Cyclic Operation Research Articles

(Invited) Selective Ammonia Separation Using Prussian Blue Analogues

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are a three-dimensional coordination polymer with iron and transition metals bridged with cyanide ligands, creating open-framework structures for hosting guest ions into interstitial sites. These sites can be occupied by cations via adsorption/desorption or intercalation/deintercalation, which has been widely utilized in developing separation processes and energy storage devices. Additionally, it has been well established that the size of the channel provides selectivity between monovalent cations based on their hydrated radii. Using these unique functionalities allows for selective ammonia recovery from wastewater. The feasibility of selective separation has been demonstrated using PBA-based electrodes that showed reversible and selective intercalation/deintercalation of NH4 + by cyclic operation. To enable continuous separation, we recently developed an electrochemically driven membrane process, where PBAs provided selective ion-conducting channels. An improved selectivity for NH4 + relative to Na+ was achieved using synthetic and domestic wastewaters, which was attributed to a thin layer of PBA created on the surface of a cation exchange membrane. These results collectively show that the use of PBAs for selective ammonia separation could lead to the development of efficient electrochemical processes for nutrient recovery.

Modeling Development of a Receiver–Reactor of Type R2Mx for Thermochemical Water Splitting

Abstract This work reports on the development of a transient heat transfer model for a prototype reactor of type R2Mx for thermochemical water splitting by temperature and pressure swing of ceria. Key aspects of the R2Mx concept, which are also incorporated in the prototype design, include a movable monolithic redox structure combined with a linear transport system, a reduction reactor, as well as a dedicated oxidation reactor. With the model, the operation of the prototype is simulated for consecutive water splitting cycles, in which ceria is reduced in a continuously heated reactor, oxidized in a separate oxidation reactor, and transported in between the reaction zones. A 2D axisymmetric numerical model of the prototype reactor was developed in ansys mechanical. The model includes heat transfer calculations in combination with an approximated simulation of the transport of the redox material during cyclic operation. It incorporates the chemical reaction by means of a modified heat capacity for ceria and accounts for internal radiation heat transfer inside the porous redox material by applying effective heat transfer properties. A parametric analysis has been undertaken to evaluate different modes of operation of the oxidation reactor. Model results are used to size the power demand of the reduction reactor and vacuum pump, to define durations of the process steps, as well as to assess operational parameters with respect to achieved temperatures. Findings suggest that suitable operation of the prototype reactor involves reduction durations ranging from 8 to 10 min and oxidations of 6 to 10 min.

Generation of input spectrum for electrolysis stack degradation test applied to wind power PEM hydrogen production

Hydrogen production by proton exchange membrane electrolysis has good fluctuation adaptability, making it suitable for hydrogen production by electrolysis in fluctuating power sources such as wind power. However, current research on the durability of proton exchange membrane electrolyzers is insufficient. Studying the typical operating conditions of wind power electrolysis for hydrogen production can provide boundary conditions for performance and degradation tests of electrolysis stacks. In this study, the operating condition spectrum of an electrolysis stack degradation test cycle was proposed. Based on the rate of change of the wind farm output power and the time-averaged peak-valley difference, a fluctuation output power sample set was formed. The characteristic quantities that played an important role in the degradation of the electrolysis stack were selected. Dimensionality reduction of the operating data was performed using principal component analysis. Clustering analysis of the data segments was completed using an improved Gaussian mixture clustering algorithm. Taking the annual output power data of wind farms in Northwest China with a sampling rate of 1 min as an example, the cyclic operating condition spectrum of the proton-exchange membrane electrolysis stack degradation test was constructed. After preliminary simulation analysis, the typical operating condition proposed in this paper effectively reflects the impact of the original curve on the performance degradation of the electrolysis stack. This study provides a method for evaluating the degradation characteristics and system efficiency of an electrolysis stack due to fluctuations in renewable energy.

Insights into reduction of hysteresis in (Mn, Fe)2(P, Si) compounds by experimental approach and Landau theory

The giant magnetocaloric effect in (Mn, Fe)2(P, Si) based alloys arises from a magnetoelastic ferromagnetic-paramagnetic (FM-PM) phase transition accompanied by a large thermal hysteresis. The thermal hysteresis leads to an undesirable irreversibility of the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) during cyclic operation, impeding the practical application in solid-state magnetic refrigeration. Here, we present pre-existing PM nuclei play a role in reducing hysteresis. A combinatorial analysis, using in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) microscopy, reveals that the residual PM phases at the ferromagnetic state of the compound acts as the nuclei for the growth of the PM phases. This is kinetically favorable for the FM-PM phase transition and contributes to a smaller hysteresis from an extrinsic perspective. In addition, the smaller changes in the lattice constants during the phase transition indicates a weakened first-order phase transition. Through a combined effect of intrinsic and extrinsic contributions, a giant MCE in the magnetic entropy change of 16 J kg–1 K−1 under 2 T and a low thermal hysteresis of 3.0 K were achieved in a basic Mn–Fe–Si–P quaternary system for room temperature applications. Furthermore, based on Landau theory and experimentally obtained data, we established an H-T phase diagram and unveiled the crucial role of the magnetoelastic coupling in manipulating thermal hysteresis. Overall, the findings in this work offer a strategy to mitigate hysteresis while retaining a large MCE through extrinsic control.

B-site Doping Boosts the OER and ORR Performance of Double Perovskite Oxide as Air Cathode for Zinc-Air Batteries.

Double perovskite oxides are key players as electrocatalytic oxygen catalysts in alkaline media. In this study, we synthesized B-site doped NdBaCoaFe2-aO5+δ (a= 1.0, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8) electrocatalysts, systematically to probe their bifunctionality and assess their performance in zinc-air batteries as air cathodes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals a correlation between iron reduction and increased oxygen vacancy content, influencing electrocatalyst bifunctionality by lowering the work function. The electrocatalyst with highest cobalt content, NdBaCo1.8Fe0.2O5+δ exhibited a bifunctional index of 0.95 V, outperforming other synthesized electrocatalysts. Remarkably, NdBaCo1.8Fe0.2O5+δ, demonstrated facilitated charge transfer rate in oxygen evolution reaction with four-electron oxygen reduction reaction process. As an air cathode in a zinc-air battery, NdBaCo1.8Fe0.2O5+δ demonstrated superior performance characteristics, including maximum capacity of 428.27 mA h at 10 mA cm-2 discharge current density, highest peak power density of 64 mW cm-2, with an outstanding durability and stability. It exhibits lowest voltage gap change between charge and discharge even after 350 hours of cyclic operation with a rate capability of 87.14%.

Electrocatalytic Acetylene Hydrogenation in Concentrated Seawater at Industrial Current Densities.

Electrocatalytic acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene (E-AHE) is a promising alternative for thermal-catalytic process, yet it suffers from low current densities and efficiency. Here, we achieved a 71.2 % Faradaic efficiency (FE) of E-AHE at a large partial current density of 1.0 A cm-2 using concentrated seawater as an electrolyte, which can be recycled from the brine waste (0.96 M NaCl) of alkaline seawater electrolysis (ASE). Mechanistic studies unveiled that cation of concentrated seawater dynamically prompted unsaturated interfacial water dissociation to provide protons for enhanced E-AHE. As a result, compared with freshwater, a twofold increase of FE of E-AHE was achieved on concentrated seawater-based electrolysis. We also demonstrated an integrated system of ASE and E-AHE for hydrogen and ethylene production, in which the obtained brine output from ASE was directly fed into E-AHE process without any further treatment for continuously cyclic operations. This innovative system delivered outstanding FE and selectivity of ethylene surpassed 97.0 % and 97.5 % across wide-industrial current density range (≤ 0.6 A cm-2), respectively. This work provides a significant advance of electrocatalytic ethylene production coupling with brine refining of seawater electrolysis.

Electrocatalytic Acetylene Hydrogenation in Concentrated Seawater at Industrial Current Densities

AbstractElectrocatalytic acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene (E‐AHE) is a promising alternative for thermal‐catalytic process, yet it suffers from low current densities and efficiency. Here, we achieved a 71.2 % Faradaic efficiency (FE) of E‐AHE at a large partial current density of 1.0 A cm−2 using concentrated seawater as an electrolyte, which can be recycled from the brine waste (0.96 M NaCl) of alkaline seawater electrolysis (ASE). Mechanistic studies unveiled that cation of concentrated seawater dynamically prompted unsaturated interfacial water dissociation to provide protons for enhanced E‐AHE. As a result, compared with freshwater, a twofold increase of FE of E‐AHE was achieved on concentrated seawater‐based electrolysis. We also demonstrated an integrated system of ASE and E‐AHE for hydrogen and ethylene production, in which the obtained brine output from ASE was directly fed into E‐AHE process without any further treatment for continuously cyclic operations. This innovative system delivered outstanding FE and selectivity of ethylene surpassed 97.0 % and 97.5 % across wide‐industrial current density range (≤ 0.6 A cm−2), respectively. This work provides a significant advance of electrocatalytic ethylene production coupling with brine refining of seawater electrolysis.

Fiber Bragg grating guided laser interferometer-based highly sensitive vacuum pressure sensor

Vacuum sensing and metrology pave the way for promising solutions to fulfill the scientific and technological demands of various contemporary industries and research fields. This study introduces an innovative vacuum pressure sensor, employing a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) guided Michelson interferometer. The sensor works on the principle of interferometric measurement of precisely gauging the displacement of an elastic diaphragm with pressure variation connected to a vacuum chamber in terms of interference fringe counts due to arm-length variation of the interferometer. The elastic silicone diaphragm and stainless steel cantilever, being critical components of the sensor, were examined using finite element analysis and subsequently demonstrated experimentally. The diaphragm’s position is continuously monitored in real time through the Bragg’s wavelength of the FBG, continuously updating the interferometer after each 15 ms for the accurate measurement of fluctuating vacuum pressures. The strain-induced shift in the FBG’s Bragg wavelength follows a linear trend with pressure variation, exhibiting a sensitivity of 12.7 pm/mbar. With a dynamic range spanning 0.05–100 mbar, the sensor demonstrates a sensitivity of 16.073 fringe counts/mbar and a notable resolution of 0.3364 mbar. Moreover, the sensor exhibits good repeatability, with a hysteresis of up to 2.59% during full span cyclic operation. The coupling of the interferometer with FBG makes it a unique secondary standard solution for precision vacuum measurement.

Randomised benchmarking for universal qudit gates

We aim to establish a scalable scheme for characterising diagonal non-Clifford gates for single- and multi-qudit systems; d is a prime-power integer. By employing cyclic operators and a qudit T gate, we generalise the dihedral benchmarking scheme for single- and multi-qudit circuits. Our results establish a path for experimentally benchmarking qudit systems and are of theoretical and experimental interest because our scheme is optimal insofar as it does not require preparation of the full qudit Clifford gate set to characterise a non-Clifford gate. Moreover, combined with Clifford randomised benchmarking, our scheme is useful to characterise the generators of a universal gate set.

Исследование математической модели объемного гидропривода с релейным управлением применительно к грузовой лебедке крана

The known variants of volumetric hydraulic drives of lifting and technological mechanisms are considered and analyzed. The areas of application of pumping and accumulator hydraulic drives, with various types of regulation, and options for their implementation as drives of a cargo winch of a bridge crane are considered. It is shown that the operation of the volumetric hydraulic drives of the cargo winch, along with volumetric and throttle control, can be performed by a relay method. It is noted that the cyclical operation of lifting mechanisms during lifting and lowering of cargo allows for mechanical and hydraulic energy recovery within the working cycle, which is a promising way to significantly increase the efficiency of their work. The analysis of the existing designs of hydraulic drives of technological machines, allowing to recover the potential energy of working bodies with cargo, is carried out. It is proposed as an alternative to the known hydraulic drives of the cargo winch of the bridge crane, a hydraulic drive with relay control. The efficiency of such a drive is shown, according to the indicators of the nominal pressure utilization coefficient and the energy intensity of the working fluid, in the case of the implementation of mechanical and hydraulic energy recovery in the working cycle in it. The mechanical and hydraulic circuits of such a drive are examined. An algorithm of mathematical model of its operation with consideration of different phases of cargo movement is proposed and its investigation is carried out. The possibility of fulfilling the safety conditions of operation of a hydraulic drive with relay control, in terms of ensuring the requirements for the uniformity of cargo movement, is analyzed.

Charge-induced aggregation of emulsified oil droplets in water with the presence of functionalized stainless steel felt

Oil-water mixtures, especially the surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with high stability, are causing great difficulties in effective separation. In this work, a modification strategy was established to prepare functionalized stainless steel felt for emulsion separation by coating the felt with 3-triethoxysilylpropylamine, followed by the introduction of silica nanoparticles using a sulfur-based three-component coupling reaction. To satisfy the pore size requirement for effective emulsion separation, the developed felt was processed using a compression molding. With special wettability, optimized pore size, and electrostatic demulsification mechanism, the positive charged felt delivered outstanding separation capabilities for oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by various surfactants. Specifically, the flux and COD removal efficiency for the anionic-stabilized emulsion were up to 3911 L m-2h−1 and 95.3 %, while for cationic-stabilized emulsions, which were 1305 L m-2h−1 and 93.1 %. Our comparative results indicated that surface charges played an essential role in governing the separation performance of the felt, and the demulsification arising from the electrostatic attraction demonstrated better separation capability than that caused by the electrostatic repulsion. In addition, the developed felt showed controlled surface charge and anti-fouling performance under cyclic operations. The findings of this study are beneficial for constructing separation material with high separation efficiency and long-term durability for practical applications.

Enhanced Cryptography Techniques Using Inherited Process with Cyclic Crossover Operation in Big Data

Enhanced Cryptography Techniques Using Inherited Process with Cyclic Crossover Operation in Big Data

Strategy to expedite gas sensor calibration based on cyclic temperature operation and data augmentation

The gas sensor calibration using data-driven approach requires a large volume of training data. The conventional method demands numerous measurements of response data, consuming substantial manpower and time resources. To expedite and streamline the sensor calibration and model deployment, this study proposes a cost-effective and practical calibration strategy combining data augmentation and data preprocessing. This strategy aims to minimize both the collection time and amount of measurement data necessary while ensuring high identification accuracy and generalization performance. The random cropping technique based on sliding sampling window is developed to expand the sample size by randomly and consecutively resampling new data from the limited raw response data. This approach allows any fixed-length sequence from the raw response curve to serve as the training and test sample, facilitating fast and real-time measurement for online detection and dynamic analysis. Furthermore, data preprocessing techniques using sequence normalization and fast Fourier transform are employed to extract the species and concentration features, thereby mitigating drift-like effects in the response data. The effectiveness of this strategy is demonstrated with real measurement data, showcasing significant improvements in identification accuracy and generalization performance compared to conventional methods.

Enhancing the CO2 adsorption with dual functionalized coconut shell-hydrochar using Chlorella microalgae and metal oxide: Synthesis, physicochemical properties & mechanism evaluations

This study aims to develop an inexpensive, environmentally-friendly adsorbent for capturing CO2 using coconut shells, widely abundant in Asian agricultural waste. The raw coconut shell adsorbent (CS) has undergone dual functionalization utilizing Chlorella microalgae and magnesium oxide (MgO) to enhance its physicochemical properties. Through dual functionalization, minimizing the loss of surface area and reducing the temperature sensitivity often occurring during CO2 adsorption is possible. The surface morphology, functional groups, and thermochemical properties of CS-hydrochar were characterized and evaluated. The characterization demonstrates the successful development of the ternary composite (HCS-A-Mg), with a specific surface area of 1045 m2/g and containing nitrogen and metal oxide functional groups. XRD analysis of HCS-A-Mg reveals crystalline peaks at 36.8°, 42.9°, and 63°, confirming the successful impregnation of MgO. The adsorption result showed that HCS-A-Mg exhibits a higher CO2 adsorption capacity of 2.63 mmol/g, 50% higher than pristine hydrochar (HCS). The adsorption study revealed that the CO2 adsorption capacity of HCS-A-Mg can be maximized to 3.23 mmol/g at 101 °C and 4.6 bar. Adsorption isotherms shows that the non-linear Sips model best describes the adsorption process, indicating a multilayer adsorption mechanism with profound surface heterogeneity of n = 2.3 for HCS-A-Mg, signifying higher accessibility of gas molecules deep into pores, enabling a variety of adsorption sites for CO2 binding. Selectivity and reusability studies were conducted to validate the adsorbent applicability for industrial applications. HCS-A-Mg has higher CO2/N2 selectivity by 41–57% and 0.05% loss of adsorption capacity after the 10th cyclic operation, suggesting their suitability for industrial applications. This finding underscores the potential of microalgae and magnesium oxide in advancing carbon capture technology and addressing environmental challenges.

Laboratory study of cyclic underground hydrogen storage in porous media with evidence of a dry near-well zone and evaporation induced salt precipitation

Large-scale storage of ‘green’ hydrogen is essential in our quest to transition to renewable energy sources and achieve the net-zero emission targets. As such, Underground Hydrogen Storage (UHS) in geological porous media, such as in depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers, provides a cost-effective solution to store such large volumes of hydrogen (H2) to buffer seasonal fluctuations in renewable energy supply and demand. Due to the novelty of the topic, many research gaps persist, but we focus on H2 transport characteristics in the subsurface, hydrogen recoverability during cyclic operations, chemical interactions, and acoustic velocity as an indicator of H2 saturation. In this study, we investigate UHS using a triaxial core-flooding experiment to address the above-mentioned research gaps by replicating field operations in the laboratory setup at representative subsurface conditions. Unstable displacement due to immiscible two-phase flow led to early H2 breakthrough at 18% of H2 saturation, ultimate H2 saturation of 36% and withdrawal efficiency of 78% during the first cycle. However, cyclic charging and discharging led to an eventual H2 withdrawal efficiency as high as 95%. Observed chemical interactions during our 3-day experiments were negligible, but our results also indicated a strong potential for evaporation-induced salt precipitation after injection of dry H2 gas, leading to decreased reservoir porosity and permeability over time. Our ultrasonic measurements confirmed the sensitivity of P-wave velocity to H2 saturation, which decreased by 3.5% when the H2 saturation increased to 36%. This indicates that H2 plume and leaks in UHS should be possible to monitor using 4D seismic surveys. Our results help to better understand H2 flow, storage, and transport during cyclic UHS. The results indicate that H2 withdrawal efficiency increases as the UHS reservoir matures and provides evidence of a dry near-well zone and evaporation induced salt precipitation in a UHS reservoir.

Cactus-inspired moisture harvesting for sustainable and efficient high salinity desalination

Water scarcity has become a global issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Solar steam generation (SSG) is a promising technology to alleviate the water crisis through desalination and condensation. However, the stability and efficiency of SSG can be seriously impacted by salt accumulation after prolonged operation. Common salt rejection schemes are only applicable for low-salinity (<10 wt%) desalination. In this work, inspired by the cactus's fog-capturing feature, the atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) function is integrated by an interlocked braided fibrous framework (IBFF) to absorb moisture for sustainable salt dilution during high salinity (20 wt%) desalination. The loop-pile density/height of IBFF is regulated to mimic the cactus roots/spines with different architectures, thus optimizing the water absorption/moisture harvesting performance. The excellent moisture-induced salt dilution ability ensures efficient and sustainable high salinity desalination performance over cyclic operation, with an exceptional evaporation rate of up to 3.11 kg m−2·h−1 under 1 sun radiation. Overall, this new approach offers a practical possibility for durable and competitive high salinity desalination with a continuous water/moisture supply.

Damage accumulation and its effect during thermal- and stress-induced cycling martensite transformation of laser powder bed fused (LPBF) NiTi alloy

Nitinol (NiTi) alloys produced via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) exhibit promising potential across diverse applications, yet their suitability for devices necessitating repetitive actuation confronts uncertainties regarding microstructural evolution and functional fatigue behavior during cyclic operation. Our investigation unveils that damage accumulation during thermal cycling stems from geometrically necessary dislocations formed through finite-scale incoherent interface motion, contrasting earlier hypotheses attributing LPBF-induced dislocation activity as the primary contributor. Damage accumulation during mechanical cycling is characterized by notable multiplication of cyclic dislocations via dislocation twinning interactions, rather than severe martensitic plasticity. These newborn cycling dislocations inherit martensite's crystallographic characteristics, exerting a distinct influence mechanism on martensite transformation and deformation behavior, diverging from conventional studies on function fatigue in traditional NiTi alloys. This study sheds light on the distinctive damage accumulation traits observed during thermal/mechanical cycling of LPBF-fabricated NiTi alloys, offering valuable insights for probing their functional fatigue mechanisms.

Natural convection and field synergy principle analysis of the influence of fins redistribution on the performance of a latent heat storage unit in a successive charge and discharge

The present study focuses on analyzing the impact of enhancing the heat exchanges on the shell side by surface extension on the kinetics of melting/solidification in a latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) unit. Particular attention is paid to the influence of fins redistribution on the performance of the LHTES unit, natural convection, and Phase Change Material (PCM) melting/solidification kinetics. The particularity of this study lies in the improvement of the LHTES unit performances in a successive charging-discharging operation by only redistributing the fins while keeping the same total heat transfer surface, PCM volume, and compactness. The first part of the study consists of evaluating the impact of fin redistribution for the same total heat transfer surface on the LHTES unit performance. Attention was paid to the fully charging and discharging times and the heat duty absorbed or released during the melting or solidification process. For this purpose, 4 configurations of LHTES units having 4 and 8 radial fins with the same total transfer surface were analyzed, with the aim of ensuring a maximum performance on charging process. In a second part, an improved configuration was proposed in order to minimize the successive charging and discharging time for a cyclic operation of the LHTES unit. The coordination factor derived from the field synergy principle, PCM liquid fraction, the heat duty exchanged, phase change kinetics, and liquid PCM velocity were used as performance key factors. They were used to analyze and compare the different configurations in order to find the best configuration for a successive charging-discharging operation. The selected improved configuration has been found to enhance both the charging and discharging processes. It leads to the reduction of the successive charging-discharging overall duration by 10 % to 47 % compared to the other configurations investigated with the same heat transfer surface. The enhanced LHTES unit developed in the present study is intended to improve the thermal comfort of buildings by valorizing and storing renewable and waste energies.

Analysis of the Dynamics of a Cubic Nonlinear Five-Dimensional Memristive Chaotic System and the Study of Reduced-Dimensional Synchronous Masking

To improve the complexity of the chaotic system and achieve the effective transmission of image information, in this paper, a five-dimensional memristive chaotic system with cubic nonlinear terms is constructed, which has four pairs of symmetric coordinates. First, the cubic nonlinear memristive chaotic system is analyzed using the Lyapunov exponential map, bifurcation map, and attractor phase diagram. The experimental results show that under four pairs of symmetric coordinates, the system exists not only parameter-dependent symmetric rotational coexisting attractor and transient chaotic phenomena but also exists super-multistationary with alternating chaotic cycles dependent on the initial value of the memristor. Then, it is proposed to add a constant term to the linear state variable to explore the effect of the offset increment of the linear state variable on the system in four pairs of symmetric coordinates, while circuit simulation of the five-dimensional chaotic system is carried out using Simulink to verify its existence and realisability. Finally, the synchronization of the dimensionality reduction system and the confidential transmission of the image are achieved, using the control voltage of the system to replace the internal state variables of the memristor to achieve the one-dimensional reduction process, and an adaptive synchronization controller is designed to synchronize the system before and after the dimensionality reduction. Based on the above, an image to be transmitted is modulated into a one-dimensional array and then subjected to the fractional and cyclic operations and combined with the linear encryption and decryption functions and the chaotic masking technique, the simple encryption and decryption of the image processes are realized.

Effect of cyclic mechanical treatment on the final properties of Nb + 2Si powder mixtures prepared for SHS

The mechanical pretreatment of a powder mixture of niobium and silicon was studied experimentally and theoretically using the new macrokinetic theory of mechanochemical synthesis. The method of organizing the operation mode of the ball mill affects the degree of grinding and activation of the powder composition, as well as the rate of formation of intermediate phases. The effect of cycling on the temperature inside the mill drum, particle size of the powder mixture, formation of mechanically synthesized niobium silicides, and structure of the initial components has been studied. Varying the cycling can lead to safe and emergency operation of the mill. The final mixtures' characteristics may vary significantly depending on the number of cycles of discontinuous mechanical treatment, even if the total operating time of the ball mill remains the same. The safe conditions for cyclic operation of the mill were determined. The effects of different mechanical treatment modes on the grinding, activation, and phase formation of a powder mixture were investigated. Various parameters were analyzed, including thermophysical, physico-chemical, and kinetic characteristics of the cyclic operation of the AGO-3 ball mill, the kinetics of grinding and activation of Nb and Si particles, and the rate of mechanochemical reaction in the mechanically activated mixture of Nb + 2Si.