Dynamic Systems Commons^™

Human-Centered Modeling Of Traffic As A Complex System, Poorendra P. Ramlall

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Traffic systems are driven not only by motion, but by interaction: vehicles influence one another, drivers continuously adapt to surrounding behaviour, and cognitive processes shape decisions that can propagate through the flow of traffic. Understanding these layered interactions is essential for improving traffic safety and for designing the next generation of intelligent, connected, and automated transportation systems. This PhD research develops a multiscale, data-driven framework for identifying, modelling, and ultimately interpreting interaction structure in traffic systems. The work first established an information-theoretic basis for this problem, demonstrating how information flow can uncover directional relationships in traffic dynamics and help infer …

Supply Chain Analysis: The Oregonator Autocatalytic Case Study, Abigail Butcher

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Understanding stability in complex supply chains remains a critical challenge due to nonlinear feedback, delayed responses, and sensitivity to parameter changes. This project presents a novel framework that applies bifurcation analysis to evaluate system stability, using the Oregonator autocatalytic chemical reaction model as an analog for supply chain dynamics. A parameter sweep of key model variables, particularly the stoichiometric factor f and the reaction rate constants k, is used to identify transitions between stable and oscillatory regimes. These transitions provide insight into how variations in feedback strength can drive instability in real-world systems. The framework will then be extended to …

Numerical Modeling Of Thermo-Poroelasticity Using Finite Element Method, Maya Mckean

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

We propose a numerical method for solving and modeling thermo-poroelasticity problems using a finite element formulation. Thermo-poroelasticity models describe the coupled interaction between mechanical deformation, fluid flow, and heat transfer in specific materials or environments over time. These models demonstrate the evolution of displacement, pressure, and temperature; we compute these fields in this work using backward Euler time discretization and Enriched Galerkin finite element spatial discretization. For these computations we used FreeFEM, a partial differential equation solver that uses the finite element method, which produced our numerical results. We then compared these values with the expected analytical solution. This was …

Ai-Driven Scheduling Algorithms For Private Aviation, Tayan Benson, Jessica Buskey, Gabriel Camacho, Caitlyn A. Gabrinowitz

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Private aviation scheduling is complex and dynamic, requiring frequent aircraft repositioning based on demand and operational constraints, unlike fixed commercial airline schedules. As fleets grow beyond 300 aircraft, traditional deterministic methods become too slow, leading to the use of approaches such as genetic algorithms, but neural network-based methods have not seen in-depth exploration. This project models aircraft scheduling as a network, where airports and flights form a graph. It explores advanced AI methods, including graph neural networks and spatio-temporal graph neural networks (STGNNs), to capture both network structure and time constraints. The goal is to generate efficient daily schedules from …

The Motion Of A Falling Object Under Linear Drag And How Differential Equations Can Be Used To Find It, Lukas Estrella

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

This project, "The Motion of a Falling Object Under Linear Drag and How Differential Equations Can Be Used To Find It," investigates the motion of a falling object subject to air resistance through a combination of mathematical modeling and fundamental physical principles. The analysis is grounded in Newton’s second law, which yields a differential equation describing the forces acting on the object. Assuming a linear drag model, in which the resistive force is proportional to velocity, the governing equation reduces to a first-order ordinary differential equation for velocity. This equation is solved using the integrating factor method, yielding an explicit …

Modeling Population Growth With Logistic And Modified Logistic Equations, Mihil Dimpal Patel

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Population growth models are essential tools for understanding how biological populations change over time under environmental constraints. This study examines population dynamics by comparing the classical exponential growth model with the logistic growth model. While exponential growth assumes unlimited resources and results in unbounded population increase, the logistic model incorporates a carrying capacity that limits growth as resources become scarce. To better represent real-world conditions, the logistic model is extended by introducing modifications such as harvesting terms and time-varying carrying capacities, which account for external removal of individuals and changing environmental limits. The equilibria of these models are determined, and …

Dual Quaternions For Gravity Recovery Missions, Ryan Kinzie

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

A dual quaternion-based modeling, state estimation and control approach is introduced as a better alternative to the traditional methods which are currently utilized for gravity recovery missions. The proposed modeling and control approach was verified against and compared to the tangent bundle to Special Euclidean Group 3 through MATLAB simulations. The dual quaternion-based approach shows superior performance over traditional linearized and uncoupled methodologies, in both modeling accuracy of spacecraft translational position, and the ability to control the pose of a test mass relative to its host spacecraft. Utilizing data products from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On mission, a …

Rigid Body Constrained Motion Optimization And Control On Lie Groups And Their Tangent Bundles, Brennan S. Mccann

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Rigid body motion requires formulations where rotational and translational motion are accounted for appropriately. Two Lie groups, the special orthogonal group SO(3) and the space of quaternions H, are commonly used to represent attitude. When considering rigid body pose, that is spacecraft position and attitude, the special Euclidean group SE(3) and the space of dual quaternions DH are frequently utilized. All these groups are Lie groups and Riemannian manifolds, and these identifications have profound implications for dynamics and controls. The trajectory optimization and optimal control problem on Riemannian manifolds presents significant opportunities for theoretical development. Riemannian optimization is an attractive …

Vertical Take-Off And Landing Control Via Dual-Quaternions And Sliding Mode, Joshua Sonderegger

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The landing and reusability of space vehicles is one of the driving forces into renewed interest in space utilization. For missions to planetary surfaces, this soft landing has been most commonly accomplished with parachutes. However, in spite of their simplicity, they are susceptible to parachute drift. This parachute drift makes it very difficult to predict where the vehicle will land, especially in a dense and windy atmosphere such as Earth. Instead, recent focus has been put into developing a powered landing through gimbaled thrust. This gimbaled thrust output is dependent on robust path planning and controls algorithms. Being able to …

Studies Of Oval Tube And Fin Heat Exchangers, Phillip Nielsen

Discovery Day - Prescott

Heating Ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) is a system which changes the temperature of the surroundings for the purposes of cooling or heating. This system requires energy to maintain a temperature difference from the outside temperature. This is important since minimized power is one of the requirements for the system to achieve a better efficiency. Optimizing the flow over the evaporator coils is one way to increase the cooling efficiency. This will reduce the power required to have a sustainable system. Optimizing the flow to increase the energy transfer between the fins and the incoming air could result in a greater …

Differential Equations Of Dynamical Order, Andrei Ludu, Harihar Khanal

Publications

No abstract provided.

Improving Airplane Touchdown Control By Utilizing The Adverse Elevator Effect, Nihad E. Daidzic Ph.D., Sc.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The main objective of this original research article is to understand the short-term dynamic behavior of the transport-category airplane during landing flare elevator control application. Increasing the pitch angle to arrest the sink rate, the elevator will have to produce negative lift to rotate the airplane’s nose upward. This has an immediate adverse effect of initially accelerating airplane downward. A mathematical model of landing flare based on the flat-Earth longitudinal dynamics of rigid airplane was developed which is realistic only on very short time-scales as pitch stiffness and damping were neglected. Pilot control scenarios using impulse and step elevator pull-up …

Project Haiti 2012: Providing An Experiential Learning Experience Through The Design And Delivery Of A Water Purifier In Haiti, Yung Wong, Johnathon Camp, Shavin Pinto, Kyle Fennesy, Marc Compere, Yan Tang

Publications

In this paper, we share our experiences and lessons learned from Project Haiti 2012, a project to design and install a water purification system serving 20,000 people per day in the largest tent city in Haiti. Project Haiti 2012 was the third and largest system we have built for Haitians and represents a huge success for all participants and stakeholders. This paper discusses the unique experiential learning opportunity involved in the design and delivery of the water purifier in a foreign developing country. Multiple positive educational, social, and economic outcomes were achieved including students applying knowledge gained from coursework towards …

Multi-Disciplinary Hands-On Desktop Learning Modules And Modern Pedagogies, Bernard J. Van Wie, David B. Thiessen, Marc Compere, Ximena Toro, Jennifer C. Adam, Et Al.

Publications

Our team’s research focuses on fundamental problems in undergraduate education in terms of how to expand use of well researched, yet still “new”, teaching pedagogies of ‘sensing’ or ‘hands-on’, ‘active’ and ‘problem-based learning’ within engineering courses. It is now widely accepted that traditional lectures ARE NOT best for students – yet that is what the community almost universally does.

To address this issue we are developing new Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) that contain miniaturized processes with a uniquely expandable electronic system to contend with known sensor systems/removable cartridges, as well as, unknown expansions to the project. We have shown that …

High Tech High Touch: Lessons Learned From Project Haiti 2011, Yan Tang, Marc Compere, Yung Lun Wong, Jared Anthony Coleman, Matthew Charles Selkirk

Publications

In this paper, we will share our experiences and lessons learned from a design project for providing clean water to a Haitian orphanage (Project Haiti 2011). Supported by funds from a renewable energy company and the university president’s office, five engineering students and two faculty members from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University successfully designed and installed a solar powered water purification system for an orphanage located in Chambellan, Haiti. This paper discusses the unique educational experiences gained from unusual design constraints, such as ambiguity of existing facilities due to limited communication, logistics of international construction at a remote village location, and cross-cultural …