Digital Commons Network^™

Novel Image Enhancement Technique Using Shunting Inhibitory Cellular Neural Networks, Tarik Hammadou, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes a method for improving image quality in a color CMOS image sensor. The technique simultaneously acts to compress the dynamic range, reorganize the signal to improve visibility, suppress noise, identify local features, achieve color constancy, and lightness rendition. An efficient hardware architecture and a rigorous analysis of the different modules are presented to achieve high quality CMOS digital cameras

Non–Water–Stressed Baseline As A Tool For Dynamic Control Of A Misting System For Propagation Of Poinsettias, Sérgio Zolnier, Richard S. Gates, Robert G. Anderson, Sue E. Nokes, George A. Duncan

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

A technique is presented for dynamically adjusting misting intervals during propagation of vegetative cuttings. A crop setpoint temperature for activation of misting was defined by a "non-water-stressed baseline" concept, using infrared thermometry to acquire canopy temperature for plant feedback. The critical crop setpoint temperature was calculated from instantaneous values of air temperature, incident radiation, and air vapor pressure deficit (VPD_air). Misting was activated when the actual crop temperature exceeded the critical crop setpoint temperature. The dynamic control was shown to have the potential to reduce the amount of applied water from 9 to 12 times during low levels …

Electrochemical Generation Of Superoxide In Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids, Inas M. Alnashef, Matthew L. Leonard, Matthew C. Kittle, Michael A. Matthews, John W. Weidner

Faculty Publications

We have demonstrated that superoxide ion can be generated electrochemically in room-temperature ionic-liquid solvents. In the absence of impurities, cyclic voltammetry showed that the super oxide ion is stable in these solvents. Similar superoxide ion chemistry has previously been demonstrated in volatile and environmentally suspect aprotic solvents such as dimethyl formamide and acetonitrile. However, ionic liquids are nonvolatile and should minimize the problems of secondary solvent waste. It is proposed that the resultant superoxide ion can be used to perform low temperature oxidation of wastes. Low-temperature oxidation of waste solvents can provide a much needed alternative to high-temperature waste incinerators, …

A Framework For The Implementation Of An Iso 9000 Based Certification Program For Printed Circuit Board Manufacturers, Adam Y. Maamoun

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

ISO 9000:2000 is the newest version of the ISO 9000 family of standards. Unlike the 1994 version, it does not distinguish between servicing, testing and designing standards. It emphasizes quality improvement rather than quality control and briefly explains how to implement the Plan-Do-Check- Act (PDCA) cycle for improvement and the use of statistical techniques to improve the quality of process and product instead of controlling the quality of the output. The thesis explains why companies need to be certified and how to implement quality improvement programs.

The objective of this thesis is to provide generic certification guidelines for printed circuit …

Method Of Creating Ultra-Fine Particles Of Materials Using A High-Pressure Mill, Marian Mazurkiewicz

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method for creating ultra-fine particles of material using a high-pressure mill is described. The method includes placing a material in a first chamber and subjecting the material to a high-pressure liquid jet to divide it into particles. These particles are then transferred to a second chamber in which they are subjected to cavitation to further divide the particles into relatively smaller particles. These relatively smaller particles are then transferred to a third chamber, in which the particles collide with a collider to still further divide them into ultra-fine particles of the material. The mill of the present invention includes …

Vlsi Implementation Of A Massively Parallel Wavelet Based Zerotree Coder For The Intelligent Pixel Array, Geoffrey N. Alagoda

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In the span of a few years, mobile multimedia communication has rapidly become a significant area of research and development constantly challenging boundaries on a variety of technologic fronts. Mobile video communications in particular encompasses a number of technical hurdles that generally steer technological advancements towards devices that are low in complexity, low in power usage yet perform the given task efficiently. Devices of this nature have been made available through the use of massively parallel processing arrays such as the Intelligent Pixel Processing Array. The Intelligent Pixel Processing array is a novel concept that integrates a parallel image capture …

Rate-Matching Packet Scheduler For Real-Rate Applications, Kang Li, Jonathan Walpole, Dylan Mcnamee, Calton Pu, David Steere

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

A packet scheduler is an operating system component that controls the allocation of network interface bandwidth to outgoing network flows. By deciding which packet to send next, packet schedulers not only determine how bandwidth is shared among flows, but also play a key role in determining the rate and timing behavior of individual flows. The recent explosion of rate and timing-sensitive flows, particularly in the context of multimedia applications, has focused new interest on packet schedulers. Next generation packet schedulers must not only ensure separation among flows and meet real-time performance constraints, they must also support dynamic fine-grain reallocation of …

Measurement And Monitoring Of Microwave Reflection And Transmission Properties Of Cement-Based Materials For Propagation Modeling, Sergey Kharkovsky, U. C. Hasar, M. F. Akay, C. D. Atis

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A non-destructive, contactless, free-space method is used for measuring and monitoring the properties of cement-based materials. We analyse the propagation factor, penetration depth and reflection and transmission coefficients of the plane wave interacting with the highly lossy specimen. Results are presented of the measurement and monitoring of the properties of cement-based materials during all stages of their lives and different curing conditions The expected applications of the results for propagation modelling are discussed.

Trust And Persistence, Paul A. Buhler, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

We rely on computers to control our power plants and water supplies, our automobiles and transportation systems, and soon our economic and political systems. Increasingly, software agents are enmeshed in these systems, serving as the glue that connects distributed components. Clearly, we need mechanisms to determine whether these agents are trustworthy. What do we need to establish trust? Agents are often characterized by features such as autonomy, sociability, proactiveness, and persistent identity. This latter feature is key in determining trust. When agents operate over an extended period, they can earn a reputation for competence, timeliness, ease of use, and trustworthiness, …

Computer Viruses, S. R. Subramanya, Natraj Lakshminarasmhan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Polyurethane Foam Based Packing Media For Biofilters Removing Volatile Organic Compounds From Contaminated Air, Felipe A. Martinez

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, biofiltration technology has gained acceptance worldwide as an economical and reliable air pollution control technology for treating gases contaminated by low concentrations of biodegradable volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Important applications include control of odors generated by wastewater treatment plants and control of VOC emissions from industrial sources. Although there have been many successful applications, several operational problems have been reported in the literature. These include difficulty in control over bed moisture content, high head loss caused by excessive biomass production, and inability to maintain removal efficiency during transient periods of high concentration loading. Use of a superior …

Middle-Ear Function With Tympanic-Membrane Perforations. I. Measurements And Mechanisms, Susan E. Voss, John J. Rosowski, Saumil N. Merchant, William T. Peake

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Sound transmission through ears with tympanic-membrane ~TM! perforations is not well understood. Here, measurements on human-cadaver ears are reported that describe sound transmission through the middle ear with experimentally produced perforations, which range from 0.5 to 5.0 mm in diameter. Three response variables were measured with acoustic stimulation at the TM: stapes velocity, middle-ear cavity sound pressure, and acoustic impedance at the TM. The stapes-velocity measurements show that perforations cause frequency-dependent losses; at low frequencies losses are largest and increase as perforation size increases. Measurements of middle-ear cavity pressure coupled with the stapes-velocity measurements indicate that the dominant mechanism for …

Radiative Interactions In Thermochemical Nonequilibrium Expanding Flows, Srikanth B. Pidugu

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A numerical study is conducted to investigate radiative interactions in flows with thermal and chemical nonequilibrium. The two dimensional spatially elliptic Navier-Stokes equations have been used to numerically investigate different physical processes in the nozzle flow problem. The system of governing equations are solved using explicit, unsplit MacCormack predictor-corrector scheme. The chemistry source term is treated implicitly to alleviate stiffness associated with fast chemical reactions.

Different physical processes considered in this study are investigated in a systematic manner. Finite chemical processes in chemically reacting supersonic nozzle flows are studied. Five hydrogen-air combustion models have been employed to study the influence …

System Security In An Open Lab Environment, Erik Quist

Masters Theses

This thesis presents a system security process for computer workstations in a university open lab environment, which was developed and implemented for the Lumpkin Hall Computer Labs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU). The system security includes the use of policies and NTFS permissions, registry hacks and script files. These techniques were applied to a mixture of Windows NT 4.0 service pack 6a and Windows 2000 Professional workstations in the Lumpkin Hall Computer Labs. They were then tested for appropriate security setup using a Network Security Checksheet and a survey. The Network Security Checksheet ensured that all of the workstations were …

Buckets: Smart Objects For Digital Libraries, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Current discussion of digital libraries (DLs) is often dominated by the merits of the respective storage, search and retrieval functionality of archives, repositories, search engines, search interfaces and database systems. While these technologies are necessary for information management, the information content is more important than the systems used for its storage and retrieval. Digital information should have the same long-term survivability prospects as traditional hardcopy information and should be protected to the extent possible from evolving search engine technologies and vendor vagaries in database management systems. Information content and information retrieval systems should progress on independent paths and make limited …

Remediation Simulation/Optimization Demonstrations, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Applications of simulation/optimization (S/0) software to develop contamination remediation strategies include formal remediation optimization using heads and gradients (hydraulics-based) and concentrations (risk-based) constraints. The six reported cases involve pump and treat systems, or pump, treat and re-inject systems, together termed PAT systems. We used S/0 modeling to perform hydraulic optimization for two of the sites and transport optimization for four. For four of the six sites, other parties used normal simulation (S) modeling alone to develop pumping strategies. Comparing the S/0 model-developed strategies with the S model-developed strategies showed S/0 modeling benefits ranging up to: (a) 25 percent reduction in …

Simulation/Optimization Applications And Software For Optimal Ground-Water And Conjunctive Water Management, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Diverse water management simulation/optimization (S/O) experiences promoted the development of many S/O modeling approaches and models. Several of these are being incorporated within the Simulation/Optimization Modeling System (SOMOS). Non-modeler water scientists or engineers can apply one SOMOS module to optimize field-scale groundwater and conjunctive water management. Experienced groundwater modelers can apply other modules to optimally manage complex heterogeneous aquifer and stream-aquifer systems. SOMOS employs a variety of simulation models and approaches and optimization algorithms to optimize flow and contaminant management. SOMOS or its precursor modules have been well proven in real-world projects. Designed for use by consultants, students, academics, and …

Using Flash Animations And 3d Rendering To Increase The Effectiveness Of Instructional Software, Timothy A. Philpot

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Animation and three-dimensional rendering software offers exciting new capabilities that can enhance engineering instructional material. Using these software tools, instructional media can escape the static two-dimensional confines of the printed page or the classroom blackboard. This work-in-progress describes a project to develop instructional material for a Mechanics of Materials course. The paper presents examples of instructional animations, discusses software development tools used to create the animations and discusses early student reaction to the multimedia presentations

An Analysis Of Speed Limit Policies For Indiana, Nisar M. Khan, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

The repeal of the National maximum Speed Limit law in 1995 enabled individual states to set their own speed limits. Speed limits are necessary to ensure mobility while preserving highway safety. It is important that states continually monitor and evaluate existing operating speeds in the context of changing patterns of travel, and changing characteristics of highways, vehicles, drivers, and land-use. Any efforts to review existing speed limits should be accompanied by evaluation of policy impacts such as safety and economic productivity. The goal of this research is to develop a set of speed limit policy guidelines for the state. The …

Spontaneous, Non-Aqueous Electrochemical Deposition Of Copper And Palladium On Al And Al(Cu) Thin Films, R. Fang, H. Gu, Matthew O'Keefe, Thomas J. O'Keefe, W. S. Shih, K. D. Leedy, R. Cortez

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Copper and palladium seed layers have been successfully deposited from organic solutions onto patterned and unpatterned pure aluminum and Al (0.5%Cu) thin films using an immersion displacement process. The reaction occurs at ambient temperature and pressure by a spontaneous electrochemical mechanism. Copper and palladium deposition using the organic solution was studied as a function of reaction time and Cu or Pd concentration in the solution. It was found that both time and the initial ionic metal concentration significantly influence deposit morphology, particle size and shape, and adherence. Nucleation of Cu or Pd sub-micron particles on both Al and Al (Cu) …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Spectrally Selective, Matched Emitters For Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion Processed By Tape Casting, L. G. Ferguson, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generator converts radiant energy from a high temperature emitter element into electric power using infrared responding photovoltaic cells. Spectral control is a primary issue in TPV applications. Conventional TPV generators have relied on filters to achieve selectivity and spectral control with near-blackbody ceramic emitters. Several practical problems have limited the success of this approach, particularly the present lack of a satisfactory wide-band infrared filter. A new, spectrally selective emitter is described in this work, and will be called the “bandgap matched” emitter because its emissive power spectrum is very efficiently matched with the infrared response of the …

Smart Objects And Open Archives, Michael L. Nelson, Kurt Maly

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Within the context of digital libraries (DLs), we are making information objects "first-class citizens". We decouple information objects from the systems used for their storage and retrieval, allowing the technology for both DLs and information content to progress independently. We believe dismantling the stovepipe of "DL-archive-content" is the first step in building richer DL experiences for users and insuring the long-term survivability of digital information. To demonstrate this partitioning between DLs, archives and information content, we introduce "buckets": aggregative, intelligent, object-oriented constructs for publishing in digital libraries. Buckets exist within the "Smart Object, Dumb Archive" (SODA) DL model, which promotes …

Indoor Radio Channel Of Bluetooth Technology, Kai Hock Charlie Khoo

Theses : Honours

This thesis discusses the findings of the final year project involving the characterisation of indoor radio channel specified by Bluetooth technology through theoretical analysis, simulations and actual measurements through field experiments. The concepts of indoor radio propagation effects and its statistical models arc explored. In addition, Bluetooth specifications are also studied and presented in Section 1. These provided a clear understanding of the radio propagation behaviour inside a building and the radio performance of Bluetooth specifications. Profound understanding of the propagation characteristics of the indoor radio channel is a major requirement for successful design of any indoor wireless communication systems. …

A Cable/Wireless Modulation/Demodulation Frontend Module For High Speed/Broadband Datalink, Pay Peng Clarice Chong

Theses : Honours

What are the modulation/demodulation schemes that are suitable tor cable or wireless high speed or broadband data link, between 1 Mbps to 30 Mbps? The recent adoption of modulation schemes such as OFDM, 8-VSB, OAM, for Digital Television broadcast (DTV), Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL), and Cable Modem (CM) for Internet access, is poss'1ble because of the increase bit/Hz in these modulations over conventional modulation schemes. These modulation/demodulation schemes could also offer similar advantages to dedicated data link applications such as home-networking using cable or wireless medium. This report document the project implementation of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation as the modulation …

Follow-Up Study To Fhwa/In/Jhrp-92/22: Development Of A Strategy For Compliance With Epa And Osha Regulations Applicable To Indot Facilities, Lynn A. Corson

JTRP Technical Reports

The objectives of this research were - 1. To assess the department’s progress at selected facilities toward minimizing, reducing, recycling, reusing, reclaiming and eliminating by-products of operations classified as hazardous, solid or special waste. The department’s progress toward modifying or eliminating (such as by contracting) operations or its use of alternate products to reduce potential environmental liability and associated costs will be examined, 2. To observe and analyze selected operations at a sample of facilities visited during the first study [March 1990 – November 1992] to identify where additional strengthening is needed. Additional facilities recommended by the department will also …

Real-Time Determination Of Soil Type, Water Content, And Density Using Electromagnetics, Vincent P. Drnevich, Chih-Ping Lin, Quanghee Yi, Janet Elaine Lovell

JTRP Technical Reports

The primary objective of this study was to explore the potential use of electromagnetic characteristics of soils using the Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) technique to identify physical properties of soils. Three fundamental studies in this exploration are the frequencydependent electromagnetic properties of soils, the wave propagation in a TDR system, and the inverse analyses of TDR waveforms. The three-phase model for soils was extended to a four-phase model so as to account for the interface effect and hence the soil fineness. The physical parameters of the four-phase model are related to the frequency-dependent dielectric permitivity of the soil through a …

Probability And Agents, Marco Valtorta, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

To make sense of the information that agents gather from the Web, they need to reason about it. If the information is precise and correct, they can use engines such as theorem provers to reason logically and derive correct conclusions. Unfortunately, the information is often imprecise and uncertain, which means they will need a probabilistic approach. More than 150 years ago, George Boole presented the logic that bears his name. There is concern that classical logic is not sufficient to model how people do or should reason. Adopting a probabilistic approach in constructing software agents and multiagent systems simplifies some …

Estimation Of Printed Circuit Board Power Bus Noise At Resonance Using A Simple Transmission Line Model, H. Hu, Todd H. Hubing, Thomas Van Doren

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The maximum coupling between printed circuit board components connected to the same power-ground plane pair often occurs at or near power bus resonances. Theoretically, the transfer coefficient, S 21 , between two locations on the power bus can be as high as 0dB (i.e. perfect coupling) near resonant frequencies. However, in practice the coupling is usually much less due to losses in the power bus structure. Determining exactly what the maximum coupling will be in a lossy power bus structure requires a numerical model or measurement. However, an estimation of the maximum coupling can be obtained by drawing an analogy …

Numerical Modelling Of Whispering Gallery Modes In Parallel-Plates Type Cylindrical Anisotropic Dielectric Resonators, Yu Prokopenko, Sergey Kharkovsky, M. F. Akay

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A parallel-plates-type cylindrical anisotropic dielectric resonator (DR) with whispering gallery modes (WGMs) has been investigated. Numerical modelling of the resonance frequencies, Q-factors and the electric field filling factors of the isotropic and anisotropic DR are presented. Applications of the results for sensing purposes are discussed.