Sharif Digital Repository

Imbalanced international trade and the limited number of containers in the maritime transportation industry have resulted in considerable costs and decreased profits for shipping firms. To manage these issues, this study utilizes price management techniques to control empty container repositioning in a transportation system. In this system, there is a firm providing transportation services between two ports in both directions. Each direction has its own uncertain potential demand that can be affected by the prices and the quality set by the firm. We develop a mathematical formulation to set the quality and prices of the service in order to maximize the firm's profit. Due to demand... 

Carbon nanotubes with unique physical and mechanical properties have shown great potential for biological applications, including tissue engineering and mimicking the structure and properties of human bones. In the present work, sol-gel synthesized nanocomposite powder of multi-wall carbon nanotube/hydroxyapatite characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and thermal analyses. The results show homogenous dispersion of nanotube in well-crystallized hydroxyapatite ceramic matrix. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope observations show the sodium... 

In the current study, experimental tests are conducted to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics and the bottom wetted surfaces of the planing hulls equipped by one transverse step. For this purpose, total resistance, dynamic trim angle, dynamic sinkage, reattachment lengths of the separated flow and forebody and aftbody wetted areas are quantitatively measured at different geometrical parameters of the step and hull velocities. Moreover, the bottom wetted surfaces are qualitatively investigated by analyzing the underwater photographs. Our experimental results are also compared by archival data with good accordance. Based on our experimental observations, dynamic trim angle and dynamic... 

Despite significant advancements in medicine, human blood is still a scarce resource. Only humans produce it, and there is currently no other product or alternative chemical process that can be used to generate blood. For this reason, blood is a vital commodity in healthcare systems. Since blood is also a perishable product, its inventory management is difficult. The challenge is in holding enough stock to ensure a high level of supply while keeping losses from expiration at a minimum. This research will investigate blood inventory management in a hospital, and develop a mathematical model to manage blood ordering and issuing. This study will account for the fact that blood demand and supply... 

We study the interdiction of illegal product distribution in a network with multiple sources (origins) and sinks (destinations). This work contributes to the literature of dynamic maximum flow interdiction problems by addressing multiple commodities in a network of relationships. The related distribution network consists of (1) criminals, who are hierarchically connected, and seeking to maximize the total profit flow from origins to destinations, and (2) enforcement officers aiming to minimize criminals’ long-term success by monitoring and arresting them, using the limited resources at their disposal. Considering several real-world operational details, we first propose a mixed-integer... 

We study the interdiction of illegal product distribution in a network with multiple sources (origins) and sinks (destinations). This work contributes to the literature of dynamic maximum flow interdiction problems by addressing multiple commodities in a network of relationships. The related distribution network consists of (1) criminals, who are hierarchically connected, and seeking to maximize the total profit flow from origins to destinations, and (2) enforcement officers aiming to minimize criminals’ long-term success by monitoring and arresting them, using the limited resources at their disposal. Considering several real-world operational details, we first propose a mixed-integer... 

We study the interdiction of illegal product distribution in a network with multiple sources (origins) and sinks (destinations). This work contributes to the literature of dynamic maximum flow interdiction problems by addressing multiple commodities in a network of relationships. The related distribution network consists of (1) criminals, who are hierarchically connected, and seeking to maximize the total profit flow from origins to destinations, and (2) enforcement officers aiming to minimize criminals’ long-term success by monitoring and arresting them, using the limited resources at their disposal. Considering several real-world operational details, we first propose a mixed-integer... 

Illegal smuggling is one of the main concerns in many countries due to its significant negative economic and societal impacts. To control the problem, law enforcement officials work to prevent illegal smuggling operations. However, these officials usually encounter a multi-commodity network with an unidentified structure where traffickers trade illicit commodities at different levels. Therefore, they should manage their resources to prioritize identifying the network members, monitoring the identified members, and arresting them to remove their corresponding illegal trades from the network. To manage these operations, this study aims to utilize a mathematical approach, including a... 

Joining of Al-5083 alloy sheet to St-12 steel sheet was performed using a new friction stir spot welding (FSSW) technique in which the tool pin tip did not enter lower steel sheet. Effect of dwell time on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints was studied by various methods including microhardness measurements, shear test, stereo and light microscopy as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Results indicated that compared to the conventional FSSW process, stronger joints can be achieved by this FSSW technique. Cross-sectional observation of the failed specimens indicated the occurrence of final fracture from the circumference of the tool pin... 

The performance of an infinitely segmented magnetohydrodynamic generator is analyzed using the second law of thermodynamics entropy generation criterion. The exact analytical solution of the velocity and temperature fields are provided by applying the modified Hartmann flow model, taking into account the occurrence of the Hall effect in the considered generator. Contributions of heat transfer, fluid friction, and ohmic dissipation to the destruction of useful available work are found, and the nature of irreversibilities in the considered generator is determined. In addition, the electrical isotropic efficiency scheme is used to evaluate the generator performance. Finally, the implication of... 

In this paper, an object oriented method is developed for generation, optimization and management of a hydrocarbon (CxHy) pyrolysis reaction network using a Bond-Electron (BE) matrix. A computer program was developed using C++ language. This program can provide and generate a pyrolysis reaction network for a wide range of hydrocarbons, including alkanes, olefins, diolefins, cyclic and aromatic compounds, using the linear notation structure of the reactant species. Furthermore, the reaction patterns and pruning methods are considered and a new method is presented for identification of reactants and products. The structural identification of species contained in the network allows one to... 

Various metals including alkali (Na+, K+), alkaline earth (Mg2+ and Ca2+), and transition metals (Cu2+ and Fe3+) were successfully incorporated into the structure of faujasite zeolites (X and Y) by novel post-synthesis modification method. The effect of metal-doping on the CO2, CH4, and N2 adsorption and kinetic performance in the context of flue gas carbon capture and natural gas purification was examined by four approaches; (i) the impact on structural properties was examined by XRD, FTIR, UV–visible, H2-TPR, FESEM, EDX Dot-Mapping, and BET analysis; (ii) the influence on the CO2, CH4, and N2 adsorption capacity was acquired by volumetric method up to 100 kPa at 25 °C (iii) the effect on... 

In general, decomposition methods can facilitate the process of solving sophisticated and heterogonous problems in the area of software development and engineering. These approaches are assisting to decompose problems based on different disciplines, characteristics and functionalities that is results into increasing the computational efficiency (e.g. parallel processing/computing) and accelerate the software changing process, software modifications and error tracking. Essentially, these approaches contribute to the degree of modularity to decompose a complex problem into different sub-problems and to focus on local objectives. There are different approaches that are used to decompose a... 

In this paper, the advantages of numerical simulation to improve the process of copper electroforming are demonstrated. In this regard, the finite element model of copper electroforming for a rotating cone electrode was first prepared and then, the effect of the key parameters, such as applied current density, solution conductivity, electrode spacing, and anode height, on the uniformity of the thickness was investigated. The model combines tertiary current distribution with Bulter–Volmer electrode kinetics and computational fluid dynamics at the turbulent condition. In order to validate the model, a cone-shaped shell was produced by electroforming method in the laboratory. The obtained... 

In this study, Al-5083 and St-12 alloy sheets were friction stir lap welded at different travel (7- 23 cm min -1) and rotation (750-1125 rev min -1) speeds of the welding tool. The welded joints were characterised by various methods including shear tensile and Vickers microhardness tests, optical and scanning electron microscopies and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results showed that the weld zone defects decreased, and the joint strength also improved significantly with the reducing tool travel speed from 23 to 7 cm min -1. The travel speed of 11 cm min -1 was an optimum speed within the travel speeds investigated in this work. Additionally, raising the tool rotation speed enhanced the... 

Al-5083 and St-12 alloys sheets were friction stir lap welded at various travel and rotation speeds of the welding tool. Microscopic examinations indicate that the joint strength is due to the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical lockings and also atomic diffusion. The reaction zone of the welded joints consists of mixed layers of ultra-fine grains and the intermetallic compounds. The microhardness and nano indentation results prove that the intermetallic phase layer is more brittle in comparison to base metals and ultra-fine grain region. The fracture surfaces are a combination of brittle and ductile fractures. The fracture loads show that the joint strength improves significantly by... 

A Bernoulli Mixture Model (BMM) is a finite mixture of random binary vectors with independent dimensions. The problem of clustering BMM data arises in a variety of real-world applications, ranging from population genetics to activity analysis in social networks. In this paper, we analyze the clusterability of BMMs from a theoretical perspective, when the number of clusters is unknown. In particular, we stipulate a set of conditions on the sample complexity and dimension of the model in order to guarantee the Probably Approximately Correct (PAC)-clusterability of a dataset. To the best of our knowledge, these findings are the first non-asymptotic bounds on the sample complexity of learning or... 

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a novel technique to produce ultrafine grained materials. Most of the researches conducted on FSP focus on aluminum alloys. Despite the potential weight reduction that can be achieved by using magnesium alloys, a few researches have been reported on FSP of magnesium alloys. In this work, the possibility of using FSP with and without SiC particles to modify the microstructure and hardness of commercial AZ31 is examined. SiC particles were uniformly dispersed into an AZ31 matrix by FSP. The mean grain size of the stir zone with the SiC particles was obviously smaller than the same zone without the SiC particles. SiC reinforced magnesium matrix composites... 

The analytical approximate solution of a non-linear jet impingement flow model will be demonstrated. We will show that this is an improvement over the series approximation obtained via the Adomian decomposition method, which is itself, a powerful method for analysing non-linear differential equations. The results of these approximations will be compared to the Runge-Kutta approximation in order to demonstrate their validity  

Firms performance in their new product development (NPD) is believed to be positively related with involving suppliers in the process of new product development, and also with the organisations capacity and capability to absorb external and internal knowledge, namely absorptive capacity (AC). Addressing a gap in the literature, this study adopts the definition and structure for AC suggested by Tu et al. (2006) to examine relationships between ACs sub-dimensions with NPD performance, and also their moderating effects on the relationship between supplier involvement and new product development performance, on both financial and nonfinancial aspects. Data from a survey of 161 manufacturing...