Sharif Digital Repository

The major application of stochastic intelligent methods in optimisation, control and management of complex systems is transparent. Many researchers try to develop collective intelligent techniques and hybrid meta-heuristic models for improving the reliability of such optimisation algorithms. In this paper, a new optimisation method that is the simulation of 'the great salmon run' (TGSR) is developed. This simulation provides a powerful tool for optimising complex multi-dimensional and multi-modal problems. For demonstrating the high robustness and acceptable quality of TGSR, it is compared with most of the well-known proposed optimisation techniques such as parallel migrating genetic... 

The computer aided optimal feeder design in the sand casting process is considered. The design problem is formulated as an additive evolutionary topology optimisation problem. The initial design of the presented method is a casting part which is placed in a suitable environmental mould box. The method is composed of three stages: determination of the feeder neck connection point, construction of the feeder neck and the feeder growth. During the growth stage, the feeder topology is improved gradually until satisfying some predefined criteria. The technological constraints and user contribution can be easily incorporated in the presented method. The success of the proposed method is supported... 

Water cycle algorithm (WCA) is a population-based metaheuristic algorithm, inspired by the water cycle process and movement of rivers and streams towards sea. The WCA shows good performance in both exploration and exploitation phases. Further, the relationship between improvised exploitation and each parameter under asymmetric interval is derived and an iterative convergence of WCA is proved theoretically. In this paper, CEC’15 computationally expensive benchmark problems (i.e., 15 problems) have been considered for efficiency measurement of WCA accompanied with other optimisers. Also, a new discretisation strategy for the WCA has been proposed and applied along with other optimisers for... 

The objective of this study is to design sub-optimal signature matrices for binary inputs for an overloaded code division multiple access (CDMA) system as developed by this author group. In this study, the authors propose to use the sum capacity, the bit error rate and distance criteria as objective functions for signature matrix optimisation. Three optimisation techniques, the genetic algorithm, the particle swarm optimisation and the conjugate gradient (CG) are exploited in this work. Since the optimisation computational complexity increases by matrix dimensions, it is practically impossible to directly optimise the large signature matrices. In order to address this problem, a method is... 

Optimal production-distribution planning prevents capital accumulation, reduces costs, unemployment of machinery, and provides a good plan to satisfying customer needs. In this paper, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed to determine optimal production-distribution planning in electromotor manufacturing industries. The proposed model is a multi-product and multi-period one in which optimal amounts of production, inventory and distribution are determined in different periods. Also, the possibility of capacity expansion of facilities in different periods are modelled to optimally determine the capacity increase if necessary. To validate the proposed model, it is applied... 

Network marketing is a business model that depends upon a network of distributors for growth, such as in multilevel marketing. A direct selling method features independent agents that make up a distribution network for goods and services. This paper provides a framework to study the network marketing by adopting the traditional channel. To motivate all distributers in network marketing as well as retailers, it is required to design a well-balanced distribution and pricing system. The allocated commission for distributers in different layers of network marketing is part of pricing system, which is vital. In this paper, we develop an approach to determine all elements of system, including... 

The concept of smart grid (SG) has been introduced to improve the operation of the power systems. In modern structures of power systems, different reasons prompt researchers to suggest integrated analysis of multi-carrier energy systems. Considering synergy effects of the couplings between different energy carriers and utilising intelligent technologies for monitoring and controlling of energy flow may change energy system management in the future. In this paper, we propose a new solution which is entitled ‘smart energy hub’ (SEH) that models a multi-carrier energy system in a SG. SEH solutions allow homeowners to manage their energy consumption to reduce their electricity and gas bill. We... 

The purpose of this paper is to design and develop an advanced co-flow fluidic nozzle, based on the Coanda effect concept, for multi-directional thrust vectoring of small jet engines. Recent progress on finding an optimal geometry with a fixed momentum ratio to achieve maximum thrust deflection angle is discussed here. The efficiency of the system is found to be a weakly nonlinear function of the secondary to primary flow momentum as well as three geometric parameters. A useful empirical formulation is derived for thrust vectoring angle, based on a series of tests carried out on different nozzles. An accurate computational fluid dynamics model is also developed and evaluated against the... 

In this study, hydrogen generation is maximised by optimising the size and the operating conditions of an electrolyser (EL) directly connected to a photovoltaic (PV) module at different irradiance. Due to the variations of maximum power points of the PV module during a year and the complexity of the system, a nonlinear approach is considered. A mathematical model has been developed to determine the performance of the PV/EL system. The optimisation methodology presented here is based on the particle swarm optimisation algorithm. By this method, for the given number of PV modules, the optimal sizeand operating condition of a PV/EL system areachieved. The approach can be applied for different... 

In this study, the authors show that the coding advantage (CA) of quasi-orthogonal space-frequency block codes (QOSFBCs) could be decomposed into two parts, namely intrinsic CA (ICA) and extrinsic CA (ECA). Then, by using the ICA, the authors demonstrate that the optimum precoder of the QOSFBCs could be analytically derived without any requirement of the exhaustive search. Then, by improving the ECA, the authors enhance performances of the QOSFBCs efficiently - up to 4dB. Finally, the authors show that a very fast optimisation process for the QOSFBCs is viable over any arbitrary frequency-selective channel  

This paper shows a new possible way with particle swarm optimisation (PSO) to achieve an exergoeconomic optimisation of combinedcycle power plants. The optimisation has been done using a classic exergoeconomic and genetic algorithm, and the effects of using three methods are investigated and compared. The design data of an existing plant is used for the present analysis. Two different objective functions are proposed: One minimises the total cost of production per unit of output, and maximises the total exergetic efficiency. The analysis shows that the total cost of production per unit of output is 2%, 3%and 5% lower and exergy efficiency is 4%, 8% and 6% higher with respect to the base case... 

McPherson suspension mechanism is one of the widespread mounted mechanisms in front axle of Front Wheel Drive (FWD) vehicles with transverse engine. In this study the kinematics of McPherson suspension mechanism is optimised in order to achieve the desired kinematic behavior and improve vehicle stability. First, the mechanism was modeled in Mechanical Desktop software package and the model transferred to Working Model 3D software for kinematic analysis. Then results of kinematic simulation compared to design criteria and as target function is established, by choosing the optimal amount of optimisation variables the amount of cost function has been minimized. Because of simple... 

Cardiovascular diseases have been known as one of the main reasons of mortality all around the world. Nevertheless, this disease is preventable if it can be diagnosed in an early stage. Therefore, it is crucial to develop Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSSs) that are able to help physicians diagnose the disease and its related risks. This study focuses on cardiovascular disease diagnosis in an Iranian community by developing a CDSS, based on Support Vector Machine (SVM) combined with Binary Particle Swarm Optimisation (BPSO). We used SVM as the classifier and benefited enormously from optimisation capabilities of BPSO in model development as well as feature selection. Finally,... 

Recent advances in wireless sensor network (WSN) technology are enabling the deployment of large-scale and collaborative sensor networks. WSNs face several challenges such as security, localisation, and energy consumption. To resolve these issues, evolutionary algorithms can be helpful. The core of every evolutionary algorithm is its fitness function. The drawbacks of fitness functions used in the literature will be investigated and some solutions will be suggested. The simulation results clearly show the improvement due to suggested solutions. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2017  

In this document, allocation of different types of vehicles for transporting products from a manufacturing firm to its depots is considered. The problem involves a limited number of vehicles of various capacities, with the fixed and variable costs as well as a discount mechanism. The objective is defined as the minimisation of the total transportation costs. A mathematical model in the form of nonlinear integer programming is developed and converted to the linear zero-one programme. Due to the NP hard complexity of the proposed mathematical model, a Prufer-based genetic algorithm capable of solving large instances is developed. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is compared with the... 

One of the important challenges in the auto industry is to reduce the mass of the vehicle while meeting structural performance requirements for crashworthiness, noise, vibration and harshness, etc. In this paper, a multidisciplinary optimisation of a car back-bonnet is investigated by using the response surface method. A car body is fully surface modelled in CATIA and meshed in software. Then, modal analysis of the finite element model is performed by NASTRAN software to find natural frequencies. A frequency map of that component is extracted and compared with a reference map to detect defects. Design of experiments methodology is used for a screening of the design space and for the... 

Ground improvement techniques are inevitable for weak soils that cannot endure the design load imposed by superstructures. Deep mixing technique (DMT) as one of these methods is promising and effective when a deep soil layer with low bearing capacity is encountered. Such deposits are quite common in the South-west of Iran where the studied site is located. In order to validate the influence of DMT on the enhancement of strength, both in-situ and laboratory tests were conducted. Afterwards, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of key factors including cement content, water–cement ratio, curing time and plasticity index (PI) on the performance of DMT. In summary, a... 

Ground improvement techniques are inevitable for weak soils that cannot endure the design load imposed by superstructures. Deep mixing technique (DMT) as one of these methods is promising and effective when a deep soil layer with low bearing capacity is encountered. Such deposits are quite common in the South-west of Iran where the studied site is located. In order to validate the influence of DMT on the enhancement of strength, both in-situ and laboratory tests were conducted. Afterwards, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of key factors including cement content, water–cement ratio, curing time and plasticity index (PI) on the performance of DMT. In summary, a... 

The current paper presents a simple mathematical model for replication of the transient acceleration motion of displacement hulls in calm water under the action of a propulsion system. Different empirical methods are coupled, and an operational speed problem is solved in the time domain. The resistance of the ship is calculated by using the Holtrop method. The values of thrust force, torque and propeller efficiency are computed by using B-Series empirical equations. The acceleration motion of the vessel, which is triggered as the engine starts to work, is simulated by solving a set of first-order differential equations, which are discretised in the time domain. It is shown that different...