Sharif Digital Repository

An algorithm for determining optimal reserve capacity in a power market is presented in this paper. Optimization process in the proposed algorithm is based on the cost-benefit trade off. Market clearance is executed with consideration of uncertainties of power system components in an aggregated environment. It is assumed that both generating units and interruptible loads participate in the reserve market. In addition, customers' reliability requirements are considered as constraints for decision making process of ISO. The rendered method considers random outages of generating units and transmission lines and determined outage of interruptible loads and employs Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS)... 

In this paper, a high performance procedure for estimating of hydrodynamic coefficients in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV's) is proposed. In modeling of an AUV, experimental data should be verified and validated using appropriate techniques. Due to implementation complexity in calculating methods, computation of hydrodynamic parameters is challenging. This paper presents analytical approaches for estimating an AUV's hydrodynamic coefficients. Nonlinear Kalman Filter (KF) algorithms are implemented to estimate unknown augmented states (coefficients). A comparative study is conducted which shows the superior performance of Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) in comparison with Extended Kalman... 

The current performance-based seismic assessment procedure can be computationally intensive as it requires a large number of time history analyses (THA) each requiring time intensive post-processing of results. This study proposes the endurance time analysis (ETA) method as an alternative method to THA and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). ETA is a time history based dynamic pushover procedure that applies a set of gradually intensifying acceleration functions to the structure and monitors the performance of the building accordingly. In this paper, the application of ETA in the seismic assessment of multistory steel concentrically braced frames is compared with THA and IDA methods.... 

Metropolitan areas consist of complicated systems of interconnected infrastructures that are highly interdependent. Disruption of one infrastructure may induce disruption in other interconnected ones. The results from analysis of one infrastructure as an independent system are not realistic without considering the behavior of other interconnected infrastructures. Consequently, the study of the interdependencies among critical infrastructures is important for addressing the cascading effects of a failed infrastructure on the entire network to properly model its performance and help the disaster management team in decision making. In this study, the extended Petri net and Markov chain have... 

Here in this study, successful conversion of visible light into electricity has been achieved through utilizing microalgal pigments as a sensitizer of nanostructured photo-electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For the first time, photosynthetic pigments extracted from microalgae grown in wastewater is employed to imitate photosynthesis process in bio-molecule-sensitized solar cells. Two designs of photoanode were employed: 10μm nanoparticular TiO2 electrode and 20μm long self-ordered, vertically oriented nanotube arrays of titanium dioxide films. Microalgal photosynthetic pigments are loaded on nanostructured electrodes and their photovoltaic performances have been investigated.... 

Using gas-liquid lifting pumps is a quite different technology for pumping two or three phase flows rather than other types of pumping systems. Therefore, finding performance characteristic chart for this type of pumping system seems to be necessary. In this type of pumping system, the liquid phase is pushed upward by the compressed air which has been injected in the bottom of upriser pipe of the pump. Therefore, compressed air acts as the driving force in gas lifting pumps instead of moving parts in ordinary pumps. It can be concluded that the definition of characteristic curve used for ordinary pump is not very appropriate for this type of pumping system. In this study, it has been... 

The present study was aimed at performance and energy analysis of a hybrid wind-hydrogen power system. Such system consists of wind turbines, batteries for the short time energy storage, electrolyzer, fuel cell and hydrogen tank for long time energy storage. The proposed configuration is used to supply energy demand of a region with discrete seasonal wind speed regime. Temporary wind energy profiles restrict using batteries for electricity storage as they lose much electrical stored energy for the long time. Based on direct wind turbine usage, batteries and hydrogen storage, different energy supply strategies are introduced and analyzed to power the household electricity demand. The energy... 

In this study, a laboratory-scale biotrickling filter (BTF) is used to remove Triethylamine (TEA) from gaseous wastes. The BTF is made of stainless steel with a height of 210 cm and an internal diameter of 21 cm packed with lava rocks. TEA elimination pattern was evaluated by changing empty bed residence times (EBRTs). The maximum elimination capacity (EC) has been determined to be 87 g/m3/h. At all EBRTs 52, 31, 20, and 10 s, contaminant transferring from gas phase to liquid was more than the EC. Also, the removal efficiency was 100 % for a mass loading of 100 g/m3/h. While the liquid recirculation velocity of 3.466 m3/m2/h was maintained, the flow rate was adjusted to 60, 100, 156, and 312... 

The analysis and design of a tunable low noise active inductor is presented. The noise performance of the proposed gyrator-based active inductor is improved without either degrading its quality factor or consuming more power using a linear Feed Forward Path (FFP). The proposed low noise active inductor has been designed and fabricated using standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology. The measurements show a 3 fold improvement in the input noise current compared to that of conventional active inductors. The active inductor was tuned and measured at the resonance frequency of 2.5 GHz, which could be extended as high as 5.5 GHz, with a quality factor of 30. The circuit draws 4.8 mA from a 1.8 V supply  

In this study, a two-echelon single-vendor supply chain is selected to do a cost-based comparison between short-term performances of a Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and a Retailer Managed Inventory (RMI). While the inventory costs include ordering and storing expenses, the rate of consumption and the price of goods are constant, the rate of production and pace of transportation are infinite and shortage is not allowed. This paper, after a comprehensive literature review, is followed by three cases of single retailer, n-retailer and two-retailer chains. Unlike the second case, in the first case, VMI shows an absolute superiority to RMI, and this is the reason for devising the third case in... 

This paper focuses on multi-objective optimisation (MOO) to optimise the planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks performance using a genetic algorithm. MOO problem does not have a single solution, but a complete Pareto curve, which involves the optional representation of possible compromise solutions. Here, two pairs of different objectives are considered as distinguished strategies. Optimisation of the first strategy predicts a maximum power output of 108.33 kW at a breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.51 $/kWh and minimum breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.30 $/kWh at a power of 42.18 kW. In the second strategy, maximum efficiency of 63.93%at a breakeven per-unit energy cost of 0.42... 

An existing operational trisonic wind tunnel is upgraded to improve its performance criterion in the transonic regime. In this research, the test section is modified according to the operational requirements of the various existing transonic wind tunnels. Several perforated walls are designed, manufactured, and installed on the top and bottom sides of the test section. The flow in the test section of the wind tunnel is surveyed for the empty condition prior to testing models. Once satisfactory results regarding the flow quality requirements in the test section under various conditions were achieved, a 2D model, NACA 0012, and a 3D standard model for the transonic wind tunnels, AGARD-B, are... 

The earned value is a leading technique in monitoring and analyzing project performance and project progress. Although, it allows exact measurement of project progress, and can uncover any time and cost deviations from the plan, its capability in reporting accepted level of deviation is not well studied. This study presented an approach to overcome this limitation by applying statistical quality control charts to monitor earned value indices. For this purpose, project time and cost performance indices of a real construction project were monitored regularly on individual control charts. The results were quite promising, and not only competed well against traditional approaches, but also... 

In this paper, numerical and analytical approaches are presented to evaluate the effect of catalyst loading gradient in the catalyst layer (CL) of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The model is developed based on agglomerate catalyst and accounts for reactant spices and charge (ion and electron) transport in the cathode side of a PEM fuel cell. The special variation of catalyst loading is considered in two direction, "across the layer" from membrane/CL interface to gas diffusion layer (GDL) and "in catalyst plane" under the channels and land areas in the channel direction. A fuel cell test stand is designed and built to facilitate experimental validation of the model. The... 

The hydraulic efficiency of sedimentation basins is reduced by short-circuiting, circulation zones and bottom particleladen jets. Baffles are used to improve the sediment tank performance. In this study, laboratory experiments were used to examine the hydrodynamics of several baffle configurations. An accompanying numerical analysis was performed based on the 2-D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations along with the k-ε turbulence closure model. The numerical model was supplemented with the volume-of-fluid technique, and the advection-diffusion equation to simulate the dynamics of particle-laden flow. Model predictions compared well with the experimental data. An empirical function was... 

A new concept to determine state of the damage in concrete gravity dams is introduced. The Pine Flat concrete gravity dam has been selected for the purpose of the analysis and its structural capacity, assuming no sliding plane and rigid foundation, has been estimated using the two well-known methods: nonlinear static pushover (SPO) and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). With the use of these two methods, performance and various limit states of the dam have been determined, and three damage indexes have been proposed on the basis of the comparison of seismic demands and the dam's capacity. It is concluded that the SPO and IDA can be effectively used to develop indexes for seismic performance... 

Damage assessment of concrete arch dams is carried out through nonlinear Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) of a typical arch dam. In this study the Morrow Point arch dam is subjected to a set of 12 three-component earthquakes each scaled to 12 increasing intensity levels. The dam-foundation interaction effects have been investigated by varying foundation's modulus of elasticity to be equal and half of dam concrete's modulus of elasticity. Damage propagation through the dam body is investigated and various IDA curves are created. The performance and various limit-states of the dam structure are examined based on the obtained results. Simple damage indices are proposed through comparison of... 

As a matter of fact, it is necessary to have the values of Response Modification Factor R, Over-strength Factor Ω0, and Deflection Amplification Factor Cd in order to design seismic-force-resisting systems according to design and loading codes. This study is intended to evaluate these factors for a structural lateral bracing system called Chevron Knee Bracing (CKB). In this type of bracing, the knee elements assist the system to dissipate energy through the formation of plastic flexural and/or shear hinges within the presented bracing system. The approach utilized in this study is according to FEMA P695 based on low probability of structural collapse and involves nonlinear static and dynamic... 

The Finite element method was used for evaluation of the effects of material properties on the mechanical performance of the new geometry designed for the Z-shaped open-cell femoral artery self-expanding stent, made of Nitinol wire, by application of crushing force. The behavior of the stents, having two sets of properties, was compared. The stents with higher Af temperature show better clinical behavior due to lower chronic outward force, higher radial resistive strength and more suitable superelastic behavior. Model calculations show that a large change of Af temperature could exert a substantial effect on the practical performance of the stent  

Dye sensitizers loaded on TiO2 decrease the electron excitation energy, thereby improving the photocatalytic performance by causing an increase in sensitivity under visible light irradiation. Three dye sensitizer precursors, Mordant Orange 1, N3 (red dye) and Cobalt (II) Phthalocyanine Tetrasulfonate (CoPcTs), were utilized to load the photocatalyst. The rate of the electron trapping process on platinum is clearly compatible with the migration rate of boundary electrons. Consequently, the migration of boundary electrons from the conduction band towards electron acceptors is increased by loading platinum onto the titanium dioxide. In this research, TiO2 was synthesized from a titanium...