Maximizing availability for task scheduling in computational grid using genetic algorithm

Computational grid provides a wide distributed platform for high‐end compute intensive applications. Grid scheduling is often carried out to schedule the submitted jobs on the nodes of the grid so that some characteristic parameter is optimized. Availability of the computational nodes is one of the important characteristic parameters and measures the probability of the node availability for job execution. This paper addresses the availability of the grid computational nodes for the job execution and proposes a model to maximize it. As such, the task scheduling problem in grid is nondeterministic polynomial‐time hard, and often, metaheuristics techniques are applied to solve it. Genetic algorithm, a metaheuristic technique based on evolutionary computation, has been used to solve such complex optimization problem. This work proposes a technique for the grid scheduling problem using genetic algorithm with the objective to maximize availability. Simulation experiment, to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, is conducted, and results reveal the effectiveness of the model. A comparative study has also been performed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal modelling of a few novel solar collector-cum-storage units for passive heating

Analytical models have been put forward to predict the thermal performance of passive heating systems, which have previously been suggested. The systems consist of a water vessel for heat storage and a structure positioned on its outside wall, which act as a solar collector and a thermal insulation for the storage, respectively. Four different variations of structures have been considered and numerical calculations performed corresponding to the physical parameters of an earlier reported experimental study. The analysis is able to predict the experimental results fairly satisfactorily.     

Modeling of turning process cutting forces for grooved tools

A mechanistic modeling approach to predicting cutting forces for grooved tools in turning has been developed. The model assumes the existence of an equivalent orthogonal cutting operation for any oblique operation. The effects of tool nose radius and chip flow have been incorporated by defining a set of equivalent groove parameters. Two calibration methods have been presented for the model. A variety of commercial grooved inserts were chosen to validate the model. The workpiece material used was AISI 1018 steel. The force predictions from the model were found in good agreement with the measured forces. The effects of cutting conditions and groove parameters on the cutting forces and their implication in designing grooved tools were also determined.     

Remote Raman spectra of benzene obtained from 217 meters using a single 532 nm laser pulse

This report describes a mobile Raman lidar system that has been developed for spectral measurements of samples located remotely at ranges of hundreds of meters. The performance of this system has been quantitatively verified in a lidar calibration experiment using a hard target of standardized reflectance. A new record in detection range was achieved for remote Raman systems using 532 nm laser excitation. Specifically, Raman spectra of liquid benzene were measured with an integration time corresponding to a single 532 nm laser pulse at a distance of 217 meters. The single-shot Raman spectra at 217 meters demonstrated high signal-to-noise ratio and good resolution sufficient for the unambiguous identification of the samples of interest. The transmitter consists of a 20 Hz Nd:YAG laser emitting at 532 nm and 1064 nm and a 178 mm telescope through the use of which allows the system to produce a focused beam at the target location. The receiver consists of a large custom telescope (609 mm aperture) and a Czerny-Turner monochromator equipped with two fast photomultiplier tubes.     

Dynamic properties and liquefaction behaviour of cohesive soil in northeast India under staged cyclic loading

Estimation of strain-dependent dynamic soil properties, e.g. the shear modulus and damping ratio, along with the liquefaction potential parameters, is extremely important for the assessment and analysis of almost all geotechnical problems involving dynamic loading. This paper presents the dynamic properties and liquefaction behaviour of cohesive soil subjected to staged cyclic loading, which may be caused by main shocks of earthquakes preceded or followed by minor foreshocks or aftershocks, respectively. Cyclic triaxial tests were conducted on the specimens prepared at different dry densities (1.5 g/cm³ and 1.75 g/cm³) and different water contents ranging from 8% to 25%. The results indicated that the shear modulus reduction (G/G_max) and damping ratio of the specimen remain unaffected due to the changes in the initial dry density and water content. Damping ratio is significantly affected by confining pressure, whereas G/G_max is affected marginally. It was seen that the liquefaction criterion of cohesive soils based on single-amplitude shear strain (3.75% or the strain at which excess pore water pressure ratio becomes equal to 1, whichever is lower) depends on the initial state of soils and applied stresses. The dynamic model of the regional soil, obtained as an outcome of the cyclic triaxial tests, can be successfully used for ground response analysis of the region.     

Bulk heterojunction formation with induced concentration gradient from a bilayer structure of P3HT:CdSe/ZnS quantum dots using inter-diffusion process for developing high efficiency solar cell

Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as donor and cadmium selenide/zinc sulphide (CdSe/ZnS) core shell quantum dots (QDs) as acceptor have been developed. Starting from the bilayer of P3HT/QD structure a BHJ is induced using the process of thermal inter-diffusion. The absorption measurements on the bilayer structure show that the absorption coefficient increases and the absorption spectrum becomes broader in the annealed device. Also, the photoluminescence of the annealed device is found to decrease by an order of magnitude showing a significant transfer of electrons to the QDs. With this approach and under broadband white light with an irradiance of 8.19 mW/cm², we have been able to achieve a power conversion efficiency of 5.1% and fill factor 0.45 for this solar cell.     

Application of Hyperspectral Technique for Color Classification Avocados Subjected to Different Treatments

In this study, the applicability of hyperspectral technique, a fast and non-destructive, novel method was investigated for the color discrimination of avocados subjected to different treatments. Fruits like avocados are coated with edible films to extend their shelf life. Using different formulations of coating with varying pectin, beeswax, and sorbitol contents, nine different coating preparations with potential to influence the ripening behavior of avocados were developed. Avocados were coated with these formulations, air-dried, and stored at room temperature. Concurrently, the reflectance responses of the avocado fruits were measured in 2,151 wavebands (350 to 2500 nm) with a field spectroradiometer. To tackle the co-linearity that exists between the spectral observations, aggregated 10- and 20-nm data sets were used. Using a stepwise procedure, the most effective wavebands capable of discriminating treatment effects were selected. By applying a discrimination procedure with a well-chosen subset of the selected wavebands, treatments were correctly classified with more than 92% accuracy.     

A multicriteria intuitionistic fuzzy group decision making for plant location selection with ELECTRE method

Plant location selection, the process of finding a suitable location for plant of a project has a strong influence on the success of industrial venture with the goal to minimize cost and maximize the use of resources. Thus, plant location selection problem is a multicriteria decision-making problem involving several conflicting criteria on which decision makers' knowledge is vague and imprecise. Therefore, in this study, the elimination and choice translating reality (ELECTRE) method is proposed with intuitionistic fuzzy sets for selection of appropriate plant location in group decision-making environment to tackle uncertainty of the information provided by decision makers and a plant location selection problem is considered to illustrate the proposed intuitionistic fuzzy-ELECTRE method. The ratings of alternatives with respect to each criterion and the weights of each criterion are taken as linguistic terms further characterized by triangular intuitionistic fuzzy sets.     

Polarization Independent Dual-band Metamaterial Based Radar Absorbing Structure (RAS) for MillimeterWave Applications

The EM analysis of multi-layered metamaterial based radar absorbing structure (RAS) with dual-band characteristics in millimeter wave frequency regime has been carried out in this paper using transmission line transfer matrix (TLTM) method for TE and TM polarizations. The proposed metamaterial-based RAS exhibits dual-band characteristics at centre frequencies 120 GHz and 175 GHz with very low power reflection. It absorbs more than 90% power of incidence wave over the frequency range from 111-131 GHz at first resonance and from 164.5-185 GHz at second resonance without metal backing plate, which is desirable for stealth applications. It also showed very low (< 1.6%) transmission over the frequency of interest for both TE and TM polarizations. The proposed metamaterial-RAS has potential applications in the design of multi-band sensor systems and RCS reduction in millimeter wave frequency regime.