Engineering Commons^™

An Efficient Time-Bound Hierarchical Key Assignment Scheme With A New Merge Function: A Performance Study, Rajasree Shyam

Computer Science Graduate Projects and Theses

The advent of digital age has resulted in more television consumers switching to Digital TV with considerable improvement in image quality and ease-of-use. Consumers are able to select and view television programs and channels of choice by using a pay-per-use model or streaming video from their computer terminals. In all these use cases, the media provider requires a means by which they can restrict the consumers from watching selected programs for a pre-approved temporal interval. The consumer needs to be prevented access to certain pay-per-use channels and programs upon expiry of this pre-approved access. This necessitates the media provider to …

Is The Test Of Senior Friendly ⁄Child Resistant Packaging Ethical?, Laura Bix, Javier De La Fuente, Kenneth D. Pimple, Eric Kou

Industrial Technology and Packaging

Research has documented the drastic reduction of unintentional poisonings of children since the introduction of child resistant (CR) packaging. However, studies also indicate that consumers report difficulty using CR packages, in part because tests which determine the ‘senior friendliness’ of CR designs that are used throughout the world disallow people with ‘overt or obvious’ disabilities from being test subjects. Our review of drug package usability suggests that the current tests of CR packaging can and should be revised to correct this problem. We use US legislation, regulation and data to exemplify these points, but the conclusions are applicable to all …

Design And Implementation Of A Neural Network Controller For Real-Time Adaptive Voltage Regulation, Xiao-Hua Yu, Weiming Li, N. F. N. Taufik

Electrical Engineering

An adaptive controller based on multi-layer feed-forward neural network is developed for real-time voltage regulation of a class of PSFB (phase-shifted full-bridge) DC–DC converters. The controller has the unique advantages of nonlinear mapping and adaptive learning, and performs well over a wide range of input voltages and output load currents. The controller is implemented and tested in hardware using a DSP (digital signal processor) board. Experimental results show that it outperforms conventional controllers in both line regulation and load regulation.

Design And Implementation Of A Neural Network Controller For Real-Time Adaptive Voltage Regulation, Xiao-Hua Yu, Weiming Li, Taufik

Electrical Engineering

An adaptive controller based on multi-layer feed-forward neural network is developed for real-time voltage regulation of a class of PSFB (phase-shifted full-bridge) DC–DC converters. The controller has the unique advantages of nonlinear mapping and adaptive learning, and performs well over a wide range of input voltages and output load currents. The controller is implemented and tested in hardware using a DSP (digital signal processor) board. Experimental results show that it outperforms conventional controllers in both line regulation and load regulation.

Discussion Of “Analyzing Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreads Using Strength Ratios" By S.M. Olson And C.I. Johnson, Robb E.S. Moss, Justin Chow Hollenback

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Seismic Analysis Of Buildings To Recorded Motions, Rakesh K. Goel

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This investigation focused on developing an improved understanding of challenges associated with computation of nonlinear response of three-dimensional building to recorded ground motions, and if the base shear estimated from recorded motions, denoted as “estimated base shear” in this report, is an accurate indicator of the true base shear. For this purpose, three-dimensional models of two buildings – one reinforced-concrete building and one steel building – are developed in OpenSees and Perform3D¬. The analysis of these models included pushover analysis for lateral force distribution proportional to the first mode in each of the two principle directions, and nonlinear response history …

Cost Of Quality In The Construction Industry, Philip L. Barlow

Construction Management

The construction industry needs to decrease its costs due to nonconformance by implementing an objective model for analyzing the excessive cost of poor quality and the overall savings realized from good quality. Direct cost estimates from rework in commercial building construction average about 5%. A simple calculation based on U.S. construction industry expenditures of $1.246 trillion in 2007 reveals that $62 billion is wasted just on the direct cost construction rework alone! The term quality can be applied in many different ways to various aspects of the construction process. This paper proposes a model which helps illustrate how the various …

Water Conservation's Role In California Water Transfers, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This paper describes various irrigation district water transfer projects. Water transfers have been of many types, including agriculture to agriculture, agriculture to urban, and agriculture to environment. In each case that will be described, the unique circumstances of each district will be described. Typical actions include developing a water balance to determine if “wet water” truly exists for conservation, then identifying the sources of that wet water. Subsequent actions include developing designs that will conserve the water, achieving board approval, and constructing and implementing the conservation measures.

Grating Lobe Reduction In Aperiodic Linear Arrays Of Physically Large Antennas, William C. Barott, Paul G. Steffes

Publications

We present performance bounds obtained from the optimization of the sidelobe levels of aperiodic linear arrays. The antennas comprising these arrays are large compared to the distance between neighboring antennas, a case not addressed in previously published work. This optimization is performed in pattern-space and is applicable over a wide range of scan angles. We show that grating lobes can be suppressed even when the elemental antennas are several wavelengths in size, provided that the ratio of the antenna size to the average spacing between the antenna center-points does not exceed 80%.

Thermocapillary Effects In Driven Dewetting And Self-Assembly Of Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A mathematical model for the evolution of pulsed laser-irradiated, molten metallic films has been developed using the lubrication theory. The heat transfer problem that incorporates the absorbed heat from a single laser beam or the interfering laser beams is solved analytically. Using this temperature field, we derive the 3D long-wave evolution PDE for the film height. To get insights into dynamics of dewetting, we study the 2D version of the evolution equation by means of a linear stability analysis and by numerical simulations. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of various system parameters, such as the reflectivity, the peak laser beam …

Thermocapillary Effects In Driven Dewetting And Self-Assembly Of Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A mathematical model for the evolution of pulsed laser-irradiated, molten metallic films has been developed using the lubrication theory. The heat transfer problem that incorporates the absorbed heat from a single laser beam or the interfering laser beams is solved analytically. Using this temperature field, we derive the 3D long-wave evolution PDE for the film height. To get insights into dynamics of dewetting, we study the 2D version of the evolution equation by means of a linear stability analysis and by numerical simulations. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of various system parameters, such as the reflectivity, the peak laser beam …

Thermocapillary Effects In Driven Dewetting And Self-Assembly Of Pulsed Laser-Irradiated Metallic Films, Mikhail Khenner

Mathematics Faculty Publications

A mathematical model for the evolution of pulsed laser-irradiated, molten metallic films has been developed using the lubrication theory. The heat transfer problem that incorporates the absorbed heat from a single laser beam or the interfering laser beams is solved analytically. Using this temperature field, we derive the 3D long-wave evolution PDE for the film height. To get insights into dynamics of dewetting, we study the 2D version of the evolution equation by means of a linear stability analysis and by numerical simulations. The stabilizing and destabilizing effects of various system parameters, such as the reflectivity, the peak laser beam …

Using Electronic Faculty Course Portfolios To Showcase Classroom Practices And Student Learning, Paul Savory, Amy M. Goodburn

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Faculty course portfolios are a valuable medium for documenting and making visible the serious intellectual work of teaching. Developing a faculty course portfolio follows the same process one uses to explore a research question. Faculty members inquire, analyze, and document their teaching practices and the resulting student learning and then make the results accessible for use, review, and assessment by one’s peers. In this article, we introduce four types of electronic course portfolios that sponsor different forms of inquiry into student learning. We highlight the major components of each type, offer advice in developing them, and share examples of each. …

Exploring Stress Overshoot Phenomenon Upon Startup Deformation Of Entangled Linear Polymeric Liquids, Yangyang Wang, Shi-Qing Wang

College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

This work explores the picture associated with stress overshoot during sudden continual (i.e., startup) external deformation of entangled polymeric liquids and proposes a specific scaling form to depict the intermolecular interactions responsible for chain deformation. Following a previously proposed idea that the stress overshoot in startup deformation is a signature of yielding, we search for ingredients that should go into the description of the force imbalance at the yield point and show that the expression for the intermolecular locking force f(iml), derived from the characteristics associated with the yield point, can be tested against experiment. New rate-switching experiments support the …

Nature Of Steady Flow In Entangled Fluids Revealed By Superimposed Small Amplitude Oscillatory Shear, Pouyan E. Boukany, Shi-Qing Wang

College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

We carry out a systematic investigation into steady-state shear behavior of six entangled solutions based on a superposition of continuous shear and small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS). During steady shear in the shear thinning regime, the superimposed SAOS frequency sweep measurements reveal characteristics of viscous liquids, e. g., terminal dynamics, on the experimental time scale of the reciprocal shear rate. The residual entanglement network retains the same level of elastic stiffness as the equilibrium system does. Consistent with the convective constraint release idea, chains in the network are forced to pass around each other as they must do so to …

Study Of Take-Up Velocity In Enhancing Tensile Properties Of Aligned Electrospun Nylon 6 Fibers, Johnny F. Najem

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

The variation of both the tensile properties and thermal properties of aligned electrospun fibers with the take-up velocity (TUV) of disc collector has not been widely investigated due to the difficulty of handling aligned nanofibers and measuring low loads. In this thesis, 25% of nylon 6 was dissolved in formic acid and then electrospun into fibers and the fibers were aligned using a rotating disc collector. We evaluated the tensile and thermal properties, average fiber diameter, crystallinity, crystalline morphology, molecular and crystalline orientation of aligned electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers as a function of TUV based on a disc collector. It …

A Biomechanical Comparison Of Polymethylmethacrylate-Reinforced And Expansive Pedicle Screws In Pedicle-Screw Revisions, Bora Bostan, Irfan Esenkaya, Taner Gunes, Mehmet Erdem, Murat Asci, Mehmet Halidun Kelestemur, Cengiz Sen

Faculty Publications - Mechanical Engineering

Objectives: Different techniques and choices exist for revision of pedicle screws, two of which are pedicle screw combined with cement augmentation and expansive pedicle screw fixation. This biomechanical study was designed to compare the pullout strengths of two different revision techniques. Methods: Fourteen lumbar vertebrae obtained from four calves (mean age 15 months) were divided into two groups equal in number. Monoaxial 6.0-mm pedicle screws were inserted into the right pedicles, and axial pullout testing was performed at a rate of 10 mm/min and failure strengths were recorded. Revision was performed with the same-sized pedicle screws reinforced with polymethyl-methacrylate in …

Acuta Enews December 2009, Vol. 38, No. 12

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

Board Approves Slate of Nominees for 2010-2011 Board of Directors

From the President.......... Harvey "Buck" Buchanan, Florida State Univ., ACUTA President

Mutli-Event Discount: Attend More in 2010 and Save More!

Tech Talk: what's the Next Really Big Thing?.........................Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

Washington Update Newsletter

Nominate Now for ACUTA Ruth A. Michalecki Leadership Award

Board Report.................Jeri A,. Semer, Executive Director

Happy Holidays from the ACUTA Staff

DC Update Dave Ostrom, Washington State Univ, (retired)

BlCSI-Governmental Relations for 2009-2010 ................Richard Reed, RCDD, BlCSI

Audio Seminar: "lMS: The Future of Fixed Mobile Convergence"

Follow Corporate Members on Twitter 8 lnfo …

Towards Optimal Effort Distribution In Process Design Under Uncertainty, With Application To Education, Olga Kosheleva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In most application areas, we need to take care of several (reasonably independent) participants. For example, in controlling economics, we must make sure that all the economic regions prosper. In controlling environment, we want to guarantee that all the geographic regions have healthy environment. In education, we want to make sure that all the students learn all the needed knowledge and skills.

In real life, the amount of resources is limited, so we face the problem of "optimally" distributing these resources between different objects.

What is a reasonable way to formalize "optimally"? For each of the participants, preferences can be …

Optimal Sensor Placement In Environmental Research: Designing A Sensor Network Under Uncertainty, Aline James, Craig Tweedie, Tanja Magoc, Vladik Kreinovich, Martine Ceberio

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

One of our main challenges in meteorology and environment research is that in many important remote areas, sensor coverage is sparse, leaving us with numerous blind spots. Placement and maintenance of sensors in these areas are expensive. It is therefore desirable to find out how, within a given budget, we can design a sensor network are important activities was developing reasonable techniques for sensor that would provide us with the largest amount of useful information while minimizing the size of the "blind spot" areas which is not covered by the sensors.

This problem is very difficult even to formulate in …

Symmetries: A General Approach To Integrated Uncertainty Management, Vladik Kreinovich, Hung T. Nguyen, Songsak Sriboonchitta

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

We propose to use symmetries as a general approach to maintaining different types of uncertainty, and we show how the symmetry approach can help, especially in in economics-related applications.

Fuzzy Transforms Of Higher Order Approximate Derivatives: A Theorem, Irina Perfilieva, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many practical applications, it is useful to represent a function f(x) by its fuzzy transform, i.e., by the "average" values over different elements of a fuzzy partition A₁(x), ..., _n(x) (for which A_i(x) >= 0 and A₁(x) + ... + A_n(x) = 1). It is known that when we increase the number n of the partition elements A_i(x), the resulting approximation get closer and closer to the original function: for each value x₀, the values F_i corresponding to the function A_i(x) for …

Checking Design Constraints At Run-Time Using Ocl And Aspectj, Yoonsik Cheon, Carmen Avila, Steve Roach, Cuauhtemoc Munoz

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Design decisions and constraints of a software system can be specified precisely using a formal notation such as the Object Constraint Language (OCL). However, they are not executable, and assuring the conformance of an implementation to its design is hard. The inability of expressing design constraints in an implementation and checking them at runtime invites, among others, the problem of design drift and corrosion. We propose runtime checks as a solution to mitigate this problem. The key idea of our approach is to translate design constraints written in a formal notation such as OCL into aspects that, when applied to …

Discrete Taylor Series As A Simple Way To Predict Properties Of Chemical Substances Like Benzenes And Cubanes, Jaime Nava, Vladik Kreinovich, Guillermo Restrepo, Douglas J. Klein

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many applications, we have numerous molecules that are obtained from a "template" molecule like benzene C6H6 or cubane C8H8 by replacing some of its hydrogen atoms with other atoms or atom groups (called ligands). Depending on how many original atoms are replaced and which ones are replaced, we obtain a large number of different chemical substances. It is desirable to be able, based on the measurements performed on a small number of such substances, to accurately predict the characteristics (such as energy) of all similar substances.

Such predictions are very important, since, e.g. cubanes, while kinetically stable, are highly …

Reflective Optics Cpv Panels Enabling Large Scale, Reliable Generation Of Solar Energy Cost Competitive With Fossil Fuels, S. Horne, M. Mcdonald, N. Hartsoch, K. Desy

Publications (E)

The objective of this 18 month subcontract was the improvement of reflective optics CPV panels to enable the large-scale, reliable production of solar electricity to meet SAI-established LCOE targets, and ultimately provide a path to solar power at parity with or better than the cost of energy generated utilizing fossil fuels. To this end, SolFocus has completed this subcontract with great success as evidenced by the end results of a CPV panel with conversion efficiencies greater than the targeted 22% and manufacturing capabilities with a run rate capacity far exceeding the milestone benchmark >3MW.

Wind Energy And Power System Operations: A Review Of Wind Integration Studies To Date, Jennifer Decesaro, Kevin Porter

Publications (E)

This paper provides an overview of the challenges associated with wind integration and summarizes the findings of the wind integration studies conducted over the course of the past five years. We begin with an overview of the approximate time frames used in grid operations. We then describe how wind integration studies are conducted, discuss the results on wind integration costs and grid impacts from these grid integration studies, and assess some of the grid planning and operation changes that may be necessary to incorporate higher levels of wind generation. We close with several conclusions.

Supply Chain Learning:The Role Of Games, John Cotter, Gerry Forster, Edward Sweeney

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

A Bandwidth Aware Modification To The Dsr Routing Protocol For Wireless Mesh Networks, Mustafa Ramadhan, Mark Davis

Conference papers

This work proposes a bandwidth aware cross-layer modification to the DSR routing protocol. We include the Access Efficiency Factor (AEF) parameter in addition to the hop-count in the routing discovery mechanism. AEF is a measure to the local availability of bandwidth at a node. Employing the AEF as a metric in the routing discovery mechanism attempts to avoid routing through a congested area in the network. In this modification, we impose a limit on the hop-count in order to control the delay time in the network. The path selection procedure operates by finding a path with the highest minimum AEF …

Ict Innovation Diffusion In Small Logistics Service Providers: An Empirical Survey, Pietro Evangelista, Edward Sweeney, Claudia-Maria Wagner

Conference papers

For companies competing in highly dynamic markets, innovation is considered a fundamental component of a successful business as it allows companies to sustain profit margins, sales growth and reduce competitors’ pressures. Information and communication technology (ICT) is essential innovation enablers especially in service companies. The focus of the paper is on the analysis of the role of ICT in innovation processes of small third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). On the basis of quantitative evidence emerging from a recent survey carried out on the Italian 3PL market, the paper analyses how ICT is used to support innovation and the factors the …

45th Conference On Senior Engineering Design Projects, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 45th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on December 9, 2009 at the College of Engineering and applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The college sponsors the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.