Digital Commons Network^™

A Sige Bicmos Lvds Driver For Space-Borne Applications, Matthew Ian Laurence

Masters Theses

When designing an integrated circuit for use during an interstellar mission, certain precautions must be made. The electronics on any off-earth mission will be exposed to wide temperature swings and harmful radiation due to being outside of the Earth’s protective ionosphere. It is crucial that any data path present be immune to these detrimental effects.

The introduction of galactic radiation can not only cause the onboard electronics to fail due to device degradation and single event latchup but can also lead to background radiation being coupled into the signal path as unwanted noise, degrading the signal to noise ratio. Unwanted …

An Occupant-Based Dynamic Simulation Tool For Predicting Residential Power Demand And Quantifying The Impact Of Residential Demand Response, Brandon Jeffrey Johnson

Masters Theses

With their large impact on the power system and widespread distribution, residential loads provide vast resources that if utilized correctly have the potential to help reduce both electricity cost and demand throughout the day. Previous research in this area has been primarily focused on building more energy efficient homes and improving the efficiencies of appliances and lighting technologies. Far less attention has been given to the ability of residential loads to provide various demand response services. Residential loads with demand response capabilities have the potential to be very useful in both peak shifting and regulation applications, and could be utilized …

A Compact Ultra Wide-Band Radar System For See-Through-Wall Applications, Stephen G. Magoon

Masters Theses

A compact Ultra wide-band (UWB) radar system for through-wall applications has been developed. Lightweight, portable and low in power consumption, it is configurable for both bistatic and monostatic operation. It uses low cost, off-the-shelf surface mount components, and is ideally suited for ranging, 3d-imaging, and wall characterization. Tests show excellent pulse width generation, resulting in very broadband transmission (0.7 – 5.6 GHz) and good receiver dynamic range, resulting in accurate measurement capabilities.

Arm Inductance And Sub-Module Capacitance Selection In Modular Multilevel Converter, Yalong Li

Masters Theses

Arm inductor and sub-module (SM) capacitor are two key components in the modular multilevel converter (MMC). Optimizing the selection of arm inductance and sub-module capacitance is thus critical for the converter design. This report aims at developing a selection principle for arm inductance and sub-module capacitance in MMC.

Arm inductors in MMC are used to limit the circulating current which flows within the converter. The switching frequency harmonic is found to be the dominant component in the circulating current when an active circulating current suppressing controller is implemented. The analytical relationship between the arm inductance and switching frequency circulating current …

An On-Chip Transformer-Based Digital Isolator System, Cory Lynn Fandrich

Masters Theses

An on-chip transformer-based digital isolator has been designed, fabricated, and tested. This isolation technique is designed to function between a low voltage microcontroller and a potentially high-voltage power control system. The isolator’s isolation capability is determined by two factors, the RMS blocking voltage strength and common-mode transient immunity. The integrated circuit solution is designed in a high-temperature capable SOI process.

The on-chip transformer size is minimized by utilizing high frequency voltage pulses. A small transformer and overall small chip footprint of the design are favorable for integration into a larger system. The isolator is a two chip solution, an isolated …

An Implantable Low Pressure Biosensor Transponder, Chad Eric Seaver

Masters Theses

The human body’s intracranial pressure (ICP) is a critical element in sustaining healthy blood flow to the brain while allowing adequate volume for brain tissue within the relatively rigid structure of the cranium. Disruptions in the body’s maintenance of intracranial pressure are often caused by hemorrhage, tumors, edema, or excess cerebral spinal fluid resulting in treatments that are estimated to globally cost up to approximately five billion dollars annually. A critical element in the contemporary management of acute head injury, intracranial hemorrhage, stroke, or other conditions resulting in intracranial hypertension, is the real-time monitoring of ICP. Currently such monitoring can …

A Secure Reconfigurable System-On-Programmable-Chip Computer System, William Herbert Collins

Masters Theses

A System-on-Programmable-Chip (SoPC) architecture is designed to meet two goals: to provide a role-based secure computing environment and to allow for user reconfiguration. To accomplish this, a secure root of trust is derived from a fixed architectural subsystem, known as the Security Controller. It additionally provides a dynamically configurable single point of access between applications developed by users and the objects those applications use. The platform provides a model for secrecy such that physical recovery of any one component in isolation does not compromise the system. Dual-factor authentication is used to verify users. A model is also provided for tamper …

Pose Estimation Of 4 To N-Point Targets: Implementation And Applications, William Rawlins Martin

Masters Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop and implement an algorithm capable of handing off target-tracking responsibilities from one sensor to another. In addition, I aspire to perform target tracking by means of reformulation and expansion of an existing pose estimation algorithm. I have developed and implemented solutions to both problems and present my experimental findings for each.

The reformulation of an existing 4-point pose estimation algorithm streamlines the mathematics by reducing nearly 100 equations from the original algorithm to just 13 equations. This is accomplished by stripping out the unnecessary (supporting) equations and then condensing the remaining equations …

Short-Term Electrical Load Forecasting For An Institutional/Industrial Power System Using An Artificial Neural Network, Eric Lynn Taylor

Masters Theses

For optimal power system operation, electrical generation must follow electrical load demand. The generation, transmission, and distribution utilities require some means to forecast the electrical load so they can utilize their electrical infrastructure efficiently, securely, and economically. The short-term load forecast (STLF) represents the electric load forecast for a time interval of a few hours to a few days. This thesis will define STLF as a 24-hour-ahead load forecast whose results will provide an hourly electric load forecast in kilowatts (kW) for the future 24 hours (a 24-hour load profile).

This thesis will use the method of Artificial Neural Networks …

The Characterization Of A Cmos Radiation Hardened-By-Design Circuit Technique, Austin James Womac

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the analysis, implementation and testing of a circuit-level radiation hardened-by-design (RHBD) technique first presented in [1]. Radiation effects heavily influence the cost and design of electronics bound for radiation-rich environments such as in nuclear reactors or space. The circuit-level RHBD technique is presented as a cost-effective way to mitigate total-ionizing dose (TID) radiation in digital complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor circuits. These claims are analyzed and experimentally tested.

Devices from a relatively old and a newer semiconductor fabrication process are tested to investigate the impact of device scaling on the RHBD technique’s effectiveness. A rad-tolerant frequency synthesizer that …

Novel Applications For Phasor Measurement Units And Synchrophasor Data, Bradley Kerwin Greene

Masters Theses

The last decade has seen an intensified effort towards an improved, technologically advanced electric grid. This effort is largely in part to the need for cleaner and renewable sources of energy. Another motivator for this “smarter grid” is the need for a more reliable and efficiently operated of the wide scale electric infrastructure. The impact of these changes can expect to be seen at both the transmission and distribution level. At the transmission level phasor measurement units and synchrophasor data has emerged as one of the most enabling technologies for the smart grid movement. These devices measure and time synchronize, …

Control Law Calculation And Verification Methods For The Variable Stability Navion In-Flight Simulation Aircraft, Joe Ming Yin Siu

Masters Theses

The University of Tennessee Space Institute’s (UTSI) variable stability research aircraft, Ryan Navion N66UT, was extensively modified by the Princeton University in the 1960’s. When UTSI acquired the aircraft from Princeton, volumes of calibration data, charts, and schematics manuals were transferred to UTSI.

Based on the study and research of available Princeton documents, methods of calculating flight control laws were “reverse-engineered”. The Variable Stability Navion employs an implicit model following structure to achieve in-flight simulation of other aircraft’s flying quality. Mathematical formulas were derived to calculate stability derivative potentiometer settings, for the analog response feedback flight controls system. MATLAB scripts …

Conductive Textiles And Their Use In Combat Wound Detection, Sensing, And Localization Applications, Stephen A. Holland

Masters Theses

Conductive textiles, originally used for electromagnetic shielding purposes, have recently been utilized in body area network applications as fabric antennas and distributed sensors used to document and analyze kinematic movement, health vital signs, or haptic interactions. This thesis investigates the potential for using conductive textiles as a distributed sensor and integrated communication system component for use in combat wound detection, sensing, and localization applications. The goal of these proof-of-concept experiments is to provide a basis for robust system development which can expedite and direct the medical response team in the field. The combat wound detection system would have the capability …