An inventory model for slow moving items subject to obsolescence

In this paper, we consider a continuous review inventory system of a slow moving item for which the demand rate drops to a lower level at a known future time instance. The inventory system is controlled according to a one-for-one replenishment policy with a fixed lead time. Adapting to lower demand is achieved by changing the control policy in advance and letting the demand take away the excess stocks. We show that the timing of the control policy change primarily determines the tradeoff between backordering penalties and obsolescence costs. We propose an approximate solution for the optimal time to shift to the new control policy minimizing the expected total cost during the transient period. We find that the advance policy change results in significant cost savings and the approximation yields near optimal expected total costs.     

An improved model for noise barriers in a moving fluid

We study a problem of diffraction of a cylindrical acoustic wave from an absorbing half plane in a moving fluid introducing Myers' condition [M.K. Myers, On the acoustic boundary condition in the presence of flow, J. Sound Vibration 71 (1980) 429] and present an improved form of the analytic solution for the diffracted field. The importance of the work lies in the fact that Myers' condition (a generalization of Ingard's impedance condition) is now the accepted form of the boundary condition for impedance barriers with flow and hence yields a correct form of the field. The method of solution consists of Fourier transform, Wiener-Hopf technique and the modified method of stationary phase.     

An equivalent pipe network model for free surface flow in porous media

Free surface flow analysis in porous media is challenging in many practical applications with strong non-linearity. An equivalent pipe network model is proposed for the simulation and evaluation of free surface flow in porous media. On the basis of representative elementary volume with homogeneous pore-scale patterns, the pore space of the homogeneous isotropic porous media is conceptualized as a collection of capillary tubes. According to Hagen-Poiseulle's law and flux equivalence principle, equivalent hydraulic parameters and unified governing formulations for the pipe network model are deduced. The two-dimensional free surface flow problem is reduced to a one-dimensional problem of pipe networks and a one-dimensional procedure based on the finite element method is then developed by introducing a continuous penalized Heaviside function. The proposed equivalent pipe network model is verified with results from numerical solutions and laboratory-measured data available in the literature, and good agreements are obtained. The proposed equivalent pipe network model is shown to be effective in analyzing the free surface flow in porous media. The numerical results also indicate that the proposed equivalent pipe network model has weak sensitivity of the mesh size and penalty parameters.     

An efficient statistically equivalent reduced method on stochastic model updating

The demand for computational efficiency and reduced cost presents a big challenge for the development of more applicable and practical approaches in the field of uncertainty model updating. In this article, a computationally efficient approach, which is a combination of Stochastic Response Surface Method (SRSM) and Monte Carlo inverse error propagation, for stochastic model updating is developed based on a surrogate model. This stochastic surrogate model is determined using the Hermite polynomial chaos expansion and regression-based efficient collocation method. This paper addresses the critical issue of effectiveness and efficiency of the presented method. The efficiency of this method is demonstrated as a large number of computationally demanding full model simulations are no longer essential, and instead, the updating of parameter mean values and variances is implemented on the stochastic surrogate model expressed as an explicit mathematical expression. A three degree-of-freedom numerical model and a double-hat structure formed by a number of bolted joints are employed to illustrate the implementation of the method. Using the Monte Carlo-based method as the benchmark, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method is verified.     

Variational treatment of electrostatic interaction force in atomic force microscopy

In this paper we introduce the mathematical model for the electrostatic interaction force between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and a sample surface. We formulate the electrostatic potential problem in Sobolev spaces and find the corresponding weak solution in terms of the integral potential, which can be approximated numerically by generalized Fourier series and used to find the interaction force between an AFM tip and a sample surface. The formulation of the problem in a weak (Sobolev) space setting allows us to determine the force for AFM tips of arbitrary shape. Efficiency of the method is illustrated using numerical examples for the spherical and tetrahedral AFM tips.      

Variational treatment of electrostatic interaction force in atomic force microscopy

In this paper we introduce the mathematical model for the electrostatic interaction force between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and a sample surface. We formulate the electrostatic potential problem in Sobolev spaces and find the corresponding weak solution in terms of the integral potential, which can be approximated numerically by generalized Fourier series and used to find the interaction force between an AFM tip and a sample surface. The formulation of the problem in a weak (Sobolev) space setting allows us to determine the force for AFM tips of arbitrary shape. Efficiency of the method is illustrated using numerical examples for the spherical and tetrahedral AFM tips.     

An equivalent canonical form for multiple time series

In this paper, an equivalent canonical form VARTMA of multiple time series models is obtained by using the polynomial matrix theory, which may lead to converting the parameter estimation problem of the simultaneous equations into that of the single equation in modeling. It it proved that a VARMA model can be turned into the unique VARTMA form by means of the equivalence transformation, and the character of the transformed model is not changed at all.     

An Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian formulation for a 3D eutrophication model in a moving domain

This work analyzes a realistic mathematical model that governs eutrophication (an ecological process involving nutrients, phytoplankton, zooplankton, organic detritus and dissolved oxygen) into a moving aquatic domain. As a main result, we obtain existence-uniqueness results for the solution of the system within the general framework of non-cylindrical domains (based on studying the properties of a generic parabolic problem). The fact of dealing with moving domains, and the lack of regularity, preclude the use of standard semigroup approach, forcing us towards the utilization of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian techniques.     

Influence of impurities on the spin-motive force in the Fermi-gas model with the sd interaction

Using linear response theory and the Matsubara Green’s function technique, we calculate the spin-motive force in the regime of diffusion transport, which appears as a result of the interaction between the system of free electrons and local magnetic moments.     

An equivalent definition of stable Equilibria

Characterisations of stable equilibria in terms of the best reply correspondence are given.Received January 2003JEL Classification: C72, C73.1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 90D05, 90D10, 90D20This work was supported in part by N.S.F. Grant #SES 8922610.     

Vibrations of a beam-string complex system under a moving force

In this paper, the dynamic response of an Euler-Bernoulli beam and string system traversed by a constant moving force is considered. The force is moving with a constant velocity on the top beam. The complex system is finite, simply supported, parallel one upon the other and continuously coupled by a linear Winkler elastic element. The classical solution of the response of a beam-string system subjected to a force moving with a constant velocity has a form of an infinite series. The main goal of this paper is to show that in the considered case the aperiodic part of the solution can be presented in a closed, analytical form instead of an infinite series. The presented method of finding the solution in a closed, analytical form is based on the observation that the solution of the system of partial differential equations in the form of an infinite series is also a solution of an appropriate system of ordinary differential equations. The dynamic influence lines of complex systems may be used for the analysis the complex models of moving load. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

0–1 equivalent model representations for air traffic management

We present two equivalent representations of a 0–1 model for the Air Traffic Flow Management Problem. We show that the LP relaxation of the second representation is tighter than the LP relaxation of the first one. As a direct implication, the Branch-and-Cut effort can be reduced. Computational results are reported on a set of large-scale instances. The preparation of this paper is partially supported by DGICYT through grant PB95-0407     

An approach for solving of a moving boundary problem

In this paper we shall study moving boundary problems, and we introduce an approach for solving a wide range of them by using calculus of variations and optimization. First, we transform the problem equivalently into an optimal control problem by defining an objective function and artificial control functions. By using measure theory, the new problem is modified into one consisting of the minimization of a linear functional over a set of Radon measures; then we obtain an optimal measure which is then approximated by a finite combination of atomic measures and the problem converted to an infinite-dimensional linear programming. We approximate the infinite linear programming to a finite-dimensional linear programming. Then by using the solution of the latter problem we obtain an approximate solution for moving boundary function on specific time. Furthermore, we show the path of moving boundary from initial state to final state.     

Phase-field simulation of piezoresponse force microscopy in consideration of different environmental conditions

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) is a feasible tool which is widely used for investigating information of the domain structures of ferroelectrics. Nevertheless, one drawback of the technique may be that environmental conditions could effect the very small signal which is detected from the displacement of the tip. The present contribution addresses the simulation of PFM in consideration of environmental conditions. We employ a continuum-mechanical model based on the phase-field method which accounts for the transversely isotropic symmetry of the underlying material. The goal of this contribution is to analyze the environmental effect on the tip-sample interaction. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An equivalent mechanical model for fluid sloshing in a rigid cylindrical tank equipped with a rigid annular baffle

A mass-spring mechanical model for linear sloshing of fluid in a rigid cylindrical tank with a rigid annual baffle is developed. By means of the subdomain method, the complicated fluid domain is divided into several subdomains with pure boundary conditions and interface conditions. Combined with the continuity conditions of velocity and pressure on interfaces, the velocity potential of fluid in each subdomain is analytically solved. The mass-spring model for fluid sloshing is established by generating the same hydrodynamic shear force and overturning moment as those from the exact solutions when the tank is subjected to horizontal excitations. The present model gives all the mechanical parameters including the convective mass-spring oscillators and the impulsive mass as well as their positions. Comparative studies between the present solutions and the available results verify the correctness of the mechanical model. Based on the normalized equivalent masses and spring stiffnesses, the dynamic responses of fluid in tanks are discussed with respect to the fluid height, the baffle position and the inner radius of the baffle, respectively. The present model is especially suitable for dealing with complicated liquid-structure systems. The motivation and novelty of this study are confirmed by an application of the present model to a multi-tank system.     

An extension of Banerjee and Rahim's model for economic design of moving average control chart for a continuous flow process

In this paper, we propose a model of a moving average control chart (MA control chart) with a Weibull failure mechanism from an economic viewpoint. When the process-failure mechanism follows a Weibull model or other models having increasing hazard rates, it is desirable to have the decreasing sampling interval with the age of the system. The MA control chart is used to monitor quality characteristics of raw material or products in a continuous process. A cost model utilizing a variable scheme instead of fixed sampling lengths in a continuous flow process is studied in this research. The variable sampling scheme is used to maintain a constant integrated hazard rate over each sampling interval. Optimal values for the design parameter, the moving subgroup size, the sampling interval, and the control limit coefficient are determined by minimizing the loss-cost model. The performance of the loss cost with various Weibull parameters is studied. A sensitivity analysis shows that the design parameters and loss cost depend on the model parameters and shift amounts.