Atomic-scale engineering of advanced catalytic and energy materials via atomic layer deposition for eco-friendly vehicles

Zero-emission eco-friendly vehicles with partly or fully electric powertrains have exhibited rapidly increased demand for reducing the emissions of air pollutants and improving the energy efficiency. Advanced catalytic and energy materials are essential as the significant portions in the key technologies of eco-friendly vehicles, such as the exhaust emission control system,power lithium ion battery and hydrogen fuel cell. Precise synthesis and surface modification of the functional materials and electrodes are required to satisfy the efficient surface and interface catalysis, as well as rapid electron/ion transport. Atomic layer deposition(ALD), an atomic and close-to-atomic scale manufacturing method, shows unique characteristics of precise thickness control, uniformity and conformality for film deposition, which has emerged as an important technique to design and engineer advanced catalytic and energy materials. This review has summarized recent process of ALD on the controllable preparation and modification of metal and oxide catalysts, as well as lithium ion battery and fuel cell electrodes. The enhanced catalytic and electrochemical performances are discussed with the unique nanostructures prepared by ALD. Recent works on ALD reactors for mass production are highlighted. The challenges involved in the research and development of ALD on the future practical applications are presented, including precursor and deposition process investigation, practical device performance evaluation, large-scale and efficient production, etc.

Numerical simulation of materials-oriented ultra-precision diamond cutting:review and outlook

Ultra-precision diamond cutting is a promising machining technique for realizing ultra-smooth surface of different kinds of materials.While fundamental understanding of the impact of workpiece material properties on cutting mechanisms is crucial for promoting the capability of the machining technique,numerical simulation methods at different length and time scales act as important supplements to experimental investigations.In this work,we present a compact review on recent advancements in the numerical simulations of material-oriented diamond cutting,in which representative machining phenomena are systematically summarized and discussed by multiscale simulations such as molecular dynamics simulation and finite element simulation:the anisotropy cutting behavior of polycrystalline material,the thermo-mechanical coupling tool-chip friction states,the synergetic cutting responses of individual phase in composite materials,and the impact of various external energetic fields on cutting processes.In particular,the novel physics-based numerical models,which involve the high precision constitutive law associated with heterogeneous deformation behavior,the thermo-mechanical coupling algorithm associated with tool-chip friction,the configurations of individual phases in line with real microstructural characteristics of composite materials,and the integration of external energetic fields into cutting models,are highlighted.Finally,insights into the future development of advanced numerical simulation techniques for diamond cutting of advanced structured materials are also provided.The aspects reported in this review present guidelines for the numerical simulations of ultra-precision mechanical machining responses for a variety of materials.

Transplantation of human amniotic epithelial cells repairs brachial plexus injury:pathological and biomechanical analyses

A brachial plexus injury model was established in rabbits by stretching the C6 nerve root. Imme- diately after the stretching, a suspension of human amniotic epithelial cells was injected into the injured brachial plexus. The results of tensile mechanical testing of the brachial plexus showed that the tensile elastic limit strain, elastic limit stress, maximum stress, and maximum strain of the injured brachial plexuses were significantly increased at 24 weeks after the injection. The treatment clearly improved the pathological morphology of the injured brachial plexus nerve, as seen by hematoxylin eosin staining, and the functions of the rabbit forepaw were restored. These data indicate that the injection of human amniotic epithelial cells contributed to the repair of brachial plexus injury, and that this technique may transform into current clinical treatment strategies.

Modal Parameter Identification Method of Jacket Platform Structure Based on AFDD and Optimized FBFFT

Offshore platforms are susceptible to structural damage due to prolonged exposure to random loads,such as wind,waves,and currents.This is particularly true for platforms that have been in service for an extended period.Identifying the modal parameters of offshore platforms is crucial for damage diagno sis,as it serves as a prerequisite and foundation for the process.Therefore,it holds great significance to prioritize the identification of these parameters.Aiming at the shortcomings of the traditional Fast Bayesian Fast Fourier Transform(FBFFT) method,this paper proposes a modal parameter identification method based on Automatic Frequency Domain Decomposition(AFDD) and optimized FBFFT.By introducing the AFDD method and Powell optimization algorithm,this method can automatically identify the initial value of natural frequency and solve the objective function efficiently and simply.In order to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method,it is used to identify the modal parameters of the IASC-ASCE benchmark model and the j acket platform structure model,and the Most Probable Value(MPV) of the modal parameters and their respective posterior uncertainties are successfully identified.The identification results of the IASC-ASCE benc hmark model are compared with the identification re sults of the MODE-ID method,which verifies the effectivene ss and accuracy of the proposed method for identifying modal parameters.It provides a simple and feasible method for quantifying the influence of uncertain factors such as environmental parameters on the identification results,and also provide s a reference for modal parameter identification of other large structures.

Nonlinear dynamics of a circular curved cantilevered pipe conveying pulsating fluid based on the geometrically exact model

Due to the novel applications of flexible pipes conveying fluid in the field of soft robotics and biomedicine,the investigations on the mechanical responses of the pipes have attracted considerable attention.The fluid-structure interaction(FSI)between the pipe with a curved shape and the time-varying internal fluid flow brings a great challenge to the revelation of the dynamical behaviors of flexible pipes,especially when the pipe is highly flexible and usually undergoes large deformations.In this work,the geometrically exact model(GEM)for a curved cantilevered pipe conveying pulsating fluid is developed based on the extended Hamilton's principle.The stability of the curved pipe with three different subtended angles is examined with the consideration of steady fluid flow.Specific attention is concentrated on the large-deformation resonance of circular pipes conveying pulsating fluid,which is often encountered in practical engineering.By constructing bifurcation diagrams,oscillating shapes,phase portraits,time traces,and Poincarémaps,the dynamic responses of the curved pipe under various system parameters are revealed.The mean flow velocity of the pulsating fluid is chosen to be either subcritical or supercritical.The numerical results show that the curved pipe conveying pulsating fluid can exhibit rich dynamical behaviors,including periodic and quasi-periodic motions.It is also found that the preferred instability type of a cantilevered curved pipe conveying steady fluid is mainly in the flutter of the second mode.For a moderate value of the mass ratio,however,a third-mode flutter may occur,which is quite different from that of a straight pipe system.

An Innovative Finite Element Geometric Modeling of Single-Layer Multi-Bead WAAMed Part

Finite element (FE) coupled thermal-mechanical analysis is widely used to predict the deformation and residualstress of wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) parts. In this study, an innovative single-layermulti-bead profilegeometric modeling method through the isosceles trapezoid function is proposed to build the FE model of theWAAMprocess. Firstly, a straight-line model for overlapping beads based on the parabola function was establishedto calculate the optimal center distance. Then, the isosceles trapezoid-based profile was employed to replace theparabola profiles of the parabola-based overlapping model to establish an innovative isosceles trapezoid-basedmulti-bead overlapping geometric model. The rationality of the isosceles trapezoid-based overlapping model wasconfirmed by comparing the geometric deviation and the heat dissipation performance index of the two overlappingmodels. In addition, the FE-coupled thermal-mechanical analysis, as well as a comparative experiment of thesingle-layer eight-bead deposition process show that the simulation results of the above two models agree with theexperimental results. At the same time, the proposed isosceles trapezoid-based overlappingmodels are all straightlineprofiles, which can be divided into high-quality FE elements. It can improve the modeling efficiency andshorten the simulation calculation time. The innovative modeling method proposed in this study can provide anefficient and high-precision geometricmodelingmethod forWAAMpart FE coupled thermal-mechanical analysis.

Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Flexural Vibration Transfer Properties of High-Pressure Periodic Pipe

According to the theory of phononic crystals, the hydraulic pipeline is designed to be a periodic structure composed of steel pipes and hoses to suppress the vibration of the hydraulic system with band gaps. We present theoretical and experimental investigations into the flexural vibration transfer properties of a high-pressure periodic pipe with the force on the inner pipe wall by oii pressure taken into consideration. The results show that the vibration attenuation of periodic pipe decreases along with the elevation of working pressure for the hydraulic system, and the band gaps in low frequency ranges move towards high frequency ranges. The periodic pipe has good vibration attenuation performance in the frequency range below 1000 Hz and the vibration of the hydraulic system is effectively suppressed. A11 the results are validated by experiment. The experimental results show a good agreement with the numerical calculations, thus the flexural vibration transfer properties of the high- pressure periodic pipe can be precisely calculated by taking the fluid structure interaction between the pipe and oil into consideration. This study provides an effective way for the vibration control of the hydraulic system.

Post-Synthetic and In Situ Vacancy Repairing of Iron Hexacyanoferrate Toward Highly Stable Cathodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Iron hexacyanoferrate(FeHCF)is a promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.However,FeHCF always suffers from a poor cycling stability,which is closely related to the abundant vacancy defects in its framework.Herein,post-synthetic and in-situ vacancy repairing strategies are proposed for the synthesis of highquality FeHCF in a highly concentrated Na_(4)Fe(CN)_(6) solution.Both the post-synthetic and in-situ vacancy repaired FeHCF products(FeHCF-P and FeHCF-I)show the significant decrease in the number of vacancy defects and the reinforced structure,which can suppress the side reactions and activate the capacity from low-spin Fe in FeHCF.In particular,FeHCF-P delivers a reversible discharge capacity of 131 mAh g^(−1) at 1 C and remains 109 mAh g^(−1) after 500 cycles,with a capacity retention of 83%.FeHCF-I can deliver a high discharge capacity of 158.5 mAh g^(−1) at 1 C.Even at 10 C,the FeHCF-I electrode still maintains a discharge specific capacity of 103 mAh g^(−1) and retains 75% after 800 cycles.This work provides a new vacancy repairing strategy for the solution synthesis of high-quality FeHCF.

Motion/Posture Modeling and Simulation Verification of Physically Handicapped in Manufacturing System Design

Non-obstacle design is critical to tailor physically handicapped workers in manufacturing system. Simultaneous consideration of variability in physically disabled users, machines and environment of the manufacturing system is extremely complex and generally requires modeling of physically handicapped interaction with the system. Most current modeling either concentrates on the task results or functional disability. The integration of physical constraints with task constraints is far more complex because of functional disability and its extended influence on adjacent body parts. A framework is proposed to integrate the two constraints and thus model the specific behavior of the physical handicapped in virtual environment generated by product specifications. Within the framework a simplified model of physical disabled body is constructed, and body motion is generated based on 3 levels of constraints（effecter constraints, kinematics constraints and physical constraints）. The kinematics and dynamic calculations are made and optimized based on the weighting manipulated by the kinematics constraints and dynamic constraints. With object transferring task as example, the model is validated in Jack 6.0. Modelled task motion elements except for squatting and overreaching well matched with captured motion elements. The proposed modeling method can model the complex behavior of the physically handicapped by integrating both task and physical disability constraints.

MMM testing and failure analysis of fastening bolts on reciprocating compressor cylinder cover

To avoid the serious accidents caused by the failure fastening bolts on reciprocating compressor cylinder cover,a new nondestructive testing(NDT) technology,metal magnetic memory(MMM) testing,was applied to safety evaluating and failure analyzing for the fastening bolts.Based on the dynamic stress calculation of the failure bolts,MMM testing was carried out at workshop.Given are the MMM stress distribution characteristics of the failure bolts and fracture faces.It has been found that the MMM signal variation amplitude of the crack transition zone in the fracture surface is minimal,that of the crack initiation zone is in the middle,and that of the tear fracture zone is maximal.The failure reasons were analyzed with MMM effect.The results of the metallographic examination showed that the validity and feasibility of MMM testing and failure analysis.This means MMM technology is a new,fast and validity method of failure analysis.

Asymmetric Fuzzy Control of a Positive and Negative Pneumatic Pressure Servo System

The pneumatic pressure control systems have been used in some fields. However, the researches on pneumatic pressure control mainly focus on constant pressure regulation. Poor dynamic characteristics and strong nonlinearity of such systems limit its application in the field of pressure tracking control. In order to meet the demand of generating dynamic pressure signal in the application of the hardware-in-the-loop simulation of aerospace engineering, a positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system is provided to implement dynamic adjustment of sealed chamber pressure. A mathematical model is established with simulation and experiment being implemented afterwards to discuss the characteristics of the system, which shows serious asymmetry in the process of charging and discharging. Based on the analysis of the system dynamics, a fuzzy proportional integral derivative （PID） controller with asymmetric fuzzy compensator is proposed. Different from conventional adjusting mecha- nisms employing the error and change in error of the controlled variable as input parameters, the current cham- ber pressure and charging or discharging state are chosen as inputs of the compensator, which improves adaptability. To verify the effectiveness and performance of the pro- posed controller, the comparison experiments tracking sinusoidal and square wave commands are conducted. Experimental results show that the proposed controller can obtain better dynamic performance and relatively consis- tent control performance across the scope of work （2-140 kPa）. The research proposes a fuzzy control method to overcome asymmetry and enhance adaptability for the positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system.

MOBILITY EVALUATION AND INNOVATION OF WHEELED SPACE ROVER

The mission and function requirements of lunar rover are analyzed, based on virtual prototype technology, the mobility evaluation theory and method for wheeled space rover are proposed, which provide a new way to study the innovative design of lunar rover. Based on the above theoretical system, an innovative lunar rover suspension system, which adopts a two-crank-slider mechanism, is proposed, and its dynamics model is created. Adopting virtual prototype technology, the ground adaptability, over-obstacle ability and driving placidity of the rover are evaluated in the virtual prototype software ADAMS. The analysis results show that the rover provides a high degree of mobility.

Magnetic Flux Leakage Course of Inner Defects and Its Detectable Depth

As a promising non-destructive testing(NDT)method,magnetic flux leakage(MFL)testing has been widely used for steel structure inspection.However,MFL testing still faces a great challenge to detect inner defects.Existing MFL course researches mainly focus on surface-breaking defects while that of inner defects is overlooked.In the paper,MFL course of inner defects is investigated by building magnetic circuit models,performing numerical simulations,and conducting MFL experiments.It is found that the near-surface wall has an enhancing effect on the MFL course due to higher permeability of steel than that of air.Further,a high-sensitivity MFL testing method consisting of Helmholtz coil magnetization and induction coil with a high permeability core is proposed to increase the detectable depth of inner defects.Experimental results show that inner defects with buried depth up to 80.0 mm can be detected,suggesting that the proposed MFL method has the potential to detect deeply-buried defects and has a promising future in the field of NDT.

High Initial Reversible Capacity and Long Life of Ternary SnO_(2)-Co-carbon Nanocomposite Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

The two major limitations in the application of SnO_2 for lithium?ion battery(LIB) anodes are the large volume variations of SnO_2 during repeated lithiation/delithiation processes and a large irreversible capacity loss during the first cycle, which can lead to a rapid capacity fade and unsatisfactory initial Coulombic e ciency(ICE). To overcome these limitations, we developed composites of ultrafine SnO_2 nanoparticles and in situ formed Co(CoSn) nanocrystals embedded in an N?doped carbon matrix using a Co?based metal–organic framework(ZIF?67). The formed Co additives and structural advantages of the carbon?confined SnO_2/Co nanocomposite e ectively inhibited Sn coarsening in the lithiated SnO_2 and mitigated its structural degradation while facilitating fast electronic transport and facile ionic di usion. As a result, the electrodes demonstrated high ICE (82.2%), outstanding rate capability(～ 800 mAh g^(-1) at a high current density of 5 A g^(-1)), and long?term cycling stability(～ 760 mAh g^(-1) after 400 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g^(-1)). This study will be helpful in developing high?performance Si(Sn)?based oxide, Sn/Sb?based sulfide, or selenide electrodes for LIBs. In addition, some metal organic frameworks similar to ZIF?67 can also be used as composite templates.

Effect of Front Baffle Inclination Angle and Pressure Drop on Absorption Performance of a Pickup Mouth

In order to improve the dust absorption performance of the reverse blowing pickup mouth, the gas-solid flow motion properties inside the reverse blowing pickup mouth were simulated by using computational fluid dynamics( CFD) software,Fluent.The results show that both the front baffle inclination angle and the pressure drop across the pickup mouth have significant impacts on dust absorption performance. As the inclination angle is increased,there is an increase in the overall and grade removal efficiency. As the front baffle inclination angle or pressure drop is increased,there is an increase in the overall and grade removal efficiencies.However,pressure drop affects energy consumption. Front baffle inclination angle and pressure drop are optimized. Optimal inclination angle and pressure drop are 105° and 2 300 Pa respectively. Sample machine is made and measured,which further verifies the appropriateness of numerical simulation and practicability of optimum strategy.

Effect of Radial Depth on Vibration and Surface Roughness During Face Milling of Austenitic Stainless Steel

This paper studies the influence of radial depth on vibration, chip formation and surface roughness during face milling of AISI304 austenitic stainless steel with indexable cemented carbide milling cutters. The amplitude of vibration acceleration increased with the increasing radial depth up to 80 mm. And the domain vibration frequency varied with the radial depth. In this paper, three types of chips were found: C shape, long shape and spiral shape. The minimum surface roughness value occurred when the radial depth equalled 40 mm in the experiment. Irregular changes of chip curl radius and chip thickness could be attributed to different numbers of alternately engaged teeth when the feed and speed were fixed. Surface roughness is related to forced vibration and chip formation. Radial depth with different numbers of alternately engaged teeth could significantly influence the forced vibration, chip formation, and surface roughness.

Preliminary Study on Broadband Resonance of Shaking Table Based on the Compressibility of Gas

In order to improve the performance of the shaking table,a vibration-enhanced shaking table which exploited broadband resonance was constructed.The broadband resonance was realized by an adjustable stiffness mechanism which exploited gas compressibility.Different from the traditional device,a gas filled cylinder(GFC)was mounted between the shake table and the exciter,and a pressure regulator was designed to regulate the gas pressure of the GFC.The natural frequency of the designed shaking table can be adjusted based on the compressibility of gas during the test.The principle of stiffness adjustment was theoretically analyzed and a series of experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of regulating the natural frequency.The experimental results indicate that the amplitude can be twice amplified and the natural frequency can be regulated between 2 0 Hz and 6 0 Hz.

A combined multiscale modeling and experimental study on surface modification of high-volume micro-nanoparticles with atomic accuracy

Surface modification for micro-nanoparticles at the atomic and close-to-atomic scales is of great importance to enhance their performance in various applications,including high-volume battery,persistent luminescence,etc.Fluidized bed atomic layer deposition(FB-ALD)is a promising atomic-scale manufacturing technology that offers ultrathin films on large amounts of particulate materials.Nevertheless,nanoparticles tend to agglomerate due to the strong cohesive forces,which is much unfavorable to the film conformality and also hinders their real applications.In this paper,the particle fluidization process in an ultrasonic vibration-assisted FB-ALD reactor is numerically investigated from micro-scale to macro-scale through the multiscale computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method(CFD-DEM)modeling with experimental verification.Various vibration amplitudes and frequencies are investigated in terms of their effects on the fluid dynamics,distribution of particle velocity and solid volume fraction,as well as the size of agglomerates.Results show that the fluid turbulent kinetic energy,which is the key power source for the particles to obtain the kinetic energy for overcoming the interparticle agglomeration forces,can be strengthened obviously by the ultrasonic vibration.Besides,the application of ultrasonic vibration is found to reduce the mean agglomerate size in the FB.This is bound to facilitate the heat transfer and precursor diffusion in the entire FB-ALD reactor and the agglomerates,which can largely shorten the coating time and improve the film conformality as well as precursor utilization.The simulation results also agree well with our battery experimental results,verifying the validity of the multiscale CFD-DEM model.This work has provided momentous guidance to the mass manufacturing of atomic-scale particle coating from lab-scale to industrial applications.

Integration of axiomatic design and theory of inventive problem solving for conceptual design

Axiomatic design (AD) and theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) are widely used in conceptual design. Both of them have limitations, however. We presented an integrated model of these two methods to increase the efficiency and quality of the problem solving process for conceptual design. AD is used for systematically defining and structuring a problem into a hierarchy. Sometimes, the design matrix is coupled in AD which indicates the functional requirements are coupled. TRIZ separation principles can be used to separate non-independent design parameters, which provide innovative solutions at each hierarchical level. We applied the integrated model to the heating and drying equipment of bitumen reproduction device. The result verifies that the integrated model can work very well in conceptual design.

Model development and parameter investigation of a column-type electric power steering system

In this paper, the performance of a column-type electric power steering （EPS） system and vehicle has been studied and a detailed mathematical model for the system has been established. Based on the mathematic model of the optimization design for steering feel, the parameters of the EPS system and vehicle on steering performance have been investigated. Moreover, the effects of the parameters on system stability have been analyzed and compared by the method of absolute sensitivity and the results are given in the end.