Sharif Digital Repository

Steel shear panels in combination with bracing are a novel form of steel shear walls that eliminate large distributed loads to impose on primary beams along with columns. This paper presents the results of a comparative experimental program on two types of steel shear panels with and without stiffeners. For this purpose, the proposed quasi-static cyclic loading history of Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA) 461 was applied on two full-scale specimens. Structural steel was selected as the material of the panels, which were welded to the surrounding boundary elements. In addition, using finite element models, performed tests were simulated and scaling effects were investigated. This... 

Summary Conventional design methods do not ensure that the desired collapse mechanism is developed at target displacement. In this paper, a case study is presented to analyze concentrically braced frames with steel shear panel (CBFSP). Also, extensive investigation in the failure modes are made, to have the global yielding mode at the final state. For this purpose, each of one-story, three-story, six-story and nine-story CBFSP models were decomposed into three parts where the members' closed-form equations of internal forces were identified and superimposed. On the basis of the kinematic theorem of plastic collapse, the possible mechanisms and the related energy equations were defined to... 

This paper introduces a new earthquake-resistant building design featuring eccentrically braced frames with steel wall shear panels. It also proposes closed-form expressions for analysis and extension of the existing failure mode control design method for the new structural system. Closed-form equations for internal forces were obtained, and probable failure mechanisms and corresponding lateral load multipliers for secondary effects were identified. Selection of member profiles was completed by the mechanism equilibrium curve concept. Pushover modelling was then performed with plastic hinge distribution corresponding to failure mechanisms. Only small differences were found between the... 

This study presents a motion planning algorithm to generate a feasible periodic solution for a hybrid system describing running by a three-dimensional (3-D), three-link, three-actuator, monopedal robot. In order to obtain a symmetric running gait along a straight line, the hybrid system consists of two stance phases and two flight phases. The motion planning algorithm is developed on the basis of a finite-dimensional optimisation problem with equality and inequality constraints. By extending the concept of hybrid zero dynamics to running, the authors propose a time-invariant control scheme that is employed at two levels to locally exponentially stabilise the generated periodic solution for... 

This study presents an analytical approach for proper selection of output functions to be regulated for the Vienna rectifier such that the resultant closed-loop systems are minimum phase. Specifically, two different adaptive control methodologies based on the input-output linearisation are developed and categorised. In the first category, three output functions are introduced and imposed to be zero by using three dynamic feedback laws. On the basis of states to be regulated, four different cases are studied and it is shown that only one of these cases results in a one-dimensional zero dynamics with an asymptotically stable equilibrium point. In the second category, two output functions are... 

Through the combination of two types of seismic resisting systems including braced frames and steel shear walls, braced steel shear panel systems can be formed. This new lateral load-resisting system solves some of the defects of current special steel shear walls, such as imposing significant loads on boundary elements along with gravity load effects. Analysis and design of this new structural system underline the importance of having simple and precise finite-element models. To this aim, this paper presents two types of equivalent braced frames termed ‘overall equivalent brace’ and ‘equivalent mid-brace’. The equations of brace area, material strength and strain-hardening ratio are obtained... 

This study presents an online motion planning algorithm for generating reference trajectories during flight phases of a planar monopedal robot to transfer the configuration of the mechanical system from a specified initial pose to a specified final one. The algorithm developed in this research is based on the reachability and optimal control formulations of a time-varying linear system with input and state constraints. A two-level control scheme is developed for asymptotic stabilisation of a desired period-one orbit during running of the robot. Within-stride controllers, including stance and flight phase controllers, are employed at the first level. The flight phase controller is a feedback... 

Al6063 powder was subjected to severe plastic deformation via high-energy mechanical milling to prepare ultrafine-grained (UFG) aluminium alloy. Uniaxial compression test at various temperatures between 300 and 450 °C and strain rates between 0.01 and 1 s-1 was carried out to evaluate hot workability of the material. Microstructural studies were performed by EBSD and TEM. The average activation energy and strain rate sensitivity of the hot deformation process were determined to be 280 kJ mol-1 and 0.05, respectively. The deformation temperature and applied strain rate significantly affected the grain structure of UFG Al alloy. A finer grain structure was obtained at lower temperatures and... 

The general goal of the facility layout problem is to arrange a given number of facilities to minimize the total cost associated with the known or projected interactions between them. One of the special classes of the facility layout problem is the Single Row Facility Layout Problem (SRFLP), which consists of finding an optimal linear placement of rectangular facilities with varying dimensions on a straight line. This paper first presents and proves a theorem to find the optimal solution of a special case of SRFLP. The results obtained by this theorem prove to be very useful in reducing the computational efforts when a new algorithm based on tabu search for the SRFLP is proposed in this... 

In this paper, we have discussed the results of sensitivity analysis in a payoff matrix of the Matching Pennies game. After representing the game as a LP model, the sensitivity analysis of the elements of the payoff matrix is presented. The game value and the optimal strategies for different values of parameters are determined and compared  

Delaminated composite beam under general edge loading conditions is studied. Based on a technical engineering theory an analytical procedure for calculation of strain energy release rate and its separation into modes I and II of delamination is presented. By choosing a suitable displacement field based on second-order shear-thickness deformation theory and using the principle of minimum total potential energy, the equations of equilibrium are obtained along with the appropriate boundary conditions. The J integral and its definition for different modes of fracture is used for calculation of strain energy release rate and its separation into different modes. Double cantilever beam (DCB)... 

Presented is a novel approach for online trajectory modification of joint motions to transfer a free open kinematic chain, undergoing flight phase, from a specified initial configuration to a specified final configuration. Formally, it is assumed that a nominal trajectory, computed offline, can reorient the kinematic chain (reconfiguration problem) for a given angular momentum on a time interval. A modification algorithm of body joints, based on optimal control, is developed such that for different angular momentums and time intervals, the same reconfiguration problem can be solved online. This approach can be utilised for space robotics applications and online computation of planar running... 

This paper presents an analytical approach to design a continuous time-invariant two-level control scheme for asymptotic stabilization of a desired period-one trajectory for a hybrid model describing walking by a planar biped robot with noninstantaneous double-support phase and point feet. It is assumed that the hybrid model consists of both single- and double-support phases. The design method is based on the concept of hybrid zero dynamics. At the first level, parameterized continuous within-stride controllers, including single- and double-support-phase controllers, are employed. These controllers create a family of 2-D finite-time attractive and invariant submanifolds on which the dynamics... 

In the present work, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were incorporated at low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer blend using solution casting method. Monolayer GO with 1-nm thickness and good transparency was synthesized using the well-known Hummers's method. Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data exhibited efficient reduction of GO with almost high C/O ratio of RGO. Scanning electron microscopy showed the well distribution of GO and RGO within LDPE/EVA polymer matrix. The integrating effects of GO and RGO on mechanical and gas permeability of prepared films were examined. Young's modulus of nanocomposites are... 

Presented is a novel approach for designing continuous-time update laws to update the parameters of stabilising controllers during continuous phases of bipedal walking such that (i) a general cost function, such as the energy of the control input over single support, can be minimised in an online manner, and (ii) the exponential stability of the corresponding limit cycle for the closed-loop impulsive system is not affected. Formally, a class of update laws with a radial basis step length is developed to minimise a cost function in terms of the stabilising controller parameters and initial states of the mechanical system  

Let S⊆C*=C{0} and A∈Mn(C). The matrix A is called an S-GHMn if A∈Mn(S) and AA*=Diag(λ1,... λn), for some positive numbers λi, i=1,... n. In this paper we provide some necessary conditions on n for the existence of an S-GHMn over a finite set S. We conjecture that for every positive integer n, there exists a {±1, ±2, ±3}-GHMn  

The zero-divisor graph of a ring R is defined as the directed graph Γ (R) that its vertices are all non-zero zero-divisors of R in which for any two distinct vertices x and y, x → y is an edge if and only if x y = 0. Recently, it has been shown that for any finite ring R, Γ (R) has an even number of edges. Here we give a simple proof for this result. In this paper we investigate some properties of zero-divisor graphs of matrix rings and group rings. Among other results, we prove that for any two finite commutative rings R, S with identity and n, m ≥ 2, if Γ (Mn (R)) ≃ Γ (Mm (S)), then n = m, | R | = | S |, and Γ (R) ≃ Γ (S). © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved  

We say that two graphs G and H with the same vertex set commute if their adjacency matrices commute. In this article, we show that for any natural number r, the complete multigraph Knr is decomposable into commuting perfect matchings if and only if n is a 2-power. Also, it is shown that the complete graph Kn is decomposable into commuting Hamilton cycles if and only if n is a prime number. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc