1,770 research outputs found
Transport on complex networks: Flow, jamming and optimization
Many transport processes on networks depend crucially on the underlying network geometry, although the exact relationship between the structure of the network and the properties of transport processes remain elusive. In this paper we address this question by using numerical models in which both structure and dynamics are controlled systematically. We consider the traffic of information packets that include driving, searching and queuing. We present the results of extensive simulations on two classes of networks; a correlated cyclic scale-free network and an uncorrelated homogeneous weakly clustered network. By measuring different dynamical variables in the free flow regime we show how the global statistical properties of the transport are related to the temporal fluctuations at individual nodes (the traffic noise) and the links (the traffic flow). We then demonstrate that these two network classes appear as representative topologies for optimal traffic flow in the regimes of low density and high density traffic, respectively. We also determine statistical indicators of the pre-jamming regime on different network geometries and discuss the role of queuing and dynamical betweenness for the traffic congestion. The transition to the jammed traffic regime at a critical posting rate on different network topologies is studied as a phase transition with an appropriate order parameter. We also address several open theoretical problems related to the network dynamics
Dynamic Service Rate Control for a Single Server Queue with Markov Modulated Arrivals
We consider the problem of service rate control of a single server queueing
system with a finite-state Markov-modulated Poisson arrival process. We show
that the optimal service rate is non-decreasing in the number of customers in
the system; higher congestion rates warrant higher service rates. On the
contrary, however, we show that the optimal service rate is not necessarily
monotone in the current arrival rate. If the modulating process satisfies a
stochastic monotonicity property the monotonicity is recovered. We examine
several heuristics and show where heuristics are reasonable substitutes for the
optimal control. None of the heuristics perform well in all the regimes.
Secondly, we discuss when the Markov-modulated Poisson process with service
rate control can act as a heuristic itself to approximate the control of a
system with a periodic non-homogeneous Poisson arrival process. Not only is the
current model of interest in the control of Internet or mobile networks with
bursty traffic, but it is also useful in providing a tractable alternative for
the control of service centers with non-stationary arrival rates.Comment: 32 Pages, 7 Figure
Flexible automation and the loss of pooling synergy
This paper focuses on the effects of flexible automation on the performance of a job shop. Flexible automated machines may significantly improve the delivery performance and the flow time of jobs. The insertion of a flexible automated system in a job shop, however, also has a counter effect on the manufacturing performance. This is caused by the reduction of pooling synergy due to the dedication implied by flexible automated machines. This paper investigates by means of a simulation study to what extent the loss of pooling synergy will deteriorate job shop performance. Simulation is also used to indicate the level of efficiency of the automated machinery needed to overcome the negative effect of the loss of pooling synergy. The simulation study also highlights the importance of appropriate off-line assignment rules, which assign jobs to either the conventional or automated machines. Major conclusion of this paper is that the ‘pooling loss effect’ should be taken into account in the design and justification of new flexible automated machinery. The design of appropriate offline assignment rules, furthermore, has to be seen as an integral part of investment in new technology.
Characteristics of Vehicular Traffic Flow at a Roundabout
We construct a stochastic cellular automata model for the description of
vehicular traffic at a roundabout designed at the intersection of two
perpendicular streets. The vehicular traffic is controlled by a self-organized
scheme in which traffic lights are absent. This controlling method incorporates
a yield-at-entry strategy for the approaching vehicles to the circulating
traffic flow in the roundabout. Vehicular dynamics is simulated within the
framework of the probabilistic cellular automata and the delay experienced by
the traffic at each individual street is evaluated for specified time
intervals. We discuss the impact of the geometrical properties of the
roundabout on the total delay. We compare our results with traffic-light
signalisation schemes, and obtain the critical traffic volume over which the
intersection is optimally controlled through traffic light signalisation
schemes.Comment: 10 pages, 17 eps figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:cond-mat/040107
Designing Efficient Taxi Pickup Operations at Airports
This paper provides a practical procedure for designing efficient taxi pickup operations at airports. How to do this effectively is an open question. Solutions are not available, and practices vary. They reflect different approaches to and lack of research on the subject. The solutions are often unsatisfactory. At many airports, passengers routinely suffer long waits outdoors, exposed to the elements, after a tiring journey. Such disagreeable experiences are avoidable. Designing efficient taxi pickup operations at airports is problematic. The peculiarities of the process preclude easy solutions. First, the process involves queuing, so system performance is a nonlinear function of the loads. Second, it features unstable transient situations, since travelers typically arrive in bulk over short periods. Third, traffic is significantly differentiated and consists of a wide variety of groups implying different service characteristics. Standard results from queuing theory thus do not have a useful application to this problem. The design process uses simulation that is based on detailed observation of local practices. It involves four steps: (a) detailed local measurements of the arrival of both travelers and taxis, and the service rates provided by taxis in different queuing positions; (b) creation and validation of a simulation model sufficiently detailed to account for these realities; (c) exploration of design alternatives to estimate the characteristics of the service they would provide; and (d) selection of a preferred design that properly balances efforts to minimize average and extreme wait times. The paper demonstrates the procedure through application to Lisbon International Airport, Portugal.SIMUL8 Corporatio
A Multilevel Scheduling MAC Protocol for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks(UASN)
Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) have attracted great attention in recent years and utilizes as a part of oceanic applications. This network has to deal with propagation delay, energy constraints and limited bandwidth which are strenuous for designing a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for underwater communication. There also exists an idle channel listening and overhearing problem which sets down the energy into starvation in the contention-based MAC protocols. Alternatively, lengthy time slots and time synchronization equated by schedule-based MAC protocols, outcomes the variable transmission delay and degrades the network performances. To iron out these problems, we propose a cluster-based MAC protocol, tagged as Multilevel Scheduling MAC (MLS-MAC) protocol for UASN in the paper. The cluster head is a decision maker for packet transmission and aids to inflate the lifetime of sensor nodes. To reinforce the channel efficiency, the multilevel scheduling in data phase is initiated with two queues depending on the applications fixed by the cluster head. The simulation result shows that the MLS-MAC has increased the network throughput and has decreased energy consumption
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