• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.35-43
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• 2017

A 3D transient heat transfer model is developed by ABAQUS software to study the temperature distribution during friction stir welding process at different rotational speeds. Furthermore, AA 5083-O plates were joined by FSW technique. For this purpose, a universal milling machine was used to perform the welding process and a mechanical vice was used to fix the work pieces in the proper position. The joints were friction stir welded at a constant travel speed 50 mm/min and two rotational speed values; 400 rpm and 630 rpm using two types of tools; cylindrical threaded pin and tapered smooth one. At each welding condition the temperature was measured using infra-red thermal image camera to verify the simulated temperature distribution. The welded joints were visually inspected as well as by macro- and microstructure evolutions. In addition, the welded joints were mechanically tested for hardness and tensile strength. The maximum peak temperature obtained was at higher rotational speed using the threaded tool pin profile. The results showed that the rotational speed affects the peak temperature, defects formation and sizes, and the mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints. Moreover, the threaded tool gives superior mechanical properties than the tapered one at lower rotational speed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.341-354
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• 2022

Treatment of solid waste building materials is a crucial method of disposal and an area of ongoing research. New standards for the treatment of solid waste building materials are necessary due to multisource features, huge quantities, and complicated compositions of solid waste. In this research, sustainable nanomaterial mixtures containing nano-paper waste (NPW) and nano-metakaolin (NMK) were used as a substitute for Portland cement. Portland cement was replaced with different ratios of NPW and NMK (0%, 4%, 8%, and 12% by weight of cement) while the cement-to-water ratio remained constant at 0.4 in all mortar mixtures. The fresh properties had a positive effect on them, and with the increase in the percentage of replacement, the fresh properties decreased. The results of compressive strength at 7 and 28 days and flexural strength at 28 days show that the nanomaterials improved the strength, but the results of NMK were better than those of NPW. The best replacement rate was 8%, followed by 4%, and finally 12% for both materials. The combination of NMK and NPW as a replacement (12% NMK + 12% NPW) showed less shrinkage than the others because of the high pozzolanic reactivity of the nanomaterials. The combination of NMK and NPW improved the microstructure by increasing the hydration volume and lowering the water in the cement matrix, as clearly observed in the C-S-H decomposition.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.499-512
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• 2022

This study investigates the efficiency of ensemble machine learning for predicting the lightweight-aggregate concrete (LWC) characteristics. A stacking ensemble (STEN) approach was proposed to estimate the dry density (DD) and 28 days compressive strength (Fc-28) of LWC using two meta-models called random forest regressor (RFR) and extra tree regressor (ETR), and two novel ensemble models called STEN-RFR and STEN-ETR, were constructed. Four standalone machine learning models including artificial neural network, gradient boosting regression, K neighbor regression, and support vector regression were used to compare the performance of the proposed models. For this purpose, a sum of 140 LWC mixtures with 21 influencing parameters for producing LWC with a density less than 1000 kg/m³, were used. Based on the experimental results with multiple performance criteria, it can be concluded that the proposed STEN-ETR model can be used to estimate the DD and Fc-28 of LWC. Moreover, the STEN-ETR approach was found to be a significant technique in prediction DD and Fc-28 of LWC with minimal prediction error. In the validation phase, the accuracy of the proposed STEN-ETR model in predicting DD and Fc-28 was found to be 96.79% and 81.50%, respectively. In addition, the significance of cement, water-cement ratio, silica fume, and aggregate with expanded glass variables is efficient in modeling DD and Fc-28 of LWC.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2024

This research presents dynamical reaction investigation of pore-dependent and nano-thickness beams having functional gradation (FG) constituents exposed to a movable particle. The nano-thickness beam formulation has been appointed with the benefits of refined high orders beam paradigm and nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) comprising two scale moduli entitled nonlocality and strains gradient modulus. The graded pore-dependent constituents have been designed through pore factor based power-law relations comprising pore volumes pursuant to even or uneven pore scattering. Therewith, variable scale modulus has been thought-out until process a more accurate designing of scale effects on graded nano-thickness beams. The motion equations have been appointed to be solved via Ritz method with the benefits of Chebyshev polynomials in cosine form. Also, Laplace transform techniques help Ritz-Chebyshev method to obtain the dynamical response in time domain. All factors such as particle speed, pores and variable scale modulus affect the dynamical response.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.87 no.1
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• pp.91-99
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• 2024

Background: Tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) and parapneumonic effusion (PPE) are often difficult to differentiate owing to the overlapping clinical features. Observational studies demonstrate that the ratio of lactate dehydrogenase to adenosine deaminase (LDH/ADA) is lower in TPE compared to PPE, but integrated analysis is warranted. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the LDH/ADA ratio in differentiating TPE and PPE. We explored the PubMed and Scopus databases for studies evaluating the LDH/ADA ratio in differentiating TPE and PPE. Results: From a yield of 110 studies, five were included for systematic review. The cutoff value for the LDH/ADA ratio in TPE ranged from <14.2 to <25. The studies demonstrated high heterogeneity, precluding meta-analysis. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies Tool 2 assessment revealed a high risk of bias in terms of patient selection and index test. Conclusion: LDH/ADA ratio is a potentially useful parameter to differentiate between TPE and PPE. Based on the limited data, we recommend an LDH/ADA ratio cutoff value of <15 in differentiating TPE and PPE. However, more rigorous studies are needed to further validate this recommendation.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.115-124
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• 2014

This paper presents the implementation of two-arm modulation (TAM) technique for the independent control of a two-induction motor drive fed by a five-leg inverter (FLI). A carrier-based space vector pulse width modulation technique for TAM is proposed to generate switching signals for FLI. Two independent three-phase space vector modulators are utilized to control two motors. The motor drive system applies two separate indirect field-oriented control methods. The stationary voltage outputs from the vector control are synthesized in the three-phase space vector modulator to generate switching signals for FLI. The performance of the independent control of the motors and the voltage utilization factor are likewise analyzed. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for the independent control of the two-motor drive system. The proposed technique is successfully validated by dSPACE DS1103 experimental work.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.6 no.10
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• pp.2473-2492
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• 2012

Energy conservation is a vital issue in wireless sensor networks. Recently, employing mobile sinks for data gathering become a pervasive trend to deal with this problem. The sink can follow stochastic or pre-defined paths; however the controlled mobility pattern nowadays is taken more into consideration. In this method, the sink moves across the network autonomously and changes its position based on the energy factors. Although the sink mobility would reduce nodes' energy consumption and enhance the network lifetime, the overhead caused by topological changes could waste unnecessary power through the sensor field. In this paper, we proposed EEDARS, an energy-efficient dual-sink algorithm with role switching mechanism which utilizes both static and mobile sinks. The static sink is engaged to avoid any periodic flooding for sink localization, while the mobile sink adaptively moves towards the event region for data collection. Furthermore, a role switching mechanism is applied to the protocol in order to send the nearest sink to the recent event area, hence shorten the path. This algorithm could be employed in event-driven and multi-hop scenarios. Analytical model and extensive simulation results for EEDARS demonstrate a significant improvement on the network metrics especially the lifetime, the load and the end-to-end delay.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-71
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• 2018

Waste glass disposal causes environmental problems in the cities. To find a suitable green environmental solution for this problem low cost adsorbent in this study was prepared from waste glass. An effective new green adsorbent was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of waste glass (WG), followed by acidic activation of its surface by HCl (WGP). The prepared adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and BET surface measurement. The developed adsorbent was used for the removal of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) from well water. Batch experiments were conducted to test the ability of the prepared adsorbent for the removal of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn from well water. The experiments of the heavy metals adsorption by adsorbent (WGP) were performed at different metal ion concentrations, solution pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and kinetic models were used to verify the adsorption performance. The results indicated high removal efficiencies (99-100%) for all the studied heavy metals at pH 7 at constant contact time of 2 h. The data obtained from adsorption isotherms of metal ions at different time fitted well to linear form of the Langmuir sorption equation, and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Application of the resulted conditions on well water demonstrated that the modified waste glass adsorbent successfully adsorbed heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) from well water.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.401-405
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• 2013

Complex regional pain syndrome secondary to brachial plexus injury is often severe, debilitating and difficult to manage. Percuteneous radiofrequency sympathectomy is a relatively new technique, which has shown promising results in various chronic pain disorders. We present four consecutive patients with complex regional pain syndrome secondary to brachial plexus injury for more than 6 months duration, who had undergone percutaneous T2 and T3 radiofrequency sympathectomy after a diagnostic block. All four patients experienced minimal pain relief with conservative treatment and stellate ganglion blockade. An acceptable 6 month pain relief was achieved in all 4 patients where pain score remained less than 50% than that of initial score and all oral analgesics were able to be tapered down. There were no complications attributed to this procedure were reported. From this case series, percutaneous T2 and T3 radiofrequency sympathectomy might play a significant role in multi-modal approach of CRPS management.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.1764-1770
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• 2020

The present work was mainly concerned with studying the operation of RC-phase shift oscillator based on MOSFET type 2N6660 under the influence of different temperature levels ranging from room temperature (25 ℃) up-to135 ℃ and gamma-irradiation up-to 3.5 kGy. In this concern, both the static (I-V) characteristic curves of MOSFET devices and the output signal of the proposed oscillator were recorded under ascending levels of both temperature and gamma-irradiation. From which, it is clearly shown that the drain current was decreased from 0.22 A, measured at 25 ℃, down to 0.163 A, at 135 ℃. On the other hand, its value was increased up-to 0.49 A, whenever the device was exposed to gamma-rays dose of 3.5 kGy. Considering RC-phase shift oscillator, the oscillation frequency and output pk-pk voltage were decreased whenever MOSFET device exposed to gamma radiation by ratio 54.9 and 91%, respectively. While, whenever MOSFET device exposed to temperature the previously mentioned parameters were shown to be decreased by ratio 2.07 and 46.2%.