The Challenge of the Market

Identifying markets for new or improved products for minor crops threatened with extinction is one critical component of any strategy intended to enhance prospects for sustainable production and use. Typically, however, activities linked to the sustainability of these commodities avoid addressing questions associated with assessing their commercial potential. After a brief review of this avoidance syndrome, this article presents a sample of practical, low-cost procedures to help evaluate the market prospects and procedures for crops like quinoa, while citing references to other methodological materials covering similar topics.     

Interface Management within Construction: In Particular, Building Facade

This paper discusses the need for interface management within construction, with particular reference to building facade interfaces. It categorizes the three different types of interface management—physical, contractual, and organizational. The implication of interface management in construction contracting is discussed; it is explained how the U.K. procurement trends have changed, affecting the interface management within projects. U.K. cladding procurement is very fragmented, and the paper maps the development of a typical cladding system showing the complexities of interface management. Finally, the paper discusses CladdISS, a U.K. government funded research project to develop a standardized strategy for the design and management of window and cladding interfaces. It explains the principles of CladdISS with reference to process maps, action plans, management strategy, bibliography, advice on standards, materials, maintenance, joints, movement, and tolerances. This will enable strategies to be developed to avoid the endemic interface problems occurring on-site. It will also guide the management of the interfaces throughout the project.     

Finite elements in the analysis of pressure vessels and piping-a bibliography (1976–1996)

The paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the analysis of pressure vessel structures/components and piping from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of this review is to give the reader an encyclopaedic view of the differnt possibilities that exist today for the finite element analysis in the fields of pressure vessels and piping. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains approximately 1900 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations on the subject that were published in 1976–1996. These are classified in the following categories: linear and non-linear, static and dynamic, stress and deflection analysis; stability problems; thermal problems; fracture mechanics problems; contact problems; fluid-structure interaction problems; manufacturing of pipes and tubes; welded pipes and pressure vessel components; development of special finite elements for pressure vessels and pipes; finite element software; and other topics. Also finite element software, general purpose and special purpose codes, used for the analysis of pressure vessels and pipes are briefly discussed and presented.     

Real-world extensions to scheduling algorithms based on lagrangian relaxation

Recently, efficient scheduling algorithms based on Lagrangian relaxation have been proposed for scheduling parallel machine systems and job shops. In this article, we develop real-world extensions to these scheduling methods. In the first part of the paper, we consider the problem of scheduling single operation jobs on parallel identical machines and extend the methodology to handle multiple classes of jobs, taking into account setup times and setup costs. The proposed methodology uses Lagrangian relaxation and simulated annealing in a hybrid framework. In the second part of the paper, we consider a Lagrangian relaxation based method for scheduling job shops and extend it to obtain a scheduling methodology for a real-world flexible manufacturing system with centralized material handling. This research was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Science and Technology grant N00014-93-1017.     

Graph‐Theory Approach to Eigenvalue Problem of Large Space Structures

The dynamic analysis and control system design of large space structures involve the solution of the large‐dimensional generalized matrix eigenvalue problem. The computational effort involved is proportional to the third power of the dimension of the matrices involved. To minimize the computational time a graph‐theory approach to reduce a matrix to lower‐ordered submatrices is proposed. The matrix‐reduction algorithm uses the Boolean matrices corresponding to the original numerical matrices and, thus, the computational effort to reduce the original matrix is nominal. The computational savings directly depend upon the number of submatrices into which the original matrix is reduced. A free‐free square plate is considered as an example to illustrate the technique. In this example a matrix of 16th order is reduced to three scalars corresponding to three rigid‐body modes, and three matrices of order three and one matrix of order four.     

Reconstruction of a discontinuous function from a few fourier coefficients using bayesian estimation

The goal of this paper is the application of spectral methods to the numerical solution of conservation law equations. Spectral methods furnish estimates of the firstn Fourier coefficients of the solution. But since the solutions of conservation law equations can have discontinuities, the estimate of the solution by summing the firstn terms of the Fourier series will haveO(1/n) error, even if the Fourier coefficients are known to high accuracy. But if the solution could be accurately reconstructed from its Fourier coefficients, spectral methods could be used effectively in these problems. A method for doing this is to assume a probability distribution for functions. Functions which are smooth away from the discontinuity are assumed to be likely, and those which are not smooth away from the discontinuity are assumed to be unlikely. Then a reconstruction algorithm is chosen by minimizing the expected error over all algorithms. It is possible to put the smoothness assumptions mentioned earlier into an infinite-dimensional Gaussian probability distribution, and then the minimum-error algorithm is well-known and fairly simple to construct and apply. If the Fourier coefficients of the reconstructed function are known exactly, then this approach gives very good results. But when used with Fourier coefficients obtained from a spectral approximation to Burgers' equation, the results were much less impressive, probably because the coefficients were not known very accurately. It is possible to construct filters that reconstruct a function using Legendre or Chebyshev coefficients for information instead Fourier coefficients. It is found that the performance of these filters is similar to the Fourier case.     

含钇奥氏体基堆焊焊条堆焊层研究

针对高温、磨损、热疲劳工况下服役零件的失效，研制了一种含稀土元素钇的奥氏体基沉淀强化型堆焊焊条，并对堆焊层组织与性能进行了较系统的研究。     

Formal methods: The next generation of system design tools

Because of the growing demand for increasingly complex computer-based systems there is now an urgent need to provide tools to assist during the design of such systems. Formal specifications and formal methods provide such assistance but their widespread adoption has been hindered by the so-called ‘math fear’ and the perception that the tools are too difficult, too time consuming and too costly to use in a commercial environment. The aim of this article is to dispel the mystery surrounding the topic and to explain what formal methods are, how and why they are used, the benefits that accrue and why the technology should be accepted on a broader front. The application of formal methods to the design of computer-based systems will be discussed without resorting to jargon or mathematics. The discussion will concentrate more on the software content of systems but the arguments apply equally well to hardware. Some of the available tools will also be introduced.     

Optical measurements of thermal diffusivity of a material

The measurement of thermal diffusivity of a material (in particular, a thin film) is important for various reasons, e.g., to predict the heat transfer in the solid subjected to a thermal process, to monitor surface composition or morphology, or to detect invisible subsurface defects like delaminations. This measurement can be done in a noncontact manner using various photothermal methods. Such methods typically involve pulsed heating of the surface by small amounts using a laser source; the decay of the surface temperature after this pulsed photothermal heating is then probed to provide the thermal diffusivity. Various probing methods have been developed in the literature, including the probing of reflection, refraction, and diffraction from the pulsed heated area, infrared thermal radiometry, and surface deformation. This paper provides an overview of such techniques and some examples of their applications.