Ultra-high Temperature Research Articles

Decomposition behavior of supercritical ethylene under ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure

The gas-phase raw materials in many industrial scenarios currently exist in the reactor in a supercritical state. Unlike gas phase molecules, the supercritical molecules usually exhibited dynamic motion patterns in the system, which made them more susceptible to decomposition. Previous researches mainly focused on low-temperature and low-pressure systems, and few research on decomposition behavior of supercritical molecules under ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure were studied. This study focused on the decomposition behavior of supercritical ethylene under ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure, the effect of triggering conditions on supercritical ethylene decomposition was investigated. In addition, the temperature and pressure change curves during ethylene decomposition were analyzed to obtain evolution time nodes to determine energy accumulation in supercritical states. Moreover, the gas product distribution and derived explosive carbon were characterized for better evaluating the consequences of supercritical ethylene decomposition. This article aimed to provide theoretical basis and data guidance for energy utilization and conversion in ethylene supercritical systems.

Determination of in-vitro bioaccessibility of vitamin B1 in baby biscuits prepared with or without UHT cow's milk

Since thiamine is a vitamin that is not stored in the body, it must be taken daily. Especially in infants, its intake is essential for infant development, and it is a crucial factor in ensuring infants receive adequate nutrition to calculate the bioavailability of thiamine, especially when switching to follow-up milk. For this purpose, this study investigates the bioaccessibility of thiamine in baby biscuits and follow-on milk. Thiamine levels were analyzed using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography. At gastric pH 1.5, baby biscuits exhibited an average thiamine bioaccessibility of 43 % without Ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk and 107 % with added UHT milk. At pH 4, thiamine bioaccessibility for biscuits was 96 % without UHT milk and 104 % with UHT milk. Follow-on milk bioaccessibility was 47 % at pH 1.5 and increased to 80 % at pH 4. The study results that bioaccessibility can vary due to factors like dietary fiber content, manufacturing temperature, polysaccharides, peptides, and gastric pH. Notably, the addition of UHT milk to baby biscuits enhanced thiamin bioaccessibility. Understanding these nuances is crucial for formulating infant nutrition that meets thiamine requirements. The findings emphasize the need for tailored nutritional strategies, considering diverse factors influencing thiamine bioavailability in infant products.

High-temperature oxidation and ablation behavior of (Zr1/3Hf1/3Ti1/3)C ceramic

With the increasing requirements on thermal protection systems of aerospace aircraft, multi-component ultra-high temperature ceramics (MC-UHTCs) are emerging and considered to be candidate materials. In this work, (Zr1/3Hf1/3Ti1/3)C ceramics were prepared by hot pressed sintering, and the behaviors from oxidation to ablation of the ceramics over a wide temperature range was systematically investigated for the first time. The oxidation rate is controlled by oxygen diffusion at initial stage with high activation energy and is slower at lower oxygen partial pressure. The intermediate layer (Zr,Hf,Ti)CxOy, along with the dense oxide layer formed through preferential oxidation, plays a crucial role in hindering oxygen diffusion. Diffusion of Zr, Hf, and Ti elements during oxidation results in Ti enrichment on the ablation surface, enhancing ablation protection. However, high temperatures and prolonged ablation times cause Ti-rich oxides dissipation and significant evaporation of TiO, resulting a porous surface, compromising ablation protection efficacy.

Radio frequency‐assisted zirconium carbide matrix deposition for continuous fiber‐reinforced ultra high temperature ceramic matrix composites

AbstractZirconium carbide (ZrC) is considered to be a potential candidate for ultra high temperature applications due to its high melting point, good chemical inertness, and ablation resistance, but the monolithic form suffers from low fracture toughness and hence poor thermal shock resistance. Reinforcing it using continuous carbon fibers (Cf) to create an ultra high temperature ceramic matrix composite is an obvious solution, however densifying ZrC requires the use of very high temperatures combined with significant pressure, such as obtained by using hot pressing or spark plasma sintering, which risks damaging fibers. In the present work, radio frequency‐assisted chemical vapor infiltration (RF‐CVI) has been investigated with a view to forming Cf/ZrC composites. These initial experiments revealed the ability to deposit pure, nano‐grained, and near stoichiometric ZrC with deposition occurring preferentially from the center of the sample due to the nature of the inverse temperature profile developed. The deposited ZrC grains were in the range of 4–9 nm in size and had a lattice parameter of 0.4750 nm. The work also showed that the use of RF‐CVI enabled the minimization of early pore sealing, a common problem for conventional CVI.

Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis of functional changes of goat milk whey proteins subject to heat treatments of ultra-high-temperature and the common low-temperature

This work investigated the functional changes in whey proteins obtained from goat milk subject to various temperature treatments. Ultra-high temperature instantaneous sterilization (UHTIS) caused less damage than the common low-temperature, whereas spray-drying treatment had the opposite effect. A total of 426 proteins were identified in UHTIS and control treatment groups, including 386 common proteins and 16 and 14 unique proteins. The UHTIS treatment upregulated 55 whey proteins while down-regulated 98. The UHTIS-treated whey proteins may upregulate three metabolic pathways but downregulate one. Overall, UHTIS only slightly impacted the composition and functions of whey proteins from goat milk compared to the common low-temperature treatments.

Use of distinct projective techniques in investigating participants' perception of a clean label dairy product: A study on the presence of additives/stabilizers in Ultra high temperature processing milk's label in Brazil

AbstractUsing an online questionnaire, the perception of additives/stabilizers in ultra‐high temperature (UHT) milk was investigated using different projective techniques. Clustering data on the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) identified two groups of participants, Moderates and Judicious, with the latter assigning significantly higher agreement scores for all FCQ items. In the Word Association task, clean label UHT milk was more associated with “Nutrients and Constituents” by the Moderates and less by the Judicious, suggesting that for part of the interviewed participants, the absence of stabilizers increases the general quality of the product. In the Product Personality Profiling task, the same product was related to “young people” and a “balanced diet” by the Moderates. At the same time, the Judicious was designed for a stereotype of healthy living. Finally, the methodologies used provide valuable insights into the dairy sector, holistically highlighting the nuances in consumer preferences and expectations, offering a significant strategic opportunity for developing and promoting new clean‐label products in the segment.Practical ApplicationInvestigating consumer perceptions regarding the absence of additives offers valuable insights for marketing strategies and product development aimed at different consumer market segments, especially the dairy sector, and contributes to consumer psychology and behavioral research. At the same time, the food industry can use these findings to improve attribute communication, build consumer confidence, and adapt products to identified preferences, reflecting a practical intersection between academia and the industry.

A simple recipe for designing multicomponent ultra-high temperature ceramic classes by using structure maps coupled with machine learning

Successful synthesis of novel high entropy ceramic (HEC) for ultra-high temperature application classes, namely, borides, carbides, and nitrides, has been experiencing a bottleneck in having a suitable design and successful synthesis strategy. Producing high-entropy ultra-high-temperature ceramics from their oxides offers a major processing benefit, while employing a design approach using machine learning enhances the efficiency of the formation of single-phase HECs. In this regard, we propose a generalized strategy to generate a semi-synthetic database for each of these classes using literature data and atomic environment mapping-based structure plots, which can further be used to build machine learning models. The imbalance of the dataset was addressed using adaptive synthetic sampling and the edited nearest neighbors technique. The trained models are able to accurately predict over 90% of the single-phase chemistry for each of the classes. Furthermore, a few compositions representing these classes were successfully synthesized from the corresponding oxide mixture to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Characterization of emetic Bacillus cereus biofilm formation and cereulide production in biofilm

Bacillus cereus is a well-known foodborne pathogen that can cause human diseases, including vomiting caused by emetic toxin, cereulide, requiring 105-108 cells per gram to cause the disease. The bacterial cells may be eliminated during processing, but cereulide can survive in most processing techniques due to its resistance to high temperatures, extreme pH and proteolytic enzymes. Herein, we reported dynamic processes of biofilm formation of four different types and cereulide production within the biofilm. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images revealed that biofilms of the four different types reach each stage at different time points. Among the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) components of the four biofilms formed by the emetic B. cereus F4810/72 strain, proteins account for the majority. In addition, there are significant differences (p < 0.05) in the EPS components at the same stage among biofilms of different types. The time point at which cereulide was first detected in the four types of biofilms was 24 h. In the biofilm of B. cereus formed in ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk, the first peak of cereulide appeared at 72 h. The cereulide content of the biofilms formed in BHI was mostly higher than that of the biofilms formed in UHT milk. This study contributes to a better understanding of food safety issues in the industry caused by biofilm and cereulide toxin produced by B. cereus.

In-situ formation and ablation mechanism of dense and multilayered ZrB2-ZrSi2-MoSi2 ultra-high temperature ceramic composite coating on Ta-W alloy under plasma blame beyond 2000 ℃

A dense and three-layered ZrB2-ZrSi2-MoSi2 composite coating with continuous interlayer interfaces and a thickness of ∼270 μm was in-situ prepared on Ta-10 W alloy by plasma spraying and pack cementation. Subjected to plasma ablation at 9.8 MW/m² for 1000 seconds, the coating with a mass ablation rate of 0.0002 mg/s undergoes oxidation to form a skeleton-structured ZrO2 and liquid self-sealing SiO2. During the ablation, the over-diffused silicon top layer of the coating with high silicon content and uniform phase distribution can produce relatively adequate SiO2 to withstand the consumption for up to 1000 seconds, yielding excellent ablation resistance above 2000 ℃.

Ultra-high temperature brazing of C/C using a simplified FeNiCrCu high-entropy alloy as filler

To increase remelting temperature of C/C brazed joint, a simplified FeNiCrCu high-entropy alloy (HEA) filler was designed in high-temperature brazing (HTB). The joint formation mechanism and fracture behavior were studied. The eutectic reaction of FeNiCrCu HEA with C/C could not occur, helping increase joint remelting temperature over HEA melting point (1334 °C). For the recommended parameter 1350 °C-2 min, dissolution of C/C occurred well, and no defect was observed both at interface and within bond seam. The maximum shear strength was 24.2 MPa due to the high strength in-situ (Cr,Fe)3C2 reinforced the high plastic Cu-Ni-Fe(S.S.) matrix and intimate wavy interface. Cr existed only in M3C2 in bond seam, reducing both carbon content and CTE of bond seam. For higher temperature and longer time, excessive dissolved carbon content resulted in the presence of large solidified carbon with defect at interface, joint shear strength decreased dramatically. These results provide a unique braze system for brazing carbon-based materials.

Novel high-entropy ultra-high temperature ceramics with enhanced ablation resistance

Novel high-entropy ultra-high temperature ceramics with enhanced ablation resistance

Realization of ultra-high temperature stability and excellent electrical properties in LTO-based ceramics via A/B-site co-doing

La2Ti2O7 (LTO) ceramics, ideal for ultra-high temperature applications with a Curie temperature near 1460 °C, were previously limited by a low piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of 1.5 pC/N. In this work, the incorporation of Bi3+ and V5+ dopants have been employed to augment the piezoelectric properties of LTO. An enhanced d33 ∼ 4.0 pC/N is achieved in La1.91Bi0.09Ti1.97V0.03O7 (LBTV9) ceramics, while maintaining an ultra-high Curie temperature of 1437 °C. This improvement is attributed to local heterogeneity in the lattice structure induced by the doping. LBTV9 ceramics also exhibit excellent high-temperature stability and insulation properties, maintaining a d33 at 4.0 pC/N after annealing at 1000 °C for 48 h and stabilizing at 4.2 pC/N across temperatures from 200 °C to 1600 °C, with a DC resistivity of 1.7 × 106 Ω·cm at 1000 °C. These enhancements make LBTV9 ceramics suitable for extreme condition applications, thus unlocking new possibilities for their use in ultra-high temperature piezoelectric devices.

Exploration of Novel Plasmin Inhibitor from β-Lactoglobulin for Enhancing the Storage Stability of UHT Milk.

Plasmin-induced protein hydrolysis significantly compromises the stability of ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) milk. β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) was observed to inhibit plasmin activity, suggesting that there were active sites as plasmin inhibitors in β-Lg. Herein, plasmin inhibitory peptides were explored from β-Lg using experimental and computational techniques. The results revealed that increased denaturation of β-Lg enhanced its affinity for plasmin, leading to a stronger inhibition of plasmin activity. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that electrostatic and van der Waals forces were the primary binding forces in the β-Lg/plasmin complex. Denatured β-Lg increased hydrogen bonding and reduced the binding energy with plasmin. The sites of plasmin bound to β-Lg were His624, Asp667, and Ser762. Four plasmin inhibitory peptides, QTMKGLDI, EKTKIPAV, TDYKKYLL, and CLVRTPEV, were identified from β-Lg based on binding sites. These peptides effectively inhibited plasmin activity and enhanced the UHT milk stability. This study provided new insights into the development of novel plasmin inhibitors to improve the stability of UHT milk.

Trifluorovinyl-ether (TFVE) substituted side-chain polynorbornene for preparing crosslinked polymer with high performance

Characteristics and properties of polynorbornene can be regulated through side-chain engineering. In this contribution, a linear polynorbornene (PNI-TFVE) containing trifluorovinyl-ether (TFVE) side groups was synthesized via ring-opening metathesis polymerization. This linear polynorbornene was soluble in common organic solvents and showed good film-forming ability. Upon thermal post-polymerization, this linear PNI-TFVE can be easily transformed into crosslinked polynorbornene (PNI-PFCB) with perfluorocyclobutyl linkers. The resulted PNI-PFCB exhibited outstanding thermal stability with ultra-high glass transition temperature above 350 °C and a 5 % weight loss temperature of 479 °C. Due to the high crosslinking density and high fluorine content of PFCB, crosslinked PNI-PFCB also exhibited low thermal expansion of 73 ppm °C−1, as well as favourable storage modulus and hydrophobicity.

Transfer learning enables the rapid design of single crystal superalloys with superior creep resistances at ultrahigh temperature

Accelerating the design of Ni-based single crystal (SX) superalloys with superior creep resistance at ultrahigh temperatures is a desirable goal but extremely challenging task. In the present work, a deep transfer learning neural network with physical constraints for creep rupture life prediction at ultrahigh temperatures is constructed. Transfer learning enables deep learning model breaks through the generalization performance barrier in the extrapolation space of ultrahigh temperature creep properties in the case of a very small dataset, which is the key to achieving the above design goal. Transfer learning is demonstrated to be effective in utilizing the prior compositional sensitivities information contained in the pre-trained model, and motivates the fine-tuned model to capture the particular relationship between composition and creep rupture life at ultrahigh temperature. Aiming to find advanced SX superalloys applied at 1200 °C, the proposed transfer learning-based model guides us to design a superalloy with a verified creep rupture life of ~170 h at 80 MPa, which exceeds the state-of-art value by 30%. The improved γ/γ′ interface strengthening, which is effectively regulated by the Mo/Ta ratio to form γ′ rafting with longer, flatter interfaces and achieve stronger interfacial bonding, is revealed as the dominant mechanism behind combining experiments and first-principles calculations. Moreover, the excellent extrapolation ability of the proposed model is further confirmed to enhance the efficiency of active learning by reducing its dependence on the initial dataset size. This study provides a pioneering AI-driven approach for the rapid development of Ni-based SX superalloys applied in advanced aero-engine blades.

Continental subduction and exhumation of the lower crust in a hot orogen: Insights from high-pressure (ultra) high-temperature granulite in the Pouso Alto Nappe, Southeast Brazil

The Pouso Alto Nappe (PAN) is part of the Southern Brasília Orogen (SBO) hinterland and primarily comprises K-feldspar + garnet + kyanite + rutile-bearing paragneiss, interpreted as a residual high-pressure (HP) granulite. The PAN granulite was studied by combining detailed microstructural and petrographic descriptions with monazite petrochronology, thermodynamic modeling, and trace element thermometry. The P–T–t trajectory of the PAN granulite reveals that it experienced HP, and possibly ultrahigh temperature (UHT), metamorphic conditions during the SBO evolution. The prograde subsolidus metamorphic conditions occurred between ca. 670 and 620 Ma. Subsequently, the granulite underwent water-undersaturated partial melting during heating and burial, reaching peak conditions of ≥1000 °C and 18–19 kbar at a maximum age of ca. 620 Ma. The proposed prograde path indicates that the granulite was involved in the continental subduction channel, reaching depths of ca. 70 km, corresponding to the interface between the lower crust and lithospheric mantle in a double-thickened crust. The granulite facies metamorphic conditions would have been attained primarily through the accumulation of heat production elements and mantle heat flow. Decompression and cooling of the melt-weakened rocks commenced after the delamination of denser material of lithosphere. Subsequently, the previously melt-weakened granulite initiates the in-sequence ductile flow, driven by gravitational force exerted by the weight of the orogen. The PAN granulite likely records the transition from a wedge-shaped orogenic belt to an orogenic plateau during continental collision development.

Pushing Trap-Controlled Persistent Luminescence Materials toward Multi-Responsive Smart Platforms: Recent Advances, Mechanism, and Frontier Applications.

Smart stimuli-responsive persistent luminescence materials, combining the various advantages and frontier applications prospects, have gained booming progress in recent years. The trap-controlled property and energy storage capability to respond to external multi-stimulations through diverse luminescence pathways make them attractive in emerging multi-responsive smart platforms. This review aims at the recent advances in trap-controlled luminescence materials for advanced multi-stimuli-responsive smart platforms. The design principles, luminescence mechanisms, and representative stimulations, i.e., thermo-, photo-, mechano-, and X-rays responsiveness, are comprehensively summarized. Various emerging multi-responsive hybrid systems containing trap-controlled luminescence materials are highlighted. Specifically, temperature dependent trapping and de-trapping performance is discussed, from extreme-low temperature to ultra-high temperature conditions. Emerging applications and future perspectives are briefly presented. It is hoped that this review would provide new insights and guidelines for the rational design and performance manipulation of multi-responsive materials for advanced smart platforms.

Simultaneous thermal camouflage and radiative cooling for ultrahigh-temperature objects using inversely designed hierarchical metamaterial

Abstract Sophisticated infrared detection technology, operating through atmospheric transmission windows (usually between 3 and 5 μm and 8–13 μm), can detect an object by capturing its emitted thermal radiation, posing a threat to the survival of targeted objects. As per Wien’s displacement law, the shift of peak wavelength towards shorter wavelengths as blackbody temperature rises, underscores the significance of the 3–5 μm range for ultra-high temperature objects (e.g., at 400 °C), emphasizing the crucial need to control this radiation for the objects’ viability. Additionally, effective heat management is essential for ensuring the consistent operation of these ultrahot entities. In this study, based on a database with high-temperature resist materials, we introduced a material-informatics-based framework aimed at achieving the inverse design of simultaneous thermal camouflage (low emittance in the 3–5 μm range) and radiative cooling (high emittance in the non-atmospheric window 5–8 μm range) tailored for ultrahigh-temperature objects. Utilizing the transfer matrix method to calculate spectral properties and employing the particle swarm optimization algorithm, two optimized multilayer structures with desired spectral characteristics are obtained. The resulted structures demonstrate effective infrared camouflage at temperatures up to 250 °C and 500 °C, achieving reductions of 86.7 % and 63.7 % in the infrared signal, respectively. At equivalent heating power densities applied to the structure and aluminum, structure 1 demonstrates a temperature reduction of 29.4 °C at 0.75 W/cm2, while structure 2 attains a temperature reduction of 57.5 °C at 1.50 W/cm2 compared to aluminum, showcasing enhanced radiative cooling effects. This approach paves the way for attenuating infrared signals from ultrahigh-temperature objects and effectively managing their thermal conditions.

BIPHASIC THERMAL DEATH TIME CURVES AT HIGH AND ULTRAHIGH TEMPERATURES OF BACILLUS ‎SUBTILIS HU 1 SPORES

Spores of Bacillus subtilis HU1 suspended in whole milk and /or distilled water subjected to high and ultrahigh temperatures ranging from 85 to 14°C. Resulting survivor and thermal death time (TDT) curves were shown to be non-linear for all temperatures investigated; convex survivor curves at most heating temperatures were observed. TDT curves observed in all studies were concave and biphasic. The z-value using milk as the menstruum were 57°C for heating temperatures of 121-140°C, and 20°C, for heating temperatures of 110-121°C. Distilled water as the menstruum yielded z-values of 58°C and 16°C for heating temperatures of 120-140°C and 110-121°C respectively.

Enhancing Ablation Resistance of TaB2-Based Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics by Mixing Fine TaC Particles and Dispersed Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

Ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs) have been widely applied in many fields. In order to enhance the comprehensive properties of TaB2-based UHTCs, the first collaborative use of fine TaC particles and dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was employed via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1700 °C. The derived UHTCs exhibited an average grain size of 1.3 μm, a relative density of 98.6%, an elastic modulus of 386.3 GPa, and a nano hardness of 21.7 GPa, leading to a greatly improved oxidation resistance with a lower linear ablation rate at -3.3 × 10-2 μm/s, and a markedly reinforced ablation resistance with mass ablation rate of -1.3 × 10-3 mg/(s·cm2). The enhanced ablation resistance was attributable to the physical pinning effect, sealing effect and self-healing effect. Thus, this study provides a potential strategy for preparation of UHTCs with bettered ablation resistance and physical properties.