Robust robot localization in a complex oil and gas industrial environment

In this paper, we propose a LiDAR‐based robot localization method in a complex oil and gas environment. Localization is achieved in six degrees of freedom (DoF) thanks to a particle filter framework. A new time‐efficient likelihood function, based on a precalculated three‐dimensional likelihood field, is introduced. Experiments are carried out in real environments and their digitized point clouds. Six DoF real‐time localization is achieved with spatial and angular errors of less than 2.5 cm and 1°,  respectively, in a real environment of . The proposed approach focuses on real‐time performance on embedded platforms. It enabled the Vikings team to win the first two ARGOS Challenge contests.     

Nonlinear Shape-Manifold Learning Approach: Concepts,Tools and Applications

In this paper, we present the concept of a “shape manifold” designed for reduced order representation of complex “shapes” encountered in mechanical problems, such as design optimization, springback or image correlation. The overall idea is to define the shape space within which evolves the boundary of the structure. The reduced representation is obtained by means of determining the intrinsic dimensionality of the problem, independently of the original design parameters, and by approximating a hyper surface, i.e. a shape manifold, connecting all admissible shapes represented using level set functions. Also, an optimal parameterization may be obtained for arbitrary shapes, where the parameters have to be defined a posteriori. We also developed the predictor-corrector optimization manifold walking algorithms in a reduced shape space that guarantee the admissibility of the solution with no additional constraints. We illustrate the approach on three diverse examples drawn from the field of computational and applied mechanics.     

Improving the migrating birds optimization metaheuristic for the permutation flow shop with sequence-dependent set-up times

This paper addresses the problem of scheduling a set of independent jobs with set-up times on a set of machines in a permutation flow shop environment. A metaheuristic known as the Migrating Birds Optimization (MBO) is adapted for the minimization of the makespan. Two versions of the algorithm are presented. The first is a basic MBO and the second introduces additional features. An extensive computational study is conducted to analyse the efficiency of the two methods on a benchmark of instances that can be found in Sistemas de Optimizacion Aplicada (http://soa.iti.es/problem-instances). The second version outperforms by far the first one. Moreover, the results that are produced by the latter show that it is suitable for solving real-world scheduling problems.     

Nonlinear heterogeneous dynamic substructuring and partitioned FETI time integration for the development of low‐discrepancy simulation models

This article presents a novel approach to model validation and to the calibration of complex structural systems, through the adoption of heterogeneous (numerical/physical) simulation based on dynamic substructuring (HDS). HDS isolates the physical sub‐system (PS) that contains the key region of nonlinear behavior of interest and is tested experimentally, separate from the remainder of the system, that is, the numerical sub‐system (NS), which is numerically simulated. A parallel partitioned time integrator based on the finite element tearing and interconnecting method plays a central role in solving the coupled system response, enabling a rigorous and stable synchronization between sub‐systems and a realistic interaction between PS and numerical sub‐system response. This feature enhances the quality of benchmarks for validation and calibration of low‐discrepancy models through virtual structural testing. As a proof of concept, we select an old reinforced concrete viaduct, subjected to seismic loading. Several HDS were conducted at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment in Ispra (Italy) considering two physical piers and related concave sliding bearings as PSs of the heterogeneous system. As a result, the benefit of employing HDS to set benchmarks for model validation and calibration is highlighted, by developing low‐discrepancy FE models of critical viaduct components. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermomechanical characterization of stress localization in glass: An experimental and numerical study

Thermoelastic stress analysis and quantitative calorimetry are full‐field noncontact techniques widely used to study the thermomechanical behaviour of materials. The first one linearly relates the sum of the principal stresses to the temperature variation, and the second one can be used to measure the mechanical dissipation. However, brittle materials such as glass are a priori bad candidates for these techniques. Indeed, their low‐temperature variations under loading lead to very noisy infrared images, and their brittle mechanical behaviour does not allow to deform them significantly. In the present paper, the thermomechanical characterization of a holed glass sample under cyclic loading is performed. A preliminary new filtering methodology has been applied to the thermal movie to remove the noise. The stress field obtained from the thermoelastic stress analysis is well correlated to the finite element model showing that this technique is adapted to study the thermoelastic response of brittle materials. Finally, the corresponding calorimetric response has been determined by using a simplified formulation of the heat diffusion equation. This permits to quantify heat sources and to carry out energy balances.     

Implementation of regularized isogeometric boundary element methods for gradient‐based shape optimization in two‐dimensional linear elasticity

The present work addresses shape sensitivity analysis and optimization in two‐dimensional elasticity with a regularized isogeometric boundary element method (IGABEM). Non‐uniform rational B‐splines are used both for the geometry and the basis functions to discretize the regularized boundary integral equations. With the advantage of tight integration of design and analysis, the application of IGABEM in shape optimization reduces the mesh generation/regeneration burden greatly. The work is distinct from the previous literatures in IGABEM shape optimization mainly in two aspects: (1) the structural and sensitivity analysis takes advantage of the regularized form of the boundary integral equations, eliminating completely the need of evaluating strongly singular integrals and jump terms and their shape derivatives, which were the main implementation difficulty in IGABEM, and (2) although based on the same Computer Aided Design (CAD) model, the mesh for structural and shape sensitivity analysis is separated from the geometrical design mesh, thus achieving a balance between less design variables for efficiency and refined mesh for accuracy. This technique was initially used in isogeometric finite element method and was incorporated into the present IGABEM implementation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Substructured formulations of nonlinear structure problems – influence of the interface condition

We investigate the use of non‐overlapping domain decomposition (DD) methods for nonlinear structure problems. The classic techniques would combine a global Newton solver with a linear DD solver for the tangent systems. We propose a framework where we can swap Newton and DD so that we solve independent nonlinear problems for each substructure and linear condensed interface problems. The objective is to decrease the number of communications between subdomains and to improve parallelism. Depending on the interface condition, we derive several formulations that are not equivalent, contrarily to the linear case. Primal, dual and mixed variants are described and assessed on a simple plasticity problem. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

35 years of Multilateral Environmental Agreements ratifications: a network analysis

With the ratification of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) the countries of the international community or of intentional communities—be they political, economic, financial, securitarian or strategic—endow these instruments of international cooperation with significant autonomy. From the 3550 dates of ratification of these MEAs recorded from 1979 to mid-September 2014, we produce a graph whose vertices are the 48 MEAs (ratified at least once) and whose links are induced by the succession of ratifications in time. On this basis we propose a diagnosis on the international acceptance of this type of legal instruments and their vulnerability in a global context that builds on the change in the balance of powers as a result of globalization, the break of the bipolar and then unipolar system, and the rise of new powers. Thus, it appears that a global environmental order has been promoted and implemented with some success in the 90s mainly by liberal Western countries who were then able to lead other countries less likely to bind to the fulfillment of environmental obligations. However, the expansion of this global environmental order now seems frozen, due to the current crisis of multilateralism. The rise of many countries, particularly in the South, whose environmental, political and economic weight grew, confronted with the “stable community” formed in the past 35 years suggests that there is a real power shift in the international arena and consequently, multilateralism needs to reflect this new reality. In other terms, the global environmental order is being slowly reformed. As a consequence, the treaties formed clusters in the past but they did not follow the same pattern since the twenty-first century began.     

Concept extraction from business documents for software engineering projects

Acquiring relevant business concepts is a crucial first step for any software project for which the software experts are not domain experts. The wealth of information buried within an organization’s written documentation is a precious source of concepts, relationships and attributes which can be used to model the enterprise’s domain. The lack of targeted extraction tools can make perusing through this type of resource a lengthy and costly process. We propose a domain model focused extraction process aimed at the rapid discovery of knowledge relevant to the software expert. To avoid undesirable noise from high-level linguistic tools, the process is mainly composed of positive and negative base filters that are less error prone and more robust. The extracted candidates are then reordered using a weight propagation algorithm based on structural hints from source documents. When tested on French text corpora from public organizations, our process performs 2.7 times better than a statistical baseline for relevant concept discovery. A new metric to assess the performance discovery speed of relevant concepts is introduced. The annotation of a gold standard definition of software engineering oriented concepts for knowledge extraction tasks is also presented.     

Intelligent maximum power tracking control of a PMSG wind energy conversion system

A comparative control study for a maximum power tracking strategy of variable speed wind turbine is provided. The system consists of a direct drive permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) and an uncontrolled rectifier followed by a DC/DC switch‐mode step down converter connected to a DC load. The buck converter is used to catch the maximum power from the wind by generating an efficient duty cycle. Distinct Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms are analyzed and compared: a classical Proportional‐Integral controller (PI) and two based Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC), including a conventional Fuzzy‐PI and an Adaptive FLC‐PI. The main aim of the presented study is to develop an advanced control scheme for wind generators to ensure a high level operating of the system and a maximum power extraction from the wind. This is achieved by analyzing the behavior of the system under fluctuating wind conditions employing Matlab Simpower Systems tool. Simulation results confirm that the Adaptive FLC‐PI controller algorithm has better performances in terms of dynamic response and efficiency especially in comparison with the ones of a PI controller under variable wind speed.