Decentralized Greedy-Based Algorithm for Smart Energy Management in Plug-in Electric Vehicle Energy Distribution Systems

Variations in electricity tariffs arising due to stochastic demand loads on the power grids have stimulated research in finding optimal charging/discharging scheduling solutions for electric vehicles (EVs). Most of the current EV scheduling solutions are either centralized, which suffer from low reliability and high complexity, while existing decentralized solutions do not facilitate the efficient scheduling of on-move EVs in large-scale networks considering a smart energy distribution system. Motivated by smart cities applications, we consider in this paper the optimal scheduling of EVs in a geographically large-scale smart energy distribution system where EVs have the flexibility of charging/discharging at spatially-deployed smart charging stations (CSs) operated by individual aggregators. In such a scenario, we define the social welfare maximization problem as the total profit of both supply and demand sides in the form of a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model. Due to the intractability, we then propose an online decentralized algorithm with low complexity which utilizes effective heuristics to forward each EV to the most profitable CS in a smart manner. Results of simulations on the IEEE 37 bus distribution network verify that the proposed algorithm improves the social welfare by about 30% on average with respect to an alternative scheduling strategy under the equal participation of EVs in charging and discharging operations. Considering the best-case performance where only EV profit maximization is concerned, our solution also achieves upto 20% improvement in flatting the final electricity load. Furthermore, the results reveal the existence of an optimal number of CSs and an optimal vehicle-to-grid penetration threshold for which the overall profit can be maximized. Our findings serve as guidelines for V2G system designers in smart city scenarios to plan a cost-effective strategy for large-scale EVs distributed energy management

Hermite Interpolation Using Möbius Transformations of Planar Pythagorean-Hodograph Cubics

We present an algorithm for C1 Hermite interpolation using Möbius transformations of planar polynomial Pythagoreanhodograph (PH) cubics. In general, with PH cubics, we cannot solve C1 Hermite interpolation problems, since their lack of parameters makes the problems overdetermined. In this paper, we show that, for each Möbius transformation, we can introduce an extra parameter determined by the transformation, with which we can reduce them to the problems determining PH cubics in the complex plane ℂ. Möbius transformations preserve the PH property of PH curves and are biholomorphic. Thus the interpolants obtained by this algorithm are also PH and preserve the topology of PH cubics. We present a condition to be met by a Hermite dataset, in order for the corresponding interpolant to be simple or to be a loop. We demonstrate the improved stability of these new interpolants compared with PH quintics

Diagnostic accuracy of a three-protein signature in women with suspicious breast lesions: a multicenter prospective trial

Background Mammography screening has been proven to detect breast cancer at an early stage and reduce mortality; however, it has low accuracy in young women or women with dense breasts. Blood-based diagnostic tools may overcome the limitations of mammography. This study assessed the diagnostic performance of a three-protein signature in patients with suspicious breast lesions. Findings This trial (MAST; KCT0004847) was a prospective multicenter observational trial. Three-protein signature values were obtained using serum and plasma from women with suspicious lesions for breast malignancy before tumor biopsy. Additionally, blood samples from women who underwent clear or benign mammography were collected for the assays. Among 642 participants, the sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy values of the three-protein signature were 74.4%, 66.9%, and 70.6%, respectively, and the concordance index was 0.698 (95% CI 0.656, 0.739). The diagnostic performance was not affected by the demographic features, clinicopathologic characteristics, and co-morbidities of the participants. Conclusions The present trial showed an accuracy of 70.6% for the three-protein signature. Considering the value of blood-based biomarkers for the early detection of breast malignancies, further evaluation of this proteomic assay is warranted in larger, population-level trials. This Multi-protein Assessment using Serum to deTermine breast lesion malignancy (MAST) was registered at the Clinical Research Information Service of Korea with the identification number of KCT0004847 (https://cris.nih.go.kr).This study was supported by the Bertis Inc. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication

Seismic Performance of Reduced Web-Section Beams

Department of Urban and Environmental Engineering (Urban Infrastructure Engineering)clos

Strain-based safety evaluations of nuclear spent-fuel transport casks in drop events

This paper comparatively evaluates stress-based and strain-based acceptance criteria that are suggested in ASME Section III. Parallel and vertical accidents drop (9 m drop) tests were performed. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed to evaluate accidental drop events which were specified in NUREG-1536. Basket and canister which contain NSF were evaluated during events, and structural safety was investigated for stress-based criteria and strain-based criteria by comparing FEA results with design acceptance results. In all cases, basket and canister predominantly excess yield strain, however, did not reach acceptance strain. Compare with horizontal drop and vetical drop, horizontal drop has high value in basket, and vertical drop has high value in canister. Also in strain-based design criteria, the highest maximum safety ratio was 0.27 and there had 73% of margin to reach design lite strain

Efficiency investigation on electro-kinetic decontamination for concrete waste originated from nuclear power plants

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between efficiency of electro-kinetic extraction by reviewing previous papers, and to enhance the decontamination efficiency from revealed conclusion. For research, cobalt and cesium was selected as target nuclides for the research because of their latent dager and majority in composition of radioactive waste. Preferentially, several variables that can affect to experiment are decided and selected by considering theoretical background of electro-kinetic mechanism to investigate the relationship between decontamination efficiency and the parameters. Since them, the procedure that compare the result showing higher decontamination efficiency with the others showing less decontamination efficiency for each experimental variable were conducted. As a result, it is concluded that pH is the dominant factor which affect to decontamination ratio, and it is discussed with concrete hydration flow. The more detailed analysis was conducted by drawing graph that present relationship between variable and final decontamination ratio or earlier decontamination rate

Lateral force-resisting capacities of reduced web-section beams: FEM simulations

Avoiding fracture in the beam-column connections of steel moment frames is critical to their seismic performance. In the RWS approach, large openings are introduced into the web of the beam, so that the arrangement and configuration of the openings determine the mode of inelastic mechanism that develops within the beam. In this paper, numerical simulation results are discussed for nine RWS specimens that were subjected to lateral loading

Behavior of steel fiber-reinforced cementitious composites under direct tension and flexure

The purpose of present study is to investigate effects of the properties and volume fraction of steel fibers on the mechanical behaviors of cementitious composites, subjected to compression, direct tension, and flexure. Hooked and straight steel fibers were blended with different volume ratios. Various mix designs were prepared and tested in two steps. In the 1st step, three mix designs with two types of steel fibers were prepared with two different fiber volume fractions of 1.0% and 1.5%, respectively. Mechanical tests were conducted to evaluate the modulus of elasticity, compressive stress-strain, direct tensile stress-strain, and flexural tensile stress-deflection responses