Online intelligent flight control using reinforcement learning

Advancements in aerial vehicles have presented new challenges for flight control system design. The disturbed airflow caused by rotors and flapping wings and the nonlinearity and uncertainty increased by morphing components impede the identification of a globally accurate model of these vehicles. Additionally, complex components can increase the...

Container transport inside the port area and to the hinterland

This thesis discusses the connection between container terminals and the hinterland railway system. Mathematical models are proposed to formulate the various relevant operations and methods are developed to provide solutions to improve the system performance. This thesis could provide suggestions to decision maker(s) regarding to the improvement...

Transactions; or Architecture as a System of Research Programs

This study of the historiography of architecture and the built environment develops the thesis that well-known modernist histories of architecture, such as those written by Reyner Banham, remain unable to appraise the many nuances and complexities that characterize modern architecture. It is argued here that, among other reasons, they are unable...

Optimised control and pipe burst detection by water demand forecasting

Water demand forecasting The total water demand in an area is the sum of the water demands of all individual domestic and industrial consumers in that area. These consumers behave in repetitive daily, weekly and annual patterns, and the same repetitive patterns can be observed in the drinking water demand. The observations of the water demand...

Heuristics in dynamic scheduling: A practical framework with a case study in elevator dispatching

Dynamic scheduling problems are ubiquitous: traffic lights, elevators, planning of manufacturing plants, air traffic control, etc. Tasks have to be put on a timeline as smart as possible to reach certain goals. These goals may be related to production costs, the use of (scarce) resources, deadlines. These problems have often been regarded...

SmArT solving: Tools and techniques for satisfiability solvers

The satisfiability problem (Sat) lies at the core of the complexity theory. This is a decision problem: Not the solution itself, but whether or not a solution exists given a specified set of requirements is the central question. Over the years, the satisfiability problem has taken center stage as a means of effective representation to tackle...

Knowledge based method for solving complexity in design problems

The process of design aircraft systems is becoming more and more complex, due to an increasing amount of requirements. Moreover, the knowledge on how to solve these complex design problems becomes less readily available, because of a decrease in availability of intellectual resources and reduced knowledge transfer opportunities. Aerospace...

Adaptive tracking in seismic exploration