Sharif Digital Repository

Barcoding photons, atoms, and any quantum states can provide a host of functionalities that could benefit future quantum communication systems and networks beyond today's imagination. As a significant application of barcoding photons, we introduce code division multiple-access (CDMA) communication systems for various applications. In this context, we introduce and discuss the fundamental principles of a novel quantum CDMA (QCDMA) technique based on spectrally encoding and decoding of continuous-mode quantum light pulses. In particular, we present the mathematical models of various QCDMA modules that are fundamental in describing an ideal and typical QCDMA system, such as quantum signal... 

This article presents a novel dual-band transmission line (TL), consisting of a multibranch stub, which can provide equal unwrapped phases at two different frequencies. The frequency ratio can be close to one without any significant degradation in the device performance. Besides, the bandwidth of the proposed line can be manipulated at both frequencies by adjusting the design parameters. The behavior of the structure over the frequency bands is investigated theoretically, and the design procedure and relations are derived. The simulation and measurement results of a quarter-wavelength open-ended stub and a branch-line coupler (BLC) are presented and compared to verify the performance of the... 

In this paper, a new interleaved DC–DC converter based on a coupled and a single input inductor is proposed. The suggested high step-up converter utilizes various inductive and capacitive methods to transfer magnetic energy more efficiently. The output voltage is regulated with the switches' duty cycle and the coupled inductor (CI) turns ratio, which provide a wide output voltage range. Interleaving improves the converter reliability, employs both the first and third areas of CI's B-H plane, cancels DC component of the CI, and reduces the input current ripple of the proposed converter with twice switching frequency. Utilization of two output ports for voltage stress and ripple reduction in... 

Oil trapping behavior during the pre-flush stage is critically important to evaluate the effectiveness of matrix acidizing for the oil well stimulation. In this study, the visco-capillary behavior of the two-phase flow in the pore-scale is analyzed to investigate the influence of wetting properties for a natural rock sample. A two-dimensional model, based on Cahn-Hilliard phase-field and Navier-Stokes equations, was established and solved using the finite element method. A stability phase diagram for log capillary number (Ca)-log viscosity ratio (M) was constructed and then compared with the reported experimental works. The maximum and minimum ranges of capillary number and viscosity ratio... 

Purpose: This paper aims to propose a novel matrix-based systematic approach for vulnerability assessment. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed method consists of two major steps. First, the power network is modeled as a topological combination of edges (transmission lines, transformers, etc.) and nodes (buses, substations, etc.). The second step is to use an axiomatic design-based index for topology analysis. This index is based on the systematic counting of possible routes from the start (generators) to destination (loads), considering load importance, before and after a disruption. Findings: The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through an illustrative example and... 

Real-time measurement of soil water pressure has been recognized as an essential part of investigating water ow in unsaturated soils. Tensiometry, amongst di erent measuring techniques, is a common method for direct evaluation of water pressure. However, the lower limit of measurable water pressure by a conventional tensiometer becomes even more limited by increasing its length in the vertical installation. This paper describes the development of a Vacuum-Re lled Tensiometer (VRT) for monitoring soil water pressure independent of installation depth. This is achieved by xing the distance between pressure sensor and ceramic cup together with incorporating an ancillary vacuum-re lling assembly... 

Real-time measurement of soil water pressure has been recognized as an essential part of investigating water ow in unsaturated soils. Tensiometry, amongst different measuring techniques, is a common method for direct evaluation of water pressure. However, the lower limit of measurable water pressure by a conventional tensiometer becomes even more limited by increasing its length in the vertical installation. This paper describes the development of a Vacuum-Refilled Tensiometer (VRT) for monitoring soil water pressure independent of installation depth. This is achieved by fixing the distance between pressure sensor and ceramic cup together with incorporating an ancillary vacuumre filling... 

One of the most important obligations of privacy-enhancing technologies is to bring confidentiality and privacy to users' browsing activities on the Internet. The website fingerprinting attack enables a local passive eavesdropper to predict the target user's browsing activities even she uses anonymous technologies, such as VPNs, IPsec, and Tor. Recently, the growth of deep learning empowers adversaries to conduct the website fingerprinting attack with higher accuracy. In this paper, we propose a new defense against website fingerprinting attack using adversarial deep learning approaches called Adversarial Website Adaptation (AWA). AWA creates a transformer set in each run so that each... 

Abstract: Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have always been among the most popular topics in science fiction (sci-fi) movies. This paper endeavors to review popular movies containing Fictional Robots (FR) to extract the most common characteristics and interesting design ideas of robots portrayed in science fiction. To this end, 134 sci-fi films, including 108 unique FRs, were investigated regarding the robots’ different design aspects (e.g., appearance design, interactive design and artificial intelligence, and ethical and social design). Also, in each section of this paper, some characteristics of FRs are compared with real social robots. Since some researches point to the... 

An integrated probabilistic framework is proposed with a set of probabilistic models that are compatible with the reliability methods used in resilience-based design (RBD). Previous seismic resilience estimation frameworks primarily have used conditional probabilities and total probability integration to compute the expected seismic resilience index while considering the effects of only a few types of uncertainty. However, a high level of uncertainty is associated with seismic resilience estimation. This study presents a probabilistic framework and models that can consider the effect of unlimited uncertainties when calculating the probability distribution of the seismic resilience index for... 

We investigate the problem of practical output regulation: Design a controller that brings the system output in the vicinity of a desired target value while keeping the other variables bounded. We consider uncertain systems that are possibly nonlinear and the uncertainty of the linear part is modeled element-wise through a parametric family of matrix boxes. An optimization-based design procedures is proposed that delivers a continuous-time control and estimates the maximal regulation error. We also analyze an event-triggered emulation of this controller, which can be implemented on a digital platform, along with an explicit estimates of the regulation error. IEEE  

Past earthquakes revealed that while fulfilling the requirements of the conventional design codes guarantees the life safety of the occupants, considerable economic losses may still be incurred. This highlights the importance of considering life cycle losses in the design procedure of structures. In this research, the significance of the life cycle seismic risk costs in the optimal design of steel framed tube tall buildings is investigated. Typical 20- and 40-story buildings are optimally designed based on three approaches: the code-based, the cost-based, and the fixed weight approach. The first approach only minimizes the initial cost of the building while in the second and third approaches... 

One of the most used types of auctions in the smart grid is the double auction, in which both buyers and sellers can respectively submit their bids and asks to participate in the auction. In recent years, many schemes have been designed to propose a double auction mechanism for the smart grids; however, few of these schemes consider the information security aspects and users’ privacy. In this paper, we propose a protocol that helps different double auction mechanisms be implemented securely in the smart grids. This protocol not only can satisfy the security requirements of a double auction scheme but is also compatible with the smart grid technologies. In this scheme, in order to preserve... 

Among the parameters affecting the critical velocity in tunnel fires, the tunnel cross-sectional shape could significantly affect the tunnel fire characteristics, mainly due to the wall-bounded physics of the tunnel fire. Previously, the effects of the cross-sectional geometry of the tunnel were calculated using the non-dimensional analysis and hydraulic height of the tunnel. The dimensionless analysis using hydraulic height calculates only the effects of the tunnel sizes and does not capture the effects of the shape of the tunnel cross-section. Developing a 3D computational fluid dynamics tool using the body-fitted grids, the critical velocities are calculated for the 7 different... 

This article investigates the basis for pressure sensor application based on the magnetic shape memory effect in membranes. Von Karmans nonlinear terms are considered in strain–displacement relationships of thin films, and a new method is presented for solution of large deflections of thin films with arbitrary boundary condition. In this study, the equations of motion of magnetic shape memory alloys are extended. In pressurized membranes, the complex distribution of mechanical stress can cause the martensitic reorientation, which is the underlying mechanism for sensing applications in magnetic shape memory alloys. To examine the obtained model, the governing equations of magnetic shape... 

Purpose: This paper aims to study the thermal and thermo-hydraulic performances of ferro-nanofluid flow in a three-dimensional trapezoidal microchannel heat sink (TMCHS) under uniform heat flux and magnetic fields. Design/methodology/approach: To investigate the effect of direction of Lorentz force the magnetic field has been applied: transversely in the x direction (Case I);transversely in the y direction (Case II); and parallel in the z direction (Case III). The three-dimensional governing equations with the associated boundary conditions for ferro-nanofluid flow and heat transfer have been solved by using an element-based finite volume method. The coupled algorithm has been used to solve... 

Active edge sites of MoS2 nanosheets exhibit promising futures for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), comparable with remarkable performances of highly cost platinum. However, 3D structures of MoS2 suffer from a lack of high mobility and unexposed active sites which lower the electrocatalytic activity. In this study, we show that there is a balance between increasing the active sites on the one hand and managing the charge transfer to facilitate the reaction on the other hand, and achieving this balance increases the efficiency of the electrocatalyst tremendously. For this purpose, we directly attached exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets onto carbon cloth (CC) substrate as a 3D network of conductive... 

This letter presents a unified framework for the design of prescribed-time controllers under time-varying input and state constraints for normal-form unknown nonlinear systems with uncertain input gain. The proposed approach is based on a time-domain mapping method by which any infinite-time system can be corresponded to a prescribed-time system and vice versa. It is shown that the design of a constrained nonasymptotic prescribed-time controller can be reduced to the asymptotic control design for an associated constrained infinite-time system. Faà di Bruno’s formula and Bell polynomials are used for a constructive representation of the associated infinite-time system. The presented results... 

Dynamic analyses are necessary problems in offshore jacket structures design and assessment. These analyses have various applications in recognition of dynamic behavior, fatigue analysis, damage detection, etc. Natural frequencies and mode shapes, as inherent vibrational features of a structure, are key parameters in referred analyses. These parameters are mainly affected by mass and stiffness matrices and slightly by damping. Therefore, it is more important to estimate the stiffness matrix of a structure accurately, especially in stiff structures such as offshore jacket platforms. In many cases, the stiffness of levels is required. For example, it can be useful in the construction of an... 

Multi-party computation (MPC) allows each peer to take part in the execution of a common function with their private share of data without the need to expose it to other participants. The Legendre symbol is a pseudo-random function (PRF) that is suitable for MPC protocols due to their efficient evaluation process compared to other symmetric primitives. Recently, Legendre-based PRFs have also been employed in the construction of a post-quantum signature scheme, namely LegRoast. In this paper, we propose, to the best of our knowledge, the first hardware implementations for the Legendre symbol by three approaches: 1) low-area, 2) high-speed, and 3) high-frequency. The high-speed architecture...