2025-04-09 2009, Volume 16 Issue 1

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  • Min Liu , Bing-feng Yu

    Some magnetocaloric materials were used successfully in magnetic refrigeration application and became one of the critical parts of magnetic refrigeration technology whose delightful progresses were made worldwide in the past 30 years. At the same time, the research on giant magnetocaloric materials will accelerate the development of room temperature magnetic refrigeration. In this paper, the new theoretical and experimental investigations on magnetic materials in room temperature application were described, including Gd and its binary and ternary intermetallic compounds, Mn-based compounds, La(Fe13−xMx)-based compounds and manganites. Based on the analysis of hysteresis, corrosion, cost and heat process, the comparison between different families of magnetic materials was discussed. Further research of room temperature magnetic refrigerant was suggested.

  • Yi-qi Wang , Ming-kai Lei , A. M. Afsar , J. I. Song

    The high-temperature oxidation resistance behavior of 7% (mass fraction) Y2O3-ZrO2 thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) irradiated by high-intensity pulsed ion beam (HIPIB) was investigated under the cyclic oxidation condition of 1 050 °C and 1 h. The columnar grains in the TBCs disappear after the HIPIB irradiation at ion current densities of 100–200 A/cm2 and the irradiated surface becomes smooth and densified after remelting and ablation due to the HIPIB irradiation. The thermally grown oxide (TGO) layer thickness of the irradiated TBCs is smaller than that of the original TBCs. After 15 cycles, the mass gains of the original TBCs and those irradiated by ion current densities of 100 and 200 A/cm2 due to the oxidation are found to be 0.8–0.9, 0.6–0.7, and 0.3–0.4 mg/cm2, respectively. The inward diffusion of oxygen through the irradiated TBCs is significantly impeded by the densified top layer formed due to irradiation, which is the main reason for the improved overall oxidation resistance of the irradiated TBCs.

  • Shi-quan Huang , You-ping Yi , Chao Liu

    The prediction of microstructure evolution plays an important role in the design of forging process. In the present work, the cellular automaton (CA) program was developed to simulate the process of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) for aluminium alloy 7050. The material constants in CA models, including dislocation density, nucleation rate and grain growth, were determined by the isothermal compress tests on Gleeble 1500 machine. The model of dislocation density was obtained by linear regression method based on the experimental results. The influences of the deformation parameters on the percentage of DRX and the mean grain size for aluminium alloy 7050 were investigated in details by means of CA simulation. The simulation results show that, as temperature increases from 350 to 450 °C at a strain rate of 0.01 s−1, the percentage of DRX also increases greatly and the mean grain size decreases from 50 to 39.3 μm. The mean size of the recrystallied grains (R-grains) mainly depends on the Zener-Hollomon parameter. To obtain fine grain, the desired deformation temperature is determined from 400 to 450 °C.

  • Yu-de Xiao , Min Li , Wei Wang , Juan Zhou , Guang-liang Wu , Yue-ming Peng

    High temperature plastic deformation behavior of non-orientated electrical steel was investigated by Gleeble 1500 thermo-mechanical simulator at strain rate of 0.01−10 s−1 and high temperature of 500–1 200 °C. The stress level factor (a), stress exponent (n), structural factor (A) and activation energy (Q) of high temperature plastic deformation process of non-orientated electrical steel in different temperature ranges were calculated by the Arrhenius model. The results show that, with dynamic elevation of deformation temperature, phase transformation from α-Fe to γ-Fe takes place simultaneously during plastic deformation, dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization process, leading to an irregular change of the steady flow stress. For high temperature plastic deformation between 500 and 800°C, the calculated values of a, n, A, and Q are 0.039 0 MPa−1, 7.93, 1.9×1018 s−1, and 334.8 kJ/mol, respectively, and for high temperature plastic deformation between 1 050 and 1 200 °C, the calculated values of a, n, A, and Q are 0.125 8 MPa−1, 5.29, 1.0×1028 s−1, and 769.9 kJ/mol, respectively.

  • Yan Feng , Ri-chu Wang , Chao-qun Peng , Hua-shan Liu

    The Ga-Hg binary system was thermodynamically assessed by the CALPHAD method, but only configuration contributions were considered to the entropy of the liquid. The Mg-Hg binary system has not been assessed yet. In the assessments of the Ga-Hg and Mg-Hg binary systems, solutions including liquid and hcp (Mg) were treated as substitution solutions, of which the excess Gibbs energies were formulated with the Relich-Kister polynomial. The intermetallic phases in the Mg-Hg binary system, Mg3Hg, Mg5Hg2, Mg2Hg, Mg5Hg3, MgHg, and MgHg2, were described as stoichiometric compounds. Based on the reported experimental data and thermodynamic properties of the phase diagram, sets of self-consistent parameters describing all phases in the Ga-Hg and the Mg-Hg binary systems were obtained.

  • Jian-long Yi , Xin-ming Zhang , Ming-an Chen , Rui Gu , Yun-lai Deng

    The cerium conversion film was applied to improving the corrosion resistance of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr magnesium alloy. The film was electrodeposited on the surface of the Mg-RE alloy in cerium nitrate solution. The compositions and morphologies were analyzed by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning election microscopy (SEM). The corrosion behaviors of the film were investigated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization tests and immersion tests. The results show that the optimum parameters for electrochemical deposition are as follows: pH 10.0, time 30 min, 50 mmol/L Na2CO3 and temperature 25 °C by the designed experiments according to the orthogonal table L(9, 34). The corrosion protection efficiency is dependent on the deposition parameters. The cerium conversion film shows better corrosion protection behavior than chromate conversion film on Mg-Gd-Y-Zr magnesium alloy.

  • Jin Chen , Jing Zhao , Meng Zhang , Hong Yan , Jian-xiong Zhou

    Chromium ore fines containing coal (COFCC) can be rapidly heated by microwave to conduct the voluminal reduction, which lays a foundation of getting sponge ferrochromium powders with a lower content of C. Under the conditions of COFCC with n(O):n(C) (molar ratio) as 1.00:0.84 and n(SiO2):n(CaO) as 1.00:0.39, the samples were heated by 10 kW microwave power to reach the given temperatures and held for different times respectively. The results show that the low-C-Cr ferrochromium metal phase in the reduced materials forms before the high-C-Cr ferrochromium metal phase does. With increasing temperature the C content of ferrochromium metals is in a positive correlation with the content of Cr. The C content of ferrochromium metal in reduced materials is 0–10.07% with an average value of 4.68%. With the increase of holding time the Cr content in ferrochromium metals is in a negative correlation with the content of C, while the content of Fe changes in the contrary way. In the microwave field the kinetic conditions of carburization are closely related with the temperature of microwave heating, holding time and carbon fitting ratio.

  • Zu-hua Zhang , Xiao Yao , Hua-jun Zhu , Su-dong Hua , Yue Chen

    To improve the environmental benefits and solve the problems of large shrinkage and high brittleness, the partial replacement of calcined kaolin by fly ash as a raw material for geopolymer synthesis and the influences of polypropylene (PP) fiber on the mechanical properties and volume stability were investigated. The results show that compressive strength of the geopolymer containing 33.3%(mass fraction) fly ash by steam curing at 80 °C for 6 d is improved by 35.5%. The 3-day compressive strength, flexural strength and impacting energy of geopolymers containing 0.05%PP fiber increase by 67.8%, 36.1% and 6.25%, while the shrinkage and modulus of compressibility decrease by 38.6% and 31.3%, respectively. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the appearances of crack growths confirm that PP fiber can offer a bridging effect over the harmful pores and defects and change the expanding ways of cracks, resulting in a great improvement of strength and toughness.

  • Jin-lan Xia , Hao Meng , Run-min Wang , Cheng-gui Zhang , Jing Xiong , Zhen-yuan Nie , Guan-zhou Qiu

    In order to solve the citrus peel resource waste problem and minimize the drawbacks of chemical extraction of pectin, a protopectinase-overproducing strain CD-01 for pectin production was isolated from a pit soil dumped with perished orange in Changde City, Hunan Province of China. The strain CD-01 had the same morphology and 28S rRNA gene sequence (FJ184995) as that of Aspergillus niger (ATCC 64028). It was thus identified and named as Aspergillus niger CD-01. The fermentation condition was optimized based on L9(34) orthogonal experimental design and the variances analyses. The results show that the optimal condition for producing pectin is as follows: time 36 h, temperature 35 °C, pH 5, and urea as the nitrogen source. Under this condition, the pectin yield can reach up to 24.5%. This shows a great potential of Aspergillus niger CD-01 in pectin extraction from citrus.

  • Hai-hui Zhou , Wei Zeng , Xiao-fang Ying , Jin-xiang Zeng , Dan Li , Jin-hua Chen , Ya-fei Kuang

    A water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion composed of Triton X-100, n-hexanol, n-hexane and water solution with hydrochloric acid was prepared. K3Fe(CN)6 was added in as a water-soluble electroactive probe, and its electrochemical behavior was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It is found that the H+ concentration of the water phase has a great effect on the conductivity of the W/O microemulsion, and hence influences the electrochemical behavior of K3Fe(CN)6. When the pH value of water phase is about 7, the electrical conductivity of the W/O microemulsion is only 1.2×10−6 S/cm, and K3Fe(CN)6 almost cannot react at the glassy carbon electrode. But when the H+ concentration is more than 3 mol/L, the W/O microemulsion has a good electrical conductivity and K3Fe(CN)6 shows good electrochemical performance in it. The results of CV and EIS studies indicate that the electrochemical behavior of Fe(CN)63−/Fe(CN)64− in the W/O microemulsion is different from that in the aqueous solution. This may be due to the unique liquid structure of the W/O microemulsion and the unique mass transfer in the W/O microemulsion.

  • Qing-de Long , Chun-yue Pan , Yan-hua Meng , Bao-jin Zhang , Cheng-xi Xu

    A novel class of xanthan-maleic anhydride (Xan-MA)/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hybrid hydrogels was designed and synthesized by solution polymerization. The xanthan-based precursor (Xan-MA) was prepared by substituting the hydroxyl groups in Xan by MA. This Xan-MA precursor was then polymerized with a known temperature sensitive precursor (N-isopropylacrylamide, NIPAAm) to form hybrid hydrogels with a series range of composition ratio of Xan-MA to NIPAAm precursors. These smart hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for structural determination, differential scanning calorimertry for thermal property. And maximum swelling ratio, swelling kinetics and temperature response kinetics were studied. The data obtained clearly show that these smart hydrogels are responsive to the external changes of temperature as well as pH value. The magnitudes of smart and hydrogel properties of these hybrid hydrogels depend on the feed composition ratio of the two precursors. With the increase of the content of Xan-MA the maximum swelling ratio, reswelling ratio and thermo-sensitivities increase, and the feed composition ratio of Xan-MA/NIPAAm increases the maximum swelling ratio augment from 13.88 to 23.21. From XMN0, XMN1, XMN3 to XMN5, the lower critical solution temperatures (LCSTs) are 33.02, 36.15, 40.28 and 41.92 °, respectively. By changing the composition ratio of these two precursors, the LCST of the hybrid hydrogels could also be adjusted to be or near the body temperature for the potential applications in bioengineering and biotechnology fields.

  • Liu-yin Xia , Hong Zhong , Guang-yi Liu , Xin-gang Li

    The bulk electronic structure of kaolinite (001) plane was studied with quantum mechanical calculations. The CASTEP parameterization of ultrasoft pseudopotentials without core corrections was used to optimize the structure of kaolinite bulk and slab models. The results show that Fermi energy of kaolinite (001) plane is 3.05 eV, and the band gap is 4.52 eV. The partial density of states (PDOS) of kaolinite (001) plane indicates that Al—O and Si—O bonds on the mineral surface are highly polar. The oxygen atoms of hydroxyl groups in surface layer are capable of forming hydrogen bond with the head group of cationic collectors. The properties of dodecylamine (DDA) cation were also calculated by density function theory (DFT) method at B3LYP/6-31G (d) level for illuminating the flotation processes of kaolinite. Besides the electrostatic attraction, the mechanism between kaolinite and DDA is found to be hydrogen bonds under acidic condition.

  • Yi-fu Zhang , Xing-rong Zeng

    Urea-isobutyraldehyde-formaldehyde (UIF) resin was synthesized from urea, isobutyraldehyde, and formaldehyde using sulfuric acid as a catalyst by one pot method. The effects of molar ratios of isobutyraldehyde to formaldehyde (n(I)/n(F)) and aldehyde to urea (n(A)/n(U)) on the yield, hydroxyl value (vs KOH) and softening point of the resin were investigated. The structure of the resin was characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. The results show that when the molar ratio of urea to isobutyraldehyde to formaldehyde (n(U)/n(I)/n(F)) is 1.0/3.0/3.0, the yield UIF resin is 67.1%, and the softening point and hydroxyl value are 88 °C and 37 mg/g, respectively. The FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR results show that the lactam is formed by aminomethylation from urea, isobutyraldehyde, and formaldehyde.

  • Zhen-hua Ouyang , Chang-hong Li , Wan-cai Xu , Hao-jie Li

    In order to obtain the distribution rules of in situ stress and mining-induced stress of Beiminghe Iron Mine, the stress relief method by overcoring was used to measure the in situ stress, and the MC type bore-hole stress gauge was adopted to measure the mining-induced stress. In the in situ stress measuring, the technique of improved hollow inclusion cells was adopted, which can realize complete temperature compensation. Based on the measuring results, the distribution model of in situ stress was established and analyzed. The in situ stress measuring result shows that the maximum horizontal stress is 1.75–2.45 times of vertical stress and almost 1.83 times of the minimum horizontal stress in this mineral field. And the mining-induced stress measuring result shows that, according to the magnitude of front abutment pressure the stress region can be separated into stress-relaxed area, stress-concentrated area and initial stress area. At the −50 m mining level of this mine, the range of stress-relaxed area is 0–3 m before mining face; the range of stress-concentrated area is 3–55 m before mining face, and the maximum mining-induced stress is 16.5–17.5 MPa, which is 15–20 m from the mining face. The coefficient of stress concentration is 1.85.

  • Zhi-an Zhang , Mu Cui , Yan-qing Lai , Jie Li , Ye-xiang Liu

    A process was proposed based on the combination of chemical and physical activation for the production of activated carbons used as the electrode material for electric double layer capacitor (EDLC). By material characterization and electrochemical methods, the influences of the activitation process on the specific surface area, pore structure and electrochemical properties of the activated carbons were investigated. The results show that specific surface area, the mesopore volume, and the specific capacitance increase with the increase of the mass ratio of KOH to char (m(KOH)/m(char)) and the activation time, respectively. When m(KOH)/m(char) is 4.0, the specific surface area and the mesopore volume reach the maximum values, i.e. 1 960 m2/g and 0.308 4 cm3/g, and the specific capacitance is 120.7 F/g synchronously. Compared with the chemical activation, the activated carbons prepared by chemical-physical activation show a larger mesopore volume, a higher ratio of mesopore and a larger specific capacitance.

  • Xiao-jun Lü , Qing-yu Li , Yan-qing Lai , Jie Li

    The sodium expansion curves of semi-graphitic cathode and TiB2/C composite cathode with different TiB2 contents were measured with the improved Rapoport-Samoilenko apparatus. The mathematic model of the sodium expansion was deduced on the basis of the experimental results. The sodium expansion parameter (a) and penetration rate factor (Q), were introduced into the model. The model was validated with the experimental sodium expansion curves self-measured and reported. The results show that the variation tendency of the sodium expansion parameter (a) and penetration rate factor (Q) is consistent with that of the experimental curves. The model is capable of not only conveniently judging the cathode quality, but also favorably establishing a unified standard of the resistance to sodium penetration of cathode.

  • Zhi-hui Yang , Bing Wang , Li-yuan Chai , Yun-yan Wang , Hai-ying Wang , Chang-qing Su

    Sugarcane pulp residue (SPR), a waste from sugar-refinery, which possesses a large surface area, can be used for removing chromium (Cr(III) and Cr(VI)) from wastewater. In this work, the kinetics, isotherms of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) adsorption and their removal by SPR were investigated. The results show that the removal percentages of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) increase with increasing SPR dosage and temperature and decrease with increasing SPR particle size and the initial concentration of chromium ions. However, the influence of pH value on the Cr(VI) removal differs from that of the Cr(III) removal. The Cr(VI) removal percentage decreases with increasing pH values, while the Cr(III) removal percentage increases with increasing pH value. The adsorption kinetics of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) well fits with pseudo-second-order model. Langmuir adsorption isotherm can well describe the adsorption phenomena of chromium ions with the maximum adsorption capacity of 0.567 mg/g for Cr(VI) and 3.446 mg/g for Cr(III). Moreover, SPR reveals higher adsorption capacity for Cr(III) than that for Cr(VI), which implies that SPR has more potential application for Cr(III)-containing wastewater treatment than that for Cr(VI)-containing wastewater treatment.

  • Wen-bin Xia , Xin Li , Hui Gao , Bao-rong Huang , Hui-zhi Zhang , Yun-guo Liu , Guang-ming Zeng , Ting Fan

    Some key factors on the heavy metals removal efficiencies were studied when soil washing technology was used in the remediation of soils contaminated by multiple heavy metals. The results show that the dissolubilities of Cu and Zn are promoted by humic acids, but Pb and Cd are inhibited by humic acids; heavy metals in the clay are more difficult to be extracted than silt; the strong acidic soils can cause the protonation of EDTA and weaken its extracting ability; EDTA is effective for extracting Pb and Cd, while oxalate (OX) is effective for extracting Cu and Zn; and biosurfactant can be used as additive to improve the removal of some particular heavy metals.

  • Dong-man Yu , Da-mao Yao , Han Xie , Li-man Bao , Tie-jun Xu , Yu-hua Peng , Su-mei Liu , Qing-xi Yang

    Modal analysis and seismic response analysis were carried out for the equatorial diagnostic port plug of international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). The aim of the theoretical analysis is to verify structural strength and reliability of the device. The working condition includes one-dimensional seismic wave and two-dimensional seismic wave. Modal analysis of the device shows that primary vibration is inclined to occur in low-order modes. The horizontal (X-direction, Y-direction) maximum vibration appears at the first and the fourth eigen modes, with the natural frequency of 70.59 and 215.88 Hz respectively, and the vertical (Z-direction) primary vibration appears at the second eigen mode with the natural frequency of 82.85 Hz. According to the results of the finite element analysis (FEA) program, the weak portions of the device are distributed in the joint of port body with blanket shielding module (BSM) and inner side wall of ribbed plate for lifting flange, the maximum von Mises stress is 14.8 MPa with the Y-direction seismic wave. In accordance with the design criteria, the destructive effect is far below the failure boundary, and the structural reliability of the equatorial diagnostic port plug can meet the requirements of the design specifications.

  • Zhu-yong Liu , Jia-zhen Hong , Jin-yang Liu

    A complete geometric nonlinear formulation for rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of a flexible beam undergoing large overall motion was proposed based on virtual work principle, in which all the high-order terms related to coupling deformation were included in dynamic equations. Simulation examples of the flexible beam with prescribed rotation and free rotation were investigated. Numerical results show that the use of the first-order approximation coupling (FOAC) model may lead to a significant error when the flexible beam experiences large deformation or large deformation velocity. However, the correct solutions can always be obtained by using the present complete model. The difference in essence between this model and the FOAC model is revealed. These coupling high-order terms, which are ignored in FOAC model, have a remarkable effect on the dynamic behavior of the flexible body. Therefore, these terms should be included for the rigid-flexible dynamic modeling and analysis of flexible body undergoing motions with high speed.

  • Chong-bin Zhao , Sheng-lin Peng , Liang-ming Liu , B. E. Hobbs , A. Ord

    Based on the fact that a static problem has an equivalent wave speed of infinity and a dynamic problem has a wave speed of finite value, an effective loading algorithm associated with the explicit dynamic relaxation method was presented to produce meaningful numerical solutions for static problems. The central part of the explicit dynamic relaxation method is to turn a time-independent static problem into an artificial time-dependent dynamic problem. The related numerical testing results demonstrate that: (1) the proposed effective loading algorithm is capable of enabling an applied load in a static problem to be propagated throughout the whole system within a given loading increment, so that the time-independent solution of the static problem can be obtained; (2) the proposed effective loading algorithm can be straightforwardly applied to the particle simulation method for solving a wide range of static problems.

  • Hang Lin , Ping Cao , Feng-qiang Gong , Jiang-teng Li , Yi-lin Gui

    In order to determine the slip plane of slope directly by the calculation results of strength reduction method, and analyze the influential factors of slope stability, a numerical model was established in plane strain mode by FLAC3D for homogeneous soil slope, whose parameters were reduced until the slope reached the critical state. Then FISH program was used to get the location data of slip plane from displacement contour lines. Furthermore, the method to determine multiple slip planes was also proposed by setting different heights of elastic areas. The influential factors for the stability were analyzed, including cohesion, internal friction angle, and tensile strength. The calculation results show that with the increase of cohesion, failure mode of slope changes from shallow slipping to the deep slipping, while inclination of slip plane becomes slower and slipping volume becomes larger; with the increase of friction angle, failure mode of slope changes from deep slipping to shallow slipping, while slip plane becomes steeper and upper border of slip plane comes closer to the vertex of slope; the safety factor increases little and slip plane goes far away from vertex of slope with the increase of tensile strength.

  • Xiao-zhong Tong , Jian-xin Liu , Wei Xie , Lin-hua Xu , Rong-wen Guo , Yun-tao Cheng

    A finite element algorithm combined with divergence condition was presented for computing three-dimensional(3D) magnetotelluric forward modeling. The finite element equation of three-dimensional magnetotelluric forward modeling was derived from Maxwell’s equations using general variation principle. The divergence condition was added forcedly to the electric field boundary value problem, which made the solution correct. The system of equation of the finite element algorithm was a large sparse, banded, symmetric, ill-conditioned, non-Hermitian complex matrix equation, which can be solved using the Bi-CGSTAB method. In order to prove correctness of the three-dimensional magnetotelluric forward algorithm, the computed results and analytic results of one-dimensional geo-electrical model were compared. In addition, the three-dimensional magnetotelluric forward algorithm is given a further evaluation by computing COMMEMI model. The forward modeling results show that the algorithm is very efficient, and it has a lot of advantages, such as the high precision, the canonical process of solving problem, meeting the internal boundary condition automatically and adapting to all kinds of distribution of multi-substances.

  • Yong-gui Chen , Wei-min Ye , Ke-neng Zhang

    Using the orthogonal experimental design method involving three factors and three levels, the flexural strength and the compressive strength of copolymer grouting material were studied with different compositions of water-cement ratio (mass fraction of water to cement), epoxy resin content, and waterborne epoxy curing agent content. By orthogonal range and variance analysis, the orders of three factors to influence the strength, the significance levels of different factors, and the optimized compound ratio scheme of copolymer grouting material mixture at different curing ages were determined. An empirical relationship among the strength of copolymer grouting material, the water-cement ratio, the epoxy resin content, and the waterborne epoxy curing agent content was established by multivariate regression analysis. The results indicate that water-cement ratio is the most principal and significant influencing factor on the strength. Epoxy resin content and waterborne epoxy curing agent content also have a significant influence on the strength. But epoxy resin content has a greater influence on the 7-day and 28-day flexural strength, and waterborne epoxy curing agent content has a greater influence on the 3-day flexural strength and the compressive strength. The copolymer grouting material with water-cement ratio of 0.4, epoxy resin content of 8% (mass fraction) and waterborne epoxy curing agent content of 2% (mass fraction) is the best one for repairing of cement concrete pavement. The flexural strength and the compressive strength have good correlation, and the ratio of compressive strength to flexural strength is between 1.0 and 3.3.

  • Xiang-xia Zhang , Lin-de Yang , Xiao-bo Yan

    To provide a seepage-stress coupling constitutive model that can directly describe the seepage-stress coupling relationship, a series of one-dimensional seepage-stress coupling tests on two kinds of soft rock (argillaceous siltstone and brown mudstone) were performed by using an MTS-815.02 tri-axial rock mechanics test system, with which the stress—strain curves according to the seepage variation were obtained. Based on the experimental results and by employing Hooke’s law, the formulation of the coefficient of strain-dependent permeability was presented and introduced to establish a coupling model. In addition, the mathematical expression and the incremental formulation for coupling model were advanced, in which five parameters that can be respectively determined by using the experimental results were included. The calculated results show that the proposed coupling model is capable of simulating the stress—strain relationship with considering the seepage-stress coupling in the nonlinear elastic stage of two kinds of soft rock.

  • Zhi-qiang Sun , Hong-jian Zhang

    To improve the measurement performance, a method for diagnosing the state of vortex flowmeter under various flow conditions was presented. The raw sensor signal of the vortex flowmeter was adaptively decomposed into intrinsic mode functions using the empirical mode decomposition approach. Based on the empirical mode decomposition results, the energy of each intrinsic mode function was extracted, and the vortex energy ratio was proposed to analyze how the perturbation in the flow affected the measurement performance of the vortex flowmeter. The relationship between the vortex energy ratio of the signal and the flow condition was established. The results show that the vortex energy ratio is sensitive to the flow condition and ideal for the characterization of the vortex flowmeter signal. Moreover, the vortex energy ratio under normal flow condition is greater than 80%, which can be adopted as an indicator to diagnose the state of a vortex flowmeter.

  • Sheng Su , Jun Xiang , Lu-shi Sun , Song Hu

    The unburned carbon concentration in fly ash and the influence of main factors on the reduction of nitrogen oxides during gaseous fuel reburning process were experimentally studied in a 36 kW down-fired furnace when five typical coals with different qualities were served as the primary fuel. It is found that the higher nitrogen oxide reduction efficiency can be obtained by reburning process when the coal used as the primary fuel contains more volatile matter. But under the optimizational operating conditions, both above 50% nitrogen oxide reduction and low carbon loss can be achieved by reburning process even though the primary fuel is the low-volatile coal. The experimental results show that the reasonable residence time in reburn zone is 0.6–0.9 s, the appropriate gaseous reburn fuel percentage is 10%—15% and the optimal average excess air coefficient in reburn zone is 0.8–0.9. These results extend the ranges of the key parameter values for reburning process with respect to that the low-volatile coals are used as the primary fuel.

  • Hong-qi Tian

    Aerodynamic drag is proportional to the square of speed. With the increase of the speed of train, aerodynamic drag plays an important role for high-speed train. Thus, the reduction of aerodynamic drag and energy consumption of high-speed train is one of the essential issues for the development of the desirable train system. Aerodynamic drag on the traveling train is divided into pressure drag and friction one. Pressure drag of train is the force caused by the pressure distribution on the train along the reverse running direction. Friction drag of train is the sum of shear stress, which is the reverse direction of train running direction. In order to reduce the aerodynamic drag, adopting streamline shape of train is the most effective measure. The velocity of the train is related to its length and shape. The outer wind shields can reduce train’s air drag by about 15%. At the same time, the train with bottom cover can reduce the air drag by about 50%, compared with the train without bottom plate or skirt structure.

  • Feng Shi , En-hou Huang , Qun Chen , Ying-zi Wang

    Considering the decision-making variables of the capacities of branch roads and the optimization targets of lowering the saturation of arterial roads and the reconstruction expense of branch roads, the bi-level programming model for reconstructing the branch roads was set up. The upper level model was for determining the enlarged capacities of the branch roads, and the lower level model was for calculating the flows of road sections via the user equilibrium traffic assignment method. The genetic algorithm for solving the bi-level model was designed to obtain the reconstruction capacities of the branch roads. The results show that by the bi-level model and its algorithm, the optimum scheme of urban branch roads reconstruction can be gained, which reduces the saturation of arterial roads apparently, and alleviates traffic congestion. In the data analysis the arterial saturation decreases from 1.100 to 0.996, which verifies the micro-circulation transportation’s function of urban branch road network.