Sharif Digital Repository

Almost all multi-echelon inventory models assume that demands which are not satisfied immediately can be backordered. In some situations, this assumption may not be realistic. For example, we can model stockouts as lost sales when the retailers are in a competitive market and customers can easily turn to another retailer for purchasing goods. So, in this study, assuming lost sales at the retailers, we consider a one-warehouse, several retailers, two-item inventory system where the items can be interchangeably used. Using the well-known METRIC-approximation as a framework, we present a heuristic for finding cost effective base-stock policies. In a numerical study with simulation, we find that... 

Steady state seepage analysis of embankment dams is one of the most significant stages in the designing process. Currently, most seepage modeling of embankment dams is performed in two dimensions, often for the highest section, which include several simplifications. In this way, the effect of watertight elements such as grouting curtains in side abutments as well as their material properties is not taken into account in seepage analysis results. Especially if the dam is located in a narrow valley or the effect of existing faults beneath the dam is to be investigated, the results of the two-dimensional seepage analysis differ from those of three-dimensional (3D). In this paper, the... 

The lipid bilayer plays a crucial role in gating of mechanosensitive (MS) channels. Hence it is imperative to elucidate the rheological properties of lipid membranes. Herein we introduce a framework to characterize the mechanical properties of lipid bilayers by combining micropipette aspiration (MA) with theoretical modeling. Our results reveal that excised liposome patch fluorometry is superior to traditional cell-attached MA for measuring the intrinsic mechanical properties of lipid bilayers. The computational results also indicate that unlike the uniform bilayer tension estimated by Laplace's law, bilayer tension is not uniform across the membrane patch area. Instead, the highest tension... 

We study the metal–insulator transition in one-dimensional Anderson binary alloy with long-range disordered hopping integrals and on-site energies using the transfer matrix method. In this model, the on-site energies and hopping integrals are distributed randomly with long-range correlations characterized by power spectrum of the type (Formula presented.), with different exponents (Formula presented.) and (Formula presented.), respectively. We determine the critical value of long-range correlation exponent of hopping integral (Formula presented.) in the presence of only off-diagonal disorder in which the transition from localized to extended states occurs in thermodynamic limit. When both of... 

A novel mathematical-based approach is proposed to develop reliable models for prediction of saturated crude oil viscosity in a wide range of PVT properties. A new soft computing approach, namely least square support vector machine modeling optimized with coupled simulated annealing optimization technique, is proposed. Six models have been developed to predict saturated oil viscosity, which are designed in such a way that could predict saturated oil viscosity with every available PVT parameter. The constructed models are evaluated by carrying out extensive experimental saturated crude oil viscosity data from Iranian oil reservoirs, which were measured using a "Rolling Ball viscometer." To... 

This paper attempts to study the demand function of natural gas in Iran using smooth transition regression model (STR). To this end, gross domestic productions (GDP), real price of natural gas and temperature have been employed as variables explaining the natural gas demand from 1971 to 2009. The results indicate that natural gas demand follows an LSTR1 nonlinear two-regime model if the real price of natural gas is considered as the transition variable. Estimation results also indicate that the slope parameter approximately equals the high value of 10 and the threshold value is 31.82. Rials. 111 USD=24,700 Rials (IRR) at April 2013. per one cubic meter consumption of natural gas. The results... 

Free fall gravity drainage is the most effective mechanism in gas invaded zone of fractured reservoirs. Although several analytical models have been proposed to characterize this mechanism, most of them suffer from inadequate reality, such as neglecting capillary pressure. In this study, a new analytical model was proposed to predict the oil recovery versus time for a homogeneous matrix block under a free fall gravity drainage mechanism. Considering the effect of viscous, gravity as well as capillary forces, the model was developed. This model is applicable to different conditions of gravity and capillary force, as well as when both forces are active. Along with core scale experimental data... 

In this study, the perturbed hard sphere chain equation of state is utilized to calculate the activity of water in binary and ternary solutions of polyethylene glycol (PEG), salt and water. The liquid density of the binary and ternary solutions is also predicted. To estimate the water activity in PEG-water binary systems, a linear correlation is obtained for the binary interaction parameter between water and PEG. Then, using this correlation and without introducing any additional binary parameters, the water activities are predicted in ternary solutions of water, salt and PEG with different molecular weights (MW). Our results show that the mean absolute average relative deviation (AARD %) of... 

Load-associated fatigue cracking is one of the major distress types occurring in flexible pavement systems. This paper identifies two important calibration factors for the dry-no freeze climatic region of Iran for use in the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). According to recent research, approximately 51~% of Iran's total land area is located in this region. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is located in this region and therefore three of its highways are selected for this research. The gathering of the data required for calibration is labor intensive because the data resides in various incongruent data sets. Spreadsheet templates specifically designed to manage the... 

In this article, an experimental investigation has been carried out to determine the types of fouling phenomena that occur during clarification of dilute malt extract (DME) and pasteurization of clarified beer (CB) by a tubular ceramic membrane in a crossflow pilot plant. Using the classical models, the predominant fouling mechanism responsible for flux decline was found to be complete blocking of the membrane pores followed by formation of a compressible cake layer of yeast cell in the case of DME clarification, whereas the internal fouling of the membrane occurs during pasteurization of CB. The effects of operating parameters, including temperature, transmembrane pressure, and crossflow... 

We compute holographic one- and two-point functions of critical highercurvature gravity in four dimensions. The two most important operators are the stress tensor and its logarithmic partner, sourced by ordinary massless and by logarithmic nonnormalisable gravitons, respectively. In addition, the logarithmic gravitons source two ordinary operators, one with spin-one and one with spin-zero. The one-point function of the stress tensor vanishes for all Einstein solutions, but has a non-zero contribution from logarithmic gravitons. The two-point functions of all operators match the expectations from a three-dimensional logarithmic conformal field theory  

A dc-dc resonant converter has the advantage of overcoming switching losses and electromagnetic interference which are the main limitations of high frequency power converters. Nevertheless, the modeling and stability analysis of dc-dc resonant converters are considerably more complex than pulsewidth modulation counterparts. The conventional averaged linearized model of the resonant converter has limitations due to averaging and linearization. First of all, the linearized model has large modeling error in presence of large variations of reference voltage and input voltage. Furthermore, Converging area for stabilizing controllers is smaller in the averaged model. In order to overcome these... 

We present an edge emitting laser structure employing silicon carbide polymers only. In this structure, 3C-SiC well embedded in 6H-SiC barriers are used as the active region, which is sandwiched between the 6H-SiC mirror at the top and bottom of structure. The basic design goal is to use only silicon carbide polymers and decrease the threshold current and stable optical wavelength of the lasers with silicon carbide polymers. This paper provides key results of the device characteristics, including the light power versus electrical current and the optical wavelength versus current  

Simplicity and validity are recognized as important attributes of an effective simulation model. However, some disagreement exists both on the definitions of these concepts and on quantitative measures for them. This paper introduces Enrichment Level (EL) for (simulation) models. The EL is a quantitative measure to compare the effectiveness of alternative models when used in a particular project. While there is no conceptual restriction on expanding the EL, it currently captures the bias, speed, variance, and scope of a model as the main contributing enrichment factors. This paper explores these factors and suggests a utility-based method to combine them according to the relative importance... 

This paper is concerned with global analysis of an SAIS epidemiological model in a population of varying size introduced by Busenberg and van den Driessche. In this model the population is divided into three subgroups of susceptible, asymptomatic and infective individuals. It has been shown that this system has no periodic solutions and all its trajectories tend to the equilibria of the system. We use the Poincaré Index theorem to determine the number of the equilibria and their stability properties. We have shown that bistability occurs for suitable values of parameters and found a set of examples of all possible dynamics of the system  

Drop size distribution plays a key role in the liquid extraction systems and related hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters. In current research work, the size of drops in an extraction spray column has been measured by direct photography method, and the Sauter mean diameter has been obtained accordingly. Then, two types of models are assessed based on using dimensionless analysis and appropriate software. The interfacial tension in used chemical system is 1.8-32 dyne/cm. In first type of models, the correlation is established based on dimensionless parameters similar to approaches defined by other researchers. In second types, dimensional parameters have been used and therefore a new... 

In the present work, a new vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) structure employing combined oxide layer and single defect photonic crystal index guiding layer has been investigated for L-band optical fiber application. The basic design goal was to obtain photonic crystal VCSEL (PhC VCSEL) with the high power, high slop efficiency and low threshold that operate at 1.55-1.6μm wavelength single mode region. By using the combination of photonic crystal and oxide layer, we have achieved high power VCSEL that operated fundamental mode. The influence of the hole etching depth of photonic crystal looking for the highest power and the lowest threshold current is also investigated