Engineering Commons^™

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Salt Concentration On Surfactant Adsorption Using A Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Shannon Joanne Ray

Masters Theses

Surfactant adsorption from aqueous electrolyte solutions onto metal surfaces was characterized through the use of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM). The need for a better understanding of the surfactant adsorption process became apparent in previous studies by Morton et al., who used estimated and extrapolated properties in a thermodynamically-based model of oil removal from metal surfaces. These modeling efforts overlap existing data on surfactant adsorption data and require an estimation of surfactant adsorption phenomena, especially the transition between monolayer adsorption and multi-layer adsorption, which corresponds to the critical micelle concentration (CMC). Thus, the purpose of this study was to gain …

The Effect Of Bluff Body Flameholders On The Inter-Turbine Burner Performance, Richard Jackson Holder

Masters Theses

In this thesis, a three-dimensional numerical simulation has been conducted to study the complex reactive flows which are present during the combustion in an inter-turbine burner (ITB) with the inclusion of V-gutter flame holders. Optimal conditions for the V-gutter were then further studied through a parametric study. The ITB configuration with straight radial vanes (SRV) was based on the innovative, high efficiency, high-g Ultra-Compact Combustor (UCC) concepts developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

For the first section, the V-gutter’s angle of attack was varied from -10 degrees to 10 degrees. The turbulent flow was modeled with a RANS-based …

Energy Production From Poultry Waste: Development And Application Of An Economic Model To Compare Various Concepts, Ricky Everette Dickens

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there is a profitable way to recover energy from the poultry waste produced by Seaboard Farms in Chattanooga Tennessee. This study dovetails with an earlier study conducted by the SMARTPARK^TMproject, where SMARTPARK^TMengineers determined there could be large energy savings through the placement of heat exchangers, and the sharing of hot and cold utilities between companies in that same industrial park. They suggested construction of a Centrally Managed Energy Recovery Facility (CMERF^TM) which would incorporate the heat exchangers to match heat streams between the two plants, …

A Methodology For Establishing Zones Of Acceptable Caas Coverage For A New Storage Facility Utilizing Mcnp 5 In Adjoint, Zia A. Tompkins

Masters Theses

ANSI/ANS 8.3 “Criticality Accident Alarm System”, Appendix B states “Determining the adequacy of criticality alarm detector placement is far from an exact process”. With this statement in mind a novel method for establishing areas of acceptable Criticality Accident Alarm System (CAAS) coverage was developed and demonstrated utilizing Los Alamos’ Monte Carlo N-Particle Code 5 (MCNP5) in multigroup Adjoint. Validation of the methodology was shown in the comparison of benchmark calculations with empirical results of Sandia testing and with hand calculations utilizing ANS 8.3. Demonstration involved the determination of zones of CAAS coverage from detector sensitivity maps generated by MCNP5 for …

Ductile-Regime Machining Of Silicon Carbide And Quartz, Deepak Ravindra

Masters Theses

Silicon carbide (SiC) and quartz are one of the advanced engineered ceramic materials designed to operate in extreme environments. One of the main reasons for the choice of these materials is due to its excellent electrical, mechanical and optical properties that benefit the semiconductor, MEMS and optoelectronic industry respectively. Manufacturing these materials is extremely challenging due to its high hardness, brittle characteristics and poor machinability. Severe fracture can result when trying to machine SiC and quartz due to its low fracture toughness. However, from past and current research efforts, it has been proven that ductile regime machining of brittle materials …

Ground And Flight Vibration Environment At Fuselage Station 505 In The C-2a Airplane, Christopher David Dotson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this test was to collect ground and flight vibration data at Fuselage Station (FS) 505 in the C-2A airplane. Collection of this data was necessary to determine operational and structural compatibility of certain navigation equipment with this vibratory environment. Vibration data were collected using triaxial accelerometers mounted to the FS 505 overhead equipment shelf and to an H-764 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System (EGI) mounted on the shelf. A total of 0.8 hr of ground testing and 3.6 hr of flight testing was conducted at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Patuxent River, Maryland. Testing included …

Evaluation Of A New Method To Estimate The Micropore Volume And External Surface Area Of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Yijing Zheng

Masters Theses

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991, significant progress has been made to understand their electrical, mechanical, magnetic and optical properties. However, as the ideal adsorbent for adsorption of gases and vapors, nanotubes, especially the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), and their adsorption properties remain not been investigated enough. The unique microporous structure of SWNTs gives them remarkable adsorption properties, i.e. surface area and porosity. Several methods exist to determine the surface area and pore volume of adsorbents: t-plot method, Dubinin-Radushkevich (DR) method, and Dubinin-Astakhov (DA) method. The results are usually specific to a certain method and to the segment …

Dynamic Target Classification In Wireless Sensor Networks, Ying Sun

Masters Theses

Information exploitation schemes with high-accuracy and low computational cost play an important role in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). This thesis studies the problem of target classification in WSNs. Specifically, due to the resource constraints and dynamic nature of WSNs, we focus on the design of the energy-efficient solutionwith high accuracy for target classification in WSNs.

Feature extraction and classification are two intertwined components in pattern recognition. Our hypothesis is that for each type of target, there exists an optimal set of features in conjunction with a specific classifier, which can yield the best performance in terms of classification accuracy using …

Effects Of High Temperature Cyclic Aging On A Fully-Formulated Lean NoX Trap Catalyst, Nathan Andrew Ottinger

Masters Theses

The thermal deactivation mechanisms of a lean NO_x trap (LNT) are analyzed in this study. Accelerated lean/rich aging experiments are performed with a bench-flow reactor, and high temperature exotherms are achieved with pulses of reductants. Reduction in steady state NO_x conversion as a result of aging is evaluated at a range of temperatures using the same bench-flow reactor. The results of these evaluations are used to show that NO_x conversion in this study is a function of evaluating temperature, aging temperature, and number of aging cycles.

Surface characterization studies are used to determine changes in washcoat morphology. …

Wide-Area Surveillance System Using A Uav Helicopter Interceptor And Sensor Placement Planning Techniques, Marcus James Jackson

Masters Theses

This project proposes and describes the implementation of a wide-area surveillance system comprised of a sensor/interceptor placement planning and an interceptor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helicopter. Given the 2-D layout of an area, the planning system optimally places perimeter cameras based on maximum coverage and minimal cost. Part of this planning system includes the MATLAB implementation of Erdem and Sclaroff’s Radial Sweep algorithm for visibility polygon generation. Additionally, 2-D camera modeling is proposed for both fixed and PTZ cases. Finally, the interceptor is also placed to minimize shortest-path flight time to any point on the perimeter during a detection event. …

Prediction Of Fatigue Crack Growth Retardation Due To A Tensile Overload Using Two-Parameter (∆K, Kmax) Approach, Wataru Tsutsui

Masters Theses

A theoretical crack growth study on powder metallurgy aluminum alloys AA5091 and AA8022 was conducted. Specifically, the research focused on the crack growth retardation due to the application of a tensile overload. The tensile overload creates a plastic zone ahead of the propagating crack tip that induces the compressive residual stress after unloading. Such compressive residual stress pushes the crack tip faces against each other, which results in crack growth retardation.

In the study, simulation started from the calculation of the compressive residual stress. The details of the calculation steps are explained in the thesis. Eventually, the stress intensity factor …

Mechanical Property Testing Apparatus For Use In A Scanning Electron Microscope, Robert Brian Peters

Masters Theses

The purpose of this design project is to develop a mechanical testing device to work in conjunction with a scanning electron microscope [SEM]. The objective of this work was to be able to perform a mechanical property measuring test and observe the small scale physical behavior of the sample with the SEM as the test progresses. The design process is presented from concept development through to the completion of the prototype device. Test data was acquired and analyzed and the results are compared to standard values for the materials being tested. Recommendations for future improvements in the next generation of …

A New Fully Implicit In Time Two-Dimensional Inverse Heat Conduction Method, Bryan S. Elkins

Masters Theses

A new combination of methods used to solve the transient, two-dimensional inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) is presented in this thesis. A simple implicit in time with space marching approach is used in combination with digital filtering for regularization. Results are presented for both one-dimensional and two-dimensional problems. As much as 10% measurement error is added to the data to simulate experimental results.

One-dimensional results with “perfect” data suggested that refining the spatial and temporal meshes improved the accuracy of the inverse solution. However, the nodal Fourier number was found to have no effect on accuracy. Further investigation into the …

Path Forward To Design And Implement An On-Going Engineering Management Handbook, Robert B. Kring

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to determine a path forward to design and implement an on-going Engineering Management Handbook. A review was performed to establish a definition of Engineering Management, the history of Engineering Management, how this history has impacted the Body of Knowledge in Engineering Management over the years, and the current state of the Engineering Management Handbook. Two surveys were performed to discover how users perceive the Handbook. It was found that there was a desire for a useful on-line EM Handbook. This research allows for decisions to be made in the future as the Handbook is …

Multichannel Time-Stamping-Based Correlator And Hardware Simulator For Photon Correlation Spectroscopy, Isaac P. Lescano Mendoza

Masters Theses

In fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering, digital correlators acquire the autocorrelation function of detected photons to measure diffusional dynamics of biomolecules and small particles. Multi-channel data from different wavelengths or scattering angles provide increased information for resolving multiple species. Similarly, in single-molecule spectroscopy and in experiments on photon entanglement, there is a need to acquire time stamps of photons from multiple detectors. To enable such advances, a cost-effective Multichannel Time-Correlator (MTC) and a Multichannel Hardware Simulator (MHS) were developed, each based on a reconfigurable digital input/output card, recently available from National Instruments. The field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) cores of the …

Development Of Gate-Controlled Dc Electrokinetic Micropumps, Prachya Mruetusatorn

Masters Theses

Lab-on-chip (LOC) devices have received considerable attention in research and development for automated, high-throughput biological and chemical analysis. While much progress has been accomplished; however, fluid flow control still needs improvement and reminds one of the significant challenges for the future practical LOC devices. This thesis explores the application of electroosmosis (EO) technique and field effect flow control (FEFC) technology for micropumps, an important microfluidic component of LOC systems.

In this work, electroosmosis method was employed to electro-kinetically move the working fluid under a longitudinal electric field, and the FEFC technique was also utilized to manipulate the Electroosmotic Flow (EOF) …

Effect Of Combined Loading And Low-Temperature On The Stiffness Of Gfrp Laminates, Curtis Patrick Nordin

Masters Theses

At the present time a large portion of America’s bridge infrastructure is aging, and in many cases approaching its design live. Therefore, there is a need for structurally sound, low-maintenance, and rapidly constructible alternatives for conventional materials. Due to this need there has been a renewed interest in structural glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) products. A large portion of the US is regularly subjected to freezing temperatures and therefore the numerous gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the low-temperature response of GFRP materials need to be addressed. Although strides have been made in researching the cold climate responses of …

A Limited Evaluation Of Pilot Technical Performance, Situational Awareness, And Workload When Flying With An Airframe-Referenced 3d Audio Display, Alan Joseph Wigdahl

Masters Theses

The visual workload of general aviation pilots operating alone in adverse conditions is often high. Airframe-referenced 3D audio systems may improve safety and performance by transferring a portion of this workload to the audio modality. These systems use the aircraft’s axes as a reference to present audio directional cues to the pilot via a headset.

This experiment compared the technical performance, workload, and situational awareness of pilots as they performed instrument flight procedures with and without an airframe-referenced 3D audio system. Five pilot participants flew six tasks of each audio condition in a Piper Navajo aircraft modified with a 3D …

Value Prior To Processing Of Oriented Strand Board Flakes Through Hot Water Extraction, Clinton T. Sattler

Masters Theses

Research has already shown that the extraction of a valuable hemicellulose-rich stream is a viable option for revenue generation in the pulp and paper industries. Applying the value prior to pulping concept to the composite panel industry is a natural extension. If a hemicellulose extraction is accomplished under the right conditions, a non-trivial amount of fine chemicals can be generated, while leaving the woody substrate structurally intact for production to traditional products, such as oriented strand board (OSB). According to literature, the removal of hemicellulose can increase the dimensional stability while decreasing the degradability of OSB panels. This research studied …

A Study Of Irrigation, Fertigation And Plasticulture In Burley Tobacco, With A Focus On Yield, Quality And Tsna Reduction, Eric F. Caldwell

Masters Theses

Nitrogen fertilization is important in attaining high yielding, quality tobacco. However, practices that use excessive N can be uneconomical, threaten the environment and produce leaves that are high in nitrates. Leaves high in nitrates have been positively correlated with leaves that are high in tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA), which are considered potent carcinogens. Competition from cheaper, foreign leaf, increasing costs of fertilizers and new market structures which show purchasers seeking low TSNA leaf demand that producers become more efficient in their N use. The objective of this study is an examination of burley (TN 90) and dark (KY 171) tobacco …

Comparing In Situ Submerged Jet Test Device And Laboratory Flume Methods To Estimate Erosional Properties Of Cohesive Soils For Bank Stability Models, Tara Liyana Mallison

Masters Theses

In order to accurately predict the stability of riverbanks, model input parameters must be reliable bank failure estimators. Currently, bank stability models require two input parameters to predict bank erosion: critical erosion shear stress and erodibility coefficient. The investigation’s purpose was to compare two erosion estimation methods and improve the bank stability models for cohesive soil commonly found on the banks.

To accomplish the objective, critical shear stresses and erodibility coefficients obtained using the in situ submerged jet test device (SJT) were measured against results from the closed-loop laboratory flume method for 12 cohesive bank sites. Additionally, SJT critical shear …

Experimental Measurement Of Thermal Conductivity Of An Unknown Material, Aaron Christopher Whaley

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine effective thermal conductivity of an unknown material sample for sample temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius. A steady state, one-dimensional heat conduction test setup was designed, fabricated, assembled, and used to determine thermal conductivity of the sample. The measurement was accomplished by applying a heat flux from a radiant heater through a stack consisting of the test sample, reference plates, heat spreaders, and insulation layers. The heat transfer equation for steady state, one-dimensional conduction relates thermal conductivity of the sample to the thickness and cross-sectional area of the sample, the temperature difference …

Remote Monitoring Of Barowell Pumps Using A Radio Link, Paul R. Schwer

Masters Theses

Barowell pumps are notorious for having problems and failures, which sometimes occur at the most inopportune times during aeropropulson testing. These failures could be better predicted with proper health monitoring. Continuous monitoring of changes in the health of the pump would allow timely preventive and corrective maintenance to be performed as necessary to reduce failures and reduce plant downtime.

This thesis addresses a wireless method to monitor these pumps remotely by a user located in the control room. The operator can note the ultrasonic amplitude of the bearings on the pumps and make a decision to schedule preventive maintenance.

An …

Determination Of Virgin Wood Remaining In A Cask After Maturation And Predictive Modeling For Spirit Specific Compounds, John Powers Wolff

Masters Theses

The stipulations from the government of the United States require whisky distillers to use a new, charred oak barrel for maturation of the spirit. The amount of money spent on new oak accounts for almost 60% of the price for the finished spirit. Determining the amount of virgin wood, wood not affected by the maturation process, which remains in the stave, could reduce the costs for the production of certain spirits.

Thermal treatment to the wood before maturation creates some of the compounds attributing to the flavor and color of the spirit. Utilizing pressure, temperature, and humidity differences from season …

The Engineering Management Online Handbook: An Evaluation Of Content, Stephanie Slagle

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to gather a detailed understanding and encompassing list of topics for an Engineering Management Online Handbook. To better understand the profession of Engineering Management, the history of the profession is discussed. Although an Engineering Management Handbook currently exists on the World Wide Web, this study incorporates surveys of practicing engineers and current literature research. General perceptions and comments were collected from practicing engineers about the current state of the Handbook as it exists at the website of the American Society for Engineering Management (www.ASEM.org). It seems as though the main contributors currently are professors …

A Human Factors Comparison Of Airborne Mine Countermeasures Controls And Displays As Installed On The Cns/Atm Mh-53e Helicopter And The Legacy Mh-53e Helicopter, Jeffrey S. Farlin

Masters Theses

The United States Navy has begun an initiative to upgrade the existing MH-53E aircraft from an analogue gauge cockpit to a digital glass cockpit. In order to assess the capability of the digital cockpit to perform the Airborne Mine Countermeasures (AMCM) mission as effectively as the analogue cockpit a human factors engineering analysis was conducted comparing the pros and cons for each cockpit. The primary focus of the paper was on the physical ergonomic characteristics of the AMCM cockpit. A limited analysis was also conducted evaluating some of the physical and mental workloads required for executing an AMCM mission. To …

A Low Power Integrated Circuit For Implantable Biosensor Incorporating An On-Chip Fsk Modulator, Taeho Oh

Masters Theses

Medical care has been significantly improved in recent years due to tremendous technological advancement in the field of CMOS technology. Among those improvements, integrated circuit design and sensing techniques have brought to the doctors more flexibility and accuracy of examinations of their patients. For example, a diabetic patient needs to visit a hospital on a regular basis for the examination and proper treatment. However, with the tremendous advancement in electronic technology, a patient can soon monitor his or her own blood glucose level at home or at office with an implantable sensor which can also trigger insulin pump attached to …

Ac Electrokinetic Manipulation Of Microfluids And Particles Using Orthogonal Electrodes, Kai Yang

Masters Theses

AC electrokinetics (ACEK) is a promising technique to manipulate micro/bio-fluids and particles. It has many advantages over DC electrokinetics for its low applied voltage, portability and compatibility for integration into lab-on-a-chip devices. This thesis focuses on the design of a multi-functional orthogonal microelectrode system that induces ACEK effect for manipulation of microfluids and particles. Orthogonal electrode configuration used in this research can achieve maximum non-uniform electric field distribution, resulting in strong fluid and particle motion. In the experiments, three types of microflow fields were observed by changing the applied electric signals. Three ACEK processes, capacitive electrode polarization, Faradaic polarization, and …

University Of Tennessee, Knoxville Multi-Hazard Mitigation Disaster Resistant University Plan, Kelli D. Taylor

Masters Theses

The purpose of creating this Multi-Hazard Mitigation Disaster Resistant University Plan is to meet the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. This hazard mitigation plan documents the process of creating a plan for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including identifying hazards and risks associated with UTK and identifying a hazard mitigation strategy specific to UTK that will lessen the campus’ vulnerability and make it more resistant to disaster and more sustainable. This plan identifies goals for hazard mitigation and risk reduction of natural and man-made hazards to UTK’s campus by following the planning guidelines and requirements as included …

Development Of An Accelerated Ash Loading Protocol For Rapid Evaluation Of Diesel Particulate Filters Including Comprehensive Characterization Of Ash-Loaded Substrates, Adam Daniel Youngquist

Masters Theses

The accelerated ash loading of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) by lube-oil derived products is investigated in the present study. A 517-cc single-cylinder, naturally aspirated direct-injection diesel engine is used to accelerate ash formation by artificially increasing the rate of lube-oil consumption to approximately 40 times that observed during normal engine operation. Lube-oil consumption (LOC) is accelerated by blending diesel fuel with 5% by volume of standard 15-w40 lube oil and is subsequently injected through the fuel injector into the combustion chamber.

The ash loading protocol is a backpressure-based method of determining the amount of soot present within the DPF and …