Sharif Digital Repository

Although the role of individual ingredients of hot mix asphalt (HMA) such as asphalt binder and aggregates on its performance is readily recognized, there is only limited understanding about the interactions between these components and the properties of binder-aggregate interface. In order to study the interactions between asphalt binder and mineral aggregates, an interfacial test method was developed and its effectiveness was evaluated. Interfacial interactions were evaluated by testing thin films of an asphalt binder interfaced with the surface of aggregates under two different modes of loading in shear: sinusoidal oscillation and monotonically increasing. An Interaction Parameter (IP)... 

We consider the fundamental limits of reliable communication over a two-state compound channel when the state of the channel needs to be masked. Our model is closely related to an area of study known as covert communication, a setting in which the transmitter wishes to communicate to legitimate receiver(s) while ensuring that the communication is not detected by an adversary. Our main contribution is the establishment of upper and lower bounds on the throughput-key length region when the constraint that quantifies how much the states are masked is defined to be the total variation distance between the channel output distributions of the two states. When length of the key is sufficiently... 

It's still a significant difficulty to find microwave absorbers that have outstanding microwave dissipation performance in hostile environments. Herein, the core–shell structure of polyindole-PANI co-polymer@BiFeO3 nanocomposite is successfully prepared via in-situ polymerization method. The introduction of a co-polymer shell on the surface of magnetic BiFeO3 nanoparticles considerably tuned the attenuation constant and impedance matching characteristics. The electromagnetic characteristics and microwave absorption feature of the polyindole-PANI co-polymer@BiFeO3 nanocomposites may be found to be influenced by filler loading content regulation. The sample containing 40 wt% of polyindole-PANI... 

This work develops a systematic uncertainty quantification framework to assess the reliability of prediction delivered by physics-based material models in the presence of incomplete measurement data and modeling error. The framework consists of global sensitivity analysis, Bayesian inference, and forward propagation of uncertainty through the computational model. The implementation of this framework on a new multiphase model of novel porous silica aerogel materials is demonstrated to predict the thermomechanical performances of a building envelope insulation component. The uncertainty analyses rely on sampling methods, including Markov-chain Monte Carlo and a mixed finite element solution of... 

In recent years, the technological advancement of supercapacitors has been increasing exponentially due to the high demand in electronic consumer products. As so, researchers have found a way to meet that demand by fabricating graphene. As developments are made toward the future, two big advancements to be made are large-scale fabrication of graphene and fabricating graphene as a flexible electrode. This would allow for use in larger products and for manipulation of the unique properties of graphene to accommodate superior design alternatives. While large scale production is still mentioned, this review is specifically focusing on different methods used to fabricate graphene as a flexible... 

Fighting with cancer requires the delivery of different therapeutics to the target cancerous cells by taking advantage of the synergistic effects of complementary medicine. Herein, we present a folate-PEGylated niosome as an efficient nanocarrier for targeted co-delivery of hydrophobic letrozole (L) and hydrophilic ascorbic acid (A) to breast cancer cells. The formulation of the niosomal nanocarrier was optimized by varying the ratio of cholesterol and surfactants to maximize the drug loading and minimize the size of nanocarriers. The optimum drug carriers were further functionalized with folate-PEG molecules to enhance the efficiency of drug delivery to the breast cancer cells and prevent... 

Scar tissue size following myocardial infarction is an independent predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, yet little is known about factors regulating scar size. We demonstrate that collagen V, a minor constituent of heart scars, regulates the size of heart scars after ischemic injury. Depletion of collagen V led to a paradoxical increase in post-infarction scar size with worsening of heart function. A systems genetics approach across 100 in-bred strains of mice demonstrated that collagen V is a critical driver of postinjury heart function. We show that collagen V deficiency alters the mechanical properties of scar tissue, and altered reciprocal feedback between matrix and cells induces... 

We present new ground-based, multi-colour, broad-band photometric measurements of the physical parameters, transmission and emission spectra of the transiting extrasolar planet WASP-19b. The measurements are based on observations of eight transits and four occultations through a Gunn i filter using the 1.54-m Danish Telescope, 14 transits through an Rc filter at the Perth Exoplanet SurveyTelescope (PEST) observatory and one transit observed simultaneously through four optical (Sloan g', r', i', z') and three near-infrared (J,H,K) filters, using the Gamma Ray Burst Optical and Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) instrument on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope. The GROND optical light curves have a... 

The insect circulatory system contains an open hemocoel, in which the mechanism of hemolymph flow control is ambiguous. As a continuous fluidic structure, this cavity should exhibit pressure changes that propagate quickly. Narrow-waisted insects create sustained pressure differences across segments, but their constricted waist provides an evident mechanism for compartmentalization. Insects with no obvious constrictions between segments may be capable of functionally compartmentalizing the body, which could explain complex hemolymph flows. Here, we test the hypothesis of functional compartmentalization by measuring pressures in a beetle and recording abdominal movements. We found that the... 

In [1], [2] it is shown that the minimum broadcast rate of a linear index code over a finite field Fq is equal to an algebraic invariant of the underlying digraph, called minrankq. In [3], it is proved that for F2 and any positive integer k, minrankq(G) ≤ k if and only if there exists a homomorphism from the complement of the graph G to the complement of a particular undirected graph family called 'graph family {Gk}'. As observed in [2], by combining these two results one can relate the linear index coding problem of undirected graphs to the graph homomorphism problem. In [4], a direct connection between linear index coding problem and graph homomorphism problem is introduced. In contrast to... 

I present an in-depth review of the trends and the directions taken by researchers worldwide in optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA) systems. I highlight those trends and features that I believe are essential to the successful introduction of various OCDMA techniques in communication systems and data networks in the near future. In particular I begin by giving a comprehensive review of the construction of optical orthogonal codes (OOCs). Specifically I discuss the recently developed algorithms that are based on matrix algebra, which simplify and enhance the efficiencies of algorithms in OOC generation. In communication systems studies I first focus on and discuss various OCDMA... 

In this paper, we analyze the worst-case delay performance of a network of fair queuing servers in case of multiple-paths between source-destination pairs. In order to develop worst-case delay analysis for the multiple-path scenario, two challenging events should be addressed: merging different sub-streams of a session as well as distributing a traffic stream among different paths (traffic partitioning). Specifically, we propose to merge incoming sub-streams of a session to a node according to a limited rate Fair Queuing (FQ) scheme. Although the merged stream is treated as a unity, this approach results in a guaranteed level of service to each sub-stream. In addition, an algorithm is... 

This paper presents an investigation of the effects of tool rake angle and nose radius on the surface quality of ultraprecision diamond-turned porous silicon. The results showed that as rake angle decreases, the high-stress field induced by the tool edge increases, causing microcracks to propagate extensively near the pore walls. As a result, the ductile-machined areas shrank under a negative tool rake angle. On the other hand, brittle fracture occurred around pores released cutting pressure significantly. These trends of rake angle effects are distinctly different from those in the cutting of non-porous silicon. Finite element simulation of stress in the cutting area agreed with the... 

This paper presents an investigation of the effects of tool rake angle and nose radius on the surface quality of ultraprecision diamond-turned porous silicon. The results showed that as rake angle decreases, the high-stress field induced by the tool edge increases, causing microcracks to propagate extensively near the pore walls. As a result, the ductile-machined areas shrank under a negative tool rake angle. On the other hand, brittle fracture occurred around pores released cutting pressure significantly. These trends of rake angle effects are distinctly different from those in the cutting of non-porous silicon. Finite element simulation of stress in the cutting area agreed with the... 

The mechanical properties of Mg-4wt.% Zn alloy single crystals along the [0001] orientation were measured through micropillar compression at 23 °C and 100 °C. Basal slip was dominant in the solution treated alloy, while pyramidal slip occurred in the precipitation hardened alloy. Pyramidal dislocations pass the precipitates by forming Orowan loops, leading to homogeneous deformation and to a strong hardening. The predictions of the yield stress based on the Orowan model were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The presence of rod-shape precipitates perpendicular to the basal plane leads to a strong reduction in the plastic anisotropy of Mg. © 2020 Elsevier B.V  

The mechanical properties of Mg-4wt.% Zn alloy single crystals along the [0001] orientation were measured through micropillar compression at 23 °C and 100 °C. Basal slip was dominant in the solution treated alloy, while pyramidal slip occurred in the precipitation hardened alloy. Pyramidal dislocations pass the precipitates by forming Orowan loops, leading to homogeneous deformation and to a strong hardening. The predictions of the yield stress based on the Orowan model were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The presence of rod-shape precipitates perpendicular to the basal plane leads to a strong reduction in the plastic anisotropy of Mg. © 2020 Elsevier B.V  

This research explored the influences of shielding gases on the appearance of weld beads and the microstructures and mechanical properties of thin-wall samples using conventional gas metal arc welding as the heat source by using 5356 aluminium alloy welding wire as the raw materials and nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar) as the shielding gases. The results showed that under the same parameters and after mono-layer single-bead welding was performed using N2 as the shielding gas, the bead height was higher, the bead width was narrower, and the penetration depth was shallower. The grain size of the thin-wall sample protected by N2 was 43.5–47.8 % smaller than that obtained under Ar protection.... 

In this paper, we describe a carbon dioxide mineralization process and its associated solid products. These solid products include amorphous silica, iron hydroxides and magnesium carbonates. These products were subjected to various characterization tests, and the results are published here. It was found that the iron hydroxides from this process can have different crystalline properties, and their formation depended very much on the pH of the reaction conditions. Different forms of magnesium carbonate were also obtained, and the type of carbonate precipitated was found to be dependent on the carbonation temperature. Hydromagnesite was obtained mainly at low temperatures, while dypingite was... 

Employing a proper pulse shaper in the conventional split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test helps to achieve dynamic equilibrium condition and to fulfill a constant strain rate condition in the test specimen. To this end, the parameters affecting the incident pulse shape, i.e., pulse shaper thickness, pulse shaper diameter, striker bar length and striker bar velocity are experimentally studied. Moreover, simulation results, validated by experimental data together with wave propagation analysis, are exploited to provide general guidelines to properly design a pulse shaper. It is recommended to use a relatively large diameter pulse shaper for testing work-hardening materials. Also, for... 

In this work the effects of backwash pressure, duration of acid and sodium hydroxide backwashing, sodium hydroxide concentration, and the duration of forward washing on performance of permeate flux recovery (PFR) were investigated. A two-level fractional factorial design (FFD) was used to design the experiments. The ability of back propagation neural network (BPNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) in predicting the performance of cleaning-in-place (CIP) of hydrophilic polyethersulfone (PES) membrane were investigated. It is found that BPNN has better ability in predicting the PFR performance than RBFNN. The best architecture of BPNN was a network consisting of 1 hidden layer...