Nonlinear constrained optimization using the flexible tolerance method hybridized with different unconstrained methods

This paper proposes the use of the flexible tolerance method(FTM) modified with scaling of variables and hybridized with different unconstrained optimization methods to solve real constrained optimization problems.The benchmark problems used to analyze the performance of the methods were taken from G-Suite functions.The original method(FTM) and other four proposed methods:(i) FTM with scaling of variables(FTMS),(ii) FTMS hybridized with BFGS(FTMS-BFGS),(iii) FTMS hybridized with modified Powell's method(FTMS-Powell)and(iv) FTMS hybridized with PSO(FTMS-PSO), were implemented. The success rates of the methods were 80%,100%, 75%, 95% and 85%, for FTM, FTMS, FTMS-BFGS, FTMS-Powell and FTMS-PSO, respectively. Numerical experiments including real constrained problems indicated that FTMS gave the best performance, followed by FTMSPowell and FTMS-PSO. Despite the inferior performance compared to FTMS and FTMS-Powell, the FTMS-PSO method presented some advantages since good different initial points could be obtained, which allow exploring different routes through the solution space and to escape from local optima. The proposed methods proved to be an effective way of improving the performance of the original FTM.

A Novel Method of Fabricating Flexible Transparent Conductive Large Area Graphene Film

We fabricate flexible conductive and transparent graphene films on position-emission-tomography substrates and prepare large area graphene films by graphite oxide sheets with the new technical process. The multi-layer graphene oxide sheets can be chemically reduced by HNO3 and HI to form a highly conductive graphene film on a substrate at lower temperature. The reduced graphene oxide sheets show a high conductivity sheet with resistance of 476Ω/sq and transmittance of 76% at 550nm （6 layers）. The technique used to produce the transparent conductive graphene thin film is facile, inexpensive, and can be tunable for a large area production applied for electronics or touch screens.

An improved flexible tolerance method for solving nonlinear constrained optimization problems:Application in mass integration

This paper proposes the use of the flexible tolerance method(FTM) modified with adaptive Nelder–Mead parameters and barrier to solve constrained optimization problems. The problems used to analyze the performance of the methods were taken from G-Suite functions, and the methods with the best performance were applied in mass integration problems. Four methods were proposed:(1) flexible tolerance method(FTM) using adaptive parameters(FTMA),(2) flexible tolerance method with scaling(FTMS) and with adaptive parameters(FTMAS),(3) FTMS including the barrier modification(MFTMS) and(4) MFTMS hybridized with PSO(MFTMS-PSO). The success rates of these methods were 100%(MFTMS), 85%(MFTMS-PSO), 40%(FTMAS) and 30%(FTMA).Numerical experiments indicated that the MFTMS could efficiently and reliably improve the accuracy of global optima. In mass integration, the method was able, from current process situation, to reach the optimum process configuration that includes integration issues, which was not possible using FTM in its standard formulation. The hybridization of FTMS with PSO(without barrier), FTMS-PSO, was also able to solve mass integration problems efficiently.

Reinforcing a Dangerous Rock Mass Using the Flexible Network Method

Because the main failure type of a dangerous rock mass is collapse, the treatment of such a mass should focus on controlling collapse failure. When treating dangerous rock masses, disturbing the mass （e. g. by blasting） needs to be avoided, as this new damage could cause collapse. So the self-bearing capacity of the mountain mass must be used to treat the dangerous rock mass. This article is based on a practical example of the control of a dangerous rock mass at Banyan Mountain, Huangshi, Hubei Province. On the basis of an analysis of damage mechanism and the stability of the dangerous rock mass, a flexible network reinforcement method was designed to prevent the collapse of the rock mass. The deformations of section Ⅱ w of the dangerous rock mass before and after the flexible network reinforcement were calculated using the two-dimensional finite element method. The results show that the maximum deformation reduced by 55 % after the application of the flexible network reinforcement, from 45.99 to 20.75 ram, which demonstrates that the flexible network method is effective, and can provide some scientific basis for the treatment of dangerous rock masses.

Stability analysis of liquid filled spacecraft system with flexible attachment by using the energy–Casimir method

The stability of partly liquid filled spacecraft with flexible attachment was investigated in this paper. Liquid sloshing dynamics was simplified as the spring-mass model, and flexible attachment was modeled as the linear shearing beam. The dynamic equations and Hamiltonian of the coupled spacecraft system were given by analyzing the rigid body, liquid fuel, and flexible appendage. Nonlinear stability conditions of the coupled spacecraft system were derived by computing the variation of Casimir function which was added to the Hamiltonian. The stable region of the parameter space was given and validated by numerical computation. Related results suggest that the change of inertia matrix, the length of flexible attachment, spacecraft spinning rate, and filled ratio of liquid fuel tank have strong influence on the stability of the spacecraft system.

On a Flexible Loan Repayment Method Depending on Borrower's Asset with an Early Termination Clause

Aiming at the problem that the asset’s fluctuation influences the borrower’s repayment ability,a loan with a new and flexible repayment method is designed,which depends on the asset value of the borrower.The repayment method can reduce the loan default probability,but it causes the uncertainty of the pay off time.Because the repayment term is related to the regular repayment amount in this method,a boundary for the regular repayment amount is set up in order to avoid too long repayment term.This will balance the benefit of borrowers and lenders and improve the applicability of this method.By establishing a mathematical model of the residual value of the loan,this model can be transformed into an initial-boundary problem of a partial differential equation.The analytic solution and the expected time to pay off the loan are obtained.Finally,numerical analysis are shown.

THE STRESS SUBSPACE OF HYBRID STRESS ELEMENT AND THE DIAGONALIZATION METHOD FOR FLEXIBILITY MATRIX H

The following is proved: 1) The linear independence of assumed stress modes is the necessary and sufficient condition for the nonsingular flexibility matrix; 2) The equivalent assumed stress modes lead to the identical hybrid element. The Hilbert stress subspace of the assumed stress modes is established. So, it is easy to derive the equivalent orthogonal normal stress modes by Schmidt's method. Because of the resulting diagonal flexibility matrix, the identical hybrid element is free from the complex matrix inversion so that the hybrid efficiency, is improved greatly. The numerical examples show that the method is effective.

Numerical and experimental studies on impact dynamics of a planar flexible multibody system

In this paper a computational methodology on impact dynamics of the flexible multibody system is presented. First, the floating frame of reference approach and nodal coordinates on the basis of finite element formulation are used to describe the kinematics of planar deformable bodies. According to the kinematic description of contact conditions, the contact constraint equations of planar flexible bodies are derived. Based on the varying topology technique the impact dynamic equations for a planar multibody system are established. Then the initial conditions of the equations in each contact stage are determined according to the discontinuity theory in continuum mechanics. The experiments between the aluminum rods are performed to check the correctness of the proposed method. Through the comparison between the numerical and experimental results the proposed method is validated. Experimental results also show that the impulse momentum method cannot accurately predict the complex impact dynamic phenomena and the continuous model may lead to a serious error when used to simulate the impact problems with significant wave propagation effects.

Design methods of rhombic tensegrity structures

As a special type of novel flexible structures, tensegrity holds promise for many potential applications in such fields as materials science, biomechanics, civil and aerospace engineering. Rhombic systems are an important class of tensegrity structures, in which each bar constitutes the longest diagonal of a rhombus of four strings. In this paper, we address the design methods of rhombic structures based on the idea that many tensegrity structures can be constructed by assembling one-bar elementary cells. By analyzing the properties of rhombic cells, we first develop two novel schemes, namely, direct enumeration scheme and cell-substitution scheme. In addition, a facile and efficient method is presented to integrate several rhombic systems into a larger tensegrity structure. To illustrate the applications of these methods, some novel rhombic tensegrity structures are constructed.

Finite Element Simulation of Flexible Roll Forming with Supplemented Material Data and the Experimental Verification

Flexible roll forming is a promising manufacturing method for the production of variable cross section products. Considering the large plastic strain in this forming process which is much larger than that of uniform deformation phase of uniaxial tensile test, the widely adopted method of simulating the forming processes with non-supplemented material data from uniaxial tensile test will certainly lead to large error. To reduce this error, the material data is supplemented based on three constitutive models. Then a finite element model of a six passes flexible roll forming process is established based on the supplemented material data and the original material data from the uniaxial tensile test. The flexible roll forming experiment of a B pillar reinforcing plate is carried out to verify the proposed method. Final cross section shapes of the experimental and the simulated results are compared. It is shown that the simulation calculated with supplemented material data based on Swift model agrees well with the experimental results, while the simulation based on original material data could not predict the actual deformation accurately. The results indicate that this material supplement method is reliable and indispensible, and the simulation model can well reflect the real metal forming process. Detailed analysis of the distribution and history of plastic strain at different positions are performed. A new material data supplement method is proposed to tackle the problem which is ignored in other roll forming simulations, and thus the forming process simulation accuracy can be greatly improved.

NEW OPTIMAL LARGE ANGLE MANEUVER STRATEGY FOR SINGLE FLEXIBLE LINK

A component synthesis vibration suppression (CSVS) method for flexible structures is put forward. It can eliminate any unwanted orders of flexible vibration modes while achieves desired rigid motion. This method has robustness to uncertainty of frequency, which makes it practical in engineering. Several time optimal and time-fuel optimal control strategies are designed for a kind of single flexible link. Simulation results validate the feasibility of our method.

A NEW MODELING METHOD FOR MACHINE-FOUNDATION COUPLING SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE CONTROL OF POWER FLOW

A new concept, namely, the equivalent mobility matrix of coupling subsystem is proposed, and the corresponding threesubsystem coupling progressive approach is explored. With the new efficient approach presented, the complexity in dealing with a more complicated dynamic coupling system is greatly reduced. The new modeling method is then combined with the theory of power flow to investigate the dynamics of the overall non rigid isolation system from the viewpoint of energy. The interaction between the resilient machine of its main modes and the resonant behavior of the flexible foundation on power flow transmission is studied. Taking a machine tool mounted on a multi story working plant as an example, the dynamic characteristics of the machine foundation coupling system are analyzed, and their effects on power flow transmission are revealed under various service frequency bands. Some advisable control strategies and the design principle for machinery mounted on flexible structure are proposed.

Powell dynamic identification of displacement parameters of indeterminate thin-walled curve box based on FCSE theory

The FCSE controlling equation of pinned thinwalled curve box was derived and the indeterminate problem of continuous thin-walled curve box with diaphragm was solved based on flexibility theory. With Bayesian statistical theory,dynamic Bayesian error function of displacement parameters of indeterminate curve box was founded. The corresponding formulas of dynamic Bayesian expectation and variance were deduced. Combined with one-dimensional Fibonacci automatic search scheme of optimal step size,the Powell optimization theory was utilized to research the stochastic identification of displacement parameters of indeterminate thin-walled curve box. Then the identification steps were presented in detail and the corresponding calculation procedure was compiled. Through some classic examples,it is obtained that stochastic performances of systematic parameters and systematic responses are simultaneously deliberated in dynamic Bayesian error function. The one-dimensional optimization problem of the optimal step size is solved by adopting Fibonacci search method. And the Powell identification of displacement parameters of indeterminate thin-walled curve box has satisfied numerical stability and convergence,which demonstrates that the presented method and the compiled procedure are correct and reliable.During parameters鈥？iterative processes,the Powell theory is irrelevant with the calculation of finite curve strip element（FCSE） partial differentiation,which proves high computation effciency of the studied method.

Flexible polarization demultiplexing method based on an adaptive process noise covariance Kalman filter

A flexible polarization demultiplexing method based on an adaptive Kalman filter（AKF） is proposed in which the process noise covariance has been estimated adaptively. The proposed method may significantly improve the adaptive capability of an extended Kalman filter（EKF） by adaptively estimating the unknown process noise covariance. Compared to the conventional EKF, the proposed method can avoid the tedious and time consuming parameter-by-parameter tuning operations. The effectiveness of this method is confirmed experimentally in 128 Gb/s 16 QAM polarization-division-multiplexing（PDM） coherent optical transmission systems. The results illustrate that our proposed AKF has a better tracking accuracy and a faster convergence（about 4 times quicker）compared to a conventional algorithm with optimal process noise covariance.

Structural Damage Detection in Framed Structures Under Foundation Settlement/Rotation of Bases

This paper describes the damage detection in framed structures due to thevertical support settlement and rotation of footing bases. The damage detection procedureproposed by Nobahari et al. [Nobahari and Seyedpoor (2013)] is used to detect thedamage in the members of the frame. In the present study, instead of using the flexibilitymatrix (referred here as original flexibility matrix) method, the generalized flexibilitymatrix is used in the same algorithm and the results are compared. The algorithm usesflexibility matrix and strain energy concept to detect the damage in the members. Thebehaviour of the frame is discussed through changes observed in flexibility in theassociated degree of freedom. Finally, the results indicate that, the damage indexdetermined by generalized flexibility matrix method is more reliable than using theoriginal flexibility matrix based method for the problem of settlement and rotation offooting base.

Topology optimization of support structure of telescope skin based on bit-matrix representation NSGA-II

Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II（NSGA-II）with multiple constraints handling is employed for multi-objective optimization of the topological structure of telescope skin,in which a bit-matrix is used as the representation of a chromosome,and genetic algorithm（GA）operators are introduced based on the matrix.Objectives including mass,in-plane performance,and out-of-plane load-bearing ability of the individuals are obtained by fnite element analysis（FEA）using ANSYS,and the matrix-based optimization algorithm is realized in MATLAB by handling multiple constraints such as structural connectivity and in-plane strain requirements.Feasible confgurations of the support structure are achieved.The results confrm that the matrix-based NSGA-II with multiple constraints handling provides an effective method for two-dimensional multi-objective topology optimization.