Determination of the best materials for development and designing product using a multi-criteria decision-making

Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.

Time-Domain Higher-Order Boundary Element Method for Simulating High Forward-Speed Ship Motions in Waves

The hydrodynamic performance of a high forward-speed ship in obliquely propagating waves is numerically examined to assess both free motions and wave field in comparison with a low forward-speed ship.This numerical model is based on the time-domain potential flow theory and higher-order boundary element method,where an analytical expression is completely expanded to determine the base-unsteady coupling flow imposed on the moving condition of the ship.The ship in the numerical model may possess different advancing speeds,i.e.stationary,low speed,and high speed.The role of the water depth,wave height,wave period,and incident wave angle is analyzed by means of the accurate numerical model.It is found that the resonant motions of the high forward-speed ship are triggered by comparison with the stationary one.More specifically,a higher forward speed generates a V-shaped wave region with a larger elevation,which induces stronger resonant motions corresponding to larger wave periods.The shoaling effect is adverse to the motion of the low-speed ship,but is beneficial to the resonant motion of the high-speed ship.When waves obliquely propagate toward the ship,the V-shaped wave region would be broken due to the coupling effect between roll and pitch motions.It is also demonstrated that the maximum heave motion occurs in beam seas for stationary cases but occurs in head waves for high speeds.However,the variation of the pitch motion with period is hardly affected by wave incident angles.

A Novel Method for Linear Systems of Fractional Ordinary Differential Equations with Applications to Time-Fractional PDEs

This paper presents an efficient numerical technique for solving multi-term linear systems of fractional ordinary differential equations(FODEs)which have been widely used in modeling various phenomena in engineering and science.An approximate solution of the system is sought in the formof the finite series over the Müntz polynomials.By using the collocation procedure in the time interval,one gets the linear algebraic system for the coefficient of the expansion which can be easily solved numerically by a standard procedure.This technique also serves as the basis for solving the time-fractional partial differential equations(PDEs).The modified radial basis functions are used for spatial approximation of the solution.The collocation in the solution domain transforms the equation into a system of fractional ordinary differential equations similar to the one mentioned above.Several examples have verified the performance of the proposed novel technique with high accuracy and efficiency.

Highly Accurate Golden Section Search Algorithms and Fictitious Time Integration Method for Solving Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems

This study sets up two new merit functions,which are minimized for the detection of real eigenvalue and complex eigenvalue to address nonlinear eigenvalue problems.For each eigen-parameter the vector variable is solved from a nonhomogeneous linear system obtained by reducing the number of eigen-equation one less,where one of the nonzero components of the eigenvector is normalized to the unit and moves the column containing that component to the right-hand side as a nonzero input vector.1D and 2D golden section search algorithms are employed to minimize the merit functions to locate real and complex eigenvalues.Simultaneously,the real and complex eigenvectors can be computed very accurately.A simpler approach to the nonlinear eigenvalue problems is proposed,which implements a normalization condition for the uniqueness of the eigenvector into the eigenequation directly.The real eigenvalues can be computed by the fictitious time integration method(FTIM),which saves computational costs compared to the one-dimensional golden section search algorithm(1D GSSA).The simpler method is also combined with the Newton iterationmethod,which is convergent very fast.All the proposed methods are easily programmed to compute the eigenvalue and eigenvector with high accuracy and efficiency.

Research on fault time prediction method for high speed rail BTM unit based on multi method interactive validation

The Balise Transmission Module(BTM)unit of the on-board train control system is a crucial component.Due to its unique installation position and complex environment,this unit has a higher fault rate within the on-board train control system.To conduct fault prediction for the BTM unit based on actual fault data,this study proposes a prediction method combining reliability statistics and machine learning,and achieves the fusion of prediction results from different dimensions through multi-method interactive validation.Firstly,a method for predicting equipment fault time targeting batch equipment is introduced.This method utilizes reliability statistics to construct a model of the remaining faultless operating time distribution considering uncertainty,thereby predicting the remaining faultless operating probability of the BTM unit.Secondly,considering the complexity of the BTM unit’s fault mechanism,the small sample size of fault cases,and the potential presence of multiple fault features in fault text records,an individual-oriented fault prediction method based on Bayesian-optimized Gradient Boosting Regression Tree(Bayes-GBRT)is proposed.This method achieves better prediction results compared to linear regression algorithms and random forest regression algorithms,with an average absolute error of only 0.224 years for predicting the fault time of this type of equipment.Finally,a multi-method interactive validation approach is proposed,enabling the fusion and validation of multi-dimensional results.The results indicate that the predicted fault time and the actual fault time conform to a log-normal distribution,and the parameter estimation results are basically consistent,verifying the accuracy and effectiveness of the prediction results.The above research findings can provide technical support for the maintenance and modification of BTM units,effectively reducing maintenance costs and ensuring the safe operation of high-speed railway,thus having practical engineering value for preventive maintenance.

Effects of Standing Time during Pretreatment on the Nitrite Concentration Detected by Spectrophotometric Method

Food safety problems caused by excessive nitrite addition have been frequently reported and the detection of nitrite in food is particularly important. The standing time during the pretreatment of primary sample has a great influence on the concentration of nitrite tested by spectrophotometric method. In this context, three kinds of food samples are prepared, including canned mustard, canned fish and home-made pickled water. A series of standing times are placed during the sample pretreatments and the corresponding nitrite contents in these samples are detected by spectrophotometric method based on N-ethylenediamine dihydrochloride. This study aims to find out a reasonable standing time during the pretreatment of food sample, providing influence factor for precise detection of nitrite.

Behavioral Decision-Making of Key Stakeholders in Public-Private Partnerships:A Hybrid Method and Benefit Distribution Study

Public-private partnerships(PPPs)have been used by governments around the world to procure and construct infrastructural amenities.It relies on private sector expertise and funding to achieve this lofty objective.However,given the uncertainties of project management,transparency,accountability,and expropriation,this phenomenon has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to the important role it plays in curbing infrastructural deficits globally.Interestingly,the reasonable benefit distribution scheme in a PPP project is related to the behavior decisionmaking of the government and social capital,aswell as the performance of the project.In this paper,the government and social capital which are the key stakeholders of PPP projects were selected as the research objects.Based on the fuzzy expected value model and game theory,a hybrid method was adopted in this research taking into account the different risk preferences of both public entities and private parties under the fuzzy demand environment.To alleviate the problem of insufficient utilization of social capital in a PPP project,this paper seeks to grasp the relationship that exists between the benefit distribution of stakeholders,their behavioral decision-making,and project performance,given that they impact the performance of both public entities and private parties,as well as assist in maximizing the overall utility of the project.Furthermore,four game models were constructed in this study,while the expected value and opportunity-constrained programming model for optimal decision-making were derived using alternate perspectives of both centralized decision-making and decentralized decision-making.Afterward,the optimal behavioral decision-making of public entities and private parties in four scenarios was discussed and thereafter compared,which led to an ensuing discussion on the benefit distribution system under centralized decision-making.Lastly,based on an example case,the influence of different confidence levels,price,and fuzzy uncertainties of PPP projects on the equilibrium strategy results of both parties were discussed,giving credence to the effectiveness of the hybrid method.The results indicate that adjusting different confidence levels yields different equilibriumpoints,and therefore signposts that social capital has a fair perception of opportunities,as well as identifies reciprocal preferences.Nevertheless,we find that an increase in the cost coefficient of the government and social capital does not inhibit the effort of both parties.Our results also indicate that a reasonable benefit distribution of PPP projects can assist them in realizing optimum Pareto improvements over time.The results provide us with very useful strategies and recommendations to improve the overall performance of PPP projects in China.

Multi-attribute decision-making based on subjective and objective integrated eigenvector method

An integrated approach is proposed to investigate the fuzzy multi-attribute decision-making （MADM） problems, where subjective preferences are expressed by a pairwise comparison matrix on the relative weights of attributes and objective information is expressed by a decision matrix. An eigenvector method integrated the subjective fuzzy preference matrix and objective information is proposed. Two linear programming models based on subjective and objective information are introduced to assess the relative importance weights of attributes in an MADM problem. The simple additive weighting method is utilized to aggregate the decision information, and then all the alternatives are ranked. Finally, a numerical example is given to show the feasibility and effectiveness of the method. The result shows that it is easier than other methods of integrating subjective and objective information.

Variational Iteration Method for Solving Time Fractional Burgers Equation Using Maple

The Time Fractional Burger equation was solved in this study using the Mabel software and the Variational Iteration approach. where a number of instances of the Time Fractional Burger Equation were handled using this technique. Tables and images were used to present the collected numerical results. The difference between the exact and numerical solutions demonstrates the effectiveness of the Mabel program’s solution, as well as the accuracy and closeness of the results this method produced. It also demonstrates the Mabel program’s ability to quickly and effectively produce the numerical solution.

A Time Neighborhood Method for the Verification of Landfalling Typhoon Track Forecast

Landfalling typhoons can cause disasters over large regions.The government and emergency responders need to take measures to mitigate disasters according to the forecast of landfall position,while slight timing error can be ignored.The reliability of operational model forecasts of typhoon landfall position needs to be evaluated beforehand,according to the forecasts and observation of historical cases.In the evaluation of landfalling typhoon track,the traditional method based on point-to-point matching methods could be influenced by the predicted typhoon translation speed.Consequently,the traditional track evaluation method may result in a large track error even if the predicted landfall position is close to observation.The purpose of this paper is to address the above issue using a simple evaluation method of landfalling typhoon track forecast based on the time neighborhood approach.In this new method,the timing error was lessened to highlight the importance of the position error during the landfall of typhoon.The properties of the time neighborhood method are compared with the traditional method based on numerical forecast results of 12 landfalling typhoon cases.Results demonstrated that the new method is not sensitive to the sampling frequency,and that the difference between the time neighborhood and traditional method will be more obvious when the moving speed of typhoon is moderate(between 15−30 km h^(−1)).The time neighborhood concept can be easily extended to a broader context when one attempts to examine the position error more than the timing error.

Efficient Finite Difference/Spectral Method for the Time Fractional Ito Equation Using Fast Fourier Transform Technic

A finite difference/spectral scheme is proposed for the time fractional Ito equation.The mass conservation and stability of the numerical solution are deduced by the energy method in the L^(2)norm form.To reduce the computation costs,the fast Fourier transform technic is applied to a pair of equivalent coupled differential equations.The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified by the first numerical example.The mass conservation property and stability statement are confirmed by two other numerical examples.

Dynamic programming methodology for multi-criteria group decision-making under ordinal preferences

A method of minimizing rankings inconsistency is proposed for a decision-making problem with rankings of alternatives given by multiple decision makers according to multiple criteria. For each criteria, at first, the total inconsistency between the rankings of all alternatives for the group and the ones for every decision maker is defined after the decision maker weights in respect to the criteria are considered. Similarly, the total inconsistency between their final rankings for the group and the ones under every criteria is determined after the criteria weights are taken into account. Then two nonlinear integer programming models minimizing respectively the two total inconsistencies above are developed and then transformed to two dynamic programming models to obtain separately the rankings of all alternatives for the group with respect to each criteria and their final rankings. A supplier selection case illustrated the proposed method, and some discussions on the results verified its effectiveness. This work develops a new measurement of ordinal preferences’ inconsistency in multi-criteria group decision-making （MCGDM） and extends the cook-seiford social selection function to MCGDM considering weights of criteria and decision makers and can obtain unique ranking result.

Generation of endurance time excitation functions using spectral representation method

In this study,application of the spectral representation method for generation of endurance time excitation functions is introduced.Using this method,the intensifying acceleration time series is generated so that its acceleration response spectrum in any desired time duration is compatible with a time-scaled predefined acceleration response spectrum.For this purpose,simulated stationary acceleration time series is multiplied by the time dependent linear modulation function,then using a simple iterative scheme,it is forced to match a target acceleration response spectrum.It is shown that the generated samples have excellent conformity in low frequency,which is useful for nonlinear endurance time analysis.In the second part of this study,it is shown that this procedure can be extended to generate a set of spatially correlated endurance time excitation functions.This makes it possible to assess the performance of long structures under multi-support seismic excitation using endurance time analysis.

A LOCAL DISCONTINUOUS GALERKIN METHOD FOR TIME-FRACTIONAL DIFFUSION EQUATIONS

In this paper,a local discontinuous Galerkin(LDG)scheme for the time-fractional diffusion equation is proposed and analyzed.The Caputo time-fractional derivative(of orderα,with 0<α<1)is approximated by a finite difference method with an accuracy of order3-α,and the space discretization is based on the LDG method.For the finite difference method,we summarize and supplement some previous work by others,and apply it to the analysis of the convergence and stability of the proposed scheme.The optimal error estimate is obtained in the L2norm,indicating that the scheme has temporal(3-α)th-order accuracy and spatial(k+1)th-order accuracy,where k denotes the highest degree of a piecewise polynomial in discontinuous finite element space.The numerical results are also provided to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the considered scheme.

A multi-criteria decision-making approach for comparing sample preservation and DNA extraction methods from swine feces

Molecular microbiological methods, such as competetive PCR, real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and large-scale parallel-pyrosequencing, require the extraction of sufficient quantity of high quality DNA from microbiologically and chemically complex matrices. Due to difficulties in the field to standardize/select the optimum DNA preservation-extraction methods in view of laboratories differences, this article attempts to present a straight-forward mathematical framework for comparing some of the most commonly used methods. To this end, as a case study, the problem of selecting an optimum sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces was considered. Two sample preservation methods (liquid nitrogen and RNAlater?) and seven extraction techniques were paired and compared under six quantitative DNA analysis criteria: yield of extraction, purity of extracted DNA (A260/280 and A 260/230 ratios), duration of extraction, degradation degree of DNA, and cost. From a practical point of view, it is unlikely that a single sample preservation-DNA extraction strategy can be optimum for all selected criteria. Hence, a systematic multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach was used to compare the methods. As a result, the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM DNA extraction kit for samples preserved either with liquid nitrogen or RNAlater? were identified as potential optimum solutions for obtaining total bacterial DNA from swine feces. Considering the need for practicality for in situ applications, we would recommend liquid nitrogen as sample preservation method, along with the ZR Fecal DNA MiniPrepTM kit. Total bacterial DNA obtained by this strategy can be suitable for downstream PCR-based DNA analyses of swine feces.

Towards a Unified Single Analysis Framework Embedded with Multiple Spatial and Time Discretized Methods for Linear Structural Dynamics

We propose a novel computational framework that is capable of employing different time integration algorithms and different space discretized methods such as the Finite Element Method,particle methods,and other spatial methods on a single body sub-dividedintomultiple subdomains.This is in conjunctionwithimplementing thewell known Generalized Single Step Single Solve(GS4)family of algorithms which encompass the entire scope of Linear Multistep algorithms that have been developed over the past 50 years or so and are second order accurate into the Differential Algebraic Equation framework.In the current state of technology,the coupling of altogether different time integration algorithms has been limited to the same family of algorithms such as theNewmarkmethods and the coupling of different algorithms usually has resulted in reduced accuracy in one or more variables including the Lagrange multiplier.However,the robustness and versatility of the GS4 with its ability to accurately account for the numerical shifts in various time schemes it encompasses,overcomes such barriers and allows a wide variety of arbitrary implicit-implicit,implicit-explicit,and explicit-explicit pairing of the various time schemes while maintaining the second order accuracy in time for not only all primary variables such as displacement,velocity and acceleration but also the Lagrange multipliers used for coupling the subdomains.By selecting an appropriate spatialmethod and time scheme on the area with localized phenomena contrary to utilizing a single process on the entire body,the proposed work has the potential to better capture the physics of a given simulation.The method is validated by solving 2D problems for the linear second order systems with various combination of spatial methods and time schemes with great flexibility.The accuracy and efficacy of the present work have not yet been seen in the current field,and it has shown significant promise in its capabilities and effectiveness for general linear dynamics through numerical examples.

Adomian Decomposition Method for Solving Time Fractional Burgers Equation Using Maple

In this paper, the Adomian decomposition method was used to solve the Time Fractional Burger equation using Mabel program. This method was applied to a number of examples of the Time Fractional Burger Equation. The obtained numerical results were presented in the form of tables and graphics. The difference between the exact solutions and the numerical solutions shows us the effectiveness of the solution using the Mabel program and that this method gave accurate results and was close to the exact solution, in addition to its ability to obtain the numerical solution quickly and efficiently using the Mabel program.

Monte Carlo method for evaluation of surface emission rate measurement uncertainty

The aim of this study is to evaluate the uncertainty of 2πα and 2πβ surface emission rates using the windowless multiwire proportional counter method.This study used the Monte Carlo method (MCM) to validate the conventional Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) method.A dead time measurement model for the two-source method was established based on the characteristics of a single-channel measurement system,and the voltage threshold correction factor measurement function was indirectly obtained by fitting the threshold correction curve.The uncertainty in the surface emission rate was calculated using the GUM method and the law of propagation of uncertainty.The MCM provided clear definitions for each input quantity and its uncertainty distribution,and the simulation training was realized with a complete and complex mathematical model.The results of the surface emission rate uncertainty evaluation for four radioactive plane sources using both methods showed the uncertainty’s consistency E_(n)<0.070 for the comparison of each source,and the uncertainty results of the GUM were all lower than those of the MCM.However,the MCM has a more objective evaluation process and can serve as a validation tool for GUM results.

A spatiotemporal evolution model of a short-circuit arc to a secondary arc based on the improved charge simulation method

The initial shape of the secondary arc considerably influences its subsequent shape.To establish the model for the arcing time of the secondary arc and modify the single-phase reclosing sequence,theoretical and experimental analysis of the evolution process of the short-circuit arc to the secondary arc is critical.In this study,an improved charge simulation method was used to develop the internal-space electric-field model of the short-circuit arc.The intensity of the electric field was used as an independent variable to describe the initial shape of the secondary arc.A secondary arc evolution model was developed based on this model.Moreover,the accuracy of the model was evaluated by comparison with physical experimental results.When the secondary arc current increased,the arcing time and dispersion increased.There is an overall trend of increasing arc length with increasing arcing time.Nevertheless,there is a reduction in arc length during arc ignition due to short circuits between the arc columns.Furthermore,the arcing time decreased in the range of 0°-90°as the angle between the wind direction and the x-axis increased.This work investigated the method by which short-circuit arcs evolve into secondary arcs.The results can be used to develop the secondary arc evolution model and to provide both a technical and theoretical basis for secondary arc suppression.

Particle residence time distribution and axial dispersion coefficient in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed by using multiphase particle-in-cell simulation

The particle residence time distribution(RTD)and axial dispersion coefficient are key parameters for the design and operation of a pressurized circulating fluidized bed(PCFB).In this study,the effects of pressure(0.1-0.6 MPa),fluidizing gas velocity(2-7 m·s^(-1)),and solid circulation rate(10-90 kg·m^(-2)·s^(-1))on particle RTD and axial dispersion coefficient in a PCFB are numerically investigated based on the multiphase particle-in-cell(MP-PIC)method.The details of the gas-solid flow behaviors of PCFB are revealed.Based on the gas-solid flow pattern,the particles tend to move more orderly under elevated pressures.With an increase in either fluidizing gas velocity or solid circulation rate,the mean residence time of particles decreases while the axial dispersion coefficient increases.With an increase in pressure,the core-annulus flow is strengthened,which leads to a wider shape of the particle RTD curve and a larger mean particle residence time.The back-mixing of particles increases with increasing pressure,resulting in an increase in the axial dispersion coefficient.