Herein, we reported a special Fe-N-doped double-shelled hollow carbon microsphere (Fe-N-DSC) which was prepared by a facile, in situ polymerization followed by pyrolysis. With porous ferroferric oxide (FeO) hollow microspheres as the templates, where pyrrole monomers were dispersed around the outer surface and prefilled the interior space. By adding hydrochloric acid, Fe ions were released to initiate polymerization of pyrrole on both the outer and inner surfaces of FeO microspheres until they were completely dissolved, resulting in the Fe-containing polypyrrole double-shelled hollow carbon microspheres (Fe-PPY-DSC). The Fe-PPY-DSC was then pyrolyzed to generate the Fe-N-DSC. The FeO hollow microspheres played trifunctional roles, i.e., the template to prepare a double-shelled hollow spherical structure, the initiator (i.e., Fe ions) for the polymerization of pyrrole, and the Fe source for doping. The Fe-N-DSC exhibited a superior catalytic activity for oxygen reduction as comparable to commercial Pt/C catalysts in both alkaline and acidic media. The high catalytic performance was ascribed to the special porous double-shelled hollow spherical structure, which provided more active sites and was beneficial to a high-flux mass transportation.

The secondary Bjerknes force is one of the essential mechanisms of mutual interactions between bubbles oscillating in a sound field. The dual-frequency acoustic excitation has been applied in several fields such as sonochemistry, biomedicine and material engineering. In this paper, the secondary Bjerknes force under dual-frequency excitation is investigated both analytically and numerically within a large parameter zone. The unique characteristics (i.e., the complicated patterns of the parameter zone for sign change and the combination resonances) of the secondary Bjerknes force under dual-frequency excitation are revealed. Moreover, the influence of several parameters (e.g., the pressure amplitude, the bubble distance and the phase difference between sound waves) on the secondary Bjerknes force is also investigated numerically.

The multi-frequency acoustic excitation has been employed to enhance the effects of oscillating bubbles in sonochemistry for many years. In the present paper, nonlinear dynamic oscillations of bubble under dual-frequency acoustic excitation are numerically investigated within a broad range of parameters. By investigating the power spectra and the response curves of oscillating bubbles, two unique features of bubble oscillations under dual-frequency excitation (termed as "combination resonance" and "simultaneous resonance") are revealed and discussed. Specifically, the amplitudes of the combination resonances are quantitatively compared with those of other traditional resonances (e.g. main resonances, harmonics). The influences of several paramount parameters (e.g., the bubble radius, the acoustic pressure amplitude, the energy allocation between two component waves) on nonlinear bubble oscillations are demonstrated.

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While larger and larger turbines are being developed, hydraulic stability has become one of the key issues for their performance assessments. An accurate prediction of their pressure fluctuations is vital to the success of new model development. In this paper, we briefly introduced the method, i.e., the three-dimensional unsteady turbulent flow simulation of the complete flow passage, which we used for predicting the pressure fluctuations of a model Kaplan turbine. In order to verify the prediction, the model turbine was tested on the test rig at the Harbin Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. (HEC), China, which meets all the international standards. Our main findings from this numerical prediction of pressure fluctuations for a model Kaplan turbine are as follows. (1) The approach by using 3D unsteady turbulent flow including rotor-stator interaction for the whole flow passage is a feasible way for predicting model turbine hydraulic instability. The predicted values at different points along its flow passage all agree well with the test data in terms of their frequencies and amplitudes. (2) The low-frequency pressure fluctuation originating from the draft tube is maximal and influences the stability of the turbine operation mostly. The whole flow passage analysis shows that the swirling vortex rope in the draft tube is the major source generating the pressure fluctuations in this model turbine. (3) The second harmonic of the rotational frequency 2fn is more dominant than the blade passing frequency Zfn in the draft tube. This prediction, including the turbulence model, computational methods, and the boundary conditions, is valid either for performance prediction at design stage and/or for operation optimization after commissioning.

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The acoustical scattering cross section is a paramount parameter determining the scattering ability of cavitation bubbles when they are excited by the incident acoustic waves. This parameter is strongly related with many important applications of acoustic cavitation including facilitating the reaction of chemical process, boosting bubble sonoluminescence, and performing non-invasive therapy and drug delivery. In present paper, both the analytical and numerical solutions of acoustical scattering cross section of gas bubbles under dual-frequency excitation are obtained. The validity of the analytical solution is shown with demonstrating examples. The nonlinear characteristics (e.g., harmonics, subharmonics and ultraharmonics) of the scattering cross section curve under dual-frequency approach are investigated. Compared with single-frequency approach, the dual-frequency approach displays more resonances termed as "combination resonances" and could promote the acoustical scattering cross section significantly within a much broader range of bubble sizes due to the generation of more resonances. The influence of several paramount parameters (e.g., acoustic pressure amplitude, power allocations between two acoustic components, and the ratio of the frequencies) in the dual-frequency system on the predictions of scattering cross section has been discussed.

Dysfunction of the intestinal epithelial barrier plays an important role in the pathogenesis of several intestinal diseases, including celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.