In this study, a single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) with nano-polypyrrole modified graphite felt as anode- and platinum-coated carbon cloth as cathode was employed to reduce the amount of copper, Cu2+, in synthetic wastewater. The performance of the SCMFC was studied for two inocula, Shewanella putrefaciens and mixed culture. Maximum tolerable concentrations of 50 mg/L and 70 mg/L of copper

The major focus of the current study was the modeling of 3D Darcy–Forchheimer flow of water–CNTs nanofluid. Impacts of non-uniform heat source/sink and Ohmic heating on 3D magneto hydrodynamic flow of water–CNTs (SWCNT and MWCNT) nanofluid were assessed. The numerical analysis method ‘Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg’ was applied for existing PDEs. It was noted that the thermal boundary layer was extended for

Project management is a process that schemes and controls the project life cycle via the easiest and the best way to achieve project goals. Project managers always aim to simultaneously handle conflicting goals in the organization. In this paper, a new mathematical model is proposed that simultaneously minimizes total cost and completion time and maximizes the quality in the project management decision

In this paper, the mathematical model used in finding the common vectors of classes in pattern recognition problems is reconsidered to obtain possible alternative solutions for the common vectors. Since the number of unknowns is always one larger than the number of equations in the mathematical model, the best solution to the problem seems to be the pseudo-inverse solutions. We obtained two forms of

The study investigated the strengthening effect of glass fiber and polypropylene fiber-based engineered cementitious composites (GFPPECC) on fire-damaged reinforced concrete short exterior columns. Both moderate (500 °C) and high (900 °C) intensities of fire load corresponding to the ISO834 fire curve were adopted. A total of 15 columns (150 mm × 150 mm × 1000 mm) were cast. The columns were grouped

Using the hydrodynamic (fluid) model of plasmas, we have studied the threshold and gain characteristics of parametric amplification of optical phonon mode in magnetized AIIIBV semiconductor plasmas. The origin of nonlinear interaction is assumed to lie in second-order nonlinearity arising due to nonlinear coupling of pump wave, optical phonon and signal modes in the medium. Theoretical formulation

Wild carob (WC), an abundant and unused lignocellulosic waste in Algeria, has been used as an inexpensive biosorbent for the elimination of methylene blue (MB) from the aqueous solution and as a precursor for the preparation of a new activated carbon by chemical activation with ZnCl2 (ACWC). The adsorbent materials were characterized by N2 physisorption, SEM/EDX, FTIR spectroscopy and isoelectric point

Reduction in power loss while maintaining the acceptable voltage profile has become a challenge for distribution system operators due to expanded living standards. Properly sized shunt capacitors (SCs) allocated at suitable locations of the distribution system can enhance its performance by tackling the power quality issues and foster multiple technical and economic benefits. Most of the existing research

This paper introduces a new technique in the automatic detection of storm sudden commencement (SC) using the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). A geomagnetic storm is a global simultaneous phenomenon affecting the whole Earth, which means that all ground magnetometers running online will record this event. An algorithm using different characteristic features of the SC is proposed. The selection of an

Due to insufficient information in multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems, the decision values given by experts are often fuzzy and uncertain. As an extension of Pythagorean fuzzy set (PFS), interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy (IPF) set is a more effective and powerful tool to handle fuzzy information in decision problems. But, there are two key issues that needed to be solved: weights of experts

A study of natural radioactivity levels in environmental samples within the northern coastal region of Egypt and the Eastern Province—Khobar, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, has been evaluated. The samples were analyzed using gamma spectrometry based on HpGe detector. The mean activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th, 235U, 40K in addition to 137Cs were 27.03 ± 6.74 Bq/kg, 19.76 ± 0.92 Bq/kg, 0.83 ± 0.06 Bq/kg

This paper presents an analysis of road traffic crashes in Palestine. Over the period of the past 5 decades, there have been uncommon and sever changes in the annual number of road traffic crashes. Such changes can be contributed to varying socioeconomic and political changes. Relevant data have been collected despite the difficulties in obtaining such data from different authorities for various time

A numerical model based on multi-domain is developed to investigate the scattering of surface gravity waves by an array of submerged rubble-mound breakwaters. The boundary value problem is analysed in two dimensions under the assumption of small-amplitude wave theory in the water of finite depth. Analytical solution based on the eigenfunction expansion method is independently developed to validate

The demand for high-precision motion control method for complex systems has increased in the recent decade. The significant challenge is to achieve robustness despite insufficient knowledge about the disturbances acting on a real-time system. Uncertainty and Disturbance Estimator (UDE) method is a vital approach that takes up the challenge, ensuring stability and robustness. This paper is dedicated

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is a widely used additive manufacturing process. It utilizes a variety of homogeneous and heterogeneous materials for product development. A new manufacturing process termed as Hybrid Fused Deposition Modelling (HFDM) has been used for the manufacture of various copper metal mesh (99.99% pure)/PLA (polylactic acid or polylactide) plastic composites. These products have

In the hydro-turbine operation, the kinetic energy of flowing fluid is converted into mechanical energy. In the turbine operation, fluid induces hydraulic load that not only provides a useful mechanical driving torque on the turbine shaft but also causes deformation in turbine components and stress distribution that might induce a structure failure. Structural failure in turbine component decreases

This paper investigates the dynamical characteristics for meminductor and memcapacitor via fractal–fractional-order domain of Caputo–Fabrizio. A chaos circuit is modeled for the highly nonlinear and non-fractional governing differential equations of meminductor and meminductor for knowing the hyperchaos, abrupt chaos and coexisting attractors. The time-scale transformation on dynamical equations is

This paper focuses on the modeling and optimization of the physical and mechanical properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC), prepared using the modified packing model design, taking into consideration sand’s particle size distribution (PSD) and fineness modulus (FM). The optimization is predicated using the response surface methodology. The analysis of variance is exploited to determine the statistical

This paper explores a probabilistic resilience-based cost–benefit model that can be used to identify the best retrofit measures for bridges. In the model, the increase in resilience is considered to be the benefit of seismic retrofit. A bridge functionality assessment model is also proposed to evaluate resilience. The functionality is estimated based on the appropriate seismic loss and exponential

Steel pipelines are vulnerable to the movements of active faults. Few studies focused on reverse faults. The deformational behavior of buried steel pipelines crossing an active reverse fault is investigated in this paper by applying 3D continuum finite element modeling. Numerical simulations indicate that local buckling (or wrinkling) mode of failure is more sensitive to the pipeline rather than tensile

Steel fibers increase the strain capacity of normal and high-strength concrete columns. Availability of normal or high-strength concrete and conventional reinforcement is limited for low-rise concrete houses in rural areas. It is in the interest of society, of the thousands of people that live in those houses, that house performance be evaluated. This paper assesses the behavior of 18 short, square-section

When natural disasters occur, real-time disaster relief operations need to be implemented. But if disaster relief transportation is interrupted, these operations will be severely hampered. Emergency relief bridges must be erected so that people, materials and machinery can reach the disaster area smoothly. Therefore, one indispensable tool of disaster relief organizations is the light bridge. The design

This paper focuses on a make-to-order production system, where rejection of some orders is inevitable due to limited production capacity. In such a system, accepting all orders may cause overloads, order delays, and customer dissatisfaction. For this reason, firms tend to reject some orders. The order acceptance and scheduling problem is defined as deciding simultaneously which orders to be selected

In the original publication, ‘ALGORITHM 1’ was missed out completely during typesetting.

Above all vertical axis wind turbines, for their lower cost and independent on wind direction, Savonius rotor takes the advantage to be more suitable for some implementation. Thus, many investigations have been carried out to improve its efficiency. This study emphasizes on the effect of the overlap distance and the blade shape on a helical Savonius wind turbine performance. Assessment methods based

Proximity charge sensing is a novel technique used in the field of radiation detection. This research examines the simulation of a pixelated anode proximity charge-sensing device on CZT semiconductors to evaluate the potential performance of the proximity sensing technique on room-temperature detector materials for imaging purposes. The weighting potentials (WPs), of proximity-sensing and directly

Plants are the major source of a wide array of antimicrobials and antioxidants. Present study describes the biochemical exploration of the methanol and chloroform extracts of aerial parts of Kickxia ramosissima (Wall.) Janchn. Main objective of study was to verify the antimicrobial and antioxidant value of its extracts. The crude extracts were subjected to different biological activities to explore

The pollution of water bodies with ciprofloxacin (CF) and other antibiotics has resulted in undesirable characteristics, such as color, odor and microbial resistance in environmental waters. Using agricultural waste as biosorbents for the removal of antibiotics from wastewater is a promising treatment approach. This research was based on the treatment of CF-polluted water by utilizing acid-modified

In this paper, the localization issue associated with distance relay protecting a transmission line with static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is discussed. Generally, distance relay is mal-operated due to the dynamic behaviour of STATCOM during its inductive and capacitive modes of operation. Because, STATCOM operation creates the problem of correct measurement of fault distance and is responsible

In this study, Mn, Pb, Ni, Cd, and Cr concentrations in Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant sludge (ABWWTP) (Turkey) were investigated. The health risks associated with the use of sludge as manure were also calculated. In this context, the metal pollution index (MPI) was determined to assess the pollution degree. According to the obtained data, the highest concentration in ABWWTP sludge

A backward facing step (BFS) flow has been investigated extensively by the research community experimentally and computationally due to its significant flow features because of the presence of the separation-reattachment mechanism. The strength of this mechanism varies based on the Reynolds number (RN). For turbulent flow at low RN, the separation-reattachment mechanism computations may be expensive

In this paper, iron-supported natural Sbih clay (Fe–Sb) was prepared by pillared method under ultrasound energy. Fe–Sb was used to remove Ni(II) and Zn(II) from aqueous effluents via sonoassisted adsorption process. To characterize the produced clay material, surface area, mineralogical composition of clay material and interlayer spacing changes of the prepared sample Fe–Sb were identified. The sonoassisted

The mix design of asphalt concrete is usually accomplished in the Iranian ministry of road and transportation according to the Marshall method. Marshall mix design parameters are a function of grading and properties of aggregates, amount and type of bitumen in asphalt mixtures. Therefore, in order to determine these parameters and the optimum bitumen content, many samples with different compounds and

In this paper, we develop two novel hybrid models, namely N-soft expert set model and fuzzy N-soft expert set model. An N-soft expert set model is the combination of N-soft sets with soft expert sets, and a fuzzy N-soft expert model studies the fuzziness of N-soft expert sets. Further, we illustrate our hybrid models with daily life examples involving uncertainties in data. Moreover, we describe some

The recent advancements in wireless communications, embedded processing and electronics have rendered wireless sensor networks (WSNs) an integral role in the development of smart environments and ubiquitous systems. In order to meet the ever-increasing market demands and to overcome the inherent resource-constrained nature of the constituent nodes, modern WSNs are enriched with multi-sensing nodes

Over the past few years, composite steel–concrete beams saw numerous applications in bridge construction because of their competitive cost in comparison with non-composite steel or reinforced concrete structures. Bridges, in particular and industrial structures in general, are commonly subjected to cyclic loading of vehicles or operating machines. This made it important to study and investigate the

Phaleria macrocarpa is historically treasured remedy for treating various allergies, infections and health complications. Commercial availability of this plant extract, however, remains limited as conventional phytochemical extraction techniques require prolong extraction time, high consumption of solvents, in conjunction to being energy intensive. Herein, this study aimed to statistically optimize

An effective and timely detection of islanding is a task of paramount importance to nullify the potential threat to field personnel and equipment damage. A passive islanding detection method based on modal current and adaptive boosting is proposed in the present work. The three-phase currents of the target distributed generation unit are converted into modal signals reducing the dataset. These modal

Pure and doped SnO2 with V2O5 nanopowders were synthesized via sol–gel method using different V2O5 ratios. Novel thin films of SnO2:V2O5 were thermally vacuum deposited from the nanopowders and utilized for gas sensor devices to detect volatile organic compounds hazardous gases. The morphological and crystalline structure, textural properties, functional groups, optical properties and thermal behavior

The current work investigates the mechanical properties of W–Ni–Fe tungsten heavy alloy (WHA) composites reinforced with 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 wt% of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The composites were fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. Detailed microstructural characterization of the sintered samples, including contiguity, grain size and matrix volume fraction, was carried

Accurate prediction of SO2 absorption efficiency under different physical and chemical parameters is of significant importance for desulfurization of the flue gas. In order to understand the mechanism of SO2 absorption inside a bubble-dispersion tower, a three-dimensional twin Eulerian model together with two-film theory was applied to simulate the flue gas desulfurization processes in a bubble-dispersion

Large-scale multi-user multiple input multiple output (LS-MU-MIMO) is a promising technology to meet the demands for higher spectral and energy efficiency in the next-generation communication system. LS-MU-MIMO technology can provide 50 times or more network throughput by enhancing the spectral efficiency without cell densification and extra bandwidth requirements. This paper focuses on improvement

In this paper, we use discrete gradient methods for numerical solutions of mathematical models of epidemiology: a susceptible infected recovered infected (SIRI) model. The numerical results mimic the true and qualitatively correct behavior of the SIRI model. The first integrals (also known as the constant of motion) of the SIRI model obtained in literature using partial Lagrangian approach are well

Manufacturing sectors are observing for methods to mitigate the use of cutting fluids for economic and ecological causes. The approach of cryogenic cooling looks to be an effective solution to enrich the process sustainability, as it is non-toxic and substantially increases the life of the tool. In this present research, milling experiments were performed to examine the surface aspects in the machining

Nonlinear dynamic analysis is the most advanced structural analysis method, and it has become very widespread method to determine structural responses for seismic design or assessment. On the other hand, structural responses strongly rely on the selection of earthquake records for nonlinear dynamic analysis. In this study, several earthquake record selection strategies which impose different compatibility

Solar cells based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 alloys as the absorber layer continue to attract attention in research and industry. In order to reduce production costs, several deposition techniques have been employed, one of which is the electrochemical way. The paper reports on the synthesis in a single bath of low cost electrochemically thin films of the ternary semiconductor compound CuInSe2 without the need

The current study develops a novel application of numerical computing paradigm to inspect the cumulative effects of both electric and magnetic field on a micropolar nanofluid bounded by two parallel plates in a rotating system by using Adams and Explicit Runge–Kutta (RK) solvers. The steady state micropolar nanofluidics flow has been considered between parallel plates under the Hall current effect

In the perspective of significant industrial applications and research works being conducted on functionally graded materials (FGMs), the present article seeks to demonstrate the flexural behavior of smart functionally graded plate with the use of recently developed inverse hyperbolic shear deformation theory. The kinematic field of this theory consists of five independent primary variables and inherently

The objective of the present work is to build and test a framework which makes use of process-based software metrics to determine the defects in software projects in an agile software development environment. A methodological framework based on fuzzy linguistic modelling has been proposed to predict the defect density using various process metrics derived from literature studies to measure the attributes

Hybrid nanofluids are used to enhance therapeutic effects and reduce the side effects in tumour therapy. These nanoparticles are transported nearest to the cancer’s tissues under the action of the peristaltic waves generated on the walls of the blood vessel. The motion of hybrid nanoparticles in non-uniform vertical channel having flexible boundaries is numerically elaborated in present study. Poisson

This study examined low-binder ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) when nanosilica (NS) and/or microsilica (MS) were incorporated in Portland cement (PC) in either binary or ternary blends. Two groups were created for this purpose, and they were divided based on the presence or absence of silica flume (SF). NS was used as a restricted substitute for cement by weight at five different percentages

Engineered cementitious composites (ECCs) possessing strain-hardening behavior have been developed utilizing supplementary cementitious materials and fibers. The developed ECCs exhibit excellent performance in terms of mechanical and thermal properties and are highly durable. However, the latest trend is to use industrial waste materials (IWMs), as alkali-activated materials, in the development of

Polysulfone (psf)/nanoclay mixed matrix ultrafiltration membranes with N-methyl pyrrolidone as a solvent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as porogen were prepared using phase inversion techniques. Unlike the other nanocomposites membranes prepared using nanoclays, the present work deals with the incorporation of montmorillonite clay (MMT) and MMT modified with methyl dihydroxy ethyl hydrogenated tallow

Prime motive of this research is to formulate and analyze the elastico-viscous fluid flow triggered by sinusoidal waves progressing across the walls of symmetric channel. The research is based on the Walters-B model that depicts normal stress effects attributed to the fluid elasticity. Here, we endeavor to derive correct form of equations representing peristalsis of Walters-B liquid. The said model

Nanostructured iron–zirconium oxides (NIZOs), with Fe-to-Zr molar ratio of 1:1 and 1:2, have been found to show high adsorption efficiency toward Pb2+ from aqueous solution. The NIZO was synthesized by the co-precipitation method and characterized in terms of XRD, TEM, SEM–EDX, BET surface area analysis, TGA, FT-IR spectroscopy and zeta potential measurement. The data of adsorption of Pb2+ on the NIZO

Rock-like materials and Barton’s standard joint curve were used to make filled joint specimens, and the shear characteristics of the filled joints were studied. Discrete element software was used to analyze the failure mechanism during filled joint shearing. Based on the experimental findings, a new theoretical model of joint shear strength was proposed. It was found that joint roughness has a great

Previous laboratory tests conducted using rock-like samples with 2D through fractures are mostly high-level simplifications of real engineering conditions. Thus, the results from these 2D analyses cannot usually be successfully applied to 3D conditions and real engineering conditions. To study the mechanical properties and failure processes of samples that could highly represent the 3D conditions in

In proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems operating at low temperature, water management is important as it helps to improve cell performance. In this research paper, a three-dimensional, steady-state and non-isothermal model was established. The paper is aimed at investigating the effect of water flooding on the PEMFC performance. The Taguchi approach was proposed to obtain optimal levels

In this article, the investigation on a randomized arrival control policy for the prospective customers in the finite capacity queueing system with working vacation and vacation interruption is done. The impatience behavior of the customers is also considered in modeling and assumptions to the studied problem to make it more realistic. In the investigated queueing model, at the epoch when the number

Ionotropic gelation followed by polyelectrolyte complexion was used for the synthesis of nanoparticles based on sodium alginate (NaAL) and chitosan (CS) for encapsulation of ibuprofen (IBP), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, field-emission scanning electron microscopes, percentage of encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity have been used to confirm the