Operational Research and Regulation: Theory and Practice

In this Blackett Lecture, Professor Littlechild, Director General of Electricity Supply in the UK's Office of Electricity Regulation, renews acquaintance with some models he has developed over the years, introduces some models he has recently met, and discusses models that it would seem to be worthwhile developing. He concludes that for all concerned in the electricity industry, success depends on ever improving decision-making, in which OR has a vital role.     

A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data     

Real time estimation of CO2 laser weld quality for automotive industry

Laser welding is one of the most precise welding processes in joining sheet metals. In laser welding, performing real time evaluation of the welding quality is very important to enhance the efficiency of the welding process. In this study, the plasma and spatter, which are generated during laser welding, are measured using UV and IR photodiodes. The factors that influence weld quality are classified into five categories; optimal heat input, slightly low heat input, low heat input, partial joining due to gap mismatch, and nozzle deviation. The data number deviated from reference signals and their standard deviations were also considered to evaluate the qualities. A system was also formulated to perform real time evaluations of the weld quality using a fuzzy multi-feature pattern recognition with the measured signals.     

A STRASSEN LAW OF THE ITERATED LOGARITHM FOR PROCESSES WITH INDEPENDENT INCREMENT

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Optimal Planar Interception with Fixed End Conditions: Approximate Solutions

In a previous paper (Ref. 1), an exact solution of the optimal planar interception with fixed end conditions was derived in closed form. The optimal control was expressed as an explicit function of the state variables and two fixed parameters, obtained by solving a set of nonlinear algebraic equations involving elliptic integrals. In order to facilitate the optimal control implementation, the present paper derives a highly accurate simplified solution assuming that the ratio of the pursuer turning radius to the initial range is small. An asymptotic expansion further reduces the computational workload. Construction of a near-optimal open-loop control, based on the approximations, completes the present paper.     

Alloying by high dose ion implantation of iron into magnesium and aluminium

Alloys of the systems Fe–Al (mixable over the whole concentration range) and Fe–Mg (insoluble with each other) were produced by implantation of Fe ions into Al and Mg, respectively. The implantation energy was 200 keV and the ion doses ranged from 1 × 10₁₄ to 9 × 10₁₇cm^-2The obtained implantation profiles were determined by Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. Maximum iron concentrations reached were up to 60 at.% for implantation into Al and 94 at.% for implantation into Mg. Phase analysis of the implanted layers was performed by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. For implantation into Mg, two different kinds of Mössbauer spectra were obtained: at low doses paramagnetic doublets indicating at least two different iron sites and at high doses a dominant ferromagnetic six‐line‐pattern with a small paramagnetic fraction. The X‐ray diffraction pattern concluded that in the latter case a dilated αiron lattice is formed. For implantation into Al, the Mössbauer spectra were doublet structures very similar to those obtained at amorphous Fe–Al alloys produced by rapid quenching methods. They also indicated at least two different main iron environments. For the highest implanted sample a ferromagnetic six‐line‐pattern with magnetic field values close to those of Fe₃Al appeared.     

State of and prospects for XeF(C−A) optically pumped lasers

Experimental and theoretical results are presented on an XeF(C?A) blue-green laser driven by 5-kJ energy. The laser was pumped by a ferrite-induced discharge of 90 cm in length. The output energy of 0.22 J was obtained with a plane-parallel resonator. A program to simulate laser operation has been developed. Numerical results for a wide range of conditions are compared with experiments performed by us and by other authors. It is found that intracavity refractive losses limit laser operation for XeF pressures above 3 torr. The laser efficiency strongly depends on the discharge-to-cavity length ratio. Possible ways to increase the laser power and efficiency are discussed.