This study investigates the seismic behavior of low-aspect-ratio reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls when subjected to bi-axial lateral loading, using nonlinear finite element analysis. A three-dimensional finite element model was developed with the DIANA program and validated against previously reported experimental results. Subsequently, a parametric study was conducted by varying the wall aspect ratio of horizontal reinforcing bars under both uni-axial and bi-axial loading conditions. The analysis results show that bi-axial loading reduces shear strength by a significant amount compared to uni-axial loading, and the reduction becomes more pronounced as the aspect ratio decreases. For low-aspect-ratio walls, the influence of horizontal reinforcement on shear strength was limited, while sensitivity to bi-axial loading increased. These findings indicate that uni-axial loading–based evaluation methods may overestimate the seismic capacity of low-aspect-ratio RC shear walls.

This study aims to refine the existing shear strength model for reinforced concrete(RC) beam–column connections by explicitly incorporating the bi-directional loading effect, which more accurately reflects the actual loading conditions of RC structures during earthquakes. A new database consisting of 21 RC beam–column connection specimens tested under simultaneous bi-directional loading was collected and analyzed to investigate the influence of key parameters on joint shear strength. The results revealed that the joint configuration and the presence of a slab are the primary factors governing the extent of bi-directional loading effect on joint shear strength. Based on these findings, a set of simple and practical modification factors was proposed to refine the existing joint shear strength model to account for bi-directional loading effect. The outcomes of this study provide a rational basis for incorporating bi-directional loading effect into the shear strength evaluation of RC beam–column connections

Combining CuPc with semiconductor materials as organic‒inorganic hybrid photocatalysts can effectively improve the light absorption capacity and separation efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes in semiconductor photocatalysts. Herein, a CuPc/Bi2WO6 Z-scheme heterojunction was successfully designed and used for CO2 photoreduction. The separation of photogenerated electrons and holes is greatly enhanced because of the formation of a compact organic‒inorganic heterointerface and the built-in electric field between CuPc and Bi2WO6, which increases the photocatalytic CO2 reduction efficiency. Moreover, the photosensitizer CuPc can effectively enhance the light absorption of Bi2WO6. The optimal 1CuPc/ Bi2WO6 composite exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, with a CO production rate of 2.95 μmol g− l h− 1, which is three times greater than that of Bi2WO6 under visible-light irradiation. This work provides a new idea for the construction of an organic‒inorganic photocatalytic system for CO2 reduction.

The structural, thermal, and electrical characteristics of the superconducting Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+δ compound are the main subjects of this work. The solid-state reaction (SSR) method was used to prepare the samples. The samples were placed in a furnace and heated at 820 °C for 70 hours at a heating rate of 5 °C/min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were then performed on the prepared samples. XRD results revealed an orthorhombic crystal structure with variations in the lattice constants a, b, and c (where a = 5.416, b = 5.432, and c = 36.5 Å). The highest superconducting transition phase fraction (HTP%) was 78.76 %. The composition and morphology of the superconducting compound were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Images were taken at 20 kX magnification, where we observed nanoparticles with a size of 86.65 nm had formed. The elemental analysis of the sample was conducted with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and the results showed the presence of different elements and their proportions for each sample. Thermal conductivity was also measured and it was found that the sample conductivity increased with increasing temperature. The electrical resistivity was examined, and it was observed that the resistivity decreased as the sample was cooled. The results showed that the highest initial critical temperature was 131 K, while the zero critical temperature was 114 K.

Environmental-friendly photocatalytic technology is attracting considerable attentions in the filed of antibiotic degradation. In this work, an innovative Ag/ZnO/Bi2WO6 catalyst was fabricated using sol–gel and ultrasonic methods for the degradation cefuroxime sodium in wastewater. The optimized Ag/ZnO/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst demonstrated the a remarkable 77.0% photocatalytic efficiency within 180 min under simulated solar sunlight, with an apparent rate constant of 0.01085 min− 1. This efficiency is notably 6.02 and 1.41 times higher than that of pure ZnO and Ag/ZnO, respectively. The Ag/ZnO/Bi2WO6 photocatalyst achieved a degradation efficiency of up to 72.3% in tap water and polluted river water, while achieving 65.7% degradation in pulping wastewater and pharmaceutical wastewater. Experiments involving reactive species scavenging and electron paramagnetic resonance implied that hydroxide radicals were the predominant active species responsible for the degradation. The enhanced catalytic mechanism and degradation pathway were elucidated, providing valuable insights into the construction and development of high-performance catalysts based on zinc oxide.

We investigated the effect of band gap engineering on the thermoelectric properties of n-type Cu0.008Bi2Te3 using the two-band (TB) model. The experimental measurements showed a zT of ~0.41 at 300 K and ~0.46 at 520 K, with an optical band gap of ~0.13 eV. While fixing the density-of-state effective mass (md *), deformation potential (Edef), lattice thermal conductivity (κl), and Fermi level based fitted based on experimental data, we varied the band gap (Eg) from 0.1 to 0.3 eV to analyze its impact on the thermoelectric performance. The TB model calculations revealed that the power factor (PF) increased and the thermal conductivity (κ) decreased with increasing Eg at both 300 K and 520 K, leading to an enhancement in zT. The magnitude of this enhancement was more pronounced at 520 K than at 300 K, which can be attributed to the suppressed bipolar effects at higher temperatures. Our findings suggest that increasing the band gap of Cu0.008Bi2Te3 can significantly improve its thermoelectric performance, to an estimated maximum zT of ~0.61 at 520 K for Eg = 0.3 eV. The theoretical maximum zT, considering the optimized hole concentration (nH), was estimated to be ~0.75. We demonstrate that Eg engineering of narrowbandgap semiconductor thermoelectric materials can significantly enhance thermoelectric performance.

The n-type Bi2-xSbxTe3 compounds have been of great interest due to its potential to achieve a high thermoelectric performance, comparable to that of p-type Bi2-xSbxTe3. However, a comprehensive understanding on the thermoelectric properties remains lacking. Here, we investigate the thermoelectric transport properties and band characteristics of n-type Bi2-xSbxTe3 (x = 0.1 – 1.1) based on experimental and theoretical considerations. We find that the higher power factor at lower Sb content results from the optimized balance between the density of state effective mass and nondegenerate mobility. Additionally, a higher carrier concentration at lower x suppresses bipolar conduction, thereby reducing thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures. Consequently, the highest zT of ~ 0.5 is observed at 450 K for x = 0.1 and, according to the single parabolic band model, it could be further improved by ~70 % through carrier concentration tuning.

In this study, we investigated the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of 0.96(K0.456Na0.536)Nb0.95Sb0.05-0.04 Bi0.5(Na0.82K0.18)0.5ZrO3 (KNNS-BNKZ) ceramics based on one-step and two-step sintering processes. One-step sintering led to significant abnormal grain (AG) growth at temperatures above 1,085 °C. With increasing sintering temperature, piezoelectric and dielectric properties were enhanced, resulting in a high d33 = 506 pC/N for one-step specimen sintered at 1,100 °C (one-step 1,100 °C specimen). However, for one-step 1,115 °C specimen, a slight decrease in d33 was observed, emphasizing the importance of a high tetragonal (T) phase fraction for superior piezoelectric properties. Achieving a relative density above 84 % for samples sintered by the one-step sintering process was challenging. Conversely, two-step sintering significantly improved the relative density of KNNS-BNKZ ceramics up to 96 %, attributed to the control of AG nucleation in the first step and grain growth rate control in the second step. The quantity of AG nucleation was affected by the duration of the first step, determining the final microstructure. Despite having a lower T phase fraction than that of the one-step 1,100 °C specimen, the two-step specimen exhibited higher piezoelectric coefficients (d33 = 574 pC/N and kp = 0.5) than those of the one-step 1,100 °C specimen due to its higher relative density. Performance evaluation of magnetoelectric composite devices composed of one-step and twostep specimens showed that despite having a higher g33, the magnetoelectric composite with the one-step 1,100 °C specimen exhibited the lowest magnetoelectric voltage coefficient, due to its lowest kp. This study highlights the essential role of phase fraction and relative density in enhancing the performance of piezoelectric materials and devices, showcasing the effectiveness of the two-step sintering process for controlling the microstructure of ceramic materials containing volatile elements.

We report the effect of plastic deformation on the thermoelectric properties of n-type Bi2Te2.5Se0.5 compounds. N-type Bi2Te2.5Se0.5 powders are synthesized by an oxide-reduction process and consolidated via sparkplasma sintering. To explore the effect of plastic deformation on the thermoelectric properties, the sintered bodies are subjected to uniaxial pressure to induce a controlled amount of compressive strains (-0.2, -0.3, and -0.4). The shaping temperature is set using a thermochemical analyzer, and the plastic deformation effect is assessed without altering the material composition through differential scanning calorimetry. This strategy is crucial because the conventional hotforging process can often lead to alterations in material composition due to the high volatility of chalcogen elements. With increasing compressive strain, the (00l) planes become aligned in the direction perpendicular to the pressure axis. Furthermore, an increase in the carrier concentration is observed upon compressive plastic deformation, i.e., the donorlike effect of the plastic deformation in n-type Bi2Te2.5Se0.5 compounds. Owing to the increased electrical conductivity through the preferred orientation and the donor-like effect, an improved ZT is achieved in n-type Bi2Te2.5Se0.5 through the compressive-forming process.

Pharmaceutical products occurring in freshwater bodies create numerous problems for the water bodies owing to their bio-toxic nature. In order to remove such pharmaceutical pollutants, a novel Er-doped Bi4O5Br2/ g-C3N5 nanocomposite was prepared by one-pot synthesis and applied for the photocatalytic removal process. The Er ions doped on the surface of Bi4O5Br2/ g-C3N5 nanocomposite exhibited 97% degradation of tetracycline in 60 min under visible light irradiation, which is higher than pure g-C3N5 and Bi4O5Br2 photocatalysts. The improved photocatalytic properties are attributed to the outstanding visible light harvesting capacity and quick charge carrier separation efficiency which greatly reduced the recombination rate in the heterojunctions. Based on radical trapping experiments, the •O2 −, h+ and •OH radicals played a prominent role in the photodegradation reactions under visible light. Finally, the ternary Er-doped Bi4O5Br2/ g-C3N5 nanocomposite is effectively recyclable with quite a stable photocatalytic removal rate. This work enables a new perspective on the rational design of rare-earth-based nanocomposites for various pharmaceutical pollutants treatment processes.

Lead-free perovskite ceramics, which have excellent energy storage capabilities, are attracting attention owing to their high power density and rapid charge-discharge speed. Given that the energy-storage properties of perovskite ceramic capacitors are significantly improved by doping with various elements, modifying their chemical compositions is a fundamental strategy. This study investigated the effect of Zn doping on the microstructure and energy storage performance of potassium sodium niobate (KNN)-based ceramics. Two types of powders and their corresponding ceramics with compositions of (1-x)(K,Na)NbO3-xBi(Ni2/3Ta1/3)O3 (KNN-BNT) and (1-x)(K,Na)NbO3-xBi(Ni1/3Zn1/3Ta1/3) O3 (KNN-BNZT) were prepared via solid-state reactions. The results indicate that Zn doping retards grain growth, resulting in smaller grain sizes in Zn-doped KNN-BNZT than in KNN-BNT ceramics. Moreover, the Zn-doped KNNBNZT ceramics exhibited superior energy storage density and efficiency across all x values. Notably, 0.9KNN-0.1BNZT ceramics demonstrate an energy storage density and efficiency of 0.24 J/cm3 and 96%, respectively. These ceramics also exhibited excellent temperature and frequency stability. This study provides valuable insights into the design of KNNbased ceramic capacitors with enhanced energy storage capabilities through doping strategies.

The sintering shrinkage behaviors of low temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) and resistors were compared using commercial LTCC and thick-film resistor pastes, and factors influencing the camber of cofired resistor/LTCC bi-layers were also investigated. The onset of sintering shrinkage of the resistor occurred earlier than that of LTCC in all resistors, but the end of sintering shrinkage of the resistor occurred earlier or later than that of LTCC depending on the composition of the resistor. The sintering shrinkage end temperature and the sintering shrinkage temperature interval of the resistor increased as the RuO2/glass volume ratio of the resistor increased. The camber of cofired resistor/LTCC bi-layers was obtained using three different methods, all of which showed nearly identical trends. The camber of cofired resistor/LTCC bi-layers was not affected by either the difference in linear shrinkage strain after sintering between LTCC and resistors or the similarity of sintering shrinkage temperature ranges of LTCC and resistors. However, it was strongly affected by the RuO2/glass volume ratio of the resistor. The content of Ag and Pd had no effect on the sintering shrinkage end temperature or sintering shrinkage temperature interval of the resistor, or on the camber of cofired resistor/LTCC bi-layers.

BNKT Ceramics, one of the representative Pb free based piezoelectric ceramics, constitutes a perovskite(ABO3) structure. At this time, the perovskite structure (ABO3) is in the form where the corners of the octahedrons are connected, and in the unit cell, two ions, A and B, are cations, A ion is located at the body center, B ion is located at each corner, and an anion O is located at the center of each side. Since Bi, Na, and K sources constituting the A site are highly volatile at a sintering temperature of 1100℃ or higher, it is difficult to maintain uniformity of the composition. In order to solve this problem, there should be suppression of volatilization of the A site material or additional compensation of the volatilized. In this study, the basic composition of BNKT Ceramics was set to Bi0.5(Na0.78K0.22)0.5TiO3 (= BNKT), and volatile site (Bi, Na, and K sources) were coated in the form of a shell to compensate additionally for the A site ions. In addition, the physical and electrical properties of BNKT and its coated with shell additives(= @BNK) were compared and analyzed, respectively. As a result of analyzing the crystal structure through XRD, both BNKT(Core) and @BNK(Shell) had perovskite phases, and the crystallinity was almost similar. Although the Curie temperature of the two sintered bodies was almost the same (TC = 290 ~ 300 ℃), it was confirmed that the d33 (piezoelectric coefficient) and Pr (residual polarization) values were different. The experimental results indicated that the additional compensation for a shell additive causes the coarsening, resulting in a decrease in sintering density and Pr(remanent polarization). However, coating shell additives to compensate for A site ion is an effective way to suppress volatilization. Based on these experimental results, it would be the biggest advantage to develop an eco-friendly material (Lead-free) that replaced lead (Pb), which is harmful to the human body. This lead-free piezoelectric material can be applied to a biomedical device or products(ex. earphones (hearing aids), heart rate monitors, ultrasonic vibrators, etc.) and skin beauty improvement products (mask packs for whitening and wrinkle improvement).

Thermoelectric materials and devices are energy-harvesting devices that can effectively recycle waste heat into electricity. Thermoelectric power generation is widely used in factories, engines, and even in human bodies as they continuously generate heat. However, thermoelectric elements exhibit poor performance and low energy efficiency; research is being conducted to find new materials or improve the thermoelectric performance of existing materials, that is, by ensuring a high figure-of-merit (zT) value. For increasing zT, higher σ (electrical conductivity) and S (Seebeck coefficient) and a lower к (thermal conductivity) are required. Here, interface engineering by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to increase zT of n-type BiTeSe (BTS) thermoelectric powders. ALD of the BTS powders is performed in a rotary-type ALD reactor, and 40 to 100 ALD cycles of ZnO thin films are conducted at 100oC. The physical and chemical properties and thermoelectric performance of the ALD-coated BTS powders and pellets are characterized. It is revealed that electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity are decoupled, and thus, zT of ALD-coated BTS pellets is increased by more than 60% compared to that of the uncoated BTS pellets. This result can be utilized in a novel method for improving the thermoelectric efficiency in materials processing.

High-temperature and high-pressure post-processing applied to sintered thermoelectric materials can create nanoscale defects, thereby enhancing their thermoelectric performance. Here, we investigate the effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) as a post-processing treatment on the thermoelectric properties of p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3.0 compounds sintered via spark plasma sintering. The sample post-processed via HIP maintains its electronic transport properties despite the reduced microstructural texturing. Moreover, lattice thermal conductivity is significantly reduced owing to activated phonon scattering, which can be attributed to the nanoscale defects created during HIP, resulting in an ~18% increase in peak zT value, which reaches ~1.43 at 100oC. This study validates that HIP enhances the thermoelectric performance by controlling the thermal transport without having any detrimental effects on the electronic transport properties of thermoelectric materials.

The seismic responses of traffic light poles are investigated using a finite element analysis. Among the traffic light poles, single- and bi-directional traffic light poles are considered since such poles are frequently installed on vehicle roads. For a more detailed investigation, three different lengths of the mast arm are considered for each directional pole. For a time-history analysis, six actual and two artificial earthquakes are considered and applied to each direction of the poles (x and y) to investigate which direction input provides more significant responses due to the unsymmetrical structural shape. Herein, the x and y directions are respectively parallel and perpendicular based on the single mast pole case. From the analysis results, the average maximum displacement response is developed with the x-direction input case for both types of light poles. Also, the bi-directional traffic light poles show a 13% larger response than the single-directional traffic light poles. Even though the y-direction input case produces a smaller response, the response difference between the single- and bi-directional light poles considerably increases by about 60%. The average maximum acceleration responses are almost similar for both types of light poles.

In this study, we report the microstructure and characteristics of Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials using a controlled milling process with a subsequent compaction process. Using magnetic pulsed compaction (MPC), the milled Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 powders have been consolidated into bulk samples. The effects of the compaction conditions on the microstructure and characteristics have been investigated in detail. The nanoscale SnO2 phase and microscale Bi2O3 phase are well-distributed homogeneously in the Ag matrix after the consolidation process. The successful consolidation of Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials was achieved by an MPC process with subsequent atmospheric sintering, after which the hardness and electrical conductivity of the Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials were found to be 62–75 HV and 52–63% IACS, respectively, which is related to the interfacial stability between the Ag matrix, the SnO2 phase, and the Bi2O3 phase.