Work domain analysis and intelligent transport systems: Implications for vehicle design

This article presents a Work Domain Analysis (WDA) of the road transport system in Victoria, Australia. A series of driver information requirements and tasks that could potentially be supported through the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are then extracted from the WDA. The potential use of ITS technologies to circumvent these information gaps and provide additional support to drivers is discussed. It is concluded that driver information requirements are currently not entirely satisfied by contemporary vehicle design and also that there are a number of driving tasks that could be further supported through the provision of supplementary systems within vehicles

A Design Strategy for Deadlock-Free Concurrent Systems

When building concurrent systems, it would be useful to have a collection of reusable processes to perform standard tasks. However, without knowing certain details of the inner workings of these components, one can never be sure that they will not cause deadlock when connected to some particular network. Here we describe a hierarchical method for designing complex networks of communicating processeswhich are deadlock-free.We use this to define a safe and simple method for specifying the communication interface to third party software components. This work is presented using the CSP model of concurrency and the occam2.1 programming language

Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage Systems

The feasibility of storing thermal energy at temperatures of 450 C to 535 C in the form of latent heat of fusion was examined for over 30 inorganic salts and salt mixtures. Alkali carbonate mixtures were chosen as phase-change storage materials in this temperature range because of their relatively high storage capacity and thermal conductivity, moderate cost, low volumetric expansion upon melting, low corrosivity, and good chemical stability. Means of improving heat conduction through the solid salt were explored

Design Criteria and Practical Insights into an Underwater Current Measurement System Along With Simulation Results of a Real-Case Scenario in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Acoustics have been used in underwater communication and environmental sensing for a century. Sound waves propagate well in water; however, the marine environment poses many challenges to this phenomenon. Designing and deploying an underwater acoustic sensor network has always been a challenge due to the inhomogeneity of the propagation medium. In this paper, a background theory of the underwater sound propagation is provided followed by practical observations and insights into innovative ideas achieved in a lab-scale prototype which assisted in overcoming these challenges. These observations are used to propose a large-scale deployment strategy in the Northwest Atlantic region. Bellhop simulation results provide evidence of the effectiveness of a large-scale system design. This work is focused on finding optimal positioning of the acoustic sensors in the sea while minimizing the multipath effect at the receiver. In addition, the process for precise current speed measurement in a laboratory environment has been explained which elaborates on the practical aspects of a large-scale network deployment in the ocean. The Doppler effect, caused by the motion of the transducers due to wave motion in the sea, is also considered and analyzed for signal processing needs

Systems Engineering and Soft Systems Methodology : a Review

Bu makalede Sistem Mühendisliği konusunda en son gelişmelerden birisi olan ‘Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)’ konusu kısaca incelenmektedir. Öncelikle, SSM’ in oluşumunu hazırlayan koşullar Sistem Mühendisliğinin kısa bir tarihçesi içinde sunulmaktadır. Burada ‘‘Hard’Systems Engineering’’ yaklaşımının kolaylıkla formule edilemeyen sosyo-ekonomik problemlerin çözümündeki yetersizlikleri özetlenmektedir. Daha sonra, sosyo-ekonomik problemlerin çözümünde SSM’ in niye daha başarılı olabileceği tartışılmakta ve SSM Metodolojisi ana hatlanyla anlatılmaktadır.In this paper, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), quite a recent development in Systems Engineering, is reviewed briefly. First, a historical background on Systems Engineering that led to the emergence of this area is provided. Here, the limitations of 'Hard' Systems Engineering in dealing with ill-structured socio-economic problems are summarised, and the reasons for SSM becoming a relatively more 'successful' approach are given. The paper is concluded by a review of the SSM Methodology

Systems Engineering and Soft Systems Methodology : a Review

Bu makalede Sistem Mühendisliği konusunda en son gelişmelerden birisi olan ‘Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)’ konusu kısaca incelenmektedir. Öncelikle, SSM’ in oluşumunu hazırlayan koşullar Sistem Mühendisliğinin kısa bir tarihçesi içinde sunulmaktadır. Burada ‘‘Hard’Systems Engineering’’ yaklaşımının kolaylıkla formule edilemeyen sosyo-ekonomik problemlerin çözümündeki yetersizlikleri özetlenmektedir. Daha sonra, sosyo-ekonomik problemlerin çözümünde SSM’ in niye daha başarılı olabileceği tartışılmakta ve SSM Metodolojisi ana hatlanyla anlatılmaktadır.In this paper, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), quite a recent development in Systems Engineering, is reviewed briefly. First, a historical background on Systems Engineering that led to the emergence of this area is provided. Here, the limitations of 'Hard' Systems Engineering in dealing with ill-structured socio-economic problems are summarised, and the reasons for SSM becoming a relatively more 'successful' approach are given. The paper is concluded by a review of the SSM Methodology

Study of the extended technology acceptance model in the U.S. Navy: Case of combat information system

The U.S. Navy continues to be a major developer and procurer of information systems (IS), yet very limited research has been done to determine the factors that influence technology acceptance by naval personnel. Literature suggests that efforts to embrace information technology in improving decision-making and reducing workload heavily depends on the use of such systems. Moreover, previous research has shown the validity of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and computer self-efficacy (CSE) to model technology acceptance in numerous environments. However, no prior research was done specifically addressing such technology acceptance with military combat IS. Thus, this study examines the applicability of the extended TAM with a CSE construct model to the U.S. Navy’s combat IS. A survey sample of 237 sailors from five (5) different U.S. Navy aircraft carriers was used to assess such extended model on a U.S. Navy’s combat ISs. Results indicate that perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, and CSE were valid antecedents of technology acceptance (as indicated by intention to use). Moreover, high Cronbach’s Alpha was observed on all measures indicating additional reliability of the measures also in the context of military organizations

Adsorption of mercury(II) using activated carbon produced from Bambusa vulgaris var. striata in a fixed-bed column

Pollution by mercury dissolved in aqueous media causes a crucial problem for health and environment. In this study, activated carbon from Bambusa vulgaris var. striata was produced by chemical activation using NaOH for mercury adsorption. The effects of mercury initial concentrations namely 50 and 100 mg/L on the breakthrough characteristics of the adsorption process were defined. The mechanism of the adsorption process through the fixed-bed column was fitted to the Thomas model. The activated carbon was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The adsorption study with a continuous system and using the Thomas model showed that the highest adsorption capacity (q0) of mercury ions is 218.08 mg/g. It can be concluded that activated carbon from Bambusa vulgaris var. striata has a great potential to act as an adsorbent to remove mercury from water