Sharif Digital Repository

Sports video analysis and camera calibration are important applications which rely on accurate homography computation as a challenging task. Homography refinement is an important step in the task of accurate homography computation and homography tracking. Also, in certain applications (such as homography tracking) the process speed is of great importance. A robust and fast method for accurate refinement of highly inaccurate homographies in soccer video frames is proposed in this paper. To achieve that goal, a new homography model fitting method named the point-line (PL) method is proposed. It uses point-line correspondences to compute the homography, rather than point correspondences or line... 

Research in the choice behavior of air travelers has evolved to include an analytical focus on variation in the sensitivities of travelers to factors influencing itinerary choice. Some choice studies have moved beyond a focus on assumed representative, mean-level sensitivities toward a goal of representing the distribution of preferences across a sample. The mixed multinomial logit model has served as a valuable means of estimating such distributions of air travel preferences, including studies of business travelers, impacts of airport level-of-service attributes, distributions of willingness-to-pay (WTP), and information-processing strategies. Does the insight gained in previous studies,... 

Thermal degradation behavior of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) nanocomposites, with different nanotubes contents (0.5, 1.5 and 3.5 wt%) prepared via in-situ polymerization technique have been investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA spectra revealed that these nanocomposites had enhanced thermal stability and no significant mass loss (<0.4 wt%) occurred up to 350°C. Thermal degradation of these UHMWPE/MWCNT nanocomposites was investigated in terms of parameters such as the onset temperature of degradation (T 10), the decomposition temperature at 50% wt loss (T 50), the degradation temperature of maximum rate of the... 

Modeling passengers' itinerary choice behavior helps in understanding the increasingly competitive airline market and in predicting air travel demand. Recently, investigation of the variation in passengers' preferences with regard to factors influencing their choice through estimation of the mixed multinomial logit model has received attention. An extended form of the model identifies sources of heterogeneity and consequently makes the choice models less restrictive in considering both systematic and random preference variation across individuals. This research investigates the existence of significant interactions between passengers' preference heterogeneity around the mean of random... 

In this research, an economic order quantity (EOQ) model is first developed for a two-level supply chain system consisting of several products, one supplier and one-retailer, in which shortages are backordered, the supplier's warehouse has limited capacity and there is an upper bound on the number of orders. In this system, the supplier utilizes the retailer's information in decision making on the replenishments and supplies orders to the retailer according to the well known (R, Q) policy. Since the model of the problem is of a non-linear integer-programming type, a genetic algorithm is then proposed to find the order quantities and the maximum backorder levels such that the total inventory... 

Real networks often exhibit nontrivial topological features that do not occur in random graphs. The need for synthesizing realistic networks has resulted in development of various network models. In this paper, we address the problem of selecting and calibrating the model that best fits a given target network. The existing model fitting approaches mostly suffer from sensitivity to network perturbations, lack of the parameter estimation component, dependency on the size of the networks, and low accuracy. To overcome these limitations, we considered a broad range of network features and employed machine learning techniques such as genetic algorithms, distance metric learning, nearest neighbor... 

The finite element method has been used to predict the stress intensity factors for cracked annular discs under constant central torque. Linear elastic fracture mechanics finite element analyses have been performed and the results are demonstrated in the form of crack configuration factors. To this end, the extensive ranges of crack configuration factors have been employed while considering the effect of disc stiffness. Then, the finite element results are applied to develop equivalent prediction equations using a statistical multiple nonlinear regression model. The accuracy of this model is measured using a multiple coefficient of determination, R2, where 0 ≤R2 ≤1. This coefficient is found... 

The effect of nanodiamond (ND) particles on the network structure and vulcanization kinetics of natural rubber (NR)/styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blend vulcanized by three different curing systems, namely conventional (CV), semi-efficient (SEV) and efficient (EV), was investigated. The filler dispersion, crosslink density, curing kinetics and reversion behavior were fully studied. The state of ND dispersion in the rubber matrix was investigated by the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). Swelling experiments and tensile tests exhibited that upon incorporation of ND crosslink density of NR/SBR blend was enhanced significantly due to the large surface area of nano filler...