Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper we propose a new architecture based on Z-order curve and kd-tree that can efficiently handle issues related to update messages distribution to interested entities' locations in a three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments where locations are described in terms of 3D coordinates. We also aim to minimize the number of routing hops in distribution of update messages, especially when updates are forwarded to a specific range of users/entities in the virtual environment. Our results are promising and show improvements in both of the objectives. ©2009 IEEE  

Numerous methods for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation, used in smart antennas have been already reported in previous studies. The precision of DOA estimation depends on the choice of the algorithm and the geometrical configuration of the antenna array. In this work, the performance of new geometrical configurations, i.e. 2D with equal area and 3D with equal volume including circular, square, triangular, hexagonal and star geometries, with equal number of antenna elements, are examined and compared to each other to find the most proper geometry. Monte-Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate the DOA precision of the proposed arrays using the MUSIC algorithm. It is shown that in three... 

The influence of the diffraction limit on the field of view of three-dimensional integral imaging (InI) systems is estimated by calculating the resolution of the InI system along arbitrarily tilted directions. The deteriorating effects of diffraction on the resolution are quantified in this manner. Two different three-dimensional scenes are recorded by real/virtual and focused imaging modes. The recorded scenes are reconstructed at different tilted planes and the obtained results for the resolution and field of view of the system are verified. It is shown that the diffraction effects severely affect the resolution of InI in the real/virtual mode when the tilted angle of viewing is increased.... 

A rigorous approach is proposed to improve the resolution of integral imaging (InI) by finding the appropriate form of irregularity in the arrangement of the InI lenslets. The improvement of the resolution is achieved through redistribution of the sampling points in a uniform manner. The optimization process for finding the optimum pattern of the lens-array irregularity is carried out by minimizing a cost function, whose mathematical closed-form expression is provided. The minimization of the proposed cost function ensures the uniform distribution of sampling points and thus improves the resolution within the desired depth of field (DOF) and field of view (FOV). A set of standard resolution... 

In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) beam element based on Timoshenko beam theory is introduced for shape memory alloys (SMAs). Employing the microplane approach, we use a 3D SMA constitutive model extended from a 1D model proposed by Brinson. The SMA model is implemented into a user-defined subroutine (UMAT) in the nonlinear finite element software ABAQUS/Standard. Results of numerical examples show reasonable agreement with experimental data in proportional and non-proportional loadings. Furthermore, several applications (staple, spring, structure) are simulated and the results are compared with those of continuum elements. According to the results, the 3D SMA beam element can be used... 

A new acceleration technique is presented for shooting and bouncing ray tracing in indoor environments. Tracing just a few rays, the algorithm finds the solid angles around the transmitter that transport electromagnetic power to the receiver. The accuracy is then improved by iteratively increasing the tessellation frequency of the source in the power-transporting solid angles. No rays will be sent through non-power-transporting solid angles, which results in significant reduction of the simulation time. An example of applying the method for studying indoor radio wave propagation is presented and the results are compared with a very high-resolution fully three-dimensional (3D) ray tracing... 

New membrane materials and processes have been extensively developed due to urgent needs for much more economic separation processes. Recently, graphene has been confirmed to be an excellent separation membrane. As there is no support in the obtained three-dimensional (3D) architecture constructed from tubular graphene network, it is possible to take full advantage of the large surface of graphene. In this study 3D graphene aerogels were synthesized by a simple method and modified to adjust hydrophilicity of the samples to achieve high liquid volumetric rate. Modified samples were used for the filtration of the enzymes including amylase, cellulase, lipase and protease. Slightly differently... 

A cell spheroid is a three-dimensional (3D) aggregation of cells. Synthetic, in-vitro spheroids provide similar metabolism, proliferation, and species concentration gradients to those found in-vivo. For instance, cancer cell spheroids have been demonstrated to mimic in-vivo tumor microenvironments, and are thus suitable for in-vitro drug screening. The first part of this paper discusses the latest microfluidic designs for spheroid formation and culture, comparing their strategies and efficacy. The most recent microfluidic techniques for spheroid formation utilize emulsion, microwells, U-shaped microstructures, or digital microfluidics. The engineering aspects underpinning spheroid formation... 

For the rapid detection of hyperglycemia in human blood, we adopted a facile and two-step electrochemical procedure to prepare nickel/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid electrodes in the framework of a three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure. High-density and vertically-aligned nickel submicrorods with an average diameter of 155 ± 15 nm and a length of 7 ± 1 μm (an aspect ratio of about 40-50) were prepared by template-mediated electrochemical deposition techniques. Networks of rGO nanosheets between the rod-shaped arrays were formed by the cathodic electrophoretic deposition method. The synergistic effect of nickel morphology (planar and high-density rod-shaped arrays) and graphene oxide... 

Dielectrophoresis is a robust approach for manipulating bioparticles in microfluidic devices. In recent years, many groups have developed dielectrophoresis-based microfluidic systems for separation and concentration of various types of bioparticles, where the gradient of the electric field causes dielectrophoresis force acting on the suspended particles. Enhancing the gradient of the electric field with three-dimensional (3D) electrodes can significantly improve the efficiency of the system. Implementing planar electrodes in a 3D arrangement is a simple option to form a 3D-electrode configuration. This paper reports the development of a novel dielectrophoretic microfluidic system for... 

Seepage analysis serves as one of the most significant stages in the design process of an embankment dam. In two-dimensional (2D) seepage analysis of embankment dams, little or no attention is paid to the widthwise flows from side abutments. Moreover, the role of grout curtain extensions into the side abutments and abutment material properties are inevitably neglected when performing seepage analyses in 2D plane. In this paper, two and three-dimensional (3D) models of a rock-fill dam are generated and several unsteady and steady state seepage analyses are performed using finite element method (FEM). The results obtained from 2D and 3D seepage analyses were compared with measurements from the... 

Design and development of biodegradable scaffolds with highly uniform and controlled internal structure that stimulate tissue regeneration are the focus of many studies. The aim of this work is to apply a modified three-dimensional (3D) printing process to fabricate polymer-matrix composites with controlled internal architecture. Computationally-designed plaster molds with various pore sizes in the range of 300-800. μm were prepared by employing 3D printing of a water-based binder. The molds were converted to ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) and PCL/bioactive glass (BG) composite scaffolds by solvent casting and freeze drying methods. Optical and electron microscopy studies revealed that the pore... 

The electrodeposition of nickel was studied using electrochemical techniques in different electrolytes and various agents. The voltammetry analysis clearly showed that the electrodeposition of nickel was a diffusion-controlled process associated with a typical nucleation process. The current transients represented instantaneous nucleation with a typical three-dimensional (3D) growth mechanism. Scharifker's equations were derived for instantaneous and progressive nucleation of the 3D growth of the spherical centers under diffusion-controlled condition. The number of nucleation sites increased with the increment in overpotential and Ni 2+ concentration. Atomic force microscopy was used to... 

In this paper, we present a novel approach to generate images of extended depth-of-field (DOF) to support realization of three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems such as integral imaging. In our approach in extending the DOF, we take advantage of the spatial frequency spectrum of the object specific to the task in hand. The pupil function is thus engineered in such a fashion that the modulation transfer function (MTF) is maximized only in these selected spatial frequencies. We extract these high energy spatial frequencies using the principal component analysis (PCA) method. Moreover, given the need for many pupil function engineering steps in 3D imaging systems, we have constructed an... 

In this paper, a three-dimensional (3D) analytical solution of the electrostatic potential is derived for the tri-gate tunneling field-effect transistors (TG TFETs) based on the perimeter-weighted-sum approach. The model is derived by separating the device into a symmetric and an asymmetric double-gate (DG) TFETs and then solving the 2D Poisson’s equation for these structures. The subthreshold tunneling current expression is extracted by numerical integrating the band-to-band tunneling generation rate over the volume of the device. It is shown that the potential distributions, the electric field profile, and the tunneling current predicted by the analytical model are in close agreement with... 

A novel algorithm to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) structure of non-rigid shapes based on a single view video, considering the perspective projection camera model, is presented in this paper. Even though perspective projection is considered to be the most realistic model and is ideal for a wide range of cameras in machine vision applications, but because of its complex and often non-linear equations, mostly, is approximated by some simpler camera projection models such as orthographic projection, weak perspective projection and so forth. Orthographic reconstruction of non-rigid surfaces has been done by singular value decomposition algorithm and using the orthogonal characteristics... 

Thin porous membranes are important components in a microfluidic device, serving as separators, filters, and scaffolds for cell culture. However, the fabrication and the integration of these membranes possess many challenges, which restrict their widespread applications. This paper reports a facile technique to fabricate robust membrane-embedded microfluidic devices. We integrated an electrospun membrane into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device using the simple plasma-activated bonding technique. To increase the flexibility of the membrane and to address the leakage problem, the electrospun membrane was fabricated with the highest weight ratio of PDMS to polymethylmethacrylate (i.e., 6:1... 

Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations of an external compression supersonic ramped inlet are presented for a free stream Mach number of 2. A comparison made between numerical results and experimental data showed that multi-block structured gird using standard k - " turbulence model gives acceptable results. The shape of present inlet diffuser was transformed gradually into a circular one to encompass the Aerodynamic Interface Plane (AIP). It was observed that the 3D simulation predicted a more accurate static pressure distribution during the length of supersonic inlet and total pressure distribution at the AIP in comparison with the 2D one. Further, a better... 

Seepage analysis serves as one of the most significant stages in the design process of an embankment dam. In two-dimensional (2D) seepage analysis of embankment dams, little or no attention is paid to the seepage through side abutments. Moreover the role of grout curtain extensions into the side abutments and abutment material properties are inevitably neglected when performing a 2D seepage analysis. In this paper, two and three-dimensional (3D) models of a rockfill dam during operation state are generated and several unsteady and steady state seepage analyses are performed using finite element method (FEM). The results obtained from 2D and 3D seepage analyses were compared with measurements... 

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model (FEM) is developed to predict the progressive fatigue damage with provision for stochastic distribution of material properties. Fatigue damage model for low and high cycle fatigue considering plastic deformation is implemented in the FEM and the results are presented for Al 6061-T6, Al 7075-T6, Ti 6Al-4V and SS 316. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results of stress-life reveal the validity of the approach. Also presented is the result of an investigation showing the effect of element types, element size, variation of material properties, and initial flaws on the randomness of fatigue life. The present fatigue damage simulation...