Joint inventory and pricing decisions for perishable products with two‐period lifetime

We consider a periodic review model over a finite horizon for a perishable product with fixed lifetime equal to two review periods. The excess demand in a period is backlogged. The optimal replenishment and demand management (using price) decisions for such a product depend on the relative order of consumption of fresh and old units. We obtain insights on the structure of these decisions when the order of consumption is first‐in, first‐out and last‐in, first‐out. For the FIFO system, we also obtain bounds on both the optimal replenishment quantity as well as expected demand. We compare the FIFO system to two widely analyzed inventory systems that correspond to nonperishable and one‐period lifetime products to understand if demand management would modify our understanding of the relationship among the three systems. In a counterintuitive result, we find that it is more likely that bigger orders are placed in the FIFO system than for a nonperishable product when demand is managed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

Institutional Analysis and Irregular Warfare: A Case Study of the French Army in Algeria 1954–1960

This article proposes a case study to illustrate the usefulness of sociological institutional analysis as a method to uncover ‘blue force’ challenges to deal with irregular warfare. The French Army's adaptation to revolutionary warfare in Algeria, starting in 1954, is used to illustrate both the application of the methodology and how institutional forces can hinder as well as overwhelm transformation for irregular warfare. The analysis emphasizes three key dimensions of the French Army's institutional adaptation: the regulative, normative and cognitive. These empirical elements are used to show how they interacted and influenced the institutional implementation of the French COIN structures.     

Analysis of algorithms for two‐stage flowshops with multi‐processor task flexibility

In this article we introduce a 2‐machine flowshop with processing flexibility. Two processing modes are available for each task: namely, processing by the designated processor, and processing simultaneously by both processors. The objective studied is makespan minimization. This production environment is encountered in repetitive manufacturing shops equipped with processors that have the flexibility to execute orders either individually or in coordination. In the latter case, the product designer exploits processing synergies between two processors so as to execute a particular task much faster than a dedicated processor. This type of flowshop environment is also encountered in labor‐intensive assembly lines where products moving downstream can be processed either in the designated assembly stations or by pulling together the work teams of adjacent stations. This scheduling problem requires determining the mode of operation of each task, and the subsequent scheduling that preserves the flowshop constraints. We show that the problem is ordinary NP‐complete and obtain an optimal solution using a dynamic programming algorithm with considerable computational requirements for medium and large problems. Then, we present a number of dynamic programming relaxations and analyze their worst‐case error performance. Finally, we present a polynomial time heuristic with worst‐case error performance comparable to that of the dynamic programming relaxations. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.     

A note on scheduling parallel machines subject to breakdown and repair

In this paper we consider n jobs and a number of machines in parallel. The machines are identical and subject to breakdown and repair. The number may therefore vary over time and is at time t equal to m(t). Preemptions are allowed. We consider three objectives, namely, the total completion time, ∑ C_j, the makespan C_max, and the maximum lateness L_max. We study the conditions on m(t) under which various rules minimize the objective functions under consideration. We analyze cases when the jobs have deadlines to meet and when the jobs are subject to precedence constraints. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.     

爆炸成型弹丸侵彻靶板的数值仿真

基于LS-DYNA的动力学分析通用有限元程序,对爆炸成型弹丸形成和侵彻靶板过程进行了数值仿真。建立了数值仿真模型,利用数值模拟技术实现了弹丸的形成以及不同药型罩结构对爆炸成型弹丸形成的影响,实现了侵彻过程中弹丸的变形与靶板的破坏状况可视化,同时对仿真结果进行了分析。通过对爆炸成型弹丸侵彻靶板的数值仿真,为开展爆炸成型弹丸毁伤机理研究奠定了良好的基础。     

Force chains based mesoscale simulation on the dynamic response of Al-PTFE granular composites

Force chains based mesoscale simulation is conducted to investigate the response behavior of aluminum-polytetrafluoroethylene (Al-PTFE) granular composites under a low-velocity impact. A two-dimensional model followed the randomly normal distribution of real Al particles size is developed. The dynamic compressive process of Al-PTFE composites with varied Al mass fraction is simulated and validated against the experiments. The results indicate that, force chains behavior governed by the number and the size of agglomerated Al particles, significantly affects the impact response of the material. The failure mode of the material evolves from shear failure of matrix to debonding failure of particles with increasing density. A high crack area of the material is critical mechanism to arouse the initiation re-action. The damage maintained by force chains during large plastic strain builds up more local stresses concentration to enhance a possible reaction performance. In addition, simulation is performed with identical mass fraction but various Al size distribution to explore the effects of size centralization and dispersion on the mechanical properties of materials. It is found that smaller sized Al particle of com-posites are more preferred than its bulky material in ultimate strength. Increasing dispersed degree is facilitated to create stable force chains in samples with comparable particle number. The simulation studies provide further insights into the plastic deformation, failure mechanism, and possible energy release capacity for Al-PTFE composites, which is helpful for further design and application of reactive materials.     

低速圆管流动的粒子仿真

运用信息保存法对低速圆管的流动现象进行了模拟,并与实验结果进行了比较,粒子仿真结果与实验结果吻合较好,且优于NS方程的结果。研究表明,在对低速圆管的模拟过程中,运用IP法在获得较好的结果的同时,具有比DSMC方法更高的计算效率。IP算法是解决低速圆管流动问题的有效途径。     

On parallel machine replacement problems with general replacement cost functions and stochastic deterioration

The parallel machine replacement problem consists of finding a minimum cost replacement policy for a finite population of economically interdependent machines. In this paper, we formulate a stochastic version of the problem and analyze the structure of optimal policies under general classes of replacement cost functions. We prove that for problems with arbitrary cost functions, there can be optimal policies where a machine is replaced only if all machines in worse states are replaced (Worse Cluster Replacement Rule). We then show that, for problems with replacement cost functions exhibiting nonincreasing marginal costs, there are optimal policies such that, in any stage, machines in the same state are either all kept or all replaced (No‐Splitting Rule). We also present an example that shows that economies of scale in replacement costs do not guarantee optimal policies that satisfy the No‐Splitting Rule. These results lead to the fundamental insight that replacement decisions are driven by marginal costs, and not by economies of scale as suggested in the literature. Finally, we describe how the optimal policy structure, i.e., the No‐Splitting and Worse Cluster Replacement Rules, can be used to reduce the computational effort required to obtain optimal replacement policies. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005