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At least 739 records · Page 41

Resilient NdFeB magnet recycling under the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic: Stochastic programming and Benders decomposition

Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets are the most powerful magnets per unit volume sold in the commercial market. Despite the increasing demand for clean energy applications such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, disruptive events including the COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant uncertainties in the supply and demand for NdFeB magnets. Therefore, this study aims to alleviate the risk of supply shortage for NdFeB magnets and the containing critical materials, rare-earth elements (REEs), through the development of a resilient reverse supply chain and logistics network design. We develop scenarios to model the unique impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proposed business, incorporating both disruption intensity and recovery rate. We formulate a chance-constrained two-stage stochastic programming model to maximize the profit while guaranteeing the network resiliency against disruption risks. To solve the problem in large-scale instances, we develop an efficient Benders decomposition algorithm that reduces the computational time by 98.5% on average compared to the default CPLEX algorithm. When applied to the United States, the model suggests the optimal facility locations, processing capacities, inventory levels, and material flows for NdFeB magnet recyclers that could meet 99.7% of the demand. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to incorporate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to design a resilient NdFeB magnet recycling supply chain and logistics network, leveraging risk-averse stochastic programming.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Time-Frequency Approach for Stochastic Signal Detection

The detection of events in a stochastic signal has been a subject of great interest. One of the oldest signal processing technique, Fourier Transform of a signal contains information regarding frequency content, but it cannot resolve the exact onset of changes in the frequency, all temporal information is contained in the phase of the transform. On the other hand, Spectrogram is better able to resolve temporal evolution of frequency content, but has a trade-off in time resolution versus frequency resolution in accordance with the uncertainty principle. Therefore, time-frequency representations are considered for energetic characterisation of the non-stationary signals. Wigner Ville Distribution (WVD) is the most prominent quadratic time-frequency signal representation and used for analysing frequency variations in signals.WVD allows for instantaneous frequency estimation at each data point, for a typical temporal resolution of fractions of a second. This paper through simulations describes the way time frequency models are applied for the detection of event in a stochastic signal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Stochastic heating of dust particles in complex plasmas as an energetic instability of a harmonic oscillator with random frequency

The paper describes the occurrence of stochastic heating of dust particles in dusty plasmas as an energy instability due to the correlations between dust grain charge and electric field fluctuations. The possibility that the mean energy (''temperature'') of dust particles can grow in time has been found both from the self-consistent kinetic description of dusty plasmas taking into account charge fluctuations [U. de Angelis, A. V. Ivlev, V. N. Tsytovich, and G. E. Morfill, Phys. Plasmas 12(5), 052301 (2005)] and from a Fokker-Planck approach to systems with variable charge [A. V. Ivlev, S. K. Zhdanov, B. A. Klumov, and G. E. Morfill, Phys. Plasmas 12(9), 092104 (2005)]. Here, a different derivation is given by using the mathematical techniques of the so called multiplicative stochastic differential equations. Both cases of ''fast'' and ''slow'' fluctuations are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Stochastic Lagrangian dynamics for charged flows in the E-F regions of ionosphere

We develop a three-dimensional numerical model for the E-F region ionosphere and study the Lagrangian dynamics for plasma flows in this region. Our interest rests on the charge-neutral interactions and the statistics associated with stochastic Lagrangian motion. In particular, we examine the organizing mixing patterns for plasma flows due to polarized gravity wave excitations in the neutral field, using Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS). LCS objectively depict the flow topology-the extracted attractors indicate generation of ionospheric density gradients, due to accumulation of plasma. Using Lagrangian measures such as the finite-time Lyapunov exponents, we locate the Lagrangian skeletons for mixing in plasma, hence where charged fronts are expected to appear. With polarized neutral wind, we find that the corresponding plasma velocity is also polarized. Moreover, the polarized velocity alone, coupled with stochastic Lagrangian motion, may give rise to polarized density fronts in plasma. Statistics of these trajectories indicate high level of non-Gaussianity. This includes clear signatures of variance, skewness, and kurtosis of displacements taking polarized structures aligned with the gravity waves, and being anisotropic.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Stochastic and deterministic causes of streamer branching in liquid dielectrics

Streamer branching in liquid dielectrics is driven by stochastic and deterministic factors. The presence of stochastic causes of streamer branching such as inhomogeneities inherited from noisy initial states, impurities, or charge carrier density fluctuations is inevitable in any dielectric. A fully three-dimensional streamer model presented in this paper indicates that deterministic origins of branching are intrinsic attributes of streamers, which in some cases make the branching inevitable depending on shape and velocity of the volume charge at the streamer frontier. Specifically, any given inhomogeneous perturbation can result in streamer branching if the volume charge layer at the original streamer head is relatively thin and slow enough. Furthermore, discrete nature of electrons at the leading edge of an ionization front always guarantees the existence of a non-zero inhomogeneous perturbation ahead of the streamer head propagating even in perfectly homogeneous dielectric. Based on the modeling results for streamers propagating in a liquid dielectric, a gauge on the streamer head geometry is introduced that determines whether the branching occurs under particular inhomogeneous circumstances. Estimated number, diameter, and velocity of the born branches agree qualitatively with experimental images of the streamer branching.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On collisional diffusion in a stochastic magnetic field

The effect of particle collisions on the transport in a stochastic magnetic field in tokamaks is investigated. The model of resonant magnetic perturbations generated by external coils at the plasma edge is used for the stochastic magnetic field. The particle collisions are simulated by a random walk process along the magnetic field lines and the jumps across the field lines at the collision instants. The dependencies of the local diffusion coefficients on the mean free path λ{sub mfp}, the diffusion coefficients of field lines D{sub FL}, and the collisional diffusion coefficients, χ{sub ⊥} are studied. Based on these numerical data and the heuristic arguments, the empirical formula, D{sub r}=χ{sub ⊥}+v{sub ||}D{sub FL}/(1+L{sub c}/λ{sub mfp}), for the local diffusion coefficient is proposed, where L{sub c} is the characteristic length of order of the connection length l{sub c}=πqR{sub 0}, q is the safety factor, R{sub 0} is the major radius. The formula quite well describes the results of numerical simulations. In the limiting cases, the formula describes the Rechester-Rosenbluth and Laval scalings.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A stochastic diffusion process for Lochner's generalized Dirichlet distribution

The method of potential solutions of Fokker-Planck equations is used to develop a transport equation for the joint probability of N stochastic variables with Lochner’s generalized Dirichlet distribution as its asymptotic solution. Individual samples of a discrete ensemble, obtained from the system of stochastic differential equations, equivalent to the Fokker-Planck equation developed here, satisfy a unit-sum constraint at all times and ensure a bounded sample space, similarly to the process developed in for the Dirichlet distribution. Consequently, the generalized Dirichlet diffusion process may be used to represent realizations of a fluctuating ensemble of N variables subject to a conservation principle. Compared to the Dirichlet distribution and process, the additional parameters of the generalized Dirichlet distribution allow a more general class of physical processes to be modeled with a more general covariance matrix.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

The stochastic model for ternary and quaternary alloys: Application of the Bernoulli relation to the phonon spectra of mixed crystals

To understand and interpret the experimental data on the phonon spectra of the solid solutions, it is necessary to describe mathematically the non-regular distribution of atoms in their lattices. It appears that such description is possible in case of the strongly stochastically homogenous distribution which requires a great number of atoms and very carefully mixed alloys. These conditions are generally fulfilled in case of high quality homogenous semiconductor solid solutions of the III–V and II–VI semiconductor compounds. In this case, we can use the Bernoulli relation describing probability of the occurrence of one n equivalent event which can be applied, to the probability of finding one from n configurations in the solid solution lattice. The results described in this paper for ternary HgCdTe and GaAsP as well as quaternary ZnCdHgTe can provide an affirmative answer to the question: whether stochastic geometry, e.g., the Bernoulli relation, is enough to describe the observed phonon spectra.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Model reduction for slow–fast stochastic systems with metastable behaviour

The quasi-steady-state approximation (or stochastic averaging principle) is a useful tool in the study of multiscale stochastic systems, giving a practical method by which to reduce the number of degrees of freedom in a model. The method is extended here to slow–fast systems in which the fast variables exhibit metastable behaviour. The key parameter that determines the form of the reduced model is the ratio of the timescale for the switching of the fast variables between metastable states to the timescale for the evolution of the slow variables. The method is illustrated with two examples: one from biochemistry (a fast-species-mediated chemical switch coupled to a slower varying species), and one from ecology (a predator–prey system). Numerical simulations of each model reduction are compared with those of the full system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Prediction of interest rate using CKLS model with stochastic parameters

The Chan, Karolyi, Longstaff and Sanders (CKLS) model is a popular one-factor model for describing the spot interest rates. In this paper, the four parameters in the CKLS model are regarded as stochastic. The parameter vector φ{sup (j)} of four parameters at the (J+n)-th time point is estimated by the j-th window which is defined as the set consisting of the observed interest rates at the j′-th time point where j≤j′≤j+n. To model the variation of φ{sup (j)}, we assume that φ{sup (j)} depends on φ{sup (j−m)}, φ{sup (j−m+1)},…, φ{sup (j−1)} and the interest rate r{sub j+n} at the (j+n)-th time point via a four-dimensional conditional distribution which is derived from a [4(m+1)+1]-dimensional power-normal distribution. Treating the (j+n)-th time point as the present time point, we find a prediction interval for the future value r{sub j+n+1} of the interest rate at the next time point when the value r{sub j+n} of the interest rate is given. From the above four-dimensional conditional distribution, we also find a prediction interval for the future interest rate r{sub j+n+d} at the next d-th (d≥2) time point. The prediction intervals based on the CKLS model with stochastic parameters are found to have better ability of covering the observed future interest rates when compared with those based on the model with fixed parameters.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Multiobjective fuzzy stochastic linear programming problems with inexact probability distribution

This study deals with multiobjective fuzzy stochastic linear programming problems with uncertainty probability distribution which are defined as fuzzy assertions by ambiguous experts. The problem formulation has been presented and the two solutions strategies are; the fuzzy transformation via ranking function and the stochastic transformation when α{sup –}. cut technique and linguistic hedges are used in the uncertainty probability distribution. The development of Sen’s method is employed to find a compromise solution, supported by illustrative numerical example.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Fast variance reduction for steady-state simulation and sensitivity analysis of stochastic chemical systems using shadow function estimators

We address the problem of estimating steady-state quantities associated to systems of stochastic chemical kinetics. In most cases of interest, these systems are analytically intractable, and one has to resort to computational methods to estimate stationary values of cost functions. In this work, we introduce a novel variance reduction algorithm for stochastic chemical kinetics, inspired by related methods in queueing theory, in particular the use of shadow functions. Using two numerical examples, we demonstrate the efficiency of the method for the calculation of steady-state parametric sensitivities and evaluate its performance in comparison to other estimation methods.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Discriminating chaotic and stochastic dynamics through the permutation spectrum test

In this paper, we propose a new heuristic symbolic tool for unveiling chaotic and stochastic dynamics: the permutation spectrum test. Several numerical examples allow us to confirm the usefulness of the introduced methodology. Indeed, we show that it is robust in situations in which other techniques fail (intermittent chaos, hyperchaotic dynamics, stochastic linear and nonlinear correlated dynamics, and deterministic non-chaotic noise-driven dynamics). We illustrate the applicability and reliability of this pragmatic method by examining real complex time series from diverse scientific fields. Taking into account that the proposed test has the advantages of being conceptually simple and computationally fast, we think that it can be of practical utility as an alternative test for determinism.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Validity conditions for moment closure approximations in stochastic chemical kinetics

Approximations based on moment-closure (MA) are commonly used to obtain estimates of the mean molecule numbers and of the variance of fluctuations in the number of molecules of chemical systems. The advantage of this approach is that it can be far less computationally expensive than exact stochastic simulations of the chemical master equation. Here, we numerically study the conditions under which the MA equations yield results reflecting the true stochastic dynamics of the system. We show that for bistable and oscillatory chemical systems with deterministic initial conditions, the solution of the MA equations can be interpreted as a valid approximation to the true moments of the chemical master equation, only when the steady-state mean molecule numbers obtained from the chemical master equation fall within a certain finite range. The same validity criterion for monostable systems implies that the steady-state mean molecule numbers obtained from the chemical master equation must be above a certain threshold. For mean molecule numbers outside of this range of validity, the MA equations lead to either qualitatively wrong oscillatory dynamics or to unphysical predictions such as negative variances in the molecule numbers or multiple steady-state moments of the stationary distribution as the initial conditions are varied. Our results clarify the range of validity of the MA approach and show that pitfalls in the interpretation of the results can only be overcome through the systematic comparison of the solutions of the MA equations of a certain order with those of higher orders.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

On strongly GA-convex functions and stochastic processes

In this study, we introduce strongly GA-convex functions and stochastic processes. We provide related well-known Kuhn type results and Hermite-Hadamard type inequality for strongly GA-convex functions and stochastic processes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Stochastic resonance in a generalized Von Foerster population growth model

The stochastic dynamics of a population growth model, similar to the Von Foerster model for human population, is studied. The influence of fluctuating environment on the carrying capacity is modeled as a multiplicative dichotomous noise. It is established that an interplay between nonlinearity and environmental fluctuations can cause single unidirectional discontinuous transitions of the mean population size versus the noise amplitude, i.e., an increase of noise amplitude can induce a jump from a state with a moderate number of individuals to that with a very large number, while by decreasing the noise amplitude an opposite transition cannot be effected. An analytical expression of the mean escape time for such transitions is found. Particularly, it is shown that the mean transition time exhibits a strong minimum at intermediate values of noise correlation time, i.e., the phenomenon of stochastic resonance occurs. Applications of the results in ecology are also discussed.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Stochastic linear multistep methods for the simulation of chemical kinetics

In this paper, we introduce the Stochastic Adams-Bashforth (SAB) and Stochastic Adams-Moulton (SAM) methods as an extension of the τ-leaping framework to past information. Using the Θ-trapezoidal τ-leap method of weak order two as a starting procedure, we show that the k-step SAB method with k ≥ 3 is order three in the mean and correlation, while a predictor-corrector implementation of the SAM method is weak order three in the mean but only order one in the correlation. These convergence results have been derived analytically for linear problems and successfully tested numerically for both linear and non-linear systems. A series of additional examples have been implemented in order to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Stochastic modeling for river pollution of Sungai Perlis

River pollution has been recognized as a contributor to a wide range of health problems and disorders in human. It can pose health dangers to humans who come into contact with it, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is most important to measure the concentration of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as a water quality parameter since the parameter has long been the basic means for determining the degree of water pollution in rivers. In this study, BOD is used as a parameter to estimate the water quality at Sungai Perlis. It has been observed that Sungai Perlis is polluted due to lack of management and improper use of resources. Therefore, it is of importance to model the Sungai Perlis water quality in order to describe and predict the water quality systems. The BOD concentration secondary data set is used which was extracted from the Drainage and Irrigation Department Perlis State website. The first order differential equation from Streeter – Phelps model was utilized as a deterministic model. Then, the model was developed into a stochastic model. Results from this study shows that the stochastic model is more adequate to describe and predict the BOD concentration and the water quality systems in Sungai Perlis by having smaller value of mean squared error (MSE)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗