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Hvac System Energy Audit For Leverett Elementary School, Connor Smalling

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Leverett Elementary School is located in Fayetteville, AR. The school needs significant upgrades to its infrastructure. The Fayetteville Public School District has voted to pursue an Energy Services Performance Contract (ESPC) in order to finance the desired upgrades to Leverett Elementary, among other schools in the district.

The scope of this thesis was to perform an energy audit on the existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. By using an energy modeling software, eQuest, the building and the existing base system were modeled to determine utility consumption. Three different HVAC system alternatives were analyzed against the base system by …

Design And Modeling Of A New Biomimetic Soft Robotic Jellyfish Using Ipmc-Based Electroactive Polymers, Zakai J. Olsen, Kwang J. Kim

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Smart materials and soft robotics have been seen to be particularly well-suited for developing biomimetic devices and are active fields of research. In this study, the design and modeling of a new biomimetic soft robot is described. Initial work was made in the modeling of a biomimetic robot based on the locomotion and kinematics of jellyfish. Modifications were made to the governing equations for jellyfish locomotion that accounted for geometric differences between biology and the robotic design. In particular, the capability of the model to account for the mass and geometry of the robot design has been added for better …

Gesture Based Control Of Semi-Autonomous Vehicles, Brian Sanders

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this investigation is to explore the use of hand gestures to control semi-autonomous vehicles, such as quadcopters, using realistic, physics based simulations. This involves identifying natural gestures to control basic functions of a vehicle, such as maneuvering and onboard equipment operation, and building simulations using the Unity game engine to investigate preferred use of those gestures. In addition to creating a realistic operating experience, human factors associated with limitations on physical hand motion and information management are also considered in the simulation development process. Testing with external participants using a recreational quadcopter simulation built in Unity was …

Environmental And Economic Implications Of Energy Efficiency In New Residential Buildings: A Multi-Criteria Selection Approach, Florida Solar Energy Center, Delia D'Agostino

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The choice of the most appropriate technologies in buildings is often a challenge at the design stage, especially when many different criteria are taken into account. Consequently, the decision process relies often on one criterion only, such as costs or energy savings. We propose a multi-criteria approach based on multi-attribute utility theory to assess alternative energy efficiency measures, explicitly considering both environmental and economic criteria. We apply it to the design of a new residential building in Milan (Italy), with the aim to maximize CO₂ emission savings related to electricity and gas consumption, and to minimize embodied energy and …

Detection And Classification Of Vibrating Objects In Sar Images, Francisco German Perez Venegas

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The vibratory response of buildings and machines contains key information that can be exploited to infer their operating conditions and to diagnose failures. Furthermore, since vibration signatures observed from the exterior surfaces of structures are intrinsically linked to the type of machinery operating inside of them, the ability to monitor vibrations remotely can enable the detection and identification of the machinery.

This dissertation focuses on developing novel techniques for the detection and M-ary classification of vibrating objects in SAR images. The work performed in this dissertation is conducted around three central claims. First, the non-linear transformation that the micro-Doppler return …

Analysis And Control Of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (Frees), Soheil Habibian

Master’s Theses

While rigid robots are extensively used in various applications, they are limited in the tasks they can perform and can be unsafe in close human-robot interactions. Soft robots on the other hand surpass the capabilities of rigid robots in several ways, such as compatibility with the work environments, degrees of freedom, manufacturing costs, and safe interactions with the environment. This thesis studies the behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (FREEs) as a particular type of soft pneumatic actuator that can be used in soft manipulators. A dynamic lumped-parameter model is created to simulate the motion of a single FREE under various …

Development Of A 2d Scr Catalyst On A Diesel Particulate Filter Model For Design And Control Applications To A Ultra Low Nox Aftertreatment System, Venkata Chundru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research focuses on modeling and control of PM and NO_x in diesel engine exhaust using an SCR catalyst on a Diesel Particulate Filter (SCR-F). A 2D SCR-F model was developed that is capable of predicting internal states: 2D temperature, PM and NH₃storage distributions and filtration efficiency, pressure drop, PM mass retained in the PM cake and substrate wall and outlet NO, NO₂and NH₃concentrations. The SCR-F model was used to simulate a DOC + SCR-F + DOC + SCR ultra-low NOx system that can achieve > 99.5% NOx conversion efficiency.

The model was calibrated …

Dynamic Discrepancy Reduced Order Modeling For Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Over Cobalt-Based Catalyst, Jose Miguel Bohorquez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Advances in carbon capture techniques and demands in alternative fuel sources have increased over the past couple of decades. The Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) provides a viable way to produce hydrocarbons from natural gas, coal, CO₂, or biomass. However, current comprehensive models for FTS encompass large number of reacting species, readsorption and conversion of primary products, surface intermediates, and coverage-dependent reaction rates. To accurately predict the products obtained through the process a reduced order model has been developed. By reducing the number of parameters of an existing comprehensive model, uncertainty is introduced. The uncertainty can be quantified by using …

Using Cfd To Improve Off-Design Throughflow Analysis, Troy J. Lanchman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

In turbomachinery design, complex internal flows give rise to significant losses and blockage whose effects are difficult to properly analyze without detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods or experiments. In a typical design method, CFD is used in conjunction with simpler throughflow or cascade codes to hasten the process. However, the lesser physical accuracy of the design codes demands the inclusion of models to improve the accuracy of the throughflow codes. This thesis aims to use CFD data to generate improved loss and blockage models for a 2D compressor throughflow code by matching throughflow data to CFD data using optimizations. …