Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Top-Down & Bottom-Up Approaches To Robot Design, Dylan Michael Covell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis presents a study of different engineering design methodologies and demonstrates their effectiveness and limitations in actual robot designs. Some of these methods were blended together with focus on providing an easily interpreted project design flow while implementing more bottom-up, or feedback, elements into the design methodology. Typically design methods are learned through experience, and design taught in academia aims to shape and formalize previous experience. Usually, inexperienced engineers are taught approaches resembling the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) 2221 process. This method presented by the Association of German Engineers in 2006 is regarded as the general system design process. …

Functionally Magnetic Gradient Copper-Nickel Material Fabricated Via Directed Energy Deposition, Vy Tran Phuong Nguyen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Functionally gradient materials (FGMs) of CuSn10 and Inconel 718 were fabricated via a hybrid directed energy deposition (DED) system. The objective of the present thesis is to determine the feasibility of manufacturing CuSn10 and Inconel 718 FGMs via DED and investigate the physical and mechanical properties and the microstructures of the resulting FGMs. The physical tests comprised of conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements. The microstructure analysis and mechanical testing include microscopic imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and hardness test. In addition, compressive strength test was performed to analyze the interface bonding behaviors.

Developing Artificial Intelligence Tools To Investigate The Phenotypes And Correlates Of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients In West Virginia, Marzieh Amiri Shahbazi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Developing Artificial Intelligence tools to investigate the phenotypes and correlates of Chronic Kidney Disease patients in West Virginia

Marzieh Amiri Shahbazi

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is responsible for disrupting the lives of 37 million people just in the USA, which is about 1 in 7 adults. CKD results in a gradual loss of kidney function over time. Sometimes CKD doesn’t produce any significant symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. On the other hand, acute kidney injury (AKI) accounts for a sudden decline in the kidney’s function. As a result, the kidneys fail to filter waste materials from the …

Bottleneck Management Through Strategic Sequencing In Smart Manufacturing Systems, Sayantee Roy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nowadays, industries put a significant emphasis on finding the optimum order for carrying out jobs in sequence. This is a crucial element in determining net productivity. Depending on the demand criterion, all production systems, including flexible manufacturing systems, follow a predefined sequence of job-based machine operations. The complexity of the problem increases with increasing machines and jobs to sequence, demanding the use of an appropriate sequencing technique. The major contribution of this work is to modify an existing algorithm with a very unusual machine setup and find the optimal sequence which will really minimize the makespan. This custom machine setup …

An Application Of An Unequal-Area Facilities Layout Problem With Fixed-Shape Facilities, Alan Mckendall, Artak Hakobyan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The unequal-area facility layout problem (UA-FLP) is the problem of locating rectangular facilities on a rectangular floor space such that facilities do not overlap while optimizing some objective. The objective considered in this paper is minimizing the total distance materials travel between facilities. The UA-FLP considered in this paper considers facilities with fixed dimension and was motivated by the investigation of layout options for a production area at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia (TMMWV) plant in Buffalo, WV, USA. This paper presents a mathematical model and a genetic algorithm for locating facilities on a continuous plant floor. More specifically, …

An Application Of An Unequal-Area Facilities Layout Problem With Fixed-Shape Facilities, Alan Mckendall, Artak Hakobyan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The unequal-area facility layout problem (UA-FLP) is the problem of locating rectangular facilities on a rectangular floor space such that facilities do not overlap while optimizing some objective. The objective considered in this paper is minimizing the total distance materials travel between facilities. The UA-FLP considered in this paper considers facilities with fixed dimension and was motivated by the investigation of layout options for a production area at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia (TMMWV) plant in Buffalo, WV, USA. This paper presents a mathematical model and a genetic algorithm for locating facilities on a continuous plant floor. More specifically, …

Validation Of Shoulder Strain Index, Fabiha Islam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of shoulder are one of the most frequent and major causes of morbidity and pain among full-time workers in the USA. In 2018, shoulder disorders were the most severe type of MSDs in terms of lost workdays. Recent epidemiological studies have identified several biomechanical, organizational, and psychological factors that increase the risk of shoulder MSDs. Though multiple biomechanical studies have evaluated physical causal factors of shoulder MSDs with a goal of risk mitigation, literature lacks a standardized risk assessment tool. The main objective of this study was to validate a previously developed shoulder strain index. The strain …

Determination Of Effectiveness Of Energy Management System In Buildings, Vivash Karki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) are computer-based systems that aid in managing, controlling, and monitoring the building technical services and energy consumption by equipment used in the building. The effectiveness of BEMS is dependent upon numerous factors, among which the operational characteristics of the building and the BEMS control parameters also play an essential role. This research develops a user-driven simulation tool where users can input the building parameters and BEMS controls to determine the effectiveness of their BEMS. The simulation tool gives the user the flexibility to understand the potential energy savings by employing specific BEMS control and help …

Multivariate Time Series Classification Of Sensor Data From An Industrial Drying Hopper: A Deep Learning Approach, Md Mushfiqur Rahman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In recent years, the advancement of industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing has made a large number of industrial process data attainable with the use of sensors installed in the machineries. This thesis proposes an experimental predictive maintenance framework for an industrial drying hopper so that it can detect any unusual event in the hopper which reduces the risk of erroneous fault diagnosis in the manufacturing shop floor. The experimental framework uses Deep Learning (DL) algorithms in order to classify Multivariate Time Series (MTS) data into two categories- failure or unusual events and regular events, thus formulating the problem as binary …

Models And Solution Approaches For Integrated Student To School Assignment And School Bus Routing Problem Focusing On Special Needs Students, Azadeh Ansari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation addresses the integrated problem of assigning students to schools and generating school bus routes particularly focusing on the special needs students is addressed. Special needs students generally require supplementary accommodations and must be picked up from and dropped off at their home addresses. This will increase the number of nodes in the network and therefore introduces additional complexities to the problems of assignment and routing for students. An integrated single objective mathematical model is first developed that simultaneously assigns the students to schools based on their needs and generates efficient bus routes to deliver the students to their …

Effect Of Feedrate, Depth Of Cut, Tool Material, And Toolpath On Dimensional Accuracy And Surface Roughness Of Milled Cfrp, Assem Hesham Almadani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis investigates the effect of different factors on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) milling, like feedrate, tool material, and cutting speed. CFRP offers excellent material properties, which led to the increase of the material in today's manufacturing industry. CFRP offers up to 2.25 times steel's modulus of elasticity at about a fifth of the weight and excellent thermal properties, which allow the use of this material in applications with high heat like automobiles. Many industries have implemented the use of CFRP in their applications, like airplanes and automobiles, which lead to a decrease in weight and increase in strength. …

Prediction Of Tensile Behaviors Of L-Ded 316 Stainless Steel Parts Using Machine Learning, Israt Zarin Era

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Directed energy deposition (DED) is a rising field in the arena of metal additive manufacturing and has extensive applications in aerospace, medical and rapid prototyping. The process parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed and specimen height, play a great deal in controlling and affecting the properties of DED fabricated parts. Nevertheless, both experimental and simulation methods have shown constraints and limited ability to generate accurate and efficient computational predictions on the correlations between the process parameters and the final part quality. In this work, a data driven machine learning model XGBoost has been built and applied to predict the …

Flipping The Classroom For Introduction To Probability And Statistics For Engineers, Philomena Krosmico

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineers, IENG 213, is a foundational course in the Industrial Engineering curriculum at West Virginia University (WVU). The challenge has been finding the best teaching method to instill concept learning. A “flipped classroom” teaching style has been gaining momentum throughout higher education and has had proven success in STEM fields. At WVU, beginning with the 2016 Fall semester, the teaching model for the class used a flipped classroom style for one of the instructors. Data on statistical concept learning, using the University of Oklahoma validated statistics concept inventory instrument (Allen K., 2006), was collected …

Improving Real-Time Methane Monitoring In Longwall Coal Mines Through System Response Characterization Of A Multi-Nodal Methane Detection Network, Brian Philip Cappellini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Machine automation and atmospheric monitoring are used by many industries to improve safety and productivity in the workplace. The underground Methane Watchdog System (MWS) is a multi-nodal network of sensors currently under development. The MWS aims to improve safety and productivity by introducing 10 compact sampling units designed to be easily integrated within the current roof support equipment of the mine. Each unit contains an array of sensors used to continuously monitor the environmental conditions which include methane concentration, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. All MWS units report information back to a remote central processing hub (CPH) which collects nodal …

Identification Of Moving Bottlenecks In Production Systems, Funmilayo Mofoluwasola Adeyinka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Manufacturing sector have been plagued by bottlenecks from time immemorial, leading to loss of productivity and profitability, various research effort has been expended towards identifying and mitigating the effects of bottlenecks on production lines. However, traditional approaches often fail in identifying moving bottlenecks. The current data boom and giant strides made in the machine learning field proffers an alternative means of using the large volume of data generated by machines in identifying bottlenecks. In this study, a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm is used in identifying potential groups of bottlenecks within a serial production line.

A serial production line with five …

Sustainability Key Performance Indicators For Mass Customization, Md Fahid Hasan Pulak

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Today’s manufacturers are striving towards a more sustainable and customized product offering in their value chain to satisfy customer demand and compete on the marketplace. By adopting sustainability practices, companies are not only complying with environmental regulations but are strategically addressing the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic). Similarly, mass customization allows a company to better satisfy their customers by creating individualized products economically. Moving forward, it is important to better understand the relationship of these two competitive strategies. In order to assess the sustainability performance of mass customization, it is important to understand the appropriate …

Evaluation Of Lidar Systems For Rock Mass Discontinuity Identification In Underground Stone Mines From 3d Point Cloud Data, Mario Alejandro Bendezu De La Cruz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The goal of this thesis is to compare the accuracy and precision of the discontinuity identification results obtained by three active remote sensing technologies along with a point cloud processing program, and the results obtained by conventional methods. For this research, the active remote sensing devices were terrestrial LIDAR, mobile LiDAR with Simultaneous localization, and mapping (SLAM), and LIDAR/Camera on an autonomous UAV. The open-source point cloud data processing programs Discontinuity Set Extractor (DSE) and the Cloud Compare were used to process point cloud data.

The results of this research found that it is possible to identify certain geological structures …

Modeling, Optimization And Uncertainty Quantification Of Solids-Based Co2 Capture Technologies, Anca Ostace

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Solids-based carbon dioxide (CO₂)adsorption, where CO₂ is adsorbed under high pressure/low temperature and desorbed at low pressure/high temperature, is a low energy consumption capture technology with high carbon uptake efficiency. Chemical looping combustion (CLC), where a solid oxygen carrier (OC) transports oxygen between two high-temperature reactors – a fuel and an air reactor –, is a low energy penalty, fuel-flexible technology with inherent CO₂ capture for power/heat and syngas production.

In this work, state-of-the-art equation-oriented (EO) mathematical models of a fixed-bed (FxB) contactor for CO₂ adsorption and moving-bed (MB) reactors for gas-, and solid-fueled CLC …

An Equest Based Building Energy Modeling Analysis For Energy Efficiency Of Buildings, Saroj Lamichhane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Building energy performance is a function of numerous building parameters. In this study, sensitivity analysis on twenty parameters is performed to determine the top three parameters which have the most significant impact on the energy performance of buildings. Actual data from two fully operational commercial buildings were collected and used to develop a building energy model in eQUEST. The model is calibrated using Normalized Mean Bias Error (NMBE) and Coefficient of Variation of Root Mean Square Error (CV(RMSE)) method. The model satisfies the NMBE and CV(RMSE) criteria set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE) Guideline 14, …

Subsurface Analytics: Contribution Of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning To Reservoir Engineering, Reservoir Modeling, And Reservoir Management, Shahab D. Mohaghegh

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Subsurface Analytics is a new technology that changes the way reservoir simulation and modeling is performed. Instead of starting with the construction of mathematical equations to model the physics of the fluid flow through porous media and then modification of the geological models in order to achieve history match, Subsurface Analytics that is a completely AI-based reservoir simulation and modeling technology takes a completely different approach. In AI-based reservoir modeling, field measurements form the foundation of the reservoir model. Using data-driven, pattern recognition technologies; the physics of the fluid flow through porous media is modeled through discovering the best, most …

Energy Forensics Analysis, Rupa Das

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The energy consumed by a building can reveal information about the occupants and their activities inside the building. This could be utilized by industries and law enforcement agencies for commercial or legal purposes. Utility data from Smart Meter (SM) readings can reveal detailed information that could be mapped to foretell resident occupancy and type of appliance usage over desired time intervals. However, obtaining SM data in the United States is laborious and subjected to legal and procedural constraints. This research develops a user-driven simulation tool with realistic data options and assumptions of potential human behavior to determine energy usage patterns …

Assessment Of Heat Stress For Outdoor Work Conditions In Saudi Arabia, Jamal Alanazi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Outdoor workers have an increased risk of heat stress in Saudi Arabia since it is one of the hottest places in the Middle East. Recently, the government decided to limit outdoor work hours during the months of June, July, and August every year, and banned working under the direct sunlight from 12:00 to 03:00 p.m., although outdoor workers in the petroleum, natural gas, or emergency maintenance work industries are exempt from this prohibition. Traditionally, the efforts by safety and health professionals to mitigate work-related heat injury has been directed toward the assessment of environmental heat stress (e.g., wet-bulb globe temperature), …

Capital Equipment Upgrade Strategy In The Context Of Servitization, Muztoba Ahmad Khan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Building on manufacturing servitization and Product-Service Systems (PSS) business models, the midlife equipment upgrade services introduce promising alternative to traditional equipment replacement, which is often capital intensive and time consuming. Midlife upgrade describes the process of improving the performance of and adding new functional capabilities into equipment during their active usage period by embedding technological innovation while satisfying evolving customers’ preferences over time. This strategy, however, has thus far been discussed primarily from a conceptual perspective in literature, and the state of the art lacks empirical evidence regarding the potential and outcome of successful midlife upgrades. Additionally, explorative studies report …

Implications Of Variability Of Electromyographic Measurements For Assessing Localized Muscle Fatigue, Hamad Nasser Alasim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The impact of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) is enormous due to a combination of direct and indirect costs associated with healthcare, lost workdays and human suffering. Because of the established relationship between Localized Muscle Fatigue (LMF) development and WMSDs, and in order to reduce and/or prevent WMSDs in workplaces, different fatigue assessment methods have been developed. Surface Electromyography (SEMG) is a commonly used LMF assessment technique. The SEMG signals are typically analyzed in time and frequency domains to predict LMF based on a relative change with respect to initial, or under no-fatigue conditions. Quantifying such change, however, relies on the …

A Study Of Impact Protection Of Metacarpal Gloves, Faisal Mohammed Alessa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Work-related wrist, hand, and finger injuries are highly prevalent in manufacturing and extractive industries. An analysis of mining-related hand injury data from over the past two decades (Alessa et al., 2020) showed that hand injuries caused by insufficient protection against impact loads (e.g. struck by accidents) were categorized with high severity. Existing literature lacks clear classification and quantification methods for the protection provided by impact-resistant gloves (i.e. metacarpal gloves). A new method to establish a quantitative measure of performance for commonly used metacarpal gloves was developed and evaluated.

In the first specific aim, an experimental study using cadaveric hand specimens …

Evaluation Of Object Attributes To Study Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off Of Gloves Using Iso 9241-411 Standard, Isha Gaut

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Selection of appropriate gloves plays an important role in the overall comfort and productivity of workers. Currently, there are no standards and/or guidelines available to systematically evaluate the glove performance based on speed-accuracy trade-off. The ISO 9241-411 standard which is based on Fitts’ Law has been extensively used in the literature to measure speed-accuracy trade-off in terms of throughput in the virtual environments. This study was aimed at developing guidelines for implementing ISO 9241-411 standard in the physical environment so that it can be used to estimate (and compare) throughputs of safety gloves. Specifically, the various physical attributes of objects …

Comparison Of Condensation Nuclei Counter And Controlled Negative Pressure Methods Under Different Environmental Conditions Tested With A Mannequin And Human Subjects, Olanrewaju John Fadairo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Continuing concern about exposure to respiratory hazards at various workplaces and prevalent pandemics such as H1N1/09 influenza and COVID-19, have necessitated a need for more research regarding respirators. Quantitative fit testing (QNFT) is a critical component of an OSHA compliant respiratory protection program. QNFTs are often performed in environments where temperature and relative humidity (RH) vary. However, no study has investigated the possible effects of these parameters on penetration and QNFT results.

This comparative study utilized condensation nuclei counter (CNC) and controlled negative pressure (CNP) methods to quantitatively determine simulated mannequin fit factors (SMFFs) and human fit factor (HFFs) using …

Transit Agencies Performance Assessment And Implications, Parisa Hajibabaee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although most transit systems operate in small urban and rural areas in the United States, these systems have rarely received the same attention as their urban counterparts, both in terms of ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and understanding the factors that affect their performance. This thesis's main goals are to assess the performance of rural and small urban public transit agencies and help them evaluate adopting a ridehailing program, thereby improving their performance. We applied operations research and decision-making tools to two public transit projects in small urban and rural areas. The first project focuses on three …

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 …

Metaheuristics For The Generalized Quadratic Assignment Problem, Roseline Mostafa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The generalized quadratic assignment problem (GQAP) is the task of assigning a set of facilities to a set of locations such that the sum of the assignment and transportation costs is minimized. The facilities may have different space requirements, and the locations may have varying space capacities. Also, multiple facilities may be assigned to each location such that space capacity is not exceeded. In this research, an application of the GQAP is presented for assigning a set of machines to a set of locations on the plant floor. Two meta-heuristics are proposed for solving the GQAP: tabu search (TS) and …