Sharif Digital Repository

We study the problem of approximating a function F:ℝ → ℝ by a piecewise-linear function F̄ when the values of F at {x 1,...,xn} are given by a discrete probability distribution. Thus, for each xi we are given a discrete set y i,1,..., yi,mi of possible function values with associated probabilities pi,j such that Pr[F(xi) = yi,j] = pi,j. We define the error of F̄ as error(F, F̄) = maxi=1n E[|Fxi) - F̄(xi)|]. Let m = ∑i=1nmi be the total number of potential values over all F(xi). We obtain the following two results: (i) an O(m) algorithm that, given F and a maximum error ε, computes a function F̄ with the minimum number of links such that error(F, F̄) ≤ ε; (ii) an O(n4/3+δ + mlogn) algorithm... 

Peripheral milling is extensively used in manufacturing processes, especially in aerospace industry where end mills are used for milling of wing parts and engine components. Knowledge of the cutting forces is the first necessary stage in analysis of the milling process. In this paper, cutting forces are presented for both two and three dimensional models. Instead of the common linear dependency of cutting forces to the cut chip thickness, two nonlinear models are presented. In the first model, cutting forces are considered as a function of chip thickness with a complete third order polynomial. In the second one, the quadratic and constant terms of the third order polynomial are set to zero.... 

Magnetic convection heat transfer in a two-dimensional square cavity induced by magnetic field gradient is investigated numerically using a semi-implicit finite volume method. The side walls of the cavity are heated with different temperatures, the top and bottom walls are isolated, and a permanent magnet is located near the bottom wall. Thermal buoyancy-induced flow is neglected due to the nongravity condition on the plane of the cavity. Conditions for the different values of non-dimensional variables in a variety of ferrofluid properties and magnetic field parameters are studied. Based on this numerical analysis, a general correlation for the overall Nusselt number on the side walls is... 

A gyroless deterministic attitude determination algorithm based on simulation of sun in eclipse is stated in this paper and has been compared to stochastic filters like extended Kalman filter and unscented Kalman filter. Attitude determination with low cost sensors such as magnometer and sun sensor results in usage of recursive algorithms such as Kalman filter which has the probability of divergence, but with deterministic point to point algorithm such as the one introduced in this paper we can be sure to have an attitude determination with a fixed maximum error. Proposed method has been compared with Extended Kalman Filter and Unscented Kalman filter due to its modeling error, robustness... 

There has been a rising trend towards robotic tele-surgery operations in recent years. A major concern, however, is the lack of direct contact between the surgeon and patient's body. Several researchers have proposed various designs of tactile sensors for surgical instruments to improve the dexterity of surgeons. Previously designed sensors, however, are mostly suitable for instruments with small contact areas. In this paper, a novel tactile sensor is introduced in integration with the teeth of a surgical grasper for large organs. It includes strain gauges embedded underneath a toothed plate, which also act as grasping teeth of the jaws of the instrument. The thickness of the plate and the... 

Waveform design for Target identification and classification in MIMO radar systems has been studied in several recent works. While the previous works considered signal independent noise and found optimal signals for an e stimation algorithm, here we extend the results to the case where clutter is also present and then we will find the optimum waveform for several estimators differing in the assumptions on the given statistics. Several different approaches to the optimal waveform design are proposed, including minimizing the error of MMSE estimator, minimizing the maximum error of the covariance shaping least square (CSLS) estimator and minimizing the MSE error of scaled least square (SLS)... 

Needle insertion simulation and planning systems (SPSs) will play an important role in diminishing inappropriate insertions into soft tissues and resultant complications. Difficulties in SPS development are due in large part to the computational requirements of the extensive calculations in finite element (FE) models of tissue. For clinical feasibility, the computational speed of SPSs must be improved. At the same time, a realistic model of tissue properties that reflects large and velocity-dependent deformations must be employed. The purpose of this study is to address the aforementioned difficulties by presenting a cost-effective SPS platform for needle insertions into the liver. The study...