Improved STNModels and Heuristic Rules for Cooperative Scheduling in Automated Container Terminals

Improving the cooperative scheduling efficiency of equipment is the key for automated container terminals to copewith the development trend of large-scale ships. In order to improve the solution efficiency of the existing spacetimenetwork (STN) model for the cooperative scheduling problem of yard cranes (YCs) and automated guidedvehicles (AGVs) and extend its application scenarios, two improved STN models are proposed. The flow balanceconstraints in the original model are decomposed, and the trajectory constraints of YCs and AGVs are added toacquire the model STN_A. The coupling constraint in STN_A is updated, and buffer constraints are added toSTN_A so that themodel STN_B is built.As the size of the problem increases, the solution speed of CPLEX becomesthe bottleneck. So a heuristic method containing three groups of heuristic rules is designed to obtain a near-optimalsolution quickly. Experimental results showthat the computation time of STN_A is shortened by 49.47% on averageand the gap is reduced by 1.69% on average compared with the original model. The gap between the solution ofthe heuristic rules and the solution of CPLEX is less than 3.50%, and the solution time of the heuristic rules is onaverage 99.85% less than the solution time of CPLEX. Compared with STN_A, the computation time for solvingSTN_B increases by 58.93% on average.

Synthesis of nearly spherical AlN particles by an in-situ nitriding combustion route

Spherical AlN powders with micrometer size have attracted great attention owing to their good fluidity and dispersity. However, the industrial preparation methods usually require high temperature and long soaking time, which lead to the high cost and limit the wide application of the products. Herein, nearly spherical AlN particles with the average size of 2.5 μm were successfully synthesized via an in-situ combustion synthesis method. The effect of N_(2) pressure, NH_(4)Cl content, and Al particle size on the combustion reaction procedure, phase composition, and microstructure of the products was systematically investigated. The results showed that the decreased N_(2) pressure, increased NH_(4)Cl content, and Al particle size led to the decreasing of combustion temperature and speed, which further affected the morphology of the products. As a result, low N_(2) pressure(0.2 MPa), a small amount of NH4Cl(0.5 wt%), and fine Al particles(~2.5 μm) contributed to a moderate combustion temperature and facilitated the formation of nearly spherical AlN particles. In addition, based on the gas-releasing assisted quenching experiments and thermo-kinetic analysis, a two-step growth mechanism for the nearly spherical AlN particles was rationally proposed. The present method shows the advantages of low cost and high efficiency for preparing nearly spherical AlN particles, which can be used as raw materials for electronic substrates and fillers for packaging materials.

Compact vector twist sensor using a small period long period fiber grating inscribed with femtosecond laser

We propose and demonstrate a sensitive vector twist sensor based on a small period long period fiber grating(SP-LPFG)fabricated with a femtosecond(fs)laser.The fabricated SP-LPFG is compact in size(2.8 mm)and shows strong polarization dependent peaks in its transmission spectrum due to the vectorial behavior of high-order cladding modes.Twist sensing is realized by monitoring the polarization dependent peaks,since the polarization of input light changes with fiber twist.The proposed sensor can be interrogated by the peak intensity and wavelength,with high twist sensitivity that reaches 0.257 dB/deg and 0.115 nm/deg,respectively.