An Improved Greedy Algorithm for Subset Selection in Linear Estimation

In this paper, we consider a subset selection problem in a spatial field where we seek to find a set of k locations whose observations provide the best estimate of the field value at a finite set of prediction locations. The measurements can be taken at any location in the continuous field, and the covariance between the field values at...

Towards unmanned cargo ships: A task based design process to identify economically viable low and unmanned ship concepts

Unmanned and low-manned transport has increasingly been studied this past decade. While there have been successful trials for autonomous navigation, unmanned cargo ships are not commercially available yet. First, this dissertation investigates how changes to a ship’s systems and organizational structure can affect the crew’s size and composition...

Maximum Coverage Problems: Theory and Application in Optimal Sensor Selection

In this thesis we analyse the class of <i>maximum coverage</i> problems. For all discussed problems, linear programs are formulated. Using the notion of <i>submodularity</i>, we prove that for the weighted version of the basic <i>Maximum Coverage</i> problem, where the weights differ per set, a polynomial-time greedy algorithm guarantees a (1 -...

Optimal Sensor Placement for Calibration-Involved Radio Astronomy Imaging Applications

In radio astronomy (RA), one of the key tasks is the estimation of the celestial source powers, i.e. imaging. To maximize the performance, it is crucial to optimize the receiver locations before the construction of a telescope array. However, although system calibration is an integral and crucial process of imaging, it has rarely been addressed...

Integrative approach for transducer positioning optimization for ultrasonic structural health monitoring for the detection of deterministic and probabilistic damage location

The concept of structural health monitoring has been introduced to ensure structural integrity during the design lifetime of a structure. The main objectives of structural health monitoring are to detect, locate, quantify, and predict any damage that occurs during this lifetime of the structure so that effective and efficient maintenance and...

Optimal placement of imperfect water quality sensors in water distribution networks

Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) are often susceptible to either accidental or deliberate contamination which can lead to poisoned water, many fatalities and large economic consequences. In order to protect against these intrusions or attacks, an efficient sensor network with a limited number of sensors should be placed in a WDN. In this...

A greedy algorithm for optimal sensor placement to estimate salinity in polder networks

We present a systematic approach for salinity sensor placement in a polder network, where the objective is to estimate the unmeasured salinity levels in the main polder channels. We formulate this problem as optimization of the estimated salinity levels using root mean square error (RMSE) as the "goodness of fit" measure. Starting from a...

Data-driven Decision Support for Component Flow Turnaround Time Reduction in Aircraft Maintenance: Case Study at KLM Engineering & Maintenance

Aircraft maintenance is inherently unpredictable due to differences in failure rates between components. This results in high variance inflow in repair shops, which in case of insufficient capacity yields long turnaround times and thus the need for additional components in stock. The aim of this research project is to determine the effect of...

A Greedy Scheduling of Post-Disaster Response and Restoration using Pressure-Driven Models and Graph Segment Analysis

In this manuscript, we consider the problem of optimally scheduling the restoration of a water distribution network with multiple failures after a disaster. The decisions made are the sequence of burst/broken pipes and leaks that need to be replaced or repaired, respectively, subject to constraints on workforce availability and physical...

Identification of Room Boundaries for Sound Field Estimation

Echoes generated by the sound reflected off the walls of a room carry information about the geometry of the enclosure. Capitalization of this acoustic property could lead to improvements in current state-of-the-art methods for sound field estimation, where prior information can be used to improve the conditioning of the problem. In this thesis,...

Evaluating electricity distribution network reconfiguration to minimize power loss on existing networks

This paper applies the distribution network reconfiguration problem to existing networks. The medium voltage distribution network of the Dutch DSO Alliander is operated using a radial topology. By optimizing this topology it is possible to reduce the energy losses caused by the cable impedances. Various solutions algorithms have been compared...

Formation flight in civil aviation

A model has been developed to demonstrate the value of a decentralized approach to formation flight routing. In the considered scenario, formation flight is an in-flight option. While centralized approaches are well covered in the literature, anticipating the use of formation flight before take-off, decentralized approaches have received less...

Design of a Combinatorial Tool for Preliminary Space Mission Analysis, applied to the GTOC2 Problem

In recent years, space missions to asteroids have been a focus of research. This type of mission has introduced a new challenge in space mission analysis: target selection. Indeed, given the large number of small Solar System bodies and their various orbital and physical characteristics, selecting a specific target is a rather complex task. This...

Counting sequences, Gray codes and lexicodes

A counting sequence of length n is a list of all 2^n binary n-tuples (binary codewords of length n). The number of bit positions where two codewords differ is called the Hamming distance of these two codewords. The average Hamming distance of a counting sequence of length n is defined as the average Hamming distance between the 2^n pairs of...