Effect of Shot Peening Operation on the Microstructure and Wear Behavior of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - Shot peening is a treatment used to increase surface hardness and wear resistance. In this study, the effect of shot peening on the...     

A comprehensive review of solar‐driven desalination technologies for off‐grid greenhouses

This paper is motivated by the crisis of freshwater in remote areas around the world and responds to the growing need for sustainable food production in arid lands. It focuses on utilizing solar energy to yield freshwater from the sea or brackish water with less environmental impacts, for greenhouses, which can produce sustainable food all over the year. The integration of various solar‐driven desalinations such as solar still, humidification‐dehumidification, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and multieffect and multistage flash with greenhouses are evaluated, for better sustainability towards greenization. The paper first discusses the specifications of solar‐driven desalinations and compares their advantages and limitations. Then, different types of greenhouses are introduced, and their total water requirement is discussed based on their locations, crop type, greenhouse technology, irrigation type, and environmental conditions, as well as their cooling and heating strategies. Later, the existing integration of solar‐driven desalinations with greenhouses are reviewed, and their advantages and limitations are deliberated. Finally, the paper discusses the criteria to be considered when selecting solar‐driven desalinations for greenhouses and presents a detailed comparison between the water production rate and cost as well as the energy consumption of these systems. In the end, the most appropriate combinations of solar‐driven desalinations with greenhouses are recommended based on their water requirement and production cost.     

Quantitative characterization of carrier injection across metal–organic interfaces using Bardeen theory

We have investigated the contact between a metal and an organic/polymeric (o/p) material and we have introduced a relation for carrier injection using Bardeen theory. A series of narrow barriers is considered in the semiconductor side to account for the localized nature of the carriers in the o/p material. As an application of the model, we have calculated the hopping rate of carriers in terms of the contact parameters. Also, we have discussed the hopping of carriers deep into the organic dielectric. Finally, we have explored the hopping rate in practical contacts between polyfluorene-based polymers and different electrodes.     

Ce3+-doped LaF3 nanoparticles: Wet-chemical synthesis and photo-physical characteristics “optical properties of LaF3:Ce nanomaterials”

The most effective process parameters were determined to synthesize spherical LaF₃ nanoparticles with controllable size based on ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) via co-precipitation technique. Thermogravimetricdifferential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and FT-IR spectroscopy were used to characterize the resulting powders. Detailed investigations revealed that the optimal LaF₃ host nano-material was obtained when NH₄F was used as a fluoride source in the presence of EDTA at pH = 5. Furthermore, photoluminescence spectra showed an intense double emission peak at 289 and 302 nm for cerium-doped LaF₃ nanocrystals excited at 253 nm, which was assigned to the well-known 5d→4f (²F_5/2 and ²F_7/2) transitions of Ce³⁺ levels due to luminescence center mechanism. The experimental results indicate that the synthesized LaF₃:0.05Ce powders with a band gap of 5.3 eV are promising phosphors for high density scintillators.     

Two-parameter TSCSP method for solving complex symmetric system of linear equations

We introduce a two-parameter version of the two-step scale-splitting iteration method, called TTSCSP, for solving a broad class of complex symmetric system of linear equations. We present some conditions for the convergence of the method. An upper bound for the spectral radius of the method is presented and optimal parameters which minimize this bound are given. Inexact version of the TTSCSP iteration method (ITTSCSP) is also presented. Some numerical experiments are reported to verify the effectiveness of the TTSCSP iteration method and the numerical results are compared with those of the TSCSP, the SCSP and the PMHSS iteration methods. Numerical comparison of the ITTSCSP method with the inexact version of TSCSP, SCSP and PMHSS are presented. We also compare the numerical results of the BiCGSTAB method in conjunction with the TTSCSP and the ILU preconditioners.     

Overaluminizing of a CoNiCrAlY Coating by Inward and Outward Diffusion Treatments

Overaluminizing is a commercially accepted treatment to enhance high temperature oxidation resistance of MCrAlY overlay coatings. In the current investigation, a low pressure plasma-sprayed CoNiCrAlY coating was aluminized by two different growth modes: outward growth and inward growth. The resultant microstructures were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results showed that the final microstructure of both types of overaluminized coatings was similar and included Al-rich NiAl and Ni-rich NiAl zones from the top to the bottom. The details of the microstructures are discussed and compared with the results of simple aluminizing of the nickel-based substrate.     

Mathematical Modeling of Coke Formation and Deposition due to Thermal Cracking of Petroleum Fluids

A two‐dimensional mathematical dynamics model is presented to predict coke formation due to thermal cracking inside the tubes of fired heaters on two types of petroleum fluid. The laminar and turbulent flows are analyzed for both petroleum fluids. The second‐order k‐? standard model is adopted to make this mathematical model more accurate than previous models of coke formation. The radial and axial variations for temperature, velocity, and concentration due to the high temperature gradients inside the tubes are considered in the model equations. The finite volume method is the numerical model used to discretize the conservation equations. The proposed model is suitable to predict coke formation inside heater tubes since it indicates operational conditions where coke formation is minimized.