Anti-aging performance improvement and enhanced combustion efficiency of boron via the coating of PDA

Boron is an ambitious fuel in energetic materials since its high heat release values,but its application is prohibited by low combustion efficiency and oxidization during storage.The polydopamine(PDA)was introduced into boron particles,investigating the impact of PDA content on the energetic behavior of boron.The results indicated that the PDA coating formed a fishing net structure on the surface of boron particles.The heat release results showed that the combustion calorific value of B@PDA was higher than that of the raw boron.Specifically,the actual combustion heat of boron powder in B@10%PDA increased by 38.08%.Meanwhile,the DSC peak temperature decreased by 100.65℃under similar oxidation rate compared to raw boron.Simultaneously,the B@PDA@AP and B@AP composites were prepared,and their combustion properties were evaluated.It was demonstrated that B@10%PDA@AP exhibited superior performance in terms of peak pressure and burning time,respectively.The peak pressure is 12.43 kPa more than B@AP and burning time is 2.22 times higher than B@AP.Therefore,the coating of PDA effectively inhibits the oxidization of boron during storage and enhances the energetic behavior of boron and corresponding composites.

Modification and Experimental Verification of the Performance Improvement of Domestic Dehumidifiers

After optimizing the compressor design,condenser tube diameter,and tube row arrangement,air supply volumetric flow rate,and refrigerant charge of the domestic dehumidifier.The optimized design schemes were obtained from the original combinations by non-dominated sorting,and the optimized design schemes were experimentally verified under three environmental conditions according to the test method of T/CAS 342-2020 to obtain a complete idea of dehumidifier multi-component improvement.The results show that the dehumidifying capacity of Scheme 5 is slightly increased by 2.5%at 27℃/60%RH,and its energy factor is significantly increased by 24.6%.When the air supply volumetric flow rate was increased from 210 to 268 m^(3)·h^(-1),the air supply temperature was reduced by 1.7℃,improving comfort.Under environmental conditions with higher dehumidification demand,i.e.,at 35℃/90%RH,the energy factor of Scheme 4 can reach 4.3 L·kW^(-1)·h^(-1),which is 34.4%higher than the original scheme,and the gap is further widened.The application of the 5 mm tube diameter condenser in dehumidifiers reduces the amount of refrigerant charge by 25.9%,reduces the cost by 7.5%,and strengthens the heat transfer effect and the homogeneity of the two-phase mixing,which shows the great application potential.

Direct Yaw Moment Control for Distributed Drive Electric Vehicle Handling Performance Improvement

For a distributed drive electric vehicle（DDEV） driven by four in-wheel motors, advanced vehicle dynamic control methods can be realized easily because motors can be controlled independently, quickly and precisely. And direct yaw-moment control（DYC） has been widely studied and applied to vehicle stability control. Good vehicle handling performance： quick yaw rate transient response, small overshoot, high steady yaw rate gain, etc, is required by drivers under normal conditions, which is less concerned, however. Based on the hierarchical control methodology, a novel control system using direct yaw moment control for improving handling performance of a distributed drive electric vehicle especially under normal driving conditions has been proposed. The upper-loop control system consists of two parts： a state feedback controller, which aims to realize the ideal transient response of yaw rate, with a vehicle sideslip angle observer; and a steering wheel angle feedforward controller designed to achieve a desired yaw rate steady gain. Under the restriction of the effect of poles and zeros in the closed-loop transfer function on the system response and the capacity of in-wheel motors, the integrated time and absolute error（ITAE） function is utilized as the cost function in the optimal control to calculate the ideal eigen frequency and damper coefficient of the system and obtain optimal feedback matrix and feedforward matrix. Simulations and experiments with a DDEV under multiple maneuvers are carried out and show the effectiveness of the proposed method： yaw rate rising time is reduced, steady yaw rate gain is increased, vehicle steering characteristic is close to neutral steer and drivers burdens are also reduced. The control system improves vehicle handling performance under normal conditions in both transient and steady response. State feedback control instead of model following control is introduced in the control system so that the sense of control intervention to drivers is relieved.

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OF CENTRIFUGAL FAN BY MEANS OF NUMERICAL SIMULATION

Numerical simulation is used to investigate the flow field in a model centrifugal fan for steam power stations in order to improve the performance. During testing the model fan, it is found that the efficiency is only 62.5% with inlet box, without it the efficiency is 83%. In addition, the strong vibration of test rig is observed with inlet box. It would be highly desirable if the aerodynamics of the fan could be studied. Therefore, numerical simulation is carried out to investigate the internal flow characteristics of a model fan with inlet box. The results from CFD analysis show that the whole region of the inlet box is occupied by a spiral vortex rotating inversely as the rotor＇s direction, which significantly affect the most flow＇region inside the fan. For this reason, a dummy plate is arranged in the inlet box to impede the generation of the spiral vortex, the results from CFD after the reform demonstrate that the modification is quiet effective, the former large spiral vertex has been destroyed effectively, the large one is superseded in favor of two small vortexes. However, two small vortexes have little effect on the inner flow of the rotor and the following parts. Finally, the efficiency of the model fan is improved by the test and the strong vibration of the test rig disappears. This type of modification has been used in steam power stations, the fan efficiency raises to 84% successfully.

Performance Improvement of GaN-Based Violet Laser Diodes

The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and AlGaN electron-blocking layers (EBL) on the performance of GaN-based violet laser diodes are investigated. Compared with the InGaN/GaN MQWs grown at two different temperatures, the same-temperature growth of InGaN well and GaN barrier layers has a positive effect on the threshold current and slope efficiency of laser diodes, indicating that the quality of MQWs is improved. In addition, the performance of GaN laser diodes could be further improved by increasing Al content in the AlGaN EBL due to the fact that the electron leakage current could be reduced by properly increasing the barrier height of AlGaN EBL. The violet laser diode with a peak output power of 20 W is obtained.

Performance improvement of continuous carbon nanotube fibers by acid treatment

Continuous CNT fibers have been directly fabricated in a speed of 50 m/h-400 m/h,based on an improved chemical vapor deposition method.As-prepared fibers are further post-treated by acid.According to the SEM images and Raman spectra,the acid treatment results in the compaction and surface modification of the CNTs in fibers,which are beneficial for the electron and load transfer.Compared to the HNO3 treatment,HClSO_3 or H_2SO_4 treatment is more effective for the improvement of the fibers＇ properties.After HCISO_3 treatment for 2 h,the fibers＇ strength and electrical conductivity reach up to-2 GPa and-4.3 MS/m,which are promoted by-200%and almost one order of magnitude than those without acid treatment,respectively.The load-bearing status of the CNT fibers are analyzed based on the downshifts of the G＇ band and the strain transfer factor of the fibers under tension.The results reveal that acid treatment could greatly enhance the load transfer and inter-bundle strength.With the HCISO3 treatment,the strain transfer factor is enhanced from-3.9%to-53.6%.

Improved Performance of W/HZSM-5 Catalysts for Dehydroaromatization of Methane

The dehydroaramatization of methane over W-supported ZSM-5 with varying degrees of Li+ ion-exchanged catalysts was studied with and without oxygen at 1073 K and atmospheric pressure. Catalyst activity and stability were found to be influenced by the catalyst acidity related to Bronsted acid sites and by the presence of oxygen in the feed. The NH3-TPD and FTIR-pyridine results demonstrated that partially exchanged of H+ ions by Li+ into the W/HZSM-5 catalysts could be used to control the amount of strong acid sites on the catalyst surface. Without oxygen, the 3WHLi-Z (5:1) catalyst that has strong acid sites equal to nearly 74% of the original strong acid sites in the parent HZSM-5 exhibited the highest methane conversion and selectivity towards aromatics. However, the catalyst deactivated in a five hour period. In the presence of oxygen, the catalyst activity and stability could be improved further. The results of this study revealed that a suitable amount of strong Bronsted acid sites as well as oxygen addition in the feed increased the catalyst activity and stability. The 3WHLi-Z(5:1) catalyst exhibited improved performance in the dehydroaromatization of methane.

Improvement of Performance of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes with Both a MoO3 Hole Injection Layer and a MoO3 Doped Hole Transport Layer

We improve the performance of organic light-emitting diodes （OLEDs） with both a MoO3 hole injection layer （HIL） and a MoO3 doped hole transport layer （HTL）, and present a systematical and comparative investigation on these devices. Compared with OLEDs with only MoO3 HIL or MoO3 doped HTL, OLEDs with both MoO3 HIL and MoO3 doped HTL show superior performance in driving voltage, power efficiency, and stability. Based on the typical NPB/Alq3 heterojunction structure, OLEDs with both MoO3 HIL and MoO3 doped HTL show a driving voltage of 5.4 V and a power efficiency of 1.41 lm/W for 1000 cd/m2, and a lifetime of around 0. 88 h with an initial luminance of 5268 cd/m2 under a constant current of 190 mA/cm2 operation in air without encapsulation. While OLEDs with only MoO3 HIL or MoO3 doped HTL show higher driving voltages of 6.4 V or 5.8 V and lower power efficiencies of 1.201m/W or 1.341m/W for 1000cd/m2, and a shorter lifetime of 0.33 or 0.60h with an initial luminance of around 5122 or 5300cd/m2 under a constant current of 200 or 216mA/cm2 operation. Our results demonstrate clearly that using both MoO3 HIL and MoO3 doped HTL is a simple and effective approach to simultaneoasly improve both the hole injection and transport efficiency, resulting from the lowered energy barrier at the anode interface and the increased hole carrier density in MoO3 doped HTL.

Performance Improvement in Hydrogenated Few-Layer Black Phosphorus Field-Effect Transistors

A capping layer for black phosphorus（BP） field-effect transistors（FETs） can provide effective isolation from the ambient air; however, this also brings inconvenience to the post-treatment for optimizing devices. We perform low-temperature hydrogenation on Al2 O3 capped BP FETs. The hydrogenated BP devices exhibit a pronounced improvement of mobility from 69.6 to 107.7 cm2 v-1 s-1, and a dramatic decrease of subthreshold swing from8.4 to 2.6 V/dec. Furthermore, high/low frequency capacitance-voltage measurements suggest reduced interface defects in hydrogenated BP FETs. This could be due to the passivation of interface traps at both Al2 O3/BP and BP/SiO2 interfaces with hydrogen revealed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy.

Performance improvement of CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 solar cells after rapid thermal annealing

In this paper, we investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing （RTA） on solar cell performance. An opto-electric conversion efficiency of 11.75% （Voc = 0.64 V, Jsc = 25.88 mA/cm2, FF=72.08%） was obtained under AM 1.5G when the cell was annealed at 300℃ for 30 s. The annealed solar cell showed an average absolute efficiency 1.5% higher than that of the as-deposited one. For the microstructure analysis and the physical phase confirmation, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Raman spectra, front surface reflection （FSR）, internal quantum efficiency （IQE）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were respectively applied to distinguish the causes inducing the efficiency variation. All experimental results implied that the RTA eliminated recombination centers at the p-n junction, reduced the surface optical losses, enhanced the blue response of the CdS buffer layer, and improved the ohmic contact between Mo and Cu（In, Ga）Se2 （CIGS） layers. This leaded to the improved performance of CIGS solar cell.

Effect of an Internal Heat Exchanger on the Performances of a Double Evaporator Ejector Refrigeration Cycle

A theoretical investigation is presented about a double evaporator ejector refrigeration cycle(DEERC).Special attention is paid to take into account the influence of the sub-cooling and superheating effects induced by an internal heat exchanger(IHX).The ejector is introduced into the baseline cycle in order to mitigate the throttling process losses and increase the compressor suction pressure.Moreover,the IHX has the structure of a concentric counter-flow type heat exchanger and is intentionally used to ensure that the fluid at the compressor inlet is vapor.To assess accurately the influence of the IHX on the DEERC performance,a mathematical model is derived in the frame of the dominant one-dimensional theory for ejectors.The model also accounts for the friction effect in the ejector mixing section.The equations of this model are solved using an Engineering Equation Solver(EES)for different fluids.These are:R134a as baseline fluid and other environment friendly refrigerants used for comparison,namely,R1234yf,R1234ze,R600,R600a,R290,R717 and R1270.The simulation results show that the DEERC with an IHX can achieve COP(the coefficient of performance)improvements from 5.2 until 10%.

Set Programming Method and Performance Improvement of Phase Change Random Access Memory Arrays

A novel slow-down set waveform is proposed to improve the set performance and a 1 kb phase change random access memory chip fabricated with a 13nm CMOS technology is implemented to investigate the set performance by different set programming strategies based on this new set pulse. The amplitude difference （I1 - I2） of the set pulse is proved to be a crucial parameter for set programming. We observe and analyze the cell characteristics with different I1 - I2 by means of thermal simulations and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, which reveal that an incomplete set programming will occur when the proposed slow-down pulse is set with an improperly high I1 - I2. This will lead to an amorphous residue in the active region. We also discuss the programming method to avoid the set performance degradations.

OSH star enterprise pilot scheme——a partnership approach to improve the safety performance of construction industry in Hong Kong SAR

Background: The Occupational Safety and Health Council(OSHC) is committed to improve the safety performance of the high risk construction industry.In the past three years,about 40% of the fatal accidents in the construction industry were related to Renovation,Maintenance,Alteration and Addition(RMAA).Due to the poor safety record,some of the RMAA contractors have difficulty in obtaining the Employees' Compensation Insurance(ECI) cover in the market,or if they could obtain the ECI,the premium rate would be exceedingly high.In view of this,the OSHC,the Labour Department jointly launched"OSH Star Enterprise-Pilot Scheme on Safety Accreditation for the RMAA Industry",which prompts the industry to take practicable safety measures to improve the safety of working environment and reduce occupational injuries.The program also helps the stakeholders and insurers to identify safety-conscious contractors and thereby provide them with a favourable premium rate under the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme(ECIRS).Objectives: The OSHC launches the Pilot Scheme to improve the safety performance of the RMAA industry through providing safety training,subsidizing enterprise to purchase safety equipment and providing safety audit.We also use financial incentive to encourage RMAA enterprises to join the Pilot Scheme-for those who are accredited as "OSH Star Enterprise"could receive a premium discount from the ERIRS when obtaining the ECI.The scheme also differentiates those safety-conscious and law-abiding enterprises from the poor performers,which helps the industry and public identifying the RMAA contractors who pay attention to work safety.Methods: The Pilot Scheme targets RMAA enterprises that employ less than 50 employees in Hong Kong.A three-pronged approach is used to improve the safety performance of the RMAA industry: the Pilot Scheme provides(1) financial support for the RMAA contractors to buy a transportable temporary anchor device and full body safety harness and its anchor system;(2) safety training on RMAA work safety and safety & health supervisor course;and(3) safety audit.Results: Enterprises that successfully pass the safety audit and satisfied the Scheme requirements will be accredited as"OSH Star Enterprise",which will be valid for two years.These enterprises can also be upgraded to"OSH Gold Star Enterprise"based on their continuous improvement in safety performance.OSHC will set up a register of OSH-accredited enterprises in RMAA works for reference of the public to facilitate their choosing of accredited contractors.The Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Bureau will provide privileged premium rate for enterprises with OSH accreditation."OSH Star Enterprise"could enjoy 40% discounts when joining their insurance scheme.For example,a skilled worker's annual premium can be reduced by about HK $ 36,000.While,the "OSH Gold Star Enterprise"could enjoy 50% discounts when joining their insurance scheme,which means a skilled worker's annual premium can be reduced up to HK $ 45,000.Achievements: This Pilot Scheme offers practical assistance as well as attractive financial incentives for the RMAA industry to improve their safety performance.The Employees'Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme provides premium discounts for enterprises that have a good safety record.It provides incentive for RMAA contractors to actively participate in the Pilot Scheme.The Scheme demonstrates that by providing a safe working environment and appropriate personal protective equipment to workers,the enterprise not only helps to reduce the accident rate of the industry but also receive an economic return.The Pilot Scheme bridges stakeholders of RMAA industry,the government and the insurance industry creating an "all-win"situation.This partnership approach to prevent injuries and accidents in the construction industry could be an effective model for other industries.

Research on the Pushover Methodology and the Applications on the Bridge Seismic Performance Improvement Scenarios

In this paper, we conduct research on the pushover methodology and the applications on the bridge seismic performance improvement scenarios. Bridge is an important part of the traffic lifeline engineering, and after the earthquake, if the bridge damage, that will hinder the timely disaster relief operations, increase secondary disasters, not only cause the direct or indirect losses of people＇ s life and property, also affect the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. Therefore, seismic design of the bridges has been people＇ s attention. From the earthquake when the bridge failure mechanism and the failure process point of view, to adjust the overall layout design of bridge structure, fundamentally improve the structural seismic performance as a whole. Our research proposes the novel paradigm for the corresponding challenges that will be meaningful.

New Development in the Performance Improvement Synchronous Motor

Synchronous machines are dedicated to the specific application. They are generally employed in rolling mills, pumps, fans, and compressors like reprobating and centrifugal drives, pulp and paper processing, water treatment, mining, and in cement industries. As a synchronous motor, the performance is reduced for the given excitation while the load increases. When operated as synchronous generators, both power loads and lighting loads depend on the output from the armature winding. This paper presents an alternative choice in which by providing an additional winding in the stationary armature, when operated as a Double Winding Synchronous Motor (DWSyM), it becomes possible to operate in maximum power factor by adjusting the loads on both the stator windings. When operated as conventional motor, for the load current of 3.5 A, the efficiency is 55% and power factor is 0.55, for the same excitation when second winding is connected to a load current of 1 A, the efficiency is improved to 77.6% and power factor is improved to 0.66. The main focus of this machine is to improve the performance of the machine for the reduced excitation and minimum load. For the reduced excitation, the performance can be improved by loading both the windings. While operated as Double Winding Synchronous Generator (DWSyG), two stator outputs are available which help to separate the power and lighting circuits. Hence, interruption in the lighting circuit can be limited, this machine can be considered as Twin generator.

Probabilistic Automata-Based Method for Enhancing Performance of Deep Reinforcement Learning Systems

Deep reinforcement learning(DRL) has demonstrated significant potential in industrial manufacturing domains such as workshop scheduling and energy system management.However, due to the model's inherent uncertainty, rigorous validation is requisite for its application in real-world tasks. Specific tests may reveal inadequacies in the performance of pre-trained DRL models, while the “black-box” nature of DRL poses a challenge for testing model behavior. We propose a novel performance improvement framework based on probabilistic automata,which aims to proactively identify and correct critical vulnerabilities of DRL systems, so that the performance of DRL models in real tasks can be improved with minimal model modifications.First, a probabilistic automaton is constructed from the historical trajectory of the DRL system by abstracting the state to generate probabilistic decision-making units(PDMUs), and a reverse breadth-first search(BFS) method is used to identify the key PDMU-action pairs that have the greatest impact on adverse outcomes. This process relies only on the state-action sequence and final result of each trajectory. Then, under the key PDMU, we search for the new action that has the greatest impact on favorable results. Finally, the key PDMU, undesirable action and new action are encapsulated as monitors to guide the DRL system to obtain more favorable results through real-time monitoring and correction mechanisms. Evaluations in two standard reinforcement learning environments and three actual job scheduling scenarios confirmed the effectiveness of the method, providing certain guarantees for the deployment of DRL models in real-world applications.

Graphite Anode for Potassium Ion Batteries: Current Status and Perspective

With the increased demand from the storage of renewable energy sources,some safe and inexpensive energy storage technologies instead of Li-ion batteries become urgently needed.Therefore,K-ion batteries(KIBs)have attracted much attention and evolved significant development because of the low price,safety,and similar property compared with Li-ion batteries.Due to the high reversibility,stability,and low potential plateau,graphite becomes a current research focus and is regarded as one of the most promising KIB’s anode materials.In this review,we mainly discuss the electrochemical reaction mechanism of graphite during potassiation-depotassiation process and analyze the effects of electrode/electrolyte interface on graphite for Kion storage.Besides,we summarize several kinds of methods to improve the performance of graphite for KIBs,including the design of graphite structure,selection of appropriate binder,solvent chemistry,and salt chemistry.Meanwhile,a concept of“relative energy density”is raised,which can be more accurate to evaluate the genuine electrochemical performance of graphite anode involving the specific capacity and potential.In addition,we also summarize the considerable challenges to current graphite anode in KIBs and we believe our work will offer alterative solutions to further explore high-performance graphite anode of K-ion storage.

Artificial intelligence for early detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: The future is promising

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC) is a worldwide public health concern. Despite extensive research efforts toward improving diagnosis and treatment, the 5-year survival rate at best is approximately 15%. This dismal figure can be attributed to a variety of factors including lack of adequate screening methods, late symptom onset, and treatment resistance. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains a grim diagnosis with a high mortality rate and a significant psychological burden for patients and their families. In recent years artificial intelligence(AI) has permeated the medical field at an accelerated pace, bringing potential new tools that carry the promise of improving diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. In this review we will summarize the landscape of AI in diagnosis and treatment of PDAC.

Phase-change memory based on matched Ge-Te,Sb-Te,and In-Te octahedrons:Improved electrical performances and robust thermal stability

Phase-change memory(PCM)has been developed for three-dimensional(3D)data storage devices,posing huge challenges to the thermal stability and reliability of PCM.However,the low thermal stability of Ge2Sb2Te5(GST)limits further application.Here,we demonstrate PCM based on In0.9Ge2Sb2Te5(IGST)alloy,showing 180C 10-years data retention,6 ns set speed,one order of magnitude longer life time,and 75%reduced power consumption compared to GST-based device.The In can occupy the cationic positions and the In-Te octahedrons with good phase-change properties can geometrically match well with the host Ge-Te and Sb-Te octahedrons,acting as nucleation centers to boost the set speed and enhance the endurance of IGST device.Introducing stable matched phase-change octahedrons can be a feasible way to achieve practical PCMs.

Designing high-efficiency light-to-thermal conversion materials for solar desalination and photothermal catalysis

Light-to-thermal conversion materials(LTCMs)have been of great interest to researchers due to their impressive energy conversion capacity and wide range of applications in biomedical,desalination,and synergistic catalysis.Given the limited advances in existing materials(metals,semiconductors,π-conjugates),researchers generally adopt the method of constructing complex systems and hybrid structures to optimize performance and achieve multifunctional integration.However,the development of LTCMs is still in its infancy as the physical mechanism of light-to-thermal conversion is unclear.In this review,we proposed design strategies for efficient LTCMs by analyzing the physical process of light-tothermal conversion.First,we analyze the nature of light absorption and heat generation to reveal the physical processes of light-to-thermal conversion.Then,we explain the light-to-thermal conversion mechanisms of metallic,semiconducting andπ-conjugated LCTMs,and propose new material design strategies and performance improvement methods.Finally,we summarize the challenges and prospects of LTCMs in emerging applications such as solar water evaporation and photothermal catalysis.