Sharif Digital Repository

The aim of this study is to employ feedback control loops to provide a stable forward dynamics simulation of human movement under repeated position constraint conditions in the environment, particularly during stair climbing. A ten-degrees-of-freedom skeletal model containing 18 Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg was employed to simulate the model in the sagittal plane. The postural tracking and obstacle avoidance were provided by the proportional—integral—derivative controller according to the modulation of the time rate change of the joint kinematics. The stability of the model was maintained by controlling the velocity of the body's centre of mass according to the desired centre of... 

Usually, resources are short in supply when earthquakes occur. In such emergency situations, disaster relief organizations must use these scarce resources efficiently to achieve the best possible emergency relief. This paper therefore proposes a multi-objective, multi-mode, multi-commodity, and multi-period stochastic model to manage the logistics of both commodities and injured people in the earthquake response. Also, a robust approach is developed and used to make sure that the distribution plan performs well under the various situations that can follow an earthquake. Afterwards, it proposes a solution methodology according to hierarchical objective functions and uses it to illustrate the... 

In this study, a supply chain model consisting of a single product, one supplier and one retailer is considered. Transportation times are constant and demands at the retailer are assumed to be generated by a stationary Poisson process. Demands not covered immediately from inventory are backordered. The retailer carries inventory and replenishes stock according to a (Q, R) policy. The supplier has online information about the demand at the retailer and uses this information to replenish its stock. The order size at the supplier is a multiple integer to the retailer's order size. Considering order costs for the retailer and the supplier, we derive the exact cost function for this inventory... 

In this paper, a "Game Theory" approach for finding an optimal path in a "Wireless Sensor Network" is discussed. WSN is one of the most interesting research fields in the communication networks, and is the center of attention in recent years. In our model, a pricing and payment technique is presented to obtain an optimal path in a WSN by considering reliability, energy and traffic load. The proposed algorithm is able to find a path which improves network lifetime, load distribution and path reliability  

The Facility Layout Problem (FLP) is the problem of locating each department in a long plant floor without any overlap between departments in order to minimize the material handling cost. The main purpose of this study is to show the effectiveness of a robust approach to solve FLP. In this study, it is assumed that the departments’ length and width are not predetermined. For modeling this kind of uncertainty, the size of each department is considered as a bounded variable and two new parameters are also introduced to implement a robust approach. Moreover, a new adaptive algorithm is designed to determine the robust layout with respect to the decision makers’ requirements. Furthermore, the... 

Al86Ni10MM4 (MM: Mischmetal) amorphous ribbons were prepared by melt spinning on a child copper wheel. Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the amorphous alloy was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallized phases were determined by X-ray diffraction method and transmission electron microscopy. DSC traces were analyzed by Kissinger method to determine the apparent activation energy of crystallization. Changes in the activation energy (Eα) with progression of crystallization were also evaluated by differential iso-conversional method of Friedman. For the precipitation of nanometer-sized Al particles, the activation energy slightly increased with increasing the... 

The band gap offset is an effect of coordination numbers (CNs) of atom reduction at the edge of transversal cross-section of Silicon nanowires (SiNWs). In this paper, a hierarchical multi-scale technique is developed to model the edge effect on the band gap shift of SiNWs since the geometric effect is dominant in the energy gap due to the appearance of strain in the self-equilibrium state. The multi-scale model is performed based on the molecular dynamics approach and finite element method for the micro- (atomistic) and macro-scale levels, respectively. The Cauchy–Born (CB) hypothesis is used to relate the atomic positions to the continuum field through the deformation gradient. Finally, the... 

In this paper, a numerical model is developed for the fully coupled hydro-mechanical analysis of deformable, progressively fracturing porous media interacting with the flow of two immiscible, compressible wetting and non-wetting pore fluids, in which the coupling between various processes is taken into account. The governing equations involving the coupled solid skeleton deformation and two-phase fluid flow in partially saturated porous media including cohesive cracks are derived within the framework of the generalized Biot theory. The fluid flow within the crack is simulated using the Darcy law in which the permeability variation with porosity because of the cracking of the solid skeleton... 

In this paper, a novel temperature-dependent multi-scale method is developed to investigate the role of temperature on surface effects in the analysis of nano-scale materials. In order to evaluate the temperature effect in the micro-scale (atomic) level, the temperature related Cauchy–Born hypothesis is implemented by employing the Helmholtz free energy, as the energy density of equivalent continua relating to the inter-atomic potential. The multi-scale technique is applied in atomistic level (nano-scale) to exhibit the temperature related characteristics. The first Piola–Kirchhoff stress and tangential stiffness tensor are computed, as the first and second derivatives of the free energy... 

Electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen (N–acetyl–p–aminophenol) (1) has been studied in the presence of dimethylamine (2) as a nucleophile in aqueous solution, by means of cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential coulometry. The results indicate the participation of electrochemically generated N-acetyl-p-quinoneimine (1a) in Michael reaction with dimethylamine (2). Based on ECE mechanism, the observed homogeneous rate constant (kobs) of the above mentioned reaction is estimated by comparing the experimental cyclic voltammograms with the digital simulated results. Further more; kinetics and mechanism of the reaction were studied with ab initio calculation, Monte Carlo and QM/MM... 

Deployment of renewable energies for the electricity generation is on the rise around the world, among which is the run-of-the-river (ROR) power plant whose output power is variable throughout the year depending on the water flow of the respective river. The inherent uncertainty associated with renewable energy resources calls for new stochastic modeling approaches to measure the impacts of using these energies on the power system performance. This paper develops an analytical reliability model for ROR power plants. The model is based on the state-space analysis and is devised with the intention of being used in adequacy studies of power systems. Failure of related components and the... 

Real-time electricity prices along with demand-side potentials can provide distribution companies (DisCos) with considerable financial and technical benefits compared to the conventional flat prices. This paper incorporates demand response in DisCos' short-term decision model in a real-time pricing (RTP) environment wherein consumers are charged based on hourly varying prices. Besides the hourly RTP sale prices, the established model deals with other DisCo's short-term activities including hourly purchases from the grid, commitment of distributed generation (DG) units, dispatch of shunt compensators, and invocation of load curtailments (LCs). The stochastic nature of wholesale market prices... 

Recent investigations have revealed the significant role of reactive power in blackout events. The associated disturbances frequently emerge in the form of voltage instability and collapse. Due to the computational complexity of modeling and analysis of enormous contingencies, DC approximation of the power flow, without accounting the role of reactive power, is usually used to evaluate the contingencies and to mitigate the associated probable violations. This paper, at first, presents a linear power flow model based on an approximated version of AC power flow formulation. The proposed model is then used to develop an efficient reliability assessment approach which is capable of taking both... 

The integration of high-voltage direct-current (dc) transmission lines in conventional alternating-current (ac) systems would affect the indirect measurement of phasor measurement unit (PMU) devices since the concept of phasors would not correspond to dc transmission circuits. The optimal PMU placement problem in ac/dc systems subjected to the system observability is presented in this paper by applying a mixed-integer programming model. In practice, the cost of each PMU is variable as a function of PMU measurement channels. This attribute is incorporated in the proposed model as well. In addition, the number of PMU measurement channels is deemed to be technically limited; thus, the common... 

As a matter of course, the unprecedented ascending penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs), mainly harvesting renewable energies (REs), is concomitant with environmentally friendly concerns. This type of energy resources are innately uncertain and bring about more uncertainties in the power system, consequently, necessitates probabilistic analyses of the system performance. Moreover, the uncertain parameters may have a considerable level of correlation to each other, in addition to their uncertainties. The two point estimation method (2PEM) is recognized as an appropriate probabilistic method in small scale or even medium scale problems. This paper develops a new methodology for... 

The presence of different energy carriers as well as the advent of new multi-generation technologies such as combined heat and power (CHP) at homes necessitates designing an integrated model for optimal operation of such multi-carrier energy home. A residential energy hub model including a CHP and a Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is presented in this paper to show the multi-carrier energy system operation. In addition, this paper proposes an optimization-based formulation for PHEV charging control in the residential energy hub. The payment cost is minimized for the charge scheduling of PHEV through optimization of the residential energy hub operation in response to the... 

With the current focus on energy and environment, efficient integration of renewable energies, especially wind energy into power systems, is becoming essential. Furthermore, to fully capture wind potentials and to recognize the unique characteristics associated with wind energy in power systems adequacy analysis, a profound inquiry is required. In this way, this paper tries to establish a comprehensive analytical approach for reliability modeling of doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind farms. First, the most impressive components of wind turbines are introduced. It then continues with integrating developed state space model of wind turbines and their production uncertainties,... 

Multiple energy carriers (MECs) have been broadly engrossing power system planners and operators toward a modern standpoint in power system studies. Energy hub, though playing an undeniable role as the intermediate in implementing the MECs, still needs to be put under examination in both modeling and operating concerns. Since wind power continues to be one of the fastest-growing energy resources worldwide, its intrinsic challenges should be also treated as an element of crucial role in the vision of future energy networks. In response, this paper aims to concentrate on the online economic dispatch (ED) of MECs for which it provides a probabilistic ED optimization model. The presented model... 

Smartening of contemporaneous power delivery systems in conjunction with the increased penetration of renewable energies (REs), change the way to energize consumers who are willing to maximize their utility from energy consumption. However, there is a high degree of uncertainty in the electricity markets of such systems. Moreover, the unprecedented ascending penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) mainly harvesting REs is a direct consequence of environmentally friendly concerns. This type of energy resources brings about more uncertainties into power system operation resulting in, necessitates probabilistic analysis of the system performance. In the smarter power markets,... 

As energy resource planning associated with environmental consideration are getting more and more challenging all around the world, the penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) mainly those harvesting renewable energies (REs) ascend with an unprecedented rate. This fact causes new uncertainties to the power system context; ergo, the uncertainty analysis of the system performance seems necessary. In general, uncertainties in any engineering system study can be represented probabilistically or possibilistically. When sufficient historical data of the system variables is not available, a probability density function (PDF) might not be defined, while they must be represented in another...