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Air Force Institute of Technology

Theses and Dissertations

2002

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Estimating Engineering Cost Risk Using Logistic And Multiple Regression, Vincent P. Sipple Mar 2002

Estimating Engineering Cost Risk Using Logistic And Multiple Regression, Vincent P. Sipple

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a two-step procedure for assessing defense acquisition program cost growth using historical data. Specifically, we seek to predict whether a program will experience cost growth and, if applicable, how much costs will increase. We compile programmatic data from the Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs) between 1990 and 2000 for programs from all defense departments. We focus our analysis on cost growth in research and development dollars for the Engineering Manufacturing Development phase of acquisition. We further limit our study to only one of the seven SAR categories of cost growth engineering cost growth. We explore the use of …

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A System Dynamics Approach To Modeling Aircraft System Production Break Costs, John J. Dubelko Mar 2002

A System Dynamics Approach To Modeling Aircraft System Production Break Costs, John J. Dubelko

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort employs a System Dynamics methodology to model Air Force aircraft production break costs. The Air Force currently used the Anderlohr, Modified Anderlohr, and Retrograde methods for the estimation of aircraft production breaks. These methods offer little insight into the dynamic behavior of an aircraft production break. System Dynamics offers a unique way of capturing expert opinions in this area and dynamically presenting behaviors of an Air Force aircraft production line during a production break. Development of this model followed a four-step process of conceptualization, formulation, testing, and implementation. Five Air Force aircraft production break experts in were …

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Space Time Adaptive Processing And Clutter Classification Integration And Evaluation, Nathan A. Jensen Mar 2002

Space Time Adaptive Processing And Clutter Classification Integration And Evaluation, Nathan A. Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Radar is a fundamental technology in today's military and civilian environment, and continuing development of this technology is of utmost importance to maintaining technological advantages this realm. Current radar technologies suffer from jamming and clutter limitations. STAP is a statistical method to remove this noise, however it is extremely computationally intensive, and presents several real time processing hurdles. Clutter Classification is another method to classify the radar returns that are found according to the best fit statistical distribution that the return follows. This research investigation attempts to use this clutter classification technology to aid in the detection of targets by …

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Smart Structures For Control Of Optical Surfaces, D. Michael Sobers Jr. Mar 2002

Smart Structures For Control Of Optical Surfaces, D. Michael Sobers Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The development of lightweight, large-aperture optics is of vital importance to the Department of Defense and the US Air Force for advancing remote sensing applications and improving current capabilities. Synthetic polymer optics offer weight and flexibility advantages over current generation glass mirrors, but require active control to maintain tight surface figure tolerances. This research explores the feasibility of using imbedded piezoelectric materials to control optical surfaces. Membrane-based and stiff piezo-controlled mirrors were constructed to develop and validate control techniques. Test results verified that surface control on the order of tens of wavelengths is possible using these systems.

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Application Of Information Retrieval Techniques To Heterogeneous Databases In The Virtual Distributed Laboratory, Rodney D. Lykins Mar 2002

Application Of Information Retrieval Techniques To Heterogeneous Databases In The Virtual Distributed Laboratory, Rodney D. Lykins

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) maintains thousands of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Infrared (IR), Hyper-Spectral intelligence imagery and Electro-Optical (EO) target signature data. These images are essential to evaluating and testing individual algorithm methodologies and development techniques within the Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) community. The Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate (AFRL/SN) has proposed the Virtual Distributed Laboratory (VDL) to maintain a central collection of the associated imagery metadata and a query mechanism to retrieve the desired imagery. All imagery metadata is stored in relational database format for access from agencies throughout the federal government and large civilian universities. Each …

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A Life Cycle Cost Analysis Of The Proposed Replacement Of Pope Air Force Base's C-130e Fleet Using A Fleet Replacement Model, Lance R. French Mar 2002

A Life Cycle Cost Analysis Of The Proposed Replacement Of Pope Air Force Base's C-130e Fleet Using A Fleet Replacement Model, Lance R. French

Theses and Dissertations

The 43rd Airlift Wing at Pope AFB, NC, possesses 33 E-model C-130 aircraft. The airplanes range in age from 30-36 years old. Current plans call for replacing Pope's aging fleet of tactical airlifters with new C-130J model planes in FY11. There are two replacement alternatives proposed in this research. The first is to calls for replacing the C-130Es with C-130Js now. The second option is upgrade the C-130Es to C-130Xs and replace them in 10 years with the C-130J. The results indicate that the least cost solution is to upgrade Pope's fleet of C-130Es to C-130Xs now. However, after conducting …

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Decision Analysis With Value Focused Thinking As A Methodology To Select Force Protection Initiatives For Evaluation, David M. Jurk Mar 2002

Decision Analysis With Value Focused Thinking As A Methodology To Select Force Protection Initiatives For Evaluation, David M. Jurk

Theses and Dissertations

Current emphasis on homeland security/defense is high. Decision makers responsible for enhancing the protection of both military and civilian personnel require additional insight when selecting ideas, concepts, or technologies to pursue with constrained resources. They are faced with multiple criteria and multiple objectives; yet they have no defensible, objective, and repeatable selection process to assist them in making their decisions. This thesis explores whether the value-focused thinking (VFT) process is appropriate for providing the necessary insight to those decision makers. To prove the VFT process is appropriate and viable; this thesis focuses on constructing a value model, scoring alternatives, and …

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Decision Analysis With Value-Focused Thinking As A Methodology In Structuring The Civil Engineer Operations Flight, Dee Jay Katzer Mar 2002

Decision Analysis With Value-Focused Thinking As A Methodology In Structuring The Civil Engineer Operations Flight, Dee Jay Katzer

Theses and Dissertations

The civil engineer operations flight organizational structure has been in a state of change since the flight's inception and is currently prescribed only to the element level. Therefore, an operations flight commander must determine the organizational structure best suited for their unique situation without any guidance or support. To provide insight and defensible support for an operations flight commander faced with this decision, a value-focused thinking process was used to create a value model that aids in evaluating possible organizational structures. To ensure that the results of this research are applicable across the Air Force, the value model was created …

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Application Of Horizontal Flow Treatment Wells For In Situ Treatment Of Perchlorate Contaminated Groundwater, Jeffrey C. Parr Mar 2002

Application Of Horizontal Flow Treatment Wells For In Situ Treatment Of Perchlorate Contaminated Groundwater, Jeffrey C. Parr

Theses and Dissertations

Groundwater contamination by perchlorate has recently been recognized as a significant environmental problem across the United States, and especially at Department of Defense facilities. In this study, a model is used to evaluate the potential of a innovative in situ bioremediation technology using Horizontal Flow Treatment Wells (HFTWs) to manage perchlorate-contaminated groundwater. The technology uses HFTWs to mix an electron donor into perchlorate-contaminated groundwater in order to promote reduction of the perchlorate by indigenous microorganisms in bioactive zones within the aquifer, as well as recirculate the contaminated water between treatment well pairs to achieve multiple passes of contaminated water through …

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An Analysis Of Horizontal Flow Treatment Well Applicability For The Treatment Of Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Groundwater At United States Forces Korea Installations, Michael R. Staples Mar 2002

An Analysis Of Horizontal Flow Treatment Well Applicability For The Treatment Of Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Groundwater At United States Forces Korea Installations, Michael R. Staples

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown that there is a rising public concern with environmental issues in the Republic of Korea (ROK). As Korean government and public interest in the environment grow, there is likely to be increased pressure to remediate environmental contamination at United States Department of Defense (DoD) installations in Korea. Impacting DoD's ability to remediate contaminated sites overseas is the fact that limited environmental funds must compete with high priority mission requirements. Thus, particularly at overseas bases, there is an urgent need for inexpensive and effective groundwater remediation technologies. Horizontal Flow Treatment Well (HFTW) systems have been demonstrated in …

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A Novel Electrocardiogram Segmentation Algorithm Using A Multiple Model Adaptive Estimator, Gregory S. Hoffman Mar 2002

A Novel Electrocardiogram Segmentation Algorithm Using A Multiple Model Adaptive Estimator, Gregory S. Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a novel electrocardiogram (ECG) processing algorithm design based on a Multiple Model Adaptive Estimator (MMAE) for a physiological monitoring system. Twenty ECG signals from the MIT ECG database were used to develop system models for the MMAE. The P-wave, QRS complex, and T-wave segments from the characteristic ECG waveform were used to develop hypothesis filter banks. By adding a threshold filter-switching algorithm to the conventional MMAE implementation, the device mimics the way a human analyzer searches the complex ECG signal for a useable temporal landmark and then branches out to find the other key wave components and …

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Determination Of The Possible Locations Of The Receiver On A Passive Coherent Location System, Considering The Effects Of The Terrain And The Atmospheric Conditions, Carlos A. Meier Mar 2002

Determination Of The Possible Locations Of The Receiver On A Passive Coherent Location System, Considering The Effects Of The Terrain And The Atmospheric Conditions, Carlos A. Meier

Theses and Dissertations

It has always been an issue for an armed force, or government, to obtain complete radar coverage over an area of interest. Generally, this objective remains unaccomplished due to geographical, technical, and/or operational reasons (meaning topographic obstacles, transmitted power, extreme isolation, hierarchy of objectives, etc.) The fact of having vast areas of territory beyond radar coverage can be decisive in an armed conflict. With the recent resurgence of bistatic radar theory and applications, now in the form of Passive Coherent Location (PCL) systems, using existing signal sources (TC and Radio Stations) it is possible to decrease the blind zones of …

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Evaluation And Mission-Specific Optimization Of Satellite Packet Telemetry Protocol For Use On Dod Flight Test Ranges, Beth A. Trapp Mar 2002

Evaluation And Mission-Specific Optimization Of Satellite Packet Telemetry Protocol For Use On Dod Flight Test Ranges, Beth A. Trapp

Theses and Dissertations

The DoD test range community has come to the realization that its telemetry abilities are obsolete. Efforts are therefore underway to improve telemetry systems at DoD test ranges. The overall objective of this project was to evaluate the practical use of the CCSDS packet telemetry protocol in DoD test ranges and determine the configuration that would maximize performance based on mission requirements. A secondary objective was to compare the CCSDS and ATM protocols in order to substantiate further exploration of using ATM in future DoD telemetry systems. Modeling and simulation of the CCSDS protocol showed a correlation between three CCSDS …

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Microdot - A Four-Bit Microcontroller Designed For Distributed Low-End Computing In Satellites, Anthony R. Woodcock Mar 2002

Microdot - A Four-Bit Microcontroller Designed For Distributed Low-End Computing In Satellites, Anthony R. Woodcock

Theses and Dissertations

Many satellites are an integrated collection of sensors and actuators that require dedicated real-time control. For single processor systems, additional sensors require an increase in computing power and speed to provide the multi-tasking capability needed to service each sensor. Faster processors cost more and consume more power, which taxes a satellite's power resources and may lead to shorter satellite lifetimes. An alternative design approach is a distributed network of small and low power microcontrollers designed for space that handle the computing requirements of each individual sensor and actuator. The design of microdot, a four-bit microcontroller for distributed low-end computing, is …

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Development Of A Tm:Ho:Ylf-Laser-Pumped Orientation-Patterned Gallium Arsenide Optical Parametric Oscillator, Michael D. Harm Mar 2002

Development Of A Tm:Ho:Ylf-Laser-Pumped Orientation-Patterned Gallium Arsenide Optical Parametric Oscillator, Michael D. Harm

Theses and Dissertations

Coherent optical sources in the mid-infrared region (mid-IR) are important fundamental tools for infrared countermeasures and battlefield remote sensing. Nonlinear optical effects can be applied to convert existing near-IR laser sources to radiate in the mid-IR. This research focused on achieving such a conversion with a quasi-phase matched optical parametric oscillators using orientation-patterned gallium arsenide (OPGaAs), a material that can be quasi-phased matched by periodically reversing the crystal structure during the epitaxial growth process. Although non-linear optical conversion was not ultimately achieved during this research, many valuable lessons were learned from working with this material. This thesis reviews the theory …

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An Investigation Of Environmental Factors That Influence Knowledge Transfer In The Air Force, Darin A. Ladd Mar 2002

An Investigation Of Environmental Factors That Influence Knowledge Transfer In The Air Force, Darin A. Ladd

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force presently spends more than $4.9 billion annually on information technology (IT). However, the IT infrastructure has been identified as inappropriate for supporting the Air Force mission. To improve this situation the Air Force has identified infrastructure flexibility as key to future success. To find the level of flexibility, this study measured the perception of Air Force communications, computer, and information career field members (33SX and 3COX2 career fields) on the level of IT infrastructure modularity (data modularity and application modularity) and integration (platform compatibility and network connectivity). This thesis looked at two constructs that indicate IT infrastructure …

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Offsets In International Weapons Acquisitions: The Turkish Experience, Ahmet Ilbas Mar 2002

Offsets In International Weapons Acquisitions: The Turkish Experience, Ahmet Ilbas

Theses and Dissertations

Agile Combat Support is focused on providing fast, flexible, responsive, and reliable support as the foundation of all Air Force operations. Combined with the current Air Force focus on ensuring Time Definite Delivery (TDD) and reducing Customer Wait Time (CWT), this new mind-set will place ever-increasing emphasis on supply chain performance as a determining factor in overall campaign effectiveness of future conflicts. An improved methodology for the systematic performance analysis of the distribution segment of the logistics pipeline may aid AFMC transportation personnel (AFMC/LSO) in the quick identification of system bottlenecks, identification of root causes of performance shortfalls, and the …

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Process Mapping A Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Materiel Shortages Reactive Management Strategy: A Case Study, Robert E. Overstreet Mar 2002

Process Mapping A Diminishing Manufacturing Sources And Materiel Shortages Reactive Management Strategy: A Case Study, Robert E. Overstreet

Theses and Dissertations

In order to handle its obligations, the Brazilian Ministry of Defense (MoD) will need an information system capable of managing logistics information from all military services. A project to develop an integrated information system to fit the requirements of different, but connected, organizations has inherent challenges. Differences in the organizational structures, cultures and political aspects, are key issues to be observed before the development to assure the project's success. The same is applicable when trying to adapt an already existing information system to fill the needs of another organization. In the new organization, it is mandatory to assess the feasibility …

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Modeling The Pre-Positioning Of Air Force Precision Guided Munitions, Daniel P. Johnstone Mar 2002

Modeling The Pre-Positioning Of Air Force Precision Guided Munitions, Daniel P. Johnstone

Theses and Dissertations

There exist factors that play a major role in an enlisted Airman's decision to either stay on active duty in the Air Force or separate. The current force structure of the U.S. Air Force and increased loss of enlisted personnel is a major concern as we look at maintaining manpower to meet the needs of the Air Force. The Air Force is reacting to this low retention problem by increasing the bonuses for initial enlistments and reenlistments, home basing, increasing quality of life for Air Force personnel with enlisted dormitory plus-ups, and under AEF personnel have increased predictability of deployment. …

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Analyzing Differences Between Public And Private Sector Information Resource Management: Chief Information Officer Challenges And Critical Technologies, Scott M. Mitchell Feb 2002

Analyzing Differences Between Public And Private Sector Information Resource Management: Chief Information Officer Challenges And Critical Technologies, Scott M. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (AF) has experienced a downward trend in retention of information systems (IS) workers over the past five years. This research draws on the employee turnover model proposed by Mobley et al. (1979) and the work of Schein (1987) to measure the career anchors, job satisfaction, and turnover intention of AF IS workers to determine if those whose job type and career anchor match report higher satisfaction and lower turnover intention than those with a mismatch. A portion of the AF IS workforce (AFSCs 3C0X1, 3C0X2, and 3C2X1; N = 10,133) was surveyed through an online …

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The Horizontal Extent Of Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Over The Kennedy Space Center, Todd M. Mcnamara Jan 2002

The Horizontal Extent Of Cloud-To-Ground Lightning Over The Kennedy Space Center, Todd M. Mcnamara

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) runs the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5) as their main mesoscale weather forecast model. One of the post-processing procedures is a diagnostic algorithm, which is used to help identify convective and non-convective wind gusts. O. Brassuer has identified a new Wind Gust Estimate (WGE), as a physically based method of computing non-convective wind gusts. The WGE surmises that Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) transfers the momentum of faster upper-air winds to the surface, overcoming the buoyant energy of the surface layer. This work converts Brassuer's WGE to FORTRAN code and utilizing post-processed CONUS AFWA …

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