Sharif Digital Repository

The aim of the present work is to propose an eco-design method for sustainable development of methanol production by implementing a multi-objective optimization model based on CO2-efficiency. Two different approaches for the methanol production, i.e. a conventional reference methanol case (RMC) and proposed green integrated methanol case (GIMC) were compared from the view point of eco-design. Using life cycle assessment and process simulation, the environmental features as well as operational decision variables of the RMC and GIMC were assessed. Based on the inventory analysis of LCA, it was found that carbon dioxide is the major emitted pollutant from methanol production. Thus the... 

This paper presents design and analysis of a cabledriven mechanism for a spherical laparoscopy surgical robot manufactured at the Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine. The design is featured by two types of 'idler pulleys', which allow change of cables' plane of motion in spherical workspace. This robot suffers from back-lash and high friction due to the usage of motor and gear-box in each joint. In order to find a precise and optimal design, the paper studies various designs of cable robots, considering pulleys and cable arrangements, as well as pre-tensioning methods. Final scheme introduces two series of pulleys for each DOF, which transmits power from motors located on... 

A framework to calculate a quantitative measure of seismic resilience using the Endurance Time (ET) method is introduced. ET method is a response-history based analysis procedure where structures are subjected to gradually intensifying dynamic excitations and their performance is assessed based on their response at different excitation levels, reducing the required computational effort. First, a prototype hospital building is optimally designed through three distinct design philosophies: prescriptive design code, performance based design criteria, and value based seismic design method. In value based design method, the design sections of structural elements are assumed as optimization... 

The objective of the present study is to depict an inclusive Construction Waste Management (CWM) plan looking at the total project life cycle. This holistic approach is called Integrated Construction Waste Management (ICWM). This research program has been conducted through several consecutive academic dissertations at Civil Engineering Department of SUT and was firstly aimed to identify waste sources throughout project life cycle. Concurrent research efforts were focused on project delivery methods evaluation, e.g. contract type effect on waste generation amount along with appropriate guidelines/incentives development that could promote ICMW. These studies were conducted via field... 

Developing a computational model for studying tribological performance is essential for computing accurate life cycle of various materials. Caused by the existence of complicated and nonlinear interactions between material surfaces, exact modeling of wear behavior is very difficult. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in distinguishing similar patterns in experimental data and predictive modeling of a certain material’s wear behavior. In this paper, artificial neural networks (ANNs) approach, adaptive neural-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) technique, and fuzzy clustering method (FCM) are used to develop a simple, accurate, and applicable model for predicting the wear behavior of... 

This paper investigates the accumulation of technological capability in latecomer suppliers of complex capital goods by exploring the issue in an Iranian supplier of large hydro electricity generation systems. The findings suggest that, contrary to the conventional paths of catch-up in Asian and Latin American mass-producing electronics firms, and instead of starting from early stages of product lifecycle, the technological capabilities in this case were acquired through a non-linear movement within the stages of designing and installing complex capital goods in projects: starting from the middle stage (engineering and realisation of complex goods in projects), moving to the last stage... 

Intense global competition, dynamic product variations, and rapid technological developments force manufacturing systems to adapt and respond quickly to various changes in the market. Such responsiveness could be achieved through new paradigms such as Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS). In this paper, the problem of configuration design for a scalable reconfigurable RMS that produces different products of a part family is addressed. In order to handle demand fluctuations of products throughout their lifecycles with minimum cost, RMS configurations must change as well. Two different approaches are developed for addressing the system configuration design in different periods. Both... 

Intense global competition, dynamic product variations, and rapid technological developments force manufacturing systems to adapt and respond quickly to various changes in the market. Such responsiveness could be achieved through new paradigms such as Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS). In this paper, the problem of configuration design for a scalable reconfigurable RMS that produces different products of a part family is addressed. In order to handle demand fluctuations of products throughout their lifecycles with minimum cost, RMS configurations must change as well. Two different approaches are developed for addressing the system configuration design in different periods. Both... 

Seismic performance of a representative single-story confined unreinforced masonry school building in Tehran, Iran is evaluated by means of incremental dynamic analyses according to FEMA P-58 framework. For this purpose, fragility curves are derived for each of the constituent walls of the building. The in-plane behavior of the walls is considered only. Both flexible and rigid diaphragm conditions are investigated. For comparison purposes, the corresponding unconfined building exactly duplicating the considered confined unreinforced masonry building is also studied. In order to analyze the effects of near-source seismic actions on the performance of masonry buildings, two separate far-field... 

Intense global competition, dynamic product variations, and rapid technological developments force manufacturing systems to adapt and respond quickly to various changes in the market. Such responsiveness could be achieved through new paradigms such as Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS). In this paper, the problem of configuration design for a scalable reconfigurable RMS that produces different products of a part family is addressed. In order to handle demand fluctuations of products throughout their lifecycles with minimum cost, RMS configurations must change as well. Two different approaches are developed for addressing the system configuration design in different periods. Both... 

A framework for optimal seismic design of structures, considering maximum value as the design objective, is introduced. In this framework, the value parameter incorporates a comprehensive set of performance indicators. Decision indicators are mapped into equivalent economic values and are directly involved in the design process. This approach leads to optimal assignment of the available resources to meet infrastructure requirements. The construction cost and the risk of seismic consequences are considered as the value components. FEMA-P58 methodology is utilized in estimation of the seismic consequences including the repair cost, repair time, injuries and casualties. Endurance Time method is... 

Because of several vulnerabilities in software products and high amount of damage caused by them, software developers are enforced to produce more secure systems. Software grows up through its life cycle, so software development methodologies should pay special attention to security aspects of the product. This paper focuses on agile methodologies in order to equip them with security activities. We can restrain reduction of agile nature of organization's current process by means of agility measurement and applying an efficient activity integration algorithm with a tunable parameter named agility reduction tolerance (ART). Using this approach, method engineer of the project can enhance his... 

An efficient and commercially available method is introduced for preparation of a binder-free electrode for capacitive deionization (CDI) application. An interconnected porous composite consisting of polyphosphate (PPO), graphene (Gr) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT) is fabricated and assembled on a Ni foam substrate to prepare a binder-free electrode (Ni/PPOGrCNT). The resulting electrodes were characterized using various instrumental techniques such as TEM, SEM, EDS, XRD, FT-IR, Raman, XPS and XRF. Characterization results indicated that a mesoporous PPO structure is formed on a 3D assembly of carbon backbone. Accordingly, the 3-D porous structure facilitates the ion diffusion into... 

Pavement performance models are key components of any pavement management system (PMS). These models are used in a network-level PMS to predict future performance of a pavement section and identify the maintenance and rehabilitation needs. They are also used to estimate the network conditions after the application of various maintenance and rehabilitation alternatives and to determine the relative cost effectiveness of each maintenance and rehabilitation alternative. Change in pavement surface roughness over time is one of the most important performance indicators in this regard. A model for changes in the international roughness index (IRI) over time was developed through artificial neural...