Sharif Digital Repository

Various fracture geometrical properties such as orientation, extension, discontinuity, dispersion, location, and networking were investigated. Results indicate improved oil recovery and sweep efficiency in the presence of vertical fractures. Longer vertical fractures seemed to have even more beneficial effects. Horizontal fractures revealed detrimental effects on oil recovery and the performance became worse for longer horizontal fractures. Discontinuous horizontal fractures caused a better performance especially when combined with continuous vertical fractures (networking). Vertical fractures helped the growth of the steam chamber in the vertical direction, which resulted in higher oil... 

Let δ be a (d-1)-dimensional simplicial complex and let h(δ)=(h0,h1,...,hd) be its h-vector. A recent result of Murai and Terai guarantees that if δ satisfies Serre's condition (Sr), then (h0,h1,...,hr) is an M-vector and hr+hr+1+...+hd is nonnegative. In this article, we extend the result of Murai and Terai by giving r extra necessary conditions. More precisely, we prove that if δ satisfies Serre's condition (Sr), then iihr+i+1ihr+1+...+i+d-rihd, 0≤i≤r≤d, are all nonnegative  

Top-down in situ combustion (ISC) involves the stable propagation of a combustion front from the top vertical injector to the bottom horizontal producer. With the exception of laboratory studies of conventional sandstones, no application of the process in fractured carbonates has been addressed. The aim of the present work is to study ISC in the presence of a system of networked fractures using a thermal reservoir simulator from the Computer Modeling Group (CMG; Calgary, AB, Canada). The performance of ISC is compared with nonfractured system under similar conditions. To obtain more realistic results, a history-matched and validated combustion model of an Iranian naturally fractured... 

The Least Significant Bit (LSB) substitution is an old and simple data hiding method that could almost effortlessly be implemented in spatial or transform domain over any digital media. This method can be attacked by several steganalysis methods, because it detectably changes statistical and perceptual characteristics of the cover signal. A typical method for steganalysis of the LSB substitution is the histogram attack that attempts to diagnose anomalies in the cover image's histogram. A well-known method to stand the histogram attack is the LSB + steganography that intentionally embeds some extra bits to make the histogram look natural. However, the LSB + method still affects the perceptual... 

Energy hubs, an important component of future energy networks employing distributed demand-side management, can play a key role in enhancing the efficiency and reliability of power grids. In power grids, energy hub operators need to optimally schedule the consumption, conversion, and storage of available resources based on their own utility functions. In sufficiently large networks, scheduling an individual hub can affect the utility of the other energy hubs. In this paper, the interaction between energy hubs is modeled as a congestion game. Each energy hub operator (player) participates in a dynamic energy pricing market and tries to maximize his/her own payoff when satisfying energy... 

Determining an object location in a specific region is an important task in many machine vision applications. Different parameters affect the accuracy of the localization process. The quantization process in charge-coupled device of a camera is one of the sources of error that causes estimation rather than identifying the exact position of the observed object. A cluster of points, in the field of view of a camera are mapped into a pixel. These points form an uncertainty region. In this paper, we present a geometrical model to analyze the volume of this uncertainty region as a criterion for object localization error. The proposed approach models the field of view of each pixel as an oblique... 

In this paper, we study the impact of sensing error and channel fading on the decision process of a multiple secondary user network in a primary network whose channel occupancy states are modelled as a Bernoulli process. We present a randomized access strategy to maximize total secondary network throughput. The proposed method guarantees that the probability of collision between primary and secondary users in each channel is less than the predefined value of Pc = ξ. To find the optimal access strategy, we formulate secondary network throughput as an optimization problem. Then, using the KKT method to find the solution, we break the original problem into multiple sub-problems. Then, we employ... 

Normal human breathing exhibits complex variability in both respiratory rhythm and volume. Analyzing such nonlinear fluctuations may provide clinically relevant information in patients with complex illnesses such as asthma. We compared the cycle-by-cycle fluctuations of inter-breath interval (IBI) and lung volume (LV) among healthy volunteers and patients with various types of asthma. Continuous respiratory datasets were collected from forty agematched men including 10 healthy volunteers, 10 patients with controlled atopic asthma, 10 patients with uncontrolled atopic asthma, and 10 patients with uncontrolled non-atopic asthma during 60 min spontaneous breathing. Complexity of breathing... 

In this paper, the three-dimensional large deformation frictional contact of powder forming process is modeled using a simple computational algorithm based on the augmented-Lagrange approach. The technique is applied by imposing the contact constraints and modifying the contact properties of frictional slip through the node-to-surface (NTS) contact algorithm. The Coulomb friction law is employed to simulate the friction between the rigid punch and the work-piece by the use of penalty and augmented-Lagrange approaches. It is shown that the augmented-Lagrange technique significantly improves imposing of the constraints on contact surfaces. The nonlinear contact friction algorithm is employed... 

In present work, a novel supported bucky paper (BP) membrane was fabricated and evaluated for humic acid (HA) removal from water. For better understanding the effect of operating variables, response surface methodology (RSM) was also applied. Three independent parameters namely TOC concentration (5, 10 and 15 mg l-1), operating time (10, 20 and 30 min) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) (1, 2 and 3 bar) were selected for TOC removal (%) and permeate flux analysis. The results revealed that the membrane could effectively remove HA primarily through electrostatic repulsion and then adsorption mechanisms. The study also showed that about 65% and 35% of the removed HA were through repulsion and... 

This overview presents a tutorial introduction to the theory of magnetic plasma confinement in toroidal confinement systems with particular emphasis on axisymmetric equilibrium geometries, and tokamaks. The discussion covers three important aspects of plasma physics: Equilibrium, Stability, and Transport. The section on equilibrium will go through an introduction to ideal magnetohydrodynamics, curvilinear system of coordinates, flux coordinates, extensions to axisymmetric equilibrium, Grad-Shafranov Equation (GSE), Green's function formalism, as well as analytical and numerical solutions to GSE. The section on stability will address topics including Lyapunov Stability in nonlinear systems,... 

The novel coronavirus pandemic has rapidly spread around the world since December 2019. Various techniques have been applied in identification of SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 infection including computed tomography imaging, whole genome sequencing, and molecular methods such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This review article discusses the diagnostic methods currently being deployed for the SARS-CoV-2 identification including optical biosensors and point-of-care diagnostics that are on the horizon. These innovative technologies may provide a more accurate, sensitive and rapid diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 to manage the present novel coronavirus outbreak, and could be... 

In this paper, we study the impact of sensing error and channel fading on the decision process of a multiple secondary user network in a primary network whose channel occupancy states are modelled as a Bernoulli process. We present a randomized access strategy to maximize total secondary network throughput. The proposed method guarantees that the probability of collision between primary and secondary users in each channel is less than the predefined value of P c = ξ. To find the optimal access strategy, we formulate secondary network throughput as an optimization problem. Then, using the KKT method to find the solution, we break the original problem into multiple sub-problems. Then, we... 

Porous NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) was fabricated by sintering of compressed constituent elements pre-mixed with NaCl or urea spacer holders. Effect of spacer to metal volume-ratio (r S) on shape, size, distribution and openness of the voids was probed by optical metallography, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the SMA transformation temperatures. Controllable void geometry helping osteoblast proliferation and bone cell growth was gained by addition of the spacers. At r S = 0.7, percentage of the open pores reached 52% while at r S = 1.43, interconnected pores with 200 to 500 μm diameter were... 

Drop size distribution plays a key role in the liquid extraction systems and related hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters. In current research work, the size of drops in an extraction spray column has been measured by direct photography method, and the Sauter mean diameter has been obtained accordingly. Then, two types of models are assessed based on using dimensionless analysis and appropriate software. The interfacial tension in used chemical system is 1.8-32 dyne/cm. In first type of models, the correlation is established based on dimensionless parameters similar to approaches defined by other researchers. In second types, dimensional parameters have been used and therefore a new... 

Refractive index (RI) provides valuable information about various reservoir engineering calculations, making it a key parameter for characterizing crude oils. Determination of this index through experiment is capital-intensive, time consuming, and also toil. Hence, it is essential to search for an efficient and accurate estimation of crude oil RI. In this study, an intelligent approach, based on optimized support vector regression (SVR), is introduced to find a quantitative correlation between crude oil RI and SARA (saturate, aromatic, resin, and asphaltene) fraction data. Optimization of SVR is implemented through three searching approaches, viz. hybrid of grid and pattern search (HGP),... 

In this paper, CdS nanoparticles as a visible light active photocatalyst were coupled by NiFe2O4 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to form CdS–NiFe2O4/rGO nanocomposite by facile hydrothermal methods. The CdS–NiFe2O4/rGO nanocomposite shows enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light illumination. In addition to improved photocatalytic performance, this prepared nanocomposite shows increased photostability and is magnetically separable from the aqueous media. The degradation rate constant (kapp) of the optimized photocatalyst, i.e. CdS–NiFe2O4 (0.05)/rGO 25 wt% nanocomposite, was higher than the corresponding CdS and NiFe2O4 nanoparticles by... 

Previous studies on wireless sensor networks indicate one of the most important research topics is to consider both significance of the reduction in sensor nodes energy consumption and improving network lifetime. Regarding results of some researchers using sinks, mobility has a substantial impact on the performance of sensor networks concerning reducing total energy consumption, increasing the number of active nodes and solving the energy-hole problem. In this study, we consider hexagons beehives feature where sensor nodes are distributed across a hexagon randomly. This hexagonal is divided into equal clusters based on the radius of hexagonal. Also, the need for cluster heads to be close to... 

Smart water injection is recognized as an effective EOR process to alter the wettability and interfacial tension to obtain higher micro/macro sweep efficiencies. This water contains reactive ions such asMg2+, Ca2+ andSO42- which can act as potential-determining ions and change the surface charge of calcite rocks. One of the major concerns in the execution of an effective water-flood process, especially in tight carbonate reservoirs, is the chemical incompatibility between the formation brine and the injecting water. In the present study, laboratory fluid compatibility tests were carried out and software simulation was done to investigate the most important challenges of the water-flooding... 

The role of alpha-synuclein (αS) amyloid fibrillation has been recognized in various neurological diseases including Parkinson’s Disease (PD). In early stages, fibrillation occurs by the structural transition from helix to extended states in monomeric αS followed by the formation of beta-sheets. This alpha-helix to beta-sheet transition (αβT) speeds up the formation of amyloid fibrils through the formation of unstable and temporary configurations of the αS. In this study, the most important regions that act as initiating nuclei and make unstable the initial configuration were identified based on sequence and structural information. In this regard, a Targeted Molecular Dynamics (TMD)...