Economically study regarding modernizing of the final working of the car radiators through implementation of an articulated robot in a flexible manufacturing cell

In this paper the authors purpose the conception and modelling of a possible application in a circular flexible manufacturing cell. This flexible cell is composed from five manufacturing points for realizing the final technological itinerary of a type of radiator. This flexible manufacturing cell is served by an industrial articulated robot, which possess in his cinematic chain three degrees of freedom, type RRT. In virtue of real values of the functional parameters which are input data in the analysis of the flexible manufacturing cell, had been dignify the cost of the flexible manufacturing cell, determining the value of the included industrial robot in the system and the value of the entire flexible cell where the robot realize the manipulating process of the radiators. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Mathematical modelling and dynamic response of a multi-straight-line path tracing flexible robot manipulator with rotating-prismatic joint

In this study, mathematical modelling and dynamic response of a flexible robot manipulator with rotating-prismatic joint are investigated. The tip end of the flexible robot manipulator traces a multi-straight-line path under the action of an external driving torque and an axial force. Considered robot manipulator consists of a rotating prismatic joint and a sliding flexible arm with a tip mass. Flexible arm is assumed to be an Euler–Bernoulli beam carrying an end-mass. Equations of motion of the flexible manipulator are obtained by using Lagrange’s equation of motion. Effect of rotary inertia, axial shortening and gravitation is considered in the analysis. Equations of motion are solved by using fourth order Runge–Kutta method. Numerical simulations obtained by using a developed computer program are presented and physical trend of the results are discussed.     

Some contributions with Petri nets for the modelling, analysis and control of HDS

Petri nets (PN) are useful for the modelling, analysis and control of hybrid dynamical systems (HDS) because PN combine in a comprehensive way discrete events and continuous behaviours. On one hand, PN are suitable for modelling the discrete part of HDS and for providing a discrete abstraction of continuous behaviours. On the other hand, continuous PN are suitable for modelling the continuous part of HDS and for working out a continuous approximation of the discrete part in order to avoid the complexity associated with the exponential growth of discrete states. This paper focuses on the advantages of PN as a modelling tool for HDS. Investigations of such models for diagnosis and control issues are detailed.

Taking inspiration from the discrete event approach, sensor selection for diagnosis is discussed according to the structural analysis of the PN models. Faults are represented with fault transitions and a faulty behaviour occurs when a sequence of transitions is fired that contains at least one fault transition. Minimal sets of observable places are defined for detecting and isolating faulty behaviours.

Taking inspiration from the continuous time approach, flow control of HDS modelled with continuous PN is also investigated. Gradient-based controllers are introduced in order to adapt the firing speeds of some controllable transitions according to a desired trajectory of the marking. The equilibria and stability of the controlled system are studied with Lyapunov functions.     

Hamiltonian modelling and buckling analysis of a nonlinear flexible beam with actuation at the bottom

ABSTRACT

The use of beams and similar structural elements is finding increasing application in many areas including micro and nanotechnology devices. For the purpose of buckling analysis and control, it is essential to account for nonlinear terms in the strains while modelling these flexible structures. Further, the Poisson’s effect can be accounted in modelling by the use of a two-dimensional stress–strain relationship. This paper studies the buckling effect for a slender, vertical beam (in the clamped-free configuration) with horizontal actuation at the fixed end and a tip-mass at the free end. Including also the inextensibility constraint of the beam, the equations of motion are derived. A preliminary modal analysis of the system has been carried out to describe candidate post-buckling configurations and study the stability properties of these equilibria. The vertical configuration of the beam under the action of gravity is without loss of generality, since the objective is to model a potential field that determines the equilibria. Neglecting the inextensibility constraint, the equations of motion are then casted in port-Hamiltonian form with appropriately defined flows and efforts as a basis for structure-preserving discretization and simulation. Finally, the finite-dimensional model is simulated to obtain the time response of the tip-mass for different loading conditions.     

On the challenges of healthcare modelling and a proposed project life cycle for successful implementation

OR methods and tools are being increasingly applied within the health services domain to support objective decision-making for the effective and efficient provision of resources. Healthcare modelling, however, is beset with many challenges and this paper examines a number of issues that define the primary challenges faced by the modeller in this field. It is fair to say that their resolution determines the likely success or failure of healthcare modelling in general. Working with a number of participating health service organizations, a proposed framework towards successful implementation has evolved and is presented in this paper     

A social approach for target localization: simulation and implementation in the marXbot robot

Foraging is a common benchmark problem in collective robotics in which a robot (the forager) explores a given environment while collecting items for further deposition at specific locations. A typical real-world application of foraging is garbage collection where robots collect garbage for further disposal in pre-defined locations. This work proposes a method to cooperatively perform the task of finding such locations: instead of using local or global localization strategies relying on pre-installed infrastructure, the proposed approach takes advantage of the knowledge gathered by a population about the localization of the targets. In our approach, robots communicate in an intrinsic way the estimation about how near they are from a target; these estimations are used by neighbour robots for estimating their proximity, and for guiding the navigation of the whole population when looking for these specific areas. We performed several tests in a simulator, and we validated our approach on a population of real robots. For the validation tests we used a mobile robot called marXbot. In both cases (i.e., simulation and implementation on real robots), we found that the proposed approach efficiently guides the robots towards the pre-specified targets while allowing the modulation of their speed.     

A Petri net approach to the modelling and analysis of flexible manufacturing systems

In this paper we present an approach for modelling and analyzing flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) using Petri nets. In this approach, we first build a Petri net model (PNM) of the given FMS in a bottom-up fashion and then analyze important qualitative aspects of FMS behaviour such as existence/absence of deadlocks and buffer overflows. The basis for our approach is a theorem we state and prove for computing the invariants of the union of a finite number of Petri nets when the invariants of the individual nets are known. We illustrate our approach using two typical manufacturing systems: an automated transfer line and a simple FMS.A shorter version of this paper was presented at the 1st ORSA/TIMS Special Interest Conference on FMSs, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, August 1984.     

Modules with trivial source,modular monomial representations and a modular version of Brauer's induction theorem

Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg - LetG be a finite group andK an algebraically closed field of characteristicp ≠ 0. It is shown that for any...     

Mathematical modelling of the catalyst layer of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell

In this paper, we derive a mathematical model for the cathodecatalyst layer of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The modelexplicitly incorporates the restriction placed on oxygen inreaching the reaction sites, capturing the experimentally observedfall in the current density to a limiting value at low cellvoltages. Temperature variations and interfacial transfer ofO₂ between the dissolved and gas phases are also included. Boundson the solutions are derived from which we provide a rigourousproof that the model admits a solution. Of particular interestare the maximum and minimum attainable values. We perform anasymptotic analysis in several limits inherent in the problemby identifying important groupings of parameters. This analysisreveals a number of key relationships between the solutions,including the current density, and the composition of the layer.A comparison of numerically computed solutions and asymptoticsolutions shows very good agreement. Implications of the resultsare discussed and future work is outlined.     

The Van den Bergh duality and the modular symmetry of a Poisson variety

We consider a smooth Poisson affine variety with the trivial canon-ical bundle over . For such a variety the deformation quantization algebra obeys the conditions of the Van den Bergh duality theorem and the corresponding dualizing module is determined by an outer automorphism of intrinsic to . We show how this automorphism can be expressed in terms of the modular class of the corresponding Poisson variety. We also prove that the Van den Bergh dualizing module of the deformation quantization algebra is free if and only if the corresponding Poisson structure is unimodular.      

The energy-optimal motion of a vibration-driven robot in a resistive medium

The rectilinear motion of a two-mass system in a resistive medium is considered. The motion of the system as a whole occurs by longitudinal periodic motion of one body (the internal mass) relative to the other body (the shell). The problem consists of finding the periodic law of motion of the internal mass that ensures velocity-periodic motion of the shell at a specified average velocity and minimum energy consumption. The initial problem reduces to a variational problem with isoperimetric conditions in which the required function is the velocity of the shell. It is established that, with optimal motion, the shell velocity is a piecewise-constant time function taking two values (a positive value and a negative value). The magnitudes of these velocities and the overall size of the intervals in which they are taken are uniquely defined, while the optimal motion itself is non-uniquely defined. The simplest optimal motion, for which the period is divided into two sections – one with a positive velocity and the other with a negative velocity of motion of the shell – is investigated in detail. It is shown that, among all the optimal motions, this simplest motion is characterized by the maximum amplitude of oscillations of the internal mass relative to the shell. © Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.     

The Lie structure on the Hochschild cohomology of a modular group algebra

We prove that the Gerstenhaber bracket on the Hochschild cohomology of the group algebra of a cyclic group over a field of positive characteristic is not trivial. In this case, we relate the Lie algebra structure on the odd degrees of the Hochschild cohomology with a Witt-type algebra.     

The optimal quasi-stationary motion of a vibration-driven robot in a viscous medium

We consider a rectilinear quasi-stationary motion of a two-mass system in a viscous medium. The motion of the system as a whole occurs due to periodic movements of the internal mass relatively to the shell. The problem is to describe the law of motion of the internal mass that provides the minimum energy consumption with a specified average velocity of the shell. We propose an algorithm for solving the problem with any law of the resistance of the medium. We obtain the energy-optimal law of motion of a spherical shell in a viscous liquid.     

The nilpotency class of the unit group of a modular group algebra I

The nilpotency class of the unit groupU of a modularp-group algebraFG is determined whenp is odd andG has a cyclic commutator subgroup. This is done via an extension of a theorem of Coleman and Passman, dealing with wreath products obtained as sections ofU.     

The nilpotency class of the unit group of a modular group algebra II

LetG be a finitep-group, and letU(G) be the group of units of the group algebraFG, whereF is a field of characteristicp. It is shown that, if the commutative subgroup ofG has order at leastp ², then the nilpotency class ofU(G) is at least 2p−1. The authors are grateful to the Dipartimento di Matematica of the Universita di Trento, and to the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford, for their hospitality while this paper was being written. Then are also grateful to Robert Sandling, for communication of results, and problems, prior to publication.     

The Eichler-Shimura cohomology in the case of Siegel modular forms

One generalizes the Eichler-Shimura result, connecting the space of parabolic modular forms relative to a group with the cohomologies of the group , to the case of the Siegel modular forms.Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov Leningradskogo Otdeleniya Matematicheskogo Instituta im. V. A. Steklova AN SSSR, Vol. 144, pp. 128–135, 1985.