Electrical and Electronics Commons^™

A Power Line Inspector Device, Brendan Gates

Honors College

The goal of this project is to create a functional power line inspection device which could replace the old inspection method of using helicopters. This microchip based robotic device is able to ride along a conductor and send video feed, encoder readouts, and temperature measurements to the user. The user operating system consists of an LCD screen, two potentiometers for motor control, and a screen to display video feed. Achieved specifications include a battery lifetime of 1 hour and 45 minutes, distance measurements within 1 inch, and temperature accuracy within 2 °C. This thesis includes a brief discussion on previous ...

Synthesis Of Rhenium And Manganese Pyridazoal Complexes, Jesse Evans

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Pyridazines are a heterocyclic aromatic compound containing a characteristic N-N bond that are utilized in many fields, including medicine and electronics. It is this latter field that Dr. Snyder's research group is focused upon. Organometallic compounds are a better conducting material than the current inorganic compounds used in electronics due to better conductance of electricity, lower production cost, and the ability to be formed into thin films. With this in mind, Dr. Snyder's research group has set out to synthesize organometallic compounds for this purpose. Following procedures set forth by Snyder etc, and altered to form an off-metal ...

Vision Based Real-Time Monitoring And Control Of Metal Transfer In Laser Enhanced Gas Metal, Yan Shao

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Laser enhanced gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a novel welding process where a laser is applied to provide an auxiliary detaching force to help detach the droplet such that welds may be made in gas tungsten arc welding high quality at GMAW high speeds. The current needed to generate the electromagnetic (detaching) force is thus reduced. The reduction in the current helps reduce the impact on the weld pool and over-heat fumes/smokes. However, in the previous studies, a continuous laser is applied. Since the auxiliary is only needed each time the droplet needs to be detached and the ...

A Low-Power, Highly Stabilized Three-Electrode Potentiostat Using Subthreshold Techniques, Melika Roknsharifi

Doctoral Dissertations

Implantable micro- and nano- sensors and implantable microdevices (IMDs) have demonstrated potential for monitoring various physiological parameters such as glucose, lactate, CO₂ [carbon dioxide], pH, etc. Potentiostats are essential components of electrochemical sensors such as glucose monitoring devices for diabetic patients. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder associated with insufficient production or inefficient utilization of insulin. The most important role of this enzyme is to regulate the metabolic breakdown of glucose generating the necessary energy for human activities. Diabetic patients typically monitor their blood glucose levels by pricking a fingertip with a lancing device and applying the blood to a ...

Multiple Input Single Output (Miso) Tablet/ Phone Charger, Kevin Wong

Master's Theses and Project Reports

This thesis entails the design and implementation of a multiple input single output (MISO) DC-DC converter using the flyback topology to charge tablets/ smartphones or any USB powered portable device. The MISO converter will enable the use of various renewable energy sources such as a solar panel/ rechargeable battery combination, bicycle dynamo, hydroelectric power, and wind turbine. This paper will cover the design, simulations, and test results of the MISO converter. The flyback topology was chosen due to its low part count and its efficiency at low power. The proposed converter has a nominal 12V input to output USB 2 ...

Design And Optimization Of Efficient Wireless Power Transfer Links For Implantable Biotelemetry Systems, Shawon Senjuti

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Wireless power transmission is a technique that converts energy from radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic (EM) waves into DC voltage, which has been used here for the purpose of providing a power supply to bio–implantable batteryless sensors. The main constraints of the design are to achieve the minimum power required by the application, by still keeping the implant size small enough for the living subject’s body. Resonance–based inductive coupling is a method being actively researched for the use in this type of power transmission, which uses two pairs of inductor coils in the external and implant circuits.

In ...

Scr-Based Wind Energy Conversion Circuitry And Controls For Dc Distributed Wind Farms, Ravi Nanayakkara

Theses and Dissertations

The current state of art for electrical power generated by wind generators are in alternating current (AC). Wind farms distribute this power as 3-phase AC. There are inherent stability issues with AC power distribution. The grid power transfer capacity is limited by the distance and characteristic impedance of the lines. Furthermore, wind generators have to implement complicated, costly, and inefficient back-to-back converters to generate AC. AC distribution does not offer an easy integration of energy storage. To mitigate drawbacks with AC generation and distribution, direct current (DC) generation and high voltage direct current (HVDC) distribution for the wind farms is ...

Dc And Microwave Analysis Of Gallium Arsenide Field-Effect Transistor-Based Nucleic Acid Biosensors, John K. Kimani

Theses and Dissertations

Sensitive high-frequency microwave devices hold great promise for biosensor design. These devices include GaAs field effect transistors (FETs), which can serve as transducers for biochemical reactions, providing a platform for label-free biosensing. In this study, a two-dimensional numerical model of a GaAs FET-based nucleic acid biosensor is proposed and simulated. The electronic band structure, space charge density, and current-voltage relationships of the biosensor device are calculated. The intrinsic small signal parameters for the device are derived from simulated DC characteristics and used to predict AC behavior at high frequencies.

The biosensor model is based on GaAs field-effect device physics, semiconductor ...

Power Quality Improvement Of Distributed Generation Integrated Network With Unified Power Quality Conditioner., Shafiuzzaman Khan Khadem

Doctoral

With the increased penetration of small scale renewable energy sources in the electrical distribution network, maintenance or improvement of power quality has become more critical than ever where the level of voltage and current harmonics or disturbances can vary widely. For this reason, Custom Power Devices (CPDs) such as the Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) can be the most appropriate solution for enhancing the dynamic performance of the distribution network, where accurate prior knowledge may not be available. Therefore, the main objective of the present research is to investigate the (i) placement (ii) integration (iii) capacity enhancement and (iv) real ...

Self-Calibrated Wireless Sleep Sensing System For Brain Injury Diagnostics, Ali Abedi, Frederick Schwaner, E Mougharbel, M J. Hayes

WiSe-Net Laboratory

A wide range of conditions fall under the category of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) diagnosis. In this article, we focus on a new method during sleep to detect mTBI associated with neuro-cognitive impairment that is not apparent using standard neuro-imaging methods. A wireless pressure sensor system comprising a piezo-resistive flexible substrate paired with a microcontroller and a radio is designed and built to provide information relevant to mTBI detection. The collected information is then processed with a software program to remove noise and interference, and detect both sleep states and cardio-respiratory movements.

Wireless Sensors Without Batteries, Ali Abedi

WiSe-Net Laboratory

No abstract provided.

Energy Harvesting Of Human Kinetic Movement, David Marusiak, Julia Carrillo

Electrical Engineering

Development of kinetic energy scavenging applications from the human body necessitates additional research to assist in designating a mounting position for a potential device. A data acquisition system adequately provides a parametric average power comparison among four locations on the body (waist, upper arm, hand, and calf) for both a male and female subject. Experimentally, the hand-held device provided the highest average power. Thus, subsequent investigation at set speeds provides further analysis of the output’s characteristically linear behavior. The physical energy-harvesting device features a plastic tube casing wrapped with the stationary coiled wire through which a neodymium magnet oscillates ...

Active Diesel Soot Measurement By Laser Opacity, Jonathan Audish, Brian Ko, Edward Ma, Travis Mcdaniel

Electrical Engineering

This project looks into understanding the concentration of soot being omitted by a diesel engine through the creation of an innovative opacity sensor. The system contains a receiver circuit implementing a photodiode, laser with wavelength of 405±10nm, and a microcontroller with analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. As the laser pulsates, the microcontroller collects and processes the data to calculate the amount of soot within the exhaust system. The opacity sensor in our tests will be used on an Isuzu 1.9 liter diesel engine. The elegant design of the system can be integrated into conventional manufacturing molding or casting processes ...

Application Of Wireless Power For Charging The Battery Of A Wireless Mouse, Jacob Keast, Vincent Jison

Electrical Engineering

Electronic devices are a part of all modern homes, but restricted by available outlets and the hassle of wires. With the modern wireless mouse, this is also the case. When the battery is low the consumer has several options: it is replaced with a new battery, it can be recharged using a USB wire, or the mouse is placed on a charging dock. This project provides an alternative to these options and allows the mouse’s battery to be charged via wireless inductive coupling. The wireless power charging system that was implemented in this project was successful in its ability ...

Wireless Telemetry System For Implantable Sensors, Kyle G. Fricke

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Advanced testing of medical treatments involves experimentation on small laboratory animals, such as genetically modified mice. These subjects are used to help researchers develop medication and cures for humans. To understand the effects of the treatments, innovative telemetry systems are developed, that enable remote real-time cardiac monitoring. The latest research in the field of cardiac monitoring has revealed two major limitations with wireless implantable systems: a) the current size of implantable electronics limits the physical size of the system to larger subjects; and b) the systems only interface with one sensor type (e.g., pressure sensor only). This research focuses ...

Online Nonintrusive Condition Monitoring And Fault Detection For Wind Turbines, Xiang Gong

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation research is to develop online nonintrusive condition monitoring and fault detection methods for wind turbine generators (WTGs). The proposed methods use only the current measurements that have already been used by the control and protection systems of WTGs; no additional sensors or data acquisition devices are needed. Current-based condition monitoring and fault detection techniques have great economic benefits and the potential to be adopted by the wind energy industry. However, there are challenges in using current measurements for wind turbine condition monitoring and fault detection. First, it is a challenge to extract WTG fault signatures ...

Fiber-Tip Fabry-Perot Interferometric Sensor Based On A Thin Silver Film, Fawen Guo

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Fiber-optic sensors have many advantages, including small size, light weight, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and the capability of remote sensing. Fiber- tip sensors are fabricated on a fiber tip and are the smallest type of fiber-optic sensor. The fiber-tip sensors have attracted a great deal of attention in past years for pressure, temperature, and acoustic sensing.

In this thesis, a fiber-tip sensor based on an ultra-thin silver film was proposed and demonstrated for highly sensitive and high frequency ultrasonic detection. The film is prepared by the vacuum thermal deposition method and then transferred to the fiber tip. The sensor has ...

Characterization And Implementation Of An Injection Locked Frequency Divider Based On Relaxation Oscillator, Kai Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been a dramatic increase in wireless awareness among the user community in the past few years. As the wireless communication devices require more integration in terms of both hardware and software, the low-power integrated circuit (IC) solution has gained higher dedication and will dominate in the future radio-frequency IC (RFIC) design. Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process is extremely attractive for such applications because of its low cost and the possibility to integrate baseband and high frequency circuits on the same chip. The transceiver is often the most power-hungry block in a wireless communication system. The frequency divider (prescaler ...

Conductive Concrete For Electromagnetic Shielding – Methods For Development And Evaluation, Aaron P. Krause

Dissertations & Student Research in Computer Electronics & Engineering

This research investigates the development and evaluation innovative methods for the use of conductive concrete as an electromagnetic shield. New testing methods are developed to determine the best conductive components to use in the design of a concrete mixture for shielding that shows the best promise. The conductive concrete mixture has the potential to provide electromagnetic shielding that is cost-effective in terms of construction, operation, and maintenance compared to conventional approaches. Two testing methods, Small Sample Testing and Large Slab Testing, are developed based on standardized testing methods that have been modified for the testing of conductive concrete mixtures. As ...

Nanostructured Electrodes For Organic Solar Cells: Analysis And Design Fundamentals, Biswajit Ray, Mohammad R. Khan, Charles Black, Muhammad A. Alam

Birck and NCN Publications

Nanostructured electrodes (NEs) improve optical absorption and charge collection in photovoltaic (PV) devices. Traditionally, the electrodes have been designed exclusively for higher optical absorption. Such an optical design of the electrodes does not necessarily ensure better charge collection. Since the efficiency of organic PV (OPV) devices is hindered by the low carrier mobility of the organic semiconductors, the charge collection property of the NEs provides an interesting design alternative. The goal of this paper is the formulation of the essential design rules for NEs to improve charge collection in the low-mobility organic materials. We use detailed optoelectronic device simulation to ...