Micromechanical analysis of damage in saturated quasi brittle materials

In this paper, we propose a micromechanical analysis of damage and related inelastic deformation in saturated porous quasi brittle materials. The materials are weakened by randomly distributed microcracks and saturated by interstitial fluid with drained and undrained conditions. The emphasis is put on the closed cracks under compression-dominated stresses. The material damage is related to the frictional sliding on crack surface and described by a local scalar variable. The effective properties of the materials are determined using a linear homogenization approach, based on the extension of Eshelby’s inclusion solution to penny shaped cracks. The inelastic behavior induced by microcracks is described in the framework of the irreversible thermodynamics. As an original contribution, the potential energy of the saturated materials weakened by closed frictional microcracks is determined and formulated as a sum of an elastic part and a plastic part, the latter entirely induced by frictional sliding of microcracks. The influence of fluid pressure is accounted for in the friction criterion through the concept of local effective stress at microcracks. We show that the Biot’s effective stress controls the evolution of total strain while the local Terzaghi’s effective stress controls the evolution of plastic strain. Further, the frictional sliding between crack lips generates volumetric dilatancy and reduction in fluid pressure. Applications of the proposed model to typical brittle rocks are presented with comparisons between numerical results and experimental data in both drained and undrained triaxial tests.     

Global synchronization of weighted cellular neural network with time-varying coupling delays

New sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the global synchronization of the weighted cellular neural network with multiple time delays. Based on Lyapunov theory, this paper proposes an adaptive feedback controlling method to identify the exact topology of a rather general weighted cellular neural network system with time-varying delays and then considers the synchronization of the neural network with different nodes dynamics. The parameters in this paper are very few and experiments show that the methods presented in this paper are of high application in global synchronization.     

Mechanically strengthened new Hagi porcelain developed by controlling the chemical environment of iron

In order to enhance the mechanical strength of Hagi Porcelain (Hagiyaki), one of the oldest and famous potteries in Japan, new preparation condition was examined. Tempered Hagi porcelain, denominated as ‘Hagi Porcelain B’, was prepared with the Porcelain clay originating from Daido district, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. Structural change of ‘Hagi Porcelain B’ was investigated by means of ⁵⁷Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and three-point bending test. Mechanical strength of the ‘original Hagi Porcelain B’ was estimated to be 43.1 MPa by means of the three-point bending test, while much larger value of 104.5 MPa could be achieved when tempered by a chemical modification. Mössbauer spectrum of the ‘original Hagi porcelain B’ was composed of a paramagnetic doublet and a magnetic sextet due to Fe(III) of γ-Fe₂O₃(maghemite), while only one paramagnetic doublet due to to octahedral Fe(II)O₆ was observed for the ‘tempered Hagi Porcelain B’ with isomer shift and quadrupole splitting values of 1.13 and 2.15 mm s^?1, respectively. It is considered that the absence of magnetic phase causes an increase of the mechanical strength because the maghemite phase has a defect spinel structure. These results indicate that mechanical strength of the ‘Hagi porcelain B’ could be enhanced by controlling the sintering condition.     

Physical,hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics of springs in Beijing,China, compared to historical properties

A physical, hydrochemical and isotopic evaluation of springs in Beijing was conducted in 2009 to reveal apparent changes in the properties of those springs. The results showed that most of the 2nd class springs and more than 50 % of the 1st class springs recorded in the early 1980s were depleted, while the discharges of existing springs have also decreased sharply. In addition, the majority of springs were of the HCO₃–Ca–Mg type and good water quality, with the quality indices changing slightly compared to those recorded 30 years ago. The abundances of ²H, ¹⁸O, and ³H in the springs indicated that most of the springs were of meteoric origin with a relatively close connection to modern atmospheric precipitation. As a result, the springs have a relatively strong renewability within a shallow circulation.     

Poly(aryl ether ketone) composite membrane as a high‐performance lithium‐ion batteries separator

We described the design and synthesis of a modified poly(aryl ether ketone) bearing phenolphthalein and allyl groups (P‐PAEK) via nucleophilic polycondensation. A new kind of composite separator, crosslinked P‐PAEK/polyvinylidene fluoride (c‐P‐PAEK/PVDF) membrane was successfully prepared using phase separation, phase inversion method, and UV crosslinking technique. As a separator of lithium‐ion battery, c‐P‐PAEK/PVDF membrane demonstrates high porosity and uniform distribution of pores with interconnected pathways. Low thermal shrinkage, distinct shut‐down effect, high liquid electrolyte uptake capacity, and exciting liquid electrolyte wettability of the prepared c‐P‐PAEK/PVDF membrane have been revealed through comprehensive study. Moreover, the c‐P‐PAEK/PVDF membrane was applied to assemble a conventional Li/LiFePO₄ coin cell, which exhibited hopeful cell performance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2714–2721     

Total synthesis of cannabisin F

A practical eight-step synthesis of lignanamide cannabisin F starting from vanillin is reported for the first time. This synthetic strategy applies the aldol reaction followed by the Wittig reaction to afford the key 8-O-4′-neolignan intermediate diacid. The diacid was condensed with N,O-protected tyramine giving, after deprotection, cannabisin F.     

Effect of F-doping on the properties of LiFePO4-x/3Fx/C cathode materials via wet mechanical agitation-assisted high-temperature ball milling method

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - LiFePO4-x/3Fx/C (x = 0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09) were obtained via wet mechanical agitation-assisted high-temperature ball milling method. XRD, SEM,...     

Molecular dynamics simulations of displacement cascades in Fe-10%Cr systems

Molecular dynamics simulations of the displacement cascades in Fe-10%Cr systems are used to simulate the primary knocked-on atom events of the irradiation damage at temperatures 300,600,and 750 K with primary knockedon atom energies between 1 and 15 keV.The results indicate that the vacancies produced by the cascade are all in the central region of the displacement cascade.During the cascade,all recoil Fe and Cr atoms combine with each other to form Fe-Cr or Fe-Fe interstitial dumbbells as well as interstitial clusters.The number and the size of interstitial clusters increase with the energy of the primary knocked-on atom and the temperature.A few large clusters consist of a large number of Fe interstitials with a few Cr atoms,the rest are Fe-Cr clusters with small and medium sizes.The interstitial dumbbells of Fe-Fe and Fe-Cr are in the 111 and 110 series directions,respectively.