Re-examination of phase relations between solid solutions in R4Al2O9-R4Si2N2O7-R4Si2O10 (R=Y,Gd, Yb) systems

Samples in Si–Al-R-O-N (R = Y, Gd, Yb) systems were prepared by solid-state reactions using R₂O₃, Al₂O₃, SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ powders as starting materials. X-ray diffraction was done to investigate RAM-J(R) solid solutions [RAM = R₄Al₂O₉, J(R) = R₄Si₂N₂O₇] formation and their equilibrium with RSO (R₄Si₂O₁₀). Phase relations between RAM, J(R) and RSO at 1700 °C were summarized in a phase diagram. It was determined that a limited solid solution of RAM and RSO could be formed along RAM-RSO tie-line, while RAM and J(R) form a continuous solid solution along RAM-J(R) tie-line. In RAM-J(R)-RSO ternary systems, the RAM-J(R) tie-lines were extended towards the RSO corner to form a continuous solid solution area of JRAMss (R = Y, Gd, Yb). The established phase relations in the Si–Al-R-O-N (R = Y, Gd, Yb) systems may facilitate compositional selections for developing JRAMss as monolithic ceramics or for SiC/Si₃N₄ based composites using the solid-solutions as a second refractory phase.     

形状记忆合金驱动的连续跳跃柔性机器人

针对在复杂、狭窄的非结构化地形下跳跃机器人存在的着陆稳定性和运动连续性的问题,提出了一种形状记忆合金(shape memory alloy,简称SMA)智能材料驱动的柔性跳跃机器人,它具有轻质小型、结构简单及连续运动的优点。利用对称的折纸柔性身体减少着陆振动,保证着陆稳定;利用对称的双SMA弹簧拮抗系统实现弹性元件交替变形和储能释能的功能;建立了柔性机器人跳跃运动的理论模型,研究了关键结构尺寸对能量储存和跳跃性能的影响机制,并研制了一款尺寸为6 cm×4 cm×2.5 cm、质量为3.8 g的原理样机。实验结果表明:柔性机器人依靠SMA驱动能够实现跳跃触发和形态恢复,最大跳跃高度和远度分别为8.67 cm和18 cm,并且可以适应不同工作面。该机器人跳跃性能优越,控制顺序简单,可为非结构化地形下完成侦察探测工作奠定基础。     

增材制造设计(DfAM)下的金刚石晶格结构研究

基于机械零件的增材制造设计,用仿自然式方法设计了一种金刚石晶格结构,对晶胞相对密度和等效弹性模量建立了数学模型,并拟合得到二者关系式,一系列的仿真验证结果显示理论研究所得关系式具有一定的正确性;对金刚石晶格填充结构提出变密度假设,并用仿真和压缩试验的方法进行了验证,结果显示,填充单元密度以受力点为中心渐渐减小的变密度结构拥有更好的抗压性能,同时验证了本文得出的等效弹性模量数学模型具有一定的正确性和适用性.本研究结果可应用于承压机械零件的实体夹层填充,对机械零件进行应力匹配变密度设计,以达到机械结构轻量化的目标.     

Effect of α-Lipoic Acid on the Development of Human Skin Equivalents Using a Pumpless Skin-on-a-Chip Model

Owing to the prohibition of cosmetic animal testing, various attempts have recently been made using skin-on-a-chip (SOC) technology as a replacement for animal testing. Previously, we reported the development of a pumpless SOC capable of drug testing with a simple drive using the principle that the medium flows along the channel by gravity when the chip is tilted using a microfluidic channel. In this study, using pumpless SOC, instead of drug testing at the single-cell level, we evaluated the efficacy of α-lipoic acid (ALA), which is known as an anti-aging substance in skin equivalents, for skin tissue and epidermal structure formation. The expression of proteins and changes in genotyping were compared and evaluated. Hematoxylin and eosin staining for histological analysis showed a difference in the activity of fibroblasts in the dermis layer with respect to the presence or absence of ALA. We observed that the epidermis layer became increasingly prominent as the culture period was extended by treatment with 10 μM ALA. The expression of epidermal structural proteins of filaggrin, involucrin, keratin 10, and collagen IV increased because of the effect of ALA. Changes in the epidermis layer were noticeable after the ALA treatment. As a result of aging, damage to the skin-barrier function and structural integrity is reduced, indicating that ALA has an anti-aging effect. We performed a gene analysis of filaggrin, involucrin, keratin 10, integrin, and collagen I genes in ALA-treated human skin equivalents, which indicated an increase in filaggrin gene expression after ALA treatment. These results indicate that pumpless SOC can be used as an in vitro skin model similar to human skin, protein and gene expression can be analyzed, and it can be used for functional drug tests of cosmetic materials in the future. This technology is expected to contribute to the development of skin disease models.     

Corrosion behaviors of carbon steel induced by life activities of Phaeodactylum tricornutum in a marine environment

Microbiologically influenced corrosion induced by bacteria has been studied for many years. Corrosion is known to be sensitive to the presence of microalgae, such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum. However, the life activity of P. tricornutum that influences the general and localized corrosion of carbon steel is not fully understood. The current study uses a combination of immersion tests and electrochemical experiments with a detailed surface characterization to reveal the naturally formed corrosion products with/without the presence of P. tricornutum. The results show that samples suffer from pitting corrosion and the averaged pit depths are approximately 15 μm under a light–dark cycle condition or a 24-h constant light condition. Meanwhile, the corrosion products are mainly comprised of γ-FeOOH and Fe₃O₄ in a constant light condition. However, γ-FeOOH, Fe₃O₄, and FeCO₃ are found in a light–dark cycle. This study proposes the fundamental mechanisms of the effect of P. tricornutum life activities on the corrosion performance of Q235 carbon steel, to fulfill the knowledge gaps of the presence of microalgae inducing the general and pitting corrosion of carbon steel.     

基于度量学习的意图识别和槽填充方法

人机对话中小样本学习场景下的意图识别和槽填充,是自然语言处理的一个重要课题.本文采用基于度量学习的方法,通过计算query set中的样本与support set中样本的距离,寻找距离最近的类别样本作为分类标签,同时将两个任务联合进行训练,用以提升模型的效果.从实验结果中可以得出,本文提出的Fine-tune方法,对意图识别和槽填充任务都有一定的帮助和提升.胶囊网络在意图识别中也起到了一定的效果,可以帮助去除一部分无关信息,但对槽填充任务的帮助不明显;而任务自适应的投影网络,可以更好地将不同类的向量分开,提升了两个任务的性能.     

Microstructure and electric properties of Pr-doped Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 ceramics

Improving the piezoelectric activity of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics is of great importance for practical applications. In this study, the influence of Pr³⁺ doping on the ferroelectric phase composition, microstructure, and electric properties on the A-site of (Pb_1-1.5xPr_x)(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ is extensively investigated. A dense and fine microstructural sample is obtained with the introduction of Pr³⁺. The results show that the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) moves to the rhombohedral phase region. The rhombohedral and tetragonal phases exhibit an ideal coexistence in the 4 mol.% Pr³⁺ doped (PPZT4) samples. Lead vacancy and the reduction of the potential energy barrier are considered to be the key mechanisms for donor doping, which is upheld by the Pr³⁺ doping. Combining the I-E hysteresis loops with the P-E hysteresis loops, it becomes apparent that both contribution maximums of the domain switching and residual polarisation are in PPZT4. Moreover, the thermal aging resistance of PZT is improved by doping, and the temperature stability is optimised from 83% in PZT to 96% in PPZT4. Hence, an appropriate amount of Pr³⁺ doping can effectively improve the piezoelectric activity of PZT ceramics in the MPB area and optimise the performance stability of the material under application temperatures.     

Relationships of tensile strength with crosslink density for the high-carbon black-filled EPDM compounds with various softeners

Equilibrium swelling and rheological tests were adopted to systematically investigate the effects of softener type and dosage on the crosslink densities. The results turned out that the chemical crosslink density could be distinguished from the physical crosslink density by comparing the results of equilibrium swelling and rheological tests. The liquid butadiene (LB) as a softener leads to the greatest reduction in crosslink density, followed by polyethylene wax (PW) and paraffinic oil (PO). The tensile strength decreases with increasing PO content while shows peak values with increase of LB and PW contents. The dependencies of chemical crosslink density on the aging time under 150°C are quite different for the three softeners, which can be expected from the double crosslinking networks consisting of small softener and large main crosslinking networks. Further investigation has been performed to correlate the tensile strength with chemical crosslink density of ethylene propylene diene monomer elastomer vulcanizates. Three different linear relationships can be obtained for the softeners independent of the aging time. It can now be expected from this study that the role of some new softeners in rubber compounds is not only confined to plasticization but also forms crosslinking networks in the peroxide-cured rubbers.     

Effects of Cu on the corrosion behavior and microstructure of Mg–Zn–Ca bulk metallic glass

For the purpose of developing biodegradable magnesium alloys with suitable properties for biomedical applications, Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu metallic glasses were prepared by copper mold injection methods. In the present work, the effect of Cu doping on mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, and glass-forming ability of Mg₆₆Zn₃₀Ca₄ alloy was studied. The experimental findings demonstrated that the incorporation of Cu decreases the corrosion resistance of alloys, but increases the microhardness and degradation rate slightly. However, the addition of a trace amount of Cu can make the samples have antibacterial properties. Therefore, Mg–Zn–Ca–Cu has great advantages in clinical implantation and is the potential implant material.