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Advance (Spring 2009), Georgia Southern Division Of Continuing And Professional Education

Division of Continuing & Professional Education

No abstract provided.

Advance (Fall 2009), Georgia Southern Division Of Continuing And Professional Education

Division of Continuing & Professional Education

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Beneficial Role Of Thiol Antioxidant Supplementation In Various Forms Of Glutathione Deficiency, Linu Sara Abraham

Doctoral Dissertations

"Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathology of numerous disorders afflicting humans, ranging from neurodegenerative diseases, to cancer, and heavy metal toxicity. Scientists are on the constant lookout for new and better antioxidants that have the ability to slow, if not stop the harmful degenerative effects of free radicals in oxidative stress related disorders. Both synthetic and naturally occurring compounds are being constantly screened for their antioxidant properties. This study attempted to evaluate the abilities of a thiol antioxidant, N-Acetylcysteine amide (NACA), to protect cells from the harmful effects of glutathione depletion in two different models of oxidative …

Anti Wetting Additives For Aluminosilicate Refractories In Molten Aluminum Contact Applications, Devdutt Pramod Shukla

Doctoral Dissertations

"Aluminosilicate based refractories are widely used in furnace installations for melting aluminum because they are inexpensive, readily available and generally exhibit the properties desired from a refractory material. However, they face severe corrosion and degradation issues due to the extremely reducing nature of molten aluminum alloys. Isothermal static cup testing is widely used as a tool to evaluate the performance of refractories against penetration by molten aluminum alloys. Various testing methods were reviewed and an upgraded static cup test was recommended. Commercially available aluminosilicate refractories were tested using this method and their results were studied in order to understand the …

Applications Of Sensor Arrays In Acoustic And Seismic Signal Processing, Peng Xie

Doctoral Dissertations

"This work investigates the applications of sensor arrays in the areas of acoustic and seismic signal processing. It comprises three papers.

The first paper explores the problem of blind source separation (BSS) for convolutive acoustic signals. It concentrates on the well known permutation and amplitude problems in frequency-domain BSS and proposes a new hybrid approach to solve them. This approach connects the separation processes across all frequency bins, and relies on a novel permutation control unit. This framework could greatly reduce computational load and improve separation performance. Synthesized and real-world experiments demonstrate its efficiency.

The second paper investigates a new …

Fundamentals Of Friction Stir Spot Welding, Harsha Badarinarayan

Doctoral Dissertations

"The recent spike in energy costs has been a major contributor to propel the use of light weight alloys in the transportation industry. In particular, the automotive industry sees benefit in using light weight alloys to increase fuel efficiency and enhance performance. In this context, light weight design by replacing steel with Al and/or Mg alloys have been considered as promising initiatives. The joining of structures made of light weight alloys is therefore very important and calls for more attention. Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is an evolving technique that offers several advantages over conventional joining processes.

The fundamentals aspects …

Systematic Functional And Object-Oriented Product Design Frameworks, Jen-Chi Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The existing co-design methods of mechatronic products focus on co-design of mechanical and electronic components or co-design of computer hardware and software components. There exist no effective co-design methods for mechanical, electronic and software components at the concept design stage. The research objective of this dissertation work is to develop more effective systematic product design approaches for co-design of mechatronic products. Three innovative functional and object-oriented integrated design frameworks and one virtual prototyping application, which leverages on these three design frameworks, have been developed for co-design of mechatronic products. The three frameworks are: I) Hierarchical Object-Oriented Functional Modeling Framework, 2) …

Modeling And Analysis Of Noise Coupling In Multilayer Power/Ground Planes, Gang Feng

Doctoral Dissertations

"The simultaneous switching noise (SSN) in a multilayer power delivery network (PDN) is a critical problem in high-speed printed circuit board (PCB) designs. Full-wave methods are not computationally efficient for analyzing PCB structures normally with a multi-scale nature. In this thesis, a model for multilayer power/ground planes is proposed using basic plane pair blocks derived from the cavity model combined with the segmentation technique. Vias and other circuit elements can further be easily integrated in the multilayer plane model. As a result, the entire PDN model is much more computationally efficient than full-wave methods. Experimental and numerical results have validated …

The Role Of Stochastic Resonance And Physical Constraints In The Evolution Of Foraging Strategy, Nathan Daniel Dees

Doctoral Dissertations

"This work represents a detailed study of the optimization of this process: foraging within a single, finite food patch for a limited amount of time. The work is an example of the computational algorithms of statistical physics being applied to the ecological field of foraging behavior. The analysis begins with an examination of the probability distributions observed in the movement parameters of the zooplankton, Daphnia. While foraging, these small aquatic organisms stochastically choose movement parameters with particular levels of variation, or noise, which are similar across several species. Here, related simulations consistently show that these noise levels may be adjusted …

F₂-Isoprostanes Study After Exposure To Selected Nanoparticles By Liquid Chromatography/Tandem Mass Spectrometry And Investigation Of Nanoparticles On The Cytotoxicity Effect Of Arsenic In Vitro, Xiaoqian Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Nanopartices as a new class of materials found their applications in industry, aerospace, clinical diagnosis and cancer therapy. Recently, the health effects of nanoparticles have caused people great concerns. This dissertation studies the mechanisms of nanoparticle cytotoxicity in human lung epithelial cells (A549). F₂-isoprostanes are novel reliable biomarkers for lipid peroxidation. In the first part of this work, total free F₂-isoprostanes were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry followed by the exposure of SiO₂ (15 nm), CeO₂ (20 nm), Fe₂O₃ (30 nm), and ZnO (70 nm) nanoparticles for 24 hours. For the first time, the results showed that F₂-isoprostanes …

Quality Of Service Provisioning Through Resource Allocation And Data Aggregation In Wireless Sensor Networks, Carl Larsen

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this dissertation, improvement of quality of service (QoS) provisioning in wireless sensor networks (WSN) is examined using four different methods. The first two focus on allocation of limited resources in the face of changing network and channel conditions, and thus improving performance in terms of throughput and delay. The second two methods focus on using data aggregation to minimize the size and number of packet transmissions reducing the energy consumption and improving network lifetime.

Therefore, in the first paper a novel adaptive and distributed fair scheduling (ADFS) protocol for WSN is presented that allocates the channel bandwidth in proportion …

Interference Effects Due To Projective-Target Nucleus Scattering In Single Ionization Of Molecular Hydrogen By 75 Kev Proton Impact, Jason S. Alexander

Doctoral Dissertations

"Doubly-differential cross-sections for the single ionization of molecular hydrogen by 75 keV proton impact have been measured as a function of the projectile scattering angle and energy loss and compared to available theoretical models. Interference structures are directly observed in the scattering angular dependence of the DDCS. The phase angle appears to be most sensitive to the projectile angle but not as sensitive to the electron energy, suggesting that the projectile - target nucleus interaction plays a central role in the interference. The large-angle structures disappear at electron speeds near the projectile speed. This may be due to a focusing …

Advanced Control Techniques For Doubly Fed Induction Generator-Based Wind Turbine Converters To Improve Low Voltage Ride-Through During System Imbalances, Murali M. Baggu

Doctoral Dissertations

A doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) applied to wind power generation is under study for low voltage ride-through application during system disturbances. Conventional dq axis current control using voltage source converters for both the grid side and the rotor side of the DFIG are analyzed and simulated. DFIG operation is investigated under balanced and unbalanced system disturbances. A conventional d-axis and q-axis control applied to a voltage source converter (VSC) during a system imbalance exhibits oscillations in the stiff DC link voltage as well as in the real and reactive powers of the converter. Multiple advanced control methods are explored and …

Information Archival And Reuse: Drawing Conclusions From The Past, Matt R. Bohm

Doctoral Dissertations

"Over the last few decades design researchers have put forward theories and proposed methodologies that increase the chance that a design team will reliably arrive at the optimal solution to a given design problem. Studies, however, bear out that theories and methodologies alone will not guarantee an optimal or even good design solution. Instead, a breadth of knowledge across multiple engineering domains and the time and tools to thoroughly evaluate the design space are as important as any prescriptive design method. This work presents a set of underlying engineering technologies to define, archive and reuse product design knowledge to provide …

Formation Control Of Mobile Robots And Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Travis Alan Dierks

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this dissertation, the nonlinear control of nonholonomic mobile robot formations and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) formations is undertaken and presented in six papers. In the first paper, an asymptotically stable combined kinematic/torque control law is developed for leader-follower based formation control of mobile robots using backstepping. A neural network (NN) is introduced along with robust integral of the sign of the error (RISE) feedback to approximate the dynamics of the follower as well as its leader using online weight tuning. Subsequently, in the second paper, a novel NN observer is designed to estimate the linear and angular velocities of …

Wind Power Applications To Groundwater Remediation, Ronald E. Gallagher

Doctoral Dissertations

"The use of renewable energy systems to power groundwater remediation systems seems like an inherently good idea because of potential cost savings and environmental benefits associated with reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Small wind turbine systems marketed for single residence applications may be the appropriate size for remediation systems, and such wind turbines are readily available at reasonable cost. Another benefit of using domestic wind turbine systems is that they are straightforward to install and operate with minimal training. One of the major drawbacks associated with using wind turbines at remediation sites is that site-specific wind velocity data is typically used …

Freeze Casting Of Bioactive Glass And Ceramic Scaffolds For Bone Tissue Engineering, Qiang Fu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The main objectives of this dissertation were to explore the production of bioactive ceramic and glass scaffolds with oriented pore architectures by unidirectional freezing of suspensions, and to characterize the mechanical and biological performance of the scaffolds. Freezing of aqueous suspensions of hydroxyapatite (HA) or bioactive 13-93 glass particles resulted in the formation of scaffolds with a lamellar-type microstructure (pore width = 5-30 µm). The addition of polar organic solvents (such as 60 wt% dioxane) to the aqueous suspensions markedly changed the morphology and size of the oriented pores, giving scaffolds with a columnar-type microstructure and larger pre width (90-110 …

Membrane Properties Of Intact Rock Cores Of Burlington Limestone, Jefferson Dolomite, Darrington Phyllite, And Low Permeability Concrete, Megan Hart

Doctoral Dissertations

"A number of laboratory studies have shown that clays exhibit membrane properties. However, little research has been performed on lithologies outside of pure clays. Recently, research focusing on mixed sand and clay membrane properties for engineering applications was performed. Still, literature only suggests the possibilities of membrane properties, osmotic or reverse-osmotic, associated with other naturally occurring 'tight' rock types. Therefore, the objectives of this research was to perform a series of hyperfiltration experiments using actual rock discs of Quarry Ridge Jefferson Dolomite, Darrington Phyllite, Lower Burlington Limestone, and low permeability concrete to determine if tight lithologies can function as membranes"--Abstract, …

Modeling And Simulation Of High Pressure Composite Cylinders For Hydrogen Storage, Jianbing Hu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Composite hydrogen cylinders provide an efficient means of storage of hydrogen gas for modern hydrogen vehicles. Safety issues arising from the high gas pressure, temperature variation, fire attack, and fracture failures are the main concerns. The focus of this study is to develop a Finite Element (FE) model to predict the performance of composite cylinders subjected to extreme mechanical/thermal loadings and provide guidance for design optimization"--Abstract, page iv.

Microstructural Influence On Dynamic Properties Of Age Hardenable Femnal Alloys, Ryan A. Howell

Doctoral Dissertations

"A lightweight castable alloy was sought to reduce the MIL-PRF-32269 class II cast steel perforated armor's weight with the requirement that the material had to be manufactured utilizing existing foundry technology and without incurring large alloy cost increases to meet property requirements. Literature on wrought age hardenable Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys suggested this alloy system could achieve weight reduction through high aluminum concentrations with the highest reported strengths exceeding 2 GPa for a Fe-30Mn-9Al-0.9C composition. Even though ballistic testing had not been conducted on this system, high strain rate data of wrought alloys showed excellent work hardenability; greater than existing ballistic metals. …

Integration Of Energy Storage Components With Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Converters, Jingsheng Liao

Doctoral Dissertations

"In recent years, multilevel converters have gained considerable attention in medium-voltage motor drive and grid applications. This popularity is owed to their reduced voltage stress on the semiconductor devices used in their structure. In addition, multilevel converters generate near sinusoidal outputs with low harmonic distortions. Other advantages of such converters include inherent modularity and low dv/dt stresses. In general, multilevel power electronic converters are classified into three main topologies: diode-clamped, flying-capacitor, and cascaded H-bridge. A cascaded H-bridge multilevel converter is created when several H-bridge cells are placed in series. Each H-bridge cell must be fed by a stiff voltage source. …

Holomorphic Extensions In Toric Varieties, Malgorzata Aneta Marciniak

Doctoral Dissertations

"The dissertation describes the Hartogs and the Hartogs-Bochner extension phenomena in smooth toric varieties and their connection with the first cohomology group with compact support and sheaf coefficients. The affirmative and negative results are proved for toric surfaces and for line bundles over toric varieties using topological, analytic, and algebraic methods"--Abstract, page iii.

Crustal Modification By Tectonic Events And Upper Mantle Anisotropy Beneath The Midcontinent Rift And New Madrid Seismic Zone: Insights From Receiver Function Studies And Teleseismic Shear Wave Splitting, Moikwathai Moidaki

Doctoral Dissertations

"The earth's crust and upper mantle have been continually modified by tectonic processes such as rifting, earthquake activity. In this dissertation, shear wave splitting and receiver function techniques were employed to study the extent of crustal and upper mantle modifications beneath the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) and the Midcontinent Rift (MCR). Shear wave splitting analysis in the MCR reveals the presence of fossilised anisotropy along the rift axis...In the NMSZ, anticipated rift-parallel fast directions associated with vertical magmatic dikes or along-rift flow, rift-orthogonal fast directions from small-scale convection, or reduction in splitting times as a result of vertical asthenospheric …

Emi Failure Analysis Techniques And Noise Prediction For Trace Crossing Split Planes, Weifeng Pan

Doctoral Dissertations

"A variety of methods exist that help locate the source, coupling path, and antenna in an electromagnetic interference (EMI) problem. No single method is the best option in all cases. A good electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineer should understand and have experience with a wide range of failure analysis methods and thus, be able to select the most appropriate ones for a given problem. The first three papers are from a series of articles, which explains a set of methods for the analysis of EMI failures. Each method is categorized based on two criteria: 1) the elements in an EMI problem …

Detection Of Low Cost Radio Frequency Receivers Based On Their Unintended Electromagnetic Emissions And An Active Stimulation, Sarah A. Seguin

Doctoral Dissertations

"Detection of super-regenerative receivers using their unintended electromagnetic emissions at a significant distance is challenging due to high levels of ambient noise. The evolution of an approach used to solve this problem is chronicled within the three papers that combine to form this dissertation. First, a passive detection method was created for detecting devices based on the characterization of their unintended emissions and utilized a cascading correlation method to confirm detection. Using a simple sine-wave stimulation to modify these unintended emissions produced better results over passive detection techniques by improving the signal quality and the consistency of the unintended emissions, …

Investigation Of The Interactions Between Selected Nanoparticles And Human Lung Carcinoma Cells At The Single Cell And Single Particle Level, Isaac Stayton

Doctoral Dissertations

"The recent advances in nanomaterials development and applications have sparked concerns regarding the safety of these materials in living organisms. This body of work investigates specific interactions between chosen nanoparticles and living human lung carcinoma (A549) cells"--Abstract, page iv.

Helical Force Flow: A New Engineering Mechanics Model For Biological Materials, Jeffery S. Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

"The author has long speculated that the prevalence of helical structures in botany and zoology hints to an optimized pathway for force and/or energy transfer. His goal has been to realize an alternative approach to the standard stress analysis used in engineering in order to more efficiently and accurately deal with biological materials. Improved tools for these natural materials should in turn aid the design and analysis of engineered materials. Following the role of a navigator in leaf C. Levesque's book "Breakthrough Creativity", the author typically searches for ideas in a variety of places, including physics, materials science, biomimetics, dimensional …

An Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Flapping And Plunging Wings, Taylor A. Swanson

Doctoral Dissertations

"Micro air vehicles, or MAVs, are of current interest for a multitude of uses to which they, being small, unmanned vehicles, are uniquely suited. Among the proposed uses are exploration, reconnaissance, and communications. They can be deployed inside buildings, where their small size, hovering capability, and maneuverability, are important factors. Due to their small size, they operate at low Reynolds numbers where conventional flying mechanisms are not advantageous. Thus, attempts have been made to learn from natural flyers like insects and birds. Natural flight is accomplished by flapping wings, and this idea has been proposed for certain types of MAVs …

Novel Modulated Antennas And Probes For Millimeter Wave Imaging Applications, Mohamed A. Abou-Khousa

Doctoral Dissertations

"Microwave and millimeter wave (300 MHz - 300 GHz) imaging techniques have shown great potential for a wide range of industrial and medical applications. These techniques are fundamentally based on measuring relative and coherent electromagnetic fields distributions, e.g., electric fields, around the object to be imaged. Various imaging systems can be devised for measuring relative electric field distributions; each with it own advantages and limitations. This dissertation is focused on addressing critical challenges related to the practical implementation of various microwave and millimeter wave imaging systems. Specifically, this research is meant to achieve three main objectives related to designing efficient …

A Control-Theoretical Fault Prognostics And Accommodation Framework For A Class Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati

Doctoral Dissertations

"Fault diagnostics and prognostics schemes (FDP) are necessary for complex industrial systems to prevent unscheduled downtime resulting from component failures. Existing schemes in continuous-time are useful for diagnosing complex industrial systems and no work has been done for prognostics. Therefore, in this dissertation, a systematic design methodology for model-based fault prognostics and accommodation is undertaken for a class of nonlinear discrete-time systems. This design methodology, which does not require any failure data, is introduced in six papers. In Paper I, a fault detection and prediction (FDP) scheme is developed for a class of nonlinear system with state faults by assuming …