Parallel depth first search. Part II. Analysis

This paper presents the analysis of a parallel formulation of depth-first search. At the heart of this parallel formulation is a dynamic work-distribution scheme that divides the work between different processors. The effectiveness of the parallel formulation is strongly influenced by the work-distribution scheme and the target architecture. We introduce the concept of isoefficiency function to characterize the effectiveness of different architectures and work-distribution schemes. Many researchers considered the ring architecture to be quite suitable for parallel depth-first search. Our analytical and experimental results show that hypercube and shared-memory architectures are significantly better. The analysis of previously known work-distribution schemes motivated the design of substantially improved schemes for ring and shared-memory architectures. In particular, we present a work-distribution algorithm that guarantees close to optimal performance on a shared-memory/-network-with-message-combining architecture (e.g. RP3). Much of the analysis presented in this paper is applicable to other parallel algorithms in which work is dynamically shared between different processors (e.g., parallel divide-and-conquer algorithms). The concept of isoefficiency is useful in characterizing the scalability of a variety of parallel algorithms.This work was supported by Army Research Office Grant No. DAAG29-84-K-0060 to the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-86-K-0763 to the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at Austin.     

Structural Studies of TeO2–SeO2–Na2O Glass System

Glass Physics and Chemistry - The growth of nanocrystalization in TeO2–SeO2–Na2O glasses is achieved by the conventional heat treatment method. The influence of Na2O concentration on...     

Impact of communication time delays on combined LFC and AVR of a multi-area hybrid system with IPFC-RFBs coordinated control strategy

In this paper, the impact of communication time delays (CTDs) on combined load frequency control (LFC) and automatic voltage regulation (AVR) of a multi-area system with hybrid generation units is addressed. Investigation reveals that CTDs have significant effect on system performance. A classical PID controller is employed as a secondary regulator and its parametric gains are optimized with a differential evolution - artificial electric field algorithm (DE-AEFA). The superior performance of the presented algorithm is established by comparing with various optimization algorithms reported in the literature. The investigation is further extended to integration of redox flow batteries (RFBs) and interline power flow controller (IPFC) with tie-lines. Analysis reveals that IPFC and RFBs coordinated control enhances system dynamic performance. Finally, the robustness of the proposed control methodology is validated by sensitivity analysis during wide variations of system parameters and load.     

Towards improved design of boring bars part 1: Dynamic cutting force model with continuous system analysis for the boring bar performance

The vibrational amplitude is generally large in the case of a boring bar due to its slenderness. A dynamic cutting force model has been presented to take this large amplitude into account. The boring bar is then modelled as a cantilever with this dynamic force acting at the free end and a generalized continuous system model is obtained. This model is solved for the specific case of boring with a zero side cutting edge angle for which published results are available. A reasonably close agreement is found between the proposed model and the experimental results.     

IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS INDUCING IMPELLER DESIGN

Rate of gas induction, static pressure, mixing time and power consumption have been measured in 0.57 m i.d. vessel. Different types of impellers namely shrouded disc turbine, shrouded curved blade turbine and pitched blade turbine were used. The impeller diameter was varied from 0.15-0.25 m and the impeller speed was varied from 3 to 20 r/s.

The pitched blade turbine was found to give 30-60 per cent higher rates of gas induction as compared with the best design reported in the literature. The mixing time was found to be lower by a similar magnitude. Moreover in the case of pitched blade turbine it was found that the gas was getting induced radially as well as axially. This eliminates the necessity of the diffuser and hence reducing the complexities in the mechanical structure.     

Electrochemical characteristics for redox systems at nano-honeycomb diamond

Electrochemical characteristics for several redox systems at diamond films with highly ordered nanometer-scale cylindrical pores (‘nano-honeycombs’) were examined with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance measurements. The cyclic voltammetric anodic-cathodic peak separations for these nano-honeycomb electrodes were in the same range as those for polished polycrystalline diamond films, indicating that the involvement of the oxygen-terminated surface of the nano-pore walls, which should give rise to large peak separations for certain redox couples was only slight. Moreover, the peak currents in the CV were not enhanced to the extent expected on the basis of the roughness factors of the nano-honeycomb films. Ac impedance plots results indicated the existence of a concentration gradient of the reactant in the nano-pores, which is in agreement with theoretical predictions for charge transfer reactions in porous electrodes. The average concentration of the reactant (Fe^2+/3+) inside the nano-pores was a factor of ca. 80 lower than that in the bulk electrolyte. The results of the impedance analysis also indicated an increase in the reaction resistances with decreasing pore diameters.     

MODELING AND PREDICTIVE CONTROL OF MIMO NONLINEAR SYSTEMS USING WIENER-LAGUERRE MODELS

In this work, a Weiner-type nonlinear black box model was developed for capturing dynamics of open loop stable MIMO nonlinear systems with deterministic inputs. The linear dynamic component of the model was parameterized using orthogonal Laguerre filters while the nonlinear state output map was constructed either using quadratic polynomial functions or artificial neural networks. The properties of the resulting model, such as open loop stability and steady-state behavior, are discussed in detail. The identified Weiner-Laguerre model was further used to formulate a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) scheme. The efficacy of the proposed modeling and control scheme was demonstrated using two benchmark control problems: (a) a simulation study involving control of a continuously operated fermenter at its optimum (singular) operating point and (b) experimental verification involving control of pH at the critical point of a neutralization process. It was observed that the proposed Weiner-Laguerre model is able to capture both the dynamic and steady-state characteristics of the continuous fermenter as well as the neutralization process reasonably accurately over wide operating ranges. The proposed NMPC scheme achieved a smooth transition from a suboptimal operating point to the optimum (singular) operating point of the fermenter without causing large variation in manipulated inputs. The proposed NMPC scheme was also found to be robust in the face of moderate perturbation in the unmeasured disturbances. In the case of experimental verification using the neutralization process, the proposed control scheme was found to achieve much faster transition to a set point close to the critical point when compared to a conventional gain-scheduled PID controller.     

TPR处理剂的研究

利用活性单体苯乙烯与氯丁橡胶、高苯乙烯热塑弹性体接枝聚合，所得产物稀释后用于ＴＰＲ（ＴｈｅｒｍａｌＰｌａｓｔｉｃＲｕｂｂｅｒ）粘接前的预处理，可明显提高剥离强度。     

Epoxy‐tert‐butyl poly(cyanoarylene ether) blends: Phase morphology,fracture toughness,and mechanical properties

Tert‐butyl hydroquinone–based poly(cyanoarylene ether) (PENT) was synthesized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile with tert‐butyl hydroquinone using N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate in a nitrogen atmosphere at 200°C. PENT‐toughened diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy resin (DGEBA) was developed using 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) as the curing agent. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that all blends had a two‐phase morphology. The morphology changed from dispersed PENT to a cocontinuous structure with an increase in PENT content in the blends from 5 to 15 phr. The viscoelastic properties of the blends were investigated using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The storage modulus of the blends was less than that of the unmodified resin, whereas the loss modulus of the blends was higher than that of the neat epoxy. The tensile strength of the blends improved slightly, whereas flexural strength remained the same as that of the unmodified resin. Fracture toughness was found to increase with an increase in PENT content in the blends. Toughening mechanisms like local plastic deformation of the matrix, crack path deflection, crack pinning, ductile tearing of thermoplastic, and particle bridging were evident from the scanning electron micrographs of failed specimens from the fracture toughness measurements. The thermal stability of the blends were comparable to that of the neat resin. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3536–3544, 2006