Material Loading Research Articles

Development of a dry mock-up system for verifying pyroprocess automation

This paper presents the design and operation of an autonomous robot for pyroprocess automation, which requires unique approaches beyond those used in industrial applications to achieve the desired performance. Maintaining an extremely dry atmosphere is crucial to handle various materials, including chloride, and an autonomous system ensures this dry environment. The drying room dehumidifier was carefully selected and designed to generate dry air, and different types of dry air conditioning performance were evaluated, including assessing worker accessibility inside the mock-up to determine the system's feasibility. Containers used for process materials were modified to fit the gripper system of the gantry robot for automation. The loading and unloading of process materials in each equipment were automatically performed to connect the process equipment with the robotic system. The gantry robot primarily operated through macro motion to approach waypoints containing process materials, eliminating the need for precise approach motion. The robot's tapered jaw design allowed it to grasp the target object even with imperfect positioning. Robot motions were programmed using a robot simulator for initial positioning and motion planning, and real accuracy was tested in a mock-up facility using the OPC platform.

INNOVATIVE PROCESS LINE FOR MATERIAL SAMPLE PREPARATION

ABSTRACT. The successful establishment and sustainable development of mining enterprises depends on a number of factors, including geological research, management of mineral extraction and processing processes, and sample preparation technology. The sample preparation plants that are currently used have a multi-stage technological process, often with manual transfer of material between technological operations. Standard crushing and grinding equipment with a low degree of grinding, high metal consumption and overall dimensions is used. Separation of material by size also occurs on standard screens, which are poorly suited for sample preparation. The purpose of the work is to substantiate an innovative technological scheme for preparing mineral samples for laboratory analysis. The determining unit of the production line is a vibrating jaw crusher with an inclined crushing chamber, which has a degree of material grinding of more than 100 and allows one to obtain a final product with a particle size of -1 mm in one pass in an open crushing cycle, which reduces the number of overload devices that significantly affect sample clogging with material. Horizontal loading of the source material and unloading of the crushed material makes it possible to arrange all equipment in a horizontal plane, eliminate large-sized metal structures and ensure ease of maintenance. The vibrating screen of the improved design has a complex working profile, which provides a significant increase in the path of transportation of material particles along the sieving surface compared to its length, effective cleaning of the mesh and its visual inspection through the transparent lid, which eliminates clogging of the material of the previous sample. The working surface is a set of sieve cards that allow quick replacement of the worn part of the screening surface. The technical characteristics of the equipment and the general view of a small-sized modular crushing and grinding plant are presented.

Viscoelastic materials are most energy efficient when loaded and unloaded at equal rates.

Biological springs can be used in nature for energy conservation and ultra-fast motion. The loading and unloading rates of elastic materials can play an important role in determining how the properties of these springs affect movements. We investigate the mechanical energy efficiency of biological springs (American bullfrog plantaris tendons and guinea fowl lateral gastrocnemius tendons) and synthetic elastomers. We measure these materials under symmetric rates (equal loading and unloading durations) and asymmetric rates (unequal loading and unloading durations) using novel dynamic mechanical analysis measurements. We find that mechanical efficiency is highest at symmetric rates and significantly decreases with a larger degree of asymmetry. A generalized one-dimensional Maxwell model with no fitting parameters captures the experimental results based on the independently characterized linear viscoelastic properties of the materials. The model further shows that a broader viscoelastic relaxation spectrum enhances the effect of rate-asymmetry on efficiency. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the interplay between material properties and unloading dynamics in both biological and synthetic elastic systems.

Simultaneous photo-removal of hexavalent chromium and methyl orange by fabrication of graphitic carbon nitride loaded on fibrous silica iron

Simultaneous removal of heavy metal and organic compounds by photocatalysis has gained attention due to its ability to remove multiple pollutants in a single system that provides high efficiency at low energy consumption. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4)/fibrous silica iron (FSFe) catalyst was successfully synthesized via impregnation and hydrothermal methods without calcination process. The XRD, FTIR and UV-Vis DRS were used to understand the physicochemical properties such as the crystallinity, the functional group present and the band gap in both gC3N4/FSFe and FSFe photocatalysts. The band gap of the FSFe photocatalyst (1.95 eV) was reduced to 1.9 eV after the loading of g-C3N4 material. The simultaneous photo-removal of Cr (VI) and methyl orange (MO) was improved up to 38.16% and 98.08% respectively. The efficient photocatalytic activity of Cr (VI) and MO could be due to the decreased bandgap of the synthesized catalysts. Hence, the modification of FSFe photocatalyst framework with the addition of g-C3N4 offers a great opportunity for the study of simultaneous photocatalytic removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants to be expanded.

New approaches to three-dimensional positive electrodes enabling scalable high areal capacity

A novel in situ powder infiltration method was used to fabricate 3D positive electrodes with scalable high areal capacity, highlighting the high mass loading of active materials and interfaces of binder-free 3D electrodes.

Investigation into the mechanical properties and impact tendency of coal-rock composite structures with peridynamics: A study on predicting the occurrence tendency of dynamic pressure in coal-rock structures.

Due to the difficulty in predicting the occurrence of rockburst in deep mining areas,this paper proposes that the use of Peridynamics to analyze the mechanical characteristics of coal-rock composite structures under loading conditions from the perspective of energy, Determine the impact tendency of coal rock composite structures by combining rock elastic deformation energy index (WET) and rock impact energy index (WCF); Use Lammps software to simulate the loading of composite structural materials and compare and verify with experimental results, to more accurately determine the tendency of rockburst occurrence in different coal-rock composite structures.The results indicate that after the specimen reaches the yield stress, the sample exhibits an "X" shaped failure. The coal body has a significant impact on the overall model's fragmentation, and different combination states and ratios can affect the degree of damage in the coal-rock composite structure. which has important theoretical value for rock mechanics research. The research results can reduce the occurrence of rockburst accidents, the difficulty of mine support, and the cost of mining engineering, as well as improve mine safety levels.

Enhancing supercapacitor performance of Ni-Co-Mn metal-organic frameworks by compositing it with polyaniline and reduced graphene oxide.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are one of the most sought-after materials in the domain of supercapacitors and can be tailored to accommodate diverse compositions, making them amenable to facile functionalization. However, their intrinsic specific capacitance as well as energy density is minimal, which hinders their usage for advanced energy storage applications. Therefore, herein, we have prepared six electrodes, i.e., Ni-Co-Mn MOFs, polyaniline (PANI), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) along with their novel nanocomposites, i.e., C1, C2, and C3, comprising MOFs : PANI : rGO in a mass ratio of 100 : 1 : 0.5, 100 : 1 : 1, and 100 : 1 : 10, respectively. The polyaniline conducting polymer and rGO enabled efficient electron transport, enhanced charge storage processes, substantial surface area facilitating higher loading of active materials, promoting electrochemical reactions, and ultimately enhanced nanocomposite system performance. As a result, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques confirmed the successful synthesis and revealed distinct morphological features of the materials. Following electrochemical testing, it was observed that composition C2 exhibited the highest performance, demonstrating a groundbreaking specific capacitance of 1007 F g-1 at 1 A g-1. The device showed a good energy density of 25.11 W h kg-1 and a power density of 860 W kg-1. Remarkably, the device demonstrated a capacity retention of 115% after 1500 cycles, which is a clear indication of the wettability factor, according to the literature. The power law indicated b-values in a range of 0.58-0.64, verifying the hybrid-type behavior of supercapacitors.

Малопараметрическое уравнение состояния графита для описания поведения сплошных и пористых образцов в ударных волнах и волнах разгрузки

This study is aimed to obtain the parameters of the graphite equation of state represented as the Mie–Grüneisen equation of state. Graphite with metals and the porous graphite are considered as simple thermodynamically equilibrium mixtures. The equilibrium state is determined by the conditions of equal pressure, temperature, and velocity of the components in the mixture. Thus, the motion of the multicomponent medium can be described as the motion of a continuum with a special equation of state that takes into account the properties of the mixture components and their concentration, which significantly reduces the number of equations. For the Grüneisen parameter, a logarithmic dependence on density is used, which adequately describes the variation in the Grüneisen parameter for both normal and anomalous behavior of shock adiabats. The increasing scope of the equation of state is a result of comparing experimental data with calculations for the following: 1) shock-wave loading of porous materials to cover the range of higher temperatures; 2) double compression of the samples to cover the range of increased densities; 3) isentropic expansion of samples to cover the range of low densities; and 4) sound velocities, which characterize the compressibility of matter, slope of the Poisson adiabat on the shock adiabat, and propagation velocity of the weak shock waves and unloading waves through the compressed matter. The comprehensive analysis confirms that the proposed model of the equation of state for graphite is applicable to practical applications.

Influence of material microstructure on fracture development in deformable bodies

The problem of predicting the location and direction of local fracture and estimating the ultimate load of composite material is one of the practically important problems of fracture mechanics. With a wide variety of composite materials, it is natural to expect the presence of a large number of failure criteria, each of which should be valid for a certain class of materials and reflect most completely its physical and mechanical properties, structural defects, operating conditions, etc. The choice of effective assessment of the bearing capacity of modern composite material under extreme conditions is at present the main task of researchers. In this paper, the criterion of fracture of composite materials based on simple and quite effective theory of macrostresses by M.Ya. Leonov and K.M. Rusynka is preferred. The macrostress theory effectiveness is shown in the papers by V.V. Panasiuk, L.T. Berezhnytskyi, S.Ya. Yarema, L.V. Ratych, and M.H. Stashchuk. In our paper, we clarify and extend the advantages of macrostress concept criterion in comparison with other fracture criteria in deformable bodies. Examples of crack propagation in the process of body tension are given in this paper.

Code-conforming fatigue life assessment of riveted lap shear joints

Recent studies highlighted the importance of an accurate assessment of the remaining life of historical steel riveted bridges to plan and design their maintenance. Such structures are usually prone to fatigue damage due to the high number of cumulated cyclic stresses over their service life. Currently, limited guidelines are available for evaluating the fatigue strength of riveted connections. According to the JRC-ECCS document Assessment of Existing Steel Structures: Recommendations for Estimation of Remaining Fatigue Life, the fatigue capacity of riveted connections should be evaluated through the fatigue class 71, whose prediction may be excessively conservative. Therefore, this paper summarizes the results of a theoretical study and an experimental campaign aimed at characterizing the high-cycle fatigue of riveted shear splices. Experimental fatigue results have been collected from the literature, and a database has been built, including material property, loading condition, riveting process, and geometry information. The collected data and those obtained from the performed tests have been statistically elaborated to investigate the influence of such parameters on their fatigue strength. Finally, comparisons with the recommended fatigue classes are provided to discuss their suitability in predicting the fatigue strength of the investigated riveted connections.

A Computational Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Shelter Construction Material and Fuel Load on the Fire Spread Behavior in Rohingya Refugee Camp

A Computational Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Shelter Construction Material and Fuel Load on the Fire Spread Behavior in Rohingya Refugee Camp

Service life prediction of timber-concrete composite floors

Timber-concrete composite (TCC) systems have application for new floors and for upgrading and enhancing of existing timber floors in residential and office buildings. In order to develop the optimal maintenance programs of structures, it is essential to predict the performance of structures over their life-cycle. The long-term behavior of timber-concrete composite floors is influenced by a combination of various factors, including material properties, load distribution, moisture effects, temperature effects and durability considerations. Timber and concrete material in the composite system, exhibit different behaviors over time due to their inherent characteristics. Deterioration prediction models are used to estimate the future degradation and condition of various types of structures. The aim of this paper is to present two probabilistic models, random variable deterioration rate model and stochastic gamma process model, that will capture uncertainty and variability associated with the deterioration of TCC floor under the service load and to estimate its service life.

Estimation of the Acoustic Emission Sources Activity Under Mechanical Loading of Materials Based on the Local Dynamic Criterion

Estimation of the Acoustic Emission Sources Activity Under Mechanical Loading of Materials Based on the Local Dynamic Criterion

The status and challenging perspectives of 3D-printed micro-batteries.

In the era of the Internet of Things and wearable electronics, 3D-printed micro-batteries with miniaturization, aesthetic diversity and high aspect ratio, have emerged as a recent innovation that solves the problems of limited design diversity, poor flexibility and low mass loading of materials associated with traditional power sources restricted by the slurry-casting method. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the rational design of 3D-printed materials, inks, methods, configurations and systems is critical to optimize the electrochemical performance of customizable 3D-printed micro-batteries. In this review, we offer a key overview and systematic discussion on 3D-printed micro-batteries, emphasizing the close relationship between printable materials and printing technology, as well as the reasonable design of inks. Initially, we compare the distinct characteristics of various printing technologies, and subsequently emphatically expound the printable components of micro-batteries and general approaches to prepare printable inks. After that, we focus on the outstanding role played by 3D printing design in the device architecture, battery configuration, performance improvement, and system integration. Finally, the future challenges and perspectives concerning high-performance 3D-printed micro-batteries are adequately highlighted and discussed. This comprehensive discussion aims at providing a blueprint for the design and construction of next-generation 3D-printed micro-batteries.

Residual Stress Effects of Multiple Thermal Material Loads due to a Roughing-Finishing Sequence of Electrical Discharge Machining Processes

Being a manufacturing process based on thermal material removal, it has been known for decades that Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) affects the properties of surface layers of machined workpieces, notably by inducing residual stresses. These stresses are undesirable as they can contribute to crack formation in ED machined parts in on-load operation. Thus, their minimization is preferable. In this research the influence of different combinations of EDM parameters (namely discharge duration and discharge current) on characteristics of residual stresses is studied and compared. However, industrial ED machining usually consists of a sequence of process regimes that each represents a thermal load for the material and consequently each causes an individual profile of residual stress. Therefore, the resulting effect of these combined loads is also investigated. The findings contribute to the knowledge of the process signature of Electrical Discharge Machining as well as they allow for improved planning of industrial EDM processes.

Constructing ultra-stable, high-energy, and flexible aqueous zinc-ion batteries using environment-friendly organic cathodes.

Due to their sustainability, environmental friendliness, high specific capacity, and rapid reaction kinetics, quinone cathodes have broad application prospects in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). However, conventional small-molecule quinone cathodes usually suffer from unavoidable dissolution, resulting in terrible cycling stability. Herein, based on a strategy of molecular structure optimization, calix[8]quinone (C8Q) is for the first time used as a cathode in AZIBs. By extending the structure of the classical small-molecule quinone cathode calix[4]quinone (C4Q), C8Q further adds four p-benzoquinone structural units, which significantly suppresses the dissolution of its discharge products and greatly improves the cycle stability of the cathode. Specifically, the C8Q cathode displays a discharge specific capacity of 207.2 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1 and a long-life cycle stability (93 mA h g-1/10 A g-1/10000th). Even with a high active material loading of 11 mg cm-2, the Zn‖C8Q battery also exhibits high redox reversibility and remarkable electrochemical stability. Furthermore, the belt-shaped Zn‖C8Q battery has high stability and outstanding flexibility, indicating its promising application in flexible wearable electronic devices.

Stretchable and biodegradable plant-based redox-diffusion batteries.

The redox-diffusion (RD) battery concept introduces an environmentally friendly solution for stretchable batteries in autonomous wearable electronics. By utilising plant-based redox-active biomolecules and cellulose fibers for the electrode scaffold, separator membrane, and current collector, along with a biodegradable elastomer encapsulation, the battery design overcomes the reliance on unsustainable transition metal-based active materials and non-biodegradable elastomers used in existing stretchable batteries. Importantly, it addresses the drawback of limited attainable battery capacity, where increasing the active material loading often leads to thicker and stiffer electrodes with poor mechanical properties. The concept decouples the active material loading from the mechanical structure of the electrode, enabling high mass loadings, while retaining a skin-like young's modulus and stretchability. A stretchable ion-selective membrane facilitates the RD process, allowing two separate redox couples, while preventing crossovers. This results in a high-capacity battery cell that is both electrochemically and mechanically stable, engineered from sustainable plant-based materials. Notably, the battery components are biodegradable at the end of their life, addressing concerns of e-waste and resource depletion.

Diffraction by a Semi-Infinite Parallel-Plate Waveguide with Partial Material Loading: A Combined Wiener-Hopf and MRCT Solution

Diffraction by a Semi-Infinite Parallel-Plate Waveguide with Partial Material Loading: A Combined Wiener-Hopf and MRCT Solution

Biological Activity study of the <i>Melampyrum sylvaticum</i> Extract

Introduction. Among wild plants that have an effect on the nervous system, species of the genus Melampyrum L. are distinguished, in particular, Melampyrum sylvaticum L. Extracts from the aerial part of the plant have long been used in folk medicine as sedatives and anticonvulsants. Currently, a number of studies are being carried out to confirm the possibility of using wildflower and drugs based on it in scientific medicine, as well as to obtain a drug with low toxicity, complex sedative and anticonvulsant activity, which will expand the arsenal of drugs used to treat diseases of the nervous system.Aim. To investigate the in vivo acute toxicity, anticonvulsant and sedative activity of a dry alcohol extract from the aerial part of Melampyrum sylvaticum.Materials and methods. The extract was obtained by extracting substances from the aerial part of Melampyrum sylvaticum with 50 % ethanol, by the method of repercolation with an equal loading of raw materials, followed by evaporation to a dry residue. The study of pharmacological properties was carried out on nonlinear white mice of both sexes weighing 17–25 g. Acute toxicity of the extract was determined by oral administration in doses up to 5000 mg/kg. Anticonvulsant activity was evaluated in the corazole convulsion test, sedative activity was evaluated in the open field test.Results and discussion. When determining the acute toxicity of a dry alcoholic extract from the aerial part of Melampyrum sylvaticum, there was no lethality in the experimental group of animals. LD50 could not be determined. In the corazol convulsion test, it was shown that oral administration of the extract at a dose of 100 mg/kg does not affect the latent period of convulsions, but significantly increases the life expectancy of animals. At a dose of 200 mg/kg, the latent period of seizures and life expectancy significantly increased, and the survival rate of animals was 20 %. When studying sedative activity of the extract from Melampyrum sylvaticum in the open field test, a decrease in vertical activity, a decrease in the number of vertical stands, a decrease in horizontal activity along the periphery and the number of animals entering the center of the area were noted, which indicates a suppression of orienting-exploratory behavior. In the experiment, there was a decrease in the intensity of grooming as an indicator of anxiety for this group of animals. A course of administration of the extract for thirty days led to a decrease in the vertical activity of mice and inhibition of orienting-exploratory behavior.Conclusion. It was found that a dry alcoholic extract from the aerial part of Melampyrum sylvaticum exhibits biological activity in animal experiments, compensating for the effect of corazol, and has a pronounced anticonvulsant and sedative effect. The LD50 of the extract when administered orally was more than 5000 mg/kg.

Durability evaluation for existing railway engineering: a review

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the factors, evaluation techniques of the durability of existing railway engineering.Design/methodology/approachChina has built a railway network of over 150,000 km. Ensuring the safety of the existing railway engineering is of great significance for maintaining normal railway operation order. However, railway engineering is a strip structure that crosses multiple complex environments. And railway engineering will withstand high-frequency impact loads from trains. The above factors have led to differences in the deterioration characteristics and maintenance strategies of railway engineering compared to conventional concrete structures. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the key factors that affect the durability of railway structures and propose technologies for durability evaluation.FindingsThe factors that affect the durability and reliability of railway engineering are mainly divided into three categories: material factors, environmental factors and load factors. Among them, material factors also include influencing factors, such as raw materials, mix proportions and so on. Environmental factors vary depending on the service environment of railway engineering, and the durability and deterioration of concrete have different failure mechanisms. Load factors include static load and train dynamic load. The on-site rapid detection methods for five common diseases in railway engineering are also proposed in this paper. These methods can quickly evaluate the durability of existing railway engineering concrete.Originality/valueThe research can provide some new evaluation techniques and methods for the durability of existing railway engineering.