Effect of cooling rate on microstructure of friction-stir welded AA1100 aluminum alloy

In this work, the microstructural changes occurring during cooling of friction-stir welded aluminum alloy AA1100 were evaluated. To this end, friction-stir welding (FSW) was performed in a wide range of cooling rates of 20–62 K/s and the evolved microstructures were studied by using electron backscatter diffraction. Below 0.6 T_m (T_m being the melting point), the stir zone material was found to experience no significant changes during cooling. At higher FSW temperatures, however, notable changes occurred in the welded material, including grain growth, sharpening of texture, reduction of the fraction of high-angle boundaries and material softening.     

Boron group element doping of Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 based on microwave sintering

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - We report effectiveness of dopants selected from group 13, such as B, Ga, and In, on the conductivity of Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP) that is recognized as...     

Hydrogen oxidation near the second explosion limit in a flow reactor

This work investigates the oxidation of hydrogen near its second explosion limit in a turbulent flow reactor at pressures of 1 to 8 bar, temperatures of 950 K and an equivalence ratio of 0.035. The concentrations of H₂, O₂ and H₂O are measured along the reactor and simulated using several kinetic models from the literature. These experiments demonstrate evident negative pressure dependence from roughly 1 to 4 bar, with further increases in pressure resuming its positive impact on reaction rates. The simulated and measured species concentrations along the reactor generally agree within a factor of 2.Further investigation is then conducted to measure the rate coefficient of reaction H + O₂ (+ M) = HO₂ (+M) (R2), which is one of the most sensitive reactions in hydrogen's oxidation chemistry at these conditions. This investigation is conducted by using nitric oxide (NO) as a dopant and measuring the resulting, quasi-steady-state concentrations of NO₂. The rate coefficients are obtained at 950 – 1010 K. Combined with literature results, an Arrhenius expression is proposed, $k_{2,0}^{N_2}$ = 4.50 × 10²⁰ (T/K)^?1.73 [cm⁶ mole^?2 s^?1], for the reaction rate at the low-pressure limit over 500 K – 2000 K with N₂ as the bath gas. Simulations using the models from the literature with the proposed Arrhenius expression for this reaction then demonstrate improved agreement with the experiments.     

Enzymatic Extraction of Bioactive and Self‐Assembling Wool Keratin for Biomedical Applications

Keratin is widely recognized as a high‐quality renewable protein resource for biomedical applications. Despite their extensive existence, keratin resources such as feathers, wool, and hair exhibit high stability and mechanical properties because of their high disulfide bond content. Consequently, keratin extraction is challenging and its application is greatly hindered. In this work, a biological extraction strategy is proposed for the preparation of bioactive keratin and the fabrication of self‐assembled keratin hydrogels (KHs). Based on moderate and controlled hydrolysis by keratinase, keratin with a high molecular weight of approximately 45 and 28 kDa that retain its intrinsic bioactivities is obtained. The keratin products show excellent ability to promote cell growth and migration and are conferred with significant antioxidant ability because of their intrinsically high cysteine content. In addition, without the presence of any cross‐linking agent, the extracted keratin can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels. The KHs exhibit a porous network structure and 3D culture ability, showing potential in promoting wound healing. This enzyme‐driven keratin extraction strategy opens up a new approach for the preparation of keratin that can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels for biomedical engineering.     

Synthesis of deuterium-labeled rosuvastatin calcium

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The stable isotope-labeled rosuvastatin was requested in order to fully understand the metabolic process of rosuvastatin. An effective synthesis...     

Mechanical effects of acupuncture

Acupuncture, a physiotherapy, has been widely accepted all around the world. This study focuses on the influence of membrane structures and explains the acupuncture sensations from the aspect of mechanical properties. By mathematical modeling and numerical simulation, the scientific meaning of the acupuncture depth is investigated and phenomena and theory of acupuncture are discussed. The simulation results show that (a) the fascial structure is the main contributor to the force on the needle, the axial force will gradually increase before piercing the fascial, and suddenly decrease after piercing the fascial; (b) there is an inverse relationship between the needle radius and the maximum radial stress, which indicates that the needle should not be too sharp to cause local stress concentration and piece the fascia layer; and (c) the simulation results of comprehensively considering the static friction and sliding friction is identical with the experiment results. This study proposes a preliminary study of mechanical effects of acupuncture manipulation, clarifies key factors affecting the stress on the needle, and explains the objective requirement of acupuncture depth to effective treatment.     

含酰胺结构超低膨胀聚酰亚胺薄膜的热膨胀行为

采用联苯二酐与3种含酰胺结构二胺制备了具有不同取代基团的聚酰胺-酰亚胺薄膜, 考察了酰胺结构对薄膜力学、 耐热及尺寸稳定性的影响, 研究了聚集态结构与薄膜热膨胀行为的关系和规律. 该系列薄膜具有超高强度和优异的耐热性能, 拉伸强度高达280.5 MPa, 玻璃化转变温度在389~409 ℃, 并在30~300 ℃温度范围内表现出超低负膨胀, 热膨胀系数(CTE, ppm/℃, 即10 ⁶ cm·cm ^-1·℃ ^-1)在-3.05~-1.74 ppm/℃之间. 聚集态分析结果表明, 酰胺结构使分子链间形成了强氢键相互作用, 分子链在薄膜面内方向高度有序取向, 并在膜厚方向堆积更为紧密, 使薄膜表现出热收缩现象. 通过不同体积大小的取代基团进一步调控分子链间相互作用及排列堆积, 可实现薄膜在高温下近乎零尺寸形变, 为设计制备超低膨胀聚合物基板材料提供了新思路.