Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Static And Dynamic State Estimation Applications In Power Systems Protection And Control Engineering, Ibukunoluwa Olayemi Korede

Doctoral Dissertations

The developed methodologies are proposed to serve as support for control centers and fault analysis engineers. These approaches provide a dependable and effective means of pinpointing and resolving faults, which ultimately enhances power grid reliability. The algorithm uses the Least Absolute Value (LAV) method to estimate the augmented states of the PCB, enabling supervisory monitoring of the system. In addition, the application of statistical analysis based on projection statistics of the system Jacobian as a virtual sensor to detect faults on transmission lines. This approach is particularly valuable for detecting anomalies in transmission line data, such as bad data or …

Depth Estimation Using 2d Rgb Images, Taher Naderi

Doctoral Dissertations

Single image depth estimation is an ill-posed problem. That is, it is not mathematically possible to uniquely estimate the 3rd dimension (or depth) from a single 2D image. Hence, additional constraints need to be incorporated in order to regulate the solution space. As a result, in the first part of this dissertation, the idea of constraining the model for more accurate depth estimation by taking advantage of the similarity between the RGB image and the corresponding depth map at the geometric edges of the 3D scene is explored. Although deep learning based methods are very successful in computer vision and …

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 …

Unconventional Computation Including Quantum Computation, Bruce J. Maclennan

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- EECS

Unconventional computation (or non-standard computation) refers to the use of non-traditional technologies and computing paradigms. As we approach the limits of Moore’s Law, progress in computation will depend on going beyond binary electronics and on exploring new paradigms and technologies for information processing and control. This book surveys some topics relevant to unconventional computation, including the definition of unconventional computations, the physics of computation, quantum computation, DNA and molecular computation, and analog computation. This book is the content of a course taught at UTK.

Sensor Fusion For Object Detection And Tracking In Autonomous Vehicles, Mohamad Ramin Nabati

Doctoral Dissertations

Autonomous driving vehicles depend on their perception system to understand the environment and identify all static and dynamic obstacles surrounding the vehicle. The perception system in an autonomous vehicle uses the sensory data obtained from different sensor modalities to understand the environment and perform a variety of tasks such as object detection and object tracking. Combining the outputs of different sensors to obtain a more reliable and robust outcome is called sensor fusion. This dissertation studies the problem of sensor fusion for object detection and object tracking in autonomous driving vehicles and explores different approaches for utilizing deep neural networks …

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 …

Multi-Physics Modeling, Ahmadreza Ghahremani

Doctoral Dissertations

Having access to powerful processors allows scientists to carry out aggressive numerical computations to bridge the gaps which already exist among different fields of physics by exploring new multi-physics models to approach real life models of various phenomena happening around us in real life and accounting of the various coupling and dependence between the various physical parameters and material parameters.

Scientists greatly appreciate multi-physics modeling as they recognize:

1- Prototyping is expensive

2- Most of available CAD tools are not addressing the real model or accounting between the different physical parameters

3- Some difficulties to optimize the real model without …

Data Security And Privacy In Smart Grid, Yue Tong

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores novel data security and privacy problems in the emerging smart grid.

The need for data security and privacy spans the whole life cycle of the data in the smart grid, across the phases of data acquisition, local processing and archiving, collaborative processing, and finally sharing and archiving. The first two phases happen in the private domains of an individual utility company, where data are collected from the power system and processed at the local facilities. When data are being acquired and processed in the private domain, data security is the most critical concern. The key question is …

Computing Approximate Solutions To The Art Gallery Problem And Watchman Route Problem By Means Of Photon Mapping, Bruce Andrew Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be partitioned component sensor nodes (SNs) who are meant to operate and sense information arriving from multiple spectra in their environment. Determining where to place a single SN or multiple SNs such that the amount of information gained is maximized while the number of SNs used to gain that information is minimized is an instance of solving the art gallery problem (AGP). In order to solve the AGP, we present the Sensor Placement Optimization via Queries (SPOQ) algorithm that uses level sets populated by queries to a photon map in order to find observation points …

Object Tracking By Pan Tilt System, Lily Hoang

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

Supercomputer Design: An Initial Effort To Capture The Environmental, Economic, And Societal Impacts, Marshall T. Mcdonnell

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Abstract Currently, the Green500 is possibly the largest effort to direct the evolution of supercomputing towards sustainable design but does not address life-cycle impacts of a supercomputer. Supercomputer assessment with economical, environmental, and societal impacts considered would provide an optimal future supercomputer design that is sustainable. Some of the benefits of such an assessment would help determines the complete impact for bringing a supercomputer online, determine impact “hot spots” in design, and determine optimal locations for construction. By combining process-LCA and EIO-LCA methods, an initial model for in-depth sustainability analysis of supercomputer design has been developed and the results presented. …

Motion Segmentation Aided Super Resolution Image Reconstruction, Muharrem Mercimek

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses Super Resolution (SR) Image Reconstruction focusing on motion segmentation. The main thrust is Information Complexity guided Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) for Statistical Background Modeling. In the process of developing our framework we also focus on two other topics; motion trajectories estimation toward global and local scene change detections and image reconstruction to have high resolution (HR) representations of the moving regions. Such a framework is used for dynamic scene understanding and recognition of individuals and threats with the help of the image sequences recorded with either stationary or non-stationary camera systems.

We introduce a new technique called …

3design - Holographic Telecollaboration Interface, Thomas W. De Wit, Mark Gill, Scott Freemon, Preston Garland

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Microfluidic Manipulation By Ac Electrothermal Effect, Meng Lian

Doctoral Dissertations

AC Electrokinetics (ACEK) has attracted much research interest for microfluidic manipulation for the last few years. It shows great potential for functions such as micropumping, mixing and concentrating particles. Most of current ACEK research focuses on AC electroosmosis (ACEO), which is limited to solutions with conductivity less than 0.02 S/m, excluding most biofluidic applications. To solve for this problem, this dissertation seeks to apply AC electrothermal (ACET) effect to manipulate conductive fluids and particles within, and it is among the first demonstration of ACET devices, a particle trap and an ACET micropump. The experiments used fluids at a conductivity of …