Frilled Lizard Optimization: A Novel Bio-Inspired Optimizer for Solving Engineering Applications

This research presents a novel nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm called Frilled Lizard Optimization(FLO),which emulates the unique hunting behavior of frilled lizards in their natural habitat.FLO draws its inspiration from the sit-and-wait hunting strategy of these lizards.The algorithm’s core principles are meticulously detailed and mathematically structured into two distinct phases:(i)an exploration phase,which mimics the lizard’s sudden attack on its prey,and(ii)an exploitation phase,which simulates the lizard’s retreat to the treetops after feeding.To assess FLO’s efficacy in addressing optimization problems,its performance is rigorously tested on fifty-two standard benchmark functions.These functions include unimodal,high-dimensional multimodal,and fixed-dimensional multimodal functions,as well as the challenging CEC 2017 test suite.FLO’s performance is benchmarked against twelve established metaheuristic algorithms,providing a comprehensive comparative analysis.The simulation results demonstrate that FLO excels in both exploration and exploitation,effectively balancing these two critical aspects throughout the search process.This balanced approach enables FLO to outperform several competing algorithms in numerous test cases.Additionally,FLO is applied to twenty-two constrained optimization problems from the CEC 2011 test suite and four complex engineering design problems,further validating its robustness and versatility in solving real-world optimization challenges.Overall,the study highlights FLO’s superior performance and its potential as a powerful tool for tackling a wide range of optimization problems.

Mechanical Performance of Bio-inspired Bidirectional Corrugated Sandwich Pressure Shell Under External Hydrostatic Pressure

This paper aims to enhance the compression capacity of underwater cylindrical shells by adopting the corrugated sandwich structure of cuttlebone.The cuttlebone suffers uniaxial external compression,while underwater cylindrical shells are in a biaxial compressive stress state.To suit the biaxial compressive stress state,a novel bidirectional corrugated sandwich structure is proposed to improve the bearing capacity of cylindrical shells.The static and buckling analysis for the sandwich shell and the unstiffened cylindrical shell with the same volume-weight ratio are studied by numerical simulation.It is indicated that the proposed sandwich shell can effectively reduce the ratio between circumferential and axial stress from 2 to 1.25 and improve the critical buckling load by about 1.63 times.Numerical simulation shows that optimizing and adjusting the structural parameters could significantly improve the advantage of the sandwich shell.Then,the hydrostatic pressure tests for shell models fabricated by 3D printing are carried out.According to the experimental results,the overall failure position of the sandwich shell is at the center part of the sandwich shell.It has been found the average critical load of the proposed sandwich shell models exceeds two times that of the unstiffened shell models.Hence,the proposed bio-inspired bidirectional corrugated sandwich structure can significantly enhance the pressure resistance capability of cylindrical shells.

Enhancing Cancer Classification through a Hybrid Bio-Inspired Evolutionary Algorithm for Biomarker Gene Selection

In this study,our aim is to address the problem of gene selection by proposing a hybrid bio-inspired evolutionary algorithm that combines Grey Wolf Optimization(GWO)with Harris Hawks Optimization(HHO)for feature selection.Themotivation for utilizingGWOandHHOstems fromtheir bio-inspired nature and their demonstrated success in optimization problems.We aimto leverage the strengths of these algorithms to enhance the effectiveness of feature selection in microarray-based cancer classification.We selected leave-one-out cross-validation(LOOCV)to evaluate the performance of both two widely used classifiers,k-nearest neighbors(KNN)and support vector machine(SVM),on high-dimensional cancer microarray data.The proposed method is extensively tested on six publicly available cancer microarray datasets,and a comprehensive comparison with recently published methods is conducted.Our hybrid algorithm demonstrates its effectiveness in improving classification performance,Surpassing alternative approaches in terms of precision.The outcomes confirm the capability of our method to substantially improve both the precision and efficiency of cancer classification,thereby advancing the development ofmore efficient treatment strategies.The proposed hybridmethod offers a promising solution to the gene selection problem in microarray-based cancer classification.It improves the accuracy and efficiency of cancer diagnosis and treatment,and its superior performance compared to other methods highlights its potential applicability in realworld cancer classification tasks.By harnessing the complementary search mechanisms of GWO and HHO,we leverage their bio-inspired behavior to identify informative genes relevant to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Integration of bio-inspired limb-like structure damping into motor suspension of high-speed trains to enhance bogie hunting stability

Hunting stability is an important performance criterion in railway vehicles.This study proposes an incorporation of a bio-inspired limb-like structure(LLS)-based nonlinear damping into the motor suspension system for traction units to improve the nonlinear critical speed and hunting stability of high-speed trains(HSTs).Initially,a vibration transmission analysis is conducted on a HST vehicle and a metro vehicle that suffered from hunting motion to explore the effect of different motor suspension systems from on-track tests.Subsequently,a simplified lateral dynamics model of an HST bogie is established to investigate the influence of the motor suspension on the bogie hunting behavior.The bifurcation analysis is applied to optimize the motor suspension parameters for high critical speed.Then,the nonlinear damping of the bio-inspired LLS,which has a positive correlation with the relative displacement,can further improve the modal damping of hunting motion and nonlinear critical speed compared with the linear motor suspension system.Furthermore,a comprehensive numerical model of a high-speed train,considering all nonlinearities,is established to investigate the influence of different types of motor suspension.The simulation results are well consistent with the theoretical analysis.The benefits of employing nonlinear damping of the bio-inspired LLS into the motor suspension of HSTs to enhance bogie hunting stability are thoroughly validated.

Dynamic crushing behaviors and enhanced energy absorption of bio-inspired hierarchical honeycombs with different topologies

In order to pursue good crushing load uniformity and enchance energy absorption efficiency of conventional honeycombs, a kind of bio-inspired hierarchical honeycomb model is proposed by mimicking the arched crab shell structures. Three bio-inspired hierarchical honeycombs(BHHs) with different topologies are designed by replacing each vertex of square honeycombs with smaller arc-shaped structures. The effects of hierarchical topologies and multi-material layout on in-plane dynamic crushings and absorbed-energy capacities of the BHHs are explored based on the explicit finite element(FE) analysis.Different deformation modes can be observed from the BHHs, which mainly depend upon hierarchical topologies and impact velocities. According to energy efficiency method and one-dimensional(1D) shock theory, calculation formulas of densification strains and plateau stresses for the BHHs are derived to characterize the dynamic bearing capacity, which is consistent well with FE results. Compared with conventional honeycombs, the crushing load efficiency and energy absorption capacity of the BHHs can be improved by changing the proper hierarchical topology and multi-material layout. These researches will provide theoretical guidance for innovative design and dynamic response performance controllability of honeycombs.

Bio-Inspired Optimal Dispatching of Wind Power Consumption Considering Multi-Time Scale Demand Response and High-Energy Load Participation

Bio-inspired computer modelling brings solutions fromthe living phenomena or biological systems to engineering domains.To overcome the obstruction problem of large-scale wind power consumption in Northwest China,this paper constructs a bio-inspired computer model.It is an optimal wind power consumption dispatching model of multi-time scale demand response that takes into account the involved high-energy load.First,the principle of wind power obstruction with the involvement of a high-energy load is examined in this work.In this step,highenergy load model with different regulation characteristics is established.Then,considering the multi-time scale characteristics of high-energy load and other demand-side resources response speed,a multi-time scale model of coordination optimization is built.An improved bio-inspired model incorporating particle swarm optimization is applied to minimize system operation and wind curtailment costs,as well as to find the most optimal energy configurationwithin the system.Lastly,we take an example of regional power grid in Gansu Province for simulation analysis.Results demonstrate that the suggested scheduling strategy can significantly enhance the wind power consumption level and minimize the system’s operational cost.

Vibration isolation performance analysis of a bilateral supported bio-inspired anti-vibration control system

To achieve better anti-vibration performance in a low frequency region and expand the range of vibration isolation,a bilateral supported bio-inspired anti-vibration(BBAV)structure composed of purely linear elements is proposed,inspired by the motion form of bird legs and the nonlinear extension and compression of muscles and tendons.The kinematic relations and nonlinear dynamic model considering vertical and rotational vibrations are established.The loading capacity and equivalent stiffness are investigated with key parameters.The amplitude-frequency characteristics and force transmissibility are used to evaluate the stability and anti-vibration performance with the effects of the excitation amplitude,rod length,installation angle,and spring stiffness.The results show that the loading requirements and resonant characteristics of the BBAV structure are adjustable,and superior vibration isolation performance can be achieved readily by tuning the parameters.The X-shaped vibration structure is sensitive to the spring stiffness,which exhibits a wider vibration isolation bandwidth with smaller spring stiffness.Besides,depending on the parameters,the nonlinear behavior of the BBAV system can be interconverted between the softening type and the hardening type.The theoretical analysis in this study demonstrates the advantages and effectiveness of the vibration isolation structure.

Correlation Study on Grain Size Characteristics and Geotechnical Properties of Surface Sediments in Qingdao Offshore Area

The comprehension of sediment grain size parameters and the corresponding sedimentary environment holds paramount importance in elucidating the engineering geological attributes of the subaqueous seabed.This study delineated the sedimentary environment zoning in the northern sea area of Qingdao through cluster analysis of grain size parameters derived from 123 surface sediment samples.The study analyzed the correlation between sediment geotechnical indices and grain size parameters across diverse sedimentary environments.A correlation equation was established for samples exhibiting a strong correlation.The study found four distinct sedimentary environments in the study area:coastal,transitional,shallow sea,and residual.Within the same sedimentary environment,the average grain size and sorting coefficient exhibit significant correlations with geotechnical indices such as water content,density,shear strength,plastic limit,liquid limit,and plastic index.However,notable disparities in the correlation between grain size parameters and geotechnical indices emerge across different sedimentary environments.

Obtaining 2D Soil Geotechnical Profiles from Cokriging Interpolation of Sample Data and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT)—Applications in Mass Movements Studies

Brazil annually faces significant challenges with mass movements, particularly in areas with poorly constructed housing, inadequate engineering, and lacking sanitation infrastructure. Campos do Jordão, in São Paulo state, is a city currently grappling with these issues. This paper details a study conducted within a pilot area in Campos do Jordão, where geophysical surveys and geotechnical borehole data were integrated. The geophysical surveys provided 2D profiles, and samples were collected to analyse soil moisture and plasticity. These datasets were combined using a Cokriging-based model to produce an accurate representation of the subsurface conditions. The enhanced modelling of subsurface variability facilitates a deeper understanding of soil behavior, which can be used to improve landslide risk assessments. This approach is innovative, particularly within the international context where similar studies often do not address the complexities associated with urban planning deficits such as those observed in some areas of Brazil. These conditions, including the lack of proper sanitation and irregular housing, significantly influence the geological stability of the region, adding layers of complexity to subsurface assessments. Adapting geotechnical evaluation methods to local challenges offers the potential to increase the efficacy and relevance of geological risk management in regions with similar socio-economic and urban characteristics.

Characterization and Geotechnical Classification of Soils and Lateritic Gravelly Materials along the Songololo-Lufu Road Axis (Kongo Central Province, DR Congo)

This study aims to characterize from a geotechnical point of view, the soils as well as the lateritic gravels along the Songololo-Lufu road route in the Kongo Central Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ten soil samples and eight lateritic gravel samples were analysed and tested in the laboratory. For each sample, identification parameters were determined such as particle size analysis, natural water content, Atterberg limits (plasticity index and consistency index), but also compaction and lift parameters such as optimal water content, maximum dry density and CBR lift index. All materials and soils have been classified according to the Congolese Road Standard (NRC) and according to the American HRB classification. The test results show us that clay soils almost always contain between 70% and 90% fine fraction;the grained fraction represents less than 30% in clay samples. For lateritic gravels soils, the percentage of fine elements varies between 35% and 15%;in sand around 20%;the gravelly fraction represents a little more than 50% of the soil. The majority of soil facies encountered define a plasticity index lower than 15. As for the consistency index, we obtained values greater than 1, both for clayey soils and for gravelly soils. The classification according to NRC defined for these soils the types Ae1 and Ae2 for the clayey facies and the types GL1 and GL2 for the gravelly soils, while that of the HRB identified the classes and subclasses A-6 and A-7-6 for clayey soils, and subclass A-2-6 for gravelly soils. The optimal water content values obtained range between 10.2% and 23.10%;the maximum dry densities are between 1.66 and 2.07 t/m3 and the CBR index is between 6 and 26. As for the lateritic gravels materials of the Songololo region, the percentage of fine elements generally remains between 12% and 31%;the plasticity index is between 8 and 18;the optimal dry density is around 2 t/m3;the optimal water content is between 9.8% and 14.5% and the CBR index is between 27 and 82. The Songololo-Lufu lateritic gravels are characteristic of laterites in the savannah region, with a high gravel fraction at the expense of the fine fraction, but low parameters such as the liquid limit and plasticity index.

BIO-INSPIRED SELF-ADAPTIVE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM CONTROL ARCHITECTURE

Future manufacturing systems need to cope with frequent changes and disturbances, therefore their control architectures require constant adaptability, agility, stability, self-organization, intelligence, and robustness. Bio-inspired manufacturing system can well satisfy these requirements. For this purpose, by referencing the biological organization structure and the mechanism, a bio-inspired manufacturing cell is presented from a novel view, and then a bio-inspired self-adaptive manufacturing model is established based on the ultra-short feedback mechanism of the neuro-endocrine system. A hio-inspired self-adaptive manufacturing system coordinated model is also established based on the neuro-endocrine-immunity system （NEIS）. Finally, an example based on pheromone communication mechanism indicates that the robustness of the whole manufacturing system is improved by bio-inspired technologies.

Formation Control for Water-Jet USV Based on Bio-Inspired Method

The formation control problem for underactuated unmanned surface vehicles(USVs) is addressed by a distributed strategy based on virtual leader strategy. The control system takes account of disturbance induced by external environment. With the coordinate transformation, the advantage of the proposed scheme is that the control point can be any point of the ship instead of the center of gravity. By introducing bio-inspired model, the formation control problem is addressed with backstepping method. This avoids complicated computation, simplifies the control law,and smoothes the input signals. The system uniform ultimate boundness is proven by Lyapunov stability theory with Young inequality. Simulation results are presented to verify the effectiveness and robust of the proposed controller.

Nanoscale All-Oxide-Heterostructured Bio-inspired Optoresponsive Nociceptor

Retina nociceptor,as a key sensory receptor,not only enables the transport of warning signals to the human central nervous system upon its exposure to noxious stimuli,but also triggers the motor response that minimizes potential sensitization.In this study,the capability of two-dimensional all-oxide-heterostructured artificial nociceptor as a single device with tunable properties was confirmed.Newly designed nociceptors utilize ultra-thin sub-stoichiometric TiO2–Ga2O3 heterostructures,where the thermally annealed Ga2O3 films play the role of charge transfer controlling component.It is discovered that the phase transformation in Ga2O3 is accompanied by substantial jump in conductivity,induced by thermally assisted internal redox reaction of Ga2O3 nanostructure during annealing.It is also experimentally confirmed that the charge transfer in alloxide heterostructures can be tuned and controlled by the heterointerfaces manipulation.Results demonstrate that the engineering of heterointerfaces of two-dimensional(2D)films enables the fabrication of either high-sensitive TiO2–Ga2O3(Ar)or high-threshold TiO2–Ga2O3(N2)nociceptors.The hypersensitive nociceptor mimics the functionalities of corneal nociceptors of human eye,whereas the delayed reaction of nociceptor is similar to high-threshold nociceptive characteristics of human sensory system.The long-term stability of 2D nociceptors demonstrates the capability of heterointerfaces engineering for e ective control of charge transfer at 2D heterostructured devices.

Influence of bio-inspired flow channel designs on the performance of a PEM fuel cell

Performance of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)is appreciably affected by the channel geometry.The branching structure of a plant leaf and human lung is an efficient network to distribute the nutrients in the respective systems.The same nutrient transport system can be mimicked in the flow channel design of a PEMFC,to aid even reactant distribution and better water management.In this work,the effect of bio-inspired flow field designs such as lung and leaf channel design bipolar plates,on the performance of a PEMFC was examined experimentally at various operating conditions.A PEMFC of 49 cm2 area,with a Nafion 212 membrane with a 40%catalyst loading of 0.4 mg·cm-2 on the anode side and also 0.6 mg·cm-2 on the cathode side is assembled by incorporating the bio-inspired channel bipolar plate,and was tested on a programmable fuel-cell test station.The impact of the working parameters like reactants’relative humidity(RH),back pressure and fuel cell temperature on the performance of the fuel cell was examined;the operating pressure remains constant at 0.1 MPa.It was observed that the best performance was attained at a back pressure of 0.3 MPa,75°C operating temperature and 100%RH.The three flow channels were also compared at different operating pressures ranging from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa,and the other parameters such as operating temperature,RH and back pressure were set as 75°C,100%and 0.3 MPa.The experimental outcomes of the PEMFC with bio-inspired channels were compared with the experimental results of a conventional triple serpentine flow field.It was observed that among the different flow channel designs considered,the leaf channel design gives the best output in terms of power density.Further,the experimental results of the leaf channel design were compared with those of the interdigitated leaf channel design.The PEMFC with the interdigitated leaf channel design was found to generate 6.72%more power density than the non-interdigitated leaf channel design.The fuel cell with interdigitated leaf channel design generated5.58%more net power density than the fuel cell with non-interdigitated leaf channel design after considering the parasitic losses.

A Bio-Inspired Flapping-Wing Robot With Cambered Wings and Its Application in Autonomous Airdrop

Flapping-wing flight, as the distinctive flight method retained by natural flying creatures, contains profound aerodynamic principles and brings great inspirations and encouragements to drone developers. Though some ingenious flapping-wing robots have been designed during the past two decades, development and application of autonomous flapping-wing robots are less successful and still require further research. Here, we report the development of a servo-driven bird-like flapping-wing robot named USTBird-I and its application in autonomous airdrop.Inspired by birds, a camber structure and a dihedral angle adjustment mechanism are introduced into the airfoil design and motion control of the wings, respectively. Computational fluid dynamics simulations and actual flight tests show that this bionic design can significantly improve the gliding performance of the robot, which is beneficial to the execution of the airdrop mission.Finally, a vision-based airdrop experiment has been successfully implemented on USTBird-I, which is the first demonstration of a bird-like flapping-wing robot conducting an outdoor airdrop mission.

Bio-inspired geomagnetic navigation method for autonomous underwater vehicle

This paper presents a bio-inspired geomagnetic navigation method for autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV) without using any a priori geomagnetic information. Firstly, the multi-objective search problem is raised. Secondly, the geomagnetic navigation model is established by constructing a cost function. Then, by taking into consideration the biological magneto-taxis movement behavior for the geomagnetic environment stimulus, the multiobjective evolutionary search algorithm is derived to describe the search process. Finally, compared to the state-of-the-art, the proposed method presents better robustness. The simulation results demonstrate the reliability and feasibility of the proposed method.

PVC gel bio-inspired adhesives with variable modulus and its application in a gripper

Inspired by the microstructure of gecko’s toe,two kinds of polyvinyl chloride(PVC)gels with different modulus were poured on a silicon mold with micropillars,and then a bio-inspired adhesive with variable modulus was manufactured in this study.The adhesions of variable modulus and fixed modulus bio-inspired adhesives were tested,respectively,on a smooth glass and a printed circuit board(PCB)with different surface structures.The results show that PVC gel bio-inspired adhesives with variable modulus have many advantages compared with the fixed modulus bioinspired adhesives.The adhesion of variable modulus bio-inspired adhesives on the rough PCB surface increased by 2−5 times,and due to the use of variable modulus of PVC gel,the surface micropillars can maintain high aspect ratio and flexible tips at the same time.Moreover,the use of PVC gel makes it easier to demold during the bio-inspired adhesives preparation.An adhesion-desorption device was made according to the movement of the gecko toes,and the PCB was successfully grasped.

Design and Fuel Consumption Optimization for a Bio-Inspired Semi-floating Hybrid Vehicle

Based on a bionic concept and combing air-cushion techniques and track driving mechanisms, a novel semi-floating hybrid concept vehicle is proposed to meet the transportation requirements on soft terrain. First, the vehicle scheme and its improved duel-spring flexible suspension design are described. Then, its fuel consumption model is proposed accordingly with respect to two vehicle operating parameters. Aiming at minimizing the fuel consumption, two Genetic Algorithms （GAs） are designed and implemented. For the initial one （GA-1）, despite getting an acceptable result, there still existed some problems in its optimiza- tion process. Based on an analysis of the defects of GA-1, an improved algorithm GA-2 was developed whose effectiveness and stability were embodied in the optimization process and results. The proposed design scheme and optimization approaches can provide valuable references for this new kind of vehicle with industry, military or scientific exploitations, etc. promising applications in the areas of agriculture, petroleum industry, military or scientific explaitations, etc.

Layout design and application of 4D-printing bio-inspired structures with programmable actuators

Four-dimensional(4D)printing is an advanced form of three-dimensional(3D)printing with controllable and programmable shape transformation over time.Actuators are used as a controlling factor with multi-stage shape recovery,with emerging opportunities to customize the mechanical properties of bio-inspired structures.The print pattern of shape memory polymer(SMP)fbers strongly afects the achievable resolution,and consequently infuences several other physical and mechanical properties of fabricated actuators.However,the deformations of bio-inspired structures due to actuator layout are more complex because of the presence of the coupling of multi-directional strain.In this study,the initial structure was designed from closed-shell behavior and divided into a general unit and actuator unit,the latter responsible for driving the transformation.Mutual stress confrontation between the actuator and the general unit was considered in the layout thermodynamic model,in order to eliminate the transformation produced by the uncontrolled shape memory behavior of the general unit.Three critical and efective strategies for the layout design of actuators were proposed and then applied to achieve the desired accurate deformation of 3D-printed bilayer structures.Finally,the proposed approach was validated and adopted for fabricating a complex shell-like gripper structure.

An Efficient Bio-inspired Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst:MnO_(x)Nanosheets Incorporated Iron Phthalocyanine Functionalized Graphene

Oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)catalysts play a critical role in energy storage and conversion devices and have been attracted enormous interests,and however,it remains challenging to develop highly active cheap catalysts in a simple and green route.Inspired by the heme-copper oxidases(HOCs),in which the ORR active center is originated from the incorporation of Fe-N_(4)with copper atom,we here developed a fine manganese oxide nanosheets(MnO_(x)NSs)integrated with iron phthalocyanine(FePc)anchored on highly conductive graphene(MnO_(x)/FePc-G)through a green route only involve ethanol as the reagent.The bio-inspired catalyst MnO_(x)/Fe Pc-G demonstrated high ORR activity with a half-wave potential(E_(1/2))of 0.887 V,about 57 mV more positive than that of Pt/C.And the current density(j)at 0.9 V is about 1.9 m A cm^(-2),which is three times of Pt/C and FePc-G.More importantly,the bio-inspired systems show superior stability in comparison to commercial Pt/C,showing a potential of 0.863 V to deliver a j of 3 mA cm^(-2)after 18000 s polarization,about 80 mV higher than that of 0.783 V for Pt/C.The high activity is contributed by the integration of the Fe Pc and MnO_(x)NSs that plays the role to assist the cleavage of the O_(2)bond.Our approach provides a new evidence to develop highly efficient ORR catalysts through imitate the naturally involved systems through a simple route.