A multi-agent architecture for dynamic scheduling of steel hot rolling

Steel production is a complex process and finding coherent and effective schedules for the wide variety of production steps, in a dynamic environment, is a challenging task. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent architecture for integrated dynamic scheduling of the hot strip mill (HSM) and the continuous caster. The scheduling systems of these processes have very different objectives and constraints, and operate in an environment where there is a substantial quantity of real-time information concerning production failures and customer requests. Each process is assigned to an agent which independently, seeks an optimal dynamic schedule at a local level taking into account local objectives, real-time information and information received from other agents. Each agent can react to real-time events in order to fix any problems that occur. We focus here, particularly, on the HSM agent which uses a tabu search heuristic to create good predictive–reactive schedules quickly. The other agents simulate the production of the coil orders and the real-time events, which occur during the scheduling process. When real-time events occur on the HSM, the HSM agent might decide whether to repair the current schedule or reschedule from scratch. To address this problem, a range of schedule repair and complete rescheduling strategies are investigated and their performance is assessed with respect to measures of utility, stability and robustness, using an experimental simulation framework.     

Cooperative search for fair nurse rosters

The development of decision support systems acceptable for nurse rostering practitioners still presents a daunting challenge. Building on an existing nurse rostering problem, a set of fairness-based objective functions recently introduced in the literature has been extended. To this end, a generic agent-based cooperative search framework utilising new mechanisms is described, aiming to combine the strengths of multiple metaheuristics. These different metaheuristics represent individual planners’ implicit procedures for improving rosters. The framework enables to explore different ways of assessing nurse rosters in terms of fairness objectives. Computational experiments have been conducted across a set of benchmark instances. The overall results indicate that the proposed cooperative search for fair nurse rosters outperforms each metaheuristic run individually.     

The gambler's ruin problem, genetic algorithms, and the sizing of populations.

This paper presents a model to predict the convergence quality of genetic algorithms based on the size of the population. The model is based on an analogy between selection in GAs and one-dimensional random walks. Using the solution to a classic random walk problem-the gambler's ruin-the model naturally incorporates previous knowledge about the initial supply of building blocks (BBs) and correct selection of the best BB over its desired quality of the solution, as well as the problem size and difficulty. The accuracy of the model is verified with experiments using additively decomposable functions of varying difficulty. The paper demonstrates how to adjust the model to account for noise present in the fitness evaluation and for different tournament sizes.     

Physical Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Rebars in Compression

Forty-five glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) rebars were tested in compression to determine their ultimate strength and Young’s modulus. The rebars (or C-bars), produced by Marshall Industries Composites, Inc., had an outside diameter of 15 mm (#15 rebar), and unbraced lengths varying from 50 to 380 mm. A compression test method was developed to conduct the experiments. Three failure modes, that are directly related to the unbraced length of the rebar, are identified as crushing, buckling, and combined buckling and crushing. The crushing region represents the failure mode a GFRP rebar would experience when confined in concrete under compression. The experimental results showed that the ultimate compressive strength of the #15 GFRP rebar failing by crushing is approximately 50% of the ultimate tensile strength. Based on a very limited number of tests, in which strain readings were acceptable, Young’s modulus in compression was found to be approximately the same as in tension.     

Time-course and reversibility of the hypoxia-induced alterations in cerebral vascularity and cerebral capillary glucose transporter density

The adult rat adapts to prolonged moderate hypobaric hypoxia by polycythemia, increased brain vascularity, and increased density of the brain capillary glucose transporter (GLUT-1). We now report on the time-course and reversibility of these adaptive alterations. Adult male Wistar rats were subjected to hypobaric hypoxia at 0.5 atmosphere for periods of 4 days or 1, 2 or 3 weeks, and compared to normoxic littermate controls. Reversibility of the effects of hypoxia was studied in rats subjected to hypobaric hypoxia for 3 weeks and then allowed to recover at normobaric conditions for 3 additional weeks. Cerebral vascularity was studied in cross-sections of the cerebral cortex that were immunocytochemically stained with a GLUT-1 antibody. The density of GLUT-1 was determined in isolated cerebral microvessels by quantitative autoradiography of immunoblots. Blood hematocrit and cerebral microvascularity did not significantly increase after 4 days of hypoxia, but were significantly increased at 1, 2 and 3 weeks of hypoxia. Three weeks of normoxic recovery after 3 weeks of hypoxia reversed the polycythemia and cerebral hypervascularity. However, the density of GLUT-1 in isolated cerebral microvessels, which was significantly increased after 1 and 3 weeks of hypoxia, remained elevated after 3 weeks of normoxia.     

ATP-sensitive potassium channels are not expressed in brain microvessels

We used [3H]glibenclamide binding to assess ATP-sensitive K+ channels in isolated cerebral microvessels and in the cerebral cortex of the rat. We found no measurable specific glibenclamide binding in cerebral microvessels despite its abundance in cerebral cortical membranes, implying that ATP-sensitive K+ channels are not present in cerebral microvessels.     

Finite element analysis of eccentrically stiffened plates in free vibration

A compound finite element model is developed to investigate eccentrically stiffened plates in free vibration. The plate elements and beam elements are treated as integral parts of a compound section, and not as independent bending components. The derivation is based on the assumptions of small deflection theory. In the orthogonally stiffened directions of the compound section, the neutral surfaces may not coincide. They lie between the middle surface of the plate and the centroidal axes of the stiffeners. The results of this study are compared with existing ones and with those of the orthotropic plate approximation. Modifications to the existing equivalent orthotropic rigidities are proposed.     

TEM characterization of Si nanowires grown by CVD on Si pre-structured by nanosphere lithography

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were grown on Si(1 0 0) and Si(1 1 1) substrates by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) via the vapour–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism with small gold particles used as seeds. In order to control the diameter of nanowires, their density on the substrate and their orientation we controlled the size and the distribution of Au seed particles. This was accomplished using nanosphere lithography (NSL) by which regular arrays of Au nanoparticles can be generated. This allowed us to grow single-crystalline SiNWs perpendicular to the surface of Si(1 1 1) substrates. The SiNWs and their Au caps were studied with respect to their morphology and composition using TEM, HREM and EFTEM methods. Clusters of Au are observed along the surface of SiNWs and the existence of a thin Si film on gold particles capping the SiNWs is demonstrated.     

Modeling and Performance Analysis of Cognitive Radio Networks Using Stochastic Timed Colored Petri Nets

Cognitive radio (CR) is currently one of the most promising information transmission technologies to deal with the problem of spectrum scarcity and spectrum underutilization in wireless communications. CR networks aim to enhance spectrum efficiency to meet the ever-increasing demands of end users. The principle is to provide the opportunity for unlicensed users (secondary users, SUs) to temporarily and dynamically access the unused or sparsely used bandwidth while ensuring that it never interferes or degrades the performance of the incumbent license holders, commonly called primary users (PUs). This raises several challenges to be addressed in CR networks and performance of secondary users is one of the critical issues tackled in this paper. That is, we propose to devise CR networks as a retrial queueing system where PUs have preemptive priority over SUs. To calculate performance measures of the devised model under quite general assumptions about the model parameters, analytical methods are known to require hard calculations and the obtained results are generally not exploitable. For this reason, simulation modeling becomes the last resort to assess the dependability indicators. To this extend, we build the simulation model of the queueing system using Timed Stochastic Colored Petri Nets. Various useful results will be hence drawn while varying network conditions. Both exponential and Erlang distributions are considered for modeling service time of SUs. The obtained results with restrictive assumptions fit the analytical outcomes experienced for quite similar queuing models, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed STCPN simulation model.

     

Effect of interlayer anions on chromium removal using Mg–Al layered double hydroxides:Kinetic,equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

The influence of interlayer anions such as NO3-, SO42-and Cl-on Mg–Al hydrotalcites for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution was studied. The structure of the prepared LDHs was characterized by XRD, SEM, FTIR, TGA, BET surface area and p Hzpc. The sorbent ability and sorption mechanisms were also investigated. The LDHs exhibit high removal for Cr(VI), and the sorbed amount depends on the nature of interlayer anion, which decreased in the following order: NO3-N Cl-N SO42-. Nitrate-containing LDH reached a Cr(VI) sorption equilibrium within only 30 min. The effects of operating conditions, including initial concentration, solution p H, agitation time and sorbent amount have been studied in batch mode. The optimum conditions were observed at an initial concentration of 100 mg·L-1, p H = 6, agitation time of 60 min and a sorbent dose of 2 g·L-1. The equilibrium data were fitted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models. The Langmuir model was found to sufficiently describe the sorption process, offering a maximum sorption capacity of 71.91 mg·g-1. The sorption kinetic follows pseudo-second-order reaction with high accuracy. Thermodynamic parameters suggested that the sorption process is spontaneous and endothermic in nature.