Sharif Digital Repository

A new cationic flocculant was synthesized by graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and 3-(methacryloylamino)propyl]trimethylammonium chloride (MAPTAC) onto salep using free radical polymerization initiated by ammonium persulfate (APS) to produce cationic salep [S-g-P(AM-co-MAPTAC)]. Reaction parameters (monomers/salep ratio, concentration of reactants, MAPTAC/AM ratio, and APS) were optimized using a full factorial experimental design to obtain the highest settling rate for cement suspensions. The best performing product was characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), FTIR, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The resulted cationic flocculant may be... 

Two-dimensional semiconductor materials can be combined with conventional silicon-based technology and sort out part of the future challenges in semiconductor technologies due to their novel electrical and optical properties. Here, we exploit the optoelectronics property of the silicon/SnS2 heterojunction and present a new class of backward diodes using a straightforward fabrication method. The results indicate an efficient device with fast photoresponse time (5-10 μs), high photoresponsivity (3740 AW-1), and high quantum efficiency (490%). We discuss device behavior by considering the band-to-band tunneling model and band bending characteristics of the heterostructure. This device structure... 

This article is focused on a simple approach for determining the natural frequency and mode shape of laminated angle-ply plates with various shapes by rectangular orthotropy. Since the boundary of the domain for all shapes are not natural to the material coordinate axes it seems appropriate to express the plate displacement amplitude in terms of a polynomial and a general shape function multiplication in the x and y coordinates. The boundary conditions considered are clamped and simply supported edges. The effect of the fiber orientation, layer number, and lamination sequence on the natural frequencies of plates is also considered. The natural frequency determinant has been generated using... 

Porous nitrogen-doped carbons derived from biomass wastes are considered as promising materials for energy storage devices. Herein, a novel and scalable synthesis route for preparation of these materials from sugarcane bagasse waste is demonstrated. The synthesis process includes a hydrogel intermediate in which delignified bagasse and polyacrylamide networks are interlaced in molecular scale and calcium acetate serves as a hard template within the polymeric chains. After pre-carbonization and chemical activation of the hydrogel, porous nitrogen-doped carbon with high surface area of 1834.3 m2 g−1 and considerable pore volume of 1.03 cm3 g−1 was obtained with nitrogen and oxygen contents of... 

The g-C3N4/Fe2O3 nanocomposite was produced by the solution combustion synthesis (SCS) of iron-nitrate/g-C3N4 mixtures of varying concentration ratios and using urea as a fuel. The following methods did characterization of the products: X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller investigation (BET), ultraviolet–visible light analysis (UV–vis) and photoluminescence measurement (PL). Effect of iron nitrate on stability and photocurrent density under simulated visible-light irradiation was determined. The... 

Novel class of polyelectrolyte gels based on the copolymer of vinylimidazolium-typed ionic liquid monomer and Dodecyl methacrylate was prepared by free radical polymerization. A small amount of 3-n-Dodecyl-1- vinylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate is incorporated into crosslinked polyacrylates to provide new lipophilic polyelectrolyte gels that evaluated for swelling in less-polar and nonpolar organic solvents. Their swelling degree becomes more than 50 times as much as their dried weights in some organic solvents. By varying the polarity of the neutral monomer in these polyelectrolyte gels, the design of gels that can absorb solvents of nearly any polarity is demonstrated. The present... 

In this paper a novel approach based on the emotional learning is proposed for improving the load-frequency control (LFC) system of a two-area interconnected power system with the consideration of generation rate constraint (GRC). The controller includes a neuro-fuzzy system with power error and its derivative as inputs. A fuzzy critic evaluates the present situation, and provides the emotional signal (stress). The controller modifies its characteristics so that the critic's stress is reduced. The convergence and performance of the proposed controller, both in presence and absence of GRC, are compared with those of proportional integral (PI), fuzzy logic (FL), and hybrid neuro-fuzzy (HNF)... 

Minimization of operating costs is one of the most important objectives of power system operators. To achieve this goal, several optimization problems such as unit commitment and optimal power flow have been introduced. Historically, in these problems, the transmission network has been considered as a static system, i.e., the ability of transmission lines switching is not modeled. On the other hand, it has been shown that transmission line switching can significantly reduce operating costs by the means of topology modification. However, considering this capability, a large number of binary variables are introduced in the objective function, and as a consequence, the computation time will be... 

Magnetic nanocomposite hydrogels containing different amounts of graphene oxide were synthesized and characterized by FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, TEM, VSM and UV-vis spectroscopy. The prepared hydrogels were used as adsorbents for removal of a cationic dye, crystal violet, from water. The kinetics and isotherm of adsorption and the effect of different experimental conditions such as graphene oxide content, pH of the solution, contact time, adsorbent dosage and initial dye concentration on adsorption capacity were then investigated. Parameters related to kinetics and isotherm models were calculated and discussed. It was found that adsorption is well-described by pseudo-second-order kinetics and... 

This paper investigates the problem of unknown input estimation such as acceleration, target class, and maneuvering target tracking using a hybrid algorithm. One of the challenges of unknown input estimation is that no effective method has been presented so far that could be applied to general cases. The available methods are ineffective when the range of variation of the unknown input parameter is large. Also, the issue of determining the system class could improve the performance of the tracking algorithms in many applications. Using the Bayesian theory, the posterior distribution functions of state and parameter could be obtained concurrently. In the proposed algorithm, Liu and West and... 

This paper investigates maneuvering-target tracking problem based on a multisensor system and interacting multiple model (IMM). The estimation is performed by a novel particle filter (PF) with a capability to deal with the state-dependent noises and interference of the sensors’ coverage environment. An adaptive sensor selection algorithm, where some sensors are selected in each stage based on the signal-to-interference pulse noise ratio (SINR) and participate in the state estimation, is proposed. To deal with the effect of interference, we focus on designing and implementing the sensor selection algorithm, where a multisensor system with nonuniform arrays is derived by solving a convex... 

Due to high surface to volume ratio and tunable band gap, two dimensional (2D) layered materials such as MoS2, is good candidate for gas sensing applications. This research mainly focuses on variation of Density of States (DOS) of MoS2 monolayes caused by ethanol adsorption. The nanosheets are synthesized by liquid exfoliation, and then using Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS) and Density Functional Theory (DFT), local electronic characteristic such as DOS and band gap in non-vacuum condition are analyzed. The results show that ethanol adsorption enhances DOS and deform orbitals near the valence and conduction bands that increase transport of carriers on the sheet. © 2018 IOP Publishing... 

In this article, both experimental and numerical approaches are conducted to present a constitutive equation for 5052 aluminum diaphragms under quasi-static strain rate loadings. For this purpose the stress-strain curves at different strain rates are obtained using tensile tests. Brittle behavior during tensile tests is observed due to samples thin thicknesses. Employing Johnson-Cook constitutive equation no yields in reasonable agreement with these tensile tests results. Therefore, developing a more suitable constitutive equation for aluminum diaphragms is taken into consideration. This equation is then implemented into the commercial finite element software, ABAQUS, via a developed user... 

A noncovalent functionalization of the edges of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with β-cyclodextrin-graft-hyperbranched polyglycerol (β-CD-g-HPG) was successfully performed via a host-guest interaction. The results showed that β-CD-g-HPG disperses the graphene sheets better than pure β-CD or HPG. The resulted supramolecular structure is stable in neutral water medium more than one week. However, in acidic medium the host-guest interaction is collapsed and graphene nanosheets precipitate. © 2017, Copyright © Taylor & Francis  

Magnetic reduced graphene oxide/polymer nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization and grafting of polyacrylamide on the surface of functionalized magnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Graphene oxide nanosheets were decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles, reduced and functionalized with 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate, and then grafted with polyacrylamide. Grafting of polyacrylamide makes magnetic rGO hydrophilic and highly water dispersible. The prepared material was used as adsorbent for removal of an anionic dye, Congo red, and a maximum adsorption capacity up to 166.7 mg g−1 was obtained. The kinetics and isotherm of adsorption and the effect of experimental condition on... 

In this paper, a two-component Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) has been utilized to simulate the natural convection of TiO2-water nanofluid in a curved geometry. The main purpose of this research is to study the effect of nanoparticle size and also boundary conditions on the thermal characteristics of the nanofluid. Furthermore, the effect of Rayleigh number (Ra) and volume fraction of nanoparticles (ϕ) on the average Nusselt number (Nuave) have been investigated. Two different thermal boundary conditions, namely adiabatic and constant temperature, have been considered in the current work for the curved boundaries. The Rayleigh number varies from 103 to 109. Four different sizes, namely 10,... 

Holding companies are one of the most important structures that fulfil goals related to stable economic development. Managerial processes are among the most important functions of a holding company's headquarters. The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive framework for management technologies in holding companies. The presence of an appropriate framework can assist holding companies confronted with existing complexities in various supporting tools of managerial processes which are continuously expanding. The presented framework can be an initial stage for formulating a management technology strategy in holding companies. This framework has been applied in the processes of... 

Management Technologies Strategy formulation (MTS formulation) in holding companies is carried out with the aim of achieving competitive advantages in the market and fulfilment of strategic goals of the corporation. This paper presents a modified technology strategy formulation model for MTS in holding companies. Prior to present an integrated model of MTS formulation, a number of technology strategy formulation models are analysed and their suitability for the headquarter of a holding company is discussed. Through a case study research method, the paper documents how MTS formulation was implemented in an Iranian conglomerate tasked with managing diversified subsidiaries. We concluded that... 

Renewable hydrogen production plays a key role in transitioning to a hydrogen economy. For this, developing countries are encouraged to keep up with industrialized nations. As such, this study seeks to evaluate the potential of all capital cities of Iran in terms of solar-based hydrogen production and prioritize the nominated alternatives. This step is highly valued because finding the most suitable place for this purpose can lead to substantial outcomes and consequently avoid failure. Therefore, here a 20-kW solar power plant is simulated by PVsyst 6.7 software and meteorological data of 31 capital cities is extracted using Meteonorm 7.1 software. Considering all losses associated with... 

In this paper a modal coupling procedure is developed to improve residual modal effects based on experimentally generated data. While showing that CraigChangs proposed approximation function for higher frequency modes does not compare well with the exact function, a new procedure is developed in order to re-express the dynamic residuals. For this purpose, all frequency dependent terms of the Maclaurin series in CraigChangs proposed method are replaced by a general compatible function, which includes the neglected higher order terms. However, this function no longer appears in final equation of motion. Results from case studies for the discrete, continuous and experimental models are...