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.
Numeral recognition is considered an essential preliminary step for optical character recognition, document understanding, and others. Although several handwritten numeral recognition algorithms have been proposed so far, achieving adequate recognition accuracy and execution time remain challenging to date. In particular, recognition accuracy depends on the features extraction mechanism. As such, a fast and robust numeral recognition method is essential, which meets the desired accuracy by extracting the features efficiently while maintaining fast implementation time. Furthermore, to date most of the existing studies are focused on evaluating their methods based on clean environments, thus limiting understanding of their potential a
... Show MorePorous materials play an important role in creating a sustainable environment by improving wastewater treatment's efficacy. Porous materials, including adsorbents or ion exchangers, catalysts, metal–organic frameworks, composites, carbon materials, and membranes, have widespread applications in treating wastewater and air pollution. This review examines recent developments in porous materials, focusing on their effectiveness for different wastewater pollutants. Specifically, they can treat a wide range of water contaminants, and many remove over 95% of targeted contaminants. Recent advancements include a wider range of adsorption options, heterogeneous catalysis, a new UV/H2O
This article aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of intellectual capital research published in the Scopus database from 1956 to 2020 to trace the development of scientific activities that can pave the way for future studies by shedding light on the gaps in the field. The analysis focuses on 638 intellectual capital-related papers published in the Scopus database over 60 years, drawing upon a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer. This paper highlights the mainstream of the current research in the intellectual capital field, based on the Scopus database, by presenting a detailed bibliometric analysis of the trend and development of intellectual capital research in the past six decades, including journals, authors, countries, inst
... Show MoreNonmissile penetrating spine injury (NMPSI) represents a small percent of spinal cord injuries (SCIs), estimated at 0.8% in Western countries. Regarding the causes, an NMPSI injury caused by a screwdriver is rare. This study reports a case of a retained double-headed screwdriver in a 37-year-old man who sustained a stab injury to the back of the neck, leaving the patient with a C4 Brown-Sequard syndrome (BSS). We discuss the intricacies of the surgical management of such cases with a literature review.
PubMed database was searched by the following combined formula of medical subjects headings,
The effect of electrolysis operating parameters on the removal efficiency of cadmium from a simulated wastewater was studied by adopting response surface methodology combined with Box–Behnken Design. As a new electrode design, spiral-wound woven wire mesh rotating cylinder electrode was used for cadmium removal. Current (240–400 mA), rotation speed (200–1000 rpm), initial cadmium concentration (200–600ppm), and cathode mesh number (30–60) were chosen as independent variables while the removal efficiency of cadmium was considered as a response function. The results revealed that the rotation speed has the major effect on the removal efficiency of cadmium. Regression analysis showed good fit of the experimental data to the second-or
... Show MoreObjective: To measure the serum levels of Fetuin-A, ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19in Baghdad, Iraq. Moreover, to determine these biomarkers' cut-off valuesthat differentiate between severely ill patients and control subjects. Methods: This case-control study was done from 15 September to the end of December 2021 and involved a review of the files and collectionof blood samples from patients (n=45, group1) hospitalized in COVID-19 treatment centersbecause of severe symptoms compared tohealthy subjects as controls (n=44, group2). Results: Fetuin-A serum levels were not statistically different between patients and controls. In contrast, IMA and ferritin levels were significan
... Show MoreAbstract: Microfluidic devices present unique advantages for the development of efficient drug assay and screening. The microfluidic platforms might offer a more rapid and cost-effective alternative. Fluids are confined in devices that have a significant dimension on the micrometer scale. Due to this extreme confinement, the volumes used for drug assays are tiny (milliliters to femtoliters).
In this research, a microfluidic chip consists of micro-channels carved on substrate materials built by using Acrylic (Polymethyl Methacrylate, PMMA) chip was designed using a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) laser machine. The CO2 parameters have influence on the width, depth, roughness of the chip. In order to have regular
... Show MoreBackground: Porcelain veneers are under a great deal of stress which may lead to clinical failure as fracture or dettachment. This study examined whether different finishing lines and lingual shoulder preparations in the incisal area of the maxillary central incisor affect the bond of the porcelain veneers. Materials and methods: A two- dimensional finite element model was made. Location and magnitude of maximum Von Mises stresses were calculated in porcelain veneer. Six types of preparations were drawn as:incisal overlap of 0.5mm, 1mm and 1.5mm depth and lingual shoulder, and incisal overlap of 0.5mm, 1mm and 1.5mm depth without shoulder preparation. Results: Stress formation is maximum in the incisal edge region. All the lingual shoulder
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