Digital Commons Network^™

Multi-Sensor System For An Articulated Robot Hand, Narendra Sucahyo

Theses

The precision and dexterity of a manipulator hand critically depends on the proper extraction and processing of sensory information. This thesis describes how a sensor system equipped with fingertip sensors and strain gauges can provide proper feedback to drive the grasp kinematics of an articulated robot hand. The grasp kinematic that provide the manipulator hand with precision and dexterity is based on impedance control. The fingertip sensors and the strain gauges are constructed of piezoresistive materials for force transduction. Through optimization, based on the sensitivity and capability of the sensors, a synergism of force and contact information can be obtained …

Shear Behavior Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams Under Monotonic And Cyclic Loads, June Suh

Theses

Up to now relatively few tests have been reported on shear behavior in fiber reinforced concrete beams. Even less experiments have been carried out under fatigue loading. In the present experiment, the reinforced concrete beams with 1 percent and 2 percent steel fiber volume fraction are investigated. Conventional stirrups are included in number of beams at certain intervals. Beams are loaded under monotonic and cyclic loads. The strength of beams are determined and the behavior of beams under each loading are observed in order to determine some advantages of adding steel fibers to reinforced concrete beams.

It has been found …

A Study Of Signal Cancellation Effects In Adaptive Arrays, Cheng-Der Sun

Theses

An adaptive array can automatically place pattern nulls in directions from which undesired signals (interference, jamming, or clutter, etc.) arrive and can also provide gain for a desired signal. The purpose of this study was to study the effects of the adaptive array on the desired signal while suppressing the undesired signal.

This was done by studying the transfer characteristics of the adaptive array between its input and output. In this study, C.W. jammers along with the desired signal were considered and input and output relationship of the adaptive array were determined. Several basic types of adaptive arrays were studied …

Demulsification And Separation Of Oil In A Water/Particulate System, Fong-Jung Tai

Theses

The wastewater generated from installation factories contains high suspended solids ( SS ) and oil. Effective removal of oil and clay particles in washrack wastewater can be achieved by using organic polymer TFL-398 alone or in conjunction with alum. The dissolved/emulsified oil concentration and suspended solids are used to represent the degree of oil demulsification and clay particles destabilization, respectively.

To improve the efficiency of oil demulsification and reduce the chemical consumption, pretreatment of the influent wastewater is essentially necessary. pH adjustment to 11-12 generally reduces chemical requirement. Total oil concentration was reduced significantly at pH = 11.7 without any …

Removal Of Heavy Metal Ions From Wastewater By Foam Flotation, Xue-Jun Tang

Theses

The foam flotation technique was used to remove Cr³⁺, Cr⁶⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Nz²⁺ from solution The simulated wastewater contained 20 - 50 ppm of each of these ions. Fe³⁺ is added into wastewater as coagulant to produce floc. These dissolved metal ions are adsorbed onto the floc and/or coprecipitate with them. The floc can be then removed from solution by foam flotation. Under optimal conditions, such as pH=6.3 - 7.4, Fe³⁺=160 ppm for hexavalent Chromium or 90 ppm for others and Lauryl Sulfate=90 ppm, …

The Optimal Design Process : Integrating Creativity And The Axiomatic Approach, John V. P. Tirrell

Theses

This thesis will show that the optimal design process incorporates both creativity and the axiomatic approach. An examination of past and current design methods will substantiate the need for the integration of these components. Creativity is the designer's tool to produce innovative designs which transcend existing design solutions. Creativity is also an integral element of the axiomatic approach to design. In the axiomatic approach, two design axioms are applied to efficiently ascertain the best design solution from the infinite number of choices. Application of the design axioms, theorems, and corollaries streamlines the design process. The integration of creativity and the …

Calcium Bentonite In Containment Structures, Ramnarayan K. Tirumala

Theses

Experiments were conducted on calcium bentonite from different sources to determine its suitability as a material for slurry wall. The emphasis was placed on cement-bentonite types of materials. A few tests were conducted on specimens consisting of soil-bentonite materials. Permeability, swelling potential, and immersion tests were conducted. Specimens were initially permeated with water to determine which variety of bentonite was most suitable and later with chemicals. In cement bentonite specimens, the effect of addition of blast furnace slag, fly ash, and sand were also studied. Addition of slag cement lowered the permeability value by an order of magnitude, and with …

Delay Improvement And Reliability Enhancement In A Cim-Based Factory Network, Vimalkumar Upadhya

Theses

Today, Computer-Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) refers to the integration of computer-controlled factory floor devices with engineering design and plant management computers. In general, there is a need for more efficient factory networks than are currently available. To this end, it is essential to investigate new network architectures and study their performance.

A number of CIM networks are analyzed in this thesis, and a new CIM network architecture is proposed. The throughput and delay characteristics of all these network architectures are derived from their respective simulation models. The results indicate that the proposed CIM network architecture has superior performance characteristics, compared to …

Cad/Cam : An Analysis And Application To An Industrial Environment, Kulendu Vyas

Theses

This work is intended to explore details of CAD/CAM techniques and to check its application in medium size industry. To achieve this goal, a thorough study has been carried out on current CAD/CAM techniques, keeping in mind it's requirements, source and application, considering both the hardware and software side of it. To check application of CAD/CAM in an industrial environment, Schering Plough corporation was chosen as a subject. The main theme behind this application to the Schering Corp. was to develop the CAD/CAM capability within company, in order to gain better control over the quality and productivity, and to reduce …

Performance Studies Of Lapped Orthogonal Transforms, Frank E. Wadas

Theses

The comparative performance of several Lapped Orthogonal Transforms(LOTs) [1][2][3][12] is studied in this thesis . Blocking effects of conventional block transforms at low bit rates are reduced with LOT, through basis functions that overlap in adjacent blocks. The block transforms of Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Discrete Sine Transform (DST)[4], Discrete Legendre Transform (DLT), and the Modified Hermite Transform (MHT)[16] are extended to LOT in a way that a fast algorithm for nearly optimal LOTs is derived. The Markov and two different exponential correlation models are used as the source models for the derivation of these LOTs. It is shown that …

Behavior Of Slender High Strength Reinforced Columns Under Biaxially Eccentric Loading, Pei-Shiun Wu

Theses

The advantage of using high strength concrete is to reduce column sizes and to increase stiffness. At present there are not any available design aids and the code provisions that provide adequate guidelines for the design of slender columns in high strength concrete.

A total of four 3 in. by 3 in. dimension, 4 ft. length high strength concrete specimens were casted, cured and tested till failures in a vertical pinned-ended configuration.The experimental results were compared with the analysis using Hsu failure surface equation.

Moment, curvature and load deflection cures were obtained successfully from the present experimental tests. These curves …

Computer-Aided Planning For Automatic Assembly Of Printed Circuit Boards, Qin Xiang

Theses

A study of printed circuit board assembly in the context of process planning and optimization of assembly motion is presented. A knowledge-based system is developed utilizing software packages VP-Expert, dBase 3 for the Universal automatic assembly machines. The planning of time-optimal assembly motion falls into the travelling salesman problem whose solution is obtained using a composite algorithm. Branch-and-bound algorithm is also discussed for solving the travelling salesman problem.

Optical Isolation Of Single Board Computer For Use In High Electrical Noise Environments, Meng Xiao

Theses

This thesis describes various electrical noises, noise environments and noise effects for electronic logic circuitry. The optical isolator is introduced and its concept, classification and characteristics are discussed.

Various design considerations are reviewed: input forward current, reverse breakdown protection, threshold, current transfer ratio, isolation voltage, data rate, common mode rejection, CMOS compatibility, isolation resistance, isolation capacitance, temperature effect and cost.

A multi-channel optical isolated input/output interface board for 8052AH BASIC SBC is designed. It includes 16 input channels, 16 output channels, decoder circuit, latching circuit, PC895 interface and input protection circuit. The sample board has been built, tested in the …

Modeling Packed Bed Catalytic Reactors, Jing Yang

Theses

Catalytic reactors provide a potentially important tool in the control of process emissions to the environment. This work provides a detailed chemical/physical model for analysing the operational characteristics of packed bed catalytic reactors. Mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations are written for the gas and solid phases. Heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions are used to convey the required stoichiometry, reaction rate, and heat release rate. Reaction in each phase is modeled as a one-step, global reaction. Heat and mass transfer, fluid friction, and axial heat conduction in the solid phase are modeled using suitable literature correlations. The resulting non-linear, first-order differential …

Chemical Activation Analysis Of The Reaction Of Methyl, Ethyl, Propyl And Butyl Radicals With O2, Hsing-Hui Yu

Theses

The addition reactions of methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl radicals with molecular oxygen to form the energized adducts CH3OO#, CCOO#, CCCOO#, C₂COO#, C*CCOO#, CCCCOO#, CCCOO.C#, C2CHCOO#, C₃C00#, C*CCCOO#, CC*CCOO# and C*CCOO.C# and the reactions of the adducts to varied products have been analyzed using the bimolecular version of the quantum Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel (QRRK) theory. The analysis encompassed a temperature range from 200 to 2000 K and pressures between 0.001 to 10 Atm in argon (CH₃ + O₂ reaction only), helium and nitrogen bath gases. The calculations satisfactorily explain the experimentally observed rate constants for loss …

Effects Of Fly Ash And Kiln Dust On The Compressive Strength Of Cement Mortar, Yitao Yu

Theses

Fly ash generated from coal-burning power plants has been an increasing problem to the utility company in terms of storage and disposal in compliance with the environmental regulations. Presently, fly ash has been widely used in the concrete mix. Research shows that fly ash can improve many properties of fresh and harden concrete. Landfill is another significant usage of fly ash. Usually, fly ash is stored in dry and weathered conditions. The properties of fly ashes from different sources and in different storage conditions are different.

In this research, the compressive strength of mortar containing cement replacement of Deep Hollow, …

Temperature Dependent Current-Voltage Characteristics In Thin Sio2 Films, Jin Zhao

Theses

An analysis of the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (FNT) theory and its application to temperature dependent current-voltage characteristics, of very thin films of SiO₂ on silicon, is presented. The final results are believed to provide the most complete examination of FN emission theory and predict the breakdown electric field in thin SiO₂ films. The role of the roughness, at the Si-SiO₂ interface, in determining the FNT current and breakdown mechanisms in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures are also discussed.

Design And Processing Of Micromechanical Sensor Devices, Zhixiong Joe Zhou

Theses

A multi-purpose cantilever beam and microbridge accelerometer structure has been designed and fabricated in this work. This same structure with modification can be employed as a capacitive accelerometer, mechanical resonance accelerometer, and a piezoresist accelerometer. Surface microengineering processing techniques have been developed in this work. The cavity structure significantly reduced the parasitic capacitance. This work reports the first instance of spin-on glass for rnicromechanical device applications as both a sacrifical layer and a planarization material for the cavity. Other results of this thesis including:

1. LPCVD low temperature oxide as the base material from which the cavity is etched;

2. …

Biodegradation Of Phenol By Two Competing Microbial Species In A Sequencing Batch Reactor, Yoo-Suk Ko

Theses

Biodegradation of a single pollutant by two competing microbial species has been mathematically described for the case where a sequencing batch reactor is used. The model has been solved numerically to predict the behavior of the reactor under different operating conditions and for different kinetic expressions for biodegradation.

Experiments were performed to verify the predictions of the model. Serratia marcescens (ATCC 17991) and Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 31800) were the species used. Experiments were first performed in order to reveal the kinetics of biodegradation for each individual species. The biodegradable substance used was phenol, which was the sole carbon source in …

Mathematical Modeling And Computer Simulations Of Biodenitrification In Batch And Sequencing Batch Reactors, Sugata Sanyal

Theses

Mathematical models have been derived for describing biodegradation of ni¬trate and nitrite in an anaerobic environment. Monod model for nitrate and Andrews model for nitrite were used as kinetic models. Experimental data from literature suggest that nitrate is not an inhibitory substance, while nitrite is not only inhibitory but it may also have a toxic effect on the biomass. The models were brought in dimensionless form in order to reduce the number of parame¬ters. Biodegradation was mathematically described for a batch, and a sequencing batch mode of operation. Computer programs were developed for numerically simulating the process. Some of the …

Impacts Of Treated Municipal Waste-Waters On Development And Growth Of Hudson-Raritan Estuary Fishes, Chien-Min Chen

Theses

The Hudson—Raritan Estuary, known as one of the worst polluted estuaries in the world, receives pollutants from many point sources. Treated municipal wastewater (TMW) counts for 13% of its total freshwater input and more than 98% of the chemicals classified as priority pollutants been infused. Because of the complexity of the input, treatment facilities cannot remove toxicants efficiently. In addition, generation of new compounds by water treatment such as chlorination occurs. Batch-to-batch variability in the chemistry of this effluent was reflected in the early life stage toxicity bioassays using mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) and winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) embryos.

TMW has …

Thermal Desorption Of Hazardous And Toxic Organic Compounds From Sand Matrices, Jaeil Kwon

Theses

Incineration processes are effective and sometimes efficient technologies for the remediation of contaminated solids which result in permanent destruction of most organic hazardous compounds. A less energy intensive, but more efficient process to remove contaminants from the soil is the application of heat and a flow of inert gas where the entire soil mass is not heated to incineration temperatures. This thermal treatment increases volatilization and often effects complete removal of organic compound depending on soil conditions and species volatility,

The goals of this research are to develop an understanding of the mass transport phenomena and adsorption thermodynamics that control …

A Comparison Of Integrated And Differential Estimates Of Flourescent Intensity Profiles Using Digital Video Image Analysis, Langfang Wu

Theses

The dynamics of macromolecular transport across microvascular walls in the hamster cheek pouch have previously been studied by other investigators using fluorescence intravital microscopy. Fluorescein Isothiocyanate labeled Dextrans (FITC-Dx) of 20,000, and 70,000 molecular weight (FITC-Dx-20 and FITC- Dx-70) were used as macromolecular probes. Values of fluorescent intensity were previously recorded on videotape as a function of distance perpendicular to leaking vessels over a period of about 2.5 hr to allow for tracer equilibration in the interstitial space. In this study, these videotapes were played back frame-by-frame and 215x130-pixel windows around each leaking vessel were selected for further analysis of …

Multiphase Solid-Liquid-Liquid Mixing In Stirred Tanks, George R. Deritter

Theses

A large number of investigations can be found in the literature which examine the effect of mixing parameters in both solid-liquid and liquid-liquid systems. However, very little is currently available for solid-liquid-liquid systems. It is the intent of this study to look at the various parameters affecting the point of complete dispersion for a liquid and the point of complete suspension for a solid phase, in a three phase liquid-liquid-solid system.

A Code Verification System For Ink Jet Printing, Daniel Liang Hsu

Theses

This paper describes system integration of a code verification system. The system utilizes a feature matching

Non-Parametric Dominant Point Detection Algorithms, Kuo-Wei Huang

Theses

Dominant point detection is one of the most important preprocessing steps for landmark-based shape recognition and point-based motion estimation. Two new methods for detecting dominant points are presented. Both methods do not require any input parameter and the dominant points obtained by these methods remain relatively the same even when the object curve is scaled or rotated.

In the first method, for each boundary point, a support region is assigned to the point based on its local properties. Each point is then smoothed by a Gaussian filter with a width proportional to its determined support region. A significance measure for …

Quality Assurance Studies For Collection Of Whole Air Samples In Stainless Steel Canisters, For Volatile Organic Compound Determinations, Weifang Ji

Theses

Internally polished stainless steel canisters are being used in many laboratories to collect whole air samples for VOC analysis. The replacement of adsorbents for collection and concentration of VOC by canister collection, with in-laboratory cryogenic concentration, may solve some problems associated with adsorbents, such as artifact generation and breakthrough. However, the canisters can be a source of new problems, ranging from wall adsorption to memory effects.

In this work, four major contamination sources in the whole air sampling and analyzing system have been identified. They are the canister internal adsorption, the whole system transfer line, the air pump and the …

Evaluating The Feasibility Of A Vendor Certification Program For A Mid-Sized Pharmaceutical Company, Clarice P. Johnson

Theses

To compete effectively in the global market-place of the 1990's, manufacturers and suppliers must give up the orthodox practices of the past and create more innovative, quality oriented partnerships. One way to do this is through vendor certification.

The implementation process is examined with particular emphasis upon total management involvement and commitment. A case study approach utilizes a literature search, questionnaires from a limited number of pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey, and questionnaires from primary and secondary component suppliers.

It is confirmed that the implementation of a vendor certification program is a slowly evolving process whose success is not dependent …

Adhesion Effects In Micro Mechanisms, Dennis Alan Kalgren

Theses

Dielectric resonators (DR) are suitably shaped objects made of high dielectric constant materials like TiO2, BaO, ZnO, and accessory ingredients, which can function as electrical resonators covering a very wide frequency range upto 40GHz. The physical dimensions of dielectric resonators are in mm range. High dielectric constant material resonators seem to be ideally suited for microwave applications because of their miniature size, low loss, insensitivity to magnetic dc biasing fields, and ability to concentrate large RF magnetic fields in small volumes. However temperature stabilization of dielectric resonators is an important consideration as the center frequency is a function of temperature. …

Cryogenic Characterization Of Potential High Temperature Superconducter Substrates At Microwave Frequencies, Sukhmani Kaur

Theses

The lack of characterization data for dielectric substrate materials at microwave frequencies and cryogenic temperatures hinders the development of high T_c superconducting circuits. Low loss (tanδ < 10^-4) substrates with dielectric constants in the range of 5-100 at cryogenic temperatures are needed to realize the advantages of superconductor circuits. Measurement techniques previously reported are either time consuming or inaccurate. We report an adaptation of Courtney's method for accurate, simple evaluation of complex dielectric constants (10 < ε_r < 100) at low temperatures. The fixture was calibrated using known properties of polycrystalline ZrSnTiO4. We measured er and tans on three potential substrate materials, Al₂O₃, MgO, and LaAlO₃ at 5-10 GHz in the temperature range 77-300K. No temperature hysteresis in either ε_{r …}