A high-throughput chaotic advection microreactor for preparation of uniform and aggregated barium sulfate nanoparticles

A high-throughput (105.5 g/h) passive four-stage asymmetric oscillating feedback microreactor using chaotic mixing mechanism was developed to prepare aggregated Barium sulfate (BaSO₄) particles of high primary nanoparticle size uniformity. Three-dimensional unsteady simulations showed that chaotic mixing could be induced by three unique secondary flows (i.e., vortex, recirculation, and oscillation), and the fluid oscillation mechanism was examined in detail. Simulations and Villermaux–Dushman experiments indicate that almost complete mixing down to molecular level can be achieved and the prepared BaSO₄ nanoparticles were with narrow primary particle size distribution (PSD) having geometric standard deviation, σ_g, less than 1.43 when the total volumetric flow rate Q_total was larger than 10 ml/min. By selecting Q_total and reactant concentrations, average primary particle size can be controlled from 23 to 109 nm as determined by microscopy. An average size of 26 nm with narrow primary PSD (σ_g = 1.22) could be achieved at Q_total of 160 ml/min.     

Spatial–Temporal Fusion Based Path Planning for Source Seeking in Wireless Sensor Network

International Journal of Wireless Information Networks - Source seeking problem has been faced in many fields, especially in search and rescue applications. We proposed a virtual structure-based...     

Authenticity green coffee bean species and geographical origin using near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics

To prevent the adulteration of agricultural resources and provide a solution to enhance the green coffee bean supply chain, authentication using the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique was investigated. Partial least square with discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) models combined with various preprocessing methods were built from NIR spectra of 153 Vietnamese green coffee samples. The model combined with the standard normal variate and the first order of derivative yielded excellent performance in predicting coffee species with the error cross-validation of 0.0261. PLS-DA model of mean centre and first-order derivative spectra also yielded good performance in verifying geographical indication of green coffee with the error of 0.0656. By contrast, the predicting abilities of post-harvest methods were poor. The overall results showed a high potential of the NIRS in online authentication practices.     

Research on slope reliability analysis using multi-kernel relevance vector machine and advanced first-order second-moment method

Engineering with Computers - To increase the efficiency and accuracy in slope stability analysis, a reliability analysis method based on machine learning and the advanced first-order second-moment...     

Nanoporous Surface High-Entropy Alloys as Highly Efficient Multisite Electrocatalysts for Nonacidic Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution in alkaline and neutral media offers the possibility of adopting platinum-free electrocatalysts for large-scale electrochemical production of pure hydrogen fuel, but most state-of-the-art electrocatalytic materials based on nonprecious transition metals operate at high overpotentials. Here, a monolithic nanoporous multielemental CuAlNiMoFe electrode with electroactive high-entropy CuNiMoFe surface is reported to hold great promise as cost-effective electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline and neutral media. By virtue of a surface high-entropy alloy composed of dissimilar Cu, Ni, Mo, and Fe metals offering bifunctional electrocatalytic sites with enhanced kinetics for water dissociation and adsorption/desorption of reactive hydrogen intermediates, and hierarchical nanoporous Cu scaffold facilitating electron transfer/mass transport, the nanoporous CuAlNiMoFe electrode exhibits superior nonacidic HER electrocatalysis. It only takes overpotentials as low as ≈240 and ≈183 mV to reach current densities of ≈1840 and ≈100 mA cm⁻² in 1 m  KOH and pH 7 buffer electrolytes, respectively; ≈46- and ≈14-fold higher than those of ternary CuAlNi electrode with bimetallic Cu–Ni surface alloy. The outstanding electrocatalytic properties make nonprecious multielemental alloys attractive candidates as high-performance nonacidic HER electrocatalytic electrodes in water electrolysis.     

Core–Shell Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen is a promising solution for the conversion and storage of solar energy. Because sluggish water oxidation is the bottleneck of water splitting, the design and preparation of an efficient photoanode is intensively investigated. Currently, all known photoanode materials suffer from at least one of the following drawbacks: ① low carriers separation efficiency; ② sluggish surface water oxidation reaction; ③ poor long-term stability; ④ insufficient water adsorption and gas desorption. Core–shell configurations can endow a photoanode with improved activity and stability by coating an overlayer that plays energetic, catalytic, and/or protective roles. The construction strategy has an important effect on the activity of a core–shell photoanode. Nonetheless, the mechanism for the improvement of performance is still ambiguous and is worthy of a closer examination. In this review, the successes and challenges of core–shell photoanodes for water oxidation, focusing on synthesis strategies as well as functionalities (facilitating carrier separation, surface reaction promotion, corrosion prevention, and bubble detachment) are explored. Finally, the perspectives of this class of materials in terms of new opportunities and efforts are discussed.     

一种改进的特征匹配算法在碎片云测量建模中的应用

为满足超高速撞击典型Whipple防护构型的损伤评估需求,利用图像处理技术对碎片云序列阴影图像进行深入研究。使用超高速序列激光阴影成像仪得到三组不同实验条件下碎片云发展过程的高清阴影图像,分别对每组最具代表性的2帧进行图像处理分析;根据碎片云图像特点以及碎片运动特性,提出了一种改进的碎片二次特征匹配算法,该方法包含碎片粗定位、特征定义及初匹配和精确匹配三步策略;通过运用改进的匹配算法,对选取的相邻两帧图片完成碎片高效匹配,并提取匹配碎片的运动参数,进而分析碎片的速度分布和飞行角度分布,获取二次碎片云相关运动特性;得到三组实验各自的轨迹模拟图。根据得到的轨迹分析结果分别对三组实验的后板损伤进行估计,并通过与防护构型的实际损伤结果进行比较,验证了该方法的有效性。     

等温退火对8030铝合金导线组织性能的影响

研究了不同等温退火工艺对8030铝合金导线组织及性能的影响。结果表明:等温退火前后合金均由α-Al基体和Al₆Fe相组成。在同一等温温度下,随着等温时间的延长组织逐渐趋于均匀化;同一等温时间下,随着等温温度的升高,组织趋于均匀化的时间缩短。经过等温退火处理后铝合金导线的导电率均有所提高,在470 ℃均匀化退火24 h后再经240 ℃等温4 h,合金导电率达到最高值57.21%IACS,比未经热处理试样的导电率提高了2.4%IACS。经过等温退火处理后铝合金导线的硬度及抗拉强度均有所降低,塑性大幅度提高。在470 ℃均匀化退火24 h后再经260 ℃等温8 h,合金的伸长率最高可达23.64%。热处理前后合金均为塑性断裂。     

气动弹片对垂直轴风力机性能影响研究

片对垂直轴风力机气动性能的影响并分析了其流动机理。结果表明：气动弹片在高尖速比下可显著抑制流动分离并改善其动态失速特性，功率系数得到极大提升；切向力和转矩系数在气动弹片作用相位角范围内，均有一定提高，而在其它相位角内，风力机性能不受影响。     

多层圆片级堆叠THz硅微波导结构的制作

基于微电子机械系统(MEMS)工艺,提出一种多层圆片堆叠的THz硅微波导结构及其制作方法。为了验证该结构在制作THz无源器件中的优势,基于6层圆片堆叠的硅微波导结构,设计了一种中心频率365 GHz、带宽80 GHz的功率分配/合成结构,并对其进行了仿真。研究了制作该结构的工艺流程,攻克了工艺过程中的关键技术,包括硅深槽刻蚀技术和多层热压键合技术,并给出了工艺结果。最终实现了多层圆片堆叠功率分配/合成结构的工艺制作和测试。测试结果表明,尽管样品的插入损耗较仿真值增加3 dB左右,考虑到加工误差和夹具损耗等情况,样品主要技术指标与设计值较为一致。