Sharif Digital Repository

This paper investigates the effects of acid normality (0.01-6 N HCl) and combustion retention time (0.25- 16 hours) on the pozzolanic properties of pre-combustion acid-treated rice husk ash. The pozzolanic reactivity was quantified by adding ground ash to saturated Ca(OH)2 solutions and monitoring the time-dependent electrical conductivity and pH of the solutions. Also, the strength activity of ashes from different processes was measured by testing the compressive strength of mortars. It was observed that acid treatment results in ashes with higher SiO2 content, lower alkali and unburned carbon content, better grindability, and smaller particle size, in comparison with ash from non-acid... 

Hematite (α-Fe2O3) is a promising candidate for water oxidation applications due to its abundance in the earth crust and its suitable bandgap. However, hematite performance is severely limited by electron-hole recombination at its interface with the electrolyte; something that can be addressed using electrocatalysts. In this report, we evaluate the influence of a ternary NiFeCo co-catalyst to enhance the water oxidation performance of hematite photoanodes. Thus, NiFeCo co-catalyst is optimized for hematite thin films with i) dense and ii) porous (nano-rod) morphologies. Both hematite films are prepared using electron beam evaporation method followed by an annealing step and NiFeCo... 

This paper presents an experimental research for studying the relative and interactive effects of three physicochemical fluid characteristics (viscosity, pH, and ionic strength) on the incipient motion of a granular particle under laminar flow condition. Critical flow velocity for particle's incipient motion, an important factor for evaluating flow-induced soil erosion, was used to quantify the relative erosive capacity of the test fluids. Response surface methodology (RSM), a statistical design of experiments, was used to design and implement 20 test fluids with various levels of the three fluid characteristics. Incipient motion of a highly spherical glass bead positioned atop a specially... 

In this research, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and poly ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) were used as polymeric materials. The methods used to produce LDPE and EVA was Film Blowing and ThermalDry Phase Inversion. The amount of permeability, diffusivity and solubility of O2 and CO2 through above polymers were obtained and also the effect of temperature, pressure and film thickness for LDPE was measured. The Barometric method was considered and measurements were based on ASTM standard. To study film cross-section morphology in EVA, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was applied. From results we considered that the amount of permeability and solubility were decreased by increasing film... 

One of the most conventional and energy efficient methods to improve the engineering properties of concrete is the utilization of waste materials and by-products. Among agricultural wastes, rice husk ash (RHA) has exhibited the greatest potential to enhance the characteristics of cement mixtures. However, the investigations on the properties and performance of RHA are slim compared to its potential advantages and few systematic studies can be found in the literature regarding parameters influencing the chemo-physical and microstructural characteristics of RHA along with its performance in cement mixtures. In this study, the effect of retention time of rice husk is systematically... 

In this research, low density polyethylene (LDPE) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) were used as polymeric materials. The methods used to produce LDPE and EVA was film blowing and thermal-dry phase inversion. The amount of permeability, diffusivity and solubility of O2 and CO2 through above polymers were obtained and also the effect of temperature, pressure and film thickness for LDPE was measured. To study film cross-section morphology in EVA, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied. The results showed that the amount of permeability and solubility were decreased by increasing film thickness but diffusivity was increased. However, by increasing temperature, permeability,... 

Evapotranspiration is one of the main components of water and energy balance. In this study, we compare two ET products, suitable for regional analysis at high spatial resolution: The recent WaPOR product developed by FAO and METRIC algorithm. WaPOR is based on ETLook, which is a two-source model and relies on microwave images. WaPOR is unique as it has no limitation under cloudy days, but METRIC is limited by clouds. METRIC and WaPOR are more sensitive to land surface temperature and soil moisture, respectively. Using two years (2010 and 2014) of data over Lake Urmia basin, we show that in most areas, ET from METRIC is higher than WaPOR and the difference has an ascending trend with the... 

This paper proposes effective approach for determining appropriate crowbar resistance value to be able to improve the brushless doubly fed induction generator ride through capability during any asymmetrical voltage dip scenarios. The brushless DFIG has great potential for wind power plants particularly in offshore applications where maintenance is a major concern. Dynamic behavior of the machine is studied using two axis model and a more precise equivalent circuit model is extracted for analyzing machine behavior under fault conditions. Important limits and constraints in the use of crowbar are identified and discussed in detail. It is shown that large crowbar values can lead to considerable... 

The virtual reality (VR) applications in entertainment and tourism industry have become growingly intense among generation Z. Interestingly, some pilot research on tourism studied concluded the positive impact of its flow experience on adoption of VR tourism, which is also driving the risk of immersive addictive. In the context of tourism and information and communication technology (ICT)-based innovation, there is a lack of immersive addictive behavior (IAB)-related literature. In addition, during the currently ongoing pandemic crisis, VR technology has gained particular importance in the tourism industry among generation Z. The present venture underlines the mechanism of IAB, investigates... 

In the published article, there was an error regarding the affiliations for Saba Saneinia. As well as having affiliation 1, she should also have Key Laboratory of Immersive Media Technology (Anhui Xinhua Media Co, Ltd.), Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Hefei, China. In the published article, there was an error regarding the affiliations for Rongting Zhou. As well as having affiliations 2, he should also have Key Laboratory of Immersive Media Technology (Anhui Xinhua Media Co, Ltd.), Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Hefei, China. In the published article, there was an error regarding the affiliations for Fahad Asmi. As well as having affiliations 2, he should also have Key Laboratory of... 

This study draws a historical picture of conceptual linkages of innovation systems (IS) and global value chains (GVC). We used a co-citation technique to map the evolution of these two fields since 1990. We highlighted the connecting nodes over the past three decades. The first decade witnessed a connection between national innovation systems (NIS) and GVC, mediated by regional studies related to industrial clusters and district-based innovation. The tradeoff between tacit sticky local and codified transferable global knowledge and innovation and learning's importance in upgrading in GVC generated two new routes in the second decade. In the last decade, although these routes are retained,... 

The Brushless Doubly-fed Induction Generator (BDFIG) has high potential for wind energy systems, especially for offshore applications where minimum maintenance is vital. The machine low voltage ride through (LVRT) capability in the light of current grid code requirements was investigated using a precise dynamic model. This is particularly important for future multi- MW BDFIGs. This paper shows the necessity for improvements of the BDFIG LVRT capability with presenting a comprehensive analytical study during asymmetrical voltage dips. Analytical studies are conducted to extract a more precise equivalent circuit model of the BDFIG used for analyzing machine dynamic behavior under various fault... 

Introduction: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused irreparable damage to the world. In order to prevent the spread of pathogenicity, it is necessary to identify infected people for quarantine and treatment. The use of artificial intelligence and data mining approaches can lead to prevention and reduction of treatment costs. The purpose of this study is to create data mining models in order to diagnose people with the disease of COVID-19 through the sound of coughing. Method: In this research, Supervised Learning classification algorithms have been used, which include Support Vector Machine (SVM), random forest, and Artificial Neural Networks, that based on the standard... 

Ternary novel BiOI@MIL-88A(Fe)@g-C3N4 nanocomposite with core@shell structure was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. fabricated photocatalysts were characterized and results confirmed the formation of MIL-88A(Fe)@g-C3N4 core@shell structure and subsequently BiOI decoration on the surface of MIL-88A(Fe)@g-C3N4. Photocatalytic performances of prepared samples were investigated for degradation of Acid Blue 92 (AB92), Rhodamine B (RhB) and phenol under visible irradiation. It is clearly demonstrated that the as-prepared ternary BiOI@MIL-88A(Fe)@g-C3N4 composites exhibits exceptional visible-light photocatalytic activities for cationic, anionic as well as neutral pollutant molecules... 

Bi-evaporator electricity/cooling cogeneration systems can be a favorable addition to the integrated power plants since the generated cooling load should be addressed for different demands. More consequentially, taking advantage of such an integral set-up operated with highly reliable heat source such as biogas can be appreciable for nowadays industries. Regarding this demand, an innovative bi-evaporator electricity/cooling cogeneration system is introduced at first. Next, the suggested system is integrated with a gas turbine cycle fueled by biogas. In the subsequent part, the plausibility of the introduced integrated power plant is examined from first and second laws of thermodynamics (as...