Digital Commons Network^™

Buffer Management And Cell Switching Management In Wireless Packet Communications, Jongho Bang

Dissertations

The buffer management and the cell switching (e.g., packet handoff) management using buffer management scheme are studied in Wireless Packet Communications.

First, a throughput improvement method for multi-class services is proposed in Wireless Packet System. Efficient traffic management schemes should be developed to provide seamless access to the wireless network. Specially, it is proposed to regulate the buffer by the "Selective- Delay Push-In (SDPI)" scheme, which is applicable to scheduling delay-tolerant non-real time traffic and delay-sensitive real time traffic. Simulation results show that the performance observed by real time traffics are improved as compared to existing buffer priority scheme in …

Microporous Polymeric Membranes Via Melt Processing, Chaiya Chandavasu

Dissertations

Novel ultraporous and microporous membranes from immiscible polymer blends were produced via melt processing and post-extrusion treatments. Polystyrene (PS)/polypropylene (PP) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/polypropylene (PP) blend systems with different rheological properties were studied. The blends were first compounded in an intermeshing co-rotating twin-screw extruder and subsequently extruded through a sheet die to obtain the precursor films. These were post treated by uniaxial or biaxial deformation (100-500%) with respect to original dimensions to induce a microporous structure. The porosity is induced by drawing the precursor film at a temperature below the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the minor …

A Software System For Large-Scale Structural Optimization, Keith M. Macbain

Dissertations

This work is driven by recent developments in mathematical programming, the state-of-the-art of structural optimization, the spectacular performance of linear programming algorithms, and computer hardware developments which imply that applications of structural optimization might be used commonly in engineering design. Currently, there are few general purpose optimization routines available to the structural engineer and much of the work has addressed specific classes of problems. Further, there is little widespread use of the available routines, partly due to the large amount of familiarity one must have with the specific details of both the problem and the optimization method. In response, it …

Force And Effort Analysis Of Unfastening Actions In Disassembly Processes, Manuela Sonnenberg

Dissertations

Fastening is the process of connecting one or more parts together with the aid of fastening elements. Unfastening, the reverse of fastening, is the process of separating components from each other by removing or detaching fastening elements. So far, the unfastening process is not well understood, and the analysis about it is not very extensive.

However, the need for disassembly is currently increasing. First, parts have to be taken apart for service and repair, and secondly, for the recycling process. Therefore, there is a need to consider unfastening during the design process in order to enable efficient disassemblies.

The purpose …

Design Of Traffic Shaper / Scheduler For Packet Switches And Diffserv Networks : Algorithms And Architectures, Surong Zeng

Dissertations

The convergence of communications, information, commerce and computing are creating a significant demand and opportunity for multimedia and multi-class communication services. In such environments, controlling the network behavior and guaranteeing the user's quality of service is required. A flexible hierarchical sorting architecture which can function either as a traffic shaper or a scheduler according to the requirement of the traffic load is presented to meet the requirement. The core structure can be implemented as a hierarchical traffic shaper which can support a large number of connections with a wide variety of rates and burstiness without the loss of the granularity …

The Effects Of Reengineering On Hospital Performance Indicators, Linda Rutgers Albery

Dissertations

Reengineering was a management tactic designed to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in the work place. Although many hospitals reported reengineering efforts were a priority during the latter part of the 1990s, little research has been done to determine the effects of reengineering on cost and quality performance indicators.

This research studied a large regional medical center located in southwest Michigan, which implemented patient-focused care redesign. Within this medical center, ten separate and distinct patient care departments were studied over a 5-year period. These departments included critical care, medical, surgical, obstetric and pediatric areas. During the first year o f …

The Effects Of Educational Development Plans Motivation To Learn, And Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Learning Among Eighth Graders, Mary Alice Schultz-Krajenta

Dissertations

Educational Development Plans (EDP) have been utilized by school students to structure their curricular programs to meet their high school educational outcomes and to align their curriculum with their desired adult roles. The focus of this study was to examine the effects of EDPs on motivation, attitudes and behaviors towards learning.

A total of 342 eighth-grade students participated in this research which utilized a quantitative and a qualitative approach. The quantitative study used existing data obtained from a small Midwest school district. There were 151 students in the treatment group and 191 students in the control group. Scores from the …

Study Of Automotive Hydromount Mechanism, Min Lu

Dissertations

The hydromount mechanism is studied. It was determined that the dynamic characteristics of the hydromounts are related to the rubber static stiffness, rubber damping coefficient, volumetric stiffness, and effectiveness of the oscillating fluid in the inertia track. At high frequencies the motion of the fluid in the inertia track diminishes so that its effect is negligible and may be ignored. It is also concluded that the rubber damping has a minimal effect on the hydromount dynamic properties and may be neglected. The maximum loss angle, which corresponds to the maximum damping coefficient of the hydromount, occurs near the inertia track …

Enhancing Commercial Aircraft Survivability Via Active Venting, Roger L. Veldman

Dissertations

A new technique for enhancing aircraft safety in the event of an on-board explosion was studied. The method under study employs deployable vent panels located on the fuselage which are activated by an array of pressure sensors in the aircraft interior. In the event that an explosion is detected, appropriate vent panels are rapidly released from the aircraft. This approach seeks to provide timely relief of explosive pressures within an aircraft to prevent catastrophic structural failure.

In this study, the approximate time scale of an explosive detonation and the subsequent sensing and electronic processing was determined. Then, the actuation response …

Video Indexing And Summarization Using Motion Activity, Kadir Askin Peker

Dissertations

In this dissertation, video-indexing techniques using low-level motion activity characteristics and their application to video summarization are presented. The MPEG-7 motion activity feature is defined as the subjective level of activity or motion in a video segment. First, a novel psychophysical and analytical framework for automatic measurement of motion activity in compliance with its subjective perception is developed. A psychophysically sound subjective ground truth for motion activity and a test-set of video clips is constructed for this purpose. A number of low-level, compressed domain motion vector based, known and novel descriptors are then described. It is shown that these descriptors …

Phase-Locked Loop, Delay-Locked Loop, And Linear Decorrelating Detector For Asynchronous Multirate Ds-Cdma System, Sok-Kyu Lee

Dissertations

The performance of phase synchronization and code tracking of a digital phase-locked loop (PLL) and delay-locked loop (DLL), respectively, is investigated in wideband asynchronous multirate DS-CDMA system. Dynamic Partial Correlation (DPC) method is proposed to evaluate the autocorrelation and its power spectrum density (PSD) of the cross-correlated terms in the presence of multirate multiple access interference (MMAI) under additive white gaussian noise (AWGN) and fading channel environments. The steady-state probability density function (PDF) and variance of the phase estimator error and code tracking jitter is evaluated by solving the first-order Fokker-Planck equation.

Among many linear multiuser detectors which decouple the …

Resource Allocation For Cdma Downlink To Achieve Maximum Throughput, Anil Bircan

Dissertations

Growing interest in cellular phones, wireless modems, instant messaging, pagers with the increasing use of the Internet in daily life indicate that wireless high speed Internet access and wireless multimedia applications are in great demand. The barrier to satisfy this demand is the provision of sufficiently high bit rates in severe wireless mobile channel conditions, for a multitude of services, each requiring different and perhaps even time-varying quality of services (QoS) that can be more demanding than the QoS required by today's voice service. New generation systems will enable provision of a multitude of services each with different QoS and …

Comparison Of Optical Density, Total Cell Protein, And Number Of Viable Cells (Via Fluorescent Straining) As Measures Of Microbial Growth Kinetics In Suspended And Biofilm Cultures During Biodegradation Of Naphthalene, Jeong Seop Shim

Dissertations

Most studies on bacterial growth kinetics have been dependent on theoretical modeling with general biomass measurements using either dry weight or optical density (OD), without distinguishing live from dead bacteria or debris. As a result, there remains considerable uncertainty in reliably predicting rates of biodegradation for design of treatment processes for environmental pollutants.

This research focused on measurement of bacterial growth rates and activities in suspended cultures and biofilms using Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 17484) for biodegradation of naphthalene. As expected, the rates of biodegradation differed between suspended and immobilized cultures. A comparison was made of the impact of three biomass …

Numerical Stimulation Of Stress-Induced Crystallization Of Injection Molded Semicrystalline Thermoplastics, Jianxin Guo

Dissertations

Injection molded semicrystalline plastic products exhibit variable morphology along their thickness directions. The processing conditions have a significant effect on the crystallinity distribution in the final parts. However, because of the lack of sound theoretical models for stress-induced crystallization kinetics in thermoplastics, simulations of the injection molding process of semicrystalline plastics with the consideration of stress-induced crystallization have been scarce.

A stress-induced crystallization model for semicrystalline plastics is proposed based on the theory that stress induced orientation of polymer chains increase the melting temperature of the plastics, and hence, the supercooling which is the driving force for crystallization. By assuming …

Numerical Modeling And Optimization Of Waterjet Based Surface Decontamination, Konstantin Babets

Dissertations

The mission of this study is to investigate the high-pressure waterjet based surface decontamination. Our specific objective is to develop a practical procedure for selection of process conditions at given constraints and available knowledge. This investigation is expected to improve information processing in the course of material decontamination and assist in the implementation of the waterjet decontamination technology into practice. The development of a realistic procedure for processing of a chaotic and non-accurate information constitutes the main accomplishment of this study.

The research involved acquisition of representative information about removal of brittle, elastic and viscous deposits. As a result an …

Empirical Model-Based Control For End Milling Process, Abdelmalak Salib

Dissertations

The main objective of this research is to develop an empirical model-based control mechanism to maintain a fine surface finish quality by maintaining on-line cutting force values. The proposed model has been developed to present the control model constraints, by varying the machining parameters to control the force output to be constant. To relate the surface finish and the cutting force in the end milling machining process, a design of experiment has been conducted to determine the effect of two different materials (aluminium and steel) and the machining parameters (feed rate, spindle speed) at a predefined depth of cut.

Regression …

Electro-Magnetic Control Of Cylinder Wake, Zhihua Chen

Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to develop open and closed-loop control algorithms for manipulating wake flows past a solid cylinder in an electrically low-conducting fluid (e.g. seawater). The intent is to avoid both vortex shedding and flow separation from the body. It is desired to reduce the mean drag significantly and prevent the lift from becoming non-zero at all times. This is achieved through the introduction of a Lorentz force in the azimuthal direction generated by an array of permanent magnets and electrodes located on the solid structure. The array of actuators offers the advantage of making the Lorentz …

Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Nano Structures, Mahesh U. Ajgaonkar

Dissertations

Nonlinear optical properties of nanoscale semiconductors had been a topic of intense research in recent years in attempts to realize all-optical communication systems. These semiconductor nanoclusters, in the range of 1-100nm are hosted in a dielectric material and are considered as a particular example of Conditional Artificial Dielectric (CAD). It has been reported that the dielectric properties of such materials will be greatly changed by light intensity.

Two main paths to realize nano semiconductor clusters are reported in this dissertation. The Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique is first described. Here we were investigating the effect of surface modification of nano …

Assessing The Economic Impact Of Aircraft Noise On Communities, Ithan B. Zimmer

Dissertations

The impact of aircraft noise on communities is complex and multi-dimensional. This matter cannot be resolved without careful analysis of a complex array of related problems and issues including the environment, the economy, and quality-of-life concerns of people living in proximity to airports or aircraft routes. The effects of community noise are widespread and varied. Impacts can include sleep and speech interference, activity interference, general annoyance, and property value decrease. In order to improve public policy and provide a foundation for additional research, it is imperative to establish the extent of a problem. Dollars are often the least common denominator …

Kinematic Synthesis Of Adjustable Spatial Four And Five-Bar Mechanisms For Finite And Multiply Separated Positions, Kevin Russell

Dissertations

Although spatial mechanisms are more general in structure than planar mechanisms, their applications are few due to the limited number of practical design tools and the complexity of those available. It is in fact the task of the future to develop effective, but practical design tools for spatial mechanisms.

This research presents several new methods for synthesizing adjustable spatial mechanisms. The first method involves the kinematic synthesis of spatial mechanisms for multiphase motion generation. Using this method, spatial four and five-bar mechanisms can be synthesized to achieve different phases of prescribed rigid body positions. The theory of this approach has …

Interference Suppression And Diversity For Cdma Systems, Xiaodong Cai

Dissertations

In code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems, due to non-orthogonality of the spreading codes and multipath channels, the desired signal suffers interference from other users. Signal fading due to multipath propagation is another source of impairment in wireless CDMA systems, often severely impacting performance. In this dissertation, reduced-rank minimum mean square error (MMSE) receiver and reduced-rank minimum variance receiver are investigated to suppress interference; transmit diversity is applied to multicarrier CDMA (MC-CDMA) systems to combat fading; packet combing is studied to provide both interference suppression and diversity for CDMA random access systems.

The reduced-rank MMSE receiver that uses a reduced-rank estimated covariance …

Analysis And Control Of Monolithic Piezoelectric Nano-Actuator, Xuemei Sun

Dissertations

The study of the monolithic piezoelectric actuator, the dominant type of micropositioner is an attractive and challenging area, where realtime control theory and digital signal processing are effectively applied. The actuator can be applied in precision instruments and precision control, such as microscopes, medical and optics instruments because of the piezoelectric ceramic's high resolution, fast transient response, and potential low cost. However, hysteresis nonlinearity and lightly damped vibration exist in the system, which limit the actuator applications.

This work focuses on the hysteresis characteristics in time and frequency domains along with experimental and simulated results to verify the effectiveness of …

Environmental Science In The New Millennium : A Model To Give Structure And Guidance, James M. Lipuma

Dissertations

This work proposes a template for successful interdisciplinary Environmental Science (EVSQ) programs at four-year American learning institutions. The first conclusion reached is that there is no one "perfect" program. Only by identifying clear goals for EVSC can programs improve. It was determined that a clear definition of EVSC and mission statements related to these definitions are necessary first steps to allow improvement to occur. One major outcome of the work is the educational model built to understand EVSC education. The model identifies methods by which the goals and objectives of EVSC can be identified and accomplished. The research found that …

Object Detection And Activity Recognition In Digital Image And Video Libraries, Ibrahim Burak Ozer

Dissertations

This thesis is a comprehensive study of object-based image and video retrieval, specifically for car and human detection and activity recognition purposes. The thesis focuses on the problem of connecting low level features to high level semantics by developing relational object and activity presentations. With the rapid growth of multimedia information in forms of digital image and video libraries, there is an increasing need for intelligent database management tools. The traditional text based query systems based on manual annotation process are impractical for today's large libraries requiring an efficient information retrieval system. For this purpose, a hierarchical information retrieval system …

Multi-Mode Cavity Effects In The Microwave Heating Of A Ceramic Slab, Stuart J. Walker

Dissertations

In order to gain insight into hot spot development in microwave heated ceramics, a partially insulated, two dimensional ceramic slab situated in a TE_M01 cavity is modeled in the small Biot number limit. If the electrical conductivity is an exponential function of temperture and E₀ is the strength of the incident mode, then the relationship between the spatially uniform, steady state leading order temperature, v₈, and E₀¹ is characterized by the well known bi-stable, or S shaped, response curve. The steady state second order temperature, v₁, is described by a boundary …

Numerical Studies Of Newtonian And Viscoelastic Fluids, Felix J. Alcocer

Dissertations

The direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach is used to understand the flow behavior of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids in porous materials, four-to-one contraction and the flow of a Newtonian fluid past an airfoil.

In simulations the viscoelastic fluid is modeled by the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic (FENE) dumbbell and Oldroyd-B models. The finite element method (FEM) is used to discretize the flow domain. The DNS results show that the permeability of a periodic porous medium depends on the wavelength used for arranging particles in the direction of flow. Specifically, it is shown that for a given particle size and porosity …

Analysis Of Discrete Dynamical System Models For Competing Species, Jerry J. Chen

Dissertations

A discrete version of the Lotka-Volterra (LV) differential equations for competing population species is analyzed in detail, much the same way as the discrete form of the logistic equation has been investigated as a source of bifurcation phenomena and chaotic dynamics. Another related system, namely, the Exponentially Self Regulating (ESR) population model, is also thoroughly analyzed. It is found that in addition to logistic dynamics - ranging from the very simple to manifestly chaotic regimes in terms of the governing parameters - the discrete LV model and the ESR model exhibit their own brands of bifurcation and chaos that are …

A More Efficient Document Retrieval Method For Texpros, Yin Dong

Dissertations

Document processing is a critical element of office automation. Through document classification, extraction and filing, documents are automatically placed into a knowledge base according to certain rules. Document retrieval is a process to get a document back according to a user's requirements and to show the results to the user. Hence, a good user-interface and an efficient retrieval algorithm become core parts of document retrieval.

Unlike previous browsers that have been proposed for this purpose, this dissertation develops a new browser that has a user interface with more tools, and one that has a more efficient retrieval algorithm that can …

A Study Of Officer's Use Of Leadership Skills Learned In The Navy's Intermediate Officer Leadership Course, William F. Conroy Edd

Dissertations

The U.S. Navy's present-day leadership training program, referred to as the Leadership Continuum, provides for leadership training for all enlisted personnel and officers at initial entry into the naval service and at designated career milestones until retirement. The Leadership Continuum evolved from a series of formal Navy leadership training programs dating back to the late 1970s. The Navy has expended a considerable amount of fiscal resources over the past 20 years in an attempt to provide quality leadership training to its personnel. However, past studies have revealed that leadership training course graduates are provided with little to no incentives by …

The Effects Of Teachers' Flow Experiences On The Cognitive Engagement Of Students, Nian Q. Zhu Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between teachers' flow experiences and student cognitive engagement during class time. Study participants consisted of students and their teachers in grades 6 through 10 from a number of elementary and secondary schools in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. Data were collected through the use of the Experience-Sampling Method, originally developed by Csikszentmihalyi to investigate flow experiences, that allowed teachers and students to fill out sampling forms in response to randomly generated electronic signals transmitted to pagers or wrist watches that the teachers wore. Data were collected …