Studies Using Computer Simulation Models to Solve Problems Related to Logistics Terminals

This thesis deals with the use of simulation as a problem-solving tool to solve a few logistic system related problems. More specifically it relates to studies on transport terminals. Transport terminals are key elements in the supply chains of industrial systems. One of the problems related to use of simulation is that of the multiplicity of models needed to study different problems. There is a need for development of methodologies related to conceptual modelling which will help reduce the number of models needed. Three different logistic terminal systems Viz. a railway yard, container terminal of apart and airport terminal were selected as cases for this study. The standard methodology for simulation development consisting of system study and data collection, conceptual model design, detailed model design and development, model verification and validation, experimentation, and analysis of results, reporting of finding were carried out. We found that models could be classified into tightly pre-scheduled, moderately pre-scheduled and unscheduled systems. Three types simulation models( called TYPE 1, TYPE 2 and TYPE 3) of various terminal operations were developed in the simulation package Extend. All models were of the type discrete-event simulation. Simulation models were successfully used to help solve strategic, tactical and operational problems related to three important logistic terminals as set in our objectives. From the point of contribution to conceptual modelling we have demonstrated that clubbing problems into operational, tactical and strategic and matching them with tightly pre-scheduled, moderately pre-scheduled and unscheduled systems is a good workable approach which reduces the number of models needed to study different terminal related problems.

The Aesthetics Of Paul Verlaine And Changampuzha Krishnapillai - A Comparative Perspective

The present study is entitled The Aesthetics of Paul Verlaine and Changampuzha Krishnapillai - a comparative perspective. The purpose of the study is to compare the poetic genius of the French poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) and that of the Malayalam poet Changampuzha Krishnapillai (1911-1948), within a descriptive framework. The investigation will hopefully answer the questions- Has Changampuzha been indeed influenced by Verlaine, if so, to what extent? Can the aesthetic appreciation be justified in both poets as illustrated in their works? The comparative methodology of juxtaposing the selected oeuvres of the poets is largely adopted in the study. Since the span of analysis is across national and linguistic borders, the distinguishing as well as exclusive traits of the individual poets will be of much importance in formulating the comparative assumption in this work. The vastly differing geographical, linguistic and cultural milieus of these two poets,-one a national French poet and the other, a regional Indian poet writing in Malayalam prima facie,endow the theme of the dissertation with an innate hue of diversity. Such an ambitious task would naturally entail a renewed research into the dedication of the poets to their muses and their ultimate contributions to poetics. The analysis, while attempting to illuminate from a fresh angle, the amply researched oeuvre of Verlaine and the lesser studied one of Changampuzha, cannot but be aware of the limitations of the task at hand. The present study is the first of its kind on the specific theme of analysis, and is hoped that it would be of relevance since no work has so far been known to have been undertaken on the topic. At a time when the birth centenary celebrations of Changampuzha have just concluded, this study is hoped to assume significance as it would help in isolating the originality of the poet's works, extricating the garb of the French influence. Ultimately, this study aims at creating a wider appreciation of the impact that the French writers have had on Malayalam writers, thus shedding new light on the benign foreign influences that served to enhance the beauty of our cultural heritage

A Study of Morphological Operators with Applications

The present work deals with the A study of morphological opertors with applications. Morphology is now a.necessary tool for engineers involved with imaging applications. Morphological operations have been viewed as filters the properties of which have been well studied (Heijmans, 1994). Another well-known class of non-linear filters is the class of rank order filters (Pitas and Venetsanopoulos, 1990). Soft morphological filters are a combination of morphological and weighted rank order filters (Koskinen, et al., 1991, Kuosmanen and Astola, 1995). They have been introduced to improve the behaviour of traditional morphological filters in noisy environments. The idea was to slightly relax the typical morphological definitions in such a way that a degree of robustness is achieved, while most of the desirable properties of typical morphological operations are maintained. Soft morphological filters are less sensitive to additive noise and to small variations in object shape than typical morphological filters. They can remove positive and negative impulse noise, preserving at the same time small details in images. Currently, Mathematical Morphology allows processing images to enhance fuzzy areas, segment objects, detect edges and analyze structures. The techniques developed for binary images are a major step forward in the application of this theory to gray level images. One of these techniques is based on fuzzy logic and on the theory of fuzzy sets.Fuzzy sets have proved to be strongly advantageous when representing in accuracies, not only regarding the spatial localization of objects in an image but also the membership of a certain pixel to a given class. Such inaccuracies are inherent to real images either because of the presence of indefinite limits between the structures or objects to be segmented within the image due to noisy acquisitions or directly because they are inherent to the image formation methods.

Decimal Multiplication using compact BCD Multiplier

Decimal multiplication is an integral part offinancial, commercial, and internet-based computations. The basic building block of a decimal multiplier is a single digit multiplier. It accepts two Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) inputs and gives a product in the range [0, 81] represented by two BCD digits. A novel design for single digit decimal multiplication that reduces the critical path delay and area is proposed in this research. Out of the possible 256 combinations for the 8-bit input, only hundred combinations are valid BCD inputs. In the hundred valid combinations only four combinations require 4 x 4 multiplication, combinations need x multiplication, and the remaining combinations use either x or x 3 multiplication. The proposed design makes use of this property. This design leads to more regular VLSI implementation, and does not require special registers for storing easy multiples. This is a fully parallel multiplier utilizing only combinational logic, and is extended to a Hex/Decimal multiplier that gives either a decimal output or a binary output. The accumulation ofpartial products generated using single digit multipliers is done by an array of multi-operand BCD adders for an (n-digit x n-digit) multiplication.