Engineering Commons^™

Development Of Physics Based Machine Learning Algorithms, Rob Jennings

Master’s Theses

In this study, a baseball pitch was examined to try to understand its behavior, and make a predictive model of it. A baseball pitch was tested experimentally with a wind tunnel and modeled computationally with COMSOL CFD software. Five input variables (spin rate, sting angle, seam orientation: Y axis, seam orientation: Z axis, and air velocity) were controlled, with force in three axes recorded as outputs. The experimental and computational results were examined and seen to be interdependent for all input variables. Experimental and computational data were both insufficient for predicting system behavior. Experimental data collection would have required an …

Solar Powered Atmospheric Water Generation, Ben Conser

Master’s Theses

Several atmospheric water generation (AWG) system configurations were analyzed to determine the feasibility of AWG as a method to combat water stress. In order to best combat water stress, AWG must be implemented in such a way which minimizes the energetic and monetary cost of water production. Thermodynamic and economic analyses were used to compare the performance of several AWG system configurations. Metrics such as specific energy consumption (SEC) and levelized cost of water (LCOW), which measure the energetic and monetary cost of water production respectively, were used to compare each system. Using this approach, the optimal system configuration was …

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 …

Testing And Validation Framework For Closed-Loop Physiology Management Systems For Critical And Perioperative Care, Farooq M. Gessa

Master’s Theses

The research aims at developing a framework for testing systems such as closed-loop physiology management systems to ensure that they are safe and effective for use with patients. Building medical devices that are both robust and safe is a challenge. There has been a tremendous increase in modernization and innovation of various medical systems but many of these systems either fail trials or are recalled due to safety issues.

Medical operation rooms require care teams responsible for monitoring the patients and other technical surgical devices. The care process requires a balancing administration that takes care of the drugs and fluids …

Optical And Electrical Analysis Of Zno/Znte Micropillar Solar Cells, Sadia Binte Sohid

Master’s Theses

The prime focus of the energy-research community in recent times has been replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. Therefore, photovoltaic research areas are rapidly expanding in this era. The purpose of this work is to compare three different structural ZnO/ZnTe solar cell types (planar, axial micropillar and radial micropillar). The best optical and electrical performance has been obtained by the radial junction (core-shell) ZnO/ZnTe micropillar solar cell due to its pillar structure and radial junction. The unique advantage of the radial junction micropillar is that the angle of the incident light and the carrier collection is orthogonal. Therefore, the pillar …