Enhancing the intergranular corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of Al–Mg–xSi–Cu–Zn alloys by synergistic intergranular and intragranular precipitation behaviors

The intergranular corrosion (IGC) resistance of age-hardening Al–Mg–Si–Cu alloys is closely related to the precipitation behavior adjacent to grain boundaries. In this study, we proposed to regulate the interaction of solute atoms and solute partitioning of Zn-containing Al–Mg–xSi–Cu alloys by introducing dislocations, which can...

Cross-category prediction of corrosion inhibitor performance based on molecular graph structures via a three-level message passing neural network model

Current experimental verification, computational modeling, and machine learning methods for predicting corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) are limited to specific inhibitor categories with high cost and poor generalization. In this study, a cross-category corrosion inhibitor dataset is constructed and a three-level direct message passing...

Analysis of Railway Ballasted Track Stiffness and Behavior with a Hybrid Discrete-Continuum Approach

Railway ballasted track stiffness is an important indicator to identify supporting condition that ensures that the facility is well designed and functioned. Although many studies have been performed on track stiffness based on experimental tests and finite-element methods, the factors influencing the track stiffness have not been completely...

Stable Spinning Deployment Control of a Triangle Tethered Formation System

The tethered formation system has been widely studied due to its extensive use in aerospace engineering, such as Earth observation, orbital location, and deep space exploration. The deployment of such a multitethered system is a problem because of the oscillations and complex formation maintenance caused by the space tether's elasticity and...

Chlorination contributes to multi-antibiotic resistance in a pilot-scale water distribution system

The generation and dissemination of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment has become a critical risk to human health. This study is based on a pilot-scale simulated water distribution system to understand the effects of chlorine disinfection treatment (without free chlorine) on ARB and...

Novel Solid-State Sodium-Ion Battery with Wide Band Gap NaTi₂(PO₄)₃ Nanocrystal Electrolyte

NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP), a well-known anode material, could be used as a solid wide-band gap electrolyte. Herein, a novel solid-state sodium-ion battery (SSIB) with the thickness of electrolyte up to the millimeter level is proposed. The results of the difference in charge density investigated by the first-principles calculations imply that using...

High-Voltage Cathode α-Fe₂O₃Nanoceramics for Rechargeable Sodium-Ion Batteries

Previously, α-Fe2O3 nanocrystals are recognized as anode materials owing to their high capacity and multiple properties. Now, this work provides high-voltage α-Fe2O3 nanoceramics cathodes fabricated by the solvothermal and calcination processes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Then, their structure and electrical conductivity were...

Sustainable Passive Design for Building Performance of Healthy Built Environment in the Lingnan Area

Having a healthy built environment becomes increasingly important, especially under the effects of COVID-19. This paper intends to combine sustainable goals based on climate change with passive design principles to achieve a healthy built environment regarding the building performance of residential buildings. The Yuedao Residential Community in...

Biogas productivity of anaerobic digestion process is governed by a core bacterial microbiota

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been commercially operated worldwide in full scale as a resource recovery technology underpinning a circular economy. However, problems such as a long start-up time, or system instability, have been reported in response to operational shocks. These issues are usually linked to the dynamics of the functional...

Coupled discrete-continuum approach for railway ballast track and subgrade macro-meso analysis

This paper presents a multi-layer railway ballast track and substructure model, where a coupled discrete and continuous method is used for macro-meso dynamic behaviour analysis under moving wheel loads. In this coupled model, the discrete element method (DEM) is utilised to build the superstructure of the ballast track (i.e. rail, fastener,...

Macro-meso dynamic analysis of railway transition zone: Hybrid DEM/FDM simulation and experimental validation

To probe into the mechanical behaviour of railway transition zone from the macro-meso aspects, a numerical model of transition zone is built that hybrids the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Finite Difference Method (FDM). The DEM is utilised to simulate the ballast bed and sleeper, because it can consider the realistic ballast shapes and...

Mechanical performance characterization of lignin-modified asphalt mixture

Lignin, as a bio-based waste, has been utilized in the asphalt industry due to various advantages. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two lignin products (lignin powder and lignin fiber) on the mechanical properties of asphalt mixtures. The raveling, rutting, thermal and fatigue cracking resistance, and moisture susceptibility of...

Biomimetic Strain-Stiffening Self-Assembled Hydrogels

Supramolecular structures with strain-stiffening properties are ubiquitous in nature but remain rare in the lab. Herein, we report on strain-stiffening supramolecular hydrogels that are entirely produced through the self-assembly of synthetic molecular gelators. The involved gelators self-assemble into semi-flexible fibers, which thereby...

Effects of crumb rubber size and percentage on degradation reduction of railway ballast

Higher speed, more freight and frequent maintenance increase ballast degradation and reduce the ballast lifespan. To reduce ballast degradation, crumb rubber used as buffering aggregates in ballast bed is relatively unexplored and needs more studies, because using it has the advantage of reusing the waster rubber and absorbing the noises. The...

Seasonal behaviour of tidal damping and residual water level slope in the Yangtze River estuary: Identifying the critical position and river discharge for maximum tidal damping

As a tide propagates into the estuary, river discharge affects tidal damping, primarily via a friction term, attenuating tidal motion by increasing the quadratic velocity in the numerator, while reducing the effective friction by increasing the water depth in the denominator. For the first time, we demonstrate a third effect of river discharge...

A method for fast evaluation of potential consequences of dam breach

Dam breach has catastrophic consequences for human lives and economy. In previous studies, empirical models are often, to a limited extent, due to the inadequacy of historical dam breach events. Physical models, which focus on simulating human behavior during floods, are not suitable for fast analysis of a large number of dams due to the...