although several papers have studied no-idle scheduling problems, they all focus on flow shops, assuming one processor at each working stage. but, companies commonly extend to hybrid flow shops by duplicating machines in parallel in stages. this paper considers the problem of scheduling no-idle hybrid flow shops. a mixed integer linear programming model is first developed to mathematically form...

this paper presents a clear monograph on the optimization of thermal instability resistance of the fg (functionally graded) flat structures. for this aim, two fg flat structures, namely an fg beam and an fg circular plate, are considered. these structures are assumed to obey the first-order shear deformation theory, three-parameters power-law distribution of the constituents, and clamped bounda...

the capacitated clustering problem (ccp) is one of the most importantcombinational optimization problems that nowadays has many real applications inindustrial and service problems. in the ccp, a given n nodes with known demandsmust be partitioned into k distinct clusters in which each cluster is detailed by anode acting as a cluster center of this cluster. the objective is to minimize the sumof...

the recent years have witnessed an increasing attention to the methods of multiple attribute decision making in solving the problems of the real world due to their shorter time of calculation and easy application. one of these methods is the ‘permutation method’ which has a strong logic in connection with ranking issues, but when the number of alternatives increases, solving problems through th...

barrel vaults are attractive space structures that cover large area without intermediate supports. in this paper, the charged search system (css) optimization algorithm is employed for optimal design of barrel vaults. this method utilizes the governing laws of coulomb and gauss from electrostatics and the newtonian law of mechanics. the results demonstrate the efficiency of the discrete css alg...

protection systems have vital role in network reliability in short circuit mode and proper operating for relays. current transformer often in transient and saturation under short circuit mode causes mal-operation of relays which will have undesirable effects. therefore, proper and quick identification of current transformer saturation is so important. in this paper, an artificial neural network...

Nowadays, with extending applications of bi-layer metallic sheets in different industrial sectors, accurate specification of each layer is very prominent to achieve desired properties. In order to predict behavior of sheets under different forming modes and determining rupture limit and necking, the concept of Forming Limit Diagram (FLD) is used. Optimization problem with objective functions an...

The American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is known to suffer 100% mortality from infection with the New York 1999 strain of West Nile virus (WNV). Following the initial detection of WNV in North America in 1999, we measured prevalence of WNV-reactive antibodies ("seroprevalence") in free-ranging American and fish crows (Corvus ossifragus) of central New Jersey after each transmission season thr...

background: corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine birds including crows, rooks, mag­pies, jays, chough, and ravens. these birds are migratory species, especially in the shortage of foods, so they can act like vectors for a wide range of microorganisms. they live generally in temper­ate climates and in a very close contact with human residential areas as well as poultry farms. there is no ...

This article introduces two swarm intelligent algorithms, a group search optimizer (GSO) and an artificial fish swarm algorithm (AFSA). A single intelligent algorithm always has both merits in its specific formulation and deficiencies due to its inherent limitations. Therefore, we propose a mixture of these algorithms to create a new hybrid optimization algorithm known as the group search-artif...