Journal of Zhejiang University. Science最新文献

This paper discusses propagation of perturbations along traffic flow modeled by a modified second-order macroscopic model through the wavefront expansion technique. The coefficients in this expansion satisfy a sequence of transport equations that can be solved analytically. One of these analytic solutions yields information about wavefront shock. Numerical simulations based on a Pade approximation of this expansion were done at the end of this paper and results showed that propagation of perturbations at traffic flow speed conforms to the theoretical analysis results.

The two dimensional problem of simply supported laminated isotropic strips with viscoelastic interfaces and under static loading was studied. Exact solution was derived based on the exact elasticity equation and the Kevin-Voigt viscoelastic interfacial model. Numerical computations were performed for a strip consisting of three layers of equal thickness. Results indicated that the response of the laminate was very sensitive to the presence of viscoelastic interfaces.

How to share experience and resources among learners is becoming one of the hottest topics in the field of E-Learning collaborative techniques. An intuitive way to achieve this objective is to group learners which can help each other into the same community and help them learn collaboratively. In this paper, we proposed a novel community self-organization model based on multi-agent mechanism, which can automatically group learners with similar preferences and capabilities. In particular, we proposed award and exchange schemas with evaluation and preference track records to raise the performance of this algorithm. The description of learner capability, the matchmaking process, the definition of evaluation and preference track records, the rules of award and exchange schemas and the self-organization algorithm are all discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, a prototype has been built to verify the validity and efficiency of the algorithm. Experiments based on real learner data showed that this mechanism can organize learner communities properly and efficiently; and that it has sustainable improved efficiency and scalability.

This paper proposes a Genetic Programming-Based Modeling (GPM) algorithm on chaotic time series. GP is used here to search for appropriate model structures in function space, and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used for Nonlinear Parameter Estimation (NPE) of dynamic model structures. In addition, GPM integrates the results of Nonlinear Time Series Analysis (NTSA) to adjust the parameters and takes them as the criteria of established models. Experiments showed the effectiveness of such improvements on chaotic time series modeling.

With the development of modern industry, sheet-metal parts in mass production have been widely applied in mechanical, communication, electronics, and light industries in recent decades; but the advances in sheet-metal part design and manufacturing remain too slow compared with the increasing importance of sheet-metal parts in modern industry. This paper proposes a method for automatically extracting features from an arbitrary solid model of sheet-metal parts; whose characteristics are used for classification and graph-based representation of the sheet-metal features to extract the features embodied in a sheet-metal part. The extracting feature process can be divided for valid checking of the model geometry, feature matching, and feature relationship. Since the extracted features include abundant geometry and engineering information, they will be effective for downstream application such as feature rebuilding and stamping process planning.

World Wide Web (WWW) is a vast repository of information, including a great deal of geographic information. But the location and retrieval of geographic information will require a significant amount of time and effort. In addition, different users usually have different views and interests in the same information. To resolve such problems, this paper first proposed a model of geographic information gathering based on multi-Agent (MA) architecture. Then based on this model, we construct a prototype system with GML (Geography Markup Language). This system consists of three tiers-Client, Web Server and Data Resource. Finally, we expatiate on the process of Web Server.

This paper presents a methodology for off-line handwritten Chinese character recognition based on mergence of consecutive segments of adaptive duration. The handwritten Chinese character string is partitioned into a sequence of consecutive segments, which are combined to implement dissimilarity evaluation within a sliding window whose durations are determined adaptively by the integration of shapes and context of evaluations. The average stroke width is estimated for the handwritten Chinese character string, and a set of candidate character segmentation boundaries is found by using the integration of pixel and stroke features. The final decisions on segmentation and recognition are made under minimal arithmetical mean dissimilarities. Experiments proved that the proposed approach of adaptive duration outperforms the method of fixed duration, and is very effective for the recognition of overlapped, broken, touched, loosely configured Chinese characters.

A stochastic optimal control strategy for partially observable nonlinear quasi Hamiltonian systems is proposed. The optimal control forces consist of two parts. The first part is determined by the conditions under which the stochastic optimal control problem of a partially observable nonlinear system is converted into that of a completely observable linear system. The second part is determined by solving the dynamical programming equation derived by applying the stochastic averaging method and stochastic dynamical programming principle to the completely observable linear control system. The response of the optimally controlled quasi Hamiltonian system is predicted by solving the averaged Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov equation associated with the optimally controlled completely observable linear system and solving the Riccati equation for the estimated error of system states. An example is given to illustrate the procedure and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

A new framework for consciousness is introduced based upon traditional artificial neural network models. This framework reflects explicit connections between two parts of the brain: one global working memory and distributed modular cerebral networks relating to specific brain functions. Accordingly this framework is composed of three layers, physical mnemonic layer and abstract thinking layer, which cooperate together through a recognition layer to accomplish information storage and cognition using algorithms of how these interactions contribute to consciousness: (1) the reception process whereby cerebral subsystems group distributed signals into coherent object patterns; (2) the partial recognition process whereby patterns from particular subsystems are compared or stored as knowledge; and (3) the resonant learning process whereby global workspace stably adjusts its structure to adapt to patterns' changes. Using this framework, various sorts of human actions can be explained, leading to a general approach for analyzing brain functions.

This paper discusses the existence and uniqueness of the generalized solution in the sense of Colombeau to the Benjamin-Ono (B-O) equation and the relationship between the new generalized solution and the classical solution.