Sharif Digital Repository

Reliability is an essential factor in distribution networkt expansion planning. However, standard distribution reliability assessment techniques rely on quantifying the impact of a pre-specified set of events on service continuity through the simulation of component outages, one at a time. Due to such a simulation-based nature, the incorporation of reliability into distribution network expansion planning has customarily required the application of heuristic and metaheuristic approaches. Recently, alternative mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) models have been proposed for distribution network expansion planning considering reliability. Nonetheless, such models suffer from either low... 

A search is presented for a heavy W′ boson resonance decaying to a B or T vector-like quark and a t or a b quark, respectively. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collisions collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Both decay channels result in a signature with a t quark, a Higgs or Z boson, and a b quark, each produced with a significant Lorentz boost. The all-hadronic decays of the Higgs or Z boson and of the t quark are selected using jet substructure techniques to reduce standard model backgrounds, resulting in a distinct three-jet W′ boson decay signature. No significant... 

Memory and motor deficits are commonly identified in Parkinson's disease (PD). 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is transformed to MPP+ via monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), which causes oxidative stress and destroys dopaminergic (DA) neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and is widely used to create animal models of PD. However, to-date, a comprehensive analysis of the MPTP effects on various aspects of PD does not exist. Here, we provide a systematic review and meta-analysis on the MPTP effects on memory and motor functions by analyzing 51 studies on more than one thousand animals mainly including rats and mice. The results showed that in addition to motor functions... 

Background: Type-2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion in the human body. Many endeavors have been made in terms of controlling and reducing blood glucose via the medium of automated controlling tools to increase precision and efficiency and reduce human error. Recently, reinforcement learning algorithms are proved to be powerful in the field of intelligent control, which was the motivation for the current study. Methods: For the first time, a reinforcement algorithm called normalized advantage function (NAF) algorithm has been applied as a model-free reinforcement learning method to regulate the blood glucose level of type-2 diabetic... 

The high computational costs of atomistic simulations for the investigation of nanostructures, despite their accuracy, necessitate efforts to develop efficient continuum models. Since the classical continuum mechanics assume the matter as continuous and ignore the size dependency of material properties, these theories fail to capture the behavior of materials at the nanoscale. Size-dependencies of nanostructures could result in the emergence of surface effects. This paper, for the first time, aims to develop and tune surface-enhanced continuum models to predict the vibrational properties of nanoplates which are inherently discrete at the nanoscale. Regarding this aim, we use a composite... 

Surface-Piercing Propellers (SPPs) are essential categories of high-performance propulsion systems usually used for high-speed boats, which are designed to operate in semi-submerged conditions. In such conditions, a propeller performs in a two-phase mixed environment, consisting of water and air concurrently. Due to the intrinsic complexity of the working environment, describing the performance of an SPP is complex and cannot be recognized with the traditional submerged propellers. The present study aims to assess the effect of immersion depth on semi-submersible propellers. Accordingly, experimental tests in a towing tank were used along with a numerical method to achieve reliable results.... 

Unpredictable occurrence of natural disasters in modern power systems has significantly increased the attentions to the outage management of multi-microgrid (MMG) systems. In this regard, a multi-objective two-stage outage management scheme is presented in this paper to protect undamaged microgrids (MGs) against load curtailment and minimize the curtailed loads simultaneously. Considering the importance of power system economic, this scheme is designed in a privacy-preserved transactive energy (TE) market and enables all MGs to participate in outage management voluntarily. In detail, a DC optimization is autonomously operated in the first stage in each MG to supply its demand loads. Then,... 

Understanding the chemistry of sandstone acidizing is important in designing an effective treatment for subsurface rock formations. The complex chemistry of sandstone systems leads to the precipitation of minerals that contribute to formation damage. Thus, monitoring the concentration and location of precipitates is necessary. In this work, a continuum-scale sequential implicit LEA/PLEA reactive transport model is developed and programmed through coupling OpenFOAM and Reaktoro to improve the model prediction. The proposed LEA/PLEA models are compared for core acidizing simulations at relatively high and low Damköhler numbers. We found that the common assumption of kinetically-controlled flow... 

Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) play a significant role in hydraulic modeling and flood risk management. This study initially investigated the effect of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) DEM resolutions, ranging from 1 m to 30 m, on flood characteristics, including the inundation area, mean flow depth, and mean flow velocity. Then, the errors of flood characteristics for global DEMs, comprising ALOS (30 m), ASTER (30 m), SRTM (30 m), and TDX (12 m) were quantified using UAV DEM measurements. For these purposes, the HEC-RAS 2D model in steady-state conditions was used to simulate the flood with return periods of 5- to 200 years along 20 km reach of Atrak River located in northeastern Iran.... 

Concrete-filled polyethylene (PE) tubes (CFPT) are composite systems using the polyethylene tubes as confinement for the marine structures in the splash zone to extend the service life of structures subjected to harsh environments. However, thermal cycles in marine environments can affect the behavior of such composite systems. This paper evaluates the effect of concrete infill strength (30 MPa and 60 MPa), the number of thermal cycles (50, 100, and 150 cycles) ranging from 25 °C to 60 °C, and thermal cycle type (type A and B) on the compressive and bond response of CFPTs. Characteristics of control and conditioned concrete infill, PE tubes, and CFPTs were obtained by means of compression... 

The present study is set out to systematically investigate the combined impact of operational, geometrical, and model uncertainties on the hemodynamics and performance characteristics in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) benchmark centrifugal blood pump. Non-intrusive Polynomial Chaos Expansion (NIPCE) has been utilized to propagate the uncertainty of 12 random input variables in the flow field and the performance characteristics of the blood pump at three working conditions. The global sensitivity of the Quantities of Interest (QoI) to the uncertain input parameters was measured through the Sobol’ indices. The Multiple Reference Frames (MRF) approach and the SST k−ω turbulence... 

Many highly populated cities are still struggling to reach clean air targets, while the zero greenhouse gas emission objectives may accelerate the path toward healthy air for all. Still, there is a fine line between intensive electrification's impact on greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air contaminants depending on the source of the electricity. In this study, the previous version of the emission inventory for Tehran was evaluated and re-calculated in a detailed bottom-up approach to provide the most updated data on the contribution of stationary sources derived by power plants vs. mobile sources. The objectives were to update the emission inventory for improved policymaking, study the... 

In this paper, a reduced multiple-model predictive controller based on gap metric and stability margin is presented to control heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. To tackle the strong nonlinearity and large number of degrees of freedom in HVAC system, two approaches, called Reduced Order Model Bank-Multiple Model (ROMB-MM) and Multiple Model-Reduced Order Model (MM-ROM), are introduced. In the first approach, the order reduction is performed prior to multiple models selection and in the second one multiple models selection is implemented before the model order reduction. Furthermore, soft switching is employed to enhance the closed-loop performance as well as to gain... 

Road roughness-induced vibrations are the main source of fatigue damage accumulation in vehicles. Hence, road surface profile modeling and simulation are of high importance when it comes to vehicle fatigue damage assessment. This research focuses on uncovering the statistical distributions that describe the characteristics of road loads that affect fatigue damage accumulation. Particle filtering is deployed to estimate the log-volatility of the road surface profile by assuming a random walk behavior for the hidden log-volatility. The skew-normal distribution with three parameters is fitted to the estimated log-volatility. The inferred parameters are used for synthesizing artificial road... 

Natural gas hydrate, a crystalline solid existing under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions, has been regarded as a potential alternative energy resource. It is globally widespread and occurs mainly inside the pores of deepwater sediments and sediments under permafrost area. Hydrate production via well depressurization is deemed well-suited to existing technology, in which the pore pressure is lowered, the natural gas hydrate is dissociated into water and gas, and the water and gas are produced from well. This method triggers multiphysics processes such as fluid flow, heat transfer, energy adsorption, chemical reaction and sediment deformation, all of which are dependent on the... 

Blockchain Technology (BCT) is expanding day by day and is used in all pillars of life and projects. In this research, we survey applicable BCT in project management for the first time. We presented a Resource-Constrained Time–Cost-Quality-Energy-Environment Tradeoff Problem by considering BCT, Risk and Robustness (RCTCQEETPBCTRR) in project scheduling. We utilize hybrid robust stochastic programming, worst case, and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) to cope with uncertainty and risks. This type of robustification and risk-averse is presented in this research. A real case study is presented in a healthcare project. We utilize GAMS-CPLEX to solve the model. Finally, we analyze finish time,... 

In this research, the design of a solar reverse osmosis desalination plant was investigated by integrating various components using TRNSYS and ROSA software. To this goal, a two-stage reverse osmosis system with 50% recovery in the city of Chabahar was modeled. The calculations were performed in three different case studies, i.e., a photovoltaic power plant, a solar collector power plant with Organic Rankine Cycles, and a photovoltaic thermal power plant with Organic Rankine Cycles, with the reverse osmosis desalination plant being a novel investigation. Water production and electrical energy generation of each case study were evaluated both on a daily and yearly bases. The simulation... 

This article proposes two novel power management strategies (PMSs) to enhance the electrical power quality in twin-screw all-electric ships (AESs) during vessel-wave encountering. Soothing PMS (SPMS) focuses on mitigating power fluctuations of the propulsion system since it has significant impacts on the power system in extreme conditions. For this purpose, the PMS modifies propellers' speed based on the in-and-out-of-water effect loss factor (LF) in wave collisions. This method does not require typical equipment, such as energy storage systems (ESSs), to moderate the variations. Hence, it decreases the ESS demand capacity and maintenance costs at the design and operation levels. An... 

Designing transactive energy (TE) markets in distribution systems has been a hot topic due to the increased presence of residential prosumers. In the literature, several residential market platforms have been proposed; however, they usually have two main drawbacks: 1) ignoring the effect of single-phase distributed energy resources on the voltage unbalance (VU) in active distribution networks to develop a transactive coordination model that will effectively mitigate the VU and 2) inability in providing a user-friendly strategy for home occupants to adjust the willingness to pay/accept of responsive assets according to their comfort and economic purposes. This article amends the shortcomings... 

Objective: Spine kinematics, kinetics, and trunk muscle activities were evaluated during different stages of a fatigue-induced symmetric lifting task over time. Background: Due to neuromuscular adaptations, postural behaviors of workers during lifting tasks are affected by fatigue. Comprehensive aspects of these adaptations remain to be investigated. Method: Eighteen volunteers repeatedly lifted a box until perceived exhaustion. Body center of mass (CoM), trunk and box kinematics, and feet center of pressure (CoP) were estimated by a motion capture system and force-plate. Electromyographic (EMG) signals of trunk/abdominal muscles were assessed using linear and nonlinear approaches. The L5-S1...