Temperature dependence mechanism of high-temperature oxidation of transition metal silicide MoSi2.

Transition metal silicides represented by MoSi2 have excellent oxidation resistance and are widely used as high-temperature anti-oxidation coatings in hot end components of power equipment. However, the mechanism of temperature-dependent growth of MoSi2 oxidation products has not been revealed. Therefore, this study investigated the formation characteristics of oxide film and silicide-poor compound on MoSi2 at temperatures of 1000-1550℃ through high-temperature oxidation experiments, combined with microscopic Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and XRD characterizations. The result showed that MoSi2 underwent high-temperature selective oxidation reactions at 1000-1200℃, forming MoO2 and SiO2 oxide film on the substrate. As the oxidation temperature increased to 1550℃, after 100 hours of oxidation, along with the disappearance of MoO2 and the phase transformation of SiO2, a continuous Mo5Si3 layer with a thickness of approximately 47 µm was formed at the SiO2-MoSi2 interface. Thermodynamics and kinetic calculations further revealed the mechanism of temperature-dependent growth of oxidation products (MoO2 and Mo5Si3) during high-temperature oxidation process of MoSi2. As the temperature increased, the diffusion flux ratio of O and Si decreased, leading to a decrease in oxygen concentration at the interface and promoting the growth of the Mo5Si3 layer. Its thickness is an important indicator for evaluating the oxidation resistance of MoSi2 coatings during service. This study provides experimental and mechanistic insights into the temperature-dependent growth behavior of Mo5Si3 during the high-temperature oxidation of MoSi2 coating, and provides guidance for predicting the service life and improving the oxidation resistance of silicide coatings.

Optofluidic crystallithography for directed growth of single-crystalline halide perovskites.

Crystallization is a fundamental phenomenon which describes how the atomic building blocks such as atoms and molecules are arranged into ordered or quasi-ordered structure and form solid-state materials. While numerous studies have focused on the nucleation behavior, the precise and spatiotemporal control of growth kinetics, which dictates the defect density, the micromorphology, as well as the properties of the grown materials, remains elusive so far. Herein, we propose an optical strategy, termed optofluidic crystallithography (OCL), to solve this fundamental problem. Taking halide perovskites as an example, we use a laser beam to manipulate the molecular motion in the native precursor environment and create inhomogeneous spatial distribution of the molecular species. Harnessing the coordinated effect of laser-controlled local supersaturation and interfacial energy, we precisely steer the ionic reaction at the growth interface and directly print arbitrary single crystals of halide perovskites of high surface quality, crystallinity, and uniformity at a high printing speed of 102 µm s-1. The OCL technique can be potentially extended to the fabrication of single-crystal structures beyond halide perovskites, once crystallization can be triggered under the laser-directed local supersaturation.

All-Optical Reconfigurable Excitonic Charge States in Monolayer MoS2.

Excitons are quasi-particles composed of electron-hole pairs through Coulomb interaction. Due to the atomic-thin thickness, they are tightly bound in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and dominate their optical properties. The capability to manipulate the excitonic behavior can significantly influence the photon emission or carrier transport performance of TMD-based devices. However, on-demand and region-selective manipulation of the excitonic states in a reversible manner remains challenging so far. Herein, harnessing the coordinated effect of femtosecond-laser-driven atomic defect generation, interfacial electron transfer, and surface molecular desorption/adsorption, we develop an all-optical approach to manipulate the charge states of excitons in monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). Through steering the laser beam, we demonstrate reconfigurable optical encoding of the excitonic charge states (between neutral and negative states) on a single MoS2 flake. Our technique can be extended to other TMDs materials, which will guide the design of all-optical and reconfigurable TMD-based optoelectronic and nanophotonic devices.

Module-Level Polaritonic Thermophotovoltaic Emitters via Hierarchical Sequential Learning.

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generators provide continuous and high-efficiency power output by utilizing local thermal emitters to convert energy from various sources to thermal radiation matching the bandgaps of photovoltaic cells. Lack of effective guidelines for thermal emission control at high temperatures, poor thermal stability, and limited fabrication scalability are the three key challenges for the practical deployment of TPV devices. Here we develop a hierarchical sequential-learning optimization framework and experimentally realize a 6″ module-scale polaritonic thermal emitter with bandwidth-controlled thermal emission as well as excellent thermal stability at 1473 K. The 300 nm bandwidth thermal emission is realized by a complex photon polariton based on the superposition of Tamm plasmon polariton and surface plasmon polariton. We experimentally achieve a spectral efficiency of 65.6% (wavelength range of 0.4-8 µm) with statistical deviation less than 4% over the 6″ emitter, demonstrating industrial-level reliability for module-scale TPV applications.

Determination of radiative and multiphonon non-radiative relaxation rates of upconversion materials.

The radiative and multiphonon non-radiative relaxation rates of lanthanide ions are intrinsic parameters to characterize the optical properties, which are the basic data for the theoretical model and numerical simulation of lanthanide upconversion systems. However, there are complex energy transfer processes, such as energy migration, energy transfer upconversion, and cross-relaxation in the lanthanide-doped upconversion materials, so it is difficult to accurately measure the intrinsic radiative and multiphonon relaxation rates. Therefore, a method to determine the relaxation rates of multi-level upconversion systems is proposed based on multi-wavelength excitation and level-by-level parameter calculations in this paper. For a dilute doped multi-level luminescence system excited at low powers, a model based on the measurements of steady-state emission spectra and luminescence decay curves is established through the macroscopic rate equations at multi-wavelength excitation, which can be used for the level-by-level calculation of the multi-level radiative and multiphonon relaxation rates. With the dilute doped ß-NaYF4:Er3+ six-level luminescence system as an example, the measurement method and the model are introduced in detail. Under the experimental conditions of neglecting the energy transfer effect between ions, the materials are excited by five lasers with central wavelengths of 1523 nm, 980 nm, 808 nm, 660 nm, and 520 nm to form five subsystems. The steady-state emission spectra and luminescence decay curves of the luminescence system excited by each wavelength were recorded. The intrinsic relaxation rates including 11 radiative relaxation rates and 4 multiphonon relaxation rates in the ß-NaYF4:Er3+ six-level system were determined based on the established model and method, which experimentally verified the applicability of the method proposed in this paper. This work will provide basic data for the analysis and regulation of the luminescence properties of lanthanide upconversion systems.

Self-diffusion mechanisms based defect complexes in MoSi2.

MoSi2is widely concerned due to excellent electrical conductivity, oxidation resistance as a typical transition metal silicide. The high-temperature diffusion behavior is one of the important factors for the degradation of MoSi2coatings. However, the diffusion mechanism in MoSi2is still unclear. Prior theoretical work mostly focused on defect formation energy, but these are not consistent with the self-diffusion experiments because the migration behaviors were not considered. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to investigate the microscopic diffusion mechanisms of Mo and Si atoms in MoSi2using density functional theory and the CI-NEB method. We confirmed that the temperature-dependent vibrational contribution has a significant impact on the defect formation free energy. The isolated point defects in MoSi2will tend to aggregate to form defect complexes, which participate in the atomic diffusion as mediators. The defect migration behaviors of atoms for vacancy mediated, vacancy complex mediated, and antisite assisted jumps were obtained based on electronic structures analysis. The results show that Si diffusion is mediated by intrasublattice jumps of the nearest neighbor Si vacancies. Moreover, the destroyed covalent Mo-Si bonds by Si vacancies and the non-directional weak metal bonds formed by the Mo antisites and Mo atoms could improve the mobility of the Mo atom which results in the low migration barrier. The agreement between our calculations and the reported experimental results indicates that the dominant diffusion mechanism for Mo atoms is mediated by vacancy complex mediated jumps and antisite assisted jumps. It is concluded that the Si vacancy-based defect complexes are likely the diffusion mediators for Mo atom self-diffusion in MoSi2. This work provides a deeper insight into the connection between the atomic mechanism and the macroscopic behavior for the diffusion in the MoSi2, and establishes the basis for further optimizing high-temperature coating materials.

Bending and Elastic Vibration of a Novel Functionally Graded Polymer Nanocomposite Beam Reinforced by Graphene Nanoplatelets.

A novel functionally graded (FG) polymer-based nanocomposite reinforced by graphene nanoplatelets is proposed based on a new distribution law, which is constructed by the error function and contains a gradient index. The variation of the gradient index can result in a continuous variation of the weight fraction of graphene nanoplatelets (GPLs), which forms a sandwich structure with graded mechanical properties. The modified Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model is used to evaluate the effective Young's modulus of the novel functionally graded graphene nanoplatelets reinforced composites (FG-GPLRCs). The bending and elastic vibration behaviors of the novel nanocomposite beams are investigated. An improved third order shear deformation theory (TSDT), which is proven to have a higher accuracy, is implemented to derive the governing equations related to the bending and vibrations. The Chebyshev-Ritz method is applied to describe various boundary conditions of the beams. The bending displacement, stress state, and vibration frequency of the proposed FG polymer-based nanocomposite beams under uniformly distributed loads are provided in detail. The numerical results show that the proposed distributions of GPL nanofillers can lead to a more effective pattern of improving the mechanical properties of GPL-reinforced composites than the common ones.

Protective effects of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgY) against experimental Aeromonas hydrophila infection in blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala).

The emergence of multi antibiotic resistance by the pathogens and toxic impacts on host metabolism has opened new perspectives to rational novel vaccine techniques. Outbreaks of Aeromonas hydrophila in aquaculture caused high mortality throughout the world and resulted in the extensive economic loss in the aquaculture industry. In this study, we report the efficacy of anti-A. hydrophila IgY antibodies by passive vaccination and its prophylactic or therapeutic effects against A. hydrophila in blunt snout bream. Inactivated A. hydrophila immunized hens produced effective IgY antibodies that were stable at temperatures less than 60 °C or the pH value was >4. The specific IgY can be bound directly to A. hydrophila that efficiently agglutinated and inhibited the bacterial growth in a dose-dependent manner. The specific IgY had significantly enhanced the phagocytosis activity of macrophages and resulted in rapid bacterial clearance. Anti-A. hydrophila IgY antibodies significantly increased macrophage mediated respiratory burst, including nitric oxide and superoxide anion production and subsequently killed the pathogen. Histopathological studies of intestine and spleen from vaccinated blunt-snout bream challenged with A. hydrophila showed the structural integrity of the organs was maintained intact from the bacterial injury. In addition, the prophylactic and therapeutic immunization, protected the blunt snout bream and the survival is approximately about 60% and 50%, respectively. These data suggest that specific IgY has the potential for protecting blunt snout bream against A. hydrophila infection and show promise for the future development of harmless vaccines.

VIS-NIR multispectral synchronous imaging pyrometer for high-temperature measurements.

A visible-infrared multispectral synchronous imaging pyrometer was developed for simultaneous, multispectral, two-dimensional high temperature measurements. The multispectral image pyrometer uses prism separation construction in the spectrum range of 650-950 nm and multi-sensor fusion of three CCD sensors for high-temperature measurements. The pyrometer had 650-750 nm, 750-850 nm, and 850-950 nm channels all with the same optical path. The wavelength choice for each channel is flexible with three center wavelengths (700 nm, 810 nm, and 920 nm) with a full width at half maximum of the spectrum of 3 nm used here. The three image sensors were precisely aligned to avoid spectrum artifacts by micro-mechanical adjustments of the sensors relative to each other to position them within a quarter pixel of each other. The pyrometer was calibrated with the standard blackbody source, and the temperature measurement uncertainty was within 0.21 °C-0.99 °C in the temperatures of 600 °C-1800 °C for the blackbody measurements. The pyrometer was then used to measure the leading edge temperatures of a ceramics model exposed to high-enthalpy plasma aerodynamic heating environment to verify the system applicability. The measured temperature ranges are 701-991 °C, 701-1134 °C, and 701-834 °C at the heating transient, steady state, and cooling transient times. A significant temperature gradient (170 °C/mm) was observed away from the leading edge facing the plasma jet during the steady state heating time. The temperature non-uniformity on the surface occurs during the entire aerodynamic heating process. However, the temperature distribution becomes more uniform after the heater is shut down and the experimental model is naturally cooled. This result shows that the multispectral simultaneous image measurement mode provides a wider temperature range for one imaging measurement of high spatial temperature gradients in transient applications.

Mucosal fluid evaporation is not the method of heat dissipation from fourth-degree laryngopharyngeal burns.

This study was designed to explore whether mucosal fluid evaporation represents a method of heat dissipation from thermal air inhalation injury and to assess laryngopharyngeal tissue damage according to heat quantity changes of dry air and vapour. Fifteen adult male beagles were divided into five groups to inhale heated air or vapour for 10 min as follows: control group (ordinary air), group I (91-110 °C heated air), group II (148-175 °C heated air), group III (209-227 °C heated air), and group IV (96 °C saturated vapour). The heat quantity changes of the dry air and vapour were calculated via thermodynamic formulas. The macroscopic and histological features of the laryngopharynxes were examined and assessed by various tissue damage grading systems. Group IV exhibited the most serious laryngopharyngeal damage, including cilia exfoliation, submucosal thrombosis, glandular atrophy, and chondrocyte degeneration, which is indicative of fourth-degree injury. The quality, heat quantity, and proportional reduction of heat quantity of vapour in group IV were all higher than those in the other groups. Furthermore, we found that mucosal fluid evaporation is not the method of heat dissipation from thermal air inhalation injury used by the airways. Laryngopharyngeal tissue damage depends chiefly on the heat quantity of vapour in the air.

Scattering and absorption coefficients of silica-doped alumina aerogels.

Alumina-based aerogels are especially useful in many applications due to their excellent stability at high temperatures. This study experimentally analyzed the radiative properties of silica-doped alumina aerogels through spectral directional-hemispherical measurements for wavelengths of 0.38-25 µm. The silica-doped alumina aerogel samples were prepared with a 1.4∶1 molar ratio of silica to alumina. A two-flux model was used to describe the radiation propagation in a 1D scattering absorbing sample to derive expressions for the normal-hemispherical transmittances and reflectances based on the transport approximation. The normal-hemispherical transmittances and reflectances were measured at various spectral wavelengths and sample thicknesses using the integrating sphere method. The spectral absorption and transport scattering coefficients of silica-doped alumina aerogels were then determined from the measured normal-hemispherical data. The absorption and transport scattering coefficients of silica-doped alumina aerogels are (0.1 cm-1, 36 cm-1) and (0.1 cm-1, 112 cm-1) for wavelengths of 0.38-8.0 µm. The spectral transport scattering coefficient varies in the opposite direction from the spectral absorption coefficient for various wavelengths. The radiative properties for silica and alumina aerogels were quite different for the absorption coefficient for wavelengths of 2.5-8.0 µm and for the transport scattering coefficient for wavelengths of 0.38-2.5 and 3.5-6.0 µm. The measured radiative properties were used to predict the spectral normal-hemispherical reflectance and transmittance of the silica-doped alumina aerogels for various sample thicknesses and wavelengths. The predicted values do not change for the sample thicknesses greater than a critical value. The analysis provides valuable reference data for alumina aerogels for high-temperature applications.

Heat dissipation by blood circulation and airway tissue heat absorption in a canine model of inhalational thermal injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to further explore heat dissipation by blood circulation and airway tissue heat absorption in an inhalational thermal injury model. METHODS: Twelve adult male Beagle dogs were divided into four groups to inhale heated air for 10min: the control group, group I (100.5°C), group II (161.5°C), and group III (218°C). The relative humidity and temperature of the inhaled heated air were measured in the heating tube and trachea, as were blood temperatures and flow velocities in both common jugular veins. Formulas were used to calculate the total heat quantity reduction of the heated air, heat dissipation by the blood, and airway tissue heat absorption. RESULTS: The blood temperatures of both the common jugular veins increased by 0.29°C±0.07°C to 2.96°C±0.24°C and the mean blood flow volume after injury induction was about 1.30-1.74 times greater than before injury induction. The proportions of heat dissipated by the blood and airway tissue heat absorption were 68.92%±14.88% and 31.13%±14.87%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The heat dissipating ability of the blood circulation was demonstrated and improved upon along with tissue heat absorption owing to increased regional blood flow.

Acupuncture: Emerging evidence for its use as an analgesic (Review).

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese technique, developed over >3,000 years, in which 'acupoints' are stimulated with the aim of treating various diseases. A number of previous studies have indicated that acupuncture may play a role in inducing analgesia. Acupuncture-induced analgesia has been hypothesized to act on various parts of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, brain stem, cerebral ganglia and cerebral cortex. The mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture have been purported to include neurohumors and neurotransmitters, such as opioids and γ-aminobutyric acid, signaling pathways and the immune response, which are all involved in the induction of analgesia.

Radiation temperature measurement method for semitransparent materials using one-channel infrared pyrometer.

Semitransparent zinc sulfide (ZnS) crystal materials are widely used as the infrared-transmitting windows for optical instruments operating in long wavelengths. This paper describes a temperature measurement method for high-temperature ZnS materials using the one-channel optical pyrometer based on a theoretical model of radiation transfer in semitransparent plates. Numerical analyses of the radiation properties of ZnS plate are used to optimize the spectral band for the optical pyrometry. The optimized measurement spectral band is based on a trade-off between the measurement radiation intensity and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the ZnS material. The effective waveband emittance of one-dimensional (1D) ZnS plates is analyzed for various experimental conditions (temperatures, thicknesses, and direction angles) for the one-channel infrared pyrometer with the optimized measurement spectral response. The analysis can be used to improve radiation temperature measurements of semitransparent ZnS materials in applications.

Temperature measurements using multicolor pyrometry in thermal radiation heating environments.

Temperature measurements are important for thermal-structural experiments in the thermal radiation heating environments such as used for thermal-structural stress analyses. This paper describes the use of multicolor pyrometry for the measurements of diffuse surfaces in thermal radiation environments that eliminates the effects of background radiation reflections and unknown emissivities based on a least-squares algorithm. The near-infrared multicolor pyrometer had a spectral range of 1100-2400 nm, spectrum resolution of 6 nm, maximum sampling frequency of 2 kHz, working distance of 0.6 m to infinity, temperature range of 700-1700 K. The pyrometer wavelength response, nonlinear intensity response, and spectral response were all calibrated. The temperature of a graphite sample irradiated by quartz lamps was then measured during heating and cooling using the least-squares algorithm based on the calibrated irradiation data. The experiments show that higher temperatures and longer wavelengths are more suitable for the thermal measurements in the quartz lamp radiation heating system. This analysis provides a valuable method for temperature measurements of diffuse surfaces in thermal radiation environments.

Fast fiber-optic multi-wavelength pyrometer.

A fast fiber-optic multi-wavelength pyrometer was developed for the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectra from 200 nm to 1700 nm using a CCD detector and an InGaAs detector. The pyrometer system conveniently and quickly provides the sufficient choices of multiple measurement wavelengths using optical diffraction, which avoids the use of narrow-band filters. Flexible optical fibers are used to transmit the radiation so the pyrometer can be used for temperature measurements in harsh environments. The setup and calibrations (wavelength calibration, nonlinearity calibration, and radiation response calibration) of this pyrometer system were described. Development of the multi-wavelength pyrometer involved optimization of the bandwidth and temperature discrimination of the multiple spectra data. The analysis results showed that the wavelength intervals, Δλ(CCD) = 30 nm and Δλ(InGaAs) = 50 nm, are the suitable choices as a tradeoff between the simple emissivity model assumption and the multiple signal discrimination. The temperature discrimination was also quantificationally evaluated for various wavelengths and temperatures. The measurement performance of the fiber-optic multi-wavelength pyrometer was partially verified through measurements with a high-temperature blackbody and actual hot metals. This multi-wavelength pyrometer can be used for remote high-temperature measurements.

Study in performance analysis of China Urban Emergency Response System based on Petri net.

Urban Emergency Response System (UERS) is a modernization symbol of a city. With acceleration of urbanization process and constant expansion of city size in China, China cities must respond to various emergencies timely and effectively to satisfy urban residents' needs for public security. In recent years, many China cities made trials and efforts in setting up and improving the UERS. At the same time, the China government began to build Emergency Response Systems (ERS) in some cities to deal with various possible emergencies. In this paper, using Petri net (PN), we study the performance of China typical UERS and establish its PN model for performance analysis. Based on the Markov chain (MC) of the model, the performance of China typical UERS is analyzed. Results from our simulation are in conformity with practical operation of China current UERS.

Two-color optical charge-coupled-device-based pyrometer using a two-peak filter.

A two-color optical charge-coupled-device (CCD)-based pyrometer was developed using a multipeak interference filter with a color CCD sensor to measure multicolor signals with specified wavelengths. The effective and simple method adjusts the fixed spectrum response characteristics of a color CCD to allow improved temperature measurements. This pyrometer system not only has the advantage of traditional two-color (two-wavelength) pyrometry, but also overcomes the restrictions of color CCDs that can only be applied in waveband measurements. The measurement performance of the system using a two-peak filter (λ(1)=643 nm, λ(2)=564 nm) was evaluated by blackbody experiments. The results show that the low temperature detection limit is increased about 200 K with an increase in the sensitivity of the measured signals compared with the original system without two-peak filter [Fu, et al., Opt. Laser Technol. 42, 586 (2010)]. And the effective temperature range is also increased when T > 1233 K. The measured ratio C(R)/C(G) is monotonically relative to the temperature, which simplifies the measurements. The temperature sensitivity of 2.49 is larger and more uniform than the temperature sensitivity of 1.36 in the previous original system. Thus, the measurement performance of the new system is greatly improved. Finally, as an application, the surface temperature distribution of stainless steel sample in hot environments was determined by this new CCD-based pyrometer. The results agree well with the spectrometer-based results and further verify the applicability of the new system.

[Relationship between temperature range and wavelength bandwidth for multi band pyrometry].

In the present paper, based on the linearity spectral emissivity model with two parameters in the narrow investigated waveband, we extend tri-wavelength pyrometry to tri-band pyrometry through waveband measurements of radiation temperature. In tri-band pyrometry, in order to realize the non-distortion measurement, considering the effect of the dynamic range and the minimum sensibility of the sensor on the coupling relation of multi-channel signals, the restriction condition of the effective temperature measurement range is discussed. However, under the assumption of the fixed sensor parameters, the measurement bandwidth of the sensor is an important influencing factor to the effective temperature measurement range in applications of tri-band pyrometry. Then for the measured objects with the known radiation characteristics, the variation of the effective temperature measurement range with the bandwidth of the sensor is presented through numerical simulations. So the required condition of bandwidth of the sensor is theoretically determined through the above discussions of the effective temperature measurement range. The analyses in this paper may provide the necessary theoretical guides to the design of the sensor of radiation temperature measurement.

Theoretical evaluation of measurement uncertainties of two-color pyrometry applied to optical diagnostics.

We present a theoretical analysis of two-color pyrometry applied to optical diagnostics. A two-color pyrometer built with a single CCD is advantageous due to the simple system design. We evaluate the possibility and degree of ill-conditionness on the basis of measurement uncertainties for different measurement approaches of this two-color system. We classify measurement approaches. The corresponding ill-conditionness criterion is established. The greater the criterion value is, the worse the ill-conditioned degree of solution is. So, the optimum choice of measurement approach for the two-color system is achieved through intercomparison of the criterion values. Numerical examples are also given to illustrate this point. The theoretical analysis not only provides an effective way of evaluating different measurement approaches, but also may help us to better understand the influences that determine the choices between wavelength/waveband measurements and calibration/noncalibration modes for temperature and soot distribution.