Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, the fully developed electroosmotic flow of power-law fluids in rectangular microchannels in the presence of pressure gradient is analyzed. The electrical potential and momentum equations are numerically solved through a finite difference procedure for a non-uniform grid. A complete parametric study reveals that the pressure effects are more pronounced at higher values of the channel aspect ratio and smaller values of the flow behavior index. The Poiseuille number is found to be an increasing function of the channel aspect ratio for pressure assisted flow and a decreasing function of this parameter for pressure opposed flow. It is also observed that the Poiseuille number is... 

In the present study, the thermal characteristics of electroosmotic flow of power-law fluids in rectangular microchannels in the presence of pressure gradient are investigated. The governing equations for fully developed flow under H1 thermal boundary conditions are first made dimensionless and subsequently solved through a finite difference procedure for a non-uniform grid. The influence of the major parameters on thermal features of the flow such as the temperature distribution and Nusselt number is discussed by a complete parametric study. The results reveal that the channel aspect ratio and the non-Newtonian characteristic of the fluid can affect the thermal behavior of the flow. It is... 

Electroosmosis is the predominant mechanism for flow generation in lab-on-chip devices. Since most biofluids encountered in these devices are considered to be non-Newtonian, it is vital to study the flow characteristics of common non-Newtonian models under electroosmotic body force. In this paper, the hydrodynamically fully developed electroosmotic flow of power-law fluids in rectangular microchannels is analyzed. The electrical potential and momentum equations are numerically solved through a finite difference procedure for a non-uniform grid. A thoroughgoing parametric study reveals that the Poiseuille number is an increasing function of the channel aspect ratio, the zeta potential, the... 

Following the approach of the induced-matter theory, we investigate the cosmological implications of a five-dimensional Brans-Dicke (BD) theory, and propose to explain the acceleration of the universe. After inducing in a four-dimensional hypersurface, we classify the energy-momentum tensor into two parts in a way that, one part represents all kind of the matter (the baryonic and dark) and the other one contains every extra terms emerging from the scale factor of the fifth dimension and the scalar field, which we consider as the energy-momentum tensor of dark energy. We also separate the energy-momentum conservation equation into two conservation equations, one for matter and the other for... 

Energy developments plays a crucial role in the political power, economic growth, social development and environmental degradation of developing countries. Energy consumption in residential sector is an essential issue for providing a large variety of services that are necessary for social life tasks such as heating, cooling, and lighting. Therefore, there is a need for depiction of energy outlook and selection of appropriate strategies as the main pillars of economic and political stability in each society. The main objective of this research is to design and apply a methodology that helps decision makers for simulation, optimization and analysis of the residential sector energy system. The... 

The algebraic multigrid (AMG) algorithm as a preconditioner to the Krylov subspace methods has drawn the attention of many researchers in solving fluid flow and heat transfer problems. However, the efficient employment of this solver needs experience, because users have to quantify several important parameters. In this work, we choose a hybrid finite-volume element method and quantify the optimum magnitudes for those parameters. To generalize our results, two sets of fluid flow governing equations, the thermobuoyant flow and confined diffusion flame, are studied and the optimum values are determined. The results indicate that the AMG can be very effective if a proper storage method is chosen... 

In this study, a hybrid stochastic model (BScA model) using Bayesian approach and scenario analysis to forecast long term energy demand is developed. The main objective of this study is to design and develop a model for energy analysis in demand side and describe the energy saving and GHG reduction potential on the other. For this, total energy demand is selected as the response variable and primary energy production, population, GDP and natural gas and gasoline prices are chosen as covariates. Also, Political drivers, economic drivers, social-environmental and technological drivers are the key driving forces for scenario development. After interview and ranking the drivers, we have built... 

Study on the potential abilities of the proportional-integral-weighted (PIw) controllers, as a recently proposed generalization for proportional-integral (PI) controllers, can be useful for improving the performance of traditional control systems. In this paper, adaptive PI and adaptive PIw controllers are designed to be used in control of a special class of nonlinear uncertain systems based on the Lyapanuv stability theorem. The effectiveness of the proposed controllers is illustrated by applying the proposed schemes to a Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor (CSTR) system with an unknown parameter. Simulation results indicate that using adaptive PIw controllers, in comparison to using the... 

The rise of the damage to energy systems caused by both natural and man-made disruptive events and the connection between energy systems and socio-economic systems have motivated the study of energy system resilience. This paper conceptualizes and comprehensively presents a systematic review of the recent literature focused on the analytical, technical, and mathematical points from the standpoint of the energy systems facing disruptive events. To this end, five phases are developed. Firstly, the concept of the energy system resilience is presented, and then the energy resilience characters and the resilience states are introduced and connected. Thirdly, the formulation and indicators of the... 

The rise of the damage to energy systems caused by both natural and man-made disruptive events and the connection between energy systems and socio-economic systems have motivated the study of energy system resilience. This paper conceptualizes and comprehensively presents a systematic review of the recent literature focused on the analytical, technical, and mathematical points from the standpoint of the energy systems facing disruptive events. To this end, five phases are developed. Firstly, the concept of the energy system resilience is presented, and then the energy resilience characters and the resilience states are introduced and connected. Thirdly, the formulation and indicators of the... 

Steel-plate composite (SC) walls can be connected to a concrete basemat using a base plate and a set of anchors eccentric to the wall. The base plate can be separated into two parts so that the concrete of the wall and basemat is cohesive, and thus, the wall can be manufactured more easily and economically. Additionally, compression and shear demand are directly transferred from infill concrete to concrete basemat. Another change in the base plate connection of available tested walls involves transferring anchors to the bottom of faceplates. As a result of this modification, the base plate is removed from the force transmission chain, and the force is transferred directly from the wall to... 

In this paper, we have proposed a dual-channel supply chain model in uncertain environment to analyze the demand of manufacturer and retailer demand in which the profit being maximized. Linguistic terms are also utilized to establish two fuzzy systems for estimating the demand in direct and retail channels. In order to do that, a mathematical model is proposed based on decentralized situation of supply chain. To solve the model, we have developed a hybrid solution method of genetic algorithm, fuzzy system, and L-P metric. Finally, several test problems are first generated; then, the computational results are analyzed. © 2017 World Scientific Publishing Company  

In this study, we present a vast boundary condition treatment to simulate gas flow through microfilters using direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. We examine the effects of different boundary condition treatments on the density, pressure, and velocity distributions and suggest the best conditions to simulate gas flow through microfilters. We also refine the effects of upstream and downstream locations on the solution. The results show that uniform distributions can be achieved if we apply the inlet/outlet boundary condition at appropriate upstream and downstream distances. We also show that all the suggested boundary conditions suitably predict the pressure drop coefficient factor... 

Energy is one of the most important social and economic infrastructures and human life is strongly depends on it. In recent years, the occurrence of natural disasters such as drought as a high-impact low-probability event is undeniable. So, energy planning in the disruption situation is necessary in order to anticipate and maintain the performance of the energy system in optimal condition. This paper focuses on developing a hybrid long-term framework for evaluating the energy system resilience based on sustainability concept against drought. The model bridges the gap between long-term energy system planning in macro level and short-term switching operations or micro level modeling approach... 

Energy is one of the most important social and economic infrastructures and human life is strongly depends on it. In recent years, the occurrence of natural disasters such as drought as a high-impact low-probability event is undeniable. So, energy planning in the disruption situation is necessary in order to anticipate and maintain the performance of the energy system in optimal condition. This paper focuses on developing a hybrid long-term framework for evaluating the energy system resilience based on sustainability concept against drought. The model bridges the gap between long-term energy system planning in macro level and short-term switching operations or micro level modeling approach... 

Mixed matrix membranes of synthesized polyurethane (PU) based on toluene diisocyanate (TDI), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG) with polyvinyl alcohol based polar silica particles were prepared by solution casting technique. The homogeneity and thermal properties of the prepared PDMS-PU/silica membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The SEM micrographs confirmed the distribution of silica particles in the polymer matrix without agglomerations. Gas permeation properties of membranes with different silica contents were studied for pure CO2, CH4, O2, He... 

The microstructure evaluation and phase transformation of multi-pass friction stir-processed (FSP) commercially pure titanium were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with a backscatter detector, and electron backscatter diffractometer. The microstructure characterization shows that the grain refinement mechanism changed with the increasing number of passes. The equiaxed α grains in the untreated sample changed to lath-shaped grains surrounded by serrated grain boundaries, and produced Widmanstätten morphology during the cooling cycle of FSP. The higher micro-hardness values and bio-corrosion resistances of the FSP-treated samples are due to their... 

Hydrogel-based wearable electrochemical biosensors (HWEBs) are emerging biomedical devices that have recently received immense interest. The exceptional properties of HWEBs include excellent biocompatibility with hydrophilic nature, high porosity, tailorable permeability, the capability of reliable and accurate detection of disease biomarkers, suitable device–human interface, facile adjustability, and stimuli responsive to the nanofiller materials. Although the biomimetic three-dimensional hydrogels can immobilize bioreceptors, such as enzymes and aptamers, without any loss in their activities. However, most HWEBs suffer from low mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. Many studies... 

The creep behaviour of adhesively bonded joints is one of the major concerns in modern industry due to their application at relatively high temperature. In this re-search, the effect of added RGO on the creep behaviour of the Araldite 2011 adhesive is investigated. Uni-axial creep tests have been carried out on neat Araldite 2011 and RGO added adhesive at different stress and temperature levels. It has been shown that adhesive with RGO particles demonstrate higher creep resistance. Also, general time hardening models are developed for both materials and their constitutive coefficients have been determined using creep test data. Based on these models, the creep behavior of single lap joints... 

The use of multi-element airfoils has been known as a major approach to boost up the lift of wing without dramatic increase in its drag. In fact, the configuration helps to reduce the chance of flow separation over the airfoil. However, the use of a complicated geometry such as multi-element airfoil would normally cause complexity in flow behavior. The experience has shown that the flow field complexities cannot be properly modeled using standard two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model. Therefore, it is important to improve the accuracy of general turbulence models in specific applications and complex computational domains. In this work, we extend a suitable objective function based on...