Managing the surge:A comprehensive review of the entire disposal framework for retired lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles

Anticipating the imminent surge of retired lithium-ion batteries(R-LIBs)from electric vehicles,the need for safe,cost-effective and environmentally friendly disposal technologies has escalated.This paper seeks to offer a comprehensive overview of the entire disposal framework for R-LIBs,encompassing a broad spectrum of activities,including screening,repurposing and recycling.Firstly,we delve deeply into a thorough examination of current screening technologies,shifting the focus from a mere enumeration of screening methods to the exploration of the strategies for enhancing screening efficiency.Secondly,we outline battery repurposing with associated key factors,summarizing stationary applications and sizing methods for R-LIBs in their second life.A particular light is shed on available reconditioning solutions,demonstrating their great potential in facilitating battery safety and lifetime in repurposing scenarios and identifying their techno-economic issues.In the realm of battery recycling,we present an extensive survey of pre-treatment options and subsequent material recovery technologies.Particularly,we introduce several global leading recyclers to illustrate their industrial processes and technical intricacies.Furthermore,relevant challenges and evolving trends are investigated in pursuit of a sustainable end-of-life management and disposal framework.We hope that this study can serve as a valuable resource for researchers,industry professionals and policymakers in this field,ultimately facilitating the adoption of proper disposal practices.

Time Complexity of the Oracle Phase in Grover’s Algorithm

Since Grover’s algorithm was first introduced, it has become a category of quantum algorithms that can be applied to many problems through the exploitation of quantum parallelism. The original application was the unstructured search problems with the time complexity of O(). In Grover’s algorithm, the key is Oracle and Amplitude Amplification. In this paper, our purpose is to show through examples that, in general, the time complexity of the Oracle Phase is O(N), not O(1). As a result, the time complexity of Grover’s algorithm is O(N), not O(). As a secondary purpose, we also attempt to restore the time complexity of Grover’s algorithm to its original form, O(), by introducing an O(1) parallel algorithm for unstructured search without repeated items, which will work for most cases. In the worst-case scenarios where the number of repeated items is O(N), the time complexity of the Oracle Phase is still O(N) even after additional preprocessing.

Recent Advances of Sensors for Assistive Technologies

In this paper, the recent advances of sensors incorporated in assistive technologies are presented. Based on the function and operation of modern assistive devices, a variety of sensors are described with their features and applications. Further improvements and future trend are pointed out and discussed.

Effects of hydrogel-encapsulated bacteria on the healing efficiency and compressive strength of concrete

Microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation is a promising technology for self-healing concrete due to its capability to seal microcracks.The main goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding hydrogelencapsulated bacteria on the compressive strength and the self-healing efficiency of concrete.To achieve this objective,12 sets of mortar samples were prepared,including three different mineral precursors(magnesium acetate,calcium lactate,and sodium lactate),at two concentrations(67.76 and 75.00 mM/L),and under two different biological conditions(with and without bacteria).In addition,a set of plain mortar samples was prepared to serve as a control.For each sample set,three mortar cubes and three beams were prepared and subjected to compression and flexural strength tests.From the compression tests,it was found that the sample containing calcium lactate along with yeast extract and bacteria displayed the best results.As for the flexural tests,once cracked,the beams were subjected to 28 d of wet/dry cycles(16 h of water immersion and 8 h of drying),where the bottom crack width was monitored(at 0,3,7,14,28 d of wet/dry cycles).Once the sample with the highest healing efficiency was identified(the one containing calcium lactate and hydrogel-encapsulated bacteria),the study was scaled up to concrete specimens.Two sets of concrete cylinders(consisting of three control samples and three samples with bacteria along with calcium lactate)were tested under compression in order to evaluate the effect of the bacteria-precursor combination on the concrete mechanical properties.The samples that yielded the greatest compressive strength were the ones containing calcium lactate and bacteria,displaying an improvement of 17%as compared to the control specimen.Furthermore,a flexural strength recovery analysis was performed on the concrete specimens revealing that the control showed better flexural strength recovery than the bacteriacontaining variant(41.5%vs.26.1%)after 28 d of wet/dry cycles.A healing efficiency analysis was also performed on the cracked samples,revealing that the control displayed the best results.These results are due to the fact that the control specimen showed a narrower crack width in comparison to the bacteria-containing samples.

Shaking table experimental study of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures

In this study, four 1/5 scaled shaking table tests were conducted to investigate the seismic performance of recycled concrete frame-shear wall structures with different recycled aggregates replacement rates and concealed bracing detail. The four tested structures included one normal concrete model, one recycled coarse aggregate concrete model, and two recycled coarse and fi ne aggregate concrete models with or without concealed bracings inside the shear walls. The dynamic characteristics, dynamic response and failure mode of each model were compared and analyzed. Finite element models were also developed and nonlinear time-history response analysis was conducted. The test and analysis results show that the seismic performance of the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure is slightly worse than the normal concrete structure. The seismic resistance capacity of the recycled concrete frame-shear wall structure can be greatly improved by setting up concealed bracings inside the walls. With appropriate design, the recycled coarse aggregate concrete frame-shear wall structure and recycled concrete structure with concealed bracings inside the walls can be applied in buildings.

The mystery of molten metal

Recent advances in scientific understanding of high-temperature materials processing using novel experimental methodologies have shed light on the complex role of surface and interface phenomena. New in-situ studies on molten metal/solid ceramic interactions using a unique experimental complex at the Foundry Research Institute, Krakow, have revealed a number of unusual observations in materials processing at high temperatures. We present some such unusual observations and their explanation with reference to liquid metal processing of Al, Ni, and Ti, and their alloys in contact with oxide ceramics. In particular, we focus on the following aspects: primary oxidation of Al from residual water vapor or oxygen, capillary purification to remove surface oxide, substrate protection by CVD carbon, roughening due to spinel whisker formation, inclusions in castings due to mechanical detachment, floatation due to buoyancy forces, and segregation due to directional solidifciation, modification of the solid surface morphology by metal vapor ahead of the liquid, and the complication due to multi-component alloys melted in crucibles made from complex oxide-based ceramics. In the case of Ti, rapid reactions with oxides result in undesirable volumetric changes that create difficulty in casting high-quality Ti parts, particularly by investment casting. Nanoscale (e.g., colloidal) coatings based on Y2O3 protect crucibles and hold ladles against such attack. Practical insights and recommendations for materials processing emerging from the fundamental studies on high-temperature interfacial phenomena have been described.

Effects of dynamic recrystallization and strain-induced dynamic precipitation on the corrosion behavior of partially recrystallized Mg-9Al-lZn alloys

The corrosion susceptibility of recrystallized and un-recrystallized grains in equal channel angular pressed(ECAPed)Mg-9Al-lZn(AZ91)alloys immersed in chloride containing media was investigated through immersion testing and an electrochemical microcell technique coupledwith high resolution techniques such as scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy(SKPFM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),andelectron backscatter diffraction(EBSD).During ECAP,dynamic recrystallization(DRX)and strain-induced dynamic precipitation(SIDP)simultaneously occurred,resulting in a bimodal grain structure of original elongated coarse grains and newly formed equiaxed fine grainswith a large volume fraction ofβ-Mg17Al12 precipitates.Corrosion preferentially initiates and propagates in the DRXed grains,owing tothe greater microchemistry difference between theβ-Mg17Al12 precipitates formed at the DRXed grain boundaries and the adjacentα-Mgmatrix,which induces a strong microgalvanic coupling between these phases.Additionally,the weaker basal texture of the DRXed grainsalso makes these grains more susceptible to electrochemical reactions than the highly textured un-DRXed grains.The influence of dynamicrecrystallization and dynamic precipitation was also studied in ECAPed alloys with differenl levels of deformation strain through corrosion andelectrochemical techniques.Increasing the strain level led to a more uniform corrosion with a shallow penetration depth,lower corrosion ratevalues,and higher protective ability of the oxide film.Furthermore,higher levels of strain resulted in greater hardness values of the ECAPedalloys.The superior corrosion resistance and strength of the ECAPed alloys with increasing strain level was attributed to the combination ofsmaller DRXed grain size,higher DRX ratio,and higher volume fraction of uniformly distributed fineβ-Mg17Al12 precipitates.c 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of Chongqing University.

Robust control for a class of nonlinear networked systems with stochastic communication delays via sliding mode conception

This paper deals with the robust control problem for a class of uncertain nonlinear networked systems with stochastic communication delays via sliding mode conception （SMC）. A sequence of variables obeying Bernoulli distribution are employed to model the randomly occurring communication delays which could be different for different state variables. A discrete switching function that is different from those in the existing literature is first proposed. Then, expressed as the feasibility of a linear matrix inequality （LMI） with an equality constraint, sufficient conditions are derived in order to ensure the globally mean-square asymptotic stability of the system dynamics on the sliding surface. A discrete-time SMC controller is then synthesized to guarantee the discrete-time sliding mode reaching condition with the specified sliding surface. Finally, a simulation example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Novel Design of Fuzzy PID Controllers for Dual-Sensor Cardiac Pacemaker Systems

This work proposes to design a fuzzy proportional-integral derivative (FPID) controller for dual-sensor cardiac pacemaker systems, which can automatically control the heart rate to accurately track a desired preset profile. The combination of fuzzy logic and conventional PID control approaches is adopted for the controller design based on dual-sensors. This controller offers good adaptation of the heart rate to the physiological needs of the patient under different states (rest and walk). Through comparing with the conventional fuzzy control algorithm, FPID provides a more suitable control strategy to determine a pacing rate in order to achieve a closer match between actual heart rate and a desired profile. To assist the heartbeat recovery, the stimuli with adjustable pacing rate is generated by the pacemaker according to the FPID controller, such actual heart rate may track the preset heart rate faithfully. Simulation results confirm that this proposed control design is effective for heartbeat recovery and maintenance. This study will be helpful not only for the analysis and treatment of bradycardias but also for improving the performance of medical devices.

Preparation of strontium ferrite from strontium residue

Strontium ferrite was prepared from Strontium Waste Residue (SWR) as a material. Strontium chloride was obtained by leaching SWR with ammonia chloride, and then SrCl2 was converted to SrCO3. Strontium ferrite (SrFe12O19) was formed by roasting the mixture of SrCO3 and FeCl3 in a proper proportion. The structure and magnetic susceptibility of strontium ferrite were investi-gated. The results showed that strontium conversion ratio increased with decreasing SWR grain diameter. The largest ratio was pre-sented when n(NH4Cl/Sr) was 3.6. What is more, the conversion process coincided with the kinetic characteristics of fractal reaction. The magnetic susceptibility of strontium ferrite decreased with increasing Fe3+/Sr2+ mole ratio and pH. SrFe12O19 exhibited face-centered and cubic closely-packed hexagonal structures. There were the strong diffraction peaks of Fe2O3 in the X-ray diffracto-gram of strontium ferrite. Strontium recovery ratio was 87.0%.

Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Four Cobalt Supramolecular Architectures with Hmtyaa Ligand

Four cobalt supramolecular architectures with Hmtyaa（2-（5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-ylthio）acetic acid） ligand have been synthesized.[Co（mtyaa）2（H2O）4]·4（H2O）（1）：triclinic,space group P1 with a = 6.7537（18）,b = 8.591（2）,c = 10.615（3） ,α = 96.495（4）,β = 99.955（5）,γ = 103.615（5）°,V = 581.9（3） 3,Z = 1,Mr = 581.52,Dc = 1.659 g/m3,μ = 1.158 mm-1,F（000） = 301,Rint = 0.0557,R = 0.0377 and wR = 0.1056 for 1854 observed reflections with Ⅰ 〉 2σ（Ⅰ）;{[Co（4,4＇-bipy）（H2O）4]·2（mtyaa）·2（H2O）}n（2）：triclinic,space group P1 with a = 7.669（2）,b = 8.840（3）,c = 11.521（4） ,α = 79.912（5）,β = 73.954（5）,γ = 86.612（6）°,V = 738.9（4） 3,Z = 1,Mr = 701.67,Dc = 1.577 g/m3,μ = 0.924 mm-1,F（000） = 363,Rint = 0.0636,R = 0.0498 and wR = 0.1311 for 2155 observed reflections with Ⅰ 〉 2σ（Ⅰ）;{[Co（4,4＇-bipy）（mtyaa）（H2O）3]（mtyaa）·2（H2O）}（3）：monoclinic,space group Pc with a = 7.7832（17）,b = 11.527（3）,c = 31.483（7） ,β = 91.952（4）°,V = 2822.9（11） 3,Z = 4,Mr = 683.65,Dc = 1.609 g/m3,μ = 0.963 mm-1,F（000） = 1412,Rint = 0.0758,R = 0.0609 and wR = 0.1095 for 5841 observed reflections with I 〉 2σ（I）;{[Co（bpe）（mtyaa）2（H2O）2]}n（4）：monoclinic,space group C2/c with a = 19.290（11）,b = 12.027（7）,c = 14.865（8） ,β = 125.648（8）°,V = 2802（3）3,Z = 4,Mr = 657.66,Dc = 1.559 g/m3,μ = 0.959 mm-1,F（000） = 1356,Rint = 0.0456,R = 0.0332 and wR = 0.0985 for 2299 observed reflections with Ⅰ 〉 2σ（Ⅰ）.

College Students’ Perceptions of Sustainability: A Regional Survey

Understanding college students’ perception of sustainability is paramount as today’s students will soon be driving our economy and taking on the responsibility of maintaining a sustainable society. This study conducted a survey of college students attending two regional universities in the United States to capture their current experience levels, expectations, and perceptions with regard to various aspects of sustainability utilizing a questionnaire consisting of structured questions about sustainability knowledge/familiarity levels, green product purchase behavior, attitude-behavior relationship, and sustainability education. The results reveal useful insights into the students’ views on these topics and the demographic data collected were further analyzed to identify any differences due to educational background, academic standing, and gender. The study’s findings support the growing importance of encouraging sustainable behavior among college students and provide a benchmark against which to measure the effectiveness of future efforts to improve sustainability education and foster sustainable behaviors.

Photobehaviors ofthe calanoid copepod Calanus sinicus from the Yellow Sea to visible and UV-B radiation as a function of wavelength and intensity

The effects of wavelength-specific visible light, white light, and ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280- 315 nm) on selected behaviors, grazing rate, spawning rate, and hatching rate of the marine copepod Calanus sinicus collected from the Yellow Sea were studied. Calanus sinicus placed in a partitioned experimental system responded positively phototaxis to blue-cyan and yellow light but negatively to orange light and UVB. No obvious dodge activity was found among C. sinicus irradiated with <0.005 mW/cm^2 UV-B. Under 0.20, 0.30 and 0.50 mW/cm^2 UV-B radiation, the lethal half times of individuals were 30.47, 2.86, and 1.96 h, respectively. Grazing of C. sinicus was restrained at >0.10 mW/cm^2 UV-B, whereas yellow-red light stimulated grazing. Egg production rate was highest at a white-light intensity of 1.58 mW/cm^2, with an average rate of 10.04 eggs/(female·d). These results are consistent with the observed phenomenon that C. sinicus in the Yellow Sea mostly spawn near dawn. Our results indicate that light intensity and spectrum are important factors affecting the diel vertical migration of C. sinicus under natural conditions in the Yellow Sea.

Monitoring of CO_2 geological storage based on the passive surface waves

Carbon dioxide(CO2) capture and geological storage(CCS) is one of promising technologies for greenhouse gas effect mitigation. Many geotechnical challenges remain during carbon dioxide storage field practices, among which effectively detecting CO2 from deep underground is one of engineering problems. This paper reviews monitoring techniques currently used during CO2 injection and storage.A method developed based on measuring seismic microtremors is of main interest. This method was first successfully used to characterize a site in this paper. To explore its feasibility in CO2 storage monitoring,numerical simulations were conducted to investigate detectable changes in elastic wave signatures due to injection and geological storage of CO2. It is found that, although it is effective for shallow earth profile estimation, the surface wave velocity is not sensitive to the CO2 layer physical parameter variations,especially for a thin CO2 geological storage layer in a deep underground reservoir.

Effects of NaOH Concentrations on Properties of the Thermal Power Plant Ashes-Bricks by Alkaline Activation

The use of the thermal power plant ashes including fly ash(FA) and bottom ash(BA) for producing unfired building bricks(UBB) using sodium hydroxide(NaOH) solution as an alkaline activator was investigated. A low applied forming pressure of 0.5 MPa and various NaOH concentrations of 5, 8, 10, and 12 M were used for the preparation of brick samples with different solution-to-binder(S/B) ratios of 0.35 and 0.40. The bricks were subjected to various test programs with reflecting the effect of both NaOH concentrations and S/B ratios on the brick’s properties. The compressive strength, unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and thermal conductivity of bricks increased with increasing NaOH concentration, whereas the contrary trend was found with increasing S/B ratio. Also, the water absorption of bricks was observed to reduce with increasing NaOH concentration and decreasing S/B ratio. As the results, the combined utilization of both low forming pressure and coal power plant ashes can produce the UBBs with low unit weight, low heat conductivity, and acceptable strength and water absorption rate as stipulated by TCVN 6477-2016. Furthermore, the outcomes of chemical analysis and microstructure observation also demonstrate that a high concentration of the Na OH promoted the geopolymerization process. Notably, the use of NaOH solution of either 10 M or above is recommended for the production of UBBs, which are classified as grade M5.0 or higher.

Buckling of a sandwich symmetrical circular plate with varying mechanical properties of the core

This paper is devoted to analytical and numerical studies of global buckling of a sandwich circular plate. The mechanical properties of the plate core vary along its thickness, remaining constant in the facings. The middle surface of the plate is its symmetrical plane. The mathematical model of the plate is presented. The field of displacements is formulated using the proposed nonlinear hypothesis that generalizes the classical hypotheses. The equations of equilibrium are formulated based on the principle of stationary total potential energy. The proposed mathematical model of the displacements considers the shear effect. The numerical model of the plate is also formulated with a view to verify the analytical one. Numerical calculations are carried out for the chosen family of plates. The values of the critical load obtained by the analytical and numerical methods are compared. The effects of the material properties of the core and the change of the plate radius on the critical load intensity are presented.

Two Kinds of Series Involving the Reciprocals of Binomial Coefficients

由使用正式力量系列的理论，作者为包含二项式的系数的 reciprocals 的二种无限的系列获得关上的形式，并且作者为无限的系列 rmtn+r/(n+rr ) 得到另一种关上的形式。

Exact Time Domain Solutions of 1-D Transient Dynamic Piezoelectric Problems with Nonlinear Damper Boundary Conditions

Novel exact solutions of one-dimensional transient dynamic piezoelectric problems for thickness polarized layers and disks, or length polarized rods, are obtained. The solutions are derived using a time-domain Green’s function method that leads to an exact analytical recursive procedure which is applicable for a wide variety of boundary conditions including nonlinear cases. A nonlinear damper boundary condition is considered in more detail. The corresponding nonlinear relationship between stresses and velocities at a current time moment is used in the recursive procedure. In addition to the exact recursive procedure that is effective for calculations, some new practically important explicit exact solutions are presented. Several examples of the time behavior of the output electric potential difference are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed exact approach.

Evaluation of Filler Distribution in Particulate Reinforced Composites

Aluminum matrix particulate reinforced composites are of significant interest to industry, but it’s difficult to provide stable properties for this group of material. The mechanical properties of metal matrix composites are deeply influenced by the distribution of reinforcement particulates in the matrix. In this paper uniformity of SiC particles distribution in Al-based composites produced by stir casting and powder metallurgy technique is assessed. Analysis is carried out by means of classical and computer quantification metallographic image analysis methods. In addition, we suggest setting hardness distribution in cross section of samples as an indicator of reinforcement distribution uniformity in the matrix.