Processing random signals in neuroscience, electrical engineering and operations research

The topic of this dissertation is the study of noise in electrical engineering, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and operations research through mathematical models that describe, explain, predict and control dynamic phenomena. Noise is modeled through Brownian Motion and the research problems are mathematically addressed by different versions of a generalized Langevin equation. Our mathematical models utilize stochastic differential equations (SDEs) and stochastic optimal control, both of which were born in the soil of electrical engineering. Central to this dissertation is a brain-physics based model of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics, whose structure is fundamentally determined by an electrical circuit analogy. Our general Langevin framework encompasses many of the existing equations used in electrical engineering, neuroscience, biomedical engineering and operations research. The generalized SDE for CSF dynamics extends a fundamental model in the field to discover new clinical insights and tools, provides the basis for a nonlinear controller, and suggests a new way to resolve an ongoing controversy regarding CSF dynamics in neuroscience. The natural generalization of the SDE for CSF dynamics is a SDE with polynomial drift. We develop a new analytical algorithm to solve SDEs with polynomial drift, thereby contributing to the electrical engineering literature on signal processing models, many of which are special cases of SDEs with polynomial drift. We make new contributions to the operations research literature on marketing communication models by unifying different types of dynamically optimal trajectories of spending in the framework of a classic model of market response, in which these different temporal patterns arise as a consequence of different boundary conditions. The methodologies developed in this dissertation provide an analytical foundation for the solution of fundamental problems in gas discharge lamp dynamics in power engineering, degradation dynamics of ultra-thin metal oxides in MOS capacitors, and molecular motors in nanotechnology, thereby establishing a rich agenda for future research

New Technologies in the Oil and Gas Industry

Oil and gas are the most important non-renewable sources of energy. Exploring, producing and managing these resources in compliance with HSE standards are challenging tasks. New technologies, workflows and procedures have to be implemented.This book deals with some of these themes and describes some of the advanced technologies related to the oil and gas industry from HSE to field management issues. Some new technologies for geo-modeling, transient well testing and digital rock physics are also introduced. There are many more technical topics to be addressed in future books. This book is aimed at researchers, petroleum engineers, geoscientists and people working within the petroleum industry

Introduction to Online Nonstochastic Control

This text presents an introduction to an emerging paradigm in control of dynamical systems and differentiable reinforcement learning called online nonstochastic control. The new approach applies techniques from online convex optimization and convex relaxations to obtain new methods with provable guarantees for classical settings in optimal and robust control. The primary distinction between online nonstochastic control and other frameworks is the objective. In optimal control, robust control, and other control methodologies that assume stochastic noise, the goal is to perform comparably to an offline optimal strategy. In online nonstochastic control, both the cost functions as well as the perturbations from the assumed dynamical model are chosen by an adversary. Thus the optimal policy is not defined a priori. Rather, the target is to attain low regret against the best policy in hindsight from a benchmark class of policies. This objective suggests the use of the decision making framework of online convex optimization as an algorithmic methodology. The resulting methods are based on iterative mathematical optimization algorithms, and are accompanied by finite-time regret and computational complexity guarantees.Comment: Draft; comments/suggestions welcome at [email protected]

6th International congress of the Serbian society of mechanics: Review

Ovaj rad prikazuje najvažnije informacije o 6. kongresu Srpskog društva za mehaniku, koji je održan na Tari od 19. do 21. juna 2017. Kongres je organizovan od strane Srpskog društva za mehaniku. Dat je kratak prikaz najznačajnijih radova predstavljenih na ovom kongresu, a koji se bave teorijskom i primenjenom mehanikom.This paper presents the most important information and describes the activities of the 6th Congress of the Serbian Society of Mechanics which was held on mountain Tara, on 19- 21 June, 2017. The Congress was organized by the Serbian Society of Mechanics. Brief summaries of the plenary lectures and some of 99 accepted papers, which admittedly attracted the most interest were shown as well

6th International congress of the Serbian society of mechanics: Review

Ovaj rad prikazuje najvažnije informacije o 6. kongresu Srpskog društva za mehaniku, koji je održan na Tari od 19. do 21. juna 2017. Kongres je organizovan od strane Srpskog društva za mehaniku. Dat je kratak prikaz najznačajnijih radova predstavljenih na ovom kongresu, a koji se bave teorijskom i primenjenom mehanikom.This paper presents the most important information and describes the activities of the 6th Congress of the Serbian Society of Mechanics which was held on mountain Tara, on 19- 21 June, 2017. The Congress was organized by the Serbian Society of Mechanics. Brief summaries of the plenary lectures and some of 99 accepted papers, which admittedly attracted the most interest were shown as well

Population Balance Modelling and Experimental Studies of Emulsion Polymerisation

Emulsion polymerisation is a process of considerable technological and industrial significance. The process presents many challenges in respect to design, optimisation and multi-objective distribution control. The quality of latex is determined by the final product properties, Le. viscosity, mechanical strength and film-forming ability, which are in turn a function of the latex attributes of PSD and MWD. This motivates an inferential control scheme utilising these distributions. This research addresses model development and controllability analysis towards model-based control. A population balance model for PSD and MWD is developed. The PSD information is incorporated via a one-dimensional population distribution of the polymer particles with respect to their size, in conjunction with a population distribution of the total live polymer radicals/particle. MWD information is incorporated via one-dimensional population distributions of the live radicals and dead polymer chains with respect to their length (in different sized particles). The model solution is facilitated by a number of algorithmic developments, including a decomposition algorithm coupled with a multi-level discretisation for PSD and the application of the method of moments for MWD. This model is compared to extensive experimental data for its validation. Improvements in the form of a twodimensional version of this model enable better prediction of compartmentalisation and hence the growth rates, thereby improving model match with experiments. This work presents a study into the simultaneous controllability of PSD and MWD, assessed through an experimental sensitivity analysis on the main process manipulations: initiator, eTA, monomer and surfactant. The work analyses the practical limitations on the attainability of PSD and MWD. The range of experiments carried out clearly indicates the operation of individual mechanisms in the simultaneous formation of PSD and MWD.Imperial Users onl

Continuum Mechanics

Continuum Mechanics is the foundation for Applied Mechanics. There are numerous books on Continuum Mechanics with the main focus on the macroscale mechanical behavior of materials. Unlike classical Continuum Mechanics books, this book summarizes the advances of Continuum Mechanics in several defined areas. Emphasis is placed on the application aspect. The applications described in the book cover energy materials and systems (fuel cell materials and electrodes), materials removal, and mechanical response/deformation of structural components including plates, pipelines etc. Researchers from different fields should be benefited from reading the mechanics approached to real engineering problems