Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Value Stream Mapping For The Core Department In Foundry Of A Tractor Manufacturing Firm, Narendra Bhati

Graduate Research Papers

A value stream is all the actions required to bring a product through the main flows essential to every product. It begins at the "door-to-door" production flow level and allows you to see the entire picture. It identifies waste and the sources of waste. Provides a common language and questions current decisions that happen by default. It eliminates bias improvement picking. It links material and information flow and gives a qualitative description of how your facility should operate.

An excellent spot for observing the value stream is the aisle of the supermarket. for it is here that a thousand streams …

Effects Of Food Attributes And Feeding Environment On Acceptance, Consumption And Body Weight: Lessons Learned In A Twenty-Year Program Of Military Ration Research, Edward S. Hirsch, F. Matthew Kramer, Herbert L. Meiselman

United States Army: Publications

Twenty years of testing in the field has consistently revealed that food intake is inadequate when packaged military rations are fed as the sole source of food. Food intake is much lower and there is a loss of body weight. Conversely when these rations are fed to students or military personnel for periods ranging from 3 to 42 days in a cafeteria-like setting, food intake is comparable to levels of a control group provided with freshly prepared food. Under these conditions, body weight is maintained. In this review, the consumption pattern is considered in terms of characteristics of the food …

The Limits Of Reflexive Design In A Secrecy-Based Organization, Michael W. Stebbins, Tali Freed, A.B. (Rami) Shani, Kenneth H. Doerr

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

No abstract provided.

Immobilization Of A Catalytic Dna Molecular Beacon On Au For Pb(Ii) Detection, Carla B. Swearingen, Daryl P. Wernette, Donald M. Cropek, Yi Lu, Jonathan V. Sweedler, Paul W. Bohn

United States Army: Publications

A Pb(II)-specific DNAzyme fluorescent sensor has been modified with a thiol moiety in order to immobilize it on a Au surface. Self-assembly of the DNAzyme is accomplished by first adsorbing the single-thiolated enzyme strand (HS-17E-Dy) followed by adsorption of mercaptohexanol, which serves to displace any Au-N interactions and ensure that DNA is bound only through the Sheadgroup. The preformed self-assembled monolayer is then hybridized with the complementary fluorophorecontaining substrate strand (17DS-Fl). Upon reaction with Pb(II), the substrate strand is cleaved, releasing a fluorescent fragment for detection. Fluorescence intensity may be correlated with original Pb(II) concentration, and a linear calibration was …

Conformational Sampling Of The Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype A Light Chain: Implications For Inhibitor Binding, James C. Burnett, James J. Schmidt, Connor F. Mcgrath, Tam L. Nguyen, Ann R. Hermone, Rekha G. Panchal, Jonathan L. Vennerstrom, Krishna Kodukula, Daniel W. Zaharevitz, Rick Gussio, Sina Bavari

United States Army: Publications

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most potent of the known biological toxins, and consequently are listed as category A biowarfare agents. Currently, the only treatments against BoNTs include preventative antitoxins and long-term supportive care. Consequently, there is an urgent need for therapeutics to counter these enzymes––post exposure. In a previous study, we identified a number of small, nonpeptidic lead inhibitors of BoNT serotype A light chain (BoNT/A LC) metalloprotease activity, and we identified a common pharmacophore for these molecules. In this study, we have focused on how the dynamic movement of amino acid residues in and surrounding the substrate binding …

Miniaturized Lead Sensor Based On Lead-Specific Dnazyme In A Nanocapillary Interconnected Microfluidic Device, In-Hyoung Chang, Joseph J. Tulock, Juewen Liu, Won-Suk Kim, Donald M. Cannon, Jr., Yi Lu, Paul W. Bohn, Jonathan V. Sweedler, Donald M. Cropek

United States Army: Publications

A miniaturized lead sensor has been developed by combining a lead-specific DNAzyme with a microfabricated device containing a network of microfluidic channels that are fluidically coupled via a nanocapillary array interconnect. A DNAzyme construct, selective for cleavage in the presence of Pb²⁺ and derivatized with fluorophore (quencher) at the 5’ (3’) end of the substrate and enzyme strands, respectively, forms a molecular beacon that is used as the recognition element. The nanocapillary array membrane interconnect is used to manipulate fluid flows and deliver the small-volume sample to the beacon in a spatially confined detection window where the DNAzyme is …

Food Acceptability In Field Studies With Us Army Men And Women: Relationship With Food Intake And Food Choice After Repeated Exposures, Cees De Graaf, F. Matthew Kramer, Herbert L. Meiselman, Larry L. Lesher, Carol Baker-Fulco, Edward S. Hirsch, John Warber

United States Army: Publications

Laboratory data with single exposures showed that palatability has a positive relationship with food intake. The question addressed in this study is whether this relationship also holds over repeated exposures in non-laboratory contexts in more natural environments. The data were collected in four field studies, lasting 4–11 days with 307 US Army men and 119 Army women, and comprised 5791 main meals and 8831 snacks in total. Acceptability was rated on the nine point hedonic scale, and intake was registered in units of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or 1 or more times of the provided portion size. Correlation coefficients between individual …

Brown Recluse Spider Bite To The Face, Daniel C. Madion, Melanie K. Marshall, Christopher D. Jenkins, George M. Kushner

United States Army: Publications

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons must be prepared to manage a variety of maxillofacial infections, both odontogenic and non-odontogenic in nature. While odontogenic infections are quite common, non-odontogenic infections can present with diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. An uncommon non-odontogenic infection is the cellulitis secondary to a spider bite.
Few spider species have the ability to bite through human skin. Most of these insults result in only a small, red nodule centered within a larger, erythematous plaque. Symptoms are usually limited to pruritus and perhaps mild tenderness. The brown recluse and the black widow are 2 types of spiders that inhabit the …

Coronary Calcium Independently Predicts Incident Premature Coronary Heart Disease Over Measured Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Allen J. Taylor, Jody Bindeman, Irwin Feuerstein, Felix Cao, Michael Brazaitis, Patrick G. O'Malley

United States Army: Publications

OBJECTIVES - We sought to examine the independent predictive value of coronary artery calcium detection for coronary outcomes in a non-referred cohort of healthy men and women ages 40 to 50 years.

BACKGROUND - Existing studies have suggested that coronary calcium might have incremental predictive value for coronary outcomes above standard coronary risk factors. However, additional data from non-referred and younger populations are needed.

METHODS - Participants (n = 2,000; mean age 43 years) were evaluated with measured coronary risk variables and coronary calcium detected with electron beam tomography. Incident acute coronary syndromes and sudden cardiac death were ascertained via …

Enhancing Erp System’S Functionality With Discrete Event Simulation, Young Moon, Dinar Phatak

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - All Scholarship

Purpose – To develop a methodology to augment enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with the discrete event simulation’s inherent ability to handle the uncertainties.

Design/methodology/approach – The ERP system still contains and uses the material requirements planning (MRP) logic as its central planning function. As a result, the ERP system inherits a number of shortcomings associated with the MRP system, including unrealistic lead-time determination. The developed methodology employs bi-directional feedback between the non-stochastic ERP system and the discrete event simulation model until a set of converged lead times is determined.

Findings – An example of determining realistic production lead-time data …

Managing The Transformation Of System Of Systems Engineering, Samuel F. Kovacic, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

SOSE methodologies exist that support engineering difficult and disparate systems with a technical solution. However, from literature it is apparent that there is a need for a formal methodology and methods that govern engineering of System of Systems (SOS) beyond the technical solution. This paper presents some of the current thinking being undertaken at NCSOSE (National Centers for Systems of Systems Engineering), on what is driving the development of SOSE, and a hypothesized solution to this problem. The purpose is to offer a different approach for resolving complexity within a situation. The paper concludes with an initial derivative of a …

Using Multi-Stack And Variable-Speed-Drive Systems To Reduce Laboratory Exhaust Fan Energy, Gang Wang, Mingsheng Liu

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

In buildings that contain laboratories, fume hoods are normally used to control contaminant concentrations. Exhaust stacks with a constant exit velocity are required to make sure that dangerous concentrations do not occur in occupied areas near the building or on the roof top. To achieve constant velocity when exhaust flow rates are less than design, makeup air is introduced to the system at the inlet of the exhaust fan. Since laboratory exhaust airflow is often significantly less than the design airflow, exhaust fans consume significantly more energy than is necessary. To reduce exhaust fan energy, techniques involving multiple exhaust stacks …

A Comparison Of The Canons Of Science Used In Positivistic Research And Constructivist/Naturalistic Research, Ipek Bozkurt, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, the canons of science which are crucial for positivistic, empirical research and constructivist/naturalistic research will be identified, described, compared and discussed. Although there are common canons which are often used in papers throughout literature, it would be beneficial to set a common ground for the identification and use of the canons. The canons used in positivistic research will differ from the canons used in constructivist/ naturalistic research. This paper will analyze major publications (papers, books, etc.) exploring the canons either directly or indirectly, and will provide a link between major characteristics of two different research philosophies and …

Evaluating The Impact Of Production Scheduling On Tool Performance, Amr Arisha, Paul Young

Conference papers

Scheduling of a semiconductor manufacturing facility is one of the most complex tasks encountered. Confronted with a high technology product market, semiconductor manufacturing is increasingly more dynamic and competitive in the introduction of new products in shorter time intervals. Simulation provides an effective decision support tool in scheduling of semiconductor manufacturing. Simulation model was developed as a risk assessment tool for one of the implant process area. The model examines the impact of production schedule on tool performance by testing different production scenarios. Production ramping, local buffer capacity, product sequence and product mix seem to be influential factors of the …

Design Stability, K. M. Ragsdell

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a quality management strategy, which shows promise for manufacturing organizations, which seek to rapidly develop and market high-quality, low-cost products for hyper-competitive markets. This paper introduces and discusses the concept of design stability, and its relationship to reliability, durability and warranty cost. the use of this concept at very early stages of product development, even before knowledge of customer preferences, is discussed. the use of the design stability concept as a part of DFSS is suggested as an effective supply chain management strategy. Copyright © 2005 SAE International.

Production Research In China, S. Chaudhry, S. Feng, H. Li, H. Sui, J. L. Zhang, Z Zhang, Li Xu

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) China is the world’s largest emerging economy. In recent years, China has moved to an increasingly market-oriented economy that opens to international trade and investment. At the same time, the popularity of China as a manufacturing base, assembling goods for sale worldwide is growing. In addition to global manufacturers who have built their own plants in China, many manufacturing companies are outsourcing production to Chinese subcontractors and branding the products with their own logos. In today’s China, production research is becoming more and more important; advanced production research becomes an important enabler to make its manufacturing industry competitive. …

Development Of A Systems Engineering Model Of The Chemical Separations Process, Yitung Chen, Darrell Pepper, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The chemical processing of used nuclear fuel is an integral component of any strategy for the transmutation of nuclear waste. Due to the large volume of material that must be handled in this first step of the transmutation process, the efficiency of the separations process is a key factor in the potential economic viability of transmutation strategies. The ability to optimize the chemical separation systems is vital to ensure the feasibility of the transmutation program.

Systems analysis, or total systems modeling, is one of the strongest tools available to researchers for understanding and optimizing complex systems such as chemical separations …

Development Of Integrated Process Simulation System Model For Spent Fuel Treatment Facility (Sftf) Design, Yitung Chen, Sean Hsieh

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The major objective is to create a framework that combines all the strengths of AMUSE’s complicated calculations, well established commercial system process package such as ASPENPLUS, HYSYS and PRO/II and TRPSEMPro’s flexible parameter optimization modules. Development of the process simulation code can be done using the solvent extraction process experience at Argonne National Laboratory and in collaboration with the NCACM.

The major activities of the task are the following:

• Develop a framework for simulating the SFTF process using AMUSE code, commercial process package, such as ASPEN- PLUS, and system engineering model.
• Develop a middleware package that can communicate between the …

Development Of A Flying Eye: A Project-Based Learning Experience, Sema E. Alptekin, Dianne Deturris, Daniel J. Macy, Jon E. Ervin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The paper describes the design for manufacturability of a prototype product as part of a manufacturing engineering capstone course. The product chosen was a vertically launched unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)—the “Flying Eye.” The Flying Eye is an autonomous parafoil surveillance platform quipped with sensors, controllers, mechanical components, and software. Once the autonomous UAV is deployed, it is designed to follow a predetermined flight path down to the ground. The design effort of the prototype device took place over a three-year period as a collaborative effort between the Aerospace Engineering and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering departments at California Polytechnic State University. …

Simulation In Semiconductor Manufacturing Facilities, Amr Arisha, Paul Young

Conference papers

Semiconductor manufacturing is one of the most complex industries in terms of technology and manufacturing procedure. The life cycle of a semiconductor facility (FAB) has many phases, in their life cycle including capacity planning, new products introduction, variation of products/technologies, and decline phase. The complexity of the manufacturing and the external forces from markets and technology growth make predicting the effects of changes in the manufacturing system problematic. Simulation, if used correctly, is a powerful hands-on tool which may be used to give a better insight of the effect of engineering/management decisions on the performance of the manufacturing system. While …

Perchlorate: Sources, Uses, And Occurrences In The Environment, Clayton W. Trumpolt, Michael Crain, Geoffrey D. Cullison, Susan J. P. Flanagan, Lenny Siegel, Stephen Lathrop

United States Navy: Publications

Perchlorate contamination of groundwater and soil continues to be a hot topic in many sectors, including industry, the federal Departments of Defense and Energy, regulators, and the general public. This article presents information on what is currently known regarding perchlorate uses, known and suspected naturally occurring versus anthropogenic perchlorate sources, and past and present manufacturing locations. It provides the reader with a baseline as well as background information to facilitate an understanding of perchlorate in the environment for the ultimate purpose of remediation. The article is based on research conducted by the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council for a forthcoming, more …

Towards An Rts,S-Based, Multi-Stage, Multi-Antigen Vaccine Against Falciparum Malaria: Progress At The Walter Reed Army Institute Of Research, D. Gray Heppner Jr., Kent E. Kester, Christian F. Ockenhouse, Nadia Tornieporth, Opokua Ofori, Jeffrey A. Lyon, V. Ann Stewart, Patrice Dubois, David E. Lanar, Urszula Krzych, Philippe Moris, Evelina Angov, James F. Cummings, Amanda Leach, B. Ted Hall, Sheetij Dutta, Robert Schwenk, Collette Hillier, Arnoldo Barbosa, Lisa A. Ware, Lalitha Nair, Christian A. Darko, Mark R. Withers, Bernhards Ogutu, Mark E. Polhemus, Mark Fukuda, Sathit Pichyangkul, Montip Gettyacamin, Carter Diggs, Lorraine Soisson, Jessica Milman, Marie-Claude Dubois, Nathalie Garcon, Kathryn Tucker, Janet Wittes, Christopher V. Plowe, Mahamadou A. Thera, Ogobara K. Duombo, Maria G. Pau, Jaap Goudsmit, W. Ripley Ballou, Joe Cohen

United States Army: Publications

The goal of the Malaria Vaccine Program at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) is to develop a licensed multi-antigen, multi-stage vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum able to prevent all symptomatic manifestations of malaria by preventing parasitemia. A secondary goal is to limit disease in vaccinees that do develop malaria. Malaria prevention will be achieved by inducing humoral and cellular immunity against the pre-erythrocytic circumsporozoite protein (CSP) and the liver stage antigen-1 (LSA-1). The strategy to limit disease will target immune responses against one or more blood stage antigens, merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) and apical merozoite antigen-1 (AMA-1). The …

Management Of Extremes In The Configuration Of Interoffice Telephone Switch & Priority Systems, C. Ariel Pinto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper describes how to enable diverse enterprise customers for voice-data switch to achieve in configuration a balance among users, features, and perceived reliability subject to extremes of traffic. The analysis entailed the simulation of the voice-data switch with embedded priority system, generation of latency times for various configurations and transaction traffic rates, and the development of a framework and theoretical propositions for configuration of super-saturated systems. It was shown that the concept of tolerance levels defined in the risk of extreme events can be applied for embedded priority systems and was the basis for the application of the zone-configuration …

Complex System Transformation: A System Of Systems Engineering (Sose) Perspective, Charles B. Keating, Andres Sousa-Poza, Samuel Kovacic

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to develop a perspective for complex system transformation from a System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) viewpoint. This is a first attempt to make explicit a SoSE viewpoint on complex system transformation. As such, the formulation is intended to escalate the dialog and integrate the current state of understanding with respect to the nature, utility, and implications of complex system transformation in SoSE terms. To achieve our purpose we will: (1) present a short introduction that provides an essential background for SoSE, (2) provide five fundamental systems concepts that underlie a SoSE perspective of complex …

Managing The Transformation Of System Of Systems Engineering, Samuel F. Kovacic, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

SOSE methodologies exist that support engineering difficult and disparate systems with a technical solution. However, from literature it is apparent that there is a need for a formal methodology and methods that govern engineering of System of Systems (SOS) beyond the technical solution. This paper presents some of the current thinking being undertaken at NCSOSE (National Centers for Systems of Systems Engineering), on what is driving the development of SOSE, and a hypothesized solution to this problem. The purpose is to offer a different approach for resolving complexity within a situation. The paper concludes with an initial derivative of a …

Inventory Simulation And Optimization Using System Dynamics, Structural Modeling Equations And Genetic Algorithms In The Drivetrain Division Of An Automotive Manufacturer, Marco Sisfontes-Monge

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Strategic planning and control are among the most critical activities that modern enterprises require to succeed in the global economy. This research is an original study that investigated the combination of tools and methodologies in order to apply them to a midwestern tractor manufacturer. The current study identified the constraints applicable to a polishing line in the Drivetrain Division of a major tractor manufacturer interested in exploring alternative techniques to improve its worldwide manufacturing operations.

The specific questions that this project tried to respond are stated as follows:

1. What were the most important variables that affected inventory levels of an …

Neural Network -Based Nearly Optimal Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Solution For Affine Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we consider the use of nonlinear networks towards obtaining nearly optimal solutions to the control of nonlinear discrete-time systems. The method is based on least-squares successive approximation solution of the Generalized Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. Since successive approximation using the GHJB has not been applied for nonlinear discrete-time systems, the proposed recursive method solves the GHJB equation in discrete-time on a well-defined region of attraction. The definition of GHJB, Pre-Hamiltonian function, HJB equation and method of updating the control function for the affine nonlinear discrete time systems are proposed. A neural network is used to approximate the GHJB …

Neural Network-Based Control Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems In Non-Strict Form, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen, Pingan He

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel reinforcement learning-based adaptive neural network (NN) controller, also referred as the adaptive-critic NN controller, is developed to deliver a desired tracking performance for a class of non-strict feedback nonlinear discrete-time systems in the presence of bounded and unknown disturbances. The adaptive critic NN controller architecture includes a critic NN and two action NNs. The critic NN approximates certain strategic utility function whereas the action neural networks are used to minimize both the strategic utility function and the unknown dynamics estimation errors. The NN weights are tuned online so as to minimize certain performance index. By using gradient descent-based …

Energy-Efficient Rate Adaptation Mac Protocol For Ad Hoc Wireless Networks, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Resource constraints in ad hoc wireless networks require that they are energy efficient during both transmission and rate adaptation. In this paper, we propose a novel energy-efficient rate adaptation protocol that selects modulation schemes online to maximize throughput based on channel state while saving energy. This protocol uses the distributed power control (DPC) algorithm (M. Zawodniok et al., 2004) to accurately determine the necessary transmission power and to reduce the energy consumption. Additionally, the transmission rate is altered using energy efficiency as a constraint to meet the required throughput, which is estimated with queue fill ratio. Moreover, back-off scheme is …

A Robust Controller For The Manipulation Of Micro Scale Objects, Qinmin Yang, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A suite of novel robust controllers is presented for the manipulation and handling of micro-scale objects in a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) where adhesive, surface tension, friction and van der Waals forces are dominant. Moreover, these forces are typically unknown. The robust controller overcomes the unknown system dynamics and ensures the performance in the presence of actuator constraints by assuming that the upper bounds on these forces are known. On the other hand, for the robust adaptive controller, the unknown forces are estimated online. Using the Lyapunov approach, the uniformly ultimate boundedness (UUB) of the closed-loop manipulation error is shown for …