Dual-Dielectric-Layer-Based Iontronic Pressure Sensor Coupling Ultrahigh Sensitivity and Wide-Range Detection for Temperature/Pressure Dual-Mode Sensing.

Iontronic pressure sensors are widely used in human motion monitoring and human-machine interactions owing to their high sensitivity, wide measurement range, and excellent resolution. However, conventional dielectric layer designs often involve complex fabrication processes, high costs, and limited performances. This paper proposes a novel sensor structure, the dual-dielectric-layer iontronic pressure sensor (DLIPS), which integrates high- and low-permittivity layers.

An Improved Mampel Model of the Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites.

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites (FRTPs) are gaining increasing attention and widespread use in engineering applications due to their high specific strength and stiffness, excellent toughness, and recyclability. The mechanical properties of these composites are closely tied to their crystallization process, making it crucial to accurately describe this phenomenon. Existing theoretical models for analyzing the non-isothermal crystallization of thermoplastic composites often face challenges relating to the complexity of obtaining multiple parameters and the difficulty of achieving a final relative crystallinity of 1.

Multi-Objective Robust Design Optimization for Crashworthiness Enhancement of Hybrid 2D Triaxially Braided Composite Tube Using Evolutionary Algorithms.

An innovative optimal design framework is developed aiming at enhancing the crashworthiness while ensuring the lightweight design of a hybrid two-dimensional triaxial braided composite (2DTBC) tube, drawing insights from the mesostructure of the composite material. To achieve these goals, we first compile the essential mechanical properties of the 2DTBC using a concentric cylinder model (CCM) and an analytical laminate model. Subsequently, a kriging surrogate model to elucidate the intricate relationship between design variables and macroscopic crashworthiness is developed and validated.

Impact of Hepatitis B virus infection on postoperative complications and length of stay in elderly patients with hip fracture: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Osteoporosis and subsequent fractures are common in the chronic hepatitis B (CHB) population, especially in the elderly. This study investigated the effects of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on postoperative outcomes following hip fracture surgery.

Methods: The study identified elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery at three academic tertiary care centres between January 2014 and December 2020.

Inverse Design of Valley-Like Edge States of Sound Degenerated Away from the High-Symmetry Points in a Square Lattice.

Robust edge states of periodic crystals with Dirac points fixed at the corners or centers of the Brillouin zones have drawn extensive attention. Recently, researchers have observed a special edge state associated with Dirac cones degenerated at the high symmetric boundaries of the first irreducible Brillouin zone. These nodal points, characterized by vortex structures in the momentum space, are attributed to the unavailable band crossing protected by mirror symmetry.

Preparation of Novel Graphene/Silicone Rubber Nanocomposite Dielectric Foams.

In order to obtain high dielectric silicone rubber (SR)-based nanocomposites, graphene (Gr) was added by ultrasonication and mechanical mixing for the preparation of a microporous structure. It was discovered that the Gr content and the expansion rate had a great impact on the cellular structure. Based on the effects of the Gr content and the expansion rate on the dielectric property, hybrid materials were prepared and better properties appeared, as expected.

Antiviral Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis B Infection Improves Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Background: Previous studies have shown that chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may place patients at increased risk of postoperative adverse events. However, there is limited information on the effects of antiviral treatment (AVT) on postoperative outcomes following total hip arthroplasties (THAs).

Methods: A multicenter retrospective database query was used to identify patients infected with HBV undergoing THAs between 2012 and 2017.

Synergistic Delamination Toughening of Glass Fiber-Aluminum Laminates by Surface Treatment and Graphene Oxide Interleaf.

The synergistic effects of surface treatment and interleaf on the interlaminar mechanical properties of glass fiber-aluminum laminates were studied. Aluminum sheets were treated with alkaline etching. Meanwhile, a graphene oxide (GO) interleaf was introduced between the aluminum sheet and the glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composite.

1-Pyrenemethanol derived nanocrystal reinforced graphene films with high thermal conductivity and flexibility.

Miniaturization and integration of electronic components lead to increasing challenges of thermal management. Ultrathin materials with excellent thermal and flexibility are urgently required for portable electronic devices. In this study, the 1-pyrenemethanol (PyM) modified graphene oxide (GO) (GO-PyM) films were prepared in ethanol solution by an evaporation-induced assembly method.

Highly Compressible and Sensitive Pressure Sensor under Large Strain Based on 3D Porous Reduced Graphene Oxide Fiber Fabrics in Wide Compression Strains.

The development of highly sensitive wearable and foldable pressure sensors is one of the central topics in artificial intelligence, human motion monitoring, and health care monitors. However, current pressure sensors with high sensitivity and good durability in low, medium, and high applied strains are rather limited. Herein, a flexible pressure sensor based on hierarchical three-dimensional and porous reduced graphene oxide (rGO) fiber fabrics as the key sensing element is presented.

An Inverse Approach of Damage Identification Using Lamb Wave Tomography.

A pulse laser combined LWT technique with a two-stage reconstruction algorithm was proposed to realize rapid damage location, or even the evaluation of damage size for plate-like structures. Since the amplitude of Lamb waves in propagation is highly sensitive to damage, including inside damage, the change of the attenuation coefficient of Lamb waves in the inspection region was used as a damage index to reconstruct damage images. In stage one, the rough area of the damage was identified by a comparison of the amplitude of the testing signal data and reference data (undamaged state).

Enhancement of thermal energy transport across the graphene/h-BN heterostructure interface.

Enhancing thermal energy transport is critical for the applications of 2-dimensional materials. Here, we explored the methods of enhancing the interfacial thermal energy transport across the graphene (GR)/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) heterostructure interface, and revealed the enhancement mechanisms of interfacial thermal energy transport by applying non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. The computational results indicated that both doping and interface topography optimization could effectively improve the interfacial thermal conductance (ITC) of the GR/h-BN heterostructure.

Molecular dynamics study of strengthening mechanism of nanolaminated graphene/Cu composites under compression.

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanolaminated graphene/Cu (NGCu) and pure Cu under compression are conducted to investigate the underlying strengthening mechanism of graphene and the effect of lamella thickness. It is found that the stress-strain curves of NGCu undergo 3 regimes i.e.

Investigation of thermal energy transport interface of hybrid graphene-carbon nanotube/polyethylene nanocomposites.

It is well known the thermal properties of three-dimensional (3-D) hybrid graphene (GR)-carbon nanotube (CNT) structures are not superior to that of the individual GR and CNT, however, the 3-D hybrid GR-CNT structures can effectively improve the thermal properties of polymer matrix. Therefore, understanding the thermal energy transport in the interface between polymer matrix and 3-D hybrid GR-CNT structure is essential. Here, the enhancement mechanism of interfacial thermal transport of hybrid GR-CNT structure was explored by applying non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations.

An efficient algorithm embedded in an ultrasonic visualization technique for damage inspection using the AE sensor excitation method.

To improve the reliability of a Lamb wave visualization technique and to obtain more information about structural damages (e.g., size and shape), we put forward a new signal processing algorithm to identify damage more clearly in an inspection region.

Tomographic reconstruction of damage images in hollow cylinders using Lamb waves.

Lamb wave tomography (LWT) is a potential and efficient technique for non-destructive tomographic reconstruction of damage images in structural components or materials. A two-stage inverse algorithm proposed by the authors for quickly reconstructing the damage images was applied to hollow cylinders. An aluminum hollow cylinder with an internal surface pit and a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) laminated hollow cylinder with an artificial internal surface damage were used to validate the proposed method.

Improvement of the mode II interface fracture toughness of glass fiber reinforced plastics/aluminum laminates through vapor grown carbon fiber interleaves.

The effects of acid treatment, vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) interlayer and the angle, i.e., 0° and 90°, between the rolling stripes of an aluminum (Al) plate and the fiber direction of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) on the mode II interlaminar mechanical properties of GFRP/Al laminates were investigated.

Damage evaluation based on a wave energy flow map using multiple PZT sensors.

A new wave energy flow (WEF) map concept was proposed in this work. Based on it, an improved technique incorporating the laser scanning method and Betti's reciprocal theorem was developed to evaluate the shape and size of damage as well as to realize visualization of wave propagation. In this technique, a simple signal processing algorithm was proposed to construct the WEF map when waves propagate through an inspection region, and multiple lead zirconate titanate (PZT) sensors were employed to improve inspection reliability.

Temperature-dependent piezoresistivity in an MWCNT/epoxy nanocomposite temperature sensor with ultrahigh performance.

A temperature sensor was fabricated from a polymer nanocomposite with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as nanofiller (i.e., MWCNT/epoxy).

Multi-scale numerical simulations of thermal expansion properties of CNT-reinforced nanocomposites.

In this work, the thermal expansion properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced nanocomposites with CNT content ranging from 1 to 15 wt% were evaluated using a multi-scale numerical approach, in which the effects of two parameters, i.e., temperature and CNT content, were investigated extensively.

Evaluation of piezoelectric property of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)–poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites.

We improved the piezoelectric property of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) by employing graphene. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO)–PVDF nanocomposites were prepared by a solution casting method and the rGO contents ranged from 0.0 wt% to 0.