Innovative Computing Methods and Their Applications to Engineering Problems

Originally published in 1999, this book takes a probing and specialist look at the many important advances which occurred in steam power in the fifteen years leading up to its publication. Large power plants as well as small-capacity boilers became more efficient and reliable, and their design and operation were enhanced by the application of modern computational techniques. This book provides a comprehensive review of such developments in steam power engineering. It discusses thermohydraulic principles and processes, with an emphasis on practical problems of steam power plant design and operation. Among topics covered are historical analysis, cycle design, thermal and hydraulic design of heating surfaces, pollutant control, and flow instability, from which are deduced strategies for further development. Originally intended for both students and engineers, the book treats realistic problems and offers a wealth of valuable insight into the design of large and small steam power plants.

A thorough understanding of the interaction of waves and currents with offshore structures has now become a vital factor in the safe and economical design of various offshore technologies. There has been a significant increase in the research efforts to meet this need. Although considerable progress has been made in the offshore industry and in the understanding of the interaction of waves, currents, and wind with ocean structures, most of the available books concentrate only on practical applications without a grounding in the physics. This text integrates an understanding of the physics of ocean-structure interactions with numerous applications. This more complete understanding will allow the engineer and designer to solve problems heretofore not encountered, and to design new and innovative structures. The intent of this book is to serve the needs of future generations of engineers designing more sophisticated structures at ever increasing depths.

This 1992 book provides a coherent and comprehensive treatment of the thermodynamics and gas dynamics of the practical Stirling cycle. Invented in 1816, the Stirling engine is the subject of worldwide research and development on account of unique qualities - silence, indifference to heat source, low level of emissions when burning conventional fuels and an ability to function in reverse as heat pump or refrigerator. The student of engineering will discover an instructure and illuminating case study revealing the interactions of basic disciplines. The researcher will find the groundwork prepared for various types of computer simulation, Those involved in the use and teaching of solution methods for unsteady gas dynamics problems will find a comprehensive treatment on nonlinear and linear wave approaches, for the Stirling machine provides an elegant example of the application of each. The book will be of use to all those involved in researching, designing or manufacturing Stirling prime

"With this book, Prof. Dr. Vantsevich brings a tremendous contribution to the field of Automotive Transmission and Driveline Engineering, including his innovative methods for optimum driveline synthes

J. Frank Adams was one of the world's leading topologists. He solved a number of celebrated problems in algebraic topology, a subject in which he initiated many of the most active areas of research. He wrote a large number of papers during the period 1955–1988, and they are characterised by elegant writing and depth of thought. Few of them have been superseded by later work. This selection, in two volumes, brings together all his major research contributions. They are organised by subject matter rather than in strict chronological order. The first contains papers on: the cobar construction, the Adams spectral sequence, higher-order cohomology operations, and the Hopf invariant one problem; applications of K-theory; generalised homology and cohomology theories. The second volume is mainly concerned with Adams' contributions to: characteristic classes and calculations in K-theory; modules over the Steenrod algebra and their Ext groups; finite H-spaces and compact Lie groups; maps between

J. Frank Adams was one of the world's leading topologists. He solved a number of celebrated problems in algebraic topology, a subject in which he initiated many of the most active areas of research. He wrote a large number of papers during the period 1955–1988, and they are characterised by elegant writing and depth of thought. Few of them have been superseded by later work. This selection, in two volumes, brings together all his major research contributions. They are organised by subject matter rather than in strict chronological order. The first contains papers on: the cobar construction, the Adams spectral sequence, higher-order cohomology operations, and the Hopf invariant one problem; applications of K-theory; generalised homology and cohomology theories. The second volume is mainly concerned with Adams' contributions to: characteristic classes and calculations in K-theory; modules over the Steenrod algebra and their Ext groups; finite H-spaces and compact Lie groups; maps between

Originally published in 1997, this book is concerned with human language technology. This technology provides computers with the capability to handle spoken and written language. One major goal is to improve communication between humans and machines. If people can use their own language to access information, working with software applications and controlling machinery, the greatest obstacle for the acceptance of new information technology is overcome. Another important goal is to facilitate communication among people. Machines can help to translate texts or spoken input from one human language to the other. Programs that assist people in writing by checking orthography, grammar and style are constantly improving. This book was sponsored by the Directorate General XIII of the European Union and the Information Science and Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation, USA.

Constraints are everywhere: most computational problems can be described in terms of restrictions imposed on the set of possible solutions, and constraint programming is a problem-solving technique that works by incorporating those restrictions in a programming environment. It draws on methods from combinatorial optimisation and artificial intelligence, and has been successfully applied in a number of fields from scheduling, computational biology, finance, electrical engineering and operations research through to numerical analysis. This textbook for upper-division students provides a thorough and structured account of the main aspects of constraint programming. The author provides many worked examples that illustrate the usefulness and versatility of this approach to programming, as well as many exercises throughout the book that illustrate techniques, test skills and extend the text. Pointers to current research, extensive historical and bibliographic notes, and a comprehensive list

Engineers and scientists need powerful formalisms to make conceptual models of systems in order to analyse and design them. These models can be used to verify the behaviour of the systems, or as an executable specification of them. In this textbook, Professor van Hee concentrates on discrete dynamic systems, e.g. computer hardware, and information and logistical systems. He develops an integrated formalism which can be used as a prototyping language. It has three components: Petri nets, extended with time, token values and hierarchy; a specification language that is a subset of Z; and a binary data model, extended with complex objects. Much attention is paid to methods for constructing models of systems and analysing their behaviour, i.e. putting the theory into practice. The text is designed for use by advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, in computer science, electrical and industrial engineering, or applied mathematics; indeed, it is based on courses taught by the

Determining orbits for natural and artificial celestial bodies is an essential step in the exploration and understanding of the Solar System. However, recent progress in the quality and quantity of data from astronomical observations and spacecraft tracking has generated orbit determination problems which cannot be handled by classical algorithms. This book presents new algorithms capable of handling the millions of bodies which could be observed by next generation surveys, and which can fully exploit tracking data with state-of-the-art levels of accuracy. After a general mathematical background and summary of classical algorithms, the new algorithms are introduced using the latest mathematical tools and results, to which the authors have personally contributed. Case studies based on actual astronomical surveys and space missions are provided, with applications of these new methods. Intended for graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, physics, astronomy and aerospace

Using real-life applications, this graduate-level textbook introduces different mathematical methods of scientific computation to solve minimization problems using examples ranging from locating an aircraft, finding the best time to replace a computer, analyzing developments on the stock market, and constructing phylogenetic trees. The textbook focuses on several methods, including nonlinear least squares with confidence analysis, singular value decomposition, best basis, dynamic programming, linear programming, and various optimization procedures. Each chapter solves several realistic problems, introducing the modelling optimization techniques and simulation as required. This allows readers to see how the methods are put to use, making it easier to grasp the basic ideas. There are also worked examples, practical notes, and background materials to help the reader understand the topics covered. Interactive exercises are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521849890.

This book, originally published in 1990, deals with the stabilisation and control of an economic system in a dynamic setting. Unlike studies which consider only the case of centralised policy-making, Professor Petit examines both the situation in which policy decisions are taken by a single policy-maker and the case of group policy-making. The wide-ranging economic implications of the use of these methods are thoroughly discussed. The tools of optimal control and differential game theory, and their advantages and drawbacks, are examined, along with methodological implications of introducing expectations into the policy problem. This lucid and comprehensive study of control theory and dynamic games will be of great use both to economists interested in learning mathematical methods and to mathematicians interested in their economic applications.

The field of polymer research is progressing rapidly from passive materials providing a certain set of properties to active polymers, which provide, receive and respond to signals from their environment. This includes interactions with molecules, biological systems and physical stimuli. Research in active polymers has been driven by an increasing demand for intelligent materials, especially in biomedical and aerospace applications. Progress in synthesis, analytics and molecular modeling enable scientists to develop active polymer systems in a knowledge-based approach. Biological systems might serve as blueprints for biomimetic and bionic solutions, leading to innovative materials concepts. Emerging active polymers respond to a range of stimuli, from changes in pH and temperature, to light and magnetic fields. Remote and on-demand control is also envisioned. Contributors discuss shape-memory polymers; shape-changing polymers; responsive hydrogels; stimuli-sensitive systems; intelligent

The Reign of King Edward III (1596) is a little-known Elizabethan play of uncertain authorship, some or all of which has long been considered possibly to have been Shakespeare's work. In assessing the origins of King Edward III, Slater's book is pioneering in its use and extension of vocabulary tests to solve problems of authorship. The author reviews the debate regarding the creation of King Edward III. Following a survey of applications of quantitative methods to literary problems, he examines the authorship of Edward III by means of a statistical study of the play's rare words, and their links with rare words in Shakespeare's canonical plays. This is a technique developed by Slater himself and is of particular interest to literary scholars and stylometrists. The investigation indicates that the play was written by Shakespeare. The book therefore provides important evidence to suggest that an exciting and much-neglected play should be admitted into the canon of Shakespeare's early hi

Providing an all-inclusive treatment of electronic and optoelectronic devices used in high-speed optical communication systems, this book emphasizes circuit applications, advanced device design solutions, and noise in sources and receivers. Core topics covered include semiconductors and semiconductor optical properties, high-speed circuits and transistors, detectors, sources, and modulators. It discusses in detail both active devices (heterostructure field-effect and bipolar transistors) and passive components (lumped and distributed) for high-speed electronic integrated circuits. It also describes recent advances in high-speed devices for 40 Gbps systems. Introductory elements are provided, making the book open to readers without a specific background in optoelectronics, whilst end-of-chapter review questions and numerical problems enable readers to test their understanding and experiment with realistic data.

This book discusses in detail all the relevant numerical methods for the classical N-body problem. It demonstrates how to develop clear and elegant algorithms for models of gravitational systems, and explains the fundamental mathematical tools needed to describe the dynamics of a large number of mutually attractive particles. Particular attention is given to the techniques needed to model astrophysical phenomena such as close encounters and the dynamics of black hole binaries. The author reviews relevant work in the field and covers applications to the problems of planetary formation and star cluster dynamics, both of Pleiades type and globular clusters. Self-contained and pedagogical, this book is suitable for graduate students and researchers in theoretical physics, astronomy and cosmology.

Numerical Solution of Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations is a new type of graduate textbook, with both print and interactive electronic components (on CD). It is a comprehensive presentation of modern shock-capturing methods, including both finite volume and finite element methods, covering the theory of hyperbolic conservation laws and the theory of the numerical methods. The range of applications is broad enough to engage most engineering disciplines and many areas of applied mathematics. Classical techniques for judging the qualitative performance of the schemes are used to motivate the development of classical higher-order methods. The interactive CD gives access to the computer code used to create all of the text's figures, and lets readers run simulations, choosing their own input parameters; the CD displays the results of the experiments as movies. Consequently, students can gain an appreciation for both the dynamics of the problem application, and the growth of numerical

To create truly effective human-centric ambient intelligence systems both engineering and computing methods are needed. This is the first book to bridge data processing and intelligent reasoning metho

This book provides an in-depth analysis of selected methods in signal and system theory with applications to problems in communications, stochastic processes and optimal filter theory. The authors tak

Path integrals provide a powerful method for describing quantum phenomena. This book introduces the quantum mechanics of particles that move in curved space by employing path integrals and then using them to compute anomalies in quantum field theories. The authors start by deriving path integrals for particles moving in curved space and their supersymmetric generalizations. They then discuss the regularization schemes essential to constructing and computing these path integrals. This topic is used to introduce regularization and renormalization in quantum field theories in a wider context. These methods are then applied to discuss and calculate anomalies in quantum field theory. Such anomalies provide enormous constraints in the search for physical theories of elementary particles, quantum gravity and string theories. An advanced text for researchers and graduate students of quantum field theory and string theory, the first part is also a stand-alone introduction to path integrals in q

This book tackles the question: how can an engineer with a powerful finite element program but modest background knowledge of mechanics solve unfamiliar problems? Engineering educators will find this book to be a new and exciting approach to helping students engage with complex ideas. Practising engineers who use finite element methods to solve problems in solids and structures will extend the range of problems they can solve as well as accelerate their learning on new problems. This book's special strengths include: • A thoroughly modern approach to learning and understanding mechanics problems • Comprehensive coverage of a large collection of problems ranging from static to dynamic and from linear to nonlinear, applied to a variety of structures and components • Accompanying software that is sophisticated and versatile and is available for free from the book's website • Ability to complement any standard finite element textbook.

In this book Craig, Kinney and their collaborators confront the main unsolved mysteries in Shakespeare's canon through computer analysis of Shakespeare's and other writers' styles. In some cases their analysis confirms the current scholarly consensus, bringing long-standing questions to something like a final resolution. In other areas the book provides more surprising conclusions: that Shakespeare wrote the 1602 additions to The Spanish Tragedy, for example, and that Marlowe along with Shakespeare was a collaborator on Henry VI, Parts 1 and 2. The methods used are more wholeheartedly statistical, and computationally more intensive, than any that have yet been applied to Shakespeare studies. The book also reveals how word patterns help create a characteristic personal style. In tackling traditional problems with the aid of the processing power of the computer, harnessed through computer science, and drawing upon large amounts of data, the book is an exemplar of the new domain of digita

Wireless sensor networks are set to play a key role in a wide range of civilian and military applications, with tiny sensors connected through wireless links performing various sensing, computing, communication, and control tasks in highly distributed systems. This book presents a critical element in the deployment of wireless sensor networks: the process of synchronization. It summarizes the most important clock synchronization protocols proposed for wireless sensor networks with special emphasis placed on deriving efficient clock offset estimation schemes and performance benchmarks. Graduate students of electrical and computer engineering and computer science will find this a valuable resource, as will engineers who are interested in designing efficient clock synchronization algorithms and improving the performance of existing synchronization protocols.

Why is it necessary to strike while the iron is hot? What makes a good liquid crystal display? Why is rubber so elastic? These questions can be answered through rheophysics, using the mechanics of continuous media at the macroscopic scale, and statistical mechanics and the physics of defects at the microscopic level. This book addresses problems involving the flow of matter, covering the main aspects of the mechanical response of fluids and solids to applied stress or strain. It includes the hydrodynamics of ordinary liquids, the elasticity and plasticity of solids, and the rheology of complex fluids such as suspensions, polymers and liquid crystals. Dislocations are described thoroughly, and special attention is given to instabilities. Concepts and physical properties are illustrated by numerous experiments, historical anecdotes, and applications to aeronautics, metallurgy, and geophysics, making this a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students in physics, engineering,

Advances in medicine have brought us the stethoscope, artificial kidneys, and computerized health records. They have also changed the doctor-patient relationship. This book explores how the technologies of medicine are created and how we respond to the problems and successes of their use. Stanley Joel Reiser, MD, walks us through the ways medical innovations exert their influence by discussing a number of selected technologies, including the X-ray, ultrasound, and respirator. Reiser creates a new understanding of thinking about how health care is practiced in the United States and thereby suggests new methods to effectively meet the challenges of living with technological medicine. As healthcare reform continues to be an intensely debated topic in America, Technological Medicine shows us the pros and cons of applying technological solutions health and illness.

In his Mattioli Lectures, Nobel Laureate Professor Herbert A. Simon directs attention to the kinds of empirical research that are necessary for progress in microeconomics. He traces the development of neoclassical economic theory and its gradual retreat from empiricism to abstraction. He then discusses the importance of business firms to the economic system, and the need for a thoroughly empirical understanding of how organisations work and reach their decisions. Finally, he examines innovative approaches to empirical research, including experimental economics, observational methods for studying economic behaviour, and the kinds of simulation models that are needed to interpret decision process. A round-table discussion of these issues follows; the participants, in addition to Professor Simon, are Professors Claudio Dematte, Massimo Egidi, Richard M. Goodwin, Robert Marris, Aldo Montesano and Riccardo Viale.

This volume contains survey articles based on the invited lectures given at the Twenty-second British Combinatorial Conference, held in July 2009 at the University of St Andrews. This biennial conference is a well-established international event, with speakers from all over the world. By its nature this volume provides an up-to-date overview of current research activity in several areas of combinatorics, including graph theory, design theory and packing problems. Each article is clearly written and assumes little prior knowledge on the part of the reader. The authors are some of the world's foremost researchers in their fields, and here they summarise existing results, and give a unique preview of the most recent developments. The book provides a valuable survey of the present state of knowledge in combinatorics. It will be useful to research workers and advanced graduate students, primarily in mathematics but also in computer science, statistics and engineering.

All central banks manage the supply of money and credit in their countries, increasing and decreasing them as needed to provide what economies need to keep growing. The way central banks typically handle that job involves short-term interest rates. But when inflation is low, central banks can't use their usual methods to get money and credit into an economy that needs it. Several essays in this volume describe the work of economists who have investigated problems that central banks might have when inflation gets low. Other essays investigate related questions such as whether an economy suffers when it moves from high inflation to low inflation, what the costs of inflation are to economic welfare, and whether a little bit of inflation can actually be good for economic growth.

On-line learning is one of the most powerful and commonly used techniques for training large layered networks and has been used successfully in many real-world applications. Traditional analytical methods have been recently complemented by ones from statistical physics and Bayesian statistics. This powerful combination of analytical methods provides more insight and deeper understanding of existing algorithms and leads to novel and principled proposals for their improvement. This book presents a coherent picture of the state-of-the-art in the theoretical analysis of on-line learning. An introduction relates the subject to other developments in neural networks and explains the overall picture. Surveys by leading experts in the field combine new and established material and enable non-experts to learn more about the techniques and methods used. This book, the first in the area, provides a comprehensive view of the subject and will be welcomed by mathematicians, scientists and engineers,

Structured methodologies are a popular and powerful tool in information systems development. Many different ones exist, each employing a number of models and so a specification must be converted from one form to another during the development process. To solve this problem, Dr Tse proposes in this 1991 book a unifying framework behind popular structured models. He approaches the problem from the viewpoints of algebra and category theory. He not only develops the frameworks but also illustrates their practical and theoretical usefulness. Thus this book will provide insight for software engineers into how methodologies can be formalised and will open up a range of applications and problems for theoretical computer scientists.

This examination of the relation between law and drama in Renaissance England establishes the diversity of their dialogue, encompassing critique and complicity, comment and analogy, but argues that the way in which drama addresses legal problems and dilemmas is nevertheless distinctive. As the resemblance between law and theatre concerns their formal structures rather than their methods and aims, an interdisciplinary approach must be alive to distinctions as well as affinities. Alert to issues of representation without losing sight of a lived culture of litigation, this study primarily focuses on early modern implications of the connection between legal and dramatic evidence, but expands to address a wider range of issues which stretch the representational capacities of both courtroom and theatre. The book does not shy away from drama's composite vision of legal realities but engages with the fictionality itself as significant, and negotiates the methodological challenges it posits.

In an IT world in which there are differently sized projects, with different applications, differently skilled practitioners, and on-site, off-site, and off-shored development teams, it is impossible for there to be a one-size-fits-all agile development and testing approach. This book provides practical guidance for professionals, practitioners, and researchers faced with creating and rolling out their own agile testing processes. In addition to descriptions of the prominent agile methods, the book provides twenty real-world case studies of practitioners using agile methods and draws upon their experiences to propose your own agile method; whether yours is a small, medium, large, off-site, or even off-shore project, this book provides personalized guidance on the agile best practices from which to choose to create your own effective and efficient agile method.

In an IT world in which there are differently sized projects, with different applications, differently skilled practitioners, and on-site, off-site, and off-shored development teams, it is impossible for there to be a one-size-fits-all agile development and testing approach. This book provides practical guidance for professionals, practitioners, and researchers faced with creating and rolling out their own agile testing processes. In addition to descriptions of the prominent agile methods, the book provides twenty real-world case studies of practitioners using agile methods and draws upon their experiences to propose your own agile method; whether yours is a small, medium, large, off-site, or even off-shore project, this book provides personalized guidance on the agile best practices from which to choose to create your own effective and efficient agile method.

This authoritative account of electronic and optoelectronic devices operating at frequencies greater than 1 GHz covers the concepts and fundamental principles of operation, and, uniquely, their circuit applications too. Key features include: • a comprehensive coverage of electron devices, such as MESFET, HEMT, RF MOSFET, BJT and HBT, and their models • discussions of semiconductor devices fabricated in a variety of material systems, such as Si, III-V compound semiconductors, and Si-Ge • a description of light-emitting diodes, semiconductor lasers and photodetectors • plentiful real-world examples • end-of-chapter problems to test understanding of the material covered From crystal structure to atomic bonding, recombination and radiation in semiconductors to p-n junctions and heterojunctions, a wide range of critical topics is covered. Optimization algorithms, such as simulated annealing and neural network applications, are also discussed. Graduate students in electrical engineering, in

Carbon nanotubes are the fabric of nanotechnology. Investigation into their properties has become one of the most active fields of modern research. This book presents the key computational modelling and numerical simulation tools to investigate carbon nanotube characteristics. In particular, methods applied to geometry and bonding, mechanical, thermal, transport and storage properties are addressed. The first half describes classic statistical and quantum mechanical simulation techniques, (including molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo simulations and ab initio molecular dynamics), atomistic theory and continuum based methods. The second half discusses the application of these numerical simulation tools to emerging fields such as nanofluidics and nanomechanics. With selected experimental results to help clarify theoretical concepts, this is a self-contained book that will be of interest to researchers in a broad range of disciplines, including nanotechnology, engineering, materials science

This book generalises the classical theory of orthogonal polynomials on the complex unit circle, or on the real line to orthogonal rational functions whose poles are among a prescribed set of complex numbers. The first part treats the case where these poles are all outside the unit disk or in the lower half plane. Classical topics such as recurrence relations, numerical quadrature, interpolation properties, Favard theorems, convergence, asymptotics, and moment problems are generalised and treated in detail. The same topics are discussed for the different situation where the poles are located on the unit circle or on the extended real line. In the last chapter, several applications are mentioned including linear prediction, Pisarenko modelling, lossless inverse scattering, and network synthesis. This theory has many applications in theoretical real and complex analysis, approximation theory, numerical analysis, system theory, and in electrical engineering.

Are you involved in designing the next generation of wireless networks? With spectrum becoming an ever scarcer resource, it is critical that new systems utilize all available frequency bands as efficiently as possible. The revolutionary technology presented in this book will be at the cutting edge of future wireless communications. Dynamic Spectrum Access and Management in Cognitive Radio Networks provides you with an all-inclusive introduction to this emerging technology, outlining the fundamentals of cognitive radio-based wireless communication and networking, spectrum sharing models, and the requirements for dynamic spectrum access. In addition to the different techniques and their applications in designing dynamic spectrum access methods, you'll also find state-of-the-art dynamic spectrum access schemes, including classifications of the different schemes and the technical details of each scheme. This is a perfect introduction for graduate students and researchers, as well as a usef

How should historians read sources which record inquisitorial trials in the Middle Ages? How can we understand the fears felt by those on trial? By analysing six volumes of depositions in the trial of Cathar and Waldensian heretics in Languedoc between the late twelfth and the fourteenth century, in this book, Caterina Bruschi challenges old methodologies in the study of dissent. She examines the intrinsic narratological problems related to the sources and, using approaches from the social sciences, analyses the different fears felt by deponents and how those fears affected their actions and decisions. In so doing, she sheds light on itinerancy within the ecclesial structure of non-conformist movements and contextualises the problem of itinerancy as a benchmark for the definition of heresy. Focusing on the lives and attitudes of trial witnesses, this innovative account is a major contribution to our understanding of the nature of religious non-conformity in the Middle Ages.

The Hilbert transform has many uses, including solving problems in aerodynamics, condensed matter physics, optics, fluids, and engineering. Written in a style that will suit a wide audience (including the physical sciences), this book will become the reference of choice on the topic, whatever the subject background of the reader. It explains all the common Hilbert transforms, mathematical techniques for evaluating them, and has detailed discussions of their application. Especially useful for researchers are the tabulation of analytically evaluated Hilbert transforms, and an atlas that immediately illustrates how the Hilbert transform alters a function. A collection of exercises helps the reader to test their understanding of the material in each chapter. The bibliography is a wide-ranging collection of references both to the classical mathematical papers, and to a diverse array of applications.

First published in 1988, this book is a manual of methods for solving problems in radiative transfer. Several of the methods, on operator perturbation as well as on polarised radiative transfer, appeared for the first time in this volume, and the sections dealing with these topics each include introductory articles. The methods described are principally directed at astrophysical plasmas, but the methods are easily adaptable to applications involving other media where self-absorption of the radiation is important. The book is primarily intended for graduate students and research workers in the field of radiative transfer.