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2004

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Wearable Personal Data Information Capture System, Jiangpeng Shi Dec 2004

Wearable Personal Data Information Capture System, Jiangpeng Shi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is motivated by development of The Wearable Personal Data Information Capture System (WPDICS), which is used to support the "physical" data stream requirement on a person as they experience daily life, including visual and audio information. To fit the acquirement of "wearable", the system should be very tiny in size and very low cost. Our purpose is to conduct a feasibility analysis for WPDICS using commercially available components (Sharp Zaurus SL 5600 Linux PDA) and evaluate the acquisition of "physical" data streams grabbed by this component. In the thesis, we also develop some software test the data acquisition, …

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Simulation Of Coal Gasification Process Inside A Two-Stage Gasifier, Armin Silaen Dec 2004

Simulation Of Coal Gasification Process Inside A Two-Stage Gasifier, Armin Silaen

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Gasification is a very efficient method of producing clean synthetic gas (syngas) which can be used as fuel for electric generation or chemical building block for petrochemical industries. This study performs detailed simulations of coal gasification process inside a generic two-stage entrained-flow gasifier to produce syngas carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The simulations are conducted using the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver FLUENT. The 3-D Navier-Stokes equations and seven species transport equations are solved with eddy-breakup combustion model. Simulations are conducted to investigate the effects of coal mixture (slurry or dry), oxidant (oxygen-blown or air-blown), wall cooling, coal distribution between …

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Environmental Performance Of Steel Grit And Specialty Sand As Abrasives, Xavier Silvadasan Dec 2004

Environmental Performance Of Steel Grit And Specialty Sand As Abrasives, Xavier Silvadasan

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Dry abrasive blasting is a surface preparation process used in shipyards for cleaning the surfaces of the metal plates to be used in various components of the ship. Commonly used abrasives include sand, steel grit, mineral abrasives, metallic abrasives, and synthetic abrasives. The basic objective of this study was to understand the environmental performance of two abrasives, Steel Grit and Specialty Sand. The project was funded by the Gulf Coast Region Maritime technology Center (GCRMTC) and USEPA. It simulated actual blasting operations conducted at shipyards under enclosed, controlled conditions on plates similar to steel plates commonly blasted at shipyards. The …

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Secondary Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using The Uasb/Solids Contact Technology, Eudomar Silva Dec 2004

Secondary Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using The Uasb/Solids Contact Technology, Eudomar Silva

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Anaerobic pretreatment and aerobic post-treatment of municipal wastewater is being used more frequently. Recent investigations in this field using an AFBR/aeration chamber combination demonstrated the technical feasibility of this process. The investigation presented herein describes the use of a combined UASB/aeration chamber system for the treatment of municipal wastewater and attempts to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using the UASB process as both a pretreatment unit and a waste activated sludge digestion system. The results indicate that the UASB reactor has a TSS removal efficiency of about 37%. Of the solids removed by the unit, 33% were degraded by the …

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Employee Satisfaction And Performance: A Study Of The Rc Hotel Company Kitchen Environment, Melissa Bradberry Sims Dec 2004

Employee Satisfaction And Performance: A Study Of The Rc Hotel Company Kitchen Environment, Melissa Bradberry Sims

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Employee satisfaction and performance are a major determinant of the corporate culture of a property. Discussion of whether or not this statement is true within the kitchens of The Ritz Carlton Hotel in New Orleans is the basis for this study. By using the corporate mandated tools (the annual employee satisfaction survey and the employee performance appraisals) the determination of this question was confirmed. However, there were some great concerns about the validity of the two tools. The tools showed a definite relationship between the employee satisfaction survey and the performance appraisal, as well as a negative employee perception of …

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A Novel Chirp Slope Keying Modulation Scheme For Underwater Communication, Lastri Simanjuntak Dec 2004

A Novel Chirp Slope Keying Modulation Scheme For Underwater Communication, Lastri Simanjuntak

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A digital modulation method using Chirp-Slope Keying (CSK) is developed for coherent underwater acoustic communications. Effective signal detection is a critical stage in the implementation of any communications system; we will see that CSK solves some significant challenges to reliable detection. This thesis is primarily based on analyzing the effectiveness of CSK through simulations using Matlab's Simulink for underwater communications. The procedure begins with modulating a chirp's slope by random binary data with a linear-down-slope chirp representing a 0, and a linear-up-slope chirp representing a 1. Each received symbol is demodulated by multiplying it with the exact linear-up-slope chirp and …

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In Vitro Metabolism Study Of Brevetoxins By Lc-Esi-Ms, Weiqun Wang Dec 2004

In Vitro Metabolism Study Of Brevetoxins By Lc-Esi-Ms, Weiqun Wang

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Brevetoxins are natural neurotoxins that are produced by "red tide" algae. In this study, brevetoxin-1 and brevetoxin-2 were incubated with rat liver hepatocytes and rat liver microsomes, respectively. After clean-up steps, samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry (LC-MS). For the incubation sample of brevetoxin- 1, two metabolites were found: brevetoxin-1-M1 and brevetoxin- 1-M2. The tandem mass spectrometry study of the [brevetoxin-1- M1+H]+ led to the conclusion that it was formed by converting one double bond in the E or F ring of brevetoxin-1 into a diol. The second metabolite (brevetoxin-1-M2) is proposed to be …

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Wireless Intrusion Detection Sytem, John Louis Vigo Jr. Dec 2004

Wireless Intrusion Detection Sytem, John Louis Vigo Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The decrease in price and the ease of use of wireless network devices make them an attractive alternative to standard wired networks. However, the intrinsic insecurity of wireless media and weaknesses in the standards for use of wireless media leave wireless networks vulnerable to attacks from unauthorized users. The intrinsic insecurity of wireless media results from radio signals extending beyond the networks intended coverage area and the weaknesses in the standards result from the methods used for authorization and privacy. These insecurities restrict the use of wireless networks by entities that need a high level of security. This paper describes …

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The Biology Of Spaeroma Terebrans In Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana With Emphasis On Burrowing, Laura Lee Wilkinson Dec 2004

The Biology Of Spaeroma Terebrans In Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana With Emphasis On Burrowing, Laura Lee Wilkinson

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Sphaeroma terebrans (Bate 1866) is an economically and ecologically important cosmopolitan species because this isopod is found burrowed in wood and marine structures of fresh to saline water. Existing literature on S. terebrans focuses on the destruction of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) in India, Pakistan, and Florida. This study concentrates on S. terebrans habitat and boring preferences in bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in Lake Pontchartrain near the Bonnet Carre Spillway, Louisiana. In addition laboratory experiments for water column distribution and substrate preferences were conducted using cypress, Styrofoam, and balsa. Results indicate that this population may be parthenogenic and that wood …

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Short-Term, Long-Term, And Efficiency Impacts Of Recent Mergers And Acquisitions In The U.S. Banking Industry, Adel Al-Sharkas Dec 2004

Short-Term, Long-Term, And Efficiency Impacts Of Recent Mergers And Acquisitions In The U.S. Banking Industry, Adel Al-Sharkas

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the wealth effects of bank mergers on bidder, target, and combined firm shareholders for a sample of 785 mergers during the period 1980-2000. The dissertation employs two unique bank event study methodologies to calculate abnormal returns for bidder, target and combined firms. The first methodology is a modified market model that controls for shocks common to the banking industry. The second is an EGARCH (1,1) model that adjusts for the violated regression assumptions of the traditional market model event study. Namely, it controls for the linearity assumption, heteroskedasticity, and the correlation in the error term. The results …

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Is It Worth It? The Effect Of Local Historic District Designation On Real Property Values In New Orleans, Louisiana, Suzanne Perilloux Leckert Dec 2004

Is It Worth It? The Effect Of Local Historic District Designation On Real Property Values In New Orleans, Louisiana, Suzanne Perilloux Leckert

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This is a study of the change in property values over a ten year period, from 1993 to 2003, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Sales prices for the entire city are compared to sales prices in two locally designated historic districts and one control neighborhood. The intent of the paper is to identify the effect that local historic protections have on real property values.

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Essence And Meaning In Professional Development: The Writing Project Experience, Kenneth Farizo Dec 2004

Essence And Meaning In Professional Development: The Writing Project Experience, Kenneth Farizo

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Professional development in education is often a process focused on teachers' limitations. Teachers are rarely offered choices in professional development, nor are they asked to qualify the attributes of their professional development experiences they find most meaningful. This study situates the National Writing Project as a specific professional development program from which to consider teachers' beliefs and perceptions regarding their professional development experiences. The study begins with a broad view of professional development, then directs attention to the Writing Project as a professional development model. Ten teachers participated in individual and focus group interviews for the study. Interview data were …

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The Enhanced Effectiveness Of Parent Education With An Emotion Socialization Component, Angela Walter Keyees Dec 2004

The Enhanced Effectiveness Of Parent Education With An Emotion Socialization Component, Angela Walter Keyees

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Parent education programs were introduced nearly 30 years ago with a primary focus on teaching parents strategies to identify and reduce incidences of noncompliance in their children, and have been the single most successful treatment approach for reducing problem behavior. However, few parent education programs address emotion regulation and its role in children's development despite the fact that research has consistently demonstrated that children who are unable to successfully regulate emotions are more likely to develop behavioral problems. Specifically, most programs fail to address the concepts of effortful control and negative affectivity, two important components of child temperament, and their …

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Algorithms And Data Structures For Automated Change Detection And Classification Of Sidescan Sonar Imagery, Marlin Gendron Dec 2004

Algorithms And Data Structures For Automated Change Detection And Classification Of Sidescan Sonar Imagery, Marlin Gendron

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

During Mine Warfare (MIW) operations, MIW analysts perform change detection by visually comparing historical sidescan sonar imagery (SSI) collected by a sidescan sonar with recently collected SSI in an attempt to identify objects (which might be explosive mines) placed at sea since the last time the area was surveyed. This dissertation presents a data structure and three algorithms, developed by the author, that are part of an automated change detection and classification (ACDC) system. MIW analysts at the Naval Oceanographic Office, to reduce the amount of time to perform change detection, are currently using ACDC. The dissertation introductory chapter gives …

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Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles (Bigcc), Mun Roy Yap Dec 2004

Biomass Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles (Bigcc), Mun Roy Yap

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Conversion of biomass to energy does not contribute to the net increase of carbon dioxide in the environment, therefore the use of biomass waste as a clean and renewable fuel source is an attractive alternative to the use of fossil fuels. Biomass can be converted to energy via direct combustion or via thermo-chemical conversion to liquid or gas fuels. This study focuses on employing gasification technology to convert biomass waste to producer gas, which is then cleaned and fed as gaseous fuel into the gas turbine. Since the producer gases are usually low caloric values, the power plants performance under …

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Biomimetics And Host-Guest Chemistry, Jiachang Gong Dec 2004

Biomimetics And Host-Guest Chemistry, Jiachang Gong

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to produce the tetrahedrally coordinated, catalytically active zinc center, three families of tris(2-pyridyl)methanol derivatives were synthesized and characterized. Zinc binding studies revealed that the binding behaviors of the ligands depended on the steric and electronic properties of the substituents on the pyridyl rings, as well as the functional group on the tertiary alcohol. A novel tris-pyridyl macrocyclic receptor was synthesized. The receptor possesses both hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. NMR titration experiments revealed that the receptor simultaneously bound both ammonium cation and the counter anion. The counter anion significantly influences the association between the receptor and the …

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A Case Study Of Automotive Technology Instructors' Experiences And Perceptions Of Curriculum Change In The Louisiana Technical College, John Robert Martin Dec 2004

A Case Study Of Automotive Technology Instructors' Experiences And Perceptions Of Curriculum Change In The Louisiana Technical College, John Robert Martin

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The landscape of postsecondary education is changing in a variety of ways that present challenges and opportunities to educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders of higher education. One of the most significant areas of postsecondary educational change is in the community and technical college setting. The missions of both these institutional settings have changed to meet new technological demands, global economic competition, and societal issues. A consequence of mission change has been significant changes in the manner that instruction of technical education is conducted at these institutions. This case study explores automotive technology instructors' experiences and perceptions of changes in their …

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Study Of Bis-Imidazol-2-Ylidines As Ligands For Transition Metal Catalyzed Coupling Reactions, Stanhope Turnbull Dec 2004

Study Of Bis-Imidazol-2-Ylidines As Ligands For Transition Metal Catalyzed Coupling Reactions, Stanhope Turnbull

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Two bis-imidazol-2-ylidine N-heterocyclic carbenes have been employed as ancillary ligands in an attempt to illustrate their utility in the palladium-mediated preparation of aryl ethers from aryl halides. Ullman-type homo-coupling of the aryl halides persistently occurred instead of ether formation. One of the well known N-heterocyclic carbenes, IPr, was employed with the same results. A variety of reaction conditions and reagents were investigated including solvents, N-heterocyclic carbene species, palladium source, alkoxide base, palladium to ligand ratio and reaction time. Reactivity of the individual N-heterocyclic carbenes as ancillary ligands in the palladium-catalyzed amination reaction of aryl halides was investigated to determine functionality …

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Mechanistic Study Of Pollutant Degradation, Weixi Zheng Dec 2004

Mechanistic Study Of Pollutant Degradation, Weixi Zheng

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Environmental pollution has been a serious concern worldwide. Many degradation methods have been developed to clean sites contaminated with pollutants. More knowledge and better understanding in this field will help to protect our environment. The goal of the research in this thesis is to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of organic pollutant degradation in Fenton reactions and sonochemical reactions. Fenton degradation uses hydroxyl radical to oxidize organic compounds. The radical is produced by catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide with Fe(II). Further research has found that addition of cyclodextrins can enhance degradation efficiency of hydrophobic organic pollutants. To study …

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Double Bass Recital At Iwu, Leslie Boelter Dec 2004

Double Bass Recital At Iwu, Leslie Boelter

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

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Identification And Characterization Of Ps-Gap As A Novel Regulator Of Caspase-Activated Pak-2, Mark A. Koeppel, Corine C. Mccarthy, Erin Moertl, Rolf Jakobi Dec 2004

Identification And Characterization Of Ps-Gap As A Novel Regulator Of Caspase-Activated Pak-2, Mark A. Koeppel, Corine C. Mccarthy, Erin Moertl, Rolf Jakobi

Faculty and Staff Publications

p21-activated protein kinase (PAK)-2 is a member of the PAK family of serine/threonine kinases. PAKs are activated by the p21 G-proteins Rac and Cdc42 in response to a variety of extracellular signals and act in pathways controlling cell growth, shape, motility, survival, and death. PAK-2 is unique among the PAK family members because it is also activated through proteolytic cleavage by caspase-3 or similar proteases to generate the constitutively active PAK-2p34 fragment. Activation of full-length PAK-2 by Rac or Cdc42 stimulates cell survival and protects cells from cell death, whereas caspase-activated PAK-2p34 induces a cell death response. Caspase-activated PAK-2p34 is …

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Biosorption Of Heavy Metals By Citrus Fruit Waste Materials, Santosh Bramhadev Patil Dec 2004

Biosorption Of Heavy Metals By Citrus Fruit Waste Materials, Santosh Bramhadev Patil

Engineering

Conventionally used processes for removing heavy metals from wastewater are usually either expensive, such as ion exchange, or inefficient, such as precipitation. An innovative technique that is both efficient and economical is biosorption, in which living and dead biomass can act as biosorbents through physical-chemical processes like ion exchange and micro-precipitation. Pectin, a structural polysaccharide present in plant cell walls, is similar to alginate, a molecule that is often responsible for the high metal uptake by algae. Based on the structural similarity between alginate and pectin, it was expected that pectin rich bio-wastes may be as good a biosorbent material …

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Effects Of Electromigration On The Reliability Of Radio Frequency Microelectro Mechanical Switches, Naveen Kishore Karri Dec 2004

Effects Of Electromigration On The Reliability Of Radio Frequency Microelectro Mechanical Switches, Naveen Kishore Karri

Engineering

Radio Frequency (RF) Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) switches have many advantages over semiconductor switches. Despite these advantages they are not implemented in reliability demanding space, defense and commercial applications because of reliability concerns. Although some failure modes have been identified so far, other failure modes are still under research. Electromigration, a well-known failure mechanism in interconnects, was recently recognized as a possible cause of failure in micro-switches. However, there have been no instances of electromigration studies in the literature. This thesis presents a preliminary study on the electromigration failure and its impact on the lifetime of MEMS switches. A simulation program …

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Performance Analysis For Remote Power Systems In Rural Alaska, Tyler Chubb Dec 2004

Performance Analysis For Remote Power Systems In Rural Alaska, Tyler Chubb

Engineering

Due to the logistical difficulties involved in maintaining a rural Alaskan power generation facility, it is extremely important that the system function as efficiently as possible. Presently, many rural generation systems are not equipped with automated monitoring that enables knowledgeable personnel to view the performance of the system from a distant location. Consequently, system deficiencies resulting in increased fuel consumption and operating expense often go unnoticed as do potential system improvements. This thesis describes the design and implementation of a sophisticated monitoring system that consists of measurement sensors connected to an internet enabled data recorder. The monitoring system was used …

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Axisymmetric Numerical Heat Transfer Analysis Of Natural Gas Hydrates Reservoir, Vijayagandeeban Subbaihaannadurai Dec 2004

Axisymmetric Numerical Heat Transfer Analysis Of Natural Gas Hydrates Reservoir, Vijayagandeeban Subbaihaannadurai

Engineering

Gas hydrates are crystalline substances, occurring in nature under high pressure and low temperature. Numerical studies were conducted on dissociation of gas hydrate to recover natural gas. The model is a cylindrical geometry with a wellbore at the center through which hot water is injected. Through this thermal stimulation technique frozen hydrate reservoir is melted and natural gas is released. The computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT was adopted to generate the model. The initial model was solely comprised of a hydrate layer. This model was refined by adding the overburden and the underburden to the hydrate and exploring the thermal …

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An Experimental Investigation Of Natural Freezing And Biopolymers For Permeability Modification To Reduce The Volume Of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids In Groundwater, Neil John D'Cunha Dec 2004

An Experimental Investigation Of Natural Freezing And Biopolymers For Permeability Modification To Reduce The Volume Of Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids In Groundwater, Neil John D'Cunha

Engineering

Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) contamination is one of the major environmental concerns today. DNAPL can remain in significant quantities as residual contaminants in the low permeability zones even after the bulk phase has been removed. As the drive fluid sweeps through the aquifer it follows the path of least resistance, which is the high permeability zone. Thus the contaminants trapped in the low permeability zones remain as residuals and serve as a source for prolonged contamination. Conventional remediation techniques are ill-equipped to deal with the heterogeneities of the aquifers. Various techniques to enhance the efficiency of the conventional methods …

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Economic Evaluation Of Gas To Liquids (Gtl), Crude Oil Commingled Product Transportation Through The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (Taps), Adejoke Motunrayo Ibironke Dec 2004

Economic Evaluation Of Gas To Liquids (Gtl), Crude Oil Commingled Product Transportation Through The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (Taps), Adejoke Motunrayo Ibironke

Engineering

The Alaska North Slope is a potential candidate for the Gas to Liquid (GTL) technology. With over 38 TCF of natural gas reserves stranded on the Alaska North Slope, the GTL technology is considered as a possible method of harnessing the abundant resources. GTL fuels are environmentally friendly (sulfur free) with better ignition and burning properties than conventional petroleum products from crude oil. Economic evaluation using Rate of Return analysis and the Net Present Value (NPV) to identify the most favorable commingled mode for the transportation of the GTL products was performed. The Crystal Ball software was also used to …

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Analysis Of A Generic Flip Chip Under Shock And Vibration, Uday Bhaskar Kasturi Dec 2004

Analysis Of A Generic Flip Chip Under Shock And Vibration, Uday Bhaskar Kasturi

Engineering

A flip chip package, underfilled or non-underfilled, was analyzed under mechanical shock and/or vibration at the device and board levels, respectively. For the tests at the device level, the maximum stress developed at the corner-most solder joint. The horizontal drop orientation, with the chip facing up, produced the worst scenario for solder joint lifetime prediction. The underfilled package is better than non-underfilled under the excitation of mechanical shock and vibration. Parametric studies of the underfill material strength suggested that the higher the elastic modulus, the better it carried the mechanical shock. However, practically the upper bound of the elastic modulus …

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Stability Of Milling Using Chebyshev Collocation Method, Praveen Nindujarla Dec 2004

Stability Of Milling Using Chebyshev Collocation Method, Praveen Nindujarla

Engineering

The dynamic stability of the milling process is investigated through single and two degree-of-freedom mechanical models by determining the regions where chatter (unstable) vibrations occur in the two-parameter space of spindle speed and depth of cut. Dynamic systems like milling are modeled by linear delay-differential equations (DDEs) with time-periodic coefficients. A new approximation technique for studying the stability properties of such systems is presented in this thesis. The approach is based on the properties of Chebyshev polynomials and a collocation expansion of the solution at their extremum points, the Chebyshev collocation points. The stability properties are determined by the eigenvalues …

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Meeting Minutes, Wku University Senate Dec 2004

Meeting Minutes, Wku University Senate

Faculty Senate

Meeting to discuss SACS review, general education courses, academic quality, graduate council functions and elections.

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