Dynamic motion planning in low obstacle density environments

A fundamental task for an autonomous robot is to plan its own motions. Exact approaches to the solution of this motion planning problem suffer from high worst-case running times. The weak and realistic low obstacle density (L.O.D.) assumption results in linear complexity in the number of obstacles of the free space (Van der Stappen et al., 1997). In this paper we address the dynamic version of the motion planning problem in which a robot moves among polygonal obstacles which move along polylines. The obstacles are assumed to move along constant complexity polylines, and to respect the low density property at any given time. We will show that in this situation a cell decomposition of the free space of size O(n²(n) log² n) can be computed in O(n²(n) log² n) time. The dynamic motion planning problem is then solved in O(n²(n) log³ n) time. We also show that these results are close to optimal.     

On the effective viscosity of a dilute emulsion of gas bubbles

The problem of the motion of a rigid spherical body in a homogeneous emulsion of gas bubbles is considered in the Stokes approximation, using the self-consistent field method. An expression is obtained for the correction factor in the Stokes formula for the drag of the body in the first approximation with respect to the volume concentration of the dispersed phase. An analytical relation between the correction factor and the ratio of the sizes of the bubbles and the body is found. It is shown that, in the limit when this ratio tends to zero, the correction factor obtained is identical to Taylor's result for the effective viscosity of an emulsion of gas bubbles. In the case of non-point bubbles, the coefficient on the volume concentration in the expression for the effective viscosity of the emulsion can be considerably different from Taylor's result. A similar conclusion was also obtained in the case of the problem of the motion of a spherical bubble of arbitrary size in an emulsion of gas bubbles.     

A bidimensional inverse Stefan problem: Identification of boundary value

We propose to regularize the bidimensional inverse Stefan problem that is to determine the boundary temperature u(x,0,t) in the liquid phase in a medium of water and melting ice. This ill-posed problem is regularized by means of a convolution equation and an error estimate in L²(R²) is obtained. Numerical results are given.     

On the problem op n-stationary centers

Among the various problems of celestial mechanics related to the n-body problem, a certain amount of interest attaches to the specific situation wherein a passive gravitational point mass M moves under the assumption that the relative disposition of the other active gravitational masses experiences no large changes.

If the attracting masses are regarded as points and if changes in the relative disposition of the attracting bodies are neglected, one arrives at the problem of the motion of the point M in a field produced by n-stationary attracting centers (the point M here represents the (n+l)-th body).

In addition to the problem of central motion (n = 1), soluble dynamics problems of this category include Euler's case [1] of two (n= 2) stationary Newtonian attracting centers.

This problem, which for a long time was of solely theoretical Interest as an example of an integrable Liouville system [2], has recently been attracting attention in connection with the mechanics of artificial satellites, particularly after it was shown that the potential of an oblate spheroid can be approximated by the potential of two specifically chosen stationary Newtonian attracting centers [3 and 4].

The solution of the problem for n-attracting centers for n ≥ 3 is unknown, except for a single special case of three centers pointed out by Lagrange and considered In greater detail by J.A. Serre [5].

We shall concern ourselves here with problems on the existence of periodic trajectories in the case of n-attracting centers. An arbitrary and not necessarily Newtonian gravitational law will be assumed.

Our analysis is based on the theory of quasiindices of singular force field points as set forth in [60].     

Optimization of periodic systems

The problem of designing a regulator, optimal by a quadratic performance criterion, on an infinite time interval is examined for a linear periodic system. It is assumed that the control plant's motion is described by a system of linear periodic finite-difference equations. Controllable plants whose motion is described by differential and by finite-difference equations on different parts of the period are analyzed as well. The optimal regulator design problem is reduced to the determination of a periodic solution of an appropriate Riccati equation. An algorithm for constructing such a solution is derived. It is noted that this result can be used in periodic optimization problems /1/ and in the design of a stabilization system for a pacing apparatus.     

A model to estimate the size of aggregates formed in a Dissolved Air Flotation unit

In Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) a solid phase is separated from a liquid phase with the aid of air bubbles. The solid phase is usually coagulated into larger particles termed flocs. The air bubbles and flocs form aggregates, which rise to the surface of the flotation unit where they are removed. In this paper we propose a model that estimates the size of the formed aggregates. The estimation is based on the local balance of forces describing the approach and attachment of flocs to air bubbles. The interaction of flocs and bubbles is described by surface forces, hydrodynamic forces and the buoyancy force. The model is validated with available experimental results and the obtained aggregate sizes agree reasonable with those obtained by the experiments. The approach proposed here is intended for water treatment applications, but can be modified for other flotation processes.     

On the propagation of elastic waves in two-phase media

At the present time a number of papers has been already devoted to the dynamics of two-phase media. One may mention the papers by Frenkel' [1], Rakhmatulin [2], Biot [3,4], Zwikker and Kosten [5], and others. However, the basic problem of the setting up of the equations of motion in two-phase media still cannot be considered solved and requires additional study and experimental verification.

This paper is concerned with the study of the simplest case of motion, which is the propagation of elastic waves in a homogeneous isotropic medium consisting of a solid and a fluid phase. The problems of the reflection of plane waves and surface waves at the free boundary of the half-space are solved. It is shown that the stress-strain relations established by Frenkel' are equivalent to the analogous relations proposed by Biot and that the equations of motion of the latter are more general.     

On the motion of a solid in a magnetic field

The problem of the motion of a magnetic solid in a constant uniform magnetic field, taking gyromagnetic effects into account, is considered. The equations of motion are derived, the Hamiltonian structure is studied, and the cases of integrability indicated. Certain classes of stationary motions are studied and their stability examined.

The gyromagnetic effects arise because the electrons have magnetic and mechanical spin moments /1/. The rotation of the body causes it to become magnetized (the Barnett effect) and when a freely suspended body is magnetized, it begins to rotate (the Einsteinde Haas effect). It is found that gyromagnetic phenomena must be taken into account when analysing the motion of gyroscopic precision systems.     

Discharge of gas into vacuum with temperature at the boundary subject to exponential law

A two-dimensional self-similar problem of discharge of a heat conducting gas Into vacuum is analyzed. The temperature at the boundary of gas and vacuum is assumed to change as an exponential function of time. The coefficient of thermal conductivity depends exponentially on temperature and density. The initial gas density is assumed to be finite and constant. With definite values of exponents this problem is self-similar i.e. the system of partial differential equations can be reduced to the solution of a system of ordinary equations.

The self-modeling properties of solutions of this kind of problems has been noted earlier in [1 and 2]. The problem analyzed here is a particular case of the problem of piston motion considered in [3]. In this problem, however, there appears at the boundary of gas and vacuum a new singular point which does not occur in the piston problem.

A numerical solution of the boundary value problem defined by a system of ordinary equations is made difficult by the presence in the latter of singular points, and of discontinuities in the sought solution. These difficulties have been overcome by a qualitative analysis of the behavior of integral curves, and by the selection of a suitable method of numerical integration.

It is shown in this work that, depending on the initial parameters of the problem, there may exist two kinds of solutions. This had been noted earlier in [1, 3 and 4]. Examples of these are presented here. The degeneration of the solution into a trivial one, when the thermal conductivity coefficient is either invariant of density, or increases with increasing density, is pointed out.     

An improved boundary element formulation for the motion of spherical bubbles

We suggest a modified boundary element method for modeling the potential flow caused by the motion of many spherical bubbles. The problem for the fluid velocity potential is reduced to a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. The kernel of that integral equation has no singularity; as a result, its numerical solution does not encounter any difficulties. The matrix representation of the integral equation is diagonally dominant and is well suited to handle multiple bubble system.     

On determining the congruence of point sets in d dimensions

This paper considers the following problem: given two point sets A and B (|A| = |B| = n) in d dimensional Euclidean space, determine whether or not A is congruent to B. This paper presents an O(n^(d−1)/2 log n) time randomized algorithm. The birthday paradox, which is well-known in combinatorics, is used effectively in this algorithm. Although this algorithm is Monte-Carlo type (i.e., it may give a wrong result), this improves a previous O(n^d−2 log n) time deterministic algorithm considerably. This paper also shows that if d is not bounded, the problem is at least as hard as the graph isomorphism problem in the sense of the polynomiality. Several related results are described too.     

次临界分数阶Laplace方程具有两个bubbles的变号解存在性

考虑次临界分数阶Laplace问题{(-△)~su=︳u︳~(p-1-ε)u,x∈Ω,u=0,x∈?Ω}具有两个bubbles的变号解的存在性,其中Ω是R~N中的有界光滑区域,N2s,0s1,p=(N+2s)/(N-2s),ε0充分小.这个工作可以看作Bartsch,Micheletti,Pistoia在文[On the existence and the profile of nodal solutions of elliptic equations involving critical growth,Calc.Var.Partial Differential Equations,2006,3:265-282]结果的一种非局部形式的推广.     

Modes with switchings of increasing frequency in the problem of controlling a robot

Trajectories that are optimal with respect to high-speed response are constructed for a system for controlling a two-component manipulator (a robot). It is shown that when the initial conditions lie within a certain open region of the phase space, all optimal trajectories will have a segment of switchings of increasing frequency (SIF), i.e. a segment in which the control will undergo an infinite number of switchings in a finite time interval.

The synthesis of the optimal control in the R² plane containing the mode of SIF was first constructed by Fuller /1/. It was shown in /2/ that the synthesis is structurally stable in the sense that adding terms of higher order of smallness to the integrand and to the right-hand sides of the system of differential constraints does not affect the qualitative pattern of the optimal synthesis in the neighbourhood of the origin of coordinates.

The present paper explains that the synthesis in the problem of optimal control (relative to the high speed response) of the motion of the robot appears, in a certain sense, a direct product of the synthesis appearing in the Fuller problem and of the synthesis in the simplest problem of high-speed response (/3/, pp.38–47). The special aspect of the present paper consists of the proof of the proposition that switching surface is a piecewise-smooth manifold. The presence of the SIF mode is connected only with the fact that every trajectory intersects this surface an infinite number of times. In existing papers, the piecewise smoothness of the switching curve was proved for the two-dimensional problems using the SIF mode only for problems admitting of a one-parameter group of symmetries /1, 4–6/. A proof of the presence of SIF was given in /7, 8/.     

初生空化状态相似性问题

在前文中[1],讨论了热力学条件与初生空化的关系.在此基础上,引进空泡群的体积函数z₀(r),代替前文中的能量方程式,讨论相似流动体系中的空化状态相似性问题.分析结果表明,在两个满足Froude准则的相似流动体系中,空化状态是不相似的,其初生空化数随几何比尺的增加而增加.理论结果与实践是符合的.     

A Quantitative Visualization Method for Wind Tunnel Experiments Based on 3D Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D‐PTV)

The development of a measurement system to visualize, classify (based on topological features) and quantify complex flows in wind tunnel experiments is described. The basic idea is to extract topological features directly instead of postprocessing large sets of raw data (as generated by conventional PIV or PTV systems). As a particular aspect, the seeding methods in industrial wind tunnels are discussed. While helium filled soap bubbles are well suited because of their neutral buoyancy, there is a problem with their visibility, especially when reflecting model surfaces are being imaged at the same time. Various methods were evaluated in order to enhance the visual contrast of the bubbles.     

Stabilization of the motion of a dynamic system under conditions of uncertainty

The problem of the stabilization of the unperturbed motion of a dynamic system when there is incomplete information about the system parameters is considered. The solution is sought by Lyapunov's second method in the class of dynamic controllers and generalizes the result obtained in /1/ to controlled dynamic systems. Similar control problems were considered, in particular, in /2/.

The solution is used to stabilize the permanent rotation of a rigid body by a controlling moment with zero x-component /3/.     

Numerical simulation of inviscid bubble dynamics in a centrally symmetric gravitational field

The motion of bubbles in a centrally symmetric gravitational field is numerically simulated using two-dimensional conservation laws (Euler equations). The dynamics of bubbles with various numbers of modes in the initial perturbation are studied. The numerical results reveal features that are substantially different from the plane case in a homogeneous gravitational field. Bubble perturbations nearly do not interact at the formation stage. The lowest modes are amplified in the course of the bubble evolution.     

The motion of an absolutely rigid body on a two-degrees-of-freedom joint in a uniform gravitational field

The motion of an absolutely rigid body attached to a fixed base by a two-degrees-of-freedom joint in a uniform gravitational field parallel to the fixed axis of the joint is studied qualitatively. Various kinds of motion are described and analysed, depending on the total mechanical energy and the projection of the angular momentum of the body onto the fixed axis of the joint as well as on the inertial parameters of the system.

This paper is a continuation of [1].     

Computation of turbulent reactive flows in industrial burners

This paper presents models that are suitable for computing steady and unsteady gaseous combustion with finite rate chemistry. Reynold averaging and large eddy simulation (LES) techniques are used to model turbulence for the steady and unsteady cases, respectively. In LES, the Reynold stress terms are modelled by a linear combination of the scale-similarity and eddy dissipation models while the cross terms are of the scale-similarity type. In Reynold averaging, the conventional k–ε two-equation model is used. For the chemical reactions, a 3-step mechanism is used for methane oxidation and the extended Zeldovich and N₂O mechanism are used for NO formation. The combustion model is a hybrid model of the Arrhenius type and a modified eddy dissipation model to take into account the effects of reaction rate, flame stretch and turbulent intensity and scale. Numerical simulations of a flat pulse burner and a swirling burner are discussed.