Author

Peng Lu

Date of Award

8-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Supervisor

Professor J.N. Siddall

Abstract

This thesis is devoted to applying Boolean methods to investigate more efficient methodologies for discrete optimization and expert systems; both are based on "binary decision".

An efficient nonlinear 0-1 programming algorithm is proposed, which relies mainly on logic analysis applied to the prime implicants generated iteratively from the constraint system. A general method for design optimization with discrete variables is also developed, for which the basis is an accurate neighborhood search procedure based on Boolean operation.

A new methodology for designing and implementing rule based expert systems using Boolean methods is proposed. This consists of a consensus based algorithm for converting a set of rules to a minimal Boolean form, together with a new control algorithm for rapidly minimizing the evidence set required for a solution. These algorithms have considerable potential for simplifying systems, and speeding up the execution, which would be highly desirable for real time systems where high speed is vital.

A procedure for building an expert system on a VLSI chip has been presented. An Erasable Programmable Logic Device (EPLD) is used to "hard wire" the logic rules represented by Boolean expressions on a microchip. The result is an extremely fast system with considerable promise for control applications, and also in other systems where size and speed are important performance characteristics.


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