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 Optimization Using
Evolutionary Algorithms
and Metaheuristics
 Science, Technology, and Management Series

Series Editor, J. Paulo Davim, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering,

University of Aveiro, Portugal
This book series focuses on special volumes from conferences, workshops, and
symposiums, as well as volumes on topics of current interested in all aspects
of science, technology, and management. The series will discuss topics such as
mathematics, chemistry, physics, materials science, nanosciences, sustainability
science, computational sciences, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering,
manufacturing engineering, mechatronics engineering, electrical engineering,
systems engineering, biomedical engineering, management sciences, economical
science, human resource management, social sciences, engineering education, etc. The
books will present principles, models techniques, methodologies, and applications of
science, technology and management.
Advanced Mathematical Techniques in Engineering Sciences
Edited by Mangey Ram and J. Paulo Davim
Soft Computing Techniques for Engineering Optimization
Authored by Kaushik Kumar, Supriyo Roy, J. Paulo Davim
Handbook of IOT and Big Data
Edited by Vijender Kumar Solanki, Vicente García Díaz, J. Paulo Davim

For more information on this series, please visit: www.crcpress.com/Science-

Technology-and-Management/book-series/CRCSCITECMAN
 Optimization Using
Evolutionary Algorithms
and Metaheuristics
Applications in Engineering

Edited by
Kaushik Kumar
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Birla Institute of Technology

J. Paulo Davim
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Aveiro
CRC Press
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Title: Optimization using evolutionary algorithms and metaheuristics :
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Identifiers: LCCN 2019019067 | ISBN 9780367260446 (hardback : alk. paper) |
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Contents

Preface�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� vii
Editor Biography����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi

Section I State of the Art

1 Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes in

Design Engineering Applications��������������������������������������������������������������� 3
J. Srinivas

Section II Application to Design and Manufacturing

2 AGV Routing via Ant Colony Optimization Using C#������������������������ 23

Şahin Inanç and Arzu Eren Şenaras

3 Data Envelopment Analysis: Applications to

the Manufacturing Sector��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 33
Preeti and Supriyo Roy

4 Optimization of Process Parameters for Electrical

Discharge Machining of Al7075-B4C and TiC
Hybrid Composite Using ELECTRE Method����������������������������������������� 57
M. K. Pradhan and Akash Dehari

5 Selection of Laser Micro-drilling Process Parameters

Using Novel Bat Algorithm and Bird Swarm Algorithm���������������������83
Bappa Acherjee, Debanjan Maity,
Deval Karia and Arunanshu S. Kuar

Section III Application to Energy Systems

6 Energy Demand Management of a Residential

Community through Velocity-Based Artificial
Colony Bee Algorithm������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 103
Sweta Singh and Neeraj Kanwar

v
viContents

7 Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)

Modelling in Energy System and Water Resources���������������������������� 117
P. A. Adedeji, S. O. Masebinu, S. A. Akinlabi and N. Madushele

Index��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 135
Preface

The ever-increasing demand on engineers to lower production costs to with-

stand competition has prompted engineers to look for rigorous methods
of decision-making, such as optimization methods, to design and produce
products both economically and efficiently. The term optimize is defined as
“to make perfect.” The word optimus—the best—was derived from Opis, a
Roman goddess of abundance and fertility, who is said to have been the wife
of Saturn. By her the gods designed the earth, because the earth distributes
all goods (riches, goods, abundance, gifts, munificence, plenty, etc.).
Let us consider the design of a steel structure where some of the mem-
bers are described by ten design variables. Each design variable represents a
number of a Universal Beams (UB) section from a catalogue of ten available
sections. Assuming one full structural analysis of each design takes 1 second
on a computer, how much time would it take to check all the combinations
of cross-sections in order to guarantee the optimum solution? The result is
317 years (1010 seconds). So optimization is required.
Optimization can be used in any field, as it involves formulating a pro-
cess or products in various forms. It is the process of finding the best way
of using the existing resources while taking into account all the factors that
influence decisions in any experiment. The final product not only meets the
requirements from the availability but also from the practical mass produc-
tion criteria.
In computer science and mathematical optimization, a metaheuristic is a
higher-level procedure or heuristic designed to find, generate or select a heu-
ristic (partial search algorithm) that may provide a sufficiently good solu-
tion to an optimization problem, especially with incomplete or imperfect
information or a limited computation capacity. Metaheuristics sample a set
of solutions which is too large to be completely sampled. Metaheuristics may
make few assumptions about the optimization problem being solved, and so
they may be usable for a variety of problems.
Compared to optimization algorithms and iterative methods, metaheuris-
tics do not guarantee that a globally optimal solution can be found on some
class of problems. Many metaheuristics implement some form of stochastic
optimization, so that the solution found is dependent on the set of random
variables generated. In combinatorial optimization, by searching across a
large set of feasible solutions, metaheuristics can often find good solutions
with less computational effort than optimization algorithms, iterative meth-
ods or simple heuristics. As such, they are useful approaches for optimiza-
tion problems.
The requirement of this book is mainly aimed at two major objectives. First,
it has chapters by eminent researchers in the field providing readers about

vii
viiiPreface

the current status of the subject. Second, algorithm-based optimization or

advanced optimization techniques are mostly applied to non-engineering
problems. This would serve as an excellent guideline for people in this field.
The chapters in the book have been provided by researchers and acade-
micians who have gained considerable success in the field. The chapters of
the book are segregated in three parts, namely Part I: State of the Art; Part II:
Application to Design and Manufacturing; and Part III: Application to Energy
Systems.
Part I contains Chapter 1; Part II contains Chapters 2 to 5; and Part III con-
tains Chapters 6 and 7.
Part I of the book begins with Chapter 1, describing new metaheuristic
optimization schemes for design engineering. It starts with the assumption
that multi-constraint and multi-objective optimal problems are cumbersome
to handle with available solution techniques, and metaheuristic methods
provide help in such situations as they obtain an approximate solution from
polynomial time algorithms. The chapter then concentrates on three such
techniques applied to some engineering design problems.
Part II is dedicated to “Application to Design and Manufacturing” and
contains four chapters. Chapter 2 explains Ant Colony Optimization. The
technique has been used for Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) routing. The
algorithm has been utilized using C#. The work is commendable, as the black
box of any software has not been used, rather the codes were generated using
C#, which makes the work more versatile and robust.
Chapter 3 utilizes Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a mathematical
optimization technique towards the manufacturing sector. The technique is
being applied for selecting the best plant layout, evaluating the most effec-
tive Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) and Advanced Manufacturing
Techniques (AMT), identifying the most sustainable manufacturing system,
finding the energy efficient manufacturing unit, investigating the profitabil-
ity and marketability of manufacturing organizations. Hence, the chapter
reviews the diverse application of DEA in the manufacturing sector and
thoroughly scrutinized to state the future directions of research.
In Chapter 4, Response Surface Methodology coupled with the ELECTRE
method has been proposed for optimization of the input process parameters
of Electrical Discharge Machining, a non-traditional machining technique,
for machining of AL7075, B4C and TiC Hybrid Composite. The significant
input parameters such as pulse current (Ip), pulse duration (Ton), duty cycle
(Tau) and the discharge voltage (V) are considered, and MRR, surface rough-
ness, radial over-cut and TWR have been considered as responses for in this
chapter.
In Chapter 5, the last chapter of the section, two novel bio-inspired meta-
heuristic algorithms are employed to investigate the laser micro-drilling
process. The techniques used are very new and are the novel bat algorithm
and the bird swarm algorithm. The novel bat algorithm is inspired by habi-
tat selection behaviours of bats and their self-adaptive compensation for the
Preface ix

Doppler effect in echoes. The bird swarm algorithm is inspired by the social
behaviours and social interactions in bird swarms. In this chapter the objec-
tive functions are developed using the response surface method (RSM). Both
the algorithms are compared for their accuracy, repeatability, convergence
rate and computational time and were found to be capable of predicting
accurate trends of the parametric effects.
From here the book continues with Part III, grouping contributions
for energy systems. Chapter 6 illustrates the application of Demand Side
Management (DSM) for improvement in energy efficiency of the power grid
and maintain its reliability. The load curve has been reshaped with DSM
techniques and also the total cost of electricity consumption was reduced.
The chapter presents a proposal for minimization of electrical cost of a resi-
dential community. Three cases have been reported for the purpose of com-
parison: normal load without DSM strategy in place, with DSM strategy and
DSM strategy with solar PV generation. The observations reveal that it not
possible to reduce the power consumption, however it is always feasible to
shift the loads to cheaper pricing hours. The DSM strategy has been imple-
mented using Velocity-based Artificial Bee Colony (VABC) algorithm and
effectiveness of the load management strategy is truly reflected in the results.
The last chapter of the section and the book, Chapter 7, provides the reader
with another metaheuristic technique known as the Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy
Inference System (ANFIS). Its incredible ability to generalize complex non-
linear systems has been instrumental in its popularity in last two decades.
The chapter dedicates for lesser-known facts about the technique (i.e. its
strengths and weakness). The strengths and weaknesses of ANFIS were dis-
cussed with applications of ANFIS modelling in energy system and water
resources optimization. The chapter elaborates on the black box nature of
the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with its associated pitfalls, a com-
ponent of ANFIS and basic principles of the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS).
Recommendations in terms of ANFIS architecture and model parameter
selection were made for energy and water resources engineers on the use of
ANFIS modelling technique.
First and foremost, we would like to thank God. In the process of put-
ting this book together, the true gift of writing was very much realized and
appreciated. You have given the power to believe in passion, hard work
and pursue dreams. This could never have been done without faith in You,
the Almighty. We would like to thank all the contributing authors without
whom this would have been impossible. We would also like to thank them
for believing in us. We would like to thank all of our colleagues and friends
in different parts of the world for sharing ideas in shaping our thoughts. Our
efforts will come to a level of satisfaction if the professionals concerned with
all the fields related to optimization are benefitted. We owe a huge thanks to
all our technical reviewers, editorial advisory board members, book devel-
opment editor, and the team of CRC Press (A Taylor & Francis Company) for
their availability to work on this huge project. All of their efforts helped to
xPreface

make this book complete, and we would have failed if all of them hadn’t have
actively supported and cooperated. Thanks to one and all.
Throughout the process of editing this book, many individuals, from dif-
ferent walks of life, have taken time out to help us out. Last, but definitely
not least, we would like to thank them all, our well-wishers, for providing
us encouragement. We would have probably given up without their support.

Kaushik Kumar
J. Paulo Davim
Editor Biography

Kaushik Kumar, B .Tech (Mechanical Engineering, REC (Now NIT),

Warangal), MBA (Marketing, IGNOU) and Ph.D. (Engineering, Jadavpur
University), is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India.
He has 16 years of teaching and research and over 11 years of industrial
experience in a manufacturing unit of global repute. His areas of teaching
and research interest are optimization, conventional and non-conventional
manufacturing, CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, quality management sys-
tems and composites. He has nine patents, 28 books, 15 edited books, 43
book chapters, 136 international journal publications, and 21 international
and eight national conference publications to his credit. He is guest editor
for many peer-reviewed journals and editorial boards and is a review panel
member of many international and national journals of global repute. He has
been felicitated with many awards and honours.

J. Paulo Davim received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in

1997, M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering (materials and manufacturing
processes) in 1991, Mechanical Engineering degree (5 years) in 1986, from
the University of Porto (FEUP), the Aggregate title (Full Habilitation) from
the University of Coimbra in 2005 and the D.Sc. from London Metropolitan
University in 2013. He is Senior Chartered Engineer by the Portuguese
Institution of Engineers with an MBA and Specialist title in Engineering
and Industrial Management. He is also Eur Ing by FEANI-Brussels and
Fellow (FIET) by IET-London. Currently, he is Professor at the Department
of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. He has
more than 30 years of teaching and research experience in Manufacturing,
Materials, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, with special emphasis in
Machining & Tribology. He also has interest in Management, Engineering
Education and Higher Education for Sustainability. He has guided large
numbers of postdoc, Ph.D. and master’s students as well as has coordinated
and participated in several financed research projects. He has received
several scientific awards. He has worked as evaluator of projects for ERC
European Research Council and other international research agencies as
well as examiner of Ph.D. thesis for many universities in different countries.
He is the Editor in Chief of several international journals, Guest Editor of
journals, books Editor, book Series Editor and Scientific Advisory for many
international journals and conferences. Presently, he is an Editorial Board
member of 30 international journals and acts as reviewer for more than 100

xi
xii Editor Biography

prestigious Web of Science journals. In addition, he has also published as

editor (and co-editor) more than 100 books and as author (and co-author)
more than 10 books, 80 book chapters and 400 articles in journals and con-
ferences (more than 250 articles in journals indexed in Web of Science core
collection/h-index 50 + /7500 + citations, SCOPUS/h-index 56 + /10500 +
citations, Google Scholar/h-index 71 + /16500 + ).
 Section I

State of the Art

1
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes
in Design Engineering Applications

J. Srinivas
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT Rourkela,
Rourkela 769008, India. Email: [email protected], Ph: +91 661 2462503.

CONTENTS
1.1 Introduction..................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Optimization Schemes...................................................................................5
1.2.1 Standard Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)............................... 5
1.2.2 Modified PSO...................................................................................... 6
1.2.3 Cuckoo Search Optimization............................................................6
1.2.4 Firefly Optimization...........................................................................9
1.3 Case Studies in Dynamics and Design...................................................... 10
1.3.1 Bearing Parameter Identification.................................................... 10
1.3.2 Material Modelling in Nanocomposites........................................ 13
1.3.3 Optimum Design of a Compression-Coil Spring
(Kim et al. 2009)................................................................................. 18
1.4 Conclusions.................................................................................................... 19
References................................................................................................................ 19

1.1 Introduction
Metaheuristic is a procedure designed to generate an approach that may
provide a good solution to an optimization problem, especially with
incomplete available data using limited computational resources (Bianchi
et al. 2009). Often, metaheuristic schemes implement some form of sto-
chastic optimization. In combinatorial optimization process (finding
optimum from a finite set), metaheuristics often predict good solutions
with limited computational effort in comparison with the optimization
algorithms and iterative methods, or simple heuristics. Metaheuristics
are implemented in several applications including job shop scheduling,
job selection, travelling salesman problems and so forth. The metaheuris-
tic algorithms rely on exploration and exploitation. Exploration refers

3
4 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

to the ability to diversely search in the space, while exploitation is the

local search ability. There are two types of metaheuristic algorithms:
(i) nature-inspired (examples like bio-inspired algorithms and physics/
chemistry-based algorithms) and (ii) non-nature-inspired algorithms.
Bio-inspired algorithms are based on the biological science. Two famous
bio-inspired algorithms are swarm intelligence (SI) and evolutionary
algorithms. Commonly employed metaheuristics for combinatorial prob-
lems are simulated annealing (Kirkpatrick et al. 1983), genetic algorithms
(Holland 1973), differential evolution (Storn and Price 1997), ant colony
algorithm (Dorigo and Di Caro 1999), bat search algorithm (Yang 2010),
scatter search (Martí et al. 2006), tabu search (Glover and Laguna 1997),
gravitational search (Rashedi et al. 2009) and so forth. Even though these
approaches are very smooth and result in global optimal solutions, often
they require proper selection of a large number of control parameters. For
example, in genetic algorithms, population size (the number of random
points), crossover rate and mutation rate are to be properly selected with
several trails.
Being an end user of these algorithms, a designer may not fully focus
on such parameter selection but rather pay attention on the formulation
of objectives and constraints. In this regard, recently, new metaheuristic
schemes have been developed such as particle swarm optimization
(PSO) (Kennedy and Eberhart 1995), cuckoo search (Yang and Deb 2009),
firefly algorithm (Yang 2008), artificial bee colony (Karaboga 2005),
harmony search (Geem et al. 2001), spiral optimization (Tamura and
Yasuda 2011) and so forth. Compared to other techniques, PSO offers
several benefits. It is developed based on ideas like cognition and social
behavior of particles searching for food. Each particle is associated with
a velocity which helps to update the positions from time to time. Another
interesting nature-inspired algorithm is the artificial bee colony (ABC)
algorithm. It takes inspiration from the intelligent foraging behaviour
and information-sharing capability of honeybees. In recent times, a
new intelligent optimization algorithm known as cuckoo search (CS)
inspired from the behaviour of cuckoos’ brood parasitism and Lévy flight
has been employed in many areas. It also has simple structure and is
easy to implement. Another new swarm intelligence algorithm is firefly
algorithm (FA). It is based on the social behaviour of flashing fireflies. In
this approach, fireflies move to new positions because of the attractions
among mating partners. The search continues till a certain error criterion
is satisfied.
This chapter briefly presents a few mathematical optimization algorithms,
and a few common case studies from dynamics and material modelling are
illustrated. Some applications considered are system parameter identifica-
tion from experimental data, optimal material modelling in composites and
dimensional optimization of compression coil springs. Future directions of
these techniques are given in conclusions.
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 5

1.2 Optimization Schemes

This section briefly outlines the mathematical basis behind some commonly
used metaheuristics.

1.2.1 Standard Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO)

Particle swarm optimization is a population-based stochastic optimization
approach. PSO employs two populations: (i) a population of the particles’
current positions (i.e. pi or pbest) and (ii) a population of the particles’ best
positions (i.e. pg or gbest) achieved so far. The first one, particle best refers to
the candidate solutions in the search space.
Here, each particle has a velocity vector V and position vector X and it
moves in the search space with a velocity adjusted dynamically. The basic
update equations of the particle are given as:

Vid (t + 1) = wVid (t) + c1 r1 ( pid − xid ) + c2 r2 ( p gd − xid )

 (1.1)
Xid (t + 1) = Xid (t) + Vid (t + 1)

Here, c1 and c2 are acceleration coefficients representing the stochastic

acceleration terms that pull each particle towards pbest and gbest positions,
respectively. Also, r1 and r2 are two uniformly distributed random numbers
in the range (0, 1). The inertial weight used for balancing the global and local
search is represented as w. A large value of w facilitates in global exploration,
while smaller values of w leads to local exploration. Generally, w is calculated
in every iteration according to the formula: w = wmin + (wmax − wmin)(tmax − t)/t,
with wmax and wmin as 0.9 and 0.4 and tmax is maximum generations or cycles
for repeating the velocity updates. The position and velocity of ith particle
is described by D-dimensional vector denoted as Xi = [xi1, xi2, . . . xiD] for all
xij∈[xmin, xmax] and Vi = [vi1, vi2, . . . viD] for all vij∈[vmin, vmax]. The best previ-
ous position of the ith particle is recorded as pbest denoted as Pi, while the
global best position of the whole swarm achieved so far is recorded as gbest,
denoted as Pg. The algorithm is given in the following steps:

Initialize particle swarm randomly

While (stopping criteria is not met)
Evaluate fitness of all particles
for n = 1 to number of particles
find pbest, gbest
for d = 1 to number of dimensions of particle
update the velocity of particles
update the position of particles
end
end
6 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

update the inertia weight by some corresponding strategy

go to next generation
continue

Particle swarm optimization works well in terms of solution accuracy and

computational speed. Also, it needs limited number of initial parameters.

1.2.2 Modified PSO

Uniformly distributed initial particles in the search space play a critical role in
particle swarm optimization. Various approaches like providing chaos to the
population, modifying the velocities with diversification and so forth are often
used in PSO modification. To sustain the diversity of the particle swarm, the
evolutionary operators like selection, crossover and mutation are used. One
such approach with a mutation operator is given here. Every particle has a
mutation chance which is controlled by mutation probability pm∈[0,1]. For each
particle, a random number between 0 and 1 is generated and the mutation is
allowed on that position of the particle if this random number is less than or
equal to pm. The revised equations of modified particle position are given by:

Xi (t) = Xi (t) + γ * (Pmax − Xi (t)) if γ > 0

 (1.2)
= Xi (t) + γ * (Xi (t) − Pmin ) if γ ≤ 0

where γ is the Morlet wavelet mutation function, defined as:

1  ϕ  
2
 5ϕ 
γ = exp  −0.5    cos    (1.3)
a  a
     a 


Here, ϕ is randomly generated number from [−2.5a, 2.5a] and a denotes the
dilation parameter which is usually set to vary with the iteration of parti-
cles. There are many other variant PSO techniques available in literature for
improving the performance of PSO.

1.2.3 Cuckoo Search Optimization

Another interesting algorithm used in recent times is cuckoo search (CS)
optimization, which is a nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, based on
the brood parasitism of some cuckoo species, along with Lévy flight ran-
dom walks. Cuckoos are unique species because of their special reproduc-
tion strategy. Cuckoos always lay eggs in host nests. To increase the hatching
probability, some of the host bird’s eggs will be pushed out of the nest. If a
cuckoo’s egg is found by the host bird, it will abandon this nest and build
a new nest at other place. In the CS algorithm, each egg in a nest represents
a solution and a cuckoo egg represents a new solution. The aim is to use the
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 7

new and potential solutions (cuckoos) to replace worst solutions in the nests.
The CS algorithm is focused on three idealized rules (Yang and Deb 2009):

1. Each cuckoo lays one egg at a time and dumps it in a randomly cho-
sen nest.
2. The best nest with high quality of eggs (solutions) will carry over to
the next generations.
3. There are fixed number of available host nests and a host bird can
discover an alien egg with a probability pa∈ [0, 1]. In this case, the
host bird can either throw the egg away or abandon the nest and
construct a completely new nest.

For simplicity, the last assumption can be simulated by the fraction of the
population size of worst nests that are replaced by new random nests. To
start with the algorithm, the initial positions of nests are predicted by a set
of randomly assigned values to control variables:

X t = Xmin + rand * ( Xmax − Xmin )  (1.4)

where X t denotes the initial vector for the ith nest and Xmax and Xmin are
the upper and lower bounds for the variables under consideration. In the
next step, the entire nests are replaced by new cuckoo eggs except the best
one. Cuckoo moves from the current nest to the new one using a random step
length which is drawn from a Lévy distribution. The new nest position is
determined using Lévy flights based on their quality according to

X t + 1 = X t + α .S. ( X t − Xbest
t
) .r  (1.5)

where S is step size; α (α > 0) represents a step size scaling factor; r is random
number from standard normal distribution and Xtbest is the location of best
nest. S is calculated by random walk using Lévy flights and Mantegna’s algo-
rithm as:

u
S= 1  (1.6)
v β

where u and v have a normal distribution with zero means and associated
variance, as given by the following equation:

1
 Γ ( 1 + β ) sin (πβ 2 )  β
σu =   ,σ v = 1  (1.7)
 ( β − 1)/ 2 
 Γ (1 + β / 2 ) × β × 2 
8 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

Here, β is a Lévy parameter (Lévy flights exponent) selected in the range

(Bianchi et al. 2009; Kirkpatrick et al. 1983), and considered as 3/2 in the pres-
ent work. Also, Γ is the standard gamma function.
The second rule passes the best solutions to the next generation. Finally,
the last rule carries out global search and can be seen as the mutation opera-
tor, where the worst solutions are replaced with newly generated solutions. It
prevents in trapping at a local minimum. To generate solutions with simple
random walk, the following update rule is used.

Xit +1 = Xit + r ⊗ H ( pa − ε ) ⊗ (X tj − X kt )  (1.8)

where ⊗ is an entry-wise multiplication, pa is the switching probability,

which is responsible for balancing between local and global optimization,
H(.) is the Heaviside function, r and ε are two random numbers with uni-
form distribution and X tj , X kt are two solutions randomly selected. This com-
plete process is repeated to get a best solution. After each iteration the input
data is updated with new population and the objective function values are
obtained. The algorithm is summarized as given below:

begin
—Objective function f(X)
—Generate initial population of n host nests Xi
(i = 1,2, . . . n)
while (t<MaxGeneration) or (stop criterion)
—Get a cuckoo randomly by Levy flights
—Evaluate its quality or fitness Fi
—Choose a nest among n (say j) randomly
if (Fi>Fj)
Replace j by new solution;
end
—A fraction (pa) of worst nests are abandoned and new ones
are built;
—Keep the best solutions (or nests with quality solutions)
—Rank the solutions and find the current global best
end while
—Post process results and visualization
end

By providing more diversity change than this standard cuckoo search, the
global convergence has improved considerably which also prevents in trap-
ping at local optimal solutions. Chaos-enhanced cuckoo search optimi-
zation algorithm is one kind where chaos is embedded into the standard
cuckoo search algorithm at the initialized host nest location and Lévy flight
parameters.
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 9

1.2.4 Firefly Optimization

The firefly algorithm (FA) was inspired by the flashing patterns of fireflies
(Fister et al. 2018). Each firefly in the population represents a candidate
solution in the D-dimensional search space. Due to the attractions among
fireflies, they can move towards the other better positions and find better
candidate solutions. In FA, the attraction is determined by the brightness,
which is taken as the value of the objective function. The attractiveness β
between two fireflies is relative to their distance r. As the distance increases,
the attractiveness gradually decreases. Let Xi be the ith firefly in the popula-
tion, where i = 1, 2, . . ., ps with ps as the population size. The attractiveness β
between two fireflies Xi and Xj can be calculated as: β = β 0 exp(−γ rij2 ), where
rij = Xi − X j is the second order norm. The parameter β0 is the attractiveness
at the distance r = 0, and γ is the light absorption coefficient. Often, γ is set
as 1/Γ2, where Γ is the length scale for designed variables. For each firefly Xi,
a comparison is made with other all fireflies Xj, where j = 1, 2, . . ., ps. If Xj
is brighter (better) than Xi, then Xi moves towards Xj by the attraction. The
movement or update of Xi is given as

( )
2
Xi (t + 1) = Xi (t) + β 0 e −γ r0 X j (t) − Xi (t) + αε  (1.9)

Here α∈[0,1] is the step factor, while ε is a random value within [−0.5, 0.5].
Generally, the maximum number of generations Gmax is taken as stop-
ping criterion. For minimization of function f(X), following steps are
followed:

Randomly initialize the population of ps fireflies (solutions) Xi(t)

Compute the fitness values of each firefly
While t ≤ Gmax do
for i = 1 to ps do
for j = 1 to ps do
if f(Xj)< f(Xi) then
move Xi towards Xj as per above equation
calculate the fitness value of Xi (t + 1)
end
end
end
increase t to t + 1
end

The algorithm requires high computational time. Often, through the attrac-
tion, fireflies gradually approach to the converged states in a number of gen-
erations. Then the distance between fireflies gradually decreases to zero. To
avoid this situation, following changes are made:
10 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

the parameter β0(t + 1) = r1 (a uniformly distributed random number) if

r2 < 0.5 (where r2 is another random number);
otherwise β0(t + 1) = β0(t).
Similarly, α(t + 1) = α(t)(1 − t/Gmax) allows faster convergence to the algorithm.
Commonly, initial values considered are β0(0) = 1 and α0(0) = 0.5.

1.3 Case Studies in Dynamics and Design

This section presents three different application areas for optimization prob-
lems in design, materials engineering and dynamics.

1.3.1 Bearing Parameter Identification

In dynamics of rotating system, often the bearing forces are important and
in practice they are highly nonlinear functions of bearing displacements.
Complexity of the analysis can be minimized by computing equivalent lin-
ear bearing force (stiffness and damping) coefficients.
Usually, experimental response data in a rotor is measured at the bearings
using accelerometers. As these vibration signals are arrived from the practi-
cal system, they are realized to be derived from the system undergoing non-
linear bearing forces. Thus, if an equivalent linear system model response is
fitted over the experimental response, it is possible to derive the correct set of
unknown linear force coefficients. That means an error function formulation
and its minimization is the task in this problem.
In the present case, experimental response data is captured from a rotating
dual disk rotor shaft supported on two similar oil-film bearings. By using
an equivalent linear physical system representation, the bearing forces are
expressed in terms of displacements and velocities at bearing coordinates as:


 FBx   cxx cxy   x B   k xx k xy   xB 
   = c +
cyy   y B   k yx k yy   y B 
 (1.10)
 FBy   yx

where cxx, cyy, kxx, kyy and cxy, cyx, kxy, kyx terms respectively represent the unknown
direct and cross-coupled bearing force coefficients, the suffix B denotes the
bearing support location. By substituting these bearing forces in the rotor
dynamic model [ M] Z {} {}
 + [C] Z + [K ]{Z} = {F } + {F} and converting into fre-
B

quency domain, these system of equations can be written as (Kim et al. 2007)

 Fx  X
2     H xx H xy  X 
 F  − ω [M]  = 
H yy  Y 
 (1.11)
 y  Y   H yx
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 11

Here, Hij(ω) = kij(ω) + iωcij(ω) (with i,j = x,y) is the impedance function, (Fx, Fy)
and (X,Y) are the discrete Fourier transforms of external forces and displace-
ments respectively. By knowing the component displacements in bending
directions {Z} at bearing node, it is possible to compute the eight direct coef-
ficients corresponding to each of the two bearings. In order to obtain these
parameters, error function of amplitudes of displacements at the bearing
nodes is considered as:

sp

( ) + (Y )
2 2
E = ∑ Xexp − X fe exp − Yfe  (1.12)
n =1

where Xexp and Yexp are the experimentally obtained measured amplitudes
at a bearing, while Xfe and Yfe are the numerically obtained bearing ampli-
tudes in terms of unknown equivalent linear bearing stiffness and damping
parameters. Here, sp represents the number of samples considered in the
frequency range of interest. The upper and lower bounds are considered as
ki∈[kmin, kmax] and ci∈[cmin, cmax] with I = x,y. Figure 1.1 shows the rotor model
with two discs and their geometric parameters.
Table 1.1 shows the geometric and material parameters of the rotor system
used for linear bearing parameter-finite element model.
Figure 1.2 shows the time history and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) plots
obtained from the experimental analysis at the left bearing node in two
directions at a rotor speed of 900 rpm.
The error function is then formulated and minimized using modified par-
ticle swarm optimization method and the stiffness and damping coefficients
are estimated. Figure 1.3 shows the identified parameters at the two bearing
nodes in two directions.
Using these coefficients, the FFT spectra obtained from finite element
model are shown in Figure 1.4. It is seen that the first resonant peak occurs at
159 Hz, coming close to the experimentally obtained value (157.2 Hz).
In the present work, c1 = c2 = 2.0, wmax = 1.4 and wmin = 0.8 were selected.
Also, the bounds for velocity Vmax and Vmin parameters may be set for each

FIGURE 1.1
FCNRotor-disk model
 TABLE 1.1
Material and geometric data for numerical modelling (Kim et al. 2007)

Properties Value
Density of shaft material (kg/m3) 7,800
Mass of Disc1, MD1 (kg) 1.4
Mass of Disc2, MD2 (kg) 1
Diameter of shaft, Dsh (m) 0.016
Length of the shaft (m) 0.48
Young’s modulus, E (GPa) 200
Distance between the bearings (m) 0.22
Distance from Disc1 to left bearing (m) 0.09
Distance from Disc2 to right bearing (m) 0.09

FIGURE 1.2
Time history and FFT plots at the left bearing in both X and Y directions

FIGURE 1.3
Identified bearing parameters
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 13

FIGURE 1.4
FFT plots at left bearing

particle to control the velocity within a reasonable range. In this study,

Vmax and Vmin are set as 10% of the upper and lower values, respectively.

1.3.2 Material Modelling in Nanocomposites

Recently, nanocomposite materials are gaining importance in various fields
of engineering Shojaeefard and Khalkhali (2014). There are several factors
in the fabricating stage affecting the overall properties of composite. In
present study, a Carbon NanoTube (CNT) reinforced polymer composite
material is considered for analysis. Various configurations including vari-
able length CNTs of different volume fractions as well as with interphase
region between CNT and matrix domain are accounted to know the effects
on stiffness and thermal properties of composite. Studies are conducted for
single walled (SWCNTs) and multi-walled CNT (MWCNTs) reinforcement.
Along with interphase, some other factors like agglomeration and waviness
of CNTs also play an important role on elastic modulus and thermal conduc-
tivity of composite. Based on the analytical improved models (Halpin-Tsai
and effective medium approximation model), it was observed that the vol-
ume fraction (Vcnt), aspect ratio (AR), interphase thickness ratio (TR), wavi-
ness ratio (w) and inclusion diameter factor (f) have more influence on the
resultant elastic modulus and thermal conductivity (Puneet Kumar 2018).
The elastic modulus of a composite, Ec, due to insertion of CNT (having elas-
tic modulus Ecnt) is given by:

Ec = ηlη o EcntVcnt + Em (1 − Vcnt )  (1.13)

where Vcnt is the volume fraction of the filler, Em the elastic modulus of matrix,
ηl is the length efficiency factor and ηo is the Krenchel orientation factor. The
expression for ηl in terms of length and diameters of CNT (Lcnt and Dcnt) is
given by
14 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

tanh( a Lcnt Dcnt )

ηl = 1 −  (1.14)
a Lcnt Dcnt

where

−3Em
a=  (1.15)
2Ecnt n (Vcnt )

The length efficiency parameter approaches 1 for Lf /Df >10. For one-­
dimensional materials, ηo = 1 for perfectly aligned fibers or nanotubes, but
3/8 for fibers or nanotubes oriented randomly in the 2-D plane and 1/5 for
material with random 3-D fibers or nanotubes. The rule of mixtures provides
a simple method to estimate the effective elastic properties of the composite;
however, it is just a first approximation without taking into account other
factors, such as Poisson’s ratio. The improvement of mechanical properties
in polymer nanocomposites is attributed to strong interfacial adhesion/­
interaction between polymer matrix and nanoparticles, which suitably
transfers stress from the continuous matrix to the nano-filler. Also, small
nanoparticles and their good dispersion play positive role in behaviour of
polymer nanocomposites. From a theoretical point of view, conventional
models such as those of Halpin-Tsai and Guth fail to properly account these
parameters and cannot give correct calculations of mechanical properties of
polymer nanocomposites. An interphase forms in polymer nanocomposites
due to high interfacial area and strong interfacial interactions between poly-
mer and nanoparticles. The interphase has different properties from polymer
matrix and nanoparticles phases, which significantly affects the properties
of polymer nanocomposite. The volume fraction of interphase (Vi) for nano-
composites containing cylindrical nanoparticles can be calculated by:

 R + Rint  2 
Vint =   − 1 Vcnt  (1.16)
 R  
where R and Rint are the radius of nanoparticles and interphase thickness,
respectively. If Rint = 0, Vint = 0, which indicates the absence of interphase
in polymer nanocomposites. By addition of interphase effects to the Halpin-
Tsai model, the effective elastic modulus can be written as:

Ec 1 + ξη f Vcnt + ξηintVint
=  (1.17)
Em 1 − η f Vcnt − ηintVint

where

(Ecnt\ / Em − 1)
ηf =  (1.18)
(Ecnt / Em + ξ )
Some Metaheuristic Optimization Schemes 15

(Eint / Em − 1)
ηint =  (1.19)
(Eint / Em + ξ )

Here Eint is Young’s modulus of interphase. During processing of nano-

composites, waviness, agglomeration and random orientations as well as
interphase effects are major factors influencing the overall performance of
composite considerably. The modified Halpin-Tsai model for accounting the
nonlinear elastic behaviour with volume fraction is represented for a ran-
domly oriented case as

3 5
Ec =   EL′ +   ET′  (1.20)
8  8 
where

 1 + ξ ′ Lη L′Vcnt 
EL′ =   Em  (1.21a)
 1 − η L′ν cnt 

 1 + ξT′ηT′ Vcnt 
ET′ =   Em (1.21b)
 1 − ηT′ν cnt 

 ( K K E E ) − 1 
η L′ =  i w cnt m   (1.21c)
 ( K i K w Ecnt Em ) + ξ L′ 

 ( K K E E ) − 1 
ηT′ =  i w cnt m  (1.21d)
 ( K i K w Ecnt Em ) + ζ T′ 

 Lf 
ξ L′ = 2   K agg , ξT′ = 2  (1.21e)
 Df 
 

where Ecnt, Em and Ec indicate the elastic modulus of CNT, polymer matrix
and composite respectively. Also, Ki, Kw, Kagg are known as interphase, wavi-
ness and agglomeration factors, respectively. These factors depend on the
geometric and processing characteristics of CNT reinforced polymer com-
posites and explained here.
Microscopic observations have shown that most of CNTs result into curved
shapes within the polymer matrix during their processing. This is due to
very low bending stiffness and high aspect ratio of CNTs. An analytical for-
mula is developed in terms of dependent variables as:

dz 1
Kw = =  (1.22)
ds 1 + 4π w sin ( 2π Ln )
2 2
16 Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithms and Metaheuristics

where Kw is a waviness factor, which depends on the waviness ratio of CNT

(w = A/λ) and normalized length (Ln = z/λ). In present work, shape of wavy
CNT is considered as cosine form with waviness ratio ranging from 0 to 1 and
normalized length varies from 0.1 to 0.5. Uniformly dispersed CNTs within
polymer matrix is essential to achieve good thermo-mechanical properties.
However, it is observed that during high energy ultra-sonication and shear
mixing, de-agglomeration and CNT breakages occur simultaneously. Hence,
CNTs with higher aspect ratio may break into small pieces during mixing
and fabrication process of polymer nanocomposite. In other words, disper-
sion index rises while the mean tube length reduces during the mixing pro-
cess. So the sonication time and sonication energy have a considerable effect
on the overall properties. A formulation of length and diameter of CNTs is
developed to include the influence of sonication time on mechanical proper-
ties of the nanocomposite as follows:

L f = Lcnt t −0.248  (1.23a)

D f = Dcnt + Dinclusion t −0.248  (1.23b)

where Lf and Df are the final length and diameter of CNT fibre after sonica-
tion process. Dcnt, Lcnt are initial diameter, length of CNTs and t is the soni-
cation time required. Also, Dinclusion = (f × Dcnt) represents the diameter of
inclusion or CNTs bundle and f is inclusion formation factor exist at initial
stage of sonication process. It is considered that initial length and diameter
of agglomerates decrease during the mixing and can be represented in terms
of CNT’s geometry. Non-uniform dispersion and agglomeration of CNTs in
polymer composites often lead to deterioration of the mechanical and ther-
mal strengths. To ensure uniform distribution of the CNTs within the solu-
tion mixture, it is often sonicated to disperse the CNTs prior to curing of
composite. Interphase is another factor of importance. In fact, its properties
vary as a function of distance from surface of the CNT to polymer matrix.
To determine the influence of interphase on elastic properties of CNT rein-
forced composite, an interphase factor Ki is defined as:

  
 ER   1  
  log 

 TR  ( L Df ) 
Ki = 1 − e  f 
 (1.24)

where ER = Eint / Ecnt = kint / kcnt is effective stiffness or conductivity ratio

and TR = tint / tcnt is the thickness ratio. This factor Ki depends on the
properties of CNTs and surrounding polymer i.e. effective ratio (ER)
and interphase thickness ratio (TR), respectively. Thickness of CNT tcnt is
assumed as 0.34 nm and thickness ratio varies in terms of tcnt. In order to
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of By the gods
beloved
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
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Title: By the gods beloved

Author: Baroness Emmuska Orczy Orczy

Illustrator: Margaret West Kinney

Troy Kinney

Release date: February 8, 2024 [eBook #72901]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1921

Credits: an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BY THE GODS

BELOVED ***
By the Gods Beloved
By
Baroness Orczy
Author of
“The Scarlet Pimpernel,”
“The Emperor’s Candlesticks,”
etc., etc.

Illustrated By
The Kinneys

New York
Dodd, Mead & Company
1921
“Wilt tell me what lies beyond the Hills of Kamt?”
[COPYRIGHT]
Copyright, 1905, by
The Knickerbocker Press

Copyright, 1907, by
Dodd, Mead & Company
as “The Gates of Kamt”
 [DEDICATION]
TO
ELIZABETH, AMY and FLORA BARSTOW
of Garrow Hill, York,
whose friendship has helped to render the land
of my adoption doubly dear to me,
this book is inscribed
in token of lasting affection
 CONTENTS
PART I
THE GATES OF KAMT

I. Tankerville’s Hobby
II. The Shade of Neit-akrit
III. The Tomb of the Greek Priest
IV. The Rock of Anubis
V. The Gates of Kamt
VI. The Temple of Ra
VII. The Temple of Ra

PART II
MEN-NE-FER

VIII. The Idol of the People

IX. The Messenger of Princess Neit-akrit
X. The Judgment-Hall of Men-ne-fer
XI. The Trial of Kesh-ta, the Slave
XII. The Crown of Kamt
XIII. The Iridescent Scarabæus
XIV. The making of an Enemy

PART III
THE PALACE OF NEIT-AKRIT

XV. Neit-akrit, Princess of Kamt

XVI. Divinely Fair
XVII. Danger
XVIII. Love or Hate?
XIX. A Kiss
XX. A Letter from Hugh
XXI. A Debt of Honour

PART IV
TANIS

XXII. The Bridal City

XXIII. The Crime
XXIV. The Alternative
XXV. Helpless
XXVI. The Marriage
XXVII. White Rosemary
XXVIII. The Threat
XXIX. The Departure from Tanis
XXX. Rosemary for Remembrance
XXXI. The End
 ILLUSTRATIONS
“Wilt tell me what lies beyond the hills of Kamt?”
“Remember that this broken wand might prove the future emblem
of… thy power.”
He had fallen, half-fainting, upon the marble floor, and clung,…
around her knees.
“I will cause all my wealth,… to be left to thee,… if thou wilt part
my lover and Neit-akrit forever.”
 PART I.
THE GATES OF KAMT

CHAPTER I.
TANKERVILLE’S HOBBY

It is a curious fact that, although Hugh Tankerville was destined to

play such an all-absorbing part in the strange and mystic drama
which filled both our lives, I have no distinct recollection of my first
meeting with him.
We were at St. Paul’s School together, and I, a boisterous
schoolboy of the usual pattern, have but a vague memory of the
silent, dark-eyed lad, who hated football, and was generally voted to
be a “bookworm,” called “Sawnie Girlie,” and was, without exception,
the most unpopular boy in the school.
The masters must have thought a great deal of him, for, in
recreation time, we often saw him go to one of their rooms and
emerge thence, when the bell rang, in close conversation with old
Foster, or Crabtree, the Greek or history master. This, together with
the fact that he carried off every prize and scholarship with utmost
ease, did not tend to make him more popular. I, for one, who was
captain of our football team and the champion boxer of the school,
held the taciturn bookworm in withering contempt, until one day—
and this is my first distinct recollection of him—he and I had… well!
a few words;—I forget what about. I think that I wanted him to join
in a tug-of-war and he wouldn’t; anyway, I indulged in the words—
grand, sound, British schoolboy vocabulary it was, too—and he
indulged in contemptuous silence for fully five minutes, while the
floods of my eloquence were poured over his dark, unresisting head.
Yes, contemptuous, if you please, towards me! the captain of the
football team, the champion boxer of the school. I could hear that
ass, Snipey, and Bathroom Slippers sniggering behind me like a pair
of apes; and contempt in the front, derision in the rear, soon became
more than schoolboy nature could bear.
Well, I don’t know exactly how it happened. Did my language wax
more forcibly eloquent still, or did my champion fist actually come in
aid to my words? I cannot say; certain it is that there was a shout, a
draught that sent my cap flying to the other end of the schoolroom,
a whirlwind which caught both sides of my head at once, and
Sawnie Girlie was all over me in a minute. Where I was during that
minute I would not venture to state definitely. I was vaguely
conscious of a pair of dark eyes blazing down at me like the hall gas,
and of a husky voice hissing at intervals, “How dare you? how dare
you?” whilst I, blinded, breathless, bruised and sore, contrived to
wonder how, indeed, I had dared.
When the whirlwind had at last subsided, I found myself in an
unaccustomed position on the floor, underneath one of the forms;
those blithering cowards, Snipey and Bathroom Slippers, were
disappearing through the door, and Sawnie Girlie was quietly
knocking the dust off his nether garments.
Well! after that interesting downfall of the champion boxer of St.
Paul’s, nobody who knows anything of schoolboy nature will wonder
that Sawnie Girlie and I became the closest of chums, and that, with
that well-deserved licking, Hugh Tankerville laid the foundations of
that friendship and admiration which has lasted throughout my life.
Silent and taciturn he remained towards the others, but from the
moment that I—having struggled to my feet, after my ignominious
downfall—went up to him and offered him my hand, in token of my
admiration for his prowess, he and I were practically inseparable.
Gradually the strange influence, which savoured of the mystical,
and which he seemed to exercise over all those with whom he came
in contact, asserted itself over me, and I began to find pleasure in
other things besides football and boxing. It was he who kindled in
me a spark of that enthusiasm for the great past which was so
overwhelming in him, and after a few months of our friendship I had
one or two fairly stiff tussles with him for a top place in Classics or
History. I will do myself the justice to say that never once did I
succeed in getting that top place, but it certainly was not for want of
trying.
Never shall I forget the memorable day when Sawnie Girlie—for so
I still continued to call him—asked me to go home with him to
afternoon tea one Saturday.
He lived in Hammersmith, he told me, and I, whose parents lived
in Kensington, vaguely wondered what sort of mud-hut or hovel
could be situated in such an out-of-the-way suburb as
Hammersmith. I had never been down King Street, and as we two
boys picked our way through the barrows on the edge of the kerb,
and among the dense, not altogether sober crowd, I marvelled more
and more how any civilised being could live in this extraordinary
neighbourhood, when suddenly, having left King Street behind us,
Sawnie Girlie stopped before a large, old-fashioned iron gate, behind
which tall chestnuts and oak trees threw a delightfully mysterious
shadow on the ground.
“Here we are!” he said, as he pushed open the gate, and I
followed, astonished at this quaint bit of old-world garden in the
midst of the turmoil and tawdriness of suburban London. Beyond
those gates everything seemed cool, peaceful, silent; only a few
birds twittered in the great trees. The ground was covered with the
first fallen leaves of autumn, and they made a curious, sweet-
sounding “Hush-sh-sh” as we walked. Obviously the place had been,
from a strictly landscape-gardening point of view, sadly neglected,
but I did not notice this. I only saw the great, tall trees, smelt the
delicious aroma of the damp, fallen leaves, and stopped a moment,
anxious and awed, expecting to see down the cool alley some
cavalier with plume and sword walking arm-in-arm with his lady, in
great hooped skirt and farthingale.
Hugh Tankerville had taken no notice of me. He walked on ahead
towards the house, which must have lain far back from the road, for
it was not discernible from the gates. The scene was, of course,
familiar to him, and he knew that no plumes or farthingales were left
anywhere about, but from the moment that he had pushed those
great gates open his whole being seemed to have changed. He
walked more erect, he threw back his head, opened wide his nostrils
and seemed, as it were, to breathe freedom in at every pore.
I was but a mere raw school lad at the time, and no doubt my
impression of the old-fashioned house and garden was exaggerated
in my mind, through its very unexpectedness after the picture of
sordid Saturday afternoon Hammersmith. The house itself was as
picturesque as the garden, with a quaint terrace and stone stairs
leading up to a glass door. Sawnie Girlie led me through this and
across a hall, and presently I found myself in the most wonderful
spot which up to that moment it had been my happy lot to see.
The room into which I followed Hugh Tankerville was low and
square, with a great bow window that looked out onto another bit of
tangled, old-fashioned garden; but to my delighted fancy it was
crammed with everything that could fill a boy’s soul with delight.
There were great cases filled with all sorts of strange arms and
shields, spears with flint heads, axes and quivers of arrows; there
were great slabs of stone, covered with curious writing and adorned
with weird and wonderful images; there were strange little figures of
men and women in funny garbs, some with heads of beasts on their
shoulders, others with human heads on fantastic bodies; but what
seemed to me more strange than all, and made me stop awestruck
at the door, was that the whole length of two walls there stood a
row of mummies, such as I had once seen in the British Museum,
some in their coffins, but others showing their human shape
distinctly through the linen bandages—dark and discoloured with age
—that covered them.
Hugh’s voice roused me from my stupor. “Father, this is Mark,” he
said, and at the further end of the room, from behind a huge desk,
littered with ponderous books and pyramids of papers, there
emerged a head which I, in my excited imagination, fancied to be
one of those mummies come temporarily to life. It was yellow and
wrinkled all over, and a reading lamp which, in spite of the daylight,
stood burning on the table, threw a weird blue light on the thin,
sharp features. The eyes, however, bright and small, looked across
very kindly at us both and a voice said:
“Well! you two boys had better go and get your tea, and after that
you may come up and Mark shall see the museum.”
I was delighted; I had no idea that this was the treat my newly-
found friend had prepared for me. Even with me he had been
strangely reserved about his home and about his father. I knew
nothing of either.
We had a delicious tea, and were waited on by a dear old thing,
who evidently was more a friend than a servant, for she hugged and
kissed Hugh as if he were her greatest treasure; and though she did
not kiss me, she shook hands and said how anxious she had been to
see me, having heard so much about me from “the young master.” I
blushed and wondered if Sawnie Girlie had also told of that
memorable whirlwind episode, and did not enjoy my first slice of
sally-lunn in consequence.
But it was a glorious tea, and I, no doubt, in true schoolboy
fashion, would have contrived to stow most of the delicious cakes
and muffins away had I had time to do so; but I remembered that
after tea we were to go up and see the museum, so after my third
cup and seventh slice of cake I stopped.
Oh, the delights of that museum! A real museum all to yourself,
where there is no horrid attendant behind you to tell you not to
touch, but where every piece is actually put into your hands and you
are allowed to turn it over, and look at every one of its sides, just as
you please. I shall never forget the feeling of delicious horror that
crept over me when first I absolutely touched one of the mummies
with my hand. Mr. Tankerville was more than kind. He answered
every one of my schoolboy questions with cheerful patience,
explained everything, showed everything. It was—I think I may
safely say—the happiest day of my life.
From that eventful afternoon I became—for as long as we were
schoolfellows together—a constant visitor at The Chestnuts. Mr.
Tankerville, who was one of the greatest archæologists and
Egyptologists of his generation, took a keen delight in initiating us
boys into the half-veiled mysteries of ancient Egyptian history. We
were never tired of hearing about Ra and Horus, about the building
of the great Pyramids, about the tombs and the wonders of Thebes
and Memphis. But above all did he delight our ears with tales of that
mysterious period which immediately followed the death of Queen
Neit-akrit and the close of the Sixth Dynasty. This, so far as the
scientific world is concerned, also marks the close of the old Empire.
Strangers appear to have overrun the country, and for over 400
years the history of ancient Egypt is a blank; neither tombs nor
temples mark the changes and vicissitudes which befel that
wonderful nation, only a few royal names appear on scarabs, or
tablets, but of the great people themselves, and of their ancient
civilisation, the people who built the great Pyramids and carved the
immortal Sphinx, of them there is not a trace.
When once more the veil is lifted from Egyptian history the whole
aspect of the land is changed; we see a new Empire, and it is a new
people that dwells along the banks of the sacred Nile.
What had happened to the old? This blank page in Egyptian
history Mr. Tankerville had reconstructed on a theory all his own, and
his fancy had filled it with warriors and conquests, with downfalls
and regeneration. Open-eyed, open-mouthed, we listened to him for
hours, while, sitting round the huge, old-fashioned grate, with the
light of the great log fire illumining his shrivelled features, he told us
of Neit-akrit and of the strangers who overran the land, and of the
great Egyptian people, the old, original builders of the most ancient
monuments, they who disappeared, no one knew whither, to make
way for the new Empire, with its new art, its new architecture, its
new religion.
This point in history was his hobby, and I learned long afterwards
with what derision the scientific world looked upon it; but we boys
listened to these tales as if to the words of a prophet preaching the
Gospel. Hugh’s eyes would then begin to glow, his hands would be
tightly clenched, he would hang on every word his father uttered;
and I too listened, awed and amazed, while before my eyes Cheops
and Khefren and the mysterious Neit-akrit wandered in gorgeous
and ghost-like procession.
 Then, as we both grew older, gradually Mr. Tankerville extended
our knowledge of that most ancient of all histories. His erudition was
perfectly amazing, but his hobby—at least I looked upon it as a
hobby then—was the language of ancient Kamt. Upon Dr. Young’s
and Champollion’s methods he had constructed a complete, though
somewhat complicated, grammar, and this, with marvellous
patience, he began slowly and thoroughly to teach to us, together
with the hieroglyphic and cuneiform writings practised by the ancient
Egyptians.
In the literal sense of the word, he put new life into the dead
language; no word in it, no construction of sentence was a mystery
to him. He read it all as easily as he did his Latin and Greek. Hugh,
naturally, was a most apt pupil. He worshipped his father, and was
passionately enthusiastic about the mystic science. I tried to follow
Hugh in his ardour and aptitude, and I don’t think that I was often
left far behind.
I remember that my uncle, who had charge of my education since
I had lost both my parents, shrugged his shoulders very
contemptuously when I spoke to him of Mr. Tankerville. “That old
fool,” was my Aunt Charlotte’s more forcible comment; “I hope to
goodness you are not wasting your time cramming his nonsense into
your head.” After that I never mentioned my friend’s name to either
of them, but spent more and more time at The Chestnuts, imbibing
that fascinating and semi-mystic lore of the great people of the past.
Such as Mr. Tankerville had reconstructed it, ancient Egyptian was
not a difficult language, not nearly so difficult as Greek, for instance,
and, certainly to me, in no sense as complicated as German. By the
time that we were lads of about sixteen we could read almost any
inscription on steles or potteries of old Egypt, more readily than we
could have read a French poem, and Hugh was not quite seventeen
when he translated parts of the Gospel of St. John into ancient
Egyptian.
No wonder then that after some five years of that happy time my
heart well-nigh broke when the exigencies of my future demanded
that I should go to college. I was destined for the medical profession
and was to spend three years at Oxford, while Hugh meant to
remain as an active help to his father in his scientific researches.
With many protestations of eternal friendship I bade good-bye to the
museum, the mummies and the phantom of Queen Neit-akrit.
When at the first vacation my eager thought was to go and see
my kind friends at once, I learned with much sorrow that Mr.
Tankerville was seriously ill. Hugh came to the door to speak to me
for a moment. He looked pale and worn from long-continued night
watches.
During the weary period of his father’s terrible illness, through
which he nursed him with heroic patience and devotion, I saw
practically nothing of Hugh. While I was at college I frequently wrote
him long letters, to which he barely sent a short reply. Then I read
of Mr. Tankerville’s death, and to my horror and amazement read
also in various papers satirical and seldom kind comments on the
scientific visionary who had just passed away. It seemed to me as if
profane hands had dared to touch at my most cherished illusions. I
had imagined that the whole of the scientific world would go into
mourning for the illustrious antiquarian gone to where all nations,
young and old, mingle in the vast mansions; and lo and behold! a
shrug of the shoulders was the only tribute paid to his memory. I
sincerely hoped that Hugh would be too busy to read the obituary
notices about his father. I longed for the vacation so that I might go
and see him. I knew he would preserve intact the old chestnut trees,
the old-world garden, the museum and the mummies, and I looked
forward to once more watching in imagination by the fitful light of
the great log fire the shade of Queen Neit-akrit wandering before my
enraptured gaze.
 CHAPTER II.
THE SHADE OF NEIT-AKRIT

My uncle died soon after my return from college. After that I was
supposed to be busy laying the foundations of a good consulting
practice in Harley Street, but in reality was enjoying life and the
newly-acquired delights of a substantial fortune left to me by a
distant relative.
My Aunt Charlotte kept house for me and tyrannised over me to
her heart’s content. To her I had not yet begun to grow up; I was
still the raw schoolboy, prone to mischief and to catching cold, who
was in need of sound advice since he no longer had the inestimable
boon of the birch-rod vigorously applied by loving hands.
Dear Aunt Charlotte!—she really was a very worthy soul, but she
held most uncomfortable views on the subject of duty, which,
according to her code, chiefly consisted in making oneself
disagreeable to other people “for their own good.” She had those
twin characteristics peculiar to Englishwomen of a certain stamp and
an uncertain age—self-righteousness and a narrow mind.
She ruled my servants, my household, my one or two patients and
me with a rod of iron, and it never seriously entered my head to
dispute her rule. I was born with a temperament which always
preferred to follow rather than to lead. Had I ever married I should
have been hopelessly henpecked; as it was, my Aunt Charlotte
decided how many servants I should keep, and what entertainments
I should give. She said the final word on the subject of my
suggested holidays and on the price of my new pyjamas.
Still, with all her faults, she was a good sort, and as she took all
household cares from off my shoulders, I was duly grateful to her for
that.
I saw less and less of Hugh Tankerville during all this time. At first,
whenever I could, I found my way to the silent and cool Chestnuts,
but as often as not Hugh seemed absorbed in thoughts or in work;
his mind, evidently, while I chatted and we smoked, seemed so far
removed from his surroundings that by-and-by I began to wonder
whether my visits were as welcome as they used to be, and I took to
spacing them out at longer intervals. Once—I remember I had not
been to see him for over two months—I was bidding him good-bye
after a very short and silent visit; he placed his hand on my
shoulder, and said, with some of his old wonted cordiality:
“I am not as inhospitable as I seem, old chap, and soon, very
soon now, you will see me quite myself again. It is always delightful
to see you, but the work I am doing now is so great, so absorbing,
that I must appear hideously unresponsive to your kindness to me.”
“I guessed, old Girlie,” I said, with a laugh, “that you must be busy
over something terribly scientific. But,” I added, noting suddenly how
hot his hand felt, and how feverishly his eyes seemed to glow, “it
strikes me that you are overworking yourself, and that as a fully
qualified medical man I have the right to advise you…”
“Advise nothing just now, old chap,” he said, very seriously, “I
should not follow it. Give me two years more, and my work will be
done. Then…”
“Two years, at this sort of work? Girlie, you’ll be a dead man
before then at this rate.”
He shook his head.
“Ah! but it’s no use shaking your head, old man! The dinners you
do not eat, the bed you don’t sleep in, the fresh air you do not
breathe, all will have their revenge upon you for your studied
neglect. Look here! you say you want to do another two years’ work;
I say your health will not stand the strain if you do. Will you pander
to our old friendship to the extent of listening to me for once, and
coming away with me for one month to the sea—preferably Margate
—and after that I promise you I shall not say a word about your
health for the next half-year at least.”
Again he shook his head.
“I could not live if you parted me from my work now.”
And he looked so determined, his eyes glowed with such a strange
inward fire, while there was such indomitable will expressed in his
whole being, that I was not fool enough to pursue my point.
 “Look here, Hugh,” I said, “I don’t want, of course, to interfere in
your secrets. You have never thought fit to tell me what this all-
absorbing work is that you pursue at risk of physical damage to
yourself. But I want you to remember, Girlie, that I have
independent means, that my time is my own, and that your father
often used to tell me, when I was a great many years younger, of
some of his labours, and of his work; once I helped him—do you
remember?—over some…”
“My father was too fond of talking about his work,” he interrupted.
“I don’t mean to offend you by saying this, old chap, but you must
remember the purport of most of the obituary notices written about
one of the most scientific men that ever lived. He toiled all his life,
contracted the illness of which he died, wore himself out, body and
soul, in pursuit of one great object: when he died, with that great
object unattained, the world shrugged its shoulders and called him a
fool for his pains. But I am here now. I am still young. What he
could not complete I have already almost accomplished. Give me
two years, old chap, and the world will stand gaping round in
speechless amazement at the tearing asunder of its own veil of
ignorance, torn by me from before its eyes, by me, and by my
father: ‘mad Tankerville’ they called him! Then it will bow and fawn
at my feet, place laurel wreaths on my father’s tomb, and confer all
the honours it can upon his memory; and I…”
“You will be sadly in need of laurel wreaths too, Girlie, by then,” I
said half crossly, half in grudging admiration at his enthusiasm, “for
you will have worked yourself into your grave long before that
halcyon time.”
He pulled himself together as if he were half-ashamed of his
outburst, and said, with a mirthless laugh:
“You are talking just like your Aunt Charlotte, old Mark.”
I suppose my flippancy had jarred on him in his present highly
nervous state. Before I finally went, I said to him:
“Promise me one thing, Girlie.”
“What is it?”
“How cautious you are! Will you promise? It is for your good and
for mine.”
 “In that case I will promise.”
“Promise me that, if you want any kind of help in your work, you
will send for me.”
“I promise.”
I did not see him for the whole of those two years. I wrote: he did
not reply. I called: he would not leave his study to see me. It was
useless being offended with him. I waited.
Then one day I had a telegram:—

“Come at once if you can.”

I jumped into a hansom, and half an hour later was seated in the
dear old museum once more, beside the great log fire, which burned
cheerfully in the grate. I had said nothing when first I saw Hugh. I
was too much shocked at his altered, emaciated appearance: he
looked like his own ghost, wandering about among the mummies. I
could see that he was terribly excited: he was pacing about the
room, muttering strange and incoherent words. For a moment I had
feared that his reason had begun to give way under the terrible
strain of absorbing brain work.
“It was good of you to come, Mark.”
“I was only too happy that you sent for me, old Girlie,” I said
sadly.
“I have done the work.”
“Thank God for that!”
“And now I must have your help.”
“Thank God again, Girlie! What is it?”
Silently he took my hand and led me across the room, behind the
ponderous desk which I remembered so well in his father’s lifetime.
“Here is the work, it took forty years—my father’s whole life and
my own youth—to complete.”
He pointed to a large flat case, placed slanting on the desk, so as
to receive the full light from the window. The top of the case was a
sheet of clear plate-glass, beneath which I saw, what I at first took
to be a piece of brown rag, frayed and irregular at the edges and full
of holes. Again the terrible thought flashed across my mind that
Hugh Tankerville had suffered from nerve tension and that his
reason had given way under the strain.
“You don’t see what this is?” he asked in reproachful amazement.
I looked again while he turned the strong light of the reading-
lamp on the case, and then I realised that I had before me a piece
of parchment rendered brown with age, made up of an infinity of
fragments, some too minute even to see with the naked eye, and
covered with those strange Egyptian hieroglyphics with which dear
old Mr. Tankerville had originally rendered me familiar. Inquiringly I
looked up at Hugh.
“When my father first found this parchment,” he said, while strong
excitement seemed to choke the words as they rose in his throat, “it
was little else than a handful of dust, with a few larger pieces among
it, interesting enough to encourage his desire to know its contents
and to whet his enthusiasm. At first, for he was then but a young
man, though already considered a distinguished Egyptologist, he
amused himself by placing the larger fragments together, just as a
child would be amused by piecing a Chinese puzzle; but gradually
the secrets that these fragments revealed were so wonderful, and
yet so incomplete, that restlessly, by day and by night, with the help
of the strongest magnifying glasses money could procure, he
continued the task of evolving from that handful of dust a page of
history which for thousands of years has remained an impenetrable
mystery.”
He paused a moment as his hand, which was trembling with
inward fever, wandered lovingly over the glass that covered the
precious parchment.
“Illness and death overtook him in the midst of a task but half
accomplished, but before he died he initiated me into the secrets of
his work; it was not necessary that he should request me to
continue it. One glance at the parchment, then still in a very
fragmentary condition, was sufficient to kindle in me the same mad
enthusiasm for the secrets it revealed which had animated, then
exhausted, him. I was young, my sight was at its prime, my patience
unbounded. He had all his life helped me to a knowledge of
hieroglyphics as great as his own. The sneer of the scientific Press at
what it called ‘mad Tankerville’s hobby,’ his visions, acted but as a
spur to my enthusiasm. It is six years since my father died, and to-
day I fitted the last fragment of the parchment into its proper place.”
Amazed, I listened to this wonderful tale of toil and patience,
extending over the greater part of half a century, and amazed, I
looked down at the result of this labour of Sisyphus, the fragments
of brown dust—they could have been little else—which now, after
thousands of years, had revealed secrets which Hugh said would set
the world gaping. My knowledge of Egyptology and hieroglyphics
had become somewhat rusty since the happy days when, sitting in
the room in the fitful light of the fire, I used to hear from the dear
old man’s lips the wonders of Khefren and the mysteries of Queen
Neit-akrit; but, as I looked, suddenly the old familiar cartouche, the
name of the Queen, caught my eye. There it was

Neit-akrit, Child of the Sun, my queen as I called her then; and as

Hugh was silent and the shades of evening began to draw in, I
thought I saw, as I did in my schoolboy days, the glorious
procession of Pharaohs, priests and gods pass before my eyes again.
Then Hugh began to tell me of the contents of the parchment. His
voice sounded distant and muffled, as if the very shades that
peopled this dear old museum were themselves telling me their
history. It was the same old theme, so familiar and yet so mysterious
still, with which Mr. Tankerville used to rejoice our schoolboy hearts;
the blank page in Egyptian history when, after the reign of Queen
Neit-akrit and the close of the Sixth Dynasty, the grand old people,
who built the great Pyramid and carved the mystic Sphinx,
disappeared from the scene, gone—no one knows whither—to make
way some hundreds of years later for a new people with new ideas,
new kings, new art, new gods.
 To me it seemed, as Hugh was speaking, that it was the shade of
Neit-akrit herself who was telling me in that soft, sing-song Egyptian
tongue how her Empire had been run over by the stranger. How she
was weak, being a woman, and how she allowed herself to be
dominated by him, for he was handsome, brave and masterful. Then
I seemed to hear the voice of the high priest of Ra, bewailing the
influence of the stranger and his hordes over the great people of
Egypt, whose origin was lost in the rolling billows of primæval chaos:
and I saw the uprising of the multitude, the bloody battles, I saw the
ultimate triumph of the stranger, as he spread his conquest from
Net-amen to Men-ne-fer, from Tanis to Assuan; and at last I saw the
people, the owners of that land which had once been so great,
which they had covered with monuments that stood towering
skywards, defying the rolling ages, that same people I saw, as Hugh
still spoke, wandering off in one dense horde, driven onwards by the
remorseless hand of the usurping stranger,—homeless, on, ever on,
across the vast wilderness, to be heard of no more.
“No more until this day,” now sounded Hugh’s voice, clear and
distinct in my ears, “until I, and my father before me, have lifted the
veil which hid this strange and mysterious past, and are prepared to
show the world once more this great people, whose work, whose
art, whose science has set it agape since hundreds of years.”
He seemed like a prophet inspired, whilst I, having forcibly
aroused myself from my stupor and my visions, was gradually
returning to the prosy realities of life. It seemed suddenly absurd
that two sane Englishmen—at least I could vouch for the sanity of
one of them—should get into a state of excitement over the fact as
to whether a certain people five thousand years ago had had a war,
been licked and had wandered across the desert or not.
I even caught myself wondering in what light Aunt Charlotte—as
being a good typical example of the narrow and sane-minded,
unimaginative Englishwoman—in what light she would regard the
disappearance of the most ancient, civilised people of this world, and
what importance she would attach to their problematical wanderings
across the desert.
 Personally, though the subject had had a weird and unaccountable
fascination for me, I soon felt that I did not care much whether Mr.
Tankerville or other historians were correct about the Seventh,
Eighth or Tenth Dynasty or not, and I asked, with a last semblance
of interest:
“Then this parchment sets forth all these historical facts, no
doubt; they are invaluable to the scientific world, but personally I, as
one of the vulgar, do not consider that they were worth either your
father or you wearing yourselves into your coffins about them.”
He looked at me in complete amazement, and passed his hand
across his forehead once or twice, as if to collect his thoughts.
“Ah, yes! I see, of course, you do not understand. How could you?
You have not spent years in this work, till it has become a part and
parcel of your very life.”
“Well, I certainly do not understand, old man, why you should
work yourself into a brain fever for the sake of a people, however
interesting, who have disappeared from this world for the last five
thousand years.”
“Disappeared?” he almost shrieked. “I see now why you did not
understand. But come, old chap, sit here by the fire. Have a pipe, I’ll
have one too.… I’ll tell you all about it, quite calmly. Of course, you
thought me mad—a maniac… Matches? Here you are. Shall we have
the lamps?”
He rang the bell. Old Janet, more wrinkled and pleasant than ever,
brought in the lamp. She threw a log on the fire and left a delicious
atmosphere of prosy cheerfulness behind her as she left. We were
now both comfortably installed by the fire, smoking. Hugh seemed
quite calm, only his eyes stared, large and glowing, into the fire.
 CHAPTER III.
THE TOMB OF THE GREEK PRIEST

“I don’t wonder that you think me mad, Mark, old chap,” began Hugh
very calmly after a little while; “the work has been so close, that no
doubt it did get on to my nerves a bit. When I actually put the
finishing touches on it to-day, my only other thought, besides that of
exultant triumph, was that of sharing my delights with you. Then
you came, so ready to help me since I had called to you, and I, like
a foolish enthusiast, never reflected on the all-important necessity of
putting the facts clearly and coherently before you.”
He pointed to one of the mummies that stood upright in a glass
case at the further end of the museum. The human outline was clear
and distinct under the few linen wrappings, painted all over with
designs and devices and the portrait of the deceased, after the
fashion introduced into Egypt by the Greeks.
“When you and I were schoolboys together all those mummies
were our friends, and our imaginations ran riot when my father, in
his picturesque way, explained to us the meaning of the various
inscriptions which recorded their lives. We knew in those days that
this particular mummy had once been a Greek priest and scribe of
Assuan, who had expressed a desire to be buried in a peculiarly
lonely spot in the desert land, opposite what is now Wady-Halfa. A
pious friend or relative had evidently carried out this wish, for it was
in that desolate spot that my father found this mummy in its solitary
tomb. I remember how, for my part, I loved to think of that pious
friend sailing down the silent Nile, with the body of the dead scribe
lying at rest in the prow of his dahabijeh, while the great goddess
Isis smiled down approvingly at the reverent deed, and the sacred
crocodiles watched curiously the silent craft, flitting ghost-like amidst
the lotus leaves. More than two thousand years later my father
visited this lonely desert tomb. It was before the days that a strict
surveillance was kept over tourists and amateur explorers, and he
was alone, save for an old and faithful fellah—dead now—who was
his constant attendant in his scientific researches. Beside the
mummy of the dead scribe stood the four canopic jars, dedicated to
the children of Horus and containing the heart and other entrails of
the deceased; my father, with less reverence than scientific
enthusiasm, had with his penknife loosened the top of one of the
jars, when, to his astonishment, he saw that it contained in addition
to the embalmed heart a papyrus closely written in Greek.”
“In Greek? Not this one, then?”
“No, another, equally priceless, equally valuable, but only as a
solution, a complement of the first.”
He went up to the desk, and from one of the drawers took out a
papyrus, faded and yellow with age, and placed it before me.
“I have made a translation of it, old fellow,” he said with a smile,
seeing my look of perplexity; “you were a pretty good classic scholar,
though, at one time, and you will be able to verify that mine is a
correct rendering of the original.”
He took a paper out of his pocket-book and began to read, whilst
I listened more and more amazed and bewildered, still wondering
why Hugh Tankerville had worked himself to such a pitch of
excitement for the sake of a dead and vanished past.

“I pray to Osiris and to Isis that I may be buried on the

spot where my footsteps led me that day, when I was still
young. Oh, mother Isis! what was thy sacred wish when thou
didst guide mine eyes to read the mysteries of thy people? I
pray to be buried within that same tomb where I found the
papyrus, that guided my way to the land of wheat and barley
of ancient Kamt, that lies beyond the wilderness of the sand
from the east to the west. I stood upon the spot and I, too,
shot my arrow into the heart of Osiris as he disappears
behind Manou, into the valley of perpetual night, on the first
day that Hapi gives forth goodness to the land. I, too, crossed
the sands from the east to the west, and I, too, rejoiced when
I saw the Rock of Anubis, and found the way no longer barred
to me, to that land of plenty, wherein dwell the chosen people
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