Sharif Digital Repository

Untethered small-scale robots can accomplish tasks which are not feasible by conventional macro robots. In the current research, we have designed and fabricated a miniature magnetic robot actuated by an external magnetic field. The proposed robot has two coaxial wheels and one magnetic dipole which is capable of rolling and moving on the surface by variation in the direction of magnetic field. To generate the desired magnetic field, a Helmholtz electromagnetic coil is manufactured. To steer the robot to the desired position, at first the robot dynamics is investigated, and subsequently a controller based on a neuro-fuzzy network has been designed. Finally, the proposed controller is... 

This article intends to examine thermoelastic damping (TED) in circular cylindrical nanoshells by considering small-scale effect on both structural and thermal areas. To fulfill this aim, governing equations are extracted with the aid of nonlocal elasticity theory and dual-phase-lag (DPL) heat conduction model. Circular cylindrical shell is also modeled on the basis of Donnell–Mushtari–Vlasov (DMV) equations for thin shells. By inserting asymmetric simple harmonic oscillations of nanoshell into motion, compatibility and heat conduction equations, the size-dependent thermoelastic frequency equation is obtained. By solving this equation and deriving the frequency of nanoshell affected by... 

In this article, a size-dependent generalized thermoelasticity model is established to appraise the small-scale effect on thermoelastic vibrations of Euler-Bernoulli nanobeams. Small-scale effect on the structure and heat conduction is captured by exploiting nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) and nonclassical heat conduction model of Guyer and Krumhansl (GK model). NSGT enables the model to account for both nonlocal and strain gradient effects on structure, and GK formulation empowers the model to incorporate both nonlocal and lagging effect into heat conduction equation. The normalized forms of size-dependent equations of motion and heat conduction are provided by introducing some... 

Micro/Nano mechatronic systems might be defined as systems that include nano- or micro-scale components. These components can be sensors, actuators, and/or physical structures. Furthermore, the high-precision control laws for such small scales are important to ensure stability, accuracy, and precision in these systems. In this writing, four categories of such small-scale systems are considered by providing multifarious novel or key examples from the literature: control engineering and modeling, design and fabrication, measurement engineering, and sensor/actuator development. The applications discussed in the examples vary from nano-positioners, crucial in systems such as atomic force... 

In order to examine the impact of structural and thermal scale parameters on thermoelastic vibrations of Euler-Bernoulli nanobeams, this article intends to provide a size-dependent generalized thermoelasticity model with the help of nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT) in conjunction with dual-phase-lag (DPL) heat conduction model. To highlight the role of each scale parameter in size-dependent motion and heat conduction equations, normalized forms of these nonclassical coupled thermoelastic equations are extracted by introducing and exploiting some dimensionless parameters. By exploiting power series expansion as a general solution for arbitrary boundary conditions, system of partial... 

Renewable energies could be a good solution to the problems associated with fossil fuels. The storage of wind energy by means of small-scale devices rather than large-scale turbines is a topic that has gained lots of interest. In this study, a compact device is proposed to harvest wind energy and transform it into electrical energy, by means of oscillations of a magnet into a coil, using the concept of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) behind a barrier. For a more comprehensive investigation, this system is studied from two viewpoints of fluid mechanics (without magnet) and power generation (with the magnet). For this purpose, an oscillating plate hinging on one side and three barriers with... 

A viscoelastic microcantilever beam is analytically analyzed based on the modified strain gradient theory. Kelvin-Voigt scheme is used to model beam viscoelasticity. By applying Euler-Bernoulli inextensibility of the centerline condition based on Hamilton's principle, the nonlinear equation of motion and the related boundary conditions are derived from shortening effect theory and discretized by Galerkin method. Inner damping, nonlinear curvature effect, and nonlinear inertia terms are also taken into account. In the present study, the generalized derived formulation allows modeling any nonlinear combination such as nonlinear terms that arise due to inertia, damping, and stiffness, as well... 

Micro-rotating disks are extensively used in micro-electromechanical systems such as micro-gyroscopes and micro-rotors. Because of the sensitivity of these elements, enough knowledge about the mechanical behavior of these structures is an essential matter for designers and fabricators. The small-scale effects on the in-plane free vibration of such micro-disks present an important aspect of the mechanical behavior of these elements. The small-scale effects on the in-plane free vibration of these micro-disks are investigated in this study using the modified couple stress theory. By using the Hamilton principle, the partial differential equations governing the coupled radial and tangential... 

This paper deals with the small-scale effects on the thermoelastic damping (TED) in microplates. The coupled equations of motion and heat conduction are provided utilizing the strain gradient theory (SGT) and the dual-phase-lag (DPL) heat conduction model. Solving these equations and adopting the Galerkin method, the real and imaginary parts of frequency are extracted. The complex frequency approach is then employed to present a size-dependent expression for evaluating TED in thin plates. An analytical expression for TED incorporating small-scale effects is also derived on the basis of the energy dissipation approach. To survey the effect of different continuum theories on TED, the results... 

In this research, the small-scale effects in the torsional vibration of the micro-rotors with eccentric micro-disks are investigated based on the modified couple stress theory. The torsional deformation of the micro-shaft described by function φ(x,t) is considered to be independent of the flexural deformation described by functions v(x,t) and w(x,t). Using Hamilton's principle, the system of coupled nonlinear governing partial differential equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions are derived. The system of equations includes one corresponding to the torsional deformation and two others corresponding to the flexural deformation. By employing the Galerkin method, the system... 

It is vital to prevent brittle cracks in large structures. This is particularly important for a number of industry sectors including offshore wind, Oil & Gas, and shipbuilding where structural failure risks loss of human life and loss of expensive assets. Some modern steels exhibit high Charpy energy – i.e. high initiation fracture toughness, but poor resistance to crack propagation – i.e. low crack arrest toughness. The correlation between initiation and arrest toughness measured through small-scale testing is investigated in five different steels, which include S355 structural steel (with two different thicknesses), X65 pipeline steel, two high strength reactor pressure vessel steels and... 

In this paper, the operation of a future distribution network is discussed under the assumption of a multi-carrier microgrid (MCMG) concept. The new model considers a modern energy management technique in electricity and natural gas networks based on a novel demand side management (DSM) which the energy tariff for responsive loads are correlated to the energy input of the network and changes instantly. The economic operation of MCMG is formulated as an optimization problem. In conventional studies, energy consumption is optimized from the perspective of each infrastructure user without considering the interactions. Here, the interaction of energy system infrastructures is considered in the... 

Based on the nonlocal Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, a theoretical approach is developed to investigate the effects of small scale and intermolecular force on the dynamic pull-in behavior of electrostatically actuated nanoresonators. To this purpose, nanoresonators are modeled as multilayer beams with rectangular cross-sections and fixed-fixed and fixed-free end conditions which are embedded in an elastic medium containing Winkler and Pasternak elastic foundations. Also, the effects of nonlocal parameter, fringing field due to the finite width of beams, Casimir or van der Waals intermolecular forces, nonlinear term induced by mid-plane stretching and Winkler and Pasternak elastic foundations... 

The small-scale effects on the mechanical responses of micro-rotating disks with angular acceleration are investigated based on the strain gradient theory, as one of the powerful non-classical continuum theories which have been developed to justify the empirical observations of mechanical behavior in small-scale structures and components. The differential equations governing motion of the micro-disk elements in radial and circumferential direction together with the corresponding boundary conditions are derived. Then, an analytical solution is presented for the components of the displacement field which can be used as a base for determination of the components of the stress field. In a... 

In this paper, pull-in behavior of cantilever micro/nano-beams made of functionally graded materials (FGM) with small-scale effects under electrostatic force is investigated. Consistent couple stress theory is employed to study the influence of small-scale on pull-in behavior. According to this theory, the couple tensor is skew-symmetric by adopting the skew-symmetric part of the rotation gradients. The material properties except Poisson’s ratio obey the power law distribution in the thickness direction. The approximate analytical solutions for the pull-in voltage and pull-in displacement of the microbeams are derived using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. Comparison between the results of the... 

Purpose: Microgrids are inclined to use renewable energy resources within the availability limits. In conventional studies, energy interchange among microgrids was not considered because of one-directional power flows. Hence, this paper aims to study the optimal day-ahead energy scheduling of a centralized networked multi-carrier microgrid (NMCMG). The energy scheduling faces new challenges by inclusion of responsive loads, integration of renewable sources (wind and solar) and interaction of multi-carrier microgrids (MCMGs). Design/methodology/approach: The optimization model is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programing and is solved using GAMS software. Numerical simulations are... 

Thermoelastic damping (TED) is one of the main energy dissipation mechanisms in structures with small scales. On the other hand, the classical continuum theory is not capable of describing the mechanical behavior of small-scale structures. In this paper, small-scale effects on the thermoelastic damping in microplates are studied. To this end, the coupled governing equations of motion and heat conduction are obtained based on the non-classical continuum theory of the modified couple stress and the dual-phase-lag heat conduction model. By solving these coupled equations, an explicit expression including small-scale effects for calculating TED in microplates is derived. The results are compared... 

In this paper, the characteristics of a hybrid regenerative electromagnetic (EM) damper are first determined and experimentally examined. The main idea is to have two modes of operation for the EM damper, namely passive energy harvesting and semi-active modes. In the passive mode, the vibrational energy of an underlying structure is harvested and stored in a rechargeable battery. The harvested energy can then be employed in the semi-active control mode to supply the power demand for the required sensors and microcontroller. This hybrid damper would thus be capable of realizing the characteristics of a self-powered EM damper. A prototype of the damper was designed and tested under different... 

Electricity load forecasting plays an important role for optimal power system operation. Accordingly, short term load forecast (STLF) is also becoming an important task by researchers to tackle the mentioned problem. As a consequence of the highly non-smooth and volatile trend of the load time series specially in building levels, its STLF is even a more complex procedure than that of a power system. For this purpose, in this paper we proposed a new prediction model based on a new feature selection algorithm and hybrid forecast engine of enhanced version of empirical mode decomposition named sliding window EMD bundled with an intelligent algorithm. The proposed forecast engine is combined... 

In this paper, pull-in behavior of cantilever micro/nano-beams made of functionally graded materials (FGM) with small-scale effects under electrostatic force is investigated. Consistent couple stress theory is employed to study the influence of small-scale on pull-in behavior. According to this theory, the couple tensor is skew-symmetric by adopting the skew-symmetric part of the rotation gradients. The material properties except Poisson’s ratio obey the power law distribution in the thickness direction. The approximate analytical solutions for the pull-in voltage and pull-in displacement of the microbeams are derived using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. Comparison between the results of the...