Engineering Commons^™

Implementation Of Simulation For Network Service Delivery Point Capacity Analysis, Tiffany Jill Harper

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As businesses consolidate and modernize their operations, the impact on their network and computing infrastructure is a major consideration. In this thesis, discrete event simulation is used to show how implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can impact network performance and ultimately affect end-users. More specifically, the model simulates the flow of data packets across a network, through a Service Delivery Point (SDP), which is comprised of routers, switches, and firewalls that connect a Local Area Network to a Wide Area Network.

The model was used to run to determine the affect of more network traffic and additional …

A Tabu Search Heuristic For Multi-Period Clustering To Rationalize Delivery Operations, Surya Sudha Khambhampati

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Delivery operations use centralized warehouses to serve geographically distributed customers. Resources (e.g. personnel, trucks, stock, and equipment) are scheduled from the warehouses to distributed locations with the aim of: (a) meeting customer demands and, (b) rationalizing delivery operation costs. My thesis investigates the problem of clustering customers based on their geographical vicinity and their multi-period demands, while optimally scheduling resources. The problem addresses with-and-without capacity constraints of vehicles at the warehouse. This problem is proven to be NP-Hard. Hence, solutions using state-of-the-art exact methods such as branch and bound are not pertinent due to the computation complexity involved. We develop …

Information Presentation On Mobile Device For Plant Operations, Raghavendra Rao Polakonda

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Process control and maintenance systems have been used in the petrochemical and refining industry for long time for improving operator performance and workforce efficiency. However, there is a need to integrate these systems with current technological innovations in a systematic and meaningful manner. Advances in mobile computing, sensor technologies, software algorithms, and computational methods provide the possibility for easy access to information anytime-anywhere. The issues associated with retrieving and reviewing this information directly affects the ability to make timely and quality decisions in high stakes environments like a petrochemical plant where time critical decisions are involved. This research investigates the …

An Initial Methodology For The Definition And Implementation Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Agent Behaviors, William Eric Marsh

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In many current agent-based modeling systems, it is difficult for a domain-expert user to define and implement agent behaviors without possessing extensive programming knowledge. MUAVES is an existing simulation environment that serves as a research testbed for examining command and control issues with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems containing many vehicle agents. In its previous form, defining agent behaviors required knowledge of the C# programming language that some MUAVES users did not have. This thesis presents a new methodology for the definition and implementation of UAV agent behaviors in MUAVES. The new methodology is based on diagramming an agent's controller …

Designing Computer Agents With Personality To Improve Human-Machine Collaboration In Complex Systems, Sasanka V. Prabhala

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The dynamic nature of complex systems and the overwhelming amount of data that must be handled by human operators requires the development of smart systems that augment human capabilities. For these systems human-agent collaboration is part of the system dynamic. Unfortunately the computer agent is not typically perceived by the human operator as a collaborative team member. This research addressed the key question of how to develop and evaluate computer agents with personality to enhance human-machine collaboration. To move towards this goal three research objectives were established: (1) develop agents with personality, (2) validate that humans perceive these agents as …

Optimal Eeg Channels And Rhythm Selection For Task Classification, Vikramvarun Kannan Adikarapatti

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The Primary Objective of this research is to implement an automatic method for selecting the most optimal EEG channels for task classification purposes. The secondary objective of this research is to choose the most optimal EEG rhythm from which the optimal EEG channels would be selected automatically. The automatic selection of the optimal channels is enabled by implementing the Common Spatial Patterns algorithm (CSP). Common spatial analysis is performed on the data recorded. By choosing the channels with high spatial pattern values the optimal channels are chosen. The optimal frequency bands are chosen by splitting the data from a single …

Composite Data From Centrifugal Experimentation Regarding Human Information Processing, Ronald K. Butcher

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A cognitive model illustrating decrement in human performance as a function of increased G-forces has been highly sought after by the Department of Defense (DoD) for various reasons. The F-16 and other air combat platforms are super-agile aircraft that are easily capable of imposing G-forces on a pilot that are beyond human physiological limitations. Knowledge of these physiological limits and more importantly the resultant restrictions in cognitive function could prove invaluable to those who design and pilot such aircraft. The model may be utilized in the construction of improved flight simulators that incorporate more realistically performing enemy targets and therefore …

Fabrication And Testing Of Scaffolds For Cell Growth From Ionic Liquid Solubilized Fibroin, Maneesh Kumar Gupta

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The advent of tissue engineering has spurred research into developing materials to act as scaffolds for tissue growth. These scaffolds require materials capable of mimicking the in vivo conditions so that tissues can be grown effectively in vitro. Silk is an attractive biomaterial for use in tissue engineering applications because of its slow degradation, excellent mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. The major objective of the research in this thesis is to demonstrate a simple method to cast films directly from silk fibroin dissolved in an ionic liquid. The films cast from the silk ionic liquid solution were found to support normal …

Cognitively-Engineered Multisensor Data Fusion Systems For Military Applications, Amanda Christine Muller

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The fusion of imagery from multiple sensors is a field of research that has been gaining prominence in the scientific community in recent years. The technical aspects of combining multisensory information have been and are currently being studied extensively. However, the cognitive aspects of multisensor data fusion have not received so much attention. Prior research in the field of cognitive engineering has shown that the cognitive aspects of any human-machine system should be taken into consideration in order to achieve systems that are both safe and useful. The goal of this research was to model how humans interpret multisensory data, …

Designing Computer Agents With Facial Personality To Improve Human-Machine Collaboration, Brian Esley Tidball

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The development of computer agents to enhance human-computer interfaces is an evolving field of study. This study examined whether people perceive personality in static digital faces that portray expressions of emotion, and if the digital faces would influence human performance on a simple human-machine collaborative task. The first experiment measured user-perception of personality, based on the emotional expression in two sets of five static digital faces. The results from this first phase revealed that participants provided different ratings, of the Big-Five personality model sub-traits, based on the emotional expression of a static digital face. This indicates a perception of personality …

Human-Centered Time-Pressured Decision Making In Dynamic Complex Systems, Subhashini Ganapathy

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Many real-world applications are complex, dynamic, and uncertain. Human operators play an important role in ensuring the safety and in achieving operational effectiveness in such systems. During task performance, both humans and computerized processes bring in varying strengths and limitations. Research on human-centered automation in aviation, satellite ground control, and nuclear power plant control has resulted in broad guidelines on system design involving human and computerized processes in supervisory control. However, problems such as increased human error, lack of situational awareness, and opacity from poorly automated systems remain, particularly in scenarios where human operators must make decisions in time-pressured planning. …

A Comparison Of Agent-Based Optimization Approaches Applied To The Weapons To Targets Assignment Planning Problem, Hitesh Deepak Soneji

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Real-world complex optimization problems are difficult to solve. Agent-based optimization approaches have proved useful in solving a wide variety of problems including optimization problems. Agent-based techniques can be used in military planning for solving allocation problems such as the weapons to targets assignment problem. Classical methods like linear programming (LP) have been used for solving weapons to targets assignment problems. LP approaches provide optimal solutions quickly, but in real-time planning when there are minor changes to input, LP exhibits widely varied solutions. This can be a problem in practice. This research study considers two agent-based optimization approaches, the Stable Marriage …

An (R,S)-Inventory Policy For Winter Maintenance Materials For The State Of Ohio, Nicholas Andrew Brown

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Winters in Ohio mean snow and ice, and with snow and ice come treacherous roads. Roads that become treacherous or impassable cost the state economically and socially. Thus to prevent this from happening road crews are out spreading salt on the roads before, during, and after a storm to promote safe travel. To provide the amount of salt needed to all counties of Ohio; individual counties stock up during the summer and fall, re-order to maintain inventory through the winter time, and finally allowing inventories to reduce towards the end of winter. During a mild winter salt not used and …

Methodology For Quantifying Biomechanical Bone Movement Of Transtibial Amputations, Johanna C. Bell

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A controversy has long existed about an alternate below knee amputation procedure that may be more beneficial than the traditional transtibial amputation. The proponents of this alternate procedure that stabilizes the distal tibia and fibula claim it reduces excessive movement of the fibula relative to the tibia that occurs with common movements, such as walking. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for quantifying excessive movement of the fibula bone relative to the tibia bone in traditional below the knee amputations. The methodology will measure the movement and rotation of the fibula relative to the tibia. These …