Engineering Commons^™

Comparison Of Lqr And Lqr-Mrac For Linear Tractor-Trailer Model, Kevin Richard Gasik

Master's Theses

The United States trucking industry is immense. Employing over three million drivers and traveling to every city in the country. Semi-Trucks travel millions of miles each week and encompass roads that civilians travel on. These vehicles should be safe and allow efficient travel for all. Autonomous vehicles have been discussed in controls for many decades. Now fleets of autonomous vehicles are beginning their integration into society. The ability to create an autonomous system requires domain and system specific knowledge. Approaches to implement a fully autonomous vehicle have been developed using different techniques in control systems such as Kalman Filters, Neural …

Less-Than-Lethal Self Defense Device With An Acoustic Element, Anthony Taibi

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

This creative capstone project involves the conception, design, and creation of a less-than-lethal self defense device with an integrated sound board to control the acoustic element. Theoretically, this device is capable of deterring potential threats without causing any serious harm or any long-term damage. When starting this project, I was very focused on sonic warfare, and how to harness the power of ultrasonic and infrasonic sound waves to subdue to target; however, I concluded that using resonant frequencies to deter a human being is too dangerous, expensive, and can have negative effects for the user of the device if used …

Analysis Of Dynamic Behaviour Of A Tensioned Carbon Nanotube In Thermal And Pressurized Environments, Ahmed Yinusa, Gbeminiyi Sobamowo

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

In this paper, the dynamic behaviour of a tensioned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in thermal and pressurized environments is investigated analytically. With the applications of Bernoulli-Euler and thermal elasticity mechanics theories, the governing equation of motion are developed and solved using Laplace and Fourier transforms. The results of the close form solution in this work are in excellent agreements with past results in literature. From the parametric studies, it is established that as the magnitude of the pressure distribution at the surface increases, the deflection associated with the nanotube increases at any mode of vibration. However, a corresponding increase in …

Design Of A Low-Cost Data Acquisition System For Rotordynamic Data Collection, Gregory S. Pellegrino

Master's Theses

A data acquisition system (DAQ) was designed based on the use of a STM32 microcontroller. Its purpose is to provide a transparent and low-cost alternative to commercially available DAQs, providing educators a means to teach students about the process through which data are collected as well as the uses of collected data. The DAQ was designed to collect data from rotating machinery spinning at a speed up to 10,000 RPM and send this data to a computer through a USB 2.0 full-speed connection. Multitasking code was written for the DAQ to allow for data to be simultaneously collected and transferred …

Bouncing Dynamics Of A Class Of Mem/Nem Switching Systems, Mohamed Bognash

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of the present research is to understand the bouncing dynamic behavior of NEM/MEM switches in order to improve the switch performance and reliability. It is well known that the bouncing can dramatically degrade the switch performance and life; hence, in the present study, bouncing dynamics of a cantilever-based NME/MEM switch has been studied in detail. To this end, a model of a MEM switch that incorporates electrostatic force, squeeze film air damping force as well as asperity-based contact force has been proposed for an electrostatically actuated switch. An actuation force due to piezoelectric effects is further included in …

Composite Recycler: Frame, Alfonso Olivera

All Undergraduate Projects

How can composites be recycled? The Composite Recycler is an ongoing project that started in September 2017. The purpose of this project was to create a machine that will delaminate the composites, cut them, and heat them up to separate the resin from the composites so they can be recycled. A group was put together for the 2018-2019 academic year to further the project as a whole improve the operation of the device. The existing base was used as well as the cutter and the power sources. The upgrades included; a housing to support the transport rollers and changing from …

Analysis And Control Of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (Frees), Soheil Habibian

Master’s Theses

While rigid robots are extensively used in various applications, they are limited in the tasks they can perform and can be unsafe in close human-robot interactions. Soft robots on the other hand surpass the capabilities of rigid robots in several ways, such as compatibility with the work environments, degrees of freedom, manufacturing costs, and safe interactions with the environment. This thesis studies the behavior of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomeric Enclosures (FREEs) as a particular type of soft pneumatic actuator that can be used in soft manipulators. A dynamic lumped-parameter model is created to simulate the motion of a single FREE under various …

Determination Of Acoustic Radiation Efficiency Via Particle Velocity Sensor With Applications, Steven Conner Campbell

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Acoustic radiation efficiency is defined as the ratio of sound power radiated to the surface vibration power of a piston with equivalent surface area. It has been shown that the radiation efficiency is maximized and may exceed unity when the structural and acoustic wavelengths are approximately equal. The frequency at which this occurs is called the critical frequency and can be shifted with structural modifications. This has proven to be an effective way to reduce noise. The standard radiation efficiency measurement is comprised of an intensity scan for sound power measurement and accelerometer array for spatially averaged vibration determination. This …

Using Frequency Based Substructuring To Optimize Multi-Axis Resonant Plate Shock Tests, Erica M. Jacobson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Resonant plate pyroshock tests only offer to test one component axis at a time, while the qualification pyroshock tests often have three single-axis specifications to meet. There is an interest in creating a multi-axis test environment from the single-axis resonant plate parts to save testing time, create a more realistic test environment, and monitor the possibility of an overtest. To investigate this, LaGrange-multiplier frequency based substructuring was implemented to virtually arrange the single-axis resonant plate subsystems into different assembly configurations and mathematically calculate the new assembly dynamics. A shock response spectrum was calculated from the new assembly dynamics through an …

Online Learning Of The Spatial-Temporal Channel Variation In Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks, Wensheng Sun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Influenced by environmental conditions, underwater acoustic (UWA) communication channels exhibit spatial and temporal variations, posing significant challenges for UWA networking and applications. This dissertation develops statistical signal processing approaches to model and predict variations of the channel and relevant environmental factors. Firstly, extensive field experiments are conducted in the Great Lakes region. Three types of the freshwater river/lake acoustic channels are characterized in the aspects of statistical channel variations and sound propagation loss, including stationary, mobile and under-ice acoustic channels. Statistical data analysis shows that relative to oceanic channels, freshwater river/lake channels have larger temporal coherence, higher correlation among densely …

Automotive Driveline Backlash State And Size Estimator Design For Anti-Jerk Control, Kaushal Kumar Darokar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Vehicle drivability is an important factor which more and more customers have started assessing before buying a vehicle. Customers carry out this assessment based on both vehicle reviews/ratings and based on the test drives. One of common maneuver which a customers perform during the test drive is sudden accelerator pedal tip-in or tip-out to accelerate or coast the vehicle. Clunk and shuffle are the phenomena that usually occur during this scenario causing driver discomfort. The clunk and shuffle are caused by the backlash and compliance physical properties of the driveline. Consequently, control strategy needs to be developed which can provide …

A Hybrid-Powered Wireless System For Multiple Biopotential Monitoring, Shawn Li

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Chronic diseases are the top cause of human death in the United States and worldwide. A huge amount of healthcare costs is spent on chronic diseases every year. The high medical cost on these chronic diseases facilitates the transformation from in-hospital to out-of-hospital healthcare. The out-of-hospital scenarios require comfortability and mobility along with quality healthcare. Wearable electronics for well-being management provide good solutions for out-of-hospital healthcare. Long-term health monitoring is a practical and effective way in healthcare to prevent and diagnose chronic diseases. Wearable devices for long-term biopotential monitoring are impressive trends for out-of-hospital health monitoring. The biopotential signals in …

Closed Loop Energy Maximizing Control Of A Wave Energy Converter Using An Estimated Linear Model That Approximates The Nonlinear Froude-Krylov Force, Yaqzan Mohd Yaqzan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wave energy converters (WECs) exploit ocean wave energy and convert it into useful forms such as electricity. But for WECs to be successful on a large scale, two primary conditions need to be satisfied. The energy generated must satisfy the network requirements, and second, energy flow from waves to the grid needs to be maximized. In this dissertation, we address the second problem. Most control techniques for WECs today use the Cummins' linear model to simulate WEC hydrodynamics. However, it has been shown that under the application of a control force, where WEC motions are amplified, the linear model diverges …

Optimal Power Flow Control Of Networked Dc Microgrids, Eddy H. Trinklein

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The US military is moving toward the electrification of many weapon systems and platforms. Advanced weapon systems such as high energy radar, electro-magnetic kinetic weapons and directed energy pose significant integration challenges due to their pulsed power electrical load profile. Additionally, the weapons platforms, including ships, aircraft, and vehicles can be studied as a mobile microgrids with multiple generation sources, loads, and energy storage. There is also a desire to extend the mission profile and capabilities of these systems. Common goals are to increase fuel efficiency, maintaining system stability, and reduce energy storage size as typically required to enable pulsed …

Experimental Characterization Of Hydraulic System Sound, Ben Kolb

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The purpose of this research was to establish test methods for characterizing the interaction between the hydraulic fluid and hydraulic hose at clipping points in mobile heavy equipment hydraulic systems. A simple hydraulic circuit test bench was developed and the laboratory axial piston pump was characterized using ISO 10767-1. A direct relationship between the fluidborne noise and structureborne noise present at each hose clip location was observed for a specific operating condition using operating deflection shapes and structureborne noise measurements. This result shows that optimal hose clip placement can be a viable solution to structureborne noise reduction. Additionally, a modal …

Acoustic Localization Techniques For Application In Near-Shore Arctic Environments, Miles B. Penhale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Arctic environment has undergone significant change in recent years. Multi-year ice is no longer prevalent in the Arctic. Instead, Arctic ice melts during summer months and re-freezes each winter. First-year ice, in comparison to multi-year ice, is different in terms of its acoustic properties. Therefore, acoustic propagation models of the Arctic may no longer be valid. The open water in the Arctic for longer time periods during the year invites anthropogenic traffic such as civilian tourism, industrial shipping, natural resource exploration, and military exercises. It is important to understand sound propagation in the first-year ice environment, especially in near-shore …

Development Of A Fused Deposition 3d Printed Buoy And Method For Quantifying Wave Tank Reflections, Samantha G. Swartzmiller

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Testing model scale prototypes is integral to the development of wave energy converter (WEC) technology. Model scale WECs are tested in wave tanks where they are subjected to repeatable wave fields. Their presence in water creates radiated waves that eventually reflect off tank walls disrupting the intended wave field. Fabrication of model scale WECs is another developing aspect of tank testing. Often model WECs are built of foam. Additive manufacturing is a promising alternative although the most common method, fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing, does not typically produce waterproof parts. The goals of this work were 1) develop a …

Expendable 3d Printed Rescue Drone, Matthew Chapman, Nathan Knutty, Matthew Chapman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project team designed a 3D printed, expendable drone capable of flying for 80 minutes with a 5 lb payload in order to deliver rescue supplies to individuals in distress.

System Dynamics And Control, Benjamin Liaw

Open Educational Resources

Model development with applications to mechanical engineering systems. First and higher order system responses. Laplace transform, transfer functions and block diagrams. Frequency response and vibration. Introduction to feedback control. Concepts of PID control, tuning and compensation. Routh-Hurwitz stability. Control analysis and design using various graphical methods such as root locus, Bode diagram, Nyquist plot and Nichols chart. Hands-on experiments include dynamics and controls of mechanical, servo motor, fluid level/flow, pneumatic and temperature processing systems and vibration of various degree-of-freedom systems.

Modeling Chevy Volt Gen Ii Supervisory Controller In Charge Sustaining Operation, Saurabh Bhasme

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report is focused on the development of Chevy Volt Gen II powertrain supervisory controller modeling for charge sustaining operation of the vehicle. The modeling process incorporated vehicle parameters and maps provided. The overall powertrain model along with the supervisory controller is developed in MAT- LAB/SIMULINK programming platform. The powertrain model includes all components which are the IC engine, two electric motors & associated TPIM, Battery, transmission auxiliary pump and spin-losses. The supervisory controller includes the vehicle drive mode selection model, the torque blending logic for charge sustaining along with friction brake modeling. The model has been developed to perform …

Comparative Study And Design Of Economical Sound Intensity Probe, Karan Gundre

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The theory of sound intensity measurement using the two-microphone method was first developed in the late 1970s. Even though the measurements were limited by the technology of the time, the theory was straight-forward and considerable attention was given to improving precision during testing or post-processing. With the development of modern equipment, however, the focus shifted to the apparatus. The commercial intensity probes available today have microphones that are already phase-matched. This eliminates the need for correction during or post-testing as a majority of the errors are minimized before any data is even collected. Although such intensity probes facilitate taking precise …

Development Of A Muffler Insertion Loss Flow Rig, Jonathan Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Mufflers and silencers are commonly used to attenuate noise sources such as internal combustion engines and HVAC systems. Typically, these environments contain mean flow that can affect the acoustic properties of the muffler components and may produce flow generated noise. To characterize the muffler performance, common metrics such as insertion and transmission loss and noise reduction are used in industry. Though transmission loss without flow is often measured and is a relatively simple bench top experiment and useful for model validation purposes, mean flow can significantly affect the muffler performance. There are a few existing and commercial transmission loss rigs …

The Effects Of System Characteristics, Reference Command, And Command-Following Objectives On Human-In-The-Loop Control Behavior, Seyyedalireza Seyyedmousavi

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering

Humans learn to interact with many complex physical systems. For example, humans learn to fly aircraft, operate drones, and drive automobiles. We present results from human-in-the-loop (HITL) experiments, where human subjects interact with dynamic systems while performing command-following tasks multiple times over a one-week period. We use a new subsystem identification (SSID) algorithm to estimate the control strategies (feedforward, feedforward delay, feedback, and feedback delay) that human subjects use during their trials. We use experimental and SSID results to examine the effects of system characteristics (e.g., system zeros, relative degree, system order, phase lag, time delay), reference command, and command-following …

Development Of Electromagnetic Friction Dampers For Improving Seismic Performance Of Civil Structures, Mohsen Amjadian

Dissertations and Theses

Energy dissipation is critical to limiting damage to civil structures subjected to extreme natural events such as earthquakes. Friction is one of the most reliable mechanisms of energy dissipation that has been utilized extensively in friction dampers to improve seismic performance of civil structures. Friction dampers are well-known for having a highly nonlinear hysteretic behavior caused by stick-slip motion at low velocities, a phenomenon that is inherent in friction and increases the acceleration response of the structure under control unfavorably, in spite of the fact that the displacement is generally reduced because of the energy dissipation. This increase in acceleration …

Theoretical Study Of Fano Resonance In A Mechanical System, Alex Alberts

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Resonance conditions are a major area of study in theoretical and experimental investigation. Normally, a resonance condition is characterized by a symmetric shape on either side of the resonance. In some cases, we can observe an asymmetric resonance shape, which is called a Fano resonance. We will study the appearance of Fano resonance in a purely mechanical system. The frequency response of the primary system is approximated using the method of multiple scales focusing on the location of the resonance condition. Then, curve fitting is used to approximate the Fano parameter associated with the system, which provides a measurement of …

Mpc-Based Autonomous Driving Control With Localized Path Planning For Obstacle Avoidance And Navigating Signalized Intersections, Sai Rajeev Devaragudi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Connected and autonomous vehicles are becoming the major focus of research for the industry and academia in the automotive field. Many companies and research groups have demonstrated the advantages and the requirement of such technology to improve the energy efficiency of vehicles, decrease the number of crash and road accidents, and control emissions.

This research delves into improving the autonomy of self-driving vehicles by implementing localized path planning algorithms to introduce motion control for obstacle avoidance during uncertainties. Lateral path planning is implemented using the A* algorithm combined with piecewise Bezier curve generation which provides an optimum trajectory reference to …

Improved Low-Frequency Impact Insulation Class Measurements Based On Comparison Techniques, Sunit Girdhar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In today’s world, noise pollution is growing as a major concern and it is becoming more and more difficult to find quiet places. But when the problem escalates to the extent that people are annoyed with loud noises even in their apartments, it becomes an alarming issue for engineers. Around the world, cities have defined some basic performance requirements for buildings, and isolation of residents from noise is one of the cardinal performance requirements. In the United States, building codes use the Impact Insulation Class (IIC) rating to characterize the performance of floor/ceiling assemblies. This method uses the response measured …

A Biomimetic Approach To Controlling Restorative Robotics, Matthew T. Boots

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Movement is the only way a person can interact with the world around them. When trauma to the neuromuscular systems disrupts the control of movement, quality of life suffers. To restore limb functionality, active robotic interventions and/or rehabilitation are required. Unfortunately, the primary obstacle in a person’s recovery is the limited robustness of the human-machine interfaces. Current systems rely on control approaches that rely on the person to learn how the system works instead of the system being more intuitive and working with the person naturally. My research goal is to design intuitive control mechanisms based on biological processes termed …

Immunity-Based Framework For Autonomous Flight In Gps-Challenged Environment, Mohanad Al Nuaimi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this research, the artificial immune system (AIS) paradigm is used for the development of a conceptual framework for autonomous flight when vehicle position and velocity are not available from direct sources such as the global navigation satellite systems or external landmarks and systems. The AIS is expected to provide corrections of velocity and position estimations that are only based on the outputs of onboard inertial measurement units (IMU). The AIS comprises sets of artificial memory cells that simulate the function of memory T- and B-cells in the biological immune system of vertebrates. The innate immune system uses information about …

Design And Implementation Of An Instantaneous Fuel Mass Flow Measurement System For Use In Verification Of Locomotive Emissions, Adam Wayne James

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Located in Altoona, PA, the Juniata Thoroughbred Emissions Research lab has provided emissions testing and research for several locomotive companies such as CSX, Electro Motive Diesel (EMD), and General Electric (GE). The emissions laboratory measures locomotive emissions through partial flow dilution (PFD) sampling for particulate matter (PM) using a Sierra Instruments BG3 and measures raw gaseous emissions using a MEXA 7100D gaseous emission analyzer. Fuel consumption is measured on a gravimetric basis and is used in verification of proportional sampling of exhaust flow. There were two research goals for this study which were (1) verify that the emissions measurement system …