Apparent Morphology Research Articles

Effects of an Herbal Source of Choline on Diet Digestibility and Palatability, Blood Lipid Profile, Liver Morphology, and Cardiac Function in Dogs.

Simple SummaryCholine is an essential nutrient for dogs, and its dietary supplementation is usually made using choline chloride. However, this compound is highly hygroscopic—meaning it absorbs moisture from the air—which makes it difficult to manipulate during animal food production. Stable herbal additives rich in phosphatidylcholine may be used as an alternative source of choline. In light of this, this study compared the effects of an herbal source of choline with choline chloride on diet digestibility and palatability, blood metabolites, liver morphology, and cardiac function in adult dogs. Our results suggest that the herbal source of choline is a possible substitute for choline chloride in dog diets, in addition to reducing the activity of liver enzymes, total cholesterol, and serum triglycerides. This study is relevant to the pet food market since it concerns pet owners interested in natural alternative foods.We aimed to evaluate the effects of an herbal source of choline on the coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD), diet palatability, fecal characteristics, blood variables, liver morphology, and cardiac function of dogs. Sixteen adult dogs were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 8) which were fed two different diets for 45 days: control, containing 0.28% choline chloride 60, and test, containing 0.14% of an herbal source of choline. Feces were collected between days 39 and 44 to determine nutrient CTTAD and fecal characteristics. On days 0 and 45, blood samples were collected and the liver morphology was evaluated. Cardiac function, in turn, was evaluated only on day 45, and the palatability test was performed on two consecutive days (n = 32). There were no changes in nutrient CTTAD, diet palatability, or fecal characteristics of dogs fed the test diet (p > 0.05). However, on day 45, dogs fed the test diet showed lower (p < 0.05) serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, alkaline phosphatase, and alanine aminotransferase when compared to the control group. We concluded that the herbal source of choline can be a possible substitute for choline chloride in dog nutrition.

Comparative Morphological, Anatomical and Physiological Analyses Explain the Difference of Wounding-Induced Agarwood Formation between Ordinary Agarwood Nongrafted Plants and Five Grafted Qi-Nan Clones (Aquilaria sinensis)

Agarwood is the dark resinous heartwood of injured ordinary Aquilaria sinensis (OA). Recently, some new clones of A. sinensis (Qi-Nan) that intensively produce high-quality agarwood were selected and cultivated by grafted clonal seedlings. However, very little is known about their agarwood formation mechanism, and it is unclear whether the current method of distinguishing Qi-Nan from OA by observing its leaf apparent morphology is scientifically reliable. In this study, the differences between OA and Qi-Nan clones in agarwood formation and their correlation with morphological, anatomical and physiological characteristics were investigated in two types of A. sinensis trees. After the mechanical injury, agarwood yield and essential oil content in agarwood of Qi-Nan were significantly higher than that of OA. There was no significant difference in leaf shape parameters between Qi-Nan and OA, but Qi-Nan showed higher specific leaf weight, total leaf chlorophyll, leaf nitrogen content and net photosynthetic rate. A xylem anatomical analysis showed that Qi-Nan had significantly smaller vessel wall thickness, greater ray cell wall thickness and larger interxylary phloem area than OA. Moreover, Qi-Nan had a greater consumption of non-structural carbohydrates than OA. Agarwood yield and oil content in agarwood showed significantly positive correlations with leaf photosynthetic capacity, the wall thickness of xylem ray cell, interxylary phloem area, starch utilization rate of trees, and a significantly negative correlation with the wall thickness of xylem vessel of trees. In brief, Qi-Nan has a stronger photosynthetic basis to supply more carbon sources, a more efficient xylem structural basis for agarwood production and a higher carbon source utilization rate, leading to a higher agarwood yield and oil content. It is not reliable to distinguish Qi-Nan from OA simply by observing leaf apparent morphology.

Insight into the separation mechanism of coal macerals by micro characterization and density functional theory calculation

It is of great significance to reveal the specific separation behavior of macerals for realizing the classification and utilization of coal resources. In this article, the separation mechanism of macerals during coal upgrading was investigated experimentally and computationally based on an improved hydrothermal float-sink method combined with various characterization approaches. The apparent morphology, endogenous mineral and aromatic structural differences of macerals were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). Materials Studio was applied to calculate the adsorption conformation, energy, charge density difference and bonding tendency of heavy media with functional groups in coal to elucidate the interaction between macerals and heavy liquids. The results show that the float-sink procedure with water bath heating instead of the previous strong acid inhibitor can achieve a purity of more than 75% and 60% for vitrinite and inertinite, respectively. Further refinement of coal particle size can enhance the yield of vitrinite with lightweight, which is less dense due to its lower aromatization than inertinite. In addition, the partial distribution of characteristic functional groups in coal on the surface of inertinite enhances the adsorption between it and heavy liquid, thereby affecting the separation behavior. Therefore, the mechanism of separation and enrichment of macerals by the float-sink method lies in the density difference of individual components and the interaction between the functional groups of each maceral and ZnCl2 solution.

Catalytic ozonation of high-salinity wastewater using salt-resistant catalyst Fe-Bi@γ-Al2O3

In this study, a salt-tolerant Fe-Bi@γ-Al2O3 catalyst with stable structure and excellent catalytic performance was prepared with an impregnation method by using γ-Al2O3 as the carrier. The effects of calcination temperature and calcination time on the catalytic activity of the Fe-Bi@γ-Al2O3 catalyst were evaluated. The catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, BET, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry to analyze the relationship between the catalyst's apparent morphology, structural characteristics, and catalytic activity. The optimal working conditions and organic degradation mechanism of Fe-Bi@γ-Al2O3 catalytic ozonation of a high-salinity organic wastewater system were studied. The active components Fe and Bi were successfully loaded on the surface of γ-Al2O3 in the form of Fe2O3 and Bi2O3 crystals. Under the working conditions of ozone aeration rate of 0.2 L/min, catalyst filling rate of 10 %, and pH = 11, the removal rate of COD in high-salinity organic wastewater was 83.9 %. The degradation mechanism of organic matter in wastewater was analyzed using ultraviolet absorption peak and three-dimensional fluorescence spectrum. Kinetic analysis of the COD removal rate of high-salinity organic wastewater under optimal working conditions was carried out. A 3E evaluation model of Fe-Bi@γ-Al2O3 catalyst for ozonation treatment of high-salinity organic wastewater was established to realize overall evaluation of the process performance.

Effect of Sasobit warm mix on micro properties of asphalt with different degrees of regeneration

In this work, an aged asphalt was mixed with a new modified asphalt based on styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) in different proportions, and the warm mixing agent was added to simulate the asphalt fusion behaviour in the warm mixed recycled asphalt with different aged asphalt fertilizer (reclaimed asphalt pavement, RAP) content. Low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used as analytical techniques to study the role of the warm mixing agent in terms of molecular bond energy, apparent morphology, and functional groups. It was found that the softening point and penetration of asphalt are reduced, and the ductility is increased, during the regeneration process. Sasobit warm mix agent can reduce the penetration and ductility of asphalt and improve the softening point. Its viscosity reduction effect is mainly achieved by adsorbing saturated components and decreasing the bond energy between 1H and other molecules; Sasobit warm mix agent can improve the aging state of mixed asphalt. On the AFM two-dimensional adhesion diagram, the number of bee-shaped structures and the single area is reduced; in the new and old mixed asphalt, the greater the proportion of new asphalt, the more evident the effect of Sasobit warm mix agent is.

Effect of Negative High-Voltage Corona Field on Hydrophilicity and Vigor of Astragalus mongolicus Seeds

This work aims to study the effect of dc negative high-voltage corona electric field on the vigor and hydrophilicity of Astragalus membranceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongolicus (Bge.) Hsiao seeds. The ion wind generated by the multipin pole generator at −3, −4, −5, −6, and −7 kV and the electrostatic field acted together. <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . mongholicus seeds were exposed to the electric field for 30, 60, and 90 min. Results show that the ion wind velocity increases significantly with the increase of applied voltage. Malonaldehyde (MDA), electrical conductivity (EC), and apparent contact angle (APCA) in all treatment groups decreased to different degrees compared with the control samples. MDA, EC, and APCA decreased by 56.28%, 20.89%, and 31%, respectively. The hydrophilicity of seeds treated by negative corona field was improved, and the water absorption of seeds was increased by 1.34 times. Fourier infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to examine the spectra, apparent morphology, and surface elements of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . mongholicus seed coats from different treatment groups. Results showed that the ionic wind generated by the negative high-voltage corona electric field had a significant etching effect on the seed coat and enhanced the water absorption and fiber strength of hydrophilic functional groups of the seed coat.

Study on the strength mechanism of red clay improved by waste tire rubber powder

The objective of this research is to improve the strength characteristics of red clay as a subgrade filler and increase the stability of subgrade engineering. During the laboratory tests, different amounts of waste tire rubber powder were added to the red clay. This study aims to identify the optimal amount of rubber powder required to improve the strength characteristics of red clay using a triaxial test and Duncan–Chang model. Using the depth of a field microscope, the apparent morphology of red clay and modified red clay was analyzed, and the pore variation of plain red clay and rubber powder modified red clay was described using a mercury intrusion test(MIP). The experimental results indicate that the asymptotic value of the main stress difference is significantly higher than the other four admixtures at 3%. The 3D surface comparison chart indicates that the addition of rubber powder significantly increases the relatively flat area range while reducing the overall area range. According to the comparison of porosity and contact area ratio, RPA1 is larger than RPA2, and RCA1 is smaller than RCA2. According to the characteristics of BJH pore size distribution, modified red clay has a higher pore fractal dimension than pure red clay.

Comparison of structural characteristics and bioactivity of Tricholoma mongolicum Imai polysaccharides from five extraction methods.

Tricholoma mongolicum Imai is an edible fungus rich in various health-promoting compounds, such as polysaccharides, polypeptides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, etc., and among them, polysaccharides have gotten more attention in recent research trends. This study explored the extraction of polysaccharides from T. mongolicum Imai by five extraction methods, including hot water extraction, ultrasound extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, 0.1 M HCL extraction, and 0.1 M NaOH extraction. The effects of these extraction methods on the yield, chemical structure, apparent morphology, and the antioxidant activities of Tricholoma mongolicum Imai polysaccharides (TMIPs) were investigated in this study. The data showed that 0.1 M NaOH extraction produced the highest extraction yield compared to the other extraction methods. The results of high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that different extraction methods had significant effects on the molecular weight and morphology of TMIPs. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the extraction methods had no significant difference in functional groups, crystal structure, and thermal stability of TMIPs. The antioxidant activity of TMIPs extracted by ultrasound extraction was more prominent among the five polysaccharides, which might be related to a large number of low-molecular-weight components in molecular weight distribution.

Effects of Different Viscous Guar Gums on Growth, Apparent Nutrient Digestibility, Intestinal Development and Morphology in Juvenile Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides.

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to investigate the effects of different viscous guar gums on the growth performance, apparent nutrient digestibility, intestinal development and morphology of juvenile largemouth bass. Four isoproteic and isolipidic diets (crude protein 42.5%, crude lipid 13.7%) were formulated to contain 8% cellulose (Control group), 8% low viscous guar gum with 2,500 mPa s (Lvs-GG group), 8% medium viscous guar gum with 5,200 mPa s (Mvs-GG group) and 8% high viscous guar gum with 6,000 mPa s (Hvs-GG group), respectively. Each diet was fed to quadruplicate groups of 40 fish (6.00 ± 0.01 g) per repetition. Dietary guar gum inclusion significantly decreased the weight gain rate, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, protein productive value and lipid deposition rate, and these parameters decreased considerably with increasing guar gum viscous and were lowest in the Hvs-GG group. Dietary guar gum inclusion significantly decreased the apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein and crude lipid, and these parameters decreased considerably with increasing guar gum viscous and were lowest in the Hvs-GG group. Intestinal protease, lipase and creatine kinase activities in the guar gum groups were significantly lower than those in the control group, and intestinal protease and lipase activities decreased considerably with increased guar gum viscous. Intestinal alkaline phosphatase activity in the Hvs-GG group and intestinal Na+/K+-ATPase activity in the Mvs-GG and Hvs-GG groups were significantly lower than those in the Lvs-GG and control groups. Serum high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations and superoxide dismutase activity in the guar gum groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. Intestinal villus height and muscular thickness in the guar gum groups were considerably higher than those in the control group, whereas the goblet cell relative number in the Mvs-GG and Hvs-GG groups and the microvillus height in the Lvs-GG and Hvs-GG groups were significantly lower than those in the control group. The expression level of IGF-1 in the guar gum groups and the expression level of GLP-2 in the Mvs-GG and Hvs-GG groups were significantly higher than those in the control group. These results indicated that guar gum diets adversely affected intestinal morphology, decreased intestinal digestive and absorptive enzyme activities, and caused poor nutrient digestibility and growth performance in juvenile largemouth bass. Moreover, the adverse effects of guar gum are closely related to its viscous, and high viscous guar gum produces more extreme negative impacts on juvenile largemouth bass.

Study on Durability and Piezoresistivity of Cement-Based Piezoelectric Materials Mixed with Carbon Fiber and Iron Tailings under Salt-Freezing Erosion

Under the complex working conditions in cold areas, in order to achieve health monitoring of engineering structures, carbon fiber and iron tailings sand were added to ordinary cement-based materials to prepare cement-based piezoelectric composites, and the deterioration of their pressure-sensitive properties and mechanical properties under the action of the sulfate-freeze-thaw cycle was studied. Six groups of specimens and a set of benchmark specimens were prepared according to different contents of carbon fiber and iron tailings sand, and the specimens of each group were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively after 50, 100, and 150 freeze-thaw cycles. Based on the external damage analysis, it was concluded that with the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles, the apparent morphology of the specimens in each group continued to deteriorate. After 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the addition of a certain proportion of carbon fiber and iron tailings can improve the compactness of cement-based composites, effectively inhibit the development of cracks, maintain the integrity of the apparent morphology of the specimen, and the quality loss rate of the specimen does not exceed 5%. Based on the internal damage analysis, it is concluded that the specimen mixed with carbon fiber and iron tailings has undergone the freeze-thaw cycles, and its relative dynamic elastic modulus generally shows a trend of first rising and then falling, and after 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of C04T30 specimen is 85.5%, and its compressive strength loss rate is 20.2%, indicating that its freeze resistance is optimal. The compressive stress and resistivity change rate of each group of cement-based piezoelectric composite specimens that have not undergone freeze-thaw cycles are approximately consistent with the linear attenuation relationship. Those that have undergone 150 freeze-thaw cycles approximately conform to the polynomial attenuation relationship. The correlation coefficient between the compressive stress and the resistivity rate of the change fitting curve are all above 0.9, and the correlation is high; therefore, the deterioration of the structural mechanical properties after freeze-thaw cycles can be reflected by the resistivity change rate. After 150 freeze-thaw cycles, the pressure sensitivity coefficient of the C04T30 specimen is 0.007294, which has good pressure sensitivity. So, cement-based piezoelectric composite material can be embedded as an impedance sensor to monitor the health of engineering structures.

Preparation of Nano-SiO2 Modified PA66 Microfiltration Membrane and Treatment of Oily Wastewater

With the development of industry, more and more oily wastewater is discharged into the water, which brings great harm to the ecological environment and human health. Membrane separation technology is a very promising technology for oily wastewater treatment. In this experiment, a 1:1 mixed solution of formic acid and dichloromethane (FA/DCM) was used as a solvent to prepare a PA66 microfiltration membrane by evaporation method, and nano-SiO2 was used to modify the PA66 with the determined formula. The apparent morphology, hydrophilicity and mechanical properties of the membrane were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, contact angle test and tensile test, and the effect of treating oily wastewater by microfiltration membrane before and after modification was analyzed. The results show that the mechanical strength and hydrophilicity of the microfiltration membrane are improved after modification by SiO2, and the sewage treatment effect is better. The removal rates of unmodified microfiltration membrane to total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and oil concentration are 55%~96%, 50%~85% and 55%~92%; the removal rates of modified microfiltration membrane to total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand and oil concentration are 98%~99%, 91%~95% and 95%~99%.

Prospect of Detecting TeV Halos with LHAASO: In the Framework of the Anisotropic Diffusion Model

The particle diffusion coefficients of TeV pulsar halos observed so far are inferred to be significantly smaller than the typical value of the interstellar medium (ISM). The anisotropic diffusion model ascribes the slow diffusion to the cross-field diffusion, assuming sub-Alfvénic turbulence in the ISM around the pulsar if the viewing angle between the observer’s line-of-sight (LOS) to the pulsar and the local mean field direction is small. In general, the TeV halo’s morphology under this model highly depends on the viewing angle, and an elongated, asymmetric morphology is predicted if the LOS is not approximately aligned with the local mean field direction. While the specific requirement of a small viewing angle is supposedly established only for a small fraction of TeV halos, TeV halos with apparent asymmetric morphology have not been detected. In this paper, we will study the expectation of TeV halos measured by the TeV–PeV gamma-ray detector LHAASO in the framework of anisotropic diffusion model, with a particular focus on the influence of the viewing angle on the detectability. We show that a TeV halo is more detectable with a smaller viewing angle, and this selection effect may explain why the morphologies of all three detected TeV halos so far are consistent with being spherical. We also demonstrate that LHAASO is capable of detecting asymmetric TeV halos after several years of operation with reasonable source parameters. This can serve as a critical test of the anisotropic diffusion model.

Thermal treatments and their influence on physicochemical properties of sea cucumbers: a comprehensive review

SummarySea cucumber is consumed as a traditional, luxury, medicinal and health‐benefit seafood product. Thermal treatment is a necessary step in sea cucumber processing. The quality of cooked sea cucumbers is affected by heating temperature, heating time, heating degree and heating pressure. Furthermore, the storage stability and shelf‐life of mature products are influenced by the processing methods. The loss of nutrients, changes in textural properties and apparent morphology of goods affect consumer preferences. Although some machining techniques, such as high‐pressure and high‐temperature treatments, have been applied to shorten the processing time, negative effects during storage cannot be ignored. In this review, the physical and chemical changes to sea cucumbers during different thermal treatments are compared and summarised, and future work is described. These future efforts are expected to provide suitable thermal treatment and promote innovation in sea cucumber processing technology.

Highly Thermoelectric ZnO@MXene (Ti3C2Tx) Composite Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition.

Due to its unique high conductivity and flexibility, the two-dimensional MXene material (Ti3C2Tx) is expected to possess great potential in the thermoelectric field. However, the low thermoelectric performance from high thermal conductivity and a low Seebeck coefficient has limited its practical application. In this report, we demonstrate the uniform growth of ZnO layers on the laminar Ti3C2Tx membrane by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Benefiting from the low-temperature deposition characteristics of the ALD technique, the ZnO@Ti3C2Tx composite films maintain the basic apparent morphology of the original films after the deposition. We reveal that the Schottky barrier formed between ZnO and Ti3C2Tx exhibits an energy-filtering effect, significantly enhancing the Seebeck coefficient to result in more than a double increase in the power factor. Meanwhile, the strong phonon-interface scattering between ZnO and Ti3C2Tx is found to reduce the thermal conductivity of the composite films by a factor of four as compared to pure Ti3C2Tx ones, further improving the overall thermoelectric properties of the ZnO@Ti3C2Tx composite films. Our investigation provides an ALD-based strategy for growing wide band gap layers on the narrow band gap films to improve the thermoelectric performance of various MXene materials.

Search for hybrid morphology radio galaxies from the FIRST survey at 1400 MHz

ABSTRACT Hybrid Morphology Radio Sources (HyMoRS) are a very rare subclass of radio galaxies with apparent mixed FR morphology, i.e. these galaxies seem to have an FR-I structure on one side of the core and an FR-II structure on the other side of the core. We systematically searched for HyMoRS using Very Large Array (VLA) Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey with 1400 MHz frequency and identified 33 candidate HyMoRS. Our finding significantly increased the known sample size of HyMoRS. HyMoRS may play an essential role in understanding the interaction of jets with the interstellar medium and the much-debated topic of the FR dichotomy. We identified optical counterparts for 29 sources in our catalogue. In our sample of sources, one source (J1106+1355) had quasar-like behaviour. Four sources were BRCLG (Brightest Cluster Galaxies) and six were LRG (Luminous Red Galaxies). We have estimated the spectral index and radio luminosity of HyMoRS in our catalogue, when possible. We found that J1136–0328 was the most luminous source in our sample (log L = 27.01 W Hz−1sr−1). It was also the farthest HyMoRS (with a redshift z = 0.82) in our sample. With the help of a large sample size of discovered sources, various statistical properties of detected galaxies were studied.

Visualizing synaptic dopamine efflux with a 2D composite nanofilm.

Chemical neurotransmission constitutes one of the fundamental modalities of communication between neurons. Monitoring release of these chemicals has traditionally been difficult to carry out at spatial and temporal scales relevant to neuron function. To understand chemical neurotransmission more fully, we need to improve the spatial and temporal resolutions of measurements for neurotransmitter release. To address this, we engineered a chemi-sensitive, two-dimensional composite nanofilm that facilitates visualization of the release and diffusion of the neurochemical dopamine with synaptic resolution, quantal sensitivity, and simultaneously from hundreds of release sites. Using this technology, we were able to monitor the spatiotemporal dynamics of dopamine release in dendritic processes, a poorly understood phenomenon. We found that dopamine release is broadcast from a subset of dendritic processes as hotspots that have a mean spatial spread of ≈ 3.2 µm (full width at half maximum [FWHM]) and are observed with a mean spatial frequency of one hotspot per ≈ 7.5 µm of dendritic length. Major dendrites of dopamine neurons and fine dendritic processes, as well as dendritic arbors and dendrites with no apparent varicose morphology participated in dopamine release. Remarkably, these release hotspots co-localized with Bassoon, suggesting that Bassoon may contribute to organizing active zones in dendrites, similar to its role in axon terminals.

Continuous cycling of carbon-based capacitive deionization systems: An evaluation of the electrode performance and stability

• Electrode pore size distribution and apparent morphology are immune to oxidation. • Electrode oxidation will increase oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. • Slight oxidation helps to improve the desalination performance of the electrode. • The degree of oxidation of the carbon electrode corresponds to the number of cycles. • Electrode oxidation evaluation system is of great significance to CDI technology. Activated carbon is widely used as the electrode in capacitive deionization technology (CDI), because of its simple manufacturing and low price. However, the evaluation system of carbon electrode oxidation degree and running time is lacking in existing studies, and the reasons for the changes caused by carbon electrode oxidation are not in-depth enough and limits its application. In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride/activated carbon (PVDF/ACP) composite electrode was prepared through coating. Electrode characterization and electrochemical testing were used to characterize PVDF/ACP anode after long-term circulation in NaCl solution. It was found that the pore size distribution and apparent morphology of the electrode were immune to the influence of carbon electrode oxidation, but the acidic functional groups on the electrode surface increased significantly and the electrochemical properties changed. Combined with the CDI desalination experiment, the relationship between oxidation degree and cycle number was revealed. The results show that the electrode with 0 ∼ 20 cycles is relatively stable and its performance is slightly improved. A small amount of oxygen-containing functional groups contributes to the electrode performance. The performance of the electrode with 20 ∼ 40 cycles to deteriorate suddenly, and a large number of oxygen-containings functional groups will affect the equilibrium potential and ion transports of electrode. The electrode performance degrades slowly after 40 ∼ 80 cycles. After 80 cycles, the electrode performance remained unchanged and the carbon electrode reached the oxidation threshold.

Experimental investigation of erosion rate for gas-solid two-phase flow in 304 stainless /L245 carbon steel

Erosion is one of the most concerning issues in pipeline flow assurance for the Oil & Gas pipeline industries, which can easily lead to wall thinning, perforation leakage, and other crucial safety risks to the steady operation of pipelines. In this research, a novel experimental device is designed to investigate the erosion characteristics of 304 stainless and L245 carbon steel in the gas-solid two-phase flow. Regarding the impacts on erosion rate, the typical factors such as gas velocity, impact angle, erosion time, particle material and target material are individually observed and comprehensive analyzed with the assistance of apparent morphology characterized via Scanning Electron Microscope. Experimental results show that the severest erosion occurs when the angle reaches approximate 30° whether eroded by type Ⅰ or type Ⅱ particles, which is observed in both two types of steel. Concretely, 304 stainless steel and L245 carbon steel appear to be cut at low angles, and impacted at high angles to form erosion pits. In the steady operational state, the erosion rate is insensitive to the short erosion time and free from the influences caused by the “erosion latent period”. Based on the comparison between experimental data and numerical results generated by existing erosion models, a modified model with low tolerance (<3%), high feasibility and strong consistency is proposed to make an accurate prediction of the erosion in terms of two types of steel under various industrial conditions.

Research on the sulfate resistance of cement-based materials incorporating dolomite powder

The effects of dolomite powder on the sulfate resistance of cement-based materials with water-binder ratio (w/b) of 0.55 and 0.36 were investigated in this manuscript. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and pressure testing machine were used to determine the apparent morphology, micro-morphology, mass increase rate, flexural strength and compressive strength of cement-based materials containing dolomite powder. The sulfate resistance of mortars was improved with increasing dolomite powder dosage. Generally, the flexural strength and compressive strength of mortars in Na2SO4 solution were higher than those in water. Within 150 days of immersion, the corrosion resistance coefficient and compressive corrosion resistance coefficient of mortars increased with increasing dolomite powder dosage. The pore structure of cement-based materials became more compact with the addition of dolomite powder. Accordingly, the sulfate resistance was improved by controlling the dynamics stage due to the fact that the pore structure of cement-based materials was refined with the addition of dolomite powder. The 150-day compressive corrosion resistance coefficients of mortars with a w/b of 0.55 in the case of dolomite powder at 0 and 30 wt% replacement levels were less than 1, suggesting that long-term immersion in sulfate solution increased the deterioration rate of cement-based materials.

Synthesis of ZrB2 strengthened Ni[sbnd]W composite coating and study of its mechanical characters and anti-corrosion performance

In this experiment, we prepared a series of Ni-W/ZrB2 composite coatings with different dosage gradients of dispersed phase granules by pulse electrodeposition. The suspension properties and agglomeration of particles in the bath were studied in detail by particle size analysis and Zeta potential testing. The XRD, EDS and XPS were adopted to explore the phase composition, element distribution and chemical state of the matrix, The SEM and AFM were used to characterize the apparent morphology and micro-roughness of the composite matrix. The wear resistance of the composite coating was evaluated by reciprocating friction. The results pointed out that the composite films had good wear resistance. The SEM, EDS and three-dimensional reconstruction were used to analyze the abrasion mark in detail. The results show that the wear behavior of the composite film is mainly adhesive wear and wear oxidation. The doping of ZrB2 particles can improve the wear of the matrix sample. The corrosion resistance of the composites was also estimated by electrochemical methods and the electrochemical parameters are analyzed in detail. The properties of the composite films can be significantly enhanced by the disperse phase strengthening effect brought by ZrB2.