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Air Force Institute of Technology

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Articles 61 - 90 of 186

Full-Text Articles in Applied Mathematics

Examining The Return On Investment Of Test And Evaluation, Nathan C. Smith Mar 2015

Examining The Return On Investment Of Test And Evaluation, Nathan C. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the return on investment of Department of Defense test and evaluation. The thesis analyzed the return on investment of the cost avoidance achieved if an issue discovered late in the program had been discovered and corrected during developmental test and evaluation. The methodology utilized two case study examples from the Joint Primary Training Aircraft System to calculate the potential cost avoidance and the potential return on investment if the program had discovered and corrected the issues during developmental test and evaluation. The result of one case was a 9,260% return on investment. The other case results ranged …


Symmetry Groups For Linear Programming Relaxations Of Orthogonal Array Problems, David M. Arquette Mar 2015

Symmetry Groups For Linear Programming Relaxations Of Orthogonal Array Problems, David M. Arquette

Theses and Dissertations

Integer linear programs arise in many situations, and solving such problems can be computationally demanding. One way to solve them more efficiently is by exploiting the symmetry within their formulation. This paper proves that the symmetry group for the linear programming relaxation of 2-level orthogonal array problems of strength 2 is a particular semidirect product.


Different Formulations Of The Orthogonal Array Problem And Their Symmetries, Andrew J. Geyer Jun 2014

Different Formulations Of The Orthogonal Array Problem And Their Symmetries, Andrew J. Geyer

Theses and Dissertations

Modern statistical experiments routinely feature a large number of input variables that can each be set to a variety of different levels. In these experiments, output response changes as a result of changes in the individual factor level settings. Often, an individual experimental run can be costly in time, money or both. Therefore, experimenters generally want to gain the desired information on factor effects from the smallest possible number of experimental runs. Orthogonal arrays provide the most desirable designs. However, finding orthogonal arrays is a very challenging problem. There are numerous integer linear programming formulations (ILP) in the literature whose …


An Analysis Of The Impact Of Variation In Mean Time Between Demand On Air Force Fleet Level Aircraft Parts Inventories, Andrew J. Berger, Caleb S. Murphy Jun 2014

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Variation In Mean Time Between Demand On Air Force Fleet Level Aircraft Parts Inventories, Andrew J. Berger, Caleb S. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis researched the accuracy of demand forecasting and impact of demand variation on requirements definition for Air Force aircraft secondary items. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer three questions: How does the Air Force calculate item requirements? , How accurate is the current system at predicting future item requirements? , and How do variations in predicted demand change item requirements? The literature review described the Air Force supply system for aircraft secondary items. Analysis into current demand forecast accuracy found that the level of error between actual and predicted historic demand was as high as 92% for the items …


Investr: An R Package For Inverse Estimation, Brandon M. Greenwell, Christine M. Schubert Kabban Jun 2014

Investr: An R Package For Inverse Estimation, Brandon M. Greenwell, Christine M. Schubert Kabban

Faculty Publications

Inverse estimation is a classical and well-known problem in regression. In simple terms, it involves the use of an observed value of the response to make inference on the corresponding unknown value of the explanatory variable. To our knowledge, however, statistical software is somewhat lacking the capabilities for analyzing these types of problems. In this paper, we introduce investr (which stands for inverse estimation in R), a package for solving inverse estimation problems in both linear and nonlinear regression models.


Adverse Impacts Of Furlough Programs On Employee Work Rate And Organizational Productivity, Adedeji B. Badiru Apr 2014

Adverse Impacts Of Furlough Programs On Employee Work Rate And Organizational Productivity, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

This article is primarily a research-provoking exposition against the management approach used in the 2013 government furlough program. It is intended to prompt potentially productive research investigations on the impact of personnel furloughs, particularly on defense acquisition programs. Defense acquisition programs are time-sensitive and systems oriented. What appears as a minor delay in one unit of an acquisition life cycle can lead to long-term encumbrances within the entire defense system, resulting in enormous cost escalation. Pertinent analytical techniques/methodologies are provided to illustrate potential pathways for further research studies of furloughs and how they adversely impact organizational productivity. The author’s intent …


Model Uncertainty And Test Of A Segmented Mirror Telescope, Luke C. Dras Mar 2014

Model Uncertainty And Test Of A Segmented Mirror Telescope, Luke C. Dras

Theses and Dissertations

The future of large aperture telescopes relies heavily on the development of segmented array designs. Today's monolithic mirror technology has reached a barrier, particularly for space-based telescopes. These large diameter, dense mirrors allow stable high-resolution imaging but are incompatible with optimized space launch. Segmented mirror telescopes are designed to balance lightweight with compact stowage. The structure necessary to support the flexible mirror array often combines isogrid geometry and complex actuation hardware. High-fidelity finite element models are commonly used to economically predict how the optics will perform under different environmental conditions. The research detailed herein integrates superelement partitioning and complexity simplifying …


Airborne Wireless Communication Modeling And Analysis With Matlab, Matthew J. Vincie Mar 2014

Airborne Wireless Communication Modeling And Analysis With Matlab, Matthew J. Vincie

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for military, commercial, and private applications. Critical to maintaining control and a use for these systems is the development of wireless networking systems [1]. Computer simulation has increasingly become a key player in airborne networking developments though the accuracy and credibility of network simulations has become a topic of increasing scrutiny [2-5]. Much of the inaccuracies seen in simulation are due to inaccurate modeling of the physical layer of the communication system. This research develops a physical layer model that combines antenna …


Current Barriers To Successful Implementation Of Fist Principles, Brandon Keller, Joseph R. Wirthlin Jul 2013

Current Barriers To Successful Implementation Of Fist Principles, Brandon Keller, Joseph R. Wirthlin

Faculty Publications

The Fast, Inexpensive, Simple, and Tiny (FIST) framework proposes a broad set of organizational values, but provides limited guidance on practical implementation. Implementing FIST principles requires clarifying the definitions of “fast,” “inexpensive,” and “simple,” recognizing where FIST does and does not apply. Additionally, a subset of the FIST heuristics was expanded upon to increase their usefulness for practitioners. The primary research findings are that FIST principles are less conducive for highly complex or novel systems, immature technologies, future needs, acquisitions in early development phases, or when performance is the foremost value. FIST principles were also found to be constrained by …


Distributional Monte Carlo Methods For The Boltzmann Equation, Christopher R. Schrock Mar 2013

Distributional Monte Carlo Methods For The Boltzmann Equation, Christopher R. Schrock

Theses and Dissertations

Stochastic particle methods (SPMs) for the Boltzmann equation, such as the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique, have gained popularity for the prediction of flows in which the assumptions behind the continuum equations of fluid mechanics break down; however, there are still a number of issues that make SPMs computationally challenging for practical use. In traditional SPMs, simulated particles may possess only a single velocity vector, even though they may represent an extremely large collection of actual particles. This limits the method to converge only in law to the Boltzmann solution. This document details the development of new SPMs that …


Quantifying Performance Bias In Label Fusion, Alexander M. Venzin Sep 2012

Quantifying Performance Bias In Label Fusion, Alexander M. Venzin

Theses and Dissertations

Classification systems are employed to remotely assess whether an element of interest falls into a target class or non-target class. These systems have uses in fields as far ranging as biostatistics to search engine keyword analysis. The performance of the system is often summarized as a trade-off between the proportions of elements correctly labeled as target plotted against the number of elements incorrectly labeled as target. These are empirical estimates of the true positive and false positive rates. These rates are often plotted to create a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve that acts as a visual tool to assess classification …


Half-Life Learning Curves In The Defense Acquisition Life Cycle, Adedeji B. Badiru Jul 2012

Half-Life Learning Curves In The Defense Acquisition Life Cycle, Adedeji B. Badiru

Faculty Publications

Learning curves are useful for assessing performance improvement due to the positive impact of learning. In recent years, the deleterious effects of forgetting have also been recognized. Workers experience forgetting or decline in performance over time. Consequently, contemporary learning curves have attempted to incorporate forgetting components into learning curves. An area of increasing interest is the study of how fast and how far the forgetting impact can influence overall performance. This article introduces the concept of half-life analysis of learning curves using the concept of growth and decay, with particular emphasis on applications in the defense acquisition process. The computational …


Determining Angular Frequency From A Video With A Generalized Fast Fourier Transform, Lindsay N. Smith Mar 2012

Determining Angular Frequency From A Video With A Generalized Fast Fourier Transform, Lindsay N. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Suppose we are given a video of a rotating object and suppose we want to determine the rate of rotation solely from the video itself and its known frame rate. In this thesis, we present a new mathematical operator called the Geometric Sum Transform (GST) that can help one determine the angular frequency of the object in question. The GST is a generalization of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and as such, the two transforms have much in common. However, whereas the DFT is applied to a sequence of scalars, the GST can be applied to a sequence of vectors. …


Local Histograms For Per-Pixel Classification, Melody L. Massar Mar 2012

Local Histograms For Per-Pixel Classification, Melody L. Massar

Theses and Dissertations

We introduce a rigorous mathematical theory for the analysis of local histograms, and study how they interact with textures that can be modeled as occlusions of simpler components. We first show how local histograms can be computed as a system of convolutions and discuss some basic local histogram properties. We then introduce a probabilistic, occlusion-based model for textures and formally demonstrate that local histogram transforms are natural tools for analyzing the textures produced by our model. Next, we characterize all nonlinear transforms which satisfy the three key properties of local histograms and consider the appropriateness of local histogram features in …


Analysis Of Transient Electromagnetic Scattering From An Overfilled Cavity Embedded In An Impedance Ground Plane, Robert S. Callihan Sep 2011

Analysis Of Transient Electromagnetic Scattering From An Overfilled Cavity Embedded In An Impedance Ground Plane, Robert S. Callihan

Theses and Dissertations

We consider the transient, or time-domain, scattering problem of a two-dimensional overfilled cavity embedded in an impedance ground plane. This problem is a significant advancement from previous work where more simplified boundary conditions were used, which can limit the number of applications. This research supports a wide range of military applications such as the study of cavity-like structures on aircraft and vehicles. More importantly, this research helps detect the biggest threat on today's battlefield: improvised explosive devices. An important step in solving the problem is introducing an artificial boundary condition on a semicircle enclosing the cavity; this couples the fields …


Modeling Of Bacillus Spores: Inactivation And Outgrowth, Alexis X. Hurst Mar 2011

Modeling Of Bacillus Spores: Inactivation And Outgrowth, Alexis X. Hurst

Theses and Dissertations

This research models and analyzes the thermochemical damage produced in Bacillus spores by short, high-temperature exposures as well the repair process within damaged Bacillus spores. Thermochemical damage in spores is significantly due to reaction with water, hydrolysis reactions. Applying heat to the spore causes absorbed and chemically bound water molecules become mobile within the spore. These mobile water molecules react by hydrolysis reactions to degrade DNA and enzyme molecules in the spore. In order to survive the thermal inactivation, the spore must repair the damaged DNA during spore germination. The DNA repair process, as well as other germination functions, is …


Neural Extensions To Robust Parameter Design, Bernard Jacob Loeffelholz Sep 2010

Neural Extensions To Robust Parameter Design, Bernard Jacob Loeffelholz

Theses and Dissertations

Robust parameter design (RPD) is implemented in systems in which a user wants to minimize the variance of a system response caused by uncontrollable factors while obtaining a consistent and reliable system response over time. We propose the use of artificial neural networks to compensate for highly non-linear problems that quadratic regression fails to accurately model. RPD is conducted under the assumption that the relationship between system response and controllable and uncontrollable variables does not change over time. We propose a methodology to find a new set of settings that will be robust to moderate system degradation while remaining robust …


Maximizing Strike Planning Efficiency For A Given Class Of Targets, Necip Dirik Mar 2010

Maximizing Strike Planning Efficiency For A Given Class Of Targets, Necip Dirik

Theses and Dissertations

Strike planning is one of the fundamental tasks of the Turkish Air Force and involves assignment of strike aircraft to targets with a maximum level of efficiency. Therefore, planning an optimal strike plan based on the preferences of the decision maker is crucial. The efficiency of the strike plan in this research implies attacking the maximum number of targets while considering target priority and the desired level of damage on each target. Another objective is to minimize the cost of the plan. This research develops an exact model that maximizes the efficiency of the strike plan using LINGO with Excel …


Screening And Sufficiency In Multiobjective Decision Problems With Large Alternative Sets, Michael D. Cote Mar 2010

Screening And Sufficiency In Multiobjective Decision Problems With Large Alternative Sets, Michael D. Cote

Theses and Dissertations

Portfolio selection problems with combinatorially-large alternative sets can be impossible to evaluate precisely on a reasonable timescale. When portfolios require complex modeling for performance assessment, prohibitive computational processing times can result. Eliminating a small number of alternatives through an intelligent screening process can greatly reduce the number of alternative combinations, thereby decreasing a problem's evaluation time and cost. A methodology was developed for the class of hierarchical portfolio selection problems in which multiple objectives are all judged on the same sub-objectives. First, a novel capability-based alternative screening process was devised to identify and remove poor alternatives, thereby reducing the number …


The Uav Continuous Coverage Problem, Taegyun Ha Mar 2010

The Uav Continuous Coverage Problem, Taegyun Ha

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop a method to find an optimal UAV cyclic schedule to provide maximum coverage over a target area to support an ISR mission. The goal is to reach continuous coverage. UAV continuous coverage of a target area is crucial for the success of an ISR mission. Even the smallest coverage gap may jeopardize the success of the mission. Ideally it is desirable to obtain continuous coverage of a target area but the stochastic nature of the problem makes continuous coverage without gaps unlikely. However, it is still possible to obtain a high coverage …


Validation Of A Novel Approach To Solving Multibody Systems Using Hamilton's Weak Principle, Ashton D. Hainge Mar 2010

Validation Of A Novel Approach To Solving Multibody Systems Using Hamilton's Weak Principle, Ashton D. Hainge

Theses and Dissertations

A novel approach for formulating and solving for the dynamic response of multibody systems has been developed using Hamilton’s Law of Varying Action as its unifying principle. In order to assure that the associated computer program is sufficiently robust when applied across a wide range of dynamic systems, the program must be verified and validated. The purpose of the research was to perform the verification and validation of the program. Results from the program were compared with closed-form and numerical solutions of simple systems, such as a simple pendulum and a rotating pendulum. The accuracy of the program for complex …


A Multi-Objective Approach To A Bipartite Assignment Matching Problem Using Weighted Values From Multiple Contraints, Greg S. Jeong Mar 2010

A Multi-Objective Approach To A Bipartite Assignment Matching Problem Using Weighted Values From Multiple Contraints, Greg S. Jeong

Theses and Dissertations

US Air Force recruiters routinely assign new recruits to available jobs every month. The goal is to find the best assignments in an efficient manner. Although this problem is modeled as a bipartite assignment matching problem, it is not new to the field of Operations Research. This research presents a new approach to solve assignment matching problems given multiple side constraints. Using two multi-criteria optimization techniques, lexicographic optimization and the elastic constraint method, the assignment matching algorithm efficiently produces an optimal solution in a fraction of the time currently spent. This approach is demonstrated in assigning new USAF recruits to …


Determining The Orbit Locations Of Turkish Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Over The Turkish Air Space, Nebi Sarikaya Mar 2009

Determining The Orbit Locations Of Turkish Airborne Early Warning And Control Aircraft Over The Turkish Air Space, Nebi Sarikaya

Theses and Dissertations

The technology improvement affects the military needs of individual countries. The new doctrine of defense for many countries emphasizes detecting threats as far away as you can from your homeland. Today, the military uses both ground RADAR and Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Aircraft. AEW&C aircraft has become vital to detect low altitude threats that a ground RADAR cannot detect because of obstacles on the earth. Turkey has ordered four AEW&C aircraft for her air defense system because of the lack of complete coverage by ground RADAR. This research provides optimal orbit locations that can be updated according to …


A Wigner Distribution Analysis Of One Dimensional Scattering, Brent R. Lacy Mar 2009

A Wigner Distribution Analysis Of One Dimensional Scattering, Brent R. Lacy

Theses and Dissertations

We applied the Wigner Distribution Function, a distribution function of time and frequency based on an initial function of either of those variables, to a series of time based correlation functions. These time based correlation functions were the result of a 1-dimensional free particle wave packet, the reactant wave function, which had propagated through a quantum potential well and then had components of the reactant wave function that exited the opposite side of the well auto-correlated in time with a stationary 1-dimensional free particle wave packet, the product wave function. This process was undertaking in order to generate a 3-dimensional …


Quantification Of Mandatory Sustainment Requirements, Joe M. Blackman Mar 2009

Quantification Of Mandatory Sustainment Requirements, Joe M. Blackman

Theses and Dissertations

To emphasize the importance of sustainment, the DoD Joint Requirements Oversight Council addressed sustained Materiel readiness and established a mandatory Key Performance Parameter (KPP) for Materiel Availability; it also established supporting Key System Attributes (KSAs) for Materiel Reliability and Ownership Cost (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual (CJCSM) 3170.01C, 2007). Current guidance requires two numbers: a threshold value and an objective value (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual (CJCSM) 3170.01C, 2007). No distinction is made between the approaches in establishing these values for major system acquisitions, versus smaller, modification-focused efforts for existing systems. The Joint Staff …


Characterizing And Detecting Unrevealed Elements Of Network Systems, James A. Leinart Mar 2009

Characterizing And Detecting Unrevealed Elements Of Network Systems, James A. Leinart

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the problem of discovering and characterizing unknown elements in network systems. Klir (1985) provides a general definition of a system as “... a set of some things and a relation among the things" (p. 4). A system, where the `things', i.e. nodes, are related through links is a network system (Klir, 1985). The nodes can represent a range of entities such as machines or people (Pearl, 2001; Wasserman & Faust, 1994). Likewise, links can represent abstract relationships such as causal influence or more visible ties such as roads (Pearl, 1988, pp. 50-51; Wasserman & Faust, 1994; Winston, …


Probabilistic Estimation Of Rare Random Collisions In 3-Space, Timothy Holzmann Mar 2009

Probabilistic Estimation Of Rare Random Collisions In 3-Space, Timothy Holzmann

Theses and Dissertations

A study of risk assessment for artillery fire randomly colliding with fixed wing aircraft is presented. The research lends itself to a general study of collision models. Current models of object collisions fall under one of three categories: the historical model, the gas particle model, and the satellite model. These three vary in data requirements and mathematical representation of the impact event. The gas particle model is selected for its flexibility and robust estimation. However, current mathematical development in the literature does not include certain spatial and dynamic components necessary for a general encounter (collision) model. These are derived in …


The Roc Curves Of Fused Independent Classification Systems, Michael B. Walsh Sep 2008

The Roc Curves Of Fused Independent Classification Systems, Michael B. Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

The need for optimal target detection arises in many different fields. Due to the complexity of many targets, it is thought that the combination of multiple classification systems, which can be tuned to several individual target attributes or features, might lead to more optimal target detection performance. The ROC curves of fused independent two-label classification systems may be generated by the mathematical combination of their ROC curves to achieve optimal classifier performance without the need to test every Boolean combination. The monotonic combination of two-label independent classification systems which assign labels to the same target types results in a lattice …


On Graph Isomorphism And The Pagerank Algorithm, Christopher J. Augeri Aug 2008

On Graph Isomorphism And The Pagerank Algorithm, Christopher J. Augeri

Theses and Dissertations

A graph is a key construct for expressing relationships among objects, such as the radio connectivity between nodes contained in an unmanned vehicle swarm. The study of such networks may include ranking nodes based on importance, for example, by applying the PageRank algorithm used in some search engines to order their query responses. The PageRank values correspond to a unique eigenvector typically computed by applying the power method, an iterative technique based on matrix multiplication. The first new result described herein is a lower bound on the execution time of the PageRank algorithm that is derived by applying standard assumptions …


Material Perturbations To Enhance Performance Of The Theile Half-Width Leaky Mode Antenna, Jason A. Girard Jun 2008

Material Perturbations To Enhance Performance Of The Theile Half-Width Leaky Mode Antenna, Jason A. Girard

Theses and Dissertations

Microstrip traveling-wave antennas, often referred to as leaky-wave antennas, have been shown to radiate when the dominant or fundamental mode is suppressed and the first higher-order mode is excited. One such microstrip variation is the Thiele Half-Width (THW) antenna, which operates from 5.9 - 8.2 GHz for this research. Increasing the bandwidth over which the THW antenna radiates is desired, as is a fundamental understanding of the propagation characteristics over this region. This dissertation seeks to vary or perturb the material and physical properties of the THW antenna, including strip-width variations and modifications of the substrate layer, to achieve these …