Working Pressure Research Articles

Art healing practice program for rail worker mental health

At present, China's rail transportation industry is in a rapid development stage, and the work pressure of rail transportation workers is increasing, and mental health problems are becoming more and more prominent. This study adopts the questionnaire research method to investigate the main factors affecting the mental health of the employees of five rail transit enterprises in Guangdong Province, China and their attitudes towards art healing, and constructs a factor model to conduct a comprehensive analysis by using the SPSS software, which reveals that the work intensity, work pressure and life pressure are the main factors affecting the mental health of the rail transit employees, and that most of the rail transit employees are willing to accept the art healing and believe that art healing is a positive and effective way to solve the mental health problems. Most of the rail transit workers are willing to accept art healing and believe that art healing is a positive and effective way to solve mental health problems. When designing art healing programs, it is necessary to give full consideration to the high work intensity of rail transit workers, and in the case of fewer art healing programs in the existing rail transit industry, it is necessary to actively explore leisure and relaxing art healing programs for the workers in the rail transit industry in order to alleviate and heal the psychological problems of rail transit workers, and to assist in the healthy development of the rail transit industry. The healthy development of rail transportation industry.

Specifics of Experimental and Fem Approaches in Structural Integrity Assesment of Penstock Made of HSLA Steel

Taking into account the history of problems concerning high-strength low-alloyed (HSLA) steel used for manufacturing of penstocks (partly presented by authors in previous studies), this paper is oriented toward specifics on structural integrity assessment of construction in question. Experimental testing of parent material, i.e. HSLA steel, such as microstructure analysis, impact toughness testing and hardness measuring provide insight into characteristics of parent material properties. Considering geometry of penstock and specific requirements, finite element method (FEM), i.e. ABAQUS, was used to assess the structural integrity of penstock as a whole, specific the longitudinal welded joint under the different internal (working) pressure. It should be emphasized that a slight undermatching effect was investigated by FEM approach in this case. Focus is being put on plastic deformation investigation on aforementioned welded joint under maximum internal pressure of 120 bar.

Barriers and facilitators of the nurse providing evidence-based preoperative visit-care for transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a mixed-methods study based on an evidence application setting

BackgroundPreoperative visit-care for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) plays a crucial role in improving the quality of care and patient safety. However, preoperative care for TAVR patients is still in its early stages in China, with the care often being experience-based. The application of relevant evidence in nursing practice is necessary. Little is known regarding the facilitators and barriers to apply and compliance to the evidences about preoperative visit-care for TAVR in nursing.MethodsThe Nurse’s Compliance Checklist was used to investigate the evidence-based compliance of nurses (n = 21) who worked in the TAVR team in the evidence-based implementation setting. Meanwhile, an Evidence-Based Practice Beliefs Scale, and Influencing Factors Checklist were used to investigate all nurses (n = 66) who work in the same setting. Stakeholders (Middle and senior-level nursing administrators, frontline clinical nurses, and patients) interview was carried out to further disclose the barriers and facilitators in the process of evidence-based practice.ResultsThe results of this study showed that only 1 evidence implemented fully (100%) by nurses, 3 evidences with 0% implementation rate, and implementation rate of the other evidences were 9.5∼71.4%. The overall score of nurses’ evidence-based nursing belief level was (3.52 ± 0.82). Three domains of barriers were identified: the Context Domain included lack of nursing procedures, inadequate health education materials, insufficient training; the Practitioner Domain included insufficient attention, lack of relevant knowledge, high work pressure and uncertainty of expected results, and Patient Domain included lack of relational knowledge. Facilitating factors included leadership support, nurse’ high evidence-based nursing belief, high executive ability and enthusiasm for learning.ConclusionThe study indicated that the nurses’ compliance of evidence-based practice in preoperative visit-care for TAVR was in lower level. There were some factors influencing the application of the evidences. The study revealed potential modifiable barriers to the successful implementation of evidence-based preoperative visit-care, including a lack of preoperative visit- care routine, related knowledge and training. Leadership support and nurse training should be considered to improve nurses’ compliance with evidence-based practice.

GPs' experience of difficult decisions in patients with dementia and an acute illness.

GPs are often required to make decisions about the management of acute illness in people living with dementia. These decisions are often complex and involve multiple informants. We aimed to explore how GPs made decisions about acute illness in people with dementia using a micropolitics approach. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 13 GPs with a range of years of experience working in South Yorkshire, UK. Interviews were conducted by phone. Interviews focused on GPs' accounts to reflect their own perceptions and choices as portrayed to the interviewer. The analysis used the lens of micro-politics in the analysis and interpretation of the themes, with a focus on decisions between GP, patient, family and carers, other health and social care providers about the management of acute illness in a person with dementia. The results showed that GPs act as street-level bureaucrats while carrying out their role, using discretion during decision-making in an environment characterised by uncertainties and work pressures. In addition, GPs use the "soft power" skills of diplomacy such as negotiation, persuasion and engagement in navigating through difficult decision-making situations, while building relationships and partnerships with various actors in the health system. GPs possess and express power and influence decision-making in people living with dementia when navigating biomedical, social, economic and psychological factors. This power comes in the form of soft power (street level diplomacy) and the more formal power of street level bureaucracy.

Charge mediated nano-filtration for recovering sinapic acid from a mustard bran hydrolysate

The recovery of valuable chemicals, such as sinapic acid, from enzymatic hydrolysates is essential to enabling a sustainable biorefinery. In this study, we designed a system to recover sinapic acid produced chemo-enzymatically from waste mustard bran. The process involves sequential separation, beginning with size partitioning using ultrafiltration for enzyme removal and recovery, followed by charge-mediated size partitioning via nanofiltration to isolate sinapic acid from other extracts. Four polyethersulfone (PES) ultrafiltration membranes with molecular weight cut-offs (MWCOs) of 5000 and 10 000 Da and maximum allowable working pressures (MAWPs) of 3 and 10 bar were screened for their effectiveness in removing Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) as a model compound. Subsequently, these membranes were applied to recover the feruloyl esterase enzyme. The membrane with an MWCO of 5000 Da and an MAWP of 10 bar achieved 97.93 % enzyme recovery with a permeate flow rate of 31.4 L/h/m2 at 6 bar. Next, we evaluated the effects of zeta potential interactions on the preferential rejection of sinapic acid using various nanofiltration membranes with potentially charged surfaces, including polyimide, silicon-based thin film composite, and polypiperazine amide membranes with MWCOs ranging from 150 to 600 Da. The polypiperazine amide membrane demonstrated the highest recovery of sinapic acid, achieving 86 % recovery from a model solution and 64 % recovery from mustard bran hydrolysate. Compositional analysis of the permeate confirmed that the rejection rate (R) is influenced primarily by the pKa rather than molecular size, following the trend: sinapic acid (pKa = 4.58; 224.2 Da; R = 64.0 %), acetic acid (pKa = 4.76; 60.1 Da; R = 23.8 %), xylose (pKa = 12.15; 150.1 Da; R = 13.7 %), glucose (pKa = 12.28; 180.2 Da; R = 8.7 %), and arabinose (pKa = 12.34; 150.1 Da; R = 8.5 %). The zeta potential interactions across nanofiltration membranes enhanced sinapic acid recovery from the mustard bran hydrolysate, hence, charge mediation significantly influenced the membrane separation of these complex mixtures with varying pKa values.

Barriers to professional psychological help among pregnant women in China: a qualitative study

BackgroundPregnant women face significant physiological and psychological stressors, which can lead to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Despite the importance of professional psychological assistance, many pregnant women in China do not seek help due to various barriers. This study aims to explore the experiences and challenges of pregnant women in seeking psychological help in China through qualitative methods.MethodsPurposive sampling was employed to select 20 pregnant women from a Class III Type A hospital in Hainan. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted from July to August 2023, focusing on psychological states, help-seeking experiences, encountered challenges, and suggestions for improving psychological support. Colaizzi’s 7-step method was used to synthesize the themes.ResultsWe distilled five themes: (1) Psychological conditions during pregnancy, which includes stress and emotional fluctuations and anticipations of postpartum challenges; (2) Barriers to seeking help, underscored by societal misconceptions, limited professional access, and varied familial support; (3) Sources of psychological stress, highlighting physical changes, familial and work pressures, and societal expectations; (4) Expectations for psychological assistance, emphasizing the need for professional understanding and societal awareness; (5) Impact of psychological issues on daily life, such as decreased work efficiency and affected social activities.ConclusionPregnant women in China confront significant psychological stress and face multiple barriers in accessing help. There is an urgent need for personalized and professional psychological services for pregnant women. Addressing barriers such as societal stigma and poor accessibility, along with increasing public awareness and improving mental health services, is crucial. These findings provide a foundation for developing effective psychological support strategies aimed at enhancing the mental health of pregnant women in China.

Prevalence of turnover intention among emergency nurses worldwide: a meta-analysis

AimTo explore the prevalence of turnover intentions among emergency nurses across the globe, decision-makers should be offered evidence-based assistance.Background and introductionCompared with those of general nurses, the unique work environment and pressure significantly impact emergency nurses’ turnover intention. High personnel turnover intention often hinders the provision of high-quality emergency services.MethodsThis study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Published and unpublished papers were identified through electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from their establishment until February 1, 2023. The literature included in this study may encompass cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the included studies while using the tool developed by Hoy and colleagues in 2012. Stata 17.0 was used for all the statistical analyses.ResultsThis study included 12 articles by screening 744 articles, which included a total of 4400 nurses. All studies included in the analysis were cross-sectional. The overall prevalence of turnover intention among emergency nurses was 45%. Further analysis revealed that the turnover intention prevalence among emergency nurses in Asia was 54%, whereas in other regions, it was 38%. The turnover intention among younger nurses (61%) was significantly greater than that among older nurses (30%). Compared with the published scale, the self-developed scale resulted in a higher turnover intention rate of 52%, which was 41%.ConclusionThe prevalence of emergency nurses’ turnover intention is relatively high and shows an increasing trend, with noticeable variations across different regions and age groups. Notably, Asian nurses and those younger than 35.6 years exhibit a greater intention to turnover.Patient or public contributionThere is no patient or public involvement, as this article is a meta-analysis.Implications for nursing and health policyNursing managers, administrators, and policymakers must recognize the seriousness of high turnover intentions among emergency nurses and develop effective prevention strategies to address this issue globally.

Interdependence of metal vapor plume and melt pool dynamics during laser beam welding under vacuum

Deep penetration laser beam welding involves the emission of hot metal vapor and particles from the keyhole, which interact with the laser beam by means of scattering, absorption, and phase front deformation. The combination of scattering and absorption leads to an extinction of the laser beam, while the phase front deformation adversely affects the beam quality. The capillary formation depends on the local distribution of the absorbed irradiance of the laser beam, which in turn is related to the material process emissions. Additionally, the process atmosphere, in particular the oxygen content, and the working pressure influence the capillary fluctuations and cause variations in welding penetration. This study introduces a measurement setup using simultaneous high-speed observation of the melt pool and the keyhole while measuring the interaction mechanisms between the laser beam and the metal vapor plume during laser beam welding under vacuum of stainless steel. The obtained measurement provides a quantification of the various interaction mechanisms between the laser beam, vapor plume, keyhole, and interdepended melt pool dynamics. These quantitative high-frequency measurements at various working pressures and laser parameters provide useful insights that are crucial for understanding the formation of weld defects, resulting in process monitoring and validation of process-oriented welding simulations.

Assessment of mood after severe acquired brain injury: Interviews with UK clinical psychologists and medical professionals

Objective Mood assessment is challenging when people have cognitive and receptive communication impairments after severe brain injury. This study explored how UK-based medical and psychology professionals working with people with severe cognitive and communication impairments after brain injury assess mood in this population. Design Following their participation in an online survey, professionals were invited to participate in individual semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis to label explicit data (semantic themes) and implicit data (latent themes). Participants Twenty-three clinical psychologists and nine medical professionals participated in online or in-person interviews. Results Both groups explicitly reported using a combination of collateral information, history, observations, and patient interviews when assessing mood in this population. Medical professionals did not routinely use standardised measures and clinical psychologists often adjusted them when they used them. The respondents discussed difficulties conceptualising depression after brain injury, the experience needed by the assessor, and the need for an individualised approach for this population. Clinical psychologists discussed the pressures of working in healthcare systems and medical professionals discussed how symptoms may influence prescription choices. Seven latent themes were labelled which highlighted additional challenges and complexities experienced by those assessing mood, beyond the actual assessment process itself. Conclusions No ‘gold standard’ approach to assessing mood in those with cognitive and communication difficulties after severe brain injury was identified. There was overlap in assessment approaches but no clear consensus. Interviewees felt that mood assessment must be approached differently in this population and that self-report measures are not useful.

Development and validation of the job stressor scale for specialty nurses.

Specialty nurses play a crucial role in specialized nursing practice, teaching, management, and research. These nurses often face significant work pressure; therefore, scientifically and effectively assessing their job stress and its sources is vital for enhancing the quality of their work. However, there is currently a dearth of verified assessment tools for measuring job stressors among specialty nurses. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and test an instrument to assess the job stressors applicable to specialty nurses. We conducted a multiphase mixed-methods study. The initial scale items were developed from a literature review and structured interviews. The scale was then refined through two rounds of expert consultation (N = 14) and a primary test (N = 20). A main survey (N = 552) was then conducted to evaluate the scale's construct validity and reliability using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The final scale comprises four dimensions with 27 items. The factors included "specialized nursing and work," "workload and time allocation," "patient care," and "work resources and environment." The EFA explained 69.10% of the variance, while the CFA confirmed a good model fit. The content validity index was 0.980 at the scale level and 0.790-1.000 at the item level. The scale's reliability was supported by its high Cronbach's α (0.958), test-retest reliability (0.946), and split-half reliability (0.868). Our findings indicate that the job stressor scale developed in this study is valid and reliable, and is recommended for use among specialty nurses to assess their stressors.

The mediating role of self-efficacy and stress on school climate and teachers’ job satisfaction linkages

This study investigated the relationship between school climate, stress, teacher self-efficacy, and their effects on teachers’ job satisfaction. Data were collected from 403 teachers in seven high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Results show that the linkage between school climate and teachers’ job satisfaction was mediated by self-efficacy and stress. Teacher satisfaction was affected by pay, three school climate factors, and teachers’ self-efficacy. Teacher stress, affiliation, and innovation affected their self-efficacy. Work pressure causes teacher stress, while positive affiliation could mitigate teacher stress. Implications were grasped for improving teachers’ income, self-efficacy, and the Vietnamese school climate.

Observation of the Effect of Video Assessment Method on the Operation Skills of Individual Nurses

Objective: To explore the application effect of video assessment method in clinical nurses’ nursing operation skills. Method: To select 58 nurses who participated in the individual soldier standard in the children’s hospital in 2019 and 2020 as the research objects, among which the nurses who participated in the individual soldier standard in 2019 were the nurses who participated in the individual soldier standard in 2019 and 2020. A total of 29 people in the first batch were set as the control group, using traditional assessment methods. In 2020, the second batch of 29 nurses who participated in the individual soldier standard reached the experimental group. Using the video assessment method, there was no significant difference in general information between the two groups (P > 0.05). After the assessment, the scores, coping with work pressure, and proactiveness of the two groups of research subjects were compared. Results: The experimental group’s nursing operation assessment scores, coping with work pressure, and proactiveness were significantly better than those of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The application of the video assessment method improves the passing rate of nurses’ operational skills examination, enhances nurses’ initiative in learning, reduces examination pressure, and can be accurately, timely, and safely applied to clinical nursing work, which is worthy of study and promotion.

Exploration of Workaholic Characteristics of Married Women in Healthcare sector during Pandemic situations

Women in professional and family life are facing lot of challenges where they are struggling to manage their work pressure and family responsibilities. In healthcare sectors, the employees especially the nurses have to carry out shift work and have to perform morning, evening and night shifts. It is analysed and proved by many analysts that mostly the women from middleclass family life are subject to such work-life challenges in particular the women nurses especially during pandemic situations. This study focuses on Workaholism which is an extreme work force that leads to the disregard of others’ welfare and harmful effects faced by the women nurses especially who are married. In this aspect, the research was conducted to examine the workaholic characteristics of married women especially the nursing professionals during the pandemic period. The study was conducted by collecting data from women nurses from South part of India and the sample size derived for the study is 200. The findings reveal that Continuous thoughts of Work Involvement, Accepts Extra Work Time, Task Oriented, Compensation based on Work Performance and No Botheration about Work life Balance are the major workaholic characteristics of women nurses especially who are married.

Machine Learning Methods for Evaluation of Technical Factors of Spraying in Permanent Plantations

Considering the demand for the optimization of the technical factors of spraying for a greater area coverage and minimal drift, field tests were carried out to determine the interaction between the area coverage, number of droplets per cm2, droplet diameter, and drift. The studies were conducted with two different types of sprayers (axial and radial fan) in an apple orchard and a vineyard. The technical factors of the spraying interactions were nozzle type (ISO code 015, code 02, and code 03), working speed (6 and 8 km h−1), and spraying norm (250–400 L h−1). The airflow of both sprayers was adjusted to the plantation leaf mass and the working pressure was set for each repetition separately. A method using water-sensitive paper and a digital image analysis was used to collect data on coverage factors. The data from the field research were processed using four machine learning models: quantile random forest (QRF), support vector regression with radial basis function kernel (SVR), Bayesian Regularization for Feed-Forward Neural Networks (BRNN), and Ensemble Machine Learning (ENS). Nozzle type had the highest predictive value for the properties of number of droplets per cm2 (axial = 69.1%; radial = 66.0%), droplet diameter (axial = 30.6%; radial = 38.2%), and area coverage (axial = 24.6%; radial = 34.8%). Spraying norm had the greatest predictive value for area coverage (axial = 43.3%; radial = 26.9%) and drift (axial = 72.4%; radial = 62.3%). Greater coverage of the treated area and a greater number of droplets were achieved with the radial sprayer, as well as less drift. The accuracy of the machine learning model for the prediction of the treated surface showed a satisfactory accuracy for most properties (R2 = 0.694–0.984), except for the estimation of the droplet diameter for an axial sprayer (R2 = 0.437–0.503).

The effects of fiber load and frictional work on fatigue behavior of water hydraulic artificial muscles in underwater environment

Water Hydraulic Artificial Muscles (WHAMs) exhibit characteristics of high pressure and substantial load capacity. In previous work, the fatigue life of WHAMs under elastic load has been investigated, and experimental results have indicated that the fatigue life is related to both fiber load and frictional work. To individually investigate the impact of fiber load and frictional work on the fatigue life of WHAMs, an experimental scheme was designed to test the fatigue life under different levels of fiber load and frictional work. Meanwhile, the working pressure and contraction range were determined for various working conditions, in order to assess their effects on the fatigue life of WHAMs. The W-test confirms that the fatigue life of WHAMs under each working condition follows a normal distribution. Based on the experimental results, the influence of fiber load and frictional work on fatigue life was analyzed. And the experimental results indicate that the impact of fiber load on the fatigue life of WHAMs is approximately three times greater than that of frictional work. Furthermore, substituting aramid 1414 fiber with aramid 3 fiber in the fiber sleeve led to a substantial increase in fatigue life, elevating the average fatigue life to more than 4 times. Based on the power-law model, a fatigue model of WHAM is established with fiber load and frictional work as factors. The relative error between the fatigue model and experimental results in previously published work demonstrates that the new fatigue model can accurately predict the fatigue life of WHAMs.

Volumetric efficiency degradation prediction of axial piston pump based on friction and wear test

The axial piston pump (APP) is being developed towards higher pressure and higher rotational speeds to enhance operational power density. The piston-cylinder friction pair is a critical component of the APP. Due to its lack of self-compensation capability, the leakage of the piston-cylinder friction pair escalates rapidly under increasingly severe wear conditions. An innovative method for predicting the performance degradation and lifespan of APPs based on friction and wear tests has been proposed. This method can effectively predict the performance degradation trends of APPs under different operating conditions. The actual contact force on the piston pair (PP) during operation is determined through dynamic analysis. Friction and wear tests were conducted on 38CrMoAl piston and ZCuPb15Sn8 cylinder materials under various conditions using a testing apparatus. Utilizing friction and wear theory, the volumetric efficiency of APP under various operating conditions was derived as a function of operational time. The reliability of the theoretical analysis was validated through leakage tests on the APP. The results indicate that volumetric efficiency decreases exponentially with increasing working pressure at rated speed. This research provides theoretical guidance and an experimental foundation for the failure prediction of volumetric efficiency degradation in APP.

Frictional pressure drop of the vertically upward gas–liquid two-phase flow in an airlift pump system

Airlift pumps (ALPs) are promising in the oil and chemical industry, owing to their advantages such as a simple structure, convenient operation, wide applicability, high cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, safety, and reliability. However, there are few studies on the frictional pressure drop of vertically upward gas–liquid two-phase flow in ALPs. Therefore, this study presents an experimental investigation of the frictional pressure drop in the vertically upward gas–liquid two-phase flow in ALPs. Experiments were conducted in a vertical pipe with a total length of 3.245 m and a two-phase section of 2.8 m; the working pressure of the air compressor was 0.4 MPa, pipe diameter was 0.05 m, submergence ratio ranged from 0.6 to 0.85, and gas superficial velocity ranged from 0 to 4 m/s. A total of 74 sets of experimental data were obtained, and the frictional pressure drop models of 36 classical gas–liquid two-phase flows were evaluated. The results indicated that classical gas–liquid two-phase flow models significantly underestimated the experimental results. By analyzing the experimental data, visualizing the internal flow field, and performing theoretical derivations, a new frictional pressure drop correlation was established for the vertically upward gas–liquid two-phase flow in ALPs. The results demonstrated that the new model could accurately predict the frictional pressure drop of ALPs with mean percentage error, mean absolute percentage error, and root mean square percentage error values of 7.8%, 12.18%, and 25.86%, respectively.

The influencing factors of nurses' job engagement in tertiary, A grade hospitals in East China: A cross-sectional study.

To explore the effects of demographic characteristics, mental workload, and Adversity quotient (AQ) on the job engagement of nurses in East China. A quantitative and cross-sectional study. The survey collected questionnaire data on mental workload, adversity quotient, and job engagement from 473 nurses selected working in 12 Grade-A tertiary hospitals based on informed consent in East China between July 2020 and March 2021. The total score of mental workload was 78.24 ± 11.65, the adversity quotient score was 128.26 ± 15.84, job engagement score was 42.32 ± 7.79. Job engagement has a remarkable positive correlation with adversity quotient (r = 0.613, p<0.001), and a negative correlation with mental workload (r = -0.499, p<0.001). Mental workload has an apparent negative correlation with adversity quotient (r = -0.291, p<0.001). Labor-management relationship with current organization, department, study to get a degree or diploma in spare time, attitude towards a career in Nursing, attitude towards the current career position, satisfaction with marriage, social support, load feelings, self-assessment, control, and endurance could predict 70.9% of job engagement of nurses. The mental workload of nurses was higher, the AQ was at a medium level, and the job engagement of nurses was also slightly higher. Labor-management relationship with current organization, department, study to get a degree or diploma in spare time, attitude towards a career in Nursing, attitude towards the current career position, satisfaction with marriage, social support, load feelings, self-assessment, control, and endurance had predictive effects on nurses' job engagement. It is necessary to take a variety of measures according to the social-demographic characteristics, improve the adversity quotient, and evaluate the mental workload correctly, to improve the job engagement of nurses. The epidemic situation and other emergencies make the work pressure of nurses in Grade-A tertiary hospitals increase suddenly. It should pay attention to the influence of different demographic factors, and pay attention to the correct guidance of work demand-mental workload, as well as the cultivation, and improvement of job resource-AQ, which can improve the job engagement of nurses to some extent. No patient or public contribution.

Free Vibrations of Thin-Walled Gas Pipelines Taking into Account the Influence of Longitudinal Force During Trench Laying

A numerical experiment was carried out to determine the frequencies of free oscillations of an inhomogeneous pipeline at various mechanical and geometric parameters.This made it possible to establish the influence of factors such as longitudinal force, thickness of the reinforced concrete shell, internal working pressure and the coefficient of the soil bed on the system’s own vibrations. For calculations, a model of an inhomogeneous cylindrical two-layer shell of finite length consisting of a steel pipe and a protective reinforced concrete layer was chosen.

Effect of deposition parameters on structural and mechanical properties of Novel h-BN doped TiCrNbN coatings

In this paper, the novel h-BN doped TiCrNbN thin films was deposited on the DIN 1.2714 steel using closed field unbalanced magnetron sputtering (CFUBMS) technique with variable working pressure, bias voltage, and LaB6 target voltage. The main goal is to determine the contribution of degrees of these parameters on structural and mechanical properties using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The deposition parameters were leveled based on L9 (33) orthogonal Taguchi design method. Microstructural and thickness of coatings were investigated using SEM. The coatings had granular and flawless surface properties. The thickness of the coatings was determined in the range of 874 nm and 1.69 μm. The deposition parameter that has the highest contribution to coating thickness is working pressure. Hardness and adhesion strength of coatings were determined employing nanohardness and scratch tester, respectively. The highest hardness among the coatings was 24.67 GPa, obtained with the 3x10-3 Torr working pressure, 100 V bias voltage and 600 V LaB6 target voltage parameters. The deposition parameter that has the highest contribution to hardness is working pressure. The coating conditions with the highest hardness exhibited the highest adhesion strength. The superiority of the contribution of working pressure on the adhesion strength was prominent compared to other parameters.