Design,preparation,application of advanced array structured materials and their action mechanism analyses for high performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery(LSB)has brought much attention and concern because of high theoretical specific capacity and energy density as one of main competitors for next-generation energy storage systems.The widely commercial application and development of LSB is mainly hindered by serious“shuttle effect”of lithium polysulfides(Li PSs),slow reaction kinetics,notorious lithium dendrites,etc.In various structures of LSB materials,array structured materials,possessing the composition of ordered micro units with the same or similar characteristics of each unit,present excellent application potential for various secondary cells due to some merits such as immobilization of active substances,high specific surface area,appropriate pore sizes,easy modification of functional material surface,accommodated huge volume change,enough facilitated transportation for electrons/lithium ions,and special functional groups strongly adsorbing Li PSs.Thus many novel array structured materials are applied to battery for tackling thorny problems mentioned above.In this review,recent progresses and developments on array structured materials applied in LSBs including preparation ways,collaborative structural designs based on array structures,and action mechanism analyses in improving electrochemical performance and safety are summarized.Meanwhile,we also have detailed discussion for array structured materials in LSBs and constructed the structure-function relationships between array structured materials and battery performances.Lastly,some directions and prospects about preparation ways,functional modifications,and practical applications of array structured materials in LSBs are generalized.We hope the review can attract more researchers'attention and bring more studying on array structured materials for other secondary batteries including LSB.

Review of advanced road materials, structures, equipment, and detection technologies

As a vital and integral component of transportation infrastructure,pavement has a direct and tangible impact on socio-economic sustainability.In recent years,an influx of groundbreaking and state-of-the-art materials,structures,equipment,and detection technologies related to road engineering have continually and progressively emerged,reshaping the landscape of pavement systems.There is a pressing and growing need for a timely summarization of the current research status and a clear identification of future research directions in these advanced and evolving technologies.Therefore,Journal of Road Engineering has undertaken the significant initiative of introducing a comprehensive review paper with the overarching theme of“advanced road materials,structures,equipment,and detection technologies”.This extensive and insightful review meticulously gathers and synthesizes research findings from 39 distinguished scholars,all of whom are affiliated with 19 renowned universities or research institutions specializing in the diverse and multidimensional field of highway engineering.It covers the current state and anticipates future development directions in the four major and interconnected domains of road engineering:advanced road materials,advanced road structures and performance evaluation,advanced road construction equipment and technology,and advanced road detection and assessment technologies.

Silicon-based optoelectronic heterogeneous integration for optical interconnection

The performance of optical interconnection has improved dramatically in recent years.Silicon-based optoelectronic heterogeneous integration is the key enabler to achieve high performance optical interconnection,which not only provides the optical gain which is absent from native Si substrates and enables complete photonic functionalities on chip,but also improves the system performance through advanced heterogeneous integrated packaging.This paper reviews recent progress of silicon-based optoelectronic heterogeneous integration in high performance optical interconnection.The research status,development trend and application of ultra-low loss optical waveguides,high-speed detectors,high-speed modulators,lasers and 2D,2.5D,3D and monolithic integration are focused on.

Emerging Trends in Damage Tolerance Assessment:A Review of Smart Materials and Self-Repairable Structures

The discipline of damage tolerance assessment has experienced significant advancements due to the emergence of smart materials and self-repairable structures.This review offers a comprehensive look into both traditional and innovative methodologies employed in damage tolerance assessment.After a detailed exploration of damage tolerance concepts and their historical progression,the review juxtaposes the proven techniques of damage assessment with the cutting-edge innovations brought about by smart materials and self-repairable structures.The subsequent sections delve into the synergistic integration of smart materials with self-repairable structures,marking a pivotal stride in damage tolerance by establishing an autonomous system for immediate damage identification and self-repair.This holistic approach broadens the applicability of these technologies across diverse sectors yet brings forth unique challenges demanding further innovation and research.Additionally,the review examines future prospects that combine advanced manufacturing processes with data-centric methodologies,amplifying the capabilities of these‘intelligent’structures.The review culminates by highlighting the transformative potential of this union between smart materials and self-repairable structures,promoting a sustainable and efficient engineering paradigm.

Role of Advanced Materials in Electrical Machines

There has been a revived and growing role for electrical machines and drives across a wide range of applications.Such applications include,hybrid/electrical traction applications,aerospace applications,and renewable energy.All these applications present different set of requirements and challenges.The common trend is that there is a need for higher-performance electrical machines in terms of higher power/torque density,and higher efficiency while keeping cost under control.There has been a lot of work done around coming up with novel machine topologies,optimizing more conventional topologies as well as improved thermal management schemes.Like many other areas of engineering/research,advanced materials can play a key role in opening up the design space for electrical machines leading to a step improvement in their performance.This paper will present an overview of some of the key advanced materials that are either recently developed or are currently under development and their potential impact on electrical machines.

Nonlinear stability of advanced sandwich cylindrical shells comprising porous functionally graded material and carbon nanotube reinforced composite layers under elevated temperature

The nonlinear stability of sandwich cylindrical shells comprising porous functionally graded material(FGM) and carbon nanotube reinforced composite(CNTRC)layers subjected to uniform temperature rise is investigated. Two sandwich models corresponding to CNTRC and FGM face sheets are proposed. Carbon nanotubes(CNTs) in the CNTRC layer are embedded into a matrix according to functionally graded distributions. The effects of porosity in the FGM and the temperature dependence of properties of all constituent materials are considered. The effective properties of the porous FGM and CNTRC are determined by using the modified and extended versions of a linear mixture rule, respectively. The basic equations governing the stability problem of thin sandwich cylindrical shells are established within the framework of the Donnell shell theory including the von K’arm’an-Donnell nonlinearity. These equations are solved by using the multi-term analytical solutions and the Galerkin method for simply supported shells.The critical buckling temperatures and postbuckling paths are determined through an iteration procedure. The study reveals that the sandwich shell model with a CNTRC core layer and relatively thin porous FGM face sheets can have the best capacity of thermal load carrying. In addition, unlike the cases of mechanical loads, porosities have beneficial effects on the nonlinear stability of sandwich shells under the thermal load. It is suggested that an appropriate combination of advantages of FGM and CNTRC can result in optimal efficiency for advanced sandwich structures.

The First Pacific Rim International Conference on Advanced Materials and Processing

The First Pacific Rim International Confer-ence on Advanced Materials and Processing(PRICM-1)organized by The Chinese Society ofMetals(CSM),and co-sponsored by the Japan In-stitute of Metals(JIM),the Korean Institute ofMetals(KIM)and The Mineral,Metals & Materi-als Society of the United States(TMS),was held inShangri-La Hotel,Hangzhou,China on June24-27,1992.It was the first large international conference

Steel Design by Advanced Analysis: Material Modeling and Strain Limits

Structural analysis of steel frames is typically performed using beam elements. Since these elements are unable to explicitly capture the local buckling behavior of steel cross-sections, traditional steel design specifications use the concept of cross-section classification to determine the extent to which the strength and deformation capacity of a cross-section are affected by local buckling. The use of plastic design methods are restricted to Class 1 cross-sections, which possess sufficient rotation capacity for plastic hinges to develop and a collapse mechanism to form. Local buckling prevents the development of plastic hinges with such rotation capacity for cross-sections of higher classes and, unless computationally demanding shell elements are used, elastic analysis is required. However, this article demonstrates that local buckling can be mimicked effectively in beam elements by incorporating the continuous strength method (CSM) strain limits into the analysis. Furthermore, by performing an advanced analysis that accounts for both geometric and material nonlinearities, no additional design checks are required. The positive influence of the strain hardening observed in stocky cross-sections can also be harnessed, provided a suitably accurate stress–strain relationship is adopted;a quad-linear material model for hot-rolled steels is described for this purpose. The CSM strain limits allow cross-sections of all slenderness to be analyzed in a consistent advanced analysis framework and to benefit from the appropriate level of load redistribution. The proposed approach is applied herein to individual members, continuous beams, and frames, and is shown to bring significant benefits in terms of accuracy and consistency over current steel design specifications.

Low insertion loss silicon-based spatial light modulator with high reflective materials outside Fabry–Perot cavity

The extinction ratio and insertion loss of spatial light modulator are subject to the material problem, thus limiting its applications. One reflection-type silicon-based spatial light modulator with high reflective materials outside the Fabry-Perot cavity is demonstrated in this paper. The reflectivity values of the outside-cavity materials with different film layer numbers are simulated. The reflectivity values of 6-pair Ta2O5/SiO2 films at 1550 nm are experimentally verified to be as high as 99.9%. The surfaces of 6-pair Ta2O5/SiO2 films are smooth: their root-mean-square roughness values are as small as 0.53 nm. The insertion loss of the device at 1550 nm is only 1.2 dB. The high extinction ratio of the device at 1550 nm and 11 V is achieved to be 29.7 dB. The spatial light modulator has a high extinction ratio and low insertion loss for applications.

Lithium sulfide nanocrystals as cathode materials for advanced batteries

The ever-increasing need for sustainable development requires advanced battery techniques beyond the current generation of lithium ion batteries.Among all candidates being explored,lithium-sulfur batteries are a very promising system to be commercialized in the near future.Towards this end,the development of lithium sulfide(Li_(2)S)nanocrystal-based cathodes has received tremendous effort and witnessed multiple reviews.Differentiated from the focus on performance improvement in previous reviews,this review summarizes the research progress in line with the approaches of materials synthesis and electrode fabrication.The key chemistry,operation procedure,materials characterizations and performance assessments are all given a balanced description.Moreover,all approaches are collectively analyzed along the lines of six criteria towards practical applications,i.e.,electrode performance,materials quality,resources sustainability,production cost,operation procedure,and consumed energy.Finally,some perspective viewpoints on the future research directions are offered.

Joining and surfacing of advanced materials

The application of advanced materials, i.e. advanced ceramics, glasses, intermetallic phases and various type of composites, not only depends on their manufacture processes including a great input of know-how, but also on their abilities for processing, among which the joining processes play an important role. The uses of advanced materials are changing rapidly, with a major emphasis on technical applications, especially the components of machines, apparatus and technical devices expected to withstand very heavy exploitation conditions. Furthermore,these materials are becoming more complex, in terms of being strengthened and toughened by transformation processes as well as by the addition of other ceramic or metallic materials including nanomaterials. The successful use of advanced materials requires the development of equally advanced joining materials, processes and technology. Some selected examples of results of joining advanced materials with the use of various procedures as well as surface modification of structural components with the use of advanced materials obtained in the Welding Engineering Department of Warsaw University of Technology, Poland, are presented.

Preliminary Announcement for the 1st Pacific Rim International Conference on Advanced Materials and Processing(PRICM-1)

The Joint Conference Organizing Committee of The Chinese Society of Metals(CSM),The Japan Insti-tute of Metals(JIM),The Korean Institute of Metals(KIM)and The Minerals,Metals & Materials Society(TMS)announces The First Pacific Rim International Conference on Advanced Materials and Processing(PRICM-1)which will be held in Hangzhou,China,in the last week of June,1992 lasting about four days.It is agreed that the PRICM-1 will be organized by The Chinese Society of Metals.

South China University of fechnology Advanced Metallic Materials Research and Processing Technology Center

A dvanced Metallic Materials Research and Processing Technology Center was found in December 1998. As a unit under The College of Mechanical Engineering, the Center is an expansion of the former Cast and Composite Materials Research Group, which was found in the early eighties of last century. The Center is focusing in the basic and applied research, and development of advanced metallic materials and their processing technology. It also functions as an organization

3-1 Research Progress of the Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Materials

In the past 2014, the research team of the Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Materials (LANM) paid moreattention on the construction of experimental setups, R&D new materials for the accelerator driven systems (ADS),as well as the study and evaluation of irradiation effects in candidate nuclear materials.1. Experimental setupsIn order to meet the needs on quick evaluation of candidate materials for advanced nuclear energy systems,an experimental setup was installed at the HIRFL-SFC for studying the synergetic effect of ion irradiation andLBE (Lead bismuth eutectic) corrosion at elevated temperature was established (see Fig. 1). The experimentalparameters of this setup are irradiation temperature ranging from 200 to 600 ?C, velocity of oxygen controlled LBEfluid varying from 0 to 2 m/s, heavy ion energy changing from MeV to hundreds MeV, respectively.

Chinese Advanced Materials Industry Grows Rapidly

Revealed from "2005 China Annual Market Conference of Advanced Materials", the advanced materials industry in China grows rapidly, with market scale RMB ￥18.01 billion, increasing 27.7% over last year. By now, total 79 production bases of advanced materials have been built in China and constellation effect of rare earth industry has emerged. Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai have been developed

Two-dimensional nanomaterials confined single atoms: New opportunities for environmental remediation

Two-dimensional(2D)supports confined single-atom catalysts(2D SACs)with unique geometric and electronic structures have been attractive candidates in different catalytic applications,such as energy conversion and storage,value-added chemical synthesis and environmental remediation.However,their environmental appli-cations lack of a comprehensive summary and in-depth discussion.In this review,recent progresses in synthesis routes and advanced characterization techniques for 2D SACs are introduced,and a comprehensive discussion on their applications in environmental remediation is presented.Generally,2D SACs can be effective in catalytic elimination of aqueous and gaseous pollutants via radical or non-radical routes and transformation of toxic pollutants into less poisonous species or highly value-added products,opening a new horizon for the contami-nant treatment.In addition,in-depth reaction mechanisms and potential pathways are systematically discussed,and the relationship between the structure-performance is highlighted.Finally,several critical challenges within this field are presented,and possible directions for further explorations of 2D SACs in environmental remediation are suggested.Although the research of 2D SACs in the environmental application is still in its infancy,this review will provide a timely summary on the emerging field,and would stimulate tremendous interest for designing more attractive 2D SACs and promoting their wide applications.