although some 3d slope stability algorithms have been proposed in recent three decades, still role of pore pressures in three dimensional slope stability analyses and considering the effects of pore water pressure in 3d slope stability studies needs to be investigated. in this paper, a limit analysis formulation for investigation of role of the pore water pressure in three dimensional slope sta...

In this paper the daily, monthly, seasonally, and yearly optimum slope angles of solar collectors are determined for areas in Iran and new models are developed to calculate the monthly, seasonally, and yearly optimum slope angles for latitudes of to north. To achieve this purpose, the slope and surface azimuth angles of solar collectors for receiving maximum solar radiation were determined ...

during the last decades a new class of materials named fiber/metal laminates (fmls) was introduced. it is a hybrid composite consisting of alternating thin layers of metal sheets and fiber-reinforced composite material. fmls have both low weight and good mechanical properties. in this study, the impact behavior of this attractive material is investigated. the effect of fiber angle, stacking seq...

This study assessed spatial summation of first-order (luminance-defined) and second-order (contrast-defined) motion. Thresholds were measured for identifying the drift direction of 1c/deg., luminance-modulated and contrast-modulated dynamic noise drifting at temporal frequencies of 0.5, 2 and 8Hz. Image size varied from 0.125 degrees to 16 degrees . The effects of increasing image size on thres...

At a given running speed, humans strongly prefer to use a stride frequency near their 'optimal' stride frequency that minimizes metabolic cost. Although there is no definitive explanation for why an optimal stride frequency exists, elastic energy usage has been implicated. Because the possibility for elastic energy storage and return may be impaired on slopes, we investigated whether and how th...

Semisolid processing is one of the modern routes in sound and near net shape parts production.  Preparation of semisolid slurry using a cooling slope is increasingly becoming popular, primarily because of its simplicity in design and ease of control of the process. In this research, the microstructures of Al6061 semisolid alloy cast via a miniature cooling slope were investigated. The propertie...

Soil salinity is one of the problems threatening agricultural lands. Parts of this phenomenon are related to geologic formations and saltpans, while some major factors are resulted from irrelevant agricultural activities, issue of irrigation, and improper cultivation systems which lead to increase in soil salinity. To avoid such consequences that would end up with ecosystem degradation, suitabl...

Comparison of 1719 differential GPS measurements with a 1 m LiDAR DEM covering West Seattle shows that DEM elevation errors range from –4.88 m to +3.32 m. The errors are spatially correlated with a semivariogram range of 125 m, an unclustered mean of –0.11 m, and an unclustered standard deviation of ±0.75 m. Although there are statistically significant correlations between elevation error and e...