With the ever-growing emphasis on global decarbonization and rapid increases in the power density of electronics equipment in recent years, new methods and lightweight materials have been developed to manage heat load as well as interfacial stresses associated with Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) mismatch between components. The Al-Si system provides an attractive combination of CTE performance and high thermal conductivity whilst being a very lightweight option. Such materials are of interest to industries where thermal management is a key design criterion, such as aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, defense, EV and space. This paper will describe the development and manufacture of a family of high-performance hypereutectic Al-Si alloys (AyontEX™) by a powder metallurgy method. These alloys are of particular interest for structural heat sink applications that require high reliability under thermal cycling (CTE of 17μm/(m·°C)) as well as reflective optics and instrument assemblies that require good thermal and mechanical stability (CTE of 13μm/(m·°C)). Critical performance relationships are presented, coupled with the microstructure, physical and mechanical properties of these Al-Si alloys.

Abstract Octreotide is the first synthetic peptide hormone, consisted of eight amino acids, that mimics the activity of somatostatin, a natural hormone in the body. During the past decades, advanced instrumentation and crystallographic software established X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) as a valuable tool for extracting structural information of biological macromolecules. The latter was demonstrated by the successful structural determination of octreotide at a remarkably high d-spacing resolution (1.87 Å) (PDB code: 6vc1). This study focuses on the response of octreotide to different humidity levels and temperatures, with a particular focus on the stability of the polycrystalline sample. XRPD measurements were accomplished employing an Anton Paar MHC-trans humidity-temperature chamber installed within a laboratory X’Pert Pro diffractometer (Malvern Panalytical). The chamber is employed to control and maintain precise humidity and temperature levels of samples during XRPD data collection. Pawley analysis of the collected data sets revealed that the octreotide polycrystalline sample is remarkably stable and no structural transitions were observed. The compound retains its orthorhombic symmetry (space group: P212121, a = 18.57744(4) Å, b = 30.17338(6) Å, c = 39.70590(9) Å, d~ 2.35 Å). However, a characteristic structural evolution in terms of lattice parameters and volume of the unit-cell is reported mainly upon controlled relative humidity variation. In addition, an improvement of signal-to-noise ratio in the XRPD data under a cycle of dehydration/rehydration is reported. These results underline the importance of considering the impact of environmental factors, as humidity and temperature, in the context of structure-based drug design, thereby contributing to the development of more effective and stable pharmaceutical products.

The adulteration of goat milk powder occurs frequently, cattle-derived and soybean-derived ingredients are common adulterants in goat milk powder. However, simultaneously and rapidly detecting cattle-derived and soybean-derived components is still a challenge. high throughput and efficient screening method for adulteration detection is need. In this study, a rapid method was developed to detect the adulteration of common cattle-derived and soybean-derived components simultaneously in goat milk powder by combining the CRISPR/ Cas12a system with recombinant polymerase amplification (RPA). A dual DNA extraction method was employed, primers and crRNA for dual detection were designed and screened, and a series of condition optimizations were carried out in this experiment. The optimized assay can rapidly detect cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in 40 min. The detection limits of both cattle-derived and soybean-derived components were 1% (w/w) for the mixed adulteration models. The established method was applied into a blind survey of 55 commercially available goat milk powder products. The results showed that 36.36% of the samples contained cattle-derived or soybean-derived ingredients, which revealed the noticeable adulteration situation in the goat milk powder market. This study realizes a fast flow of dual extraction, dual amplification and dual detection of cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in goat milk powder for the first time. It can be used for high-throughput and high-efficiency on-site primary screening of goat milk powder adulterants, and provide a technical reference for combating with food adulteration.

Pulverized coal pyrolysis based on solid heat carrier has a huge advantage in high tar yield. In this study, pyrolysis experiments of pulverized coal were conducted in a lab-scale fluidized bed reactor at 650 ℃, utilizing char as the solid heat carrier. The influence of mass ratio of char to coal (RATIO) was investigated. Results show that the incorporation of solid heat carrier of char significantly enhanced the initial reaction in coal pyrolysis, resulting in increasing yields of tar and gas but reducing one of char. The yield of tar maximally reached 148.80-262.22% of the Gray-King analysis value at the RATIO of 14.52 g/g. As the RATIO increased, the tar contained more light component content, indicating that incorporating solid heat carriers improved the tar quality. These findings offer significant insights for the design of fluidized bed pyrolysis unit utilizing char as solid heat carrier.

With the increasing interest in CM as a potential source of nutrients and bioactive compounds, there arises a necessity to delve into methods for its processing and drying. Over recent decades, a significant amount of research has been conducted on the chemical composition of CM and its potential health benefits. Consequently, this study is directed towards examining CM drying technology, including an analysis of the influence of different drying methods on its chemical composition and nutri-tional properties. The objective of this review is to systematically summarize the available literature on CM drying processes and their impact on its chemical composition. Special attention is devoted to comparing various drying methods such as freeze-drying, spray drying, and freeze-drying, as well as investigating factors affecting the quality of dried CM. To achieve this goal, we scrutinize a series of studies published between 2003 and 2022 to identify optimal drying methods that promote the maximum preservation of CM's nutritional components and bioactive compounds. Additionally, we explore possibilities for reducing drying time to enhance production efficiency. This research is grounded in the analysis of data from diverse scientific research databases, including Scopus and Google Scholar, encompassing a systematic review of scientific literature and a comparative analysis of the obtained results.

This paper presents the results of investigations into the pyrolysis of waste polypropylene in a laboratory fixed-bed batch reactor. The experiments were designed and verified in such a way as to allow the application of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in the development of an empirical mathematical model that quantifies the impacts mentioned above. The influence of the mass of the raw material (50, 100 and 150 g), together with the reactor temperature (450, 475 and 500 °C) and the reaction time (45, 50 and 75 min) was examined. It has been shown that the mass of the raw material, i.e. the filling volume of the reactor, has a significant influence on the pyrolysis oil yield. This influence exceeds the influence of reactor temperature and reaction time. This was explained by observing the temperature change inside the reactor at three different spots at the bottom, middle and top of the reactor. Recorded temperature diagrams show that with greater masses of feedstock, local overheating occurs in the middle part of the reactor, which leads to overcracking of vapor products, and from there to an increased formation of non-condensable gases, i.e. reduced yield of pyrolytic oil.

Chromium (Cr) metal has garnered significant attention in alloy systems owing to its exceptional properties, such as high melting point, low density, and superior oxidation and corrosion resistance. However, its processing capabilities are hindered by the high Ductile-Brittle Transition Temperature (DBTT). Recently, powder bed fusion-laser beam for metals (PBF-LB/M) has emerged as a promising technique, offering the fabrication of net shapes and precise control over crystallographic texture. Nevertheless, research investigating the mechanism underlying crystallographic texture development in pure Cr via PBF-LB/M still needs to be conducted. This study explores the impact of scan speed on relative density and crystallographic texture. At the optimal scan speed, an increase in grain size attributed to epitaxial growth was observed, resulting in the formation of cubic texture. Consequently, a reduction in High Angle Grain Boundaries (HAGB) was achieved, suppressing defects such as cracks and enhancing relative density up to 98.1%. Furthermore, with increasing densification, Vickers hardness also exhibited a corresponding increase. These findings underscore the efficacy of PBF-LB/M for processing metals with high DBTT properties.

This study explored the feasibility of fluoride removal from simulated semiconductor industry wastewater and its recovery as calcium fluoride using fluidized bed crystallization. The continuous reactor showed best performance (>90% fluoride removal and >95% crystallization efficiency) at a calcium to fluoride ratio of 0.6 within first 40 days of continuous operation. The resulting particle size increased by more than double during this time along with a 36% increase in the seed bed height indicating deposition of CaF2 onto the silica seed. The SEM-EDX analysis showed the size and shape of the crystals formed along with high amount of Ca-F ions presence. The purity of the CaF2 crystals were determined to be 91.1% though ICP-OES analysis. Following the continuous experiment, different process improvement strategies are explored. The addition of excess amount of calcium resulted in an additional 6% fluoride removal, however, compared to this single stage process, a two-stage approach was found to be better strategy to achieve a low effluent fluoride concentration. The fluoride removal reached 94% with this two-stage approach under optimum condition of 4 + 1 h HRT combinations and a [Ca2+]/[F-] ratio of 0.55 and 0.7 for the two reactors, respectively. CFD simulation showed the impact of inlet diameter, bottom-angle shape and width and height ratio of the reactor on mixing inside reactor and possibility of further improvement in reactor performance by optimizing the FBR configuration.

The fine chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are starting to advocate the use of flow chemistry due to reasons such as EHS, environmental, efficiency, cost saving and regulatory compliance. The use of trickle bed or fixed bed system could replace a batch autoclave typically used for hydrogenation reactions. However, there are few studies which detail the process from laboratory proof of concept through design to commercial realization. This study, using the production of 1,3-cyclohexanedione from catalytic hydrogenation of resorcinol as a case study demonstrates how the laboratory-scale recycle trickle bed can be used for catalyst screening and selection. Further, design data are generated by operation over a range of design superficial velocities and operating pressure that are used to derive a design correlation that is then used to specify a single stream plant at a level of definition consistent with a Preliminary Design for capital cost estimation. Finally, the further actions required in terms of data generation to increase the level of definition and confidence to a Sanction Grade or Final Design are discussed.

Effects of oxygen content on microstructure and creep property of FGH96 superalloy were investigated. When oxygen content increased from 135ppm to 341ppm, prior particle boundary (PPB) rose from degree 2 to degree 3, and the size of γ′ phase on PPB enlarged from 1.07μm to 1.27μm, and MC carbide size grew from 77.4nm to 104.0nm. Meanwhile, the steady creep rate accelerated form 4.34×10-3 h-1 to 1.87×10-2 h-1, and the creep rupture life shortened from 176h to 94h, and the creep rupture mode transferred from intergranular and transgranular mixed fracture to along PPB fracture. During creep, the micro-twins formation and gliding will be restrained by ∑3 boundaries. FGH96 superalloy with higher oxygen content contains less ∑3 boundaries and its micro-twins cross slipped instead of single direction slip in lower oxygen content superalloy. Consequently, specimen with higher oxygen content creeped faster and raptured earlier.

Existing implants used with Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA), and other joint reconstruction treatments, have displayed premature failures and frequent needs for revision surgery in recent years, particularly with young active patients who represent more than 55% of all joint reconstruction patients. Bone cement and stress shielding have been identified as the major reasons for premature joint failures. A breakdown of the cement may happen, and revision surgery may be needed because of the aseptic loosening. The significant mismatch of stiffness properties of patient trabecular bones and metallic implant materials in joint reconstruction surgery results in the stress shielding phenomenon. This could lead to significant bone resorption and increased risk of bone fracture and the aseptic loosening of implants. The present project introduces an approach for development of customized cellular structures to match the mechanical properties and architecture of human trabecular bone. It consists of four modules:1- characterization of geometry, microarchitecture, and stiffness properties of patient’s bones; 2- developing customized lattice structures tailored to mimic properties established in module 1; 3 - integration of developed lattice structure into full scale implant design and manufacturing; 4- implementation of the developed technology for use in implants that would overcome most of the issues related to aseptic loosening phenomenon. The present work aims at fulfilling the objectives of module 2 by exploring new designs of customized lattice structures and texture tailored to mimic closely patients’ bone anisotropic properties and that can incorporate an engineered biological press-fit fixation technique. The effects of various lattice design variables on mechanical performance of the structure are examined through systematic experimental plan using statistical design of experiments technique and analysis of variance method. All tested lattice designs were explored under realistic geometrical, biological, and manufacturing constraints. Of the four design factors examined in this study, strut thickness was found to have the highest percent contribution (41%) regarding the structure stiffness, followed by unit cell type, and cell size. Srut shape was found to have the lowest effect with only 11% contribution. The introduced solution offers lattice structure designs that can be adjusted to match bone stiffness distribution and promote bone ingrowth and hence eliminating the phenomenon of stress shielding while incorporating biological press-fit fixation technique.

Electromobility promises to efficiently mitigate consequences of increasing traffic volume and its accompanied greenhouse gas emissions. On an individual level, electrified bikes allow emission free electrified mobility at moderate costs and consequently their stock has increased significantly in recent years. This simultaneously increases the demand for spare parts, which are often manufacturer or application-specific, and due to many variants, challenging to provide for the market. This article evaluates powder-based and extrusion-based metal additive manufacturing of a typical electrified bike component to demonstrate an alternative spare parts supply. The investigation demonstrates how these parts can be additively manufactured function equivalent and with sufficient mechanical properties, also taking economical aspects into account. Furthermore, the needed resources and related environmental consequences for metal-based additive manufacturing spare-part production are compared for both process routes. The results show that both routes are capable of producing spare-parts at comparatively same mechanical performance and resource costs, while needed resources such as energy, gases and manufacturing time are significantly lower for powder-based, respectively machine costs for extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Therefore, additive manufacturing offers a promising opportunity to produce parts in small quantities resource efficient and rapidly.

Directed energy deposition (DED) parameters were determined for near-β alloy Ti-55511 by employing statistical design of experiments (DOE) methods. Parameters resulting in fully dense freeform deposits were identified using two sequential DOEs. Single laser tracks were printed with several laser power, traverse rate, and powder feed rate settings in an initial DOE to identify promising build parameters. Capture efficiency and effective deposition rate were used to characterize and rank the single track deposits. The best parameters were then used to print solid cube with various X-Y and Z-overlaps (different hatch spacing, HS, and layer thickness, ZS) in a second DOE. Suitable deposition parameters were selected based on cube density and microstructure and were used to fabricate larger tensile samples for mechanical testing. Multiple parameter sets were found to provide dense Ti-55511 deposits with acceptable mechanical properties and parametric models showed statistical significance.

This paper investigates the effect of Fe contamination on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7Si-0.7Mg-Fe2.5 alloy processed by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and heat treated in two different conditions: (1) Solution Heat Treatment (SHT) at 520 °C, followed by artificial ageing at 160 °C (T6), and (2) Direct Artificial Ageing of the as-printed material at 160 °C (DAA). Microstructural characterization was carried out by Optical Microscopy (OM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Mechanical characterization was carried out by tensile tests at room temperature. The formation of fine AlSiFe phases such as α-AlFeSi, β-AlFeSi, and π-Al8Si6Mg3Fe had no deleterious effect on the mechanical properties compared to previous studies for AlSIMg alloys without Fe. However, compared to the as-printed condition, the T6 heat treatment decreased the ultimate tensile strain significantly, while the elongation to the fracture presented a slight improvement.

This study utilises NaOH to treat composite cementitious materials containing aeolian sand and zeolite powders, which were used to replace 50% of the cement in aeolian-sand concrete (ASC). The mechanical properties of treated ASC considerably improved, especially when the NaOH dosage was 4% by mass. After curing this sample (denoted as AAZC-4) for 28 d, its compressive strength improved by 17.2% and its split tensile was increased by 16.3%. Potassium feldspar and montmorillonite in zeolite powder and SiO2 in the sand were decomposed by OH− and combined with other elements to generate various silicate gels and A-type potassium zeolite crystals inside the concrete. Microscopic examination showed that the gels and crystals intertwined to fill the pores, decreasing (increasing) the percentage of large (small) pores, thus optimising the pore structure. This substantially improved the mechanical properties of ASC. Freeze–thaw salt-intrusion tests showed that the extent of mass loss, degree of damage and loss of compressive strength of AAZC-4 were similar to those of ordinary concrete but were reduced by 36.8%, 19% and 52.1%, respectively, compared with those of ASC. Therefore, AAZC-4 has sustainable working performance in the chloride ion permeable environment in cold and arid areas.

Laser powder bed fusion can fabricate porous structure through lattices, but it remains a challenge to prepare micropores (

(1) Background: The research on the potential of regional food products, known for their rich bio-active compound content, could enhance human health in local populations. This is especially pertinent amid the Covid-19 pandemic and global trade disruptions; (2) Methods: The current study evaluated the physico-chemical composition using standard methods, antioxidant activity via DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC methods, sorption capacity (at 10°C, 25°C, and 40°C with water activity ranging from 0.1 to 0.9) through the static-gravimetric method, and monolayer moisture content (MMC) calculated using the BET model; (3) Results: The approximate physi-co-chemical composition of laboratory-produced quince powder is as follows: proteins - 1.27g, carbohydrates - 75.80g, fats - 0.49g, fibers - 21.50g, ash – 2.31g, and nutritional value – 355.65kcal. Antioxidant activity is confirmed by all methods. The Modified Halsey model is recommended to describe the sorption isotherms with an S-shaped form. The MMC for the adsorption process ranges from 14.41% d.b. to 7.09% d.b., and for the desorption process, it ranges from 13.11% d.b. to 7.80% d.b.; (4) Conclusions: Seasonal and regional foods boast the best nutritional profiles, as they are cultivated and harvested at optimal ripeness in natural sunlight, preserving the essential vitamins and minerals in the food.

The global focus on geopolymer binder production has increased due to the adoption of waste materials and industrial byproducts. Given the gradual decline of the availability of fly ash and ground granular blast furnace slag (GGBFS) resulting from the decarbonization process in electricity and steel productions, waste clay brick powder (WCBP), could be a viable substitute of these pozzolanic by-products. This research is dedicated to thoroughly investigate the techno-eco-efficiency performance of WCBP when utilized as a geopolymer precursor. The favorable mechanical characteristics exhibited by fly ash-GGBFS-WCBP-based geopolymer binder emphasize the importance of assessing its sustainability alongside its technical viability. The study employed life cycle analysis (LCA), following ISO 14040-44 standards, and using the Simapro software, to evaluate the environmental implications of the use of WCBP-based geopolymer mixtures. Human toxicity emerged as the primary impact. Moreover, the analysis of life cycle costs highlighted key financial factors, with around 65-70% attributed to alkaline activators of the total cost. The production of alkaline activators was identified as a critical point for both environmental impact and economic considerations due to energy consumption. While WCBP-rich samples exhibit a 1.7-0.7% higher environmental impact compared to the control mix (CM), their high mechanical strength and cost-effectiveness make them technologically and economically efficient geopolymer mixes. In conclusion, the portfolio analysis for techno-eco-efficiency affirms that mixes containing 40%, 30%, and 20% WCBP are more efficient than those using 10% and 0% WCBP, respectively.

Epoxy powders offer a low-cost means of manufacturing thick section composite parts, such as those found in wind and tidal turbines. Currently, their processing cycle includes a lengthy drying stage (≥ 15 h) to remove ambient moisture. This prevents void defect formation and, thereby, a reduction in mechanical properties, however, it constitutes up to 60% of the processing time. Little research has been published on the study of this process or its optimisation. Experimental and simulated analyses are used to investigate the effects of hygroscopicity in epoxy powder composites. In particular, focus is given to the drying process, which is used to prevent void defect formation and, thereby, a reduction in mechanical properties. As such, tests are performed to quantify the void content of dried and undried laminates, and to measure its impact on transverse flexural strength. Dynamic vapour sorption analysis is used to study the sorption behaviour of the epoxy powder. Sorption data is fitted to a modified linear driving force model, and then implemented in existing process simulations tools. The drying of a thick epoxy powder composite section is simulated to investigate the influence of powder sintering on the duration required for drying. It is shown that the epoxy powder is slightly hygroscopic (1.36 wt%) and exhibits sorption behaviour that is characteristic of glassy polymers. This results in up to 4.8% voids (by volume) if processed in an undried state, leading to a 43% reduction in transverse flexural strength. Process simulations reveal that a standard drying cycle prematurely sinters the powder; inhibiting moisture release. By maintaining a powder state, simulations show that the drying cycle can be reduced to 5 h.

The objective of this study is to evaluate how two varying amounts of sepiolite-based powder, infused with indigo extract, affect the appearance and durability of a water-based white primer. To examine the influence of this eco-friendly pigment on the coatings' overall appearance, assessments were performed for color, gloss, and surface roughness. Additionally, the coatings were investigated through optical and electron microscopic observations, to evaluate the distribution of the pigment within the polymer matrix. The effect of the pigment on the coating's durability was assessed through accelerated tests, including exposure in a salt spray chamber and a UV-B chamber. These tests aimed to evaluate the emergence of defects and changes in the appearance of the samples over time. Furthermore, the impact of different quantities of sepiolite-based powder on the coating's ability to act as a barrier was assessed using liquid resistance tests and contact angle measurements. These evaluations aimed to understand how the coating responded to various liquids and its surface properties concerning repellency or absorption. In essence, this study underscores the considerable influence of the eco-friendly pigment, demonstrating its capacity to introduce unique color and texture variations to the paint. Moreover, the inclusion of the pigment has enhanced the coating's color stability, its ability to act as a barrier, and overall durability when exposed to harsh environments.

The house cricket (Acheta domesticus L.) is one of four edible insect species introduced to the EU market as a novel food and alternative protein source. Innovative products, such as cricket flour, are increasingly appearing on supermarket shelves and can offer an alternative to traditional cereals, while providing the body with many valuable nutrients of comparable quality to those found in meat and fish. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of using cricket powder as a substitute for wheat flour in the production of bread. The physicochemical properties of cricket powder were evaluated in comparison to wheat flour, such as water and fat binding capacity, pH, water activity, colour, water content, protein, fat, fibre content and amino acid and fatty acid profile. As a result of the echnological studies, the composition of breads with 5%, 10% and 15% replacement of wheat flour by cricket flour was designed and their quality characteristics (physicochemical, sensory and microbiological) were evaluated. Cricket powder was character-ised by higher protein (63% vs. 13.5%) and fat (16.3% vs. 1.16%) content and a lower carbohydrate (9.8% vs. 66%) and fibre (7.8% vs. 9.5%) content as compared to wheat flour. The tested preparations had similar pH (6.9 and 6.8, respectively for cricket powder and flour), and fat-binding properties ( 0.14 vs. 0.27 g oil/g powder respectively for cricket powder and flour) but different water-binding properties and completely different color components. Despite the differences obtained in phys-icochemical properties for cricket powder and flour, most of the functional parameters obtained for bread with 5% cricket flour were not significantly different from the control sample. All breads had good microbiological quality after baking and during 7 days storage. The 10 and 15 per cent cricket flour treatments affected the darker colour of the breads and caused a significant increase in the hardness of the breads. In the overall sensory evaluation, the bread with 5% cricket flour did not differ significantly from the control bread, while the breads with higher levels of cricket flour had significantly lower overall scores compared to the control sample. In all cases, cricket flour in-creased the protein and fat content and decreased the carbohydrate content compared to the control sample. Considering nutritional properties such as high protein digestibility, breeding consid-erations, relatively low environmental impact and the possibility of intensive production in places where traditional agricultural production is not possible, insects seem to be the future of human nutrition.

Technical components should be produced sustainably and are subject to growing demands in terms of durability and reliability. To meet these expectations, the development of thermochemical processes is auspicious. Titanium alloys, which have a comparatively high gas solubility, allow temporary hydrogen (H) loading, often called thermo hydrogen treatment (THT). THT causes lattice deformation and reduces the β transformation temperature. These effects enable an adjustment of the microstructure, which improves the mechanical properties as compared to those produced conventionally. Furthermore, the process is applicable to complex geometries that cannot be surface hardened by mechanical surface treatment techniques. The investigation presented intends to realize a local microstructure gradient in additively via laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) manufactured cylindrical Ti–6Al–4V specimens by changing the distribution and morphology of strengthening precipitates as well as the β grain size depending on the distance to the surface, which should improve the material fatigue properties. To evaluate the mechanical properties of such THT-induced microstructure gradients, the resulting change in fatigue life in the LCF and HCF range was determined by stress-controlled cyclic deformation tests. Besides, the resulting microstructure was characterized by means of XRD and TEM. In addition to the additively manufactured and thermo hydrogen treated cylindrical specimens, conventionally produced tube-like specimens were thermo hydrogen treated and examined. For the THT-induced microstructure gradients, numerically simulated H concentration profiles as well as experimentally determined hardness profiles were used for the evaluation of the THT process. The study shows that H-loading at 500°C and H-degassing at 750°C, followed by aging at 550°C, allows the establishment of a microstructure gradient that shows an 8% improvement in fatigue properties compared to a reference condition without THT. The reason for this improvement is an increased volume fraction secondary alpha phase in the near-surface area of the specimens. Moreover, the results show that the process is applicable a tube-like specimen with varying wall thicknesses.

Swarf of aluminum alloy with high corrosion resistance and ductility was successfully converted into fine hydroreactive powders via its ball milling with silver powder and either lithium chloride or gallium. The later substances significantly intensified particle size reduction, while silver formed ‘cathodic’ sites (Ag, Ag2Al) promoting Al corrosion in aqueous saline solutions with hydrogen generation. The diffraction patterns, microphotographs, and elemental analysis results demonstrated partial aluminum oxidation in the samples and their contamination with tungsten carbide from milling balls. Those effects were responsible for obtaining hydrogen yields lower than expected. For AlCl3 solution at 60 °C, Al–LiCl–Ag, Al–LiCl, Al–Ga–Ag, and Al–Ga composites delivered (84.6±0.2), (86.8±1.4), (80.2±0.5), and (76.7±0.7)% of the expected hydrogen respectively. Modification with Ag promoted Al oxidation thus providing higher hydrogen evolution rates. The samples with Ag were tested in CaCl2 solution as well, for which the reaction proceeded much slower. At a higher temperature (80 °C) after 3 h of experiment, the hydrogen yields for Al–LiCl–Ag and Al–Ga–Ag powders were (46.7±2.1) and (31.8±1.9)%. The tested Ag-modified composite powders were considered promising for hydrogen generation and had a potential for further improvement to provide higher performance.

Punica granatum (PG) or Pomegranate is a bush, having many trunks and often get taller 1.8 to 4.7m long and their leaves are shiny and fleshy, approximately 7 to 8cm in length. Traditionally, it is used in diarrhea and dysentery due to its strong constricting property. Punica Granatum covering used in dysentery, diarrhea, piles, bronchitis. It is also used to minimize the risk of heart disease. The peel extract of Punica Granatum contain methanol and their dried peels has antidiarrheal venture, also help in wound healing activity. Peels of the pomegranate also holds around 60% of the fruit and they contain different types of ingredients including ellagitannins and proanthocyanidin compounds and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, flavonoids and sodium. Some animals were found in different local areas with both acute and chronic diarrhea. The condition of these animals were quite miserable because of dehydration and loss of electrolytes in the body cells of the animals. They were unable to move due to seriousness of the disease. 8 grams of PG Peel Powder mixed with 1 liter of water, 2 g of PG Peel Powder mixed with 250 ml water and 8 g of PG Peel Powder mixed with 1 liter of water were administrated orally by using sterilized bottles to the selected three cases. 3 days after the administration of different doses, all cases of diarrheal animals show a significant recovery. The condition of the animals seem to be healthier. Before administration of the pomegranate peel powder extract, all three cases had weak body structure due to diarrhea. Watery stool that may be yellow in color and mucus was also evident in the stool, due to this reason the patient calf was weak and depressed. In sometimes they also show unconsciousness and blood glucose levels seem to be reduced from the normal level.

The study focuses on a novel porous TiNi-based material for ophthalmic orbital implants which was produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and, after proper surface modification, possesses a specific microstructure of its surface pores, which makes it attractive for biomedical use in implants. After preparation via SHS, the obtained porous TiNi material was etched in acidic environment, to get rid of its surface Ti2Ni secondary-phase particles. This was found to improve the material’s surface morphology, adding micro-roughness to its macro-rough pores. As a result, cell growth tests conducted on the material demonstrated improved cell adhesion and growth kinetics on such a porous material with improved roughness. Finally, the material was tested in vivo as an ophthalmic orbital implant, demonstrating good biocompatibility, good degree of biointegration with surrounding eyeball tissues, and no signs of rejection after as long as 180 days. Thus, the novel porous TiNi-based material shows promise for its use in ophthalmic implantology, for instanse for manufacturing musculoskeletal stumps of the eyeball after evisceration, as it is biocompatible, has a high tissue-implant integration potential and demonstrates reduced risks of exposure and rejection of the implant.

Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is a modern form of cementitious material. Major components include cement with a very low water-to-binder (w/b) ratio, steel fibres, superplasticizers, and very fine additives used in place of coarse aggregate, and very little water. The primary goal of this study is to examine the impact of immersion in sulfuric acid on compressive strength and to evaluate the impact of curing procedures on the preparation of RPC with high characteristics. The experimental work includes 4 mixes, which are prepared using 30 mm hooked-end steel fibers with a ratio of 0.4 by volume, silica fume and metakaolin with a ratio of 25% of cement weight. Compressive and indirect tensile strengths, ultrasonic velocity, and bulk density tests were conducted on the RPC that was prepared to evaluate its qualities. The results showed that heat curing resulted in a greater increase in strength than water curing did, and that mechanical properties improved with increasing SF more than MK additions. Heat-cured RPC demonstrated greater resistance to sulfuric acid immersion tests on compressive strength compared to water-cured RPC.

A two-way coupled model between polydisperse particle phases with compressible gases and a density-based coupling implicit solution method combining the third-order MUSCL with QUICK spatial discretization scheme and the second-order temporal discretization scheme are constructed based on the discrete-phase model (DPM) and the stochastic wander model (DRWM) in the Eu-lerian-Lagrangian framework in conjunction with a unitary particulate source (PSIC) approach and the SST k-ω turbulence model. The accuracy of the numerical prediction method is verified using previous supersonic nozzle gas-solid two-phase flow experiments. Numerical simulation of two-phase jet of dry powder extinguishing agent gas with pilot-type supersonic nozzle was carried out to analyze the influence of geometrical parameters such as length ratio rL and area ratio rA of main nozzle on the two-phase flow field as well as on the jet performance indexes such as particle mean velocity vp,a, velocity inhomogeneity Φvp, particle dispersion Ψp, particle mean acceleration ap,a and so on. By analyzing the parameters, we indicate the requirements for the combination of jet performance metrics for different flame types such as penetrating, spreading, and dispersing.

Rapid haemostasis during surgery is essential when one wants to reduce the duration of opera-tions, reduce the need for transfusions, and above all when one wants to achieve better patient management. The use of haemostatic agents, sealants and adhesives improves the haemostatic process by offering several advantages, especially in vascular surgery. These agents vary widely in their mechanism of action, composition, ease of application, adhesion to wet or dry tissue, im-munogenicity and cost. The most used are cyanoacrylate-based glues (Glubran 2) or polysaccharide hydrogel-microsphere powder (AristaTMAH). This work is based on a retrospective study carried out on a sample of patients with different vascular diseases (FAV, pseudoaneurysm and PICC application) in which two different haemostatic sealants were used. The aim was to assess the safety, the advantages and the ability of both sealants to activate the haemostatic process at the affected site, also in relation to their chemical-physical characteristics. The obtained results showed that the application of Glubran 2 and AristaTMAH as surgical wound closure systems is effective and safe as the success achieved was ≥94% on anastomoses of FAV; 100% on stabilization of Picc catheters; ≤95% on pseudoaneurysms.

Vibro-fluidized dry coal beneficiation involves the unavoidable mixing of -1 mm coal dust into the fluidized bed, which compromises the stability and homogeneity of the bed density and reduces the effectiveness of fine-grained coal separation. In order to understand the features of coal powder separation and mixing (-1 mm) in a vibrating fluidized bed, as well as to achieve a uniform and stable bed density, a wide-grained dense medium consisting of -1 mm coal dust and 0.3-0.15 mm magnetite powder was homogeneously mixed in this work. The degree of density separation in the entire bed was examined, as well as the local mixing properties of the Wide-grained Dense Medium. It was discovered that when low vibrational energy was introduced at the same gas velocity, particle separation was enhanced in comparison to the usual fluidized bed. Little bubbles were found to ensnare fine coal dust and migrate upward, increasing density separation. The introduction of high vibrational energy leads to particle disorder within the bed and an increase in the level of particle mixing. The beneficial effects of vibration on the bed are diminished when the gas velocity is gradually increased under specified vibration circumstances. This causes big bubbles to develop more frequently, which increases particle mixing. Among them, the 1-0.5 mm fine-grained coal exhibits the best mixing state; it is less impacted by variations in air velocity and vibration levels, whereas the -0.5 mm coal dust is more affected by each of these variables. Furthermore, a wide range of air velocity regulation without a significant segregation state change was discovered to be achievable by the particle system under vibration circumstances of f=25Hz A=1mm and f=25Hz A=2mm.

Drying grains in a fixed bed can be an interesting alternative to prevent undesirable breaks and fractures of solids due to mechanical shocks, something that cannot be avoided when drying in moving beds. A disadvantage of fixed bed drying is that there can be significant gradients in the critical variables if the layer of particulate solids is thick. This work shows that periodically changing the direction of drying air flow is an effective technique to reduce differences within the bed and allow better uniformity of the product. Drying in a thick layer of 10 cm of sorghum grains was carried out at 50 and 60oC for air flow velocity of 2.1 m.s-1. The results showed that despite increasing the total drying time, the technique actually allowed a significant decrease in the temperature gradients and moisture content of the sorghum grains. The change in direction of the air flow caused the drying front to be displaced, sometimes towards the top, sometimes towards the base of the bed. At 50oC, drying lasted a total of 240 min, bringing the sorghum grains to an average overall moisture content of 0.13 on a dry basis.

One of the most widely available and extensively produced varieties of industrial hemp, which generates a substantial amount of consumer-increasing waste in the form of hemp cellulose. In this study, recycling with a compressed and high-speed method that combines crushing and alkali treatment effectively converts leftover hemp fiber into ultrafine powder. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), AFM (Atomic Force Microscope), FTIR (Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy), and XRD (X-ray Diffraction) examined the original morphology of hemp fiber treated with alkali, fiber heated to 200 ℃, and crushed powder. Particle size, crystallinity, fiber surface, and strength increased and decreased. It became apparent that fiber strength decreased and fiber roughness significantly increased after alkali treatment. Fiber increased significantly, and crystallinity decreased after crushing. It was simple and effective for converting the leftover hemp fiber into micron-sized powder. In about 3 to 5 minutes, approximately 1 kg of dry ultrafine powder with a particle size of 10.44 μm was produced. This production method will significantly enhance future industrial applications of waste hemp fiber.

Silver powder, as the primary component of solar silver paste, significantly influences various aspects of paste performance, including printing, sintering, and conductivity. Silver powders prepared using the liquid-phase reduction method exhibit different microstructures depending on whether the growth process is dominated by aggregation or crystalline growth. This study explores the impact of different silver powder microstructures on packing density and sintering activity. It is observed that polycrystalline aggregated silver powder possesses higher surface energy, lower packing density, and greater sintering activity. Investigation into the influence of different silver powders on the electrical conductivity, adhesion, and structural density of silver paste reveals that polycrystalline aggregated silver powder is more suitable for lower sintering temperature pastes, whereas crystalline growth-type silver powder is better suited for higher sintering temperature pastes, resulting in a denser sintered silver layer. Finally, an analysis of the impact of various silver powders on the aspect ratio and electrical performance of solar cell silver grid lines yields higher aspect ratios (0.40) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (19.26%).

This work deals with a novel porous TiNi-based material for ophthalmic orbital implants that was produced by high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and possesses a specific microstructure of its surface pores, which makes it attractive for biomedical use in implants. After preparation via SHS, the obtained porous TiNi material was etched in acidic environment, to get rid of its surface Ti2Ni secondary-phase particles. This was found to improve the material’s surface morphology, adding micro-roughness to its macro-rough pores. As a result, cell growth tests conducted on the material demonstrated improved cell adhesion and growth kinetics on such a porous material with improved roughness. Finally, the material was tested in vivo as an ophthalmic orbital implant, demonstrating good biocompatibility, good degree of biointegration with surrounding eyeball tissues, and no signs of rejection after as long as 180 days. Thus, the novel porous TiNi-based material shows promise for its use in ophthalmic implantology, for instanse for manufacturing musculoskeletal stumps of the eyeball after evisceration, as it is biocompatible, has a high tissue-implant integration potential and demonstrates reduced risks of exposure and rejection of the implant.

Vit-106 is a promising zirconium-based alloy with high glass-forming ability and belongs to the so-called bulk metallic glasses (BMG). Workpieces with a size of around one centimeter in all three dimensions can be obtained from a BMG alloy by casting. However, further increasing the cast size decreases the cooling rate and thus induces crystallization. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a well-known technique to overcome the size limitations for BMGs because a workpiece is built by the addition of multiple melt portions where the cooling rate is kept above the critical one. Currently, BMG parts obtained by SLM suffer from partial crystallization. The present work studies the influence of SLM process parameters on partial crystallization of Vit-106 by metallography and the influence of the microstructure on mechanical properties by microhardness and wear resistance testing. Submicron crystalline inclusions are observed in an amorphous matrix of Vit-106 alloy obtained by SLM. The size and the concentration of the inclusions can be controlled by varying the laser scanning speed. It is shown that submicron crystalline inclusions formed in the amorphous matrix during SLM can favorably affect microhardness and wear resistance.

The concept of the protein powder dispenser was developed on the basis of the results of analyses, studies and customer requirements. The dispenser was assembled using SolidWorks software, which consists of 63 elements, 14 of which are unique parts that are not available on the market. Each part of the dispenser was carefully designed to be injected into the plastic compound. Polypropylene is the perfect material for this dispenser as it is low density, waterproof, insoluble and extremely resistant to tension and bending. High purity propylene polymer can be processed into a tough, rigid and lightweight plastic with relatively low manufacturing costs, replacing expensive materials. The authors' original contributions are the design and manufacture of a dosing device for protein powder, adjustable in 3 heights to be able to dose in containers of different sizes; the design and integration of a mechanism with a precise dosing system, the components being designed so that the parts in contact with the shaft filled with protein powder form a perfectly closed space; the design and integration of the mechanism for adjusting the height of the dispenser.

Alectinib hydrochloride is an anticancer medication used for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. Although it has been approved for medical use ten years ago, and three polymorphs of this substance were proposed based on X-ray diffraction patterns, their crystal structures remained unknown to date. The main problem was preparation of high quality single crystals due to very low solubility of the salt. Herein we report on molecular and crystal structure of form I of alectinib hydrochloride as obtained by powder X-ray diffraction data from laboratory source. The refinement revealed that the nitrogen atom of the morpholinyl ring is protonated. The chloride anion interacts with the H(N) atoms of the morpholine and benzo[b]carbazole rings to form infinite H-bonded chains.

Esters are versatile compounds with a wide range of applications in various industries due to their unique properties and pleasant aromas. Conventionally, the manufacture of these compounds has relied on the chemical route. Nevertheless, this technique employs high temperatures and inorganic catalysts, resulting in undesired additional steps to purify the final product by removing solvent residues, which decreases environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. In accordance with the principles of “Green Chemistry” and the search for more environmentally friendly methods, a new alternative, the enzymatic route, has been introduced. This technique uses low temperatures and does not require the use of solvents, resulting in more environmentally friendly final products. In spite of the large number of studies published on the biocatalytic synthesis of esters, little attention has been paid to the reactors used for it. Therefore, it is convenient to gather the scattered information regarding the type of reactor employed in these synthesis reactions, considering the industrial field in which the process is carried out. The comparison between the performance of the different reactor configurations will allow us to draw the appropriate conclusions regarding their suitability for each specific industrial application.

The material undergoes high temperature and high strain rate deformation process during cutting process, may induce the dynamic recrystallization behavior and result the evolution of dynamic mechanical properties of the material to be machined. In this paper, the modified Johnson-Cook(J-C) model for Nickel based powder metallurgy superalloy considering dynamic recrystallization behavior in high strain rate and temperature is proposed. The dynamic mechanical properties of the material under different strain rates and temperature conditions are obtained by quasi-static compression test and split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test. The coefficients of the modified J-C model are obtained by linear regression method. The modified model is verified by comparison with experimental and model prediction results. The results show that the modified J-C model proposed in this paper can accurately describe the mechanical properties of nickel-based powder metallurgy superalloys at high temperature and high strain rate. Which provides help for studying the cutting mechanism and finite element simulation of nickel-based powder metallurgy superalloy.

This work deals with the analysis of phase composition of sintered Ti-Al-C composite materials under high voltage electrical discharge. The samples of Ti-Al-C powder composites were tested by SEM, Raman spectroscopy and XRD. It was determined that the treatment of the powder by high voltage electrical discharge (HVED) and further sintering at high temperatures using the method of spark plasma sintering (SPS) encourages the formation of the intermetallic reinforcing phases, carbides and different nanocarbon structures like graphene and fullerenes, as well as pure graphite. Intermetallic phases and nanocarbon structures improve mechanical and physical properties of the composites. By using experimental methods mentioned above, the phase composition of Ti-Al-C powder composites obtained at different sintering temperatures was determined.

This study explores the dynamics of liquid holdup in a lab-scale co-current two-phase upflow moving packed bed reactor, specifically examining how superficial gas velocity influences the line average external liquid holdup at a fixed superficial liquid velocity. Utilizing Gamma-ray Densitometry (GRD) for precise measurements, this research extends to determining line average internal porosity within catalyst particles and the overall external bed porosity. Conducted with an air-water system within a bed packed with 3 mm extrudate porous particles, the study presents a novel methodology to calculate liquid holdup, grounded in Beer–Lambert's law. Findings reveal a decrease in liquid holdup corresponding with increased superficial gas velocity across axial and radial locations, with a notable transition from bubbly to pulse flow regime at a critical velocity of 3.8 cm/sec. Additionally, the lower sections of the packed bed exhibited higher external liquid holdup compared to the middle sections at varied gas velocities. The liquid holdup distribution appeared uniform at lower flow rates, whereas higher flow rates favored the middle sections.

The Kuznetsk Basin (Kuzbass) is one of the largest coal basins in Siberia and a reference area for the ancient Angaraland continent. The proximity of the Kuzbass and Siberian platform caused their biotic similarities in the Late Palaeozoic. However, due to biota endemism, the Kuzbass Upper Palaeozoic does not correlate directly with the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC). This paper discusses radioisotopic (CA-ID-TIMS) dating of zircons from a volcanic tuff located in the Starokuznetsk Formation. This level matches the interval of the Balakhonka/Kolchugino (B/K) floral change in Kuzbass, i.e. the gradual replacement of cordaitoid-dominated wet forests (Balakhonka flora) by more arid fern-pteridosperm-cordaitoid assemblages (Kolchugino flora). New age (276.9 ± 0.4 Ma) directly correlates the Starokuznetsk Fm with the Upper Kungurian of the ICS. We compared the Kuzbass data with data of the Western Verkhoyanie, where Middle Permian ammonoids (Sverdrupites assemblage) occur in strata recording the B/K floral change. Available (ICC) and new datings indicate the lag between the B/K floral change in low (Kuzbass) and high (Verkhoyanie) latitudes of Angaraland. The B/K floral change in the Kuzbass began in the early Late Kungurian and was completed by the end of this age. In contrast, the B/K floral change in Verkhoyanie began at the end of the Late Kungurian and was completed in the Late Wordian. The delay in the floral changes at different latitudes of Angaraland suggests that existing interregional correlations need further improvement.

Molybdenum tailings powder (MTs) is an industrial waste that contains more than 85% contents of SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, and Fe2O3. Therefore, MTs has the potential pozzolanic activity and can be used as a mineral admixture in cementitious materials. In order to understand the influence of MTs as an admixture on the cement hydration process, the hydration heat and hydration kinetics of the composite cementitious materials (CCMs) were investigated by an isothermal calorimeter and the Krstulovic-Dabic model. Furthermore, the influences of fly ash (FA), slag (SL) and MTs on hydration heat at the same content were compared and analyzed. Results show that proper amount of MTs can promote the hydration of CCMs. When the content of MTs is not more than 15%, the second exothermic peak of CCMs appears earlier and the peak heat release increases. However, when the content of MTs exceeds 15%, the second exothermic peak of CCMs is delayed and the peak heat release decreases. The cumulative heat release of CCMs gradually decreases with an increasing content of MTs. When the replacement of MTs, FA, and SL is 15% respectively, the addition of MTs enhances the second exothermic peak of CCMs compared to FA and SL. The final heat release of MTs is higher than that of FA, but lower than that of SL. The hydration process of CCMs undergoes three stages: nucleation and crystal growth (NG), interactions at phase boundaries (I), and diffusion (D). The incorporation of MTs shortens the NG stage and I stage.

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technique that is gaining popularity for producing metallic parts in various industries. However, parts produced by LPBF are prone to residual stress, deformation, cracks and other quality defects due to uneven temperature distribution during the LPBF process. To address this issue, in prior work, the authors have proposed SmartScan, a method for determining laser scan sequence in LPBF using a model-based and optimization-driven approach, rather than using heuristics, and applied it to simple 2D geometries. This paper presents a generalized SmartScan methodology that is applicable to arbitrary 3D geometries. This is achieved by: (1) expanding the thermal model and optimization approach used in SmartScan to multiple layers; (2) enabling SmartScan to process shapes with arbitrary contours and infill patterns within each layer and (3) providing SmartScan with global foresight to make it less myopic in its optimization. Sample 3D parts are printed using the proposed generalized SmartScan and compared to those printed using standard heuristic scan sequences. Reductions of up to 93% in temperature inhomogeneity, 87% in residual stress, and 26% in maximum deformation were observed, without significantly sacrificing print speed. However, SmartScan was found to cause minor (<5%) to significant (up to 20%) increases in surface roughness compared to the heuristic approaches, depending on the scan pattern used.

Currently, most plastic waste stems from packaging materials, with a large proportion of this waste either discarded or used to derive fuel. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the use of pyrolysis in the context of chemically recycling non-recyclable (i.e., via mechanical means) plastic waste into petrochemical feedstock. The aim of this study is to use kinetic analyses to elucidate the pyrolytic properties of solid recovered fuel (SRF) produced using two types of reactors, namely, fixed bed and fluidized bed reactors. From the kinetic analysis, the activation energy corresponding to the rate of pyrolysis reaction conversion was obtained. In conclusion, we found that the pyrolysis occurs more vigorously in fluidized bed reactors compared to fixed bed reactors.

TiNbZrTa alloys are promising for multidisciplinary applications, such as refractory and biomedical purposes due to their high thermal stability and non-toxicity. Hardness and elastic modulus are among the key features for their adequate industrial applications. The influence of porosity and Ti/Ta ratio were investigated on TiNbZrTa alloys produced by three different processing routes, i.e., (i) blend element and posterior press and sintering (BE + P&amp;S), (ii) mechanical alloying with press and sintering (MA + P&amp;S), and (iii) arc melting and casting. Atomic diffusion was improved during processing, resulting in lower porosity in the following order: casting &lt; MA + P&amp;S &lt; BE + P&amp;S. Ta offered limited atomic diffusion due to its high melting point compared to other constituent elements. Thus, the total porosity of alloys increased with increasing the Ta contents, i.e., by lowering the Ti/Ta ratio. However, the Ti/Ta ratio did not considerably affect the bonding energy or the elastic modulus. Hardness was increased significantly in dense alloys compared to the porous ones. However, porosity and Ti/Ta ratio did not show a clear trend in hardness among the porous alloys.

Delayed discharge for non-clinical reasons is defined as a period of stay that continues after a patient has been deemed medically fit to leave the hospital but is unable to do so for non-medical reasons. This circumstance overburdens the healthcare system and constitutes a major problem for healthcare systems and the patients themselves in this situation.The aim of this study was to evaluate the delay in effective discharge for non-medical reasons in patients admitted to acute care hospitals in Spain. A scoping review was conducted in order to revise and obtain an up-to-date review. The initial search strategy identified a total of 123 references, which were successively screened to a final selection of 13 studies. To conclude, delayed discharge from hospital for non-clinical reasons is a multifactorial problem. It may be due to factors internal or external to the hospital, as well as personal factors. The main causes of the delay are similar among the studies found, as are the clinical characteristics of the patients, most of whom are elderly, frail, and more dependent due to declining functional capacities. Further studies addressing the socio-familial characteristics of the patients and the perspective of the patient and families would be necessary.

Polyamide 11 (PA11) is a plant-based nylon made from castor beans. Powder bed fusion laser sintering (PBF-LS) is an additive manufacturing process used for PA11 which allows the reuse of the unsintered powder. The unsintered powder is mixed with virgin powders at different refresh rates which has been studied extensively for most semi-crystalline polyamides. However, there is lack of information on the effect of using 100% reused PA11 powder and the number of times it is reused on its own during powder bed fusion laser sintering. This paper investigates the effect of reusing PA11 powder in PBF-LS and number of times it is reused on the dimensional accuracy, density, thermal and tensile properties. From 100% virgin powder to 3rd use of the powder, there is a decrease in powder wastage, decrease in crystallinity and tensile strength. These was associated with the polymerisation and cross-linking process of polymer chains, upon exposure to high temperature. This results in a higher molecular weight and hence density. From the 4th use to 10th reuse, the opposite was observed which was associated to an increase in high-viscosity and un-molten particles which resulted in defects in the PBF-LS parts.

Based upon 30-years of research by the author a new approach to hospital bed planning and international benchmarking is proposed. The number of hospital beds per 1000 population is commonly used to compare international bed numbers. This method is flawed because it does not consider population age structure or the effect of nearness-to-death on hospital utilization. Deaths are also serving as a proxy for wider bed demand arising from undetected outbreaks of 3000 species of human pathogens. To remedy this problem a new approach to bed modelling has been developed which plots beds per 1000 deaths against deaths per 1000 population. Lines of equivalence can be drawn on the plot to delineate countries with higher or lower bed supply. This method is extended to attempt to define the optimum region for bed supply in an effective health care system. England is used as an example of a health system descending into operational chaos due to too few beds and manpower. The former Soviet bloc countries represent a health system overly dependent on hospital beds. Several countries also show evidence for over-utilization of hospital beds. The new method is used to define a potential range for bed supply and manpower where the current most effective health systems currently reside. The method is applied to total curative beds, medical beds, psychiatric beds, critical care, geriatric care, etc., and can also be used to compare different types of healthcare staff, i.e., nurses, physicians, surgeons. Issues surrounding the optimum hospital size and the optimum average occupancy will also be discussed. The role of poor policy in the English NHS is used to show how the NHS has been led into a bed crisis. The method is also extended beyond international benchmarking to illustrate how it can be applied at a local or regional level in the process of long-term bed planning. Issues regarding the volatility in hospital admissions are also addressed to explain the need for surge capacity and why an adequate average bed occupancy margin is required for an optimally functioning hospital.

Calcium and magnesium are important not only for human health, but also for reducing problems related to the corrosive and aggressive effects of soft water on drinking water distribution materials. Experimental and mathematical modeling of the recarbonization process aimed at increasing the content of these biogenic elements in water was carried out using the novelty of a continuous laboratory and pilot scale fluidized bed reactors. Water remineralization using half-calcined dolomite (HCD) and carbon dioxide was used. The influence of operating conditions Q(CO2), freshwater inflow and HCD dose on quality indicators of treated drinking water (c(Ca2+), c(Mg2+), c(Ca2++Mg2+) and Ca/Mg) was studied. The results show that the concentration of Mg2+ is more significantly affected by the amount of HCD in the system and the flow of CO2. The influence of freshwater inflow on the Mg2+content is to a lesser extent. At a constant CO2 flow, therefore, as the tap water inflow increases, the Ca2+ content decreases and the Mg2+ content increases, which has results in a decrease in the Ca/Mg molar ratio. However, the Ca/Mg ratio can be effectively controlled by adding an appropriate amount of HCD at certain time intervals. Overproduction of ions is easily controlled by CO2 flow.

Under the influence of various factors, the bronze ware unearthed by archaeology has various diseases of different degrees, and the mineralization problem is more prominent. The physical properties of mineralized bronzes have been destroyed, and the whole is loose and fragile, which is in urgent need of reinforcement and protection. Common reinforcement and protection materials mainly consider surface sealing, matrix bonding reinforcement and penetration reinforcement. Considering the low matrix strength and complex disease types of fragile bronzeware, it is difficult to achieve targeted protection with commonly used reinforcement and protection materials. In view of the problems such as poor permeability and easy discoloration of commonly used protection materials, this paper uses self-developed reinforcement and protection material AMC to compare its reinforcement and protection performance with B72, which has a high comprehensive evaluation on the performance of commonly used reinforcement and protection materials. The matrix strength was increased, and the appearance intervention degree was less than B72.

This paper presents the results of investigations on the pyrolysis of tyres waste in a laboratory fixed bed batch reactor. The results regarding the influence of either the reaction temperature (425, 450, 475, and 500 °C) and the flow of the inert gas (0, 100, 300, and 500 mL/min) on products yield (referred to pyrolysis of waste tyres) are also considered and discussed. On the basis of the above mentioned findings, the most appropriate experimental conditions were selected to contribute to a higher yield of pyrolysis oil. The sample of pyrolysis oil obtained from the experiments carried out in the selected optimal conditions (reaction time 120 min, temperature 450 °C and the inert gas flow of 100 mL/min) was subjected to a calorimetric and infrared spectroscopy analysis. The results of IR spectroscopy analysis on this oil sample showed the following content in percentages (by mass): 32.59 % of aromatics, 51.06 % of paraffins and 16.35 % of naphthenes. The pyrolysis oil so obtained has a high calorific value (42 MJ/kg) and a low sulfur content (0.41 % by mass), which makes it an excellent raw material for energy production. The solid product, i.e. pyrolysis char or carbon black, has the potential to be used as an adsorbent or catalyst support after an activation process, which changes its irregular pore structure to a more voluminous one, making the overall structure more crystalline and symmetrical. Pyrolysis coal has a fairly high calorific value of 31 MJ/kg, when compared to typical solid fuels, so it can be used in energy production or as a feedstock for the gasification process.

In this research, a design method for the graded triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures with lightweight, high-strength, and high sound absorption properties is proposed. The graded TPMS structures are controlled by linear, quadratic, and sine functions. Uniform TPMS and graded TPMS were manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) with AlSi7Mg powder, and an acoustic impedance tube test, compression test, and digital image correlation (DIC) test were ap-plied to obtain the sound absorption and compression properties. The sound absorption coefficient of a uniform Gyroid increases as the number of layers and surface thickness increase, and it in-creases as element size decreases. The sound absorption peak shifts to low frequencies as the number of layers increases. The sound absorption property of Type-Ⅰ graded TPMS is superior to the Type-Ⅱ, and the G-LinearⅠ has the highest sound absorption properties among the three functions. It reveals that the graded TPMS has superior sound absorption performance at low and medium frequencies. The compression and DIC results of graded TPMS also show excellent mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics.

TiC particles were prepared from Ti and C powders, and TiC-reinforced Cu-based composites were prepared by powder metallurgy with SPS sintering. The effects of SPS sintering temperature and TiC particle reinforcement phase content on the electrical and mechanical properties of Cu-based composites were investigated. The reinforcement of TiC particles by thermal mismatching at increasing sintering temperature has a significant strengthening effect on the composites, but the high temperature causes softening of the Cu matrix and the growth of grains reduces the properties of the composites. In this study, the effects of porosity and density on the composite properties were not significant.

Controlling injection parameters is paramount when it comes to producing high-quality green parts using powder injection molding. This work combines experimental and numerical approaches to study the impact of injection parameters on mold in-cavity pressure and on the overall quality of green parts produced by low-pressure powder injection molding. The properties of two low-viscosity feedstocks (formulated from a water-atomized stainless-steel powder and wax-based binder system) were measured and implemented in an Autodesk Moldflow numerical model to quantify the molding pressures, which were finally validated using experimental real-scale injections. The results confirmed that an increase in mold temperature, an increase in feedstock temperature, and a decrease in solid loading decrease the mold in-cavity pressure, which was correlated with the feedstock viscosity. As a key result, real-scale injections confirmed that a minimum flow rate was required to avoid atypical high in-cavity pressure leading in several visual defects such as weld lines, flow marks, cracks, sinks, and incomplete filling. Due to differences in its thermal transfer properties, this flow rate threshold value decreases as the feedstock solid loading increases. For injection speeds higher than this value, the injection pressure measured experimentally was linearly correlated with the injection flow rate.

Abstract：Objective: To compare the effects of fermentation on the chemical composition of Gastrodia Tuder Halimasch Powder, and to provide a basis for the processing, processing and clinical application of this medicinal material. Methods: UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS was used to identify compound structure by comparing excimer ions, characteristic fragment ions and reference substances, and referring to relevant literature and database search. The main differential components were screened by orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and the differential components were quantitatively studied by high performance liquid chromatography, and the differences in the types and contents of chemical components before and after fermentation were compared. Results: A total of 77 compounds were identified or preliminarily derived after fermentation, including 21 terpenes, 18 organic acids, 9 flavonoids, 7 nucleosides, 6 amides, 4 amino acids, 2 pyrrolidone derivatives, 2 sterols, 2 alkaloids and 6 others.Through high performance liquid chromatography, it was found that the content of daidzein genistein and ergosterol was significantly increased after fermentation, and a new component ergosterol was produced. Compared with Gastrodia Tuder Halimasch Powder before fermentation, the content of genistin and other components was significantly reduced, and there may be a process of genistin conversion to genistein.Conclusion: The fermentation process will have a certain influence on the types and contents of the chemical components of Gastrodia Tuder Halimasch Powder, and ergosterol, genistein and .daidzein may be the main pharmacodynamic components, which can provide a useful reference for the clinical rational application, quality control and mechanism of action of Gastrodia Tuder Halimasch Powder.

Aluminum matrix nanocomposites have been the subject of much attention due to their extraordinary mechanical properties and thermal stability. This research focuses on producing and characterizing an aluminum matrix reinforced with silicon carbide (SiC) nanometric particles. The conventional powder metallurgy route was used to produce the nanocomposites, and the dispersion and mixing process was carried out by ultrasonication. The conditions of the dispersion and the volume fraction of the SiC were evaluated in the production of the nanocomposites. Microstructural characterization was carried out using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Mechanical characterization was carried out using hardness and tensile tests. The dispersion agent was investigated, and isopropanol leads to better dispersion with fewer agglomerates. Increasing the volume fraction of the reinforcement improves the hardness of the nanocomposites. However, greater agglomeration of the reinforcement is observed for larger volume fractions. The greatest increase in hardness (77% increase compared to the hardness of the Al matrix) is obtained with 1.0 vol % of SiC, corresponding to the sample with the best dispersion. The mechanical characterization through tensile tests attests to the effect of the reinforcement on the Al matrix. The main strengthening mechanisms identified were the load transfer, the texture hardening, Orowan strengthening, and the increase in the density of dislocations in the nanocomposites.

Breakthrough curves for the adsorption of H2S using a metal-oxides mixture were predicted using the Bohart-Adams model of fixed bed adsorption. This mixture (ZnMn2O4+ZnO+Mn2O3) came from the processing of an urban waste as spent alkaline batteries were. The H2S adsorption experiments were carried out in a fixed-bed column at 20º C, and under various experimental conditions: gas flow rate, inlet H2S concentration and adsorbent dosage. Curves predicted by the model matched well with experimental data, providing data for the possible scale-up of the system. At the various experimental variables, the efficiency of the column, were also provided in the work. This investigation demonstrated the usefulness of a waste material, like spent alkaline batteries, to provide an adsorbent material to mitigate the problem of the presence of this harmful gas.

The morphology of virgin reactor powder (RP) of high-density polyethylene HDPE with MW = 160,000 g/mol was investigated with the help of DSC, SEM, SAXS and WAXS methods. The morphological SEM analysis showed, that the main morphological units of RP are macro- and micro-shish kebab structures with significantly different geometric dimensions, as well as individual lamellae of folded chain crystals. Quantitative analysis of an asymmetric SAXS reflection made it possible to reveal the presence of several periodic morphoses in the RP with long periods from 20 nm to 60 nm and to correlate them with the observed powder morphology. According to the DSC crystallinity data, the thickness of the lamellae in each long period was estimated. Their surface energy was calculated in the framework of the Gibbs-Thompson theory. The presence of regular and irregular folds on the surface of the different shish-kebab lamellae is discussed. The percentage of identified morphoses in the RP was calculated. It has been suggested that the specific structure of HDPE RP is due to the peculiarity of polymer crystallization during suspension synthesis in a quasi-stationary regime, in which local overheating and inhomogeneous distribution of shear stresses in a chemical reactor are possible.

In this work, a systematic study was conducted on the fabrication of multi-material components obtained employing Laser-Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) technology. The idea of making multi-material components is a winning capability of additive technologies because it allows the fabrication of Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) with the customization of parts according to different required properties. The transition from one material to another was achieved gradually and continuously within the same layer using ad-hoc equipment designed for L-PBF systems with a powder spreading technique based on coaters or rollers. The influence of the relative position of the different materials within the powder chamber and the geometry of the developed equipment on the metallurgical and mechanical properties of the manufactured samples was evaluated. The performed tests involved the use of two materials, a nickel-based superalloy, and a stainless steel, having different chemical, physical and mechanical properties to obtain gradual properties variation in the manufactured samples. Based on the results of post-process characterization obtained through metallographic, chemical, and mechanical analysis, the relative positions of the materials and the geometry of the developed equipment have a limited effect on the sample’s manufactured properties. The characteristics of the FGM zone depend on the nature of the employed powders, and its extent coincides with that defined during the design of the divider.

In recent years discrete element method (DEM) has gradually been applied to the traditional fluidization simulation of fine particles in micro fluidized bed (MFB). The application of DEM in simulating fast fluidization of fine particles in MFB has not yet received attention. This article presents a drag model that relies on the surrounding environment of particles, namely particle circumstance-dependent drag modle or PCDD model. Fast fluidization in MFB of fine particles is simulated using DEM based on the PCDD model. It is found that the gas-solid two-phase flow in MFB meets the common law of fast fluidization in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) to a certain extent, and also presents a special law that is significantly different from that in CFB. Simulations indicate that the local structure in MFB exhibits particle aggregation which is a natural property of fast fluidized, forming a structure where continuous dilute phase and dispersed concentrated phase coexist. The formation and fragmentation of particle clusters in different local regions of the bed have time synchronization. There exists strong effect of solid back-mixing in MFB, leading to relatively low outlet solid flux. The gas back-mixing effect is, however, not so distinct. The axial porosity shows a monotonically increasing distribution with the bed height, but does not strictly follow the single exponential distribution. The solid volume fraction at the bottom of the bed is significantly lower than the correlated value in CFB. The axial heterogeneous distribution of the cross-sectional average porosity in the lower half of the bed is also weakened. The radial porosity shows a distribution pattern of higher in the central region and lower in the sidewall region. Compared with the correlation results in CFB, the porosity near the central region in MFB is relatively low, while the porosity near the sidewall region is relatively high. The geometric size of the container, especially the radial size, is much smaller than that of a CFB. The relative area of contact between the MFB wall and particles is larger, and the wall friction factor becomes more significant. This may be the main reason for the time synchronization of particle agglomeration, severe particle back-mixing, low outlet solid flux, monotonically increasing axial porosity and weak core-annular structure of radial porosity.

A novel manufacturing process is presented for producing Nano powders and thin films of CuCoO₂ (CCO) material. This process utilizes three cost-effective synthesis methods: hydrothermal, sol-gel, and solid-state reactions. The resulting delafossite CuCoO₂ samples were deposited onto transparent substrates through spray pyrolysis, forming innovative thin films with a Nano crystal powder structure. Prior to the transformation into thin films, CuCoO₂ powder was first produced using a low-cost approach. The precursors for both powders and thin films were deposited onto glass surfaces using a spray pyrolysis process, and their characteristics were examined through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, HR-TEM, UV-visible, and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses was conducted to determine the conductivity in transversal direction of this groundbreaking material for solar cell applications. On the other hand, the sheet resistance of the samples was investigated using the four probe-method to obtain the sheet resistivity and them calculate the in plane conductivity of the samples. We also investigated the aging characteristics of different precursors with varying durations. The functional properties of CuCoO2 samples were explored by studying chelating agent and precursor solution aging periods. Resuming, this study thoroughly discusses the synthesis of delafossite powders and their conversion into thin films, which hold potential as hole transport layers in transparent optoelectronic devices.

Due to the high specific surface area of titanium aluminide powders, significant and unavoidable surface oxidation takes place during processing. The resulting oxides disrupt the conventional powder metallurgical process route (pressing and sintering) by reducing green strength and sintered properties. Oxide-free particle surfaces offer the potential to significantly increase particle bond strength and enable the processing of difficult-to-press material powders. In this work, the effect of milling titanium aluminide powder in a silane-doped atmosphere on the component properties after pressing and subsequent sintering was investigated. Ball milling was used to break up the oxide layers and create bare metal surfaces on the particles. With the help of silane-doped inert gas, the oxygen partial pressure was greatly reduced during machining. It was investigated whether oxide-free surfaces could be produced and maintained by milling in silane-doped at-mospheres. Furthermore, the resulting material properties after pressing and sintering were an-alyzed using density measurements, hardness tests, EDX-measurements and micrographs. It was concluded, that ball milling in a silane-doped atmosphere produces and maintains oxide-free particle surfaces. These oxide-free surfaces and smaller particle sizes improve the component properties after pressing and sintering.

The main purpose of the work was to determine the powder composition and properties of iron-based sinters used as a matrix in metallic diamond tools. The FeCuSnNi sinters obtained from a mixture of commercial powders were used for research. The material was subjected to milling in a ball mill and sinter have been performed with the hot-pressing technique in a graphite mold. The physical and mechanical properties of the sinters were tested. The investigations of obtained sinters concerned density, porosity, hardness, oxygen content, static tensile test and analysis of microstructure. The static tensile test was carried out with the use of a universal testing machine UTS-100. The study of the microstructure of sinters was performed using the JSM-7100F scanning electron microscope. The sinters are characterized by a high coefficient of thermal expansion and good mechanical properties. The FeCuSnNi sinter revealed a complex phase structure. Spot chemical analysis revealed the presence of Fe solution, Cu solution and the presence of iron oxides oxides. Nickel atoms were present throughout the sinter volume. The obtained results indicate that the presented material can be used as a matrix of a diamond-metal composite in diamond tools for the processing of natural stones and building materials.

In this paper, the experimental study of heating in 2 h lunch mode of air-conditioned bed system is carried out. The results show that the power consumption of heat conduction heating is only 0.34 kW·h, and the average heat dissipation is 81.3 W, while the power consumption of convection heating is 1.43 kW·h, with an average heat dissipation of 748.7 W. Regardless of power consumption or heat dissipation, convection heating is significantly higher than heat conduction heating, resulting in the room air temperature of the former increased from 12.3 °C to 17.3 °C, while the latter only increased from 14.4 °C to 15.2 °C. The study found that the water temperature of heat conduction heating can meet the thermal comfort needs of the human body in the range of 38~40 °C, while convection heating requires a higher temperature range, In contrast, the grade of hot water required for heat conduction heating is lower. Through the experiment, it is also found that the temperature of convection heating rises fast, but it is easy to appear dry feeling after a long time, while heat conductive heating has a slow temperature rise. there is a cool feeling within 20 min after the heating starts, and then the thermal comfort is better. The air conditioning system in this paper is used for the heating experiment in the winter lunch break mode, compared with convection heating, the overall thermal comfort of heat conduction heating is better and more energy efficient. it is suggested to adopt heat conduction heating mode in the winter heating of this system.

Significant design efforts were undertaken during the Pre-Concept Design (PCD) phase of the European DEMO programme to optimize the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) breeding blanket. A gate review was conducted for the entire European DEMO programme at the conclusion of the PCD phase. This article presents a summary of the design evolution and the rationale behind the HCPB breeding blanket concept for the European DEMO. The main performance metrics, including nuclear, thermal hydraulics, thermal mechanical, and tritium permeation behaviors, are reported. These figures demonstrate that the HCPB breeding blanket is a highly effective tritium-breeding and robust driver blanket concept for the European DEMO. In addition, three alternative concepts of interest were explored. Furthermore, this article outlines the upcoming design and R&D activities for the HCPB breeding blanket during the Concept Design phase (2021-2027).

The ultrasonic vibration assisted pressing process can improve the fluidity, the uneven distribution of density and particle size of WC-Co powder. However, the microscopic mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on the powder remains unclear. In this paper, WC and Co particles are simulated by three-dimensional spherical models of two particle sizes with the aide of the secondary development of Python. At the same time, the forming process of powder at mesoscale is simulated in the virtue of the finite element analysis software ABAQUS. The influence of vibration amplitude on the fluidity, the filling density and the stress distribution of WC-Co powder is investigated when the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the conventional pressing process. From simulation results, the ultrasonic vibration amplitude has great influences on the density of the compact. With the increase of the ultrasonic amplitude, the compact density also increases gradually. At the initial stage of the compaction, the particles move violently under the action of ultrasonic vibration, the fluidity is obviously enhanced, the arch bridge effect between particles is destroyed, the fine particles quickly fill the pores between the large particles, which increase the density, and the residual stress in the billet decreases after the compaction. From the experimental results, the size distribution of the billet is more uniform, the elastic aftereffect is reduced, the dimensional instability is improved, and the density curves obtained by experiment and simulation are within a reasonable error range.

The process of anaerobic digestion used for methane production can be enhanced by incorporating stimulating materials. The effects of these materials are dependent on various factors including the processed substrate, process conditions, and the type and amount of the stimulating material used. As part of the study, three different stimulating materials - iron powder, lime, and milled porous ceramic - were added to the 30-day anaerobic digestion of the brewer's spent grain to improve its performance. Different doses ranging from 0.2 to 2.3 gTS×L-1 were tested, and methane production kinetics were determined using the first-order model. The results showed that the methane yield ranged from 281.4±8.0 to 326.1±9.3 ml×gVS-1, while substrate biodegradation ranged from 56.0±1.6 to 68.1±0.7%. The addition of lime reduced methane yield at almost all doses by -6.7% to -3.3%, while the addition of iron powder increased methane yield from 0.8% to 9.8%. The addition of ceramic powder resulted in a methane yield change ranging from -2.6% to 4.6%. These findings suggest that the use of stimulating materials should be approached with caution, as even slight changes in the amount used can impact methane production.

The constant increase in current density in electrical wires leads to increasingly significant heat losses due to Joule effect. Therefore, reducing the electrical resistivity of copper wires becomes necessary. To achieve this goal, the development of a composite material incorporating a more conductive reinforcement, the graphene, is a promising way. The design of a copper/graphene composite using a powder metallurgy-based method is presented. This synthesis method allows for interface control through the growth of CuO(Cu) nanoparticles tightly bonded to the reinforcement. It also involves the dispersion of graphene through ultrasonic treatment and its alignment within the matrix using a uniaxial pressing densification method. The increase in the hardness (+12 HV) demonstrates the effective dispersion and separation of graphene layers. The impact on the electrical properties of dendritic copper (ρe = 2.30 µΩ.cm) remains limited, with a decrease in electrical resistance of approximately 1.4%. However, for copper with higher electrical resistivity, flake copper (at 2.71 µΩ.cm) and brass at (7.66 µΩ.cm), reductions of 2.7% and 10% have been achieved, respectively. With the improvement of graphene quality, there is more room to improve the electrical properties. This work paves the way for the development of composites with improved electrical resistivity.

The integration of spray drying and agglomeration offers significant advantages, such us continuous production with lower energy consumption. However, it is a knife-edge process with a narrow operating window and limited degrees of freedom that decide between successful agglomeration and fluidized bed blockage due to excessive moisture. In this contribution, factors influencing the spray-through agglomeration process of skim milk powder as a model system were investigated via a design of experiments. Three in-line monitoring methods were applied and tested to observe the most important parameters in the agglomeration process: product moisture and particle size distribution. Regarding the moisture content, a capacitive moisture sensor was calibrated with linear regression and a near-infrared sensor with partial least squares regression. Near-infrared spectroscopy was found to be the suitable method for determining moisture content, while the capacitive moisture sensor mainly provides information on the bulk density, the filling level or fluidization state in the fluidized bed. Additionally, particle size distribution data was extracted from the spectral data using in-line data of a spatial filter velocimetry probe in the fluidized bed. This opens the potential to monitor both parameters in real-time with a single non-invasive sensor.

Polymeric composites such as Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK)/carbon fiber (CF) have been widely utilized due to outstanding performances such as high specific strength and specific modulus. The PEEK/CF components via powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing usually show brittle fracture behaviors induced by their poor interfacial affinity and inner voids. These defects are strongly associated with powder packing quality upon deposition. The particle dynamic model has been widely employed to study the interactions of particle motions. Powder property, bulk material property, and interfacial features of composite powders are key factors in the particle dynamic model. In this work, an efficient and systematic material evaluation is developed for composite powders to investigate their deposition mechanism. The discrete element method is utilized to simulate the dynamic behaviors of PEEK/CF composite powders. The powder properties, bulk material properties, and interfacial features of powders are calibrated and justified by experimental measurement, numerical simulation, and design of experiments. The particle dynamic model can well explain the powder flow behaviors and interactions. It reveals that the addition of short CF particles can assist the flow of PEEK powders and improve the packing quality of the composite powders.

Remote sensing plays a central role in the assessment of environmental phenomena and has increasingly become a powerful tool for monitoring shorelines, rivers morphology, flood waves delineation and floods assessment. Optical based monitoring and characterization of river evolution at long time scales is a key tool in fluvial geomorphology. However, the evolution occurring during extreme events is crucial for the understanding of the river dynamics under severe flow conditions and requires the processing of data from active sensors to overcome cloud obstructions. This work proposes a cloud-based unsupervised algorithm for the intra-event monitoring of river dynamics during extreme flow conditions based on time series of Sentinel-1 SAR data. The method allows the extraction of multi-temporal series of spatially explicit geometric parameters at high time and spatial resolutions, linking them to the hydrometric levels acquired by reference gauge stations. Intra-event reconstruction of inundation dynamics has led to the estimation of the relationship between hydrometric level and wet area extension and the assessment of bank erosion phenomena. Time series of SAR acquisitions, provided by Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites, were analyzed to quantify changes in the wet area of a reach of the Tagliamento river under different flow conditions. The algorithm, developed within the Python-API of GEE, first empowers the Sentinel-1 images with the hydrometric level, then involves radiometric slope correction and speckle noise filtering. The Otsu method is then used for image segmentation leading to a water and dry land binary classification. Results support many types of analysis about river dynamics, including morphological changes, floods monitoring and relief efforts and bio-physical habitat dynamics. The results encourage future advancements and applications of the algorithm, specifically exploring SAR data from ICEYE and Capella Space constellations, which offer significantly higher spatial and temporal resolutions compared to Sentinel-1 data.

In the present work, a comparative evaluation of an MBBR unit performance was carried out for the following cases: when adding 3D-printed biocarriers fabricated with 13X and bentonite, when using K1 commercial biocarriers and when not adding biocarriers at all. For the evaluation of the MBBR efficiency, various physicochemical parameters were measured, while static light scattering and optical microscopy observations were additionally used. Finally, biofilm extracted from the biocarriers was evaluated. The findings suggest that there is an optimal biodegradation of the organic load in all MBBR units. The nitrification and denitrification process were improved at the 3D MBBR as compared to the control MBBR and MBBR K1. The dry mass of the biofilm in the 3D-printed biocarriers was two orders of magnitude larger than the one in the K1 biocarriers. What is more, in the K1 biocarriers the mass of the biofilm varied in relation to time, due to the fact that it could not be kept inside the holes, something that was not observed to happen with the 3D-printed biocarriers. Finally, it was observed, mostly in the 3D MBBR and less in the K1 MBBR, that the growth of nitrifying bacteria and heterotrophs inside the units increased the biomass production in the form of SMP, which in turn favored the adhesion of biomass on the surface of biocarriers.

Liability to prevent consequences of an unhealthy situation due to accumulating toxic and hazardous emissions caused by open dumping of municipal solid waste with increasing urbanization has necessitated a renewed thinking on waste disposal. Grate fired incineration systems were adopted by urban managements in past and present but with criticisms due to formation of air borne emissions. Improved combustion methods like fluidized bed are now propagated because of current requirements like efficient energy recovery potential, stricter emission norms, adaptability with urban growth, adaptability to co-firing with other waste like biomass, edible oil wastes or industrial effluent and integration with conventional energy generation. Such a comprehensive and futuristic approach is more sustainable for the community. Multi-criteria decision-making tool is used to identify the best technology option among grate combustion and fluidized bed combustion for disposing and energy recovery from waste. Ten different collection and disposal options involving two combustion methods, namely, grate combustion and fluidized bed method are considered. Utilization of the energy is done for three end uses, namely, power generation, water distillation and district cooling. Two different regions in Saudi Arabia are considered for this study under two types of scenario, namely with recycling and without recycling. The different options are prioritized based on their overall ranking using five major performance factors.

Aim of the study: To draw inferences from a retrospective evaluation of PSMA PET CT scans performed for the evaluation of biochemical recurrence. Material and Methods: Retrospective analysis of 295 PSMA PET CT scans spanning 3 years between 2020 and 2022 was undertaken. Results: Of 295 PET CT scans, 179 were positive, 66 negative and 50 had indeterminate findings. In positive group, 67 had radical prostatectomy and PSMA avid lesions were seen most commonly in pelvic lymph nodes. Remaining 112 positive scans, in non-radical prostatectomy group; 25 had recurrence only in prostate, 17 had recurrence involving prostate bed; 28 had no recurrence in prostate gland, while 42 had recurrence in prostate as well as extra prostatic sites. Overall, in non-prostatectomy group, 75 % population was harbouring a PSMA avid lesion in prostate gland while in remaining 25% population recurrence did not involve prostate gland. Majority of indeterminate findings were seen in small pelvic or retroperitoneal lymph nodes or skeletal regions (ribs/others) and in 9 patients indeterminate focus was seen in the prostate bed only. Follow up PSMA PET CT was helpful in prior indeterminate findings and unexplained PSA rise. Conclusion: A higher recurrence in prostate bed while evaluating biochemical recurrence prompts us to think; whether prostatectomy should be offered more proactively? Follow up PSMA PET CT is helpful for indeterminate findings; a PSA rise of 0.7 ng/ml in 6 months can result in positive PSMA PET CT while negative scan can be seen upto 2ng/ml PSA rise in 6 months.

The increased demand for resources and energy that is developing with rising global consumption represents a key challenge for our generation. Biogas production can contribute to sustainable energy production and closing nutrient cycles using organic residues or as part of a utilization cascade in the case of energy crops. Compared to hydrogen (H2), biogas with a high methane (CH4) content can be fed into the gas grid without restrictions. For this purpose, the CH4 content of the biogas must be increased from 52 to 60 % after anaerobic digestion to more than 96 %. In this study, biological hydrogen methanation (BHM) in trickling-bed reactors (TBR) is used to upgrade biogas. Design of experiments (DoE) is used to determine the optimal process parameters. The performance of the reactors is stable under all given conditions, reaching a “low” gas grid quality of over 90 %. The highest CH4 content of 95.626 ± 0.563 % is achieved at 55 °C and 4 bar, with a methane formation rate (MFR) of 5.111 ± 0.167 m³/(m³·d). The process performance is highly dependent on the H2:CO2 ratio in the educts, which should be as close as possible to the stochiometric ratio of 4. In conclusion, BHM is a viable approach to upgrade biogas to biomethane quality and can contribute to a sustainable energy grid.

The last decade was characterized by the reduction of hospital beds throughout Europe. When facing Covid pandemic, this has been an issue of major importance as hospitals were seriously overloaded with an unexpected growth in demand. The dichotomy formed by the scarcity of beds and the need for acute care was handled by the Bed Management (BM) function. This study explores how BM was able to help the solidness of the healthcare system, managing hospital beds at best and recruiting others in different set-tings as intermediate care, in a large Local Health Authority (LHA) in central Italy. Ad-ministrative data show how the provision of appropriate care was achieved recruiting approximately 500 beds belonging to private healthcare facilities affiliated with the re-gional healthcare system and exercising at best the BM function. The ability of the system to absorb the extra demand caused by Covid was made possible using intermediate care beds, which allowed to stretch the logistic boundaries of the hospitals, and by the promptness of Bed Management in converting beds in Covid beds and reconverting them and timely managing internal patient logistic, thus creating space according to the healthcare demand.

TiNi alloys are very widely used materials for implant fabrication. When applied as rib replacement, they are required to be manufactured as combined porous-monolithic structure, ideally with a thin porous part well-adhered to its monolithic substrate. Additionally, good biocompatibility, high corrosion resistance and mechanical durability are also highly demanded. So far, all these parameters were not achieved in one material, which is why active search in the field is still underway. In the present work, we prepared new porous-monolithic TiNi materials by sintering a TiNi powder (0-100 µm) on monolithic TiNi plates followed by surface modification with high-current pulsed electron beam. The obtained materials were evaluated by a set of surface and phase analysis methods, after which their corrosion resistance and biocompatibility (hemolysis, cytotoxicity, and cell viability) were evaluated. Finally, cell growth tests were conducted. In comparison with flat TiNi monolith, the newly-developed materials were found to have better corrosion resistance, also demonstrating good biocompatibility and potential for cell growth on their surface. Thus, the newly-developed porous-on-monolith TiNi materials with different surface porosity and morphology show promise as potential new-generation implants for rib endoprostheses.

This study examines the Willingness-To-Pay (WTP) of consumers and the determinants of eco-labeling for the organic cocoa powder produced in the Dong Nai UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (DNBR), Southern Vietnam. Eco-labels are designed according to Tiers of eco-labeling for biosphere reserves (BR) introduced by UNESCO include BR Destination (Tier 1), BR Quality Label (Tier 2), and Professional Certification Label (Tier 3). Questionnaires are delivered to 203 customers in the DNBR and nearby places, such as Dong Nai and HCMC. This study employs a hybrid approach using descriptive statistics, ANOVA test, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that gender and educational level have a positive effect on consumers' preferences. Customers are willing to pay more for cocoa powder with an eco-label than one with an organic label. Perceived food safety and product knowledge lower customers’ WTP, whereas agricultural environment and pricing concerns increase it. Tier 2 is suggested for labeling cocoa powder in the DNBR. The DNBR Management Board, together with the federal and provincial governments, should all follow a similar certification process. Increased eco-label awareness is crucial for the future of environmentally responsible shopping and responsible business practices.

Different inlet structures have a significant impact on the internal flow characteristics of a solid-magnesium powder water ramjet engine. Based on the magnesium-water reaction model, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is applied to establish a numerical simulation method for the internal flow field of the engine, and the internal flow characteristics of the engine under different inlet structure conditions are studied. The simulation results show that high-temperature gas can effectively promote the ignition of magnesium powder at the top of the combustion chamber, while accelerating the evaporation of the first inlet water and increasing the combustion rate of magnesium powder. The secondary inlet has the most significant effect on the temperature inside the combustion chamber. When the secondary inlet flow rate increases towards the top of the combustion chamber, it increases the amount of heat absorbed by the evaporating water at the top of the chamber, thereby reducing the temperature at the top of the combustion chamber. However, when the flow rate is low, it results in insufficient oxidizer at the top of the combustion chamber, which is unfavorable for the combustion of magnesium powder.

Biochar is an inexpensive and effective carbon sequestration technology produced by slow and fast pyrolysis of biomass feedstock at elevated temperatures in inert conditions producing large quantities of solid residue (i.e., biochar), condensable liquids (bio-oil) and hydrocarbon gases. Biochar have shown excellent adsorption capabilities. Biochar has shown excellent adsorption capabilities for short-chain PFAS and short chain PFAS. This paper suggests optimal pyrolysis reaction conditions to adsorb PFAS to maximum allowable concentrations in wastewater up to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is 70 ng/L. The paper highlights the operation conditions and influential reaction conditions to control the microporous structures in Biochar. The paper also aims to summarize the fundamentals of production of Biochar from biomass slow pyrolysis as well as optimal conditions for extraction of PFAS from wastewater streams and destruction of PFAS in biosolids. The scientific contributions for production of Biochar from biomass pyrolysis are highlighted. The paper also highlights the advantages of biochar over activated carbon in terms of low manufacturing costs and higher adsorption rates.

The importance of both recycling and additive manufacturing (AM) is increasing, however there has been a limited focus on development of AM alloys that are recyclably compatible with the larger scrap loops of wrought 5xxx, 6xxx and cast 3xx aluminium alloys. In this work the powder bed fusion (PBF) printability of AlMgSi alloys in the interval of 0-30wt%Mg and 0-4wt%Si is screened experimentally with a high throughput method. This method produces PBF mimicked material by PVD co-sputtering followed by laser remelting. Strong evidence was found for AlMgSi alloys being printable in two different composition ranges; Si+Mg<0.7wt% or for Si+2/3Mg>4wt% when Mg < 3wt% and Si > 3wt%. Increasing the amount of Mg and Si influence the grain structure by introducing fine columnar grains at the melt pool boundary, although the melt pool interior was unaffected. Hardness in as-built state increased with both Mg and Si, alt-hough Si had neglectable effect at low levels of Mg. Both evaporative loss of Mg and the amount of Mg in solid solution increased linearly with the amount of Mg.

The accumulation of steel slag and other industrial solid wastes has caused serious environmental pollution and resource waste. The resource utilization of steel slag is imminent. In this paper, alkali activated materials ultra-high performance concrete (AAM-UHPC) was prepared by replacing GGBFS powder with different proportions of steel slag powder, and its workability, mechanical properties, curing condition, microstructure, and pore structure were investigated. The results illustrate that the incorporation of steel slag powder can significantly delay the setting time and improve the flowability of AAM-UHPC, making it possible for engineering applications. The mechanical properties of AAM-UHPC showed a tendency to increase and then decrease with the increase of steel slag dosing, and reached the best performance at 30% dosage of steel slag. The maximum compressive strength and flexural strength are 157.1 MPa and 16.32 MPa, respectively. High temperature steam or hot water curing at early age was beneficial to the strength development of AAM-UHPC, but continuous high temperature hot and humid curing would lead to strength inversion. When the dosage of steel slag is 30%, the average pore diameter of the matrix is only 8.43nm, and the appropriate steel slag dosage can reduce the heat of hydration and refine the pore size distribution, making the matrix more dense.

The ordered Ca3TaGa3Si2O14 and disordered La3Ga5SiO14 crystals of the lantangallium silicate family were grown by the Czochralski method. The independent coefficients of thermal expansion of crystals αc and αa were determined by X-ray powder diffraction based on the analysis of X-ray diffraction spectra measured in the temperature range of 25÷1000°C. It is shown that in the temperature range of 25÷800°C the thermal expansion coefficients are linear. At temperatures above 800°C there is a nonlinear character of the thermal expansion coefficients associated with a decrease in the Ga content in the crystal lattice of the lantangallium silicate family crystals.

To investigate the impacts of various sources of omega-3 on feed intake, digestibility, and blood metabolites in horses, this research was conducted. In this survey, 6 medium-sized Turkmen horses, aged 14 to 16 years, were used. The horses had no movement and health problems. This research was carried out in the form of a rotating design and included 3 periods, and each treatment had 2 repetitions in each period. In each experimental period, horses were randomly assigned to each of the 3 experimental treatments. The experimental treatments included C) Omega-3-free supplement (control treatment), R) Persialin flaxseed oil, and P) Persialin fat powder. At the beginning of each period, after the withdrawal period for the previous period, blood and feces samples were taken as the covariate factors, then the experimental treatments were consumed for 14 days, and after the adaptation to 100 grams of supplementing fat powder or flax seed oil, blood, and feces samples were taken at the end of the course. Fat supplements were added to the concentrate 1.5 hours before feeding the midday hay. The palatability was affected by the P treatment and was significantly lower than the R and C groups (P<0.05). But the difference between the two treatments (R and C) was insignificant in any of the periods. The digestibility of acid detergent insoluble fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), and organic matter were not affected by any of the experimental treatments. Blood metabolites including glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, and blood urea nitrogen were not influenced by experimental treatments. The serum albumin concentration of horses was affected by the R treatment in the first and third periods, but no significant difference was observed between the treatments in the second period.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies show potential for the development of functionally integrated lightweight designs, biomimetic structures and material savings. Typically, as-built surfaces show powder particle agglomerations and re-entrant features, leading to rough surfaces, which are associated with poor fatigue performance. To benefit from the full range of advantages with special focus on aerospace applications, critical features for crack initiation when subjected to fatigue loading need to be identified and mitigated. A first step toward achieving this goal is the surface texture characterisation based on the quantification of surface features. In this paper, selected areal height, functional and feature parameters from ISO 25178-2:2022 are generated and process-specific features are examined for as-built AlSi7Mg0.6 from laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB). A connection with the particle size distribution of the used powder is demonstrated. It is shown that surface feature analysis opens up opportunities to use physically meaningful surface characteristics in future quality assurance and part qualification processes.

Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which thin layers of aggregates are selectively bonded by cement paste only where the structure is to be produced. In this way, concrete elements with complex geometries and structures can be created. Reinforcement is required to increase the flexural strength of the concrete elements and, thus, enable their applicability in practice. Integrating the reinforcement is a difficult task, particularly in the case of SPI due to the layer-wise printing method. Especially with respect to possible complex structures, the production of the reinforcement needs to be adapted to SPI, thereby offering a high degree of freedom. One concept for a reinforcement integration is combining the two additive manufacturing processes SPI and Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). However, since the two processes serve different fields of application, their compatibility is not necessarily given. Ongoing investigations show that the temperatures caused by WAAM adversely affect both, the cement paste rheology required for sufficient paste penetration into the particle bed and the overall concrete strength. This paper provides an overview of ongoing research focusing on different cooling strategies and their effects on the compressive strength of SPI-printed concrete parts.

The Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) method is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing technique that allows for the production of complex geometries in concrete elements by selectively bonding aggregates with cement paste in a particle bed. To create reinforced concrete, the Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process shall be integrated into SPI. This technique allows the production of almost free-formed reinforcement and thus complements the advantage of SPI to produce free-formed structures of almost any geometry. However, integration of WAAM into SPI poses a considerable challenge, as high temperatures are generated during the welding process. These temperatures can negatively affect the rheological properties of the cement paste, in turn the penetration behavior of the paste in the particle bed and, subsequently, the mechanical properties of the hardened concrete. A possible passive cooling strategy is to increase the protruding length of the reinforcement bars out of the particle-bed. This requires that the distance of the print nozzle to the particle bed is as well increased, since it must be possible to move it across the reinforcement. The objective was thus to investigate the effect of that distance on print quality and to quantify a maximum allowable distance for an adequate print quality (for the printer setting used) in terms of shape accuracy and concrete strength. Compressive and flexural strength tests as well as geometrical measurements using a 3D scanning method were performed on specimen, printed with varying print nozzle to particle bed distances. It can be stated that for the used SPI print-heads, nozzle-types and parameter settings, the distance between the nozzle and the particle bed should not exceed 50 mm to ensure sufficient print quality in both shape accuracy and mechanical strength.

Surfaces of additively manufactured metal parts from powder-based processes typically show powder particle agglomerations and other features, resulting in high surface roughness. Proper characterization of those surfaces is necessary in order to assess part quality with respect to coatability, mechanical performance or corrosion resistance for use in aerospace, automotive, medical and more industrial applications. Optical surface texture measurement allows for collection of areal surface data, while the established contact stylus method only captures line profile data. When applying optical methods for surface topography measurements, proper data acquisition and post-processing in order to assess surface texture may be complex. A number of variables can be adjusted, such as different measurement settings, approaches to outlier removal, evaluated area size or form removal. This work shows the influence of selected z-range prior to measurement and the influence of choosing pre-defined outlier removal settings in MountainsMap 9.2 on selected ISO 25178-2:2022 parameters calculated from data obtained from confocal microscopy for as-built Ti6Al4V from laser powder bed fusion. The aim is to show the influence of variation in measurement and post-processing on calculated surface texture parameters and stress the importance of proper documentation in order to achieve reproducibility of data for quality management.

Metal additive manufacturing technologies have large potential for future use in load bearing aerospace applications, requiring a deeper understanding of mechanical performance and influencing factors. The objective of this study is to manufacture fatigue specimens by laser powder bed fusion with comparable bulk and different as-built surface quality (without post-processing). This goal was pursued by using identical bulk/hatch scan parameters while varying contour scan parameters. The bulk quality was evaluated by density measurements according to Archimedes’ principle and tensile testing. The surfaces were investigated using the optical fringe projection method and surface quality was assessed by the areal surface texture parameters Sa (arithmetic mean height) and Sk (core height, derived from material ratio curve). The resulting mean values of max (ultimate tensile strength) were between 375 and 405 MPa, which is a variation of roughly 8%, for seven different surface conditions. It could be confirmed that the influence of contour scan variation on bulk quality is insignificant for the assessed samples.

Overcrowding in the emergency department is a problem that generates several implications for bed management, which is deemed one of a hospital's most critical processes. Effective management of hospital production capacity includes bed management processes, which can be improved in order to leverage hospital performance. Thus, this study sought to understand how bed management works and identify the main factors that influence its management. The study was performed through a case study, with data collected from semi-structured interviews and bibliographic research, which were triangulated. Thematic content analysis of the interviews and cross-analysis were performed. As a result, the main factors that influence hospital Bed management were identified: communication between teams and units; definition of performance goals; decisions shared between units; occupation and discharge planning by the teams; length of stay; the role of the nurses; and COVID-19. The greatest difficulties in the management process are related to these factors. Additionally, suggestions are provided to mitigate such reported difficulties.

Cold gas dynamic spray (CS) is a unique technique to deposit material using high strain rate solid state deformation. A major challenge for this technique is its dependence on the powder properties and lack of standards to assess them between lots and manufacturers. The motivation of this research was to understand the variability in powder atomization techniques for stainless steel powders and their subsequent properties for their corresponding impact on CS. A drastic difference (~30%) was observed in deposition efficiencies (DE) of unaltered, spherical, and similar sized stainless steel (316) powders produced using centrifugal (C.A) and traditional gas atomization (G.A) techniques. The study highlights more on differences on precursor level. Using recent advancements in large scale statistical measurements like laser diffraction shape analysis, µCT scanning, traditional methods like EBSD, nano-indentation, an attempt is made to understand the powder property. Insights on powder size and shape are documented. Significant differences were observed between C.A and G.A powders in terms of grain size, fraction of higher angle grain boundaries (HAGB) and nano hardness. The outcomes of this study would be helpful to understand the commercialization of the cold-spray process for bulk manufacturing of powder precursors

Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) is an Additive Manufacturing process in which a laser beam is used to generate a melt pool onto a substrate. The additional material, in form of powder material, is fed into the generated melt pool and a raised track is obtained. The LP-DED process is very powerful for different applications such as the repair operations and the production of functionally graded material, however the application is still limited and one of the main reasons is related to the lack of knowledge in the physics of the process mechanisms. The process is influenced by a huge number of parameters and three main mechanisms can be identi-fied. These mechanisms are the powder flow, the generation of the molten pool and the solidifica-tion process and for each of these mechanisms the process parameters have a different relevance. In this paper, a review of the main mechanisms and the relationship between the process parame-ters and the outcome of each step of the process is presented.

This research program investigated the effects of layer thickness (50 and 100 microns) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of electron beam powder bed fusion (EBPBF) additive manufacturing of Inconel 625 alloy. The as-built 50 and 100 micron layer thickness components were also heat treated at temperatures above 1100 oC, which produced a recrystallized grain structure containing annealing twins in the 50 micron layer thickness components, and a duplex grain structure consisting of islands of very small equiaxed grains dispersed in a recrystallized, large-grain structure containing annealing twins. The heat treated component microstructures and mechanical properties were compared with the as-built components in both the build direction (vertical) and perpendicular (horizontal) to the build direction. Vickers microindentation hardness (HV) values for the vertical and horizontal geometries averaged 227 and 220 for the as-built 50 and 100 micron layer components, and 185 and 282 for the corresponding heat treated components. The yield stress values were 387 MPa and 365 MPa for the as-built layer horizontal and vertical 50 micron layer geometries, and 330 MPa and 340 MPa for the as-built 100 micron layer components. For the heat treated 50 micron components, the yield stress values were 340 and 321 MPa for the horizontal and vertical geometries, and 581 and 489 MPa for the 100 micron layer components, respectively. The elongation for the 100 micron layer as-built horizontal components was 28% in contrast to 65% for the corresponding 100 micron heat treated layer components, an increase of 132% for the duplex grain structure. However, the coarse grains containing annealing twins and the equiaxed small grain islands in the duplex structure for the heat treated components contained continuous carbides in the grain boundaries, and this may indicate sensitization and a reduction in corrosion resistance. These findings point to the potential mechanical property advantage for heat treatment of Inconel 625 alloy 100 micron layer thickness components fabricated by EBPBF.

A comparative analysis of the features of UV- stimulated emission (SE) of various types of disorder active materials based on ZnO crystallites for a random laser (RL) was carried out. The superlinear increase in the intensity of the UV photoluminescence (PL) band of polydisperse nano- microcrystalline (PNMC) ZnO powder at a wavelength of λ = 387 nm and some narrowing of its half-width in the range of 20-15 nm with increasing pump intensity indicate random lasing with incoherent feedback (FB). Properties of similar UV PL bands under the same conditions from a thin film containing hexagonal ZnO microdisks, as well as samples of monodisperse ZnO nanopowder indicate stimulated emission with coherent feedback. It is shown that, among the studied materials, the PNMC ZnO powder with crystallites contained nano-grains with is the most suitable for creating a laser with incoherent feedback at room temperature. The dominant factor of UV SE in PNMC ZnO powder is radiation transitions under exciton - exciton scattering conditions. The possible mechanisms of this random emission with the continuous spectrum are discussed. The average optical gain coefficient αg at λ = 387 nm in this RL system is estimated, as αg ~ 150 cm-1.

The unsteady flow around the monopile under the influence of wave and vibration is studied by numerical method. Based on VOF model and SST Turbulence model, combined with Intermittent Transition model and dynamic mesh method, wave generation and pile vibration in numerical flume are simulated. The flow field around vibrating monopile in a calm water flume and a wave flume is simulated and the simulation results are compared. The calculation results show that the monopile vibration has a great disturbance to the unsteady flow around the pile, and the disturbance degree intensifies with the increase of the vibration amplitude of the monopile: Under the action of inertia, the vibration of the monopile leads to the reattachment of the shedding vortices; Under the influence of the reattachment vortices, the asymmetry of the vorticity on the side wall of the monopile intensifies; The intensification of the disturbance causes the reduction of the phase lead angle of the bed shear stress on the side of the single pile, and an additional high bed shear stress appears on the side of the monopile. In addition, the vortex structure formed alternately around the monopile during the vibration process leads to the periodic change of the high bed shear stress.

A Chinese superalloy GH4099 (~20 vol.% γ' phase), which can operate for long periods of time at temperatures of 1173-1273 K, was fabricated by electron beam melting (EBM). Argon gas atomized (AA) and plasma rotation electrode process (PREP) powders with the similar composition and size distribution were used as raw materials for comparison. Microstructure and mechanical properties of both the as-EBMed and post-treated alloy samples were investigated. The results show that the different powder characteristics resulted in the different build temperatures for AA and PREP samples, which were 1253 K and 1373 K, respectively. With increasing the building temperature, the EBM processing window shifted towards the higher scanning speed direction. Furthermore, intergranular cracking was observed for the as-fabricated PREP sample as a result of local enrichment of Si at grain boundaries. The cracks were completely eliminated by hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) and did not re-open during subsequent solution treatment and aging (STA). Fine spherical γ' phase precipitated uniformly after STA. The tensile strength of the HIP+STA samples was ~920 MPa in the building direction and ~850 MPa in the horizontal direction, comparable with that of the wrought alloy.

Mixture of abramis brama (freshwater bream), carassius carassius (crucian carp), and sander lucioperca (pike perch) scales was used for the preparation of fish scale powder containing about 26.5 wt. % of removed when heating components preferably of organic nature, and 63.5 wt. % of mineral components. Fish scale powder enriched with inorganic components was prepared from washed, dried, and ground fish scale mixture using vibration sieving. Inorganic powders consisting of hydroxyapatite and magnesium whitlockite were obtained via heat treatment of this fish scale powder at 800-1000 oC. Particles of these inorganic powders consisted of sintered grains with dimensions less than 100 nm after heat treatment at 800 oC, less than 200 nm after heat treatment at 900 oC, and 100-500 nm after heat treatment at 1000 oC. Fish scale powder enriched with inorganic components as well as heat-treated inorganic powders consisting of hydroxyapatite and magnesium whitlockite can be recommended for the production of different materials such as ceramics or composites.

The present study shows a methodology for analyzing and designing a cylindrical packed-bed reactor considering stationary and dynamic models. The design comprises the reactor's stationary and dynamic governing differential equations for mass and heat transfer under multi-dimensional approaches. The results included simulation of concentration, temperature, and reaction rate profiles via the 1-D and 2-D differential equations solution with FlexPDE software. The analysis was complemented with a scaled 3-D dynamic model implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics. Both FlexPDE and COMSOL Multiphysics relied on the finite element technique to solve the governing differential equations. The simulated concentration and temperature profiles from both FlexPDE and COMSOL models were compared to experimental data gathered from literature (specifically from a Fischer-Tropsch process to produce low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons in a configuration of cylindrical packed-bed reactors). Simulated concentration and temperature profiles from the 2-dimensional dynamic model and the COMSOL model were in good agreement with the trend observed in experimental data. Finally, the predicted reaction rate profiles from the COMSOL model and the 2-dimensional dynamic model followed the temperature trend, thus reflecting the temperature dependence of the reaction.

Open-cell metallic foams used as catalyst supports exhibit excellent transport properties. In this work, a unique application of metallic foam, as pelletized catalyst in a packed bed reactor, is examined. By using a wall-segment Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) setup, parametric analyses are carried out to investigate the influence of foam morphologies (cell size ϕ=0.45-3 mm and porosity ε=0.55-0.95) and intrinsic conductivity on flow and heat transport characteristics in a slender packed bed (N=Ddp=6.78) made of cylindrical metallic foam pellets. The transport processes have been modeled using an extended version of conventional particle-resolved CFD, i.e., flow and energy in inter-particle spaces are fully resolved, whereas porous-media model is used for the effective transport processes inside highly-porous foam pellets. Simulation inputs include the processing parameters relevant to Steam Methane Reforming (SMR), analyzed for low (Rep~100) and high (Rep~5000) flow regimes. The effect of foam morphologies on packed beds has shown that the desired requirements contradict each other, i.e., increase in cell size and porosity favor the reduction in pressure drop, however lowering the heat transfer efficiency. A design study is also conducted to find the optimum foam morphology of a cylindrical foam pellet at higher Rep~5000, which yields ϕ = 0.45, ε = 0.8. Suitable correlations to predict the friction factor and the overall heat transfer coefficient in a foam packed bed have been presented, which considers the effect of different foam morphologies over a range of particle Reynolds number, 100≤Rep≤5000.

One of the areas of research on materials for thin-film solar cells focuses on replacing In and Ga with more earth-abundant elements. In that respect, chalcostibite (CuSbS2) is being considered as a promising environmentally friendly and cost-effective photovoltaic absorber material. In the present work, single CuSbS2 phase have been synthesized directly by a short duration (2 h) mechanochemical synthesis step starting from mixtures of elemental powders. X-ray diffraction analysis of the synthesized CuSbS2 powders revealed a good agreement with the orthorhombic chalcostibite phase, space group Pnma, and a crystallite size of 26 nm. Particle size characterization revealed a multimodal distribution with a median diameter ranging from of 2.93 m to 3.10 m. The thermal stability of the synthesized CuSbS2 powders was evaluated by differential thermal analysis. No phase change was observed by heat treating the mechanochemically synthesized powders at 350 C for 24 h. By UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy the optical bandgap was determined to be 1.41 eV, suggesting that the mechanochemically synthesized CuSbS2 can be considered suitable to be used as absorber materials. Overall, the results show that the mechanochemical process is a viable route for the synthesis of materials for photovoltaic applications.