Sharif Digital Repository

A screw dislocation outside an infinite cylindrical nano-inhomogeneity of circular cross section is considered within the isotropic theory of gradient elasticity. Fields of total displacements, elastic and plastic distortions, elastic strains and stresses are derived and analyzed in detail. In contrast with the case of classical elasticity, the gradient solutions are shown to possess no singularities at the dislocation line. Moreover, all stress components are continuous and smooth at the interface unlike the classical solution. As a result, the image force exerted on the dislocation due to the differences in elastic and gradient constants of the matrix and inhomogeneity, remains finite when... 

The stress field of a screw dislocation inside an embedded nanowire is considered within the theory of strain-gradient elasticity. It is shown that the stress singularity is removed and all stress components are continuous and smooth across the interface, in contrast with the results obtained within the classical theory of elasticity. The maximum magnitude of dislocation stress depends greatly on the dislocation position, the nanowire size, and the ratios of shear moduli and gradient coefficients of the matrix and nanowire materials. © 2009 Acta Materialia Inc  

With the advent of small-scale heat and electricity producers in distribution energy systems, the interdependencies between energy carriers have been increased. Moreover, the rapid deployment of micro CHP, electric heat pumps, electricity-to-heat appliances etc., calls for new local market frameworks to be employed in distribution energy systems. In response, this paper presents a new energy market framework based on the concept of peer-to-peer negotiations to facilitate energy transactions between agents at the distribution level while addressing the interdependencies between different energy carriers. Moreover, linear optimization problems are proposed to investigate the optimal strategies... 

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a subset of artificial intelligence in which a decision-making agent tries to act optimally in an environment by controlling different parameters. There is no need to identify and mathematically formulate the environmental constraints in such a method. Moreover, the RL agent does not need prior information about future outcomes to act optimally in the current situation. However, its performance is adversely affected by the environmental complexity, which increases the agent's effort to choose the optimal action in a particular condition. Integrating RL and linear programming (LP) methods is beneficial to tackle this problem as it reduces the state-action space... 

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive encephalopathy before, dur-ing, or after childbirth with almost the most common type, i.e. spastic diplegic, leading to a frequent walking problem, In-toeing. Orthoses can reduce the consequences of CP. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of combining twister wrap orthoses (TWO) with high-top shoes on the balance parameters of children with spastic diplegic CP. Material and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, twenty children (aged 6.8 ± 0.5 years) with spastic diplegic CP with in-toeing gait participated. The tests were conducted in three conditions: 1) in bare-foot, 2) with high-top shoes, and 3) with high-top shoes... 

By detailed analytical treatment of the shock dynamics in the Burgers turbulence with large scale forcing we calculate the velocity structure functions between pairs of points displaced both in time and space. Our analytical treatment verifies the so-called Taylor's frozen-flow hypothesis without relying on any closure and under very general assumptions. We discuss the limitation of the hypothesis and show that it is valid up to time scales smaller than the correlation time scale of temporal velocity correlation function. We support the analytical calculation by performing numerical simulation of the periodically kicked Burgers equation. © 2008 The American Physical Society  

With the increasing rate of population in big cities around the world, the tendency to build new buildings in the suburb of main cities or to build large apartments in the main cities has been highlighted. In this regard, building residential complexes has seen a dramatic increase in these areas as it makes it possible to build a large number of residential units within a reasonable space. Although these complexes have brought numerous benefits, they are some challenges regarding their construction processes. One main concern associated with these complexes is how to optimally install energy components such as transformers, combined heat and power (CHP) units, boilers etc., in the shared... 

The successful clinical application of patient-specific personalized medicine for the management of low back patients remains elusive. This study aimed to classify chronic nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) patients using our previously developed and validated wearable inertial sensor (SHARIF-HMIS) for the assessment of trunk kinematic parameters. One hundred NSLBP patients consented to perform repetitive flexural movements in five different planes of motion (PLM): 0◦ in the sagittal plane, as well as 15◦ and 30◦ lateral rotation to the right and left, respectively. They were divided into three subgroups based on the STarT Back Screening Tool. The sensor was placed on the trunk of each... 

The rapid deployment of district heating systems in local energy markets and increasing the number of small-scale heat producers along with the expansion of local electricity markets increase the need for a transaction framework to manage the transactions between local participants in both heat and electricity markets. This paper presents a peer-to-peer thermal energy transaction framework to manage the transactions between small-scale heat prosumers. This framework enables small-scale thermal energy producers and consumers to participate in the market as price maker agents. Moreover, the optimal strategy of heat market participants is determined by proposing a linear profit function for... 

Proliferation of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and integration of various distributed generation (DG) technologies have been recognized to play an undeniable role in modern power systems of the future. In order to effectively model the interactions of these two technologies, this paper develops a multi-criteria framework to coordinate the charging behaviors of PHEVs within an energy hub platform. In this regard, the desirable charging profiles from the viewpoint of both PHEV owners and hub manager are first captured and reported to the PHEVs Coordinator Entity (PCE). The PCE, then, runs an optimization framework in which several criteria including the PHEV owners’ convenience,... 

Background: Controlling pelvic excursions is the focus of stabilization exercises such as legs loading tasks in rehabilitation of non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) patients. Progression of these exercises is based on the ability to perform tasks with minimal sagittal pelvic excursions. In spite of emphasis on minimizing pelvic motions, no previous studies have investigated kinematic analysis of the pelvic excursions during leg loading exercises in NSCLBP patients. Objective: This study aims to investigate the sagittal pelvis excursion during performing asymmetric leg loading tasks in individuals with and without NSCLBP. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, kinematic... 

Optimal planning of residential complex energy systems requires thorough mathematical modelling to address the interconnections between all the energy installations from the largest ones, shared by all the residents, to the smallest ones in each distinct unit. Besides, conflicting desires of investors and residents in various aspects such as reliability index make this problem more challenging. In response, this paper presents a thorough framework to obtain the optimum design and operation of a residential complex energy system from scratch. To address the appropriate interconnection between various components of such an energy system, a multi-layer energy hub structure is proposed. Besides,... 

Using the potential of off-grid photovoltaic systems is a feasible way to supply electrical energy to locations which are far from the national electricity grid. In the design process of these systems, it is important to choose an appropriate capacity of these panels, since it should be able to steadily supply energy in all-weather conditions, especially cloudy days. In the conventional algorithm to design these panels and determine the capacity of these photovoltaic arrays, the number of cloudy days is not considered. Thus, in this papers, a new method is introduced in order to find out the appropriate capacity of off-grid photovoltaic arrays in the planning process of these systems. © 2019... 

We calculate the ground-state energy of Dirac electrons in graphene in the presence of disorder. We take randomly distributed charged impurities at a fixed distance from the graphene sheet and surface fluctuations (ripples) as the main scattering mechanisms. A mode-coupling approach to the scattering rate and random-phase approximation for the ground-state energy incorporating the many-body interactions and the disorder effects yields good agreement with the experimental inverse compressibility. © 2008 The American Physical Society  

A Cúk converter operating in discontinuous capacitor voltage mode (DCVM) is an inherent power factor correction converter. A reduced-order switch-network model of a Cúk converter in DCVM is developed, which is valid for both dc-dc and ac-dc applications. The model can be used for controller analysis and design. Moreover, a fast dynamic response controller is proposed, which is an integration of a switching-frequency control unit and a proportional-integral (PI) controller. The PI controller is in charge of duty ratio adjustment. In the proposed controller, unlike conventional PI controllers, switching frequency is no longer fixed and varies as load changes. The switching-frequency control... 

The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in (1 + 1) dimensions dynamically develops sharply connected valley structures within which the height derivative is not continuous. We develop a statistical theory for the KPZ equation in (1 + 1) dimensions driven with a random forcing that is white in time and Gaussian-correlated in space. A master equation is derived for the joint probability density function of height difference and height gradient P(h-h̄,∂xh,t) when the forcing correlation length is much smaller than the system size and much larger than the typical sharp valley width. In the time scales before the creation of the sharp valleys, we find the exact generating function of h-h̄ and ∂xh.... 

The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in [formula presented] dimensions dynamically develops sharply connected valley structures within which the height derivative is not continuous. We develop a statistical theory for the KPZ equation in [formula presented] dimensions driven with a random forcing that is white in time and Gaussian-correlated in space. A master equation is derived for the joint probability density function of height difference and height gradient [formula presented] when the forcing correlation length is much smaller than the system size and much larger than the typical sharp valley width. In the time scales before the creation of the sharp valleys, we find the exact... 

Cúk Converter operating in discontinuous capacitor voltage mode is an inherent PFC converter in which, unity power factor can be achieved using constant duty cycle and switching frequency. In this paper, a reduced-order switch network modeling technique is applied to Cúk converter operating in DCVM in order to derive small-signal model of the converter assuming a dc voltage source as the input source of the converter. This model is extended to derive the small-signal behavior of the converter while operating as a PFC converter. The validity of the proposed model is confirmed by both simulation and experimental results. Afterwards, a new control strategy is proposed in which switching...