Optimization of parameters in solar thermal collector provided with impinging air jets based upon preference selection index method

The present study examines the effect of flow and geometric parameters on the performance of solar thermal collector provided with impinging air jets. The investigation has been carried out in terms of performance defining criterions which are pertinent to determine the optimal design of impinging jet solar thermal collector. The experimental investigation indicated that the impinging air jets enhances the thermal performance but at the same time the friction power penalty also increases which depress the overall performance of the system. In view of this the preference selection index (PSI) approach based methodology has been applied using various performance criterions in order to determine the optimal design of the parameters which deliver maximum thermal performance with minimal increase in friction factor inside the collector duct. The optimum configuration of the parameters obtained as a result of proposed method is: streamwise pitch ratio of 0.435; spanwise pitch ratio of 0.869; jet diameter ratio of 0.065 and flow Reynolds number of 16,000.     

Comparison of steam-alkali-chemical and microwave-alkali pretreatment for enhancing the enzymatic saccharification of oil palm trunk

This paper demonstrates two different pretreatment protocols for oil palm trunks (OPT); steam-alkali-chemical (SAC) and microwave-alkali (Mw-A) method. The composition, morphology, structure and crystallinity of OPT before and after pretreatment were analyzed. The effectiveness of the pretreated methods was investigated by performing enzymatic saccharification on the OPT. The physiochemical factors namely: enzyme ratio (cellulase to β-glucosidase), pH, temperature and substrate loading (w/v) on enzymatic saccharification were also investigated. The pre-determined optimal conditions were then used for further enzymatic hydrolysis of raw and pretreated OPT substrates. The results revealed a huge degree of reduction in lignin, up to 89% for SAC treated OPT and at least 15% for Mw-A treated OPT sample as compared to untreated ones. High glucose accumulation (79.4%) was obtained after 72 h saccharification for both pretreated OPT samples.     

Coastal trapped waves in the southern Caspian Sea

Previous studies reported coastal trapped waves (CTWs) in the Caspian Sea (CS). This study deals with the generation mechanisms, the temporal and spatial variability of CTWs in this area, and their transformations during propagation from the origin to the destination using recent measurements and high-resolution numerical simulations. CTWs are observed at all stations with periods of 2–6 days after northerly storms. The Absheron Peninsula, old Sefidrud delta, and Nur coasts were identified as the CTWs prone regions. The generation of CTWs in these locations was confirmed using numerical experiments. The propagation away from the generating location of CTWs was analyzed using a representative real wind storm. In the west part of the CS, the generation mechanism of CTWs is mainly similar to the barotropic Kelvin waves; in contrast, it is similar to the continental shelf waves in the southern shelves. The results can be used to study the contribution of generated CTWs to the transport of sediment and biological materials in all large lakes.     

双馈电机力能指标优化控制策略仿真研究

在双馈调速过程中,当转子侧变频电源的压频比与负载匹配不相适宜时,会使双馈电动机运行在力能指标相对较低状态,为探究恒转矩负载条件下转子侧变频电源的压频比对双馈电动机功率因数和效率的影响并使双馈电机力能指标得以优化,提出一种双馈电机力能指标优化控制策略.通过理论推导以及对不同频率、不同负载条件下,双馈电机转子侧电压、电流与定子侧电流、力能指标间的关系进行研究,得出控制转子电压可对定子侧功率因数进行控制的一般规律,并得出使定子侧功率因数为1时的压频比为转子侧最佳压频比,此时双馈电机的力能指标相对最优,在此基础上提出双馈电机力能指标优化控制策略,仿真结果表明力能指标优化控制策略能使双馈电机在不同频率、不同负载条件下始终运行在力能指标最优状态.     

A novel recursive approach for real-time transient stability assessment based on corrected kinetic energy

Real-time assessment of transient stability is one of the main issues of power system operators in online applications. This paper proposes a novel recursive approach based on corrected kinetic energy which has the capability of real-time assessment and real time computation of transient stability margin in the power system. This approach considers all details of power system by using network preserving model to simulate transient stability. This paper uses a hybrid method based on the new concept of equal area criterion to estimate initial value of critical point of the system and corrected Kinetic Energy Function to estimate high precision value of the critical point. Also, this paper proposes a recursive method which uses large change sensitively (LCS) analysis to correct initial condition point of the system when the topology of system is changed by a disturbance. In order to validate the proposed method, comprehensive case studies have been conducted on IEEE39-bus test system. Comprehensiveness in considering the details, simplicity in implementation and low computational cost are the outstanding features of the proposed approach. Also, simulation results approve that the proposed approach can be used in real-time application without loss of any detail in the transient stability assessment.     

Schedule Model for Project Portfolio Based on Design Structure Matrix

To improve the enterprise resource utilization and shorten the cycle of the whole project portfolio,a scheduling model based on Design Structure Matrix ( DSM) is built. By setting the project activity weight index system and calculating the activity weight for the project portfolio,the constraint relationship between project portfolio information and resource utilization,as the two dimensions of the DSM,are fully reflected in the schedule model to determine the order of these activities of project portfolio. A project portfolio example is given to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the schedule model.     

The role of price as a product attribute in the organic food context: An exploration based on actual purchase data

High prices are often quoted as an obstacle to consumer purchase of organic food products. This article investigates the market performance of organic food products at different price levels and whether high price is necessarily a disadvantage for organic food products, especially with regard to generating repeat purchase. Based on analyses of panel purchase data from 2011 in Denmark, the study explores the effects of production method (organic vs. conventional) and price on consumers’ repeat purchase and cross-purchase across four product categories: red meat, chicken, milk and hard cheese. Results show that a high price is a disadvantage for generating repeat purchase of organic food products. Although organic products enjoy higher repeat purchase than conventional products overall, a high price generates less repeat purchase of organic products than a low or a medium price in all product categories; whereas in the case of conventional food products the situation is the reverse. At the same time, the cross-purchase analysis reveals that consumers who buy organic products from the high price tier are less likely to switch to other price tiers than consumers who buy low or medium price organic products (i.e. there is a spillover of high price organic food purchases to other product categories). Implications for pricing strategies for organic food products are discussed.     

抗震结构基于最大弹塑性位移耦合作用的滞回耗能谱

针对抗震结构研究了能够综合考虑结构弹塑性位移耦合作用的滞回耗能谱(简称"VH谱")。通过自编的Matlab程序,进行了大量的单自由度体系非线性时程分析,计算得到了一系列VH谱曲线,并拟合回归了4类场地的VH谱公式及其相关系数。VH谱综合考虑了结构最大弹塑性位移和结构累积滞回耗能的耦合作用,更加合理地反映结构在罕遇地震作用下的弹塑性行为,研究成果可供抗震结构基于能量性能设计或评估使用。     

A triparametric family of three-step optimal eighth-order methods for solving nonlinear equations

A new triparametric family of three-step optimal eighth-order iterative methods free from second derivatives are proposed in this paper, to find a simple root of nonlinear equations. Convergence analysis as well as numerical experiments confirms the eighth-order convergence and asymptotic error constants.     

An automatic iterative decision-making method for intuitionistic fuzzy linguistic preference relations

As a new preference structure, the intuitionistic fuzzy linguistic preference relation (IFLPR) was recently introduced to efficiently deal with situations in which the membership and non-membership are represented as linguistic terms. In this paper, we study the issues of additive consistency and the derivation of the intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector of an IFLPR. First, the new concepts of order consistency, additive consistency and weak transitivity for IFLPRs are introduced, and followed by a discussion of the characterisation about additive consistent IFLPRs. Then, a parameterised transformation approach is investigated to convert the normalised intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector into additive consistent IFLPRs. After that, a linear optimisation model is established to derive the normalised intuitionistic fuzzy weights for IFLPRs, and a consistency index is defined to measure the deviation degree between an IFLPR and its additive consistent IFLPR. Furthermore, we develop an automatic iterative decision-making method to improve the IFLPRs with unacceptable additive consistency until the adjusted IFLPRs are acceptable additive consistent, and it helps the decision-maker to obtain the reasonable and reliable decision-making results. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed method.