Sharif Digital Repository

This paper proposes a robust investment and operation model to attend the power and heat needs of a microgrid (MG) connected to the distribution system. The optimization algorithm decides on the best investment and operation of combined heat and power (CHP), boilers, PV power generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS). For the BESS, the algorithm estimates the optimal energy storage capacity (MWh) as well as the maximum hourly delivery capacity (MW). The non-linear and non-concave heat rate chart is recast by a mix-integer linear model to have a tractable and precise model. The model considers the uncertain in some parameters using probability density function (pdf) to portrait its... 

Ostracism has been recognized as conceptually and empirically distinct from harassment. Drawing from theory and research that suggests that employees have a strong need to belong in their organizations, we examine the comparative frequency and impact of ostracism and harassment in organizations across three field studies. Study 1 finds that a wide range of employees perceive ostracism, compared with harassment, to be more socially acceptable, less psychologically harmful, and less likely to be prohibited in their organization. Study 2 surveyed employees from a variety of organizations to test our theory that ostracism is actually a more harmful workplace experience than harassment.... 

Electromagnetic scattering from thin resistive strips is formulated using an integral equation approach. Analytical expressions for the electric current density over wide and narrow strips are derived based on the physical optics and quasistatic approximation of the pertinent integral equations, respectively. The solutions are used to find closed form expressions for the echo width of the strip  

Electromagnetic scattering from thin resistive strips is formulated using an integral equation approach. The formulation is then specialized to strips of constant curvature and arbitrary size allowing the employment of the method of moments to solve the scattering problem  

This paper presents recent developments on effects of rest and fatigue loading on properties of healthy vertebra discs. A comparison of different approaches used in literature to study the properties of intervertebral disc is presented. The major achievements in this area so far are discussed in the context of their advantages and disadvantages. The past approaches are based on bio-mechanical models which mostly used statistical techniques for the analysis and estimation of fatigue loaded Intervertebral Disc (IVD). However, those modeling techniques were not flexible enough for analysis of customized tests. In this paper, we applied System Identification (SI) based NLARX modeling technique... 

TiO2 is a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, but its severe bulk recombination of photogenerated carriers, sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics and poor visible light response are the main bottleneck problems. Here, the carbon quantum dots (CQDs) modified anatase/rutile TiO2 photoanode (CQDs/A/R-TiO2) was designed by growth of anatase TiO2 nanothorns on rutile TiO2 nanorods and further surface modification of CQDs. The results revealed that the A/R-TiO2 heterojunction significantly suppressed the bulk recombination of photogenerated carriers. With further incorporation of CQDs into A/R-TiO2, dramatical improvement of OER kinetics and... 

The treatment of refractory wastewater and energy utilization are challenging environmental issues. Carbonate as the most common anion abounds in the aquatic environment. Here, we proposed a novel method to degrade carbonate-containing wastewater and simultaneous electricity generation via the combined oxidation of CO3[rad]− and O2[rad]− radicals. The CO3[rad]− radical was produced by the photoelectrode of TiO2/Si photovoltaic cell with the rear Si photovoltaic cell providing external bias, and the O2[rad]− radical was produced from the generation of H2O2 on a gas diffusion electrode (GDE), and they were both further enhanced from the activation reaction of H2O2 with HCO3− electrolyte. The... 

Oil spills are serious environmental issues that potentially can cause adverse effects on marine ecosystems. In some marine areas, like the Baltic Sea, there is a large number of wrecks from the first half of the 20th century, and recent monitoring and field work have revealed release of oil from some of these wrecks. The risk posed by a wreck is governed by its condition, hazardous substances contained in the wreck and the state of the surrounding environment. Therefore, there is a need for a common standard method for estimating the risks associated with different wrecks. In this work a state-of-the-art model is presented for spatial and stochastic risk assessment of oil spills from... 

In Direct Torque Control, selection of each voltage vector is based on the measured parameters in the beginning of the sampling period. Due to the fast dynamic of torque, this delay causes an extra torque ripple. In this paper, a new predictive controller is proposed for compensating this delay and reducing the torque ripple. The stator current is measured in the beginning of each sampling period and its expected value in the end of period is predicted according to an extrapolation algorithm. This algorithm is performed by calculating the slope of stator current variation according to the stator flux variation. Thus, there is no need to solve the high order equations of machine. The... 

Labeling vertebral discs from MRI scans is important for the proper diagnosis of spinal related diseases, including multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, degenerative cervical myelopathy and cancer. Automatic labeling of the vertebral discs in MRI data is a difficult task because of the similarity between discs and bone area, the variability in the geometry of the spine and surrounding tissues across individuals, and the variability across scans (manufacturers, pulse sequence, image contrast, resolution and artefacts). In previous studies, vertebral disc labeling is often done after a disc detection step and mostly fails when the localization algorithm misses discs or has false... 

Perovskite solar cells have been constructed under ambient conditions by using 2,2',7,7'-Tetrakis-(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) mixed with a small quantity of soluble tetra-n-butyl substituted copper phthalocyanine as hole transporting material. The introduction of the phthalocyanine derivative resulted in an impressive increase of cell efficiency, which changed from 10.4% in the absence to 15.4% in the presence of phthalocyanine. This effect is related to the creation of deep traps in the hole transporting phase which block back-travelling electrons as well as to the improvement of the structural quality of the spiro-OMeTAD film in the presence of... 

Perovskite solar cells have been constructed under ambient conditions by using 2,2',7,7'-Tetrakis-(N,N-di-4-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) mixed with a small quantity of soluble tetra-n-butyl substituted copper phthalocyanine as hole transporting material. The introduction of the phthalocyanine derivative resulted in an impressive increase of cell efficiency, which changed from 10.4% in the absence to 15.4% in the presence of phthalocyanine. This effect is related to the creation of deep traps in the hole transporting phase which block back-travelling electrons as well as to the improvement of the structural quality of the spiro-OMeTAD film in the presence of... 

This research explored the influences of shielding gases on the appearance of weld beads and the microstructures and mechanical properties of thin-wall samples using conventional gas metal arc welding as the heat source by using 5356 aluminium alloy welding wire as the raw materials and nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar) as the shielding gases. The results showed that under the same parameters and after mono-layer single-bead welding was performed using N2 as the shielding gas, the bead height was higher, the bead width was narrower, and the penetration depth was shallower. The grain size of the thin-wall sample protected by N2 was 43.5–47.8 % smaller than that obtained under Ar protection.... 

A novel super-resolution volumetric photoacoustic microscopy, based on the theory of structured-illumination, is proposed in this paper. The structured-illumination will be introduced in order to surpass the diffraction limit in a photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) structure. Through optical excitation of the targeted object with a sinusoidal spatial fringe pattern, the object's frequency spectrum is forced to shift in the spatial frequency domain. The shifting in the desired direction leads to the passage of the high-frequency contents of the object through the passband of the acoustic diffraction frequency response. Finally, combining the low-frequency image with the high-frequency parts in... 

In order to study the effect of welding current and speed on the solidification cracking susceptibility of weld, gas tungsten arc welding of a fillet weld with a cold filler wire was simulated. Simulation was conducted for dissimilar welding of Al–Cu–Mg to Al–Mg–Si aluminum alloys with an Al–Mg filler metal at the welding current range of 145–175 A and welding speed of 18–24 cm/min. The outcomes of simulations, namely temperature gradient, velocity of isotherms, and weld chemical composition obtained for various welding currents and speeds, were used as inputs for a solidification cracking model. The results showed that the dimensions of the weld profile obtained from the simulation... 

To determine the outward permeability of retina-choroid-sclera (RCS) layer for different ophthalmic drugs and to develop correlations between drug physicochemical properties and RCS permeability. A finite volume model was developed to simulate pharmacokinetics in the eye following drug administration by intravitreal injection. The RCS permeability was determined for 32 compounds by best fitting the drug concentration-time profile obtained by simulation with previously reported experimental data. Multiple linear regression was then used to develop correlations between best fit RCS permeability and drugs physicochemical properties. The RCS drug permeabilities had values that ranged over 3 ×... 

Purpose: To determine the outward permeability of retina-choroid-sclera (RCS) layer for different ophthalmic drugs and to develop correlations between drug physicochemical properties and RCS permeability. Methods: A finite volume model was developed to simulate pharmacokinetics in the eye following drug administration by intravitreal injection. The RCS permeability was determined for 32 compounds by best fitting the drug concentration-time profile obtained by simulation with previously reported experimental data. Multiple linear regression was then used to develop correlations between best fit RCS permeability and drugs physicochemical properties. Results: The RCS drug permeabilities had... 

The purpose of this study was to develop a computational model to simulate the dynamics of intraocular gas behavior in pneumatic retinopexy (PR) procedure. The presented model predicted intraocular gas volume at any time and determined the tolerance angle within which a patient can maneuver and still gas completely covers the tear(s). Computational fluid dynamics calculations were conducted to describe PR procedure. The geometrical model was constructed based on the rabbit and human eye dimensions. SF6 in the form of pure and diluted with air was considered as the injected gas. The presented results indicated that the composition of the injected gas affected the gas absorption rate and gas... 

This article explores the application of a wind farm layout optimization framework using a particle swarm optimizer to three benchmark test cases. The developed framework introduces an increased level of detail characterizing the impact that the wind farm layout can have on the levelized cost of energy by modelling the wind farm’s electrical infrastructure, annual energy production, and cost as functions of the wind farm layout. Using this framework, this paper explores the application of a particle swarm optimizer to the wind farm layout optimization problem considering three different levels of wind farm constraint faced by modern wind farm developers. The particle swarm optimizer is found... 

Amorphous lithium metal alloys (LixM, with M=Si, Ge, Sn, …) are attractive anode materials for lithium-ion batteries owing to their high energy-storage capacity and safety characteristics. However, repeated insertion of lithium often leads to chemo-mechanical degradation of the alloy, which can severely reduce the battery capacity and cycle life. Better understanding of the chemo-mechanical response of lithium alloys is needed to guide the design of damage-resistant anode microstructures. In this work, we propose a constitutive theory that couples large, viscoplastic deformations to the insertion and extraction of lithium in amorphous electrode materials. The theory relies on the concept of...