Sharif Digital Repository

Power systems are undergoing significant transformations due to the introduction of microgrids (MGs) and distributed energy resources (DERs). In this regard, MGs as new entities in the system facilitate the integration of independently operated DERs to the power system. In this structure, DERs would be operated by independent agents, while the microgrid's control unit (MCU) would coordinate agents' resource scheduling to maximize social welfare. In this structure, the uncertainty of resources operated by agents could lead to real-time energy imbalance in the MG resulting in agents' loss of profits. Consequently, a novel transactive-based-scheme is developed in this article to facilitate... 

Recently, due to the restructuring of power systems and the high penetration level of local renewables, distribution systems have encountered with the complexity of power management. Therefore, the modern systems would be operated in a multi-agent structure which facilitates the power management as well as privacy protections of independent entities. In this structure, the distribution system is assumed to compose of several agents who independently schedule their local resources in order to maximize their own profits. Consequently, this paper provides an efficient peer-to-peer (P2P) active power management framework in a multi-agent distribution system while considering network constraints... 

Blockchain Technology (BCT) is expanding day by day and is used in all pillars of life and projects. In this research, we survey applicable BCT in project management for the first time. We presented a Resource-Constrained Time–Cost-Quality-Energy-Environment Tradeoff Problem by considering BCT, Risk and Robustness (RCTCQEETPBCTRR) in project scheduling. We utilize hybrid robust stochastic programming, worst case, and Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) to cope with uncertainty and risks. This type of robustification and risk-averse is presented in this research. A real case study is presented in a healthcare project. We utilize GAMS-CPLEX to solve the model. Finally, we analyze finish time,... 

The increasing integration of renewable energy resources (RERs) and the expansion of multi-microgrid systems have transformed the operational condition of power systems. Respectively, the high-amount installation of RERs could result in the volatile changes exchanged-power of local systems, when their power generation drops suddenly. Nevertheless, the available ramp-up power for compensating the supply-demand gap in the power system could be limited due to the operational constraints of power networks and generation units. As a result, in this article, a transactive flexible-ramp-up-management-mechanism is offered in order to enable system operators to exploit the scheduling of microgrid... 

The usage of conventional fossil fuels has aided fast economic growth while also having negative consequences, such as increased global warming and the destruction of the ecosystem. This paper proposes a novel swarm-based metaheuristic method called Chimp Optimization Algorithm (ChOA) to tackle the environmental, economic dispatch issue and reducing the waste nonrenewable materials. In this regard, two objective functions named fuel cost function and emission cost function are proposed. Unique constrained handling also solves the challenge of multi-objective optimization. Standard IEEE 30 bus with six generators and a 10-unit system are used to demonstrate the usefulness of ChOA. The result... 

In the energy system, various sources are used to fulfill the energy demand of large buildings. The energy management of large-scale buildings is very important. The proposed system comprises solar PVs, energy storage systems, and electric vehicles. Demand response (DR) schemes are considered in various studies, but the analysis of the impact of dynamic DR on operational cost has been ignored. So, in this paper, renewable energy resources and storages are integrated considering the demand response strategies such as real-time pricing (RTP), critical peak pricing (CPP), and time of use (ToU). The proposed system is mapped in a linear model and simulated in MATLAB using linear programming... 

The high demand for radiotherapy services, combined with the limited capacity of available resources, patient unpunctuality, and series of appointments, makes Patient Appointment Scheduling (PAS) in radiotherapy centers very challenging. Although most centers use a First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) policy for appointment scheduling, this approach does not consider patients’ behaviors, and consequently, it performs poorly. This type of inappropriate scheduling usually leads to inefficiency at the center and/or patient dissatisfaction. This study provides a data-driven approach to patient appointment scheduling to deal with the challenges mentioned above, and it considers patients’ histories of... 

Emergence of reformation and privatization in energy systems has caused the development of multi-agent distribution systems. In this context, each agent as an independent entity aims to efficiently operate its respective resources; while, the distribution network operator (DNO) strives to control the grid in an efficient and reliable manner. Respectively, in case of failure incidences in the grid, DNO should address the economic losses as well as reliability concerns of the agents. Consequently, this paper intends to organize a framework that enables the DNO in order to incentivize the cooperation of agents to alleviate operational effects of the contingency condition. Accordingly, DNO... 

Increasing usage of Solid-State Drives (SSDs) has greatly boosted the performance of storage backends. SSDs perform many internal processes such as out-of-place writes, wear-leveling, and garbage collection. These operations are complex and not well documented which make it difficult to create accurate SSD simulators. Our survey indicates that aside from complex configuration, available SSD simulators do not support both sync and discard requests. Past performance models also ignore the long term effect of I/O requests on SSD performance, which has been demonstrated to be significant. In this article, we utilize a methodology based on machine learning that extracts history-aware features at... 

An increasing trend for reducing cost, space, and weight leads to modern embedded systems that execute multiple tasks with different criticality levels on a common hardware platform while guaranteeing a safe operation. In such mixed-criticality (MC) systems, multiple worst case execution times (WCETs) are defined for each task, corresponding to the system operation mode to improve the MC system's timing behavior at runtime. Determining the appropriate WCETs for lower criticality (LC) modes is nontrivial. On the one hand, considering a very low WCET for tasks can improve the processor utilization by scheduling more tasks in that mode, on the other hand, using a larger WCET ensures that the... 

Most modern multi-core edge devices work in outdoor situations with limited power supplies like energy harvester and batteries. Therefore, energy consumption is a fundamental issue in which the memory subsystem has a significant role. Scratchpad memories (SPM) can provide a broad potential for energy saving. Still, due to the insufficient SPM capacity in such edge devices, a rigorous SPM data allocation scheme is necessary to reduce the energy consumption of the memory subsystem. Emerging non-volatile memories (NVMs) are very useful to reduce the energy consumption of the memory subsystem. Compared with SRAM, NVMs have lower leakage power and higher density, but the read and write latencies... 

This paper proposes a new energy management model for residential buildings to handle the uncertainties of demand and on-site PV generation. For this purpose, the building energy management system (BEMS) organizes a transactive energy (TE) market among plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) to determine their charge/discharge scheduling. According to the proposed TE framework, the PEV owners get reimbursed by the BEMS for the flexibility they offer. In this regard, the PEV owners submit their response curves for reimbursement upon arrival. Then, the BEMS solves an optimization problem to maximize its own profit and determine the real-time TE market-clearing price. Afterward, based on the clearing... 

On-time delivery of network flows is crucial to ensure the quality of service of deadline-constrained applications. Today, real time applications have various uses in multimedia communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G (5th generation mobile network) technology. In Software Defined Network (SDN) architecture, the controller has a global view of the network. Hence, it is possible to enrich the features of the controller and/or forwarding devices to support real time communication. In this paper, we propose a firm real time software-defined approach (FRT-SDN) for real time communication and present a novel solution for the real time forwarding/routing of time-sensitive applications... 

Multicore platforms are becoming the dominant trend in designing Mixed-Criticality Systems (MCSs), which integrate applications of different levels of criticality into the same platform. A well-known MCS is the dual-criticality system that is composed of low-criticality and high-criticality tasks. The availability of multiple cores on a single chip provides opportunities to employ fault-Tolerant techniques, such as N-Modular Redundancy (NMR), to ensure the reliability of MCSs. However, applying fault-Tolerant techniques will increase the power consumption on the chip, and thereby on-chip temperatures might increase beyond safe limits. To prevent thermal emergencies, urgent countermeasures,... 

Satisfying the clients' uncompromising priorities is a challenge for decision makers of organizations that face multiple projects. This paper considers an organization with a multi-skilled workforce working on several predetermined projects under time-of-use energy tariffs where distributed load energy usage is the primary concern of energy suppliers. This paper also considers different time-of-use energy tariffs, which are among the most common strategies to reach a more balanced energy utilization. The problem is stated as a bi-objective mixed-integer programming model containing two conflicting objectives; to minimize the total cost of the multi-skilled workforce and obtain a sustainable... 

One of the recently proposed strategies in health systems is providing services to patients at home and improving the service quality in addition to reducing the health system costs. In the real world, some services, such as biological tests or blood sampling, force the nurses to start or end his/her route from/at the laboratory instead of the depot, changing the whole optimal planning. The effect of these special service requirements and features has not been considered so far. In this study, a new mathematical model is suggested considering the flexibility of starting/ending places of each nurse’s route according to the specific characteristics of each service. Then, several sets of... 

In this paper a new predictive-reactive rescheduling method is presented based on the dynamic pegging concept. Scheduling adjustments in a multi-level, mixed-model production system are invoked in response to the unplanned events, such as new order arrival, changes in due dates, and order cancellation. By using the dynamic pegging approach at the time of rescheduling, Work-In-Progress (WIP) can be reassigned to the existing or new orders. Based on our previous work on reactive-only rescheduling with dynamic pegging, a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model is developed for predictive-reactive scheduling of new orders of different product types that arrive following exponential distribution. A... 

The authors consider the Multi-Skilled Project Scheduling Problem (MSPSP) as a version of the Multi-mode Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (MRCPSP), which extends the well-known NP-hard Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP). In the MSPSP, it is made up of activities, which require specific skills to be done. Moreover, resources are staff members who master fixed skill(s). Thus, each resource requirement of an activity corresponds to the number of persons doing the corresponding skill that must be assigned to the activity during its whole processing time. The authors focus on taking into account the setup times when performing work, depending on the appointment... 

The privatization of distribution systems has resulted in the development of multiple-microgrid (multiple-MG) systems where each microgrid independently operates its local resources. Moreover, the high integration of independent distributed energy sources could lead to operational issues such as grid congestion in future distribution systems. Therefore, this paper provides a transactive-based energy management framework to operate multiple-MG distribution systems; while, alleviating grid congestion in a decentralized manner. In this respect, alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is considered to develop an operational framework that copes with distributed nature of multiple-MG... 

Purpose: The aim of this research is to propose a buffer sizing and buffer controlling algorithm (BSCA) as a heuristic algorithm for calculating project buffer and feeding buffers as well as dynamic controlling of buffer consumption in different phases of a wind power plant project in order to achieve a more realistic project duration. Design/methodology/approach: The BSCA algorithm has two main phases of planning and buffer sizing and construction and buffer consumption. Project buffer and feeding buffers are determined in the planning and buffer sizing phase, and their consumption is controlled in the construction and buffer consumption phase. The heuristic algorithm was coded and run in...