16,610 research outputs found
Semi-proximal Mirror-Prox for Nonsmooth Composite Minimization
We propose a new first-order optimisation algorithm to solve high-dimensional
non-smooth composite minimisation problems. Typical examples of such problems
have an objective that decomposes into a non-smooth empirical risk part and a
non-smooth regularisation penalty. The proposed algorithm, called Semi-Proximal
Mirror-Prox, leverages the Fenchel-type representation of one part of the
objective while handling the other part of the objective via linear
minimization over the domain. The algorithm stands in contrast with more
classical proximal gradient algorithms with smoothing, which require the
computation of proximal operators at each iteration and can therefore be
impractical for high-dimensional problems. We establish the theoretical
convergence rate of Semi-Proximal Mirror-Prox, which exhibits the optimal
complexity bounds, i.e. , for the number of calls to linear
minimization oracle. We present promising experimental results showing the
interest of the approach in comparison to competing methods
State of the Art in the Optimisation of Wind Turbine Performance Using CFD
Wind energy has received increasing attention in recent years due to its sustainability and geographically wide availability. The efficiency of wind energy utilisation highly depends on the performance of wind turbines, which convert the kinetic energy in wind into electrical energy. In order to optimise wind turbine performance and reduce the cost of next-generation wind turbines, it is crucial to have a view of the state of the art in the key aspects on the performance optimisation of wind turbines using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), which has attracted enormous interest in the development of next-generation wind turbines in recent years. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art progress on optimisation of wind turbine performance using CFD, reviewing the objective functions to judge the performance of wind turbine, CFD approaches applied in the simulation of wind turbines and optimisation algorithms for wind turbine performance. This paper has been written for both researchers new to this research area by summarising underlying theory whilst presenting a comprehensive review on the up-to-date studies, and experts in the field of study by collecting a comprehensive list of related references where the details of computational methods that have been employed lately can be obtained
Superlubricity through graphene multilayers between Ni(111) surfaces
A single graphene layer placed between two parallel Ni(111) surfaces screens
the strong attractive force and results in a significant reduction of adhesion
and sliding friction. When two graphene layers are inserted, each graphene is
attached to one of the metal surfaces with a significant binding and reduces
the adhesion further. In the sliding motion of these surfaces the transition
from stick-slip to continuous sliding is attained, whereby non-equilibrium
phonon generation through sudden processes is suppressed. The adhesion and
corrugation strength continues to decrease upon insertion of the third graphene
layer and eventually saturates at a constant value with increasing number of
graphene layers. In the absence of Ni surfaces, the corrugation strength of
multilayered graphene is relatively higher and practically independent of the
number of layers. Present first-principles calculations reveal the
superlubricant feature of graphene layers placed between pseudomorphic Ni(111)
surfaces, which is achieved through the coupling of Ni-3d and graphene-
orbitals. The effect of graphene layers inserted between a pair of parallel
Cu(111) and Al(111) surfaces are also discussed. The treatment of sliding
friction under the constant loading force, by taking into account the
deformations corresponding to any relative positions of sliding slabs, is the
unique feature of our study.Comment: Accepted paper for Physical Review
Optimal design of an aeroelastic wing structure with seamless control surfaces
This article presents an investigation into the concept and optimal design of a lightweight seamless aeroelastic wing (SAW) structure for small air vehicles. Attention has been first focused on the design of a hingeless flexible trailing edge (TE) control surface. Two innovative design features have been created in the SAW TE section: an open sliding TE and a curved beam and disc actuation mechanism. This type of actuated TE section allows for the SAW having a camber change in a desirable shape and minimum control power demand. This design concept has been simulated numerically and demonstrated by a test model. For a small air vehicle of large sweep back wing, it is noted that significant structural weight saving can be achieved. However, further weight saving is mainly restricted by the aeroelastic stability and minimum number of carbon/epoxy plies in a symmetric layup rather than the structural strength. Therefore, subsequent effort was made to optimize the primary wing box structure. The results show that an initial structural weight can be reduced significantly under the strength criterion. The resulting reduction of the wing box stiffness and aeroelastic stability and control effectiveness can be improved by applying the aeroelastic tailoring. Because of the large swept angle and resulting lightweight and highly flexible SAW, geometrical non-linearity and large bending-torsion aeroelastic coupling have been considered in the analysis
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