Optimal ConfigurationMethod forMulti-Type Reactive Power Compensation Devices in Regional Power Grid with High Proportion ofWind Power

As the large-scale development of wind farms(WFs)progresses,the connection ofWFs to the regional power grid is evolving from the conventional receiving power grid to the sending power grid with a high proportion of wind power(WP).Due to the randomness of WP output,higher requirements are put forward for the voltage stability of each node of the regional power grid,and various reactive power compensation devices(RPCDs)need to be rationally configured to meet the stable operation requirements of the system.This paper proposes an optimal configuration method for multi-type RPCDs in regional power grids with a high proportion of WP.The RPCDs are located according to the proposed static voltage stability index(VSI)and dynamicVSI based on dynamic voltage drop area,and the optimal configuration model of RPCDs is constructed with the lowest construction cost as the objective function to determine the installed capacity of various RPCDs.Finally,the corresponding regional power grid model for intensive access to WFs is constructed on the simulation platform to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Optimization of Line Configuration and Balancing for Flexible Machining Lines

Line configuration and balancing is to select the type of line and allot a given set of operations as well as machines to a sequence of workstations to realize high-efficiency production. Most of the current researches for machining line configuration and balancing problems are related to dedicated transfer lines with dedicated machine workstations. With growing trends towards great product variety and fluctuations in market demand, dedicated transfer lines are being replaced with flexible machining line composed of identical CNC machines. This paper deals with the line configuration and balancing problem for flexible machining lines. The objective is to assign operations to workstations and find the sequence of execution, specify the number of machines in each workstation while minimizing the line cycle time and total number of machines. This problem is subject to precedence, clustering, accessibility and capacity constraints among the features, operations, setups and workstations. The mathematical model and heuristic algorithm based on feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory are presented to find an optimal solution. The feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory are used to establish constraint model. A heuristic operations sequencing and assignment algorithm is given. An industrial case study is carried out, and multiple optimal solutions in different line configurations are obtained. The case studying results show that the solutions with shorter cycle time and higher line balancing rate demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. This research proposes a heuristic line configuration and balancing algorithm based on feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory which is able to provide better solutions while achieving an improvement in computing time.

An optimization method for metamorphic mechanisms based on multidisciplinary design optimization

The optimization of metamorphic mechanisms is different from that of the conventional mechanisms for its characteristics of multi-configuration. There exist complex coupled design variables and constraints in its multiple different configuration optimization models. To achieve the compatible optimized results of these coupled design variables, an optimization method for metamorphic mechanisms is developed in the paper based on the principle of multidisciplinary design optimization（MDO）. Firstly, the optimization characteristics of the metamorphic mechanism are summarized distinctly by proposing the classification of design variables and constraints as well as coupling interactions among its different configuration optimization models. Further, collaborative optimization technique which is used in MDO is adopted for achieving the overall optimization performance. The whole optimization process is then proposed by constructing a two-level hierarchical scheme with global optimizer and configuration optimizer loops. The method is demonstrated by optimizing a planar five-bar metamorphic mechanism which has two configurations,and results show that it can achieve coordinated optimization results for the same parameters in different configuration optimization models.