Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Mining, Abdul Salam

Computer Information Technology Faculty Publications

The sustainable mining Internet of Things deals with the applications of IoT technology to the coupled needs of sustainable recovery of metals and a healthy environment for a thriving planet. In this chapter, the IoT architecture and technology is presented to support development of a digital mining platform emphasizing the exploration of rock–fluid–environment interactions to develop extraction methods with maximum economic benefit, while maintaining and preserving both water quantity and quality, soil, and, ultimately, human health. New perspectives are provided for IoT applications in developing new mineral resources, improved management of tailings, monitoring and mitigating contamination from mining. Moreover, tools …

Route Planning For Long-Term Robotics Missions, Christopher Alexander Arend Tatsch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many future robotic applications such as the operation in large uncertain environment depend on a more autonomous robot. The robotics long term autonomy presents challenges on how to plan and schedule goal locations across multiple days of mission duration. This is an NP-hard problem that is infeasible to solve for an optimal solution due to the large number of vertices to visit. In some cases the robot hardware constraints also adds the requirement to return to a charging station multiple times in a long term mission. The uncertainties in the robot model and environment require the robot planner to account …

Mathematical Modeling, Optimal Control And Stability Analysis For Dynamic Supply Chains, Yasser Alberto Davizon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Dynamic supply chains (SC) are important to reduce inventory, to enable the flow of materials, and maximize profits. By this, dynamic SC require proper decision-making with effective performance and synchronization. In operations and production planning processes, decision-makers develop convenient and suitable decisions, to validate their hypoThesis about which decisions incorporate more profit while reducing costs on enterprise operations. Based on this, inventory management plays a crucial point in the supply chain analysis. In general, SC processes raw material, cash, and information flows, taking into account the demand profile of the system. This research work presents the mathematical modeling, optimal control, …

The Potentials Of Faecal Sludge Treatment Using Local Conditioners In Tanzania: A Review, Doglas Benjamin1

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Worldwide, every day human beings generate millions of tons of Faecal Sludge (FS), which is rich in water, nutrients, energy, and organic compounds. Yet FS is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, while at the same time, millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. In most of the developing countries, energy for cooking is mainly derived from cutting of trees, either as wood or charcoal. Resource recovery and reuse from FS can create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery …

Resource Allocation And Task Scheduling Optimization In Cloud-Based Content Delivery Networks With Edge Computing, Yang Peng

Operations Research and Engineering Management Theses and Dissertations

The extensive growth in adoption of mobile devices pushes global Internet protocol (IP) traffic to grow and content delivery network (CDN) will carry 72 percent of total Internet traffic by 2022, up from 56 percent in 2017. In this praxis, Interconnected Cache Edge (ICE) based on different public cloud infrastructures with multiple edge computing sites is considered to help CDN service providers (SPs) to maximize their operational profit. The problem of resource allocation and performance optimization is studied in order to maximize the cache hit ratio with available CDN capacity.

The considered problem is formulated as a multi-stage stochastic linear …

Insulation Sensitivity Analysis For An Optimized Fabric Shelter Off-Grid Hybrid Energy System, Jay F. Pearson, Torrey J. Wagner, Steven Schuldt

Faculty Publications

During military and disaster relief operations, connecting to an established electrical grid is rarely an option. In these situations, camps consisting of poorly insulated fabric shelters are predominantly powered by inefficient diesel generators that require frequent fuel resupply. In order to reduce the fuel demand of these generators, camps may utilize photovoltaic-battery systems. This paper presents an innovative cost-performance model capable of optimizing solar array size, battery backup system, and shelter insulation type to minimize the operating cost of powering a single fabric shelter. Model performance was evaluated using one year of insolation, weather and energy requirement data from a …

Toolpath Planning Methodology For Multi-Gantry Fused Filament Fabrication 3d Printing, Hieu Trung Bui

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the way industries manufacture and prototype products. Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most popular processes in AM as it is inexpensive, requires low maintenance, and has high material utilization. However, the biggest drawback that prevents FFF printing from being widely implemented in large-scale production is the cycle time. The most practical approach is to allow multiple collaborating printheads to work simultaneously on different parts of the same object. However, little research has been introduced to support the aforementioned approach. Hence a new toolpath planning methodology is proposed in this paper. The objectives …

Economic Model Predictive Control And Process Equipment: Control-Induced Thermal Stress In A Pipe, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Recent work on economic model predictive control (EMPC) has indicated that some processes may be operated in a more economically-optimal fashion under a time-varying operating policy than under a steady-state operating policy. However, a concern for time-varying operation is how such a change in operating policy might impact the equipment within which the processes being controlled are carried out. While under steady-state operation, the operating conditions to which equipment would regularly be exposed can be estimated, this would be more difficult to assess thoroughly a priori under time-varying operation. It could be explored whether the EMPC could be made aware …

Linking Quality Management Practices With Performance Of Manufacturing Industries In Tanzania, Mussa Iddi Mgwatu Dr.

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Local products of manufacturing industries in Tanzania are subjected to intense competition in the markets. Product quality is one of key factors that play a considerable role for manufacturing industries to win the competitive advantage. This paper attempts to analyse the extents of quality management practices (QMP) and manufacturing performance (MP) as well as to examine the linkage between practices and performance. Data was collected from seventy-eight (78) manufacturing industries in Dar es Salaam region using questionnaires comprising of both single-item and multi-item questions. Descriptive statistics was used to quantify the extent of quality management practices and manufacturing performance (MP) …

Research Methodology Adopted In Developing Tansse-L System, Ellen Kalinga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Research methodology is among the very important part in a research work. It is the heart which describe the activities necessary for the completion of the research work. Research methodology provides a plan of investigation considered to obtain answers to research problems and it depends on the context of application. This paper presents the research methodology adopted when developing Tanzania Secondary Schools e-Learning (TanSSe-L) system, a learning management system (LMS) which was successfully developed through customization of Moodle open source LMS. TanSSe-L system is a context centered platform for secondary schools in Tanzania. TanSSe-L system was developed using a number …

Improving Power Network Resilience Against Threats, Hamzeh Davarikia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The work reported in this dissertation aims at developing a practical tool for utility transmission planners to improve the power network resilience against high-impact, low-frequency events (HILF). Such events rarely happen, but when occurred are catastrophic. In this dissertation, we studied the impact of HILF from the static and dynamic point of view and proposed the planning strategy to lower the devastating effect of the HILF.

In the static analysis, we consider the steady-state situation of the power grids and plan to protect the grid’s components, i.e., generators, buses, and transmission lines, to maximize preserving demand in a disastrous situation. …

(Poster) Internal Restoration And Modernization Of A 1948 Wwii Era Jukebox, Miles Furr, Cristiana Olarinre, Joel Carpenter, Elijah Knox, George Ricco, Paul Talaga, Suranga Dharmarathne

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Using Six Sigma guidelines under the sponsorship of The University of Indianapolis in cooperation with the client, Brugh Industrial Engineering, this project is to modernize the functionality and interface of a Rockola Model 1428 Jukebox while maintaining its vintage appeal. The process of modernization includes meeting today's industrial safety standards, incorporating ethernet protocol, and utilizing a programmable logic controller, PLC. The jukebox is a showcase of current automation technology. Lighting has been upgraded from fluorescent and incandescent bulbs to addressable nano pixel LEDs. The amplifier, coin system, and record selection system were revitalized to OEM operation standards. All switches within …

An Integrated Approach For Remanufacturing Job Shop Scheduling With Routing Alternatives., Ling Ling Li, Cong Bo Li, Li Li, Ying Tang, Qing Shan Yang

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Remanufacturing is a practice of growing importance due to increasing environmental awareness and regulations. However, the stochastic natures inherent in the remanufacturing processes complicate its scheduling. This paper undertakes the challenge and presents a remanufacturing job shop scheduling approach by integrating alternative routing assignment and machine resource dispatching. A colored timed Petri net is introduced to model the dynamics of remanufacturing process, such as various process routings, uncertain operation times for cores, and machine resource conflicts. With the color attributes in Petri nets, two types of decision points, recovery routing selection and resource dispatching, are introduced and linked with places …

36% Reduction In Fuel Resupply Using A Hybrid Generator & Battery System For An Austere Location, David J. Chester, Torrey J. Wagner, Douglas S. Dudis

Faculty Publications

The DOD energy policy is to increase energy security resiliency, and mitigate costs in the use and management of energy^[1] Forward operating bases (FOBs) are remote, austere base camps that support an operationally defined mission with a limited or no ability to draw from an energy grid and have historically relied on diesel-powered generators for the primary production of energy.^[2] Generators are sized to meet a theoretical peak demand, but steady state loads are far below this peak, resulting in under-loaded generators.^[3] Under-loaded diesel generators decrease efficiency and increase the need for maintenance, affecting the lifespan of …

Development Of A Myoelectric Detection Circuit Platform For Computer Interface Applications, Nickolas Andrew Butler

Master's Theses

Personal computers and portable electronics continue to rapidly advance and integrate into our lives as tools that facilitate efficient communication and interaction with the outside world. Now with a multitude of different devices available, personal computers are accessible to a wider audience than ever before. To continue to expand and reach new users, novel user interface technologies have been developed, such as touch input and gyroscopic motion, in which enhanced control fidelity can be achieved. For users with limited-to-no use of their hands, or for those who seek additional means to intuitively use and command a computer, novel sensory systems …

On Accounting For Equipment-Control Interactions In Economic Model Predictive Control Via Process State Constraints, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Traditionally, chemical processes have been operated at steady-state; however, recent work on economic model predictive control (EMPC) has indicated that some processes may be operated in a more economically-optimal fashion under a time-varying operating policy. It is unclear how time-varying operating policies may impact process equipment, which must be investigated for safety and profit reasons. It has traditionally been considered that constraints on process states can be added to EMPC design to prevent the controller from computing control actions which create problematic operating conditions for process equipment. However, no rigorous investigation has yet been performed to analyze whether, when a …

Energy Efficiency Evaluation Of Blower Heater Non-Purge Compressed Air Dryers, Alexandra M. Botts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are several compressed air dryers available for industrial use including, refrigerant, desiccant, and membrane. This research focuses on twin tower regenerative closed loop desiccant dryers, specifically: blower heater non-purge (BHNP) with and without cooling water pumps, Compressed-air Heater Purge (CHP), Blower Heater Purge (BHP), and Pressure Swing Heaterless (PSH). These styles of dryers are used mainly in industries that require extremely dry air such as, food manufacturing, medical air, or sensitive technology manufacturers. The research was conducted by collecting and analyzing real time current draw data on air compressors and associated dryers at eight different facilities (13 compressor systems) …

Weld Penetration Identification Based On Convolutional Neural Network, Chao Li

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Weld joint penetration determination is the key factor in welding process control area. Not only has it directly affected the weld joint mechanical properties, like fatigue for example. It also requires much of human intelligence, which either complex modeling or rich of welding experience. Therefore, weld penetration status identification has become the obstacle for intelligent welding system. In this dissertation, an innovative method has been proposed to detect the weld joint penetration status using machine-learning algorithms.

A GTAW welding system is firstly built. Project a dot-structured laser pattern onto the weld pool surface during welding process, the reflected laser pattern …

Curricular Optimization: Solving For The Optimal Student Success Pathway, William G. Thompson-Arjona

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Considering the significant investment of higher education made by students and their families, graduating in a timely manner is of the utmost importance. Delay attributed to drop out or the retaking of a course adds cost and negatively affects a student’s academic progression. Considering this, it becomes paramount for institutions to focus on student success in relation to term scheduling.

Often overlooked, complexity of a course schedule may be one of the most important factors in whether or not a student successfully completes his or her degree. More often than not students entering an institution as a first time full …

Detecting Special-Cause Variation 'Events' From Process Data Signatures, Timothy M. Young, Olga Khaliukova, Nicolas André, Alexander Petutschnigg, Timothy G. Rials, Chung-Hao Chen

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The ability to detect the special-cause variation of incoming feedstocks from advanced sensor technology is invaluable to manufacturers. Many on-line sensors produce data signatures that require further off-line statistical processing for interpretation by operational personnel. However, early detection of changes in variation in incoming feedstocks may be imperative to promote early-stage preventive measures. A method is proposed in this applied study for developing control bands to quantify the variation of data signatures in the context of statistical process control (SPC). Control bands based on pointwise prediction intervals constructed from the Bonferroni Inequality and Bayesian smoothing splines are developed. Applications using …

A Sustainable Prototype For Renewable Energy: Optimized Prime-Power Generator Solar Array Replacement, Nathan Thomsen, Torrey J. Wagner, Andrew J. Hoisington, Steven J. Schuldt

Faculty Publications

Remote locations such as disaster relief camps, isolated arctic communities, and military forward operating bases are disconnected from traditional power grids forcing them to rely on diesel generators with a total installed capacity of 10,000 MW worldwide. The generators require a constant resupply of fuel, resulting in increased operating costs, negative environmental impacts, and challenging fuel logistics. To enhance remote site sustainability, planners can develop stand-alone photovoltaic-battery systems to replace existing prime power generators. This paper presents the development of a novel cost-performance model capable of optimizing solar array and Li-ion battery storage size by generating tradeoffs between minimizing initial …

The Tabu Ant Colony Optimizer And Its Application In An Energy Market, David Donald Haynes

Doctoral Dissertations

"A new ant colony optimizer, the 'tabu ant colony optimizer' (TabuACO) is introduced, tested, and applied to a contemporary problem. The TabuACO uses both attractive and repulsive pheromones to speed convergence to a solution. The dual pheromone TabuACO is benchmarked against several other solvers using the traveling salesman problem (TSP), the quadratic assignment problem (QAP), and the Steiner tree problem. In tree-shaped puzzles, the dual pheromone TabuACO was able to demonstrate a significant improvement in performance over a conventional ACO. As the amount of connectedness in the network increased, the dual pheromone TabuACO offered less improvement in performance over the …

Cost Benefit Analysis Of Led Vs Florescent Lighting, Kurtis Clark, Phillip Humphrey

Student Research

Over the last few years, the state of Oklahoma has been looking at ways to reduce expenses to address concerns about a budget deficit. There have been efforts made to reduce expenses due to the use of energy. It has been said, when the lights are on, work is getting done. Running lights is therefore the cost of doing business. Our research examines the question, “is there a way to provide better lighting while operating at a lower cost.” This research examines the current lighting at Southwestern State University, primarily fluorescent lighting (FL), and a cost benefit analysis of switching …

Impact Of Communication Latency On The Bus Voltage Of Centrally Controlled Dc Microgrid During Islanding, Mahmoud Saleh, Yusef Esa, Ahmed Mohamed

Publications and Research

Maintaining a sustainable and reliable source of energy to supply critical loads within a renewable energy based microgrid (MG) during blackouts is directly related to its bus voltage variations. For example, voltage variation might trigger protection devices and disconnect DERs within the MG. Centrally controlled MGs (CCMGs) type is dependent on communication. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the impact of communication networks performance degradation, such as latency, on the bus voltage of CCMGs. This paper investigates the effect of wireless communication technologies latency on the bus voltage and performance of centralized DC MGs. Two mathematical models were developed …

Robust Engineering Of Dynamic Structures In Complex Networks, Walter Botongo Bomela

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Populations of nearly identical dynamical systems are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems, in which each unit plays a crucial role in determining the functioning of the ensemble. Robust and optimal control of such large collections of dynamical units remains a grand challenge, especially, when these units interact and form a complex network. Motivated by compelling practical problems in power systems, neural engineering and quantum control, where individual units often have to work in tandem to achieve a desired dynamic behavior, e.g., maintaining synchronization of generators in a power grid or conveying information in a neuronal network; in this dissertation, …

Economic Model Predictive Control Design Via Nonlinear Model Identification, Laura Giuliani, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Increasing pushes toward next-generation/smart manufacturing motivate the development of economic model predictive control (EMPC) designs which can be practically deployed. For EMPC, the constraints, objective function, and accuracy of the state predictions would benefit from process models that describe the process physics. However, obtaining first- principles models of chemical process systems can be time-consuming or challenging such that it is preferable to develop physics-based process models automatically from process operating data. In this work, we take initial steps in this direction by suggesting that because experiments that are used to characterize first-principles models often target specific types of data, an …

Data-Based Nonlinear Model Identification In Economic Model Predictive Control, Laura Giuliani, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Many chemical/petrochemical processes in industry are not completely modeled from a first-principles perspective because of the complexity of the underlying physico-chemical phenomena and the cost of obtaining more accurate, physically relevant models. System identification methods have been utilized successfully for developing empirical, though not necessarily physical, models for advanced model-based control designs such as model predictive control (MPC) for decades. However, a fairly recent development in MPC is economic model predictive control (EMPC), which is an MPC formulated with an economics-based objective function that may operate a process in a dynamic (i.e., off steady-state) fashion, in which case the details …

Farmbot Trackless Redesign, Cole Thomas, Cailey Kamm, Clayton Alderson, Otto Akerstrom

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

For this project the team PLANT3D worked along with Rory Aronson and FarmBot to generate a cheaper more user-friendly design for the FarmBot Genesis 1.3. Working with Rory and FarmBot, we as a team generated a list of design requirements and engineering specifications for the project. These requirements centered around creating a more accessible FarmBot model for the average person to be able to purchase and set up with ease. Much of this required taking the existing system and eliminating the most common problem areas. These were the track system, built using 1.5 meter aluminum extrusions and the complex interchangeable …

Applications Of Complex Network Analysis In Electric Power Systems, Mahmoud Saleh, Yusef Esa, Ahmed Mohamed

Publications and Research

This paper provides a review of the research conducted on complex network analysis (CNA) in electric power systems. Moreover, a new approach is presented to find optimal locations for microgrids (MGs) in electric distribution systems (EDS) utilizing complex network analysis. The optimal placement in this paper points to the location that will result in enhanced grid resilience, reduced power losses and line loading, better voltage stability, and a supply to critical loads during a blackout. The criteria used to point out the optimal placement of the MGs were predicated on the centrality analysis selected from the complex network theory, the …

Design Of A Distributed Real-Time E-Health Cyber Ecosystem With Collective Actions: Diagnosis, Dynamic Queueing, And Decision Making, Yanlin Zhou

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this thesis, we develop a framework for E-health Cyber Ecosystems, and look into different involved actors. The three interested parties in the ecosystem including patients, doctors, and healthcare providers are discussed in 3 different phases. In Phase 1, machine-learning based modeling and simulation analysis is performed to remotely predict a patient's risk level of having heart diseases in real time. In Phase 2, an online dynamic queueing model is devised to pair doctors with patients having high risk levels (diagnosed in Phase 1) to confirm the risk, and provide help. In Phase 3, a decision making paradigm is proposed …