Sharif Digital Repository

The discrete fracture network (DFN) and Multiple-Continua concept are among the most widely used methods to model naturally fractured reservoirs. Each faces specific limitations. The recently introduced recovery curve method (RCM) is believed to be a compromise between these two current methods. In this method the recovery curves are used to determine the amount of mass exchanges between the matrix and fracture mediums. Two recovery curves are assigned for each simulation cell, one curve for gas displacement in the presence of the gravity drainage mechanism, and another for water displacement in the case of the occurrence of the imbibition mechanism. These curves describe matrix-fracture... 

In this article, the transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) to biodiesel fuel (BDF) has been studied using KOH loaded on millimetric γ-Al2O3 particles in a novel type of two-impinging-jets reactor (TIJR). The effects of various parameters such as KOH loading (wt %), catalyst loading, and methanol-to-oil molar ratio on the BDF yield were studied. The catalyst particles with a KOH loading of 25 wt % at appropriate reaction conditions (i.e., catalyst loading = 4 wt % and methanol-to-oil molar ratio = 15:1) and at 65 °C were used in the TIJR. The influences of various operating and design parameters such as jet Reynolds number value, feed flow rate, jet diameter, and the internozzle... 

We outline a comprehensive numerical procedure for modeling of species transport and surface reaction kinetics in electrokinetically actuated microfluidic devices of rectangular cross section. Our results confirm the findings of previous simplified approaches that a concentration wave is created for sufficiently long microreactors. An analytical solution, developed for the wave propagation speed, shows that, when normalizing with the fluid mean velocity, it becomes a function of three parameters comprising the channel aspect ratio, the relative adsorption capacity, and the kinetic equilibrium constant. Our studies also reveal that the reactor geometry idealized as a slit, instead of a... 

The dynamic deformation of a geometrically nonlinear rectangular simply supported plate under a moving lumped mass is evaluated using mode expansion method. The governing differential equations of motion for a largely deformable rectangular plate are derived using Lagrange method based on appropriate in and out-of-plane spatial functions which satisfy the proposed boundary conditions. Although the proposed procedure is applicable for any arbitrary edge boundary conditions, only the simply supported plates are addressed in the present work. On the other hand, all inertial components of the moving mass are included in the derivation of the equations of motion. A numerical example is used to... 

Phase separation is one of the common methods for fabrication of polymeric membrane, which classifies into the categories of Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) and Nonsolvent Induced Phase Separation (NIPS), i.e. heat and mass transfer induced phase separation, respectively. NIPS has been applied more commonly than TIPS, but the membranes which have resulted from this technique have macro finger-like voids, weak mechanical strength and not high separation ability in comparison with the TIPS. In contrast, membranes produced by the TIPS method have micro scale pores, high mechanical strength and also high separation capability, however, polymeric solutions prepared at high temperatures... 

Bubble splitting in 2D gas-solid freely bubbling fluidized beds is experimentally investigated using digital image analysis. The quantitative results can be applied for the development of a new breakage model for bubbly fluidized beds, especially discrete bubble models. The variation of splitting frequency with bubble diameter, new resulting bubble volumes, positions, and also the assumptions of mass and momentum conservation for bubbles after breakage are studied in detail. Small bubbles are found to be more stable than large ones and nearly all mother bubbles split into two almost equally sized daughter bubbles. The momentum of gas bubbles in the vertical direction remains approximately... 

The power law logistic model was utilized to investigate the growth of a hydrocarbon assimilating bacterium on a water-insoluble substrate. To achieve this end, population dynamics of Bacillus licheniformis MS3 in a medium containing n-decane as the sole carbon source was monitored for 30 h. Different initial biosurfactant concentrations and shaking rates were employed to examine the role of mass transfer in the cell growth and the consequent hydrocarbon biodegradation. The amount of n-decane degraded in the system was detected by gas chromatography at the end of the incubation period. The results revealed that when mass transfer limitations were lessened through addition of an initial... 

This research numerically and experimentally investigates a small turbocharger radial flow compressor with a vane-less diffuser and volute. The geometry of the compressor is obtained via component scanning, through which a 3D model is prepared. The flow inside this model is numerically analyzed by using a Navier-Stokes solver with a shear-stress transport turbulence model. The characteristic curves of the compressor and the contributions of its components to total pressure drop are acquired by measuring the static and total pressures at different cross sections of the compressor. Numerical results are verified with the experimental test results. The model results exhibit good agreement with... 

In advanced combined-cycle power plants, significant improvements in the thermodynamic performance are mainly achieved by the development of more efficient gas-turbine systems. This paper evaluates the effect of selected decision variables in the steam system for optimization of Thermal Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (TCCGT) power plant using an iterative exergoeconomic. The design variables were the thermodynamic parameters that establish the configuration both of the steam and gas systems. The design data of an existing plant (Damavand power plant in Tehran-Iran) is used. Two different objective functions are proposed: one minimizes the total cost of production per unit of output, and the... 

Oil leakage of transportation pipelines causes a change in its environmental temperature. This effect is employed to detect the leakage and its positions. The Raman Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (ROTDR) and Brillouin Optical Time Domain Amplifier (BOTDA) sensors are two of the most precise oil pipeline leak detector systems operate based on this effect. The position of leakage is determined by the time difference between the sending and backscattered laser pulses. In this paper, the transient response of BOTDA and ROTDR sensors are obtained through solution of the mass, energy and heat transfer in soil and fiber cable. It is shown that the mechanical rise time is of the order of a few... 

An extensive wind tunnel tests were conducted on an axisymmetric supersonic inlet at Mach numbers from 1.8 to 2.2 and at different values of mass flow rates. Frequencies of the buzz were achieved from the pressure data as well as the high speed shadowgraph pictures. For each Mach number, two main frequencies for the buzz were obtained. The inlet at its design condition was stable, but when the mass flow rate was reduced, at first the shock wave started to oscillate with a small amplitude which is matched the Ferri criterion (little buzz). In this situation, both high- and low-frequency oscillations occurred; however, the high frequency one was dominant, but the oscillations seemed to be... 

A computational fluid dynamics code was developed to compute the flow inside and around a supersonic external compression axisymmetric intake. The code solves the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations using an explicit finite volume method in a structured grid and uses the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model to compute the turbulent viscosity coefficient. Experiments were performed to validate the predicted results and good agreements are achieved. In the next part of the research, a parametric study was undertaken using the designed base case at a constant Mach number of 2 and at 0° angle of attack. The effects of various important parameters such as free stream Mach number, spike deflection... 

The performance characteristics of an axisymmetric inlet at its design and off-design operational conditions are experimentally investigated. The model is tested for wide ranges of free stream Mach numbers, M∞ = 1.5-2.5, and mass flow rates. For each test, the pressure recovery, the mass flow passing through the inlet and the pressure distribution over the spike and the cowl are measured. In addition, the shock wave formed in front of the inlet is visualized. The characteristic curve of the inlet is then obtained for each free stream Mach number. As the Mach number is increased, the pressure recovery is reduced, but the maximum value of the mass flow rate grows up. Variations of the mass... 

In the present research an experimental investigation is performed to explore the effects of working fluid, heat input, ferrofluid concentration, magnets location, and inclination angle on the thermal performance of an Open Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (OLPHP). Obtained results show that using ferrofluid can improve the thermal performance and applying a magnetic field on the water based ferrofluid decreases the thermal resistance. It shows that at an inclination angle of the OLPHP to be zero, the thermal performance of the present OLPHP reduces. Best heat transfer capability was achieved at 67.5 degree relative to horizontal axis for all of working fluids. Variation of the magnets location... 

The present work investigates the thermal performance of a five turn Open Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (OLPHP). The effects of working fluid namely water and ferrofluid, heat input, ferrofluid concentration, charging ratio, and orientation will be considered. Experimental results show that using ferrofluids can enhance the thermal performance in comparison with the case of distilled water. In addition, applying a magnetic field on the OLPHP charged with ferrofluid reduces its thermal resistance. Variation of the ferrofluid concentration results in different thermal performance of the OLPHP. Best charging ratio for the distilled water and ferrofluid without magnetic field is 60 % in most of the... 

A vast amount of death in the world has been attributed to atherosclerosis. This disease causes plaque formation and finally lack of blood supply to an organ. The prominent aim of this study is proposing an accurate and simple model to investigate the process of arterial wall thickening. In order to investigate LDL (low density lipoprotein) accumulation in arterial wall which is considered the first stage of atherosclerosis, a four layer model for arterial wall consisting of endothelium, intima, IEL and media is presented. All layers are treated as homogenous porous media. The four-layer arterial wall model is the most powerful and reliable tool for modeling LDL transport within arterial... 

In this research nano γ-Al 2O 3 catalyst was synthesized through precipitation process then characterized and utilized for methanol dehydration reaction in a slurry batch reactor in route to the indirect synthesis of the dimethyl ether (DME). In this venue, effects of the key parameters on methanol conversion and catalyst stability were investigated. Moreover, the internal and external mass transfer resistances were eliminated; hence the intrinsic kinetics controlled the reaction. Therefore, the optimum conditions for temperature, methanol concentration, catalyst mass and stirrer speed were determined to be 300°C, 1.18mol/l, 1.5g and 1100rpm, respectively. Next, different reaction rate... 

It is proposed to employ melting rate, heat input, and detaching droplet diameter as controlled variables to control heat and mass transfer to work piece in a gas metal arc welding process. A two-layer architecture with cascade configuration of PI and MPC controllers is implemented to incorporate existing constraints on the process variables, improve transient behavior of the closed-loop responses and reduce interaction level. Computer simulation results are presented to indicate usefulness of the proposed controlled variables selection and applying two-layer control architecture to control heat and mass transfer to work piece  

Mass transfer in the liquid phase of gas-liquid multiphase flows usually takes place at a considerably slower rate than the transfer of momentum, so mass flux boundary layers are much thinner than momentum boundary layers. In Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) the resolution requirement for flows with mass transfer are therefore significantly higher than for flow without mass transfer. Here we develop a multiscale approach to compute the mass transfer from buoyant bubbles, using a boundary-layer approximation next to the bubble and a relatively coarse grid for the rest of the flow. This approach greatly reduces the overall grid resolution required  

An efficient method for the synthesis of 4-amino-5-pyrimidinecarbonitriles by three-component reaction of malononitrile, aldehydes and N-unsubstituted amidines, under aqueous conditions, using CuO nanoparticles as catalyst is reported. The protocol offers advantages in terms of higher yields, short reaction times, and mild reaction conditions, with reusability of the catalyst