Assessment of Operational Performance in a Power Generation/Selling Integrated Company Using a Dynamic Proportional Adjustment Coefficient

Currently,the operational performance assessment system in the power market primarily focuses on power generation and electricity retail companies,lacking a system tailored to the operational characteristics of power generation/selling integrated companies.Therefore,this article proposes an assessment index system for assessing the operational performance of a power generation/selling integrated company,encompassing three dimensions:basic capacity,development potential,and external environment.A dynamic proportional adjustment coefficient is designed,along with a subjective and objective weighting model for assessment indexes based on a combined weightingmethod.Subsequently,the operational performance of an integrated company is assessed using extension theory.The results in the case study demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed dynamic proportional adjustment coefficient.

Long-Term Performance and Microstructural Characterization of Dam Concrete in the Three Gorges Project

This study investigates the long-term performance of laboratory dam concrete in different curing environments over ten years and the microstructure of 17-year-old laboratory concrete and actual concrete cores drilled from the Three Gorges Dam.The mechanical properties of the laboratory dam concrete,whether cured in natural or standard environments,continued to improve over time.Furthermore,the laboratory dam concrete exhibited good resistance to diffusion and a refined microstructure after 17 years.However,curing and long-term exposure to the local natural environment reduced the frost resistance.Microstructural analyses of the laboratory concrete samples demonstrated that moderate-heat cement and fine fly ash(FA)particles were almost fully hydrated to form compact micro structures consisting of large quantities of homogeneous calcium(alumino)silicate hydrate(C-(A)-S-H)gels and a few crystals.No obvious interfacial transition zones were observed in the microstructure owing to the longterm pozzolanic reaction.This dense and homogenous microstructure was the crucial reason for the excellent long-term performance of the dam concrete.A high FA volume also played a significant role in the microstructural densification and performance growth of dam concrete at a later age.The concrete drilled from the dam surface exhibited a loose microstructure with higher microporosity,indicating that concrete directly exposed to the actual service environment suffered degradation caused by water and wind attacks.In this study,both macro-performance and microstructural analyses revealed that the application of moderate-heat cement and FA resulted in a dense and homogenous microstructure,which ensured the excellent long-term performance of concrete from the Three Gorges Dam after 17 years.Long-term exposure to an actual service environment may lead to microstructural degradation of the concrete surface.Therefore,the retained long-term dam concrete samples need to be further researched to better understand its microstructural evolution and development of its properties.

Long-term performance of recycled asphalt mixtures containing high RAP and RAS

The application of reclaimed asphalt pavement(RAP)and reclaimed asphalt shingles(RAS)on asphalt pavement can reduce the asphalt paving cost,conserve energy and protect the environment.However,the use of high contents of RAP and RAS in asphalt pavement may lead to durability issues,especially the fatigue cracking and thermal cracking.It is necessary to conduct a series of analyses on asphalt mixtures containing high RAP and RAS,and seek methods to enhance their long-term performance.This paper provides a comprehensive over-view of the long-term performance of recycled asphalt mixtures containing high contents of RAP and RAS.The findings in this research show that rutting resistance of high recycled asphalt mixtures is not a concern,whereas their resistance to fatigue and thermal cracking is not conclusive.Recycling agents can be used to improve the thermal cracking resistance of high recycled asphalt mixtures.An optimum decision on recycling agents will improve the durability properties of high recycled asphalt mixtures.It is recommended that to use a balanced mixture design approach with testing of the blended asphalt binders will provide better understanding of long-term performance of recycled asphalt mixtures containing high RAP and RAS.

An Analysis of the Correlation between Employee Compensation Policies and Operating Performance of Accounting Firms

This paper aims to explore the impact of compensation for employees of different ranks on the overall operating performance of accounting firms(hereinafter referred to as firms)and operating performance of the business markets,and provide reference for decision making by firm managers on employee compensation.The results show that 1)judging by overall operating performance,a firm’s income from professional practice increases as the average annual salary of partner accountants,manager-level heads,professional team heads and professional assistants increases,or the proportion of employees with the CPA qualification rises;the number of cases entrusted to a firm increases as the average annual salary of partner accountants and professional assistants increases,or the proportion of employees with the CPA qualification rises;2)judging by the operating performance of business markets,the income from tax service,management consulting,business registration and other business lines increases as the average annual salary of partner accountants and professional team heads rises;the income from public issue of certification documents,tax service and business registration and other business lines increases as the average annual salary of professional assistants rises;a higher proportion of employees with the CPA qualification has a positive impact on the income from management consulting;3)the shorter the firm age,and the greater the firm size,the better the firm’s overall operating performance.

Operational Performance Evaluation of Corn Processing Industry Technological Innovation Alliance Based on Survey Data in Heilongjiang Province

This paper selected the corn processing industry technology innovation alliance in Heilongjiang Province as the research object, evaluated the operational performance of the alliance by using analytic hierarchy process(AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation methods. AHP empirical results showed that the satisfaction of information communication and the satisfaction of the management process were the weakest. And the order from high to low on the level of indicators of the impact for the alliance was the result of alliance operations and the process of alliance operations, the behavioral attitude of alliance members. Besides, the results of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation showed that the operational performance of the corn processing industry technology innovation alliance in Heilongjiang Province was in the general level.

Analyzing the Operational Performance Migration of Telecom Operators

Due to the rapid development of mobile Internet services, such as Skype and WeChat, traditional telecom services have suffered a large decline in the business volumes in recent years. Thus, telecom operators pay much attention to analyzing the changes of the enterprise performance, in order to adjust market strategies in time. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to analyze the operation data of telecom operators dynamically,which can characterize the changing process of the operating states and predict the developing trends. In particular, the proposed methodology contains two steps: migration pattern analysis and trajectory pattern analysis.Firstly, migration analysis is based on the changing of operating states between two points-in-time, which is referred to as the migration paths. Applying the clustering analysis to the migration paths can obtain the migration patterns, which characterize the changing feature of telecom operators during a short period, e.g. one month. Secondly, we combine a sequence of consecutive migration paths to obtain the migration trajectory. Through analyzing different trajectories based on the hierarchical cluster method and the Markov chain model, we obtain the trajectory patterns,which describe the changing progress during a relatively long period, e.g. one year. Based on the trajectory patterns, we can predict the possible performance changes. Finally, we apply the proposed method to a Chinese telecom operator for an empirical research, and has obtained a lot of development rules which provides insights into current telecom.

Heuristics for Improving Operational Performance of Permutation Circulati on-type Vehicle Routing System

This paper discusses an optimization of operating a p ermutation circulation-type vehicle routing system (PCVRS, for short), in w hich several stages are located along by a single loop, and a fleet of vehicles travels on the loop unidirectionally and repeatedly. Traveling on the loop, each vehicle receives an object from the loading stage and then carries it to a cert ain processing stage, or receives an object from a certain processing stage and then carries it to the unloading stage per a turnaround. No passing is allowed f or the vehicles on the loop (from which the system is called permutation, and th is restriction may cause interferences between vehicles). Material handling systems such as PCVRS are actually encountered in flexible man ufacturing systems and in automated storage/retrieval systems. In this paper, we propose a heuristic algorithm for operating the PCVRS, which i ncorporates a new scheduling method for the vehicles with the SPT (shortest proc essing time) numbering of jobs and a round-robin manner of allocating jobs to t he stages, aiming to reduce interferences between the vehicles. We also give num erical results with respect to system performances attained by the heuristic. Description of the system The PCVRS consists of a set of n v vehicles V={V 1,V 2,...,V n v}, a set of n s, processing stages S p={S 1,S 2,...,S n s}, a loading stage S 0 and an unloading stage S n s +1. We denote by S=S p∪{S 0,S n s+l} the set of all the stages. The vehicles travel on a single loop unidirectionany and repeated ly. The system layout is depicted in Fig.1. There is a set of n jobs J={J 1,J 2,...,J n} to be processed b y the vehicles. Each job consists of two tasks: That is, each vehicle receives a n object from S 0 and then carries it to S l with a certain l∈{1,2, ...,n s} (a throw-in job), or receives an object from S l with a certain l∈{1,2,...,n s} and then carries it to S n s+1 (a throw-out job ) per a turnaround. The loop consists of buffer zones BZ(l) and travel zones TZ(l) (see Fig. 1). Each buffer zone BZ(l) is placed in front of stage S l, l=0,1,..., n s, n s+1, in order to avoid a collision between vehicles (i.e., the syste m adopts the so-called zone control strategy). A heuristic algorithm We develop a heuristic algorithm to obtain a good performance for the PCVRS. An operation π={A/B/C} for the PCVRS consists of three decision factors: (A) Numbering jobs Jobs are loaded into S 0 according to an assending order of job numbers. In this paper, we use the following rules to number jobs: SPT: Order jobs in the shortest processing time rule, i.e., P 1≤P 2≤...≤P n for the set of jobs J={J 1,J 2,...,J n}, rather than the FCFS numbering (i.e., number jobs in first-come-first-served order). The SPT rule intends to reduce interferences between two adjacent vehicles at stages. (B) Allocating jobs to stages For the purpose of balancing loads of processing stages, we adopt the following to allocate jobs to the stages: ORDER: Allocate n jobs to n s, processing stages by an in-order manner , i.e., let l(i) be the index of processing stage allocated job J i by ORDER, it holds that l(i)=n s+1-(i-[(i-1)/n s]n s).(1) The ORDER rule intends to process jobs parallel at stages as many as possible. (C) Scheduling vehicles The following method for scheduling vehicles under ORDER rule is already known: Fig.1 The vehicle ro uting system, PCVRS Fig.2 Mean turnaroun d times by heuristics Unchange: Assign n jobs to n v vehicles such that let k(i) be the i ndex of vehicle processing job J i, then k(i)= i-[(i-1)/n v]n v.(2) In csse of n v≥n s, mod (n v,n s)=0 or n v<n s, mod (n s,n v)=0 (mod(x,y) is the remainder of x/y), the number of interferences between vehicles is minimized at stage S 1 under Unchange sche dules, while in the other cases it is not [Lu et al. (2001a)]. Therefore, in t his paper, we develop a new scheduling method of the vehicles, denoted by Ex change, to modify Unchange schedules. Note

Development of a dynamic operational rating system in energy performance certificates for existing buildings： Geostatistical approach and data-mining technique

The operational rating system in building energy performance certificates(EPCs) has been used for systematically monitoring and diagnosing the energy performance in the operation and maintenance phases of existing buildings. However, there are several limitations of the conventional operational rating system,which can be subdivided into three aspects:(i) building category;(i i) region category; and(iii) space unit size. To overcome these challenges, this study conducted the problem analysis of the conventional operational rating system for existing buildings by using the statistical and geostatistical approaches. Based on the problem analysis, this study developed the dynamic operational rating(DOR) system for existing buildings by using the data-mining technique and the probability approach. The developed DOR system can be used as a tool for building energy performance diagnostics.To validate the applicability of the developed DOR system, educational facilities were selected as the representative type of existing buildings in South Korea. As a result, it was determined that the developed DOR system can solve the irrationality of the conventional operational rating system(i.e., the negative correlation between the space unit size and the CO2 emission density). Namely, the operational ratings of small buildings were adjusted upward while those of large buildings were adjusted downward. The developed DOR system can allow policymakers to establish the reasonable operational rating system for existing buildings, which can motivate the public to actively participate in energy-saving campaigns.

Influence of propagation direction on operation performance of rotating detonation combustor with turbine guide vane

Due to the pressure gain combustion characteristics,the rotating detonation combustor(RDC)can enhance thermodynamic cycle efficiency.Therefore,the performance of gas-turbine engine can be further improved with this combustion technology.In the present study,the RDC operation performance with a turbine guide vane(TGV)is experimentally investigated.Hydrogen and air are used as propellants while hydrogen and air mass flow rate are about 16.1 g/s and 500 g/s and the equivalence ratio is about 1.0.A pre-detonator is used to ignite the mixture.High-frequency dynamic pressure transducers and silicon pressure sensors are employed to measure pressure oscillations and static pressure in the combustion chamber.The experimental results show that the steady propagation of rotating detonation wave(RDW)is observed in the combustion chamber and the mean propagation velocity is above 1650 m/s,reaching over 84%of theoretical Chapman-Jouguet detonation velocity.Clockwise and counterclockwise propagation directions of RDW are obtained.For clockwise propagation direction,the static pressure is about 15%higher in the combustor compared with counterclockwise propagation direction,but the RDW dominant frequency is lower.When the oblique shock wave propagates across the TGV,the pressure oscillations reduces significantly.In addition,as the detonation products flow through the TGV,the static pressure drops up to 32%and 43%for clockwise and counterclockwise propagation process respectively.

Supercapacitor electrode based on few-layer h-BNNSs/rGO composite for wide-temperature-range operation with robust stable cycling performance

Currently,developing supercapacitors with robust cycle stability and suitability for wide-temperature-range operations is still a huge challenge.In the present work,few-layer hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets(h-BNNSs)with a thickness of 2−4 atomic layers were fabricated via vacuum freeze-drying and nitridation.Then,the h-BNNSs/reduced graphene oxide(rGO)composite were further prepared using a hydrothermal method.Due to the combination of two two-dimensional(2D)van der Waals-bonded materials,the as-prepared h-BNNSs/rGO electrode exhibited robustness to wide-temperature-range operations from−10 to 50℃.When the electrodes worked in a neutral aqueous electrolyte(1 M Na2SO4),they showed a great stable cycling performance with almost 107%reservation of the initial capacitance at 0℃ and 111% at 50℃ for 5000 charge−discharge cycles.

Influence of Design Margin on Operation Optimization and Control Performance of Chemical Processes

Operation optimization is an effective method to explore potential economic benefits for existing plants. The m.aximum potential benefit from operationoptimization is determined by the distances between current operating point and process constraints, which is related to the margins of design variables. Because of various ciisturbances in chemical processes, some distances must be reserved for fluctuations of process variables and the optimum operating point is not on some process constraints. Thus the benefit of steady-state optimization can not be fully achied（ed while that of dynamic optimization can be really achieved. In this study, the steady-state optimizationand dynamic optimization are used, and the potential benefit-is divided into achievable benefit for profit and unachievable benefit for control. The fluid catalytic cracking unit （FCCU） is used for case study. With the analysis on how the margins of design variables influence the economic benefit and control performance, the bottlenecks of process design are found and appropriate control structure can be selected.

Improving the operational stability of perovskite solar cells with cesium-doped graphene oxide interlayer

Perovskite solar cells(PSCs)have made great advances in terms of power conversion efficiency(PCE),yet their subpar stability continues to hinder their commercialization.The interface between the perovskite layer and the charge-carrier transporting layers plays a crucial role in undermining the stability of PSCs.In this work,we propose a strategy to stabilize high-performance PSCs with PCE over 23%by introducing a cesium-doped graphene oxide(GO-Cs)as an interlayer between the perovskite and hole-transporting material.The GO-Cs treated PSCs exhibit excellent operational stability with a projected T80(the time where the device PCE reduces to 80%of its initial value)of 2143 h of operation at the maximum powering point under one sun illumination.

Effects of Operating Conditions on the Catalytic Performance of HZSM-5 Zeolites in n-Pentane Cracking

In this work,n-pentane catalytic cracking over HZSM-5 zeolites was studied at 650°C under atmosphere pressure.A particular attention was paid to the measurement of n-pentane conversion,light olefins production,product distribution,coke deposit,etc.Several indexes were defined to evaluate the effects of operating conditions on the catalytic performance of HZSM-5 zeolites.It was found that decreasing the weight hourly space velocity,increasing the reactant partial pressure,and increasing the carrier gas flow rate could inhibit C-H bond breaking and enhance the C-C bond breaking and hydride transfer reactions,leading to reduced alkenes selectivity,which suppressed the formation of external coke and alleviated the deactivation of HZSM-5 zeolites.It was deduced that the catalytic stability of HZSM-5 zeolites was improved at the cost of alkenes selectivity.Compared with decreasing the weight hourly space velocity and increasing the reactant partial pressure,increasing the carrier gas flow rate could enhance the diffusion process and protect alkenes from being consumed in coke formation in order to improve the catalytic stability of HZSM-5 zeolites with less reduction of alkenes selectivity.

Operating Performance of Initial Public Offering Companies in Hong Kong

This study investigates the earnings performance of 418 initial public offerings （IPOs） listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong. By analyzing several profitability measures of these 1PO companies from the third year prior to listing up to the fifth year post-listing, it is found that IPO companies＇ operating performances as a whole peak in the year of listing or the year preceding the listing, but exhibit a fall in post-issue profitability with the decline being most pronounced in the first financial year following the year in which the listing take place. Over 30% of these IPOs suffer a loss three years after the offerings. Deterioration of post-issue performance is found to be more severe for smaller finns, highly-geared companies, fast-growing enterprises, companies with lower ownership retention by original shareholders, and companies which have managed earnings upwards at the time of listing. These observations are consistent with the higher agency costs when firms go public and that managers have timed the issue at the peak of the companies＇ long-run performance. Further investigation confirms that IPO companies in general make use of income-increasing accruals to manage their earnings upwards in the year when they go public. The reversal of the accruals in post-issue years further exaggerates the decline in their profitability.

Performance of Gas-Steam Combined Cycle Cogeneration Units Influenced by Heating Network Terminal Steam Parameters

The determination of source-side extracted heating parameters is of great significance to the economic operation of cogeneration systems.This paper investigated the coupling performance of a cogeneration heating and power system multidimensionally based on the operating characteristics of the cogeneration units,the hydraulic and thermodynamic characteristics of the heating network,and the energy loads.Taking a steam network supported by a gas-steam combined cycle cogeneration system as the research case,the interaction effect among the source-side prime movers,the heating networks,and the terminal demand thermal parameters were investigated based on the designed values,the plant testing data,and the validated simulation.The operating maps of the gas-steam combined cycle cogeneration units were obtained using THERMOFLEX,and the minimum source-side steam parameters of the steam network were solved using an inverse solution procedure based on the hydro-thermodynamic coupling model.The cogeneration operating maps indicate that the available operating domain considerably narrows with the rise of the extraction steam pressure and flow rate.The heating network inverse solution demonstrates that the source-side steam pressure and temperature can be optimized from the originally designed 1.11 MPa and 238.8°C to 1.074 MPa and 191.15°C,respectively.Under the operating strategy with the minimum source-side heating parameters,the power peak regulation depth remarkably increases to 18.30%whereas the comprehensive thermal efficiency decreases.The operation under the minimum source-side heating steam parameters can be superior to the originally designed one in the economy at a higher price of the heating steam.At a fuel price of$0.38/kg and the power to fuel price of 0.18 kg/(kW·h),the critical price ratio of heating steam to fuel is 119.1 kg/t.The influence of the power-fuel price ratio on the economic deviation appears relatively weak.

Energy and long-term hygrothermal performance of building enclosures based on dynamic environmental simulation test

Dynamic environmental testing is an effective means to study the energy and long-term hygrothermal performance of building enclosures. Southeast University is designing and building a large-scale dynamic environment simulation testing facility. It can simuhaneously and dynamically simulate temperature, relative humidity, infrared solar radiation, UV radiation, and precipitation. A transformation is needed to predict the energy and long-term hygrothermal performance of building enclosures under real service conditions using data obtained from accelerated tests.

A Comparative Study of Performance Between Operators With Work Discontinuity and Without Work Discontinuity

In situations where discontinuity in operation occurs, specifically in a country where coontractualization has an increasing trend, the performance level of operators after the work break is of great interest. Existing studies have found that the performance of an operator declines after her operation is completely stopped. However, when the operator performed other tasks （may it be similar or not from her previous task） during the work break, the performance after the work break seems to be affected at different level. Contractual and regular operators from a semiconductor and textile company were considered to replicate a discontinuous and continuous operation. The processing times of contractual workers before and after several months of work break were compared. Two types of work break were seen to have significant effect on an operator＇s performance after the work break, Type 1： 0% to 40% similarity from previous task and Type 2： 40% to 97% similarity from previous task. One can find that when 21% of tasks performed during the work break are similar to the operator＇s previous task, there would be no change in her performance upon returning. On the other hand, a 5% decline in performance was observed after work break type 1 and an 8.54% improvement after work break type 2. Also, a remission rate of 18% from end of stint 1 to start of stint 2 under work break type 1 was seen, while 8% for work break type 2. This may also be true to other industries. Thus, further study is suggested.

Technical development and long-term performance observations of long-life asphalt pavement: A case study of Shandong Province

Based on the investigation of long-life asphalt pavement at home and abroad,the development of long-life asphalt pavement technology in Shandong Province,China is reviewed in this paper.The structural combination char-acteristics of typical long-life asphalt pavement in Shandong Province and their popularization and application are introduced.The application effect of combined base long-life asphalt pavement,which has been widely promoted,is evaluated.At the same time,taking the Binda perpetual pavement test road in Shandong Province as an example,the dynamic response and long-term performance evolution of long-life asphalt pavement are analyzed over a period of more than 17 years.Sections S1,S2,and S3 present information about full-depth asphalt pavement.Section S4 describes combined base asphalt pavement.The results show that the maximum strain of S1–S4 is within the endurance strain limit.S1,S2,S3 and S4 are all expected to be long-life asphalt pavements.In the current study,Sections S1–S4 were maintained in good condition during a service period of more than 17 years with no structural cracks and good deflection,rutting,and IRI indexes.The deflection index was stable without growth,and the IRI was also relatively stable following the opening to traffic.The rutting depth un-derwent a slight cumulative increase within 8 years of opening,and then stabilized.The average rutting depth over the 17-year period was less than 15 mm.Therefore,S1–S4 meet the design standards required for use as long-life pavements.From the perspectives of resource saving,energy saving,and emission reduction and service performance,full-depth asphalt pavement can be considered to represent a new generation of green and durable pavement structures with great future promotion potential.

The Operating Performance of Stirred Column Reactor

A theoretical analysis of the effects of flow and mixing on the operating features of astirred column reactor(SCR)with multistage mixers and cooling partition plates was conducted.Amethod for calculating the concentration reduction for a second order chemical reaction in a SCRwas proposed.The reactants concerned were pre-mixed before feeding into the SCR.The SCR wascomposed of a number of stages with interstage backmixing.Experimental investigation with variousreaction media were carried out in order to study the effect of mixing on the operational performanceof the SCR.The experimental data were compared with the theoretical results.

New Procedure to Derive the Performance Indices Associated with Reservoir Operation Rule

Stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) is extensively used in the optimization for long-term reservoir operations. Generally, both of the steady state optimal policy and its associated performance indices (PIs) for multipurpose reservoir are of prime importance. To derive the PIs there are two typical ways: simulation and probability formula. Among the disadvantages, one is that these approaches require the pre-specified operation policy. IHuminated by the convergence of objective function in SDP, a new approach, which has the advantage that its use can be concomitant with the solving of SDP, is proposed to determine the desired PIs. In the case study, its efficiency is also practically tested.