计及Spark和属性权重的售电套餐推荐方法

针对电力市场用户群庞大，交易过程中售电套餐选择困难的问题，在Spark环境下设计了一种售电套餐推荐方法，同时也解决了售电套餐推荐过程中在大数据环境下的可扩展性及实时性问题。首先，计算出每个套餐属性的权重值，从而计算得到售电套餐综合相似度。然后，计及用户和套餐两方面提出一种售电套餐推荐方法，实现售电套餐的精准推荐。实验表明，提出的推荐方法能够明显提高推荐的准确度，并且在分布式环境下具有良好的推荐效率和可扩展性。     

应用膨胀算法提取目标的直接定位算法

为了解决被动雷达系统中的多发射源定位问题，提出了一种基于多重信号分类(MUSIC)算法和图像膨胀(IE)算法的直接定位方法。该方法结合了谱分析中的MUSIC思想，通过对接收量测协方差矩阵进行特征分析求解目标的位置。首先，在目标个数未知的前提下，利用Akaike信息准则(AIC)来确定模型阶数；然后，推导了基于MUSIC的定位代价函数；之后，利用图像膨胀算法处理得到的代价函数平面；最后，膨胀处理后的输出为目标个数及目标位置的估计值。提出的算法有效地解决了目标检测及提取的问题，能够确定多个目标的位置坐标，为后续的定位性能分析提供可能性，也保证了算法的完整性。进一步地分析了多个临近目标情况下影响目标提取性能的主要因素。     

350MW机组锅炉SCR脱硝系统优化

准东煤田是我国目前最大的整装煤田,但准东煤在锅炉燃烧过程中易发生结焦问题,一般掺烧高岭土缓解结焦。某燃用准东煤350 MW机组,锅炉燃煤掺烧高岭土后烟气携带灰尘颗粒及灰尘量增大,出现SCR脱硝系统烟道积灰严重和喷氨量明显偏大问题,同时在空气预热器形成硫酸氢氨堵塞,使机组不能长周期稳定运行。通过与国内同类型多台机组锅炉对比后发现,脱硝系统均存在易产生积灰的脱硝转向室、催化剂上方及空气预热器入口斜坡积灰状况等情况。针对存在的问题,通过建立改造前、后的模型计算分析,进行了导流板布置的优化设计、CFD流场分布、优化SCR系统导流板设计、声波与蒸汽吹灰器结合吹灰和氨注射栅格优化升级等工作,应用德图480风速仪实测风速试验,发现脱硝烟道原导流板设计不合理及施工安装偏差;原导流板水平段跨距大,支撑不足,造成导流板压塌变形,影响烟气流场分布;锅炉所烧煤质为高钠煤,为防止锅炉结焦掺烧高岭土后,增加了烟气飞灰颗粒及灰尘量,飞灰具有很大黏性,易沉积在烟道导流板及烟道壁面上。因此,提出对脱硝内部各处导流板进行优化改造,对脱硝系统烟道易产生积灰的部位增加声波吹灰器,对喷氨格栅喷嘴数量及氨空混合器升级,同时开展锅炉SCR脱硝喷氨热态优化调整试验工作。通过开展相关工作,SCR烟气系统的烟气流场相对标准偏差优化5%,相同负荷下液氨消耗量降低45%,彻底解决脱硝系统积灰和空气预热器堵塞问题,实现机组满负荷达标稳定运行。锅炉长期运行半年后停炉检查,发现前期脱硝系统烟道高达1 m的积灰部位彻底解决,催化剂表面干净无杂物,解决了脱硝系统积灰问题,同时配合提高空气预热器冷端综合温度的措施,彻底解决锅炉空气预热器堵塞问题。同时,经济效益显著,每年可以分别节约液氨费用70万元,节约风机电耗费用100万元,节约检修清理积灰及检修费用80万元,节约空气预热器冲洗治理费用20万元,综合节约费用270万元/a,达到预期效果实现机组长周期安全经济稳定运行。     

Usability of a cloud-based collaborative learning framework to improve learners’ experience

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is concerned with how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) might facilitate learning in groups which can be co-located or distributed over a network of computers such as Internet. CSCL supports effective learning by means of communication of ideas and information among learners, collaborative access of essential documents, and feedback from instructors and peers on learning activities. As the cloud technologies are increasingly becoming popular and collaborative learning is evolving, new directions for development of collaborative learning tools deployed on cloud are proposed. Development of such learning tools requires access to substantial data stored in the cloud. Ensuring efficient access to such data is hindered by the high latencies of wide-area networks underlying the cloud infrastructures. To improve learners’ experience by accelerating data access, important files can be replicated so a group of learners can access data from nearby locations. Since a cloud environment is highly dynamic, resource availability, network latency, and learner requests may change. In this paper, we present the advantages of collaborative learning and focus on the importance of data replication in the design of such a dynamic cloud-based system that a collaborative learning portal uses. To this end, we introduce a highly distributed replication technique that determines optimal data locations to improve access performance by minimizing replication overhead (access and update). The problem is formulated using dynamic programming. Experimental results demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed collaborative learning system used by institutions in geographically distributed locations.     

Why do small business butcher shops fail to fully implement HACCP?

This study aims to assess the degree of HACCP implementation in small business butcher shops and understand which factors most influence butchers' intention to fully implement it, through the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. One hundred and one butchers managing or owning small butcher's responded to the interview regarding their Attitudes, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, Personal Norm, and Knowledge with regard to their Intention to fully implement a HACCP system in their shops. Before the interviews, a certified veterinarian visited all the shops. Visits included an inspection of the establishments using the Official Portuguese Control Plan checklist for meat retailers. Conformance level measured past performance regarding food safety practices. Based on past performance, butchers were divided into “high performers” and “low performers”. “High performers” yielded high values of Attitude and Intention towards the Behaviour. For these, Attitude and Personal Norm emerge as predictors of the Intention to fully implement a HACCP system. For “low performers”, Personal Norm was the strongest predictor of Intention, with results pointing to the need for an intervention from the authorities to promote increased conformance to food safety practices. For both groups, neither Social Norm nor Perceived Behavioural Control acted as significant predictors of Intention.     

Two-agent two-machine flowshop scheduling with learning effects to minimize the total completion time

We study a two-agent scheduling problem in a two-machine permutation flowshop with learning effects. The objective is to minimize the total completion time of the jobs from one agent, given that the maximum tardiness of the jobs from the other agent cannot exceed a bound. We provide a branch-and-bound algorithm for the problem. In addition, we present several genetic algorithms to obtain near-optimal solutions. Computational results indicate that the algorithms perform well in either solving the problem or efficiently generating near-optimal solutions.     

Multi-innovation auto-constructed least squares identification for 4 DOF ship manoeuvring modelling with full-scale trial data

This research is concerned with the problem of 4 degrees of freedom (DOF) ship manoeuvring identification modelling with the full-scale trial data. To avoid the multi-innovation matrix inversion in the conventional multi-innovation least squares (MILS) algorithm, a new transformed multi-innovation least squares (TMILS) algorithm is first developed by virtue of the coupling identification concept. And much effort is made to guarantee the uniformly ultimate convergence. Furthermore, the auto-constructed TMILS scheme is derived for the ship manoeuvring motion identification by combination with a statistic index. Comparing with the existing results, the proposed scheme has the significant computational advantage and is able to estimate the model structure. The illustrative examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, especially including the identification application with full-scale trial data.     

Design of disturbance observer based on adaptive-neural control for large-scale time-delay systems in the presence of actuator fault and unknown dead zone

This article presents an adaptive neural compensation scheme for a class of large-scale time delay nonlinear systems in the presence of unknown dead zone, external disturbances, and actuator faults. In this article, the quadratic Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals are introduced to tackle the system delays. The unknown functions of the system are estimated by using radial basis function neural networks. Furthermore, a disturbance observer is developed to approximate the external disturbances. The proposed adaptive neural compensation control method is constructed by utilizing a backstepping technique. The boundedness of all the closed-loop signals is guaranteed via Lyapunov analysis and the tracking errors are proved to converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.     

Ga-doped IZO films obtained by magnetron sputtering as transparent conductors for visible and solar applications

C-axis textured thin films of gallium-doped indium zinc oxide (GIZO) with a 2% ratio of Ga/Zn, were obtained via RF-magnetron sputtering with high transparency and electrical conductivity. A Box-Behnken response surface design was used to evaluate the effects of the deposition parameters (In₂O₃ target power, deposition time, and substrate temperature) on the chemical composition, optical, electrical, and structural properties of the GIZO films. The optical constants and the electrical properties were obtained using optical models. The GIZO stoichiometry, and therefore the In/Zn atomic ratio, affected the crystallinity, crystalline parameters, band gap, and charge carrier mobility of the GIZO films. The charge carrier density was related to the change in the crystalline parameters of the hexagonal structure and the In/Zn atomic ratio. The best electrical conductivity values (1.75?×?10³ Ω^?1 cm^?1) were obtained for GIZO films with In/Zn ratio ≥?1. Several figures of merit (FOM) defined for the visible and solar regions were comparatively used to select the optimal In/Zn atomic ratio that provided the best balance between the conductivity and the transparency. The optimal In/Zn ratio was in a range of 0.85–0.90 for the GIZO films.