Speciation analysis of arsenic in groundwater from Inner Mongolia with an emphasis on acid-leachable particulate arsenic

Arsenic in drinking water affects millions of people around the world. While soluble arsenic is commonly measured, the amount of particulate arsenic in drinking water has often been overlooked. We report here determination of the acid-leachable particulate arsenic and soluble arsenicals in well water from an arsenic-poisoning endemic area in Inner Mongolia, China. Water samples (583) were collected from 120 wells in Ba Men, Inner Mongolia, where well water was the primary drinking water source. Two methods were demonstrated for the determination of soluble arsenic species (primarily inorganic arsenate and arsenite) and total particulate arsenic. The first method used solid phase extraction cartridges and membrane filters to separate arsenic species on-site, followed by analysis of the individual arsenic species eluted from the cartridges and filters. The other method uses liquid chromatography separation with hydride generation atomic fluorescence detection to determine soluble arsenic species. Analysis of acidified water samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry provided the total arsenic concentration. Arsenic concentrations in water samples from the 120 wells ranged from <1 to ∼1000 μg L⁻¹. On average, particulate arsenic accounted for 39 ± 38% (median 36%) of the total arsenic. In some wells, particulate arsenic was six times higher than the soluble arsenic concentration. Particulate arsenic can be effectively removed using membrane filtration. The information on particulate and soluble arsenic in water is useful for optimizing treatment options and for understanding the geochemical behavior of arsenic in groundwater.     

Limits to Perception by Quantum Monitoring with Finite Efficiency

We formulate limits to perception under continuous quantum measurements by comparing the quantum states assigned by agents that have partial access to measurement outcomes. To this end, we provide bounds on the trace distance and the relative entropy between the assigned state and the actual state of the system. These bounds are expressed solely in terms of the purity and von Neumann entropy of the state assigned by the agent, and are shown to characterize how an agent’s perception of the system is altered by access to additional information. We apply our results to Gaussian states and to the dynamics of a system embedded in an environment illustrated on a quantum Ising chain.     

Impact fracture behavior of nylon-6/ABS blends

Tensile and impact properties of uncompatibilized nylon-6/ABS blends have been studied over the entire range of compositions. The blends were prepared by extrusion and, subsequently, injection molded into tensile specimens and rectangular plaques. The impact fracture performance was characterized using recently proposed models based on fracture mechanics, for various fracture behaviors. The results showed that nylon-6 breaks in a brittle manner. With the addition of ABS, the blend exhibits the same behavior with a slightly lower impact resistance up to about 60 wt %. A sudden jump in the value of impact fracture energy is observed around 70 wt % ABS with a brittle—ductile transition in the mechanism of fracture. The transition in fracture mechanisms is confirmed through observation of the fracture surfaces by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tensile tests showed that the elongation at break increases only slightly between 0 and 50% ABS content, but a significant jump occurs around 70% ABS, reaching a 6-fold increase in comparison to that of the pure components. SEM observation of etched samples shows that a cocontinuous morphology occurs around 70 wt % ABS. The peak observed for the elongation at break and the jump in impact performance, as well as the onset of brittle–ductile transition, are attributed to this morphological effect. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2583–2592, 1997     

Thermoplastic toughening of epoxy resins: a critical review

Thermoplastic toughening of epoxy resins has been actively studied since the early 1980s with considerable progress in property improvement and understanding having been made since then. The main advantage in using thermoplastics to toughen epoxy resins is that their incorporation need not result in significant decreases in desirable properties such as modulus and yield strengths as is generally the case when rubbers are used as toughening agents. However, the predominant criteria for achieving optimum toughness enhancement in the thermoplastic toughening of epoxy resins are still not all that clear from the literature. This review has focused upon the importance of the thermoplastic endgroups, the material's morphology, the ductility of the matrix and the chemical structure of the thermoplastic, it summarizes what the authors believe are the important requirements for good thermoplastic toughening. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

页岩气高效开采的力学问题与挑战

页岩气是指赋存于富含有机质泥页岩中以吸附和游离状态为主要存在方式的天然气,中国资源量丰富,地域分布广泛.页岩气开采能缓解我国常规油气产量不足、煤化石燃料引起环境污染等问题,已成为中国绿色能源开发的重要领域.尽管北美页岩气"革命"取得了成功,目前也仅有预期产量5%～15%的采收率.与北美地区相比,中国页岩气埋藏深,赋存条件差,自然丰度低,因此,高效开采面临更多的困难和挑战.近年来,围绕国家重大能源战略需求,瞄准技术发展前沿,学术界和工业界联合对页岩气高效开采的关键科学和技术问题展开研究.本文结合近三年四川、重庆地区的页岩气试验区块遇到的新问题,针对中国未来3 500 m以下深部开采的新挑战,如地质沉积、裂缝发育构造不同、上覆压力增加、水平应力场变化等新问题,介绍和总结了目前中国页岩气高效开采面临的力学科学问题,主要包括多重耦合下的安全优质钻完井力学理论和方法、水力压裂体积改造和多尺度缝网形成机制、多尺度渗流力学特性与解吸附机理等."深部页岩气高效开采"的研究面向国家重大能源需求,科学意义重大,工程背景明确,需要工程力学、石油工程、地球物理、化学工程和环境工程等多学科专家合作,开展理论研究、物理模拟、数值模拟及现场试验等综合应用基础研究,取得高效开采页岩油气理论与技术的突破.学科交叉是研究页岩气高效开采问题、突破技术瓶颈的桥梁,只有力学与石油工程、地球科学等学科实现深度交叉融合,才能更加有效地推动页岩油气等非常规油气资源的开发.     

Transcrystallization of PTFE fiber/PP composites. II. Effect of transcrystallinity on the interfacial strength

It has been found that transcrystallinity of polypropylene (PP) develops easily on the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fiber surface in spite of the low surface energy of the fiber. Effect of the transcrystallinity on the interfacial strength has been extensively investigated using a single-fiber pull-out test. By controlling the crystallization temperature, range 25–130°C, the thickness of the transcrystalline layer varied from 0 to 175 μm for thick specimens, ca. 1 mm thick. Measurements of the adhesive fracture energy, the interfacial shear strength and the frictional stress were carried out for specimens with different embedded fiber lengths. Results show that interfacial strength and fracture energy are independent of the transcrystalline thickness. The calculated value of interfacial shear strength is 3.6 MPa, and the fracture energy for debonding is 2.1 J/m². The presence of transcrystallinity does not promote the level of adhesion in PTFE/PP composites. However, the frictional stresses at the debonded fiber/matrix interface increase with transcrystalline thickness. It is attributed to the residual stresses which arise from shrinkage when specimens are cooled from crystallization temperature to room temperature. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

褶皱与晶界耦合作用对石墨烯断裂行为的影响

由CVD方法制备的石墨烯含有大量的晶界,通常还带有许多褶皱,本文通过分子动力学方法研究了具有褶皱和晶界的石墨烯 平面拉伸断裂行为,结果显示,在垂直晶界方向,褶皱能够显著提高小角度双晶石墨烯的断裂应力,断裂应力增幅最 大约为50%,褶皱对断裂应力的影响随晶界角的增大减弱,导致双晶石墨烯断裂应力对晶界角不敏感,只略低于单晶石墨 烯,和实验结果完全吻合;在沿晶界方向,褶皱对双晶石墨烯断裂应力影响不明显. 另外,褶皱可以显著提高双晶石墨烯的断 裂应变,增幅最大约为100%. 增强机制归纳主要如下:通过面外变形,褶皱可以部分释放晶界5-7环中C---C键的预拉伸变形, 提高双晶石墨烯的断裂应力;褶皱可以降低相邻5-7环之间相互作用,导致断裂应力对晶界角不敏感;在拉伸作用下,褶皱被部分 拉平,这可以显著降低C---C键面内拉伸变形,导致断裂应变显著增大. 本研究为准确理解多晶石墨烯断裂行为提供重要帮助.      

岩石射孔开裂的初步数值模拟

岩石射孔作业后孔眼周围裂缝分布规律对后续压裂有不可忽视的影响。选取射孔围岩的横切面为研究对象,将三维射孔侵彻过程简化为二维扩孔过程。考虑岩石细观非均匀性,设细观强度参数服从韦布尔分布。应用拉伸破坏准则和Mohr-Coulomb压剪破坏准则,并用模量折减法处理单元开裂,从而用FEPG软件实现了有限元数值模拟。模拟结果表明:射孔后的岩石可根据裂缝产生原因及分布由内而外划分为四个区域:压剪破坏区、拉伸破坏集中区、拉伸破坏扩展区和未破坏区。分析了不同射孔弹规格及围压条件下裂纹分布变化规律。与室内模拟实验结果进行对比分析,初步验证了模型的有效性。     

Experimental investigation of impact of environmental temperature and optimal baseline for thermal attenuation in structural health monitoring based on ultrasonic guided waves

Structural health monitoring (SHM) of any mechanical component is compulsory for its efficient and long-term performance. One of the major challenges to apply SHM technique in real-time inspections is variation in environmental and operating conditions (EOCs). Sometimes the effect of this variation in EOCs is so severe that it influences the SHM system’s response and reduces the accuracy of the inspection process. The goal of current research is to investigate experimentally the impact of environmental temperature on the ultrasonic guided wave signal during damage detection. According to the characteristic of breathing phenomenon of fatigue crack caused by the applied temperature (30 °C–180 °C) under operation condition, behavior of reflection and transmission signal is analyzed in terms of amplitude and group velocity. Based on experiment findings, a wave velocity function has been generated in the Matlab® environment to compute the velocity of acquired signal considering the effect of both temperature and excitation frequency. A corresponding sequence curve is drawn which illustrates that the proposed function is valid when the operating temperature is less than 130 °C because sensor bonding’s characteristics are affected by the further increment in temperature and consequently it would become difficult to illuminate the sole impact of temperature on damage detection results. Impact of temperature on examined material properties and sensor’s bonding strength is also observed in the current study. Analysis of dispersion curves is performed to examine the individual behavior of S0 and A0 wave modes with temperature and to determine the temperature invariant points to reduce the influence of environmental temperature in SHM. Hence current study not only evaluates the impact of temperature on damage detection but also provides an optimal baseline for thermal attenuation in real-time ultrasonic guided wave inspections.     

含水合物粉质黏土压裂成缝特征实验研究

水力压裂技术是一种重要的油气井增产、增注措施,已经广泛应用于页岩油气等非常规资源的商业开采中.目前对于粉质黏土水合物沉积物的水力压裂成缝能力尚不清楚.本文采用南海水合物沉积层的粉质黏土制备沉积物试样,并与实验室配制的粉细砂土沉积物对比,分析粉质黏土沉积物的水力成缝能力及主控因素.实验结果表明含水合物和冰的沉积物破裂压力较高,这与粉质黏土沉积物特殊的应力-应变特征和渗透性有关.当沉积物应变高于6%时, 试样强度迅速上升, 呈现应变强化的特征,对水力拉伸裂缝的扩展具有一定的阻碍作用. 粉质黏土沉积物粒径细小, 渗透性差,难以通过渗透作用传递压力, 提高了沉积层的破裂压力. 此外,粉质黏土水合物沉积层裂缝扩展存在明显延迟效应,说明裂缝扩展受到流体压力和热应力的共同影响. 适当延长注入时间,保持流体与沉积层充分接触, 会起到分解水合物、降低破裂压力的作用.该研究成果有利于深入理解水力裂缝在水合物沉积层中的扩展规律,对探索压裂技术在水合物沉积层开发中的应用具有重要意义.