In this paper, the effect of Bi₂O₃ doping on the mechanical properties of PbO ceramic pellets was studied. For this purpose, different ratios of Bi2O3/PbO (i.e., xBi2O3–(1-x)PbO, where x is 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 wt%) were fabricated and sintered at 570, 620, and 670°C. Mechanical properties including density, hardness, flexural strength, and sintering of PbO were studied for the aforementioned compositions. Phase compositions, microstructures, and worn surfaces of the composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD analysis revealed that a solid solution formed in the composite ceramic. The best suited conditions of temperature and doping of Bi₂O₃ for optimal sintering are 620°C and 3 wt%, respectively. The hardness of the 3 wt% Bi2O3–97 wt% PbO ceramic was 717 MPa, which is about four times higher than the hardness of pure PbO; in addition, the strength of the composites was 43 MPa, which is two times higher than that of pure PbO. The integrity of the composites was verified using the lead–bismuth eutectic alloy flushing experiment. Results of this research paper are important for future studies of oxygen control in the lead–bismuth eutectic alloy of lead-cooled fast reactors.

This work mainly discusses an innovative teaching platform on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle digital mapping for Remote Sensing (RS) education at Wuhan University, underlining the fast development of RS technology. Firstly, we introduce and discuss the future development of the Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching Platform for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VSETP-UAV). It includes specific topics such as the Systems and function Design, teaching and learning strategies, and experimental methods. This study shows that VSETP-UAV expands the usual content and training methods related to RS education, and creates a good synergy between teaching and research. The results also show that the VSETP-UAV platform is of high teaching quality producing excellent engineers, with high international standards and innovative skills in the RS field. In particular, it develops students' practical skills with technical manipulations of dedicated hardware and software equipment (e.g., UAV) in order to assimilate quickly this particular topic. Therefore, students report that this platform is more accessible from an educational point-of-view than theoretical programs, with a quick way of learning basic concepts of RS. Finally, the proposed VSETP-UAV platform achieves a high social influence, expanding the practical content and training methods of UAV based experiments, and providing a platform for producing high-quality national talents with internationally recognized topics related to emerging engineering education.