Ain Shams Engineering Journal (Mar 2016)
A novel approach for system change pathway analysis
Abstract
This paper is directed toward presenting a novel approach based on “consolidity charts” for the analysis of natural and man-made systems during their change pathway or course of life. The physical significance of the consolidity chart (region) is that it marks the boundary of all system interactive behavior resulting from all exhaustive internal and external influences. For instance, at a specific event state, the corresponding consolidity region describes all the plausible points of normalized input–output (fuzzy or non-fuzzy) interactions. These charts are developed as each event step for zone scaling of system parameters changes due to affected events or varying environments “on and above” their normal operation or set points and following the “time driven-event driven-parameters change” paradigm. Examples of the consolidity trajectory movement in the regions or patterns centers in the proposed charts of various consolidity classes are developed showing situations of change pathways from the unconsolidated form to the consolidated ones and vice versa. It is shown that the regions comparisons are based on type of consolidity region geometric shapes properties. Moreover, it is illustrated that the centerlines connecting consolidity regions during the change pathway could follow some certain type of trajectories designated as “consolidity pathway trajectory” that could assume various forms including zigzagging patterns depending on the consecutive affected influences. Implementation procedures are elaborated for the consolidity chart analysis of four real life case studies during their conventional and unconventional change pathways, describing: (i) the drug concentration production problem, (ii) the prey–predator population problem, (iii) the spread of infectious disease problem and (iv) the HIV/AIDS Epidemic problem. These solved case studies have lucidly demonstrated the applicability and effectiveness of the suggested consolidity chart approach that could open the door for a comprehensive analysis of system change pathway of many other real life applications. Examples of the fields of these applications are engineering, materials sciences, biology, medicine, geology, life sciences, ecology, environmental sciences and other important disciplines.
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