Decomposition/aggregation-based dynamic programming optimization of partially homogeneous unreliable transfer lines

The general problem of buffers sizing for mean work in process/inventory minimization in a particular class of single part unreliable manufacturing flow lines, subjected to a constant rate of demand for finished parts, is analyzed. Two variants of the problem are considered: buffers sizing for average work in process minimization when there is a fixed requirement on parts availability in the buffer next to last; minimization of an aggregate measure of average work in process and demand backlog when the complete flow line is considered. A fluid model of part production is employed. The production control policies of interest are suboptimal, strictly decentralized, and are unambiguously parameterized by the size of buffer levels. Optimization of policy parameters is based on the analysis of the structural properties of an associated dynamic program. The latter is built around an approximate, flow line decomposition based, buffer levels dependent theoretical expression of the policy performance measure. The nature of the related flow line approximations is discussed and numerical results of the dynamic programming procedure are reported. Scalability of the computations is demonstrated. The numerical results suggest that when parameters are optimal, both a form of flow line balancing and a just in time internal production principle, are in place.     

Osmotic and activity coefficients in the solutions of 1- and 2-naphthol in methanol and ethanol at 298.15 K

The osmotic coefficient of the solution, activity of the solvent and activity coefficient of the solute in solutions of 1- and 2-naphthol in methanol and ethanol have been measured by the isopiestic method. The experimental osmotic coefficient data were correlated using the Non-Random Two Liquid model (NRTL), the Non-Random Factor model (NRF), the two suffix Margules equation and a polynomial in terms of the molality of the solute. The models give reliable results for the correlation of the osmotic coefficient data. The activity coefficients of 1- and 2-naphthol were evaluated according to the considered methods using the parameters obtained by the correlation of osmotic coefficients.     

Impacts of Paris agreement,fossil fuel consumption,and net energy imports on CO2 emissions: a panel data approach for three West European countries

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The Paris agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. This study examines the Paris agreement and other explanatory...     

Automatic microstructural characterization and classification using dual tree complex wavelet-based features and Bees Algorithm

During the gas tungsten arc welding of nickel-based superalloys, the secondary phases such as Laves and carbides are formed in final stage of solidification. But, other phases such as γ″ and δ phases can precipitate in the microstructure, during aging at high temperatures. However, it is possible to minimize the formation of the Nb-rich Laves phases and therefore reduce the possibility of solidification cracking by adopting the appropriate welding conditions. This paper aims at the automatic microstructurally characterizing the kinetics of phase transformations on an Nb-base alloy, thermally aged at 650 and 950 °C for 10, 100 and 200 h, through backscattered ultrasound signals at frequency of 4 MHz and dual tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT)-based feature extraction technique. The feature set comprises of statistical attributes (such as variance, skewness and kurtosis) extracted from the complex wavelet coefficients which are obtained using the DTCWT decomposition of a backscattered ultrasound signal. Also, the performance of the proposed feature extraction technique is compared with the conventional discrete wavelet transform. Finally, these features are fed to the probabilistic neural network (PNN) and radial basis function classifiers to automatic microstructural classification. The training process of these networks depends on the selection of the smoothing parameter of the networks’ activation function in a hidden layer. In this article, we introduce the application of the Bees Algorithm to the automatic adaptation of smoothing parameters. The proposed feature extraction technique coupled with the optimized PNN yielded the highest average accuracy of 96 and 83 %, respectively, for thermal aging at 650 and 950 °C. Thus, the proposed processing system provides high reliability to be used for microstructure characterization through ultrasound signals.

     

A New Method for Determination of the Adsorption Isotherm of SDS on Polystyrene Latex Particles Using Conductometric Titrations

Monodisperse polystyrene (PS) latex particles were prepared through a conventional batch emulsion polymerization procedure. After cleaning, the latex was subjected to a surfactant titration by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the conductivity was monitored. Using the break point in the conductivity‐concentration curve, the adsorption area of the surfactant molecules at saturation, A_s, was determined as 46 Ų per SDS molecule. In order to determine the contribution of the different ionic species to the conductivity, a simple model based on experimental conductivity measurements was developed. The degrees of counterion binding to the micelles and to the surfactant anions adsorbed onto polymer particles were calculated as 0.770 and 0.849, respectively. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was determined for the adsorption of SDS onto PS latex particles with Γ_∞ = 7.257 · 10^–10 mol/cm² and K = 1.208 · 10⁵ cm³/mol.     

Triangular Differential Quadrature Method in Bending Analysis of Triangular Symmetric Laminated Plates

The main advantage of triangular differential quadrature method in numerical simulations of problems in triangular domain is that it needs very few grid points compared to those of low order methods. In the current work, the method is implemented to analyze the bending behavior of relatively thick triangular composite plates based on the concept of first-order shear deformation theory. A set of triangular symmetric laminated plates with various lay-ups, length to thickness ratios, and boundary conditions is considered. The results are discussed in detail and compared with those obtained from finite element method of analysis using ANSYS package.