Minimum norm approach to optimal long-term operation of multireservoir power systems with specified monthly generation

The aim of this paper is to present a new algorithm to maximize the value of the energy produced from a multireservoir power system, plus the estimated value of water remaining in storage at the end of the 12-month planning period. The systems described here are characterized by having a specified monthly generation, and this generation is equal to a certain percentage of the total generation at the end of the year.The problem is formulated as a minimum norm problem in the framework of analytic optimization. Numerical results are reported for a real system in operation consisting of three rivers; each river has two series reservoirs. The proposed algorithm is efficient in computing time and in calculating the total expected benefits from the system.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146. The authors would like to acknowledge data obtained from B.C. Hydro, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.     

Optimal long-term operation of a multireservoir power system for critical water conditions

We present in this paper a new method for solving the optimization problem of a variable head multireservoir power system under a critical water condition for long-term regulation. The problem is formulated as a minimum norm problem. The proposed method is efficient in computing time and in calculating the expected benefits from the system during the critical period. Numerical results are presented for a real system in operation consisting of two rivers; each river has two reservoirs connected in a series.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146. The authors wish to thank B. C. Hydro for providing the reservoir data.     

Modelling and optimization of parallel reservoirs having nonlinear storage curves under critical water conditions for long-term regulation

This paper deals with the problem of parallel reservoirs having nonlinear storage-elevation curves (quadratic functions) for long-term regulation under critical water conditions using the minimum norm formulation. To overcome these nonlinearities, we introduce a set of pseudo-state variables. A set of optimizing equations is obtained. The proposed method is efficient in computing time and in calculating the expected benefits of generation from the system during the critical period. Numerical results are reported for a real system in operation consisting of two rivers; each river has two reservoirs in series.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146. The authors would like to acknowledge data obtained from B. C. Hydro.     

Medium-term hydro-thermal coordination via hydro and thermal subsystem decomposition

Summary This paper addresses the medium-term hydro-thermal coordination problem in an electric energy system. That is, the problem of finding the energy production of every power plant (hydro or thermal) in every subperiod of a given planning period, so that the customer load is supplied at minimum cost. The planning horizon is typically one to two months and the first week of this planning period is modeled in detail. The solution method proposed decomposes the problem in two subproblems corresponding to the hydro and thermal subsystems. These two subproblems are coordinated using a coordinating function for every subperiod. The coordinating function of a given subperiod expresses total production cost in that subperiod as a function of the total hydro production in that subperiod. The decomposition proposed makes it possible to use specialized algorithms to solve the hydro and thermal subproblems. This results in a very efficient computational procedure. From an experimental point of view the coordinating mechanism is robust. A case study is provided. It considers 61 thermal plants, a hydro system including 8 cascaded hydro plants and a 48 subperiods planning period.     

A mixed integer programming model for long term capacity expansion planning: A case study from The Hunter Valley Coal Chain

The Hunter Valley Coal Chain is the largest coal export operation in the world with a throughput in excess of 100 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). Coal is delivered to the shipping terminal from 40 mines using 27 coal load points spread across the Hunter Valley region. This paper describes an MILP model for determining the capacity requirements, and the most cost effective capacity improvement initiatives, to meet demand while minimising the total cost of infrastructure and demurrage. We present results from computational experiments on the model’s performance along with a comparison of the model’s output with detailed analyses by the coal chain analysts and planners.     

Optimal discrete long-term operation of nuclear-hydrothermal power systems

We discuss in this paper an algorithm for solving the optimal long-term operating problem of a hydrothermal-nuclear power system by application of the minimum norm optimization technique. The algorithm proposed here has the ability to deal with large-scale power systems and with equality and/or inequality constraints on the variables. A discrete model for the xenon and iodine concentrations is used, as well as a discrete model for hydro reservoirs. The optimization is done on a monthly time basis. For simplicity of the problem formulation, the transmission line losses are considered as a part of the load.This work supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146.     

Structural design and analysis for a sensor-integrated ball bearing

The structural design issues associated with the development of a sensor-integrated ball bearing were investigated. A finite element model was established to analyze the structural integrity of a ball bearing whose outer ring was modified to accommodate a miniaturized load sensor module. The sensor module was designed to monitor dynamic load variations within the bearing, which is an important indicator of a bearings safe operation. This structural integration of “intelligence” is significant in that it bring's automated, on-line, self-diagnosis capability to a dynamic system for which reliable, safe operation is of critical importance. A design tool was developed to evaluate the effect of outer ring modification on the dynamic load-carrying capability of the bearing. The tool also provided quantitative guidelines for the design of load and other types of sensor modules that will be structurally embedded into the outer ring of a conventional bearing for industrial applications.     

On the bottleneck assignment problem

In this paper, a new approach for solving the bottleneck assignment problem is presented. The problem is treated as a special class of permutation problems which we call max-min permutation problems. By defining a suitable neighborhood system in the space of permutations and designating certain permutations as critical solutions, it is shown that any critical solution yields a global optimum. This theorem is then used as a basis to develop a general method to solve max-min permutation problems.This work was carried out by the junior author while holding a Purdue University Fellowship.     

A simulation model for determining variable worker requirements in a service operation with time-dependent customer demand

In a service operation where worker requirements have to be determined for short scheduling time periods with nonstationary customer demand, the assumptions necessary for applying steady-state solutions to elementary queueing models are usually violated. This paper describes a simulation study of the behavior of such a service operation. The results are compared with the steady-state solutions to a queueing model where individual scheduling time periods are assumed to be independent. It is found that if the system utilization is below a derived maximum value (based on a service level criterion), then the steady-state solutions are robust enough to explain the behavior of the system and can be used to schedule worker requirements.     

Cost-benefit analysis of one-server n-unit adaptive system with slow switch

This paper considers a shared parallel system consisting of n-units supported by single service facility to carry out both installation and repair of a unit. Initially, all the n units share the total load equally and when one or more units fail, they go for repair while the other surviving units share the entire load equally till the failed units are ready for operation after installation. The installation time (switchover time) of a repaired unit is assumed to be non-negligible and random. The system will be down when all the units are non-operative , Assuming that the failure rates are different when the units function under varying loads, the system characteristics, namely, (1) the expected up-time of the system during (0, t], (2) the expected repair time of the units which failed due to varying failure rates during (0, t] and (3) the expected time spent by the units in the installation state during the period (0, t], are obtained by identifying the system at suitable regeneration epochs. The repair time and the switchover time of the units are arbitrarily distributed. The failure rate of unit is assumed to be constant. It depends on the number of surviving units at any instant. The cost-benefit analysis is also carried out using these system characteristics     

基于两阶段混合动态规划算法的龙门吊路径优化

产业界已出现利用多台轨道式龙门吊同时作业以提升集装箱码头装船效率的情况,由于需要确定每台龙门吊的取箱作业集合以及增加了“避免碰撞”、“顺次移动”等现实约束,故其移动路径规划问题在模型建立与求解上比单台轨道式龙门吊更为复杂。本文针对两台轨道式龙门吊同时作业的情形,建立了龙门吊移动路径网络模型,并开发了基于贪婪算法与动态规划的两阶段混合算法,并通过仿真算例,借助与基于实际调度规则所得到的调度方案的对比,验证了模型及优化算法的有效性与实用性。     

Modelling and optimization of reservoirs for long-term regulation with variable head using functional analysis

In this paper, functional analysis and minimum norm formulation are applied to maximize the total benefits from two hydro reservoirs. The hydroelectric power generation is treated as a nonlinear function; water head variation and stochasticity of the river flows are included. The resulting problem has a nonlinear objective function and linear constraints. The proposed method is computationally efficient, compared to previous techniques. Numerical results are presented for widely different water conditions for an actual system in operation.This work was supported by the National Research Council of Canada, Grant No. A4146. The authors wish to thank B. C. Hydro for providing the reservoir data.     

组合超弹性球体中空穴的动态生成

根据有限变形动力学理论,研究了一个不可压超弹性材料组合球体在突加表面均布拉伸载荷作用下空穴的动态生成问题．当外加载荷超过其临界值时,除一个平凡解外,还有一个包含着球体内部生成的空穴的分叉解;证明空穴随时间的演化是周期性的非线性振动;同时给出了空穴生成时的临界载荷值、空穴振动的相图、振幅及近似的周期．     

Process selection and sequencing in a two-agents production system

This paper addresses a coordination problem concerning two production agents in a manufacturing system. The two agents have a set of processes which must be carried out on some common resource. They can use the resource individually, but in general there may be an overall advantage in concurrently performing certain processes. The problem is to select concurrent processes and to sequence them with the aim of minimizing the total number of set-ups. In particular, a decomposition approach is proposed, in which first the concurrent processes are selected, by solving a generalized network flow problem, and then an optimal process sequencing is efficiently found.AMS classification: 05C85, 90B10, 05C45Paper previously processed by Francesco Archetti for Ricerca Operativa     

A model for setting services on auxiliary bus lines under congestion

In this paper, a mathematical programming model and a heuristically derived solution is described to assist with the efficient planning of services for a set of auxiliary bus lines (a bus-bridging system) during disruptions of metro and rapid transit lines. The model can be considered static and takes into account the average flows of passengers over a given period of time (i.e., the peak morning traffic hour). Auxiliary bus services must accommodate very high demand levels, and the model presented is able to take into account the operation of a bus-bridging system under congested conditions. A general analysis of the congestion in public transportation lines is presented, and the results are applied to the design of a bus-bridging system. A nonlinear integer mathematical programming model and a suitable approximation of this model are then formulated. This approximated model can be solved by a heuristic procedure that has been shown to be computationally viable. The output of the model is as follows: (a) the number of bus units to assign to each of the candidate lines of the bus-bridging system; (b) the routes to be followed by users passengers of each of the origin–destination pairs; (c) the operational conditions of the components of the bus-bridging system, including the passenger load of each of the line segments, the degree of saturation of the bus stops relative to their bus input flows, the bus service times at bus stops and the passenger waiting times at bus stops. The model is able to take into account bounds with regard to the maximum number of passengers waiting at bus stops and the space available at bus stops for the queueing of bus units. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the model with two realistic test cases: a railway corridor in Madrid and a metro line in Barcelona.     

求解系统可靠性优化中指派问题的启发式算法

本文回顾了系统可靠性优化中部件指派问题的研究,针对该类问题特点提出了一个新的启发式算法,该算法基于概率重要度来指派部件可靠度。文章最后给出了算例分析,并将算法结果与已有的算法和枚举法求得的最优解进行了比较。新的算法简单,而且效率非常高,可以在很短的计算时间内得到较好的求解效果,有效提高了复杂系统和大规模系统可靠性优化的计算效率。     

考虑风电出力及负荷预测误差的安全经济运行模型

充分考虑了风电并网和负荷预测不确定性,引入净负荷的概念,实现对风电和负荷预测误差发生概率的综合考虑。通过场景概率的研究,以包括确定性成本和随机性成本在内的综合调度成本最小化为目标函数,构建安全经济运行模型。算例分析表明,本文构建的随机安全运行计划模型相比于传统的确定性模型能够更有效地降低系统运行成本,结果同时显示,根据系统容量和负荷需求合理配置风电装机容量,是减少弃风量、提高供电可靠性的重要手段。     

An assembly-type supply chain system controlled by kanbans under a just-in-time delivery policy

This research studies the assembly-type supply chain system controlled by kanban mechanism. First, a supply chain system is modeled as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. A composite formulation of the assembly-type supply chain system is developed by appropriately aggregating the individual branch models as a whole system. The batch size, the number of batches, and the total quantity over one period in the mainline and each branch line are determined. The small size MINLP problems are solved optimally by a branch-and-bound method. For the large size MINLP problems, a heuristic is developed which divides the ATSCS into several small size problems, and then conquers them individually. Next, the kanban operation between two adjacent plants is developed to schedule the loading and unloading, and transportation. Coupled with plant-wide efforts for cost control and management commitment, a logistics system is built for controlling the production as well as the supply chain system, which results in minimizing the total cost of the supply chain system. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the two heuristic procedures and a better solution is obtained for the ATSCS problem.     

Critical state of a thin-walled beam under combined load

Subject of the paper is a simply supported thin-walled beam. The beam carries uniformly distributed transverse load, small axial force and two different moments located at its both ends. The elastic potential energy and the work of the loads for the beam are described. Basing on the minimum of the total potential energy the general algebraic equation of the critical state for the beam is obtained. The equation describes a convex hyper-surface. Particularly simply load cases are studied. Based on the general equation of the critical state numerical investigations are realized. The results are shown in figures.     

Exercising flexible load contracts: Two simple strategies

A flexible load contract is a type of swing option where the holder has the right to receive a given quantity of electricity within a specified period, at a fixed maximum effect (delivery rate). The contract is flexible, in the sense that delivery (the take hours) is called one day in advance. We investigate two simple strategies for exercising flexible load contracts, where both use price information from the forward market. For 10 contracts traded in the period 1997–2001, we calculate the performance of the two strategies and compare with the reported performance of one complex dynamic programming approach as well as the actual results obtained by three anonymous market participants. The comparison indicates that our simple computer‐efficient strategies perform better on average and produce more stable results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.