Parallelization of population-based multi-objective meta-heuristics: An empirical study

In single-objective optimization it is possible to find a global optimum, while in the multi-objective case no optimal solution is clearly defined, but several that simultaneously optimize all the objectives. However, the majority of this kind of problems cannot be solved exactly as they have very large and highly complex search spaces. Recently, meta-heuristic approaches have become important tools for solving multi-objective problems encountered in industry as well as in the theoretical field. Most of these meta-heuristics use a population of solutions, and hence the runtime increases when the population size grows. An interesting way to overcome this problem is to apply parallel processing. This paper analyzes the performance of several parallel paradigms in the context of population-based multi-objective meta-heuristics. In particular, we evaluate four alternative parallelizations of the Pareto simulated annealing algorithm, in terms of quality of the solutions, and speedup.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Comment on</Emphasis>¶Low temperature specific heat of blue bronze K <Emphasis Type="Bold">0.30</Emphasis>MoO <Emphasis Type="Bold">3</Emphasis>, by J. Odin,J.C. Lasjaunias,K. Biljaković, K. Hasselbach,and P. Monceau

Eur. Phys. J. B 24, 315 (2001) Here we comment on a recently published paper on the presence of a phason contribution in the low temperature heat capacity data of the charge-density-wave compounds K_0.3MoO₃ and (TaSe₄)₂I. We have shown that the anomaly in the C _P / T ³ data reported by Odin et al. is straightforwardly interpreted in terms of low energy phonon modes resulting from the peculiar topology of these compounds. Received 21 February 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

Adhesion studies of latex film surfaces on the meso- and nanoscale

In this paper the effects of surface roughness and annealing temperature (T) of latex coating films on adhesion are discussed for the different stages of the film formation process. The surface free energy of latex films was assessed in terms of practical work of adhesion (W) (or adherence) using a custom-built adhesion-testing device (ATD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. For preannealed latex films surface roughness averages (R_a) were determined from AFM height images and were related to the values of W obtained from ATD measurements at room temperature. The results obtained using these tests exhibiting surface behavior on different length scales indicate a dependence of the measured adhesion on surface roughness and temperature, as well as on the length scale of the measurements.First preannealed samples were studied, which were obtained by heat treatment above the respective glass transition temperatures (T_g). Increasing the temperature of preannealing resulted in a decrease of the adherence observed in ATD experiments at room temperature. However, on the nanoscale, using AFM, no significant variation of the adherence was observed. This observation can be explained by roughness arguments. Preannealing decreases roughness which results in lower adherence values measured by ATD while for essentially single asperity AFM experiments roughness has an insignificant effect. Specimens were also annealed over a constant period of time (90 min) at different temperatures. At the end of the heat treatment, adhesion was measured at the treatment temperature by ATD. The amplified effect of temperature observed in this case on adherence is attributed to the combination of roughness decrease and increasing test temperature. In a third set of experiments completely annealed samples were studied by ATD as well as by AFM as a function of temperature. With increasing T values ATD showed a decrease in adherence, which is attributed to a decreasing surface free energy of the annealed films at elevated T values. AFM, on the other hand, showed an opposite trend which is assigned to increasing penetration of the tip into the tip/wetting polymer samples versus increasing temperature. Finally, annealing isotherms as a function of time were investigated by ATD in situ at different temperatures. This last set of experiments allowed us to optimize annealing time and temperature to achieve complete curing.     

纳米悬浮液热导率测量及其预测模型的探讨

纳米颗粒悬浮液具有广泛应用于强化传热的潜在优势。本文采用加入表面活性剂的方法提高纳米悬浮液的悬浮稳定性,并用瞬态热线法测量了热导率。在分析现有理论模型和纳米悬浮液热导率影响因素研究的基础上,从弹性传动和非弹性传动两方面分析了纳米尺度效应导致纳米悬浮液热导率提高的机理。发现已有的理论公式仍然存在一定欠缺,预测值比实验值偏低,有关机理尚有待于深入探讨。     

模拟退火法在吸收薄膜的椭偏反演算法中的应用

将一种广泛用于求解复杂系统优化问题的技术－－模拟退火法－－用来求解椭偏反演方程。首先假设一个薄膜模型，计算出其相应的椭偏参数（Ψ，Δ）的值，在这个计算值的基础上加入不同标准偏差的高斯噪声；然后将加入噪声后的值（Ψm,Δm)作为模拟的测量数据，采用模拟退火算法进行求解，验证得知这种方法求得的薄膜参数很接近于假设的薄膜模型参数的真值，与其他文献的报道结果一致，而且在扩大搜寻范围时，仍然可以得到准确解，从而证明了该方法的可行性以及有效性。     

Effects of Nb2O5 on thermal stability and optical properties of Er3+-doped tellurite glasses

Er³⁺-doped tellurite glasses with molar compositions of xNb₂O₅-(14.7-x)Na₂O--10ZnO--5K₂O--10GeO₂-- 60TeO₂--0.3Er₂O₃ (x=0, 3, 5, 7 and 9) have been investigated for developing 1.5~μm fibre and planar amplifiers. The effects of Nb₂O₅ on the thermal stability and optical properties of Er³⁺-doped tellurite glasses have been discussed. It is noted that the incorporation of Nb₂O₅ (x=5) increases the thermal stability of tellurite glasses significantly. Er³⁺-doped niobium tellurite glasses exhibit a large stimulated emission cross-section (7.2\times 10^-21- 10.7×10^-21~cm² and the gain bandwidth, FWHM×\sigma_e^{\rm peak} (274\times 10^-28 - 480×10^-28~cm³), which are significantly higher than that of silicate and phosphate glasses. In addition, the intensity of upconversion luminescence of the Er³⁺-doped niobium tellurite glasses decreases rapidly with increasing Nb₂O₅ content. As a result, Er³⁺-doped niobium tellurite glasses might be a potential candidate for developing laser or optical amplifier devices.     

不良导体导热系数测定实验中仪表风扇对实验结果的影响

根据对物体冷却规律的分析,并从实验结果比较,指出稳态法测不良导体导热系数实验中,设置散热盘的冷却过程应与其在稳态过程时的强迫对流散热方式保持一致.     

Parking Capacity and Pricing in Park'n Ride Trips: A Continuous Equilibrium Network Design Problem

In this paper we consider the problem of designing parking facilities for park'n ride trips. We present a new continuous equilibrium network design problem to decide the capacity and fare of these parking lots at a tactical level. We assume that the parking facilities have already been located and other topological decisions have already been taken.The modeling approach proposed is mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints. In the outer optimization problem, a central Authority evaluates the performance of the transport network for each network design decision. In the inner problem a multimodal traffic assignment with combined modes, formulated as a variational inequality problem, generates the share demand for modes of transportation, and for parking facilities as a function of the design variables of the parking lots. The objective is to make optimal parking investment and pricing decisions in order to minimize the total travel cost in a subnetwork of the multimodal transportation system.We present a new development in model formulation based on the use of generalized parking link cost as a design variable.The bilevel model is solved by a simulated annealing algorithm applied to the continuous and non-negative design decision variables. Numerical tests are reported in order to illustrate the use of the model, and the ability of the approach to solve applications of moderate size.     

退火温度对低温生长MgxZn1－xO薄膜光学性质的影响

用射频磁控溅射法在80℃衬底温度下制备出Mg_xZn_1-xO(x=0.16)薄膜，用X射线衍射(XRD)、光致发光(PL)和透射谱研究了退火温度对Mg_xZn_1-xO薄膜结构和光学性质的影响.测量结果显示，Mg_xZn_1-xO薄膜为单相六角纤锌矿结构，并且具有沿c轴的择优取向；随着退火温度的升高，(002)XRD峰强度、平均晶粒尺寸和紫外PL峰强度增大，(002)XRD峰半高宽(F 关键词： xZn_1-xO薄膜')" href="#">Mg_xZn_1-xO薄膜 射频磁控溅射 退火     

模拟退火-BP神经网络法测定无机铬的形态

提出了用神经网络方法测定无机铬的形态。在Back Propagation(BP)算法的基础上,吸取了模拟退火算法的优点,解决了BP算法容易陷入局部极小点的问题。经实际样品分析,结果满意。