Sharif Digital Repository

In this thesis, we study the following question stating that “how well a tree structure can approximate the clustering structure of a graph”.To do this, we first focus on the DJS algorithm proposed by Daneshgar et.al. and second we consider the minimum distortion tree approximation algorithm proposed by Abraham et.al.We conclude, using some experimental results, that the minimum spanning tree algorithm extracts some geometric aspects of the data set that the Abraham et.al. algorithm can not track  

The gamma cameras, based on scintillation crystal followed by an array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), play a crucial role in nuclear medicine. The use of square PMTs provides the minimum dead zones in the camera. The camera with squared PMTs also reduces the number of PMTs relative to the detection area.In this thesis, we introduced a new read-out method whereby the total cost of the read-out board will be decreased by a factor of 2.4; in return, the energy and spatial resolution of the system will be reduced by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. We also implemented a positioning module in the FPGA chip via that the transmission rate between FPGA and the computer will be tripled, and the... 

In order to investigate the behavior of unreinforced masonry buildings and the effects of shotcrete retrofit, a half-scale one-story masonry building was constructed and tested on the shake-table of Earthquake Research Center at Sharif University of Technology (SUT), Iran. The project was jointly founded by SUT and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), with the support of The Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping of Schools of I.R Iran (DRES). The 3.7×3.7×2 [m] specimen was modeled after a typically built classroom, with eccentric window openings on one wall and a door opening on the opposite wall. The walls were constructed using half-scale 10.5×5.0×2.9 [cm]... 

Although manual crack inspection has been widely used for structural health monitoring over the last decades, the development of computer vision methods allows continuous monitoring and compensates the human judgment inaccuracy. In this study, an image-based method entitled, Arc Length method is introduced for extracting crack pattern characteristics, including crack width, and crack length. The method contains two major steps; in the first step, the crack zones are estimated in the whole image. Afterwards, the algorithm finds the start point, follows the crack pattern, and measures the crack features, such as crack width, crack length, and crack pattern angle. The efficiency of the method... 

The main objective of this research is to use the visual features of damage in evaluating the post-earthquake status of the damaged structures. Structural health monitoring, as a comprehensive approach, includes methods for identifying the damaged structures, estimating damage location, measuring damage extent, and methods for reconstructing and repairing structures. The present study is specifically focused on the second and third stages of structural health monitoring, including “estimating the location of damage” and “measuring the extent of damage”. Various methods for evaluating the condition of earthquake-damaged structures are available in technical literature; one of the most common... 

In this research, seismic loss of eccentrically braced frame buildings is assessed by using reliability methods. For this end, first, Bayesian linear regression is utilized to characterize the epistemic uncertainty of the problem in the form of damage models. The input of these models are mechanical and physical properties of the components, and the outputs are damage ratios. In the second step, by using the developed models and the comprehensive library of probabilistic models of Rt, reliability analysis is conducted on 4, 8, and 16 stories building located in San Jose. The limit state function is seismic loss, including repair loss, collapse loss, and demolition loss, and analysis method... 

Epidemiological studies have shown a positive association between particulate matters exposure and adverse health effects. However, the insufficient knowledge about the influences of components or characteristics of these particles on their health effects and toxicity leads into inefficient control practices for reducing particulates health effects. So, relationship between particles toxicity and their emission sources and components is a valuable criterion in particle emission control strategies. Moreover, as people spend most of their time in indoor environment, investigating the main sources and components of particulate toxicity in indoor environment and finding the influence of outdoor... 

Up till now, various contributions of research to soil-structure-interaction context have been primarily focused on structural systems exhibiting elastic-perfectly plastic material behavior. In this paper, combined effects of material degradation, p-delta, and soil-structure-interaction considering foundation uplift have been deemed to determine seismic response of a single degree of freedom system. The system is composed of a column with a lumped mass on top that is placed on a rigid foundation. The foundation is mounted on Winkler springs and dashpots to account for soil-foundation compliance and material/radiational damping. The springs are tensionless to guarantee that uplift phenomenon... 

In this paper the predictive equations for collapse assessment of shear links used in eccentric braced frames are developed. An extensive database including results of over 70 cyclic tests on steel wide flange shear links is collected and the structural parameters governing the hysteresis behavior are calibrated using a simplified numerical model. The methodology of calibration is to minimize the discrepancy between the experimental hysteresis loops and the corresponding numerical results using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The objective function of PSO algorithm is minimized by iterating parameters that govern the hysteresis behavior of the numerical model. Stepwise... 

The aim of this study is introducing and assessing two torsion-based metallic dampers which are named Torsional Disc and Torsional Cylinder dampers based on their geometry and energy absorption mechanisms. As expected, a steel disc and a steel cylinder are exposed to torsion in the Torsional Disc and Torsional Cylinder dampers respectively, and energy absorption occurs through torsional yielding of those two elements. In the introduction section, a mechanism is introduced to put the dampers under pure torsion so as to yield a desirable performance. The dampers are designed to be placed between Chevron braces and the floor beam, and the pure torsion is exerted, through the mentioned... 

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the extent of damage of rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls after an earthquake using surface crack patterns. One of the most important tasks after an earthquake is to assess the safety and classify the performance level of buildings. This assessment is usually performed by visual inspection that is prone to significant errors. In this research, an extensive database on the images of damaged rectangular reinforced concrete shear walls is collected from the literature. This database includes more than 200 images from experimental quasi-static cyclic tests. Using the concept of Fractal geometry, several probabilistic models are developed by... 

This study investigates the seismic behavior of eccentrically braced frames (EBFs) taking into account the influence of masonry infill walls. The primary objectives of the study are to predict the seismic global response and develop associated fragility curves using a nonmodel scenario-based machine learning framework. To model the infill walls, equivalent diagonal struts are employed, and a nonlinear pushover analysis is conducted to assess the overall impact of infills on 4- and 8-story EBF structures. An extensive database of 4 bare and 48 infilled EBFs with various infill properties is assembled to predict story-based engineering demand parameters (EDPs) containing peak and residual... 

This study investigates the effect of the variation of the properties of unreinforced brick masonry walls, such as aspect ratio, prism strength, and axial load ratio, on determining the post-earthquake damage states of the walls using fragility curves. A database comprising 245 damaged unreinforced masonry walls is collected that have been tested under the quasi-static cyclic loads up to more than three percent drift ratios. The collected walls are categorized into four damage states according to the resisting lateral force during the cyclic loading obtained from the backbone of the hysteresis curves. Then, multivariable fragility surfaces based on the drift ratio and design properties of... 

The aim of this research is to predict the backbone curve of reinforced concrete shear walls by identifying different failure modes. Failure mode identification is performed by measuring the contribution percentage of flexure, shear, and combined flexure-shear failure modes in the force-displacement response of the wall under cyclic loading. The approach used in this research is a probabilistic and data-driven method, which leads to the calculation of model uncertainty in detecting the wall's failure mode and, consequently, the prediction uncertainty of the backbone curve. The database used in this research consists of 253 reinforced concrete shear walls, obtained from a review of existing... 

The road authorities of a city have the responsibility of constantly assessing how well their city performs when traffic conditions are taken into account. In many metropolises around the world, if not taken preventive measures, there will be observed a density above the network capacity and a noticeable decrease in the level of service, especially in the morning and evening peak hours. Also, the dynamic congestion pricing of certain areas based on the traffic condition has always been considered significant by urban planning officials. Since this is not possible except by constantly assessing the current traffic state, a variety of methods have been used to predict the future traffic... 

Damage detection of civil structures and infrastructures using partial modal information has been an interesting field of research. So far, three main algorithms are introduced for health monitoring of structures. The first method relies on identifying stiffness and mass properties, as physical parameters, of structures using inverse eigenvalue problem considering mass modifications in 2D and 3D shear-frame models of structures. Comparing the identified matrices with the primary values, one can detect the damage occurrence, its level and severity in the structure. Applicability of this method in health monitoring of offshore jacket platforms as one of noteworthy civil infrastructures has... 

Soft computing consists of a set of powerful methods that have been successfully applied to many different application domains, including business, engineering, and bioinformatics. In this research we propose an innovative approach that uses genetic algorithms to mine a set of behavior data output by a biological system in order to determine the kinetic parameters of the system. In our approach, the machine learning method is integrated with the framework of existent biological information in a wiring diagram so that its findings are expressed in a form of system dynamic behavior. An application of the method to the cell division cycle model has shown that the method can discover optimum...