Sharif Digital Repository

Flow through the pores of granular materials has many instances in practice. Therefore, it is interesting to realize how some parameters, such as the shape of the particles affect the passing flow. Following the recent mathematical theory proposed by the authors, this paper deals with the issue of how tortuosity and permeability are influenced by the particle shape. Comparison of the results with the experimental data reveals the competency of the theory in predicting the impact of particle geometry  

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a horizontal packed bed bioreactor, named Biopack, to treat high strength wastewater, such as bakers yeast wastewater. The Biopack system (RBCP) is a modified rotating biological contactor and the system was applied for secondary treatment. The RBCP system produced high treatment efficiencies, COD removal was 94.9% when COD was 472 mg/l and surface organic loading = 0.187 kg COD/m2 per day and surface hydraulic loading = 6 l/m2 per day. Variations of surface hydraulic loading from 6 to 11.9 l/m2 per day produced a decrease in COD removal efficiency from 94.9 to 58.6%. Other factors, such as shock load, retention time and rotational... 

Device-to-device (D2D) communication improves spectrum efficiency (SE) and increases system capacity. Heterogeneous networks comprise macrocell and several small cells, such as picocells and femtocells, where femtocells are more efficient. In cooperative communications, one or several additional nodes help to send data from source to destination to improve the quality of service (QoS). Network coding (NC) in cooperative networks can extend data rate and coverage area of D2D communication. The purpose of this article is to minimize power consumption of transmitting nodes during network-coded cooperative D2D transmission to reduce the interference on co-channel transmissions. In this study, we... 

Macroscopic properties of granular materials are important in modeling a variety of flow and transport phenomena in many fields of science. Determination of these parameters has always been an issue among both researchers and engineers, mainly in view of tortuosity and permeability. This paper presents analytical functions for the tortuosity and permeability of monosized sphere arrays based on a volume averaging approach and eliminates some ambiguities by modification of the original representative elementary volume model. Veracity of the proposed formulations has been illustrated through comparisons with the latest available results on the subject. Good agreement is found  

Analytical solution of shock wave propagation in pure gas in a shock tube is usually addressed in gas dynamics. However, such a solution for granular media is complex due to the inclusion of parameters relating to particles configuration within the medium, which affect the balance equations. In this article, an analytical solution for isothermal shock wave propagation in an isotropic homogenous rigid granular material is presented, and a closed-form solution is obtained for the case of weak shock waves. Fluid mass and momentum equations are first written in wave and (mathematical) non-conservation forms. Afterwards by redefining the sound speed of the gas flowing inside the pores, an... 

In this paper, LM pectin production from commercial apple pectin by using acid, alkali and ammonia methods in the presence of ethanol was studied. Also, the effect of different parameters such as, temperature, time, acid, alkali and ammonia treatment in LM pectin production were evaluated. In all the experiments, low temperature showed a better influence from a recovery, purity and low de-polymerization viewpoint. Optimum conditions in the acid method reached at pH = 2, t = 17 hrs and T = 30°C, in the alkaline method reached at pH = 11, t = 3 hrs and T = 5°C and in the ammonia method reached at 2 N ammonia and T = 5°C, were determined. © Sharif University of Technology  

Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) is a multi-staged process in which natural gas is converted to liquid fuels. The stages of GTL process are discussed. A GTL plant with 10,000 bpd capacity and have similar specifications with the SASOL process was simulated using the Aspen-Plus software and the simulation results were compared with the SASOL process data. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 18th International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering (Prague, Czech Republic 8/24-28/2008)  

Tunnels constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) are always based on certain round (unsupported) advance lengths, after which, the temporary lining is placed. The settlement of the ground surface resulting from such construction is of high significance in design and practice. The existing data in this respect, however, is scarce. It is the aim of this paper to propose a semi-analytical procedure based on three-dimensional finite element analyses to predict the maximum surface settlement of the ground in NATM tunnels under different combinations of tunnel diameter, overburden depth, round length and soil and lining properties. The comparison of the results with three case... 

In recent years there has been potential increase in the use of alkaline protease as industrial catalysts. Many major industrial and commercial applications, such as food and textile industries, and medical diagnoses, are highly dependent on the protease enzyme. In the cell immobilization technique, the free movement of microorganisms is restricted in the process, and a continuous system of fermentation can be used. In the present work, this technique has been used for alkaline protease production using different carriers, such as chitosan, corn cob and corn tassel. Enzyme activity before immobilization (72 h) was 78.3 U/ml. Corn cob, with 65% immobilization capacity and the highest enzyme... 

Fabrication of scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and desirable cellular compatibility is critical for numerous tissue engineering applications. This study was aimed at fabrication and characterization of a nanofiber skin substitute composed of collagen (Col)/sodium alginate (SA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Rhodotorula mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) were prepared using the biaxial electrospinning technique. This study used collagen extracted from the bovine tendon as a natural scaffold, sodium alginate as an absorber of excess wound fluids, and GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides as an antioxidant. Collagen was characterized using FTIR and EDS analyses. The...