Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Resilience Governance Through Serious Energy Gaming, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Dan V. Vamanu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Physical analogies emphasizing cooperative behavior in systems are explored and integrated into so called 'serious energy games', to contribute in a better understanding, monitoring and good governance of some of the complex security issues confronting the evolvement of contemporary energy systems. It is believed that such exercises might be supportive in the necessary attempt, by the many stakeholders and actors / agents involved, to bring balance to prevailing policies of which seems to be “Go change yourself - in a resilient fashion!” An extrapolation of several findings to other than energy systems tempted to implement drastic changes based on substantial …

An Automated Forward Operating Base Electrical Distribution System Simulator, Onur Kahveci, Mariesa L. Crow, Steven Corns

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an automated forward operating base electrical distribution system simulator (ODCC) is developed. the ODCC has been developed based on the open platform distribution system simulator (DSS) that is able to create variable models of electrical systems and performing many types of analysis. © 2012 IEEE.

Three-Dimensional Indoor Rfid Localization System, Jiaqing Wu

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an information exchange technology based on radio waves communication. It is also a possible solution to indoor localization. Due to multipath propagation and anisotropic interference in the indoor environment, theoretical propagation models are generally not sufficient for RFID-based localization. In fact, the radio frequency (RF) signal distribution may not even be monotonic and this makes range-based localization algorithms less accurate. On the other hand, range free localization algorithms, such as k Nearest-Neighbor (kNN), require reference tags to be spread throughout the whole three-dimensional (3D) space which is simply not practical. In this work, a hybrid …

An Exponential Moving Average Algorithm, David Haynes, Steven Corns, Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Techniques to reduce the search space when an optimizer seeks an optimal value are studied in this paper. a new mutation technique called the "Exponential Moving Average" algorithm (EMA) is introduced. the performance of EMA algorithms is compared to two other similar Computational Intelligence (CI) algorithms (an ordinary Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) and a "Mean-Variance Optimization" (MVO)) to solve a multi-dimensional problem which has a large search space. the classic Sudoku puzzle is chosen as the problem with a large search space. © 2012 IEEE.

Patent Analysis For Smart Grid Development In The U.S, Abrahim Abdulsater, Bahareh Saatchi, Farshad Madani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

By increasing demand for energy among nations the rate of fossil fuel consumption is boosting. The raise of fossil fuel consumption has motivated nations to gain some capabilities for the purpose of dealing with some consequences; the more fossil fuel consumption, the higher price for energy, and the higher rate of GHG as well. Recently smart grid technology has been introduced as a healing approach in terms of using energy more efficiently. This study made an effort to have some discussions around smart grid technology development in the United States by patent analysis and forecasting. The outcomes in both technology …

The Integration Of Wind Energy In The Electrical Grid During The Contingencies, Islam Ali

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As wind energy expansion develops, there are also many problems and challenges to connect the wind farms to the grid. There are many different interactions during the connection like the voltage flicker, harmonics, transient, short circuit current, frequency, and safety protection. Those problems may affect the performance of the grid and may cause serious problems. This study investigates the grid-connection problems for the wind turbines and offers appropriate solutions. This study provides a simulation for the power system during the faults. The electrical grid in the simulation contains generators and wind turbines which are connected to the grid. It also …

Modeling And Analysis Of Grid-Connected Solar-Wind Hybrid Power System, Sultan Altamimi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Renewable energies are considered to be a significant part of the energy mix to assist the existing electricity demand and the future of electrical generation. Electrical power simulation software is increasingly being used to answer and determine the source of potential problems in the actual power system. To have a better understanding of an electrical power system, it is essential to validate all the components through simulation within an environment that allows accurate modeling of all power system components. This research presents modeling and analysis of an actual grid-connected solar-wind hybrid system at University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar …

The Design And Evaluation Of Wireless Sensor Networks For Applications In Industrial Locations, Hameed Madwar

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In manufacturing industries, there exist many applications where Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN's) are integrated to provide wireless solution for the automated manufacturing processes. It is well known that industrial environments characterized by extreme conditions such as high temperature, pressure, and electromagnetic (EM) interference that can affect the performance of the WSN's. The key solution to overcome this performance issue is by monitoring the received Signal Strength Index (RSSI) at the received sensor of the WSN device and track frame error rate of wireless packets.

ZigBee is a wireless sensor network (WSN) standard designed for specific needs of the remote monitoring …

A Review Of Parallel Operation Of Active Power Filters In The Distributed Generation System, Shafiuzzaman Khan Khadem, Malabika Basu, Michael Conlon

Conference papers

In this paper a technical review of parallel operation of Active Power Filter (APF) for harmonic power compensation in distributed generation (DG) network has been presented. Controlling methods and connection topologies with their pros and cons are described. Recent improvements in controlling and future trends for the application of APFs in distributed mode are also identified.

Cyber Physical Complex Networks, Modeling, Analysis, And Control, Neveen Shlayan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research scrutinize various attributes of complex networks; mainly, modeling, sensing, estimation, safety analysis, and control. In this study, formal languages and finite automata are used for modeling incident management processes. Safety properties are checked in order to verify the system. This method introduces a systematic approach to incident management protocols that are governed by mostly unsystematic algorithms. A portion of the used data in this study is collected by means of radar and loop detectors. A weighted t-statistics methodology is developed in order to validate these detectors. The detector data is then used to extract travel time information where …

Analysis Of Factors Affecting Technological Innovativeness In Engineering Enterprises In Tanzania, Emanuel Mjema

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper discusses the technological innovativeness in engineering enterprises in Tanzania and analyses the factors affecting the innovativeness. It starts by analyzing various concepts regarding innovation, then analyzed from documentary review factors affecting innovativeness and then analyzed the innovativeness in Tanzanian enterprises. From the documentary review it was learnt that the following key factors influence technological innovativeness: Existence of innovation management; Existence of market to absorb the products of innovation; Existence of partnership between the universities and the firms; Existence of positive culture and politics towards innovation; The government playing its role to influence innovation; Existence of the right knowledge; …

Irrigation Leak Detection: Using Flow Rate Sensors To Detect Breaks In An Irrigation System, Adam Openshaw, Kalvin Vu

Computer Engineering

This report details the exploration and invention of a mechanism that can detect breaks in an irrigation system. With the ultimate goal of conserving water, we have designed an inexpensive, self sustaining flow rate monitor that can be used to identify anomalies in an irrigation system and wirelessly communicate the status of the system to a base station. Our implementation can also determine the direction of the anomaly based on the nature of the anomaly itself. This means that multiple monitors can be used to pinpoint the location of a break within the system in addition to merely detecting its …

Polyenvi, Stephen Beard, Josh Engel, Paul Fake, Diego Flores, Alvaro Nunez, Miguel Wong

Electrical Engineering

Poor indoor air quality is a problem that is recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cause health issues. In order to raise awareness of this problem, this document outlines the construction of a device that economically measures air quality through five metrics: dust, smoke, ozone, humidity, and temperature. The device integrates with a router to provide users access to information about their indoor air quality anywhere over the internet as well as local access to the data via an LCD mounted on the router. By increasing indoor air quality awareness, this device will aid users in making adjustments …

Uav Pirates And Silentrack Integration, Travis Dean, Hushnak Singh, Ashley Wager, Matthew (Matt) Woolridge

Electrical Engineering

The integration of the UAV pirating system with the SilenTrack video tracking system will allow the combined system to automatically identify and track a suspicious air vehicle visually as well as identify and decode the RF control signal. Once a threat has been identified, the system will execute an algorithm to associate each control channel with the corresponding flight control surface. Once the control channels have been decoded the user can use a hand held radio controller to maneuver the drone which is now under their command.

Maintenance Optimization For Substations With Aging Equipment, Haifeng Ge

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

Today’s electric utilities are confronted with a myriad of challenges that include aging infrastructure, enhanced expectation of reliability, reduced cost, and coping effectively with uncertainties and changing regulation requirements. Utilities rely on Asset Management programs to manage inspections and maintenance activities in order to control equipment conditions. However, development of strategies to make sound decisions in order to effectively improve equipment and system reliability while meeting constraints such as a maintenance budget is a challenge.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to develop models and algorithms to study the impact of maintenance toward equipment/system reliability and economic cost, and …

Reinforcement-Learning-Based Output-Feedback Control Of Nonstrict Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems With Application To Engine Emission Control, Peter Shih, Brian C. Kaul, Jagannathan Sarangapani, J. A. Drallmeier

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel reinforcement-learning-based output adaptive neural network (NN) controller, which is also referred to as the adaptive-critic NN controller, is developed to deliver the desired tracking performance for a class of nonlinear discrete-time systems expressed in nonstrict feedback form in the presence of bounded and unknown disturbances. The adaptive-critic NN controller consists of an observer, a critic, and two action NNs. The observer estimates the states and output, and the two action NNs provide virtual and actual control inputs to the nonlinear discrete-time system. The critic approximates a certain strategic utility function, and the action NNs minimize the strategic utility …

Neural Network Control Of Mobile Robot Formations Using Rise Feedback, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an asymptotically stable (AS) combined kinematic/torque control law is developed for leader-follower-based formation control using backstepping in order to accommodate the complete dynamics of the robots and the formation, and a neural network (NN) is introduced along with robust integral of the sign of the error feedback to approximate the dynamics of the follower as well as its leader using online weight tuning. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the errors for the entire formation are as and that the NN weights are bounded as opposed to uniformly ultimately bounded stability which is typical with most …

Network Optimization Of Dynamically Complex Systems, Ramez Ahmed Shamseldin

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

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

Analysis Of Possible Use Of Identification Technologies In Disassembly, Vukica Jovanović, Sreten Filipović, Gordana Ostojić, Stevan Stankovski, Milovan Lazarević

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification tags that are being used during manufacturing, assembly, warehousing, and distribution could also be reused at the end of the product lifecycle for an identification of the correct disassembly process that would result in recycling of its components. The barcodes or RFID tags can be helpful in identifying objects in terms of sustainable development, regarding disassembly, recycling and reuse. In this paper, the analysis of the current applications of RFID Technology in the final phase of the product lifecycle will be presented. The simulation of the disassembly process supported by both barcode and RFID-enabled …

Design And Development Of A Prototype For A Web-Based Interface For Online Material For Tanzanian Youth, Mjema A.M

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A prototype of a web-based interface for an online database was developed to be used by youth organizations in Dar-es-Salaam. A participatory approach involving secondary students in the identification of user interface requirements, in designing and testing the prototype was used. A questionnaire was designed and manned in seven secondary schools in Dar-es-Salaam to estimate the Internet usage. Interviews were conducted to countercheck the questionnaire responses. The interview and the questionnaire helped to come up with a set of user requirements for the web-based interface of an online information search. From the specifications of the user requirements the author was …

The Systemic Nature Of Action Learning Programmes, G Mwaluko

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A lot of attention has been paid on action learning in the last four decades or so and the success of such programmes has also been widely publicized. But why have these programmes been so effective in helping organizations cope with change? Many authors state that the success of such programmes is due to the fact that they link learning to actions. Yet others claim that action learning programmes succeed because they involve employee empowerment and provide a much greater learning curve. In this paper the authors hold that action learning programmes succeed because they are partly systemic and can …

Analytical Modeling Of A Large Local Area Network - Part I: Internet Traffic Characterization, Mathew Luhanga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The goal of both IP network operators and the end users is to get the highest performance from the system for a given cost. This makes Performance a key criterion in the design, procurement, and use of computer and communication systems. In order to address problems associated with performance degradation of operational communications systems, over the last decade, traffic engineering techniques have emerged in an attempt to optimize communication systems’ performance and ensure more efficient use of their resources. One of these techniques is analytical modeling. Analytic performance models are an excellent tool for quickly evaluating the performance of operational …

Neural-Network-Based State Feedback Control Of A Nonlinear Discrete-Time System In Nonstrict Feedback Form, Pingan He, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a suite of adaptive neural network (NN) controllers is designed to deliver a desired tracking performance for the control of an unknown, second-order, nonlinear discrete-time system expressed in nonstrict feedback form. In the first approach, two feedforward NNs are employed in the controller with tracking error as the feedback variable whereas in the adaptive critic NN architecture, three feedforward NNs are used. In the adaptive critic architecture, two action NNs produce virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, whereas the third critic NN approximates certain strategic utility function and its output is employed for tuning action NN weights …

A Model Based Fault Detection And Prognostic Scheme For Uncertain Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new fault detection and prognostics (FDP) framework is introduced for uncertain nonlinear discrete time system by using a discrete-time nonlinear estimator which consists of an online approximator. A fault is detected by monitoring the deviation of the system output with that of the estimator output. Prior to the occurrence of the fault, this online approximator learns the system uncertainty. In the event of a fault, the online approximator learns both the system uncertainty and the fault dynamics. A stable parameter update law in discrete-time is developed to tune the parameters of the online approximator. This update law is also …

Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A neural network (NN) based output feedback controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The NNs are utilized in the observer and for generating virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, where the NNs learn the nonlinear dynamics of the UAV online including uncertain nonlinear terms like aerodynamic friction and blade flapping. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the position, orientation, and velocity tracking errors, the virtual control and observer estimation errors, and the NN weight estimation errors for each NN are all semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in the presence of bounded disturbances and NN functional …

A Model Based Fault Detection Scheme For Nonlinear Multivariable Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a novel robust scheme is developed for detecting faults in nonlinear discrete time multi-input and multi-output systems in contrast with the available schemes that are developed in continuous-time. Both state and output faults are addressed by considering separate time profiles. The faults, which could be incipient or abrupt, are modeled using input and output signals of the system. By using nonlinear estimation techniques, the discrete-time system is monitored online. Once a fault is detected, its dynamics are characterized using an online approximator. A stable parameter update law is developed for the online approximator scheme in discrete-time. The …

Optimal Energy-Delay Routing Protocol With Trust Levels For Wireless Ad Hoc Networks, Eyad Taqieddin, Ann K. Miller, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the Trust Level Routing (TLR) pro- tocol, an extension of the optimized energy-delay rout- ing (OEDR) protocol, focusing on the integrity, reliability and survivability of the wireless network. TLR is similar to OEDR in that they both are link state routing proto- cols that run in a proactive mode and adopt the concept of multi-point relay (MPR) nodes. However, TLR aims at incorporating trust levels into routing by frequently changing the MPR nodes as well as authenticating the source node and contents of control packets. TLR calcu- lates the link costs based on a composite metric (delay …

Network-Centric Localization In Manets Based On Particle Swarm Optimization, Raghavendra V. Kulkarni, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ann K. Miller, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

There exist several application scenarios of mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) in which the nodes need to locate a target or surround it. Severe resource constraints in MANETs call for energy efficient target localization and collaborative navigation. Centralized control of MANET nodes is not an attractive solution due to its high network utilization that can result in congestions and delays. In nature, many colonies of biological species (such as a flock of birds) can achieve effective collaborative navigation without any centralized control. Particle swarm optimization (PSO), a popular swarm intelligence approach that models social dynamics of a biological swarm is …

Reinforcement Learning Based Dual-Control Methodology For Complex Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems With Application To Spark Engine Egr Operation, Peter Shih, Brian C. Kaul, Jagannathan Sarangapani, J. A. Drallmeier

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel reinforcement-learning-based dual-control methodology adaptive neural network (NN) controller is developed to deliver a desired tracking performance for a class of complex feedback nonlinear discrete-time systems, which consists of a second-order nonlinear discrete-time system in nonstrict feedback form and an affine nonlinear discrete-time system, in the presence of bounded and unknown disturbances. For example, the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) operation of a spark ignition (SI) engine is modeled by using such a complex nonlinear discrete-time system. A dual-controller approach is undertaken where primary adaptive critic NN controller is designed for the nonstrict feedback nonlinear discrete-time system whereas the secondary …

Damping Inter-Area Oscillations By Upfcs Based On Selected Global Measurements, Mahyar Zarghami, Yilu Liu, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces a method of using a selected set of the global data for controlling inter-area oscillations of the power network using unified power flow controllers. This novel algorithm utilizes reduced order observers for estimating the missing data the purpose of control when all the data is unavailable through frequency measurements in a wide area control approach. The paper will also address the problem of time-delay in data acquisition through examples.