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We have started a new research project on a hybrid power generation system consisting of piezoelectric, thermoelectric and solar cell modules. In the first step, we have focused on the antireflection coating based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and metal nanolayers incorporated in solar cells. In layered structure containing ZnO and metal nanoscale layers, we have presented the possibility of increasing wave transmission in the visible region by adding the top and bottom cap layers. The enhancement of optical transmission is very important in improving the performance of sensor protections, solar cells, UV protective films and transparent conductive display panels electrode. It is found that, the structure containing both the top and bottom cap layers (S3) yields larger transmittance than the structures S1 without any cap or S2 just with one cap layer. The maximum transmittance in the visible range can be increased from 33% to 67%. In addition, for the TE mode (TM mode), the maximum value of transmission in the S1 and S2 structures occurs at angles close to normal incidence while in the S3 multilayer it happens around 1 radian, that is, the behavior of the TE mode is the opposite of the TM mode. Also, when the incident angle varies, the band edges experience a blue shift. The amount of TE shift is more pronounced than TM one. Moreover, the metal with higher plasma frequency will move the band gap edges to the higher frequencies.

The aim of this study is to enhance hydrogen energy share in a RCCI engine. The engine under consideration is fueled with diesel oil and natural gas enriched with hydrogen or syngas and is set to operate at 9.4 bar gross indicated mean effective pressure (Mid- Load). The syngas used in this study consists of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which are mixed together on a volumetric ratio of 80:20. A fixed amount of diesel oil is injected per cycle into the combustion chamber of the RCCI engine. Based on two different strategies, hydrogen or syngas mixed with exhaust gas recirculation are admitted gradually along with natural gas while ensuring that always the low temperature combustion concept is fulfilled. The RCCI engine operation is simulated through commercial software coupled with chemical kinetics solver. The simulation results show that without any engine diesel knock occurrence, by adding hydrogen to natural gas, the share of hydrogen energy could be increased up to 40.43% while the engine power output is reduced only by about 1%. Also, syngas addition to natural gas causes that the share of hydrogen energy could be increased up to 27.05% while improves the engine power more than 4%. At the same time, by considering two mentioned strategies, the overall hydrocarbon fuel consumption per cycle can be reduced by up to 46.60% and 33.86%, respectively. Moreover, having the gross indicated efficiency of well over 50% and significant reduction in the engine emissions compared to RCCI combustion fueled solely with natural gas and diesel oil are achievable.

By employing the transfer matrix method, we report the terahertz spectral properties of graphene induced photonic band gap in four types of common one-dimensional quasiperiodic structures based on double-period, Fibonacci, Thue-Morse and Cantor sequences with approximately the same number of layers. In this paper, a graphene monolayer is sandwiched between two adjacent dielectric slabs. It is found that due to the presence of graphene in each structure, an additional gap (GPBG) is emerged. The upper band edge of GPBG moves to the higher frequencies and gets enlarged, as the chemical potential and incident angle increase. The biggest and the smallest bandwidths belong to the Cantor and double-period sequences. Also, the height of the absorption peak at the GPBG edge goes up as the temperature, graphene thickness and damping factor increase. Moreover, the highest and lowest field localizations exist in the Cantor and Fibonacci structures, respectively. Some other features are presented in the results section.

In this paper, by considering wave phase analysis, the density of modes, group velocity, and lateral shift in one-dimensional multilayer are theoretically computed by using the transfer matrix method in the terahertz domain. The proposed structure is based on the Fibonacci sequence constituted of uniaxial indefinite medium and

In the terahertz frequency domain, we theoretically attempt to determine some properties of kerr-type nonlinear response of a graphene-coated one-dimensional quasiperiodic structure based on Fibonacci sequence. The supposed structure is constituted by silicon dioxide and nonlinear polystyrene dielectrics where graphene sheets are located between them. The calculations are accomplished by using standard transfer matrix method. Our numerical results demonstrate that the introduction of graphene sheets in the structure has an important role in reducing bistability thresholds. It is found that for both TE and TM waves the switching-up and switching-down thresholds of bistability are reduced in comparison to without graphene case. In addition, the threshold values of TM mode are less than those of TE one. Also, by manipulating parameters such as graphene chemical potential, graphene damping constant and sequence number of structure, some other interesting features are achieved. This paper provides a way to reduce bistability thresholds which are of optical switching issues.

The present paper attempts to determine the properties of photonic spectra of Thue-Morse, double-period and Rudin-Shapiro one-dimensional quasiperiodic multilayers. The supposed structures are constituted by high temperature HgBa2Ca2Cu3O10 and YBa2Cu3O7 superconductors. Our investigation is restricted to the visible wavelength domain. The results are demonstrated by the calculation of transmittance using transfer matrix method together with Gorter-Casimir two-fluid model. It is found that by manipulating the parameters such as incident angle, polarization, the thickness of each layer and operation temperature of superconductors the transmission spectra exhibit some interesting features. This paper, provides us a pathway to design tunable total reflector, optical filters and optical switching based on superconductor quasiregular photonic crystals.

In the ultraviolet region and by using transfer matrix method, the transmission spectra of electromagnetic waves through one-dimensional quasiperiodic photonic structures consisting of high-temperature yttrium barium copper oxide (Y123) superconductor and strontium titanate (STO) dielectric layers are studied theoretically. It is shown that for TE polarization at oblique incidence two band gaps are created, while for TM polarization three band gaps are produced. The edges of both polarizations shift to higher wavelengths by increasing incident angles. Also, for angles of incidence greater than 78∘, the second gap for TM-polarized light is eliminated. It is also found that in the supposed structure the number of PBGs can be modulated by the thickness of dielectric layer, while it is nearly insensitive to the thickness of superconductor layer. Interestingly, for the incidence angles other than normal incidence the structure can exhibit some narrow resonant peaks near wavelengths where the electric permittivity of the superconductor layer changes sign. These resonant peaks are only for TM polarization and not present for TE polarization. This structure can act as a very compact polarization sensitive splitters and defect-free multichannel narrowband tunable filters.

The purpose of this paper is to theoretically investigate the properties of electromagnetic wave propagating in both one-dimensional periodic and quasiperiodic photonic crystals consisting of high-temperature yttrium barium copper oxide and strontium titanate dielectric nano-scale materials. By using the transfer matrix method, angle-, polarization- and thickness-dependences of created PBGs are explored individually for periodic and quasiperiodic structures, and some interesting features are presented in the results section. Such supposed structures can be used as very compact polarization sensitive splitters and defect-free multichannel narrowband tunable filters.

In this paper, we report the analysis of the electromagnetic wave transmission having a wave length near infrared propagating in Fibonacci quasiperiodic multilayer structures made of fullerene and germanium materials. We observe that within the stop band the reflection phase difference changes smoothly and increases with the increasing of the incident angle. In the center of the gap the reflection phase difference remains almost unchanged in a broad wavelength band. Especially, at both the edges of the gap the reflection phase difference keeps zero in spite of the change of incident angle. Basing on our results, the supposed structure provides a convenient way to design very compact phase controllers such as phase retarders.

The band characteristics and the phase shift of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional Fibonacci photonic structures composed of nano-scale fullerene and semiconductor layers are investigated theoretically in detail for both TE and TM polarizations and for different incident angles. We adopt the transmission matrix method to analyze the transmission properties of supposed sub-wavelength structure. We observe that within the stop band, the reflection phase difference changes smoothly and increases with the increasing of the incident angle. Furthermore, the phase shift decreases with the incident angle increasing for TE mode, and increases with the incident angle increasing for TM mode. Especially, at both the edges of the gap, the reflection phase difference keeps zero in spite of the change of incident angle. Based on our results, the supposed structure provides a convenient way to design very compact phase controllers such as phase retarders.

Background Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most common Gram-negative pathogen causing nosocomial infection worldwide. The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains has become a major clinical concern in recent years. Resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) family efflux pumps play an important role in the development of multidrug resistance in P. aeruginosa. Objectives The aims of the present study were to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility against carbapenems used and to evaluate the gene expression of two resistance nodulation cell division-type efflux pump systems (MexB and MexY) among carbapenem non-susceptible P. aeruginosa. Methods A total of 256 non-repetitive P. aeruginosa were collected from the different clinical samples of patients admitted in Qazvin and Tehran educational hospitals. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by standard Kirby-Bauer method. The expression of MexB and MexY genes was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results In total, 107 (41.8%) isolates were non-susceptible to imipenem and/or meropenem. All carbapenem non-susceptible isolates were positive for the presence of MexB and MexY genes. The expression of MexB (P value = 0.004) and MexY (P value = 0.001) genes was significantly increased, compared to standard carbapenem sensitive strains. Conclusions The findings of the present study showed the considerable presence of carbapenem resistance among the clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa. The overexpression of MexB and MexY genes is also established among these resistant isolates collected from studied hospitals in Iran.

—In this paper, we theoretically study the phase treatment of reflected waves in onedimensional Fibonacci photonic quasicrystals composed of nano-scale fullerene and semiconductor layers. The dependence of the phase shift of reflected waves for TE mode and TM mode on the wavelength and incident angle is calculated by using the theoretical model based on the transfer matrix method in the infrared wavelength region. In the band gaps of supposed structures, it is found that the phase shift of reflected wave changes more slowly than within the transmission band gaps. Furthermore, the phase shift decreases with the incident angle increasing for TE mode, and increases with the incident angle increasing for TM mode. Also, for the supposed structures it is found that there is a band gap which is insensitive to the order of the Fibonacci sequence. These structures open a promising way to fabricate subwavelength tunable phase compensators, very compact wave plates and phase-sensitive interferometry for TE and TM waves.

Tunable defect modes in one-dimensional fractal structures containing e -negative metamaterials (ENG) and μ -negative metamaterials (MNG) are analyzed with transfer matrix method. By inserting double-positive (DPS) type defect layers in the supposed structure, ENG–DPS–ENG and MNG–DPS–MNG arrangements are considered. It is found that in the ENG–DPS–ENG (MNG–DPS–MNG) arrangement for TE polarization defect modes are sensitive (insensitive) to incident angle while for TM polarization they are invariant (variant). Also, the spectral position of the defect mode is invariant upon the change of scale length. Furthermore, by varying defect layers thicknesses, defect modes shift to the lower frequencies.

In this paper, by using the theoretical model based on the transfer matrix method, we theoretically study the optical properties of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional hybrid periodic/quasiregular heterostructures containing nano-scale fullerene and semiconductor layers. The results show that a hybrid configuration is a promising candidate for resonant cavities with strong mode localization. A future application of these structures can be realized in the field of random lasers where the quasiregular structures, acting like defects in the hybrid systems, could serve as a new type of complex cavity that provides the feedback for laser action.

Based on the transfer matrix method, we theoretically analyze the transmission spectra of electromagnetic waves through one-dimensional self-similar fractal structures composed of lossy and dispersive single-negative materials. Multiple double-positive defects layers are introduced into the proposed structure, and some interesting properties are obtained. We find that the loss factor decreases the transmission peaks of defect modes, but the main properties of transmission spectra do not destroy. We believe that the introduction of loss is essential in order to obtain correct results on the performance of the structures.

Transfer matrix method is used to investigate the electromagnetic transmission spectra of a one-dimensional photonic fractal multilayer structure composed of single-negative metamaterial when common positive dielectric defect layers of are introduced. It is found that the frequency of the resonance defect modes can be tuned independently by varying the defect layer thicknesses. It is also found that by increasing the value of refractive index of defect layers and the number of periods, the full width half maximum of defect modes will be narrowed and shifted to lower frequencies. Also, our investigations show that for both TE and TM polarizations moving away from normal incidence to oblique incidence shows that the defect modes shift to upper frequencies. In other words, the defect modes inside the band gap depend on the incident angle and polarization. More interesting, for angles of incidence greater than 55° the defect modes for TE polarization (unlike to TM polarization) are eliminated. Moreover, the electromagnetic fields in the defect layers are strongly localized, and they can be excite independently. We believe that the proposed fractal structures can be useful in designing tunable independently high-Q filters with specific channels by adjusting their structural parameters.

A novel general method is introduced to predict deflagration temperature of organic energetic compounds containing at least –NNO2, –ONO2, or –CNO2 groups. Deflagration temperature is an important safety parameter in working with dangerous energetic compounds and their environmental problems. It is shown that the contribution of some molecular structure parameters can be used to interpret thermal decomposition of an energetic compound. For 86 energetic materials (corresponding to 102 measured values) with different molecular structures, the new correlation has the root mean square (rms) and the average deviations of 23.8 and 19.0 K, respectively. The new method is also tested for some energetic compounds with complex molecular structures, e.g., two new organic energetic molecules N,N′-bis(1,2,4-triazol-3yl)-4,4′-diamino-2,2′,3,3′,5,5′,6,6′-octanitroazobenzene (BTDAONAB) and 2,4,6-trinitrophloroglucinol.

By using the transfer-matrix method and effective medium theory, we have theoretically investigated band gap properties of one-dimensional aperiodically deterministic (quasiperiodic) structure composed of left-handed material and right-handed material layers. The proposed multilayer structure is ordered according to the Fibonacci sequence constituted of two blocks A and B. It is found that this structure possesses a new type of photonic band gap which is invariant with a change of thickness scale, and sensitive to the incident angle and wave polarization. It is also found that for TE (TM) polarization, moving away from normal incidence to oblique incidence shows that the width of the band gap increases (decreases). More interestingly, our numerical results show that for angles of incidence greater than 50° the band gap for TM mode is eliminated. Moreover, for incident angles less than 50° the structure works as a tunable band edge filter.

The transmission properties of a double-periodic quasi-crystal containing single-negative materials are investigated with the transfer matrix method and effective medium theory. It is shown that the double-periodic quasi-crystal has a single-negative band gap between the zeros of average permittivity and average permeability of the effective medium. These zeros are affected only by the filling factor of the structure, and are independent from the order of the double-periodic quasi-crystal. Moreover, we show that the periodic structure created by repeating the double-periodic quasi-crystal has some omnidirectional band gaps at the single-negative frequency region. The number of such omnidirectional band gap increases by increasing the order of double-periodic quasi-crystal. Then, the structure can be used as a multichannel filter.

A new method has been introduced to predict the power of important classes of energetic compounds including nitroaromatics, acyclic and cyclic nitramines, nitrate esters and nitroaliphatics. In this method, the predicted specific impulse and the corrected heat of detonation on the basis of H2O-CO2 arbitrary decomposition, have been used to calculate the power of an explosive with the molecular formula CaHbNcOd as determined by the Trauzl test. The predicted results show good agreement with respect to the measured values for both pure and mixture of explosives. The calculated volume expansions of pure energetic compounds have a root mean square (rms) deviation of 33 cm3 from 73 measured values (corresponding to 58 molecules). For 9 explosive mixtures, the predicted volume expansions have an rms deviation of 39 cm3 from the experimental results.

In this paper, we theoretically study the propagation of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional double-period quasi-regular structures consisting of negative-permittivity and negative-permeability metamaterials. A Drude-type dispersive response for both permittivity and permeability of single-negative metamaterials is considered. From the numerical results performed by transfer matrix method and effective medium theory, it is found that double-period photonic crystals can exhibit an omnidirectional gap at given microwave frequency. Such an omnidirectional gap is insensitive to incident angle and polarization, and is invariant upon the change of scale length. It is also found that this gap exists in all double-period sequences, and it is independent of structure sequence. Moreover, electromagnetic field distributions in this structures show that the fields are localized at each interface of two media. These results can lead to further applications of quasi-regular structures.

We investigate the transmission properties of one-dimensional Fibonacci quasiperiodic structure consisting of dispersive and lossless epsilon-negative (ENG) materials. It is found that for both TE and TM polarizations with normal and oblique incidences, there exist transmission gaps which are invariant with a change of scale and sensitive to incident angles. Analytical methods based on transfer matrices and effective medium theory have been used to explain the properties of transmission gaps.

Existence of backward electromagnetic surface waves at an interface separating a semi-inflnite uniform left-handed metamaterial and a 1D photonic crystal composed of alternating layers of two kinds of single-negative (†-negative and "-negative) metamaterial is theoretically investigated. Dispersion characteristics of surface states are analyzed for two difierent cases of ENG-MNG and MNG-ENG layered periodic structures. It was demonstrated that in the presence of metamaterial, surface waves are sensitive to light polarization and there exist only backward TM-polarized (or TE-polarized) surface Tamm states depending on the ratio of the thicknesses of two periodic stacking layers.

We investigate the transmission properties of the Fibonacci quasiperiodic layered structures consisting of a pair of double positive (DPS), epsilon-negative (ENG) or/and mu-negative (MNG) materials. It is found that there exist the polarization-dependent transmission gaps which are invariant with a change of scaling and insensitive to incident angles. Analytical methods based on transfer matrices and efiective medium theory have been used to explain the properties of transmission gaps of DPS-MNG, DPS-ENG and ENG- MNG Fibonacci multilayer structures.

In this research, the effect of ethanol as gasoline additive has been investigated into metal corrosion of a fuel delivery system. Corrosion tests have been performed in gasoline with different percentages of ethanol, using weight loss (immersion test) and electrochemical impedance stereoscopy (EIS) procedures. Surface of test specimens were checked by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after 144 days of immersion in test solution. Also corroded components were analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) method. Test results, investigations, and analyses, altogether show more corrosion with the increase in ethanol percentage and water content in gasoline. Test results show that among different materials in fuel delivery system, aluminum alloys and hard soldering alloys have less corrosion than the others. Also chloride and sulfide were recognized as the main compound of corrosion products; therefore, the control of these two elements in fuel delivery system is a must in case of using ethanol as fuel additive in near future.

Research has shown that shift work, in particular night work, can have negative effects on the health, safety and well-being of workers. Our study assessed, in a hospital setting, the effects of bright light (BL) on general health and psychological problems during night shift work. In an experimental design, 15 female nurses at a general hospital that located in Tehran were exposed to moderate bright light (2000 lx) during night work. The evaluation of general health status, job stress, and burnout syndrome conditions was done as follows: The 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used as a screening tool for the detection of general health status; for assessing the level of stress, perception stress scale (PSS) was filled; and for burnout syndrome conditions, burnout self-report questionnaire (BSR) was completed. T-test and paired t-test analysis were used to assess the association between BL exposure for a total of 30 min during each night shift and changes in general health status, job stress and burnout syndrome. This study clearly shows that BL administration could not reduce anxiety symptoms, somatic symptoms, severe depression and improved social dysfunction significantly during night shift. However, BL exposure significantly decreased the perception stress (P=0.008) and burnout syndrome (P=0.06) during night permanent shift. These results suggest that BL might have provoked changes in perception stress and burnout syndrome of nurses working night permanent shift.

This study deals with artificial neural network (ANN) modeling of a diesel engine using waste cooking biodiesel fuel to predict the brake power, torque, specific fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of the engine. To acquire data for training and testing the proposed ANN, a two cylinders, four-stroke diesel engine was fuelled with waste vegetable cooking biodiesel and diesel fuel blends and operated at different engine speeds. The properties of biodiesel produced from waste vegetable oil was measured based on ASTM standards. The experimental results revealed that blends of waste vegetable oil methyl ester with diesel fuel provide better engine performance and improved emission characteristics. Using some of the experimental data for training, an ANN model was developed based on standard Back-Propagation algorithm for the engine. Multi layer perception network (MLP) was used for non-linear mapping between the input and output parameters. Different activation functions and several rules were used to assess the percentage error between the desired and the predicted values. It was observed that the ANN model can predict the engine performance and exhaust emissions quite well with correlation coefficient ( R ) 0.9487, 0.999, 0.929 and 0.999 for the engine torque, SFC, CO and HC emissions, respectively. The prediction MSE (Mean Square Error) error was between the desired outputs as measured values and the simulated values were obtained as 0.0004 by the model.

The activities in field of renewable energy in Iran are focused on scientific and research aspects, and research part is aimed at reduction of capital required for exploitation of related resources. The second step is to work research results into scientific dimension of this field for practical means, i.e. establishing electricity power plants. Due to recent advancements in wind energy, many investors in the country have become interested in investing in this type of energy. At the moment, projects assuming 130 MW of wind power plants are underway, of which, 25 MW is operational. Based on the planning in the 4th Socioeconomic and Cultural Development Plan (2005–2010), private sector is expected to have a share of at least 270 MW in renewable energies. However, it is the government's duty to take the first step for investment in biomass and solar power plants; private sector may then play its part once the infrastructures to this end are laid out. At the moment, a 250 kW plant is under construction in Shiraz and two more geothermal units with 5 and 50 MW capacities will follow. Moreover, two biomass and solar energy plants, standing at 10 and 17 MW, respectively, are of other upcoming projects. The project of Iran's renewable energy, aims to accelerate the sustainable development of wind energy through investment and removal of barriers. This preparatory project is funded by the global environment facility (GEF) and will provide for a number of international and national consultant missions and studies. Once the studies are concluded, a project to develop 25 MW of wind energy in the Manjil region of Gilan will be prepared. It will be consistent with the national development frameworks and objectives and form part of 100 MW of wind-powered energy, which is expected to be developed under the government's third 5-year national development plan (started 21 March 2000).

Diesterol is a new specific term which denotes a mixture of fossil diesel fuel (D), vegetable oil methyl ester called biodiesel (B) and plant derived ethanol (E). In the context of the present paper, this term refers specifically to the combination of diesel fuel, bioethanol produced from potato waste, dehydrated in a vapor phase using 3A Zeolite, and sunflower methyl ester produced through transesterification. The mixture of DBE, i.e. diesterol, was patented under the Iranian patent No. 39407, dated 12-3-2007. The main purpose of this research work was to reduce engine exhaust NOx, CO, HC and smoke emissions due to application of biofuel and the increase of fuel oxygen content. It was needed to prepare suitable low cost and renewable additives. The diesterol properties such as pour point, viscosity, flash point, copper strip corrosion, ash content, sulfur content and cetane number were determined experimentally. The optimum ratio of bioethanol and biodiesel was found to be 40/60 considering fuel oxygen content, fuel price and mixture properties. Bioethanol was added to enhance the oxygenated component in the fuel, while the sunflower methyl ester was added to maintain the fuel stability at low temperatures. The parameters considered for investigation are the engine power, torque, specific fuel consumption and exhaust emissions for various mixture proportions. The experimental results showed that bioethanol plays an important role in determining the flash point of the blends. By adding 3% bioethanol to diesel and sunflower methyl ester, the flash point was reduced by 16 °C. The viscosity of the blend was also reduced by increasing the amount of bioethanol. The sulfur content of bioethanol and sunflower methyl ester is very low compared to diesel fuel. The sulfur content of diesel is 500 ppm whereas that of bioethanol and sunflower methyl ester is 0 and 15 ppm, respectively. This lower sulfur content is another factor enhancing the use of fuel blends in diesel engines. The bioethanol and sunflower methyl ester combination has sulfur content less than 20 ppm. The maximum power and torque using diesel fuel were 17.75 kW and 64.2 Nm at 3600 and 2400 rpm, respectively. Adding oxygenated compounds to the new blend seems to slightly reduce the engine power and torque and increased the average sfc for various speeds. The experimental measurement and observation of smoke concentration, NOx, CO and HC concentration indicated that both of these pollutants reduced by increasing the biofuel composition of diesterol throughout the engine operating range.

The localized surface waves at the interface between an uniform right-handed material and a semi-infinite periodic multilayer structure containing alternate e-negative (ENG) and the μ-negative (MNG) layers have been investigated. We demonstrated that this system can only support TE or TM-polarized surface waves depending on the relative thicknesses of the ENG and the MNG layers. These localized modes can have two different transverse structure related to the order of the ENG and the MNG layers; one with a hump at the interface between uniform material and the cap layer and the other one with a hump at the interface between the cap layer and the periodic multilayer structure.

This paper presents a new approach to predict the strength of energetic compounds in which there are important classes of high explosives including nitroaromatics, acyclic and cyclic nitramines, nitrate esters and nitroaliphatics. For C(a)H(b)N(c)O(d) compounds, the ratio of carbon to oxygen atoms and the predicted heat of detonation on the basis of the H(2)O-CO(2) arbitrary have been used to calculate the strength of an explosive. The new model can give good predictions for mentioned energetic compounds as determined by the Trauzl test. The novel correlation will be useful in predicting the strength or power of a new energetic compound that has significant potential in the field of explosives and propellants.

A comprehensive combustion analysis has been conducted to evaluate the performance of a commercial DI engine, water cooled two cylinders, in-line, naturally aspirated, RD270 Ruggerini diesel engine using waste vegetable cooking oil as an alternative fuel. In order to compare the brake power and the torques values of the engine, it has been tested under same operating conditions with diesel fuel and waste cooking biodiesel fuel blends. The results were found to be very comparable. The properties of biodiesel produced from waste vegetable oil was measured based on ASTM standards. The total sulfur content of the produced biodiesel fuel was 18 ppm which is 28 times lesser than the existing diesel fuel sulfur content used in the diesel vehicles operating in Tehran city (500 ppm). The maximum power and torque produced using diesel fuel was 18.2 kW and 64.2 Nm at 3200 and 2400 rpm respectively. By adding 20% of waste vegetable oil methyl ester, it was noticed that the maximum power and torque increased by 2.7 and 2.9% respectively, also the concentration of the CO and HC emissions have significantly decreased when biodiesel was used. An artificial neural network (ANN) was developed based on the collected data of this work. Multi layer perceptron network (MLP) was used for nonlinear mapping between the input and the output parameters. Different activation functions and several rules were used to assess the percentage error between the desired and the predicted values. The results showed that the training algorithm of Back Propagation was sufficient enough in predicting the engine torque, specific fuel consumption and exhaust gas components for different engine speeds and different fuel blends ratios. It was found that the R2 (R: the coefficient of determination) values are 0.99994, 1, 1 and 0.99998 for the engine torque, specific fuel consumption, CO and HC emissions, respectively.