Sharif Digital Repository

This paper presents an optimal multi-loop control structure for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) applications which use voltage source inverter (VSI) coupled with LC filter. A resonant controller ensures tracking of sinusoidal voltage reference and rejection of sinusoidal current disturbance with no steady-state error if the loop remains stable. The challenges are reduction of output total harmonic distortion (THD), improving damping of the LC resonance frequency and preventing generation of fast closed-loop modes which go beyond the frequency range of inverter with limited switching frequency. An extension of the classic linear quadratic regulator (LQR) is proposed which addresses the... 

A novel bi-objective three-echelon supply chain problem is formulated in this paper in which cross-dock facilities to transport the products are modeled as an M/M/m queuing system. The proposed model is validated using the epsilon constraint method when applied to solve some small-size problems. Since the problem belongs to the class of NP-hard and that it is of a bi-objective type, a multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) algorithm with a new solution structure that satisfies all of the constraints is developed to find Pareto solutions. As there is no benchmark available in literature, three other multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithms called non-dominated ranking genetic... 

The power supply of microwave tubes has high voltage and the possibility of produce high power pulse, which called in modulator. In this work, the results of design, construction and characterization of a direct drive pulse modulator for driving high power short pulse-width magnetron are reported. The sub-assemblies of modulator are; a primary high voltage supply, a switch bank with drivers and snubber circuits, a filament circuit, a digital control circuit with sensors and finally a pulse transformer. This paper is concerned with introduction and presentation of experimental evaluation of a new drive method for high power high voltage modulating-cathode microwave tubes. ©2009 IEEE  

A new multi-skill multi-mode resource constrained project scheduling problem with three objectives is studied in this paper. The objectives are: (1) minimizing project's makespan, (2) minimizing total cost of allocating workers to skills, and (3) maximizing total quality of processing activities. A meta-heuristic algorithm called multi-objective invasive weeds optimization algorithm (MOIWO) with a new chromosome structure guaranteeing feasibility of solutions is developed to solve the proposed problem. Two other meta-heuristic algorithms called non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm (MOPSO) are used to validate the... 

In many projects, multi-skilled workforces are able to perform different tasks with different quality levels. In this paper, a real-life version of the multi-skilled resource constrained project scheduling problem is investigated, in which the reworking risk of each activity depends on the assigned level of multi-skilled workforces. The problem is formulated mathematically as a bi-objective optimization model to minimize total costs of processing the activities and to minimize reworking risks of the activities, concurrently. In order to solve the resulting problem, three cuckoo-search-based multi-objective mechanisms are developed based on non-dominance sorting genetic algorithm,... 

This paper considers a preemptive multi-skilled resource constrained project scheduling problem in a just-in-time environment where each activity has an interval due date to be completed. In this problem setting, resuming a preempted activity requires an extra setup cost, while each time unit violation from the given due date incurs earliness or tardiness penalty. Also, processing cost of each skill to execute any activity depends on the assigned staff member to accomplish the skill. The objective function of the model aims to minimize the total cost of allocating staff to skills, earliness-tardiness penalties and preemption costs. Two integer formulations are proposed for the model which... 

The growing importance of energy consumption has become an integral part of many decision-making processes in various organizations. In this paper, a framework is proposed for an organization where the undertaken project is implemented by multi-skilled workforce and energy tariffs depending on the time-of-use. This is a real-life situation where energy tariffs are significantly high during the peak demand compared to the one in off peak demand in order to control overloaded consumption of energy. A formulation is developed for the problem to minimize the total cost of consuming required energy. The proposed formulation is validated using several small-scale instances solved by GAMS software.... 

The growing importance of energy consumption has become an integral part of many decision-making processes in various organizations. In this paper, a framework is proposed for an organization where the undertaken project is implemented by multi-skilled workforce and energy tariffs depending on the time-of-use. This is a real-life situation where energy tariffs are significantly high during the peak demand compared to the one in off peak demand in order to control overloaded consumption of energy. A formulation is developed for the problem to minimize the total cost of consuming required energy. The proposed formulation is validated using several small-scale instances solved by GAMS software.... 

Four 5-, 10-, 20- and 30-story moment frames, representing low-, mid-, and two high-rise structures, were subjected to a great number of idealized directivity pulses. The amplitudes and periods of pulses vary from 0.02 g to 1.0 g and 0.5 to 12 sec, respectively. Over 1400 nonlinear dynamic analyses of low- to high-rise moment frames were performed which were feasible through using modified fish-bone model. The distribution of interstory drift along the height was studied and two applied contours were proposed: (i) the maximum interstory drift contour, and (ii) the critical story contour. These contours were demonstrated versus the ratio of natural period of the structure to the pulse period... 

In this article singular points of a parallel manipulator are obtained based on a novel geometrical method. Here we introduce the constrained plain method (CPM) and some of its application in parallel mechanism. Given the definition of constraint plane (CP) and infinite constraint plane (ICP) the dependency conditions of constraints is achieved with the use of a new theorem based on the Ceva geometrical theorem. The direction of angular velocity of a body is achieved by having three ICPs with the use of another theorem. Finally, with the use of the above two novel theorems singularities of the 3UPF_PU mechanism are obtained. It should be emphasized that this method is completely geometrical,... 

An analytical model is proposed to study the effect of particle size on melting enthalpy and entropy of metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The Mott's and Regel's equations for melting entropy in the combination of core average coordination number (CAC) and surface average coordination number (SAC) of freestanding NPs are considered. Clusters of icosahedral (IC), body centered cubic (BCC), and body centered tetragonal (BCT) structure without any vacancies and defects are modeled. Using the variable coordination number made this model to be in good agreement with experimental and molecular dynamic (MD) results of different crystal structures. The model predicts melting entropy and enthalpy of... 

Grinding is widely used for manufacturing of components that require fine surface finish and good dimensional accuracy. In this study a thermo-mechanical finite element analysis is conducted to find out how grinding parameters can affect temperature and residual stress distribution in the workpiece. Results of parametric study presented in this work indicate, by carefully selecting the grinding parameters, minimum thermal and mechanical damage can be achieved. Higher workpiece velocities produce higher surface residual stress. By increasing depths of cut, depth of tensile residual stresses increases. Convection heat coefficient does not have any considerable effect on surface residual stress... 

Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) is a well-known technique for background noise reduction in automobile and vehicular environments. The noise fields in automobile and other vehicle interior obey the diffuse noise field model closely. On the other hand, the ANC does not provide sufficient noise reduction in the diffuse noise fields. In this paper, a new multistage post-filter is designed for ANC as a solution to diffuse noise conditions. The designed post-filter is a single channel Linear Prediction (LP) based speech enhancement system. The LP is performed by an adaptive lattice filter and attempts to extract speech components by using intermediate ANC signals. The post-filter has no... 

Shot peening is widely used to improve the fretting fatigue strength of critical surfaces. Fretting fatigue occurs in contacting parts that are subjected to fluctuating loads and sliding movements at the same time. This paper presents a sequential finite element simulation to investigate the shot peening effects on normal stress, shear stress, bulk stress and slip amplitude, which are considered to be the controlling parameters of fretting damage. The results demonstrated that among the modifications related to shot peening, compressive residual stress has a dominant effect on the fretting parameters  

One-dimensional (1D) MgO structures were successfully synthesized via carbothermic reduction of mechanically activated mixture of MgO and graphite. Mechanical activation of source materials before carbothermic reduction can substantially enhance the formation of MgO products at a temperature (1000 °C) relatively lower than that required in previous approaches (≥1200 °C). However, the morphology of MgO formed is dependent on the degree of mechanical activation and the condition of the subsequent carbothermic reduction. Two distinctive morphologies were found for MgO products synthesized using our method: single crystalline nanorods with rectangular cross-sections whose diameters range from 50... 

Attitude and vibration control of a general form of flexible satellites is addressed in this paper. Partial differential dynamic equations are derived considering new details such as multi sectioned solar panels and elastic connections between main hub and solar panels. Boundary control approach is adopted to eliminate simplification errors of discrete models, using just one actuator in the hub. Asymptotic stability of attitude dynamics is proved for a group of boundary controllers and necessary conditions for asymptotic stability of vibrations are discussed. Being independent of modeling accuracy and using easily measurable feedbacks are among advantages of the proposed class of... 

Characterization and calcination behavior of a low-grade manganese ore, as a part of Mn ferroalloys production, was studied by XRF, ex-situ XRD, in-situ XRD, and SEM-EDS techniques. Calcination experiments were carried out at and up to 900 °C (1173 K) in air and argon atmospheres. The samples were in particles and powder forms. The results indicated that both quartz and calcite phases in the ore exhibit a bimodal spatial distribution; as relatively large regions and finely distributed in the Mn- and Fe-containing phases. By Rietveld analysis of the in-situ XRD data, the reactions occurring upon heating during the calcination process were deduced. Thermal decomposition and reactive diffusion... 

Estimating the position of a mobile set is of great importance in new mobile services. However, in most cases, the accuracy should be less than 100 meters. This accuracy is hard to reach especially in urban areas. The main problem is that there are a lot of obstacles like buildings between the BTS and the mobile set. Thus the time measured between BTS and the mobile set is somehow greater than the time it takes the wave to travel directly between two points. This paper introduces an optimized solution for TDOA as one of the most efficient ways for finding the location of a mobile phone. Considering the standards and limitations of both GSM and UMTS, the Authors present a solution for... 

Weighting elements to achieve radiation patterns with desired characteristics is a classical work in phased array antennas. These characteristics can be low sidelobe level, narrow beamwidth, high directivity, pattern nulling in special angle and etc. For each of these characteristics, different methods have been introduced. Most of methods have been presented for uniform arrays, however there are lots of methods to obtain a desired pattern for antennas with non-uniform element distances. The problem with these methods is complexity or not very good results. In this paper, fast and easy methods based on Least Square Error that leads to good results are presented. In addition, weighting of...