Sharif Digital Repository

A new structure is suggested for simultaneous microwave chirped pulse generation and array antenna beam steering. It is based on using a multi-channel fiber Bragg grating in a photonic microwave delay-line filter. The paper presents a feasibility study of the idea, discussing the main performance parameters of both signal generation and beam steering functions. Specifically, it focuses on the effects of wavelength tuning, resolution and accuracy. The study shows that custom off-the-shelf components could be used to implement an all optical system capable of generating chirped pulses while steering the radiation pattern of a small sized antenna array. The advantages of the structure for... 

A semi-analytical formulation is presented to quantify the effects of group delay ripple on the performance of an optical beam-former. For delay elements, implemented with commercially available multi-channel fiber Bragg gratings, an impulse response is introduced and calculated for the group delay ripple. To do this, the transfer function of the fiber Bragg grating is parted into two dispersive and non-dispersive sections. This will also easethe demonstration of the fiber Bragg grating as a true time delay element. The formulation is applied to an ultra-wideband pulsed array of antennas. As an example the array factor and electric field patterns of a four element antenna array is derived,... 

Limitations imposed by the non-linearity of optical links, in the front end of a receiving array antenna, on the performance of a pulse compression radar are studied. Particularly linear frequency-modulated waveforms backscattered from a pair of targets are inspected. Inter-modulation and gain compression by noise are presented as two remarkable phenomena. For an interconnection of two dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulators, the sensitivity of the compressed echo at the output of a matched filter receiver to certain tunable parameters is studied numerically. Finally, certain values of DC bias and phase shift between the modulators' electrodes are recommended  

Next generation wideband and ultra-wideband radar antenna arrays need efficient true-time delay networks for array control. Optical beam-forming networks have been considered as a promising solution in such arrays. Performance analysis of optical beam-formers is thus quiet necessary. In this paper signal to noise ratio and dynamic range of simple optical beam-forming structures are investigated with a custom microwave CAD tool. Two structures with optical and RF power combining methods are discussed. With the proposed devices' parameters, the optical combining method shows better performance for low and moderate optical powers  

Next generation wideband and ultra-wideband radar antenna arrays need efficient true-time delay networks for array control. Following the great interest for optical control of antenna array beam steering, performance analysis of optical beam-formers is a must. In this paper signal to noise ratio and dynamic range of simple optical beamforming structures with components off the shelf are investigated theoretically. Especially the effects of certain power combining components such as arrayed wave guide gratings, broadband passive optical combiners and microwave combiners inspected. It turns up that an efficient microwave combiner would surpass the optical combiners in both SNR and dynamic... 

In this paper, an introduction of the finite element approach to microstructure based modelling is provided, and the primary and secondary dendrite arm spacings of A356 alloy in the solidification process are simulated. The simulated results of dendrite morphology and the experimental measurements are presented and compared with the investigations of other researchers, which confirmed the accuracy of this model in its ability to predict the dendrite arm spacing. Each of the length scales, including silicon rod diameter and spacing, is discussed in detail. Analytical equations are generated for the length scales and incorporated in the Sharif University Technology academic software for the... 

Asphaltene precipitation and deposition causes many serious problems to the petroleum industry from the reservoir to the surface facilities. Therefore, it is important to bring it under control by finding a method to accelerate or slow down its precipitation and deposition. For achieving this purpose two parameters play an important role; onset point of the precipitation and amount of the deposited phase. When asphaltene precipitates, it is capable of depositing in the solution. After the deposition, the solution split into two phases; asphaltene-rich and asphaltene-lean. Determining the amount of the deposited phase needs to distinguish the interface between two phases. In this study, a... 

Coronaviruses are a group of envelop viruses which lead to diseases in birds and mammals as well as human. Seven coronaviruses have been discovered in humans that can cause mild to lethal respiratory tract infections. HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1 are the low-risk members of this family and the reason for some common colds. Besides, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and newly identified SARS-CoV-2, which is also known as 2019-nCoV, are the more dangerous viruses. Due to the rapid spread of this novel coronavirus and its related disease, COVID-19, a reliable, simple, fast, and low-cost detection method is necessary for patient diagnosis and tracking worldwide. Human coronaviruses detection... 

Coronaviruses are a group of envelop viruses which lead to diseases in birds and mammals as well as human. Seven coronaviruses have been discovered in humans that can cause mild to lethal respiratory tract infections. HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1 are the low-risk members of this family and the reason for some common colds. Besides, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and newly identified SARS-CoV-2, which is also known as 2019-nCoV, are the more dangerous viruses. Due to the rapid spread of this novel coronavirus and its related disease, COVID-19, a reliable, simple, fast, and low-cost detection method is necessary for patient diagnosis and tracking worldwide. Human coronaviruses detection... 

Tungsten composites are interesting materials for high temperature applications. These composites are conventionally produced by solid state reaction, where elevated temperatures and long sintering processes are inevitable, and generally produce volatile components that increase defects and impair the properties of the composites for high temperature applications. In the present paper, synthesis of dense near net-shaped transition metal-metal carbide by reaction casting is studied, which creates a potential application for the composite at 2000 C. Since the pores of the ceramic preform are filled with reaction products, this technique is referred to as displacive compensation porosity (DCP).... 

We study diffusive heterogeneous predator-prey system with Holling type-II functional response in the presence of harvesting in prey equation i.e.{-δu=λu-a(x)u2-buv1+mu-ch(x)in Ω,-δv=μv-v2+duv1+muin Ω,∂νu=∂νv=0on ∂Ω, where Ω is a smooth bounded region in RN and a(x) is a nonnegative continuous function on Ω, with Ω0 a region such that Ω⊂Ω and a(x)>0 on Ω\u03a90. We show that in the case of weak prey growth rate, i.e. λ less than the first eigenvalue of -δ in Ω0, the system has a positive solution for the values of μ in a bounded interval and c>0 sufficiently small. We also investigate the multiplicity of positive solutions in this case. When the prey growth rate is strong, we will show that... 

From a thermal point of view, zeotropic mixtures are likely to be more efficient than azeotropic fluids in low-temperature power cycles for reduction in exergy destruction occurring during heat absorption/rejection processes due to their suitable boiling characteristics. In this study, comprehensive energetic and exergetic analyses are mathematically performed for an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system employing a potential binary zeotropic working fluid, namely R717/water. For this purpose, initially mass, energy, and exergy balance equations are derived. With regard to the similarity in molar mass of R717 (17.03 g mol−1) and water (18.01 g mol−1), there is no need to alter the size of the... 

From a thermal point of view, zeotropic mixtures are likely to be more efficient than azeotropic fluids in low-temperature power cycles for reduction in exergy destruction occurring during heat absorption/rejection processes due to their suitable boiling characteristics. In this study, comprehensive energetic and exergetic analyses are mathematically performed for an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system employing a potential binary zeotropic working fluid, namely R717/water. For this purpose, initially mass, energy, and exergy balance equations are derived. With regard to the similarity in molar mass of R717 (17.03 g mol −1 ) and water (18.01 g mol −1 ), there is no need to alter the size of... 

Injectivity decline due to mineral scale deposition in near wellbore region of water injection wells is one of the main challenging issues and have been widely reported in the literature. One of the main mechanisms of injectivity loss is incompatibility between injected and formation waters that may result in inorganic scale precipitation and subsequent deposition in porous media. Reliable reactive flow models to predict type and amount of scale along with permeability decline estimation allow planning and risk management of water flood projects. In this paper, we present a coupled geochemical and hydrodynamic model to simulate the scale precipitation and deposition of mineral scales in... 

Aluminum matrix nano composites have become of great interest in the lightweight fields because of their high specific stiffness and high specific strength. Many processing techniques have been developed to manufacture metal matrix nano composites on the commercial scale. Compocasting is a relatively new technology for composite forming, different from the conventional composite shaping technologies that use either solid or liquid metals as the starting material. An investigation is carried out on the influence of applied load, sliding speed, wearing surface hardness, reinforcement fracture toughness and morphology as the critical parameters in relation to the wear regime. In general, EMS... 

Aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) reinforced with nanoceramics are ideal materials for the manufacture of lightweight automotive and other commercial parts. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system combined with particle swarm optimization method is implemented in this research study in order to optimize the parameters in processing of aluminum MMCs. In order to solve the problems associated with poor wettability, agglomeration and gravity segregation of nanoparticles in the melt, a mixture of alumina and aluminum particles was used as the reinforcement instead of raw nanoalumina. Microstructural characterization shows dendritic microstructure for the sand cast and non-dendritic... 

In the last few years, an increasing attention has been paid to the issues of saving energy and reducing the manufacturing costs in the transport industry which necessitates further efforts to replace traditional materials like steel with lightweight materials such as plastics, aluminum, magnesium, and composites. Metal matrix nanocomposites have turned into an established material in today's industry with an ongoing expansion in their field of applications. In this study, the formation of nanoparticle-aluminum metal matrix composites is described by compocast processing from nanoparticle Al2O3 and the A356 aluminum alloy. In order to optimize the processing parameters, a novel approach is... 

Point matching technique is applied to a pyramidal horn antenna to expand its aperture field in a wide angular range in terms of Gaussian beams using the Jacobi iterative method. The obtained far field pattern is compared with the results of Gabor's Gaussian beam expansion. Convergence, speed, the impact of initial condition and the selection of sample points is discussed. The implemented point matching scheme is almost as fast and accurate as the Gabor's expansion. It can even be faster and more accurate in some cases especially when the Gaussian beams are neither wide-waisted nor narrow-waisted  

In this paper, the tip tracking control problem of a Timoshenko micro-cantilever beam is investigated. The beam is actuated by a piezoelectric layer laminated on one side of the beam. Dynamic equations of the beam and piezoelectric layer are found using the Hamilton principle. By employing the Galerkin projection method, state space representation of the system is derived. Then, a cascade control loop is used for tracking control of the beam's tip. The cascade control structure consists of an inner loop stabilizer and an outer loop proportional-integral-derivative controller. The stabilizer has a linear feedback form whose states are obtained through a linear observer which is based on the...