Novel TiC-based composites with enhanced mechanical properties

Novel TiC-based composites were synthesized by reactive hot-pressing at 1800 °C for 1 h with ZrB₂ addition as a sintering aid for the first time. The effects of ZrB₂ contents on the phase composition, microstructure evolution, and mechanical properties were reported. Based on the reaction and solid solution coupling effects between ZrB₂ and TiC, the product ZrC may be partially or completely dissolved into the TiC matrix, and then phase separation within the miscibility gap is observed to form lamellar nanostructured ZrC-rich (Zr, Ti)C. The TiC-10 mol.% ZrB₂ (starting batch composition) exhibits good comprehensive mechanical properties of hardness 27.7 ± 1.3 GPa, flexural strength 659 ± 48 MPa, and fracture toughness of 6.5 ± 0.6 MPa m^1/2, respectively, which reach or exceed most TiC-based composites using ceramics as sintering aids in the previous reports.     

Synthesis,characterization and charge transport properties of Pr–Ni Co-doped SrFe2O4 spinel for high frequency devices applications

Ferrites are materials of interest due to their broad applications in high technological devices and a lot of research has been focused to synthesize new ferrites. In this regard, an effort has been devoted to synthesize spinel Pr–Ni co-substituted strontium ferrites with a nominal formula of Sr_1-xPr_xFe_2-yNi_yO₄ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1, 0.0 ≤ y ≤ 1.0). The cubic structure of pure and Pr–Ni co-substituted strontium ferrite samples calcinated at 1073 K for 3 h has been confirmed through X-ray diffraction (XRD). Average sizes of crystallites (18–25 nm) have been estimated from XRD analysis and nanometer particle sizes of synthesized ferrites have been further verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM results have also shown that particles are mostly agglomerated and all the samples possess porosity. It has been observed that at 298 K, the values of resistivity (ρ) increase, while that of AC conductivity, dielectric loss, and dielectric constants decrease with increasing amounts of Pr³⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions. The values of dielectric parameters initially decrease with frequency and later become constant and can be explained on the basis of dielectric polarization. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies show that the charge transport phenomenon in ferrite materials is mainly controlled via grain boundaries. Overall, synthesized ferrite materials own enhanced resistivity values in the range of 1.38 × 10⁹–1.94 × 10⁹ Ω cm and minimum dielectric losses, which makes them suitable candidates for high frequency devices applications.     

Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

Reversible data hiding based on RSBEMD coding and adaptive multi-segment left and right histogram shifting

By leveraging the secret data coding using the remainder storage based exploiting modification direction (RSBEMD), and the pixel change operation recording based on multi-segment left and right histogram shifting, a novel reversible data hiding (RHD) scheme is proposed in this paper. The secret data are first encoded by some specific pixel change operations to the pixels in groups. After that, multi-segment left and right histogram shifting based on threshold manipulation is implemented for recording the pixel change operations. Furthermore, a multiple embedding policy based on chess board prediction (CBP) and threshold manipulation is put forward, and the threshold can be adjusted to achieve adaptive data hiding. Experimental results and analysis show that it is reversible and can achieve good performance in capacity and imperceptibility compared with the existing methods.     

A signal adaptive diffusion filter for video coding: Mathematical framework and complexity reductions

In this paper we combine video compression and modern image processing methods. We construct novel iterative filter methods for prediction signals based on Partial Differential Equation (PDE) based methods. The mathematical framework of the employed diffusion filter class is given and some desirable properties are stated. In particular, two types of diffusion filters are constructed: a uniform diffusion filter using a fixed filter mask and a signal adaptive diffusion filter that incorporates the structures of the underlying prediction signal. The latter has the advantage of not attenuating existing edges while the uniform filter is less complex. The filters are embedded into a software based on HEVC with additional QTBT (Quadtree plus Binary Tree) and MTT (Multi-Type-Tree) block structure. In this setting, several measures to reduce the coding complexity of the tool are introduced, discussed and tested thoroughly. The coding complexity is reduced by up to 70% while maintaining over 80% of the gain. Overall, the diffusion filter method achieves average bitrate savings of 2.27% for Random Access having an average encoder runtime complexity of 119% and 117% decoder runtime complexity. For individual test sequences, results of 7.36% for Random Access are accomplished.     

飞机撞击下高温气冷堆乏燃料厂房损伤研究

本文针对典型高温气冷堆乏燃料厂房在双发商用飞机撞击载荷下的响应及结构完整性开展研究，并探讨结构特性对撞击损伤的影响。对乏燃料厂房及飞机分别建立有限元模型，通过弹体-目标相互作用分析模拟了飞机撞击过程，综合IAEA与NRC的评价准则对乏燃料厂房在飞机撞击下的损伤程度进行评估。数值结果表明：厂房上对应于机身及发动机的撞击位置发生可接受的局部损伤；乏燃料贮存井墙体对于提高构筑物抗飞机撞击能力有重要作用。此外，构筑物外形对损伤有很大影响，圆柱形壳体的抗飞机撞击能力显著强于方形厂房，是核电厂厂房设计的优化方向之一。     

Fabrication of Cu/graphite film/Cu sandwich composites with ultrahigh thermal conductivity for thermal management applications

Effective thermal management of electronic integrated devices with high powder density has become a serious issue, which requires materials with high thermal conductivity (TC). In order to solve the problem of weak bonding between graphite and Cu, a novel Cu/graphite film/Cu sandwich composite (Cu/GF/Cu composite) with ultrahigh TC was fabricated by electro-deposition. The micro-riveting structure was introduced to enhance the bonding strength between graphite film and deposited Cu layers by preparing a rectangular array of micro-holes on the graphite film before electro-deposition. TC and mechanical properties of the composites with different graphite volume fractions and current densities were investigated. The results showed that the TC enhancement generated by the micro-riveting structure for Cu/GF/Cu composites at low graphite content was more effective than that at high graphite content, and the strong texture orientation of deposited Cu resulted in high TC. Under the optimizing preparing condition, the highest in-plane TC reached 824.3 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹, while the ultimate tensile strength of this composite was about four times higher than that of the graphite film.     

Design and experimental investigation of the high efficiency 1.5 W/4.2 K pneumatic-drive G-M cryocooler

The development of a high cooling power and high efficiency 4.2 K two stage G-M cryocooler is critically important given its broad applications in low temperature superconductors, MRI, infrared detector and cryogenic electronics. A high efficiency 1.5 W/4.2 K pneumatic-drive G-M cryocooler has recently been designed and developed by ARS. The effect of expansion volume rate and operation conditions on the cooling performance has been experimentally investigated. A typical cooling performance of 1.5 W/4.2 K has been achieved, and the minimum temperature of the second stage is 2.46 K. The steady input power of the compressor at 60 Hz is 6.8 kW, while the operation speed of the rotary valve is 30 rpm. A maximum cooling power of 1.75 W/4.2 K has been obtained in test runs.     

Excellent destabilization effect and ideal desorption temperature in the hydride Mg2FeH6 substituted with yttrium; a first principles study

We investigated some properties of the hydride Mg₂FeH₆ substituted with yttrium by a first principles calculation. Some experimental results showed that 4d transition metal, yttrium serves as a good catalyst for magnesium based hydrogen storage alloys, but there are a few theoretical studies about magnesium based hydrides substituted with it. Mg₂FeH₆ is regarded as a cheaper material than pure MgH₂, while it is crystalized into Fm3m structure (space group 225). Although it has high hydrogen storage capacity, many investigations have not been devoted to it due to its extremely high thermodynamic stability. The yttrium substituted Mg₂FeH₆ exhibits very low energy of formation, and its desorption temperature, 75 °C is very suitable for practical hydrogen storage applications. Our results showed that Mg₂FeH₆ is destabilized effectively by yttrium substitution and introducing vacancy defects has additive effect to the improvement of dehydrogenation performance.     

High-resolution FIB-TEM-STEM structural characterization of grain boundaries in the high dielectric constant perovskite CaCu3Ti4O12

In this work, the grain boundaries composition of the polycrystalline CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) was investigated. A Focused Ion Beam (FIB)/lift-out technique was used to prepare site-specific thin samples of the grain boundaries interface of CCTO ceramics. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) systems were used to characterize the composition and nanostructure of the grain and grain boundaries region. It is known that during conventional sintering, discontinuous grain growth occurs and a Cu-rich phase appears at grain boundaries. This Cu-rich phase may affect the final dielectric properties of CCTO but its structure and chemical composition remained unknown. For the first time, this high-resolution FIB-TEM-STEM study of CCTO interfacial region highlights the composition of the phases segregated at grain boundaries namely CuO, Cu₂O and the metastable phase Cu₃TiO_4.