A primary unit commitment approach with a modification process

This paper introduces an approach to one of the most important problems in electrical power system called the Unit Commitment (UC). The proposed method PUC-MP which stands for the primary unit commitment-modification process, addresses this problem firstly by using a simple and new priority for operating the generating units in each hour, and then, using a modification process which enhances the solution quality with lower cost. The PUC-MP takes advantage of both deterministic and stochastic algorithms in its structure to solve the discrete-variable part of the UC problem for choosing a suitable combination of units in each hour, and also, continuous-variable part of it which is dispatching the operating units’ output power to the power network load economically. The latter part which is called economic dispatch (ED) has been solved using an intelligent algorithm which in turn has been customized by two new ideas to increase its efficiency. Simulation results show that this new approach even without using its modification process can be considered as an effective approach which surpasses some other popular and recently reported methods in producing near-optimal and robust solutions.     

Spontaneous Formation of Liquid Crystals in Ultralarge Graphene Oxide Dispersions

A novel process is developed to synthesize graphene oxide sheets with an ultralarge size based on a solution‐phase method involving pre‐exfoliation of graphite flakes. Spontaneous formation of lyotropic nematic liquid crystals is identified upon the addition of the ultralarge graphene oxide sheets in water above a critical concentration of about 0.1 wt%. It is the lowest filler content ever reported for the formation of liquid crystals from any colloid, arising mainly from the ultrahigh aspect ratio of the graphene oxide sheets of over 30 000. It is proposed that the self‐assembled brick‐like graphene oxide nanostructure can be applied in many areas, such as energy‐storage devices and nanocomposites with a high degree of orientation.     

Novel solution for acceleration motion of a vertically falling spherical particle by HPM–Padé approximant

In this paper the acceleration motion of a vertically falling spherical particle in incompressible Newtonian media is investigated. The velocity is evaluated by using homotopy perturbation method (HPM) and Padé approximant which is an analytical solution technique. The current results are then compared with those derived from HPM and the established fourth order Runge–Kutta method in order to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. It is found that this method can achieve more suitable results in comparison to HPM.     

Electron back-scattered diffraction and nanoindentation analysis of nanostructured Al tubes processed by multipass tubular-channel angular pressing

Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of nanostructured 1060 aluminum alloy tubes processed by tubular-channel angular pressing (TCAP) process were investigated using electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoindentation analyzes. EBSD scans revealed a homogeneous ultrafine grained microstructure after the third passes of the TCAP process. Apart from that the mean grain sizes of the TCAP processed tubes were refined to 566 nm, 500 nm and 480 nm respectively after the first, second and third passes. The results showed that after the three TCAP passes, the grain boundaries with a high angle comprised 78% of all the boundaries. This is in comparison to the first pass processed sample that includes approximately 20% HAGBs. The TEM inspection afforded an appreciation of the role of very low-angle misorientation boundaries in the process of refining microstructure. Nanoindentation results showed that hardness was the smallest form of an unprocessed sample while the largest form of the processed sample after the three passes of TCAP indicated the highest resistant of the material. In addition, the module of elasticity of the TCAP processed samples was greater from that of the unprocessed sample.     

Effect of age and dietary fat (fish,corn and coconut oils) on tocopherol status of C57BL/6Nia mice

The effect of age and dietary fat type on tocopherol status was investigated using young and old C57BL/6Nia mice fed semipurified diets containing 5% (by weight) fish, corn or coconut oils and supplemented with 30, 100 or 500 ppm dl-α-tocopheryl acetate for 6 wk. Tocopherol levels in the diets, plasma, liver, kidney and lung were measured by high performance liquid chromatography following appropriate extractions. The results indicate that mice fed fish oil maintain lower plasma and tissue tocopherol concentrations than those fed corn and cononut oils (fish<corn oil<coconut oil). The difference was not due to a loss of tocopherol prior to consumption, but rather appeared to occur during the absorption process. Old mice had lower plasma and liver tocopherol concentrations than young mice. Old mice fed fish oil, however, maintained plasma tocopherol levels better than young mice fed fish oil, presumably due to their larger tocopherol pool. No age effect was detected on kidney and lung tocopherol levels. It is concluded that tocopherol status is affected by age and dietary fat type, especially fish oil.     

An improved mechanism for capacity payment based on system dynamics modeling for investment planning in competitive electricity environment

Many countries have experienced restructuring in their electric utilities. This restructuring has presented the power industries with new challenges, the most important of which is long-term investment planning under uncertain conditions. This paper presents an improved mechanism for capacity payment. The mechanism has been investigated based on system dynamic modeling. In our proposed mechanism, generators will recover a part of their investment through capacity payment. While the payment for any plant remains constant during the operation period, it depends on the investment needed to build it. The main factors affecting long-term planning have been considered in our model. The approach can be used to investigate the effects of fixed as well as variable capacity payment in market investment. We used the probability density function of load as a new concept to calculate average market price. Delays in unit constructions, estimation of demand, and market capacity growth during construction periods have been included in the proposed algorithm as parameters, which affect the regulator's decision for changing capacity payment. The model can be used by regulators to investigate strategies that may affect the fluctuations in the market.     

基于耗散函数的叶顶泄漏流动非定常数值模拟

更进一步的改善间隙泄漏流动需要对其复杂的流动结构作深入的认识，若不能给出间隙泄漏流动影响更真实的表述将导致对其研究无法进行。为了更深入的认识涡轮叶栅流动粘性耗散的细节及分布，作者采用商用N-S求解器对具有动叶顶部间隙的涡轮级非定常流场进行了数值模拟和研究。本文引入耗散函数对间隙泄漏流动的粘性耗散进行评估，这种方法是对粘性影响带来的粘性耗散的最简单也是最直接模拟和计算方法。     

Environmental sustainability assessment of buildings in hot climates: the case of the UAE

Sustainability has acquired great importance due to the negative impact of various developments on the environment. The rapid growth during the last decade has been accompanied by active construction which, in some instances, neglected the impact on the environment and human activities. The impact of developments on the traditional heritage has not been taken into consideration although the latter represents a rich resource for sustainable building practices. The study aims at examining these developments in the UAE using an assessment tool that measures the performance of buildings in terms of their sustainability. This study attempts to: (a) develop a comprehensive definition of sustainability to suit UAE needs; (b) classify sustainable building practices at international and regional levels; (c) assess building performance in the UAE; and (d) establish guidelines for future sustainable architecture. T-Sol software was used to predict the CO₂ emission level in selected buildings in the UAE. Results illustrate that average energy use/area in domestic buildings is high (213 kWh/m²) and public buildings showed less sustainable measures in terms of energy features, energy performance and environmental features. Issues considered in the assessment of buildings such as energy use per square metre and CO₂ emission are alarming. Traditional buildings in the UAE were more sustainable than contemporary buildings, however.     

A multi-criteria context-sensitive approach for social image collection summarization

Recent increase in the number of digital photos in the content sharing and social networking websites has created an endless demand for techniques to analyze, navigate, and summarize these images. In this paper, we focus on image collection summarization. Earlier methods in image collection summarization consider representativeness and diversity criteria while recent ones also consider other criteria such as image quality, aesthetic or appeal. In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria context-sensitive approach for social image collection summarization. In the proposed method, two different sets of features are combined while each one looks at different criteria for image collection summarization: social attractiveness features and semantic features. The first feature set considers different aspects that make an image appealing such as image quality, aesthetic, and emotion to create attractiveness score for input images while the second one covers semantic content of images and assigns semantic score to them. We use social network infrastructure to identify attractiveness features and domain ontology for extracting ontology features. The final summarization is provided by integrating the attractiveness and semantic features of input images. The experimental results on a collection of human generated summaries on a set of Flickr images demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed image collection summarization approach.     

Electro-magneto temperature-dependent vibration analysis of functionally graded-carbon nanotube-reinforced piezoelectric Mindlin cylindrical shells resting on a temperature-dependent,orthotropic elastic medium

Vibration smart control analysis of a temperature-dependent functionally graded-carbon nanotube-reinforced piezoelectric cylindrical shell embedded in an orthotropic elastic medium is investigated. The mixture law is used for obtaining the material properties of the structure. The structure is subjected to a 2D magnetic field. Considering the first-order shear deformation theory, the motion equations are obtained. Based on an analytical method and differential quadrature method, the frequency is calculated. The effects of applied voltage, magnetic field, volume percent, and distribution type of carbon nanotubes, temperature, orthotropic elastic medium, and length to radius ratio of the shell are shown on system frequency.