Inferential control applications

In high-order, long-dead-time processes, inferential control systems will generally outperform conventional feedback control systems. To implement inferential control the user must know how to

• •—tune the inferential controller on line,
• •—avoid control degradation due to saturation of the control effort,
• •—smooth manual-automatic switching,
• •—design a cascade control system.

In addition, the user should be able to determine whether the benefits of inferential control justify its selection over a PID control system. This report presents ways to meet these requirements and applies the methods to an industrial autoclave plant and to a laboratory heat exchange system.     

Adaptive load-frequency control of the hungarian power system

The paper deals with the modelling of the power stations and the interconnected power systems for the design of the load-frequency controller of the Hungarian power system. It presents an adaptive regulator which uses the a priori known information and satisfies the multi-objective character of the control. The elaborated control strategy performs the following objectives:

• •—It eliminates the effect of the area load fluctuations to the tie-line power.
• •—It guarantees the scheduled value of the exported/imported energy.
• •—It reduces the commands sent to power stations.
• •—It satisfies the requirement with minimum cost.

The paper shows the real-time experiments with the implemented adaptive regulator which is presently applied for the load-frequency control of the Hungarian power system.     

A compiler for a linear chemical notation

A computer program, which translates an external linear representation of chemical components into an internal representation, is described. The recognition of the linear notation involves three main steps.

• •A lexicographic analysis.
• •A syntactic analysis carried out by means of a grammar associated to the linear language.
• •A semantic analysis.

     

High integrity software development: process and tool issues

YSE and BAe Defence have recently completed an unclassified study for MoD (PE) specifically concerned with high integrity software development process and tool issues. The overall objective of the project was to produce guidance for MoD project managers on the sorts of processes and toolsets which their suppliers should be expected to deploy on projects being conducted in the context of Interim Defense Standard (IDS) 00-55 and IDS 00-56. A wide-ranging survey of industrial practice underpinned the project.This paper reports the main areas of work of the project and its results. The topics covered include:

• •⊗ ideal high integrity software development including tool support requirements;
• •⊗ a review of current high integrity software development practice;
• •⊗ available tool support (COTS and proprietary);
• •⊗ a minimum acceptable process and associated tool support;
• •⊗ process and toolset hazard analysis;
• •⊗ process and toolset safety cases;
• •⊗ building better toolsets;
• •⊗ process and toolset assessment.

     

Measurement technology for automation in construction and large scale assembly

Fifty technical experts from business, industry, universities and government met in Washington, D.C., on February 5 and 6, 1985, to consider the issues of applying automation to construction and large scale assembly. This workshop, sponsored by the National Bureau of Standards and Transitions Research Corporation, concluded that:

• •• New technology achievable in the near term would have a major benefit in the construction and large scale assembly industries.
• •• The key to this benefit is the application of computers to data management and process control both off-site for design and planning and on-site for inventory management, production control and creation of an as-built database.
• •• The achievement of this new technology requires research carried out on the integration of systems for measurement and automated control of on-site construction and assembly tasks.

The consensus of the attendees at the workshop was that the specific problems that need attacking are:

• 1.1.System integration and standardization of data base technology for on-site use, for integration with measurement and inventory management systems, and integration with off-site computers.
• 2.2.Standardization of labeling for inventory management.
• 3.3.Development of real-time measurement technology for measuring position and dimensions and for inspection for quality assurance, particularly in materials properties (e.g. concrete).
• 4.4.Development of better machine control technology, particularly for lifting (cranes) and for material handling.

Specific recommendations for action included:

• •• Information transfer: a source of information on measurement technology that could be applied in construction and a major conference on this topic next year.
• •• A demonstration project to develop and demonstrate an as-built database on a real construction project.

     

Information technology and U.S. policy: Strategic options for the eighties

The 1980's can be expected to experience a profound transformation in information technology and information services. These include:

• •a confluence of diverse technology;
• •multi-industry, multinational and multigovernment R & D participation;
• •productivity increases along a broad front;
• •innovation as a self-generating cycle of new products;
• •an acceleration in the innovation process;
• •an increase in product obsolescence;
• •the migration of cheap intelligence to the shop, home, office and store;
• •the proliferation of information networks - regional, national, international;
• •the erosion of traditional market boundary lines and distinctions.

These developments confer a series of critical strategic options upon the public and the private sector in the United States.If public policy anticipates the future, broadens its portfolio, unleashes creative energy, rewards risk taking and abolishes traditional regulation, then the U.S. information economy will at least possess an opportunity to flourish in the decade of the 80's. If, on the other hand, policy continues its jurisdictional creep, stifles entry, regulates risks and penalizes entrepreneurship, then the U.S. economy risks forfeiting its future on the altar of tradition.     

Georelational mapping system for the environment

The aim of the system is to build up a data base that will facilitate integrated management of air pollution monitoring stations, industrial sites and liquid and/or gaseous wastes.The system consists of two sub-systems integrated with each other:

• •- Environmental database management subsystem
• •- Cartographic subsystem

     

Applications of finite element analysis in the rational design of track bed structures

Applications of finite element analysis in the study of the mechanical behaviour of track and track bed structures are presented.First are examined the conceptualization of the mesh and the effect of three-dimensional or bidimensional approaches. The appropriate constitutive law and the contact conditions between two layers are discussed afterwards.This method was used to predict stress and strain at the subgrade, sleeper and rail level, by taking into account:

• •• the form of the sleeper (wooden sleepers, prestresssed concrete sleepers, reinforced concrete sleepers)
• •• the thickness of the track bed structures
• •• the quality of the soil of the subgrade.

The flexibility of the various forms of sleepers was also studied. Practical use of the results obtained has been made in the rational design of track bed structures.     

dfms: A new control structure for fms

fms is traditionally used for production problems for which a high level of flexibility is required. These traditional fms systems are frequently controlled by a hierarchical control system implemented on a central computer. An implementation of a control system on one (big) computer has some disadvantages:

• •• The system is vulnerable. If the central control system breaks down, the whole system will become inoperative.
• •• It is difficult to adapt the capacity of the central computer system, when the fms is extended. It will be difficult to add control power in small steps on a ‘as needed’ basis.

Distributed fms (dfms) is a system architecture that can be implemented on a number of small control units: station managers. A complex central computer system is not needed. Advantages of the dfms concept include:

• •• reliability
• •• simplicity
• •• extensibility.

The dfms concept can be used for production problems for which a limited flexibility is required (‘limited’ flexibility as opposed to the virtually unlimited flexibility, which is aimed at by designers of traditional fms).Station Managers can be implemented on programmable cncs (Computer Numerical Controls). These programmable cncs offer the user, apart from a set of defined standard functions, the possibility to add user written code. The programmable part of the cnc will be used to implement functions as pallet control, tool control and data communication. Furthermore, specific station manager tasks will be implemented. Programmable cncs will enable system integrators to implement fms control systems on user specification.An alternative implementation uses small computer systems like ibm pcs to implement the Station Manager functionality. Each pc is connected through a serial link to the cnc it controls.     

Thermo-Calc & DICTRA,computational tools for materials science

Software for calculation of phase diagrams and thermodynamic properties have been developed since the 1970's. Software and computers have now developed to a level where such calculations can be used as tools for material and process development. In the present paper some of the latest software developments at Thermo-Calc Software are presented together with application examples. It is shown how advanced thermodynamic calculations have become more accessible since:

• •—|A more user-friendly windows version of Thermo-Calc, TCW, has been developed.
• •—|There is an increasing amount of thermodynamic databases for different materials available.
• •—|Thermo-Calc can be accessed from user-written software through several different programming interfaces are available which enables access to the thermodynamic software from a user-written software. Accurate data for thermodynamic properties and phase equilibria can then easily be incorporated into software written in e.g. C++, Matlab and FORTRAN.

Thermo-Calc Software also produces DICTRA, a software for simulation of diffusion controlled phase transformations. Using DICTRA it is possible to simulate processes such as homogenization, carburising, microsegregation and coarsening in multicomponent alloys. The different models in the DICTRA software are briefly presented in the present paper together with some application examples.     

Future paths for integer programming and links to artificial intelligence

Integer programming has benefited from many innovations in models and methods. Some of the promising directions for elaborating these innovations in the future may be viewed from a framework that links the perspectives of artificial intelligence and operations research. To demonstrate this, four key areas are examined:

• 1.(1) controlled randomization,
• 2.(2) learning strategies,
• 3.(3) induced decomposition and
• 4.(4) tabu search. Each of these is shown to have characteristics that appear usefully relevant to developments on the horizon.

     

Fault-Tolerant Routing in MIN-Based Supercomputers

We study methods for routing data in supercomputers that use multistage interconnection networks (MINs), in the presence of faulty components in the network. These methods are applicable to multiprocessors such as IBM GF11 and RP3. These methods are based on the concept of dynamic full access (DFA), which refers to the ability of the network to route data from any processor in the system to any other processor in a finite number of passes through the network. We introduce a graph model called the DFA graph of a MIN and show how it can be used to determine the DFA capability of the MIN under a given set of network faults. When the faults in the network satisfy certain special properties, we present algorithms for routing

• •any arbitrary permutation in a faulty Benes network, and
• •any Omega permutation in a faulty Omega network.

These algorithms are simple and operate in a distributed fashion. These techniques allow a supercomputer to efficiently realize permutations of data needed in a parallel computing environment despite the presence of faults in the network.     

The hydromagnetic flow of a dusty visco-elastic fluid between two infinite parallel plates

An initial value investigation is made on the motion of an incompressible visco-elastic (Rivlin-Ericksen) fluid with small particles between two infinite moving parallel plates in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. The flow is generated in the fluid particle system due to time dependent pressure gradient and also the motion of the plates in the presence of an external imposed transverse magnetic field. By Laplace transform technique, the velocity distribution and wall shear stress have been obtained for four different cases, when the pressure gradient and both the plate velocities are

• 1.(i) decreasing exponentially with time,
• 2.(ii) varying periodically with time,
• 3.(iii) impulsive type, and
• 4.(iv) acting for a finite time.

In each case, shear stresses at the boundary plates are also calculated.     

User experiences with a MICROPAD

This paper examines the utility of a hand-print terminal (The MICROPAD) for implementing human interaction with a computer data base. Three issues are addressed:

• its usefulness for textual and numerical input;
• the feasibility of its supporting line diagram images via ‘peck boxes’; and
• its use within a multi-media workstation.

     

In brief

• Schlumberger Smart Cards and Terminals
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Communications Security Establishment
• Orga Kartensysteme
• Giesecke & Devrient
• INSIDE Contactless
• Epecom Technology & Distribution
• PT Adiwira Sembada
• Saflink
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s
• Sagem
• Gemplus
• Ingenico
• Korea Information & Communications Co
• TDK Semiconductor Corporation
• All American Semiconductor
• SchlumbergerSema
• Schlumberger Ltd
• Tribute Ltd
• Giesecke & Devrient
• INSIDE Contactless
• Beacon Technologies
• US Navy
• Transport for London
• Smart Frog Holdings
• Red Alert Group
• NEXT
• Trintech Group
• Smart Card Forum of China
• Beijing Commercial Administration
• Schlumberger
• Precise Biometrics
• Microexpert
• Visa International
• Applied DNA Sciences
• Applied DNA Sciences Europe Ltd
• Biowell Technology

     

Development of methods for modelling complex ecological systems

In modelling complex ecological systems

• 1.(i) a new theory of diffusion of non-conservative particles,
• 2.(ii) procedures for aggregation and averaging of ecosystem components with subsequent hierarchical decomposition and for
• 3.(iii) joint analysis of dynamic and logical informational models were developed and shortly described.

Numerical procedures support the elaboration of prognoses about the behaviour of men-controlled ecological systems. Some results in modelling the North-West Black Sea shelf ecosystem are demonstrated.     

In brief

• Datacard Group
• GlobalPlatform
• Atmel Corporation
• Giesecke & Devrient
• Siemens Business Services
• Macao Special Administrative Region
• Unibanka
• Austria Card
• ViVOtech
• Global Payments
• Schlumberger Smart Cards and Terminals
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Datacard Group
• Sony’s
• SSP Solutions
• SSP-Litronic
• Department of Defense
• Visa International
• Datacard Group
• Nissan Motor Co
• SchlumbergerSema
• Legic Identsystems
• Airbus
• Financial Supervisory Committee
• Societe Generale
• Schlumberger Smart Cards & Terminals
• Visa
• MasterCard
• Wal-Mart, The Limited, Sears Roebuck, Safeway, Circuit City
• Schlumberger Smart Cards and Terminals
• Eurosmart
• Micróelectronica Española
• Target Corporation
• Insight Consulting
• ActivCard
• Radio Frequency Investigation
• Bell ID
• Giesecke & Devrient
• OTI