Engineering Commons^™

Corrective Maintenance Optimization In An Air Force, Hoong Chuin Lau, K. Y. Neo, W. C. Wan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Successful military mission planning and execution depend critically on equipment serviceability and resupply. Due to the stochastic nature of demands, the forecast of optimal spares and resources needed to guarantee the level of serviceability is a complex problem, especially in a multi-echelon setting. In this paper, we propose a decision-support concept and software tool known as Corrective Maintenance Optimizer (CMO) that helps to optimize system availability, through proper allocation of spare parts, both strategically and operationally.

Decision Factors For Cooperative Multiple Warhead Uav Target Classification And Attack With Control Applications, Douglas D. Decker

Theses and Dissertations

Autonomous wide area search, classification and attack using Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) is considered. The wide area search and attack scenario is modeled, capturing important problem parameters related to environment, seeker, and munitions. Probabilistic analysis is used to formulate and analytically solve for various probabilities, including the probability of mission success. Two methods are utilized. The first examines the sub-events required for various events to occur. The second utilizes a Markov chain approach. General expressions are first obtained that are applicable to any assumed a priori distributions of targets and false targets. These expressions are subsequently applied to a …

A Case Study Of Teaching A Quantitative Course Using Archived Streaming Video, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This case study highlights some of the issues and difficulties experienced in teaching a quantitative course using three methods of delivery: in-class to an audience of students, television broadcast over a satellite system to distance students, and archived streaming video accessible by students. The discussion is applicable to administrators and faculty exploring the option of teaching a course using multiple delivery approaches.

Acuta Enews October 2004, Vol. 33, No. 10

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

Streaming Video Patent lssue and Higher Ed........................... Doris Stock, Virginia Tech

ACUTA's Strategic Planning Process................................... Tamara Closs, ACUTA President, Georgetown Univ.

Tech Talk ................................. Kevin Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations

Junk Faxes: FCC and/or Congress Poised to Provide Relief?............................... John J. Smith, Attorney

DC Update............................ Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northern Michigan Univ.

ACUTA Web Tip.................... Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Computer Services Manager

Welcome New Members

Lean Energy Analysis: Identifying, Discovering And Tracking Energy Savings Potential, J. Kelly Kissock, John Seryak

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Energy in manufacturing facilities is used for direct production of goods, space conditioning, and general facility support such as lighting. This paper presents a methodology, called lean energy analysis, LEA, for graphically and statistically analyzing plant energy use in terms of these major end uses.

The LEA methodology uses as few as 60 easily obtainable data points. Multivariable change-point models of electricity and natural gas use as functions of outdoor air temperature and production data are developed. The statistical models are used to subdivide plant energy use into facility, space-conditioning and production-related components.

These breakdowns suggest the savings potential from …

Work Flow Policy And Within-Worker And Between-Workers Variability In Performance, Kenneth Howard Doerr, Tali Freed, Terence R. Mitchell, Chester A. Schriesheim, Xiaohua Zhou

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Work flow policies are shown to induce a change in average between-workers variability (worker heterogeneity) and within-worker variability in performance times. In a laboratory experiment, the authors measured the levels of worker heterogeneity and within-worker variability under an individual performance condition, a work sharing condition, and a fixed assignment condition. The work sharing policy increased the levels of worker heterogeneity and worker variability, whereas the fixed assignment policy decreased them. These effects, along with work flow policy main effects on mean performance times and variability are examined. This article represents an initial step in understanding effects that may be important …

Peer Review Of Teaching Project: Tiaa-Cref Hesburgh Award Application, Paul Savory, Amy M. Goodburn, Amy Nelson Burnett

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Reports

The TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award recognizes exceptional faculty development programs designed to enhance undergraduate teaching and learning. This award is given each year to a program judged to have best met the three award criteria: significance of the program to higher education; appropriate program rationale; and successful results and impact on undergraduate teaching and student learning. in 2005, the Peer Review of Teaching Project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was awarded a TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award Certificate of Excellence in recognition of it being an exceptional faculty development program designed to enhance undergraduate student achievement.

Application Of Queuing Theory And Procedure Time Estimation In A Local Healthcare System, Galina Tsoy

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

People in the United States pay more for their basic healthcare needs than do people in any other nation in the world. When we consider that the United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, controlling the majority of the world's resources, it seems only reasonable to ask: Why should it be this way?

In an effort to address this problem, this thesis examines two possible methods of improving health care efficiency in hospitals. The thesis is thus in two parts: the first part examines resource allocation in medical units using Queuing Theory, and the second part examines a …

A Template-Based Conceptual Modeling Infrastructure For Simulation Of Physical Security Systems, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Although simulation is one of the most innovative and cost-effective tools for modeling and analyzing a system, simulation studies often fail to provide any useful results. One reason is attributed to the fact that model formulation depends on the skills of the analyst. This paper describes a research to develop a conceptual modeling infrastructure to assist a simulation analyst in specifying components for studying physical security systems. The modeling framework has been programmed as an internet-based web application. Using the application, the successful development and implementation of a physical security simulation model will be aided by a defined scientific methodology …

Development Of A Systems Engineering Model Of The Chemical Separations Process: Final Report, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The whole chemical separation process is complex to the point that definitely requires certain level of systematic coordination. To perform smoothly and meet the target extraction rates among those processes, this research proposed a general-purpose systems engineering model.

A general purposed systems engineering model, Transmutation Research Program System Engineering Model Project (TRPSEMPro), was developed based on the above design concept. The system model includes four main parts: System Manager, Model Integration, Study Plan, and Solution Viewer. TRPSEMPro can apply not only to chemical separation process, but also a general system model.

Software engineering and Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA&D) …

Development Of A Systems Engineering Model Of The Chemical Separations Process, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The whole chemical separation process is complex to the point that definitely requires certain level of systematic coordination. To perform smoothly and meet the target extraction rates among those processes, this research proposed a general-purpose systems engineering model.

A general purposed systems engineering model, Transmutation Research Program System Engineering Model Project (TRPSEMPro), was developed based on the above design concept. The system model includes four main parts: System Manager, Model Integration, Study Plan, and Solution Viewer. System Manager supervises all the case (problem) creation, and functionality definition. Model Integration identifies chemical extraction processes and their execution sequence. Study Plan is …

Acuta Enews September 2004, Vol. 33, No. 9

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

ACUTA Joins lntemet2

From ACUTA Headquarters...................... Jeri Semer, CAE, Executive Director

Board Report................................ Carmine Piscopo, Providence College, ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

Looking Back at the 33rd Annual Conference

So Many Winners....................... Such Nice Prizes

The University of Texas at Austin Unveils UTOPIA

Tech Talk....................... Kevin Tanzilo, Dux Public Relations

DC Update.................. Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northem Michigan Univ.

ACUTA Members Sites to See

Peer Review Of Teaching Project: Survey Of Project Participants, Paul Savory, Amy M. Goodburn, Amy Nelson Burnett

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Reports

In planning for the future of the Peer Review of Teaching project, we performed a survey of to collect faculty participant feedback on their experience in the project (i.e., writing a course portfolio, possibly having it externally reviewed) and the impact that the experience has had on their teaching. While each of the partner campuses (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Michigan, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Indiana – Bloomington, and University of Kansas) have shaped the project experience differently for campus participants, we sought feedback from participants of all the project partners to get an overall assessment of the project.

A Development Framework For Rapid Metaheuristics Hybridization, Hoong Chuin Lau, M. K. Lim, W. C. Wan, S. Halim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While meta-heuristics are effective for solving large-scale combinatorial optimization problems, they result from time-consuming trial-and-error algorithm design tailored to specific problems. For this reason, a software tool for rapid prototyping of algorithms would save considerable resources. This work presents a generic software framework that reduces development time through abstract classes and software reuse, and more importantly, aids design with support of user-defined strategies and hybridization of meta-heuristics. Most interestingly, we propose a novel way of redefining hybridization with the use of the "request and response" metaphor, which form an abstract concept for hybridization. Different hybridization schemes can now be formed …

A Two-Level Framework For Coalition Formation Via Optimization And Agent Negotiation, Hoong Chuin Lau, Lei Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present a two-level coalition formation approach based on a centralized optimization model on the upper level, and a distributed agent-negotiation model on the lower level. This approach allows us to balance agent self-interests against a high joint utility. Experimental results show that the two-level coalition formation mechanism will increase not only the overall utility of the coalition, but also the individual utility of most participating agents. The results also suggest it is better for the agents to be partially cooperative rather than either fully cooperative or self-interested in our setting.

Investigating Graphical User Interface Usability On Task Sequence And Display Structure Dependencies, Tirthankar Sengupta

Dissertations

Designing Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) requires the consideration of task sequence requirements (sequence of operations arising from task structures and application constraints) and display structure (layout of the elements of the interface) relationships. The basic purpose was to understand the usability differences of the interfaces through efficiency, motor performance, and search performance.

Thirty-two subjects performed experiments in four groups. The experiments differed in display structure and compatibility of task sequences. Subject mouse actions, mouse coordinates and eye positions were recorded. The derived measures, click efficiency, mouse traversal and eye visits to different areas of interest (namely the tool, object, and …

Wire Bonding Challenges In Optoelectronics Packaging, Jianbiao Pan, Patrice Fraud

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Wire bonding has been used in integrated circuit (IC) packaging for many years. However, there are many challenges in wire bonding for optoelectronics packaging. These challenges include bonding on sensitive devices, bonding over cavity, bonding over cantilevel leads and bonding temperature limitations. The optoelectronics package design brings another challenge, which requires wire bonding to have deep access capability. In this paper, the wire bonding technologies are reviewed and ball bonding and wedge bonding are compared. The variables that affect the wire bonding process are then discussed. Finally, the challenges of wire bonding in optoelectronics packaging are presented in detail.

Acuta Enews August 2004, Vol. 33, No. 8

ACUTA Newsletters

In This lssue

ACUTA Board & Committee Changes.................. Tamaro Closs, Georgetown Univ., ACUTA President-Elect

Tech Talk........................... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations

LAN Cabling-When Too Much Bandwidth ls Never Enough . Aref Baddar, NextGen/ General Cable

DC Update..................... Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northern Michigan Univ.

Meet Amy White, ACUTAs New Accounting & Administrative Assistant

Welcome New Members

Feedback Linearization Based Power System Stabilizer Design With Control Limits, Wenxin Liu, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Donald C. Wunsch, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In power system controls, simplified analytical models are used to represent the dynamics of power system and controller designs are not rigorous with no stability analysis. One reason is because the power systems are complex nonlinear systems which pose difficulty for analysis. This paper presents a feedback linearization based power system stabilizer design for a single machine infinite bus power system. Since practical operating conditions require the magnitude of control signal to be within certain limits, the stability of the control system under control limits is also analyzed. Simulation results under different kinds of operating conditions show that the controller …

Transport Logistics Planning With Service-Level Constraints, Hoong Chuin Lau, K. M. Ng, Xintao Wu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we study a logistics problem arising in military transport planning. A military organization operates a large fleet of vehicles in a depot to serve the requests of various operational units. Each request has a fixed start and end time, and is served by a prescribed number of vehicles. We address the following two problems: (1) how many vehicles are at least needed to meet a given service level of requests; and (2) suppose we allow each request to shift its start time by a constant duration, call all the requests be met? A Niche genetic algorithm, together …

Effect Of Chromium-Gold And Titanium-Titanium Nitride-Platinum-Gold Metallization On Wire/Ribbon Bondability, Jianbiao Pan, Robert M. Pafchek, Frank F. Judd, Jason Baxter

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Gold metallization on wafer substrates for wire/ribbon bond applications require good bond strength to the substrate without weakening the wire/ribbon. This paper compares the ribbon bondability of Cr/Au and Ti/TiN/Pt/Au metallization systems. Both chromium and titanium are used to promote adhesion between substrates and sputtered gold films. Both can diffuse the gold surface after annealing and degrade the wire/ribbon bondability. Restoring bondability by ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) etch was investigated. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of Cr/Au and Ti/TiN/Pt/Au, annealing, and CAN etch processes on 25.4 times; 254 μm (1 × 10 mil) ribbon bonding. All bonds were …

Acuta Enews July 2004, Vol. 33, No. 7

ACUTA Newsletters

In This lssue

Meet the Board for 2004-05

From ACUTA Headquarters.................... Jeri A. Semer, CAE, Executive Director

Tech Talk......................... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations

DC Update..................... Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northern Michigan Univ.

Recapturing Long-Distance Revenues..................... Mark Allen, MobilSphere

2005 ACUTA Seminar Topics Announced

Board Report................................. Carmine Piscopo, Providence College, ACUTA Secretory/Treasurer

Welcome New Members

Taking Dcop To The Real World: Efficient Complete Solutions For Distributed Event Scheduling, Rajiv Maheswaran, Milind Tambe, Emma Bowring, Jonathan Pearce, Pradeep Varakantham

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Distributed Constraint Optimization (DCOP) is an elegant formalism relevant to many areas in multiagent systems, yet complete algorithms have not been pursued for real world applications due to perceived complexity. To capably capture a rich class of complex problem domains, we introduce the Distributed Multi-Event Scheduling (DiMES) framework and design congruent DCOP formulations with binary constraints which are proven to yield the optimal solution. To approach real-world efficiency requirements, we obtain immense speedups by improving communication structure and precomputing best case bounds. Heuristics for generating better communication structures and calculating bound in a distributed manner are provided and tested on …

Stability Analysis Of Jump-Linear Systems Driven By Finite-State Machines With Markovian Inputs, Sudarshan S. Patilkulkarni

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A control system with a fault recovery mechanism in the feedback loop and with faults occurring in a non-deterministic manner can be modeled as a class of hybrid systems, i.e., a dynamical system switched by a finite-state machine or an automaton. When the plant and controller are linear, such a system can be modeled as a jump-linear system driven by a finite-state machine with a random input process. Such fault recovery mechanisms are found in flight control systems and distributed control systems with communication networks. In these critical applications, closed-loop stability of the system in the presence of fault recoveries …

Notes On Equilibria In Symmetric Games, Shih-Fen Cheng, Daniel M. Reeves, Yevgeniy Vorobeychik, Michael P. Wellman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In a symmetric game, every player is identical with respect to the game rules. We show that a symmetric 2strategy game must have a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium. We also discuss Nash’s original paper and its generalized notion of symmetry in games. As a special case of Nash’s theorem, any finite symmetric game has a symmetric Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, symmetric infinite games with compact, convex strategy spaces and continuous, quasiconcave utility functions have symmetric pure-strategy Nash equilibria. Finally, we discuss how to exploit symmetry for more efficient methods of finding Nash equilibria.

Derivation And Analysis Of Maximum And Conditional Work Of An Electromagnet In Relays With Small Gaps And Constant Armature Load, Dominic Chambega

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Product Development Process And Information Flow In The Manufacturing Industry: Problems And A Possible Wav Forward, E Opiyo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

No abstract provided.

Introduction Of Seismic Resistance Features In The Construction Of Buildings In Tanzania, I Rubaratuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Available dara indicates that a greater part of Tanzania lies within a seismic region. to date most Of the buildings in the country have been designed and constructed without considering seismic loads. In addition no design codes have been developed to guide the seismic design for buildings and other related structures in Tanzania. This paper outlines the basic design concepts, which are useful during the design of seismic resistant buildings before the seismic design code is developed and adopted in Tanzania.

Importance Of Structural Fire Protection In Reinforced Concrete Buildings: A Case Study Of Ex-Nasaco Building In Dar Es Salaam, I Rubaratuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Reinforced concrete is concrete that is internally reinforced with steel bars or mesh. This gives rhe malerial the compressive strength of concrete along wilh the tensile strength Of steel. Reinforced concrete does not perform well under fire conditions as it spalls and loses strength. Heating Causes a failure Of the bond between concrele and sleels bars and this results in reduction of strength of concrele. Strength of concrete decreases With increase in temperature and increase With time. In order to provide fire resistance to structural components/elements in buildings, it is important Io consider the type of aggregates to be used. …

Development Of A Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral, Samuel Bogan Daniels, Bouzid Aliane, Jean Nocito-Gobel, Michael Collura

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

To operate effectively in today’s workforce engineers need to have a muti-disciplinary perspective along with substantial disciplinary depth. This broad perspective cannot be achieved by merely taking 2 or 3 engineering courses outside of the major, but rather will require a radical change in the way we educate engineers. The faculty of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of New Haven have developed a new approach: the Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral. This curricular model provides the needed mix of breadth and depth, along with the desired professional skills, by providing carefully crafted, well-coordinated curricular experiences in …