Sharif Digital Repository

There exist various service systems that have hierarchical structure. In hierarchical service networks, facilities at different levels provide different types of services. For example, in health care systems, general centers provide low-level services such as primary health care services, while the specialized hospitals provide high-level services. Because of demand congestion in service networks, location of servers and allocation of demand nodes have a strong impact on the length of queues at servers as well as on the response times to service calls. The thrust of this article is the development of hierarchical location-allocation models for congested systems by employing queueing theory... 

The fast and very fast transient overvoltages can endanger the insulation of transformer windings. Therefore, it is necessary to develop models, to study these transients. This paper compares the two well-known multiconductor transmission line (MTL) and lumped parameter detailed (RLC ladder network) models. The high-voltage (HV) winding of a 220/35-kV, 50-MVA transformer has been modeled using these models. The simulation results of the MTL and the RLC ladder network models have been compared with the measurements results in the frequency domain, by application of the Pearson's correlation coefficients. It is shown that the RLC Ladder Network model should be used for fast transient... 

3D bioprinting is an advanced technology combining cells and bioactive molecules within a single bioscaffold; however, this scaffold cannot change, modify or grow in response to a dynamic implemented environment. Lately, a new era of smart polymers and hydrogels has emerged, which can add another dimension, e.g., time to 3D bioprinting, to address some of the current approaches’ limitations. This concept is indicated as 4D bioprinting. This approach may assist in fabricating tissue-like structures with a configuration and function that mimic the natural tissue. These scaffolds can change and reform as the tissue are transformed with the potential of specific drug or biomolecules released for... 

3D bioprinting is an advanced technology combining cells and bioactive molecules within a single bioscaffold; however, this scaffold cannot change, modify or grow in response to a dynamic implemented environment. Lately, a new era of smart polymers and hydrogels has emerged, which can add another dimension, e.g., time to 3D bioprinting, to address some of the current approaches’ limitations. This concept is indicated as 4D bioprinting. This approach may assist in fabricating tissue-like structures with a configuration and function that mimic the natural tissue. These scaffolds can change and reform as the tissue are transformed with the potential of specific drug or biomolecules released for... 

Existing sight distance models are applicable only to two-dimensional (2-D) separate horizontal and vertical alignments or simple elements of these separate alignments (vertical curve, horizontal curve). A new model is presented for determining the available sight distance on 3-D combined horizontal and vertical alignments. The model is based on the curved parametric elements that have been used in the finite element method. The elements presented are rectangular (4-node, 6-node, and 8-node elements) and triangular. These elements are used to represent various features of the highway surface and sight obstructions, including tangents (grades), horizontal curves, vertical curves, traveled... 

A literature review on the studies and applications of heat pipe heat exchanger in air conditioning systems in recent years is conducted. The related papers were grouped into two main categories and a summary of experimental and theoretical studies is presented. Based on this investigation, the application of a heat pipe heat exchanger or a thermosyphon heat exchanger in the conventional air conditioning systems is recommended as an efficient means for energy savings and dehumidification enhancement to maintain acceptable room conditions. This review shows that the literature on the application of heat pipe heat exchangers in air conditioning systems is very limited. Therefore, much more... 

Pulsating Heat Pipes (PHPs) are new and promising heat transfer devices. To implement the novel idea to vary the startup performance of a PHP using ferrofluid with and without the application of magnetic field, an experimental investigation is conducted. The effects of several important parameters including working fluid, charging ratio, heat input, ferrofluid concentration, internal pressure, and application of magnetic field on the startup performance of Open Loop Pulsating Heat Pipes (Open Loop PHPs) have been considered and described in detail. Obtained results show that using ferrofluid instead of distilled water can improve the startup performance of PHPs in certain conditions.... 

The combining ability and heterosis analysis are the important biological phenomenon that has been used to select the top performing parents and hybrids in different crop plants. In cotton, heterosis of morphological and yield related traits using line × tester design is very important to identify best performing parents in future cotton breeding program. Therefore, in this study five lines (MNH-1020, MNH-1035, FH-152, CIM-632 and BS-20) were crossed with three testers (CEMB-100, RH-662 and NIAB-5) using line × tester crossing design, which resulted 15 F1 hybrids. The analysis of variance found significant variation between the parents and hybrids, demonstrating the presence of genetic... 

The one-dimensional cutting stock problem has many applications in industries and during the past few years has been one of the centers of attention among the researchers in the field of applied operations research. In this paper, a revised version of Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) technique is presented to solve this problem. This paper is a sequel to the previous ACO algorithm presented by the authors. In this algorithm, according to some probabilistic rules, artificial ants will select cutting patterns and generate a feasible solution. Computational results show the high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm for solving one- dimensional cutting stock problem  

Data are presented on the solidification of aluminum alloys and their macro segregation behavior. Three alloys with different solidification ranges were prepared in two temperatures. Two types of molds were also prepared by sand and metallic materials. The solidification of Al alloys were studied and the effects of four parameters were determined, including cooling rate, casting temperature, degassing and nucleation effects on solidification and a comparison was conducted to Scheil model performance. Three types of aluminum alloys (Al-12.1%Si, Al-6.9%Si and Al-4.4% Cu) with short, medium and wide solidification ranges were studied and the results showed that degassing, nucleation, increasing... 

Background: Cardiotocography (CTG) is the most widely used tool for fetal surveillance. The visual analysis of fetal heart rate (FHR) traces largely depends on the expertise and experience of the clinician involved. Several approaches have been proposed for the effective interpretation of FHR. In this paper, a new approach for FHR feature extraction based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is proposed, which was used along with support vector machine (SVM) for the classification of FHR recordings as 'normal' or 'at risk'.Methods: The FHR were recorded from 15 subjects at a sampling rate of 4 Hz and a dataset consisting of 90 randomly selected records of 20 minutes duration was formed from... 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the aeroelastic behavior of a supersonic flight vehicle flying at moderate angles of attack using global analytic nonlinear aerodynamic model. Design/methodology/approach - Aeroelastic behavior of a supersonic flight vehicle flying at moderate angles of attack is considered, using nonlinear aerodynamics and linear elastodynamics and structural models. Normal force distribution coefficient over the length of the vehicle and pitching moment coefficient are the main aerodynamic parameters used in the aeroelastic modeling. It is very important to have closed form analytical relations for these coefficients in the model. They are generated... 

Homogenous dispersing of nanoparticles in a base fluid is an excellent way to increase the thermal performance of heat transfer devices especially Heat Pipes (HPs). As a wickless, cheap and efficient heat pipe, Pulsating Heat Pipes (PHPs) are important candidates for thermal application considerations. In the present research an Open Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe (OLPHP) is fabricated and tested experimentally. The effects of working fluid namely, water, Silica Coated ferrofluid (SC ferrofluid), and ferrofluid without surface coating of nanoparticles (ferrofluid), charging ratio, heat input, and application of magnetic field on the overall thermal performance of the OLPHPs are investigated.... 

The principal objective involved in this research is to explore the mechanical behaviour of the binder using different mineral fillers such as stone dust (SD), brick dust (BD) and fly ash Class F (FA). Currently, a large quantity of roads is being constructed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. It is a major concern for quality of road to with stand heavy loads. For the investigation of the quality of roads, it is mandatory to evaluate the behaviour of mineral fillers addition in asphalt mastic. Fatigue cracking, thermal cracking and permanent deformation have been found a major common distress in the construction of road networks. In this study, the behaviour of... 

We report the development of an efficient, customized spherical indentation-based testing method to systematically estimate the hydraulic permeability of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels fabricated in a wide range of mass concentrations and photocrosslinking conditions. Numerical simulations and Biot's theory of poroelasticity were implemented to calibrate our experimental data. We correlated elastic moduli and permeability coefficients with different GelMA concentrations and crosslinking densities. Our model could also predict drug release rates from the GelMA hydrogels and diffusion of biomolecules into the three-dimensional GelMA hydrogels. The results potentially provide a design... 

A mathematical model has been suggested for the numerical study of blood flow in a vessel due to the pumping action of the heart. Blood is assumed to contain some impurities in the form of chemically reactive species (undergoing a first-order irreversible reaction) and, being a hybrid nanofluid, also contains the nano-sized solid particles, thus forming a homogeneous mixture which is subjected to a pressure gradient (of trigonometric nature) in the horizontal direction. Human vessel is subjected to a transverse magnetic field and is presumed to be filled with plaque which is considered as a porous medium, and is mathematically modeled by applying the Darcy-Forchheimer theory. The nonlinear...