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The purpose of this paper is to analyze heat and mass transport mechanism of unsteady MHD thin film flow of aluminium–copper/water hybrid nanofluid influenced by thermophoresis, Brownian motion and radiation.

The authors initially altered the time dependent set of mathematical equations into dimensionless form of equations by using apposite transmutations. These equations are further solved numerically by deploying Runge–Kutta method along with shooting technique.

Plots and tables for skin friction coefficient, Nusselt number, Sherwood number along with velocity, temperature and concentration profiles against pertinent non-dimensional parameters are revealed. The study imparts that aluminium–copper hybrid nanoparticles facilitate higher heat transfer rate compared to mono nanoparticles. It is noteworthy to disclose that an uplift in thermophoresis and Brownian parameter depreciates heat transfer rate, while concentration profiles boost with an increase in thermophoretic parameter.

The current study targets to investigate heat transfer characteristics of an unsteady thin film radiative flow of water-based aluminium and copper hybrid nanofluid. The high thermal and electrical conductivities, low density and corrosion resistant features of aluminium and copper with their wide range of industrial applications like power generation, telecommunication, automobile manufacturing, mordants in leather tanning, etc., have prompted us to instil these particles in the present study.

The present study has many practical implications in the industrial and manufacturing processes working on the phenomena like heat transfer, magnetohydrodynamics, thermal radiation, nanofluids, hybrid nanofluids with special reference to aluminium and copper particles.

To the best extent of the authors’ belief so far no attempt is made to inspect the flow, thermal and mass transfer of water-based hybridized aluminium and copper nanoparticles with Brownian motion and thermophoresis.

The purpose of this study is to reduce energy consumption in bakeries. Due to fulfill this demand, quite a few parameters such as energy and exergy efficiency, energy waste and fuel consumption by different traditional flatbreads bakeries (Sangak, Barbari, Taftun and Lavash should be monitored and their roles should not be neglected.

In the present study, experimental measurements and mathematical modeling are used to scrutinize and investigate the effects of the aforementioned parameters on energy consumption by bakeries.

The results show that by doing reported methods in this paper, the wasted energy of the walls can be decreased by about 65 per cent; and also, by controlling the combustion reaction to perform with 5 per cent excess air, the wasted energy of excess air declines by about 90 per cent. And finally, the energy and exergy efficiency of bakeries is increased, and as a result, the annual energy consumption of Sangak, Barbari, Taftun and Lavash bakeries diminish about 71, 59, 57 and 40 per cent, respectively.

As evidenced by the literature review, it can be observed that neither numerical studies nor experimental investigations have been conducted about energy and exergy analyses of Iranian machinery traditional flatbread bakeries. It is clear that due to a high preference of Iranians to use the traditional bread and also the popularity of baking this kind of bread in Iran, if it is possible to enhance the traditional oven conditions to decrease the loss of natural gas instead of industrializing the bread baking, the energy consumption in the country can be optimized.

The disagreement over the contribution of microfinance to fight poverty is mainly related to the wide range of methodologies used to study it. The aim of this chapter is to reveal the limitations of these methodologies and explore whether the capability approach may improve impact assessment, especially in the microfinance field.

The author’s contribution is based on a comprehensive literature review of the most cited scholarly studies on microfinance impact.

This contribution has two main findings: It identifies the characteristics of an impact assessment conceptual framework based on the Capability Approach. It also gives a documented justification on why this approach is an interesting way to evaluate the potential effects of microfinance programs.

Applying the capability approach to poverty in microfinance is not new. However, as far as we know this is the first contribution that tries to apply it to the specific issue of impact assessment.

This paper aims to study the impacts of viscous dissipation, thermal radiation and Joule heating on squeezing flow current and the heat transfer mechanism for a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) nanofluid flow in parallel disks during a suction/blowing process.

First, the governing momentum/energy equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form and then the obtained equations are solved by modified Adomian decomposition method (ADM), known as Duan–Rach approach (DRA).

The effect of the radiation parameter, suction/blowing parameter, magnetic parameter, squeezing number and nanoparticles concentration on the heat transfer and flow field are investigated in the results. The results show that the fluid velocity increases with increasing suction parameter, while the temperature profile decreases with increasing suction parameter.

A complete analysis of the MHD fluid squeezed between two parallel disks by considering Joule heating, thermal radiation and adding different nanoparticles using the novel method called DRA is addressed.

Natural convection heat transfer analysis can be completed using entropy generation analysis. This study aims to accomplish both the natural convection heat transfer and entropy generation analyses for a hexagonal cavity loaded with Cu-H2O nanoliquid subjected to an oriented magnetic field.

Control volume-based finite element method is applied to solve the non-dimensional forms of governing equations and then, the entropy generation number is computed.

The results portray that both the average Nusselt and entropy generation numbers boost with increasing aspect ratio for each value of the undulation number, while both of them decrease with increasing the undulation number for each amplitude parameter. There is a maximum value for the entropy generation number at a specified value of Hartmann number. Also, there is a minimum value for the entropy generation number at a specified value of angle of the magnetic field. When the volume fraction of nanoparticles grows, the average Nusselt number increases and the entropy generation number declines. The entropy generation number attains to a maximum value at Ha = 14 for each value of aspect ratio. The average Nusselt number ascends 2.9 per cent and entropy generation number decreases 1.3 per cent for Ha = 0 when ϕ increases from 0 to 4 per cent.

A hexagonal enclosure (complex geometry), which has many industrial applications, is chosen in this study. Not only the characteristics of heat transfer are investigated but also entropy generation analysis is performed in this study. The ecological coefficient of performance for enclosures is calculated, too.

The purpose of this research is to describe the importance of the Cattaneo–Christov theory of heat conduction in a triangular enclosure with a semi-circular heater. Analysis subjected to Fe₃O₄-H₂O nanofluid is reported. Viscosity dependent on magnetic field is taken into consideration to simulate ferrofluid viscosity. Besides, heat generation and shape factor of nanoparticles are also considered.

The well-known control volume finite element method is used for simulations.

The outcomes reveal that the magnetic field can be introduced to the system as a controlling element.

No such analysis exists in the literature.

This study aims to explore the idea of solving the problem of squeezing nanofluid flow between two parallel plates using a novel mathematical method.

The unsteady squeezing flow is a coupled fourth-order boundary value problem with flow velocity and temperature as the desired unknowns. In the first step, the conditions that guarantee the existence of a unique solution are obtained. Then following Green’s function-based approach, an iterative method for solving the problem is developed.

The accuracy of the method is examined by comparing the obtained results with existing numerical data, indicating excellent agreement between the two. In addition, the effects of nanoparticle shape and volume fraction on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are addressed. The results reveal that although the nanoparticle shape strongly affects the temperature distribution in the squeezing flow, it only has a slight impact on the velocity field. Furthermore, the highest and lowest Nusselt numbers belong to the platelets and spherical nanoparticles, respectively.

A semi-analytical method with computational support is developed for solving the unsteady squeezing flow problem. Moreover, the existence and uniqueness of the solution are discussed for the first time.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the free vibration behavior of a functionally graded (FG) rectangular plate under asymmetric boundary conditions using the coupled displacement field method (CDF), which is based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT).

The material properties of the FG rectangular plate vary continuously in the direction of thickness based on the power-law exponent form. The approach utilizes the CDF method, where the admissible trail functions are assumed for total rotations in both directions that satisfy various boundary conditions. Based on the coupling equations, the function for lateral displacement is derived in terms of total rotations. By utilizing the energy formulations, the undetermined coefficients are derived. The frequency parameters are obtained by minimizing the Lagrangian with respect to the undetermined coefficients.

The frequencies with respect to different parameters like aspect ratios (a/b), thickness ratio (h/a) and power-law (k) for all edges SCSS and SCSF boundary conditions are found. The effect of the parameters on the obtained frequencies is observed, and these frequency parameters are compared with other literature to validate the derived frequencies. The findings of the present formulation are in excellent accord when compared to other methods in the literature.

The energy formulations in the proposed method contain half the number of undetermined coefficients when compared to the Rayleigh–Ritz (RR) method, which simplifies the vibration problem significantly. The efficacy of the proposed method in finding the frequency parameters lies in reduced computational procedure when compared to other methods.

This paper aims to present a solution to dredging the irrigation canals using a robotic system. Considering the importance of irrigating water, the waste within the water canals should be avoided. Irrigation canals are artificial linear structures in the landscape that are used for transporting the water. One important problem in water transferring is the waste materials flow inside the water, and in some areas, they block the main stream, reducing the effective capacity of the canal. Among the waste materials, aquatic plants are grown on the surface of the canal that needs to be removed from the canal. This removal operation is conducted using chemical, biological, ecological and physical methods with complex supply systems. In addition, robotic systems are used as such complex systems. So, a robotic system is proposed to dredging the irrigation canals. The assumed robot was manufactured in AGRINS laboratory of Tehran University.

Design procedure, dynamic modelling and simulation of this robotic system are studied. To validate the system design before its construction, ADAMS software is used to perform simulations. Finally, performance evaluation of the dredger robot in the canal is studied based on the experimental data.

Results show that the design procedure has been correctly fitted to the real condition. Therefore, the designed robot could be easily used to dredging irrigation canals.

The assumed robot was manufactured in AGRINS laboratory of Tehran University.

Performing a dredging operation in the canals could be conducted by a new technique considering both free sides of the canal. Therefore, in this paper, a conceptual design of a 3-wheels stair dredger robot is numerically and experimentally studied.

This paper aims to explore individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association and the moderation role of entrepreneurship development programs on this relationship in the context of post-revolution Tunisia, which is a newer developing democracy.

The study uses a quantitative approach based on econometric modeling. A questionnaire was designed and administrated to a stratified random sample of 343 participants in the Entrepreneurship for the Participation and Inclusion of Vulnerable Youth in Tunisia program, funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund and implemented in rural northwestern Tunisia between 2017 and 2021. A coarsened exact matching method is also applied for robustness analysis.

The analysis shows that when individuals have enhanced economic decision-making agency and are involved in economic networks, they are more likely to demonstrate higher political empowerment. It also shows that expanding rural individuals’ economic opportunities by providing entrepreneurial resources, such as entrepreneurial training and microcredit, strengthens individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association.

The study provides practical implications for policymakers in newer developing democracies. Citizens’ political empowerment and inclusion in rural areas could be promoted by developing entrepreneurship development programs, which could help reinforce the citizens-state relationship and establish more stable social contracts. The research also provides practical implications for the international development community, donor agencies and program designers through duplicating similar programs in other countries with weak central government structures (i.e. post-conflict environments, post-revolution).

The research attempts to contribute to the ongoing debates linking entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and political/citizen empowerment. It focuses on a Middle East and North Africa country, Tunisia, characterized by socioeconomic issues and low civic participation.