The impact of urban transportation on air pollution and the role of subway inits control (Tehran, Beijing, Barcelona)

Many scholars believe that air pollution can be defined when it is mixed with  technical indicators. Therefore,in his legal dictionary, Garner has defined air  pollution as any material and harmful energy that directly or indirectly emit in the air in such as a way that harm the environment, welfare, or public health. Air pollution has both natural and synthetic origin. In the meantime, transport is one of the  causes of pollution that is in artificial emissions group and has a major contribution to air pollution.Urban rail transportation is considered as an efficient factor in reducing transport-related pollution, and thusin addition to its ability in rapid and massive transportation, subway can play an important role in sustainable urban development. In this article, we have tried to examine the role of transportation in urban air pollution as well as the subway role in reducing these emissions, and subways in Tehran, Beijing, and Barcelona havebeen investigated and the outstanding role of subway is identified because of the high volume of human transportation and reducing traffic in the city.Key words: transportation, air pollution, subways, traffi

Deep slow-slip events promote seismicity in northeastern Japan megathrust

The sliding movement between oceanic and crustal plates in subduction zones is accommodated through both earthquakes and quasi-static or transient aseismic slip. On northeastern Japan megathrust, aseismic transients, known as slow-slip events, are suggested to precede and trigger major earthquakes in their immediate surroundings. However, the geodetic evidence for these episodic slow-slip events, as well as their link to the seismicity on neighboring locked segments of the megathrust, is missing. Here, we combine the on-shore geodetic data set with seismic observations during the interseismic period of 1996–2003 and demonstrate that episodic slow-slip events are prevalent across the down-dip portion (∼30–70 km depth) of the megathrust and the associated stress changes modulate the seismicity rate on the neighboring seismogenic zone. Consequently, small- to moderate-size earthquakes are periodically triggered, whose interaction through a domino effect might occasionally lead to major earthquakes. This observation has a profound impact on the estimation of seismic hazard in the region, introducing a new triggering mechanism that acts across the megathrust to the extent that has not been acknowledged before

Participation of people in waste source separation program

One of the basic problems of current cities is solid waste and its correct management. Solid waste material is the unavoidable product of routine life of human being. These wastes affect the quality and quantity of life in the present era. Increased population, development, human activities and shortage of resources have caused the solid waste management a necessity. Waste reduction management and its separation at source are performed with the citizens’ participation. The present study aimed to evaluate the waste source separation and determine the participation of citizens in Azimie of Karaj city in Alborz province, Iran.This study is questionnaire based and to achieve the study purpose, question-based questionnaires are distributed randomly among 100 citizens of Azimieh. The data were analyzed. Based on the results of study, in separation at source activity, 70% of people participated and the highest participation was via media and teachers. 100% of subjects were inclined to participate in this program. The effect of this plan was 90% and effectiveness of this plan from economic, social and environmental aspects was high.Keywords: Waste, Separation at source, People participation, Azimi

Power analysis and simulation of a vehicle under combined loads

This paper presents an analytical model of fuel consumption (AMFC) to coordinate the driving power and manage the overall fuel consumption for an internal combustion engine vehicle. The model calculates the different loads applied on the vehicle including road-slope, road-friction, wind-drag, accessories, and mechanical losses. Also, it solves the combustion equation of the engine under different working conditions including various fuel compositions, excess airs and air inlet temperatures. Then it determines the contribution of each load to signify the energy distribution and power flows of the vehicle. Unlike the conventional models in which the vehicle speed needs to be given as an input, the developed model can predict the vehicle speed and acceleration under different working conditions by allowing the speed to vary within a predefined range only. Furthermore, the model indicates the ways to minimises the vehicles\u27 fuel consumption under various driving conditions. The results show that the model has the potential to assist in the vehicle energy management.<br /

A microfluidic electroosmotic mixer and the effect of potential and frequency on its mixing efficiency

This paper presents the design and numerical simulation of a T-shape microfluidic electroosmotic micromixer. It is equipped with six microelectrodes that are embedded in the side surfaces of the microchannel. The electrode array consists of two sets of three 20 &Acirc;&iquest;m and 60 &Acirc;&iquest;m microelectrodes arranged in the form of two opposing triangles. Numerical analysis of electric potential and frequency effects on mixing efficiency of the micromixer is carried out by means of two sets of simulations. First, the electric potential is kept at 2 V while the frequency is varied within 10-50 Hz. The highest achieved mixing efficiency is 96% at 22 Hz. Next, the frequency is kept at 30 Hz whilst the electric potential is varied within 1-5 V. The best achieved mixing efficiency is 97% at 3 V.<br /

A rule-based intelligent energy management system for an internal combustion engine vehicle

An intelligent energy management system (IEMS) is developed to improve fuel efficiency of an internal combustion engine vehicle. It helps determine the best approach to run the engine system through dynamically analysing various factors relating to vehicle. The energy balance technique is implemented and utilised. The simulation outcome of the IEMS is compared against that of a conventional system under the same driving factors. The results show that the IEMS reduces the fuel consumption around 5.6% for the tested conditions.<br /

Dielectrophoretically tuneable optical waveguides using nanoparticles in microfluidics

We present a tuneable optical waveguide using dielectrophoretically controlled nanoparticles in microfluidics. Silicon dioxide nanoparticles of different sizes in de-ionized water are channelled through a microfluidic system. An array of microelectrodes generates the dielectrophoretic force to funnel nanoparticles, forming narrowbands at the center of the microfluidics at different applied voltages and frequencies. It is observed that these narrowbands either scatter or guide the coupled light under selected conditions. The realization of such a system offers exciting possibilities for the development of a new class of optofluidics, which are tuned by the positioning of nanoparticles on demand