Disaggregating growth in future retail electricity rates

The retail rate impacts of a number of emerging trends (e.g., rapid deployment of electric vehicles and storage, transmission build-out for large-scale renewables deployment, and grid modernization) are unknown. Importantly, decision-makers are concerned about the potential future rate impacts on energy affordability and equity. We disaggregate the key drivers of retail electricity rates and assess their impacts on future rate growth considering their interactions and uncertainty. Specifically, we develop ranges of future cost growth for a generic investor-owned and vertically-integrated electric utility representing typical cost and operating characteristics. The rate driver growth rate ranges are applied in isolation and jointly to quantify the uncertainty and variability in future retail electricity rates. The results identify what rate drivers and factors may minimize and/or decrease uncertainty in retail rate growth and their linkages to industry trends.     

Reconstructing design parameters of a rectangular resonator via peak signal-to-noise ratio and global optimization algorithms

This article proposes an approach for reconstructing physical parameters of a sample in a rectangular resonator during microwave radiation, knowing a priori, its electric field distribution. The inverse problem was solved using two global optimization algorithms and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) criterion. First, the Self-regulated Fretwidth Harmony Search algorithm (SFHS) identified suitable resonant frequencies for a given configuration. Next, the unified Particle Swarm Optimization (UPSO) optimized said configuration. Together, they became a maximization strategy of the PSNR through a dual optimization process. Results showed the ability of the approach for estimating the height of each sample block and the resonating frequency of the cavity. This process takes longer to finish as a higher PSNR is demanded (mainly due to the aforementioned dual optimization). Even so, it allows for more similar electric field distributions between both, the direct and inverse problems.     

强磁场对硅锰铸钢于A_1点附近等温珠光体相变的影响

通过开展12 T强磁下硅锰铸钢(50Si_2Mn_3)于A_1点温度附近不同等温时间的热处理试验,并对比强磁场与无磁场条件下等温珠光体相变试验结果,研究了磁场对珠光体转变量及组织形貌的影响。研究表明,对于50Si_2Mn_3在A1点以下较高温度范围内,强磁场可缩短珠光体相变的孕育期,促进硅锰铸钢珠光体转变,使其转变量明显增加;强磁场能够提高珠光体转变临界点,使50Si_2Mn_3在A1点以上等温过程中能够发生珠光体相变。     

电火花打孔加工系统

本文介绍了电火花打孔加工系统的工作原理和组成、并对系统中的高压脉冲产生电路的设计进行了详细的阐述     

Action categorization with modified hidden conditional random field

In this paper, we present a method for action categorization with a modified hidden conditional random field (HCRF). Specifically, effective silhouette-based action features are extracted using motion moments and spectrum of chain code. We formulate a modified HCRF (mHCRF) to have a guaranteed global optimum in the modelling of the temporal action dependencies after the HMM pathing stage. Experimental results on action categorization using this model are compared favorably against several existing model-based methods including GMM, SVM, Logistic Regression, HMM, CRF and HCRF.     

Gröbner basis of the alternating galoisian ideal

This article proposes an efficient and simple algebraic method of computation of a Gröbner basis generating the alternating galoisian ideal of a univariate separable polynomial. We named this method “the descent of the Vandermonde determinants”.     

Frequency domain regularization of d-dimensional structure tensor-based directional fields

The present work is intended to address two of the major difficulties that can be found when tackling the estimation of the local orientation of the data in a scene, a task which is usually accomplished by means of the computation of the structure tensor-based directional field. On one hand, the orientation information only exists in the non-homogeneous regions of the dataset, while it is zero in the areas where the gradient (i.e. the first-order intensity variation) remains constant. Due to this lack of information, there are many cases in which the overall shape of the represented objects cannot be precisely inferred from the directional field. On the other hand, the orientation estimation is highly dependent on the particular choice of the averaging window used for its computation (since a collection of neighboring gradient vectors is needed to obtain a dominant orientation), typically resulting in vector fields which vary from very irregular (thus yielding a noisy estimation) to very uniform (but at the expense of a loss of angular resolution). The proposed solution to both drawbacks is the regularization of the directional field; this process extends smoothly the previously computed vectors to the whole dataset while preserving the angular information of relevant structures. With this purpose, the paper introduces a suitable mathematical framework and deals with the d-dimensional variational formulation which is derived from it. The proposed formulation is finally translated into the frequency domain in order to obtain an increase of insight on the regularization problem, which can be understood as a low-pass filtering of the directional field. The frequency domain point of view also allows for an efficient implementation of the resulting iterative algorithm. Simulation experiments involving datasets of different dimensionality prove the validity of the theoretical approach.     

The use of genetic algorithms for assessment of high voltage fields

There are several numerical methods for calculation of electric fields but they need some sort of experience and trial and error to get the correct solution. A genetic algorithm (GA) based approach is used to eliminate the need for the experience and to save time and effort spent in the trial and error. Two enhancement techniques, namely, Refreshment Method and No-Twins Method, are used with the GA operators to improve the performance of the GA in assessment of high voltage fields. The performance of these two enhancement techniques has been studied for computing the electrostatic field in high voltage applications.     

Comparison of image reconstruction by using near‐field and far‐field data for an imperfect conductor

Image reconstruction by using near‐field and far‐field data for an imperfectly conducting cylinder is investigated. A conducting cylinder of unknown shape and conductivity scatters the incident wave in free space and the scattered near and far fields are measured. By using measured fields, the imaging problem is reformulated into an optimization problem and solved by the genetic algorithm. Numerical results show that the convergence speed and final reconstructed results by using near‐field data are better than those obtained by using far‐field data. This work provides both comparative and quantitative information. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 11: 69–73, 2001.