Sharif Digital Repository

Saturation molality of sodium chloride in mixed aqueous electrolyte solutions containing NaCl, CaSO4 and Na2SO4 was measured at atmospheric pressure over the wide range of temperatures using an equilibrium cell equipped with an accurate temperature control system. The measurements were carried out at different CaSO4 and Na2SO4 concentrations. In order to check the repeatability of the experimental data for the saturation molality of NaCl, the experiments were replicated three times and the values reported were the average of the replicas. To model the data generated in this work, the PDH+UNIFAC-Dortmund activity coefficient model was used. The model used to predict the mean ionic activity... 

Anodic aluminium oxide films were fabricated by well known two-step anodizing process in oxalic acid electrolyte. The ordering characteristics (ordered pore domains, average pore diameter size and through-pore arrangement) of anodic aluminium oxide films, obtained in different growth sequences, were identified by microscopic analysis such as ex situ contact-mode atomic force microcopy and scanning electron microscopy. Flattened areas in which some pits are seen mostly cover the electropolished surface of aluminium. Single anodizing of aluminium produces a broad distribution of nanopore size, whereas induces a highly ordered hemispherical pattern, which plays the ordered nucleation sites for... 

We report improved performance of Li-ion polymer batteries through advanced gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). Compared to solid and liquid electrolytes, GPEs are advantageous as they can be fabricated in different shapes and geometries; also ionic properties are significantly superior to that of solid and liquid electrolytes. We have synthetized GPE in form of membranes by trapping ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate in a composite of polyvinylidene fluoride and N-methylpyrrolidinore. By applying phase-transfer method, we synthetized membranes with micro-pores, which led to higher ionic conductivity. The proposed membrane is to be modified further to have higher capacity, stronger... 

Micro arc oxidation was employed to grow TiO2/hydroxyapatite composite layer on titanium substrate. The correlation between electrolyte concentration, diameter and density of the pores in fabricated layers was investigated. Therefore, the effect of electrolyte concentration on composition and morphology of grown layers was studied using SEM, EDX, XRD and XPS techniques. Samples were coated in electrolytes containing 5, 10 and 15 g/l calcium acetate and 1, 3 and 5 g/l β-glycerophosphate, at optimized voltage for 3 min. Pore size variations obey a similar pattern by the addition of both calcium acetate and β-glycerophosphatein various concentrations based on SEM observations. However,... 

Alumina-zirconia nanostructured coatings were formed on 7075 Al alloy through Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO) operated in aDC potentiostatic mode. The composite coatings were produced in the range of 425-500 V in an alkaline electrolyte containing 4 g/LK2ZrF6. Tribological properties of coatings were investigated using dry sliding wear test against WC balls with a pin-on-disc tribometer. Wear rates were evaluated using optical profilometer. It was shown that the nanostructured alumina-zirconia composite coatings can be formed at voltages 450 V. The coating thickness and roughness were in the range of 15.2-24.2 μm and 0.68-2.35 μm, respectively. The distribution of Al, Zr and O in the... 

TiO2 a nanotube array was prepared using an anodization process. The process proceeded in a two-electrode cell containing of platinum sheet as the cathode electrode. Two phosphate-base electrolyte solutions containing different amounts of HF and NH4F were prepared. Different concentration of fluorine ions were examined in respected electrolytes. Current transient techniques were used to produce the TiO2 nanotubes at constant voltage of 18-25V. It was revealed that anodization at 18-22V, in so-called electrolytes would end up to nano-tubular structure. However the tubular structure prepared at 20V and from phosphate electrolyte containing of 0.5 wt% NH4F as well as 0.5 wt% HF, was recognized... 

It has been attempted to gain a new viewpoint in transient cell modeling of vanadium redox flow battery. This has been achieved by considering electrochemical relations along with conceptual electrical circuit of this kind of battery. The redox flow battery is one of the best rechargeable batteries because of its capability to average loads and output power sources. A model of transient behavior is presented in this paper. The transient features are considered as the most remarkable characteristics of the battery. The chemical reactions, fluid flow, and electrical circuit of the structure govern the dynamics. The transient behavior of the redox flow battery based on chemical reactions is... 

It is well recognized that size-effect often plays a significant role in the mechanical performance of nano-structures. Herein, strain gradient continuum elasticity is employed to investigate the size dependent pull-in instability of the cantilever nanoactuators immersed in ionic liquid electrolyte. The presence of dispersion forces, i.e. Casimir and van der Waals field, is considered in the theoretical model as well as the double-layer electrochemical attraction. To solve the non-linear constitutive equation of the system, two approaches, i.e. the Rayleigh Ritz Method (RRM) and the numerical solution method, are employed. Impact of the size dependency and dispersion forces on the... 

This paper presents a mathematical formulation of lithium-ion batteries, including aging and temperature effects. The model is developed by integrating the simplified single particle model (SSPM) and reduced-order model (ROM) to predict solid electrolyte interphase growth (SEI). Results show agreement with the experimental data at 25 °C operating temperature and moderate cycling currents. A maximum error of 3.6% in finding the battery discharged Ah is observed in harsh operating conditions, including 60 °C and approaching the end of life of the battery. Due to the typical operating conditions of stand-alone renewable energy systems, more accurate estimations are expected. Finally, this... 

A study has been carried out of the effect of an anodizing pre-treatment in a sulphuric acid electrolyte on the strength of AA 5052 alloy/polypropylene joints prepared using friction stir spot welding. Lap-shear tests were used to determine the joint strength. Comparisons were made with joints pre-treated using sand blasting. The failed specimens were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Anodizing improved the strength of the joints by a factor of about 6 compared with sandblasting. For the anodizing pre-treated joints, melted polymer infiltrated deeply within the nanoporous anodic film, forming a strong polymer-film bond. Joint failure occurred by ductile tearing of... 

Drilling fluid is a complex fluid, including base fluid and other materials, carrying out the vital functions during drilling operation such as cutting transport and controlling formation pressure. In order to optimize performance of a drilling process, a reliable rheological model is required in the computation of fluid flow dynamics. Time-independent Generalized Newtonian formulation are the most common models for describing the rheological behavior of drilling fluids due to its simplicity and ease of use, in spite the fact that they are not able to predict the normal stresses and could not consider effects of active components on the rheological behavior of the drilling fluid and also... 

In this research, it is investigated to numerically evaluate the performance of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The performance is investigated through the nonuniformity gradient loading at the catalyst layer (CL) of the considered PEMFC. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate a 2D domain in which a steady-state laminar compressible flow in two-phase for the PEMFC has been considered. In this case, a particular nonuniform variation inside the CL along the channel is assumed. The nonuniform gradient is created using a nonisothermal domain to predict the flooding effects on the performance of the PEMFC. The computational domain is considered as the cathode of PEMFC,... 

In this work, cycling-induced aging occurring in 18650-type LiFePO4/graphite full cells at different C-rates is studied extensively. The mechanism of performance degradation is investigated using a combination of electrochemical and microstructural analyses. Half-cell studies are carried out after dismantling the full cells, using fresh and cycled LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode to independently study them. The results show that the capacity of LiFePO4 electrodes is significantly recovered. The rate of capacity fading in the discharge state considered as irreversible capacity in the graphite is higher than LiFePO4 half cells, indicating a greater degradation in the performance of this... 

Sulfur doped TiO2 layers containing nano/micro-sized pores were synthesized by micro-arc oxidation process. Effect of the applied voltage and the electrolyte composition on physical and chemical properties of the layers was investigated using SEM, AFM, XRD, XPS, and EDS techniques. A UV-vis spectrophotometer was also used to study optical properties of the layers. It was found that the doped layers were porous with a pore size of 40-170 nm. They consisted of anatase and rutile phases with varying fraction depending on the applied voltage and electrolyte concentration. Our XPS investigations revealed the existence of sulfur in the forms of S4+ and S6+ states which substituted Ti4+ in the...