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Final Report: Westbrook Downtown Parking Study/Management Plan, Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers, Inc.

Maine Town Documents

In the early 2000's, Westbrook was the beneficiary of an upswing in the Southern Maine economy, aided by a strong marketing effort on the part of the City. As a result, new office buildings and retail facilities located in or near the downtown area and older buildings were rehabilitated and redeveloped. This increase in commercial and business activity increased the demand for parking downtown. With an eye toward long-term growth, a parking management plan was developed to provide the tools necessary to manage the increased demand for parking.

Sustainable Barrier Sbs Paperboard Coatings Using Co-Polymerized Shape Engineered Pigments, Lokendra Pal

Dissertations

This study concentrates on the development, application, characterization and optimization of shape engineered pigments and co-polymerized sustainable coatings to provide solid bleached sulfate (SBS) board with a barrier against water, water vapor, and gasses. In contrast to off-line extrusion coating with unsustainable petroleum based products, conventional and co-polymerized shape engineered pigmented dispersion coatings were used to improve barrier, surface, optical and mechanical properties of an SBS board.

It is very important for package and quick-service wares made from coated SBS board to maintain barrier and mechanical properties at high humidity and temperature applications. The coated SBS board package should protect …

Determining The Probability Of The Visual Detection Of Sink Marks On Differently Textured Injection Molded Products, Kurt Frederick Hayden

Dissertations

The injection molding segment of the plastics industry has historically exhibited an environment of intense competition. To remain competitive, manufacturers must ensure that molds will produce defect-free parts without multiple design revisions. Designers often use computer simulations to predict design problems before the construction of tooling. These sophisticated software applications will soon have the ability to simulate the final appearance of products. However, the effects of aesthetic defects such as sink marks and splay are often difficult to simulate accurately and effectively.

It is understood that surface textures can conceal minor aesthetic defects. A well-known example is the concealment of …

Decision Support Systems In Product Development: A Batesian Network Approach For Injection-Molded Products, Jason S. Trahan

Dissertations

Attribute defects cause a majority of the scrap for many manufacturers injection-molding aesthetic parts, yet these defects receive little attention duringproduct development. Methods for preventing attribute defects have been hampered by the inability to quantify complex cause-effect relationships. However, the qualities of a burgeoning branch of knowledge-based systems, called Bayesian networks, have benefited various fields faced with similar circumstances.Bayesian networks have the capability of presenting causal relationships between variables in a graphical structure and quantitatively explaining their effects throughout that structure. These effects can be characterized by probabilities derived from sources, such as equations, historical data, rules-of-thumb or expert knowledge. …

Optimization Of The Tool Path In A Robotic Environment, Mukund Venkatachari Narasimhan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations

The rising costs and demand coupled with shrinking energy generating resources has triggered the need for optimum use of energy resources, minimizing the overhead costs and maximizing the profits. Robots have been long touted as a fit replacement of human labor force in manufacturing sectors. Slowly there is increased presence of robots in automobile and electronic industries. Typically they are used for welding, painting, ironing, assembly, pick and place, inspection, and testing. Mass production, fulfilling the ever increasing demand, can be accomplished by robots because of their precision, speed of operation and high endurance capabilities. This dissertation comprises of two …

Computer-Aided Patient Specific Treatment Planning Of Cryosurgery For Breast Cancer, Junkyu Jung

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

Cryosurgery, which is to destroy tumors by use of localized freezing, is an emerging treatment modality for breast cancer as the size of detectable tumor becomes smaller due to more frequent use of various diagnostic imaging including MRI, CT and mammogram. Although general surgical guideline has been developed and its effectiveness has been demonstrated, cryosurgical protocol should be adjusted for a given patient to accommodate patient-specific variations including tumor size, location and geometry of patient's breast. In this study, a computerized treatment planning tool was developed to aid surgeons to determine surgical parameters considering patient specific diagnostic information. This tool …

Freezing-Induced Microstructural Changes Of Collagen Scaffolds, Jeffrey David Miller

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

Understanding the effects of freezing on the functional properties of tissues is critical to cryopreservation of native and artificial tissues, and prognosis after cryotherapies. Although investigations have been performed to correlate macroscopic properties such as mechanical properties with freezing parameters, the effects are typically tissue-type dependent and no physical understanding is available to explain these effects. Since the mechanical and optical properties of a tissue are based on the characteristics of its extracellular matrix (ECM), understanding and quantifying these changes could assist in predicting the response a tissue will have to freezing under different circumstances. In this study, the microstructural …

The Development Of A Design Ontology For Products And Processes, Md Baniamin Sarder

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations

This research develops a methodology called, Design Knowledge Acquisition Process (DKAP) for creating ontology of product and process design using IDEF5 and to develop a consistency matrix for checking accuracy of captured information. It constructs an ontology of a generic product and process design using the developed DKAP methodology. Designing products and processes is very challenging and vital for manufacturing enterprises to stay in the competitive market. Manufacturers want to launch their products in the market as quickly as possible while satisfying their customers in terms of quality, cost and delivery. In order to lunch the products early and/or to …

An Analytical Performance Management Framework Enabiling Enterprise Strategy Management, Amr Abu-Suleiman

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations

Performance management has gained noticeable interest from both researchers and executive in the past two decades. Financial measures are no longer a primary emphasis for researchers and executives. One of the most popular performance management methodologies is the Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard framework facilitates translating strategy into objectives and initiatives across four perspectives. These perspectives are financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth. The second component of the balanced scorecard is strategy maps. Strategy maps outline the cause and effect between the four perspectives, and illustrate the value creation process through transforming leading indicators (operational measures) into lagging …

Scalar Equilibria For N-Person Games, Narakorn Engsuwan

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations

In this dissertation we develop a scalarization approach for one-shot, n-person games by defining the notion of Scalar Equilibria. We first show that existing solution concepts can be represented as Scalar Equlibria. For example, Regret, Disappointment, and Joint Equilibrium can be determined by defining Regret, Disappointment, and Joint Scalar Equilibria. These scalar equilibria are useful for finding pure strategies when pure Regret, Disappointment, and Joint Equilibria do not exist. Next, we present the Maximin Scalarization Equilibrium to yield maximin solution concept. In addition, we propose other Scalar Equilibria for various notions of rationality. The Aspiration Scalar Equilibrium is developed for …

Neural Network Solution For Fixed-Final Time Optimal Control Of Nonlinear Systems, Tao Cheng

Electrical Engineering Dissertations

In this research, practical methods for the design of H2 and H-Infinity optimal state feedback controllers for unconstrained and constrained input systems are proposed. The dynamic programming principle is used along with special quasi-norms to derive the structure of both the saturated and optimal controllers in feedback strategy form. The resulting Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) and Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equations are derived respectively. Neural networks are used along with the least-squares method to solve the Hamilton-Jacobi differential equations in the H2 case, and the cost and disturbance in the H-Infinity case. The result is a neural network unconstrained or constrained feedback controller that …

Generation Planning And Market Operation Strategies In The Southwest Power Pool Energy Imbalance Service Market, Kittipong Methaprayoon

Electrical Engineering Dissertations

The transition of the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) from its traditional operation under tariff towards the new market environment has significant impact on the utilities in the SPP footprint, both in terms of planning and operations. The new market regulation creates the need for the utilities to reassess their planning strategy, primarily to ensure that operational decisions conform to the new market rules while remain profitable under the new operating regime. The utilities are referred to as Market Participants (MP) under the new market scheme. The new market environment will expose the MPs to a large amount of information with …

Performance Analysis And Design Of Space-Time Codes, Chen Liao

Electrical Engineering Dissertations

In this dissertation, performance and design of space-time codes have been studied. The main objective of this dissertation has been to improve the performance of space-time codes. This dissertation covers a wide range of topics in space-time codes. It involves theoretical analysis, design, and implementation for space-time trellis codes, space-time turbo codes, and orthogonal space-time codes. We begin with the study of performance analysis of upper bound of pair-wise error probability (PEP) and exact PEP. The exact PEP is derived using a straightforward method. The exact PEP provides a better understanding of the performance behavior to the other range of …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Multifunctional Oxides For Force And Gas Sensors, Vaneet Sharma

Material Science and Engineering Theses

In this research work, the piezoresistivity phenomena in multifunctional oxides of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSMO) and composites of LSMO - (Ce0.12Zr0.88)O2 has been investigated for force and gas sensor applications in harsh environments including automobile and aerospace industry. In these applications, there is a need of material with high mechanical strength with multi sensing capabilities. The inherent sensing capabilities allow the material to be implemented at variety of platforms. Previously, LSMO polycrystalline ceramics have been studied as a cathode material in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Owing to its colossal magnetoresistance properties, this material has also been extensively studied for use in …

Micromechanical Analysis Of Yielding For Particulate Filled Composites, Chih-Ta Chen

Material Science and Engineering Theses

Particulate filled composites are hybrid materials which consist of particulates held together by a matrix. In this thesis, a simulation method to obtain overall failure criterion for particulate filled composites based on the computer software "MATHEMATICA" will be presented. The composite is assumed to fail at the matrix just outside the inclusion. By Self-Consistent Method, the composite can be imaged as an inclusion embedded within effective matrix. The Equivalent Inclusion method is then applied to stimulate the stress field within the inclusion. Stress just outside inclusion can be calculated because interfacial traction force on the boundary of inclusion is continuous. …

Fabrication, Characterization And Hall Mobility Analysis Of Mos Devices With Low-K And High-K Dielectric Materials, Rakshit Agrawal

Electrical Engineering Theses

Scaling of MOSFETS has led to leakage current problems in SiO2 dielectric based MOSFETS. This has led to the introduction of high-k dielectric materials which can afford greater physical thickness and achieve the same capacitance with lesser equivalent oxide thickness. But the high-k devices have certain limitations like channel mobility degradation. Mobility degradation in high-k MISFETS is discussed in this work using Hall measurements. The MOS devices were fabricated with SiO2 and HfSiO, on p-type silicon substrate. The fabrication process flow used for both type of MOS devices is explained. Characterization and analysis was performed for the determination of various …

Fiber Optic Scanner Using Electromagnetic Actuation With Different Ferromagnetic Materials, Pratibha C. Phuyal

Electrical Engineering Theses

A fiber optic scanner capable of scanning medical imaging actuated by an external magnetic field is designed and characterized using different magnetized and non magnetized ferromagnetic materials. Cobalt, Iron, Nickel, and Samarium Cobalt powders were used before and after magnetization to perform the actuation. Plastic optical fiber and a silica optical fiber are coated with 70 % enamel paint with 30 % different ferromagnetic materials mixed using brush. Due the low Young's Modulus, the plastic optical fiber could not actuate like silica optical fiber. Therefore, the silica fiber was used to conduct the experiments. The static and dynamic measurements were …

Arribot- An Enabler For Studying Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks, Jaymala Suresh Ghadigaonkar

Electrical Engineering Theses

The objective of this thesis is to structure a mobile wireless sensor network using low cost, custom made robotic platforms. Over the years, several projects have proved that the performance of a static wireless sensor network (WSN) is greatly enhanced by using mobile WSN for applications like adaptive exploration or in search and rescue missions where the network topology changes with changes in the environment. A low cost, mobile wireless sensor node known as the ARRI BOT has been designed to contribute along with other robotic platforms in structuring an ingenious mobile wireless sensor network (MSWN). The ARRI BOT has …

Localization Algorithms For Passive Targets In Radar Networks, Kartik Trasi

Electrical Engineering Theses

In this study, we propose an improved, robust algorithm for passive targets in radar networks. The main objective of this work is to improve the localization accuracy of the algorithm based on signal properties in combination with robust graphical techniques. We present a numerical approach and an experimental validation of the modified algorithm.

Observer Synthesis For Linear/Nonlinear Dynamical Systems Subject To Measurement Delays, Praveen C. Muralidhar

Electrical Engineering Theses

In this research, problems associated with communication delays on the stability of formation of a group of unmanned vehicles is examined and solution to this problem is proposed. Ideally, it is required that the information transfer between the vehicles participating in a cooperative task be available immediately. But, in reality, there is always a delay between the instants at which the information is transmitted by one vehicle and the instant at which it is received by the other vehicles in the formation. A state observer is used to estimate the time delayed signal. The observer consists of two dynamic systems …

A Comprehensive Study Of The Effects Of Eeg Electrode Arrays On Mri Signal-To-Noise At 3t, Aman Ish Goyal

Bioengineering Theses

Simultaneous EEG-fMRI offers much potential for gaining complementary, noninvasive information about brain function. While much effort has been devoted to the compelling problem of removing ballistocardiogram and gradient artifacts from the EEG waveforms, less attention has been paid to the impact that increasing density of electrode arrays has on the MR images. Initial work reporting the effects of EEG caps and electrodes on the MR image has been site specific, using customized EEG equipment that those research groups built in-house. Therefore these results are hard to generalize to other laboratory environments. A monotonic decrease in SNR of the images has …

Miniature Optical Coherence Tomography Probe, Asif Rizwan

Bioengineering Theses

A piezo based optical scanner for high speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been developed. Design of the miniature probe has been optimized to take advantages of the high speed depth scanning that can be achieved with spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) systems. Three prototype scanning probes were constructed and tested for OCT imaging. Movies and images of tissues are presented which were taken at frame rates ranging from 50~100fps. Data were acquired at 18000 A-lines per second at an effective integration time of 55us.

Optical Coherence Tomography Of Oral Mucosa, Nidhi Bharatbhai Mehta

Bioengineering Theses

Oral cancer causes 120000* deaths annually around the world and 280000* new cases are diagnosed every year. Technology has developed and the death rate of oral cancer has improved over the last few decades; hence to improve the survival rate, development of a technique able to diagnose carcinomas in its early stages is very important. OCT is a non invasive imaging technique capable to provide high resolution microstructure images of tissue. A development of in vivo OCT; capable to image tissue with micrometer resolution and able to identify pre cancerous morphological changes non invasively could improve survival rate in cancer …

Spectroscopic Characterization Of Biliary Tract Tissues In-Vivo To Assist Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, Sarita Kommera

Bioengineering Theses

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy is a surgical method for removal of gallbladder when it is diseased with gall stones. Almost 750,000 people are affected with this disease annually in USA. Gall bladder is removed by placing an incision on the cystic duct. This duct is totally embedded in fat (which is a few mm thick) in most of the cases and it becomes a huge problem decreasing the visual capability of the surgeon to distinctly locate the duct. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) can solve the fuzziness as it penetrates in a few mm thick tissues. NIRS is one of the simplest techniques …

Fiber Based Non-Linear Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy, Priyanka Amrita Jillella

Bioengineering Theses

Non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy is a high resolution, non-invasive biological imaging technique capable of imaging both in vitro and in vivo at the depths of several hundred microns. The goal of the thesis work is to contribute towards a fiber based non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy system that we plan to build for our lab, which would later on be integrated with the OCT imaging setup and the DIC microscope. This thesis work involves filling in the key components in the microscopy system. These key components are; femtosecond pulse diagnosis, study of dispersion in optical media, dispersion free femtosecond pulse delivery …

Trends Of Vehicular Emissions Due To The Effect Of Ethos® Fr As Fuel Additive, Shruthi Satyanarayan

Civil Engineering Theses

The main objective of this research was to observe if the addition of the fuel additive Ethos Fuel Reformulator significantly reduced the emissions of CO, CO2, HC and NOX from a light duty vehicle. Data collection was carried out before and after the application of Ethos FR for both Peak and Off-peak traffic conditions, on highway as well as arterial test track. The OBS-1300 analyzed second by second concentrations of the tailpipe emissions. Data analysis was conducted and the following results were observed. 1. There was a significant reduction in NOx Emissions, with the maximum of 45% in the Arterial …

Experimental Investigation Of Shear Capacity Of Precast Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts, Jarrod Clinton Burns

Civil Engineering Theses

This study presents the experimental investigation of the shear capacity of four precast rinforced concrete box culverts. Each culvert was subjected to a monotomically increasing load through a 20-in x 10-in load plate, designed to simulate a standard HS 20-44 wheel footprint. Each box was instrumented with the following: strain gages, load cell, high-resolution laser sensor, data acquisition hardware and software, and laptop computer. The tests were conducted on 1.22 m x 1.22 m x 1.22 m (4 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft) box culverts, with load being applied at the free spigot end. The location of the …

Experimental And Finite Element Based Investigations Of Shear Behavior In Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts, Anil Kumar Garg

Civil Engineering Dissertations

This study evaluates the shear behavior and capacity of the precast concrete box culverts subjected to HS 20 truck wheel load. The most critical culvert behavior was considered by studying culverts subjected to zero depth fill and placed on rigid laboratory floor without bedding material. Three major phases were considered to complete the study, which included: (1) experimental program; (2) finite element modeling; and (3) development of distribution width and the determination of shear capacity. A full-scale experimental testing program was undertaken to perform tests on 24 typical precast concrete box culverts designated as per ASTM C 1433-05 with and …

Analysis Of Hat Sectioned Reinforced Composite Beams Including Thermal Effects, Kashif Ali Nayyer Syed

Civil Engineering Dissertations

A simple analytical method for analyzing fiber reinforced polymeric composite beams with hat cross-section is presented. The method includes development of closed-form expression of the axial, bending and their coupling stiffness matrices for the composite beams. The stiffness matrices are obtained by transforming the actual geometrical cross-section of the beam into an equivalent plate using transformation matrices and Parallel Axis theorem. Ply stresses due to mechanical as well as thermal load can easily be obtained at any given location of the beam section. In this approach, the effect of induced in-plane deformation due to bending for an unsymmetrical cross-section is …

Finding A Length-Constrained Maximum-Sum Or Maximum-Density Subtree And Its Application To Logistics, Hoong Chuin Lau, Trung Hieu Ngo, Bao Nguyen Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We study the problem of finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree with weight and length on each edge. This problem was proposed in [R.R. Lin, W.H. Kuo, K.M. Chao, Finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree, Journal of Combinatorial Optimization 9 (2005) 147–156] and solved in O(nU) time when the edge lengths are positive integers, where n is the number of nodes in the tree and U is the length upper bound of the path. We present an algorithm that runs in O(nlog2n) time for the generalized case when the edge lengths are positive real numbers, which …