Dynamic Simulation and Test Verifcation of Hydraulic Automatic Tensioner for an Engine Timing Chain Drive System

As a fundamental component of an automobile engine’s timing chain drive system, the hydraulic automatic tensioner signifcantly enhances fuel economy while minimizing system vibrations and noise. However, there is a noticeable lack of research on automatic hydraulic tensioners. This study presents a comprehensive calculation approach for the principal parameters of a hydraulic automatic tensioner. An efective method, grounded in hydraulics and multibody dynamics, was introduced for estimating the dynamic response of such a tensioner. The simulation model developed for the hydraulic tensioner is characterized by its rapid dynamic response, consistent operation, and high accuracy. The dynamic behavior of the tensioner was analyzed under varying boundary conditions, using sinusoidal signal excitation. It was observed that the maximum damping force increases with a decreasing leakage gap. Conversely, an increase in oil temperature or air content leads to a decrease in the maximum damping force. The reaction forces derived from these calculations align well with experimental results. This calculation and simulation approach ofers considerable value for the design of innovative hydraulic tensioners. It not only streamlines the design phase, minimizes the number of trials, and reduces product costs, but also provides robust insights for evaluating the performance of hydraulic tensioners.

MXene-coated silk-derived carbon cloth toward flexible electrode for supercapacitor application

Flexible supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices in wearable smart electronics. Exploring cost-efficient electrodes with high capacitance would promote the wide-scale application of such capacitors. Herein, in order to explore a methodology for preparing low cost, flexible, tough, and up-scalable supercapacitor electrodes, silk textile is directly carbonized to make a conductive free-standing textile substrate. Through mildly baking the surfactant-free TiCTflakes suspension loaded on the carbonized silk cloth, a uniform and adhesive coating consisting of nanometer-thick TiCTflakes is well established on the conductive fabric support, forming a MXene-coated flexible textile electrode. The fabricated electrode exhibits a high areal capacitance of 362 m F/cm~2 with excellent cyclability and flexibility. Moreover,capacitance changes neglegibly under the bending deformation mode. This study elucidates the feasibility of using silk-derived carbon cloth from biomss for MXene-based flexible supercapacitor.

Corrigendum to“MXene-coated silk-derived carbon cloth toward flexible electrode for supercapacitor application”[J.Energy.Chem.27(2018)161–166]

The authors regret that the printed version of the above article contained some errors.(1)The SEM images of CSC and CSC@Ti3C2Tx electrode in Fig.1 are corrected to reflect the originality of the images.

Hydrolysis mechanism of YbB_(2)C_(2)and the microstructure of the carbon derived from the hydrolysis reaction

Carbide-derived carbon(CDC)materials have gained great attention due to the excellent properties for various potential applications.Here,graphite crystal is formed during a room-temperature hydrolysis pro-cess of layered compound YbB_(2)C_(2).The formation mechanism can be demonstrated by a YbB_(2)C_(2)molecular cell:Yb^(3+)acts as a cathode where H_(2)O molecule is reduced to H atom and OH^(−)ion,while(B_(2)C_(2))^(3−)acts as an anode where OH−ion is oxidized to O atom.Then,YbB_(2)C_(2)molecular cell begins to disintegrate,i.e.,Yb^(3+)ion,B and C atoms dissociate from the molecular cell.The as-produced C atoms combine to form graphite crystal.The initial graphite crystal is a cabbage-like microsphere,and then it gradually disintegrates and transforms into layered graphite.In addition,YbB_(6),Yb_(3)(OH)_(3)n(BO_(3))_((3-n))sol,hydrogen,hydrocarbons,and carbon oxides form simultaneously.Our method provides a general and inexpensive route to obtain carbide-derived graphite crystal.

Engineering of cofactor preference and catalytic activity of methanol dehydrogenase by growth-coupled directed evolution

Methanol,produced from carbon dioxide,natural gas,and biomass,has drawn increasing attention as a promising green carbon feedstock for biomanufacturing due to its sustainable and energy-rich properties.Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NAD^(+))-dependent methanol dehydrogenase(MDH)catalyzes the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde via NADH generation,providing a highly active C1 intermediate and reducing power for subsequent biosynthesis.However,the unsatisfactory catalytic efficiency and cofactor bias of MDH significantly impede methanol valorization,especially in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADP^(+))-dependent biosynthesis.Herein,we employed synthetic NADH and NADPH auxotrophic Escherichia coli strains as growth-coupled selection platforms for the directed evolution of MDH from Bacillus stearothermophilus DSM 2334.NADH or NADPH generated by MDH-catalyzed methanol oxidation enabled the growth of synthetic cofactor auxotrophs,establishing a positive correlation between the cell growth rate and MDH activity.Using this principle,MDH mutants exhibiting a 20-fold improvement in catalytic efficiency(k_(cat)/K_(m))and a 90-fold cofactor specificity switch from NAD^(+)to NADP+without a decrease in specific enzyme activity,were efficiently screened from random and semi-rationally designed libraries.We envision that these mutants will advance methanol valorization and that the synthetic cofactor auxotrophs will serve as versatile selection platforms for the evolution of NAD(P)^(+)-dependent enzymes.

Directed evolution of a neutrophilic and mesophilic methanol dehydrogenase based on high-throughput and accurate measurement of formaldehyde

Methanol is a promising one-carbon feedstock for biomanufacturing,which can be sustainably produced from carbon dioxide and natural gas.However,the efficiency of methanol bioconversion is limited by the poor catalytic properties of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NAD^(+))-dependent methanol dehydrogenase(Mdh)that oxidizes methanol to formaldehyde.Herein,the neutrophilic and mesophilic NAD^(+)-dependent Mdh from Bacillus stearothermophilus DSM 2334(Mdh_(Bs))was subjected to directed evolution for enhancing the catalytic activity.The combination of formaldehyde biosensor and Nash assay allowed high-throughput and accurate measurement of formaldehyde and facilitated efficient selection of desired variants.Mdh_(Bs)variants with up to 6.5-fold higher K_(cat)/K_(M)value for methanol were screened from random mutation libraries.The T153 residue that is spatially proximal to the substrate binding pocket has significant influence on enzyme activity.The beneficial T153P mutation changes the interaction network of this residue and breaks theα-helix important for substrate binding into two shortα-helices.Reconstructing the interaction network of T153 with surrounding residues may represent a promising strategy to further improve Mdh_(Bs),and this study provides an efficient strategy for directed evolution of Mdh.

Raman Spectroscopy of Layered Compound YbB_(2)C_(2)

REB_(2)C_(2)(RE=Y and lanthanides)compounds have gained attention for their unique layered crystal structure.However,there have been few reports about Raman spectroscopy of REB_(2)C_(2) compounds up to now.Here,the Raman spectrum of YbB_(2)C_(2) is obtained by a micro-Raman spectroscope and the first-principles calculations.Raman active vibrational modes of YbB_(2)C_(2) are confirmed as A_(1g)(627 and 1311 cm^(-1)),B_(1g)(944 and 1172 cm^(-1)),B_(2g)(330 and 885 cm^(-1))and E_(g)(357 and 530 cm^(-1)).Atomic displacements of these modes are different,they can be divided into two groups:A_(1g)’,B_(1g) and B_(2g) correspond to ring breathing(δ_(in),in the plane)of B_(2)C_(2) layer;E_(g) is due to ring deformation(δ_(oop),out of the plane)of B_(2)C_(2) layer.These results are helpful to understand the individual structure of REB_(2)C_(2).