Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Levee/Floodwall Freeboard Design For An Urban Flood Control Project, Daniel B. Pridal, Edward F. Sing

United States Army: Publications

A methodology for the design of levee/floodwall freeboard using evolving guidelines based on the concept of superiority is presented. A case study illustrating the application of the freeboard design guidelines to the Truckee Meadows Project is shown. The Truckee Meadows Project provides a 100 year level of flood protection through the Reno-Sparks, Nevada metropolitan area along an approximate ten mile reach of the Truckee River. Major features of the project include levees, floodwalls, channel modifications, bridge replacement or reconstruction, a detention basin, and drainage improvements. The project is presently in the Preconstruction, Engineering and Design (PED) Phase within the Sacramento …

Removal Of Extremely Low Levels Of Munitions In A Drinking Water Supply, R. Mark Bricka, Wayne Sharp

United States Army: Publications

Past military operations have resulted in the contamination of soils by chemical munitions such as RDX, HMX and TNT (contaminant description, page 2) . The migration of water through the soils can transport the contaminants into groundwater and contaminate drinking water sources . Many military munitions are known or suspected to be carcinogenic and, therefore, must be removed from drinking water .

Analyses Of Special Hazards And Flooding Problems In Tropical Island Environments, Robert C. Macarthur, Douglas L. Hamilton, Michael D. Harvey, Hudson W. Kekaula

United States Army: Publications

Data and results summarized in this paper show that development of urban projects and design of flood control works in tropical island catchments must consider clear water flooding as well as special hazards such as landslides, flow bulking, high sediment concentrations, mud and debris flows and flow avulsions. The needs for and methods to estimate peak flows, event volumes and the potential extent and depths of flooding during severe storm events in urbanizing tropical environments are described.

Contaminant Groundwater Interception - Rma, S. Paul Miller, William L. Murphy

United States Army: Publications

Resolution of groundwater contamination is the major environmental concern at most contamination sites. At some sites immediate control is required to prevent further damage. This paper describes a pioneer groundwater interception and treatment system developed and evaluated at a major Army installation.

Moving Object Recognition And Guidance Of Robots Using Neural Networks, Abhijit Neogy, S. N. Balakrishnan, Cihan H. Dagli

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The design of a robust guidance system for a robot is discussed. The two major tasks for this guidance system are the online recognition of a moving object invariant to rotation and translation, and tracking the moving object using a neural-network-driven vision system. This system included computer software ported to the IBM PC and interfaced with an IBM 7535 robot. The operation of this guidance system involved recognition of a moving object and the ability to track it till the robot and effector was in close proximity of the object. It was found that the robot was able to track …

Industrial Technology Faculty's Valuation Of Consulting And Professional Performance, Daniel Richard Meyer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate university industrial technology faculty relationships between their consulting with industrial and perceptions of professional performance. The question addressed was that if effects on teaching ability, research activity, scholarly publishing, and public service arising from this activity. The information obtained adds to knowledge and may be useful for administrators in supporting this form of public service. The result should be increased faculty competence, better prepared students, and increased industrial competitiveness.

Exogenous variables of consulting with industry, competency maintenance, theory testing, enthusiasm regeneration, research opportunity, and scholarly publishing were identified as having potential impact …

Development Of An Automated Ultrasonic Inspection Cell For Detecting Subsurface Discontinuities In Cast Iron, John Scott Burningham

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Manufacturing of value added products by companies in todays global marketplace requires the vendors to meet certain minimum standards, SAE, ASTM, ISO, etc. In a global economy, as a manufacturer for the year 2000 and beyond, preferred vendors will become ISO 9000 certified to maintain a market share of produced goods.

An automated inspection cell was developed for the inspection of cast iron ports to detect subsurface discontinuities. The cell consists of an ultrasonic flaw detector (UFD), transducer, robot, immersion tank, computer, and software. Normal beam pulse-echo ultrasonic nondestructive testing is performed on each rough casting.

Using test blocks and …

A Wear Analysis Study Of Selected Alternative Foundry Tooling Materials Using Impact Abrasion Testing, L. Fred Vondra

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to simulate the wear characteristics of foundry tooling using an impact abrasion test apparatus. The wear characteristic was exhibited by non-metallic materials and was measured as a function of percentage weight loss and was benchmarked against Class 30 gray iron. The research question focused on whether or not a non-metallic material exists that exhibits comparable or superior wear characteristics to Class 30 gray iron for possible consideration as tooling materials for foundry applications. The information obtained adds to knowledge and is useful to foundry professionals in making tooling decisions.

The 34 test materials were …

The Relationships Between Technical Operator Turnover Rate And Selected Working Condition Factors In Taiwan's Printing Industry, Ling-Hsiao Lee

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine how technical operator turnover rate related to selected working condition factors in Taiwan's printing industry. These factors, as defined in this study, included wages, employee benefits, alternative work schedules, training programs, and gainsharings. If the results of this study showed that technical operator turnover rate was related to these selected factors, then the findings of this study would be helpful to a manager making decisions on turnover management.

The data for this study were collected by using three sets of questionnaires: (a) one designed for personnel directors, (b) one targeted at financial …

Factors Affecting The Development Of Unassigned Patents In Iowa, Diane Darlene Wheeler Schou

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Inventors granted patents from 1975 to 1990 in Iowa identified, via a questionnaire, where they perceived their invention on Bright's scale of eight stages of development. Stages were: idea, rationalization (has merit), experimentation, demonstration of prototypes, working model, commercial (market entry), commercial acceptance (sales), and commercial proliferation (other markets). The questions identified factors affecting development. The factors included: resources assisting development, events influencing start-up, sources of money for development, method of manufacturing, experiences with manufacturers, marketing techniques, sales, profit/loss, concerns, patent renewals, and age of patents. Open-ended questions allowed for additional comments.

Commercial acceptance or commercial proliferation was achieved by …

Composite Stock Cutting Through Simulated Annealing, Hanan Lutfiyya, Bruce M. Mcmillin, Pipatpong Poshyanonda, Cihan H. Dagli

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper explores the use of Simulated Annealing as an optimization technique for the problem of Composite Material Stock Cutting. The shapes are not constrained to be convex polygons or even regular shapes. However, due to the composite nature of the material, the orientation of the shapes on the stock is restricted. For placements of various shapes, we show how to determine a cost function, annealing parameters and performance. © 1992.

A Comparison Of Alphanumeric, Direct Manipulation Graphic, And Equivalent Interface Design For A Production Scheduling Task, Ann C. Fulop

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Scheduling is an essential factor influencing the efficiency of any production system. The effectiveness of the scheduling system depends upon the interaction of the human and machine. Thus, to effectively design the interface between the human and the machine, the human factors professional must understand scheduling behavior and the information requirements of the scheduling task. The present study modeled human scheduling behavior and determined the information requirements of the scheduling task. The study also compared alphanumeric, direct manipulation graphic, and equivalent interfaces to determine which interface best supports scheduling. The results of the study show that schedulers monitor the current …