Developing a Robust Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Framework to Evaluate Performance of Water System Design and Planning under Climate Change

In theory, emergence of robustness concept has pushed decision-makers toward designing alternatives, such as resistant against the potential fluctuations fueled by uncertain surrounding environment. This study promotes an objective-based multi-attributes decision-making framework that takes into account the uncertainties associated with the impacts of the climate change on water resources systems. To capture the uncertainties of climate change, Monte Carlo approach has been used to generate a series of ensembles. These generated ensembles represent the stochastic behavior of the hydro-climatic variables under climate change. This framework represents the inherent uncertainties associated with hydro-climatic simulations. Next, a coupled TOPSIS/Entropy multi-attribute decision-making framework has been formed to prioritize the feasible alternatives using system performance measures. The main objective of this framework is to minimize the risk of deceptive and subjective assessments during decision-making process. Karkheh River basin has been selected as a case study to demonstrate the implication of this framework. Using a set of system performance attributes, the performance of two hydropower systems has been estimated during the baseline period and under the future climate change conditions. According to the conducted frequency analysis, the alternative in which both hydropower projects would go under construction emerged as the robust solution (i.e., there was a 99.9% chance that it outperforms other solutions). The results indicate that the construction of these hydropower systems leads to the increase of Karkheh River basin robustness in the future.

     

Modifying the MRI, elastic stiffness and electrical properties of polyvinyl alcohol cryogel using irradiation

The aim of this work was to study the effect of radiation on the elastic stiffness, electrical and MRI properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-based cryogel (PVA-C). The PVA-C samples were irradiated with a ⁶⁰C0 γ-source, at 2.18 × 10⁶ Rads. The indentation measurements (an indication of elastic stiffness) reduced by about 14.6% for PVA-3C and 5.7% PVA-6C after irradiation, indicating that the material became harder/stiffer. It was found that MRI relaxation times provide an alternative and non-destructive method to evaluate the radiation effect on PVA-C. The T₁ of PVA-C that had undergone three freeze thaw cycles decreased with irradiation by 10%, 25% and 35% at 1 T, 1.89 T and 3 T respectively. The T₁ of PVA-C that had undergone six freeze thaw cycles decreased with irradiation by 18%, 15% and 11% at 1 T, 1.89 T and 3 T respectively. The T₂ of PVA-C decreased with irradiation only at 1T, however this change is hypothesized to be due to the interaction of two spin pools in the gel. The electrical conductivity (σ) and permittivity constant (ε) of the unirradiated and γ-irradiated PVA-C samples were measured at different frequencies in the range 40 Hz to 1 MHz. The results demonstrated that the conductivity increased with irradiation by 50% for PVA-3C (three freeze thaw cycles) and 75% for PVA-6C (six freeze thaw cycles) at frequencies greater than 1 KHz.The permittivity decreased with irradiation up to 25% for 3C and 35% for 6C at frequencies less than 1 KHz.     

Processing of a multi‐layer polyetheretherketone composite for use in acetabular cup prosthesis

The hydroxyapatite polyetheretherketone (HAPEEK) as a non‐degradable bioactive polymer composite material with coating of hydroxyapatite (HA) as a bioactive ceramic material can enhance the osteointegration of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFRPEEK) as a non‐degradable bioinert polymer composite. This study describes the joining process of CFRPEEK and HAPEEK beam components and coating process of HA on the HAPEEK substrate to achieve the multi‐layer PEEK composite for use in the application of acetabular cup prosthesis. The CFRPEEK and HAPEEK components were ultrasonically welded while the HA was plasma sprayed on the HAPEEK substrate. Ultrasonic welding parameters (length and direction of the energy directors at the interface, welding time, and pressure) were investigated by single cantilever beam and lap shear tests to achieve the optimum bonding strength of CFRPEEK and HAPEEK components. Plasma spraying parameters (e.g., surface speed, powder feed, current, primary gas flow, and system voltage) were altered to achieve the good adhesion of HA coating on the HAPEEK substrate, which was evaluated by scratch test. The results showed that the proposed multi‐layer composite was successfully processed by carrying out the ultrasonic welding and plasma spraying coating processes. The outcomes of this study could be used to develop a non‐metal acetabular cup prosthesis using the proposed multi‐layer composition. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40915.