Optimal cycle time and inventory decisions in coordinated and non-coordinated two-echelon inventory system under inflation and time value of money

In this paper, a mathematical model is developed for a coordinated and non-coordinated two-echelon inventory system comprising of a single manufacturer and a single retailer. The objective of the model is to demonstrate the optimality of cycle time and inventory decisions under the phenomena of different inflation rates at the manufacturer and retailer points. Also, it is aimed at determining the annual net revenue of the supply chain (SC). In the proposed model, the present value of the inflated ordering/set-up costs, purchase/unit costs, carrying costs and the gross revenue is computed for the retailer, manufacturer and the SC. A numerical example is devised to illustrate the optimality of decision variables and the objective function. Also, the sensitivity analysis is carried out. Results show that the present value of the annual net revenue of the retailer, manufacturer and SC decreases with increased inflation rate at the retailer and decreased inflation rate at the manufacturer simultaneously.     

VMI versus information sharing: an analysis under static uncertainty strategy with fill rate constraints

A vendor-managed inventory (VMI) relationship between a downstream retailer and an upstream vendor consists of two distinct components: (i) information sharing (IS) and (ii) a shift in decision-making responsibility. This study compares these two components of VMI in a two-stage serial supply chain based on the ‘static uncertainty’ strategy under dynamic and random demand with fill rate constraints. Numerical experiments are conducted using analytical models to identify the conditions where the incremental value of VMI over IS is significant. The results provide guidelines relevant to academia and supply chain practitioners in taking VMI adoption decision above and beyond IS according to their specific business environment.     

Strain Rate Effects on Dynamic Fractures in Fine‐grained Granitic Rock

The effect of dynamic strain rates on failure responses of a fine‐grained granitic rock is studied experimentally and theoretically. Theoretical investigation employs a model incorporating dynamic fracture criterion with damage mechanics theory. Experimental investigation is conducted using split Hopkinson pressure bar device. In order to investigate the effects of microstructure on dynamic fracture failure under different loading rates, fragment debris of each tested specimen is collected and analyzed. It is found through the debris analysis that the granitic rock breaks down into the fragment debris in grain size scales and the effect of strain rates on the formation of fragment debris appears to be related to the microstructure of the rock. It is also found that dynamic inertia induced by the dynamic loading can reduce the effect of friction confinement generated by the contact between the cylindrical specimen and two split Hopkinson pressure bars on the dynamic responses of the specimen. Theoretical evaluations agree with the corresponding experimental observations.     

基于13X沸石分子筛/MgCl_2的复合吸附剂性能实验研究

复合吸附剂的吸附性能是吸附制冷循环过程中的一个重要参数,基于测试整体成型复合吸附剂吸附性能的需要,本文设计搭建了一种整体成型吸附剂性能测试装置,对复合吸附剂MgCl_2-13X进行了吸附性能测试实验。结果表明:该实验装置中吸附床外侧底部的温度变化速率较接近吸附床内部底部吸附剂的温度变化速率,二者温度变化速率相差0.01~1.9℃/min,整个吸附和脱附过程二者温度的平均值相差约3.24%,能够满足吸附剂性能测试实验的要求。吸附剂性能测试实验及电镜下吸附剂的微观结构表明:浸泡法制备的复合吸附剂的吸附性能与MgCl_2溶液的浓度有关,MgCl_2能够改善13X沸石分子筛的吸附性能,本实验测得当MgCl_2溶液的浓度为15%时所制得复合吸附剂MX3性能最优,其最大吸附量为0.32 g/g,最大吸附速率0.59 g/min,相比单一吸附剂13X沸石分子筛提高了20%。     

Effects of alloy 718 microstructure on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility for oil and gas environments

The effects of alloy 718 microstructure on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility and tensile fracture mode were assessed through slow strain rate tensile testing and fracture surface analysis. Alloy 718 was annealed and aged to produce microstructures with variations in grain size and amount of grain boundary precipitates. Furthermore, the different ageing conditions likely resulted in differences in volume fractions and sizes of γ′ and γ′′ precipitates. The extent of grain boundary precipitation had the strongest effect on hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility, while grain size did not have any significant effect. Hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility was also correlated with differences in strength level, which was primarily controlled by the γ′ and γ′′ precipitate populations.     

Clustering Empirical Failure Rate Curves for Reliability Prediction Purposes in the Case of Consumer Electronic Products

In this paper, a methodology based on the combination of time series modeling and soft computational methods is presented to model and forecast bathtub‐shaped failure rate data of newly marketed consumer electronics. The time‐dependent functions of historical failure rates are typified by parameters of an analytic model that grabs the most important characteristics of these curves. The proposed approach is also verified by the presentation of an industrial application brought along at an electrical repair service provider company. The prediction capability of the introduced methodology is compared with moving average‐based and exponential smoothing‐based forecasting methods. According to the results of comparison, the presented method can be considered as a viable alternative reliability prediction technique. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Overview of Control Charts for High‐quality Processes

Major difficulties in the study of high‐quality processes with traditional process monitoring techniques are a high false alarm rate and a negative lower control limit. The purpose of time‐between‐events control charts is to overcome existing problems in the high‐quality process monitoring setup. Time‐between‐events charts detect an out‐of‐control situation without great loss of sensitivity as compared with existing charts. High‐quality control charts gained much attention over the last decade because of the technological revolution. This article is dedicated to providing an overview of recent research and presenting it in a unifying framework. To summarize results and draw a precise conclusion from the statistical point of view, cross‐tabulations are also given in this article. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fast and accurate fuzzy C‐means algorithm for MR brain image segmentation

Fuzzy theory based intelligent techniques are widely preferred for medical applications because of high accuracy. Among the fuzzy based techniques, Fuzzy C‐Means (FCM) algorithm is popular than the other approaches due to the availability of expert knowledge. But, one of the hidden facts is that the computational complexity of the FCM algorithm is significantly high. Since medical applications need to be time effective, suitable modifications must be made in this algorithm for practical feasibility. In this study, necessary changes are included in the FCM approach to make the approach time effective without compromising the segmentation efficiency. An additional data reduction approach is performed in the conventional FCM to minimize the computational complexity and the convergence rate. A comparative analysis with the conventional FCM algorithm and the proposed Fast and Accurate FCM (FAFCM) is also given to show the superior nature of the proposed approach. These techniques are analyzed in terms of segmentation efficiency and convergence rate. Experimental results show promising results for the proposed approach. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 26, 188–195, 2016     

一种新型低温容器综合性能检测仪设计及应用

针对低温容器性能检测实际需求,介绍了一种新型低温容器综合性能检测仪的设计计算方法及工艺流程,并从抽真空系统、测量分析系统、环境监测系统、控制系统及工艺流程方面重点阐述其设计方法,最后介绍了基于此设计完成的产品及实际应用情况。