The lack of service lifetime of bearings has become a bottleneck that restricts the performance of aero engines. How to solve or improve this problem is the focus of most surface engineering researchers at present. In this study, plasma immersion ion implantation was conducted; in order to enhance the ion implantation efficiency and improve the wear resistance of 8Cr4Mo4V bearing steel, the dose-rate-enhanced method was adopted during ion implantation. The surface roughness, phase constituents, elemental concentration, hardness, contact angle and wear resistance of samples after ion implantation was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), elemental dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation tester, universal friction and wear tester, etc. The results showed that the high-dose-rate method had a significant enhancement influence on ion implantation efficiency. At the dose rate of 2.60 × 1017 ions/cm2·h, the roughnes... [more]

Aiming at the problem of the low reuse rate of mine water due to the high content of heavy metals in mine water, in this research, the microcharacterization means of EDX, XRD, BET, SEM, and FT-IR were used to characterize the nonstick coal in a mine in western China. The effects of solid−liquid ratio, solution pH, solution temperature, adsorption time, and initial concentration of the solution on the adsorption of Fe(II) by the nonstick coal were analyzed. The adsorption performance of nonstick coal on adsorbed Fe(II) was analyzed under different influencing factors. The results showed that the adsorption capacity and unit removal rate of the coal samples gradually decreased with the increase in the solid−liquid ratio; the adsorption amount increased with the increase in pH in an “S” shape, and the adsorption effect was better in the range of pH = 5~7; and the adsorption amount increased linearly with the temperature. The quasi-secondary kinetic model and Langmuir model could fit the a... [more]

As industrial practices continue to evolve, complex process industries often exhibit characteristics such as multivariate correlation, dynamism, and nonlinearity, making traditional mechanism modeling inadequate in terms of addressing the intricacies of complex industrial problems. In recent years, with advancements in control theory and industrial practices, there has been a substantial increase in the volume of industrial data. Data-driven dynamic operation optimization techniques have emerged as effective solutions for handling complex industrial processes. By responding to dynamic environmental changes and utilizing advanced optimization algorithms, it is possible to achieve dynamic operational optimization in industrial processes, thereby reducing costs and emissions, improving efficiency, and increasing productivity. This correlates nicely with the goals set forth by conventional process operation optimization theories. Nowadays, this dynamic, data-driven strategy has shown signi... [more]

Accurate mathematical patterning of friction has always been a significant research project in the domains of machinery and control, and has played a crucial role in the analysis, control and compensation of mechanical systems containing friction. For high-property electrohydraulic servo control systems, friction compensation is an urgent problem to be solved. The LuGre friction pattern can represent most frictional behaviors, but the LuGre friction pattern is piecewise-continuous, making it non-differentiable. Therefore, the question of how to combine the LuGre friction pattern, enhancing its tracking capacity and robust performance problem, to friction perturbation in hydraulic backstep devices is an important focus for research. In this study, the conventional LuGre friction pattern was enhanced using the continuous differentiability of a friction of rest pattern that laid the foundation of a smooth tangent function. Laying the foundation of an electrohydraulic servo pump-controlled... [more]

The pursuit of low-energy-consumption CO2 capture technology has promoted the renewal and iteration of absorbents for chemical absorption. In order to evaluate the regeneration energy consumption of absorbents and obtain the distribution of energy consumption, a coupling method combining rigorous energy balance and simple estimation is proposed in this study. The data regarding energy balance and material balance from process simulation are transformed into the model parameters required in the simple estimation model. Regenerative energy consumption and distribution are determined by the empirical estimation formula. Two CO2 capture processes of an MEA aqueous solution and MEA−n-propanol aqueous solution (phase-change absorbent) were used to verify the feasibility and applicability of the coupling method. The effects of n-propanol concentration, CO2 loading in the lean solution, and temperature on energy consumption were discussed. The results show that the energy consumption of 30 wt%... [more]

To obtain the macroscale Young’s modulus of glutenite under gravel inclusions, a numerical simulation of macroscale Young’s modulus prediction based on the mesoscale characteristics of glutenite was carried out. Firstly, the micron indentation test was used to obtain the meso-mechanical parameters of gravel and matrix in glutenite to ensure the reasonableness of the numerical simulation parameter settings; secondly, a two-dimensional glutenite physical model generation method based on the secondary development of Python was put forward; and then, the macroscale Young’s modulus variation rule of glutenite under different gravel sizes, particle size ratios, and content characteristics were analyzed using the finite element method (FEM). The results show that Young’s modulus of gravel is larger than Young’s modulus of the matrix, and Young’s modulus of different gravel and matrix has some differences. The gravel content is the main controlling factor affecting the macroscale Young’s modul... [more]

Sodium sulfate (SS) is a neutral activator. SS-activated alkali-activated slag cement (AASC) has lower shrinkage. However, it sets slowly, and the mechanical property develops slowly. Slaked lime (SL) is an alkaline substance widely used in industry that can be used as an activator in AASC. In this paper, SL was used alone, and SL and SS were mixed together to prepare AASC. The effects of SL content on the setting time, shrinkage properties and mechanical strength of AASC were investigated. Furthermore, the mechanism was explored with the analysis of microscopic tests. The results showed that SS could not be used as an activator alone, while SL could be used as an activator alone, and SS could be combined with SL to prepare AASC. The setting time of the SL system or the SS-SL mix system decreased with the increase in SL. The mechanical properties of the SL system were poor. The SS-SL system showed the highest mechanical properties when SL was 3%. With the increase in SL, the autogenous... [more]

Packed bed reactors play a crucial role in various industrial applications. This paper utilizes the Discrete Element Method (DEM), an efficient numerical technique for simulating the behavior of packed beds of particles as discrete phases. The focus is on generating densely packed particle beds. To ensure the model accuracy, specific DEM parameters were studied, including sub-step and rolling resistance. The analysis of the packed bed model extended to a detailed exploration of void fraction distribution along radial and vertical directions, considering the impact of wall interactions. Three different samples, spanning particle sizes from 0.3 mm to 6 mm, were used. Results indicated that the number of sub-steps significantly influences void fraction precision, a key criterion for comparing simulations with experimental results. Additionally, the study found that both loosely and densely packed beds of particles could be accurately represented by incorporating appropriate values for rol... [more]

This study investigates the effectiveness of using conditional generative adversarial networks (CGAN) to synthesize Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images for medical diagnosis. Specifically, the CGAN model is trained to generate images representing various eye conditions, including normal retina, vitreous warts (DRUSEN), choroidal neovascularization (CNV), and diabetic macular edema (DME), creating a dataset of 102,400 synthetic images per condition. The quality of these images is evaluated using two methods. First, 18 transfer-learning neural networks (including AlexNet, VGGNet16, GoogleNet) assess image quality through model-scoring metrics, resulting in an accuracy rate of 97.4% to 99.9% and an F1 Score of 95.3% to 100% across conditions. Second, interpretative analysis techniques (GRAD-CAM, occlusion sensitivity, LIME) compare the decision score distribution of real and synthetic images, further validating the CGAN network’s performance. The results indicate that CGAN-generated... [more]

Wood pellets are a versatile ingredient to produce bioenergy and bioproducts. Wood pellet manufacturing in Canada started as a way of using the excess sawdust from sawmilling operations. With the recent dwindling availability of sawdust and the growth in demand for wood pellets, the industry uses more non-sawdust woody biomass as feedstock. In this study, woody biomass materials received from nine wood pellet plants in British Columbia (BC) and Alberta were analyzed for their properties, especially those used for fractionating feedstock to make pellets. Half of the feedstock received at the plants was non-sawdust. Moisture contents varied from 10 to 60% wet basis, with the hog having an average of 50%. Ash contents ranged from 0.3 to 4% dry basis and were highest in the hog fraction. Bulk density varied from 50 to 450 kg/m3, with shavings having the lowest bulk density. Particle density ranged from 359 kg/m3 for infeed mix to 513 kg/m3 for sawdust. In total, 25% of particles received w... [more]

A geographical information system (GIS) is an advanced tool for collecting, managing, and analyzing spatially-referenced data. The contribution of GIS use to process performance indicators can be improved by combining it with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Combining a GIS and MCDA is, in the scientific literature, rarely discussed for planning an internal transportation system in a manufacturing plant’s outdoor area. The purpose of this article is to clarify what mangers can expect from using a combined approach when deciding on a transport fleet and the operational routing of vehicles. Beside the simulation of MCDA, the computer software ArcGIS Pro 3.0.2 with the Network Analyst extension was used for modelling the transportation system in the form of a case study. The article demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of GIS and MCDA use and reveals the extent of the challenge of how decision makers could make the most of ArcGIS functionality. The final solution for an... [more]

The production potential of highly deviated wells cannot be fully realized by conventional acid fracturing, as it can only generate a single fracture. To fully enhance the productivity of highly deviated wells, it is necessary to initiate multiple fractures along a prolonged well section to ensure the optimal number of fractures, thereby maximizing the economic returns post-stimulation. Thus, the number of fractures is a crucial parameter in the acid fracturing design of highly deviated wells. Considering factors such as the random distribution of natural fractures within the reservoir and interference between fractures during production, and, based on the oil−water two-phase flow equation, a three-dimensional reservoir−fracture production coupling model and its seepage difference model are established to simulate the production performance of highly deviated wells under varying conditions, including the number of fractures, fracture spacing, and conductivity parameters. A numerical mo... [more]

In this paper, the dynamic deposition behavior of Na-enriching Zhundong coal ash on tube bundles with varying longitudinal and transverse pitches was numerically studied. By using a modified critical viscosity model, an improved CFD deposition model has been established and key parameters, including deposit mass and morphology, particle trajectories and impaction and sticking probabilities, as well as the heat flux distribution, have been analyzed. The results show that the ash deposited on tubes in the first row is, respectively, 1.74 and 3.80 times higher than that on the second and third rows, proving that ash deposition in the downstream is lessened. As the longitudinal pitch increased from 1.50 D to 2.50 D, deposit mass in the downstream increased two times, suggesting that an increase in longitudinal pitch would aggravate ash deposition. The effect of transverse pitch, however, with the least deposit propensity at St/D = 1.75, is non-linear due to the joint effect of adjacent tub... [more]

In the realm of sensing technologies, the appeal of sensors lies in their exceptional detection ability, high selectivity, sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and minimal sample usage. Notably, molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based sensors have emerged as focal points of interest spanning from clinical to environmental applications. These sensors offer a promising avenue for rapid, selective, reusable, and real-time screening of diverse molecules. The preparation technologies employed in crafting various polymer formats, ranging from microparticles to nanomaterials, wield a profound influence. These techniques significantly impact the assembly of simplified sensing systems, showcasing remarkable compatibility with other technologies. Moreover, they are poised to play a pivotal role in the realization of next-generation platforms, streamlining the fabrication of sensing systems tailored for diverse objectives. This review serves as a comprehensive exploration, offering concise insights... [more]

In rural areas with higher agricultural energy consumption, ensuring low-carbon transformation and rapid penetration is crucial; therefore, the importance of rural energy system in energy transformation is even more prominent. In order to better understand the research progress of rural integrated energy system, the existing structure of rural energy system and design method are briefly introduced, and the bibliometric method is applied to analyze publications from 2013 to 2023. Based on the Scopus database, 915 publications have been retrieved. These publications are analyzed from the perspective of citation, author, address, and published journal. It is concluded that existing researches mostly use conventional energy technologies to achieve power supply in rural areas, lacking analysis of the potential application of emerging energy technologies and research on multi-energy demand. Furthermore, the review reveals the economy of grid-connected rural energy system is mainly related to... [more]

Thermo-rechargeable batteries, or tertiary batteries, are prospective energy-harvesting devices that are charged by changes in the battery temperature. Previous studies on tertiary batteries have utilized an electrolyte solution, yet the volume of this electrolyte solution could be a disadvantage in terms of the heat capacity given to the tertiary batteries. To overcome this drawback, the performance of an electrolyte-free tertiary battery consisting of physically joined Na1.60Co[Fe(CN)6]0.902.9H2O (NCF90) and Na0.72Ni[Fe(CN)6]0.685.1H2O (NNF68) thin films was investigated for the first time. During thermal cycling between 5 °C and 15 °C, the thermal voltage (VTB) was observed to be 8.4 mV. This result is comparable to the VTB of conventional tertiary batteries that use electrolyte solutions made of NCF90 and NNF68 thin films.

During growth, plants produce bioactive compounds—secondary metabolites. Their concentration can be stimulated by the presence of a stressful factor—an elicitor. Since chlorine dioxide is commonly used in water plants to disinfect drinking water, its application as a plant elicitor seems to be very attractive. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of a new elicitor, ClO2, on the quality of seeds and bioactive compounds of sprouts. Elicitation of radish and broccoli seeds using ClO2 solutions did not significantly reduce their germination percentage (GP remained over 90%). Radish sprouts sprouted from seeds elicited in chlorine dioxide solutions with concentrations up to 800 ppm did not differ statistically significantly in terms of polyphenol content. Sprouts which were grown in the presence of ClO2 contained significantly fewer polyphenolic compounds. Elicitation of broccoli seeds in 800−1000 ppm ClO2 solutions causes an increase in total phenolic content and concentra... [more]

Design processes are always in motion, since more and more data-driven methods are used for various design and validation tasks. However, small and medium enterprises especially struggle with enhancing their processes with data-driven methods due to a lack of practical and easy-to-use analysis and redesign methods which can handle design process characteristics. In this paper, we present PADDME, which stands for process analysis for digital development in mechanical engineering, as a novel method that, in contrast to currently available analysis methods, considers those design process characteristics with respect to the integration of data-driven methods. Furthermore, a novel technology-readiness framework for digital engineering is introduced. Using the PADDME method, an industrial case study on introducing data-driven methods into the design and evaluation process chain is presented. The usability and novelty of the method are shown by the case study. Thus, PADDME allows a detailed c... [more]

The thermophysical properties of various types of nanofluids are often studied to find more effective working fluids for heat transfer applications. In this paper, the mass density, isobaric heat capacity, thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity surface tension, and electrical properties of calcium carbonate-ethylene glycol (CaCO3-EG) nanofluids were investigated. The samples with mass fractions of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 were prepared with a two-step method and studied as well as pure base fluid (ethylene glycol). The measurements were conducted at temperatures between 283.15 and 313.15 K and the obtained results show the impact of CaCO3 nanoparticles on the thermophysical and electrical properties of ethylene glycol.

This paper introduces an innovative adaptive control approach utilizing a nonlinear filter for a specific subset of nonlinear discrete-time systems, considering the presence of both input and output noise. The system can be transformed into a nonlinear autoregressive moving average with exogenous inputs (NARMAX) model. The concept of discrete Nussbaum gain is introduced to address the theoretical constraint associated with unknown directions of feed-forward or control gains, and the extended adaptive tuning sequence is introduced to facilitate the acceleration of parameter updating. In the case of no noise, asymptotical output tracking and global stability are achieved with the adaptive control. Further, in the presence of input noise and output noise, a novel nonlinear filter is designed to generate a more accurate filtered output, which improves the control system’s ability to adapt and track accurately. Finally, examples are provided to showcase the effectiveness and precision of th... [more]

This study aims to address the problem of poor synchronous accuracy when facing a time-varying load in conventional load-sensitive synchronous drive systems. The new electro-hydraulic load-sensitive (EHLS) diverter synchronous drive system was proposed by combining the diverter valve and the EHLS synchronous drive system. The variable pressure margin compensation control was proposed to further improve the system’s synchronous control performance. Based on the system control strategy and component mathematical model, the simulation models of the EHLS, EHLS synchronous, and EHLS diverter synchronous drive systems were established using AMESim, respectively, and the synchronous control performance of the systems was obtained. The simulation results show that the EHLS drive system realized the primary functions of the load-sensitive system and could realize the variable load-sensitive pressure margin control. The EHLS synchronous drive system had poor synchronous control accuracy, but var... [more]

The improper discharge of industrial wastewater causes severe environmental pollution and the textile industry’s dye usage contributes significantly to industrial wastewater pollution. Hence, an effective method for removing the harmful substance methylene blue (MB) from dye wastewater is proposed. This method adopts a three-dimensional graphene composite material based on manganese dioxide (MnO2), named polyurethane@ reduced graphene oxide@ MnO2 (PU@RGO@MnO2). First, graphene is prepared with hydrazine hydrate as a reducing agent and polyurethane as a framework. MnO2 nanoparticles are synthesized by the reaction of potassium permanganate (KMnO4) with carbon. These nanoparticles are then loaded onto the three-dimensional framework to create the composite material. Finally, adsorption and removal experiments for MB are conducted to compare the performance of the composite material. The results indicate that the graphene based on the polyurethane framework exhibits favorable mechanical p... [more]

With the development of ultra-long-range visual sensors, the application of unsupervised person re-identification algorithms to them has become increasingly important. However, these algorithms inevitably generate noisy pseudo-labels, which seriously hinder the performance of tasks over a large range. Mixup, a data enhancement technique, has been validated in supervised learning for its generalization to noisy labels. Based on this observation, to our knowledge, this study is the first to explore the impact of the mixup technique on unsupervised person re-identification, which is a downstream task of contrastive learning, in detail. Specifically, mixup was applied in different locations (at the pixel level and feature level) in an unsupervised person re-identification framework to explore its influences on task performance. In addition, based on the richness of the information contained in the person samples to be mixed, we propose an uncertainty-aware mixup (UnA-Mix) method, which red... [more]

This paper is based on the surface defects of casting billets in the production process of nonoriented silicon steel plates at a steel plant in North China. Taking the parameters of a slab mold in the nonoriented silicon steel production process as a prototype, the flow field characteristics of the mold under the same section, different drawing speed and immersion depth were systematically studied by using a LES (large eddy simulation) and VOF (volume of fluid) coupling algorithm. The results show that under the current conditions, when the critical slag entrapment speed increases from 1.0 m/min to 1.2 m/min, the nozzle insertion depth increases linearly with the critical slag entrapment speed, while when the nozzle insertion depth exceeds 130 mm, the increasing effect of further increasing the nozzle insertion depth on the critical slag entrapment speed begins to decrease. When the drawing speed of continuous casting is kept constant at 1.4 m/min, the abnormal fluctuation height of th... [more]

Phenolics are the main components of plant extracts contributing to their antioxidant activity. However, they autoxidize, generating hydrogen peroxide. This study aimed to examine the correlation between the phenolic content, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and the amount of H2O2 generated in extracts of 18 various plant materials. A significant correlation was found between the phenolic content and TAC measured by ABTS● decolorization, CUPRAC, FRAP, and DPPH● decolorization methods (correlation coefficients r of 0.94, 0.93, 0.90, and 0.78, respectively). However, the correlation between the phenolic content and H2O2 amount generated upon brewing (r = 0.25) and after 1 h incubation (r = −0.37) was low or negative. The correlation between the phenolic content and the change of H2O2 concentration during 1 h incubation of the extracts was negative (r = −0.61). Examination of three phenolics (pyrogallol, gallic acid, and quercetin) showed that all compounds generate but also scavenge H2O... [more]