Economic Indicators

Currency exchanges rates – updated monthly. Economic indicators of industrial production. Countries included: France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan (Total G-7), Eurozone and Total EU-28 (Total OECD). Updated monthly. Economic indicators of car registration in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Japan, Republic of Korea and Other OECD (Total OECD-30). Updated monthly. Monthly averages of crude steel production in thousand metric tons for the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, Iran, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Australia.     

Electricity Production

Current data on net electricity production, as well as a breakdown of production by country. Updated on a monthly basis.     

Workers’ rest allowance and smoothing of the workload in assembly lines

Ergonomic aspects have a crucial role in manual assembly systems. They impact on the workers’ health, final product quality and productivity. For these reasons, there is the necessity to integrate them into the assembly line balancing phase as, whereas, only time and cost variables are considered. In this study, human energy expenditures are considered as ergonomic aspects and we integrate them, for the first time, into the assembly line balancing problem type 2 through the rest allowance evaluation. We consider as an objective function the minimization of the smoothness index. Firstly, a new optimal method based on mixed integer linear programming and a new linearization methodology are proposed. Then, a heuristic approach is introduced. To complete the study, a computational experimentation is presented to validate the mathematical model and to compare the methodologies proposed in terms of computational time, complexity and solution. Additionally, we provide a detailed analysis of the impact that rest allowance evaluation can have on productivity comparing the results obtained, taking into account the rest allowance integration before, during and after the assembly balancing process.     

Simultaneous process optimization and heat integration based on rigorous process simulations

This paper introduces a simultaneous process optimization and heat integration approach, which can be used directly with the rigorous models in process simulators. In this approach, the overall process is optimized utilizing external derivative-free optimizers, which interact directly with the process simulation. The heat integration subproblem is formulated as an LP model and solved simultaneously during optimization of the flowsheet to update the minimum utility and heat exchanger area targets. A piecewise linear approximation for the composite curve is applied to obtain more accurate heat integration results. This paper describes the application of this simultaneous approach for three cases: a recycle process, a separation process and a power plant with carbon capture. Case study results indicate that this simultaneous approach is relatively easy to implement and achieves higher profit and lower operating cost and, in the case of the power plant example, higher net efficiency than the sequential approach.     

刮板输送机中板仿生耐磨优化试验研究

刮板输送机中板磨损失效已成为输送机运行故障的主要原因之一，为了提高中板耐磨性，基于蜣螂非光滑单元进行了仿生中板设计，以磨损量为响应值，进行了单因素和响应面法优化试验。根据响应面法试验结果得到的因素显著性影响顺序（从高至低）依次为：径向距离，深径比，直径，节距角。基于试验结果建立了磨损量与因素的回归预测模型，经试验对比发现，预测模型与真实试验的相对误差为3.2%。在特定工况（煤散料粒度为6~8 mm、载荷为20 N、刮板链速为0.65 m/s及试验时长为6 600 s）下，当深径比为1.41、直径为0.69 mm、节距角为6.55°和径向距离为4.66 mm时，磨损量最小，仿生中板的耐磨性提高了12.6%。分析其耐磨机理发现，与光滑板相比，仿生板的磨粒磨损及黏着磨损较轻。凹坑分布可破坏持续切削中板表面的煤粒运动状态。中板的仿生优化可为今后刮板输送机的设计提供一定参考。     

A modified particle swarm optimization with multiple subpopulations for multimodal function optimization problems

In this paper, a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is developed for solving multimodal function optimization problems. The difference between the proposed method and the general PSO is to split up the original single population into several subpopulations according to the order of particles. The best particle within each subpopulation is recorded and then applied into the velocity updating formula to replace the original global best particle in the whole population. To update all particles in each subpopulation, the modified velocity formula is utilized. Based on the idea of multiple subpopulations, for the multimodal function optimization the several optima including the global and local solutions may probably be found by these best particles separately. To show the efficiency of the proposed method, two kinds of function optimizations are provided, including a single modal function optimization and a complex multimodal function optimization. Simulation results will demonstrate the convergence behavior of particles by the number of iterations, and the global and local system solutions are solved by these best particles of subpopulations.     

A semicontinuous approach for heterogeneous azeotropic distillation processes

The separation of azeotropes has substantial energy and investment costs, and the available methods require high capital costs for reconstruction of process plants. As an alternative, a semicontinuous configuration that utilizes an existing plant with minor modifications has been explored. In this paper, a semicontinuous, heterogeneous azeotropic distillation process is proposed and acetic acid dehydration process is used as a case study. To carry out the simulation work, Aspen HYSYS^® simulation software is used along with MATLAB^® and an interface program to handle the mode-transition of the semicontinuous process. Sensitivity analyses on operating parameters are performed to identify the process limits. Comparisons are made to conventional heterogeneous azeotropic distillation, and dividing-wall distillation column on the annual cost. The results proved that the semicontinuous system is the best setup in terms of total annual costs and energy requirements.     

Hierarchical multi-reservoir optimization modeling for real-world complexity with application to the Three Gorges system

High dimensionality in real-world multi-reservoir systems greatly hinders the application and popularity of evolutionary algorithms, especially for systems with heterogeneous units. An efficient hierarchical optimization framework is presented for search space reduction, determining the best water distributions, not only between cascade reservoirs, but also among different types of hydropower units. The framework is applied to the Three Gorges Project (TGP) system and the results demonstrate that the difficulties of multi-reservoir optimization caused by high dimensionality can be effectively solved by the proposed hierarchical method. For the day studied, power output could be increased by 6.79 GWh using an optimal decision with the same amount of water actually used; while the same amount of power could be generated with 2.59 × 10⁷ m³ less water compared to the historical policy. The methodology proposed is general in that it can be used for other reservoir systems and other types of heterogeneous unit generators.     

高瓦斯突出矿井底抽巷一巷多用技术研究与实践

胡底煤业为高瓦斯高突出高矿压的三高矿井。对高瓦斯高突出的治理，该矿采用“地面网络预抽、区域模块降量、底抽穿层保掘、高位顺层保采”的四级模式，施工底抽巷，实现“底抽穿层消突、区域模块降量、异巷探测增效、多巷通风治患、循环排矸减压”等“一巷多用”。该4种方法已在1303（上）、1305（上）工作面应用并推广，取得了良好的效果，大大提高了掘进效率且满足抽放、探放水、通风需要；回填矸石初步设计现已经完善，待下一步掘进将实现填矸作用。