Research in the field of pattern recognition both in theo- retical terms and in the area of appl ication continues to flourish. Pattern recognition is a fairly diverse field involving researchers whose primary disciplines spread over at least a half dozen fields. Possibly because of the great diversity of backgrounds but a common interest in certain broad areas of application, the field has grown so rapidly and yet seems to promise at least a similar growth rate for the future. This book is a collection containing some of the papers that were presented at the N. A. T. O. Advanced Study...

Continued and systematic analysis of the mechanics of flexible fibre assemblies dates from about 1945, although the growth of research into textiles after 1920 had included studies of fabric structure and the measurement of mechanical properties. The subject is thus a young one, although this NATO Advanced Study Institute is a sign of developing maturity. However there is an earlier tradition. Relevant, even if somewhat loosely connected, quotations can be found in the works of the engineers of the ancient civilisations, recurring during the llenaissance with Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo....

Conventional synthetic materials, like metals, ceramics or glass, are usually isotropic substances, and their suitability for structural applications is achieved by morphological design and combination in the macroscopic scale. However, in modem engineering this is often not acceptable. As an alternative, the use of non-homogeneous, anisotropic materials, with significant stiffness and strength only in the directions these mechanical properties are really needed, can lead to enormous material (and weight) savings. This is the case of multiphase systems called composite materials. In these...

In this volume is presented the proceedings of a NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on the theme of Electromagnetic Modelling and Measurements for Analysis and Synthesis Problems. The ASI was held at 11 Ciocco, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Tuscany, Italy, August 10th - 21st, 1987. It has been my good fortune to act as co-director of two of Jozef's previous ASIs, and so I am well acquainted with the JKS format for ASIs. As participants will realise, I did not attend this ASI, and so I only have a partial appreciation of the programme. In particular it has not been possible to include transcripts of...

The increasingly competitive environment within which modern industry has to work means that processes have to be operated over a wider range of conditions in order to meet constantly changing performance targets. Add to this the fact that many industrial operations are nonlinear, and the need for on-line control algorithms for nonlinear processes becomes clear. Major progress has been booked in constrained model-based control and important issues of nonlinear process control have been solved. The present book surveys the state of the art in nonlinear model-based control technology, by...

Since the discovery of high temperature superconductivity, a tidal wave of res- earch into the newly found phenomena took off in several directions. The theor- ists began to examine BSC and its implications. Mostly everyone was syn- thesizing materials.The experimentalists were studying relations among electri- cal and magnetic properties while the pure materials scientists began to exam- ine the microstructures, and the relations of processing to one or two measurab- le parameters. The engineering and systems community were preparing real conductors and designing the needed components. Each...

Food properties, whether they concern the physical, thermodynamic, chemical, nutritional or sensory characteristics of foods, play an important role in food processing. In our quest to gain a mechanistic understanding of changes occurring during food processing, the knowledge of food properties is essential. Quantitative information on the food properties is necessary in the design and operation of food processing equipment. Foods, because of their biological nature and variability, vary in the magnitude of their properties. The variation in properties offer a challenge both in their...

Science and Technology of Polymer Colloids G. W. Poehlein, R. H. Ottewill, J. W. Goodwin (editors) Polymer colloids, more commonly known as latexes, are important in the manufacture of synthetic elastomers, commodity polymers, surface coatings, adhesive and numerous specialty products. The significant growth of the commercial production of polymer latexes during the past decade has been due to a number of factors. First, water-based systems, especially paints and coatings, avoid many of the environ mental problems associated with the solvent-based systems. Second, polymer colloid products can...