A systematic approach to preliminary polymer process development: modeling and design

A general and complete methodology is presented to facilitate systematic modeling and design of polymer processes during the early development period. To capture and handle the subjective type of uncertainty, embedded in the preliminary process development, fuzzy theories are used as a basis to model and design the process in the presence of ambiguity and vagueness. Physical membership functions are developed for mapping the relation between process variables and the associated fuzzy uncertainties. Based on the qualitative results generated using our previously proposed “linguistic based preliminary design method,” the process modeling can be followed even in the absence of any process governing equations. The modeling is carried out by establishing an appropriate fuzzy reasoning system which provides a specific functional mapping that relates input process variables to one (or more than one) output performance parameter(s). A reduced yet feasible domain is generated by our qualitative design scheme to constrain the process variables. Now, any optimization routine can then be employed to search for a proper process design. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology by its application to a typical compression molding process.     

Melt index prediction by weighted least squares support vector machines

Melt index is considered an important quality variable determining product specifications. Reliable prediction of melt index (MI) is crucial in quality control of practical propylene polymerization processes. In this paper a least squares support vector machines (LS‐SVM) soft‐sensor model of propylene polymerization process is developed to infer the MI of polypropylene from other process variables. Considering the use of a SSE cost function without regularization might lead to less robust estimates; the weighted least squares support vector machines (weighted LS‐SVM) approach of propylene polymerization process is further proposed to obtain a robust estimation of melt index. The performance of standard SVM model is taken as a basis of comparison. A detailed comparison research among the standard SVM, LS‐SVM, and weighted LS‐SVM models is carried out. The research results confirm the effectiveness of the presented methods. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 285–289, 2006     

Estimation of Width and Depth of the Wetted Soil Volume Under a Surface Emitter,Considering Root Water-Uptake and Evaporation

A cylindrical flow model that describes local infiltration from a surface point source, by incorporating evaporation and water extraction by roots, was used to obtain numerical results that were the base for the development and testing of an empirical method for determining the surface and vertical components of the wetting front. The implementation of the mathematical model took place against two of the twelve USDA soil classes, using three water application rates for each one. The empirical methodology consisted of two simple, time dependent empirical relationships: a power law for the stage of the infiltration, which was applied in both directions and a polynomial for the stage after the end of the irrigation, applied only for the vertical component, to account for percolation losses. The statistical criteria used for the evaluation of the method showed good agreement between the numerical results and the values calculated by the empirical relationships. Based on the limited availability of necessary experimental data for detailed analysis of multidimensional transient infiltration, the introduction of such an empirical model, as a design tool for trickle irrigation systems, may contribute to the selection of the optimum application rate and lateral spacing.     

Hydrocarbon exploration risk evaluation through uncertainty and sensitivity analyses techniques

The evaluation of the exploration risk in the oil industry is a fundamental component of the decision process related to the exploratory phase. In this paper the two basic components of the exploratory risk: trap geometry and trapped hydrocarbon quantities (fluid), are compounded in a single coherent uncertainty and sensitivity approach. The results clarify that the model geometry influences each Petroleum System Modeling step and that the geometric uncertainty is correlated with the fluid uncertainty. The geometric uncertainty evaluation makes use of geostatistical techniques that produce a number of possible realizations of the trap geometry, all compatible with available data. The evaluation of the fluid uncertainty, through a Monte Carlo methodology, allows us to compute the possible quantities of oil and gas, generated in a basin and migrated from the hydrocarbon source location to each single trap. The final result is the probability distribution of oil and gas for each trap in the basin, together with other useful indicators like: the hydrocarbon filling probability map, the closure probability map, the drainage area probability map, the spilling paths probabilities, the trap-filling scenarios.     

广义频率响应函数的鲁棒建模新方法

针对基于非线性谱分析的故障诊断技术的需要,研究了非线性系统的广义频率响应函数的鲁棒在线建模方 法。首先将次元分析算法应用于Volterra级数模型的辨识,并通过对此算法的修正,得到了一种改进的Volterra系统的鲁 棒辨识算法。对其鲁棒性能进行的分析表明,改进算法的鲁棒抗噪性能被明显提高。在此基础上,提出了一种广义频率响 应函数的两步鲁棒建模新方法。仿真实验表明,该方法具有良好的鲁棒收敛性能,能够有效解决GFRF的在线建模问题。     

On denoising and compression of DNA microarray images

We address the problems of noise and huge data sizes in microarray images. First, we propose a mixture model for describing the statistical and structural properties of microarray images. Then, based on the microarray image model, we present methods for denoising and for compressing microarray images. The denoising method is based on a variant of the translation-invariant wavelet transform. The compression method introduces the notion of approximate contexts (rather than traditional exact contexts) in modeling the symbol probabilities in a microarray image. This inexact context modeling approach is important in dealing with the noisy nature of microarray images. Using the proposed denoising and compression methods, we describe a near-lossless compression scheme suitable for microarray images. Results on both denoising and compression are included, which show the performance of the proposed methods. Further experiments using the results of the proposed near-lossless compression scheme in gene clustering using cell-cycle microarray data for S. cerevisiae showed a general improvement in the clustering performance, when compared with using the original data. This provides an indirect validation of the effectiveness of the proposed denoising method.     

Tunnel stability and arching effects during tunneling in soft clayey soil

A series of centrifuge model tests and numerical simulations of these tests were carried out to investigate the surface settlement troughs, excess pore water pressure generation, tunnel stability and arching effects that develop during tunneling in soft clayey soil. The two methods were found to provide consistent results of the surface settlement troughs, excess pore water generation, and the overload factors at collapse for both single and parallel tunneling. The arching ratio describes the evolution of the arching effects on the soil mass surrounding tunnels and can be derived from the numerical analysis. The boundaries of the arching zones for both single tunneling and parallel tunneling were determined. In addition, the boundaries of the positive and negative arching zones were also proposed.     

On the relationships among latent variables and residuals in PLS path modeling: The formative-reflective scheme

A new approach for the estimation and the validation of a structural equation model with a formative-reflective scheme is presented. The basis of the paper is a proposal for overcoming a potential deficiency of PLS path modeling. In the PLS approach the reflective scheme assumed for the endogenous latent variables (LVs) is inverted; moreover, the model errors are not explicitly taken into account for the estimation of the endogenous LVs. The proposed approach utilizes all the relevant information in the formative manifest variables (MVs) providing solutions which respect the causal structure of the model. The estimation procedure is based on the optimization of the redundancy criterion. The new approach, entitled redundancy analysis approach to path modeling (RA-PM) is compared with both traditional PLS Path Modeling and LISREL methodology, on the basis of real and simulated data.     

配网侧接入电源对负荷建模的影响

研究了配网侧接入电源对负荷建模的影响。发现当配网侧电源的发电容量逐渐增大时，原有的感应电动机并联恒阻抗、恒电流、恒功率（ZIP）模型的负荷模型将不再能很好地反映该区域的负荷特性，进而提出了一种新的负荷模型结构———异步发电机并联ZIP模型。通过仿真计算，验证了该新负荷模型的有效性，并进一步统一了上述2种负荷模型，称为异步机并联ZIP负荷模型。