Xihua Zhou

Xihua Zhou


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

12Years (2015-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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17 February 2022 in Scientific Reports
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MXMufeng Xiao
Mufeng Xiao
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
XPXinxin Pan
Xinxin Pan
YWYanan Wang
Yanan Wang
JWJue Wang
Jue Wang
YWYumeng Wang
Yumeng Wang
To ensure the safe construction of prefabricated buildings and improve the efficiency of the safe evacuation of construction personnel after a fire caused by improper operation during construction, this study used the PyroSim software to numerically simulate a fire situation based on the size and volume of a prefabricated building construction site. The variation rules of smoke visibility, CO concentration, and ambient temperature in the construction site of prefabricated buildings were analyzed and the available safe evacuation time was determined. Moreover, the Pathfinder software was used for simulation in combination with the physical attributes of personnel, evacuation speed, and personnel proportions. The time required for safe evacuation was determined and the factors influencing the evacuation time, such as the quantity and location of stacked prefabricated components, machinery, and appliances, and the number of on-site construction personnel, were analyzed. The data collected by the temperature sensor, CO concentration sensor, and visibility sensor reveal that the visibility and crash time are the key factors restricting the efficiency of personnel avoidance and evacuation. At 400 s, the visibility at the escape exit of the prefabricated apartment construction site was lower than 5 m. The crashing time of the building was 360 s, which is the critical point for casualties. The first emergency evacuation simulation took 398.7 s. The required safe evacuation time (TREST) > available safe evacuation time (TASET), and the original site layout cannot facilitate the safe evacuation of all construction workers. The evacuation time can be effectively reduced by re-planning the stacking positions of prefabricated construction site components, construction equipment, and other items, and reducing the number of personnel in the construction plane. The results of the second simulation reveal that the safe evacuation time (TREST) is 355.2 s. Because it is required that the safety evacuation time (TREST) < available safe evacuation time (TASET), the results are in line with the emergency evacuation requirements. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the rational planning of evacuation passages at the construction sites of prefabricated buildings and assist the management of construction site safety.

29 March 2022 in ACS Omega
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
YSYashengnan Sun
Yashengnan Sun
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
TXTianyu Xin
Tianyu Xin
GBGang BAI
Gang BAI
YWYumeng Wang
Yumeng Wang
XMXiao Mufeng
Xiao Mufeng
In view of the problem that excessive CO in underground coal mine space can easily lead to a large number of casualties, Cu-Mn-Sn water-resistant eliminators with different Sn contents were prepared by a co-precipitation method. The activity of the eliminators was analyzed by using an independently developed activity testing platform, N-2 adsorption and desorption, XRD, SEM, XPS, and FTIR to characterize the activity factors and water resistance. The results showed that Cu-Mn-Sn-20 with 20% Sn content had the highest activity, which was 3.23 times that of Cu-Mn. The main reason for the increased activity is that Cu-Mn-Sn-20 doped with 20% Sn provides a larger specific surface area and more active sites and reduces the pore size, so that the crystallization degree of Cu1.4Mn1.5O4 is lower. The doping of 20% Sn reduces the absorption of lattice water and coordination water and improves the water resistance of Cu-Mn-Sn-type eliminators. The Cu-Mn-Sn-20 water-resistant eliminator is used to quickly eliminate CO in underground coal mines, which is of great significance for the rescue workers in underground coal mines after disasters.

11 June 2021 in ACS Omega
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
YSYashengnan Sun
Yashengnan Sun
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
GBGang Bai
Gang Bai
YTYifei Teng
Yifei Teng
TXTianyu Xin
Tianyu Xin
MXMufeng Xiao
Mufeng Xiao
Addressing the issue of suffocation and casualties caused by a large amount of poisonous CO gas generated after a gas explosion, research involving an experimental system for the removal of CO using a Cu–Mn elimination agent was studied. The influence of O2 concentration, temperature, and CO concentration on the elimination performance of the agent after a gas explosion was studied. The quantitative relationship between the amount of CO eliminated, the elimination rate, the O2 concentration, and temperature was analyzed. Further analysis was completed regarding the influence of O2 concentration, temperature, and CO concentration on the thermal effect in the elimination process. The results showed that the elimination agent had a rapid effect on the removal of CO. When the ratio of CO concentration to O2 concentration was closer to the stoichiometric ratio, the elimination and reaction were more complete, the time to complete elimination was shorter, and the peak temperature was higher. As the temperature increased, the time to reach the elimination limit became longer, the elimination rate decreased, the reaction was slower, and the peak temperature was lower. As the CO concentration increased, it was observed that the higher the peak temperature, the longer it took to reach the peak time. The results of the study provide a theoretical support for the catalytic oxidation of CO using the Cu–Mn eliminator after a coal mine gas explosion.

5 July 2022 in ACS Omega
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
XZXiaowen Zhang
Xiaowen Zhang
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
GBGang Bai
Gang Bai
CLChengyu Li
Chengyu Li
The study of gas explosion under the influence of CO generated by spontaneous combustion of coal has practical value for preventing and controlling such accidents. The explosion limit and the explosion characteristic parameters of the CO/CH4/air mixture were measured with a 20 L explosion tank. The changes in free radical concentration and temperature sensitivity in the process of mixture explosion reaction were analyzed using the GRI-mech 3.0 mechanism. The test results show that with the increase of the CO concentration in the mixture, both the lower explosion limit and the upper explosion limit of CH4 explosion decreased, the explosion limit range became wider, and the maximum explosion pressure of the mixture decreased. The time for the H•, O•, and •OH radical molar fractions to reach the peak value was found to be prolonged with the increase of the CO ratio in the mixture. Under oxygen-enriched conditions, the •OH and O• mole fractions were larger than those under oxygen-lean conditions, while the H• concentration was reversed. The higher the proportion of CO in the premixed gas, the higher the value of the temperature sensitivity coefficient. The reaction processes R155 CH3 + O2 ⇌ O• + CH3O and R158 2•CH3 (+M) ⇌ C2H6 (+M) had the greatest influence on the temperature of the reaction process. Explosion suppression techniques can be developed for similar explosive environments based on this study.

17 November 2021 in Research Square
Verified
Preprint
Open access
PDF file
MXMufeng Xiao
Mufeng Xiao
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
XPXinxin Pan
Xinxin Pan
YWYanan Wang
Yanan Wang
XLXianlin Li
Xianlin Li
JWJue Wang
Jue Wang
To ensure the safe construction of prefabricated buildings and improve the efficiency of the safe evacuation of construction personnel after a fire caused by improper operation during construction, this study used the PyroSim software to numerically simulate a fire situation based on the size and volume of a prefabricated building construction site. The variation rules of smoke visibility, CO concentration, and ambient temperature in the construction site of prefabricated buildings were analyzed and the available safe evacuation time was determined. Moreover, the Pathfinder software was used for simulation in combination with the physical attributes of personnel, evacuation speed, and personnel proportions. The time required for safe evacuation was determined and the factors influencing the evacuation time, such as the quantity and location of stacked prefabricated components, machinery, and appliances, and the number of on-site construction personnel, were analyzed. The results reveal that the original layout of the prefabricated building construction site cannot facilitate the safe evacuation of all construction personnel. The bottleneck area for the evacuation of construction personnel is the indoor corridor and evacuation stairway. The quantity and location of stacked items at the construction site greatly influence the evacuation time. When the number of construction personnel on each floor reaches a certain value, restrictions should be imposed. The results obtained by this study can provide the theoretical basis for the rational planning of evacuation routes and construction site management.

4 May 2022 in PLOS ONE
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
YSYashengnan Sun
Yashengnan Sun
XZXihua Zhou
Xihua Zhou
ALAng Li
Ang Li
GBGang BAI
Gang BAI
TXTianyu Xin
Tianyu Xin
MXMufeng Xiao
Mufeng Xiao
A large amount of gas, such as CO, accumulates in a coal mine after an explosion, leading to CO poisoning. In this study, a self-developed platform was used to eliminate CO from coal mines and determine the mass of the rapidly eliminated CO and its concentration in the eliminated gases. Equations were derived to calculate the amount of CO eliminated and the removing rate. The results showed that a rapid removing reagent in the form of nonprecious metal catalysts is useful for removing CO. Removing agents with larger masses facilitated the activation, irrespective of the CO concentration. For removing reagent amounts of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 g, the amount of CO eliminated, the removing rate, and the time required to complete catalytic oxidation increased sequentially. The CO removing process could be divided into three stages (I, II, and III) based on the variations in the CO, CO2, and O2 concentrations during CO removing. The removing reagent first chemically adsorbs CO and O2, and then desorbs CO2. The final CO concentration tends to 0, the O2 concentration remains stable, and the CO2 concentration decreases. This shows that the ablation agent has an impact on the changes in the CO and CO2 concentrations.