Enhanced dielectric and piezoelectric properties in Na0.5Bi4.5Ti4O15 ceramics with Pr-doping

The bismuth layer-structured Na_0.5Bi_4.5-xPr_xTi₄O₁₅ (x?=?0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) (NBT-xPr³⁺) ceramics were fabricated using the traditional solid reaction process. The effect of different Pr³⁺ contents on dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of Na_0.5Bi_4.5Ti₄O₁₅ ceramics were investigated. The grain size of Pr³⁺-doping ceramics was found to be smaller than that of pure one, the maximum dielectric constant and Curie temperature T_c gradually decreased with increasing Pr³⁺ contents, and the dielectric loss decreased at high temperature by Pr³⁺-doping. Moreover, the activation energy (E_a), resistivity (Z’), remanent polarization (2P_r) and piezoelectric constant (d₃₃) increased by Pr³⁺-doping. The NBT-xPr³⁺ ceramics with x?=?0.3 achieved the optimal properties with the maximum dielectric constant of 1109.18, minimum loss of 0.00822 (250?kHz), E_a of 1.122?eV, Z’ of 7.9?kΩ?cm (725 ºC), d₃₃ of 18 pC/N, 2P_r of 12.04 μC/cm². The enhancement was due to the addition of Pr³⁺ which suppressed the decreasing of resistivity at high temperature and made it possible for NBT-xPr³⁺ ceramics to be poled in perpendicular direction, implying that it is a great improvement for Na_0.5Bi_4.5Ti₄O₁₅ ceramics in electrical properties.     

Ultrasonic vibration mill-grinding of single-crystal silicon carbide for pressure sensor diaphragms

Single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC) has gained tremendous attention for harsh-environment sensor applications due to its high-temperature tolerance and chemical resistance. However, there are many technological challenges in the fabrication of single-crystal SiC sensing microstructures such as thin SiC diaphragms for pressure sensors. This paper presents an ultrasonic vibration mill-grinding (UVMG) technique for the fabrication of 6H-SiC sensor diaphragms. The fundamental machining characteristics of UVMG are investigated experimentally compared with conventional mill-grinding (CMG). The experimental results show that the axial grinding force in UVMG is reduced by 60–70% compared to that in CMG. In addition, the wheel loading is severe in CMG, while the issue of wheel loading is significantly alleviated in UVMG due to the discontinuous cutting characteristic achieved in this method. As a result, sharp increase of the axial grinding force, which is accompanied by the crack of SiC workpiece, happens frequently in CMG after a total grinding depth of 200 µm. By contrast, the axial grinding force is stable in UVMG during the total grinding depth of at least 900 µm. The ultrasonic vibration in UVMG results in rough surface finish due to the material-removal mechanism of brittle fracture. However, by taking the advantages of better machining stability in UVMG and better surface roughness in CMG, extremely thin SiC sensor diaphragms with satisfactory surface quality can be achieved. Finally, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of a thin SiC diaphragm with a thickness of 20.3 µm.     

A polyvinyl alcohol-based mixed matrix membrane with uniformly distributed Schiff base network-1 for ethanol dehydration

In this study, Schiff base network (SNW)-1 nanoparticles with high hydrophilicity and large specific surface area were used to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs), which were evaluated for ethanol dehydration. Because of the low difference of density between SNW-1 and PVA, the as-prepared nanoparticles can be uniformly distributed into the PVA active layer. The effects of SNW-1 loading, feed temperature, and water concentration on pervaporation (PV) performance were further studied. The results showed the MMM with 10 wt% of SNW-1 loading exhibited a separation factor of 1,501 and a permeation flux of 187 g m⁻² h⁻¹ for feeding 95 wt% ethanol/water binary solution at 75°C. Overall, the SNW-1/PVA MMMs showed great prospect in ethanol dehydration via PV.     

Anomalous crystal structure of γ" phase in the Mg-RE-Zn(Ag) series alloys:Causality clarified by ab initio study

The crystal structure of the single-unit-cell thickness γ " phase,as a key strengthening phase in Mg-REZn(Ag) series alloys,has been extensively studied,and several structural models have been proposed in the past two decades.However,these reported models,and even the lattice constants at the same proposed structure,are scattered severely,which has led to considerable confusion and not available for further mechanical property simulation and prediction of Mg alloys containing this phase.In this study,by using first-principles calculations,the crystal structure of y" phase is clarified,resolving the discrepancies among different experiments,and its intrinsic mechanical properties have also been studied for the first time.It is verified that the γ " phase contains quasi-five atomic layers,instead of the previously reported tri-layer,and surprisingly,its crystal structure has many variants,which would change with the alloy composition.Besides,with the help of the simulated selected area electron diffraction(SAED) patterns,it is found that the atoms in the central layer remain partially ordered distribution,and this ordered extent primarily depends on the atomic ratio of RE:Zn(Ag) and the solute content in an alloy.That is,the ordered extent increases with decreasing the atomic ratio of RE:Zn(Ag) and/or increasing solute content of alloy,and vice versa.Ag and Zn dissolved in the γ" phase would produce almost opposed mechanical anisotropy for the γ " phase under the identical crystal structure,and the addition of Ag shows more efficient on increasing the shear modulus of γ" phase.     

A Novel Method of Heart Failure Prediction Based on DPCNNXGBOOST Model

The occurrence of perioperative heart failure will affect the quality of medical services and threaten the safety of patients. Existing methods depend on the judgment of doctors, the results are affected by many factors such as doctors’ knowledge and experience. The accuracy is difficult to guarantee and has a serious lag. In this paper, a mixture prediction model is proposed for perioperative adverse events of heart failure, which combined with the advantages of the Deep Pyramid Convolutional Neural Networks (DPCNN) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBOOST). The DPCNN was used to automatically extract features from patient’s diagnostic texts, and the text features were integrated with the preoperative examination and intraoperative monitoring values of patients, then the XGBOOST algorithm was used to construct the prediction model of heart failure. An experimental comparison was conducted on the model based on the data of patients with heart failure in southwest hospital from 2014 to 2018. The results showed that the DPCNN-XGBOOST model improved the predictive sensitivity of the model by 3% and 31% compared with the text-based DPCNN Model and the numeric-based XGBOOST Model.     

含氢类金刚石涂层在船用柴油机柱塞上的应用

利用磁控溅射和等离子增强化学气相沉积复合技术,以 Cr、WC、石墨为靶材,Ar和C₂H₂为工作气体,在船用低速柴油机柱塞上涂覆了过渡层依次为Cr、WC的含氢类金刚石涂层。结果表明:涂层晶体生长良好,结构连续致密,均未出现分层、开裂及剥离的现象;涂层相对光滑,大幅度提高了柱塞表面的纳米硬度与弹性模量,同时降低了在重柴油环境下的摩擦因数,长时间的台架试验后未涂覆涂层的柱塞表面出现非常明显的平行状沟槽磨痕,而且整体磨损比较严重,而涂覆涂层的柱塞表面磨痕非常窄且浅,数量较少,类金刚石涂层可以明显提高柱塞表面的耐磨损性能。     

装填设备载荷影响因素分析及动力学仿真

大型货物的装填过程中影响载荷的因素较多,其中对中精度对装填载荷影响较为明显。通过动力学仿真软件ADAMS对装填过程中载荷进行模拟,并对各影响因素进行定量分析,得到对中偏差与装填载荷的关系。将仿真结果与试验数据进行对比,验证该仿真方法的正确性,可作为后续研究装填载荷的一种方法,为结构设计提供指导。