Hydrodesulfurization unit for natural gas condensate

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Nowadays, most of the world’s energy consumption is from fossil fuels. One of these fossil fuels is natural gas condensate which consists of...     

Synthesis and design of polyurethane and its nanocomposites derived from canola-castor oil: Mechanical,thermal and shape memory properties

The recent global pandemic and its tremendous effect on the price fluctuations of crude oil illustrates the side effects of petroleum dependency more evident than ever. Over the past decades, both academic and industrial communities spared endless efforts in order to replace petroleum-based materials with bio-derived resources. In the current study, a series of shape memory polymer composites (SMPC's) was synthesized from epoxidized vegetable oils, namely canola oil and castor oil fatty acids (COFA's) as a 100% bio-based polyol and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) as an isocyanate using a solvent/catalyst-free method in order to eventuate polyurethanes (PU's). Thereafter, graphene oxide (GO) nanoplatelets were synthesized and embedded in the neat PU in order to overcome the thermomechanical drawbacks of the neat matrix. The chemical structure of the synthesized components, as well as the dispersion and distribution levels of the nanoparticles, was characterized. In the following, thermal and mechanical properties as well as shape memory behavior of the specimens were comprehensively investigated. Likewise, the thermal conductivity was determined. This study proves that synthesized PU's based on vegetable oil polyols, including graphene nanoparticles, exhibit proper thermal and mechanical properties, which make them stand as a potential candidate to compete with traditional petroleum-based SMPC's.     

Dielectrophoresis with 3D microelectrodes fabricated by surface tension assisted lithography

This paper demonstrates the utilization of 3D semispherical shaped microelectrodes for dielectrophoretic manipulation of yeast cells. The semispherical microelectrodes are capable of producing strong electric field gradients, and in turn dielectrophoretic forces across a large area of channel cross‐section. The semispherical shape of microelectrodes avoids the formation of undesired sharp electric fields along the structure and also minimizes the disturbance of the streamlines of nearby passing fluid. The advantage of semispherical microelectrodes over the planar microelectrodes is demonstrated in a series of numerical simulations and proof‐of‐concept experiments aimed toward immobilization of viable yeast cells.     

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of C.I. Basic Violet 2 using TiO2-SiO2 composite nanoparticles

In this report, TiO(2) -SiO(2) composite nanoparticles were prepared by the thermal hydrolysis method using titanium tetrachloride and tetraethylorthosilicate as TiO(2) and SiO(2) precursors, respectively. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), nitrogen adsorption/desorption and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The results indicated that, in comparison with pure TiO(2), TiO(2)-SiO(2) composite nanoparticles had a higher thermal stability, which prevents phase transformation from anatase to rutile. In addition, the TiO(2)-SiO(2) nanoparticles had a higher specific surface area, larger pore volume, greater band gap energy and smaller crystallite size. Thus, the surface area of TiO(2)-40% SiO(2) composite nanoparticles was about 17 times higher than that of pure TiO(2) nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of TiO(2)-SiO(2) composite nanoparticles in the photodegradation of C.I. Basic Violet 2 was investigated. The photodegradation rate of Basic Violet 2 using TiO(2)-40% SiO(2) nanoparticles calcined at 600°C was much faster than that using pure TiO(2) and Degussa P25 TiO(2) by 10.9 and 4.3 times, respectively. The higher photoactivity of the TiO(2)-SiO(2) composite nanoparticles was attributed to their higher surface area, larger pore volume, greater band-gap energy and smaller crystallite size compared with pure TiO(2).     

A Cutting Plane Algorithm for Linear Reverse Convex Programs

In this paper, global optimization of linear programs with an additional reverse convex constraint is considered. This type of problem arises in many applications such as engineering design, communications networks, and many management decision support systems with budget constraints and economies-of-scale. The main difficulty with this type of problem is the presence of the complicated reverse convex constraint, which destroys the convexity and possibly the connectivity of the feasible region, putting the problem in a class of difficult and mathematically intractable problems. We present a cutting plane method within the scope of a branch-and-bound scheme that efficiently partitions the polytope associated with the linear constraints and systematically fathoms these portions through the use of the bounds. An upper bound and a lower bound for the optimal value is found and improved at each iteration. The algorithm terminates when all the generated subdivisions have been fathomed.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and exergy loss in heat exchanger with air bubble injection technique

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The main aim of this study is to evaluate thermal performance and exergy analysis of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with a new technique called air...     

Dynamic manipulation of modes in an optical waveguide using dielectrophoresis

The emergence of optofluidics has brought a high degree of tuneability and reconfigurability to optical devices. These possibilities are provided by characteristics of fluids including mobility, wide range of index modulation, and abrupt interfaces that can be easily reshaped. In this work, we created a new class of optofluidic waveguides, in which suspended mesoparticles were employed to greatly enhance the flexibility of the system. We demonstrated tuneable quasi single mode waveguides using spatially controllable mesoparticles in optofluidics. The coupling of waveguiding modes into the assembly of mesoparticles produces strong interactions and resonant conditions, which promote the transitions of the waveguiding modes. The modal response of the system depends on the distribution of packed particles above the polymeric rib waveguide which can be readily controlled under the appropriate combination of dielectrophoresis and hydrodynamic forces.     

Performance evaluation of a U-shaped heat exchanger containing hybrid Cu/CNTs nanofluids: experimental data and modeling using regression and artificial neural network

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the current research, viscosity and thermal conductivity of hybrid Cu/CNTs water-based nanofluids were investigated at various concentrations of...     

Integral relations for rogue wave formations of Gardner equation

Nonlinear Dynamics - Rogue wave structures can often be described by a set of rational solutions. These can be derived for physical systems satisfying various well-known nonlinear equations. We...