Sharif Digital Repository

Optimization of a structure refers to a design procedure that results in the most economical structure in terms of materials and sizing of sections. In structures with steel plate shear walls, finding the best layout of the walls in a frame is also of priority in designing a structure with the minimum weight. Finding the least weight of a structure while all design provisions according to codes and standards are satisfied is a challenging task that is hard to perform with the existing design methods. Metaheuristic optimization algorithms are robust computational tools used for solving complex problems, which are used widely in many engineering fields, especially structural engineering. This... 

Timber is widely used as a construction material; however, the environmental deterioration of timber is a crucial problem for the construction industry. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) has been considered appropriate and beneficial for the repair and rehabilitation of timber. This study proposes three empirical models using a supervised machine learning method called gene expression programming (GEP) to predict the bond strength between timber and FRP under various environmental conditions. The first empirical model is used to predict bond strength under standard conditions. The two other models are proposed to predict the strength reduction in acidic and alkali solutions. The formulation... 

According to recent studies, concrete made with alkali activators and slag is a potential construction material. To ensure the safety and durability of concrete structures after a fire, it is crucial to assess the material properties and determine the extent of the damage. This paper investigated the effect of elevated temperatures (25 °C, 100 °C, 250 °C, 500 °C, 700 °C and 900 °C) on the properties of cementless alkali-activated slag-based concrete. In this regard, 216 cubic samples with eleven mixes were designed according to the literature and then prepared. Two categories of tests were utilized: nondestructive and destructive tests. The nondestructive evaluations included visual... 

Nowadays, deliberate or unwanted fire incidents have created much attention to the behavior of structures against these types of events. Since the properties of structural members are influenced by the increase in the temperature of the members, it is more difficult to predict the general and local behavior of the structures during the fire. In this research, a method has been proposed to calculate the critical temperature in two-dimensional structures at its collapse with desirable accuracy. In this process, the upper-bound theory of plastic analysis is used. The plastic analysis is performed by applying the initial fire scenario to the structure, and its collapse load factor with the... 

Nowadays, deliberate or unwanted fire incidents have created much attention to the behavior of structures against these types of events. Since the properties of structural members are influenced by the increase in the temperature of the members, it is more difficult to predict the general and local behavior of the structures during the fire. In this research, a method has been proposed to calculate the critical temperature in two-dimensional structures at its collapse with desirable accuracy. In this process, the upper-bound theory of plastic analysis is used. The plastic analysis is performed by applying the initial fire scenario to the structure, and its collapse load factor with the... 

Wood is a widely used material in various industries, and its mechanical properties are crucial to determine the final product's performance. Modulus of elasticity (MOE) is one of the most important mechanical properties of wood, which measures its stiffness and ability to resist deformation under applied loads. The objective of this research was to create robust models for predicting the moduli of elasticity (MOE) of wood species in three principal directions under varying moisture levels, using the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) technique. The study employed three modeling techniques, namely multivariable linear regression (MLR), artificial neural network (ANN), and support vector... 

Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner's interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner's stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student's... 

Using 3-D scanned data to analyze and extract pore network plays a vital role in investigation of porous media's characteristics. In this paper, a new simple method is developed to detect pores and throats for analyzing the connectivity and permeability of the network. This automated method utilizes some of the common and well-known image processing functions which are widely accessible by researchers and this has led to an easy algorithm implementation. In this method, after polishing and quality control of images, using city-block distance function and watershed segmentation algorithm, pores and throats are detected and 3-D network is produced. This method can also be applied on 2-D images... 

In this paper, we try to recognize and distinguish different groups of arrhythmia using novel features which have been obtained from the heart rate's phase space in recent years. For this purpose, we used Triangular Phase Space Mapping (TPSM) and Parabolic Phase Space Mapping (PPSM). For recognition, we used three groups of 15 subjects using the Physionet database (Arrhythmia, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), and Atrial Fibrillation (AF)) with Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR). The obtained features discriminate arrhythmia from NSR by p