Tracing the Origin of Zhu Danxi’s Xianghuo (Ministerial Fire) Theory

The theory of Xianghuo (lit. ‘ministerial fire’) was first recorded in the "Huangdi Neijing", and it was supplemented and perfected by later generations. During the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Zhu Zhenheng refined it into "Xianghuo theory" to guide clinical treatment; modern scholars proposed the Xianghuo mechanism theory based on the corresponding characteristics of the Xianghuo theory to promote the clinical research in the Xianghuo theory. This paper discusses Danxi School's understanding of Xianghuo theory, and makes a rigorous research and summary in order to serve as a reference for Xianghuo theory.

Tribological properties of nano-sized ZrO2 ceramic particles in automotive lubricants

The demand for decreasing CO2-emission and harmful material content of the exhaust gas of passenger cars requires the improvement of the entire powertrain including the applied lubricants. One of the possible future engines lubricant can be the nano-sized ceramic particles, which can provide positive tribological properties also in the presence of nonmetallic surface materials. This paper presents the experimental investigation of ZrO2 nanoceramic powder as a lubricant additive. The tribological performance of the lubricant samples was experimentally investigated on a ball-on-disc translation tribometer. An optimum concentration was found at 0.4 wt%, where the wear scar diameter on the ball specimen was reduced by more than 40% compared to the reference sample. The SEM-analysis confirmed the mending mechanism theory: nanoparticles were revealed to aggregate between the asperities resulting in a significantly smoother contact surface.

Design of Self-Reconfigurable Multiarm Robot Mechanism Based on Deployable Kinematic Chains

As the structures of multiarm robots are serially arranged, the packaging and transportation of these robots are often inconvenient. The ability of these robots to operate objects must also be improved. Addressing this issue, this paper presents a type of multiarm robot that can be adequately folded into a designed area. The robot can achieve different operation modes by combining different arms and objects. First, deployable kinematic chains (DKCs) are designed, which can be folded into a designated area and be used as an arm structure in the multiarm robot mechanism. The strategy of a platform for storing DKCs is proposed. Based on the restrictions in the storage area and the characteristics of parallel mechanisms, a class of DKCs, called base assembly library, is obtained. Subsequently, an assembly method for the synthesis of the multiarm robot mechanism is proposed, which can be formed by the connection of a multiarm robot mechanism with an operation object based on a parallel mechanism structure. The formed parallel mechanism can achieve a reconfigurable characteristic when different DKCs connect to the operation object. Using this method, two types of multiarm robot mechanisms with four DKCs that can switch operation modes to perform different tasks through autonomous combination and release operation is proposed. The obtained mechanisms have observable advantages when compared with the traditional mechanisms, including optimizing the occupied volume during transportation and using parallel mechanism theory to analyze the switching of operation modes.