Parameter sensitivity analysis for a biochemically-based photosynthesis model

A challenge for the development of Land Surface Models(LSMs) is improving transpiration of water exchange and photosynthesis of carbon exchange between terrestrial plants and the atmosphere, both of which are governed by stoma in leaves. In the photosynthesis module of these LSMs, variations of parameters arising from diversity in plant functional types(PFTs) and climate remain unclear. Identifying sensitive parameters among all photosynthetic parameters before parameter estimation can not only reduce operation cost, but also improve the usability of photosynthesis models worldwide. Here, we analyzed 13 parameters of a biochemically-based photosynthesis model(FvCB), implemented in many LSMs, using two sensitivity analysis(SA) methods(i.e., the Sobol’ method and the Morris method) for setting up the parameter ensemble. Three different model performance metrics, i.e.,Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE), Nash Sutcliffe efficiency(NSE), and Standard Deviation(STDEV) were introduced for model assessment and sensitive parameters identification. The results showed that among all photosynthetic parameters only a small portion of parameters were sensitive, and the sensitive parameters were different across plant functional types: maximum rate of Rubisco activity(Vcmax25), maximum electron transport rate(Jmax25), triose phosphate use rate(TPU) and dark respiration in light(Rd) were sensitive in broad leafevergreen trees(BET), broad leaf-deciduous trees(BDT) and needle leaf-evergreen trees(NET), while only Vcmax25and TPU are sensitive in short vegetation(SV), dwarf trees and shrubs(DTS), and agriculture and grassland(AG). The two sensitivity analysis methods suggested a strong SA coherence;in contrast, different model performance metrics led to different SA results. This misfit suggests that more accurate values of sensitive parameters, specifically, species specific and seasonal variable parameters, are required to improve the performance of the FvCB model.

Fuzzy finite difference method for heat conduction analysis with uncertain parameters

A new numerical technique named as fuzzy finite difference method is proposed to solve the heat conduction problems with fuzzy uncertainties in both the phys- ical parameters and initial/boundary conditions. In virtue of the level-cut method, the difference discrete equations with fuzzy parameters are equivalently transformed into groups of interval equations. New stability analysis theory suited to fuzzy difference schemes is developed. Based on the parameter perturbation method, the interval ranges of the uncertain temperature field can be approximately predicted. Subsequently, fuzzy solutions to the original difference equations are obtained by the fuzzy resolution theorem. Two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the presented method for solving both steady-state and transient heat conduction problems.

Rigorous back analysis of shear strength parameters of landslide slip

A rigorous back analysis of shear strength parameters of landslide slip was presented. Kinematical element method was adopted to determine factor of safety and critical failure surface, which overcomes the disadvantage of limit equilibrium method. The theoretical relationship between the combination of shear strength parameters and stability state was studied. The results show that the location of critical slip surface, F/tan f and F/c depend only on the value of c/tan f. The failure surface moves towards the inside of slope as c/tan f increases. According to the information involving factor of safety and critical failure surface in a specific cross-section, strength parameters can be back calculated based on the above findings. Three examples were given for demonstrating the validity of the present method. The shear strength parameters obtained by back analysis are almost consistent with their correct solutions or test results.

Landslide dynamic process and parameter sensitivity analysis by discrete element method: the case of Turnoff Creek rock avalanche

The great diversity and complexity of geological hazards in terms of flowing materials,environment,triggering mechanisms and physical processes during the flow bring great difficulties to the numerical parameter selection for the discrete element method.In order to identity the significance of individual parameters on the landslides dynamic process and provide valuable contribution to the runout analysis of similar landslide,the dynamic process and associated microscopic mechanism of the Turnoff Creek rock avalanche in Canada are simulated.The present numerical results are compared with the field survey data and the results of depth-integrated continuum method.The final deposit range matches well with the field survey data.It is illustrated that the discrete element method is robust and feasible to capture the dynamic characteristics of large rock avalanche over a complex terrain.Besides,a new method to assess the landslide hazard level based on the discrete element method is proposed.According to the parameter sensitivity analysis,it is demonstrated that the basal friction coefficient and bond strength are essential to the final deposit while rolling coefficient and restitution coefficient have little effects on it.

Two-dimensional Parameter Relationships for W UMa-type Systems Revisited

Reviewing the empirical and theoretical parameter relationships between various parameters is a good way to understand more about contact binary systems.In this investigation,two-dimensional(2D)relationships for P–MV(system),P–L1,2,M1,2–L1,2,and q–Lratiowere revisited.The sample used is related to 118 contact binary systems with an orbital period shorter than 0.6 days whose absolute parameters were estimated based on the Gaia Data Release 3 parallax.We reviewed previous studies on 2D relationships and updated six parameter relationships.Therefore,Markov chain Monte Carlo and Machine Learning methods were used,and the outcomes were compared.We selected 22 contact binary systems from eight previous studies for comparison,which had light curve solutions using spectroscopic data.The results show that the systems are in good agreement with the results of this study.

Probabilistic model and analysis of coupled train-ballasted track-subgrade system with uncertain structural parameters

Random dynamic responses caused by the uncertainty of structural parameters of the coupled train-ballasted track-subgrade system under train loading can pose safety concerns to the train operation.This paper introduced a computational model for analyzing probabilistic dynamic responses of three-dimensional(3D)coupled train-ballasted track-subgrade system(TBTSS),where the coupling effects of uncertain rail irregularities,stiffness and damping properties of ballast and subgrade layers were simultaneously considered.The number theoretical method(NTM)was employed to design discrete points for the multi-dimensional stochastic parameters.The time-histories of stochastic dynamic vibrations of the TBSS with systematically uncertain structural parameters were calculated accurately and efficiently by employing the probability density evolution method(PDEM).The model-predicted results were consistent with those by the Monte Carlo simulation method.A sensitivity study was performed to assess the relative importance of those uncertain structural parameters,based on which a case study was presented to explore the stochastic probability evolution mechanism of such train-ballasted track-subgrade system.

Improved seismoacoustic analysis model and its application to source parameter inversion of near-surface small-yield chemical explosions

The seismoacoustic analysis method has broad potential applications to source parameter estimation for near-surface explosion events such as industrial explosions and terrorist attacks.In this study,current models were improved by modifying the acoustic model and adopting the Bayesian Markov-chain-Monte-Carlo inversion method.The source parameters of near-surface small-yield chemical explosions were analyzed via the improved seismoacoustic analysis model and by the estimation accuracy of seismoacoustic joint inversion.Estimation and analysis results showed that the improved seismoacoustic analysis model considered ground shock coupling and the impact of explosion products ejecting from the surface so that the improved acoustic impulse relation was more consistent with the measured data than the Ford impulse relation.It is suitable for deep-burial,shallow-burial,and near-surface aerial explosions.Furthermore,trade-off relationships were declined through the application of the improved model to source parameter inversion for near-surface small-yield chemical explosions,and source parameter estimation accuracy was improved.

Calibration and uniqueness analysis of microparameters for DEM cohesive granular material

The differential evolution(DE)algorithm was deployed to calibrate microparameters of the DEM cohesive granular material.4 macroparameters,namely,uniaxial compressive strength,direct tensile strength,Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio,can be calibrated to high accuracy.The best calibration accuracy could reach the sum of relative errors RE_(sum)<0.1%.Most calibrations can be achieved with RE_(sum)<5%within hours or RE_(sum)<1%within 2 days.Based on the calibrated results,microparameters uniqueness analysis was carried out to reveal the correlation between microparameters and the macroscopic mechanical behaviour of material:(1)microparameters effective modulus,tensile strength and normal-to-shear stiffness ratio control the elastic behaviour and stable crack growth,(2)microparameters cohesion and friction angles present a negative linear correlation that controls the axial strain and lateral strain prior to the peak stress,and(3)microparameters friction coefficient controls shear crack friction and slip mainly refers to the unstable crack behaviour.Consideration of more macroparameters to regulate the material mechanical behaviour that is dominated by shear crack and slip motion is highlighted for future study.The DE calibration method is expected to serve as an alternative method to calibrate the DEM cohesive granular material to its peak strength.

Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) microscopic simulation based on random-walk: Theory and parameters analysis

The microscopic response characteristics of nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) are widely used for characterizing complex pore structures of rocks. Due to the prohibitive NMR experiment cost, numerical simulation was employed as an alternative approach to verify some theoretical aspects of NMR responses. Firstly, the basic principles of pore-scale NMR simulation based on random-walk method(RWM) were introduced. The RWM-simulated results were benchmarked with the analytical results for an ideal spherical pore model. Then, the effects of two numerical parameters, namely diffusion radius and walk numbers, were studied on the simulation accuracy. The simulation method is then applied to various pore models with different pore sizes and pore shapes filled with different fluids to study the microscopic NMR response characteristics. The numerical experiments are useful for understanding and interpreting NMR measurements and the simulation code provides a numerical tool to perform pixel-based digital rock analysis.

Sensitivity analysis of distributed parameter elements in high-speed circuit networks

This paper presents an analysis method, based on MacCormack＇s technique, for the evaluation of the time domain sensitivity of distributed parameter elements in high-speed circuit networks. Sensitivities can be calculated from electrical and physical parameters of the distributed parameter elements. The proposed method is a direct numerical method of time-space discretization and does not require complicated mathematical deductive process. Therefore, it is very convenient to program this method. It can be applied to sensitivity analysis of general transmission lines in linear or nonlinear circuit networks. The proposed method is second-order-accurate. Numerical experiment is presented to demonstrate its accuracy and efficiency.

Multi-Parameter Analysis of Optimal Transitions from Chaotic to Stable Regions for Two Classes of Systems

The study of the parameter space of chaotic systems is complicated by its high dimensionality (multi-parametricability). Two approaches to the study of chaotic systems are presented: multi-parameter analysis and optimal suppression of chaotic dynamics. For non-autonomous chaotic systems, this is the way to compare the effectiveness of various correction parameters that provide optimal removal of irregular dynamics. For the class of autonomous chaotic systems, this is the way to investigate the optimal conditions of super-stable behavior for the chaotic system.

Long-term deformation analysis of Shuibuya concrete face rockfill dam based on response surface method and improved genetic algorithm

Due to the size effects of rockfill materials, the settlement difference between numerical simulation and in situ monitoring of rockfill dams is a topic of general concern.The constitutive model parameters obtained from laboratory triaxial tests often underestimate the deformation of high rockfill dams.Therefore, constitutive model parameters obtained by back analysis were used to calculate and predict the long-term deformation of rockfill dams.Instead of using artificial neural networks (ANNs), the response surface method (RSM) was employed to replace the finite element simulation used in the optimization iteration.Only 27 training samples were required for RSM, improving computational efficiency compared with ANN, which required 300 training samples.RSM can be used to describe the relationship between the constitutive model parameters and dam settlements.The inversion results of the Shuibuya concrete face rockfill dam (CFRD) show that the calculated settlements agree with the measured data, indicating the accuracy and efficiency of RSM.

Interval Analysis Method on the Buckling of Composite Laminate

A method named interval analysis method, which solves the buckling load of composite laminate with uncertainties, is presented. Based on interval mathematics and Taylor series expansion, the interval analysis method is used to deal with uncertainties. Not necessarily knowing the probabilistic statistics characteristics of the uncertain variables, only little information on physical properties of material is needed in the interval analysis method, that is, the upper bound and lower bound of the uncertain variable. So the interval of response of the structure can be gotten through less computational efforts. The interval analysis method is efficient under the condition that probability approach cannot work well because of small samples and deficient statistics characteristics. For buckling load of a special cross-ply laminates and antisymmetric angle-ply laminates with all edges simply supported, calculations and comparisons between interval analysis method and probability method are performed.

Discussion of Muskingum method parameter X

The parameter X of the Muskingum method is a physical parameter that reflects the flood peak attenuation and hydrograph shape flattening of a diffusion wave in motion. In this paper, the historic process that hydrologists have undergone to find a physical explanation of this parameter is briefly discussed. Based on the fact that the Muskingum method is the second-order accuracy difference solution to the diffusion wave equation, its numerical stability condition is analyzed, and a conclusion is drawn： X ≤ 0.5 is the uniform condition satisfying the demands for its physical meaning and numerical stability. It is also pointed out that the methods that regard the sum of squares of differences between the calculated and observed discharges or stages as the objective function and the routing coefficients C0, C1 and C2 of the Muskingum method as the optimization parameters cannot guarantee the physical meaning of X.

Review of Design of Process Parameters for Squeeze Casting

Squeeze casting(SC)is an advanced net manufacturing process with many advantages for which the quality and properties of the manufactured parts depend strongly on the process parameters.Unfortunately,a universal efficient method for the determination of optimal process parameters is still unavailable.In view of the shortcomings and development needs of the current research methods for the setting of SC process parameters,by consulting and analyzing the recent research literature on SC process parameters and using the CiteSpace literature analysis software,manual reading and statistical analysis,the current state and characteristics of the research methods used for the determination of SC process parameters are summarized.The literature data show that the number of pub-lications in the literature related to the design of SC process parameters generally trends upward albeit with signifi-cant fluctuations.Analysis of the research focus shows that both“mechanical properties”and“microstructure”are the two main subjects in the studies of SC process parameters.With regard to materials,aluminum alloys have been extensively studied.Five methods have been used to obtain SC process parameters:Physical experiments,numeri-cal simulation,modeling optimization,formula calculation,and the use of empirical values.Physical experiments are the main research methods.The main methods for designing SC process parameters are divided into three categories:Fully experimental methods,optimization methods that involve modeling based on experimental data,and theoreti-cal calculation methods that involve establishing an analytical formula.The research characteristics and shortcomings of each method were analyzed.Numerical simulations and model-based optimization have become the new required methods.Considering the development needs and data-driven trends of the SC process,suggestions for the develop-ment of SC process parameter research have been proposed.

Estimating Hansen solubility parameters of organic pigments by group contribution methods

The Hansen solubility parameters(HSP)are frequently used for solvent selection and characterization of polymers,and are directly related to the suspension behavior of pigments in solvent mixtures.The performance of currently available group contribution(GC)methods for HSP were evaluated and found to be insufficient for computer-aided product design(CAPD)of paints and coatings.A revised and,for this purpose,improved GC method is presented for estimating HSP of organic compounds,intended for organic pigments.Due to the significant limitations of GC methods,an uncertainty analysis and parameter confidence intervals are provided in order to better quantify the estimation accuracy of the proposed approach.Compared to other applicable GC methods,the prediction error is reduced significantly with average absolute errors of 0.45 MPa^(1/2),1.35 MPa^(1/2),and 1.09 MPa^(1/2) for the partial dispersion(δD),polar(δP)and hydrogen-bonding(δH)solubility parameters respectively for a database of 1106 compounds.The performance for organic pigments is comparable to the overall method performance,with higher average errors forδD and lower average errors forδP andδH.

Flexural wave bandgap properties of phononic crystal beams with interval parameters

Uncertainties are unavoidable in practical engineering,and phononic crystals are no exception.In this paper,the uncertainties are treated as the interval parameters,and an interval phononic crystal beam model is established.A perturbation-based interval finite element method(P-IFEM)and an affine-based interval finite element method(A-IFEM)are proposed to study the dynamic response of this interval phononic crystal beam,based on which an interval vibration transmission analysis can be easily implemented and the safe bandgap can be defined.Finally,two numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the P-IFEM and A-IFEM.Results show that the safe bandgap range may even decrease by 10%compared with the deterministic bandgap without considering the uncertainties.

Equivalence of Ratio and Residual Approaches in the Homotopy Analysis Method and Some Applications in Nonlinear Science and Engineering

A ratio approach based on the simple ratio test associated with the terms of homotopy series was proposed by the author in the previous publications.It was shown in the latter through various comparative physical models that the ratio approach of identifying the range of the convergence control parameter and also an optimal value for it in the homotopy analysis method is a promising alternative to the classically used h-level curves or to the minimizing the residual(squared)error.A mathematical analysis is targeted here to prove the equivalence of both the ratio approach and the traditional residual approach,especially regarding the root-finding problems via the homotopy analysis method.Examples are provided to further justify this.Moreover,it is conjectured that every nonlinear differential equation can be considered as a root-finding problem by plugging a parameter in it from a physical viewpoint.Two examples from the boundary and initial and value problems are provided to verify this assertion.Hence,besides the advantages as deciphered in the previous publications,the feasibility of the ratio approach over the traditional residual approach is made clearer in this paper.

The Method for Optimum Design of Water Rocket Flight Stability Performance Conditions Using CAE with T Method and Robust Parameter Design

A water rocket is a rocket system that obtains thrust by injecting water with compressed air of up to about 8 atmospheres. It is usually manufactured using a pressure-resistant PET bottle. The mechanical elements and principles contained in the water rocket have much in common with the actual small rocket system, and are suitable as educational and research teaching materials in the field of mechanics. Especially in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation, the use of water rockets is being researched and developed as a rescue tool in the event of a flood or earthquake as a disaster countermeasure. However, since the water rocket is a flying object based on the mechanical principle, it is important to ensure the accuracy and stability of the flight path. In this paper, a mechanical simulator is developed with a numerical calculation program based on the mechanical consideration of water rocket flight performance. In addition, the correlation between the flight distance obtained in the simulation and the estimated flight distance is analyzed by applying a multivariate analysis method and verifying the validity of the flight distance calculated from the result. Based on the verification results, we will apply a statistical optimization method to approach the optimization of flight stability performance conditions for water rockets.

A Mathematical Approach Based on the Homotopy Analysis Method: Application to Solve the Nonlinear Harry-Dym (HD) Equation

In this paper, the homotopy analysis method (HAM) has been employed to obtain the approximate analytical solution of the nonlinear Harry-Dym (HD) equation, which is one of the most important soliton equations. Utilizing the HAM, thereby employing the initial approximation, variations of the 7th-order approximation of the Harry-Dym equation is obtained. It is found that effect of the nonzero auxiliary parameter on convergence rate of the series solution is undeniable. It is also shown that, to some extent, order of the fractional derivative plays a fundamental role in the prediction of convergence. The final results reported by the HAM have been compared with the exact solution as well as those obtained through the other methods.