This study systematically elucidates the mechanism by which HCl-modified SiO2 nanofluid efficiently suppresses dust through synergistic optimization of coal surface properties and pore structure. A series of experiments were conducted, including wettability characterization, pore structure analysis, dust generation evaluation, and surface morphology observation. Findings reveal that at low concentration of 0.01 wt%, this HCl-modified SiO2 significantly enhances coal hydrophilicity. Compared to deionized water, surface tension decreases by 16.83 % and contact angle reduces by 37.34 %. The HCl-modified SiO2 nanofluid induces a more complex pore structure in coal, expanding the hydrophilic surface area. This reduces surface roughness to form a stable, uniform wetting film, ultimately enhancing both wetting and water retention capabilities of the coal. Drop weight tests demonstrate that treated coal samples produce the largest dust particle size and the least respirable dust, achieving remarkable dust suppression. This study also elucidates the molecular-level mechanism of nanofluid's enhance wetting and optimize pore structure of coal. The findings provide experimental evidence for the practical application of HCl-modified SiO2 nanofluid in coal mine dust control.

The objective of this research was to formulate an eco-friendly composite dust suppressant for alleviating the detrimental impacts of coal mine dust on both workers' health and the surrounding environment. Using the natural polymer chitosan as a matrix, molecular modification was performed by grafting acrylamide (AM) to prepare modified chitosan (CS-g-AM) with low viscosity and high hydrophilicity. This modified chitosan was compounded with green surfactants and inorganic salt-based water-retaining agents to develop a composite dust suppressant integrating wetting, water retention, and binding functions. The optimal formulation was determined through surface tension, contact angle, water retention, and viscosity experiments. The microstructure, pore characteristics, dynamic wetting behavior, and dust suppression performance of the composite suppressant were systematically evaluated and compared with those of pure water and the traditional surfactant SDBS. The results demonstrated that the composite suppressant significantly improved the solidification effect on the coal dust surface, increased pore size and connectivity, enhanced water migration and adsorption capacity, and effectively reduced both the dust generation rate and the proportion of respirable dust during the cutting process. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the development of green dust suppression materials in coal mining.

Improving the wettability of coal dust is critical for enhancing the efficiency of water-based dust suppression, especially in underground mining environments where airborne dust poses serious safety and health risks. This work aims to investigate the impact of hydrophilic head group structures on the wetting performance of dodecyl anionic surfactants with identical alkyl chains. Three representative surfactants-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDDS), and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS)-were systematically evaluated through a combination of experimental analysis and molecular simulations. Macroscopic assessments, including contact angle, surface tension, sedimentation rate, and particle size measurements, were complemented by molecular dynamics simulations focusing on water diffusion behavior, interfacial interaction energies, and contact angle evolution at coal-water-surfactant interfaces. The results showed that SDS significantly outperformed SDDS and SDBS in enhancing coal wettability, with a 3.7-fold higher sedimentation rate and a 29.2 & Aring; water penetration depth. Simulation outcomes revealed that SDS exhibited the strongest electrostatic interaction with coal and water molecules, resulting in the most favorable wetting dynamics. The superior performance of SDS is attributed to its sulfate head group (-OSO3-), which enables enhanced polarity, stronger coal-surface adsorption, and efficient water coordination.

The accuracy of numerical predictions in sheet metal processes involving multiaxial stress-strain states (e.g., blanking, riveting, and incremental forming) heavily depends on the characterisation of plastic anisotropy under multiaxial loading conditions. A fully calibrated 3D plastic anisotropy model is essential for this purpose. While in-plane material behaviour can be conventionally characterised through uniaxial and equi-biaxial tensile tests, calibrating out-of-plane material behaviour remains a significant challenge. This behaviour, governed by out-of-plane shear stress and associated material parameters, is typically described by out-of-plane shear yielding. These parameters are notoriously difficult to determine, leading researchers to frequently assume isotropic behaviour or identical shear parameters for in-plane and out-of-plane responses. Although advanced calibrations may utilise crystal plasticity modelling, there remains a critical need for macro-mechanical characterisation methods. This paper presents an out-of-plane shear testing and material characterisation procedure based on full-field strain measurements using digital image correlation (DIC). Strains within the shear zone are measured via DIC and employed in the Finite Element Model Updating (FEMU) to identify out-of-plane shear parameters of a 2.42 mm thick, cold-rolled AW5754-H22 aluminium alloy sheet, using the Yld2004-18p yield criterion. Given that the characteristic strain response at this scale may be influenced by local crystal structure behaviour on the surface, this paper evaluates the feasibility of such measurements. Finally, to test the validity of the full-field-based approach, the FEMU-identified parameters are compared against results obtained through a classical optimisation procedure based on force-elongation measurements from the shear zone.

Understanding the impact process of droplets on surfaces is a crucial prerequisite for enhancing the efficiency of wetting dust removal. The collision dynamics between water droplets and quartz surfaces were investigated using a high-speed camera, revealing four distinct stages in this process. During the first three stages, there was an increase in droplet width and three-phase contact line over time, while the droplet height and contact angle decreased. These observations can be attributed to the combined effects of impulsive force and surface tension. With increasing droplet velocity, the duration of the first three stages prolonged, accompanied by an increase in both the diameter of the three-phase contact line and droplet width during the final stage, whereas there was a decrease in droplet height and contact angle. This behavior primarily arises from energy transfer involving kinetic energy converted into contact surface energy, droplet surface energy, and dissipated energy during collision events. Contact surface energy and droplet surface energy exhibited an upward trend with rising droplet velocity. Simultaneously, collision-induced dissipated energy increased proportionally with respect to droplet velocity. Notably, both the rate and ratio of dissipated energy demonstrated positive correlations with the Weber number; specifically following a linear relationship characterized by a slope value of 2.81. These findings offer valuable insights for advancing technology development related to equipment used for wetting dust removal.

The mechanism by which solution temperature, a key parameter affecting the interaction between water molecules and ionic surfactants, regulates the adsorption characteristics of lignite has not been fully clarified. In this work, a combination of experimental and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations was used to investigate the diffusion characteristics of water molecules on the surface of lignite and the adsorption effect of surfactants under varying temperature (298, 308, 318, and 328 K) conditions. The results of surface tension and static wetting experiments indicated that the temperature increase could effectively reduce the surface tension of AOS (Sodium alpha-alkenylsulfonate) and CTAB (Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) solutions (The effect was better before 0.001 mol/L), and improve the solution's wettability on coal dust. The changes in the chemical properties of coal dust at four temperatures were verified based on the zeta potential and the occupancy of S--O and CH2 groups on the surface of the coal samples. Furthermore, the results of mass loss rate change of volatile components during pyrolysis of coal samples using AOS and CTAB revealed the promotion of temperature on the adsorption capacity of surfactants. Ultimately, by constructing the MD simulation system in different temperature environments. Parameters such as simulated contact angles, water molecule diffusion trajectories, and quantitative evolution of hydrogen bonding at the wetting interface were compared to assess water molecule diffusion at a microscopic scale. A new analytical method is provided for determining the temperature modulation of lignite adsorption properties.

The pore and wetting characteristics of bituminous coal and anthracite treated with different proportions of tetrasodium iminodisuccinate (IDS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were measured. The pore structure characteristics of the coal were studied via low-temperature nitrogen adsorption analysis and the Frenkel-Halsey-Hill fractal theory. Zeta potential measurements were conducted to quantitatively analyze the degree of aggregation or dispersion of coal particles dissolved in solution. Changes in the coal surface morphology were observed and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that when the ratio of IDS:SDS is 1:3, the specific surface area (SSA) values of bituminous coal and anthracite are the lowest. The composite reagent has a greater effect on improving the pore structure of anthracite than bituminous coal. Compared with bituminous coal, anthracite has better pore connectivity and a wider pore network. The absolute zeta potentials of bituminous coal and anthracite reach the maximum at an IDS:SDS ratio of 1:3, with values of 91.08 mV and 91.35 mV, respectively. The electrostatic potential distributions of the molecules show that the advantages of the electrostatic potential difference with water molecules enable IDS and SDS molecules to effectively attract water molecules and form hydrogen bonds, thus revealing the optimization mechanism of coal wettability.

Coal is the primary fossil fuel in China's energy sector. As the amount of mining continues to increase, the high concentration of dust generated poses a severe threat to equipment and frontline workers. The coupling influence of HCl and temperature on the structure and wettability of coal were conducted by experiments. The phenomenon indicates that the contact angle between coal treated with HCl of different temperatures and water is reduced, the settling distance in an aqueous solution is longer, and the effect is significant with the increase of temperature, demonstrating the acid-thermal coupling solution improves the wettability of coal. Secondly, detailed analysis of coal functional groups and surface element, shows that the percentage of hydrophilic groups increased, such as OH⋯O, free –OH, and hydrophobic groups were destroyed, such as the asymmetric deformation vibration of adjacent H. The L, ‘C', and DOC show an increasing trend, while I first increase and then decrease by analyzing the trends of IR indices of coal. The conclusions prove that the degree of coal deterioration changed after treatment with acid-thermal coupling conditions. The influence mechanism of acid-thermal coupling solution on coal was explored to provide ideas for improving the wettability of coal from the source.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has good film-forming and barrier properties and can be used as packaging and biomedical materials, etc. However, PVA burns easily and is prone to melt dropping, limiting its wider application. In this study, Cu2O/Cs was prepared by coating chitosan (Cs) on the surface of cuprous oxide (Cu2O), and mixed with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and phytic acid (PA) to prepare PVA composites. The results showed that the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of the PVA composite with 8

Fly ash (FA) is employed to optimize the hydration process of powder-based (inkjet) 3D printed magnesium phosphate cement (MPC), aiming to enhance the printing precision and mechanical properties of powder-based 3D printed structures. This paper systematically evaluates the effects of FA on the printability, printing precision, and mechanical properties of printed MPC. In addition, SEM, XRD, and X-CT are used to analyze the hydration morphology, products, and pore structure of printed MPC, respectively. The test results reveal that the proper addition of FA can effectively optimize the penetration process between the binder and powder bed to improve the printing precision of powder-based 3D printed MPC with the minimum printing size error controlled within 1%, which also achieves the maximum compressive strength of 10.1 MPa at 28d under room environment curing. Due to the pozzolanic and micro-aggregate effects, FA can significantly improve the hydration degree and optimize the pore structure of printed MPC with the total porosity decreased by 24%. The high precision of the printed complicated electromagnetic metasurface models further demonstrates the applicability of powder-based 3D printing with FA-optimized MPC.

To further investigate the physicochemical properties and wettability changes of surfactant-modified coal after oxidation, the contact angle, industrial composition, and functional groups of the surfactant-modified coal were measured. The experimental data were analyzed using a ridge regression prediction model to explore the relationship between the physicochemical properties and the wettability. The results indicate that the oxidated-modified coal has a worse wettability at room temperature. The adsorption of SL and CDEA surfactants effectively impedes the increase in the contact angle of the oxidized coal. The hydrophilic functional group (2#CO, C-O-C, RHCCH2) in coal demonstrates higher sensitivity to surfactants, while the hydrophobic functional group (2# Free OH, 1#CC) exhibits greater reactivity. There is a strong correlation between the industrial composition, structural parameters, and the contact angle. The quantitative influence of the parameters on the contact angle is as follows: FCad > V-ad > P-1 >= P-4 >= M-ad >= P-3 >= P-2. A coal wetting model is established that considers the combined action of surfactants and coal quality. These findings suggest that wettability is determined by multiple parameters, providing a basis for discovering new reagents that significantly enhance coal wettability and reduce coal oxidation activity.

High Strength Steel grades are indispensable for the development of heavy-duty constructions and components with high specific strength. In these applications, a profound understanding of the plastic material behavior up to fracture is required to assess the structural integrity through numerical simulations. In this paper, we investigate the plastic behavior of S700 with a nominal thickness of 12 mm. The steel production process of a hot rolled, heavy gauge material inherently results in a through-thickness variation of the mechanical properties: i) solidification of the continuously cast slab starts from the outer surface, causing a gradient of the chemical composition across the thickness, ii) subsequent thermomechanical controlled rolling results in a variation of microstructure and texture over the thickness. To enhance the predictive accuracy of numerical simulations, we are examining the manifestation of this inhomogeneity across a range of plasticity experiments.

Evidence-based dose selection of drugs in pregnant women has been lacking because of challenges in studying maternal-fetal pharmacokinetics. Hence, many drugs are administered off-label during pregnancy based on data obtained from nonpregnant women. During pregnancy, drug transporters play an important role in drug disposition along with known gestational age-dependent changes in physiology and drug-metabolizing enzymes. In this review, as Dr Qingcheng Mao's former and current laboratory members, we summarize the collective contributions of Dr Mao, who lost his life to cancer, focusing on the role of drug transporters in drug disposition during pregnancy. Dr Mao and his team initiated their research by characterizing the structure of breast cancer resistance protein (ATP-binding cassette G2). Subsequently, they have made significant contributions to the understanding of the role of breast cancer resistance protein and other transporters, particularly P-glycoprotein (ATP-binding cassette B1), in the exposure of pregnant women and their fetuses to various drugs, including nitrofurantoin, glyburide, buprenorphine, bupropion, tetrahydrocannabinol, and their metabolites. This review also highlights the gestation- and pregnancy-dependent transporter expression at the blood-brain and blood-placenta barriers in mice. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Dr Qingcheng Mao and his team have made significant contributions to the investigation of the role of efflux transporters, especially P-glycoprotein and breast cancer resistance protein, in maternal-fetal exposure to many xenobiotics: nitrofurantoin, glyburide, buprenorphine, bupropion, tetrahydrocannabinol, and their metabolites. Studies of individual compounds and the expression of transporters during gestation and pregnancy have improved the understanding of maternal-fetal pharmacokinetics.

Understanding water droplet characteristic is an important prerequisite for improving wet dust removal efficiency. Using the high-speed camera system, the process of water droplet generation under the different Ca2+ concentrations and injecting velocities was studied. The width and length of water droplet increased, whereas the ratio of droplet width and length decreased with generation time. The water droplet generation time decreased with injecting velocity increasing, whereas kept almost unchanged with Ca2+ concentration. The equivalent diameter of droplet decreased with injecting velocity, whereas presented first a slight decrease and then a slight increase with Ca2+ concentration. This result suggested that the injecting velocity effect was stronger than the Ca2+ effect on the water droplet generation time and size. Furthermore, the effective injecting force and capillary force were mainly forces to influence the droplet generation in force analysis. RF (ratio of capillary force and effective pressure force) was first used to evaluate the synergistic effect of capillary force and effective injecting force. The greater RF, the water droplet generation time was longer and water droplet diameter was larger. Furthermore, the relationship between surface energy per unit (E/S) of water droplet and RF was a negative correlation. Those results can provide valuable suggestions to the development theory of dust removal.

The success of inverse material model identification depends on the interaction between the adopted material model, the design of the heterogeneous specimens, the quality of the full-field measurements and the employed inverse identification method. Although inverse identification with full fields usually uses either FEMU or nonlinear VFM algorithms, a range of specimen designs and heterogeneity indicators have been proposed to assess the quality of the measured field and specimen design. While many studies investigate the effects of strain field heterogeneity on material model identification, few of them address the comprehensive interaction of all the above features and investigate their interactions during inverse identification through identifiability analysis. In this study, we analyze the identifiability of the parameters of the YLD2000-2d model used to describe the plastic anisotropy of steel sheet DC04 using a perforated biaxial specimen with the nonlinear VFM method. For this purpose, we performed a virtual DIC experiment with known material parameters by simulating the test in ABAQUS/Standard, generating synthetic images and reconstructing the strains via stereo DIC. Before inverse identification with a nonlinear sensitivity-based VFM, we analyzed the sensitivity of the virtual work to parameter changes and performed an identifiability analysis.

Injecting surfactants into coal seams is an effective means to improve coal wettability. Previous studies have shown that nanofluids provided excellent drag reduction and wetting. Therefore, this manuscript investigates the synergies of AOS (Sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate)-modified SiO2 nanofluid on the wettability of coal. Contact angle experiments were performed to examine the effects of deionized water on the wettability of coal treated with different solutions. The results demonstrated that 0.01 wt% nanofluid containing with 0.2 wt% AOS as the significantly increased the wettability. At the micro level, molecular dynamics simulations were employed to analyze the relative concentration distribution and MSD (mean square displacement) of water molecules in different systems. The simulation outcomes revealed that water molecules formed the thickest adsorption layer, and the diffusion range was more expansive, in the H2O/AOS-modified SiO2/Coal system. This was attributed to the amphiphilic structure of AOS-modified SiO2, which bent and folded on the coal surface, where hydrophobic sites were masked and hydrophilic sites were increased. Therefore, water molecules were attracted to the coal, the potential for collision was increased, and the wettability of the coal was enhanced. These findings provide a crucial foundation for modifying nanoparticles with surfactants and using them in coal seam water injection.

The range of application for silicone rubber (SR) is limited due to its poor flame retardant and antistatic properties. For the purpose of improving SR properties, in this study, a core–shell structured carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/cobalt copper hydroxide (CuCo-DH) hybrid was successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method, with cobalt copper hydroxide (CuCo-DH) as its core and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as its shell. CNTs/CuCo-DH hybrid was added to SR to prepare an SR composite material, and the effect of the hybrid on flame retardancy and antistatic properties of the SR material was investigated. The cone calorimeter test (CCT) results showed that the total heat release (THR) of the SR composite with the addition of 3 phr of CNTs/CuCo-DH decreased by 25.2%, its peak heat release rate (pHRR) decreased by 31.2%, and its total smoke production (TSP) decreased by 28.1%. In addition, with 3 phr of CNTs/CuCo-DH hybrid added, the volume resistivity of the SR composite decreased from 1.96 × 1014 to 3.52 × 1010 Ω·cm, which met the requirements of antistatic materials. Therefore, the prepared new SR/CNTs/CuCo-DH composite would help to expand the range of applications of SR materials. In addition, the residual char of the composite was analyzed by SEM, FTIR and XRD, and the fire retardant mechanism was studied in detail.

Silicone rubber with its odorless and non-toxic, high and low temperature resistance and other advantages is widely used in many fields, but its shortcomings of flammability and low thermal conductivity limit its application and development. Therefore, the research on flame retardant and thermal conductive silicone rubber is practically valueable. In this study, iron oxyhydroxide (beta-FeOOH) was synthesized on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by in situ growth and added to silicone rubber after surface modification with gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH550). The results showed that the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of methyl vinyl silicone rubber (VMQ) with the addition of one part of KH550@CNTs-beta-FeOOH increased to 29.8%, its peak heat release rate (pHRR) and total heat release (THR) decreased by 40.1% and 30.2%, respectively, and its thermal conductivity increased to 0.3680 W/m & BULL;k. The flame-retardant performance and thermal conductivity of the VMQ composite were significantly improved. The improvement of its flame retardancy was mainly due to the catalytic carbonization of CNTs and beta-FeOOH, which promoted the formation of dense carbon layers. The carbon layer insulates the exchange of oxygen and combustible gases. In addition, the thermal conductive network constructed by KH550@CNTs-beta-FeOOH in the composite effectively improved the thermal conductivity of VMQ.

Green biosurfactants are emerging as a promising area of research. However, there is a limited focus on the adsorption and wetting characteristics of biosurfactants on coal dust. This study explores the effects of sophorolipid (SL) biosurfactants on the microstructure and wettability of different coalification degree coal. The microstructure parameters of SL adsorbed on coal dust were measured using a surface tensiometer, contact angle analyzer, and particle size analyzer. The results indicate that SL has the lowest critical surface tension, leading to a 9.25° decrease in the contact angle for low-rank bituminous coal (YZ-LRBC). Furthermore, SL significantly altered the particle size distribution of lignite (NM-LC) and YZ-LRBC. The pore size structure of SL-infiltrated coal dust was quantified using a specific surface area analyzer, revealing a decrease in the specific surface area and an increase in the average pore size. The infrared analysis demonstrated that SL permeation significantly increased the percentage of hydrophilic functional groups (hydroxyl structures) while reducing the hydrophobic functional groups (aliphatic hydrocarbon and aromatic structure). Based on the measured microstructure parameters, a regression equation for contact angle was established: [contact angle (°)] = 73.800 - 0.860 × [D10 (nm)] + 4.280 × [specific surface area (m2/g)]. Notably, the characteristic particle size D10 had a significant negative effect on the contact angle, while the specific surface area had a significant positive effect. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the application of biosurfactants in water injection to reduce dust and improve the wetting efficiency.