Digital Commons Network^™

Market Failure And Non-Standard Contracting: How The Ghost Of Perfect Competition Still Haunts Antitrust, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Decentralized Discrete-Time Neural Network Controller For A Class Of Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Interconnections, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel decentralized neural network (NN) controller in discrete-time is designed for a class of uncertain nonlinear discrete-time systems with unknown interconnections. Neural networks are used to approximate both the uncertain dynamics of the nonlinear systems and the unknown interconnections. Only local signals are needed for the decentralized controller design and the stability of the overall system can be guaranteed using the Lyapunov analysis. Further, controller redesign for the original subsystems is not required when additional subsystems are appended. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The NN does not require an offline learning phase and the weights …

Energy-Efficient Rate Adaptation Mac Protocol For Ad Hoc Wireless Networks, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Resource constraints in ad hoc wireless networks require that they are energy efficient during both transmission and rate adaptation. In this paper, we propose a novel energy-efficient rate adaptation protocol that selects modulation schemes online to maximize throughput based on channel state while saving energy. This protocol uses the distributed power control (DPC) algorithm (M. Zawodniok et al., 2004) to accurately determine the necessary transmission power and to reduce the energy consumption. Additionally, the transmission rate is altered using energy efficiency as a constraint to meet the required throughput, which is estimated with queue fill ratio. Moreover, back-off scheme is …

Esd Susceptibility Characterization Of An Eut By Using 3d Esd Scanning System, Kai Wang, Jayong Koo, Giorgi Muchaidze, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrostatic discharges (ESD) can lead to soft-errors (e.g., bit-errors, wrong resets etc.) in digital electronics. The use of lower threshold voltages and faster I/O increases the sensitivity. In the analysis of ESD problems, an exact knowledge of the affected pins and nets is essential for an optimal solution. In this paper, a three dimensional ESD scanning system which has been developed to record the ESD susceptibility map for printed circuit board is presented and the mechanisms that the ESD event couples into the digital devices is studied. The ESD susceptibility of a fast CMOS EUT is characterized by generating the …

Genetic Algorithms Based Economic Dispatch With Application To Coordination Of Nigerian Thermal Power Plants, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, G. A. Bakare, U. O. Aliyu, Y. K. Shu'aibu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The main focus of this paper is on the application of genetic algorithm (GA) to search for an optimal solution to a realistically formulated economic dispatch (ED) problem. GA is a global search technique based on principles inspired from the genetic and evolution mechanism observed in natural biological systems. A major drawback of the conventional GA (CGA) approach is that it can be time consuming. The micro-GA (µGA) approach has been proposed as a better time efficient alternative for some engineering problems. The effectiveness of CGA and µGA. to solving ED problem is initially verified on an IEEE 3-generating unit, …

Hardware Implementation Of A Mamdani Fuzzy Logic Controller For A Static Compensator In A Multimachine Power System, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Satish Rajagopalan, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Mamdani based fuzzy logic controller is designed and implemented for controlling a STATCOM, which is connected to a 10 bus multimachine power system. Such a controller does not need any prior knowledge of the plant to be controlled and can efficiently provide control signals for the STATCOM during different disturbances in the network The proposed controller is implemented using the M67 DSP board and is interfaced to the multimachine power system simulated on a real-time digital simulator (RTDS). Experimental results are provided, showing that the proposed controller provides more effective damping than the conventional PI controller in a typical …

Making The Graduate-Industry Connection, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many utilities are beginning to ramp up their recruiting and hiring efforts to attract bright young engineering graduates into the industry to replace the large numbers of engineers that have recently retired or will retire in the next few years. Unfortunately, the long drought in hiring brought on by the uncertainty of deregulation and the perspective that the industry is "old and conservative" has caused a mismatch in the interests of young engineers and the companies that want to hire them. in addition, the number of young people pursuing engineering degrees is decreasing as they become attracted to other lucrative …

Matched Filter Bound Of Wireless Systems Over Frequency Selective Channels With Receiver Timing Phase Offset, Jingxian Wu, Y. Rosa Zheng, Khaled Ben Letaief, Chengshan Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The sampler timing (phase) sensitivity of wireless communication systems is discussed in this paper. Based on the matched filter bound technique, a tight error performance bound is derived for systems experiencing frequency selective Rayleigh fading, with the receiver timing offset being quantified in the error performance expressions. With the error performance bound, the timing phase sensitivity of systems with both symbol spaced receivers and fractionally spaced receivers is analyzed. Simulation results show that the new bound can accurately predict the performance of practical communication systems suffering both frequency selective fading and timing phase offset.

Model For Estimating Radiated Emissions From A Printed Circuit Board With Attached Cables Due To Voltage-Driven Sources, Todd H. Hubing, Hwan-Woo Shim

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Common-mode currents induced on cables attached to printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be a significant source of unintentional radiated emissions. This paper develops a model for estimating the amount of common-mode cable current that can be induced by the signal voltage on microstrip trace structures or heatsinks on a PCB. The model employs static electric field solvers or closed-form expressions to estimate the effective self-capacitances of the board, trace, and/or heatsink. These capacitances are then used to determine the amplitude of an equivalent common-mode voltage source that drives the attached cables. The model shows that these voltage-driven common-mode cable currents …

Optimal Control Parameters For A Upfc In A Multimachine Using Pso, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The crucial factor affecting the modern power systems today is load flow control. The unified power flow controller (UPFC) is an effective means for controlling the power flow and can provide damping capability during transient conditions. The UPFC is controlled conventionally using PI controllers. The optimal design of the PI controllers for a UPFC is a challenging task and time consuming using the conventional techniques. This paper presents an approach using particle swarm optimization (PSO) for the design of optimal conventional controllers for a UPFC in a multimachine power system. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the …

Suitability Of Pulse Train Control Technique For Bifred Converter, Mehdi Ferdowsi, Ali Emadi, Mark Telefus, Anatoly Shteynberg

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pulse Train^TM control scheme is presented and applied to a boost integrated flyback rectifier/energy storage dc-dc (BIFRED) converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM), which avoids the light-load high-voltage stress problem. In contrast to the conventional control techniques, the principal idea of Pulse Train technique is to regulate the output voltage using a series of high and low energy pulses generated by the current of the inductor. The applicability of the proposed technique to both the input and magnetizing inductances of BIFRED converter is investigated. Analysis of BIFRED converter operating in DCM as well as the output voltage ripple …

Using An Lu Recombination Method To Improve The Performance Of The Boundary Element Method At Very Low Frequencies, Haixin Ke, Todd H. Hubing

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many numerical electromagnetic modeling techniques that work very well at high frequencies do not work well at lower frequencies. This is directly or indirectly due to the weak coupling between the electric and magnetic fields at low frequencies. One technique for improving the performance of boundary element techniques at low frequencies is through the use of loop-tree basis functions, which decouple the contributions from the vector and scalar electric potential. However, loop-tree basis functions can be difficult to define for large, complex geometries. This paper describes a new method for improving the low-frequency performance of boundary element techniques. The proposed …

A Neural Network Based Optimal Wide Area Control Scheme For A Power System, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Swakshar Ray

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With deregulation of the power industry, many tie lines between control areas are driven to operate near their maximum capacity, especially those serving heavy load centers. Wide area control systems (WACSs) using wide-area or global signals can provide remote auxiliary control signals to local controllers such as automatic voltage regulators, power system stabilizers, etc to damp out inter-area oscillations. This paper presents the design and the DSP implementation of a nonlinear optimal wide area controller based on adaptive critic designs and neural networks for a power system on the real-time digital simulator (RTDS©). The performance of the WACS as a …

A Neural Network Based Wide Area Monitor For A Power System, Xiaomeng Li, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With the deregulation of power industry, many tie lines between control areas are driven to operate near their maximum capacity, especially those serving heavy load centers. Wide area controllers (WACs) using wide-area or global signals can provide remote auxiliary control signals to local controllers such as automatic voltage regulators, power system stabilizers, etc to damp out inter-area oscillations. The power system is highly nonlinear system with fast changing dynamics. In order to have an efficient WAC, an online system monitor/predictor is required to provide inter-area information to the WAC from time to time. This paper presents the design of an …

Adaptive Critic Designs For Optimal Control Of Power Systems, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The increasing complexity of the modern power grid highlights the need for advanced modeling and control techniques for effective control of excitation, turbine and flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS). The crucial factors affecting the modern power systems today is voltage and load flow control. Simulation studies in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment and realtime laboratory experimental studies carried out are described and the results show the successful control of the power system elements and the entire power system with adaptive and optimal neurocontrol schemes. Performances of the neurocontrollers are compared with the conventional PI controllers for damping under different operating conditions for …

Block Phase Correlation-Based Automatic Drift Compensation For Atomic Force Microscopes, Qinmin Yang, Eric W. Bohannan, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Automatic nanomanipulation and nanofabrication with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) is a precursor for nanomanufacturing. In ambient conditions without stringent environmental controls, nanomanipulation tasks require extensive human intervention to compensate for the many spatial uncertainties of the AFM. Among these uncertainties, thermal drift is especially hard to solve because it tends to increase with time and cannot be compensated simultaneously by feedback. In this paper, an automatic compensation scheme is introduced to measure and estimate drift. This information can be subsequently utilized to compensate for the thermal drift so that a real-time controller for nanomanipulation can be designed as if …

Data Mining For Distribution System Fault Classification, Badrul H. Chowdhury, H. Manjari Dola

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Digital relaying equipment at substations allow for large amounts of data storage that can be triggered by predetermined system conditions. Some of this information retrieved from relays at several locations in a local utility's service territory has been mined for determining trends and relationships. Data mining aims to make sense of the retrieved data by revealing meaningful relationships. This paper discusses some useful data mining techniques that are applied to data recorded by overcurrent relays at several substations. The purpose is to classify faults, verify relay settings and determine fault induced trip per substations. High accuracy is obtained.

Wetting Kinetics Of Films Containing Non-Adsorbing Polymers, S. Saritha, Xianzhong Zhang, Partho Neogi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Kinetics of wetting by a polymer solution have been studied theoretically for a film pinned to a slot. The fluid mechanical equations have been solved using a numerical scheme. The role of polymers appears in the disjoining pressure in the model. The spreading kinetics are observed to follow a power law: a power of (1/4) is observed at short times due to the Laplace pressure, and (1/2) at large times under the Hamaker part of the disjoining pressure at very large times and with no equilibration. It is argued and demonstrated that techniques which have low resolutions such as microscopy …

In The Shadow Of Delaware - The Rise Of Hostile Takeovers In Japan, Curtis J. Milhaupt

Faculty Scholarship

Despite longstanding predictions to the contrary, hostile takeovers have arrived in Japan. This Essay explains why and explores the implications of this phenomenon, not only for Japanese corporate governance, but also for our understanding of corporate law development around the world today. Delaware law figures prominently in the recent Japanese events. A highprofile battle for corporate control has just generated a judicial standard for takeover defenses that might be called a Unocal rule with Japanese characteristics. Meanwhile, ministy-endorsed takeover guidelines have been formulated that are heavily influenced by the familiar "threat" and "proportionality" tests under Delaware law, along with many …

Sources Of Water Captured By Municipal Supply Wells In A Highly Conductive Aquifer Western Montana, Amelia A. Tallman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Do Patents Facilitate Financing In The Software Industry?, Ronald J. Mann

Faculty Scholarship

This Article is the first part of a wide study of the role of intellectual property in the software industry. Unlike previous papers that focus primarily on software patents – which generally are held by firms that are not software firms – this Article provides a thorough and contextually grounded description of the role that patents play in the software industry itself.

The bulk of the Article considers the pros and cons of patents in the software industry. The Article starts by emphasizing the difficulties that prerevenue startups face in obtaining any value from patents. Litigation to enforce patents is …

The Objectivity Of Student Ratings Of Instructors Among Taiwanese Students, Shu-Hui Tsai

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Investigations Of A Chip-Firing Game, David Perkins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

A Tracer Monitored Titration For Seawater Total Alkalinity, Todd R. Martz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Fast Algorithms For Layered Media, Weng Cho Chew, Bin Hu, Y. C. Pan, Lijun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper gives an overview of computational electromagnetics for simulating complex structures with a large number of unknowns using integral equation method. First, it discusses the pros and cons of differential equation solvers versus integral equation solvers. Then it gives an overview of different fast algorithms for solving integral equations. It also discusses the difficulty of solving electromagnetic problems in the "twilight zone" between static and full-wave electromagnetics. Finally, it discusses various methods for fast solutions of scattering and coupling problems involving layered media both for statics and dynamic problems, and presents some numerical results. © 2005 Académie des sciences. …

A Multi-Hypothesis Approach For Salient Object Tracking In Visual Surveillance, Filiz Bunyak, Ilker Ersoy, S. R. Subramanya

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a multiple object tracking method for visual surveillance applications is presented. Moving objects are detected by adaptive background subtraction and tracked by using a multi-hypothesis testing approach. Object matching between frames is done based on proximity and appearance similarity. a new confidence measure is assigned to each possible match. This information is arranged into a graph structure where vertices represent blobs in consecutive frames and edges represent match confidence values. This graph is later used to prune and refine trajectories to obtain the salient object trajectories. Occlusions are handled through position prediction using Kalman filter and robust …

A Warped Bandwidth Expansion Filter, Marc A. Boillot, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A warped filter is presented as a new speech enhancement method to adjust formant bandwidths on a critical band scale. The warped filter enhances perceived loudness without adding signal energy by exploiting the psychoacoustic nature of the auditory system. The critical band concept in auditory theory states that when the energy in a signal remains constant, loudness increases when the energy spreads beyond a critical bandwidth. A warped filter is proposed and developed to elevate the perceived loudness of clean speech by applying non-linear bandwidth expansion to the formant regions of vowels in accordance with the critical band scale. The …

Depth-Shifting Of Shallow Water Guide Source Observations, Lisa M. Zurk, Brian H. Tracey

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In theory, matched field processing offers the significant benefit of higher signal gains and increased localization capability. However, this has not been robustly observed in practice because of inherent uncertainties about details of the shallow water propagation environments which limit the prediction of the channel response. The use of guide sources to directly measure the transfer function between source and receiver arrays has been proposed as a means for reducing mismatch. However, the guide source measurement only provides a measured transfer function at the guide source location. In this paper a method of depth-shifting guide source observations is proposed, making …

Clif Merritt And Wilderness Wildlife : Learning How To Live In Paradise, Robert N. Baker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Jean Stefancic & Richard Delgado, How Lawyers Lose Their Way: A Profession Fails Its Creative Minds (2005), Milton C. Regan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

"How Lawyers Lose Their Way" claims that lawyers' unease stems from a distinctive source: their excessive use of and exposure to "formalism" in their work. I think that they are on to something, but the analysis in this book is too underdeveloped to provide much insight into what it is. The authors' use of the term "formalism" risks being so inclusive that it loses explanatory power. In addition, their claim that overreliance on formalism is the chief culprit in lawyers' unhappiness is vulnerable to the charge that lawyers arc suffering the effect of trends in the workplace affecting a wide …