An iterated local coordinate-exchange algorithm for constructing experimental designs for multi-dimensional constrained spaces

Iterated local search(ILS)is used to construct the optimal experimental designs for multi-dimensional constrained spaces,in which the inner loop is based on the stochastic coordinate-exchange(SCE)algorithm.Every time a local optimal solution is found by the SCE algorithm,the perturbation operator is applied to it,and then a new solution is explored in the areas where the exchange of coordinates may produce improvement,so as to retain the features and attributes of the current optimal solution and avoid the defects of random restart.We implement the iterated local coordinate-exchange algorithm for experimental designs in the multi-dimensional constrained spaces.In addition,sensitivity analysis was conducted to analyze the impacts of the parameters on the performance of the proposed algorithm.Also we compared the performance of the proposed algorithm to the SCE algorithm using the random restart strategy.The analysis shows that the proposed algorithm is better than the SCE algorithm in terms of efficiency and quality,especially in the experimental designs for high-dimensional constrained space.

Optimization of Center of Gravity Position and Anti-Wave Plate Angle of Amphibious Unmanned Vehicle Based on Orthogonal Experimental Method

When the amphibious vehicle navigates in water,the angle of the anti-wave plate and the position of the center of gravity greatly influence the navigation characteristics.In the relevant research on reducing the navigation resistance of amphibious vehicles by adjusting the angle of the anti-wave plate,there is a lack of scientific selection of parameters and reasonable research of simulation results by using mathematical methods,and the influence of the center of gravity position on navigation characteristics is not considered at the same time.To study the influence of the combinations of the angle of the anti-wave plate and the position of the center of gravity on the resistance reduction characteristics,a numerical calculation model of the amphibious unmanned vehicle was established by using the theory of computational fluid dynamics,and the experimental data verified the correctness of the numerical model.Based on this numerical model,the navigation characteristics of the amphibious unmanned vehicle were studied when the center of gravity was located at different positions,and the orthogonal experimental design method was used to optimize the parameters of the angle of the anti-wave plate and the position of the center of gravity.The results show that through the parameter optimization analysis based on the orthogonal experimental method,the combination of the optimal angle of the anti-wave plate and the position of the center of gravity is obtained.And the numerical simulation result of resistance is consistent with the predicted optimal solution.Compared with the maximum navigational resistance,the parameter optimization reduces the navigational resistance of the amphibious unmanned vehicle by 24%.

A Mixed-Variable Experimental Design Method

Mixed-variable problems are inevitable in engineering. However, few researches pay attention to discrete variables. This paper proposed a mixed-variable experimental design method (ODCD): first, the design variables were divided into discrete variables and continuous variables;then, the DVD method was employed for handling discrete variables, the LHD method was applied for continuous variables, and finally, a Columnwise-Pairwise Algorithm was used for the overall optimization of the design matrix. Experimental results demonstrated that the ODCD method outperforms in terms of the sample space coverage performance.

Designing an Experimental Device for Swinging Excitation Spray Cooling

In this paper,we introduce the design principle of the oscillating excited spray cooling experimental device.We then designed an oscillating excited spray cooling experimental device.By using the device,the swaying motion can be realized through the control system,and the motion of the droplet under different vibration frequencies can be observed.By measuring the liquid flow rate and pressure,the changes in liquid flow rate,pressure,and temperature with time under different vibration frequencies were studied.The trajectory of the droplet and the temperature distribution of the droplet under different vibration frequencies could be observed.The device has a simple structure,is easy to control,and can achieve continuous observation of the spray cooling process.

A Spider Monkey Optimization Algorithm Combining Opposition-Based Learning and Orthogonal Experimental Design

As a new bionic algorithm,Spider Monkey Optimization(SMO)has been widely used in various complex optimization problems in recent years.However,the new space exploration power of SMO is limited and the diversity of the population in SMO is not abundant.Thus,this paper focuses on how to reconstruct SMO to improve its performance,and a novel spider monkey optimization algorithm with opposition-based learning and orthogonal experimental design(SMO^(3))is developed.A position updatingmethod based on the historical optimal domain and particle swarmfor Local Leader Phase(LLP)andGlobal Leader Phase(GLP)is presented to improve the diversity of the population of SMO.Moreover,an opposition-based learning strategy based on self-extremum is proposed to avoid suffering from premature convergence and getting stuck at locally optimal values.Also,a local worst individual elimination method based on orthogonal experimental design is used for helping the SMO algorithm eliminate the poor individuals in time.Furthermore,an extended SMO^(3)named CSMO^(3)is investigated to deal with constrained optimization problems.The proposed algorithm is applied to both unconstrained and constrained functions which include the CEC2006 benchmark set and three engineering problems.Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed algorithm is better than three well-known SMO algorithms and other evolutionary algorithms in unconstrained and constrained problems.

Factorial Experimental Design to Study the Effects of Layers and Fiber Content on Concrete Flexural Behavior

Experimentation has come a long in helping researchers achieve breakthroughs in their different scientific areas and engineering happens to be one of those areas with the most impact from experimental advancement. The need for valid experimental results free from biases and confounding conclusions has prompted the development of new experimental techniques that takes consideration of all applicable factor and combinations in providing answers on a research topic, and the Factorial Experimental design credited to Sir Ronald Fisher is one technique yielding highly valid results. This paper uses the factorial design of experiments to research the flexural impact of polyvinyl acetate fiber and layered concrete in construction. The experiment considered two levels of fiber contents and two levels of layers, and prepared samples with all combinations of the variable factors. The samples were tested after 7 days from casting for flexural strength and an advance statistical analysis was performed on the flexural responses of the samples using R-program. The results from the analyses revealed the significance of the variables to the flexural strength of the samples, as well as their interactions. The experiment concluded that based on the number of layers and fiber content used for the experiment, casting concrete in layers does have a significant negative effect on the flexural strength of concrete, and the failure pattern of concrete members under flexural load in evidently influenced by the material composition of the concrete, and that it can be evidently influenced by casting the concrete in layers.

The Study of Optimizing Reservoir Model Using Experimental Design in Stochastic Models

In response to the main problems in commonly used model selection methods,a method was proposed to apply the concept of experimental design to the optimization of uncertain reservoir models.Firstly,based on the actual situation of the oil field,the uncertain variables were determined that affect the geological reserves of the model and their possible range of variation,and experimental design was used to determine the modeling plan.Then,multiple geological models were established and reserves were calculated,and multiple regression was performed between uncertain variables and the corresponding geological reserves of the model.Finally,Monte Carlo simulation technology was applied to determine the parameters of the P10,P50,and P90 models for probabilistic reserves,and P10,P50,and P90 models were established.This method is not only more objective and time-saving in the application process,but also can determine the main geological variables that affect geological reserves,providing a new idea for evaluating the uncertainty of geological reserves.

Experimental Design for Computer System Platform Course

The computer system platform course is a comprehensive platform course formed by modifying and optimizing the content of the relevant basic courses of computer major to meet the requirement for basic computer knowledge in digital media technology major.The scope and extent of the course content make its experimental design more challenging.By considering the scope of contents,the difficulty of experiments,and the rationality of intrinsic logic,the experiments covering from operating system to computer network are designed.The relevance and continuity of the experiments are ensured,so as to achieve the goals of promoting students’understanding of key concepts,improving their hands-on ability,cultivating their interest,and guiding their self-learning within the limited class time.

Synthesis of boron nitride nanorod and its performance as a metalfree catalyst for oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuel

In order to reduce the sulfur compounds in diesel fuel,boron nitride(BN)has been used as a novel metal-free catalyst in the present research.This nanocatalyst was synthesized via template-free approach followed by heating treatment at 900℃ in nitrogen atmosphere that the characteristics of the sample were identified by the X-ray diffraction,Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy,Raman spectroscopy,field emission scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,atomic force microscopy,and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms.The results of structural and morphological analysis represented that BN has been successfully synthesized.The efficacy of the main operating parameters on the process was studied by using response surface methodology based on the Box-Behnken design method.The prepared catalyst showed high efficiency in oxidative desulfurization of diesel fuel with initial sulfur content of 8040 mg·kg^(-1)S.From statistical analysis,a significant quadratic model was obtained to predict the sulfur removal as a function of efficient parameters.The maximum efficiency of 72.4%was achieved under optimized conditions at oxidant/sulfur molar ratio of 10.2,temperature of 71℃,reaction time of 113 min,and catalyst dosage of 0.36 g.Also,the reusability of the BN was studied,and the result showed little reduction in activity of the catalyst after 10 times regeneration.Moreover,a plausible mechanism was proposed for oxidation of sulfur compounds on the surface of the catalyst.The present study shows that BN materials can be selected as promising metal-free catalysts for desulfurization process.

Adsorption of Malachite Green Using Activated Carbon from Mangosteen Peel: Optimization Using Box-Behnken Design

In this research,activated carbon from mangosteen peel has been synthesized using sulfuric acid as an activator.The adsorption performance of the activated carbon was optimized using malachite green dye as absorbate.Mala-chite green dye waste is a toxic and non-biodegradable material that damages the environment.Optimization of adsorption processes was carried out using Response Surface Methodology(RSM)with a Box-Behnken Design(BBD).The synthesized activated carbon was characterized using FTIR and SEM instruments.The FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of a sulfonate group(-SO_(3)H)in the activated carbon,indicating that the activation pro-cess using sulfuric acid was successful.SEM characterization shows that activated carbon has porous morphology.Optimization was carried out for three adsorption parameters,namely contact time(20,60,and 120 min),adsor-bent mass(0.005,0.025,and 0.05 g),and initial concentration of malachite green solution(5,50,and 100 mg·L^(-1)).The concentration of the malachite green solution was determined using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer at the max-imum wavelength of malachite green,618 nm.The optimum of malachite green adsorption using mangosteen peel activated carbon was obtained at a contact time of 80 min,an adsorbent mass of 0.032 g,and malachite green initial concentration of 25 mg·L^(-1),with a maximum removal percentage and maximum adsorption capacity of 93.66%and 19.345 mg·g^(-1),respectively.

Clinical/Behavioral Monitoring of Rodents and Rabbits Undergoing Scientific Experiments

Background: We currently have international and national guidelines regarding the assessment and monitoring of clinical signs and humane endpoints in animals used in teaching and research, which make the performance of these activities mandatory for any experiment and professional working in this area. Assigning the severity of a research experiment is the result of an analysis of records of observations of the animal’s behavior, and clinical signs. The aim of this study was to describe the importance of carrying out a severity assessment associated with clinical and behavioral monitoring of rodents and rabbits during experimentation to maintain the welfare of these animals undergoing scientific research. Methods: The literature search was carried out using the following terms: “Monitoring”;“Humane endpoints”;“Animal welfare”, “Rodents”;“Rabbits”, and as connectors “and”;“or”, in the following databases: PubMed;LILACS/BIREME and SciELO. Results: A total of 987 articles were identified in the databases, and 20 of these studies were included in this review. Conclusions: Humane endpoint protocols and procedure severity tables are of the utmost importance, both from an ethical point and to refine the results of research conducted on laboratory animals. They should be drawn up jointly by the teams responsible for the project and the maintenance of the animals during the research period, and the data obtained should be published so that the scientific community can have access to it, helping to disseminate these practices, as well as helping to draw up new procedures. Monitoring and evaluating the welfare and clinical condition of animals undergoing scientific research procedures is the responsibility of the professors, researchers, veterinarians, and animal facility coordinators. The Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals must monitor all the activities conducted with the animals, by inspecting the experimental procedures and the physical environment of the laboratory animal facility where the animals are housed.

Evaluation of Moving Grid Adjustment (MGA) Method in Field Variation Control

Spatial variation is often encountered when large scale field trials are conducted which can result in biased estimation or prediction of treatment (i.e. genotype) values. An effective removal of spatial variation is needed to ensure unbiased estimation or prediction and thus increase the accuracy of field data evaluation. A moving grid adjustment (MGA) method, which was proposed by Technow, was evaluated through Monte Carlo simulation for its statistical properties regarding field spatial variation control. Our simulation results showed that the MGA method can effectively account for field spatial variation if it does exist;however, this method will not change phenotype results if field spatial variation does not exist. The MGA method was applied to a large-scale cotton field trial data set with two representative agronomic traits: lint yield (strong field spatial pattern) and lint percentage (no field spatial pattern). The results suggested that the MGA method was able to effectively separate the spatial variation including blocking effects from random error variation for lint yield while the adjusted data remained almost identical to the original phenotypic data. With application of the MGA method, the estimated variance for residuals was significantly reduced (62.2% decrease) for lint yield while more genetic variation (29.7% increase) was detected compared to the original data analysis subject to the conventional randomized complete block design analysis. On the other hand, the results were almost identical for lint percentage with and without the application of the MGA method. Therefore, the MGA method can be a useful addition to enhance data analysis when field spatial pattern exists.

Modelling of the Resin Penetration Rate into the Archaeological Wood Cell Wall： The Methodology of Experimental Design

The penetration modeling of an adhesive into the fiber requires the measurement of various properties of resin and fiber： the resin viscosity, its surface tension, the penetration depth and the timber pore radius. This study is based on the screening technique that identifies the factors sensed by the experimenter. In order to determine the optimum processing conditions and find the combination of parameters that maximize the productivity in the experimental phase, a geometric illustration of the response has been made. The results are： the pores radius （4 μm）, surface tension （62.5 mN/m）, depth （10 μm） and viscosity （2,000 Cp）.

The Statistical Experimental Design for Chemical Reactors Modeling

The Statistical Experimental Design techniques are the most powerful tools for the chemical reactors experimental modeling. Empirical models can be formulated for representing the chemical behavior of reactors with the minimal effort in the necessary number of experimental runs, hence, minimizing the consumption of chemicals and the consumption of time due to the reduction in the number of experimental runs and increasing the certainty of the results. Four types of nonthermal plasma reactors were assayed seeking for the highest efficiency in obtaining hydrogen and ethylene. Three different geometries for AC high voltage driven reactors, and only a single geometry for a DC high voltage pulse driven reactor were studied. According to the fundamental principles of chemical kinetics and considering an analogy among the reaction rate and the applied power to the plasma reactor, the four reactors are modeled following the classical chemical reactors design to understand if the behavior of the nonthermal plasma reactors can be regarded as the chemical reactors following the flow patterns of PFR (Plug Flow Reactor) or CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor). Dehydrogenation is a common elimination reaction that takes place in nonthermal plasmas. Owing to this characteristic, a paraffinic heavy oil with an average molecular weight corresponding to C15 was used to study the production of light olefins and hydrogen.

Application of orthogonal experimental design and Tikhonov regularization method for the identification of parameters in the casting solidification process

The inverse heat conduction method is one of methods to identify the casting simulation parameters. A new inverse method was presented according to the Tikhonov regularization theory. One appropriate regularized functional was established, and the functional was solved by the sensitivity coefficient and Newtonaphson iteration method. Moreover, the orthogonal experimental design was used to estimate the appropriate initial value and variation domain of each variable to decrease the number of iteration and improve the identification accuracy and efficiency. It illustrated a detailed case of AlSiTMg sand mold casting and the temperature measurement experiment was done. The physical properties of sand mold and the interracial heat transfer coefficient were identified at the meantime. The results indicated that the new regularization method was efficient in overcoming the ill-posedness of the inverse heat conduction problem and improving the stability and accuracy of the solutions.

Application of experimental design in optimization of crude oil adsorption from saline waste water using raw bagasse

Experimental design was applied in the optimization of crude oil adsorption from saline waste water using raw bagasse.The application of response surface methodology(RSM) was presented with temperature,salinity of water,pH,adsorbent dose,and initial oil content as factors.A quadratic model could be used to approximate the mathematical relationship of crude oil removal on the five significant independent variables.Predicted values and experimental values are found to be in good agreement with R2 of 97.44%.The result of optimization shows that the maximum crude oil removal is equal to 67.38% under the optimal condition of temperature of 46.53 °C,salinity of 37.2 g/L,pH of 3,adsorbent dose of 9 g/L and initial oil content of 300×10-6.

Experimentally Determining Bloch Parameters of Hamiltonian for Single-Qubit Systems

By considering the identification problem of unknown but fixed Hamiltonian H = S0σ0 ＋∑i=x,y,z Siσi where σi （i = x, y, z） are pauli matrices and σ0=I, we explore the feasibility and limitation of empirically determining the Hamiltonian parameters for quantum systems under experimental conditions imposed by projective measurements and initialization procedures. It may be unsurprising to physicists that one can not obtain the knowledge of So no matter what kind of projective measurements and initialization are permitted, but the observation draws our attention to the importance of the parameter identifiability under different experimental condition. It has also been revealed that one can obtain the knowledge of ｜Sz｜ and Sx^2＋Sy^2 at most when only the projective measurement {｜0/（0｜, ｜1/（1｜} is permitted to perform on and initialize the qubit. Further more, we demonstrated that it is feasible to distinguish ｜Sx｜, ｜Sy｜, and ｜Sz｜ even without any a priori information about Hamiltonian if at least two kinds of projective measurement or initialization procedures are permitted. It should be emphasized that both projective measurements and initialization procedures play an important role in quantum system identification.

New HPLC Method with Experimental Design and Fluorescence Detection for Analytical Study of Antihypertensive Mixture,Amlodipine and Valsartan

New HPLC method was developed for determination of amlodipine and valsartan in their binary mixture as a part of routine control of combined formulations. The method was validated to meet official requirements including selectivity, stability, linearity, precision and accuracy. Chromatography was carried out using a LiChrospher RP-18 column, a mixture containing acetonitrile, phosphate buffer of pH 3.5 and methanol (45:45:10, v/v/v) and new fluorescence detection at 255 nm for excitation and 448 nm for emission. The effect of methanol content, pH of the buffer, flow rate, detection wavelengths and column temperature was estimated in robustness study, according to a plan defined by the Plackett-Burman design. For identification of significant effects, both graphical and statistical methods were used. Ro-bustness for dissolution test was checked estimating the effects of paddle speed, temperature and pH of dissolution medium. The method was proved to complying with all official guidelines. Therefore, it is suitable for determination of amlodipine and valsartan in their binary mixtures for different analytical and pharmaceutical purposes.

Systematical approach in evaluation of LC method for determination of raloxifene hydrochloride and its impurities employing experimental design

Method validation presents a detailed investigation of analytical method and provision of the evidence that the method, when correctly applied, produces results that fit to the purpose. In order to achieve the method validation scope efficiently, experimental design presents a very useful tool. The greatest benefits of such approach could be seen in robustness testing through the provision of very useful data about the control of the chromatograp6hic system during the routine application. In this paper, robustness testing of the LC method proposed for the determination of raloxifene hydrochloride and its four impurities was done employing Plackett-Burman design. Applying this design, the effect of five real factors （acetonitrile content, sodium dodecyl sulfate content, column temperature, pH of the mobile phase and flow rate） on the corresponding resolution factors was investigated through twelve experiments. Furthermore, the insignificance intervals for significant factors were calculated and the parameters for system suitability tests were defined. Eventually, the other validation parameters were tested and the effectiveness of the proposed analytical method with a high degree of accuracy was confirmed.

EFFECTS OF REACTION AND PROCESSING PARAMETERS ON ETHYLENE POLYMERIZATION USING DIFFERENT ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYSTS:EMPLOYMENT OF TAGUCHI EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND RESPONSE SURFACE METHOD

Different Ziegler-Natta catalysts were employed to polymerize ethylene. To investigate the influences of reaction parameters, namely Al/Ti molar ratio, hydrogen and processing parameters, i.e. ethylene pressure and temperature, a Taguchi experimental design was worked out. An L27 orthogonal array was chosen to take the above-mentioned parameters and relevant interactions into account. Response surface method was the tool used to analyze the experimental design results. Al/Ti, ethylene pressure and temperature were selected as experimental design factors, and catalyst activity and polymerization yield were the response parameters. Increasing pressure, due to an increment in monomer accessibility, and rising Al/Ti, because of higher reduction in the catalysts, cause an increase in both polymerization yield and catalyst activity. Nonetheless, a higher temperature, thanks to reducing ethylene solubility in the slurry medium and partially catalyst destruction, lead to a reduction in both response parameters. A synergistic effect was also observed between temperature and pressure. All catalyst activities will reduce in the presence of hydrogen. Molecular weight also shows a decline in the presence of hydrogen as a transfer agent. However, the polydispersity index remains approximately intact. Using SEM, various morphologies, owing to different catalyst morphologies, were seen for the polyethylene.