Engineering Commons^™

Information Requirements Analysis: A Qualitative Characterization Of The Flightline Expediter For The Integrated Maintenance Information System, John C. Gorla Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The Integrated Maintenance Information System (IMIS) concept design includes the addition of management tools to access IMIS databases and provide communication capabilities between flightline technicians and supervisors. Armstrong Laboratory has developed a portable maintenance aid for technicians, and sponsored this research to investigate the requirements for a computer based tool for the expediter, The basic hardware and software requirements document for IMIS, the System/Segment Specification (SSS), contains task information that closely corresponds to the expediter job description as defined in Air Combat Command Instruction 21-166. This research compiled a list of information requirements for the expediter from the IMIS SSS …

Crisis Airlift Management: Effective Scheduling, David C. Penny

Theses and Dissertations

This is a report on the basis, data, findings, and models developed for US Transportation Command and Headquarters Air Mobility Command. Focusing on the dynamic scheduling problem that arises during management of airlift assets into space-constrained airfields during a crisis, this research explains the conditions surrounding this event, discusses several areas of potential cross-functional applications, presents analysis of current performance, and provides several modeling possibilities for schedule efficiency. Past research in the Flow Management Problem (an airline flow control issue) is extensive, but specific applications in crisis airlift are long in coming, primarily due to the complexity of the environment. …

Prioritization Schemes Of The Air Force Logistics Reparable Pipeline, Brigham K. Briggs

Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the prioritization schemes utilized in the Air Force logistics reparable pipeline. The reparable pipeline is defined and illustrated with flowcharts. A literature review examines previous research conducted on the reparable pipeline, including analytic and conceptual pipeline models, and pipeline management studies. In addition, the topic of prioritization as defined in the production/operations management academic discipline is reviewed. Prioritization schemes of the reparable pipeline are reported in tabular format in addition to descriptions of the various prioritization schemes. Recommendations for pipeline improvement and further research form a basis from which pipeline operation may be improved. p9

The Value Of The Civil Reserve Air Fleet: How Much Could The Dod Spend On Incentives?, Pamela S. Donovan

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the value of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program to the DoD and explored the amount that could be spent to remove potential obstacles to participation with aviation insurance and lost market share. In comparing the value of the CRAF and the cost of current incentives, it was determined that up to $1.4 million could be spent on additional incentives, annually. For multiple aircraft losses and liability claims, the Air Force would need to tap into the Defense Business Operating Fund. Therefore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted and found that for low valued aircraft, such as …

Identifying Situational Constraints To Focus Quality Improvement In An Air Force Aerial Port, Timothy J. Pettit

Theses and Dissertations

This research analyzes the effects of situational constraints on individual performance within an Air Force Aerial Port squadron. Situational constraint research originated with laboratory studies by Peters and O'Connor in 1980 and was investigated in an Air Force field environment in 1984; mixed results were obtained. Laboratory studies identified direct performance inhibitors (Peters et al., 1980); however, field studies found little correlations with job performance (Kane, 1981; O'Connor et al., 1984a). Data collected in June 1995 (Dougherty, 1995) and March 1996, in this study, were used to accomplish a longitudinal analysis. Correlations between constraints and performance were also low in …

Assessing User Requirements For An Automated System To Support Programmed Depot Maintenance Through Use Of A Rapid Prototype In A Group Support System Environment, Floyd A. Gwartney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to assess user requirements for an automated information system to support programmed depot maintenance (PDM). To accomplish this, the Integrated Technical Information for the Air Logistics Centers (ITI-ALC) program's rapid prototype was evaluated. The evaluation focused on users' perception of how well the prototype met system and human computer interface requirements for PDM technicians and managers. A group support system (GSS) was used as an analysis tool to evaluate the prototype and collect evaluation data. Using the prototype as a requirements baseline for the ITI-ALC system, this thesis had three objectives: to perform an …

Measurement Of Pressure And Assessment Of Cavitation For A 22.5-Khz Intra-Arterial Angioplasty Device, I. R. S. Makin, E. Carr Everbach

Engineering Faculty Works

This study was performed to understand better the mechanisms of action of an (22.5 kHz) ultrasonic wire catheter device used to remove atheromatous plaque in diseased blood vessels (ultrasonic angioplasty). During a clinical procedure, the wire acts as an acoustic waveguide to transfer acoustic energy from a generator outside the body to the ball tip of the wire, which is inserted in the blood vessel. The acoustic field radiated by the vibrating ball tip (1.5- to 3.0-mm diameter), was mapped in a relatively large (600 L) water tank and compared to the field from a well-characterized simple source. A dipolelike …

Review Of: Science Advice To The President (William T. Golden, Ed. Aaas Press 2d Ed. 1993)., Timothy Van Dyke

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: Science Advice to the President (William T. Golden, ed. AAAS Press 2d Ed. 1993). Acknowledgments, index of names, introductions, notes, tables. ISBN 0-87168-509-4 [340 pp. $29.95 paper. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1333 H St. NW, Washington DC 20701.]

Calcium Buffering Is Required To Maintain Bone Stiffness In Saline Solution, M. B. Gustafson, R. B. Martin, V. Gibson, D. H. Storms, S. M. Stover, J. Gibeling, L. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

This work determined whether mineral dissolution due to prolonged testing or storage of bone s~'imens in normal salint: would alter Lheir elastic modulus. In one experiment, small pieces of equine third metacarpal bone were soaked in normal saline supplemented with varying amounts of CaCI1. Changing Ca ion concentrations in the bath were monitored and the equilibrium concentration was determined. In a second experiment, the elastic moduli of twenty 4 x 10 x 100 mm equine third metacarpal beams were determined non-destructively in four-point bending. Half the beams were then soaked for 10 days in normal saline, and the other half …

In Vitro Fatigue Behavior Of The Equine Third Metacarpus: Remodeling And Microcrack Damage Analysis, R.B. Martin, V.A. Gibson, S.M. Stover, J.C. Gibeling, L.V. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

We studied remodeling and microcrack damage in specimens of Thoroughbred racehorse third metacarpal bone that had been subjected to monotonic or fatigue failure. We asked three questions. What effects does mechanical loading have on histologically observable microcrack damage? Are there regional variations in remodeling of the equine cannon bone, and do these variations correlate with mechanical properties? To what extent are remodeling and microcrack damage age-dependent? Machined beams from the medial, lateral, and dorsal cortices were loaded to fracture in four-point bending monotonically, or cyclically at a load initially producing 10,000 microstrain. Specimens were then bulk-stained in basic fuchsin, and …

Pancreatic Expression Of Interleukin-4 Abrogates Insulitis And Autoimmune Diabetes In Nonobese Diabetic (Nod) Mice., Regula Mueller, Troy Krahl, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

Diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice is a T cell-dependent autoimmune disease. The destructive activities of autoreactive T cells have been shown to be tightly regulated by effector molecules. In particular, T helper (Th) 1 cytokines have been linked to diabetes pathogenesis, whereas Th2 cytokines and the cells that release them have been postulated to be protective from disease. To test this hypothesis, we generated transgenic NOD mice that express interleukin (IL) 4 in their pancreatic beta cells under the control of the human insulin promoter. We found that transgenic NOD-IL-4 mice, both females and males, were completely protected from …

Determination Of The Refractive Index And Thickness Of Transparent Pellicles By Use Of The Polarization-Independent Absentee-Layer Condition, Y. Cui, R. M.A. Azzam

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The refractive index and the thickness of a transparent pellicle are determined when the pellicle is placed between two vertical crossed polarizers and rotated in the horizontal plane. The transmission axes of the polarizers are neither parallel nor perpendicular to the plane of incidence. The light transmitted through the crossed polarizers reaches a minimum when the pellicle satisfies the absentee-layer condition. The refractive index and the film thickness are obtained from the pellicle orientation angles under such a condition.

Globally Optimal Periodic Robot Joint Trajectories, Daniel J. Simon

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a new method for the planning of robot trajectories. The method presented assumes that joint-space knots have been generated from Cartesian knots by an inverse kinematics algorithm. The method is based on the globally optimal periodic interpolation scheme derived by Schoenberg, and thus is particularly suited for periodic robot motions. Of all possible periodic joint trajectories which pass through a specified set of knots, the trajectory derived in this paper is the ‘best’. The performance criterion used is the integral (over one period) of a combination of the square of the joint velocity and the square of …

Hybrid Kalman / Minimax Filtering In Phase-Locked Loops, Daniel J. Simon, Hossny El-Sherief

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A method of combining Kahnan filtering and minimax filtering is proposed and demonstrated in an application to phase-locked loop design. Kalman filtering suffers from a lack of robustness to departures from the assumed noise statistics. Minimax filtering, however, has the drawback of ignoring the engineer's (admittedly incomplete) knowledge of the noise statistics. It is shown in this paper that hybrid Kalman/minimax filtering can provide the “best of both worlds” . Phase-locked loop filter design is used in this paper to demonstrate an application of hybrid estimation.

Bounding Elastic Constants Of An Orthotropic Polycrystal Using Measurements Of The Microstructure, Brent L. Adams, M. J. Beran, T. A. Mason, Ted Olsen

Faculty Publications

We show how information about the elastic stiffness and compliance of an orthotropic polycrystal may be obtained from measurements of the statistical properties of the microstructure. We begin by discussing the statistical properties of the governing equations and the hierarchy that results when the equations are averaged. Perturbation solutions are obtained in terms of low-order statistical information. Using methods previously developed, we derive bounds for the elastic stiffnesses and compliances. A heirarchy of bounds is derived using the statistical information obtained from measurements of the microstructure. We discuss the methods used to obtain the correlation functions of the microstructure and …

A Comprehensive Modeling Environment For The Simulation Of Groundwater Flow And Transport, S. J. Owen, Norman L. Jones, J. P. Holland

Faculty Publications

A comprehensive graphical modeling environment has been developed to address the needs of the computer simulation of groundwater flow and transport. The Department of Defense Groundwater Modeling Systems (GMS), developed at the Engineering Computer Graphics Laboratory at Brigham Young University, is part of a multi-year project funded through the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency. GMS is a graphically based software tool providing facility through all aspects of the groundwater flow and transport modeling process. Facilities include geometric modeling of hydrostratigraphy, two- and three-dimensional mesh generation, graphically based model input for specific flow and transport codes, …

Effect Of Antibody Orientation On Immunosorbent, Anuradha Subramanian, William H. Velander

Papers in Biotechnology

The impact of antibody orientation on immunosorbent efficiency was quantitatively assessed. A pH-dependent murine monoclonal antibody (Mab) against human protein C (hPC), recombinant hPC (rhPC) and two different immobilization chemistries and matrices were used as model systems. The lysyl groups of the rhPC were covalently modified with an acetic acid ester of N-hydroxysuccinimide and this modified rhPC was used as a Fab masking agent (FMA). The FMA was used to mask the antigen bind-ing regions (Fab) of the Mab prior to and during covalent immobilization. Thereafter, the residual active sites of the support were in-activated and the FMA was removed. …

Analysis Of Traffic Accident Data In Kentucky (1991-1995), Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report includes an analysis of traffic accident data in Kentucky for the years of 1991 through 1995. A primary objective of this study was to determine average accident statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of accidents were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These data can be used in Kentucky's procedure to identify locations that have abnormal rates or numbers of accidents.

The other primary objective of this study was to provide data which can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky's Annual Highway Safety …

Rubberized Asphalt Membrane, Kamyar C. Mahboub

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This document reports findings of a study involving the use of scrap tire chips in an asphaltic membrane. The research project was designed with two objectives in mind. First, to investigate the effectiveness of an asphaltic membrane on top of a subgrade for maintaining moisture equilibrium in subgrade, and second, to study the potential use of scrap tire chips in asphaltic membranes. The effectiveness of the membrane as a moisture barrier needs to be evaluated over a long period of time (i.e. several years). However, the method proved to be a feasible alternative for recycling waste tires in pavements. It …

Traffic Flow And Safety Evaluation Of Fayette County Schools, Samantha S. Jones, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In cooperation with Fayette County Schools, an evaluation of traffic flow and safety was conducted at school sites in Fayette County. The purpose of this evaluation was to eliminate potential safety risks currently existing at a number of schools and to reduce traffic congestion in and around school properties.

The evaluation was completed in two main phases. First, each school in the district was asked to respond to a survey questionnaire. Second, six schools were identified by Fayette County Schools as having traffic flow or safety problems that could benefit from detailed evaluation. The responses to the survey questionnaire were …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Comparison Of Area-Universal And Other Parallel Computing Networks, Ronald I. Greenberg, Lee Guan

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper provides empirical comparison of the communication capabilities of two area-universal networks, the fat-tree and the fat-pyramid, to the popular mesh and hypercube networks for parallel computation. While area-universal networks have been proven capable of simulating, with modest slowdown, any computation of any other network of comparable area, prior work has generally left open the question of how area-universal networks compare to other networks in practice. Comparisons are performed using techniques of throughput and latency analysis that have previously been applied to k-ary n-cube networks and using various existing models to equate the hardware cost of the networks being …

Mass Limit For The Standard Model Higgs Boson With The Full Lep I Aleph Data Sample, Buskulic, D.; Et Al., M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The reaction e+e− → HZ∗ is used to search for the standard model Higgs boson in the Hνν and the Hℓ+ℓ− channels. The data sample corresponds to about 4.5 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP from 1989 to 1995 at centre-of-mass energies at and around the Z peak. Three candidate events are found in the Hμ+μ− channel, in agreement with the expected background from the electroweak process e+e− ℓ+ℓ−qq. This search results in a 95% C.L. lower limit on the Higgs boson mass of 63.9 GeV/c2.

Search For Charginos And Neutralinos With R-Parity Violation At √S = 130 And 136 Gev, Buskulic, D.; Et Al., M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Searches for charginos and neutralinos produced in e +e - collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV have been performed under the assumptions that R-parity is not conserved, that the dominant R-parity violating coupling involves only leptonic fields, and that the lifetime of the lightest supersymmetric particle can be neglected. In the 5.7 pb -1 data sample collected by ALEPH, no candidate events were found. As a result, chargino and neutralino masses and couplings are constrained and the domains previously excluded at LEP1 are extended.

Search For Cp Violation In The Decay Z → B B̄ G, Buskulic, D.; Et Al., M. Thulasidas

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

About three million hadronic decays of the Z collected by ALEPH in the years 1991 to 1994 are used to search for anomalous CP violation beyond the Standard Model in the decay Z → bb̄g. The study is performed by analyzing angular correlations between the two quarks and the gluon in three-jet events and by measuring the differential two-jet rate. No signal of CP violation is found. For the combinations of anomalous CP violating couplings, ĥb = ĥAbgVh - ĥVbgAb and hb* = √ĥVb2 + ĥAb2, limits of | ĥb | b*

Effects Of Structural And Kinetic Parameters On The Performance Of Chromatographic Columns Packed With Perfusive And Purely Diffusive Adsorbent Particles, G. A. Heeter, Athanasios I. Liapis

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A mathematical model describing dynamic adsorption in columns with spherical bidisperse perfusive or spherical bidisperse purely diffusive adsorbent particles is used to study the effects of the structural parameters of the adsorbent particles and of the parameters of the adsorption mechanism on the performance of chromatographic systems involving the adsorption of bovine serum albumin onto anion-exchange porous adsorbent particles. Four structural parameters are studied: the particle diameter, d(p), the macropore void fraction, ε(p), the microparticle diameter, d(m) and the parameter φ which affects the value of the permeability of the adsorbent particle. Two parameters of the adsorption mechanism are studied: …

How Contractors Really Size Air Conditioning Systems, Florida Solar Energy Center, Robin Vieira

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This paper presents results from 489 of the 5559 Florida air conditioning contractors surveyed (an 8.5% response rate) regarding equipment sizing methods in new residences. Air conditioning sizing is accomplished by using ACCA's Manual-J procedure by 33% of the respondents, software by 34.4% of the respondents, square-footage by 24.2% and other estimate procedures by about 8.4%. Those using square-footage estimates varied from 350 square-feet- per-ton to 700 square-feet-per-ton. Over a third of respondents indicated oversizing intentionally on some jobs, in order to avoid complaints, accommodate future expansions, enable quicker cooling down of homes, and to allow for lower cooling set …

The Effect Of Co On The Proton Diffusion Coefficient For The Ni(Oh)2 Electrodes, Xiaoyan Cao, Zuoxiang Zhou, Huatang Yuan, Yunshi Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The diffusion coefficients of protons moving in the Ni(OH)₂ electrodes have being investigated by constant current, cyclic voltammetry and potential step technineques. The electrodes were prepared by cathodic deposition and their active material contained 0～53% cobalt. It was found that the diffusion coefficients are about 10^-9～10^-10 cm²/s during charging and about 10^-11 cm²/s during discharging. Moreover the value increases with the increacing content of Co in the electrodes. During the calculation, the relevant fomulars were modified especially the wrong fomular for constant current methode.

A Preliminary Study Of Electrochemically Amplified Measurement Of Gold Electrodeposition, Bingwei Mao, Caihui Shi, Xiaoqin Li, Lihua Xiong

Journal of Electrochemistry

Gold electrodeposition onto a glassy carbon microelectrode is studied using an electrochemical amplification method. Taking the advantage that the electrochemical reduction of K₂Cr₂O₇ has significantly higher reaction activity on gold electrode than carbon electrode, it is tentatively used to amplify the gold electrodeposition current. The results show that there is a marked increase in current of gold electrodeposition in presence of K₂Cr₂O₇ in comparison with that absent of K₂Cr₂O₇.The electrochemical amplification method can be applied to study the electrodeposition of very in intial stage …

A Review Of Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectroscopy Techniqueⅰ. The Principle And Development Of Dems, Fujikawa Keikichi, Li Feng

Journal of Electrochemistry

No abstract provided.