Journal of Advanced Materials in Engineering (Esteghlal)

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In this study, colorimetric calibration of scanner has been done via perceptron neural network with three or four layers by back propagation algorithm for colored polyester fabrics. The results obtained for random training samples are not satisfactory but application of selective training samples for L*a*b* or RGB leads to good results, with better results obtained for the L*a*b* method. On the other hand, the color differences between calculation XYZ and real XYZ for unknown samples, are not only in agreement with the results of polynomials and regression methods, but are also better than the results obtained in previous studies where neural networkhad been used for colorimetric calibration of scanner.

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Many important problems in Artificial Intelligence can be defined as Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP). These types of problems are defined by a limited set of variables, each having a limited domain and a number of Constraints on the values of those variables (these problems are also called Consistent Labeling Problems (CLP), in which “Labeling" means assigning a value to a variable.) Solution to these problems is a set of unique values for variables such that all the problem constraints are satisfied. Several search algorithms have been proposed for solving these problems, some of which reduce the need for backtracking by doing some sort of looking to future, and produce more efficient solutions. These are the so-called Forward Checking (FC), Partially Lookahead (PL), and Fully Lookahead (FL) algorithms. They are different in terms of the amount of looking to the future, number of backtracks that are performed, and the quality of the solution that they find. In this paper, we propose a new search algorithm we call Modified Fully Lookahead (MFL) which is Shown to be more efficient than the original Fully Lookahead algorithm

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In this paper, a modified segmentation algorithm for printed Farsi words is presented. This algorithm is based on a previous work by Azmi that uses the conditional labeling of the upper contour to find the segmentation points. The main objective is to improve the segmentation results for low quality prints. To achieve this, various modifications on local baseline detection, contour labeling and segmentation rules have been applied. In an experiment, the correct segmentation rate was 97%. Based on the results obtained, a detailed error analysis is presented which should be useful for furthur research on this topic.

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In this paper, a new algorithm for solving the single loop routing problem is presented. The purpose of the single loop routing problem(SLRP) is to find the shortest loop for an automated guided vehicle covering at least one edge of each department of a block layout. First it shown that this problem can be represented as a graph model. Then a meta-heuristic algorithm based on and colony system is developed for ALRP by using the properties of the graph model. Computational results show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm in comparison with other techniques for solving SLRP.

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In the Present study, attempt will be made to propose a new method for prediction of long-term essential creep of concrete utilizing some short-term creep tests under high temperature. To do so, regarding the similarities between essential creep of concrete and creep in viscoelastic materials, the time–temperature equivalence relation in viscoelastic materials is evaluated for concrete. This relation states that experimental curves of creep at different temperatures fit into a single curve when shifted along the axis of logaritmic time. To develop the model, an equation was first developed taking into account the effect of temperature and the maturity of concrete. Then, an appropriate method was proposed for transmission of the creep curve of concrete under a specific temperature to fit in the creep curve of the same concrete under a temperature. The proposed model was verified using existing experimental data which very good agreement was observed.

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In this paper, an elastic constitutive model based on the Eulerian corotational rate of the logarithmic strain tensor is proposed. Using this model, the large deformation of a closed cycle containing tension, shear, compression and inverse shear is analyzed. Since the deformation path includes a closed cycle and the material is considered as an isotropic elastic material, the normal and shear components of the stress at the end of the cycle must vanish. Using conventional constitutive models, the non-zero solution for the stress components is obtained. Using the proposed constitutive model, the normal and shear components of stress at the end of the cycle are obtained to be exactly equal to zero.

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In this research work, the possibility of semi industrial production of Al-TiB2 and Al-ZrB2 composites, using reactive slag in a flame furnace have been investigated. For this purpose, commercial pure aluminum and powder mixture of TiO2 (ZrO2) , KBF4 and Na3AlF6 were used. The results showed that using a proper ratio of slag forming materials as well as proper amounts of the above-mentioned compounds make it possible to produce good quality Al-TiB2 and Al-ZrB2 compounds employing the conventional melting equipment such as a flame furnace.

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Process optimization is one of the most important activities in today's competitive industries. the rather high cost of research and development has necessitated the development of experimental methods by which the factors affecting processes could be determined with minimum number of experiments. Over the last two decades, various types of experimental designs have been used. Among the different methods of experimental design such as complete and partial factorial and Latin squares design, the Taguchi method has found wide applications in some industrial divisions because of its comprehensive nature. In this paper, the laboratory scale flotation of the Sarcheshmeh copper ore which mainly consists of chalcocite was studied using the Taguchi method. The effects of seven factors namely collectors, Z11 (Xanthate) and R407 (Methyl isoboutyl carbonyl), frothers, pine oil and A65 (Polypropylene glycol), particle size, pH and flotation time were investigated. In addition to a significant reduction in cost and time of experimentation, the results indicated that a 5% increase in copper recovery could be obtained if all the factors are tested at their high experimental levels, as suggested by the Taguchi method. The optimal flotation time was also found to be 11 minutes.

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Hidden Markov Model is a popular statisical method that is used in continious and discrete speech recognition. The probability density function of observation vectors in each state is estimated with discrete density or continious density modeling. The performance (in correct word recognition rate) of continious density is higher than discrete density HMM, but its computation complexity is very high, especially in very large discrete utterance recognition problems. For real time implementation of very large discrete utterance recognition, we must use discrete density HMM (DDHMM). To increase the performance of DDHMM, one usual solution is fuzzy interpolation. In this study, we present a new method named Gaussian interpolation. We implemented and compared the performance of two types of interpolation methods for 1500 Persian speech command words. Results show that precision and flexibility of Gaussian interpolation is better thanthose of the fuzzy interpolation.

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One of the difficulties with PWM switching converters is high switching loss and electromagnetic interference due to switching at non-zero voltage and current, which limits the operating frequency. In order to reduce the converter volume and weight (by increasing the frequency) and reducing switching losses, zero voltage and current switching methods are recommended. In this paper, four main zero voltage switching (ZVS) methods in full bridge converters are introduced and compared. These four methods are compared on dead times required to obtain the ZVS, load range at ZVS condition, circulating energy in the switch anti parallel diodes during freewheeling periods and voltage oscillations on rectifying diodes. Finally, the results of a 3 KW prototype full bridge ZVS converter with a clamp circuit for rectifier diodes oscillations are presented and analyzed

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A variety of methods are used for speaker adaptation in speech recognition. In some techniques, such as MAP estimation, only the models with available training data are updated. Hence, large amounts of training data are required in order to have significant recognition improvements. In some others, such as MLLR, where several general transformations are applied to model clusters, the results are desirable for small training data, but with increasing training data, the performance improvement reaches the saturation lvel. In this paper, a new approach is introduced that makes use of the advantages of both mentioned techniques to improve the recognition rate. Here, the models with available training data are trained using MAP while for those with insufficient training data, appropriate prior parameters for MAP estimation are found using MLLR. This technique has yielded better performance in comparison to either MAP or MLLR, in a system based on FARSDAT speech corpus.

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In this paper, the combination of equalization and turbo decoding is studied. In the iterative decoding of a product code in block turbo coding system, the equalization process is performed within the iteration loop. The present study aims to investigate the decision feedback equalizer (DFE) incorporated in the iterative decoding. Simulation results show that the more severe the channel interference, the more the gain of the combination of DFE and turbo decoder performance compared with the case in which each is used individually

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This study is an attempt to introduce scientific fundamentals and available methods for wellhead protection area (capture zone) delineation for drinking water wells in cities. The results of this study could obviate some demands of the national water and wastewater company in quality control of the drinking water resources by delineation and application of the wellhead protection areas. For this purpose, the available literaturer reviewed to extract, criteria and methods of wellhead protection delineation, Then, (1) fixed radius method, (2) simplified variable shape methods, and (3) flow-transport analytical methods implemented in the computer code WHPA are introduced. The applicability of these methods is shown by some sample calculations for Urmia drinking water wells. Samples of the calculated wellhead protection areas for 36 wells in Urmia City will be shown using three analytical modules in WHPA. The effects of the hydrogeologic parameters on the wellhead areas will be discussed. When reliable hydrogeologic parameters are available in the region where wells are located, the analytical methods and WHPA code produce accurate results for wellhead protection areas.

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In this paper the laminar flow in the rectangular channel bends is simulated using numerical techniques. The turning angle of the channel bend and the area ratio of the channel cross-section are two important parameters to be examined. For flow simulation, the body fitted 3-D continuity and momentum equations are used and a body fitted general purpose code is developed. The existing results of a tied-diriven cavity and the experimental results from a 90 degree square bend were used for code validation. After the code validation, the effect of the area change in the 90 degree bend is examined. The numerical results indicated that increasing the area causes changes in the flow pattern, in turn, which has a direct impact on pressure drop. Similar results were obtained for other bend angles including 30, 60, 120, 150 and 180 degree bends. The results showed that increased bend turning angle increases the pressure drop which is in good agreement with existing experimental data.

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On electropolished steel at low current densities, morphology and texture of electrodeposited zinc were investigated. Zinc coating is consisted of hexagonal crystallites laid on each other to produce packets. These packets are of different sizes and are stacked in different orientations to construct a homogeneous coating on steel substrate. This coating does not have texture, i.e., it has a random texture. With increasing current density, the morphology changes completely as each grain attains a special orientation. In this case, coating has a strong basal plane (0002) along with low angle planes (1013 and 1014). Coating obtained on mechanically polished surfaces consists of individual packets of zinc crystals, which are near each other with different orientations. These coatings have a higher density of basal plane (0002) in comparison to electropolished surfaces. The morphology and texture variations with cathodic polarization and surface preparation of steel are due to their effect on nucleation and growth.

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In the present stady, thermochemical treatment in H2/NH3 atmosphere was used as a post-treatment for electroless Ni-P coatings on the AISI 4140 steel substrates. High phosphorus (9%) coatings with thicknesses of 2, 24 and 48 m were applied and the effects of the thermochemical treatment on the morphology, structural changes, roughness, hardness and wear resistance of coatings were studied by SEM, EDS, XRD, profilometry, and microhardness tester. Wear test was used to evaluate wear characteristics of coatings. The wear behaviour of the thermochemical treated/Ni-P coated samples was assessed by comparison with thermochemical treated/uncoated (nitrided) samples. The results showed that effect of thermochemical treatment varies with the coating thickness. In addition, it was shown that a multicomponent coating containing phosphide, nitride and intermetallic phases as well as diffusion region can be developed in the thin (2 m) electroless Ni-P coated steel by thermochemical treatment. This sample showed better wear resistance than 24 m Ni-P coated steel under higher load. This behavior was ascribedto nitride phases formed at the surface as well as a nitrogen diffusion zone at the subsurface of thin Ni-P coated steel

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Zinc-Nickel electrodeposits have been widely adopted for surface treatment of automobile steel sheet for high corrosion resistance. In this work the effect of pulse parameters on the Zn-Ni alloy electrodeposits was investigated. The hardness, thickness, corrosion resistance and composition of deposits thus produced were investigated. The surface topography of the deposits was also observed in SEM and results are reported. It has been shown that the thickness of the pulse electrodeposits was almost even. The hardness in the pulse electrodeposits increased by increasing the on-time period and by decreasing the current density. It was also noticed that increasing the on-time period increases the nickel content of the deposit. Pulse electrodposits had fine structure and the structure become finer by reducung the on-time period and pulse frequency. The corrosion dehaviors of the deposits were then investigated. The results showed that the corrosion resistance of the DC electrodeposits improves in their nickel content increases. Pulse electodeposits show the same behavior, but deposits with about 13% nickel show maximum corrosion resistance.

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Time-cost trade-off is one of the most important subjects in project management and of interest to contractors. The goal of time-cost trade-off is sensivity analysis of project costs to changes in activity duration in order to obtain the best combination of activity duration decrease, in a way that the sum of project costs is minimized. In the heuristics presented in this area, time crashing is on the base of the minimum cost slope of activities. But since projects are usually performed over long periods, they can be affected by interest rate. In this paper, a new heuristic algorithm is presented in order to obtain the best combination of activity duration decrease while the monetary value is taken into account, with the goal of minimizing the sum of present value of project costs

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A special class of the knapsack problem is called the separable nonlinear knapsack problem. This problem has received considerable attention recently because of its numerous applications. Dynamic programming is one of the basic approaches for solving this problem. Unfortunately, the size of state-pace will dramatically increase and cause the dimensionality problem. In this paper, an efficient algorithm is developed to find surrogate multipliers in each stage of dynamic programming in order to transform the original problem to a single constraint problem called surrogate problem. The upper and lower bounds obtained by solving the surrogate problem can eliminate a large number of state variables in dynamic programming and extremely reduce the duality gap according to our computational results.