Engineering Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Leading Versus Lagging Left Turn Signal Phasing, Joseph E. Hummer, Robert E. Montgomery, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Portable Curing Frame, George B. Day V, Larry G. Wells, Timothy D. Smith, Ira J. Ross

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Patents

A portable curing frame is provided particularly adapted for use with an automated tobacco harvester. The curing frame includes a substantially rectangular frame member including a series of slotted tracks, in the form of slotted tubes, specially designed for receiving a notched portion of the plant stalks. The slotted track is substantially continuous and thereby allows infinitely variable spacing between the plants and optimization of ventilation for air curing. Legs are also provided on the portable curing frame. The legs are displaceable between a retracted position allowing storage of the frames and loading of the frames with tobacco plants and …

Economic Benefits Of Various Energy Conservation Options, Florida Solar Energy Center, Public Information Office

FSEC Energy Research Center®

An energy conservation investment for your home can be a significantly better investment than putting your money in the bank. While safe investments in the financial markets may yield about 8 percent return on investment, many energy investments can yield a considerably greater return when analyzed over their expected service life.

Build Your Own Solar Batch Water Heater, Florida Solar Energy Center, Public Information Office

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The solar batch water heater is a fun project for the do-it yourselfer and provides an inexpensive hot water source for the back yard workshop or weekend cabin, It is easy to construct, costs only about $70 to build and produces water temperatures as high as 150 degrees F.

Remember, the batch heater is not designed to operate with pressurized water system and should not be connected to a city water supply. If you are looking for such a system, consider manufactured solar systems, which have been designed to meet strict standards and aesthetic considerations.

Photovoltaic-Powered Lighting System For Overhead Highway Guide Signs, Florida Solar Energy Center, Public Information Office

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The problem: A safety hazard affected motorists traveling through a remote area in Brevard County near the St. Johns River on the eastbound Bee Line Expressway (S.R. 528). At that point the Bee Line splits, sending Titusville- bound motorists to the north, and Central Brevard- bound travelers to the south. Because of the high cost of extending utility service several miles from the nearest distribution point, the overhead guide signs were not illuminated, and at such a critical juncture on the 65-mph highway, it was difficult, if not impossible, to read them at night. The problem-solvers: Since 2.5 million vehicles …

Consumer Facts About Radiant Barriers, Florida Solar Energy Center, Public Information Office

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Radiant barriers are becoming popular for use in Florida attics. Some marketing companies are now selling them with inflated claims of energy savings and questionable installation recommendations. Understandably confused consumers have called the FSEC Public Information Office for answers.

Glass Microspheres, D. E. Day, Gary J. Ehrhardt

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A radioactive microsphere for radiation therapy of a mammal comprising a biologically compatible glass material containing a beta or gamma emitting radioisotope distributed substantially uniformly throughout the glass. Advantageously, the radioisotope is produced by irradiation of the microsphere.

Polymer Science In Romania I: "Petru Poni" Institute Of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iasi, Romania, Otto Vogl, Cristofor I. Simionescu, Ioan I. Negulescu

Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.

U.S.-Japan Seminar: "Synthesis, Properties And Reactions Of Specialty Polymers", Otto Vogl, Hiroshi Sumitomo

Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Transition To Flexible Manufacturing, Sema E. Alptekin, Daniel L. Webber

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The transition from basic automation to flexible manufacturing is an expensive and tedious procedure. It requires meticulous planning and almost clairvoyant forecasting to insure that the initial flexibility obtained is sufficient to allow growth and expansion in the future. This paper will suggest a systematic and methodological approach to achieve optimal flexibility and describe the present results of its application to an ongoing system transformation. Conclusions based on existing levels of completion are presented along with identification of critical and non critical flexibility requirements. The considerations and steps taken are summarized in a procedural format which may then be applied …

The Role Of The Peripheral Vascular Bed In Arterial Pulse Wave Propagation, L. S. Baker, F. A. Anderson, Jr., H. B. Wheeler, William W. Durgin

Office of the Provost Scholarship

An analytical model was developed to simulate human arterial pulse wave propagation in major arteries. It was verified with an experimental model. The models investigated the effects of the peripheral vascular bed on pressure pulse morphology. The models revealed that the capillary bed in normal humans acts as a high resistance, low reflectance, boundary condition.

Acuta Enews December 1988, Vol. 17, No. 12

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

President's Message

Party Line

User Groups

"Project Eagle" And Favors

University of Kentucky Calls on Voice Automation

Of Mouse & Man

3rd Conference On Senior Engineering Design Projects, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 3rd Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects was held on December 8, 1988 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.

Snow And Ice Removal - Driver Information, Herpicc

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

This publication offers information about snow and ice removal for drivers.

Free Carrier Density Profiling By Scanning Infrared Absorption, Jack L. Boone, Michael D. Shaw, Gene Cantwell, William C. Harsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A prototype instrument for making contactless measurements of free carrier concentration as a function of the surface coordinates has been developed. The instrument requires minimal sample preparation, and the measurements are nondestructive. Measurements are based upon the free carrier absorption of photons at a wavelength of 10.6 μm. The measurement sensitivity is determined by the ability to resolve small variations in the transmitted wave. These variations can be significantly influenced by changes in sample thickness. A scheme has been devised which eliminates thickness variations by rotating the sample through small angles to achieve a transmission maximum at each data point. …

System For Boundary Layer Control Through Pulsed Heating Of A Strip Heater, Milton E. Franke, Lawrence Kudelka

AFIT Patents

A system is described for controlling the transition of laminar/turbulent flow at a surface which comprises a thin narrow strip heater disposed adjacent the surface and extending substantially transversely of the flow of the air stream thereacross, the heater being resiliently held in tension on or in closely spaced relationship to the surface, and a power source operatively connected to the heater for applying pulsed voltage of preselected amplitude and frequency to the heater.

Variable Angle Spectroscopic Magneto-Optics And Ellipsometry: Application To Dyco Multilayers, Thomas E. Tiwald, William A. Mcgahan, Z. S. Shan, Alan M. Massengale, John A. Woollam

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we describe the adaptation of a variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer (VASE) to magneto-optic measurements covering 3000–8000 Å, and 0 to ±8 kOe. Second, we describe application of VASE to determine Kerr rotation and ellipticity for a series of Dy/Co multilayers prepared by sputter deposition. We report spectroscopic ellipsometric and Kerr effect results for samples exhibiting perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, since these are relevant as magneto-optic recording media.

Polymer Science In Czechoslovakia Ii: Universities In The Czech Socialist Republic, Otto Vogl, Jaroslav Kralicek, Miroslav Schatz, Petr Vondracek

Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.

31st International Congress Of Pure And Applied Chemistry, Sofia, Bulgaria,1987, Otto Vogl, Ivan Shopov, Ivan Panayotov

Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.

Transformation Based Endorsement Systems, Thomas Sudkamp

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Evidential reasoning techniques classically represent support for a hypothesis by a numeric value or an evidential interval. The combination of support is performed by an arithmetic rule which often requires restrictions to be placed on the set of possibilities. These assumptions usually require the hypotheses to be exhausitive and mutually exclusive. Endorsement based classification systems represent support for the alternatives symbolically rather than numerically. A framework for constructing endorsement systems is presented in which transformations are defined to generate and update the knowledge base. The interaction of the knowledge base and transformations produces a non-monotonic reasoning system. Two endorsement based …

Mulch: A Multi-Layer Channel Router Using One, Two, And Three Layer Partitions, Ronald I. Greenberg, Alex T. Ishii, Alberto L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Chameleon, a channel router for three layers of interconnect, has been implemented to accept specification of an arbitrary number of layers. Chameleon is based on a strategy of decomposing the multilayer problem into two- and three-layer problems in which one of the layers is reserved primarily for vertical wire runs and the other layer(s) for horizontal runs. In some situations, however, it is advantageous to consider also layers that allow the routing of entire nets, using both horizontal and vertical wires. MulCh is a multilayer channel router that extends the algorithms of Chameleon in this direction. MulCh can route channels …

Finite Element Model Of Nitrogen Species Transformation And Transport In The Unsaturated Zone, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi, J. C. Parker

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A two-dimensional finite element model based on Galerkin's weighted residual approach and incorporating an upstream weighting technique was developed to predict the simultaneous transformation and transport of nitrogen species. The nitrogen cycle used in the analyses assumes first-order rate coefficients for nitrification, denitrification, immobilization and mineralization between the nitrogen species NH +4, NO -3, organic-N and denitrified fractions. The NO -3-N component in the soil solution was assumed to have negligible adsorption on exchange sites while adsorption of NH +4 was assumed to be represented by a Freundlich type nonlinear isotherm ( S = kdCp). The accuracy and validity of …

Goes Imagery Fills Gaps In Montserrat Volcanic Cloud Observations, Mark A. Davies, William I. Rose

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

GOES satellite imagery offers great potential to lessen the risk of volcanic ash clouds to aviation, and the situation at Montserrat in the Caribbean is providing the proof. Many transatlantic, commercial, and private aircraft use airspace around Montserrat, where the Soufriere Hills Volcano has been erupting since 1995.

Worldwide over the last 15 years, more than 80 airplanes have reported encountering volcanic ash along flight paths. Encounters cannot be avoided because onboard radar cannot detect fine-grained ash particles—those with a radius of 15 microns or less. In recent years volcanic cloud encounters are estimated to have caused hundreds of millions …

Thin-Film Hermeticity: A Quantitative Analysis Of Diamond-Like Carbon Using Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, S. Orzeszko, Bhola N. De, John A. Woollam, John J. Pouch, Samuel A. Alterovitz, David C. Ingram

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we report on the successful application of variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry to quantitative thin-film hermeticity evaluation. Secondly, it is shown that under a variety of film preparations and moisture introduction conditions water penetrates only a very thin diamondlike carbon (DLC) top surface-roughness region. Thus DLC is an excellent candidate for use as protective coatings in adverse chemical and aqueous environments.

Method And Apparatus For Conversion Of Coal In Situ, Ottfried J. Hahn

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Patents

A method for the electro-thermal and electrochemical underground conversion of coal into oil and by-products comprises the steps of inserting an underground probe into a bore hole until the probe is in close proximity to a coal seam. A mixture of air, steam, an electrolyte and a suitable catalyst is supplied to the probe, and the mixture is then sprayed directly on the coal seam through a passage in a nozzle. The probe is also energized with electricity applied to the nozzle to produce an arc between the coal and the probe, simultaneous with the spraying of the mixture on …

Iupac “Macro 87” In Merseburg (Gdr) Linking Tradition And Future In Polymer Science, Otto Vogl, Burkart Philipp

Emeritus Faculty Author Gallery

No abstract provided.

Variable Angle Of Incidence Spectroscopic Ellipsometric Characterization Of Tio2/Ag/Tio2 Optical Coatings, Kazem Memarzadeh, John A. Woollam, Abe Belkind

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Optical constants (3000–8000 Å) and layer thicknesses of TiO₂/Ag/TiO₂ optical coatings are determined using variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry. Ellipsometrically determined silver layer thicknesses agree well with those obtained by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Also, spectral characteristics, absent in bulk silver data, are observed in n and k spectra for the thin silver layers. It is suggested that these structures may be caused by plasmon effects from the silver layers.

Fatigue Analysis Of The I-75 Bridge Over The Kentucky River At Clays Ferry, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Vishwas G. Oka

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Fatigue analysis was performed on AASHTO category E welded connections on the southbound I 75 bridge over the Kentucky River at Clays Ferry, Kentucky. That analysis was based on the stress-range histogram data provided by Law Engineering of Louisville, Kentucky. That data were obtained from strain gages installed at 6 test locations on the downstream truss.

The fatigue analyses consisted of safe-life and fatigue-crack growth analyses. Safe-life predictions were based on AASHTO fatigue design (SN) curves. To use those curves, equivalent constant-amplitude stresses were derived from the stress histograms. Those stresses and loading frequencies were modified to reflect anticipated increases …

Acuta Enews October 1988, Vol. 17, No. 10

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Administrative Director

President's Message

Party Line

User Groups

Anatomy of a Telecommunications Installation Part 3

Regional Meeting Reports

Reflectance Of An Absorbing Substrate For Incident Light Of Arbitrary Polarization: Appearance Of A Secondary Maximum At Oblique Incidence, R. M.A. Azzam, A. M. El-Saba

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The reflectance of an absorbing substrate Rθ(ɸ) is considered as a function of the angle of incidence ϕ and an incident polarization parameter θ, where cos²θ and sin²θ give the power fractions of incident radiation that are p-and s-polarized, respectively. Taking GaAs as an example, we find that at certain wavelengths (e.g., 0.248 and 0.620 µm), the R_θ vs ɸ curve becomes oscillatory in a narrow range of θ > 45° with an unexpected secondary maximum appearing at oblique incidence. The extrema of the function R_θ(ɸ) are determined numerically, and their angular …