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Three-Dimensional Calculation Of Contaminant Transport In Groundwater At A Dover Afb Site, Tariq O. Hashim
Three-Dimensional Calculation Of Contaminant Transport In Groundwater At A Dover Afb Site, Tariq O. Hashim
Theses and Dissertations
Macroscale rate-limited sorption modeling was tested using a production transport code, the GMS/FEMWATER ground-water modeling package. The code (Version 1.1 of FEMWATER. dated 1 August 1995) was applied to a 3D conceptual model developed from a field site at Dover AFB, DE. A simulation was performed of a 200 hour contaminant injection pulse followed by clean water flushing. A moment analysis performed on the resulting breakthrough curve validated code self-consistency. Another injection pulse simulation showed that retardation temporally delays the breakthrough peak. Transport simulations of pulsed clean water pumping of the test cell with a prescribed initial contaminant distribution demonstrated …
Development Of An Operations Research Software Package For Army Divisions., Blane C. Wilson
Development Of An Operations Research Software Package For Army Divisions., Blane C. Wilson
Theses and Dissertations
There exists great potential for applying operations research techniques to solve specific problems in the areas of operations, installation support, and training at the Army division level. Because of the operational tempo of today's active-duty and reserve component units, command must focus on accomplishing the daily missions. Also, due their limited knowledge of the field, planners may not be aware of how operations research can be used to enhance planning and operations. Time, training funds, resources, safety, personnel, and equipment are all critical factors in this process. Operations research techniques could be used to improve division-level operations by saving time, …
The Simulation, Modeling And Analysis Of Wireless Local Area Networks Supporting The Ieee 802.11 Standard, Jaikwan Joo
The Simulation, Modeling And Analysis Of Wireless Local Area Networks Supporting The Ieee 802.11 Standard, Jaikwan Joo
Theses and Dissertations
Research to improve the performance of the IEEE 802.11 has been ongoing since 1990. The focus of this research has investigated the use of the MAC and Physical layers for improving throughput. An adaptive MAC protocol, CATER (Code Adapts To Enhance Reliability) is based on the proposed MAC standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN)-802. 11. IEEE 802.11 uses a fixed Pseudo-Noise (PN) code for spreading the information signal, implying a fixed process gain at the receiver. When the channel degrades, IEEE 802.11 offers only retransmissions at the MAC layer to contend with the corrupted medium. However, CATER allows communicating …
A Web-Based Prototype For Afit Edplan Administration, Tien-Chen Lee
A Web-Based Prototype For Afit Edplan Administration, Tien-Chen Lee
Theses and Dissertations
This document details the design, development, and evaluation of a prototype course registration and reporting system for the students and faculty of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology. The web-based system provides HTML-based client interfaces and Active Server Page server processes for interaction with the relational databases used to manage course and personnel data. The system prototype was developed following the "Engineering Software Components for Web-Database Access" methodology of Dipiro. A survey of modern web-based database access techniques is first provided and Dipiro's methodology is reviewed as background. The remainder of the document details the application of the …
Collisional Effects In The Absorption Spectra Of The Oxygen A Band And Nitric Oxide Fundamental Band, Robert S. Pope
Collisional Effects In The Absorption Spectra Of The Oxygen A Band And Nitric Oxide Fundamental Band, Robert S. Pope
Theses and Dissertations
Fourier transform spectroscopy was used to measure pressure broadening coefficients in the absorption spectra of both the oxygen A band and the nitric oxide fundamental band. Oxygen spectra were recorded with O2, N2, CO, CO2, SF6 and noble gas collision partners, while nitric oxide spectra were recorded using noble gas collision partners. Pressure broadening coefficients were determined in the P and R branches for every resolved line for each of the fifteen collision pairs studied. In addition, broadening coefficients and qualitative evidence of line coupling were found for the Q branch of NO …
Optimal Atmospheric Compensation For Anisoplanatism In Adaptive-Optical Systems, Matthew R. Whiteley
Optimal Atmospheric Compensation For Anisoplanatism In Adaptive-Optical Systems, Matthew R. Whiteley
Theses and Dissertations
Anisoplanatism in adaptive optics (AO) systems is a performance-degrading effect that arises whenever light from the wave-front sensor beacon and light from the object of interest sample different volumes of optical turbulence. This effect occurs if there is either a spatial separation between the object and the beacon, or a spatial separation between the wave-front sensor and phase-compensation aperture, or if both types of separation are present in the AO system. Anisoplanatism results in an increased value of the aperture-averaged residual phase variance after AO compensation, which causes an exponential decrease in system performance. This dissertation offers a theoretical framework …
The Effects Of Three Media Presentation Systems On Maintenance Task Performance, John W. Chastain
The Effects Of Three Media Presentation Systems On Maintenance Task Performance, John W. Chastain
Theses and Dissertations
Wearable computers and Portable Maintenance Aids (PMAs) may soon be the normal way of doing aircraft maintenance in the Air Force. Currently, the Air Force uses the paper form of Technical Orders (TO's) while doing aircraft maintenance. The purpose of this thesis was to compare the effects of three different media presentations of the information used during aircraft maintenance. The three different presentations compared are the current paper form, a Head Mounted Display (HMD), and an auditory mode. An experiment was conducted to determine if there was a significant difference between the systems (in terms of task completion times and …
A Decision Theoretic Approach For Interface Agent Development, Scott M. Brown
A Decision Theoretic Approach For Interface Agent Development, Scott M. Brown
Theses and Dissertations
The complexity of current software applications is overwhelming users. The need exists for intelligent interface agents to address the problem of increasing taskload that is overwhelming the human user. Interface agents could help alleviate user taskload by extracting and analyzing relevant information, and providing information abstractions of that information, and providing timely, beneficial assistance to users. These agents could communicate with the user through the existing user interface and also adapt to user needs and behaviors. Central to providing assistance to a user is the issue of correctly determining the user's intent. This dissertation presents an effective, efficient, and extensible …
Radial Complexity Estimation For Improved Generalization In Artificial Neural Networks, Lemuel R. Myers Jr.
Radial Complexity Estimation For Improved Generalization In Artificial Neural Networks, Lemuel R. Myers Jr.
Theses and Dissertations
When training an artificial neural network (ANN) for classification using backpropagation of error, the weights are usually updated by minimizing the sum-squared error on the training set. As training ensues, overtraining may be observed as the network begins to memorize the training data. This occurs because, as the magnitude of the weight vector, W, grows, the decision boundaries become overly complex in much the same way as a too-high order polynomial approximation can overfit a data set in a regression problem. Since w grows during standard backpropagation, it is important to initialize the weights with consideration to the importance of …
Automatic Target Cueing Of Hyperspectral Image Data, Terry A. Wilson
Automatic Target Cueing Of Hyperspectral Image Data, Terry A. Wilson
Theses and Dissertations
Modern imaging sensors produce vast amounts data, overwhelming human analysts. One such sensor is the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral sensor. The AVIRIS sensor simultaneously collects data in 224 spectral bands that range from 0.4µm to 2.5µm in approximately 10nm increments, producing 224 images, each representing a single spectral band. Autonomous systems are required that can fuse "important" spectral bands and then classify regions of interest if all of this data is to be exploited. This dissertation presents a comprehensive solution that consists of a new physiologically motivated fusion algorithm and a novel Bayes optimal self-architecting classifier …
Representations, Approximations, And Algorithms For Mathematical Speech Processing, Laura R. Suzuki
Representations, Approximations, And Algorithms For Mathematical Speech Processing, Laura R. Suzuki
Theses and Dissertations
Representing speech signals such that specific characteristics of speech are included is essential in many Air Force and DoD signal processing applications. A mathematical construct called a frame is presented which captures the important time-varying characteristic of speech. Roughly speaking, frames generalize the idea of an orthogonal basis in a Hilbert space, Specific spaces applicable to speech are L2(R) and the Hardy spaces Hp(D) for p> 1 where D is the unit disk in the complex plane. Results are given for representations in the Hardy spaces involving Carleson's inequalities (and its extensions), …
Singularity Avoidance Strategies For Satellite Mounted Manipulators Using Attitude Control, Nathan A. Titus
Singularity Avoidance Strategies For Satellite Mounted Manipulators Using Attitude Control, Nathan A. Titus
Theses and Dissertations
Control concepts for satellite mounted manipulators (SMM) are examined. The primary focus is on base actuated concepts, which eliminate singularity problems associated with free floating SMMs. A new form of the equations of motion for an n-link SMM is developed using a quasi coordinate form of Lagrange's Equation. Alternative free floating SMM designs are presented which eliminate dynamic singularities, but still experience difficulties due to the unactuated base. A new generic SMM controller is developed as a framework for various control concepts with and without base actuation. Momentum constrained Jacobians are shown to produce better SMM tracking than fixed base …
Trigonometric Transforms For Image Reconstruction, Thomas M. Foltz
Trigonometric Transforms For Image Reconstruction, Thomas M. Foltz
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation demonstrates how the symmetric convolution-multiplication property of discrete trigonometric transforms can be applied to traditional problems in image reconstruction with slightly better performance than Fourier techniques and increased savings in computational complexity for symmetric point spread functions. The fact that the discrete Fourier transform a circulant matrix provides an alternate way to derive the symmetric convolution-multiplication property for discrete trigonometric transforms. Derived in this manner, the symmetric convolution-multiplication property extends easily to multiple dimensions and generalizes to multidimensional asymmetric sequences. The symmetric convolution-multiplication property allows for linear filtering of degraded images via point-by-point multiplication in the transform domain …
New Algorithms For Moving-Bank Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation, Juan R. Vasquez
New Algorithms For Moving-Bank Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation, Juan R. Vasquez
Theses and Dissertations
The focus of this research is to provide methods for generating precise parameter estimates in the face of potentially significant parameter variations such as system component failures. The standard Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation (MMAE) algorithm uses a bank of Kalman filters, each based on a different model of the system. A new moving-bank MMAE algorithm is developed based on exploitation of the density data available from the MMAE. The methods used to exploit this information include various measures of the density data and a decision-making logic used to move, expand, and contract the MMAE bank of filters. Parameter discretization within …
Linear Reconstruction Of Non-Stationary Image Ensembles Incorporating Blur And Noise Models, Stephen D. Ford
Linear Reconstruction Of Non-Stationary Image Ensembles Incorporating Blur And Noise Models, Stephen D. Ford
Theses and Dissertations
Two new linear reconstruction techniques are developed to improve the resolution of images collected by ground-based telescopes imaging through atmospheric turbulence. The classical approach involves the application of constrained least squares (CLS) to the deconvolution from wavefront sensing (DWFS) technique. The new algorithm incorporates blur and noise models to select the appropriate regularization constant automatically. In all cases examined, the Newton-Raphson minimization converged to a solution in less than 10 iterations. The non-iterative Bayesian approach involves the development of a new vector Wiener filter which is optimal with respect to mean square error (MSE) for a non-stationary object class degraded …
Methodology For The Analysis And Design Of Internet Software Components Providing Relational Database Access Through The World Wide Web, Daniel L. Dipiro
Methodology For The Analysis And Design Of Internet Software Components Providing Relational Database Access Through The World Wide Web, Daniel L. Dipiro
Theses and Dissertations
This work examines the application of Internet software technologies to provide access to remote relational databases via the World Wide Web. The research applies these software technologies to assist the Air Force Institute of Technology Civilian Institute Program in improving operations and student to staff communication. An analysis of the existing Internet software technologies revealed several competing technologies capable of performing the same database access functions. The analysis further revealed weaknesses and inconsistencies in the existing AFIT/CI database. A methodology is proposed to assist in analyzing an existing development environment and in selecting among the competing technologies to provide the …
Regression Analysis Of Radar Measured Optical Turbulence With Synoptic Scale Meteorological Variables, Diana L. Hajek
Regression Analysis Of Radar Measured Optical Turbulence With Synoptic Scale Meteorological Variables, Diana L. Hajek
Theses and Dissertations
A key issue to the USAF's Airborne Laser (ABL) program is the ability to accurately predict the level of optical turbulence that the ABL will encounter at its flight levels. The optical turbulence must be characterized so that the range and range variation of the ABL can be determined. Gravity wave spectra resulting from frontal or jet stream passage are presumed to cause layers of optical turbulence; however, exact relationships between optical turbulence and synoptic scale meteorological phenomena are unclear. This study assesses the statistical relationship between optical turbulence and synoptic scale variables through multiple linear regression. The optical turbulence …
Evaluation Of Satellite Microwave Derived Surface Temperature Algorithms For The Period August 1996 To February 1997, Charles H. Harris
Evaluation Of Satellite Microwave Derived Surface Temperature Algorithms For The Period August 1996 To February 1997, Charles H. Harris
Theses and Dissertations
The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) has two operational algorithms that derive surface temperatures from microwave observations taken by the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) which rides aboard space platforms of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The algorithm called Temperature from Satellite Microwave Imager (TS) is used to analyze global cloud coverage. The second algorithm is fittingly called Calibration and Validation (CV), as it was the algorithm used to calibrate and validate the first SSM/I in 1987. Multiple linear regression defined the algorithms from empirically gathered brightness temperatures and simultaneous surface temperatures. The key questions were how much data …
Forecasting Wet Microbursts Associated With Summertime Airmass Thunderstorms Over The Southeastern United States, James B. Mackey
Forecasting Wet Microbursts Associated With Summertime Airmass Thunderstorms Over The Southeastern United States, James B. Mackey
Theses and Dissertations
Microbursts are intense downbursts from thunderstorms that affect an area less than 4 km and have a lifespan less than 10 minutes. Wet microbursts are associated with heavy precipitation and are common in the eastern and southeastern part of the country. The greatest threat from microbursts is to low flying aircraft, where the rapid fluctuations in horizontal and vertical airflow create tremendous shear zones. Microbursts have been determined to be the causal factor behind at least three major aircraft accidents resulting in numerous fatalities. Due to the short lifespan of microbursts, they often strike without warning and pose a serious …
Neural Network Modeling Of The Head-Related Transfer Function, Damion Reinhardt
Neural Network Modeling Of The Head-Related Transfer Function, Damion Reinhardt
Theses and Dissertations
Battlefield synthesis of 3-D audio may require the interpolation and compression of head-related transfer function (HRTF) data. This thesis is an implementation of a functional model of the HRTF using artificial neural networks (ANNs), the model provides both compression and interpolation.
Nowcasting Thunderstorms At Cape Canaveral, Florida, Using An Improved Neumann-Pfeffer Thunderstorm Index, Cindy L. Howell
Nowcasting Thunderstorms At Cape Canaveral, Florida, Using An Improved Neumann-Pfeffer Thunderstorm Index, Cindy L. Howell
Theses and Dissertations
The Neumann-Pfeffer Thunderstorm Index (NPTI) is used daily by the 45th Weather Squadron during the convective season to estimate the probability of afternoon thunderstorms. The current I , developed by Charles J. Neumann in the 1960s, i based on only 13 years of data taken over 30 years ago. The index was in desperate need of an upgrade. Following the multiple regression techniques outlined by Neumann, this thesis examines whether or not including additional data would improve the performance of the NPTI. After performing the multiple regressions and retuning the regression coefficients, both NPTs were validated using a 2-year independent …
Improved Mathematical Modeling For Gps Based Navigation, Salvatore Nardi
Improved Mathematical Modeling For Gps Based Navigation, Salvatore Nardi
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is concerned with the development of new closed form GPS position determination algorithms that work in the presence of pseudorange measurement noise. The mathematical derivation of two closed form algorithms, based on stochastic modeling and estimation techniques, is presented. The algorithms provide an estimate of the GPS solution parameters (viz., the user position and the user clock bias) as well as the estimation error covariance. The experimental results are analyzed by comparison to the baseline results from the conventional Iterative Least Squares (ILS) algorithm. In typical GPS scenarios, the closed form algorithms are extremely sensitive to noise, making …
An Advanced Visualization Method For An Operations Research Analysis, Steven C. Oimoen
An Advanced Visualization Method For An Operations Research Analysis, Steven C. Oimoen
Theses and Dissertations
Visualizing multidimensional data using only two dimensions and conventional visualization techniques limits the understanding of the data set. Underlying structures or patterns within the data can easily go unnoticed. In order to gain additional insight into an analysis, incorporation of visualization and multidimensional graphics into the analysis results should be accomplished. The results must ensure that the information portrayed is not misleading or misunderstood. The integrity of the data must be preserved throughout the transformation. The primary objective of this research effort is to identify techniques to visualize multidimensional data and then develop a software tool to display the multidimensional …
A Comparison Of Advect Cloud Model And Fifth-Generation Mesoscale Model Total Fractional Cloud Forecasts, Brian D. Pukall
A Comparison Of Advect Cloud Model And Fifth-Generation Mesoscale Model Total Fractional Cloud Forecasts, Brian D. Pukall
Theses and Dissertations
Total fractional cloudiness (FC) forecasts from the advect cloud (ADVCLD) model and total FC forecasts diagnosed from the relative humidity and total cloud condensate (snow, ice, rain water, and cloud water) fields from the fifth generation mesoscale model (MM5) were statistically and subjectively compared to determine which model produced the better total FC forecasts from August through November 1997 for a forecast window centered on Bosnia. The real time nephanalysis (RTNFPH) model was used to represent the true state of the atmosphere. ADVCLD and MM5 forecasts were also compared against a persistence forecast to provide a minimal skill baseline. The …
Analyzing Horizontal Distances Between Wsr-88d Thunderstorm Centroids And Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Strikes, Steve L. Renner
Analyzing Horizontal Distances Between Wsr-88d Thunderstorm Centroids And Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Strikes, Steve L. Renner
Theses and Dissertations
On April 29, 1996, lightning struck the airfield at Hurlburt Field, FL, killing one Airmen and injuring ten others. This cloud to ground lightning strike hit eight minutes after a lightning advisory was canceled. At the time of the strike, thunderstorms were observed 7 to 10 miles north and south of the airfield. The incident raised questions about Air Force Weather Agency's lightning criteria. Soon after the incident, a Lightning Safety Review Panel was assembled to determine the adequacy of lightning advisories. One of the questions posed to the panel was could an incident like Hurlburt happen again? The review …
A Validation Study Of The Air Force Weather Agency (Afwa) Jetrax Contrail Forecast Algorithm, Jeffrey D. Shull
A Validation Study Of The Air Force Weather Agency (Afwa) Jetrax Contrail Forecast Algorithm, Jeffrey D. Shull
Theses and Dissertations
Accurate contrail forecasts allow pilots to avoid levels of the atmosphere which are conducive to contrail formation, reducing their likelihood of being visually detected by enemy forces. The primary objective of this thesis is to evaluate the performance of the JETRAX contrail forecast algorithm currently used by the Air Force Weather Agency to support military air operations. A total of 397 ground-based contrail observations were collected at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on 27 different days. Observations were collected with the aid of air traffic control radar, which greatly facilitated the positive identification of overflying aircraft and provided necessary information such …
Improving Cape Canaveral's Day-2 Thunderstorm Forecasting Using Meso-Eta Numerical Model Output, Christian S. Wohlwend
Improving Cape Canaveral's Day-2 Thunderstorm Forecasting Using Meso-Eta Numerical Model Output, Christian S. Wohlwend
Theses and Dissertations
The 45th Weather Squadron (WS) is responsible for the protection of billions of dollars worth of Air Force and NASA equipment from weather hazards. They produce a seven day planning forecast as one tool to support the space launch community. Improving this forecast can potentially save millions of dollars of government funds. This research focuses on the feasibility of improving the day two thunderstorm forecast by applying Meso Eta numerical forecasts to the Neumann-Pfeffer Thunderstorm Index (NPTI). The NPTI is currently used by the 45th WS for same day thunderstorm probability forecasting utilizing the morning radiosonde as input. The perfect …
Optical Physics Of Microcavity Surface Emitting Lasers, Michael J. Noble
Optical Physics Of Microcavity Surface Emitting Lasers, Michael J. Noble
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation consists of an in-depth theoretical analysis of the optical impact of transverse index confinement on the lasing modes of microcavity surface emitting lasers. Two different variational techniques were employed to calculate the relevant optical laser parameters: (1) modal resonance, field profile, (2) confinement factor, and (3) threshold gain. Through a semianalytic field analysis, two new confinement related effects were discovered: (1) a polarization dependent change in mirror reflectance with aperture radius, and (2) a mode dependent blueshift. Through a numerical field analysis, the physical mechanisms governing diffraction were ascertained. These are: (1) the transverse confinement of the optical …
Flight Test And Handling Qualities Analysis Of A Longitudinal Flight Control System Using Multiobjective Techniques, John R. Anderson
Flight Test And Handling Qualities Analysis Of A Longitudinal Flight Control System Using Multiobjective Techniques, John R. Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis addresses the application of optimal, multiobjective control theory control theory to flight control design for the approach and landing phase of flight. Five flight control systems were designed using classical, H2, H infinity, and Mixed H2/H infinity methods. The MATLAB™ MUTOOLS™ and AFIT MXTOOLS toolboxes were used to produce the optimal, multiobjective designs. These designs were implemented for flight test on the Calspan VSS I Learjet, simulating the unstable longitudinal dynamics of an F-16 type aircraft. A limited handling qualities investigation was performed. Model following was used in the design phase to meet handling qualities specifications. The designs …
Performance Of Imaging Laser Radar In Rain And Fog, Kathleen M. Campbell
Performance Of Imaging Laser Radar In Rain And Fog, Kathleen M. Campbell
Theses and Dissertations
The Air Force is currently developing imaging laser radar systems (ladar) for use on precision guided munitions and other imaging systems. Scientists at Eglin Air Force Base, in conjunction with Wright Laboratories, are testing a 1.06-um wavelength ladar system and need to understand the weather effects on the ladar images. As the laser beam propagates through the atmosphere, fog droplets and raindrops can cause image degradation, and these image degradations are manifested as either dropouts or false returns. An analysis of the dropouts and false returns helped to quantify the performance of the system in adverse weather conditions. Statistical analysis …