Digital Commons Network^™

Synthesis And Characterization Of Poly-(P-Phenylene Pyromellitamic Acid), Constantine William Tsimpris

Doctoral Dissertations

"Poly-(p-phenylenepyromellitamic acid)s have been synthesized over the weight average molecular weight range from 8,000 to 22,000 by reaction of pyromellitic dianhydride and p-phenylenediamine in dimethylformamide. The polymers were recovered as amorphous yellow powders having planar dimensions of 3-4 x 1-2 µm with thicknesses of 0.1-0.2 µm and contained 20-30% associated dimethylformamide. Consumption of reactants and attainment of the ultimate molecular weight of the polymer was found to occur within one minute. Thermogravimetry of the solid poly(amic acid)s was used in a method developed to determine the amount of associated dimethylformamide, to study the cyclization of poly(amic acid) to polyimide, and …

The Effect Of Impurities And Additives On The Electrowinning Of Zinc, Haruhisa Fukubayashi

Doctoral Dissertations

"The effect of various impurities, commonly found in zinc electro-winning solutions, on the surface morphology of deposited zinc was investigated. Individual additions of the impurities Al, Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ge, Mn, Ni, Sb, Sn, Ti, PbO₂ , PbSO₄, and HCl were studied. In a few cases additives of animal glue, gum arabic, and Na₂SiO₃, were used individually or in combination, to determine their effect on the surface structure of the deposited zinc. Comparisons were then made with deposits from a pure electrolyte consisting of H₂SO₄ and Zn⁺², 200 and 65 g/l, respectively. The zinc was deposited on a …

The Structural Behavior Of Cold-Formed Steel Members With Perforated Elements, Charles S. Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

"Analytical and experimental investigations have been conducted to study the influence of perforations on the structural behavior of cold-formed steel structural members. Since in many cases, the load-carrying capacity of cold-formed steel members depends on the buckling behavior of individual component elements, emphasis has been concentrated on the study of the instability and post-buckling strength of perforated elements. In this investigation, the buckling loads and post-buckling strength of stiffened and unstiffened compression elements having single circular and square holes have been studied analytically by using the finite element method. The effects of different holes on the buckling coefficient have been …

A Hardware And Software Interface Between A Magnetic Tape Unit And A Nova Mini-Computer, Thomas Dean Steury

Masters Theses

"This thesis is concerned with the general operation of the Kennedy Model 1400R incremental write/continuous read magnetic tape unit and the hardware design and software implementation needed to make it compatible for use with the Data General Nova 800 mini-computer.

The hardware design was developed around a General Purpose Interface Board which provides a standard set of logic needed for interfacing any external device to the Nova. The hardware consists of decode networks, mode selection networks, and I/0 timing networks. Special circuits needed to implement the hardware design and perform voltage conversions between the tape unit and the Nova computer …

Preliminary Studies With A Variable Transfer Composite Polymer Membrane., Samuel Walter Dortch

Masters Theses

"A preliminary study was done to determine the feasibility of using a compressed fibrous teflon (PTFE) silicone polymer membrane in extracorporeal oxygenation devices. A series of composite membranes were fabricated, using different concentrations of a dimethyl silicone polymer dissolved in petroleum ether, to give membranes having variable oxygen transfer properties. A gas-gas system was chosen to obtain the necessary transfer data. Data were obtained by transferring pure oxygen through the membranes into a mixture of 47 mole percent oxygen and 53 mole percent carbon dioxide. All analyses were obtained by chromatographic techniques. The results of these experiments show that membranes …

An Accurate Digital Instrument To Measure Reactor Period, Ernest Wayne Scott

Masters Theses

"At facilities having a research-training reactor, such as the University of Missouri-Rolla Reactor (UMRR), one finds it necessary to perform a large number of rod calibrations during the course of the year. In practice rod worths are determined by measuring the reactor period created by an incremental withdrawal of the rod under calibration. Period is then related to reactivity thru the use of a publication such as the AEC publication, TID-4500.

This frequent measurement of period makes it desirable to have a simple, automatic and accurate method to make such measurements. At UMRR we have designed, constructed and installed such …

Performance Comparison Of Receivers Designed To Combat Intersymbol Interference Due To Specular Multipath, George H. Smith

Masters Theses

"Bit error probabilities for biphase transmission have been computed for a known two-component multipath channel with a variety of suboptimum receivers. Performance curves are presented for each receiver, and the relative performance is summarized. Degradation due to imperfect channel knowledge is calculated, and the feasibility of countering this interference with these specially designed receivers is discussed"--Abstract, page ii.

Concentration By Sorting : Feasibility Determination By Radial Distribution Analysis, Robert M. Doerr

Masters Theses

"A method was developed for determining certain factors for assessing the feasibility of sorting fragments of an inhomogeneous solid to concentrate a species. These factors are the typical size of zones in which the grade exceeds a selected value, and the recovery potentially achievable by sorting fragments of such size"--Abstract, page iii.

Analysis And Measurement Of A Zener Diode Voltage-Reference, Armond C. Maxeiner

Masters Theses

"Output voltage sensitivity equations are derived for a zener voltage-reference circuit. The circuit consists of a DC-DC converter, a voltage-resistor current generator, and a zener diode. The performance of the voltage-reference is calculated using the sensitivity equations and compared to measurement data taken from a laboratory model of the circuit. The results are in reasonable agreement.

It was concluded that with careful selection of components, two of three major sources of error can be predicted and controlled; these are changes due to input voltage and changes due to temperature. The third, changes due to time, requires calibration against a voltage …

A Study Of Plane Wave Filter Analysis With Flow, Thomas Valle Huber

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effect of slow steady flow on the reflection and transmission characteristics of acoustic filters.

A standing wave tube and transmission tube apparatus, designed and built by a previous investigator, was modified to accept slow steady flow. Reflection characteristics were determined from measurements made on the inlet side of the filters investigated. These data along with measurements taken with the transmission tube apparatus were used to determine transmission characteristics. The calculations were simplified by terminating the filters anechoically. The filters used in this investigation were an expansion chamber, an automobile type muffler …

A Sensitive Temperature Measuring System, Larry Dean Morris

Masters Theses

"A sensitive temperature measuring system, providing an analog output proportional to sensor temperature, has been designed for use in the wall temperature control system of a cloud simulation chamber. A platinum resistance element is the sensor, and a precision wirewound resistor is the reference in a bridge circuit which uses four low cost operational amplifiers arranged to provide two precision 1000 Hz current sources. Problems with an initial bridge amplifier design were corrected in the final design by the use of a low Q bandpass amplifier for the bridge signal followed by a phase detector and an output low pass …

Digital Registration Of Stereo Images Using The Fast Fourier Transform, Victor Francis Wilreker Jr.

Masters Theses

"The exact alignment of multispectral imagery is a requirement of any image classification system. This investigation develops a system of programs which result in a technique that corrects for the translational and rotational misalignment of two images. Rotational and translational components are determined by using the fast Fourier transform to find the points of maximum correlation between the two images. The registration of two equal but misaligned boxes is given as an example of how the transform technique is used in correlating the images. The results of registering two digitized images that were obtained by scanning a pair of color …

Computer-Aided Circuit Optimization Including The Adjoint Method Of Calculating Network Sensitivities, John Walter Olson

Masters Theses

"A complete discuss ion of the optimization of a circuit, including modeling and programming difficulties encountered, is presented. A three transistor bandpass filter is used in order to study various methods of optimization. The adjoint method of calculating the network error gradient vector is compared to the perturbation method. The adjoint method proves to have decided advantages over the other method. A generalized computer program is presented to carry out the Fletcher-Powell optimization algorithm with specialized subroutines which include a network equation solver and both methods of finding the gradient vector. The program proved very effective in realizing a desired …

A Study Of Right Turn On Red At Signalized Intersections, Ronald Duane Rains

Masters Theses

"Traffic engineers have discussed the controversial subject of allowing drivers to make a right-turn-on-red (R.T.O.R.) for many years. There have been many strong points given for and against allowing this movement.

Within this paper R.T.O.R. is discussed and conclusions are drawn for a research of literature and questionnaire survey.

Questionnaires were sent to ninety-three cities and all fifty states. Many valuable unwritten facts and opinions were received from the seventy city and thirty-six state traffic engineers that completed and returned the questionnaires.

It was determined that 63.8% of the states replying and 64.3% of the cities are presently utilizing R.T.O.R. …

Computer Simulation Of The Primary Recoil Spectra And Damage Cross Section Of Fe₃Al Using Endf/B Ii Data, Daniel Willard Smith

Masters Theses

"A computer program, using Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B II) information, was used to develop energy-exchange kernels which delineate the energy transfer probabilities between neutrons and Fe₃Al lattice atoms. The kernels combine all available information on elastic and inelastic scattering contained in the ENDF/B II data.

The computer program used to generate the primary recoil spectra is SAKI, a modified version of RICE (1). SAKI is designed to calculate energy-exchange probabilities in any binary alloy as well as damage cross sections and optimum cutoff energies for use in comparing displacement effects in different reactor spectra."--Abstract, page ii.

Fitting Discrete Probabilistic Frequency Distributions To Disturbed Traffic Flow At An Unsignalized Urban Intersection, Horst Walter Kaminsky

Masters Theses

"Traffic variables, such as volume, speed, gaps and lags, and headways can be described by probability distributions. In this study vehicle arrivals from three directions have been recorded at a four-leg, right-angled, at-grade intersection in Rolla, Missouri, and statistically analyzed. Two distinct probabilistic statistical concepts were used, the continuous (gap) and discrete (counting) distribution. The negative exponential distribution is discussed briefly, whereas the applicability of discrete statistical models for the traffic situation selected is elaborated in detail.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impairment and distortion that various interferences such as upstream traffic lights, bottlenecks or other …

Data Compression Design Considerations For Airborne Test Vehicles, Kenneth Carlyle Pittman

Masters Theses

"The design goals for a data compression system are developed using previous studies as a cornerstone. Sampling theory is touched on with qualitative coverage of its effects. Consideration is given to various methods of data compression with the advantages and disadvantages of each noted. The requirement for buffering is discussed along with various methods that may be employed to achieve specific buffering goals. The impact of data reconstruction and how it may affect the choice of compression techniques is briefly covered. Selected compression algorithms and ways of increasing system effectiveness through alterations to their basic structures are described in detail. …

A Study Of Fmfb Demodulator Operation In The Presence Of Radio Frequency Interference And Gaussian Noise, Terry D. Wormington

Masters Theses

"A digital computer model of an FMFB demodulator has been used to study the effects of radio frequency interference on the detection of a sinusoidally modulated carrier. The effectiveness of selecting the feedback factor to suppress the interference for three values of modulation index is investigated. Also, the required IF bandwidth for the minimization of the mean-square error of the loop output between a signal corrupted by interference and the same signal without interference was investigated. More work is required before the effects of Gaussian noise plus interference on loop operation can be ascertained"--Abstract, page ii.

Sensitivity Analysis In Active Rc Bandpass Circuits, Robert Bentzinger

Masters Theses

"This thesis is concerned with the analysis and cataloguing of sensitivity functions of some selected active RC bandpass networks. The sensitivity functions of primary interest are the sensitivities of the quantities ω_o and Q with respect to changes in the element values of each circuit.

An introduction is provided to give background information on how each circuit is realized. Each circuit is then analyzed and the pertinent sensitivity functions catalogued. Some comments are made as to the approximations which are involved in several of the realizations and the validity of any sensitivity analysis made on these approximate realizations. The …

Thermal Stresses And Movements In Bridges, Joseph Charles Reynolds

Masters Theses

"A state of the art regarding the thermal behavior of bridges and considerations to be given to the resultant thermal effects is presented. The results of studies related to the thermal effects on bridges are reviewed. Studies attempting to relate environmental factors to bridge temperatures, and subsequently to bridge movements and stresses, indicate that the task is extremely complex. Some correlation has been made between equations predicting bridge temperatures and movements based on weather bureau records. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effects of factors other than temperature, such as creep, shrinkage, and humidity on bridge movements and …

An Engineering Analysis Of Fluid Amplifiers And Development Of An Air Velocity Sensor, Gian Sagar Aneja

Masters Theses

"Fluidics, the new control technique finds its use amongst the conventional electronics and pneumatics due to some of its impressive features. Selected literature about bistable and proportional amplifiers has been presented for better understanding of the element behavior. Sensors; typical applications of fluidics have been described separately. An air flow velocity sensor has been set-up. Basically it consists of a cylinder placed across the air flow that sheds vortices in the wake due to 'Von Karman Vortex Street' phenomenon. The frequency of vortices gives a measure of velocity. The velocities obtained from the sensor have been compared to the ones …

Phase Transformations In The System Zro₂-Cao, Damri Sukhotanang

Masters Theses

"Thermal expansion, thermal hysteresis, and the monoclinic tetragonal phase transformation of ZrO₂ have been studied with high temperature x-ray diffractometry. The initial transformation temperature in pure ZrO₂, on heating, is about 1150ºC. The transformation occurs over a 100ºC temperature range and thermal hysteresis occurs on heating and cooling. The mechanism of the transformation is related to preferred vibrational modes of atoms on the A_O -C_O plane of the monoclinic structure. Because the monoclinic B_O axis is parallel with the tetragonal [110] axis, structural relationships can be seen to be a controlling factor in the transformation. Initiation of …

A Comparison Of Liapunov Functions Used To Determine Power System Stability For Multimachine Power Systems, Kiritkumar S. Shah

Masters Theses

"Four Liapunov functions used in stability studies are compared for accuracy on an eight machine power system. This comparison is made to determine which function is best in multimachine stability applications. Morgan's Estimating Technique is used to estimate when the Liapunov function would exceed its maximum value and thus to predict the critical switching time for the system"--Abstract, page ii.

The Steady-State Response Of A Fluid-Filled Beam Near Resonance, Niranjan Jayantibhai Patel

Masters Theses

"In this report the steady-state near-resonant vibration of a hollow fluid-filled beam is considered. The energy dissipation caused by the beam-fluid interaction is approximated by introducing a viscous damping force into the Bernoulli-Euler beam equation. A theoretical expression is developed for the displacement of the hollow beam by solving this modified Bernoulli-Euler beam equation. Tests are made using a cantilevered fluid-filled box to simulate a unit of beam-fluid length. The band-width technique is used to determine the incremental viscous damping coefficient from test data. A variety of fluids are used in the box to determine the effect of the fluid …

The Analysis Of An Axially Symmetric Submerged Membrane Shell, Walter Earl Wehmeyer

Masters Theses

"The general theory of large elastic deformations is applied to the problem of a liquid-filled, axisymmetric membrane which is supported on a rigid horizontal plane and subjected to a variable external pressure. The variable external pressure is caused by submerging the membrane to various depths. The variation of the hydrostatic pressure in the inflating medium as well as in the surrounding environment is considered. By assuming large meridional deformations the stress field and the deformed shapes of a submerged membrane made of a neo-Hookean material are obtained. The effect of the initial shape on the deformed configuration of the membrane …

Adsorption And Desorption Of Chlorinated Hydrocarbon Pesticides By Organic Humic Sludge, Fu-Sheng Chien

Masters Theses

"This research study was undertaken to investigate the fundamental sorption and desorption of selected organic pesticides by organic humic acids under laboratory-controlled conditions. Emphasis was placed on the evaluation of both the rate and the equilibrium of adsorption and desorption. Two types of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides were employed in this study. These are dieldrin and heptachlor, both of which are commonly used in today's agricultural applications. The adsorbent of organic humic acids was extracted from a coal-like substance called "leonardite," which has a humus content as high as 53 percent by weight. The experimental work of this study was conducted …

Mechanism Of Ual₃ To Ual₄ Transformation, Ling Ping Lee

Masters Theses

"The UAl₄ compound which forms during the peritectic reaction, Liquid + UAl₃ - UAl₄ , has a long needle-like shape and a characteristic morphology of fish-tail when cut along the long axis. It has an internal core of another phase when cut perpendicular to the needle axis. Because of the interesting similarity between UAl₃ and UAl₄ crystal structures, the peculiar UAl₄ morphology could be explained. The mechanism of UAl₃ to UAl₄ transformation is identified as shear and diffusion controlled transformation"--Abstract, page ii.

Application Of Transmission Matrices To Describe Transverse Vibrations Of Non-Uniform Bernoulli-Euler Beams, Dean Irle Parker

Masters Theses

"This report investigates the application of transmission Matrices to determine natural frequencies of non-uniform Bernoulli-Euler beams. The classes of non-uniform beams considered includes: truncated wedges, truncated cones, and truncated rectangular pyramids. Two transmission matrices were derived from solutions to the Bernoulli-Euler equation. One was an exact closed form solution which was applicable for the above classes of beams excluding uniform and nearly uniform beams. The second solution was an approximate one limited to the use for nearly uniform beams, but which does give the correct solution to the uniform beam in the limiting case. The transmission matrix has two advantages: …

A Practical Approach To The Exhaust Silencing Of A Pneumatic Rock Drill, Morton Gary Barth

Masters Theses

"One-third octave spectrum analyses of the exhaust noise produced by a medium sized pneumatic rock drill were obtained during free recriprocation to determine the most troublesome bands of noise. Noise reduction techniques were then used to design exhaust mufflers which would reduce the level of the exhaust noise to an acceptable level with a minimum increase in back pressure. The prototype mufflers evaluated included an expansion chamber, a resonator, and various modified expansion chambers. One of the modified expansion chambers tested provided very good attenuation reducing the exhaust noise from 113 dBA to 87 dBA at the operator's ear position. …

Use Of Glass Separated From Municipal Refuse In Asphaltic Concrete, Thomas Eugene Keith

Masters Theses

"The recent interest in municipal refuse recycling has brought about the development of several systems for separation of the refuse into components. One of the components reclaimed is a glass-rich fraction which, although primarily glass, contains various non-glass materials which the system is not able to remove. Clean waste glass can be used as an asphaltic concrete aggregate, and it would be desirable to use this glass-rich fraction in a similar manner. However, the effect, if any, of the non-glass components on the properties of an asphaltic mixture must be determined in order to utilize the glass-rich fraction with a …