Investigating the surface integrity of aluminium based composites machined by EDM

In the present work, the surface characteristics of Electrical Discharge Machined (EDM) Al (6351)SiC and Al (6351)SiCB₄C composites are investigated. The composites are prepared by employing the conventional stir casting technique, as it can produce better particle dispersion in the matrix. The detailed experimental study is performed on the composites by varying current (I), duty factor (τ), pulse on time (T_on), and the gap voltage (V) in order to analyze the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) formed in the sub surface and the average crater diameter formed on the machined surface of the composites as an output function. The formation of recast layers, presence of bubbles and the surface texture of the composites at various machining conditions are observed. The results show that the increased Metal Removal Rate (MRR) increases the depth of HAZ and the average crater diameter on the machined area. Further, the addition of B₄C particles to the composite produces more surface defect than the AlSiC composite.     

Cell structure of microcellular combustible object foamed by supercritical carbon dioxide

In order to solve the issue that the combustible objects for cased telescoped ammunition (CTA) didn't burn completely during the combustion process, the microcellular combustible objects were foamed with numerous cells in the micron order to improve the combustion performance by the supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) foaming technology. As the cell structure determined the combustion properties of microcellular combustible objects, the solubility of SCCO₂ dissolved into the combustible objects was obtained from the gravimetric method, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) was applied to characterize the cell structure under various process conditions of solubility, foaming temperature and foaming time. SEM images indicate that the cell diameter of microcellular combustible objects is in the level of 1 μm and the cell density is about 10¹¹ cell⋅cm⁻³. The microcellular combustible objects fabricated by the SCCO₂ foaming technology are smooth and uniform, and the high specific surface area of cell structure can lead to the significant combustion performance of microcellular combustible object for CTA in the future.     

Heavy metal free primers: Polymorphism of gadolinium and titanium in the context of GSR glass phase

The possibility of identifying gunshot residue (GSR) particles produced by non-toxic primers containing only titanium and zinc is a very difficult task using SEM/EDX analysis employed in the analysis of GSR originating from primers containing lead, barium and antimony. However, Bauer et al. demonstrated that non-toxic (TiZn) primers form a TiZn₂O₄ spinel crystalline structure using SEM/EDX with EBSD (Electron Back Scatter Diffraction) and TKD (Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction), whereas GSR originating from gadolinium-doped TiZn primers form a non-crystalline glass phase. Here, a possible explanation of these different phenomena is hypothesized.     

Optimizing the defensive characteristics of mild steel via the electrodeposition of ZnSi3N4 reinforcing particles

The effect of ZnSi₃N₄ deposition prepared via direct electrolytic co-deposition on mild steel was studied as a result its inherent vulnerability to corrosion in an aggressive environment and failure on the application of load. The experiment was conducted varying the mass concentration of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) between 7 and 13 g at cell voltage of 0.3 and 0.5 V, at constant temperature of 45 °C. The morphologies of the coated surfaces were characterized using high resolution Nikon Optical Microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) revealing that the particles of the ZnSi₃N₄ were homogeneously dispersed. The corrosion behaviour was studied using potentiodynamic polarization technique in 3.65% NaCl solution and the microhardness was examined using Brinell hardness testing technique. The result of the corrosion experiment confirmed an improved corrosion resistance with a reduction in corrosion rate from 9.7425 mm/year to 0.10847 mm/year, maximum coating efficiency of 98.9%, maximum polarization resistance of 1555.3 Ω and a very low current density of 9.33 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm². The negative shift in the E_corr revealed the cathodic protective nature of the coating. The microhardness was also found to have increased from 137.9 HBN for the unmodified steel to a maximum value of 263.3 HBN for the 0.5Zn13Si₃N₄ coated steel representing 90.9% increment in hardness as a result of the matrix grain refining and dispersion-strengthening ability of the incorporated Si₃N₄ particles.     

A stochastic assignment problem

There are n boxes with box i having a quota value Balls arrive sequentially, with each ball having a binary vector attached to it, with the interpretation being that if X_i = 1 then that ball is eligible to be put in box i. A ball's vector is revealed when it arrives and the ball can be put in any alive box for which it is eligible, where a box is said to be alive if it has not yet met its quota. Assuming that the components of a vector are independent, we are interested in the policy that minimizes, either stochastically or in expectation, the number of balls that need arrive until all boxes have met their quotas. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 62:23–31, 2015     

Single batch machine scheduling with deliveries

We consider the problem of scheduling a set of n jobs on a single batch machine, where several jobs can be processed simultaneously. Each job j has a processing time p_j and a size s_j. All jobs are available for processing at time 0. The batch machine has a capacity D. Several jobs can be batched together and processed simultaneously, provided that the total size of the jobs in the batch does not exceed D. The processing time of a batch is the largest processing time among all jobs in the batch. There is a single vehicle available for delivery of the finished products to the customer, and the vehicle has capacity K. We assume that K = rD, where and r is an integer. The travel time of the vehicle is T; that is, T is the time from the manufacturer to the customer. Our goal is to find a schedule of the jobs and a delivery plan so that the service span is minimized, where the service span is the time that the last job is delivered to the customer. We show that if the jobs have identical sizes, then we can find a schedule and delivery plan in time such that the service span is minimum. If the jobs have identical processing times, then we can find a schedule and delivery plan in time such that the service span is asymptotically at most 11/9 times the optimal service span. When the jobs have arbitrary processing times and arbitrary sizes, then we can find a schedule and delivery plan in time such that the service span is asymptotically at most twice the optimal service span. We also derive upper bounds of the absolute worst‐case ratios in both cases. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 470–482, 2015     

Improved bounds for batch scheduling with nonidentical job sizes

Here, we revisit the bounded batch scheduling problem with nonidentical job sizes on single and parallel identical machines, with the objective of minimizing the makespan. For the single machine case, we present an algorithm which calls an online algorithm (chosen arbitrarily) for the one‐dimensional bin‐packing problem as a sub‐procedure, and prove that its worst‐case ratio is the same as the absolute performance ratio of . Hence, there exists an algorithm with worst‐case ratio , which is better than any known upper bound on this problem. For the parallel machines case, we prove that there does not exist any polynomial‐time algorithm with worst‐case ratio smaller than 2 unless P = NP, even if all jobs have unit processing time. Then we present an algorithm with worst‐case ratio arbitrarily close to 2. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 351–358, 2014     

Nitro-tetrazole based high performing explosives: Recent overview of synthesis and energetic properties

Heterocyclic skeleton (Azoles) and different energetic groups containing high performing explosives are highly emerged in recent years to meet the challenging requirements of energetic materials in both military and civilian applications with improved performance. For this purpose tetrazole (Azole) is identified as an attractive heterocyclic backbone with energetic functional groups nitro (-NO₂), nitrato (-ONO₂), nitrimino (-NNO₂), and nitramino (–NH–NO₂) to replace the traditionally used high performing explosives. The tetrazole based compounds having these energetic functional groups demonstrated advanced energetic performance (detonation velocity and pressure), densities, and heat of formation (HOF) and became a potential replacement of traditional energetic compounds such as RDX. This review presents a summary of the recently reported nitro-tetrazole energetic compounds containing poly-nitro, di/mono-nitro, nitrato/nitramino/nitrimino, bridged/bis/di tetrazole and nitro functional groups, describing their preparation methods, advance energetic properties, and further applications as high-performing explosives, especially those reported in the last decade. This review aims to provide a fresh concept for designing nitro-tetrazole based high performing explosives together with major challenges and perspectives.     

Scheduling twin robots on a line

This article introduces the twin robots scheduling problem (TRSP), in which two robots positioned at the opposite ends of a rail are required to deliver items to positions along the rail, and the objective is to minimize the makespan. A proof of ‐hardness of the TRSP is presented, along with exact and heuristic algorithms. Computational results on challenging instances are provided.Copyright © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 119–130, 2014     

Asymptotic analysis of periodic policies for the inventory routing problem

In this article, a distribution system is studied where the sum of transportation and inventory costs is to be minimized. The inventory holding cost is assumed to be the same for all retailers. A fixed partition (FP) periodic policy is proposed with tight asymptotic worst‐case performance of 3/2 with respect to the best possible policy. This bound cannot be improved in the class of FP periodic policies. In partition‐based PB policies, the retailers are first partitioned into sets and then the sets are grouped in such a way that sets of retailers within a group are served together at selected times. A PB periodic, policy is presented with tight worst‐case asymptotic performance of with respect to the best possible policy. This latter performance improves the worst‐case asymptotic performance of of the previously best known policy for this problem. We also show that the proposed PB periodic policy has the best worst‐case asymptotic performance within the class of PB policies. Finally, practical heuristics inspired by the analyzed policies are designed and tested. The asymptotic worst–case performances of the heuristics are shown to be the same of those of the analyzed policies. Computational results show that the heuristics suggested are less than 6.4% on average from a lower bound on the optimal cost when 50 or more retailers are involved. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 00: 000–000, 2013     

Structure design and property adjustment of new cage rich-nitrogen pentazolyltetraazacubanes as potential high energy density compounds

In this study, based on two attractive energetic compounds pentazole (PZ) and tetraazacubane (TAC), a new family of high energy and high nitrogen compounds pentazolyltetraazacubanes were designed. Then, a different number of NH₂ or NO₂ groups were introduced into the system to further adjust the property. The structures, properties, and the structure-property relationship of designed molecules were investigated theoretically. The results showed that all nine designed compounds have extremely high heat of formation (HOF, 1226-2734 kJ/mol), good density (1.73–1.88 g/cm³), high detonation velocity (8.30–9.35 km/s), high detonation pressure (29.8–39.7 GPa) and acceptable sensitivity (ΔV: 41-87 ų). These properties could be effectively positive adjusted by replacing one or two PZ rings by NH₂ or/and NO₂ groups, especially for the energy and sensitivity performance, which were increased and decreased obviously, respectively. As a result, two designed pentazolyltetraazacubanes were predicted to have higher energy and lower sensitivity than the famous high energy compound in use 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacyclooctane, while two others have better combination property than 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane. In all, four new pentazolyltetraazacubanes with good combination performance were successfully designed by combining PZ with TAC, and the further property adjustment strategy of introducing a suitable amount of NH₂/NO₂ groups into the system. This work may help develop new cage energetic compounds.     

Confidence intervals for ranked means

Suppose that observations from populations π₁, …, π_k (k ≥ 1) are normally distributed with unknown means μ₁., μ_k, respectively, and a common known variance σ². Let μ_[1] μ … ≤ μ_[k] denote the ranked means. We take n independent observations from each population, denote the sample mean of the n observation from π₁ by X _i (i = 1, …, k), and define the ranked sample means X _[1] ≤ … ≤ X _[k]. The problem of confidence interval estimation of μ₍₁₎, …,μ_[k] is stated and related to previous work (Section 1). The following results are obtained (Section 2). For i = 1, …, k and any γ(0 < γ < 1) an upper confidence interval for μ_[i] with minimal probability of coverage γ is (? ∞, X _[i]+ h) with h = (σ/n^1/2) Φ^?1(γ^1/k-i+1), where Φ(·) is the standard normal cdf. A lower confidence interval for μ_[i] with minimal probability of coverage γ is (X _i[i] – g, + ∞) with g = (σ/n^1/2) Φ^?1(γ^1/i). For the upper confidence interval on μ_[i] the maximal probability of coverage is 1– [1 – γ^1/k-i+1]ⁱ, while for the lower confidence interval on μ_[i] the maximal probability of coverage is 1–[1– γ^1/i] ^k-i+¹. Thus the maximal overprotection can always be calculated. The overprotection is tabled for k = 2, 3. These results extend to certain translation parameter families. It is proven that, under a bounded completeness condition, a monotone upper confidence interval h(X ₁, …, X _k) for μ_[i] with probability of coverage γ(0 < γ < 1) for all μ = (μ_[1], …,μ_[k]), does not exist.     

Scheduling deteriorating jobs to minimize makespan

We consider a single-machine problem of scheduling n independent jobs to minimize makespan, in which the processing time of job J_j grows by w_j with each time unit its start is delayed beyond a given common critical date d. This processing time is p_j if J_j starts by d. We show that this problem is NP-hard, give a pseudopolynomial algorithm that runs in time and O(nd) space, and develop a branch-and-bound algorithm that solves instances with up to 100 jobs in a reasonable amount of time. We also introduce the case of bounded deterioration, where the processing time of a job grows no further if the job starts after a common maximum deterioration date D > d. For this case, we give two pseudopolynomial time algorithms: one runs in O(n²d(D − d) time and O(nd(D − d)) space, the other runs in p_j)²) time and p_j) space. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 511–523, 1998     

Analysis of practical policies for a single link distribution system

In this paper we consider a transportation problem where several products have to be shipped from an origin to a destination by means of vehicles with given capacity. Each product is made available at the origin and consumed at the destination at the same constant rate. The time between consecutive shipments must be greater than a given minimum time. All demand needs to be satisfied on time and backlogging is not allowed. The problem is to decide when to make the shipments and how to load the vehicles with the objective of minimizing the long run average of the transportation and the inventory costs at the origin and at the destination over an infinite horizon. We consider two classes of practical shipping policies, the zero inventory ordering (ZIO) policies and the frequency‐based periodic shipping (FBPS) policies. We show that, in the worst‐case, the Best ZIO policy has a performance ratio of . A better performance guarantee of is shown for the best possible FBPS policy. The performance guarantees are tight. Finally, combining the Best ZIO and the Best FBPS policies, a policy that guarantees a performance is obtained. Computational results show that this policy gives an average percent optimality gap on all the tested instances of <1%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

Vehicle routing problems with regular objective functions on a path

We investigate the problem of scheduling a fleet of vehicles to visit the customers located on a path to minimize some regular function of the visiting times of the customers. For the single‐vehicle problem, we prove that it is pseudopolynomially solvable for any minsum objective and polynomially solvable for any minmax objective. Also, we establish the NP‐hardness of minimizing the weighted number of tardy customers and the total weighted tardiness, and present polynomial algorithms for their special cases with a common due date. For the multivehicle problem involving n customers, we show that an optimal solution can be found by solving or O(n) single‐vehicle problems. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 34–43, 2014     

Computational complexity of finding Pareto efficient outcomes for biobjective lot‐sizing models

In this article, we study a biobjective economic lot‐sizing problem with applications, among others, in green logistics. The first objective aims to minimize the total lot‐sizing costs including production and inventory holding costs, whereas the second one minimizes the maximum production and inventory block expenditure. We derive (almost) tight complexity results for the Pareto efficient outcome problem under nonspeculative lot‐sizing costs. First, we identify nontrivial problem classes for which this problem is polynomially solvable. Second, if we relax any of the parameter assumptions, we show that (except for one case) finding a single Pareto efficient outcome is an ‐hard task in general. Finally, we shed some light on the task of describing the Pareto frontier. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 386–402, 2014     

An absolute approximation algorithm for scheduling unrelated machines

Non‐preemptive scheduling of n independent jobs on m unrelated machines so as to minimize the maximal job completion time is considered. A polynomial algorithm with the worst‐case absolute error of min{(1 ? 1/m)p_max, p} is presented, where p_max is the largest job processing time and p is the mth element from the non‐increasing list of job processing times. This is better than the earlier known best absolute error of p_max. The algorithm is based on the rounding of acyclic multiprocessor distributions. An O(nm²) algorithm for the construction of an acyclic multiprocessor distribution is also presented. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2006     

AN ENDOGENOUS GROWTH MODEL OF CAPITAL AND ARMS ACCUMULATION

This paper attempts to examine the effect of an anticipated foreign military threat on the steady‐state growth rate and the transitional behavior of the economy. The modeling strategy follows the Sandler and Hartley (1995 Sandler, T. and Hartley, K. 1995. The Economics of Defense, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  [Google Scholar]) and Dunne et al. (2005 Dunne, J.P., Smith, R.P. and Willenbockel, D. 2005. Models of military expenditure and growth: a critical review. Defence and Peace Economics, 16: 449–461. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) viewpoints to emphasize the role of national defense in affecting growth from the perspective of both the demand and the supply sides. We thus combine the public capital version of endogenous growth with a framework of competitive arms accumulation. It is found that the key factor determining the steady state and the transitional effects of a rise in the foreign military threat on the home weapon–capital ratio, the consumption–capital ratio, and the rate of economic growth, is the degree of relative risk aversion.     

THE FATE OF DISPUTED TERRITORIES: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

This paper presents a simple model to characterize the outcome of a land dispute between two rival parties using a Stackelberg game. Unlike Gershenson and Grossman (2000 Gershenson, D. and Grossman, H.I. 2000. Civil conflict: ended or never ending?. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(6): 807–821.  [Google Scholar]), we assume that the opposing parties have access to different technologies for challenging and defending in conflict. We derive the conditions under which territorial conflict between the two parties is less likely to persist indefinitely. Allowing for an exogenous destruction term as in Garfinkel and Skaperdas (2000 Garfinkel, M. and Skaperdas, S. 2000. Conflict without misperceptions or incomplete information: how the future matters. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(6): 793–807. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), we show that, when the nature of conflict becomes more destructive, the likelihood of a peaceful outcome, in which the territory’s initial possessor deters the challenging party, increases if the initial possessor holds more intrinsic value for the disputed land. Following Siqueira (2003 Siqueira, K. 2003. Conflict and third‐party intervention. Defence and Peace Economics, 14(6): 389–400. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), our model has policy implications for peace through third‐party intervention.