Influence of Fibre Orientation on the Slotting Quality of CFRP Composites Using the Multi-Tooth Mill.

Carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites, prized for their exceptional properties, often encounter surface quality issues during slotting due to their inherent heterogeneity. This paper tackles CFRP slotting challenges by employing multi-tooth mills in experiments with various fibre orientations and tool feed rates. In-plane scratching tests are performed under linearly varying loads; then, slotting experiments are conducted at different parameters. The scratching test results indicate that the fibre orientation and cutting angles have significant influences on forces and fracture process. The slotting experiments demonstrate that cutting forces and surface roughness Sa of the bottom slotting surface are notably affected by the fibre orientation, with disparities between up-milling and down-milling sides. Reorganising Sa data by local fibre cutting angle θ highlights consistent Sa variations between up-milling and down-milling sides for 0° ≤ θ ≤ 90°, with lower Sa on the up-milling side. However, for 90° < θ ≤ 150°, Sa variations diverge, with lower Sa on the down-milling side. Unexpectedly, Sa on the down-milling side decreases with increasing θ in this range. Additionally, the tool feed rate exerts a more pronounced influence on Sa on the up-milling side.

Wire Electrochemical Etching of Superhydrophobic Nickel Surfaces with Enhanced Corrosion Protection.

Superhydrophobic nickel surfaces have significant advantages in the field of corrosion protection compared with traditional nickel corrosion protection methods which need a toxic chemical corrosion inhibitor. Electrochemical etching, an ideal method for fabricating superhydrophobic nickel surfaces, was also limited by low current density, resulting in low processing efficiency. To overcome this limitation, we proposed a new method to fabricate a superhydrophobic nickel surface using a wire electrochemical etching method. The wire electrochemical etching method accomplished the etching process by sweeping a controlled wire cathode across the surface of the anode nickel plate in an environmentally friendly neutral electrolyte, NaCl. The superhydrophobic nickel sample with a contact angle of 153° and a rolling angle of 10° could be fabricated by wire electrochemical etching and modification. Additionally, the optimal parameters of the wire electrochemical etching and the principle of superhydrophobic surface formation had also been systematically investigated, respectively. Moreover, the superhydrophobic nickel surface had self-cleaning performance, antifouling performance, corrosion protection, and abrasion resistance. Wire electrochemical etching improves the current density of processing, which means that this method improves the processing efficiency for fabricating a superhydrophobic nickel surface. This work is expected to enrich the theory and technology for fabricating superhydrophobic nickel surfaces to improve the corrosion protection of nickel.

Passive-Cooling Building Coating with Efficient Cooling Performance and Excellent Superhydrophobicity.

Passive-cooling building materials can achieve cooling without external energy consumption, which is an energy-saving and environmentally friendly cooling method. However, the existing passive-cooling building materials have the limitations of high cost, complicated processes, and a toxic organic solvent, which hinders the passive-cooling technology applied in practical building. To overcome these limitations, we developed a facile, high-efficiency, non-toxic, and superhydrophobic passive-cooling building coating (SPCBC) with an efficient cooling capability and excellent durability that was composed of polydimethylsiloxane and SiO2. The fabricated SPCBC demonstrated a high reflectance and a high emittance, showing a superior cooling capability with a 14 °C temperature drop compared with a bare cement surface on a hot summer day. In addition, the SPCBC could not be wetted or contaminated by muddy water, corrosive aqueous solutions, or dust, which presented an excellent anti-fouling and self-cleaning capability. Moreover, the fabricated SPCBC could work outdoors for 30 days, withstand UV irradiation for 30 days, and resist accelerated aging for 100 h without any significant changes in the superhydrophobicity and the cooling capability, meaning that the SPCBC had an outstanding durability. This work provides a new method to facilitate passive-cooling technology to apply in practical building in hot weather regions of the world.

Enhanced water transportation on a superhydrophilic serial cycloid-shaped pattern.

Spontaneous and directional water transportation (SDWT) is considered as an ideal water transportation method and has a great prospect in the aerospace and ship fields. Nonetheless, the existing SDWT has the limitation of a slow water transportation velocity because of its geometry structure configuration, which hinders the practical application of the SDWT. To overcome this limitation, we developed a new superhydrophilic serial cycloid-shaped pattern (SSCP) which was inspired by the micro-cavity shape of the Nepenthes. First, we experimentally found that the water transportation velocity on the SSCP was faster than that on the superhydrophilic serial wedge-shaped pattern (SSWP) and analyzed the faster water transportation mechanism. Then, the influence of the SSCP parameters on the transportation velocity was investigated by a single-factor experiment. In addition, the water transportation velocity on the SSCP was enhanced to 289 mm s-1 by combining the single-factor experiment, orthogonal optimization design, streamline junction transition optimization, and pre-wet pattern, which was the fastest in the SDWT. Moreover, the SSCP demonstrated its superior capability in long-distance water transportation, gravity resistant water transportation, heat transfer, and fog collection. This finding shows remarkable application prospects in the high-performance fluid transportation system.

Super-Fast Fog Collector Based on Self-Driven Jet of Mini Fog Droplets.

Freshwater scarcity crisis threatens human life and economic security. Collecting water from the fog seems to be an effective method to defuse this crisis. Nonetheless, the existing fog collection methods have the limitations of the low fog collection rate and efficiency because of their gravity-based droplet shedding. Here, the aforementioned limitations are resolved by proposing a new fog collection method based on the self-driven jet phenomenon of the mini fog droplets. A prototype fog collector (PFC) composed of a square container that is filled with water is first designed. Both sides of the PFC are superhydrophobic but covered with superhydrophilic pore array. The mini fog droplets touching the side wall are easily captured and spontaneously and rapidly penetrate into the pores to form jellyfish-like jets, which greatly increases the droplet shedding frequency, guaranteeing a higher fog collection rate and efficiency compared with the existing fog collection methods. Based on this, a more practical super-fast fog collector is finally successfully designed and fabricated which is assembled by several PFCs. This work is hoping to resolve the water crisis in some arid but foggy regions.