Evaluation of Coal Bump Risk During Underground Mining: A Case Study of Tabas Coal Mine

Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention - Coal bump is one of the most important hazards for underground miners due to occurrence without warning. This hazard leads to the problems in the form...     

The Analytical Hierarchy Process for contaminated land management

Decision analysis (DA) methods and techniques are used to support decision-makers deal with complexities, uncertainties and risks of contaminated land management problems. Over the years, several methods have been used for environmental decision-making. This paper reviews the different methods and techniques used for contaminated land decision-making and decision analysis. We focus on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, which is among the most widely used and fastest growing decision-analytic techniques in several disciplines, including environmental and resource planning and management. However its application to contaminated land management problems as yet has been minimal and under explored. We explore the potential of this technique and explain it with a simple case study.     

Electrochemical synthesis,characterization and application of a microstructure Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BTC)<Subscript>2</Subscript> metal organic framework for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and CH<Subscript>4</Subscript> separation

The electrochemical route is a promising and environmentally friendly technique for fabrication of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) due to mild synthesis condition, short time for crystal growth and ease of scale up. A microstructure Cu₃(BTC)₂ MOF was synthesized through electrochemical path and successfully employed for CO₂ and CH₄ adsorption. Characterization and structural investigation of the MOF was carried out by XRD, FE-SEM, TGA, FTIR and BET analyses. The highest amount of carbon dioxide and methane sorption was 26.89 and 6.63 wt%, respectively, at 298 K. The heat of adsorption for CO₂ decreased monotonically, while an opposite trend was observed for CH₄. The results also revealed that the selectivity of the developed MOF towards CO₂ over CH₄ enhanced with increase of pressure and composition of carbon dioxide component as predicted by the ideal adsorption solution theory (IAST). The regeneration of as-synthesized MOF was also studied in six consecutive cycles and no considerable reduction in CO₂ adsorption capacity was observed.     

A hydrodynamic model of a continuous supercritical fluid extraction system for the treatment of oil contaminated solids

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) has the potential to recover compounds from a range of solid matrices if a fully continuous process can be commercialized. This paper presents the development of a hydrodynamic model for a continuous pilot scale SFE process, involving countercurrent flow of a slurry and a supercritical fluid. The model developed is based on first principles and focuses on predicting pressure and slurry level within the extraction vessel. The model was validated using pilot scale system data. Using adjusted parameters, the model accurately predicted steady state pressure and provided a good estimate of slurry level.     

Strength properties of xanthan gum and guar gum treated kaolin at different water contents

Nowadays, using biopolymer as a ground improvement method has become very popular. However,since biopolymers are organic and degradable, their long-term effect is not fully known. In this study, the effects of biopolymers on the mechanical behavior of kaolin clay were investigated through a comprehensive program of experiments. Two types of biopolymer, i.e. xanthan gum and guar gum were chosen to investigate the effect of biopolymer type. For this purpose, specimens were prepared using standard Proctor energy at four different water contents(25%, 30% 35% and 40%) with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%biopolymer inclusions. The specimens were cured for 1 d, 7 d, 28 d and 90 d. Moreover, some of the specimens were kept in the curing room for 3 years to observe the long-term effect of the biopolymers.At the end of the curing periods, the specimens were subjected to unconfined compression test, and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis was performed to observe the mechanism of strength improvement. The results revealed that the unconfined compressive strength(UCS) of the specimens treated with biopolymers increased in all biopolymer inclusion levels and water contents up to a 90-d curing period. For specimens containing xanthan gum, the maximum strength increase was observed at 25% water content and 2% xanthan gum with 90-d curing. The strength increased 5.23 times induced by xanthan gum addition when compared to the pure clay. Moreover, the increase in strength reached 8.53 times in specimens treated with guar gum. Besides, increasing water content caused more ductile behavior, thus increasing the axial deformation.     

Prevascularized Micro?/Nano?Sized Spheroid/Bead Aggregates for Vascular Tissue Engineering

Efficient strategies to promote microvascularization in vascular tissue engineering, a central priority in regenerative medicine, are still scarce; nano- and mi...     

Effect of Strain Rate on Stress Corrosion Cracking of 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel in Boiling MgCl2 Environment

Stress corrosion cracking behaviors of AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel at slow strain rates in two environments of air and MgCl₂ at ambient temperature and 154 °C were investigated. The results revealed that a decrease in strain rate, during testing in boiling MgCl₂ environment, led to a rigorous deterioration of the mechanical properties of the material, causing brittleness of the steel. The results obtained from fractography indicated that the samples tested in air had typical ductile fracture surface appearances, while the fracture surfaces of the samples tested in a corrosive environment showed a combination of intergranular and transgranular fracture modes, having a brittle macroscopic appearance. The transgranular mode became predominant as strain rate decreased. The results suggested that the presence of deformation bands in front of crack tips were responsible for transgranular cracking caused by stress corrosion.     

Effect of Aging on the Microstructure and Shape Memory Effect of a Hot-Rolled NiTiHf Alloy

In this article, the effect of aging on the microstructure and shape memory effect (SME) of a hot-rolled Ni₄₉Ti₃₆Hf₁₅ alloy is studied. The alloy was prepared by vacuum induction melting (VIM) and homogenized at 1000 °C for 2 h. The homogenized alloy was then undergone 45% hot rolling at 850 °C and aging at temperatures of 500 and 600 °C for 2 h. Optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) conducted on the hot-rolled samples revealed that hot rolling improves microstructure, deformation, and recoverable strains such that the alloy recovers 3.10 of 3.23 and 5.61 of 6.25 strain in the homogenized and hot-rolled state, respectively. Aging, however, adversely affects the formability and SME of the alloy, which stems from the embrittling effect of the newly formed precipitates during the aging process.     

A novel potentiometric sensor for promethazine based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP): The role of MIP structure on the sensor performance

A novel potentiometric sensor based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for determination of promethazine (PMZ) was prepared. Promethazine MIP particles were prepared and dispersed in 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether and then embedded in a polyvinyl chloride matrix. The effect of the monomers type on the sensor performance was investigated, and an important role for this parameter was shown. It was shown that the membrane electrode with a MIP prepared by vinylbenzene and divinylbenzene had a better performance in comparison to membrane electrodes containing MIPs prepared with methacrylic acid-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate or vinylbenzene-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. After optimization, the membrane electrode constructed with a MIP of vinylbenzene-divinylbenzene exhibited a Nernstian response (31.2 ± 1.0 mV decade⁻¹) over a wide concentration range, from 5.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹ M, with a low detection limit of 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ M and a response time of ∼50 s. The method has the requisite accuracy, sensitivity and precision to assay PMZ in syrup samples and biological fluids.