Buckling delamination of a sandwich plate-strip with piezoelectric face and elastic core layers

In this study, the buckling delamination problem of a sandwich plate-strip with a piezoelectric face and elastic core layers is studied. It is assumed that the plate-strip is simply supported and grounded along its two parallel ends and is subjected to uniformly-distributed compressive forces on these ends. Moreover, we suppose that the plate-strip has two interface inner cracks between the face and the core layers and it is also supposed that before the plate-strip is loaded (i.e. in the natural state), the surfaces of these cracks have insignificant initial imperfections. Due to compressive forces acting along the cracks we investigate the evolution of the initial imperfections of the cracks’ surfaces. Hence, the values of the critical buckling delamination force of the considered plate-strip are determined from the criteria, according to which, the considered initial imperfections of the cracks’ surfaces grow indefinitely by the compressive forces. Mathematical modeling of the considered problem is formulated within the scope of the exact nonlinear equations of electro-elasticity in the framework of the piecewise homogeneous body model, the solution of which is found numerically by employing the finite elements method. Numerical results showing the influences of the geometrical and material parameters as well as the coupling of the electrical and mechanical fields on the values of the critical force are presented and analyzed.     

The Poisson and the Biharmonic Equations in the Interior of a Convex Polygon

A new method for analyzing linear elliptic partial differential equations in the interior of a convex polygon was developed in the late 1990s. This method does not rely on the classical approach of separation of variables and on the use of classical integral transforms and therefore is well suited for the investigation of the biharmonic equation. Here, we present a novel integral representation of the solution of the biharmonic equation in the interior of a convex polygon. This representation contains certain free parameters and therefore is more general than the one presented in [1]. For a given boundary value problem, by choosing these free parameters appropriately, one can obtain the simplest possible representation for the solution. This representation still involves certain unknown boundary values, thus for this formula to become effective it is necessary to characterize the unknown boundary values in terms of the given boundary conditions. This requires the investigation of certain relations refereed to as the global relations. A general approach for analyzing these relations is illustrated by solving several problems formulated in the interior of a semistrip. In addition, for completeness, similar results are presented for the Poisson equation by employing an integral representation for the Laplace equation which is more general than the one derived in the late 1990s.     

A Bayesian approach for quantile and response probability estimation with applications to reliability

In this paper we propose a Bayesian approach for the estimation of a potency curve which is assumed to be nondecreasing and concave or convex. This is done by assigning the Dirichlet as a prior distribution for transformations of some unknown parameters. We motivate our choice of the prior and investigate several aspects of the problem, including the numerical implementation of the suggested scheme. An approach for estimating the quantiles is also given. By casting the problem in a more general context, we argue that distributions which are IHR or IHRA can also be estimated via the suggested procedure. A problem from a government laboratory serves as an example to illustrate the use of our procedure in a realistic scenario.     

The affine Cauchy problem

The aim of this paper is to solve the Cauchy problem for locally strongly convex surfaces which are extremal for the equiaffine area functional. These surfaces are called affine maximal surfaces and here, we give a new complex representation which let us describe the solution to the corresponding Cauchy problem. As applications, we obtain a generalized symmetry principle, characterize when a curve in R³ can be a geodesic or pre-geodesic of a such surface and study the helicoidal affine maximal surfaces. Finally, we investigate the existence and uniqueness of affine maximal surfaces with a given analytic curve in its singular set.     

The use of stochastic analytic center for yield maximization of systems with general distributions of component values

This paper presents a new method for maximizing manufacturing yield when the realizations of system components are dependent random variables with general distributions. The method uses a new concept of stochastic analytic center introduced herein to design the unknown parameters of component values. Design specifications define a feasible region which, in the nonlinear case, is linearized using a first-order approximation. The resulting problem becomes a convex optimization problem. Monte Carlo simulation is used to evaluate the actual yield of the optimal designs of a tutorial example.     

Enclosed convex hypersurfaces with maximal affine area

In this paper we study the regularity of closed, convex surfaces which achieve maximal affine area among all the closed, convex surfaces enclosed in a given domain in the Euclidean 3-space. We prove the C^1,α regularity for general domains and C^1,1 regularity if the domain is uniformly convex. This work is supported by the Australian Research Council. Research of Sheng was also supported by ZNSFC No. 102033. On leave from Zhejiang University.     

Robust portfolio selection based on a multi-stage scenario tree

The aim of this paper is to apply the concept of robust optimization introduced by Bel-Tal and Nemirovski to the portfolio selection problems based on multi-stage scenario trees. The objective of our portfolio selection is to maximize an expected utility function value (or equivalently, to minimize an expected disutility function value) as in a classical stochastic programming problem, except that we allow for ambiguities to exist in the probability distributions along the scenario tree. We show that such a problem can be formulated as a finite convex program in the conic form, on which general convex optimization techniques can be applied. In particular, if there is no short-selling, and the disutility function takes the form of semi-variance downside risk, and all the parameter ambiguity sets are ellipsoidal, then the problem becomes a second order cone program, thus tractable. We use SeDuMi to solve the resulting robust portfolio selection problem, and the simulation results show that the robust consideration helps to reduce the variability of the optimal values caused by the parameter ambiguity.     

On the existence of convex classical solutions to a generalized Prandtl-Batchelor free-boundary problem-II

We give an analytical proof of the existence of convex classical solutions for the (convex) Prandtl-Batchelor free boundary problem in fluid dynamics. In this problem, a convex vortex core of constant vorticity m > 0\mu>0 is embedded in a closed irrotational flow inside a closed, convex vessel in ?²\Re^2 . The unknown boundary of the vortex core is a closed curve G\Gamma along which (v⁺)²-(v^-)²=L(v^+)^2-(v^-)^2=\Lambda , where v⁺v^+ and v^-v^- denote, respectively, the exterior and interior flow-speeds along G\Gamma and L\Lambda is a given constant. Our existence results all apply to the natural multidimensional mathematical generalization of the above problem. The present existence theorems are the only ones available for the Prandtl-Batchelor problem for L > 0\Lambda>0 , because (a) the author's prior existence treatment was restricted to the case where L < 0\Lambda<0 , and because (b) there is no analytical existence theory available for this problem in the non-convex case, regardless of the sign of L\Lambda .     

Interpolating solutions of the Poisson equation in the disk based on Radon projections

We consider an algebraic method for reconstruction of a function satisfying the Poisson equation with a polynomial right-hand side in the unit disk. The given data, besides the right-hand side, is assumed to be in the form of a finite number of values of Radon projections of the unknown function. We first homogenize the problem by finding a polynomial which satisfies the given Poisson equation. This leads to an interpolation problem for a harmonic function, which we solve in the space of harmonic polynomials using a previously established method. For the special case where the Radon projections are taken along chords that form a regular convex polygon, we extend the error estimates from the harmonic case to this Poisson problem. Finally we give some numerical examples.     

A distributed Douglas-Rachford splitting method for multi-block convex minimization problems

A customized Douglas-Rachford splitting method (DRSM) was recently proposed to solve two-block separable convex optimization problems with linear constraints and simple abstract constraints. The algorithm has advantage over the well-known alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM), the dual application of DRSM to the two-block convex minimization problem, in the sense that the subproblems can have larger opportunity of possessing closed-form solutions since they are unconstrained. In this paper, we further study along this way by considering the primal application of DRSM for the general case m≥3, i.e., we consider the multi-block separable convex minimization problem with linear constraints where the objective function is separable into m individual convex functions without coupled variables. The resulting method fully exploits the separable structure and enjoys decoupled subproblems which can be solved simultaneously. Both the exact and inexact versions of the new method are presented in a unified framework. Under mild conditions, we manage to prove the global convergence of the algorithm. Preliminary numerical experiments for extracting the background from corrupted surveillance video verify the encouraging efficiency of the new algorithm.     

Reverse Convex Programming Approach in the Space of Extreme Criteria for Optimization over Efficient Sets

The problem of minimizing a convex function over the difference of two convex sets is called ‘reverse convex program’. This is a typical problem in global optimization, in which local optima are in general different from global optima. Another typical example in global optimization is the optimization problem over the efficient set of a multiple criteria programming problem. In this article, we investigate some special cases of optimization problems over the efficient set, which can be transformed equivalently into reverse convex programs in the space of so-called extreme criteria of multiple criteria programming problems under consideration. A suitable algorithm of branch and bound type is then established for globally solving resulting problems. Preliminary computational results with the proposed algorithm are reported.     

Surface fitting using convex tensor-product splines

A construction of linear sufficient convexity conditions for polynomial tensor-product spline functions is presented. As the main new feature of this construction, the obtained conditions are asymptotically necessary: increasing the number of linear inequalities in a suitable manner adapts them to any finite set of strongly convex spline surfaces. Based on the linear constraints we formulate least-squares approximation of scattered data by spline surfaces as a quadratic programming problem.     

Surface and internal waves: The two-dimensional problem on forward motion of a body intersecting the interface between two fluids

A linear two-dimensional boundary value problem, that describes steady-state surface and internal waves due to the forward motion of a body in a fluid consisting of two superposed layers with different densities, is considered. The body is fully submerged and intersects the interface between the two layers. Two well-posed formulations of the problem are proposed in which, along with the Laplace equation, boundary conditions, coupling conditions on the interface, and conditions at infinity, a pair of supplementary conditions are imposed at the points where the body contour intersects the interface. In one of the well-posed formulations (where the differences between the horizontal momentum components are given at the intersection points), the existence of the unique solution is proved for all values of the parameters except for a certain (possibly empty) nowhere dense set of values.     

Minimal graphs in over convex domains

Krust established that all conjugate and associate surfaces of a minimal graph over a convex domain are also graphs. Using a convolution theorem from the theory of harmonic univalent mappings, we generalize Krust's theorem to include the family of convolution surfaces which are generated by taking the Hadamard product or convolution of mappings. Since this convolution involves convex univalent analytic mappings, this family of convolution surfaces is much larger than just the family of associated surfaces. Also, this generalization guarantees that all the resulting surfaces are over close-to-convex domains. In particular, all the associate surfaces and certain Goursat transformation surfaces of a minimal graph over a convex domain are over close-to-convex domains.

     

位于两不同正交各向异性半平面间张开型界面裂纹的性能分析

利用Schmidt方法分析了位于正交各向异性材料中的张开型界面裂纹问题．经富立叶变换使问题的求解转换为求解两对对偶积分方程,其中对偶积分方程的变量为裂纹面张开位移．最终获得了应力强度因子的数值解．与以前有关界面裂纹问题的解相比,没遇到数学上难以处理的应力振荡奇异性,裂纹尖端应力场的奇异性与均匀材料中裂纹尖端应力场的奇异性相同．同时当上下半平面材料相同时,可以得到其精确解．     

利用Schmidt方法研究压电材料Ⅰ-型界面裂纹问题

在一定的假设条件下,即不考虑界面裂纹尖端处裂纹面的相互叠入现象,研究了压电材料Ⅰ-型界面裂纹问题．利用Fourier变换使问题的求解转换为求解两对对偶积分方程．进而把裂纹表面位移差展开成Jacobi多项式形式来求解对偶积分方程．结果表明裂纹尖端应力场和电位移场的奇异性与均匀材料裂纹问题的奇异性相同．当上下半平面材料相同时,解可以退化而得到其精确解．     

A polychromatic inhomogeneity indicator in an unknown medium for an X-ray tomography problem

We pose and study an X-ray tomography problem, which is an inverse problem for the transport differential equation, making account for particle absorption by a medium and single scattering. The statement of the problem corresponds to a stage-by-stage probing of the unknown medium common in practice. Another step towards a more realistic problem is the use of integrals over energy of the density of emanating radiation flux as the known data, in contrast to specifying the flux density for every energy level, as it is customary in tomography. The required objects are the discontinuity surfaces of the coefficients of the equation, which corresponds to searching for the boundaries between various substances contained in the medium. We prove a uniqueness theorem for the solution under quite general assumptions and a condition ensuring the existence of the required surfaces. The proof is rather constructive in character and suitable for creating a numerical algorithm.     

The affine Plateau problem

In this paper, we study a second order variational problem for locally convex hypersurfaces, which is the affine invariant analogue of the classical Plateau problem for minimal surfaces. We prove existence, regularity and uniqueness results for hypersurfaces maximizing affine area under appropriate boundary conditions.

     

On some geometric optimization problems in layered manufacturing

Efficient geometric algorithms are given for optimization problems arising in layered manufacturing, where a 3D object is built by slicing its CAD model into layers and manufacturing the layers successively. The problems considered include minimizing the stair-step error on the surfaces of the manufactured object under various formulations, minimizing the volume of the so-called support structures used, and minimizing the contact area between the supports and the manufactured object—all of which are factors that affect the speed and accuracy of the process. The stair-step minimization algorithm is valid for any polyhedron, while the support minimization algorithms are applicable only to convex polyhedra. The techniques used to obtain these results include construction and searching of certain arrangements on the sphere, 3D convex hulls, halfplane range searching, and constrained optimization.