Robust optimisation of sustainable food grain transportation with uncertain supply and intentional disruptions

The proliferating need for sustainability intervention in food grain transportation planning is anchoring the attention of researchers in the interests of stakeholders and environment at large. Uncertainty associated with food grain supply further intensifies the problem steering the need for designing robust, cost-efficient and sustainable models. In line with this, this paper aims to develop a robust and sustainable intermodal transportation model to facilitate single type of food grain commodity shipments while considering procurement uncertainty, greenhouse gas emissions, and intentional hub disruption. The problem is designed as a mixed integer non-linear robust optimisation model on a hub and spoke network for evaluating near optimal shipment quantity, route selection and hub location decisions. The robust optimisation approach considers minimisation of total relative regret associated with total cost subject to several real-time constraints. A version of Particle Swarm Optimisation with Differential Evolution is proposed to tackle the resulting NP-hard problem. The model is tested with two other state-of the art meta-heuristics for small, medium, and large datasets subject to different procurement scenarios inspired from real time food grain operations in Indian context. Finally, the solution is evaluated with respect to total cost, model and solution robustness for all instances.     

Quantifying and characterizing contemporary riparian sedimentation

Fluvial processes of erosion, sediment transport and deposition determine the changing form and sedimentary structure of naturally adjusting riparian zones. Riparian sediment storage has both scientific and management importance in relation to: (i) the quantities of sediment that are involved; (ii) the quality of the sediment; and (iii) the dispersal of biological materials, notably the vegetation propagules that are transported and deposited in association with the sediment. After discussing the significance of riparian sedimentation processes, this paper reviews methods for quantifying contemporary sediment deposition within water bodies and their margins. Methods for investigating contemporary riparian sedimentation are given particular emphasis, and the extent to which different methods provide comparable estimates and have been used to support the analysis of different physical and chemical properties of the sediment are outlined. The importance of the following are stressed: (i) selecting a sampling method that is suited to the sedimentation environment; (ii) incorporating careful cross‐calibration if measurements from different methods are to be combined; and (iii) replicating measurements to give more robust estimates if small traps are employed. It is concluded that artificial turf mats provide a useful design of sediment trap across a range of environmental conditions because: (i) their surface roughness reduces problems of sediment removal by flood waters or rainfall; (ii) their pliability permits installation on irregular surfaces; (iii) they can be securely attached to the ground with metal pins to resist high shear stresses from river flows; (iv) they are robust and light and so easily manipulated in the field and laboratory; (v) it is possible to fully recover the deposited sediment to accurately determine the amount of sediment deposited and to support a range of other analyses. Results are presented to illustrate how artificial turf mats can be used to estimate the quantity and quality of deposited sediment and to explore the associated deposition of viable seeds. This provides one example of the important hydroecological role of riparian sedimentation processes and of the potential for the development of innovative, interdisciplinary research on riparian sediment dynamics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and properties of nano-sized SnO2 powder

1　INTRODUCTIONSnO2isoneofthemainmaterialsusedingassensor.Becauseofthehumidityandgassensingfunction,itattractsmoreandmoreattentions.Butthepresentproblemishowtoimprovethestabilityandsensibilityofgassensor.Researchershavetakenmanymeasurestoresolvethisproble…     

利用黄河泥沙加固下游大堤

黄河是一条举世闻名的多泥沙河流，善淤、善决、善徒给沿河人民带来对过深重灾难，防洪问题一直是国家的心腹之患。泥沙问题是黄河防洪问题的症结所在。在总结固大堤经验的基础，进行挖河疏浚，淤筑“相对地下河”，已作为黄河治理的一项重大决策付诸实施。     

离子注入中污染的产生及防护

本文概述了离子注入过程中污染产生的原因和防止污染的措施，特别强调了对微粒污染和金属污染的防护以满足ＵＬＳＩ加工对离子注入的要求。     

永定新河治理工程几个关键问题的研究

永定新河是天津市防洪的北部防线。由于受海相来沙淤积 ,河道行洪能力大幅度下降。针对永定新河治理工程设计中涉及到的河道淤积治理方案、闸位比选、防潮闸结构型式及施工方法、闸下减淤清淤措施等诸多问题进行了分析和研究 ,提出了相应的措施和建议     

Terminal velocity of non-spherical particles falling through a Carreau model liquid

A procedure has been proposed for the estimation of the terminal falling velocity of non-spherical particles moving in a Carreau model fluid in the transition flow region. The procedure is based on a modification of the relationship formerly developed for the fall of spherical particles including the particle dynamic shape factor. The suitability of the proposed procedure has been confirmed by good agreement between experimental and calculated terminal falling velocity data. In the experiments, the terminal falling velocity of short cylinders and rectangular prisms in polymer solutions of different measure of shear thinning and elasticity has been measured.     

Drying Kinetics of a Porous Spherical Particle and the Inversion Temperature

A model is presented for drying of a single porous particle with superheated steam and humid air. Experimental data for spherical porous ceramic particle reported in the literature were used for the validation of the model. An inversion temperature at which the evaporation rates within superheated steam and humid air are equal was predicted. The effect of thermophysical properties of the particle (permeability 10^-14 - 10^-17 m², diameter 3 × 10^-3 - 10 × 10^-3 m) and operating variables (gas mass flux 0.26 - 0.78 kg m^-2 s^-1, drying agent temperature 120-200°C) is tested. The inversion temperature is shown to be affected by the thermophysical properties of the porous particle and of the drying agent.     

Influence of Reaction Parameters on the Hydrogenolysis of Hydroxymatairesinol Over Carbon Nanofibre Supported Palladium Catalysts

The density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) calculations were applied to investigate the interaction of a Pt₆ particle with the ZSM-5 zeolite framework. The electronic structure of the metal particle is strongly affected by the interaction with basic framework oxygens and acid sites of the zeolite support. Adsorption on basic sites (E_ads = 6 kcal/mol) favors the formation of the electron enriched metal cluster. Interaction of the platinum cluster with the acid site characterized by stabilization energy of 47 kcal/mol results in oxidation of the metal particle and suppression of Brønsted acidity of the support. The hypothesis is put forward that the oxidized platinum particle can function as an active site for the alkane isomerisation on platinum supported high silica zeolites.     

Understanding and Modeling the Effect of Surfactants in Enhanced Particle Removal from Surfaces in Aqueous Media

The removal of particulate contamination is a critical issue for many manufacturing processes. It is particularly critical to the electronics industry in which small pieces of microscopic debris remaining after chemical mechanical planarization (cmp) using submicron polishing particles can cause device failure. One way to enhance particle removal following the cmp process is to utilize surfactants. Recent research has shown ways to model the effect of surfactants on enhanced particle removal. However, previous research has not demonstrated the effect of ionic strength on enhanced particle removal associated with surfactant use. Past research has also not shown the combined effects of ionic strength and surfactant concentration on enhanced particle removal using surfactants. This article summarizes the parameters affecting particle removal, and it provides data and analysis on the effect of ionic strength as well as the combined effects of ionic strength and surfactant concentration on particle removal following cmp processing.