A molecular dynamics study of N–A–S–H gel with various Si/Al ratios

In this paper, the atomic structures of sodium aluminosilicate hydrate (N–A–S–H) gels with different Si/Al ratios are studied by molecular dynamics simulation. An N–A–S–H gel model was obtained from the polymerization of Si(OH)₄ and Al(OH)₃ monomers with the use of a reactive force field (ReaxFF). The simulated atomic...

Unveiling the inequalities in virtual water transfer in China: The environmental and economic perspectives

To alleviate the geographical mismatch between supply and demand of water resources, virtual water trade had attracted extensive attention. Many studies had estimated the virtual water flow and measured the virtual water inequality using Environmental Input-Output (EIO) model. However, EIO model ignores the feedback effect in the trade, which...

Experimental phase diagram of zero-bias conductance peaks in superconductor/semiconductor nanowire devices

Topological superconductivity is an exotic state of matter characterized by spinless p-wave Cooper pairing of electrons and by Majorana zero modes at the edges. The first signature of topological superconductivity is a robust zero-bias peak in tunneling conductance. We perform tunneling experiments on semiconductor nanowires (InSb) coupled to...

Spectroscopic evidence for bulk-band inversion and three-dimensional massive Dirac fermions in ZrTe₅

Three-dimensional topological insulators (3D TIs) represent states of quantum matters in which surface states are protected by timereversal symmetry and an inversion occurs between bulk conduction and valence bands. However, the bulk-band inversion, which is intimately tied to the topologically nontrivial nature of 3D Tis, has rarely been...

Optimizing the preheating temperature of hot rolled slab from the perspective of the oxidation kinetic

Decreasing the preheating temperature is an effective step to control the energy consumption in the hot rolling process. In order to obtain the lowest preheating temperature to prepare enough thickness of oxide scale in the hot rolling process, the oxidation resistance of commercial steel samples with different Al and Si contents were...

Rheological Properties of High-Viscosity Modified Asphalt Containing Warm-Mix Additives

High-viscosity modified asphalt (HVMA) is the most commonly applied method in drainage asphalt pavements. However, some disadvantages of hot-mix HVMA, including high energy consumption and unavoidable environmental pollution, should be improved. Therefore, warm-mix additive (WMA) was introduced. In this paper, the effects of WMA on the...

Investigation of drying-induced non-uniform deformation, stress, and micro-crack propagation in concrete

Concrete generally deforms and cracks in a non-uniform manner under drying-induced stress. This study used the lattice fracture model to simulate the drying-induced non-uniform deformations, stresses, and micro-crack propagation in concrete. Experiments were designed to validate the lattice fracture model, wherein the drying-induced non...

Effect of relative humidity on drying-induced damage in concrete: A comparative study of digital image correlation and lattice modelling

To assess the effect of relative humidity (RH) on drying-induced damage in concrete, the non-uniform strains and microcracks in concrete under different RH conditions were obtained using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique and lattice fracture model. The simulated non-uniform displacements were consistent with those captured using...

Identification of affinely parameterized state–space models with unknown inputs

The identification of affinely parameterized state–space system models is quite popular to model practical physical systems or networked systems, and the traditional identification methods require the measurements of both the input and output data. However, in the presence of partial unknown input, the corresponding system identification...

Effects of Thermal Reflowing Stress on Mechanical Properties of Novel SMT-SREKs

A novel silicone rubber elastic key (SREK) is proposed in this paper for surface mounting technology (SMT) applications. Effects of thermal reflowing stress on the mechanical properties of SMT-SREKs are investigated. The manufactured SMT-SREKs, which underwent various reflowing conditions in advance, are subjected to pressing force and...

Uptake of heavy metal ions in layered double hydroxides and applications in cementitious materials: Experimental evidence and first-principle study

The uptake mechanism of heavy metal ions in layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is investigated in this paper via solid-solution exchange experiments and first principle study. The uptake capacities of C-LDHs for heavy metal ions from solutions are experimentally investigated and the structures of LDHs doped with various heavy metal ions are...

Excitation of unidirectional exchange spin waves by a nanoscale magnetic grating

Magnon spintronics is a prosperous field that promises beyond-CMOS technology based on elementary excitations of the magnetic order that act as information carriers for future computational architectures. Unidirectional propagation of spin waves is key to the realization of magnonic logic devices. However, previous efforts to enhance the...

Synergistic effects of cerium-containing bioactive glasses and apoptotic extracellular vesicles alleviate bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of jaw

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are commonly used to treat skeletal diseases. However, long-term use of BPs can lead to BP-related jaw bone necrosis (BRONJ), particularly in patients undergoing tooth extraction surgery. The treatment of BRONJ remains challenging due to the local inflammatory microenvironment. To address this issue, we developed...

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...

New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021

Sustainable and resilient pavement infrastructure is critical for current economic and environmental challenges. In the past 10 years, the pavement infrastructure strongly supports the rapid development of the global social economy. New theories, new methods, new technologies and new materials related to pavement engineering are emerging....

Interfacial Designs of MXenes for Mild Aqueous Zinc-Ion Storage

Limited Li resources, high cost, and safety risks of using organic electrolytes have stimulated a strong motivation to develop non-Li aqueous batteries. Aqueous Zn-ion storage (ZIS) devices offer low-cost and high-safety solutions. However, their practical applications are at the moment restricted by their short cycle life arising mainly from...

Nanoprobes for PET/MR Imaging

The development of clinical imaging techniques significantly improves diagnostic accuracy and provides guidance for personalized treatment of individuals. However, every single imaging modality has its distinct drawbacks that cannot fully fulfil the diagnosis requirement. Thus, rational combination of different imaging modalities can achieve...