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Relative coupling control (RCC) structure is widely used for multi-motor speed synchronization control. To improve the performance of multi-motor synchronous control, artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is developed and applied for enhancing RCC structure. The RCC structure optimized by the ABC algorithm is called the RCC-ABC structure. In the RCC-ABC structure, the ABC algorithm optimizes both the fixed compensation factor in the speed compensator and the parameters of the PID controller acting as a tracking controller. Simulation experiments based on a four-motor system are conducted to validate the efficiency of the RCC-ABC structure. Simulation results show that the RCC-ABC structure has better synchronization and tracking performance compared to the RCC structure.

The in situ measurement of thick oil slick thickness (>0.5 mm) and area in real time in order to estimate the volume of an oil spill is very important for determining the oil spill response strategy and evaluating the oil spill disposal efficiency. In this article, a method is proposed to assess the volume of oil slicks by simultaneously measuring the thick oil slick thickness and area using ultrasonic inspection and image processing methods, respectively. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV), integrating two ultrasonic immersion transducers, was implemented as a platform to receive ultrasonic reflections from an oil slick. The oil slick thickness was determined by multiplying the speed of sound by the ultrasonic traveling time within the oil slick, which was calculated using the cross-correlation method. Images of the oil slick were captured by an optical camera using an airborne drone. The oil slick area was calculated by conducting image processing on images of the oil slick using the proposed image processing algorithms. Multiple measurements were performed to verify the proposed method in the laboratory experiments. The results show that the thickness, area and volume of a thick oil slick can be accurately measured with the proposed method. The method could potentially be used as an applicable tool for measuring the volume of an oil slick during an oil spill response.

Reducing mineral processing water costs and freshwater consumption is a challenging task in the mineral processing water distribution (MPWD). The work presented in this paper focuses on two aspects of the MPWD optimization model and the MPWD optimization method. To achieve MPWD optimization effectively, a nonlinear constrained multiobjective model is built. The problem is formulated with two objectives of minimizing the mineral processing water costs and maximizing the amount of recycled water. In this paper, an optimization method named enhancing the multiobjective artificial bee colony (EMOABC) algorithm is proposed to solve this model. The EMOABC algorithm uses four strategies to obtain the Pareto-optimal solutions and to achieve the MPWD optimal solutions. With the three benchmark functions, the EMOABC algorithm outperforms the other two widely used algorithms in solving complex multiobjective optimization problems. The EMOABC algorithm is then applied to two cases. Results have shown that the proposed algorithm has the ability to solve the MPWD optimization model. The developed model and the proposed algorithm provide decision support for the actual MPWD problem.

A mode-converted (longitudinal-to-transverse, L-T) ultrasonic scattering technique was applied to evaluate the variation of microstructural anisotropy in a railroad wheel sample. The anisotropy was examined using a pitch-catch longitudinal-to-transverse measurement configuration in two perpendicular directions. Then the whole scan area was divided into 14 sections to calculate the variance of scattered signals for each section. The variance curves were fit with the theoretical models to determine amplitudes for each section. The experimental results show the variance amplitudes of the L-T response are very similar for two perpendicular directions near the tread surface which indicates microstructural isotropy. For measurement areas near the center of the sample from the tread surface, the variance amplitudes in two perpendicular directions split and the difference increases with depth. The result indicates growing microstructural anisotropy in regions associated with the coarse duplex pearlite microstructure. The fine and coarse duplex microstructures have already been examined by optical analysis, but the microstructural anisotropy cannot be characterized from metallographic images. The mode-converted ultrasonic scattering approach presented in this paper provides a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method for characterization of microstructural anisotropy in complex metallic materials.

The mode-converted (Longitudinal to Transverse, L-T) ultrasonic scattering was utilized to characterize the microstructural anisotropy on three surfaces of samples cut from the low-scattering and high-scattering regions of a raw titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V billet, respectively. The L-T ultrasonic measurements were performed in two perpendicular directions using two focused transducers with a 15 MHz center frequency in a pitch-catch configuration. The root mean square (RMS) of ultrasonic scattering was calculated for each L-T measurement and a Gaussian function was used to fit each RMS to determine the RMS amplitude. The ratio of RMS amplitudes for L-T measurements performed in two perpendicular directions was calculated to characterize the microstructural anisotropy on the measured surface of a sample. The results show that the amplitude of L-T ultrasonic scattering is highly dependent on the microstructural anisotropy. The microstructural isotropy was considered on the x-y planes of all samples, while the high anisotropy was seen on the x-z and y-z planes of all low-scattering and high-scattering samples. In addition, the microstructural anisotropy measured on the x-z planes of the low-scattering and high-scattering samples gradually increases and decreases, respectively, from the outside diameter (OD) to the centerline (CL) of the billet. The anisotropy measured on the y-z planes of the low-scattering samples slightly decreases and then increases towards the center, while the anisotropy measured on the y-z planes of the high-scattering samples continuously increases towards the center. The variation of microstructural anisotropy in the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V billet with duplex microstructure was quantified with the L-T ultrasonic method and the results agree well with micrographs shown in Ref. [18] . The mode-converted ultrasonic scattering method provides a NDE method to characterize microstructural anisotropy, which can be used as an NDE tool for quality control.

The mode-converted (longitudinal to transverse, L-T) ultrasonic scattering method was utilized to characterize the structural anisotropy of a phantom mimicking the structural properties of trabecular bone. The sample was fabricated using metal additive manufacturing from high-resolution computed tomography (CT) images of a sample of trabecular horse bone with strong anisotropy. Two focused transducers were used to perform the L-T ultrasonic measurements. A normal incidence transducer was used to transmit longitudinal ultrasonic waves into the sample, while the scattered transverse signals were received by an oblique incidence transducer. At multiple locations on the sample, four L-T measurements were performed by collecting ultrasonic scattering from four directions. The amplitude of the root mean square (rms) of the collected ultrasonic scattering signals was calculated for each L-T measurement. The ratios of rms amplitudes for L-T measurements in different directions were calculated to characterize the anisotropy of sample. The results show that the amplitude of L-T converted scattering is highly dependent on the direction of microstructural anisotropy. A strong anisotropy of the microstructure was observed, which coincides with simulation results previously published on the same structure as well as with the anisotropy estimated from the CT images. These results suggest the potential of mode-converted ultrasonic scattering methods to assess the anisotropy of materials with porous, complex structures, including trabecular bone.

To improve the performance of the PID controller for a steel strip deviation control system (SSDCS), an enhanced artificial bee colony algorithm (EABC) is proposed to optimize PID controller gains (EABC-PID). The proposed EABC changes the candidate solution equation to balance its explorative and exploitative capabilities. The experiment presents a detailed comparison of EABC-PID and four bio-inspired algorithms based PID controllers considering four types of objective functions. Simulation results show that EABC-PID proves to be superior for SSDCS compared to four bio-inspired algorithms based PID controller in terms of convergence, dynamic adjustment, and robustness.

In-situ burning (ISB) is an important tool to remove oil from the environment. During ISB, it is important to know the volume reduction of oil for the overall accounting of the spilled oil, as a metric for operational decisions, and to account for the ISB portion of the oil budget. The burn rate depends on the type of oil, degree of emulsification and weathering, estimated thickness, weather conditions, and size of the burn area. Furthermore, each spill has a unique physical environment and oil properties that affect burn efficiency and rate. The volume of oil consumed during ISB is typically computed using a manual, coarse, time integration of the instantaneous burn area based on visual observations and a characteristic burn rate. The area is typically estimated in the field using known boom geometry and visual inspection of the fire-water interface, and recorded manually. We have developed methods to measure the instantaneous consumption of burning oil and thus the oil burn rate by integrating direct measurements of thickness using acoustics sensors in the water under the slick with direct measurements of the area of the burning oil using infrared and visible light images from cameras above the burning oil. Data were collected during the burning of several oils and petroleum products including ANS, rock, diesel, and hexane. The acoustic thickness measurement took into account the high temperature gradient in the oil and combined with multi camera automated burn area estimates yielded an instantaneous measurement of the volume of oil consumed while burning. We were able to identify the buildup of the burn, the active burning phase, and in the case of confined burns the vigorous burning phase. Knowing the instantaneous thickness and surface area during burning allowed us to directly calculate the burn rate and to study the dynamics of ISB. We are working on validating the burn rate and efficiency with direct measurements of the weight of the oil and residue before, during, and after burning. The authors believe these are the first direct measurements of slick thickness using acoustics during ISB.

In this article, the effects of residual stress on the ultrasonic scattering in a quenched steel sample are investigated by calculating the change of spatial variance amplitudes of ultrasonic signals after removing residual stress via annealing. The experimental results show that the average spatial variance amplitude decreases by about 11.89% for a scan area on the quenched surface after removing residual stress. This quantity was used to estimate the residual stress based on the developed stress-dependent backscatter model. In addition, the residual stress on the whole scan area was mapped by calculating the change of the spatial variance amplitude for each subarea after annealing, respectively. Diffuse ultrasonic backscatter signals show a high sensitivity to residual stress such that this technique has potential as a non-destructive method for measuring residual stress.

It is important to accurately and nondestructively evaluate the grain size of structural materials used in nuclear power plants. The current ultrasonic non-destructive methods are so dependent on the thickness measurement of a square pipe that it reduces their practicality and reliability. In this paper, a novel method using the coefficient of ultrasonic attenuation rate is developed by using the transmission and reflection coefficients. As a result, the mean grain size of the pipe can be nondestructively evaluated without measuring its thickness. Moreover, the signal preprocessing is studied to improve the stability and accuracy of evaluation results. The experimental results show that the dependence of the attenuation rate on grain sizes is much higher than that of the ultrasonic velocity. The relative error of the attenuation rate method is lower than that of the backscatter method if the thickness of the sample is less than 5 mm. When evaluating a TP304 stainless steel square pipe whose thickness is not convenient to measure, the mean grain sizes are measured 103.5 ± 2.6 μm, 96.9 ± 3.5 μm and 94.0 ± 1.7 μm by the attenuation method, the attenuation rate method and the electron backscattering diffraction method, respectively. The result verifies that the presented method works better than the attenuation method due to the fact that the error of the thickness measurement has no effect on the ultrasonic attenuation rate.

During ultrasonic testing of resistance spot welds in real time, the probe sends the sound waves through the thickness of the copper electrode cap into the materials being welded. Characteristics of the reflected waves from the weld interfaces allow a reliable decision to be made on the quality of the joint. Transmission of high frequency sound waves through the relatively thick copper welding cap cause the signal to be greatly attenuated due to grain scattering. For this reason, close monitoring of the copper cap properties prior to installation is essential for adequate performance. Finding copper alloys with a small average grain size is essential in order to minimize the attenuating effects. The conducted backscatter and attenuation experiments indicate correlation between the ultrasonically measured parameters and the optically found copper grain size. This correlation suggests that the attenuation or backscatter technique could be used alone in order to validate the proper copper alloy to be used in...