Sharif Digital Repository

The thermoelastic rolling contact problem for an FGM-coated half plane under the plane strain deformation is studied in this paper. A rigid roller rolls over the surface of coating with constant translational velocity generating frictional heating in the slip zones of the contact patch. The material properties of the FGM vary exponentially along the thickness direction. It is assumed that the contact area consists of a central stick zone and two slip zones of the same sign. The transfer matrix method and Fourier integral transform technique are used to achieve a system of two Cauchy singular integral equations. The coupling effect of tangential traction is eliminated by adapting the... 

The two-dimensional thermoelastic tractive rolling contact problem for a half-plane which is coated with a functionally graded material (FGM), under the plane strain deformation, is studied in this paper. A rigid cylinder rolls over the surface of an FGM coating with constant translational velocity, generating frictional heating in the slip zones of the contact area. Thermomechanical properties of the FGM vary exponentially along the thickness direction. It is assumed that the contact area consists of a central stick zone and two slip zones of the same sign. The transfer matrix method and Fourier integral transform technique are used to achieve a system of two Cauchy singular integral... 

This paper describes a new quasi-3D design method for centrifugal compressor impeller. The method links up a novel inverse design algorithm, called Ball-Spine Algorithm (BSA), and a quasi-3D analysis. Euler equation is solved on the impeller meridional plane. The unknown boundaries (hub and shroud) of numerical domain are iteratively modified by BSA until a target pressure distribution in flow passage is reached. To validate the quasi-3D analysis code, existing compressor impeller is investigated experimentally. Comparison between the quasi-3D analysis and the experimental results shows good agreement. Also, a full 3D Navier-Stokes code is used to analyze the existing and designed compressor... 

We present a quantitative analysis on the response of a dilute active suspension of self-propelled rods (swimmers) in a planar channel subjected to an imposed shear flow. To best capture the salient features of the shear-induced effects, we consider the case of an imposed Couette flow, providing a constant shear rate across the channel. We argue that the steady-state behavior of swimmers can be understood in the light of a population splitting phenomenon, occurring as the shear rate exceeds a certain threshold, initiating the reversal of the swimming direction for a finite fraction of swimmers from down- to upstream or vice versa, depending on the swimmer position within the channel.... 

In this research, centrifugal compressor of a gas turbine is investigated experimentally and numerically. Operation line of the compressor as a component of the gas turbine is obtained experimentally by measurements of impeller rotational speed, and flow parameters at the compressor inlet and outlet during the gas turbine operation. The flow field inside the impeller and diffusers are analyzed numerically using a full 3D Navier-Stokes program with SST turbulence model. Boundary conditions for the numerical simulation are specified from the experimental measurements. The operation line of the compressor is obtained numerically, which is compared with that of the experimental results, and... 

This paper is concerned with a quasi-3D design method for centrifugal compressor impeller in the meridional plane. The method links up a novel inverse design algorithm, called Ball-Spine Algorithm (BSA), and a quasi-3D analysis code. The Euler equation is solved on the meridional plane for a numerical domain of which some unknown boundaries (hub and shroud) are iteratively modified under the BSA until a prescribed pressure distribution is reached. In BSA, the unknown walls are composed of a set of virtual balls that move freely along the specified directions called spines. The difference between target and current pressure distribution causes to deform flexible boundary at each modification... 

Representational similarity analysis (RSA) summarizes activity patterns for a set of experimental conditions into a matrix composed of pairwise comparisons between activity patterns. Two examples of such matrices are the condition-by-condition inner product and correlation matrix. These representational matrices reside on the manifold of positive semidefinite matrices, called the Riemannian manifold. We hypothesize that representational similarities would be more accurately quantified by considering the underlying manifold of the representational matrices. Thus, we introduce the distance on the Riemannian manifold as a metric for comparing representations. Analyzing simulated and real fMRI... 

In this investigation, the Flexible String Algorithm (FSA) used before for the inverse design of 2D subsonic ducts is developed and applied for the inverse design of subsonic and supersonic ducts with and without normal shock waves. In this method, the duct wall shape is changed under a novel algorithm based on the deformation of a virtual flexible string in a flow. Deformation of the string due to the local fl.ow conditions resulting from changes in the wall geometry is performed until the target shape satisfying the. prescribed walls pressure distribution is achieved. The flow field at each shape modification step is analyzed using an Euler equation solution by the. A USM method. Some... 

In this investigation, the flexible string algorithm (FSA), used before for inverse design of subsonic and supersonic ducts in compressible flows with and without normal shock, is developed and applied for inverse design of 2D incompressible viscous internal flow with and without separation. In the proposed method, the duct wall shape is changed under an algorithm based on deformation of a virtual flexible string in flow. At each modification step, the difference between current and target wall pressure distributions is applied to the string. The method is an iterative inverse design method and utilizes the analysis code for the flow field solution as a black-box. Some validation test cases... 

The duct inverse design in fluid flow problems usually involves finding the wall shape associated with a prescribed distribution of wall pressure or velocity. In this investigation, an iterative inverse design method for 2-D subsonic ducts is presented. In the proposed method, the duct walls shape is changed under a novel algorithm based on the deformation of a virtual flexible string in flow. The deformation of the string due to the local flow conditions resulting from changes in wall geometry is observed until the target shape satisfying the prescribed wall's pressure distribution is reached. The flow field at each step is analysed using Euler equations and the advection upstream splitting... 

In this investigation, the Flexible String Algorithm (FSA), used before for 2D subsonic ducts inverse design, is developed and applied to inverse design of supersonic ducts with and without normal shock wave. In this method, the duct wall shape is changed under an algorithm based on deformation of a virtual flexible string in a flow. The deformation of the string due to the local flow conditions resulting from changes in wall geometry is performed until the target shape satisfying the prescribed walls pressure distribution is achieved. The flow field at each step is analyzed using Euler equations solutions by the AUSM method. Some validation test cases and design examples in subsonic and... 

In this research, the centrifugal compressor of a turbocharger is investigated experimentally and numerically. Performance characteristics of the compressor were obtained experimentally by measurements of rotor speed and flow parameters at the inlet and outlet of the compressor. Three dimensional flow field in the impeller and diffuser was analyzed numerically using a full Navier-Stokes program with SST turbulence model. The performance characteristics of the compressor were obtained numerically, which were then compared with the experimental results. The comparison shows good agreement. Furthermore, the effect of area ratio and tip clearance on the performance parameters and flow field was... 

The oil exporting countries have experienced a relatively continuous fall in GDP per capita over the last 30 years. This is in spite of benefiting from a more than average of the rest of the world investment rate. The findings of this paper, report a lower level of financial development for the oil economies when compared with the rest of the world. We will show in this paper that the higher rate of investment of the oil economies can be explained mainly by the oil revenues and surprisingly, financial development has a net dampening effect on investment for these economies. The paper also shows that the weakness of financial institutions, contributes to the poor performance of economic... 

Purpose: Employees’ creativity is critical for the growth and survival of firms. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a motivational model of creativity to address the effect of an autonomy-supportive climate on employee creativity. This study investigates whether this effect is mediated by intrinsic motivation in employees and depends on company support for creativity. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a quantitative approach to collect data by conducting a survey in a developing country using paper-based questionnaires. From 220 questionnaires distributed, 151 usable survey responses were gathered for this study. In addition, structural equation modeling was used...