Preparation and antifouling performance of thin inorganic ultrafiltration membrane via assisted sol-gel method with different composition of dual additives

A novel TiO₂ thin film was prepared on the ceramic hollow fiber by the sol-gel method using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as additives. SEM images verified the formation of TiO₂ layer with various thickness using different composition of titania sols. The effect of the PVP and PVA contents on the TiO₂ sol properties, the separation and the antifouling performance of the ultrafiltration membranes were investigated thoroughly. When the contents of PVP and PVA were 1.0 wt% and 0.8 wt%, respectively, the resultant membrane showed a thickness of 0.55 μm with a pure water flux of 255 L m^?2 h^?1. In addition, the adherent foulant bovine serum albumin was applied to evaluate the antifouling performance. During the three fouling-recovery cycles, the flux recovery ratio and the flux decay ratio maintained about 99% and 30%. The BSA flux and rejection were still 169 L m^?2 h^?1 and 96.9% after the cycles, indicating a superior antifouling property.     

基于蜻蜓翅脉结构的连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料仿生设计与增材制造

以具有轻质高强优异性能的蜻蜓翅脉结构为设计灵感，在分析翅脉网格结构抗冲击原理的基础上，设计了传统和仿生两类对比结构。采用熔融挤出3D打印机成功制备了具有不同结构的连续碳纤维增强聚乳酸复合材料试样，并对不同结构复合材料试样的拉伸性能和抗冲击性能进行了测试和对比分析。研究分析结果表明：由于拉伸力方向上的连续碳纤维含量相对较少，限制了仿生结构复合材料抗拉强度的提高，但仿生结构的平均抗拉强度为传统结构的1.18倍；当仿生结构复合材料试样受到冲击力时，其内部六边形结构的连接角度会发生变化，从而极大消耗冲击能量，同时具有六边形网格结构的连续碳纤维可以有效阻碍裂纹的扩展，因此仿生结构的平均冲击韧性可以达到传统结构的2.46倍；仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构可以显著提高增材制造复合材料的综合力学性能，且对于抗冲击性能的提高具体突出效果。连续碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料的有效可行的仿生蜻蜓翅脉结构设计和增材制造，可极大扩展其在高冲击载荷领域中的相应应用。     

超亲水毛细芯环路热管启动及热性能分析

为解决电子设备高热通量下的散热问题，采用H₂O₂氧化法对烧结毛细芯进行了超亲水改性，研究了毛细芯表面润湿性对吸液性能的影响。并将改性后的超亲水毛细芯应用到环路热管内，研究了倾斜角度及加热功率对超亲水毛细芯环路热管的换热特性的影响。实验结果表明：超亲水毛细芯的吸液速度增加，吸液时间较亲水毛细芯减小了3.52ms；与普通亲水毛细芯环路热管相比，在加热功率Q=200W时，超亲水毛细芯环路热管蒸发器中心温度降低了约6.0℃，在Q=20W时启动时间与温度分别降低了33s与2.5℃。同时发现超亲水毛细芯环路热管在正重力状态时的运行温度更低，热阻较小，最低热阻仅为0.084℃/W。     

不同工质回路热管负载功率变化下的质量流量特性

为了进一步提高回路热管仿真精度并丰富回路热管实验研究方法，本文对回路热管瞬态传质进行实验研究。使用高精度质量流量计分别对以丙酮、乙醇、丙烯为工质的回路热管进行不同负载功率下的质量流量测量研究。结果表明：启动阶段，热负载10W时，丙烯回路比丙酮回路热管启动快，且两者的温度稳定均滞后于质量流量；稳定阶段，随着热负载功率增大，不同工质的回路热管的平均质量流量均线性增长，而瞬态质量流量则持续波动，其质量流量波动幅度均呈现先减小后增大的趋势。质量流量波动幅度会受到气体工质的可压缩性与作用在毛细芯内部上的热量的共同影响。通过频谱分析发现，液相质量流量波动还会受到冷凝器两相区的影响。高热负载下，作用在毛细芯内部上的热量占主导地位，质量流量波动加剧，同时出现周期性大幅波动，且其波动频率随着热负载增大而增大。     

Piezoresistive in-situ strain sensing of composite laminate structures

Various methods have been developed to monitor the health and strain state of carbon fiber reinforced polymers, each with a unique set of pros and cons. This research assesses the use of piezoresistive sensors for in situ strain measurement of carbon fiber and other composite structures in multidirectional laminates. The piezoresistive sensor material and the embedded circuitry are both evaluated. For the piezoresistive sensor, a conductive nickel nanocomposite sensor is compared with the piezoresistivity of the carbon fiber itself. For the circuit, the use of carbon fibers already present in the structure is compared with the use of nickel coated carbon fiber. Successful localized strain sensing is demonstrated for several sensor and circuitry configurations. Numerous engineering applications are possible in the ever-growing field of carbon-composites.     

Physical characteristics of AFEX-pretreated and densified switchgrass,prairie cord grass,and corn stover

The goal of the study was to evaluate and compare the physical properties of control, pretreated and densified corn stover, switchgrass, and prairie cord grass samples. Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX) pretreated switchgrass, corn stover, and prairie cord grass samples were densified by using the comPAKco device developed by Federal Machine Company of Fargo, ND. The densified biomass were referred as “PAKs” in this study. All feedstocks were ground into three different grind size of 2, 4 and 8 mm prior to AFEX pretreatment and the impact of grinding on pellet properties was studied. The results showed that the physical properties of AFEX-PAKed material were not influenced by the initial grind size of the feedstocks. The bulk density of the AFEX-PAKed biomass increased by 1.2–6 fold as compared to untreated and AFEX-pretreated materials. The durability of the AFEX-PAKed materials were between 78.25 and 95.2%, indicating that the AFEX-PAKed biomass can be transported easily. To understand the effect of storage on the physical properties of these materials, samples were stored in the ambient condition (20 ± 2 °C and 70 ± 5% relative humidity) for six months. After storage, thermal properties of the biomass did not change but glass transition temperature decreased. The water absorption index and water solubility index of AFEX-treated and AFEX-PAKed biomass showed mixed trends after storage. Moisture content decreased and durability increased upon storage.     

生物质纤维和改性木质素对聚乳酸结晶性能的影响

采用改性木质素(MZS)作为成核剂,生物质纤维(BF)作为增强剂,通过双螺杆挤出机制备了生物降解的聚乳酸(PLA)/BF/MZS材料。采用差式扫量热仪(DSC)、电子万能试验机和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)分析了BF和MZS对PLA材料性能的影响。结果表明,BF和MZS有效提高了PLA的结晶能力和力学性能。当BF和MZS的含量分别为15%和1%时,PLA材料结晶度提高至67.1%,在50℃/min降温速率下仍具有较高的结晶能力。105℃等温结晶时,15%BF和1%MZS的PLA材料半结晶时间降低至9.0 s,比纯PLA缩短了72.2%。当PLA含有3%BF和1%MZS时,拉伸强度和冲击强度分别为70.1 MPa和7.4 kJ/m^2,比纯PLA分别提高了7.8%和10.4%,根据SEM显示,当BF含量为3%时,在PLA材料中分布较均匀。     

Event-triggered variable horizon Supervisory Predictive control of hybrid power plants

The supervision of a hybrid power plant, including solar panels, a gas microturbine and a storage unit operating under varying solar power profiles is considered. The Economic Supervisory Predictive controller assigns the power references to the controlled subsystems of the hybrid cell using a financial criterion. A prediction of the renewable sources power is embedded into the supervisor. Results deteriorate when the solar power is unsteady, owing to the inaccuracy of the predictions for a long-range horizon of 10 s. The receding horizon is switched between an upper and a lower value according to the amplitude of the solar power trend. Theoretical results show the relevance of horizon switching, according to a tradeoff between performance and prediction accuracy. Experimental results, obtained in a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) framework, show the relevance of the variable horizon approach. Power amplifiers allow us to simulate virtual components, such as a gas microturbine, and to blend their powers with that of real devices (storage unit, real solar panels). In this case, fuel savings, reaching 15%, obtained under unsteady operating conditions lead to a better overall performance of the hybrid cell. The overall savings obtained in the experiments amount to 12%.