Systems Engineering Commons^™

Framework For Improving Complex System Performance, Charles B. Keating, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, Ra'ed Jaradat, Joseph M. Bradley, Richard Hodge

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper introduces a framework for improvement of complex system performance. Complex systems are besieged with conditions marked by increasing uncertainty, emergence, and ambiguity. Additionally, demands for increased productivity, resource efficiencies, and performance improvement make new approaches paramount for modern systems engineers. In response, a framework to improve complex system performance is developed. Following an introduction, the paper pursues four objectives: (1) introduction of Complex System Governance (CSG) as a foundation to describe essential system functions, (2) suggest system `pathologies' as an explanation for deep system performance issues, (3) exploration of system performance improvement as a function of `requisite variety' …

Development Of A New Instrument To Assess The Performance Of Systems Engineers, Niamat Ullah Ibne Hossain, Morteza Nagahi, Raed Jaradat, Charles Keating

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Complex systems continue to confound the capabilities of systems engineers to deal with and navigate a new generation of problems. Thus, there is an emerging need to develop a cadre of effective systems engineers capable of efficiently addressing complex systems problems. This paper introduces a new system engineering instrument that assesses the performance of systems engineers. The instrument is based on the set of performance indicators examining six fundamental system engineering attributes. This instrument would provide a baseline to understand the current state of the systems engineering skills for a systems engineer and indicate developmental areas to enhance those skills. …

An Analysis Of Resistance Spot Weld Quality Based On Acoustic And Electrical Signatures, Ivan Charles Butler

Theses and Dissertations--Manufacturing Systems Engineering

The union of a set of materials by way of Resistance Spot Welding is designed so that once fused together, a substantial amount of intentional, external force must be applied to separate the contents. Therefore, Resistance Spot Welding is often the preferred fusion method in high-volume manufacturing processes. The result of Resistance Spot Welding however is the formation of a weld nugget which is not visible to the naked eye. Destructive and/or ultrasonic methods applied off-line must be used to determine the quality of each weld; both inefficient and expensive processes. The following research analyzes the data fed back during …

Evaluation Of Suas Education And Training Tools, Brent Terwilliger, Scott Burgess, James Solti, Kristine Kiernan, Christian Janke, Andrew Shepherd

Publications

The wide distribution and demographic composition of students seeking small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) education presents a need to fully understand the capabilities, limitations, and dependencies of effective training tools. Concepts, practices, and technologies associated with modeling and simulation, immersive gaming, augmented and mixed-reality, and remote operation have demonstrated efficacy to support engaged student learning and objective satisfaction. Identification and comparison of key attributes critical to an aviation educational framework, such as competency-based training, enables educational designers to identify those tools with the highest potential to support successful learning. A series of factors, such as system performance, regulatory compliance, environmental …

Factors Affecting Systems Engineering Rigor In Launch Vehicle Organizations, Denton Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Systems engineering is a methodical multi-disciplinary approach to design, build, and operate complex systems. Launch vehicles are considered by many extremely complex systems that have greatly impacted where the systems engineering industry is today. Launch vehicles are used to transport payloads from the ground to a location in space. Satellites launched by launch vehicles can range from commercial communications to national security payloads. Satellite costs can range from a few million dollars to billions of dollars. Prior research suggests that lack of systems engineering rigor as one of the leading contributors to launch vehicle failures. A launch vehicle failure could …

A Framework To Develop Anomaly Detection/Fault Isolation Architecture Using System Engineering Principles, Thomas Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For critical systems, timely recognition of an anomalous condition immediately starts the evaluation process. For complex systems, isolating the fault to a component or subsystem results in corrective action sooner so that undesired consequences may be minimized. There are many unique anomaly detection and fault isolation capabilities available with innovative techniques to quickly discover an issue and identify the underlying problems. This research develops a framework to aid in the selection of appropriate anomaly detection and fault isolation technology to augment a given system. To optimize this process, the framework employs a model based systems engineering approach. Specifically, a SysML …

A Sustainable Prototype For Renewable Energy: Optimized Prime-Power Generator Solar Array Replacement, Nathan Thomsen, Torrey J. Wagner, Andrew J. Hoisington, Steven J. Schuldt

Faculty Publications

Remote locations such as disaster relief camps, isolated arctic communities, and military forward operating bases are disconnected from traditional power grids forcing them to rely on diesel generators with a total installed capacity of 10,000 MW worldwide. The generators require a constant resupply of fuel, resulting in increased operating costs, negative environmental impacts, and challenging fuel logistics. To enhance remote site sustainability, planners can develop stand-alone photovoltaic-battery systems to replace existing prime power generators. This paper presents the development of a novel cost-performance model capable of optimizing solar array and Li-ion battery storage size by generating tradeoffs between minimizing initial …

The Tabu Ant Colony Optimizer And Its Application In An Energy Market, David Donald Haynes

Doctoral Dissertations

"A new ant colony optimizer, the 'tabu ant colony optimizer' (TabuACO) is introduced, tested, and applied to a contemporary problem. The TabuACO uses both attractive and repulsive pheromones to speed convergence to a solution. The dual pheromone TabuACO is benchmarked against several other solvers using the traveling salesman problem (TSP), the quadratic assignment problem (QAP), and the Steiner tree problem. In tree-shaped puzzles, the dual pheromone TabuACO was able to demonstrate a significant improvement in performance over a conventional ACO. As the amount of connectedness in the network increased, the dual pheromone TabuACO offered less improvement in performance over the …

Surface And Subsurface Damages In Rotary Ultrasonic Machining Of Ceramics: A Molecular Dynamics Method With Experimental Study, Yasser Hamouda Ahmed

Dissertations

Rotary ultrasonic machining (RUM) is one of the advanced machining processes for ceramics. Although many research papers about RUM have been published, there are very limited studies focusing on the effects of ultrasonic vibration on surface and subsurface damages. In this research, the surface and subsurface damages are compared for machining of dental ceramics (Al₂O₃) with and without ultrasonic vibration. The surface chippings are evaluated under microscope and the subsurface cracks are observed and quantified under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The contribution of this research is directed to use Molecular Dynamics (MD) method, which plays an …

Foundations For A Game Theoretic Framework For Agile Acquisition, Scott Rosen, Kelly Horinek, Alexander Odeh, Les Servi, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

This article investigates the concept of developing a game theoretic framework that is based on the application of buyer and seller utility functions to support the bidding process in government acquisition. The results of a literature survey of utility function approaches, with potential to provide a suitable foundation to a game theory framework for acquisition, are presented. The utility function methods found most promising were further adapted and tested: the Best-Worst method, the Multi-Swing Method, and Functional Dependency for Network Analysis. To test the scalability of the approach, the Best-Worst method is applied to a larger problem to show the …

Energy Efficiency Evaluation Of Blower Heater Non-Purge Compressed Air Dryers, Alexandra M. Botts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are several compressed air dryers available for industrial use including, refrigerant, desiccant, and membrane. This research focuses on twin tower regenerative closed loop desiccant dryers, specifically: blower heater non-purge (BHNP) with and without cooling water pumps, Compressed-air Heater Purge (CHP), Blower Heater Purge (BHP), and Pressure Swing Heaterless (PSH). These styles of dryers are used mainly in industries that require extremely dry air such as, food manufacturing, medical air, or sensitive technology manufacturers. The research was conducted by collecting and analyzing real time current draw data on air compressors and associated dryers at eight different facilities (13 compressor systems) …

Point-Of-Care Assessment At A Free, Out-Of-Hours Orthopedic Clinic, Whitney M. Graves, Zachary K. Winkelmann, Kenneth E. Games

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Access to healthcare is a challenge for many Americans living in rural communities. Hospital systems have created programs and developed models to improve access to care. However, documentation of the role of these clinics serving different populations and various types of communities is quite scarce. The purpose of this article is to describe the patient satisfaction and procedures assessed at the point-of-care during a 14-week, out-of-hours free orthopedic clinic in the Southeastern United States. One hundred and twenty-nine patients attended the orthopedic clinic and completed a patient satisfaction survey following their patient encounter. At the end of the 14-week, 89% …

Application Of Computational Intelligence To Explore And Analyze System Architecture And Design Alternatives, Gene Lesinski

Doctoral Dissertations

"Systems Engineering involves the development or improvement of a system or process from effective need to a final value-added solution. Rapid advances in technology have led to development of sophisticated and complex sensor-enabled, remote, and highly networked cyber-technical systems. These complex modern systems present several challenges for systems engineers including: increased complexity associated with integration and emergent behavior, multiple and competing design metrics, and an expansive design parameter solution space. This research extends the existing knowledge base on multi-objective system design through the creation of a framework to explore and analyze system design alternatives employing computational intelligence. The first research …

Group Facilitation, Terry Bresnick

Operations Management Presentations

As a management consultant, over the course of more than 40 years, I have facilitated more than 1500 workshops, seminars, and decision conferences. But when I think back on the times I was a college professor at West Point in the 70s, I often found myself in a position where in addition to teaching, I had to bring together and integrate the needs of very diverse groups of people. Typically, there was time pressure, the stakes were high, and the objectives of the participants conflicted. As an assistant professor, I had no real decision-making authority, but I could help the …

Teen Driver System Modeling: A Tool For Policy Analysis, Celestin Missikpode, Corrine Peek-Asa, Daniel V. Mcgehee, James Torner, Wayne Wakeland, Robert Wallace

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of teen deaths in spite of preventive efforts. Prevention strategies could be advanced through new analytic approaches that allow us to better conceptualize the complex processes underlying teen crash risk. This may help policymakers design appropriate interventions and evaluate their impacts.

Methods: System Dynamics methodology was used as a new way of representing factors involved in the underlying process of teen crash risk. Systems dynamics modeling is relatively new to public health analytics and is a promising tool to examine relative influence of multiple interacting factors in predicting a health …

System Engineering Analysis Of Terraforming Mars With An Emphasis On Resource Importation Technology, Brandon Wong

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This project uses System Engineering principles to delve into the viability of different methods for Terraforming Mars, with a comparison between Paraterraforming, Terraforming and Bioforming. It will then examine one subsystem that will be integral to the terraforming process, which is the space infrastructure necessary to import enough gases to recreate Earth’s atmosphere on Mars. It will analyze the viability of Chemical Rockets, Nuclear Rockets, Space Elevators, Skyhooks, Rotovators, Mass Drivers, Launch Loops and Orbital Rings for this subsystem and provide recommendations for an implementation plan.

Discrete Event Simulation And Cost Model For Optimization Of Manufacturing Resource Usages Associated With Implementation Of A Redesigned Product, Alexander Eierle

Theses and Dissertations

This paper demonstrates an approach to evaluating production factors related to schedule and resources based on changes to the production process. A discrete event simulation model was developed to evaluate different production factors, such as arrival times, number of entities, resource availabilities, and work in process (WIP) times, compared to the total yield at a production facility. This model helped to develop relationships between the required asset resource usages and the overall production resource allocation with the related effects to process wait times and production outputs. A comparative analysis with cost was performed to determine the effect that varied resources …

Introduction To Data Analytics And Emerging Real-World Use Cases, Art Chaovalitwongse

Operations Management Presentations

Data analytics is a rapidly emerging interdisciplinary research area that involves advances in engineering, computer science, statistics and operations research. This webinar is focused on introducing the foundation of data analytics and emerging real-world use cases of data analytics. This presentation will begin with a discussion of the mathematical and statistical modeling aspects of various levels of data analytics (i.e., descriptive, predictive and prescriptive). In this webinar, you will hear an overview of data analytics in real world problems ranging from healthcare analytics, retail analytics and financial analytics.

Stop “Droning” On About Unmanned Aircraft Systems And Do Something About It, Richard Ham

Operations Management Presentations

The use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is quickly becoming an expectation for inventory management, supply chain, engineering/construction and architectural inspections, agriculture assessment and surveillance. This webinar will provide an overview of compliance requirements, startup costs, and new use cases changing the way operations managers function and improve efficiency. Supply chain management and delivery, construction management, quality management inspections and homeland security requirements are already heavily invested in UAS integration. Learn how to use your knowledge as an operations manager to stay ahead of your competitors and discover creative ways to drive up productivity and reduce costs by adding UAS …

Analytical Modeling Of Heat Deposition In Propellant For Spacecraft Utilizing Nuclear Thermal Propulsion, Alexander Aueron

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Virtually Prototyping Power Consumption Using Sysml, Alay Shah

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

A Sysml Model Based Simulation Of A Ntp Ground Test, Garrick Jennings, Dale Thomas

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Implications Of Using A New Systems Engineering Approach In A Multi-Team International Project, Garima Bhatia

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Issues In Reproducible Simulation Research, Ben G. Fitzpatrick

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Satellite Constellation Architecture And Design To Take Advantage Of On-Orbit Servicing And Repair, Douglas Sciortino

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Access to space is becoming less expensive, which is allowing smaller companies with big ideas, such as on-orbit servicing and repair, to enter into the space industry. On-orbit servicing and repair provides capabilities, such as towing, refueling, inspections, and physical repair, to add additional life to on-orbit satellites by resolving life-limiting issues. On-orbit servicing and repair is technically possible, but there is still one major issue that continues to stifle the on-orbit servicing and repair market -- “satellites are not built with servicing in mind” (Parker, 2015).

The on-orbit servicing and repair industry is stagnate due to a challenging conundrum. …

Leading Through Change, Travis Mcneal

Operations Management Presentations

In this webinar, you will learn how to leverage periods of change to develop better leaders. We all hear that "the only constant is change" and that "change is hard." What if there was a different narrative? What if organizations going through change actually resulted in higher performance, engagement and better leadership? It is widely known that effective change management requires sponsorship — this means every leader, from the C-Suite to the front-line supervisor. This webinar will share practical and repeatable ways to help all leaders improve the way they lead change.

Presenting To Senior Decision Makers: Clear, Concise & Complete, Kirk Michealson

Operations Management Presentations

Your manager just assigned you to lead a new project for your Vice President. You have many questions! What are the details of the project? What does the VP want to see in briefings? Does the VP have an advocate for pre-briefs? What information is important to include in the presentation? How detailed should the information be? How should the information be presented? Are there any best practices in developing presentations? In this webinar, you will learn strategies for sharing important information with key stakeholders in your career – and how to actually get them to listen!

Robust Engineering Of Dynamic Structures In Complex Networks, Walter Botongo Bomela

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Populations of nearly identical dynamical systems are ubiquitous in natural and engineered systems, in which each unit plays a crucial role in determining the functioning of the ensemble. Robust and optimal control of such large collections of dynamical units remains a grand challenge, especially, when these units interact and form a complex network. Motivated by compelling practical problems in power systems, neural engineering and quantum control, where individual units often have to work in tandem to achieve a desired dynamic behavior, e.g., maintaining synchronization of generators in a power grid or conveying information in a neuronal network; in this dissertation, …

Space Architecture Assessment Using System-Of-Systems Methodologies, Liam Durbin, Cesare Guariniello, Daniel Delaurentis

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

As technologies in the space exploration community are further developed, mission complexity and the associated risks have become greater. Dozens of complicated system interactions may result in unexpected, potentially dangerous emergent behaviors. Early efforts are underway by NASA to map potential system architectures (collections of systems which fulfill design requirements) for future human space exploration missions. However, current mission complexity requires the determination of emergent behaviors, as well as time requirements, and safety levels of complicated space exploration architectures, which current analysis methods in use cannot address. To that end, a newer technique has been developed—System Operability Dependency Analysis (SODA). …

Evaluation Criteria For Selecting Nosql Databases In A Single Box Environment, Ryan D. Engle, Brent T. Langhals, Michael R. Grimaila, Douglas D. Hodson

Faculty Publications

In recent years, NoSQL database systems have become increasingly popular, especially for big data, commercial applications. These systems were designed to overcome the scaling and flexibility limitations plaguing traditional relational database management systems (RDBMSs). Given NoSQL database systems have been typically implemented in large-scale distributed environments serving large numbers of simultaneous users across potentially thousands of geographically separated devices, little consideration has been given to evaluating their value within single-box environments. It is postulated some of the inherent traits of each NoSQL database type may be useful, perhaps even preferable, regardless of scale. Thus, this paper proposes criteria conceived to …