Automatic design for shop scheduling strategies based on hyper-heuristics: A systematic review

Against the background of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, how to achieve real-time scheduling has become a problem to be solved. In this regard, automatic design for shop scheduling based on hyper-heuristics has been widely studied, and a number of reviews and scheduling algorithms have been presented. Few studies, however, have specifically discussed the technical points involved in algorithm development. This study, therefore, constructs a general framework for automatic design for shop scheduling strategies based on hyper-heuristics, and various state-of-the-art technical points in the development process are summarized. First, we summarize the existing types of shop scheduling strategies and classify them using a new classification method. Second, we summarize an automatic design algorithm for shop scheduling. Then, we investigate surrogate-assisted methods that are popular in the current algorithm field. Finally, current problems and challenges are discussed, and potential directions for future research are proposed.     

An economic investigation of the wind-hydrogen projects: A case study

Hydrogen as an energy carrier can play a significant role in reducing environmental emissions if it is produced from renewable energy resources. This research aims to assess hydrogen production from wind energy considering environmental, economic, and technical aspect for the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. The economic assessment is performed by calculation of payback period, levelized cost of hydrogen, and levelized cost of electricity. Since uncertainty in the power output of wind turbines may affect the payback period, all calculations are performed for four different turbine degradation rates. While it is common in the literature to choose the wind turbine based on a single criterion, this study implements Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques for this purpose. The results of Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis illustrates that economic issue is the most important criterion for this research. The results of Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment shows that Vestas V52 is the most suitable wind turbine for Ahar and Sarab cities, while Eovent EVA120 H-Darrieus is a better choice for other stations. The most suitable location for wind power generation is found to be Ahar, where it is estimated to annually generate 2914.8 kWh of electricity at the price of 0.045 $/kWh, and 47.2 tons of hydrogen at the price of 1.38 $/kg, which result in 583 tons of CO₂ emission reduction.     

An active balancer with rapid bidirectional charge shuttling and adaptive equalization current control for lithium-ion battery strings

This article proposes an active balancer, which features bidirectional charge shuttling and adaptive equalization current control, to fast counterbalance the state of charge (SOC) of cells in a lithium-ion battery (LIB) string. The power circuit consists of certain bidirectional buck-boost converters to transfer energy among the different cells back and forth. Owing to the characterization of the open-circuit voltage (OCV) vs SOC in LIB being relatively smooth near the SOC middle range, the SOC-inspected balance strategy can achieve more precise and efficient equilibrium than the voltage-based control. Accordingly, a compensated OCV-based SOC estimation is put forward to take into account the discrepancy of SOC estimation. Besides, the varied-duty-cycle (VDC) and curve-fitting modulation (CFM) methods are devised herein to tackle the problems of slow equalization rate and low balance efficacy, which arise from the diminution in balancing current as the SOC difference between the cells decreases in the later duration of equalization especially. The proposed strategies have taken the battery nonlinear characteristic and circuit parameter nonideality into account and can adaptively modulate the duty cycle with the SOC difference to keep balancing current constant throughout the balancing cycle. Simulated and experimental results are given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the same prototype constructed. Compared with the fixed duty cycle and the VDC methods, the proposed CFM has the best balancing efficiency of 81.4%, and the balance time is shortened by 27.1% and 18.6%, respectively.     

Effects of spinosad and spinetoram on larval mortality,adult emergence,progeny production and mating in Cadra cautella (Walk.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The bacterial formulations, spinosad and spinetoram, were evaluated for their efficacy in suppressing development and mating success in Cadra cautella (Walk.) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), the almond moth. A dilution series of spinosad and spinetoram was sprayed on rice flour. Rice flour samples sprayed with water served as the control. Late instar C. cautella larvae were introduced onto spinosad-, spinetoram-, or water-treated rice flour. The first experiment tested the effects of spinosad and spinetoram on larval mortality, as well as emergence of adults and progeny at different insecticide concentrations. In the second experiment, the mating success of C. cautella adults that had emerged from larvae exposed to spinosad was tested inside a cubicle. Both spinosad and spinetoram increased larval mortality, whereas both compounds reduced adult emergence and progeny production. Natural mating was reduced in the presence of the synthetic sex pheromone (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecadienyl acetate. However, exposure of C. cautella larvae to spinosad did not alter mating in adult progeny. Spinosad was more effective than spinetoram at suppressing C. cautella development. The study concludes that both spinosad and spinetoram suppress the development of immatures of C. cautella to the adult stage as well as mating. Thus, the both compounds can be used to protect stored grains from infestation by C. cautella.     

深部松软煤层钻孔孔周煤体变形产渣特征研究

针对煤矿井下高瓦斯软煤顺层长钻孔排渣困难、成孔率低、施工困难等问题,通过数值模拟实验研究了井下深部软煤体变形破坏特征,分析了顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形特征及应力变化,以揭示顺层长钻孔孔周松软煤体变形产渣规律。研究表明:深部高瓦斯软煤顺层钻孔孔周煤体的应力平衡临界条件破坏后将发生大体积突然垮落;钻孔水平最大变形位移为1.22mm,垂直方向最大变形位移为10.7mm;径向孔周煤体垂向变形呈现逐渐减小趋势,且垂向变形明显大于钻孔水平变形。在水平方向上,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布呈现先增大再逐渐减小的变化规律,径向距离对水平应力分布的影响逐渐减小;随着径向距离的增加,钻孔孔周煤体应力分布逐渐降低,钻孔孔壁处煤体的应力出现最大值,且垂直方向处应力值最大。     

A comparative study on hygroscopic and physiochemical properties of chicken powders obtained by different drying methods

Abstract

Different drying methods (spray drying (SD), vacuum drying (VD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), and infrared vacuum drying (IFVD)) were applied in order to compare the hygroscopicity behavior of chicken powders. The hygroscopicity curves and glass transition temperature were used to evaluate the influence of ambient humidity and temperature on moisture absorption of powders. The results showed that the chicken powder dried by MVD had the lowest moisture absorption, followed by IFVD, VD, and SD. The hygroscopicity of SD chicken powders was different from other three kinds of chicken powders due to the physical properties of particles and the changes of protein secondary structure as detected by the Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer. For the three vacuum drying methods, the difference of protein secondary structure was the main reason of differences in hygroscopicity. Although MVD chicken powders were slightly inferior to SD chicken powders in taste, MVD chicken powders were the best in terms of smell and color as suggested by instrumental sensory parameter evaluations. It was found that MVD had a positive effect on reducing moisture absorption and maintaining sensory quality of chicken powders.     

Industry 4.0: a supply chain innovation perspective

The Fourth Industrial Revolution – also known as Industry 4.0 (i4.0) – comprises the digitalisation of the industrial sector. This paper uses the theoretical lens of supply chain innovation (SCI) to investigate the implications of i4.0 on supply chain management. For these purposes, the method of structured content analysis is applied to more than 200 use cases of i4.0-enabled SCI introduced by both established and startup companies. i4.0-enabled SCI manifests along three dimensions: process, technology, and business architecture. The key findings of this study can be summarised as follows: first, i4.0-enabled SCI extends the initial focus on productivity improvements in SC processes towards scalability and flexibility. Second, extant i4.0 solutions rely mostly on analytics and smart things while omitting smart people technology and the human-centric approach associated with the i4.0 paradigm. Third, established companies adopt i4.0 merely to sustain their existing business architectures while startup companies radically change their operating models, relying heavily on data analytics and the platform economy. Consequently, established companies pursue a problem-driven, engineering-based approach to SCI while startup companies follow an ‘asset-light’, business-driven approach. Lastly, there are two distinct approaches to digitalising operational SC processes: platform-based crowdsourcing of standard processes and on-demand provision of customised services.