Sharif Digital Repository

This research investigated the long-term environmental effects on bond strength at the interface between fiber- reinforced polymers (FRPs) and timber. A total of 581 timber specimens were bonded with seven types of FRP sheets (unidirectional and bidirectional glass, carbon, aramid, and hybrids) using a wet lay-up technique. The specimens were exposed to acidic, alkaline, fresh water, and sea water solutions with pH of 2.5, 7, 7.25, 10, and 12.5 for 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. A chamber was also used to simulate ultraviolet radiation after 6 months. A series of single-lap shear tests were then conducted to determine the interfacial bond strength reduction. The results showed that bidirectional... 

Optical glass scratching can induce various types of cracks, among which median cracks are extremely detrimental and penetrate deeply under the surface. Due to deep-scratching process complexity, it is challenging to devise a method to predict median crack depth. Indentation testing has been examined comprehensively in prior research works. It has been found that using the correlation between scratch and indentation testing can simplify predictive method development. In this research, a numerical method based on indentation testing is proposed to determine median crack depth during deep scratching. In the first step, an FE model is configured to simulate the indentation testing process and... 

The present paper describes a voltammetric sensor based on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with a thin film of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with an electro-polymerized layer of titan yellow-doped over–oxidized polypyrrole (OPPY) for the determination of tizanidine (TIZ). A significant enhancement was observed in the anodic peak current of TIZ on the surface of OPPY/CNT/GCE, relative to the bare, CNT- and OPPY-coated GCEs. The microscopic structure and surface morphology of the composite film was thoroughly characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. The effect of various... 

Diffused infrared transmission is one of thepreferred techniques used in indoor wirelesscommunications. Tolerance to shadowing and a lack ofalignment requirements are among the many advantagesoffered by this technique compared to the line-of-sighttechniques. However, it has its disadvantages, namelyhigh path loss and multipath dispersion. The limitationimposed by eye-safety requirements restricts the transmitted power. Therefore, efficient useof transmitted optical power is the key for practicalbroadband infrared systems. In this paper, we report onusing a holographic diffuser for shaping of infrared radiation pattern in an indoorinfrared transmission system. The holographic diffusershave... 

The electro-oxidation of methanol on nickel and nickel-copper alloy modified glassy carbon electrodes (GC/Ni and GC/NiCu) in a 1 M NaOH solution at different concentrations of methanol was studied by the method of ac-impedance spectroscopy. Two semicircles in the first quadrant of a Nyquist diagram were observed for electro-oxidation of methanol on GC/Ni corresponding to charge transfer resistance and adsorption of intermediates. Electro-oxidation of methanol on GC/NiCu shows negative resistance in impedance plots as signified by semi-circles terminating in the second quadrant. The impedance behavior shows different patterns at different applied anodic potential. The influence of the... 

The visible light photocatalytic activity of α-Fe2O3 nanograin chains coated by anatase TiO2 nanolayer, as a photocatalyst thin film for inactivation of Escherichia coli bacteria, was investigated for the solutions containing 106 colony forming units per milliliter of the bacteria, without and with H2O2 (60 μM). Thin films of the α-Fe2O3 nanograins with the grain size of 40-280 nm were grown on glass substrates by post-annealing of the thermal evaporated Fe3O4 thin films at 400 °C in air. The TiO2 layer with thickness of about 20 nm was coated on the nanograins by dipping the Fe2O3 thin films in a prepared TiO2 sol and re-annealing them at 400 °C in air. The antibacterial activity of the... 

Mechanism of removal of lead from silicate glass containing 68.5 wt% PbO by 0.5 N HNO3 was investigated by incorporation of the chemical-analyses/weight-loss data into shrinking-core model (SCM) and minimization of the difference. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) were used to determine the compositional changes of the lead-silicate glass (LSG) samples. Dual inter-diffusion chemical reaction mechanisms having respective activation energies of 83.49 and 47.80 kJ/mol dominated the deleading process. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

Glass-ceramic composites in the SiO2-CaO-MgO-(Na2O) system, reinforced with 5, 10 and 20 wt.% aluminum titanate were synthesized by pressureless sintering. Optimum sintering temperatures with maximum relative density were determined for each composition. The composites were fired above the crystallization peak temperature of glass-ceramic. Mechanical properties of glass-ceramic and sintered composites, such as fracture toughness, flexural strength and Vickers microhardness, were investigated. The sintered composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the composite containing 10... 

Various compositions of maleated ethylene-propylene-rubber (EPR-g-MA) toughened polyamide 6 without and with short glass fiber, i.e. 5-20 wt.% rubber and 5-20 wt.% fiber, are prepared using an industrial twin-screw extruder at different levels of feed rate (100-250 kg/h), screw speed (200-450 rpm) and barrel temperature (230-260 °C). Trial runs designed based on the Taguchi's orthogonal arrays are subjected to tensile, impact, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy tests; and the results are used to perform the analysis of variance (ANOVA). It is shown that the rubber particle size decreases significantly by increasing the rubber content for the unreinforced blend. The... 

A side coupled integrated spaced sequence (SCISSOR) of Silicon or Chalcogenide glass microrings of different diameter are considered as a wide-band Raman amplifier. Because the two-photon absorption (TPA) losses in Chalcogenide glass are less than that of Silicon, it is shown that Chalcogenide microrings are suitable for wide-band Raman amplifier in the telecommunication bandwidth (1.5 μm). The Lagrange unknown multiplier method is employed to minimize the gain ripple of the amplifier versus the pump and system parameters. Crown Copyright © 2008  

Lead silicate glasses (LSGs) have high gamma-ray attenuation but low chemical durability properties. In this work, LSGs with (55.5-68.5 wt%) PbO content containing ZrO2 and TiO2 additions were produced. The chemical corrosion of various produced LSGs in 0.5 N HNO3 aqueous solution and determination of their gamma-ray attenuation coefficients for 60Co and 137Cs sources were investigated. The weight loss measurements, the SEM micrographs, the EDS analysis of the sample surfaces and the ICP analysis of solution were used to characterize the dissolution process. The effects of PbO content, ZrO2 and TiO2 additives on chemical corrosion, and also the effect of PbO on gamma-ray attenuation... 

In this investigation, sol-gel synthesized nanoporous silica thin films, annealed at different temperatures, with long time superhydrophilic property have been studied. Two kinds of sol-gel silica thin films were fabricated by dip-coating of glass substrates in two different solutions; with low and high water. The transparent coated films were dried at 100 °C and then annealed in a temperature range of 200-500 °C. The average water contact angle of the silica films prepared with low water content and annealed at 300 °C measured about 5° for a long time (6 months) without any UV irradiation. Instead, adding water into the sol resulted in silica films with an average water contact angle... 

A new method for fabrication of silver nano-islands on glass fibers using a top-down process is introduced. A thin layer of silver chemically coated on the surface of the glass fibers evolves into silver islands by heat treatment. The effect of the concentration of the initial solution and the temperature were investigated. Segregation was more clearly observed for lower solution concentrations and higher temperatures. The temperature of 500 °C was found optimum where separated islands form. At higher temperatures, the coagulation and burial of silver islands occur. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) were... 

The propagation of a Gaussian beam in underdense plasma with upward increasing density ramp is analyzed. In this work are shown that the spot size oscillations of laser beam increases and its amplitude shrinks with proper plasma density ramp. This causes the laser beam to become more focused and penetrations deep into the plasma by reduction of diffraction effect. The related focusing parameters are optimized to get the best possible focusing at the relativistic threshold intensity of Nd-glass laser and the effect of the laser intensity in the self-focusing parameters is also investigated. The analytical calculations are presented and showed more reliable results in comparison to the... 

Nickel and nickel-copper alloy modified glassy carbon electrodes (GC/Ni and GC/NiCu) prepared by galvanostatic deposition were examined for their redox processes and electro-catalytic activities towards the oxidation of glucose in alkaline solutions. The methods of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) were employed. The cyclic voltammogram of NiCu alloy demonstrates the formation of β/β crystallographic forms of the nickel oxyhydroxide under prolonged repetitive potential cycling in alkaline solution. It is also observed that the overpotential for O 2 evolution increases for NiCu alloy modified electrode. In CV studies, NiCu alloy modified electrode yields significantly higher... 

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were immobilised with cobalt nanoparticles and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. This modification procedure substantially improved colloidal dispersion of the immobilised MWCNTs in water and organic solvents, yielding uniform and stable thin films for modification of the glassy carbon electrode surface. The modified electrode showed an efficient catalytic role for the electrochemical oxidation of thioridazine (TR), leading to remarkable decrease in its oxidation overpotential of approximately 100 mV and enhancement of the kinetics of the electrode reaction, which can be confirmed by increasing in the peak current and sharpness of the peak.... 

Thin carbon nanoparticle/Nafion film (CNP/N), as a novel electrode material, is formed on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode in a simple solvent evaporation process. The electrochemical behavior of Azathioprine (Aza) at the CNP/N-modified electrode is investigated in detail by the means of cyclic voltammetry. During the electrochemical reduction of Aza, an irreversible cathodic peak is appeared. Cyclic voltammetric studies indicated that the reduction process has an irreversible and adsorption-like behavior. The observed reduction peak is attributed to a four-electron process referring to the reduction of nitro group to the corresponding hydroxylamine. The prepared electrode showed... 

A novel sulfoxide containing bis(ether amine) monomer, 2,2'-sulfoxide- bis[4-methyl(2-trifluoromethyl)4-aminophenoxy) phenyl ether] (M2), was synthesized from the halogen displacement of 2-chloro-5-nitrobenzotrifluoride with dibenzosulfoxide (DH) in the presence of potassium carbonate, followed by catalytic reduction of bis(ether nitro) intermediate with Zinc/Ammonium chloride. A series of organic-soluble poly(ether amide)s (PA1-7) bearing sulfoxide and electronwithdrawing trifiuoromethyl group were synthesized from bis(ether amine) with various aromatic diacids (1-7) via a direct polycondensation with triphenyl phosphite and pyridine. The resulting polymers had inherent viscosities ranging... 

Toughness improvement of an epoxy resin and respective hoop wound composite were investigated systematically using amine-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (ATBN) liquid rubber. Rubber modification improves fracture toughness of epoxy resin with slight reduction in the glass transition temperature (Tg), flexural and compressive properties of resin. Impact resistance of composite is improved by rubber modification similar to modified resin. Interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), compressive modulus and strength, and flexural strength of composite decreased slightly with rubber modification. To interpret the data, the void content of composite samples was determined and the damaged surfaces of... 

Hydrolysis kinetics of the lead silicate glass (LSG) with 40 mol% PbO in 0.5 N HNO3 aqueous acid solution was investigated. The surface morphology and the gel layer thickness were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) were used to determine the composition of the gel layer and the aqueous solution, respectively. The silicon content of the dissolution products was determined by using weight-loss data and compositions of the gel layer and the solution. The kinetic parameters were determined using the shrinking-core-model (SCM) for rate controlling step. The activation energy...