Sharif Digital Repository

A series of V2O5 catalysts supported on multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT), single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT), and graphene were synthesized by hydrothermal and reflux methods for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) to propylene. The catalysts were characterized by techniques including the BET surface area measurements, XRD, FTIR, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, FESEM, and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The performance of the catalysts and the supports were subsequently examined in a fixed bed reactor. The main products were propylene, ethylene and CO x. The vanadium catalyst supported on graphene with C/V molar ratio of 1:1 synthesized through the hydrothermal method had the best... 

Gamma irradiation systems are used extensively in the industry in order to sterilize medical devices, disinfect hygienic products and increase the shelf life of agricultural products. The method of gamma irradiation is superior to the older methods of heat or chemical treatment because it is by far a simpler operation. In this method, only one parameter, the exposure time is controlled, whereas in the other mentioned methods five or six different parameters need to be controlled. The design of irradiation systems generally includes the size and the location of products, and the arrangement of source rack pencils. In order to optimize the design of the gamma irradiation systems, it is needed... 

The design process always has some known or unknown uncertainties in the design variables and parameters. The aim of robust design is minimization of performance sensitivity to uncertainties. Tolerance allocation process can significantly affect quality and robustness of the product. In this paper, a methodology to minimize a product's sensitivity to uncertainties by allocating manufacturing tolerances is presented. The robust tolerance design problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization based on the combined function-uncertainty-cost model. Genetic algorithm is utilized to solve the multi-objective optimization and a case study is presented to illustrate the methodology  

This paper investigates the accumulation of technological capability in latecomer suppliers of complex capital goods by exploring the issue in an Iranian supplier of large hydro electricity generation systems. The findings suggest that, contrary to the conventional paths of catch-up in Asian and Latin American mass-producing electronics firms, and instead of starting from early stages of product lifecycle, the technological capabilities in this case were acquired through a non-linear movement within the stages of designing and installing complex capital goods in projects: starting from the middle stage (engineering and realisation of complex goods in projects), moving to the last stage... 

A methodology is presented for optimization of the dynamic response of concentrically braced steel frames subjected to seismic excitation, based on the concept of uniform distribution of deformation. In order to obtain the optimum distribution of structural properties, an iterative optimization procedure has been adopted. In this approach, the structural properties are modified so that inefficient material is gradually shifted from strong to weak areas of a structure. This process is continued until a state of uniform deformation is achieved. It is shown that the seismic performance of such a structure is optimal, and behaves generally better than those designed by conventional methods. In... 

In this paper, a design of the supply chain distributer-retailer network for a seasonal multiple-product location allocation-inventory control problem in a planning horizon consisting of multiple periods is modeled. The distance between the distributers and retailers are assumed to be Euclidean and square Euclidean while retailers purchase the products from the distributers under all-unit and incremental quantity discount policies. Furthermore, the products are delivered in packets of known size of items and in case of shortage, a fraction of demand is considered backorder and a fraction lost sale. Besides, the distributers store the manufactured products in their warehouses before... 

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the process of biodiesel production from Iranian bitter almond oil. Design of experiments was performed by application of a 5-level-3-factor central composite design in order to study the effect of different factors on the product yield, biodiesel yield and biodiesel purity. These factors were reaction temperature (30-70°C), catalyst concentration (0.3-1.7% w/w) and methanol to oil molar ratio (4.4-13.6 mol/mol). A quadratic model was suggested for the prediction of the biodiesel yield. Analysis of variance revealed that the factors were significant on the production process of biodiesel. For each factor, the optimum value was... 

The integration of materials selection and design are essential to the success of new product development, especially when applied to biomedical devices. The knee prosthesis, like any other implant, is a product that still lacks satisfactory design solutions for solving the problem of aseptic loosening. Stress shielding is one of the main causes of aseptic loosening that is intimately related to the overall design of the knee prosthesis. The design of the location pegs in the femoral component of the knee prosthesis is seen to have a critical effect on the stress shielding. In this study, therefore, different combinations of location peg geometries and material designs were assessed using... 

COVID-19 pandemic caused an increasing demand for online academic classes, which led to the demand for effective online exams with regards to limitations on time and resources. Consequently, holding online exams with sufficient reliability and effectiveness became one of the most critical and challenging subjects in higher education. Therefore, it is essential to have a preventive algorithm to allocate time and financial resources effectively. In the present study, a fair test with sufficient validity is first defined, and then by analogy with an engineering product, the design process is implemented on it. For this purpose, a hybrid method based on FMEA, which is a preventive method to... 

Electrostatically actuated beams are fundamental blocks of many different nano and micro electromechanical devices. Accurate design of these devices strongly relies on recognition of static and dynamic behavior and response of mechanical components. Taking into account the effect of internal forces between material particles nonlocal theories become highly important. In this paper nonlinear vibration of a microano doubly clamped and cantilever beam under electric force is investigated using nonlocal continuum mechanics theory. Implementing differential form of nonlocal constitutive equation the nonlinear partial differential equation of motion is reformulated. The equation of motion is... 

The overall design of cold gas propulsion systems is pretty complicated when considering the mission requirements, operating constraints and functional limitations imposed by the mechanical components. To address this complication, a precise design process is proposed, which attempts to optimize the cost of operation as well as to minimize the waste volume and weight by using multi-objective trade-off analysis. This analysis is based on a set of ordinary differential equations that are solved iteratively to describe the optimal behavior of the system. Therefore, a numerical code is being developed to give insight on the design sensitivity with respect to uncertainties on the design... 

This article investigates the basis for pressure sensor application based on the magnetic shape memory effect in membranes. Von Karmans nonlinear terms are considered in strain–displacement relationships of thin films, and a new method is presented for solution of large deflections of thin films with arbitrary boundary condition. In this study, the equations of motion of magnetic shape memory alloys are extended. In pressurized membranes, the complex distribution of mechanical stress can cause the martensitic reorientation, which is the underlying mechanism for sensing applications in magnetic shape memory alloys. To examine the obtained model, the governing equations of magnetic shape... 

This article investigates the basis for pressure sensor application based on the magnetic shape memory effect in membranes. Von Karmans nonlinear terms are considered in strain–displacement relationships of thin films, and a new method is presented for solution of large deflections of thin films with arbitrary boundary condition. In this study, the equations of motion of magnetic shape memory alloys are extended. In pressurized membranes, the complex distribution of mechanical stress can cause the martensitic reorientation, which is the underlying mechanism for sensing applications in magnetic shape memory alloys. To examine the obtained model, the governing equations of magnetic shape... 

A new approach for the design of two-stage Miller-compensated CMOS op amps is presented. The paper studies the basic relations between power consumption, unitygain bandwidth, the biasing region, technology parameters, and the external capacitive load. As a result, simple and efficient design guides are provided to achieve the minimum possible power consumption for the given specifications and for short-channel devices. It is shown that the conventional design procedures do not always result in minimum power op amps. The presented results are also verified by Spectre simulations  

This paper presents a sequence of affordable methods applied to diagnose a millimeter-wave system-in-package. The module used in this paper is a 60 GHz transceiver with a waveguide interface, designed to transmit 8 dBm of saturated power. It consists of a flip-chipped RFIC, a multi-layer organic substrate, a metal enclosure with a standard waveguide interface, passive components and a 30-pin connector. The first measured output power was 3 to 6 dB below the desired value over the 60 GHz band. Thus, all parts of the module were thoroughly investigated to detect the cause of power drop. By 3-D electromagnetic simulation of the enclosure, the cavity modes and power leakage in the enclosure were... 

Nowadays, companies strive to survive in a competitive global environment. Reduction of product development cycle plays a major role in market penetration and cost reduction. To speed up product development/modifications, it is suggested to adopt a collaborative product development approach. Collaborative design and manufacture requires an integrated platform to support related CAx product data models. To integrate CAx product data, a number of solutions are proposed. The most successful solution is adopting the STandard for Exchange of Product Data (STEP). In the course of the STEP standard structure and procedure development, two approaches can be recognised: classical and modular. The... 

In competitive environment of quick market changes, developing an interoperable manufacturing system is a necessity. To realise interoperability, the exchange of part and product data must be independent of their platforms. There are two basic approaches for this purpose: i utilising interfaces ii utilising neutral formats. Standard for the Exchange of Product data (STEP) plays a significant role as a neutral data model to integrate design, manufacturing and other activities in product life cycle. To implement a Universal Manufacturing Platform (UMP), a systematic roadmap is required. The current paper proposes such a roadmap using the methodology of Axiomatic Design (AD)  

In this paper, a tolerance allocation approach is proposed which attempts to select tolerances for individual dimensional variables of a product in a way that minimizes the cost while maintaining critical design requirements. The algorithm uses a reciprocal power cost-tolerance function which incorporates variable sensitivities computed in a DLM-based tolerance analysis technique. The process capabilities are applied as constraints and the genetic algorithm is used to find the optimum solution. The method is applied to a heavy duty brake problem and its results are presented. Copyright © 2005 SAE International  

The growth of process industries has escalated the probability of loss containment scenarios of hazardous materials that can be tackled via process safety schemes. For preliminary design stage, the inherent scheme is more promising to generate sustainable process designs. For this purpose, various process routes are typically compared to recognize the safer one via numerous indexing methods to eliminate routes with hazardous materials. However, these indices lack in accommodating the equipment characteristics and the underutilization of process and chemical characteristics. Specifically for chemical characteristics, the toxicity aspect has not been engaged for process route selection in... 

Integrated product development is comprised of CAD, process planning and CNC code generation based on an integrated data structure. To make various CAD/CAM software solutions with different internal product data structures interoperable, it is necessary to realise reliable and robust information exchange capability in a manufacturing environment. To enable interoperability amongst integrated product development processes, management of collaboration of diverse CAD/CAM software packages is of outmost importance. In this article, the fundamental requirements for achieving interoperability and collaboration management in an integrated, enterprise-wide, product development process environment...