Prediction of the volumetric and thermodynamic properties of some refrigerants using GMA equation of state

The density of 11 refrigerants (hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs)) in the extended ranges of temperature and pressure has been calculated using Goharshadi–Morsali–Abbaspour equation of state (GMA EoS) and the results have been shown as the three-dimensional surfaces of density–temperature–pressure. A wide comparison with experimental data was made. The accuracy of the equation of state in the prediction of density was determined by statistical parameters. The results show that the GMA EoS can reproduce the experimental PVT data of HCFCs and HFCs within experimental errors throughout the liquid phase. The thermodynamic properties such as isobaric expansion coefficient, isothermal compressibility, and vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) prediction for these HCFC and HFC refrigerants have been performed using GMA EoS. GMA EoS can predict the characteristic feature of pressure behavior of isobaric expansion and isothermal compressibility coefficients.     

A quantum mechanical transport approach to simulation of quadruple gate silicon nanowire transistor

In this paper we have used quantum mechanical transport approach to analyse electrical characteristics of silicon nanowire transistor and have compared the results with those obtained using semi classical Boltzmann transport model. The analyse employs a three dimensional simulation of Silicon nanowire transistor based on self consistent solution of Poisson, Schrodinger equations. Quantum mechanical transport model uses the non equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) while the semi classic model doesn't account for tunneling current. The results have shown that Quantum tunneling is significant in inversion condition especially when the channel length is short. For the long devices quantum modeling and semi classical model produce the same result, and tunneling is negligible.     

Reliability/energy trade-off in Bluetooth error control schemes

Two important objectives in wireless sensor networks are reliability and reducing energy consumption. Hence, overcoming energy constraints and utilizing error control schemes such as Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) are necessary to improve the energy efficiency and reliability. However, these two concerns are at odds, so there is a trade-off between them. Considering this point, the impact of various error control schemes on these objectives and the trade-off between them has been considered in Bluetooth networks recently. However, all these works consider ideal assumptions (e.g., perfect error detection) only. This work evaluates the energy-efficiency of Bluetooth error control schemes in Rayleigh fading channels taking into consideration both ideal assumptions and residual error probability of the CRC code in ARQ schemes. A comparative analysis of coding techniques using different BCH codes on the AUX1 packet is provided. In addition, the impact of variations in number of hops and SNR on the effectiveness of proposed coding techniques is analyzed through simulation. This analysis provides information that help network designers to choose suitable packet types and coding techniques for Bluetooth networks depending on the network situation.     

Synthesis,characterization, and properties of co-poly(ether–urethane–urea)s containing lariat cryptand 22: Li<Superscript>+</Superscript> harvesting polymers

In this work, some segmented poly(ether–urethane–urea)s (PEUUs) containing aza crown ether (cryptand) were prepared and characterized. These polymers were synthesized via the reaction of kryptofix 22 with 2 mol excess of 4,4′-methylene-bis-(4-phenylisocyanate) (MDI), and different molecular weights of polyethylene glycols (PEGs). Morphology, thermal, and complexation properties of these polymers were studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and solid state NMR (S-NMR). The data confirmed complexation ability of these polymers for Li⁺ ion absorption and revealed the effect of Li⁺ ion complexation on the morphology and thermal behavior of the PEUUs.     

Analysis of pressure fluctuations in fluidized beds. II. Reconstruction of the data by the Fokker–Planck and Langevin equations

In this part of the sequel we develop a continuum representation of the pressure fluctuation time series p(t) for a fluidized bed (FB), analyzed in part I, by using stochastic methods based on the Markov processes. It is shown that the data may be represented by Markov series with a Markov time scale t_M that is estimated based on the data. Using the relation between the Markov processes and the Kramers–Moyal (KM) expansion that is a continuum equation that involves, in principle, an infinite number of coefficients, we represent the pressure fluctuation time series by a KM expansion. However, since the third and higher-order coefficients of the expansion are very small, the KM expansion reduces to a Fokker–Planck (FP) equation that represents p(t) in terms of a drift and a diffusion coefficients that are computed based on the data. The FP equation is, in turn, equivalent to a Langevin equation, which is used to reconstruct the data, i.e. generate the time series that mimic, in a statistical sense, the original data. Thus, the Langevin equation may also be used to make probabilistic predictions for the future values of the pressure over time scales that are of the order of the Markov time scale t_M. The accuracy of the reconstructed series and, hence, their continuum representation, is demonstrated. We also compute the frequency of level-crossing at a given level α, i.e. the relative frequency (probability) of occurrence of the event defined, for two times t_i−1 and t_i, by, , where P(x) is the probability of the event. Thus, yields the frequency that a given pressure fluctuation level may be expected. The average time that one should wait in order to observe the pressure at a given level again is also computed. The two quantities may be particularly important for modeling of the FBs. A relation is presented between the drift and diffusion coefficients of the FP equation and the Hurst exponent that has previously been used to describe the pressure fluctuation time series in terms of self-affine stochastic distributions.     

Evaluation of wool nanoparticles incorporation in chitosan/gelatin composite films

The aim of this work was to develop chitosan/gelatin composite films embedded with various amounts of wool nanoparticles, which were produced by an environmental friendly process. Films loaded with wool nanoparticles were subjected to physiochemical, biological, and mechanical characterization. The obtained results showed that incorporation of wool nanoparticles into chitosan/gelatin composite led to a reduction in swelling, moisture content and dissolution degree of the films. In vitro degradation test revealed that the nanoparticles‐embedded composites had a lower degradation rate than that of chitosan/gelatin composite. Besides, composite films containing wool nanoparticles showed an improvement in the stability in phosphate buffered saline. On the other hand, tensile strength and elongation at break decreased upon loading the films with wool nanoparticles. The biocompatibility of the produced composites was also confirmed by MTT test. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40294.     

Soft segment composition and its influence on phase-separated morphology of PCL/PEG-based poly(urethane urea)s

A composition-dependent microphase separation of segmented poly(urethane urea)s (PUUs), based on a mixture of two hydrophobic (polycaprolactone) and hydrophilic (polyethylene glycol) polyols, is investigated. Synthesis of PUUs was carried out through the reaction of in situ generated AB-type macromonomers, prepared from the reaction of NCO-terminated urethane prepolymers, with benzoic acid in dimethyl sulfoxide as solvent/reagent at 40–80 °C. The segmented PUUs were characterized by different methods including FTIR and NMR spectroscopies, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. Microphase separation in the synthesized PUUs was monitored using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to find a better insight into structure–property relationship of PUUs consisting of mixed polyols. Thermal analysis of the polymers revealed that by introducing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in PUU backbone, a well-defined glass transition was obtained. The results of AFM showed that PCL-based poly(urethane urea) has a morphology in which hard segment domains were homogeneously distributed in the soft segment matrix. In the samples based on PCL/PEG, the hard segment domains aggregates were connected to each other and were inhomogeneously distributed in the matrix. Comparison of the overall data revealed that the differences in soft segment compositions had a marked effect on the molecular structure and the mechanical properties of PUUs.     

Ultrasound-Assisted Osmotic Treatment of Model Food Impregnated with Pomegranate Peel Phenolic Compounds: Mass Transfer,Texture, and Phenolic Evaluations

Food impregnation with nutraceutical components due to the health beneficial property is of great importance for food processing industry. In this study, osmotic dehydration was used to impregnate model food with phenolics extracted from pomegranate peel. Intermittent acoustic treatment was applied to enhance mass transfer. This process was carried out at three sucrose concentrations of 40, 50, and 60% and two levels of power ultrasound, 50 and 100% in an experimental setup, which was equipped with a pump circulating osmotic solution frequently. Results showed that increase in sucrose concentration resulted in an increase in the amounts of water loss and solutes gain. Additionally, application of higher power ultrasound led to higher values of water loss and solid gain. Mass transfer modeling using Azuara model predicts water loss and solid gain values at equilibrium. Results revealed the good correlation of experimental values with the model (due to the R² values greater than 0.94). The microstructure of samples was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Images revealed pores and cavities made by ultrasound waves as the result of spongy effects. Texture profile analysis (TPA) was applied for the determination of hardness, springiness, and gumminess of the samples. Results also showed significant effects of the sucrose concentration and ultrasound power on textural properties. Measurements of total phenolic content and antiradical activity, which were carried out by a colorimetric method and antiradical scavenging assay, EC50, respectively indicated that osmotic dehydration is a possible way for uptaking phenolic compounds of pomegranate peel presented in osmotic solution into food matrices.     

CFD modeling and experimental study of multi-walled carbon nanotubes production by fluidized bed catalytic chemical vapor deposition

A parametric study investigating the impact of temperature, gas velocity, and composition of the gaseous phase on the catalytic growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been performed. CNTs have been produced by catalytic chemical vapor deposition from methane decomposition over Co-Mo/MgO with average diameter of 188 μm with spherical shape in a fluidized bed reactor. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method was used for simulating the hydrodynamics of the reactor and investigating the operational and best velocity for producing high quality CNTs by this system. The operational and best velocities obtained by simulation were 0.015 to 0.05 m/s and near 0.015 m/s. Then the results used in the experiments with different temperature and gas compositions. CNTs products were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The results showed that temperature of 900 °C, methane to hydrogen volume ratio 1:4 and 0.02 m/s are the best quantities of the parameters for CNTs growth.     

Fumigant toxicity of essential oil from Artemisia sieberi Besser against three stored-product insects

Artemisia sieberi is a widely distributed plant in Iran. Because some species of Artemisia are insecticidal, experiments were conducted to investigate fumigant toxicity of the essential oil. Dry ground leaves were subjected to hydrodistillation using a modified Clevenger-type apparatus and the resulting oil contained camphor (54.7%), camphene (11.7%), 1,8-cineol (9.9%), β-thujone (5.6%) and α- pinene (2.5%).The mortality of 7 days old adults of Callosobruchus maculatus, Sitophilus oryzae, and Tribolium castaneum increased with concentration from 37 to 926 μL/L and with exposure time from 3 to 24 h. A concentration of 37 μL/L and an exposure time of 24 h was sufficient to obtain 100% kill of the insects. Callosobruchus maculatus was significantly more susceptible than S. oryzae and T. castaneum; a second more detailed bioassay gave estimates for the LC₅₀ of C. maculatus as 1.45 μL/L, S. oryzae 3.86 μL/L and T. castaneum 16.76 μL/L. These results suggested that A. sieberi oil may have potential as a control agent against C. maculatus, S. oryzae and T. castaneum.