Biomorphic ceramics from wood-derived precursors

Materials development is driven by microstructural complexity and, in many cases, inspired by biological systems such as bones, shells and wood. In one approach, one selects the main microstructural features responsible for improved properties and design processes to obtain materials with such microstructures (continuous-fibre-reinforced ceramics, porous ceramics, fibrous ceramic monoliths, etc.). In a different approach, it is possible to use natural materials directly as microstructural templates. Biomorphic ceramics are produced from natural and renewable resources (wood or wood-derived products). A wide variety of SiC-based ceramics can be fabricated by infiltration of silicon or silicon alloys into cellulose-derived carbonaceous templates, providing a low-cost route to advanced ceramic materials with near-net shape potential and amenable to rapid prototyping. These materials have tailorable microstructure and properties, and behave like ceramic materials manufactured by advanced ceramic processing approaches. This review aims to be a comprehensive description of the development of bioSiC ceramics: from wood templates and their microstructure to potential applications of bioSiC materials.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT2016-76526-R, MAT2013-41233-

Porous Graphene-like Carbon from Fast Catalytic Decomposition of Biomass for Energy Storage Applications

A novel carbon material made of porous graphene-like nanosheets was synthesized from biomass resources by a simple catalytic graphitization process using nickel as a catalyst for applications in electrodes for energy storage devices. A recycled fiberboard precursor was impregnated with saturated nickel nitrate followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. The highly exothermic combustion of in situ formed nitrocellulose produces the expansion of the cellulose fibers and the reorganization of the carbon structure into a three-dimensional (3D) porous assembly of thin carbon nanosheets. After acid washing, nickel particles are fully removed, leaving nanosized holes in the wrinkled graphene-like sheets. These nanoholes confer the resulting carbon material with ≈75% capacitance retention, when applied as a supercapacitor electrode in aqueous media at a specific current of 100 A·g–1 compared to the capacitance reached at 20 mA·g–1, and ≈35% capacity retention, when applied as a negative electrode for lithium-ion battery cells at a specific current of 3720 mA·g–1 compared to the specific capacity at 37.2 mA·g–1. These findings suggest a novel way for synthesizing 3D nanocarbon networks from a cellulosic precursor requiring low temperatures and being amenable to large-scale production while using a sustainable starting precursor such as recycled fiberwood.Spanish Government Agency Ministerio de Economí a y Competitividad (MINECO) (grant number MAT2016-76526-R)

Compressive strength degradation in ZrB2-based ultra-high temperature ceramic composites

The high temperature compressive strength behavior of zirconium diboride (ZrB2)-silicon carbide (SiC) particulate composites containing either carbon powder or SCS-9a silicon carbide fibers was evaluated in air. Constant strain rate compression tests have been performed on these materials at room temperature, 1400, and 1550°C. The degradation of the mechanical properties as a result of atmospheric air exposure at high temperatures has also been studied as a function of exposure time. The ZrB2-SiC material shows excellent strength of 3.1±0.2GPa at room temperature and 0.9±0.1GPa at 1400°C when external defects are eliminated by surface finishing. The presence of C is detrimental to the compressive strength of the ZrB2-SiC-C material, as carbon burns out at high temperatures in air. As-fabricated SCS-9a SiC fiber reinforced ZrB2-SiC composites contain significant matrix microcracking due to residual thermal stresses, and show poor mechanical properties and oxidation resistance. After exposure to air at high temperatures an external SiO2 layer is formed, beneath which ZrB2 oxidizes to ZrO2. A significant reduction in room temperature strength occurs after 16-24h of exposure to air at 1400°C for the ZrB2-SiC material, while for the ZrB2-SiC-C composition this reduction is observed after less than 16h. The thickness of the oxide layer was measured as a function of exposure time and temperatures and the details of oxidation process has been discussed.The European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Air Force Research Laboratory, FA8655-07-1-308

Coordination and load analysis of C-RAN in HetNets by graph-partitioning

In 5G systems, ultra-dense networks are a promising technique to cope strong increase of traffic data in mobile communications. In addition, the deployment of indoor small cells offloads the wireless system from macrocells at the cost of increasing network complexity. In this work, a method for capacity analysis of Centralized Radio Access Networks (C-RANs) comprising macrocells and small cells is proposed. Radio remote heads~(RRH) are grouped to a Base Band Unit~(BBU) pools using graph theory techniques. For this purpose, the impact of Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) and Coordinated Multi-Point Transmission/Reception (CoMP) techniques on the network is assessed under different load levels and coordination restrictions. Assessment is carried out by using a radio planning tool that allows to characterize spectral efficiency and allocation of shared resources per cell over a realistic Long-Term Evolution (LTE) heterogeneous network. Results show that load and coordination conditions between cells are key to improve system capacity.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Sliding wear resistance of biomorphic SiC ceramics

Biomorphic SiC ceramics were fabricated from four different wood precursors and their Knoop hardness and sliding wear resistance when sliding against a Si3N4 ball in air were studied. Tribological experiments were performed using a pin on disk apparatus, under normal loads of 2 and 5 N, at a sliding speed of 100 mm/s. The effects of specimen porosity and microstructure on measured wear were evaluated. A commercial sintered silicon carbide ceramic was also tested for comparison. Small differences in friction coefficient comparable to monolithic SiC ceramics were obtained. Several concurrent wear mechanisms are taking place: microfracture, plastic deformation in the Si phase and oxidation of the Si and/or SiC phase. The presence of an oxide tribolayer was assessed using fluorescence microscopy. Wear rates were found to scale with SiC content and depend on residual porosity in the composite

Qué hacer cuando la pena trasciende la vida: el caso de Abimael Guzmán desde un derecho a la disposición de los restos

El presente artículo pretende realizar un análisis respecto a las últimas horas de vida y el destino de los restos del líder terrorista Abimael Guzmán Reinoso desde una perspectiva de las obligaciones estatales en el DIDH. En concreto, se cuestiona el secretismo existente alrededor de las condiciones de su encarcelamiento frente a alegadas violaciones a sus derechos a la salud e integridad, así como la cremación de su cuerpo tras su fallecimiento, aun tras la negativa de su viuda Elena Iparraguirre. Finalmente, se hace énfasis en la necesidad de garantizar el goce de los derechos humanos a todos con igualdad y sin discriminación, previendo la mayor protección de todas las personas

Sliding wear resistance of sintered SiC-fiber bonded ceramics

Advanced SiC-based ceramics and fiber reinforced composites are interesting materials for a wide variety of applications involving sliding wear conditions because of their excellent thermomechanical properties. The microstructure and wear resistance of sintered SiC fiber bonded ceramics (SA Tyrannohex) were studied. The material is composed of SiC-fibers in two orientations, with polygonal cross sections and cores having higher carbon content than their surroundings, as observed with SEM. A thin layer of C exists between the fibers. This layer has been found to be a turbostratic-layered structure oriented parallel to the fiber surface. XRD shows that the material is highly crystalline and composed mostly of β-SiC. Unlubricated wear behavior of the SA-Tyrannohex material when sliding against a Si3N4 ball in air at room temperature was evaluated. Experiments were performed using a pin on disk apparatus, under different normal loads of 2, 5 and 10 N at sliding speeds of 25, 50, 100 mm/s. A decrease of the friction coefficient with load was found due to the presence of the turbostratic carbon layer between the fibers. Wear rates of the order of 100 mm3/MJ were obtained, independently of sliding speed. Microfracture of the fibers is the main wear mechanism

Análisis y propuestas de actuación sobre la inclusión de la perspectiva de género en los grados de las áreas de ciencias sociales y jurídicas y ciencias de la salud de la Universidad de Sevilla

El contexto social actual hace evidente la necesidad de incluir la perspectiva de género en los planes de estudio de las universidades españolas, desde las titulaciones hasta los currículos de las materias a impartir. En este contexto enmarcamos nuestra investigación, cuyo objetivo es detectar y analizar la existencia/presencia de la perspectiva de género en las memorias de verificación de dos titulaciones de grado de las áreas de conocimiento de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas (Grado en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte) y de Ciencias de la Salud (Grado en Farmacia) que existen en la Universidad de Sevilla. Además se realiza un estudio complementario de cuatro guías docentes del primer curso de cada uno de los grados estudiados. La metodología utilizada ha sido cualitativa, teniendo como técnica de investigación el análisis de contenido asistido por Atlas-ti 5.0. Los resultados muestran como en las memorias de grado de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte y Farmacia, así como en las guías docentes analizadas existe un uso mayoritario del lenguaje en masculino. Se observa la presencia de competencias docentes en materia de igualdad de género en ambas memorias de grado, pero no en las guías docentes. Por último, resaltar que no existe un desglose estadístico explícito de los datos por sexo en ninguna de las memorias de grado

Thermal conductivity of Fe graphitized wood derived carbon

Graphitic porous carbon materials from pyrolysis of wood precursors were obtained by means of a nanosized Fe catalyst, and their microstructure and electrical and thermal transport properties investigated. Thermal and electrical conductivity of graphitized carbon materials increase with the pyrolysis temperature, indicating a relationship between the degree of graphitization and thus in crystallite size with transport properties in the resulting carbon scaffolds. Evaluation of the experimental results indicate that thermal conductivity is mainly through phonons and increases with the temperature in Fe-catalyzed carbons suggesting that the mean free path of phonons in the material is small and defect scattering dominates over phonon-phonon interactions in the range from room temperature to 800 °C.Junta de Andalucía PE2012-TEP862Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MAT2013-41233-