Models for production planning under power interruptions

We present a robust optimization model for production planning under the assumption that electricity supply is subject to uncertain interruptions caused by participation in interruptible load contracts (ILCs). The objective is to minimize the cost of electricity used for production while providing a robust production plan which ensures demand satisfaction under all possible interruption scenarios. The combinatorial size of the set of interruption scenarios makes this a challenging problem. Furthermore, we assume that no probabilistic information is known about the supply uncertainty: we only use the information given in the ILC to identify an uncertainty set that captures the possible scenarios. We construct a general robust framework to handle this uncertainty and present a heuristic to compute a good feasible solution of the robust model. We provide computational experiments on a real‐world example and compare the performance of an exact solver applied to the robust model with that of the heuristic procedure. Finally, we include the operational impact of interruptions such as “recovery modes” in the definition of the uncertainty set. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

Directional change‐point detection for process control with multivariate categorical data

Most modern processes involve multiple quality characteristics that are all measured on attribute levels, and their overall quality is determined by these characteristics simultaneously. The characteristic factors usually correlate with each other, making multivariate categorical control techniques a must. We study Phase I analysis of multivariate categorical processes (MCPs) to identify the presence of change‐points in the reference dataset. A directional change‐point detection method based on log‐linear models is proposed. The method exploits directional shift information and integrates MCPs into the unified framework of multivariate binomial and multivariate multinomial distributions. A diagnostic scheme for identifying the change‐point location and the shift direction is also suggested. Numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the detection effectiveness and the diagnostic accuracy.© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

Robust shortest path problems with two uncertain multiplicative cost coefficients

We consider a robust shortest path problem when the cost coefficient is the product of two uncertain factors. We first show that the robust problem can be solved in polynomial time by a dual‐variable enumeration with shortest path problems as subproblems. We also propose a path enumeration approach using a K ‐shortest paths finding algorithm that may be efficient in many real cases. An application in hazardous materials transportation is discussed, and the solution methods are illustrated by numerical examples. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013     

分布式放大前传中继辅助多用户对等通信中的鲁棒波束成形

针对分布式放大前传中继辅助多用户对等通信系统研究了存在非理想信道状态信息(CSI)时的分布式中继网络(DRN)鲁棒波束成形设计问题。采用统计CSI误差模型,考虑了两种鲁棒优化问题:一是从公平性的角度出发在DRN总发送功率约束下实现多个目的节点间的信干噪比(SINR)平衡;另一是从有效性的角度出发在保证各个目的节点服务质量需求(SINR大于预设门限)约束下最小化DRN总发送功率。对问题的分析和建模表明,在多用户情况下,这两个问题都是难以求解的优化问题。通过引入半定松弛(SDR)思想,将上述两种优化问题转化为可利用内点法有效求解的半定规划(SDP)问题。最后通过仿真验证了所提设计的鲁棒性能。     

基于拉盖尔模型的超声信号渡越时间测量性能分析

传统窄带模型仅能通过数值计算统计出超声信号渡越时间的测量性能。针对这一问题,提出基于拉盖尔模型计算理论克拉下限的方法。研究了拉盖尔函数及其时间导数的性质,得到时间导数内积矩阵,并将其应用到费舍尔矩阵中,能够快速精确计算克拉下限。对混合指数模型仿真表明,在高斯白噪声背景下,渡越时间方差与理论克拉下限具有良好的一致性;受窄带噪声和反射等因素影响,实测数据的渡越时间方差与理论克拉下限存在较大偏差。     

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

Detect and Deter: Can Countries Verify the Nuclear Test Ban?, by Ola Dahlman, Jenifer Mackby, Svein Mykkeltveit, and Hein Haak. Springer, 2011. 279 pages, $129.     

Building the next nuclear community

This viewpoint takes stock of the changes in the strategic nuclear landscape in recent decades and reflects on its consequences on the policy community. It finds that the number and scope of issues have expanded considerably; they have manifested themselves in many more regions of the world; and they have become deeply politicized and polarized. The consequences have been twofold: the nuclear policy field has seen the development of an increasingly diverse expert community composed of highly specialized functionalists and regionalists, and it has become ever more divided into two entirely separate ideological camps—one that believes in deterrence, the other in disarmament. The stove-piping of expertise and the widening gap between deterrence and disarmament ideologies are immensely problematic because, in different ways, they stand in the way of the emergence of a better and safer nuclear future. Looking ahead, it is critical to “bust the silos of expertise” and to build bridges between the deterrence and disarmament ideological camps. Only such a community-building effort will help solve today’s and tomorrow’s nuclear challenges.     

INCAPACITATING BIOCHEMICAL WEAPONS

Military interest in incapacitating biochemical weapons has grown in recent years as advances in science and technology have appeared to offer the promise of new “non-lethal” weapons useful for a variety of politically and militarily challenging situations. There is, in fact, a long and unfulfilled history of attempts to develop such weapons. It is clear that advances are opening up a range of possibilities for future biological and chemical weapons more generally. The treaties prohibiting biological and chemical weapons make no distinction between lethal and “non-lethal” weapons—all are equally prohibited. Indeed, a sharp and technically meaningful distinction between lethal and “non-lethal” biological and chemical weapons is beyond the capability of science to make. Thus, interest in incapacitating biochemical weapons, and efforts on the part of various states to develop them, pose a significant challenge to the treaty regimes, to the norms against biological and chemical warfare that they embody, and, ultimately, to the essential protections that they provide. Preventing a new generation of biological and chemical weapons from emerging will take concerted efforts and action at the local, national, and international levels.     

基于TCP Veno算法的异构网络边界代理改进机制研究

针对在异构网络环境下无线网络的特点使TCP性能下降的问题,借鉴TCP Veno算法原理,提出基于网络状况评估的拥塞控制的性能增强代理改进工作机制,动态评估当前网络的状况,调整预应答发送窗口的阈值,提高性能增强代理在较大差异网络下的传输控制效能．基于NS-2的网络仿真测试对算法进行了验证,结果显示改进后的工作机制在丢包率较大的异构网络中性能有明显提升．     

分级智能化的武器平台——无人平台体系结构解析

通过对现有机器人体系结构的总结,结合任务需求和当前技术发展水平,构造了一种人机智能紧耦合的无人平台系统结构.该结构分为7层,具有3种导航模式,6种控制方式,能够实现从主从遥控到全自主不同智能层次的无人平台构建,为无人平台的设计提供了工程指导,并为无人平台的应用提供了方向.