ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I could not have prepared this thesis without the generous help of my supervisor, friends, and family.
I would like to express my gratitude to Assist. Prof. Dr. Adil Amirjanov for providing invigorating environment in which I could write this thesis.
My deepest thanks are to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rahib Abiyev for his help and answering any question I asked him.
Finally, I could never have prepared this thesis without the encouragement and support of my father, mother, and brother Khaled Dawoud (Mechanical Engineer-MSc.).
i