In this thesis the effect of an active suspension system versus a passive suspensionsystem utilized on a main battle tank/combat vehicle is studied. The effect oncomfort, mobility, accuracy and power draw is discussed. This is done with thegoal to study and understand if an improvement can be made using active sys-tems. This is done mainly by simulation of a main battle tank/combat vehicle inSimulink/Matlab. The active suspension system chosen was the skyhook suspension system whichwas compared to a regular passive suspension. The results show that the activesuspension system has positive effects on comfort, mobility and accuracy. Thisthesis discusses the viability of such a system. This is done through analysing thepower draw of the active system and through reasoning about use in field situations.Besides comfort, mobility and accuracy, the results also show that in some cases theactive suspension would need more power than the engine can generate. In additionan active suspension system would be very sensitive due to the complexity of thecomponents needed. If it is possible to control the power draw and the sensitivityof an active suspension system it would vastly improve the comfort, mobility andaccuracy of main battle tanks/combat vehicles. / I detta examensarbete undersöks effekten av ett aktivt fjädringssystem kontra ettpassivt fjädringssystem på stridsvagn/stridsfordon. De aspekter som testas är fram-förallt effekten på komfort, mobilitet, träffsäkerhet och energi åtgång. Målet meddetta är att undersöka och förstå om det är möjilgt att genom aktiva system gö-ra en förbättring på systemet. Detta görs genom att i första hand simulera ettstridsfordon i Simulink/Matlab. Det aktiva fjädringssystemet som användes var skyhook fjädringssystemet som isin tur jämfördes med ett vanligt passivt system. I arbetet visas det att ett aktivtfjädrings system skulle ha en positiv effekt på komfort, mobilitet och träffsäkerhet.Utöver dessa resultat så diskuteras även om det är möjligt att använda ett sådantsystem som enda system. Förutom effekten på komfort, mobilitet och träffsäkerhetvisar resultaten att i vissa fall drar det aktiva fjädringssystemet mer energi än vadmotorn kan leverera. En ytterligare aspekt är att ett aktivt fjädringssystem kom-mer vara känsligt på grund av dess komponenters komplexitet. Om det är möjligtatt kontrollera energiåtgången och känsligheten skulle ett aktivt fjädringssystemförbättra komfort, mobilitet och träffsäkerhet för stridsvagnar/stridsfordon.

System evolvability is vital to the longevity of large-scale complex engineered systems. The need for evolvability in complex systems is a result of their long service lives, rapid advances to their integrated technologies, unforeseen operating conditions, and emerging system requirements. In recent years, quantifiable metrics have been introduced for measuring the evolvability of complex systems based on the amount of excess capability in the system. These metrics have opened opportunities for optimization of systems with evolvability as an objective. However, there are several aspects of such an optimization that require further consideration. For example, there is a trade-off between the cost of excess capability initially built into complex systems and the benefit that is added to the system for future evolution. This trade-off must be represented in the optimization problem formulation. Additionally, uncertainty in future requirements and parameters of complex systems can result in an inaccurate representation of the design space. This thesis addresses these considerations through multi-objective optimization and uncertainty analysis. The resulting analysis gives insight into the effects of designing for evolvability. We show that there is a limit to the value added by increasing evolvability. We also show that accounting for uncertainty changes the optimal amount of evolvability that should be designed into a system. The developed theories and methods are demonstrated on the design of a military ground vehicle.

The current workforce climate has naturally led the way for wanting more systemic thinking individuals. This increasing complexity demands that universities train engineering students to be able to handle such difficulties amidst the interconnectedness of the world. This study aims to aid in understanding what will help the future leaders of the world become more equipped to handle these global and complex systems. College engineering students were the target population of this study. It was found that neither gender, educational level, grade point average, nor having an internship or co-op helped aid students to have higher systems thinking skills. However, employment status was found to affect the systems thinking skills scores. Laying the foundation for understanding engineering students’ ability to be more or less holistic thinkers, this research aims to help evolve engineering education.

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In a network, the components of a given system are represented as nodes, the interactions are abstracted as links between the nodes. Boolean networks refer to a class of dynamics on networks, in fact it is the simplest possible dynamics where each node has a value 0 or 1. This allows to investigate extensively the dynamics both analytically and by numerical experiments. The present article focuses on the theoretical concept of relevant components and their immediate application in plant biology. References for more in-depth treatment of the mathematical details are also given.

In the world of growing diversity, interdependence, and rapid change, making sense of policy evolution, especially in analytical settings, is increasingly challenging, not the least due to the flaws of conventional assumptions or the limits to the availability of evidence. As we consider an alternative worldview embracing the complex and adaptive nature of social reality, we recognize there are further boundaries to what can be known and done about the outcomes in social systems. Yet, this foundation also promises to broaden our horizons with new tools for understanding, comparing, and developing public policy. Inspired by innovation research, this work makes the case for bringing a set of such tools into public policy studies and situates them in an essential theoretical context. Further, through an analysis of social and labour market policy development across two jurisdictions—while reaching to flexicurity as a model and reference—it demonstrates the application of the new approach to the study of welfare state modernization and to policy scholarship more generally. / Dissertation / Candidate in Philosophy