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We consider a highly-qualified individual with respect to her choice between two distinct career paths. She can choose between a mid-level management position in a large company and an executive position within a smaller listed company with the possibility to directly affect the company’s share price. She invests in the financial market includ- ing the share of the smaller listed company. The utility maximizing strategy from consumption, investment, and work effort is derived in closed form for logarithmic utility. The power utility case is discussed as well. Conditions for the individual to pursue her career with the smaller listed company are obtained. The participation constraint is formulated in terms of the salary differential between the two posi- tions. The smaller listed company can offer less salary. The salary shortfall is offset by the possibility to benefit from her work effort by acquiring own-company shares. This gives insight into aspects of optimal contract design. Our framework is applicable to the pharma- ceutical and financial industry, and the IT sector.
In this expository article, we give an introduction into the basics of bootstrap tests in general. We discuss the residual-based and the wild bootstrap for regression models suitable for applications in signal and image analysis. As an illustration of the general idea, we consider a particular test for detecting differences between two noisy signals or images which also works for noise with variable variance. The test statistic is essentially the integrated squared difference between the signals after denoising them by local smoothing. Determining its quantile, which marks the boundary between accepting and rejecting the hypothesis of equal signals, is hardly possible by standard asymptotic methods whereas the bootstrap works well. Applied to the rows and columns of images, the resulting algorithm not only allows for the detection of defects but also for the characterization of their location and shape in surface inspection problems.
We present a two-scale finite element method for solving Brinkman’s and Darcy’s equations. These systems of equations model fluid flows in highly porous and porous media, respectively. The method uses a recently proposed discontinuous Galerkin FEM for Stokes’ equations byWang and Ye and the concept of subgrid approximation developed by Arbogast for Darcy’s equations. In order to reduce the “resonance error” and to ensure convergence to the global fine solution the algorithm is put in the framework of alternating Schwarz iterations using subdomains around the coarse-grid boundaries. The discussed algorithms are implemented using the Deal.II finite element library and are tested on a number of model problems.
In the ground vehicle industry it is often an important task to simulate full vehicle models based on the wheel forces and moments, which have been measured during driving over certain roads with a prototype vehicle. The models are described by a system of differential algebraic equations (DAE) or ordinary differential equations (ODE). The goal of the simulation is to derive section forces at certain components for a durability assessment. In contrast to handling simulations, which are performed including more or less complex tyre models, a driver model, and a digital road profile, the models we use here usually do not contain the tyres or a driver model. Instead, the measured wheel forces are used for excitation of the unconstrained model. This can be difficult due to noise in the input data, which leads to an undesired drift of the vehicle model in the simulation.
One approach to multi-criteria IMRT planning is to automatically calculate a data set of Pareto-optimal plans for a given planning problem in a first phase, and then interactively explore the solution space and decide for the clinically best treatment plan in a second phase. The challenge of computing the plan data set is to assure that all clinically meaningful plans are covered and that as many as possible clinically irrelevant plans are excluded to keep computation times within reasonable limits. In this work, we focus on the approximation of the clinically relevant part of the Pareto surface, the process that consititutes the first phase. It is possible that two plans on the Parteto surface have a very small, clinically insignificant difference in one criterion and a significant difference in one other criterion. For such cases, only the plan that is clinically clearly superior should be included into the data set. To achieve this during the Pareto surface approximation, we propose to introduce bounds that restrict the relative quality between plans, so called tradeoff bounds. We show how to integrate these trade-off bounds into the approximation scheme and study their effects.
Territory design may be viewed as the problem of grouping small geographic areas into larger geographic clusters called territories in such a way that the latter are acceptable according to relevant planning criteria. In this paper we review the existing literature for applications of territory design problems and solution approaches for solving these types of problems. After identifying features common to all applications we introduce a basic territory design model and present in detail two approaches for solving this model: a classical location–allocation approach combined with optimal split resolution techniques and a newly developed computational geometry based method. We present computational results indicating the efficiency and suitability of the latter method for solving large–scale practical problems in an interactive environment. Furthermore, we discuss extensions to the basic model and its integration into Geographic Information Systems.
We will present a rigorous derivation of the equations and interface conditions for ion, charge and heat transport in Li-ion insertion batteries. The derivation is based exclusively on universally accepted principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and the assumption of a one step intercalation reaction at the interface of electrolyte and active particles. Without loss of generality the transport in the active particle is assumed to be isotropic. The electrolyte is described as a fully dissociated salt in a neutral solvent. The presented theory is valid for transport on a spatial scale for which local charge neutrality holds i.e. beyond the scale of the diffuse double layer. Charge neutrality is explicitely used to determine the correct set of thermodynamically independent variables. The theory guarantees strictly positive entropy production. The various contributions to the Peltier coeficients for the interface between the active particles and the electrolyte as well as the contributions to the heat of mixing are obtained as a result of the theory.
In this paper we develop a network location model that combines the characteristics of ordered median and gradual cover models resulting in the Ordered Gradual Covering Location Problem (OGCLP). The Gradual Cover Location Problem (GCLP) was specifically designed to extend the basic cover objective to capture sensitivity with respect to absolute travel distance. Ordered Median Location problems are a generalization of most of the classical locations problems like p-median or p-center problems. They can be modeled by using so-called ordered median functions. These functions multiply a weight to the cost of fulfilling the demand of a customer which depends on the position of that cost relative to the costs of fulfilling the demand of the other customers. We derive Finite Dominating Sets (FDS) for the one facility case of the OGCLP. Moreover, we present efficient algorithms for determining the FDS and also discuss the conditional case where a certain number of facilities are already assumed to exist and one new facility is to be added. For the multi-facility case we are able to identify a finite set of potential facility locations a priori, which essentially converts the network location model into its discrete counterpart. For the multi-facility discrete OGCLP we discuss several Integer Programming formulations and give computational results.
The Folgar-Tucker equation (FTE) is the model most frequently used for the prediction of fiber orientation (FO) in simulations of the injection molding process for short-fiber reinforced thermoplasts. In contrast to its widespread use in injection molding simulations, little is known about the mathematical properties of the FTE: an investigation of e.g. its phase spaceMFT has been presented only recently. The restriction of the dependent variable of the FTE to the setMFT turns the FTE into a differential algebraic system (DAS), a fact which is commonly neglected when devising numerical schemes for the integration of the FTE. In this article1 we present some recent results on the problem of trace stability as well as some introductory material which complements our recent paper.
In the Finite-Volume-Particle Method (FVPM), the weak formulation of a hyperbolic conservation law is discretized by restricting it to a discrete set of test functions. In contrast to the usual Finite-Volume approach, the test functions are not taken as characteristic functions of the control volumes in a spatial grid, but are chosen from a partition of unity with smooth and overlapping partition functions (the particles), which can even move along prescribed velocity fields. The information exchange between particles is based on standard numerical flux functions. Geometrical information, similar to the surface area of the cell faces in the Finite-Volume Method and the corresponding normal directions are given as integral quantities of the partition functions. After a brief derivation of the Finite-Volume-Particle Method, this work focuses on the role of the geometric coefficients in the scheme.
Two approaches for determining the Euler-Poincaré characteristic of a set observed on lattice points are considered in the context of image analysis { the integral geometric and the polyhedral approach. Information about the set is assumed to be available on lattice points only. In order to retain properties of the Euler number and to provide a good approximation of the true Euler number of the original set in the Euclidean space, the appropriate choice of adjacency in the lattice for the set and its background is crucial. Adjacencies are defined using tessellations of the whole space into polyhedrons. In R 3 , two new 14 adjacencies are introduced additionally to the well known 6 and 26 adjacencies. For the Euler number of a set and its complement, a consistency relation holds. Each of the pairs of adjacencies (14:1; 14:1), (14:2; 14:2), (6; 26), and (26; 6) is shown to be a pair of complementary adjacencies with respect to this relation. That is, the approximations of the Euler numbers are consistent if the set and its background (complement) are equipped with this pair of adjacencies. Furthermore, sufficient conditions for the correctness of the approximations of the Euler number are given. The analysis of selected microstructures and a simulation study illustrate how the estimated Euler number depends on the chosen adjacency. It also shows that there is not a uniquely best pair of adjacencies with respect to the estimation of the Euler number of a set in Euclidean space.
The capacitated single-allocation hub location problem revisited: A note on a classical formulation
(2009)
Denote by G = (N;A) a complete graph where N is the set of nodes and A is the set of edges. Assume that a °ow wij should be sent from each node i to each node j (i; j 2 N). One possibility is to send these °ows directly between the corresponding pairs of nodes. However, in practice this is often neither e±cient nor costly attractive because it would imply that a link was built between each pair of nodes. An alternative is to select some nodes to become hubs and use them as consolidation and redistribution points that altogether process more e±ciently the flow in the network. Accordingly, hubs are nodes in the graph that receive tra±c (mail, phone calls, passengers, etc) from di®erent origins (nodes) and redirect this tra±c directly to the destination nodes (when a link exists) or else to other hubs. The concentration of tra±c in the hubs and its shipment to other hubs lead to a natural decrease in the overall cost due to economies of scale.
This report reviews selected image binarization and segmentation methods that have been proposed and which are suitable for the processing of volume images. The focus is on thresholding, region growing, and shape–based methods. Rather than trying to give a complete overview of the field, we review the original ideas and concepts of selected methods, because we believe this information to be important for judging when and under what circumstances a segmentation algorithm can be expected to work properly.
An efficient mathematical model to virtually generate woven metal wire meshes is
presented. The accuracy of this model is verified by the comparison of virtual structures with three-dimensional
images of real meshes, which are produced via computer tomography. Virtual structures
are generated for three types of metal wire meshes using only easy to measure parameters. For these
geometries the velocity-dependent pressure drop is simulated and compared with measurements
performed by the GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG. The simulation results lie within the tolerances of
the measurements. The generation of the structures and the numerical simulations were done at
GKD using the Fraunhofer GeoDict software.
In this paper, a multi-period supply chain network design problem is addressed. Several aspects of practical relevance are considered such as those related with the financial decisions that must be accounted for by a company managing a supply chain. The decisions to be made comprise the location of the facilities, the flow of commodities and the investments to make in alternative activities to those directly related with the supply chain design. Uncertainty is assumed for demand and interest rates, which is described by a set of scenarios. Therefore, for the entire planning horizon, a tree of scenarios is built. A target is set for the return on investment and the risk of falling below it is measured and accounted for. The service level is also measured and included in the objective function. The problem is formulated as a multi-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem. The goal is to maximize the total financial benefit. An alternative formulation which is based upon the paths in the scenario tree is also proposed. A methodology for measuring the value of the stochastic solution in this problem is discussed. Computational tests using randomly generated data are presented showing that the stochastic approach is worth considering in these type of problems.
A spectral theory for stationary random closed sets is developed and provided with a sound mathematical basis. Definition and proof of existence of the Bartlett spectrum of a stationary random closed set as well as the proof of a Wiener-Khintchine theorem for the power spectrum are used to two ends: First, well known second order characteristics like the covariance can be estimated faster than usual via frequency space. Second, the Bartlett spectrum and the power spectrum can be used as second order characteristics in frequency space. Examples show, that in some cases information about the random closed set is easier to obtain from these characteristics in frequency space than from their real world counterparts.
In this paper we propose a general approach solution method for the single facility ordered median problem in the plane. All types of weights (non-negative, non-positive, and mixed) are considered. The big triangle small triangle approach is used for the solution. Rigorous and heuristic algorithms are proposed and extensively tested on eight different problems with excellent results.
It has been empirically verified that smoother intensity maps can be expected to produce shorter sequences when step-and-shoot collimation is the method of choice. This work studies the length of sequences obtained by the sequencing algorithm by Bortfeld and Boyer using a probabilistic approach. The results of this work build a theoretical foundation for the up to now only empirically validated fact that if smoothness of intensity maps is considered during their calculation, the solutions can be expected to be more easily applied.
In this paper, an extension to the classical capacitated single-allocation hub location problem is studied in which the size of the hubs is part of the decision making process. For each potential hub a set of capacities is assumed to be available among which one can be chosen. Several formulations are proposed for the problem, which are compared in terms of the bound provided by the linear programming relaxation. Di®erent sets of inequalities are proposed to enhance the models. Several preprocessing tests are also presented with the goal of reducing the size of the models for each particular instance. The results of the computational experiments performed using the proposed models are reported.
To simulate the influence of process parameters to the melt spinning process a fiber model is used and coupled with CFD calculations of the quench air flow. In the fiber model energy, momentum and mass balance are solved for the polymer mass flow. To calculate the quench air the Lattice Boltzmann method is used. Simulations and experiments for different process parameters and hole configurations are compared and show a good agreement.
Recently we developed a discrete model of elastic rods with symmetric cross section suitable for a fast simulation of quasistatic deformations [33]. The model is based on Kirchhoff’s geometrically exact theory of rods. Unlike simple models of “mass & spring” type typically used in VR applications, our model provides a proper coupling of bending and torsion. The computational approach comprises a variational formulation combined with a finite difference discretization of the continuum model. Approximate solutions of the equilibrium equations for sequentially varying boundary conditions are obtained by means of energy minimization using a nonlinear CG method. As the computational performance of our model yields solution times within the range of milliseconds, our approach proves to be sufficient to simulate an interactive manipulation of such flexible rods in virtual reality applications in real time.
In this paper, we discuss approaches related to the explicit modeling of human beings in software development processes. While in most older simulation models of software development processes, esp. those of the system dynamics type, humans are only represented as a labor pool, more recent models of the discrete-event simulation type require representations of individual humans. In that case, particularities regarding the person become more relevant. These individual effects are either considered as stochastic variations of productivity, or an explanation is sought based on individual characteristics, such as skills for instance. In this paper, we explore such possibilities by recurring to some basic results in psychology, sociology, and labor science. Various specific models for representing human effects in software process simulation are discussed.
We study global and local robustness properties of several estimators for shape and scale in a generalized Pareto model. The estimators considered in this paper cover maximum likelihood estimators, skipped maximum likelihood estimators, moment-based estimators, Cramér-von-Mises Minimum Distance estimators, and, as a special case of quantile-based estimators, Pickands Estimator as well as variants of the latter tuned for higher finite sample breakdown point (FSBP), and lower variance. We further consider an estimator matching population median and median of absolute deviations to the empirical ones (MedMad); again, in order to improve its FSBP, we propose a variant using a suitable asymmetric Mad as constituent, and which may be tuned to achieve an expected FSBP of 34%. These estimators are compared to one-step estimators distinguished as optimal in the shrinking neighborhood setting, i.e., the most bias-robust estimator minimizing the maximal (asymptotic) bias and the estimator minimizing the maximal (asymptotic) MSE. For each of these estimators, we determine the FSBP, the influence function, as well as statistical accuracy measured by asymptotic bias, variance, and mean squared error—all evaluated uniformly on shrinking convex contamination neighborhoods. Finally, we check these asymptotic theoretical findings against finite sample behavior by an extensive simulation study.
Worldwide the installed capacity of renewable technologies for electricity production is
rising tremendously. The German market is particularly progressive and its regulatory
rules imply that production from renewables is decoupled from market prices and electricity
demand. Conventional generation technologies are to cover the residual demand
(defined as total demand minus production from renewables) but set the price at the
exchange. Existing electricity price models do not account for the new risks introduced
by the volatile production of renewables and their effects on the conventional demand
curve. A model for residual demand is proposed, which is used as an extension of
supply/demand electricity price models to account for renewable infeed in the market.
Infeed from wind and solar (photovoltaics) is modeled explicitly and withdrawn from
total demand. The methodology separates the impact of weather and capacity. Efficiency
is transformed on the real line using the logit-transformation and modeled as a stochastic process. Installed capacity is assumed a deterministic function of time. In a case study the residual demand model is applied to the German day-ahead market
using a supply/demand model with a deterministic supply-side representation. Price trajectories are simulated and the results are compared to market future and option
prices. The trajectories show typical features seen in market prices in recent years and the model is able to closely reproduce the structure and magnitude of market prices.
Using the simulated prices it is found that renewable infeed increases the volatility of forward prices in times of low demand, but can reduce volatility in peak hours. Prices
for different scenarios of installed wind and solar capacity are compared and the meritorder effect of increased wind and solar capacity is calculated. It is found that wind
has a stronger overall effect than solar, but both are even in peak hours.
Simulation of multibody systems (mbs) is an inherent part in developing and design of complex mechanical systems. Moreover, simulation during operation gained in importance in the recent years, e.g. for HIL-, MIL- or monitoring applications. In this paper we discuss the numerical simulation of multibody systems on different platforms. The main section of this paper deals with the simulation of an established truck model [9] on different platforms, one microcontroller and two real-time processor boards. Additional to numerical C-code the latter platforms provide the possibility to build the model with a commercial mbs tool, which is also investigated. A survey of different ways of generating code and equations of mbs models is given and discussed concerning handling, possible limitations as well as performance. The presented benchmarks are processed under terms of on-board real time applications. A further important restriction, caused by the real-time requirement, is a fixed integration step size. Whence, carefully chosen numerical integration algorithms are necessary, especially in the case of closed loops in the model. We investigate linearly-implicit time integration methods with fixed step size, so-called Rosenbrock methods, and compare them with respect to their accuracy and performance on the tested processors.
In this work we use the Parsimonious Multi–Asset Heston model recently developed in [Dimitroff et al., 2009] at Fraunhofer ITWM, Department Financial Mathematics, Kaiserslautern (Germany) and apply it to Quanto options. We give a summary of the model and its calibration scheme. A suitable transformation of the Quanto option payoff is explained and used to price Quantos within the new framework. Simulated prices are given and compared to market prices and Black–Scholes prices. We find that the new approach underprices the chosen options, but gives better results than the Black–Scholes approach, which is prevailing in the literature on Quanto options.
In this paper we deal with dierent statistical modeling of real world accident data in order to quantify the eectiveness of a safety function or a safety conguration (meaning a specic combination of safety functions) in vehicles. It is shown that the eectiveness can be estimated along the so-called relative risk, even if the eectiveness does depend on a confounding variable which may be categorical or continuous. For doing so a concrete statistical modeling is not necessary, that is the resulting estimate is of nonparametric nature. In a second step the quite usual and from a statistical point of view classical logistic regression modeling is investigated. Main emphasis has been laid on the understanding of the model and the interpretation of the occurring parameters. It is shown that the eectiveness of the safety function also can be detected via such a logistic approach and that relevant confounding variables can and should be taken into account. The interpretation of the parameters related to the confounder and the quantication of the in uence of the confounder is shown to be rather problematic. All the theoretical results are illuminated by numerical data examples.
We introduce a refined tree method to compute option prices using the stochastic volatility model of Heston. In a first step, we model the stock and variance process as two separate trees and with transition probabilities obtained by matching tree moments up to order two against the Heston model ones. The correlation between the driving Brownian motions in the Heston model is then incorporated by the node-wise adjustment of the probabilities. This adjustment, leaving the marginals fixed, optimizes the match between tree and model correlation. In some nodes, we are even able to further match moments of higher order. Numerically this gives convergence orders faster than 1/N, where N is the number of dis- cretization steps. Accuracy of our method is checked for European option prices against a semi closed-form, and our prices for both European and American options are compared to alternative approaches.
In nancial mathematics stock prices are usually modelled directly as a result of supply and demand and under the assumption that dividends are paid continuously. In contrast economic theory gives us the dividend discount model assuming that the stock price equals the present value of its future dividends. These two models need not to contradict each other - in their paper Korn and Rogers (2005) introduce a general dividend model preserving the stock price to follow a stochastic process and to be equal to the sum of all its discounted dividends. In this paper we specify the model of Korn and Rogers in a Black-Scholes framework in order to derive a closed-form solution for the pricing of American Call options under the assumption of a known next dividend followed by several stochastic dividend payments during the option's time to maturity.
We examine the feasibility polyhedron of the uncapacitated hub location problem (UHL) with multiple allocation, which has applications in the fields of air passenger and cargo transportation, telecommunication and postal delivery services. In particular we determine the dimension and derive some classes of facets of this polyhedron. We develop some general rules about lifting facets from the uncapacitated facility location (UFL) for UHL and projecting facets from UHL to UFL. By applying these rules we get a new class of facets for UHL which dominates the inequalities in the original formulation. Thus we get a new formulation of UHL whose constraints are all facet–defining. We show its superior computational performance by benchmarking it on a well known data set.
This work presents a new framework for Gröbner basis computations with Boolean polynomials. Boolean polynomials can be modeled in a rather simple way, with both coefficients and degree per variable lying in {0, 1}. The ring of Boolean polynomials is, however, not a polynomial ring, but rather the quotient ring of the polynomial ring over the field with two elements modulo the field equations x2 = x for each variable x. Therefore, the usual polynomial data structures seem not to be appropriate for fast Gröbner basis computations. We introduce a specialized data structure for Boolean polynomials based on zero-suppressed binary decision diagrams (ZDDs), which is capable of handling these polynomials more efficiently with respect to memory consumption and also computational speed. Furthermore, we concentrate on high-level algorithmic aspects, taking into account the new data structures as well as structural properties of Boolean polynomials. For example, a new useless-pair criterion for Gröbner basis computations in Boolean rings is introduced. One of the motivations for our work is the growing importance of formal hardware and software verification based on Boolean expressions, which suffer – besides from the complexity of the problems – from the lack of an adequate treatment of arithmetic components. We are convinced that algebraic methods are more suited and we believe that our preliminary implementation shows that Gröbner bases on specific data structures can be capable to handle problems of industrial size.
Home Health Care (HHC) services are becoming increasingly important in Europe’s aging societies. Elderly people have varying degrees of need for assistance and medical treatment. It is advantageous to allow them to live in their own homes as long as possible, since a long-term stay in a nursing home can be much more costly for the social insurance system than a treatment at home providing assistance to the required level. Therefore, HHC services are a cost-effective and flexible instrument in the social system. In Germany, organizations providing HHC services are generally either larger charities with countrywide operations or small private companies offering services only in a city or a rural area. While the former have a hierarchical organizational structure and a large number of employees, the latter typically only have some ten to twenty nurses under contract. The relationship to the patients (“customers”) is often long-term and can last for several years. Therefore acquiring and keeping satisfied customers is crucial for HHC service providers and intensive competition among them is observed.
In this article, a new model predictive control approach to nonlinear stochastic systems will be presented. The new approach is based on particle filters, which are usually used for estimating states or parameters. Here, two particle filters will be combined, the first one giving an estimate for the actual state based on the actual output of the system; the second one gives an estimate of a control input for the system. This is basically done by adopting the basic model predictive control strategies for the second particle filter. Later in this paper, this new approach is applied to a CSTR (continuous stirred-tank reactor) example and to the inverted pendulum.
Background and purpose Inherently, IMRT treatment planning involves compromising between different planning goals. Multi-criteria IMRT planning directly addresses this compromising and thus makes it more systematic. Usually, several plans are computed from which the planner selects the most promising following a certain procedure. Applying Pareto navigation for this selection step simultaneously increases the variety of planning options and eases the identification of the most promising plan. Material and methods Pareto navigation is an interactive multi-criteria optimization method that consists of the two navigation mechanisms “selection” and “restriction”. The former allows the formulation of wishes whereas the latter allows the exclusion of unwanted plans. They are realized as optimization problems on the so-called plan bundle – a set constructed from precomputed plans. They can be approximately reformulated so that their solution time is a small fraction of a second. Thus, the user can be provided with immediate feedback regarding his or her decisions.
To a network N(q) with determinant D(s;q) depending on a parameter vector q Î Rr via identification of some of its vertices, a network N^ (q) is assigned. The paper deals with procedures to find N^ (q), such that its determinant D^ (s;q) admits a factorization in the determinants of appropriate subnetworks, and with the estimation of the deviation of the zeros of D^ from the zeros of D. To solve the estimation problem state space methods are applied.
An algorithm for automatic parallel generation of three-dimensional unstructured computational meshes based on geometrical domain decomposition is proposed in this paper. Software package build upon proposed algorithm is described. Several practical examples of mesh generation on multiprocessor computational systems are given. It is shown that developed parallel algorithm enables us to reduce mesh generation time significantly (dozens of times). Moreover, it easily produces meshes with number of elements of order 5 · 107, construction of those on a single CPU is problematic. Questions of time consumption, efficiency of computations and quality of generated meshes are also considered.
After a short introduction to the basic ideas of lattice Boltzmann methods and a brief description of a modern parallel computer, it is shown how lattice Boltzmann schemes are successfully applied for simulating fluid flow in microstructures and calculating material properties of porous media. It is explained how lattice Boltzmann schemes compute the gradient of the velocity field without numerical differentiation. This feature is then utilised for the simulation of pseudo-plastic fluids, and numerical results are presented for a simple benchmark problem as well as for the simulation of liquid composite moulding.
A new stability preserving model reduction algorithm for discrete linear SISO-systems based on their impulse response is proposed. Similar to the Padé approximation, an equation system for the Markov parameters involving the Hankel matrix is considered, that here however is chosen to be of very high dimension. Although this equation system therefore in general cannot be solved exactly, it is proved that the approximate solution, computed via the Moore-Penrose inverse, gives rise to a stability preserving reduction scheme, a property that cannot be guaranteed for the Padé approach. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is compared to another stability preserving reduction approach, namely the balanced truncation method, showing comparable performance of the reduced systems. The balanced truncation method however starts from a state space description of the systems and in general is expected to be more computational demanding.
We develop a framework for analyzing an executive’s own-company stockholding and work effort preferences. The executive, characterized by risk aversion and work effectiveness parameters, invests his personal wealth without constraint in the financial market, including the stock of his own company whose value he can directly influence with work effort. The executive’s utility-maximizing personal investment and work effort strategy is derived in closed-form, and an indifference utility rationale is demonstrated to determine his required compensation. Our results have implications for the practical and theoretical assessment of executive quality and the benefits of performance contracting. Assuming knowledge of the company’s non-systematic risk, our executive’s unconstrained own-company investment identifies his work effectiveness (i.e. quality), and also reflects work effort that establishes a base-level that performance contracting should seek to exceed.
Industrial analog circuits are usually designed using numerical simulation tools. To obtain a deeper circuit understanding, symbolic analysis techniques can additionally be applied. Approximation methods which reduce the complexity of symbolic expressions are needed in order to handle industrial-sized problems. This paper will give an overview to the field of symbolic analog circuit analysis. Starting with a motivation, the state-of-the-art simplification algorithms for linear as well as for nonlinear circuits are presented. The basic ideas behind the different techniques are described, whereas the technical details can be found in the cited references. Finally, the application of linear and nonlinear symbolic analysis will be shown on two example circuits.
In this paper we address the improvement of transfer quality in public mass transit networks. Generally there are several transit operators offering service and our work is motivated by the question how their timetables can be altered to yield optimized transfer possibilities in the overall network. To achieve this, only small changes to the timetables are allowed. The set-up makes it possible to use a quadratic semi-assignment model to solve the optimization problem. We apply this model, equipped with a new way to assess transfer quality, to the solution of four real-world examples. It turns out that improvements in overall transfer quality can be determined by such optimization-based techniques. Therefore they can serve as a first step towards a decision support tool for planners of regional transit networks.
We present some optimality results for robust Kalman filtering. To this end, we introduce the general setup of state space models which will not be limited to a Euclidean or time-discrete framework. We pose the problem of state reconstruction and repeat the classical existing algorithms in this context. We then extend the ideal-model setup allowing for outliers which in this context may be system-endogenous or -exogenous, inducing the somewhat conflicting goals of tracking and attenuation. In quite a general framework, we solve corresponding minimax MSE-problems for both types of outliers separately, resulting in saddle-points consisting of an optimally-robust procedure and a corresponding least favorable outlier situation. Still insisting on recursivity, we obtain an operational solution, the rLS filter and variants of it. Exactly robust-optimal filters would need knowledge of certain hard-to-compute conditional means in the ideal model; things would be much easier if these conditional means were linear. Hence, it is important to quantify the deviation of the exact conditional mean from linearity. We obtain a somewhat surprising characterization of linearity for the conditional expectation in this setting. Combining both optimal filter types (for system-endogenous and -exogenous situation) we come up with a delayed hybrid filter which is able to treat both types of outliers simultaneously. Keywords: robustness, Kalman Filter, innovation outlier, additive outlier
We consider some portfolio optimisation problems where either the investor has a desire for an a priori specified consumption stream or/and follows a deterministic pay in scheme while also trying to maximize expected utility from final wealth. We derive explicit closed form solutions for continuous and discrete monetary streams. The mathematical method used is classical stochastic control theory.
If an investor borrows money he generally has to pay higher interest rates than he would have received, if he had put his funds on a savings account. The classical model of continuous time portfolio optimisation ignores this effect. Since there is obviously a connection between the default probability and the total percentage of wealth, which the investor is in debt, we study portfolio optimisation with a control dependent interest rate. Assuming a logarithmic and a power utility function, respectively, we prove explicit formulae of the optimal control.
The scope of this paper is to enhance the model for the own-company stockholder (given in Desmettre, Gould and Szimayer (2010)), who can voluntarily performance-link his personal wealth to his management success by acquiring stocks in the own-company whose value he can directly influence via spending work effort. The executive is thereby characterized by a parameter of risk aversion and the two work effectiveness parameters inverse work productivity and disutility stress. We extend the model to a constant absolute risk aversion framework using an exponential utility/disutility set-up. A closed-form solution is given for the optimal work effort an executive will apply and we derive the optimal investment strategies of the executive. Furthermore, we determine an up-front fair cash compensation applying an indifference utility rationale. Our study shows to a large extent that the results previously obtained are robust under the choice of the utility/disutility set-up.
Calculating effective heat conductivity for a class of industrial problems is discussed. The considered composite materials are glass and metal foams, fibrous materials, and the like, used in isolation or in advanced heat exchangers. These materials are characterized by a very complex internal structure, by low volume fraction of the higher conductive material (glass or metal), and by a large volume fraction of the air. The homogenization theory (when applicable), allows to calculate the effective heat conductivity of composite media by postprocessing the solution of special cell problems for representative elementary volumes (REV). Different formulations of such cell problems are considered and compared here. Furthermore, the size of the REV is studied numerically for some typical materials. Fast algorithms for solving the cell problems for this class of problems, are presented and discussed.
Two-level domain decomposition preconditioner for 3D flows in anisotropic highly heterogeneous porous media is presented. Accurate finite volume discretization based on multipoint flux approximation (MPFA) for 3D pressure equation is employed to account for the jump discontinuities of full permeability tensors. DD/MG type preconditioner for above mentioned problem is developed. Coarse scale operator is obtained from a homogenization type procedure. The influence of the overlapping as well as the influence of the smoother and cell problem formulation is studied. Results from numerical experiments are presented and discussed.
Modeling and formulation of optimization problems in IMRT planning comprises the choice of various values such as function-specific parameters or constraint bounds. These values also affect the characteristics of the optimization problem and thus the form of the resulting optimal plans. This publication utilizes concepts of sensitivity analysis and elasticity in convex optimization to analyze the dependence of optimal plans on the modeling parameters. It also derives general rules of thumb how to choose and modify the parameters in order to obtain the desired IMRT plan. These rules are numerically validated for an exemplary IMRT planning problems.
We consider the problem of pricing European forward starting options in the presence of stochastic volatility. By performing a change of measure using the asset price at the time of strike determination as a numeraire, we derive a closed-form solution based on Heston’s model of stochastic volatility.
Iterative solution of large scale systems arising after discretization and linearization of the unsteady non-Newtonian Navier–Stokes equations is studied. cross WLF model is used to account for the non-Newtonian behavior of the fluid. Finite volume method is used to discretize the governing system of PDEs. Viscosity is treated explicitely (e.g., it is taken from the previous time step), while other terms are treated implicitly. Different preconditioners (block–diagonal, block–triangular, relaxed incomplete LU factorization, etc.) are used in conjunction with advanced iterative methods, namely, BiCGStab, CGS, GMRES. The action of the preconditioner in fact requires inverting different blocks. For this purpose, in addition to preconditioned BiCGStab, CGS, GMRES, we use also algebraic multigrid method (AMG). The performance of the iterative solvers is studied with respect to the number of unknowns, characteristic velocity in the basic flow, time step, deviation from Newtonian behavior, etc. Results from numerical experiments are presented and discussed.