Tiangang Qiang

Currently, practical optimisation models and intelligent solution algorithms for solving disassembly sequence planning are attracting more and more attention. Based on the importance of energy efficiency in product disassembly and the trend toward green remanufacturing, this paper proposes a new optimisation model for the energy-efficient disassembly sequence planning. The minimum energy consumption is used as the evaluation criterion for disassembly efficiency, so as to minimise the energy consumption during the dismantling process. As the proposed model is a complex optimization problem, called NP-hard, this study develops a new extension of the whale optimisation algorithm to allow it to solve discrete problems. The whale optimisation algorithm is a recently developed and successful meta-heuristic algorithm inspired by the behaviour of whales rounding up their prey. We have improved the whale optimisation algorithm for predation behaviour and added a local search strategy to improve its performance. The proposed algorithm is validated with a worm reducer example and compared with other state-of-the-art and recent metaheuristics. Finally, the results confirm the high solution quality and efficiency of the proposed improved whale algorithm.

Increasingly, cities worldwide are striving for green travel and slow traffic, and vigorously developing people-oriented urban pedestrian traffic with sustainability has become a fixture in recent discourse. This paper comprehensively considers the sidewalk’s facilities environment and the status of pedestrian traffic flow; divides the urban pedestrian road system (UPRS) into five subsystems around the underpass, overpass, crosswalk, sidewalk, and road crosswalk; and introduces the basic structure as well as the function of each system. Then, the indicators are classified into two types of crosswalk facilities and sidewalk facilities, and a comprehensive pedestrian road indicator system with the combination of subjective and objective is established. Consequently, the integration of the fuzzy AHP and DEA-based symmetrical technique for the subjective evaluation indicator combined with pedestrian traffic characteristics is developed. A nine-step semantics scale of relative importance was used so that the symmetry of the response of pedestrian satisfaction was maintained. Fuzzy evaluation based on AHP is further modeled, and the DEA is employed to achieve an overall evaluation of the quality of service (QoS) for UPRS. The applicability of the established evaluation system is finally verified through a real case study in Harbin, China. The serviceability assessment method in this paper provides a new idea for planners to conduct sustainability evaluation for UPRS in future urban renewal development.

According to statistics, early in the 20th century, the proportion of positive and negative air ions on the earth is 1 : 1.2. However, after more than one century, the equilibrium state of the proportion had an obvious change, which the proportion of positive and negative air ions became 1.2 : 1, leading to a surrounding of positive air ions in human living environment. Therefore, it is urgent to adopt effective methods to improve the proportion of negative oxygen ions, which are known as “air vitamin”. In this study, negative oxygen ions production by the TiO₂/Cu₂O-treated wood under UV irradiation was first reported. Anatase TiO₂ particles with Cu₂O particles were doped on wooden substrates through a two-step method and further modification is employed to create remarkable superamphiphobic surface. The effect of Cu₂O particles dopant on the negative oxygen ions production of the TiO₂-treated wood was investigated. The results showed that the production of negative oxygen ions was drastically improved by doping with Cu₂O particles under UV irradiation. The wood modified with TiO₂/Cu₂O composite film after hydrophobization is imparted with superamphiphobicity, antibacterial actions against Escherichia coli, and negative oxygen ions production under UV irradiation.