Manufacturing catalyst-coated membranes by ultrasonic spray deposition for PEMFC: Identification of key parameters and their impact on PEMFC performance

This study deals with the manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) for newcomers in the field of coating. Although there are many studies on electrode ink composition for improving the performance of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), there are few papers dealing with electrode coating itself. Usually, it is a know-how that often remains secret and constitutes the added value of scientific teams or the business of industrialists. In this paper, we identify and clarify the role of key parameters to improve coating quality and also to correlate coating quality with fuel cell performance via polarization curves and electrochemical active surface area measurements. We found that the coating configurations can affect the performance of lab-made CCMs in PEMFCs. After the repeatability of the performance obtained by our coating method has been proved, we show that: (i) edge effects, due to mask shadowing - cannot be neglected when the active surface area is low, (ii) a heterogeneous thickness electrode produces performance lower than a homogeneous thickness electrode, and (iii) the origin and storage of platinum on carbon powders are a very important source of variability in the obtained results.     

Ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter for visualization of axial flow fields in pipes

An ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter to provide quantitative images of axial flow fields in pipes is developed and presented in this work. To detect the flow in various directions and positions, a novel transducer configuration strategy is proposed. All-in-one transducers are mounted in two sectional planes of the pipe. In each plane, N transducers are equally spaced along the circumference. Overlapped propagation paths are introduced by the configuration strategy, and the influence of the vortex flow can be eliminated theoretically by averaging the line velocities of the overlapped paths. To achieve a fast detection speed, the projection data is collected via an electrical scan in a fan-beam mode. After rearrangement and interpolation of the projection data, the parallel beam filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the axial flow field. Numerical simulations with the theoretical velocity profiles were performed. The compensation method for the vortex flow is proved to be effective and necessary, and the number of transducers required for reconstruction of common flow profiles was estimated. Accordingly, an ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter consisting of 2×12 transducers was fabricated. Experiments were conducted in the straight pipe and downstream of a single bend pipe and compared with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. As demonstrated, the ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter was capable of visualizing both symmetric and asymmetric axial flow fields with high reliability.     

Process and joint quality of ultrasonic vibration enhanced friction stir lap welding

In order to improve the process effectiveness and joint quality, ultrasonic vibrations were integrated with friction stir lap welding. Effect of ultrasonic exertion on the process and joint quality of AA 6061-T6 were investigated. Upon ultrasonic exertion, joints owned larger effective lap width, shorter hooks and improved strength. Weld fracture mode changed from a ductile–brittle mixed mode to a more ductile mode while the fracture path shifted from lap interface to beyond the stir zone. Material flow and interface defects were characterised using lap welded dissimilar aluminium alloy joints. Ultrasonic vibration improved the material flow and reduced the interfacial defects. Variations in failure load of joints were found in accordance with the variations in material flow and interfacial defects.     

高导电性原油电脱盐工艺研究

南阳原油中金属含量较高,掺有部分3次采油采出原油,加工时易造成电脱盐装置原油乳化,电导率高,脱盐难度较大。装置投产十几年来脱后含盐一直不合格,经过改造仍然超标,常压塔顶腐蚀严重。为此,对原油进行了电脱盐工艺条件及破乳剂研究,研制出了高效电脱盐设备和生物复合脱盐剂及降电流剂,采用平流弓形电极进行改造,解决了该原油的电脱盐问题,使脱后含盐达到3 mg/L。     

超声波车辆车轴探头的研制与应用

提出了一种用于检测在役车辆车轴产生疲劳裂纹的超声波方法,设计了中心孔探头与斜角探头一起,完成了对车辆车轴的关键区域探伤。     

入侵检测及网络层安全的研究

随着计算机网络的迅速发展，网络安全问题正变得日益重要。文章介绍了计算机网络系统IP层安全概况和入侵者对IP层常采用的入侵手段，以及为防止这种入侵所采取的措施。     

Indicators for inspection and maintenance planning of concrete structures

Based on an idea introduced by Benjamin and Cornell (1970. Probability, statistics and decision for civil engineers. New York: McGaw Hill) and previous works by the authors it is demonstrated how condition indicators may be formulated for the general purpose of quality control and for assessment and inspection planning in particular. The formulation facilitates quality control based on sampling of indirect information about the condition of the considered components. This allows for a Bayesian formulation of the indicators whereby the experience and expertise of the inspection personnel may be fully utilized and consistently updated as frequentistic information is collected. The approach is illustrated on an example considering a concrete structure subject to corrosion. It is shown how half-cell potential measurements may be utilized to update the probability of excessive repair after 50 years. Furthermore in the same example it is shown how the concept of condition indicators might be applied to develop a cost optimal maintenance strategy composed of preventive and corrective repair measures.     

碳素材料超声检测的信号处理方法

针对碳素材料超声无损检测存在信噪比较低的问题,从自相关性出发分析了典型超声检测信号的组成成分,提出了在自相关分析的基础上的小波去噪思想,探讨了自相关分析和小波分析相结合的信号处理方法。利用此方法进行实际超声信号分析效果良好。     

Non-contact handling in microassembly: Acoustical levitation

Microassembly is currently of the utmost importance in industry. Nevertheless, the classical assembly processes are no longer usable for very small components, typically ranging from 10  m to 10 mm, since usually neglected surface forces disturb the handling task by inducing adhesion between the component and the gripper. A promising alternative to tackle surface forces consists in levitating the handled component. The various advantages of this contactless handling method are reviewed here and justify the choice of this approach. Consequently, the numerous physical principles suitable for contactless handling are briefly described together with their limitations. The evaluation shows that acoustic levitation is best fitted in the case of microassembly. A classification of literature applications is presented hereafter with special focus on acoustic levitation. Finally, the most common models of acoustical levitation are inspected in a general way. The described models come within the scope of non-linear acoustics.     

Ultrasonic properties of hexagonal ZnS at nanoscale

Higher order elastic constants have been calculated in ZnS at 300 K and 500 K following the interaction potential model. Ultrasonic attenuation, velocity and other related parameters have been calculated using the higher order elastic constants for the different size of the material at 500 K. The size dependency of the ultrasonic properties is discussed in correlation with elastic, thermal and electrical properties. It has been found that the thermal conductivity is the main contributor to the behaviour of the ultrasonic attenuation as a function of the size and the responsible cause of attenuation is phonon-phonon interaction. The semiconducting nature of ZnS film has been achieved with the study of size variation of thermal relaxation time and ultrasonic attenuation.