Trip distribution modelling using neural network

In this research a new generalized regression neural network (GRNN) model has been researched to estimate the distribution of journey to work trips. As a case study, the model was applied to the journey to work trips in the City of Mandurah in Western Australia. The results of the GRNN model were compared with the well-known doubly-constrained gravity model and the Back-Propagation model and its superiority over these models has been demonstrated

The U.S. Approach to Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: A Comparative Analysis of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump Administration Policies in Afghanistan

This research paper addresses the efforts of the U.S. to achieve some level of reconciliation with the Taliban after more than 18 years of war in Afghanistan. It deals with the history of U.S.-Taliban negotiations and the U.S. initiatives to engage with the Taliban, as well as outlining the challenges to these initiatives and determining how effective they have been. In addition, the prospects of the U.S.-Taliban peace talks are assessed. Since the 2001 U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, the first two U.S. administrations under consideration—those of George W. Bush and Barack Obama—justified intrusive interventions into the political, economic, and social affairs of Afghanistan under a “state-building” approach to address a combination of security and humanitarian challenges. The U.S. promoted state-building initiatives guided by a liberal peacebuilding ideology that were supposed to promote peace, democracy, and market-led development in the region. Two years after Trump came to office, his administration abandoned this state-building approach and hopes of a military victory over the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. The question of how to establish lasting peace in Afghanistan has also proven to be troublesome for the U.S. and the Afghans. The process of peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, which started in early 2018, has lacked transparency and a clear strategy. However, it seems that the U.S.-Taliban peace talks in Doha have started the beginning of an end to a supposedly “endless war” for the U.S. Nonetheless, this might not end the conflict within Afghanistan, as the U.S. peace deal with the Taliban is more likely to create the conditions for future civil war than a sustainable peace among Afghans

Cyber-Physical Systems Design: Electricity Markets and Network Security

This thesis presents Cyber-Physical Systems Design (CPS Design). Design of CPS is challenging and requires interdisciplinary studies of engineering and economics because of the distinguishing features of CPS: strategic (self profit-maximizing) decision makers, complex physical constraints, and large-scale networked systems. We study these features by focusing on designing markets with complex constraints including both policy and physical constraints, and decomposing large-scale CPS within the context of electricity markets and network security. We first study market design for implementation of complex electricity policy targets, i.e. sustainability, reliability, and price efficiency, by efficient design of spot, carbon, and capacity markets that correct the deficiencies of the current electricity markets; this design does not take into account the network constraints due to the Kirchhoff's laws. To address this problem, we develop a framework based on the design of efficient auctions with constraints. Our market design sheds light on major debates in electricity policy including capacity-and-energy vs energy-only markets, carbon market vs carbon tax, and use of price or offer caps. Second, we add network constraints due to Kirchhoff's laws of current and voltage, which are unique to electricity networks, to the design of electricity spot markets with complex physical constraints. To address this problem, we develop a framework for the design of networked markets based on the ideas from local public goods. Finally, we study the design of defense policies for large-scale network security. Our approach is to design approximately optimal defense policies that are computable. We develop a framework based on the notion of influence graph, which captures the connectivity of the security states of the system elements, to decompose the system into subsystems. We then design approximately optimal defense policies for each sub-system. We consider non-Bayesian uncertainty and even though we do not model the attacker as a strategic decision maker, we compensate (in part) for the lack of this feature by adopting a minmax performance criterion.PHDElectrical Engineering: SystemsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144165/1/rasouli_1.pd

Building energy simulation of a Run-Around Membrane Energy Exchanger (RAMEE)

The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the energetic, economic and environmental impact of utilizing a novel Run-Around Membrane Energy Exchanger (RAMEE) in building HVAC systems. The RAMEE is an energy recovery ventilator that transfers heat and moisture between the exhaust air and the fresh outdoor ventilation air to reduce the energy required to condition the ventilation air. The RAMEE consists of two exchangers made of water vapor permeable membranes coupled with an aqueous salt solution. In order to examine the energy savings with the RAMEE, two different buildings (an office building and a health-care facility) were simulated using TRNSYS computer program in four different climatic conditions, i.e., cold-dry, cool-humid, hot-humid and hot-dry represented by Saskatoon, Chicago, Miami and Phoenix, respectively. It was found that the RAMEE significantly reduces the heating energy consumption in cold climates (Saskatoon and Chicago), especially in the hospital where the required ventilation rate is much higher than in the office building. On the other hand, the results showed that the RAMEE must be carefully controlled in summer to minimize the cooling energy consumption. The application of the RAMEE in an office building reduces the annual heating energy by 30% to 40% in cold climates (Saskatoon and Chicago) and the annual cooling energy by 8% to 15% in hot climates (Miami and Phoenix). It also reduces the size of heating equipment by 25% in cold climates, and the size of cooling equipment by 5% to 10% in hot climates. The payback period of the RAMEE depends on the air pressure drop across the exchangers. For a practical pressure drop of 2 cm of water across each exchanger, the payback of the RAMEE is 2 years in cold climates and 4 to 5 years in hot climates. The total annual energy saved with the RAMEE (including heating, cooling and fan energy) is found to be 30%, 28%, 5% and 10% in Saskatoon, Chicago, Miami and Phoenix, respectively. In the hospital, the RAMEE reduces the annual heating energy by 58% to 66% in cold climates, and the annual cooling energy by 10% to 18% in hot climates. When a RAMEE is used, the heating system can be downsized by 45% in cold climates and the cooling system can be downsized by 25% in hot climates. For a practical range of air pressure drop across the exchangers, the payback of the RAMEE is immediate in cold climates and 1 to 3 years in hot climates. The payback period in the hospital is, on average, 2 years faster than in the office building). The total annual energy saved with RAMEE is found to be 48%, 45%, 8% and 17% in Saskatoon, Chicago, Miami and Phoenix, respectively. The emission of greenhouse gases (in terms of CO2-equivalent) can be reduced by 25% in cold climates and 11% in hot climates due to the lower energy use when employing a RAMEE

Reconstructing the Poynting vector skew angle and wave-front of optical vortex beams via two-channel moir\'e deflectometery

A novel approach based on the two-channel moir\'e deflectometry has been used to measure both wave-front and transverse component of the Poynting vector of an optical vortex beam. Generated vortex beam by the q-plate, an inhomogeneous liquid crystal cell, has been analyzed with such technique. The measured topological charge of generated beams are in an excellent agreement with theoretical prediction.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure