DISPLACEMENT CONTROL AND KINETIC ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL VARIABLE DISPLACEMENT COMPRESSOR FOR AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONER

A novel variable displacement compressor (VDC) for automotive air conditioner (AAC) is introduced, which inherits the advantages of common wobble plate type VDC. It has fewer parts and makes less noise, and instead of pneumatic valve the displacement is controlled by electronic control valve. In order to know the control mechanism well and get a good control effect, a mathematical model for the variable displacement mechanism is developed according to the geometrical and kinematical information of the compressor. Using the model, the effect of relevant parameters on variable displace control is estimated. It is helpful to make the optimum decision in the flow control of AAC. As the novel displacement control device, the structure and control rule of electronic control valve is introduced. It can get better effect than the conventional pneumatic valves. And by using this new electronic control device, the optimum systemic control of AAC is available.

Microstructure and Growth Kinetics of Silicide Coatings for TiAl Alloy

In order to improve the oxidation resistance of Ti Al alloy, silicide coatings were prepared by pack cementation method at 1273, 1323, and 1373 K for 1-3 hours. Scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, energy dispersive spectrometry（EDS） and X-ray diffraction（XRD） were employed to investigate the microstructures and phase constitutions of the coatings. The experimental results show that all silicon deposition coatings have multi-layer structure. The microstructure and composition of silicide coatings strongly depend on siliconizing temperatures. In order to investigate the rate controlling step of pack siliconizing on Ti Al alloy, coating growth kinetics was analyzed by measuring the mass gains per unit area of silicided samples as a function of time and temperature. The results showed that the rate controlling step was gas-phase diffusion step and the growth rate constant（k） ranged from 1.53 mg^2/（cm^4·h^2） to 2.3 mg^2/（cm^4·h^2）. Activation energy（Q） for the process was calculated as 109 k J/mol, determined by Arrhenius＇ equation： k = k0 exp[–Q/（RT）].

Protease-catalyzed Synthesis of Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe in Full Aqueous Medium

Synthesis of N-benzoyl-argininylglycylasparagine methyl ester（ Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe）, a precursor tripeptide of Arg-Gly-Asp） was catalyzed by papain under kinetic control, at alkaline pH, in a full aqueous medium. The substrates were N-benzoyl-argininylglycine ethyl ester and asparagine dimethyl ester. An aqueous solution of 0. 1 mol/L KCl/NaOH containing 8 mmol/L EDTA and 2 mmol/L DTT was selected as the reaction medium. The synthesized hydrophilic tripeptide was soluble in the reaction medium during the reaction process, however, the secondary hydro- lysis of the tripeptide product was not considerable. The effects of different factors, including water content, temperature, reaction time, and molar ratio of the substrates, on the yield of Bz-Arg-Gly-Asp-OMe were examined. The optimal reaction conditions were 0. 05 mol/L Bz-Arg-Gly-OEt and 0. 15 mol/L Asp（ -OMe）2·HCl in 0. 1 mol/L KCl/ NaOH solution（pH 8.5）, at 40 ℃, and a reaction time of 60 min, with a maximum conversion yield of 62.4%.

Describing failure in geomaterials using second-order work approach

Geomaterials are known to be non-associated materials. Granular soils therefore exhibit a variety of failure modes, with diffuse or localized kinematical patterns. In fact, the notion of failure itself can be confusing with regard to granular soils, because it is not associated with an obvious phenomenology. In this study, we built a proper framework, using the second-order work theory, to describe some failure modes in geomaterials based on energy conservation. The occurrence of failure is defined by an abrupt increase in kinetic energy. The increase in kinetic energy from an equilibrium state, under incremental loading, is shown to be equal to the difference between the external second-order work,involving the external loading parameters, and the internal second-order work, involving the constitutive properties of the material. When a stress limit state is reached, a certain stress component passes through a maximum value and then may decrease. Under such a condition, if a certain additional external loading is applied, the system fails, sharply increasing the strain rate. The internal stress is no longer able to balance the external stress, leading to a dynamic response of the specimen. As an illustration, the theoretical framework was applied to the well-known undrained triaxial test for loose soils. The influence of the loading control mode was clearly highlighted. It is shown that the plastic limit theory appears to be a particular case of this more general second-order work theory. When the plastic limit condition is met, the internal second-order work is nil. A class of incremental external loadings causes the kinetic energy to increase dramatically, leading to the sudden collapse of the specimen, as observed in laboratory.

Hierarchical Microphase Behaviors of Chiral Block Copolymers under Kinetic and Thermodynamic Control

Chiral superstructures in confined spaces are subtly affected by the complex interplay among various noncovalent interactions,details of which are still in adequately understood.Herein,we report the threedimensional confined assembly of the chiral block copolymers of polystyrene-block-poly(D-lactide)andits enantiomer in emulsion droplets and demonstrate unprecedented successive microphase transformations from single helices to double helices with inverted helicity,and then to twisted cylinders in the constructedcolloidal particles.Theabovehierarchical structural transformations of chiral microphases are kinetically dependent and can further transform into thermodynamically stable achiral cylinders with saddle-shaped topology upon solvent annealing.The formation and subsequent structural transformations as well as thefinal degeneration of chiral architectures provide guidance to understand the chiral evolution at different length scales within spherical confined space and to fabricate biomimetic systems.

Measurement, modelling, and closed-loop control of crystal shape distribution： Literature review and future perspectives

Crystal morphology is known to be of great importance to the end-use properties of crystal products, and to affect down-stream processing such as filtration and drying. However, it has been previously regarded as too challenging to achieve automatic closed-loop control. Previous work has focused on controlling the crystal size distribution, where the size of a crystal is often defined as the diameter of a sphere that has the same volume as the crystal. This paper reviews the new advances in morphological population balance models for modelling and simulating the crystal shape distribution （CShD）, measuring and estimating crystal facet growth kinetics, and two- and three-dimensional imaging for on-line characterisation of the crystal morphology and CShD. A framework is presented that integrates the various components to achieve the ultimate objective of model-based closed-loop control of the CShD. The knowledge gaps and challenges that require further research are also identified.

Deterministic Synthesis of Pd Nanocrystals Enclosed by High-Index Facets and Their Enhanced Activity toward Formic Acid Oxidation

Noble-metal nanocrystals enclosed by high-index facets are of growing interest due to their enhanced catalytic performance in a variety of reactions.Herein,we report the deterministic synthesis of Pd nanocrystals encased by high-index facets by controlling the rate of deposition(V_(deposition))relative to that of surface diffusion(V_(diffusion)).For octahedral seeds with truncated corners,a reduction rate(and thus deposition rate)faster than that of surface diffusion(i.e.,V_(deposition)/V_(diffusion)>1)led to the formation of concave trisoctahedra(TOH)with high-index facets.When the reduction was slowed down,in contrast,surface diffusion dominated the growth pathway.In the case of V_(deposition)/V_(diffusion)≈1,truncated octahedra with enlarged sizes were produced.When the reduction rate was between these two extremes,we obtained concave tetrahexahedra(THH)without or with truncation.Similar growth patterns were also observed for the cuboctahedral seeds.When the Pd octahedra,concave TOH,and concave THH were tested for electrocatalyzing the formic acid oxidation(FAO)reaction,those with high-index facets were advantageous over the conventional Pd octahedra enclosed by{111}facets.This work not only contributes to the understanding of surface diffusion and its role in nanocrystal growth but also offers a general protocol for the synthesis of nanocrystals enclosed by high-index facets.

Efficient and stable Ruddlesden-Popper layered tin-based perovskite solar cells enabled by ionic liquid-bulky spacers

The crucial component,bulky spacers,in two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper(2 DRP)layered tin(Sn)perovskites are highly limited by halide ammonium salts,leading to the insufficient control of complex crystallization process due to the limited interaction between bulky spacers and 2 DRP perovskite frameworks.Here,we report an ionic liquid-bulky spacer,butylammounium acetate(BAAc O),for constructing efficient and stable 2 DRP Sn-based perovskite solar cells(PSCs).In contrast to the traditional halide ammonium bulky spacer,butylammounium iodide(BAI),the Ac O^(-)-functional group in BAAc O has a strong interaction with formamidine ions(FA^(+))and Sn2+.The inter-component interaction allows the formation of controllable intermediates for the favorable growth of smooth,dense,and highly oriented perovskite films.A PSC with power conversion efficiency of 10.36%(7.16%for BAI)is achieved,which is the highest report,along with improved stability with~90%retained after~600 h storage in N_(2) atmosphere without any encapsulation.