Sharif Digital Repository

Pure Zn and Zn matrix composite coatings containing nano-sized SiC particles with an average size of 50 nm were prepared from the zinc sulfate bath. The effects of the pulse frequency, maximum current density and duty cycle on the amount of particles embedded were examined. Electron microscopic studies revealed that the coating morphology was modified by the presence of SiC nanoparticles. In the presence of SiC nanoparticles deposit grows in outgrowth mode resulting in a very rough and porous microstructure. However, at very low and very high duty cycles a smooth and pore free microstructure was obtained. Corrosion resistance properties of the coatings were studied using potentiodynamic... 

In the present work, the interaction of hydrogen molecules with defective graphene structures doped by transition metal (TM) atoms is investigated by using first principles density functional theory (DFT). Defective graphene structures include Stone-Wales (SW), 585 and 555-777 and transition metals include early TMs, i.e. scandium (Sc), titanium (Ti) and vanadium (V). It is found that in comparison with the pristine graphene, presence of defects significantly enhances the metal binding. Among three defects, 585 divacancy leads to the strongest binding between graphene and metal. Hydrogen adsorption is then evaluated by sequential addition of hydrogen molecules to the system. The results... 

Electronic and transport properties of 11 zigzag graphene nanoribbons (11-z-GNRs) with two types of 3D-paired pentagon-heptagon defects (3D-PPHDs) are studied using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green's function method. The C ad-dimers that have been introduced to z-GNRs to form these 3D-PPHDs have induced local strains forcing the C-bonds in the ad-dimers to hybridize in sp3-like rather than sp2-like orbitals. Such transformations that cause extra electrons to accumulate around the 3D-PPHDs are responsible for the variations in the electronic and transport properties of the defected z-GNRs. Density of states (DOS) for 11-z-GNRs containing either type of 3D-PPHDs,... 

This article examines the Weibull statistical analysis that was used for investigating the effect of melt filtration on tensile properties and defects formed inside the casting. Forming and entrapping of double oxide films have been explained by using the context of critical velocity of melt in the runner. SutCast software results were used to examine the amounts of the velocity of melt as such. SEM/EDX analysis is used to observe the presence of double oxide films in the fracture surfaces of the tensile specimens. The article goes on to propose that castings made with foam filters with smaller pores show higher mechanical properties and reliability due to higher Weibull modulus and fewer... 

The paper deals with investigation of the effects of vacancy defects on the pull-in behaviors of the carbon nanotubes. The influences of single, double and triple vacancies in different peripheral and longitudinal positions are studied. The results reveal that the vacancy defects drastically reduce the pull-in charge because they weaken the nanostructure. Moreover, the effects of residual stresses on the pull-in and vibrational properties of the carbon nanotubes are scrutinized. The influences of the angular deviations from the parallel positions of the CNT and ground plate during the fabrication process are also reported. Copyright  

Using density functional theory combined with non-equilibrium Green's function method, we have investigated the electronic and transport properties of graphenes defected by one and two carbon ad-dimers (CADs), placed parallel to the graphene lattice. Addition of these CADs to graphenes creates 3D paired pentagon-heptagon defects (3D-PPHDs). The band structure, density of states (DOS), quantum conductance, projected DOS, as well as the current-voltage characteristic per graphene super-cells containing each type of 3D-PPHD are calculated. The local strain introduced to graphene by 3D-PPHDs forces the C-bonds in the dimers to hybridize in sp 3-like rather than sp 2-like orbitals, creating... 

The goal of the present study is to predict the formation of solidification induced defects in castings by thermal criteria functions. In a criterion function method, the heat transfer equation is firstly solved, and then the susceptibility of defect formation at every point in the casting is predicted by computing a local function, criterion function, using results of the thermal analysis. In the first part of the paper, some famous criteria functions, in particular, the Pellini and Niyama criteria, are analyzed and their shortcomings are discussed in details. Then, a new criterion function is suggested to decrease the shape-dependency issue of the former criteria. The feasibility of the... 

This paper describes how Enexis, one of the largest distribution network operators in the Netherlands, has adapted its load forecasting method for HV/MVtransformers to incorporate the influence of distributed generation. This new method involves the making of separate forecasts for demand and generation and determining the resulting transformer loading, based on the known correlation between demand and generation  

In this paper, the effects of Stone-Wales (SW) defect on transport properties of armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs) are studied using tight binding calculations combined with nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF). We evaluate transmission and density of states (DOS) in two cases, pristine and defective AGNR, and we compare the results. Our results indicate that in the latter case, a larger bandgap is made due to symmetry breaking in GNR layer  

In this paper the band structure of spin polarized zigzag graphene nanoribbons(ZGNRs) and armchair graphene nanoribons(AGNRs) with Stone-Wales defect are investigated. The results show when the spin effect is considered, the band structures of ZGNRs and AGNRs will be changed and modified. A larger gap will be created and the degenerate bands in ZGNRs will become far from each other. Tight-binding and hubard model were used to simulate the band structures  

Although several studies have applied traditional linear measures to evaluate postural control of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), little is known about the nonlinear dynamics of this patient group. In this study, recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), a well documented nonlinear method, was used to compare the nonlinear dynamical structure of postural sway in two groups consisting of MS patients (. n=. 23) and healthy matched controls (. n=. 23). The study focuses on three levels of postural difficulty consisting of (1) standing on a rigid surface (force platform) with eyes open, (2) standing on a rigid surface with eyes closed, and (3) standing on a foam surface with eyes closed.... 

We show that, in a nonlinear centrally coupled circular array of evanescently coupled fibers, the coupling dynamics of a weak signal beam can be efficiently influenced by a high-power control beam that induces nonlinear defects. When the intense control beam is launched into the central core and one core in the periphery, then localized solitons are formed and cause the fibers with induced defects (defected fibers) to decouple from the other array elements. In the presence of a high-intensity control beam, the propagation of weak signal is restricted to the defected optical fibers. The weak signal periodically couples between the induced defects. This oscillatory behavior depends on the sign... 

Determining the shape, area, volume, and direction of flaws using ultrasonic imaging of metallic pieces, is a method estimating the severity of their defects. Different methods are used to process ultrasound images. Among these methods are spectral analyses, statistical, mathematical and intelligent methods. Within each of these, there are some advantages as well as limitations. Prony algorithm, which has been used as a parametric method for extracting exponential components of a signal, has several applications in signal modeling, system identification and classification. In this paper, after simulating pieces of oil pipeline, digital Wavelet transform has been used to reduce the noise of... 

We investigate bonded boojum-colloids in nematic liquid crystals, configurations where two colloids with planar degenerate anchoring are double-bonded through line defects connecting their surfaces. This bonded structure promotes the formation of linear chains aligned with the nematic director. We show that the bonded configuration is the global minimum in systems that favor twist deformations. In addition, we investigate the influence of confinement on the stability of bonded boojum-colloids. Although the unbonded colloid configuration, where the colloids bundle at oblique angles, is favored by confinement, the bonded configuration is again the global minimum for liquid crystals with... 

Nematic shells of liquid crystals have been provided in microscales. Defect structures in the shells are very essential in the electro-optical applications of such colloidal objects. We have numerically minimized the free energy of symmetric and asymmetric spherical shells of the nematic liquid crystal. Considering degenerate planar anchoring on the surfaces and isotropic nematic elasticity, a variety of defect structures are observed by controlling or varying the thicknesses of the shell and its degree of asymmetry. In symmetric shells, our calculations show that boojums (bipolar) defects appear in thick shells and tetrahedral (baseball) defects in thin shells. In asymmetric shells, while... 

Gas porosities and Fe-rich phases and entrapped double oxide films (hereafter: oxides) are known to be the most detrimental defects in cast Al-Si-Mg alloys. The effects of H (gas porosities) and Fe (Β-Al5FeSi phase) on reproducibility of tensile properties in Al-7Si-0.35Mg alloy have been investigated in this study. Four different casting conditions (Low H-Low Fe, Low H-High Fe, High H-Low Fe and High H-High Fe) were studied. In each case, 30 tensile test samples were prepared by casting in a metallic mold and machining (total of 120 tensile test samples). Results of tensile test were analyzed by Weibull three-parameter analyses. The microstructures of samples were studied by optical... 

The majority of eukaryotic DNA, about three quarter, is wrapped around histone proteins forming so-called nucleosomes. To study nucleosomal DNA we introduce a coarse-grained molecular dynamics model based on sequence-dependent harmonic rigid base pair step parameters of DNA and nucleosomal binding sites. Mixed parametrization based on all-atom molecular dynamics and crystallographic data of protein-DNA structures is used for the base pair step parameters. The binding site parameters are adjusted by experimental B-factor values of the nucleosome crystal structure. The model is then used to determine the energy cost for placing a twist defect into the nucleosomal DNA which allows us to use... 

This paper deals with investigation of deformations and pull-in charges of the cantilever and doubly clamped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different geometries using molecular dynamics simulation technique. The well-known AIREBO potential for the covalent bonds between carbon atoms, Lennar-Jones potential for the vdW interaction and the Coulomb potential for electrostatic actuation are employed to model the nano electromechanical system. The results reveal that longer CNTs with smaller diameters have smaller pull-in charges in comparison with shorter CNTs possessing larger diameters. Furthermore, the pull-in charges of the doubly clamped CNTs are higher than the pull-in charges of the... 

In this study, we explore resonance-enhanced optical absorption in Ta 3N5 photoanodes for water splitting. By using a reflecting Pt back-contact and appropriate Ta3N5 film thickness, the resonance frequency can be tuned to energies just above the bandgap, where the optical absorption is normally weak. The resonance results in a significant improvement in the photoanode's incident photon-to-current efficiency. The Ta3N5 films are made by high-temperature nitridation of Ta2O5. The nitridation time is found to be critical, as extended nitridation result in the formation of nitrogen vacancies through thermal reduction. These insights give important clues for the development of efficient... 

Certain physical and mechanical phenomena within ultra-thin face-centered cubic (fcc) films containing common types of interacting point defects are addressed. An atomic-scale lattice statics in conjunction with many-body interatomic potentials suitable for binary systems is conducted to analyze the effects of the depth on the: (1) formation energy and layer-by-layer displacements due to the presence of vacancy-octahedral self-interstitial atom (OSIA) ensemble, and (2) elastic fields as well as the free surface shape in the case of vacancy-dopant interaction. Moreover, the effects of the inter-defect spacing for various depths are also examined. To ensure reasonable accuracy and numerical...