Sharif Digital Repository

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... 

This paper deals with the problem of multi-agent learning of a population of players, engaged in a repeated normal-form game. Assuming boundedly-rational agents, we propose a model of social learning based on trial and error, called "social reinforcement learning". This extension of well-known Q-learning algorithm, allows players within a population to communicate and share their experiences with each other. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed learning algorithm, a number of simulations on the benchmark game of "Battle of Sexes" has been carried out. Results show that supplementing communication to the classical form of Q-learning, significantly improves convergence speed towards... 

Our study investigates the real consequences of variations in the first and second moments of working capital requirement (WCR) in the presence of financial frictions. We introduce a theoretical link from imperfect information about WCR to firms' performance. Firms choose non-prepaid factors of production with uncertainty about required prepayments, where their access to credit is constrained by collateral. After realization, firms with higher WCR may face financial constraints. This uncertainty influences their demand for inputs, albeit risk-neutrality. Unable to employ the projected level of prepaid input, constrained firms encounter capacity underutilization, leading to misallocation of... 

Our study investigates the real consequences of variations in the first and second moments of working capital requirement (WCR) in the presence of financial frictions. We introduce a theoretical link from imperfect information about WCR to firms’ performance. Firms choose non-prepaid factors of production with uncertainty about required prepayments, where their access to credit is constrained by collateral. After realization, firms with higher WCR may face financial constraints. This uncertainty influences their demand for inputs, albeit risk-neutrality. Unable to employ the projected level of prepaid input, constrained firms encounter capacity underutilization, leading to misallocation of... 

Mobile phones are known as the most widely used electronic instruments, and an enormous number of discarded mobile phones are generated. The present work used a pure culture of Penicillium simplicissimum in a bubble column bioreactor to extract Cu and Ni from mobile phone printed circuit boards (MPPCBs) waste. Molasses was used as an efficient carbon source to enhance bioleaching efficiency and increase the cost benefits. The adaptation phase was done at Erlenmeyer flasks to reach 40 g/L of MPPCBs powder. The most significant parameters, including the mass of MPPCBs powder, aeration, molasses concentration, and their interaction, were optimized in order to leach the maximum possible Cu and... 

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... 

Inverse design in external flow regimes usually involves finding the wall shape associated with a prescribed distribution of wall pressure or velocity. In this research, a novel iterative inverse design method is developed for inviscid subsonic and transonic external flow regimes. The method links up a novel inverse design algorithm, called Ball-Spine Algorithm (BSA), and a 2D inviscid analysis code. The Euler equations are solved for a physical domain of which some unknown boundaries are iteratively modified via 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... 

In this paper the techniques and measured results for clutter rejection and object separation used in a 35 GHz imaging system are presented. The proposed method is based on analyzing the image histogram information and separation of the peaks in the histogram  

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... 

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... 

Standard-form contracts facilitate the sophisticated public-private partnership (PPP) procurement process. Special care should be taken during the preparation of these documents since any remaining flaws affect subsequent projects. Reviewing the standard-form contract capabilities after its application help to identify its major flaws and improve the contract clauses. This research proposed a novel structured method to address this need and verified its capability. In the proposed method, a comprehensive list of risks is first created for the PPP projects in the specified project environment. The identified risks are prioritised to highlight the priority of the required adjustments in the... 

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...