The effects of using aqueous nanofluids containing covalently functionalized graphene nanoplatelets with triethanolamine (TEA-GNPs) as novel working fluids on the thermal performance of a flat-plate solar collector (FPSC) have been investigated. Water-based nanofluids with weight concentrations of 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.1% of TEA-GNPs with specific surface areas of 300, 500, and 750 m2/g were prepared. An experimental setup was designed and built and a simulation program using MATLAB was developed. Experimental tests were performed using inlet fluid temperatures of 30, 40, and 50 °C; flow rates of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 kg/min; and heat flux intensities of 600, 800, and 1000 W/m2. The FPSC’s efficiency increased as the flow rate and heat flux intensity increased, and decreased as inlet fluid temperature increased. When using nanofluids in the FPSC, the measured temperatures of absorber plate and tube wall decreased down to 3.35% and 3.51%, respectively, with the increase in weight concentration and specific surface area, while the efficiency increased up to 10.53% for 0.1- wt% TEA-GNPs nanofluid with specific surface area of 750 m2/g, in comparison with water. When using water as heat transfer fluid, very good agreement was obtained between the experimental and predicted values of absorber plate temperature, tube wall temperature, and collector’s efficiency with maximum differences of 3.02%, 3.19%, and 3.26%, respectively. While, when using nanofluids, higher differences were found, up to 4.74%, 4.7%, and 13.47% for TEA-GNPs nanofluid with specific surface area of 750 m2/g, respectively. Accordingly, the MATLAB code was capable of simulating the thermal performance of FPSCs utilizing nanofluids as their heat transfer fluids with acceptable accuracy. Values of performance index were all greater than 1, and increased as weight concentration increased up to 1.104 for 0.1- wt% TEA-GNPs nanofluid with specific surface area of 750 m2/g, implying higher positive effects on efficiency than negative effects on pressure drop. Accordingly, the investigated nanofluids can efficiently be used in FPSCs for enhanced energy efficiency, and the 0.1- wt% water-based TEA-GNPs nanofluid with specific surface area of 750 m2/g was comparatively the superior one.
Two field experiments were performed to study the response of two species , Nigella sativa L. and Nigella arvensis L. within different sowing dates at spring and autumn seasons which included 1st and 20th March, 10th April and 1st May for spring season, while the sowing dates for the autumn season were, 2nd November, 21st November, 11th December, 31stDecember and 20thJanuary. Both experiments conducted according to the Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) within three replications at hallabja/Kurdistan Region, located [35°12'48.7"N; 45°57'34.4"
... Show MoreAn experiment was carried out at Al-Raed Research Station, which is located on the Baghdad-Anbar road during the winter season, in order to study the effect of the type of solar panels and irrigation system on some performance indicators of irrigation systems and germination percentage of bean crop (Vicia Faba L). A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with three replications. The experiment consist of two factors. 1st factor was the solar panel type with two levels : monocrystalline and polycrystalline. Second factor was the irrigation system with two levels Drip and sprinkler irrigation system the following indicators were studied : solar panel efficiency (%), Irrigation
Enhancement of heat transfer in the tube heat exchanger is studied experimentally by using discrete twisted tapes. Three different positions were selected for inserting turbulators along tube section (horizontal position by α= 00, inclined position by α= 45 0 and vertical position by α= 900). The space between turbulators was fixed by distributing 5 pieces of these turbulators with pitch ratio PR = (0.44). Also, the factor of constant heat flux was applied as a boundary condition around the tube test section for all experiments of this investigation, while the flow rates were selected as a variable factor (Reynolds number values vary from 5000 to 15000). The results s
... Show MoreIn this paper, two elements of the multi-input multi-output (MIMO) antenna had been used to study the five (3.1-3.55GHz and 3.7-4.2GHz), (3.4-4.7 GHz), (3.4-3.8GHz) and (3.6-4.2GHz) 5G bands of smartphone applications that is to be introduced to the respective US, Korea, (Europe and China) and Japan markets. With a proposed dimension of 26 × 46 × 0.8 mm3, the medium-structured and small-sized MIMO antenna was not only found to have demonstrated a high degree of isolation and efficiency, it had also exhibited a lower level of envelope correlation coefficient and return loss, which are well-suited for the 5G bands application. From the fabrication of an inexpensive FR4 substrate with a 0.8 mm thickness level, a loss tang
... Show MorePhotonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) based on the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) effect has been proposed to detect polluted water samples. The sensing characteristics are illustrated using the finite element method. The right hole of the right side of PCF core has been coated with chemically stable gold material to achieve the practical sensing approach. The performance parameter of the proposed sensor is investigated in terms of wavelength sensitivity, amplitude sensitivity, sensor resolution, and linearity of the resonant wavelength with the variation of refractive index of analyte. In the sensing range of 1.33 to 1.3624, maximum sensitivities of 1360.2 nm ∕ RIU and 184 RIU−1 are achieved with the high sensor resolutions of 7
... Show MoreCopper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of a copper(II) Schiff-base complex. The complex was formed by reacting cupric acetate with a Schiff base in a 2:1 metal-to-ligand ratio. The Schiff base itself was synthesized via the condensation of benzidine and 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde in the presence of glacial acetic acid. This newly synthesized symmetric Schiff base served as the ligand for the Cu(II) metal ion complex. The ligand and its complex were characterized using several spectroscopic methods, including FTIR, UV-vis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, CHNS, and AAS, along with TGA, molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The CuO nanoparticles were produced by thermally decomposing the
... Show MorePsoriasis is a dermatological, chronic, immune-mediated condition. Psoriasis symptoms are not associated with physical burden only, but it may also have psychosocial effects on patients, diminished cognitive control, poor body image and impairments in everyday life. The value of quality of life is important since improving it is the principal goal for non-curative disease. The aim of the current study was to evaluate quality of life in a sample of Iraqi patients with psoriasis. This study is a cross-sectional study that involved 300 already diagnosed psoriasis patients who attended to the center of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical City/Baghdad. The mean age of patients was (35.156 ±10.549 years). The Arabic version of Dermatology Li
... Show MoreTitanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) samples were nitrided in low pressure (1.3, 3 mbar) dc-glow discharge plasmas of nitrogen. The treating time was 5, 10 and 15 hour and the temperatures range of the samples during the nitriding process was close to 800oC. The obtained microstructures of the nitride layers were studied by x-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. The ε –Ti2N, ζ-Ti3N3-x and η-Ti3N2-x.phases were formed and addition to the solid solution of nitrogen in titanium, α (Ti,N). Micro hardness measurements exhibit an increment for the Ti-alloy specimens which nitrided at 800oC for 10 and 15h.Corrosion measurements were obtained for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in Ringer solution after plasma nitriding. The clear improving in the corrosion r
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study was to develop theophylline (TP) inhalable sustained delivery system by preparing solid lipid microparticles using glyceryl behenate (GB) and poloxamer 188 (PX) as a lipid carrier and a surfactant respectively. The method involves loading TP nanoparticles into the lipid using high shear homogenization – ultrasonication technique followed by lyophilization. The compositional variations and interactions were evaluated using response surface methodology, a Box – Behnken design of experiment (DOE). The DOE constructed using TP (X1), GB (X2) and PX (X3) levels as independent factors. Responses measured were the entrapment efficiency (% EE) (Y1), mass median
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