Sharif Digital Repository

In endurance time method, seismic performance of structures under artificial intensifying accelerograms is investigated. In this method, the time duration of excitation (target time) will be assigned on the basis of linear response spectra. Damage spectra, which are the variation of a damage index versus the system period, can be used effectively to modify the target time of the excitations. In this research, various damage indices for a number of steel moment frames are estimated using the endurance time method with two types of target time, and the results are compared with those corresponding to the scaled real earthquakes. It is observed that damage estimation of the frames via the... 

In seismic resistant design of moment frames, the structure behavior under earthquakes has to be examined considering various damage criteria. Damage indices can be estimated by Endurance Time (ET) method with minimum computational effort. The quality of this estimation can be improved in different ways. In this paper, the graphs of a certain damage index versus natural period of the structure, called damage spectra, are produced applying intensifying ET records and scaled Ground Motions (GM). Then, the excitation duration of ET acceleration functions (target time) is modified in order to reach acceptable consistency between ET and GM damage spectra. Moreover, various damage indices of a... 

In endurance time method, seismic performance of structures under artificial intensifying accelerograms is investigated. In this method, the time duration of excitation (target time) will be assigned on the basis of linear response spectra. Damage spectra, which are the variation of a damage index versus the system period, can be used effectively to modify the target time of the excitations. In this research, various damage indices for a number of steel moment frames are estimated using the endurance time method with two types of target time, and the results are compared with those corresponding to the scaled real earthquakes. It is observed that damage estimation of the frames via the... 

Biosensors could be used as digital devices to measure the sample infield. Consequently, computational programming along with experimental achievements are required. In this study, a novel biosensor/artificial neural network (ANN) integrated system was developed. Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene)(PEDOT), graphene oxide nano-sheets (GONs) and laccase (Lac) were used to construct a biosensor. The simple and one-pot process was accomplished by electropolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene (EDOT) along with GONs and Lac as dopants on glassy carbon electrode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical characterization were conducted to confirm successful enzyme entrapment. The... 

A5/1 is a stream cipher used in GSM to provide over-the-air communication privacy. Biham and Dunkelman proposed an attack on A5/1 with time complexity of 2∧(39.91) and data complexity of 2∧(21.1) known bits and memory complexity of 32 GB. In this paper, we propose an improvement on their attack. Our improvement is identification and elimination of useless states from the precomputed table. Furthermore, we propose another way for use of table in online phase of attack that causes decreasing in the time complexity to 2∧(37.89) and memory complexity decreases to half  

The sloshing behavior of systems is influenced by different factors related to the liquid level and tank specifications. Different approaches are applicable for the assessment of sloshing behavior in a tank. In this paper, a new numerical model based on the differential quadrature method and boundary element approaches is adopted to investigate the sloshing behavior of a tank with an elastic thin-walled beam. The model is developed based on small slope considerations of the free surface. The main assumption of fluid modeling is homogeneity, isotropy, inviscid, and only limited compressibility of the liquid. Indeed, the formulation is represented based on the reduced-order method and then is... 

Reduced Beam Section (RBS) and Slotted Beam Web (SBW) are two types of seismic resistant moment connections that were introduced after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. These connections have been tested under cyclic loading and have had acceptable performance. In this paper, a new hybrid connection is introduced that is composed of RBS and SBW and is named Slotted-Web-Reduced- Flange (SWRF). Nonlinear finite element analyses are performed on SWRF under cyclic loading. It is shown that the new connection in some cases performs better than its RBS and SBW predecessors. The effects of panel zone strength, continuity plates and slot length are also investigated  

This paper investigates, experimentally and analytically, the capacity of channel shear connectors embedded in normal and polypropylene (PP) concrete. Limited testing is used to assess the accuracy of a proposed nonlinear finite element model for typical push-out test specimens. Using this model, an extensive parametric study is performed to arrive at a prediction for shear capacity of channel connectors in PP concrete. An equation, for inclusion in design codes, is suggested for the shear capacity of these connectors when used in PP concrete. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved  

In this research, a solid 1%Li/Ca-La mixed oxide catalyst was prepared using co-precipitation method followed by wet impregnation. The prepared catalyst was used in the transesterification reaction of canola oil and methanol for biodiesel synthesis. The effects of calcination and reaction temperatures were investigated on the activity of the catalyst. In addition, rate of the reaction was studied through a kinetic model for which parameters were determined. Surface properties and structure of the catalyst were characterized through the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry/derivative thermogravimetry (TG/DTG), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis. All these... 

The results of several monotonioc push-out tests on polypropylene concrete with channel shear connectors are presented in this research. The results are compared with ordinary concrete specimens with the same test setup. The effect of confining reinforcement on the shear capacity and ductility of polypropylene concrete composite system is investigated  

Solid-state-reacted polycrystalline Nd(Ba2-xPr x)Cu3O7+8 materials have been prepared and investigated using X-ray diffraction and resistivity measurements. Our results show that Nd(Ba2-xPrx)Cu3O7+8 is a superconductor when x < 0.3. The Tc depression in superconductivity of Pr at Ba sites is due to both hole filling/localization and depairing effects. The normal state conductivity undergoes a dimensional crossover from two-dimensional to three-dimensional in the frame of the variable range hopping regime. The localization length of carriers shows that Pr doping localizes carriers in the normal state and causes the Tc depression. The magnetoresistance of the samples has been investigated... 

Segmentation of the Left ventricle (LV) is a crucial step for quantitative measurements such as area, volume, and ejection fraction. However, the automatic LV segmentation in 2D echocardiographic images is a challenging task due to ill-defined borders, and operator dependence issues (insufficient reproducibility). U-net, which is a well-known architecture in medical image segmentation, addressed this problem through an encoder-decoder path. Despite outstanding overall performance, U-net ignores the contribution of all semantic strengths in the segmentation procedure. In the present study, we have proposed a novel architecture to tackle this drawback. Feature maps in all levels of the decoder... 

We report the existence of interfacial instability in the two-dimensional channel flow of a sediment suspension whose particles diffuse in the carrier fluid due to shear-induced collisions. We derive partial differential equations that govern the deformations of the interface between the sediment suspension and the clear fluid, and devise a perturbation method that preserves the positivity of the particle volume fraction. We solve perturbed momentum, particle transport and deforming interface equations to show that a Kelvin-Helmholtz-type unstable wave develops at the interface for wavelengths longer than a critical value. Short-wavelength oscillations of the interface are damped due to... 

Thin-walled cylindrical steel silos are one of the key structures for storage of materials in many industries and agricultural sectors. They are susceptible to instability under wind pressure when they are empty or partially filled. This paper investigates numerically the wind buckling behavior of three sample steel silos with stepped walls composed of isotropic rolled shells. Wind load vertical and circumferential distributions were adopted from Eurocodes. Two proposed circumferential pressure distributions for an isolated silo and a silo in a group with a closed roof were taken into consideration. Moreover, the effect of additional inward pressure, proposed by Eurocode, on buckling... 

Block shear failure in the base metal of welded steel connections is a potential failure mode affecting many steel structures. However, there are only a few studies on the block shear failure of welded connections under combined shear and axial loading. Combined loading is defined as a simultaneous loading parallel and perpendicular to the weld lines (or an inclined loading) in the plane of the connecting plate. In this research, a nonlinear finite element model is used to study the effect of connection geometry and weld group configuration on the block shear strength of welded connections under combined loading. In current design standards, the block shear failure planes are assumed to... 

Microfluidic synthesis methods are among the most promising approaches for controlling the size and morphology of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). In this work, for the first time, atomistic mechanisms involved in morphological changes of polybenzimidazole (PBI) NPs in microfluidic media are investigated. The multiscale molecular dynamic (MD) simulations are validated with the literature modeling and experimental data. A good agreement is obtained between the molecular modeling results and experimental data. The effects of mixing time, solvent type, dopant, and simulation box size at the molecular level are investigated. Mixing time has a positive impact on the morphology of the PBI NPs.... 

Camosol was isolated from the aerial parts of Salvia eremophula Boiss and full assignments of 1H and 13C-NMR spectral data are presented  

This paper develops a new evolutionary algorithm for generating low autocorrelation binary sequences. These sequences are of interest in pulse compression technique. The proposed algorithm is fast enough to yield optimum or near optimum codes. The generated sequences were compared to the best literature and were seen that its results are better than the others. This suggested method could change 11 rows of the previous best known PSLs table, whereas the previous literature could change only one record. These records were combined with the best results reported in the papers to produce a new best minimal-PSL binary sequence table for bit lengths 71 through 100. ©2008 IEEE