Sharif Digital Repository

Accurate monthly electricity consumption forecasting (ECF) can help retailers enhance the profitability in deregulated electricity markets. Most current methods use monthly load data to perform monthly ECF, which usually produces large errors due to insufficient training samples. A few methods try to use fine-grained smart-meter data (e.g., hourly data) to increase training samples. However, such methods still exhibit low accuracy due to the increase in forecasting steps. © 1975-2012 IEEE  

This paper aims to develop a deteriorated bridge maintenance strategy that ensures the safe operation of steel structures and minimizes the total risk. Five common failure modes are considered for the deteriorated bridge: flexure, shear, deflection, fatigue failure for girder, and chloride attack for the concrete deck. Time-dependent and system reliability analyses are carried out to find the probability of failure under these failure modes. Risk-cost optimization is then used to determine the maintenance strategy. This method was applied to a working example. It was found that the developed maintenance strategy can predict when, where, and what to maintain for a bridge to ensure its safe... 

We propose a component model for the scheduling of combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units by mixed-integer programming (MIP) in which combustion turbines (CTs) and steam turbines (STs) are modeled as individual units. The hourly schedule of CCGT based on the component model is compared with that of the mode model. The modeling of modes, which includes a combination of CTs and STs, would require certain approximations for representing fuel input-power output curves, ramping rate limits, minimum operating time limits, etc. The approximations can result in sub-optimal schedules. Furthermore, the commitment and dispatch of CCGTs based on the mode model will require a real-time dispatch to... 

There are very limited researches carried out to investigate the influence of saturation degrees, freezing-thawing, and curing times on geotechnical properties of lime concrete (LC) and lime-cement concrete (LCC) due to the capillary action and changes in groundwater table. Subsequently, the primary goal of this research is to investigate the influence of these parameters on mechanical properties of LC and LCC using unconfined compression tests, namely uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), stress-strain behavior, deformability index (I D ), secant modulus (E S ), failure strain, bulk modulus (K), resilient modulus (M R ), brittleness index (I B ), and shear modulus (G). At first, the... 

In this paper, the resource allocation and scheduling problem for a full-duplex (FD) orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access network is studied where an FD base station simultaneously communicates with multiple pairs of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) half-duplex (HD) users bidirectionally. In this paper, we aim to maximize the network sum-rate through joint UL and DL user pairing, OFDM subchannel assignment, and power allocation. We formulate the problem as a non-convex optimization problem. The optimal algorithm requires an exhaustive search, which will become prohibitively complicated as the numbers of users and subchannels increase. To tackle this complex problem more efficiently, we... 

In this study, the existence of a sinusoidal splitter on the formation and distribution of hydrogen and air co-jets are investigated in a dual-combustion ramjet engine. The main scope of this research is to analyze the comprehensive flow structure and flame features directly downstream of the sinusoidal splitter. In this work, shockwave/shear-layer interactions behind the sinusoidal splitter are thoroughly studied through a computational fluid dynamic approach. Two different splitter profiles are compared with a simple splitter to demonstrate the main effects of multi shock wave interactions on fuel distribution and penetrations. To simulate co-air jet, Reynolds Average Navier-Stocks... 

Deployment of low-power low-cost small access points such as femtocell access points (FAPs) constitute an attractive solution for improving the existing macrocell access points' (MAPs) capacity, reliability, and coverage. However, FAP deployment faces challenging problems such as interference management and the lack of flexible frameworks for deploying the FAPs by the service providers (SPs). In this paper, we propose a novel solution that jointly associates the user equipment (UE) to the APs, and allocates the FAPs to the SPs such that the the total satisfaction of the UEs in an uplink OFDMA network is maximized. We model the competitive behaviors among the UEs, FAPs, and SPs as a dynamic... 

The Electrorheological (ER) disk is a widely used smart material in various engineering applications due to its ability to change its mechanical properties in response to electric fields. The vibration analysis of such a disk is essential for understanding its dynamic behavior and designing efficient control strategies. In this paper, the hyperbolic differential quadrature method (HDQM) is applied to investigate the vibration responses of the ER disk. Both first and higher-order shear deformation theories are incorporated for modeling displacement fields in sandwich disks. In the interface of the layers’ compatibility conditions are applied. The HDQM is a numerical technique based on the... 

Accurate customer baseline load (CBL) estimation is critical for implementing incentive-based demand response (DR) programs. The increasing penetration of grid-tied distributed photovoltaic systems (DPVS) complicates customers’ load patterns, making the CBL estimation more difficult because the volatile actual load and the intermittent PV output power are coupled together. A PV-load decoupling framework is proposed in this paper to address the above issue. The basic idea is to decouple the actual load power and the PV output power, then estimate them separately. To this end, historical PV output power data of each individual DPVS is required. However, pure historical PV output power data is... 

Sustainable development is significantly contributing the environmental degradation due to improvements in financial sector in One Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region. Thus, the present research work constructs the sustainable development index for BRI. Afterwards, it unfolds the nexus of sustainable development-environmental degradation and also evaluates the role of financial development indicators in BRI economies. By utilizing the robust mean group, the present study quantifies the long-run marginal impacts of sustainable development, financial development indicators, energy consumption, and urban sprawl on environmental degradation, respectively. The marginal impacts infer an inverted... 

Electric power system and its components, most of which developed based on the rising electricity demand during economic growth periods of 1970s and 1980s, have aged and some are not being replaced quickly. In addition, the integration of variable sources of energy has changed the way assets are being managed for optimal operation. Aging assets and uncertainty in power system load profile and demand management create a challenge for the optimal operation and maintenance of the electricity grid. This special section aims at addressing the challenges and opportunities in deployment of smart grid technologies such as wireless sensors for condition monitoring and intelligent electronic devices... 

Electrochemical co-deposition approach was expanded to prepare composite bio-ceramic coating of hydroxyapatite (HA)/polyvinyl acetate on the surface of titanium. The role is to improve the bioactive and crystallization properties. The results of XRD, XPS, SEM and TEM characterization showed that by increasing amount of vinyl acetate in the composite bio-ceramic coating before and after immersing in the simulated body fluid (SBF), an oriented growth of HA planes on the (0 0 2) direction had been observed on titanium substrate. Also significant surface morphology changes were obtained  

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have excellent photovoltaic properties. There are, however, challenges of materials cost and device stability to be solved before commercializing them. Utilizing low-cost inorganic hole transport materials (HTM) as a replacement for spiro-OMeTAD, and replacing the Au electrode with printable carbon could be important steps in this regard. For this purpose, CuInxGa1-xS2 (x = 1, 0.75, 0.5, 0.25, 0) nanoparticle layers are deposited as inorganic HTMs with carbon composite electrode as the back electrode. Photovoltaic properties of PSCs with CuInxGa1-xS2/Carbon hole collecting electrodes are studied by changing the In ratio in the HTM layer. Results from impedance... 

The fabrication of supported noble metal nanocrystals (NCs) with well-controlled morphologies have been attracted considerable interests due to their merits in a wide variety of applications. Photodeposition is a facile and effective method to load metals over semiconductors in a simple slurry reactor under irradiation. By optimizing the photodeposition process, the size, chemical states, and the geometrical distribution of metal NCs have been successfully tuned. However, metal NCs with well-controlled shapes through the photodeposition process have not been reported until now. Here, we report our important advances in the controlled photodeposition process to load regular noble metal NCs.... 

The authors regret that during Proof of the article by Sun et al. [1], Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 were wrong. We reproduce below the relevant part of correct Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Fig. 6. The concentration of SO42− in nCP/Fe(II)/FeS system. [nCP]0 = [Fe(II)]0 = 0.30 mM, [FeS]0 = 0.60 mM, [TCE]0 = 0.15 mM. [Figure presented] Fig. 7. Chloride ion liberation and its mass balance in nCP/Fe(II)/FeS system along with TCE degradation. [nCP]0 = [Fe(II)]0 = 0.30 mM, [FeS]0 = 0.60 mM, [TCE]0 = 0.15 mM. [Figure presented] © 2021 Elsevier B.V  

Titanium does not react well with the human tissues and due to its bio-inert nature the surface modification has yet to be well-studied. In this study, the sonoelectrochemical process has been carried out to generate TiO2 nanotube arrays on implantable Ti 6–4. All the prepared nanotubes fill with the vancomycin by immersion and electrophoresis method. Drug-releasing properties, antibacterial behavior, protein adsorption and cell attachment of drug-modified nanotubes are examined by UV–vis, flow cytometry, modified disc diffusion, BSA adsorption, and FESEM, respectively. The most uniform morphology, appropriate drug release, cell viability behavior and antibacterial properties can be achieved... 

Perovskite solar cells are well known for being low cost, solution-based, and efficient solar cells; however, the high price of the conventional hole-collector electrode (Spiro-OMeTAD/Gold) and the high price and complexity of depositing gold on large scales are major barriers against commercializing them. Herein, an effective carbon composite electrode is introduced for a low-cost perovskite solar cell with CuIn0.75Ga0.25S2 hole transport material to solve this problem. The carbon electrode is deposited by the doctor blade method using a paste composed of flakes of graphite, carbon black, and a kind of hydrophobic polymer (polystyrene or poly-methyl methacrylate). It is investigated how the... 

The paper at hand intends to evaluate thermoelastic damping (TED) in circular plates by incorporating nonlocal effect within the constitutive and heat conduction frameworks. To attain this purpose, nonclassical coupled thermoelastic equations are established on the basis of nonlocal elasticity theory and Guyer–Krumhansl (GK) heat conduction model. By considering symmetric time–harmonic vibrations, the size-dependent thermoelastic frequency equation is derived. By solving this nonclassical eigenvalue problem, real and imaginary parts of damped natural frequency are separated. According to the definition of TED in the framework of complex frequency approach, a closed-form expression... 

According to Arthur (2006, p. 200), “Through the use of literature, a language learning experience might become at the same time a source of immediate pleasure and satisfaction for the student. This possibility makes literature an appealing teaching device for ESL teachers”. However, numerous factors may contribute to the teachers’ lack of interest in using literary texts as a teaching tool. This study was an attempt to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ attitude toward using literature in language classes and their perception toward the probable reasons of some teachers’ lack of interest in doing so. Altogether forty-four language teachers (19 females and 25 males, with a mean age of 26)... 

In this study, the inclusion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the second phase in the hydroxyapatite matrix, in order to improve the mechanical strength, has been performed via the sol-gel process. The stability of carbon nanotube sol with the changes of pH and dispersant values (sodium dodecyl sulfate) was evaluated by zeta potential analysis. The results indicated that synthesis of hydroxyapatite particles in the presence of the carbon nanotubes had the best result in homogenization of the carbon nanotube dispersion and faster crystallization of hydroxyapatite. The crystallization of hydroxyapatite phase was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction...