Surface charges and hydration are predominant properties of colloidal particles that govern colloidal stability in aqueous suspensions. These properties usually coexist and interact with each other. The correlation between the surface charge and hydration of minerals is summarized on the basis of innovative experimental, theoretical, and molecular dynamics simulation studies. The factors affecting the adsorption behavior of ions and water molecules, such as ion concentration, ion hydration radius and valence, and surface properties, are discussed. For example, the hydration and adsorption states completely differ between monovalent and divalent ions. For ions of the same valence, the effect of surface charge on the hydration force follows the Hofmeister adsorption series. Electrolyte concentration exerts a significant effect on the hydration force at high ion concentrations. Meanwhile, the ion correlations in high-concentration electrolyte systems become long range. The interfacial water structure largely depends on surface chemistry. The hydration layer between different surfaces shows large qualitative differences.

Coal and gas outburst is a frequent dynamic disaster during underground coal mining activities. After about 150 years of exploration, the mechanisms of outbursts remain unclear to date. Studies on outburst mechanisms worldwide focused on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of outburst-prone coal, laboratory-scale outburst experiments and numerical modeling, mine-site investigations, and doctrines of outburst mechanisms. Outburst mechanisms are divided into two categories: single-factor and multi-factor mechanisms. The multi-factor mechanism is widely accepted, but all statistical phenomena during a single outburst cannot be explained using present knowledge. Additional topics about outburst mechanisms are proposed by summarizing the phenomena that need precise explanation. The most appealing research is the microscopic process of the interaction between coal and gas. Modern physical-chemical methods can help characterize the natural properties of outburst-prone coal. Outburst experiments can compensate for the deficiency of first-hand observation at the scene. Restoring the original outburst scene by constructing a geomechanical model or numerical model and reproducing the entire outburst process based on mining environment conditions, including stratigraphic distribution, gas occurrence, and geological structure, are important. Future studies can explore outburst mechanisms at the microscale.

Graphene/aluminum (Gr/Al) composites have attracted the attention of researchers all over the world due to their excellent properties. However, graphene agglomerates easily because of the van der Waals force between graphite sheets, thereby affecting the performance of the composites. Decreasing the agglomeration of graphene and dispersing it uniformly in the Al matrix is a key challenge. In the preparation process, predispersion treatment and deformation treatment can play important roles in graphene dispersion. Researchers have conducted a series of research and literature reviews of the graphene predispersion and consolidation of composites. However, they paid less attention to post-deformation processing. This review summarizes different deformation treatments involved in the preparation process of Gr/Al composites and the evolution of the microstructure during the process. Research on deformation parameters is expected to further improve the properties of Gr/Al composites and would provide a deep understanding of the strengthening effect of graphene.

Ore particles, especially fine interlayers, commonly segregate in heap stacking, leading to undesirable flow paths and changeable flow velocity fields of packed beds. Computed tomography (CT), COMSOL Multiphysics, and MATLAB were utilized to quantify pore structures and visualize flow behavior inside packed beds with segregated fine interlayers. The formation of fine interlayers was accompanied with the segregation of particles in packed beds. Fine particles reached the upper position of the packed beds during stacking. CT revealed that the average porosity of fine interlayers (24.21%) was significantly lower than that of the heap packed by coarse ores (37.42%), which directly affected the formation of flow paths. Specifically, the potential flow paths in the internal regions of fine interlayers were undeveloped. Fluid flowed and bypassed the fine interlayers and along the sides of the packed beds. Flow velocity also indicated that the flow paths easily gathered in the pore throat where flow velocity (1.8 × 10⁻⁵ m/s) suddenly increased. Fluid stagnant regions with a flow velocity lower than 0.2 × 10⁻⁵ m/s appeared in flow paths with a large diameter.

The potential autoclave was used to study the catalytic mechanism of Cu²⁺ during the oxygen pressure leaching process of artificial sphalerite. By studying the potential change of the system at different temperatures and the SEM–EDS difference of the leaching residues, it was found that in the temperature range of 363–423 K, the internal Cu²⁺ formed a CuS deposit on the surface of sphalerite, which hindered the leaching reaction, resulting in a zinc leaching rate of only 51.04%. When the temperature exceeds 463 K, the system potential increases steadily. The increase in temperature leads to the dissolution of the CuS, which is beneficial to the circulation catalysis of Cu²⁺. At this time, the leaching rate of Zn exceeds 95%. In addition, the leaching kinetics equations at 363–423 and 423–483 K were established. The activation energy of zinc leaching at 363–423 and 423–483 K is 38.66 and 36.25 kJ/mol, respectively, and the leaching process is controlled by surface chemical reactions.

A high-building multi-directional pipe joint (HBMDPJ) was fabricated by wire and arc additive manufacturing using high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel. The microstructure characteristics and transformation were observed and analyzed. The results show that the forming part includes four regions. The solidification zone solidifies as typical columnar crystals from a molten pool. The complete austenitizing zone forms from the solidification zone heated to a temperature greater than 1100°C, and the typical columnar crystals in this zone are difficult to observe. The partial austenitizing zone forms from the completely austenite zone heated between Ac1 (austenite transition temperature) and 1100°C, which is mainly equiaxed grains. After several thermal cycles, the partial austenitizing zone transforms to the tempering zone, which consistes of fully equiaxed grains. From the solidification zone to the tempering zone, the average grain size decreases from 75 to 20 μm. The mechanical properties of HBMDPJ satisfies the requirement for the intended application.

Ultrasonic vibration assisted tungsten inert gas welding was applied to joining stainless steel 316L and low alloy high strength steel L415. The effect of ultrasonic vibration on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a dissimilar metal welded joint of 316L and L415 was systematically investigated. The microstructures of both heat affected zones of L415 and weld metal were substantially refined, and the clusters of δ ferrite in traditional tungsten inert gas (TIG) weld were changed to a dispersive distribution via the ultrasonic vibration. The ultrasonic vibration promoted the uniform distribution of elements and decreased the micro-segregation tendency in the weld. With the application of ultrasonic vibration, the average tensile strength and elongation of the joint was improved from 613 to 650 MPa and from 16.15% to 31.54%, respectively. The content of Σ3 grain boundaries around the fusion line zone is higher and the distribution is more uniform in the ultrasonic vibration assisted welded joint compared with the traditional one, indicating an excellent weld metal crack resistance.

Duplex stainless steels (DSSs) used in subsea structures and desalination industries require high corrosion and erosion resistance as well as excellent mechanical properties. The newly introduced cast duplex grade ASTM A890 7A has a unique composition and is expected to have a much better resistance to corrosion and erosion compared with the super-duplex grades 5A and 6A. This work is a comparative study of the mechanical properties, corrosion, and erosion−corrosion resistance of super-duplex grades 5A and 6A and the hyper-duplex grade 7A. The three DSSs exhibited equiaxial austenite islands in the ferrite matrix and balanced phase ratios. The hardness of the grade 7A was nearly 15% higher than those of the super-duplex grades, which is attributed to the effect of the higher contents of W and Mn in 7A. The impact toughness of grade 7A was found to be lower than those of the super-duplex grades due to the carbide precipitation resulting from the partial substitution of Mo with W. The oxide layer strengthening effect of rare earth elements and the higher pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) of grade 7A resulted in higher corrosion resistance. The harder and more passive grade 7A showed a 35% lower material loss during erosion−corrosion.

A new variant of friction-assisted process named friction surface alloying (FSA) for developing surface alloys was demonstrated in the present work. In FSA, the dispersed phase is melted and allowed to react with the matrix material to form an alloy at the surface of a metallic substrate. In the present work, magnesium (Mg) sheets and zinc (Zn) powder were selected, and fine grained (~3.5 μm) Mg–Zn surface alloy with improved hardness was produced by FSA. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the formation of intermetallic phases of Mg and Zn at the surface. From the in vitro degradation studies carried out by immersing in simulated body fluids, a lower corrosion rate was observed for the Mg–Zn surface alloy compared with pure Mg. The surface morphologies after immersion studies indicated large degraded areas on the base Mg compared with Mg–Zn. The results demonstrate the potential of FSA in developing Mg-based surface alloys without melting the substrate to impart better surface properties.

Interfacial Al−Ce−Cu−W amorphous layers formed through thermally driven solid-state amorphization within the (W+CeO₂)/2024Al composite were investigated. The elemental distributions and interfacial microstructures were examined with an electron probe microanalyzer and a high-resolution transmission electron microscope, respectively. The consolidation of composites consisted of two thermal processes: vacuum degassing (VD) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP). During consolidation, not only the three major elements (Al, W, and Ce) but also the alloying elements (Mg and Cu) in the Al matrix contributed to amorphization. At VD and HIP temperatures of 723 K and 763 K, interfacial amorphous layers were formed within the composite. Three diffusion processes were necessary for interfacial amorphization: (a) long-range diffusion of Mg from the Al matrix to the interfaces during VD; (b) long-range diffusion of Cu from the Al matrix to the interfaces during HIP; (c) short-range diffusion of W toward the Al matrix during HIP. The newly formed interfacial Al−Ce−Cu−W amorphous layers can be categorized under the Al−Ce−TM (TM: transition metals) amorphous system.

We report the picosecond laser ablation of aluminum targets immersed in a polar organic liquid (chloroform, CHCl₃) with ~2 ps laser pulses at an input energy of ~350 μJ. The synthesized aluminum nanoparticles exhibited a surface plasmon resonance peak at ~340 nm. Scanning electron microscopy images of Al nanoparticles demonstrated the spherical morphology with an average size of (27 ± 3.6) nm. The formation of smaller spherical Al nanoparticles and the diminished growth could be from the formation of electric double layers on the Al nanoparticles. In addition to spherical aluminum nanoparticles, triangular/pentagonal/hexagonal nanoparticles were also observed in the colloidal solution. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images of ablated Al targets demonstrated laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs), which were the high spatial frequency LIPSSs (HSF-LIPSSs) since their grating period was ~280 nm. Additionally, coarse structures with a period of ~700 nm were observed.