A Study of Different Subsequence Elimination Strategies for the Soft Drink Production Planning

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cogeneration design problem Computational complexity analysis and solution through an expert system

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is twofold: to analyze the computational complexity of the cogeneration design problem; to present an expert system to solve the proposed problem, comparing such an approach with the traditional searching methods available.Design/methodology/approach - The complexity of the cogeneration problem is analyzed through the transformation of the well-known knapsack problem. Both problems are formulated as decision problems and it is proven that the cogeneration problem is np-complete. Thus, several searching approaches, such as population heuristics and dynamic programming, could be used to solve the problem. Alternatively, a knowledge-based approach is proposed by presenting an expert system and its knowledge representation scheme.Findings - The expert system is executed considering two case-studies. First, a cogeneration plant should meet power, steam, chilled water and hot water demands. The expert system presented two different solutions based on high complexity thermodynamic cycles. In the second case-study the plant should meet just power and steam demands. The system presents three different solutions, and one of them was never considered before by our consultant expert.Originality/value - The expert system approach is not a "blind" method, i.e. it generates solutions based on actual engineering knowledge instead of the searching strategies from traditional methods. It means that the system is able to explain its choices, making available the design rationale for each solution. This is the main advantage of the expert system approach over the traditional search methods. On the other hand, the expert system quite likely does not provide an actual optimal solution. All it can provide is one or more acceptable solutions.

A Modified Branch and Bound Algorithm to Solve the Transmission Expansion Planning Problem

In this paper a novel Branch and Bound (B&B) algorithm to solve the transmission expansion planning which is a non-convex mixed integer nonlinear programming problem (MINLP) is presented. Based on defining the options of the separating variables and makes a search in breadth, we call this algorithm a B&BML algorithm. The proposed algorithm is implemented in AMPL and an open source Ipopt solver is used to solve the nonlinear programming (NLP) problems of all candidates in the B&B tree. Strategies have been developed to address the problem of non-linearity and non-convexity of the search region. The proposed algorithm is applied to the problem of long-term transmission expansion planning modeled as an MINLP problem. The proposed algorithm has carried out on five commonly used test systems such as Garver 6-Bus, IEEE 24-Bus, 46-Bus South Brazilian test systems, Bolivian 57-Bus, and Colombian 93-Bus. Results show that the proposed methodology not only can find the best known solution but it also yields a large reduction between 24% to 77.6% in the number of NLP problems regarding to the size of the systems.

Gestão da qualidade na construção civil

Quality Management has become an essential requirement for all companies intending to compete and ensure its place in the labor market. Several tools have been created as a way of ensuring the effectiveness of quality management, in order to control and manage the quality of services and products to ensure a final product with a high degree of competition and quality, besides satisfaction and exceeding customer expectations. Due to the great importance it has at the presente time on the world stage and internationally, civil construction felt the need to eliminate the defects and the lack of quality that have become so common over time to ensure a quality product and it´s customers satisfaction. It was then that this industry began to implement and develop more modern techniques and tools for quality control in construction. Quality achieved position in global market, defining which companies would continue and which companies would leave it, not to mention it became insistently required by the customer. Some tools such as ISO 9000 guided companies seeking a quality management. This presentation will present some of these management tools and their applicability in the civil construction industry. Thus, it will be evident that despite the current resources it is necessary that civil construction professionals abandon the idea that considers quality management a problem and begin thinking about it as a solution to prevent future errors and ensure the quality of their services

Manutenção da prática de atividade física e indicadores hemodinâmicos, metabólicos e inflamatório em adultos: análise transversal e coorte de 12 meses

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Arranjos de desenvolvimento da educação: uma alternativa partilhada de gestão municipal da educação

Pós-graduação em Educação Escolar - FCLAR

O problema do Paralelismo Psicofisiológico segundo a Epistemologia Genética

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Modificação de forma e dimensões dos arcos superior e inferior obtidas em modelos de estudo após expansão rápida da maxila com o aparelho hyrax

The aim of an orthodontic treatment is the achievement of a balanced, esthetic and, most of all, stable, intra and inter arches relationship. A common problem observed in occlusion is posterior crossbite and atresic maxilla. This problem may be treated by slow expansion, rapid expansion or surgically assisted expansion. For the present study cast models of 14 children between 7 and 11 years old were evaluated. There were 7 male and 7 female subjects that presented posterior crossbite and needed rapid maxillary expansion. The Hyrax appliance performed the therapy for correction of this transversal alteration, which is a common possibility in the treatment of this malocclusion. It was observed that the distance between the upper first molars and upper cuspids increased significantly; the length of the upper arch decreased and its perimeter increased significantly. At the lower arch there were no dimensional changes.

Stay out (almost) all night: contrasting responses in flight activity among tropical moth assemblages

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Scattering equations, generating functions and all massless five point tree amplitudes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Integrated pest management programme in hospital environment

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Opportunistic pathogens and elements of the resistome that are common in bottled mineral water support the need for continuous surveillance

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Interior-exterior point method with global convergence strategy for solving the reactive optimal power flow problem

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

An experimental nonlinear low dynamic stiffness device for shock isolation

The problem of shock generated vibration is very common in practice and difficult to isolate due to the high levels of excitation involved and its transient nature. If not properly isolated it could lead to large transmitted forces and displacements. Typically, classical shock isolation relies on the use of passive stiffness elements to absorb energy by deformation and some damping mechanism to dissipate residual vibration. The approach of using nonlinear stiffness elements is explored in this paper, focusing in providing an isolation system with low dynamic stiffness. The possibilities of using such a configuration for a shock mount are studied experimentally following previous theoretical models. The model studied considers electromagnets and permanent magnets in order to obtain nonlinear stiffness forces using different voltage configurations. It is found that the stiffness nonlinearities could be advantageous in improving shock isolation in terms of absolute displacement and acceleration response when compared with linear elastic elements. Copyright (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A hybrid method for the probabilistic maximal covering location-allocation problem

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)