Sharif Digital Repository

Solar pond is a type of solar collector that stores solar energy in the form of heat. The solar pond can be used as a low-temperature heat source for electricity generation. In this paper, to find the most suitable power cycle for power generation from the solar pond, the performance of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), Trilateral Flash Cycle (TFC) and their modified forms with an open feed liquid heater and an internal heat exchanger for different working fluids was investigated. Water was considered as the heat transfer fluid which transfers the stored heat from the solar pond to the working fluid of the cycle. The results indicate that in all cases, the energy and exergy efficiency of the... 

The present study compared different approaches to assessing the environmental cost-effectiveness of energy policy scenarios. As a case study, the megacity of Tehran in Iran was studied. A key policy challenge in this city is to curb high concentrations of PM2.5 and mitigate the associated adverse impacts. The results demonstrated that in the business as usual case, the spatially averaged primary and secondary PM2.5 concentration in Tehran will increase by 30% in the 2010–2030 period. Adopting certain planned policy scenarios and the corresponding pollutant concentration reductions in Tehran shows that although most of the emission comes from industrial activities around the city, the... 

Welding is an important manufacturing process that can be automated and optimized. This paper focuses on the development of a robotic arc welding system, wherein a three-degree-of-freedom Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) is interfaced to a Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process. The entire system is composed of a robot linked to a GMAW system. Set points are derived using the desired mass and heat input, along with the weld speed. The stick-out and the current of the welding process are controlled using an Adaptive Neural Network Controller (ANNC). The trajectory of the robot or the weld profile is also controlled by implementing a Mixed Fuzzy-GA Controller (MFGAC) on a... 

In this study, we perform numerical simulations to investigate the thermal and flow characteristics of a parabolic trough solar collector equipped with a porous receiver tube and internal longitudinal fins. The heat transfer medium is a synthetic oil-Cu-Al2O3 hybrid nanofluid. We examine the thermal characteristics of the nanofluid in response to variations in several system parameters. We find that at Reynolds numbers between 5 × 103 and 5 × 105, increasing the volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles can increase the temperature gain at the exit of the receiver tube by 6.4%. Furthermore, the temperature gradient in the cross-section of the collector increases as the direct normal solar... 

A key direction toward enhancing the long term and outdoor stability of the perovskite solar cells is encapsulation. As a result, a suitable encapsulation package is required to prevent moisture and oxygen penetration toward the perovskite solar cells. In this work, a low-cost commercially available bilayer structure of poly (methyl methacrylate)/ room-temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber (RTV) encapsulation package for enhancing the long term stability of the perovskite solar cells has been investigated. Encapsulated cells retained more than 80% of the initial efficiency at the environmental condition of 50% moisture, and room temperature after 1000 h, however reference cell efficiency... 

During the low salinity waterflooding (LSWF) of a viscous asphaltic oil reservoir, fluid-fluid interactions have a large influence on the fluid flow, pore-scale events, and thus oil recovery efficiency and behavior. In-situ water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion formation is a consequence of crude oil and brine interfacial activities. Despite the published studies, the pore-scale mechanisms of W/O emulsion formation and the role of injected brine salinity, injection rate, and pore-scale heterogeneity on emulsion formation and stability requires a deeper understanding. To address these, a series of static and dynamic micro-scale experiments were performed. The salinity dependent oil-brine interactions... 

A study of the wheel and rail wear phenomenon can provide a chance for the optimal use of wheel profile, which results in cost efficiency, dynamic stability, travel comfort, and safety to prevent the derailment, especially in curves. In this paper, the experimental data are recorded based on the field measurements for worn wheels of a passenger wagon in the "Southern line" of Iran's railway system and are combined with the dynamic simulations to study the effects of severe wheel flange wear on the dynamics of wagon. The results show that the amount of wheel wear (especially the wheel flange) directly impacts the dynamic behavior of the wagon in curves. In addition, based on the history of... 

A study of the wheel and rail wear phenomenon can provide a chance for the optimal use of wheel profile, which results in cost efficiency, dynamic stability, travel comfort, and safety to prevent the derailment, especially in curves. In this paper, the experimental data are recorded based on the field measurements for worn wheels of a passenger wagon in the "Southern line" of Iran's railway system and are combined with the dynamic simulations to study the effects of severe wheel flange wear on the dynamics of wagon. The results show that the amount of wheel wear (especially the wheel flange) directly impacts the dynamic behavior of the wagon in curves. In addition, based on the history of... 

In this work, a three-dimensional numerical model is developed to investigate the performance of a photovoltaic thermal system integrated with a thermoelectric generator module (PVT/TE). Furthermore, the effects of various operating parameters such as solar radiation, coolant mass flow rate, and inlet and ambient temperatures on the performance of both the PVT and PVT/TE systems are investigated and compared. Based on the obtained results, the electrical efficiency of the PVT/TE system, when exposed to solar radiation of 600 and 1000 W/m2, is 6.23% and 10.41% higher than that of the PVT system, respectively. Besides, the electrical efficiency of the PVT and PVT/TE by increasing the inlet... 

Extraction of thermal heat from a salinity-gradient solar pond (SGSP) as a way of accumulating solar energy, stockpiling and taking merit of it for medium and low temperature demands is presented as an interesting topic in recent decades. This reliable supply of heat can be used for low-temperature refrigeration systems to yield cooling load for residential applications. For this purpose, theoretical investigation of ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC) driven by a SGSP is carried out to produce cooling output. Also, thermoelectric generator (TEG) is used as a potential device replacing condenser of the ERC for the sake of bolstering performance of the fundamental system by producing power,... 

This paper focuses on multi-objective optimisation (MOO) to optimise the planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks performance using a genetic algorithm. MOO problem does not have a single solution, but a complete Pareto curve, which involves the optional representation of possible compromise solutions. Here, two pairs of different objectives are considered as distinguished strategies. Optimisation of the first strategy predicts a maximum power output of 108.33 kW at a breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.51 $/kWh and minimum breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.30 $/kWh at a power of 42.18 kW. In the second strategy, maximum efficiency of 63.93%at a breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.42... 

Drying is a common practice for delaying deterioration, preserving quality, and easier prolonged storage of agricultural products. According to the climatic and geographical conditions of Arsanjan County, Fars, Iran. So far, many studies have been conducted on the design and use of various barriers on absorber plates with the aim of increasing heat exchange and subsequently increasing the efficiency of air heaters and solar dryers. However, the effect of using the metal of the sewing machine bobbin on the performance of these dryers has not been studied yet. Therefore, in this study, for the first time, this metal and also pipes containing PCM (phase change material) were used as a barrier... 

Functionalized magnetic core-zeolitic shell nanocomposites were prepared via hydrothermal and precipitation methods. The products were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The growth of mordenite nanocrystals on the outer surface of silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles at the presence of organic templates was well approved. The removal performance and the selectivity of mixed metal ions (Pb2+ and Cd2+) in aqueous solution were investigated via the sorption process. The batch method was employed to study the sorption kinetic,... 

In this study, degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated hydrocarbon, using starch supported Fe/Ni nanoparticles was investigated. The scanning electron microscope images showed applying water soluble starch as a stabilizer for the Fe/Ni nanoparticles tended to reduce agglomeration and discrete particle. Also the mean particle diameter reduced from about 70 nm (unsupported Fe/Ni nanoparticle) to about 30 nm. Effects of three key independent operating parameters including initial TCE concentration (10.0-300.0 mg L-1), initial pH (4.00-10.00) and Fe0 dosage (0.10-2.00) g L-1 on TCE dechlorination efficiency in 1 hour were analysed by employing response surface methodology (RSM).... 

In this study, the prospects of energy efficiency potential, clean development mechanism (CDM) and carbon income up to and beyond 2012 are investigated in the petrochemical industries of Iran as a major oil-producing country. This paper is to address four questions of: (1) the GHGs emission in Iranian petrochemical complexes, (2) the most energy-consuming processes, (3) units with the highest energy efficiency potentials and (4) potentials of CDM or similar carbon projects based on post-2012 scenarios. The petrochemical processes are investigated in two categories of non-polymeric and polymeric productions. Based on capital expenditure, economic saving, simple payback period, CO2 equivalent... 

One of the key parts of perovskite solar cells which has great influence on their performance and stability is hole transporting layer. Spiro-OMeTAD is extensively used as organic hole transporting material in perovskite solar cells. However, Spiro-OMeTAD is expensive and has low chemical stability. In this study, the solution processed Sb2S3 and Cu3SbS4 nanocrystals have been synthesized and then the n-i-p mesoscopic perovskite solar cells have been fabricated using Spiro-OMeTAD, Sb2S3 and Cu3SbS4 nanocrystals as hole transporting layer at ambient air condition. It is shown that the conduction and valence band levels of the synthesized Sb2S3 and Cu3SbS4 nanocrystals are in the proper... 

Engines that extract energy from low-grade heat sources, e.g., from other processes, have received considerable attention recently. The use of Fluidyne, which is a liquid piston Stirling engine, is quite popular. Herein, we explore the use of liquid-to-vapor phase change in a Fluidyne. This provides two considerable differentiators; (1) exploitation of very low temperature difference ΔT≈30 K, and (2) relatively low temperature ΔT≈330 K heat sources, for producing mechanical work, and thus electrical energy. The influence of three operating parameters, i.e., input heat flux, working fluid, and filling ratio, on the performance of the engine was characterized. Their optimum values, which yield... 

This study investigated the removal of triethylamine using a biotrickling filter. The influence of affecting parameters, such as height and recirculation liquid rate (VL) on contaminant removal efficiency, was examined in detail. The results demonstrated that in the constant empty bed residence time (EBRT), when VL was increased, the removal efficiency (RE) increased. Also, for a specific VL, increasing EBRT could also increase RE values. However, it seems that an increasing VL is a more cost-effective way to enhance RE as compared to an increasing EBRT. The obtained outcomes represented that for a constant EBRT, an increase in inlet loading (IL) could decrease RE. For lower ILs, the removal... 

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) systems, which are based on motor imagery, enable humans to command artificial peripherals by merely thinking about the task. There is a tremendous interest in implementing BCIs on portable platforms, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAS) due to their low-cost, low-power and portability characteristics. This article presents the design and implementation of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system based on motor imagery on a Virtex-6 FPGA. In order to design an accurate algorithm, the proposed method avails statistical learning methods such as Mutual Information (MI), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). It also uses... 

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) systems, which are based on motor imagery, enable humans to command artificial peripherals by merely thinking about the task. There is a tremendous interest in implementing BCIs on portable platforms, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAS) due to their low-cost, low-power and portability characteristics. This article presents the design and implementation of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system based on motor imagery on a Virtex-6 FPGA. In order to design an accurate algorithm, the proposed method avails statistical learning methods such as Mutual Information (MI), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). It also uses...