Computer based discrete event simulation (DES) is one of the most commonly used aids for the design of automotive manufacturing systems. However, DES tools represent machines in extensive detail, while only representing workers as simple resources. This presents a problem when modelling systems with a highly manual work content, such as an assembly line. This paper describes research at Cranfield University, in collaboration with the Ford Motor Company, founded on the assumption that human variation is the cause of a large percentage of the disparity between simulation predictions and real world performance. The research aims to improve the accuracy and reliability of simulation prediction by including models of human factors. 相似文献
Sulfoaluminate-belite (SAB) cements are an attractive class of low-energy cements from the viewpoint of saving energy and releasing less CO2 into the atmosphere during their production. Their hydraulic activity, however, does not match that of the ordinary Portland cement (PC) and needs improvement before they can be used on their own. However, SAB cements when blended with PC have the potential to be used effectively in traditional applications as shown by this study. Mortars made with blends of SAB cements and PC, and a cement-to-sand ratio of 1:3 by weight and a water-to-cement ratio of 0.5, indicate a superior protection against corrosion of steel to those made with blends of PC and blast-furnace slag (BFSPC). The prepared mortars were stored at 20 °C for 90 days under either a 60% relative humidity (RH)-dry air, or 100% RH-wet air conditions. With further improvement in the SAB cement quality through better understanding of their characteristics, a genuine competition between SAB/PC and BFSPC can be expected in practice. 相似文献
The development of future mobile networks will be driven, in large part, by content and web based services. In this paper,
we examine several performance, scalability and architectural challenges faced by future mobile web applications and how advanced
mobile content delivery techniques can address these challenges. We review existing content delivery using a taxonomy that
consists of three categories: network scaling, end system acceleration, and content and protocol optimization. While wireline
content delivery focuses on network and server scalability, mobile content delivery will likely benefit most from optimizing
radio link usage. We also present our ongoing work in this area, which extends the functionality of edge caching to the terminal,
uses user interest correlation information to maintain low terminal power consumption and adds a new dimension to radio resource
management.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
This paper concerns the following problem: given a set of multi-attribute records, a fixed number of buckets and a two-disk system, arrange the records into the buckets and then store the buckets between the disks in such a way that, over all possible orthogonal range queries (ORQs), the disk access concurrency is maximized. We shall adopt the multiple key hashing (MKH) method for arranging records into buckets and use the disk modulo (DM) allocation method for storing buckets onto disks. Since the DM allocation method has been shown to be superior to any other allocation methods for allocating an MKH file onto a two-disk system for answering ORQs, the real issue is knowing how to determine an optimal way for organizing the records into buckets based upon the MKH concept.
A performance formula that can be used to evaluate the average response time, over all possible ORQs, of an MKH file in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is first presented. Based upon this formula, it is shown that our design problem is related to a notoriously difficult problem, namely the Prime Number Problem. Then a performance lower bound and an efficient algorithm for designing optimal MKH files in certain cases are presented. It is pointed out that in some cases the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a two-disk system using the DM allocation method is identical to the optimal MKH file for ORQs in a single-disk system and the optimal average response time in a two-disk system is slightly greater than one half of that in a single-disk system. 相似文献
Pointing tasks in human–computer interaction obey certain speed–accuracy tradeoff rules. In general, the more accurate the task to be accomplished, the longer it takes and vice versa. Fitts’ law models the speed–accuracy tradeoff effect in pointing as imposed by the task parameters, through Fitts’ index of difficulty (Id) based on the ratio of the nominal movement distance and the size of the target. Operating with different speed or accuracy biases, performers may utilize more or less area than the target specifies, introducing another subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff relative to the task specification. A conventional approach to overcome the impact of the subjective layer of speed–accuracy tradeoff is to use the a posteriori “effective” pointing precision We in lieu of the nominal target width W. Such an approach has lacked a theoretical or empirical foundation. This study investigates the nature and the relationship of the two layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff by systematically controlling both Id and the index of target utilization Iu in a set of four experiments. Their results show that the impacts of the two layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff are not fundamentally equivalent. The use of We could indeed compensate for the difference in target utilization, but not completely. More logical Fitts’ law parameter estimates can be obtained by the We adjustment, although its use also lowers the correlation between pointing time and the index of difficulty. The study also shows the complex interaction effect between Id and Iu, suggesting that a simple and complete model accommodating both layers of speed–accuracy tradeoff may not exist. 相似文献
Network survivability is a crucial requirement in WDM mesh networks. In this paper, we systematically consider the problem of dynamic survivability with dynamic single link failure in WDM networks under dynamic traffic demands. Specifically, we investigate various protection schemes, such as dedicated path protection (DPP), shared path protection (SPP), dedicated link protection (DLP), shared link protection (SLP), and two restoration schemes, path restoration (PR) and link restoration (LR). Moreover, two new shared protection methods are proposed, i.e., SRLG-based shared link protection (SRLG-SLP) and SRLG-based shared path protection (SRLG-SPP). The SRLG (shared risk link group) constraint defines the availability of protection resources to a working path, which requires that any two working paths sharing the same risk of failure (or in the same SRLG) cannot share the same protection resources. Furthermore, in our study, we consider a more practical dynamic single-link failure model, in which the link-failure-interarrival time and link-failure-holding time are considered as two independent parameters. Based on this link-failure model, extensive simulations are done to analyze and compare the dynamic survivable performance of various protection and restoration schemes. Resource utilization, protection efficiency, restoration efficiency, and service disruption ratio are employed as survivable performance metrics versus traffic load, link-failure frequency, and link-failure reparation time to evaluate the survivable performance. Many meaningful results are given. In addition, we show that the developed SRLG-SLP and SRLG-SPP protection schemes perform very well in terms of protection efficiency and service disruption ratio, while sacrificing some performance in terms of resource utilization. 相似文献