Application of fiber optic sensors to fracture mechanics problems

An experimental study is conducted to show the application of fiber optic sensors to fracture mechanics problems. Mode I stress intensity factors are obtained using single mode optical fibers in single edge notched specimens fabricated from aluminium. A Mach–Zehnder interferometric set up is used during the experiments. The experimental results compare well with theoretical predictions.     

Determination of unit load sizes in an AGV-based material handling system for an FMS

Unit load size is a key factor in an automated guided vehicle based material handling system for a flexible manufacturing system. Highlighting this aspect and its importance at the design stage, this paper presents an integer programming formulation of the problem of finding the optimal unit load size. Using an existing analytical model to decide the number of AGVs required, an algorithm based on branching and implicit enumeration and a heuristic have been developed. Revised computations due to dynamic system conditions such as changes in part mix are also possible with the proposed algorithms. The methodologies have been demonstrated using numerical examples.     

Complexity of unification problems with associative-commutative operators

The unification problem for terms containing associative and commutative functions is of importance in theorem provers based on term rewriting and resolution methods as well as in logic programming. The complexity of determining whether two such terms are unifiable was known to be NP-hard. It is proved that the problem is NP-complete by describing a nondeterministic polynomial time algorithm for it. The case where the terms are linear and have no common variables is shown to be in P. The NP-completeness of other similar unification problems, in particular, when a function symbol is also idempotent and/or has a unit (identity), is also discussed. Finally, a table of the complexity of E-matching and E-unification problems is given.Partially supported by the National Science Foundation grant nos. DCR-8408461 and CCR-8906678. A preliminary version of this paper appeared earlier as a technical report of General Electric Corporate Research and Development, Dec. 1986.     

Experimental analysis of a two‐axis tracking system for solar parabolic dish collector

In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a two‐axis tracking system for solar parabolic dish concentrator and experimentally evaluated the performance of the tracking system. In this proposed design, the sensor design uses the illumination produced by the convex lens on the apex of a pyramid to align the dish in‐line with the sun. The change in incident angle of the solar rays on the lens surface shifts the area of illumination from the apex of the pyramid towards its faces. Photodiodes placed on the faces of the pyramid are used as the sensitive elements to detect the movement of the sun. The sensor output is fed to a microcontroller‐based system to drive the stepper motor on the basis of the programmed algorithm such that it receives normal incidence of sunlight on the sensor. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, a conventional available 1‐W photovoltaic (PV) panel is placed at the focal point to measure the short circuit current and open circuit voltage. With respect to the conventional solar PV panel, it is observed that the positioning accuracy of the proposed tracking system enhances the short circuit current of 0.11 A by 86%. Thus, the proposed tracking system can be used in a stand‐alone parabolic dish with concentrating PV module as the focal point for further studies.     

A model for planning the product portfolio and launch timings under resource constraints

Product design is increasingly becoming a critical function in many organisations having significant impact on their performance. It aims at the selection of a near-optimal mix of products and attribute-levels to offer in the target market. The standard product portfolio planning approach has focused on selecting optimum product profiles based on part-worth utility data. However, given that product development happens in multiple stages, combining the product definition decisions with the product development feasibility will provide organisations with a more inclusive and global solution. This paper considers a resource-constrained environment with a multi-stage product development cycle and presents an approach for helping an organisation to select the definitions of products for its product portfolio and the feasible launch timings. The proposed framework will aid product managers and researchers to identify and evaluate alternative product definitions using a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model in order to determine the alternatives which best balance product features and product development.     

Elastostatic interaction of multiple arbitrarily shaped cracks in plane inhomogeneous regions

A numerical technique has been developed for the determination of stress fields associated with multiple arbitrarily shaped cracks in plane inhomogeneous regions. The procedure allows the elastostatic analysis of cracks interacting with one or more straight bimaterial interfaces; of cracks located near, or emanating from, circular inclusions; and of cracks that emanate from single or multiple origins. The cracks may be branched or blunted, and may be subjected to arbitrarily applied stresses. The technique employs an efficient surface integral method, using distributions of edge dislocations to represent the cracks. The resulting singular integral equations are solved using a Gauss-Chebyshev integration formula; appropriate conditions are developed for closing the set of equations governing cracks intersecting inhomogeneity boundaries, based on a consideration of the stresses and displacements at the points of intersection. Crack-tip stress intensity factor results are presented for several crack configurations. The overall scheme provides a more general, direct, and convenient approach than other available schemes. A computer program has been developed to implement the various formulations in a single framework.     

Development of a hybrid neural network model to predict feeding method in fed‐batch cultivation for enhanced recombinant streptokinase productivity in Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND: A simple and efficient model for enhancing production of recombinant proteins is essential for cost effective development of processes at industrial scale. A hybrid neural network (HNN) model is proposed combining an unstructured model and neural network to predict the feeding method for the post‐induction phase of fed‐batch cultivation for increased recombinant streptokinase activity in Escherichia coli. RESULTS: The parameters of the unstructured model were estimated from experiments conducted with various feeding methods. The simulated model described the dynamics of the process satisfactorily, however, its predictive capability of the process for different feeding methods is limited due to wide disparity in process parameters. In contrast, a neural network model trained to map the variations in process parameters to state variables complements the ‘first principle’ model in predicting the state variables effectively. CONCLUSIONS: The HNN model is able to predict the product profile for different substrate feed rates. Further, the average volumetric streptokinase activity predicted by the HNN model matches closely the experimental values for fed‐batches having high as well as low streptokinase activity. The HNN model developed in this study could facilitate development of a process for recombinant protein production with minimum number of experiments. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Logical Cell Formation in FMS, Using Flexibility-Based Criteria

Flexible manufacturing systems often are organized into a cellular architecture for ease of operation. The formation of these cells sometimes has been treated as an extension of the conventional cell-formation problem. This paper argues that, owing to the existence of flexible routing and transfer capabilities, the cell-formation problem in FMSs should be treated as quite distinct from that in conventional manufacturing systems and shows that a flexibility-based procedure is apt for overcoming the deficiencies of earlier forays into this area. Manufacturing cell flexibility is defined as a composite of three flexibility measures: producibility,processivity , and transferability. The problem of cell formation is modeled as flexibility maximization, and a procedure is developed for the simultaneous formation of machine cells and part families, while heuristically maximizing within-cell flexibility.     

Study of chromia alumia catalysts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of increasing chromium concentration on the activity and physical properties of chromia/alumina catalysts. The catalysts were prepared by impregnating η-alumina support in various concentrations of chromic acid solution and were finally calcined in air. A variety of physical-chemical properties of the catalysts were studied. These included BET surface area, pore volume, metal concentration, x-ray diffraction studies, oxidation states using EPR, surface oxidation (excess oxygen) measurement by iodometric titration, metal area measurement and crystallite size determination. Decomposition of hydrogen peroxide was used to determine the activity of various catalysts. A correlation of catalytic activity with crystallite size indicated that both, activity per unit chromia area and activity per g of catalyst were maximum at a crystallite size of 3.7 mm. Also, the activity per unit chromia area is maximum when chromia is deposited 3-4 layers thick. In contradiction to the view put forth in the literature, this study indicates (on the basis of excess oxygen and chemisorption measurement) that not only is all of the top chromium oxidized to Cr⁶ but that the oxidation also takes place in the sub-surface layer(s).     

Sufficient-completeness,ground-reducibility and their complexity

Summary The sufficient-completeness property of equational algebraic specifications has been found useful in providing guidelines for designing abstract data type specifications as well as in proving inductive properties using the induction-less-induction method. The sufficient-completeness property is known to be undecidable in general. In an earlier paper, it was shown to be decidable for constructor-preserving, complete (canonical) term rewriting systems, even when there are relations among constructor symbols. In this paper, the complexity of the sufficient-completeness property is analyzed for different classes of term rewriting systems. A number of results about the complexity of the sufficient-completeness property for complete (canonical) term rewriting systems are proved: (i) The problem is co-NP-complete for term rewriting systems with free constructors (i.e., no relations among constructors are allowed), (ii) the problem remains co-NP-complete for term rewriting systems with unary and nullary constructors, even when there are relations among constructors, (iii) the problem is provably in almost exponential time for left-linear term rewriting systems with relations among constructors, and (iv) for left-linear complete constructor-preserving rewriting systems, the problem can be decided in steps exponential innlogn wheren is the size of the rewriting system. No better lower-bound for the complexity of the sufficient-completeness property for complete (canonical) term rewriting system with nonlinear left-hand sides is known. An algorithm for left-linear complete constructor-preserving rewriting systems is also discussed. Finally, the sufficient-completeness property is shown to be undecidable for non-linear complete term rewriting systems with associative functions. These complexity results also apply to the ground-reducibility property (also called inductive-reducibility) which is known to be directly related to the sufficient-completeness property.Some of the results in this paper were reported in a paper titled Complexity of Sufficient-Completeness presented at theSixth Conf. on Foundations of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science, New Delhi, India, Dec. 1986. The term quasi-reducibility is replaced in this paper by ground-reducibility as the latter seems to convey a lot more about the concept than the former.Partially supported by the National Science Foundation Grant nos. CCR-8408461 and CCR-8906678Partially supported by the National Science Foundation Grant nos. CCR-8408461 and CCR-9009414Partially supported by the National Science Foundation Grant no. DCR-8603184