Configuration Design Sensitivity Analysis of Kinematic Responses of Mechanical Systems∗

Abstract

A continuum-based configuration design sensitivity analysis method is presented for kinematically driven mechanical systems. Configuration design variable for mechanical systems are defined. The 3-1-3 Euler angle is used as the orientation design variable. The reassembly process for a mechanical system after a configuration design change is eliminated by imposing kinematic admissibility conditions of the velocity field. The direct differentiation method is used to derive design sensitivity equations. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Electron-phonon coupling in cuprate and iron-based superconductors revealed by Raman scattering

Electron-phonon coupling （EPC） in cuprate and iron-based superconducting systems, as revealed by Raman scat- tering, is briefly reviewed. We introduce how to extract the coupling information through phonon lineshape. Then we discuss the strength of EPC in different high-temperature superconductor （HTSC） systems and possible factors affecting the strength. A comparative study between Raman phonon theories and experiments allows us to gain insight into some crucial electronic properties, especially superconductivity. Finally, we summarize and compare EPC in the two existing HTSC systems, and discuss what role it may play in the HTSC.     

SPONTANEOUS TRANSFORMATIONS OF NANOCLUSTERS

It is well-known that nano-systems can have properties which are distinctly different from macroscopic systems. In this study we point out the following specific behaviour: if the particle number is decreased so that the size of the system is in the nanometer-realm, new effects emerge which reflect certain features of biological systems although the system is inorganic in nature. This behaviour is shown by realistic molecular dynamics calculations in connection with aluminum-nanoclusters at various temperatures. The clusters can transform without external influence from a metastable into a stable state, and there can be more than one stable state, that is, we observe a bifurcation in the sense of chaos-theory. The stable states can differ in both the atomic structure and the outer shape.     

Universality in the length spectrum of integrable systems

The length spectrum of periodic orbits in integrable hamiltonian systems can be expressed in terms of the set of winding numbers {M ₁,…,M _f} on thef-tori. Using the Poisson summation formula, one can thus express the density, Σδ(T−T _M), as a sum of a smooth average part and fluctuations about it. Working with homogeneous separable potentials, we explicitly show that the fluctuations are due to quantal energies. Further, their statistical properties are universal and typical of a Poisson process as in the corresponding quantal energy eigenvalues. It is interesting to note however that even though long periodic orbits in chaotic billiards have similar statistical properties, the form of the fluctuations are indeed very different.     

Exact results for the asymmetric simple exclusion process with a blockage

We present new results for the current as a function of transmission rate in the one-dimensional totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP) with a blockage that lowers the jump rate at one site from one tor<1. Exact finitevolume results serve to bound the allowed values for the current in the infinite system. This proves the existence of a nonequilibrium phase transition, corresponding to an immiscibility gap in the allowed values of the asymptotic densities which the infinite system can have in a stationary state. A series expansion inr, derived from the finite systems, is proven to be asymptotic for all sufficiently large systems. Padé approximants based on this series, which make specific assumptions about the nature of the singularity atr=1, match numerical data for the infinite system to 1 part in 10⁴.     

The shuttle dispatch problem with compound Poisson arrivals: Controls at two terminals

We consider the control of an infinite capacity shuttle which transports passengers between two terminals. The passengers arrive at each terminal according to a compound Poisson process and the travel time from one terminal to the other is a random variable following an arbitrary distribution. The following control limit policy is considered: dispatch the shuttle at terminali, at the instant that the total number of passengers waiting at terminali reaches or exceeds a predetermined control limitm _i . The objective of this paper is to obtain the mean waiting time of an arbitrary passenger at each terminal for given control valuesm ₁ andm ₂. We also discuss a search procedure to obtain the optimal control values which minimize the total expected cost per unit time under a linear cost structure.