Sharif Digital Repository

Purpose: Lack of a consistent standardized housing pricing system in Iran has led housing valuation to become solely dependent on appraisers' opinions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate some behavioral aspects of real estate decision makers, i.e. buyers and appraisers. Design/methodology/approach: First, and based on a content analysis of the valuation literature, a preliminary housing valuation model is proposed. This model is then contextualized and tested on two separate samples of 23 appraisers and 145 buyers, using interviewing technique and self-administered questionnaires. Findings: This study shows that buyers and appraisers may have different views about property valuation... 

In this study, zirconia antistatic coatings were synthesized by a simple dip coating sol-gel route on glass substrates, then applied to polymer-based composites to potentially improve their dust or water repellent capabilities. The coating solution contained a precursor (ZrCl4), solvent (isopropanol) and coupling agent. FTIR spectra confirmed ZrO2 and ZrO compounds in both solution and antistatic coating. FE-SEM images indicated ZrO2 fibers’ thickness was controlled by changing ZrCl4 concentration (150 g–15 g ZrCl4/l) or relative humidity (20%–60%) during coating drying. Fibers grew thicker when decreasing the former or increasing the latter. The surface electrical resistivity for all... 

Recent observations of gravitational waves motivate investigations for the existence of primordial black holes (PBHs). We propose the observation of gravitational microlensing of distant quasars for the range of infrared to the submillimeter wavelengths by sublunar PBHs as lenses. The advantage of observations in the longer wavelengths, comparable to the Schwarzschild radius of the lens (i.e., Rsch≃λ) is the detection of the wave optics features of the gravitational microlensing. The observation of diffraction pattern in the microlensing light curve of a quasar can break the degeneracy between the lens parameters and determine directly the lens mass as well as the distance of the lens from... 

This paper presents the kinematic and dynamic modeling of a two degrees of freedom manipulator attached to a vehicle with a two degrees of freedom suspension system. The vehicle is considered to move with a constant linear speed over an irregular ground-surface while the end-effector tracks a desired trajectory in a fixed reference frame. In addition, the effects of highly coupled dynamic interaction between the manipulator and vehicle (including the suspension system's effects) have been studied. Finally, simulation results for the end-effector's straight-line trajectory are presented to illustrate these effects  

Partial discharges are well known as a source for insulation degradation in power transformers. A hybrid transformer model is introduced to simulate the transformer winding transient response. Transformer structural data is used to determine the hybrid model parameters. Calculations of the hybrid transient model parameters are based on the parameters of the lumped parameter equivalent transformer model and electromagnetic rules. Modern computation techniques and optimizations are employed beside this model for PD location using the multi conductor transmission line model and also to analyze its propagation aimed at achieving (i) more reliable simulation results (ii) less computational time... 

This study outlines the necessary and sufficient criteria for swarm stability asymptotically, meaning consensus in a class of fractional-order multi-agent systems (FOMAS) with interval uncertainties for both fractional orders 0 < α < 1 and 1 < α < 2. The constraints are determined by the graph topology, agent dynamics, and neighbor interactions. It is demonstrated that the fractional-order interval multi-agent system achieves consensus if and only if there are some Hermitian matrices that satisfy a particular kind of complex Lyapunov inequality for all of the system vertex matrices. This is done by using the existence condition of the Hermitian matrices in a Lyapunov inequality. To do this,... 

Asymmetric contact problem of an elastic wedge and an elastic half-plane has been considered. Contact pressure distributions as well as the lengths of the contact zones are extracted analytically. The results have been compared with the results of the symmetric problem and also the FE modelling of the problem which show excellent agreement. The method of approach is a completely analytical method based on the singular integral equations. In this method, the boundary conditions of the problem are stated as some singular integrals and distribution of the contact pressure is determined. Then, with the aid of the equilibrium equations and the consistency conditions of the singular integral... 

In order to be a powerful tool, finite-element and finite-volume methods must be capable of handling complex flow in complex geometries. In this work, a structured finite volume element method is suitably developed for solving incompressible flow on a collocated grid topology. The method is generally-applicable to arbitrarily shaped elements and orientations and, thus, challenges the potential to unify many of the different grid topologies into a single formulation. The correct estimation of the convec-tive and diffusive flux terms at cell faces remarkably enhances the solution accuracy of the extended formulation. It is shown that the current formulation is enough robust to treat any... 

A new and convenient format of single drop microextraction (SDME) was developed and applied for isolation of some selected aryloxyphenoxypropionate herbicides from aquatic media. In contrast to the conventional SDME procedure, in this set-up the extraction microdrop was positioned at the bottom of a conical vial in order to provide much higher stability for the organic extraction phase while a magnetic bar was used for stirring the aqueous solution. A simple magnet was used for positioning the bar on the top of the microdrop prior to stirring. The whole set-up led to the use of any volume of extraction solvent with unlimited stirring rates. Some important extraction parameters such as the... 

The stability issue of mobile manipulators, particularly when the end-effector and the vehicle have to follow a predefined trajectory (for some special duties like painting a plane or carrying a light load), is a crucial subject and needs special attention. In this paper, by utilizing the manipulator compensation motions, the instantaneous proper configuration for a redundant mobile robot is determined. A fast methodology taking into account the dynamic interaction between the manipulator and the vehicle is proposed for enhancing the tipover stability (i.e. stability against overturning) of the mobile manipulator by employing the soft computing approach including a genetic algorithm, neural... 

Nowadays the size and dimension of mobile manipulators have been decreased for being usable in various regions. This leads several problems such as danger of instability. Therefore, many researches have been done to overcome the problem of overturning of a mobile manipulator. In this paper, an algorithm for increasing the stability of a mobile manipulator is presented based on the optimization of a performance index. The path of vehicle and the desired task of the end-effector are predefined. In order to apply the optimal stability criterion, it is more convenient that the manipulator be of a redundant. Considering the interaction between the vehicle and the manipulator and using the genetic... 

Fast finite time adaptive sliding mode control of a quadrotor in the presence of uncertainties and unbounded external disturbances is dealt in this paper. To this end, a fractional order sliding surface is first defined and then, an adaptive sliding mode controller is designed to guarantee finite time stability with fast convergence of quadrotor states to the desired trajectory. In this controller, it is assumed that the upper bound of the model uncertainties and external disturbances is a nonlinear function with unknown coefficients. These coefficients are estimated via stable adaptive laws. Finite time stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed using Lyapunov theorem. Simulation... 

The 3D point clouds are increasingly being used in various application including safety-critical fields. It has recently been demonstrated that deep neural networks can successfully process 3D point clouds. However, these deep networks can be misclassified via 3D adversarial attacks intentionality designed to perturb some point cloud's features. These misclassifications may be due to the network's overreliance on features with unnecessary information in training sets. As such, identifying the features used by deep classifiers and removing features with unnecessary information from the training data can improve network's robustness against adversarial attacks. In this paper, the LPF-Defense... 

Strike of a lightning stroke to the high voltage terminal of a power transformer results in an impulse stress on its windings. The magnitude of the series capacitance of the windings has an important effect on the impulse voltage distribution and the stresses along the windings. Increasing the series capacitances of the windings, the impulse voltage distribution becomes more linear and the stress on the winding is reduced. So interleaved windings rather than disk windings are used in power transformer windings to increase the series capacitances. In this paper, the electrostatic shielding, used in disk windings to increase the windings series capacitance, and for linearization of its impulse... 

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of turbine inlet temperature on the transient phase of expansion cycle liquid propellant rocket engines during start. For this purpose, the non-linear differential mathematical model for 15 main components of the engine is derived, and the corresponding interaction between them is established. Afterward, the model is simulated using MATLAB Simulink, and 150 equations are solved with the Newton–Raphson method. The RL10 expansion cycle liquid propellant rocket engine is selected as a case study, and its dynamic behavior is simulated, and the results are compared with the experimental data. The simulation results showed that the... 

Aggregation services play an important role in the domain of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) because they significantly reduce the number of required data transmissions, and improve energy efficiency on those networks. In most of the existing aggregation methods that have been developed based on the mathematical models or functions, the user of the WSN has not access to the original observations. In this paper, we propose an algorithm which let the base station access the observations by introducing a distributed method for computing the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The proposed algorithm is based on transmission workload of the intermediate nodes. By using PCA, we aggregate the... 

Thermal stratification accompanied by a release of nutrients from sediment is a serious problem for the management of water quality. Water aeration and mixing technology can be widely used to control endogenous pollution and algae growth in reservoirs and lakes by water quality managers. In this research, a diffuser aeration system, was installed in a water column, in the Mamloo stratified Reservoir; and the impact of artificial aeration was brought under extensive assessment in relevance with the qualitative and biological parameters of the water, during the preliminary 6 d of aeration. The results showed that the thermal stratification was remarkably disturbed. After aeration, the amount... 

Partial discharges (PD) are recognized as the main cause of the inner insulation deterioration process in power transformers. Therefore, the optimum inner insulation design is one of the challenges a transformer designer is faced with. Transformer strength, especially during transient conditions, is a criterion for transformer insulation designers. This challenge has made designers initiate and employ other types of winding, for example, rather than ordinary layer and disc windings employ the multiple-α windings. Multiple-α windings have a more complicated structure and are comprised of various parts with different physical structures and electrical characteristics. Typical partial discharge... 

This paper focuses on the flow shop sequence dependent group scheduling (FSDGS) problem with minimisation of total completion time as the criterion (Fm|f mls, prmu, S plk|ΣC j). The research problem is formulated in form of two different mixed integer linear programming (MILP) models. Comparing with the latest MILP model for the proposed problem in the literature, the complexity size of the proposed models are significantly reduced. One of the proposed mathematical models is so effective that even medium-sized instances (problems up to 60 jobs in all groups) are solved to optimality in a reasonable amount of time. Moreover, a metaheuristic hybridising genetic and simulated annealing... 

Wire-shaped micro-supercapacitors attracted extensive attentions in next-generation portable and wearable electronics, due to advantages of miniature size, lightweight and flexibility. Herein, NiMoO 4 nanorods supported on Ni film coated Cu wire are successfully fabricated thorough direct deposition of Ni film onto Cu wire as the conductive substrate, followed by growth of the NiMoO 4 nanorods on Ni film coated Cu wire substrate by means a hydrothermal annealing process. The prepared 3D, porous electrode demonstrates extremely high areal specific capacitance of 12.03F cm −2 at the current density of 4 mA cm −2 and retained capacitance of 8.23 F cm −2 at a much higher current density of 80...