Rail vs truck transport of biomass

This study analyzes the economics of transshipping biomass from truck to train in a North American setting. Transshipment will only be economic when the cost per unit distance of a second transportation mode is less than the original mode. There is an optimum number of transshipment terminals which is related to biomass yield. Transshipment incurs incremental fixed costs, and hence there is a minimum shipping distance for rail transport above which lower costs/km offset the incremental fixed costs. For transport by dedicated unit train with an optimum number of terminals, the minimum economic rail shipping distance for straw is 170 km, and for boreal forest harvest residue wood chips is 145 km. The minimum economic shipping distance for straw exceeds the biomass draw distance for economically sized centrally located power plants, and hence the prospects for rail transport are limited to cases in which traffic congestion from truck transport would otherwise preclude project development. Ideally, wood chip transport costs would be lowered by rail transshipment for an economically sized centrally located power plant, but in a specific case in Alberta, Canada, the layout of existing rail lines precludes a centrally located plant supplied by rail, whereas a more versatile road system enables it by truck. Hence for wood chips as well as straw the economic incentive for rail transport to centrally located processing plants is limited. Rail transshipment may still be preferred in cases in which road congestion precludes truck delivery, for example as result of community objections.     

实时任务动态调度算法

任务调度算法是提高多任务系统效率的一种有效途径,特别是在时间紧迫环境下,实时任务调度算法更具有重要的应用价值.在研究建立实时任务调度模型方法的基础上,对模型进行理论分析,提出了实时任务调度的算法,并通过实例加以验证.     

A floating-point genetic algorithm for solving the unit commitment problem

This paper proposes a floating-point genetic algorithm (FPGA) to solve the unit commitment problem (UCP). Based on the characteristics of typical load demand, a floating-point chromosome representation and an encoding–decoding scheme are designed to reduce the complexities in handling the minimum up/down time limits. Strategic parameters of the FPGA are characterized in detail, i.e., the evaluation function and its constraints, population size, operation styles of selection, crossover operation and probability, mutation operation and probability. A dynamic combination scheme of genetic operators is formulated to explore and exploit the FPGA in the non-convex solution space and multimodal objective function. Experiment results show that the FPGA is a more effective technique among the various styles of genetic algorithms, which can be applied to the practical scheduling tasks in utility power systems.     

基于改进粒子群优化算法的火电厂机组负荷分配

以坑口电厂SIS系统机组负荷优化分配功能模块为应用背景,针对基本粒子群优化算法易陷入局部收敛、收敛速度慢的缺点,提出一种基于惯性权重非线性减小策略的改进粒子群优化算法。并且通过MATLAB与Visual C++混合编程,开发了机组负荷在线优化分配功能模块,提高了算法的计算效率和工程应用价值。     

Quantifying the value of buyer–vendor coordination: Analytical and numerical results under different replenishment cost structures

Despite a growing interest in channel coordination, no detailed analytical or numerical results measuring its impact on system performance have been reported in the literature. Hence, this paper aims to develop analytical and numerical results documenting the system-wide cost improvement rates that are due to coordination. To this end, we revisit the classical buyer–vendor coordination problem introduced by Goyal [S.K. Goyal, An integrated inventory model for a single-supplier single-customer problem. International Journal of Production Research 15 (1976) 107–111] and extended by Toptal et al. [A. Toptal, S. Çetinkaya, C.-Y. Lee, The buyer–vendor coordination problem: modeling inbound and outbound cargo capacity and costs, IIE Transactions on Logistics and Scheduling 35 (2003) 987–1002] to consider generalized replenishment costs under centralized decision making. We analyze (i) how the counterpart centralized and decentralized solutions differ from each other, (ii) under what circumstances their implications are similar, and (iii) the effect of generalized replenishment costs on the system-wide cost improvement rates that are due to coordination. First, considering Goyal’s basic setting, we show that the improvement rate depends on cost parameters. We characterize this dependency analytically, develop analytical bounds on the improvement rate, and identify the problem instances in which considerable savings can be achieved through coordination. Next, we analyze Toptal et al.’s [A. Toptal, S. Çetinkaya, C.-Y. Lee, The buyer–vendor coordination problem: modeling inbound and outbound cargo capacity and costs, IIE Transactions on Logistics and Scheduling 35 (2003) 987–1002] extended setting that considers generalized replenishment costs representing inbound and outbound transportation considerations, and we present detailed numerical results quantifying the value of coordination. We report significant improvement rates with and without explicit transportation considerations, and we present numerical evidence which suggests that larger rates are more likely in the former case.     

Energy and reserve dispatch with distributionally robust joint chance constraints

We develop a two-stage stochastic program for energy and reserve dispatch of a joint power and gas system with a high penetration of renewables. Data-driven distributionally robust chance constraints ensure that there is no load shedding and renewable spillage with high probability. We solve this problem efficiently using conditional value-at-risk approximations and linear decision rules. Out-of-sample experiments show that this model dominates the corresponding stochastic program without chance constraints that models the effects of load shedding and renewable spillage explicitly.     

Measurement of underground motion at the SSRF site

For the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) and future Shanghai Free‐Electron Laser projects, ground vibration is an important factor and, in order to attenuate it, the construction of a deep tunnel is under consideration. This paper concentrates on the investigation of ground vibration at different underground levels down to 60 m below surface, in order to understand the effect of vibration attenuation with depth. The effect of traffic is also studied using a 10 ton truck, with ground motion compared in different directions. Finally, a summary and some suggestions on these two projects are given.     

Measurement of concrete internal strain using a three-dimensional transducer system

A new three-dimensional transducer system is introduced in this paper, which enables the measurement of six internal components of strain tensor in concrete members. Laboratory tests and strain analyses were carried out to evaluate this tranducer system. The results show that the system is effective in measuring internal strains of concrete members. It was then embedded in a reinforced concrete bridge deck in Macomb County, Michigan. Field tests were conducted to measure the strains in the deck under truck wheel load. The results were used to understand the deck's strain and stress behavior under truck wheel load.     

AN IDEA OF IMPROVING INNER WHEEL DIFFERENCE PROBLEM OF SEMI-TRAILER TRUCK

基于降低货车内轮差安全隐患的考虑,根据已有的研究成果对半挂车内轮差问题改善方向提出设想,基于刚体运动学原理提出具体改进方案,导出转弯时半挂车运动轨迹方程,运用Matlab软件从理论上进行了验证。