Sharif Digital Repository

Effects of Fe particle volume percent (from 0 to 5%) and changing the tool rotation direction in each pass were studied on the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the in situ Al/intermetallic composites produced by three passes friction stir processing (FSP) with ∼10 µm Fe particles. Optical and scanning electron microscopes were used for the investigation of the composite homogeneity, formation of Al–Fe intermetallic compounds, and fracture surfaces. Tensile and microhardness tests were also carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composites. Solid-state reactions between the aluminum matrix and Fe particles led to in situ formation of Al3Fe and Al5Fe2... 

Apnea-bradycardia (AB) is a common complication in prematurely born infants, which is associated with reduced survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Thus, early detection or predication of AB episodes is critical for initiating preventive interventions. To develop automatic real-time operating systems for early detection of AB, recent advances in signal processing can be employed. Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are probabilistic models with the ability of learning different dynamics of the real time-series such as clinical recordings. In this study, a hierarchy of HMMs named as layered HMM was presented to detect AB episodes from pre-processed single-channel Electrocardiography (ECG). For... 

Objective. Sleep apnea is a serious respiratory disorder, which is associated with increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Many studies in recent years have been focused on automatic detection of sleep apnea from polysomnography (PSG) recordings, however, detection of subtle respiratory events named Respiratory Event Related Arousals (RERAs) that do not meet the criteria for apnea or hypopnea is still challenging. The objective of this study was to develop automatic detection of sleep apnea based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) which are probabilistic models with the ability to learn different dynamics of the real time-series such as clinical recordings. Approach. In this study, a... 

Purpose: Cardiac arrhythmia is one of the most common heart diseases that can have serious consequences. Thus, heartbeat arrhythmias classification is very important to help diagnose and treat. To develop the automatic classification of heartbeats, recent advances in signal processing can be employed. The Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is a powerful statistical tool with the ability to learn different dynamics of the real time-series such as cardiac signals. Materials and Methods: In this study, a hierarchy of HMMs named Layered HMM (LHMM) was presented to classify heartbeats from the two-channel electrocardiograms. For training in the first layer, the morphology of the heartbeats was used as... 

Purpose - Digital Delta Sigma Modulator (DDSM) is used widely in electronic circuits including Radars, class-D power amplifiers and fractional frequency synthesizers. The purpose of this paper is to propose an implementation for MASH DDSMs named as Multi Modulus Reduced Complexity (MMRC) architecture. Design/methodology/approach - This architecture will use a very simple pseudorandom Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) dither signal with period N-d to randomize the digital MMRC modulator used for fractional frequency synthesizers. Using error masking methodology, the MMRC modulator can decrease the hardware consumption and increase accuracy of the fractional frequency synthesizer. Rules... 

The photoanodes of solid state dye sensitized solar cells (ss-DSCs) embedded with different contents of TiO 2 hollow spheres (HSs) were prepared and the photovoltaic performances were systematically characterized. TiO 2 hollow spheres were synthesized by a facile sacrificial templating method, grounded and added in different ratios to TiO 2 nanoparticle (NP) paste, from which composite HS/NP electrodes were fabricated. The composite photoanodes include hollow spheres of 300-700 nm with enhanced light scattering characteristics in visible range which leads to improved light absorption in conventional thin film electrodes of ss-DSC. By optimizing the amount of HSs in the paste, 40% improvement... 

This article presents the design and implementation of a microcontroller-based system for the automatic movement of control rods in nuclear reactors of either power or research types. This system is controlled automatically, is linked to a personal computer system, and has manual controlling ability as well. The important features of this system are: automatic scram of the control rods, activation of alarm in emergency situations, and the ability to tune the control rod movement course both upwards and downwards. In this system, a small tank has been improvised as a coolant reservoir for pool type reactors such as Tehran Research Reactor and its water level is continuously adjusted by... 

We present an investigation on the optimisation of solid-state dye sensitized solar cells (SDSCs) comprising mesoporous tin oxide photoanodes infiltrated with poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) hole conductor and sensitized with an organic dye. We chose both the SnO2 and P3HT for their high charge carrier mobilities and conductivities, but as a result preclude conventional device configurations because of high leakage current and low shunt-resistance. To minimize the "hole leakage current" through the FTO anode, we employed a double compact layer structure, and to minimize "electron leakage current" at the silver cathode, we developed a protocol for depositing an optimal P3HT "capping... 

A novel intelligent semi-active control system for an eleven degrees of freedom passenger car's suspension system using magnetorheological (MR) damper with neuro-fuzzy (NF) control strategy to enhance desired suspension performance is proposed. In comparison with earlier studies, an improvement in problem modeling is made. The proposed method consists of two parts: a fuzzy control strategy to establish an efficient controller to improve ride comfort and road handling (RCH) and an inverse mapping model to estimate the force needed for a semi-active damper. The fuzzy logic rules are extracted based on Sugeno inference engine. The inverse mapping model is based on an artificial neural network... 

Using CNG as an additive for gasoline is a proper choice due to higher octane number of CNG enriched gasoline with respect to that of gasoline. As a result, it is possible to use gasoline with lower octane number in the engine. This would also mean the increase of compression ratio in SI engines resulting in higher performance and lower gasoline consumption. Over the years, the use of simulation codes to model the thermodynamic cycle of an internal combustion engine have developed tools for more efficient engine designs and fuel combustion. In this study, a thermodynamic cycle simulation of a conventional four-stroke spark-ignition engine has been developed. The model is used to study the... 

With the declining energy resources and increase of pollutant emissions, a great deal of efforts has been focused on the development of alternatives for fossil fuels. One of the promising alternative fuels to gasoline in the internal combustion engine is natural gas [1-5]. The application of natural gas in current internal combustion engines is realistic due to its many benefits. The higher thermal efficiency due to the higher octane value and lower exhaust emissions including CO2 as a result of the lower carbon to hydrogen ratio of the fuel are the two important feature of using CNG as an alternative fuel. It is well known that computer simulation codes are valuable economically as a cost... 

Gaining insight into possible vibratory responses of dynamical systems around their stable equilibria is an essential step, which must be taken before their design and application. The results of such a study can significantly help prevent instability in closed-loop stabilized systems by avoiding the excitation of the system in the neighborhood of its resonance. This paper investigates nonlinear oscillations of a rotary inverted pendulum (RIP) with a full-state feedback controller. Lagrange’s equations are employed to derive an accurate 2-DoF mathematical model, whose parameter values are extracted by both the measurement and 3D modeling of the real system components. Although the governing... 

A suction-controlled ring device has been developed to continuously measure the coefficient of lateral soil pressure in deformable unsaturated soil samples from the at-rest to the active condition under application of increasing vertical pressure and controlled matric suction. The device incorporates a thin aluminum specimen ring equipped with horizontal strain gages for recording the lateral soil strains. In addition, a sensor recording water volume changes is utilized to continuously monitor the degree of saturation of the soil sample during tests. The matric suction within the soil texture is controlled using the axis translation technique. In order to verify the performance of the ring... 

We introduce a new smooth, non-toxic, biocompatible method for cross-linking of gum tragacanth (GT), a polysaccharide of natural origin, in order to serve as a new supporting matrix for immobilization systems. The modified gum is used as a matrix for the catalysis of the conversion of benzyl penicillin to 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) by means of Escherichia coli ATCC11105 with penicillin G acylase (PGA) activity. The results show that GT beads can not only serve as a proper matrix for immobilization, but show enhanced hydrolysis rate and stability compared to other immobilization systems used for this reaction. This signifies the potential of GT as a biocompatible matrix for... 

The Class-E power amplifier has been widely studied and formulated in the literature. Although the majority of reported inductive coupling wireless power transfer (WPT) systems use a class-E power amplifier for driving the primary coil, still there is a lack of a comprehensive study on class-E circuit dedicated to WPT, providing a set of closed form design equations for proper class-E operation. This paper presents the required design equations needed to design a 'true' class-E circuit for WPT applications. Equations for the series-tuned secondary coil WPT system are presented, as well as two different design procedures for the parallel-tuned secondary coil. The derived equations have been... 

Pole Side Impact Tes is one out of three crash tests described by Euro NCAP standard for star rating of a vehicle and is required for assessing the Adult Occupant Protection. In this paper the goal is to determine the crashworthiness of side doors and B pillar in a Pole Side Impact Test based on Euro New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) using computer and simulation method. In this matter, a vehicle model has been prepared and meshed using Hypermesh and CATIA. The velocity of 29 km/h has been assigned to the vehicle which was on top of a cart while the pole has been assigned as a rigid static object based on Euro NCAP requirements specifically. Results show that different amounts of energy... 

To assess a car under the Euro New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP), Adult Occupant Protection is one out of three parameters which need to be calculated with a weight factor of 50% while the other parameters, Child Occupant Protection and Pedestrian Occupant Protection, have a weight factor of 20%. The Pole Side Impact Test, beside two other tests, Side and Front Impact, is also required to calculate the Adult Occupant Protection. It shows how important the Pole Side Impact Test is and what an effective role it has in the car rating assessment. In this paper, the objective is to evaluate the effect of thickness on the energy absorbed by the side doors and the B pillar and its... 

In Euro NCAP standard, adult protection is one of the most important rating scores with 50% weight factor while child protection and pedestrian protection are accounted into consideration with 20% weight factor. For adult protection testing, three tests are required to perform: (1) side impact, (2) pole impact, (3) front impact. In the side impact test, dummy's head, chest, shoulder, thorax, ribs, abdomen, pelvic and femur must be studied to evaluate the rating score. Crashworthiness of a car during side impact can describe the score rated for that car. In this paper the goal is to determine the crashworthiness of side doors and B-pillar in side impact crash est by simulation using LS DYNA...