Sharif Digital Repository

The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of acoustic emission (AE) technique to evaluate delamination crack in glass/epoxy composite laminates under quasi-static and fatigue loading. To this aim, double cantilever beam specimens were subjected to mode I quasi-static and fatigue loading conditions and the generated AE signals were recorded during the tests. By analyzing the mechanical and AE results, an analytical correlation between the AE energy with the released strain energy and the crack growth was established. It was found that there is a 3rd degree polynomial correlation between the crack growth and the cumulative AE energy. Using this correlation the delamination... 

Nanostructured and mesoporous TiO2-Ta2O5 films and powders with various TiO2:Ta2O5 molar ratios and high specific surface area (SSA) have been prepared by a straightforward particulate sol-gel route. Titanium isopropoxide and tantalum ethoxide were used as precursors and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was used as a polymeric fugitive agent (PFA) in order to increase the SSA. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that powders contained both hexagonal δ-Ta2O5 and monoclinic β-Ta2O5 phases, as well as anatase and rutile. It was observed that Ta2O5 retarded anatase-to-rutile transformation. Furthermore, δ → β phase transformation temperature increased... 

Intervertebral disc injury is one of the most common spinal degenerative disorders. When a disc is damaged, the use of an intervertebral cage to fill the void between two vertebrae is a common practice. An ideal cage should have sufficient strength to withstand the in-vivo mechanical loads, and at the same time, preserve the normal function of the surrounding tissues, e.g., muscles and ligaments. This study investigated the effects of the cage material, i.e., PEEK or titanium, and geometrical design, i.e., bullet-shaped or kidney shaped, on these biome chanical features. First, the loads applied to each level of an intact spine was estimated using a coupled musculoskeletal-finite element... 

Fabrication of well-ordered and bio-mimetic scaffolds is one of the most important research lines in tissue engineering. Different techniques have been utilized to achieve this goal, however, each method has its own disadvantages. Recently, melt electrowriting (MEW) as a technique for fabrication of well-organized scaffolds has attracted the researchers’ attention due to simultaneous use of principles of additive manufacturing and electrohydrodynamic phenomena. In previous research studies, polycaprolactone (PCL) has been mostly used in MEW process. PCL is a biocompatible polymer with characteristics that make it easy to fabricate well-arranged structures using MEW device. However, the... 

Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) are one category of composites suitable for situations requiring conflicting properties in one component. Due to the limitations of conventional manufacturing techniques for FGMs, Additive Manufacturing (AM) as a promising candidate has been widely utilized in recent years. Among AM methods, photo-curing 3D printing is a high-precision method that can produce FGMs. In this article, for the first time, a novel practical technique for printing FGMs is introduced based on changing exposure time without additional cost and equipment. For evaluation, a sample whose layers were printed with different exposure times from 4 s to 46 s with 6 s intervals and a... 

This paper presents an event-driven simulation-based optimization method for solving the train timetabling problem to minimize the total traveling time in the hybrid single and double track railway networks. The simulation approach is well applied for solving the train timetabling problems. In present simulation model, the stations and block sections of the railway network are respectively considered as the nodes and edges of the network model. The developed software named SIMARAIL has the capability of scheduling trains in large scale networks respecting the capacity constraints and infrastructure characteristics. This simulation model for railway timetabling is based on a detailed... 

Through advanced computational analysis, this work demonstrates that metamaterial structures when made by shape-memory polymers (SMPs) can provide unique intelligent mechanical behavior. For the first time, geometrical effects, pertaining to low and ultra-low densities, on the thermomechanical behavior of SMP-based octet-truss lattice meta-structures are studied in this work. A reliable constitutive thermo-visco-hyperelastic model is applied to analyze the shape-memory behavior of several designed octet-truss lattices with ultra-low and low relative densities, ranging from 0.04 to 0.23. Different compressive strain values are tested to determine the effect of pre-straining. It is concluded... 

Discrete-time Markov Chains (MCs) and Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) are two standard formalisms in system analysis. Their main associated quantitative objectives are hitting probabilities, discounted sum, and mean payoff. Although there are many techniques for computing these objectives in general MCs/MDPs, they have not been thoroughly studied in terms of parameterized algorithms, particularly when treewidth is used as the parameter. This is in sharp contrast to qualitative objectives for MCs, MDPs and graph games, for which treewidth-based algorithms yield significant complexity improvements. In this work, we show that treewidth can also be used to obtain faster algorithms for the... 

The employment of tissue engineering scaffolds in the reconstruction of the damaged bone tissues has shown remarkable promise since they significantly facilitate the healing process. Fabrication of highly porous biocompatible scaffolds with sufficient mechanical strength is still challenging. In this regard, polymers have been widely utilized to construct three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds due to their excellent processability and biocompatibility. However, insufficient mechanical strength and inappropriate degradation rate of the monophasic polymer scaffolds in the bone regeneration process, as the main challenges, limit their extensive clinical application. The incorporation of... 

Y and Ca are two alloying elements which are being extensively used to enhance different properties and address the challenges of biodegradable Mg alloys. In this study, the efficiency of Y and Ca for improving microstructure stability during high-temperature solution treatment was assessed and compared by studying the microstructure as well as the mechanical and degradation properties of Mg–1wt%Y and Mg–1wt%Ca alloys. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy studies demonstrated presence of Mg24Y5 and Mg2Ca particles in Mg–1Y and Mg–1Ca alloys, respectively. In addition, the Mg–1Y alloy witnessed a significantly higher level of grain growth in comparison with Mg–1Ca... 

Featuring a nonlinear novel design, Gimbal transmission, is a replacement for traditional robotic joints like gearboxes and revolute joints. This mechanism is one of the most recent types of nonlinear direct transmission (DT) methods in robots. As an alternative for traditional drive methodologies - herein called direct drive transmission (DD) methods, DT provides dynamic coupling and joint interaction attenuation while its capability to be adjusted for a desired task space point, smooth input-output characteristic, and varying reduction ratio lead to a desired force and motion behavior for the whole manipulator. In this paper, design optimization of a gimbal mechanism used as a replacement... 

Gimbal transmissions are non-linear direct transmissions and can be used in robotic arms replacing the traditional revolute joints. To investigate manipulability of robotic manipulators, the classical criterion of Manipulability Ellipsoid has been formulated. Thus by keeping a constant norm for robot joint torques vector, the effects of replacing some traditional revolute joints in robotic arms with Gimbal transmissions, have been analyzed. The results show that the magnitude of the maximum force applicable when employing Gimbal transmission can be considerably larger. Also, the joint angles in which this maximum occurs, can be adjusted, thanks to the behavior of Gimbal transmission. Two... 

A novel voltammetric biosensor based on nano-TiO2/nafion/carbon nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (TiO2/N/CNP/GCE) was developed for the determination of dobutamine (DBA). Characterization of the surface morphology and property of TiO2/N/CNP layer was carried out by the scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The electrochemical performance of the modified electrode was investigated by means of the cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. Effective experimental variables, such as the scan rate, pH of the supporting electrolyte, drop size of the casted modifier suspension and accumulation... 

The performance of an HTPB/N2O hybrid motor was experimentally investigated. A hybrid motor was designed and manufactured in a laboratory with the purpose of studying the effects of various parameters on the motor's performance, including fuel regression rate and specific impulse. A series of tests were conducted to find a correlation between the fuel regression rate and the oxidizer's mass flux. The effects of chamber's pressure on the regression rate as well as other performance parameters were investigated. While the burning rate did not change dramatically, both the efficiency and ISP of the motor increased. The local fuel regression rate and the fuel port were also calculated. In... 

For the present article, a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is fabricated and tested experimentally by bending a copper tube. The effects of working fluid, heat input, charging ratio, inclination angle, magnets location, and ferrofluid (magnetic nanofluid) volumetric concentration have been investigated on the thermal performance of this PHP. Experimental results show that using ferrofluid as a working fluid improves the thermal performance of the PHP significantly. Moreover, applying a magnetic field on a ferrofluidic PHP reduces its thermal resistance. By changing the inclination angle of the PHP from vertical mode to angles close to the horizontal mode, the present PHP has a constant and... 

In this article, the control of an electrohydrodynamic 3D printer is studied. The proposed controller has a hybrid piecewise linear feedback form which is designed based on a hybrid model of the printer. The hybrid model is obtained via a gray box identification process whose structure is proposed utilizing the results of the finite element simulation of the printer within the COMSOL Multiphysics software. The asymptotic stability of the hybrid control combined with a hybrid observer is proven using the Lyapunov theory. In addition, the obtained control is applied to the finite element model of the printer to check its performance which shows the success of the controlled system in tracking... 

Chatter is a limiting factor in machining systems with adverse effects for workpiece surface, tool and machine life and material removal rate. Proper modelling of this phenomenon requires that the dynamic characteristics of the machining system is known. It is common to obtain the dynamic of the system by modal tests in stationary condition. However, the vibration characteristics of a machine change between its operating and resting mode. The goal of this work is to study vibrations in boring using the vibrational characteristic in operational conditions using the operating deflection shape method. In this paper, vibration characteristics of the in the boring bar is obtained by both modal... 

A gas turbine which output 18MW power exploded after 3h of ordinary operation and after 4,785 starts. The turbine's rotor had undergone repair after 77,000 operating hours. A piece was cut from the failed marriage bolt and tested using atomic absorption spectrometry in order to know the grade of the alloy. It was found that the marriage bolt is made from ASTM A193 B16 steel which is suitable. Hardness and microhardness measurement was also determined and showed that it was within the range of the specified hardness for ASTM A193 B16 steel. The marriage bolt's mechanical properties also meet technical specifications and showed that it contained anti-corrosion properties. Visual examination... 

Biodegradable magnesium implants possess excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, which make them suitable candidates to be employed as temporary structures for the bone regeneration purposes. However, there are still important challenges which limit their extensive use in biomedical applications, where the most important ones include implant-associated infection, rapid degradation rate and the need for improved mechanical properties. Silver, which is a strong antimicrobial agent, has been extensively used for improving the mentioned challenges in biodegradable Mg alloys either as alloying element or incorporation in the protective coating. Ag addition has been reported to have... 

3D porous PLA-graphite composite scaffolds are recently introduced as promising candidates in tissue engineering practices owing to their significantly enhanced mechanical strength in comparison with pure PLA. However, they mainly suffer from low degradation rate as well as undesirable hydrophobic surface. In this regard and to address such challenges, Mg particles, as one of the lightest metallic fillers, were added to PLA-graphite scaffolds via the fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique. The obtained results indicated that introduction of 1 wt% Mg inhibited polymeric chain mobility of PLA, and hence, increased the glass transition temperature. Also, Mg particles behaved as nucleating...