Reliability-based design optimization for flexible mechanism with particle swarm optimization and advanced extremum response surface method

To improve the computational efficiency of the reliability-based design optimization(RBDO) of flexible mechanism, particle swarm optimization-advanced extremum response surface method(PSO-AERSM) was proposed by integrating particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm and advanced extremum response surface method(AERSM). Firstly, the AERSM was developed and its mathematical model was established based on artificial neural network, and the PSO algorithm was investigated. And then the RBDO model of flexible mechanism was presented based on AERSM and PSO. Finally, regarding cross-sectional area as design variable, the reliability optimization of flexible mechanism was implemented subject to reliability degree and uncertainties based on the proposed approach. The optimization results show that the cross-section sizes obviously reduce by 22.96 mm^2 while keeping reliability degree. Through the comparison of methods, it is demonstrated that the AERSM holds high computational efficiency while keeping computational precision for the RBDO of flexible mechanism, and PSO algorithm minimizes the response of the objective function. The efforts of this work provide a useful sight for the reliability optimization of flexible mechanism, and enrich and develop the reliability theory as well.

An Advanced Simple Method for Generating Synthetic Average Instant Hourly Solar Energy

The main objective of this study is to generate accurate synthetic hourly solar radiation data by using an easily accessible open source data.In this regard,a new approach is proposed for estimation of synthetic hourly global solar radiation during the day by utilizing only annual solar energy data.First time in literature,a model has been developed for prediction hourly and daily solar radiation based on annual solar energy parameter in this study.Parameters of the model were generated and tested for Turkey and one of them was presented as a case study within this paper.Long term measured hourly horizontal solar irradiance data from a network of Turkish meteorological stations was used to calibrate the model function.The predictions are compared with the solar data available in literature for Turkey.The advanced simple new model is utilized in open source computer program and has the potential to be adapted to other countries.

An Efficient Method for Reliability-based Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

Design for modem engineering system is becoming multidisciplinary and incorporates practical uncertainties; therefore, it is necessary to synthesize reliability analysis and the multidisciplinary design optimization （MDO） techniques for the design of complex engineering system. An advanced first order second moment method-based concurrent subspace optimization approach is proposed based on the comparison and analysis of the existing multidisciplinary optimization techniques and the reliability analysis methods. It is seen through a canard configuration optimization for a three-surface transport that the proposed method is computationally efficient and practical with the least modification to the current deterministic optimization process.

A two-stage short-term traffic flow prediction method based on AVL and AKNN techniques

Short-term traffic flow prediction is one of the essential issues in intelligent transportation systems(ITS). A new two-stage traffic flow prediction method named AKNN-AVL method is presented, which combines an advanced k-nearest neighbor(AKNN)method and balanced binary tree(AVL) data structure to improve the prediction accuracy. The AKNN method uses pattern recognition two times in the searching process, which considers the previous sequences of traffic flow to forecast the future traffic state. Clustering method and balanced binary tree technique are introduced to build case database to reduce the searching time. To illustrate the effects of these developments, the accuracies performance of AKNN-AVL method, k-nearest neighbor(KNN) method and the auto-regressive and moving average(ARMA) method are compared. These methods are calibrated and evaluated by the real-time data from a freeway traffic detector near North 3rd Ring Road in Beijing under both normal and incident traffic conditions.The comparisons show that the AKNN-AVL method with the optimal neighbor and pattern size outperforms both KNN method and ARMA method under both normal and incident traffic conditions. In addition, the combinations of clustering method and balanced binary tree technique to the prediction method can increase the searching speed and respond rapidly to case database fluctuations.

A method for computing unsupported roof distance in roadway advancement and its in-situ application

A reasonable unsupported roof distance(URD) when advancing underground coal mine roadways can contribute greatly to safe and rapid roadway development.A mechanical model of the roof,using the relationship between the roof stress distribution and URD,obtained by the difference method,and roof stability according to the in-situ roof stress and rock mass strength was developed.We subsequently designed a proper range of URD,developed a testing method of URD with the function of mining protection,evaluated roof stability through analyzing the test data and then determined a reasonable URD.Considering the factors of the geological conditions,the immediate roof stability and the efficiency of the labor arrangement system,the URD of the advancing roadway of 9802 working face in Zhangshuanglou coal mine was determined to be 6 m using the proposed method.The results show that,when a 2 m length of roadway was reinforced by temporary support and high pre-stressed bolt support after the roadway advancement of 6 m per cycle,the speed and the security of the roadway development can be achieved and the advance rate can reach more than 400 m per month.

Reaction pathway and kinetics of CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO_3 precursor using thermal decomposition method

The non-isothermal kinetics of CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO3 precursor using thermal decomposition method was investigated. A model-fitting Malek approach and a model-free advanced isoconversional method of Vyazovkin were applied to the analysis of the DSC and TGA data. The results showed that CdO nanoparticles prepared from CdCO3 followed an autocatalytic reaction. Sestak–Berggren model could favorably describe the studied reaction process. Moreover, the apparent activation energy of CdCO3 decomposition was calculated to be (119.19±9.97) kJ/mol and the explicit rate equation form of CdCO3 decomposition was established.

Reliability-based concurrent subspace optimization method

To avoid the high computational cost and much modification in the process of applying traditional reliability-based design optimization method, a new reliability-based concurrent subspace optimization approach is proposed based on the comparison and analysis of the existing multidisciplinary optimization techniques and reliability assessment methods. It is shown through a canard configuration optimization for a three-surface transport that the proposed method is computationally efficient and practical with the least modification to the current deterministic optimization process.

Mesh Generation for Finite Element Analysis of Electric Machines

This paper describes two modified methods for triangular and quadrilateral meshing for finite element analysis of 2D electric machines. One is coupling the classic Delaunay method and advancing front method to generate optimal triangulation; the other is coupling the classic paving and Delaunay triangulation for optimal quadrilateral meshing. Various electric machine models are meshed successfully to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the methods.

RESEARCH ON IMPERFECTION SENSITIVE REGION OF SINGLE-LAYER LATTICED DOMES

The concept of the imperfection sensitive region is given. The advanced stochastic imperfection method is used to research the imperfection sensitive region of single-layer latticed domes. Taking a K6 single-layer latticed dome with a diameter of 50 m as an example, its imperfection sensitive region is made up of the first 12 kinds of joints. The influence of the imperfections of support joints on the stability of the K6 single-layer latticed dome is negligible. Influences of the joint imperfections of the main rib and the secondary rib on the structural stability are similar. The initial deviations of these joints all greatly lower the critical load of the dome. Results show that the method can analyze the structural imperfection sensitive region quantitatively and accurately.

Simulation of failure process of jointed rock

A modified discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) algorithm was proposed to simulate the failure behavior of jointed rock. In the proposed algorithm, by using the Monte-Carlo technique, random joint network was generated in the domain of interest. Based on the joint network, the triangular DDA block system was automatically generated by adopting the advanced front method. In the process of generating blocks, numerous artificial joints came into being, and once the stress states at some artificial joints satisfy the failure criterion given beforehand, artificial joints will turn into real joints. In this way, the whole fragmentation process of rock mass can be replicated. The algorithm logic was described in detail, and several numerical examples were carried out to obtain some insight into the failure behavior of rock mass containing random joints. From the numerical results, it can be found that the crack initiates from the crack tip, the growth direction of the crack depends upon the loading and constraint conditions, and the proposed method can reproduce some complicated phenomena in the whole process of rock failure.

Advanced multiple response surface method of sensitivity analysis for turbine blisk reliability with multi-physics coupling

To reasonably implement the reliability analysis and describe the significance of influencing parameters for the multi-failure modes of turbine blisk, advanced multiple response surface method (AMRSM) was proposed for multi-failure mode sensitivity analysis for reliability. The mathematical model of AMRSM was established and the basic principle of multi-failure mode sensitivity analysis for reliability with AMRSM was given. The important parameters of turbine blisk failures are obtained by the multi-failure mode sensitivity analysis of turbine blisk. Through the reliability sensitivity analyses of multiple failure modes (deformation, stress and strain) with the proposed method considering fluid-thermal-solid interaction, it is shown that the comprehensive reliability of turbine blisk is 0.9931 when the allowable deformation, stress and strain are 3.7 x 10(-3) m, 1.0023 x 10(9) Pa and 1.05 x 10(-2) m/m, respectively; the main impact factors of turbine blisk failure are gas velocity, gas temperature and rotational speed. As demonstrated in the comparison of methods (Monte Carlo (MC) method, traditional response surface method (RSM), multiple response surface method (MRSM) and AMRSM), the proposed AMRSM improves computational efficiency with acceptable computational accuracy. The efforts of this study provide the AMRSM with high precision and efficiency for multi-failure mode reliability analysis, and offer a useful insight for the reliability optimization design of multi-failure mode structure. (C) 2016 Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

Kinetics analysis of non-isothermal decomposition of Ag_2O-graphite mixture

The thermal decomposition kinetics of Ag2O-graphite mixture was systematically studied using a differential scanning calorimeter（DSC） in terms of model-fitting Malek approach, integral master plot method and model-free advanced isoconversional method of Vyazovkin. The results showed that the thermal decomposition occurred in two stages. The first step was the decomposition process of Ag2 O to form porous silver particles as a complex process with the participation of at least two mechanisms, and the second step corresponded to the structural change from porous particles to silver bulk crystals as a single-step process.

Attractive target wave patterns in complex networks consisting of excitable nodes

This review describes the investigations of oscillatory complex networks consisting of excitable nodes, focusing on the target wave patterns or say the target wave attractors. A method of dominant phase advanced driving （DPAD） is introduced to reveal the dynamic structures in the networks supporting osciUations, such as the oscillation sources and the main excitation propagation paths from the sources to the whole networks. The target center nodes and their drivers are regarded as the key nodes which can completely determine the corresponding target wave patterns. Therefore, the center （say node A） and its driver （say node B） of a target wave can be used as a label, （A, B）, of the given target pattern. The label can give a clue to conveniently retrieve, suppress, and control the target waves. Statistical investigations, both theoretically from the label analysis and numerically from direct simulations of network dynamics, show that there exist huge numbers of target wave attractors in excitable complex networks if the system size is large, and all these attractors can be labeled and easily controlled based on the information given by the labels. The possible applications of the physical ideas and the mathematical methods about multiplicity and labelability of attractors to memory problems of neural networks are briefly discussed.

Generation of irregular particle packing with prescribed statistical distribution, spatial arrangement, and volume fraction

A method for packing irregular particles with a prescribed volume fraction is proposed.Furthermore,the generated granular material adheres to the prescribed statistical distribution and satisfies the desired complex spatial arrangement.First,the irregular geometries of the realistic particles were obtained from the original particle images.Second,the Minkowski sum was used to check the overlap between irregular particles and place an irregular particle in contact with other particles.Third,the optimised advance front method(OAFM)generated irregular particle packing with the prescribed statistical dis-tribution and volume fraction based on the Minkowski sum.Moreover,the signed distance function was introduced to pack the particles in accordance with the desired spatial arrangement.Finally,seven biaxial tests were performed using the UDEC software,which demonstrated the accuracy and potential usefulness of the proposed method.It can model granular material efficiently and reflect the meso-structural characteristics of complex granular materials.This method has a wide range of applications where discrete modelling of granular media is necessary.

A multi-index coupling system of ice slope stability and its application

Based on the Simplified Bishop Method, the minimum safety factor of ice slope both with and without tension cracks is calculated in combination with triaxial compression tests. It is found that there exists a critical depth for each crack. Then, factors influencing ice slope stability such as slope ratio, slope height, ice cohesion, internal friction angle, unit weight and temperature were analyzed. Meanwhile, a regression equation between the aforementioned factors and safety factor is obtained, with which sensitivity analysis is carried out. The performance function is built in combination with random distribution of physical and mechanical parameters to analyze the reliability index. The Advanced First Order Second Moment Method is employed on the solution to the perfor- mance function. The one-way coupling system of ice slope stability is therefore formed based on safety factor and reliability index. Finally, an illustrated example of ice slope is provided, which shows that failure probability is relatively high, up to 6.18%, alt- hough safety factor is 2.77. Thus, it is objective and reasonable to apply the coupled system method to the slope stability rating.

Applications of physical methods in estimation of soil biota and soil organic matter

Soil biota is the living component of soil organic matter(SOM),and plays a key role in the decomposition of SOM.Both soil biota and SOM are indicators of soil fertility and soil quality.However,they both are sensitive to soil disturbance.Although researchers developed various technologies to detect soil biota and SOM,they are mostly destructive and cause disturbance to soil,which may not reflect the actual situation of soil biota and SOM.Therefore,here we mostly focused on the non-destructive physical methods for estimating soil biota and SOM and discussed their advantages and disadvantages.These methods include but not limited to acoustic detection,radio frequency identification,radioactive tagging,hyperspectral sensing and electron energy loss spectroscopy.In addition,we pointed out the current research problems and the potential research directions for applications of physical methods in estimation of soil biota and SOM.

New advances in EMG control methods of anthropomorphic prosthetic hand

Prosthetic hands are becoming more and more popular among people without a hand and it is able to perform certain manual operations in function.In biology,action potentials trigger muscle contractions,and surface electromyography（sEMG）signals are the sum of action potentials under the skin exposed by the electrodes（via sebum and solution conduction）.

Fast advancing layer method for viscous mesh generation

An efficient Advancing Layer Method(ALM)is presented to create semi-structured prisms on viscous walls,in which a procedure that checks possible front intersections is essential to its efficiency.This paper develops various novel schemes to improve the algorithm’s efficiency precisely while not sacrificing its robustness and the resulting mesh quality.First,it employs a set of new techniques,and data structures are developed to improve the efficiency of the frontcheck procedure.Then,within each octant,a new filter is developed to reduce the intersection computations in the searching process.In addition,data structures are well designed to store the contiguously accessed data in each computing-intensive loop in a contiguous space for a potentially better cache hit ratio.We built a geometry model library formed by examples of industrial complexity to demonstrate the practicability of the algorithm.All the efforts mentioned above enable us to reduce the percentage of computing time taken by intersection check to an acceptable level(approximately 26%),which make it no longer be the most time-consuming part.

Recent advances in the extended finite element method (XFEM) and isogeometric analysis (IGA)

The finite element method （FEM） is one of the most popular and efficient methods for computational modeling in scien- tific research and engineering . To expand its application to more complex problems, lots of new FEM-based methods have been developed in recent decades.

Graphene-supported metal single-atom catalysts:a concise review

Single-atom catalysts(SACs)have become an emerging frontier trend in the field of heterogeneous catalysis due to their high activity,selectivity and stability.SACs could greatly increase the availabilities of the active metal atoms in many catalytic reactions by reducing the size to single atom scale.Graphene-supported metal SACs have also drawn considerable attention due to the unique lattice structure and physicochemical properties of graphene,resulting in superior activity and selectivity for several chemical reactions.In this paper,we review recent progress in the fabrications,advanced characterization tools and advantages of graphene-supported metal SACs,focusing on their applications in catalytic reactions such as CO oxidation,the oxidation of benzene to phenol,hydrogen evolution reaction,methanol oxidation reaction,oxygen reduction reaction,hydrogenation and photoelectrocatalysis.We also propose the development of SACs towards industrialization in the future.