Modelling and dynamic analysis of spline-connected multi-span rotor system

Meccanica - Self-excited oscillation induced by the internal frictions of spline joints is a major cause of rotor system instability. In this study, the dynamic equations of spline-connected...     

Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8‐Derived Au@ZnO for Efficient and Robust Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline

Tetracycline (TC) and other antibiotics accumulated in groundwater and soil pollute ecological environment and threaten human health. Gold nanoparticles doped on photocatalysts are able to enhance the photodegradation efficiency during removing these antibiotics, but preparation of Au nanoparticles of well‐dispersion on photocatalysts remains challenging. In this work, zeolite imidazolate (ZIF‐8) was employed as the precursor to prepare Au@ZnO photocatalyst via impregnation and in‐situ reduction method to efficiently degrade the tetracycline in the aqueous solution. Au nanoparticles are of 10 nm in size and uniformly dispersed on the surfaces of ZnO microstructures. The as‐prepared Au@ZnO is able to remove 85.5% of TC of 0.010 mg/mL within 2 h, presenting higher photocatalytic activity than pure ZnO catalyst. Most importantly, the catalyst shows its superior stability after five cycles without structure and activity changing. The mechanism of the photocatalytic degradation was discussed in detail.     

压电式微滴按需喷射的过程控制和规律

微滴喷射增材制造技术中沉积微滴的大小与均匀性是影响成型件质量的关键因素.本文设计了一种用于生成均匀微滴的压电驱动式微滴喷射装置,通过压电材料带动柔性膜片振动,将液体从喷嘴中喷出生成微滴,采用数值模拟和实验相结合的方法,研究了不同控制参数下膜片振幅及其对生成微滴尺寸和均匀性的影响.研究结果表明:膜片振幅大小受到驱动电压和压电频率的共同影响,压电频率是导致膜片中心点振幅实验测量值小于理论计算值的主要原因,膜片振动会导致喷嘴内部压力发生变化从而影响微滴生成尺寸.在相同驱动电压条件下,压电频率为10 Hz时存在压电膜片振幅最大值.随着膜片振幅的增大,喷孔处液体速度和液柱长度增大到临界值时可以生成微滴,当喷孔处的液柱长度超过临界值时,会形成卫星液滴. 当膜片振幅区间在30 $\mu$m$\sim $42 $\mu $m可以稳定生成微滴,生成最小微滴尺寸为339.8$\mu$m,直径最大变化率为0.29%,相邻两微滴间距最大变化率为2.67%,生成微滴的尺寸及均匀性较好.研究结果有助于提高压电式微滴喷射装置的液滴生成质量.      

Extension/Compression-Controlled Complete Band Gaps in 2D Chiral Square-Lattice-Like Structures

Achieving tunable band gaps in a structure by external stimuli is of great importance in acoustic applications. This paper aims to investigate the tunability of band gaps in square-lattice-like elastic periodic structures that are usually not featured with notable band gaps.Endowed with chirality, the periodic structures here are able to undergo imperfection-insensitive large deformation under extension or compression. The influences of geometric parameters on band gaps are discussed via the nonlinear finite element method. It is shown that the band gaps in such structures with curved beams can be very rich and, more importantly, can be efficiently and robustly tuned by applying appropriate mechanical loadings without inducing buckling. As expected, geometry plays a more significant role than material nonlinearity does in the evolution of band gaps. The dynamic tunability of band gaps through mechanical loading is further studied. Results show that closing, opening, and shifting of band gaps can be realized by exerting real-time global extension or compression on the structure. The proposed periodic structure with well-designed chiral symmetry can be useful in the design of particular acoustic devices.     

The impact of environmental regulations on forest product trade in China

Forest product trade plays an important role in the development of the Chinese forest industry. The trading value of forest product has shown a yearly growth rate of 12% during the last five recent years. Stringent environmental regulations in China have a profound impact on raw material supplies and industrial production in the forest sector; however, their impact on the forest product trade is still unclear. This study applies fixed and random effects models as well as a seemingly unrelated regression model to investigate the impact of environmental regulations on the trade of forest product from 2002 to 2015. The results indicate that the stringent environmental regulations promoted the import but restricted the export of forest product in general. Specifically, the stringent environmental regulations stimulated the import but had an ambiguous impact on the export of the paper product. The stringent environmental regulations had also stimulated the import of wood product but inhibited the export. In contrast, wooden furniture had been affected minimally; only export got slightly negatively affected by environmental regulations. Recommendations for resource managers:

• Trade‐offs between economic growth and environmental regulations are needed to smoothly promote the forest product trade in China.
• Paper and wooden furniture product sectors are less likely to be affected by stringent environmental regulations, because high value‐added products could compensate for environmental costs.
• The wood product sector is more likely to be negatively affected by stringent environmental regulations because environmental costs could severely impact the competitiveness of low value‐added products.

     

Thermal decomposition of model compound of algal biomass

This contribution investigates thermal decomposition of leucine, as a representative model compound for amino acids in algal biomass. We map out potential energy surface for a wide array of unimolecular and self-condensation reactions operating in the decomposition of leucine. Decarboxylation and dehydration of leucine ensues by eliminating CO₂ and –OH, respectively, from the –COOH group attached to the α-carbon. The molecular channel for deamination involves cleavage of NH₂ from α-carbon of leucine. The activation energies for direct elimination of CO₂, NH₃, and H₂O from a leucine molecule lie within 20.7 kJ/mol of each other. Activation energies for these decomposition pathways reside below the bond dissociation enthalpy of H–C(α) of 323.1 kJ/mol. The decarboxylation, deamination, and dehydration pathways, via radical-prompted pathways, systematically require lower energy barriers, in reference to closed-shell reaction corridors. Detailed computations at the CBS-QB3 level provide the Arrhenius rate parameters for the unimolecular and bimolecular reactions, and standard enthalpies of formation, standard entropies, and heat capacities for all the products and intermediates. A kinetic analysis of gas-phase reactions, within the context of a plug-flow reactor model, accounts qualitatively for the formation of major products observed experimentally in the thermal degradation of the condensed-phase leucine. Among notable N-containing species, the model predicts the prevailing of NH₃ over HCN and HNCO, in addition to corresponding appreciable concentrations of amines, imines, and nitriles. Our detailed kinetic investigation illustrates a negligible contribution of the self-condensation reactions of leucine in the gas phase.     

Metal–Organic Framework (MOF)-Derived Carbon-Mediated Interfacial Reaction for the Synthesis of CeO2−MnO2 Catalysts

CeO₂-based catalysts are widely studied in catalysis fields. Developing one novel synthetic approach to increase the intimate contact between CeO₂ and secondary species is of particular importance for enhancing catalytic activities. Herein, an interfacial reaction between metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived carbon and KMnO₄ to synthesize CeO₂−MnO₂, in which carbon is derived from the pyrolysis of Ce-MOFs under an inert atmosphere, is described. The MOF-derived carbon is found to restrain the growth of CeO₂ crystallites under a high calcination temperature and, more importantly, intimate contact within CeO₂/C is conveyed to CeO₂/MnO₂ after the interfacial reaction; this is responsible for the high catalytic activity of CeO₂−MnO₂ towards CO oxidation.     

Nickel Oxide/Graphene Composites: Synthesis and Applications

Nickel oxide (NiO) has emerged as one of the most promising transition-metal oxides (TMOs) for electrochemical capacitors, batteries, catalysis, and electrochromic films, owing to its cost-effectiveness, abundance, and well-defined electrochemical properties. Recent studies have identified that mixing NiO with graphene or graphene derivatives results in novel composites with synergistic effects and superior electrochemical performance. This review summarizes the latest advances in composites of NiO with graphene or graphene derivatives. The synthetic strategies, morphologies, and electrochemical performance of these composites are introduced, as well as their electrochemical applications in supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, catalysis, and so forth. Finally, tentative conclusions and assessments regarding the opportunities and challenges for the future development of these composites and other TMOs/graphene or graphene-derived composites are presented.     

Two-step Estimation for Longitudinal Data When the Working Correlation Matrix is a Linear Combination of Some Known Matrices

Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica, English Series - The generalized estimating equations(GEE) approach is perhaps one of the most widely used methods for longitudinal data analysis. While the GEE...