A nuclear fuel includes uranium(IV) oxide (UO.sub.2) and manganese (Mn) as a dopant. The Mn dopant may be present in the fuel in an amount up to the solubility limit for Mn under a given set of conditions, for example, about 0.01 wt % to about 1 wt %. The nuclear fuel is substantially free of aluminum (Al). The nuclear fuel exhibits enhanced grain size development during sintering temperatures as low at 1400 K due to an increase in uranium sub-lattice vacancies induced by dissolution of the Mn dopant at interstitial defect sites. The Mn-doped nuclear fuel exhibits improved grain sizes at lower temperatures compared to Cr-, Al-, and undoped UO.sub.2, and therefore desirably exhibits lower fission gas release and higher plasticity, reducing the chances of fuel rod failure.

Disclosed are electrochemical devices, such as lithium ion battery electrodes, lithium ion conducting solid-state electrolytes, and solid-state lithium ion batteries including these electrodes and solid-state electrolytes. Also disclosed are composite electrodes for solid state electrochemical devices. The composite electrodes include one or more separate phases within the electrode that provide electronic and ionic conduction pathways in the electrode active material phase. A method for forming a composite electrode for an electrochemical device is also disclosed. One example method comprises (a) forming a mixture comprising (i) a lithium host material, and (ii) a solid-state conductive material comprising a ceramic material having a crystal structure and a dopant in the crystal structure; and (b) sintering the mixture, wherein the dopant is selected such that the solid-state conductive material retains the crystal structure during sintering with the lithium host material.

A heat-transforming ceramic roasting cylinder and a coffee bean roaster using the same are provided. The ceramic roasting cylinder is made by grinding and mixing ball clay, kaolin clay, mullite, spodumene, and an energy ceramic material into a clay blank; molding the clay blank into ceramic green bodies; and sintering the ceramic green bodies at 12501320 C. for 1824 hours. The ceramic roasting cylinder has an internal roasting space where coffee beans are loaded. The ceramic roasting cylinder also has evenly distributed capillary pores through which heat can circulate to induce the energy ceramic material in the roasting cylinder to release negative ions and far-infrared rays. The far-infrared rays can reduce the van der Waals forces between the oil molecules in the coffee beans instantly, splitting large oil molecules into smaller ones, ensuring the oil in the beans are released sufficiently, evenly, and rapidly to the vicinity of the bean surface.

The application discloses a preparation method of monocrystal uranium dioxide nuclear fuel pellets, comprising: granulating and pelleting UO.sub.2 powder to obtain UO.sub.2 pellets; then coating surfaces of the UO.sub.2 pellets with monocrystal growth additive micro powder to form core-shell structure particles; and activated-sintering the core-shell structure particles at high temperature, liquefying the monocrystal growth additive on the surface of the core-shell structure particle at high temperature and then diffusing into UO.sub.2 pellets, dissolving the UO.sub.3 in the liquid monocrystal growth additive, and recrystallizing the UO.sub.2 to form the monocrystal UO.sub.2 nuclear fuel pellets.

The application discloses a preparation method of monocrystal uranium dioxide nuclear fuel pellets, comprising: granulating and pelleting UO.sub.2 powder to obtain UO.sub.2 pellets; then coating surfaces of the UO.sub.2 pellets with monocrystal growth additive micro powder to form core-shell structure particles; and activated-sintering the core-shell structure particles at high temperature, liquefying the monocrystal growth additive on the surface of the core-shell structure particle at high temperature and then diffusing into UO.sub.2 pellets, dissolving the UO.sub.3 in the liquid monocrystal growth additive, and recrystallizing the UO.sub.2 to form the monocrystal UO.sub.2 nuclear fuel pellets.

An object shaping method includes a step of forming a powder layer using first powder, a step of placing second powder having an average particle diameter smaller than an average particle diameter of the first powder at a part of a region of the powder layer, and a first heating step of heating the powder layer in which the second powder is placed. The average particle diameter is equal to or larger than 1 nm and equal to or smaller than 500 nm, and the first heating step performs heating the powder layer at a temperature at which particles contained in the second powder are sintered or melted.

A heat-transforming ceramic roasting cylinder and a coffee bean roaster using the same are provided. The ceramic roasting cylinder is made by grinding and mixing ball clay, kaolin clay, mullite, spodumene, and an energy ceramic material into a clay blank; molding the clay blank into ceramic green bodies; and sintering the ceramic green bodies at 12501320 C. for 1824 hours. The ceramic roasting cylinder has an internal roasting space where coffee beans are loaded. The ceramic roasting cylinder also has evenly distributed capillary pores through which heat can circulate to induce the energy ceramic material in the roasting cylinder to release negative ions and far-infrared rays. The far-infrared rays can reduce the van der Waals forces between the oil molecules in the coffee beans instantly, splitting large oil molecules into smaller ones, ensuring the oil in the beans are released sufficiently, evenly, and rapidly to the vicinity of the bean surface.

A heat-transforming ceramic roasting cylinder and a coffee bean roaster using the same are provided. The ceramic roasting cylinder is made by grinding and mixing ball clay, kaolin clay, mullite, spodumene, and an energy ceramic material into a clay blank; molding the clay blank into ceramic green bodies; and sintering the ceramic green bodies at 12501320 C. for 1824 hours. The ceramic roasting cylinder has an internal roasting space where coffee beans are loaded. The ceramic roasting cylinder also has evenly distributed capillary pores through which heat can circulate to induce the energy ceramic material in the roasting cylinder to release negative ions and far-infrared rays. The far-infrared rays can reduce the van der Waals forces between the oil molecules in the coffee beans instantly, splitting large oil molecules into smaller ones, ensuring the oil in the beans are released sufficiently, evenly, and rapidly to the vicinity of the bean surface.

A blade for a turbomachine comprising an outer shell and an inner core which is at least partially enclosed by the outer shell and has a higher porosity than the outer shell. The outer shell is formed by a ceramic body or a body made of a ceramic matrix composite material, and the inner core is formed by a fiber-reinforced ceramic or a fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite material.

A type of composite material where the matrix material and additive are held together by covalently or non-covalently bound ligands is described. A particularly useful composite material covered by the present invention is a carbon nanotube-reinforced composite material where the matrix consists of a polymer, covalently attached to a linker, where said linker is non-covalently attached to the carbon nanotube.

Methods for the preparation of such composite materials are provided.