Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

A Stochastic Ensemble Forecast Model For Geosynchronous Relativistic Electron Fluxes, Steven Nelson

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

A stochastic ensemble model composed of three functional forecasting models has been developed to forecast >2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous (GEO) orbit. The REFM model is based on a statistical link between electron flux and solar wind speed using empirically derived linear filter coefficients, the Li model solves a radial diffusion equation with a diffusion coefficient that is a function of the solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field, and the Fluxpred model is a multi-layer feed-forward neural network with electron flux and summed Kp as input. Individual model results were combined using a multivariate regression to produce significantly …

Design And Control Of A Cellular Architecture-Based Adaptive Wiring Manifold, Gregory Feucht

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Existing spacecraft wiring harnesses utilize fixed wiring harness architectures, consisting of either bundles of physical wires, electrical components with backplanes, or motherboard/card arrangements. All such designs are generally configured at manufacture and require significant rework when mission requirements change. A programmable wiring harness is proposed and implemented that, like a field programmable gate array (FPGA), is a pre-built switch fabric that is soft-configured at the time of use, and adapted in real time as components to be wired are added. By providing reversible and dynamically programmable software wires, when embedded in a wiring system, these can be used to build …

Studies Of Dielectric Breakdown Under Pulsed Power Conditions, Palmarin Castro Jr

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

In an effort to develop transmission lines with higher energy storage capabilities for compact pulsed power applications, the electrical breakdown strength (BDS) of ceramic dielectrics, particularly titanium oxide and ceramic/epoxy composite materials, are being characterized and studied. Results of research to-date show that the dense titania ceramics with nanocrystalline grain size (~200 nm) exhibit significantly higher electrical BDS as compared to ceramics made using coarse grain (micron grain size) materials when tested under DC conditions. We have performed pulsed testing under similar electric field stresses and found comparable behavior. Furthering the research has led to find the electrical BDS of …

Intelligibility Of Electrolarynx Speech Using A Novel Actuator, Brian Madden, Mark Nolan, Ted Burke, James Condron, Eugene Coyle

Conference Papers

During voiced speech, the larynx provides quasi-periodic acoustic excitation of the vocal tract. Following a laryngectomy, some people speak using an electrolarynx which replaces the excitatory function of the absent larynx. Drawbacks of conventional electrolarynx designs include the buzzing monotonic sound emitted, the need for a free hand to operate the device, and difficulty experienced by many laryngectomees in adapting to its use. Despite these shortcomings, it remains the preferred method of speech rehabilitation for a substantial minority of laryngectomees. In most electrolarynxes, mechanical vibrations are produced by a linear electromechanical actuator, the armature of which percusses against a metal …

Enhancing Electrical Engineering Technology Capstone Experience, Fernando Rios-Gutierrez, Youakim Kalaani

Electrical & Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The College of Science and Technology (COST) at our university (XXX) offers degrees in Mechanical (MET), Civil (CET) and Electrical Engineering Technology (EET). All the Engineering Technology programs are ABET accredited and have been successful in achieving the TAC2000 outcomes. In particular, our Senior Design capstone course (TEET4010/ 4020) is a comprehensive three-credit, two-semester engineering design course, that all engineering majors are required to take as their capstone experience. We view this course as a very important component in the preparation of a trained EET professional. The course emphasizes both hard and soft skills and serves as an emulation of …

An Outcomes-Driven Approach For Assessment, Youakim Kalaani, Shonda Bernadine

Electrical & Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we describe an ABET-driven assessment plan that was originally developed to address some weaknesses and concerns identified by program evaluators during a previous accreditation visit. However, faculty of the Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) seized this opportunity to embark on a major program revision making use of its newly organized Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). As a result, a five-step process that consists of 1) program assessment planning, 2) data collection, 3) data analysis, 4) program review, and 5) program improvement actions was developed. During this process, the program objectives and outcomes are evaluated and revised to maintain currency …

Bioinformatics Data Mining Using Artificial Immune Systems And Neural Networks, Shane Dixon, Xiao-Hua Yu

Electrical Engineering

Bioinformatics is a data-intensive field of research and development. The purpose of bioinformatics data mining is to discover the relationships and patterns in large databases to provide useful information for biomedical analysis and diagnosis. In this research, algorithms based on artificial immune systems (AIS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) are employed for bioinformatics data mining. Three different variations of the real-valued negative selection algorithm and a multi-layer feedforward neural network model are discussed, tested and compared via computer simulations. It is shown that the ANN model yields the best overall result while the AIS algorithm is advantageous when only the …

Enhancing The Learning Experience In A Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology Course, Rocio Alba-Flores, Youakim G. Al-Kalaani

Electrical & Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rapidly changing technology advances demand the revisions of engineering and technology courses so that they continue to serve students and industry in a relevant way. In a typical engineering technology department, students from different majors are usually required to take an introductory electrical engineering course. Due to the multidisciplinary background of students, such a course has traditionally been a challenge to teach so as to make it interesting and useful to all students. Therefore innovative teaching methods have to be employed in order to accommodate different backgrounds and learning styles.

In our department, a basic electrical engineering course is offered …

Enhancing The Learning Experience In A Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology Course, Rocio Alba-Flores, Youakim Kalaani

Electrical & Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rapidly changing technology advances demand the revisions of engineering and technology courses so that they continue to serve students and industry in a relevant way. In a typical engineering technology department, students from different majors are usually required to take an introductory electrical engineering course. Due to the multidisciplinary background of students, such a course has traditionally been a challenge to teach so as to make it interesting and useful to all students. Therefore innovative teaching methods have to be employed in order to accommodate different backgrounds and learning styles.

In our department, a basic electrical engineering course is offered …

Compact Method For Modeling And Simulation Of Memristor Devices: Ion Conductor Chalcogenide-Based Memristor Devices, Kristy A. Campbell, Antonio Oblea, Achyut Timilsina

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A compact model and simulation methodology for chalcogenide based memristor devices is proposed. From a microprocessor design view point, it is important to be able to simulate large numbers of devices within the integrated circuit architecture in order to speed up reliably the development process. Ideally, device models would accurately describe the characteristic device behavior and would be represented by single-valued equations without requiring the need for recursive or numerically intensive solutions. With this in mind, we have developed an empirical chalcogenide compact memristor model that accurately describes all regions of operations of memristor devices employing single-valued equations.

Attaining Realistic Simulations Of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks, Derek J. Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANET) are comprised of wireless systems that communicate without the assistance of centrally managed routers or base stations. MANET research and development has increased due to computing technologies offering smaller, faster, smarter, and more power efficient platforms to operate on. Largely the testing and evaluation of new and existing MANET protocols has resided in simulation environments. This is due in part to the complexities and expenses incurred when conducting real world tests. Many researchers have come to recognize that these current simulations tend to assume away critical components of the MANET domain. These assumptions are made either …

Architectural Considerations For Single Operator Management Of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Gabriel T. Bugajski

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have become ubiquitous in military battlefield operations due to their intelligence collection capabilities. However, these unmanned systems consistently demonstrate limitations and shortfalls with respect to size, weight, range, line of sight and information management. The United States Air Force Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan 2009-2047 describes an action plan for improved UAS employment which calls out single operator, multi-vehicle mission configurations. This thesis analyzes the information architecture using future concepts of operations, such as biologically-inspired flocking mechanisms. The analysis and empirical results present insight into the engineering of single-operator multiple-vehicle architectures.

Numerical Assessment Of A Space-Constrained Venting System With Multi-Chamber Plug Mufflers By Ga Method, Chiu Min-Chie, Chang Ying-Chun

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Recently, research on new techniques of single-chamber plug silencers has been addressed. However, the assessment of a multi-chamber plug muffler’s optimal shape design within a constrained space as well as a pressure-drop limit which are mostly concerned with the necessity of operation and system venting in practical engineering work was rarely tackled. Therefore, this paper will not only analyze the sound transmission loss (STL) of a space-constrained multi-chamber plug muffler but also optimize the best design shape under a specified pressure drop. In this paper, the generalized decoupling technique and plane wave theory used to solve the coupled acoustical problem …

Direct Mapping Ovsf-Based Transmission Scheme For Underwater Acoustic Multimedia Communication, Chin-Feng Lin, Jiang-Yao Chen, Ya-Ju Yu, Jung-Ting Yan, Shung-Hyung Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

We would like to express our appreciation to the people that provided their help during this study. We also extend our appreciation to Dr. Chang-tai Shih, Visiting Professor of National Taiwan Ocean University from the Canadian Mu- seum of Nature, for his critical review and comments on the manuscript. This study was financially supported by a grant (NSC94-2313-B-019-018 and 94AS-14.1.1-FA-F1(16)) from the National Science Council of the Republic of China and the Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Quantum Capacitance Extraction For Carbon Nanotube Interconnects, Vidur Parkash, Ashok K. Goel

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Electrical transport in metallic carbon nanotubes, especially the ones with diameters of the order of a few nanometers can be best described using the Tomanaga Luttinger liquid (TL) model. Recently, the TL model has been used to create a convenient transmission line like phenomenological model for carbon nanotubes. In this paper, we have characterized metallic nanotubes based on that model, quantifying the quantum capacitances of individual metallic single walled carbon nanotubes and crystalline bundles of single walled tubes of different diameters. Our calculations show that the quantum capacitances for both individual tubes and the bundles show a weak dependence on …

Hardware Implementation Of Symbol Synchronization For Underwater Fsk, Ying Li, Xing Zhang, Bridget Benson, Ryan Kastner

Electrical Engineering

Symbol synchronization is a critical component in the design of an underwater acoustic modem. Without accurate symbol synchronization, higher bit error rates incur thus reducing the reliability and quality of service of the wireless network. This paper provides a practical description of the design choices and hardware implementation details required to build a compact and efficient symbol synchronizer suitable for a short-range, low-power underwater FSK acoustic modem. Experimental results show the design meets the timing requirements of the underwater modem and provides accurate synchronization while consuming only 0.240W power in a Spartan3 xc3s2000 FPGA.

Channel Equalization Based On Data Reuse Lms Algorithm For Shallow Water Acoustic Communication, Feng Tong, Bridget Benson, Ying Li, Ryan Kastner

Electrical Engineering

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the design of underwater acoustic modems for marine environmental monitoring, underwater structure inspection and sea bottom resource exploitation. As underwater acoustic channels pose difficulties such as multipath, time-space selectivity, frequency dependent noise, and Doppler shifts on transmission, research on adaptive equalizers play an important role in the design of underwater modems. This paper presents a data reuse least mean square (DR-LMS) algorithm to achieve equalization performance with low computational complexity to facilitate a practical hardware implementation. Experimental results obtained in physical shallow water channels demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method …

Irrigation Leak Detection: Using Flow Rate Sensors To Detect Breaks In An Irrigation System, Adam Openshaw, Kalvin Vu

Computer Engineering

This report details the exploration and invention of a mechanism that can detect breaks in an irrigation system. With the ultimate goal of conserving water, we have designed an inexpensive, self sustaining flow rate monitor that can be used to identify anomalies in an irrigation system and wirelessly communicate the status of the system to a base station. Our implementation can also determine the direction of the anomaly based on the nature of the anomaly itself. This means that multiple monitors can be used to pinpoint the location of a break within the system in addition to merely detecting its …

An Analysis Of Binarization Ground Truthing, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The accuracy of a binarization algorithm is often calculated relative to a ground truth image. Except for synthetically generated images, no ground truth image exists. Evaluating binarization on real images is preferred. The ground truthing between and among different operators is compared. Four direct metrics were used. The variability of the results of five different automatic binarization algorithms were compared to that of manual ground truth results. Significant variability in the ground truth results was found.

Case Study Of Finite Resource Optimization In Fpga Using Genetic Algorithm, Jingxia Wang, Sin Ming Loo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Modem Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are becoming very popular in embedded systems and high performance applications. FPGA has benefited from the shrinking of transistor feature size, which allows more on-chip reconfigurable (e.g., memories and look-up tables) and routing resources available. Unfortunately, the amount of reconfigurable resources in a FPGA is fixed and limited. This paper investigates the mapping scheme of the applications in a FPGA by utilizing sequential processing (e.g., Altera Nios II or Xilinx Microblaze, using C programming language) and task specific hardware (using hardware description language). Genetic Algorithm is used in this study. We found that placing sequential …