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Articles 1 - 30 of 299
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Project Selection In Facility And Infrastructure Maintenance Organizations, Bayram M. Kurbanov
Project Selection In Facility And Infrastructure Maintenance Organizations, Bayram M. Kurbanov
Theses and Dissertations
The current Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) built infrastructure Facility Sustainment Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) portfolio management methodology results in an unbalanced project portfolio. The consequence of this unbalance is that majority of the funding goes towards buildings on the flightline and Facility Support Services activities do not get adequate funding which leads to further deterioration of those facilities. This research investigates whether decision support framework based on Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) process yields better project selection outcomes for facility and infrastructure maintenance organizations. To accomplish that, the investigation focuses on understanding current AFCEC decision support methodology, building an alternative …
Cost-Benefit Analysis Of The Saudi Land Bridge Project, Faris J. Alotaibi
Cost-Benefit Analysis Of The Saudi Land Bridge Project, Faris J. Alotaibi
Theses and Dissertations
Projects are the backbone of economic thrive of nations, especially infrastructure projects. It’s counted as the base layer of allowing economic trade between beneficiaries. Railway projects have always been a huge element in increasing trade operations between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world, by providing an efficient and environmentally friendly way that is capable of hauling large loads of exports all the way to the seaports and from there to the rest of the world. The Saudi land bridge project will cost about $11 billion and will provide a new link between the existent railway in the eastern …
Natural Infrastructure Alternatives Mitigate Hurricane-Driven Flood Vulnerability: Application To Tyndall Air Force Base, Kiara L. Vance
Natural Infrastructure Alternatives Mitigate Hurricane-Driven Flood Vulnerability: Application To Tyndall Air Force Base, Kiara L. Vance
Theses and Dissertations
Hurricane frequency and magnitude intensification are expected over the remainder of the twenty-first century. Uncertainty in future projections requires that coastal communities approach adaptation decisions with caution. Traditional approaches are costly and inflexible. Soft policy adaptations are largely unenforceable. Hard, natural adaptations have emerged as an opportunity to partially mitigate the growing risk of extreme flooding, without the large investments required for traditional approaches, where natural infrastructure already exists. Existing literature for natural adaptations has not leveraged intensification expectations for hurricane events. This research uses multihazard damage evaluation software and spatial analysis to investigate placement of dredged sediment as a …
Efficiency Mapping And Determination Of Reliability, Resiliency And Vulnerability Of Atmospheric Water Generators In The United States, Erica F. Sadowski
Efficiency Mapping And Determination Of Reliability, Resiliency And Vulnerability Of Atmospheric Water Generators In The United States, Erica F. Sadowski
Theses and Dissertations
Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) extract water from the air using one of three available technologies: refrigeration, sorption, and fog harvesting. A refrigeration device works like a dehumidifier and works best in conditions above 60% relative humidity. A sorption device utilizes a desiccant to extract the water vapor from the air and works in very low humidity levels. A fog harvesting device utilizes a mesh to capture the water vapor from the air and requires 100% relative humidity. In this research, I analyze two refrigeration-based devices and one sorption-based device and their efficacy in providing supplemental water supply. Due to climatological …
Critical Evaluation Of Construction Industry-Related Additive Manufacturing Research: A Scientometric Analysis, Tyler J. Brunjes
Critical Evaluation Of Construction Industry-Related Additive Manufacturing Research: A Scientometric Analysis, Tyler J. Brunjes
Theses and Dissertations
Review of construction-related AM literature is used to identify the advantages, challenges, and current trends of the research. Using a scientometric analysis of 522 bibliographic records, this research systematically analyzed construction related AM research to determine the key research areas and trends. Results showed that starting in 2015, the field has been growing at an exponential rate. Recent AM research focused on materials and reinforcement topics, which matched the most notable challenges of AM, which are material rheology, reinforcement, and lacking construction standards. This study provides an insight into AM research and identifies areas requiring more innovation before its commercial …
A Thematic And Reference Analysis Of Touchless Technologies, Eric R. Curia
A Thematic And Reference Analysis Of Touchless Technologies, Eric R. Curia
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this research is to explore the utility and current state of touchless technologies. Five categories of technologies are identified as a result of collecting and reviewing literature: facial/biometric recognition, gesture recognition, touchless sensing, personal devices, and voice recognition. A thematic analysis was conducted to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the five categories. A reference analysis was also conducted to determine the similarities between articles in each category. Touchless sensing showed to have the most advantages and least similar references. Gesture recognition was the opposite. Comparing analyses shows more reliable technology types are more beneficial and diverse.
Defining Resilience, Robustness, And Vulnerability Metrics To Guide Facilities And Infrastructure Decision Making For The United States Air Force, Kelly W. Minor
Theses and Dissertations
Tyndall AFB was nearly destroyed after a category five hurricane named Michael tore through the Florida panhandle in 2018. A Program Management Office was stood up to coordinate, plan, and carry out the rebuild efforts of Tyndall AFB. The office’s primary responsibility is “building a base capable of supporting a 21st-century mission while also focusing on structural resiliency and efficiency” (Laidlaw 2019). Despite the requirement to build a resilient infrastructure portfolio, the United States Air Force has yet to fully quantify and qualify measures of resilience, including robustness and vulnerability, in the context of their current built infrastructure portfolio. This …
Developing An Adaptable Best Value Contractor Selection Tool For Federal Construction Projects, Robert B. Kitson
Developing An Adaptable Best Value Contractor Selection Tool For Federal Construction Projects, Robert B. Kitson
Theses and Dissertations
Currently, there is no Air Force-wide best practice or standard for using an other-than lowest price source selection process for construction projects. Installations often award contracts using Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) because of perceived cost and time savings. However, a heavy reliance on LPTA often leads to long-term decreases in quality and value. To allow the Air Force to receive the best value for its construction funding, a simple and adaptable tool was developed that allows installations to pursue contractor selection for construction projects by other-than lowest price methods. This research conducted a systematic literature review to obtain a …
A United States Air Force Site Selection Methodology In A Contested Agile Combat Employment Environment, Zachary T. Moer
A United States Air Force Site Selection Methodology In A Contested Agile Combat Employment Environment, Zachary T. Moer
Theses and Dissertations
The United States Air Force’s (USAF) Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy relies on host country access and underlying local infrastructure to facilitate airpower. However, numerous factors, including peer-to-peer threats, complex geopolitics, and intricate supply chain management, often complicate site access and thwart site selection decisions. When shaping the battlespace for future conflict, strategists and planners face the difficult task of identifying optimal locations to conduct adaptive basing operations given these complicating factors. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) can help strategists appropriately account for competing objectives and maintain a competitive advantage with theater adversaries. This thesis presents an MCDA model that evaluates …
A Critical Review Of Climate Change On Coastal Infrastructure Systems, Gregory J. Howland Jr.
A Critical Review Of Climate Change On Coastal Infrastructure Systems, Gregory J. Howland Jr.
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis is a response to climate threats identified by DoD report on Climate Change in 2019. A critical review of climate change literature related to coastal infrastructure was conducted to synthesize past research and to inform future research. This review intends to inform how climate change may impact infrastructure systems, how those impacts are evaluated, can the investigation be improved, and what can stakeholders learn from the outcomes. The end goal is to find climate change mitigation strategies and adaptation measures, or identify the easiest path to get to that end. The compiled information will inform civilian and military …
Quantifying Project Complexity To Resource Project Managers, Jereme R. Henrard
Quantifying Project Complexity To Resource Project Managers, Jereme R. Henrard
Theses and Dissertations
This research develops a multi-criteria decision analysis model to quantify project complexity and inform decision-makers in resource-constrained organizations with the Tyndall Program Management Office (PMO) as a case study. The complexity score is used as a risk metric to determine the appropriate number of skilled or novice project managers to effectively manage the PMO portfolio to mitigate cost and schedule overruns. The research provides an innovative approach to consider manning levels at the PMO and other project management-focused organizations/sections.
The Application Of Virtual Reality In Firefighting Training, Dylan A. Gagnon
The Application Of Virtual Reality In Firefighting Training, Dylan A. Gagnon
Theses and Dissertations
Immersive simulations such as virtual reality is becoming more prevalent for use in training environments for many professions. United States Air Force firefighters may benefit from incorporating VR technology into their training program to increase organizational commitment, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and job performance. With implementing a new training platform, it is also important to understand the relationship between these variables and the perceived benefits and efficacy of the VR training, which has not yet been studied in previous research. This study addresses this issue by gathering data from fire departments currently fielding a VR fire training platform.
Hydrologic Profiles And Geospatial Trend Analysis Evaluating Recurrent Flooding At Coastal U.S. Air Force Installations, Dylan D. Bechen
Hydrologic Profiles And Geospatial Trend Analysis Evaluating Recurrent Flooding At Coastal U.S. Air Force Installations, Dylan D. Bechen
Theses and Dissertations
Military installations are exposed to numerous threats, including a changing climate and the risk of recurrent flooding. The four components of recurrent flooding are sea-level rise, tidal fluctuations, storm surges, and precipitation. This research analyzed 40 years of historical precipitation and tidal data at 17 coastal U.S. Air Force installations using indicators of both peak and threshold exceedances to identify long-term temporal trends in the hydrologic components that make up recurrent flood risk, establishing an installation’s “hydrologic profile” which can be used to better inform decision makers when evaluating portfolio-wide adaptation strategies and prioritization of long-term infrastructure investments.
A Scientometric Analysis Of Smart Sensors In Facility Management And Applications In Air Force Operations, Joseph-Thomas H. Lehotsky
A Scientometric Analysis Of Smart Sensors In Facility Management And Applications In Air Force Operations, Joseph-Thomas H. Lehotsky
Theses and Dissertations
To investigate the areas which smart sensors can be implemented to assist facility managers to optimize limited resources, this research consists of a scientometric analysis to identify the areas of research quantitatively and qualitatively. Existing literature related to smart sensors in facility management operations were compiled and trends were analyzed to determine the ways in which researchers have been applying this technology. The title, abstracts, and keyword were used to perform frequency, networking, and clustering analysis. This research effort serves to provide ways in which Air Force installations can implement smart sensors in a way which fulfills the initiatives posed …
Prioritizing Water Distribution Network Asset Maintenance Using Graph Theory Methods, Ashton E. Doyal
Prioritizing Water Distribution Network Asset Maintenance Using Graph Theory Methods, Ashton E. Doyal
Theses and Dissertations
Water distribution networks, like any other large infrastructure system, should be designed for reliability and resilience to resist failure. A literature review of graph theory methods pertaining to water distribution networks reveals a wide scope of mathematical and statistical measures that can be used to identify and classify many important features of a network. From this, an analysis using a combination of graph theory metrics and generated condition indices for the pipes is performed on the Tyndall drinking water system as a case study. The goal is to provide understanding to the risk of the current system and propose asset …
A Framework For Assessing Facility-Level Vulnerability And Risk To Extreme Weather Events, Blake A. Gawlik
A Framework For Assessing Facility-Level Vulnerability And Risk To Extreme Weather Events, Blake A. Gawlik
Theses and Dissertations
Intensifying extreme weather events, tied to the rise in the global average temperature, put global built infrastructure at risk. This presents a daunting challenge for organizational leaders who are tasked to determine how best to adapt current infrastructure to uncertain future events. To develop adaptation plans and policies, vulnerability and risk must be downscaled to an actionable scale, such that planners, designers, and engineers can make adaptation recommendations. However, previous research has largely assessed risk at coarser scales, e.g., regional, national, or global. These assessments are informative, but do not help those tasked to lead adaptation to make detailed, actionable …
Investigating The Relationship Of Preventive And Corrective Maintenance In Chiller Assets Using Linear Regression Analysis, Jacob A. Franke
Investigating The Relationship Of Preventive And Corrective Maintenance In Chiller Assets Using Linear Regression Analysis, Jacob A. Franke
Theses and Dissertations
Asset managers must balance maintenance plans between preventive (PM) and corrective maintenance (CM). While PM plans have been a staple for decades, the benefits achieved have not been thoroughly examined at the asset specific level. This study focuses on the U.S. Air Force chiller portfolio to better understand the relationship between PM and CM, utilizing multiple stages of linear regression modeling and data from 14 US Air Force installations. PM and CM were found to be positively correlated, with PM accounting for relatively small portions of the variance experienced in CM. This study reveals the value of standardized data collection …
Carbon Estimation And Decision Making In Usaf Acquisition, Robert F. Gray
Carbon Estimation And Decision Making In Usaf Acquisition, Robert F. Gray
Theses and Dissertations
Recent executive orders and international agreements require the United States to significantly reduce its carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. The DoD is a significant contributor to the carbon emissions of the USA and will be required to reduce the emissions. Therefore, in order to make appropriate programmatic decisions the DoD needs to develop an appropriate method for estimating carbon and making programmatic decisions; trading-off carbon emissions with the traditional cost-schedule-performance metrics. This thesis examines the possibility of developing a model that can be used to estimate the carbon footprint of producing a system before detailed engineering designed have been complete.
Climate Change Risk To Coastal Airfield Stormwater Systems, Jedidiah R. Langlois
Climate Change Risk To Coastal Airfield Stormwater Systems, Jedidiah R. Langlois
Theses and Dissertations
Climate change is resulting in rising sea levels and increased rainfall, posing new challenges to stormwater management, particularly along coastlines. The airfield stormwater systems of Tyndall Air Force Base discharge directly into an interior bay of the Gulf of Mexico through tidal canals and ditches, creating a risk of system inundation from high tidewater conditions from sea-level rise (SLR). This study explores the performance and consequences of an inundated stormwater system from SLR during rainfall events using the EPA’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM). One hundred and fifty-three combinations of SLR and return year storms were applied to a model of …
Persistence And Mitigation Of Pfas Within Concrete Stormwater Drainage Infrastructure, Jason R. Mcdonald
Persistence And Mitigation Of Pfas Within Concrete Stormwater Drainage Infrastructure, Jason R. Mcdonald
Theses and Dissertations
The persistence, fate, and transport of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, which have been shown to have adverse effects on human health, have been previously studied in environmental media such as soils and groundwater. This study investigates concrete, a medium that is rarely studied but frequently present in instances where PFAS originating from AFFF releases and spills have occurred. Used heavily throughout aviation firefighting, AFFF poses environmental hazards due to the length of PFAS degradation and toxicological implications, thus its classification as a forever chemical. From the very limited reports to date, studies have suggested very slow release from concrete, potentially …
Investigation Into Engineering Change Order Costs And Appropriate Rules-Of-Thumb, Kaiana M. Miller
Investigation Into Engineering Change Order Costs And Appropriate Rules-Of-Thumb, Kaiana M. Miller
Theses and Dissertations
Engineering Change Orders (ECO) are technical requirements changes to existing contracts. To account for the potential increase in contract costs stemming from ECOs, current acquisition practice is to estimate a dollar value to hold in management reserve (MR) in case of ECO occurrence. Estimators often rely on rules-of-thumb when developing these estimates. Specifically, estimators use a 10% rule-of-thumb for estimating MR contract costs in the Development life cycle phase and a 5% rule-of-thumb for contracts in the Production or O&S life cycle phase. However, no empirical data supports or validates these 10% and 5% figures. Using a new data source, …
A Post-Disaster Construction Portfolio Optimization Framework For Tyndall Afb Rebuild Post Hurricane Michael, Andre J. May
A Post-Disaster Construction Portfolio Optimization Framework For Tyndall Afb Rebuild Post Hurricane Michael, Andre J. May
Theses and Dissertations
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and extreme flooding cause severe social and economic disruptions. Restoration of social and revenue-generating services often requires extensive reconstruction, from the facility to the campus scale. For multi-facility portfolios, decision-makers must prioritize post-disaster reconstruction activities appropriately to ensure facilities and infrastructure are restored. In addition, any expansion or new construction initiatives are ideally completed in order of decision-maker and community preference. Most post-disaster optimization and decision framework research consider a single stakeholder as guiding decisions related to a project portfolio. However, these portfolio prioritization frameworks ignore the effect of multiple stakeholders and competing …
Application Of Machine Learning Models With Numerical Simulations Of An Experimental Microwave Induced Plasma Gasification Reactor, Owen D. Sedej
Application Of Machine Learning Models With Numerical Simulations Of An Experimental Microwave Induced Plasma Gasification Reactor, Owen D. Sedej
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis aims to contribute to the future development of this technology by providing an in-depth literature review of how this technology physically operates and can be numerically modeled. Additionally, this thesis reviews literature of machine learning models that have been applied to gasification to make accurate predictions regarding the system. Finally, this thesis provides a framework of how to numerically model an experimental plasma gasification reactor in order to inform a variety of machine learning models.
Burn Probability And Climate Change: A Quantitative Evaluation Of The Temporal Alterations Of Wildfire, David N. Robinson
Burn Probability And Climate Change: A Quantitative Evaluation Of The Temporal Alterations Of Wildfire, David N. Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
The intensity of extreme weather events, specifically wildfires, along the West Coast has slowly grown overtime due to atmospheric changes caused by climate change. The Air Force, though aware of the threat that is wildfire, does not currently have a quantitative way to assess the hazard to base locations. In this paper, burn probability is quantitatively calculated through the geospatial analysis programs to provide a means of assessing wildfire vulnerability. The FlamMap fire simulator generated burn probabilities for Vandenberg Air Force Base using climate data generated by the remote automated weather station on the base to highlight how the burn …
An Analysis Of The Air Force Installation Development Plan And Its Energy Benchmarking Effectiveness, Jacob P. Hyman
An Analysis Of The Air Force Installation Development Plan And Its Energy Benchmarking Effectiveness, Jacob P. Hyman
Theses and Dissertations
Installation Development Plan (IDP) is a comprehensive long-term base planning document, which includes an inventory of sustainable development goals including energy use and climate indicators. This study analyzed 32 different IDPs among the various installations in the continental United States, identifying regional trends and behaviors across their 16 Sustainability Development Indicators (SDI). To study the IDPs more in depth, specific focus was placed on SDI 1, which concerns energy consumption and generation. This study investigated the different variations in energy benchmarking across local climate conditions, SDI ratings, and units used. Major inconsistencies were found across these three domains. Subsequently, the …
Developing A Cost Of Delay (Cod) Framework For The Dod & Analyzing The Current State Of Air Force Agile Cost Estimation, James Goljan
Developing A Cost Of Delay (Cod) Framework For The Dod & Analyzing The Current State Of Air Force Agile Cost Estimation, James Goljan
Theses and Dissertations
The study has two research objectives. The first research objective develops a proof of concept for a Cost of Delay (CoD) framework to evaluate the Air Forces Kessel Run Software Factory. CoD provides a means to justify and prioritize competing interests regarding budgetary, manpower, and overall strategic decisions. DoD organizations can employ a cost minimization framework to conduct CoD Analysis. The results demonstrate Software Factories eschew trends in the literature towards more complicated cost models that incorporate machine learning with Data-Based techniques in lieu of simpler models that utilize Engineering Build-up Capacity Based techniques.
Evaluation Of Efficient Water Reuse Technologies For Sustainable Forward Operating Bases, Kelsie L. Crouch
Evaluation Of Efficient Water Reuse Technologies For Sustainable Forward Operating Bases, Kelsie L. Crouch
Theses and Dissertations
A secure water source is essential to the resiliency and readiness of military installations and contingency operation locations, especially those located in the dry climates the US military operates in today. There are multiple issues of concern when identifying water sources, such as security, cleanliness, accessibility, and sustainability. Water resources pose a potential vulnerability to mission readiness in a remote, agile environment, such as a forward operating base (FOB). Having a secure water resource helps facilitate mission readiness in the contingency environment, offering the opportunity to be more resilient and cost-effective. Current water treatment technologies present the possibility to perform …
An Empirical Analysis Of Dod Construction Task Order Performance, Adam B. Teston, Tyler S. Stout
An Empirical Analysis Of Dod Construction Task Order Performance, Adam B. Teston, Tyler S. Stout
Theses and Dissertations
Cost and schedule overrun plague over 50 of all construction projects, engendering diminished available funding that leads to deferred maintenance and impaired award ability for needed projects. Though existing research attempts to identify overruns sources, the results are inconclusive and frequently differ. Accordingly, this research reviews DoD construction contract data from the past ten years to identify the contract attributes of 79,894 projects that correlate with superior performance for use in future project execution. This research starts with creating a database that houses the largest single source of construction contract information. The research then evaluates the data to determine if …
The Effect Of Molar Peroxide Ratio On The Oxidation Of 2,4-Dinitroanisole In An Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode Advanced Oxidation Process, Troy M. Searcy
The Effect Of Molar Peroxide Ratio On The Oxidation Of 2,4-Dinitroanisole In An Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diode Advanced Oxidation Process, Troy M. Searcy
Theses and Dissertations
Insensitive munitions (IMs) are increasingly employed by the U.S. military to prevent unintended detonations associated with conventional munitions. One IM used extensively is 2,4 dinitroanisole (DNAN). This research employed an ultraviolet light emitting diode (LED) and hydrogen peroxide advanced oxidation process (AOP) to treat DNAN-contaminated water at the laboratory scale. Five molar peroxide ratios (50:1, 100:1, 250:1, 500:1, 1000:1) were evaluated using the observed pseudo first-order rate constant as the performance metric. Both peroxide-limiting reactions and radical scavenging were observed over the range of ratios tested, with overall removal of DNAN decreasing above a ratio of 500:1.
A Decision-Support System For The Deployment Tasking Process Of U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Kenneth A. Neal
A Decision-Support System For The Deployment Tasking Process Of U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Officers, Kenneth A. Neal
Theses and Dissertations
The Armed Forces frequently deploy their personnel to expeditionary locations around the world. For example, the Air Force tasks its personnel to deploy based on a six-month rotational cycle. In the current tasking process, the deployment makes its way down from combatant commanders to squadron commanders through the chain of command. The commander then has a few days to select an individual from their unit to fill the tasking. The commander may consider an individuals’ dwell time, home-station position, and upcoming significant life events; however, because commanders have little time and information, minimum requirements selection criteria often become the driving …