Genetic Algorithm-Based Searching Method for Piping Path Routing in Coal-Fired Boiler Buildings

Author(s):  
Naohiro Kusumi ◽  
David E. Goldberg ◽  
Noriyuki Ichinose

Power plant design using digital engineering based on 3-D computer-aided design has become a mainstream technology because of possessing higher speed and improvement in design accuracy. To take a coal-fired boiler building as an example, it has many complex structures with several million parts including the boiler itself, large fans, steel structures, and piping in varying sizes. Therefore, it is not easy to maintain integrity of the whole design throughout all the many engineering processes. We have developed a smart design system for coal-fired boiler buildings to solve the integrity problem. This system is capable of creating and allocating 3-D models automatically in accordance with various technical specifications and engineering rules. Lately, however, there has been a growing demand for more effectiveness of the developed system. We have begun to look into the feasibility of further improvements of the system function. The first point to note, when considering effectiveness, is the piping path routing process in the coal-fired boiler building. The quantity of piping is large, and it has a considerable impact on performance of the whole plant because hot steam is fed into the steam turbine and cold steam is taken from it through the piping. A considerable number of studies have been made on automatic searching methods of piping path routing. Although, the decision of piping path routing by using the Dynamic Programming method is most commonly, a previously decided routing becomes an interference object because of the single searching method. Therefore, basically, the later the order of the routing becomes, the longer the length of the routing becomes. To overcome this problem, in this paper we have proposed a new searching method based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA). The GA is a multipoint searching algorithm based on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics. Virtual prohibited cells are introduced into the proposed search method as a new idea. The virtual prohibited cells are located in a search space. The different paths are generated by avoiding the virtual prohibited cells while searching for the piping path routing. The optimum locations of the prohibited cells which are expressed in a genotype are obtained by using the GA in order to get a lot of paths independent of the order of the routing. The proposed method was evaluated using a simple searching problem. The results showed that many effective paths are generated by making the virtual prohibited cells.

2018 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 03017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Vasilkin

For computer-aided design solutions search, a computational tool, which will substantially facilitate designer’s work, has been developed. Structural optimization method – genetic algorithm method is taken as a basis. To accelerate design solutions synthesis, computer-aided design system in the form of a developed computational tool is used. It automatically synthesizes a significant number of design solutions using formalized conditions of strength facility requirements. Then, user compares the solutions upon performance criterion and selects the best options. The article demonstrates possibility of genetic algorithm application for obtaining design solutions through the example of a structural coating plate. The advantage of this method is obviousness in solutions search, visualization of proposed structures and user’s work with the system in dialog mode.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Liu

This paper presents a novel computer-aided design system which uses a computational approach to producing 3D images for stimulating creativity of designers. It introduces the genetic algorithm first. Then a binary tree based genetic algorithm is presented. This approach is illustrated by a 3D image generative example, which uses complex function expressions as chromosomes to form a binary tree, and all genetic operations are performed on the binary tree. Corresponding complex functions are processed by MATLAB software to form 3D images of artistic flowers. This generative design is integrated with a visualization interface, which allows designers to interact and select from instances for design evolution. It shows the system is able to enhance the possibility of discovering various potential design solutions.


The choice of cost-effective method of anticorrosive protection of steel structures is an urgent and time consuming task, considering the significant number of protection ways, differing from each other in the complex of technological, physical, chemical and economic characteristics. To reduce the complexity of solving this problem, the author proposes a computational tool that can be considered as a subsystem of computer-aided design and used at the stage of variant and detailed design of steel structures. As a criterion of the effectiveness of the anti-corrosion protection method, the cost of the protective coating during the service life is accepted. The analysis of existing methods of steel protection against corrosion is performed, the possibility of their use for the protection of the most common steel structures is established, as well as the estimated period of effective operation of the coating. The developed computational tool makes it possible to choose the best method of protection of steel structures against corrosion, taking into account the operating conditions of the protected structure and the possibility of using a protective coating.


Author(s):  
A. N. Bozhko

Computer-aided design of assembly processes (Computer aided assembly planning, CAAP) of complex products is an important and urgent problem of state-of-the-art information technologies. Intensive research on CAAP has been underway since the 1980s. Meanwhile, specialized design systems were created to provide synthesis of assembly plans and product decompositions into assembly units. Such systems as ASPE, RAPID, XAP / 1, FLAPS, Archimedes, PRELEIDES, HAP, etc. can be given, as an example. These experimental developments did not get widespread use in industry, since they are based on the models of products with limited adequacy and require an expert’s active involvement in preparing initial information. The design tools for the state-of-the-art full-featured CAD/CAM systems (Siemens NX, Dassault CATIA and PTC Creo Elements / Pro), which are designed to provide CAAP, mainly take into account the geometric constraints that the design imposes on design solutions. These systems often synthesize technologically incorrect assembly sequences in which known technological heuristics are violated, for example orderliness in accuracy, consistency with the system of dimension chains, etc.An AssemBL software application package has been developed for a structured analysis of products and a synthesis of assembly plans and decompositions. The AssemBL uses a hyper-graph model of a product that correctly describes coherent and sequential assembly operations and processes. In terms of the hyper-graph model, an assembly operation is described as shrinkage of edge, an assembly plan is a sequence of shrinkages that converts a hyper-graph into the point, and a decomposition of product into assembly units is a hyper-graph partition into sub-graphs.The AssemBL solves the problem of minimizing the number of direct checks for geometric solvability when assembling complex products. This task is posed as a plus-sum two-person game of bicoloured brushing of an ordered set. In the paradigm of this model, the brushing operation is to check a certain structured fragment for solvability by collision detection methods. A rational brushing strategy minimizes the number of such checks.The package is integrated into the Siemens NX 10.0 computer-aided design system. This solution allowed us to combine specialized AssemBL tools with a developed toolkit of one of the most powerful and popular integrated CAD/CAM /CAE systems.


Author(s):  
Abdullah Türk ◽  
Dursun Saral ◽  
Murat Özkök ◽  
Ercan Köse

Outfitting is a critical stage in the shipbuilding process. Within the outfitting, the construction of pipe systems is a phase that has a significant effect on time and cost. While cutting the pipes required for the pipe systems in shipyards, the cutting process is usually performed randomly. This can result in large amounts of trim losses. In this paper, we present an approach to minimize these losses. With the proposed method it is aimed to base the pipe cutting process on a specific systematic. To solve this problem, Genetic Algorithms (GA), which gives successful results in solving many problems in the literature, have been used. Different types of genetic operators have been used to investigate the search space of the problem well. The results obtained have proven the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


2011 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 711-714
Author(s):  
Ying Jiang ◽  
Jie Liu

Secondary develop system can realize design automation of the common parts, so that software system can automatically inquire the chart and get data, then this could really release design personnel and improve the design efficiency. By secondary develop system of stirred tank users can respectively carry on the design according to their own needs. So secondary develop system has the function of automatic generation graphics, and can generate CAD drawings complying with the design requirement, so it reflected the intelligent performance of the design system. Secondary develop system is able to complete the automatic design of common parts, and can greatly improve the quality and efficiency of design, so it has very important use value. This design realizes the function of automatic graphics generation of transmission of stirred tank, and can generate structure design of common belt wheel.


2011 ◽  
Vol 268-270 ◽  
pp. 476-481
Author(s):  
Li Gao ◽  
Ke Lin Xu ◽  
Wei Zhu ◽  
Na Na Yang

A mathematical model was constructed with two objectives. A two-stage hybrid algorithm was developed for solving this problem. At first, the man-hour optimization based on genetic algorithm and dynamic programming method, the model decomposes the flow shop into two layers: sub-layer and patrilineal layer. On the basis of the man-hour optimization,A simulated annealing genetic algorithm was proposed to optimize the sequence of operations. A new selection procedure was proposed and hybrid crossover operators and mutation operators were adopted. A benchmark problem solving result indicates that the proposed algorithm is effective.


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