A local search approach to a circle cutting problem arising in the motor cycle industry

This paper is concerned with the development of a customized circle packing algorithm for a manufacturer of sprockets for the motor cycle industry. Practical constraints mean that the problem differs somewhat from those tackled elsewhere in the literature. In particular, the layouts need to conform to a given structure. This is achieved by using a local search algorithm with an appropriate starting solution and a series of neighbourhoods designed to preserve the layout structure. Empirical evidence based on real data shows that the quality of the resulting solutions closely matches that of cutting patterns currently produced by human experts. Computation times average around 20–30?s per order as compared to several hours for an equivalent manual solution.     

On quadratic differentials on multiply connected domains that are perfect squares

The paper considers the problem on extremal decomposition of a multiply connected domain G ⊂ ℂ in the case where the associated quadratic differential is a perfect square. It is shown that in the case considered, the value of the functional for this extremal decomposition is the least one in a certain class of decompositions. Bibliography: 10 titles. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of G. M. Goluzin’s birthday __________ Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 337, 2006, pp. 113–133.     

Homogenization of the periodic magnetic Schrödinger operator with degenerate lower edge of the spectrum

Homogenization of the periodic magnetic Schrödinger operator with degenerate lower edge of the spectrum is considered. The standard problem of homogenization leads to a degenerate limiting operator. To obtain more precise information, one needs a certain modification of the problem considered. Bibliography: 10 titles.     

Investigation of the structural elements of a fullerene within the static-fluctuation approximation of the Hubbard model

The anticommutator Green’s functions, correlation functions, and ground-state energies for closed atomic structures that consist of five or six atoms and are structural elements of a fullerene are calculated within the static-fluctuation approximation of the Hubbard model. The results of the calculations are analyzed and compared with the data available in the literature.     

Thermographic inspection of TBC coated gas turbine blades: Discrimination between coating over-thicknesses and adhesion defects

When performing in-field tests on thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) deposited on gas turbine blades, the main problem encountered is the difficulty to correctly interpret the experimental data. The coating thickness changes, which are not regarded as anomalies, are one of the most common sources of false alarms. They are very challenging to recognize because, unlike stains, eroded areas and optical property variations, they are not detectable in the visible band. Furthermore, their thermal signal is similar to the one produced by an adhesion defect. In this paper, a procedure to reliably discriminate thickness changes and real defects is proposed. The approach is based on the analysis of the apparent effusivity profile. Preliminary results are presented and discussed.     

Discovery of a new long-lived isomeric state in 125Ce

A new long-lived isomeric state in the near proton dripline nucleus ¹²⁵Ce has been identified with Schottky mass spectrometry at GSI. The excitation energy E ^* = 103(12)keV and the decay time of 193(1)s have been obtained from a single stored fully ionized ^125m Ce⁵⁸⁺ ion. The data implies an E3 transition and a 1/2⁺ assignment for the spin of the isomer.     

Vortex ring generation due to the coalescence of a water drop at a free surface

 Results are presented of an experimental investigation of vortex ring formation by a fluid drop contacting a free surface with negligible velocity. The pool fluid is mixed with fluorescein dye, and a laser sheet is used to illuminate a plane of the flow. A series of representative images is recorded by a CCD camera and speculation is made regarding specific sources of vorticity flux through the free surface. Two scaling analyses previously presented by other investigators are demonstrated to be equivalent under the assumptions of this experiment, and they provide the motivation for a series of test runs in which the duration of the coalescence process, τ_*, is related to variations in drop diameter L and fluid surface tension σ. Experimental results are in agreement with the analyses, showing τ_*∼σ^-1/2 and τ_*∼L ^3/2. Received: 22 December 1995 / Accepted: 15 October 1996     

Notes on Sublattice-Lattices

We prove that directly reducible lattices and selfdual subdirectly irreducible lattices of locally finite length are determined by their sublattice-lattices. As a corollary we obtain that splitting varieties are closed under the isomorphism of sublattice-lattices iff they are selfdual. A class of selfdual non-closed varieties is given too.     

Protein Conformation of a Lattice Model Using Tabu Search

We apply tabu search techniques to the problem of determining the optimal configuration of a chain of protein sequences on a cubic lattice. The problem under study is difficult to solve because of the large number of possible conformations and enormous amount of computations required. Tabu search is an iterative heuristic procedure which has been shown to be a remarkably effective method for solving combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, an algorithm is designed for the cubic lattice model using tabu search. The algorithm has been tested on a chain of 27 monomers. Computational results show that our method outperforms previously reported approaches for the same model.     

Effect of p-toluensulfonic acid on oxidation of polyethylene and polyethylene-poly-p-methylstyrene blends

p-Toluensulfonic acid retards oxidation of polyethylene and, to a greater extent, of polyethylene-poly-p-methylstyrene blends. The real antioxidant is p-cresol, formed by p-toluensulfonic acid transformation in oxidizing polyethylene and, in blends, through peroxidation and subsequent acid-catalyzed decomposition of hydroperoxides of poly-p-methylstyrene.