Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Blockchain Design For A Secure Pharmaceutical Supply Chain, Zhe Xu

Masters Theses

In the realm of pharmaceuticals, particularly during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain for drugs has faced significant strains. The increased demand for vaccines and therapeutics has revealed critical weaknesses in the current drug supply chain management systems. If not addressed, these challenges could lead to severe societal impacts, including the rise of counterfeit medications and diminishing trust in government authorities.

The study identified that more than the current strategies, such as the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) in the U.S., which focuses on unique authentication and traceability codes for prescription drugs, is needed to …

Load Modeling And Evaluation Of Leds For Hardware Test Bed Application, Jillian M. Ruff

Masters Theses

The lighting industry was revolutionized with the emergence of LED lighting. Over the last 15 years, LED lighting device sales and utilization have grown immensely. The growth and popularity of LEDs is due to improved operation of the device when compared to previous lighting technologies. Efficient performance of the device is critical due to the growth of global energy consumption.

As nonrenewable generation fuel is finite, utilities have begun the transition to renewable energy generation. Generation and distribution systems become inherently complex to comprehend and maintain with incorporation of emerging supply and load technologies. With the unprecedented growth of LED …

Planar Ultra-Wideband Modular Antenna (Puma) Arrays For High-Volume Manufacturing On Organic Laminates And Bga Interfaces, James R. Lacroix

Masters Theses

This work proposes wideband and broadband Planar Ultra-wideband Modular Antenna (PUMA) arrays designed to improve cost and reliability for high production volume commercial and military applications. The designs feature simplified PCB stack-ups with high dielectric constant (Dk) dimensionally stable materials to improve the manufacturing cost and yield. Additionally, the packages use ball grid array (BGA) interconnects, commonly used in digital electronics, for simple solder reflow integration with radio frequency (RF) electronics. While high Dk materials present practical manufacturing benefits, theoretical background will show how and why PUMA arrays lose frequency bandwidth and scan volume with high Dk materials. Further, a …

Numerical Simulation Of Thermoelectric Transport In Bulk And Nanostructured Sisn Alloys, Venkatakrishna Dusetty

Masters Theses

The current high demand for sustainable and renewable energy sources to solve world energy crisis has enormously increased interest in looking at alternative sources of energy. All the machines used in manufacturing process, electricity generation, residential applications, transportation etc., rejects energy in the form of heat into environment. Thermoelectric materials can convert thermal-to-electrical and electrical-to-thermal energy and can be utilized in waste-heat harvesting, more efficient cooling to reduce energy usage and CO₂ emissions. Significant research efforts have been devoted over the past decade to thermoelectric materials, with particular emphasis being placed on combining materials selection with nanostructuring. The overarching …

Analog Computing Using 1t1r Crossbar Arrays, Yunning Li

Masters Theses

Memristor is a novel passive electronic device and a promising candidate for new generation non-volatile memory and analog computing. Analog computing based on memristors has been explored in this study. Due to the lack of commercial electrical testing instruments for those emerging devices and crossbar arrays, we have designed and built testing circuits to implement analog and parallel computing operations. With the setup developed in this study, we have successfully demonstrated image processing functions utilizing large memristor crossbar arrays. We further designed and experimentally demonstrated the first memristor based field programmable analog array (FPAA), which was successfully configured for audio …

Immersive Pre-Travel Training Application For Seniors And People With Disabilities, Yang Li

Masters Theses

The ability to travel independently by using public transportation is important to everyone. However, that is a very difficult task for seniors and people with disabilities since it may cause anxiety when they use unfamiliar transportation venues. Therefore, many seniors and people with disabilities use paratransit services instead of public transportation such as the subway and buses. However, the cost of paratransit services is prohibitive and growing due to the increase in the number of seniors and people with disabilities.

This master thesis project presents an immersive pre-travel training application for seniors and people with disabilities. It will help them …

Analysis Of Nfirs Data For Sensitivity To Foreclosure And Other Select Features, Alexander Meadows Asbury

Masters Theses

Arson is a grave threat to life and property. In the United States, fire information is collected and disseminated through the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Fire records obtained from NFIRS contain a full range of available information. This information includes the initial incident details in addition to investigative information regarding the cause of ignition and factors contributing to ignition. Combating the arson problem is accomplished in large part by understanding the motives and opportunities of those who commit arson. A common motive for arson is financial gain through insurance fraud. By connecting NFIRS data with mortgage and foreclosure …

Effects Of Distance, Antenna, And Channel On An Ultra Wide Band Location System, And Quantifying Them To Increase Accuracy, Nicholas Alexander Cavopol

Masters Theses

Localization has been evolving rapidly over the last 20 years, especially in the wireless world. From the advent of GPS, as well as the personal smart phone, localization has become accessible to most of the developed world. From the ability to find ones’ smartphone using a computer, to being able to locate ones’ keys using radio frequencies, there are many ways that localization has entered our lives in the last few years, however most of these either do not have high accuracy, or are only accurate in an outside environment. For indoor tracking, new technologies have been developed to help …

Indoor Navigation For The Blind And Visually Impaired: Validation And Training Methodology Using Virtual Reality, Sili Wang

Masters Theses

In this thesis we propose a navigation instruction validation tool and an user training tool for PERCEPT system.

The validation tool evaluates the navigation instructions using a virtual reality environment by ensuring that each path in the virtual environment can be traversed by following the navigation instructions. This validation tool will serve as a first automatic validation of navigation instructions prior to testing them with blind and visually impaired users.

The user-training tool enables the blind user to explore and get familiar with the real environment by using the virtual environment generated in the Unity3d based game. The user interacts …

Localization, Visualization And Evacuation Guidance System In Emergency Situations, Jingyan Tang

Masters Theses

Urban search and rescue is needed for a variety of emergencies or disasters, including tornadoes, floods, dam failures, technological accidents, and terrorist activities. The efficiency to save people is becoming very important. With the development of the technology, people are trying to find a better way to help people get out of the dangerous places as soon as possible. DIORAMA system has been proposed to help with this problem and turns out very successful on improving efficiency during emergency situation. However, the current DIORAMA system is not perfect for all scenarios, for example, there are some outdoor environments do not …

Integrated Solar Technologies With Outdoor Pedestrian Bridge Superstructure Decking, Richard K. Racz

Masters Theses

Solar technology has been a major topic in sustainable design for many years. In the last five years, however, the solar technology industry has seen a rapid growth in installations and technological advances in cell design. Combined with a rapidly declining overall system cost, the idea of introducing solar technology into a wider range of applications is becoming a focus for engineers and scientists around the world. So many variables which alter solar energy production, such as the sun and surrounding environment, determine whether a solar design is beneficial. This thesis presents a bridge deck surface integrated with solar cells …

Development Of Prototypes Of A Portable Road Weather Information System, Meha Kainth

Masters Theses

Weather conditions have significant impact on road safety and roadway maintenance operations. Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) play a significant role in providing weather and surface conditions to transportation agencies to monitor weather events. Fixed installations of RWIS are used for weather and pavement surface monitoring. However, permanent fixture installations may not be feasible due to reasons such as cost, accessibility to the site, siting concerns, and terrain. Portable RWIS provide a cost-effective solution in areas where permanent weather station installation is not possible. This study discusses use and benefits of the portable RWIS and outlines the issues involved in …

Propagation Prediction Over Random Rough Surface By Zeroth Order Induced Current Density, Narayana Srinivasan Balu

Masters Theses

Electromagnetic wave propagation over random sea surfaces is a classical problem of interest for the Navy, and significant research has been done over the years. Here we make use of numerical and analytical methods to predict the propagation of microwaves over random rough surface. The numerical approach involves utilization of the direct solution (using Volterra integral equation of the second kind) to currents induced on a rough surface due to forward propagating waves to compute the scattered field. The mean scattered field is computed using the Monte-Carlo method. Since the exact solution (consisting of an infinite series) to induced current …

Millimeter Wave Indium Phosphide Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors: Noise Performance And Circuit Applications, Metin Ayata

Masters Theses

The performance of III-V heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) has improved significantly over the past two decades. Today’s state of the art Indium Phosphide (InP) HBTs have a maximum frequency of oscillation greater than 800 GHz and have been used to realize an amplifier operating above 600 GHz . In comparison to silicon (Si) based devices, III-V HBTs have superior transport properties that enables a higher gain, higher speed, and noise performance, and much higher Johnson figure- of-merit . From this perspective, the InP HBT is one of the most promising candidates for high performance mixed signal electronic systems.

Pose Estimation Of 4 To N-Point Targets: Implementation And Applications, William Rawlins Martin

Masters Theses

The goal of this thesis is to develop and implement an algorithm capable of handing off target-tracking responsibilities from one sensor to another. In addition, I aspire to perform target tracking by means of reformulation and expansion of an existing pose estimation algorithm. I have developed and implemented solutions to both problems and present my experimental findings for each.

The reformulation of an existing 4-point pose estimation algorithm streamlines the mathematics by reducing nearly 100 equations from the original algorithm to just 13 equations. This is accomplished by stripping out the unnecessary (supporting) equations and then condensing the remaining equations …

A Memory Controller For Fpga Applications, Bryan Jacob Hunter

Masters Theses

As designers and researchers strive to achieve higher performance, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) become an increasingly attractive solution. As coprocessors, FPGAs can provide application specific acceleration that cannot be matched by modern processors. Most of these applications will make use of large data sets, so achieving acceleration will require a capable interface to this data. The research in this thesis describes the design of a memory controller that is both efficient and flexible for FPGA applications requiring floating point operations. In particular, the benefits of certain design choices are explored, including: scalability, memory caching, and configurable precision. Results are given …

Cytongrasp: Cyton Alpha Controller Via Graspit! Simulation, Nicholas Wayne Overfield

Masters Theses

This thesis addresses an expansion of the control programs for the Cyton Alpha 7D 1G arm. The original control system made use of configurable software which exploited the arm’s seven degrees of freedom and kinematic redundancy to control the arm based on desired behaviors that were configured off-line. The inclusions of the GraspIt! grasp planning simulator and toolkit enables the Cyton Alpha to be used in more proactive on-line grasping problems, as well as, presenting many additional tools for on-line learning applications. In short, GraspIt! expands what is possible with the Cyton Alpha to include many machine learning tools and …

Design Of A High-Voltage, Differential Drive Bradbury-Nielsen Gate Amplifier With Ultra-High Slew Rate And Input Isolation, Kevin Christopher Omoumi

Masters Theses

To isolate and study various components of a nuclear reaction, elaborate equipment must be developed to aid in this process. This thesis presents the design and implementation of an ultra-high slew rate Bradbury-Nielsen gate driver circuit with high-voltage input isolation. This design will be used in a multi-pass time-of-flight isomer spectrometer and separator application integrated into an overall instrument called the Oak Ridge Isomer Spectrometer and Separator (ORISS). The output drive signals of this circuit are transmitted through a vacuum feed-through system to supply the necessary signals to the Bradbury-Nielsen gate contained within the vacuum. A differential driving signal with …

Software Verification For A Custom Instrument Using Vectorcast And Codesonar, Christina Dawn Ward

Masters Theses

The goal of this thesis is to apply a structured verification process to a software package using a set of commercially available verification tools. The software package to be verified is adapted from a project that was developed to monitor an industrial machine at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and includes two major subsystems. One subsystem, referred to as the Industrial Machine Monitoring Instrument (IMMI), connects to a machine and monitors operating parameters using common industrial sensors. A second subsystem, referred to as the Distributed Control System (DCS), interfaces between the IMMI and a personal computer, which provides a human …

Classification System For Impedance Spectra, Carl Gordon Sapp

Masters Theses

This thesis documents research, methods, and results to satisfy the requirements for the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Tennessee. This thesis explores two primary steps for proper classification of impedance spectra: data dimension reduction and effectiveness of similarity/dissimilarity measure comparison in classification. To understand the data characteristics and classification thresholds, a circuit model analysis for simulation and unclassifiable determination is studied. The research is conducted using previously collected data of complex valued impedance measurements taken from 1844 similar devices. The results show a classification system capable of proper classification of 99% of data samples with well-separated …

A Secured Data Protocol For The Trusted Truck(R) System, Srinivasa Anuradha Bulusu

Masters Theses

Security has become one of the major concerns in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The Trusted Truck(R) System, provides an efficient wireless communication mechanism for safe exchange of messages between the moving vehicles (trucks) and the roadside inspection stations. The vehicles and the station are equipped with processing units but with different computational capabilities. To make this Trusted Truck(R) system more secure, this thesis proposes a secured data protocol which ensures data integrity, message authentication and non-repudiation. The uniqueness of the protocol is: it is cost-effective, resource-efficient and embeds itself into the Trusted Truck (R) environment without demanding any additional …

High Order Contingency Selection Using Particle Swarm Optimization And Tabu Search, Ashwini Chegu

Masters Theses

There is a growing interest in investigating the high order contingency events that may result in large blackouts, which have been a great concern for power grid secure operation. The actual number of high order contingency is too huge for operators and planner to apply a brute-force enumerative analysis. This thesis presents a heuristic searching method based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and tabu search to select severe high order contingencies. The original PSO algorithm gives an intelligent strategy to search the feasible solution space, but tends to find the best solution only. The proposed method combines the original PSO …