Groundwater Level Simulation Using Soft Computing Methods with Emphasis on Major Meteorological Components

Water Resources Management - Precise estimation of groundwater level (GWL) might be of great importance for attaining sustainable development goals and integrated water resources management....     

4D Printing of Shape Memory Materials for Textiles: Mechanism,Mathematical Modeling,and Challenges

Shape memory materials (SMMs) in 3D printing (3DP) technology garnered much attention due to their ability to respond to external stimuli, which direct this technology toward an emerging area of research, “4D printing (4DP) technology.” In contrast to classical 3D printed objects, the fourth dimension, time, allows printed objects to undergo significant changes in shape, size, or color when subjected to external stimuli. Highly precise and calibrated 4D materials, which can perform together to achieve robust 4D objects, are in great demand in various fields such as military applications, space suits, robotic systems, apparel, healthcare, sports, etc. This review, for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, focuses on recent advances in SMMs (e.g., polymers, metals, etc.) based wearable smart textiles and fashion goods. This review integrates the basic overview of 3DP technology, fabrication methods, the transition of 3DP to 4DP, the chemistry behind the fundamental working principles of 4D printed objects, materials selection for smart textiles and fashion goods. The central part summarizes the effect of major external stimuli on 4D textile materials followed by the major applications. Lastly, prospects and challenges are discussed, so that future researchers can continue the progress of this technology.     

Towards a super-resolution based approach for improved face recognition in low resolution environment

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The video surveillance activity generates a vast amount of data, which can be processed to detect miscreants. The task of identifying and recognizing an object...     

On the design of secure primitives for real world applications

This editorial paper provides an overview of new advances on hardware security challenges and promising solutions for real world applications. It first presents the increasing hardware vulnerabilities with the emergence of diverse computing platforms. Then, it details the technical challenges, research opportunities, and potential solutions to cyber-attacks on -physical- devices.     

An economic investigation of the wind-hydrogen projects: A case study

Hydrogen as an energy carrier can play a significant role in reducing environmental emissions if it is produced from renewable energy resources. This research aims to assess hydrogen production from wind energy considering environmental, economic, and technical aspect for the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. The economic assessment is performed by calculation of payback period, levelized cost of hydrogen, and levelized cost of electricity. Since uncertainty in the power output of wind turbines may affect the payback period, all calculations are performed for four different turbine degradation rates. While it is common in the literature to choose the wind turbine based on a single criterion, this study implements Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques for this purpose. The results of Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis illustrates that economic issue is the most important criterion for this research. The results of Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment shows that Vestas V52 is the most suitable wind turbine for Ahar and Sarab cities, while Eovent EVA120 H-Darrieus is a better choice for other stations. The most suitable location for wind power generation is found to be Ahar, where it is estimated to annually generate 2914.8 kWh of electricity at the price of 0.045 $/kWh, and 47.2 tons of hydrogen at the price of 1.38 $/kg, which result in 583 tons of CO₂ emission reduction.     

Comparison of the retarding mechanisms of zinc oxide and sucrose on cement hydration and interactions with supplementary cementitious materials

Sucrose and zinc oxide (ZnO) are effective cement hydration retarders. The goal of this study was to provide a new look into the ZnO cement hydration mechanism and to investigate impacts of various supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) on retardation behavior of ZnO and sucrose. Changes in the pore solution composition and reaction kinetics were measured for cementitious systems with ZnO or sucrose that contained rice straw ash (RSA), wheat straw ash, silica fume, metakaolin, and fly ash. Among the SCMs used, RSA dramatically suppressed ZnO and sucrose retardation. Experimental results indicated that the mechanism by which ZnO retards hydration reaction could be nucleation and/or growth poisoning of C-S-H. Reduced retardation of paste samples containing RSA was attributed to the ability of RSA to provide nucleation sites for C-S-H precipitation. This study provides a better understanding of the interaction between SCMs and cement hydration retarders essential in predicting retarder–dose effects.     

Effects of off-focal radiation on dimensional measurements in industrial cone-beam micro-focus X-ray computed tomography systems

A study of the secondary source phenomenon due to the presence of off-focal radiation in industrial micro-focus cone-beam X-ray computed tomography (XCT) systems and its influence on dimensional measurements is presented. Although off-focal radiation production within X-ray tubes has been studied for medical X-ray imaging systems, its properties and its effects on dimensional measurements in industrial XCT systems have not been discussed prior to this research. The study comprises: evaluation of the geometrical properties of off-focal radiation through a theoretical and experimental study of two-dimensional projection images of the scanned objects, verification of these properties using computer simulations and evaluation of the impact of the secondary source on dimensional measurements using experimental and simulation approaches. In addition, ways to minimise the effects of off-focal radiation are discussed, and reference samples for characterising the properties of off-focal radiation are proposed.     

A knowledge-based archive multi-objective simulated annealing algorithm to optimize series–parallel system with choice of redundancy strategies

Redundancy allocation problem (RAP) is one of the best-developed problems in reliability engineering studies. This problem follows to optimize the reliability of a system containing s sub-systems under different constraints, including cost, weight, and volume restrictions using redundant components for each sub-system. Various solving methodologies have been used to optimize this problem, including exact, heuristic, and meta-heuristic algorithms. In this paper, an efficient multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm based on simulated annealing (SA) is developed to solve multi-objective RAP (MORAP). This algorithm is knowledge-based archive multi-objective simulated annealing (KBAMOSA). KBAMOSA applies a memory matrix to reinforce the neighborhood structure to achieve better quality solutions. The results analysis and comparisons demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm for solving MORAP.     

Earliness–tardiness minimization on scheduling a batch processing machine with non-identical job sizes

This paper considers the scheduling problem of minimizing earliness–tardiness (E/T) on a single batch processing machine with a common due date. The problem is extended to the environment of non-identical job sizes. First, a mathematical model is formulated, which is tested effectively under IBM ILOG CPLEX using the constraint programming solver. Then several optimal properties are given to schedule batches effectively, and by introducing the concept of ARB (Attribute Ratio of Batch), it is proven that the ARB of each batch should be made as small as possible in order to minimize the objective, designed as the heuristic information for assigning jobs into batches. Based on these properties, a heuristic algorithm MARB (Minimum Attribute Ratio of Batch) for batch forming is proposed, and a hybrid genetic algorithm is developed for the problem under study by combining GA (genetic algorithm) with MARB. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms in the literature, both for small and large problem instances.     

Lean production system design for fishing net manufacturing using lean principles and simulation optimization

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a useful tool for describing the manufacturing state, especially for distinguishing between those activities that add value and those that do not. It can help in eliminating non-value activities and reducing the work in process (WIP) and thereby increase the service level. This research follows the guidelines for designing future state VSM. These guidelines consist of five factors which can be changed simply, without any investment. These five factors are (1) production unit; (2) pacemaker process; (3) number of batches; (4) production sequence; and (5) supermarket size. The five factors are applied to a fishing net manufacturing system. Using experimental design and a simulation optimizing tool, the five factors are optimized. The results show that the future state maps can increase service level and reduce WIP by at least 29.41% and 33.92% respectively. For the present study, the lean principles are innovatively adopted in solving a fishing net manufacturing system which is not a well-addressed problem in literature. In light of the promising empirical results, the proposed methodologies are also readily applicable to similar industries.