Search Results (178)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are integral components of future 6G networks, offering rapid deployment, enhanced line-of-sight communication, and flexible coverage extension. However, UAV communications in low-altitude environments face significant challenges, including rapid link variations due to attitude instability, severe signal blockage by urban obstacles, and critical sensitivity to transmitter–receiver alignment. While traditional planar reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) show promise for mitigating these issues, they exhibit inherent limitations such as angular sensitivity and beam squint in wideband scenarios, compromising reliability in dynamic UAV scenarios. To address these shortcomings, this paper proposes and evaluates a spherical-cap reflective intelligent surface (ScRIS) specifically designed for dynamic low-altitude communications. The intrinsic curvature of the ScRIS enables omnidirectional reflection capabilities, significantly reducing sensitivity to UAV attitude variations. A rigorous analytical model founded on Generalized Sheet Transition Conditions (GSTCs) is developed to characterize the electromagnetic scattering of the curved metasurface. Three distinct 1-bit RIS unit cell coding arrangements, namely alternate, chessboard, and random, are investigated via numerical simulations utilizing CST Microwave Studio and experimental validation within a mechanically stirred reverberation chamber. Our results demonstrate that all tested ScRIS coding patterns markedly enhance electromagnetic field uniformity within the chamber and reduce the lowest usable frequency (LUF) by approximately 20% compared to a conventional metallic spherical reflector. Notably, the random coding pattern maximizes phase entropy, achieves the most uniform scattering characteristics and substantially reduces spatial field autocorrelation. Furthermore, the combined curvature and coding functionality of the ScRIS facilitates simultaneous directional focusing and diffuse scattering, thereby improving multipath diversity and spatial coverage uniformity. This effectively mitigates communication blind spots commonly encountered in UAV applications, providing a resilient link environment despite UAV orientation changes. To validate these findings in a practical context, we conduct link-level simulations based on a reproducible system model at 3.5 GHz, utilizing electromagnetic scale invariance to bridge the fundamental scattering properties observed in the RC to the application band. The results confirm that the ScRIS architecture can enhance link throughput by nearly five-fold at a 10 km range compared to a baseline scenario without RIS. We also propose a practical deployment strategy for urban blind-spot compensation, discuss hybrid planar-curved architectures, and conduct an in-depth analysis of a DRL-based adaptive control framework with explicit convergence and complexity analysis. Our findings validate the significant potential of ScRIS as a passive, energy-efficient solution for enhancing communication stability and coverage in multi-band 6G networks. Full article

Large background noise, difficulty in feature extraction, and low parameter-optimization efficiency of diagnosis models are key challenges in rolling bearing fault diagnosis. To address these issues, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis framework that combines Singular Spectrum Decomposition (SSD) with a Multi-Strategy Enhanced Cuckoo Search (MS-CS) algorithm to optimize an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM). First, the raw vibration signal is decomposed via SSD and each intrinsic component’s energy contribution is computed; components whose cumulative energy exceeds 90% are retained and reconstructed, thereby effectively suppressing noise while preserving critical fault features. Next, Multiscale Permutation Entropy (MPE) is extracted from the reconstructed signal to form a high-discriminability feature set. To overcome the traditional Cuckoo Search algorithm’s tendency to become trapped in local optima and its slow convergence, Cauchy mutation and adaptive Levy flight strategies are introduced to enhance global exploration and local exploitation. Finally, the improved MS-CS algorithm is employed to optimize the ELM’s input weights and hidden-layer biases, yielding a high-precision diagnostic model. Experimental results on benchmark bearing data demonstrate an average fault recognition rate of 96%, representing improvements of 6.67% over the conventional CS-ELM and 18% over the unoptimized ELM. These findings confirm the proposed method’s effectiveness and robustness in practical engineering applications. Full article

Papermaking sludge, rich in intrinsic resource value, is effectively barred from direct deployment in environmental remediation, agriculture, or energy generation by its pronounced contaminant burden. Pyrolytic conversion into high-value paper sludge biochar, such as papermaking sludge biochar (PSBC) provides a green, efficient portal for closing its resource loop. In this study, papermaking sludge was converted into a series of paper sludge biochars (PSBCs) via oxygen-limited pyrolysis at 500–900 °C. The porous architecture, surface physicochemical properties, and crystalline structure of the biochars were comprehensively characterized, and their performance for aqueous tetracycline (TC) removal was systematically quantified. Pyrolysis at 900 °C afforded PSBC 900 with the lowest yield (36.05%) yet the highest Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area (79.53 m²/g), an extensively developed mesopore network, and the greatest degree of graphitization. Across an initial tetracycline (TC) concentration window of 20–160 mg/L, PSBC 900 delivered an equilibrium capacity (q_e) of 72.22 mg/g, outperforming PSBC 700 and PSBC 500 by factors of 1.3 and 1.8, respectively. Optimal uptake was achieved at a dosage of 1.0 g/L, pH 7, and 120 min contact time. Among the background cations examined, Mg²⁺ exerted a pronounced inhibitory effect, whereas Na⁺, K⁺, and Ca²⁺ exerted negligible interference. The adsorption process was accurately described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm (R² > 0.999), yielding a theoretical maximum capacity (q_m) of 76.39 mg/g for PSBC 900 at 313 K. Thermodynamic parameters ($∆{\mathrm{G}}^{\mathsf{\theta }}$ < 0, $∆{\mathrm{H}}^{\mathsf{\theta }}$ > 0, $∆{\mathrm{S}}^{\mathsf{\theta }}$ > 0) confirm a spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy-driven process. After five consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles, PSBC 900 retained >64.68% of its original efficiency, demonstrating excellent regenerability. Paper sludge biochar enables a “waste-to-treat-waste” strategy for the efficient abatement of tetracycline, offering an economically viable and high-performance technology that advances the remediation of tetracycline-laden wastewaters. Full article

Accurate offshore wind speed forecasting is crucial for ensuring stable energy production and safe offshore operations. However, the strong nonlinearity, non-stationarity, and chaotic behavior of offshore wind speed series make precise prediction extremely difficult. To overcome these difficulties, a two-stage synergistic prediction framework is proposed. In the first stage, a multi-strategy Black-winged Kite Algorithm (MBKA) is designed, incorporating quantum population initialization, improved migration behavior, and oppositional–mutual learning to reinforce global optimization performance under complex coastal conditions. On this basis, an entropy-driven adaptive Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) method is implemented, where MBKA optimizes decomposition parameters using envelope entropy as the objective function, thereby improving decomposition robustness and mitigating parameter sensitivity. In the second stage, the denoised intrinsic mode functions are used to train an adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), whose membership function parameters are optimized by MBKA to enhance nonlinear modeling capability and prediction generalization. Finally, the proposed framework is evaluated using offshore wind speed data from two coastal regions in Shanghai and Fujian, China. Experimental comparisons with multiple state-of-the-art models demonstrate that the MBKA–VMD–ANFIS framework yields notable performance improvements, reducing RMSE by 57.14% and 30.68% for the Fujian and Shanghai datasets, respectively. These results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in delivering superior accuracy and robustness for offshore wind speed forecasting. Full article

Plastic pollution, driven by the durability and widespread use of polyolefins such as polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), poses a formidable environmental challenge. To address this issue, we have developed an integrated multiscale framework that combines thermocatalytic experimentation, process-scale simulation, and molecular-level modeling to optimize the catalytic pyrolysis of PP and HDPE waste. Under the identified optimal conditions (300 °C, 10 wt % HMOR zeolite), liquid-oil yields of 60.8% for PP and 87.3% for HDPE were achieved, accompanied by high energy densities (44.2 MJ/kg, RON 97.5 for PP; 43.7 MJ/kg, RON 115.2 for HDPE). These values significantly surpass those typically reported for uncatalyzed pyrolysis, demonstrating the efficacy of HMOR in directing product selectivity toward valuable liquids. Above 400 °C, the process undergoes a pronounced shift toward gas generation, with gas fractions exceeding 50 wt % by 441 °C, underscoring the critical influence of temperature on product distribution. Gas-phase analysis revealed that PP-derived syngas contains primarily methane (20%) and ethylene (19.5%), whereas HDPE-derived gas features propylene (1.9%) and hydrogen (1.5%), highlighting intrinsic differences in bond-scission pathways governed by polymer architectures. Aspen Plus process simulations, calibrated against experimental data, reliably predict product distributions with deviations below 20%, offering a rapid, cost-effective tool for reactor design and scale-up. Complementary density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate the temperature-dependent energetics of C–C bond cleavage and radical formation, revealing that system entropy increases sharply at 500–550 °C, favoring the generation of both liquid and gaseous intermediates. By directly correlating catalyst acidity, molecular reaction mechanisms, and process-scale performance, this study fills a critical gap in plastic-waste valorization research. The resulting predictive platform enables rational design of catalysts and operating conditions for circular economy applications, paving the way for scalable, efficient recovery of fuels and chemicals from mixed polyolefin waste. Full article

To quantify the communication effectiveness of automotive online videos, this study constructs a multimodal deep learning framework. Existing research often overlooks the intrinsic and interactive impact of textual and dynamic visual content. To bridge this gap, our framework conducts an integrated analysis of both the textual (titles) and visual (frames) dimensions of videos. For visual analysis, we introduce FER-MA-YOLO, a novel facial expression recognition model tailored to the demands of computational communication research. Enhanced with a Dense Growth Feature Fusion (DGF) module and a multiscale Dilated Attention Module (MDAM), it enables accurate quantification of on-screen emotional dynamics, which is essential for testing our hypotheses on user engagement. For textual analysis, we employ a BERT model to quantify the sentiment intensity of video titles. Applying this framework to 968 videos from the Bilibili platform, our regression analysis—which modeled four distinct engagement dimensions (reach, support, discussion, and interaction) separately, in addition to a composite effectiveness score—reveals several key insights: emotionally charged titles significantly boost user interaction; visually, the on-screen proportion of human elements positively predicts engagement, while excessively high visual information entropy weakens it. Furthermore, neutral expressions boost view counts, and happy expressions drive interaction. This study offers a multimodal computational framework that integrates textual and visual analysis and provides empirical, data-driven insights for optimizing automotive video content strategies, contributing to the growing application of computational methods in communication research. Full article

Transformer reliability is crucial to grid security, with core loosening a common fault. This paper proposes a transformer core loosening fault diagnosis method based on a fusion feature extraction approach and Categorical Boosting (CatBoost) optimized by the Crested Porcupine Optimizer (CPO) algorithm. Firstly, the audio signal is decomposed into six Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) components through Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD). This paper utilizes Gaussian membership functions to quantify the energy proportion, central frequency, and kurtosis of IMF and constructs a fuzzy entropy discrimination function. Then, the IMF noise components are removed through an adaptive threshold. Subsequently, the denoised signal undergoes a wavelet packet transform instead of a short-time Fourier transform to optimize Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (WPT-MFCC), combining time-domain statistical features and frequency-band energy distribution to form a 24-dimensional fusion feature. Finally, the CatBoost algorithm is employed to validate the effects of different feature schemes. The CPO is introduced to optimize its iteration number, learning rate, tree depth, and random strength parameters, thereby enhancing overall performance. The CPO-optimized CatBoost model had 99.0196% fault recognition accuracy in experimental testing, 15% better than the standard CatBoost. Accuracy exceeded 90% even under extreme 0 dB noise. This method makes fault diagnosis more accurate and reliable. Full article

The surface temperature of grain piles is sensitive to environmental fluctuations and exhibits nonlinear, multi-scale temporal patterns, making accurate prediction crucial for grain storage risk early warning. This paper proposes a decomposition–reconstruction prediction method integrating Sample Entropy (SampEn), variational mode decomposition (VMD), and a variant Long Short-Term Memory network (vLSTM). SampEn determines the optimal decomposition parameters, VMD extracts intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), and vLSTM, with peephole connections and coupled gates, conducts synchronous multi-IMF prediction. To explicitly account for environmental influences, a support vector regression (SVR) model driven by dew point temperature and vapor pressure deficit is employed to estimate the surface temperature variation $\mathrm{\Delta }T$. This component enhances the adaptability of the framework to dynamic storage conditions. The environment-derived $\mathrm{\Delta }T$ is then integrated with the VMD-SampEn-vLSTM output to obtain the final forecast. Experiments on real-granary data from Liaoning, China demonstrate that the proposed method reduces mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) by 25% and 14%, respectively, compared with baseline models, thus achieving a significant improvement in prediction performance. This integration of data-driven prediction with environmental adjustment significantly improves forecasting accuracy and robustness. Full article

Gellan gum (Gellan), a versatile polysaccharide applied in gel formation and prebiotic formulations, is often processed to tailor its molecular properties. Previous studies employed gamma irradiation and chemical hydrolysis, though without addressing systematic scaling behavior. This study investigates the structural and conformational modifications of Gellan in dilute aqueous salt solutions using a safer and eco-friendly approach: atmospheric low-dose electron beam (e-beam) degradation coupled with viscosity analysis. Native and E-beam-treated Gellan samples (0.05 g/cm³ in 0.1 M KCl) were examined by relative viscosity at varying temperatures, with intrinsic viscosity and molar mass determined via Solomon–Ciuta and Mark–Houwink relations. Molar mass degradation followed first-order kinetics, yielding rate constants and degradation lifetimes. Structural parameters, including radius of gyration and second virial coefficient, produced scaling coefficients of 0.62 and 0.15, consistent with perturbed coil conformations in a good solvent. The shape factor confirmed preservation of an ideal random coil structure despite irradiation. Conformational flexibility was further analyzed using theoretical models. Transition state theory (TST) revealed that e-beam radiation lowered molar mass and activation energy but raised activation entropy, implying reduced flexibility alongside enhanced solvent interactions. The freely rotating chain (FRC) model estimated end-to-end distance (R_θ) and characteristic ratio (C_∞), while the worm-like chain (WLC) model quantified persistence length (l_p). Results indicated decreased R_θ, increased l_p, and largely unchanged C_∞, suggesting diminished chain flexibility without significant deviation from ideal coil behavior. Overall, this work provides new insights into Gellan’s scaling laws and flexibility under aerobic low-dose E-beam irradiation, with relevance for bioactive polysaccharide applications. Full article

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation is highly stochastic and volatile, a trait that presents a notable challenge to the prediction accuracy of distributed PV systems. To address this challenge, this study proposes a short-term photovoltaic power prediction strategy that integrates variational modal decomposition (VMD) for feature extraction with an improved RIME (IRIME) optimization algorithm for parameter optimization. Firstly, the raw PV power data are split into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using VMD. The decomposed IMFs are reconstructed by using the sample entropy (SE) method, and a new subsequence with enhanced features is obtained. Secondly, a bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BIGRU) prediction model is established, and its structural parameters are optimized by the IRIME algorithm. Finally, the prediction results of each subsequence are summarized to obtain the final prediction value. Information from a centralized PV power station located in southern China is employed to verify the suggested prediction model. Experimental findings indicate that in comparison with other models, the proposed model achieves the smallest PV power prediction error; the mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and root mean square error (RMSE) of the proposed model are reduced at least by 21.95%, 3.03%, and 12.33%, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R²) is increased at least by 10.56‰. The method presented in this research is capable of improving prediction accuracy efficiently and holds specific engineering practicality. Full article

Deterministic chaos in optically injected semiconductor lasers (OILs) has attracted significant attention due to its relevance in secure communications, entropy generation, and photonic applications. However, existing studies often rely on low-resolution parameter sweeps or include noise contributions that obscure the intrinsic nonlinear dynamics. To address this gap, we investigate a noise-free OIL model and construct high-resolution chaos maps across the injection strength and frequency detuning parameter space. Chaos is characterized using two complementary approaches for computing the largest Lyapunov exponent: the Rosenstein time-series method and the exact variational method. This dual approach provides reliable and reproducible detection of deterministic chaotic regimes and reveals a rich attractor landscape with alternating bands of periodicity, quasi-periodicity, and chaos. The novelty of this work lies in combining high-resolution mapping with rigorous chaos indicators, enabling fine-grained identification of dynamical transitions. The results not only deepen the fundamental understanding of nonlinear laser dynamics but also provide actionable guidelines for exploiting or avoiding chaos in photonic devices, with potential applications in random chaos-based communications, number generation, and optical security systems. Full article

Electrical networks face operational challenges from power quality-affecting disturbances. Since disturbance signatures directly affect classifier performance, optimized feature selection becomes critical for accurate power quality assessment. The pursuit of robust feature extraction inevitably constrains the dimensionality of the discriminative feature set, but the complexity of the recognition model will be increased and the recognition speed will be reduced if the feature vector dimension is too high. Building upon the aforementioned requirements, in this paper, we propose a feature extraction framework that combines improved symplectic geometric mode decomposition, refined generalized multiscale quantum entropy, and refined generalized multiscale reverse dispersion entropy. Firstly, based on the intrinsic properties of power quality disturbance (PQD) signals, the embedding dimension of symplectic geometric mode decomposition and the adaptive mode component screening method are improved, and the PQD signal undergoes tri-band decomposition via improved symplectic geometric mode decomposition (ISGMD), yielding distinct high-frequency, medium-frequency, and low-frequency components. Secondly, utilizing the enhanced symplectic geometric mode decomposition as a foundation, the perturbation features are extracted by the combination of refined generalized multiscale quantum entropy and refined generalized multiscale reverse dispersion entropy to construct high-precision and low-dimensional feature vectors. Finally, a double-layer composite power quality disturbance model is constructed by a deep extreme learning machine algorithm to identify power quality disturbance signals. After analysis and comparison, the proposed method is found to be effective even in a strong noise environment with a single interference, and the average recognition accuracy across different noise environments is 97.3%. Under the complex conditions involving multiple types of mixed perturbations, the average recognition accuracy is maintained above 96%. Compared with the existing CNN + LSTM method, the recognition accuracy of the proposed method is improved by 3.7%. In addition, its recognition accuracy in scenarios with small data samples is significantly better than that of traditional methods, such as single CNN models and LSTM models. The experimental results show that the proposed strategy can accurately classify and identify various power quality interferences and that it is better than traditional methods in terms of classification accuracy and robustness. The experimental results of the simulation and measured data show that the combined feature extraction methodology reliably extracts discriminative feature vectors from PQD. The double-layer combined classification model can further enhance the model’s recognition capabilities. This method has high accuracy and certain noise resistance. In the 30 dB white noise environment, the average classification accuracy of the model is 99.10% for the simulation database containing 63 PQD types. Meanwhile, for the test data based on a hardware platform, the average accuracy is 99.03%, and the approach’s dependability is further evidenced by rigorous validation experiments. Full article

Current methods of detecting bogie gearbox faults mainly depend on manual judgment, which leads to inaccurate fault identification. In this study, a fault diagnosis model is proposed based on a pied kingfisher optimizer-improved complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (PKO-ICEEMDAN), improved multi-scale weighted permutation entropy (IMWPE), and a starfish optimization algorithm optimizing a least-squares support vector machine (SFOA-LSSVM). Firstly, the acceleration signals of a bogie gearbox under six different working conditions were extracted through experiments. Secondly, the acceleration signals were decomposed by ICEEMDAN optimized by PKO to obtain the intrinsic mode function (IMF). Thirdly, IMFs with rich fault information were selected to reconstruct the signals according to the double screening criteria of both the correlation coefficient and variance contribution rate, and the IMWPE of the reconstructed signals was extracted. Finally, IMWPE as a feature vector was input into LSSVM optimized by the SFOA for fault diagnosis and compared with various models. The results show that the average accuracy of the training data of the proposed model was 99.13%, and the standard deviation was 0.09, while the average accuracy of the testing data was 99.44%, and the standard deviation was 0.12. Thus, the effectiveness of the proposed fault diagnosis model for the bogie gearbox was verified. Full article

Soft sensors have emerged as indispensable tools for predicting dissolved gas concentrations in transformer oil-critical indicators for fault diagnosis that defy direct measurement. Addressing the persistent challenge of prediction inaccuracy in existing methods, this study introduces a novel hybrid architecture integrating time-series decomposition, deep learning prediction, and signal reconstruction. Our approach initiates with variational mode decomposition (VMD) to disassemble original gas concentration sequences into stationary intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Crucially, VMD’s pivotal parameters (modal quantity and quadratic penalty term) governing bandwidth allocation and mode orthogonality are optimized via a Newton–Raphson-based optimization (NRBO) algorithm, minimizing envelope entropy to ensure sparsity preservation through information-theoretic energy concentration metrics. Subsequently, a bidirectional long short-term memory network with attention mechanism (AM-BiLSTM) independently forecasts each IMF. Final concentration trends are reconstructed through superposition and inverse normalization. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed model, achieving a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.51 µL/L and a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.27% in predicting hydrogen (H₂) concentration. Rigorous testing across multiple dissolved gases confirms exceptional robustness, establishing this NRBO-VMD-AM-BiLSTM framework as a transformative solution for transformer fault diagnosis. Full article

Bearings are critical components whose failures in industrial machinery can lead to catastrophic breakdowns and costly downtime; yet, accurate early-stage diagnosis remains challenging due to the non-stationary, nonlinear nature of vibration signals and noise interference. This study proposes a multidataset-integrated bearing fault diagnosis methodology incorporating variational mode decomposition (VMD), refined composite multiscale weighted permutation entropy (RCMWPE) feature extraction, and whale optimization algorithm (WOA)-optimized support vector machine (SVM). Addressing the non-stationary and nonlinear characteristics of bearing vibration signals, raw signals are first decomposed via VMD to effectively separate intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) carrying distinct frequency components. Subsequently, RCMWPE features are extracted from each IMF component to construct high-dimensional feature vectors. To address visualization challenges and mitigate feature redundancy, the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) algorithm is employed for dimensionality reduction. Finally, WOA optimizes critical SVM parameters to establish an efficient fault classification model. The methodology is validated on two public bearing datasets: PRONOSTIA and CWRU. For four-class fault diagnosis on the PRONOSTIA dataset, the model achieves 96.5% accuracy. Extended to ten-class diagnosis on the CWRU dataset, accuracy reaches 99.67%. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits exceptional fault identification capability, robustness, and generalization performance across diverse datasets and complex fault modes. This approach offers an effective technical pathway for early bearing fault warning and maintenance decision making. Full article