Thick Pieces Research Articles

Application of thin slice technology of loose cuttings sample in early stage of experimental geology

Abstract Thin section of rock is a highly technical work in the laboratory, and its application in logging site and rock identification is helpful to solve geological problems quickly in the process of exploration drilling. The cuttings samples cover a variety of lithologies, including sandstone and volcanic rocks with significant diagenetic differences. Due to the special properties of the cuttings, such as loose, fear of water, moisture absorption, brittleness, large hardness differences, inconsistent particle size, and not easy to penetrate glue, the production process has been challenged. In the temperature and humid environment, the cuttings are very susceptible to delixing, especially in the cuttings with cleavage development, more cracks and poor diagenesis. After the sticking sheet is affected by vibration during rough grinding, it is easy to produce warping edge and warping Angle, which leads to the destruction of the original structure of the mineral. The previous production process cycle is long, the operation is relatively not convenient, especially in the grinding into the international standard 0.03mm thick pieces there are certain difficulties. Therefore, it is very important to improve and optimize the rock wafer technology. This will help improve the efficiency of the production of cuttings and reduce the likelihood of damage to mineral structures, which in turn can be used more effectively in exploration drilling sites and rock identification, providing faster and more accurate support for solving geological problems. The results of this study have important significance for improving the efficiency and convenience of the production process and improving the application prospect of the rock sheet technology.

Features of Flatness Control of Thick Piece Steel

Features of Flatness Control of Thick Piece Steel

Diffusion behavior of heavy rare-earths for grain boundary engineering of sintered Nd-Fe-B-based permanent magnets produced by the 2-powder method

The 2-powder method (2PM) for the production of high-performance Nd2Fe14B-based sintered magnets consists of blending a coarser heavy rare-earth (HRE) free main phase powder (here D50 = 5.3 µm) and a finer HRE-containing anisotropy powder (here D50 = 2.6 µm) of Dy content of 10 wt.%. The development of the core-shell structure was observed for different sintering conditions, namely at 1090 °C for 5, 10, 30, 60, and 120 min. The diffusion behavior of the 2PM was investigated and the diffusion coefficient for the heavy rare-earth element dysprosium of D = (1.83 ± 0.54) x 10−11 cm2/s was determined. Magnets containing 0, 1, 2, and 3 wt.% Dy were produced by the 2PM and magnetic properties were analyzed in detail. A constant coercivity gain of around 120 kA/m per added Dy contents was reached. Dy was obtained without a significant decrease in remanence. Finally, the 2PM was compared with the conventional powder metallurgical production process. The enormous potential for decreasing the amount of critical HREs in Nd-Fe-B–based sintered magnets is demonstrated, especially in large volume magnets as 2PM is not restricted to 5 mm thick pieces, but can be applied to large scale.

An End-to-End Dual ASIC OFDM Transceiver for Ultrasound In-Body Communication.

Implanted medical devices need a reliable, secure and low-energy wireless communication link. Ultrasound (US) wave propagation is promising over other techniques due to its lower body attenuation, inherent security and well-studied physiological impact. While US communication systems have been proposed, they either neglect realistic channel conditions or fail to be integrated into small-scale, energy-scarce systems. Therefore, this work proposes a custom, hardware efficient OFDM modem optimized for the diverse needs of ultrasound in-body communication channels. This custom OFDM modem is implemented in an end-to-end dual ASIC transceiver: a 180nm BCD analog front end and a digital baseband chip in 65nm CMOS technology. Furthermore, the ASIC solution provides tuning knobs to increase the analog dynamic range, to update the OFDM parameters and to fully reprogram the baseband processing, necessary to adjust for the channel variability. Ex-vivo communication experiments on a 14cm thick piece of beef achieve 470kbps with BER 3e-4, while consuming 56nJ/bit and 10.9nJ/bit Tx/Rx.

Atomically Thick Barium Borate for Entangled Multiphoton Generators and Ultraviolet Laser Sources

The upsurge of entangled multiphoton generators and ultraviolet laser sources requires innovative nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Some atomically thick materials can potentially serve that purpose, but the candidates are few, while the research procedure is not clear. Here, we designed an atomically thick barium borate (BBO) model with a straightforward procedure by exploiting a feature of the corresponding bulk BBO. Specifically, we preserved the planar triangular functional group and sliced the bulk model into atomically thick pieces. As a result, an atomically thick BBO model was brought up to fulfill the requirements of entangled multiphoton generators and ultraviolet laser sources. In general, the present-day requirements of cutting edge laser sources can be met by developing innovative NLO materials as reduced-dimensional derivatives from common NLO bulks.

Windblown

Windblown Jim Daniels (bio) He made us each a flag. We kept them there, rolled up and leaned up into a corner, and when our grandfather unlocked the door, my brothers and I each grabbed ours and charged outside, unfurling our cramped voices from the long drive in the backseat of whatever fixer-upper he’d recently fixed up. The dark, musty cottage was no bigger than the floor of the garage my grandfather had repaired cars in all his life. He’d never finished that cottage, and the silver insulation between the studs flashed at us day and night, shrinking us down, distorting us like funhouse mirrors. Someone got the black-and-yellow checkered flag, someone got the green canvas flag, and someone got the off-white thick starchy piece of burlap. He nailed them each to poles—a random piece of floorboard molding for the checkered flag, a dowl rod for the green, and for the white one, which we never associated with weakness or surrender, a piece of bamboo. The cottage wasn’t on Lake Huron. A quarter mile inland from Lake Huron down a dirt road they oiled in the summer to keep the dust down, past the nicer cottages close to the water. But we were close enough to feel the breeze up from the small, rocky beach we grew to call Ankle Beach behind his back as he lost his hearing and we lost interest. Ankle Beach, because he could not swim and thus could not let us swim. Even though by then we could swim. We were only allowed to stick our toes in and numb them. We could skip stones till our arms were sore. We could sit and study the horizon for Great Lakes freighters passing silently and dignified in the distance. I believe the freighters were mirages for the kind of life my grandfather once imagined. We didn’t know then. We loved him. He had made us flags. He had wanted to see the world, or at least beyond Canada. [End Page 3] ________ I have begun to hate the American flag. A lot of people will hate me for saying that. I don’t like saying I hate anything, so it pains me to say this. The American flag has now become a symbol for fascism. Oh, don’t go overboard, somebody might say. Or, throw him overboard, someone else might say. In either case, I might end up in the water, though, despite not being able to wade out from Ankle Beach, I still learned to swim. The wet lifejackets of losses hang useless on shore. ________ Since nobody changes anybody else’s minds these days—these stripes don’t bleed, right?—I won’t delve into the shark-infested political waters except to stick my toe in and say I believed in American democracy so much that I took it for granted. You can’t have too many/fly too many American flags anymore. You never know when you’ll have to stuff one in somebody’s mouth to silence them. ________ My grandfather lost two children before they were out of school, leaving my lonely father to carry the family flag. I can’t carbon-date the non-finishing of the cottage, but given the family silence, I’ve been forced to become fairly proficient with my guess-ometer. We, his only grandchildren, woke him up out of his decades-long stupor into restless sleepwalking. He never had much, and what he loved the most had been taken away from him. When he was a boy, his brother choked on a chicken bone one Sunday morning while his father was cleaning out his bar after a typical Saturday night in Belgian Detroit. I never learned where my grandfather was when this happened because I never learned this happened at all until after he was dead—my grandfather. And I never learned about my phantom aunt and uncle from him either. My father finally broke the silence when I was in college and had run into someone who’d been a friend of my dead uncle. Jack was his name. Katherine was my aunt’s name...

Measuring sound velocity based on acoustic resonance using multiple narrow band transducers

The sound velocity in a medium is closely related to its material properties, including its composition, structure, density, pressure, and temperature. Various methods have been developed to determine the sound velocity through materials. Among them, a strategy based on ultrasound resonance frequency has been most widely used due to the simplicity. However, it requires a transducer with a wide bandwidth to cover enough resonance frequencies to perform the consequent calculations. In this paper, we develop a resonance method for measuring sound velocity, using multi-frequency narrow-band transducers breaking through the limitation of transducer bandwidth on the utilization of the resonance method. We use different transducers at different center frequencies and with different bandwidth to measure the sound velocity in 100-μm and 400-μm thick steel pieces. The measurement results of different combinations are in good agreement, verifying that the use of multi-frequency narrow-band transducer combinations. Given that most therapeutic transducers have a narrow bandwidth, this method can be used during intracranial ultrasound stimulation to optimize targeting by non-invasively measuring the sound velocity in the skull, especially at thinner locations.

A study of sperm quality assessment: Morphological defect in patients with normal sperm count

Background: Sperm morphology is the major benchmark in assessment of male infertility. There are limited studies available on frequency of qualitative defects of sperm in patients with normal sperm count. Hence, the present study was done to assess the morphological defects in patients with normal sperm counts who came for infertility work up. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation of qualitative defects of sperm in patients having normal sperm counts. Materials and Methods: We have collected 70 samples with normal sperm count (≥15 million/mL). After routine sperm count and motility, Smears were fixed in ethanol and stained with Papanicolaou stain. Minimum of 200 spermatozoa were analyzed per sample. We have recorded normal sperm morphology and abnormal morphology and we have further categorized the data. Morphology was categorized as defect in head, middle piece and tail. Results: Most common morphological abnormalities detected in head region were double head (60%) followed by tapering head (42%). Most common defect observed in middle piece region was thick middle piece (57%) followed by bent neck (48%). Most frequent defect in tail region was coiled tail (14%). We have recorded 40 cases (57%) out of 70 showed multiple morphological defects. Conclusion: Qualitative defects in sperm play a key role in infertility workup. We must have to acknowledge the importance of morphological assessment of semen.

Tarkib’s Contemporary Arts Festival in Baghdad

Tarkib’s Contemporary Arts Festival in Baghdad

Identification of Interface Structure for a Topological CoS2 Single Crystal in Oxygen Evolution Reaction with High Intrinsic Reactivity.

Transition metal chalcogenides such as CoS2 have been reported as competitive catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction. It has been well confirmed that surface modification is inevitable in such a process, with the formation of different re-constructed oxide layers. However, which oxide species should be responsible for the optimized catalytic efficiencies and the detailed interface structure between the modified layer and precatalyst remain controversial. Here, a topological CoS2 single crystal with a well-defined exposed surface is used as a model catalyst, which makes the direct investigation of the interface structure possible. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy of the sample reveals the formation of a 2 nm thickness Co3O4 layer that grows epitaxially on the CoS2 surface. Thick CoO pieces are also observed and are loosely attached to the bulk crystal. The compact Co3O4 interface structure can result in the fast electron transfer from adsorbed O species to the bulk crystal compared with CoO pieces as evidenced by the electrochemical impedance measurements. This leads to the competitive apparent and intrinsic reactivity of the crystal despite the low surface geometric area. These findings are helpful for the understanding of catalytic origins of transition metal chalcogenides and the designing of high-performance catalysts with interface-phase engineering.

Electrothermal Performance of Heaters Based on Laser-Induced Graphene on Aramid Fabric.

Nanostructured heaters based on laser-induced graphene (LIG) are promising for heat generation and temperature control in a variety of applications due to their high efficiency as well as a fast, facile, and highly scalable fabrication process. While recent studies have shown that LIG can be written on a wide range of precursors, the reports on LIG-based heaters are mainly limited to polyimide film substrates. Here, we develop and characterize nanostructured heaters by direct writing of laser-induced graphene on nonuniform and structurally porous aramid woven fabric. The synthesis and writing of graphene on aramid fabric is conducted using a 10.6 μm CO2 laser. The quality of laser-induced graphene and electrical properties of the heater fabric is tuned by controlling the lasing process parameters. Produced heaters exhibit good electrothermal efficiency with steady-state temperatures up to 170 °C when subjected to an input power density of 1.5 W cm–2. In addition, the permeable texture of LIG–aramid fabric heaters allows for easy impregnation with thermosetting resins. We demonstrate the encapsulation of fabric heaters with two different types of thermosetting resins to develop both flexible and stiff composites. A flexible heater is produced by the impregnation of LIG–aramid fabric by silicone rubber. While the flexible composite heater exhibits inferior electrothermal performance compared to neat LIG–aramid fabric, it shows consistent electrothermal performance under various electrical and mechanical loading conditions. A multifunctional fiber-reinforced composite panel with integrated de-icing functionality is also manufactured using one ply of LIG–aramid fabric heater as part of the composite layup. The results of de-icing experiments show excellent de-icing capability, where a 5 mm thick piece of ice is completely melted away within 2 min using an input power of 12.8 W.

Spatial-type skeleton induced Geobacter enrichment and tailored bio-capacitance of electroactive bioanode for efficient electron transfer in microbial fuel cells

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising alternative to energy-intensive conventional wastewater technology. However, poor electron transfer efficiency, low coulombic recovery (CR), and high capital cost highly restricted its practical application. In this work, spatial electroactive biofilm is successfully developed on the carbonaceous skeleton derived from phenolic foam, which highly improved the bio-capacitance and Geobacter abundance of bioanode. Compared with carbon cloth (CC) anode, the optimal spatial electroactive biofilm (3DP_900) enriched the Geobacter abundance up to 56.8% from 17.2%, and obtained an extraordinary electroactive biomass loading of about 339 ± 63 μg cm−2 and a remarkable bio-capacitance of about 3.4 F. In general, spatial biofilm highly reduces the barriers to electron transfer (Rct) and mass transfer (Rd) in anodic substrate oxidation reaction and obtains the lowest Rct of 2.0 ± 0.2 Ω and Rd of 35 ± 3.3 Ω in 3DP_900, which also supports the highest power density at 0.347 ± 0.027 W m−2 and the highest CR at 69.2%. More importantly, due to its mature preparation technology, carbonized phenolic foam (2 cm thick pieces) reduces the capital cost of electrode preparation by three orders of magnitude from 1157.3 USD m−2 of CC to 5.2 USD m−2. Overall, this work offers an effective and scalable electrode to achieve high substrate utilization rate and energy recovery efficiency, and considers the economic cost of electrode fabrication for the further construction of pilot-scale MFCs equipment.

Peroxide-Induced Synthesis of Maleic Anhydride-Grafted Poly(butylene succinate) and Its Compatibilizing Effect on Poly(butylene succinate)/Pistachio Shell Flour Composites.

Framing the Circular Bioeconomy, the use of reactive compatibilizers was applied in order to increase the interfacial adhesion and, hence, the physical properties and applications of green composites based on biopolymers and food waste derived lignocellulosic fillers. In this study, poly(butylene succinate) grafted with maleic anhydride (PBS-g-MAH) was successfully synthetized by a reactive melt-mixing process using poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and maleic anhydride (MAH) that was induced with dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a radical initiator and based on the formation of macroradicals derived from the hydrogen abstraction of the biopolymer backbone. Then, PBS-g-MAH was used as reactive compatibilizer for PBS filled with different contents of pistachio shell flour (PSF) during melt extrusion. As confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), PBS-g-MAH acted as a bridge between the two composite phases since it was readily soluble in PBS and could successfully form new esters by reaction of its multiple MAH groups with the hydroxyl (–OH) groups present in cellulose or lignin of PSF and the end ones in PBS. The resultant compatibilized green composites were, thereafter, shaped by injection molding into 4-mm thick pieces with a wood-like color. Results showed significant increases in the mechanical and thermomechanical rigidity and hardness, meanwhile variations on the thermal stability were negligible. The enhancement observed was related to the good dispersion and the improved filler-matrix interfacial interactions achieved by PBS-g-MAH and also to the PSF nucleating effect that increased the PBS’s crystallinity. Furthermore, water uptake of the pieces progressively increased as a function of the filler content, whereas the disintegration in controlled compost soil was limited due to their large thickness.

Microwave Drying of Banana (Musa acuminata) Stalk Biomass before Conversion to Value-added Products

Banana stalk biomass can pose disposal, environmental and health challenges. Fortunately, this biomass can be converted to value-added products including biofuels, bioenergy, biosorbents, fibers and animal feeds. However, it is necessary to remove moisture from the fresh biomass by drying before storage and conversion processes. Conventional drying in open sun is slow and weather dependent, but higher heating rates and faster drying rates can be achieved in a microwave dryer. Hence, the microwave drying characteristic of banana stalk biomass was investigated. Banana stalks were sliced into 5 mm thick pieces and dried in a microwave oven at power levels of 400 – 1000 W, the stalk slices were weighed at interval until the mass remained constant. The effective moisture diffusivity, activation energy and energy required for drying were determined. The microwave drying data were also fitted to twelve thin layer drying mathematical models to describe the kinetics of the drying process. The drying time of banana stalk slices decreased with increasing microwave power. The drying occurred mainly in the falling rate period. The effective moisture diffusivities were 4.14 × 10-9 – 2.00 × 10-8 m2 s-1 at 400 – 1000 W. The activation energy was 122 W g-1 while the total and specific energies required for the microwave drying were 0.25 – 0.37 kWh and 34.8 – 51 kWh/kg, respectively. The Weibull model suitably described the microwave drying kinetics of banana stalk slices. The moisture present in fresh banana stalk waste biomass can be effectively and rapidly removed by microwave drying before conversion processes.

Nep-Endotrainer: A cost-effective home-made laparoscopic simulation tool

Introduction: Laparoscopic surgery is an established treatment modality worldwide. Opportunities to acquire this skill using expensive simulation at workplace are not always feasible due to cost, time and accessibility constraints. Nep-Endotrainer is a cost effective homemade laparoscopic simulation tool built in Nepal.
 Methods: Nep-Endotrainer was built using plastic manikins easily available in market. Nine apertures were created with a drilling machine, four on each side of umbilicus and one at the epigastric region. These apertures were covered by thick piece of rubber of vehicle tire with apertures in them. Logitech® C270 HD webcam was fixed interiorly with metal screws. The base of the manikin was fixed to a wooden board with hinge joint. Five different interchangeable training modules were assembled in 10×10 cm2 size wooden boards. The LED light was fixed interiorly near the web camera. The camera USB can be easily connected with laptops, tablets and mobile phones. We used discarded hand instruments from laparoscopic centers to reduce the cost of the endotrainer.
 Conclusion: Nep-Endotrainer is accessible to any personal budget and can be readily constructed. It allows more frequent practice at home, outside the venue and hours of surgical departments.

El “trabadillo”, el matrimonio de la cal y el yeso: Una receta olvidada

El trabadillo, la mezcla de cal y yeso, es una técnica tradicional con una larga historia que ha sido muy empleada en la construcción hasta tiempos recientes. La combinación de ambos materiales conlleva la obtención de prestaciones que no pueden aportar por separado y es por tanto una solución óptima para muy diversas aplicaciones constructivas, especialmente aquellas que requieran combinar la deformabilidad de los yesos con la resistencia de la cal y aquellas que conlleven realizar elementos de elevado grosor. Hoy, sin embargo, se trata de una técnica apenas utilizada y prácticamente olvidada y sus vestigios materiales están siendo sistemáticamente eliminados en intervenciones contemporáneas realizadas desde el desconocimiento de su valor y sus propiedades.

Analisis Variasi Slice Thickness Terhadap Informasi Anatomi Potongan Axial Pada Pemeriksaan MSCT Cervical Pada Kasus Trauma

Background: One step to create a good image is by doing slice thickness reconstruction. Slice thickness is thick slices or pieces of the object checked out. The examination procedure of MSCT in case of Cervical trauma in Radiology Installation RSUD Tugurejo Semarang using slice thickness 3 mm. This contrasts with Seeram (2016), which explained that the examination of adult MSCT Cervical Spine using slice thickness between 1-2 mm. This research aims to know the difference of anatomic information resulted by 5 slice thickness variation in MSCT Cervical Spine and to find out which slice thickness can provide optimum anatomic information.Methods: The type of this research is quantitative with an experimental approach. Data is performed by reconstructing the 5 images of MSCT cervical of trauma patients using 5 slice thickness variation which is 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm and 3 mm. The final images are evaluated by two Respondents to see the differences in anatomic information and then analyzed by using a different test (Friedman Test) from the SPSS version 24.0.Results: The results showed there is a significant difference in anatomic information on the corpus, lamina, spinous process, transverse process and fragment fracture between variations in slice thickness of 1 mm, 1.5 mm, 2 mm, 2.5 mm, and 3 mm on the MSCT Cervical examination with a significance value of 0,000 or p 0.05.Conclusion: The most optimal slice thickness to provide anatomic information on the cervical MSCT examination is 1 mm slice thickness with a mean rank value of 3.64.

Meaning, Metaphor, and Chaucer's “thikke knarre”

Abstract One of the best-known descriptions in the General Prologue is that of the Miller as a “thikke knarre.” Since the first glossary of Chaucer in Thomas Speght's 1598 Workes, knarre has been related to a Dutch word and literally defined as a stump or thick piece of wood, here with the metaphorical sense of “rugged fellow.” This sense would be unique to the word in the Middle English record, and in fact derivation from the Dutch word has difficulties with semantics, phonology, and lexicography as well as with rhetorical appropriateness. This article proposes a different derivation from a Norse word meaning “freighter,” and more broadly argues that a great deal of secondary evidence can sustain a conclusion that actually has very little primary support. Sometimes history, whether linguistic or social, repeats itself precisely because historians, perhaps in part due to the thinness of the record, cause it to do so.

Electrochemical promotion of propane oxidation at Pt/BiCuVOx-YSZ thin-film cells: Economical use of YSZ

Abstract Electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC) or Non-faradaic electrochemical modification of catalytic activity (NEMCA) is a phenomenon that may be exploited in catalytic converters to reduce the usage of precious metal catalysts. Nevertheless, the conventional structure of NEMCA cells employs a thick piece of relatively expensive solid electrolyte such as yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ). Minimising the amount of this costly material may bring EPOC closer to commercial application. NEMCA cells were fabricated with thin films of YSZ or BiCuVOx-YSZ as the electrolytes and sputtered Pt as the working catalyst electrodes. The catalytic activity for propane combustion was studied at 200, 300, 400, and 500 °C for cells with YSZ, but only at 400 °C for cells with BiCuVOx-YSZ. The effects of working electrode potentials and BiCuVOx contents were also studied. Most cells made with only YSZ could not function as electrochemical cells. Nevertheless, only one cell survived and exhibited NEMCA. On the other hand, all BiCuVOx-YSZ cells functioned properly. Electrophobic NEMCA behaviour was observed from both cell types. Addition of BiCuVOx improved sintering and resulted in films of higher conductivity. Nonetheless, diminished surface areas and suppressed faradaic efficiencies were observed. Undesirable electronic conductivity was also introduced by BiCuVOx and hence an optimum BiCuVOx content of 3.5 wt % was observed to offer the highest rate enhancement ratio, ρ, and the highest faradaic efficiency, Λ, of 5.3 and 339, respectively, at 400 °C.

Growth of Single-Layer and Multilayer Graphene on Cu/Ni Alloy Substrates

ConspectusGraphene, a one-atom-thick layer of carbon with a honeycomb lattice, has drawn great attention due to its outstanding properties and its various applications in electronic and photonic devices. Mechanical exfoliation has been used for preparing graphene flakes (from monolayer to multilayer with thick pieces also typically present), but with sizes limited typically to less than millimeters, its usefulness is limited. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been shown to be the most effective technique for the scalable preparation of graphene films with high quality and uniformity. To date, CVD growth of graphene on the most commonly used substrates (Cu and Ni foils) has been demonstrated and intensively studied. However, a survey of the existing literature and earlier work using Cu or Ni substrates for CVD growth indicates that the bilayer and multilayer graphene over a large area, particularly single crystals, have not been obtained.In this Account, we review current progress and development in the CVD growth of graphene and highlight the important challenges that need to be addressed, for example, how to achieve large single crystal graphene films with a controlled number of layers. A single-layer graphene film grown on polycrystalline Cu foil was first reported by our group, and since then various techniques have been devoted to achieving the fast growth of large-area graphene films with high quality. Commercially available Cu/Ni foils, sputtered Cu/Ni thin films, and polycrystalline Cu/Ni foils have been used for the CVD synthesis of bilayer, trilayer, and multilayer graphene. Cu/Ni alloy substrates are particularly interesting due to their greater carbon solubility than pure Cu substrates and this solubility can be finely controlled by changing the alloy composition. These substrates with controlled compositions have shown the potential for the growth of layer-tunable graphene films in addition to providing a much higher growth rate due to their stronger catalytic activity. However, the well-controlled preparation of single crystal graphene with a defined number of layers on Cu/Ni substrates is still challenging.Due to its small lattice mismatch with graphene, a single crystal Cu(111) foil has been shown to be an ideal substrate for the epitaxial growth of graphene. Our group has reported the synthesis of large-size single crystal Cu(111) foils by the contact-free annealing of commercial Cu foils, and single crystal Cu/Ni(111) alloy foils have also been obtained after the heat-treatment of Ni-coated Cu(111) foils. The use of these single crystal foils (especially the Cu/Ni alloy foils) as growth substrates has enabled the fast growth of single crystal single-layer graphene films. By increase of the Ni content, single crystal bilayer, trilayer, and even multilayer graphene films have been synthesized. In addition, we also discuss the wafer-scale growth of single-layer graphene on the single crystalline Cu/Ni(111) thin films.Recent research results on the large-scale preparation of single crystal graphene films with different numbers of layers on various types of Cu/Ni alloy substrates with different compositions are reviewed and discussed in detail. Despite the remarkable progress in this field, further challenges, such as the wafer-scale synthesis of single crystal graphene with a controlled number of layers and a deeper understanding of the growth mechanism of bilayer and multilayer graphene growth on Cu/Ni substrates, still need to be addressed.