Hydrodynamic Assessment of A New Nature-Based Armour Unit on Rubble Mound Breakwater for Coastal Protection

This research proposes a novel nature-based design of a new concrete armour unit for the cover layer of a rubblemoundbreakwater. Armour units are versatile with respect to shape, orientation, surface condition details, and porosity.Therefore, a detailed analysis is required to investigate the exact state of their hydraulic interactions and structuralresponses. In this regard, the performance results of several traditional armour units, including the Antifer cube,Tetrapod, X-block and natural stone, are considered for the first step of this study. Then, the related observed resultsare compared with those obtained for a newly designed (artificial coral) armour unit. The research methodology utilizesthe common wave flume test procedure. Furthermore, several verified numerical models in OpenFOAM code areused to gain the extra required data. The proposed armour is configured to provide an effective shore protection as anenvironmental-friendly coastal structure. Thus it is designed with a main trunk including deep grooves to imitate thetypical geometry of a coral type configuration, so as to attain desirable performance. The observed results and ananalytic hierarchy process (AHP) concept are used to compare the hydraulic performance of the studied traditionaland newly proposed (artificial coral) armour units. The results indicate that the artificial coral armour unit demonstratesacceptable performance. The widely used traditional armour units might be replaced by newer designs for betterwave energy dissipation, and more importantly, for fewer adverse effects on the marine environment.

Improved Units of Measure in Rotational Mechanics

The SI system of units in rotational mechanics yields correct numerical results, but it produces physically incorrect units of measure in many cases. SI units also violate the principle of general covariance—the general rule for defining continuous coordinates and units in mathematics and mathematical physics. After 30+ years of wrestling with these problems, the ultimate authority on units of measure has declared that Newton–meter and Joule are not equivalent in rotational mechanics, as they are in the rest of physics. This article proposes a simple modification to SI units called “Nonstandard International units” (“NI units”) until a better name is agreed upon. NI units yield correct numerical results and physically correct units of measure, and they satisfy the principle of general covariance. The main obstacle to the adoption of NI units is the consensus among users that the radius of rotation should have the unit meter because the radius can be measured with a ruler. NI units assigned to radius should have units meter/radian because the radius is a conversion factor between angular size and circumferential length, as in arclength = rθ. To manage the social consensus behind SI units, the author recommends retaining SI units as they are, and informing users who want correct units that NI units solve the technical problems of SI units.

Nonlinear Mathematical Modeling and Sensitivity Analysis of Hydraulic Drive Unit

The previous sensitivity analysis researches are not accurate enough and also have the limited reference value, because those mathematical models are relatively simple and the change of the load and the initial displacement changes of the piston are ignored, even experiment verification is not conducted. Therefore, in view of deficiencies above, a nonlinear mathematical model is established in this paper, including dynamic characteristics of servo valve, nonlinear characteristics of pressure-flow, initial displacement of servo cylinder piston and friction nonlinearity. The transfer function block diagram is built for the hydraulic drive unit closed loop position control, as well as the state equations. Through deriving the time-varying coefficient items matrix and time-varying free items matrix of sensitivity equations respectively, the expression of sensitivity equations based on the nonlinear mathematical model are obtained. According to structure parameters of hydraulic drive unit, working parameters, fluid transmission characteristics and measured friction-velocity curves, the simulation analysis of hydraulic drive unit is completed on the MATLAB/Simulink simulation platform with the displacement step 2 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm, respectively. The simulation results indicate that the developed nonlinear mathematical model is sufficient by comparing the characteristic curves of experimental step response and simulation step response under different constant load. Then, the sensitivity function time-history curves of seventeen parameters are obtained, basing on each state vector time-history curve of step response characteristic. The maximum value of displacement variation percentage and the sum of displacement variation absolute values in the sampling time are both taken as sensitivity indexes. The sensitivity indexes values above are calculated and shown visually in histograms under different working conditions, and change rules are analyzed. Then the sensitivity indexes values of four measurable parameters, such as supply pressure, proportional gain, initial position of servo cylinder piston and load force, are verified experimentally on test platform of hydraulic drive unit, and the experimental research shows that the sensitivity analysis results obtained through simulation are approximate to the test results. This research indicates each parameter sensitivity characteristics of hydraulic drive unit, the performance-affected main parameters and secondary parameters are got under different working conditions, which will provide the theoretical foundation for the control compensation and structure optimization of hydraulic drive unit.

Force Control Compensation Method with Variable Load Stiffness and Damping of the Hydraulic Drive Unit Force Control System

Each joint of hydraulic drive quadruped robot is driven by the hydraulic drive unit（HDU）, and the contacting between the robot foot end and the ground is complex and variable, which increases the difficulty of force control inevitably. In the recent years, although many scholars researched some control methods such as disturbance rejection control, parameter self-adaptive control, impedance control and so on, to improve the force control performance of HDU, the robustness of the force control still needs improving. Therefore, how to simulate the complex and variable load characteristics of the environment structure and how to ensure HDU having excellent force control performance with the complex and variable load characteristics are key issues to be solved in this paper. The force control system mathematic model of HDU is established by the mechanism modeling method, and the theoretical models of a novel force control compensation method and a load characteristics simulation method under different environment structures are derived, considering the dynamic characteristics of the load stiffness and the load damping under different environment structures. Then, simulation effects of the variable load stiffness and load damping under the step and sinusoidal load force are analyzed experimentally on the HDU force control performance test platform, which provides the foundation for the force control compensation experiment research. In addition, the optimized PID control parameters are designed to make the HDU have better force control performance with suitable load stiffness and load damping, under which the force control compensation method is introduced, and the robustness of the force control system with several constant load characteristics and the variable load characteristics respectively are comparatively analyzed by experiment. The research results indicate that if the load characteristics are known, the force control compensation method presented in this paper has positive compensation effects on the load characteristics variation, i.e., this method decreases the effects of the load characteristics variation on the force control performance and enhances the force control system robustness with the constant PID parameters, thereby, the online PID parameters tuning control method which is complex needs not be adopted. All the above research provides theoretical and experimental foundation for the force control method of the quadruped robot joints with high robustness.

LVP Modeling and Dynamic Characteristics Prediction of A Hydraulic Power Unit in Deep-Sea

A hydraulic power unit （HPU） is the driving ＂heart＂ of deep-sea working equipment. It is critical to predict its dynamic performances in deep-water before being immerged in the seawater, while the experimental tests by simulating deep-sea environment have many disadvantages, such as expensive cost, long test cycles, and difficult to achieve low-temperature simulation, which is only used as a supplementary means for confirmatory experiment. This paper proposes a novel theoretical approach based on the linear varying parameters （LVP） modeling to foresee the dynamic performances of the driving unit. Firstly, based on the varying environment features, dynamic expressions of the compressibility and viscosity of hydranlic oil are derived to reveal the fluid performances changing. Secondly, models of hydraulic system and electrical system are accomplished respectively through studying the control process and energy transfer, and then LVP models of the pressure and flow rate control is obtained through the electro-hydraulic models integration. Thirdly, dynamic characteristics of HPU are obtained by the model simulating within bounded closed sets of varying parameters. Finally, the developed HPU is tested in a deep-sea imitating hull, and the experimental results are well consistent with the theoretical analysis outcomes, which clearly declare that the LVP modeling is a rational way to foresee dynamic performances of HPU. The research approach and model analysis results can be applied to the predictions of working properties and product designs for other deep-sea hydraulic pump.

Study on Generation Cost Prediction Based on Coal Quality and Generating Unit Performance

燃料变化条件下发电成本的预测是火电厂普遍关心的重要课题。分析了影响机组性能及发电电量成本的各种煤质指标，重点研究了基于结构参数及燃烧传热机理的锅炉稳态热力性能分析计算方法，讨论了制粉系统、风机、脱硫和脱硝装置性能随燃料等运行条件的变化关系，最终提出了基于煤质和机组性能分析计算的发电电量成本预测模型并研发了“煤炭选配与机组发电成本预测系统”。该系统在我国某600MW火电厂的实际应用经验表明：提出的电量成本分析预测模型合理，研发的软件系统有助于辅助火电厂的选煤和购煤决策，优化动力配煤方案，从而提高火电厂的运行经济性。

Permeability prediction using hydraulic flow units and electrofacies analysis

It is essential to characterize fluid flow in porous media to have a better understanding of petrophysical properties.Many approaches were developed to determine reservoir permeability among which the integrated analysis of hydraulic flow unit(HFU)and electrofacies(EF)is considered to be useful one.However,the application of HFU and EF analysis has not been totally understood with a limited data to develop correlation for less distance offset wells.In this study,an attempt was made to show the application of integrating HFU and EF for reliable estimation of permeability using core and wireline log data in one of the gas fields in Pakistan.The results obtained indicate that the integrated approach proposed in this study can be used,especially in less distance offset wells when a limited number of data are available for petrophysical characterization.

An Analysis of the Designed Performance and Structural Characteristics of the Turbine Generating Units of TGP

The main technical requirement of the turbine generating units for the Three Gorges Project (TGP) has a basic conclusion through a long term study and research as well as demonstration.Along with the TGP construction and successful execution of the contract of turbine generating units,the technical difficulties concerning the performance and structure of turbine generating units have been further recognized.In this paper some issues are discussed and analyzed in connection with a deep going cognition of turbine generating units for TGP during the period of design, manufacture and installation.

Experimental research on a new encapsulated heat-generating hydraulic fracturing fluid system

During fracturing treatment for low-temperature, shallow and high freezing point oil reservoirs, the first-line problems are to overcome uncompleted breakdown, uncompleted cleanup of fracturing fluids and cold damages to the formations by injecting cold fluid. To avoid those problems, it is suggested to adopt a new encapsulated heat-generating hydraulic fracturing fluid system as described in this paper.; Firstly, two kinds of chemical heat-generating systems were studied and the NH-4Cl-NaNO-2 system was selected. According to the reaction characteristics of the system, oxalic acid was chosen as a catalyst of reaction and encapsulated using ethyl cellulose and paraffin as coating materials by the phase separation method. Compatibility of NH-4Cl-NaNO-2-encapsulated oxalic acid with hydroxypropyl-guar fracturing fluid was also discussed in the paper. The results showed that the hydraulic fracturing fluid containing encapsulated heat-generating agents hare a good stability and compatibility. When the fracturing fluid contains {2.0} mol·L+{-1} NH-4Cl-NaNO-2, {0.93%} encapsulated oxalic acid and {0.08%} ammonium persulfate, the peak temperature can reach {78.0℃} and the viscosity of residual liquid is {3.12} mPa·s after 4 hours.

Development of hydraulic power unit and accumulator charging circuit for electricity generation,storage and distribution

It is the purpose of the present paper to convert hydraulic energy to electric energy and saves both the pressure and electrical energy for re-use during the next system upstroke using two secondary units coupled to induction motor to drive cylinder loads. During upstroke operation, the variable pump/motor (P/M) driven by both electric motor and the second (P/M) works as hydraulic pump and output flow to the cylinders which drive the load. During load deceleration, the cylinders work as pump while the operation of the two secondary units are reversed, the variable (P/M) works as a motor generating a torque with the electric motor to drive the other (P/M) which transforms mechanical energy to hydraulic energy that is saved in the accumulator. When the energy storage capacity of the accumulator is attained as the operation continues, energy storage to the accumulator is thermostatically stopped while the induction motor begins to work as a generator and generates electricity that is stored in the power distribution unit. Simulations were performed using a limited PT2 Block, i.e. 2nd-order transfer function with limitation of slope and signal output to determine suitable velocity of the cylinder which will match high performance and system stability. A mathematical model suited to the simulation of the hydraulic accumulator both in an open-or close-loop system is presented. The quest for improvement of lower energy capacity storage, saving and re-utilization of the conventional accumulator resulting in the short cycle time usage of hydraulic accumulators both in domestic and industrial purposes necessitates this research. The outcome of the research appears to be very efficient for generating fluctuation free electricity, power quality and reliability, energy saving/reutilization and system noise

Permeability Prediction Using Hydraulic Flow Units: Baltim North Gas Field, Nile Delta, Egypt

168 core samples data of two production wells in the Baltim North field were used to identify the complex discrepancies in reservoir pore geometry which governing the Abu Madi reservoir fluid flow properties. Permeability prediction from well logs is significant goal when the core data is rarely available in most cases because of its expensive cost. The hydraulic flow unit approach was used to classify reservoir rocks according to its pore aperture size in the cored wells. The predicted permeability was calculated from core porosity and core permeability relationship for each flow unit. The difference between Neutron porosity and Density porosity was recognized to distinguish different hydraulic flow units. The higher difference indicates higher quality flow unit and vice versa. For model’s verification the predicted permeability was plotted against the laboratory measured permeability in all studied wells and shows highly matching.

Using Hybrid Penalty and Gated Linear Units to Improve Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Networks for Single-Channel Speech Enhancement

Recently,speech enhancement methods based on Generative Adversarial Networks have achieved good performance in time-domain noisy signals.However,the training of Generative Adversarial Networks has such problems as convergence difficulty,model collapse,etc.In this work,an end-to-end speech enhancement model based on Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Networks is proposed,and some improvements have been made in order to get faster convergence speed and better generated speech quality.Specifically,in the generator coding part,each convolution layer adopts different convolution kernel sizes to conduct convolution operations for obtaining speech coding information from multiple scales;a gated linear unit is introduced to alleviate the vanishing gradient problem with the increase of network depth;the gradient penalty of the discriminator is replaced with spectral normalization to accelerate the convergence rate of themodel;a hybrid penalty termcomposed of L1 regularization and a scale-invariant signal-to-distortion ratio is introduced into the loss function of the generator to improve the quality of generated speech.The experimental results on both TIMIT corpus and Tibetan corpus show that the proposed model improves the speech quality significantly and accelerates the convergence speed of the model.

The design and practice of giant hydro turbine generating units of Three Gorges Project

The main technical problems that should be considered in the design of hydro-turbine generating units of Three Gorges Project (TGP) are analyzed;the key technical researches performed are summarized,and the parameters of hydro-turbine generating units are optimized through the study on key technical problems.The unit operation indicates that the performance of the hydro-turbine generating units is excellent,and the units can operate in a safe,stable and highly efficient mode for a long term.Therefore,it is verified effectively that the general technical design of units is scientific and rational.

Analysis on Operation Reliability of Generating Units in 2009

This paper presents the data on operation reliability indices and relevant analyses toward China's conventional power generating units in 2009.The units brought into the statistical analysis include 100-MW or above thermal generating units,40-MW or above hydro generating units,and all nuclear generating units.The reliability indices embodied include utilization hours,times and hours of scheduled outages,times and hours of unscheduled outages,equivalent forced outage rate and equivalent availability factor.