Sharif Digital Repository

SnO2 is an important functional material having a wide range of applications in gas sensors and optoelectronic devices. There is a great interest for finding new cost-effective and straight-forward methods for production of these particles. In this research, hydrogel thermal decomposition method (HTDM) is used for production of high purity SnO2 nano-particles. Cost effective reactants and green routs of production are the advantages of polysaccharide based hydrogel as starting material for this method. Visual observations indicated that there is very little tendency for agglomeration in the SnO2 nano-particles produced by this method which can be considered as an advantage for this method... 

In this study, effect of MAPE (maleic anhydride polyethylene) as the compatibilizer on the mechanical properties of wood-flour polyethylene composites has been investigated by using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). Composites were made at 25% and 50% by weight fiber contents and 1% and 2% compatibilizer respectively. Controls were also made at the same fiber contents without the compatibilizer. Static mechanical tests including tensile and bending tests were performed. Temperature scans in the range of- 110 to +100°C was also conducted. Results indicated improvements in the mechanical properties due to the compatibilizer addition. Storage modulus values were higher in the case of coupled... 

Hot isotherm compression tests were performed in temperature range of 350-500 °C and at strain rates of 0.0005 to 0.5 s-1 for Al6061 alloy reinforced with alumina nanoparticles. Effect of deformation parameters and optimal conditions for hot working this nanocomposite were comprehended thoroughly via hot working data analyses, electron microscopy images, and X-ray diffractograms. The results indicated the severity of hot deformation process and an increase in the activation energy to 320 kJ/mol due to the addition of nanoparticles. Dynamic recovery (DRV) was considered as the individual determinative softening mechanism during hot deformation of this nanocomposite, and no sign of dynamic... 

Few fuzzy temporal logics and modeling formalisms are developed such that their model checking is both effective and efficient. State-space explosion makes model checking of fuzzy temporal logics inefficient. That is because either the modeling formalism itself is not compact, or the verification approach requires an exponentially larger yet intermediate representation of the modeling formalism. To exemplify, Fuzzy Program Graph (FzPG) is a very compact, and powerful formalism to model fuzzy systems; yet, it is required to be translated into an equal Fuzzy Kripke model with an exponential blow-up should it be formally verified. In this paper, we introduce Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic (FzCTL)... 

Few fuzzy temporal logics and modeling formalisms are developed such that their model checking is both effective and efficient. State-space explosion makes model checking of fuzzy temporal logics inefficient. That is because either the modeling formalism itself is not compact, or the verification approach requires an exponentially larger yet intermediate representation of the modeling formalism. To exemplify, Fuzzy Program Graph (FzPG) is a very compact, and powerful formalism to model fuzzy systems; yet, it is required to be translated into an equal Fuzzy Kripke model with an exponential blow-up should it be formally verified. In this paper, we introduce Fuzzy Computation Tree Logic (FzCTL)... 

Aluminum metal-matrix nanocomposites (AMMNCs) fabricated by conventional stir-casting process usually show high porosity and poor distribution of nanoparticles within the matrix. In the current study, for the improvement of nanoparticles distribution in the aluminum matrix and enhancement of the mechanical properties, a mixture of Al/nano-Al2O3 powders were injected by pure argon gas into the molten 7075 aluminum alloy and this mixture was extruded at high temperature. Mechanical behavior of the final product was investigated by tensile and compression tests, hardness measurements, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and Optical... 

Aluminum metal-matrix nanocomposites (AMMNCs) fabricated by conventional stir-casting process usually show high porosity and poor distribution of nanoparticles within the matrix. In the current study, for the improvement of nanoparticles distribution in the aluminum matrix and enhancement of the mechanical properties, a mixture of Al/nano-Al2O3 powders were injected by pure argon gas into the molten 7075 aluminum alloy and this mixture was extruded at high temperature. Mechanical behavior of the final product was investigated by tensile and compression tests, hardness measurements, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) and Optical... 

We propose a roll-forward error recovery technique based on multiple scan chains for TMR systems, called Scan chained TMR (ScTMR). ScTMR reuses the scan chain flip-flops employed for testability purposes to restore the correct state of a TMR system in the presence of transient or permanent errors. In the proposed ScTMR technique, we present a voter circuitry to locate the faulty module and a controller circuitry to restore the system to the fault-free state. As a case study, we have implemented the proposed ScTMR technique on an embedded processor, suited for safety-critical applications. Exhaustive fault injection experiments reveal that the proposed architecture has the error detection and... 

Responsive multifunctional nanotheranostic carrier are promising for effective and precise imaging-guided therapy of cancer. In this study, we have aimed to design a nanocarrier that not only with its high performance can deliver nanogram amounts of therapeutic agents to the target cell, but also improve tracking and imaging. To achieve this purpose, a near-infrared (NIR)-triggered and redox-responsive nanocarrier was prepared for co-delivery of Hesperidin, a small hydrophobic molecule, and Bicelin, a DNA-based drug, into cancer cells. This nanocarrier comprising magnetic-functionalized nanoparticles, modified polyethyleneimine (PEI, 1.8 kDa), disulfide groups as a linkage, Au nanoparticle,... 

One of the factors that has hindered the commercialization of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) has been the high cost per kW from the high cost of platinum catalyst. Hence it is important to optimize the use of the platinum catalyst. In many previous PEMFC models, the catalyst distribution in Cathode Catalyst Layer (CCL) was assumed to be uniform, and there are very few models in which the variation of catalyst loading across the CCL is taken into account. This paper aims to enhance PEMFC power density by optimally distributing the catalyst used in CCL employing a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation in conjunction with agglomerate model of the CCL. First, a numerical... 

The present study provides an inverse solution and analysis on a new approach for Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) process as block method in EIT. In this method, it is assumed that all of the panicles of each block have the same electrical properties (electrical conductivities). This technique is used to enhance image resolution and also to improve reconstruction algorithm. Although this method has been developed for 3D objects, in this study it is assumed that the subject has a (two-dimensional) rectangular shape and is made of fixed size blocks. By considering the previous conditions and computing relationship among currents, voltages and electrical impedances of blocks, the required... 

In order to evaluate the dynamic behavior of floating offshore wind turbines, the authors consider two approaches. A numerical method is used to investigate Tension Leg Platform (TLP) offshore wind turbine response behavior under a parked condition. This code considers nonlinearities due to changes in the tension of tethers. The off-diagonal components of stiffness, damping and mass matrices are considered to calculate coupling. This code solves the nonlinear equation of motion at each time step. However, in order to validate the data generated by the code, a scaled-down model was fully tested in the marine laboratory. The importance of these series of experiments is due to the fact that... 

This article reports the experimental and theoretical results for a spark ignition engine working with compressed natural gas as a fuel. The theoretical part of this work uses a zero-dimensional, multi-zone combustion model in order to predict nitric oxide (NO) emission in a spark ignition (SI) engine. The basic concept of the model is the division of the burned gas into several distinct zones for taking into account the temperature stratification of the burned mixture during combustion. This is especially important for accurate NO emissions predictions, since NO formation is strongly temperature dependent. During combustion, 12 products are obtained by chemical equilibrium via Gibbs energy... 

The molecular Hamiltonian of polyatomic molecules has been obtained. A general choice of internal coordinates depending on external parameters was considered. The rovibrational Hamiltonian for this set of coordinate system was derived in general terms as a function of the external parameters a and b. This procedure is also applicable to various kinds of internal coordinates in a straightforward way. The rovibrational Hamiltonian of triatomic molecules is considered as an application of this general formulation. In addition, orthogonal Radau coordinates are considered as cases of this new approach  

This paper deals with simulation of transport phenomena in micro and nano pores. The number of cavities and the cavity radius were estimated by using Henry's law for adsorption of Argon onto ZSM-5 and NaX zeolites. This work showed both of zeolites have pores with average size less than 1 nm. Then with using micro- nano channel assumption instead of micro-nano pores, gas flow and heat transfer were investigated. Subsonic nonideal gas flow and heat transfer for different Knudsen number are investigated numerically using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method modified with a consistent Boltzamnn algorithm. The collision rate is also modified based on the Enskog theory for dense gas. It is... 

Abstract: Although the band-gap in pure graphene is zero, the oxygenated graphene could have a considerable band-gap. The D/G peak intensity ratio is known as a measure of the size of sp3∕sp2 domains in graphene oxide (GO) sheets and determines the band-gap in GO sheets. Characterization results showed that the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of GO suspensions has a peak at ~604 nm and also the I(D)/I(G) intensity ratio of GO suspensions is 1.73. After reduction, a redshift appeared at PL spectrum (at 650 nm) and the I(D)/I(G) intensity ratio decrease to 1.26. Our results showed that the band-gap in GO is related to the I(D)/I(G) intensity ratio of GO suspensions and offers a mechanism for... 

By technology down scaling in nowadays digital circuits, their sensitivity to radiation effects increases, making the occurrence of soft errors more probable. As a consequence, soft error rate estimation of complex circuits such as processors is becoming an important issue in safety- and mission-critical applications. Fault injection is a well-known and widely used approach for soft error rate estimation. Development of previous FPGA-based fault injection techniques is very time consuming mainly because they do not adequately exploit supplementary FPGA tools. This paper proposes an easy-to-develop and flexible FPGA-based fault injection technique. This technique utilizes debugging facilities... 

In this paper, we present a scan-chain-based multiple error recovery technique for triple modular redundancy (TMR) systems (SMERTMR). The proposed technique reuses scan-chain flip-flops fabricated for testability purposes to detect and correct faulty modules in the presence of single or multiple transient faults. In the proposed technique, the manifested errors are detected at the modules' outputs, while the latent faults are detected by comparing the internal states of the TMR modules. Upon detection of any mismatch, the faulty modules are located and the state of a fault-free module is copied into the faulty modules. In case of detecting a permanent fault, the system is degraded to a... 

Background: Many studies have been conducted on the changes in the balance capabilities of stroke patients. However, results regarding the effects of dual-task activities on postural control in these patients have been variable. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a short-term memory task on the sway characteristics of stroke patients. Method: Center of pressure (COP) fluctuations were measured in three levels of postural difficulty (rigid surface with closed and open eyes and foamsurface with closed eyes), aswell as two levels of cognitive difficulty (easy and difficult). COP parameters included mean velocity, standard deviation of velocity in both medial-lateral (M.L) and... 

The optimization of leaching parameters for the Ni recovery of the used catalyst was developed using response surface methodology. The relationship between the Ni recoveries, and four main leaching parameters, temperature, acid concentration, leaching time and particle size were presented as empirical model equations. The predicted values of nickel recoveries were found to be in a reasonable agreement with the experimental values, with R2 as correlation factor being 0.9669 and 0.9869 for sulfuric and nitric acids, respectively. The model equations were then optimized using the quadratic programming method to maximize nickel recovery. The optimum conditions were found to be 103.4°C...