A Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA 2) approach for solving the multi-objective Environmental / Economic Power Dispatch (EEPD) problem is presented in this paper. In the past fuel cost consumption minimization was the aim (a single objective function) of economic power dispatch problem. Since the clean air act amendments have been applied to reduce SO2 and NOX emissions from power plants, the utilities change their strategies in order to reduce pollution and atmospheric emission as well, adding emission minimization as other objective function made economic power dispatch (EPD) a multi-objective problem having conflicting objectives. SPEA2 is the improved version of SPEA with better fitness assignment, density estimation, and modified archive truncation. In addition fuzzy set theory is employed to extract the best compromise solution. Several optimization run of the proposed method are carried out on 3-units system and 6-units standard IEEE 30-bus test system. The results demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed method to generate well-distributed Pareto-optimal non-dominated feasible solutions in single run. The comparison with other multi-objective methods demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method.
Metaheuristics under the swarm intelligence (SI) class have proven to be efficient and have become popular methods for solving different optimization problems. Based on the usage of memory, metaheuristics can be classified into algorithms with memory and without memory (memory-less). The absence of memory in some metaheuristics will lead to the loss of the information gained in previous iterations. The metaheuristics tend to divert from promising areas of solutions search spaces which will lead to non-optimal solutions. This paper aims to review memory usage and its effect on the performance of the main SI-based metaheuristics. Investigation has been performed on SI metaheuristics, memory usage and memory-less metaheuristics, memory char
... Show MoreThe research aims to apply a modified SERVQUAL model to evaluate the quality of the educational services via conducting exploratory research for students from the College of Administration and Economics- Department of Business Administration- Evening studies at the University of Baghdad. Questionnaire of two parts was distributed to a sample of (72) students out of (720) students of the 2nd.,3rd. and 4th. year in the beginning of the second semester of the year 2008-2009 to measure the expectations and perceptions to the quality of the educational services. Five major dimensions were analyzed to see the gaps for (22) variables. The study concluded that there were (13) variables confirmed that the
... Show MoreAim: This study aimed to assessing orthodontic knowledge and attitude among general dentists and non-orthodontic specialists. Background: Early detection of orthodontic disorders is essentialin motivating patients to intervene prior to long term complications when the disorders are not recongised. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed amongst dentistsother than orthodontists. This questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first one aimed to collect demographic, educational level and practice type information. Further two sections consisted of closed-end questions designed to evaluateknowledge and attitude of orthodontics. Results: A total of 313 responses to the survey were submitted. No significant correlation was observed, e
... Show MoreThis work presents the use of laser diode in the fiber distributed data interface FDDI networks. FDDI uses optical fiber as a transmission media. This solves the problems resulted from the EMI, and noise. In addition it increases the security of transmission. A network with a ring topology consists of three computers was designed and implemented. The timed token protocol was used to achieve and control the process of communication over the ring. Nonreturn to zero inversion (NRZI) modulation was carried out as a part of the physical (PHY) sublayer. The optical system consists of a laser diode with wavelength of 820 nm and 2.5 mW maximum output power as a source, optical fiber as a channel, and positive intrinsic negative (PIN) photodiode
... Show MoreLafutidine (LAF) a newly developed histamine H2-receptor antagonist with absorption window makes it a good candidate to be prepared as floating drug delivery system. The current study involves formulation and in- Vitro evaluation of lafutidine as floating microspheres. Different formulation variables that affect the physicochemical properties of the prepared microspheres besides to the drug release behavior were investigated. Fourteen formulas were prepared by emulsion (o/w) solvent evaporation method using Ethyl cellulose (EC) as the polymeric matrix and tween 80 (TW80) as an emulsifying agent. The prepared formulas were evaluated for their percentage buoyancy (%), Percentage yield (%) and Entrapment efficiency (EE %). The results obt
... Show MoreTooth restoration one of the most common procedures in dental practice. The replacement of the entire restoration leads to loss of tooth structure and increase risk of pulp injury; replacement is also time consuming and costly. According to the minimally invasive approach when minimal defects, repair is the better choice than the total replacement of the restoration. This study aims to evaluate repair rating versus replacement treatment procedure for defective composite fillings among Iraqi dentists. Material and methodology: A questionnaire survey were designed and distributed to 184 post-graduate dentists in Iraq. The inquiry pertained general information; including their clinical experience in years, their preference in terms of direct c
... Show MoreTransportability refers to the ease with which people, goods, or services may be transferred. When transportability is high, distance becomes less of a limitation for activities. Transportation networks are frequently represented by a set of locations and a set of links that indicate the connections between those places which is usually called network topology. Hence, each transmission network has a unique topology that distinguishes its structure. The most essential components of such a framework are the network architecture and the connection level. This research aims to demonstrate the efficiency of the road network in the Al-Karrada area which is located in the Baghdad city. The analysis based on a quantitative evaluation using graph th
... Show MoreRecently, there has been an increasing advancement in the communications technology, and due to the increment in using the cellphone applications in the diverse aspects of life, it became possible to automate home appliances, which is the desired goal from residences worldwide, since that provides lots of comfort by knowing that their appliances are working in their highest effi ciency whenever it is required without their knowledge, and it also allows them to control the devices when they are away from home, including turning them on or off whenever required. The design and implementation of this system is carried out by using the Global System of Mobile communications (GSM) technique to control the home appliances – In this work, an ele
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