Closed form solution for predicting the horizontal capacity of masonry portal frames through limit analysis and comparison with experimental test results

The paper deals with the problem of evaluating the in-plane seismic capacity of unreinforced masonry portal frame, which can be considered the basic structural element in historical buildings. In particular, the Limit Analysis approach is used to provide simplified “closed form” expressions of the horizontal collapse multiplier, also taking into account the eventual contribution of steel tie rods. Both sliding shear and shear diagonal cracking are also considered in order to take into account the shear failure modes of the pier walls.The proposed formulations have been used for performing an extensive parametric analysis, with the aim of studying the effect of both geometry and vertical/horizontal loading distributions on the portal horizontal strength. Furthermore, the influence of the steel tie-rods has been addressed in order to understand their effectiveness on the portal seismic capacity.A comparison with the results of experimental tests on full-scale portal frames is also provided in terms of in-plane collapse multiplier and failure mechanism aimed to validate the proposed “closed form” expressions.Major outcome of this study is a simple rule of thumb, which can be used for the straightforward assessment of the horizontal strength of simple masonry structures, and for verifying the results of more complex structural analyses such as the nonlinear static analysis.     

More than bin packing: Dynamic resource allocation strategies in cloud data centers

Resource allocation strategies in virtualized data centers have received considerable attention recently as they can have substantial impact on the energy efficiency of a data center. This led to new decision and control strategies with significant managerial impact for IT service providers. We focus on dynamic environments where virtual machines need to be allocated and deallocated to servers over time. Simple bin packing heuristics have been analyzed and used to place virtual machines upon arrival. However, these placement heuristics can lead to suboptimal server utilization, because they cannot consider virtual machines, which arrive in the future. We ran extensive lab experiments and simulations with different controllers and different workloads to understand which control strategies achieve high levels of energy efficiency in different workload environments. We found that combinations of placement controllers and periodic reallocations achieve the highest energy efficiency subject to predefined service levels. While the type of placement heuristic had little impact on the average server demand, the type of virtual machine resource demand estimator used for the placement decisions had a significant impact on the overall energy efficiency.     

酒钢焦煤仓储系统能力的效验

酒钢公司焦化工序新建4#焦炉项目即将建成投产。4#焦炉的供料工作也迫在眉睫,为了确保4#焦炉顺利投产,保证公司焦化工序的炼焦煤正常供给,我们对现有焦煤料场的储存能力和现有设备装备的生产能力等性能进行了效验。认为用焦煤系统现有的设备、设施,来保证集团公司逐年上升的焦煤用量是无法满足生产需求的。本文简要核算了其卸供料能力。     

vMES: Virtualization aware manufacturing execution system

The large scale emergence in the last decade of various cloud solutions, ranging from software-as-a-service (SaaS) based solutions for business process management and implementation to very sophisticated private cloud solutions capable of high performance computing (HPC) and efficient virtualization, constitute the building blocks for engineering the next generation of flexible enterprise systems that can respond with great agility to changes in their environment. These new technologies are adopted at a certain level by manufacturing enterprises in order to advance in a new era of mass customization where flexibility, scalability and agility are the differentiating factors. In this context, this paper introduces the virtualized manufacturing execution system (vMES), an intermediate layer in the manufacturing stack, and discusses the advantages and limitations offered by this approach for manufacturing enterprises. A classification of MES workloads based on the ISA-95 function model is presented, focusing on the virtualization techniques suitable for each workload, considering the algorithms and technologies used and the virtualization overhead. A pilot vMES implementation using a parallel process for smart resource provisioning and automatic scaling is also presented. The pilot implementation using six Adept robots and one IBM CloudBurst 2.1 private cloud and an ISA-95 based MES is described; the virtualization sequence is analyzed in several scenarios of resource workload collocation on physical cloud blades with and without perturbations.     

Multi-objective genetic algorithm for berth allocation problem considering daytime preference

Maximization of operational efficiency and minimization of cost are pursued by terminal operators, whereas daytime preference is increasingly emphasized by governments, terminal operators and workers. Daytime preference in berth allocation schedule refers to schedule the workloads in nights as fewer as possible, which improves working comfort, safety, and green and energy-savings degrees, but may decrease the throughput and total operational efficiency. By extending existing dynamic discrete berth allocation model, a bi-objective model considering daytime preference is established to minimize the delayed workloads and the workloads in nights. Based on the well known NSGA-II algorithm, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (moGA) is developed for solving the bi-objective model by using a two-part representation scheme. The sensitivities of the algorithmic parameters and tradeoffs between daytime preference and delayed workloads are analyzed by numerical experiments. The algorithmic aspects of the proposed approach and the effects of daytime preference on solutions are all examined. Finally, the managerial implications are discussed.     

Receding horizon time-optimal control for a class of differentially flat systems

A closed-loop, time-optimal path-following control scheme is proposed for a class of constrained differentially flat systems. Within a receding horizon framework, a finite horizon optimisation problem is solved at each sample, using available state feedback and feedforward path information. Irrespective of horizon length, the proposed formulation guarantees exact path-following. Moreover, the requirements under which the proposed algorithm achieves minimum-time path-following are established. Simulations conducted with a rigid X–Y table model confirm the theoretical results.     

Inorganic mineral doped polypyrrole for hydrogen storage in alkaline medium

Cupric chloride is used as oxidant to synthesize polypyrrole doped with inorganic mineral (ImDPpy). The formation of ImDPpy was confirmed by ¹HNMR, BET, SEM, HRTEM, DSC, FTIR, Raman, XRD, UV–vis and XPS studies. The surface area calculated for ImDPpy is 36.671 m²/g. Surface area of IMDPpy is 4.671 m²/g higher than the reported value of Ppy in the literature. In DSC, ImDPpy display a peak at 88.07 °C (endothermic glass transition temperature, Tg), Tg of ImDPpy is almost identical to that of Ppy-MWCNT composite and is higher than Tg of undoped Ppy. Electrochemical analysis of ImDPpy in 0.01 M NaOH indicated the maximum charge stored in ImDPpy in the form of protons as 8090 mF/g. The maximum hydrogen storage capacity of ImDPpy is found to be 18mAh/g at an applied current density of 1 mA/cm². The mineral doped in Ppy during polymerization is identified as [Cu₂(OH)₃Cl] from XPS and Raman analysis.     

船舶水润滑尾轴承结构设计研究进展

水润滑轴承的结构优化可以有效提高轴承的承载能力、冷却散热、减振降噪和摩擦学性能。在概述船舶水润滑尾轴承的优势和存在问题的基础上,分析归纳水润滑尾轴承内衬结构、内衬的厚度和硬度、轴承间隙、长径比、内衬表面粗糙度等结构设计参数的研究进展;以轴位水润滑尾轴承、内衬多层复合水润滑尾轴承和闭式水润滑尾轴承为例,介绍近年来几种新型水润滑尾轴承的结构设计,指出闭式水润滑尾轴承在内河及沿海船舶上具有广阔的应用前景,是未来的研究重点和发展趋势;建议水润滑尾轴承的研究应从以下方面着手,一是从微纳米尺度研究轴承微观界面润滑机制,二是在考虑轴承参数间耦合作用的基础上对轴承进行多目标优化,三是进一步研究闭式水润滑尾轴承及密封装置材料、结构和辅助装置以及水润滑添加剂,四是研究船舶水润滑尾轴承的设计规范,建立一定范围内精度满足工程需要的轴承设计计算经验公式,以简化轴承设计程序。     

Low temperature heat capacity measurements of β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4: Determination of the equilibrium phase boundary between β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4

Isobaric heat capacities of β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ were measured at temperatures between 1.8 and 309.9 K with a thermal relaxation method. The measured heat capacities of γ-Si₃N₄ are smaller than those of β-Si₃N₄ in this temperature range. Using these data, we determined the standard entropies of β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ to be 62.30 J·mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ and 51.79 J·mol⁻¹ K⁻¹, respectively. The equilibrium phase boundary between β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ was calculated using these values and thermodynamic parameters reported in previous studies. The obtained equilibrium phase transition pressure at 2000 K is 11.4 GPa. It is lower than the experimental pressures at which γ-Si₃N₄ was synthesized in previous studies. The calculated Clapeyron slope at this temperature is 0.6 MPa K⁻¹, which is consistent with those of theoretical studies.