Transmission system restoration with co-optimization of repairs,load pickups,and generation dispatch

This paper studies the restoration of a transmission system after a significant disruption such as a natural disaster. It considers the co-optimization of repairs, load pickups, and generation dispatch to produce a sequencing of the repairs that minimizes the size of the blackout over time. The core of this process is a Restoration Ordering Problem (ROP), a non-convex mixed-integer nonlinear program that is outside the capabilities of existing solver technologies. To address this computational barrier, the paper examines two approximations of the power flow equations: The DC model and the recently proposed LPAC model. Systematic, large-scale testing indicates that the DC model is not sufficiently accurate for solving the ROP. In contrast, the LPAC power flow model, which captures line losses, reactive power, and voltage magnitudes, is sufficiently accurate to obtain restoration plans that can be converted into AC-feasible power flows. An experimental study also suggests that the LPAC model provides a robust and appealing tradeoff between accuracy and computational performance for solving the ROP.     

A review of the existing performance verification infrastructure for micro-CMMs

The performance verification of micro-CMMs is now of intense interest because of their capability to perform length measurements in three dimensions to high accuracy with low uncertainties. Currently, verification of micro-CMMs is completed in the spirit of existing specification standards, because strict adherence to these standards is often difficult. This review aims to present and discuss verification techniques available for micro-CMMs: specification standards, existing calibrated test lengths and traceability routes that can be associated with micro-CMMs. Three specification standards used in the testing of CMMs will be considered. In addition, a wide range of calibrated test lengths are reported, and any advantages and disadvantages associated with their use are discussed. It is concluded that micro-CMMs cannot yet be verified in accordance with existing specification standards. Suggestions are made for future standardisation work required to rectify these issues.     

Soft sensor for real-time cement fineness estimation

This paper describes the design and implementation of soft sensors to estimate cement fineness. Soft sensors are mathematical models that use available data to provide real-time information on process variables when the information, for whatever reason, is not available by direct measurement. In this application, soft sensors are used to provide information on process variable normally provided by off-line laboratory tests performed at large time intervals. Cement fineness is one of the crucial parameters that define the quality of produced cement. Providing real-time information on cement fineness using soft sensors can overcome limitations and problems that originate from a lack of information between two laboratory tests. The model inputs were selected from candidate process variables using an information theoretic approach. Models based on multi-layer perceptrons were developed, and their ability to estimate cement fineness of laboratory samples was analyzed. Models that had the best performance, and capacity to adopt changes in the cement grinding circuit were selected to implement soft sensors. Soft sensors were tested using data from a continuous cement production to demonstrate their use in real-time fineness estimation. Their performance was highly satisfactory, and the sensors proved to be capable of providing valuable information on cement grinding circuit performance. After successful off-line tests, soft sensors were implemented and installed in the control room of a cement factory. Results on the site confirm results obtained by tests conducted during soft sensor development.     

Nonlinear dynamic behaviors and control based on simulation of high-purity heat integrated air separation column

In this paper, the dynamic behaviors on the basis of simulation for high-purity heat integrated air separation column (HIASC) are studied. A nonlinear generic model control (GMC) scheme is proposed based on the nonlinear behavior analyses of a HIASC process, and an adaptive generic model control (AGMC) scheme is further presented to correct the model parameters online. Related internal model control (IMC) scheme and multi-loop PID (M-PID) scheme are also developed as the comparative base. The comparative researches are carried out among these linear and nonlinear control schemes in detail. The simulation research results show that the proposed AGMC schemes present advantages in both servo control and regulatory control for the high-purity HIASC.     

Resistive switching characteristics of ZnO–graphene quantum dots and their use as an active component of an organic memory cell with one diode-one resistor architecture

We investigated the resistive switching characteristics of a polystyrene:ZnO–graphene quantum dots system and its potential application in a one diode-one resistor architecture of an organic memory cell. The log–log I–V plot and the temperature-variable I–V measurements revealed that the switching mechanism in a low-current state is closely related to thermally activated transport. The turn-on process was induced by a space-charge-limited current mechanism resulted from the ZnO–graphene quantum dots acting as charge trap sites, and charge transfer through filamentary path. The memory device with a diode presented a ∼10³ I_ON/I_OFF ratio, stable endurance cycles (10² cycles) and retention times (10⁴ s), and uniform cell-to-cell switching. The one diode-one resistor architecture can effectively reduce cross-talk issue and realize a cross bar array as large as ∼3 kbit in the readout margin estimation. Furthermore, a specific word was encoded using the standard ASCII character code.     

Control theory for stochastic distributed parameter systems,an engineering perspective

The main purpose of this paper is to survey some recent progresses on control theory for stochastic distributed parameter systems, i.e., systems governed by stochastic differential equations in infinite dimensions, typically by stochastic partial differential equations. We will explain the new phenomenon and difficulties in the study of controllability and optimal control problems for one dimensional stochastic parabolic equations and stochastic hyperbolic equations. In particular, we shall see that both the formulation of corresponding stochastic control problems and the tools to solve them may differ considerably from their deterministic/finite-dimensional counterparts. More importantly, one has to develop new tools, say, the stochastic transposition method introduced in our previous works, to solve some problems in this field.     

A bi-layer optimization approach for a hybrid flow shop scheduling problem involving controllable processing times in the steelmaking industry

A steelmaking-continuous casting (SCC) scheduling problem is an example of complex hybrid flow shop scheduling problem (HFSSP) with a strong industrial background. This paper investigates the SCC scheduling problem that involves controllable processing times (CPT) with multiple objectives concerning the total waiting time, earliness/tardiness and adjusting cost. The SCC scheduling problem with CPT is seldom discussed in the existing literature. This study is motivated by the practical situation of a large integrated steel company in which the just-in-time (JIT) and cost-cutting production strategy have become a significant concern. To address this complex HFSSP, the scheduling problem is decomposed into two subproblems: a parallel machine scheduling problem (PMSP) in the last stage and an HFSSP in the upstream stages. First, a hybrid differential evolution (HDE) algorithm combined with a variable neighborhood decomposition search (VNDS) is proposed for the former subproblem. Second, an iterative backward list scheduling (IBLS) algorithm is presented to solve the latter subproblem. The effectiveness of this bi-layer optimization approach is verified by computational experiments on well-designed and real-world scheduling instances. This study provides a new perspective on modeling and solving practical SCC scheduling problems.     

Compensation of voltage disturbances using PEMFC supported Dynamic Voltage Restorer

The continuity of supply and quality of power are the two main significant aspects of today’s power delivery system. The Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR) is a series connected custom power device which improves the quality of power delivered to the consumers. This paper deals with the effectual exploitation of DVR for interconnecting the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack to the grid based on optimized proportional integral (PI) and fuzzy logic (FL) Controller. The real coded Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the PI controller parameters. The PEMFC operated boost converter is used to boost up the fuel cell output voltage to balance the DC side necessities of the voltage source converter (VSC). The proposed DVR provides balanced and unbalanced voltage sag/swell compensation, harmonic reduction as well as an active power injection to the grid. The designed method also protects the sensitive loads from source side power quality disturbances including short term interruption. In addition, the harmonic compensation performance of the proposed work is validated by comparing with the results of the H^∞ controller based DVR under medium level voltage condition. The simulation results from MATLAB/SIMULINK are discussed to prove the effectiveness of the planned method.     

Design and validation of robotic bionic eye with multiple flexible ropes parallel mechanism inspired by oculomotor law

Producing a stable and agile bionic eye for visual image acquisition in robotics is a challenging task. In this paper, we design a bionic eye with mirror-symmetric distribution and cross-connection of flexible ropes. This mechanism is based on oculomotor law and the physiological structure of the extraocular muscles (EOMs). Specifically, the basic structural parameters are determined by Listing’s law, and the unique connection of the flexible ropes can realize the functions of the recti and oblique muscles. Furthermore, to mimic the trochlea structure, a pulley mechanism is constructed to permit the free movement of the flexible ropes. Through simulation and physical experiments, it is demonstrated that the bionic eye mechanism can move with agility under the structural parameters. The experimental results indicate that the proposed bionic eye mechanism has a superior motion accuracy of 2.798 mm, which is 6.7% of the maximum motion distance, and the repeatable accuracy of the mechanism can up to 0.210 mm.