Valence Bands Convergence in p-Type CoSb_(3) through Electronegative Fluorine Filling

Band convergence is considered to be a strategy with clear benefits for thermoelectric performance,generally favoring the co-optimization of conductivity and Seebeck cofficients,and the conventional means include elemen-tal illing to regulate the band.However,the influence of the most electronegative fuorine on the CoSbg band remains unclear.We carry out density-functional-theory calculations and show that the valence band maximum gradually shifts downward with the increase of fuorine illing,lastly the valence band maximum converges to the highly degenerated secondary valence bands in fuorine-flled skutterudites.The effective degeneracy near the secondary valence band promotes more valleys to participate in electric transport,leading to a carrier mobility of more than the threefold and nearly twofold effective mass for F_(0.1)Co_(4)Sb_(12) compared to Co_(4)Sb_(12).This work provides a new and promising route to boost the thermoelectric properties of p-type skutterudites.

Effect of hydrophilic silica nanoparticles on hydrate formation: Insight from the experimental study

Invasion of drilling fluid into natural gas hydrate deposits during drilling might damage the reservoir,induce hydrate dissociation and then cause wellbore instability and distortion of the data from well logging. Adding nanoparticles into drilling fluid is an effective method in reducing the invasion of drilling fluid and enhancing borehole stability. However, the addition of nanoparticles might also introduce hydrate formation risk in borehole because they can act as the "seeds" for hydrate nucleation. This paper presents an experimental study of the effect of hydrophilic silica nanoparticle on gas hydrate formation in a dynamic methane/liquid-water system. In the experiment, the ultrapure water with and without1.0 wt%–6.0 wt% concentrations of silica nanoparticles, grain sizes of 20 and 50 nm, were pressurized by methane gas under varied conditions of temperature and pressure. The induction time, the gas consumption, and the average rate of gas consumption in the system were measured and compared to those in ultrapure water. The results show that a concentration of 4.0 wt% hydrophilic SiO_2 particles with a grain size of 50 nm has a relatively strong inhibition effect on hydrate formation when the initial experimental condition is 5.0 °C and 5.0 MPa. Compared to ultrapure water, the hydrophilic nano-SiO_2 fluid increases the induction time for hydrate formation by 194% and decreases the amount and average rate of hydrate formation by 10% and 17%, respectively. This inhibition effect may be attributed to the hydrophilicity,amount and aggregation of silica nanoparticle according to the results of water activity and zeta potential measurements. Our work also elucidates hydrophilic, instead of hydrophobic, nanoparticles can be added to the drilling fluid to maintain wellbore stability and to protect the hydrate reservoir from drilling mud damage, because they exhibit certain degree of hydrate inhibition which can reduce the risk of hydrate reformation and aggregation during gas hydrate or deep water drilling if their concentration can be controlled properly.

Effect of grain structure on fatigue crack propagation behavior of Al-Cu-Li alloys

Recrystallization behavior during optimized heat treatments provides a potential to obtain desirable grain structure,which significantly improves the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys.The influence of grain structures on fatigue crack propagation(FCP)behaviors of Al-Cu-Li alloy with hot-rolled(HR)and cold-rolled(CR)was investigated.Subgrain boundaries have a significant impact on small crack growth rates,which is reflected in the pronounced fluctuation of fatigue crack growth of HR specimens after solution treatment.Moreover,the specific cellular structure within grains can improve the deformation capacity of alloys due to their accommodation of plastic deformation,which contributes to the lower fatigue crack growth rates and higher threshold values in HR specimens.The intragranular deflection also decelerates the FCP rate and occurs in these regions of large grain without subgrain boundaries.Recrystallization occurs in the CR specimens,resulting in small anisotropy on the fatigue resistance for the different orientations in the Paris stage due to the recrystallization texture.Fatigue cracks can be deflected and tend to propagate along the grain boundaries when it goes into the grain with a relatively low Schmidt factor value.

Effect on the Performance of Drilling Fluids at Downhole Rock Surfaces at Low Temperatures

To maintain gas hydrate stability, low-temperature drilling fluids and high drilling speeds should be used while drilling in gas hydrate-bearing sediments. The effect of the drilling fluid on downhole rock surfaces at low temperatures is very important to increase the drilling rate. This paper analyzed the action mechanism of the drilling fluid on downhole rock surfaces and established a corresponding evaluation method. The softening effect of six simulated drilling fluids with 0.1 wt.% of four common surfactants and two common organic salts on the downhole rock surface strength was evaluated experimentally using the established method at low temperature. The experimental results showed that the surfactants and organic salts used in the drilling fluids aided in the reduction of the strength of the downhole rock surface, and the established evaluation method was able to quantitatively reveal the difference in the softening effect of the different drilling fluids through comparison with water. In particular, the most common surfactant that is used in drilling fluids, sodium dodecyl sulfate（SDS）, had a very good softening effect while drilling under low-temperature conditions, which can be widely applied during drilling in low-temperature formations, such as natural gas hydrate-bearing sediments, the deep seafloor and permafrost.