Sharif Digital Repository

One of the major challenge and time-consuming work is optimum test data generation to assure software quality. Researchers have proposed several methods over years to generate automatically solution which have different drawbacks. In this paper, we propose Genetic Algorithm (GA) based tester with different parameters to automate the structural-oriented test data generation on the basis of internal program structure. Our proposed fitness function is intended to traverse paths of the program as more as possible. This integration improves the GA performance in search space exploration and exploitation fields with faster convergence. At last, we present some results according to our experiment... 

In the context of sustainable clean hydrogen production pathways, photovoltaic-electrolyzer systems are one of the most promising alternatives for acquiring hydrogen from renewable energy sources. In fact, determining the optimal set of design and operating variables are always a key issue while coupling directly renewable electricity sources to PEM electrolyzers. Few previous studies have attempted to find the optimal size and operational condition of directly coupled photovoltaic-electrolyzer (PV/El) systems in order to maximize the hydrogen production or to minimize energy transfer loss between photovoltaic devices and the electrolyzer. Nevertheless an easy and efficient approach still... 

Ground improvement techniques are inevitable for weak soils that cannot endure the design load imposed by superstructures. Deep mixing technique (DMT) as one of these methods is promising and effective when a deep soil layer with low bearing capacity is encountered. Such deposits are quite common in the South-west of Iran where the studied site is located. In order to validate the influence of DMT on the enhancement of strength, both in-situ and laboratory tests were conducted. Afterwards, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of key factors including cement content, water–cement ratio, curing time and plasticity index (PI) on the performance of DMT. In summary, a... 

Ground improvement techniques are inevitable for weak soils that cannot endure the design load imposed by superstructures. Deep mixing technique (DMT) as one of these methods is promising and effective when a deep soil layer with low bearing capacity is encountered. Such deposits are quite common in the South-west of Iran where the studied site is located. In order to validate the influence of DMT on the enhancement of strength, both in-situ and laboratory tests were conducted. Afterwards, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of key factors including cement content, water–cement ratio, curing time and plasticity index (PI) on the performance of DMT. In summary, a... 

This article proposes a scheme for balancing the voltage of series-connected insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), which is also very effective under short-circuit conditions. An optimized clamp-mode snubber is proposed, including an active-driver to balance the currents of the IGBTs during short-circuit, which in turn allows for a considerable reduction of the snubber capacitance. The approach is proven to be effective under short-circuit conditions by a maximum of 55 V voltage increment and a negligible difference in the current values. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulations in PSPICE software and experimental tests performed at 2 kV. ©... 

This research aimed at finding the factors with more impact on the bioleaching of a spent hydrocracking catalyst by thermophilic acidophilic archaea called Acidianus brierleyi and determining the optimal condition in order to reach the maximum metals recovery. Initially, four more significant factors affecting the bioleaching efficiency including pH, pulp density, inoculation and elemental sulfur concentration, were screened and identified among ten key factors using Plackett-Burman factorial design. Next, a central composite design was applied to obtain the optimum conditions for achieving the maximum efficiency of the bioleaching process. pH 1.6, pulp density 0.6% (w/v), inoculation 4%... 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to devise a new approach to synthesize closed-loop feedback guidance law for online thrust- insensitive optimal trajectory generation utilizing neural networks. Design/methodology/approach - The proposed methodology utilizes an open- loop variational formulation that initially determines optimal launch/ ascent trajectories for various scenarios of known uncertainties in the thrust profile of typical solid propellant engines. These open-loop optimized trajectories will then provide the knowledge base needed for the subsequent training of a neural network. The trained network could eventually produce thrust-insensitive closed-loop optimal guidance laws... 

There are numerous functions for laser in modern implant dentistry including surface treatment, surface coating, and implant manufacturing. As laser application may potentially improve osseointegration of dental implants, we systematically reviewed the literature for in vitro biological responses to laser-modified or processed titanium dental implants. The literature was searched in PubMed, ISI Web, and Scopus, using keywords “titanium dental implants,” “laser,” “biocompatibility,” and their synonyms. After screening the 136 references obtained, 28 articles met the inclusion criteria. We found that Nd:YAG laser was the most commonly used lasers in the treatment or processing of titanium... 

Intracranial pressure (ICP) is derived from cerebral blood pressure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulatory dynamics and can be affected in the course of many diseases. Computer analysis of the ICP time pattern plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of those diseases. This study proposes the application of Linninger et al.s [IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. , vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 557565, Apr. 2005] fluidsolid interaction model of CSF hydrodynamic in ventricular system based on our clinical data from a group of patients with brain parenchyma tumor. The clinical experiments include the arterial blood pressure (ABP), venous blood pressure, and ICP in the subarachnoid space (SAS). These... 

A new switching table is proposed for decreasing the torque ripple in DTC especially in low speed. Each sector is divided to two half sector and a proper vector set is defined for each. Through this new switching table, the torque response is smooth even in the beginning of each sector and it leads to the reduction of torque ripple. None of motor parameters are used in this switching strategy and there is no need to shorten the sampling period. Simulation and experimental results confirm the ability of this method in reducing the torque ripple. ©2004 IEEE  

The product distribution of methanol to hydrocarbons conversion over SAPO-34 and ZSM-5 catalysts was studied using thermodynamic equilibrium and Anderson-Schulz-Flory (ASF) distributions. The equilibrium compositions were calculated using constrained Gibbs free energy minimization. The effect of catalyst type was considered by setting upper limits to product carbon number due to shape selectivity according to zeotype catalyst channel size; that is, n5 for SAPO-34 but n6 for aliphatic and n10 for aromatic compounds over H-ZSM-5 catalyst. The equilibrium selectivity of kinds of paraffin is negligible over SAPO-34 system while that of olefins is very small over H-ZSM-5, both in agreement... 

The dynamic analysis of a surface rigid foundation in smooth contact with a transversely isotropic half-space under a buried inclined time-harmonic load is addressed. By virtue of the superposition technique, appropriate Green[U+05F3]s functions, and employing further mathematical techniques, solution of the mixed-boundary-value problem is expressed in terms of two well-known Fredholm integral equations. Two limiting cases of the problem corresponding to the static loading and isotropic medium are considered and the available results in the literature are fully recovered. For the static case, the results pertinent to both frictionless and bonded contacts are obtained and compared. With the... 

Constant volume transparent test combustion chambers are extensively used for investigating injection and fuel burning properties of various combustion engines. Their configuration depends on the engine type and the research purpose. Material of components, shape and dimensions of the chamber and its parts, ease of use, accessibility, sealing and safety of the assembly are the parameters needed to be considered in designing the test cell. This paper explains, structural design of a test combustion chamber and its optical windows using finite element analysis of ANSYS 12.0 software for bearing high pressure variations and thermal shocks of combustion. It was designed for conducting CNG direct... 

Protein separation and purification technologies play an essential role in various industries including but not limited to pharmaceuticals, dairy as well as the food sector. Accordingly, a wide variety of techniques such as chromatography and electrophoresis have been developed and utilized extensively over the years for this purpose. Despite their widespread acceptance, conventional techniques still suffer from major limitations and complexities such as short lifetime, low productivity, high-pressure drop and difficulty in scale-up among others. Membrane separation processes have received significant attention in recent years as a promising alternative that can potentially overcome the... 

Design of an Ultra-Wideband 3-dB quadrature (90°) Hybrid using ADS and HFSS softwares plus Measurement report are presented. Simultaneous Use of these two softwares lead to fast and accurate design procedure. The coupler is realized in broadside stripline and with the connection of coupled regions in tandem structure. The measured data agrees well with the expected values from simulations, and shows a good ultra wide bandwidth response over the frequency range of 1-10 GHz. Measurements showed an amplitude unbalance of ±1.5 dB, a phase unbalance of 90°±7° , and an isolation and a return loss characteristics of more than 14 dB over the frequency of 1 to 10 GHz  

This study investigates the performance of geogrid-reinforced unbound pavement layer. In this study, geogrid was used in various layouts and numbers using three different gradation of granular materials. Light weight deflectometer (LWD) device is known as a useful tool to evaluate the stiffness of unbound pavement layers. In this study, the LWD was utilized to experimentally investigate factors affecting the performance of geogrid reinforcement, including the number of geogrids, geogrid layout, and the gradation of unbound layer. There are several parameters which affect the LWD test results including the hammer weight, the falling height, and the surface stress. The effect of these... 

This study investigates the performance of geogrid-reinforced unbound pavement layer. In this study, geogrid was used in various layouts and numbers using three different gradation of granular materials. Light weight deflectometer (LWD) device is known as a useful tool to evaluate the stiffness of unbound pavement layers. In this study, the LWD was utilized to experimentally investigate factors affecting the performance of geogrid reinforcement, including the number of geogrids, geogrid layout, and the gradation of unbound layer. There are several parameters which affect the LWD test results including the hammer weight, the falling height, and the surface stress. The effect of these...