Processing Mode Research Articles

Regime map of non-coalescence between two equal-sized uncharged water droplets suspended in oil: A numerical study

This paper is devoted to numerical simulation of collision and consequent separation of conductive same-sized droplets of different sizes (from 0.3 to 2 mm) under the effect of a constant voltage exceeding the threshold of the transition from coalescence to non-coalescence. The computations were based on the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method—the interface between the two phases was represented as a geometry line that moves in accordance with the calculated fluid velocity throughout the solution of the problem. Four possible modes and ranges of electric field strength values corresponding to them were identified, ranked by their negative impact on the demulsification process: rebound, separation into three or multiple drops, and electrospraying. This includes the narrow ranges of electrospraying beside the “coalescence-non-coalescence” threshold and during the “rebound-multidrops” transition. A “regime map”—a diagram of possible outcomes depending on the size of drops and the electric field strength—was formed and analyzed to summarize the results and identify the most favorable modes of demulsification processes. The map revealed an area when coalescence is substituted with only rebound when drop radius increases, i.e., when there will be no smaller drops after the interaction.

Modelling and optimization of trajectory deviation for compound directional drilling in coal mines

During the sliding mode of compound directional drilling process in coal mines, the inclined angle and azimuth angle need to be changed to minimize the trajectory deviation between the actual trajectory and the designed trajectory. The inclined angle and azimuth angle can be changed by adjusting the tool face angle. In this article, a modelling and optimization method is proposed to obtain optimal tool face angle for sliding mode. Firstly, the gaussian process regression method is employed to build calculation model of trajectory deviation. The optimization model of trajectory deviation consists of the established calculation model of trajectory deviation and the set constraints. Then, the optimal inclination angle and azimuth angle are obtained by solving the constitutive optimization model using an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm. Next, the calculation model of tool face angle is built to represent the relationship between inclination angle, azimuth angle and tool face angle. The optimal tool face angle is calculated based on optimal inclined angle and azimuth angle. Finally, an industrial case study based on the actual drilling data verifies that the proposed method is beneficial to track designed trajectory during drilling process. The proposed method meets the requirements of on-site construction accuracy and ensures the safety and stability of drilling.

Formation of Hybrid Membranes for Water Desalination by the Method of Membrane Distillation

A method has been developed for the formation of hybrid membranes consisting of a hydrophilic microporous substrate and a hydrophobic nanofiber polymer layer deposited by electroforming. A track-etched membrane made of polyethylene terephthalate was used as a hydrophilic microporous substrate, on the surface of which a thin layer of titanium was applied by magnetron sputtering to ensure adhesion of the nanofiber layer. Simultaneously, the titanium coating was used to make a conductive track-etched membrane that served as a collector electrode. It is been shown that the application of this method for the formation of polymer coatings when used as a starting material for the formation of polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers makes it possible to obtain a layer with highly hydrophobic properties, the water contact angle of the surface of which, depending on the deposition density, averages 143.3 ± 1.3°. A study of the morphology of the nanofiber coating shows that it has a microstructure typical of non-woven materials. The nanofibers forming the porous system of this layer have a wide range in size. The study of the molecular structure of the nanofiber layer by IR-Fourier spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that its structure is dominated by the β-phase, which is characterized by a maximum dipole moment. It is been shown that the hybrid membranes of the developed sample provide high separation selectivity when desalting an aqueous solution of sodium chloride with a concentration of 26.5 g/l by membrane distillation. The salt rejection coefficient for membranes with a nanofiber layer density from 20.7 ± 0.2 to 27.6 ± 0.2 g/m2 in the studied mode of the membrane distillation process is 99.97−99.98%. It has been established that the use of a highly hydrophobic nanofiber layer with a developed pore structure in combination with a hydrophilic microporous base makes it possible to increase the productivity of the membrane distillation process. The value of the maximum condensate flow through the membranes is on average 7.0 kg m2/h and its depends on the density of the deposited nanofiber layer.

Microstructure Control and Hot Cracking Prevention During Laser Additive Manufacturing of Cobalt-Based Superalloy

Hot cracking is a frequent and severe defect that occurs during laser additive manufacturing of superalloys. In this work, a pulsed-wave (PW) laser modulation process was employed to control the solidification microstructure and reduce the hot cracking susceptibility of laser additive manufactured cobalt-based superalloy. The effects of continuous-wave (CW) and PW laser processing modes on the dendrite morphology, element segregation, eutectic phase, and hot cracking of fabricated Co-based superalloys were investigated. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to characterize the microstructural characteristics of samples. A two-color pyrometer was used to measure the molten pool temperature variation under different laser processing modes. The results show that coarse columnar dendrites, chain-like eutectic carbides, and hot cracks were observed in the CW sample. In contrast, the fine equiaxed crystals, discrete eutectic carbides, and low-level residual stresses were obtained to avoid hot cracks, owing to the high cooling rate and the periodic melting and solidification of the molten pool under the PW laser processing mode. This work provides a new method for controlling solidification structure and hot cracking of laser additive manufactured Co-based superalloy.

Exploring the Training of Film and Video Talents in Higher Vocational Colleges under the Background of AIGC

With the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) technology, the film and video industry's production process and creation mode are profoundly transforming. This technological advancement has put forward new requirements for film and video talent cultivation in higher vocational colleges, prompting the education system to make targeted optimisation in key areas such as curriculum, practical teaching, teacher construction and school-enterprise cooperation. Based on the talent demand of the film and video industry in the context of AIGC, this study analyses the main challenges facing film and Video education in higher vocational colleges, including the disconnection between the curriculum content and the development of the industry, the insufficiency of practical teaching resources, and the weakness of the faculty. Because of these problems, the study proposes the strategies of building an interdisciplinary curriculum system, strengthening practical teaching, deepening university-enterprise cooperation and improving the ‘dual-teacher’ teaching team to provide effective references for the cultivation of high-quality film and video talents with innovative ability and practical skills in higher vocational colleges.

Organosolv-derived lipids from hemicellulose and cellulose, and pre-extracted tannins as additives upon hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of spruce bark lignins to bio-oil

The rise in global temperature and accumulation of petroleum-based wastes in the environment forces the scientific focus towards renewable alternatives. In the present work, an under-exploited resource – spruce bark – is investigated as a raw material for production of bio-oil as a liquid energy carrier. To enhance the energy-content of the produced bio-crude, ultimately being produced through hydrothermal liquefaction, the polysaccharides were extracted through organosolv fractionation and converted to lipids by oleaginous microorganisms. The effect originating from tannins was also investigated by performing a pre-extraction before the organosolv fractionation. It was found that performing the organosolv fractionation and upgrading the isolated organosolv lignin to bio-oil greatly reduced the oxygen content of the oil fraction thereby improving its energy content, and introducing upgraded polysaccharides in the form of lipids, as well as pre-extracted tannins, caused clear changes in the product distribution of the final bio-oil and kept a final product with low oxygen content. The other factor largely influencing the product distribution originated from the various heating rates tested by altering operational mode of the HTL process between batch and semi-continuous. Ultimately, performing the organosolv fractionation and individual upgrading of the polysaccharides had a beneficial effect on reducing the final solids content and enhancing the liquid oil yield.

Evaluation for tensile failure process of NOL rings based on infrared thermography

This paper presents a new method for evaluating the failure and processing technology of fiber-winding composites based on infrared thermography. Firstly, infrared thermography was used to monitor the surface temperature evolution during the loading of Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) rings. Secondly, the mechanical and temperature data were recorded simultaneously until the failure of the NOL rings occurred. Thirdly, the mechanical results were compared with the monitoring results obtained from infrared thermography concerning the failure of the NOL rings. Lastly, an evaluation was conducted regarding the capability of infrared thermography to elucidate the failure of the NOL rings. The experiment results demonstrated that infrared thermography can characterize the failure process and failure modes of fiber-winding composites with limited mechanical or optical technology. Besides, this testing technology provides a significant advantage when comparing fiber volume fractions, particularly in situations where professional testing devices are unavailable. This work provides a new reference for the application of infrared thermography within the domain of fiber-winding composites.

Impact of altimeter-buoy data-pairing methods on the validation of Sentinel-3A coastal significant wave heights

Sea state information is critical for a broad range of human activities (e.g. shipping, marine energy, marine engineering) most of them being concentrated along the coastal zone. Satellite altimeter records of significant wave heights (SWH) represent the largest source of sea state observations available to date. However, the quality of altimeter observations is reduced in the coastal zone due to surface heterogeneity within the radar signal footprint. Major difficulties to assess the performance of coastal altimetry in the coastal zone are the reduced number of valid altimeter records and the increased sea state variability, which have recently fostered the development of new methods to pair and compare nearby altimeter and buoy data. In this study, we use a high-resolution numerical wave model implemented over the European coastal waters in order to characterize the spatial variability of sea states in the proximity of coastal in situ buoys, we explore different model-based data-pairing methods to account for coastal sea state variability and we assess their impact on the validation of Sentinel-3A 20Hz SWH measurements. Three Sentinel-3A processing modes are considered: the pseudo low rate mode processing, the SAR processing and the Low Resolution with Range Migration Correction (LR-RMC) processing. Our results indicate major impacts of data-pairing methods on the Sentinel-3A coastal validation and reveals the contribution of more frequent low SWH conditions, poorly resolved by radar altimeters, in the coastal zone as an additional source of errors in coastal altimetry.

Decoding cortical chronotopy—Comparing the influence of different cortical organizational schemes

The brain's diverse intrinsic timescales enable us to perceive stimuli with varying temporal persistency. This study aimed to uncover the cortical organizational schemes underlying these variations, revealing the neural architecture for processing a wide range of sensory experiences. We collected resting-state fMRI, task-fMRI, and diffusion-weighted imaging data from 47 individuals. Based on this data, we extracted six organizational schemes: (1) the structural Rich Club (RC) architecture, shown to synchronize the connectome; (2) the structural Diverse Club architecture, as an alternative to the RC based on the network's module structure; (3) the functional uni-to-multimodal gradient, reflected in a wide range of structural and functional features; and (4) the spatial posterior/lateral-to-anterior/medial gradient, established for hierarchical levels of cognitive control. Also, we explored the effects of (5) structural graph theoretical measures of centrality and (6) cytoarchitectural differences. Using Bayesian model comparison, we contrasted the impact of these organizational schemes on (1) intrinsic resting-state timescales and (2) inter-subject correlation (ISC) from a task involving hierarchically nested digit sequences. As expected, resting-state timescales were slower in structural network hubs, hierarchically higher areas defined by the functional and spatial gradients, and thicker cortical regions. ISC analysis demonstrated hints for the engagement of higher cortical areas with more temporally persistent stimuli. Finally, the model comparison identified the uni-to-multimodal gradient as the best organizational scheme for explaining the chronotopy in both task and rest. Future research should explore the microarchitectural features that shape this gradient, elucidating how our brain adapts and evolves across different modes of processing.

Privacy and personal data risk governance for generative artificial intelligence: A Chinese perspective

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has attracted global attention and posed challenges to existing data governance frameworks. The increased technical complexity and expanded scale of data usage not only make it more difficult to regulate AI but also present challenges for the current legal system. This article, which takes ChatGPT's training data and working principles as a starting point, examines specific privacy risks, data leakage risks, and personal data risks posed by generative AI. It also analyzes the latest practices in privacy and personal data protection in China. This article finds that while China's governance on privacy and personal data protection takes a macro-micro integration approach and a private-and-public law integration approach, there are shortcomings in the legal system. Given that the current personal data protection system centered on individual control is unsuitable for the modes of data processing by generative AI, and that private law is insufficient in safeguarding data privacy, urgent institutional innovation is needed to achieve the objective of “trustworthy AI.”

Study on the impact of grouting reinforcement on the mechanical behavior of non-penetrating fracture sandstone

The grouting reinforcement technology is an essential method to enhance the mechanical performance of fractured rock masses and the effectiveness of reinforcement varies with different grouting materials. To further understand the mechanical improvement capabilities of each grout and the reinforcement mechanisms at the grout-rock interface, this study prepared samples with different grouting materials (sulphoaluminate cement (SAC), ultra-fine cement (UFC), and epoxy resin (EPR)) and the uniaxial compression tests were conducted. Based on these tests, the macro and micro mechanical characteristics of different grouting samples were revealed using particle image velocimetry (PIV), acoustic emission (AE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The results indicate that grouting helps improve the mechanical performance and deformation resistance of fractured rock masses. It effectively limited lateral displacement of the samples, reduced stress concentration at fracture tips, enhanced shear effects during sample fracture, and altered the crack propagation process and failure modes. Compared to the fractured samples, the peak strength of SAC, UFC, and EPR samples increased by 17.8 %, 23.4 %, and 28.3 %, and the elastic modulus increased by 14.3 %, 7.9 %, and 24.8 %, respectively. Among these, the EPR samples exhibited a similarity in parameter indicators to intact samples of over 85 %, making EPR the optimal grouting material. The degree of grout-rock fusion is the primary factor influencing grouting reinforcement effectiveness. SAC is covering-type cement, UFC is embedded cement, EPR is a fusion material, and the fusion-type materials are more beneficial for improving the mechanical performance of fractured rocks.

Designing and testing a heat pump unit for drying, low-temperature processing, and storing of food products

The use of heat pumps makes it possible to reduce energy consumption in drying processes. This study addresses the problem of efficient use of a heat pump for drying, low-temperature processing, and storage of food products. The object of the study is a heat pump unit capable of operating under the drying mode or under the refrigeration processing and storage mode. Studies have been conducted to design an experimental unit, as well as to improve the energy efficiency of the cooling system. The unit includes a single-stage freon compressor, two air condensers, a water-cooled coil heat exchanger-precondenser, an air evaporator, a thermostatic valve, axial fans, and a unit control system. It has been experimentally established that, depending on the temperature level of condensation of the refrigerant (from +20 °C to +50 °C), the increase in specific cooling capacity with the heat exchanger-precondenser turned off is from 82 kJ/kg to 135 kJ/kg, and with it turned on – from 98 kJ/kg to 143 kJ/kg. In this case, the specific work of compression of refrigerant vapors in the compressor with the heat exchanger-precondenser switched off changes from 36 kJ/kg to 18 kJ/kg. And when it is switched on – from 32 kJ/kg to 10 kJ/kg. That is, the reduction in specific energy consumption is from 4 kJ/kg to 8 kJ/kg, which indicates the advisability of including the precondenser in the installation scheme. In the installation, refrigeration treatment and storage of the product can be carried out in the temperature range from –20 °C to +20 °C and drying – from +10 °C to +40 °C. Under such modes, it is possible to obtain high-quality products with long shelf lives. The results could be used to improve the designs and optimize the operation of heat-transfer drying units and their engineering calculations

Effect of chemical consolidation on physico-mechanical properties of porous coral reef limestone

Porous coral reef limestone (CRL) is characterized by the low strength and developed pore structure, so improving its physico-mechanical properties is important for marine engineering construction work. Chemically consolidated porous CRL was prepared by taking a non-granular chemical grout (sodium silicate) as the main consolidation material. Then, the chemical consolidation effect was evaluated from two aspects (both the physical and mechanical properties) by conducting computed tomography (CT) scanning and quasi-static uniaxial compression tests. The results indicate that the consolidation material can fill the pores in the CRL, which reduces the porosity of specimens by more than 50%. In addition, the peak strength under quasi-static compression is increased by about 20%. The fragments decrease at failure, and fracture plane slip and crack opening are inhibited. Finally, influences of the special banded shape of consolidation material retained in the specimens on the failure process and failure mode of specimens were investigated. The chemical consolidation mechanism of porous CRL was revealed by combining with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. Research results indicate that the non-granular chemical material (sodium silicate) improves the physico-mechanical properties of porous CRL. The research provides reference for the foundation treatment in coral reefs and the design of consolidation schemes for surrounding rocks of underground spaces in marine engineering operations.

Implications of the impact of laser explosion parameters on the growth of nano-sized wolfram carbidium in Ni–Ti–WC system coatings

The paper shows the influence of various laser processing modes of cold spray Ni–Ti–WC coatings. It has been shown that the microhardness of the resulting coatings reaches 1200 HV. The formation of diamond-shaped, pore-free WC inclusions with a size of 500 nm has a positive effect on the microhardness. The article provides recommendations for the industrial production of Ni–Ti–WC system coatings.

Does Strategy Formulation Process Matter on Human Resource Strategy Outcome?

This article explores the way in which human resource strategies come into being. Using modes of strategy formulation process three hypotheses are established. A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Data was collected using Structure questionnaires while multiple regression analysis was performed to test for a number of hypothesized relationships. Findings shows that rational and adaptive human resource strategy formulation processes explain significant variation in human resource strategy outcome while interactive human resource strategy has no significant relationship with human resource strategy outcome. The contribution of this study to knowledge is that HR strategy formulation process that involves inputs from multiple stake holders has a significant effect on strategy outcome of human resource strategies hence a source of competitive advantage. More importantly, this article found that there is a problem of inability to formulate human resource strategies in the public sector. Therefore the study recommends that State corporations should adopt interactive HR strategy formulation process to facilitate formulation and implementation of HR strategies in their organizations.

Investigating the Impact of the Parkinson's-Associated GBA1 E326K Mutation on β-Glucocerebrosidase Dimerization and Interactome Dynamics Through an In Silico Approach.

Heterozygous mutations or genetic variants in the GBA1 gene, which encodes for the β-glucocerebrosidase (GCase), a lysosomal hydrolase enzyme, may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) onset. The heterozygous E326K form is one of the most common genetic risk factors for PD worldwide, but, to date, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigate the effect of the E326K on the structure, stability, dimerization process, and interaction mode with some proteins of the interactome of GCase using multiple molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at pH 5.5 and pH 7.0 to mimic the lysosomal and endoplasmic reticulum environments, respectively. The analysis of the MD trajectories highlights that the E326K mutation did not significantly alter the structural conformation of the catalytic dyad but significantly makes the structure of the dimeric complexes unstable, especially at lysosomal pH, potentially impacting the organization of the quaternary structure. Furthermore, the E326K mutation significantly impacts protein interactions by altering the binding mode with the activator Saposin C (SapC), reducing the binding affinity with the inhibitor α-Synuclein (α-Syn), and increasing the affinity for the Lysosomal integral membrane protein-2 (LIMP-2) transporter.

Experimental Study on Direct Shear Behavior of New-to-Old Interface for Recycled Aggregate Concrete with Different Replacement Ratios

The large amount of construction waste produced by the construction industry brings severe natural resource consumption and environmental pollution, elevating the awareness of sustainable development. Recycled aggregate concrete, crushed from construction waste, is recognized as an eco-friendly material and the current optimal solution for the environmental problem. The interface shear failure between substrate recycled coarse aggregate concrete (RAC) and overlay natural aggregate concrete becomes vital for structural safety. In order to study the direct shear performance, a total of 19 specimens were designed to carry out the direct shear test with different replacement ratios, interface types and curing ages. The whole process and failure mode were recorded. The relationships between the shear capacity and deformation, ductility, damage evolution, and energy dissipation were evaluated and discussed. The results demonstrate that the RAC component in the interface was the weak line in the shear plane, accelerating the damage evolution. In the early curing stage, the replacement ratio had a slight influence on the shear properties. Increasing the recycled aggregate replacement ratio from 0 to 100% improved the normalized strength ratio by 8.94% and 14.62%, respectively, for curing ages of 3 days and 7 days. A regression equation was proposed to predict the shear strength, accounting for the curing ages. With the increase in the replacement ratio, the ductility and energy dissipation gradually enhanced.

Hypergraph convolutional networks with multi-ordering relations for cross-document event coreference resolution

Recognizing the coreference relationship between different event mentions in the text (i.e., event coreference resolution) is an important task in natural language processing. It helps to understand the association between various events in the text, and plays an important role in information extraction, question answering systems, and reading comprehension. Existing research has made progress in improving the performance of event coreference resolution, but there are also some shortcomings. For example, most of the existing methods analyze the event data in the document in a serial processing mode, without considering the complex relationship between events, and it is difficult to mine the deep semantics of events. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a cross-document event co-reference resolution method (HGCN-ECR) based on hypergraph convolutional neural networks. Firstly, the BiLSTM-CRF model was used to label the semantic role of the events extracted from a number of documents. According to the labeling results, the trigger words and non-trigger words of the event were determined, and the multi-document event hypergraph was constructed around the event trigger words. Then hypergraph convolutional neural networks are used to learn higher-order semantic information in multi-document event hypergraphs, and multi-head attention mechanisms are introduced to understand the hidden features of different event relationship types by treating each event relationship as a set of separate attention mechanisms. Finally, the feed-forward neural network and the average link clustering method are used to calculate the coreference score of events and complete the coreference event clustering, and the cross-document event coreference resolution is realized. The experimental results show that the cross-document event co-reference resolution method is superior to the baseline model.

The advancement of cuproptosis in hematological tumors

Cuproptosis is a type of independent cell death form, that differs from apoptosis, necroptosis and ferroptosis. It is mediated by Copper (Cu), and mainly affects the lipoylation of proteases in the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and exhibits cytotoxicity through oligomerization; however, its specific mechanism, signal transduction process and regulation mode are still not clear. Mitochondria affect the sensitivity of cells to copper toxicity and play a central role in the occurrence and development of copper-related death. In recent years, though hematological tumors have achieved better remission through targeted therapy and immunotherapy, they are associated with high recurrence rates and poor prognoses. It is therefore imperative to find better prognostic indicators and new treatment ideas. This paper summarizes the interaction between Cu and mitochondria in the development of tumors and provides ideas for further exploration of the mechanism of copper death and coping with hematological tumors.

A line scanning monitoring method for conveyor belt deviation using point cloud

Abstract A precise conveyor belt deviation monitoring method using line array point cloud data is proposed and demonstrated, which can ensure the healthy running of the conveyor system. The point cloud data characterizing the surface of the conveyor belt is collected in a line scanning way. Then, using a unique soft extraction method that weighted fusing three key features (cross-sectional variation, belt’s horizontal width, and previous frame) to process this data, the edge information of the conveyor belt can be accurately and robustly identified in real-time. Furthermore, the point cloud processing mode enables a belt-segmented deviation analysis method based on a standard sequence query. This can accurately determine the offset value and deviation trend of the conveyor belt, thereby achieving early warning of deviation faults. Experimental results show that the belt edge identification precision can reach 0.3 mm, and an early warning can be provided at least 57 m before the occurrence of a belt deviation fault. This belt deviation monitoring method can be widely applied in various working environments, especially in harsh conditions like mines and ports. It also has potential applications in automated production lines within Industry 4.0.