8,882 research outputs found
A finite element based method for solution of optimal control problems
A temporal finite element based on a mixed form of the Hamiltonian weak principle is presented for optimal control problems. The mixed form of this principle contains both states and costates as primary variables that are expanded in terms of elemental values and simple shape functions. Unlike other variational approaches to optimal control problems, however, time derivatives of the states and costates do not appear in the governing variational equation. Instead, the only quantities whose time derivatives appear therein are virtual states and virtual costates. Also noteworthy among characteristics of the finite element formulation is the fact that in the algebraic equations which contain costates, they appear linearly. Thus, the remaining equations can be solved iteratively without initial guesses for the costates; this reduces the size of the problem by about a factor of two. Numerical results are presented herein for an elementary trajectory optimization problem which show very good agreement with the exact solution along with excellent computational efficiency and self-starting capability. The goal is to evaluate the feasibility of this approach for real-time guidance applications. To this end, a simplified two-stage, four-state model for an advanced launch vehicle application is presented which is suitable for finite element solution
Editors' introduction: the book, the conference, and fighting back
This book makes a strong case for the abiding relevance of Dewey's notion of learning through experience, with a community of others, and what this implies for democratic 21st century education
Questioning and organization studies
This essay identifies a cleavage in the organisation literature that separates ‘questions’ and ‘questioning’ at a very fundamental philosophical level. On the one hand, the objective notion of ‘questions’ has already been well addressed within organization studies, evident in how scholars have scrutinized questions as objects of analysis; for example, paying close attention to the forms and functions of questions as instruments of research. More recently, the linguistic turn within the social sciences has influenced how organization studies researchers have considered organizations as discursive entities, with debate extending to the discursive nature of ‘questions’. On the other hand, the process of ‘questioning’ remains under-researched. From one perspective, questioning the process of questioning is challenging, but, as we submit, this is precisely where American pragmatism can be helpful. As we explore in this essay, the forward-looking quality of pragmatist inquiry is what motors the process of questioning. Our pragmatist-inflected argument is that questioning does not have to always serve critique and position building in the organization studies field. Rather, questioning out of curiosity can build new dialogue and open up new methodological avenues. This may help change the habitual ways in which we explore ideas, problems and situations in organization studies as well as lead to more democratic forms of organizing. Crucially, in this essay we are not looking for ultimate ‘answers’; rather we hope to excite discussion about questioning by giving prominence to something that is so ubiquitous and taken-for-granted as to be invisible to many of us as an object of inquiry
Scapegoat: John Dewey and the character education crisis
Many conservatives, including some conservative scholars, blame the ideas and influence of John Dewey for what has frequently been called a crisis of character, a catastrophic decline in moral behavior in the schools and society of North America. Dewey’s critics claim that he is responsible for the undermining of the kinds of instruction that could lead to the development of character and the strengthening of the will, and that his educational philosophy and example exert a ubiquitous and disastrous influence on students’ conceptions of moral behavior. This article sets forth the views of some of these critics and juxtaposes them with what Dewey actually believed and wrote regarding character education. The juxtaposition demonstrates that Dewey neither called for nor exemplified the kinds of character-eroding pedagogy his critics accuse him of championing; in addition, this paper highlights the ways in which Dewey argued consistently and convincingly that the pedagogical approaches advocated by his critics are the real culprits in the decline of character and moral education
Optimal guidance law development for an advanced launch system
The proposed investigation on a Matched Asymptotic Expansion (MAE) method was carried out. It was concluded that the method of MAE is not applicable to launch vehicle ascent trajectory optimization due to a lack of a suitable stretched variable. More work was done on the earlier regular perturbation approach using a piecewise analytic zeroth order solution to generate a more accurate approximation. In the meantime, a singular perturbation approach using manifold theory is also under current investigation. Work on a general computational environment based on the use of MACSYMA and the weak Hamiltonian finite element method continued during this period. This methodology is capable of the solution of a large class of optimal control problems
The Kinematic and Plasma Properties of X-ray Knots in Cassiopeia A from the Chandra HETGS
We present high-resolution X-ray spectra from the young supernova remnant Cas
A using a 70-ks observation taken by the Chandra High Energy Transmission
Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). Line emission, dominated by Si and S ions, is
used for high-resolution spectral analysis of many bright, narrow regions of
Cas A to examine their kinematics and plasma state. These data allow a 3D
reconstruction using the unprecedented X-ray kinematic results: we derive
unambiguous Doppler shifts for these selected regions, with values ranging
between -2500 and +4000 km/s. Plasma diagnostics of these regions, derived from
line ratios of resolved He-like triplet lines and H-like lines of Si, indicate
temperatures largely around 1 keV, which we model as O-rich reverse-shocked
ejecta. The ionization age also does not vary considerably over these regions
of the remnant. The gratings analysis was complemented by the non-dispersed
spectra from the same dataset, which provided information on emission measure
and elemental abundances for the selected Cas A regions. The derived electron
density of X-ray emitting ejecta varies from 20 to 200 cm^{-3}. The measured
abundances of Mg, Si, S and Ca are consistent with O being the dominant element
in the Cas A plasma. With a diameter of 5 arcmin, Cas A is the largest source
observed with the HETGS to date. We, therefore, describe the technique we use
and some of the challenges we face in the HETGS data reduction from such an
extended, complex object.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, evised version (minor changes), accepted for
publication in ApJ (Oct 20 2006
The Formation of the Double Pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B
Recent timing observations of the double pulsar J0737-3039A/B have shown that
its transverse velocity is extremely low, only 10 km/s, and nearly in the Plane
of the Galaxy. With this new information, we rigorously re-examine the history
and formation of this system, determining estimates of the pre-supernova
companion mass, supernova kick and misalignment angle between the pre- and
post-supernova orbital planes. We find that the progenitor to the recently
formed `B' pulsar was probably less than 2 MSun, lending credence to
suggestions that this object may not have formed in a normal supernova
involving the collapse of an iron core. At the same time, the supernova kick
was likely non-zero. A comparison to the history of the double-neutron-star
binary B1534+12 suggests a range of possible parameters for the progenitors of
these systems, which should be taken into account in future binary population
syntheses and in predictions of the rate and spatial distribution of short
gamma-ray burst events.Comment: To appear in MNRAS Letters. Title typo fix only; no change to pape
Ionization Structure and the Reverse Shock in E0102-72
The young oxygen-rich supernova remnant E0102-72 in the Small Magellanic
Cloud has been observed with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer
of Chandra. The high resolution X-ray spectrum reveals images of the remnant in
the light of individual emission lines of oxygen, neon, magnesium and silicon.
The peak emission region for hydrogen-like ions lies at larger radial distance
from the SNR center than the corresponding helium-like ions, suggesting passage
of the ejecta through the "reverse shock". We examine models which test this
interpretation, and we discuss the implications.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures; To appear in "Young Supernova Remnants" (11th
Annual Astrophysics Conference in Maryland), S. S. Holt & U. Hwang (eds),
AIP, New York (2001
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