Distributed differential evolution with explorative–exploitative population families

This paper proposes a novel distributed differential evolution algorithm, namely Distributed Differential Evolution with Explorative–Exploitative Population Families (DDE-EEPF). In DDE-EEPF the sub-populations are grouped into two families. Sub-populations belonging to the first family have constant population size, are arranged according to a ring topology and employ a migration mechanism acting on the individuals with the best performance. This first family of sub-populations has the role of exploring the decision space and constituting an external evolutionary framework. The second family is composed of sub-populations with a dynamic population size: the size is progressively reduced. The sub-populations belonging to the second family are highly exploitative and are supposed to quickly detect solutions with a high performance. The solutions generated by the second family then migrate to the first family. In order to verify its viability and effectiveness, the DDE-EEPF has been run on a set of various test problems and compared to four distributed differential evolution algorithms. Numerical results show that the proposed algorithm is efficient for most of the analyzed problems, and outperforms, on average, all the other algorithms considered in this study.     

Polyester synthesis in aqueous miniemulsion

Hydrophobic polyesters have been synthesized in miniemulsion in the presence of large amounts of water. The yield of the esterification and the molecular weight of the polyesters have been determined for different reaction conditions. It was found that the dispersion state has no influence on the equilibrium: the yield is the same in 100 nm particles than in very large droplets. However, an important parameter is the water concentration inside the particles, as shown by an increase in the yield with more hydrophobic monomers. Another important parameter is the structure of the alcohol monomer. Alcohol compounds bearing electron-donating groups allow to displace the equilibrium toward ester formation. It is also shown that polyester/polystyrene hybrid particles can be synthesized in a very simple way using a one pot procedure.     

Plasticization of poly‐L‐lactide for tissue engineering

Plasticization of medical grade poly‐L ‐lactide (PLLA) by addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with various molar masses has been evaluated as means of producing low stiffness matrices for bioresorbable scaffolds for soft‐tissue engineering applications. As reported previously, the T_g of injection molded specimens of the PLLA/PEG blends decreased strongly with PEG content, so that at PEG contents of 15 and 25 wt % it became significantly lower than normal human body temperature, implying an essentially rubber‐like mechanical response in vivo. The degree of crystallinity of the moldings also increased strongly with PEG content, reaching a maximum of about 60 wt % at 25 wt % PEG. Moreover, after the immersion in phosphate‐buffered saline for 5 days in 37°C to simulate conditions in vivo, the moldings with the highest PEG contents showed increased water uptake and, for relatively low molar mass PEG, significant mass loss, associated with phase separation and leaching of the PEG. Blends with relatively low PEG contents also showed large increases in their degree of crystallinity. The implications of these changes for the in vivo performance of the blends and their potential for development as matrices for bioresorbable scaffolds are discussed in the light of results from a series of PLLA/PEG copolymers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Cross-layer multiple-access optimization scheme for linear precoded OFDM UWB systems

With the growing demand for new wireless applications accompanied with high expectations for better QoS fulfillment especially for multimedia and real-time applications, the performance of the radio resource management in a multiuser context is ensured by the ability to provide an efficient and optimized spectrum sharing scheme that should respect the wireless channel conditions and satisfy the different users’ demands. From the physical layer perspective, metrics such as spectrum efficiency and minimum BER are the most important criteria to be considered. On the other hand, from a user perspective, QoS as well as fairness among the competing users are the main metrics because they determine how much end-users are satisfied and how efficient the available resources are shared among the existing users. Based on the use of the linear precoded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (LP-OFDM) solution proposed as an evolution of the well-known multiband OFDM (MB-OFDM) solution supported by the WiMedia Alliance for future high-rate ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, the objective of this paper is twofold. First, we study a multiuser optimization spectrum sharing scheme for LP-OFDM systems. Second, based on the optimization study, we define a novel multiple-access solution which jointly considers the frequency resource allocation and the time scheduling for the high-rate LP-OFDM UWB systems. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the use of the LP-OFDM transmission technique in the multiuser spectrum sharing scheme. Besides, the novel multiuser time–frequency sharing scheme shows its capacity to provide a high performance level for high-priority users.     

Flame propagation in aeronautical swirled multi-burners: Experimental and numerical investigation

Driven by pollutant emissions stringent regulations, engines manufacturers tend to reduce the number of injectors and rely on lean combustion which impacts the light-around phase of ignition. To improve knowledge of the ignition process occurring in real engines, current research combines fundamental and increasingly complex experiments with high fidelity numerical simulations. This work investigates the flame propagation, using a multi-injector experiment located at CORIA (France) in combination with Large Eddy Simulation (LES) obtained by CERFACS (France). The comparison of numerical fully transient ignition sequences with experimental data shows that LES recovers features found in the experiment. Global events such as the propagation of the flame front to neighboring swirlers are well captured by LES, with the correct propagation mode (spanwise or axial) and the correct overall ignition time delay. The detailed analysis of LES data allows to identify the driving mechanisms leading to each propagation mode.     

Solidification of a Vacuum Arc-Remelted Zirconium Ingot

As the quality of vacuum arc-remelted (VAR) zirconium ingots is directly linked to their chemical homogeneity and their metallurgical structure after solidification, it is important to predictively relate these factors to the operating conditions. Therefore, a detailed modeling study of the solidification process during VAR has been undertaken. To this purpose, the numerical macromodel SOLAR has been used. Assuming axisymmetrical geometry, this model is based on the solution of the coupled transient heat, momentum, and solute transport equations, under turbulent flow conditions during the remelting, hot-topping, and cooling of a cylindrical ingot. The actual operating parameters are defined as inputs for the model. Each of them, mainly the melting current sequence, melting rate sequence, and stirring parameters (current and period), is allowed to vary with time. Solidification mechanisms recently implemented in the model include a full coupling between energy and solute transport in the mushy zone. This modeling can be applied to actual multicomponent alloys. In this article, the macrosegregation induced by solidification in a zirconium alloy ingot is investigated. In order to validate the model results, a full-scale homogeneous Zy4 electrode has been remelted, and the resulted ingot has been analyzed. The model results show a general good agreement with the chemistry analyses, as soon as thermosolutal convection is accounted for to simulate accurately the interdendritic fluid flow in the central part of the ingot.     

The effect of twin screw extrusion on structural,electrical, and rheological properties in carbon nanotube poly‐ether‐ether‐ketone nanocomposites

The influence of twin screw extruder dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the structural, electrical, and rheological properties in poly(ether ether ketone) is studied. Intermediate rotational speeds (200 rpm) of co‐rotating twin screws yield higher electrical conductivity and dynamic shear modulus than for lower or higher speeds when using 3 wt % multiwall CNTs. These improved properties at intermediate speeds are correlated with the dispersion state of nanotubes in the polymer matrix by using transmission electron microscopy and multispectral Raman mapping. We find that the complex shear modulus near structural percolation depends on the dispersion of the CNTs and the residence time in the extruder plays an important role in the final properties of the nanocomposite. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013