Engineering Papers⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Li, Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Li, Yang.

At least 145 records · Page 8

Reduction Mechanism of Iron Oxide Briquettes by Carbonaceous Materials Extracted from Blast Furnace Dust

The reducibility of carbonaceous powder extracted from blast furnace dust was investigated. In this study, pickling treatment was used for BF bag dust and BF gravitational dust to extract the carbonaceous material. The structural characteristics of carbonaceous material were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive spectrometer. The reduction of ferric oxide and carbon gasification experiments were researched by thermogravimetry. The results show that the pickled raw coal gives the highest reducibility, which is followed by BF bag dust and BF gravitational dust. The reason for this is that the higher disordered crystalline structure leads to stronger gasification reactivity, and further results in stronger reduction reactivity. Based on the randomized nucleation model, the kinetic analysis shows that the activation energies for the reduction reaction of BF gravitational dust, BF bag dust, and raw coal after pickling are 300.14, 180.43, and 124.62 kJ mol{sup −1}, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Synthesis of Carboxyl-Rich Biosorbent by UV-Induced Graft Polymerization Method for High Efficiency Adsorption of Ce{sup 3+} from Aqueous Solution: Activation and Adsorption Mechanism

Developing a cost-effective and highly efficient sorbent for the recovery of rare-earth elements from aqueous solution is still an urgent need. In this study, a novel biosorbent, carboxyl-rich pine bark (CPB), was modified by UV-induced graft polymerization method to increase the carboxyl-containing functional groups and facilitate the adsorption of Ce{sup 3+}. The grafting process was examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), indicating that high-density carboxyl functional groups are present on the surface of pine bark and the grafting yield of surface polymer brushes reaches up to 128%. Interestingly, the maximum adsorption capacity of Ce{sup 3+} on CPB could reach up to 256.5 mg/g. The adsorption mechanism of Ce{sup 3+} by CPB has been determined by the adsorption models and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which can be inferred from these results that the high performance of CPB is attributed to the surface coordination between Ce{sup 3+} and hydroxyl or carbonyl groups. This work suggests that engineered surface functional groups of biomass could have an opportunity for the development of high performance rare-earth element adsorbents.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Heavy quarkonia production at energies available at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and future electron-ion colliding facilities using basis light-front quantization wave functions

We study here exclusive charmonium and bottomonium production in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions and electron-ion collisions within the dipole picture. We employ heavy quarkonium light-front wave functions obtained within the basis light-front quantization framework, which has some features of the light-front holographic QCD. We focus on comparison with measurements of exclusive charmonium and bottomonium production in ultraperipheral pp, pPb, and PbPb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and find reasonable agreement with the cross sections. We also discuss the coherent production cross-section ratios of excited states to the ground state for charmonium and bottomonium, which exhibit insensitivity to the dipole model parameters. We demonstrate that electron-ion collisions provide an opportunity for a quantitative study of heavy quarkonium structure.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Numerical analysis of temperature and stress fields in hybrid indium antimonide arrays detector with laser irradiation

Thermal-stress effects are the major cause of failure in infrared focal-plane arrays detector, during laser irradiation. Based on the established three-dimensional structural model of hybrid indium antimonide infrared focal-plane arrays, the temperature and stress fields of hybrid indium antimonide detectors irradiated by 1.064-μm Gauss pulsed laser are studied, considering the temperature-dependent material parameters. The results indicate that the temperature increase and thermal stress effects are different, in each layer. Especially in indium antimonide chip, which is the uppermost layer of the indium antimonide detector that directly absorbs laser energy, the temperature shows not a smooth decrease as laser intensity from centre to outside, but a concentric-ringed ripple decrease with discontinuous high temperature extremum areas; which induces its own unique stress distributions: during the laser irradiation region, the thermal stress in areas above indium bumps is much lower than that in areas above underfill, but the stress distribution outside the laser irradiation region is exactly the opposite. The temperature and stress distribution in other materials are also different from that in indium antimonide chip. The main reason is that each material has different thermal properties, especially indium bump and underfill, which are alternative distribution in middle layers, have quite different thermal parameters. All these make the temperature and stress distribution in each layer having own characteristics. In addition, the change trend of the maximum temperature and stress in each layer in accordance with the laser pulse number are also studied. The maximum stress as well as temperature always occurs in the indium antimonide chip.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Frame dependence of transition form factors in light-front dynamics

We calculate here the transition form factor between vector and pseudoscalar quarkonia in both the timelike and the spacelike region using light-front dynamics. We explore the frame dependence of the form factors for heavy quarkonia with light-front wave functions calculated from the valence Fock sector. This dependence could serve as a measure for the Lorentz symmetry violation arising from the Fock-space truncation. We suggest using frames with minimal longitudinal momentum transfer for calculations in the valence Fock sector, namely, the Drell-Yan frame for the spacelike region and a specific longitudinal frame for the timelike region; at q 2 = 0 these two frames give the same result. We also use the transition form factor in the timelike region to investigate the electromagnetic Dalitz decay ψ A → ψ B l + l - ( l = e , μ ) and predict the effective mass spectrum of the lepton pair.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Microcellular Foaming Behaviors of Poly (Lactic Acid)/Low-Density Polyethylene Blends Induced by Compatibilization Effect

A facile methodology for improving the crystallization ability, rheological properties and microcellular foaming behaviors of poly (lactic acid)/low-density polyethylene (PLA/LDPE) blends through compatibilization was proposed. Poly (ethylene octene) grafted with glycidyl methacrylate (GPOE) as reactive compatibilizer was introduced into PLA/LDPE blends and the resultant PLA/LDPE/GPOE blends were foamed by supercritical CO{sub 2}. Torque curves and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy results confirmed that GPOE reacted with PLA successfully. The crystallization ability and rheological properties of PLA was promoted obviously by the addition of LDPE and GPOE. The size of LDPE dispersion phase in PLA/LDPE blends decreased from 4.4 ± 0.1 to 1.2 ± 0.1 µm, owing to the compatibility effect. When the content of GPOE reach 8 phr, microcellular structure appeared in the PLA/LDPE/GPOE blending foam. An interesting flower-like cellular structure was observed in PLA/LDPE/GPOE blending foams, with the foaming temperature at 85 and 90 °C. Finally, the microcellular foaming mechanism for various PLA foams was proposed and clarified using schematic diagram.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Incorporating energy storage and user experience in isolated microgrid dispatch using a multi-objective model

In order to coordinate multiple different scheduling objectives from the perspectives of economy, environment, and users, a practical multi-objective dynamic optimal dispatch model incorporating energy storage and user experience is proposed for isolated microgrids. In this model, besides microturbine units, energy storage is employed to provide spinning reserve services for microgirds; and furthermore, from the perspective of demand side management, a consumer satisfaction indicator is developed to measure the quality of user experience. A two-step solution methodology incorporating multi-objective optimisation and decision analysis is put forward to address this model. First, a powerful heuristic optimisation algorithm, called the -dominance based evolutionary algorithm, is used to find a well-distributed set of Pareto-optimal solutions of the problem. Thereby, the best compromise solutions are identified from the entire solutions with the use of decision analysis by integrating fuzzy C-means clustering and grey relation projection. The simulation results on the modified Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Energy Control and Communication lab microgrid test system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Li, Yang↗

Crucial Points within the Pore as Determinants of K[superscript +] Channel Conductance and Gating

While selective for K{sup +}, K{sup +} channels vary significantly among their rate of ion permeation. Here, we probe the effect of steric hindrance and electrostatics within the ion conduction pathway on K{sup +} permeation in the MthK K{sup +} channel using structure-based mutagenesis combined with single-channel electrophysiology and X-ray crystallography. We demonstrate that changes in side-chain size and polarity at Ala88, which forms the constriction point of the open MthK pore, have profound effects on single-channel conductance as well as open probability. We also reveal that the negatively charged Glu92s at the intracellular entrance of the open pore form an electrostatic trap, which stabilizes a hydrated K{sup +} and facilitates ion permeation. This electrostatic attraction is also responsible for intracellular divalent blockage, which renders the channel inward rectified in the presence of Ca{sup 2+}. In light of the high structural conservation of the selectivity filter, the size and chemical environment differences within the portion of the ion conduction pathway other than the filter are likely the determinants for the conductance variations among K{sup +} channels.

Shi, Ning↗

Phonon spectrum and phonon focusing in coarse-grained atomistic simulations

This work investigates the accuracy, efficiency, and applicability of coarse-grained (CG) atomistic methods in simulation of phonon dynamics. First, we compute and compare phonon dispersion relations in CG models with those in atomically resolved models, using the concurrent atomistic-continuum (CAC). The CG atomistic models using the CAC method are shown to reproduce long-wavelength phonons with great accuracy, while capturing the dynamics of some short-wavelength phonons that are usually inaccessible to CG methods. We then present CG simulation results of the propagation of heat pulses in Si with the interaction between atoms being modelled with the Stillinger-Weber potential; the experimentally observed phonon-focusing patterns in the (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) planes of Si crystals are reproduced. The accuracy and efficiency of the CAC method in CG simulation of acoustic and optical phonon branches are quantified with respect to atomically-resolved molecular dynamics simulations. The applicability and limitations of concurrent multiscale methods in the simulation of phonon transport across atomistic-continuum interface are investigated. Possible ways to overcome the limitations are discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Robust Cubature Kalman Filter for Dynamic State Estimation of Synchronous Machines Under Unknown Measurement Noise Statistics

The Kalman-type filtering techniques including cubature Kalman filter (CKF) does not work well in non-Gaussian environments, especially in the presence of outliers. To solve this problem, Huber's M-estimation-based robust CKF (RCKF) is proposed for synchronous machines by combining the Huber's M-estimation theory with the classical CKF, which is capable of coping with the deterioration in performance and discretization of tracking curves when measurement noise statistics deviate from the prior noise statistics. The proposed RCKF algorithm has good adaptability to unknown measurement noise statistics characteristics including non-Gaussian measurement noise and outliers. The simulation results on the WSCC 3-machine 9-bus system and New England 16-machine 68-bus system verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and its advantage over the classical CKF.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Study of the Rare Earth Effects on the Magnetic Fluctuations in RbLn{sub 2}Fe{sub 4}As{sub 4}O{sub 2} (Ln = Tb, Dy, and Ho) by Mössbauer Spectroscopy

In the current work, we report the investigation of RbLn{sub 2}Fe{sub 4}As{sub 4}O{sub 2} (Ln = Tb, Dy, and Ho) and RbFe{sub 2}As{sub 2} by {sup 57}Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Singlet pattern has been observed for all the samples, indicating the absence of static magnetic ordering down to 5.9 K on the Fe sublattice. The observed intermediate value of the isomer shift confirms the effective self charge transfer effect for the studied superconductors. Debye temperatures of these samples have been determined by the temperature dependence of the isomer shift. Most importantly, we observe different spectral line width broadening behaviors for samples with different rare earth elements, and no line width broadenings for samples Ln = Tb and Ho. These results suggest that the observed magnetic fluctuations at the Fe site might be sensitive to the magnetic behaviors of the rare earth magnetic moments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Fatigue behavior analysis and multi-scale modelling of chopped carbon fiber chip-reinforced composites under tension-tension loading condition

Here, the fatigue damage behavior of chopped carbon fiber chip-reinforced composite has been experimentally and numerically investigated. A large scatter is exhibited in the S-N diagram due to the random distribution of carbon fiber chips, and therefore a new analysis procedure is proposed to link the local microstructure to the fatigue behavior of the bulk material. Interrupted fatigue tests are also performed so that microstructure characterization can be conducted on the tested samples to analyze the crack initiation and propagation. Inspired from the experimental findings, a multi-scale progressive damage fatigue model is proposed to predict the fatigue behavior. The model incorporates a new stochastic chip-packing algorithm for microstructure reconstruction along with continuum damage models into the representative volume element (RVE) model in ABAQUS/Explicit. Finally, the simulation results based on the proposed model are in good agreement with the experimental data in terms of cracking modes and predicted life.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Optimal Scheduling of an Isolated Microgrid With Battery Storage Considering Load and Renewable Generation Uncertainties

By modeling the uncertainty of spinning reserves provided by energy storage with probabilistic constraints, a new optimal scheduling mode is proposed in this paper for minimizing the operating costs of an isolated microgrid (MG) by using chance-constrained programming. The model is transformed into a readily solvable mixed integer linear programming formulation in general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) via a proposed discretized step transformation approach and finally solved by applying the CPLEX solver. By properly setting the confidence levels of the spinning reserve probability constraints, the MG operation can achieve a tradeoff between reliability and economy. The test results on the modified Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Energy Control and Communication lab MG test system reveal that the proposal significantly exceeds the commonly used hybrid intelligent algorithm with much better and more stable optimization results and significantly reduced calculation times.

Li, Yang↗