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 may lead an overestimation or underestimation of virtual water transfer. Moreover, while considering the relation between economic benefits and environmental costs, the studies of virtual water inequality are still limited in both number and methodology. Here, to address these gaps, we recalibrated the virtual water and value-added transfer in China's 30 provinces in 2017 using a new Environmental Spillover-Feedback Effects (ESFEs) model, and then measured the inequality between virtual water transfer and the resource endowments taking the value-added into account. Our results show that the virtual water transfer of half of provinces changed exceeding 50 %, with a maximum of 428 %. The ratio of net virtual water outflow to one-way virtual water inflow (which is called virtual water plunder index in this study) in Xinjiang is up to 935 %, which directly contributing to the inequality among regions. Moreover, the virtual water transfer in different regions is not compensated equally from the perspective of economy. As a result, some regions are getting both water resources and economic benefits, while others are getting the opposite. Our study highlights the importance of considering both the pressure on water resources and economic benefits when measuring the virtual water inequality. Our findings support policymakers in developing adequate responses, i.e., clarifying regional responsibilities of virtual water trade, building a whole industrial chain, and balancing the transfer of value-added and virtual water.@en

Practical and reliable methods for theoretically determining the properties of B, C, N, and O in bcc iron have been explored by systematic DFT calculations. The energies of solution and migration, and the elastic strain fields due to the solute atom have been evaluated by supercell calculations under various conditions. By applying correction for spurious elastic interaction of the solute atom with its images in the periodic supercells, reasonable estimates of the solution energy have been obtained without employing very large supercells. The correction turned out unimportant for the migration energy, as it modifies the energies of the stable position and the saddle-point similarly. The lambda tensor, which uniquely characterizes the strain field induced by a solute atom, has been evaluated for the four species of various configurations, first through the force-dipole tensor obtained in zero-strain calculations, and second from changes in supercell dimensions in zero-stress calculations. The two procedures give similar results that typically differ by a few per cent from each other. The computed values for C and N in octahedral interstitial sites are comparable to experimental values. When experimental data become available for B and O, these evaluations will resolve the as-yet contentious location of these atomic species in bcc iron.@en

A self‐healing thermal barrier coating (TBC) system is manufactured by air plasma spraying (APS) and tested by thermal cycling. The ceramic topcoat in the self‐healing APS TBC system consists of an yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ) matrix and contains self‐shielding aluminium containing MoSi2 healing particles dispersed close to the topcoat/bond coat interface. After spraying the healing particles the material was annealed to promote the formation of an oxygen impermeable Al2O3 shell at the MoSi2‐TBC interfaces by selective oxidation of the aluminium fraction. The samples were subsequently thermally cycled between room temperature and 1100°C. The study focussed on the spontaneous formation of the Al2O3 shell as well as the subsequent damage evolution in the APS produced TBC during thermal cycling. Experimental evidence showing characteristic signs of crack healing in the topcoat is identified and analysed. The study shows that while the concept of the self‐healing APS TBCs containing self‐shielding MoSi2 particles is promising, future study is needed to improve the protectiveness of the Al2O3 shells by further tailoring the aluminium content in the MoSi2 and the particle shape to avoid the premature oxidation of the healing particles and maximise crack healing efficiency.@en