Surface Patterning of Metal Zinc Electrode with an In‑Region Zincophilic Interface for High‑Rate and Long‑Cycle‑Life Zinc Metal Anode

The undesirable dendrite growth induced by non-planar zinc(Zn)deposition and low Coulombic efficiency resulting from severe side reactions have been long-standing challenges for metallic Zn anodes and substantially impede the practical application of rechargeable aqueous Zn metal batteries(ZMBs).Herein,we present a strategy for achieving a high-rate and long-cycle-life Zn metal anode by patterning Zn foil surfaces and endowing a Zn-Indium(Zn-In)interface in the microchannels.The accumulation of electrons in the microchannel and the zincophilicity of the Zn-In interface promote preferential heteroepitaxial Zn deposition in the microchannel region and enhance the tolerance of the electrode at high current densities.Meanwhile,electron aggregation accelerates the dissolution of non-(002)plane Zn atoms on the array surface,thereby directing the subsequent homoepitaxial Zn deposition on the array surface.Consequently,the planar dendrite-free Zn deposition and long-term cycling stability are achieved(5,050 h at 10.0 mA cm^(−2) and 27,000 cycles at 20.0 mA cm^(−2)).Furthermore,a Zn/I_(2) full cell assembled by pairing with such an anode can maintain good stability for 3,500 cycles at 5.0 C,demonstrating the application potential of the as-prepared ZnIn anode for high-performance aqueous ZMBs.

Spatiotemporal landscape pattern changes and their effects on land surface temperature in greenbelt with semi-arid climate:A case study of the Erbil City,Iraq

Urban expansion of cities has caused changes in land use and land cover(LULC)in addition to transformations in the spatial characteristics of landscape structure.These alterations have generated heat islands and rise of land surface temperature(LST),which consequently have caused a variety of environmental issues and threated the sustainable development of urban areas.Greenbelts are employed as an urban planning containment policy to regulate urban expansion,safeguard natural open spaces,and serve adaptation and mitigation functions.And they are regarded as a powerful measure for enhancing urban environmental sustainability.Despite the fact that,the relation between landscape structure change and variation of LST has been examined thoroughly in many studies,but there is a limitation concerning this relation in semi-arid climate and in greenbelts as well,with the lacking of comprehensive research combing both aspects.Accordingly,this study investigated the spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern of LULC and their relationship with variation of LST within an inner greenbelt in the semi-arid Erbil City of northern Iraq.The study utilized remote sensing data to retrieve LST,classified LULC,and calculated landscape metrics for analyzing spatial changes during the study period.The results indicated that both composition and configuration of LULC had an impact on the variation of LST in the study area.The Pearson's correlation showed the significant effect of Vegetation 1 type(VH),cultivated land(CU),and bare soil(BS)on LST,as increase of LST was related to the decrease of VH and the increases of CU and BS,while,neither Vegetation 2 type(VL)nor built-up(BU)had any effects.Additionally,the spatial distribution of LULC also exhibited significant effects on LST,as LST was strongly correlated with landscape indices for VH,CU,and BS.However,for BU,only aggregation index metric affected LST,while none of VL metrics had a relation.The study provides insights for landscape planners and policymakers to not only develop more green spaces in greenbelt but also optimize the spatial landscape patterns to reduce the influence of LST on the urban environment,and further promote sustainable development and enhance well-being in the cities with semi-arid climate.

STUDY ON PHOTO-INDUCED ORIENTATION OF A NOVEL PHOTO-ALIGNMENT FILM WITH SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING (SERS) SPECTROSCOPY

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy was first utilized to study the photo-orientation behaviour of the photoreactive groups on a novel photo-alignment film surface and elucidate the generation mechanism of pretilt angle. The novel photo-alignment film was prepared by spin-coating a solution of ladderlike polysiloxane (LPS) bearing dual photoreactive group on an ITO surface and by irradiation with linear-polarized ultraviolet (LPUV) light A Si—H terminal compound (M) containing an identical photosensitive part has been used to fabricate a model film for SERS investigation.

A new method for specular curved surface defect inspection based on reflected pattern integrity

Defect inspection of specular curved surface is a challenging job. Taking steel balls for example, a new method based on reflected pattern integrity recognition is put forward. The specular steel ball surface will totally reflect the patterns when it is placed inside a dome-shaped light source, whose inner wall is modified by patterns with certain regular. Distortion or intermittence of reflected pattern will occur at the defective part, which indicates the pattern has lost its integrity. Based on the integrity analysis of reflected pattern images？ surface defects can be revealed. In this paper, a set of concentric circles are used as the pattern and an image processing algorithm is customized to extract the surface defects. Results show that the proposed method is effective for the specular curved surface defect inspection

Surface Water Pollution in the Yangtze River Delta:Patterns and Countermeasures

On the basis of field investigations, observations andexperimental data combined with environmental monitoring information,the status and the spatial and temporal patterns of surface waterpollution over the past ten years in the Yangtze River Delta havebeen assessed. The water quality of large rivers is still very goodbut most of the medium-sized and small rivers have been veryseriously polluted. The appearance of black and odorous conditions inrivers in the urban areas has increased due to serious pollution byorganic matter with consequent high oxygen demand. Annual increasesin N and P concentrations in lakes have accelerated eutrophication.The water quality of river sin small towns is rapidly deteriorating.The main sources of surface water pollution include industrial anddomestic sewage, animal manures, chemical fertilizers in farmland,and polluted sediments in rivers and lakes.

An overview of the spatial patterns of land surface processes over arid and semiarid regions

With data from the project Collaborative Observation of Semi-arid/Arid Regions in North China, collected during July and September 2008, the spatial patterns of land surface processes over arid and semiarid regions have been investigated based on the ordinary Kriging interpolation approach. Generally, for the radiation processes, downward and upward short-wave radiation have a uniformly increasing trend with latitude, but the spatial patterns of long-wave radiation present notable regional differences: both upward and downward long-wave radiation increase with latitude in the west of North China, while in the east they vary inversely with latitude, suggesting surface temperature and clouds respectively have feedbacks to the long-wave radiation in the west and east of North China. The surface net radiation basically has a negative latitudinal trend. Long-wave radiation budget plays an important role in the spatial pattern of surface net radiation, particularly in the east of North China, although short-wave radiation budget largely determines the magnitude of surface net radiation. For the energy processes, latent and sensible heat flux varies conversely with latitude: more available land surface energy is consumed by evaporating soil water at lower latitudes while more is used for heating the atmosphere at higher latitudes. A soil heat flux maximum and minimum are found in Loess Plateau and Qinghai Plateau respectively, and a maximum is seen in the northeast China.

The patterns of surface capillary-gravity short-crested waves with uniform current fields in coastal waters

A fully three-dimensional surface gravitycapillary short-crested wave system is studied as two progressive wave-trains of equal amplitude and frequency, which are collinear with uniform currents and doubly-periodic in the horizontal plane, are propagating at an angle to each other. The first- and second-order asymptotic analytical solutions of the short-crested wave system are obtained via a perturbation expansion in a small parameter associated with the wave steepness, therefore depicting a series of typical three-dimensional wave patterns involving currents, shallow and deep water, and surface capillary waves, and comparing them with each other.

Trend surface analysis of forest landscape pattern in Guandishan forest region of Shanxi,China

Landscape pattern is a widely used concept for the demonstration of landscape characteristic features. The integral spatial distribution trend of landscape elements is interested point in the landscape ecological research, especially in those of complex secondary forest regions with confusing mosaics of land cover. Trend surface analysis which used in community and population ecological researches was introduced to reveal the landscape pattern. A reasonable and reliable approach for application of trend surface analysis was provided in detail. As key steps of the approach, uniform grid point sampling method was developed. The efforts were also concentrated at an example of Guandishan forested landscape. Some basic rules of spatial distribution of landscape elements were exclaimed. These will be benefit to the further study in the area to enhance the forest sustainable management and landscape planning.

Surface property variations in flotation performance of calcite particles under different grinding patterns

Based on the working principles of particle bed comminution, particles produced by high-pressure grinding rolls （HPGR） have surface properties different from particles produced by other grinding patterns, which exert great influence on mineral flotation. Flotation performances of calcite particles under different grinding patterns involving the use of HPGR, a jaw crusher, a dry ball mill, a wet ball mill, and a wet rod mill were studied using single mineral flotation tests. The surface properties of the particles under different grinding patterns were characterized to determine the flotation performance variation in terms of specific surface area, particle size distribution, AFM, XPS, and zeta potential. The results show that particles ground by HPGR exhibited improved flotation performance within the lower range of grinding fineness in both NaOL and dodecyl amine flotation systems compared to the particles prepared using other grinding patterns. Specific surface area, particle size distribution, surface roughness, Fe（III） contamination, binding energy, and zeta potential are greatly influenced by grinding patterns, which is the main cause of the flotation performance variation.

Surface circulation patterns observed by drifters in the Yellow Sea in summer of 2001,2002 and 2003

In summer of 2001, 2002 and 2003, ten, six and seventeen satellite-tracked surface drifters with drogues centered at 15 and 4 m were deployed, respectively, in the southern Yellow Sea (YS). 23 drifters of them transmitted useful data of at least 30 days. The wind-driven component of the drift was removed from the original drift velocity of drifters. The wind data used are from NCEP (National Center for Environmental Prediction), USA.Trajectories and drift velocities of the 23 drifters depicted the upper circulation structure in the southern YS.There exists an anti-cyclonic eddy with a mean speed and radius of 0.063 m/s and 50km in the central southern YS, whose center lingered within 35.3-36.0°N / 123.5-124.0°E. Showed by 6 drifters, a basin-scale elliptic cyclonic gyre with a mean speed of 0.114 m/s, long and short radius of 250 and 200 km surrounds the anti-cyclonic eddy. In the southwestern part of the southern YS has obvious frontal eddy activities within about100 km with a mean speed about 0.076 m/s. All the drifters passing Korean coast were staggering for more than10 days west of a protruding cape of central Korea. A small-scale cyclonic eddy centered at around 120.5°E/35.1°N with a mean speed of 0.048 m/s was observed in western part of the southern YS.

Characteristics of the Summer Time Rainfall Patterns over China and the Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

Using the monthly summer (June to August) precipitation data over China from 1979 to 1998,and the SST data in Indian Ocean of the overlapping periods,we have analyzed the spatial patterns as well as their temporal evolution of the summer precipitation,along with the relationships between the precipitation over China and the SST in Indian Ocean,with the EOF and SVD methods respectively.The important results are:several canonical anomalous summer precipitation patterns have been identified.The summer SST in Indian Ocean is positively correlated with the simultaneous precipitation in the Yangtze River and Huai River Basin,while negatively with that in other parts of China.

Propagation of Surface Wave Along a Thin Plasma Column and Its Radiation Pattern

Propagation of the surface waves along a two-dimensional plasma column and the far-field radiation patterns are studied in thin column approximation. Wave phase and attenuation coefficients are calculated for various plasma parameters. The radiation patterns are shown. Results show that the radiation patterns are controllable by flexibly changing the plasma length and other parameters in comparison to the metal monopole antenna. It is meaningful and instructional for the optimization of the plasma antenna design.

Distribution Pattern of Heavy Metals in the Surface Sediments of the Jiaozhou Bay

Grain size analysis and chemical analysis of heavy metals are made for 312 surface samples of the Jiaozhou Bay. Nineteen samples of the waste water taken from the sewage discharge outlets along the eastern coast of the bay are also analyzed for heavy metals. Results show that heavy metals are richer in the east and poorer in the west of the bay. Sedimentary dynamic studies reveal that the distribution of heavy metals in the surface sediments of the Jiaozhou Bay is under the control of hydrodynamics.

Pattern recognition of surface electromyography signal based on wavelet coefficient entropy

This paper introduced a novel, simple and ef-fective method to extract the general feature of two surface EMG (electromyography) signal patterns: forearm supination (FS) surface EMG signal and forearm pronation (FP) surface EMG signal. After surface EMG (SEMG) signal was decomposed to the fourth resolution level with wavelet packet transform (WPT), its whole scaling space (with frequencies in the interval (0Hz, 500Hz]) was divided into16 frequency bands (FB). Then wavelet coefficient entropy (WCE) of every FB was calculated and corre-spondingly marked with WCE(n) (from the nth FB, n=1,2,…16). Lastly, some WCE(n) were chosen to form WCE feature vector, which was used to distinguish FS surface EMG signals from FP surface EMG signals. The result showed that the WCE feather vector consisted of WCE(7) (187.25Hz, 218.75Hz) and WCE(8) (218.75Hz, 250Hz) can more effectively recog-nize FS and FP patterns than other WCE feature vector or the WPT feature vector which was gained by the combination of WPT and principal components analysis.

Dominant patterns of winter Arctic surface wind variability

Dominant statistical patterns of winter Arctic surface wind （WASW） variability and their impacts on Arctic sea ice motion are investigated using the complex vector empirical orthogonal function （CVEOF） method. The results indicate that the leading CVEOF of Arctic surface wind variability, which accounts for 33% of the covariance, is characterized by two different and alternating spatial patterns （WASWP1 and WASWP2）. Both WASWP1 and WASWP2 show strong interannual and decadal variations, superposed on their declining trends over past decades. Atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with WASWPI and WASWP2 exhibit, respectively, equivalent barotropic and some baroclinic characteristics, differing from the Arctic dipole anomaly and the seesaw structure anomaly between the Barents Sea and the Beaufort Sea. On decadal time scales, the decline trend of WASWP2 can be attributed to persistent warming of sea surface temperature in the Greenland--Barents--Kara seas from autunm to winter, reflecting the effect of the Arctic warming. The second CVEOF, which accounts for 18% of the covariance, also contains two different spatial patterns （WASWP3 and WASWP4）. Their time evolutions are significantly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） index and the central Arctic Pattern, respectively, measured by the leading EOF of winter sea level pressure （SLP） north of 70~N. Thus, winter anomalous surface wind pattern associated with the NAO is not the most important surface wind pattern. WASWP3 and WASWP4 primarily reflect natural variability of winter surface wind and neither exhibits an apparent trend that differs from WASWP1 or WASWP2. These dominant surface wind patterns strongly influence Arctic sea ice motion and sea ice exchange between the western and eastern Arctic. Furthermore, the Fram Strait sea ice volume flux is only significantly correlated with WASWP3. The results demonstrate that surface and geostrophic winds are not interchangeable in terms of describing wind field variability over the Arctic Ocean. The results have important implications for understanding and investigating Arctic sea ice variations： Dominant patterns of Arctic surface wind variability, rather than simply whether there are the Arctic dipole anomaly and the Arctic Oscillation （or NAO）, effectively affect the spatial distribution of Arctic sea ice anomalies.

Surface warming patterns dominate the uncertainty in global water vapor plus lapse rate feedback

Climate feedbacks have been usually estimated using changes in radiative effects associated with increased global-mean surface temperature. Feedback uncertainties, however, are not only functions of global-mean surface temperature increase. In projections by global climate models, it has been demonstrated that the geographical variation of sea surface temperature change brings significant uncertainties into atmospheric circulation and precipitation responses at regional scales. Here we show that the spatial pattern of surface warming is a major contributor to uncertainty in the combined water vapour-lapse rate feedback. This is demonstrated by computing the global-mean radiative effects of changes in air temperature and relative humidity simulated by 31 climate models using a methodology based on radiative kernels. Our results highlight the important contribution of regional climate change to the uncertainty in climate feedbacks, and identify the regions of the world where constraining surface warming patterns would be most effective for higher skill of climate projections.

Pulsed microwave-driven argon plasma jet with distinctive plume patterns resonantly excited by surface plasmon polaritons

Atmospheric lower-power pulsed microwave argon cold plasma jets are obtained by using coaxial transmission line resonators in ambient air.The plasma jet plumes are generated at the end of a metal wire placed in the middle of the dielectric tubes.The electromagnetic model analyses and simulation results suggest that the discharges are excited resonantly by the enhanced electric field of surface plasmon polaritons.Moreover,for conquering the defect of atmospheric argon filamentation discharges excited by 2.45-GHz of continued microwave,the distinctive patterns of the plasma jet plumes can be maintained by applying different gas flow rates of argon gas,frequencies of pulsed modulator,duty cycles of pulsed microwave,peak values of input microwave power,and even by using different materials of dielectric tubes.In addition,the emission spectrum,the plume temperature,and other plasma parameters are measured,which shows that the proposed pulsed microwave plasma jets can be adjusted for plasma biomedical applications.

Experimental Investigation of Laser Surface Hardening of AISI 4340 Steel Using Different Laser Scanning Patterns

Laser surface transformation hardening becomes one of the most modern processes used to improve fatigue and wear properties of steel surfaces. In this process, the material properties and the heating parameters are the factors that present the most significant effects on the hardened surface attributes. The control of these factors using predictive modeling approaches to achieve desired surface properties leads to conclusive results. However, when the dimensions of the surface to be treated are larger than the cross-section of the laser beam, various laser-scanning patterns are involved. This paper presents an experimental investigation of laser surface hardening of AISI 4340 steel using different laser scanning patterns. This investigation is based on a structured experimental design using the Taguchi method and improved statistical analysis tools. Experiments are carried out using a 3 kW Nd: YAG laser source in order to evaluate the effects of the heating parameters and patterns design parameters on the physical and geometrical characteristics of the hardened surface. Laser power, scanning speed and scanning patterns (linear, sinusoidal, triangular and trochoid) are the factors used to evaluate the hardened depth and the hardened width variations and to identify the possible relationship between these factors and the hardened zone attributes. Various statistical tools such as ANOVA, correlations analysis and response surfaces are applied in order to examine the effects of the experimental factors on the hardened surface characteristics. The results reveal that the scanning patterns do not modify the nature of the laser parameters’ effects on the hardened depth and the hardened width. But they can accentuate or reduce these effects depending on the type of the considered pattern. The results show also that the sinusoidal and the triangular patterns are relevant when a maximum hardened width with an acceptable hardened depth is desired.

Effects of Surface-Active Elements Sulfur on Flow Patterns of Welding Pool

A 3D mathematical model is developed to calculate the temperature and velocity distributions in a moving gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding pool with different sulfur concentrations. It has been shown that, the weld penetration increases sharply with increasing sulfur content. When sulfur content increases beyond 80 × 10-6, the increase in sulfur content does not have an appreciable difference on the welding pool size and shape, and the depth/width remains constant. Sulfur changes the temperature dependence of surface tension coefficient from a negative value to a positive value and causes significant changes on flow patterns. The increase in soluble sulfur content and the decrease at free surface temperature can extend the region of positive surface tension coefficient. As sulfur content exceeds 125×10-6, the sign of surface tension coefficient is positive. Depending upon the sulfur concentrations, three, one or two vortexes that have different positions, strength and directions may be found in the welding pool. The contrary vortexes can efficiently transfer the thermal energy from the arc, creating a deep welding pool. An optimum range of sulfur content is 20-150×10-6.