Reducing Asymmetry in Countering Uncrewed Aircraft Systems

Symposium PresentationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Reducing Asymmetry in Countering Unmanned Aerial Systems

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumCurrent Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) rely heavily on low-efficiency techniques such as broadband radio frequency (RF) jamming and high-intensity lasers. Not only do such techniques come at the cost of second and third order effects—such as collateral jamming risks to operational systems, a large RF footprint, and high energy use—but they also present an asymmetry between threat and response. Many commercial, off-the-shelf UAS devices are inexpensive compared to the C-UAS systems historically under focus in Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition. This work argues for leveling that asymmetry by exploring C-UAS autonomy-on-autonomy options by using cyberattack payload capabilities residing on a UAS. By reducing the attack surface to focus on a particular target, these cyber techniques provide scalpel-edged control to the operator, reducing risk to own systems, RF footprint, and collateral damage.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Distributed Energy-Resource Design Method to Improve Energy Security in Critical Facilities

17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under review.The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14102773This paper presents a user-friendly design method for accurately sizing the distributed energy resources of a stand-alone microgrid to meet the critical load demands of a military, commer cial, industrial, or residential facility when utility power is not available. The microgrid combines renewable resources such as photovoltaics (PV) with an energy-storage system to increase energy security for facilities with critical loads. The design method’s novelty complies with IEEE Standards 1562 and 1013, and addresses resilience, which is not taken into account in existing design methods. Several case studies simulated with a physics-based model validate the proposed design method and demonstrate how resilience can be included in the design process. Additionally, the design and the simulations were validated by 24 h laboratory experiments conducted on a microgrid assembled using commercial off-the-shelf components.NAVFAC as part of the Naval Shore Energy Technology Transition Program (NSETTI

The Eyes of Tunis

People often grow increasingly culturally confused when spending significant amounts of time in a foreign land. Identity can become lost only to reform in the image of the host society. This thesis presents a creative nonfiction series of essays that explore the author’s loss of self and contextual identity, the reshaping of that identity, and the destruction of the new identity. The theme of identity is explored, sometimes violently and sometimes comically, through interactions with tourists and natives; local, national, and global politics; ethnic food; journeying through a sandstorm; crime in a medina; the veneer of religion; and visibility and invisibility within a society

Mechanical engineering design across cultures : a method of designing for cultures

Mechanical design is often based on formal methodologies such as Quality Function Deployment. Techniques to quantitatively account for attractability, sensory perception, and affective design have been successfully incorporated into these methods and are receiving growing acceptance across many industries. Although the adoption of these methods marks a large improvement for mechanical designers, more advances in design methodology are needed. Recently, mechanical design engineers have run into problems moving designs across cultural boundaries. As mechanical design engineers move forward with creating designs to be sold to culturally different and distinct groups of consumers, methods must be developed to aid in minimizing the number of people who are un-attracted to a product. This thesis proposes one potential method to address cultural factors in the design process. An extensive review of literature on subjects important to the development of techniques for incorporation of cultural considerations into mechanical engineering design methodologies is presented. Cultural methods used in other disciplines are surveyed. Practical advice on avoiding ethnocentrism in engineering design is given. An example of the method proposed in this thesis is developed. The shortcomings and strengths of the proposed method are discussed. The thesis concludes with potential future avenues of research

Modeling and Simulation for Lifetime Predictions

NPS NRP Project PosterModeling and Simulation for Lifetime PredictionsNaval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Modeling and Simulation for Lifetime Predictions

NPS NRP Executive SummaryModeling and Simulation for Lifetime PredictionsNaval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Prognostic systems representation in a function-based Bayesian model during engineering design

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) systems are usually only considered and set up in the late stage of design or even during the system’s lifetime, after the major design decision have been made. However, considering the PHM system’s impact on the system failure probabilities can benefit the system design early on and subsequently reduce costs. The identification of failure paths in the early phases of engineering design can guide the designer toward a safer, more reliable and cost-efficient design. Several functional failure modeling methods have been developed recently. One of their advantages is to allow for risk assessment in the early stages of the design. Risk and reliability functional failure analysis methods currently developed do not explicitly model the PHM equipment used to identify and prevent potential system failures. This paper proposes a framework to optimize prognostic systems selection and positioning during the early stages of a complex system design. A Bayesian network, incorporating the PHM systems, is used to analyze the functional model and failure propagation. The algorithm developed within the proposed framework returns the optimized placement of PHM hardware in the complex system, allowing the designer to evaluate the need for system improvement. A design tool was developed to automatically apply the proposed method. A generic pressurized water nuclear reactor primary coolant loop system is used to present a case study illustrating the proposed framework. The results obtained for this particular case study demonstrate the promise of the method introduced in this paper. The case study notably exhibits how the proposed framework can be used to support engineering design teams in making better informed decisions early in the design phase

A Method for Automated Cavitation Detection with Adaptive Thresholds

Hydroturbine operators who wish to collect cavitation intensity data to estimate cavitation erosion rates and calculate remaining useful life (RUL) of the turbine runner face several practical challenges related to long term cavitation detection. This paper presents a novel method that addresses these challenges including: a method to create an adaptive cavitation threshold, and automation of the cavitation detection process. These two strategies result in collecting consistent cavitation intensity data. While domain knowledge and manual interpretation are used to choose an appropriate cavitation sensitivity parameter (CSP), the remainder of the process is automated using both supervised and unsupervised learning methods. A case study based on ramp-down data, taken from a production hydroturbine, is presented and validated using independently gathered survey data from the same hydroturbine. Results indicate that this fully automated process for selecting cavitation thresholds and classifying cavitation performs well when compared to manually selected thresholds. This approach provides hydroturbine operators and researchers with a clear and effective way to perform automated, long term, cavitation detection, and assessment

Feature Selection for Monitoring Erosive Cavitation on a Hydroturbine

This paper presents a method for comparing and evaluating cavitation detection features - the first step towards estimating remaining useful life (RUL) of hydroturbine runners that are impacted by erosive cavitation. The method can be used to quickly compare features created from cavitation survey data collected on any type of hydroturbine, sensor type, sensor location, and cavitation sensitivity parameter (CSP). Although manual evaluation and knowledge of hydroturbine cavitation is still required for our feature selection method, the use of principal component analysis greatly reduces the number of plots that require evaluation. We present a case study based on a cavitation survey data collected on a Francis hydroturbine located at a hydroelectric plant and demonstrate the selection of the most advantageous sensor type, sensor location, and CSP to use on this hydroturbine for long-term monitoring of erosive cavitation. Our method provides hydroturbine operators and researchers with a clear and effective means to determine preferred sensors, sensor placements, and CSPs while also laying the groundwork for determining RUL in the future