CALCULATION OF ELASTIC DAMPING CHARACTERISTICS OF ROTOR SUPPORT MADE OF METAL RUBBER MATERIAL UNDER VARIABLE LOADS

A metal rubber（MR） dry friction damper was designed based on the load supported by the rotor. An experimental apparatus for obtaining hysteresis loops of support under the precession load was designed. The elastic-damping characteristics of the ring-shaped MR damper used as a rotor support under variable loads were presented by studying the hysteresis loops of the damper. The vibration rigidity and the energy dissipation coefficient were calculated from the hysteresis loops, based on the description of the deformation process of the MR element with simple structure in a dimensionless coordinating system. The calculation results showed that the energy dissipation coefficient in the inner of MR element and on the boundary between the damper and the frame of the rotor support were approximately equal. The comparison of the hysteresis loops for a precession load and a one-axial load indicated a large difference when the coefficient of the energy dissipation and the stiffness of the MR damper were concerned.

Aligned carbon nanostructures based 3D electrodes for energy storage

Electrochemical energy storage systems with high specific energy and power as well as long cyclic stability attract increasing attention in new energy technologies. The principles for rational design of electrodes are discussed to reduce the activation, concentration, and resistance overpotentials and improve the active ma- terial efficiency in order to simultaneously achieve high specific energy and power. Three dimensional （3D） nanocomposites are currently considered as promising electrode materials due to their large surface area, reduced electronic and ionic diffusion distances, and synergistic effects. This paper reviews the most recent progress on the synthesis and application of 3D thin film nanoelectrode arrays based on aligned carbon nan- otubes （ACNTs） directly grown on metal foils for energy storages and special attentions are paid on our own representative works. These novel 3D nanoelectrode arrays on metal foil exhibit improved electrochemical performances in terms of specific energy, specific power and cyclic stability due to their unique structures. In this active materials coated ACNTs over conductive substrate structures, each component is tailored to address a different demand. The electrochemical active material is used to store energy, while the ACNTs are employed to provide a large surface area to support the active material and nanocable arrays to facilitate the electron transport. The thin film of active materials can not only reduce ion transport resistance by shorten- ing the diffusion length but also make the film elastic enough to tolerate significant volume changes during charge and discharge cycles. The conductive substrate is used as the current collector and the direct contact of the ACNT arrays with the substrate reduces significantly the contact resistance. The principles obtained from ACNT based electrodes are extended to aligned graphene based electrodes. Similar improvements have been achieved which confirms the reliability of the principles obtained. In addition, we also discuss and view the ongoing trends in development of aligned carbon nanostructures based electrodes for energy storage.

A review on additive/subtractive hybrid manufacturing of directed energy deposition(DED)process

Additive manufacturing(AM)processes are reliable techniques to build highly complex metallic parts.Direct energy deposition(DED)is one of the most common technologies to 3D print metal alloys.Despite a wide range of literature that has discussed the ability of DED in metal printing,weak binding,poor accuracy,and rough surface still exist in final products.Thus,limitations in 3D printing of metal powder and wire indicate post-processing techniques required to achieve high quality in both mechanical properties and surface quality.Therefore,hybrid manufacturing(HM),specifically additive/subtractive hybrid manufacturing(ASHM)of DED has been proposed to enhance product quality.ASHM is a capable process that combines two technologies with 3-axis or multi-axis machines.Different methods have been suggested to increase the accuracy of machines to find better quality and microstructure.In contrast,drawbacks in ASHM still exist such as limitations in existing reliable materials and poor accuracy in machine coordination to avoid collision in the multi-axes machine.It should be noted that there is no review work with focuses on both DED and hybridization of DED processes.Thus,in this review work,a unique study of DED in comparison to ASHM as well as novel techniques are discussed with the objective of showing the capabilities of each process and the benefits of using them for different applications.Finally,new gaps are discussed in ASHM to enhance the layer bonding and surface quality with the processes'effects on microstructures and performance.

Theoretical Investigation for Two-state Reactivity of CO_2 Hydrogenation Catalyzed by Ru in Gas Phase

Gas-phase CO_2 catalyzed activation hydrogenation by Ru atoms was studied with density functional theory. Based on the structure optimization of different potential energy surfaces,there are two crossing points between singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces and there is a crossing point between quintet and triplet potential energy surfaces in the whole catalytic cycle. Spin transition probabilities in the vicinity of the intersections have been calculated by the Landau-Zener model theory. There are three minimum energy crossing points（MECPs） with strong spin-orbital coupling effect and higher spin transition probability,and all spin inversion occurred in s orbital and different d orbitals of ruthenium,indicating this is a typical two-state reactivity（TSR） reaction. Finally,the lowest energy reaction path is ensured.

Graphene： a promising 2D material for electrochemical energy storage

Graphene, with unique two-dimensional form and numerous appealing properties, promises to remarkably increase the energy density and power density of electrochemical energy storage devices(EESDs),ranging from the popular lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors to next-generation high-energy batteries. Here, we review the recent advances of the state-of-the-art graphene-based materials for EESDs,including lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, micro-supercapacitors, high-energy lithium-air and lithium-sulfur batteries, and discuss the importance of the pore, doping, assembly, hybridization and functionalization of different nano-architectures in improving electrochemical performance. The major roles of graphene are highlighted as(1) a superior active material,(2) ultrathin 2D flexible support,and(3) an inactive yet electrically conductive additive. Furthermore, we address the enormous potential of graphene for constructing new-concept emerging graphene-enabled EESDs with multiple functionalities of lightweight, ultra-flexibility, thinness, and novel cell configurations. Finally, future perspectives and challenges of graphene-based EESDs are briefly discussed.

Hollow Co_9S_8 from metal organic framework supported on rGO as electrode material for highly stable supercapacitors

Metal sulfides as a feasible candidate with high specific capacitance for supercapacitors suffer from sluggish ion/electron transport kinetics and rapid capacitance fading. Herein, we demonstrate a method to fabricate a composite of reduced graphene oxide（rGO） with hollow Co9S8 derived from metal organic framework（MOF）. Due to the combined highly conductive rGO substrates and hollow shell, the prepared r GO/Co9S8 composite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 575.9 F/g at 2 A/g and 92.0% capacitance retention after 9000 cycles. Its excellent electrochemical performance provides great promise for application, and this versatile method can be extended to prepare other similar nanocomposite.

Defect energetics and magnetic properties of 3d-transition-metal-doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

The introduction of magnetism in SnTe-class topological crystalline insulators is a challenging subject with great importance in the quantum device applications. Based on the first-principles calculations, we have studied the defect energetics and magnetic properties of 3d transition-metal(TM)-doped SnTe. We find that the doped TM atoms prefer to stay in the neutral states and have comparatively high formation energies, suggesting that the uniform TMdoping in SnTe with a higher concentration will be difficult unless clustering. In the dilute doping regime, all the magnetic TMatoms are in the high-spin states, indicating that the spin splitting energy of 3d TM is stronger than the crystal splitting energy of the SnTe ligand. Importantly, Mn-doped SnTe has relatively low defect formation energy, largest local magnetic moment, and no defect levels in the bulk gap, suggesting that Mn is a promising magnetic dopant to realize the magnetic order for the theoretically-proposed large-Chern-number quantum anomalous Hall effect(QAHE) in SnTe.

Development and Application of Hydrogen Storage

Hydrogen,as a secure,clean,efficient,and available energy source,will be successfully applied to reduce and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.Hydrogen storage technology,which is one of the key challenges in developing hydrogen economy,will be solved through the unremitting efforts of scientists.The progress on hydrogen storage technology research and recent developments in hydrogen storage materials is reported.Commonly used storage methods,such as high-pressure gas or liquid,cannot satisfy future storage requirement.Hence,relatively advanced storage methods,such as the use of metal-organic framework hydrides and carbon materials,are being developed as promising alternatives.Combining chemical and physical hydrogen storage in certain materials has potential advantages among all storage methods.Intensive research has been conducted on metal hydrides to improve their electrochemical and gaseous hydrogen storage properties,including their hydrogen storage capacity,kinetics,cycle stability,pressure,and thermal response,which are dependent on the composition and structural feature of alloys.Efforts have been exerted on a group of magnesium-based hydrides,as promising candidates for competitive hydrogen storage,to decrease their desorption temperature and enhance their kinetics and cycle life.Further research is necessary to achieve the goal of practical application by adding an appropriate catalyst and through rapid quenching or ball milling.Improving the kinetics and cycle life of complex hydrides is also an important aspect for potential applications of hydrogen energy.

Recent progress on upconversion luminescence enhancement in rare-earth doped transparent glass-ceramics

The upconversion（UC） of the rare earth doped glass-ceramics has been extensively investigated due to their potential applications in many fields, such as color display, high density memories, optical data storage, sensor and energy solar cell, etc. Many series of them, especially the oxyfluorides glasses containing Ba2 LaF 7 nanocrystals were studied in this review work, due to the thermal and mechanical toughness, high optical transmittance from the ultraviolet to the infrared regions, and a low nonlinear refractive index compared to the other commercial laser glasses. Moreover, the energy transfer（ET） between the rare earth ions and transition metals plays an important role in the upconversion process. The cooperative ET has been researched very activly in UC glasses due to applications in the fields of solar cells, such as in the Er/Yb, Tm/Yb, Tb/Yb, Tb/Er/Yb and Tm/Er/Yb couples. The present article reviews on the recent progress made on：（i） upconversion materials with fluoride microcrystals in glasses and the mechanisms involved, including the UC in double and tri-dopant RE ions activated fluoride microcrystal, energy transfer process; and（ii） the effect of the metal Mn and nanoparticles of Au, Ag, Cu on the enhancement of UC emissions. Discussions have also been made on materials, material synthesis, the structural and emission properties of glass-ceramics. Additionally, the conversion efficiency is still a challenge for the spectra conversion materials and application; challenge and future advances have also been demonstrated.

Advances in single-particle detection for DNA sensing

Rapid, accurate and sensitive detection of particular DNA sequence is critical in fundamental biomedical research and clinical diagnostics. However, conventional approaches for DNA assay often suffer from cumbersome procedures, long analysis time and insufficient sensitivity. Recently, single-particle detection technology has emerged as a powerful tool in the biosensing area due to its significant advantages of ultrahigh sensitivity, low sample-consumption and rapid analysis time. Especially, the introduction of novel nanomaterials has greatly promoted the development of single-particle detection and its applications for DNA sensing. In this review, we summarize the recent advance in single-particle detection strategies for DNA sensing, and focus mainly on metallic nanoparticle-and semiconductor quantum dot-based single-particle detection. We highlight the emerging trends in this field as well.

Sintering behavior of combusted iron powder in a packed bed reactor with nitrogen and hydrogen

Sintering behavior of micron-sized combusted iron powder is studied in a packed bed reactor,at various temperatures under inert(nitrogen)and reducing(hydrogen)conditions.Compression tests are subsequently used to quantify the degree of sintering.A sintering model,based on the formation of a solid bridge through solid state surface diffusion of iron atoms,matches the experimental results.Sintering of combusted iron occurs at temperatures≥575°C in both nitrogen and hydrogen atmospheres and increases exponentially with temperature.The observed decrease in reduction rate at high temperatures is not caused by the sintering process but by the formation of wüstite as an intermediate species,leading to the formation of a dense iron layer.Iron whiskers form at high temperatures(≥700°C)in combination with low reduction rates(≤25 vol%H2),leading to the production of sub-micron fines.