Sharif Digital Repository

In this research, a structural lateral bracing system called ‘Chevron Knee Bracing’ (CKB) on reinforced frames is investigated. This new form of framing system is constructed through the knee and the diagonal brace elements. The diagonal brace component provides the required level of lateral stiffness and stays in the elastic range without buckling at any time. However, the knee part is a fuse-like component that dissipates energy by the formation of plastic flexural and/or shear hinges at its ends and mid-span, when the building is subjected to severe lateral loads. For this purpose, first, by elastic studying of the system, three new and practical parameters are established. Then, the best... 

Base plate is one of the important and sensitive elements of a structure which roles as a connector of force and moment in column to foundation joint and prevents from stress concentration in the joint area. As until now there has been several numerical and experimental researches conducted about base plate connections, but in practice for design, base plate is considered as a cantilever beam which undertakes compressive force and bending moment. In this method of design many important factors such as separation and deflection of base plate, interaction of base plate with bolts and foundation aren’t taken into consideration. Therefore there is an urgent need to design base plates considering... 

Polymeric membranes based on polyaniline and PVDF were prepared by using cast-solvent film method. The effects of various parameters including polyaniline synthesis temparature, thickness of the PANI/PVDF films and feed pressure were investigated. The results obtained from exprimental data showed increasing permeability with reducing the thickness of the film and increasing feed pressure. Increasing polyaniline synthesis temprature increased the permeability of PANI/PVDF films. Reducing the films thikcness and increasing the feed pressure decreased the selectivity of films for the , and . The results showed increasing selectivity for PANI/PVDF films by using PANI produced at 10°C.... 

Due to important applications and benefits of mass transfer in engineering and especially in nano-scales engineering, nano-science researchers have focused on this field. Considerably, in classical fluid dynamics applications, the fluid can be transported using differential pressure gradient. But the classical methods require moving components, which are usually expensive and not applicable in nano-sizes. To avoid these problems in nano-size transportation, we can use electro-osmotic process to perform mass transfer in low transfer rates. In electro-osmotic process, we can move electrolyte solvent with the aid of an external electrical field. Due to importance of this process in... 

The Overstrength, Ductility and the Response Modification Factor (R) for 70 steel X-braced , Inverted-V-Braced and Offcenter Bracing System frames were evaluated by performing pushover analysis of model structure with various stories (3,6,9,12&15 story) and span length (4,6&8 meter). Some result were compared with those from nonlinear dynamic analysis. According to the analysis result the R factors obtained from nonlinear dynamic analysis are 15% more than obtained from pushover analysis and R factors computed from pushover analysis were generally smaller than the values given in the design codes. R factors in Irregular structure in height are about 90% of R values in regular structure in... 

On the ground, it is necessary to have the values of Response Modification Factor R, Over-strength Factor Ω0, and Deflection Amplification Factor Cd to design seismic-force-resisting systems according to design and loading codes. This study is intended to evaluate these factors for a structural lateral bracing system called Chevron Knee Bracing (CKB). In this type of bracing, the knee elements help the system to dissipate energy through the formation of plastic flexural and/or shear hinges within the presented bracing system. The ap- proach used in this study is according to FEMA P695 based on low probabili- ty of structural collapse and involves nonlinear static and dynamic analyses.... 

Economic performance of resource rich countries is related to their political systems. In this research, consistent to Hosseini (1388), we develop a theoretical model in which we classify the political systems of those countries to four systems based on corruption, myopic behavior of the incumbent, ideological bias of people, and the popularity shocks in elections. We show that in a fixed institutional framework, democracy leads to higher welfare for people and better economic performance. However, in a society with low corruption, high political convergence, and low popularity shocks both democracy and dictatorship maximize the social welfare in the model  

Maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles were produced after high temperature oxidation of gelatin-Fe3O4 nanocomposite, obtained from a common coprecipitation process of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions in an alkaline medium in the presence of a gelatin protein as an effective mediator. Size, shape, surface morphology and magnetic properties of the prepared γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were characterized using XRD, FTIR, TEM, SEM and VSM data. The results revealed that primary, gelatin-Fe3O4 nanocomposite had been formed and next, the gelatin decomposition in furnace produced a spinel structure of γ-Fe2O3. The effects of furnace temperature and time of heating together with the amount of gelatin on the produced... 

This paper investigates the behavior of the Y-shaped bracing system. Because of the special type of eccentricity in this system, the behavior of the frame is strongly dependent on the geometrical changes of the braces. So that even in the elastic region, it shows the geometrically nonlinear behavior. The amount of eccentricity is very effective on the nonlinear behavior of the frame. Also the ratio of cross sections of the bracing members has a very important impact on the expected performance of the frame. The results show that this system tolerates large displacements, and can act like a base isolation system. Firstly, using a two-dimensional accurate modeling related to the geometrical... 

The simplest definition of Total Factor Productivity is the rate of converting inputs to outputs. In other words, with fixed inputs and a raise in the Total Factor Productivity, more output can be achieved. In this study, we review the existing methods for calculating this variable and its determining factors. On the basis of Diewert’s criteria, Fisher index is known to be the most appropriate indicator to calculate production, price and productivity indices. Fisher index is obtained by dividing the index of output to input in which in addition to values of output and input, price data are also used. Between prices and values used in this calculation only price series for wages are not... 

Implementation and development of large infrastructure projects are considered as the most important tools for governments to achieve sustainable development. Need of enormous finance, high level of technology and massive workload are the main feature of these projects. These projects cause significant effects on economic, technological and even political and social status in nations. So the appropriate project delivery method selection is very important for the preparation and implementation of this kind of projects. Also, mistake in this field will bring irreversible costs and losses.
Thus, the appropriate policy in decision making process about the project delivery method... 

Nowadays, a wind tunnel is a tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. By employing a wind tunnel, we can compeletely control the conditions of aerodynamic testing on specific models. In this research, the design of a diffuser for the subsonic wind tunnel has been taken into account by CFD. The wind tunnel is of suction type and is powered by three axial fans which are manufactured by LTG Inc. The tunnel test section has a 140 cm height and 195cm width which can provide a necessary Mach number. Considering the setting of the three axial fans, located at the end of the diffuser and parallel to each other, it’s necessary to take into consideration... 

Progress of technology and the ability of construction of devices in micro and nano scales, have developed a new field of science that the classical laws of fluid dynamics can not be analyzed in by the well known Navier-Stokes Model. So, research fields in micro and nano scales have been paid attention more. In micro and nano scales, due to small size of characteristic length, the fluid is rarefied and the behavior of the fluid and its interaction with surfaces and walls in such scales is very different from those in large-scale systems. So, the particle-based-methods like Direct Simulation Monte-Carlo (DSMC) method have been considered one of the most interesting fields of researches for... 

This research considers the wind effects on the thermal deficiency of natural draught dry cooling tower (NDDCT) using the CFD tool. To have a realistic study, the NDDCT of Shazand Powerplant, located in Shazand, Iran, is simulated as the sample cooling tower design points. Considering of Shazand NDDCT model, the mal-effects of local wind were studied against its thermal efficiency. As is known, the thermal efficiency of a NDDCT can be affected by local wind in either its upper (i.e., outlet section) or lower (i.e., the radiator section) parts. In this study, a full study is performed to quantify the mal-effects of local wind on either upper or lower parts of one tower. The results show that... 

Maintaining the quality of water is of paramount importance for lakes with tourist attraction capacity. Inaccurate prediction of the quality state of lake in design phase may lead to some trouble in future. Kan River known as the main source of water feeding for the urban lake located in the north of Chitgar park passes through various villages and restaurants discharging nutrients via runoff and wastewater in the aforementioned river. Previous investigations reveal that phosphorous plays a central role in the water quality of this river and the associated downstream lake. In this research, Kan watershed,located in in the north-west of Tehran, was simulated. Considering the "Total Maximum... 

The Response modification factor R represents the behavior of the structure such as ductility, overstrength and the inherent redundancy. This factor shall be defined according to the type of lateral force resisting system. However, there are some complexities and/or uncertainties in codes related to the R factor according to the height, form of irregularities and structural systems. Therefore, from the scientific point of view as well as reliability, it is very clear that the R factor cannot be similar for all kinds of structures, categorized as a specific group. In this investigation, assuming a low-rise, vertically irregular structure with a heliport which has a dual structural system... 

In this project, we are willing to analyze and design a subsonic wind tunnel WT configuration for the Aerospace Engineering Department in Sharif University of Technology. This WT will be an open-circuit "suck down" type, whose entry is open to the atmosphere (laboratory) and three axial fans downstream of its test section. In addition to three parallel fans, we are expected to design two simultaneous small and large size test sections for it. The small and large sections would have an area about 1.4 and 4 m2and maintain a maximum air velocity of 100 and 50 m/s, respectively. So, our design is faced with two main complexities. In one hand, we are to manage the air flow through these two test... 

Exchange rate is one of the macroeconomic variables that can affect domestic product, economic growth and unemployment. Since macroeconomics wants to explain inflation, unemployment and economic growth, exchange rate is one of the most important macroeconomic variables. In economic literature, many studies have been performed to investigate the linkage between Real Exchange Rate (RER) and other real economic variables (such as domestic product, unemployment, etc.). In this study, we first construct the RER for the economy of Iran and then, using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), short-run and long-run relations between RER and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is evaluated.
The results of... 

Tall building development has been rapidly increasing world wide introducing new challenges that need to be met through engineering judgment. In modern tall buildings, lateral loads induced by wind or earthquake are often resisted by a system of coupled shear walls. But when the building increases in height, the stiffness of the structure becomes more important and introduction of outrigger beams between the shear walls and external columns is often used to provide sufficient lateral stiffness to the structure.In general, earthquake ground motion can occur anywhere in the world and the risk associated with tall buildings, especially under severe earthquakes,... 

The low performance of the natural resource economies in terms of economic growth has been considered in different fields of social sciences recently. Variety of policies suggested escaping from this phenomenon with respect to different standpoints. In this research, based on a theoretical approach, we tried to model the leader and people’s behavior in resource rich countries with political economics viewpoint and rational players. The contribution of this research is the introduction of state owned enterprises (SOE) as a basis to resource curse, which has not been considered precisely before. In our model, we have two players (leader, people), two alternatives for resource allocation...