Systems Engineering Commons^™

Extending The Strategy Based Risk Model Using The Delphi Method: An Application To The Validation Process For Research And Developmental (R&D) Satellites, Amanda J. Langenbrunner, Mary R. Trautwein

Theses and Dissertations

The validation between a research and developmental satellite and its ground system is critical to ensuring the success on-orbit. However, the exact process for completing validation is not documented, frequently underfunded, and accomplished ad hoc. This leads to debate regarding maintenance of budget and schedule, while ensuring on-orbit success. This thesis examines readiness and on-orbit activities within the U.S. Air Force Space Development and Test Wing's Research Development Test and Evaluation Support Complex. Combining historical data with the consultation of subject matter experts, a validation process was defined. Risks associated with this process were then analyzed using the Strategy Based …

Analyzing Systems Integration Best Practices And Assessment In Dod Space Systems Acquisition, Douglas R. Dillon, Enriqueta M. Styres

Theses and Dissertations

Senior leadership of the Air Force's Space and Missile Center suggested an investigation of systems integration within the space acquisition community in the fall of 2008. This thesis performs that investigation. A review concluded that while Systems Integration (SI) is extensively discussed as an area deserving considerable attention in the Systems Engineering literature, definitions are weak and methods and tools non-existent. Known SI activities are not being traced and assessed for adequacy throughout system development. Employing the Space System Acquisition Lifecycle Framework as the environment for this research, a method of characterizing and tracing SI throughout a program‘s lifecycle by …

Influence Of Turning On Military Vehicle Induced Rut Formation, Kun Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Rut formation can severely influence soil conditions and vegetation, and reduce vehicle mobility. Vehicle operations can affect rut formation. Ruts formed in straight vehicle paths are different than when the vehicle turns. This research is mainly to investigate the effects of vehicle turning maneuvers on soil rut formation, including field tests, lab tests, and model development.

Field tests were conducted at Yuma Training Center, Fort Riley and Fort Lewis on wheeled and tracked military vehicles. In field tests, rut depth, rut width and rut index were used as the main indicators to quantify a rut. A Vehicle Tracking System was …

Examining Strategic Information Technology In Relationship To The Need For Technology Modernization, Jill A. Brown

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Strategic planning can be a critical business process for today’s organizations, especially for IT organizations that are facing continually changes in technology. This research was designed to investigate IT organizations’ use of strategic planning and determine if the organization uses their strategic plan to set project priorities. The second part of this research was to determine if the IT strategic plans are aligned with the overall organization’s strategic plan.

This research was conducted using a mail-type survey to IT Executives from organizations with sales/revenues under 100 million dollars, a maximum of 5000 employees, and SIC codes of 201 thru 399. …

Simpler Packaging, Tomiko Oden

Graphic Communication

This project explains how product packaging is become more "green", and thus more simple. Packaging needs to go beyond just simplifying materials and graphics - it needs to create a simpler process in order to reduce wasted time, energy, and resources.

A Model For Sustainable Humanitarian Engineering Projects, Evan A. Thomas, Bernard Amadei, Robyn Sandekian

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The engineering profession should embrace a new mission statement?to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world. Recently, engineering students and professionals in the United States have shown strong interest in directly addressing the needs of developing communities worldwide. That interest has taken the form of short-and medium-term international trips through Engineers Without Borders?USA and similar organizations. There are also several instances where this kind of outreach work has been integrated into engineering education at various US institutions such as the University of Colorado at Boulder. This paper addresses the challenges and opportunities associated with balancing …

Unmanned Aircraft System Propulsion Systems Technology Survey, Christopher Griffis, Timothy Wilson, Jeffrey Schneider, Peter Pierpont

Publications

This technology survey is an investigation of various propulsion systems used in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Discussed are existing and near-future propulsion mechanisms of UAS, such as reciprocating piston engines, Wankel rotary engines, gas turbine engines, rocket-powered systems, electric motors, and battery-based systems. Also discussed are systems that use proton exchange membrane fuel cells, photovoltaics, ultracapacitors, and propellers. Each system is described in reference to a larger conceptual framework, with instances and profiles of existing UAS employing the system being described. Advantages and disadvantages of each type of propulsion system are identified along with associated technical issues and their respective …

Visualising Rationale In The Cpm, David H. Mott, Michael C. Dorneich

Michael C. Dorneich

Rationale is being explored by the ITA in planning, for shared understanding of plans, and for capturing dependencies between assumptions/decisions and parts of the plan. Informal rationale captured during evaluation of the Collaborative Planning Model has been explored in terms of alternative visual representations and questions that these raise.

Improving Shared Understanding In Multilevel Planning, Michael C. Dorneich, David Mott, Ali Bahrami, Jitu Patel

Michael C. Dorneich

Planning is a specific example of a problem solving activity that is undertaken across multiple (human) collaborative agents. In order to collaborate, these humans need to form a shared understanding of various aspects of the plan, mutual goals, the contexts of the other agents, and the rationale for others decisions and assumptions. Failure to reach this shared understanding can have serious implications to the success of the resulting plan. Currently plans are developed and shared with peer and subordinate units in a static format such as text, diagrams and spreadsheets which do not normally contain any of the reasoning, logic …

Optical Acquisition And Polar Decomposition Of The Full-Field Deformation Gradient Tensor Within A Fracture Callus, Wangdo Kim, Sean S. Kohles

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tracking tissue deformation is often hampered by material inhomogeneity, so local measurements tend to be insufficient thus lending to the necessity of full-field optical measurements. This study presents a novel approach to factoring heterogeneous deformation of soft and hard tissues in a fracture callus by introducing an anisotropic metric derived from the deformation gradient tensor (F). The deformation gradient tensor contains all the information available in a Green-Lagrange strain tensor, plus the rigid-body rotational components. A recent study [Bottlang et al., J. Biomech. 41(3), 2008] produced full-field strains within ovine fracture calluses acquired through the application of electronic speckle pattern …

Changes In Structural Health Monitoring System Capability Due To Aircraft Environmental Factors, Jeffrey D. Kuhn

Theses and Dissertations

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) promises to decrease the maintenance cost and increase the availability of aging aircraft fleets by fundamentally changing the way structural inspections are performed. But this promise can only be realized through the consistent and predictable performance of a SHM system throughout the entire remaining life of an aircraft. In a sensor-based SHM system, sensor signal changes are analyzed and interpreted to identify structural flaws. But aircraft environmental factors such as temperature fluctuations, cyclic strain and exposure to various aircraft fluids also have the potential to change SHM sensor signals, raising questions about long term SHM system …

Kc-135 Simulator Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, Macaulay-Brown, Inc., Don Chrislaghi, Richard Dyer, Free Jay

AFIT Documents

No abstract provided.

Global Hawk Systems Engineering Case Study, Air Force Center For Systems Engineering, Bill Kinzig

AFIT Documents

No abstract provided.

A Descriptive Study Of The Remote Operation And Automation Of The Vhf/Uhf System For Tracking And Controlling Kysay-1 At Morehead State University, Marc B. Beck

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Marc B. Beck on July 27, 2009.

An Analytical Framework And Model Formulation For Measuring Risk In Engineering Enterprise Systems: A Capability Portfolio Perspective, Paul Raphael Garvey

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This work formulates an analytical framework and computational model for assessing risk in engineering enterprise systems. It addresses the engineering management problem of how to represent, model, and measure risk in large-scale, complex systems engineered to function in enterprise-wide environments.

The research in this dissertation extends current practice in the management of risk for traditional systems and creates new constructs and protocols for the management of risk in engineering large-scale, complex, and highly networked enterprise systems. This work advances engineering management theory and analytic practice as applied to the measurement and management of risk for enterprise systems engineered within capability …

A Study Of Decision Analysis Methods In Aerospace Technology Assessments, Sharon Monica Jones

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Managers of aerospace technology programs and projects are faced with the challenge of making technology portfolio decisions under conditions of limited data, rapidly changing macro level factors and organizational uncertainties. To help make these technology investment decisions, some aerospace managers and analysts have used techniques from the field of decision analysis. In addition, there have been a limited number of research studies of real decision problems.

This dissertation presents the results of a non-experimental examination of the use of decision analysis methods for the assessment of aerospace technology portfolios. A web-based survey instrument was developed based on the results of …

Reconciling Discontinuities And Disruptions: The Construction Of An Integrated Typology, David Jeffery Kern

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Radical innovations are often characterized by a rapid shift from one dominant design to another. The theories of discontinuous and disruptive innovation present two important and independent explanations for why these shifts occur. This research tests the usefulness of combining these two theories into a single integrated typology. First, a typology is constructed that classifies shifts in dominant designs according to the theories of discontinuous and disruptive innovation. Next, the usefulness of this typology is tested with a taxonomy derived from 100 randomly selected shifts in dominant designs from across a broad range of industries. This research reconciles the theories …

Investigating The Relationship Between An It Project Manager's Emotional Intelligence And The Customer's Perception Of Success, William Jacob Lamarsh Ii

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on the intersections of Project Management, Information Technology (IT), and Emotional Intelligence. The Project Management Institute (PMI) created the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, which is one of the most highly regarded and sought after professional certifications (Project Management Institute 2005, p. 15-18). This certification acknowledges the holder as a knowledgeable practitioner in Project Management. The purpose behind Project Management is to obtain requirements, sometimes fluid at best, and develop solutions that are traceable by schedule and cost controls. This approach allows a Project Manager to monitor and control the project through successful completion. However, the PMI …

Towards The Quantitative Analysis Of The Connectivity Value Of Networked Operations, Dean Deller

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

While the nature of and the approach to command and control is evolving in order to meet the challenges of Information Age warfare, the essential functions that must be accomplished remain constant. One of those essential functions is the arrangement of the assets within a combat force. Certainly, the many different ways to arrange a given set of assets will have different impacts on the combat effectiveness of the force. Some arrangements will enable self-synchronization, while other arrangements will impede it. How then, should an Information Age combat force be organized in order to optimize its effectiveness?

The concept of …

Network Optimization Of Dynamically Complex Systems, Ramez Ahmed Shamseldin

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this research is to optimize large scale network handling capabilities for large system inventories and to implement strategies for the purpose of reducing capital expenses. As computers become more and more networked, it is easier to share files among storage media. In addition, more bandwidth will be consumed by network flow because customers will be connected through networks which will transfer files and data, such as video files (MPEGn, AVI, WMV, etc.) to be watched at a customer's computer (host). Furthermore, these networks terminals will be used as mini warehouses to save files and data. Selective files …

On The Role Of Assertions For Conceptual Modeling As Enablers Of Composable Simulation Solutions, Robert Dennis King

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research provides a much needed systematic review of the roles that assertions play in model composability and simulation interoperability. In doing so, this research contributes a partial solution to one of the problems of model composability and simulation interoperability—namely, why do simulation systems fail to achieve the maximum level of interoperability possible? It demonstrates the importance of the assertions that are made during model development and simulation implementation, particularly as they reflect the unique viewpoint of each developer or user. It hypothesizes that it is possible to detect composability conflicts by means of a four-step process developed by the …

Application Of Reliability And Linear Regression To Enterprise Architecture In Support Of The Us Air Force's Capability Review And Risk Assessment, Peter C. Mastro, Richard L. Orcutt

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the use of modeling and enterprise architecture in the analysis of Air Force Capabilities. The Air Force accomplishes this through the Capability Review and Risk Assessment (CRRA). The CRRA is currently performed by building architectures which contain Process Sequence Models (PSMs). PSMs are scored by Subject Matter Experts to determine the probability of successfully completing the mission they model and ultimately to determine the risk associated to Air Force capabilities. Two findings were identified. The first is that creating additional architectural viewpoints, some of which are currently being proposed for version 2.0 of the DoD Architecture Framework, …

A Tailored Systems Engineering Framework For Science And Technology Projects, Stephen M. Behm, J. Bradford Pitzer, Jane F. White

Theses and Dissertations

As government and industry becomes subject to a wider range of technology initiatives, science and technology (S&T) research project leadership recognizes the need to incorporate more systems engineering (SE) rigor into their projects. The objective of this research is to develop a tailorable systems engineering framework for S&T project planning, execution, assessment and transition. The key deliverable is an Excel-based tool instantiating the SE framework for a wide range of S&T projects in technology development organizations. It includes a report with tailored methods based on programmatic discriminants.
To develop this framework, a comprehensive understanding of SE principles is applied to …

Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Score: Evaluation Applied To Joint Force Protection Future State Design, Larry D. Cotton, Gary A. Haase

Theses and Dissertations

This research presents a methodology to evaluate the quality of a system's architecture using principles drawn from Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) and resulting in a Value-Driven Enterprise Architecture Score (VDEA-Score). This is an overall numerical architecture quality score useful to a system's management team to identify the advantages and disadvantages of a system design and associated architecture documentation or to track its quality across discrete evaluation epochs. This effort determined which aspects of the architecture are most valuable to the stakeholder in the areas of (1) the system effectiveness values (quality of the instantiated system being represented and its ability to …

The Hybrid Counterinsurgency Strategy: System Dynamics Employed To Develop A Behavioral Model Of Joint Strategy, Ferdinand Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

Since the recent focus on the Global War on Terror, both military and civilian theorists have begun to “relearn” the intricacies of counterinsurgency warfare. We face difficult challenges when confronting non-state actors that tend to attack in the time between conventional battles and the establishment of stable governments. This research compares and contrasts current counterinsurgency strategies (Hearts and Minds and Cost Benefit Theory) by applying System Dynamics to provide insight into the influences and emergent behavior patterns of counterinsurgency systems. The information gained from the development of the models and from their simulation behaviors is used to construct a System …

Optimization Of Lifeguard Towers, Equipment, And Sign Placement With Human Factors Considerations For The Cal Poly Recreation Center Expansion, Brian J. Henrikson

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Cal Poly’s Recreation Center serves many faculty, students and alumni by providing them with a safe and fun environment to work out and swim. An overwhelming majority of students voted for a Recreation Center expansion to handle the increased usage of the Center over the past few years. The focus of this report is the safe and effective operations of the pool deck and the lifeguard staff. Three surveys were created to see what the lifeguard staff, as well as pool users, thought about the current pool deck and what they would like to see in the new pool deck …

Design Of An 8-Channel Data Acquisition System For Measuring Diode Junction Temperature, Jason Maynard

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The solid state lighting industry is striving to expand the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in more applications, particularly in high brightness applications. As the power of LEDs increase, heat removal becomes a critical issue. To improve device lifetime, quantum efficiency, and LED colour, the diode p-n junction temperature (Tj) must be kept to a minimum. Measuring this key parameter is difficult or impossible with direct methods, such as thermocouples and infrared cameras, due to the small size of LEDs. Fortunately, junction temperature can be measured indirectly by using a relationship between the diode forward voltage (Vf) and junction …

A New Multiobjective Modeling In Distribution Center Location Problem, Mehdi Jafarian, Azizolah Jafari, Mehdi Sharif-Yazdi, Seyed Javad Hosseininejad

Mehdi Jafarian

As has been mentioned in the literature, distribution centers location problem (DCLP) is a multiobjective problem. Cost (or distance) minimization is the primary objective in this area. While significance of each relation between a distribution center (DC) and a customer/retailer is different, it has not been considered seriously. By adapting available facility and new facility concepts of the multifacility location problem with costumer/retailer and a DC respectively, a utility function as the second objective based on the importance has been used. These importances are in decision maker (DM) s’ mind which should be quantified to be of use for modeling …

An Investigation Of The Residual Stress Characterization And Relaxation In Peened Friction Stir Welded Aluminum–Lithium Alloy Joints, Omar Hatamleh, Iris V. Rivero, Shayla E. Swain

Iris V. Rivero

In this investigation the residual stresses generated from friction stir welded (FSW) 2195 aluminum–lithium alloy joints were characterized. The results derived from this research revealed significant levels of tensile residual stresses at the surface and throughout the thickness of the FSW samples. Furthermore, residual stress relaxation at the surface and throughout the thickness of the samples was assessed for laser peened friction stir welded aluminum–lithium joints. To do so the samples were cycled several times at a constant amplitude load. The results indicated that most of the relaxation for the surface residual stresses took place during the first cycle of …

Developing Sustainable Spacecraft Water Management Systems, Evan A. Thomas, David M. Klaus

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

It is well recognized that water handling systems used in a spacecraft are prone to failure caused by biofouling and mineral scaling, which can clog mechanical systems and degrade the performance of capillary-based technologies. Long duration spaceflight applications, such as extended stays at a Lunar Outpost or during a Mars transit mission, will increasingly benefit from hardware that is generally more robust and operationally sustainable overtime. This paper presents potential design and testing considerations for improving the reliability of water handling technologies for exploration spacecraft. Our application of interest is to devise a spacecraft wastewater management system wherein fouling can …