Pyrochlore-related compound Sm2FeTaO7 was synthesized and investigated. It is shown that the thermal conductivity values are approximately half of the Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) over the temperature range of 25–1000 °C. Especially, thermal conductivity at high temperature is close to that of minimum thermal conductivity, as predicted by theoretical investigation, signifying better heat insulation capabilities. Considering lower Young modulus, improved fracture toughness, and better high-temperature phase stability, Sm2FeTaO7 compound can be a promising material for thermal insulating applications, such as thermal barrier coatings.@en

This paper discusses the design and software-in-the-loop implementation of adaptive formation controllers for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with parametric uncertainty in their structure, namely uncertain mass and inertia. In fact, when aiming at autonomous flight, such parameters cannot assumed to be known as they might vary during the mission (e.g. depending on the payload). Modelingg and autopilot design for such autonomous fixed-wing UAVs are presented. The modeling is implemented in Matlab, while the autopilot is based on ArduPilot, a popular open-source autopilot suite. Specifically, the ArduPilot functionalities are emulated in Matlab according to the Ardupilot documentation and code, which allows us to perform software-in-the-loop simulations of teams of UAVs embedded with actual autopilot protocols. An overview of realtime path planning, trajectory tracking and formation control resulting from the proposed platform is given. The software-in-the-loop simulations show the capability of achieving different UAV formations while handling uncertain mass and inertia.@en

Cracks are one of the main problems that plague road workers. A correct understanding of the internal crack propagation mechanism of asphalt pavement will help road workers evaluate the road’s working status more comprehensively and make more reasonable decisions in design, construction, and maintenance work. This paper established a three-dimensional asphalt pavement layered model using the software ABAQUS and fracture mechanics theory and the extended finite element method were used to explore the mechanical response of the pavement base layer’s preset reflective cracks. This paper investigated the influence of the modulus of each layer, vehicle load on the principal stress, shear stress, J-integral, and two stress intensity factors (K1, K2) during the pre-determined crack propagation process of the pavement base layer, and the entropy method was used to analyze the above-mentioned mechanical response. The results show that the main factor affecting the propagation of reflective cracks on asphalt pavements is the modulus of the bottom surface layer. However, from a modeling perspective, the effect of increasing load on crack growth is obvious. Therefore, in terms of technical feasibility, the prevention of reflective cracks should still be achieved by controlling the driving load and prohibiting overloading.@en

Self-healing of asphalt concrete (AC) is highly dependent on temperature, and its healing capacity increases with elevated temperatures. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of microwave heating on promotion of self-healing in AC. With this purpose, two types of AC specimens (neat AC without additives and conductive AC containing steel fiber and graphite) were prepared to for use in thermal conductivity, microwave heating speed tests, four-point bending fatigue, and healing tests. In addition, oscillatory frequency sweep tests were carried out to obtain the flow behavior of asphalt binder. Results indicated that AC containing electrically conductive additives had a higher thermal conductivity and microwave heating speed than neat AC. It was also found that the fatigue resistance and healing capacity of conductive AC after microwave heating were higher than that of neat AC. Moreover, there exists a critical temperature (corresponding to near-Newtonian behavior temperature of asphalt binder) above which healing of AC starts and an optimum heating time (temperature) to maximize the healing effect. Finally, it was found that an intermittent heating mode with a cooling process is more effective than the consecutive heating mode to enhance the healing capacity of AC. Based on these findings, it is concluded that self-healing efficiency of AC can be enhanced via microwave heating.@en

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have multi-domain applications, fixed-wing UAVs being a widely used class. Despite the ongoing research on the topics of guidance and formation control of fixed-wing UAVs, little progress is known on implementation of semi-physical validation platforms (software-in-the-loop or hardware-in-the-loop) for such complex autonomous systems. A semi-physical simulation platform should capture not only the physical aspects of UAV dynamics, but also the cybernetics aspects such as the autopilot and the communication layers connecting the different components. Such a cyber-physical integration would allow validation of guidance and formation control algorithms in the presence of uncertainties, unmodelled dynamics, low-level control loops, communication protocols and unreliable communication: These aspects are often neglected in the design of guidance and formation control laws for fixed-wing UAVs. This paper describes the development of a semi-physical platform for multi-fixed wing UAVs where all the aforementioned points are carefully integrated. The environment adopts Raspberry Pi’s programmed in C++, which can be interfaced to standard autopilots (PX4) as a companion computer. Simulations are done in a distributed setting with a server program designed for the purpose of routing data between nodes, handling the user inputs and configurations of the UAVs. Gazebo-ROS is used as a 3D visualization tool.@en

Pyrolytic carbon black (CB p ) from scrap tire pyrolysis is a potential modifier for the bitumen industry. Binders containing different contents of CB p were prepared and experimentally investigated to examine the effects of CB p on the electrical and thermal conductivity, conventional physical properties, rheological properties, high-temperature antirutting performance, aging resistance, and storage stability. Laboratory test results indicated that the incorporation of CB p effectively improves the electrothermal properties, rheological properties, high-temperature rutting resistance, and aging resistance. It also increases the viscosity and decreases the storage stability of bitumen. The study confirms that CB p -modified bitumen with proper selection of content can be a multifunctional paving material. @en

Electrically conductive asphalt concrete has the potential to satisfy multifunctional applications. Designing such asphalt concrete needs to balance the electrical and mechanical performance of asphalt concrete. The objective of this study is to design electrically conductive asphalt concrete without compromising on the mechanical properties of asphalt concrete. In order to achieve this goal, various tests have been conducted to investigate the effects of electrically conductive additives (steel fiber and graphite) on the laboratory-measured electrical and mechanical properties of asphalt concrete. The results from this study indicate that the critical embedded steel fiber length is 9.6 mm to maximize the fiber's potential to bridge across the crack from single fiber tensile test. Both steel fiber and graphite can produce conductive asphalt concrete with sufficiently low resistivity, but steel fiber is much more effective than graphite to improve the conductivity of asphalt concrete. A combination of steel fiber and graphite can precisely control the resistivity of asphalt concrete over a wider range. Besides, asphalt concrete containing an optimized amount of steel fibers has a significant improvement in Marshall Stability, rutting resistance, indirect tensile strength, and low temperature cracking resistance compared to the plain concrete. The addition of graphite could increase the permanent deformation resistance with compromised stability and low temperature performance. Asphalt concrete containing steel fibers and graphite weakens the steel fiber reinforcing and toughening effect, but still has a significant improvement in mechanical performance compared to the plain concrete.@en

Rare-earth zirconates (RE2Zr2O7, RE = rare earth elements) are considered as promising thermal barrier coating (TBCs) materials. However, their thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) is relatively low comparing with that of either the state-of-the-art TBCs material Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), or the metallic bond-coat. In present research, Cerium was introduced as the substitution of Zirconium to improve the TEC of rare-earth zirconates. A series of Yb2(Zr1−xCex)2O7 solid solutions were synthesized and investigated. Experimental results revealed that their TEC is remarkably increased with the Cerium substitution content. Meanwhile, their thermal conductivity shows no obvious increase compared with that of Yb2Zr2O7due to the phonon scattering effect.@en

During the last decades, asphalt concrete has been introduced in both ballast and ballastless track (including but not limited to slab track) systems. The use of asphalt concrete provides better damping and waterproofing performance. For this reason, a supporting layer of asphalt concrete (ASL) was introduced to the latest Chinese slab track system. In this paper, an in-depth study of the dynamic behavior of ASL was presented using modelling and in-situ measurement approaches. In the FE model, the train load was simplified to be a time series of concentrated load on rail nodes, and asphalt concrete was modeled as viscoelastic material by Prony series. The FE model was validated against in-situ measurement on a test section, in which a monitoring system was setup during construction. A series of transient analysis were conducted to obtain the dynamic responses of ASL under moving train load. The parametric effects of thickness of ASL was also studied with respect to the dynamic responses of superstructure and substructure, as well as the stability and durability of ASL. The results showed that, under moving bogie load, the reach of the dynamic responses in ASL is about 7.5 m in the longitudinal direction, and the maximum values occur at the position beneath the rails. A thicker ASL is more favorable to ride comfort and structural stability of high-speed railway track system. However, considering the economic and construction factors, an optimal thickness range of 7–10 cm is suggested for ASL in CRTS III slab track.@en

To date, PMN J2134-0419 (at a redshift z = 4.33) is the second most distant quasar known with a milliarcsecond-scale morphology permitting direct estimates of the jet proper motion. Based on two-epoch observations, we constrained its radio jet proper motion using the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique. The observations were conducted with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5 GHz on 1999 November 26 and 2015 October 6. We imaged the central 10-pc scale radio jet emission and modelled its brightness distribution. By identifying a jet component at both epochs separated by 15.86 yr, a proper motion of μ = 0.035 ± 0.023 mas yr-1 is found. It corresponds to an apparent superluminal speed of βa = 4.1 ± 2.7 c. Relativistic beaming at both epochs suggests that the jet viewing angle with respect to the line of sight is smaller than 20°, with a minimum bulk Lorentz factor Γ = 4.3. The small value of the proper motion is in good agreement with the expectations from the cosmological interpretation of the redshift and the current cosmological model. Additionally we analysed archival Very Large Array observations of J2143-0419 and found indication of a bent jet extending to ~30 kpc.@en

Asphalt generally behaves as an insulator. The addition of graphite can produce electrically conductive asphalt, which can be further manufactured as multifunctional asphalt concrete. The present study investigated the effect of graphite on the electrical conductivity and rheological characteristics of base asphalt. A novel electrical resistivity measuring method of asphalt binder was also introduced in detail. Various binder tests, including penetration, ductility, softening point, and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) tests, were utilized to determine rheological properties of asphalt binder. Experimental results indicated that the conductivity of asphalt binder improved with the increasing content of graphite. Moreover, asphalt binder exhibited improved viscoelastic response and resistance to rutting due to the addition of graphite. However, the low-temperature performance of graphite modified asphalt was not encouraging from the ductility test. Therefore, asphalt binder containing graphite is promising to become novel road functional materials to meet both requirements of electrical conductivity and road properties.@en