Περίληψη: | The method of quantifier elimination with implementations in some computer algebra systems already proved useful for the computation of both the robustness and the opportuneness (or opportunity) functions in Ben-Haim's info-gap (or information-gap) model of uncertainty. As is well known, this model constitutes an interesting and practical tool in decision theory. Moreover, quantifier elimination concerning the robustness/opportuneness functions can be performed to the related universally/existentially quantified formulae. Here we proceed to the consideration of the additional mixed (AE) case, where both the universal and the existential quantifiers are present in the quantified formula related to Ben-Haim's info-gap model of uncertainty. In this mixed (AE) case, evidently now with more than one uncertain variable, the universal quantifier concerns one (or more than one) uncertain variable and similar is the case with the existential quantifier. After performing quantifier elimination to this quantified formula (here by using the computer algebra system Mathematica), we derive the related QFF (quantifier-free formula) that concerns the horizon of uncertainty. The case of more than one horizon of uncertainty can also be similarly studied. In this way, an expression for the horizon of uncertainty in a logical form with the appropriate inequalities is derived. From this form it is observed that additional immunity functions (beyond the classical robustness and opportuneness functions) appear in the mixed universal–existential (AE) case. The present approach is applied to four uncertainty problems which are based on info-gap models and concern (i) the area of a rectangle, (ii) the buckling load of a fixed–free column, (iii) the volume of a rectangular cuboid and (iv) the reactions at the ends of a fixed beam loaded by a concentrated load.
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