Topology optimization of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint

This paper focuses on the configuration design of flexure hinges with a prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position. A new method for the topology optimization of flexure hinges is proposed based on the adaptive spring model and stress constraint. The hinge optimization model is formulated by maximizing the bending displacement with a spring while optimizing the compliance matrix to a prescribed value. To avoid numerical instability, an artificial spring is used as an auxiliary calculation, and a new strategy is developed for adaptively adjusting the spring stiffness according to the prescribed compliance matrix. The maximum stress of flexure hinge is limited by using a normalized P-norm of the effective von Mises stress, and a position constraint of rotational center is proposed to predetermine the position of the rotational center. In addition, to reduce the error of the stress measurement, a simple but effective filtering method is presented to obtain a complete black-and-white design. Numerical examples are used to verify the proposed method. Topology results show that the obtained flexure hinges have the prescribed compliance matrix and preset rotational center position while also meeting the stress requirements.     

车门铰链系统与车门下沉刚度的相关性

针对某型车门下沉问题,通过台架试验获得车门、铰链和车身等各单因素下沉量和车门绞链系统整体下沉量,对单因素下沉量与系统整体下沉刚度进行线性拟合分析,得到车门铰链系统各单因素与系统下沉刚度的相关度排序.对前、后车门分别选取相关度较高的单因素进行优化,最终改进方案的仿真和试验结果证明该方案可有效地提升车门下沉刚度.采用定量分析法可快速找出影响下沉刚度的敏感因素,并能够快速生成优化方案,为新车型设计提供参考.     

Sustainable optimization of waste management network over extended planning time horizon

This study proposes a multiperiod mixed integer linear programming model for the management of a single municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant with sustainability as the objective. Discrete and continuous variables define the capacity selections for diverse MSW technologies, and the operation of the MSW network, respectively. The economic target is considered to maximize the net present value. The environmental impact is the minimization of a normalized environmental objective function (NEOF). The social target is the maximization of jobs. An interesting feature about the research work is the requirement of biodrying technologies for MSW moisture content control. Due to the conflicted nature among the sustainability components, a multiobjective optimization (MO) is carried out to find the Pareto optimal solutions. The MO results show that the Pareto optimal solutions vary around profit range of $4.9–8.5 billion, NEOF impact range of 3.2–3.6 units, and social benefit range of 2700–4828 jobs.     

A High-Throughput Screening System Based on Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting for the Directed Evolution of Chitinase A

Chitinases catalyze the degradation of chitin, a polymer of N-acetylglucosamine found in crustacean shells, insect cuticles, and fungal cell walls. There is great interest in the development of improved chitinases to address the environmental burden of chitin waste from the food processing industry as well as the potential medical, agricultural, and industrial uses of partially deacetylated chitin (chitosan) and its products (chito-oligosaccharides). The depolymerization of chitin can be achieved using chemical and physical treatments, but an enzymatic process would be more environmentally friendly and more sustainable. However, chitinases are slow-acting enzymes, limiting their biotechnological exploitation, although this can be overcome by molecular evolution approaches to enhance the features required for specific applications. The two main goals of this study were the development of a high-throughput screening system for chitinase activity (which could be extrapolated to other hydrolytic enzymes), and the deployment of this new method to select improved chitinase variants. We therefore cloned and expressed the Bacillus licheniformis DSM8785 chitinase A (chiA) gene in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells and generated a mutant library by error-prone PCR. We then developed a screening method based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) using the model substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl β-d-N,N′,N″-triacetyl chitotrioside to identify improved enzymes. We prevented cross-talk between emulsion compartments caused by the hydrophobicity of 4-methylumbelliferone, the fluorescent product of the enzymatic reaction, by incorporating cyclodextrins into the aqueous phases. We also addressed the toxicity of long-term chiA expression in E. coli by limiting the reaction time. We identified 12 mutants containing 2–8 mutations per gene resulting in up to twofold higher activity than wild-type ChiA.     

An integrated dimensionality reduction and surrogate optimization approach for plant-wide chemical process operation

With liquefied natural gas becoming increasingly prevalent as a flexible source of energy, the design and optimization of industrial refrigeration cycles becomes even more important. In this article, we propose an integrated surrogate modeling and optimization framework to model and optimize the complex CryoMan Cascade refrigeration cycle. Dimensionality reduction techniques are used to reduce the large number of process decision variables which are subsequently supplied to an array of Gaussian processes, modeling both the process objective as well as feasibility constraints. Through iterative resampling of the rigorous model, this data-driven surrogate is continually refined and subsequently optimized. This approach was not only able to improve on the results of directly optimizing the process flow sheet but also located the set of optimal operating conditions in only 2 h as opposed to the original 3 weeks, facilitating its use in the operational optimization and enhanced process design of large-scale industrial chemical systems.     

基于GA-BP的汽车风振噪声声品质预测模型

目前对于汽车风振噪声的优化研究主要以声压级（Sound pressure level，SPL）作为单一评价指标，既不能全面反映噪声的物理属性，也无法考虑人耳对噪声的主观认知过程。为准确评价风振噪声，引入声品质，运用大涡模拟（Large eddy simulation，LES）对风振噪声进行数值仿真，根据实车道路试验判断仿真的准确性；对仿真结果进行声品质客观评价与主观评价，综合声品质客观评价参数与声品质主观评价试验结果建立BP神经网络预测模型；利用遗传算法（Genetic algorithm，GA），进一步对BP神经网络的结构参数进行优化，建立GA-BP声品质预测模型。研究结果表明，GA-BP声品质预测模型在训练速度和预测精度上都优于BP神经网络预测模型。预测模型基于声品质主客观评价结果，其预测值可以代替传统的声压级评价指标，为风振噪声提供更为准确合理的评价。     

基于PMU的电力系统监控体系结构优化设计

文中提出了一种利用有限数量的相量测量单元(PMU)和相量数据集中器(PDC)设计最优监控结构的方法。通过在大量的设定值场景下,使电力系统可观测性曲线的期望值最大化,同时使通信基础设施成本最小化,最终确定PMU和PDC的最佳位置。提出了一种非线性动态扩展卡尔曼滤波(EFK)状态观测器。这种状态观测器可以将暂态行为转换为由代数微分方程描述的广域电力系统,而无需非线性反演技术。最后以IEEE-5电力系统为例,说明了该方法的有效性。