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The purpose of this paper is to present an alternative platform, namely the Metaverse, to enhance and revolutionize the concept of living library experiences. The fourth industrial revolution has disseminated many innovative human experiences since the rapid development of modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, virtual/augmented realities, blockchain, cloud computing and so on. Various combinations of these technologies have triggered newer tools and platforms for human beings. One of these combinations, perhaps the most unique and holistic case, is the Metaverse, which promises to offer immersive experiences for users. Many stakeholders have been discussing alternative applications of Metaverse platforms, and many developers have attempted to optimize this new technology. Libraries, as the central hub of human intellectuality, will not be an exception to Metaverse integration.

The authors undertook a meticulous examination of an extensive array of scholarly works across various databases to construct a comprehensive literature review. This exhaustive exploration encompassed databases spanning disciplines such as education, psychology, sociology, economics, ICT and so on, and included renowned platforms like PubMed, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore, among others.

In this paper, the authors concentrate on an alternative form of libraries: “living libraries,” where people share their experiences, knowledge and wisdom with others like a living book. Moreover, the authors discuss how the Metaverse and living libraries intersect and create an alternative sharing platform. The paper presents several illustrative scenarios for diffusing living libraries into Metaverse platforms. Finally, the paper articulates the possible challenges that this intersection may present to the current condition.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers combining two innovative concepts: Metaverse and living library and suggests alternative scenarios for real-life experiences.

In this study the aim was to investigate under-deposit corrosion (UDC) behavior and the action effects of amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP) in the oxygen-contained solution.

Electrochemical methods and wire beam electrode techniques were used for the study of ATMP action effect for X65 steel under silica sand and CaCO₃ particle deposit. Electronic coupon technique was used for the study of galvanic effect caused by the deposits and the action effect of ATMP.

ATMP would cause localized corrosion for the silica sand-covered steel. However, it could inhibit the localized corrosion of the steel beneath CaCO₃ particle deposit. Galvanic effect test showed that the galvanic effect caused by the deposits was an important factor for the acceleration of UDC. ATMP had an obvious promotion effect for the galvanic current between bare coupon and silica sand covered coupon and different degrees of localized corrosion were observed beneath both deposits.

The authors believe that the paper may be of particular interest to the readers of the journal as the measurement methods for the UDC of X65 pipeline steel. The experiment they did in the laboratory found that the inhibitor ATMP has a good inhibition effect for bare steel, but it would accelerate the UDC. Different kinds of deposits would have different influences for the UDC behavior with inhibitor added.

The purpose of this paper is to study the interaction of main marine organisms on localized corrosion of 316L stainless steel in the Dalian Sea area.

The steel plate was immersed in the Dalian Sea area for nine months to observe the biofouling and localized corrosion. The local potential distribution on the steel plate covered by marine organisms was measured. The local electrochemical measurements were performed to facilitate understanding the interfacial status under different biofouling conditions. The local surface morphologies and corrosion products were characterized.

The localized corrosion of stainless steel is mainly induced by the attachment of barnacles on the steel. The mussels have no influence on the localized corrosion. The cover of sea squirts could mitigate the localized corrosion induced by barnacles. Both crevice corrosion and pitting corrosion were found beneath the barnacle without the covering of sea squirts. The pitting damage was more serious than the crevice corrosion in the Dalian Sea area. The probing of sulfur element indicates that the potential growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria at barnacle center.

The above findings revealed that the interaction of marine organisms has significant influences on the localized corrosion of stainless steel. The influences of macro-fouling and micro-fouling on localized corrosion are discussed.

To modify a conventional evacuated tube, an improved asymmetric U-type evacuated tube (AUET) is proposed. This study aims to investigate the thermal and hydrodynamic performances of a modified tube and determine the optimal structural form.

Based on the variation of fluid proprieties with temperature, the formulated numerical model was validated and then deployed to investigate the natural circulation in the evacuated tubes. A dimensionless number was proposed to quantify the stratification effect. The influence of the degree of asymmetry of U-type evacuated tubes on the flow patterns, mass flow rate, temperature distribution, thermal stratification and energy conversion efficiency was studied.

When the degree of asymmetry is large, a higher velocity and better thermal stratification are achieved, thereby avoiding stagnant water at the bottom of the tubes simultaneously. Compared with the conventional evacuated tube, the improved evacuated tube exhibited a higher thermal efficiency.

The originally proposed AUET was proven to have better performance in avoiding stagnant water, reducing fluid mixing and improving the heat transfer efficiency.