Sharif Digital Repository

Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) play a significant role in the management of businesses processes. Determining the influential factors that are positioned behind a successful ERP implementation is critical to gain the most value-added from competitive potentials of such systems. The driver of current research is to gain a deeper understanding of the various subjective criteria to measure ERP implementation success with the aim of enhancing the chance success through investigating ERP implementation performance indicators. By exploring the international literature, a comprehensive list of potential success factors of ERP systems is identified which are complementary and critical to... 

This review paper is devoted to the intensification of processes for nitrate removal. First, the developments of microfluidic sensors for nitrate detection and analysis have addressed. Second, the process variables of photocatalytic nitrate removal have been categorized according to their relationship with activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst. The objective of this classification is to generate guidelines toward the photocatalytic process optimization. Third, because of the fact that a single method for nitrate removal faces some challenges, hybrid methods have been presented, and the best choice for nitrate removal can be referred to as photocatalytic – reverse osmosis... 

This review paper is devoted to the intensification of processes for nitrate removal. First, the developments of microfluidic sensors for nitrate detection and analysis have addressed. Second, the process variables of photocatalytic nitrate removal have been categorized according to their relationship with activity, selectivity and stability of the catalyst. The objective of this classification is to generate guidelines toward the photocatalytic process optimization. Third, because of the fact that a single method for nitrate removal faces some challenges, hybrid methods have been presented, and the best choice for nitrate removal can be referred to as photocatalytic – reverse osmosis... 

The effect of a magnetic field on the fully developed forced convection of Fe3O4 flow inside a copper tube is experimentally and numerically investigated. The flow is assumed to be under uniform heat flux. This study aims to examine the effects of the nanoparticle volume fraction, as well as alternating magnetic field strength and frequency, on the convective heat transfer for different Reynolds numbers. To ensure accuracy, the numerical results are validated by empirical results with similar geometry and boundary conditions. A satisfying agreement was achieved. The results show that the heat transfer increases with increase in alternating magnetic field frequency but... 

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were dispersed without any solvent in poly(tetramethylene ether glycol), (PTMEG) well above its melting point by ultrasonication in the pulse mode and different times. The polyol/CNT suspensions were used to prepare in situ polymerized thermoplastic polyurethane TPU/CNT nanocomposites with the CNT concentration of ∼ 0.05 vol%, much below the CNT geometrical percolation threshold calculated at 0.43 vol%. Results of rotational rheological measurements and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy analysis revealed improvement in the nanoscale CNT dispersion with sonication time. Moreover, the optical microscopic images and sedimentation behavior for these samples... 

This paper proposes a new framework for corrective voltage control (CVC) of power systems. It ensures a desired loading margin (LM) after encountering severe contingencies while minimizing the corresponding control costs. The framework is divided into primary CVC (PCVC) and secondary CVC (SCVC) stages for restoration of voltage stability and ensuring a desired LM. These stages are based on the sequence and quickness of the control actions required in post-contingency state of the system. The PCVC sub problem deals with the condition faced by a power system subject to voltage instability as the result of severe contingencies. Such control is merely devised to restore system stability. Next,... 

This paper proposes a new framework for corrective voltage control (CVC) of power systems. It ensures a desired loading margin (LM) after encountering severe contingencies while minimizing the corresponding control costs. The framework is divided into primary corrective voltage control (PCVC) and secondary CVC (SCVC) stages for restoration of voltage stability and ensuring a desired LM. These stages are based on the sequence and quickness of the control actions required in post-contingency state of the system. The PCVC sub problem deals with the condition faced by a power system subject to voltage instability as the result of severe contingencies. Such control is merely devised to restore... 

Hand pose estimation is one of the most attractive research areas for image processing. Among the human body parts, hands are particularly important for human–machine interactions. The advent of commercial depth cameras along with the rapid growth of deep learning has made great progress in all image processing fields, especially in hand pose estimation. In this study, using depth data, we introduce two hybrid deep neural networks to estimate 3D hand poses with fewer computations and higher accuracy compared with their counterparts. Due to the fact that the dimensions of data are reduced while passing through successive layers of networks, which causes data to be lost, we use the concept of... 

Hand pose estimation is one of the most attractive research areas for image processing. Among the human body parts, hands are particularly important for human–machine interactions. The advent of commercial depth cameras along with the rapid growth of deep learning has made great progress in all image processing fields, especially in hand pose estimation. In this study, using depth data, we introduce two hybrid deep neural networks to estimate 3D hand poses with fewer computations and higher accuracy compared with their counterparts. Due to the fact that the dimensions of data are reduced while passing through successive layers of networks, which causes data to be lost, we use the concept of... 

Superalloys have a poor machinability and are often drilled using Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) methods. However EDM is a time-consuming process and has low surface integrity. Ultrasonic Assisted Drilling (UAD) technology is a modern method of drilling such materials. Although this method has very high capabilities, it has not been introduced widely to industry. In this study a special horn is designed and used to apply both rotation and vibration to drill bits. It can transfer power with high efficiency and has the capability to change tools easily. The setup is used to conduct deep drilling tests on Inconel 738LC with depth-to-diameter ratio of 10. The effect of ultrasonic vibration... 

In the present work, several new thermodynamic linear isotherm regularities for the dense fluids have been derived for the first time. For this purpose, the thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT) employing only the attractive effective pair potential (AEPP) as u(r) = - ϵeff (σeff / r)m was used, where σeff which is the effective hard core diameter, is temperature dependent and m > 0. Based on the derived regularities, the isotherm (Z - Z(0))v2 is a linear function of ρ2, ρ and 1/ρ, depends on the values of m = 12, 9 and 6, respectively where Z - Z(0) is the difference between the experimental compressibility factor of the real fluid (Z) and that of the reference fluid (Z(0)). Also, Z - Z(0)... 

In the present work, the thermodynamic of dense fluids, both compressed liquids and dense supercritical fluids, has been modeled, solely, based on the contribution of attraction of effective pair potential. The intermolecular interaction is modeled by the hard-core Yukawa potential (HCY) as an effective pair potential (EPP) with temperature dependent hard-core diameter. Using this EPP in the exact thermodynamic relations, an equation of state (EoS) for the compressibility factor of dense fluid has been derived. This EoS shows that (Z - ZCS) as function of ρ1/3 must be linear for each isotherm of fluid where ZCS is the compressibility factor of the reference fluid (Carnahan-Starling (CS) EoS)... 

Introduction: Paranormal beliefs are defined as the belief in extrasensory perception, precognition, witchcraft, and telekinesis, magical thinking, psychokinesis, superstitions. Previous studies corroborate that executive brain functions underpin paranormal beliefs. To test this hypotheses, neurophysiological studies of brain activity are required. Methods: A sample of 20 students (10 girls, Mean±SD age: 22.50±4.07 years) were included in the current study. The absolute power of resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) was analyzed in intra-hemispheric and inter-hemispheric coherence with eyes open. The paranormal beliefs were determined based on the total score of the revised paranormal... 

Many theories and mathematical simulations have been proposed concerning urine concentrating mechanism (UCM). The WKM and region approach are the two most valuable methods for compensating the effect of tubule's architecture in renal medulla. They both have tried to simulate tubule's confinement within a particular region mathematically in one spatial dimension. In this study, continuity, momentum and species transport equations along with standard expressions for transtubular solutes and water transports on tubule's membrane were solved numerically in three spatial dimensions which practically is the main significance of our novel approach. Model structure has been chosen as simple as... 

This article presents a methodological approach for controller gain tuning of wind turbines using global optimization algorithms. For this purpose, the wind turbine structural and aerodynamic modeling are first described and a complete model for a 5 MW wind turbine is developed as a case study based on a systematic modeling approach. The turbine control requirements are then described and classified using its power curve to generate an appropriate control structure for satisfying all turbine control modes simultaneously. Next, the controller gain tuning procedure is formulated as an engineering optimization problem where the command tracking error and minimum response time are defined as... 

In this paper, the hydrodynamic and thermal behavior of a Fe3O4 ferrofluid flow was experimentally investigated inside a cupric u-shaped tube on a horizontal surface, under the effect of a variable magnetic field. The inlet flow regime was laminar and considered under the thermal boundary conditions of the tube with a uniform heat flux, which was affected by the variable magnetic field in some regions. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of parameters such as volume fraction of nanoparticles, Reynolds number of the flow, the radius of the curvature, and magnetic field frequency at three levels and four factors in the flow behavior in order to increase the convection heat... 

A twodimensional model, based on conservation of mass, momentum and energy equations, is represented in this paper in which the coke combustion process, for iron ore sintering in a packed bed, is simulated numerically. The aforementioned packed bed consists of iron ore, coke, limestone and moisture. The main objective of iron ore sintering is producing resistant agglomerates which can be used in blast furnaces. For this purpose, the sinter mixture is partially melted in high temperature and finally molten is allowed to cool. The molten production and subsequently, the solidification process are totally dependent on composition and components of mixture. Changes in bed porosity, caused by...