Cotunnite-Structured Titanium Dioxide and the Hardest known Oxide

Combined theoretical and experimental investigations led to the discovery of a new polymorph of titanium dioxide with titanium nine-coordinated to oxygen in the cotunnite (PbCl 2 ) structure. Hardness measurements on the cotunnite-structured TiO 2 synthesized at pressures above 60 GPa and temperatures above 1000 K reveal that this material is the hardest oxide yet discovered. Furthermore, it is one of the least compressible (with a measured bulk modulus of 431 GPa) and hardest (with a microhardness of 38 GPa) polycrystalline materials studied thus far.     

Metal-doped apatitic calcium phosphates: preparation,characterization, and reactivity in the removal of hydrogen sulfide from gas phase

With the expansion of human activities, there are more and more living areas adjacent to industrial and/or agricultural activities such as chemical processes, petroleum processes, paint finishing, food processing, livestock farming, composting plants etc. Bad odor is part of several nuisances caused by industrial and/or agricultural activities. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a typical odorous molecule which causes foul odor at very low concentration. This molecule is formed in different industrial installations, in particular in coal combustion, and petrochemical refinery. The separation and/or transformation of H₂S from gas phase to odorless products are important processes for sustainable development. In this paper, we communicate the preparation of new sorbents for the sorption of H₂S from a synthetic gas effluent. These sorbents consist in an inorganic phase (hydroxyapatite) as host particles, and well-dispersed particles of a metal oxide as guest particles which are the active phase for the removal of H₂S. At room conditions, iron, lead, and zinc doped calcium phosphates were found to be effective for the removal of H₂S. The performance of the sorbents depends on preparation method and the nature of active phases. This opens new prospects for the treatment of H₂S from gas phase.     

Evaluation of the mechanical properties of PMC interface using slice compression test — Analysis of transfer mechanism of interfacial shear stress

Properties of the fiber/matrix interface in SiO₂/epoxy and SiC/epoxy composite are investigated using the slice compression test (SCT) for the single fiber, where the specimen is loaded and unloaded between a plate which has different mechanical properties. It is found that the interfacial debonding proceeds from the polished surface at a soft plate side and that the fiber protrusion occurs after unloading. The fiber-protrusion length is directly measured at each applied stress level using a scanning electron microscope. Interfacial shear-sliding stress is obtained based on the constant shear-sliding stress analysis employing the obtained protrusion length. It is demonstrated that the value of interfacial shear-sliding stress shows good agreement with that obtained from another technique, the push-out test, on the same system. The relation between the fiber-protrusion length and applied stress is proportional to a certain extent. From this result, it is analytically pointed out that the applied stress has a limiting value in this SCT because of Poisson's effect. Also, two interfacial debonding criteria, which are determined analytically for the PMC, are discussed.     

Influence of gamma radiation on morphology structure,electrochemical corrosion behavior and hardness of Ni–Cr based alloys

This study evaluates the effects of gamma radiation on structure, electrochemical corrosion behavior and Vickers hardness of commercial dental Nikkeli–Kromi–Polttosekoitus [Ni_65.2Cr_22.5Mo_9.5X_2.8 (X=Nb, Si, Fe and Mn)] alloy. The corrosion rate of Ni_65.2Cr_22.5Mo_9.5X_2.8 (X=Nb, Si, Fe and Mn) alloy with 0.5 M HCl is increased with increasing the exposure rate of gamma radiation. The corrosion resistance of Ni_65.2Cr_22.5Mo_9.5X_2.8 (X=Nb, Si, Fe and Mn) is varied and reaches a minimum value at 30 KGy. The corrosion potential value also is varied and reaches its highest value at 30 KGy. The Vickers hardness value of Ni_65.2Cr_22.5Mo_9.5X_2.8 (X=Nb, Si, Fe and Mn) alloy is decreased by increasing the gamma radiation dose. Also it is obvious from our results that the effects of gamma radiation at the surface are much higher as compared with deeper parts and the structure of the alloy is changed due to its exposure to gamma radiation.     

A theoretical and numerical evaluation of the steady-state burning rate of vertically oriented PMMA slabs

The steady state burning rate of vertically oriented slabs of poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) is numerically investigated. Model predictions are compared with measurements and results of the laminar boundary layer (LBL) theory. The numerical model provides a solution of the Favre-averaged Navier–Stokes equations coupled with sub-models for turbulence, combustion, soot production and radiation. The modelling of condensed phase processes is based on the one-dimensional heat transfer equation and pyrolysis is treated as a phase change using the latent heat approach. Results show that the pyrolysing region can be divided into three regions. In the laminar part of the flow (Gr _x < 4.3 × 10⁷), the predicted normalised burning rate, [mdot]″ _p x/μ_∞, is a power-law function of Gr _x with an exponent close to that of the LBL theory, surface re-radiation being the primary source of discrepancies. From the LBL theory for free flow, it is demonstrated that the local burning rate is inversely proportional to the shear velocity gradient. This is globally confirmed by numerical model results. At Gr _x = 4.3 × 10⁷ the change in slope of the burning rate observed experimentally, which indicates the end of the laminar flow region, is reproduced numerically. From Gr _x = 2.5 × 10⁹ model results show that the surface mass flux of pyrolyzate increases with x, in agreement with experimental data in literature.     

Use of Crustacean Shells for Uptake and Removal of Metal Ions in Solution

Abstract

The use of crustacean shells, in particular crab shells, for the removal of metal ions in solution is described. Research studies found in the literature on the ability of the shells, effect of particle size, pH, competitive studies in mixtures of metals, application to real samples such as acid mine drainage, and use of the shells in a column are presented. The major component of the shells that allows uptake to occur is chitin. Several mechanisms are proposed for uptake. There are conflicting accounts in the literature on such areas as the effect of pH, flow rate, and particle size.     

Rates of diffusion controlled reactions for one-dimensionally-moving species in 3D space

ABSTRACT

The asymmetry in diffusion dimensionality between self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters and vacancies is a fundamental feature of irradiation damage in crystals, leading to a defect buildup imbalance that manifests itself as measurable dimensional and mechanical property changes. It is well known that, while vacancies and mobile vacancy clusters diffuse in a three-dimensional (3D) fashion, SIA clusters perform one-dimensional motion along mostly rectilinear trajectories. Despite this, a complete set of kinetic coefficients, including coagulation reaction rates and sink strengths, does not exist for 1D-moving objects. In this paper, we derive analytical expressions for these coefficients from continuum diffusion theory particularised to 1D motion. Moreover, we carry out kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of numerical replicas of the geometry of diffusing particles and sinks to validate the proposed solutions. Our simulations, which are conducted entirely independently from the analytical derivations, reveal excellent agreement with the proposed expressions, adding confidence to their validity. We compare the 1D and 3D cases and discuss their relevance for kinetic codes for damage accumulation calculations.     

LED照明节律效应随年龄的变化

研究了不同色温LED照明时节律效应随年龄的变化规律。在节律因子计算公式中,引入不同年龄人眼的透射谱,分析LED色温和年龄对节律因子的影响。然后,测量了12名老年和18名青年男性在黑暗状态下以及照度为500 lx、不同色温LED照明时的心率,采用黑暗状态与照明状态的心率变化表征节律效应,来验证所得的理论规律。结果表明:色温为6 500,5 500,4 500,3 500 K的LED照明时,青年人(20岁)的节律因子分别为1.1,0.7,0.5,0.44,不同色温LED照明时心率变化率差异明显;老年人(65岁)的节律因子分别为0.5,0.3,0.25,0.2,不同色温下心率变化较小。在同一色温LED照明时,节律效应随着年龄的增加而减小。LED色温不同时,青年人节律因子的变化较大,老年人则变化较小。     

Exponential distributions on semigroups

Three fundamental characterizations of the standard exponential distribution on [0, ) are the remaining life, memoryless and constant failure properties. Analogs of these properties are studied for distributions on a class of semigroups in which the semigroup operation replaces addition, a compatible partial order replaces the ordinary order, and a left-invariant measure replaces Lebesgue measure. Partial characterizations of exponential distributions on such semigroups are obtained and the semigroup formulation provides new characterizations of certain aging properties studied in reliability-increasing failure rate, new better than used, and increasing failure rate average.