Sharif Digital Repository

This article concerns the notion of methodology in strategic management of R&D/technology. Though development of new tools and methods has received much attention during the recent decades, attention to understanding methodologies has remained disproportionally low. In this study we distinguish two methodologies that are used in strategic management of R&D/technology: planning methodology and evolutionary learning methodology. We mainly focus on defining and describing the origins, nature, and characteristics of the latter. We propose a framework for methodology selection by investigating context, content, and process factors. Using this framework, we provide supportive evidence for... 

The aim of the present study is to provide an Atlas of IRAN Offshore Renewable Energy Resources (hereafter called 'the Atlas') to map out wave and tidal resources at a national scale, extending over the area of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. Such an Atlas can provide necessary tools to identify the areas with greatest resource potential and within reach of present technology development. To estimate available tidal energy resources at the site, a two-dimensional tidally driven hydrodynamic numerical model of Persian Gulf was developed using the hydrodynamic model in the MIKE 21 Flow Model (MIKE 21HD), with validation using tidal elevation measurements and tidal stream diamonds from... 

In competitive environment of quick market changes, developing an interoperable manufacturing system is a necessity. To realise interoperability, the exchange of part and product data must be independent of their platforms. There are two basic approaches for this purpose: i utilising interfaces ii utilising neutral formats. Standard for the Exchange of Product data (STEP) plays a significant role as a neutral data model to integrate design, manufacturing and other activities in product life cycle. To implement a Universal Manufacturing Platform (UMP), a systematic roadmap is required. The current paper proposes such a roadmap using the methodology of Axiomatic Design (AD)  

In this paper, we propose a new method for mobile robot path planning in dynamic environment when the trajectories of obstacles are unknown. Our algorithm first utilizes a global approach called clearance based probabilistic roadmap method to find a suitable path and then locally apply evolutionary algorithm to keep the structure of the path when obstacles collide with the path. As a result, the path will act like an elastic band. To reach real time applicability, a light fitness function is proposed compare to other genetic algorithms to reduce the computation time needed for calculating and repairing path. Simulation results show that our method not only can keep the original structure of... 

To get a more accurate model for simulation of single electron transistors (SETs), we have proposed a new macromodel that includes the ability of electron tunneling time calculation. In our proposed model, we have modified the previous models and applied some basic corrections to their formulas. In addition, we have added a switched capacitor circuit, as a quantizer, to calculate the electron tunneling time. We used HSPICE for high-speed simulation and observed that the simulation results obtained from our model matched more closely with that of SIMON 2.0. We also could evaluate the time of electron tunneling through the barrier by using the quantizer. Clearly, our macro-model gives more... 

This paper deals with the problem of vibration based health monitoring (VHM) in multi-stable asymmetrical laminated composite structures. Multi-stable asymmetrical laminates can be snapped between two or more geometries. The ability of snapping between two or more geometries in multistable composite structures makes them vulnerable to delaminate. Because of these reason early detection of damage in these systems during their service life is receiving increasing attention. In the present work, an efficient and accurate finite element model (FEM) based on layer-wise theory by considering the electro-mechanical coupling effect has been developed to investigate the actuation and /or sensing... 

Laminated composite beams with non-uniform thickness are being used as primary structural elements in a wide range of advanced engineering applications. Tapered composite structures, formed by terminating some of the plies, create geometry and material discontinuities that act as sources for delamination initiation and propagation. Any small damage or delamination in these structures can progress rapidly without any visible external signs. Due to this reason early detection of damage in these systems during their service life is receiving increasing attention. The presence of a crack in a component or structure leads to changes in its global dynamic characteristics results in decreases in... 

Electronic Society today is one of main challenges of developing and developed countries. It plays a central role in the national development plans and thus many ICT based projects are dedicated to digital society development. In this regard, government organizations must reengineer their processes and structures to meet the e-government and e-society defined standards. All of these together will make processes electronically available to citizens and businesses and minimize physical attendance in organizations to get information and services. This article focuses on specific and challengeable area of digital society called "electronic election". The authors try to combine the ICT enabled... 

The purpose of this study is to apply managerial economics and methods of decision analysis to study the optimal pattern of innovation activities for development of new energy technologies in developing countries. For this purpose, a model of energy research and development (R&D) planning is developed and it is then linked to a bottom-up energy-systems model. The set of interlinked models provide a comprehensive analytical tool for assessment of energy technologies and innovation planning taking into account the specific conditions of developing countries. An energy-system model is used as a tool for the assessment and prioritization of new energy technologies. Based on the results of the... 

The mobility pattern of users is one of the distinct features of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) compared with other types of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). This is due to the higher speed and the roadmap-restricted movement of vehicles. In this paper, we propose a new analytical mobility model for VANETs based on product-form queueing networks. In this model, we map the topology of the streets and the behavior of vehicles at both intersections and different parts of the streets onto different parameters of a BCMP1 open queueing network comprising M/G/nodes. This model represents a sparse situation for VANETs. To include the effect of dense situation on the mobility model, we modify the... 

The evolution of innovation system literature is scrutinized to delineate the conceptual trends over the past 30 years. We applied the Sigma index which is supposed to include not only the frontier contributions in the field but also the intellectual bases conveying transformative concepts. Our examination shows that after the establishment of the National Innovation System (NIS)as a principal framework, Regional IS literature emerged as a main branch during the period of 2002–2007, while Technological IS developed as the second main branch from 2007 to 2012. Surprisingly, Sectoral IS has not yet generated a separate constellation, whereas the period after 2012 mainly witnessed the emergence... 

In both public and private sectors, critical technology-based tasks, such as innovation, forecasting, and road-mapping, are faced with unmanageable complexity due to the ever-expanding web of technologies which can range into thousands. This context cannot be easily handled manually or with efficient speed. However, more precise and insightful answers are expected. These answers are the fundamental challenge addressed by tech-mining. For tech-mining, discovering the associations among them is a critical task. These associations are used to form a weighted directed graph of technologies called “association tech-graph” which is used for technology development, trend analysis, policymaking,... 

In the recent years, many universities invest on cubesats to prepare an appropriate environment for their students to get their hands on real experiments including design, fabrication, test, launch, operation and analysis of a real satellite project. Now after 5 years of experimentation, it is time for leaders to define more practical goals beside training students. Orienting the budget that is annually being invested on such satellites in every country to a specific goal could be a driving force in opening a new chapter in the utilization of pico-satellites and the advantages they offer. As these tiny satellites are utilized based on low cost COTS and also are light weight enough to reduce... 

In both public and private sectors, critical technology-based tasks, such as innovation, forecasting, and road-mapping, are faced with unmanageable complexity due to the ever-expanding web of technologies which can range into thousands. This context cannot be easily handled manually or with efficient speed. However, more precise and insightful answers are expected. These answers are the fundamental challenge addressed by tech-mining. For tech-mining, discovering the associations among them is a critical task. These associations are used to form a weighted directed graph of technologies called 'association tech-graph' which is used for technology development, trend analysis, policymaking,...