equations were introduced in both dimensional and dimensionless forms. The temperatures of the heat transfer fluid during energy charge and discharge processes and the overall energy storage efficiencies were studied through solution of the energy storage governing equations. Finally, provided in the paper are a series of generalized charts bearing curves for energy storage effectiveness against four dimensionless parameters grouped up from many of the thermal storage system properties including dimensions, fluid and thermal storage material properties, as well as the operational conditions including mass flow rate of the fluid, and the ratio of energy charge and discharge time periods. Engineers can conveniently look up the charts to design and calibrate the size of thermal storage tanks and operational conditions without doing complicated individual modeling and computations. It is expected that the charts will serve as standard tools for thermal storage system design and calibration.