Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of Local Transient Heat Flux Measurements In An Axisymmetric Hybrid Rocket Nozzle, Christopher D'Elia

Master's Theses

A method of performing local transient heat flux measurements in an uncooled axisymmetric hybrid rocket nozzle is presented. Surface temperatures are collected at various axial locations during short duration tests and post processed using finite difference techniques to determine local transient heat fluxes and film coefficients. Comparisons are made between the collected data and the complete Bartz model. Although strong agreement is observed in certain sections of the nozzle, ideal steady state conditions are not observed to entirely validate the Bartz model for hybrid rocket nozzles. An experimental error analysis indicates the experimental heat fluxes are accurate within ±5.2% and …

Digitally Controlled Zero-Voltage-Switching Quasi-Resonant Buck Converter, Brian R. Luc

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Digitally-Controlled Two-Phase Zero-Voltage-Switching Quasi-Resonant Buck Converter

Brian Luc

This thesis entails the design, construction, and performance analysis of a digitally-controlled two-phase Zero-Voltage Switching Quasi-Resonant (ZVS-QR) buck converter. The converter is aimed to address the issues associated with powering CPUs operating at lower voltage and high current. To evaluate its performance, the Two-Phase ZVS-QR buck converter is compared against a traditional Two-Phase buck converter. The design procedure required to implement both converters through utilizing the characterization curve and formulas derived from their circuit configurations will be presented. Computer simulation of the Two-Phase ZVS-QR buck converter is provided to exhibit its …

Aerospike Rocket Motor Structural Webbing, Andrew Brock

Master's Theses

A labscale hybrid rocket motor test stand has been developed for research at Cal Poly. The primary focus of research using this rig has been the development of regenerative cooling techniques using nitrous oxide as coolant and oxidizer, as well as validation of technologies relating to the annular aerospike nozzle. In order to prevent undesirable deflection of the cantilevered spike, a structural stiffening web, referred to as “The Spider,” is proposed. The Spider resembles a three-spoked wheel, with the aerospike held by the inner hub and the chamber walls abutting the outer radius.

The Spider, placed upstream of the nozzle, …

A Low-Cost Loop Measurement Tool For Dc-Dc Converters, Shouee B. Lin

Master's Theses

Loop measurements are very important in evaluating dynamic performance of DC-DC converters. In this thesis, a small loop measurement tool as a low-cost alternative to a network analyzer is proposed. The tool is particularly useful when a network analyzer is not always available for use, for example when engineers are working on-site with customers or when a network analyzer is not affordable due to their relatively high cost. The design, simulation, and hardware implementation of the inexpensive loop measurement tool will be presented in this thesis. Results from computer simulation and hardware prototype demonstrate the ability of the proposed tool …

Modeling The Effects Of Vertically Variable Soil Parameters And Hillslope Shape On Runoff, Benjamin L. Smith

Master's Theses

Soil parameters used in hydrologic modeling, such as porosity, volumetric water content, and saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_sat) are commonly known to be variable over depth within the soil profile, however these parameters are often modeled as single values, constant over depth. Also, hillslopes found in glacial till features of Connecticut tend to have an S-shaped profile over distance. This study proposes that using variably vertical soil parameters and hillslope shape has effects on runoff modeling results. The effects of vertical soil heterogeneity and hillslope shape on runoff production are evaluated by comparing soil water drainage and runoff …

Host Plant Feeding Preferences Of The Adult Asiatic Garden Beetle, Maladera Castanea Arrow (Coleoptera:Scarabaeidae), Laura E. Eckman

Master's Theses

The Asiatic garden beetle (AGB), Maladera castanea Arrow, is an invasive pest of crops, ornamentals, and turfgrass that has been minimally studied since the 1930s. Experiments were performed in 2011 and 2012 to investigate adult AGB feeding preferences and seasonality in Connecticut, with the goal of supporting informed planting and monitoring decisions. A common garden field experiment involved counting beetles on three cultivars each of basil, beet, carrot, eggplant, kohlrabi, parsnip, hot pepper, sweet pepper, and turnip. A no-choice laboratory experiment produced values of mass and area of leaf disks consumed. This included the same basil, beet, and kohlrabi varieties …

Fabrication, Optimization And Characterization Of Synthetic Polymer Based Micro-Nano-Structured Composite Scaffolds For Bone Regeneration, Aditi Subramanian

Master's Theses

Various scaffold properties have been explored to understand the influence of physical and chemical properties on cellular behavior. Surface morphology is one property, which can be varied by modifying fiber diameter, and has been shown to play a role in cellular attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. The effect of fiber diameter on cellular proliferation and differentiation has offered varying results: some favor nanofibers and others favor microfibers in terms of their ability to encourage proliferation and cellular differentiation. In this study, the surface morphology was altered by modifying the fiber diameter of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL). This study suggests that though higher …

Structural And Thermal Stability Characterization Of Protein-Fatty Acid Adducts, Dhurga Dharmaraj

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Proteins are biological molecules that have an important application as a catalyst for various reactions. The sensitivity of protein to denature at high temperature limits its industrial application where a catalyst that works at high temperature is required. Some protein denature even at optimal room temperature. The primary interest of this study is to protect the protein for thermal denaturation by stabilizing proteins within the capric acid (a ten-carbon chain fatty acid) micelle. The protein-Capric acid adducts showed reversible thermal denaturation when the Capric acid (CA) concentration was present above the critical micellar concentration (CMC). Although the secondary structure …

Indoor Location Tracking And Orientation Estimation Using A Particle Filter, Ins, And Rssi, Cameron Ramin Nouri

Master's Theses

With the advent of wireless sensor technologies becoming more and more common-place in wearable devices and smartphones, indoor localization is becoming a heavily researched topic. One such application for this topic is in the medical field where wireless sensor devices that are capable of monitoring patient vitals and giving accurate location estimations allow for a less intrusive environment for nursing home patients.

This project explores the usage of using received signal strength indication (RSSI) in conjunction with an inertial navigation system (INS) to provide location estimations without the use of GPS in a Particle Filter with a small development microcontroller …

Embedded Power Active Contact Lens, Benny Ng

Master's Theses

This thesis designed and fabricated an active contact lens that notifies the user during the detection of an external wireless signal. The lens contained a printed antenna to communicate with a 2.4GHz system and provide inductive charging operating at 13.56 MHz. The lens utilizes a CBC005 5µAh thin film battery by Cymbet as a power source. A custom IC was designed using the On Semiconductor CMOS C5 0.6 µm process to manage the battery and drive the display. A printed single element display using electrochromic ink was chosen as it is able to indicate the user when activated while staying …

Social Maintenance Of Oppressive Structures, Stephen Gabourel

Master's Theses

This study intends to explore the ways in which religiously based parenting may serve as a vehicle for shaping personal attitudes about sexuality. As a result of their belief systems, increasingly religious parents are likely to adopt different parenting strategies than non-religious parents.

When a combination of authoritarian values and a particular adherence to conservative theology characterizes parenting, this may be responsible for the construction of distinct mindsets in young individuals. Parents that score high in fundamentalism and authoritarianism could exhibit a greater chance of raising children with beliefs similar to their own.

Through use of quantitative measures, this study …

Teacher Retention And Student Achievement: Environmental Factors, Social Capital And Interventions In Urban, Pre-Dominantly Latino Schools, Luis Xavier Benavides

Master's Theses

The quality of education in high poverty areas is often blamed on a number of factors - poor teaching, inadequate resources, an environment of hopelessness and mediocrity, lack of perseverance in the learner, lack of social programs and social capital. These factors are often compounded by effects of systemic racism in the student’s surrounding environment and in education system. This study focuses on one aspect of investigation: the impact of increased social capital for teachers on students’ school performance and interventions focused on building social capital between students, parents and teachers in urban, pre-dominantly Latino schools. Improving links between students, …

Experimental Evolution Of Specialism In A Wild Virus, Alexander Kula

Master's Theses

A pathogen's ability to successfully replicate and persist within a new host population is fraught with obstacles. While an expanded host-range allows for a greater chance at successful replication, such generalists are typically outcompeted by species which have specialized and adapted host-specific features. Although the most ubiquitous species on earth, very few bacteria-infecting viral species (bacteriophages) with truly broad host-ranges have been identified; this is partially due to the fact that only a small fraction of bacteria (and thus likely hosts) are amenable to laboratory conditions. Nevertheless, the processes of expanding as well as narrowing host-range are not well understood …

Sustainable Chicago 2015: A Political Analysis, Zachary A. Brown

Master's Theses

Over the last decade, many of America's urban areas have developed "sustainability plans" focusing on the long-term viability of their communities. Although many local governments have concentrated on environmental issues, others have incorporated economic and social policies. A new subset of literature has emerged highlighting equity and social justice within the sustainability dialogue. Scholars and practitioners alike argue that true sustainability requires equal access to all three pillars of sustainability for all groups.

Through interviews with public and private actors, as well as content analysis of the plan, this study investigates the structure of the governance network responsible for the …

The Impact Of Mood On Adjustment From Self-Generated Anchors, Cara Elizabeth Ray

Master's Theses

Although they are typically thought to be separate, emotion and reason are closely linked. Affective feelings are thought to determine which cognitive processing styles are in place at a given time. Happy moods were previously thought to lead to fast, automatic, unconscious, global, and superficial processing styles, whereas sad moods lead to slow, deliberative, conscious, local, and analytic processing styles. More recent research shows that this link is relatively flexible, so that moods may signal the value of currently accessible processing styles, or any accessible thoughts. These findings have important implications for susceptibility to cognitive biases, such as certain types …

Patterns Of The Urban Jordanian Arabic Broken Plural, Netta Ben-Meir

Master's Theses

The Arabic plural system is of great linguistic interest due to its diversity, complexity, and resistance to classification. Arabic is a non-concatenative language that applies a masculine and feminine suffix plural, a dual, and a “broken plural” to mark number. The broken plural involves vowel changes internal to the noun stem and is defined by 30 to 34 distinct patterns. Previous research has established the broken plural as a primarily iambic productive pattern that adheres to a CVCVV- template, but more recent evidence suggests that all of the templates in the system are productive to some extent. Much of the …

The Television Viewing, Dating, And Academics Of Young Adults, Michael D. Milmine

Master's Theses

Purpose of the Study

More than ever before, young adults have access to television content. Television programs are no longer relegated to the television set, but can be accessed on desktops, laptops, tablets, and even smartphones. The accessibility of television has increasingly allowed young adults to spend a significant portion of their day viewing these programs. Gathering information on how this viewing is related to their dating and academic habits is important to better understand the decision-making and outcomes for young adults in these two central areas of their lives. The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship …

Ellen G. White's Counsel To Leaders In Conflict, Michael Thomas White

Master's Theses

How should we relate to people in the church who adamantly disagree with us personally or with a commonly accepted position? How do we support what is admirable about controversial leaders while still disagreeing with the way they express some of their views? Deeper than just how we argue with people we disagree with, how do we deal with leaders who are simply disagreeable? Ellen G. White’s own life and works show several examples of how she responded to church leaders in conflict, showcasing principles that we can use today to argue without being argumentative.

My goal for this paper …

Ranking Interesting Changes In Correlation Coefficient Matrix Results From Varying Data Partitions In Causal Graphic Modeling, Yesica Daniela Bravo Gonzalez

Master's Theses

Problem

In life we need to compare situations in order to select the best solution. The study in this paper is about analyzing data (variables), which is also called data mining. There are situations where it is not enough to compare variables among themselves at one specific moment. Sometimes it is necessary to compare the behavior of variables at different periods of time and know how they behave at different times in order to select the best arrangements for any situation.

Method

To find correlation among variables, traffic intersections were simulated so they could be compared, since the correlation coefficient …

Multi-Directional Warning Message Dissemination Protocol Based On Motion Vector Clustering For Vanets, Hung-Chou Wang

Master's Theses

Problem. Most broadcast suppression protocols in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET) mainly focus on one-dimensional message dissemination model for both highway and urban scenarios. Due to the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) problem occuring frequently in urban scenario, protocols mostly rely on either infrastructure or the vehicle that is passing through the intersection to forward the message in multiple directions manner. However, these one-dimensional message dissemination models fail to take into account realistic road topologies and traffic distribution. As a result, they tend to miss some possible dissemination directions.

Method. Vehicles travelling on the same road share similar motion pattern due to the …

Effective Methods Of Communicating Organizational Values: A Case Study, Caralin B. Mchan

Master's Theses

Organizational values affect business success, and employee satisfaction and commitment. Value training begins during socialization. This qualitative case study of Adventist Frontier Missions explored effective methods the organization’s trainers used to communicate and motivate newcomers to assimilate organizational values during the2015 short-term missions training. Through observation, surveys, focus groups and interviews, I found that newcomers were motivated by seeing a connection between the organization’s values and its mission, and by seeing the values enacted by the trainers. I also found that newcomers perceived nonverbal communication of organizational values to be integral to their value-assimilation process. These findings should be useful …

Rita Nakashima Brock, Rebecca Ann Parker, And Governmental Atonement Theology, Andrew John Blosser

Master's Theses

The writings of Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Parker have perspicaciously highlighted challenges that atonement theology faces in its interface with the experiences of abused women and children. These thinkers have alerted the theological community to the fact that an atonement model which commends or valorizes the divinely-mandated suffering of an innocent victim (Jesus) can nefariously encourage domestic abuse victims to accept their own abuse, as if it were God’s will. Brock and Parker therefore recommend abandoning language which attaches any salvific significance to the Cross in atonement.

This thesis explores and recommends an alternative form of theological language—called “governmental …

Figurines From Tell Balatah/Shechem, Jacob A. Moody

Master's Theses

Problem

The Drew-­McCormick Expedition conducted six seasons of excavation at the site of Tell Balâtah/Shechem between 1957-­‐1968. During those campaigns they uncovered several anthropomorphic and zoomorphic (clay and stone) figurines. This study represents the initial research for those figurines and their eventual publication and will briefly review the pertinent research done on figurines from the Levant and provide a detailed catalogue of the available figurines from Tell Balâtah/Shechem.

Method

The 38 available figurines were studied and detailed drawings were provided for each. The known data associated with every figurine are specified (provenance, registration number, size, condition, physical description, etc.) and, …

A Percepcao Sobre A Influencia Que O Lider Exerce Nais Igrejas Adventistas De Vitoria Da Conquista, Helio Sousa Marques

Master's Theses

Proposal

This study addressed the perception of the influence that leaders exerts in Vitória da Conquista`s Adventist churches, located in the southwestern region of the state of Bahia, Brazil. It encompasses concepts, theories, styles, and reflections of leadership pertaining to this population, in order to know the profile of the leaders that followers admire, thereby providing information so that leaders can become increasingly more influential and admired by their subordinates.

Method

The methodology used in this research is qualitative, being guided in a semi-structured interview, on authors dealing with this topic, and on analysis of the historical context of servant …

Eficacia Na Formacao De Lideres De Pequenos Grupos Na Uniao Nordeste Brasileira, Moises Moacir Silva

Master's Theses

Problem

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that answered the question of why are the majority ministers of the Brazilian Northeast Region not excited about the work of the small groups, even having known their work for 15 years.

Method

It is a quantitative survey, conducted during a ministerial council in 2013. It is an anonymous and objective survey.

Results

The ministers of the União Nordeste Brasileira have been working with small groups since the start of their ministry, except those who have been ministers for over 20 years. Many ministers began their involvement with small groups …

A Mathematical Framework Of Human Thought Process: Rectifying Software Construction Inefficiency And Identifying Characteristic Efficiencies Of Networked Systems Via Problem-Solution Cycle, Jonathan Sarbah-Yalley

Master's Theses

Problem

The lack of a theory to explain human thought process latently affects the general perception of problem solving activities. This present study was to theorize human thought process (HTP) to ascertain in general the effect of problem solving inadequacy on efficiency.

Method

To theorize human thought process (HTP), basic human problem solving activities were investigated through the vein of problem-solution cycle (PSC). The scope of PSC investigation was focused on the inefficiency problem in software construction and latent characteristic efficiencies of a similar networked system. In order to analyze said PSC activities, three mathematical quotients and a messaging wavefunction …

Centralized For Protection: George I. Butler And His Philosophy Of One-Person Leadership, Kevin M. Burton

Master's Theses

Statement of the Problem

On November 17, 1873, the General Conference adopted George I. Butler’s leadership philosophy, which officially centralized ecclesiastical authority within one person. This statement on leadership and authority was deemed highly important and several resolutions, as well as a covenantal pledge, were voted and signed in promise that this new policy would be strictly followed. What led the Adventist Church to adopt such a policy and bind itself to it in this manner? What were the philosophical and theological tenets that the policy espoused? Since this position on leadership is no longer accepted in the Adventist Church …

Teacher's Attitudes Towards Instruction Of Students With Disabilities In An Inclusive Setting, Beverly Nunes

Master's Theses

According to some studies, there is a trend in inclusion of students with disabilities in general classroom. And the key element to deal with this special education issue is the general education teacher. The present research surveyed the variables that would predict teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities in inclusive settings. The variables include years of service, teachers' attendance to special education courses in their program preparation, differentiated instruction, and previous experience with inclusion. Eighty general education teachers from public schools in a very diverse area of Southwest Michigan, answered a survey with 31 questions involving the Scale …

Bystander Confronting Of Anti-Black Racism: Effects Of Belonging Affirmation And Confrontation Training, Rayne Bozeman

Master's Theses

Confronting has the potential to reduce prejudice, especially when implemented by a non-target group member. Not knowing how to respond and fearing social rejection have been identified as barriers to confronting in previous studies. The current study tests whether providing training to confront prejudice and affirming the need to belong helps individuals overcome these barriers. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three training conditions: prejudice confrontation training (PCT), rude comment training (RCT), or no training control group (NT). Participants were also randomly assigned to one of two belonging conditions: belonging affirmation or control. Participants were then asked to imagine …

A Comparison Of Secondary Dropout Rates In Rural And Urban Costa Rica, Mary Flynn Doran

Master's Theses

This study examined the issue of secondary school abandonment in Costa Rica. It took the national percentage of dropouts as well as the evident problem of regional disparities in terms of high school completion into consideration while it analyzed the opinions of high school aged students in both a rural and urban area. There were four participant groups in total, two in each location. The groups consisted of 5 enrolled and 5 previously enrolled subjects in both areas and each participant was asked open ended questions about their education, future, opinion on high school in general, and attitudes in regards …