Sharif Digital Repository

In this study, an automotive air conditioning system is simulated by considering HFO-1234yf (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene) as the drop-in replacement of HFC-134a. The simulated air conditioning system consists of a multi-louvered fin and flat-plate type evaporator, a wobble-plate type compressor, a mini-channel parallel-flow type condenser and a thermostatic expansion valve. The thermodynamic properties of the refrigerants are extracted from the REFPROP 8.0 software, and a computer program is simulated for the thermodynamic analysis. Two different conditions have been considered in this program for the cycle analysis: for the first state, the cooling capacity is taken as constant, and for the... 

This paper describes the construction of a silver-based LSPR biosensor for endotoxin detection. We used GLAD method to procure reproducible silver nanocolumns. In this work, the silver nanostructures were considerably stabilized by a SAM of MPA, and the limit of detection of biosensor was measured to be 340 pg/ml for endotoxin E. coli. Considering endotoxin B. abortus as the second type of endotoxin contamination in our target samples (HBs-ag produced in Institute Pasteur, Iran), we investigated selectivity of the biosensor in various experiments. We showed that this biosensor can selectively detect both types of endotoxins compared to other biological species. Overall, this study proposes... 

In this paper, the neutron noise based on transport theory and diffusion noise theory using Green's function technique is calculated. As the neutron noise is used for core diagnostic, surveillance and monitoring, calculation of neutron noise precisely can play an important role in monitoring and safety. We compare the accuracy of Green's function based on transport and diffusion theory in order to survey the differences between these theories. In this study some deviation between results obtained two theories are observed, and the impact of dimensions, cross sections and frequency on the results investigated. © 2017  

This paper presents an experimental study on prediction of the early-age creep and shrinkage of concrete with and without silica fumes, trass, ground-granulated blast-furnace slag, combinations thereof, and influences of the proposed Iranian pozzolans. Experiments were carried out under a controlled ambient condition at a temperature of 40° C and a relative humidity (RH) of 50%, and a laboratory ambient condition at a temperature of 20° C and a relative humidity (RH) of 30% in order to collect the required data. Comparisons are made between ACI209-92, BS8110-1986 and CEB1970 prediction models, and an estimation model, based on 28-day results (short-term test method), using the same... 

This paper aims to propose an approach based on NSGA-II for solving multi-objective non-linear fixed charge transportation problem with multiple modes of transport in crisp and interval environments. Certain modifications need to be made in the existing NSGA-II configuration to calculate the crowding distance of a solution in the interval environment. Besides, a crossover and a mutation scheme suitable for multiple modes of transportation are developed. In the end, a set of test problems are solved in both environments and some comparative studies are performed restricting the problem to only one mode of transport at a time. Finally, the results of the proposed algorithm are compared with... 

Friction stir processing (FSP) can be used to improve surface composites. In this study, a modified method of FSP called friction stir vibration processing (FSVP) was applied to develop a surface composite on AZ91 magnesium alloy. In this technique, the workpiece is vibrated normal to the processing direction. The results illustrated that compared with the FSP method, the FSVP caused a better homogeneous distribution of SiC particles in the microstructure. The results also showed that matrix grains of friction stir vibration processed (FSV-processed) samples ((26.43 ± 2.00) µm) were finer than those of friction stir processed (FS-processed) specimens ((39.43 ± 2.00) µm). The results... 

In this paper, a new sensitivity-based model updating method is presented based on the changes of principal components (PCs) of frequency response function (FRF). Structural damage estimation, identification of damage location and severity, is conducted by an innovative sensitivity relation. The sensitivity relation is derived by incorporating PC analysis (PCA) data obtained from the incomplete measured structural responses in a mathematical formulation and is then solved by the least square method. In order to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, it is applied to a truss and a frame model. The results prove the ability of the method as a robust damage detection algorithm in... 

In this paper, a new adaptive steganographic scheme based on contourlet transform is presented that provides large embedding capacity. In this method, embedding is done in contourlet transform domain. The contourlet coefficients with larger magnitude that correspond to the edges are selected for embedding. This selection is due to less sensitivity of human eyes to non-smooth regions. Each bit of secret data is embedded by exchanging the value of two coefficients in a 4×4 block of a contourlet subband. The proposed method is examined with two strong steganalysis algorithms and the results show that we could successfully embed data in a cover image with the capacity of 0.05 bits per pixel.... 

The accuracy of Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models to predict the behavior of two-dimensional (2-D) density current has been examined. In this work, a steady density current is simulated by the κ -ε , κ -ε RNG, two-layer κ -ε and modified v 2̄ - f models. All models are compared with available experimental data. Density current with uniform velocity and concentration enters a channel via a sluice gate into a lighter ambient fluid and moves forward down-slope. The eddy-viscosity concept cannot accurately simulate this flow because of two stress production structures in it. Results show that all isotropic models have a weak outcome for this current, but with improving the... 

Two new designs of wind towers were tested side by side with a conventional wind tower in the city of Yazd, Iran. All the towers were of identical dimensions. The two new designs were one with wetted column, consisting of wetted curtains hung in the tower column, and the other one with wetted surfaces, consisting of wetted evaporative cooling pads mounted at its entrance. The air temperature leaving the wind towers with evaporative cooling provisions were much lower than the air temperature leaving the conventional design, and its relative humidity much higher. The air-flow rate was reduced slightly in these new towers. It was found that the wind tower with wetted column performs better with... 

Background: Bone and Site Hold Tendon Inside (BASHTI) technique is an organic implant-less technique for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with some clinical advantages, such as speeding up the healing process, over implantable techniques. The study aims to compare the mechanical properties of BASHTI technique with the conventional interference screw technique. Methods: To investigate the mechanical properties, 20 in-vitro experimental tests were conducted. Synthetic dummy bone, along with fresh digital bovine tendons, as a graft, were used for experiments. Three loading steps were applied to all specimens, including a preconditioning, a main cyclic, and a pull-out loading.... 

From the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential antiviral properties of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) against SARS-CoV-2 suggested that these drugs could be the appropriate therapeutic candidates. However, their side effects directed clinical tests towards optimizing safe utilization strategies. The noble metal nanoparticles (NP) are promising materials with antiviral and antibacterial properties that can deliver the drug to the target agent, thereby reducing the side effects. In this work, we applied both the quantum mechanical and classical atomistic molecular dynamics approaches to demonstrate the adsorption properties of HCQ/CQ on Ag, Au, AgAu, and Pt... 

The present study aims to reliably quantify the seismic response parameters of steel diagrid structural systems. To this end, in addition to the conventional Static Pushover Analysis (SPA), Dynamic Pushover Analysis (DPA) based on Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) technique was taken into account. FEMA P-695 recommends a methodology for establishing Seismic Performance Factors (SPFs). The objective of the present study was to propose a simpler framework for estimating and validating SPFs while applying the concepts of FEMA P-695 guideline. The results showed that the R factors obtained through SPA procedure for steel diagrid systems were conservative and the IDAbased probabilistic method... 

In the present investigation, design of integrated numerical computing through Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation neural network (LMBNN) is presented to examine the fluid mechanics problems governing the dynamics of expanding and contracting cylinder for Cross magneto-nanofluid flow (ECCCMNF) model in the presence of time dependent non-uniform magnetic force and permeability of the cylinder. The original system model ECCCMNF in terms of PDEs is converted to nonlinear ODEs by introducing the similarity transformations. Reference dataset of the designed LMBNN methodology is formulated with Adam numerical technique for scenarios of ECCCMNF by variation of thermophoresis temperature ratio... 

TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 nanolayer thin films were synthesized using sol-gel method. Optical analysis revealed high transmittance of the films in the visible range with almost the same bandgap energy for the both systems. XPS technique shows stoichiometric formation of TiO2 and ZnO on the surface of TiO2/ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 layers, respectively. According to AFM observations and its data analysis, the TiO2/ZnO films exhibited a higher surface roughness and more effective interfaces with electrolyte during redox reactions. Based on photoelectrochemical measurements, TiO2/ZnO nanolayer photoanode possesses a lower charge transfer resistance and higher transient time for charge carriers (e- and h+)... 

Although the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using interference screw is a well-accepted surgical procedure, patients still suffer graft failure in the initial rehabilitation phase. Graft fixation stability of a newly designed anatomical hybrid thread tapered interference screw (AHTTIS) was compared with a conventional standard one (CSIS) by conducting in-vitro mechanical tests. According to the CSIS manufacturer's instruction, eight tapered bone tunnels, matching AHTTIS geometry, and eight straight cylindrical tunnels were drilled in artificial bone blocks. Bovine tendon grafts were fixed using AHTTIS and CSIS in their corresponding bone tunnels. Each graft was subjected to... 

The comparative study of Active Screen Plasma Nitriding (ASPN) treatment of two Finemet-type alloys with the compositions of Fe73.5Si 13.5B9Nb3Cu1 and Fe 77Si11B9Nb2.4Cu0.6 was investigated in different temperatures ranging from 410°C to 56°C. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-Ray Diffractometery (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), electrical resistivity, microhardness measurements and magnetic characterization by a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) were utilized to characterize the treated samples. The comparison of the DSC data for the alloys suggested that the smaller amount of Nb as a growth inhibitor shifted the crystallization... 

There are different thermodynamic models that have been applied for modelling of asphaltene precipitation caused by various reasons, such as solvent/CO2 injection and pressure depletion. In this work, two computer codes based on two different asphaltene precipitation thermodynamic models-the first being the thermodynamic micellization model with a different characterization approach and the second being the solid model-have been developed and used for predicting asphaltene precipitation data reported in the literature as well as in the obtained data for Sarvak reservoir crude, which is one of the most potentially problematic Iranian heavy oil reserves under gas injection conditions. For the... 

In this paper a finite volume (FV) numerical method is implemented to solve a Biot consolidation model with discontinuous coefficients. Our studies show that the FV scheme leads to a locally mass conservative approach which removes pressure oscillations especially along the interface between materials with different properties and yields higher accuracy for the flow and mechanics parameters. Then this numerical discretization is utilized to investigate different sequential strategies with various degrees of coupling including: iteratively, explicitly and loosely coupled methods. A comprehensive study is performed on the stability, accuracy and rate of convergence of all of these sequential...