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Article
Publication date: 25 March 2019

Ji Cheng, Ping Jiang, Qi Zhou, Jiexiang Hu, Tao Yu, Leshi Shu and Xinyu Shao

Engineering design optimization involving computational simulations is usually a time-consuming, even computationally prohibitive process. To relieve the computational burden, the…

Abstract

Purpose

Engineering design optimization involving computational simulations is usually a time-consuming, even computationally prohibitive process. To relieve the computational burden, the adaptive metamodel-based design optimization (AMBDO) approaches have been widely used. This paper aims to develop an AMBDO approach, a lower confidence bounding approach based on the coefficient of variation (CV-LCB) approach, to balance the exploration and exploitation objectively for obtaining a global optimum under limited computational budget.

Design/methodology/approach

In the proposed CV-LCB approach, the coefficient of variation (CV) of predicted values is introduced to indicate the degree of dispersion of objective function values, while the CV of predicting errors is introduced to represent the accuracy of the established metamodel. Then, a weighted formula, which takes the degree of dispersion and the prediction accuracy into consideration, is defined based on the already-acquired CV information to adaptively update the metamodel during the optimization process.

Findings

Ten numerical examples with different degrees of complexity and an AIAA aerodynamic design optimization problem are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed CV-LCB approach. The comparisons between the proposed approach and four existing approaches regarding the computational efficiency and robustness are made. Results illustrate the merits of the proposed CV-LCB approach in computational efficiency and robustness.

Practical implications

The proposed approach exhibits high efficiency and robustness in engineering design optimization involving computational simulations.

Originality/value

CV-LCB approach can balance the exploration and exploitation objectively.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 36 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2023

Chenghui Xu, Sen Leng, Deen Li and Yajun Yu

This paper aims to focus on the accurate analysis of the fractional heat transfer in a two-dimensional (2D) rectangular monolayer tissue with three different kinds of lateral…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to focus on the accurate analysis of the fractional heat transfer in a two-dimensional (2D) rectangular monolayer tissue with three different kinds of lateral boundary conditions and the quantitative evaluation of the degree of thermal damage and burn depth.

Design/methodology/approach

A symplectic method is used to analytically solve the fractional heat transfer dual equation in the frequency domain (s-domain). Explicit expressions of the dual vector can be constructed by superposing the symplectic eigensolutions. The solution procedure is rigorously rational without any trial functions. And the accurate predictions of temperature and heat flux in the time domain (t-domain) are derived through numerical inverse Laplace transform.

Findings

Comparison study shows that the maximum relative error is less than 0.16%, which verifies the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results indicate that the model and heat source parameters have a significant effect on temperature and thermal damage. The pulse duration (Δt) of the laser heat source can effectively control the time to reach the peak temperature and the peak slope of the thermal damage curve. The burn depth is closely correlated with exposure temperature and duration. And there exists the delayed effect of fractional order on burn depth.

Originality/value

A symplectic approach is presented for the thermal analysis of 2D fractional heat transfer. A unified time-fractional heat transfer model is proposed to describe the anomalous thermal behavior of biological tissue. New findings might provide guidance for temperature prediction and thermal damage assessment of biological tissues during hyperthermia.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 33 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2021

Wenmin Chu, Xiang Huang and Shuanggao Li

With the improvement of modern aircraft requirements for safety, long life and economy, higher quality aircraft assembly is needed. However, due to the manufacturing and assembly…

Abstract

Purpose

With the improvement of modern aircraft requirements for safety, long life and economy, higher quality aircraft assembly is needed. However, due to the manufacturing and assembly errors of the posture adjustment mechanism (PAM) used in the digital assembly of aircraft large component (ALC), the posture alignment accuracy of ALC is difficult to be guaranteed, and the posture adjustment stress is easy to be generated. Aiming at these problems, this paper aims to propose a calibration method of redundant actuated parallel mechanism (RAPM) for posture adjustment.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the kinematics model of the PAM is established, and the influence of the coupling relationship between the axes of the numerical control locators (NCL) is analyzed. Second, the calibration method based on force closed-loop feedback is used to calibrate each branch chain (BC) of the PAM, and the solution of kinematic parameters is optimized by Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC). Third, the uncertainty of kinematic calibration is analyzed by Monte Carlo method. Finally, a simulated posture adjustment system was built to calibrate the kinematics parameters of PAM, and the posture adjustment experiment was carried out according to the calibration results.

Findings

The experiment results show that the proposed calibration method can significantly improve the posture adjustment accuracy and greatly reduce the posture adjustment stress.

Originality/value

In this paper, a calibration method based on force feedback is proposed to avoid the deformation of NCL and bracket caused by redundant driving during the calibration process, and RANSAC method is used to reduce the influence of large random error on the calibration accuracy.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 48 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2021

Xian Zhang, Gedong Jiang, Hao Zhang, Xialun Yun and Xuesong Mei

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dependent competing failure reliability of harmonic drive (HD) with strength failure and degradation failure.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dependent competing failure reliability of harmonic drive (HD) with strength failure and degradation failure.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on life tests and stiffness degradation experiments, Wiener process is used to establish the accelerated performance degradation model of HD. Model parameter distribution is estimated by Bayesian inference and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and stiffness degradation failure samples are obtained by a three-step sampling method. Combined with strength failure samples of HD, copula function is used to describe the dependence between strength failure and stiffness degradation failure.

Findings

Strength failure occurred earlier than degradation failure under high level accelerated condition; degradation failure occurred earlier than strength failure under medium- or low-level accelerated condition. Gumbel copula is the optimum copula function for dependence modeling of strength failure and stiffness degradation failure. Dependent competing failure reliability of HD is larger than independent competing failure reliability.

Originality/value

The reliability evaluation method of dependent competing failure of HD with strength failure and degradation failure is first proposed. Performance degradation experiments during accelerated life test (ALT), step-down ALT and life test under rated condition are conducted for Wiener process based step-down accelerated performance degradation modeling.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 38 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 February 2021

Xueguang Yu, Xintian Liu, Xu Wang and Xiaolan Wang

This study aims to propose an improved affine interval truncation algorithm to restrain interval extension for interval function.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose an improved affine interval truncation algorithm to restrain interval extension for interval function.

Design/methodology/approach

To reduce the occurrence times of related variables in interval function, the processing method of interval operation sequence is proposed.

Findings

The interval variable is evenly divided into several subintervals based on correlation analysis of interval variables. The interval function value is modified by the interval truncation method to restrain larger estimation of interval operation results.

Originality/value

Through several uncertain displacement response engineering examples, the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed algorithm are verified by comparing with interval method and optimization algorithm.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 38 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 November 2022

Jinxia Jiang, Haojie Zhao and Yan Zhang

This study aims to investigate the two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of a fractional Maxwell nanofluid between inclined cylinders with variable thickness…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic flow and heat transfer of a fractional Maxwell nanofluid between inclined cylinders with variable thickness. Considering the cylindrical coordinate system, the constitutive relation of the fractional viscoelastic fluid and the fractional dual-phase-lag (DPL) heat conduction model, the boundary layer governing equations are first formulated and derived.

Design/methodology/approach

The newly developed finite difference scheme combined with the L1 algorithm is used to numerically solve nonlinear fractional differential equations. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the algorithm is verified by a numerical example.

Findings

Based on numerical analysis, the effects of parameters on velocity and temperature are revealed. Specifically, the velocity decreases with the increase of the fractional derivative parameter α owing to memory characteristics. The temperature increase with the increase of fractional derivative parameter ß due to a decrease in thermal resistance. From a physical perspective, the phase lag of the heat flux vector and temperature gradients τq and τT exhibit opposite trends to the temperature. The ratio τT/τq plays an important role in controlling different heat conduction behaviors. Increasing the inclination angle θ, the types and volume fractions of nanoparticles Φ can increase velocity and temperature, respectively.

Originality/value

Fractional Maxwell nanofluid flows from a fixed-thickness pipe to an inclined variable-thickness pipe, and the fractional DPL heat conduction model based on materials is considered, which provides a basis for the safe and efficient transportation of high-viscosity and condensable fluids in industrial production.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Yu Bai, Lamei Huo and Yan Zhang

The purpose of this study is to investigate the unsteady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer of fractional Maxwell fluid towards a time power-law-dependent stretching plate…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the unsteady stagnation-point flow and heat transfer of fractional Maxwell fluid towards a time power-law-dependent stretching plate. Based on the characteristics of pressure in the boundary layer, the momentum equation with the fractional Maxwell model is firstly formulated to analyze unsteady stagnation-point flow. Furthermore, generalized Fourier’s law is considered in the energy equation and boundary condition of convective heat transfer.

Design/methodology/approach

The nonlinear fractional differential equations are solved by the newly developed finite difference scheme combined with L1-algorithm, whose convergence is verified by constructing a numerical example.

Findings

Some interesting results can be revealed. The larger fractional derivative parameter of velocity promotes the flow, while the smaller fractional derivative parameter of temperature accelerates the heat transfer. The temperature boundary layer is thicker than the velocity boundary layer, and the velocity enlarges as the stagnation parameter raises. This is because when Prandtl number < 1, the capacity of heat diffusion is greater than that of momentum diffusion. It is to be observed that all the temperature profiles first enhance a little and then reduce rapidly, which indicates the thermal retardation of Maxwell fluid.

Originality/value

The unsteady stagnation-point flow model of Maxwell fluid is extended from integral derivative to fractional derivative, which has more flexibility to describe viscoelastic fluid’s complex dynamic process and provide a theoretical basis for industrial processing.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2010

Ziyi Wei

Since China initiated its “go global” policy that promotes its overseas investment, China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) has increased almost twenty times during the…

2542

Abstract

Since China initiated its “go global” policy that promotes its overseas investment, China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) has increased almost twenty times during the last 10 years, reaching $55.9 billion in 2008. The issue of internationalization of Chinese OFDI has attracted increasing attention of researchers from a business perspective. This article systematically reviews the previous studies on overseas investments by Chinese MNEs and discusses the characteristics of Chinese internationalization behavior at both firm level and country level. The internationalization of Chinese companies cannot be understood as a simple game of “catch up” with established MNEs, and more firm‐level empirical studies should be carried out on how these characteristics influence firms’ strategic decisions.

Details

Multinational Business Review, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1525-383X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 February 2021

Yongxing Guo, Min Chen, Li Xiong, Xinglin Zhou and Cong Li

The purpose of this study is to present the state of the art for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) acceleration sensing technologies from two aspects: the principle of the measurement…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to present the state of the art for fiber Bragg grating (FBG) acceleration sensing technologies from two aspects: the principle of the measurement dimension and the principle of the sensing configuration. Some commercial sensors have also been introduced and future work in this field has also been discussed. This paper could provide an important reference for the research community.

Design/methodology/approach

This review is to present the state of the art for FBG acceleration sensing technologies from two aspects: the principle of the measurement dimension (one-dimension and multi-dimension) and the principle of the sensing configuration (beam type, radial vibration type, axial vibration type and other composite structures).

Findings

The current research on developing FBG acceleration sensors is mainly focused on the sensing method, the construction and design of the elastic structure and the design of a new information detection method. This paper hypothesizes that in the future, the following research trends will be strengthened: common single-mode fiber grating of the low cost and high utilization rate; high sensitivity and strength special fiber grating; multi-core fiber grating for measuring single-parameter multi-dimensional information or multi-parameter information; demodulating equipment of low cost, small volume and high sampling frequency.

Originality/value

The principle of the measurement dimension and principle of the sensing configuration for FBG acceleration sensors have been introduced, which could provide an important reference for the research community.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 October 2022

Wenping Xu, Jitao Xu, David Proverbs and Yuwan Zhang

In modern urban governance, rescue materials storage points (RMSP) are a vital role to be considered in responding to public emergencies and improving a city's emergency…

Abstract

Purpose

In modern urban governance, rescue materials storage points (RMSP) are a vital role to be considered in responding to public emergencies and improving a city's emergency management. This study analyzes the siting of community-centered relief supply facilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Combining grey relational analysis, complex network and relative entropy, a new multi criteria method is proposed. It pays more attention to the needs of the community, taking into account the use of community hospitals, fire centers and neighborhood offices to establish small RMSP.

Findings

The research results firstly found suitable areas for RMSP site selection, including Hanyang, Qiaokou, Jiangan and Wuchang. The top 10 nodes in each region are found as the location of emergency facilities, and the network parameters are higher than ordinary nodes in traffic networks. The proposed method was applied in Wuhan, China and the method was verified by us-ing a complex network model combined with multi-criteria decision-making for emergency facility location.

Practical implications

This method solves the problem of how to choose the optimal solution and reduces the difficulty for decision makers. This method will help emergency managers to locate and plan RMSP more simply, especially in improving emergency siting modeling techniques and additionally in providing a reference for future research.

Originality/value

The method proposed in this study is beneficial to improve the decision-making ability of urban emergency departments. Using complex networks and comprehensive evaluation techniques, RMSP is incorporated into the urban community emergency network as a critical rescue force. More importantly, the findings highlight a new direction for further research on urban emergency facilities site selection based on a combination of sound theoretical basis as well as empirical evidence gained from real life case-based analysis.

Highlights:

  1. Material reserve points are incorporated into the emergency supply network to maintain the advantage of quantity.

  2. Build emergency site selection facilities centered on urban communities.

  3. Use a complex network model to select the location of emergency supplies storage sites.

Material reserve points are incorporated into the emergency supply network to maintain the advantage of quantity.

Build emergency site selection facilities centered on urban communities.

Use a complex network model to select the location of emergency supplies storage sites.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 53 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

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