Engineering Commons^™

Acoustic Wave Based Biosensor, Aditya A. Vijh

Masters Theses

Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) have been widely used for detection of various chemical and biological species in liquid media. In this work an improved binding of Protein A and IgG molecules on QCM biosensors by modifying the gold surface of the quartz crystal with an ultra thin polystyrene film followed by an acidic treatment has been reported. Protein A and IgG immobilizations on quartz crystals with the polystyrene film represented a 65% increase and a 40% increase respectively when compared to immobilization done directly onto the crystals. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been used to investigate and study the biomolecular …

Oxidation Of Titanium In Alpha-Calf Serum Solution, Ali Stait Ismailoglu

Masters Theses

Titanium and its alloys have been used extensively in orthopedic implants mainly because of its excellent biocompatibility. This biocompatibility is attributed to its surface oxide film (3-7 nm thickness) that forms immediately upon exposure of titanium to air. In the research, the oxidation of Ti-6Al-4V in alpha-calf serum solution was studied. Four different immersion times were tested. Characterization of surface topography and its chemical composition was examined using Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform-infrared radiation (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AFM results clearly show the gradual change that occurred in the samples topography which is associated with more-rounded …

Microwave Pretreatment Of Corn Stover For Anaerobic Digestion, Abhishek D. Saxena

Masters Theses

Anaerobic digestion is one of the several technologies used for biomass conversion to electricity or heat. This thesis focused on microwave irradiation of corn stover as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion, and studies its impact on methane production.

The first run comprised three sets of stover soaked overnight in water, dilute sulfuric acid and dilute acetic acid, and each treated to three different levels of microwave irradiation. The results indicated a high variability in the data of the water set, which showed that there was no clear impact of microwave pretreatment on methane production. The dilute sulfuric acid and dilute …

Effect Of Coating Additives On The Rheological And Optical Properties Of Coated Papers, Burak Aksoy

Dissertations

Although additives are used in small amounts (below 2wt.% of the total solids) in a coating formulation, they play an important role in the runnability and end-use performance of the coating. Among coating additives, the use of insolubilizers and fluorescent whitening agents (FWA's) has increased due to theincrease in demand for higher quality graphic papers and packaging. Zirconium containing insolubilizers were studied for their rheological effects on silica ink jet coatings. Both zirconium species had an influence on the theological properties of the coating and its components. The interactions between thezirconium salts and the coating were found to be weak …

Fumed Metallic Oxides And Conventional Pigments For Glossy Inkjet Paper, Hyunkook Lee

Dissertations

Product development activity in the area of inkjet printing papers has accelerated greatly to meet the rapidly growing market for inkjet papers. Advancements in inkjet printing technology have also placed new demands on the paper substrate due to faster printing rates, greater resolution through increased drop volumes, and colorants added to the ink. To meet these requirements, papermakers are turning to pigmented size press formulations or pigmented coating systems. For inkjet coating applications, both the internal porosity of the pigment particles as well as the packing porosity of the coating affect print quality and dry time. Pores between the pigment …

Feature Detection Using Linear Structure Modeling And Pca, Kawshif Muhammed Riaz Ahmed

Masters Theses

An algorithm to extract features from digital images such as cracks in concrete bridges for automated inspection is developed. The algorithm is based on the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In general, PCA is used to reduce the dimensionality of a data set that consists of a large number of interrelated variables while retaining the variation present in the original data set. This ability of PCA will be used in this project to identify clusters using two training sets of images. Linear structure modeling is used to emphasize the image features (cracks) prior to applying PCA. Whole images processing …

Carbon Nanotube Based Chemical And Biological Sensors, Srikanth Singamaneni

Masters Theses

Carbon nanotubes are among those wonderful molecules man has discovered by chance. Carbon nanotubes are sheets of graphite rolled up to form seamless cylinders. Their outstanding electrical, mechanical and thermal properties form the inspiration behind this work. This work investigates the possible application of carbon nanotubes as biological sensors for the detection of various biomolecules like Streptavidin and Mouse monoclonal Immunoglobulin-G. Electrical conductance changes of Carbon nanotubes for exposure to alcohol vapors were studied. This thesis demonstrates that these quantum wires can form highly sensitive biological and chemical sensors at molecular level. Although the main focus of the-research was chemical …

Prediction Of Crack Growth Rate And Load Interaction Effects Using Damage Accumulation Model, Virender Goswami

Masters Theses

In damage tolerant designs, it is important to know the crack growth behavior of a material, so that sudden failure of a component can be avoided by determining a safe life. There are numerous models available to predict the crack growth rate. Among them the "crack closure model" is most often used for predicting the crack growth rate for different R-ratios and load interaction effects. However recently, the crack closure model has come under criticism by many authors to be flawed and overrated owing to its inherent drawbacks.

Therefore, a mathematical model for the fatigue crack propagation based on damage …

Cross-Layer Design Of A Dynamic Resource Allocation Control For The Next Multimedia Wireless Generation 1xev-Dv Systems, Mohamed Bourouha

Masters Theses

1xEV-DV has been proposed as one of the standards of the next MultimediaWire- less Generation (MWG) systems, which adopts new techniques to enhance wireless data Quality of Service (QoS). Despite the recent research efforts in mapping QoS pa- rameters cross the different layers, there is still no cross layer QoS design that focuses in providing QoS assurances in the 1xEV-DV. Moreover, many possible combinations of resource parameters have been specified in the current standard. However, there are no specifications about the dynamic resource allocation. In this thesis, a suite of Cross Layer Multiuser Diversity Modules are proposed. These modules include …

Using Simulation Techniques To Evaluate Group Technology Heuristics: A Recommended Methodology For Comparison And Optimization, Ashley Nolen Akerman

Masters Theses

Machine cell formation is an important issue in industrial and manufacturing engineering. Properly assigned machine cells can improve manufacturing system efficiencies and decrease unnecessary material movement. To address the need for proper cell formation techniques a myriad of heuristics have been created that attempt to optimize the grouping of machines. Further, much industrial engineering research has been conducted on the application of simulation technology to manufacturing system evaluation.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the combination of traditional machine grouping heuristics with simulation technology and to create a generalized meta-model based upon this evaluation. This investigation analyzes the …

Modeling The Strategic Impact Of Management Accounting Methods On The Implementation Of Lean Manufacturing, David Joseph Meade

Dissertations

This study examines the impact from the adaptation of lean manufacturing strategies on key external financial performance measures as reported by a number of management accounting methods. The research is not concerned with creating a justification for lean manufacturing strategies but rather it evaluates the inadequacies of standard financial reporting methods to accurately reflect operational improvements possible in the key performance measures through the early stages of a lean program.

ProModel simulation software is used in conjunction with Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic to create a simulated repetitive manufacturing environment and production planning and control system. The study examines the …

Telerobotic Controller, Michael Fewless, George Slater, Steve Waldron

Honors Theses

Atelerobotic system allows a user to interact with an environment indirectly. Our project successfully creates a telerobotic environment between the Phantom 1.5 controller and the UMI RTX robotic arm. Utilizing the haptic features of the Phantom controller, a more realistic interaction was created between the telerobotic system and the user by providing sensory feedback. As the user manipulates the hand-controlled Phantom device, signals are sent via a parallel port to the personal computer. A real-time WIN32 application, utilizing the GHOST SDK library, reads the position of the Phantom controller's coordinates and calculates the corresponding motor positions of the UMI RTXrobotic …

Introduction To Mechanical Engineering, Lorik Abdullai, Joseph R. Dunn

Honors Theses

I can still remember back in high school when I was faced with a decision thousands of students experience every year: What college was I going to choose, and what major was I going to study? It seemed like every time I saw friends and relatives they asked me that question. Meanwhile, I knew that going to a major university would give me more choices in case I changed majors. As it turned out, Western Michigan University was the best package for me when I considered the financial aid, the program ofmy major, location of the university, and its friendly …

Electron Vacuum Tube Guitar Amplifier, Erik Widman

Honors Theses

This project consisted of designing and fabricating an electron vacuum tube guitar amplifier. Vacuum tubes have become obsolete in modern electronics due to their size, cost, and inefficiency. However, vacuum tubes are still commonly used in guitar amplifiers. Vacuums tube's nonlinear amplifying characteristics are ideal for distorting a signal. Hence vacuum tubes are used in distorting guitar amplifiers commonly used in rock music. While guitar amplifiers consist of many subsystems, the focus of this senior design report is the distorting preamplifier.

Imagine a guitar signal as a pure sine wave (although in reality the signal is a complicated series of …

Modeling And Validation Of A Brake Hose, Jai Thomas

Masters Theses

Various computer aided design (CAD) softwares have the capability to depict rigid bodies in space accurately. However, the same is not true for the flexible components. This is because flexible components in an automobile are subject to large elastic deformations during the movement of the rigid components to which they are attached.

This research details the application of the principles of computation of the orientation of entities in a simplified coordinate system, vector mathematics, the file I/O features and structured C++ programming to view the rubber hose in CAD after modeling the hose using simulation software. Further validation of the …

Analysis Of Combustion Chamber Design Variables In Planetary Rotary Engine, Sathyanarayanan Arumugam

Masters Theses

This research entails examining the Hopkins Rotor Mechanism (HRM) for the perspective of commercial viability. Factors that were studied herein include basic operating characteristics, combustion effects, dimensional changes and behaviors unique to the HRM that may impose limits to commercial viability were also examined.

To compare specific characteristics of the HRM engine, in a comparable four-stroke mode, hypothetical 200, 400 and 600 cubic centimeter (cc) single cylinder reciprocating engines, each with compression ratio of 10, 15 and 20 were used as a basis for comparison. For similar outputs this resulted in the use of a 100, 200, 300 cc HRM …

Comparing Refractory Coatings On Shell Sand Utilizing Elevated Temperature And Collapsibility Testing, Suet Fong Cheah

Masters Theses

This research study examines the effects of refractory coatings on a shell sand using laboratory testing equipment as opposed to the more laborious and time consuming processes of molding, melting, filling, shakeout, and obtaining dimensions of actual castings. As of today, there have not been any such laboratory test methods. This research project focused on quantifying distortion, mass change, and impact strength found in refractory coated shell sand. The equipment used was the thermal distortion tester (TDT) and a modified impact tester. The thermal distortion curves (TDC), mass change, and impact strength are provided and compared for all systems studied. …

Structure And Spectroscopy Of Polymer Ultra Thin Films And Nanocomposites, Ramesh Chandra Kattumenu

Masters Theses

This research involves the study of structure and properties of polymer composite thin films. The intrinsic relation between the morphology and thickness of polymer thin films is the main idea behind this research. Polymer films with thickness in the range of 3nm to 600nm (comparable with the characteristic molecular length scale - radius of gyration) are studied for changes in morphology with temperature and thickness using Atomic Force Microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The study of very thin polymer films using Force Modulation technique with AFM and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy showed that polymers could be characterized with these techniques at …

Using Stiffeners For Improved Geometric Fidelity Of Flexible Elements, Ankit Kapoor

Masters Theses

Flexible hoses play an important role in safe operation of a transportation vehicle in automotive and aerospace field. Due to lack of accurate and efficient modeling techniques for such flexible elements with large deformation, most Computer Aided Engineering system do not address the problem in their solution methods.

In this thesis a method is presented to improve the geometric fidelity of flexible element models by using off-axis bi-linear stiffeners (spring) into a discrete linear beam model. Resulting deflection of a hose were compared with the digital scans of an actual deflection of the hose. Though the method is computationally expensive, …

Methodology To Predict The Instantaneous Friction Work In Non-Conventional Internal Combustion Engines, Ravishankar Thangavelu

Masters Theses

Non-Conventional Internal Combustion Engine (NCICE) may utilize a variety of contact surface shapes, where both sliding and rolling losses occur. This study develops techniques that allow the user to define the type of forces and the characteristics of the friction type to predict the instantaneous and over all friction work in a NCICE under user defined operating conditions. The characteristics include inertial effects, contour and surface effects, resulting contact surface changes and film thickness changes as a result of contact surface.

Subcooled Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Using R113 On Flat Surface, Kamleshkumar J. Suthar

Masters Theses

Pool boiling experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of subcooling on boiling of R-113 using 25mm effective dia. flat surface copper heater. Pool boiling heat transfer measurements were taken for wide temperature range of 5 - 39^o C subcooling and investigated thoroughly. Variation in value of wall superheat of incipience boiling, from 27 to 34^o C and 7 to 11^o C temperature excursion observed. Noticeable effect of subcooling on boiling heat transfer is observed. Degree of subcooling was maintained constant by regulating pressure and keeping constant fluid temperature for each test run. Tests were conducted by …

On The Dynamics And Kinetic Energy Of Axisymmetric And Wavy Taylor-Couette Flows, Javier M. Montefort

Dissertations

An experimental study of axisymmetric and wavy Taylor-Couette flows is presented in this research. The study is conducted to investigate the flowcharacteristics under steady state conditions in axisymmetric and wavy Taylor flows. Additionally, the time-dependent formation of axisymmetric vortices is also experimentally investigated. The radii and aspect ratios of the experimental facility utilized in this research are 0.672 and 20, respectively. The working fluid used during the experiments is water. The experiments were performed within the Taylor numbers range comprised by TC < T < 105 TC . A numerical scheme based on finite differences technique has been developed to validate …