On Design Mining: Coevolution and Surrogate Models

© 2017 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license. Design mining is the use of computational intelligence techniques to iteratively search and model the attribute space of physical objects evaluated directly through rapid prototyping to meet given objectives. It enables the exploitation of novel materials and processes without formal models or complex simulation. In this article, we focus upon the coevolutionary nature of the design process when it is decomposed into concurrent sub-design-threads due to the overall complexity of the task. Using an abstract, tunable model of coevolution, we consider strategies to sample subthread designs for whole-system testing and how best to construct and use surrogate models within the coevolutionary scenario. Drawing on our findings, we then describe the effective design of an array of six heterogeneous vertical-axis wind turbines

Design mining interacting wind turbines

© 2016 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An initial study has recently been presented of surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms used to design vertical-axis wind turbines wherein candidate prototypes are evaluated under fan-generated wind conditions after being physically instantiated by a 3D printer. Unlike other approaches, such as computational fluid dynamics simulations, no mathematical formulations were used and no model assumptions weremade. This paper extends that work by exploring alternative surrogate modelling and evolutionary techniques. The accuracy of various modelling algorithms used to estimate the fitness of evaluated individuals from the initial experiments is compared. The effect of temporally windowing surrogate model training samples is explored. A surrogateassisted approach based on an enhanced local search is introduced; and alternative coevolution collaboration schemes are examined

A vertical wind turbine monitoring system using commercial online digital dashboard

The output of a green energy generator is required to be monitor continuously. The monitoring process is important because the performance of the energy gen- erator needs to be known and evaluate. However, monitoring the generator manu- ally and efficiently is troublesome. Moreover, when most of the energy generator located at uneasy to reach or at a very remote place. Added to the cost, human intervention for the monitoring process contributes to the unnecessary bill. All the highlighted limitations can be overcome using an internet cloud base system and application. Most of the existing data logging instruments use a memory card or personal computer in their operation. The stored data is accessible only at a dedicated computer alone. This work presented a complete energy generator interface with a commercial online digital dashboard. The digital dashboard, parameters of the wind turbine, such as the amount of power generates and the magnitude of instantaneous voltage can be monitored, and the recorded data can be accessed quickly, at any time and anyplace

Towards an evolvable cancer treatment simulator

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The use of high-fidelity computational simulations promises to enable high-throughput hypothesis testing and optimisation of cancer therapies. However, increasing realism comes at the cost of increasing computational requirements. This article explores the use of surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithms to optimise the targeted delivery of a therapeutic compound to cancerous tumour cells with the multicellular simulator, PhysiCell. The use of both Gaussian process models and multi-layer perceptron neural network surrogate models are investigated. We find that evolutionary algorithms are able to effectively explore the parameter space of biophysical properties within the agent-based simulations, minimising the resulting number of cancerous cells after a period of simulated treatment. Both model-assisted algorithms are found to outperform a standard evolutionary algorithm, demonstrating their ability to perform a more effective search within the very small evaluation budget. This represents the first use of efficient evolutionary algorithms within a high-throughput multicellular computing approach to find therapeutic design optima that maximise tumour regression

Design mining microbial fuel cell cascades

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) perform wastewater treatment and electricity production through the conversion of organic matter using microorganisms. For practical applications, it has been suggested that greater efficiency can be achieved by arranging multiple MFC units into physical stacks in a cascade with feedstock flowing sequentially between units. In this article, we investigate the use of cooperative coevolution to physically explore and optimise (potentially) heterogeneous MFC designs in a cascade, i.e., without simulation. Conductive structures are 3D printed and inserted into the anodic chamber of each MFC unit, augmenting a carbon fibre veil anode and affecting the hydrodynamics, including the feedstock volume and hydraulic retention time, as well as providing unique habitats for microbial colonisation. We show that it is possible to use design mining to identify new conductive inserts that increase both the cascade power output and power density

Entropy and Exergy in Renewable Energy

Lovelock identified Newcomen’s atmospheric steam engine as the start of Anthropocene with these words: “…there have been two previous decisive events in the history of our planet. The first was … when photosynthetic bacteria first appeared [conversing sunlight to usable energy]. The second was in 1712 when Newcomen created an efficient machine that converted the sunlight locked in coal directly into work.” This book is about the necessity of energy transition toward renewables that convert sunlight diurnally, thus a sustainable Anthropocene. Such an energy transition is equally momentous as that of the kick start of the second Industrial Revolution in 1712. Such an energy transition requires “it takes a village” collective effort of mankind; the book is a small part of the collective endeavor

Actors, Institutions and Innovation Processes in New Path Creation : The Regional Emergence and Evolution of Wind Energy Technology in Germany

The recent literature of evolutionary economic geography points out that new technologies do not emerge randomly across space. The evolution of the economic landscape is associated with processes of path creation, regional branching and regional path dependence. However, the underlying processes and the role of the actors are under-investigated and poorly understood. This research gap is the starting point of this dissertation. The thesis focuses on the actors, mechanisms and processes of path creation and the co-evolution of technology and institutions. The overall aim of the dissertation is to provide theoretical foundation and empirical evidence to understand and explain the regional emergence and evolution of new technologies. The key question of the thesis is: Where, how, by whom and under which conditions do new technologies emerge. Based on research in evolutionary economic geography, institutional economic geography, and social and organizational science, a revised theoretical and conceptual framework is developed for analyzing and explaining the regional emergence and evolution of new technologies. The framework provides an actor-centered, dynamic perspective and goes beyond technological diversification and regional branching processes. Hence, the dissertation contributes to the current theoretical debate on path creation and the role of institutions and institutional change for the evolution of new technologies. The empirical analysis is based on an explanatory case study on the emergence and evolution of the onshore wind energy technology in Germany. A qualitative content analysis was employed. Data were collected by a document analysis and 40 in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders. The findings show that besides energy and environmental policies at the national level, path creation was strongly influenced by the regional institutional environment. The findings also give qualitative insights into different types of actors and their motives and activities in an emerging technology. Concerning the mechanisms, the thesis identifies entrepreneurial activities and regional industry diversification as the key mechanisms in new regional path creation. These were later strengthened by various exogenous impulses. The relevance of the processes differs between regions. The thesis also reveals interrelations and feedback mechanisms between technological development and the institutional environment and finds that the co-evolution of supporting institutions like technical standards, the Electricity Feed-in Act and the Renewable Energy Sources Act was a key success factor for the evolution of wind energy technology. It was found that co-evolution was driven by actors who shaped and changed their institutional environment

Technological Innovations and Advances in Hydropower Engineering

It has been more than 140 years since water was used to generate electricity. Especially since the 1970s, with the advancement of science and technology, new technologies, new processes, and new materials have been widely used in hydropower construction. Engineering equipment and technology, as well as cascade development, have become increasingly mature, making possible the construction of many high dams and large reservoirs in the world. However, with the passage of time, hydropower infrastructure such as reservoirs, dams, and power stations built in large numbers in the past are aging. This, coupled with singular use of hydropower, limits the development of hydropower in the future. This book reports the achievements in hydropower construction and the efforts of sustainable hydropower development made by various countries around the globe. These existing innovative studies and applications stimulate new ideas for the renewal of hydropower infrastructure and the further improvement of hydropower development and utilization efficiency

Geodesic Convolutional Shape Optimization

Aerodynamic shape optimization has many industrial applications. Existing methods, however, are so computationally demanding that typical engineering practices are to either simply try a limited number of hand-designed shapes or restrict oneself to shapes that can be parameterized using only few degrees of freedom. In this work, we introduce a new way to optimize complex shapes fast and accurately. To this end, we train Geodesic Convolutional Neural Networks to emulate a fluidynamics simulator. The key to making this approach practical is remeshing the original shape using a polycube map, which makes it possible to perform the computations on GPUs instead of CPUs. The neural net is then used to formulate an objective function that is differentiable with respect to the shape parameters, which can then be optimized using a gradient-based technique. This outperforms state- of-the-art methods by 5 to 20% for standard problems and, even more importantly, our approach applies to cases that previous methods cannot handle

Novel Developments for Sustainable Hydropower

This open access book presents (selected) new and innovative developments for sustainable and fish-friendly hydropower. It offers unique insights into the challenges, practices and policies of hydropower developments across 8 European countries, providing examples from on-site studies and European-wide analyses. The case studies throughout the book are practical “real-world” examples, which are intended to serve as inspiration for anyone who would like to know more about how solutions for more sustainable hydropower production can be designed and implemented. Hydropower is an important renewable energy source, which, however, can also impact aquatic ecosystems, fish populations and hydro-morphology. EU and national water, environmental and energy legislation strive for sustainable energy and water resource management as well as the protection of important habitats and species. These have an effect on the requirements and decision making processes for hydropower planning, commissioning and operation. With a high variety of measures existing and site-specific conditions as well as national and EU level legal requirements to consider, it can be difficult to determine, what issues to address and which measures to implement