Development of advanced anion exchange membrane from the view of the performance of water electrolysis cell

Green hydrogen produced by water electrolysis combined with renewable energy is a promising alternative to fossil fuels due to its high energy density with zero-carbon emissions.Among water electrolysis technologies,the anion exchange membrane(AEM) water electrolysis has gained intensive attention and is considered as the next-generation emerging technology due to its potential advantages,such as the use of low-cost non-noble metal catalysts,the relatively mature stack assembly process,etc.However,the AEM water electrolyzer is still in the early development stage of the kW-level stack,which is mainly attributed to severe performance decay caused by the core component,i.e.,AEM.Here,the review comprehensively presents the recent progress of advanced AEM from the view of the performance of water electrolysis cells.Herein,fundamental principles and critical components of AEM water electrolyzers are introduced,and work conditions of AEM water electrolyzers and AEM performance improvement strategies are discussed.The challenges and perspectives are also analyzed.

Effect of Pre-strain on Microstructure and Stamping Performance of High-strength Low-alloy Steel

In this study,pre-strain ranging from 0 to 0.12 was applied through uniaxial tension on high-strength low-alloy(HSLA)specimens with four kinds of grain size.Effect of pre-strain and grain size on me-chanical property was investigated through tensile tests.Microstructures of the pre-strained and tensile tested samples were analyzed,respectively.The 30.8°v-bending and following flattening,as well as Erichson cupping tests,were performed on the pre-strained samples.Results show the elongation ratio of grain and dislocation density increases with pre-strain.Yielding platform is removed when pre-strain is larger than 0.06 while yielding plateau period decreases with pre-strain less than 0.06 due to reduction of pinning effect.The 30.8°v-bending and the following flattening tests are successfully accomplished on all the pre-strained samples with different grain size.Decrease in grain size,along with increase in pre-strain,causes increase in strength and decrease in elongation rate as well as cupping value.Pre-strain causes very slight effect on bending ability,much less than that on mechanical property and cupping test value.Reciprocal impact of the pre-strain and grain size on HSLA steel deformability is inconspicuous.

The Effect of Lateral Offset Distance on the Aerodynamics and Fuel Economy of Vehicle Queues

The vehicle industry is always in search of breakthrough energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies.In recent years,vehicle intelligence has progressed considerably,and researchers are currently trying to take advantage of these developments.Here we consider the case of many vehicles forming a queue,i.e.,vehicles traveling at a predetermined speed and distance apart.While the majority of existing studies on this subject have focused on the influence of the longitudinal vehicle spacing,vehicle speed,and the number of vehicles on aerodynamic drag and fuel economy,this study considers the lateral offset distance of the vehicle queue.The group fuel consumption savings rate is calculated and analyzed.As also demonstrated by experimental results,some aerodynamic benefits exist.Moreover,the fuel consumption saving rate of the vehicle queue decreases as the lateral offset distance increases.

Thermal characteristic evolution of lithium-ion batteries during the whole lifecycle

This work extensively investigates the thermal characteristic evolution of lithium-ion batteries under different degradation paths,and the evolution mechanism through multi-angle characterization is revealed.Under different degradation paths,the evolution trend of temperature rise rate remains unchanged with respect to depth of discharge during the adiabatic discharge process,albeit to varying degrees of alteration.The temperature rise rate changes significantly with aging during the adiabatic discharge process under low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths.The total heat generation rate,irreversible heat generation rate,and reversible heat generation rate exhibit similar evolution behavior with aging under different degradation paths.The interval range of endothermic process of reversible electrochemical reactions increases and the contribution of irreversible heat to the total heat increases with aging.To further standardize the assessment of different degradation paths on the thermal characteristics,this work introduces the innovative concept of“Ampere-hour temperature rise”.In low-temperature cycling and high-rate cycling paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise increases significantly with aging,particularly accentuated with higher discharge rates.Conversely,in high-temperature cycling and high-temperature storage paths,the ampere-hour temperature rise remains relatively stable during the initial stages of aging,yet undergoes a notable increase in the later stages of aging.The multi-angle characterization reveals distinct thermal evolution behavior under different degradation paths primarily attributed to different behavior changes of severe side reactions,such as lithium plating.The findings provide crucial insights for the safe utilization and management of lithium–ion batteries throughout the whole lifecycle.

Parametric Optimization of Wheel Spoke Structure for Drag Reduction of an Ahmed Body

The wheels have a considerable influence on the aerodynamic properties and can contribute up to 25%of the total drag on modern vehicles.In this study,the effect of the wheel spoke structure on the aerodynamic performance of the isolated wheel is investigated.Subsequently,the 35°Ahmed body with an optimized spoke structure is used to analyze the flow behavior and the mechanism of drag reduction.The Fluent software is employed for this investigation,with an inlet velocity of 40 m/s.The accuracy of the numerical study is validated by comparing it with experimental results obtained from the classical Ahmed model.To gain a clearer understanding of the effects of the wheel spoke parameters on the aerodynamics of both the wheel and Ahmedmodel,and five design variables are proposed:the fillet angleα,the inside arc radius R1,the outside radius R2,and the same length of the chord L1 and L2.These variables characterize the wheel spoke structure.The Optimal Latin Hypercube designmethod is utilized to conduct the experimental design.Based on the simulation results of various wheel spoke designs,the Kriging model and the adaptive simulated annealing algorithm is selected to optimize the design parameters.The objective is to achieve the best combination for maximum drag reduction.It is indicated that the optimized spoke structure resulted in amaximum drag reduction of 5.7%and 4.7%for the drag coefficient of the isolated wheel and Ahmed body,respectively.The drag reduction is primarily attributed to changes in the flow state around the wheel,which suppressed separation bubbles.Additionally,it influenced the boundary layer thickness around the car body and reduced the turbulent kinetic energy in the wake flow.These effects collectively contributed to the observed drag reduction.

Deterministic and probabilistic analysis of great-depth braced excavations:A 32 m excavation case study in Paris

The Fort d’Issy-Vanves-Clamart(FIVC)braced excavation in France is analyzed to provide insights into the geotechnical serviceability assessment of excavations at great depth within deterministic and probabilistic frameworks.The FIVC excavation is excavated at 32 m below the ground surface in Parisian sedimentary basin and a plane-strain finite element analysis is implemented to examine the wall deflections and ground surface settlements.A stochastic finite element method based on the polynomial chaos Kriging metamodel(MSFEM)is then proposed for the probabilistic analyses.Comparisons with field measurements and former studies are carried out.Several academic cases are then conducted to investigate the great-depth excavation stability regarding the maximum horizontal wall deflection and maximum ground surface settlement.The results indicate that the proposed MSFEM is effective for probabilistic analyses and can provide useful insights for the excavation design and construction.A sensitivity analysis for seven considered random parameters is then implemented.The soil friction angle at the excavation bottom layer is the most significant one for design.The soil-wall interaction effects on the excavation stability are also given.

Flow and sound fields of scaled high-speed trains with different coach numbers running in long tunnel

Segregated incompressible large eddy simulation and acoustic perturbation equations were used to obtain the flow field and sound field of 1:25 scale trains with three,six and eight coaches in a long tunnel,and the aerodynamic results were verified by wind tunnel test with the same scale two-coach train model.Time-averaged drag coefficients of the head coach of three trains are similar,but at the tail coach of the multi-group trains it is much larger than that of the three-coach train.The eight-coach train presents the largest increment from the head coach to the tail coach in the standard deviation(STD)of aerodynamic force coefficients:0.0110 for drag coefficient(Cd),0.0198 for lift coefficient(Cl)and 0.0371 for side coef-ficient(Cs).Total sound pressure level at the bottom of multi-group trains presents a significant streamwise increase,which is different from the three-coach train.Tunnel walls affect the acoustic distribution at the bottom,only after the coach number reaches a certain value,and the streamwise increase in the sound pressure fluctuation of multi-group trains is strengthened by coach number.Fourier transform of the turbulent and sound pressures presents that coach number has little influence on the peak frequencies,but increases the sound pressure level values at the tail bogie cavities.Furthermore,different from the turbulent pressure,the first two sound pressure proper orthogonal decomposition(POD)modes in the bogie cavities contain 90%of the total energy,and the spatial distributions indicate that the acoustic distributions in the head and tail bogies are not related to coach number.

Real-Time Co-optimization of Gear Shifting and Engine Torque for Predictive Cruise Control of Heavy-Duty Trucks

Fuel consumption is one of the main concerns for heavy-duty trucks.Predictive cruise control(PCC)provides an intriguing opportunity to reduce fuel consumption by using the upcoming road information.In this study,a real-time implementable PCC,which simultaneously optimizes engine torque and gear shifting,is proposed for heavy-duty trucks.To minimize fuel consumption,the problem of the PCC is formulated as a nonlinear model predictive control(MPC),in which the upcoming road elevation information is used.Finding the solution of the nonlinear MPC is time consuming;thus,a real-time implementable solver is developed based on Pontryagin’s maximum principle and indirect shooting method.Dynamic programming(DP)algorithm,as a global optimization algorithm,is used as a performance benchmark for the proposed solver.Simulation,hardware-in-the-loop and real-truck experiments are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed controller.The results demonstrate that the MPC-based solution performs nearly as well as the DP-based solution,with less than 1%deviation for testing roads.Moreover,the proposed co-optimization controller is implementable in a real-truck,and the proposed MPC-based PCC algorithm achieves a fuel-saving rate of 7.9%without compromising the truck’s travel time.

Design and Performance Analysis of HMDV Dynamic Inertial Suspension Based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control

This paper addresses the impact of vertical vibration negative effects,unbalanced radial forces generated by the static eccentricity of the hub motor,and road excitation on the suspension performance of Hub Motor Driven Vehicle(HMDV).A dynamic inertial suspension based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control(ADRC)is proposed,combining the vertical dynamic characteristics of dynamic inertial suspension with the features of ADRC,which distinguishes between internal and external disturbances and arranges the transition process.Firstly,a simulation model of the static eccentricity of the hub motor is established to simulate the unbalanced radial electromagnetic force generated under static eccentricity.A quarter-vehicle model of an HMDV with a controllable dynamic inertial suspension is then constructed.Subsequently,the passive suspension model is studied under different grades of road excitation,and the impact mechanism of suspension performance at speeds of 0–20 m/s is analyzed.Next,the three main components within the ADRC controller are designed for the second-order controlled system,and optimization algorithms are used to optimize its internal parameters.Finally,the performance of the traditional passive suspension,the PID-based controllable dynamic inertial suspension,and the ADRC-based controllable dynamic inertial suspension are analyzed under different road inputs.Simulation results show that,under sinusoidal road input,the ADRC-based controllable dynamic inertial suspension exhibits a 52.3%reduction in the low-frequency resonance peak in the vehicle body acceleration gain diagram compared to the traditional passive suspension,with significant performance optimization in the high-frequency range.Under random road input,the ADRC-based controllable dynamic inertial suspension achieves a 29.53%reduction in the root mean square value of vehicle body acceleration and a 14.87%reduction in dynamic tire load.This indicates that the designed controllable dynamic inertial suspension possesses excellent vibration isolation performance.

The effects of inner electrode shape on the performance of dielectric barrier discharge reactor for oxidative removal of NO and SO_(2)

Seagoing vessels are responsible for more than 90%of global freight traffic,but meanwhile,emission pollutants(NO_(x)and SO_(x))of seagoing vessels also cause serious air pollution.Nonthermal plasma(NTP)combined with wet scrubbing technology is considered to be a promising technology.In order to improve the oxidation efficiency and energy efficiency of the NTP reactor,the screw and rod inner electrodes of dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)reactor were investigated.To analyze the mechanism,the optical emission spectra(OES)of NTP were measured and numerical calculation was applied.The experiment results show that the NO oxidation removal efficiency of screw electrode is lower than that of rod electrode.However,the SO_(2)removal efficiency of screw electrode is higher.According to the OES experiment and numerical calculation,the electric field intensity of the screw electrode surface is much higher than that of the rod electrode surface,and it is easier to generate N radicals to form NO.For the same energy density condition,the OH radical generation efficiency of the screw electrode reactor is similar to that of the rod electrode,but the gas temperature in the discharge gap is higher.Therefore,the SO2 oxidation efficiency of the thread electrode is higher.This study provides guidance for the optimization of oxidation efficiency and energy consumption of DBD reactor.

Microstructure and mechanical properties stability of pre-hardening treatment in Al-Cu alloys for pre-hardening forming process

The stability of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the pre-hardened sheets during the pre-hardening forming(PHF)process directly determines the quality of the formed components.The microstructure stability of the pre-hardened sheets was in-vestigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),transmission electron microscopy(TEM),and small angle X-ray scattering(SAXS),while the mechanical properties and formability were analyzed through uniaxial tensile tests and formability tests.The results in-dicate that the mechanical properties of the pre-hardened alloys exhibited negligible changes after experiencing 1-month natural aging(NA).The deviations of ultimate tensile strength(UTS),yield strength(YS),and sheet formability(Erichsen value)are all less than 2%.Also,after different NA time(from 48 h to 1 month)is applied to alloys before pre-hardening treatment,the pre-hardened alloys possess stable microstructure and mechanical properties as well.Interestingly,with the extension of NA time before pre-hardening treatment from 48 h to 1 month,the contribution of NA to the pre-hardening treatment is limited.Only a yield strength increment of 20 MPa is achieved,with no loss in elongation.The limited enhancement is mainly attributed to the fact that only a limited number of clusters are transformed into Guinier-Preston(GP)zones at the early stage of pre-hardening treatment,and the formation ofθ''phase inhibits the nucleation and growth of GP zones as the precipitated phase evolves.

Dynamic performance and parameter optimization of a half-vehicle system coupled with an inerter-based X-structure nonlinear energy sink

Inspired by the demand of improving the riding comfort and meeting the lightweight design of the vehicle, an inerter-based X-structure nonlinear energy sink(IXNES) is proposed and applied in the half-vehicle system to enhance the dynamic performance. The X-structure is used as a mechanism to realize the nonlinear stiffness characteristic of the NES, which can realize the flexibility, adjustability, high efficiency, and easy operation of nonlinear stiffness, and is convenient to apply in the vehicle suspension, and the inerter is applied to replacing the mass of the NES based on the mass amplification characteristic. The dynamic model of the half-vehicle system coupled with the IX-NES is established with the Lagrange theory, and the harmonic balance method(HBM) and the pseudo-arc-length method(PALM) are used to obtain the dynamic response under road harmonic excitation. The corresponding dynamic performance under road harmonic and random excitation is evaluated by six performance indices, and compared with that of the original half-vehicle system to show the benefits of the IX-NES. Furthermore, the structural parameters of the IX-NES are optimized with the genetic algorithm. The results show that for road harmonic and random excitation, using the IX-NES can greatly reduce the resonance peaks and root mean square(RMS) values of the front and rear suspension deflections and the front and rear dynamic tire loads, while the resonance peaks and RMS values of the vehicle body vertical and pitching accelerations are slightly larger.When the structural parameters of the IX-NES are optimized, the vehicle body vertical and pitching accelerations of the half-vehicle system could reduce by 2.41% and 1.16%,respectively, and the other dynamic performance indices are within the reasonable ranges.Thus, the IX-NES combines the advantages of the inerter, X-structure, and NES, which improves the dynamic performance of the half-vehicle system and provides an effective option for vibration attenuation in the vehicle engineering.

Aseismic performances of constrained damping lining structures made of rubber-sand-concrete

Flexible damping technology considering aseismic materials and aseismic structures seems be a good solution for engineering structures.In this study,a constrained damping structure for underground tunnel lining,using a rubber-sand-concrete(RSC)as the aseismic material,is proposed.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure were investigated by a series of hammer impact tests.The damping layer thickness and shape effects on the aseismic performance such as effective duration and acceleration amplitude of time-domain analysis,composite loss factor and damping ratio of the transfer function analysis,and total vibration level of octave spectrum analysis were discussed.The hammer impact tests revealed that the relationship between the aseismic performance and damping layer thickness was not linear,and that the hollow damping layer had a better aseismic performance than the flat damping layer one.The aseismic performances of constrained damping structure under different seismicity magnitudes and geological conditions were investigated.The effects of the peak ground acceleration(PGA)and tunnel overburden depth on the aseismic performances such as the maximum principal stress and equivalent plastic strain(PEEQ)were discussed.The numerical results show the constrained damping structure proposed in this paper has a good aseismic performance,with PGA in the range(0.2-1.2)g and tunnel overburden depth in the range of 0-300 m.

Comparison of Combustion Characteristics of Tars Produced with Tobacco Stem Biomass Gasification

In order to study the combustion characteristics of tar in biomass gasifier inner wall and gasification gas,“tobacco stem semi-tar inside furnace”,“tobacco stem tar inside furnace”and“tobacco stem tar out-of-furnace”were subjected to thermogravimetric experiments,and the combustion characteristics and kinetic characteristics were analyzed.The result shows that“tobacco stem semi-tar inside furnace”has the highest value and“tobacco stem tar out-of-furnace”is has the lowest value on ignition characteristics,combustion characteristics and combustible stability;“tobacco stem semi-tar inside furnace”has the lowest value and“tobacco stem tar outside furnace”has the highest value on burnout characteristics;“tobacco stem tar outside furnace”has the highest value and“tobacco stem tar inside furnace”has the lowest value on integrated combustion characteristics.

Design and Development of Small Modular Courses for“Education-Training Integration”in Vocational Colleges:A Case Study

Vocational education plays a vital role in the development of skilled technical professionals and the advancement of the economy.However,the emphasis on campus education often neglects the importance of external training,hindering the overall development of vocational education.This study aims to address this issue by exploring the design and development of small modular courses that integrate training and education in vocational colleges,focusing on the mechanics course as a case study.The research methods employed in this study include an in-depth analysis of enterprise training needs,the development of digital teaching resources utilizing the finite element method(FEM),and the implementation of a small modular course integrating education and training.The data analysis reveals positive outcomes in terms of learners’comprehension and engagement with complex mechanics formulas through the use of stress nephograms and other digital resources.This research provides a new perspective on curriculum design and offers insights into the integration of training and education in vocational colleges.The findings underscore the significance of incorporating innovative teaching methodologies and digital resources in enhancing the quality and relevance of vocational education,ultimately contributing to the cultivation of skilled professionals and the growth of the vocational education sector.

Research on the Role of Guiding Students to Participate in Skills Competitions on the Development of Young Teachers in Vocational Colleges

This paper explores the role of guiding students to participate in skills competitions on the development of young teachers in vocational colleges.We investigate the impact of skills competitions on the consolidation of professional knowledge,development of innovation capabilities,improvement of hands-on abilities,and enhancement of communication skills with students.The results of this research demonstrate that skills competitions have a positive influence on the professional growth of young teachers.The consolidation of professional knowledge,development of innovation capabilities,improvement of hands-on abilities,and enhancement of communication skills collectively contribute to the effectiveness of young teachers in vocational colleges.It is recommended that vocational colleges prioritize and support the participation of young teachers in skills competitions to foster their professional development.

Optimal design and applicability of electric power steering system for automotive platform

The ongoing need for better fuel economy and lower exhaust pollution of vehicles has increased the employment of electric power steering(EPS)in automotives.Optimal design of EPS for a product family reduces the development and fabrication costs significantly.In this paper,the TOPSIS method along with the NSGA-Ⅱis employed to find an optimum family of EPS for an automotive platform.A multi-objective optimization problem is defined considering road feel,steering portability,RMS of Ackerman error,and product family penalty function(PFPF)as the conflicting objective functions.The results for the single objective optimization problems and the ones for the multi-objective optimization problem,as well as two suggested trade-off design points are presented,compared and discussed.For the two suggested points,performance at one objective function is deteriorated by about 1%,while the commonality is increased by 20%–40%,which shows the effectiveness of the proposed method in first finding the non-dominated design points and then selecting the trade-off among the obtained points.The results indicate that the obtained trade-off points have superior performance within the product family with maximum number of common parts.

Best compromising crashworthiness design of automotive S-rail using TOPSIS and modified NSGAⅡ

In order to reduce both the weight of vehicles and the damage of occupants in a crash event simultaneously, it is necessary to perform a multi-objective optimal design of the automotive energy absorbing components. Modified non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II(NSGA II) was used for multi-objective optimization of automotive S-rail considering absorbed energy(E), peak crushing force(Fmax) and mass of the structure(W) as three conflicting objective functions. In the multi-objective optimization problem(MOP), E and Fmax are defined by polynomial models extracted using the software GEvo M based on train and test data obtained from numerical simulation of quasi-static crushing of the S-rail using ABAQUS. Finally, the nearest to ideal point(NIP)method and technique for ordering preferences by similarity to ideal solution(TOPSIS) method are used to find the some trade-off optimum design points from all non-dominated optimum design points represented by the Pareto fronts. Results represent that the optimum design point obtained from TOPSIS method exhibits better trade-off in comparison with that of optimum design point obtained from NIP method.

Research on the impact of high-temperature aging on the thermal safety of lithium-ion batteries

Understanding the thermal safety evolution of lithium-ion batteries during high-temperature usage conditions bears significant implications for enhancing the safety management of aging batteries.This work investigates the thermal safety evolution mechanism of lithium-ion batteries during high-temperature aging.Similarities arise in the thermal safety evolution and degradation mechanisms for lithium-ion batteries undergoing cyclic aging and calendar aging.Employing multi-angle characterization analysis,the intricate mechanism governing the thermal safety evolution of lithium-ion batteries during high-temperature aging is clarified.Specifically,lithium plating serves as the pivotal factor contributing to the reduction in the self-heating initial temperature.Additionally,the crystal structure of the cathode induced by the dissolution of transition metals and the reductive gas generated during aging attacking the crystal structure of the cathode lead to a decrease in thermal runaway triggering temperature.Furthermore,the loss of active materials and active lithium during aging contributes to a decline in both the maximum temperature and the maximum temperature rise rate,ultimately indicating a decrease in the thermal hazards of aging batteries.

A Combined Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control for Car-Following Maneuver of Autonomous Vehicles

Model predictive control is widely used in the design of autonomous driving algorithms.However,its parameters are sensitive to dynamically varying driving conditions,making it difficult to be implemented into practice.As a result,this study presents a self-learning algorithm based on reinforcement learning to tune a model predictive controller.Specifically,the proposed algorithm is used to extract features of dynamic traffic scenes and adjust the weight coefficients of the model predictive controller.In this method,a risk threshold model is proposed to classify the risk level of the scenes based on the scene features,and aid in the design of the reinforcement learning reward function and ultimately improve the adaptability of the model predictive controller to real-world scenarios.The proposed algorithm is compared to a pure model predictive controller in car-following case.According to the results,the proposed method enables autonomous vehicles to adjust the priority of performance indices reasonably in different scenarios according to risk variations,showing a good scenario adaptability with safety guaranteed.