Optimal pricing for a short life‐cycle product when customer price‐sensitivity varies over time

Technology products often experience a life‐cycle demand pattern that resembles a diffusion process, with weak demand in the beginning and the end of the life cycle and high demand intensity in between. The customer price‐sensitivity also changes over the life cycle of the product. We study the prespecified pricing decision for a product that exhibits such demand characteristics. In particular, we determine the optimal set of discrete prices and the times to switch from one price to another, when a limited number of price changes are allowed. Our study shows that the optimal prices and switching times show interesting patterns that depend on the product's demand pattern and the change in the customers' price sensitivity over the life cycle of the product. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2012     

舰船维修器材保障点选址决策模型及算法

传统的最大覆盖选址模型没有考虑对服务半径外的需求点的满足和服务时间的响应,而在舰船维修器材保障中,不论需求点到保障点的距离是否大于服务半径,都应对其进行保障服务,且在保障过程中要满足保障时间控制在不影响舰船正常维修任务时间内。针对此问题,运用广义最大覆盖选址模型和时间满意度函数,构建基于时间满意的广义最大覆盖选址模型,并运用一种混合算法———基于遗传模拟退火算法的BP算法对模型进行求解。最后,运用该算法对实例进行了分析计算,计算结果验证了该算法的有效性。     

基于非线性模型预测的翼伞系统控制研究

翼伞系统在飞行过程中,受外界不确定因素的影响呈现出非线性特性和耦合性．应用非线性模型预测控制理论对翼伞系统飞行控制进行了研究,提出基于非线性模型预测控制的翼伞系统控制律设计方法,并推导出控制律解析式．仿真研究表明,合理地选择泰勒展开级数和预测周期,通过泰勒级数展开并截尾后的翼伞非线性控制系统可以表现出良好的控制性能．     

Are non‐lethal weapons a viable military option to strengthen the hearts and minds approach in Afghanistan?

Commanders of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have repeatedly stressed the hearts and minds approach in Afghanistan, in saying that the human terrain is decisive for a successful outcome of the mission. Avoidance of civilian casualties is considered of strategic importance, and by nature highly dependent on the management of tactical level Escalation of Force (EoF) situations. Non‐lethal weapons (NLWs) are expected to enable tactical commanders to avoid innocent civilian casualties in such situations. This article considers a selected NLW on its potential to accomplish this requirement. It uses a defence technology assessment approach to analyse EoF situations experienced by Dutch ISAF forces in which the NLW is inserted. The analysis demonstrates that a range of contextual factors in the Afghanistan high‐risk environment tend to narrow down the window of opportunity for the NLW to help defuse the risk of unintended civil casualties.     

小波神经网络UCAV飞行控制系统

针对采用H∞控制设计方法需求解难度很大的偏微分方程,而导致工程实现难度大的问题,提出了采用小波神经网络进行无人攻击机(UCAV)飞行控制系统设计的方法,该方法集小波变换和神经网络的优点于一身,简化了网络训练,避免了系统达到局部最优解,使得系统具有更好的逼近精度。通过仿真实验表明,利用小波神经网络进行UCAV控制律设计,使系统具有较好的跟踪性和鲁棒性,避免了精确模型的建立,便于分析系统的稳定性。     

Approximation results for min‐max path cover problems in vehicle routing

This article studies a min‐max path cover problem, which is to determine a set of paths for k capacitated vehicles to service all the customers in a given weighted graph so that the largest path cost is minimized. The problem has wide applications in vehicle routing, especially when the minimization of the latest service completion time is a critical performance measure. We have analyzed four typical variants of this problem, where the vehicles have either unlimited or limited capacities, and they start from either a given depot or any depot of a given depot set. We have developed approximation algorithms for these four variants, which achieve approximation ratios of max{3 ‐ 2/k,2}, 5, max{5 ‐ 2/k,4}, and 7, respectively. We have also analyzed the approximation hardness of these variants by showing that, unless P = NP , it is impossible for them to achieve approximation ratios less than 4/3, 3/2, 3/2, and 2, respectively. We have further extended the techniques and results developed for this problem to other min‐max vehicle routing problems.© 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010     

Dynamic capacity reservation and due date quoting in a make‐to‐order system

We consider a make‐to‐order manufacturer facing random demand from two classes of customers. We develop an integrated model for reserving capacity in anticipation of future order arrivals from high priority customers and setting due dates for incoming orders. Our research exhibits two distinct features: (1) we explicitly model the manufacturer's uncertainty about the customers' due date preferences for future orders; and (2) we utilize a service level measure for reserving capacity rather than estimating short and long term implications of due date quoting with a penalty cost function. We identify an interesting effect (“t‐pooling”) that arises when the (partial) knowledge of customer due date preferences is utilized in making capacity reservation and order allocation decisions. We characterize the relationship between the customer due date preferences and the required reservation quantities and show that not considering the t‐pooling effect (as done in traditional capacity and inventory rationing literature) leads to excessive capacity reservations. Numerical analyses are conducted to investigate the behavior and performance of our capacity reservation and due date quoting approach in a dynamic setting with multiple planning horizons and roll‐overs. One interesting and seemingly counterintuitive finding of our analyses is that under certain conditions reserving capacity for high priority customers not only improves high priority fulfillment, but also increases the overall system fill rate. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008     

An integer decomposition algorithm for solving a two‐stage facility location problem with second‐stage activation costs

We study a stochastic scenario‐based facility location problem arising in situations when facilities must first be located, then activated in a particular scenario before they can be used to satisfy scenario demands. Unlike typical facility location problems, fixed charges arise in the initial location of the facilities, and then in the activation of located facilities. The first‐stage variables in our problem are the traditional binary facility‐location variables, whereas the second‐stage variables involve a mix of binary facility‐activation variables and continuous flow variables. Benders decomposition is not applicable for these problems due to the presence of the second‐stage integer activation variables. Instead, we derive cutting planes tailored to the problem under investigation from recourse solution data. These cutting planes are derived by solving a series of specialized shortest path problems based on a modified residual graph from the recourse solution, and are tighter than the general cuts established by Laporte and Louveaux for two‐stage binary programming problems. We demonstrate the computational efficacy of our approach on a variety of randomly generated test problems. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2010     

船舶静态电场跟踪的渐进更新扩展卡尔曼滤波器

为了实现利用船舶静态电场对船舶进行跟踪的目的,针对传统卡尔曼滤波算法中存在的问题,设计一种新的非线性滤波器。建立船舶的状态空间模型,分析传统卡尔曼滤波算法在船舶跟踪中存在的问题;依据渐进贝叶斯思想,利用连续白噪声与离散白噪声序列噪声协方差之间的关系,设计一种新的渐进更新扩展卡尔曼滤波器。仿真结果表明,该滤波器能有效地抑制由于初始误差较大而造成的滤波性能下降和滤波发散,能够有效地跟踪船舶,具有较高的实用价值。     

A generic model of motor‐carrier fuel optimization

Fuel optimizers are decision models (software products) that are increasingly recognized as effective fuel management tools by U.S. truckload carriers. Using the latest price data of every truck stop, these models calculate the optimal fueling schedule for each route that indicates: (i) which truck stop(s) to use, and (ii) how much fuel to buy at the chosen truck stop(s) to minimize the refueling cost. In the current form, however, these models minimize only the fuel cost, and ignore or underestimate other costs that are affected by the models' decision variables. On the basis of the interviews with carrier managers, truck drivers, and fuel‐optimizer vendors, this article proposes a comprehensive model of motor‐carrier fuel optimization that considers all of the costs that are affected by the model's decision variables. Simulation results imply that the proposed model not only attains lower vehicle operating costs than the commercial fuel optimizers, but also gives solutions that are more desirable from the drivers' viewpoint. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2008