Optimization of Radiant Heater Power for Heating of Flat Plates Using Metaheuristic Methods

In this article, simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithm (GA), and tabu search (TS) methods are employed separately and together for finding optimal radiant heater settings for obtaining a specific temperature profile on a design surface. Results show that all methods yield to very acceptable results for various desired temperature profiles but after different number of iterations. The GA and TS methods progress very rapidly before slowly stabilizing after a certain number of iterations, while the SA method progresses for longer periods. In addition, hybrid combinations of GA, SA, and TS proved to be better than separate ones.     

Resource allocation based on cross-layer QoS-guaranteed scheduling for multi-service multi-user MIMO–OFDMA systems

Cross-layer strategies for resource allocation in wireless networks are essential to guaranty an efficient utilization of the scarce resource. In this paper, we present an efficient radio resource allocation scheme based on PHY/MAC cross layer design and QoS-guaranteed scheduling for multi-user (MU), multi-service (MS), multi-input multi-output (MIMO) concept, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. It is about a downlink multimedia transmission chain in which the available resources as power and bandwidth, are dynamically allocated according to the system parameters. Among these parameters, we can mention the physical link elements such as channel state information, spectral efficiency and error code corrector rate, and MAC link variables, which correspond to the users QoS requirements and the queue status. Primarily, we use a jointly method which parametrizes these system parameters, according to the total power, and the bit error rate constraints. Secondly, we propose a QoS-guaranteed scheduling that shares the sub-carriers to the users. These users request several type of traffic under throughput threshold constraints. The main objective in this work is to adjust the average throughput per service of each user, according to their needs and likewise to satisfy a great number of connexions. Subsequently, we consider a model of moderated compartmentalization between various classes of services by partitioning the total bandwidth into several parts. Each class of service will occupy a part of the bandwidth and will be transmitted over a maximum number of sub-carriers. The simulation results show that the proposed strategy provides a more interesting performance improvement (in terms of average data rate and user satisfaction) than other existing resource allocation schemes, such as nonadaptive resource allocation strategy. The performances are also analyzed and compared for the two multi-service multi-user MIMO–OFDMA systems; with sub-carriers partitioning and without sub-carriers partitioning.     

A New Semiparametric Finite Mixture Model-Based Adaptive Arithmetic Coding for Lossless Image Compression

In this paper, we propose a new approach for block-based lossless image compression by defining a new semiparametric finite mixture model-based adaptive arithmetic coding. Conventional adaptive arithmetic encoders start encoding a sequence of symbols with a uniform distribution, and they update the frequency of each symbol by incrementing its count after it has been encoded. When encoding an image row by row or block by block, conventional adaptive arithmetic encoders provide the same compression results. In addition, images are normally non-stationary signals, which means that different areas in an image have different probability distributions, so conventional adaptive arithmetic encoders which provide probabilities for the whole image are not very efficient. In the proposed compression scheme, an image is divided into non-overlapping blocks of pixels, which are separately encoded with an appropriate statistical model. Hence, instead of starting to encode each block with a uniform distribution, we propose to start with a probability distribution which is modeled by a semiparametric mixture obtained from the distributions of its neighboring blocks. The semiparametric model parameters are estimated through maximum likelihood using the expectation–maximization algorithm in order to maximize the arithmetic coding efficiency. The results of comparative experiments show that we provide significant improvements over conventional adaptive arithmetic encoders and the state-of-the-art lossless image compression standards.     

Energy Efficient Siloxane Lubricants Utilizing Temporary Shear-Thinning

This study investigates the rheologic properties, elastohydrodynamic film, and friction coefficients of several siloxane-based lubricants to assess their shear stability and their potential for energy efficient lubrication. Several siloxane-based polymers with alkyl, aryl, and alkyl-aryl branches were synthesized in order to examine the relationship between their molecular structures and tribological performance. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography were used to characterize the molecular structures and masses, respectively. Density, viscosity, elastohydrodynamic film thickness, and friction measurements were measured from 303 to 398 K. Film thickness and friction measurements were made at loads and speeds that cover the boundary, mixed, and full film lubrication regimes. These results illustrate that the shear characteristics of siloxane lubricants vary significantly with polymer length as well as branch structure and content. The findings provide quantitative insight into the features of siloxane molecular structure conducive to optimum film formation with minimum wear and elastohydrodynamic friction to enhance energy efficiency.     

An Evaluation of RetinaNet on Indoor Object Detection for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons Assistance Navigation

Neural Processing Letters - Indoor object detection presents a computer vision task that deals with the detection of specific indoor classes. This task attracts a lot of attention, especially in...     

Thin‐wall injection molding of polypropylene using molds with different laser‐induced periodic surface structures

In injection molding, high pressure is required to completely replicate the mold geometry, due to the viscosity of thermoplastic polymers, the reduced thickness of the cavity, and the low mold temperature. The reduction of the drag required to fill a thin‐wall injection molding cavity can be promoted by inducing the strong slip of the polymer melt over the mold surface, which occurs within the first monolayer of macromolecules adsorbed at the wall. In this work, the effects of different laser‐induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) topographies on the reduction of the melt flow resistance of polypropylene were characterized. Ultrafast laser processing of the mold surface was used to manufacture nano‐scale ripples with different orientation and morphology. Moreover, the effects of those injection molding parameters that mostly affect the interaction between the mold surface and the molten polymer were evaluated. The effect of LIPSS on the slip of the polymer melt was modeled to understand the effect of the different treatments on the pressure required to fill the thin‐wall cavity. The results show that LIPPS can be used to treat injection mold surfaces to promote the onset of wall slip, thus reducing the injection pressure up to 13%. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:1889–1896, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

SINR estimation and orthogonality factor calculation of DS‐CDMA signals in MIMO channels employing linear transceiver filters

A discrete‐time model of DS‐CDMA signaling using multiple transmit and receive antennas employing linear transceiver filters is derived. For each link, connecting a base‐station to a wireless mobile user, the downlink signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) after despreading is derived analytically, and as a by‐product an exact closed‐form solution of the orthogonality factor is obtained. The orthogonality factor is derived for any linear receiver structure that is implemented by a bank of correlators and for any linear combining techniques (such as MRC and MMSE), and for any number of transmit and/or receive antennas that utilize transmit (pre‐RAKE) and receive (post‐RAKE) filtering. The MIMO DS‐CDMA model is derived using a filter representation, and is extended to a vector/matrix formulation that permits a systematic and efficient way of computing the SINR in a radio network simulator. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar space and domestic water heating for West Bank

Solar energy utilization for domestic hot water and house heating is investigated in this paper. The TRNSYS program is used for system simulation. The annual solar fraction of such a system is 0.80 in the West Bank. Solar heating can save up to 28% of the conventional annual heating cost.