scholarly journals Al-Based Metal Foams (AMF) as Permanent Cores in Casting: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1592
Author(s):  
Graziano Ubertalli ◽  
Sara Ferraris

Metal foams are extremely interesting due to their low density, high specific stiffness, and impact energy/vibration absorption ability. The use of metal foams as permanent cores in casting can be an opportunity to improve the properties of cast components and to simplify the technological processes (e.g., no need for core removal/treatment/recycling). The present review, besides a brief introduction on commercially available metal foams and their main characteristics, reports and compares the research works and patents related to the use of metal foams as permanent cores in casting, with particular attention to foam characteristics (e.g., presence/absence of surface skin, porosity and density, and liquid to foam volume ratio), casting parameters (e.g., pressure, the temperature of poured material, die material, and cooling rate), core–shell bonding and strategies for its improvement (foam surface treatments/coatings). The main issues that limit the application of metal foams as permanent cores in casting (e.g., poor core–shell bonding and poor foam resistance to casting conditions) are finally discussed together with possible solutions for their overcoming. Finally, characterization techniques, suitable for the investigation of foams, casting objects, and the core–shell bonding are summarized and compared in order to facilitate the selection and optimization of the more suitable ones.

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Calegari ◽  
Giovanni Ciatto ◽  
Enrico Denti ◽  
Andrea Omicini

Together with the disruptive development of modern sub-symbolic approaches to artificial intelligence (AI), symbolic approaches to classical AI are re-gaining momentum, as more and more researchers exploit their potential to make AI more comprehensible, explainable, and therefore trustworthy. Since logic-based approaches lay at the core of symbolic AI, summarizing their state of the art is of paramount importance now more than ever, in order to identify trends, benefits, key features, gaps, and limitations of the techniques proposed so far, as well as to identify promising research perspectives. Along this line, this paper provides an overview of logic-based approaches and technologies by sketching their evolution and pointing out their main application areas. Future perspectives for exploitation of logic-based technologies are discussed as well, in order to identify those research fields that deserve more attention, considering the areas that already exploit logic-based approaches as well as those that are more likely to adopt logic-based approaches in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-157
Author(s):  
Anju Tiwari ◽  
Ankit Kumar Tripathi ◽  
Prateek Khare

When we consider matter at nanoscale, one of the most important aspects to be considered is that due to the small size of the particles, these have increased surface area to volume ratio. The large value of this ratio increases the dominance of the surface atoms of the nanoparticles in relation to those in its interior. A special category of materials at nanoscale level has gained popularity in the recent times due to their interesting properties and applications. When classified on the basis of structure, the types of core/shell particles can have a large variety. Each of this structural classification has its own importance, method of synthesis and application. The core/shell  nanoparticles have some distinct features that is responsible for their importance. The properties of Core/shell nanoparticles are highly modified from that of their simple pure nanomaterials, thus they usually called highly functional materials. The introduction of a different crust layer over the core particle has many reasons, such as it helps in implementing surface modification, increases functionality, stability and dispersibility, control on the release of the core, lowering the consumption of precious materials, and so on. These nanostructures can have a number of combinations in close interaction, depending upon the selection of material used, which highly influences the end application. This paper has an overview of the present methods involved in synthesis and tunable factors responsible for their end  applications. The development of metal/metal oxide core-shell nanoparticles has become popular nowadays due to their widespread use in catalysis and other environmental remedial applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 904
Author(s):  
V. O. Zamorskyi ◽  
Ya. M. Lytvynenko ◽  
A. M. Pogorily ◽  
A. I. Tovstolytkin ◽  
S. O. Solopan ◽  
...  

Magnetic properties of the sets of Fe3O4(core)/CoFe2O4(shell) composite nanoparticles with a core diameter of about 6.3 nm and various shell thicknesses (0, 1.0, and 2.5 nm), as well as the mixtures of Fe3O4 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles taken in the ratios corresponding to the core/shell material contents in the former case, have been studied. The results of magnetic research showed that the coating of magnetic nanoparticles with a shell gives rise to the appearance of two simultaneous effects: the modification of the core/shell interface parameters and the parameter change in both the nanoparticle’s core and shell themselves. As a result, the core/shell particles acquire new characteristics that are inherent neither to Fe3O4 nor to CoFe2O4. The obtained results open the way to the optimization and adaptation of the parameters of the core/shell spinel-ferrite-based nanoparticles for their application in various technological and biomedical domains.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 303-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifang Zhao ◽  
Tianqi Qi ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
David Hui ◽  
Cong Xiao ◽  
...  

AbstractThe behavior of cement-based materials is manipulated by chemical and physical processes at the nanolevel. Therefore, the application of nanomaterials in civil engineering to develop nano-modified cement-based materials is a promising research. In recent decades, a large number of researchers have tried to improve the properties of cement-based materials by employing various nanomaterials and to characterize the mechanism of nano-strengthening. In this study, the state of the art progress of nano-modified cement-based materials is systematically reviewed and summarized. First, this study reviews the basic properties and dispersion methods of nanomaterials commonly used in cement-based materials, including carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, graphene, graphene oxide, nano-silica, nano-calcium carbonate, nano-calcium silicate hydrate, etc. Then the research progress on nano-engineered cementitious composites is reviewed from the view of accelerating cement hydration, reinforcing mechanical properties, and improving durability. In addition, the market and applications of nanomaterials for cement-based materials are briefly discussed, and the cost is creatively summarized through market survey. Finally, this study also summarizes the existing problems in current research and provides future perspectives accordingly.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Christian Zambrzycki ◽  
Runbang Shao ◽  
Archismita Misra ◽  
Carsten Streb ◽  
Ulrich Herr ◽  
...  

Core-shell materials are promising functional materials for fundamental research and industrial application, as their properties can be adapted for specific applications. In particular, particles featuring iron or iron oxide as core material are relevant since they combine magnetic and catalytic properties. The addition of an SiO2 shell around the core particles introduces additional design aspects, such as a pore structure and surface functionalization. Herein, we describe the synthesis and application of iron-based core-shell nanoparticles for two different fields of research that is heterogeneous catalysis and water purification. The iron-based core shell materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, as well as N2-physisorption, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating-sample magnetometer measurements in order to correlate their properties with the performance in the target applications. Investigations of these materials in CO2 hydrogenation and water purification show their versatility and applicability in different fields of research and application, after suitable individual functionalization of the core-shell precursor. For design and application of magnetically separable particles, the SiO2 shell is surface-functionalized with an ionic liquid in order to bind water pollutants selectively. The core requires no functionalization, as it provides suitable magnetic properties in the as-made state. For catalytic application in synthesis gas reactions, the SiO2-stabilized core nanoparticles are reductively functionalized to provide the catalytically active metallic iron sites. Therefore, Fe@SiO2 core-shell nanostructures are shown to provide platform materials for various fields of application, after a specific functionalization.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
María Capa ◽  
Pat Hutchings

Annelida is a ubiquitous, common and diverse group of organisms, found in terrestrial, fresh waters and marine environments. Despite the large efforts put into resolving the evolutionary relationships of these and other Lophotrochozoa, and the delineation of the basal nodes within the group, these are still unanswered. Annelida holds an enormous diversity of forms and biological strategies alongside a large number of species, following Arthropoda, Mollusca, Vertebrata and perhaps Platyhelminthes, among the species most rich in phyla within Metazoa. The number of currently accepted annelid species changes rapidly when taxonomic groups are revised due to synonymies and descriptions of a new species. The group is also experiencing a recent increase in species numbers as a consequence of the use of molecular taxonomy methods, which allows the delineation of the entities within species complexes. This review aims at succinctly reviewing the state-of-the-art of annelid diversity and summarizing the main systematic revisions carried out in the group. Moreover, it should be considered as the introduction to the papers that form this Special Issue on Systematics and Biodiversity of Annelids.


Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 359
Author(s):  
Francesco Ruffino

Bimetallic nanoparticles show novel electronic, optical, catalytic or photocatalytic properties different from those of monometallic nanoparticles and arising from the combination of the properties related to the presence of two individual metals but also from the synergy between the two metals. In this regard, bimetallic nanoparticles find applications in several technological areas ranging from energy production and storage to sensing. Often, these applications are based on optical properties of the bimetallic nanoparticles, for example, in plasmonic solar cells or in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy-based sensors. Hence, in these applications, the specific interaction between the bimetallic nanoparticles and the electromagnetic radiation plays the dominant role: properties as localized surface plasmon resonances and light-scattering efficiency are determined by the structure and shape of the bimetallic nanoparticles. In particular, for example, concerning core-shell bimetallic nanoparticles, the optical properties are strongly affected by the core/shell sizes ratio. On the basis of these considerations, in the present work, the Mie theory is used to analyze the light-scattering properties of bimetallic core–shell spherical nanoparticles (Au/Ag, AuPd, AuPt, CuAg, PdPt). By changing the core and shell sizes, calculations of the intensity of scattered light from these nanoparticles are reported in polar diagrams, and a comparison between the resulting scattering efficiencies is carried out so as to set a general framework useful to design light-scattering-based devices for desired applications.


Author(s):  
Yi Guan ◽  
Nan Li ◽  
Jiao He ◽  
Yongliang Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
...  

Herein, we report a post-assembly strategy by growing the bimetallic Co/Zn zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (BIMZIF) on the surface of the customized Mo metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) (Mo-MOF) to prepare the core-shell...


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 502
Author(s):  
Karel Šindelka ◽  
Zuzana Limpouchová ◽  
Karel Procházka

Using coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) with explicit electrostatics, we performed (i) an extensive series of simulations of the electrostatic co-assembly of asymmetric oppositely charged copolymers composed of one (either positively or negatively charged) polyelectrolyte (PE) block A and one water-soluble block B and (ii) studied the solubilization of positively charged porphyrin derivatives (P+) in the interpolyelectrolyte complex (IPEC) cores of co-assembled nanoparticles. We studied the stoichiometric mixtures of 137 A10+B25 and 137 A10−B25 chains with moderately hydrophobic A blocks (DPD interaction parameter aAS=35) and hydrophilic B blocks (aBS=25) with 10 to 120 P+ added (aPS=39). The P+ interactions with other components were set to match literature information on their limited solubility and aggregation behavior. The study shows that the moderately soluble P+ molecules easily solubilize in IPEC cores, where they partly replace PE+ and electrostatically crosslink PE− blocks. As the large P+ rings are apt to aggregate, P+ molecules aggregate in IPEC cores. The aggregation, which starts at very low loadings, is promoted by increasing the number of P+ in the mixture. The positively charged copolymers repelled from the central part of IPEC core partially concentrate at the core-shell interface and partially escape into bulk solvent depending on the amount of P+ in the mixture and on their association number, AS. If AS is lower than the ensemble average ⟨AS⟩n, the copolymer chains released from IPEC preferentially concentrate at the core-shell interface, thus increasing AS, which approaches ⟨AS⟩n. If AS>⟨AS⟩n, they escape into the bulk solvent.


Author(s):  
Joost van Hoof ◽  
Hannah R. Marston

The number of older adults is increasing rapidly, and this demographic shift places an increased level of strain and tension on the various international healthcare and welfare systems [...]


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