In this paper, an experimental study on the sulphate attack resistance of high-performance concrete (HPC) with two different water-to-binder ratios (w/b) under compressive loading is presented. The sulphate concentration, compressive strength, and the mass change in the HPC specimens were determined for immersion in a Na₂SO₄ solution over different durations under external compressive loading by self-regulating loading equipment. The effects of the compressive stress, the w/b ratio, and the Na₂SO₄ solution concentration on the HPC sulphate attack resistance under compressive loading were analysed. The results showed that the HPC sulphate attack resistance under compressive loading was closely related to the stress level, the w/b ratio, and the Na₂SO₄ solution concentration. Applying a 0.3 stress ratio for the compressive loading or reducing the w/b ratio clearly improved the HPC sulphate attack resistance, whereas applying a 0.6 stress ratio for the compressive loading or exposing the HPC to a more concentrated Na₂SO₄ solution accelerated the sulphate attack and HPC deterioration.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) provides low-level turbulence alerting service for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) through the windshear and turbulence warning system (WTWS). In the WTWS, turbulence intensities along the flight paths of the airport are estimated based upon correlation equations established between the surface anemometer data and the turbulence data from research aircraft before the opening of the airport. The research aircraft data are not available on day-to-day basis. The remote sensing meteorological instruments, such as the Doppler light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and radar, may be used to provide direct measurements of turbulence intensities over the runway corridors. The performances of LIDAR- and radar-based turbulence intensity data are studied in this paper based on actual turbulence intensity measurements made on 423 commercial jets for a typical case of terrain-induced turbulence in association with a typhoon. It turns out that, with the tuning of the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curve between hit rate and false alarm rate, the LIDAR-based turbulence intensity measurement performs better than the anemometer-based estimation of WTWS for turbulence intensity at moderate level or above. On the other hand, the radar-based measurement does not perform as well when compared with WTWS. By combining LIDAR- and radar-based measurements, the performance is slightly better than WTWS, mainly as a result of contribution from LIDAR-based measurement. As a result, the LIDAR-based turbulence intensity measurement could be used to replace anemometer-based estimate for non-rainy weather conditions. Further enhancements of radar-based turbulence intensity measurement in rain would be necessary.

Aerodynamic forces and dynamic performances of railway vehicles are coupled and affected by each other. On the one hand, aerodynamic forces change the displacements of a train. On the other hand, displacements affect aerodynamic forces. Based on vehicle-track coupling dynamics and aerodynamics, a numerical approach to the interaction between airflow and a high-speed train is presented in this paper. Aerodynamic forces and dynamic performances of a high-speed train subjected to crosswind were numerically simulated. Results showed that the interaction between airflow and a high-speed train has a significant influence on displacements and aerodynamic forces of the head coach. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the interaction between airflow and a high-speed train subjected to crosswind.

The acoustic field of a linear compressor serves to deliver the compression work to the load, such as the connected cold head of a cryocooler; it plays an equivalently important role as the electrical and mechanical parts, especially in the impedance match issue. This paper studies the acoustic impedance characteristics of a linear compressor. The parameters including the current, the piston displacement, the pressure amplitude, the electrical power dissipation, the power factor, the pressure-volumetric (PV) power delivered, and the efficiency are theoretically and experimentally investigated. Different from previous theoretical studies, optimization for the operations away from the resonance is also included. More general optimization results imply relevance between thermoacoustic engines and linear compressors. The predicted results are validated by the experiments performed on a linear compressor with an adjustable resistive-capacitive (RC) acoustic load. The comparisons between the calculations and the measurements are presented and analyzed. The results provide deeper insight into the mechanism of the linear compressor and the impedance match in a cryocooler system.

A type of azobenzene-containing block copolymer polymethyl methacrylate-b-poly (n-butylmethacrylate-co-6-(4- (phenylazo) benzoate) hexyl methacrylate) (PMMA-b-(PnBMA-co-PAzoMA)) was synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Macroinitiator polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was prepared by ATRP and used to initiate the copolymerization of monomer n-butyl methacrylate (nBMA) and azobenzene-based methacrylate monomer (AzoMA). Herein, three block copolymers with different molecular weights and block volume fractions were obtained and spin-coated on a silicon substrate or quartz plate before annealing at 180 °C for 14 h. The surface morphologies in these annealed copolymer films were observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Bicontinuous stripe or island patterns with different sizes were formed dependent on the film thickness. These ordered patterns are considered to be formed arising from the dewetting process of the surface layer in the copolymer film. Photoisomerization of azobenzene units in the copolymer films changed the dewetting behaviors of the surface layer of the thin film. Therefore, some copolymer annealed films showed a reversible morphology conversion between bicontinuous stripe and island structure when exposed to UV light and upon being stored in the dark. It was found that the composition of the block copolymer had obvious influences on the photoinduced morphology conversion behaviors in these copolymer thin films. When the volumes of PnBMA and PAzoMA phases in the block copolymer were large enough, the surface morphology could be modulated by UV light irradiation and storage in the dark. This work proposes a new possibility for photoinduced control and design of the dewetting processes of thin films using a linear block copolymer.

{3-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy]-propyl} triethoxysilane (TESM2) was synthesized and used as an electrolyte additive to improve the performances of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The electrochemical properties of the electrolyte (1 mol/L lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆)/ethylene carbonate (EC):diethylene carbonate (DEC):dimethyl carbonate (DMC), 1:1:1) with different contents of TESM2 were characterized by ionic conductivity measurement, galvanostatic charge/discharge test of graphite/Li half cells, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Both the cycling performances and C-rate capabilities of graphite/Li half cells were significantly improved with an optimized content of 15% TESM2 in the electrolyte. The graphite/Li half cell delivered a very high specific capacity of 370 mAh/g at 0.2C rate without any capacity loss for 60 cycles, and retained a capacity of 292 mAh/g at 2C rate. The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film on the surface of the graphite anode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), indicating that TESM2 was effectively involved in the formation of SEI film on the surface of graphite.

In this paper, a novel criterion is proposed to determine the retained principal components (PCs) that capture the dominant variability of online monitored data. The variations of PCs were calculated according to their mean and covariance changes between the modeling sample and the online monitored data. The retained PCs containing dominant variations were selected and defined as correlative PCs (CPCs). The new Hotelling’s T² statistic based on CPCs was then employed to monitor the process. Case studies on the simulated continuous stirred tank reactor and the well-known Tennessee Eastman process demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the CPCs-based fault detection methods.