A Chart for Evaluating Product Research and Development Projects

A method of evaluating research and development projects is described. The method is based on the use of an evaluation chart. The main purpose of the chart is to calculate a project score which is a measure of a selected evaluation criterion. A method of constructing a chart is illustrated using a project index as the evaluation criterion. The chart contains a list of twelve questions, the answers to which are assumed to be the main determinants of the variables in the formula of the index. Each question is followed by a set of answers from which a choice is to be made, and underneath each answer is a numerical score. The numerical scores are logarithmic functions of the answers to which they relate, and when added together give a project score which is a logarithmic function of the index. Various methods of using the chart, and a suggested evaluation procedure, are also described.     

Bounds for certain integrals

A certain class of definite integrals is considered in which the integrand consists of a one-signed function together with another function which has a one-signed derivative in a certain interval. By examining the Cauchy form of the remainder, sets of bounds are developed which have a certain optimum property. The integrals may be multi-dimensional. The case in which the derivative component is not one-signed is briefly considered.     

Almost diagonal systems of linear difference equations

Linear homogeneous difference systems of equations on an infinite interval are considered. Conditions are given which allow to represent a fundamental solution as a product of two square matrices. The product is made of a diagonal matrix and a matrix which is a perturbation of the identity. The diagonal matrix being on the left in the proposed product rather than on the right as it has been traditionally represented. A self contained theorem of asymptotic approximation is provided which is applied to a special family of difference systems. A theorem, utilizing a linear transformation, which is best possible in a certain sense, is also given.     

Mathematical modelling of the development of mechanical instability in fracturing systems

The dynamics of processes accompanying a loss of stability in a mechanical system are investigated. The mechanical system is in the form of an elastic rod, stretched by an axial load, with one of its lateral surfaces “glued” to a rigid wall. The “glue” is a low-strength elastic material which is subject to brittle fracture at a certain value of the load acting on it. In a fractured segment, the rod surface slides over the wall surface under the action of a dry friction force which is less than the breaking stress. The high sensitivity of the process of the development of instability to small perturbations which initiate the development of instability is established. The system considered is the simplest model of the zone of contact between lithospheric plates which generate earthquakes.     

Existence of optimal controls for the diffusion equation

The existence is considered of a boundary control which drives a system governed by the one-dimensional diffusion equation from the zero state to a given final state, and at the same time minimizes a given functional. The problem is first modified to one in which the minimum is sought of a functional defined on a set of Radon measures. The existence of a minimizing measure is demonstrated, and it is shown that this measure may be approximated by a piecewise constant control. Finally, conditions are given under which a minimizing measurable control exists for the unmodified problem.     

Curve and Surface Fitting

The starting point of this paper is the problem of fitting apolynomial to a set of unequally spaced data. Five alternativeschemes which have been proposed for the solution of this problemwith an automatic computer are mentioned, and the one whichseems best suited to serve as a basis for a general purposeprogram is discussed in some detail. A practical assessmentof the accuracy of the computational processes involved in thismethod is included. The problem in which the data are weightedis also considered, as is the problem in which constraints areimposed upon the fitting function. The procedures describedfor the solution of these two cases are shown to be formallyequivalent. The method favoured for curve fitting is shown to possess stillmore advantages in solving certain types of surface fittingproblems. The general problem, in which data are scattered withina finite plane area, is not discussed in this paper, which concentrateson the case, of great practical importance, in which the dataare situated on parallel straight lines. The most general caseconsidered has a "quasi-rectangular" boundary, composed of apair of parallel sides and a pair of smooth curves. The applicationof constraints is again described; the procedures appropriatefor curve fitting are readily generalized. A practical exampleof the application of the techniques for finding a constrainedsurface is described. Finally there is a brief review of the advantages of these proceduresin common practical situations.     

A closed-form solution to a quadratic optimization problem in complex variables

A special quadratic optimization problem in complex variables is investigated for a closed-form solution. Two different approaches are used. The first is a direct approach which leads to a family of solutions defined in terms of arbitrary complex constants. The second is an indirect approach based on parametrizing the objective function. It leads to a specific solution, which is a member of the above family and which is shown to be bounded.     

Homotopy Spheres in Formal Language

The set of nonempty proper subwords of a word is either contractible or a homotopy n-sphere. There is a simple algorithm which computes n. The existence of spherical words is investigated, and the words which yield spheres are determined. A language which is closed under subwords has a finite number of components, and each component has a finitely generated fundamental group. For each n greater than 1, there is a language on two letters which has the homotopy type of an infinite cluster of n-sphere. There is a language on two letters which has nontrivial homology in each dimension greater than 1. If a language is closed under subwords and has bounded period, then it has the homotopy type of a finite polyhedron.     

Cones,semicontinuous functions,and continuous lattices

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a notion which is a generalization of convex sets and to use this notion to construct continuous lattices which are shown to be related to lattices of lower-semicontinuous functions. The end results of this development is a characterization of lattices of lower-semicontinuous functions in terms of a class of continuous lattices introduced in this paper (see Theorem 8). Then material is introduced which leads to a complementary result in Theorem 11 which characterizes the continuous lattices that can be lattices of lower-semicontinuous functions.     

On the frequency spectrum of free vibrations of membranes and plates in contact with a fluid

A parallelepiped-shaped container, which is completely filled with a perfect incompressible fluid, is considered. The container is covered with an elastic lid, which is modeled by a membrane or a constant-thickness plate. The other faces of the container are nondeformable. The frequency spectrum of small free vibrations of the lid has been obtained taking into account the apparent mass of the fluid the movement of which is assumed to be potential. The main specific feature of the problem formulation is that the volume of the fluid under the cover remains unchanged in the course of vibrations. As a result, the shape of the deflection of the lid should satisfy the equation of constraint, which follows from the condition of preservation of the volume of the fluid under the lid.     

Double-pulse cotangential transfers between coplanar elliptic orbits

The geometric characteristics of double-impulse cotangential transfers between coplanar elliptic orbits, which are used to investigate of such transfers, are given. Each argument is accompanied by the development of a corresponding geometric algorithm which illuminates the mechanical problem from a geometric point of view, imparting the clarity to it which is characteristic of a geometric concept. A general method of investigation is developed based on a comparison of the behaviour of a cotangential transfer with an excentre of the transfer orbit which is joined to the excentres of the given elliptic orbits (an excentre is a circle constructed on the major axis of the ellipse which is its diameter). The cotangential transfer trajectory parameters and the values of the velocity pulses controlling the motion of the spacecraft during the transfer are determined in explicit form and depend on the parameters of the specified orbits and the true anomaly of the point of application of the first velocity pulse.     

The Toroidal Embedding Arising From an Irrational Fan

A toroidal embedding is defined which does not assume the fan consists of rational cones. For a rational fan, the toroidal embedding is the usual toric variety. If the fan is not rational, the toroidal embedding is in general a quasi-compact noetherian locally ringed space which is not a scheme. A divisor theory exists and a class group is defined. A second construction is also carried out which mimics the gluing construction of the usual toric variety, but which makes no reference to a lattice. The resulting scheme is separated but infinite dimensional. The Picard group is described in terms of the group of real valued locally linear support functions on the fan and the Brauer group is shown to be trivial. Many examples are given throughout the paper; in particular, it is shown that there is associated to a real hyperplane arrangement of full rank a toroidal embedding.     

Information in the operations research process

The article deals with information in the OR process. The value of an ‘optimal’ model solution which is not implemented is not very high. Many errors are due to a too narrow formulation of the problem, often a formulation which has focused on purely technical and economic aspects, or a formulation which has been adapted for a standard model. The concepts and models treated in the article take their point of departure in the actual problem. The models can be used as a frame of reference by various individuals and groups which are involved in OR work.     

The Friedrichs Extension of a Pair of Operators

Abstract

An extension of a pair of linear unbounded operators which map from a Banach space X to a Hilbert space Y is constructed and studied. The purpose of the extension is to obtain a pair of jointly closed operators which will be the generating pair of a B-evolution similar to the classical Friedrichs extension of a single operator which generates a holomorphic semigroup. The construction is based on spectral methods.     

Determination of Lagrangians from Equations of Motion and Commutator Brackets

The question as to whether a given set of equations, which govern the dynamical evolution of a system, determine a Lagrangian is considered. This problem, which has come to be known as the inverse problem of the calculus of variations, is reviewed and theorems which contain systems of partial differential equations which determine a type of self-adjointness are developed. It is shown that, given a reasonable form for the classical correspondence, the usual quantum commutator brackets can be expressed in terms of classical quantities which satisfy a particular form of these equations.     

A quasistatic contact problem for viscoelastic materials with friction and damage

We consider a mathematical model which describes the frictional contact between a deformable body and a foundation. The process is quasistatic, the material is assumed to be viscoelastic with long memory and the frictional contact is modelled with subdifferential boundary conditions. The mechanical damage of the material is described by the damage function, which is modelled by a nonlinear partial differential equation. We derive the variational formulation of the problem, which is a coupled system of a hemivariational inequality and a parabolic equation. Then we prove the existence of a unique weak solution to the model. The proof is based on arguments of abstract stationary inclusion and a fixed point theorem.     

An Interactive Aid to Financial Planning

The problem of producing financial plans for the subsidiary of a multinational corporation is one which is critical, especially in uncertain times. In addition there is always a pressing time constraint. This paper describes a suite of models which are in use by Caltex Oil South Africa to assist in this area. The approach adopted was to provide simple models which work interactively. The financial planning analysts were able to be very involved in the project because a high level modelling language was used which they could easily comprehend. The tremendous benefits of this type of approach in terms of user acceptance and in other areas are examined.     

Potential solutions of linear systems: The multi-criteria multiple constraint levels program

The realistic modeling of decision problems requires considerable flexibility in the model structure. Frequently one is faced with problems involving multiple criteria for which the constraint level is acceptable if a certain parameter (which may be a random variable) lies within a prescribed set. Furthermore, in formulating the problem, the criteria and constraints may be interchangeable. This requires a treatment which is more general than the nondominated solution in a multicriteria problem. We shall introduce the concept of a potential solution to cope with the above problem. To effectively locate these potential solutions, a generalization of the multicriteria (MC) simplex method, which handles multiple constraint levels (right hand sides) is developed. Geometric properties of adjacent potential solutions will be described together with a computational procedure which is based on the “connectedness” of the set of potential solutions. The natural duality relationship which exists in the double-MC simplex method and its consequences are also explored.     

On a continuous approach for the maximum weighted clique problem

This paper is focused on computational study of continuous approach for the maximum weighted clique problem. The problem is formulated as a continuous optimization problem with a nonconvex quadratic constraint given by the difference of two convex functions (d.c. function). The proposed approach consists of two main ingredients: a local search algorithm, which provides us with crucial points; and a procedure which is based on global optimality condition and which allows us to escape from such points. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is illustrated by computational results.