Sharif Digital Repository

The objective of the present work is to compare the performance of the regenerator of pulse tube refrigerators at low and high frequencies. The hydrodynamic and thermal behavior of the regenerator is investigated in this respect. To consider the system performance, a system of conservation equations including two energy equations for the regenerator as a porous media is employed. The present model considers one-dimensional, periodic, unsteady, compressible flow in the regenerator. The conservation equations are transformed by implementing the volumetric average scheme. The method of harmonic approximation is employed to derive an analytical solution. To explore the system performance, net... 

There are different thermodynamic models that have been applied for modelling of asphaltene precipitation caused by various reasons, such as solvent/CO2 injection and pressure depletion. In this work, two computer codes based on two different asphaltene precipitation thermodynamic models-the first being the thermodynamic micellization model with a different characterization approach and the second being the solid model-have been developed and used for predicting asphaltene precipitation data reported in the literature as well as in the obtained data for Sarvak reservoir crude, which is one of the most potentially problematic Iranian heavy oil reserves under gas injection conditions. For the... 

To perform a long lasting, crack-free repair welding on ultrahigh strength steels, the filler metal must be chosen and applied properly. Avoiding several short-term repairs or replacements, the repaired weldment should reveal comparative characteristics such as wear resistance, toughness and hardness to base metal. In the present study, a novel functionally graded material have been introduced to obtain enhanced wear resistance and hardness at surface as well as improved fracture toughness at fusion line of repaired weldments. A comparative study of wear resistance of repaired weld metals has been carried out by pin-on-disk apparatus at 5N normal load and 0.14ms-1 sliding speed. Fracture... 

In recent years, Iran has experienced many landslides due to high tectonic activity, and a variety of geological and climatic conditions. This paper proposes a novel hybrid model based on step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to evaluate landslide susceptible areas using geographical information system (GIS). At first, based on an inventory map, landslide locations were randomly divided into two parts, 70% of which were used for generating the landslide hazard map and 30% of which were used for the validation of the model. Then, twelve landslide predisposing factors, such as lithology, slope angle, slope aspect, plan... 

In the present work, two cavitation modeling strategies, namely the barotropic cavitation model and the transport equation-based model are applied and assessed for the numerical simulation of inviscid cavitating flows over two-dimensional and axisymmetric geometries. The algorithm uses the preconditioned Euler equations employing the interface capturing method for both the cavitation models. A same numerical solution procedure is used herein for discretizing the governing equations resulting from these two cavitation modeling strategies for the assessment to be valid and reliable. A central difference finite-volume scheme employing the suitable dissipation terms to account for density jumps... 

For the first time, we report novel Ag3PO4/BiPO4 (AB)-graphene-based photocatalysts. The fabricated nanocomposites were characterized by various techniques. The photocatalytic properties of the prepared catalysts were evaluated by the photodegradation of Atrazine herbicide under both visible and UV light irradiation. Atrazine concentration was determined using the spectrophotometric method according to the Konig's reaction by monitoring the absorbance at 470 nm wavelength during the photodegradation process. Both degradation rate and efficiency using graphene (GR)-based nanocomposites are found to be much better than using pure AB. Atrazine photodegradation displayed that the AB supporting... 

Abstract In this paper, the solution of multi-group neutron/adjoint equation using Finite Element Method (FEM) for hexagonal and rectangular reactor cores is reported. The spatial discretization of the neutron diffusion equation is performed based on two different Finite Element Methods (FEMs) using unstructured triangular elements generated by Gambit software. Calculations are performed using Galerkin and Generalized Least Squares FEMs; based on which results are compared. Using the power iteration method for the neutron and adjoint calculations, the neutron and adjoint flux distributions with the corresponding eigenvalues are obtained. The results are then validated against the valid... 

In this paper a locally mass conservative finite volume method is employed to model the one-dimensional, two-phase immiscible flow in a poroelastic media. Since, an appropriate choice of primary variables is critical in simulating multiphase subsurface flow, depending on such a choice, the governing equations can be expressed in different forms. By implementing Picard iteration to a highly nonlinear system of equations, three numerical models including pressure form, mixed form and mixed form with a modified Picard linearization are developed in this study. These models have been evaluated in terms of stability, convergence and mass conservation in various one-dimensional test cases.... 

In the present work, biocompatible superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated by mesoporous silica were used as drug nanocarriers for doxorubicin (Dox; an anticancer drug) delivery. In biological media, the interaction of protein corona layer with the surface of nanoparticles is inevitable. For this reason, we studied the effect of protein corona on drug release from magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMSNs) in human plasma medium. Besides, we used hydrophilic and biocompatible polymer, polyethylene glycol (PEG), to decrease protein corona effects. The results showed the increased Dox release from PEGylated MMSNs compared with bare MMSNs. This result indicated that the coating... 

This paper surveys the literature associated with the application of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) in coastal groundwater management problems (CGMPs). This review demonstrates that previous studies were mostly relied on the application of limited and particular EAs, mainly genetic algorithm (GA) and its variants, to a number of specific problems. The exclusive investigation of these problems is often not the representation of the variety of feasible processes may be occurred in coastal aquifers. In this study, eight EAs are evaluated for CGMPs. The considered EAs are: GA, continuous ant colony optimization (CACO), particle swarm optimization (PSO), differential evolution (DE), artificial bee... 

The hydrodynamics and energetics of bioinspired oscillating mechanisms have received significant attentions by engineers and biologists to develop the underwater and air vehicles. Undulating and pure heaving (or plunging) motions are two significant mechanisms which are utilized in nature to provide propulsive, maneuvering, and stabilization forces.This study aims to elucidate and compare the propulsive vortical signature and performance of these two important natural mechanisms through a systematic numerical study. Navier-Stokes equations are solved, by a pressure-based finite volume method solver, in an arbitrary Lagrangian- Eulerian (ALE) framework domain containing a 2D NACA0012 foil... 

In the present study, regarding the theoretical and practical aspects of nanoparticle capture in liquid-state processing of aluminum composite, different volume fractions of TiB 2 and TiO 2 nanopowders were incorporated into aluminum alloy via stir casting method. Hardness and sliding wear test were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of composites. The effects of wear load and reinforcement content on wear rate and friction coefficient of composites were examined. Microstructural studied showed that particle distribution in A356- TiB 2 composites was more favorable than that of the A356- TiO 2 samples. Results showed that nanoparticles were partially captured by aluminum... 

This paper concern is to study the gas properties effect in flow and heat transfer behaviors through microchannels using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. The flow is rarefied and supersonic. The channels are investigated at two different inlet boundary conditions. The collision process is modeled using the NTC (no-time-counter) scheme. The VHS model is chosen to simulate collision between particle pairs. The study is provided for many different gases including nitrogen, helium, and oxygen. The Knudsen number is chosen in a manner to provide slip flow through the channel. The results show that the heat transfer from the wall is lower for heavier gases. A comparative study among the... 

This paper models car ownership in Iran based on the data in a period of years 1980 to 2007 by artificial neural network (ANN) and Fuzzy Linear Regression (FLR). The car ownership is mainly affected by purchasing power of the customers, social and demographic factors; the car ownership model has a multi variable form. To explain the effect of these factors, ANN and FLR models are applied. The major reason for applying fuzzy concept and ANN is to overcome the inter-correlation problem associated with the independent variables. In this study, average family size; total population; urban population; urbanization rate; gross national product per capita; gasoline price; total length of road are... 

Corrosion inhibition properties of some heterocyclic compounds (3-mercapto 1,2,4 triazole, benzotriazole, thiophene, and tetra hydro-thiophene) in Cu/H3PO4 medium were investigated theoretically and experimentally via cluster/polarized continuum and gravimetric approaches. Second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation and density functional theories were applied, and the electronic chemical potential, molecular softness, and extent of charge transfer were determined for inhibitor molecules at the metal/solution interface. Good correlations were observed for both theories between the calculated quantities and experimental data. To reveal the quality of metal-inhibitor interactions, comprehensive... 

This paper proposes a reliability model for the electrical subassemblies of geared wind turbine systems with induction generators. The model is derived considering the failure of main subassemblies and their parameters are calculated. A productivity comparison is performed between the selected wind turbine systems including reliability issues. Two methods of modification for variable-speed wind turbines with Doubly Fed Induction Generators (DFIG) to improve their availability are finally suggested  

A hot gas generator is a compact heat exchanger that produces high temperature or enthalpy gases. This paper presents two methods for controlling the system. The first one is an adaptive sliding mode controller that is a Lyapunov based method and proposed to confront the dynamic modeling deficiencies and system uncertainties. The second one is a linear adaptive controller that gives a new attractive ability to the system which can track a complicated requested path. Each of the presented controllers has some capabilities that may be preferred to other. In this paper, these methods are extensively compared by several transient inputs. On the other hand, since heat exchangers are typically... 

In this work, a comparative study has been performed on two ex-situ and one in-situ doping of titania photoanodes with reduced graphene oxide. The presence of finely dispersed reduced graphene oxide facilitates electron transport and reduces electron-hole recombination resulting in a better performance of doped titania photoanodes. It was found that in-situ doping, i.e. introduction of graphene oxide in solution together with titania precursor was the most performant case of graphene doping. This result was obvious by studying dye-sensitized solar cells based on such doped photoanodes but was also and mainly analytically demonstrated by subjecting the obtained materials to characterization... 

The light scattering and harvesting effects in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is studied by controlling morphology, phase composition, and thickness of monolayer and double-layer TiO2 photoanode electrodes. The starting materials for preparation of TiO2 cells, including 25 nm mesoporous anatase nanoparticles, 200 nm anatase microspheres, 10 µm dandelion-like rutile particles and 40 nm nanoparticles containing 80% anatase-20% rutile, are synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly, sol-gel, and hydrothermal processes. It was found that the mesoporous anatase nanoparticles may improve light harvesting and dye-sensitization due to their high surface area and small particle size,... 

Most of the Iranian oil reservoirs are naturally fractured. Reinfiltration is a key proceess which controls oil flow from the upper to the lower matrix block. However, theoretical modeling of fracture aperture as well as fracture dip angle effects on flow rate of drained oil during reinfilteration process remains a topic of debate in the literature. Moreover, there is no reported experience in the literature that compared the oil velocity predicted by traveling oil bridges and continuum film flow approaches. In this work reinfiltration process is modeled through two different approaches: discrete traveling liquid elements and continuum film flow along inclined fractures. For a case study...