On the oscillation of fourth order strongly superlinear and strongly sublinear dynamic equations

We establish some new criteria for the oscillation of fourth order nonlinear dynamic equations on a time scale. We investigate the case of strongly superlinear and the case of strongly sublinear equations subject to various conditions. Some examples are given here to illustrate our main results.     

Solution sensitivity for Karush–Kuhn–Tucker systems with non-unique Lagrange multipliers

This article is devoted to quantitative stability of a given primal-dual solution of the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker system subject to parametric perturbations. We are mainly concerned with those cases when the dual solution associated with the base primal solution is non-unique. Starting with a review of known results regarding the Lipschitz-stable case, supplied by simple direct justifications based on piecewise analysis, we then proceed with new results for the cases of Hölder (square root) stability. Our results include characterizations of asymptotic behaviour and upper estimates of perturbed solutions, as well as some sufficient conditions for (the specific kinds of) stability of a given solution subject to directional perturbations. We argue that Lipschitz stability of strictly complementary multipliers is highly unlikely to occur, and we employ the recently introduced notion of a critical multiplier for dealing with Hölder stability.     

Flow Shop Scheduling Problems with No In-Process Waiting: A Special Case

The objective is to minimize makespan for a special case of flow shop problems subject to the constraint that no in-process waiting is allowed. Several new results are proposed.     

Bifurcation problems for discrete variational inequalities

The buckling of a beam or a plate which is subject to obstacles is typical for the variational inequalities that are considered here. Birfurcation is known to occur from the first eigenvalue of the linearized problem. For a discretization the bifurcation point and the bifurcating branches may be obtained by solving a constrained optimization problem. An algorithm is proposed and its convergence is proved. The buckling of a clamped beam subject to point obstacles is considered in the continuous case and some numerical results for this problem are presented.     

Properties of spatial structures for reaction-nonlinear diffusion equations subject to Dirichlet conditions

For reaction-nonlinear diffusion equations subject to Dirichlet homogeneous boundary value conditions, the properties of alternation of stable and unstable time-independent unimodal solutions are investigated. For the case of constant diffusion, formulas for the functions determining the type of stability are given and the results of their application to the case of quadratic nonlinearity in the source term are presented.     

Computer Scheduling of Vehicles from One or More Depots to a Number of Delivery Points

The problem of scheduling delivery vehicles from a number of depots to customers, subject to constraints on load and distance or time, is considered. A new algorithm is presented; this allows routes from several depots to be constructed simultaneously, subject to restrictions on numbers of vehicles at individual depots. Where too many customers require service, a flexible priority rule will select those to be served. Results for the single depot case are compared with other known algorithms; further results are given and discussed for cases of several depots.     

The effect of delayed feedback information on network performance

The performance of a network subject to either state dependent or state independent flow control is investigated. In the state dependent case, the flow control policy is a function of the total number of packets for which the controller has not yet received an acknowledgment. In this case it is shown that the optimal flow control is a sliding window mechanism. The effect of the delayed feedback on the network performance as well as the size of the window are studied. The state independent optimal rate is also derived. The performance of the state dependent and state independent flow control policies are compared. Conditions for employing one of the two types of flow control policies for superior end-to-end network performance are discussed. All the results obtained are demonstrated using simple examples.     

Asymptotic Periodicity of Primes Associated to Multigraded Modules

In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic behavior of the set of primes associated to a graded ring extension of Noetherian multigraded rings and modules, and prove that the periodicity occurs in a cone. We also prove the same asymptotic behavior of the grade. The previous known results on this subject are recovered as a special case.     

On positivity and stability of a class of time-delay systems

In this paper, the properties of positivity and stability dependent on and independent of the delays as well as the closed-loop stabilization under linear feedback of continuous-time linear time-invariant multi-input multi-output dynamic systems subject to point constant delays are discussed. A main attention is paid to provide joint stability and positivity results which are shown to be conflictive objectives in the general case. Links with positive realness are given for the single-input single-output case. Illustrative examples are also given.     

Optimal constrained selection of a measurable subset

Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for a class of optimization problems involving optimal selection of a measurable subset from a given measure space subject to set function inequality constraints. Results are developed firstly for the case where the set functions involved possess a differentiability property and secondly where a type of convexity is present. These results are then used to develop numerical methods. It is shown that in a special case the optimal set can be obtained via solution of a fixed point problem in Euclidean space.     

Oscillation of second-order Emden–Fowler neutral delay differential equations

We establish some new criteria for the oscillation of second-order Emden–Fowler neutral delay differential equations. We study the case of superlinear and the case of sublinear equations subject to various conditions. The results obtained show that the presence of a neutral term in a differential equation can cause or destroy oscillatory properties. Several examples are provided to illustrate the relevance of new theorems.     

Oscillation of fourth-order delay dynamic equations

This paper is concerned with oscillatory behavior of a class of fourth-order delay dynamic equations on a time scale.In the general time scales case,four oscillation theorems are presented that can be used in cases where known results fail to apply.The results obtained can be applied to an equation which is referred to as Swift-Hohenberg delay equation on a time scale.These criteria improve a number of related contributions to the subject.Some illustrative examples are provided.     

Robust invariant stabilization of nonlinear continuous and discrete systems

Two classes of continuous systems described by differential equations in which coefficients are functions of the state vector are considered. The systems are subject to two scalar controls and a constantly acting scalar perturbation.An analytical synthesis of a control is performed under which the system is invariant in the sense that the scalar output of the system approaches zero as time tends to infinity and does not depend on the perturbation; moreover, the limit norm of the state vector is bounded above by the least upper bound for the norm of perturbation. The case where the coefficients of the system are subject to an uncontrolled additive perturbation is considered. In this case, the limit of the output norm is bounded above by a known function of the perturbation value. The method of synthesis is based on constructing the Lyapunov function as a positive definite quadratic form with Jacobian matrix.     

Optimal and self-tuning optimal control of a periodic-review hybrid production inventory system

In this paper, a periodic-review dynamic production inventory system for a single reusable product is investigated. There are two stocks, one for the serviceable items and one for the remanufactured ones. We assume that the items in either stock may be subject to deterioration. Items deterioration is of great importance to inventory theory. An optimal control is derived in the case where the deterioration parameters are known and a self-tuning optimal control strategy is applied in the case where the deterioration parameters are unknown. In particular, the recursive least-squares (RLS) method is used to identify the deterioration parameters. Simulations are conducted to illustrate the results obtained.     

Integer matrices with constraints on leading partial row and column sums

Consider the problem of finding an integer matrix that satisfies given constraints on its leading partial row and column sums. For the case in which the specified constraints are merely bounds on each such sum, an integer linear programming formulation is shown to have a totally unimodular constraint matrix. This proves the polynomial-time solvability of this case. In another version of the problem, one seeks a zero-one matrix with prescribed row and column sums, subject to certain near-equality constraints, namely, that all leading partial row (respectively, column) sums up through a given column (respectively, row) are within unity of each other. This case admits a polynomial reduction to the preceding case, and an equivalent reformulation as a maximum-flow problem. The results are developed in a context that relates these two problems to consistent matrix rounding.     

The dependency diagram of a mixed integer linear programme

The Dependency Diagram of a Linear Programme (LP) shows how the successive inequalities of an LP depend on former inequalities, when variables are projected out by Fourier-Motzkin Elimination. This is explained in a paper referenced below. The paper, given here, extends the results to the Mixed Integer case (MILP). It is shown how projection of a MILP leads to a finite disjunction of polytopes. This is expressed as a set of inequalities (mirroring those in the LP case) augmented by correction terms with finite domains which are subject to linear congruences.     

An integer programming approach for linear programs with probabilistic constraints

Linear programs with joint probabilistic constraints (PCLP) are difficult to solve because the feasible region is not convex. We consider a special case of PCLP in which only the right-hand side is random and this random vector has a finite distribution. We give a mixed-integer programming formulation for this special case and study the relaxation corresponding to a single row of the probabilistic constraint. We obtain two strengthened formulations. As a byproduct of this analysis, we obtain new results for the previously studied mixing set, subject to an additional knapsack inequality. We present computational results which indicate that by using our strengthened formulations, instances that are considerably larger than have been considered before can be solved to optimality.     

The stability of equilibrium in systems with friction

Mechanical systems with non-ideal geometrical constraints are considered. The possible lack of uniqueness of the solution of the problem of determining the generalized accelerations and reactions with respect to specified coordinates and velocities is taken into account in solving the problem of the stability of an equilibrium state. A number of necessary and sufficient conditions of stability are obtained. It is shown that the results are also applicable in the case of unilateral constraints subject to the condition that a specific hypothesis concerning the character of the impacts on the constraints is adopted. A problem on the stability of a rigid body on a rough plane in the two-dimensional case is solved as an example.     

Multicommodity long-term hydrogeneration optimization with capacity and energy constraints

The work presented deals with long-term hydrogeneration optimization in integrated systems when there are no limitations on the availability of fuels for thermal units. A multicommondity network model represents hydrovariables. Hydrogeneration and its unavailability distribution is modeled as a multiblock distribution and a procedure is derived to convolve the hydropower unavailability distribution with the load duration curve. A suitable approximation of the expected production cost is minimized subject to multicommodity network constraints and to hydropower capacity and hydroenergy limit nonlinear constraints. It can be applied to systems with hydrogeneration regardless of its proportion of hydrothermal mix. A realistic case example is solved and the results are discussed. Simulation tests performed with many inflow sequences validate the results obtained.