Techniques for establishing ergodic and recurrence properties of continuous-valued markov chains

We present techniques for classifying Markov chains with a continuous state space as either ergodic or recurrent. These methods are analogous to those of Foster for countable space chains. The theory is presented in the first half of the paper, while the second half consists of examples illustrating these techniques. The technique for proving ergodicity involves, in practice, three steps: showing that the chain is irreducible in a suitable sense; verifying that the mean hitting times on certain (usually bounded) sets are bounded, by using a “mean drift” criterion analogous to that of Foster; and finally, checking that the chain is such that bounded mean hitting times for these sets does actually imply ergodicity. The examples comprise a number of known and new results: using our techniques we investigate random walks, queues with waiting-time-dependent service times, dams with general and random-release rules, the s-S inventory model, and feedback models.     

The distribution of recoverable inventory items from a repair center when the number of consumption centers is large

This paper considers real-time decision rules for an inventory system where items are repaired than “used up.” The problem is to decide which user in the system has the greatest need for the newly available inventory items coming out of repair. The main result shows that two published approahes, the Transportation Time Look Ahead policy and METRIC, are optimal when the number of users gets large. A useful byproduct of the proof is a lower bound on the average backorder rate for a repair-inventory system of any size.     

Quantifying optimal mesh and ring design costs

During the last decade telecommunication operators have been deploying WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology to satisfy the exponential growth in global communication. While facilitating the advanced information society of today, this has also led to a higher dependency on the networks, and furthermore the high capacity utilization of optical fibers means that a single link failure will influence many users and enterprises. For these reasons, protection of network connections has become a major competitive parameter for the operators. Currently, the most popular protection method is ring protection, due to its simplicity, requiring only basic management functionality and operating with local restoration control. While many optical rings have been deployed, little work has been published on exactly what the cost of ring networks are, compared to general mesh networks. In this article we perform a quantitative comparison between ring protection and mesh protection, using real world network data and realistic prices for network components. Extending classic LP flow models to take rings and node costs into account, and using a link‐path based mesh network LP model, we are able to perform a total cost comparison of the two architectures, and of manual ring network design. The results suggest that the price of mesh network components must be reduced significantly to be competitive with ring based networks, and also that manual network design does not necessarily lead to the most cost‐efficient designs. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005     

A decomposition algorithm applied to planning the interdiction of stochastic networks

We describe the application of a decomposition based solution method to a class of network interdiction problems. The problem of maximizing the probability of sufficient disruption of the flow of information or goods in a network whose characteristics are not certain is shown to be solved effectively by applying a scenario decomposition method developed by Riis and Schultz [Comput Optim Appl 24 (2003), 267–287]. Computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm and design decisions that result in speed improvements. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2005.     

改进型Voronoi图和动态权值A*算法的无人机航迹规划

针对实际作战环境中的不同威胁等级和不同威胁实体的威胁源,提出了改进型的Voronoi图,并建立了基于改进型Voronoi图的航迹规划空间;基于A*算法的估价函数在不同阶段对指标的敏感度不同,在传统的启发式A*搜索算法基础上提出了动态权值A*搜索算法,提高了航迹搜索的效率,实现了航迹搜索过程快速性和准确性的结合。最后通过Matlab仿真计算出由动态权值A*算法得到的最优航迹,并进行了航迹的平滑处理,仿真表明了该方法的可行性。     

基于动力学与运动学的四轮全向移动机器人轨迹跟踪控制

建立了四轮全向移动机器人的运动学模型和动力学模型,并分析了四轮全向移动机器人执行器的机械特性。在此基础上,利用反馈控制设计了四轮全向移动机器人的运动学控制器,利用逆动力学补偿控制设计了四轮全向移动机器人的动力学控制器,实现了基于动力学与运动学的四轮全向移动机器人轨迹跟踪控制系统设计。最后,利用Matlab/Simulink完成了基于动力学与运动学的四轮全向移动机器人轨迹跟踪控制仿真实验,实验结果验证了该轨迹跟踪控制方法的有效性。     

Evaluating appointment postponement in scheduling patients at a diagnostic clinic

Diagnostic clinics are among healthcare facilities that suffer from long waiting times which can worsen medical outcomes and increase patient no-shows. Reducing waiting times without significant capital investments is a challenging task. We tackle this challenge by proposing a new appointment scheduling policy that does not require significant investments for diagnostic clinics. The clinic in our study serves outpatients, inpatients, and emergency patients. Emergency patients must be seen on arrival, and inpatients must be given next day appointments. Outpatients, however, can be given later appointments. The proposed policy takes advantage of this by allowing the postponement of the acceptance of appointment requests from outpatients. The appointment scheduling process is modeled as a two-stage stochastic programming problem where a portion of the clinic capacity is allocated to inpatients and emergency patients in the first stage. In the second stage, outpatients are scheduled based on their priority classes. After a detailed analysis of the solutions obtained from the two-stage stochastic model, we develop a simple, non-anticipative policy for patient scheduling. We evaluate the performance of this proposed, easy-to-implement policy in a simulation study which shows significant improvements in outpatient indirect waiting times.     

Fitting Lanchester equations to the battles of Kursk and Ardennes

Lanchester equations and their extensions are widely used to calculate attrition in models of warfare. This paper examines how Lanchester models fit detailed daily data on the battles of Kursk and Ardennes. The data on Kursk, often called the greatest tank battle in history, was only recently made available. A new approach is used to find the optimal parameter values and gain an understanding of how well various parameter combinations explain the battles. It turns out that a variety of Lanchester models fit the data about as well. This explains why previous studies on Ardennes, using different minimization techniques and data formulations, have found disparate optimal fits. We also find that none of the basic Lanchester laws (i.e., square, linear, and logarithmic) fit the data particularly well or consistently perform better than the others. This means that it does not matter which of these laws you use, for with the right coefficients you will get about the same result. Furthermore, no constant attrition coefficient Lanchester law fits very well. The failure to find a good‐fitting Lanchester model suggests that it may be beneficial to look for new ways to model highly aggregated attrition. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.     

载人登月软着陆制动段最优制导方法(英文)

提出一种解决软着陆制动段燃料最优制导以及闭环控制的方案.首先使用庞氏极大值原理将制动段燃料最优问题转化为一个初值问题,并使用遗传算法搜索求解;其次为了解决最优制导的闭环控制问题,将最优弹道作为标称弹道,使用RCS系统对轨道面内两个方向误差量进行解耦,分别使用极限环控制.仿真表明,所规划出的燃料最优弹道比阿波罗方案能节约159.7 kg的燃料,而闭环控制系统可以将初始1 000 m的位置误差和5 m/s的速度误差收敛到接近段入口误差要求以内,在闭环控制过程中,燃料消耗不大于87.75 kg,总体燃料消耗节约至少71.95 kg.