Evolution of flowsheet topologies - Part 3: Automatic flowsheet initialization

In my last article I mentioned an unsolved challenge that needs to be discussed before I can start to actually implement the evolutionary algorithm itself: It needs to be shown that an algorithm can be found that, using a numerical solver, evaluates the arbitrary process designs that will be generated by the evolutionary algorithm by mutatio... Read more 28 Jan 2020 - 9 minute read

Evolution of flowsheet topologies - Part 2: Genotype and Phenotype Mapping

The most important design decisions regarding an evolutionary algorithm come up when the encoding method is defined. Where historical approaches commonly used bit-strings for encoding decisions (or even floating-point numbers), in the last few years more complex data models have emerged. The genome encoding heavily influences the effort needed f... Read more 15 Jan 2020 - 8 minute read

Evolution of flowsheet topologies - Part 1: Introduction and Overview

A while back while browsing YouTube videos, I came upon an upload that featured how a genetic algorithm would create and train a neural network to play the game Super Mario World. In this video, the author was talking about an algorithm called NEAT (Neuro-Evolution of Augmented Topologies). While at first, I was intrigued only by the playful app... Read more 12 Jan 2020 - 4 minute read

The Technical Adventurer

You know how the saying goes: Born too late to explore the world, born too early to explore the universe. But does that mean that our generation really doesn’t have adventures waiting for us? Well, maybe not big, earth-shattering discoveries, but let me indulge in a thought experiment that could make us feel like trailblazers and pioneers again.... Read more 04 Jan 2020 - 11 minute read