Sharif Digital Repository

The present work focused on the characterization of mechanical properties of novolac phenolic resin (PF) filled with two types of clays, including modified and unmodified ones, and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT). It was found that the solution mixing method is able to disperse the nanoparticles within the PF resin appropriately. It was also shown that the unmodified clay (Closite Na+) has the highest influence on the mechanical properties possibly due to the good level of dispersion as well as the good interfacial interaction. Theoretical analysis based on the rubber elasticity theory showed that the nanoparticles influence the evolution of crosslinking density and network structure  

An equation of state based on the statistical associating fluid theory for potentials of variable range (SAFT-VR) is used to model 7 hydrogen-bonding solvents and 23 electrolyte solutions. Solvent-solvent hydrogen bonding interactions are explicitly taken into account as in other versions of the SAFT approach. In addition, long-range Coulombic interactions between ionic species are accounted for using the non-restricted mean-spherical approximation, while solvent-solvent and solvent-ion dispersion interactions are included and are treated using Yukawa potentials. Previously a similar approach had been proposed in which the dispersion interactions were treated using square-well potentials. In... 

Composites of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin with Closite Na+ and Closite 30B up to 20 wt% loadings were prepared by solution mixing. Tensile testing showed that both pristine and organically modified clays increased considerably the mechanical properties of PF resin at 2.5 wt% loading followed by marginal improvement or even sacrificed properties at high loadings. DMA and DSC analyses suggested development of a highly crosslinked and well adhered interphase around silicate layers. A novel three-phase model considering the interphase region was proposed to predict composite modulus. The model was successfully employed to correlate morphological characteristics and mechanical properties of... 

Very fine alumina nanoparticles were loaded in novolac type phenolic resin (PF) using solution mixing method. The concentration of nanoalumina in PF was varied between 2.5 to 20 wt%. All the compounds were compression molded and then subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile, flexural, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests. SEM analysis showed that the nanoalumina were dispersed uniformly at low concentrations, however, at high concentrations, dispersion was suppressed leading to agglomerates in the composites. Mechanical testing revealed that the nanoalumina had a great influence on the strength and stiffness of PF resin particularly at concentrations below 5 wt%.... 

In modern power systems, technical virtual power plants (TVPPs) play an important role enabling presence of distributed energy resources (DERs) in electricity markets. In this paper, strategy of using the available energy resources for a TVPP is put under investigation. A new optimization framework is presented for problem of TVPP energy scheduling by taking operational constraints of distribution network into account. In the proposed model, photovoltaic (PV) units and micro turbines along with the electric vehicles (EVs) are scheduled in such a way that the profit of TVPP owner would be maximized. The uncertainty in output generation of PV units is modeled by adopting fuzzy c-means (FCM)... 

In this study, EVAc/PLA/organo clay nanocomposites were prepared via solution mixing method. The SEM images were used to investigate the morphology of nanocomposites revealing no phase separation or agglomeration of disperse phase in EVAc/PLA blends and nanocomposites. SAXS spectra confirmed the intercalated morphology of nanocomposites. Soil burial test were carried out and the rate of degradation of the samples were measured indirectly. Oxygen gas permeability of EVAc was slightly decreased by adding PLA to the matrix, when small loads of clay caused dramatic improvement in barrier properties. Melt rheological frequency sweep test illustrated the compatibility of EVAc with low contents of... 

Sectionalizing switches are the main components of any restoration scheme in fault situations of power distribution systems. In this paper, customer outage costs reduction is aimed through the optimal simultaneous placement of manual and remote-controlled switches (RCSs). Network reconfigurations are constrained such that operational considerations like statutory ranges for voltage levels, lines' thermal capacities, and necessity of radial configuration be conserved. Total cost reduction is mathematically modeled in a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that makes the global optimal solution accessible. The validity of the proposed model is evaluated on the IEEE 33-bus network. In...