Beneficial effects of yttrium on mechanical failure and chemical stability of the passive film in 6061 aluminum alloy

Recent studies demonstrated that oxygen-active elements such as yttrium improved the resistance of some alloys to wear and corrosive wear. In this work, the breakdown of passive film and chemical resistance of the passive film in Y-free and Y-containing 6061 aluminum alloy samples were studied. It was demonstrated that critical load that caused failure of the passive film on Y-containing specimens was higher than Y-free samples. Also, penetration depth showed that indentation resistances of Y-containing samples were less than Y-free samples. Polarization behavior of Y-containing samples was improved in contrast of Y-free samples in water and acid environments. Y-containing samples had more power to stabilize the oxide film and make it more inert to electron transfer. Results showed that there was an optimum yttrium addition for improving the properties of Al 6061. Results showed that the best percent of yttrium addition was between 1.5 and 4% and more than this the properties of alloy did not improved     

Tuning the polymer–graphene interfaces by picric acid molecules to improve the sensitivity of a prepared conductive polymer composite gas detector

Iranian Polymer Journal - A new structure of a polymer composite was designed to be used as a vapor sensor for detection of a set of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), namely ethanol, methanol,...     

Minimization of power losses in hybrid electric vehicles in view of the prolonging of battery life

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are becoming more popular than pure electric ones, nowadays. This is because of their better performance, economic advantages and higher operating range. However, their potential advantages extremely depend on their system design, most importantly their battery system design. Batteries’ life requirements as well as the cost of replacing them at the end of their life period, currently limit manufacturers to bring HEVs into play, even though their fuel economy reduces their everyday cost considerably. Generally, inappropriate discharge/charge patterns would result in loss in batteries’ life. In the present study, an optimization based control strategy has been proposed for the series HEVs in order to maximize the efficiency of the power-train while minimizing the loss. A genetic algorithm is implemented to optimally evaluate the control algorithm's parameters. The approach is then compared to two main control strategies, namely thermostatic control strategy and power follower control strategy. The computational procedure of the genetic algorithm is discussed, and a simulation study based on a model of a series hybrid electric vehicle is given to validate the genetic algorithm results.     

Effect of solution pH and adsorbent concentration on the sensing parameters of TGN‐based electrochemical sensor

The response of trilayer graphene nanoribbon (TGN)‐based ion‐sensitive field‐effect transistor (ISFET) to different pH solutions and adsorption effect on the sensing parameters are analytically studied in this research. The authors propose a TGN‐based sensor to electrochemically detect pH. To this end, absorption effect on the sensing area in the form of carrier concentration, carrier velocity, and conductance variations are investigated. Also, the caused electrical response on TGN as a detection element is analytically proposed, in which significant current decrease of the sensor is observed after exposure to high pH values. In order to verify the accuracy of the model, it is compared with recent reports on pH sensors. The TGN‐based pH sensor exposes higher current compared to that of carbon nanotube (CNT) counterpart for analogous ambient conditions. While, the comparative results demonstrate that the conductance of proposed model is lower than that of monolayer graphene‐counterpart for equivalent pH values. The results confirm that the conductance of the sensor is decreased and V_g‐min is obviously right‐shifted by increasing value of pH. The authors demonstrate that although there is not the experimental evidence reported in the part of literature for TGN sensor, but the model can assist in comprehending experiments involving nanoscale pH sensors.Inspec keywords: adsorption, graphene, ion sensitive field effect transistors, nanoribbons, electrochemical sensors, pH measurement, nanosensors, absorptionOther keywords: adsorbent concentration, TGN‐based electrochemical sensor, trilayer graphene nanoribbon‐based ion‐sensitive field‐effect transistor, adsorption effect, carbon nanotube counterpart, monolayer graphene‐counterpart, nanoscale pH sensors, pH solution effect, TGN‐based pH sensor, ISFET, CNT, C     

Levy Solution for Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Rectangular Plates

In this article, an analytical method for buckling analysis of thin functionally graded (FG) rectangular plates is presented. It is assumed that the material properties of the plate vary through the thickness of the plate as a power function. Based on the classical plate theory (Kirchhoff theory), the governing equations are obtained for functionally graded rectangular plates using the principle of minimum total potential energy. The resulting equations are decoupled and solved for rectangular plate with different loading conditions. It is assumed that the plate is simply supported along two opposite edges and has arbitrary boundary conditions along the other edges. The critical buckling loads are presented for a rectangular plate with different boundary conditions, various powers of FGM and some aspect ratios.     

Synthesis of nano-structured lanthanum tungstates photocatalysts

Nano-particles of lanthanum tungstate were prepared through an optimized chemical precipitation reaction using the aqueous solutions of the ingredients. The optimization of the procedure was performed based on performing the so-called Taguchi robust design. The effects of various conditions influencing the size of the produced particles were evaluated using an orthogonal array. The optimally prepared lanthanum tungstate particles were found to be about 31 nm in diameter. The chemical and physical properties of the products were studied through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–Vis and Fluorescence. Also the band gap energy of the produced nanoparticles was assessed through UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The optimally prepared nano-structures were evaluated as photocatalysts in the pho-degradation of methylene blue.     

Impregnated of C6CoFeN6 nanoparticles in poly-1-naphthol for uptake of Cs(I) from aqueous waste

To carry out our research, C₆CoFeN₆@poly-1-naphthol nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by SEM, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The SEM images indicate that the average particle sizes are about 60 nm in diameter. The BET result provides a clear evidence for the high surface area of the sample 180.6 m²/g. Cs(I) ions removed from the aqueous solution in a batch mode using CoHCF@poly-1-nanphtol as an adsorbent. The adsorption effecting parameters such as the solution pH, initial Cs(I) concentration, contact time and temperature were studied. Maximum sorption capacity for the nanocomposite was found to be 200.5 mg/g at 1000 mg/g, pH = 5 and 298 K. The time-adsorption dependence studies indicated that the maximum Cs(I) uptake was within the initial 40 min contact time and the adsorption mechanism was governed by the double exponential model. The equilibrium sorption data fitted well to the Freudlich model with n ? 1 indicating a stronger interaction and high affinity of C₆CoFeN₆@poly-1-naphthol for Cs(I) ions. The thermodynamic parameters, including changes in Gibbs free energy, entropy and enthalpy, were determined. The results indicated that CoHCF–poly-1-nanphtol could be a potential adsorbent for the uptake of Cs(I) ions from an aqueous solution.     

Immobilization of organophosphorus hydrolase enzyme by covalent attachment on modified cellulose microfibers using different chemical activation strategies: Characterization and stability studies

The plant cellulose powder was activated by two different methods using 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether(BTDE)and 1,1′-Carbonyldiimidazole(CDI) as the chemical coupling agents.Organophosphorus hydrolase(OPH) from Flavobacterium ATCC 27551 was immobilized on any of activated support through covalent bonding.The optimal conditions of affecting parameters on enzyme immobilization in both methods were found, and it was demonstrated that the highest activity yields of immobilized OPH onto epoxy and CDI treated cellulose were 68.32%and 73.51%, respectively.The surface treatment of cellulose via covalent coupling with BTDE and CDI agents was proved by FTIR analysis.The kinetic constants of the free and immobilized enzymes were determined, and it was showed that both immobilization techniques moderately increased the Kmvalue of the free OPH.The improvements in storage and thermal stability were investigated and depicted that the half-life of immobilized OPH over the surface of epoxy modified cellulose had a better growth compared to the free and immobilized enzymes onto CDI treated support.Also, the pH stability of the immobilized preparations was enhanced relative to the free counterpart and revealed that all enzyme samples would have the same optimum pH value for stability at 9.0.Additionally, the immobilized OPH onto epoxy and CDI activated cellulose retained about 59% and 68% of their initial activity after ten turns of batch operation, respectively.The results demonstrated the high performance of OPH enzyme in immobilized state onto an inexpensive support with the potential of industrial applications.