The provably good parallel seeding algorithms for the k-means problem with penalties

As a classic NP-hard problem in machine learning and computational geometry, the k-means problem aims to partition the given points into k sets to minimize the within-cluster sum of squares. The k-means problem with penalties (k-MPWP), as a generalizing problem of the k-means problem, allows a point that can be either clustered or penalized with some positive cost. In this paper, we mainly apply the parallel seeding algorithm to the k-MPWP, and show sufficient analysis to bound the expected solution quality in the case where both the number of iterations and the number of points sampled in each iteration can be given arbitrarily. The approximate guarantee can be obtained as , where is a polynomial function involving the maximal ratio M between the penalties. On one hand, this result can be viewed as a further improvement on the parallel algorithm for k-MPWP given by Li et al., where the number of iterations depends on other factors. On the other hand, our result also generalizes the one solving the k-means problem presented by Bachem et al., because k-MPWP is a variant of the k-means problem. Moreover, we present a numerical experiment to show the effectiveness of the parallel algorithm for k-means with penalties.     

An evaluation of enhanced oil recovery strategies for a heavy oil reservoir after cold production with sand

Cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) is the process of choice for unconsolidated heavy oil reservoirs with relatively high gas content. The key challenge of CHOPS is that the recovery factor tends to be between 5% and 15%, implying that the majority of the oil remains in the ground after the process is rendered uneconomic. Continued cold production (without sands) is not productive for a post‐CHOPS reservoir because of the low oil saturation and depleted reservoir pressure in the wormhole regions. There is a need to develop viable recovery processes for post‐CHOPS reservoirs. Here, different follow‐up processes are examined for a post‐CHOPS heavy oil reservoir. In post‐CHOPS cold water flooding, severe water channeling is ineffective at displacing high viscosity heavy oil. Hot water flooding improves the sweep efficiency and produces more oil compared with cold water flooding. However, the swept region is limited to the domain between the neighboring wormhole networks, and the energy efficiency of the process is relatively poor. Compared with the hot water flooding case, steam flooding achieves higher oil production rates and lower water use. A cyclic steam stimulation strategy achieves the best performance regarding oil production rates and water usage. Based on our results, it is observed that thermally based techniques alone are not capable to recover the oil economically for post‐CHOPS reservoirs. However, it is suggested that techniques with combined use of thermal energy and solvent could potentially yield efficient oil recovery methods for these reservoirs. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

宝钢厚板高敏感性裂纹钢切割裂纹机理研究

针对高裂纹敏感性钢,以耐磨钢为例,研究了耐磨钢板的显微组织,带温和非带温切割条件下硬度的变化,确定了火切端部裂纹形成与扩展机制。结果表明,带温切割条件下火切热影响区硬度梯度变化明显变缓,产生裂纹等缺陷风险大幅降低。对实际生产具有十分重要的实际应用意义。     

基于变步长差分迭代方法的河道水面线计算

在计算天然河道水面线时，由于河道的不规则性，导致计算断面间距往往是不相等的。为此，依据水力学能量方程，建立了变步长差分迭代的水面曲线模型。该数学模型简单易行，适应性强，便于程序化实现。通过对河南省南部某河道治理工程水面线的推求验证，证明该方法可有效解决非等间距断面的水面线推求问题，且计算效率和精度较高，可为计算类似工程问题提供参考。     

一种基于证据推理的视频运动目标融合检测算法

为了解决复杂场景下传统的运动目标检测问题, 利用证据推理—–谨慎有序加权平均方法(COWA-ER), 提出一种综合使用混合高斯、均值滤波和码本的多方法融合的检测方法. 该融合检测算法以上述3 种检测方法为准则建立一个多准则决策框架, 通过双阈值检测法来表征检测过程中的不确定性, 最终利用COWA-ER 方法进行决策级融合, 实现多种方法的优势互补. 实验表明, 所提出的融合检测算法具有更理想的目标检测效果, 能有效应对诸如阴影及光照突变等问题对检测性能的影响.

     

大跨径网架屋顶设计与施工实践

某物资仓库拟采用框架结构和40 m跨网架屋顶。首先根据规范确定了屋顶荷载，并根据该建筑物位于台风区的实际，着重研究了风荷载的取值情况。该网架采用螺栓球节点，形式为正放四角锥形，施工采用分段整体吊装和高空散装的安装方式。实际使用情况表明，该物资库采用网架结构可靠耐用，且缩短了施工工期，取得了较好的经济效益。     

Enzymatic extraction of fucoxanthin from brown seaweeds

Brown seaweeds contain a number of bioactive compounds. The xanthophyll, fucoxanthin, has in vivo efficacy against disorders such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. Organic solvents are traditionally employed to extract fucoxanthin, but carry a toxic chemical and environmental burden. The aim of this study was to optimise a fucoxanthin extraction method using enzymes, water, low‐temperature dehydration and mechanical blending, to produce yields comparable to those achieved with an organic solvent (acetone). Response surface methodology was applied, using Fucus vesiculosus as a model species. A fucoxanthin yield of 0.657 mg g^?1 (dry mass) was obtained from F. vesiculosus blade using the enzymatic method, equivalent to 94% of the acetone‐extracted yield. Optimum extraction parameters were determined to be enzyme‐to‐water ratio 0.52%, seaweed‐to‐water ratio 5.37% and enzyme incubation time 3.05 h. These findings may be applied to the development of value‐added nutraceutical products from seaweed.     

A bi-objective approach for scheduling ground-handling vehicles in airports

In the present paper, we propose a new approach for scheduling ground-handling vehicles, tackling the problem with a global perspective. Preparing an aircraft for its next flight requires a set of interrelated services involving different types of vehicles. Planning decisions concerning each resource affect the scheduling of the other activities and the performance of the other resources. Considering the different operations and vehicles instead of scheduling each resource in isolation allows integrating decisions and contributing to the optimization of the overall ground-handling process. This goal is defined through two objectives: (i) minimizing the waiting time before an operation starts and the total reduction of corresponding time windows and (ii) minimizing the total completion time of the turnarounds. We combine different technologies and techniques to solve the problem efficiently. A new method to address this bi-objective optimization problem is also proposed. The approach has been tested using real data from two Spanish airports, thereby obtaining different solutions that represent a trade-off between both objectives. Experimental results permit inferring interesting criteria on how to optimize each resource, considering the effect on other operations. This outcome leads to more robust global solutions and to savings in resources utilization.