Interlayer environment engineered MXene: Pre-intercalated Zn^(2+)ions as intercalants renders the modulated Li storage

The intercalation of foreign species into MXene, as an approach of tuning the interlayer environment, is employed to improve electrochemical ion storage behaviors. Herein, to understand the effect of confined ions by the MXene layers on the performance of electrochemical energy storage, Zn^(2+) ions were employed to intercalate into MXene via an electrochemical technique. Zn^(2+) ions induced a shrink of the adjacent MXene layers. Meaningfully, a higher capacity of lithium ion storage was obtained after Zn^(2+) preintercalation. In order to explore the roles of the intercalated Zn^(2+) ions, the structural evolution, and the electronic migration among Zn, Ti and the surface termination were investigated to trace the origination of the higher Li^(+) storage capacity. The pre-intercalated Zn^(2+) ions lost electrons, meanwhile Ti of MXene obtained electrons. Moreover, a low-F surface functional groups was achieved. Contrary to the first shrink, after 200 cycles, a larger interlayer distance was monitored, this can accelerate the ion transport and offer a larger expansile space for lithium storage. This may offer a guidance to understand the roles of the confined ion by two-dimensional(2D) layered materials.

A novel fractal-statistical scaling model of rocks considering strain rate

The scaling-dependent behaviors of rocks are significant to the stability and safe operation of the structures built in or on rock masses for practical engineering.Currently,many size effect models are employed to connect laboratory measurements at small scales and engineering applications at large scales.However,limited works consider the strain rate effect.In this study,an fractal-statistical scaling model incorporating strain rate is proposed based on a weakest-link approach,fractal theory and dynamic fracture mechanics.The proposed scaling model consists of 8 model parameters with physical meaning,i.e.rate-dependent parameter,intrinsic material parameter,dynamic strain rate,quasi-static strain rate,quasi-static fracture toughness,micro-crack size,micro-crack intensity and fractal dimension,enabling the proposed scaling model to model the scaling behaviors under different external conditions.Theoretical predictions are consistent with experimental data on red sandstone,proving the reliability and effectiveness of the proposed scaling model.Thus,the scaling behaviors of rocks under dynamic loading conditions can be captured by the proposed fractal-statistical scaling model.The sensitivity analysis indicates that the nominal strength difference becomes more obvious with a higher strain rate,larger fractal dimension,smaller micro-crack size or lower micro-crack intensity.Therefore,the proposed scaling model has the potential to capture the scaling behaviors considering the thermal effect,weathering effect,anisotropic characteristic etc.,as the proposed scaling model incorporated model parameters with physical meaning.The findings of this study are of fundamental importance to understand the scaling behaviors of rock under dynamic loading condition,and thus would facilitate the appropriate design of rock engineering.

Effects of dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch on flapping-wing forward flights

Birds and bats retract and stretch their wings dynamically during each flap in level flights, implying intriguing mechanisms for the aerodynamic performance improvement of flapping wings. A numerical investigation into the aerodynamic effects of such bio-inspired concept in forward flights has been performed based on a three-dimensional wing in plunging motion and a twosection wing in flapping motion. The currently considered Reynolds number and Strouhal number are Re=1.5×10^(5) and St=0.3, respectively. During the research, the mean angle of attack is varied in relatively wide ranges to achieve lift-thrust interconversion for the wings. The conclusive results show that dynamical spanwise retraction and stretch has induced three absolutely desirable scenarios for the oscillating wings in forward flights, namely producing more lift and consuming less power for a given thrust generation, producing more thrust and consuming less power for a given lift generation, and producing more lift and more thrust while consuming less power. Furthermore,the morphing wings have alleviated periodical aerodynamic load fluctuations compared with the non-morphing baseline. The mechanism of the aerodynamic effects of the bionic morphing mode is analyzed with the aid of field visualization. The current article is the first to reveal the absolute advantages of the bionic spanwise morphing. Hopefully, it may help comprehend the behaviors of natural fliers and provide inspirations for performance enhancement of micro artificial flappingwing vehicles.

A robust optimization method for energy management of CCHP microgrid

Energy management is facing new challenges due to the increasing supply and demand uncertainties,which is caused by the integration of variable generation resources,inaccurate load forecasts and non-linear efficiency curves.To meet these challenges,a robust optimization method incorporating piecewise linear thermal and electrical efficiency curve is proposed to accommodate the uncertainties of cooling,thermal and electrical load,as well as photovoltaic(PV)output power.Case study results demonstrate that the robust optimization model performs better than the deterministic optimization model in terms of the expected operation cost.The fluctuation of net electrical load has greater effect on the dispatching results of the combined cooling,heating and power(CCHP)microgrid than the fluctuation of the cooling and thermal load.The day-ahead schedule is greatly affected by the uncertainty budget of the load demand.The economy of the optimal decision could be achieved by adjusting different uncertainty budget levels according to control the conservatism of the model.

Development of a Bird-like Flapping-wing Aerial Vehicle with Autonomous Take-off and Landing Capabilities

The lack of autonomous take-off and landing capabilities of bird-like flapping-wing aerial vehicles(BFAVs)seriously restricts their further development and application.Thus,combined with the current research results on the autonomous take-off and landing technology of unmanned aerial vehicles,four types of technologies are studied,including jumping take-off and landing technology,taxiing take-off and landing technology,gliding take-off and landing technology,and vertical take-off and landing(VTOL)technology.Based on the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)-comprehensive evaluation method,a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model for the autonomous take-off and landing scheme of a BFAV is established,and four schemes are evaluated concretely.The results show that under the existing technical conditions,the hybrid layout VTOL scheme is the best.Furthermore,the detailed design and development of the prototype of a BFAV with a four-rotor hybrid layout are carried out,and the vehicle performance is tested.The results prove that through the four-rotor hybrid layout design,the BFAV has good autonomous take-off and landing abilities.The power consumption analysis shows that for a fixed-point reconnaissance mission,when the mission radius is less than 3.38 km,the VTOL type exhibits longer mission duration than the hand-launched type.

Multi-ion intercalated Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene and the mutual modulation within interlayer

Intercalation of ions between the adjacent MXene layers can change the interlayer environment and influence the electrochemical ion storage capacity.In order to understand the effect of multi-ions confined by the MXene layers on the performance of electrochemical energy storage,Co^(2+),Mn^(2+)and Ni^(2+)intercalated into Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)MXene which already pre-intercalated Al3+are obtained by spontaneous static action.Based on the monitor of(002)crystal orientation,intercalated multi-ions can regulate and control the interlayer environment of MXenes via stress,which induces lattice shrinkage occurring in the c axis.Limited by ion storage mechanism-performance,the multi-ion occupies the interspace of MXene and affects the electrochemical performance.This work would offer guidance to understand the relationship among the multi-ion and MXene by two-dimensional(2D)layered materials.

Carrier balance and linear magnetoresistance in type-II Weyl semimetal WTe2

Unsaturated magnetoresistance （MR） has been reported in type-II Weyl semimetal WTe2, manifested as a perfect compensation of opposite carriers. We report linear MR （LMR） in WTe2 crystals, the onset of which was identified by constructing the MR mobility spectra for weak fields. The LMR further increased and became dominant for fields stronger than 20 T, while the parabolic MR gradually decayed. The LMR was also observed in high-pressure conditions.