A decomposition heuristics for the container ship stowage problem

In this paper we face the problem of stowing a containership, referred to as the Master Bay Plan Problem (MBPP); this problem is difficult to solve due to its combinatorial nature and the constraints related to both the ship and the containers. We present a decomposition approach that allows us to assign a priori the bays of a containership to the set of containers to be loaded according to their final destination, such that different portions of the ship are independently considered for the stowage. Then, we find the optimal solution of each subset of bays by using a 0/1 Linear Programming model. Finally, we check the global ship stability of the overall stowage plan and look for its feasibility by using an exchange algorithm which is based on local search techniques. The validation of the proposed approach is performed with some real life test cases. This work has been developed within the research area: “The harbour as a logistic node” of the Italian Centre of Excellence on Integrated Logistics (CIELI) of the University of Genoa, Italy     

A 3D-BPP approach for optimising stowage plans and terminal productivity

This paper addresses the problem of determining stowage plans for containers in a ship, that is the so-called master bay plan problem (MBPP).     

On quartics with three-divisible sets of cusps

 We study the geometry and codes of quartic surfaces with many cusps. We apply Gr?bner bases to find examples of various configurations of cusps on quartics. Received: 10 May 2002 / Revised version: 11 November 2002 Published online: 3 March 2003 Permanent address: Institute of Mathematics, Jagiellonian University, ul. Reymonta 4, 30-059 Kraków, Poland. e-mail: rams@mi.uni-erlangen.de, rams@im.uj.edu.pl Research partially supported by the Schwerpunktprogramm ``Global methods in complex geometry' of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and by EAGER. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 14J25, 14J17     

Ethylene polymerization by novel Ziegler–Natta‐type catalysts obtained in situ by the oxidative addition of 8‐hydroxyquinoline‐based ligands to bis(1,5‐cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) and methylaluminoxane

Novel catalytic systems, prepared in situ by the oxidative addition of 8‐hydroxyquinoline ligands to bis(1,5‐cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) and activated by methylaluminoxane, were studied in ethylene polymerization. When 8‐hydroxyquinoline was employed, only oligomeric products were obtained. On the contrary, 5,7‐dinitro‐8‐hydroxyquinoline gave linear polyethylene (PE), but with a modest activity. For the catalyst based on 5‐nitro‐8‐hydroxyquinoline, the productivity was largely dependent on the content of free trimethylaluminum (TMA) present in the commercial aluminoxane. The progressive optimization of the TMA/oligomeric methylaluminoxane ratio increased the productivity, which reached 700 kg of PE/(mol of Ni × h), by an order of magnitude. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 200–206, 2006     

Leggett-Williams norm-type theorems for coincidences

We study the existence of positive solutions to the operator equation Lx = Nx, where L is a linear Fredholm mapping of index zero and N is a nonlinear operator. Using the properties of cones in Banach spaces and Leray-Schauder degree for completely continuous operators, k-set contractions and condensing mappings, we obtain some refinements of the results established in [3] and [14]. Received: 9 July 2005; revised: 12 January 2006     

Decomposition theorems in orthomodular posets: the problem of uniqueness

We provide some conditions which are equivalent to the uniqueness of Hewitt-Yosida-type decomposition and Lebesgue-type decomposition for real valued additive functions defined on orthomodular posets.

     

Yttrium aluminate crystals for slabs

The methods of growing YAG:Nd crystals with a flat interface and YAP:Nd crystals with a sharp conical interface are described. The form of the interface was controlled by the He and H₂O content in the reducing atmosphere composed mainly of Ar and H₂ as well as by axial temperature gradient above the melt level. The crystals of 120–180 mm in length were machined to the high-quality slabs.     

Nd3+ near UV and visible fluorescence in YAP:Nd

The present paper summarizes detailed investigations of Nd³⁺ fluorescence spectra in YAP:Nd laser crystal in the broad spectral range of 370–1100 nm at liquid nitrogen temperature. Especially, Nd³⁺ near UV and visible fluorescence spectra were studied for the first time in this crystal. The Nd³⁺ near UV and visible fluorescence spectra of this crystal consist of many narrow lines (up to 50). The Nd³⁺ near UV and visible fluorescence lines arise mainly from⁴D_3/2 and²P_3/2 Nd³⁺ terms (transitions from⁴D_3/2,²P_3/2 to lower lying Nd³⁺ levels are responsible for their appearance). At room temperature the fluorescence spectra consist of broad bands with narrow lines (mainly⁴D_3/2⁴F_3/2,⁴F_5/2 and²H_9/2 transitions).     

Non-steady state homogeneous nucleation in glass-forming systems: Dimensionless kinetic equation

The kinetic equation of the classical homogeneous nucleation theory is rewritten in dimensionless form and it is shown that the numerical computation of the dimensionless kinetic equation is approximately 20 times faster in comparison with the original kinetic equation. The results are compared with known analytical results and with previous numerical results in the case of the constant and variable temperature for the model Li₂O.2 SiO₂ melt. It is shown, e.g., that under non-isothermal conditions the nucleation rate is greater than the quasistationary nucleation rate and the cluster distribution function is greater than the corresponding quasiequilibrium cluster distribution function.