Fabrication of alumina ceramics with functional gradient structures by digital light processing 3D printing technology

Alumina ceramics with different unit numbers and gradient modes were prepared by digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing technology. The side length of each functional gradient structure was 10 mm, the porosity ratio was controlled to 70%, and the number of units were (1 × 1 × 1 unit) and (2 × 2 × 2 unit) respectively. The different gradient modes were named FCC, GFCC-1, GFCC-2 and GFCC-3. SEM, XRD, and other characterization methods proved that these gradient structures of alumina ceramics had only α-Al2O3 phase and good surface morphology. The mechanical properties and energy absorption properties of alumina ceramics with different functional gradient structures were studied by compression test. The results show that the gradient structure with 1 × 1 × 1 unit has better mechanical properties and energy absorption properties when the number of units is different. When the number of units is the same, GFCC-2 and GFCC-3 gradient structures have better compressive performance and energy absorption potential than FCC structures. The GFCC-2 gradient structure with 1 × 1 × 1 unit has a maximum compressive strength of 19.62 MPa and a maximum energy absorption value of 2.72 × 105 J/m3. The good performance of such functional gradient structures can provide new ideas for the design of lightweight and compressive energy absorption structures in the future.     

Recent advances in carbon nanotubes-based microwave absorbing composites

With the blossom of information industry, electromagnetic wave technology shows increasingly potential in many fields. Nevertheless, the trouble caused by electromagnetic waves has also drawn extensive attention. For instance, electromagnetic pollution can threaten information safety in vital fields and the normal function of delicate electronic devices. Consequently, electromagnetic pollution and interference become an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have become a potential candidate to deal with these problems due to many advantages, such as high dielectric loss, remarkable thermodynamic stability, and low density. With the appearance of climbing demands, however, the carbon nanotubes combining various composites have shown greater prospects than the single CNTs in microwave absorbing materials. In this short review, recent advances in CNTs-based microwave absorbing materials were comprehensively discussed. Typically, we introduced the electromagnetic wave absorption mechanism of CNTs-based microwave absorbing materials and generalized the development of CNTs-based microwave absorbers, including CNTs-based magnetic metal composites, CNTs-based ferrite composites, and CNTs-based polymer composites. Ultimately, the growing trend and bottleneck of CNTs-based composites for microwave absorption were analyzed to provide some available ideas to more scientific workers.     

Preparation and Evaluation of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Loaded with Heparin Phospholipid Complex

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) was developed to enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, in which heparin was compounded with phospholipids to achieve better fat solubility in the form of heparin-phospholipid (HEP-Pc) complex. HEP-Pc complex was prepared using the solvent evaporation method, which increased the solubility of heparin in n-octanol. The successful preparation of HEP-Pc complex was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, NMR, and SEM. A heparin lipid microemulsion (HEP-LM) was prepared by high-pressure homogenization and characterized. HEP-LM can enhance the absorption of heparin after oral administration, significantly prolong activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and thrombin time (TT) in mice, and reduce fibrinogen (FIB) content. All these outcomes indicate that HEP-LM has great potential as an oral heparin formulation.     

Impact behavior of aminosilane functionalized nanosilica based shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar fabrics

In the present work, two types of shear thickening fluids have been synthesized by using neat and aminosilane functionalized silica nanoparticles and their viscosity curves have been obtained by the rheometer. Based on the values of peak viscosity of synthesized shear thickening fluids, the surface functionalized nanosilica based shear thickening fluid has been chosen as a best candidate due to the high viscosity for impregnation into the neat Kevlar of different layers viz. four (04) and eight (08) layers for velocity impact study. The experimental investigations reveal high energy absorption of shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar as compared to the neat Kevlar. The maximum energy absorption 62 J is achieved corresponding to the initial velocity 154 m∙s⁻¹ for 08 layers shear thickening fluid impregnated Kevlar specimen. The data have also been analytically determined and validated with the experimental data. The experimental data have good agreement with the analytical data within the accuracy of around 15 to 20%. The present findings can have significant inferences towards the fabrication of shear thickening fluids using nanomaterials for numerous applications such as soft armors, dampers, nanofinishing and so forth.     

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.     

Hydrophobic Cross-Linked Poly(dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sorbents for Oil Spill Applications

With the increase of industrialization and urbanization, humankind faces massive oil-based pollution due to tanker accidents, human error, and natural disasters. For this, hydrophobic sorbents are fabricated and their applications for the removal of oil from polluted water sources are investigated. These hydrophobic sorbents are prepared by the condensation reaction of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and tris[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]isocyanurate cross-linker via bulk polymerization. The obtained sorbents exhibit high oil sorption capacity, fast absorption–desorption kinetics, and great reusability. Moreover, they can selectively absorb oil from the water surface, thus making them practical for water clean-up applications.     

Enhanced electromagnetic microwave absorption of Fe/C/SiCN composite ceramics targeting in integrated structure and function

The Fe/C/SiCN composite ceramics were synthesized by polymer-derived method to obtain the integration of structure and functions. The electromagnetic waves (EMW) absorption properties at X and Ku bands were investigated. The addition of nano-sized Fe particles improved the magnetic loss and impedance matching, and the carbon nanotubes generated by the iron in-situ catalysis increased the internal relaxation polarization and interfacial polarization, which together improved the EMW absorption properties significantly. In particular, the Fe/C/SiCN-9 showed the optimum reflection loss (RL) of ?31.06 dB at 10.03 GHz with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL < ?10 dB) of 3.03 GHz at 2.51 mm, indicating the excellent EMW absorption properties of Fe/C/SiCN composite ceramics.     

A Voltage Control Method for a Distributed Line Feeder by means of Multiagent Approach

This paper proposes a method for the coordinated control of power factor by means of a multiagent approach. The proposed multiagent system consists of two types of agent: single feeder agent (F_AG) and bus agent (B_AG). In the proposed system, an F_AG plays as an important role, which decides the power factors of all distributed generators by executing the load flow calculations repeatedly. The voltage control strategies are implemented as the class definition of Java into the system. In order to verify the performance of the proposed method, it has been applied to a typical distribution model system. The simulation results show that the system is able to control very violent fluctuation of the demands and the photovoltaic (PV) generations.