COSEARCH: A Parallel Cooperative Metaheuristic

In order to design a well-balanced metaheuristic for robustness, we propose the COSEARCH approach which manages the cooperation of complementary heuristic methods via an adaptive memory which contains a history of the search already done. In this paper, we present the idiosyncrasies of the COSEARCH approach and its application for solving large scale instances of the quadratic assignment problem (QAP). We propose an original design of the adaptive memory in order to focus on high quality regions of the search and avoid attractive but deceptive areas. For the QAP, we have hybridized three heuristic agents of complementary behaviours: a Tabu Search is used as the main search algorithm, a Genetic Algorithm is in charge of the diversification and a Kick Operator is applied to intensify the search. The evaluations have been executed on large scale network of workstations via a parallel environment which supports fault tolerance and adaptive dynamic scheduling of tasks.     

On the growth strain origin and stress evolution prediction during oxidation of metals

High temperature oxidation of metals leads to residual stresses in the metal and in the oxide. In this work, we try to predict the evolution of the residual stresses in the growing oxides layers, during isothermal oxidation. The origin of these stresses is based on the microstructural model of Clarke, however, another justification is proposed, assuming a proportional dependence of the growth strain with the oxide layer thickness. Using the mechanics of thin layers, as well as the analysis proposed to describe the growth strain, a system of equations are deduced that predict the stresses evolution with oxidation time. Numerical analysis is performed, leading to a set of theoretical curves.     

Tree-edges deletion problems with bounded diameter obstruction sets

We study the following problem: given a tree G and a finite set of trees H, find a subset O of the edges of G such that G-O does not contain a subtree isomorphic to a tree from H, and O has minimum cardinality. We give sharp boundaries on the tractability of this problem: the problem is polynomial when all the trees in H have diameter at most 5, while it is NP-hard when all the trees in H have diameter at most 6. We also show that the problem is polynomial when every tree in H has at most one vertex with degree more than 2, while it is NP-hard when the trees in H can have two such vertices.The polynomial-time algorithms use a variation of a known technique for solving graph problems. While the standard technique is based on defining an equivalence relation on graphs, we define a quasiorder. This new variation might be useful for giving more efficient algorithm for other graph problems.     

Fast computation of a rational point of a variety over a finite field

We exhibit a probabilistic algorithm which computes a rational point of an absolutely irreducible variety over a finite field defined by a reduced regular sequence. Its time-space complexity is roughly quadratic in the logarithm of the cardinality of the field and a geometric invariant of the input system. This invariant, called the degree, is bounded by the Bézout number of the system. Our algorithm works for fields of any characteristic, but requires the cardinality of the field to be greater than a quantity which is roughly the fourth power of the degree of the input variety.

     

An evolutionary method for optimization of plate buckling resistance

Optimization of plate buckling resistance is very complicated, because the in-plane stress resultants in the prebuckled state of a plate are functions of thickness distribution. This paper discusses the problem of finding the optimum thickness distribution of isotropic plate structures, with a given volume and layout, that would maximise the buckling load. A simple numerical method using the finite-element analysis is presented to obtain the optimum thickness distribution. Optimum designs of compression-loaded rectangular plates with different boundary conditions and plate aspect ratios are obtained by using the proposed method. Optimum designs from earlier studies and the methods of buckling analysis used to attain these results are discussed and compared with the designs from the proposed method. This paper also examines the reliability of the optimality criterion generally used for plate buckling optimization, which is based on the uniform strain energy density.     

Hereditary optimal control problems: Numerical method based upon a padé approximation

In this paper, we consider a particular approximation scheme which can be used to solve hereditary optimal control problems. These problems are characterized by variables with a time-delayed argumentx(t – ). In our approximation scheme, we first replace the variable with an augmented statey(t) x(t - ). The two-sided Laplace transform ofy(t) is a product of the Laplace transform ofx(t) and an exponential factor. This factor is approximated by a first-order Padé approximation, and a differential relation fory(t) can be found. The transformed problem, without any time-delayed argument, can then be solved using a gradient algorithm in the usual way. Four problems are solved to illustrate the validity and usefulness of this technique.This research was supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under NASA Grant NCC-2-106.     

Multivariate calibration of near infrared spectra by orthogonal WAVElet correction using a genetic algorithm

Orthogonal WAVElet correction (OWAVEC) is a pre-processing method aimed at simultaneously accomplishing two essential needs in multivariate calibration, signal correction and data compression, by combining the application of an orthogonal signal correction algorithm to remove information unrelated to a certain response with the great potential that wavelet analysis has shown for signal processing. In the previous version of the OWAVEC method, once the wavelet coefficients matrix had been computed from NIR spectra and deflated from irrelevant information in the orthogonalization step, effective data compression was achieved by selecting those largest correlation/variance wavelet coefficients serving as the basis for the development of a reliable regression model. This paper presents an evolution of the OWAVEC method, maintaining the first two stages in its application procedure (wavelet signal decomposition and direct orthogonalization) intact but incorporating genetic algorithms as a wavelet coefficients selection method to perform data compression and to improve the quality of the regression models developed later. Several specific applications dealing with diverse NIR regression problems are analyzed to evaluate the actual performance of the new OWAVEC method. Results provided by OWAVEC are also compared with those obtained with original data and with other orthogonal signal correction methods.     

A method for selection and use of numerical integration points for molecules with cylindrical symmetry

Boys and Handy [1] have discussed the solution of the bivariational equations with restricted numerical integration. One of the weaknesses of the method was that in the numerical summations over points, some points arose with r _ij= 0 and non-zero weights. This makes the method quite impractical for the Schrodinger Hamiltonian (because of the singularity at r _ij= 0), and it cannot be advantageous for the transcorrelated Hamiltonian C^–1HC because there will be some discontinuous higher derivatives at r _ij=0. Here it is shown how the symmetry of cylindrically symmetric molecules can be used to eliminate such points, without losing any of the advantages of the overall method, such as the convergence of the eigensolutions. It is also shown how the primary numerical integration points (z _i, r_i) may be chosen in any calculation such that each is associated with an equal amount of one-electron density. The choice of the angular coordinates are governed by the removal of the r _ij=0 points and maintaining the natural orthogonality between orbitals of different symmetry types. The method has been programmed and found to be practical, although no new molecular calculations have yet been performed. It is to be hoped that these points will give a basis for new transcorrelated calculations on diatomic molecules.This paper was presented during the session on numerical integration methods for molecules of the 1970 Quantum Theory Conference in Nottingham. It has been revised in the light of the interesting discussion which followed.     

Theoretical study of PO and PO−

The diatomic systems, PO and PO^– are studied, using numerical Hartree-Fock (NHF) and coupled-cluster calculations. The latter employs a hybrid NHF and Slater orbital basis set. Highly accurate CCSD methods predict bond lengths accurate to <0.004 Å and frequencies to 60 cm^–1. In addition the electron affinity of PO is computed to be 0.89 eV compared to an experimental value of 1.09±0.01. Comparisons are made with SCF and MBPT(2) results for PO⁺ using conventional basis sets.Dedicated to Professor J. Koutecký on the occasion of his 65th birthdayGuggenheim Fellow