Considerations on modelling the market for softwood lumber in the United States

The analysis in this paper looks at two important elements in modelling the market for timber in the United States. First, the issue of directional causality between price and quantity and its implications in a modelling effort is investigated. Second, the extent of the geographic market for timber is discussed and a method of detecting it is suggested. The method for detecting the extent of the geographical market is tractable and can be applied in a straightforward way. Both considerations are applied to the softwood lumber market in the United States.     

Nonlinear multiple objective optimization: An algorithm and some theory

This paper presents an algorithm and the supporting theory for solving a class of nonlinear multiple criteria optimization problems using Zionts—Wallenius type of interaction. The Zionts—Wallenius method, as extended in this paper, can be used for solving multiple criteria problems with concave objective and (implicit) value functions and convex feasible regions. Modifications of the method to handle nonconvex feasible regions and general nonlinear objective functions are also discussed.This research was supported, in part, by a Faculty Research Development Award and by a Council of 100 Research Grant from Arizona State University (Roy), and by a grant from Y. Jahnsson Foundation, Finland (Wallenius). The research was performed while the second author was a Visiting Professor at Arizona State University.     

Pure adaptive search in global optimization

Pure adaptive seach iteratively constructs a sequence of interior points uniformly distributed within the corresponding sequence of nested improving regions of the feasible space. That is, at any iteration, the next point in the sequence is uniformly distributed over the region of feasible space containing all points that are strictly superior in value to the previous points in the sequence. The complexity of this algorithm is measured by the expected number of iterations required to achieve a given accuracy of solution. We show that for global mathematical programs satisfying the Lipschitz condition, its complexity increases at mostlinearly in the dimension of the problem.This work was supported in part by NATO grant 0119/89.     

The electron current to a Langmuir probe in a flowing high-pressureplasma

The electron current to a Langmuir probe in a moving high-pressure plasma has been measured and analyzed. The plasma is an atmospheric-pressure propane flame, and the probe's speed relative to the plasma was varied from 10 ms^-1 to 30 ms^-1. The current is linearly dependent on the speed and appears to be comprised of two components-one driven by diffusion and the other by convection. A model is devised which can be used to measure the electron density. By comparing the density computed from this model to that measured from the ion current, it has been possible to measure the electron mobility in the flame gases. The value obtained by the authors is in good agreement with theoretical calculations found in the literature     

Effect of distortion in electron impact excitation in Coulomb-projected Born approximation

We have calculated total and differential cross-sections for 1s →ns (n = 2, 3, 4) electron impact excitation of hydrogen and hydrogenic ions at various energies in Coulomb-projected Born approximation. Distortion due to static interactions, target polarization and exchange effects has been incorporated in the initial channel. The present calculations have been compared with other theoretical and experimental results.     

Underbody and ground effects on rotating disc flow: a global scale inviscid study

The flow induced by a finite disc rotating near horizontal ground is considered, including the effects of an underbody. This paper concentrates on determining the shape of the free layer beyond the rim of the disc which is horizontal in the absence of the underbody and ground but forced to deform to ensure that conditions across the layer are satisfied when the underbody or ground is added. The far-field behaviour, the inviscid flow produced by a nominally infinite disc near the ground and the global solution for small ground clearances are considered analytically, and the full problem is posed as an integral problem. This is then solved numerically and analytically. Results are presented for various heights of the disc above the ground and for discs with an axisymmetric underbody present. A universal form is found for the farfield shape (which is controlled by entrainment into the free layer) but both the underbody and the ground effects are found to increase very significantly for reduced clearances.     

Predicting the onset of DNA supercoiling using a non-linear hemitropic elastic rod

Elastic rod models provide a means to interpret single molecule DNA experiments as well as predict DNA behavior under physiological conditions. Here we use an elastic rod model to predict the stability boundary (critical torque vs. applied tension) for single molecule DNA experiments in which the molecule is subjected to applied tension and twist. We discuss the shortcomings of the usual isotropic rod model. We then derive a consistent non-linear material law from the general representation for a hemitropic (chiral) rod. Finally, we present results of a standard bifurcation analysis predicting the stability boundary. We find results from the non-linear hemitropic rod to match the data closely.