Sharif Digital Repository

Coupling of lattice Boltzmann (LB) and phase-field (PF) methods is discussed for simulation of a range of multiphase flow problems. The local relaxation and shifting operators make the LB method an attractive candidate for the simulation of the single-phase as well as multiphase flows. For simulating interface dynamics, LB methods require to be coupled with an appropriate scheme representing interfacial dynamics. To this end, we have used a model based on the order parameter, which could be either an index function or a phase-field variable, and coupled it with a LB solver for the simulation of various classes of complex multi-physics and multiphase flows. The LB method is used to compute... 

In the present research, the authors have attempted to examine the compressive strength of conventional concrete, which is made using different aggregate sizes and geometries considering various curing temperatures. To this end, different aggregate geometries (rounded and angular) were utilized in various aggregate sizes (10, 20, and 30 mm) to prepare 108 rectangular cubic specimens. Then, the curing process was carried out in the vicinity of wind at different temperatures (5◦ C < T < 30◦ C). Next, the static compression experiments were performed on 28-day concrete specimens. Additionally, each test was repeated three times to check the repeatability of the results. Finally, the mean... 

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the wage difference between overeducated and adequately educated workers in a sample of semi-skilled and low-skill occupations in Iran’s labor market. The objective is to see if overeducated employees in these occupations enjoy higher wages in comparison to their adequately educated co-workers. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use the propensity score matching (PSM) model to estimate the wage difference between overeducated and adequately educated workers in a sample of semi-skilled and low-skill occupations in Iran’s labor market. The PSM method allows the authors to prevent selection bias by comparing each group of overeducated... 

Master curves of asphalt binders and mixtures have been traditionally used to evaluate their rheological behavior in the linear viscoelastic range. Different analytical models are available to describe the master curves of bituminous binders and mixtures. No models are currently considered universal for all modeling purposes. In this research, the general structure and capabilities of some of the most commonly used analytical models were investigated. Then, based on the patterns of phase angle master curves of ten neat and modified asphalt binders, four groups of master curve shapes were defined. The goodness of fit of the models for the different groups of master curves was used to develop... 

Solid slugs tracking in melt in the casting is very important. In this study a model for particle transport trajectories is presented. In this model an explicit method was used to evaluate the position of the particles. Comparison between results of present work and other models has good agreement sand this model can expect determining the location of solid particles in the melt. This model is applied to SUTCAST software  

Fabrication of scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and desirable cellular compatibility is critical for numerous tissue engineering applications. This study was aimed at fabrication and characterization of a nanofiber skin substitute composed of collagen (Col)/sodium alginate (SA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Rhodotorula mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) were prepared using the biaxial electrospinning technique. This study used collagen extracted from the bovine tendon as a natural scaffold, sodium alginate as an absorber of excess wound fluids, and GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides as an antioxidant. Collagen was characterized using FTIR and EDS analyses. The... 

This paper presents an approach that integrates clinical methods with Neuro-Fuzzy system in order to diagnose Neonatal Jaundice in newborns. First, a fuzzy logic system designed with medical rules to model the uncertainty that exists in medical diagnosis. Then a fuzzy neural network with an evolutionary learning helps the system to learn the new data gained from the patient and to help the fuzzy system to update itself in an online manner. By combining the aforementioned systems, the proposed approach can help physicians to diagnose jaundice with low risk cost associated with this disease. © 2006 IEEE  

Mechanized tunneling method using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is being extensively employed in urban areas, especially when excavation takes place underneath the groundwater table. In this study, three-dimensional coupled Finite Element Analyses (FEA) have been performed to investigate the interaction mechanism between mechanized twin tunnels construction of Shiraz metro (line 2) and groundwater. Firstly, two soil constitutive models (Mohr-Coulomb and Modified Cam-Clay model) of Shiraz lean clay are validated against drained triaxial compression test data. Varying the permeability of the grout layer within the specified range, the base numerical model is then calibrated by the field data of... 

A new strategy for radiation loss reduction in curved slab waveguides is presented. The proposed strategy is based on the proper modification of the boundary conditions at the core-to-cladding interface, whereupon extremely thin conductive nanolayers with non-zero surface conductance are imposed. The obtained numerical results show a noticeable decrease in the overall loss level. © 2008 The Institution of Engineering and Technology  

Circular slab waveguides are conformally transformed into straight inhomogeneous waveguides, where-upon electromagnetic fields in the core are expanded in terms of Legendre polynomial basis functions. Thereafter, different analytical expression of electromagnetic fields in the cladding region, viz. Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin solution, modified Airy function expansion, and the exact field solution for circular waveguides, i.e., Hankel function of complex order, are each matched to the polynomial expansion of the transverse electric field within the guide. This field matching process renders different boundary conditions to be satisfied by the set of orthogonal Legendre polynomial basis... 

Modification of orthopedic implant surfaces through advanced nanoscale coating methods has made a major breakthrough in maximizing implantation success. Adjustable drug release and biocompatibility are among the most momentous features since they can significantly prevent the implantation failure. In this study, the potential of silk fibroin (SF) nanofibers fabricated via electrospinning, along with titanium oxide nanotube arrays (TNTs) formed through anodization, were exploited to produce a cyto-biocompatible, well-controlled drug delivery system. Highly-ordered TNTs were formed in an organic electrolyte solution within 2 h at the voltage of 60 V under temperature controlling (16 °C).... 

A new method for the robust estimation of target orientation using measured radar cross section is proposed. The method is based on a Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) scheme. The network is trained by the FFT modulus of bistatic radar cross section data sampled at the receiver positions. The target value to be trained is the angle between a defined target orientation and the incident wave. Results based on actual measurements are presented  

We present a new method for the robust estimation of a two-dimensional conducting target orientation using measured radar cross-section data. The method is based on a Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) scheme, which belongs to the family of radial basis neural networks  

In this paper, an unsteady, two-dimensional solver is developed, based on Van Leer's flux splitting algorithm, in conjunction with the "Monotonic Upstream Scheme for Conservation Laws (MUSCL)" limiters for improving the order of accuracy. For a minimum usage of computer memory and faster convergence, the two-layer Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is implemented for a viscous solution. Three test cases are prepared to validate the solver. The computed results are compared with experimental data and the good agreement of the compared results validates the solver. Finally, the solver is used for the flow through a multi-blade stage of an axial compressor in its design condition. The solutions of... 

Concentration gradient generators (CGGs) help biologists to perform large scale, fast and high-throughput experiments. This paper introduces a design tool called Tree-like Concentration gradient generator Design Tool (TCDT). The performance of this tool is validated both numerically and experimentally. Three CGGs were fabricated using three different fabrication methods and design parameters. The performance of these devices was examined using the measurement of fluorescent and dye intensity. The performance of the design tool for non-linear and multi-drug concentration gradient generations was investigated as well. In addition, a method was developed to investigate the multi-drug... 

Fabrication of scaffolds with enhanced mechanical properties and desirable cellular compatibility is critical for numerous tissue engineering applications. This study was aimed at fabrication and characterization of a nanofiber skin substitute composed of collagen (Col)/sodium alginate (SA)/ polyethylene oxide (PEO)/Rhodotorula mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides (EPS) were prepared using the biaxial electrospinning technique. This study used collagen extracted from the bovine tendon as a natural scaffold, sodium alginate as an absorber of excess wound fluids, and GUMS16 produced exopolysaccharides as an antioxidant. Collagen was characterized using FTIR and EDS analyses. The... 

One of the open questions of modern cosmology is the nature and properties of the dark matter halo and its substructures. In this work we study the gravitational effect of dark matter substructures on pulsar timing observations. Since millisecond pulsars are stable and accurate emitters, they have been proposed as plausible astrophysical tools to probe the gravitational effects of dark matter structures. We study this effect on pulsar timing through Shapiro time delay (or integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect) and Doppler effects statistically, showing that the latter dominates the signal. For this task, we relate the power spectrum of pulsar frequency change to the matter power spectrum on... 

There are a number of Artificial In elligence (AI) algorithms for implementation of 'Blokus Duo' game. We needed an implementation on FPGA, and moreover, the design had to respond under a given time constraint. In this paper we examine some of these algorithms and propose a heuristic algorithm to solve the problem by considering intelligence, time constraint and FPGA implementation limitations  

This paper proposes a novel method to designing an H∞ PID controller with robust stability and disturbance attenuation. This method uses particle swarm optimization algorithm to minimize a cost function subject to-norm to design robust performance PID controller. We propose two cost functions to design of a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) and single-input, single-output (SISO) robust performance PID controller. We apply this method to a SISO flexible-link manipulator and a MIMO super maneuverable F18/HARV fighter aircraft system as two challenging examples to illustrate the design procedure and to verify performance of the proposed PID controller design methodology. It is shown with... 

Seismic response of a Single Degree of Freedom (SDOF) system containing a rigid circular cylindrical liquid tank under the earthquake excitations is considered in the presence of fluid/structure interaction. The governing differential equations of the system is derived considering the first three liquid sloshing modes (1, 1), (0, 1) and (2, 1) under different strong ground motions. The dynamic response of the system is investigated in the neighborhood of 1:1 and 1:2 internal resonances between the SDOF system and the liquid sloshing modes. These internal resonances take place by tuning the frequency of the first asymmetric sloshing mode of the liquid to the fundamental frequency of the SDOF...