Effect of specimen orientation and heat treatment on electroless Ni-PTFE-MoS<Subscript>2</Subscript> composite coatings

In this study, the effects of simultaneous co-deposition of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and MoS₂ particles on tribological properties of electroless nickel (EN) coating were studied. The influences of specimen orientation and heat treatment on EN-PTFE-MoS₂ composite coatings were also investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphology of coatings and the distributions of the lubricant particles in the deposits. Chemical analyses of coatings were done by electron dispersive spectrometry. The phases of the coatings were identified by X-ray diffraction utilizing CuKα radiation. Wear and friction properties of the coatings were also determined by pin-on-disk wear tester. The wear investigations showed that the EN-PTFE-MoS₂ composite coating performs better than EN-PTFE and EN-MoS₂ coatings in terms of friction coefficient and wear resistance. PTFE and MoS₂ contents of the EN-PTFE-MoS₂ coating were increased by changing the specimen orientation from vertical to horizontal configuration, which leads to enhancement in tribological properties of the coating. After heat treatment, the wear rate of EN matrix composite coating decreased with corresponding change in phase structure.     

Influence of fusion zone size and failure mode on mechanical performance of dissimilar resistance spot welds of AISI 1008 low carbon steel and DP600 advanced high strength steel

The work here addresses the investigation of the effect of the welding parameters (welding time, welding current and electrode force) on the overload failure mode and mechanical performance of dissimilar resistance spot welds between drawing quality special killed AISI 1008 low carbon steel and DP600 dual phase steel. Mechanical properties of spot welds are described in terms of failure mode, peak load and energy absorption during the quasi-static tensile-shear test. Three distinct failure modes were observed during the tensile-shear test: interfacial, pullout and partial thickness–partial pullout failure modes. Correlations among failure mode, welding parameters, weld physical attributes and weld mechanical performance are analyzed. Effect of expulsion on mechanical performance of welds is also investigated.     

Fabrication of low friction bronze–graphite nano-composite coatings

This paper addresses the fabrication of bronze–nano-graphite coatings containing 30 nm sized graphite particles. Addition of Poly Vinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) and dispersing the suspension by ultrasound was utilized to stabilize the electroplating solution. Pulsed current electrodeposition was used and the deposits were characterized in terms of graphite content, particle dispersion in coating and morphology. The wear behavior of the coating was compared to bronze–micro-graphite coatings prepared with the same experimental conditions. The present coating showed improved wear resistance in comparison to bronze–micro-graphite coatings at the same graphite content.     

Long term stability assessment of Siah Bisheh powerhouse cavern based on displacement back analysis method

Siah Bisheh pumped storage powerhouse cavern with complex geometry, changeable geological formations and diverse geotechnical properties of rocks, is under construction on the Chalus River at the north of Iran. Powerhouse cavern is located near the lower dam reservoir and its crown is more than 30 m down the lower dam maximum lake level. After impounding of lower dam, powerhouse region will be located under saturated condition. Therefore long term stability assessment of the powerhouse cavern under saturated condition is unavoidable. In this study, displacement based direct back analysis using univariate optimization algorithm were applied and geomechanical properties of rocks, stress ratio and joints parameters were identified. Numerical modeling results are in good agreement with measured displacements using extensometers which confirm the numerical modeling accuracy and back analysis results. Then ordinary analysis of powerhouse cavern under natural condition using back analysis results were carried out. Results of analysis shows that powerhouse cavern is stable under natural condition and existing support system has suitable efficiency and could effectively control displacements. Finally, powerhouse cavern long term stability under saturated condition was analyzed. Results of analysis shows that after lower dam impounding, pore water pressure and uplift pressure in discontinuities around powerhouse cavern will arose and tend to local failure of powerhouse cavern in region 2nd and 3rd instrumentation arrays. To obtain powerhouse long term stability, it is recommended to construct a cutoff curtain around powerhouse cavern.     

Nonlinear analysis, design, and implementation of a VCO in S frequency band

A VCO in S frequency band is designed by using nonlinear technique based on large signal model of semiconductor devices. The nonlinear circuit of the VCO is analyzed by a novel analytical approach of harmonic balance method as an autonomous circuit, and with fulfilling the stability condition of the network, the output specifications are determined. This proposed nonlinear approach for determining of the frequency and amplitude stability is also based on harmonic balance method. The results of the analysis are compared with those of measurements. The comparison shows good agreement between results of this analytical approach and the measurements. Zahra Ghanian was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975. She received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1998, and the M.Sc. degree from the Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 2001. Since 2000, she has been involved in several research and engineering projects at the Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran Telecommunications Research Center (ITRC) and Niroo Research Institute (NRI). Her main areas of interest are design, simulation and analysis of circuits for Microwave, Millimeter wave and Wireless applications. Abdolali Abdipour was born in Iran in 1966. He obtained his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Tehran University, Tehran, Iran in 1989, and the M.Sc. in Electronics from Limoges University, Limoges, France in 1992. Then he achieved his PhD degree in Electronic Engineering from Paris XI University, Paris, France in March 1996. His research areas include wireless communication systems (RF Technology and Transceivers), RF/Microwave/mm-wave circuit and system design, E & M modeling of active devices and circuits, high frequency electronics (signal and noise), nonlinear modeling and analysis of microwave devices and circuits. He has published over 80 papers in the refereed journals and international conferences. He authored two books “Noise in Electronic Communication: Modeling, Analysis and measurement” and “Transmission Lines” (in Persian). He is currently an associate professor of Electrical Engineering Department at Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran. Ayaz Ghorbani received PG diploma, m. Phiel and PhD degrees from the university of Bradford U.K. in 1984, 1985 and 1987 respectively in the area of electrical and communication engineering. From 1987 up to now he has been teaching various courses in the department of electrical engineering at university of Amirkabir (Tehran poly technique) Tehran, Iran. In 1987 he was awarded John Robertshaw Travel Award to visit a number of research establishments in the United States of America from Bradford University, and in 1990 he was also awarded U.R.S.I. Young Scientists Award at general assembly of the URSI, Prague, Czech Republic. In 2004 he was in Bradford University for one year as a research visitor where he obtained post doctorate degree. Dr. Ghorbani is author and coauthor of more than seventy papers in conferences as well as scientific journals.     

Synthesis of aluminium nanoparticles by arc evaporation of an aluminium cathode surface

Aluminium nanoparticles (Al Nps) are synthesized using arc discharge method by applying direct current between aluminium electrodes in liquid environment without any use of vacuum equipment, heat exchangers, high temperatures furnaces and inert gases. After synthesis of Al Nps, in situ coating process on the nanoparticles was performed immediately. The effects of media on the yield and morphology of aluminium nanoparticles were investigated. Analysis result of the samples indicated that particle size was less than 30 nm, when 120 A/cm² arc current was used. In addition, coating agent can affect arc velocity, arc stability, morphology and composition of the nanoparticles. Resultant nanoparticles were identified using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), also their surface morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and finally the accuracy of coating was assessed with infrared (IR) spectroscopy.     

Electrochemical characterization of electrodeposited carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes were electrodeposited in acetonitrile solution at room temperature using Cu, and Fe-Ni nanoparticles as nucleation sites on HF-etched Si(100) wafer substrate. The electrochemical behavior of the deposition was investigated by voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques. In order to obtain the optimum growth condition, the deposition critical parameters including current density range, potential and time were studied and calculated. Carbon nanotubes with approximate external diameter of 40-100 nm were fabricated under potentiostatic condition and diffusion control at − 20 V in 4-6 h. The film crystallinity was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction and the tubes structure was revealed using scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images. Raman spectroscopy was also employed to characterize the nanostructural features and single wall carbon nanotubes were detected.     

Highly Conductive Carbon Nanotube‐Graphene Hybrid Yarn

An efficient procedure for the fabrication of highly conductive carbon nanotube/graphene hybrid yarns has been developed. To start, arrays of vertically aligned multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) are converted into indefinitely long MWNT sheets by drawing. Graphene flakes are then deposited onto the MWNT sheets by electrospinning to form a composite structure that is transformed into yarn filaments by twisting. The process is scalable for yarn fabrication on an industrial scale. Prepared materials are characterized by electron microscopy, electrical, mechanical, and electrochemical measurements. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the composite MWNT‐graphene yarns is over 900 S/cm. This value is 400% and 1250% higher than electrical conductivity of pristine MWNT yarns or graphene paper, respectively. The increase in conductivity is asssociated with the increase of the density of states near the Fermi level by a factor of 100 and a decrease in the hopping distance by an order of magnitude induced by grapene flakes. It is found also that the MWNT‐graphene yarn has a strong electrochemical response with specific capacitance in excess of 111 Fg^?1. This value is 425% higher than the capacitance of pristine MWNT yarn. Such substantial improvements of key properties of the hybrid material can be associated with the synergy of MWNT and graphene layers in the yarn structure. Prepared hybrid yarns can benefit such applications as high‐performance supercapacitors, batteries, high current capable cables, and artificial muscles.     

PAPR reduction in mobile WiMAX: a novel DST precoding based random interleaved OFDMA uplink system

Mobile WiMAX is a 3rd generation broadband wireless technology that enables the convergence of mobile and fixed broadband networks through a wide area radio-access. Since January 2007, the IEEE 802.16 working group has been developing a new amendment the IEEE 802.16 standard i.e. IEEE 802.16 m as an advanced air interface to meet the requirements of ITU-R/IMT-Advanced for 4G systems. The mobile WiMAX air interface adopts orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) as multiple access technique for its uplink and downlink to improve signal performance affected by multipath distortion. All OFDMA based networks, including mobile WiMAX, experience the problem of high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). This paper presents a discrete-sine-transform precoding technique based random-interleaved OFDMA (RI-OFDMA) uplink system for PAPR reduction in mobile WiMAX. The PAPR of proposed system is analyzed with root-raised-cosine pulse shaping filter to keep out of band radiation low and to fulfill the spectrum mask requirements. Simulation results show that, the proposed system has low PAPR compared to the Hadamard transform precoded RI-OFDMA uplink systems and the conventional RI-OFDMA uplink systems.     

Measurement of additional shear during sludge conditioning and dewatering

Optimum polymer dose is influenced both by the polymer demand of the sludge and the shear applied during conditioning. Sludge exposed to additional shear following conditioning will experience a decrease in cake solids concentration for the same polymer dose. Therefore, it is necessary to measure or quantify the additional shear in order to optimize the conditioning and dewatering. There is currently no direct or indirect method to achieve this. The main objective of this study was to develop a method based on torque rheology to measure the amount of shear that a sludge network experiences during conditioning and dewatering. Anaerobically digested sludge samples were exposed to increasing levels of mixing intensities and times, and rheological characteristics of samples were measured using a torque rheometer. Several rheological parameters were evaluated including the peak torque and totalized torque (area under the rheograms). The results of this study show that at the optimum polymer dose, a linear relationship exists between the applied shear and the area under the rheograms, and this relationship can be used to estimate an unknown amount of shear that the sludge was exposed to. The method is useful as a research tool to study the effect of shear on dewatering but also as an optimization tool in a dewatering automation system based on torque rheology.