Numerical investigation on heat transfer characterization of liquid lithium metal in pipe

Liquid Li metal is a promising nuclear reactor coolant; however, relevant research regarding its heat transfer characteristics remains insufficient. In this study, a steady-state two-dimensional mathematical model is established to describe the heat transfer process of liquid Li in a straight pipe. A numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the effects of inlet velocity, inlet temperature, and wall heat flux on heat transfer in liquid Li. The results indicate the advantage of using liquid Li for improving heat transfer at high inlet temperatures (> 1000 K) compared with using liquid sodium and lead–bismuth eutectic. Considering the mechanism of the outlet radial heat flow model, the ratio of turbulent to molecular diffusion coefficients presents a parabolic distribution along the radius of the pipe. Increasing the inlet velocity, decreasing the inlet temperature, and decreasing the wall heat flux can effectively weaken the dominant role of molecular heat transfer owing to the low Prandtl number of liquid Li. The heat transfer of liquid Li is investigated comprehensively in this study, and the results provide a basis for the practical application of liquid Li as a promising coolant.     

Improving the photocatalytic activity of graphitic carbon nitride by thermal treatment in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere

Extending visible light absorption range and suppressing the recombination of photogenerated charge carriers are always important topics in developing efficient solar-driven photocatalysts. In this study, the thermal treatment process at 400 °C in a high-pressure hydrogen atmosphere was applied to modify graphitic carbon nitride. Compared to the normal atmospheric hydrogen treatment process, this process has the merit of producing nitrogen deficient graphitic carbon nitride in high-yield. The optimal photocatalytic activity of modified graphitic carbon nitride was demonstrated by controlling the treatment duration in the hydrogen atmosphere.The changes in the crystal structure, microstructure and optical properties of carbon nitrides were investigated by several characterizations. The relationship between the photocatalytic activity and structures of graphitic carbon nitride was preliminarily established. The results obtained in this study could provide some new ways of improving the activity of graphitic carbon nitride based photocatalyst.     

A Method to Visualize the Skeleton Industrial Structure with Input-Output Analysis and Its Application in China,Japan and USA

The paper established a double filtering method (DFM) to visualize the skeleton industrial structure (SIS) of one economy and find its evolution rule. Different with the previous researches, this method is from a new view of industrial conjunctions combined by leading sectors to depict the industrial structure. It was proved that the leading sector selected by DFM must be key sector selected by Hirschman-Rasmussen method. Applied DFM to input-output tables of China, Japan and USA and MFA to Japan and USA, the results analysis showed that DFM could overtake the two main shortcomings of minimum flow analysis (MFA), scratch SIS of each economy with its own characteristics, visualize the general evolution rules of the industrial structure with crisscrossed conjunctions among leading sectors.     

Defining G protein-coupled receptor peptide ligand expressomes and signalomes in human and mouse islets

Introduction

Islets synthesise and secrete numerous peptides, some of which are known to be important regulators of islet function and glucose homeostasis. In this study, we quantified mRNAs encoding all peptide ligands of islet G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in isolated human and mouse islets and carried out in vitro islet hormone secretion studies to provide functional confirmation for the species-specific role of peptide YY (PYY) in mouse islets.

Materials and methods

GPCR peptide ligand mRNAs in human and mouse islets were quantified by quantitative real-time PCR relative to the reference genes ACTB, GAPDH, PPIA, TBP and TFRC. The pathways connecting GPCR peptide ligands with their receptors were identified by manual searches in the PubMed, IUPHAR and Ingenuity databases. Distribution of PYY protein in mouse and human islets was determined by immunohistochemistry. Insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion from islets was measured by radioimmunoassay.

Results

We have quantified GPCR peptide ligand mRNA expression in human and mouse islets and created specific signalomes mapping the pathways by which islet peptide ligands regulate human and mouse GPCR signalling. We also identified species-specific islet expression of several GPCR ligands. In particular, PYY mRNA levels were ~ 40,000-fold higher in mouse than human islets, suggesting a more important role of locally secreted Pyy in mouse islets. This was confirmed by IHC and functional experiments measuring insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion.

Discussion

The detailed human and mouse islet GPCR peptide ligand atlases will allow accurate translation of mouse islet functional studies for the identification of GPCR/peptide signalling pathways relevant for human physiology, which may lead to novel treatment modalities of diabetes and metabolic disease.

     

A method for recovery of iron,titanium, and vanadium from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite

An innovative method for recovering valuable elements from vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite is proposed. This method involves two procedures: low-temperature roasting of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite and water leaching of roasting slag. During the roasting process, the reduction of iron oxides to metallic iron, the sodium oxidation of vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate, and the smelting separation of metallic iron and slag were accomplished simultaneously. Optimal roasting conditions for iron/slag separation were achieved with a mixture thickness of 42.5 mm, a roasting temperature of 1200°C, a residence time of 2 h, a molar ratio of C/O of 1.7, and a sodium carbonate addition of 70 wt%, as well as with the use of anthracite as a reductant. Under the optimal conditions, 93.67% iron from the raw ore was recovered in the form of iron nugget with 95.44% iron grade. After a water leaching process, 85.61% of the vanadium from the roasting slag was leached, confirming the sodium oxidation of most of the vanadium oxides to water-soluble sodium vanadate during the roasting process. The total recoveries of iron, vanadium, and titanium were 93.67%, 72.68%, and 99.72%, respectively.     

Facile synthesis of flake-like dihydrate zinc oxalate particles

Monodispersed dihydrated zinc oxalate(ZnC_2O_4·2H_2O) particles with characteristic morphology were synthesized by aging a mixed solution of zinc nitrate(Zn(NO_3)_2) and sodium oxalate(Na_2C_2O_4) in the presence of a citrate ligand, with an average flat size of approximately 10–15 μm. The important parameters, including the solution pH values and the concentration of the zinc ions and citrate ligand, were investigated using a series of experiments. It is verified that the citrate ligand significantly affects the morphology of zinc oxalate particles, probably via its multiple roles of chelating, dispersing, and selective absorption. Thermodynamic equilibrium of the distribution of zinc species in an aqueous solution of Zn(Ⅱ)-citrate-oxalate-H_2O was estimated to explain the experimental results and to clarify the size and morphological evolution mechanism of the precipitated particles.     

干湿循环和吸力对非饱和下蜀土力学特性影响的试验研究

为研究干湿循环和吸力共同作用对非饱和下蜀土力学特性的影响,选取镇江某边坡的下蜀土为研究对象,通过非饱和直剪试验,对不同干湿循环次数及吸力水平下下蜀土力学特性的变化规律进行了研究.结果 表明:随着干湿循环次数的增加,下蜀土表面裂隙明显增加并具有不可逆性;下蜀土的抗剪强度经短暂增大后逐渐降低,并在第4次干湿循环作用后趋于稳定;下蜀土的黏聚力在经历短暂提高后逐渐降低并趋于稳定,而其内摩擦角则随干湿循环次数的增加变化幅度较小,呈上下波动态势;相同干湿循环次数下,吸力的存在对于下蜀土的黏聚力具有提升作用,而对土体内摩擦角的影响则不明显.研究结果可为干湿循环作用下下蜀土边坡的稳定性分析提供计算参数,具有实际工程意义.     

Guaranteed Cost Finite-Time Control of Fractional-Order Nonlinear Positive Switched Systems with D-Perturbations via MDADT

This paper is concerned with the problem of guaranteed cost finite-time control of fractionalorder nonlinear positive switched systems(FONPSS) with D-perturbation. Firstly, the proof of the positivity of FONPSS with D-perturbation is given, the definition of guaranteed cost finite-time stability is firstly given in such systems. Then, by constructing linear copositive Lyapunov functions and using the mode-dependent average dwell time(MDADT) approach, a static output feedback controller is constructed, and sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee that the corresponding closed-loop system is guaranteed cost finite-time stable(GCFTS). Such conditions can be easily solved by linear programming. Finally, an example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Side-Channel Attacks in a Real Scenario

Existing Side-Channel Attacks(SCAs) have several limitations and, rather than to be real attack methods,can only be considered to be security evaluation methods. Their limitations are mainly related to the sampling conditions, such as the trigger signal embedded in the source code of the encryption device, and the acquisition device that serves as the encryption-device controller. Apart from it being very difficult for an attacker to add a trigger into the original design before making an attack or to control the encryption device, there is a big gap in the capacity of existing SCAs to pose real threats to cipher devices. In this paper, we propose a new method, the sliding window SCA(SW-SCA), which can be applied in scenarios in which the acquisition device is independent of the encryption device and for which the encryption source code requires no trigger signal or modification. First,we describe the main issues in existing SCAs, then we theoretically analyze the effectiveness and complexity of our proposed SW-SCA —a method that can incorporate a sliding-window mechanism into almost all of the existing non-profiled SCAs. The experimental results for both simulated and physical traces verify the effectiveness of the SW-SCA and the appropriateness of its theoretical complexity.