Sharif Digital Repository

In this study, a new mathematical programming approach for solving the joint timetabling and train stop planning problem in a railway line with double-track segments is proposed. This research aims to design an optimized train timetable subject to the station- capacity and time-dependent dwell time constraints. The objective function is to maximize the railway infrastructure capacity by minimizing the schedule makespan. The problem is formulated as a particular case of blocking permutation flexible flow shop scheduling model with dynamic time window constraints. Due to the combinatorial nature of the problem, heuristic algorithm and bound tightening methods are proposed that generate... 

The authors report the simulation of temperature distribution and thermally induced stress in the premolar tooth under ND-YAG pulsed laser beam. The Three-Phase-Lag (TPL) non-Fourier model is proposed to describe the heat conduction in the human tooth with nonhomogeneous inner structures. A premolar tooth comprising enamel, dentin, and pulp with real shapes and thicknesses are considered and a numerical method of finite difference was adopted to solve the time-dependent TPL bio-heat transfer, strain and stress equations. The surface heating scheme is applied for simulation of laser therapy. The aim of this laser therapy is that the temperature of pulp reaches to 47oC. The results are... 

Wind speed is the most important parameter in the design and study of wind energy conversion systems. The weibull distribution is commonly used for wind energy analysis as it can represent the wind variations with an acceptable level of accuracy. In this study, the wind data for 11 cities in Iran have been analysed over a period of one year. The Goodness of fit test is used for testing data fit to weibull distribution. The results show that this data fit to weibull function very well. The scale and shape factors are two parameters of the weibull distribution that depend on the area under study. The kinds of numerical methods commonly used for estimating weibull parameters are reviewed. Their... 

In this study, the authors present an analytical approach to find the axisymmetric buckling load of two joined isotropic conical shells under axial compression. The problem of two joined conical shells may be considered as the generalized form of joined cylindrical and conical shells with constant or stepped thicknesses. Thickness of each cone is constant; however it may be different from the thickness of the other cone. The boundary conditions are assumed to be simply supported with rigid rings. The governing equations for the conical shells are obtained and solved with an analytical approach. A simple closed-form expression is obtained for the buckling load of two joined truncated conical... 

Concentric braced frames are commonly used in steel structures to withstand lateral forces. One of the drawbacks of these systems is the possibility that the braces are buckled under compressive loads, which leads to sudden reduction of the bearing capacity of the structure. To overcome this deficiency, the idea of the Buckling Restrained Brace (BRB) has been proposed in recent years. The length of a BRB steel core can have a significant effect on its overall behavior, since it directly influences the energy dissipation capability of the member. In this study, numerical methods have been utilized for investigation of the optimum length of BRB steel cores. For this purpose, BRBs with... 

In this paper, the vibration of a moderately thick plate to a moving mass is investigated. Pasternak foundation with a variable subgrade modulus is considered to tackle the shortcomings of Winkler model, and an analytical-numerical solution is proposed based on the eigenfunction expansion method. Parametric studies by using both CPT (Classical Plate Theory) and FSDT (First-Order Shear Deformation Plate Theory) are carried out, and, the differences between them are also highlighted. The obtained results reveal that utilizing FSDT without considering the rotary inertia leads to a smaller deflection in comparison with CPT pertaining to a thin plate, while it demonstrates a greater response for... 

The optimum design of reinforced concrete cantilever retaining walls subjected to seismic loads is an extremely important challenge in structural and geotechnical engineering, especially in seismic zones. This study proposes an adaptive sperm swarm optimization algorithm (ASSO) for economic design of retaining structure under static and seismic loading. The proposed ASSO algorithm utilizes a time-varying velocity damping factor to provide a fine balance between the explorative and exploitative behavior of the original method. In addition, the new method considers a reasonable velocity limitation to avoid the divergence of the sperm movement. The proposed algorithm is benchmarked with a set... 

Recently, the mechanisms of natural undulatory locomotion of aquatic animal swimming have become one of the most significant issues for the researchers, swimmers and engineers. This study aims to elucidate and compare the propulsive vortical signature and performance of backward (negative undulation) and forward (positive undulation) travelling waves through a typical fishlike propulsor by a systematic numerical study. The numerical approach uses a pressure-based finite volume method solver to solve Navier–Stokes equations in an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework domain containing a two-dimensional NACA 0012 foil moving with prescribed kinematics. Some of the important findings are: (1)... 

In the extended finite element method (FEM), the transition elements between the enriched and standard elements, which are generally referred as the blending, or partially enriched elements, are often crucial for a good performance of the local partition of unity enrichments. In these elements, the enrichment function cannot be reproduced exactly due to the lack of a partition of unity, and blending elements produce unwanted terms into the approximation that cannot be compensated by the standard final element part of the approximation. In this paper, some optimal X-FEM-type methods reported in literature are employed to study the performance of blending elements in large plastic deformation... 

The Wedderburn rank reduction formula is a powerful method for developing matrix factorizations and many fundamental numerical linear algebra processes. We present a new interpretation of the Wedderburn rank reduction formula and its associated biconjugation process and see a more extensive result of the formula. In doing this, we propose a new formulation based on the null space transformations on rows and columns of A simultaneously, and show several matrix factorizations that can be derived from the Wedderburn rank reduction formula. We also present a generalization of the biconjugation process and compute banded and Hessenberg factorizations. Using the new formulation, we compute the WZ... 

Hydroelastic effect in bottom slamming problem of high-speed craft is one of the most challenging issues in structural design. In this paper, numerical method is used to investigate the hydroelastic effect in bottom-water impact analysis of high-speed monohull craft. Slamming with two viewpoints of rigid and elastic structures (hydroelastic effect) is modelled by coupled computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and finite element method (FEM) techniques. The results showed that considering hydroelastic effect, especially in high-impact speed, reduces the structural deformations and stresses compared with quasi-statistic analysis. The effect of different parameters, such as boundary condition, plate... 

Recently, the mechanisms of natural undulatory locomotion of aquatic animal swimming have become one of the most significant issues for the researchers, swimmers and engineers. This study aims to elucidate and compare the propulsive vortical signature and performance of backward (negative undulation) and forward (positive undulation) travelling waves through a typical fishlike propulsor by a systematic numerical study. The numerical approach uses a pressure-based finite volume method solver to solve Navier–Stokes equations in an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework domain containing a two-dimensional NACA 0012 foil moving with prescribed kinematics. Some of the important findings are: (1)... 

In this paper, a novel identification method for discrete-time linear systems when input–output observations are contaminated by coloured noise (errors-in-variables models) is proposed. To develop the new approach, modified prediction error and covariance matching methods are utilised. It is proved that the proposed approach leads to a consistent estimation. System identification through the proposed approach entails the existence of a flat frequency interval in power spectra of input and ratio of noise-free input to input signals which is a somewhat mild assumption. Two Monte Carlo simulations are provided to explain the efficiency, numerical complexity and the application of the proposed... 

This paper provides a developed mathematical model to derive the optimal integrated lot sizing in a multi-level supply chain with imperfect quality products. The developed mathematical model has a bi-objective function, with conflicting goals, minimizing the chain inventory costs and maximizing the chain total profit aided to find optimum policy for integrated lot sizing. We further actualize the problem by assuming multiple stochastic constraints. The mathematical formulation of the problem is stochastic, nonlinear, and large. In this regard, the interior point algorithm that is developed as more effective algorithm with less iteration is used for solving the recent convex nonlinear model.... 

Compressible turbulent flow through the abrupt enlargement in pipes is studied numerically by means of Advection Upstream Splitting Method (AUSM+-up). In low Mach numbers, a pressure correction equation of elliptic type is derived. This equation is compatible with the nature of governing equations and retrieves hyperbolic characteristic at higher Mach numbers. It is shown that the proposed numerical algorithm is computationally more efficient than the preconditioned density-based methods. The flow parameters such as reattachment length, pressure loss coefficient and wall shear stress are predicted. It is found that the loss coefficient of the compressible flow rises drastically with... 

Wind and ocean waves highly influence the performance and functionality of structures, requiring an efficient control element. The structural behavior of one of the most recent structural control elements, namely shape memory alloys (SMA)-based control element, under cyclic loadings of oceans waves, has been investigated. Shape memory alloys are one of the attractive smart materials with the ability to return to the initial shape after experiencing large deformation. Experimental tests have been conducted to study the effects of cyclic loads on several specimens of the SMA wires. The SMA wires are being used in the SMA-based structural control system to dissipate the energy of external... 

Dynamic environmental loads, such as winds and waves, make the stability of offshore structures at high risk, requiring reliable yet efficient control elements to ensure the stability of such structures under lateral loads. Among the variety of control elements that have been developed to enhance the stability of a structure, shape memory alloy (SMA)-based control elements are promising as they are low-cost, easy to embed into the main control element, and do not need an external power supply. However, cyclic loads may highly influence the performance and functionality of SMA-based elements. The present work investigates the effects of pre-straining SMA components in energy dissipation... 

Simulation optimization is an endeavor to determine the best combination of inputs that result in the best system performance criterion without evaluating all possible combinations. Since simulation optimization applies to many problems, it is extensively studied in the literature with different methods. However, most of these methods ignore the uncertainty of the systems’ parameters, which may lead to a solution that is not robustly optimal in reality. Motivated by this uncertainty, we propose a robust simulation optimization algorithm that follows the well-known Taguchi standpoint but replaces its statistical technique with a minimax method based on the kriging (Gaussian process)... 

Dynamic analysis of problems with complex geometries requires utilization of numerical methods. To completely capture the effects of seismic wave propagation in a system, one must consider the structure or irregularity within its encompassing half-space. Correct consideration of half-space in a numerical model is important specially when it comes to cases where the half-space contains semi-infinite irregularities. In this study, a generalized numerical methodology is presented for dynamic analysis of a half-space with semi-infinite irregularities. The methodology is first verified through comparison with analytical solution of known problems. Then the method is employed to solve the dynamic... 

In this paper, a mixed event-triggered and continuous-time control method is proposed, which can guarantee finite-time stabilisation of the fixed point in a class of time-varying nonlinear systems. Benefiting from an event-triggered framework, which is constructed based on the indefinite Lyapunov theory, the communication/computation costs in the transient time can be reduced by using the proposed method. In a special case, this method is converted to a fully event-triggered control strategy for asymptotic stabilisation of the fixed point in the considered class of time-varying nonlinear systems. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulations. © 2021 Informa UK...