Design of an Optimal Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control using Scalar Sign Function

The purpose of this paper is to present a new design for an optimal fuzzy sliding mode control based on a modified parallel distributed compensator and using a scalar sign function method. The proposed fuzzy sliding mode control uses a modified parallel distributed compensator scheme to find the optimal gains. To do this, the control gains are not considered constant through the linearized subsystem. Among these, we find state feedback gains, which are determined in offline mode using some prescribed performance criteria. Moreover, the fuzzy sliding surface of the system is designed using a stable eigenvector and the scalar sign function. The advantages of the proposed design are minimum energy control effort, faster response, and zero steady‐state error. We analyze and test the performance and stability of the new optimal fuzzy sliding mode control using simulation results that show that the proposed approach is very effective.     

An investigation of soft-core potentials for the simulation of mesogenic molecules and molecules composed of rigid and flexible segments

The phase behaviour of three soft core spherocylinder models is investigated with a view to producing an effective potential for use in coarse-grained simulations of liquid crystal phases and polymers composed of rigid and flexible segments. Provided potentials are not made too soft, two of the soft core models are found to work well in terms of successfully reproducing mesophases and in providing considerable improvements in computational speed over other commonly used coarse-grained models. In Monte Carlo simulations a soft-core spherocylinder model in which a cut and shifted Lennard-Jones potential is truncated with a linear tangential potential is found to be particularly effective; while for molecular dynamics a better model is provided by a DPD-like quadratic potential. Here, computational speed-ups of 20-30× are seen in equilibration times in comparison to the well-known soft repulsive spherocylinder (SRS) model. The quadratic potential is used in an additional set of coarse-grained simulations of a liquid crystal with a flexible chain, which exhibits spontaneous formation of a nematic phase. The use of different types of interaction sites is also illustrated by the simulation of a spherocylinder with two “tails” formed from spheres. Here, varying the hardness of the sphere-spherocylinder interaction potential allows the formation of a smectic-A phase which exhibits microphase separation.     

Characterization and Toxicity Assessment of Wastewater from Rock Phosphate Processing in Tunisia

Phosphate ore processing wastewater (WWPP) from the Gafsa phosphate region of Tunisia was characterized. The WWPP had a very high turbidity, an almost neutral or slightly alkaline pH, and high salinity. The average chemical and biochemical oxygen demands (COD and BOD) met wastewater discharge standards, but the COD/BOD5 (4.34) significantly exceeded biodegradability values. Total nitrogen, residual phosphorus, and some others chemical constituents exceeded wastewater discharge standards. Microbiological enumeration showed that the effluents were very low in microflora. Untreated WWPP and diluted (WWPP/4) inhibited bioluminescence of Vibrio fischeri by 76 and 45%, respectively. The WWPP had a phytotoxicity rate of 20–70%, respectively, for alfalfa and tomato seeds. Adding the effluent to soil for 60 days reduced the residual phytotoxicity of the WWPP-irrigated soil to about 15 and 34%, respectively, for tomato and alfalfa seeds.     

GIS-based assessment of combined CSP electric power and seawater desalination plant for Duqum—Oman

This paper investigates the potential of implementing combined electric power and seawater desalination plant using concentrated solar power technologies for Wilayat Duqum in Oman. Duqum is going through a considerable urban, touristic and industrial expansion and development. GIS solar radiation tools are used to select the most appropriate site for the plant location. There are basically two different options to combine concentrated solar electric power with seawater desalination. The first option is to combine a CSP plant with a thermal desalination unit, exploiting the exhaust heat of the steam cycle to drive a thermal desalination unit. The second option is to exploit only the electricity output of the CSP plant with a reverse osmosis desalination unit. The paper deals with both options and shows where each of the concepts has advantages considering local conditions: the quality of the input water, the demand of freshwater and/or potable water, social and economic aspects, the environment and others.     

Performance of generalized selection combining over Weibull fading channels

The literature is relatively sparse in performance analysis of diversity combining schemes over Weibull fading channels, despite the fact that the Weibull distribution is often found to be suitably fit for empirical fading channel measurements. In this paper, we capitalize on some interesting results due to Lieblein on the order statistics of Weibull random variables to derive exact closed‐form expressions for the combined average signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) as well as amount of fading (AF) at a generalized selection combining (GSC) output over Weibull fading channels. We also use some simple AF‐based mappings between the fading parameters of the Weibull distribution and those of the Nakagami, Rice, and Hoyt distributions to obtain the approximate but accurate average SNR and AF of GSC over these types of channels. The mathematical equations are validated and illustrated by some numerical examples for scenarios of practical interest. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Areal Sweep Efficiency of the First-contact Miscible Displacements: An Experimental Approach

Abstract

Solvent flooding using the water alternating gas (WAG) technique is very important for predicting the process performance. This technique has been employed in a number of oil fields. However, little data are available in the literature. Therefore, there is an immense need for the sweep efficiency data resulting from first-contact miscible flooding, particularly in view of conducting reservoir simulation studies. In this article, we conducted a series of WAG displacements through glass bead packs. A number of miscible WAG displacement tests were conducted at WAG ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1. Constant flow rates were used to mask the effects of capillary number on sweep efficiency. Experimental results revealed that the WAG ratio affects the sweep efficiency of the miscible flooding process. In addition, new correlations of areal sweep as function of mobility ratio at various WAG ratios were developed. The data provided can be useful to the oil industry in conducting analytical and numerical modeling studies of miscible WAG processes.     

Capacity limits of spectrum‐sharing systems over hyper‐fading channels

Cognitive radio (CR) with spectrum‐sharing feature is a promising technique to address the spectrum under‐utilization problem in dynamically changing environments. In this paper, the achievable capacity gain of spectrum‐sharing systems over dynamic fading environments is studied. To perform a general analysis, a theoretical fading model called hyper‐fading model that is suitable to the dynamic nature of CR channel is proposed. Closed‐form expressions of probability density function (PDF) and cumulative density function (CDF) of the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) for secondary users (SUs) in spectrum‐sharing systems are derived. In addition, the capacity gains achievable with spectrum‐sharing systems in high and low power regions are obtained. The effects of different fading figures, average fading powers, interference temperatures, peak powers of secondary transmitters, and numbers of SUs on the achievable capacity are investigated. The analytical and simulation results show that the fading figure of the channel between SUs and primary base‐station (PBS), which describes the diversity of the channel, does not contribute significantly to the system performance gain. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of single carrier and multicarrier DS‐CDMA systems over generalized fading channels

Using a recently developed moment generating function‐based approach for the performance evaluation of digital communications over fading channels, we present a unified approach for the exact performance analysis of binary direct‐sequence code division multiple access (DS‐CDMA) systems operating over generalized frequency‐selective fading channels. The results are applicable to single carrier systems employing RAKE reception as well as to multicarrier DS‐CDMA systems with frequency diversity. Aside from simplifying previous results both analytically and computationally, the proposed approach also gives a solution for many situations which heretofore defied a simple form. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.