Sharif Digital Repository

If at least one out of two serial machines that produce a specific product in manufacturing environments malfunctions, there will be non conforming items produced. Determining the optimal time of the machines' maintenance is the one of major concerns. While a convenient common practice for this kind of problem is to fit a single probability distribution to the combined defect data, it does not adequately capture the fact that there are two different underlying causes of failures. A better approach is to view the defects as arising from a mixture population: one due to the first machine failures and the other due to the second one. In this article, a mixture model along with both Bayesian... 

In this research, an iterative approach is employed to analyze and classify the states of uni-variate quality control systems. To do this, a measure (called the belief that process is in-control) is first defined and then an equation is developed to update the belief recursively by taking new observations on the quality characteristic under consideration. Finally, the upper and the lower control limits on the belief are derived such that when the updated belief falls outside the control limits an out-of-control alarm is received. In order to understand the proposed methodology and to evaluate its performance, some numerical examples are provided by means of simulation. In these examples, the... 

In this research, we employ Bayesian inference and stochastic dynamic programming approaches to select the binomial population with the largest probability of success from n independent Bernoulli populations based upon the sample information. To do this, we first define a probability measure called belief for the event of selecting the best population. Second, we explain the way to model the selection problem using Bayesian inference. Third, we clarify the model by which we improve the beliefs and prove that it converges to select the best population. In this iterative approach, we update the beliefs by taking new observations on the populations under study. This is performed using Bayesian... 

In an acceptance-sampling plan, where items of an incoming batch of products are inspected one by one, if the number of conforming items between successive non conforming items falls below a lower control threshold, the batch is rejected. If it falls above an upper control threshold, the batch is accepted, and if it lies within the thresholds then the process of inspecting the items continues. The purpose of this article is to develop an optimization model to determine the optimum values of the thresholds such that constraints on the probability of Type I and Type II errors are satisfied. This article starts by developing a Markovian model to derive the expected total cost of the inspection... 

A new approach is developed in this paper to detect general mean shifts of multivariate quality control systems and to determine the quality characteristic(s) responsible for the shift. This approach takes advantage of both a decomposition method and an EWMA-based control statistics that are employed for multivariate normal distributions. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed methodology, simulation studies are provided to estimate the in- and out-of-control average run lengths under different mean and variance shift scenarios. Simulation experiments are also given to compare the performances of the proposed procedure with the ones of the well-known MEWMA and MCUSUM methods.... 

In this paper, a heuristic threshold policy is developed to detect and classify the states of a multivariate quality control system. In this approach, a probability measure called belief is first assigned to the quality characteristics and then the posterior belief of out-of-control characteristics is updated by taking new observations and using a Bayesian rule. If the posterior belief is more than a decision threshold, called minimum acceptable belief determined using a heuristic threshold policy, then the corresponding quality characteristic is classified out-of-control. Besides using a different approach, the main difference between the current research and previous works is that the... 

Three steels were designed based on HSLA-100 with additional levels of Mn, Ni, Cr and Cu. The steels were prepared by controlled rolling and tempered at temperatures in range of 550-700°C. The continuous cooling time curves were shifted to longer times and lower temperatures with the increased tendency for the formation of martensite at lower cooling rates. The microstructures revealed that controlled rolling results in austenite with uniform fine grain structure. The steel with the highest amount of Mn showed the greatest strength after tempering at 750 °C. The top strength was attributed to the formation of Cu-rich particles. The steel with 1.03 wt.% Mn, tempered at 650 °C exhibited the... 

In this paper, simple analytical expression is presented for large amplitude thermomechanical free vibration analysis of asymmetrically laminated composite beams. Euler-Bernoulli assumptions together with Von Karman's strain-displacement relation are employed to derive the nonlinear governing partial differential equation (PDE) of motion. He's variational method is employed to obtain a simple and efficient approximate closed form solution of the nonlinear governing equation. Comparison between results of the present work and those available in literature shows the accuracy of presented technique. Some new results for the nonlinear natural frequencies of the laminated beams such as the effect... 

Recently, a renewed interest arises in the application of nanotechnology for the upstream petroleum industry. In particular, adding nanoparticles to fluids may drastically benefit enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improve well drilling, by changing the properties of the fluid, rocks wettability alteration, advanced drag reduction, strengthening the sand consolidation, reducing the interfacial tension and increasing the mobility of the capillary trapped oil. In this study, we focus on roles of clay nano-particles on polymer viscosity. Polymer-flooding schemes for recovering residual oil have been in general less than satisfactory due to loss of chemical components by adsorption on reservoir... 

A highly sensitive and selective colorimetric method for detection of copper ions, based on anti-aggregation of D-penicillamine (D-PC) induced aggregated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed. Copper ions can hinder the aggregation of AuNPs induced by D-PC, through formation of mixed-valence complex with D-PC that is a selective copper chelator. In the presence of a fixed amount of D-PC, the aggregation of AuNPs decreases with increasing concentrations of Cu2+ along with a color change from blue to red in AuNPs solution and an increase in the absorption ratio (A520/A 650). Under the optimum experimental conditions (pH 7, [AuNPs] =3.0 nmol L-1 and [NaCl]=25 mmol L-1), a linear calibration... 

Herein, a sensitive, simple, and rapid colorimetric assay for the detection of pamidronate disodium was developed based on the aggregation of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). This was exploited from the affinity of electron-rich atoms toward the surface of AuNPs, resulting in the aggregation of AuNPs through intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. As a result of aggregation under optimum conditions ([NaCl] = 25 mM, [AuNPs] = 3.3 nM and pH 7.0), the color of AuNPs was changed from red to blue and the plasmon band of AuNPs around 520 was decreased along with the formation of a new peak at a longer wavelength in the approximate range of 600 to 700 nm. The intensity ratios of... 

A new methodology is proposed in this paper to both monitor an overall mean shift and classify the states of a multivariate quality control system. Based on the Bayesian rule (Montgomery, Introduction to statistical quality control, 5th edn. Wiley, New York, USA, 2005), the belief that each quality characteristic is in an out-of-control state is first updated in an iterative approach and the proof of its convergence is given. Next, the decision-making process of the detection and classification the process mean shift is modeled. Numerical examples by simulation are provided in order to understand the proposed methodology and to evaluate its performance. Moreover, the in-control and... 

In this paper, we use both stochastic dynamic programming and Bayesian inference concepts to design an optimum-acceptance-sampling-plan policy in quality control environments. To determine the optimum policy, we employ a combination of costs and risk functions in the objective function. Unlike previous studies, accepting or rejecting a batch are directly included in the action space of the proposed dynamic programming model. Using the posterior probability of the batch being in state p (the probability of non-conforming products), first, we formulate the problem into a stochastic dynamic programming model. Then, we derive some properties for the optimal value of the objective function, which... 

In order to design a decision-making framework in production environments, in this study, we use both the stochastic dynamic programming and Bayesian inference concepts. Using the posterior probability of the production process to be in state λ (the hazard rate of defective products), first we formulate the problem into a stochastic dynamic programming model. Next, we derive some properties for the optimal value of the objective function. Then, we propose a solution algorithm. At the end, the applications and the performances of the proposed methodology are demonstrated by two numerical examples. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information  

In this study, the effects of the mesh barrier on the free dispersion of ammonia were numerically investigated under different atmospheric conditions. This study presents the detail and flow feature of the dispersion of ammonia through the mesh barrier on various free stream conditions to decline and limit the toxic danger of the ammonia. It is assumed that the dispersion of the ammonia occurred through the leakage in the pipeline. Parametric studies were conducted on the performance of the mesh barrier by using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with realizable κ-ε turbulence model. Numerical simulations of ammonia dispersion in the presence of mesh barrier revealed significant... 

Electricity demand forecasting has been a real challenge for power system scheduling in different levels of energy sectors. Various computational intelligence techniques and methodologies have been employed in the electricity market for short-term load forecasting, although scant evidence is available about the feasibility of these methods considering the type of data and other potential factors. This work introduces several scientific, technical rationales behind short-term load forecasting methodologies based on works of previous researchers in the energy field. Fundamental benefits and drawbacks of these methods are discussed to represent the efficiency of each approach in various... 

An indirect colorimetric method is presented for detection of trace amounts of hydroquinone (1), catechol (2) and pyrogallol (3). The reduction of AuCl4- to Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) by these phenolic compounds in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) produced very intense surface plasmon resonance peak of Au-NPs. The plasmon absorbance of Au-NPs allows the quantitative colorimetric detection of the phenolic compounds. The calibration curves derived from the changes in absorbance at λ = 568 nm were linear with concentration of hydroquinone, catechol and pyrogallol in the range of 7.0 × 10-7 to 1.0 × 10-4M, 6.0 × 10-6 to 2.0 × 10-4 M and 6.0 × 10-7 to 1.0 × 10-4 M,... 

In this study, simple analytical expressions are presented for large amplitude free vibration and post-buckling analysis of functionally graded beams rest on nonlinear elastic foundation subjected to axial force. Euler-Bernoulli assumptions together with Von Karman's strain-displacement relation are employed to derive the governing partial differential equation of motion. Furthermore, the elastic foundation contains shearing layer and cubic nonlinearity. He's variational method is employed to obtain the approximate closed form solution of the nonlinear governing equation. Comparison between results of the present work and those available in literature shows the accuracy of this method. Some... 

HSE management is one of the key topics in project management that plays a significant role in indication of success and soundness of projects. According to the official reports and statistics, construction industry has annually incurred a great deal of expenses and losses due to neglecting the role of HSE issues in the projects worldwide. Since many challenges and problems related to HSE faced Iranian civil engineers and construction managers, recently the HSE have been regarded as a highly critical issue in Iran. Observations show that many Iranian managers and engineers, in their daily activities, have the tendency to ignore the HSE related rules. The aim of this research is to evaluate... 

In this paper, we propose a sampling policy considering Bayesian risks. Various definitions of producer's risk and consumer's risk have been made. Bayesian risks for both producer and consumer are proven to give better information to decision-makers than classical definitions of the risks. So considering the Bayesian risk constraints, we seek to find optimal acceptance sampling policy by minimizing total cost, including the cost of rejecting the batch, the cost of inspection, and the cost of defective items detected during the operation. Proper distributions to construct the objective function of the model are specified. In order to demonstrate the application of the proposed model, we...