Multi-scale characterization of styrene–butadiene–styrene modified bitumen during thermal aging

： In high-load, highly contaminated, and maintenance-challenging harsh environments, rotary lip seals typically rely on grease lubrication. However, there is currently no suitable model for predicting the lifespan of grease-lubricated sealing systems. This study establishes a numerical simulation model to evaluate the lifespan of rotary lip seals under grease lubrication, considering rubber aging during storage and use, as well as wear. Based on experimental results from thermal aging and standardized wear testing, the evolution of reverse pumping rate and friction torque over aging and wear durations is analyzed. A performance evolution model is developed to predict the storage and service life of grease-lubricated lip seals, enabling leakage failure warnings and providing guidance for seal replacement cycles.

This study aims to compare the surface roughness and fracture resistance of implant-supported permanent crowns additively manufactured using composite resins (Crowntec, VarseoSmile) versus subtractively manufactured polymer-infiltrated hybrid ceramic (VITA Enamic) at various wall thicknesses using an experimental setup as close to clinical as possible. 180 crowns were fabricated in three thicknesses (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mm) and cemented onto titanium abutments. Experimental groups underwent thermal aging (10,000 cycles) to simulate one year of clinical service. Surface roughness was measured via profilometry, and fracture resistance was assessed using a universal testing machine. Composite resin crowns exhibited lower surface roughness and lower fracture resistance than subtractively manufactured crowns. No significant difference in fracture resistance was found between materials at 1.0 mm (p > 0.05). However, at 1.5 and 2.0 mm, hybrid ceramic network crowns showed significantly higher resistance (p < 0.01). It was concluded that, within the limitations of this 1-year simulated study, both material-method combinations met the biological threshold for surface roughness. Regarding fracture resistance, composite resins and hybrid ceramics satisfied clinical requirements for molar bite forces only at thicknesses of 1.5 mm and above. 1.0 mm thickness may pose a risk under high occlusal loads.

This study aims to improve our understanding of how ageing affects the performance of asphalt mixtures used in pavements, focusing on two commonly applied binders: conventional Petroleum Asphalt Cement (PAC 50/70) and Polymer Modified Asphalt (PMA 55/75). Considering the tropical climate in Brazil, where temperature and moisture both play a crucial role in pavement durability, four ageing conditions were simulated: no ageing, short-term thermal ageing, long-term thermal ageing, and long-term thermal ageing combined with moisture exposure. The results indicate that ageing increases binder stiffness and improves resistance to permanent deformation, especially in polymer-modified mixtures. However, exposure to moisture reduces this resistance, primarily affecting mixtures with conventional binders as a result of adhesive failure. Statistical analysis confirms that there are significant differences in susceptibility to ageing between the two binder types. Overall, the polymer modification enhances the mixture is resilience against combined thermal and moisture ageing. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating realistic ageing scenarios and including moisture effects in laboratory evaluations to better predict the performance of pavements in tropical regions.

Thermal aging treatment of starch-based straws: The role of temperature-time effects on structure and functional performance.

We show how to adapt and improve the stochastic simulation algorithm (SSA), also known as the Lanore-Gillespie algorithm, to exactly and efficiently simulate a large, fully connected network of chemical reactions. By combining a low-rank decomposition of an upper bound of the propensity matrix with rejection sampling, we are able to significantly reduce the time and memory costs of manipulating the reactions' priority queues. The resulting algorithms exhibit logarithmic time and linear space complexity in the number of involved chemical species, outperforming the original SSA and subsequent stochastic methods on a benchmarking model. As a physical application, we simulate the time evolution of solute precipitation in a FeCu1.34% alloy under thermal aging. The substantial speed-up and significantly reduced memory consumption enable us to reach physical times and system sizes that were unattainable with previously employed deterministic and stochastic methods. The temporal evolution of the simulated sizes and number densities of Cu precipitates also matches very well with small-angle neutron scattering experiments.

The influence of Al and Y contents on tensile properties of 18Ni–14Cr-(2.5–3.5)al-based stainless steels under thermal aging

Improved thermal oxidative aging resistance of silicone rubber via incorporation with Fe-MOFs

Corrosion fatigue crack initiation mechanism and life prediction model of 316LN considering thermal aging effect in simulated PWR water environment

Plasma polymerized hexamethyldisilazane thin films for enhanced corrosion resistance and thermal aging stability on titanium and stainless-steel interfaces

Automating thermal ageing and tensile tests for single lap joints

Effect of thermal aging on corrosion fatigue in high temperature water for Z3CN20.09M stainless steel based on APT study

High temperature performance of polyimide under accelerated thermal aging: linking chemical modifications to electrical properties

Effect of thermal aging on the mechanical properties of oxide/oxide composites manufactured by a prepreg technique

Thermal aging of conductive and dielectric inks for flexible printed electronics: Toward reliable strain gauge application

Spinel ferrites offer a versatile platform for high-temperature CO2 conversion, yet simultaneously achieving strong adsorption/activation and long-cycle thermal stability remains challenging. Here, we tailor the defect chemistry and microstructure of NiFe2O4 through low-level A/B-site modification by partially substituting Ni with Mg (Ni0.96Mg0.04Fe2O4). The catalyst was synthesized by Mg doping and characterized comprehensively by ICP, XRD, SEM and CO2-TPD, followed by evaluation of CO2 adsorption and thermal decomposition activity under cyclic operation. Mg incorporation suppresses grain coarsening, refines crystallites, increases accessible surface area and reduces particle size, thereby improving resistance to thermal aging. The enriched oxygen-vacancy population enhances oxygen storage and strengthens CO2 adsorption, which translates into higher catalytic utilization of active sites. Under repeated CO2 decomposition cycles, the Mg-modified ferrite shows markedly improved stability and service life, achieving a carbon deposition of 19.62%. The combined evidence indicates that Mg substitution stabilizes the spinel lattice against sintering while promoting vacancy-assisted CO2 activation, providing a simple and cost-effective compositional lever to balance activity and durability for high-temperature CO2-to-carbon conversion.

ABSTRACT This study investigates scalable methodologies for incorporating graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) into styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR) latex, comparing powder form (GNP) and masterbatch (MB), with and without dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) surfactant. The formulations (0.5% w/w GNP or MB; DTAB in a 1:1 ratio) adhere to the standards outlined in ASTM D3185‐09. The curing process involves mechanical agitation, coagulation, drying, milling, and vulcanization at 160°C. The incorporation of DTAB into MB results in a 78% reduction in the optimum vulcanization time ( t 90 ) compared to the control (CSBR) and an approximate 78% increase in the maximum torque ( M H ). The hardness of CSBR/MB/DTAB increased by 5.5% compared to CSBR, and the permanent deformation decreased by 28%. The tensile strength of CSBR/MB increased by 74% in comparison with CSBR, while CSBR/GNP/DTAB demonstrated an increase of 50%. The thermal conductivity of CSBR/GNP exceeds that of CSBR by 15.2%. Subsequent to thermal aging, CSBR/GNP/DTAB demonstrates enhanced resistance: The data demonstrate a 54.5% increase at 7 days and a 45.4% increase at 14 days in comparison to CSBR. It can be concluded that the combination of masterbatch and DTAB surfactant optimizes GNP dispersion in SBR, making industrial processes without ultrasound viable.

Wide-bandgap inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted significant interest owing to their excellent stability feature and unique compatibility with tandem device architectures. However, two major challenges remain: the inhomogeneity of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and the insufficient passivation of buried interface defects. In this study, we introduce polyhexamethylene guanidine hydrochloride (PHMG) as an additive to 4-(7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole-7-yl) phosphonic acid (4PADCB) SAMs, wherein guanidyl groups in PHMG establish electrostatic-coordination synergy with 4PADCB and perovskite species, respectively. The electrostatic interaction suppresses SAM aggregation, reduces interfacial defects, and optimizes energy-level alignment at the SAM/perovskite interface, while the coordination effect promotes perovskite crystallization, enlarges grains, reduces defect densities, and relaxes interface stress. Consequently, the optimized 1.68eV-bandgap PSC delivers a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.62%, representing the highest value reported to date, with over 95% efficiency retention after 1300h of thermal aging at 85°C in N2. Furthermore, these PSCs are integrated into perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, achieving a record PCE of 32.49% for a laminated tandem device and the superior values of 32.25% (with an active area of 1 cm2) and 29.34% (with an active area of 20 cm2) for monolithic tandem devices.

Objective: Resin nanoceramic dental restorations may need repair. This study evaluates the microshear bond strength of two composite resins applied at two temperatures to repair two resin nanoceramic materials. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six specimens were sliced from Lava Ultimate and CeraSmart resin nanoceramic blocks and subjected to thermal aging. Following surface roughness measurements, specimens were divided into eight subgroups (n=12) based on the repair material and application temperature. Resin nanoceramic specimens were repaired using a Teflon mold with RubyComp P or RubyCompNano composite resins at 23°C or 50°C. All specimens were subjected to a microshear bond test at a 0.5 mm/min crosshead speed until failure. Failure types were classified at 5X magnification. Statistical analysis of microshear bond strength test results was performed by a three-way ANOVA test, followed by post hoc Tukey’s pairwise comparisons (α=0.05). The relationship between failure modes and resin nanoceramic, composite resin, or preheating was analyzed with a chi-square test. Results: Surface roughness of resin nanoceramics was not statistically different (p>0.05). The resin nanoceramic type and preheating of repair materials had a significant effect on microshear bond strength (p=0.006, p

The 2024 aluminum alloy is widely used in ski manufacturing due to its high strength, good processability, and fatigue performance. However, its corrosion resistance in snowy environments remains a challenge. To address this, the present work investigates how thermal aging parameters influence the alloy's microstructure, mechanical properties, and electrical conductivity, aiming to optimize its heat treatment for ski applications. The results show that the comprehensive mechanical properties of the alloy are the best when the aging temperature is 190 °C and the thermal aging time is 10 hours. The tensile strength is 451 MPa, the yield strength is 339 MPa, the hardness is 81.3 HRB, and the conductivity is increased to 35.3 % IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard). Microstructure analysis supported by quantitative measurements shows that fine S phase (0.2–0.4) μm and θ phase are uniformly precipitated in the alloy matrix, with the highest number density and the best microstructure uniformity. These findings provide experimental basis for the optimization of heat treatment process of 2024 aluminum alloy for skis, which helps to reduce the dependence on surface protection process and improve the comprehensive performance and service life of skis.