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Studying the seepage properties of broken rock is important for understanding the behavior of engineering projects and preventing seepage disasters from occurring. Therefore, a test system was developed to test the seepage properties of broken rock under different porosities and particle sizes. A non-linear seepage equation of broken rock was developed based on the Forchheimer equation and the theories of fraction calculus. The influence of the coupling mechanism of the porosity and particle size on the seepage properties of broken rock was analyzed. The results show that the non-linear seepage equation can describe the non-linear seepage properties of broken rock well. The relations between the permeability and the porosity and particles size can all be represented through an exponential function. It is thought that watercourses are developed in broken rock with high porosity and large particle size, which shows a stronger hydraulic conductivity capability. However, the inertial potential energy of a non-Darcy flow is relatively small.

The influence of homogenization treatment on microstructure evolution of Mg-5.8Zn-0.5Zr-1.0Yb (mass fraction, %) alloy was investigated under different annealing temperatures and holding times. Results indicated a severe dendritic segregation in the as-cast ingot. Zn and Yb segregate remarkably at the grain boundary and Zr appears in the form of precipitates. The Mg-Zn binary eutectic phases and a new ternary phase Mg-Zn-Yb are mainly distributed at dendrite boundaries. After homogenization, most of the eutectic phases dissolve into the matrix, except for a small amount of Mg-Zn-Yb phase. The area fractions of residual secondary phase decrease from 5.54% in the as-cast alloy to 0.59% in the well-homogenized sample. Microhardness test indicates that with the increasing temperature and holding time, microhardness value decreased sharply within the first stage of homogenization and then increased steadily to the local maximum value at 380 ºC and 12 h, followed by a slight reduction. Basing on the comprehensive analysis on microstructure and mechanical properties, the homogenization treatment at 380 ºC for 12 h is preferable.

Due to the distinct electromagnetic properties, double negative materials have bright application prospect in many areas in the future. The nickel (Ni)/polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composites were prepared by hot pressing Ni and PPS powders mixture. Microstructures, dielectric properties, and magnetic performances of the resulted composites were studied in detail. Once Ni contents exceeded the percolation threshold, the conductive networks would form and the conduction mechanism would change from hopping conduction to metal-like conduction. Due to the plasma oscillation of the free electrons within the conductive networks, negative permittivity appeared. Interestingly, circuit loops in the connected Ni particles induced by external electric field resulted in a diamagnetic phenomenon under high frequency for the composite with ferromagnetic Ni particles.

Conductor–insulator composites have been extensive researched for high dielectric constant. Most of them concentrated on metal polymers or metal ceramics. Barium titanate–carbon fibers composites were prepared by using a solid state reaction process with carbon fibers contents ranging from7 vol% to 23 vol%. Due to the high-aspect-ratio of carbon fiber, it was easy to produce a conducting network at much lower volume fraction. FESEM images illustrated that the carbon fibers influenced the densification and microstructure of the ceramics. Besides, addition of carbon fibers led to increase in dielectric permittivity, also had effects on the dielectric loss and ac conductivity. The dielectric and conductivity properties as a function of carbon fibers volume fraction were explained by the percolation theory.

Al/Epoxy composites with different Al content were prepared by insulation coating process including high energy ball milling and hot press. The electrical properties and magnetic performance including ac conductivity, permittivity, reactance and permeability were investigated in detail. The frequency dispersions of ac conductivity followed the power law, indicating the hopping conduction behavior. The real part of permittivity for composites increased with higher Al content, which was attributed to the more interface between Al and epoxy. Besides, the real part of the relative permeability decreased with higher Al content in high frequency.

The dual metallic components, i.e., iron-aluminum particles were distributed in alumina matrix to fabricate lossy cermets. The electromagnetic parameters including ac conductivity, the complex permittivity and permeability were investigated. With the increase of filler fractions, the conductive carriers instead of the dipoles played a primary role in conductive and dielectric properties. Hopefully, the cermets composites could be promising candidates for electromagnetic wave attenuation and shielding.

The multi-walled carbon nanotube/alumina (MWCNTs/Al2O3) nanocomposites embedded with the shortened MWCNTs were prepared by pressureless sintering. The microstructure, conductive behavior and complex permittivity spectra of the composites were investigated. It was found that MWCNTs, which were shortened to low aspect ratio by the controllable acid and ultrasonic treatment, uniformly dispersed in the Al2O3 matrix. A unique dielectric resonance-induced negative permittivity behavior was observed in the composites with high MWCNTs content. The negative magnitude of permittivity was small (~-50) in the testing frequency. The dielectric loss peaks being accompanied by dielectric resonance moved to the higher frequency with increasing MWCNTs content. Those composites underwent a capacitive-inductive transition with increasing frequency and their conductive mechanism was hopping conduction. This work is beneficial to explore the generation mechanism of negative permittivity, and will greatly facilitate the practical application of metamaterials.

In this paper, Fe/SiO2 composites with different Fe content were prepared through pressureless sinter in weakly reductive atmosphere after high energy ball milling. The electrical properties including ac conductivity, permittivity were investigated in detail. The results showed that the frequency dispersions of ac conductivity follow the power law, indicating the hoping conduction behavior. The real part of permittivity for composites increased with higher Fe content, which was attributed to the more interface between Fe and SiO2. Besides, Debye-like dielectric relaxations were observed, and the Debye-like loss peak appeared blue shift as increasing the Fe content.

FeSiCr-epoxy composites consisting of different FeSiCr contents were prepared through the pressure molding after mixing by cryomilling at liquid nitrogen temperature. The electromagnetic properties including ac conductivity, permittivity, and permeability were investigated in detail. The results show that the frequency dispersions of ac conductivity followed the power law, indicating the hoping conduction behavior. The real permittivity of composites increased with the increase of FeSiCr contents, and the enhancement of permittivity may be attributed to the increase of the interface area between FeSiCr and epoxy, while Debye-like dielectric relaxations were observed, and the fitting analysis of Cole-Cole curve indicates a nonideal Debye relaxation. The frequency dispersions of permeability were also relaxation linetype, which is attributed to the domain wall displacement.

In this paper, C/SiO2 bulk composite was prepared via SiO2 microspheres’ self-assembly process combined with heat treatment. SEM and impedance analyzer was used to investigate the microstructure and high-frequency dielectric properties of the composites. The results show that SiO2 microspheres constituted the composite matrix, whose porosity was slightly higher than the densest hexagonal stacking. Sheet carbon distributed in pores formed by SiO2 microspheres. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant of the composite material increased with the content of carbon, but decreased with the frequency. The permittivity of C/SiO2 composite could be adjusted by control the concentration of PVA solution.

Many construction materials are multi-phase composites in mesoscale, and therefore their overall mechanical properties strongly depend upon those of each component. Elastic properties are critical parameters in the overall performance and analysis of composites, and they are also of practical importance in design. Owning to randomness in the particle locations of each component, the overall performance of a multi-phase material also is not a deterministic value. As a result, prediction of the elastic properties of a multi-phase material is a challenging task. In the present study, a numerical simulation algorithm was proposed to investigate fully the overall elastic properties of composite samples. Finite element models, coupled with Monte Carlo simulations, subsequently were used to predict the overall modulus and Poisson’s ratio. Specifically, two typical types of construction materials were considered; soil-rock mixtures and concrete. For validation, the numerical simulation results of elastic moduli were compared with experimental test results and the comparison gave good agreement between numerical and the test results. Moreover, the influence of parameters, such as the elastic modulus of each phase, particle shape, size distribution and porosity, on the overall elastic modulus, were considered via parametric studies. Finally, the proposed numerical simulation algorithm was compared with some existing empirical models and the comparison results underscored the importance of the numerical model developed in this study.

The key for gel-casting is the preparation of ceramic aqueous slurries with excellent rheological properties. The effect of ammonium polyacrylate and pre-oxidation on rheological properties of Si3N4 slurries was investigated. The Si3N4 isoelectric point (IEP) is between 3 and 4 in premix solution and particle surface potential is maximum at pH between 9.5 and 10.5. PAA-NH4 of dispersant can obviously decrease the viscosity of Si3N4 slurries, and the optimal dosage is about 1.6wt% of Si3N4 powders. Meanwhile, the Si3N4 slurries exhibit pseudoplastic fluid with the characteristic of shear-thinning behavior. Due to the improvement of powder surface characteristic, the pre-oxidation significantly improve the rheological properties of the Si3N4 slurries.

The precursor nickel and manganese carbonates were synthesized by co-precipitation with sodium carbonate as precipitant, and then nickel and manganese oxides were gained after calcination. The phase and morphology of the synthesized product were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the electrochemical characterization was performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge tests (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a 6mol/L KOH aqueous solution electrolyte. The result showed that the products were the mixture of nickel and manganese oxides and solid solution. nanoparticles and spherical particles were gained by controlling the molar ratio of nickel and manganese. All of the samples exhibited typical Faradic redox capacitance. The specific capacitance was different with the change of nickel and manganese molar ratio. The specific capacitance (Cs) reached 130F/g at 1A/g when the ratio was 2:1.

The microstructure and dielectric properties of the graphene–epoxy composites prepared by cryomilling at liquid nitrogen temperature were studied by SEM and RF impedance material analyzer. The result indicated that both the dielectric constant and conductivity of the composites increased with the increase of the graphene content. The value of the dielectric constant of the composite with about 8 wt % of graphene was as high as 200. Moreover, the frequency dispersion behaviors of the conductivity within a certain frequency range accorded with the Jonscher's power law demonstrating that the conductive mechanism is hopping conduction. The negative reactance decreased with the increase of the testing frequency which indicated a capacitive character

The precipitating behavior of δ phase in GH4169G alloy at 910°C was investigated and a novel process for achieving fine-grained GH4169G sheet with average grain size of ASTM13 was proposed. Globular δ phase precipitation precedes that of the plate-like δ phase, forming at grain boundary first and later in grain. After globular δ phase reaches a peak volume, it begins to transform into plate-like in grain boundary, and then the plate-like δ phase forms in grain in certain direction. The grain-fined process includes the following steps:(1) solution treated at a proper temperature, then air cooled; (2) soaked for δ phase precipitation; (3) cold rolled; (4) annealed for recrystallization. Microstructure analysis from optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that both plate-like and globular δ phase remarkably restrained the grain growth during annealing recrystallization. The optimum parameters for the grain refinement were determined finally.

In this paper, uniaxial compression testsfor GH4145 superalloywere conducted on Gleeble-3800 at room temperature and 60°C with strain rates ranging from 0.5s-1 to 10s-1. No cracks were observed in all the specimens deformed from 10% to 70%, indicating that the GH4145 superalloy possesses great ductility under room temperature. The flow stress of GH4145 superalloywas not sensitive to strain rate deformed around room temperature and it decreased slightly with the temperature increasing. Dynamic recovery during deformation will start to balance the effect of work hardening when the true strain was arisen up to 0.4. Good agreement between the calculated and simulated temperature and strain shows that calculation method is accurate enough for the prediction.

Freestanding ultralong (900 μm) aligned carbon nanotube (ACNT) films were studied as both an electrode material and a dry adhesive binder with the current collector in lithium ion batteries. Results revealed the formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI). The amazingly large initial discharge capacity (1836 mAh g-1) indicated that the ACNT electrode we utilized had great potential for the intercalation of Li ions resulted from extremely large surface area of ACNT films. And electrochemical performances also exhibited excellent cycling stability for this ACNT electrode because of the presence of SEI and the unique structure of the electrode itself.

Thermal conditioning (TC) can improve sludge mechanical dewaterability and drying performance, and produce solid fuel from sewage sludge with low-cost and harmlessness. This study investigates the influence of the TC on sludge combustion with thermogravemetric analysis of sewage sludge with/without TC. The experiments were carried out at a 150 mL/min air ambient with a heating rate of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 °C/min. Tow integration approximation methods (Coats-Redfern and Flynn,-Wall-Ozawa) and a differential method (Kissinger method) were applied to study the kinetics. The Coats-Redfern method requires assuming the reaction’s kinetic mechanism. The calculated activation energy was lower than that from the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger, which were very close to each other. Among these methods, the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa can predict the energy required at every combustion stage, which therefore would be the best one to explore the combustion mechanism. The results show that the organic matters within sewage sludge are much more homogeneous after TC. The combustion of the thermal conditioning sludge (TCS) is much more stable with a 10% reduction in burnout time and a 9.94% reduction in combustion temperature range. The ignition temperature of the raw sludge keeps increasing from 188 to 224 °C with the heating rate, while that of the TCS is almost constant at 222-240 °C. The TC can improve the activation energy, which is about 144.52 and123.00 kJ/mol for the raw sludge (RS) and TCS. Considering the gaseous pollutant emissions, the TC can dramatically reduce NO emissions, which is decreased from 14.22 to 6.59 mg/g by the TC, representing a reduction of 50.7%. Therefore, the TC can promote the hydrolysis of macromolecular organics, which would improve the sludge combustion performance, and reduce the gaseous pollutant emissions from combustion.

Silica films prepared by the base catalyzed sol–gel process show poor mechanical property. In this study, silica anti-reflective films with good mechanical property have been prepared by the catalyzed sol–gel process with dimethyl formamide added as drying control chemical additives. The silica sol was first dip deposited onto substrate to form films on both sides of the substrate and then subjected to thermal treatment. After thermal treatment, the film was achieved due to the formation of porous structure in the resultant film as a result of decomposing tetraethylorthosilicate and dimethyl formamide. Nano-indenter measurement shows that the Young’s modulus and hardness of base catalyzed films are 10-20GPa and 0.25-0.55GPa, respectively. But the films added with dimethyl formamide are much better than those films derived from base-catalyzed silica sols, the Young’s modulus and hardness are 32-39GPa and 1.22-1.47GPa, respectively. The good mechanical properties make such films potential in both military and civil applications.

The combustion characteristics of textile dyeing sludge，sawdust and its blends at different proportions were studied by thermogravimetric analysis(TG-DTG) at different heating rates. The results showed that there existed four obviously temperature zones during the textile dyeing sludge combustion curves, which were corresponding to moisture's exhalation、two stages of devolatilizations and fixed carbon combustion. With the increasing of heating rates, the burning time was shorten and the combustion rate was faster of the textile dying sludge. DTG curve of the blends was more closed to that of the larger proportions. Comprehensive combustion characteristic index SN of the sludge-sawdust blends showed an uptrend, which demonstrated that higher volatility had better combustion characteristics.

Aluminum films were deposited on glass substrate by electron beam heat evaporation, and porous alumina films with high transmittance were prepared by means of anodic oxidation under different anodizing conditions in oxalic acid solution or phosphoric acid solution respectively. Thus the morphology of these porous alumina films was characterized by different structural. he optical transmittance spectrum at normal incidence over the 300~1000nm spectra region were obtained by spectrophotometer, which shows, in visible and ultraviolet light region, the transmittance of porous alumina films prepared in oxalic acid solution is much better than that prepared in phosphoric acid solution. The SEM analysis results showed that the pores are circular and uniform in porous alumina prepared in oxalic acid but irregular and non-uniform in that prepared in phosphoric acid, which affected the surface roughness of alumina films.

In past investigations on the interaction of laser and optical films, research was not widely performed on the process after the burst of the films’ material. Based on a centrosymmetric burst model of a plasma droplet, combined with ionization and absorption, the conditions that the ejected droplet’s thermodynamic parameters change with time have been investigated. When the burst starting time is appropriate, research has shown that the droplets’ parameters, such as expansion velocity and acceleration, cracking velocity and acceleration, temperature, and radius will reach their maximums. An earlier or later time does not increase the intensity of the droplet’s burst. This conclusion has great significance in investigations of laser-induced films damage.

A prototype Raman lidar was designed for monitoring tropospheric CO2 profile and other scientific investigations. The third harmonic of Nd:YAG laser (354.7-nm wavelength) was used as stimulated light source to provide nighttime measurements. Filter with high rejection ratio performance was used to extract CO2 Raman signals from Rayleigh-Mie scattering signals effectively. To improve the real time monitoring function, a two-channel signal collection system was designed to collect CO2 and N2 Raman scattering signals simultaneously. The N2 Raman scattering signals were used to retrieve aerosol extinction coefficient. Typical features of CO2 concentration profile and aerosol extinction coefficient in Hefei were presented. The mixing ratio of atmospheric CO2 in Hefei can reach about 360-400 ppmv.

To characterize quantitatively the viscoelastic behaviors of cryopreserved rabbit carotid arteries, five mechanical models, i.e. standard linear model, and four kinds of generalized Maxwell models, were comparatively applied. Specific aim of this study was to test the validity of these models to simulate the stress relaxation behaviors of the cryopreserved arteries and to find a best-fit model for identification of viscoelastic parameters. Non-linear curve fittings were applied to the stress-relaxation data measured with dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA IV; Rheometric. Scientific Inc.; Piscataway, NJ, USA), it was found that 5-element model (generalized Maxwell body composed of an elastic element and two Kelvin body) could provide satisfactory description of the cryopreserved rabbit carotid arteries.

The positive gate-bias temperature instability of a radio frequency (RF) sputtered ZnO thin-film transistor (ZnO TFT) is investigated. Under positive gate-bias stress, the saturation drain current and OFF-state current decrease, and the threshold voltage shifts toward the positive direction. The stress amplitude and stress temperature are considered as important factors in threshold-voltage instability, and the time dependences of threshold voltage shift under various bias temperature stress conditions could be described by a stretched-exponential equation. Based on the analysis of hysteresis behaviors in current—voltage and capacitance—voltage characteristics before and after the gate-bias stress, it can be clarified that the threshold-voltage shift is predominantly attributed to the trapping of negative charge carriers in the defect states located at the gate—dielectric/channel interface.

Polymer thin-film transistors (PTFTs) based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) are fabricated by the spin-coating process, and their photo-sensing characteristics are investigated under steady-state visible-light illumination. The photosensitivity of the device is strongly modulated by gate voltage under various illuminations. When the device is in the subthreshold operating mode, a significant increase in its drain current is observed with a maximum photosensitivity of 1.7×103 at an illumination intensity of 1200 lx, and even with a relatively high photosensitivity of 611 at a low illumination intensity of 100 lx. However, when the device is in the on-state operating mode, the photosensitivity is very low: only 1.88 at an illumination intensity of 1200 lx for a gate voltage of −20 V and a drain voltage of −20 V. The results indicate that the devices could be used as photo-detectors or sensors in the range of visible light. The modulation mechanism of the photosensitivity in the PTFT is discussed in detail.

We fabricate efficient bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic (OPV) device based on poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV), with copper(Ⅱ) phthalocyanine (CuPc) used as a donor and -phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) serving as an acceptor. The power conversion efficiency of the MEH-PPV/PCBM OPV device with 15% CuPc (1.41%) increases by 12% compared with that of the standard MEH-PPV/PCBM device (1.26%). The efficiency improvement can be attributed to the CuPc supplemental absorption and higher mobility than MEH-PPV, leading to increased short-circuit current density.

Lower tropospheric water vapor measurements are performed at nighttime using the mobile atmosphere monitoring lidar-2 (AML-2) which is operated by the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics. In this lidar system, a 354.7-nm light from a Nd:YAG laser is used as stimulating source, whose Raman shifted center wavelengths are at 386.7 and 407.5 nm for nitrogen and water vapor, respectively. We present a novel and convenient method for determining the Raman lidar calibration constant according to the scanning performance of this lidar. We are likewise able to realize the measurement of water vapor profile in the low troposphere. The error induced by the uncertainty of calibrated constants is within 7% for the Raman lidar system. Experimental results from two months of study indicate that the method of calibrating the lidar system constant is feasible, and the Raman lidar performance is stable and reliable.