Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Exploring Red Palm Oil As A Sustainable Plasticizer For Carbon Black-Filled Ssbr/Br Tire Tread Compounds: A Comparative Evaluation Of Commercial Alternatives, Norma Arisanti Kinasih, Mohamad Irfan Fathurrohman, Santi Puspitasari, Dewi Kusuma Arti, Abdulhakim Masa

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

This study investigates the application of red palm oil (RPO) as an alternative vegetable oil resource to substitute petroleum-based plasticizers, which have environmental and health concerns, in carbon black (CB)-filled SSBR/BR tire tread compounds. The plasticizing effects of RPO were thoroughly evaluated by comparing them with a commercial bio-based plasticizer, Epoxidized Soybean Oil (ESBO), and two safer petroleum-based oils, Naphthenic Oil (NYNAS) and Treated Distillate Aromatic Extract (TDAE). The initial investigation shows that fatty acid composition is imposing regarding the plasticizing effect. The higher unsaturated fatty acid content in RPO than in ESBO improved tensile strength and degraded rolling resistance …

Techno-Economic Analysis Of The Utilization Of Waste-To-Energy In Jakarta Industrial Estate Pulogadung, Wahyu Punjung Pesonagrata, Mohammad Akita Indianto

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Indonesia has a serious waste problem, which ranking second in marine pollution. Due to significant environmental impacts, a solution to overcome the complexity of waste problems is needed. This study took sample on waste management in Jakarta Industrial Estate Pulogadung (JIEP). JIEP is an Industrial area which covers 443 hectares of land in East Jakarta. This study aims to address Indonesia's serious waste problem by exploring the potential utilization of waste in the Jakarta Industrial Estate Pulogadung (JIEP) as Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) for a waste-to-energy (WtE) power plant. The proposed method used a steam power plant with RDF as fuel …

Metallurgical Investigation Of A Modified Eye Bolt Failure Caused By Improper Weld Extension, Specification Deviation, And Crevice Corrosion, Dimas Muhammad Fawwaz, Reza Miftahul Ulum, Johny Wahyuadi Soedarsono, Yudha Pratesa

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

A modified eye bolt from the David Arm Manhole Storage Tank underwent thorough metallurgical study due to the consequences of the bolt's malfunction during operation. Safety issues arose when the manhole door detached during operation. The mechanical testing and chemical composition analysis of the bolts indicated they were manufactured from an ASTM A193 Grade B7 material used for high-temperature bolting. This material did not conform to the engineering drawing, which mentioned SA 563A, which is about nuts, not bolts. This contradiction clearly shows that the eye bolt which was installed does not conform to the intended design. Welded connections of …

Rejection Of Fe (Iron) And Kmno4 (Organic Substance) Parameters In Peat Water Using Organic Membranes, Muhamad Rafli Sakti Mulia Gonera, Siti Umi Kalsum, Sarah Fiebrina Heraningsih

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Peat water is a surface water source widely used by people in swampy and lowland areas, but it has poor quality characteristics such as high organic matter content, low pH, and dissolved metal levels such as iron that exceed the threshold. These conditions can cause health problems and reduce the quality of clean water so that effective treatment technology is needed. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of ultrafiltration membranes made from chitosan from shrimp shell waste in rejecting iron (Fe) and organic substances in peat water, and to determine the effect of pressure on separation performance. This study …

Optimization Of Gas Consumption, Cost And Production Rate For Computerized Numerical Control Oxy-Acetylene Flame Cutters, Eustace K. William, Simon I. Marandu, Enock W. Nshama

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study examined the impact of flame cutting parameters (i.e., cutting speed, plate thickness and nozzle diameter) on oxy-acetylene gas consumption, cost and production rate. A full factorial design of experiments was used to generate 27 experiments, which were conducted using a CNC flame cutter. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used to determine significant process parameters, followed by regression analysis using the MINITAB ® software. The technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solutions (TOPSIS) was used to determine the optimal cutting parameters for minimizing the consumption and cost estimation of oxy- acetylene gas and maximizing the …

Selfish Herd: Emergence Of Distributed Sensing, Timothy Mascal

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The problem of multi-agent swarm formation control seeks decision frameworks that exhibit desirable emergent behavior, including distributed sensing and communication, while remaining resilient to environmental noise. Previous work has demonstrated that the Selfish Herd Model is not only resilient to simulated sensor noise but performs better in its presence. This work further investigates the emergent behaviors of the Selfish Herd Model, particularly distributed sensing, by investigating whether the swarm achieves global stability equivalent to that observed in previous work utilizing global knowledge. A parameter variation study was performed across varying agent visual range and maximum neighbor count inputs to simulate …

Innovative Controls For Combustible Particulate Dust In Industrial Refineries, Sadie Dickman

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project entails an extensive analysis of the occupational combustible dust hazard that exists in industrial refineries, including food processing, manufacturing, and metalworking facilities. Based on prior accidents like the 2008 Imperial Sugar and 2017 Didion Milling explosions, combustible dust causes fire and explosion risks that can result in damages, injuries, and fatalities. Through comparison of OSHA regulations, NFPA standards, and accident data, a lack of effective standards regarding training, audits, ventilation, fire prevention, and adequate housekeeping measures were highlighted to be an existing safety gap. The purpose of this study is to propose administrative controls to mandate companies to …

Prediction Of Satellite Temperature During An Orbit Of A Cubesat, Michael Reynolds

Honors Theses

This thesis develops a thermal-simulation strategy for predicting CubeSat component temperatures, applied to Jag-Sat-1, a CubeSat developed at the University of South Alabama and deployed from the International Space Station in 2022. The orbit was reconstructed from two-line element (TLE) data using simplified general perturbations (SGP4) propagation, and spacecraft attitude was recovered from onboard gyroscope measurements. Sunlight, penumbra, and umbra intervals were computed geometrically, and the external radiative environment — direct solar, Earth infrared, and albedo heat fluxes — was modeled using orientation-dependent view factors. These time-varying fluxes drove a transient finite-element thermal simulation of the full satellite geometry in …

Load Flow And Fault Performance Evaluation Of Interconnected Minigrids In Uganda Using Digsilent Powerfactory, Prossy Mutesi, Santos Kihwele, Emmanuel Matee

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The increasing demand for decentralized, reliable electricity in rural Sub-Saharan Africa has catalyzed the deployment of minigrids as an intermediate electrification strategy. This study investigates two solar photovoltaic (PV) mini-grids: Kyamugarura and Kanyegaramire, located in western Uganda, approximately 3km apart. Each mini grid initially consisted of 13 kW installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity, supplying power to households and small businesses. Due to rising demand and regular evening blackouts, both mini-grids are being upgraded to 57 kWp each. The integration of these upgraded systems into the national utility grid is proposed and simulated to evaluate performance improvements under two medium-voltage interconnection options: …

A Novel Hexagonal-Zigzag Cellular Infill Structure For Additive Manufacturing, Md. Saidur R Roney, Amm Nazmul Ahsan, Prosenjit Barua

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The rigidity of the Additively Manufactured objects can be tailored by manipulating the infill lattice type and density. In this research, an island type novel infill structure termed as Hexagonal-Zigzag pattern is introduced, and its mechanical performance is investigated. In this pattern, the zigzag raster reflects the repeating hexagonal shaped cell constituting the parallel-oriented islands and 90° rotation of the pattern in each layer distributes the island span along both transverse and longitudinal directions of the printing contour. A mathematical model is established to illustrate the effect of the infill parameters on hexagon unit cell size and relative infill density. …

Data Driven Estimation Of Pore Size Using 1d Light Emissions For Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing, Jose Galarza, Jorge Barron, Luis Jimenez, Tamer Oraby, Jianzhi Li, Farid Ahmed

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The quality assurance of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process (LPBF) has been extensively investigated over the last decade for in-situ monitoring of metal additive manufacturing. The process inherently generates voids within the bulk of the part, which can detrimentally affect the quality of the printed part. The characterization of these voids by estimating their size and identifying their geometrical features remains a challenge. This study introduces a Machine Learning (ML) based framework for estimating void sizes of varying geometries using layer-wise one-dimensional (1D) average light intensity signal obtained from the optical tomography system during the 3D printing of metallic …

An Analytical Framework For Quantifying Urban And Community Resilience To Natural Hazards From Cell-Phone Gps-Location And Traffic-Flow Data, Georgios Chatzikyriakidis

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Urban areas are increasingly exposed to natural hazards while accommodating a growing share of the global population, yet a consistent science-based framework for quantifying urban and community resilience remains lacking. This dissertation develops a physics-based analytical framework grounded in statistical mechanics and the quantitative theory of Brownian motion. A city is conceptualized as a complex medium in which citizens move analogously to Brownian particles within a viscoelastic environment, influenced by socioeconomic interactions and infrastructure functionality.

A central premise is that urban resilience, interpreted as engineering resilience (an outcome), can be quantified through a single metric: the mean-square displacement MSD=⟨r²(t)⟩, of …

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Tabitha R. Webster

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end to end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and …

Development Of A Putting Green Manufacturing Process, Jose Andres Cepeda Santiago

Honors Theses

Our Capstone project investigates the end-to-end design, development, and production of a 6‑foot long portable putting green marketed for individuals seeking a high quality, competitively priced golf product for home or office use. The capstone project examines the full lifecycle of product creation applying manufacturing principles learned through the center of manufacturing’s coursework. From the initial concept through engineering design, market research, prototyping, manufacturing optimization, and final production the project emphasizes cross‑functional collaboration across engineering, business, and accountancy majors. Methods used to gather data included marketing surveys, CAD drawings, time studies during production runs, value stream mapping, and controlled documentation …

The Optimization Of A Robotic Welding Arm To Improve Efficiency, Margaret Close

Honors Theses

The main objective of this report is to optimize a robotic welding arm to improve a locker manufacturing process. The robotic welding arm, a Miller PerformArc, used by Lockers Manufacturing has been producing spatter. Spatter significantly reduces the quality of the product and increases the product’s manufacturing time. The goal of this project was to find the best solution to reduce spatter without weakening the welds and ensuring that efficiency will increase. The first step in this project was to test multiple weld testing variables such as voltage, current, welding angle, robot speed, and arc and crater ratios. For each …

Engineering Design And Analysis Using Creo® Cad, Cae, And Manufacturing Applications, Swapnil Moon

Open and Affordable Textbooks

This textbook presents a structured approach to computer-aided design using Creo, integrating CAD, CAE, and CAM workflows within a unified engineering framework. The material emphasizes parametric modeling, design intent, and feature-based modeling as foundations for creating robust and adaptable engineering models. Through progressively structured tutorials, students develop skills in part modeling, assemblies, engineering drawings, mechanism design, simulation, and manufacturing. The text incorporates real-world engineering components and workflows, including structural and thermal analysis, motion simulation, and toolpath generation, reflecting modern engineering practice. Designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, this open educational resource supports hands-on learning and prepares students for industry-relevant …

Introduction To Computer-Aided Design Using Solidworks® : A Structured Approach To Parametric Modeling And Design Intent, Swapnil Moon

Open and Affordable Textbooks

This textbook introduces computer-aided design (CAD) using SOLIDWORKS® through a structured, design-centered approach that emphasizes parametric modeling and engineering reasoning. Rather than focusing solely on software commands, the material develops foundational skills in design intent, constraint-based modeling, and feature relationships to create robust, adaptable models.

The content is organized progressively, beginning with basic sketching and feature creation and advancing to complex part modeling, assemblies, motion studies, and engineering drawings. Each chapter builds upon prior concepts, reinforcing systematic modeling practices and promoting the development of system-level thinking required in real-world engineering design workflows.

Designed for undergraduate students with little or no …

The Expectation Of Pain: Effects On Threshold, Tolerance, And Perception, Emma Paulus

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Brain activity in pain-related regions of the cortex is thought to be influenced by interactions between expectations and incoming sensory information. However, the subjective experience of pain based on expectation has not been thoroughly explored. By changing visual and auditory cues to set expectation levels, a relationship between unconscious expectation of pain and actual sensory pain experienced was characterized. With IRB approval, volunteers were randomly and blindly grouped into low and high pain expectancy groups. Each group completed a survey about initial pain expectations before the muscle stimulation tolerance test, followed by a survey about actual pain perception after the …

Manufacturing Systems: Characteristics And Dynamics, Alan J. Fitzmorris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This research answers three basic questions. First, what are the behaviors (dynamics) of a manufacturing system in the context of system performance? Are these dynamics best described as linear deterministic, periodic, nonlinear deterministic, or stochastic? Second, what are the complexity (chaotic) characteristics of a manufacturing system, namely the maximal Lyapunov exponent, correlation dimension, and Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy? Third, is there a relationship between complexity characteristics and manufacturing system performance? This research involves four high level steps: data analysis, system dynamics analysis, system complexity analysis, and correlation analysis. The data analyzed consists of concrete plant and shipbuilding shop time series performance data. …

Techno-Enviro-Economic Analysis Of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Production From Carbon Dioxide In Cement Industry Flue Gas And Calcium Hydroxide, Natalia Debora Panggabean, Widodo Wahyu Purwanto

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

CCUS is a technological solution to reduce emissions from the cement industry, which is the second largest CO2-intensive industry. This study aims to analyze technical, economic, and environmental performance of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) synthesis in cement industry flue gas. The process simulation includes the CO2 capture system from cement plant, CO2 captured used as feedstock for PCC synthesis process through its reaction with calcium hydroxide. The simulation was carried out using ASPEN Plus software. Technical analysis was performed to determine the CO2 capture efficiency and PCC synthesis efficiency. Economic analysis was conducted to calculate CO2 capture cost and production …

Feasibility Analysis Of Thermal Oxidizer To Determine Remaining Life Using Fitness- For-Service Level 3 Method, Yudhi Yudistirawan, Donanta Dhaneswara, Wahyuaji Narottama Putra, Gama Widyaputra, Dewi Kurnia Suci, Agung Putra Mahardhika

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

An aged thermal oxidizer (TOX) in the oil and gas industry necessitates a comprehensive evaluation to ensure its continued safe operation. This study presents a Remaining Life Assessment (RLA) and a Fitness for Service (FFS) evaluation for the four main components of the TOX, in accordance with API 510, API 579/ASME FFS-1, and ASME BPVC Section VIII Div-1 standards. The investigation includes the determination of maximum stress and maximum temperature required to assess the operational viability of the reactor. The four components are radiant, convection, transition, and stack sections—were modeled using the finite element method (FEM). Following the geometric modeling, …

Risk Identification Of Green Hydrogen Supply Chain In Ammonia Industry In Indonesia Using Delphi And Topsis Methods, Ananda Priatama, Sheila Tobing

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

The development of green hydrogen in Indonesia, while promising for supporting industrial decarbonization, remains in its early stages and faces various challenges across technical, economic, and regulatory domains. This study aims to identify and prioritize the risks linked to green hydrogen supply chain in Indonesia, particularly for applications in the ammonia industry. A set of 49 potential risk factors was initially compiled through literature review and prior studies. The Delphi method was employed with a panel of experts to validate these risks, ultimately refining the list to 27 critical risk factors. Subsequently, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to …

Assessing Passenger Electric Vehicle Growth Strategies And Their Impacts On Electricity Demand Load And Co2 Emissions In Aceh Province To Achieve Net Zero Emission Target By 2060, Taufik Hidayat, Widodo Wahyu Purwanto

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

The electrification of the transport sector is a crucial pathway for achieving Indonesia’s Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target by 2060. This study assesses the potential impact of passenger electric vehicle (EV) penetration on electricity demand and CO2 emissions in Aceh Province through a scenario-based modelling approach. Two policy-aligned scenarios are assessed: a low-penetration (LP) scenario and a high-penetration (HP) scenario. Using the Gompertz model and the ASIF framework, total CO2 emissions were projected from 2020 to 2060. Results show that although higher EV penetration reduces direct emissions from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, total CO2 emissions increase more significantly under …

Implementation Of The Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies In Tanzania’S Downstream Oil And Gas Industries, Vitalis John Mwinyi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The advent of the fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) has resulted in the digital transformation of multiple sectors of the economy due to the disruptive nature of the technologies driving the revolution. The technologies have already found their way into the oil and gas industries across the globe, especially in upstream, midstream, and downstream operations. However, the degree of implementation is not the same for these operations, considering the complexities involved, integrated process, the associated risk and investment cost, among others. This study aimed to establish the implementation level of IR4.0 technologies in the downstream operations. A survey method was employed …

A Review Of Energy Storage Technologies With Hydro Energy System Design For Off-Grid Electricity, Daniel H. Ngoma, Banet L. Masenga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Many renewable energy sources such hydropower—particularly small-scale run-of-river and micro-hydro—offers reliable, low-cost generation. However, their inherent intermittency (due to seasonal flow variations) and inability to instantly match demand necessitate integrated energy storage to ensure a stable, continuous power supply. This review synthesizes contemporary energy storage technologies in the context of their integration with off-grid hydro energy system design.

The study examine a spectrum of storage solutions, evaluating their technical characteristics, costs, and suitability for hybrid hydro applications. Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), while highly efficient and large-scale, is often geographically constrained and capital-intensive for small off-grid projects. Battery Energy Storage Systems …

Evaluating Uav Visual-Inertial Odometry Trajectory Error And Feature-Level Metrics Over Repetitive Floor Patterns, Anass El Mekkoussi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO) is a widely used state estimation technique for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation in environments where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are unavailable. VIO systems that rely on visual feature tracking are susceptible to performance degradation when operating over surfaces containing repetitive visual textures, where visually similar features can produce ambiguous correspondences that introduce errors into the trajectory estimate. Despite the prevalence of repetitive textures in indoor UAV operating environments such as warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and infrastructure corridors, the specific impact of different repetitive pattern geometries on per-surface VIO accuracy has received limited systematic study, and …

Investigation Of Process Parameters To Fabricate Tiwmo Refractory Medium Entropy Alloy Via Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Abdullah Al Masum Jabir, Lindsey A. Salazar, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents an experimental study on the fabrication of a TiWMo refractory medium-entropy alloy (RMEA) using laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M, commonly known as selective laser melting) from elemental powders as well as successful alloy formation on titanium substrates. The effects of tungsten particle size and process parameters on successful TiWMo RMEA fabrication have been explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction, hardness measurement and microstructural analysis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed that the lowest percentage (0.01%) of unmelted tungsten particles was observed at a laser power of 350 W and scanning speed of 250 mm/s, particularly …

Optimizing Warranty Policies For Remanufactured Products: When Should They Be Longer, Shorter, Or Identical To New Product Warranties?, Kunpeng Li, Jun-Yeon Lee

Faculty Publications

Manufacturers adopt different warranty strategies for remanufactured products, offering shorter, identical, or longer warranty periods compared to new products. However, prior research has only focused on manufacturers offering either shorter or identical warranties. In addition, the existing literature has not captured the diminishing returns of warranties, i.e., as the warranty coverage increases, its incremental benefits begin to decrease but the costs continue to increase. To address these gaps, we develop an optimization model that jointly considers pricing and warranty decisions while accounting for warranty’s diminishing effect on consumer’s willingness to pay for remanufactured products. We show that all three observed …

Layer-Wise Printing Parameter Optimization For Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Chaoran Dou, Rongxuan Wang, Raghav Gnanasambandam, Jianzhi Li, Zhenyu James Kong

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing (AM) is a transformative technology that enables the fabrication of complex geometries layer by layer. However, metal parts produced via AM processes such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) are prone to various defects, including porosity and deformation. These defects often result from suboptimal printing parameter settings. Traditional approaches typically aim to reduce defects by optimizing a fixed set of parameters for the entire part. However, such methods do not account for layer-wise variations in printing conditions caused by changes in geometry, heat transfer, and re-heating effects. While optimizing parameters for each layer could improve part quality, it …

Reinforcement Learning For Imbalanced Data In Robotic Anomaly Detection Within Autonomous Manufacturing, Salma Messaoudi, Ahmed Bendaouia, El Hassan Abdelwahed, Mohammed Ameksa, Hajar Mousannif, Jianzhi Li

Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

Ensuring reliable anomaly detection in industrial robots is critical for safe and autonomous manufacturing operations. However, it remains challenging due to temporal dependencies and class imbalance in sensor data. This study presents a reinforcement learning approach using Deep Q-Network (DQN) enhanced with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) for robust anomaly detection in robotic systems. The proposed framework integrates an LSTM into the DQN policy to capture temporal patterns. It also introduces a novel GBM-based reward mechanism that mitigates class imbalance by applying SMOTE (Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique) after removing temporal dependencies. Experimental results demonstrate that this …