Improving mechanical properties and sustainability of high-strength engineered cementitious composites (ECC) using diatomite

High-strength engineered cementitious composites (ECC) typically require higher cement content, which is negative from the sustainability point of view. To alleviate this problem, herein a low-cost and eco-friendly high-strength ECC (with a compressive strength of over 100 MPa) was developed, and diatomite was used to replace a small amount...

Erosion potential of the Yangtze Delta under sediment starvation and climate change

Deltas are widely threatened by sediment starvation and climate change. Erosion potential is an important indicator of delta vulnerability. Here, we investigate the erosion potential of the Yangtze Delta. We found that over the past half century the Yangtze's sediment discharge has decreased by 80% due to the construction of >50,000 dams...

A plasmonic spanner for metal particle manipulation

Typically, metal particles are difficult to manipulate with conventional optical vortex (OV) tweezers, because of their strong absorption and scattering. However, it has been shown that the vortex field of surface plasmonic polaritons, called plasmonic vortex (PV), is capable of stable trapping and dynamic rotation of metal particles, especially...