At present, the passivation mechanisms in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries with Li3AlF6-based electrolytes, including those related to the microstructure and chemical composition of the anode interphase, are not understood. Therefore, the cause of the reduction stability of Li3AlF6-based solid electrolytes has been investigated in this study. The Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 composite is a Li+-ion conductor with high tolerability under high voltages (over 6 V vs. Li+/Li). However, the theoretical onset voltage of Li3AlF6 reduction is higher than the charging voltage of graphite, indicating that reduction of Li3AlF6 (Li3AlF6 + 3Li+ + 3e− → 6LiF + Al) proceeds prior to the Li+ intercalation of graphite. Nevertheless, all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries with graphite anodes operate when Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 is used as the solid electrolyte. Hence, it is speculated that a passivation layer is formed at the anode interphase. In this study, Li/Mo cells with Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 (or Li3AlF6) were fabricated and polarized at −0.5–1.0 V vs. Li+/Li. Subsequently, the interphase microstructure was investigated. At an O2 concentration of ∼0.5%, the Mo/Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 interphase was covered by a Li2O layer after polarization at 0.5 V. This Li2O layer was also observed on the surface of Li3AlF6, where oxygen was not included as a constituent element. The thickness and coverage of the Li2O layer decreased significantly following polarization under an O2-poor atmosphere (1–2 ppm), indicating that the O2 source was the measurement atmosphere. The results also revealed Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 to be intrinsically stable at 0.5 V, as the reduction products were not clearly observed, irrespective of the presence of the Li2O layer. Although Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 was reduced at −0.5 V, this voltage is considerably lower than the theoretical onset voltage (1.06 V). Additionally, the reduction of the solid electrolyte was terminated because of the homogeneous coverage of the LiF (the decomposition product of Li3AlF6-Li2SO4) layer at the interphase. Hence, it can be concluded that the reduction stability of the Li3AlF6-based electrolyte is attributable to the sluggish kinetics of the Li3AlF6 reduction. Even if Li3AlF6-Li2SO4 undergoes reductive decomposition under overcharging conditions, a continuous reduction reaction is unlikely because of the formation of a LiF passivation layer at the interphase. Because of this kinetic stability, the anode materials whose operating voltage is lower than the reduction limit of Li3AlF6 can be used. On the other hand, Li2O formation should be controlled from the perspective of charge-discharge performances of the battery.

In the traditional designs against contamination of transmission line insulators, the maximum insulator contamination severity and insulator surface wetting are assumed as the most severe conditions. Then, the required number of insulator units per string is determined, where a safety margin of insulator unit(s) is usually allowed based on knowledge obtained at sites and in laboratory tests. Other insulator designs may be created by considering the probabilistic distributions of factors affecting insulator flashover, such as contamination severity, surface wetting, and flashover voltage. Based on this concept, flashover risk, which indicates flashover probability in a certain period, is used in this study as an evaluation function of reliability. The characteristics of flashover risk are discussed, and the proposed probabilistic method is applied to the insulation design of a 500kV ac transmission line. Assuming a certain acceptable flashover risk, the number of cap-and-pin insulator units per string is calculated and compared with that obtained using the conventional deterministic method. When the number of insulator units per string is fixed, flashover risk can determine the number of flashover events in a certain period, such as a year. Findings suggest that the probabilistic approach is a potential insulation design method under contamination conditions.

A high-pressure torsion (HPT) processed Fe-21Cr-5Ni-2Mo (mass%) two-phase stainless steel was used to study the morphology and crystallographic features of austenite (γ) precipitated from ferrite (α) during aging in the (α + γ) two-phase region. The starting material was a gas-atomized powder with a completely ferritic structure. The HPT process was carried out to produce a fully dense compact under 6 GPa for 5 revolutions. The compact was given an equivalent strain of about 130. After the HPT process, the matrix ferrite formed a pancake–like nanograined structure with a strong texture, i.e. ND (Normal Direction) // {110} α. By annealing at 1173 K for 3.6 k, an ultrafine (α + γ) microduplex structure with high-angle grain boundaries was formed. In addition, the strong texture formation of {110} α / {111} γ / ND plane was formed in the α and the γ grain duplex structure. The α and γ phases had average grain sizes of 2.1 μm and 1.6 μm, respectively. The area fraction of the γ phase was 37.2%, which exceeded that of a cold-pressed compact, 6.7%. Both ultrafine grain refinement and γ precipitation were accelerated by the HPT process. In other words, the application of the HPT process to the two-phase alloys enables the formation of the ultrafine microduplex structure. The Kurdjumov-Sachs (K-S) orientation relationship between α and γ phases is usually observed in the alloy, however, the K-S orientation relationship was not dominant except for the close packing plane parallel orientation relationship, {110} α / {111} γ, in the HPT-processed material.

This study describes the basic capabilities of an “Explicit” kink model based on Field Theory of Multiscale Plasticity (FTMP), where the incompatibility tensor-incorporated additional degrees of freedom (DOFs), mediated by the Rank-1 connectivity-based projection direction with variable shear measure, directly drives the kink field evolutions in addition to the conventional slip mode. Not only inhomogeneous but realistic kink morphologies but also slightly improved energy releasing characteristics are shown to be reproduced. Furthermore, virtual double compression tests are performed on thus obtained kinked samples, demonstrating the kink strengthening that qualitatively agrees with experiments. Further enrichment of the model via the incompatibility-based DOFs introduced also in the slip model is shown to be able to simulate even more realistic kink morphologies and the attendant rotation angle distributions accurately.

This study aimed to characterize the distribution and award status of COVID-19-related workers' compensation (WC) claims in New York State (NYS) for 2020 and 2021. Characteristics and filing rates of COVID-19 claims were described by industry, time of illness, and award status. Nursing care facilities' claims were compared with the recorded nursing home staff COVID-19 infections and deaths reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the same period. Of 29,814 COVID-19 claims, 21.9% were awarded benefits, although 86.8% of the claimants worked in essential industries. Of the 46,505 CMS-recorded COVID-19 infections, 1.4% resulted in a claim and 7.2% of the 111 CMS-recorded deaths received death benefits. The NYS WC program has provided very modest support to essential workers for the likely work-related burden of the pandemic in NYS.