Other Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering Commons^™

A2s Uplink Latency Minimization For Wildfire Monitoring Systems Using Mbse And Stochastic Modeling, Luis Giovanni Wang

Master's Theses

Wildfire response depends on how quickly a detection reaches the people who act on it, and the slowest remaining step is often the link that carries an alert from a remote sensing platform to a satellite. This thesis models the latency of that link, the Air-to-Space uplink, for a wildfire-monitoring UAV that carries a Starlink terminal and sends an ALERT packet to a serving Low Earth Orbit satellite. The uplink is difficult to predict because both the UAV and the satellite move, and because the wildfire environment degrades the channel at the moment the data matters most.

The thesis uses …

Navigating Perceptions: How Organizational Type And Message Source Affect Willingness To Fly In Automated Air Taxis, Cody James Sweatt

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

A new era of transportation and business is beginning to emerge. Advanced air mobility (AAM), which uses highly automated aircraft that transport passengers and cargo in the underutilized, low-altitude airspace above and around urban areas, is rapidly becoming a reality (FAA, 2023). These new companies will utilize air taxis, which are automated, electric, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and will potentially foster a revolutionary new commerce infrastructure. Unfortunately, it is not currently understood how the credibility of a message source or specific type of organization that owns and operates an automated air taxi company influences a customer’s willingness to …

An Msbe–Driven Advanced Air Mobility Post–Disaster Response System, Olabode A. Olanipekun

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

In this work, an overarching conceptual design model towards the realization of a proposed Advanced Air Mobility Post–Disaster Response System (AAMPDR system) was explored through the focal lenses of systems thinking (ST), socio–technical systems (STS) and model–based systems engineering (MBSE) paradigms. Initially aimed at providing intervention for casualties and aerial support to emergency rescue workers on the ground in the event of a hurricane disaster around the Gulf shore of the Mobile bay area, Mobile city, AL., the scope of this research subsequently expanded to include a global outlook. Thereafter, culminating in the development of a generalized AAMPDR system model …

Computational Representation, Analysis And Verification Of Requirements In Engineering Design And Systems Engineering, Chandan Kumar Sahu

All Dissertations

Systems are developed to satisfy a set of requirements derived from stakeholders’ needs, defining the problem space for which the system is created as a feasible solution. The system design process begins with eliciting these requirements and concludes with validating whether the created system meets them. Requirements engineering (RE) encompasses elicitation, representation, analysis, documentation, verification, and validation. However, challenges in RE, such as imprecision in natural language (NL), proprietary restrictions, and a lack of standardized quality metrics, hinder the creation of well-formed and comprehensive requirements. These challenges complicate formalization and analysis of requirements.

This dissertation addresses these challenges by proposing …

3- And 6-Degree-Of-Freedom Investigation Of Aerobraking To Support Cislunar And Planetary Operations, Erica C. Higginbotham

Theses and Dissertations

The first aerobraking experiment occurred in 1991 as part of the Hiten spacecraft’s cislunar survey mission, while the first non-Earth aerobraking experiment occurred in 1993 as part of the Magellan spacecraft’s mission to Venus. Although making only two trans-atmospheric passes to reduce its apogee altitude, the success of Hiten’s experiment led to the implementation of aerobraking by Magellan, reducing its orbit from elliptical to nearly circular over a span of 70 Earth days by leveraging aerodynamic drag to reduce its orbital energy via transiting the upper region of Venus’ atmosphere. The Magellan experiment helped prove the viability of aerobraking for …

Efficient Connectivity Management And Path Planning For Iot And Uav Networks, Amirahmad Chapnevis

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how to better manage resources in mobile networks, especially for enhancing the performance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)-supported IoT networks. We explored ways to set up a flexible communication architecture that can handle large IoT deployments by making good use of mobile core network resources like bearers and data paths. We developed strategies that meet the needs of IoT networks and enhance network performance. We also developed and tested a system that combines traffic from several mobile devices that use the same user identity and network resources within the core mobile network. We used everyday smartphones, SIM …

Design And Analysis Of Asymmetric “String-Of-Pearls” Common Repeating-Ground-Track Satellite Constellations For Missions Requiring Regional Coverage, Nathaniel Choo

Theses and Dissertations

Satellite constellation design must balance many factors that emerge from multiple sources, including environmental hazards and competing mission objectives. The dynamic nature of space systems makes the problem of ‘optimal’ satellite constellation design even more challenging. Restricting satellite constellation designs to predefined geometric frameworks can alleviate many challenges associated with the design problem; however, it raises an important question: which geometric framework performs best for each mission set? This research leverages simulations, metaheuristics, and mathematical programming techniques to address this question for missions focusing on Earth-observation of one or more regions.

First, this research captures the current state of satellite …

Developing Systems Engineering And Machine Learning Frameworks For The Improvement Of Aviation Maintenance, Fatine Elakramine

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops systems engineering and machine learning models for aviation maintenance support. With the constant increase in demand for air travel, aviation organizations compete to maintain airworthy aircraft to ensure the safety of passengers. Given the importance of aircraft safety, the aviation sector constantly needs technologies to enhance the maintenance experience, ensure system safety, and limit aircraft downtime. Based on the current literature, the aviation maintenance sector still relies on outdated technologies to maintain aircraft maintenance documentation, including paper-based technical orders. Aviation maintenance documentation contains a mixture of structured and unstructured technical text, mainly inputted by operators, making them …

Accuracy Assessment Of The Ebee Using Rtk And Ppk Corrections Methods As A Function Of Distance To A Gnss Base Station, Joseph Cerreta, David Thirtyacre, Peter Miller, Scott S. Burgess, William J. Austin

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The use of unmanned aircraft systems to collect data for photogrammetry models has grown significantly in recent years. The accuracy of a photogrammetric model can depend on image georeferencing. The distance from a reference base station can affect the accuracy of the results. Positioning corrections data relies on precise timing measurements of satellite signals. The signals travel through the Earth's atmosphere, which introduces errors due to ionospheric and tropospheric delays. The aim of this research was to examine the eBee X and its global GNSS accuracy by comparing the RTK and PPK methods at different base station distances in photogrammetry …

Influence Of The Inherent Safety Principles On Quantitative Risk In Process Industry: Application Of Genetic Algorithm Process Optimization (Gapo), Mehdi Jahangiri, Abolfazl Moghadasi, Mojtaba Kamalinia, Farid Sadeghianjahromi, Sean Banaee

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Inherent safety (IS) refers to a set of measures that enhance the safety level of processes and equipment, rendering additional equipment and/or add-ons. The early design phase of processes is suited best for implementation of IS strategies as some of such strategies either are impossible to be implemented at the operation phase or substantially increase costs. The purpose of this study is to present a new approach called genetic algorithm process optimization (GAPO), by which processes can be made inherently safer even at the operation phase. This study simulates the IS principle, assessing its impact on quantitative risk and the …

Quantum Safety Metrics Framework For Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Operators, Tracy L. Lamb, Nathan A. Phillips, Trong Van Nguyen

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Commercial unmanned aircraft systems continue to increase in applications and diversity; however, mishaps and accidents erode safety, investment return, and efficiency. Most unmanned aircraft accidents are preceded by leading indicators; the ability to forecast and quantify these may provide increased safety and profitability. This mixed-method research study used a non-experimental parallel convergence approach with multiple instruments, multiple-case study n = 22, and one exemplar case design to develop a quantum safety metric program. This study used a combination of previously validated methods as development instruments, including; the HFACS, STAMP, 'Sierra Scale,' and Accident Prevention Effort equations. The study extended the …

Development Of Cislunar Space Logistics Networks For Satellite Constellation Support Using Event-Driven Generalized Multi-Commodity Network Flows, Alexander R. Collins

Theses and Dissertations

As space becomes an increasingly congested domain, the risk of damage to satellite constellations is increasing. In response, there is an increasing need for capabilities for unmanned repair, refueling, and reconstitution (R3) of those constellations. Cislunar orbits offer a promising storage and low-cost transfer solution for on-orbit service vehicles and replacement satellites to leverage those capabilities. This research makes use of mixed-integer linear programming-based logistics models to determine the situations in which a cislunar mission architecture would offer a cost-effective alternative to Earth-based R3. The network models presented in this research make use of the latest developments in Event-Driven Generalized …

Space Dynamics Laboratory Payload Challenge: Autonomous Water Sampling Uav, Thomas Wheeler, Zachary Williams, Joseph Stack

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The following report has been completed over the course of the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters at The University of Akron by Joseph P. Stack (Aerospace Systems Engineering), Thomas J. Wheeler (Mechanical Engineering) and Zachary M. Williams (Mechanical Engineering). The purpose of this project was to create a payload system for the Akronauts Rocket Design Team to use at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) Spaceport America Cup. The Competition as a challenge that is sponsored by Space Dynamics Laboratory specifically regarding payload systems. The challenge in very open-ended and allows student to identify their own scientific experiment and …

L1 Month: Utilizing High Power Rocketry As A Training Tool For Student Organizations, Aaron Hunt, Oakley Copeland, Mckynzie Perry, Benjamin Thomas

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

An Exact Analysis For Four-Order Acousto-Optic Bragg Diffraction Which Incorporates Both Incident Light Angle And Sound Frequency Dependencies, Adeyinka Sunday Ademola

Electrical Engineering Theses

This thesis extends the prior work which produced an exact solution to the four-order acousto-optic (AO) Bragg cell with assumed fixed center frequency and with exact Bragg angle incident light. The extension predicts the model that incorporates the dependencies of both the input angle of light and the sound frequency. Specifically, a generalized 4^th order linear differential equation (DE), is developed from a simultaneous analysis of four coupled AO system of DEs. Through standard methods, the characteristic roots, which requires solving a quartic equation, is produced. Subsequently, a derived system of homogeneous solutions, which absorbs the roots obtained using …

The Context Of Tool Control In An Aircraft Assembly Environment Related To Productivity, Taylor Jay Sisson

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

The aircraft industry focuses a large portion of its resources on tool control during the assembly of aircraft. Tool control is a strict process that demands time from the assembly process. This time is removed from the value-added time spent actually assembling the aircraft. A study at Lockheed Martin conducted in the Spring of 2016 is discussed that examines the time spent on tool control. Tool control is necessary in aircraft assembly to prevent tools from entering compartments of the aircraft. If such an event occurs, the tool may damage the aircraft. All aircraft assembly processes must be tool controlled, …

Sub-Orbital Spaceflight – An Addition To Our Multi-Modal Transportation System, Scott Haeffelin

Space Traffic Management Conference

The number of commercial spaceflights will be increasing by orders of magnitude over the next several decades. The current volume of space traffic can be managed on a case-by-case basis and there is little impact to the National Airspace System (NAS). This will change as more spaceports become operational, commercial sub-orbital flight companies begin serving their customers and as the cost of these flights begin to decrease. Current regulatory paths seek to allow the flexibility in the regulations for this industry to flourish while also maintaining a high standard of safety. There are, however, many nearsighted and old fashioned assumptions …

Fusion Of Imprecise Qualitative Information, Florentin Smarandache, Xinde Li, Xianzhong Dai, Jean Dezert

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this paper, we present a new 2-tuple linguistic representation model, i.e. Distribution Function Model (DFM), for combining imprecise qualitative information using fusion rules drawn from Dezert-Smarandache Theory (DSmT) framework. Such new approach allows to preserve the precision and efficiency of the combination of linguistic information in the case of either equidistant or unbalanced label model. Some basic operators on imprecise 2-tuple labels are presented together with their extensions for imprecise 2-tuple labels. We also give simple examples to show how precise and imprecise qualitative information can be combined for reasoning under uncertainty. It is concluded that DSmT can deal …

Prioritizing Satellite Payload Selection Via Optimization, Benjamin S. Kallemyn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops optimization models for prioritizing payloads for inclusion on satellite buses with volume, power, weight and budget constraints. The first model considers a single satellite launch for which the budget is uncertain and constellation requirements are not considered. Subsequently, we include constellation requirements and provide a more enhanced model. Both single-launch models provide a prioritized list of payloads to include on the launch before the budget is realized. The single-launch models are subsequently extended to a sequence of multiple launches in two cases, both of which incorporate an explicit dependence on the constellation composition at each launch epoch. …

An Approach For Optimizing The On-Orbit Servicing Architecture For The Space-Based Radar Constellation, Michael L. Mcconnell

Theses and Dissertations

Satellite systems, once operational, are essentially a consumable item with no capacity to maintain, repair, or upgrade them while on-orbit. In order to avoid having to replace costly space assets, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) are looking to developing programs to provide an on-orbit servicing capability for future satellite systems under development, such as the Space-Based Radar (SBR) system. DARPA and AFSPC are studying on-orbit servicing using the Orbital Express platform as part of an Analysis of Alternatives for the SBR program. Like their satellite clients, on-orbit servicing assets are expected to …

Analysis Of Online-Delaunay Navigation For Time Sensitive Targeting, David Chow

Theses and Dissertations

Given the drawbacks of leaving time-sensitive targeting (TST) strictly to humans, there is value to the investigation of alternative approaches to TST operations that employ autonomous systems. This paper accomplishes five things. First, it proposes a short-hop abbreviated routing paradigm (SHARP) - based on Delaunay triangulations (DT), ad-hoc communication, and autonomous control - for recognizing and engaging TSTs that, in theory, will improve upon persistence, the volume of influence, autonomy, range, and situational awareness. Second, it analyzes the minimum timeframe need by a strike (weapons enabled) aircraft to navigate to the location of a TST under SHARP. Third, it shows …

An Object Oriented Simulation Of The C-17 Wingtip Vortices In The Airdrop Environment, Hans J. Petry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis effort focuses on the development of an object-oriented simulation of C-17 personnel airdrop operations and provides a tool for risk assessment of jumper and wingtip vortex interaction. Using the initial modeling efforts of the Wright Laboratory, this model expands those efforts to include random aircraft, wind and jumper movement within the simulation using MODSIM III as its language. Once the model was built, verified, and calibrated, it helped perform a preliminary analysis of jumper risk with varying element spacing and no crosswind. The results of the simulation provided 15 data points with which linear and logistic regression provided …

International Space Station Traffic Modeling And Simulation, Jillene B. Rylaarsdam

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to provide NASA with an alternative perspective and some insights to the operational planning of the International Space Station (ISS), this research developed a simulation environment for the ISS and devised a method to evaluate various altitude strategies. The simulation environment allowed us to incorporate the natural random behaviors which affect the lifetime of objects in low earth orbit. We created prototype models of the operational planning process to analyze current altitude strategy approaches and acquire new strategies from insights observed. In addition, by extrapolating random future solar activity values from the interpolation of historical data, we …

A Decision Support Model For Establishing A Plastics Recycling Program, Deven M. Dalcher

Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the development of a decision support model for the establishment of a plastics recycling program. The decision support model focuses on identifying the end-product uses and material specifications first. Once the end-product specifications have been identified, the recycling program can be designed. The model will provide solid waste managers an effective decision-making tool to evaluate the economic feasibility of establishing a plastics recycling program.

Automating Satellite Range Scheduling, S. Michael Schalck

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to develop a computer based satellite range scheduling SRS algorithm to create a 24 hour satellite support schedule. The algorithms goal was to schedule as many satellite support requests as possible. An iterative heuristic approach was used to schedule satellite support requests in three successive sub problems. The first sub problem involves scheduling low altitude satellite support requests using a mixed integer programming approach. The next two sub problems each involve scheduling 12 hour blocks of medium and high altitude satellite support requests, again using a mixed integer programming approach. Fourteen 24 hour schedules …