Sharif Digital Repository

We present sliding experiments of a sledge on wetted sand and describe that the frictional response is controlled by the penetration hardness of the granular medium. Adding a small amount of water to sand increases the hardness which results in a decrease of the sliding friction. Pouring even more water to sand results in a decrease of the hardness and a subsequent increase of the friction. This inverse correlation between hardness of a wetted granular material and its frictional response to sliding is found to be due to ploughing of the sledge. When the load of the sledge exceeds the penetration hardness of the water-sand mixture the granular material is irreversibly deformed, which is... 

In this article, the design and operation of a cylindrical capacitive sensor based on the dielectric reactance capacitance and conductance changes of the gap medium is reported. The proposed system was used to determine characteristics of different water liquids as a result of the capacitance and resistance variations. The air gap capacitance (dry signal) is measured and then by filling the gap with a liquid, the capacitance (wet signal) is monitored for different liquids. A reported sensor is used for the distilled, tap, boiled, and salt water measurements and the capacitance and resistance results are compared. A big difference of about 38.5 μF in the measured capacitance values for the... 

Several lattice Boltzmann models for multi-phase flow have been developed, but few of them are capable of modeling fluid flows with high density ratio in the order of 1000. Therefore, an advanced chromodynamics, Rothmann-Keller (RK) type model is employed in current study, which can handle liquid-gas density ratio in the order of 1000 and viscosity ratio in the order of 100. Other distinctive characteristics of the proposed model are high stability, and capability of setting parameters such as surface tension independently. In spite of these benefits, the original RK model fails to model wetting tendency of the fluids. As a result, it is impossible to correctly simulate two-fluid phase flow... 

Interacting capillary bundle model has been much attended for modeling of imbibition process, however, how the tube morphology controls the front displacement is not well discussed in the available literature, especially when corner flow of wetting phase is considered. Tubes with non-circular cross-sections were used for simulating imbibition process performed on drained bundle of tubes. Different combinations of the interacting tubes with equilateral triangular, square, and circular cross sections were used in the bundle model to explore the role of capillary morphology. The evolution of displacement front, as well as transient water saturation profiles along the model, were obtained for... 

In the current study, a facile green synthesis of silver-gelatin core-shell nanostructures (spherical, spherical/cubic hybrid, and cubic, DLS diameter: 4.1-6.9 nm) is reported via the wet chemical synthesis procedure. Sunlight-UV as an available reducing agent cause mild reduction of silver ions into the silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). Gelatin protein, as an effective capping/shaping agent, was used in the reaction to self-assemble silver nanostructures. The formation of silver nanostructures and their self-assembly pattern was confirmed by SEM, AFM, and TEM techniques. Further investigations were carried out using zeta-potential, UV-Vis, FTIR, GPC, and TGA/DTG/DTA data. The prepared Ag-NPs... 

A developed route to form TiO2 self cleaning coatings on polycarbonate substrates is reported. TiO2 coatings on plastics may find widespread application in auto and construction industries if possess desired photocatalytic and mechanical properties. A chemical surface treatment method was used to create hydrophilic groups on the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the treatment led to the oxidation of surface groups. TiO2 deposition was based on wet coating using an anatase sol of TiO2 nanoparticles of 30 nm size. The sol was synthesized using a sol-gel route. A pre-coat of peroxotitanium complex was employed to improve adhesion and inhibit the substrate degradation. The coating... 

The creation of surfaces with various super nonwetting properties is an ongoing challenge. We report diverse modifications of novel synthesized zirconia-ceria nanocomposites by different low surface energy agents to fabricate nanofluids capable of regulating surface wettability of mineral substrates to achieve selective superhydrophobic, superoleophobic-superhydrophilic, and superamphiphobic conditions. Surfaces treated with these nanofluids offer self-cleaning properties and effortless rolling-off behavior with sliding angles ≤7° for several liquids with surface tensions between 26 and 72.1 mN/m. The superamphiphobic nanofluid coating imparts nonstick properties to a solid surface whereby... 

Structural, microstructural and mechanical properties in roll bonding of AA5052 and polypropylene sheets have been evaluated in this study. The surface roughness of the AA5052 sheets, rolling temperature and the surface energy of polymer were selected as the bonding variables. The findings indicated that an increase in the surface energy of polypropylene by grafting maleic anhydride would result in higher bonding strength due to chemical interaction between the AA5052 and the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH). In fact, this reaction caused the formation of an interphase layer at the polymer side of the interface and the diffusion of aluminum into the PP-g-MAH layer. It was... 

Structural, microstructural and mechanical properties in roll bonding of AA5052 and polypropylene sheets have been evaluated in this study. The surface roughness of the AA5052 sheets, rolling temperature and the surface energy of polymer were selected as the bonding variables. The findings indicated that an increase in the surface energy of polypropylene by grafting maleic anhydride would result in higher bonding strength due to chemical interaction between the AA5052 and the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH). In fact, this reaction caused the formation of an interphase layer at the polymer side of the interface and the diffusion of aluminum into the PP-g-MAH layer. It was... 

In the present study, the effect of two different kinds of surfactants namely conventional (Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS)) and ionic liquid (IL)-based surfactants are investigated on the tertiary oil recovery using relative permeability concept. In this way, besides the Amott wettability index measurement, unsteady state core flooding tests are performed to not only find the effect of surfactant injection on tertiary oil recovery, but also to investigate their effects on relative permeability of carbonate rocks. In addition, for more reliable conclusions regarding the possible mechanisms, interfacial tension (IFT), compatibility and emulsification tests are carried out as a... 

Recently much attention has been paid to the use of low salinity water (LSW) as an enhanced oil recovery fluid. The change observed in recovery factor during LSW flooding is induced from changes in relative permeability and capillary pressure when different levels of salinity are used. However, a few researchers tried to evaluate how macroscopic flow functions depend on the salinity of the injected water. To this end, a series of oil displacement by water was performed on a sandstone rock aged with crude oil in the presence of connate water. The capillary pressure and relative permeability curves are evaluated from inverse modeling of the obtained pressure drop and oil production data. Then,... 

Accurate determination of relative permeability (kr) curves and their hysteresis is needed for reliable prediction of the performance of oil and gas reservoirs. A few options (e.g., Carlson, Killough and Jargon models) are available in commercial reservoir simulators to account for hysteresis in kr curves under two-phase flow. Two-phase kr curves are also needed for estimating kr hysteresis under three-phase flow during water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection. Although, most oil reservoirs are mixed-wet, the existing hysteresis predictive approaches have been developed based on water-wet conditions. Experimentally measured data are needed to assess the performance of these methodologies under... 

In order to relate the wetting properties at the pore scale to the macroscale prevailing forces, a series of experiments was performed in vertical porous media under forced gas invasion at various wettability conditions with partially spreading oil. To describe the dynamics of oil recovery in a three-phase flow condition, the downward gas flood experiments were continued by water injection from the bottom. Experimental results obtained in situations where the magnitudes of viscous, capillary, and gravity forces are comparable. We study the transition from flow configurations where the interface is stable with respect to viscous instability to flow configurations where viscous fingering... 

Silver nanostructures are very important agents in biomedical research, because of its unique activity against unfavorable processes in bioscience. In the current study, reagent-free facile preparation of silver nanoparticles (average diameter: 72 nm) and silver nanoparticles/ nanorods hybrid was reported via wet chemical synthesis method. Kappa-carrageenan (kC), a hydrophilic biopolymer with sulphate groups on its backbone, as capping agent was used in the reaction medium. Silver nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles/ nanorods formation was confirmed by SEM images. Further investigations were carried out using DLS data and GPC analysis  

Porous medium characteristics (e.g., pore geometry and medium heterogeneity) as well as the chemical nature of the co-solvents crucially affect the oil displacement efficiency during solvent flooding processes. In this work, initially saturated models with heavy crude oil were used to perform a series of solvent injection experiments. Several onequarter five-spot micromodels with pre-designed pore geometry were constructed and used. In addition, rock-look-alike flow patterns generated from thin sections of sandstone and dolomite reservoir rocks were etched onto glass plates to form micromodels mimicking the pore geometry and heterogeneity of these rocks. Four different groups of chemicals... 

This Regular evaluation and analysis of river quality helps accurate management to reach acceptable quality. In this study, water quality indices (WQI) method applied to evaluate quality of Jajrood River which is one of the main sources of Tehran drinking water. It helps to subsidize management actions in Jajrood watershed. Sampling carried out for 9 years during 2001-2010 in 10 stations along the river in wet and dry stations to identify water quality and the main source of pollution. Results show water quality in all stations classifies as medium according to National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and water quality index in wet season is better than the corresponding value in dry seasons.... 

The physical properties and chemical structure of a new biosurfactant (licheniformin) produced by Bacillus licheniformis MS3 were investigated. The purified biosurfactant was identified as a lipopeptide with amino acid sequence of Gly, Ala, Val, Asp, Ser, Gly, Tyr and a lactone linkage between the carboxyl group of Aspargine and hydroxyl group of Tyrosine residue. The fatty acid moiety was attached to N-terminal amino acid residue through an amide bond. The purified licheniformin could lower the surface tension of water from 72 to 38 mN/m at concentrations higher than 15 μg/mL and its relative emulsion volume (EV%) was equal to 36%. It also showed stable surface activity over a wide range of... 

Wettability is one of the most important factors which significantly influences solar still efficiency. Moreover, it determines the condensation mode, i.e., filmwise or dropwise condensation. In the present study, materials with different wettability were applied as the condensing surface to evaluate the effect of wettability on the distillate production of a single slope solar still. To compare the effects of dropwise and filmwise condensation on the condensate yield, the wettability of the condensing surface was changed by applying a nano-silicon solution according to a dip coating technique. All the experiments were conducted at three surface inclination angles. The results revealed that... 

Foaming and crystallisation behaviours of compacted glass powders based on a diopside glass-ceramic composition were investigated using the sintering route. The foaming agent was 2 wt.% SiC particles. The effect of PbO on the foaming ability of glasses was investigated. The results showed that the addition of PbO not only improved the foaming ability, by improving the wettability of the glass-SiC particles but also increased the crystallisation temperature and widened the temperature interval between the dilatometric softening point and the onset of crystallisation. The glass-SiC wetting angle was decreased from 85°for the lead-free glass, to 55°for the glass that contains 15 wt.% PbO  

The high reactivity of the carbonate rocks at various pH makes it difficult to evaluate the wettability, hence to find the recovery mechanisms behind modified waterflood in carbonate reservoirs. More recently, the streaming potential measurement is introduced as a method of electrokinetic phenomena more relevant to the subsurface systems. Regarding few experimental studies and in order to improve our understanding on streaming potential measurement, the electrokinetic studies on quartz and calcite surface were conducted as a function of pH in the range of 1.5–11.5 using an in-house novel setup of streaming potential measurement. High sensitivity of streaming potential coupling coefficient to...