农村综合能源系统多层协同优化运行方法

农村综合能源系统通过多种能源的协同互补,在满足农村用户多元化用能需求的同时,能有效提升能源利用效率和用能经济性。首先,在考虑适应农村典型场景的基础上,提出了一种三层协同自律的农村综合能源分层协同运行优化框架。然后,基于农村综合能源系统典型设备,建立了三层农村综合能源系统源-储-荷联合优化调度模型以及相应的优化调度流程。调度模型中冬季通过对沼气发电机组的余热回收与空气源热泵协同对用户供热;夏季对沼气发电机组余热进行回收,并通过溴化锂制冷机与空气源热泵联合对农村用户供冷。最后,对农村综合能源系统多层协同优化方法进行了算例分析,结果表明该优化方法提高了农村居民用能的经济性,验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Can regional policies shape migration flows?

Our empirical analysis focuses on the effect of regional policies on migration attraction factors in Europe. We employ a regression discontinuity design to assess the causal relationship between the reception of large amounts of public funds and migration flows in the EU-15 regions. In highly-subsidised regions, we find a large increase in the share of foreign citizens from less-developed countries when compared to low-subsidised regions with similar pre-treatment characteristics. The analysis shows that such an increase is due to the positive impact of the European regional policy on job market opportunities as well as the improvement of public goods supply.     

Airline planning and scheduling: Models and solution methodologies

The airline industry is a representative industry with high cost and low profitability. Therefore, airlines should carefully plan their schedules to ensure that overall profit is maximized. We review the literature on airline planning and scheduling and focus on mathematical formulations and solution methodologies. Our research framework is anchored on three major problems in the airline scheduling, namely, fleet assignment, aircraft routing, and crew scheduling. General formulation, widely used solution approaches, and important extensions are presented for each problem and integrated problems. We conclude the review by identifying promising areas for further research.     

Selection of risk response actions with consideration of secondary risks

Secondary risk in project risk management refers to the risk that arises as a direct result of implementing a risk response action (RRA). It is important for project managers (PMs) to consider the effects caused by the secondary risks in the process of RRA selection. The purpose of this paper is to propose an optimization method to address the problem of selecting risk response actions (RRAs) with consideration of secondary risk which is seldom considered in the existing studies. The optimization model aims to minimize the total risk costs with time constraint being placed on the project makespan. By solving the model, an optimal set of RRAs along with the earliest start time for each activity can both be obtained. The results show that secondary risk plays an important role in the process of RRA selection. Project managers should allocate more budget for responding the project risk when the secondary risk is considered, and consider all factors relating to both time and cost so as to select appropriate RRAs to mitigate primary risk and secondary risk.     

Strategic Planning for Employment Self-Containment in Metropolitan Sub-Regions

Metropolitan strategic plans often focus on strengthening local employment opportunities to address the congestion and commuting issues threatening city sustainability. The success of such strategies relies on a more equitable distribution of jobs between sub-regions and can be comparatively benchmarked through one of the three related measures of employment self-sufficiency, self-containment or jobs-housing balance. However, in practice, planning policy implementation to meet these targets seldom reduces automobile commuting. This paper investigates self-containment across a range of occupation and industry types to highlight large differences in commuting and employment patterns through a case study of Perth’s Northwest sub-region, Western Australia. Its findings suggest the application of current sub-regional policy and targets within Perth may reinforce the wage and skill disadvantage of outer metropolitan sub-regions over the inner core. It recommends a more nuanced understanding of these measures taking into account the complex dynamics of both employment opportunities and commuting patterns across sub-regions of a city.     

小型特种精细化工过程自动化和信息化研究发展趋势探讨

针对采取小批量间歇性批次生产方式、工艺介质腐蚀性强、危险性大的小型特种精细化工生产工艺研究试验过程自动化、信息化程度不高，导致工艺研究试验中获取数据较少、过程机理研究不够透彻、人工操作多、安全风险高、研究试验消耗大及效率不高等问题，综述了期待通过智能控制、在线分析、模拟仿真和虚拟制造、工况监测及预测性维护以及信息管理和生产调度等关键技术的研究和应用，提高小型特种精细化工生产工艺过程的自动化和信息化程度，实现小型特种精细化工生产工艺过程的数字化、虚拟化和智能化，降低生产安全风险和试验消耗，提高小型特种精细化工生产工艺研究试验的成功率和效率，达到小型特种精细化工生产工艺过程的数字化设计和精准生产的目标。     

Experiences with Jatropha cultivation in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for biofuels policies

Jatropha curcas L. has emerged in recent times as a leading energy crop in sub-Saharan Africa with over 32 countries in the region involved in its cultivation. By 2008, five countries in the region (Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe) had policies promoting Jatropha cultivation. These policies were not informed by empirical evidence arising from the performance of Jatropha in the region. This paper analyses performance data of Jatropha in the region with a view to synthesizing information that is useful for evidence-based policy formulation. Production data in terms of agronomic issues and seed yields are analyzed. The results show that most of the attributes generically associated with Jatropha have not been achieved in the region and there has been inadequate research to support Jatropha cultivation. Policies supporting cultivation of Jatropha need to be informed by these observations in order to promote viable cultivation of the crop.     

Economic effects of regulating the seismic strengthening of older buildings

The marked increase in the awareness of earthquake risk following the Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand offered a unique opportunity to investigate the economic effect of disaster-mitigation regulations on the commercial building stock. A difference-in-differences (DD) framework was used to determine whether earthquake risk has been capitalized into the property prices of buildings constructed prior to 1976, as a response to the national policy requiring assessment and strengthening (or demolition) of the existing earthquake-prone building stock. A negative externality is found in the policy announcement on affected (pre-1970s) office and retail buildings which caused office buildings to suffer a 12.5% stigma discount. However, retail properties were less impacted suffering a 2.3% stigma loss. The value of the commercial building stock has been affected by the policy. These findings provide policy-makers with timely evidence as to the economic effects of New Zealand’s earthquake-prone buildings policy. Facing losses in property value and financial responsibility for retrofitting their assets, building owners will be looking for a workable set of regulatory and non-regulatory incentives to encourage disaster risk management and protect the built environment.     

Genetic algorithm to simultaneously optimise stope sequencing and equipment dispatching in underground short-term mine planning under time uncertainty

ABSTRACT

The main issue in short-term planning optimisation for underground mining is organising the mining process with limited resources in the form of equipment and materials to satisfy production targets and stable feed grade requirements. In this paper, an integrated optimisation model is proposed based on an individual generation algorithm and an improved Genetic Algorithm to simultaneously optimise stope extraction sequencing and timing, extracted ore grade and equipment dispatching. The model objectives are to shorten the time gap between the stope mining processes and the overall working time. When the uncertainty of equipment working time is taken into account in a short-term scheduling model, the Monte Carlo simulation is applied to evaluate the risk of not meeting the production target. A modification strategy is defined to evaluate equipment failure. Consequently, any available equipment is automatically reassigned to the mining site to replace the broken-down equipment. A case study is used to validate the model in the Sanshandao gold mine of China to formulate an optimal monthly schedule. Compared with the conventional approach, the new model could reduce the variance of ore tonnage and feed grade and improve the equipment allocation efficiency. Discussions are presented to address the uncertainty.     

利用调度优化模型研究原油调合方案的可行性

针对某沿海炼油企业拟投用原油调合系统以稳定混炼原油的性质,设计方案要求将部分码头罐的操作模式由混储改为单储的情况,采用约束规划与数学规划复合建模,实现了码头至厂区大容积长输线模拟,建立了该企业的原油调度优化模型并研究了设计方案的可行性。针对240h调度周期、10种可加工原油、3艘到港油轮的复杂工况进行了优化计算。结果表明:该设计方案具备可行性,且油轮仍可实现到港即卸油,蒸馏装置混炼油种也可长时间保持稳定;模型的优化计算时间较短(小于15min),且对长输线收付及存油情况模拟准确,复合建模方法满足工业应用要求。