Enhanced gaseous hydrogen solubility in ferritic and martensitic steels at low temperatures

Metals that are exposed to high pressure hydrogen gas may undergo detrimental failure by embrittlement. Understanding the mechanisms and driving forces of hydrogen absorption on the surface of metals is crucial for avoiding hydrogen embrittlement. In this study, the effect of stress-enhanced gaseous hydrogen uptake in bulk metals is investigated in detail. For that purpose, a generalized form of Sievert's law is derived from thermodynamic potentials considering the effect of microstructural trapping sites and multiaxial stresses. This new equation is parametrized and verified using experimental data for carbon steels, which were charged under gaseous hydrogen atmosphere at pressures up to 1000 bar. The role of microstructural trapping sites on the parameter identification is critically discussed. Finally, the parametrized equation is applied to calculate the stress-enhanced hydrogen solubility of thin-walled pipelines and thick-walled pressure vessels during service.     

Revisit the Pitot static tubes in the standards

A Pitot tube is a popular device used for the measurements of flow fields. To control the accuracy of the Pitot tube coefficient, the international standard organization (ISO), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) issued guidelines that recommended the shape and working conditions of these devices. However, many Pitot tubes on the market do not follow these guidelines. In the present study, various types of Pitot tubes in the market were tested at the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) to determine the effects of the geometry and flow characteristics. The results revealed certain limitations in the existing ISO and JIS standards, specifically with regard to the recommended design parameters of the AMCA Pitot tube, the reference coefficient value for the JIS Pitot tube, and the redefinition and limitation of Reynolds numbers pertaining to Pitot tube working conditions.     

Preparation and electrical conductivity of KTaO3-based proton conductor

KTaO₃ and KTa_0.9M_0.1O_3-α (M = Ti, Hf, Zr) were prepared by solid state reaction at 1330 °C for 2 h and characterized by x-ray diffraction. The AC impedance technique was used to analyze the sintered solid electrolytes in 1%H₂/Ar and dry air atmosphere. Among KTa_0.9M_0.1O_3-α (M = Ti, Hf, Zr), KTa_0.9Zr_0.1O_3-α displays the highest conductivity in 1%H₂/Ar atmosphere. The carriers transport numbers of solid electrolytes were measured by concentration cell method. The results show KTa_0.9Zr_0.1O_3-α is a pure proton conductor below 525 °C. Stability tests show that KTa_0.9Zr_0.1O_3-α has good chemical stability against CO₂ and H₂O.     

As the number falls,alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number method: A review

This review examines the application, limitations, and potential alternatives to the Hagberg–Perten falling number (FN) method used in the global wheat industry for detecting the risk of poor end-product quality mainly due to starch degradation by the enzyme α-amylase. By viscometry, the FN test indirectly detects the presence of α-amylase, the primary enzyme that digests starch. Elevated α-amylase results in low FN and damages wheat product quality resulting in cakes that fall, and sticky bread and noodles. Low FN can occur from preharvest sprouting (PHS) and late maturity α-amylase (LMA). Moist or rainy conditions before harvest cause PHS on the mother plant. Continuously cool or fluctuating temperatures during the grain filling stage cause LMA. Due to the expression of additional hydrolytic enzymes, PHS has a stronger negative impact than LMA. Wheat grain with low FN/high α-amylase results in serious losses for farmers, traders, millers, and bakers worldwide. Although blending of low FN grain with sound wheat may be used as a means of moving affected grain through the marketplace, care must be taken to avoid grain lots from falling below contract-specified FN. A large amount of sound wheat can be ruined if mixed with a small amount of sprouted wheat. The FN method is widely employed to detect α-amylase after harvest. However, it has several limitations, including sampling variability, high cost, labor intensiveness, the destructive nature of the test, and an inability to differentiate between LMA and PHS. Faster, cheaper, and more accurate alternatives could improve breeding for resistance to PHS and LMA and could preserve the value of wheat grain by avoiding inadvertent mixing of high- and low-FN grain by enabling testing at more stages of the value stream including at harvest, delivery, transport, storage, and milling. Alternatives to the FN method explored here include the Rapid Visco Analyzer, enzyme assays, immunoassays, near-infrared spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging.     

深部松软煤层钻孔孔周煤体变形产渣特征研究

针对煤矿井下高瓦斯软煤顺层长钻孔排渣困难、成孔率低、施工困难等问题,通过数值模拟实验研究了井下深部软煤体变形破坏特征,分析了顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形特征及应力变化,以揭示顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形产渣规律。研究表明:深部高瓦斯软煤顺层钻孔孔周煤体的应力平衡临界条件破坏后将发生大体积突然垮落;钻孔水平最大变形位移为1.22mm,垂直方向最大变形位移为10.7mm;径向孔周煤体垂向变形呈现逐渐减小趋势,且垂向变形明显大于钻孔水平变形。在水平方向上,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布呈现先增大再逐渐减小的变化规律,径向距离对水平应力分布的影响逐渐减小;随着径向距离的增加,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布逐渐降低,钻孔孔壁处煤体的应力出现最大值,且垂直方向处应力值最大。     

Structural health monitoring system based on multi-agent coordination and fusion for large structure

In practical applications of structural health monitoring technology, a large number of distributed sensors are usually adopted to monitor the big dimension structures and different kinds of damage. The monitored structures are usually divided into different sub-structures and monitored by different sensor sets. Under this situation, how to manage the distributed sensor set and fuse different methods to obtain a fast and accurate evaluation result is an important problem to be addressed deeply. In the paper, a multi-agent fusion and coordination system is presented to deal with the damage identification for the strain distribution and joint failure in the large structure. Firstly, the monitoring system is adopted to distributedly monitor two kinds of damages, and it self-judges whether the static load happens in the monitored sub-region, and focuses on the static load on the sub-region boundary to obtain the sensor network information with blackboard model. Then, the improved contract net protocol is used to dynamically distribute the damage evaluation module for monitoring two kinds of damage uninterruptedly. Lastly, a reliable assessment for the whole structure is given by combing various heterogeneous classifiers strengths with voting-based fusion. The proposed multi-agent system is illustrated through a large aerospace aluminum plate structure experiment. The result shows that the method can significantly improve the monitoring performance for the large-scale structure.     

Unreliable numbers: error and harm induced by bad design can be reduced by better design

Number entry is a ubiquitous activity and is often performed in safety- and mission-critical procedures, such as healthcare, science, finance, aviation and in many other areas. We show that Monte Carlo methods can quickly and easily compare the reliability of different number entry systems. A surprising finding is that many common, widely used systems are defective, and induce unnecessary human error. We show that Monte Carlo methods enable designers to explore the implications of normal and unexpected operator behaviour, and to design systems to be more resilient to use error. We demonstrate novel designs with improved resilience, implying that the common problems identified and the errors they induce are avoidable.     

论携号转网行为的私法规制

以电信用户入网协议为切入点,电信用户的携号转网行为应受到《合同法》《消费者权益保护法》等私法规范的保护与限制。该行为引起的格式条款解释、合同终止、违约责任、损失赔偿等问题,不能仅靠《电信条例》等公法规范来调整。应当积极引导广大消费者用户以私法领域相关规定为依据,转变争议解决思维,拓宽纠纷处理途径,合理选择维权手段,以保护自身合法民事权益,与行业监管部门共同推动电信行业有序发展。     

Fully coupled LES-DEM of particle interaction and agglomeration in a turbulent channel flow

Coupled large eddy simulation and the discrete element method are applied to study turbulent particle–laden flows, including particle dispersion and agglomeration, in a channel. The particle–particle interaction model is based on the Hertz–Mindlin approach with Johnson–Kendall–Roberts cohesion to allow the simulation of van der Waals forces in a dry air flow. The influence of different particle surface energies, and the impact of fluid turbulence, on agglomeration behaviour are investigated. The agglomeration rate is found to be strongly influenced by the particle surface energy, with a positive relationship observed between the two. Particle agglomeration is found to be enhanced in two separate regions within the channel. First, in the near-wall region due to the high particle concentration there driven by turbophoresis, and secondly in the buffer region where the high turbulence intensity enhances particle–particle interactions.     

Ni2V2O7 dandelion microsphere for a high-performance electrocatalyst in water splitting

Water splitting is an effective way to produce hydrogen to solve the energy crisis problem, and inorganic metal compounds are widely used in electrocatalysis field due to efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, we synthesize Ni₂V₂O₇ dandelion microsphere from nickel nitrate and vanadium pentoxide by “one-step hydrothermal” way, which exhibits large specific surface area of 102.74 m² g⁻¹. The as-prepared Ni₂V₂O₇ microsphere shows good electrocatalysis performances including OER overpotential of 358 mV and good stability, as well as HER overpotential of 195 mV. Furthermore, the Ni₂V₂O₇ microsphere electrode is assembled to Ni₂V₂O₇ microsphere//Ni₂V₂O₇ microsphere system, showing the water splitting voltage of 1.50 V at 10 mA cm⁻² by two-electrode method, which is much lower than those of commercial RuO₂//Pt/C system and most of spinel oxides electrocatalysts. Our work opens up a new and facile avenue for fabricating inorganic microsphere electrocatalyst in hydrogen production field.