SILVA, F. I. L. Análise de comparação entre elitismos na calibração de fatores de atrito em redes hidráulicas por meio do método transiente inverso com aplicação de algoritmo genético. 2017. 111 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia Civil)-Centro de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil: Recursos Hídricos, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, 2017. / Submitted by Edineuza Silva (edineuza@deha.ufc.br) on 2017-09-12T17:23:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2946864 bytes, checksum: 44409fd6978ae5f8244a2a0fc63e777c (MD5) / Rejected by Marlene Sousa (mmarlene@ufc.br), reason: Prezado Icaro, Existe uma orientação para que normalizemos as dissertações e teses da UFC, em suas paginas pré-textuais e lista de referencias, pelas regras da ABNT. Por esse motivo, sugerimos consultar o modelo de template, para ajudá-lo nesta tarefa, disponível em: http://www.biblioteca.ufc.br/educacao-de-usuarios/templates/ Vamos agora as correções sempre de acordo com o template: 1. Na folha de aprovação falta colocar a informação título de mestre em:XXXXXX e a área de concentração. 2. Já que vc fez listas separadas coloque o termo LISTA DE FIGURAS substituindo lista de ilustrações. Substitua os dois pontos por hífen para separar a numeração das figuras do título. Ex Figura 3.1 - Algoritmo genético típico Nas listas de figuras e tabelas observe o alinhamento da margem que deve ser igual ao que vc fez na lista de abreviaturas e siglas. De modo que quando aumentar o número de dígitos das figuras elas fiquem no mesmo alinhamento de quando tinham menos dígitos. Ex Figura 6.9 e 6.10 e as Tabela 6.9 e 6.10. Nas LISTA DE FIGURAS e LISTA DE TABELAS, Quando o título da figura ou da tabela não couber na mesma linha, sua continuação deve ficar na mesma margem da primeira letra da linha de cima e não voltar para a margem do F de Figura ou do T de Tabela. 3. No sumário não dê recuo na margem. Observe o alinhamento a esquerda, uso de negrito, maiúsculo e itálico nas seções de acordo com template. 4. Na lista de REFERÊNCIAS a palavra deve ser centralizada na folha. Ao abreviar as edições dos livros use a forma 2. ed. corrija em toda a lista onde aparecer a informação de edição. Nas referencias de livros a ordem dos elementos deve ser local de publicação: nome de editora, data de publicação. Qualquer dúvida estou a disposição. Att. Marlene Rocha 3366-9620 mmarlene@ufc.br on 2017-09-13T12:17:31Z (GMT) / Submitted by Edineuza Silva (edineuza@deha.ufc.br) on 2017-09-15T11:32:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2946864 bytes, checksum: 44409fd6978ae5f8244a2a0fc63e777c (MD5) / Rejected by Marlene Sousa (mmarlene@ufc.br), reason: Neusa: devolvo como vc pediu. on 2017-09-15T12:11:10Z (GMT) / Submitted by Edineuza Silva (edineuza@deha.ufc.br) on 2017-09-15T12:34:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf.pdf: 2870997 bytes, checksum: c52dedabde2a98548c62103c0c2feb27 (MD5) / Rejected by Marlene Sousa (mmarlene@ufc.br), reason: Prezado Ícaro: Falta ainda corrigir de acordo com template http://www.biblioteca.ufc.br/educacao-de-usuarios/templates/ 1. Resumo e Abstract não devem ter parágrafo. Devem ser alinhados a esquerda. Retire parágrafo da primeira linha. 2. Na lista de Figuras, a 6.2 está fora do alinhamento da margem. 3. O sumário deve ser todo em negrito com exceção das seções quaternárias (4 dígitos) que ficam só em itálico. O sumário continua sem alinhamento da margem. Deixe bastante espaço entre o algarismo 1 e a palavra Introdução, de modo que esse espaço seja suficiente para quando aumentarem o numero de dígitos das seções estas fiquem com o mesmo alinhamento. Sendo assim, a letra A de Aspectos gerais, fica em baixo do I de INTRODUÇÃO, assim como o M de Método de tentativa e erro deve ficar em baixo da letra I de INTRODUÇÃO. Ou seja, no mesmo alinhamento da margem. O C de CONCLUSÕES deve ficar no mesmo alinhamento da margem do I de INTRODUÇÃO. E o R de REFERENCIAS também na mesma margem e em baixo do C de CONCLUSÕES. Qualquer dúvida estou a disposição Marlene on 2017-09-15T14:27:39Z (GMT) / Submitted by Edineuza Silva (edineuza@deha.ufc.br) on 2017-10-18T13:54:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2873584 bytes, checksum: b9b26e4e21ad8e9a363117297c9d7e58 (MD5) / Rejected by Marlene Sousa (mmarlene@ufc.br), reason: Prezado Francisco, Seu trabalho ficou desconfigurado a partir da folha de dedicatória. Uma folha está subindo para a outra. Corrija por favor. No mais tudo certo. Marlene mmarlene@ufc.br on 2017-10-20T17:21:37Z (GMT) / Submitted by Edineuza Silva (edineuza@deha.ufc.br) on 2017-10-24T11:41:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2871661 bytes, checksum: 586de76c264e3316eaf2ba5ef73cfa24 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marlene Sousa (mmarlene@ufc.br) on 2017-11-07T19:05:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2871661 bytes, checksum: 586de76c264e3316eaf2ba5ef73cfa24 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-07T19:05:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_dis_filsilva.pdf: 2871661 bytes, checksum: 586de76c264e3316eaf2ba5ef73cfa24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-13 / For some time, due to its complexity, the calibration of parameters in transient hydraulic networks was neglected. However, studies related to this phenomenon, especially with respect to the friction factor have been growing in recent times. Simulations of the equilibrium conditions of a hydraulic distribution network become one of the most important steps in the technical analysis of water supply systems. In order to identify and estimate the parameters of a hydraulic network, from observed data of transient loads, a computational model was developed. In general, the physical parameters of the network such as friction factors, absolute roughness, diameters and the identification, measurement and quantification of leaks are unknown quantities. This work aims at the identification and calibration of the friction factors by means of a combination of the Inverse Transient Method - MTI - with the Genetic Algorithm - AG. Next to this combination was used the Method of Characteristics - MOC - to solve the equations of the flow in permanent and transient regime in networks of pipes. The hypothetical hydraulic net under analysis consists of eight variable demand nodes, ten tubes and a quota reservoir equivalent to 60m, being submitted to a 30s transient. The analyzes were performed through programs that apply the technique of optimization of the genetic algorithm to find the optimal values ​​of the hydraulic load in the observed node. A comparative study will be carried out between two types of elitism in order to evaluate the effects produced in the identification and calibration of the friction factors in transient conditions. The steady state conditions are known. Five elitism rates were applied to each initial population in order to analyze the influence on the calibration result. Elitism 2 presented smaller errors than elitism 1, both for the average processing and for better processing, even with higher objective functions. The rate of best efficiency for the application of elitism 1 and 2 was 70%. The hydraulic transient is directly related to the definition of the parameters of the genetic algorithm. / Durante algum tempo, devido a sua complexidade, a calibração de parâmetros em redes hidráulicas em regime transiente foi negligenciada. Entretanto, os estudos relacionados a esse fenômeno, sobretudo no que diz respeito ao fator de atrito vêm crescendo nos últimos tempos. As simulações das condições de equilíbrio de uma rede de distribuição hidráulica tornam-se uma das etapas mais importantes na análise técnica de sistemas de abastecimento de água. Com o fito de identificar e estimar os parâmetros de uma rede hidráulica, a partir de dados observados de cargas transientes, desenvolveu-se um modelo computacional. De uma maneira geral, os parâmetros físicos da rede como fatores de atrito, rugosidades absolutas, diâmetros e a identificação, mensuração e quantificação de vazamentos são grandezas desconhecidas. Este trabalho tem como escopo a identificação e calibração dos fatores de atrito por meio de uma combinação do Método Transiente Inverso – MTI – com o Algoritmo Genético – AG. Junto a essa combinação utilizou-se o Método das Características – MOC – para resolução das equações do escoamento em regime permanente e transiente em redes de tubulações. A rede hidráulica hipotética em análise é formada por oito nós de demanda variável, dez tubos e um reservatório de cota equivalente a 60m, sendo submetida a um transiente de 30s. As análises foram realizadas através de programas que aplicam a técnica de otimização do algoritmo genético para encontrar os valores ótimos da carga hidráulica no nó observado. Será trabalhado o estudo comparativo entre dois tipos de elitismo com a finalidade de avaliar os efeitos produzidos na identificação e calibração dos fatores de atrito em condições transientes. As condições de regime permanente são conhecidas. Aplicaram-se cinco taxas de elitismo à cada população inicial, de modo a analisar a influência no resultado da calibração. O elitismo 2 apresentou erros menores do que o elitismo 1, tanto para a média dos processamentos como para o melhore processamento, mesmo apresentando funções objetivo maiores. A taxa de melhor eficiência para a aplicação do elitismo 1 e 2 foi a de 70%. O transiente hidráulico tem relação direta com a definição dos parâmetros do algoritimo genético.

xx, 287 p. ; ill. (some col.) A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call numbers: SCIENCE QP310.W3 W55 2008 / Digital three-dimensional (3D) models are useful for biomechanical analysis because they can be interactively visualized and manipulated. Synthesizing and analyzing animal locomotion with these models, however, is difficult due to the large number of joints in a fully articulated skeleton, the complexity of the individual joints, and the huge space of possible configurations, or poses, of the skeleton taken as a whole. A joint may be capable of several biological movements, each represented by a degree of freedom (DOF). A quadrupedal model may require up to 100 DOFs to represent the limbs and trunk segments only, resulting in extremely large spaces of possible body configurations. New methods are presented here that allow limbs with any number of biomechanical DOFs to be kinematically exercised and mapped into a visualization space. The spaces corresponding to the ranges of motion of the left and right limbs are automatically intersected and pruned using biological and locomotion constraints. Hind and fore spaces are similarly constrained so that Genetic Algorithms (GAs) can be used to quickly find smooth, and therefore plausible, kinematic quadrupedal locomotion paths through the spaces. Gaits generated for generic dog and reptile models are compared to published gait data to determine the viability of kinematics-only gait generation and analysis; gaits generated for Apatosaurus, Triceratops , and Tyrannosaurus dinosaur models are then compared to those generated for the extant animals. These methods are used for several case studies across the models including: isolating scapulothorax and shoulder joint functionality during locomotion, determining optimal ankle heights for locomotion, and evaluating the effect of limb phase parameters on quadrupedal locomotion. / Adviser: Kent A. Stevens

MicroRNA (miRNA) are a class of small endogenous non-coding RNA that are mainly negative transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators in both plants and animals. Recent studies have shown that miRNA are involved in different types of cancer and other incurable diseases such as autism and Alzheimer’s. Functional miRNAs are excised from hairpin-like sequences that are known as miRNA genes. There are about 21,000 known miRNA genes, most of which have been determined using experimental methods. miRNA genes are classified into different groups (miRNA families). This study reports about 19,000 unknown miRNA genes in nine species whereby approximately 15,300 predictions were computationally validated to contain at least one experimentally verified functional miRNA product. The predictions are based on a novel computational strategy which relies on miRNA family groupings and exploits the physics and geometry of miRNA genes to unveil the hidden palindromic signals and symmetries in miRNA gene sequences. Unlike conventional computational miRNA gene discovery methods, the algorithm developed here is species-independent: it allows prediction at higher accuracy and resolution from arbitrary RNA/DNA sequences in any species and thus enables examination of repeat-prone genomic regions which are thought to be non-informative or ’junk’ sequences. The information non-redundancy of uni-directional RNA sequences compared to information redundancy of bi-directional DNA is demonstrated, a fact that is overlooked by most pattern discovery algorithms. A novel method for computing upstream and downstream miRNA gene boundaries based on mathematical/statistical functions is suggested, as well as cutoffs for annotation of miRNA genes in different miRNA families. Another tool is proposed to allow hypotheses generation and visualization of data matrices, intra- and inter-species chromosomal distribution of miRNA genes or miRNA families. Our results indicate that: miRNA and miRNA genes are not only species-specific but may also be DNA strand-specific and chromosome-specific; the genomic distribution of miRNA genes is conserved at the chromosomal level across species; miRNA are conserved; More than one miRNA with different regulatory targets can be excised from one miRNA gene; Repeat-related miRNA and miRNA genes with palindromic sequences may be the largest subclass of miRNA class that have eluded detection by most computational and experimental methods.

[pt] Um dos fatores mais importantes para recuperação de óleo de reservatórios petrolíferos é a configuração dos poços. Atualmente, na indústria, esse processo é feito de forma manual onde um especialista gera algumas poucas opções de configurações e utiliza a de melhor resultado. Este trabalho se propõe a investigar um sistema de apoio à decisão para otimizar a configuração dos poços utilizando Algoritmos Genéticos e o simulador de reservatórios IMEX. Os parâmetros otimizados são: o número de poços produtores e injetores, a posição, a inclinação, a direção e o comprimento de cada poço, o número de laterais de cada poço e o ponto da junta, a inclinação relativa ao poço, a direção e o comprimento de cada lateral. Na busca pela configuração ótima dos poços, o objetivo da otimização é minimizar o investimento inicial, minimizar a produção de água e maximizar a produção de óleo buscando maximizar o VPL do empreendimento. A otimização é conduzida respeitando as restrições de projeto, dadas por um engenheiro, e restrições de simulação, dadas pelo próprio modelo de reservatório. O modelo proposto foi avaliado utilizando-se sete reservatórios. Cinco destes são sintéticos cujas configurações ótimas são conhecidas, um semi-sintético e um reservatório real. Foram conduzidos testes de convergência onde o modelo se mostrou capaz de localizar e otimizar as zonas produtoras, chegando à alternativa ótima até 80% das vezes. Nos últimos dois reservatórios os resultados indicam que o sistema consegue encontrar configurações de poços com altos valores de VPL, superiores a soluções propostas por especialistas e por outros sistemas de otimização, com ganhos de VPL de até 37% sobre a alternativa proposta por um especialista para o reservatório real. / [en] One of the most important factors for recovering oil from oil reservoirs is the wells configuration. Now a days, on the industry, this process is conduced manually, where a specialist generates a few configuration options and uses the best one with best results. This work proposes to investigate a decision support system to optimize the wells’ configuration using Genetic Algorithms and the reservoir simulator IMEX. The optimized parameters include: the number of producers and injectors wells, the position, the inclination, the direction and the length of each well, the number of laterals for each well and the junction point, the inclination relative to the well and the length of each lateral. On the search of the optimal configuration of wells, the objective of the optimization is to minimize the initial investment, minimize the water production and maximize the oil production towards the maximization of the venture`s NPV. The optimization is conduced respecting the project`s restrictions, stated by an engineer, and the simulation`s restrictions, imposed by the reservoir model. The optimization model proposed was evaluated using seven reservoirs. Five of them are synthetic which the optimum well`s configuration are known, one semi-synthetic and one real reservoir. Convergence tests were conducted where the model confirmed to be able to locate and optimize the production zones, achieving the optimum alternative 80% of the times. On the last two reservoirs the results indicate that the system was able to achieve well configurations with high values of NPV, superiors from solutions given by specialists and by other optimization systems, with NPV´s increase reaching 37% over the specialist`s purposed alternative for the real reservoir case.

O presente trabalho utiliza o método Design Construtal para desenvolver o estudo numérico de uma configuração de caminhos de alta condutividade de geometria trifurcada que minimiza a resistência ao fluxo de calor, quando a área do caminho trifurcado é mantida constante. O objetivo deste trabalho é o estudo da influência da geometria sobre o desempenho térmico do sistema bem como a otimização do mesmo, assim obtendo uma configuração que minimiza a resistência térmica para cada condição imposta. São apresentadas as considerações e hipóteses utilizadas para a análise, obtendo a equação do calor regente e as condições de contorno do problema, bem como a função objetivo. Para a solução numérica da equação da condução do calor, é utilizado o software MATLAB ®, especificamente as ferramentas PDETOOL, Partial Differential Equations Tool, e GA, Algoritmo Genético. A resistência térmica é minimizada para cada grau de liberdade. A cada nível de otimização, a influência do grau de liberdade em questão é estudada, obtendo um mapeamento da importância de cada grau de liberdade sobre o sistema trifurcado. Também são obtidas as configurações ótimas para diferentes frações de área. Posteriormente, é estudado o comportamento da configuração ótima do sistema para diferentes temperaturas do final das bifurcações do sistema, mostrando que, para as temperaturas estudadas neste trabalho, a configuração ótima não se altera, apenas a resistência térmica, com a alteração na temperatura do sumidouro direito sendo mais influente sobre essa, seguida do sumidouro central e, por fim, do sumidouro esquerdo. Finalmente, este trabalho mostra, com esses resultados, que a geometria ótima é aquela que melhor distribui as imperfeições do sistema, de acordo com o princípio da ótima distribuição das imperfeições e, também, possui robustez quanto às pequenas imperfeições inseridas no sistema. / The present work employs Constructal Design method to develop a numerical study of a triforked high conductivity pathway that minimizes the heat flow resistance when the triforked pathway area is kept constant. The objective of this work is the study of the influence of the geometry over the thermal performance of the system as well as the optimization of the latter, thus obtaining a configuration that minimizes the thermal resistance for each imposed condition. The considerations and hypothesis for the analysis are shown, obtaining a reigning heat equation and boundary conditions for the system, as well as the objetctive function (minimization of the maximum temperature). For the numerical solution of the heat conduction equation, it is utilized MATLAB ® software, specifically the PDETOOL, Partial Differential Equations Tool, and GA, Genetic Algorithm, toolboxes. The thermal resistance is minimized for every degree of freedom. In each level of optimization, the influence of the degree of freedom in question is studied, obtaining a mapping of the importance of each degree of freedom over the performance of the triforked pathway. Optimal configurations are also obtained for different area fractions. Posteriorly, the behavior of the optimal geometry is studied for different temperatures of the branches of the system. Results show that, for the temperatures studied in this work, the optimal configuration does not change, only the thermal resistance, with the increase of temperature of the right sink being more influential over it, followed by the temperature of the middle sink and, at last, the temperature of the left sink. Finally, this work shows, with these results, that the optimal geometry is the one that better distributes the imperfections of the systems, which is in accordance to the principle of the optimal distribution of imperfections, while possessing a certain robustness over small imperfections inserted in the system.

Orientador: Ricardo Tokio Higuti / Resumo: O ultrassom pode ser utilizado para gerar imagens aplicadas aos ensaios não destrutivos (END) e diagnóstico médico, em que arrays são utilizados para obter imagens com melhor resolução lateral e contraste em relação a um único transdutor. No entanto, os arrays precisam ter o centro do seus elementos espaçados por uma distância (pitch) menor que λ/2, em que λ é o comprimento de onda gerado pelo transdutor, para que as imagens geradas por estes não apresente artefatos causados pelos lóbulos de espaçamento. Porém, para evitar circunstâncias como o aumento na complexidade eletrônica e tempo elevado para geração de imagens ultrassônicas, os arrays esparsos podem ser utilizados, os quais possuem os elementos espaçados por uma distância maior que λ/2 e as imagens geradas apresentam artefatos causados por lóbulos de espaçamento. Contudo, quando os arrays esparsos são utilizados, existem diversas combinações entre os pitches dos elementos para produzir imagens com diferentes qualidades, inviabilizando o teste de todas as combinações possíveis. Assim, neste trabalho, foi utilizado o algoritmo de busca genética para encontrar configurações de arrays esparsos que gerem imagens com boa qualidade, sendo proposto duas novas funções aptidão para avaliar os arrays esparsos. A primeiraé baseada no diagrama de radiação, e a segunda, na comparação entre PSFs (Point Spread Function). As configurações de arrays esparsos encontrados pelo algoritmo genético foram comparadas aos arrays esparsos dispo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Ultrasound can be used to generate images for nondestructive testing and medical diagnostic, in which arrays are used to generate images with better lateral resolution and contrast in comparison to a single transducer. In order to avoid artifacts in ultrasonic images caused by grating lobes, arrays need to have the center of their elements spaced by a distance (pitch) less than λ/2, where λ is the wavelength generated by the transducer. However, in order to avoid electronic complexity and high time to create an ultrasonic image, sparse arrays can be used, which their elements have a pitch greater than λ/2 that generates images with artifacts caused by grating lobes. Although, sparse arrays have their elements with different pitches that produce images with different qualities which it makes impossible to test all combinations. Thus, in this work, the genetic search algorithm was used to find sparse arrays that generate images with good quality. In addition, two new fitness functions were proposed. The first one based on the beam pattern and the second one in the comparison of two PSFs (Point Spread Function). The quality of the sparse arrays found by the genetic algorithm was then compared to the sparse arrays proposed by different authors using the beam pattern, PSF, and images generated from experimental data provided by CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas). In general, the images generated by the arrays obtained by the methodology developed in this work p... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

O objetivo de projetos de reforma agrária é redistribuir terras de grandes latifúndios para terrenos menores, com destino à agricultura familiar. Um dos principais problemas do Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (INCRA) é subdividir uma parcela grande de terra em lotes menores que são balanceados com relação a certos atributos. Este problema é difícil por que precisa considerar diversas restrições legais e éticas. As soluções atuais são auxiliadas por computador, mas manuais, demoradas e suscetíveis a erros, tipicamente produzindo lotes retangulares de áreas similares mas que são injustos com relação a critérios como aptidão do solo ou acesso a recursos hidrográficos. Nesta dissertação, nós propomos um algoritmo genético para gerar subdivisões justas de forma automática. Nós apresentamos um algoritmo construtivo guloso randomizado baseado em locação-alocação para gerar soluções iniciais, assim como operadores de mutação e recombinação que consideram especificidades do problema. Experimentos com 5 instâncias reais e 25 instâncias geradas artificialmente confirmam a efetividade dos diferentes componentes do método proposto, e mostram que ele gera soluções mais balanceadas que as atualmente usadas na prática. / The goal of agrarian reform projects is the redistribution of farmland from large latifundia to smaller, often family farmers. One of the main problems the Brazilian National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) has to solve is to subdivide a large parcel of land into smaller lots that are balanced with respect to certain attributes. This problem is difficult since it considers several constraints originating from legislation as well as ethical considerations. Current solutions are computer-assisted, but manual, time-consuming and error-prone, leading to rectangular lots of similar areas which are unfair with respect to soil aptitude and access to hydric resources. In this thesis, we propose a genetic algorithm to produce fair land subdivisions automatically. We present a greedy randomized constructive heuristic based on location-allocation to generate initial solutions, as well as mutation and recombination operators that consider specifics of the problem. Experiments on 5 real-world and 25 artificial instances confirm the effectiveness of the different components of our method, and show that it leads to fairer solutions than those currently applied in practice.

Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been widely used for the optimisation of both theoretical and real-world non-linear problems, although such optimisation methods have found reasonably limited utilisation in fields outside of the academic domain. While the causality of this limited uptake in non-academic fields falls outside the scope of this thesis, the core focus of this research remains strongly influenced by the notions of solution feasibility and making optimisation methods more accessible for engineers, both factors attributed to low EA adoption rates in the commercial space. This thesis focuses on the application of bespoke heuristic methods to the field of water distribution system optimisation. Water distribution systems are complex entities that are difficult to model and optimise as they consist of many interacting components each with a set of considerations to address, hence it is important for the engineer to understand and assess the behaviour of the system to enable its effective design and optimisation. The primary goal of this research is to assess the impact that incorporating water systems knowledge into an evolution algorithm has on algorithm performance when applied to water distribution network optimisation problems. This thesis describes the development of two heuristics influenced by the practices of water systems engineers when designing water distribution networks with the view to increasing an algorithm’s performance and resultant solution feasibility. By utilising heuristics based on engineering design principles and integrating them into existing EAs, it is found that both engineering feasibility and general algorithmic performance can be notably improved. Firstly the heuristics are applied to a standard single-objective EA and then to a multi-objective genetic algorithm. The algorithms are assessed on a number of water distribution network benchmarks from the literature including real-world based, large scale systems and compared to the standard variants of the algorithms. Following this, a set of extensive experiments are conducted to explore how the inclusion of water systems knowledge impacts the sensitivity of an evolutionary algorithm to parameter variance. It was found that the performance of both engineering inspired algorithms were less sensitive to parameter change than the standard genetic algorithm variant meaning that non-experts in the field of meta-heuristics will potentially be able to get much better performance out of the engineering heuristic based algorithms without the need for specialist evolutionary algorithm knowledge. In addition this research explores the notion that visualisation techniques can provide water system engineers with a greater insight into the operation and behaviour of an evolutionary algorithm. The final section of this thesis presents a novel three-dimensional representation of pipe based water systems and demonstrates a range of innovative methods to convey information to the user. The interactive visualisation system presented not only allows the engineer to visualise the various parameters of a network but also allows the user to observe the behaviour and progress of an iterative optimisation method. Examples of the combination of the interactive visualisation system and the EAs developed in this work are shown to enable the user to track and visualise the actions of the algorithm. The visualisation aggregates changes to the network over an EA run and grants significant insight into the operations of an EA as it is optimising a network. The research presented in this thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating water system engineering expertise into evolutionary based optimisation methods. Not only is solution quality improved over standard methods utilising these new heuristic techniques, but the potential for greater interaction between engineer, problem and optimiser has been established.

Granular computing facilitates dealing with information by providing a theoretical framework to deal with information as granules at different levels of granularity (different levels of specificity/abstraction). It aims to provide an abstract explainable description of the data by forming granules that represent the features or the underlying structure of corresponding subsets of the data. In this thesis, a granular computing approach to the design of intelligent classification systems is proposed. The proposed approach is employed for different classification systems to investigate its efficiency. Fuzzy inference systems, neural networks, neuro-fuzzy systems and classifier ensembles are considered to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed approach. Each of the considered systems is designed using the proposed approach and classification performance is evaluated and compared to that of the standard system. The proposed approach is based on constructing information granules from data at multiple levels of granularity. The granulation process is performed using a modified fuzzy c-means algorithm that takes classification problem into account. Clustering is followed by a coarsening process that involves merging small clusters into large ones to form a lower granularity level. The resulted granules are used to build each of the considered binary classifiers in different settings and approaches. Granules produced by the proposed granulation method are used to build a fuzzy classifier for each granulation level or set of levels. The performance of the classifiers is evaluated using real life data sets and measured by two classification performance measures: accuracy and area under receiver operating characteristic curve. Experimental results show that fuzzy systems constructed using the proposed method achieved better classification performance. In addition, the proposed approach is used for the design of neural network classifiers. Resulted granules from one or more granulation levels are used to train the classifiers at different levels of specificity/abstraction. Using this approach, the classification problem is broken down into the modelling of classification rules represented by the information granules resulting in more interpretable system. Experimental results show that neural network classifiers trained using the proposed approach have better classification performance for most of the data sets. In a similar manner, the proposed approach is used for the training of neuro-fuzzy systems resulting in similar improvement in classification performance. Lastly, neural networks built using the proposed approach are used to construct a classifier ensemble. Information granules are used to generate and train the base classifiers. The final ensemble output is produced by a weighted sum combiner. Based on the experimental results, the proposed approach has improved the classification performance of the base classifiers for most of the data sets. Furthermore, a genetic algorithm is used to determine the combiner weights automatically.

abstract: A model is presented for real-time, river-reservoir operation systems. It epitomizes forward-thinking and efficient approaches to reservoir operations during flooding events. The optimization/simulation includes five major components. The components are a mix of hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, short-term rainfall forecasting, and optimization and reservoir operation models. The optimization/simulation model is designed for ultimate accessibility and efficiency. The optimization model uses the meta-heuristic approach, which has the capability to simultaneously search for multiple optimal solutions. The dynamics of the river are simulated by applying an unsteady flow-routing method. The rainfall-runoff simulation uses the National Weather Service NexRad gridded rainfall data, since it provides critical information regarding real storm events. The short-term rainfall-forecasting model utilizes a stochastic method. The reservoir-operation is simulated by a mass-balance approach. The optimization/simulation model offers more possible optimal solutions by using the Genetic Algorithm approach as opposed to traditional gradient methods that can only compute one optimal solution at a time. The optimization/simulation was developed for the 2010 flood event that occurred in the Cumberland River basin in Nashville, Tennessee. It revealed that the reservoir upstream of Nashville was more contained and that an optimal gate release schedule could have significantly decreased the floodwater levels in downtown Nashville. The model is for demonstrative purposes only but is perfectly suitable for real-world application. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Civil Engineering 2015