Evaluating the design of flexible manufacturing systems

Evaluating the design of flexible manufacturing systems is complex. Developing a measure of performance useful for evaluating alternate designs continues to be interesting. Here, total productivity of the system is proposed as an appropriate measure. Specification of parameters based upon strategic considerations for this measure are discussed. Finally, the usefulness of the measure is demonstrated through an example.     

Equitone Predicate Algebras and Their Applications

Predicates that preserve their values on a larger (extended) body of data are called equitone. An algebra of such predicates is constructed, a system of its generators is specified, and a complete system of transformations of identities is defined. The results obtained are used for construction and investigation of complete classes of compositions of various types and levels of abstractions that are used in logics of partial predicates.     

Kripke Semantics for Modal Substructural Logics

We introduce Kripke semantics for modal substructural logics, and provethe completeness theorems with respect to the semantics. Thecompleteness theorems are proved using an extended Ishihara's method ofcanonical model construction (Ishihara, 2000). The framework presentedcan deal with a broad range of modal substructural logics, including afragment of modal intuitionistic linear logic, and modal versions ofCorsi's logics, Visser's logic, Méndez's logics and relevant logics.     

Web-based systems design: a study of contemporary practices and an explanatory framework based on “method-in-action”

This paper reports the findings of a detailed study of Web-based systems design (WBSD) practices in Ireland based on data collected over a 3-year period (2002–2005), the objectives of which were to (1) contribute towards a richer understanding of the current “real-world” context of WBSD by characterising the profile of a typical project (team size, timeframe, nature of requirements, etc.) and identifying the key challenges, constraints, and imperatives (i.e. “mediating factors”) faced by Web-based system designers, and (2) understand how those contextual parameters and mediating factors influence the activity of WBSD as regards the selection and enactment of whatever design practices are therefore engaged (i.e. the use of methods, procedures, etc.). Data was gathered through a survey which yielded 165 usable responses, and later through a series of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Using grounded theory, an explanatory conceptual framework is derived, based on an extension of the “method-in-action” model, the application of which to WBSD has not been previously investigated in depth. It is proposed that this framework of WBSD issues is valuable in a number of ways to educators, researchers, practitioners, and method engineers.     

Controlling mechanical systems with backlash—a survey

Backlash is one of the most important non-linearities that limit the performance of speed and position control in industrial, robotics, automotive, automation and other applications. The control of systems with backlash has been the subject of study since the 1940s. This survey reveals that surprisingly few control innovations have been presented since the early path breaking papers that introduced the describing function analysis of systems with backlash. Promising developments are however taking place using adaptive and non-linear control strategies.     

Wiener models of direction-dependent dynamic systems

Analysis of systems with direction-dependent dynamics is currently limited to cases in which the dynamics in the two directions of the output are first order; results for such systems have been published for both pseudo-random maximum-length binary (MLB) and inverse-repeat maximum-length binary (IR-MLB) inputs. These relatively limited analytical results make it useful to examine alternative ways of modelling such systems and in this paper, Wiener models are considered for this purpose. Methods for optimising the Wiener model parameters by matching the system and model cross-correlation functions, outputs, and discrete Fourier transforms of the outputs are considered, and the results are compared. These methods are also applied to a first-order direction-dependent system with a maximum-length ternary (MLT) input, for which no analytical results are currently available, and to a second-order system with an IR-MLB input.     

The State of the Art in Text Filtering

This paper develops a conceptual framework for text filtering practice and research, and reviews present practice in the field. Text filtering is an information seeking process in which documents are selected from a dynamic text stream to satisfy a relatively stable and specific information need. A model of the information seeking process is introduced and specialized to define text filtering. The historical development of text filtering is then reviewed and case studies of recent work are used to highlight important design characteristics of modern text filtering systems. User modeling techniques drawn from information retrieval, recommender systems, machine learning and other fields are described. The paper concludes with observations on the present state of the art and implications for future research on text filtering. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

SIMILARITY LAW OF FLUCTUATING PRESSURE WITHIN HYDRAULIC JUMP AREA

Through a series of model tests of five scales for 2-D free hydraulic jump, the da-ta of fluctuating pressure acting on the floor level within the hydraulic jump were obtained. Dur-ing the experiments, Froude number varied from 2.94 to 8.61, and Reynolds number rangedfrom 2×10~4 to 6×10~5. Experiment results indicate that the amplitude scale of fluctuating pres-sure is the length scale of model, i. e. P'=L, which agrees with gravity similarity law: Thefrequency scale of the fluctuating pressure is a unity i. e., f=1, which does not satisfy thegravity similarity law.