Sharif Digital Repository

In this article, a computational model is presented for the analysis of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical process with phase change (evaporation/condensation) in fractured porous media in order to model multiphase fluid flows, heat transfer, and discontinuous deformation by employing the extended finite element method. The ideal gas law and Dalton's law are employed to consider vapor and dry air as miscible gases. To take into account the phase change, latent heat and specific vapor enthalpy are incorporated into the physical model. The set of governing equations consists of linear momentum for the solid-phase, energy balance equation and mass conservation equations of water species (liquid... 

Socio-ecological systems include diverse resources of complexity involving complicated interactions, feedback, dynamic behavior patterns, heterogeneity in agents’ characteristics and behaviors, as well as system uncertainties. Agent-based modeling is introduced as a tool to simulate different levels of stakeholders and interactions, including individual, group, and institutional agents in complex socio-ecological systems. In the present study, an agent-based model was developed to explore sustainable solutions in uncertain conditions for groundwater restoration of a critical aquifer in the Lake Urmia Basin, Iran. Different projects for aquifer restoration such as wells monitoring, license... 

The high concentration of zinc metal ions in Aβ aggregations is one of the most cited hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and several substantial pieces of evidence emphasize the key role of zinc metal ions in the pathogenesis of AD. In this study, while designing a multifunctional peptide for simultaneous targeting Aβ aggregation and chelating the zinc metal ion, a novel and comprehensive approach is introduced for evaluating the multifunctionality of a multifunctional drugs based on computational methods. The multifunctional peptide consists of inhibitor and chelator domains, which are included in the C-terminal hydrophobic region of Aβ, and the first four amino acids of human albumin.... 

Atherosclerotic plaques and thrombosis are chronic inflammatory complications and the main manifestations of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the leading cause of death globally. Achieving non/minimal-invasive therapeutic means for these implications in the coronary network is vital and has become an interdisciplinary concern. Accordingly, smart drug delivery systems, specifically based on micro- and nanoparticles, as a promising method to offer non/minimal-invasive therapeutic mechanisms are under active research. Notably, computational models enable us to study, design, and predict treatment strategies based on smart drug delivery systems with less time and cost compared with conventional... 

Given the various advantages of electric vehicles compared to conventional gasoline vehicles in terms of energy efficiency and environmental pollution (among others), this paper studies the factors affecting customers’ willingness to purchase electric vehicles. An integrated discrete choice and agent-based approach is applied to model the customers’ choice for the valuation of electric vehicles based on the internal reference price. The agent-based model evaluates customers’ preferences for a number of personal and vehicle attributes, according to which vehicle they chose. Data from 376 respondents are collected to estimate a random-parameter logit model where customers are asked to reveal... 

Earthquakes can cause significant damage to vulnerable residential buildings and cause irreversible adverse economic, social, and socioeconomic consequences. Implementing hazard mitigation policies can enhance homeowners' willingness to adopt hazard mitigation measures such as seismic retrofits or insurance. Several past studies have proposed models that aimed to explain individuals' hazard mitigation behavior. Despite their advantages, these decision-making models are subject to limitations. This manuscript proposes a new decision-making model that addresses the shortcomings of previous models. The proposed decision-making model is then incorporated at the core of an agent-based model to... 

Purpose - A numerical method is developed to capture the interaction of solid object with two-phase flow with high density ratios. The current computational tool would be the first step of accurate modeling of wave energy converters in which the immense energy of the ocean can be extracted at low cost. Design/methodology/approach - The full two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations are discretized on a regular structured grid, and the two-step projection method along with multi-processing (OpenMP) is used to efficiently solve the flow equations. The level set and the immersed boundary methods are used to capture the free surface of a fluid and a solid object, respectively. The full... 

This study proposes a novel socio-hydrological modeling framework for assessing the performance of complex water resources systems. It employs and integrates agent-based modeling (ABM) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) into the socio-hydrological modeling framework to account for agents’ behaviors. Due to farmers’ major role in anthropogenic droughts, this paper mainly focuses on farmers’ behavior. The TPB framework and the agents’ behavioral rules in ABM are structured based on the data obtained from field questionnaires and interviews by the farmers in the Zarrineh River Basin as the main river feeding the Urmia Lake. The proposed modeling framework, including the TPB and ABM... 

The electric power industry is the main part of Science development, and today, with the advent of technology, the demand for electric power has been expanded. On the other hand, smart grids are developing heavily. One of the notable features of these networks is the presence of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). The addition of these cars to the network has its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the most important issues in smart grids is network management and control of critical system parameters. In this paper the effect of these cars on the grid is investigated. These vehicles impose an increase in production capacity in the uncontrolled charge mode. They also have the... 

In this paper we investigate the effects of superconducting shielded core reactor (SSCR) on the operation of induction generators. Large number of induction generators used in wind power plants generally increase the short circuit current level of the system. The reason is that they provide parallel reduced-impedance paths for the fault currents. Taking advantage of SSCR in wind power plants allows for using these generating units in large numbers with no concerns about the system fault current increments. The study is performed on a test system using the conventional model of an induction generator and a new effective model for SSCR based on its shielding behavior. Mathematical equations... 

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), a single DNA base varying from one individual to another, are believed to be the most frequent form responsible for genetic differences. Genotype is the conflated information of a pair of haplotypes on homologous chromosomes. Although haplotypes have more information for disease associating than individual SNPs and genotype, it is substantially more difficult to determine haplotypes through experiments. Hence, computational methods which can reduce the cost of determining haplotypes become attractive alternatives. MEC, as a standard model for haplotype reconstruction, is fed by fragments as input to infer the best pair of haplotypes with minimum error... 

This study aims to develop the Consistent Fish-Bone (CFB) simplified model for efficient estimation of Engineering Demand Parameters (EDPs) in irregular steel Moment Resisting Frames (steel-MRFs). To achieve this goal, some modifications based on the energy consistent approach have been applied to the Improved Fish-Bone (IFB) simplified model previously presented for reinforced concrete MRFs. These modifications include: 1) adding truss elements to the IFB model to consider the effect of flexural deformations and determining their areas by balancing the overturning moment and the strain energy due to the axial deformation of columns in the original steel-MRF with the overturning moment and... 

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible neurological disorder that progresses gradually and can cause severe cognitive and behavioral impairments. This disease is currently considered a social and economic incurable issue due to its complicated and multifactorial characteristics. Despite decades of extensive research, we still lack definitive AD diagnostic and effective therapeutic tools. Consequently, one of the most challenging subjects in modern medicine is the need for the development of new strategies for the treatment of AD. A large body of evidence indicates that amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide fibrillation plays a key role in the onset and progression of AD. Recent studies have reported...