Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper a novel method for the design and optimization of cooling systems is presented. The numerical solution of free convection from a heated horizontal cylinder confined between adiabatic walls obtained from a finite element solver is used to propose a non-linear heat transfer model of GMDH type approach. In the context of GMDH model, three different methods depending on the structure of neural network are implemented. The system of orthogonal equations is solved using a SVD scheme. The coefficients of second order polynomials are computed and their behavior is discussed. In addition, to demonstrate the performance of the predicted model, the numerical data are divided into trained... 

Mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs) are a type of production lines where a variety of product models similar to product characteristics are assembled in a just-in-time production system. Usually, MMAL consists of a number of stations linked by a conveyor belt and each station has a work zone limited by upstream and downstream boundaries. To avoid improper interference between operators in the adjacent stations and excess of machine moving range, operators are forced to complete their operations within their predetermined work zone. There is a set of criteria on which to judge sequences of product models in terms of the effective utilisation of these lines. In this paper, the sequence of... 

The trade-off between the fuel consumption and drag coefficient makes the investigations of drag reduction of utmost importance. In this paper, the rear-end shape optimization of Ahmed body is performed. Before changing the geometry, to identify the suitable simulation method and validate it, the standard Ahmed body is simulated using k − ω shear stress transport (SST) and k-epsilon turbulence models. The slant angle, rear box angle, and rear box length as variables were optimized simultaneously. Optimizations conducted by genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods indicate a 26.3% decrease in the drag coefficient. To ensure the validity of the results, a... 

The trade-off between the fuel consumption and drag coefficient makes the investigations of drag reduction of utmost importance. In this paper, the rear-end shape optimization of Ahmed body is performed. Before changing the geometry, to identify the suitable simulation method and validate it, the standard Ahmed body is simulated using k − ω shear stress transport (SST) and k-epsilon turbulence models. The slant angle, rear box angle, and rear box length as variables were optimized simultaneously. Optimizations conducted by genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods indicate a 26.3% decrease in the drag coefficient. To ensure the validity of the results, a... 

The problem of distributed generation (DG) optimization in distribution systems has normally been assessed by assuming a constant power (real and reactive) load model. Such assumptions may lead to inconsistent and misleading results about loss reduction, DG optimization and other subsequent calculations. In this paper, the effect of different types of demand, e.g. industrial, residential and commercial, and its time varying effects on distribution networks is investigated. Customer demand type is defined by the load model that is voltage dependent and the load patterns from real life hourly demand data. The study shows that by defining the energy loss minimization as the objective function,... 

The multi-carrier microgrid (MCMG) is a restricted district comprising convertors and energy storage systems (ESSs) that are used to fulfill various energy demands. The structure and optimal operation of these MCMGs with regard to fulfilling multi-carrier demands are presented in relation to their rapid spread. In this paper, a two-stage optimum planning and design method for an MCMG is presented in the planning horizon. The investment and operation (fuel and maintenance) costs are considered concurrently to find the optimal type and size of components over the planning horizon. At the first stage, the genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to determine the optimal type and size of components,... 

Deep excavation in urban areas can cause instability problems due to significant settlement at the ground surface and large movements at the excavation facing walls. One of the most popular methods used to stabilise these excavations is utilising soil-nailing method. This method has also been widely used to stabilise natural slopes and earth retaining structures. Because of the complexity involved in the mechanism of this stabilising system due to interacting effects of the soil, nails, grout and shotcrete, numerical modelling with high accuracy should be used to analyse the behaviour of the soil-nailed walls. Considering all aspects of soil-structure interaction in the present research, a... 

Deep excavation in urban areas can cause instability problems due to significant settlement at the ground surface and large movements at the excavation facing walls. One of the most popular methods used to stabilise these excavations is utilising soil-nailing method. This method has also been widely used to stabilise natural slopes and earth retaining structures. Because of the complexity involved in the mechanism of this stabilising system due to interacting effects of the soil, nails, grout and shotcrete, numerical modelling with high accuracy should be used to analyse the behaviour of the soil-nailed walls. Considering all aspects of soil-structure interaction in the present research, a... 

The array factor (sidelobe level, SLL) of a linear array is optimized using modified continuous genetic algorithms in this work. The amplitudes and phases of the currents as well as the separation of the antennas are all taken as variables to be controlled. The results of the design using modified GA versions are compared with other methods. Two design problems were studied using several continuous modified GA versions and the results are presented as several plots. As a final example, the design specifications for an array with 200 elements are given. The effectiveness and advantages of the proposed modified GA versions are outlined  

The reinforcement of concrete columns with fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) is one of the most challenging issues in the construction of concrete structures, as there is still an absence of a promising model to assess their performance. This is because the behavior of such elements is complex and accompanied by a high margin of uncertainty. To address this issue, this study compiles a large dataset of the performance of FRCM-reinforced concrete columns under monotonic load. The obtained dataset is then used to train an artificial neural network (ANN) as a promising method for predicting the compressive strength of concrete columns with acceptable accuracy. Afterward, using a... 

In the traditional agri-fresh food supply chain (AFSC), geographically dispersed small farmers transport their products individually to the market for sale. This leads to a higher transportation cost, which is the primary cause of farmers’ low profitability. This paper formulates a traditional product movement problem in AFSC. First, the aggregate product movement model is combined with the vehicle routing model to redesign an existing AFSC (the ETKA Company; the most extensive domestic agri-fresh food supply chain in Iran) based on the available data. For the four-echelon, multi-period supply chain under investigation, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed for the... 

The architecture of the Cascading TMR (Triple Modular Redundancy) System is commonly found in aerospace applications. The system is potentially capable of containing a large number of modules and sub modules. In this paper a novel method for optimization of a Cascading TMR system configuration using GA (Genetic Algorithm) is proposed. The proposed algorithm provides a configuration that maximizes reliability and minimizes overhead area simultaneously  

The present study investigated a counter-flow cooling tower performance by integrating the Artificial Neural Networks and Intelligent Optimisation Algorithms (ANN-IOAs). For this purpose, two scenarios were evaluated. In the first scenario, inlet air wet-bulb temperature (T aw), inlet air dry bulb temperature (T ad), water to the air mass flow rate ratio (mw /ma), and rotor speed (υ) were the input parameters for the ANNs, while the output temperature (T wo) was the ANNs output. In the second scenario, the same input parameters applied for the first scenario were used as input variables and the tower efficiency (ε) was considered as an output parameter. The well-known IOAs methods, namely,... 

Nowadays, the growth of energy consumption in buildings is an important topic. Rammed earth (RE) structures have attracted the attention of engineers and contractors in recent years due to their advantages such as sustainability, availability and low embodied energy content. These advantages result in less energy consumption in the life cycle of the RE structures. However, there is a lack of research on the mixture composition of RE materials containing admixtures. This research introduced integrated analytic network process (ANP) and genetic algorithm (GA) methodology to select the optimum mixture of RE material containing cement, expanded polystyrene(EPS), and phase change materials(PCM)... 

The problem of allocating different types of vehicles for transporting a set of products in an existing transportation network, to minimize the total transportation costs, is considered. The distribution network involves a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles each with the given capacity and with a variable transportation cost and a fixed cost with a discounting mechanism. Due to nonlinearity of the discounting mechanism, a nonlinear mathematical programming model is developed. A prioritized K-mean clustering encoding is introduced to designate the distribution depots distances, their demands, and the vehicles’ capacity. Using this priority clustering, a heuristic routine is developed by which... 

Semi-active devices are low-cost as well as small and by changing the properties of low-power intensive structures, the aims of control are accomplished. On the other hand, the limited control force which can be applied to the structure for each damper causes more dampers to be used in the structures compared to the larger and stronger control devices which are more costly. These dampers coupled with sensors and the structure themselves make a complex dynamic system which is best controlled by a decentralized method such as Market-Based Control (MBC). In MBC, the actuators and the supply energy are modeled as buyer and seller respectively in the market place. To define the demand function of... 

Many research works in mathematical modeling of the facility location problem have been carried out in discrete and continuous optimization area to obtain the optimum number of required facilities along with the relevant allocation processes. This paper proposes a new multi-objective facility-location problem within the batch arrival queuing framework. Three objective functions are considered: (I) minimizing the weighted sum of the waiting and the traveling times, (II) minimizing the maximum idle time pertinent to each facility, and (III) minimizing the total cost associated with the opened facilities. In this way, the best combination of the facilities is determined in the sense of... 

Space-time block codes (STBCs) with orthogonal structures provide full-diversity reception and simple decoupled detection at the receiver. Rate-one orthogonal STBCs (OSTBC) for complex constellations have been found only for two transmit antennas. On the other hand, STBCs' designs are classically based on the assumption of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) fading channels. However, poor scattering conditions may have harmful effects on the performance of STBCs. In this paper, we first derive the average of received signal power at the receiver over Rician fading channel, when the signals are coded with linear dispersion code (LDC). Then by using a genetic algorithm (GA), we... 

A new genetic algorithm (GA) based method for direct calibration of 2-D hot-wire probe and other instruments that can measure 2-D flow properties is introduced. This new method is an alternative for the previous QR method that is commonly used for calibration of the X-probe hot wires. The proposed GA method resulted in a much smaller error in the velocity estimation while preserving the number of sentences in its calibration equation format. In addition, it preserves the magnitude of its error even when the number of sentences in the calibration equation is decreased while the error in the QR method increases substantially for the same situation. Furthermore, the results were much closer to...