Cluster and Condensed Phase Properties of Light Elements (especially B, C, N, Na and Si)

Amorphous forms of C will first be compared and contrasted with amorphous Si, the differences in chemical bonding being emphasized in relation to atomic structure. After a brief discussion of ordered layers of graphite and of BN, some attention will be focused on BN cages and polymers and on C nanotubes. Finally properties of Na metal clusters will be discussed, including fission of such charged clusters

Effect of Dimension Parameters on the Torsion Property of A C/SiC Pipe

Through finite element numerical simulation and based on laminated plate theory, the effect of dimension on the torsion properties of uniform C/SiC composites pipe was studied to provide a theoretical guidance for preparing the C/SiC pipe with different dimensions. The results show that, with increasing length of pipe, the anti-torsion section coefficient of pipe increases whereas the torsion angle per unit length decreases. Increasing the length can improve the torsion property. Anti-torsion section coefficient rises with increasing internal radius, while the torsion angle per unit length decreases to a constant. With increasing thickness, the anti-torsion section coefficient increases whereas the amplitude decreases gradually, and the torsion angle per unit length is a constant. Increment of internal radius and thickness improves the torsion property finitely.

Recent developments in the use of single-atom catalysts for water splitting

Electrochemical water splitting is regarded as the most promising approach to produce hydrogen.However,the sluggish electrochemical reactions occurring at the anode and cathode,namely,the oxygen evolution reaction(OER)and the hydrogen evolution reaction(HER),respectively,consume a tremendous amount of energy,seriously hampering its wide application.Recently,single-atom catalysts(SACs)have been proposed to effectively enhance the kinetics of these two reactions.In this minireview,we focus on the recent progress in SACs for OER and HER applications.Three classes of SACs have been reviewed,i.e.,alloy-based SACs,carbon-based SACs and SACs supported on other compounds.Different factors affecting the activities of SACs are also highlighted,including the inherent element property,the coordination environment,the geometric structure and the loading amount of metal atoms.Finally,we summarize the current problems and directions for future development in SACs.

Cu Partitioning Behavior and Its Effect on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 0.12C-1.33Mn-0.55Cu Q&P Steel

Cu, as an austenitic stable element, is added to steel in order to suppress the adverse effects of high content of C and Mn on welding. Based on C partitioning, Cu and Mn partitioning can further improve the stability of retained austenite in the intercritical annealing process. A sample of low carbon steel containing Cu was treated by the intercritical annealing, then quenching process（I＆Q）. Subsequently, another sample was treated by the intercritical annealing, subsequent austenitizing, then quenching and partitioning process（I＆Q＆P）. The effects of element partitioning behavior in intercritical region on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the steel were studied. The results showed that after the I＆Q process ferrite and martensite could be obtained, with C, Cu and Mn enriched in the martensite. When intercritically heated at 800 ℃, Cu and Mn were partitioned from ferrite to austenite, which was enhanced gradually as the heating time was increased. This partitioning effect was the most obvious when the sample was heated at 800 ℃ for 40 min. At the early stage of α→γ transformation, the formation of γ was controlled by the partitioning of carbon, while at the later stage, it was mainly affected by the partitioning of Cu and Mn. After the I＆Q＆P process, the partitioning effect of Cu and Mn element could be retained. C was assembled in retained austenite during the quenching and partitioning process. The strength and elongation of I＆Q＆P steel was increased by 5 305 MPa% compared with that subjected to Q＆P process. The volume fraction of retained autensite was increased from 8.5% to 11.2%. Hence, the content of retained austenite could be improved significantly by Mn and Cu partitioning, which increased the elongation of steel.

Growth, Metabolism and Yield of Rice Cultivated in Soils Amended with Fly Ash and Cyanobacteria and Metal Loads in Plant Parts

Soil amendment with fly ash（FA） and combined supplementation with N_2-fixing cyanobacteria masses as biofertilizer were done in field experiments with rice. Amendments with FA levels, 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0 and 10.0 kg/m2, caused increase in growth and yield of rice up to 8.0 kg/m2, monitored with several parameters. Pigment contents and enzyme activities of leaves were enhanced by FA, with the maximum level of FA at 10.0 kg/m2. Protein content of rice seeds was the highest in plants grown at FA level 4.0 kg/m2. Basic soil properties, p H value, percentage of silt, percentage of clay, water-holding capacity, electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, and organic carbon content increased due to the FA amendment. Parallel supplementation of FA amended plots with 1.0 kg/m2 N_2-fixing cyanobacteria mass caused further significant increments of the most soil properties, and rice growth and yield parameters. 1000-grain weight of rice plants grown at FA level 4.0 kg/m2 along with cyanobacteria supplementation was the maximum. Cyanobacteria supplementation caused increase of important basic properties of soil including the total N-content. Estimations of elemental content in soils and plant parts（root and seed） were done by the atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Accumulations of K, P, Fe and several plant micronutrients（Mn, Ni, Co, Zn and Cu） and toxic elements（Pb, Cr and Cd） increased in soils and plant parts as a function of the FA gradation, but Na content remained almost unchanged in soils and seeds. Supplementation of cyanobacteria had ameliorating effect on toxic metal contents of soils and plant parts. The FA level 4.0 kg/m2, with 1.0 kg/m2 cyanobacteria mass supplementation, could be taken ideal, since there would be recharging of the soil with essential micronutrients as well as toxic chemicals in comparative lesser proportions, and cyanobacteria mass would cause lessening toxic metal loads with usual N_2-fixation.

Microstructure and Properties of Ti_3Al-base Alloys

In the present paper, the relations between the microstructure and the properties of Ti-14Al-21Nb and Ti-14Al-20Nb-3.5V-2Mo alloys at different temperatures and different cooling rates of heat treatment were re-vealed by X-ray , optical microscope , HVTEM , auto-graphical-analyser and mechanical properties test at roomand high temperature. The experimental results show as follows: at 1040～1120℃ 14h WQ, the microstruc-ture of Ti-14Al-21Nb bar is primary phaseα_2+B2. With temperature increasing, the primary α_2 phase de-crease and the mechanical properties ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS) and elongation(EL) at room temperature increase. When it has reduced the α_2 phase by 50% (at 1080℃/4h WQ) , the me-chanical properties at room temperature are excellent , EL being 10. 5%. Following the α_2 phase reduces contin-uously , UTS, YS are going up, but EL is going down. After heated at two phases range and cooled down tothe room temperature with furnace, the microstructure of Ti-14Al-20Nb-3.5V-2Mo alloy is the equiaxed α_2+needle-like α_2+βphase. The mechanical properties at room temperature and 700℃ are fairly good.

An Average Failure Index Method for the Tensile Strength Prediction of Composite Adhesive-bonded π Joints

An average failure index method based on accurate FEA was proposed for the tensile strength prediction of composite out-of-plane adhesive-bonded π joints. Based on the simple and independent maximum stress failure criterion, the failure index was introduced to characterize the degree of stress components close to their corresponding material strength. With a brief load transfer analysis, the weak fillers were prominent and further detailed discussion was performed. The maximum value among the average failure indices which were related with different stress components was filtrated to represent the failure strength of the critical surface, which is either the two curved upside surfaces or the bottom plane of the fillers for composite π joints. The tensile strength of three kinds of π joints with different material systems, configurations and lay-ups was predicted by the proposed method and corresponding experiments were conducted. Good agreements between the numerical and experimental results give evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed method. In contrast to the existed time-consuming strength prediction methods, the proposed method provides a capability of quickly assessing the failure of complex out-of-plane joints and is easy and convenient to be widely utilized in engineering.

A Review on Casting Magnesium Alloys： Modification of Commercial Alloys and Development of New Alloys

The research and development status of casting magnesium alloys including the commercial casting alloys and the new types casting alloys are reviewed,with more attention to microstructure and mechanical properties of modified-AZ91,AM60 and WE43 alloys with various additions,and new types of low cost casting alloys and high strength casting alloys.The modification and/or refinement of Mg2 Si phase in Mg-Al-Si based casting alloys by various additions are discussed and new purifying technologies for casting magnesium alloys are introduced to improve the performance.The modified AZ81 alloy with reduced impurities is found to have the tensile strength of 280 ± 6 MPa and elongation of 16% ± 0.7%.The fatigue strength of AZ91 D alloy could be obviously improved by addition of Ce and Nd.The Mg-16Gd-2Ag-0.3Zr alloy exhibits very high tensile and yield strengths（UTS：423 MPa and YS：328 MPa）;however,its elongation still needs to be improved.

Characteristics of biomass ashes from different materials and their ameliorative effects on acid soils

The chemical characteristics,element contents,mineral compositions,and the ameliorative effects on acid soils of five biomass ashes from different materials were analyzed. The chemical properties of the ashes varied depending on the source biomass material. An increase in the concrete shuttering contents in the biomass materials led to higher alkalinity,and higher Ca and Mg levels in biomass ashes,which made them particularly good at ameliorating effects on soil acidity. However,heavy metal contents,such as Cr,Cu,and Zn in the ashes,were relatively high. The incorporation of all ashes increased soil p H,exchangeable base cations,and available phosphorus,but decreased soil exchangeable acidity. The application of the ashes from biomass materials with a high concrete shuttering content increased the soil available heavy metal contents. Therefore,the biomass ashes from wood and crop residues with low concrete contents were the better acid soil amendments.

Superior Properties of Mg–4Y–3RE–Zr Alloy Prepared by Powder Metallurgy

Magnesium alloys are important materials for application in the automotive and aviation industries. During the last few years, the number of possible applications as biodegradable implants in medicine has grown. Mg-RE（rare earth） alloys belong to the most advanced group of products, offering the best combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Among these materials, WE43（Mg-Y-Nd）is a very well-known commercial alloy that has been extensively studied for applications at increased temperatures and also in organisms. Although this material has been described, there are still possibilities to improve its properties and subsequently expand its applicability. Powder metallurgy has already been used for the preparation of magnesium alloys with superior mechanical properties and occasionally superior corrosion properties. Therefore, the present paper is oriented toward the preparation of Mg-4Y-3RE-Zr（WE43） alloy by the powder metallurgy technique（WE43-PM） and comparison of the final properties with the product of extrusion of as-cast ingot（WE43-IM）. Our processing leads to a partial improvement in the mechanical properties and superior corrosion resistance of WE43-PM. The texture strength of WE43-PM was low, and therefore, anisotropy of mechanical properties was suppressed.

Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G.and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt.as trace element bioindicators:Statistical comparison of bioaccumulative properties

The principal objective of this study was to compare bioaccumulative properties of two terrestrial moss species Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Kielce area （south-central Poland）, using various statistical techniques. Forty-six moss samples from 23 sampling sites located within the city limits were analyzed for 33 trace elements. The results indicated that 17 elements （Ba, Ce, Co, Cu, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Sm, V, Y） dominated in H. splendens, whereas only three elements （Mn, Sr, Zn） occurred in excessive amounts in P. schreberi. No differences in the distribution pattern of Dy, Er, Ho, Sn, Tb, Th and Yb were observed. The element concentration ratio （PI/Hy） varied from 0.50 to 1.19. For 14 elements （Ce, Co, Cu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Sm, Th, V）, PI/Hy 〈 1; for 4 elements （Cd, Mn, Sr, Zn）, PI/Hy 〉 1; for 7 elements （Ba, Dy, Er, Eu, Pr, Y, Yb）, PI/Hy = equalled 1. Czekanowski＇s method showed similarities in rare earth element concentrations for both moss species. The cluster analysis exhibited three significant clusters at D link /D max × 100 〈 50 for both moss species. Strong positive Spearman correlations between both moss species were recorded for the following pairs：Ba-Ba, Co-Co, Er-Er, Eu-Eu, Gd Gd, Mn-Mn, Ni-Ni, Pb-Pb, Pr-Pr, Sm-Sm, Th-Th, Y-Y, and Yb-Yb. Nonparametric tests （Sign test, Wilcoxon tests） showed statistically significant differences only for Cd, Ce, Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb and Sr. The scanning electron microscope study of H. splendens and P. schreberi revealed a different morphology of these species with no injuries.