Digital Commons Network^™

Numerical Study Of Chemically Reacting Viscous Flow Relevant To Pulsed Detonation Engines, Tae-Hyeong Yi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

A computational fluid dynamics code for two-dimensional, multi-species, laminar Navier-Stokes equations is developed to simulate a recently proposed engine concept for a pulsed detonation based propulsion system and to investigate the feasibility of the engine of the concept.The governing equations that include transport phenomena such as viscosity, thermal conduction and diffusion are coupled with chemical reactions. The gas is assumed to be thermally perfect and in chemically non-equilibrium. The stiffness due to coupling the fluid dynamics and the chemical kinetics is properly taken care of by using a time-operator splitting method and a variable coefficient ordinary differential equation solver. A …

Modular Multi-Scale Assembly System For Mems Packaging, Rakesh Murthy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

A multi-scale robotic assembly problem is approached here with focus on mechanical design for precision positioning at the microscale. The assembly system is characterized in terms of accuracy/repeatability and calibration via experiments. The MEMS packaging requirements are studied from an assembly point of view. The tolerance budget of the assembly ranges from 4 microns to 300 microns. The system components include robots, microstages, end-effectors and fixtures that accomplish the assembly tasks. Task assignment amongst this hardware has been accomplished based on precision and dexterity availability. Various end-effectors and fixtures have been designed for use with off-the-shelf hardware (robots and microstages) …

Interactions Between Antiwear Agent And Novel Additive In Engine Oils, Kajal Parekh

Material Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Research has shown that side/end products of phosphorus and sulfur compounds in engine oils reduce effective life of exhaust catalysts of automobiles resulting in harmful emissions. Thus environmental regulations have been imposed on phosphorus levels in engine oils. The main source of phosphorus in today's oils is the indispensable antiwear agent Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphate (ZDDP). To find cost-effective non-phosphorus substitute has not proven fruitful. A unique way of reducing phosphorus or ZDDP level while maintaining good antiwear performance has been achieved by introduction of a novel additive FeF3 along with ZDDP. It appears that the interactions between FeF3 and ZDDP …

Interactive Animated Concept Map Generation - Using Dynamic Animations, Suneel Vana

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

We present a visualization tool, which is useful for the illustration of educational concepts using interactive animated concept maps. This system serves as a presentation tool which provides a collection of multimedia elements (images, animations, audios clips and video clips), a collection of animated presentation templates and an interface by using which users can retrieve the multimedia elements from the multimedia database and generate the dynamic animations by placing the selected elements into the placeholders of the templates. The system generates the animated presentation by replacing embedded multimedia objects and their properties as desired by its users. A multimedia information …

Design And Analysis Of Multi-Functional Laparoscopic Tool, Vadakkapattu Candadai Venkat Raghavan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Laparoscopic tools have been developed over many years, but there is a need for a laparoscopic tool that can be used for multiple purposes without the need to be removed and reinserted in the body. This thesis discusses the design of such a multi-functional laparoscopic tool with the ability to independently actuate grasping and shearing mechanisms, and is modular enough to be easily adapted to robot assisted surgical techniques. The envisioned tool can be divided into three main sections - the surgeon interface, the transmission mechanism, and the end effector. The surgeon interface mainly consists of a handle and two …

Parametric Cycle Analysis For Pulse Detonation Engines, Haider Hekiri

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

The performance of an ejector-driven pulse detonation engine (PDE) with an afterburner is analytically estimated. In the analysis, the PDE was modeled as a straight tube, closed at the front end and open at the other. A detonation wave starts to travel after it is ignited at the closed end, causing a Chapman-Jouguet detonation wave followed by a Taylor rarefaction to travel to the open end. At that point, rarefaction waves are reflected back to the closed end. The result is a high thrust due to both the primary and secondary flows of the ejector-driven PDE. A theoretical analysis is …

Airy Stress Function For Two Dimensional Inclusion Problems, Dharshini Rao Kavati

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

This thesis addresses a problem of finding the elastic fields in a two-dimensional body containing an inhomogeneous inclusion using the Airy stress function which is determined so that the prescribed boundary condition at a far field and the continuity condition of the traction force and the displacement field at the interface are satisfied exactly. All the derivations and solving simultaneous equations are carried out using symbolic software.

Arc-Heated Gas Flow Experiments For Hypersonic Propulsion Applications, Christopher Matthew Roseberry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Although hydrogen is an attractive fuel for a hypersonic air-breathing vehicle in terms of reaction rate, flame temperature, and energy content per unit mass, the substantial tank volume required to store hydrogen imposes a drag penalty to performance that tends to offset these advantages. An alternative approach is to carry a hydrocarbon fuel and convert it on-board into a hydrogen-rich gas mixture to be injected into the engine combustors. To investigate this approach, the UTA Arc-Heated Wind Tunnel facility was modified to run on methane rather than the normally used nitrogen. Previously, this facility was extensively developed for the purpose …

Reliability Of Lead-Free Solder Under Cyclic Bending, Fahad Zahedi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

To characterize particular compositions of lead free solder, four point cyclic bending test was conducted to study the affects of accelerated stress testing on the package to board interconnects. Nine CTBGA packages with 0.5 mm ball pitch and 12 x 12 mm package size were reflowed on 8 layered PWB's using solder balls with lead free composition alloys and different PWB copper pad finishes. The boards were subjected to test conditions based on proposed standards by JEDEC. Strain gages were mounted at different locations on the test boards as well as on bare boards in order to observe the difference …

Experimental Characterization Of Femtosecond Laser Micromachining For Silicon Mold Fabrication And Hot Embossing For Polymer Microreplication, Sunil Ranganath Belligundu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Hot embossing is a fabrication technique employed for replicating microfeatures on a polymer surface that was primarily developed to fabricate MEMS devices for microfluidic applications. This manuscript deals with characterization of the femtosecond laser micromachining (FLM) and hot embossing (HEMM) processes for master mold fabrication on silicon and polymer replication respectively. Given the required size of the features to be fabricated or replicated, process parameters for FLM can be determined using the derived empirical equations, process parameters for the HEMM process can be established using the characteristic plots. A novel two-stage embossing process is developed and introduced that employs polymer …

Determination Of Safe Buffer Width Of Roadway To Protect Human Health Form Harmful Nox Exposure, Hetal H. Bhatt

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

According to the 2004 EPA Trends Report, US on-road transportation sources emit 36% of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 63% of carbon monoxide (CO), and 29% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This research determines a safe roadway buffer width to protect human health from air pollutant (NOx) exposure. The method was used to determine a buffer width for NOx along Great Southwest Parkway in Grand Prairie, Texas. NOx health effects include eye, nose, throat, and lung irritation; cough; shortness of breath; tiredness and nausea. In the Dallas Fort Worth region, where Grand Prairie is located, on-road vehicles contribute over 50 % of …

Discharge Headway At Signalized Intersections In Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Luis F. Chapa

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Driver behavior has been the subject of study for almost 100 years. As a result, driver characteristics have been determined and used in the design of highway elements, both for interrupted and for free flow facilities. Signalized intersections represent the most typical interrupted flow facility, with driver reaction time and aggressiveness playing a key role in signal timing design and also in the assessing of intersection performance. These driver characteristics were first determined in the United States in the late 1940's, identifying an average headway (in seconds) between consecutive vehicles as they react to light change from red to green …

Investigation Of Breast Tumor Hemodynamics By Near Infrared Spectroscopy: Applications To Cancer Therapy Monitoring, Jae Gwan Kim

Bioengineering Dissertations - Archive

Hyperoxic gas interventions using carbogen (95% O2 and 5% CO2) or oxygen has been tried to increase the tumor oxygenation since it will enhance the therapeutic effects on the tumors. Others in the laboratory had previously applied near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to monitor the changes in tumor blood oxygenation during hyperoxic gas intervention and found that oxyhemoglobin concentration changes (D[HbO2]) during gas intervention can be fitted by a two-exponential equation containing two time constants. Based on the model, they formed a hypothesis that changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration result from well perfused and poorly perfused regions of an animal tumor …

Adaptive Sampling With Mobile Wsn, Koushil Sreenath

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

The spatiotemporally varying network topology of mobile sensor networks makes it very suitable for applications such as reconstruction of environmental fields through sampling at locations that maximally reduce the largest uncertainty in the field estimate. Mobile sensor networks comprise of multiple heterogeneous resources and a deadlock-free resource scheduling in the presence of shared and routing resources becomes necessary to schedule the most efficient (cost / energy / time) resource for a task. Location information is imperative in sensor networks for most applications for localized sensing where localizing the network adaptively with no additional hardware is important. Adaptive sampling approaches for …

Data-Logging & Supervisory Control In Wireless Sensor Networks, Choudhury Aditya Narayan Das

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

This thesis mainly emphasizes on the inclusion and implementation of the Supervisory control unit in the wireless sensor networks with a brief overlook on the cross-bow sensors and mobile sentry robots. The aim of this research has been to design an application module which would be able to manipulate the data effectively and support the Discrete Event Controller in generating the rule-based tasks by solving major issues like data-logging, alarm and event reporting and security concerns. The PC-based data logging systems provide the most flexibility, customization, and integration to the Wireless Sensor Network research project. This work has been supported …

Creating A Positive Home Environment For A Child With Sensory Processing, Jean E. Bross-Judge

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project focused on identifying and working with the unique needs of a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Using the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model, strategies and tools, the author designed and developed a home environment that promoted successful living for a child with SPD as well as positive interactions with family members. The project contains a description of the practical adaptations to everyday living in a physical space, as well as resources for parents, caregivers, educators and other professionals.

Disposal Of Bridge Paint Residue, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Paint residue generated by bridge maintenance painting commonly contains lead requiring the residue to be disposed of as a hazardous waste. Several alternatives are being investigated in this study, chemical stabilization and recycling as options for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to consider in addressing the waste stream generated by bridge maintenance painting operations.

In the initial portion of this study, four chemical stabilization materials were identified as candidates for xperimental/demonstration projects entailing maintenance painting. A recycling option was also provided. An experimental bridge painting project was let by KYTC to investigate the use of two chemical stabilizers and the …

University Of San Diego News Print Media Coverage 2005.12, University Of San Diego Office Of Public Relations

Print Media Coverage (1947-2009)

Printed clippings housed in folders with a table of contents arranged by topic.

Online Support For Multivariate Integration, Shujun Li

Dissertations

In this dissertation, we present an online problem solving environment for multivariate numerical integration. To build an environment for users with various backgrounds, we address issues of Web interface support for end-users, remote application programming interfaces for distributed system programmers, visualization of multivariate integrand functions for problem analysis, and highly efficient integration methods. Compared to previous implementations, our new load balancing schemes increase the scalability of parallel integration and hence are suitable for large scale computations. A parallel integration service, called PI service, was implemented based on Web services technologies to support both remote integration and remote visualization. The multivariate …

Real-Time 3d Image Visualization System For Digital Video On A Single Chip, Nader I. Rafla

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Implementation of a real-time image visualization system on a reconfigurable chip (FPGA) is proposed. The system utilizes an innovative stereoscopic image capture, processing and visualization technique. Implementation is done as a two stage process. In the first stage, the stereo pair is captured using two image sensors. The captured images are then synchronized and sent to the second stage for fusion. A controller module is developed, designed, and placed on the FPGA for this purpose. The second stage is used for reconstruction and visualization of the 3D image. An innovative technique employing dual-processor architecture on the same single FPGA is …

Excessive Compensation In Publicly Held Corporations: Is The Doctrine Of Waste Still Applicable, John W. Murrey Iii

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tanks In The Streets: Suvs, Design Defects, And Ultrahazardous Strict Liability, Kevin Case

Chicago-Kent Law Review

SUV rollover crashes have been well-publicized and thoroughly litigated. Less attention has been paid to the lethal risks created by SUVs—particularly the latest "behemoth" SUVs like Hummers—to the occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians. Due to the design of SUVs, which are stiffer, heavier, and ride higher than cars, a collision between an SUV and a passenger car often results in catastrophic damage and injury to the occupants of the car, particularly when an SUV strikes a car broadside. Moreover, the design features of SUVs that create these dangers provide no utility or value to society. The "benefit" provided by …

Speleo Spiel, No. 351, November-December 2005, Alan Jackson

Speleo Spiel

Contents: Regular Bits -- Trip Reports -- Other Exciting Stuff

2005 Vol. 54 No. 3, Cleveland-Marshall College Of Law

2000s

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Gender On Lower Extremity Kinematics During Rapid Direction Changes: An Integrated Analysis Of Three Sports Movements, S. G. Mclean, K. B. Walker, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is a common sports injury, particularly in females. Gender differences in knee kinematics have been observed for specific movements, but there is limited information on how these findings relate to other joints and other movements. Here we present an integrated analysis of hip, knee and ankle kinematics across three movements linked to non-contact ACL injury. It was hypothesised that there are gender differences in lower extremity kinematics, which are consistent across sports movements. Ten female and ten male NCAA basketball players had three-dimensional hip, knee and ankle kinematics quantified during the stance phase of sidestep, …

Connections: Library News For Library Staff Vol. 2, Issue 11, University Of Texas At Arlington Library

Connections: Library News for Library Staff

The purpose of Connections was to build community within UTA Library staff by reminding people of upcoming events and dates, introducing new staff members, celebrating a department's achievements, and writing about other items of interest.

Efficient Transcoding Of An Mpeg-2 Bit Stream To An H.264 Bit Stream, Rochelle B. Pereira

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Low complexity fast transcoding of an MPEG-2 elementary stream to an H.264 elementary stream. Objective: MPEG-2 has been a widely accepted video coding standard for various applications ranging from DVD to digital TV broadcast. The new H.264 AVC standard has an even broader perspective to support high and low bit rate multimedia applications on existing and future networks. The advantage in terms of better quality at a lower bit rate is why H.264 is fast replacing MPEG-2. However, the user end hardware had previously been adapted for MPEG-2 streams. This gives rise to a need for portability between MPEG-2 and …

Analysis And Characterization Of Thermal Effects In Analog Circuits, Abhijit Avinash Chaugule

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Dielectrically Isolated Bipolar Junction Transistors (DIBJTs) are used in industry for high speed and high power applications. These devices suffer from thermal heating and are subjected to change in their characteristics. This thesis explores the thermal effects involving the self heating and inter-device heating (thermal coupling) at the device as well as at the circuit level. Systematic analysis of individual device heating characteristics in a particular Current feedback operational amplifier (CFOA) design is carried out, using the VBIC (Vertical Bipolar Inter-company) model in the the Cadence SpectreS simulator. A diagnostic and design procedure is established for circuit designers to determine …

High Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (Oct) System For Integration With A Multimodal Optical Imaging Workstation, Kapil Bharati Langer

Bioengineering Theses - Archive

Development and construction of a high resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system is described. OCT is one of the modalities in an integrated multimode optical imaging workstation built around an inverted Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) microscope in our laboratory, to image cells and tissue samples. The design and construction of the OCT sample path is dictated by its integration to the optical imaging workstation. The OCT system is controlled via a DAC card, interfaced using LabVIEW to the computer. The image of the sample under observation is constructed from the raster scan data acquired by the DAQ. Ti-Sapphire broadband laser …

Failure Analysis Of Composite Laminates With A Hole By Using Finite Element Method, Moumita Roy

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses - Archive

Predicting the strength of a given laminate has been extensively studied. There have been several fracture models proposed but still the immense tests of composite laminates are still needed. Different material systems or lay-ups exhibit different failure modes and failure mechanisms. This thesis focuses in investigation of the failure mechanism of the [±?/02]s and [02/±?]s laminates with a hole. ANSYS finite element models with and without a crack in vicinity of hole were developed to investigate the effect of the stress distribution due to the presence of the angle ply crack. The stress concentrations were obtained. It is found that …