Variable neighborhood search algorithm for heterogeneous traveling repairmen problem with time windows

The focus of this paper is generalized traveling repairman problem (TRP), a special case of the well known and well studied traveling salesman problem (TSP). Because of its specific objective function, that minimizes the sum of overall time all clients wait for until the end of a service, TRP has great applicability potential in client oriented practical problems. Therefore it has been known in literature as traveling deliveryman problem, minimum latency problem and cumulative capacitated vehicle routing problem. However, most studies that have treated TRP related problems have implied that only one repairman is present in the system and/or that all clients are available for service at the beginning of the planning horizon. In this paper we consider a TRP with a heterogeneous fleet of repairmen serving a set of clients whose arrival times are distributed over a planning horizon, i.e. heterogeneous TRPTW (hetTRPTW). For the hetTRPTW we present a mixed integer linear programming model, and a heuristic algorithm based on a variable neighborhood search (VNS) framework. Additionally, we propose a reduction strategy for neighborhoods in the VNS algorithm and test efficiency of implemented algorithms on four benchmark sets of problem instances. Results show that proposed algorithms could be used in real systems for solving small and moderate problem instances.     

Solving fuzzy multiple objective generalized assignment problems directly via bees algorithm and fuzzy ranking

In this paper, a direct solution approach for solving fuzzy multiple objective generalized assignment problems is proposed. In the problem, the coefficients and right hand side values of the constraints and the objective function coefficients are defined as fuzzy numbers. The addressed problem also has a multiple objective structure where the goals are determined so as to minimize the total cost and the imbalance between the workload of the agents. The direct solution approach utilizes the fuzzy ranking methods to rank the objective function values and to determine the feasibility of the constraints within a metaheuristic search algorithm, known as bees algorithm. Different fuzzy ranking methods, namely signed distance, integral value and area based approach are used in bees algorithm. For the computational study, the effects of these fuzzy ranking methods on the quality of the solutions are also analyzed.     

Soil surface illumination at micro-relief scale and soil BRDF data collected by a hyperspectral camera

The results of the paper draw attention to the fact that the hyperspectral image of soil surface at micro-relief scale may display variation in the soil spectral shape due to illumination conditions of the surface. The image of an extremely rough cultivated soil surface, very deeply ploughed, was obtained by a hyperspectral camera, in the range of 0.4–1.0 μm with 0.67–0.74 nm spectral resolution. It was found that the soil reflectance spectra of the studied surface, illuminated by the direct sunbeams, are clearly convex with distinct absorption features. Furthermore, the soil normalized reflectance spectra were used to distinguish the subtlety of the analysed shaded soil spectra shape. They show that depressions caused by the absorption features of O₂ and H₂O, contained in the atmosphere above directly illuminated soil fragments, transform into peaks, if the same soil is deeply shaded.     

Approximating the average daily surface albedo with respect to soil roughness and latitude

The present study explores the diurnal variations in blue-sky albedo (α) of soils under clear sky conditions with respect to surface roughness. Three roughness levels of ploughed and unploughed soil surfaces, developed from the same loessial material, were examined. The relation between α of the surfaces and the solar zenith angle, determined during the experiment, enabled us to predict the diurnal α variation of the surfaces throughout the year at a given latitude, between 75° S and 75° N. The optimal time (T _O) for measuring the soil albedo by an instantaneous observation was considered as the best represented time for the daily averaged value within an error lower than ±2%. It was found that the T _O, falling at different times depending on the soil surface roughness, limits the possibilities of data achievement by remote-sensing satellites along one of their sun-synchronous orbits.     

Microstructural studies of PMMA impregnated mortars

Studies on cement concrete microstructures are carried out to explain experimentally observed phenomenon and for modeling of concrete at the macroscopic level. In this article, the preparation of polymer impregnated mortar (PIC) is carried out by partially or fully replacing the pores in the cement mortars (OPC) by PMMA. The effect of this polymer impregnation on density and morphology of the cement matrix is studied. The microstructural changes in the mortar, on exposure of these specimens to hydrochloric acid and sea water for 7 and 28 days, are also investigated in this article. The above studies indicated that the polymer addition decreased the voids in the mortar thereby preventing leaching of water soluble salts present in the OPC. It was observed that the polymer also prevented the external chemical media from permeating into the cement matrix and undergoing interactions with it. It is concluded that the durability and chemical resistance properties of the PIC are better compared with OPC. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Computing median and antimedian sets in median graphs

The median (antimedian) set of a profile π=(u ₁,…,u _k ) of vertices of a graph G is the set of vertices x that minimize (maximize) the remoteness ∑ _i d(x,u _i ). Two algorithms for median graphs G of complexity O(n idim(G)) are designed, where n is the order and idim(G) the isometric dimension of G. The first algorithm computes median sets of profiles and will be in practice often faster than the other algorithm which in addition computes antimedian sets and remoteness functions and works in all partial cubes.     

基于自适应链码的棉种周长测量

在棉种实时检测系统中,为了识别破损棉种,必须提取棉种的边缘并计算其周长。传统的边缘提取方法有Sobel、Robert等微分算子,以及数学形态学方法和小波变换方法。但是在实时系统中,图像处理速度是影响实时性的关键因素。Freeman链码是图像处理中表示轮廓形状的方法之一,由提取的链码可以得到曲线（包括直线）的曲率、曲线的特征点等,而这些特征是图像压缩、图像重建、图像匹配的依据。由Freeman链码方法提取的图像边缘是单像素的,因此采用这种方法来计算棉种的周长。通过与Sobel、Robert等边缘提取方法进行比较,可以证明运用链码方法求周长,其搜索时间短,计算准确,尤其适用于以快速准确为目标的实时系统。     

Multiple spatial sounds in hierarchical menu navigation for visually impaired computer users

This paper describes a user study on the benefits and drawbacks of simultaneous spatial sounds in auditory interfaces for visually impaired and blind computer users. Two different auditory interfaces in spatial and non-spatial condition were proposed to represent the hierarchical menu structure of a simple word processing application. In the horizontal interface, the sound sources or the menu items were located in the horizontal plane on a virtual ring surrounding the user’s head, while the sound sources in the vertical interface were aligned one above the other in front of the user. In the vertical interface, the central pitch of the sound sources at different elevations was changed in order to improve the otherwise relatively low localization performance in the vertical dimension. The interaction with the interfaces was based on a standard computer keyboard for input and a pair of studio headphones for output. Twelve blind or visually impaired test subjects were asked to perform ten different word processing tasks within four experiment conditions. Task completion times, navigation performance, overall satisfaction and cognitive workload were evaluated. The initial hypothesis, i.e. that the spatial auditory interfaces with multiple simultaneous sounds should prove to be faster and more efficient than non-spatial ones, was not confirmed. On the contrary—spatial auditory interfaces proved to be significantly slower due to the high cognitive workload and temporal demand. The majority of users did in fact finish tasks with less navigation and key pressing; however, they required much more time. They reported the spatial auditory interfaces to be hard to use for a longer period of time due to the high temporal and mental demand, especially with regards to the comprehension of multiple simultaneous sounds. The comparison between the horizontal and vertical interface showed no significant differences between the two. It is important to point out that all participants were novice users of the system; therefore it is possible that the overall performance could change with a more extensive use of the interfaces and an increased number of trials or experiments sets. Our interviews with visually impaired and blind computer users showed that they are used to sharing their auditory channel in order to perform multiple simultaneous tasks such as listening to the radio, talking to somebody, using the computer, etc. As the perception of multiple simultaneous sounds requires the entire capacity of the auditory channel and total concentration of the listener, it does therefore not enable such multitasking.     

Study of the influence of the structural grain size on the mechanical properties of technical materials

The mechanical properties of technical materials depend on their structure. They are influenced not only by their chemical composition, but particularly by the structural grain size. Significant changes in the mechanical behaviour of materials are related both to surface and volume properties, and not only in the field of mechanical parameters. A wide range of physical and chemical parameters changes as well. Nano‐materials are the materials, the structural grain size of which is in the dimensional area from 10^?9 to 10^?7 m. Nano‐particles and nanostructures are thus so small that their behaviour is affected by atomic forces, properties of chemical bonding, and quantum phenomena. The wave nature of the very small particles begins to manifest itself. The aim of the authors is to contribute by their paper to the solution of the problems in the field of material engineering. This means to investigate the specifics in the behaviour of technical materials depending on the change in the structural grain size towards the nano‐areas, as well as the design and use of new techniques of mathematical and physical modelling including the operative measurement method.