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Nonlinear Control Techniques For Robot Manipulators, Nitendra Nath

All Theses

This Masters thesis describes the design and implementation of control strategies for the following topics of research: i) Whole Arm Grasping Control for Redundant Robot Manipulators, ii) Neural Network Grasping Controller for Continuum Robots and, iii) Coordination Control for Haptic and Teleoperator Systems.

An approach to whole arm grasping of objects using redundant robot manipulators is presented. A kinematic control which facilitates the encoding of both the end-effector position, as well as body self-motion positioning information as a desired trajectory signal for the manipulator joints is developed.

An approach is presented to whole arm grasping control for continuum robots. The …

Modeling Long-Term Plutonium Transport In The Savannah River Site Vadose Zone, Deniz Demirkanli

All Dissertations

Improved understanding of flow and radionuclide transport in vadose zone sediments is fundamental to future planning involving radioactive materials. Long-term experiments were conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS), where a series of lysimeters containing sources of different Pu oxidation states were placed in the shallow subsurface and exposed to the environment for 2 to 11 years. After the experiments, Pu activity concentrations were measured along vertical cores. The distributions were anomalous in nature, with irregular downward migration and unexpected upward migration. Previous studies suggested that surface-mediated, oxidation/reduction (redox) reactions may be responsible for the anomalies. This hypothesis is tested …

Stabilization Of Vascular Elastin By Treatment With Tannins, Jason Isenburg

All Dissertations

Elastin is an important component of the extracellular matrix that endows cardiovascular tissue with the ability to extend and recoil repetitively. It has been shown that elastin may be vulnerable to enzymatic degradation and calcification in certain pathological cases. As a result, elastin degeneration may be associated with the failure of tissue-derived cardiovascular devices, such as bioprosthetic heart valves, as well as the development and progression of aortic aneurysms, a disease associated with progressive connective tissue degeneration of the arterial wall. Therefore, an elastin stabilizing agent may be beneficial for both applications. As such, our objectives for elastin stabilization are …

Impact Of Wastewater Reuse In Burlington County On Surface Water Quality And Adjacent Wetlands, Crystal L. Mattson

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to assess potential ecological impacts from application of treated wastewater effluent. Indian Springs Golf Course is currently irrigated with reclaimed wastewater. Grab water samples were collected from three (3) ponds located on the golf course over the course of a year and were analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen, total phosphorus, organics, and bacteria. A second golf course, Medford Lakes Country Club is currently irrigated with groundwater. Grab water samples were collected from both locations and analyzed for nutrients and bacteria for comparison purposes.

Results of sample analyses indicate that detriment to the quality of surface water at the …

Unsupervised Neural Pattern Classifiers For Oral Vowel Pronunciation Of Foreign-Accented Speech, Joseph Hecker

All Theses

This thesis describes the development of unsupervised neural-based pattern classifiers for the training of vowel pronunciations for students learning a foreign language. This paper examines American learners of the French language. A corpus of single word utterances is compiled from a group of native French speakers. Cepstral features are used to train two unsupervised neural pattern classifiers: a self-organizing map and a growing neural gas. The development and justification for the use of these classifiers is presented. The output from the classifier is translated to a bar graph for visual assessment. The degree to which the utterance sounds native is …

For Piecewise Smooth Signals, L1 Method Is The Best Among Lp: An Interval-Based Justification Of An Empirical Fact, Vladik Kreinovich, Arnold Neumaier

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Traditional engineering techniques use the Least Squares method (i.e., in mathematical terms, the l2-norm) to process data. It is known that in many practical situations, lp-methods with p=/=2 lead to better results. In different practical situations, different values of p are optimal. It is known that in several situations when we need to reconstruct a piecewise smooth signal, the empirically optimal value of p is close to 1. In this paper, we provide a new interval-based theoretical explanation for this empirical fact.

Flexible Microfluidic Circuit With Embedded In-Plane Valve, Srikar C. Paruchuri

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Recent developments in Microfluidic systems have demonstrated many potential applications related to biology, chemistry and medical sciences. Fluidic manipulation with precise volume control is a basic function in these systems, and microvalves play an important role in control and delivery of the fluid sample. One of the key issues in such valve design is to make large membrane deflections compared to the channel dimension. This thesis reports a flexible microfluidic chip with embedded in-plane valves for fluid manipulation. Silicone elastomer (Polydimethylsiloxane - PDMS) is one of the most suitable materials to fabricate microvalve membranes, because of its low Young's modulus, …

Spectroscopic Characterization Of Biliary Tract Tissues In-Vivo To Assist Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, Sarita Kommera

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy is a surgical method for removal of gallbladder when it is diseased with gall stones. Almost 750,000 people are affected with this disease annually in USA. Gall bladder is removed by placing an incision on the cystic duct. This duct is totally embedded in fat (which is a few mm thick) in most of the cases and it becomes a huge problem decreasing the visual capability of the surgeon to distinctly locate the duct. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) can solve the fuzziness as it penetrates in a few mm thick tissues. NIRS is one of the simplest techniques …

Computer Model To Select Leed Certification For Building Projects, Ruba Mirghani Mohammed

Masters Theses

According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC) residential and commercial buildings in the United State consume huge amounts of natural resources; pollute the environment, and generate large amounts of waste, all of which affect the environment, economy, public health, and productivity. As a result, USGBC committees developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to help professionals improve the quality of buildings and lessen their impact on the environment.

The (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a point-based system for certifying the level of a building's sustainability. There are four LEED certification categories: (1) Certified, (2) …

Fiber Based Non-Linear Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy, Priyanka Amrita Jillella

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy is a high resolution, non-invasive biological imaging technique capable of imaging both in vitro and in vivo at the depths of several hundred microns. The goal of the thesis work is to contribute towards a fiber based non-linear excitation fluorescence microscopy system that we plan to build for our lab, which would later on be integrated with the OCT imaging setup and the DIC microscope. This thesis work involves filling in the key components in the microscopy system. These key components are; femtosecond pulse diagnosis, study of dispersion in optical media, dispersion free femtosecond pulse delivery …

Integral Equation Solvers For Real World Applications -Some Challenge Problems, W. C. Chew, I. T. Chiang, C. P. Davis, A. Hesford, M. K. Li, Y. Liu, Z. G. Qian, M. Saville, L. Sun, M. S. Tong, J. Xiong, L. (Lijun) J. Jiang, H. Y. Chao, Y. H. Chu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Biologically Plausible System Approach For Noise Robust Vowel Recognition, Ismail Uysal, Harsha Sathyendra, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Present day commercial automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems still pale in comparison to the human ability to recognize speech. For decades, people tried to mimic biology for machine recognition tasks and ASR is no exception. Widely used and accepted Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, for example, try to develop better filter banks by looking at the distribution of the hair cells along the basilar membrane. However, all these approaches stem only from topological and anatomical considerations. This research proposes to take this biological inspiration one step further by imitating some of the dynamical computation of our auditory system via describing a …

Multisensor Processing Algorithms For Underwater Dipole Localization And Tracking Using Mems Artificial Lateral-Line Sensors, Saunvit Pandya, Yingchen Yang, Douglas L. Jones, Jonathan Engel, Chang Liu

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

An engineered artificial lateral-line system has been recently developed, consisting of a 16-element array of finely spaced MEMS hot-wire flow sensors. This represents a new class of underwater flow sensing instruments and necessitates the development of rapid, efficient, and robust signal processing algorithms. In this paper, we report on the development and implementation of a set of algorithms that assist in the localization and tracking of vibrational dipole sources underwater. Using these algorithms, accurate tracking of the trajectory of a moving dipole source has been demonstrated successfully.

Finding A Length-Constrained Maximum-Sum Or Maximum-Density Subtree And Its Application To Logistics, Hoong Chuin Lau, Trung Hieu Ngo, Bao Nguyen Nguyen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We study the problem of finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree with weight and length on each edge. This problem was proposed in [R.R. Lin, W.H. Kuo, K.M. Chao, Finding a length-constrained maximum-density path in a tree, Journal of Combinatorial Optimization 9 (2005) 147–156] and solved in O(nU) time when the edge lengths are positive integers, where n is the number of nodes in the tree and U is the length upper bound of the path. We present an algorithm that runs in O(nlog2n) time for the generalized case when the edge lengths are positive real numbers, which …

Gridfields: Model-Driven Data Transformation In The Physical Sciences, Bill Howe

Dissertations and Theses

Scientists' ability to generate and store simulation results is outpacing their ability to analyze them via ad hoc programs. We observe that these programs exhibit an algebraic structure that can be used to facilitate reasoning and improve performance. In this dissertation, we present a formal data model that exposes this algebraic structure, then implement the model, evaluate it, and use it to express, optimize, and reason about data transformations in a variety of scientific domains.

Simulation results are defined over a logical grid structure that allows a continuous domain to be represented discretely in the computer. Existing approaches for manipulating …

Fabrication Of Gold Electrode Array Based On Co2 Laser Ablation, Wei Zhang, Jiang-Qun Xiao, Yong-Liang Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

A rapid process is described to produce single or multiple electrodes of any shape based on CO₂ laser ablation for microfluidic chip.The method is as follow: coating a kind of material as sacrifice layer on a piece of glass with sputtered Cr and Au;designing the needed pattern on a computer;selecting proper parameters and ablating with CO₂ laser;wiping of Au/Cr and sacrifice layer,and obtain electrodes at last.The microfluidic chip was gotten by reversely bonding with a piece of PDMS,and sealing around with PDMS prepolymer.The mask' effect is the main factor that influencing electrode quality.The width of electrodes could be …

Deep Treatment Of Pulping Wastewater Using Three Phase Fluidized Bed Electrode Reactor, Dan Wu, Qi-Cai Shi, Ji-Ti Zhou, Bao-Jun Jia

Journal of Electrochemistry

Treatment of pulping wastewater by using a novel electrochemical reactor,i.e.the three phase fluidized bed electrode,reactor were invesigated.The effects of air flow rate,applied voltage,pH value and FeSO₄ concentration on electrolysis efficiency were investigated.It was clearly shown that the 20 V of voltage,0.3 m³·h^-1 of air flow rate,1000 mg L^-1 of FeSO₄ concentration and pH≈2.5 were its best conditions.COD removal could be 70.1% under these conditions.

Deposition Of Metallic Nanoparticles On Carbon Nanotubes Via A Fast Evaporation Process, Guoqiang Ren, Yangchuan Xing

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new technique was developed for the deposition of colloidal metal nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes. It involves fast evaporation of a suspension containing sonochemically functionalized carbon nanotubes and colloidal nanoparticles. It was demonstrated that metallic nanoparticles with different sizes and concentrations can be deposited on the carbon nanotubes with only a few agglomerates. the technique does not seem to be limited by what the nanoparticles are, and therefore would be applicable to the deposition of other nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes. PtPd and CoPt3 alloy nanoparticles were used to demonstrate the deposition process. It was found that the surfactants used to …

The Synthesis, Structure And Electrochemical Performances Of Lithium Iron Phosphate, Hui Xie, Zhen-Tao Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

The lithium iron phosphate cathode materials were synthesized by solid-state reaction combined high-rate ball milling under the temperature ranging from 400 ℃ to 700 ℃.The crystalline structure, morphology of particles, and electrochemical performance of the sample were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and charge-discharge test. The results showed that the sintering temperature had great influences on the crystal structure, morphology and electrochemical performances of LiFePO₄. The sample synthesized under 600℃ showed the best charge-discharge performances with the first specific discharge capacity of(128.8) mAh/g and the 15^th specific discharge capacity of 129.1 mAh/g at 0.1C rate, …

Oct-Based Elastography For Large And Small Deformations, Donald D. Duncan, Sean J. Kirkpatrick, Ruikang K. Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present two approaches to speckle tracking for optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based elastography, one appropriate for small speckle motions and the other for large, rapid speckle motions. Both approaches have certain advantages over traditional cross-correlation based motion algorithms. We apply our algorithms to quantifying the strain response of a mechanically inhomogeneous, bi-layered polyvinyl alcohol tissue phantom that is subjected to either small or large dynamic compressive forces while being imaged with a spectral domain OCT system. In both the small and large deformation scenarios, the algorithms performed well, clearly identifying the two mechanically disparate regions of the phantom. The stiffness …

A New Spectroscopic Method For The Non-Destructive Characterization Of Weathering Damage In Plastics, Andrew Robert George

Theses and Dissertations

The weathering of plastics and composites is a problem because of the loss of both physical and mechanical properties that it causes in these materials. But this weathering effect has been difficult, and in some cases, impossible to characterize without the destruction of the plastic or composite part. Clearly a rapid, reliable, and non-destructive test for the extent of the weathering damage is critically needed. A recent problem that arose at Superyacht Solutions, a boat repair company in Australia, required a solution to just this problem. Such a test was developed for Superyacht Solutions, and is being applied across a …

Crude Oil Sludge Degradation In Microcosmic Scale: Simple Simulation As Preliminary Study On Land Treatment Bioremediation., Astri Nugroho

Makara Journal of Technology

Crude Oil Sludge Degradation in Microcosmic Scale: Simple Simulation as Preliminary Study on Land Treatment Bioremediation. A study in microcosmic condition has been carried out to evaluate the bacterial hydrocarbonoclastic capability in increasing the oil sludge degradation being mixed with NPK fertilizer as nitrogen resources. Aerobic test was carried out by putting erlenmeyers in a shaker incubator, 120 rpm shaking speed, at 50°C temperature. While 150 days in microcosmic one observation showed that the consortium has the potential to grow up to 50% (v/v) sludge oil load. Maximum growth and maximum growth rate of the consortium occurred in the III …

Department Of Biological Systems Engineering Newsletter, Issue 2, November 2006

BSE Department Magazine

Contents:
Visiting Scholar
Big changes in the BSE Computer Lab
From the Department Head
National Science Foundation Initiative Moving to Transform Water and Environment Research ByWayneWoldt
ASABE Awards
Nebraska Tractor Test Lab Welcomes New Director
Alumni News
August Graduation
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Alumni Association (CASNRAA)
Hydrologic Studies in Prairie and Agricultural Watersheds: Gleanings from a Faculty Development Leave, by Dean E. Eisenhauer
Irrigation and Energy Conservation Field Day, by Suat Irmak
P3–Ten Years
Hall of Fame
Vegetative Treatment Systems Help Small Livestock Producers Control Animal Waste, by Kalee Olson
Ice Cream Social and Scholarship Recognition
Student …

Improving Database Quality Through Eliminating Duplicate Records, Mingzhen Wei, Andrew H. Sung, Martha E. Cather

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Redundant or duplicate data are the most troublesome problem in database management and applications. Approximate field matching is the key solution to resolve the problem by identifying semantically equivalent string values in syntactically different representations. This paper considers token-based solutions and proposes a general field matching framework to generalize the field matching problem in different domains. By introducing a concept of String Matching Points (SMP) in string comparison, string matching accuracy and efficiency are improved, compared with other commonly-applied field matching algorithms. The paper discusses the development of field matching algorithms from the developed general framework. The framework and corresponding …

Student Pilot Situational Awareness: The Effects Of Trust In Technology, Yoko Kunii

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the general level of trust in technology in student pilots and then to determine the relationship between pilots' trust and their situational awareness during simulated flight. A literature review revealed that the Jian Trust Scale was based on empirical observations and had precedence in the literature so it was selected. Since excessive reliance on technology can make the operator passive and unquestioning, ultimately loss of situational awareness may result. The main hypothesis tested was to establish the relationship between measurements of trust on the ground and situational awareness in simulated flight; pilots …

Procedure To Quantify Biofilm Activity In Carriers Used In Wastewater Treatment Systems, James Bolton, Archana Tummala, Chirag Kapadia, Manoj Dandamudi, Joanne M. Belovich

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

A procedure is presented for evaluating and comparing the biological activity of biofilms attached to various biofilm carriers by measurement of the glucose consumption rate. This technique allows for the economical design and selection of small particulate biofilm carriers that will maximize substrate removal when used in industrial-scale fluidized bioreactors. Methods for ensuring reproducible results are described. To support the glucose consumption rate findings, biofilm dry weights were obtained at the conclusion of activity rate experiments, and scanning electron micrographs were taken to evaluate the presence of biofilm and to view surface characteristics. Fourteen different biofilm carriers were evaluated ranging …

Oxidized Derivatives Of Ω-3 Fatty Acids: Identification Of Ipf 3Α-Vi In Human Urine, John A. Lawson, Seongjin Kim, William S. Powell, Garret Gerald A. Fitzgerald, Joshua Rokach

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

Isoprostanes (iPs) are prostaglandin-like molecules derived from autoxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Urinary iP levels have been used as indices of in vivo lipid peroxidation. Thus far, it has only been possible to measure iPs derived from arachidonic acid in urine, because levels of iPs/neuroprostanes (nPs) derived from ω3-PUFAs have been found to be below detection limits of available assays. Because of the interest in ω3-PUFA dietary supplementation, we developed specific methods to measure nPF4α-VI and iPF3α-VI [derived from 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)] using a combination of chemical synthesis, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), andliquid chromatography tandem …

Hydrologic Properties Of Pervious Concrete, Joe D. Luck, Stephen R. Workman, Stephen F. Higgins, Mark S. Coyne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Pervious concrete is concrete made by eliminating most or all of the fine aggregate (sand) in the concrete mix, which allows interconnected void spaces to be formed in the hardened product. These interconnected void spaces allow the concrete to transmit water at relatively high rates. The main objective of this project was to conduct research on the potential application of pervious concrete in agricultural settings, specifically for use in animal feed lots, manure storage pads, animal manure and bedding compost facilities, or floor systems in animal buildings. Laboratory tests were conducted on replicated samples of pervious concrete formed from two …

Optimal Placement And Control Of Unified Power Flow Control Devices Using Evolutionary Computing And Sequential Quadratic Programming, Radha P. Kalyani, Mariesa Crow, Daniel R. Tauritz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A crucial factor effecting modern power systems today is power flow control. An effective means for controlling and improving power flow is by installing fast reacting devices such as a unified power flow controller (UPFC). For maximum positive impact of this device on the power grid, it should be installed at an optimal location and employ an optimal realtime control algorithm. This paper proposes the combination of an evolutionary algorithm (EA) to find the optimal location and sequential quadratic programming (SQP) to optimize the UPFC control settings. Simulations are conducted using the classic IEEE 118 bus test system. For comparison …

On One-Dimensional Self-Assembly Of Surfactant-Coated Nanoparticles, Jee-Ching Wang, Partho Neogi, Daniel Forciniti

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nanometer-sized metal and semiconductor particles possess novel properties. To fully realize their potential, these nanoparticles need to be fabricated into ordered arrays or predesigned structures. A promising nanoparticle fabrication method is coupled surface passivation and self-assembly of surfactant-coated nanoparticles. Due to the empirical procedure and partially satisfactory results, this method still represents a major challenge to date and its refinement can benefit from fundamental understanding. Existing evidences suggest that the self-assembly of surfactant-coated nanoparticles is induced by surfactant-modified interparticle interactions and follows an intrinsic road map such that short one-dimensional (1D) chain arrays of nanoparticles occur first as a stable …