High-performance silicon nanowire array photoelectrochemical solar cells through surface passivation and modification

Nanowire solar cells: Pt nanoparticle (PtNP) decorated C/Si core/shell nanowire photoelectrochemical solar cells show high conversion efficiency of 10.86 % and excellent stability in aggressive electrolytes under 1-sun AM 1.5 G illumination. Superior device performance is achieved by improved surface passivation of the nanowires by carbon coating and enhanced interfacial charge transfer by PtNPs.     

Local defects enhanced dehydrogenation kinetics of the NaBH(4)-added Li-Mg-N-H system

A mechanistic understanding on the enhanced kinetics of hydrogen storage in the NaBH(4)-added Mg(NH(2))(2)-2LiH system is provided by carrying out experimental investigations associated with first-principles calculations. It is found that the operating temperatures for hydrogen desorption of the Mg(NH(2))(2)-2LiH system are reduced by introducing NaBH(4), and the NaBH(4) species seems almost unchanged during dehydrogenation/hydrogenation process. First-principles calculations reveal that the presence of NaBH(4) in the Mg(NH(2))(2)-2LiH system facilitates the formation of Mg vacancies in Mg(NH(2))(2). The appearance of Mg vacancies not only weakens the N-H bonds but also promotes the diffusion of atoms and/or ions, consequently resulting in the improvement of the reaction kinetics of hydrogen desorption/absorption of the NaBH(4)-added Mg(NH(2))(2)-2LiH system. This finding provides us with a deep insight into the role played by NaBH(4) in the Li-Mg-N-H system, as well as ideas for designing high-performance catalysts for metal-N-H-based hydrogen storage media.     

Droplet-driven transports on superhydrophobic-patterned surface microfluidics

Droplet-based transport phenomena driven by surface tension have been explored as an automated pumping source for a number of chemical and biological applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation of unconventional droplet-based motions on a superhydrophobic-patterned surface microfluidic (S(2)M) platform. The S(2)M surfaces are monolithically fabricated using a facile two-step laser micromachining technique on regular polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chemistry. Unlike the traditional droplet-driven pumps built on an enclosed microfluidic network, the S(2)M network pins the liquid-solid interface of droplets to the lithographically defined wetting boundary and establishes a direct linkage between the volumetric and hydraulic measures. Moreover, diverse modes of droplet motions are theoretically determined and experimentally characterized in a bi-droplet configuration, among which several unconventional droplet-driven transport phenomena are first demonstrated. These include big-to-small droplet merging, droplet balancing, as well as bidirectional transporting, in addition to the classic small-to-big droplet transition. Furthermore, multi-stage programmable bidirectional pumping has been implemented on the S(2)M platform, according to the newly established droplet manipulation principle, to illustrate its potential use for automated biomicrofluidic and point-of-care diagnostic applications.     

Recent Progress in Digital Image Correlation

In this paper, we report the following important progress recently made in the basic theory and practical implementation of digital image correlation (DIC) for deformation measurement. First, we answer a basic but confusing question to the users of DIC: what is a good speckle pattern for DIC? We present a simple, easy-to-compute yet effective global parameter, called mean intensity gradient, for quality assessment of the entire speckle pattern. Second, we provide an overview of various correlation criteria used in DIC for evaluating the similarity of the reference and deformed subsets, and demonstrate the equivalence of three robust and most widely used correlation criteria, i.e., a zero-mean normalized cross-correlation (ZNCC) criterion, a zero-mean normalized sum of squared difference (ZNSSD) criterion and a parametric zero-mean normalized sum of squared difference (PSSD_ab) criterion with two additional unknown parameters, which elegantly unifies these correlation criteria for subset-based pattern matching. Third, we describe an iterative least squares (ILS) algorithm for accurate subpixel motion detection, which is proved to be equivalent to the existing Newton–Raphson algorithm, but the principle and implementation of ILS algorithm is more straightforward and easier. Finally, to overcome the two limitations of existing subset-based DIC technique, we introduce a robust and generally applicable reliability-guided DIC technique, in which the calculation path is guided by the ZNCC coefficients of computed points, to determine the genuine full-field deformation of an object with complex shape.     

Non-linear principal resonance of an orthotropic and magnetoelastic rectangular plate

Based on the von Karman plate theory of large deflection, we have derived a non-linear partial differential equation for the vibration of a thin orthotropic plate under the combined action of a transverse magnetic field and a transverse harmonic mechanical load. The influence of the magnetic field is due to the magnetic Lorentz force induced by the eddy current. By employing the Bubnov-Galerkin method, the non-linear partial differential equation is transformed into a third-order non-linear ordinary differential equation. The amplitude-frequency equations are further derived by means of the multiple-scale method. As numerical examples for an orthotropic plate made of silver, the influence of the magnetic field, orthotropic material property, plate thickness, and the mechanical load on the principal resonance behavior is investigated. The higher-order effect and stability of the solution are also discussed.     

Artificial neural network prediction to the hot compressive deformation behavior of Al–Cu–Mg–Ag heat-resistant aluminum alloy

The behavior of the flow stress of Al-Cu-Mg-Ag heat-resistant aluminum alloys during hot compression deformation was studied by thermal simulation test. The temperature and the strain rate during hot compression were 340-500 °C, 0.001 s⁻¹ to 10 s⁻¹, respectively. Constitutive equations and an artificial neural network (ANN) model were developed for the analysis and simulation of the flow behavior of the Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloys. The inputs of the model are temperature, strain rate and strain. The output of the model is the flow stress. Comparison between constitutive equations and ANN results shows that ANN model has a better prediction power than the constitutive equations.     

Numerical study on magneto-convection of cold water in an open cavity with variable fluid properties

The aim of the present study is to understand the problem of buoyancy and thermocapillary induced convection of cold water near its density maximum in an open cavity with temperature dependent properties in the presence of uniform external magnetic field. The governing equations are solved by the finite volume method. The results are discussed for various values of reference temperature parameter, density inversion parameter, Rayleigh, Hartmann and Marangoni numbers. It is observed that the temperature of maximum density leaves strong effects on fluid flow and heat transfer due to the formation of bi-cellular structure. Convection heat transfer is enhanced by thermocapillary force when buoyancy force is weakened.