Thermally insulating and fire-retardant bio-mimic structural composites with a negative Poisson's ratio for battery protection

Battery safety has attracted considerable attention worldwide due to the rapid development of wearable electronics and the steady increase in the production and use of electric vehicles.As battery failures are often associated with mechanical-thermal coupled behaviors,protective shielding materials with excellent mechanical robustness and flame-retardant properties are highly desired to mitigate thermal runaway.However,most of the thermal insulating materials are not strong enough to protect batteries from mechanical abuse,which is one of the most critical scenarios with catastrophic consequences.Here,inspired by wood,we have developed an effective approach to engineer a hierarchical nanocomposite via self-assembly of calcium silicate hydrate and polyvinyl alcohol polymer chains(referred as CSH wood).The versatile protective material CSH wood demonstrates an unprecedented combination of light weight(0.018 g cm-3),high stiffness(204 MPa in the axial direction),negative Poisson's ratio(-0.15),remarkable toughness(6.67×105 J m-3),superior thermal insulation(0.0204 W m-1 K-1 in the radial direction),and excellent fire retardancy(UL94-V0).When applied as a protective cover or a protective layer within battery packages,the tough CSH wood can resist high-impact load and block heat diffusion to block or delay the spread of fire,therefore significantly reducing the risk of property damage or bodily injuries caused by battery explosions.This work provides new pathways for fabricating advanced thermal insulating materials with large scalability and demonstrates great potential for the protection of electronic devices.

Establishment and Optimization of Ablation Surrogate Model for Thermal Protection Material

The temperature response calculation of thermal protection materials,especially ablative thermal protection materials,usually adopts the ablation model,which is complicated in process and requires a large amount of calculation.Especially in the process of optimization calculation and parameter identification,the ablation model needs to be called many times,so it is necessary to construct an ablation surrogate model to improve the computational efficiency under the premise of ensuring the accuracy.In this paper,the Gaussian process model method is used to construct a thermal protection material ablation surrogate model,and the prediction accuracy of the surrogate model is improved through optimization.

Experimental demonstration of a new concept of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles

A new idea of drag reduction and thermal protection for hypersonic vehicles is proposed based on the combination of a physical spike and lateral jets for shockreconstruction. The spike recasts the bow shock in front of a blunt body into a conical shock, and the lateral jets work to protect the spike tip from overheating and to push the conical shock away from the blunt body when a pitching angle exists during flight. Experiments are conducted in a hypersonic wind tunnel at a nominal Mach number of 6. It is demonstrated that the shock/shock interaction on the blunt body is avoided due to injection and the peak pressure at the reattachment point is reduced by 70% under a 4° attack angle.

Numerical investigation on properties of attack angle for an opposing jet thermal protection system

The three-dimensional Navier Stokes equation and the k-ε viscous model are used to simulate the attack angle characteristics of a hemisphere nose-tip with an opposing jet thermal protection system in supersonic flow conditions. The numerical method is validated by the relevant experiment. The flow field parameters, aerodynamic forces, and surface heat flux distributions for attack angles of 0°, 2°, 5°, 7°, and 10° are obtained. The detailed numerical results show that the cruise attack angle has a great influence on the flow field parameters, aerodynamic force, and surface heat flux distribution of the supersonic vehicle nose-tip with an opposing jet thermal protection system. When the attack angle reaches 10°, the heat flux on the windward generatrix is close to the maximal heat flux on the wall surface of the nose-tip without thermal protection system, thus the thermal protection has failed.

Research progress on thermal protection materials and structures of hypersonic vehicles

Hypersonic vehicles represent future trends of military equipments and play an important role in future war. Thermal protection materials and structures, Which relate to the safety of hypersonic vehicles, are one of the most key techniques in design and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. Among these materials and Structures, such as metallic temperature protection structure, the temperature ceramics and carbon/carbon composites are usually adopted in design. The recent progresses of research and applica- tion of ultra-high temperature materials in preparation, oxidation resistance, mechanical and physical characterization are summarized.

Innovative Design and Additive Manufacturing of Regenerative Cooling Thermal Protection System Based on the Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Porous Structure

The new regenerative cooling thermal protection system exhibits the multifunctional characteristics of load-carrying and heat exchange cooling,which are fundamental for the lightweight design and thermal protection of hypersonic vehicles.Triply periodic minimal surface(TPMS)is especially suitable for the structural design of the internal cavity of regenerative cooling structures owing to its excellent structural characteristics.In this study,test pieces were manufactured using Ti6Al4V lightweight material.We designed three types of porous test pieces,and the interior was filled with a TPMS lattice(Gyroid,Primitive,I-WP)with a porosity of 30%.All porous test pieces were manufactured via selective laser melting technology.A combination of experiments and finite element simulations were performed to study the selection of the internal cavity structure of the regenerative cooling thermal protection system.Hence,the relationship between the geometry and mechanical properties of a unit cell is established,and the deformation mechanism of the porous unit cell is clarified.Among the three types of porous test pieces,the weight of the test piece filled with the Gyroid unit cell was reduced by 8.21%,the average tensile strength was reduced by 17.7%compared to the solid test piece,while the average tensile strength of the Primitive and I-WP porous test pieces were decreased by 30.5%and 33.3%,respectively.Compared with the other two types of unit cells,Gyroid exhibited better mechanical conductivity characteristics.Its deformation process was characterised by stretching,shearing,and twisting,while the Primitive and I-WP unit cells underwent tensile deformation and tensile and shear deformation,respectively.The finite element predictions in the study agree well with the experimental results.The results can provide a basis for the design of regenerative cooling thermal protection system.

Editorial: Special subject on the mechanical behavior of thermal protection materials and structures

The thermal protection materials and structures are widely used in hypersonic vehicles for the purpose of thermal insulation, and their mechanical behavior is one of the key issues in design and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. It is our great pleasure to present the seven papers in this special subject of Theoretical ＆ Applied Mechanics Letters （TAML） and introduce the recent progresses on the mechanical behavior of thermal protection materials and structures by the authors.

Application of high temperature heat pipe in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection

In order to develop further the application of high temperature heat pipe in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection,the principles and characteristics of high temperature heat pipe used in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection were introduced.The methods of numerical simulation,theory analysis and experiment research were utilized to analyze the frozen start-up and steady state characteristic of the heat pipe as well as the machining improvement for fabricating irregularly shaped heat pipe which is suitable for leading edge of hypersonic vehicles.The results indicate that the frozen start-up time of heat pipe is long(10 min) and there exists large temperature difference along the heat pipe(47 °C/cm),but the heat pipe can reduce the temperature in stagnation area of hypersonic vehicles from 1 926 to 982 °C and work normally during 1 000-1 200°C.How to improve the maximum heat transfer capability and reduce the time needed for start-up from frozen state of the heat pipe by optimizing thermostructure such as designing of a novel wick with high performance is the key point in hypersonic vehicles thermal protection of heat pipe.

Two Degree-of-Freedom Dynamic Theoretical Model on Tile Thermal Protection System

In order to study the dynamic behaviors of the thermal protection system(TPS)and dynamic strength of the strain-isolation-pad(SIP),a two degree-of-freedom dynamic theoretical model is presented under the acoustic excitation and base excitation. The tile and SIP are both considered as the elastic body and simplified as a mass point,a linear spring and a damping element. The theoretical solutions are derived,and the reasonability of theoretical model is verified by comparing the theoretical results with the numerical results. Finally,the influences on the dynamic responses of TPS by the structural damping coefficient of TPS,elasticity modulus and thickness of SIP are analyzed.The results show that the material with higher damping,and SIP with thicker size and lower elastic modulus should be considered to reduce the dynamic responses and intensify the security of TPS. The researches provide a theoretical reference for studying the dynamic behaviors of TPS and the dynamic strength of SIP. Besides,the dynamic theoretical model can be used as a quick analysis tool for analyzing the dynamic responses of TPS during the initial design phase.

Thermal features of Qinghai-Tibet Railway Embankment with Crushed-stone Slope Protection in Permafrost Regions

The Embankment with Crushed-Stone Slope Protection(ECSSP) in permafrost regions is an effective measure to cool subgrade and protect permafrost.It can mitigate the engineering hazards of the Qinghai-Tibet railway in the permafrost regions. Considering the influence of the noctumal cold air during summer months in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau。

Comparison of Thermo-Structural Responses for Integrated Thermal Protection Panels with Different Corrugated Core Configurations

To explore new light-weight integrated thermal protection system panel configuration and gain good insight into the responses mechanism,heat transfer and structural field analysis for one single-layer and four double-layer corrugated core panels were performed. The obtained the temperature,buckling,stress and deflection responses were compared,and the deflection and stress distributions as well as thermal buckling mode at the time were discussed for the considered configurations when the temperature difference between the top and bottom face sheet was maximum. The results demonstrated that the non-orthogonal and hat-stiffened double-layer structures provide superior performance to resist thermal buckling deformation in comparison with other configurations. The useful information is provided for the forthcoming optimization in which thermal buckling is considered as critical design driver.

Medium-term and Long-term Environmental Economic Policies on Thermal Power Industry in China Seen from the New Environment Protection Law

In the newly revised Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China that has been implemented since January 1,2015,there is a lot of emphasis on environmental economic policies. In this paper,according to the current situation of environmental pollution and protection in thermal power industry,it is proposed that based on the new environmental protection law,it is needed to study various environmental economic policies on thermal power industry and analyze the effects on environmental cost of thermal power enterprises at the macro level. At the micro level,it is necessary to control environmental cost of thermal power enterprises effectively,and establish a suitable environmental management system for environmental economic policies including environmental cost accounting and trading of emission rights,thereby improving environmental management level of thermal power enterprises.

Porous Ultra-high Temperature Ceramics for Ultra-high Temperature Thermal Protection System

Ultra-high temperature ceramics(UHTCs)are a family of borides,carbides and nitrides of transition elements such as hafnium,zirconium,tantalum and niobium.They exhibit the highest known melting points,good mechanical strength,good chemical and thermal stability under certain conditions.In last decade,researchers dedicated to characterize porous UHTCs aiming to develop novel thermal insulating materials that could withstand temperatures over 2000℃.In this article,the preparation and characteristics of porous UHTCs were reviewed.Dry processing,colloidal processing and solution processing routes have been used to prepare porous UHTCs with porosities ranging from 5%to 97%and pore sizes ranging from hundreds of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers.The obtained porous UHTCs are chemically and dimensionally stable at temperatures up to 2000℃ during static state high-temperature thermal aging.

Thermal and Structural Behaviour of Offshore Structures with Passive Fire Protection

In offshore structures,hydrocarbon fires cause the structure to loose its rigidity rapidly and this leads to structural integrity and stability problems.The Passive Fire Protection(PFP)system slows the transfer rate of fire heat and helps to prevent the collapse of structures and human losses.The vital design factors are decided in the detailed design stage.The determined design thickness must be accurately applied in the fabrication yard.However,there are many cases that the PFP is overused because of various reasons.This excessive application of the PFP is an unavoidable problem.Several studies have been conducted on the efficient application and optimal design of the PFP.However,the strength of the PFP has not been considered.In addition,research studies on the correlation between the thickness of the PFP and the structural behaviour are not widely available.Therefore,this study attempts to analyse the thermal and mechanical effects of the PFP on the structure when it is applied to the structural member.In particular,it is intended to determine the change in the behaviour of the structural member as the thickness of the PFP increases.

A novel predictive braking energy recovery strategy for electric vehicles considering motor thermal protection

Braking energy recovery(BER)aims to recover the vehicle's kinetic energy by coordinating the motor and mechanical braking torque to extend the driving range of the electric vehicle(EV).To achieve this goal,the motor/generator mode requires frequent switching and prolonged operation during driving.In this case,the motor temperature will unavoidably rise,potentially triggering motor thermal protection(MTP).Activating MTP increases the risk of motor component failure,and the EV typically disables the BER function.Thus,maximizing BER while reducing the risk of motor overheating is a challenging problem.To address this issue,this article proposes a predictive BER strategy with MTP using the non-smooth Pontryagin Minimum Principle(NSPMP)for EVs.Firstly,a Markov long short-term memory(MLSTM)model is designed to obtain future velocity information.Secondly,the BER problem with MTP in the studied EV is embedded in a model predictive control(MPC)framework.Then,under the MPC framework,the NSPMP strategy is proposed to resolve the problem of MTP.Finally,the performance of the proposed strategy is verified through simulation and a hardware-in-loop test.The results show that in two real-world driving cycles,compared to the rule-based strategy,the proposed strategy reduced power consumption by 1.24%and0.96%,respectively,and effectively limited motor temperature.Additionally,under global cycle conditions,this strategy demonstrated better MTP control performance compared to other benchmark strategies.

Effect of Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Protective Performance of the Multi-layered Fabrics Examined by TPP Tester under Flash Fire

Cotton fabrics treated with phase change materials( PCMs)were used in multi-layered fabrics of the fire fighter protective clothing to study its effect on thermal protection. The thermal protective performance( TPP) of the multi-layered fabrics was measured by a TPP tester under flash fire. Results showed that the utilization of the PCM fabrics improved the thermal protective performance of the multi-layered fabrics. The fabric with a PCM add on of 41. 9% increased the thermal protection by 50. 6% and reduced the time to reach a second degree burn by 8. 4 s compared with the reference fabrics( without PCMs). The employment of the PCM fabrics also reduced the blackened areas on the inner layers. The PCM fabrics with higher PCM melting temperature could bring higher thermal protective performance.

Effect of Air Gap under Fabric on Thermal Protective Performance Using an Improved Apparatus

The bench top test is one of the most important and effective methods to evaluate the total thermal protective performance(TPP) of firefighters' protective clothing,which is greatly influenced by the air gaps entrapped.In this paper,to investigate the effect of air gap width on TPP,a new improved apparatus with two height changeable buttons to hold the thermal sensor was developed to get a series of air gap sizes from 0 mm to 40 mm.The TPP of two types of flame-resistant outer fabrics was measured with TPP test apparatus respectively.Analysis of temperature rise with each air gap width was made to determine the effects of different air gaps on protective performance.It was indicated that air gap size had great effect on TPP of fabrics in the bench top test.An air gap width above 8 mm was suggested for the thermal protective clothing design.

Numerical Estimation of the Thermal Response of Thermal Protective Clothing-Air Gap-Human Skin Micro-system

Thermal protective clothing has been recognized as the primary shielding against emergency fire hazard and inflammable gas leakage. Therefore,the thermal response of human covered with thermal protective clothing under high temperature is the key work to investigate the thermal insulation of thermal protective clothing. A coupling model composed of thermal protective clothing,air gap and human skin is established and the temperature of the micro-system is numerically solved via the finite element method( FEM).Especially,the heat transfer of air gap located between clothing and human skin considering conduction and radiation is established while the human skin layers involve the effect of blood perfusion. Then the effect of thermophysical properties( thermal conductivity and volumetric capacity) of fabric and thickness of fabric and air on the thermal response of the micro-system is elucidated and compared.The results indicate that the volumetric heat capacity of fabric is the key parameter to affect the thermal shielding performance of thermal protective clothing,and the thicker fabric thickness and air gap thickness can improve the thermal protective properties of the micro-system.

An Analysis of the Influence of Protective Films on the Inner Surfaces of CCPP Headers and Steam Pipelines on Their Thermal Stress State

At present, the main attention of researchers is paid to the deterioration of heat transfer when heating the outer surface of the pipe with the liquid or steam, flowing inside it, in the presence of films or deposits on its inner surface. However, when pipe is heating by heat carrier medium, flowing inside it, film on the inner pipe surface serve a dual protective function, protecting the pipe from corrosion and reducing its thermal stress. The article represents the results of the computational analysis of protective films influence on the thermal stressed state of headers and steam pipelines of combined-cycle power plants (CCPP) heat-recovery steam generators at different transient operating conditions particularly at startups from different initial temperature states and thermal shock. It is shown that protective films have a significant influence on the stresses magnitude and damage accumulation mainly for great temperature disturbances (for thermal shock). Calculations were carried out at various thicknesses of films and assuming that their thermal conductivity less than thermal conductivity of the steam pipelines metal.