Sharif Digital Repository

In spite of the extensive literature on the analysis of the muscle synergies during gait, the functionality of these synergies has not been studied in detail. This study explored the relationship between the motor modules and the kinematic maneuvers involved in human walking. Motion and surface electromyography data (of 28 trunk and lower extremity muscles) were acquired from ten healthy subjects during ten trials of self-selected speed gait each. The joint angle trajectories were half-wave rectified and divided into two independent positive directional degrees-of-freedom. The muscle and kinematic synergies were both extracted using the non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF) technique and... 

A novel non-classical continuum model for pull-in analysis of multilayer graphene sheets (MLGSs) is developed to consider the effect of shear interaction between layers based on the nonlocal elasticity theory. The equation governing the motion and corresponding boundary conditions of electrostatically actuated MLGSs are obtained based on the nonlocal shear multiplate theory. The Galerkin method along with the first mode shapes for clamped and cantilever MLGSs together with the method of parameter expansion is used to obtain closed-form expressions of the normalized frequency and time history response. In addition, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are carried out to validate the pull-in... 

Due to significance of high-accuracy attitude control, the fuel sloshing effects on the satellite attitude should be considered, more precisely. This work deals with the attitude control of a liquid propellant-filled satellite considering the incompressible fuel sloshing in the planar maneuver. The satellite consists of a rigid body, a partially-filled tank and a flexible diaphragm. Hamilton's principle is employed to derive nonlinear coupled PDEs-ODEs governing the coupled satellite-diaphragm propellant tank system. Afterwards, to dispense with the spillover instability, a PDE-based controller is designed to realize the satellite attitude control while tracking a desired pitch angle and... 

Tunable metasurfaces can shift their resonant frequency through different approaches, one of which is applying mechanical deformations. Here, we show the effects of two key factors on the tunability of deformable metasurfaces; the resonator geometry and substrate stiffness. To show the effects, we compared the tunability of unit cells with three resonator geometries and three common substrates at microwave frequencies from 1 GHz to 10 GHz under a given mechanical deformation. We showed that the resonator geometry affects the deformation field, as a consequence, causes different resonant frequency shifts. Moreover, it affects the stress field in the metasurface which in turn limits the... 

This paper presents a numerical multiscale formulation for analysis of the transient heat and fluid flow in deformable heterogeneous porous media. Due to the heterogeneity of the media, the direct numerical simulation of the micro-structures leads to high computational costs. Hence, the multi-scale method can provide an efficient computational procedure. To this end, the first-order computational homogenization is adopted for two-scale simulation of THM problems. The governing equations of the problem contain a stress equilibrium equation, a mass continuity equation and an advection–diffusion equation in a fully coupled manner. Accordingly, the proper virtual power relations are defined as a... 

In this study, a pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding method is implemented to join Ti-G2 (1 mm thick) to AA3105-O (0.5 mm thick) via a ring of spots filled with AlScZr alloy (0.15 mm thick). The filler material improved the weld’s microstructure and mechanical properties by reducing the undesirable intermetallic compounds (IMCs) such as TiAl2 and TiAl3 in the aluminium re-solidified zone near the titanium/aluminium interface. The joints having AlScZr filler were mostly failed at Al heat affected zone (HAZ) during the tensile shear test. The addition of zirconium to binary Al–Sc system formed a substitutional solid-solution in which 50 wt% Zr+10 wt% Ti replaced Al3(Sc,Zr,Ti). Scandium had a... 

Carbon dioxide storage in geological formations is one of the mature strategies developed for controlling global warming. This paper represents a comprehensive experimental and geochemical modeling study to analyze CO2-brine-rock interactions in a carbonate rock containing calcite and dolomite minerals. PHREEQC geochemical package has been applied for modeling the geochemical reactions in the studied porous media. Firstly, dynamic experiments are performed to calibrate the geochemical model. Then, static experiments are conducted to study the geochemical reactions in the CO2-brine-rock interaction system. This study contributes to analyzing the precipitation-dissolution and ion exchange... 

The presence of nodules on the surface of cathode copper plates was the most important reason for the failure of the punch of mechanical clinching of copper cathode sheets. This study demonstrated a comprehensive investigation into the nodulation growth of copper cathodes in the electrorefining plant based on metallographic analysis. More than 15 random samples were selected from the top, middle, and bottom of the cathodes produced in the Khatoon Abad copper refinery, Iran. Studies were carried out based on the determination of growth modes including field oriented isolated crystal (FT), basis-oriented reproduction (BR), field-oriented texture (FT), and unoriented dispersion (UD). A scanning... 

This study aims at investigating the effect of the substrate material on growth mechanism and also microstructure of Ta2O5 thin films. For this purpose, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and interferometry analyses were implemented to reveal the influence of silicon wafer and amorphous BK7 glass substrates on the nucleation and growth mechanisms of Ta2O5 thin films deposited via the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. Results indicated that those films with finer morphologies had relatively higher nucleation densities. Compared with BK7 glass substrate, crystals formed on the silicon wafer were shown to be finer and had lower mean areas in more nucleation... 

We consider the K-user Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Gaussian interference channel with M antennas at each transmitter and N antennas at each receiver. It is assumed that channel coefficients are constant real numbers and are available at all transmitters and at all receivers. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the number of Degrees of Freedom (DoF) of this channel. Using the real interference alignment technique introduced in Motahari et al., 2014, we show that MN M+N K degrees of freedom can be achieved for almost all channel realizations. Also, a new upper-bound on the DoF of this channel is provided. This upper-bound coincides with our achievable DoF for K K u... 

Shape memory alloys are referred to as a group of alloys that can retrieve the permanent deformation and strain applied to them and eventually return to their original form. So far, various studies have been done to determine the behavior of these alloys under cyclic loading. Most of the studies have mainly been conducted by using the foundations of Continuum Mechanics in order to examine the properties of memory alloys. In this study, instead of using the Continuum Mechanics, a Molecular Dynamics simulation method using Lennard-Jones potential is utilized. The changes in the behavior and properties of memory alloy under cyclic loading are being examined. First, the functional form... 

This article focuses on the robust D-stabilization analysis of fractional-order control systems where each of the system and the controller may be of fractional order. The coefficients of the system are considered as complex linear functions of interval uncertain parameters, so this article deals with fractional-order polytopic systems. First, a necessary and sufficient condition is introduced for the robust D-stabilization of the closed-loop control system based on the zero exclusion condition and the value set concept. Then, the geometric pattern of the value set of the characteristic polynomial is obtained analytically using the exposed vertices. Second, a function is presented to check... 

Objective: This study aimed to employ nonlinear dynamic approaches to assess trunk dynamic stability with speed, symmetry, and load during repetitive flexion-extension (FE) movements for individuals with and without nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP). Background: Repetitive trunk FE movement is a typical work-related LBP risk factor contingent on speed, symmetry, and load. Improper settings/adjustments of these control parameters could undermine the dynamic stability of the trunk, hence leading to low back injuries. The underlying stability mechanisms and associated control impairments during such dynamic movements remain elusive. Method: Thirty-eight male volunteers (19 healthy, 19 NSLBP)... 

Timber joints with glued-in rod connections provide an interesting technical solution for numerous structural applications, also under harsh environmental conditions; yet little research is available on this topic. This paper experimentally investigated the effect of exposure to seawater wetting/drying cycles and seawater wetting/drying plus UV radiation cycles on the pull-out performance of glued-in rod timber connections. Three rod diameters, three anchorage lengths, and four exposures were considered, leading to manufacturing and testing a total of 189 specimens. The quasi-static monotonic pull-out resistance of joints was a function of rod diameter and anchorage length as well as... 

In this study, magnesium boro/carbothermal reduction of zirconium silicate (ZrSiO4) was employed to synthesize zirconium-based composite nanopowders of ZrB2–SiC, ZrB2–ZrC–SiC, ZrC–SiC, and ZrC. For this aim, three different temperatures of 1200 °C, 1300 °C, and 1450 °C were selected as the supposed temperatures for synthesis. Elemental Mg and NaCl were also selected to assist reduction process. In addition, effects of different C/Zr ratios as well as using elemental boron and B4C as two different boron sources were investigated on the final produced phases. Subsequently, XRD and SEM/EDS analyses were carried out to elaborate microstructure and phase studies. Finally, STA carried out up to... 

In this paper, a novel computer-vision based methodology is developed for predicting the seismic peak drift ratio of damaged reinforced concrete moment frames using surface crack patterns. A comprehensive database comprising 974 surface crack images from cyclic test results of 256 beam-column joint specimens at various drift ratio levels is collected. The database covers a broad range of concrete compressive strengths, rebar and stirrup strengths, longitudinal and transverse reinforcement ratios, beam and column length to depth ratios, in-plane configurations, and failure modes. Multifractal dimensions of damaged beam-column subassembly images are obtained by the box-counting algorithm to... 

This research aims to represent a novel approach to detect malicious nodes in Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) within the next-generation smart cities. Smart city applications have a critical role in improving public services quality, and security is their main weakness. Hence, a systematic multidimensional approach is required for data storage and security. Routing attacks, especially sinkholes, can direct the network data to an attacker and can also disrupt the network equipment. Communications need to be with integrity, confidentiality, and authentication. So, the smart city and urban Internet of Things (IoT) network, must be secure, and the data exchanged across the network must... 

Abstract: Advancements in microscale technologies have prompted a demand for high precision micro-manipulation. Microgrippers are the primary means of conducting micro-scale operations, and they significantly affect the procedure's performance. This paper presents a novel optimized design for compliant microgrippers, intending to enhance functionality and durability. The mainframe of the proposed microgripper is based on a compact flexure-based compliant structure with four stages of movement amplification. Experiments were designed based on the L25 Taguchi orthogonal arrays. The experiments were conducted using the finite element method in Abaqus 6.14 workbench. Range of motion and maximum... 

Abstract: The convection–diffusion process of carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolution in a saline reservoir is investigated to shed light on the effects of the permeability heterogeneity. Using sequential Gaussian simulation method, random permeability fields in two and three-dimension (2D and 3D) structures are generated. Quantitative (average amount of the dissolved CO2 and dissolution flux) and qualitative (pattern of the dissolved CO2 and velocity streamlines) measurements are used to investigate the results. A 3D structure shows a slightly higher dissolution flux than a 2D structure in the homogeneous condition. Results in the random permeability fields in 2D indicates an increase in the... 

During the drilling operation in high-permeability, natural and artificial fractured formations, the lost circulation of drilling mud is a common problem. Various methods have been applied to control lost circulation and among these methods, using Lost Circulation Materials (LCM) is the most common method that blocks the fluid loss channels in the formation by creating structures. In this project, the aim is to develop and use natural fiber-reinforced composites as LCM can be an innovative and technical solution. Natural fiber-reinforced composites have excellent properties such as high specific strength, non-abrasive, eco-friendly, and biodegradability. It seems to be possible that...