Effect of melting temperature on microstructural evolutions, behavior and corrosion morphology of Hadfield austenitic manganese steel in the casting process

In this study, the effect of melting temperature on the microstructural evolutions, behavior, and corrosion morphology of Hadfield steel in the casting process is investigated. The mold was prepared by the sodium silicate/CO_2 method, using a blind riser, and then the desired molten steel was obtained using a coreless induction furnace. The casting was performed at melting temperatures of 1350, 1400, 1450, and 1500°C, and the cast blocks were immediately quenched in water. Optical microscopy was used to analyze the microstructure, and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and X-ray diffractrometry(XRD) were used to analyze the corrosion morphology and phase formation in the microstructure, respectively. The corrosion behavior of the samples was analyzed using a potentiodynamic polarization test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) in 3.5 wt% NaCl. The optical microscopy observations and XRD patterns show that the increase in melting temperature led to a decrease of carbides and an increase in the austenite grain size in the Hadfield steel microstructure. The corrosion tests results show that with increasing melting temperature in the casting process, Hadfield steel shows a higher corrosion resistance. The SEM images of the corrosion morphologies show that the reduction of melting temperature in the Hadfield steel casting process induced micro-galvanic corrosion conditions.

Crystalline texture evolution, control of the tribocorrosion behavior, and significant enhancement of the abrasion properties of a Ni-P nanocomposite coating enhanced by zirconia nanoparticles

This paper describes an investigation of the effect of ZrO2 nanoparticles on the abrasive properties,crystalline texture developments,and tribocorrosion behavior of Ni-P nanostructured coatings.In the investigation,Ni-P and Ni-P-ZrO2 nanostructured coatings are deposited on St52 steel via the electroless method.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS),cyclic-static polarization tests in 3.5wt%NaCl solution,the tribocorrosion test(by back-and-forth wear in electrochemical cell),and the microhardness test using the Vickers method were performed to characterize and analyze the deposited coatings.The results of this study showed that the addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles to the Ni-P electroless bath produced the following:a sharp increase in wear and hardness resistance,the change of the wear mechanism from sheet to adhesive mode,the reduction of pitting corrosion resistance,significant reduction in the tribocorrosion protective properties,change in the preferred orientation of the crystalline texture coating from(111)to(200),increase in the sedimentation rate during the deposit process,and a sharp increase in the thickness of the Ni-P nanostructured coatings.

Thermal-hydraulic and stress analysis of AP1000 reactor containment during LOCA in dry cooling mode

Some kinds of break in the reactor coolant system may cause the coolant to exit rapidly from the failure site,which leads to the loss of coolant accident(LOCA).In this paper,a stress analysis of an AP1000 reactor containment is performed in an LOCA,with the passive containment cooling system(PCCS) being available and not available for cooling the wall's containment.The variations in the mechanical properties of the wall's containment,including elastic modulus,strength,and stress,are analyzed using the ABAQUS code.A general two-phase model is applied for modeling thermal-hydraulic behavior inside the containment.Obtained pressure and temperature from thermal-hydraulic models are considered as boundary conditions of the ABAQUS code to obtain distributions of temperature and stress across steel shell of the containment in the accident.The results indicate that if the PCCS fails,the peak pressure inside the containment exceeds the design value.However,the stress would still be lower than the yield stress value,and no risk would threaten the integrity of the containment.

Diffusion bonding of Al 7075 and Mg AZ31 alloys:Process parameters, microstructural analysis and mechanical properties

Al 7075 and Mg AZ31 alloys were joined by diffusion bonding method. Joining process was performed in pressure range of 10-35 MPa at temperatures of 430-450 ℃ for 60 min under a vacuum of 13.3 MPa. The microstructure evaluation, phase analysis and distribution of elements at the interface were done using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The pressure of 25 MPa was determined as the optimum pressure in which the minimum amount of plastic deformation takes place at the joint. Different reaction layers containing intermetallic compounds, such as Al12Mg17, Al3Mg2 andα（Al） solid solution, were observed, in interfacial transition zone （ITZ）. Thickness of layers was increased with increasing the operating temperature. According to the results, diffusion of aluminum atoms into magnesium alloy was more and the interface movement towards the Al alloy was observed. The maximum bond strength of 38 MPa was achieved at the temperature of 440 ℃ and pressure of 25 MPa. Fractography studies indicated that the brittle fracture originated from Al3Mg2 phase.

Effects of heat treatment on the intermetallic compounds and mechanical properties of the stainless steel 321–aluminum 1230 explosive-welding interface

The effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of intermetallic compounds in the interface of stainless steel 321 explosively bonded to aluminum 1230 were investigated in this study. Experimental investigations were performed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and microhardness and shear tensile strength testing. Prior to heat treatment, increasing the stand-off distance between samples from 1 to 2.5 mm caused their interface to become wavy and the thickness of intermetallic layers to increase from 3.5 to 102.3 μm. The microhardness increased from HV 766 in the sample prepared at a stand-off distance of 1 mm to HV 927 in the sample prepared at a stand-off distance of 2.5 mm; in addition, the sample strength increased from 103.2 to 214.5 MPa. Heat treatment at 450°C for 6 h increased the thickness of intermetallic compound layers to 4.4 and 118.5 μm in the samples prepared at stand-off distances of 1 and 2.5 mm, respectively. These results indicated that increasing the duration and temperature of heat treatment decreased the microhardness and strength of the interface of explosively welded stainless steel 321-Al 1230 and increased the thickness of the intermetallic region.

Hepatitis B and C virus-induced hepatitis: Apoptosis, autophagy, and unfolded protein response

AIM: To investigate the co-incidence of apoptosis, autophagy, and unfolded protein response(UPR) in hepatitis B(HBV) and C(HCV) infected hepatocytes.METHODS: We performed immunofluorescence confocal microscopy on 10 liver biopsies from HBV and HCV patients and tissue microarrays of HBV positive liver samples. We used specific antibodies for LC3β, cleaved caspase-3, BIP(GRP78), and XBP1 to detect autophagy, apoptosis and UPR, respectively. AntiHCV NS3 and anti-HBs antibodies were also used to confirm infection. We performed triple blind counting of events to determine the co-incidence of autophagy(LC3β punctuate), apoptosis(cleaved caspase-3), and unfolded protein response(GRP78) with HBV and HCV infection in hepatocytes. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software for Windows(Version 16 SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, United States). P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Statistical analyses were performed with Mann-Whitney test to compare incidence rates for autophagy, apoptosis, and UPR in HBV- and HCV-infected cells and adjacent noninfected cells.RESULTS: Our results showed that infection of hepatocytes with either HBV and HCV induces significant increase(P < 0.001) in apoptosis(cleavage of caspase-3), autophagy(LC3β punctate), and UPR(increase in GRP78 expression) in the HCV- and HBVinfected cells, as compared to non-infected cells of the same biopsy sections. Our tissue microarray immunohistochemical expression analysis of LC3β in HBV^(Neg) and HBV^(Pos) revealed that majority of HBVinfected hepatocytes display strong positive stainingfor LC3β. Interestingly, although XBP splicing in HBVinfected cells was significantly higher(P < 0.05), our analyses show a slight increase of XBP splicing was in HCV-infected cells(P > 0.05). Furthermore, our evaluation of patients with HBV and HCV infection based on stage and grade of the liver diseases revealed no correlation between these pathological findings and induction of apoptosis, autophagy, and UPR.CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that HCV and HBV infection activates apoptosis, autophagy and UPR, but slightly differently by each virus. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the interconnections between these pathways in relation to pathology of HCV and HBV in the liver tissue.

Antioxidant activity and total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extract and chemical composition of the essential oil of Eremostachys laciniata collected from Zagros

Objective: To examine the chemical component of the essential oil of Eremostachys laciniata and evaluate antioxidant activity of the extract.Methods: The hydrodistillated essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Also, antioxidant activity, total phenolic and flavonoid content were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, Folin-Ciocalteu and colorimetric method, respectively.Results: The major components of the essential oil were p-cymene(21.64%), linalool(17.93%), and a-pinene(11.42%). Also, the extract obtained by methanol showed a good antioxidant activity. The same extract also exhibited high phenolic and flavonoid contents.Conclusions: These results indicate that Eremostachys laciniata can be used in dietary applications with a potential to reduce oxidative stress.

DFT Investigations(Geometry Optimization, UV/Vis, FT-IR, NMR, HOMO-LUMO, FMO, MEP, NBO, Excited States) and the Syntheses of New Pyrimidine Dyes

In the present work, the molecular structures of two new synthesized dyes：（4,6-dimethylpyrimidin-2-ylamino）（5-p-tolylisoxazol-3-yl）methanol（PS-1） and N-（4,6-dimethylpyrimidin-2-yl）-5-phenylisoxazole-3-carboxamide（PS-2）, have been investigated using density functional theory（DFT） in dimethylformamide（DMF） for the first time. The electronic spectra of new dyes in a DMF solvent were carried out by time dependent density functional theory（TD-DFT） method. After quantum-chemical calculations two new dyes for the optoelectronic applications were synthesized. FT-IR spectra of the title compounds are recorded and discussed. NucleusIndependent Chemical Shifts（NICS） calculations have also been carried out for the title compounds. The computed absorption spectral data of the title compounds are in good agreement with the experimental data, thus allowing an assignment of the UV spectra. The HOMO and LUMO molecular orbitals, excitation energies and oscillator strengths for the dyes have also been calculated and presented.

Graphene oxide based carbon composite as adsorbent for Hg removal:Preparation, characterization, kinetics and isotherm studies

The presence of Hg in the aqueous media is known to cause severe health issues in both humans and animals.Many technologies and especially adsorbents have been applied for its removal. In this study, a graphene oxide–carbon composite(GO–CC) as a new adsorbent was prepared by sol gel procedure and characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, BET and EDX. The effects of different variables including solution p H, contact time, adsorbent dose and GO ratio in adsorbent matrix on the removal capacity of Hg were studied. The isotherm data correlated well with the Langmuir isotherm model. Further analysis recommended that the Hg^(2+) adsorption process is governed by the intra-particle and external mass transfer, in which the film diffusion was the rate restrictive step. The presented composite has maximum absorption capacity, q_(max) of 68.8 mg·g^(-1), which is comparable with carbon based adsorbent reported in the previous publications.

Transient thermal behavior of radial fins of rectangular,triangular and hyperbolic profiles with temperature-dependent properties using DTM-FDM

This work focuses on transient thermal behavior of radial fins of rectangular,triangular and hyperbolic profiles with temperature-dependent properties.A hybrid numerical algorithm which combines differential transformation(DTM) and finite difference(FDM) methods is utilized to theoretically study the present problem.DTM and FDM are applied to the time and space domains of the problem,respectively.The accuracy of this method solution is checked against the numerical solution.Then,the effects of some applicable parameters were studied comparatively.Since a broad range of governing parameters are investigated,the results could be useful in a number of industrial and engineering applications.

A novel hybrid algorithm based on a harmony search and artificial bee colony for solving a portfolio optimization problem using a mean-semi variance approach

Portfolio selection is one of the major capital allocation and budgeting issues in financial management, and a variety of models have been presented for optimal selection. Semi-variance is usually considered as a risk factor in drawing up an efficient frontier and the optimal portfolio. Since semi-variance offers a better estimation of the actual risk portfolio, it was used as a measure to approximate the risk of investment in this work. The optimal portfolio selection is one of the non-deterministic polynomial(NP)-hard problems that have not been presented in an exact algorithm, which can solve this problem in a polynomial time. Meta-heuristic algorithms are usually used to solve such problems. A novel hybrid harmony search and artificial bee colony algorithm and its application were introduced in order to draw efficient frontier portfolios. Computational results show that this algorithm is more successful than the harmony search method and genetic algorithm. In addition, it is more accurate in finding optimal solutions at all levels of risk and return.

Unsteady MHD flow and heat transfer near stagnation point over a stretching/shrinking sheet in porous medium filled with a nanofluid

In this article, the unsteady magnetohydrodynamic （MHD） stagnation point flow and heat transfer of a nanofluid over a stretching/shrinking sheet is investigated numerically. The similarity solution is used to reduce the governing system of partial differential equations to a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations which are then solved numerically using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method with shooting technique. The ambient fluid velocity, stretching/shrinking velocity of sheet, and the wall temperature are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation point. To investigate the influence of various pertinent parameters, graphical results for the local Nusselt number, the skin friction coefficient, velocity profile, and temperature profile are presented for different values of the governing parameters for three types of nanoparticles, namely copper, alumina, and titania in the water-based fluid. It is found that the dual solution exists for the decelerating flow. Numerical results show that the extent of the dual solution domain increases with the increases of velocity ratio, magnetic parameter, and permeability parameter whereas it remains constant as the value of solid volume fraction of nanoparticles changes. Also, it is found that permeability parameter has a greater effect on the flow and heat transfer of a nanofluid than the magnetic parameter.

A comprehensive study of two-phase flow and heat transfer of water/Ag nanofluid in an elliptical curved minichannel

In this research,laminar flow and heat transfer of two-phase water/Ag nanofluid with 0–6%volume fraction of nanoparticles at Re=150–700 in a curved geometry are simulated using finite volume method.Studied geometry is an elliptical curved minichannel with curvature angle of 180°.Forced and natural flow of two-phase nanofluid is simulated at Gr=15000,35000 and 75000.For estimation of nanofluid flow behavior,two-phase mixture method is used.The second-order discretization and SIMPLEC algorithm are used for solving governing equations.The results indicate that the increase of volume fraction of nanoparticles leads to the enhancement of the temperature of central line of flow.The increase of Grashof number(Gr^75000)has a great effect on reduction of dimensionless temperature in central line of flow.Creation of thermal boundary layer at Re=500 and after the angle of 30°becomes significant.In low Grashof numbers(Gr^15000),due to the great effects of temperature gradients close to wall,these regions have significant entropy generation.

Optimization of suspension system of heavy off-road vehicle for stability enhancement using integrated anti-roll bar and coiling spring mechanism

Short suspension system has an indispensable effect on vehicle handling and ride,so,optimization of vehicle suspension system is one of the most effective methods,which could considerably enhance the vehicle stability and controllability.Motion control,stability maintenance and ride comfort improvement are fundamental issues in design of suspension system of off-road vehicles.In this work,a dependent suspension system mostly used in off-road vehicles is modeled using Trucksim software.Then,geometric parameters of suspension system are optimized using integrated anti-roll bar and coiling spring in a way that ride comfort,handling and stability of vehicle are improved.The simulation results of suspension system and variations of geometric parameters due to road roughness and different steering angles are presented in Trucksim and effects of optimization of suspension system during various driving maneuvers in both optimized and un-optimized conditions are compared.The simulation results indicate that the type of suspension system and geometric parameters have significant effect on vehicle performance.

Fabrication of an electrochemical sensor for determination of doxorubicin in human plasma and its interaction with DNA

In this work, an electrochemical sensor was fabricated for determination of an anthracycline, doxorubicin(DOX) as a chemotherapy drug in plasma based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified platinum electrode(Pt/MWCNTs). DOX was effectively accumulated on the surface of modified electrode and generated a pair of redox peaks at around 0.522 and 0.647 V(vs. Ag/Ag Cl) in Britton Robinson(B-R) buffer(p H 4.0, 0.1 M). The electrochemical parameters including p H, type of buffer, accumulation time, amount of modifier and scan rate were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, there was a linear correlation between cathodic peak current and concentration of DOX in the range of 0.05–4.0 μg/m L with the detection limit of 0.002 μg/m L. The number of electron transfers(n) and electron transfer-coefficient(α) were estimated as 2.0 and 0.25, respectively. The constructed sensor displayed excellent precision, sensitivity, repeatability and selectivity in the determination of DOX in plasma. Moreover, cyclic voltammetry studies of DOX in the presence of DNA showed an intercalation mechanism with binding constant(K_b) of 1.12×10~5L/mol.

Simulation and optimization of an industrial gas condensate stabilization unit to modify LPG and NGL production with minimizing CO2 emission to the environment

In the present study, a great effort was made to improve the performance of an industrial liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) and natural gas liquid(NGL) production unit in one of the major gas refinery located at Pars special economic zone in Iran. To demonstrate and obtain the optimal condition, the unit was simulated by using a steady-state flowsheet simulator, i.e. Aspen Plus, under different operational conditions. According to the simulation results,the unit was not operational under its optimal conditions due to some defects in the cooling system at top stage of the debutanizer tower(DBT) during hot and humid seasons. Additionally, the vapor pressure of produced LPG and accordingly the amount of its flaring were decreased by reducing the temperature of debutanizer tower at top stages. In the optimization section, the DBT condenser and reboiler heat duty, temperature, and pressure were regulated as adjustable parameters. The simulation results demonstrated that by applying the optimum suggestion in the hot months, the reflux stream temperature was reached about 55 ℃ which caused an efficient increment in LPG production(about 4%) with adjusting the propane component in LPG, based on the standard range as the plant criteria. Moreover, after applying modifications, about 750 t of LPG product was saved from flaring during five hot months of the year, which resulted in 360000 USD extra annual income for the company.Finally, from environmental point of view, this optimization caused to reduce 81 t of CO_2 emission to the environment. Therefore, the current investigation must be introduced as a friendly environmentally process.

One-step random-walk process of nanoparticles in cement-based materials

Efficient modelling approaches capable of predicting the behavior and effects of nanoparticles in cement-based materials are required for conducting relevant experiments.From the microstructural characterization of a cement-nanoparticle system,this paper investigates the potential of cell-based weighted random-walk method to establish statistically significant relationships between chemical bonding and diffusion processes of nanoparticles within cement matrix.LaSr_(0.5)C_(0.5)O_(3)(LSCO)nanoparticles were employed to develop a discrete event system that accounts for the behavior of individual cells where nanoparticles and cement components were expected to interact.The stochastic model is based on annihilation(loss)and creation(gain)of a bond in the cell.The model considers both chemical reactions and transport mechanism of nanoparticles from cementitious cells,along with cement hydration process.This approach may be useful for simulating nanoparticle transport in complex 2D cement-based materials systems.

Thermostable Broad Band Polarizing PVA-Film: Theoretical and Experimental Investigations

In the present work, for the first time on the basis ofpoly （vinyl alcohol） （PVA）, 2- （4-dimethylaminostyryl）-l-ethylquinolinium iodide （quinaldine red （QR）） and trisodium （4E）-5-oxo- 1-（4-sulfonatophenyl）-4-[（4-sulfonatophenyl）hydrazono]-3 pyrazolecarboxylate （tartrazine （T））, thermostable polarizing film in a wide range of spectra （λmax=394-511 nm） with polarization efficiency （PE） = 98% in absorption maximum and stretching degree （Rs） = 3.5 was developed. The basic spectral-polarization parameters （polarization efficiency and transmittance） of oriented colored PVA-films were measured and discussed. During the work it was found that oriented PVA-films are the phenomenon of anisotropy of thermal conductivity （λ｜/λ⊥）. It is a very important parameter for the development of thermostable PVA-polarizing films. For the first time quantum-chemical calculations using density functional theory （DFT） approach for structural analysis and electronic spectrum of the QR were carried out via the B3LYP/dgdzvp and TDB3LYP/dgdzvp methods. Interpretation of absorption strips in visible region of spectrum was also reported. The excitation energies, electronic transitions and oscillator strengths for the studied structures have also been calculated （B3LYP/dgdzvp）. The NBO analysis and Mulliken atomic charges of the QR were carried out.

Prediction of Blood-to-Brain Barrier Partitioning of Drugs and Organic Compounds Using a QSPR Approach

The purpose of this study was to develop a quantitative structure–property relationship(QSPR) model based on the enhanced replacement method(ERM) and support vector machine(SVM) to predict the blood-to-brain barrier partitioning behavior(log BB) of various drugs and organic compounds. Different molecular descriptors were calculated using a dragon package to represent the molecular structures of the compounds studied. The enhanced replacement method(ERM) was used to select the variables and construct the SVM model. The correlation coefficient, R^2, between experimental results and predicted log BB was 0.878 and 0.986, respectively. The results obtained demonstrated that, for all compounds, the log BB values estimated by SVM agreed with the experimental data, demonstrating that SVM is an effective method for model development, and can be used as a powerful chemometric tool in QSPR studies.

Automatic Text Summarization Using Genetic Algorithm and Repetitive Patterns

Taking into account the increasing volume of text documents,automatic summarization is one of the important tools for quick and optimal utilization of such sources.Automatic summarization is a text compression process for producing a shorter document in order to quickly access the important goals and main features of the input document.In this study,a novel method is introduced for selective text summarization using the genetic algorithm and generation of repetitive patterns.One of the important features of the proposed summarization is to identify and extract the relationship between the main features of the input text and the creation of repetitive patterns in order to produce and optimize the vector of the main document features in the production of the summary document compared to other previous methods.In this study,attempts were made to encompass all the main parameters of the summary text including unambiguous summary with the highest precision,continuity and consistency.To investigate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm,the results of the study were evaluated with respect to the precision and recall criteria.The results of the study evaluation showed the optimization the dimensions of the features and generation of a sequence of summary document sentences having the most consistency with the main goals and features of the input document.