Sharif Digital Repository

Endurance Wave Analysis (EWA) is a novel, simple, economical but yet reliable method for the integrity assessment of offshore platforms against extreme irregular waves. The current paper presents a framework for the probabilistic assessment of offshore platforms based on EWA. The stochastic nature and the uncertainties in the ocean waves were taken into account by introducing a set of artificial, random and gradually intensifying wave trains. To simulate other uncertainties in the loading and the strength of the structure a Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) type of Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) was employed. The EWA methodology and different structural performance criteria were considered. The... 

In this paper, we present the bit error probability (BEP) of a relay network employing UWB links between its nodes. Since UWB systems can resolve many paths and are thus rich in multipath diversity, the use of the Rake diversity combining is very effective. However, because of the complexity, it is impractical in the scenarios with portable terminals or in the networks with multiple relays. Time-reversal technique, in which the transmitting nodes can do the pre-diversity filtering of UWB signal before transmission, is known as an approach to achieve the performance equivalent to the Rake combining without increasing the receiver complexity. The performance of such a network with simple... 

In this paper, the extension of cooperative communication to the context of TH-UWB is investigated. In particular, the average bit error probability (BEP) is provided for cooperative TH-UWB systems with decode-and-forward relaying protocol. In the considered relay network, UWB links among the nodes are modeled according to IEEE 802.15.4a standards. Our methodology is based on computing the Characteristic Function (CF) of the decision variable at the destination terminal. We use Gaussian quadrature numerical method to approximate the CF of interference component appeared in decision variable term. This technique permits to predict the system performance in different IEEE 802.15.4a defined... 

In this paper, we present the average bit error probability (BEP) of a decode-and-forward relay network employing UWB links, developed by IEEE 802.15.4a standards, between its nodes. Our methodology is based on computing the Characteristic Function (CF) of the decision variable at the destination terminal. Numerical results show that significant improvement in the BEP of impulse radio UWB system is obtained by adding a relay node. The analytical expressions are also validated by computer simulations which confirm the accuracy of the approximations used in obtaining the BEP  

We derive bounds on the expected capacity and outage capacity of a three-node relay network for UWB communications. We also provide a simple tight approximation for the derived upper bound on the capacity and then using this bound we obtain the outage probability of the network. Numerical results show that a significant improvement in the system capacity and outage probability is obtained by adding a relay node. Moreover, our theoretical results reveal that the diversity gain of a relay channel substantially increases by using UWB links instead of NB links. We also derive these bounds when we have a constraint on the total transmitted power of the source and the relay nodes. © 2009 IEEE  

Reliability of the power distribution unit (PDU) is very important in electrical systems. Since any failure in this unit leads to system failure. A commonly used method for increasing the reliability of a dc PDU is using the redundant modules. If a fault occurs in a voltage regulator of PDU, it is replaced by its redundant module. In conventional redundancy, each dc voltage regulator has its exclusive redundant modules. Therefore, if both a regulator and its redundant modules fail, the system is stopped. It is an important drawback since the exclusive redundant modules of other voltage regulators may not be used, but, the PDU cannot use them instead of faulty regulators. In this paper, the... 

This article describes the development of an 18 kV, 30 kW power supply for a pulsed current load with the maximum current of 20 A and a di/dt equal to 100 A/μs. The achieved output ripple is less than 0.01%. In such a high level of precision, the most important issues are considerable difference between the instantaneous and average output powers, as well as insufficient reaction speed of the converter to the fast load change. Very low level of the voltage feedback and its sensitivity to the noise. The first issue necessitates a notable overdesign of the converter switches if the output voltage precision is dedicated to the converter. The second issue raises the problems relevant to... 

This work, based on the standard unscented Kalman filter (UKF), proposes a modified UKF for highly non-linear stochastic systems, assuming that the associated probability distributions are normal. In the standard UKF with 2n + 1 sample points, the estimated mean and covariance match the true mean and covariance up to the third order, besides, there exists a scaling parameter that plays a crucial role in minimising the fourth-order errors. The proposed method consists of a computationally efficient formulation of the unscented transform that incorporates N - 1, N ≥ 2, constant parameters to scale 2n(N - 1) + 1 sample points such that the 2Nth order errors are minimised. The scaling parameters... 

The effects of laser field and laser pulse width on the dissociation probability of C-H bond of CH4 have been investigated. Calculation of time dependent Schrödinger equation by grid spectral method is carried out and it is produced optimistic results in comparison to the earlier Quasi-classical calculations. The results show that there is an excellent match with experimental data. In this work, a number of results in the emerging field of laser with intensity of I = 8 × 1013 W cm-2 and pulse duration of 100 fs are presented. The present modulated field leads to more than 20% improvement in the dissociation probability  

In this paper, a new cache placement scheme is proposed to achieve higher hit ratios with respect to the two conventional schemes namely set-associative and direct mapping. Similar to set-associative, in this scheme, cache space is divided into sets of different sizes. Hence, the length of tag fields associated to each set is also variable and depends on the partition it is in. The proposed mapping function has been simulated with some standard trace files and statistics are gathered and analyzed for different cache configurations. The results reveal that the proposed scheme exhibits a higher hit ratio compared to the two well-known mapping schemes, namely set-associative and direct mapping,... 

Several studies have investigated road traffic deaths, but few have compared by road user type. Iran, with an estimated 44 road traffic deaths per 100,000 population in 2002 had higher road traffic deaths than any other country for which reliable estimates can be made. So, the present study was conducted on road death data and identified fatal accident distribution by age, gender and head injury as well as the influences of age and gender on deaths at accident scenes for all road user groups. Data used in this study are on fatal road accidents recorded by forensic medicine experts of the Khorasan Razavi province in Mashhad, the capital of the province, the second largest city and the largest... 

The exact numerical solution of the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau equation for Josephson junctions is obtained, from which the precise nontrivial current density and effective potential of the Josephson junctions are found. Based on the resulting potential well, the tunneling probabilities of the associated bound states are computed which are in complete agreement with the reported experimental data. The effects of junction and bias parameters such as thickness of the insulating barrier, cross sectional area, bias current, and magnetic field are fully investigated using a successive perturbation approach. We define and compute figures of merit for achieving optimal operation of phase qubits and... 

In order to determine the activity of C137s in soil resulting from nuclear accidents or fallouts, the best choice is to use HPGe detectors due to their best energy resolutions. In this regard, in order to enhance the detection efficiency, the Marinelli beakers have been used to increase the radiation interaction with the sensitive volume of the detector. In previous works, to optimize the dimension of Marinelli beakers, the assumption was that the emission rate of the source is homogeneous in beaker volume. In the present study, to investigate the effect of the inhomogeneous emission rate of the source on the optimum dimensions of the beaker, in a simple case, the beaker was divided into two... 

A joint pre- and post-coder (JPROC) is proposed for MIMO OFDM-based cognitive radio systems over correlated fading channels. The main aim is to have a trade-off between licensed networks and un-licensed networks in the underlay scenario. To handle the un-desired interferences on the main networks, the eigen-values of this JPROC should be small in each licensed network, as much as possible, whereas un-licensed users have higher rates. Frequency selective MIMO fading channels are coded with orthogonal space-time-frequency block codes (OSTFBCs) to improve the bad effects of these small eigen-values on the signal to noise ratio (SNR) in the main network. On the other hand, the system is operated... 

Order statistic (OS) CFAR processor is a powerful detector, but similar to many other CFAR detectors, suffers from clutter edge as well as interfering targets. To overcome these problems, two derivations of this detector have been developed. These are order statistic greatest of (OSGO) and order statistic smallest of (OSSO) CFAR processors. The cost, paid for this improvement, is a considerable decrease in detection probability for homogenous Weibull clutter. Furthermore, a substantial performance degradation of OSGO in interfering target (high target masking effect) and an excessive false alarm of OSSO in clutter edge, also, occur. This behavior is a result of non-soft rules used in these... 

Several parameters, one of which is the Dancoff Factor (DF), are used to calculate the resonance integral (RI) and reduced flux in the resonance region of heterogeneous systems as well as to accurately determine the group constants for criticality calculations. This paper is a report on the development of a program to calculate the DF correction factor using Monte Carlo method and collision probability definition in three-dimensional (3-D) geometries and with multi energy groups. Hence, the DF for any arbitrary arrangement of cylindrical and slab fuel elements is hereby calculated. The fuel elements are monitored and kept at equal levels, though different material compositions and formations... 

Renewable energy (RE) as a new player in the generation sector of power systems imposes new challenges to the system operators. The intermittent nature of REs for systems where are autonomous calls for new operational and planning strategies to reach more efficient power management. An autonomous hybrid green power system (HGPS) should be able to meet the load while keeping the cost of the HGPS as low as possible. Many studies have presented different un-optimal and optimal operational strategies, a few of which were optimally sized. In this regard, this paper develops a new thorough framework for designing and optimizing an autonomous HGPS. To reach this goal, the proposed model (a)... 

This paper presents a three-dimensional micromechanical model of brain white matter tissue as a transversely isotropic soft composite described by the generalized Ogden hyperelastic model. The embedded element technique, with corrected stiffness redundancy in large deformations, was used for the embedment of a histology-informed probabilistic distribution of the axonal fibers in the extracellular matrix. The model was linked to a multi-objective, multi-parametric optimization algorithm, using the response surface methodology, for characterization of material properties of the axonal fibers and extracellular matrix in an inverse finite element analysis. The optimum hyperelastic... 

A transverse-plane hyperelastic micromechanical model of brain white matter tissue was developed using the embedded element technique (EET). The model consisted of a histology-informed probabilistic distribution of axonal fibers embedded within an extracellular matrix, both described using the generalized Ogden hyperelastic material model. A correcting method, based on the strain energy density function, was formulated to resolve the stiffness redundancy problem of the EET in large deformation regime. The model was then used to predict the homogenized tissue behavior and the associated localized responses of the axonal fibers under quasi-static, transverse, large deformations. Results... 

Auto-Exposure detection is a key feature in digital cameras and smart-phones. The image information can be used to detect scene over and under exposure passively. This paper introduces an effective optimal exposure detection function based on joint probability density function of the pixels in the scene