Modelling ship operational reliability over a mission under regular inspections

A ship is required to operate for a fixed mission period. Should a critical item of equipment fail at sea, the ship is subject to a costly event with potentially high risk to ship and crew. Given warning of a pending defect, the ship can try to return to port under its own power and thus attempt to avoid an at sea failure. Defects which lead to a failure are detected by inspection, and the task is to select the appropriate frequency of inspection to balance the number of occasions that a ship fails at sea and the number of preventive inspection based returns to port during a mission to correct a defect. The modelling entails using the delay time concept. Expressions are established for the expected number of preventive and failure returns over a mission, and an example given of a cost based balance to select an optimal inspection period. Although addressing ship reliability, the model has relevance to the mission reliability of any repairable equipment with remote main repair facilities.     

On Martingale Approximation of Adapted Processes

We show that the existence of a martingale approximation of a stationary process depends on the choice of the filtration. There exists a stationary linear process which has a martingale approximation with respect to the natural filtration, but no approximation with respect to a larger filtration with respect to which it is adapted and regular. There exists a stationary process adapted, regular, and having a martingale approximation with respect to a given filtration but not (regular and having a martingale approximation) with respect to the natural filtration.     

A Note On A Loaded Piezoelectric Transformer

Due to the coupling of mechanical and electrical quantities in a piezoceramic material, it is possible to transform a harmonic input voltage to a harmonic output voltage by using a piezoceramic transformer. The advantage of such a transformer is the avoidance of magnetic fields and the very simple assembly. The piezoelectric transformer considered here consists of several parts. Three brass and two piezoceramic rods, that are glued together. The purpose of the system is to transform a determined input voltage to a determined ouput voltage with a high efficiency. Therefore, one of the piezoceramics is excited harmonically with a frequency close to a resonance frequency of the system. According to the electromechanical coupling in piezoceramics, the transformer oscillates with the excitation frequency. Due to the piezoelectric effect an electric displacement or an electric voltage is generated between the electrodes of the second piezoceramic. The amplitude of the output voltage depends on the geometry and the load connected between the electrodes of the second piezoceramic. In this paper a theoretical model to determine the gain and input impedance for such a transformer is derived and the results are compared with experiments.     

Simd language design using prescriptive semantics

The goal of this article is to isolate a set of primitives necessary for the construction of SIMD programs and to give a denotational semantics for these primitives. The intent is to devise a language with a simple semantics rather than to propose a language which may be conveniently implemented. The approach taken results in the addition of a synchronous parallel assignment statement and a synchronous communication statement to the familiar sequential programming language control structures of composition, projection and iteration.     

Lifting Property of Direct Sums of Hollow Modules

We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a module M with a decomposition that complements maximal direct summands to be a lifting module. We apply our results to get a necessary and sufficient condition for a direct sum of modules to be a quasi-discrete (discrete) module. We also give some sufficient conditions for a lifting module to be a direct sum of indecomposables.     

Improving the computational efficiency of metric-based spares algorithms

We propose a new heuristic algorithm to improve the computational efficiency of the general class of Multi-Echelon Technique for Recoverable Item Control (METRIC) problems. The objective of a METRIC-based decision problem is to systematically determine the location and quantity of spares that either maximizes the operational availability of a system subject to a budget constraint or minimizes its cost subject to an operational availability target. This type of sparing analysis has proven essential when analyzing the sustainment policies of large-scale, complex repairable systems such as those prevalent in the defense and aerospace industries. Additionally, the frequency of these sparing studies has recently increased as the adoption of performance-based logistics (PBL) has increased. PBL represents a class of business strategies that converts the recurring cost associated with maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) into cost avoidance streams. Central to a PBL contract is a requirement to perform a business case analysis (BCA) and central to a BCA is the frequent need to use METRIC-based approaches to evaluate how a supplier and customer will engage in a performance based logistics arrangement where spares decisions are critical. Due to the size and frequency of the problem there exists a need to improve the efficiency of the computationally intensive METRIC-based solutions. We develop and validate a practical algorithm for improving the computational efficiency of a METRIC-based approach. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm are analyzed through a numerical study. The algorithm shows a 94% improvement in computational efficiency while maintaining 99.9% accuracy.     

On a Mathematical Comparison between Hierarchy and Network with a Classification of Coordination Structures

This paper proposes a mathematical model to compare a network organization with a hierarchical organization. In order to formulate the model, we define a three-dimensional framework of the coordination structure of a network and of other typical coordination structures. In the framework, we can define a network structure by contrasting it with a hierarchy, in terms of the distribution of decision making, which is one of the main features of information processing. Based on this definition, we have developed a mathematical model for evaluating coordination structures. Using this model, we can derive two boundary conditions among the coordination structures with respect to the optimal coordination structure. The boundary conditions help us to understand why an organization changes its coordination structure from a hierarchy to a network and what factors cause this change. They enable us, for example, to find points of structural change where the optimal coordination structure shifts from a hierarchy to a hierarchy with delegation or from a hierarchy with delegation to a network, when the nature of the task changes from routine to non-routine. In conclusion, our framework and model may provide a basis for discussing the processes that occur when coordination structures change between a hierarchy and a network.     

Characterization of isolated homogeneous hypersurface singularities in C~4 Dedicated to Professor Sheng GONG on the occasion of his 75th birthday

Let V be a hypersurface with an isolated singularity at the origin in Cn 1. It is a natural question to ask when V is defined by weighted homogeneous polynomial or homogeneous polynomial up to biholomorphic change of coordinates. In 1971, a beautiful theorem of Saito gives a necessary and sufficient condition for V to be defined by a weighted homogeneous polynomial. For a two-dimensional isolated hypersurface singularity V, Xu and Yau found a coordinate free characterization for V to be defined by a homogeneous polynomial. Recently Lin and Yau gave necessary and sufficient conditions for a 3-dimensional isolated hypersurface singularity with geometric genus bigger than zero to be defined by a homogeneous polynomial. The purpose of this paper is to prove that Lin-Yau's theorem remains true for singularities with geometric genus equal to zero.     

Subspaces and quotients of Banach spaces with shrinking unconditional bases

The main result is that a separable Banach space with the weak* unconditional tree property is isomorphic to a subspace as well as a quotient of a Banach space with a shrinking unconditional basis. A consequence of this is that a Banach space is isomorphic to a subspace of a space with a shrinking unconditional basis if and only if it is isomorphic to a quotient of a space with a shrinking unconditional basis, which solves a problem dating to the 1970s. The proof of the main result also yields that a uniformly convex space with the unconditional tree property is isomorphic to a subspace as well as a quotient of a uniformly convex space with an unconditional finite dimensional decomposition.     

Limit Functions for Convergence Groups and Uniformly Quasiregular Maps

We investigate the limit functions of iterates of a functionbelonging to a convergence group or of a uniformly quasiregularmapping. We show that it is not possible for a subsequence ofiterates to tend to a non-constant limit function, and for anothersubsequence of iterates to tend to a constant limit function.It follows that the closure of the stabiliser of a Siegel domainfor a uniformly quasiregular mapping is a compact abelian Liegroup, which we further conjecture to be infinite. This resultconcerning possible limits of convergent subsequences of iteratesfor holomorphic rational functions on the Riemann sphere isknown, and the only known method of proof involves universalcovering surfaces and Möbius groups. Hence, our methodyields a new and perhaps more elementary proof also in thatcase.     

Thermally Enhanced Motions of Variable-Inflow Surface Gravity-Driven Flows

In this paper, we report on theoretical and numerical studies of models for suddenly initiated variable-inflow surface gravity currents having temperature-dependent density functions when these currents are subjected to incoming radiation. This radiation leads to a heat source term that, owing to the spatial and temporal variation in surface layer thickness, is itself a function of space and time. This heat source term, in turn, produces a temperature field in the surface layer having nonzero horizontal spatial gradients. These gradients induce shear in the surface layer so that a depth-independent velocity field can no longer be assumed and the standard shallow-water theory must be extended to describe these flow scenarios. These variable-inflow currents are assumed to enter the flow regime from behind a partially opened lock gate with the lock containing a large volume of fluid whose surface is subjected to a variable pressure. Flow filament theory is used to arrive at expressions for the variable inflow velocity under the assumptions of an inviscid and incompressible fluid moving through a small opening under a lock gate at one end of a large rectangular tank containing the deep slightly more dense ambient fluid. Finding this time-dependent inflow velocity, which will then serve as a boundary condition for the solution of our two-layer system, involves solving a forced Riccati equation with time-dependent forcing arising from the surface pressure applied to the fluid in the lock.
The results presented here are, to the best of our knowledge, the first to involve variable-inflow surface gravity currents with or without thermal enhancement and they relate to a variety of phenomena from leaking shoreline oil containers to spring runoff where the variable inflow must be taken into account to predict correctly the ensuing evolution of the flow.     

The efficiency of indicator-based local search for multi-objective combinatorial optimisation problems

In the last few years, a significant number of multi-objective metaheuristics have been proposed in the literature in order to address real-world problems. Local search methods play a major role in many of these metaheuristic procedures. In this paper, we adapt a recent and popular indicator-based selection method proposed by Zitzler and Künzli in 2004, in order to define a population-based multi-objective local search. The proposed algorithm is designed in order to be easily adaptable, parameter independent and to have a high convergence rate. In order to evaluate the capacity of our algorithm to reach these goals, a large part of the paper is dedicated to experiments. Three combinatorial optimisation problems are tested: a flow shop problem, a ring star problem and a nurse scheduling problem. The experiments show that our algorithm can be applied with success to different types of multi-objective optimisation problems and that it outperforms some classical metaheuristics. Furthermore, the parameter sensitivity analysis enables us to provide some useful guidelines about how to set the parameters.     

Preservation of the existence of fixed and coincidence points under homotopy of mappings of ordered sets

In problems of topology and analysis, well-known theorem on the preservation by any continuous homotopy of the property of a mapping to have a fixed point and the property of a pair of mappings to have a coincidence point are extensively applied. Thus, for contraction mappings and some of their generalizations, Frigon’s results on the preservation of the property to have a fixed point by a homotopy of a special type are known. This paper presents theorems on the preservation by order homotopy of the property of a pair of mappings to have a coincidence point. As a corollary, conditions under which such a homotopy preserves the property of a mapping to have a fixed point are obtained.     

A two-bottleneck system with binomial yields and rigid demand

This study considers multistage production systems where production is in lots and only two stages have non-zero setup costs. Yields are binomial and demand, needing to be satisfied in its entirety, is “rigid”. We refer to a stage with non-zero setup cost as a “bottleneck” (BN) and thus to the system as “a two-bottleneck system” (2-BNS). A close examination of the simplest 2-BNS reveals that costs corresponding to a particular level of work in process (WIP) depend upon costs for higher levels of WIP, making it impossible to formulate a recursive solution.For each possible configuration of intermediate inventories a production policy must specify at which stage to produce next and the number of units to be processed. We prove that any arbitrarily “fixed” production policy gives rise to a finite set of linear equations, and develop algorithms to solve the two-stage problem. We also show how the general 2-BNS can be reduced to a three-stage problem, where the middle stage is a non-BN, and that the algorithms developed can be modified to solve this problem.     

Applying a Power Penalty Method to Numerically Pricing American Bond Options

In this paper, we aim to develop a numerical scheme to price American options on a zero-coupon bond based on a power penalty approach. This pricing problem is formulated as a variational inequality problem (VI) or a complementarity problem (CP). We apply a fitted finite volume discretization in space along with an implicit scheme in time, to the variational inequality problem, and obtain a discretized linear complementarity problem (LCP). We then develop a power penalty approach to solve the LCP by solving a system of nonlinear equations. The unique solvability and convergence of the penalized problem are established. Finally, we carry out numerical experiments to examine the convergence of the power penalty method and to testify the efficiency and effectiveness of our numerical scheme.     

A penalty approximation for a unilateral contact problem in non-linear elasticity

Using Ball's approach to non-linear elasticity, and in particular his concept of polyconvexity, we treat a unilateral three-dimensional contact problem for a hyperelastic body under volume and surface forces. Here the unilateral constraint is described by a sublinear function which can model the contact with a rigid convex cone. We obtain a solution to this generally non-convex, semicoercive Signorinin problem as a limit of solutions of related energy minimization problems involving friction normal to the contact surface where the friction coefficient goes to infinity. Thus we extend an approximation result of Duvaut and Lions for linear-elastic unilateral contact problems to finite deformations and to a class of non-linear elastic materials including the material models of Ogden and of Mooney-Rivlin for rubberlike materials. Moreover, the underlying penalty method is shown to be exact, that is a sufficiently large friction coefficient in the auxiliary energy minimization problems suffices to produce a solution of the original unilateral problem, provided a Lagrange multiplier to the unilateral constraint exists.     

On the Pseudoconvexity of a Quadratic Fractional Function

In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the pseudoconvexity of a function f which is the ratio of a quadratic function over an affine function. The obtained results allow to suggest a simple algorithm to test the pseudoconvexity of f and also to characterize the pseudoconvexity of the sum of a linear and a linear fractional function.     

A decision model for supplier selection in the presence of dual-role factors

Best suppliers help manufacturers to gain and sustain a competitive advantage by improving product quality, reducing cost, shortening lead-time and so on. The crucial role played by suppliers in a supply chain renders the selection of a supplier or suppliers a significant work that attracts the attention of both researchers and practitioners. In the literature, data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a nonparametric technique is often applied to conduct a performance analysis. Little attention, however, has been paid to dual-role factors in the supplier selection process. This paper proposes a novel two-step approach to select suppliers in the presence of dual-role factors. As a combination of DEA and two-person zero-sum game theory, our work considers the strategic behaviour of the external environment and is able to handle the supplier selection in a competitive environment. Moreover, the proposed model circumvents the requirement to specify the status of a dual-role factor ahead of an evaluation and is easy to solve. Finally, the applicability of the procedure is illustrated by an application to a data set of 18 suppliers.