Artificial bee colony based algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for PV systems operating under partial shaded conditions

Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm has several characteristics that make it more attractive than other bio-inspired methods. Particularly, it is simple, it uses fewer control parameters and its convergence is independent of the initial conditions. In this paper, a novel artificial bee colony based maximum power point tracking algorithm (MPPT) is proposed. The developed algorithm, does not allow only overcoming the common drawback of the conventional MPPT methods, but it gives a simple and a robust MPPT scheme. A co-simulation methodology, combining Matlab/Simulink™ and Cadence/Pspice™, is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and compare its performance, under dynamic weather conditions, with that of the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based MPPT algorithm. Moreover, a laboratory setup has been realized and used to experimentally validate the proposed ABC-based MPPT algorithm. Simulation and experimental results have shown the satisfactory performance of the proposed approach.     

部分预应力砼构件按两类极限状态的直接设计

本文提出了部分预应力砼构件基于两类极限状态直接控制的设计方法,并给出了具体的设计公式和设计步骤。同时,还对预应力砼超静定结构中的部分预应力砼构件的设计方法进行了说明。本文方法基本属一次性设计且具有较为经济的特点。     

Safe and effective navigation of autonomous robots in hazardous environments

The development of autonomous mobile machines to perform useful tasks in real work environments is currently being impeded by concerns over effectiveness, commercial viability and, above all, safety. This paper introduces a case study of a robotic excavator to explore a series of issues around system development, navigation in unstructured environments, autonomous decision making and changing the behaviour of autonomous machines to suit the prevailing demands of users. The adoption of the Real-Time Control Systems (RCS) architecture (Albus, 1991) is proposed as a universal framework for the development of intelligent systems. In addition it is explained how the use of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) (Kaelbling et al., 1998) can form the basis of decision making in the face of uncertainty and how the technique can be effectively incorporated into the RCS architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that the resulting behaviour is both task effective and adequately safe, and it is recognised that these two objectives may be in opposition and that the desired relative balance between them may change. The concept of an autonomous system having “values” is introduced through the use of utility theory. Limited simulation results of experiments are reported which demonstrate that these techniques can create intelligent systems capable of modifying their behaviour to exhibit either ‘safety conscious’ or ‘task achieving’ personalities.     

Low surface energy films based on partially fluorinated isocyanates: the effects of curing temperature

Self-stratification strategy can be used to prepare films in which both bulk and surface properties can be optimized. By using this approach, only a very small quantity of fluorinated species is needed to generate a surface with low surface energy. When cross-linking is involved during film formation, we are dealing with a competition behavior between the diffusion of fluorinated species and the formation of cross-linked network. In this study low surface energy polymeric films were prepared on the basis of partially fluorinated polyisocyanates, in combination with hydroxyl-end-capped three-armed solventless liquid oligoesters and modified hyperbranched polyesters. At a fluorine concentration of only 0.5 wt.%, contact angles of water and hexadecane can reach 120° and 80°, respectively. A surface energy as low as 10–15 mN/m can be obtained upon the addition of less than 1 wt.% of fluorine in the films. It was shown, from real time ATR-FTIR and contact angle measurements, that the curing temperatures demonstrated significant effects on the cross-linking rate as well as on the wettability of the films.     

Homogeneous Plastic Flow of Fully Amorphous and Partially Crystallized Zr_(41.2)Ti_(13.8)Cu_(12.5)Ni_(10)Be_(22.5) Bulk Metallic Glass

The homogeneous plastic flow of fully amorphous and partially crystallized Zr(41.2)Ti(13.8)Cu(12.5)Ni(10)Be(22.5) bulk metallic glass (Vitl) has been investigated by compression tests at high temperatures in supercooled liquid region. Experimental results show that at sufficiently low strain rates, the supercooled liquid of the fully amorphous alloy reveals Newtonian flow with a linear relationship between the flow stress and strain rate. As the strain rate is increased, a transition from linear Newtonian to nonlinear flow is detected, which can be explained by the transition state theory. Over the entire strain rate interval investigated, however, only nonlinear flow is present in the partially crystallized alloy, and the flow stress for each strain rate is much higher. It is found that the strain rate-stress relationship for the partially crystaltized alloy at the given temperature of 646 K also obeys the sinh law derived from the transition state theory, similar to that of the initial homogeneous amo     

Evaluating Liquefaction Strength of Partially Saturated Sand

A method is presented for evaluating the liquefaction strength of partially saturated sand using the compression wave velocity (P-wave velocity), a new indicator of saturation. Based on laboratory test results, an empirical correlation that relates the liquefaction strength with the pore pressure coefficient B is firstly proposed. The strength is defined as the cyclic stress ratio required to cause liquefaction at a specified number of cycles. With the aid of a theoretical relation between B and the P-wave velocity, an explicit correlation of more interest is then established between the liquefaction strength of sand and its P-wave velocity. A comparison of the predictions using this explicit correlation with laboratory measurements shows a satisfactory agreement. The significance of this method lies in that it makes it possible to evaluate the liquefaction strength of sand as affected by saturation through the measurement of P-wave velocity, which can be made not only in the laboratory but particularly in the field.     

Ergodicity of filtering process by vanishing discount approach

A new approach to study ergodicity of filtering processes is presented. It is based on the vanishing discount approach to discounted functional of filtering process. We show that limit superior of the Cesaro averages of the functionals is the same for all initial conditions from which the uniqueness of invariant measures of filtering processes follows. The approach is based on certain assumption for which we provide a sufficient condition using concavity arguments. In addition we show the existence of solutions to the Poisson equation corresponding to filtering process with concave functional. The assumptions are then extended to the controlled case and using similar concave arguments we obtain the existence of solutions to the Bellman equation corresponding to partially observed average cost per unit time problem.     

HEAT TRANSFER IN PARTIALLY MISCIBLE TERNARY SYSTEMS

In the study of mass transfer between partially miscible liquids, temperature perturbations have been found to have an important effect in the generation of interfacial activity. Micro- and macro-generated interfacial convection usually occurs in combination with one another even in fairly simple heat or mass transfer events. These combinations are responsible for the enhancement of mass transfer rates. In an effort to acquire a better understanding of the heat transfer effects in ternary liquid-liquid systems, temperature difference profiles were measured when contacting two partially miscible phases. A vertical and a rotational transfer cell were designed to contact the partially miscible phases without inducing external disturbances. Five thermocouples were immersed in the bottom liquid phase at predetermined positions below the interface. In order to understand the influence of the convection generated, the vertical cell was designed to hinder convection in one phase, while the rotational cell permits convection in both phases. The experimental results showed larger temperature differences in the rotational cell after the contact of the phases. Also, systems which were initially unsaturated presented larger heat effects than those in which the partially miscible solvents were initially saturated. Several parameters indicating the importance of heat effects in the ternary systems studied are reported.     

MC-MLAS: Multi-channel Minimum Latency Aggregation Scheduling in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data aggregation is a key, yet time-consuming functionality in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Multi-channel design is a promising technique to alleviate interference as a primary reason for long latency of TDMA aggregation scheduling. Indeed, it provides more potential of parallel transmissions over different frequency channels, thus minimizing time latency. In this paper, we focus on designing a multi-channel minimum latency aggregation scheduling protocol, named MC-MLAS, using a new joint approach for tree construction, channel assignment, and transmission scheduling. To our best knowledge, this is the first work in the literature which combines orthogonal channels and partially overlapping channels to consider the total latency involved in data aggregation. Extensive simulations verify the superiority of MC-MLAS in WSNs.