干湿联合冷却塔冷却节水分析软件开发及应用

为实现对干湿联合冷却塔冷却特性、节水特性的综合分析，编制干湿联合冷却塔校核计算流程，基于Visual Studio开发平台，本文开发了干湿联合冷却塔冷却节水特性分析优化软件。通过对某在运干湿联合冷却塔进行冷却节水特性计算，验证了所开发软件计算结果的准确性；在消雾节水计算结果基础上，对标干湿联合消雾冷却塔验收测试规程，生成其成雾频率曲线、耗水量曲线、塔雾指数、冷却特性曲线，综合分析其消雾特性、节水特性及冷却特性，从而确定了干湿联合冷却塔的最佳运行工况。同时运用所开发软件对比分析了某冷却塔设计干段散热面积对其消雾特性、节水特性及冷却特性的耦合影响，并分析了百叶窗开度对干湿联合冷却塔性能的影响，为干湿联合冷却塔的运行优化和设计优化提供了工具性软件支持。     

新型硫酸法C_4烷基化工艺的模拟

提出了一种新型硫酸法C4烷基化生产工艺,丁烯原料在气相状态下进入反应器,与液相异丁烷、浓硫酸混合后,部分丁烯溶于液相,在液相中进行反应;通过控制反应器的压力,部分液相吸收反应热而汽化,使反应温度基本稳定;经气液分离、酸烃分离及产品分馏后,气相丁烯、异丁烷、浓硫酸分别构成循环。采用Aspen Plus过程模拟软件对新工艺过程进行模拟计算的结果表明,在反应器进口压力0.2 MPa、压降4.5 k Pa的条件下,反应器进出口温度均在7.2℃左右,可通过调节反应器压力实现温度的控制;反应器进口液相中烷烯质量比为145∶1,可减少副反应的发生;与传统硫酸法C4烷基化工艺相比,新工艺耗电量可降低30%。     

Optimal PMU placement considering topology constraints

A new optimization algorithm for optimal PMU configuration based on combination of graph theory and genetic algorithm is proposed. According to four topology reconstruction rules and three PMU configuration rules based on the graphic relationships between PMUs, constraints of PMU placement are put forward through topology constraint analysis, which dramatically limits the feasible solution space, thereby enhancing the algorithm speed. Meanwhile, an improved genetic algorithm based on serial number coding is presented to avoid infeasible solutions and improve the overall optimization performance. New corresponding crossover and mutation operator is also created. Examples show that the proposed algorithm performs very well and is highly valuable to large-scale networks.     

Optimal configuration of cluster supply chains with augmented Lagrange coordination

Enterprises in an industrial cluster could dynamically alliance in the form of cluster supply chains to share inner-cluster resources and services, and respond to the ever-fluctuating customer demands in a cost-effective way. However, an effective and feasible method enabling such dynamic cluster supply chain configuration (CSCC) lags behind practice due to the conflict of interests. Researchers are designing All-in-One theoretic models to optimize CSCC with the assumed decision details of all enterprises, while in fact clustered enterprises are seeking effective decentralized decision mechanisms which protect their decision autonomy in the frequently re-configured CSC. A newly emerged multi-disciplinary optimization method, Augmented Lagrangian Coordination (ALC), which supports the open-structure collaboration with strict optimization convergence, is thoroughly investigated in this paper and applied to solve the conflict. Through a complete analysis of CSC’s configuration policies in typical stages, a generic CSCC model is proposed and then partitioned into an ALC-based decentralized decision model by the typical decision autonomy distribution in clusters. Clustered enterprises collaborate vertically and laterally along the ALC model through multi-dimensional couplings to achieve the overall consistency and optimality. Results have proved the effectiveness of ALC for CSCC problem. A set of sensitivity analysis is also conducted to find out the condition in which an order has to be fulfilled in a CSC and the most appropriate configuration.     

An industrial case study on variability handling in large enterprise software systems

ContextEnterprise software systems (e.g., enterprise resource planning software) are often deployed in different contexts (e.g., different organizations or different business units or branches of one organization). However, even though organizations, business units or branches have the same or similar business goals, they may differ in how they achieve these goals. Thus, many enterprise software systems are subject to variability and adapted depending on the context in which they are used.ObjectiveOur goal is to provide a snapshot of variability in large scale enterprise software systems. We aim at understanding the types of variability that occur in large industrial enterprise software systems. Furthermore, we aim at identifying how variability is handled in such systems.MethodWe performed an exploratory case study in two large software organizations, involving two large enterprise software systems. Data were collected through interviews and document analysis. Data were analyzed following a grounded theory approach.ResultsWe identified seven types of variability (e.g., functionality, infrastructure) and eight mechanisms to handle variability (e.g., add-ons, code switches).ConclusionsWe provide generic types for classifying variability in enterprise software systems, and reusable mechanisms for handling such variability. Some variability types and handling mechanisms for enterprise software systems found in the real world extend existing concepts and theories. Others confirm findings from previous research literature on variability in software in general and are therefore not specific to enterprise software systems. Our findings also offer a theoretical foundation for describing variability handling in practice. Future work needs to provide more evaluations of the theoretical foundations, and refine variability handling mechanisms into more detailed practices.     

单汽泡沸腾过程数值模拟的研究

利用Comsol Multiphysics软件中的Level Set方法对单汽泡沸腾过程进行了模拟,建立了微细结构网格,给出了边界条件,求解了质量、动量、能量和Level Set方程,得到了正确的模拟结果。分析了单汽泡沸腾过程中相含率、压力场、速度场和温度场随时间的变化规律;考察了接触角和壁面效应对汽泡脱离直径和汽泡生长周期的影响。模拟结果表明,当接触角小于12°时,汽泡脱离直径维持不变;当接触角大于12°时,接触角越大,汽泡脱离直径越大。汽泡生长周期随接触角的增大而延长。当加热装置的直径小于汽泡脱离直径时,汽泡受壁面效应的影响不易脱离;当加热装置的直径大于汽泡脱离直径时,汽泡脱离直径不随加热装置直径的增大而变化;汽泡生长周期随加热装置直径的增大而缩短。     

Automated network management and configuration using Probabilistic Trans-Algorithmic Search

Online configuration of large-scale systems such as networks requires parameter optimization within a limited amount of time, especially when configuration is needed as a response to recover from a failure in the system. To quickly configure such systems in an online manner, we propose a Probabilistic Trans-Algorithmic Search (PTAS) framework which leverages multiple optimization search algorithms in an iterative manner. PTAS applies a search algorithm to determine how to best distribute available experiment budget among multiple optimization search algorithms. It allocates an experiment budget to each available search algorithm and observes its performance on the system-at-hand. PTAS then probabilistically reallocates the experiment budget for the next round proportional to each algorithm’s performance relative to the rest of the algorithms. This “roulette wheel” approach probabilistically favors the more successful algorithm in the next round. Following each round, the PTAS framework “transfers” the best result(s) among the individual algorithms, making our framework a trans-algorithmic one. PTAS thus aims to systematize how to “search for the best search” and hybridize a set of search algorithms to attain a better search. We use three individual search algorithms, i.e., Recursive Random Search (RRS) (Ye and Kalyanaraman, 2004), Simulated Annealing (SA) (Laarhoven and Aarts, 1987), and Genetic Algorithm (GA) (Goldberg, 1989), and compare PTAS against the performance of RRS, GA, and SA. We show the performance of PTAS on well-known benchmark objective functions including scenarios where the objective function changes in the middle of the optimization process. To illustrate applicability of our framework to automated network management, we apply PTAS on the problem of optimizing link weights of an intra-domain routing protocol on three different topologies obtained from the Rocketfuel dataset. We also apply PTAS on the problem of optimizing aggregate throughput of a wireless ad hoc network by tuning datarates of traffic sources. Our experiments show that PTAS successfully picks the best performing algorithm, RRS or GA, and allocates the time wisely. Further, our results show that PTAS’ performance is not transient and steadily improves as more time is available for search.     

A data‐centric framework for debugging highly parallel applications

Contemporary parallel debuggers allow users to control more than one processing thread while supporting the same examination and visualisation operations of that of sequential debuggers. This approach restricts the use of parallel debuggers when it comes to large scale scientific applications run across hundreds of thousands compute cores. First, manually observing the runtime data to detect error becomes impractical because the data is too big. Second, performing expensive but useful debugging operations becomes infeasible as the computational codes become more complex, involving larger data structures, and as the machines become larger. This study explores the idea of a data‐centric debugging approach, which could be used to make parallel debuggers more powerful. It discusses the use of ad hoc debug‐time assertions that allow a user to reason about the state of a parallel computation. These assertions support the verification and validation of program state at runtime as a whole rather than focusing on that of only a single process state. Furthermore, the debugger's performance can be improved by exploiting the underlying parallel platform because the available compute cores can execute parallel debugging functions, while a program is idling at a breakpoint. We demonstrate the system with several case studies and evaluate the performance of the tool on a 20 000 cores Cray XE6. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter for visualization of axial flow fields in pipes

An ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter to provide quantitative images of axial flow fields in pipes is developed and presented in this work. To detect the flow in various directions and positions, a novel transducer configuration strategy is proposed. All-in-one transducers are mounted in two sectional planes of the pipe. In each plane, N transducers are equally spaced along the circumference. Overlapped propagation paths are introduced by the configuration strategy, and the influence of the vortex flow can be eliminated theoretically by averaging the line velocities of the overlapped paths. To achieve a fast detection speed, the projection data is collected via an electrical scan in a fan-beam mode. After rearrangement and interpolation of the projection data, the parallel beam filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the axial flow field. Numerical simulations with the theoretical velocity profiles were performed. The compensation method for the vortex flow is proved to be effective and necessary, and the number of transducers required for reconstruction of common flow profiles was estimated. Accordingly, an ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter consisting of 2×12 transducers was fabricated. Experiments were conducted in the straight pipe and downstream of a single bend pipe and compared with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation results. As demonstrated, the ultrasonic tomographic velocimeter was capable of visualizing both symmetric and asymmetric axial flow fields with high reliability.     

Groundwater exploration using resistivity and magnetic data at the northwestern part of the Gulf of Suez,Egypt

The present study aims to investigate the ground water accumulations present in the area located west of the Gulf of Suez, to face the new urbanization settlements of industrial national projects in the study area using geoelectrical and magnetic measurements. Magnetic data interpretation was carried out using the RTP magnetic data (or, through analyzing the RTP aeromagnetic map) to determine the depth to the surface of basement rocks and delineate the trends of structural elements. The results of magnetic interpretation indicated that the depth to the basement surface is ranging from 1200 to 3500 m and the trends of encountered structural elements are mainly NE–SW, NW–SE, NNW–SSE and E–W directions. Seventeen vertical electrical soundings of Schlumberger configuration were measured with AB/2 ranging from 1.5 m to 1500 m at the southern part of the study area. The results of quantitative interpretation of geoelectrical data indicated that the subsurface section consists of six different geoelectrical units; the first unit represents the Quaternary gravel and sand of high resistivity values and thickness of about a few meters. The second geoelectrical unit exhibits moderate resistivity values ranging from 23 to 100 ohm m and thickness ranging from 4.5 to 67 m which represents the fresh water aquifer in the study area, while the lithology of this layer consists of sandstone and limestone which belongs to the Upper Miocene. The third geoelectrical unit is composed of sandy clay and limestone which belongs to the Middle Miocene deposits and shows low resistivity values ranging from 6 to 7 ohm m and thickness ranging from 44.5 m to 66 m. This third layer represents the second aquifer (brackish water). The fourth geoelectrical unit consists of limestone and clayey limestone which belongs to the Lower Miocene deposits and exhibits moderate resistivity values ranging from 16 to 33 ohm m, while the thickness of this unit ranges from 47–102 m. This layer represents the third aquifer (brackish water). The fifth geoelectrical unit reveals very low resistivity values of about 2–5 ohm m and consists of clay and sandstone of the Oligocene and Upper Eocene deposits. The sixth geoelectrical unit is the bottommost unit in the studied subsurface section and exhibits moderate resistivity values in a range of about 22–35 ohm m and consists of limestone of the Middle Eocene deposits.