The field of communication systems is full of complex design questions concerning performance and reliability. Since data traffic and errors occur in a random fashion, stochastic models are used for developing and comparing systems. In particular, stochastic Petri nets have become a popular tool for the description and automatic evaluation of such models. The use of non-Markovian models has become important as they allow more flexibility.

• Provides a clear exposition of the use of stochastic Petri nets in communication systems engineering

• Introduces the reader to the analysis techniques and algorithms used in performance evaluation

• Provides an accompanying example to clarify the use of each definition, concept and algorithm

• Mathematica routines used for implementing the algorithms are available on the Wiley ftp site

In today's workplace, it is not rare to hear a comment regarding how valuable employees are to an organization. As a matter of fact, a common statement supporting this thought is "employees are our most valuable asset" has been around for a number of years. To support this quote, in reality, it takes an organization an extended period of time to develop a cadre of valuable employees. Likewise, it takes an organization a number of years to train a cadre of valuable employees.

The only handbook of mathematical relations with a focus on particulate materials processing

The National Science Foundation estimates that over 35% of materials-related funding is now directed toward modeling. In part, this reflects the increased knowledge and the high cost of experimental work. However, currently there is no organized reference book to help the particulate materials community with sorting out various relations. This book fills that important need, providing readers with a quick-reference handbook for easy consultation.

This one-of-a-kind handbook gives readers the relevant mathematical relations needed to model behavior, generate computer simulations, analyze experiment data, and quantify physical and chemical phenomena commonly found in particulate materials processing. It goes beyond the traditional barriers of only one material class by covering the major areas in ceramics, cemented carbides, powder metallurgy, and particulate materials. In many cases, the governing equations are the same but the terms are material-specific. To rise above these differences, the authors have assembled the basic mathematics around the following topical structure:

Powder technology relations, such as those encountered in atomization, milling, powder production, powder characterization, mixing, particle packing, and powder testing

Powder processing, such as uniaxial compaction, injection molding, slurry and paste shaping techniques, polymer pyrolysis, sintering, hot isostatic pressing, and forging, with accompanying relations associated with microstructure development and microstructure coarsening

Finishing operations, such as surface treatments, heat treatments, microstructure analysis, material testing, data analysis, and structure-property relations

"Handbook of Mathematical Relations in Particulate Materials Processing" is suited for quick reference with stand-alone definitions, making it the perfect complement to existing resources used by academic researchers, corporate product and process developers, and various scientists, engineers, and technicians working in materials processing.