Sharif Digital Repository

Epoxy resins have been used as structural materials since the late 1940s. Despite their desirable properties such as high strength, excellent creep resistance, and good adhesion, they suffer from low fracture energy. Rubber modification as a major toughening approach to overcome the inherent brittleness of epoxy polymers was introduced during the early 1970s. Since then, a large number of investigations have been conducted to elucidate different aspects of rubber-toughened epoxies. The present work is a critical review of the field focusing on the important parameters affecting rubber-toughening. The studies reviewed are classified in five categories including roles of matrix ductility,... 

Periodic metallic structures are known to support resonant extraordinary optical transmission (EOT). When covered with graphene, these structures can be employed to effectively manipulate the light. In this paper, we propose an analytical circuit model for graphene-covered 1-D metallic gratings. By using the circuit theory, we demonstrate that 1-D periodic array of cut-through slits, which are covered by a continuous graphene sheet, exhibits tunable EOT resonance for TM polarization whose amplitude, unlike its spectral position, can be dynamically tuned by varying the Fermi level of graphene. In this fashion, it is shown that placing a perfect reflector at the bottom of the graphene-covered... 

Baseboard heaters are a type of building heating systems that are placed along the base of the interior wall, instead of the traditional skirting. Baseboard heaters meet all the requirements of modern buildings such as thermal comfort, well-architected appearance, space-saving, efficient energy consumption, and fast thermal response. In the present study, we investigate the enhancement of the thermal output of hydronic baseboard heaters. For this purpose, several novel fin-tube arrays such as convector fins and fin-clips are proposed and the thermal performance of each array is evaluated experimentally. In addition, two different types of materials for the tubes, namely, copper and aluminum... 

We experimentally demonstrate a circularly polarized antenna that utilizes unidirectional surface waves that propagate on the boundary of a small ferrite disk. The ferrite disk is metalized on top and is mounted on a grounded dielectric substrate. The disk is normally biased by a magnetic field that is provided by two permanent magnets below and above the structure. A two-section feeding network is used to feed the antenna. The operation frequency of the antenna can be adjusted by changing the magnitude of the applied magnetic bias. The sense of polarization can be reversed by reversing the direction of the applied bias. © 2020 Elsevier B.V  

The effect of the nucleating agent masterbatch carrier resin on the nonisothermal crystallization of a pipe-grade polypropylene block copolymer was investigated at three different cooling rates using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Bis(3,4-dimethylibenzylidene) sorbitol (DMDBS), a well-known, third-generation sorbitol derivative, was used as a nucleating agent in this study. Crystallization kinetic parameters obtained from DSC cooling curves showed that incorporation of a nucleating agent by means of a masterbatch increased the crystallization rate by approximately two times compared to that of the sample with the same concentration of nucleating agent without the use of a... 

Organisational commitment is suggested as a remarkable variable in shaping employees’ attitudes toward knowledge management practices. Customer trust in services is established during a long-time relationship with a firm and improves the accuracy of information shared with employees. To put it in other words, customer trust is what a service company needs to maintain its competitive advantage. On the other hand, high employee turnover reflects a substantial loss of knowledge. In the present study, the impact of organisational commitment on employees’ retention, knowledge acquisition, and sharing was examined regarding the moderating roles of leader-member exchange and innovation climate. The... 

Dimethylbenzylidene sorbitol (DMDBS) is a common nucleating/clarifier agent used in polypropylene (PP). So many researchers have looked at different aspects of incorporating this additive on the crystallization behavior of PP. The current study is focused on a rather new topic and that is the role of the carrier resin of DMDBS masterbatch on the rheological behaviour of polypropylene. This objective has been achieved through studying the role of the carrier resin on the phase separation behavior of DMDBS upon cooling. It has been shown that a permanent bond is formed between the molecules of carrier resin and DMDBS in the masterbatch and this bond slows down the crystallization kinetics of... 

In this paper we consider the content distribution to a set of mobile users interested in the same content. We use the concept of mobile clouds, which exploits cooperation between mobile terminals over the low-power short-range links. We propose, formulate and investigate the energy efficiency and delay of four realistic cooperative content delivery strategies. The derived results, through analysis of mathematical models and simulations, demonstrate around 65% to 95% energy saving gain in mobile cloud strategies compared to conventional multicasting. We also show that using mobile clouds, content distribution delay can be reduced for up to 85%  

In this paper, we present a novel approach to generate images of extended depth-of-field (DOF) to support realization of three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems such as integral imaging. In our approach in extending the DOF, we take advantage of the spatial frequency spectrum of the object specific to the task in hand. The pupil function is thus engineered in such a fashion that the modulation transfer function (MTF) is maximized only in these selected spatial frequencies. We extract these high energy spatial frequencies using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. Moreover, given the need for many pupil function engineering steps in 3D imaging systems, we have constructed an... 

In this investigation, core-shell rubber particles and organically modified clay were added to an epoxy resin and the changes in mechanical behavior were studied. As expected, the yield strength of the organoclay-filled epoxies increased modestly with increasing clay content and the yield strength of the rubber-modified compounds decreased with rubber content. Interestingly, the compressive yield strength of epoxy resins containing both rubber particles and organoclay (a.k.a. hybrid nanocomposites) was found to be independent on organoclay content (up to 5 phr). The fracture toughness of organoclay-filled epoxies increased modestly with clay content and, as expected, the increases in... 

1-D compound metallic grating (CMG) is a periodic structure with more than one slit in each period. When CMG is combined with a graphene sheet as its cover, the incident light is effectively coupled to the plasmons in graphene which in turn can result in strong manipulation of light for both major polarizations. We show that tunable phase resonance and perfect absorption of the incident light are interesting outcomes of this manipulation. In this paper, we demonstrate that fano-like phase resonances which can be observed in CMGs under transverse magnetic polarized incident wave are tuned by changing the Fermi level of graphene. It is shown that while the spectral position of the phase... 

The aim of this paper is to investigate adhesion property between nano-layered filler and the polymer matrix using a combination of experimental and micromechanical models as well as the changes in yield strength and stiffness of a layered silicate-filled epoxy nanocomposite. The results indicate that addition of intercalated layered silicate particles increased Young's modulus and yield strength of the epoxy resin, although the increases in stiffness and yield strength are modest, 30% and 4%, respectively. In addition, experimental results were compared with predictive stiffening and strengthening models. The rule of mixtures provides an upper bound for the modulus in these materials, while... 

In the last three decades, nanoclay fillers have been increasingly used to improve the mechanical, thermal, barrier and biological properties of the polymers. Nevertheless, incorporation of clays into the hydrophobic polymer matrices leads to the formation of the microcomposites with the minimal improvement in properties. To overcome the intrinsic incompatibility between the clays and the hydrophobic polymers, clay particles are organophilized using organic modifiers. The organic modifier should be thermodynamically miscible with the polymer. In the case of the composites prepared at high temperatures, the organic modifier should also have a high thermal stability to withstand the processing... 

Polyamide 6 (PA6)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/conductive carbon black (CCB) nanocomposites with the incorporation of physical and chemical dispersants were prepared via melt blending method to examine the synergistic enhancement of electrical conductivity. Investigation of modified CNT with octadecyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride (OTPC-CNT) as physical dispersant was performed by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological, electrical, rheological, and mechanical properties of PA6/CNT/CCB nanocomposites were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, digital insulation... 

In the present study, the solubility of paracetamol in supercritical CO2 is measured at temperatures between 311 and 358 K and pressures between 95 and 265 bar. It was shown that the solubility of paracetamol through a static solubility measurement method was between 0.3055 × 10−6 to 16.3582 × 10−6 based on mole fraction. The obtained experimental solubility data revealed the direct effect of pressure on the paracetamol experimental data, while the temperature has a dual effect of both increasing and decreasing effect considering the shifting point known as crossover pressure which was measured to be around 110 bar for paracetamol. Besides, two theoretical approaches were applied to predict... 

Polyamide 6 (PA6)/carbon nanotube (CNT)/conductive carbon black (CCB) nanocomposites with the incorporation of physical and chemical dispersants were prepared via melt blending method to examine the synergistic enhancement of electrical conductivity. Investigation of modified CNT with octadecyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride (OTPC-CNT) as physical dispersant was performed by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological, electrical, rheological, and mechanical properties of PA6/CNT/CCB nanocomposites were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, digital insulation... 

We have designed and fabricated a dual-band circularly polarized antenna using a normally magnetized ferrite disk. The disk is metallized on top and is mounted on a grounded dielectric substrate. A hole is then punched at the center of the top metallization. The dual band operation of the antenna is due to two separate unidirectional resonances. The field intensity at the lower resonance is largest close to the outer periphery of the disk whereas at the higher resonance the electromagnetic field is concentrates near the punched hole. A two-section feeding network is used to feed the antenna. Central frequencies of the upper and lower bands are 4.62 GHz and 5.97 GHz, respectively.... 

Electrically conductive polyamide-6 (PA6)/poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) nanocomposites containing conductive nanofillers such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and conductive carbon black (CCB) have attracted considerable interest from both academia and industry. Despite their importance in applications such as electrostatic painting, only a few studies have been reported. In the current study, the effects of the morphological structure and selective localization of CNTs/CCB (into the PA6 or at the interface of the PA6/PPO) on the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites have been investigated. The PA6/PPO ratio and mixing sequence are the two parameters that control the morphology and the... 

In this paper, we propose and study a context-aware leader selection algorithm within the concept of mobile clouds. We deploy a dedicated Cooperative Control Server (CCS) to assist and manage the process of leader selection more efficiently. The proposed algorithm collects data regarding instantaneous conditions of Mobile Terminals (MTs) and their radio environment; and then computes and assigns a rank to each MT. The ranks calculated based on a combination of different context-related parameters and corresponding weighting factors, allow selecting the leader. Furthermore, the energy efficiency and stability of the selected leaders is investigated for different parameter values through... 

Different models have been proposed for deposition of asphaltene on reservoir rocks that due to complexity of asphaltene nature, most of them have not been productive. Here, a reliable model is proposed which despite of previous models, considers the change in asphaltene saturation in the core. The obtained experimental data in the laboratory was used for model validation. In this work, a series of core flooding tests was carried out in presence of connate water at different solvent-oil volume ratios. Pressure drop was measured at three different terminals along the core. The obtained experimental data as well as mass balance equations, momentum equation, asphaltene deposition and...