Crosslinked polymer electrolytes of high pyridine contents for HT-PEM fuel cells

This report evaluates a new family of pyridine containing aromatic polyether sulfones as polymer electrolytes for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEM FCs). The polymers are prepared by high temperature polyetherification reactions, yielding highly soluble polymers even with pyridine contents as high as 90%. Along with the pyridine content, crosslinking density is also tuned, leading to the enhancement of membrane properties such as film integrity, dimensional stability and doping ability in acidic media. The completion of the crosslinking reaction is enabled by a short thermal pre-treatment, preceding the doping step in H₃PO₄ 85%. Both the linear and the crosslinked membranes show high thermal and oxidative stability. Membranes before and after crosslinking are integrated in single cells where their conductivity and performance are monitored, revealing conductivities above 7 × 10⁻² S/cm at temperatures higher than 180 °C.     

Synthesis of double perovskite La2MnNiO6 nanoparticles as highly efficient oxygen evolution electro-catalysts

Double perovskite La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles (approximately 30 nm in diameter) were synthesized using a modified sol-gel method followed by a firing process and used as promising electrode materials for oxygen evolution reactions (OERs). The phase purity of the nanoparticles was verified using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements. La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles crystallize in a monoclinic structure (P2₁/n space group) with refined lattice parameters of a = 5.461(5) Å, b = 5.512(3) Å, c = 7.760(5) Å, and β = 90.10(2)°. The elemental composition, particle size, size distribution, and surface area of the La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles were also investigated. La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles are ferromagnetic in nature and exhibit hysteresis with a saturation magnetization value of approximately 9 emu/g. La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles exhibit highly efficient electro-catalytic activity for OERs with a low onset over-potential (approximately 65 mV) and low Tafel slope values (120 mV/dec) in alkaline media. The over-potential of La₂MnNiO₆ nanoparticles at a current density of 10 mA/cm² is in good agreement with the reported over-potential (ƞ₁₀) of double perovskites, commercial Pt/C and IrO₂ electro-catalysts for promoting OERs.     

Defensible citadel:History and architectural character of the Lahore Railway Station

This study aims to investigate the defensible character of the Lahore railway station built in response to “the war of independence in 1857,” which greatly impacted the location and design of the building. This study demonstrates the integral role played by the railway station in the development of the new colonial city, which the British wants to be defensive in every aspect. Railways were introduced in Pakistan (India) soon after their inauguration in Britain. Beginning from the mode of transportation, the multifaced contribution of railways toward the urban growth, new architectural style, mode of construction, and technology cannot be recanted. The research is based on the documentation and analysis of the history of Lahore railway station design. First, this study uses primary and secondary data to offer a history of the Lahore railway station from its inception to final execution. Second, it explores the criteria adopted by the British for its site selection to make the station a defensible post. The research finding includes the visual features that enhanced the architectural character of the building. Qualitative methods are used including several other approaches, namely, literature review, archival data collection, analysis of photographs, and study of architectural drawings and old maps, to achieve the objectives.     

抗氢合金J75中低∑CSL晶界的形成与演化

以铁镍基抗氢合金J75为研究对象,采用单步形变热处理和电子背散射衍射(EBSD)技术,研究了低∑CSL晶界的形成和演化过程。结果表明:采用5%预变形+1000℃退火的单步形变热处理方法,可将J75合金中低∑CSL晶界的比例提升至70%以上,形成具有∑3n取向关系的晶粒团簇;退火过程中,低∑CSL晶界比例的提升主要是由于∑3n界面比例的提升,其中∑3占绝大比例。发现一种∑3再生过程,其机制在于:由于∑3ic迁移能力强,在退火过程中与其他∑3相遇会形成∑9晶界,而∑9与∑3相遇,倾向于发生∑9+∑3→∑3,导致∑3的再生;不连续大角度随机晶界(R)与低∑CSL晶界相遇会形成R/∑晶界,当R/∑晶界为低∑CSL晶界时,则构成较多具有低∑CSL晶界的网络,打断了R晶界的连通性。     

Double layers glaze analysis of the Fujian export blue-and-white porcelain from the Witte Leeuw shipwreck (1613)

Witte Leeuw was a cargo ship owned and operated by the Dutch East Indian Company. The wreck of this vessel is known for yielding a comprehensive range of Jingdezhen manufactured, blue-and-white export porcelains, particularly kraak wares; together with Fujian blue-and-white export porcelains, known as Swatow wares. A large number of ceramic fragments have been recovered from this wreck and currently reside in collections at the Rijksmuseum. For this study nine ceramic specimens were selected for further investigation, with the aim of determining the structure, composition and manufacturing process of the double-layer glazes. Both digital optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to examine the glaze morphology and microstructure; whilst energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy was utilised to measure the spatial distribution of chemical elements and to determine bulk elemental compositions. Raman spectroscopy was also trialled, with the technique being applied to the measurement of molecular vibrations within the silicon-oxygen network and associated alkali metal oxides, with the aim of identifying potential differences in the glaze layers. Examining the ceramic specimens, the blue decorations were applied between two layers of glaze, and the majority of the blue colour extends into the outermost layer, often exhibiting dissolution in the outer layer glaze. The two layers of the glaze appear to be formulated from different compositional recipes. Some export Swatow blue-and-white wares made in the Wanli Period (1573–1620) were glazed twice and fired twice.     

Characteristics of pigments,modification, and their functionalities

Novel treatments of pigments with inorganic materials have tremendous industrial and commercial prospects. Specific treatment of pigment has a marked effect on its behavior during application. The treatment allows a broad modification of the surface characteristics of pigment particles which leads to improved functionalities. Surface modification of pigments is achieved via coating, polymerization with modifying reagent, treatment with derivatives or polymers, which alter either the optical, conductivity or dispersibility during processing and application. These and many other distinguishing factors that affect the characteristics of pigments such as the class, crystal structure, particle morphology, particle size, hiding power, pigment volume concentration, surface character, and surface treatment have been reviewed. Various organic pigments such as those from fungus and bacteria, and the various families of pigment types such as metallic pigment, light interference, and diffractive pigments which presents decorative quality such as leafing, nonleafing, pearlscent, and Fabry‐Perot effects on substrates have also been reviewed in addition to those from inorganic sources with emphasis on the structure and physiochemical modifications using metal and nonmetal Ions.     

Influence of SiC microstructure on its corrosion behavior in molten FLiNaK salt

The influence of the microstructure on the corrosion rate of three monolithic SiC samples in FLiNaK salt at 900 °C for 250 h was studied. The SiC samples, labeled as SiC-1, SiC-2, and SiC-3, had corrosion rates of 0.137, 0.020, and 0.043 mg/cm²h, respectively. Compared with grain size and the presence of special grain boundaries (i.e., Σ3), the content of high-angle grain boundaries (HAGBs) appeared to have the strongest influence on the corrosion rate of SiC in FLiNaK salt, since the corrosion rate increased six times as the concentration of high-angle grain boundaries increased from 19 to 32% for SiC-2 and SiC-1, respectively. These results stress the importance of controlling the content of HAGBs during the production process of SiC.     

Steering feel improvement by mathematical modeling of the Electric Power Steering system

Currently, the Electric Power Steering (EPS) system is an essential component of the vehicle because it provides assistive steering torque to the driver. To ensure a faster steering response, the position of the EPS in some vehicles is moved closer to the tire rather than the steering wheel. The steering torque, which is provided by the EPS in the steering system, mainly affects the driver’s feel while steering. Therefore, the driver often feels uncomfortable owing to such positioning of the EPS in the steering system. In particular, the nonlinearity of the Universal Joint (UJ), which is one of parts of the steering system, can be felt at the steering wheel side.In this paper, we proposed an algorithm based on the mathematical model of the steering torque in the steering system to improve the steering feel. The mathematical model is structured using parameters that can be obtained from the information of the steering system. Moreover, the formulation of the steering torque consists of the two parts, namely the deformation part, which describes the propagation inside the steering system, and the friction part that describes the inherent friction in the UJ.Simulation and experiments were conducted to verify the proposed mathematical model with similar conditions to the real tire load during the steering motion. Furthermore, to improve the driver’s feel during steering, a torque compensation algorithm is proposed and verified through experiments.     

Copy Move Forgery Detection based on double matching

Copy Move is a technique widespreadly used in digital image tampering, meaning Copy Move Forgery Detection (CMFD) is still a significant research. In this paper, a novel CMFD method is proposed, including double matching process and region localizing process. In double matching process, the first matching is conducted on Delaunay triangles consisting of Local Intensity Order Pattern (LIOP) keypoints, to find the approximate location of suspicious regions. In order to find sufficient keypoint pairs, the existing set of matching triangles is expanded by adding their neighbors iteratively, covering the whole tampered regions, and the second matching with a looser threshold is conducted on the vertices. In the region localizing process, considering the case of multiple copies, Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) is used to classify the keypoint pairs described in a new model. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method, with good robustness, outperforms some state-of-the-art methods.     

保护层一次钻爆技术在三峡工程的研究与应用

从孔间、孔内双微差起爆和孔底设置柔性垫层分析“梯段炮孔加柔性垫层”的作用成因；从水平预裂和梯段孔深的确定分析“梯段炮孔加水平预裂”的作用成因，并通过试验及爆前、爆后检测和检查，说明这两种保护层一次钻爆技术理论上是可行的，在实践上很适合大中型水电工程保护层开挖。