Transport network design and mode choice modeling for automobile distribution: A case study

This paper describes the development and implementation of a mixed integer programming type model designed to determine the best transport mode and rail network location strategy for a leading international automobile manufacturer to supply its North American dealers. In particular, this manufacturer wished to establish a plan for its future vehicle distribution that would determine the best mix of truck, conventional rail and containerized intermodal rail to transport cars and light trucks from its North American plants and ports of entry to its dealers. Further, the manufacturer desired to evaluate the proper number, types and locations of rail terminals required for its distribution network. This paper is intended to provide a perspective on the practical application side of this study and how one can conduct such studies in a condensed time period. Thus, in addition to describing the study problem, results and benefits, we also emphasize such topics as how one can manipulate relatively “user friendly” commercial software to address potentially complex mode choice and location problems.     

A method for design of a hybrid neuro-fuzzy control system based onbehavior modeling

It is known that control signals from a fuzzy logic controller are determined by a response behavior of a controlled object rather than its analytical models. That implies that the fuzzy controller could yield a similar control result for a set of plants with a similar dynamic behavior. This idea lends to modeling of a plant with unknown structure by defining several types of dynamic behaviors. On the basis of dynamic behavior classification, a new method is presented for the design of a neuro-fuzzy control system in two steps: 1) we model a plant with unknown structure by choosing a set of simplified systems with equivalent behavior as “templates” to optimize their fuzzy controllers off-line; and 2) we use an algorithm for system identification to perceive dynamic behavior and a neural network to adapt fuzzy logic controllers by matching the “templates” online. The main advantage of this method is that convergence problem can be avoided during adaptation process. Finally, the proposed method is used to design neuro-fuzzy controllers for a two-link manipulator     

A CBR system for injection mould design based on ontology: A case study

Case-based reasoning (CBR) often shows significant promise for improving the effectiveness of design support in mould design, which is a domain strong in practice but poor in theory. However, existing CBR systems lack semantic understanding, which is important for intelligent knowledge retrieval in design support system. This hinders the application of CBR in injection mould design. In order to develop an intelligent CBR system and meet the need of design support for injection mould design, this paper integrates ontology technology into a CBR system by constructing domain ontology as case-base with a new method, in which two means of acquisition are combined, one is acquiring ontology from existing ontologies, the other from established engineering knowledge resources, and proposing a new semantic retrieval method as the first grade case retrieval. Numerical measurement is also employed as the second grade case retrieval, which adopts various methods to calculate different types of attribute values. A case is executed to illustrate the use of proposed CBR system, then a lot of experiments are organized to evaluate its performance and the result shows that the proposed approach outperforms existing CBR systems.     

A case study in the design of BTO/CTO shop floor control system

Although computerized information systems are conventionally used to control production, applying a manual approach and improper logistical assignments typically reduces operating efficiency and increases customer service response time. Satisfying the requirements of remaining competitiveness in the current marketplace, such as offering build-to-order (BTO) or configuration-to-order (CTO) services is difficult. This study presents an integrated information system for use in shop floor controlling systems (SFCS) for kitting parts, producing goods, packing finished goods and distributing them, to enhance the performance of the BTO/CTO production system. Several information technologies and devices, such as barcode system, the electronic pick-to-light picking system, electronic Kanban (eKanban), and others are adopted to support the relevant logistics. A personal computer (PC) manufacturer is used to demonstrate the proposed system. The findings of the study reveal that the proposed information system can respond to the status of the production line in real time. This responsiveness can help the production controller to make a suitable decision and quickly meet the requirements of the BTO/CTO production system.     

Business-oriented service modeling: A case study

Based on our hand-on experiences in developing a service-based problem-solving environment for bioinformatics research, we present in this paper a particular approach called VINCA4Science to business-oriented modeling of service functionalities, to Web services virtualization and to user-centric utilization of modeled artifacts. Some practical effects regarding the improvement of domain stability, efficiency and scalability are illustrated.     

Decentralized control design of interconnected chains of integrators: A case study

We develop a constructive decentralized control design procedure for a class of systems that may be loosely described as chained integrators which are dynamically coupled. The design method is inspired by nested saturation control ideas and formulated by applying the singular perturbation theory. We demonstrate that the proposed design provides a Lyapunov function for an associated closed loop system from which semi-global stability may be deduced. Using the proposed idea, we design a semi-globally stabilizing control law for a four degree of freedom spherical inverted pendulum.     

Expertise, domain-structure and expert system design: a case study in development control

Abstract: This paper outlines the approach taken and presents some early findings from a research project which aims to examine the potential of expert systems in British Development Control; it is a progress report more than an account of finished research. It follows the structure of the research project, dealing first with methodological issues, and then moving on to discuss the specific domain of application.     

CFD模拟与流化床气体分布板的结构设计

针对流化床工业设备,简要阐述了加强气体分布板结构设计的重要性。在此基础上,结合对计算流体力学(computational fluid dynamics,CFD)理论及相关计算软件的介绍,重点阐明了FLUENT软件的计算特点及气固流化系统的流场模型,同时还列举了若干基于FLUENT、FIRE、PHOENICS、CFX等CFD软件的流化过程模拟及气体分布板结构优化的实例,并指出了该类研究的几点不足之处,以明确下一步的研发重点。     

User-interface design for text editing: A case study

This paper describes the design of the user interface of a text editor named Occam with the goal of communicating by example the process of user-interface design. An attempt is made to induce principles; where that attempt falls, the raw details are presented. First Occam Itself Is described, and then aspects of its user Interface are used to exemplify (1) power versus ease of learning, (2) the use of prototypes and user feedback, (3) the importance of planning and (4) error detection and handling.     

Using simulation for facility design: A case study

A discrete event simulation model was developed and used to estimate the storage area required for a proposed overseas textile manufacturing facility. It was found that the simulation was able to achieve this because of its ability to both store attribute values and to show queuing levels at an individual product level. It was also found that the process of undertaking the simulation project initiated useful discussions regarding the operation of the facility. Discrete event simulation is shown to be much more than an exercise in quantitative analysis of results and an important task of the simulation project manager is to initiate a debate among decision makers regarding the assumptions of how the system operates.     

Cloud based management and control system for smart communities: A practical case study

In this study, the implementation of cloud based smart community management and control system was undertaken. SmartComunity.in is a flexible platform to manage and control the affairs of a condominium or society with thorough participation, visibility and transparency. Our research is the first attempt to study one such real life system of cloud based control and management in a smart housing community in India. There is a dearth of exploratory studies that explain the diffusion and adoption of cloud computing in different contexts and from a multiple stakeholder perspective. So, the main contribution of our research is to understand the framework of cloud computing based smart community services in India and the emerging cloud computing ecosystems. This research has wide ranging implications on the future of Internet of Things, and can be extended to elderly health and support, energy efficient systems and smart cities.     

Integrated architectural modeling and analysis for high-assurance command and control system design

A Real-Time Architectural Specification (RAS) approach and its application to command and control (C2) systems are presented. Our objective is to establish a formal foundation that will enable us to integrate existing rich but fragmented formal techniques for system specification and verification into a practical and scaleable formal engineering method to support the design and development of highly reliable real-time distributed systems. The contribution of RAS is twofold: First, it provides a formal system that integrates system's timing requirements and requirements propagation into the process of architectural modeling and design in such a way that allows us to systematically enforce that the requirements are met in every step of the design process. Second, it offers an incremental and more scaleable approach for design modeling. These two features together make RAS a suitable model for the design of C2 systems. We further present an incremental method for verifying timing properties of an RAS model that helps to reduce the complexity of analysis both at a given design level and across different design levels. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A design modification for a quadrotor UAV: modeling,control and implementation

Conventional quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles have crucial underactuation limitations. This appears in the coupling between the roll angle and movement along the y-direction, and between the pitch angle and movement along the x-direction. The quadrotor capability of hovering with either roll or pitch angle is restricted due to these limitations. In this paper, a design modification, with experimental verification, is proposed in order to increase the quadrotor degrees of freedom and improve its hovering capability. Four additional rotations for the propellers about the axes perpendicular to the arms grant overactuated system. It could be used to make a horizontal movement with zero inclination angle which is followed in this work as an example for the skills acquired by the quadrotor due to the proposed design. Choosing different tilting axes, rather than the mostly considered ones in previous work which are about the ones along the arms, enhances the advantages of this modification. The benefits are to increase the degrees of freedom and improve the hovering of the quadrotor as well. A PID controller is utilized for practical implementation of the proposed design. Simulation and experimental results show the validity of the proposed design.     

Software design representation: A case study

In on attempt to improve the representation used for software design, this paper describes the representation used on an actual project. Improvement through the use of case studies such as this one requires explicit analysis; this is presented in the following paper, so that the two should be read together.     

A probabilistic fuzzy logic system for modeling and control

In this paper, a probabilistic fuzzy logic system (PFLS) is proposed for the modeling and control problems. Similar to the ordinary fuzzy logic system (FLS), the PFLS consists of the fuzzification, inference engine and defuzzification operation to process the fuzzy information. Different to the FLS, it uses the probabilistic modeling method to improve the stochastic modeling capability. By using a three-dimensional membership function (MF), the PFLS is able to handle the effect of random noise and stochastic uncertainties existing in the process. A unique defuzzification method is proposed to simplify the complex operation. Finally, the proposed PFLS is applied to a function approximation problem and a robotic system. It shows a better performance than an ordinary FLS in stochastic circumstance.     

非线性动态系统神经模糊建模与内模/PID双重控制系统设计

非线性动态系统的内模控制要求建立精确的对象正模型和逆模型,这对于大多数实际对象是难以做到.提出了基于一类神经模糊模型的非线性动态系统建模方法,并在此基础上研究了基于神经模糊模型的非线性系统的内模控制设计.基于输入输出数据辨识的对象正模型和逆模型存在着模型失配问题,导致神经模糊内模控制范围变窄和控制鲁棒性降低,为了改善系统的性能,提出了神经模糊内模控制与PID控制结合的双重控制策略.对CSTR的反应物浓度控制研究表明,双重控制策略能有效地拓宽系统可控范围,改善系统性能.仿真结果证明该控制策略简单而有效.     

Data-driven generative design for mass customization: A case study

Generative design provides a promising algorithmic solution for mass customization of products, improving both product variety and design efficiency. However, the current designer-driven generative design formulates the automated program in a manual manner and has insufficient ability to satisfy the diverse needs of individuals. In this work, we propose a data-driven generative design framework by integrating multiple types of data to improve the automation level and performance of detail design to boost design efficiency and improve user satisfaction. A computational workflow including automated shape synthesis and structure design methods is established. More specifically, existing designs selected based on user preferences are utilized in the shape synthesis for creating generative models. For structural design, user-product interaction data gathered by sensors are used as inputs for controlling the spatial distributions of heterogeneous lattice structures. Finally, the proposed concept and workflow are demonstrated with a bike saddle design with a personalized shape and inner structures to be manufactured with additive manufacturing.     

Constrained mechanical systems modeling and control: A free-floating space manipulator case as a multi-constrained system

The paper presents a development of a modeling framework for constrained multibody systems, for which constraints may arise either as kinematic, task-based, design, control or origin from conservation laws. The framework is control oriented since its dynamic modules yield nonlinear system dynamics in reduced state forms, i.e., ready to employ control algorithms. It encompasses systems subjected to any equality first order constraints and in this regard it unifies modeling for control applications. The framework properties support numerical computation and simulation studies for nonlinear system models due to the dynamic modeling unification and the reduction procedure built into it. The framework application is illustrated by an example of dynamics modeling and designing a tracking controller for a free-floating space manipulator, which is underactuated, subjected to conservation laws and task-based constraints.     

Adaptive manipulator control: A case study

The author's previous work (1986, 1987) utilized the particular structure of manipulator dynamics to develop a simple, globally convergent adaptive controller for manipulator trajectory control problems. After summarizing the basic algorithm, they demonstrate the approach on a high-speed two-degree-of-freedom semi-direct-drive robot. They show that the dynamic parameters of the manipulator, assumed to be initially unknown, can be estimated within the first half second of a typical run, and that accordingly, the manipulator trajectory can be precisely controlled. These experimental results demonstrate that the adaptive controller enjoys essentially the same level of robustness to unmodeled dynamics as a PD (proportional and differential) controller, yet achieves much better tracking accuracy than either PD or computed-torque schemes. Its superior performance for high-speed operations, in the presence of parametric and nonparametric uncertainties, and its relative computational simplicity, make it an attractive option both for addressing complex industrial tasks, and for simplifying high-level programming of more standard operations     

Advanced process control system for a crude distillation unit. A case study

Development, implementation, and operation of an advanced control system for a crude distillation unit are described. The system is based on Honeywell Profit® Controller software. The paper outlines the CDU/VDU-4 plant of Gasprom Neftekhim Salavat JSC (Bashkortostan Republic, Russia) as a control object, discusses project implementation phases, mentions APC maintenance issues, and summarizes key success factors.