Special Issue “Optimization for Decision Making II”

 

 

 

 

 

Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390) is a peer-reviewed open access journal which provides an advanced forum for studies related to mathematics, and is published monthly online by MDPI.

  • Open Access – free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
  • High visibility: Indexed in the Science Citation Indexed Expanded – SCIE (Web of Science) from Vol. 4 (2016), Scopus, and Zentralblatt MATH from Vol. 3 (2015).
  • Rapid publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision provided to authors approximately 21.7 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 5.3 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2018).
  • Recognition of reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.

Impact Factor: 1.105 (2018)  (First quartile, JCR)

Special Issue “Optimization for Decision Making II”

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 February 2020.

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor 

Prof. Víctor Yepes
Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Website | E-Mail
Interests: multiobjective optimization; structures optimization; lifecycle assessment; social sustainability of infrastructures; reliability-based maintenance optimization; optimization and decision-making under uncertainty

Guest Editor 

Prof. José M. Moreno-Jiménez
Universidad de Zaragoza
Website | E-Mail
Interests: multicriteria decision making; environmental selection; strategic planning; knowledge management; evaluation of systems; logistics and public decision making (e-government, e-participation, e-democracy and e-cognocracy)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the current context of the electronic governance of society, both administrations and citizens are demanding greater participation of all the actors involved in the decision-making process relative to the governance of society. In addition, the design, planning, and operations management rely on mathematical models, the complexity of which depends on the detail of models and complexity/characteristics of the problem they represent. Unfortunately, decision-making by humans is often suboptimal in ways that can be reliably predicted. Furthermore, the process industry seeks not only to minimize cost, but also to minimize adverse environmental and social impacts. On the other hand, in order to give an appropriate response to the new challenges raised, the decision-making process can be done by applying different methods and tools, as well as using different objectives. In real-life problems, the formulation of decision-making problems and application of optimization techniques to support decisions is particularly complex, and a wide range of optimization techniques and methodologies are used to minimize risks or improve quality in making concomitant decisions. In addition, a sensitivity analysis should be done to validate/analyze the influence of uncertainty regarding decision-making.

Prof. Víctor Yepes
Prof. José Moreno-Jiménez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mathematics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI’s English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Multicriteria decision making
  • Optimization techniques
  • Multiobjective optimization

 

Optimización de pórticos de hormigón armado con sistemas de agrupación de columnas

Nos acaban de publicar en la revista Automation in Construction (primer cuartil del JCR) un artículo relacionado con la optimización de pórticos de hormigón armado con sistemas de agrupación de columnas. Se trata de una colaboración con el profesor Moacir Kripka y está dentro del proyecto de investigación DIMALIFE.

Puedes descargar gratuitamente el artículo hasta el 22 de junio de 2019 en el siguiente enlace: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Y~vl3IhXMfb77

ABSTRACT

In structural design, it is common practice to adopt the same cross-sectiondimensions for a group of elements. This procedure is mainly for practical and aesthetic reasons, as well as to reduce labour costs, but it also has a positive effect of reducing the number of variables, which simplifies the usual trial and error design process. On the other hand, the total materials cost obtained is closely related to this grouping. Based on this, the present work aims to minimize the cost of reinforced concrete plane frames considering the automated grouping of columns. To achieve this objective, an optimization software was developed by the association of matrix structural analysis, dimensioning and optimization. The sections dimensions, the area of steel and the concrete strength of beams and columns were taken as design variables. For a given maximum number of groups, the optimum grouping and the corresponding values to design variables are obtained. The strategy proposed in this paper to obtain the grouping reduces significantly the number of infeasible candidate solutions during the search process and avoid the proposition of unrealistic designs. For the optimization, a variant of the Harmony Search method was adopted. Some structures were analyzed in order to validate the application of the proposed formulation, as well as to verify the influence of the grouping of elements on the final results. In these structures, it was possible to observe a significant additional reduction in the total cost when automated grouping is performed regarding a uniform grouping, even when a small number of groups is considered. For the 20-floor building frame analyzed, the cost reduction from uniform to automated grouping varied from 5.53 to 7.35%. The influence of the concrete strength on optimal results was also investigated, indicating a cost reduction of 9.74% from best (40 MPa) to worst case (20 MPa). In general, it can be concluded that, when applied in conjunction with the usual design variables, the proposed procedure can enable a significant additional economy, without affecting the structural safety.

KEYWORDS

Optimization; automated grouping; reinforced concrete; plane frames; harmony search

Reference:

BOSCARDIN, J. T.; YEPES, V.; KRIPKA, M. (2019). Optimization of reinforced concrete building frames with automated grouping of columns. Automation in Construction, 104: 331-340. DOI:10.1016/j.autcon.2019.04.024

 

 

 

Revisión de los métodos de optimización aplicados al consumo de energía en ferrocarriles

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista Journal of Cleaner Production, revista de ELSEVIER indexada en el primer decil del JCR. Se trata de un artículo de revisión del estado del arte donde se analizan 52 artículos científicos relacionados con el consumo energético en ferrocarriles. Se analizan dos áreas principales: las técnicas de modelización utilizadas para simular el movimiento de los trenes y el consumo de energía, y los métodos de optimización utilizados para conseguir una circulación ferroviaria más eficiente. Se describen brevemente los métodos más utilizados en cada caso y se analizan las principales tendencias encontradas. Además, se ha realizado un estudio estadístico para reconocer las relaciones entre los métodos y las variables de optimización. Se encontró que los modelos determinísticos basados en la ecuación de Davis son, con diferencia (85% de los trabajos revisados), los más comunes en términos de modelización. En cuanto a la optimización, los métodos meta-heurísticos son la opción preferida (57,8%), en particular los Algoritmos Genéticos. Este artículo forma parte de nuestra línea de investigación BRIDLIFE en la que se pretenden optimizar las infraestructuras atendiendo no sólo a su coste, sino al impacto ambiental y social que generan a lo largo de su ciclo de vida.

El artículo lo podéis descargar GRATUITAMENTE hasta el 3 de mayo de 2019 en el siguiente enlace: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1YjHX3QCo9Uqa3

Abstract:

Railways are a rather efficient transport mean, and yet there is increasing interest in reducing their energy consumption and making them more sustainable in the current context of climate change. Many studies try to model, analyse and optimise the energy consumed by railways, and there is a wide diversity of methods, techniques and approaches regarding how to formulate and solve this problem. This paper aims to provide insight into this topic by reviewing up to 52 papers related to railways energy consumption. Two main areas are analysed: modelling techniques used to simulate train(s) movement and energy consumption, and optimisation methods used to achieve more efficient train circulations in railway networks. The most used methods in each case are briefly described and the main trends found are analysed. Furthermore, a statistical study has been carried out to recognise relationships between methods and optimisation variables. It was found that deterministic models based on the Davis equation are by far (85% of the papers reviewed) the most common in terms of modelling. As for optimisation, meta-heuristic methods are the preferred choice (57.8%), particularly Genetic Algorithms.

Keywords:

Railways
Energy efficiency
Modelling
Optimisation
Meta-heuristics

Reference:

MARTÍNEZ-FERNÁNDEZ, P.; VILLALBA-SANCHÍS, I.; INSA-FRANCO, R.; YEPES, V. (2019). A review of modelling and optimisation methods applied to railways energy consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 222:153-162. DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.037

 

 

Special Issue “Optimization for Decision Making”

 

 

 

 

 

Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390) is a peer-reviewed open access journal which provides an advanced forum for studies related to mathematics, and is published monthly online by MDPI.

 

 

Special Issue “Optimization for Decision Making”

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2019

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor 

Prof. Víctor Yepes
Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Website | E-Mail
Interests: multiobjective optimization; structures optimization; lifecycle assessment; social sustainability of infrastructures; reliability-based maintenance optimization; optimization and decision-making under uncertainty

Guest Editor 

Prof. José M. Moreno-Jiménez
Universidad de Zaragoza
Website | E-Mail
Interests: multicriteria decision making; environmental selection; strategic planning; knowledge management; evaluation of systems; logistics and public decision making (e-government, e-participation, e-democracy and e-cognocracy)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the current context of the electronic governance of society, both administrations and citizens are demanding greater participation of all the actors involved in the decision-making process relative to the governance of society. In addition, the design, planning, and operations management rely on mathematical models, the complexity of which depends on the detail of models and complexity/characteristics of the problem they represent. Unfortunately, decision-making by humans is often suboptimal in ways that can be reliably predicted. Furthermore, the process industry seeks not only to minimize cost, but also to minimize adverse environmental and social impacts. On the other hand, in order to give an appropriate response to the new challenges raised, the decision-making process can be done by applying different methods and tools, as well as using different objectives. In real-life problems, the formulation of decision-making problems and application of optimization techniques to support decisions are particularly complex and a wide range of optimization techniques and methodologies are used to minimize risks or improve quality in making concomitant decisions. In addition, a sensitivity analysis should be done to validate/analyze the influence of uncertainty regarding decision-making.

Prof. Víctor Yepes
Prof. José M. Moreno-Jiménez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mathematics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI. Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript.

Keywords

  • Multicriteria decision making
  • Optimization techniques
  • Multiobjective optimization

 

 

Técnicas de optimización avanzada y sus aplicaciones a la ingeniería civil

Tal y como os comenté en un post anterior, un grupo de profesores decidimos lanzar un número especial sobre optimización avanzada en la revista Advances in Civil Engineering (indexada en el JCR). El enlace, en abierto, al contenido de este número especial lo podéis ver aquí: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ace/si/893072/

Además, os dejo la presentación del número especial:

Descargar (PDF, 1.27MB)

El número completo lo tenéis también aquí:

Descargar (PDF, 15.64MB)

Análisis de ciclo de vida de puentes óptimos de vigas artesa

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista internacional Sustainability sobre análisis de ciclo de vida de puentes óptimos de vigas. La evaluación del impacto ambiental se realiza a lo largo del ciclo de vida de puentes de hormigón postesado de vigas artesa que previamente han sido optimizados mediante una metaheurística de algoritmos meméticos. Os dejo a continuación la referencia de la revista. Además os podéis descargar y distribuir el artículo sin problema, pues está editado en abierto:

http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/3/685/html

Referencia:

PENADÉS-PLÀ, V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T.; MARTÍ, J.V.; YEPES, V. (2018). An optimization-LCA of a prestressed concrete precast bridge. Sustainability, 10(3):685. doi:10.3390/su10030685

Descargar (PDF, 2.69MB)

Special Issue on Advanced Optimization Techniques and Their Applications in Civil Engineering

Civil Engineers are involved with the creation, monitoring, and management of infrastructural resources, as well as the e›cient, economic utilization and management of renewable natural resources. Nowadays a rapid growth of computer performance enables and encourages new developments in civil engineering as well as related areas. For instance, the construction industry investigates new designs with minimum cost, minimum CO2 emissions, or embodied energy, among other objectives. Conventional optimization techniques are usually inadequate to nd best designs by taking into account all design variables, objectives, and constraints in the complex civil engineering problems. Applications of optimization techniques are most exciting, challenging, and of truly large scale when it comes to the problems of civil engineering in terms of both quality and quantity. In order to overcome the di›culties, researchers are interested in advanced optimization techniques. In the recent literature, researchers have applied the advanced optimization techniques to dišerent purposes.

The aim of this special issue is to collect the studies using optimization algorithms in civil engineering problems such as structural engineering, construction management, and environmental engineering. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following: Intelligent optimization Swarm and evolutionary optimization techniques Single and multiobjective optimization Predictive modeling and optimization Computational complexity and optimization Continuous or discrete optimization Structural optimization Size, shape, and topology optimization New design optimization applications in civil engineering New and novel approaches and techniques for solving optimization problems in civil engineering New research in any areas closely related to optimization and civil engineering designs Authors can submit their manuscripts through the Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/ace/otace/

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Diseño automático de puentes pretensados con algoritmos heurísticos

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo donde se utilizan cuatro algoritmos heurísticos: Descent Local Search, Threshold Accepting Algorithm with Mutation Operation, Genetic Algorithm y Memetic Algorithm para el diseño automático de puentes pretensados.

Se puede descargar gratuitamente este artículo hasta el 10 de junio de 2017 en el siguiente enlace: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1UwC15s1QSxbmc

Referencia: 

YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T.; GONZÁLEZ-VIDOSA, F. (2017). Heuristics in optimal detailed design of precast road bridges. Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, 17(4):738-749. DOI: 10.1016/j.acme.2017.02.006

Abstract:

This paper deals with the cost optimization of road bridges consisting of concrete slabs prepared in situ and two precast-prestressed U-shaped beams of self-compacting concrete. It shows the efficiency of four heuristic algorithms applied to a problem of 59 discrete variables. The four algorithms are the Descent Local Search (DLS), a threshold accepting algorithm with mutation operation (TAMO), the Genetic Algorithm (GA), and the Memetic Algorithm (MA). The heuristic optimization algorithms are applied to a bridge with a span length of 35 m and a width of 12 m. A performance analysis is run for the different heuristics, based on a study of Pareto optimal solutions between execution time and efficiency. The best results were obtained with TAMO for a minimum cost of 104184 euros. Among the key findings of the study, the practical use of these heuristics in real cases stands out. Furthermore, the knowledge gained from the investigation of the algorithms allows a range of values for the design optimization of such structures and pre-dimensioning of the variables to be recommended.

Keywords:

Optimization; Metaheuristics; Bridges; Overpasses; Structural design

 

Sostenibilidad del mantenimiento de carreteras bajo presupuestos restrictivos

Foto: laseda.accionistas.es

¿Es posible un mantenimiento sostenible de las carreteras cuando apenas existen presupuestos para ello?

A continuación os dejo el enlace a un artículo científico que nos acaban de publicar donde se muestra la posibilidad de utilizar técnicas de optimización heurística para conseguirlo.

 

 

 

 

 

Puedes solicitar una copia gratuita de este artículo en la siguiente dirección: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312598336_Towards_a_sustainable_optimization_of_pavement_maintenance_programs_under_budgetary_restrictions

 

Referencia: 

TORRES-MACHI, C.; PELLICER, E.; YEPES, V.; CHAMORRO, A. (2017). Towards a sustainable optimization of pavement maintenance programs under budgetary restrictions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 148:90-102. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617301142

Abstract:

Transport sector constitutes the second largest source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, being the road transportation the main contributor of these emissions. Efforts in the road sector have traditionally focused on vehicle emissions and infrastructure is typically not included in the emissions account. Road environmental impact is estimated to increase by 10% if the stages of road design, construction, and operation were considered. Previous literature has widely study sustainable practices in pavement design and construction, with little attention paid to maintenance. Current state of practice reveals that pavement managers barely consider environmental performance and their evaluations solely rely on technical and economic criteria. This situation creates the need to incorporate, in an integrated manner, technical, economic, and environmental aspects in the design of maintenance programs. The main objective of this research is to develop a tool for the optimal design of sustainable maintenance programs. Given a maintenance budget, the tool aims to maximize the long-term effectiveness of the network while minimizing GHG emissions derived from the application of maintenance treatments. The capability of the proposed tool is analyzed in a case study dealing with an urban pavement network. In comparison to the traditional maintenance policy, the proposed tool designs maintenance programs that increase the average network condition by up to 22% and reduces GHG emissions by 12%. This application also analyzes the effect of different budgetary scenarios in the technical and environmental performance of the network. This application helps pavement managers in the trade-off between budget and network performance.

Keywords:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Long-term effectiveness;
  • Optimization;
  • Sustainability;
  • Pavement management;
  • Sensitivity analysis

A postgraduate course on precast-prestressed concrete road bridges optimization

https://pacadar.com/what-we-do/solutions/item/variable-depth-bridges

En los últimos años, tanto los estudios en ingeniería de grado como los de posgrado, están enfrentándose a grandes desafíos en España y en la mayor parte de Europa. La formación en, ingeniería, ciencias y tecnologías constituye una prioridad para el desarrollo económico y un factor fundamental en el contexto europeo. Los cursos convencionales de posgrado suelen complementar los conocimientos y competencias no adquiridas en el grado previo. Sin embargo, muchas de las antiguas ingenierías superiores en España se están reconvirtiendo en estudios de grado, al que habría que unir otros de posgrado para alcanzar la titulación de máster, nivel ampliamente reconocido en la mayoría de países europeos. En este caso se encuentra el Máster Universitario en Ingeniería del Hormigón de la Universitat Politècnica de Valéncia que se inició en octubre de 2007 a partir del programa de doctorado del Departamento de Ingeniería de la Construcción y Proyectos de Ingeniería Civil, y que en este momento es uno de los pocos títulos de ingeniería reconocidos por el sello EUR-ACE ©. El objetivo del artículo es presentar los aspectos más importantes de una asignatura de dicho máster centrada en la optimización heurística de estructuras de hormigón. Su contenido docente es consecuencia del resultado del trabajo de investigación de los autores, constituyendo un claro ejemplo donde la docencia y la investigación se encuentran íntimamente relacionadas.

MARTÍ, J.V.; YEPES, V. (2015). A postgraduate course on precast-prestressed concrete road bridges optimization. 3rd International Conference on Mechanical Models in Structural Engineering CMMoST 2015, 24-26 de june, Seville (Spain), pp. 27-40. ISBN: 978-84-606-9356-7

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