Spontaneous Directional Self-Cleaning on the Feathers of the Aquatic Bird Anser cygnoides domesticus Induced by a Transient Superhydrophilicity

In nature, the feathers of the goose Anser cygnoides domesticus stay superhydrophobic over a long term, thought as the main reason for keeping the surface clean. However, contaminants, especially those that are oleophilic or trapped within textures, cannot be removed off the superhydrophobic feathers spontaneously. Here, a different self-cleaning strategy based on superhydrophilic feathers is revealed that is imparted by self-coating of the amphiphilic saliva, which enables removing away low-surface-tension and/or small-size contaminants by forming directional water sheeting depending on their unique anisotropic microstructures. Particularly, the surface superhydrophilicity is switchable to superhydrophobicity upon exposure to air for maintaining a clean surface for a long time, which is further enhanced by coating with self-secreted preening oil. By alternate switching between a transient superhydrophilicity and a long-term stable superhydrophobicity, the goose feathers exhibit an integrated smart self-cleaning strategy, which is also shared by other aquatic birds. An attractive point is the re-entrant structure of the feathers, which facilitates not only liquid spreading on superhydrophilic feathers, but also long-term stability of the cleaned surface by shedding water droplets off the superhydrophobicity feathers. Thus, artificial self-cleaning microtextures are developed. The result renews the common knowledge on the self-cleaning of aquatic bird feathers, offering inspiration for developing bioinspired self-cleaning microtextures and coatings.     

High strain rate compressive response of the Cf/SiC composite

Carbon fiber reinforced ceramic owns the properties of lightweight, high fracture toughness, excellent shock resistance, and thus overcomes ceramic's brittleness. The researches on the advanced structure of astronautics, marine have exclusively evaluated the quasi-static mechanical response of carbon fiber reinforced ceramics, while few investigations are available in the open literature regarding elastodynamics. This paper reports the dynamic compressive responses of a carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (C_f/SiC) composite (CFCMC) tested by the material test system 801 machine (MTS) and the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). These tests were to determine the rate dependent compression response and high strain rate failure mechanism of the C_f/SiC composite in in-plane and out-plane directions. The in-plane compressive strain rates are from 0.001 to 2200?s^?1, and that of the out-plane direction are from 0.001 to 2400?s^?1. The compressive stress-strain curves show the C_f/SiC composite has a property of strain rate sensitivity in both directions while under high strain rate loadings. Its compressive stiffness, compressive stress, and corresponding strain are also strain rate sensitive. The compressive damage morphologies after high strain rate impacting show different failure modes for each loading direction. This study provides knowledge about elastodynamics of fiber-reinforced ceramics and extends their design criterion with a reliable evaluation while applying in the scenario of loading high strain rate.     

Preparation,structure and microwave dielectric properties of novel La2MgGeO6 ceramics with hexagonal structure and adjustment of its τf value

A novel La₂MgGeO₆ ceramic was synthesized through a solid-state reaction process within a sintering temperature range of 1450–1550 °C. By a combination of X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement analyses, the ceramics were found to have a pure hexagonal phase structure belonging to space group R3/146. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the ceramic grains were closely connected. The effects of internal (lattice energy, valence bond, and fraction packing) and external factors (density) on the microwave properties of ceramics were also studied. The ceramic exhibited excellent microwave dielectric performances, with a relative permittivity (?_r) of 21.2, a quality factor (Q × f) of 52 360 GHz, and a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) of ?44.2 ppm/°C, when sintered at 1500 °C for 4 h. The τ_f value of the La₂MgGeO₆ ceramic doped with CaTiO₃ could be adjusted to zero. Particularly, 0.2La₂MgGeO₆-0.8CaTiO₃ ceramics have good microwave dielectric properties with τ_f = +2.1 ppm/°C, Q × f = 15 610 GHz, and ?_r = 40.3.     

一种提高油样中低含量石油磺酸盐分析效率的方法

为了准确分析油田化学驱采出液油样中石油磺酸盐的含量,介绍了一种在油样中加入不同极性溶剂组成的萃取体系的预处理技术,将石油磺酸盐萃取到水相,利用液相色谱仪对其进行检测的方法。取适量油样,依次加入正己烷、二氯甲烷、无水乙醇和蒸馏水,振荡均匀后静置分层,取下层水相溶液进行色谱分析。色谱柱为阴离子交换柱,流动相为甲醇/水和甲醇/盐水(含0.2 mol/L乙酸和0.2 mol/L乙酸铵),梯度洗脱。实验结果表明,该预处理技术联合液相色谱法检测技术分析效率较高,加标回收率高于90%,液相色谱最小定量限10 mg/L,线性范围10～2000 mg/L。该方法可对油样中低含量的石油磺酸盐进行快速定量分析。     

Evaluation of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Chinese EIA in Myanmar: Myitsone Dam,the Lappadaung Copper Mine and the Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines

The economic relationship between China and Myanmar is regarded as a win–win cooperation. However, Chinese investments, especially in extractive and natural resource sectors, are associated with a number of unwanted environmental consequences. Moreover, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) quality of Chinese enterprises has often been criticized. EIA identifies adverse impacts to the environment through evidence-based decision making. On this basis, this paper provides an evaluation of Chinese EIA performance within the natural resources sector through a structured review of 15 environmental impact statements (EISs). This research also evaluates the EISs of the three largest and most controversial projects, the Myitsone Hydropower Dam, Lappadaung Copper Mine and Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines. The findings reveal several omissions, inadequacies and deficiencies in all the projects with a significant number of EISs falling short of satisfactory quality. Through the analysis, the paper summarizes the factors affecting the EIA performance and proposes feasible recommendations to improve EIA practices in Chinese development projects in Myanmar.     

Cavern Boundary Determination with Pseudoplastic Fluid Based on the Apparent Viscosity Method

The cavern characteristics of xanthan gum solutions stirred by impellers of a perturbed six-bent-bladed turbine (6PBT) were investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with laminar flow model. The apparent viscosity method was proposed to determine the boundary of the cavern. The cavern sizes predicted by apparent viscosity were in good agreement with the calculated results, and this method was not influenced by speed and impeller configuration. However, the predicted results of the cavern by the traditional speed method usually displayed a great deviation, especially at high speed. Therefore, it is feasible to determine the cavern boundary with the apparent viscosity, i.e., 0.25 times the yield viscosity of a pseudoplastic fluid, as the unified standard.     

四川盆地及周缘上奥陶统五峰组岩相特征

上奥陶统五峰组分为页岩段和观音桥段。对比分析四川盆地及周缘五峰组页岩气钻井岩心以及测试数据,根据岩心和全岩矿物组分特征,以硅质矿物(石英)、黏土矿物和碳酸盐矿物为三端元,进行岩相划分。页岩段可识别出4种岩相类型:硅质页岩、含黏土硅质页岩、含灰硅质页岩以及含灰黏土质页岩;观音桥段发育含介壳泥质灰岩。页岩气钻井实测数据表明,页岩段4类页岩岩相品质(有机碳含量、脆性矿物含量以及含气量)差异较大,硅质页岩品质最优,含灰黏土质页岩品质最差。页岩段岩相类型以及观音桥段分布特征受控于沉积环境。川南永川地区等相对浅水的区域页岩厚度较大,但是硅质页岩厚度较小,页岩段整体品质较差,不建议作为水平井靶窗;川南威远地区受古陆和古地形影响,硅质页岩厚度较小,也不建议作为水平井靶窗;川东南焦石坝、武隆、丁山以及南川地区硅质页岩厚度超过4 m,可作为水平井靶窗。     

Preparation and characterization of heteroepitaxial Zn2SnO4 single crystalline films prepared on MgO (100) substrates

Zinc stannate (Zn₂SnO₄) films were deposited on MgO (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and Zn₂SnO₄ monocrystalline films were obtained by postannealing process. The structures, surface morphologies, and optical properties of the Zn₂SnO₄ films annealed at different temperatures were investigated in detail. Crystal structure analyses showed that the film annealed at 800°C was single crystal Zn₂SnO₄ with an inverse-spinel structure. The heteroepitaxial mechanism was further clarified by a schematic diagram, and the epitaxial relationships between the film and substrate were Zn₂SnO₄ (400) || MgO (200) with Zn₂SnO₄ [001] || MgO [001]. The obtained Zn₂SnO₄ films exhibited excellent transparency. The optical band gap of the 800°C-annealed Zn₂SnO₄ film was about 3.97 eV. The extinction coefficients and refractive indexes of the Zn₂SnO₄ films annealed at different temperatures as a function of wavelength were analyzed in detail.