Engineering Commons^™

Writing Reflective Case Studies For The Engineering Management Journal (Emj), Timothy Kotnour, Rafael Landaeta

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper's intent is to help authors write reflective case studies for the Engineering Management Journal (EMJ). We offer a process to convert an applied research project with an organization to an EMJ manuscript. Writing a reflective case study is a process of abstracting experiences into approaches, processes, tools, challenges, and "lessons" for a broad audience of engineering managers. This paper serves as a guide for authors to write reflective case studies.

Including Organizational Cultural Parameters In Work Processes, Holly A. H. Handley, Nancy J. Heacox

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Recent work in modeling decision-making work processes has focused on including the national culture of individual decision-makers in order to emphasize the differences in decision criteria between decision-makers of different nationalities. In addition to nationality, a decision-maker is also a member of an organization and brings this organizational culture to his role in the work process, where it may also affect his task performance. In order to represent the organizational impact on the work process, five organizational cultural parameters were identified and included in an algorithm for modeling and simulation of cultural difference in human decision-making. While the five modifiers …

Acuta Enews January 2004, Vol. 33, No. 1

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

ACUTA to Offer Regional Workshops

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

ACUTA Announces Online Press Room

Board Report.................... Carmine Piscopo, Providence College

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

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

WLNP........................... Greg Stahl, St. Lawrence University

Thanks to Journal Advertisers for '03

Welcome New Members

Human Performance Reliability: On-Line Assessment Using Fuzzy Logic, William J. Kolarik, Jeffrey C. Woldstad, Susan Lu, Huitian Lu

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper presents an on-line approach to monitoring human performance in terms of conditional reliability when one is performing a task. Unlike traditional human reliability analysis, this approach develops a dynamic model that is able to cope with constantly changing conditions that affect operator performance. A fuzzy knowledge-based assessment approach is developed in order to deal with uncertainty and subjectivity associated with human performance assessment. This technology includes three main parts/functions: (i) on-line performance monitoring; (ii) real-time performance forecasting; and (iii) performance reliability assessment. The technology is demonstrated in real-time and provides timely conditioned reliability information regarding task success/failure. In …

Complex Orthogonal Sequences From Amicable Hadamard Matrices, L. C. Tran, J. Seberry, B. J. Wysocki, Tadeusz Wysocki, T. Xia, Ying Zhao

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

The paper deals with the novel technique of designing complex spreading sequences with only four phases (0.25π, 0.75π, 1.25π, 1.75π). The interesting feature of those new sequences is the fact that not only the complex sequences are orthogonal but the real parts and imaginary parts are independently orthogonal. This can be utilized for spreading of complex constellation signals where the independent spreading using bipolar sequences (real part for in-phase component and imaginary part for quadrature component) can be applied. The paper introduces the theoretical background, and some example constructions of the amicable …

Thin-Film Simulation Model For Comparing Production Schedules In A Semiconductor Fabrication Facility, Amr Arisha, Paul Young

Conference papers

Analysis of advanced manufacturing systems in any manufacturing industry requires certain level of knowledge about the system. Flexible manufacturing cells, in particular, are commonly used in most wafer fabrication to provide the ability to change product without requiring the construction of new manufacturing plant. This level of flexibility comes at a significant capital cost and, in order to achieve the maximum potential of each cell, it is essential to characterize and establish the performance of these cells in detail before a new production plan is implemented. Using state-of-the-art computer simulation and a structured modelling methodology a generic model of flexible …

Maintaining Stability With Distributed Generation In A Restructured Industry, Judith Cardell, Marija Ilic

Engineering: Faculty Publications

A set of reduced order, linearized, dynamic models for distributed generators is developed along with a framework for modeling the generators in a power distribution system. Analysis of this distributed system structure raises two issues. The first is that the simulations demonstrate, unexpectedly, that a small load disturbance is capable of causing frequency instability in the primary dynamics of the distributed generators. Eigenanalysis of the instability suggests that it is a system phenomenon. The second issue is that the system matrix is found to not have a block diagonal dominant structure raising questions over the possible implementation of decentralized control …

Statistical Procedures For Evaluating Daily And Monthly Hydrologic Model Predictions, Marilyn E. Coffey, Stephen R. Workman, Joseph L. Taraba, Alex W. Fogle

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The overall study objective was to evaluate the applicability of different qualitative and quantitative methods for comparing daily and monthly SWAT computer model hydrologic streamflow predictions to observed data, and to recommend statistical methods for use in future model evaluations. Statistical methods were tested using daily streamflows and monthly equivalent runoff depths. The statistical techniques included linear regression, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, nonparametric tests, t-test, objective functions, autocorrelation, and cross-correlation. None of the methods specifically applied to the non-normal distribution and dependence between data points for the daily predicted and observed data. Of the tested methods, median objective functions, sign test, autocorrelation, …

Retention And Viability Characteristics Of Mammalian Cells In An Acoustically Driven Polymer Mesh, Zhaowei Wang, Paul Grabenstetter, Donald L. Feke, Joanne M. Belovich

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

A processing approach for the collection and retention of mammalian cells within a high porosity polyester mesh having millimeter-sized pores has been studied. Cell retention occurs via energizing the mesh with a low intensity, resonant acoustic field. The resulting acoustic field induces the interaction of cells with elements of the mesh or with each other and effectively prevents the entrainment of cells in the effluent stream. Experiments involving aqueous suspensions of polystyrene particles were used to provide benchmark data on the performance of the acoustic retention cell. Experiments using mouse hybridoma cells showed that retention densities of over 1.5 × …

Approximating First-Order Logic Programs By Feedforward Networks, Pascal Hitzler

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

We want to apply Funahashi's theorem in order to approximate the T_P operator for first-order (normal) logic programs P via 3-layer feedforward networks. I.e. we need to understand T_P as a continuous function on the reals.

We will need to study some preliminaries from set-theoretic topology first result from [HS00, HHS0_x], which extends results from [HKS99]. We close with some further considerations about the methods and results.

Wear Mechanisms In Ceramic Hip Implants, M. Slonaker

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

The wear in hip implants is one of the main causes for premature hip replacements. The wear affects the potential life of the prosthesis and subsequent removals of in-vivo implants. Therefore, the objective of this article is to review various joints that show lower wear rates and consequently higher life. Ceramics are used in hip implants and have been found to produce lower wear rates. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of ceramics compared to other implant materials. Different types of ceramics that are being used are reviewed in terms of the wear characteristics, debris released, and their size …

Wear Mechanisms In Ceramic Hip Implants, M. Slonaker, Tarun Goswami

Biomedical, Industrial & Human Factors Engineering Faculty Publications

The wear in hip implants is one of the main causes for premature hip replacements. The wear affects the potential life of the prosthesis and subsequent removals of in-vivo implants. Therefore, the objective of this article is to review various joints that show lower wear rates and consequently higher life. Ceramics are used in hip implants and have been found to produce lower wear rates. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of ceramics compared to other implant materials. Different types of ceramics that are being used are reviewed in terms of the wear characteristics, debris released, and their size …

Factors Affecting The Practices Of Iso 9001:2000 Quality Management System In Saudi Business Organizations, Mohammad Mesaad Al-Asiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since it's release in Dec 2000, there has been a slow movement towards the new version of ISO 9001:2000 by ISO 9000:1994 certified organizations. Of the 561,747 ISO 9000 certified businesses, 167,210 are certified under the new ISO 9001:2000, which is less than 30 % of the total ISO 9000 certified companies. Although many studies have been conducted to understand and assess the practices of ISO 9000:1994 standards, no research has been done to investigate the practices of ISO 9001:2000 in Saudi Arabia. This study is designed to investigate the implementation practices of the new ISO 9001:2000 standard in Saudi …

Antenna-Coupled Tunnel Diodes For Dual-Band Millimeter-Wave/Infrared F, Mohamed Abdel Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The infrared and millimeter-wave portions of the spectrum both have their advantages for development of imaging systems. Because of the difference in wavelengths, infrared imagers offer inherently high resolution, while millimeter-wave systems have better penetration through atmospheric aerosols such as fog and smoke. Shared-aperture imaging systems employing a common focal-plane array that responds to both wavebands are desirable from the viewpoint of overall size and weight. We have developed antenna-coupled sensors that respond simultaneously at 30 THz and at 94 GHz, utilizing electron-beam lithography. Slot-antenna designs were found to be particularly suitable for coupling radiation into metal-oxide-metal (MOM) tunnel diodes …

Self Designing Pattern Recognition System Employing Multistage Classification, Manal M. Abdelwahab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, pattern recognition/classification has received a considerable attention in diverse engineering fields such as biomedical imaging, speaker identification, fingerprint recognition, etc. In most of these applications, it is desirable to maintain the classification accuracy in the presence of corrupted and/or incomplete data. The quality of a given classification technique is measured by the computational complexity, execution time of algorithms, and the number of patterns that can be classified correctly despite any distortion. Some classification techniques that are introduced in the literature are described in Chapter one. In this dissertation, a pattern recognition approach that can be designed to have evolutionary …

Finite Element Analysis Of Left-Handed Waveguides, Balasubramaniam, Vellakkinar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this work, waveguides with simultaneous negative dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability, otherwise known as left-handed waveguides, are investigated. An approach of formulating and solving an eigenvalue problem with finite element method resulting in the dispersion relation of the waveguides is adopted in the analysis. Detailed methodology of one-dimensional scalar and two-dimensional vector finite element formulation for the analysis of grounded slab and arbitrary shaped waveguides is presented. Based on the analysis, for waveguides with conventional media, excellent agreement of results is observed between the finite element approach and the traditional approach. The method is then applied to analyze left-handed …

A Mobile Robotic Computing Platform For Three-Dimensional Indoor Mappi, Kenneth Mccoig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are several industries exploring solutions to quickly and accurately digitize unexplored indoor environments, into useable three-dimensional databases. Unfortunately, there are inherent challenges to the indoor mapping process such as, scanning limitations and environment complexity, which require a specific application of tools to map an environment precisely with low cost and high speed. This thesis successfully demonstrates the design and implementation of a low cost mobile robotic computing platform with laser scanner, for quickly mapping with high resolution, urban and/or indoor environments using a gyro-enhanced orientation sensor and selectable levels of detail. In addition, a low cost alternative solution to …

Choice Of Utility Functions For Adaptive Critic Designs, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper first presents a general overview of Adaptive Critic Designs (ACDs) and their existing control applications. It describes the importance of the right choice of utility functions for the development of critic networks and their convergence to the cost-to-go function J. A closer look into the step by step derivation of a utility function for the design of an ACD nonlinear optimal neurocontroller to replace/augment the conventional controllers, the automatic voltage regulator and governor, in a power system consisting of a generator connected to the power grid is described and some results are presented.

Logistics Outsourcing And 3pl Challenges, Michelle L. F. Cheong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Logistics has been an important part of every economy and every business entity. The worldwide trend in globalization has led to many companies outsourcing their logistics function to Third-Party Logistics (3PL) companies, so as to focus on their core competencies. This paper attempts to broadly identify and categorize the challenges faced by 3PL companies and discover potential gaps for future research. Some of the challenges will be related with the experience and information collected from interviews with two 3PL companies.

Modelling And System Identification For Real Systems, Karolyn Murphy

Theses

The field of system identification and process parameter estimation is an area that has developed rapidly during the past few decades. The approach to the system identification problem can be influenced by many different aspects which include the specific purpose of the identification. In this thesis, system identification for the purpose of controller design is the central theme.

Initially, the work will focus on a number of approaches to real system identification. Particular attention will be made to the classical non-parametric techniques and the more modern parametric estimation techniques using both open- and closed-loop real-time data. A voltage controlled dc …

Optimisation Of Heat Transfer And Fluid Flow In The Cooling Of Building Integrated Photovoltaic Facades., Eoin Patrick Hodge

Theses

The aim of this research was to explore the effects of mature and developing technologies from aeronautical industries such as impingement and film cooling, and electronic cooling techniques, in the setting up of different laminar and turbulent flow regimes on PV cooling duct heat transfer rates, with air flow as that brought about with natural buoyancy effects in a vertical building facade. The problem of efficiency losses in PV panels, due to overheating, is one of the factors restricting the development and use of this renewable power source. PV panels can experience very high temperatures, due to the heat input …

Ground-Source Heat Pumps In Ireland: Heat Transfer Experimentation For The Design And Modelling Of A Sub-Slab Installation., Sarah O'Connell

Theses

Ground-source heat pump technology is currently undergoing rapid growth in Ireland. Three aspects of ground-source heat pumps have been studied in this thesis. The market expansion taking place in Ireland, heat transfer from the soil to the pipe of a ground- source heat pump collector, and the design of an innovative sub-slab ground-source heat pump system.

Initial investigations into the use of ground-source heat pumps in Ireland revealed surprising growth in the use of the technology. There have been approximately 1500 systems installed mainly since 2000. The ground-source heat pump market in Ireland has an estimated annual growth rate of …

Enhancement Of Linear Prediction Coefficient Quantisation In The 3g Adaptive Multi Rate Speech Coder, John Raymond Mccarthy

Theses

Most speech coding algorithms in use today utilise the source-filter model of human speech production in which speech is modelled as the response of a time varying, linear, all-pole, synthesis filter to an input excitation. In mobile communications, it is the coefficients of this filter and details of the excitation that are transmitted. The filter coefficients are first quantised using a limited number of bits. Due to coefficient sensitivity, direct quantisation of the filter coefficients may lead to an unstable filter during speech synthesis at the receiver and hence an alternative representation is needed. Line Spectral Frequencies (LSFs) have evolved …

Laser Welding Control, Y.-S. Huang, Hai-Lung Tsai, P. Turner, P.-C. Wang

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In laser welding of metallic workpieces, the energetic beam is moved over the workpiece surface to form a pool of molten weld metal that quickly solidifies behind the advance of the laser into a weld nugget. The laser beam produces a keyhole of plasma-containing vapor within the molten pool. Weld nugget porosity, due to entrapment of the vapor, is minimized by continually sensing radiation from the molten metal pool to determine pool depth and width and then controlling laser power and speed to continually produce a weld metal pool wide enough for the liquid to fully expel the vapor and …

Investigation Of Cavity Resonances In An Automobile, Haixiao Weng, Daryl G. Beetner, Todd H. Hubing, Xiaopeng Dong, Richard W. Wiese, Joseph Mccallum

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Knowledge of cavity resonance within the automobile is needed to predict electromagnetic crosstalk between circuits in vehicle cavities. To quantify potential cavity resonances, resonance was studied within the passenger compartment of a standard automobile. Measured values of S₁₁, S₂₁ and Q (quality factor) are presented and their effect on crosstalk is discussed. Resonances were found at frequencies from 72 MHz to 303 MHz with quality factors ranging from 4 to 40.

Learning To Learn-Concepts In A First Power Engineering Course, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Three well-known and widely accepted concepts in educational psychology are revisited. These are "inventory of learning styles," "taxonomy of educational objectives," and "metacognition." Relationships among these concepts are highlighted. Often, a student can develop his (or her) own learning style by the process of metacognition. Ideas are borrowed from these concepts for use in a first-level power systems course. It is beyond a doubt that both cognitive and metacognitive skills are necessary for students to succeed in any course. While a semester-long power systems course leaves little time for critical thinking and passive reflection for students, certain activities may very …

Neuroidentification Of System Parameters Of The Upfc In A Multimachine Power System, Radha P. Kalyani, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The crucial factor affecting the modern power systems today is load flow control. The Unified Power Flow Controller is an effective means for controlling the power flow. The UPFC is controlled conventionally using PI controllers. This paper presents the designs of neuroidentifiers that models the system dynamics one-time step ahead making the pathway for the design of adaptive neurocontrollers. Two neuroidentifiers are used for identifying the nonlinear dynamics of a multimachine power system and UPFC, one neuroidentifier for the shunt inverter and another for the series inverter. Simulation results carried out in the PSCAD/EMTDC environments on multimachine power system are …

Optimal Diversity Combining Based On Noisy Channel Estimation, Jingxian Wu, Chengshan Xiao, N. C. Beaulieu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The performances of coherent diversity receivers with noisy channel estimation are examined. Fading channel gain estimates are modeled as sums of the true fading channel gain values plus independent Gaussian distributed estimation errors. The optimal diversity receiver for coherent reception with noisy channel state information and independent and identically distributed fading channels is derived. Exact expressions for the average error probability of optimal diversity MPSK with noisy channel estimation are derived for Rayleigh and Ricean fading channels; closed-form expressions are obtained for some special cases. Some interesting observations regarding practical diversity receiver design for higher-order modulation formats are drawn.

Space-Time Fading Correlation Functions Of A 3-D Mimo Channel Model, Sang-Yick Leong, Y. Rosa Zheng, Chengshan Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Space-time correlation functions between the links of MIMO Rayleigh fading channels are derived using a new three-dimensional (3-D) cylinder scattering model. Closed form, mathematically tractable formulas are obtained for the space-time correlation functions for general MIMO systems where the base station and mobile station antennas may be arranged in 3-D space. It is shown that the correlation functions computed by the 3-D cylinder model are of significant difference than those of the conventional 2-D Clarke''s isotropic scattering model for vertically placed antennas. The general formulas of the correlation functions includes the 2-D Clarke''s model and the 3-D SIMO, MISO models …

Spectrum Visualization And Measurement Of Power Parameters Of Microwave Wide-Band Noise, Marina Koledintseva, Alexander A. Kitaytsev, V. A. Konkin, V. Radchenko

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method for an adequate visualization of a microwave intense noise spectrum envelope in a wide frequency range (several octaves), measurement of its power parameters, and detection of a narrow-band signal with unknown frequency and power against the noise background is presented. This method is based on an application of a nonheterodyne principle of microwave frequency (and power) conversion using a gyromagnetic converter, which operates in two regimes in turn: the resonance detection and the cross-multiplication. A block scheme and an operation of a two-channel measuring device combining the mentioned functions are discussed.