Activation of dislocations in Mg with solute Y

Mg-Y cast alloy shows excellent ductility(elongation to failure>15%)compared with pure Mg and commercial Mg cast alloys.By monitoring the microstructure evolution during an in situ tensile test of a Mg-2.5 wt%Y alloy,we identify the activation of prismatic<c>slip,which is rare in Mg.Synchrotron X-ray micro-beam Laue diffraction(μ-Laue)and transmission electron microscopy revealed the morphology of prismatic<c>slip bands and individual<c>dislocations.Density functional theory and molecular dynamics calculations indicate that solute Y can significantly reduce the stacking fault energy(SFE)along<c>direction on prismatic plane in Mg lattice and thus facilitate the nucleation of<c>dislocations during deformation.The presence of free<c>dislocations in the Mg lattice can also lead to nucleation of{10–12}twins even under unfavorable geometric conditions.

Numerical analysis of water-alternating-CO_(2) flooding for CO_(2)-EOR and storage projects in residual oil zones

Residual oil zones(ROZs)have high residual oil saturation,which can be produced using CO_(2) miscible flooding.At the same time,these zones are good candidates for CO_(2) sequestration.To evaluate the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage perfor-mance in ROZs for Water-Alternating-CO_(2)(WAG)flooding,a multi-compositional CO_(2) miscible model with molecular diffusion was developed.The effects of formation parameters(porosity,permeability,temperature),operation parameters(bottom hole pressure,WAG ratio,pore volume of injected water),and diffusion coeffcient on the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage were investigated.Five points from the CO_(2) sequestration curve and the oil recovery factor curve were selected to help better analyze coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage.The results demonstrate that enhanced performance is observed when formation permeability is higher and a larger volume of water is injected.On the other hand,the performance diminishes with increasing porosity,molecular diffusion of gas,and the WAG ratio.When the temperature is around 100℃,coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage performance is the worst.To achieve optimal miscible flooding,it is recommended to maintain the bottom hole pressure(BHP)of the injection well above 1.2 minimum miscibility pressure(MMP),while ensuring that the BHP of the production well remains sufficiently high.Furthermore,the tapered WAG flooding strategy proves to be profitable for enhanced oil recovery,as compared to a WAG ratio of 0.5:1,although it may not be as effective for CO_(2) sequestration.

Dissociation of edge and screw pyramidal Ⅰ and Ⅱ dislocations in magnesium

Pyramidal dislocations in magnesium (Mg) and other hexagonal close-packed metals play an important role in accommodating plastic strains along the c-axis.Bulk single crystal Mg only presents very limited plasticity in c-axis compression,and this behavior was attributed to out-of-plane dissociation of pyramidal dislocations onto the basal plane and resulted in an immobile dislocation configuration.In contrast,other simulations and experiments reported in-plane dissociation of pyramidal dislocations on their slip planes.Thus,the core structure and mode of dissociation of pyramidal dislocations are still not well understood.To better understand the dissociation behavior of pyramidal dislocations in Mg at room temperature,in this work,atomistic simulations were conducted to investigate four types of pyramidal dislocations at 300 K:edge and screw Py-Ⅰ on{1011},edge and screw Py-Ⅱ on{1122}by using a modified embedded atom method (MEAM) potential for Mg and anisotropic elasticity dislocation model.The results show that when energy minimization was performed before relaxation,in-plane dissociation of edge dislocations on respective pyramidal plane could be obtained at room temperature for all four types of dislocation.Without energy minimization,the edge dislocations dissociated out-of-plane onto the basal plane.Calculations of potential energy and hydrostatic stress of individual atoms at the edge dislocation core show that the extraordinarily high energy and atomic stresses in the as-constructed dislocation structures caused the out-of-plane dissociation onto the basal plane.The core structures of all four types of pyramidal dislocation after in-plane dissociation were analyzed by computing the distribution of the Burgers vector.

Resorcinol-formaldehyde resin-based porous carbon spheres with high CO_2 capture capacities

Porous carbon spheres are prepared by direct carbonization of potassium salt of resorcinol-formaldehyde resin spheres, and are investigated as COadsorbents. It is found that the prepared carbon materials still maintain the typical spherical shapes after the activation, and have highly developed ultra-microporosity with uniform pore size, indicating that almost the activation takes place in the interior of the polymer spheres. The narrow-distributed ultra-micropores are attributed to the "in-situ homogeneous activation"effect produced by the mono-dispersed potassium ions as a form of -OK groups in the bulk of polymer spheres. The CS-1 sample prepared under a KOH/resins weight ratio of 1 shows a very high COcapture capacity of 4.83 mmol/g and good CO/Nselectivity of7-45. We believe that the presence of a welldeveloped ultra-microporosity is responsible for excellent COsorption performance at room temperature and ambient pressure.

Optimal capacity planning of combined renewable energy source-pumped storage and seawater desalination systems

As water scarcity is becoming a growing threat to human development, finding effective solutions has become an urgent need. To make better use of water resources, seawater desalination and storage systems using renewable energy sources(RES) are designed and implemented around the world. In this paper, an optimal capacity planning method for RES-pumped storage-seawater desalination(RES-PS-D) system is introduced. The configuration of the RES-PS-D system is clarified first, after which a cost-benefit analysis is performed using all cost and benefit components. A function for determining maximum economic benefits of the RES-PS-D system is then established, and the constraints are proposed based on various limitations. The mixed-integer linear programming algorithm is applied to solve the optimal function. A case study is introduced to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the method. The conclusion shows that the strategy is suitable for solving the configuration optimization problem, and finally both merits and defects of the method are discussed.

Hemoptysis secondary to pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation: A case report and literature review

Objectives: Pulmonary vein stenosis(PVS) is a known complication after radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation(RAAF) and is often misdiagnosed owing to lack of awareness regarding PVS among noncardiologists.Misdiagnosis results in unnecessary treatment;therefore, greater understanding of PVS can improve the management of these patients.Methods: We report the case of a 38-year-old man with a history of RAAF who presented with massive hemoptysis.His symptoms persisted despite undergoing transcatheter bronchial artery embolization on two occasions.Results: Pulmonary computed tomography angiography revealed a completely occluded left superior pulmonary vein. Considering the patient’s history of RAAF, we diagnosed him with RAAF-induced PVS and performed left superior lobectomy after which hemoptysis did not recur.Conclusions: Unexplained massive hemoptysis should alert clinicians regarding the possibility of RAAF-induced PVS. Balloon angioplasty and stent placement are used to treat PVS;however, their efficacy is controversial considering the high recurrence rates associated with these interventions.

Irreversible electroporation versus radiofrequency ablation for malignant hepatic tumor:A prospective single-center double-arm trial

Objective:Irreversible electroporation(IRE)is a nonthermal ablation technique for the treatment of malignant liver tumors.IRE has demonstrated efficacy and safety in the treatment of malignant liver tumors and its unique advantages in the treatment of nearby vascular lesions.This study aimed to compare the efficacy,safety,and intermediate-term outcomes of IRE and radiofrequency(RF)therapy in malignant liver tumors.Methods:Twenty-four patients with primary or secondary liver malignancies were included in this prospective,double-arm clinical trial.Patients were randomly divided into the IRE and RF groups.The primary outcome was the efficacy(local ablation control evaluation at 90 days).The secondary outcomes were safety(procedure-related complications at≤90 days)and intermediate-term survival(at 24 months).Results:The ablation assessment at 90 days after surgery with m RECIST for IRE versus RF were 70%,20%,0%,and 10%versus 92.9%,7.1%,0%,and 0%(CR,PR,SD,and PD,respectively).The complication rates of IRE versus RF with Clavien-Dindo classification were 16.7%,25%,0%,8.3%,and 8.3%versus 8.3%,50%,0%,0%,and 0%(Grade I,II,Ⅲ,IV,and V,respectively).The average overall survival(OS)was 17.55 months in the IRE group(95%CI 15.13-22.37)and 18.75 months in the RF group(95%CI 12.48-22.61).There was no statistical difference between the IRE and RF groups in terms of efficacy(p=0.48),safety(p=0.887),or 24-month OS(p=0.959).Conclusions:IRE ablation revealed similar efficacy and safety in a short-term follow-up,and similar OS in midterm survival as RF ablation in treating malignant hepatic tumors.

Microscopic Magnetic Origin of Rhombohedral Distortion in NiO

Numerous investigations have been conducted to explore the structural phase transition in antiferromagnetic 3d transition metal monoxides accompanied by appearance of magnetic phase transition. However, how the spins induce distortion in the high symmetric structure has not yet been fully understood. In this study, the monoxide Ni O is used as an example to investigate what lowers the structural symmetry. By comparing two different magnetic structures, our results reveal that the spin–lattice coupling is responsible for such a structural distortion. Then, a spin–lattice model, including the strain component, is constructed to simulate the transition procedure. Moreover, the results from the first-principles calculations are used to compare with our model results.Both first-principles calculations and model simulations clarify the structural phase transition caused by a unique magnetic arrangement.

Numerical investigation of non-uniform temperature fields for proppant and fluid phases in supercritical CO_(2)fracturing

The non-uniform temperature distribution in supercritical CO_(2)(Sc-CO_(2))fracturing influences the density,viscosity,and volume expansion or shrinkage rate of Sc-CO_(2),impacting proppant migration.This study presents a coupled computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method and heat transfer model to examine the effects of proppant bed shape and the heat transfers of proppant-wall,proppant-fluid,and fluid-wall on the fluid and proppant temperature fields.The Sc-CO_(2)volume expansion is assessed under various temperature conditions by evaluating the volume-averaged Sc-CO_(2)density.Several factors,including proppant size,shape,thermal conductivity,concentration,temperature difference,and injection velocity,are carefully analyzed to elucidate their impacts.The findings elucidate the existence of four distinct zones in the fluid temperature field.Each zone exhibits different magnitudes of temperature change under diverse conditions and undergoes dynamic transformations with the development of the proppant bed.The fluid-wall heat transfer and the fluid temperatures in Zones C and D are significantly subject to the fluid injection velocity(governing the heating duration),the temperature difference between fluid and formation(impacting the magnitude of heat flux),and the proppant bed shape(controlling the effective heating area).Additionally,the proppant-wall and proppant-fluid heat transfers determine the temperatures of both the proppant bed and the fluid within Zone B,showing a strong correlation with proppant thermal conductivity,proppant size,injection velocity,and temperature difference.The proposed coupled model provides valuable insights into the temperature distributions and flow behaviors of temperature-dependent fracturing fluids and proppants.

Rare-earth metal catalysts for alkene hydrosilylation

Rare-earth metal catalyzed hydrosilylation of alkenes has emerged as a powerful and selective strategy for the synthesis of organosilanes. This transformation can offer distinctive catalytic sequences and reaction patterns from other catalysts because of the high electropositivity and lack of oxidative-addition process of rare-earth metal. This review summarizes the rare-earth metal catalysts for hydrosilylation of alkene according to the type of ligands. The synthesis and structure of rare-earth metal catalysts,the substrate scope as well as some preliminary structure-activity relationship and mechanism are discussed.