Sharif Digital Repository

The production of high-purity aluminum nanoparticles (Al-NPs) is challenging due to the highly reactive nature of Al metals. Electromagnetic levitation gas condensation (ELGC) is a promising method to produce high-purity metallic particles as it avoids the interaction between molten metal and refractory-lined, which guarantees the removal of impurities such as oxygen (O). In this research, high-purity Al-NPs were successfully fabricated via ELGC process and fully characterized. The effects of power input and gas flow rate on particle size and distribution were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and dynamic light... 

Different structures of TiO2 photoelectrodes are fabricated with various arrangement modes of the layers. TiO2 nanoparticles, synthesized by stabilizing agent free non-hydrolytic sol–gel method, are employed as the under layer, whereas carbon-doped TiO2 hollow spheres, prepared by hydrothermally grown carbon template, are used as the scattering layer of solar cells. The nanoparticles (22 nm) have anatase structure, while 300–700 nm hollow spheres show mixtures of anatase and rutile phases. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms that carbon is doped into TiO2 hollow spheres, resulting in a decrease in band gap energy in the range 2.96–3.13 eV compared with 3.04 eV band gap energy for the... 

Advanced gas turbine cycles use advanced blade cooling technologies to reach high turbine inlet temperature. Accurate modeling and optimization of these cycles depend on blade cooling model. In this study, different models have been used to simulate gas turbine performance. The first model is the continuous model and the second is stage-by-stage model with alternative methods for calculating coolant, stagnation pressure loss and SPR. Variation of specific heat and enthalpy with temperature are included in both models. The composition of gas stream in turbine is changed step by step due to air cooling. These models are validated by two case study gas turbine results, which show good agreement... 

Advanced gas turbine cycles use advanced blade cooling technologies to reach high turbine inlet temperature. Accurate modeling and optimization of these cycles depend on blade cooling model. In this study, different models have been used to simulate gas turbine performance. The first model is the continuous model and the second is stage-by-stage model with alternative methods for calculating coolant, stagnation pressure loss and SPR. Variation of specific heat and enthalpy with temperature are included in both models. The composition of gas stream in turbine is changed step by step due to air cooling. These models are validated by two case study gas turbine results, which show good agreement... 

This paper presents a dynamic programming methodology for finding the optimum preventive maintenance schedule of generating units of a GENCO in open power systems. The objective function for the GENCO is to sell electricity as much as possible, according to the market price forecast. Various constraints such as generation capacity, duration of maintenance and maintenance crew are taken into account. In a case study, introducing a GENCO with six generating units, and implementing dynamic programming, we obtain the optimal maintenance schedule over the planning period. © 2002 IEEE  

A comprehensive investigation of historical hydro-climatic changes at a county level is an essential prerequisite of developing any adaptation or mitigation strategies to deal with the destructive impacts of climate change. In this study, spatial distributions and trends in thirty-seven hydro-climatic mean and extreme indices across Iran were analyzed based on the state-of-the-art reanalysis datasets (ERA5-Land and AgERA5) at the county level from 1986 to 2015 using several nonparametric approaches such as multiple modified Mann–Kendall statistical tests and Sen’s Slope estimator. Their interannual oscillations were also examined using continuous wavelet transform to portray a complete... 

The environmental impact of asbestos fibers on human health and their consequent safety-related problems indicate that there is a significant need to replace this material in all asbestos-containing products. Many different types of fibers have been introduced to replace asbestos fibers. In this study, the performance of silica nano-particles combined with waste paper pulp fibers (sulfite fibers) has been investigated. Different mechanical (compressive and flexural strengths and bending performance), durability (water absorption), physical (bulk density and flowability), and microstructural (scanning electron microscopy) tests were conducted to examine the properties of manufactured green... 

Modeling and analysis of information system vulnerabilities helps us to predict possible attacks to networks using the network configuration and vulnerabilities information. As a fact, exploiting most of vulnerabilities result in access rights alteration. In this paper, we propose a new vulnerability analysis method based on the Take-Grant protection model. We extend the initial Take-Grant model to address the notion of vulnerabilities and introduce the vulnerabilities rewriting rules to specify how the protection state of the system can be changed by exploiting vulnerabilities. Our analysis is based on a bounded polynomial algorithm, which generates the closure of the Take-Grant graph... 

We study the translocation of stiff polymers through a nanopore, driven by the chemical-potential gradient exerted by binding proteins (chaperones) on the trans side of the pore. Bound chaperones prevent backsliding through the pore and, therefore, partially rectify the polymer passage. We show that the sequence of chain monomers with different binding affinity for the chaperones significantly affects the translocation dynamics. In particular, we investigate the effect of the nearest-neighbor adjacency probability of the two monomer types. Depending on the magnitude of the involved binding energies, the translocation speed may either increase or decrease with the adjacency probability. We... 

Combining the advection-diffusion equation approach with Monte Carlo simulations we study chaperone driven polymer translocation of a stiff polymer through a nanopore. We demonstrate that the probability density function of first passage times across the pore depends solely on the Péclet number, a dimensionless parameter comparing drift strength and diffusivity. Moreover it is shown that the characteristic exponent in the power-law dependence of the translocation time on the chain length, a function of the chaperone-polymer binding energy, the chaperone concentration, and the chain length, is also effectively determined by the Péclet number. We investigate the effect of the chaperone size on... 

The amount of rippling in graphene sheets is related to the interactions with the substrate or with the suspending structure. Here, we report on an irreversibility in the response to forces that act on suspended graphene sheets. This may explain why one always observes a ripple structure on suspended graphene. We show that a compression-relaxation mechanism produces static ripples on graphene sheets and determine a peculiar temperature Tc, such that for T