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2008

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Multiple Radar Data Merging In Hydro-Nexrad, Witold F. Krajewski, Bong Chul Seo, Anton Kruger, Piotr Domaszczynski, Gabriele Villarini, James A. Smith Dec 2008

Multiple Radar Data Merging In Hydro-Nexrad, Witold F. Krajewski, Bong Chul Seo, Anton Kruger, Piotr Domaszczynski, Gabriele Villarini, James A. Smith

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Hydro-NEXRAD merging algorithms include two options: (1) data-based merging; and (2) product-based merging. Data-based merging algorithm takes volume scan reflectivity data from all radars involved through preprocessing algorithm that performs volume data quality control, interpolates data to synchronize temporal scale between individual radars, and finally combines data onto a common geographic grid. Reflectivity values for a given location are assigned by a weighting function with respect to the distance from the radar. This single reflectivity field is then converted to rainfall amounts using a user-requested standard approach. In product-based merging algorithm reflectivity data from multiple radars are all converted …

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Modeling Solutions And Simulations For Advanced Iii-V Photovoltaics Based On Nanostructures, Ryan Aguinaldo Dec 2008

Modeling Solutions And Simulations For Advanced Iii-V Photovoltaics Based On Nanostructures, Ryan Aguinaldo

Theses

It is the purpose of the work to develop methods for and present on the computational analyses of advanced III-V photovoltaic devices and their enhancement by the incorporation of semiconductor nanostructures. Such devices are currently being fabricated as part of the research efforts at the Nanopower Research Laboratories; therefore, this work aims to supplement and ground the experimental undertakings with a strong theoretical basis. This is accomplished by numerical calculations based on the detailed balance model and by physicsbased device simulation. The specific materials focus of this work is on the enhancement of the GaAs solar cell. The aforementioned methodologies …

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Spiral Of Silence And The Iraq War, Jessica Drake Dec 2008

Spiral Of Silence And The Iraq War, Jessica Drake

Theses

Discussing controversial issues may be hard for some individuals because they fear they may become isolated. The Iraq War serves as one such controversy in which some individuals might avoid publicly expressing their opinion. Spiral of silence, a communication theory set forth by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann can be used to explain why some individuals will publicly express their opinion of the Iraq War while others will not. A Web-based survey was distributed to Rochester Institute of Technology faculty, staff and students. This study investigated public opinion expression through interactive forms of media such as discussion forums, blogs and Web sites.

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Quantifying The Costs And Benefits Of Product Variety On Key Performance Measures-A Simulation Study., Trivikram H. Rao Dec 2008

Quantifying The Costs And Benefits Of Product Variety On Key Performance Measures-A Simulation Study., Trivikram H. Rao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's market customers are increasingly demanding a greater number of options in the products they purchase. Offering products in greater variety helps industries cater to a wider range of customers. However, at the same time, this product proliferation is creating new problems for manufacturers. The effect of an increase in the variants of a product on the supply chain and production operations is largely unknown. Understanding this affect along with the benefits of increased product variety on the company's market share would greatly assist industries in making a return on investment analysis. In this thesis, we develop a simulation …

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Rear Impact Crashworthiness Of A Manual Wc19 Wheelchair Occupied By A 50th Percentile Atd., Zdravko Salipur Dec 2008

Rear Impact Crashworthiness Of A Manual Wc19 Wheelchair Occupied By A 50th Percentile Atd., Zdravko Salipur

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For persons with disabilities, access to transportation is necessary for integration into society. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been instrumental in assuring transportation access to individuals with disabilities for purposes of employment, education, and recreation. A substantial number of wheelchair users may not be able to transfer from their wheelchair to a motor vehicle seat during transportation. It is necessary to afford these wheelchair users the same level of safety as occupants seated in motor vehicle seats. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of a manual wheelchair used as a motor vehicle seat, while …

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A Circuit Model For Esd Performance Analysis Of Printed Circuit Boards, Byong-Su Seol, Jong-Sung Lee, Jae-Deok Lim, Hyungseok Lee, Harkbyeong Park, Argha Nandy, David Pommerenke Dec 2008

A Circuit Model For Esd Performance Analysis Of Printed Circuit Boards, Byong-Su Seol, Jong-Sung Lee, Jae-Deok Lim, Hyungseok Lee, Harkbyeong Park, Argha Nandy, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper provides a SPICE-compatible circuit model for characterizing electrostatic discharge (ESD) clamping performance of protection devices mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs). An equivalent circuit model for a commercial ESD generator is introduced and a simulation methodology of an ESD protection device with non-linear resistance characteristic using voltage controlled current source is described. These models combined to create a full circuit model with a PCB model in a SPICE-like circuit simulator. Comparison results between the simulated and measured are presented to verify the accuracy of the proposed circuit model. A trade-off analysis between the ESD clamping performance and signal …

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Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks Dec 2008

Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A neural network (NN) based output feedback controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The NNs are utilized in the observer and for generating virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, where the NNs learn the nonlinear dynamics of the UAV online including uncertain nonlinear terms like aerodynamic friction and blade flapping. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the position, orientation, and velocity tracking errors, the virtual control and observer estimation errors, and the NN weight estimation errors for each NN are all semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in the presence of bounded disturbances and NN functional …

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Experiences Influencing Degree Completion Articulated By Doctoral Students In Education Administration., David Lee Barnett Dec 2008

Experiences Influencing Degree Completion Articulated By Doctoral Students In Education Administration., David Lee Barnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educational literature indicates that approximately half of all doctoral students persist to degree completion. The literature indicates persistence rates among the social sciences are even lower. This study examined factors influencing doctoral student persistence in education administration programs. Tinto's theory of graduate student persistence framed four research questions: Do the demographics of doctoral students persisting to degree completion in education administration differ from those not completing their programs? Do doctoral students in education administration programs articulate experiences of academic integration as influencing their persistence? Do doctoral students in education administration programs articulate experiences of social integration as influencing their persistence? …

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Design, Analysis, And Development Of Cost Effective Canine Wheelchairs., Edward Bros Fowler Dec 2008

Design, Analysis, And Development Of Cost Effective Canine Wheelchairs., Edward Bros Fowler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hind limb paralysis may occur in dogs for a variety of neurological or musculoskeletal reasons. For dogs with limited mobility their lack of ability to ambulate can have a great impact on their physical and mental health. Canine wheelchairs can provide these dogs with a mobility option. The purpose of this project was to design a cost effective, adjustable, and lightweight canine wheelchair for dogs with hind limb paralysis. To account for the diverse range of canine breed sizes, wheelchairs were categorized into three separate designs (small, medium, and large size wheelchairs). A quality function deployment (QFD) matrix was created …

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Modeling The Relationship Between Air Quality And Intelligent Transportation System (Its) With Artificial Neural Networks., Dinesh Kumar Gupta 1965- Dec 2008

Modeling The Relationship Between Air Quality And Intelligent Transportation System (Its) With Artificial Neural Networks., Dinesh Kumar Gupta 1965-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental or air quality impacts of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are very difficult to measure. Some researchers have attempted to quantify the effects of individual ITS application on emissions; yet, the effects of ITS as a whole on ambient air quality have not been investigated. The objective of this research was to model the relationship between ITS and ambient air quality. The multiple Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) training with the data yielded a model for predicting the air quality. In addition, the ANN made the measurement of the effect of ITS on air quality possible. Data pertaining to sixty US …

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Damping Inter-Area Oscillations In Power Systems By Statcoms, Mahyar Zarghami, Mariesa Crow Dec 2008

Damping Inter-Area Oscillations In Power Systems By Statcoms, Mahyar Zarghami, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Shunt FACTS devices such as STATCOMs are best known for their impact on reactive power flow in power networks. This is usually done by local reactive compensation which also regulates voltage magnitude of the bus to which the shunt FACTS device is connected. on the other hand, these devices are less known for their effect on active power flow. This paper discusses a novel approach for damping inter-area oscillations in a large power network using multiple STATCOMs. in the paper, it will be shown that these oscillations can be controlled by changing STATCOMs' bus voltage angles, hence regulating active power …

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Distribution System Operation And Planning In The Presence Of Distributed Generation Technology, Gavin W. Jones, Badrul H. Chowdhury Dec 2008

Distribution System Operation And Planning In The Presence Of Distributed Generation Technology, Gavin W. Jones, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Distributed generation (DG) is becoming an increasingly attractive multi-faceted paradigm in the field of power distribution as economic and environmental factors drive new technologies to be more efficient and less polluting than their earlier counterparts. an attempt is made to examine and compare three types of DG: diesel generators, microturbines, and small wind turbines within the structure of a distribution system. the DG types are compared in both steady-state and transient operation to determine which type is suitable for a particular application. Steady-state operation is examined under heavy loading conditions and each DG type is compared on the basis of …

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Development Of A New System Vulnerability Index - The Overload Risk Index, John Rossmaier, Badrul Chowdhury Dec 2008

Development Of A New System Vulnerability Index - The Overload Risk Index, John Rossmaier, Badrul Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a new index to better determine the vulnerability of a power system. the procedure for calculating this index combines stochastic and probabilistic methods to determine the likelihood of a line overloading in a power system. the methods used include a basic load flow analysis using network security factors and Monte Carlo simulation that incorporates the likelihood of component failure within the system. a case study has been performed to analyze the ability of such an index in accurately measuring one aspect of power system vulnerability. Three different variations of this indexing method are explored in an attempt …

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Secure Virtual Backbone-Based Power Management For Ad Hoc Networks, Hung Yuan Hsu, Ali R. Hurson Dec 2008

Secure Virtual Backbone-Based Power Management For Ad Hoc Networks, Hung Yuan Hsu, Ali R. Hurson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Power saving is a critical issue in wireless ad hoc networks. Many of the existing energy efficient routing protocols utilize the power management feature provided by MAC layer (e.g., IEEE 802.11 PSM). the rationale behind these protocols is to power down (put in sleep) the redundant nodes that do not involve in the packets routing. to keep a low end-to-end latency and preserve the routing fidelity, a group of nodes are selected to constitute a virtual backbone throughout the network. the backbone nodes do not sleep all the time serving for the packets routing while the rest of nodes turn …

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Liquefaction Behavior Of Mississippi River Silts, Ali M. Izadi, Ronaldo Luna, Richard Wesley Stephenson Dec 2008

Liquefaction Behavior Of Mississippi River Silts, Ali M. Izadi, Ronaldo Luna, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Civil Infrastructure Built on Alluviums and Recent Deposits, Such as Dams, Contain Significant Amount of Silts. the Static and Dynamic Behavior of These Fine-Grained Soils Has Been Investigated Less Than the Clay-Like or Sand-Like Soils. Low Plasticity Silts (PI = 6) Obtained East of St. Louis in Illinois Are Known as Loess that Has Been Re-Deposited by Water in the Floodplains of the Mississippi River. These Silts Were Reconstituted in the Laboratory by Slurry at Water Content above the Liquid Limit and Then Consolidated to an Initial Effective Stress. the Initial Laboratory Characterization under Monotonic Loading Included a Series of …

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Focused Image Search In The Social Web., Zhiyong Zhang Dec 2008

Focused Image Search In The Social Web., Zhiyong Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recently, social multimedia-sharing websites, which allow users to upload, annotate, and share online photo or video collections, have become increasingly popular. The user tags or annotations constitute the new multimedia "meta-data". We present an image search system that exploits both image textual and visual information. First, we use focused crawling and DOM Tree based web data extraction methods to extract image textual features from social networking image collections. Second, we propose the concept of visual words to handle the image's visual content for fast indexing and searching. We also develop several user friendly search options to allow users to query …

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Comparative Evaluation Of Ethanol Yield From Htf Corn Varieties In The Whisky Production Process., Kara Marie Zoeller Dec 2008

Comparative Evaluation Of Ethanol Yield From Htf Corn Varieties In The Whisky Production Process., Kara Marie Zoeller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the whisky industry there is a balance between the desire to adhere to the traditional production process and the desire to increase profit margins. One solution that follows both stipulations is to increase the alcohol yield of a given batch of whisky. This can be achieved by utilizing high total fermentable corn which has a higher concentration of fermentable starches than other corn. HTF corn has the potential for a greater final ethanol yield. By simply using a higher quality of raw materials, the integrity of the process is maintained while allowing for an increase in output. Ten strains …

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Advancing The Knowledge Of Local Health Care Policy Through The Growth Machine Thesis., David P. Houvenagle 1965- Dec 2008

Advancing The Knowledge Of Local Health Care Policy Through The Growth Machine Thesis., David P. Houvenagle 1965-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A disciplined-configurative case study design was carried out to explore whether a growth machine exists and shapes local healthcare policy in Louisville. A historical analysis first explored whether a growth machine existed in Louisville in the past and shaped healthcare policy. Second, a network analysis was used to identify the recent contours of the Louisville growth machine. Third, qualitative interviews were conducted with central individuals as indicated by the social network analysis to assess the degree to which local healthcare policy is shaped and driven by the growth machine. The results show that Louisville has consistently had a growth machine …

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Piles Under Earthquake Loads, Shamsher Prakash, Vijay K. Puri Dec 2008

Piles Under Earthquake Loads, Shamsher Prakash, Vijay K. Puri

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Piles are preferred type of foundation for supporting structures in seismic areas. their performance is affected by soil, pile and earthquake related parameters. in non-liquefying soils, the shear modulus may degrade, and material damping may increase with increasing strain/displacement. in liquefying soils, the lateral ground displacement may lead to increased lateral loads and moments on the pile leading to pile failure in bending. the loss of lateral support can also lead to buckling type failure. These issues for pile design in seismic areas are examined. © 2008 ASCE.

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Global Skin Friction Diagnostics In Complex Separated Flows, Sudesh A. Woodiga Dec 2008

Global Skin Friction Diagnostics In Complex Separated Flows, Sudesh A. Woodiga

Masters Theses

This work describes the application of a global luminescent oil film skin friction meter to quantitative global skin friction diagnostics in complex separated flows. The development of this technique is based on the relationship between the oil film thickness and luminescent intensity of an oil film mixed with a luminescent dye. The projected thin oil film equation is given to relate the normalized luminescent intensity with skin friction. The basis for this technique is the variational solution for the thin oil film equation on the image plane. The variational formulation with a smoothness constraint on skin friction is proposed to …

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Prescribing Safety In Primary Care. Comparing The United Kingdom And Saudi Arabia, Haya S. Zedan, Anthony J. Avery Dec 2008

Prescribing Safety In Primary Care. Comparing The United Kingdom And Saudi Arabia, Haya S. Zedan, Anthony J. Avery

Saudi Medical Journal

Most consultations in primary care end with a prescription for medication. As a result, the potential for error in prescriptions and the potential harm to patients must be carefully considered and action taken to increase the safety of patients in these situations. Policy makers and health professionals have an obligation to protect public health. This review aims to compare and critically assess the main policies, initiatives, and guidance that have been developed to improve the safety of prescribing in primary care in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. The report also suggests particular areas of need that might be addressed …

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The Martian Rose (2007): Exposing A Rose To The Martian Environment, Laura Cinti, Howard Boland Dec 2008

The Martian Rose (2007): Exposing A Rose To The Martian Environment, Laura Cinti, Howard Boland

RIT Digital Archives

Our cultural concept of Mars has historically been entrenched with its possibilities of life since Percival Lowell gazed at Giovanni Schiaparelli’s canali over a century ago. Perhaps a small misinterpretation of language, an optical illusion, or the dream of an optimist, unlocked the myth of a war torn planet where unrivalled irrigation skills implied markings of intelligent creatures (Lowell, 1909). With new discoveries and the development of technological tools, Mars has become reduced from inhabiting man-like creatures to worms, plants and gradually only the potentiality of microbes. Indeed, many scientists shared this disappointment as the Mariner orbiters first laid their …

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Introduction: Telling Places, Nicholas Beech Dec 2008

Introduction: Telling Places, Nicholas Beech

RIT Digital Archives

I don’t think it is desirable, or possible, in this introduction to a small selection of papers (four) from the conference Telling Places: Narrative and identity in art and architecture, to attempt a complete summary of its proceedings (which included twenty papers, including Davison 2008). Along with the paper presentations, the conference included an exhibition of work produced in the PhD programs at the Bartlett School of Architecture and the Slade School of Fine Art, curated by Christiana Ioannou, Christos Papastergiou, and Laura Cinti; a workshop (that included, most disconcertingly and significantly, actual singing by academics) provided by the artist …

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Simulation Of Nanostructured Electrodes For Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Sanjeev M. Rao, Yangchuan Xing Dec 2008

Simulation Of Nanostructured Electrodes For Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, Sanjeev M. Rao, Yangchuan Xing

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Pt uniformly deposited on them are being considered in fabricating the catalyst layer of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell electrodes. When coated with a proton conducting polymer (e.g., Nafion) on the Pt/CNTs, each Pt/CNT acts as a nanoelectrode and a collection of such nanoelectrodes constitutes the proposed nanostructured electrodes. Computer modeling was performed for the cathode side, in which both multicomponent and Knudsen diffusion were taken into account. the effect of the nanoelectrode lengths was also studied with catalyst layer thicknesses of 2, 4, 6, and 10 μm. It was observed that shorter lengths …

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Antibacterial Coatings For Medical Devices Based On Glass Polyalkenoate Cement Chemistry, A. Coughlan, D. Boyd, C. W.I. Douglas, Mark R. Towler Dec 2008

Antibacterial Coatings For Medical Devices Based On Glass Polyalkenoate Cement Chemistry, A. Coughlan, D. Boyd, C. W.I. Douglas, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A biofilm is an accumulation of micro-organisms and their extracellular products forming a structured community on a surface. Biofilm formation on medical devices has severe health consequences as bacteria growing in this lifestyle are tolerant to both host defense mechanisms and antibiotic therapies. However, silver and zinc ions inhibit the attachment and proliferation of immature biofilms. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether it is possible to produce silver and zinc-containing glass polyalkenoate cement (GPC) coatings for medical devices that have antibacterial activity and which may therefore inhibit biofilm formation on a material surface. Two silver and zinc-containing …

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Privacy Engine For Context-Aware Enterprise Application Services, Marion Blount, John Davis, Maria Ebling, William Jerome, Barry Leiba, Xuan Liu, Archan Misra Dec 2008

Privacy Engine For Context-Aware Enterprise Application Services, Marion Blount, John Davis, Maria Ebling, William Jerome, Barry Leiba, Xuan Liu, Archan Misra

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Satisfying the varied privacy preferences of individuals, while exposing context data to authorized applications and individuals, remains a major challenge for context-aware computing. This paper describes our experiences in building a middleware component, the context privacy engine (CPE), that enforces a role-based, context-dependent privacy model for enterprise domains. While fundamentally an ACL-based access control scheme, CPE extends the traditional ACL mechanism with usage control and context constraints. This paper focuses on discussing issues related to managing and evaluating context-dependent privacy policies. Extensive experimental studies with a production-grade implementation and real-life context sources demonstrate that the CPE can support a large …

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Missouri S&T Magazine Winter 2008, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association Dec 2008

Missouri S&T Magazine Winter 2008, Missouri S&T Marketing And Communications Department, Miner Alumni Association

Missouri S&T Magazine

No abstract provided.

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Design For Manufacturing (Dfm) Methodology To Implement Friction Stir Welding (Fsw) For Automobile Chassis Fabrication, Harish Bagaitkar, Venkat Allada Dec 2008

Design For Manufacturing (Dfm) Methodology To Implement Friction Stir Welding (Fsw) For Automobile Chassis Fabrication, Harish Bagaitkar, Venkat Allada

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The manufacturing functional feasibility of implementing Friction Stir Welding (FSW) for automobile chassis fabrication is discussed using a case study. in the case study, the Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles are applied to manufacture an aluminum automobile chassis. Various DFM issues are addressed while proposing the FSW technique as an alternative to laser welding and metal inert gas welding techniques. DFM guidelines involving joint design change, component geometries, and component elimination are discussed in this paper. by making appropriate changes in the component geometries and joint designs and eliminating some components, more than 50% of the joints in the example …

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Comparing Component Functional Template Modeling Experimental Results In An Undergraduate Level Engineering Design Course, Daniel Abbott, Katie Grantham Lough Dec 2008

Comparing Component Functional Template Modeling Experimental Results In An Undergraduate Level Engineering Design Course, Daniel Abbott, Katie Grantham Lough

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Component functional templates are a foundational tool, for the functional modeling method, that novice users can implement to develop functional modeling skills and produce better results by not requiring the modeler to have extensive background knowledge in the method. the templates provide common function layouts of ordinary electromechanical components that are based on historic data collected from design information on a wide range of consumer products. a previous experiment has been performed on a sophomore level design class to assess the change in quality between functional modeling results with and without the use of component functional templates. to address further …

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Fully Evolvable Optimal Neurofuzzy Controller Using Adaptive Critic Designs, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley Dec 2008

Fully Evolvable Optimal Neurofuzzy Controller Using Adaptive Critic Designs, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A near-optimal neurofuzzy external controller is designed in this paper for a static compensator (STATCOM) in a multimachine power system. The controller provides an auxiliary reference signal for the STATCOM in such a way that it improves the damping of the rotor speed deviations of its neighboring generators. A zero-order Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy rule base constitutes the core of the controller. A heuristic dynamic programming (HDP) based approach is used to further train the controller and enable it to provide nonlinear near-optimal control at different operating conditions of the power system. Based on the connectionist systems theory, the parameters of the …

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