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 …

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 …

Computational Aerodynamic Analysis Of Converging Free Jets, George Wayman Hatcher

Masters Theses

The aerodynamics of converging free jets was studied to determine the characteristics of the flow field involved in the manufacture of meltblown fibers. The two-dimensional computational fluid dynamic analysis was validated through comparison to boundary layer theory. The converging jet geometry consisted of two symmetric rectangular channels 30º from the axis of symmetry, 0.013 inches wide, converging toward a free expansion region at standard atmospheric conditions. The two channels were 0.015 inches apart at the exit, and the perpendicular wall region between them was flush with the upper and lower plate faces of the meltblowing die. Upstream boundary conditions of …

Design And Parameter Identification Of A Discrete Variable Transmission System, Kelley Parker Brown

Masters Theses

Complex and expensive electro-hydraulic systems have shouldered the workload for remote cleanup operations in radiological and toxicological areas in the past; the payload, reach and speed requirements of most applications have demanded their use. Electromechanically actuated systems (EAS) however offer an alternative that in comparison is much more reliable and maintainable. The problems faced in implementing the EAS are in high payload operations where the hydraulic systems hold a clear power density advantage. For the EAS to compete in the area of torque, very large DC motors have been implemented which make them obsolete in restricted work space areas and …

A Two-Phase Cooling Method Using R134a Refrigerant To Cool Power Electronics Devices, Jeremy Bryant Campbell

Masters Theses

Power electronics are vital to the operation and performance of hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) because they provide the interface between the energy sources and the traction drive motor. As with any “real” system, power electronic devices have losses in the form of heat energy during normal switching operation, which has the potential ability to damage or destroy the device. Thus, to maintain reliability of the PE system, the heat energy produced must be removed. Present HEV cooling methods provide adequate cooling effects, but lack sufficient junction temperature control to maintain long-term reliability. This thesis is based on using the automobile’s air …

Multiple View 3d Reconstruction Of Micro- To Nano-Scopic Specimens, Matthew Alan Schultz

Masters Theses

Range images and 3D modeling are often utilized on large scale specimens, but have been somewhat overlooked on the microscopic scale. This thesis concentrates on overcoming some of the difficulties of capturing images and creating both 3D models and 2D range images on this scale. During the scope of this thesis we take a deeper look into the optical mechanics of the laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to understand the formation of the images and use that information to create our algorithms. With the use of the LSCM we can obtain a stack of 2D …

Processing And Evaluation Of Cotton-Based Composites For Automotive And Other Applications, Manjeshwar G. Kamath

Masters Theses

Fiber reinforced composites (FRCs) have been used for a long time in structural and semi-structural applications. FRCs have the advantage of lightweight and best property performance compared to traditional materials such as metals. In several instances, disposability of such products becomes a major issue. There has been increasing demand for use of recyclable and or biodegradable composites for automotives, especially due to the recent European Union directives. With the growth of automobiles in the global market, and a simultaneous pressure to address the issue of sustainability, there is continual need for the incorporation of natural fiber based materials into automotives. …

Hardware Acceleration Of The Embedded Zerotree Wavelet Algorithm, Suresh S. Polisetty

Masters Theses

The goal of this project was to gain experience in designing and implementing a microelectronic system to acclerate the execution of a time-consuming software algorithm, the Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZW), which is used in multimedia applications. The algorithm was implemented using MATLAB to be certain it was fully understood and to serve as a validation reference. Then, the algorithm was mapped into a hardware description language, VHDL, and its resulting implementation verified with the golden reference. The hardware description was then targeted to a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Significant acceleration was achieved since the hardware implementation in a FPGA (Xilinx …

Retrieval Of Nano-Size Particles From A Solid Substrate, Krishna Prasad Podila

Masters Theses

The retrieval of nano-size particles from suspects and crime scenes can significantly enhance surveillance and crime investigation. The Thesis deals with extensive study of free surface energy coupled with Hertzian contact energy under different conditions between a nano-sized particle and a substrate and the various methods of dislodging the particle. Using the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory, a physical spring-mass-damper model is defined. Mathematical equations are formulated and solved with non-linear equations simulating the real world situation. Using Newmark’s β method, the system is solved for response of free and forced vibrations taking moisture to be responsible for damping. Key assumptions such …

A Mobile Virtual Reality System, Neena Nambiar

Masters Theses

Virtual Reality is the simulation of real or imagined environments, which can be experienced in three dimensions width, height and length. VR simulations provide interactions with the virtual world using external devices.

Virtual Reality systems have been bulky and not suitable for mobile operations. This thesis aims at creating such a mobile virtual reality system, which is portable and lightweight. This system consists of a lightweight notebook or laptop computer. It also includes a head-mounted display, a wireless mouse, a pinch glove, a tracker and wireless networking. This system is built with off-the-shelf components. This system is described in this …

Implementation Of Critical Path Method And Critical Resource Diagramming Using Arena Simulation Software, Jamie Ehresman Gunter

Masters Theses

A relatively new resource management tool, which considers both time and resource requirements, is Critical Resource Diagramming (CRD). CRD is a simple extension to the CPM technique developed for resource management purposes. It is a graphical tool used mainly for resource scheduling.

The purpose of this study is to use the Arena simulation software and CRD to solve problems. This will be accomplished by setting up an example problem in the simulation program, Arena, and the CRD approach will be used as a deterministic and probabilistic problem.

The Arena output results for the deterministic parts of the example were compared …

Effects Of Pressure And Equivalence Ratio On Minimum Ignition Energies Of Methane-Air Mixtures And Effect Of Pressure On Breakdown Threshold Energies Of Methane And Air, Sameer Vidyadhar Bondre

Masters Theses

An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the effect of pressure on breakdown threshold energies of methane and air. In addition the effect of pressure and equivalence ratios on minimum ignition energies of methane-air mixtures are also investigated. The pressures for the breakdown threshold energy experiments are varied from 0.02 to 1.17 MPa, and pressures and equivalence ratios for minimum ignition energy experiments are varied from 0.1 to 1.04 MPa and 0.6 to 1.2, respectively. The gas breakdown and the ignition of the methane-air mixture is achieved using a laser-induced spark from a 5.5 ns pulse Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at …

Developing A Lean Based Model For A Hospital Pharmacy Environment, Jason North

Masters Theses

Lean strategies have become necessary in healthcare due primarily to two factors: a demand for efficiency and a need to reduce medical error. The case for the necessity of a lean program is based on trends of increasing costs and decreasing revenues resulting from government intervention. Profit margin per patient has been reduced, and therefore more patients per time period must be seen in order to meet profitability goals. Preventable medical error is shown to be a leading cause of death.

Current research in the area of hospital and healthcare efficiency proves that a parallel exists between healthcare efficiency today …

The Design Of Medium Access Control (Mac) Protocols For Energy Efficient And Qos Provision In Wireless Sensor Networks, Yang Liu

Masters Theses

This thesis work focuses on innovative design of media access control (MAC) protocols in wireless sensor networks (WNSs). The characteristics of the WSN inquire that the network service design considers both energy efficiency and the associated application requirement. However, most existing protocols address only the issue of energy efficiency.

In this thesis, a MAC protocol has been proposed (referred to as Q-MAC) that not only minimized the energy consumption in multi-hop WSNs, but also provides Quality of Service (QoS) by differentiating network services based on priority levels prescribed by different applications. The priority levels reflect the state of system resources …

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 …

Microstrain Pattern Analysis Of The Canine Patellar Tendon Following A Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy, Joshua Paul Stapleton

Masters Theses

This study investigates the change in strain patterns of the canine patellar tendon following a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO). The TPLO is a procedure used to minimize anterior tibial translation in canines following a cranial cruciate rupture. A noted clinical deficiency randomly seen with the TPLO is an inflammation of the patellar tendon. In some instances, the inflammation results in material damage resulting in a calcification of the tendon and in worst cases, a fracture of the patella.

In order to investigate the strain patterns, four fresh frozen canine cadaver stifles were used. The cadavers were mounted for stabilization …

Cure Behavior Study And Elastic Modulus Characterization Of Resin System Of A Quasi Poloidal Stellarator Modular Coil, Hariharanath Kavuri

Masters Theses

Composites materials are increasingly becoming choice materials because of their tremendous strength-to-weight properties and impressive design flexibility. A more recent application of composites is in nuclear fusion reactors. One such reactor is the Quasi-Poloidal Stellarator (QPS) being developed by Oak Ridge National laboratory. QPS, with a non-axisymmetric, near-poloidally symmetric magnetic configuration, has stranded copper/epoxy composite coils, used for magnetic confinement of plasma. CTD- 404 and CTD-101K are the resins under consideration for the modular coils with copper fiber as reinforcement. Structural integrity of the modular coils over wide range of temperatures, including liquid nitrogen temperature, is of vital importance and …

Use Of The Gps Reciprocal Heading Method For Determining Pitot-Static Position Error In Helicopter Flight Testing, Rucie James Moore

Masters Theses

This thesis is an evaluation of using the Global Positioning System (GPS) reciprocal heading method to determine pitot-static position errors in helicopter flight testing. Determination of position error is a fundamental flight test task that must occur early in a test program, as all other results with regard to airspeed rely on the data. The test determines errors of the pitot-static system that cause inaccurate indication of airspeed to the pilot. The measured course, a currently approved method, provides a measure of the helicopter’s groundspeed by flying the helicopter over a known distance and converting elapsed time into the speed …

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 …

Causal Analysis Of Fatal Trenching Accidents, John Patrick Wagner

Masters Theses

A study was performed by the Construction Industry Research and Policy Center at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville to identify causation for U.S. trench collapse fatalities in the construction industry that occurred during the years 1997-1999. Of the 1217 fatality case files analyzed, 44 were categorized as trench collapse fatalities. The 44 trench collapse case files were analyzed and the contributed factors of the fatalities were identified in an effort to determine the causation of collapses. The results of the study showed a large number of trenches without any type of protective devices being used. The findings of the fatal …

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 …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Mesoporous Uranium Oxide Catalysts For Oxidative Destructions Of Volatile Organic Compounds And Clean Air Protection, Cyrus Khezr Riahi-Nezhad

Masters Theses

The overall goal of this research was to investigate a new class of mesoporous uranium oxide catalyst used to destroy a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including aromatics and chlorinated organic compounds under conditions which are applicable for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and U.S. industries.

Uranium oxides are known to have high efficiency and long-term stability when used to destroy volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when compared with some of the commercial catalysts, such as precious metals, TiO₂, and Co₃O₄ catalysts. Two key factors limiting catalytic activities of uranium oxides prepared by conventional …

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 …

Investigation Of Zircaloy-4 Doped With Metallic Burnable Poisons, Chrysostomes K. Kahambwe

Masters Theses

Burnable poisons are used in all commercial reactors to level the power distribution and to reduce the requirements for an excessively large control system. It has been proposed that metallic rare earth elements, serving as burnable poisons, might be alloyed with the fuel cladding rather than mixed with fuel in the form of compounds. This research project studies the effect of such additions on the ductility.and the corrosion resistance of three such alloys.

Alloys of Zircaloy-4 with 0.5 % Gd, 2.0 % Dy, and 2.0 % Er, chosen to represent the maximum likely concentrations of the absorbing elements to be …

Effect Of Micro-Fabric On Consolidation Behavior Of Reconstituted Kaolin Clay, Alexander Page Davis-Smith

Masters Theses

The effect of micro-fabric (i.e. geometric arrangement of platelets) on the one-dimensional consolidation behavior of reconstituted kaolin clay is evaluated using a series of controlled-rate-of-strain (CRS) and incremental load (IL) consolidation tests. The causes and implications of changes in micro-fabric are also explored. Micro-fabric has been altered by adding a dispersing agent to the slurry during specimen preparation; and the changes in micro-fabric have been observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and x-ray diffraction analysis. Properties of the pore fluid are found to affect micro-fabric, even in the presence of significant mechanical stresses. It is observed that the changes …

Investigation Of Fiber Splitting In Side-By-Side Bicomponent Meltblown Nonwoven Webs By Additive Applications, Jihua Xiao

Masters Theses

Ever since the potential applications of superfine fibers were realized, bicomponent fibers have received considerable commercial interest. Webs containing microfine bicomponent fibers, such as bicomponent meltblown webs, have found great opportunities in production of finer fibers by subsequent fiber splitting, though technical problems still exist due to special features of the meltblown fibers, including low molecular orientation, low crystallinity and low strength.

In this research, the mechanics of polymeric interfacial adhesion in side-by-side bicomponent meltblown fibers was discussed and the method of enhancing the fiber splitting in bicomponent meltblown webs by additive application prior to the extrusion process was proposed …

X-Ray Image Processing And Visualization For Remote Assistance Of Airport Luggage Screeners, Yue Zheng

Masters Theses

X-ray technology is widely used for airport luggage inspection nowadays. However, the ever-increasing sophistication of threat-concealment measures and types of threats, together with the natural complexity, inherent to the content of each individual luggage make x-ray raw images obtained directly from inspection systems unsuitable to clearly show various luggage and threat items, particularly low-density objects, which poses a great challenge for airport screeners.

This thesis presents efforts spent in improving the rate of threat detection using image processing and visualization technologies. The principles of x-ray imaging for airport luggage inspection and the characteristics of single-energy and dual-energy x-ray data are …

Automated Grid Generator For Mhd Flow Simulations Made With The Gems Code, Konstantin Kolokolnikov

Masters Theses

Numerical simulations for Hypersonic Vehicle Power System (HVEPS) Project were based on a multi-domain, general Navier-Stokes Solver Code called the GEMS® Code. The GEMS® Code was in the process of being extended to solve for plasma flows with both self-induced as well as externally-applied magnetic fields. GEMS® is also capable of simulating both laminar and turbulent flow in unbounded as well as ducted flows. For application to the ducted Plasma flows generated experimentally in the HVEPS program, GEMS® was set up to calculate turbulent flow in 1-3D (dimensional) duct geometries in general and in 2D, 3D ones for purposes of …