Travel time estimation and order batching in a 2-block warehouse

Order batching problem (OBP) is the problem of determining the number of orders to be picked together in one picking tour. Although various objectives may arise in practice, minimizing the average throughput time of a random order is a common concern. In this paper, we consider the OBP for a 2-block rectangular warehouse with the assumptions that orders arrive according to a Poisson process and the method used for routing the order-pickers is the well-known S-shape heuristic. We first elaborate on the first and second moment of the order-picker’s travel time. Then we use these moments to estimate the average throughput time of a random order. This enables us to estimate the optimal picking batch size. Results from simulation show that the method provides a high accuracy level. Furthermore, the method is rather simple and can be easily applied in practice.     

Polar Kerr-effect measurements of the high-temperature YBa2Cu3O6+x superconductor: evidence for broken symmetry near the pseudogap temperature

The polar Kerr effect in the high-T_(c) superconductor YBa2Cu3O6+x was measured at zero magnetic field with high precision using a cyogenic Sagnac fiber interferometer. We observed nonzero Kerr rotations of order approximately 1 microrad appearing near the pseudogap temperature T(*) and marking what appears to be a true phase transition. Anomalous magnetic behavior in magnetic-field training of the effect suggests that time reversal symmetry is already broken above room temperature.     

Characterisation of UV-cured acrylate networks by means of hydrolysis followed by aqueous size-exclusion combined with reversed-phase chromatography

UV-cured networks prepared from mixtures of di-functional (polyethylene-glycol di-acrylate) and mono-functional (2-ethylhexyl acrylate) acrylates were analysed after hydrolysis, by aqueous size-exclusion chromatography coupled to on-line reversed-phase liquid-chromatography. The mean network density and the fraction of dangling chain ends of these networks were varied by changing the concentration of mono-functional acrylate. The amount and the molar-mass distribution of the polyethylene-glycol chains between cross-links (M(XL)) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) backbone chains (the so-called kinetic chain length (kcl)) in the different acrylate networks were determined quantitatively. The molar-mass distribution of kcl revealed an almost linear dependence on the concentration of mono-functional acrylate. Analysis of the starting materials showed a significant concentration of mono-functional polyethylene-glycol acrylate. In combination with the analysis of the extractables of the UV-cured networks (polymers not attached to the network, impurities that originate from the photo-initiator and unreacted monomers), more insight in the total network structure was obtained. It was shown that the UV-cured networks contain only small fractions of residual compounds. With these results, the chemical network structure for the different UV-cured acrylate polymers was expressed in network parameters such as the number of PAA units which are cross-linked, the degree of cross-linking, and the network density, which is the molar concentration of effective network chains between cross-links per volume of the polymers. The mean molar mass of chains between chemical network junctions (M(C)) was calculated and compared with results obtained from solid-state NMR and DMA. The mean molar mass of chains between network junctions as determined by these methods was similar.     

High resolution end group determination of low molecular weight polymers by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization on an external ion source fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization was performed on an external ion source Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer equipped with a 7-T superconducting magnet to analyze end groups of synthetic polymers in the mass range from 500 to 5000 u. Native, perdeutero methylated, propylated, and acetylated polyethylene glycol and polyvinyl pyrrolidone with unknown end-group elemental composition were investigated in the mass range up to 5000 u by using a 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid matrix. A small electrospray setup was used for the deposition of the samples. Two methods to process data were evaluated for the determination of end groups from the measured masses of the component molecules in the molecular weight ranges: a regression method and an averaging method. The averaging method is demonstrated to allow end-group mass determinations with an accuracy within 3 mu for the molecular weight range from 500 to 1400 and within 20 mu for the molecular weight range from 3400 to 5000. This is sufficient to identify the elemental composition of end groups in unknown polymer samples.