Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

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 …

Sealing And Lamination Of Microfluidic Devices, Christopher Ryan Oliver

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Theses - Archive

A difficult problem facing microfluidic manufacturing of devices remains that often material requirements force device designers to choose materials that are difficult to bond, seal or enclose. Examples of these materials include the Polyolefin family such as HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene) or high performance polymers such as PEEK (Polyetheretherketone), Acetal or Polyimide. The problem arises from the chemical resistance of the materials making them ideal for processing corrosive chemicals but the same property reduces the effectiveness of laminates, surface bonding, surface coatings and solvents. To address this problem a methodology for sealing devices made of these materials is …

Sequential Frameworks For Statistics-Based Value Function Representation In Approximate Dynamic Programming, Huiyuan Fan

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Dynamic programming (DP) was derived by Bellman in 1957 as a mathematical programming method to solve multistage decision problems. The DP concept has great potential, but it only can solve small problems exactly under very limiting restrictions such as linear dynamics, quadratic cost, Gaussian random variable, etc. With advances in computational power, a new family of dynamic programming known as approximate dynamic programming (ADP) has emerged. A real-world DP problem is often high-dimensional and stochastic with continuous state variables. To handle this type of problem, ADP methods discretize/sample the continuous state space and approximate the future value (or cost-to-go) function …

Acuta Enews August 2008, Vol. 37, No. 8

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

Report from the 37th Annual Conference & Exhibition

From the President.......Corinne Hoch, Columbia Univ., ACUTA President

Board Report............ Riny Ledgerwood, San Diego State Univ., ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

Tech Talk: Disks Will Fail, but how Do You Know When?.......... ...Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

lnfo Links ............. Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern Iowa

DC Update ...........Dove Ostrom, Washington State University

Welcome New Members

Check lt Out: RFls/RFPs, Job Postings, Press Releases

Conference Sessions Online

Treasure Chest Winners

Green Survey Winner

Strategic Plan For Industrial And Management Systems Engineering, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Reports

The role of this strategic plan is to map out a range of department goals, offer objectives for achieving each goal, and list potential strategies for meeting an objective. It also lists performance metrics for measuring progress for each goal. Each year, a subset of goals and objectives will be identified by the IMSE department as a priority for the coming year. Detailed metrics for measuring improvement for the department’s priorities areas will then be defined. The department committee to develop the plan consisted of Paul Savory (committee chair), Susan Hallbeck, and Erick Jones.

Dynamic Allocation Of Airline Check-In Counters: A Queueing Optimisation Approach, Mahmut Parlar, Sharafali Moosa

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper was motivated by an observation in an international airport with regard to allocation of resources for check-in counters. In an exclusive check-in counter system, each flight has a dedicated number of counters that will be open until at least a half-hour before the scheduled departure of that flight. Currently, in many of the airports around the world, the decision to open or close check-in counters is done on an ad hoc basis by human schedulers. In doing so, the schedulers are almost always forced to perform a balancing act in meeting the quality of service stipulated by the …

Material Flow Control In A Sequence Dependent Job Shop Via Order Release And Dispatching Mechanisms, Francesco Gentile

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Material flow control on the shop floor involves the release and dispatching of orders to meet customer due dates, while minimizing operating costs. The early release of orders to the shop floor does not necessarily ensure delivery performance and often results in unnecessary shop congestion and excessive cost. Thus, determining when order release should occur and how dispatching should be accomplished is critical to the success of a manufacturing organization. Although there has been a significant amount of research in the material flow control literature regarding the job shop environment, there exists a significant void with respect to order release …

Investigation Of A Photosynthetically Aerated Cathode In A Mfc, Derek Little

All Theses

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) creates an environment that facilitates the conversion of electron donor compounds into electrical current through the oxidizing powers of microbial growth. Within the anode of a MFC bacteria grow oxidizing organic compounds while in the cathode oxygen is reduced. The goal of a MFC is to achieve respiration under anaerobic conditions having electrodes serve as intermediate electron acceptor for bacteria in the anode and shuttle electrons through a circuit to the cathode reducing a terminal electron acceptor.
Waste from the biological production of hydrogen from agricultural peach was explored for use within the anode of …

Randomly Generating Manufacturing Flow Line Models Using Mathematica, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

To test heuristic algorithms and techniques, researchers need numerous datasets so as to measure effectiveness and improve approaches. This paper discusses using Mathematica, a mathematical programming language, for randomly generating the specifications for manufacturing flow line models. Important issues include determining an arrival rate to a flow line, the number of flow line stations, the number of parallel servers for each production station, and specifying the service time distributions and their associated parameters. The paper concludes with a discussion on generating more general types of simulation models.

Characterization And Compression Properties Of Injection Molded Carbon Nanotube Composites, Grey Curtzwiler, Jay Singh, J. Miltz, Jimmy Doi, Keith Vorst

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Since the development of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 1991, they have received much attention with improved mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of their composites compared to common polymer composites. The CNTs are currently used to increase the modulus of common thermoplastics and thermosets, including urethanes and epoxies. The CNTs are difficult to disperse within any media because of limited chemical reactivity and potential agglomeration in their ‘‘as grown’’ state. This study evaluated the effect of incorporating bundled and unbundled CNTs at different concentrations into Polyurethane/CNT/woven fiber reinforced composites. Optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterized the dispersion of CNTs …

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.

Linear Relaxation Techniques For Task Management In Uncertain Settings, Pradeep Varakantham, Stephen F. Smith

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we consider the problem of assisting a busy user in managing her workload of pending tasks. We assume that our user is typically oversubscribed, and is invariably juggling multiple concurrent streams of tasks (or work flows) of varying importance and urgency. There is uncertainty with respect to the duration of a pending task as well as the amount of follow-on work that may be generated as a result of executing the task. The user’s goal is to be as productive as possible; i.e., to execute tasks that realize the maximum cumulative payoff. This is achieved by enabling …

Biology-Inspired Approach For Communal Behavior In Massively Deployed Sensor Networks, Kennie H. Jones

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Research in wireless sensor networks has accelerated rapidly in recent years. The promise of ubiquitous control of the physical environment opens the way for new applications that will redefine the way we live and work. Due to the small size and low cost of sensor devices, visionaries promise smart systems enabled by deployment of massive numbers of sensors working in concert. To date, most of the research effort has concentrated on forming ad hoc networks under centralized control, which is not scalable to massive deployments. This thesis proposes an alternative approach based on models inspired by biological systems and reports …

Modeling Of A Spray Assisted Natural Draft Cooling Tower, Kaunde K

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Cooling towers are one of the largest heat and mass transfer devices that are in common use. A novel type of cooling tower has been proposed in which air flow rate into the tower is drawn by ejector action of sprays instead of fans as is done in conventional mechanical forced or induced draft cooling towers. This novel design offers the potential of saving the energy cost for driving the fan. The paper presents mathematical models for momentum transfer which is the driving force causing the entrainment of air. Also the heat transfer model for co-current flow of liquid and …

Application Of Non-Destructive Testing In Evaluating Reinforced Concrete Structural Elements In Buildings, I Rubaratuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Of recent a large number of existing reinforced concrete buildings have required reconstruction, renovation and improvement. This tendency poses a number of problems that have to be solved, the main one being to determine the actual strength condition of the structural components/elements of the building. It includes determination of the quality of materials used, specification of the types and description of apparent faults and damages and extent of wear of the building. To undertake this evaluation, non – destructive testing methods are used. In this paper, applications of non – destructive testing methods to determine the strength state of reinforced …

Quality Control In The Construction Of Reinforced Concrete Buildings In Dar Es Salaam, I Rubaratuka

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Quality Control in the construction industry is very important to ensure that what is being done conforms to the applicable standards or good practice and the contract documents. In this article, results of investigations conducted at different construction sites for reinforced concrete buildings in Dar es Salaam to check if quality control measures are being implemented are discussed. It has been established that generally quality control is not properly carried out. Finally, measures to enhance quality control on sites are outlined.

Development Of A Genetic Algorithm Based Search Strategy Suited For Design Optimisation Of Internal Combustion Engines, Nalitolela G

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Engine design optimisation is a multi-objective, multi-domain problem in a discontinuous design space. The state of the art of optimisation techniques shows that only methods of direct and adaptive search are appropriate for this type of problem. These include, adaptive random search, simulated annealing, evolution strategies and genetic algorithms. Of these methods, the genetic algorithms have been shown to be the most suited for the optimisation of multi-modal response functions in a discontinuous design space. This paper considers the important characteristics of genetic algorithms and their adaptation for use in parametric design optimisation of internal combustion engines. In order to …

Accuracy Analysis For Kolmogorov Entropy Used In Studying The Chaotic Dynamics Of Cfb Reactors Based On Solids Concentration Fluctuations, Samwel V. Manyele

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A study on the chaotic dynamics of a high flux circulating fluidized bed (CFB) riser (10-m high and 76-mm i.d.) using the maximum likelihood estimate of the Kolmogorov entropy (KML) is reported. The signals used were measured by using a solids concentration fiber optic probe, accuracy of which is reported based on statistical analysis. The sensitivity analysis of the parameters used for computing KML was conducted to identify optimum settings, based on the standard error, s(KML) and the nature of PDF of the b-values from the reconstructed phase space trajectories. The length of time series, N, sampling frequency, fs, and …

Improving The Availability Of Manufacturability Information Through Decentralization Of Process Planning, Eliab Opiyo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Process planning is part of the general product development and production process that usually follows design and precedes manufacturing. Manufacturability and process planning information in general play central role in many product development and production activities, including paradoxically, conceptual and detail design - the activities that take place before process planning. The need of conducting some of the process planning activities formally before or during design is thus rather obvious. One of the main research issues is therefore the identification of the process planning activities that can be performed before the traditional process planning phase and handling of the process …

Strategies For Promoting The Use Of Concrete Pavements In Tanzania: Technical And Institutional Considerations, Mfinanga A

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

High-type roads in Tanzania have been predominantly of asphaltic concrete construction. This ever enlarging and ageing asphaltic road network represents increasing resource requirements on the road agency in the form of maintenance. Limited resources coupled with the ever sky-rocketing costs of petroleum products and the competing demands of social economic developments, presupposes the need to look for alternative road construction technology that is more cost-effective and resource optimising. Experience gained from developed and some developing countries where concrete pavements have been widely used suggests the potential of this type of pavement in many developing countries. This paper discusses the technical …

A Project-Based Electronics Manufacturing Laboratory Course For Lower-Division Engineering Students, Jianbiao Pan, Albert Liddicoat, James G. Harris, Dominic Dal Bello

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This paper presents a project-based laboratory course on electronics design and manufacturing. The goal of this course is to provide lower-division engineering students a hands-on experience involving actual printed circuit board (PCB) design, layout, fabrication, assembly, and testing. Through project-based learning, students not only learn technical skills in designing and manufacturing an electronic device, but also develop their project management and communication skills early in their course of study at the university. The course outline and examples of the student projects are presented in this paper as well as project evaluations and students’ feedback. This paper also presents the selection …

Curricular Enhancement To Support Project-Based Learning In Computer And Electrical Engineering, Albert Liddicoat, Jianbiao Pan, James G. Harris, Lynne A. Slivovsky

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Undergraduate computer and electrical engineering programs often partition the curriculum into several courses based on related topics taught in isolation. Students are expected to synthesize their knowledge in a senior design project. It is the authors’ experience that students often struggle during their senior design project since they have not gained the appropriate knowledge or mastered necessary skills needed to work on a significant or team-based engineering design project. Specifically, students need to be able to define system requirements, partition the design into subcomponents, design, build, test, and verify that the system requirements have been met. The authors have enhanced …

Enhancing Student Learning Through State-Of-The-Art Systems Level Design And Implementation: The Development Of A Lower Division Learning Module, James G. Harris, Dominic Dal Bello, Jianbiao Pan, Albert Liddicoat

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The Cal Poly/Allan Hancock team is developing a learning module that will allow all lower division engineering students to design, fabricate, assemble, and test an electronic system implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB). All the services necessary to perform this laboratory experiment will be provided with low-cost vendors available on the . The learning module is being developed so that it can be integrated into the existing electrical engineering lower division courses that are required by all engineering students. The laboratory learning module will use operational amplifiers (op amp), resistors, capacitors and other common electronic components to study the …

How Accurate Is Students’ Self Assessment Of Computer Skills?, Michael A. Collura, Samuel Bogan Daniels

Engineering and Applied Science Education Faculty Publications

Self-evaluation by students is commonly used as a key element in program and course assessment plans. Such instruments are intended to provide crucial feedback for program improvement and thus play a significant role in closing our assessment loop. For many of the program outcomes, self-assessment by current students and graduates augments other, more objective measures. However, for some outcomes there are no practical means of obtaining objective assessment and we must rely on self-assessment. The heavy reliance on this metric begs the question “How accurate is student self-assessment?” This paper provides data from a second-semester engineering course in which students …

Optimization And Characterization Of Biodiesel Production From Cottonseed And Canola Oil, Hem Joshi

All Theses

Transesterification of cottonseed oil and canola oil was carried out using low molecular weight alcohols and potassium hydroxide. For cottonseed oil, a central composite design with eight factorial, six center and six axial points was used to study the effect of catalyst concentration, molar ratio of ethanol to cottonseed oil and reaction temperature on percentage yield and percentage initial absorbance (%A385nm) of the biodiesel. Catalyst concentration and molar ratio of ethanol to cottonseed oil were the most influential variables affecting percentage conversion and percentage initial absorbance. Maximum percentage yield of 98 % is predicted at a catalyst concentration of 1.07 …

Developing A Decision Model For Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (Jieddo) Proposal Selection, Lyle M. Dawley, Lenore A. Marentee, Alice Marie Long

Theses and Dissertations

This research uses decision analysis to develop a structured, repeatable and most importantly defensible decision model for the evaluation of proposed IED defeat solutions submitted to the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). Additive value models using Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) are examined as possible methodologies. VFT is determined to be the "best fit" for JIEDDO's decision situation in which proposals are submitted continuously and must be scored independently of previous proposals. VFT is first used to determine desirable qualities in IED defeat options, and then to generate a hierarchal value model to evaluate these qualities …

Acuta Enews June 2008, Vol. 37, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

From the President........ Walt Magnussen, Texas A&M Univ., ACUTA President

Board Report ............Riny Ledgerwood, Son Diego State Univ., ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

Audio Seminar: Strategic Views of VolP and Staffing

Tech Talk: lf Only Aspirin Worked for Network Headaches.......... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

Renewed Your Membership?

DC Update .........Jeanne Jansenius, Sewanee, The University of the South

More on FERPA Supporting higher education

Making the Most of ACUTA Resources...................... Dave Wirth, Princeton University

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Thanks to PAETEC technology

ACUTA Conference Blog

More Green Incentives................................ Gray Audi, Delphi, Inc.

lnfo Links................. Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern Iowa

Welcome New …

Techniques For Developing Large Scale Fuzzy Logic Systems, Jon C. Ervin, Sema E. Alptekin

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In this paper, we describe various techniques used to make Intuitionistic Fuzzy Logic Systems amenable to operating on applications with large numbers of inputs. A rule reduction technique known as Combs method is combined with an automated tuning process based on Particle Swarm Optimization. A second stage of tuning on rule weights results in improved performance and further reduction in the size of the rule-base. The entire process has been developed to operate within the Matlab software environment. The technique is tested against the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Database. The use of these tools shows great promise in significantly expanding the …

System Of Systems: Power And Paradox, Joseph J. Simpson, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Systems concepts and artifacts provide the basis for enumerable sources of power and wealth in our modern world. Culture, art and science all are based on established systems of behavior, values and thought. The current environment is densely populated with physical system artifacts that are used in every aspect of human life. The ubiquitous nature of existing systems has generated a strong interest in using an existing set of systems as the basis for a system of systems. Further interest in the system-of-systems approach is stimulated by rapid development, deployment and expansion of new and existing systems. While successful system …

Public-Private Partnerships For Technology Growth In The Public Sector, F. Lera-Lopez, Scott Erwin Grasman, Javier Faulin

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Public-private partnerships (PPP) are a mechanism for financing large infrastructure development such as transportation projects, hospitals, schools, and public works facilities. In addition, the benefits of PPP stretch well into the realm of engineering management. Most notably, PPPs provide the opportunity for more efficient project management, proficient risk mitigation, and enhanced technological innovation. This paper provides a general description of the typical PPP process and how this process can be used to improve management of technology in the public sector.