ALBERT

Description: One-dimensional second-order hyperbolic telegraph equation was formulated using Ohm’s law and solved by a recent and reliable semianalytic method, namely, the reduced differential transform method (RDTM). Using this method, it is possible to find the exact solution or a closed approximate solution of a differential equation. Three numerical examples have been carried out in order to check the effectiveness, the accuracy, and convergence of the method. The RDTM is a powerful mathematical technique for solving wide range of problems arising in science and engineering fields.

Description: Surface roughness is considered as the quality index of the machine parts. Many diverse techniques have been applied in modelling metal cutting processes. Previous studies have revealed that artificial intelligence techniques are novel soft computing methods which fit the solution of nonlinear and complex problems like metal cutting processes. The present study used adaptive neurofuzzy inference system for the purpose of predicting the surface roughness when end milling Ti6Al4V alloy with coated (PVD) and uncoated cutting tools under dry cutting conditions. Real experimental results have been used for training and testing of ANFIS models, and the best model was selected based on minimum root mean square error. A generalized bell-shaped function has been adopted as a membership function for the modelling process, and its numbers were changed from 2 to 5. The findings provided evidence of the capability of ANFIS in modelling surface roughness in end milling process and obtainment of good matching between experimental and predicted results.

Description: Empirical evidence created a commonly accepted understanding that synchronisation and stability of material flows impact its productivity. This crucial link between synchronous and stable material flows by time and quantity to create a supply chain with the highest throughput rates is at the heart of lean thinking. Although this supply chain triangle has generally been acknowledged over many years, it is necessary to reach a finer understanding of these dynamics. Therefore, we will develop and study supply chains with the help of fluid dynamics. A multistage, continuous material flow is modelled through a conservation law for material density. Unlike similar approaches, our model is not based on some quasi steady-state assumptions about the stochastic behaviour of the involved supply chain but rather on a simple deterministic rule for material flow density. These models allow us to take into account the nonlinear, dynamical interactions of different supply chain echelons and to test synchronised and stable flow with respect to its potential impacts. Numerical simulations verify that the model is able to simulate transient supply chain phenomena. Moreover, a quantification method relating to the fundamental link between synchronisation, stability, and productivity of supply chains has been found.

Description: Extensive research has been devoted to economic production quantity (EPQ) problem. However, no attention has been paid to problems where unit production and set-up costs must be considered as functions of production rate. In this paper, we address the problem of determining the optimal production quantity and rate of production in which unit production and set-up costs are assumed to be continuous functions of production rate. Based on the traditional economic production quantity (EPQ) formula, the cost function associated with this model is proved to be nonconvex and a procedure is proposed to solve this problem. Finally, utility of the model is presented using some numerical examples and the results are analyzed.

Description: One of the main methods to reduce the production costs is waste recycling which is the most important challenge for the future. Cotton wastes collected from ginning process have desirable properties which could be used during spinning process. The purpose of this study was to develop predictive models of breaking strength and mass irregularity (CVm%) of cotton waste rotor-spun yarns containing cotton waste collected from ginning process by using the artificial neural network trained with backpropagation algorithm. Artificial neural network models have been developed based on rotor diameter, rotor speed, navel type, opener roller speed, ginning waste proportion and yarn linear density as input parameters. The parameters of artificial neural network model, namely, learning, and momentum rate, number of hidden layers and number of hidden processing elements (neurons) were optimized to get the best predictive models. The findings showed that the breaking strength and mass irregularity of rotor spun yarns could be predicted satisfactorily by artificial neural network. The maximum error in predicting the breaking strength and mass irregularity of testing data was 8.34% and 6.65%, respectively.

Description: The aim of the current research is to propose a new generation of automated guided vehicle systems for alleviating the collision states in material handling systems where the automated guided vehicles movements are allowed to be both unidirectional and bidirectional. The objective function is to maximize the average annual profit in an FMS system using a simulation method. Despite several researches done in this field, this criterion has been studied rarely. The current study includes some new changes in AGV design for preventing some common problems such as congestions and deadlocks based on real profits/costs analysis in a flexible manufacturing system. For this reason, some experiments have been carried out to study the effects of several empty vehicle dispatching rules on average annual profit. The results show that the proposed framework is efficient and robust enough for industrial environments.

Description: Cerebral aneurysms are local expansions of blood vessel walls in the brain blood system. The rupture of an aneurysm is a very severe event associated with a high rate of mortality. When cerebral aneurysms are detected, clinicians need to decide if operation is required. The risk of aneurysm rupture is then compared to the risks associated with the medical intervention. In the present paper, a probabilistic framework for a mechanically based rupture risk assessment of cerebral aneurysms is proposed. The method is based on the assumption that the strength of aneurysmal tissues can be described by a statistical distribution. A structural analysis of the aneurysm in question is performed, and the maximum stress experienced by the aneurysm is compared to the strength distribution. The proposed model was compared with clinical results for ruptured aneurysms in terms of rupture density and accumulated rupture risk as a function of aneurysm size. The model was able to reproduce the clinical results well. The proposed framework may potentially be used under in vivo conditions to predict the risk of rupture for diagnosed aneurysms.

Description: Kamaniskeg Lake is a long, narrow, and deep small lake located in the northern part of Ontario, Canada. The goals of this paper were to examine various options to improve the water quality in the northern part of the lake by altering the local hydraulic flow conditions. Towards this end, a preliminary screening suggested that the flow circulation could be increased around a central island (Mask Island) in the northern part of the lake by opening up an existing causeway connecting the mainland and central island. Three-dimensional (3D) hydraulic and transport models were adopted in this paper to investigate the hydraulic conditions under various wind forces and causeway structures. The modelling results show that opening the causeway in a few places is unlikely to generate a large flow circulation around the central island. Full circulation only appears to be possible if the causeway is fully removed and a strong wind blows in a favourable direction. The possible reasons for existing water quality variations at the intake of a local WTP (water treatment plant) are also explored in the paper.

Description: Numerical simulation of the arc-flow interaction in high-voltage circuit breakers requires a radiation model capable of handling high-temperature participating thermal plasmas. The modeling of the radiative transfer plays a critical role in the overall accuracy of such CFD simulations. As a result of the increase of computational power, CPU intensive methods based on the radiative transfer equation, leading to more accurate results, are now becoming attractive alternatives to current approximate models. In this paper, the predictive capabilities of the finite volume method (RTE-FVM) and the P1 model are investigated. A systematic comparison between these two models and analytical solutions are presented for a variety of relevant test cases. Two implementations of each approach are compared, and a critical evaluation is presented.

Description: This is the continuation of our research on development of a fully nonlinear, dynamically consistent, numerical ship motion model (DiSSEL). In this paper we report our results on modeling ship maneuvering in arbitrary seaway that is one of the most challenging and important problems in seakeeping. In our modeling, we developed an adaptive algorithm to maintain dynamical balances numerically as the encounter frequencies (the wave frequencies as measured on the ship) varying with the ship maneuvering state. The key of this new algorithm is to evaluate the encounter frequency variation differently in the physical domain and in the frequency domain, thus effectively eliminating possible numerical dynamical imbalances. We have tested this algorithm with several well-documented maneuvering experiments, and our results agree very well with experimental data. In particular, the numerical time series of roll and pitch motions and the numerical ship tracks (i.e., surge, sway, and yaw) are nearly identical to those of experiments.

Description: Healthcare currently consumes 17% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product and is expected to reach 20% within the coming decade. Confronted with such high costs, sharp demand, and limited capacity, many hospitals now are vying for shorter lengths of stay and are transferring services from inpatient to outpatient facilities. This paper seeks to develop a methodology for constructing effective outpatient appointment scheduling systems. The objective of these appointment systems is to minimize the average total cost function describing total costs incurred by patient waiting and by staff idle time and overtime. In the paper, we will establish that the average total cost function exhibits a unimodal curve. The lowest point of the curve essentially means the lowest average total cost. We will next develop a simulation-based heuristic algorithm for finding an outpatient schedule near the lowest point. In the paper, we present numerical examples using the heuristic based upon a set of predetermined unit costs. Specifically, we find the near optimal interappointment times for schedules, where there are two and three patients in each block, respectively. The current work does not consider possible no shows and walk-ins. Future work will undertake these issues.

Description: Cutting operations using blades can arise in a number of industries, for example, food processing industry, in which cheese, fruit and vegetable, even meat, are involved. Certain questions will rise during these works, such as “why pressing-and-slicing cuts use less force than pressing-only cuts” and “how is the influence of the blade cutting-edge on force”. To answer these questions, this research developed a mathematical expression of the cutting stress tensor. Based on the analysis of the stress tensor on the contact surface, the influence of the blade edge-shape and slicing angle on the resultant cutting force were formulated and discussed. These formulations were further verified using experimental results by robotic cutting of potatoes. Through studying the change of the cutting force, the optimal slicing angle can be obtained in terms of maximum feeding distance and minimum cutting force. Based on the blade sharpness properties and the specific materials, the required cutting force can be predicted. These formulation and experimental results explained the basic theory of blade cutting fracture and further provided the support to optimize the cutting mechanism design and to develop the force control algorithms for the automation of blade cutting operations.

Description: A new efficient heuristic algorithm has been developed for the dynamic facility layout problem with budget constraint (DFLPB) using optimization via simulation technique. The heuristic integrates integer programming and discrete event simulation to address DFLPB. In the proposed algorithm, the nonlinear model of the DFLP has been changed to a pure integer programming (PIP) model. Then, the optimal solution of the PIP model has been used in a simulation model that has been designed in a similar manner as the DFLP for determining the probability of assigning a facility to a location. After a sufficient number of runs, the simulation model obtains near optimum solutions. Finally, to test the performance of the algorithm, several test problems have been taken from the literature and solved. The results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient in terms of speed and accuracy than other heuristic algorithms presented in previous works.

Description: Flickermeter is a common name for a system that measures the obnoxiousness of flicker caused by voltage fluctuations. The output of flickermeter is a value of short-term flicker severity indicator, . This paper presents the results of the numerical simulations that reconstruct the processing of flickermeter in frequency domain. With the use of standard test signals, the characteristics of flickermeter were determined for the case of amplitude modulation of input signal, frequency modulation of input signal, and for input signal with interharmonic component. For the needs of simulative research, elements of standard IEC flickermeter signal chain as well as test signal source and tools for acquisition, archiving, and presentation of the obtained results were modeled. The results were presented with a set of charts, and the specific fragments of the charts were pointed out and commented on. Some examples of the influence of input signal’s bandwidth limitation on the flickermeter measurement result were presented for the case of AM and FM modulation. In addition, the diagrams that enable the evaluation of flickermeter’s linearity were also presented.

Description: Modeling the multiagents cooperative systems inspired from biological self-organized systems in the context of swarm model has been under great considerations especially in the field of the cooperation of multi robots. These models are trying to optimize the behavior of artificial multiagent systems by introducing a consensus, which is a mathematical model between the agents as an intelligence property for each member of the swarm set. The application of this novel approach in the modeling of nonintelligent multi agents systems in the field of cohesion and cluster formation of nanoparticles in nanofluids has been investigated in this study. This goal can be obtained by applying the basic swarm model for agents that are more mechanistic by considering their physical properties such as their mass, diameter, as well as the physical properties of the flow. Clustering in nanofluids is one of the major issues in the study of its effects on heat transfer. Study of the cluster formation dynamics in nanofluids using the swarm model can be useful in controlling the size and formation time of the clusters as well as designing appropriate microchannels, which the nanoparticles are plunged into.

Description: The world production of crude oil is about 3 billion tons per year. The overall objective of the model in present study is supporting the decision makers in planning and conducting preventive and emergency interventions. The conservative equation for the slick dynamics was derived from layer-averaged Navier-Stokes (LNS) equations, averaged over the slick thickness. Eulerian approach is applied across the model, based on nonlinear shallow water Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Depth-integrated standard k-ε turbulence schemes have been included in the model. Wetting and drying fronts of intertidal zone and moving boundary are treated within the numerical model. A highly accurate algorithm based on a fourth-degree accurate shape function has been used through an alternating-direction implicit (ADI) scheme which separates the operators into locally one-dimensional (LOD) components. The solution has been achieved by the application of KPENTA algorithm for the set of the flow equations which constitutes a pentadiagonal matrix. Hydrodynamic model was validated for a channel with a sudden expansion in width. For validation of oil spill model, predicted results are compared with experimental data from a physical modeling of oil spill in a laboratory wave basin under controlled conditions.

Description: Based on the DC motor speed response measurement under a step voltage input, important motor parameters such as the electrical time constant, the mechanical time constant, and the friction can be estimated. A power series expansion of the motor speed response is presented, whose coefficients are related to the motor parameters. These coefficients can be easily computed using existing curve fitting methods. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the application of this approach. In these experiments, the approach was readily implemented and gave more accurate estimates than conventional methods.

Description: This paper presents a comparative analysis between the practical results of pig iron die-type part casting and the results reached by simulation. The insert was made of polystyrene, and the casting was downward vertical. As after the part casting and heat treatment cracks were observed in the part, it became necessary to locate and identify these fissures and to establish some measures for eliminating the casting defects and for locating them. The research method was the comparisons of defects identified through verifications, measurements, and metallographic analyses applied to the cast part with the results of some criteria specific to simulation after simulating the casting process. In order to verify the compatibility between reality and simulation, we then simulated the part casting respecting the real conditions in which it was cast. By visualising certain sections of the cast part during solidification, relevant details occur about the possible evolution of defects. The simulation software was AnyCasting, the measurements were done through nondestructive methods.

Description: The projective integration method based on the Galerkin-free framework with the assistance of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is presented in this paper. The present method is applied to simulate two-dimensional incompressible fluid flows past the NACA0012 airfoil problem. The approach consists of using high-accuracy direct numerical simulations over short time intervals, from which POD modes are extracted for approximating the dynamics of the primary variables. The solution is then projected with larger time steps using any standard time integrator, without the need to recompute it from the governing equations. This is called the online projective integration method. The results by the projective integration method are in good agreement with the full scale simulation with less computational needs. We also study the individual function of each POD mode used in the projective integration method. It is found that the first POD mode can capture basic flow behaviors but the overall dynamic is rather inaccurate. The second and the third POD modes assist the first mode by correcting magnitudes and phases of vorticity fields. However, adding the fifth POD mode in the model leads to some incorrect results in phase-shift forms for both drag and lift coefficients. This suggests the optimal number of POD modes to use in the projective integration method.

Description: A glazing façade subjected to blast loads has a structural behaviour that strongly differs from the typical response of a glazing system subjected to ordinary loads. Consequently, sophisticated modelling techniques are required to identify correctly its criticalities. The paper investigates the behaviour of a cable-supported façade subjected to high-level blast loading. Nonlinear dynamic analyses are performed in ABAQUS/Explicit using a sophisticated FE-model (M01), calibrated to dynamic experimental and numerical results. The structural effects of the total design blast impulse, as well as only its positive phase, are analyzed. At the same time, the possible cracking of glass panels is taken into account, since this phenomenon could modify the response of the entire façade. Finally, deep investigations are dedicated to the bearing cables, since subjecting them to elevated axial forces and their collapse could compromise the integrity of the cladding wall. Based on results of previous studies, frictional devices differently applied at their ends are presented to improve the response of the façade under the impact of a high-level explosion. Structural effects of various solutions are highlighted through dynamic simulations. Single vertical devices, if appropriately calibrated, allow reducing significantly the axial forces in cables, and lightly the tensile stresses in glass panes.

Description: Modeling the multiagents cooperative systems inspired from biological self-organized systems in the context of swarm model has been under great considerations especially in the field of the cooperation of multi robots. These models are trying to optimize the behavior of artificial multiagent systems by introducing a consensus, which is a mathematical model between the agents as an intelligence property for each member of the swarm set. The application of this novel approach in the modeling of nonintelligent multi agents systems in the field of cohesion and cluster formation of nanoparticles in nanofluids has been investigated in this study. This goal can be obtained by applying the basic swarm model for agents that are more mechanistic by considering their physical properties such as their mass, diameter, as well as the physical properties of the flow. Clustering in nanofluids is one of the major issues in the study of its effects on heat transfer. Study of the cluster formation dynamics in nanofluids using the swarm model can be useful in controlling the size and formation time of the clusters as well as designing appropriate microchannels, which the nanoparticles are plunged into.

Description: Numerical studies have been performed to visualize vortical flow structures emerged from jet cross-flow interactions. A single square jet issuing perpendicularly into a cross-flow was simulated first, followed by two additional scenarios, that is, inclined square jet at angles of 30° and 60° and round and elliptic jets at an angle of 90°, respectively. The simulation considers a jet to cross-flow velocity ratio of 2.5 and a Reynolds number of 225, based on the free-stream flow quantities and the jet exit width in case of square jet or minor axis length in case of elliptic jet. For the single square jet, the vortical flow structures simulated are in good qualitative agreement with the findings by other researchers. Further analysis reveals that the jet penetrates deeper into the cross-flow field for the normal jet, and the decrease of the jet inclination angle weakens the cross-flow entrainment in the near-wake region. For both noncircular and circular jet hole shapes, the flow field in the vicinity of the jet exit has been dominated by large-scale dynamic flow structures and it was found that the elliptic jet hole geometry has maximum “lifted-off” effect among three hole configurations studied. This finding is also in good qualitative agreement with existing experimental observations.

Description: This paper presents a precise macromodel of a signal-phase meter, which allows continuous phase measurement during simulation. It has been developed as a support tool during the design process of a signal-conditioning circuit for incremental position encoders. The development of a signal conditioning circuit requires precise measurements of small signal phases, amplitudes and offsets using the analog/digital circuit simulator. The phase measurement cannot be performed directly with a simulator, therefore an appropriate macro-model is needed for a circuit simulator. The structure of the signal-phase meter is based on the conventional signal-phase measuring method and is intended for the measuring of a cosine-signal phase with a known frequency. It recommends that the time variations of an input signal’s parameters (amplitude, phase, frequency, and offset voltage) are slow and small as possible. Rapid change of a signal’s parameters decreases the simulation result’s accuracy. A macro-model’s precision mainly depends on the chosen parameters for the macro-model and for the simulation. We show that with the proposed meter’s model, the phase angle can be measured with an accuracy of more than ±0,02%.

Description: This paper presents an optimal regulator for depth control simulation of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) using a new approach of decentralized system environment called open control platform (OCP). Simulation results are presented to demonstrate performance of the proposed method.

Description: A turbocharger unit for diesel engine is often equipped with a built-in online water washing system and its performance is not always satisfactory because of efficiency declination due to deposit accumulated on blade surfaces not being washed away. In this study, a systematic approach of using experimental measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is adopted to analyse liquid/gas two-phase flow associated with a turbocharger water washing system, in order to understand the underlying flow physics. A medium-sized diesel engine turbocharger configuration is chosen for this purpose. Experiments are focussed on blade surface temperature measurements, while CFD modelling with a coupled Eulerian/Lagrangian method is used for capturing the complex gas/liquid two-phase flow behaviours inside the induction duct and the blade passage. It was found that numerical predictions are in a good agreement with experimental data in terms of temperature distributions of the blade leading edge region and water coverage over the blade ring. Other flow features such as the water droplet trajectories and the particle size distributions are also explored and analysed in further details, and they are useful for understanding the deposit removal mechanism.

Description: This paper presents a survey of methods and techniques developed for the solution of the continuous gas-lift optimization problem over the last two decades. These range from isolated single-well analysis all the way to real-time multivariate optimization schemes encompassing all wells in a field. While some methods are clearly limited due to their neglect of treating the effects of inter-dependent wells with common flow lines, other methods are limited due to the efficacy and quality of the solution obtained when dealing with large-scale networks comprising hundreds of difficult to produce wells. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the approaches developed and to highlight the challenges that remain.

Description: Power system network can undergo outages during which there may be a partial or total blackout in the system. In that condition, transmission of power through the optimal path is an important problem in the process of reconfiguration of power system components. For a given set of generation, load pair, there could be many possible paths to transmit the power. The optimal path needs to consider the shortest path (minimum losses), capacity of the transmission line, voltage stability, priority of loads, and power balance between the generation and demand. In this paper, the Bellman Ford Algorithm (BFA) is applied to find out the optimal path and also the several alternative paths by considering all the constraints. In order to demonstrate the capability of BFA, it has been applied to a practical 230 kV network. This restorative path search guidance tool is quite efficient in finding the optimal and also the alternate paths for transmitting the power from a generating station to demand.

Description: A robust tracking controller for robot manipulators measuring only the angular positions and considering model uncertainties is presented. It is considered that the model is uncertain; that is, the system parameters, nonlinear terms, external perturbations, and the friction effects in each robot joint are considered unknown. The controller is composed by two parts, a linearizing-like control feedback and a high-gain estimator. The main idea is to lump the uncertain terms into a new state which represents the dynamics of the uncertainties. This new state is then estimated in order to be compensated. In this way the resulting controller is robust. A numerical example for a RR robot manipulator is provided, in order to corroborate the results.

Description: In the present study, artificial neural network is used to model the relationship between NOx emissions and operating parameters of a direct injection diesel engine. To provide data for training and testing the network, a 6-inline-cylinder, four-stroke, diesel test engine is used and tested for various engine speeds, mass fuel injection rates, and intake air temperatures. 80% of a total of 144 obtained experimental data is employed for training process. In addition, 10% of the data (randomly selected) is used for network validation and the remaining data is employed for testing the accuracy of the network. The mean square error function is used for evaluating the performance of the network. The results show that the artificial neural network can efficiently be used to predict NOx emissions from the tested engine with about 10% error.

Description: We have modeled a new (Q, r) inventory system which involves a single product, a supplier, and a retailer with customer differentiation under continuous review inventory policy. The supplier provides the retailer with all requirements, and the retailer sells products to the customers. The supplying process is randomly subject to disruptions. Partial backordering is applied when a stock out occurs, and customer can select either to leave the system without purchasing or to backorder products. The customers are categorized into two main classes regarding to their backordering probabilities. The main contribution of this paper is including the customer differentiation in the inventory model. We used simulation technique to verify the impact of supply disruptions and customer differentiation and carried out sensitivity analysis. To test the performance of the model, we have compared our model to one from the latest related research. As the results show, the average of total annual cost of the (Q, r) inventory system is lower than that of the previously developed models such as (r, T) inventory systems.

Description: This paper deals with the initial modeling of water salinity and its diffusion into the lakes during lock operation on the Panama Canal. A hybrid operational model was implemented using the AnyLogic software simulation environment. This was accomplished by generating an operational discrete-event simulation model and a continuous simulation model based on differential equations, which modeled the salinity diffusion in the lakes. This paper presents that unique application and includes the effective integration of lock operations and its impact on the environment.

Description: A mathematical modelling of a continuous review stochastic inventory system with a single server is carried out in this work. We assume that demand time points form a Poisson process. The life time of each item is assumed to have exponential distribution. We assume (s,S) ordering policy to replenish stock with random lead time. The server goes for a vacation of an exponentially distributed duration at the time of stock depletion and may take subsequent vacation depending on the stock position. The customer who arrives during the stock-out period or during the server vacation is offered a choice of joining a pool which is of finite capacity or leaving the system. The demands in the pool are selected one by one by the server only when the inventory level is above s, with interval time between any two successive selections distributed as exponential with parameter depending on the number of customers in the pool. The joint probability distribution of the inventory level and the number of customers in the pool is obtained in the steady-state case. Various system performance measures in the steady state are derived, and the long-run total expected cost rate is calculated.

Description: This paper presents a MATLAB based user friendly software tool called as PV.MY for optimal sizing of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The software has the capabilities of predicting the metrological variables such as solar energy, ambient temperature and wind speed using artificial neural network (ANN), optimizes the PV module/ array tilt angle, optimizes the inverter size and calculate optimal capacities of PV array, battery, wind turbine and diesel generator in hybrid PV systems. The ANN based model for metrological prediction uses four meteorological variables, namely, sun shine ratio, day number and location coordinates. As for PV system sizing, iterative methods are used for determining the optimal sizing of three types of PV systems, which are standalone PV system, hybrid PV/wind system and hybrid PV/diesel generator system. The loss of load probability (LLP) technique is used for optimization in which the energy sources capacities are the variables to be optimized considering very low LLP. As for determining the optimal PV panels tilt angle and inverter size, the Liu and Jordan model for solar energy incident on a tilt surface is used in optimizing the monthly tilt angle, while a model for inverter efficiency curve is used in the optimization of inverter size.

Description: We motivate our study by simulating the particle transport of a thin film deposition process done by PVD (physical vapor deposition) processes. In this paper we present a new model taken into account a self-consistent electrostatic-particle in cell model with low density Argon plasma. The collision model are based of Monte Carlo simulations is discussed for DC sputtering in lower pressure regimes. In order to simulate transport phenomena within sputtering processes realistically, a spatial and temporal knowledge of the plasma density and electrostatic field configuration is needed. Due to relatively low plasma densities, continuum fluid equations are not applicable. We propose instead a Particle-in-cell (PIC) method, which allows the study of plasma behavior by computing the trajectories of finite-size particles under the action of an external and self-consistent electric field defined in a grid of points.

Description: The experiments and finite element simulations of composite laminate with stitching are carried out. Firstly, the monotonous tensile experiments with and without stitching are conducted to investigate the influence of stitch reinforcement on the composite laminate. Secondly, the finite element method (FEM) is employed to simulate the tensile process of specimens, and the link element is introduced to simulate the stitching. The experiment results shows that the stitching has little influence on the damage load under monotonous tensile load, while there is a significant influence on the changing of strain. The FEM results are consistent with the experiment results, which means that the link element can be used to study the stitching of the composite laminate. The simulation results also show that the distributions of strain are changed obviously due to the existence of the stitching. Research results have a significant role on the design of the composite structures with and without stitching.

Description: This paper reveals mathematical models of the simplest Mamdani PI/PD controllers which employ two fuzzy sets (N: negative and P: positive) on the universe of discourse (UoD) of each of two input variables (displacement and velocity) and three fuzzy sets (N: negative, Z: zero, and P: positive) on the UoD of output variable (control output in the case of PD, and incremental control output in the case of PI). The basic constituents of these models are algebraic product/minimum AND, bounded sum/algebraic sum/maximum OR, algebraic product inference, three linear fuzzy control rules, and Center of Sums (CoS) defuzzification. Properties of all these models are investigated. It is shown that all these controllers are different nonlinear PI/PD controllers with their proportional and derivative gains changing with the inputs. The proposed models are significant and useful to control community as they are completely new and qualitatively different from those reported in the literature.

Description: When a cavitated body moves in shallow water, both flexible free surface and rigid bottom wall will produce great influence on the cavity pattern and hydrodynamics to change the motion attitude and stability of the body. In this paper, a single-fluid multiphase flow method coupled with a natural cavitation model was employed to study the effects of two kinds of boundaries on the natural cavitating flow around a two-dimensional symmetry wedge in shallow water. Within the range of the cavitation number for computation (0.05 ~ 2.04), the cavity pattern would be divided into three types, namely, stable type, transition type and wake-vortex type. The shape of the free surface is fairly similar to that of the cavity's upper surface with well right-and-left symmetry. However, when the immersion depth and the cavitation number are decreasing, the symmetry of the cavity shape is destroyed due to the influence of bottom wall effects. When the cavitation number is less than about 0.1, with the immersion depth going down, free surface effects exerts a stronger influence on the drag coefficient of this 2D wedge, whereas wall effects bring a stronger influence on the lift coefficient.

Description: The main aim of this work is to show that such a powerful optimizing tool like evolutionary algorithms (EAs) can be in reality used for the simulation and optimization of a nonlinear system. A nonlinear mathematical model is required to describe the dynamic behaviour of batch process; this justifies the use of evolutionary method of the EAs to deal with this process. Four algorithms from the field of artificial intelligent—differential evolution (DE), self-organizing migrating algorithm (SOMA), genetic algorithm (GA), and simulated annealing (SA)—are used in this investigation. The results show that EAs are used successfully in the process optimization.

Description: Because of the complicated energy conversion process, ultrasonic motor has remarkable nonlinearity. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve accurate speed control of ultrasonic motor. In general, a good model is the foundation of the accurate control effect. Because of the remarkable non-linearity of ultrasonic motor, the model should also be nonlinear. In this paper, the two-input and one-output steady-state model of ultrasonic motor system is worked out using fuzzy reasoning modeling method. Comparison between experimental data and calculated data of the model prove that the model can well simulate the nonlinear relationship among the amplitude of driving voltage, frequency, and rotating speed.

Description: It is reasonable to expect that, when two nominally flat rough surfaces are brought into contact by an applied resultant force, they must support, in addition to the compressive load, an induced moment. The existence of a net applied moment would imply noneven distribution of contact force so that there are more asperities in contact over one region of the nominal area. In this paper, we consider the contact between two rectangular rough surfaces that provide normal and tangential contact force as well as contact moment to counteract the net moment imposed by the applied forces. The surfaces are permitted to develop slight angular misalignment, and thereby contact moment is derived. Through this scheme, it is possible to also define elastic contribution to friction since the half-plane tangential contact force on one side of an asperity is no longer balanced by the half-plane tangential force component on the opposite side. The elastic friction force, however, is shown to be of a much smaller order than the contact normal force. Approximate closed-form equations are found for contact force and moment for the contact of rough surfaces.

Description: A computable model of grasping and manipulation of a 3D rigid object with arbitrary smooth surfaces by multiple robot fingers with smooth fingertip surfaces is derived under rolling contact constraints between surfaces. Geometrical conditions of pure rolling contacts are described through the moving-frame coordinates at each rolling contact point under the postulates: (1) two surfaces share a common single contact point without any mutual penetration and a common tangent plane at the contact point and (2) each path length of running of the contact point on the robot fingertip surface and the object surface is equal. It is shown that a set of Euler-Lagrange equations of motion of the fingers-object system can be derived by introducing Lagrange multipliers corresponding to geometric conditions of contacts. A set of 1st-order differential equations governing rotational motions of each fingertip and the object and updating arc-length parameters should be accompanied with the Euler-Lagrange equations. Further more, nonholonomic constraints arising from twisting between the two normal axes to each tangent plane are rewritten into a set of Frenet-Serre equations with a geometrically given normal curvature and a motion-induced geodesic curvature.

Description: An improved preconditioning is proposed for viscous flow computations in rotating and nonrotating frames at arbitrary Mach numbers. The key to the current method is the use of both free stream Mach number and rotating Mach number to construct a preconditioning matrix, which is applied to the compressible governing equations written in terms of primitive variables. A Fourier analysis is conducted that reveals the efficacy of the modified preconditioning. Numerical approximations for the convective and diffusive fluxes are detailed based on the preconditioned system of equations. A set of boundary conditions using characteristic variables are described for internal and external flow computations. Numerical validations are performed on four realistic viscous flows in both fixed and rotating frames. The results indicated that the modified preconditioning has a superior performance compared to the original method to predict flows from extremely low to supersonic Mach numbers.

Description: This paper develops a GA ANFIS controller design method for temperature control in plastic extrusion system. Temperature control of plastic extrusion system suffers problems related to longer settling time, couple effects, large time constants, and undesirable overshoot. The system is generally nonlinear and the temperature of the plastic extrusion system may vary over a wide range of disturbances. The system is designed with three controllers. The proposed GA ANFIS controller is the most powerful approach to retrieve the adaptiveness in the case of nonlinear system. In this research the control methods are simulated using simulink. Relatively the methodology and efficiency of the proposed method are compared with those of the traditional methods and the results obtained from GA ANFIS controller give improved performance in terms of time domain specification, set point tracking, and disturbance rejection with optimum stability.

Description: The objective of this paper is to present a short research about the overall broadband penetration in Greece. In this research, a new empirical deterministic model is proposed for the short-term forecast of the cumulative broadband adoption. The fitting performance of the model is compared with some widely used diffusion models for the cumulative adoption of new telecommunication products, namely, Logistic, Gompertz, Flexible Logistic (FLOG), Box-Cox, Richards, and Bass models. The fitting process is done with broadband penetration official data for Greece. In conclusion, comparing these models with the empirical model, it could be argued that the latter yields well enough statistics indicators for fitting and forecasting performance. It also stresses the need for further research and performance analysis of the model in other more mature broadband markets.

Description: To include user interactions in simulations of product use, the most common approach is to couple human subjects to simulation models, using hardware interfaces to close the simulation-control loop. Testing with virtual human models could offer a low-cost addition to evaluation with human subjects. This paper explores the possibilities for coupling human and artefact models to achieve fully software-based interaction simulations. We have critically reviewed existing partial solutions to simulate or execute control (both human control and product-embedded control) and compared solutions from literature with a proof-of-concept we have recently developed. Our concept closes all loops, but it does not rely on validated algorithms to predict human decision making and low-level human motor control. For low-level control, validated solutions are available from other approaches. For human decision making, however, validated algorithms exist only to predict the timing but not the reasoning behind it. To identify decision-making schemes beyond what designers can conjecture, testing with human subjects remains indispensable.

Description: We examine a simulation model for polymer extrusion filters and determine its sensitivity to filter parameters. The simulator is a three-dimensional, time-dependent discretization of a coupled system of nonlinear partial differential equations used to model fluid flow and debris transport, along with statistical relationships that define debris distributions and retention probabilities. The flow of polymer fluid, and suspended debris particles, is tracked to determine how well a filter performs and how long it operates before clogging. A filter may have multiple layers, characterized by thickness, porosity, and average pore diameter. In this work, the thickness of each layer is fixed, while the porosities and pore diameters vary for a two-layer and three-layer study. The effects of porosity and average pore diameter on the measures of filter quality are calculated. For the three layer model, these effects are tested for statistical significance using analysis of variance. Furthermore, the effects of each pair of interacting parameters are considered. This allows the detection of complexity, where in changing two aspects of a filter together may generate results substantially different from what occurs when those same aspects change separately. The principal findings indicate that the first layer of a filter is the most important.

Description: Packet scheduling has drawn a great deal of attention in the field of wireless networks as it plays an important role in distributing shared resources in a network. The process involves allocating the bandwidth among users and determining their transmission order. In this paper an uplink (UL) scheduling algorithm for the Mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network based on the cyclic polling model is proposed. The model in this study consists of five queues (UGS, ertPS, rtPS, nrtPS, and BE) visited by a single server. A threshold policy is imposed to the nrtPS queue to ensure that the delay constraint of real time traffic (UGS, ertPS, and rtPS) is not violated making this approach original in comparison to the existing contributions. A mathematical model is formulated for the weighted sum of the mean waiting time of each individual queues based on the pseudo-conservation law. The results of the analysis are useful in obtaining or testing approximation for individual mean waiting time especially when queues are asymmetric (where each queue may have different stochastic characteristic such as arrival rate and service time distribution) and when their number is large (more than 2 queues).

Description: Coupled equations between wind and saltating particles are presented for a stable wind blowing over an infinite plane bed and the equations are solved for a simplified particle-bed impact process. The calculated results show that the saltating snow particles strongly affect the velocity distribution of the wind, causing a deviation from a logarithmically distributed wind velocity profile. The average height and length of saltating snow particle trajectories exponentially increase as the friction velocity increases; the ejected snow number flux and the streamwise snow transport rate also increase as the friction velocity increases.

Description: This paper deals with usage of an alternative tool for symbolic regression—analytic programming which is able to solve various problems from the symbolic domain, as well as genetic programming and grammatical evolution. This paper describes a setting of an optimal trajectory for a robot (originally designed as an artificial ant on Santa Fe trail) solved by means of analytic programming. Firstly, main principles of analytic programming are described and explained. The second part shows how analytic programming was used for the application of finding a suitable trajectory step by step. Because analytic programming needs evolutionary algorithms for its run, three evolutionary algorithms were used—self-organizing migrating algorithm, differential evolution, and simulated annealing—to show that anyone can be used. The total number of simulations was 150 and results show that the first two used algorithms were more successful than not so robust simulated annealing.

Description: A 3D dynamic computer model for the movement of the head-neck complex is presented. It incorporates anatomically correct information about the diverse elements forming the system. The skeleton is considered as a set of interconnected rigid 3D bodies following the Newton-Euler laws of movement. The muscles are modeled using Enderle's linear model, which shows equivalent dynamic characteristics to Loeb's virtual muscle model. The soft tissues, namely, the ligaments, intervertebral disks, and facet joints, are modeled considering their physiological roles and dynamics. In contrast with other head and neck models developed for safety research, the model is aimed to study the neural control of the complex during fast eye and head movements, such as saccades and gaze shifts. In particular, the time-optimal hypothesis and the feedback control ones are discussed.

Description: This paper presents the topology of operating DC-DC buck converter in boost mode for extra-high-voltage applications. Traditional DC-DC boost converters are used in high-voltage applications, but they are not economical due to the limited output voltage, efficiency and they require two sensors with complex control algorithm. Moreover, due to the effect of parasitic elements the output voltage and power transfer efficiency of DC-DC converters are limited. These limitations are overcome by using the voltage lift technique, opens a good way to improve the performance characteristics of DC-DC converter. The technique is applied to DC-DC converter and a simplified control algorithm in this paper. The performance of the controller is studied for both line and load disturbances. These converters perform positive DC-DC voltage increasing conversion with high power density, high efficiency, low cost in simple structure, small ripples, and wide range of control. Simulation results along theoretical analysis are provided to verify its performance.

Description: Better understanding of stresses and flow characteristics in the human airways is very important for many clinical applications such as aerosol drug therapy, inhalation toxicology, and airway remodeling process. The bifurcation geometry of airway generations 3 to 5 based on the ICRP tracheobronchial model was chosen to analyze the flow characteristics and stresses during inhalation. A computational model was developed to investigate the airway tissue flexibility effect on stresses and flow characteristics in the airways. The finite-element method with the fluid-structure interaction analysis was employed to investigate the transient responses of the flow characteristics and stresses in the airways during inhalation. The simulation results showed that tissue flexibility affected the maximum airflow velocity, airway pressure, and wall shear stress about 2%, 7%, and 6%, respectively. The simulation results also showed that the differences between the orthotropic and isotropic material models on the airway stresses were in the ranges of 25–52%. The results from the present study suggest that it is very important to incorporate the orthotropic tissue properties into a computational model for studying flow characteristics and stresses in the airways.

Description: To date, most speech synthesis techniques have relied upon the representation of the vocal tract by some form of filter, a typical example being linear predictive coding (LPC). This paper describes the development of a physiologically realistic model of the vocal tract using the well-established technique of transmission line modelling (TLM). This technique is based on the principle of wave scattering at transmission line segment boundaries and may be used in one, two, or three dimensions. This work uses this technique to model the vocal tract using a one-dimensional transmission line. A six-port scattering node is applied in the region separating the pharyngeal, oral, and the nasal parts of the vocal tract.

Description: A case study of open-source (OS) development of the computational research software MFIX, used for multiphase computational fluid dynamics simulations, is presented here. The verification and validation steps required for constructing modern computational software and the advantages of OS development in those steps are discussed. The infrastructure used for enabling the OS development of MFIX is described. The impact of OS development on computational research and education in gas-solids flow, as well as the dissemination of information to other areas such as geophysical and volcanology research, is demonstrated. This study shows that the advantages of OS development were realized in the case of MFIX: verification by many users, which enhances software quality; the use of software as a means for accumulating and exchanging information; the facilitation of peer review of the results of computational research.

Description: A new genetic algorithm (GA) methodology, Bipopulation-Based Genetic Algorithm with Enhanced Interval Search (BGAwEIS), is introduced and used to optimize the design of truss structures with various complexities. The results of BGAwEIS are compared with those obtained by the sequential genetic algorithm (SGA) utilizing a single population, a multipopulation-based genetic algorithm (MPGA) proposed for this study and other existing approaches presented in literature. This study has two goals: outlining BGAwEIS's fundamentals and evaluating the performances of BGAwEIS and MPGA. Consequently, it is demonstrated that MPGA shows a better performance than SGA taking advantage of multiple populations, but BGAwEIS explores promising solution regions more efficiently than MPGA by exploiting the feasible solutions. The performance of BGAwEIS is confirmed by better quality degree of its optimal designations compared to algorithms proposed here and described in literature.

Description: Pick up-dispatching problem together with delivery-dispatching problem of a multiple-load automated guided vehicle (AGV) system have been studied. By mixing different pick up-dispatching rules, several control strategies (alternatives) have been generated and the best control strategy has been determined considering some important criteria such as System Throughput (ST), Mean Flow Time of Parts (MFTP), Mean Tardiness of Parts (MFTP), AGV Idle Time (AGVIT), AGV Travel Full (AGVTF), AGV Travel Empty (AGVTE), AGV Load Time (AGVLT), AGV Unload Time (AGVUT), Mean Queue Length (MQL) and Mean Queue Waiting (MQW). For ranking the control strategies, a new framework based on MADM methods including fuzzy MADM and TOPSIS method were developed. Then several simulation experiments which had been based on a flow path layout to find the results were conducted. Finally, by using TOPSIS method, the control strategies were ranked. Furthermore, a similar approach was used for determining the optimal fleet size. The main contribution of this paper is developing a new approach combining the top managers' views in selecting the best control strategy for AGV systems while trying to optimize the fleet size at the mean time by combining MADM, MCDM and simulation methods.

Description: Colour matching between carded and finished fibres is an important challenge for textile industry. The straightforward approach for mixing together some differently coloured fibres in order to obtain a blend of a desired colour is to perform a trial and error approach starting from a given colour recipe and optimizing it with several attempts. Unfortunately, dyeing process so as the carding procedure may result in a carded fibre whose colour is different from the desired one. As a consequence textile companies have to modify the original recipe in order to reduce the gap between the colour of the final product and the desired one. The present work describes a model able to simulate the colour mixing of fibres in order to assess the best recipe. The model consists in two modules: a “prediction module” predicts the colour of a blend obtained by mixing together several fibres; an “optimization module” is used to optimize the final recipe. The devised system has been tested for optimizing the recipe of a set of 200 blends. The mean error in predicting the blend colour is about 15% with a variance of 0.165. The time for optimizing the recipe is reduced by 92%.

Description: Mathematical modeling of many engineering and physics problem leads to extraordinary differential equations like Nonlinear, Delayed, and Fractional Order. An effective method is required to analyze the mathematical model which provides solutions conforming to physical reality. A Fractional Differential Equation (FDE), where the leading differential operator is Riemann-Liouvelli (RL) type requires fractional order initial states which are sometimes hard to physically relate. Therefore, we must be able to solve these extraordinary systems, in space, time, frequency, area, volume, with physical reality conserved. Extra Ordinary Differential equation Systems and its solution, with Physical Principle, of action-reaction and equivalent mathematical decomposition method, are obtained as an aid for Physicists and Engineers to tackle the process dynamics with ease. This reactions-chain generates internal modes from zeroth mode reaction to first mode second mode and to infinite modes; instantaneously in parallel time or space-scales; and the sum of all these modes gives entire system reaction. This modal reaction as explained by physics theory exactly matches the principle of Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM). Fractional Differential Equation (FDE) with Riemann-Liouvelli formulation linear and non-linear is solved as per ADM. In this formulation of FDE by RL method it is found that there is no need to worry about the fractional initial states; instead one can use integer order initial states (the conventional ones) to arrive at solution of FDE. This new finding too is highlighted in this paper-along with several other problems to give physical insight to the solution of extraordinary differential equation systems. This way one gets insight to Physics of General Differential Equation Systems-and its solution-by Physical Principle and equivalent mathematical decomposition method. This facilitates ease in modeling.

Description: The paper initiates a comprehensive conceptual framework for an integrated simulation environment for unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) that is capable of supporting the design, analysis, testing, and evaluation from a “system of systems” perspective. The paper also investigates the current state of the art of modeling and performance assessment of UAS and their components and identifies directions for future developments. All the components of a comprehensive simulation environment focused on the testing and evaluation of UAS are identified and defined through detailed analysis of current and future required capabilities and performance. The generality and completeness of the simulation environment is ensured by including all operational domains, types of agents, external systems, missions, and interactions between components. The conceptual framework for the simulation environment is formulated with flexibility, modularity, generality, and portability as key objectives. The development of the conceptual framework for the UAS simulation reveals important aspects related to the mechanisms and interactions that determine specific UAS characteristics including complexity, adaptability, synergy, and high impact of artificial and human intelligence on system performance and effectiveness.

Description: Although of a great extent in time, the research works directed at studying transients in synchronous generators have not yet provided fully sufficient comparative studies in respect to sudden short circuits of the machine. The present paper puts forward novel and comprehensive process models for dynamic simulation of short circuit faults of initially unloaded synchronous generators, using the generalized d-q-0 mathematical model as starting point in derivation. Distinct from the time-domain analysis, the technique proposed here allows an effective comparative overview by employing a specialized procedure to perform repeated time-domain simulations accompanied by peak values recording for the various circumstances. The time consuming matrix numerical inversion at each step of integration, usually performed when selecting currents as state variables, is eliminated by advancing the process models in a convenient split matrix form that allows the symbolic processing. Also, the computational efficiency is being increased by introducing a set of auxiliary variables common to different state equations. The models derivation is carried out without altering the structural equations of the generalized d-q-0 mathematical model of synchronous generators whilst the simulation results are both compared and discussed in detail.

Description: A numerical model based on the mild-slope equation of water wave propagation over complicated bathymetry, taking into account the combined effects of refraction, diffraction, and reflection due to breakwater, is presented. The numerical method was developed using a split proposed version of the mild-slope equation and solved by an implicit method in a finite volume grid; this technique easily allows model the wave effects caused by the breakwater building in coastal waters, where industrial and other economic activities take place. Controlled case studies have been made and the results match very well with the reference solution. The capability and utility of the model for real coastal areas are illustrated by application to the breakwater of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP).

Description: Nonlinear process models are widely used in various applications. In the absence of fundamental models, it is usually relied on empirical models, which are estimated from measurements of the process variables. Unfortunately, measured data are usually corrupted with measurement noise that degrades the accuracy of the estimated models. Multiscale wavelet-based representation of data has been shown to be a powerful data analysis and feature extraction tool. In this paper, these characteristics of multiscale representation are utilized to improve the estimation accuracy of the linear-in-the-parameters nonlinear model by developing a multiscale nonlinear (MSNL) modeling algorithm. The main idea in this MSNL modeling algorithm is to decompose the data at multiple scales, construct multiple nonlinear models at multiple scales, and then select among all scales the model which best describes the process. The main advantage of the developed algorithm is that it integrates modeling and feature extraction to improve the robustness of the estimated model to the presence of measurement noise in the data. This advantage of MSNL modeling is demonstrated using a nonlinear reactor model.

Description: Downwind wind turbines have lower upwind rotor misalignment, and thus lower turning moment and self-steered advantage over the upwind configuration. In this paper, numerical simulation to the downwind turbine is conducted to investigate the interaction between the tower and the blade during the intrinsic passage of the rotor in the wake of the tower. The moving rotor has been accounted for via ALE formulation of the incompressible, unsteady, turbulent Navier-Stokes equations. The localized CP, CL, and CD are computed and compared to undisturbed flow evaluated by Panel method. The time history of the CP, aerodynamic forces (CL and CD), as well as moments were evaluated for three cross-sectional tower; asymmetrical airfoil (NACA0012) having four times the rotor's chord length, and two circular cross-sections having four and two chords lengths of the rotor's chord. 5%, 17%, and 57% reductions of the aerodynamic lift forces during the blade passage in the wake of the symmetrical airfoil tower, small circular cross-section tower and large circular cross-section tower were observed, respectively. The pronounced reduction, however, is confined to a short time/distance of three rotor chords. A net forward impulsive force is also observed on the tower due to the high speed rotor motion.

Description: In order to keep track of the position and motion of our body in space, nature has given us a fascinating and very ingenious organ, the inner ear. Each inner ear includes five biological sensors—three angular and two linear accelerometers—which provide the body with the ability to sense angular and linear motion of the head with respect to inertial space. The aim of this paper is to present a dynamic virtual reality model of these sensors. This model, implemented in MATLAB/Simulink, simulates the rotary chair testing which is one of the tests carried out during a diagnosis of the vestibular system. High-quality 3D animations linked to the Simulink model are created using the export of CAD models into Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) files. This virtual environment shows not only the test but also the state of each sensor (excited or inhibited) in real time. Virtual reality is used as a tool of integrated learning of the dynamic behavior of the inner ear using ergonomic paradigm of user interactivity (zoom, rotation, mouse interaction, etc.). It can be used as a learning and demonstrating tool either in the medicine field—to understand the behavior of the sensors during any kind of motion—or in the aeronautical field to relate the inner ear functioning to some sensory illusions.

Description: A new mixed method for reducing the order of the large-scale linear dynamic multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems has been presented. In this method, the common denominator polynomial of the reduced-order transfer function matrix is synthesized by using modified pole clustering while the coefficients of the numerator elements are computed by minimizing the integral square error between the time responses of the original and reduced system element using Genetic Algorithm. The modified pole clustering generates more dominant cluster centres than cluster centres obtained by pole clustering technique already available in literature. The proposed algorithm is computer-oriented and comparable in quality. This method guarantees stability of the reduced model if the original high-order system is stable. The algorithm of the proposed method is illustrated with the help of an example and the results are compared with the other well-known reduction techniques.

Description: To investigate the transient behaviour of the toroidal and poloidal field coils magnet systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor during safety discharge, network models with lumped elements are established. Frequency-dependant values of the network elements, that is, inductances and resistances are calculated with the finite element method. That way, overvoltages can be determined. According to these overvoltages, the insulation coordination of coils has to be selected.

Description: Desulphurization of flue gases from various chemical industries in a techno-econo-enviro manner is a demanding technology. The concentrations of sulphur dioxide in and around these plants overshoot the danger point. In recent years, the process analysis of chemical absorption in a slurry has become important in rational design and development of wet scrubbing processes for the removal of SO2 from flue gases. The elementary steps encountered in wet scrubbing by slurries are diffusion and reaction of gaseous species and solid dissolution in liquid film. In the present work, the process of the absorption of sulphur dioxide into wet magnesia slurry was theoretically analyzed according to the two-reaction plane model incorporating the solid dissolution promoted by the reactions with absorbed sulphur dioxide in the liquid film. A model based on Fick's second law has been developed to calculate enhancement factor for absorption of Sulphur dioxide into Mg(OH)2 slurry. The concentration of accumulated species in the bulk of the liquid phase (sulphite ions for this case) which substantially control the absorption rates was included in the model for the prediction of theoretical enhancement factor. The values of theoretical enhancement factors obtained from model were compared with experimental enhancement factors available in literature. The model values of enhancement factors agreed well with the values of experimental enhancement factor available in literature.

Description: Atlantic hurricanes and severe tropical storms are a serious threat for the communities in the Gulf of Mexico region. Such storms are violent and destructive. In response to these dangers, coastal evacuation may be ordered. This paper describes the development of a simulation model to analyze the movement of vehicles through I-65, a major US Interstate highway that runs north off the coastal City of Mobile, Alabama, towards the State of Tennessee, during a massive evacuation originated by a disastrous event such a hurricane. The constructed simulation platform consists of a primary and two secondary models. The primary model is based on the entry of vehicles from the 20 on-ramps to I-65. The two secondary models assist the primary model with related traffic events such as car breakdowns and accidents, traffic control measures, interarrival signaling, and unforeseen emergency incidents, among others. Statistical testing was performed on the data generated by the simulation model to indentify variation in relevant traffic variables affecting the timely flow of vehicles travelling north. The performed statistical analysis focused on the closing of alternative on-ramps throughout the Interstate.

Description: To reduce the side effects and to improve the efficiency of radiation therapy in lung cancer, a pinpoint radiation therapy system is under development. In the system, the movement of lung tumor during breathing could be estimated by employing a suitable numerical modeling technique. This paper presents a gridless numerical technique called Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method to simulate the lung deformation during breathing. The potential of the proposed method to employ in the future pinpoint radiation therapy system has been explored. Deformation of lung during breathing was dynamically tracked and compared against the experimental results at two different locations (upper lobe and lower lobe). Numerical simulations showed that the deformation of lung surface ranged from less than 4 mm to over 20 mm depending on the location at the surface of lung. The simulation showed that the lower section of lung exhibited comparatively large displacement than the upper section. Comparing with the experimental data, the lung surface displacement during inspiration process was predicted reasonably well. Comparison of numerical prediction with experimental observations showed that the root mean squared error was about 2 mm at lower lobe and less than 1 mm at upper lobe at lung surface.

Description: This research adopts a shock tube 16 meters long and with a 9 cm bore to create a supersonic, high-temperature, and high-pressure flowfield to observe the gasification and ignition of HTPB solid fuel under different environments. Also, full-scale 3D numerical simulation is executed to enhance the comprehension of this complex phenomenon. The CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code is based on the control volume method and the pre-conditioning method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations to simulate the compressible and incompressible coupling problem. In the tests, a HTPB slab is placed in the windowed-test section. Various test conditions generate different supersonic Mach numbers and environmental temperatures. In addition, the incident angles of the HTPB slab were changed relative to the incoming shock wave. Results show that as the Mach number around the slab section exceeded 1.25, the flowfield temperature achieved 1100 K, which is higher than the HTPB gasification temperature (930 K ~ 1090 K). Then, gasification occurred and a short-period ignition could be observed. In particular, when the slab angle was 7∘, the phenomenon became more visible. This is due to the flow field temperature increase when the slab angle was at 7∘.

Description: We propose a noninvasive method to estimate the time constant. The calculation of this factor permits us to understand the pressure variations of the inner ear and also predict the behavior of the flow resistance of the cochlear aqueduct. A set of mathematical relationships incorporating the intralabyrinthine pressure, the intracranial pressure, and the time constant was applied. The modeling process describes the hydrodynamic effects of the cerebrospinal fluid in the intralabyrinthine fluid space, where the input and output of the created model are, respectively, the sinusoidal variation of the respiration signal and the distortion product of otoacoustic emissions. The obtained results were compared with those obtained by different invasive techniques. A long time constant was detected each time when the intracranial pressure increased; this phenomenon is related to the role of the cochlear aqueduct described elsewhere. The interpretation of this model has revealed the ability of these predictions to provide a greater precision for hydrodynamic variation of the inner ear, consequently the variation of the dynamic process of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Description: This paper treats some problems related to nonlinear systems identification. A stability analysis neural network model for identifying nonlinear dynamic systems is presented. A constrained adaptive stable backpropagation updating law is presented and used in the proposed identification approach. The proposed backpropagation training algorithm is modified to obtain an adaptive learning rate guarantying convergence stability. The proposed learning rule is the backpropagation algorithm under the condition that the learning rate belongs to a specified range defining the stability domain. Satisfying such condition, unstable phenomena during the learning process are avoided. A Lyapunov analysis leads to the computation of the expression of a convenient adaptive learning rate verifying the convergence stability criteria. Finally, the elaborated training algorithm is applied in several simulations. The results confirm the effectiveness of the CSBP algorithm.

Description: For long time the optimization of controller parameters uses the well-known classical method such as the Ziegler-Nichols and the Cohen-Coon tuning techniques. Despite its effectiveness, these off-line tuning techniques can be time consuming especially for a case of complex nonlinear system. This paper attempts to show a great deal on how Metamodeling techniques can be utilized to tune the PID controller parameters quickly. Note that the plant use in this study is the cruise control system with 2 different models, which are the linear model and the nonlinear model. The difference between both models is that the disturbances were taken into consideration for the nonlinear model, but in the linear model the disturbances were assumed as zero. The Radial Basis Function Neural Network Metamodel is able to prove that it can minimize the time in tuning process as it is able to give a good approximation to the optimum controller parameters in both models of this system.

Description: The coupling of groundwater movement and reactive transport during groundwater recharge with wastewater leads to a complicated mathematical model, involving terms to describe convection-dispersion, adsorption/desorption and/or biodegradation, and so forth. It has been found very difficult to solve such a coupled model either analytically or numerically. The present study adopts operator-splitting techniques to decompose the coupled model into two submodels with different intrinsic characteristics. By applying an upwind finite difference scheme to the finite volume integral of the convection flux term, an implicit solution procedure is derived to solve the convection-dominant equation. The dispersion term is discretized in a standard central-difference scheme while the dispersion-dominant equation is solved using either the preconditioned Jacobi conjugate gradient (PJCG) method or Thomas method based on local-one-dimensional scheme. The solution method proposed in this study is applied to the demonstration project of groundwater recharge with secondary effluent at Gaobeidian sewage treatment plant (STP) successfully.

Description: The high peak to average power ration (PAR) levels of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals attract the attention of many researchers during the past decade. Existing approaches that attack this PAR issue are abundant, but no systematic framework or comparison between them exists to date. They sometimes even differ in the problem definition itself and consequently in the basic approach to follow. In this paper, we propose a new trend in mitigating the peak power problem in OFDM system based on modeling the effects of clipping and amplifier nonlinearities in an OFDM system. We showed that the distortion due to these effects is highly related to the dynamic range itself rather than the clipping level or the saturation level of the nonlinear amplifier, and thus we propose two criteria to reduce the dynamic range of the OFDM, namely, the use of MSK modulation and the use of Hadamard transform. Computer simulations of the OFDM system using Matlab are completely matched with the deduced model in terms of OFDM signal quality metrics such as BER, ACPR, and EVM. Also simulation results show that even the reduction of PAR using the two proposed criteria is not significat, and the reduction in the amount of distortion due to HPA is truley delightful.

Description: We present a numerical study of an example of piecewise linear systems that constitute a class of hybrid systems. Precisely, we study the chaotic dynamics of the voltage-mode controlled buck converter circuit in an open loop. By considering the voltage input as a bifurcation parameter, we observe that the obtained simulations show that the buck converter is prone to have subharmonic behavior and chaos. We also present the corresponding bifurcation diagram. Our modeling techniques are based on the new French native modeler and simulator for hybrid systems called Scicos (Scilab connected object simulator) which is a Scilab (scientific laboratory) package. The followed approach takes into account the hybrid nature of the circuit.

Description: This paper presents the unscented transform (UT) applied to uncertainty modeling of manufacturing tolerances at the design stage of microwave passive devices. The process combines the UT with electromagnetic simulations and assumes that the numerical sources of error are negligible in comparison to the imperfections due to the manufacturing process. The technique was validated with the simulation, construction, and test of several sets of identical microstrip filters with very good results. Although the combination of UT and electromagnetic simulators was presented for microstrip filters, it can also be used for different types of microwave devices.

Description: A numerical model based on the mild-slope equation of water wave propagation over complicated bathymetry, taking into account the combined effects of refraction, diffraction, and reflection due to breakwater, is presented. The numerical method was developed using a split proposed version of the mild-slope equation and solved by an implicit method in a finite volume grid; this technique easily allows model the wave effects caused by the breakwater building in coastal waters, where industrial and other economic activities take place. Controlled case studies have been made and the results match very well with the reference solution. The capability and utility of the model for real coastal areas are illustrated by application to the breakwater of the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP).

Description: The clean and pure drinking water is important in today's life but current water sources are usually brackish with bacteria that cannot be used for drinking. About 78% of water available in the sea is salty, 21% of water is brackish, and only 1% of water is fresh. Distillation is one of the feasible processes applied to water purification, and it requires the energy inputs, such as solar radiation. Water is evaporated in this distillation process and water vapor can be separated and condensed to pure water. Now, with the change from conventional fuels to renewable and environment friendly fuels sources, the modern technology allows to use the abundant energy from the sun. It is better to use solar energy to process the water desalination since it is more economical than the use of conventional energies. The main focus of this paper is applying computer-aided modeling and simulation to design a less complex solar water distillation system. The prototype of this solar still system is also built to verify its feasibility, functionality, and reliability. The computational simulation and prototype testing show the reliability and proper functionality of this solar water distillation system.

Description: This paper concentrates on ultrasonic transducers, which are driven by piezoelectric ceramic rings that are arranged in a stack. A novel drive option, where the stack contains a new type of divided piezoelectric rings, is analyzed using the finite element method, prototyped, and tested. To gain a better sense of the vibration behavior, the studies focus initially on one ring and subsequently on the different possibilities to assemble the transducer. The investigations point out that natural bending frequencies can be excited at the transducer. Thus, multiple vibration directions of the tip can be controlled, what can be advantageous for instance in dental applications.

Description: There has been extensive work to show how electric fields can influence combustion. However, many different set ups are used. This work shows how different set ups produce different field strengths and that the field is not always uniformly distributed. The field strength is modelled using Ansys Maxwell. The type of material used is discussed and the set up of apparatus. It is recommended to use parallel plates for experimentation. Parallel plates produce the most uniform field this allow's it's influence to be directly investigated and related to the field strength.

Description: This contribution is dealing with experimental and computational evaluation of the deposition baffle that is transparent to radio frequency (RF) magnetic fields generated by an external antenna in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source but opaque to the deposition of the metal onto a dielectric wall in ionized physical vapor deposition (IPVD) system. Various engineering aspects related to the deposition baffle are discussed. Among the many requirements focus is on specific structure of the slots and analysis to minimize deposition on the baffle (we used a string model for simulating the profile evolution) and deposition through the DB on dielectric components of the ICP source. Transparency of the baffle to RF magnetic fields is computed using a three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic field solver. A simple two-dimensional sheath model is used to understand plasma interactions with the DB slot structure. Performance and possible failure of device are briefly discussed.

Description: In recent years the trends were towards modeling of machining using artificial intelligence. ANN is considered one of the important methods of artificial intelligence in the modeling of nonlinear problems like machining processes. Artificial neural networks show good capability in prediction and optimization of machining processes compared with traditional methods. In view of the importance of artificial neural networks in machining, this paper is an attempt to review the previous studies and investigations on the application of artificial neural networks in the milling process for the last decade.

Description: A 3D dynamic computer model for the movement of the head-neck complex is presented. It incorporates anatomically correct information about the diverse elements forming the system. The skeleton is considered as a set of interconnected rigid 3D bodies following the Newton-Euler laws of movement. The muscles are modeled using Enderle's linear model, which shows equivalent dynamic characteristics to Loeb's virtual muscle model. The soft tissues, namely, the ligaments, intervertebral disks, and facet joints, are modeled considering their physiological roles and dynamics. In contrast with other head and neck models developed for safety research, the model is aimed to study the neural control of the complex during fast eye and head movements, such as saccades and gaze shifts. In particular, the time-optimal hypothesis and the feedback control ones are discussed.

Description: We propose and demonstrate a new methodology to stabilize systems with complex dynamics like the supply chain. This method is based on the accumulated deviations from equilibrium (ADE). It is most beneficial for controlling system dynamic models characterized by multiple types of delays, many interacting variables, and feedback processes. We employ the classical version of particle swarm optimization as the optimization approach due to its performance in multidimensional space, stochastic properties, and global reach. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method based on ADE using a manufacturing-supply-chain case study.

Description: We present and study existing digital differential analyzer (DDA) algorithms for circle generation, including an improved two-step DDA algorithm which can be implemented solely in terms of elementary shifts, addition, and subtraction.

Description: Contraflow on major evacuation routes is one scheme that has been adopted in many Gulf and eastern coastal states for hurricane evacuation. The idea is to reverse one direction of the roadway in order to accommodate the often substantially increased travel demand moving away from the impact area. Efficient planning and operation is critical to a successful contraflow implementation. Alabama has an approximately 140-mile contraflow segment on I-65 between exit 31 and exit 167 and has carried out contraflow operations several times in past hurricane evacuations. The timing for the deployment of equipment and personnel and the initiation and termination of actual contraflow affects the effectiveness, safety, and cost of the operation. Researchers from the University of Alabama were tasked with the design of a decision support system for contraflow evacuation planning. The conceived decision support system consists of three main modules: the demand module, the network optimization module, and the incident and characterization module. This paper focuses on the design of the traffic incident generation and characterization module of the planned decision support system.

Description: Desorption and adsorption equilibrium moisture isotherms of Ziziphus spina-christi leaves were determined using the gravimetric-static method at 30, 40, and 50°C for water activity ranging from 0.057 to 0.898. At a given , the results show that the moisture content decreases with increasing temperature. A hysteresis effect was observed. The experimental data of sorption were fitted by eight models (GAB, BET, Henderson-Thompson, modified-Chung Pfost, Halsey, Oswin, Peleg, and Adam and Shove). After evaluating the models according to several criteria, the Peleg and Oswin models were found to be the most suitable for describing the sorption curves. The net isosteric heats of desorption and adsorption of Ziziphus spina-christi leaves were calculated by applying the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to the sorption isotherms and an expression for predicting these thermodynamic properties was given.

Description: Determination of optimal cutting parameters is one of the most important elements in any process planning of metal parts. In this paper, a new optimization technique, firefly algorithm, is used for determining the machining parameters in a multipass turning operation model. The objective considered is minimization of production cost under a set of machining constraints. The optimization is carried out using firefly algorithm. An application example is presented and solved to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented algorithm.

Description: A Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) algorithm is proposed to fine-tune the baseline PI controller parameters of Alstom gasifier. The existing baseline PI controller is not able to meet the performance requirements of Alstom gasifier for sinusoidal pressure disturbance at 0% load. This is considered the major drawback of controller design. A best optimal solution for Alstom gasifier is obtained from a set of nondominated solutions using MOPSO algorithm. Performance of gasifier is investigated at all load conditions. The controller with optimized controller parameters meets all the performance requirements at 0%, 50%, and 100% load conditions. The investigations are also extended for variations in coal quality, which shows an improved stability of the gasifier over a wide range of coal quality variations.

Description: We present the thermal behavior of a batch reactor to jacket equipped with a monofluid heating/cooling system. Heating and cooling are provided respectively by an electrical resistance and two plate heat exchangers. The control of the temperature of the reaction is based on the supervision system. This strategy of management of the thermal devices is based on the usage of the thermal flux as manipulated variable. The modulation of the monofluid temperature by acting on the heating power or on the opening degrees of an air-to-open valve that delivers the monofluid to heat exchanger. The study shows that the application of this method for the conduct of the pilot reactor gives good results in simulation and that taking into account the dynamics of the various apparatuses greatly improves ride quality of conduct. In addition thermal control of an exothermic reaction (mononitration) shows that the consideration of heat generated in the model representation improve the results by elimination any overshooting of the set-point temperature.

Description: We deal with an algorithm that, once origin and destination are fixed, individuates the route that permits to reach the destination in the shortest time, respecting an assigned maximal travel time, and with risks measure below a given threshold. A fluid dynamic model for road networks, according to initial car densities on roads and traffic coefficients at junctions, forecasts the future traffic evolution, giving dynamical weights to a constrained K shortest path algorithm. Simulations are performed on a case study to test the efficiency of the proposed procedure.

Description: This is the continuation of our research on development of a fully nonlinear, dynamically consistent, numerical ship motion model (DiSSEL). In this study we will report our results in predicting ship motions in unsteady maneuvering in calm water. During the unsteady maneuvering, both the rudder angle, and ship forward speed vary with time. Therefore, not only surge, sway, and yaw motions occur, but roll, pitch and heave motions will also occur even in calm water as heel, trim, and sinkage, respectively. When the rudder angles and ship forward speed vary rapidly with time, the six degrees-of-freedom ship motions and their interactions become strong. To accurately predict the six degrees-of-freedom ship motions in unsteady maneuvering, a universal method for arbitrary ship hull requires physics-based fully-nonlinear models for ship motion and for rudder forces and moments. The numerical simulations will be benchmarked by experimental data of the Pre-Contract DDG51 design and an Experimental Hull Form. The benchmarking shows a good agreement between numerical simulations by the enhancement DiSSEL and experimental data. No empirical parameterization is used, except for the influence of the propeller slipstream on the rudder, which is included using a flow acceleration factor.

Description: The control systems applied on active magnetic bearing are several. A perfect levitation is characterized by maintaining the operating point condition that is characterized by the center of stator coincident with the geometric center of shaft. The first controller implemented for this purpose is PID controller that is characterized by an algorithm that leads the amplifier to produce control current until the operating point condition is not reached, this is obtained by an integration operator. The effect of an integrator is essential but not necessary for a centered levitation for example in the robust control characterized by a dynamic model depended on plant of system so that it depends on angular speed as LQR controller does. In LQR there is not integrator so there is not a perfectly centered section of shaft with center of stator. On contrary PID controller does not depend on angular speed and it can be easily implemented according some simple rules. Predictive control is another interesting controller characterized by a multiple controller operating in different condition in order to get the minimum of cost function, but also in this case the angular speed is introduce for the same reason discussed before.

Description: For premature convergence and instability of cultural algorithm in solving function optimization problem, based on cultural algorithm and chaos search optimization, a chaos cultural algorithm (CCA) is proposed. The algorithm model consists of a chaos-based population space and a knowledge-storing belief space, uses normative knowledge and situational knowledge for chaos search and chaos perturbation, respectively, effectively avoids premature convergence of cultural algorithm, and overcomes chaos search optimization's sensitivity to initial values and poor efficiency. Test results show that this algorithm is strong in global search and has good performance in searching efficiency, precision, and stability, especially in solving high-dimensional optimization problem.

Description: Three-dimensional elastic-plastic contact of two nominally flat rough surfaces is considered. Equations governing the shoulder-shoulder contact of asperities are derived based on the asperity constitutive relations from a finite element model of the elastic-plastic interaction proposed by Kogut and Etsion (2002), in which asperity scale constitutive relations are derived using piecewise approximate functions. An analytical fusion technique is developed to combine the piecewise asperity level constitutive relations. Shoulder-shoulder asperity contact yields a slanted contact force consisting of two components, one in the normal direction and a half-plane tangential component. Statistical summation of the asperity level contact force components and asperity level contact area results in the total contact force and total contact area formulae between two rough surfaces. Approximate equations are developed in closed form for contact force components and contact area.

Description: This study demonstrates the transient and steady state dynamic loading on teeth within a two-stage gear transmission arising from backlash and geometric manufacturing errors by utilizing a nonlinear multibody dynamics software model. Backlash between gear teeth which is essential to provide better lubrication on tooth surfaces and to eliminate interference is included as a defect and a necessary part of transmission design. Torsional vibration is shown to cause teeth separation and double-sided impacts in unloaded and lightly loaded gearing drives. Vibration and impact force distinctions between backlash and combinations of transmission errors are demonstrated under different initial velocities and load conditions. The backlash and manufacturing errors in the first stage of the gear train are distinct from those of the second stage. By analyzing the signal at a location between the two stages, the mutually affected impact forces are observed from different gear pairs, a phenomenon not observed from single pair of gears. Frequency analysis shows the appearance of side band modulations as well as harmonics of the gear mesh frequency. A joint time-frequency response analysis during startup illustrates the manner in which contact forces increase during acceleration.

Description: A numerical scheme based on discontinuous Galerkin method is proposed for the two-dimensional shallow water flows. The scheme is applied to model flows with shock waves. The form of shallow water equations that can eliminate numerical imbalance between flux term and source term and simplify computation is adopted here. The HLL approximate Riemann solver is employed to calculate the mass and momentum flux. A slope limiting procedure that is suitable for incompressible two-dimensional flows is presented. A simple method is adapted for flow over initially dry bed. A new formulation is introduced for modeling the net pressure force and gravity terms in discontinuous Galerkin method. To validate the scheme, numerical tests are performed to model steady and unsteady shock waves. Applications include circular dam break with shock, shock waves in channel contraction, and dam break in channel with 45∘ bend. Numerical results show that the scheme is accurate and efficient to model two-dimensional shallow water flows with shock waves.

Description: The motion equations of anisotropic media, coupled to the mass conservation and thermoequilibrium equations of fluid, are studied here based on the standard space of physical presentation for thermoelastic dynamics of anisotropic saturated porous solids. By introducing a new compressible thermo-elastic model, a set of uncoupled equations of elastic waves are deduced. The results show that the elastic waves and speeds of elastic waves are affected by both anisotropic subspaces of solids and thermal and compressive coupling coefficients between fluid and solid. Based on these laws, we discuss the propagation behaviour of elastic waves for various anisotropic solids.

Description: Three versions of Bartlett Lewis rectangular pulse rainfall models, namely, the Original Bartlett Lewis (OBL), Modified Bartlett Lewis (MBL), and 2N-cell-type Bartlett Lewis model (BL2n), are considered. These models are fitted to the hourly rainfall data from 1970 to 2008 obtained from Petaling Jaya rain gauge station, located in Peninsular Malaysia. The generalized method of moments is used to estimate the model parameters. Under this method, minimization of two different objective functions which involve different weight functions, one weight is inversely proportional to the variance and another one is inversely proportional to the mean squared, is carried out using Nelder-Mead optimization technique. For the purpose of comparison of the performance of the three different models, the results found for the months of July and November are used for illustration. This performance is assessed based on the goodness of fit of the models. In addition, the sensitivity of the parameter estimates to the choice of the objective function is also investigated. It is found that BL2n slightly outperforms OBL. However, the best model is the Modified Bartlett Lewis MBL, particularly when the objective function considered involves weight which is inversely proportional to the variance.