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Articles 1 - 30 of 83
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The Effects Of Vegetative Canopies On Atmospheric Dispersion, John R. Lindell
The Effects Of Vegetative Canopies On Atmospheric Dispersion, John R. Lindell
Theses and Dissertations
This research was conducted to improve our understanding of the effects of vegetative canopy-induced turbulence on the dispersion of air pollution. The computer model most often used to calculate atmospheric dispersion is the Gaussian plume model, which requires some method to compute the downwind dispersions coefficients. These coefficients are a parameterization of the atmospheric stability or the level of turbulence in the atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency's recommended parameterization scheme is the Pasquill-Gifford method. By comparing the Pasquill-Gifford method to the Modified Mitchell method using sigma theta, the standard deviation of the horizontal wind fluctuations, the relative precision of each …
Photoluminescence And Electroluminescence Of Erbium And Neodymium Implanted Semiconductors, James R. Hunter
Photoluminescence And Electroluminescence Of Erbium And Neodymium Implanted Semiconductors, James R. Hunter
Theses and Dissertations
Low temperature photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) measurements were used to study the excitation of erbium- and neodymium-implanted GaAs and AlxGa1-xAs (x=0. 1, 0.3) pn-junctions. The rare-earth (RE) emissions were investigated as a function of ion dose, aluminum mole fraction, laser excitation power, and applied forward bias voltage for the implanted samples. Low temperature PL was also measured from Er doped silicon grown by the metalorganic chemical vapor-phase deposition (MOCVD) method using various growth parameters.. The MOCVD-grown Si samples were studied as a function of metalorganic source temperature, silane (SiH4) flow, growth time, and …
Evaluation Of The Air Force Installation Restoration Advisory System, Dale M. Fox
Evaluation Of The Air Force Installation Restoration Advisory System, Dale M. Fox
Theses and Dissertations
This research is intended to evaluate the Air Force's Installation Restoration Advisory System Workstation software and documentation. Groundwater modeling is the biggest aid to Air Force Installation Restoration decision makers in making their conclusions about what to do with their hazardous waste sites where the groundwater is contaminated. The Advisory System aids the user in determining if a site poses a potential problem, and if so assists the user in selecting an appropriate groundwater transport model. The decision of what type of model is most suitable is based upon the user's conceptual site model and the decision is made by …
A Neural Network Approach To The Prediction And Confidence Assignation Of Nonlinear Time Series Classifications, Erin S. Heim
A Neural Network Approach To The Prediction And Confidence Assignation Of Nonlinear Time Series Classifications, Erin S. Heim
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis uses multiple layer perceptrons (MLP) neural networks and Kohonen clustering networks to predict and assign confidence to nonlinear time series classifications. The nonlinear time series used for analysis is the Standard and Poor's 100 (S&P 100) index. The target prediction is classification of the daily index change. Financial indicators were evaluated to determine the most useful combination of features for input into the networks. After evaluation it was determined that net changes in the index over time and three short-term indicators result in better accuracy. A back-propagation trained MLP neural network was then trained with these features to …
Analysis And Interpretation Of Ion Data Associated With Neutral Gas Releases In The Earth's Ionosphere, Timothy M. Shadid
Analysis And Interpretation Of Ion Data Associated With Neutral Gas Releases In The Earth's Ionosphere, Timothy M. Shadid
Theses and Dissertations
Barium and strontium release experiments were conducted throughout 1991 from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) to study both natural and man-made disturbances in the earth's ionosphere. A mass spectrometer on the spacecraft counted the Ba and Sr ions as the cloud expanded. In this study, data from the G-1 (in sunlight) and G-11b (in darkness) releases were modeled to understand the source of the ion signals. The model reproduced the Ba+ sun data well assuming photoionization (τ = 28 s) was the primary ionization mechanism. However, it was not able to account for the remaining ion …
Micromirror Array Control Of A Phase-Locked Laser Diode Array, Carl J. Christensen
Micromirror Array Control Of A Phase-Locked Laser Diode Array, Carl J. Christensen
Theses and Dissertations
A ten element micromirror array has been designed, fabricated, and employed to control the far field irradiance pattern of a phase locked laser diode array. The laser array used in this experiment was a ten element, gain guided array lasing at a nominal wavelength of 828 nm and operating in the it out of phase supermode. The laser's near field irradiance was imaged onto a micromirror array, where the it phase differences between adjacent laser elements were corrected. This was accomplished by moving the micromirrors with individually applied voltages. The result was the desirable single lobed far field pattern, placing …
A Comparison Of Response Surface Methodology And A One-Factor-At-A-Time Approach As Calibration Techniques For The Bioplume-Ii Simulation Model Of Contaminant Biodegradation, Benjamin Shuman
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis compared Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to the one-factor-at-a-time approach for calibrating the Bioplume-II simulation model of contaminant biodegradation. The MADE-2 data set from Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi was used. The one-factor-at-a-time approach reduced the root-mean-squared (RMS) error for the flow to 0.921225 feet in a total of 36 runs of Bioplume-II. The RSM approach reduced the error criterion to 0.918875 in a total of 47 runs. The one-factor-at-a-time approach was unable to reduce the error below 67.1831 parts per billion (ppb) after 21 runs. The RSM approach reduced the RMS error to 67.0327 ppb after 47 runs. …
The Role Of Frame Selection And Bispectrum Phase Reconstruction For Speckle Imaging Through Atmospheric Turbulence, Elizabeth A. Harpold
The Role Of Frame Selection And Bispectrum Phase Reconstruction For Speckle Imaging Through Atmospheric Turbulence, Elizabeth A. Harpold
Theses and Dissertations
Frame selection using quality sharpness metrics have been shown in previous AFIT theses, to be effective in improving the final product of images obtained using adaptive optics. This thesis extends this idea to noncompensated speckle image data. Speckle image reconstruction is simulated with and without frame selection. Speckle images require the processing of hundreds of data frames. Frame selection is a method of reducing the amount of data required to reconstruct the image. A collection of short exposure image data frames of a single object are sorted based on sharpness metrics. Only the highest quality frames are retained and processed …
A Comparison Of Methods For Estimating Rms Error: A `Brute Force" Approach Versus A Mathematically-Elegant Approach, As Applied To The Calculation Of A Specific Retrieval Error For A Limb-Scanning Microwave Radiometer-Spectrometer, Larry L. Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
The Millimeter-wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) is a high resolution limb- scanning microwave radiometer-spectrometer which has been flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The instrument was designed to sense the microwave emission from several upper atmospheric constituents, including water vapor and ozone. The resonant frequencies of water vapor and ozone are extremely close (183 and 184 GHz, respectively), so that the high-frequency wing of the water vapor spectrum overlaps the low frequency wing of the ozone spectrum. Consequently, the measured ozone spectrum incorporates a slight water vapor contribution; therefore, the retrieved ozone profile is dependent on the true water vapor profile. The …
An Object-Oriented, Formal Methods Approach To Organizational Process Modeling, Vincent S. Hibdon
An Object-Oriented, Formal Methods Approach To Organizational Process Modeling, Vincent S. Hibdon
Theses and Dissertations
This document presents a methodology for developing an organizational process model which is based on the principles of object oriented design and formal software engineering methods. The methodology begins with the development of an object oriented Rumbaugh model (27). The Rumbaugh model is then formally specified in Z (Zed) schemas. Finally, the Z specifications are translated into an executable model in the Software Refinery Environment(TM). This model is described based on the AF wing domain and developed in this domain. The proposed methodology is then shown to produce a very general model which is extendable across almost any domain. The …
Neutron Damage In Distributed Bragg Reflectors And Microcavity Lasers, Mark A. Suriano
Neutron Damage In Distributed Bragg Reflectors And Microcavity Lasers, Mark A. Suriano
Theses and Dissertations
Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) grown on a gallium-arsenide substrate for a solid state mirror and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) were subjected to a neutron fluence to determine the sensitivity of the DBRs. The samples were irradiated at Ohio State University's 500 kW research reactor. Relative and absolute reflectance measurements were taken before and after each irradiation over a spectral band of 530 880 µm. Relative reflectance measurements showed that the irradiation did not cause any spectral shift over seven decades of neutron fluences. The reflectivity of the DBRs decreased from their initial measurements after being irradiated. The …
Objectism 3.0: A Software Architecture For The Development Of Portable Visual Simulation Applications, Shawn M. Hannan
Objectism 3.0: A Software Architecture For The Development Of Portable Visual Simulation Applications, Shawn M. Hannan
Theses and Dissertations
A visual simulation software architecture is a reusable design for visual simulation applications. This thesis effort was the third stage in an ongoing refinement of such an architecture, named ObjectSim. The primary goals of this stage were to improve the architecture by eliminating its dependence on two platform-specific graphics libraries (named GL and Performer, from Silicon Graphics, Inc.), and to examine the potential for expanding the architecture to accommodate distributed simulations. The effort resulted in a new version of the architecture which allows the development of visual simulation applications which take full advantage of the aforementioned libraries without calling those …
An Assessment Of The Impact Of Fuel Jettisoning Events Using Simulation And Impact Models, Jeffrey M. Todd
An Assessment Of The Impact Of Fuel Jettisoning Events Using Simulation And Impact Models, Jeffrey M. Todd
Theses and Dissertations
Work has been accomplished to determine the impact of jettisoned fuel when it reaches the surface. While previous work indicates that jettisoning JP-4 jet fuel results in a negligible ground fall impact, the impact of jettisoning lower volatile JP-8 jet fuel has not been thoroughly characterized. Several efforts have been made to mathematically model the evaporation, advection, and dispersion of the plume of fuel as it travels to the surface. The AFIT Fuel Jettisoning Model, the Fuel Jettisoning Simulation Model, and Fuel-Dumping Impact Assessment Model were evaluated and compared to assess the impact of jettisoned JP-8 jet fuel. Additionally, the …
A System Dynamics Approach To Modelling The Degradation Of Biochemical Oxygen Demand In A Constructed Wetland Receiving Stormwater Runoff, Leslie A. Mudgett
A System Dynamics Approach To Modelling The Degradation Of Biochemical Oxygen Demand In A Constructed Wetland Receiving Stormwater Runoff, Leslie A. Mudgett
Theses and Dissertations
The objective of this research was to develop a tool to aid the Air Force Environmental Manager in the identification of the design parameters of a constructed wetland system that may be optimized to provide a desired biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal efficiency during the treatment of Air Force stormwater runoff. The objective is achieved through the development and use of a system dynamics model which simulates the hydrological functions of a constructed wetland as well as the processes within the wetland responsible for degradation of BOD. Based on literature review, the primary mechanism responsible for the degradation of BOD …
Evaluating The Feasibility Of Sequential Indicator Simulation In Reproducing Spatial Connectivity In A Heterogeneous Transmissivity Field, D. Duane Kenyon
Evaluating The Feasibility Of Sequential Indicator Simulation In Reproducing Spatial Connectivity In A Heterogeneous Transmissivity Field, D. Duane Kenyon
Theses and Dissertations
A Non-Parametric estimation technique was used to simulate realizations of a heterogeneous transmissivity field based upon sampled values from three different sampling scenarios. These realizations were compared to output from a parametric estimation technique with respect to truth as defined by an exhaustive data set of 6,000 transmissivity values. Estimated transmissivity fields were then used as input into a flow model from which fields of heads and specific discharges were obtained and compared. Given the financial limitations imposed upon the number and quality of samples reasonably available, Sequential Indicator Simulation, a non-parametric technique, was shown to be of considerable value …
Temporal Influence On Awareness, Don E. Hill
Temporal Influence On Awareness, Don E. Hill
Theses and Dissertations
Grossberg's Motion Oriented Contrast Filter (MOC) was extensively analyzed (7). The output from the filter's "global motion" neuronal layer was compared to a noncausal post-processing filter developed by AFIT. Both filters were shown to incorporate a weighted, noncausal temporal range of input data in processed output. The global motion framework was then implemented using a physiologically motivated pulsed neural model - the Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN). By incorporating both spatial and temporal data, the PCNN was shown to exhibit a common visual illusion, apparent motion. The existence of a physiological temporal processing range was further investigated through implementation of …
Effects Of Ammonium Perchlorate On The Thyroid Hormone Levels Of The Sprague-Dawley Rat, James H. King Jr.
Effects Of Ammonium Perchlorate On The Thyroid Hormone Levels Of The Sprague-Dawley Rat, James H. King Jr.
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research was to determine the threshold dose for ammonium perchlorate (AP) in the Sprague-Dawley rat. No dose response data exist for AP and the EPA has studied literature on the subject of perchlorates to determine a provisional reference dose. The Perchiorate Group, a consortium of DoD and industry representatives, believes this provisional reference dose is too conservative. This experiment was executed to provide dose response data on which to base a more accurate reference dose. The study consisted of eight groups of 12 Sprague-Dawley rats, six male and six female, which were exposed to incremental doses …
The Application Of Hybridized Genetic Algorithms To The Protein Folding Problem, Robert L. Gaulke
The Application Of Hybridized Genetic Algorithms To The Protein Folding Problem, Robert L. Gaulke
Theses and Dissertations
The protein folding problem consists of attempting to determine the native conformation of a protein given its primary structure. This study examines various methods of hybridizing a genetic algorithm implementation in order to minimize an energy function and predict the conformation (structure) of Met-enkephalin. Genetic Algorithms are semi-optimal algorithms designed to explore and exploit a search space. The genetic algorithm uses selection, recombination, and mutation operators on populations of strings which represent possible solutions to the given problem. One step in solving the protein folding problem is the design of efficient energy minimization techniques. A conjugate gradient minimization technique is …
Design And Evaluation Of Standard Telerobotic Control Software, Kevin P. Anchor
Design And Evaluation Of Standard Telerobotic Control Software, Kevin P. Anchor
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis represents the first implementation of a proposed Air Force standard telerobotic control architecture. This architecture was developed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology under contract to the Air Force Materiel Command Robotics and Automation Center of Excellence (RACE) as the Unified Telerobotics Architecture Project (UTAP). The AFIT Robotics and Automation Applications Group (RAAG) Lab B facility computational structure was redesigned to be compliant with the UTAP architecture. This thesis shows that the UTAP specification to be implementable. However, if the underlying operating system does not support generic message passing, an …
Design And Analysis Of Parallel Hierarchical Battlefield Simulation, Conrad P. Masshardt
Design And Analysis Of Parallel Hierarchical Battlefield Simulation, Conrad P. Masshardt
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research is to determine if hierarchically partitioning a discrete event battlefield simulation reduces runtime and, if reduction exists, to characterize the run time reduction given any particular partition configuration. A hierarchical discrete event simulation of a main battle tank was constructed. Implementations were built for both a single processor and a multiprocessing machine. The implementations used the Message Passing Interface to increase portability to other parallel and distributed configurations. Three test cases were generated and run on three parallel and distributed environments, a network of Sun SparcStation 20's, a Silicon Graphics Power Challenge, and a Paragon …
Computer-Aided Diagnosis Of Mammographic Masses, William E. Polakowski
Computer-Aided Diagnosis Of Mammographic Masses, William E. Polakowski
Theses and Dissertations
A new Model-Based Vision algorithm was developed to find possibly cancerous regions of interest (ROIs) in digitized mammograms and to correctly identify the malignant masses. This work has shown a sensitivity of 92 percent for locating malignant ROIs. The database contained 272 images (12 bit, 1OO microns) with 36 malignant and 53 benign mass images. Of the 53 biopsied benign cases, 74 percent were correctly classified. The Focus of Attention (segmentation) Module algorithm used a physiologically motivated Difference of Gaussians (DoG) filter to highlight mass-like regions in the mammogram. The Index Module labeled the regions by their hypothesized class: large …
Transforming Algebraically-Based Object Models Into A Canonical Form For Design Refinement, Charles G. Beem
Transforming Algebraically-Based Object Models Into A Canonical Form For Design Refinement, Charles G. Beem
Theses and Dissertations
The understandability of object-oriented design techniques and the rigor of formal methods have improved the state of software development; however, both ideas have limitations. Object-oriented techniques, which are semi-formal, can still result in incorrect designs, while formal methods are complex and require an extensive mathematical background. The two approaches can be coupled, however, to produce designs that are both understandable and verifiable, and to produce executable code. This research proposes an approach where object-oriented models are first represented algebraically in a formal specification language such as LARCH and then transformed into a canonical form suitable for design refinement. In the …
Macroscale Diffusion-Limited Sorption Modeling--A Preliminary Modeling Exercise For A Dover Afb Site, Jason T. Herman
Macroscale Diffusion-Limited Sorption Modeling--A Preliminary Modeling Exercise For A Dover Afb Site, Jason T. Herman
Theses and Dissertations
A modification was made to the USGS SUTRA code which allowed the simulation of macro scale diffusion effects from specific layers. This modification utilized a split-operator finite element numerical technique to incorporate the macroscale diffusion. The code was applied to a conceptual site developed from a field site at Dover AFB, DL Simulations were done to compare the modified code to the unmodified code which clearly showed the modified code as a closer representation of reality. Simulations were also done to study the effects of pulsed and continuous pumping within the time frame of a field experiment at Dover. These …
Determining The Effects Of Waste Coal Ash On Landfill Radon Levels, Richard S. Krysiak Jr.
Determining The Effects Of Waste Coal Ash On Landfill Radon Levels, Richard S. Krysiak Jr.
Theses and Dissertations
Coal contains trace amounts of the primary radionuclides 40K, and elements of the 4n (232Th), 4n+2 (238U), and 4n+3 (235U) series including 220Rn and 222Rn. Combustion of coal by electric power and heat plants result in concentration of noncombustible mineral matter, including most of the radionuclides, in the coal ash. The increased radiation due to the concentration of radionuclides is known as technologically enhanced natural radiation. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of landfilled coal ash on one specific aspect of technologically enhanced natural radiation, radon levels. …
A Comparison Of Remediation Priorities Developed By The Defense Priority Model, The Relative Risk Evaluation Method, And A Quantitative Risk Assessment Approach, David M. Hunter
Theses and Dissertations
The Superfund, established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, seriously underestimated both the number of severely contaminated sites and the associated cleanup cost. The magnitude of projected cleanup costs, coupled with shrinking federal budgets, necessitated the development and use of risk-based prioritization models among some federal agencies. Among these tools, the DOD prioritization models are meant to give priority to sites posing the greatest threat to human health. Their failure to properly rank sites could incorrectly shift the focus from those that pose substantial risk to sites of lesser risk. The DOD site ranking …
Atmospheric Transport And Diffusion Modeling Of Rocket Exhaust, Chad A. Burel
Atmospheric Transport And Diffusion Modeling Of Rocket Exhaust, Chad A. Burel
Theses and Dissertations
Space launches at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) and the Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) produce exhaust from the solid rocket boosters and liquid hypergolic fuels containing several toxic substances including hydrogen chloride and hydrazine. In order to estimate the health risk that would be imposed upon the public by proposed launches, range safety officials rely on the Rocket Exhaust Effluent Diffusion Model to predict where the exhaust chemicals will go after the launch and how strong the concentrations will be. The original REEDM program averaged the meteorological parameters (wind speed, wind direction, shear, etc.) across the entire mixing level …
A Comparison Of Loose And Tight Gps/Ins Integration Using Real Ins And Gps Data, Warren H. Nuibe
A Comparison Of Loose And Tight Gps/Ins Integration Using Real Ins And Gps Data, Warren H. Nuibe
Theses and Dissertations
An extended Kalman filter (EKE) is used to combine the information obtained from a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and an Inertial Navigation System (INS) to provide a navigation solution. This research compares the results of a tightly-coupled GPS/INS integrated system with a loosely-coupled integrated system, using real world data. A fair comparison is accomplished by using the same sets of data, and keeping the integration structures as close as possible. Both integrations are feedforward and have the same error states in the navigation Kalman filters. Differences between the two, such as navigation solutions and tuning values, are shown in …
Deriving Optimal Solutions From Incomplete Knowledge Bases, Shawn A. Northrop
Deriving Optimal Solutions From Incomplete Knowledge Bases, Shawn A. Northrop
Theses and Dissertations
Many real world domains cannot be represented using Bayesian Networks due to the need for complete probability tables and acyclic knowledge. However, Bayesian Knowledge Bases (BKBs) are a viable method for representing these incomplete domains, but very little research has been performed on inferencing with them. This paper presents three inference engines for extracting optimal solutions from three distinct BKB subclasses: singly- connected, multiply-connected with mutually exclusive cycles, and cyclic. The singly-connected inference engine has a worst case polynomial run time. Performance improvement techniques for increasing inference engine speed are discussed, in addition to a new tool for measuring incompleteness …
The Relationship Between Environmental Attitudes And Environmental Behaviors Among Air Force Members, Daniel T. Holt
The Relationship Between Environmental Attitudes And Environmental Behaviors Among Air Force Members, Daniel T. Holt
Theses and Dissertations
A questionnaire was distributed to nearly 2,000 randomly selected active duty Air Force members assigned to locations throughout the continental United States. The survey was designed to determine the extent to which Air Force members expressed support for environmental issues. In addition, the survey measured how frequently Air Force members engaged in specific behaviors that were deemed environmentally protective. Although the Air Force members expressed relatively strong support for environmental issues, they only occasionally engaged in activities that contribute to the preservation or protection of the environment. Correlation analysis revealed that the pro-environmental attitudes were positively linked to the environmentally …
Maximum Likelihood Estimation Of Wave Front Slopes Using A Hartmann-Type Sensor, Scott A. Sallberg
Maximum Likelihood Estimation Of Wave Front Slopes Using A Hartmann-Type Sensor, Scott A. Sallberg
Theses and Dissertations
Current methods for estimating the wave front slope at the pupil of a telescope equipped with a Hartmann-type wave front sensor (H-WFS) are based on a simple centroid calculation of the intensity distributions (spots) recorded in each subaperture of the H-WFS. The centroid method does not include any knowledge concerning correlation properties of the slopes over the subapertures or the amount of light collected by the telescope and diverted to the H-WFS for wave front reconstruction purposes. This thesis devises a maximum likelihood (ML) estimation of the spot centroids by incorporating statistical knowledge of the spot shifts. The light level …