Solving singular control problems using uniform trigonometrization method

This study investigates the application of a recently developed construct, the uniform trigonometrization method (UTM), to the singular control problems in chemical engineering. The UTM involves minimal modifications to the original problem, thereby generating near-singular control solutions that can be used for conceptual design and serve as an alternate to direct techniques like nested and simultaneous approaches. Eight classical singular control problems with known analytical solutions and three complex singular control problems from chemical engineering domain are solved in this study. The results obtained using the UTM for these problems are found to match well with the literature and are of higher resolution as compared to the results obtained using a direct pseudospectral-based solver. The ability of the UTM to handle complex chemical engineering problems with both singular controls and state path constraints has also been demonstrated in this study.     

An investigation on the impacts of regulatory interventions on wind power expansion in generation planning

Large integration of intermittent wind generation in power system has necessitated the inclusion of more innovative and sophisticated approaches in power system investment planning. This paper presents a novel framework on the basis of a combination of stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) algorithm and game theory to study the impacts of different regulatory interventions to promote wind power investment in generation expansion planning. In this study, regulatory policies include Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) incentive, quota and tradable green certificate. The intermittent nature and uncertainties of wind power generation will cause the investors encounter risk in their investment decisions. To overcome this problem, a novel model has been derived to study the regulatory impacts on wind generation expansion planning. In our approach, the probabilistic nature of wind generation is modeled. The model can calculate optimal investment strategies, in which the wind power uncertainty is included. This framework is implemented on a test system to illustrate the working of the proposed approach. The result shows that FITs are the most effective policy to encourage the rapid and sustained deployment of wind power. FITs can significantly reduce the risks of investing in renewable energy technologies and thus create conditions conducive to rapid market growth.     

Numerical and Experimental Study of an Under-Ground Water Reservoir,Cistern

This article presents experimental and numerical study of an under-ground water reservoir (cistern) during six months operation in a semi-arid region. The cistern with one dome, four windcatchers and a water reservoir is located in Lar, a hot arid city at south of Iran. Outdoor and indoor air temperature and humidity, water temperature in three depths and dome surface temperature were measured using a data logging system. The results show that the average air humidity inside the cistern was almost constant during the experiments but its slight variation during a day follows inside air temperature changes. The inside air temperature was always lower than the ambient temperature and inside and outside average air temperature difference was about 6 °C. The difference was slightly higher in the hot seasons. The water reservoir was also modeled in 2D, axisymmetric and quasi steady numerical simulation for six months of operation. Highly stratified water temperature distribution was observed in the numerical results as well as the experimental measurements.     

Impact of innovation programs on development of energy system: Case of Iranian electricity-supply system

The paper presents further experiments with an extended version of a comprehensive model for assessment of energy technologies and research and development (R&D) planning to evaluate the impact of innovation programs on development of Iranian electricity-supply system. This analytical instrument is a model of energy R&D resource allocation with an explicit perspective of developing countries which has been linked to a bottom-up energy-systems model. Three emerging electricity generation technologies of solar PV, wind turbine and gas fuel cell are considered in the model and the impact of innovation programs on cost-reducing innovation for them is examined. The main results provided by the modeling approach include optimal allocation of R&D resources, induced capacity expansion policies to guarantee the effectiveness of R&D activities, competitive cost of emerging technologies, impact of innovation programs on optimal structure of electricity-supply system and benefits of innovation programs in the long-run.     

New moment-rotation equation for welded steel beam-to-column connections

A three-parameter tangent inverse equation is generically proposed for the non-linear moment-rotation (M-θ) relationship of semi-rigid steel beam-to-column connections. The parameters are the initial stiffness, the plastic stiffness, and a reference moment. Two commonly used welded moment connections are picked up for moment-rotation calculation and comparison between the results of the proposed model and those of a detailed nonlinear finite elements modeling. Semi-analytical equations are proposed for calculating the parameters containing basic factors affecting behavior of the connections. The coefficients of the equations are computed based on a data bank developed in this study using the finite element method. A large number of finite elements models covering the whole range of common dimensions of the above connections are analyzed. Accuracy of the finite element model is verified on the basis of the available test results from previous studies. Tensile tests for determination of material properties of weld to be used in the modeling are conducted. Comparison between the results of the semi-analytical equations and the finite element models shows that the proposed model is able to estimate the moment-rotation curves of the welded beam-to-column connections with very good accuracy.     

An innovative method of die design and evaluation of flow balance for thermoplastics extrusion profiles

In this article, a computational and experimental method for flow balancing of a U‐shaped die profile with nonuniform thicknesses is presented. The approach was to implement a flow restricting mechanism along the melt flow path. A parametric study based on the restrictor dimensions was carried out to attain a preliminary optimal design. Simulations were performed using Fluent software to analyze the flow velocity at the die exit. Experimental study was then carried out at various restrictor positions for the purpose of attaining a desirable flow balance. The velocity at various segments of the die exit was measured utilizing an innovative procedure by implementing the “separating blades.” Experimental findings were compared with those of simulations which showed an acceptable agreement. The results suggest that a flexible die can be designed to achieve a flow balance under various processing conditions. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effects of nanowollastonite on biological resistance of medium-density fiberboard against Antrodia vaillantii

The effect of wollastonite nanofibers (NW) on biological resistance of medium-density fiberboards (MDF) made from wood and chicken-feather fibers (CF) against Antrodia vaillantii was studied. NW content of 10 % and CF content of 5 and 10 %, based on the dry weight of wood fibers, were applied to the MDF matrix, giving a total of six different MDF mixing treatments. Mass loss values were measured roughly following the EN 113 specifications. The results showed that NW significantly decreased mass loss to a considerable extent in all mixing ratios, proving its potential to be used as a suitable preservative in wood-composite materials without environmental hazards. A CF content of 5 % showed improving effects on biological resistance, while CF of 10 % was too high and resulted in a weak MDF-matrix; eventually the biological resistance did not improve properly. NW ameliorated part of the undesirable effect of adding chicken feather fibers to the MDF-matrix. A significantly high correlation was found between mass loss versus water absorption (R ² of 81 %), implying that the penetration of water and fungal hyphae can have rather similar patterns. It can be concluded that NW not only can be used to improve the biological resistance in wood-composite materials against fungi attack, but it can also reduce some of the undesirable properties of chicken feathers, thus providing a reliable and renewable resource for natural fibers to be used in the MDF manufacturing industry.     

Finite element modelling the mechanical performance of pressure garments produced from elastic weft knitted fabrics

Compression garments mainly produced from elastic knitted fabrics have attracted many attentions due to their medical care performances. Components’ characteristics of the pressure garments such as yarn and fabric structure affect significantly the pressure applied on the human body. In this paper, it is aimed to simulate the effect of yarn’s mechanical properties as well as fabric structure on mechanical performance of the compression garment. For this purpose, a precise geometrical model for fabric structure is needed by which the pressure applied to the body could be predicted. Accordingly, double jersey knitted fabrics containing elastane weft yarns were produced on an electronic flat knitting machine and the fabric tensile properties were measured in course direction. Using equations governing the fabric structural unit-cell, a real geometric model was created in a finite element software environment. Considering the linear visco-elastic properties for elastane weft yarn, stress-strain curve was extracted. The results obtained from numerical simulation were compared with the experimental data in order to validate the proposed geometrical model. The findings demonstrate a good agreement between experimental and simulation results.     

A Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making Methodology Using Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Sets: Application to Water Resources Management

In this paper, a new fuzzy group decision-making methodology which determines and incorporates negotiation powers of decision makers is developed. The proposed method is based on a combination of interval type-2 fuzzy sets and a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) model, namely TOPSIS. To examine the applicability of the proposed methodology, it is used for finding the best scenario of allocating water and reclaimed wastewater to domestic, agricultural, and industrial water sectors and restoring groundwater quantity and quality in the Varamin region located in Tehran metropolitan area in Iran. The results show that the selected scenario leads to an acceptable groundwater conservation level during a long-term planning horizon. Although the capital cost of this scenario is high, which leads to groundwater restoration during the 34-year planning horizon, it is determined as the best allocation scenario. This scenario also entails the second least pumping cost, due to less water allocation from the groundwater. To evaluate the results of the proposed methodology, they are compared with those obtained using some well-known interval type-2 decision-making approaches including arithmetic-based, TOPSIS-based, and likelihood-based comparison methods. The Spearman correlation coefficient shows that the obtained results generally concur with those of the other methods. It is also concluded that the proposed methodology gives more reasonable results by calculating and considering the negotiation powers of decision makers in an extended TOPSIS-based group decision-making model.

     

Design and implementation of an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller for drug delivery in treatment of vascular cancer tumours and its optimisation using genetic algorithm tool

In this paper, the side effects of drug therapy in the process of cancer treatment are reduced by designing two optimal non‐linear controllers. The related gains of the designed controllers are optimised using genetic algorithm and simultaneously are adapted by employing the Fuzzy scheduling method. The cancer dynamic model is extracted with five differential equations, including normal cells, endothelial cells, cancer cells, and the amount of two chemotherapy and anti‐angiogenic drugs left in the body as the engaged state variables, while double drug injection is considered as the corresponding controlling signals of the mentioned state space. This treatment aims to reduce the tumour cells by providing a timely schedule for drug dosage. In chemotherapy, not only the cancer cells are killed but also other healthy cells will be destroyed, so the rate of drug injection is highly significant. It is shown that the simultaneous application of chemotherapy and anti‐angiogenic therapy is more efficient than single chemotherapy. Two different non‐linear controllers are employed and their performances are compared. Simulation results and comparison studies show that not only adding the anti‐angiogenic reduce the side effects of chemotherapy but also the proposed robust controller of sliding mode provides a faster and stronger treatment in the presence of patient parametric uncertainties in an optimal way. As a result of the proposed closed‐loop drug treatment, the tumour cells rapidly decrease to zero, while the normal cells remain healthy simultaneously. Also, the injection rate of the chemotherapy drug is very low after a short time and converges to zero.