Conditional Water Rights in the Western United States: Introducing Uncertainty to Prior Appropriation?

In the prior‐appropriation water rights regimes that prevail in the arid western United States, claims to annually variable surface water flows are fulfilled based on the order of their establishment. The two‐step process used to establish an appropriative water right in all 17 conterminous western states creates a temporary phase, or conditional water right, which has a priority date but no actual water use. We provide a review of the legal basis for these conditional water rights and demonstrate the potential uncertainty they introduce to current water users. We then present a complete census of conditional water rights in Colorado, including their amounts, ages, and uses. At the end of 2012 there were a large number of conditional water rights in Colorado (some over 90 years old) equal to 61% of the perfected water rights. Many of the controversial conditional water rights in Colorado have been associated with unconventional oil production in the northwestern portion of the state; however, conditional water rights are ubiquitous across the state and across many use types. In several basins, their existence can introduce uncertainty to some of the most senior water rights holders. Nevertheless, in most of the state, the effects of conditional water rights are restricted to a relatively junior class of water users. This work quantifies for the first time the result, in one state, of a peculiar aspect of water law common across all western prior‐appropriation states.     

Optimal Design Methods for Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems

Renewable and hybrid energy systems (HESs) are expanding due to environmental concerns of climate change, air pollution, and depleting fossil fuels. Moreover, HESs can be cost effective in comparison with conventional power plants. This article reviews current methods for designing optimal HESs. The survey shows these systems are often developed on a medium scale in remote areas and stand-alone, but there is a global growing interest for larger scale deployments that are grid connected. Examples of HESs are PV–wind–battery and PV–diesel–battery. PV and wind energy sources are the most widely adopted. Diesel and batteries are often used but hydrogen is increasing as a clean energy carrier. The design of an efficient HES is challenging because HES models are nonlinear, non-convex, and composed of mixed-type variables that cannot be solved by traditional optimization methods. Alternatively, two types of approaches are typically used for designing optimal HESs: simulation-based optimization and metaheuristic optimization methods. Simulation-based optimization methods are limited in view of human intervention that makes them tedious, time consuming, and error prone. Metaheuristics are more efficient because they can handle automatically a range of complexities. In particular, multi-objective optimization (MOO) metaheuristics are the most appropriate for optimal HES because HES models involve multiple objectives at the same time such as cost, performance, supply/demand management, grid limitations, and so forth. This article shows that the energy research community has not fully utilized state-of-the-art MOO metaheuristics. More recent MOO metaheuristics could be used such as robust optimization and interactive optimization.     

电解锰企业生产废水循环模式优化

通过对贵州省电解锰行业生产废水循环模式的调查,针对水质、水量特征进行改造:电解锰生产冷却循环水的强制排污水可降级作为电解产品和阴极板的冲洗水使用,处理后的含铬锰废水可作为制液氨水和电解清槽用水。进行以上优化后,电解锰生产废水闭路循环是可以实现的。     

Leak location of pipelines based on transient model and PSO-SVM

An improved and integrated approach of support vector machine and particle swarm optimization theory (PSO-SVM) is first used to detect the leak location of pipelines and overcome the problem of multiple leaks. The calibration and predictive ability of improved PSO-SVM is investigated and compared with that of other common method, back-propagation neural network (BPNN). Two conditions are evaluated. One with a leak involves a set of 20 samples, while another with two leaks has 127 samples. Both internal and external validations are performed to validate the performance of the resulting models. The results show that, for the two conditions, the values calculated by improved PSO-SVM are in good agreement with those simulated by transient model, and the performances of improved PSO-SVM models are superior to those of BPNN. This paper provides a new and effective method to inspect the multiple leak locations, and also reveals that improved PSO-SVM can be used as a powerful tool for studying the leak of pipeline.     

资源开发项目投资方案评价优选模型及应用

在分析某煤田“十一五”规划投资方案的基础上，在一般层次分析法中引入模糊数学理论，运用模糊层次分析法（FAHP），首先建立投资方案优选模型，对相关经济指标进行统一量化，建立评价指标体系，用于建立资源开发项目投资方案评价优选模型。使资源开发项目投资方案评价优选更加简便易行，具有良好的理论和实践意义。     

优选地震救灾路径的图与模糊集算法

由于在大地震的紧急救灾期，交通网络具有明显的结构变动性，传统的最短路算法设计出的路线难以满足救灾在时间、安全性与通行质量方面的要求。为了解决这一问题，考虑了有关的因素，基于模糊评价，对交通网络图中的长度权进行了修正；并增加了2个新的约束，然后综合应用图论与模糊极值的理论方法，建立了2个以最大限度地保障运行体的完整性与缩短运行时间为主要目标的，在多权图上优选路线的算法。该算法可较好地满足紧急救灾路线优化设计的需要。     

基于代理模型的制导子弹气动外形优化设计

目的 针对传统气动外形优化设计依赖于高精度仿真耗时过长的问题，为有效提高气动优化设计的效率，提出一种基于代理模型的气动外形优化方法。方法 以12.7 mm制导子弹为研究对象，通过CFD仿真，分析尾翼收缩段长度、弹底半径和尾翼收缩扩张段交界处半径对制导子弹飞行过程中阻力系数的影响。基于代理模型技术，综合运用试验设计、参数化建模、CFD技术和四阶响应面模型，构建制导子弹气动外形优化设计代理模型，以制导子弹飞行过程中的最小阻力系数为优化目标，结合遗传算法对制导子弹外形参数进行优化。结果 对比四阶多项式响应面和Kriging模型建立的代理模型预测精度，与测试样本点CFD仿真计算结果相比，四阶响应面代理模型阻力系数预测值的平均误差为0.386%。表明四阶响应面代理模型能够有效替代CFD仿真，可用于预测不同外形参数下制导子弹的阻力系数。结论 相对于最初的制导子弹外形，制导子弹的阻力系数下降了14.59%，有效减少子弹飞行过程中的能量损失和缩短了优化时长。该方法在保证精度的前提下，减少了制导子弹的设计周期，为相关工程应用与研究提供了一定的参考。     

板筋结构强度计算及最优化设计

板筋结构是除尘器的重要结构形式，其结构的强度与除尘器的安全性有着密切的关系。介绍了板筋结构在除尘器应用中的荷栽、强度计算方法，并利用VB软件进行板筋结构最优化设计。     

Surrogates for Macrofungi and Mosses in Reservation Planning

Abstract: Our knowledge of cryptogam taxonomy and species distributions is currently too poor to directly plan for their conservation. We used inventory data from four distinct vegetation types, near Hobart Tasmania, to address the proposition that vegetation type, vascular plant taxon composition, and environmental variables can act as surrogates for mosses and macrofungi in reservation planning. The four vegetation types proved distinct in their taxon composition for all macrofungi, mosses, and vascular plants. We tested the strength of the relationships between the composition of cryptogam taxonomic groups and vascular plant composition and between the environmental variables and canopy cover. Taxon composition of woody vascular plants and vascular plants was the best predictor of the taxon composition of mosses and macrofungi. Combinations of environmental variables and canopy cover were also strong predictors of the taxon composition of mosses and macrofungi. We used an optimization routine for vascular plant taxa and woody plant species and determined the representation of cryptogam taxa in these selections. We identified sites with approximately 10% and 30% of the greatest proportions of vascular plants and woody vascular plants and calculated representation of mosses and macrofungi at these sites. We compared the results of these site selections with random site selections and random selections stratified by vegetation type. Random selection of sites by vegetation type generally captured more cryptogams than site selection by vascular plants at the 10% level. Vascular plant and woody plant taxon composition, vegetation type, and environmental and structural characteristics, all showed promise as surrogates for capturing common cryptogams in reserve systems.