The growing demand for sustainable materials in landscape architecture has highlighted the potential of polylactic acid/polybutylene adipate-terephthalate (PLA/PBAT)-based wood-plastic composites. However, poor interfacial compatibility between the hydrophilic plant fibers and the hydrophobic polyester matrices, coupled with susceptibility to hydrolytic degradation, limits their outdoor applications. This study presents a synergistic modification strategy for bamboo powder using a silane coupling agent (KH550) and nano-silica (Nano-SiO2), integrating all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with accelerated aging experiments to elucidate the enhancement mechanism of "chemical bridging–physical filling. " MD simulations revealed that the modification forms a dense "core-shell" barrier via covalent anchoring and a robust hydrogen-bond network, reducing the interfacial free volume to 14.1 % and lowering the water molecule self-diffusion coefficient from 4.58 × 10–7 to 0.42 × 10–7 cm2 s–1. This microscopic moisture barrier underpins the macroscopic aging resistance. Accelerated UV-condensation aging tests (1000 h) confirmed that the modified composites preserved the polyester backbone, with a weight-average molecular weight retention of 88.4 %, a tensile strength of 84.3 %, and an impact strength of 81.2 %. The surface color change was limited to E = 4.2, markedly outperforming unmodified composites. Additionally, the initial properties were improved: water absorption decreased from 4.25 % to 1.85 %, tensile strength reached 46.5 MPa, and impact strength reached 6.2 kJ m–2, achieving concurrent rigidity and toughness enhancement. These results demonstrate that nano-synergistic modification effectively mitigates weathering-induced degradation in PLA/PBAT composites, offering a practical pathway for their sustainable application in outdoor landscape environments.
The development of multifunctional polymer nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical, tribological and electrical performance is a significant challenge for advanced engineering applications. The epoxy-based hybrid nanocomposites reinforced with functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (FMWCNTs) and niobium-based MXene (Nb2CTx) were systematically investigated to establish strong structure–property relationships in this study. A series of composites (ECnNx1–ECnNx5) was prepared by incorporating the hybrid fillers in different weight fractions and their performances were evaluated in terms of tensile, microhardness, dry sliding wear and electrical conductivity analysis. The results indicate that the one-dimensional MWCNTs and two-dimensional Nb2CTx nanosheets have a strong synergistic interaction, which significantly enhances the performance. Among these compositions, ECnNx3 exhibited the optimum properties with a maximum tensile strength of 68.54 MPa, which is about 90% higher than that of neat epoxy. Tribological analysis showed a considerable reduction in wear rate as much as 84 % at lower loads and stable performance was observed under increased loading conditions. The maximum value of microhardness was 56 HV, which shows an increased resistance to local deformation. Electrical conductivity results confirmed the formation of an effective percolation network facilitating the enhanced electron transport. Morphological analysis of the worn and fractured surfaces indicated a brittle to ductile transition and identified mechanisms such as crack deflection, fiber bridging and tribofilm formation as contributing factors to improved performance. However, the addition of too much filler resulted in agglomeration and reduced efficiency.
The grinding-interface geometry and surface condition may influence the material transport, electrical demaElour discharge temperature, apparent plate mass change, and flour fineness during dry wheat comminution. This study compared straight-groove (SG), staggered-groove (STG), and helical-ridge (HR) plate geometries fabricated from hardened steel (HS), stainless steel (SS), and ceramic-coated steel (CCS). A 13-run quadratic response-surface design was used to explore the associations of the groove angle and coating thickness with the recorded flour-discharge rate and gross session energy. Among the treatment means, HR–CCS had the highest recorded flour-discharge response and 180-µm passing fraction and the lowest gross session energy, flour discharge temperature, and apparent plate mass change. The treatment means were 324 kg h–1 for the flour-discharge response, 11.8 kWh for gross session energy, 2.9 mg kg–1 for apparent mass-normalized plate mass change, 91 % passing 180 µm, 37.6 °C flour discharge temperature, and a flour-to-wheat crude-protein concentration ratio of 94.2 %. Both RSM regressions were statistically significant; however, both exhibited a significant lack of fit for both discharge rate (p=0.0068) and gross energy (p=0.0393), and the desirability solution occurred at the boundary of the design space without independent confirmation. The results support HR–CCS as a good configuration at the descriptive level. However, validated productivity, specific energy, predictive optimization, quantitative particle morphology, and food-contact wear-transfer performance require additional traceable experiments.
The primary goal of this article is to improve the performance of the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller using the simulated annealing algorithm (SAA) under partial shading conditions. To achieve this, we propose a method combining SAA and the flower pollination algorithm (FPA) with a Cuk-type DC-DC converter for two photovoltaic panels connected in series under partial shading conditions. First, we studied the photovoltaic panel, and then modelled two panels connected in series under partial shading. Next, we modelled the SAA and FPA methods as well as the Cuk converter in continuous current mode (CCM). Finally, we implemented a simulation using Python to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of the proposed control. Partial shading is an environmental phenomenon that causes several peaks in photovoltaic characteristics. The Cuk converter was selected for its ability to invert the output voltage relative to the input. The first panel is exposed to radiation of 1000 W/m2, while the second receives 400W/m2 at a constant temperature of 25 °C. The results indicate that the short-circuit current remains stable, while the short-circuit voltage increases, resulting in higher overall system power. The output power and voltage fluctuate and exhibit ripples. The maximum power and efficiency for the MPPT controller methods are: SAA (495.29W, 86.48%), FPA (546.24W, 95.4 %), and SAA-FPA (547.99W, 95.74 %). The SAA-FPA method enhances responsiveness and performance when moniSIhe maximum power point of photovoltaic panels under partial shading conditions.
The rolling speed and reduction amount were critical parameters dictating the microstructural evolution and wall-thickness accuracy of seamless steel tubes during hot continuous rolling.In this study, a three-stage finite element (FE) model for 316L seamless tubes was established and coupled with metallographic examination and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to elucidate the thermomechanical response and deformation mechanisms.FE simulations demonstrated that stress was concentrated predominantly along the outer surface and inner wall rather than within the central core.Elevating the rolling speed intensified deformation non-uniformity and increased the maximum wall-thickness variation, despite mitigating post-rolling inner-wall peak strain through high-strain zone contraction.Conversely, increasing the reduction amount promoted deeper stress penetration into the core, enhanced the inner-wall peak strain, and systematically reduced the average wall thickness.Microstructurally, a gradient transition from refined equiaxed grains at the surface to a bimodal grain-size distribution within the core was identified.TEM and geometric phase analysis (GPA) revealed high-density dislocation entanglements, stacking faults, and Lomer–Cottrell (L–C) locks near the surface, and quantified nanoscale strain gradients validated the FE predictions.This work demonstrated the effective integration of macro-FE modeling with nanoscale TEM-GPA strain mapping to optimize tube-rolling parameters.
