Formulation of the problem of sonic boom by a maneuvering aerofoil as a one-parameter family of Cauchy problems

For the structure of a sonic boom produced by a simple aerofoil at a large distance from its source we take a physical model which consists of a leading shock (LS), a trailing shock (TS) and a one-parameter family of nonlinear wavefronts in between the two shocks. Then we develop a mathematical model and show that according to this model the LS is governed by a hyperbolic system of equations in conservation form and the system of equations governing the TS has a pair of complex eigenvalues. Similarly, we show that a nonlinear wavefront originating from a point on the front part of the aerofoil is governed by a hyperbolic system of conservation laws and that originating from a point on the rear part is governed by a system of conservation laws, which is elliptic. Consequently, we expect the geometry of the TS to be kink-free and topologically different from the geometry of the LS. In the last section we point out an evidence of kinks on the LS and kink-free TS from the numerical solution of the Euler’s equations by Inoue, Sakai and Nishida [5].     

Mean-variance optimization problems for an accumulation phase in a defined benefit plan

In this paper we deal with contribution rate and asset allocation strategies in a pre-retirement accumulation phase. We consider a single cohort of workers and investigate a retirement plan of a defined benefit type in which an accumulated fund is converted into a life annuity. Due to the random evolution of a mortality intensity, the future price of an annuity, and as a result, the liability of the fund, is uncertain. A manager has control over a contribution rate and an investment strategy and is concerned with covering the random claim. We consider two mean-variance optimization problems, which are quadratic control problems with an additional constraint on the expected value of the terminal surplus of the fund. This functional objectives can be related to the well-established financial theory of claim hedging. The financial market consists of a risk-free asset with a constant force of interest and a risky asset whose price is driven by a Lévy noise, whereas the evolution of a mortality intensity is described by a stochastic differential equation driven by a Brownian motion. Techniques from the stochastic control theory are applied in order to find optimal strategies.     

Halpern- and Mann-Type Algorithms for Fixed Points and Inclusion Problems on Hadamard Manifolds

In this article, we consider an inclusion problem which is defined by means of a sum of a single-valued vector field and a set-valued vector field defined on a Hadamard manifold. We propose Halpern-type and Mann-type algorithms for finding a common point of the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive mapping and the set of solutions of the inclusion problem defined on a Hadamard manifold. Some particular cases of our problem and algorithm are also discussed. We study the convergence of the proposed algorithm to a common point of the set of fixed points of a nonexpansive mapping and the set of solutions of the inclusion problem defined on a Hadamard manifold. As applications of our results and algorithms, we derive the solution methods and their convergence results for the optimization problems, variational inequality problems and equilibrium problems in the setting of Hadamard manifolds.     

Dynamic contact problem for viscoelastic piezoelectric materials with normal damped response and friction

In this paper, we deal with a class of inequality problems for dynamic frictional contact between a piezoelectric body and a foundation. The model consists of a system of the hemivariational inequality of hyperbolic type for the displacement, the time dependent elliptic equation for the electric potential. The contact is modeled by a general normal damped response condition and a friction law, which are nonmonotone, possibly multivalued and have the subdifferential form. The existence of a weak solution to the model is proved by embedding the problem into a class of second-order evolution inclusions and by applying a surjectivity result for multivalued operators.     

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.     

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.     

Partially isometric dilations of noncommuting -tuples of operators

Given a row contraction of operators on a Hilbert space and a family of projections on the space that stabilizes the operators, we show there is a unique minimal joint dilation to a row contraction of partial isometries that satisfy natural relations. For a fixed row contraction the set of all dilations forms a partially ordered set with a largest and smallest element. A key technical device in our analysis is a connection with directed graphs. We use a Wold decomposition for partial isometries to describe the models for these dilations, and we discuss how the basic properties of a dilation depend on the row contraction.

     

A Dynamic Frictional Contact Problem with Normal Damped Response

We consider a mathematical model which describes the frictional contact between a viscoelastic body and a reactive foundation. The process is assumed to be dynamic and the contact is modeled with a general normal damped response condition and a local friction law. We present a variational formulation of the problem and prove the existence and uniqueness of the weak solution, using results on evolution equations with monotone operators and a fixed point argument. We then introduce and study a fully discrete numerical approximation scheme of the variational problem, in terms of the velocity variable. The numerical scheme has a unique solution. We derive error estimates under additional regularity assumptions on the data and the solution.     

A genetic algorithm for the two-stage supply chain distribution problem associated with a fixed charge

This paper considers a two-stage distribution problem of a supply chain that is associated with a fixed charge. Two kinds of cost are involved in this problem: a continuous cost that linearly increases with the amount transported between a source and a destination, and secondly, a fixed charge, that incurs whenever there exists a transportation of a non-zero quantity between a source and a destination. The objective criterion is the minimisation of the total cost of distribution. A genetic algorithm (GA) that belongs to evolutionary search heuristics is proposed and illustrated. The proposed methodology is evaluated for its solution quality by comparing it with the approximate and lower bound solutions. Thus, the comparison reveals that the GA generates better solution than the approximation method and is capable of providing solution either equal or closer to the lower bound solution of the problem.     

Fredholm’s boundary-value problems for differential systems with a single delay

Conditions are derived for the existence of solutions of linear Fredholm’s boundary-value problems for systems of ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients and a single delay. Utilizing a delayed matrix exponential and a method of pseudo-inverse by Moore-Penrose matrices led to an explicit and analytical form of a criterion for the existence of solutions in a relevant space and, moreover, to the construction of a family of linearly independent solutions of such problems in a general case with the number of boundary conditions (defined by a linear vector functional) not coinciding with the number of unknowns of a differential system with a single delay.     

Kripke submodels and universal sentences

We define two notions for intuitionistic predicate logic: that of a submodel of a Kripke model, and that of a universal sentence. We then prove a corresponding preservation theorem. If a Kripke model is viewed as a functor from a small category to the category of all classical models with (homo)morphisms between them, then we define a submodel of a Kripke model to be a restriction of the original Kripke model to a subcategory of its domain, where every node in the subcategory is mapped to a classical submodel of the corresponding classical model in the range of the original Kripke model. We call a sentence universal if it is built inductively from atoms (including ? and ⊥) using ∧, ∨, ?, and →, with the restriction that antecedents of → must be atomic. We prove that an intuitionistic theory is axiomatized by universal sentences if and only if it is preserved under Kripke submodels. We also prove the following analogue of a classical model‐consistency theorem: The universal fragment of a theory Γ is contained in the universal fragment of a theory Δ if and only if every rooted Kripke model of Δ is strongly equivalent to a submodel of a rooted Kripke model of Γ. Our notions of Kripke submodel and universal sentence are natural in the sense that in the presence of the rule of excluded middle, they collapse to the classical notions of submodel and universal sentence. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

管状曲面在曲线论中的应用

研究了围绕曲线的管状曲面上的曲率线,渐近线与测地线,给出它们的方程,揭示了这些曲线与Bertrand曲线或Mannheim曲线之间的关系,采用新的方法给出一条曲线是Bertrand曲线或Mannheim曲线的充要条件的另一种证明以及Mannheim侣线的曲率与挠率之间的关系．     

Strong convergence theorems by hybrid methods for a finite family of nonexpansive mappings and inverse-strongly monotone mappings

In this paper, we introduce and study an iterative scheme by a hybrid method for finding a common element of the set of solutions of an equilibrium problem, the set of common fixed points of a finite family of nonexpansive mappings and the set of solutions of the variational inequality for an inverse-strongly-monotone mapping in a real Hilbert space. Then, we prove that the iterative sequence converges strongly to a common element of the three sets. Using this result, we consider the problem of finding a common fixed point of a finite family of nonexpansive mappings and a strictly pseudocontractive mapping and the problem of finding a common element of the set of common fixed points of a finite family of nonexpansive mappings and the set of zeros of an inverse-strongly monotone mapping. The results obtained in this paper extend and improve the several recent results in this area.     

Controlled perturbations for quadratically constrained quadratic programs

Consider a minimization problem of a convex quadratic function of several variables over a set of inequality constraints of the same type of function. The duel program is a maximization problem with a concave objective function and a set of constrains that are essentially linear. However, the objective function is not differentiable over the constraint region. In this paper, we study a general theory of dual perturbations and derive a fundamental relationship between a perturbed dual program and the original problem. Based on this relationship, we establish a perturbation theory to display that a well-controlled perturbation on the dual program can overcome the nondifferentiability issue and generate an ε-optimal dual solution for an arbitrarily small number ε. A simple linear program is then constructed to make an easy conversion from the dual solution to a corresponding ε-optimal primal solution. Moreover, a numerical example is included to illustrate the potential of this controlled perturbation scheme.     

The entropic discriminant

The entropic discriminant is a non-negative polynomial associated to a matrix. It arises in contexts ranging from statistics and linear programming to singularity theory and algebraic geometry. It describes the complex branch locus of the polar map of a real hyperplane arrangement, and it vanishes when the equations defining the analytic center of a linear program have a complex double root. We study the geometry of the entropic discriminant, and we express its degree in terms of the characteristic polynomial of the underlying matroid. Singularities of reciprocal linear spaces play a key role. In the corank-one case, the entropic discriminant admits a sum of squares representation derived from the discriminant of a characteristic polynomial of a symmetric matrix.     

Existence of a solution for two phase flow in porous media: The case that the porosity depends on the pressure

In this paper we prove the existence of a solution of a coupled system involving a two phase incompressible flow in the ground and the mechanical deformation of the porous medium where the porosity is a function of the global pressure. The model is strongly coupled and involves a nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation. In order to show the existence of a weak solution, we consider a sequence of related uniformly parabolic problems and apply the Schauder fixed point theorem to show that they possess a classical solution. We then prove the relative compactness of sequences of solutions by means of the Fréchet-Kolmogorov theorem; this yields the convergence of a subsequence to a weak solution of the parabolic system.     

A computational comparison of algorithms for the inventory routing problem

The inventory routing problem is a distribution problem in which each customer maintains a local inventory of a product such as heating oil and consumes a certain amount of that product each day. Each day a fleet of trucks is dispatched over a set of routes to resupply a subset of the customers. In this paper, we describe and compare algorithms for this problem defined over a short planning period, e.g. one week. These algorithms define the set of customers to be serviced each day and produce routes for a fleet of vehicles to service those customers. Two algorithms are compared in detail, one which first allocates deliveries to days and then solves a vehicle routing problem and a second which treats the multi-day problem as a modified vehicle routing problem. The comparison is based on a set of real data obtained from a propane distribution firm in Pennsylvania. The solutions obtained by both procedures compare quite favorably with those in use by the firm.Part of this work was performed while this author was visiting the University of Waterloo.     

The structure of abelian pro-Lie groups

A pro-Lie group is a projective limit of a projective system of finite dimensional Lie groups. A prodiscrete group is a complete abelian topological group in which the open normal subgroups form a basis of the filter of identity neighborhoods. It is shown here that an abelian pro-Lie group is a product of (in general infinitely many) copies of the additive topological group of reals and of an abelian pro-Lie group of a special type; this last factor has a compact connected component, and a characteristic closed subgroup which is a union of all compact subgroups; the factor group modulo this subgroup is pro-discrete and free of nonsingleton compact subgroups. Accordingly, a connected abelian pro-Lie group is a product of a family of copies of the reals and a compact connected abelian group. A topological group is called compactly generated if it is algebraically generated by a compact subset, and a group is called almost connected if the factor group modulo its identity component is compact. It is further shown that a compactly generated abelian pro-Lie group has a characteristic almost connected locally compact subgroup which is a product of a finite number of copies of the reals and a compact abelian group such that the factor group modulo this characteristic subgroup is a compactly generated prodiscrete group without nontrivial compact subgroups.Mathematics Subject Classification (1991): 22B, 22E