Discrete event systems (DES) are a special class of dynamical systems with discrete-valued state space and event-driven transitions. DES are ubiquitous in today's world and are used in different sectors such as manufacturing systems, transport networks and computer networks. They offer unique capabilities, such as flexibility and adaptability; at the same time, they can be challenging to model and analyze. Moreover, the complexity of DES is scaled up when disturbances are present. Many different kinds of real life DES can be modeled using dioid algebra which is a powerful tool for describing nonlinear behaviors using linear system models. Dioid algebra is an exotic algebra of formal series which can be understood as a set of only positive numbers without negatives. This special algebraic structure is useful in modeling DES because such systems feature variables that cannot be inverted with respect to some variables. Nonlinear behaviors of DES are able to be modeled as linear systems in terms of dioid algebra in order to use classical control techniques in scheduling and control of DES.This dissertation presents the scheduling and control of DES using a special dioid called max-plus algebra, which is a set of real numbers with the operation of maximum and addition replacing the usual classical operations of addition and multiplication, respectively. This dissertation also studies the behavior of DES when disturbances are present. Two different paths to the scheduling of DES are presented: using dioid algebra and using linear programming methods. The control of DES with disturbances and uncertainties is also explored, particularly, the solutions of the disturbance decoupling problem and the modified disturbance decoupling problem using various controller structures are presented. Disturbance decoupling in this dissertation means the scheduling of the DES will not not be affected by the presence of the disturbances. On the other hand, modified disturbance decoupling means the scheduling will not be worse than the delays caused by the disturbances in industrial just-in-time (JIT) standards. JIT means that the operations start with just enough time to be completed by the desired schedule in order to minimize waste and costs in work in progress and material storage.The applicability of the approach presented in this dissertation is demonstrated in real-world processes including a large-scale high throughput screening (HTS) system in drug discovery and an optimal scheduler for an airport's runways. The main contributions of this dissertation are max-plus and mathematical programming solutions for scheduling and control of discrete event systems with disturbances. The results present a theoretical scheduling prior to exhaustive scheduling algorithms in large-scaled industrial systems.

Educational research literature suggests the expectations for success in college for youth from "educationally disadvantaged" backgrounds are tragically small. Reasons offered for this have included the lack of requisite academic preparation, lack of motivation, lack of appreciation for the value of a college education. The general purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an innovative instructional technique in promoting the development of positive attitudes about self-worth, and academic achievement, for "disadvantaged" students. Specifically, this study attempted to identify the structure of attitudes of "educationally disadvantaged" students in the Portland State University support service program (Operation PLUS) about concepts which are related to academic skills, academic achievement and self-worth, after one year of college experience.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第19548号 / 理博第4208号 / 新制||理||1604(附属図書館) / 32584 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科数学・数理解析専攻 / (主査)教授 池田 保, 教授 雪江 明彦, 准教授 市野 篤史 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第21422号 / 人健博第63号 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 稲富 宏之, 教授 澤本 伸克, 教授 伊佐 正 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

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The following chapters deal with the chemistry, catalytic poisoning, newer catalyst technologies, and possible future solutions to increase the efficiency of creating high-value products by thermochemically converting gasified biomass (producer gas). Chapter 1 puts emphasis on multifunctional catalysts containing transition metals that are used for renewable fuel production. High-value products such as gasoline-range hydrocarbons, dimethyl ether (DME), aldehydes, isobutane, isobutene and other olefins can be produced with gasified biomass due to the gas containing syngas (H2 + CO). The chemistry and production of these chemicals is discussed in the review. Chapter 2 describes the reactor design of a bench scale system and results after using a Mo/HZSM- 5 catalyst for aromatic hydrocarbon creation. This chapter also discusses issues that came with trying to control the temperature without any reactor intercooling. Chapter 3 shows the feasibility of using a particular multifunctional catalyst with a lab scale system and also shows the importance of certain process variables including temperature, space velocity, gas ratios, and pressure. The subject of the importance of the cleanliness of the producer gas is also discussed so that maximum high-value product yield can be achieved with the greatest efficiency. Chapter 4 discusses the implementation of a bench scale and pilot scale reactor design (both with intercooling) and the results of scale-up when using the catalyst mentioned in Chapter 3. Chapter 5 involves the modelling of an industrialized system with Aspen Plus. The economics of industrial plants to produce hydrocarbons from coal or wood feedstocks at scales of 5, 50 and 5000 tons per day were modeled using CAPCOST.

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Abstract When Eurocodes was introduced, there was a requirement where the calculations had to take into consideration whether it's a slab or beam bridge. This means that calculations had to be made with softwares including plate theory. The object of this study is a slab bridge with endshields. The bridge is 66.95 meters long with a 14.38-meter-wide deck made of concrete. The deck is mounted on abutments with bearings and intermediate supports where the columns are fixed to the deck. The purpose of this study is to investigate if bridges defined as plates can be calculated using beam theory, as well as examining different modeling techniques in an attempt to evaluate how this will affect the results. A model using shell elements is established in BRIGADE/Plus and compared to a model in Strip Step 3 made out of beam elements. A base-model is also created in BRIGADE/Plus and is compared to the following modeling changes: Couplings between supports and the plate, “point to surface” or “point to point”. The bridge is modeled without wings to study the impact of the wings. The bridge is modeled without columns to study the impact of the columns. When comparing the values obtained from the two different software’s regarding deadweight, the results were almost identical. This indicates that Strip Step 3 is a suitable tool for verifying models made in BRIGADE/Plus. When studying the results from load-combination 6.10.b (the combination used for dimensioning) small differences can be seen between the softwares. This concludes that it may be reasonable to use Strip Step 3 for this type of bridges. However, there are major differences between the software at the traffic load which should be considered. In order to simplify the modeling process ties between points (nodes) should be used. However, the results obtained over the supports must be ignored due to unrealistic values. When studying the impact of wings/columns it was confirmed that a difference of 10 % appeared. Modeling without wings/columns is not more time efficient either, with that in mind wings and columns should be used when modeling.   Keywords: Plate theory, Beam theory, Strip Step 3, BRIGADE/Plus, FE-modeling / Sammanfattning Vid införandet av Eurokoder ställdes det krav från Trafikverket där beräkningsmodellen var tvungen att ta hänsyn till verkningssättet i sin helhet dvs. om det är en platt- eller balkbro (E. Rosell, Trafikverket, personlig kommunikation, 3 Maj, 2018). Detta innebar att beräkningsmodeller för plattbroar behövdes utföras med program som kan hantera beräkningar enligt platteori. Studieobjektet för detta arbete är en plattbro med ändskärmar. Bron är 66.95 meter lång med en brobaneplatta av betong som har bredden 14.38 meter. Plattan är upplagd på ändstöd med rörliga lager samt mellanstöd där pelare är fast inspända till plattan. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka huruvida broar definierade som plattor går att beräkna enligt balkteori, samt att undersöka olika modelleringstekniker i ett försök att utvärdera hur det påverkar resultaten. En modell med skalelement har upprättats i BRIGADE/Plus som jämförs mot en modell i Strip Step 3 utförd av balkelement. En grundmodell skapas även i BRIGADE/Plus som jämförs mot följande modelleringsändringar: Stöd kopplade mellan två punkter jämförs mot koppling mellan pelare och yta i plattan. Bron modelleras utan vingar för att studera vingarnas inverkan. Bron modelleras utan pelare för att studera pelarnas inverkan. Kontrollen av egentyngd visade nästintill identiska resultat vilket tyder på att Strip Step 3 är ett lämpligt verktyg vid verifiering av Brigademodeller. Vid lastkombination 6.10.b (den dimensionerande lastkombinationen för denna bro) uppstår små skillnader. Detta indikerar att det kan vara rimligt att använda sig av Strip Step 3 vid dessa typer av broar. Dock uppstår det stora skillnader mellan programvarorna vid trafiklasten vilket bör beaktas. För att förenkla modelleringen bör kopplingar mellan punkter användas, dock måste resultat som erhålls över stöd bortses från då dessa ger orealistiska resultat. Vid modellering utan pelare/vingar kan det konstateras att värdena skiljer sig ca 10 %. Det är inte heller mycket mer tidseffektivt att ta bort pelare/vingar då dessa går relativt fort att modellera.   Nyckelord: Platteori, Balkteori, Strip Step 3, BRIGADE/Plus, FE-modellering