Search results for " optimization."
showing 10 items of 2333 documents
Optimal Management of Human Resources in Transhipment Container Ports
2014
Human resources allocation plays a key role in Transhipment Maritime Container Terminals to achieve high levels of productivity and provide high quality services to shipping companies. The deep interest of container terminals in this issue can be supported by optimization methods. In this work, an optimization model is proposed to determine the optimal daily allocation of crane operators and trailer drivers. Different requirements are taken into account for permanent staff, external workers and personnel shortfall. Since workforce undermanning is a crucial factor for both shipping companies and container terminals, we aim to show that personnel shortfalls and operation delays can be signifi…
Expansion cone for the 3-inch PMTs of the KM3NeT optical modules
2013
[EN] Detection of high-energy neutrinos from distant astrophysical sources will open a new window on the Universe. The detection principle exploits the measurement of Cherenkov light emitted by charged particles resulting from neutrino interactions in the matter containing the telescope. A novel multi-PMT digital optical module (DOM) was developed to contain 31 3-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). In order to maximize the detector sensitivity, each PMT will be surrounded by an expansion cone which collects photons that would otherwise miss the photocathode. Results for various angles of incidence with respect to the PMT surface indicate an increase in collection efficiency by 30% on average…
Optimal design algorithm for seismic retrofitting of RC columns with steel jacketing technique
2020
Abstract Steel jacketing (SJ) of beams and columns is widely employed as retrofitting technique to provide additional deformation and strength capacity to existing reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures. The latter are many times designed without considering seismic loads, or present inadequate seismic detailing. The use of SJ is generally associated with non-negligible costs depending on the amount of structural work and non-structural manufacturing and materials. Moreover, this kind of intervention results in noticeable downtime for the building. This paper presents a new optimization framework which is aimed at obtaining minimization of retrofitting costs by optimizing the position an…
Existence for shape optimization problems in arbitrary dimension
2002
We discuss some existence results for optimal design problems governed by second order elliptic equations with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions or with the interior transmission conditions. We show that our continuity hypotheses for the unknown boundaries yield the compactness of the associated characteristic functions, which, in turn, guarantees convergence of any minimizing sequences for the first problem. In the second case, weaker assumptions of measurability type are shown to be sufficient for the existence of the optimal material distribution. We impose no restriction on the dimension of the underlying Euclidean space.
Shakedown optimum design of reinforced concrete framed structures
1994
Structures subjected to variable repeated loads can undergo the shakedown or adaptation phenomenon,-which prevents them from collapse but may cause lack of serviceability, for the plastic deformations developed, although finite, as shakedown occurrence postulates, may exceed some maximum values imposed by external ductility criteria. This paper is devoted to the optimal design of reinforced concrete structures, subjected to variable and repeated loads. For such structures the knowledge of the actual values taken by the plastic deformations, at shakedown occurrence, is a crucial issue. An approximate assessment of such plastic deformations is needed, which is herein provided in the shape of …
On State Constrained Optimal Shape Design Problems
1987
This paper is concerned with the following optimal design problem with constraints both on the state and on the control: $$MinimizeJ(y,u)$$ (P) subject to $$A\left( u \right)y + \partial \varphi \left( y \right) \mathrel\backepsilon Bu + f,$$ (1.1) $$y \in K,$$ (1.2) $$u \in {U_{ad}}.$$ (1.3)
OPTIMUM DESIGN OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES UNDER VARIABLE LOADINGS
1987
Abstract This paper presents a method for optimal design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, subjected to quasi-static variable loads and accounting for cross-sections limited ductility requirements. It consists of a very simple refinement procedure to be applied in the classical Optimal Shakedown Design, (OSD), which leads to a strengthened structure satisfying the requisite that the actual plastic relative rotations, developed at a specified set of critical sections as a result of a variable repeated loading program, do not exceed given upper limits. This strengthened design is a safe but not strictly optimal design and is obtained using the simple rule that the steel reinforcement ar…
Optimal design of elastic plastic frames accounting for seismic protection devices
2013
The optimal design of elastic perfectly plastic steel frames with or without suitable protection devices and subjected to static as well as seismic loadings is studied. Two minimum volume problem formulations are proposed, on the grounds of the so-called statical approach, accounting for three different resistance limits: the purely elastic limit, the (elastic) shakedown limit and the instantaneous collapse limit. The adopted load combinations are characterized by the presence of fixed loads, of quasi-static perfect cyclic loads and dynamic (seismic) loads. The linear elastic effects of the dynamic actions are studied by utilizing a modal technique. The proposed treatment is referred to the…
Optimization of structures with unrestricted dynamic shakedown constraints
2015
The unrestricted dynamic shakedown theory is here utilized with the aim to formulate different optimal design problems for structures mainly subjected to seismic loads. In particular, reference is made to plane frame structures constituted by elastic perfectly plastic material subjected to load combinations characterized by the presence of simultaneous fixed and seismic actions. The design problems, formulated on the ground of a statical approach, are devoted to structures with and without seismic protection devices, with special emphasis to seismic isolators. For the proposed design problem formulations different constraints are utilized; actually, for structures without protection devices…
On the optimal design of multi-stage cascaded transistor amplifiers with noise, gain and mismatch constraints
2007
The problem of evaluating the optimal performances of cascaded, unbalanced, multi-stage transistor amplifiers is addressed. In particular, a theoretically rigorous approach is proposed for the determination of a family of Optimal Design Curves (ODC's) which express the best noise-gain tradeoff that can be achieved - at each frequency and device operating condition - when a simultaneous constraint on amplifier input VSWR is accounted for. Such curves can be used as a more meaningful starting point in practical amplifier design in place of the approximate calculations so far employed for target performance or optimization goals determination.