Sharif Digital Repository

Industrial scale continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) for production and grade transitions of poly vinyl acetate (PVAc) at the different reactor sizes was investigated. Such reactor is known to show oscillatory behavior and to have periodic limit points, particularly at high molecular weights. Four efficient novel hybrid optimization methods which use variable population size genetic algorithm (VPGA), bacterial optimization algorithm (BO) and shuffled frog leaping method (SFL) were introduced for this kind of reactors. These algorithms can reliably find dynamically stable points with desired conditions for PVAc production. The dynamic modeling combined with the new hybrid optimization... 

New heuristic filters are proposed for state estimation of nonlinear dynamic systems based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and differential evolution (DE). The methodology converts state estimation problem into dynamic optimization to find the best estimate recursively. In the proposed strategy the particle number is adaptively set based on the weighted variance of the particles. To have a filter with minimal parameter settings, PSO with exponential distribution (PSO-E) is selected in conjunction with jDE to self-adapt the other control parameters. The performance of the proposed adaptive evolutionary algorithms i.e. adaptive PSO-E, adaptive DE and adaptive jDE is studied through a... 

Recently, many meta-heuristic algorithms are proposed for optimization of various problems. Some of them originally are presented for continuous optimization problems and some others are just applicable for discrete ones. In the literature, sizing optimization of truss structures is one of the discrete optimization problems which is solved by many meta-heuristic algorithms. In this paper, in order to discover an efficient and reliable algorithm for optimization of truss structures, a discrete optimizer, entitled Soccer League Competition (SLC) algorithm and ten popular and powerful solvers are examined and statistical analysis is carried out for them. The fundamental idea of SLC algorithm is... 

The present study examines the performance of three powerful methods including the original differential evolution (DE), the improved differential evolution (IDE), and the winner of the CEC-2014 competition, LSHADE, in addition to the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMAES) for size optimization of truss structures under natural frequency constraints. Despite the abundant researches on novel meta-heuristic algorithms in the literature, the application of CMAES, one of the most powerful and reliable optimization algorithms, on the optimal solution of the truss structures has received scant attention. For consistent comparison between these algorithms, four stopping criteria... 

Background: Hearing loss affects access to spoken language, which can affect cognition and development, and can negatively affect social wellbeing. We present updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study on the prevalence of hearing loss in 2019, as well as the condition's associated disability. Methods: We did systematic reviews of population-representative surveys on hearing loss prevalence from 1990 to 2019. We fitted nested meta-regression models for severity-specific prevalence, accounting for hearing aid coverage, cause, and the presence of tinnitus. We also forecasted the prevalence of hearing loss until 2050. Findings: An estimated 1·57 billion (95% uncertainty... 

To study efficiency of the genetic algorithms (GAs) in optimization of aerodynamic shapes, shape of an airfoil is optimized by a genetic algorithm to obtain maximum lift to drag ratio and maximum lift. The flow field is assumed to be two dimensional, viscous, and transonic and is analyzed numerically. The camber line and thickness distribution of the airfoil are modeled by a fourth order polynomial. The airfoil chord length is assumed constant. Also, proper boundary conditions are applied. A finite volume method using the first order Roe's flux approximation and time marching (explicit) method is used for flow analysis. The simple genetic algorithm (SGA) is used for optimization. This...