Sharif Digital Repository

As the semiconductor industry advances to the deep sub-micron and nano technology points, the on-chip components are more prone to the defects during manufacturing and faults during system operation. Consequently, fault tolerant techniques are essential to improve the yield of modern complex chips. We propose a fault-tolerant routing algorithm that keeps the negative effect of faulty components on the NoC power and performance as low as possible. Targeting intermittent faults, we achieve fault tolerance by employing a simple and fast mechanism composed of two processes: NoC monitoring and route adaption. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique, in that it offers... 

Asphalt concrete is a complex mixture, the behavior of which is dependent on its components while showing different nonlinear behaviors under various conditions. Application of rest time between compressive loading cycles causes hardening-relaxation (H-R) behavior in the sample and increases the deformation potential of the sample. This process might induce changes in the microstructure and the pattern of the placement and rotation of the aggregates. These changes cause a relaxation in the hardening of the material, pose a higher potential of reception of viscoplastic strain in the following cycles, and increase the rate of accumulation of the permanent deformation in contrast with creep... 

Electrospun porous membrane; Superhydrophilic surfaces; Superhydrophobic surfaces; Cell culture; Organ on a chip; Flexible membrane; Strong membrane; Surface modications  

onstructing of the scaffolds for cell culture applications has long been of interest for engineering researchers and biologist. In this study, a novel process is utilized for construction of suitable membrane with a high mechanical strength and appropriate surface behavior. Poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is electrospun into fine fibers using poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as the carrier polymer in different weight ratios. Since the surface behavior of all PDMS substrates is moderately hydrophobic (120 < contact angle (CA) < 150), the electrospun membranes with higher PDMS ratios show slightly higher hydrophilicity. Direct plasma treatment is utilized to change the interfacial wettability... 

A hydroelastic hybrid model is developed to simulate the fluid-structure interaction in water entry problems using the partitioned approach. The interactions between a flat plate and the water are modeled by a hydroelastic model using explicit and implicit couplings. Both couplings are unstable due to numerical instability associated with the fluid added mass. To overcome the instability, an extended Wagner's model is combined with the hydroelastic model, and a hybrid model is developed. The extended Wagner's model is the extension of the classical Wagner's model that is used to estimate the fluid inertial, damping, and restoring forces of a flexible plate within the potential flow theory.... 

Through the strategic highway research program (SHRP) project, time-temperature superposition (TTS) was used to reduce the loading time of bending beam rheometer (BBR) test. Based on TTS, stiffness of the asphalt binder after a two-hour loading time is similar to that after 60 s at 10 °C above. This study attempted to evaluate the TTS validity using finite element (FE) method by developing master curves in a broad range of low temperatures. The results indicated that TTS was neither valid for modified asphalt binders nor for neat binder. Also, in addition to the loading time dependency of m-value, limiting values of stiffness and m-value find no rheological acceptance. As a remedy, thermally... 

Micro and nanotechnology can potentially revolutionize drug delivery systems. Novel microfluidic systems have been employed for the cell culture applications and drug delivery by micro and nanocarriers. Cells in the microchannels are under static and dynamic flow perfusion of culture media that provides nutrition and removes waste from the cells. This exerts hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces on the cells. These forces can considerably affect the functions of the living cells. In this paper, we simulated the flow of air, culture medium, and the particle transport and deposition in the microchannels under different angles of connection inlet. It was found that the shear stress induced by the... 

Thin porous membranes are important components in a microfluidic device, serving as separators, filters, and scaffolds for cell culture. However, the fabrication and the integration of these membranes possess many challenges, which restrict their widespread applications. This paper reports a facile technique to fabricate robust membrane-embedded microfluidic devices. We integrated an electrospun membrane into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device using the simple plasma-activated bonding technique. To increase the flexibility of the membrane and to address the leakage problem, the electrospun membrane was fabricated with the highest weight ratio of PDMS to polymethylmethacrylate (i.e., 6:1... 

This paper reports the fabrication of electrospun polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes/scaffolds that are suitable for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. Through modification the ratio between PDMS and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) as carrier polymer, we report the possibility of increasing PDMS weight ratio of up to 6 for electrospinning. Increasing the PDMS content increases the fiber diameter, the pore size, and the hydrophobicity. To our best knowledge, this is the first report describing beads-free, durable and portable electrospun membrane with maximum content of PDMS suitable for cell culture applications. To show the proof-of-concept, we successfully cultured epithelial lung... 

With a mortality rate over 580,000 per year, cancer is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. However, the emerging field of microfluidics can potentially shed light on this puzzling disease. Unique characteristics of microfluidic chips (also known as micro-total analysis system) make them excellent candidates for biological applications. The ex vivo approach of tumor-on-a-chip is becoming an indispensable part of personalized medicine and can replace in vivo animal testing as well as conventional in vitro methods. In tumor-on-a-chip, the complex three-dimensional (3D) nature of malignant tumor is co-cultured on a microfluidic chip and high throughput screening tools to evaluate... 

A cell spheroid is a three-dimensional (3D) aggregation of cells. Synthetic, in-vitro spheroids provide similar metabolism, proliferation, and species concentration gradients to those found in-vivo. For instance, cancer cell spheroids have been demonstrated to mimic in-vivo tumor microenvironments, and are thus suitable for in-vitro drug screening. The first part of this paper discusses the latest microfluidic designs for spheroid formation and culture, comparing their strategies and efficacy. The most recent microfluidic techniques for spheroid formation utilize emulsion, microwells, U-shaped microstructures, or digital microfluidics. The engineering aspects underpinning spheroid formation...