Uniquely Identifiable Tamper-Evident Device Using Coupling between Subwavelength Gratings

Reliability and sensitive information protection are critical aspects of integrated circuits. A novel technique using near-field evanescent wave coupling from two subwavelength gratings (SWGs), with the input laser source delivered through an optical fiber is presented for tamper evidence of electronic components. The first grating of the pair of coupled subwavelength gratings (CSWGs) was milled directly on the output facet of the silica fiber using focused ion beam (FIB) etching. The second grating was patterned using e-beam lithography and etched into a glass substrate using reactive ion etching (RIE). The slightest intrusion attempt would separate the CSWGs and eliminate near-field coupling between the gratings. Tampering, therefore, would become evident. Computer simulations guided the design for optimal operation of the security solution. The physical dimensions of the SWGs, i.e. period and thickness, were optimized, for a 650 nm illuminating wavelength. The optimal dimensions resulted in a 560 nm grating period for the first grating etched in the silica optical fiber and 420 nm for the second grating etched in borosilicate glass. The incident light beam had a half-width at half-maximum (HWHM) of at least 7 µm to allow discernible higher transmission orders, and a HWHM of 28 µm for minimum noise. The minimum number of individual grating lines present on the optical fiber facet was identified as 15 lines. Grating rotation due to the cylindrical geometry of the fiber resulted in a rotation of the far-field pattern, corresponding to the rotation angle of moiré fringes. With the goal of later adding authentication to tamper evidence, the concept of CSWGs signature was also modeled by introducing random and planned variations in the glass grating. The fiber was placed on a stage supported by a nanomanipulator, which permitted three-dimensional displacement while maintaining the fiber tip normal to the surface of the glass substrate. A 650 nm diode laser was fixed to a translation mount that transmitted the light source through the optical fiber, and the output intensity was measured using a silicon photodiode. The evanescent wave coupling output results for the CSWGs were measured and compared to the simulation results.

Otimização dos sistemas biológicos e melhorias nos tratamentos da ETARI da Refinaria de Matosinhos

A Refinaria de Matosinhos é um dos complexos industriais da Galp Energia. A sua estação de tratamento de águas residuais industriais (ETARI) – designada internamente por Unidade 7000 – é composta por quatro tratamentos: o pré-tratamento, o tratamento físico-químico, o tratamento biológico e o pós-tratamento. Dada a interligação existente, é fundamental a otimização de cada um dos tratamentos. Este trabalho teve como objetivos a identificação dos problemas e/ou possibilidades de melhoria do pré-tratamento, tratamento físico-químico e pós-tratamento e principalmente a otimização do tratamento biológico da ETARI. No pré-tratamento verificou-se que a separação de óleos e lamas não era eficaz uma vez que se formam emulsões destas duas fases. Como solução, sugeriu-se a adição de agentes desemulsionantes, que se revelou economicamente inviável. Assim, sugeriu-se como alternativa o recurso a técnicas de tratamento da emulsão gerada, tais como a extração com solvente, centrifugação, ultrassons e micro-ondas. No tratamento físico-químico constatou-se que o controlo da unidade de saturação de ar na água era feito com base na análise visual dos operadores, o que pode conduzir a condições de operação afastadas das ótimas para este tratamento. Assim, sugeriu-se a realização de um estudo de otimização desta unidade com vista à determinação da razão ar/sólidos ótima para este efluente. Para além disto, constatou-se, ainda, que os consumos de coagulante aumentaram cerca de -- % no último ano, pelo que foi sugerido o estudo da viabilidade do processo de eletrocoagulação como substituto do sistema de coagulação existente. No pós-tratamento identificou-se o processo de lavagem dos filtros como sendo a etapa com possibilidade de ser otimizada. Através de um estudo preliminar concluiu-se que a lavagem contínua de um filtro por cada turno melhorava o desempenho dos mesmos. Constatou-se, ainda, que a introdução de ar comprimido na água de lavagem promove uma maior remoção de detritos do leito de areia, no entanto esta prática parece influenciar negativamente o desempenho dos filtros. No caso do tratamento biológico, identificaram-se problemas ao nível do tempo de retenção hidráulico do tratamento biológico II, que apresentou elevada variabilidade. Apesar de identificado concluiu-se que este problema era de difícil solução. Verificou-se, também, que o oxigénio dissolvido não era monitorizado, pelo que se sugeriu a instalação de uma sonda de oxigénio dissolvido numa zona de baixa turbulência do tanque de arejamento. Concluiu-se que o oxigénio era distribuído de forma homogénea por todo o tanque de arejamento e tentou-se identificar quais os fatores que influenciariam este parâmetro, no entanto, dada a elevada variabilidade do efluente e das condições de tratamento, tal não foi possível. Constatou-se, também, que o doseamento de fosfato para o tratamento biológico II era pouco eficiente já Otimização dos sistemas biológicos e melhorias nos tratamentos da ETARI da Refinaria de Matosinhos que em -- % dos dias se verificaram níveis baixos de fosfato no licor misto (< - mg/L). Foi, por isso, proposta a alteração do atual sistema de doseamento por gravidade para um sistema de bomba doseadora. Para além disso verificou-se que os consumos deste nutriente aumentaram significativamente no último ano (cerca de --%), situação que se constatou estar relacionada com um aumento da população microbiana para este período. Foi possível relacionar-se o aparecimento frequente de lamas à superfície dos decantadores secundários com incrementos repentinos de condutividade, pelo que se sugeriu o armazenamento do efluente nas bacias de tempestade, nestas situações. Verificou-se que a remoção de azoto era praticamente ineficaz uma vez que a conversão de azoto amoniacal em nitratos foi muito baixa. Assim, sugeriu-se o recurso à técnica de bio-augmentação ou a transformação do sistema de lamas ativadas num sistema bietápico. Por fim, constatou-se que a temperatura do efluente à entrada da ETARI apresenta valores bastante elevados para o tratamento biológico (aproximadamente de --º C) pelo que se sugeriu a instalação de uma sonda de temperatura no tanque de arejamento de modo a controlar de forma mais eficaz a temperatura do licor misto. Ainda no que diz respeito ao tratamento biológico, foi possível desenvolver-se um conjunto de ferramentas que visaram o funcionamento otimizado deste tratamento. Nesse sentido, foram apresentadas várias sugestões de melhoria: a utilização do índice volumétrico de lamas como indicador da qualidade das lamas em alternativa à percentagem de lamas; foi desenvolvido um conjunto de fluxogramas para a orientação dos operadores de exterior na resolução de problemas; foi criada uma “janela de operação” que pretende ser um guia de apoio à operação; foi ainda proposta a monitorização frequente da idade das lamas e da razão alimento/microrganismo.

A psicologia positiva aplicada ao contexto escolar

Relatório de estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para a obtenção de grau de mestre em educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico

Lógica borrosa para la estimación de estados críticos de una pila de combustible PEM

La determinación en tiempo real de los estados críticos de operación de la pila de combustible de membrana intercambio protónico (siglas en ingles, PEM) es uno de los principales retos para los sistemas de control de pilas de combustible PEM. En este trabajo, se presenta el desarrollo e implementación de un método no invasivo de bajo coste basado en técnicas de decisión borrosa que permite estimar los estados críticos de operación de la pila de combustible PEM. La estimación se realiza mediante perturbaciones al estado de operación de la pila y el análisis posterior de la evolución temporal del voltaje generado por la pila. La implementación de esta técnica de estimulación-percepción de estado de la pila de combustible para la detección de estados críticos constituye una novedad y un paso hacia el control autónomo en óptimas condiciones de la operación de las pilas de combustible PEM.

Diseño de un plan de mejora de la capacitación y la comunicación orientados a la optimización del desempeño de los empleados en la Comercializadora Franco Echeverry S.A.S.

Colombia muestra una actividad económica apoyada en empresas donde las PYMES, sumadas a las microempresas, representan el 90% del parque empresarial del país y generan el 63% del empleo nacional y el 53% de la producción bruta de los sectores industrial, comercial y de servicios. Debido a esta caracterización, es de gran importancia conocer más a fondo acerca de sus procesos tanto gerenciales como operativos ya que de estos se desprende la óptima operación y el buen desempeño, en términos de competitividad, de las empresas colombianas tanto a nivel nacional como internacional (Jaramillo Naranjo, 2003). En la medida que se brinde conocimiento sobre la forma de operar de las MIPYMES, la comunidad académica podrá aportar más en el buen desarrollo del sector empresarial colombiano.

Optimal Reservoir Operation for Flood Control Using Folded Dynamic Programming

Folded Dynamic Programming (FDP) is adopted for developing optimalnreservoir operation policies for flood control. It is applied to a case study of Hirakud Reservoir in Mahanadi basin, India with the objective of deriving optimal policy for flood control. The river flows down to Naraj, the head of delta where a major city is located and finally joins the Bay of Bengal. As Hirakud reservoir is on the upstream side of delta area in the basin, it plays an important role in alleviating the severity of the flood for this area. Data of 68 floods such as peaks of inflow hydrograph, peak of outflow from reservoir during each flood, peak of flow hydrograph at Naraj and d/s catchment contribution are utilized. The combinations of 51, 54, 57 thousand cumecs as peak inflow into reservoir and 25.5, 20, 14 thousand cumecs respectively as,peak d/s catchment contribution form the critical combinations for flood situation. It is observed that the combination of 57 thousand cumecs of inflow into reservoir and 14 thousand cumecs for d/s catchment contribution is the most critical among the critical combinations of flow series. The method proposed can be extended to similar situations for deriving reservoir operating policies for flood control.

Optimal reservoir operation for irrigation of multiple crops using genetic algorithms

This paper presents a genetic algorithm (GA) model for obtaining an optimal operating policy and optimal crop water allocations from an irrigation reservoir. The objective is to maximize the sum of the relative yields from all crops in the irrigated area. The model takes into account reservoir inflow, rainfall on the irrigated area, intraseasonal competition for water among multiple crops, the soil moisture dynamics in each cropped area, the heterogeneous nature of soils. and crop response to the level of irrigation applied. The model is applied to the Malaprabha single-purpose irrigation reservoir in Karnataka State, India. The optimal operating policy obtained using the GA is similar to that obtained by linear programming. This model can be used for optimal utilization of the available water resources of any reservoir system to obtain maximum benefits.

An integrated model for optimal reservoir operation for irrigation of multiple crops

An integrated model is developed, based on seasonal inputs of reservoir inflow and rainfall in the irrigated area, to determine the optimal reservoir release policies and irrigation allocations to multiple crops. The model is conceptually made up of two modules, Module 1 is an intraseasonal allocation model to maximize the sum of relative yields of all crops, for a given state of the system, using linear programming (LP). The module takes into account reservoir storage continuity, soil moisture balance, and crop root growth with time. Module 2 is a seasonal allocation model to derive the steady state reservoir operating policy using stochastic dynamic programming (SDP). Reservoir storage, seasonal inflow, and seasonal rainfall are the state variables in the SDP. The objective in SDP is to maximize the expected sum of relative yields of all crops in a year. The results of module 1 and the transition probabilities of seasonal inflow and rainfall form the input for module 2. The use of seasonal inputs coupled with the LP-SDP solution strategy in the present formulation facilitates in relaxing the limitations of an earlier study, while affecting additional improvements. The model is applied to an existing reservoir in Karnataka State, India.

Evolutionary Algorithm for the Determination of Optimal Mode of Bioreactor Operation

Stirred tank bioreactors, employed in the production of a variety of biologically active chemicals, are often operated in batch, fed-batch, and continuous modes of operation. The optimal design of bioreactor is dependent on the kinetics of the biological process, as well as the performance criteria (yield, productivity, etc.) under consideration. In this paper, a general framework is proposed for addressing the two key issues related to the optimal design of a bioreactor, namely, (i) choice of the best operating mode and (ii) the corresponding flow rate trajectories. The optimal bioreactor design problem is formulated with initial conditions and inlet and outlet flow rate trajectories as decision variables to maximize more than one performance criteria (yield, productivity, etc.) as objective functions. A computational methodology based on genetic algorithm approach is developed to solve this challenging multiobjective optimization problem with multiple decision variables. The applicability of the algorithm is illustrated by solving two challenging problems from the bioreactor optimization literature.

An integrated model for optimal reservoir operation for irrigation of multiple crops

An integratedm odel is developed,b asedo n seasonailn puts of reservoiri nflow and rainfall in the irrigated area, to determine the optimal reservoir release policies and irrigation allocationst o multiple crops.T he model is conceptuallym ade up of two modules. Module 1 is an intraseasonal allocation model to maximize the sum of relative yieldso f all crops,f or a givens tateo f the systemu, singl inear programming(L P). The module takes into account reservoir storage continuity, soil moisture balance, and crop root growthw ith time. Module 2 is a seasonaal llocationm odel to derive the steadys tate reservoiro peratingp olicyu sings tochastidc ynamicp rogramming(S DP). Reservoir storage, seasonal inflow, and seasonal rainfall are the state variables in the SDP. The objective in SDP is to maximize the expected sum of relative yields of all crops in a year.The resultso f module 1 and the transitionp robabilitieso f seasonailn flow and rainfall form the input for module 2. The use of seasonailn puts coupledw ith the LP-SDP solution strategy in the present formulation facilitates in relaxing the limitations of an earlier study,w hile affectinga dditionali mprovementsT. he model is applied to an existing reservoir in Karnataka State, India.

Optimal methodology for renewable energy dispatching in islanded operation

The management of energy resources for islanded operation is of crucial importance for the successful use of renewable energy sources. A Virtual Power Producer (VPP) can optimally operate the resources taking into account the maintenance, operation and load control considering all the involved cost. This paper presents the methodology approach to formulate and solve the problem of determining the optimal resource allocation applied to a real case study in Budapest Tech’s. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming model (MILP) and solved by a deterministic optimization technique CPLEX-based implemented in General Algebraic Modeling Systems (GAMS). The problem has also been solved by Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO). The obtained results are presented and compared.

Optimal control theory for a unitary operation under dissipative evolution

We show that optimizing a quantum gate for an open quantum system requires the time evolution of only three states irrespective of the dimension of Hilbert space. This represents a significant reduction in computational resources compared to the complete basis of Liouville space that is commonly believed necessary for this task. The reduction is based on two observations: the target is not a general dynamical map but a unitary operation; and the time evolution of two properly chosen states is sufficient to distinguish any two unitaries. We illustrate gate optimization employing a reduced set of states for a controlled phasegate with trapped atoms as qubit carriers and a iSWAP gate with superconducting qubits.

On the leakage-power modeling for optimal server operation

Leakage power consumption is a com- ponent of the total power consumption in data cen- ters that is not traditionally considered in the set- point temperature of the room. However, the effect of this power component, increased with temperature, can determine the savings associated with the careful management of the cooling system, as well as the re- liability of the system. The work presented in this paper detects the need of addressing leakage power in order to achieve substantial savings in the energy consumption of servers. In particular, our work shows that, by a careful detection and management of two working regions (low and high impact of thermal- dependent leakage), energy consumption of the data- center can be optimized by a reduction of the cooling budget.

Optimal control and operation of drum granulation processes

Process optimisation and optimal control of batch and continuous drum granulation processes are studied in this paper. The main focus of the current research has been: (i) construction of optimisation and control relevant, population balance models through the incorporation of moisture content, drum rotation rate and bed depth into the coalescence kernels; (ii) investigation of optimal operational conditions using constrained optimisation techniques; (iii) development of optimal control algorithms based on discretized population balance equations; and (iv) comprehensive simulation studies on optimal control of both batch and continuous granulation processes. The objective of steady state optimisation is to minimise the recycle rate with minimum cost for continuous processes. It has been identified that the drum rotation-rate, bed depth (material charge), and moisture content of solids are practical decision (design) parameters for system optimisation. The objective for the optimal control of batch granulation processes is to maximize the mass of product-sized particles with minimum time and binder consumption. The objective for the optimal control of the continuous process is to drive the process from one steady state to another in a minimum time with minimum binder consumption, which is also known as the state-driving problem. It has been known for some time that the binder spray-rate is the most effective control (manipulative) variable. Although other possible manipulative variables, such as feed flow-rate and additional powder flow-rate have been investigated in the complete research project, only the single input problem with the binder spray rate as the manipulative variable is addressed in the paper to demonstrate the methodology. It can be shown from simulation results that the proposed models are suitable for control and optimisation studies, and the optimisation algorithms connected with either steady state or dynamic models are successful for the determination of optimal operational conditions and dynamic trajectories with good convergence properties. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.