Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

Robust Local Search For Solving Rcpsp/Max With Durational Uncertainty, Na Fu, Hoong Chuin Lau, Pradeep Varakantham, Fei Xiao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Scheduling problems in manufacturing, logistics and project management have frequently been modeled using the framework of Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problems with minimum and maximum time lags (RCPSP/max). Due to the importance of these problems, providing scalable solution schedules for RCPSP/max problems is a topic of extensive research. However, all existing methods for solving RCPSP/max assume that durations of activities are known with certainty, an assumption that does not hold in real world scheduling problems where unexpected external events such as manpower availability, weather changes, etc. lead to delays or advances in completion of activities. Thus, in this paper, our …

Analyzing Risk And Catastrophic Accidents: Using Lopa And Human Factors To Improve Safety In Generic Projects, Siddharth B. Damle

Doctoral Dissertations

"Risk assessment and identification in the early stages of any project is critical to the success of that project from time, budget and cost prespective [sic]. Identifying unacceptable risks and making provisions to mitigate those, can reduce the uncertainty in the project and ensure its smooth completion and closure. Various techniques have been developed over time to identify and quantify risks. Inspite of all the available research on risk management tools, accidents continue to happen and projects consistently fail.

The objective of this study is to first, determine the generic risks that can be encountered by a project. A list …

Approximate Policy Iteration For Markov Control Revisited, Abhijit Gosavi

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Q-Learning is based on value iteration and remains the most popular choice for solving Markov Decision Problems (MDPs) via reinforcement learning (RL), where the goal is to bypass the transition probabilities of the MDP. Approximate policy iteration (API) is another RL technique, not as widely used as Q-Learning, based on modified policy iteration. in this paper, we present and analyze an API algorithm for discounted reward based on (i) classical temporal differences update for policy evaluation and (ii) simulation-Based mean estimation for policy improvement. Further, we analyze for convergence API algorithms based on Q-factors for (i) discounted reward and (ii) …

Preface To Part Iii: Model Based Systems Engineering, Steven Corns

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Enabling Systems And The Adaptability Of Complex Systems-Of-Systems, Charles O. Adler, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

For complex techno-social system-of-systems, the system's robustness and its ability to adapt to changing environments and circumstances over the life cycle of the systems is an important measure of system quality and effectiveness. the IEEE 15288-2004 standard describes the concept of "enabling systems" that provide non-operational services to the system-of-interest at various times in the system life cycle. This concept of enabling systems provides critical components and perspective in the architecting and analysis of systems-of-systems adaptability and capabilities over time. Enabling systems also provide a potential strong link between the technical system and larger environmental effects such as economic conditions. …

Fuzzy Assessor Using Type 1 And Type 2 Fuzzy Sets, Paulette Acheson, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper provides a fuzzy assessor that can be used to evaluate system architectures. the fuzzy assessor includes a method of assigning system architecture attribute values to the lower-level subsystems using type 1 fuzzy sets and type 2 fuzzy sets. Each architecture attribute is evaluated at the lowest subsystem level and then mathematically rolled-up to provide the system level value for each architecture attribute. Then the value for each architecture attribute is combined into an overall system architecture performance value. This provides a mathematical method of qualitatively assessing a system architecture based on key architecture attributes. the fuzzy assessor uses …

Preface To Part Ii Computational Intelligence And Machine Learning, Rosemary D. Paradis, David Enke

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A New Hybrid Approach For Forecasting Interest Rates, David Enke, Nijat Mehdiyev

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The dynamic, non-linear, volatile and complex nature of interest rates makes it hard to predict their future movements. in order to deal with these complexities, the authors propose a two-stage neuro-hybrid forecasting model. in the initial data preprocessing stage, multiple regression analysis is implemented to determine the variables that have the strongest prediction ability. the selected variables are then provided as inputs to a Fuzzy Inference Neural Network to forecast future interest rate values. the proposed hybrid model is implemented using data from the U.S. interest rate market. © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Computational System Architecture Development Using A Holistic Modeling Approach, Renzhong Wang, Cihan H. Dagli

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents an innovative system architecture development framework that allows the search of optimum architecture solutions within large design space by automating certain model construction, alternative generation, simulation, and assessment tasks. Such framework is facilitated by a holistic modeling approach that combines the capabilities of Object Process Methodology (OPM), Colored Petri Net (CPN) and feature model. the resultant holistic model not only can capture the structural, behavior, and dynamic aspects of a system, allowing strong analysis methods to be applied, but also can specify the architectural design space allowing generation of architecture alternatives that cover it. the proposed framework …

Application Of Model-Based Systems Engineering On A University Satellite Design Team, Dustin Nottage, Steven Corns

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

System Engineering is a foundation of the Missouri S&T's Satellite Design Team, although it is not explicitly stated at all times. However, implementation of the systems engineering process within a student design team presents unique challenges. Student design teams have a high personnel turnover, a limited time commitment due to classes, some new members have little to no experience, and a sometimes lack of motivation to participate since it is volunteered time. the largest problem on the team is getting the new members knowledgeable about the system so they can start contributing as fast as possible. the other big problem …

A Proposal To Use Real Time Pricing To Manage The Electrical Grid As A Step Toward Distributed Control, David Haynes, Steven Corns

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An alternative method of managing the electrical grid is presented. Rather than using a centralized control paradigm to balance generation against the load, a distributed approach is proposed. It is believed that this design improves the robustness of the grid by using an architecture that allows for the automatic formation of local micro grids. the self-organization of these micro-grids makes it possible to identify participants in an ad hoc fashion after a storm for purposes of disaster recovery. the micro-grid can automatically grow to encompass all participants and join with other grids to encompass the entire region. © 2012 Published …

Understanding System Of Systems Development Using An Agent-Based Wave Model, Paulette Acheson, Louis Pape, Cihan H. Dagli, Nil Kilicay-Ergin, John Columbi, Khaled Haris

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

System of Systems (SoS) development is a complex process that depends on the cooperation of various independent Systems [1]. SoS acquisition and development differs from that typical for a single System; it has been shown to follow a wave paradigm known as the Wave Model [2]. Agent based models (ABMs) consist of a set of abstracted entities referred to as agents, and a framework using simplified rules for simulating agent decisions and interactions. Agents have their own goals and are capable of perceiving changes in the environment. Systemic (global) behavior emerges from the decisions and interactions of the agents. This …

A Fuzzy Inference Model For Predicting Irregular Human Behaviour During Stressful Missions, Sina Khanmohammadi, Cihan Hayreddin Dagli, Farnaz Zamani Esfahlani

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper a hybrid fuzzy inference and transfer function modeling is used to predict the irregular human behavior during hard and stressful tasks such as dangerous military missions. a set of affecting factors such as missioner's experience, fatigue, sunshine intensity, hungriness, thirstiness, psychological characteristics, affright, etc. may be taken to account. in this regard a dynamic system model is used to predict the convolution of the timed effects of different factors on irregular behavior of personnel during the mission. This approach of predicting irregular behavior or erroneous decision making of staff have serious usages in aerospace, military, social and …

The Effects Of Personal Protective Respirators On Human Motor, Visual, And Cognitive Skills, Anas Ahmed Alghamri

Doctoral Dissertations

"In oxygen-deficient or toxic environments in which controlling the hazard is not feasible, workers wear personal protective respirators. Hazard controls include but are not limited to engineering controls, such as ventilation, and substituting less hazardous materials. However, respirator selection and the design of tasks that require respirators are critical issues. Understanding the effects of respirators on human abilities is critical to respirator selection and therefore to the safety and efficiency of workers. This research investigated the effect of respirators on human abilities. A review of the relevant literature was conducted, revealing that respirators can affect physiological, psychological, motor, and visual …

Neutrosophic Masses & Indeterminate Models Applications To Information Fusion, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper we introduce the indeterminate models in information fusion, which are due either to the existence of some indeterminate elements in the fusion space or to some indeterminate masses. The best approach for dealing with such models is the neutrosophic logic.

Chemical Risk In Early Design, Carlton Ashley Washburn

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to present a methodology to identify risks in the chemical product development process, including fortification of the failure mode taxonomy by including chemical failures. This work will enable comprehensive risk analysis in technology-based products that have a chemical based subsystem, such as those used in the lithography process in the semiconductor industry. This research broadened the failure mode taxonomy by identifying chemical failures from publications in the semiconductor industry. These failures were analyzed to determine the rudimentary failure modes in each case. The newly identified failure modes were added to the failure mode taxonomy. …

Robust Distributed Scheduling Via Time Period Aggregation, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we evaluate whether the robustness of a market mechanism that allocates complementary resources could be improved through the aggregation of time periods in which resources are consumed. In particular, we study a multi-round combinatorial auction that is built on a general equilibrium framework. We adopt the general equilibrium framework and the particular combinatorial auction design from the literature, and we investigate the benefits and the limitation of time-period aggregation when demand-side uncertainties are introduced. By using simulation experiments on a real-life resource allocation problem from a container port, we show that, under stochastic conditions, the performance variation …

Logistics Modeling And Project Management Practices For Contingency Basing, Amanda Jo Gealy

Masters Theses

"Contingency basing is a critical factor in mission success but requires significant logistical and commander support. Designing and constructing a camp that is safe, secure, and self-sustaining can be a difficult task for a Contingency Basing engineering manager. The infrastructure for basic needs such as electricity, fuel, water, food, and waste management is critical and needs to be flexible.

This research focuses on assisting the Contingency Basing engineering manager in designing and constructing a feasible base camp using project management and modeling tools. Measuring scalability and resiliency with in the contingency base was studied as well. The methodology concentrates on …

Using Metarules To Integrate Knowledge In Knowledge Based Systems. An Application In The Woodworking Industry, Alvaro Villavicencio

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The current study addresses the integration of knowledge obtained from Data Mining structures and models into existing Knowledge Based solutions. It presents a technique adapted from common KADS and spiral methodology to develop an initial knowledge solution using a traditional approach for requirement analysis, knowledge acquisition, and implementation. After an initial prototype is created and verified, the solution is enhanced incorporating new knowledge obtained from Online Analytical Processing, specifically from Data Mining models and structures using meta rules. Every meta rule is also verified prior to being included in the selection and translation of rules into the Expert System notation. …

Decreasing Time To Market For A Medical Device: New Methods For The Product Development Process, Kelly Marie Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

"Through an example, led at a leading medical device company, this dissertation will demonstrate that by applying certain lean principals and tools to the development of a medical device, shortened development times can be obtained. The two papers presented in the dissertation will fill a gap in current literature. Literature presents lean techniques and applications used in many different industries. But, due to the uniqueness of the medical device industry, these general techniques are not ideal. New methods will be used and validated at a medical device company, Covidien. Instead of trying to implement many general lean principals to their …

Two Essays On The Domain Translation From Financial Options To Real Options, Hongyan Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

"Real options (ROs) extend the financial option pricing theory to the valuation of real asset investment and managerial flexibility under uncertainty. However, differences between financial and non-financial markets, and the complex real world environment of applications, build obstacles for the domain translation from financial options to ROs.

This dissertation is motivated by the challenges of domain translation and developed in two essays. The first essay studies the incentive function of ROs (named the RO incentive). The essay develops an option-game framework to model the RO incentive, examines the change of investment behavior caused by the RO incentive, and values the …

Modelling Interruptions Of Human-In-The Loop Tasks, Muhammet Servet Gulum

Doctoral Dissertations

"Interruptions are a part of our everyday experience and are increasingly becoming a part of our work. Systems are typically not designed with consideration of the effects of interrupting a user during a task sequence. Research is being done in the field of interruptions and its effects. There have been various claims about the effects of interruptions on human task performance. It has been shown that interruptions may not only increase the time to perform a task but also decrease the performance. It has also been analyzed that the effect of interruptions depends on many parameters including task complexity, point …

A Comparison Analysis Of Defensive Routines And Theories-In-Use Of Engineering And Non-Engineering Managers, Tyria Riley

Doctoral Dissertations

"Engineering managers are managers who have an understanding of both the technical and business world in organizations. Many lead teams of their peers who are purely technical individuals. However, the success of an engineering manager depends on being able to function in both worlds when necessary. There is a stigma that engineers experience challenges in areas such as communication, conflict resolution, and leadership. Due to these challenges, defensive routines are likely to exist. Defensive routines are behaviors that are common in many managers and may hinder the success of an organization. This research uses a case study approach to measure …

Analyses Of Alternative Energy Deployments, Mathew Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

"Energy use around the world is rising drastically. Fossil fuels, including liquid fuels, natural gas, and coal, are expected to supply 80% of the world's energy need in 2035. As a result, the world's energy-related carbon dioxide emission is expected to increase from 30.2 billion metric tons in 2008 to 43.2 billion metric tons in 2035. Significant steps are necessary to reduce the dependence on fossil fuel and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable and alternative energy technologies can assist in reducing the use of fossil fuels and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, most of the renewable energy technologies …

Dynamic Decision Making Under Uncertainty In Renewable Energy Portfolio Management And Inventory Management, Jianjun Deng

Doctoral Dissertations

"It is challenging and important for a firm to make effective decisions under uncertainties, such as random fluctuations of products prices or demands, etc. This dissertation formulates mathematic models to help decision makers in energy and retail industries make optimal timing and optimal operational decisions when facing uncertain electricity prices and demands. As for energy portfolio management, the optimal entry and dispatch strategies are investigated for an electricity generating firm to introduce a renewable power plant as an alternative method for generating electricity, with or without construction delay. In addition, the abandonment strategies of considering shutting down one of the …

The Pricing Of Multiple Exercisable American-Style Real Options, Yu Meng

Doctoral Dissertations

"Real options embedded in a project provide management with the flexibility to alter initial investment decisions, thus making them a practical tool for project planning and budgeting. Additional values are contributed to the underlying project due to the flexibilities that are provided by real options. This dissertation presents two models for pricing multiple exercisable American real options, one that employs the binomial tree method and the other one that employs the finite difference method. Different examples of multiple exercisable real options are discussed to demonstrate the two pricing models. Interactions between options and reality constraints are also considered. These two …

A Socio-Technical Analysis Of Widespread Electric Vehicle Adoption, Onanwa Nneka Egbue

Doctoral Dissertations

A combination of high fuel costs, concerns about petroleum availability, and environmental issues associated with conventional vehicles powered by fossil fuels are driving interests in electric vehicles (EVs). Large-scale deployment of EVs can play a significant role in addressing some of these problems. In spite of the benefits of EVs, several obstacles need to be overcome before EVs will be widely adopted. This research focuses on two socio-technical issues that affect widespread adoption and sustainability of EVs, consumer attitudes and perceptions, and supply chain risks of raw materials for EV battery technology. A major barrier is that consumers tend to …

An Investigation On In-Process Spc Sampling Frequency For Shaft Bearing Turning Process, Jiaxu Chu

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The machining processes have the uniqueness of discrete production and flexible scheduling as cellular manufacturing design. To ensure the quality of machining products, control charts for Statistical Process Control (SPC) has been implemented in the company to monitor the machining process. Sampling is an essential part of data collection for SPC control charts and sampling should be done for machining processes becomes an issue in the company.

This study focused on the investigation of SPC sampling frequencies for shaft bearing turning process using the technique of Average Production Length (APL). The purpose of the study was to identify the SPC …

The Integration Of Wind Energy In The Electrical Grid During The Contingencies, Islam Ali

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As wind energy expansion develops, there are also many problems and challenges to connect the wind farms to the grid. There are many different interactions during the connection like the voltage flicker, harmonics, transient, short circuit current, frequency, and safety protection. Those problems may affect the performance of the grid and may cause serious problems. This study investigates the grid-connection problems for the wind turbines and offers appropriate solutions. This study provides a simulation for the power system during the faults. The electrical grid in the simulation contains generators and wind turbines which are connected to the grid. It also …

Modeling And Analysis Of Grid-Connected Solar-Wind Hybrid Power System, Sultan Altamimi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Renewable energies are considered to be a significant part of the energy mix to assist the existing electricity demand and the future of electrical generation. Electrical power simulation software is increasingly being used to answer and determine the source of potential problems in the actual power system. To have a better understanding of an electrical power system, it is essential to validate all the components through simulation within an environment that allows accurate modeling of all power system components. This research presents modeling and analysis of an actual grid-connected solar-wind hybrid system at University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar …