Increasing Water Security: An Algorithm to Improve Water Distribution Performance

Water Distribution Systems (WDSs) are indispensable infrastructures for urban societies. Due to vitality of continuous supply of drinking water in urban areas, it is necessary to have a performance evaluation and monitoring system to provide the expected level of security in water distribution systems. A main weakness point of these systems is the physical break of pipes which results in high level of water loss, pollution risk and public unsatisfactory. In this study, a framework is developed to increase physical water supply security in urban areas. For this purpose, a physical vulnerability index (PVI) is developed for evaluation of physical statues of water mains. In quantifying PVI, pipe characteristics and bedding soil specifications are considered. The importance of these factors on PVI is determined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In system performance evaluation, the pipe role in system performance is incorporated regarding pipe location in WDS, distance of pipe from reservoir and average pressure of pipe. Then, System Physical Performance Index (SPVI) is evaluated. An optimization algorithm is employed to determine ways to improve the system performance through enhancing the physical condition of the pipe in the system at a minimum cost. The genetic algorithm is employed for solving the optimization model. A global sensitivity analysis method named FAST, is used for sensitivity analysis to incorporate the correlation between different parameters in analysis. The proposed framework is applied to a case study located in Tehran metropolitan area. The results of this study show the significant value of the proposed algorithm in supporting decision makers to better choose vulnerable pipes for rehabilitation practices in order to decrease system vulnerability against physical failures.     

Permeability of stressed concrete

Abdy Kermani of the Structural Research Group at the Department of Civil Engineering, Napier Polytechnic of Edinburgh, found that permeability increases with increase in applied stress level depending on the type of the mix and the magnitude of the applied pressure. He also found that additives, which affect the composition, strength and propagation of micro cracks in concrete, can also have a significant influence on permeability.     

Solving constrained optimisation problems using the improved imperialist competitive algorithm and Deb’s technique

ABSTRACT

In this paper, an improved imperialist competitive algorithm called I-ICA is proposed for solving constrained optimisation problems. In I-ICA, the use of differential evolution (DE)/rand/1 mutation operator at assimilation step enhances the population diversity. Also, the binomial crossover operator improves the speed of convergence to optimal solution by distributing good information among solutions. Furthermore, Deb’s rules were applied for handling constrains. Examinations were done on 24 well-known functions and 5 engineering design problems. The comparison of I-ICA with basic ICA and 22 state-of-the-art algorithms shows I-ICA’s superiority in terms of the rate of convergence and quality of the obtained solution.     

Production of active lipase by Rhizopus oryzae from sugarcane bagasse: solid state fermentation in a tray bioreactor

This study deals with production of lipase in solid state fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae from sugarcane bagasse. A tray bioreactor was designed for the extracellular enzyme production. Daily, lipase production was evaluated at several incubation temperatures. Furthermore, the influence of temperature and humidity of the cabinet, depth of solid bed, particle size, initial moisture content and supplementary substrate (olive oil) as carbon source was investigated. The obtained results showed that bioreactor temperature of 45 °C, humidity of 80%, solid bed depth of 0.5 cm, particle size in the range of 0.335–1 mm, substrate initial moisture content of 80% for the top tray and 70% for the middle tray and supplementary substrate of 8% (v/w) olive oil led to maximum lipase production. Under optimum fermentation conditions after 72‐h incubation, maximum lipase activities for the top, middle and bottom trays were 215.16, 199.36 and 52.64 U gds^?1, respectively.     

The influence of surface chemistry of nano-silica on microstructure,optical and mechanical properties of the nano-silica containing clear-coats

Different nano-silicas were incorporated in an automotive OEM clear-coat based on acrylic-melamine chemistry. The morphological characteristics of the heat-cured films were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. It was found that there is a close relationship between the interfacial interactions of binder-silica nano-particles and mechanical and optical properties of the baked films.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of polyurethane rigid foam/modified nanosilica composite

Surface modification of fumed nanosilica was performed by using n‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as a coupling agent. Then, modified nanosilica was utilized in the preparation of polyurethane rigid foam. The characterization and the study of properties were done by some techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermomechanical analysis. Also, tensile test was examined to evaluate the static mechanical properties. With the increasing of modified nanosilica, thermal and static mechanical properties were enhanced, but dynamic mechanical behavior was different from static mechanical behavior because of the different properties of interfacial domain and bulk matrix. The presence of functional groups on the nanosilica surface affected stoichiometry and reduced hard phase formation in bulk polymer. The decrease in glass transition temperature (T_g) confirmed this statement. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Characteristics and Composition of Watermelon Seed Oil and Solvent Extraction Parameters Effects

Watermelon seed oil characteristics were evaluated to determine whether this oil could be exploited as an edible oil. Hexane extraction of watermelon seeds produced yields of 50% (w/w) oil. The refractive index, saponification and iodine value were 1.4712 (at 25 °C), 200 mg KOH/g and 156 g I/100 g, respectively. The acid and peroxide values were 2.4 mg KOH/g and 3.24 mequiv/kg, respectively. The induction time of the oil was also 5.14 h at 110 °C, which was measured for the first time. Total unsaturation contents of the oil was 81.6%, with linoleic acid (18:2) being the dominant fatty acid (68.3%). Considering that the watermelon seed oil was highly unsaturated, the relatively high induction time might indicate the presence of natural antioxidants. In addition, the influence of extraction parameters on extraction of oil from watermelon seed with hexane as a solvent was studied at several temperatures (40, 50, and 60 °C), times (1, 2, and 3 h) and solvent/kernel ratios (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1). The oil yield was primarily affected by the solvent/kernel ratio and then time and temperature, respectively. The protein content of the oil-free residue was 47%.     

Design of electronic sections for nano-displacement measuring system

Noncontact displacement measurement is generally based on the interferometry method.In the semiconductor industry,a technique for measuring small features is required as circuit integration becomes denser and the wafer size becomes larger.An interferometric system known as a three-longitudinal-mode heterodyne interferometer (TLMI) is made of two main parts:optical setup and electronic sections.In the optical part,the base and measurement signals having 500-MHz frequency are produced,resulting from interfering three longitudinal modes.The secondary beat frequency to measure the displacement in the TLMI is about 300kHz.To extract the secondary beat frequency,wide-band amplifiers,double-balanced mixers (DBMs),band-pass filters (BPFs),and low-pass filters (LPFs) are used.In this paper,we design the integrated circuit of a super-heterodyne interferometer with total gain of 56.9dB in size of 1030μm×1030μm.     

Band structure effect on the electron current oscillation in ultra-scaled GaSb Schottky MOSFET: tight-binding approach

This paper explores band structure effect on the quantum transport of a low-dimensional GaSb Schottky MOSFET (SBFET) for the implementation of III–V transistor with a low series resistance. Precise treatment of the full band structure is employed applying sp ³ d ⁵ s ^? tight-binding (TB) formalism. A remarkable distinction between the thickness dependent effective masses extracted from the TB and the bulk values imply that the quantum confinement modifies the device performance. Strong transverse confinement leads to the effective Schottky barrier height increment. Owing to the adequate enhanced Schottky barriers at low drain voltages, a double barrier gate modulated potential well is formed along the channel. The double barrier profile creates a longitudinal quantum confinement and induces drain current oscillation at low temperatures. Significant factors that may affect the current oscillation are thoroughly investigated. Current oscillation is gradually smoothed out as the gate length shrinks down in ultra scaled structure. The results in this paper are paving a way to clarify the feasibility of this device in nanoscale regime.     

Multifractal analysis of Mg-doped ZnO thin films deposited by sol–gel spin coating method

A multifractal analysis has been performed on the 3D (three-dimensional) surface microtexture of magnesium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Mg) thin films with doping concentration of 0, 2, 4, and 5%. Thin films were deposited onto the glass substrates via the sol–gel spin coating method. The effect of magnesium doping, on the crystal structure, morphology, and band gap for ZnO:Mg thin films has been analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. It has been observed that the surface of ZnO thin films is multifractal in nature. However, multifractality and complexity observed to decrease with increasing content of Mg in ZnO thin films due to formation of islands on the surface in accordance with Volmer–Weber growth mechanism. The investigations revealed that crystallinity, microtexture, morphology, and optical properties of the thin films can be tuned by controlling the Mg content within the ZnO lattice. In particular, their optical band gap energies were 3.27, 3.31, 3.34, and 3.33 eV at 0, 2, 4, and 5%, respectively. The prepared thin films of ZnO:Mg with tuned characteristics would have promising applications in optoelectronic devices.