Improved Hybrid Differential Evolution-Estimation of Distribution Algorithm with Feasibility Rules for NLP/MINLP Engineering Optimization Problems

In this paper, an improved hybrid differential evolution-estimation of distribution algorithm (IHDE-EDA) is proposed for nonlinear programming (NLP) and mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) models in engineering optimization fields. In order to improve the global searching ability and convergence speed, IHDE-EDA takes full advantage of differential information and global statistical information extracted respectively from differential evolution algorithm and annealing mechanism-embedded estimation of distribution algorithm. Moreover, the feasibility rules are used to handle constraints, which do not require additional parameters and can guide the population to the feasible region quickly. The effectiveness of hybridization mechanism of IHDE-EDA is first discussed, and then simulation and comparison based on three benchmark problems demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of IHDE-EDA. Finally, optimization on an industrial-size scheduling of two-pipeline crude oil blending problem shows the practical applicability of IHDE-EDA.

Hybrid Differential Evolution for Estimation of Kinetic Parameters for Biochemical Systems

Determination of the optimal model parameters for biochemical systems is a time consuming iterative process. In this study, a novel hybrid differential evolution （DE） algorithm based on the differential evolution technique and a local search strategy is developed for solving kinetic parameter estimation problems. By combining the merits of DE with Gauss-Newton method, the proposed hybrid approach employs a DE algorithm for identifying promising regions of the solution space followed by use of Gauss-Newton method to determine the optimum in the identified regions. Some well-known benchmark estimation problems are utilized to test the efficiency and the robustness of the proposed algorithm compared to other methods in literature. The comparison indicates that the present hybrid algorithm outperforms other estimation techniques in terms of the global searching ability and the con- vergence speed. Additionally, the estimation of kinetic model parameters for a feed batch fermentor is carried out to test the applicability of the proposed algorithm. The result suggests that the method can be used to estimate suitable values of model oarameters for a comolex mathematical model.

Ball-milling MoS_2/carbon black hybrid material for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic medium

Replacing platinum for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction （HER） in acidic medium remains great chal- lenges. Herein, we prepared few-layered MoS2 by ball milling as an efficient catalyst for HER in acidic medium, The activity of as-prepared MoS2 had a strong dependence on the ball milling time, Furthermore, Ketjen Black EC 300J was added into the ball-milled MoS2 followed by a second ball milling, and the resultant MoS2/carbon black hybrid material showed a much higher HER activity than MoS2 and carbon black alone. The enhanced activity of the MoS2/carbon black hybrid material was attributed to the increased abundance of catalytic edge sites of MoS） and excellent electrical coupling to the underlving carbon network.

A hybrid differential evolution algorithm for meta-task scheduling in grids

Task scheduling is one of the core steps to effectively exploit the capabilities of heterogeneous re-sources in the grid.This paper presents a new hybrid differential evolution(HDE)algorithm for findingan optimal or near-optimal schedule within reasonable time.The encoding scheme and the adaptation ofclassical differential evolution algorithm for dealing with discrete variables are discussed.A simple but ef-fective local search is incorporated into differential evolution to stress exploitation.The performance of theproposed HDE algorithm is showed by being compared with a genetic algorithm(GA)on a known staticbenchmark for the problem.Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm has better perfor-mance than GA in terms of both solution quality and computational time,and thus it can be used to de-sign efficient dynamic schedulers in batch mode for real grid systems.

Application of complete ensemble intrinsic time-scale decomposition and least-square SVM optimized using hybrid DE and PSO to fault diagnosis of diesel engines

Targeting the mode-mixing problem of intrinsic time-scale decomposition （ITD） and the parameter optimization problem of least-square support vector machine （LSSVM）, we propose a novel approach based on complete ensemble intrinsic time-scale decomposition （CEITD） and LSSVM optimized by the hybrid differential evolution and particle swarm optimization （HDEPSO） algorithm for the identification of the fault in a diesel engine. The approach consists mainly of three stages. First, to solve the mode-mixing problem of ITD, a novel CEITD method is proposed. Then the CEITD method is used to decompose the nonstationary vibration signal into a set of stationary proper rotation components （PRCs） and a residual signal. Second, three typical types of time-frequency features, namely singular values, PRCs energy and energy entropy, and AR model parameters, are extracted from the first several PRCs and used as the fault feature vectors. Finally, a HDEPSO algorithm is proposed for the parameter optimization of LSSVM, and the fault diagnosis results can be obtained by inputting the fault feature vectors into the HDEPSO-LSSVM classifier. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fault diagnosis approach can overcome the mode-mixing problem of ITD and accurately identify the fault patterns of diesel engines.