Digital Commons Network^™

Data Set Generation Using Deep Learning Algorithms And Visual Feature Tracking, Kusuma Pallapotu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Object detection and classification plays a major role in today's modern technology. The implementations of these concepts range from consumer products to self driving cars. These concepts largely reply on the data sets used for training these models. There is a considerable amount of effort in generating these data sets for every specific application of these algorithms.

In this report, a method for generating image data sets with the use of visual feature tracking and deep learning algorithms for application in autonomous vehicles has been proposed. The aim is to reduce the time and effort dedicated towards the generation of …

Attitudes About Acceptable Risk In The Context Of The Biodiversity Crisis, Thomas Offer-Westort

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Crafting and enforcing conservation policy requires making normative judgements about what levels of risk are acceptable. These judgements include crucial decisions that impact which species qualify as “endangered.” If a government’s policies are going to represent the values of the public they govern, then public attitudes should be understood. Unfortunately, essentially nothing is known about public attitudes as they pertain to acceptable risk and the biodiversity crisis.

My research aims to address this gap using data from an internet-based survey (n=1050). I focused on the Endangered Species Act of 1973 which defines an endangered species as “any species which is …

Spread Of Emerging Contaminants In Water Distribution Systems, Danielle Pilarski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Emerging contaminants are a growing concern to humans and the environment. Studies have shown these contaminants are present in the environment through continuous release into surface waters from wastewater treatment effluent, manufacturing processes, and agricultural use. The effects of these contaminants have been observed in ecological studies, but they have not yet been well studied for long term exposure in humans. These emerging contaminants have also not been well studied to determine the rates at which they decay or how they move through distribution systems. This study aims to determine the importance of decay rate on concentration throughout a distribution …

Reexamining The Utility Of Existing Climate Adaptation Frameworks Through Application On A Northern Forest, Alexander Rice

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A review of the literature reveals the strengths and limitations of various climate adaptation frameworks and illuminates a general path by which a type of adaptation can be achieved. A number of useful frameworks exist but the number of independent case studies demonstrating the adaptation process in a detailed manner is much more limited. Additionally, components of the various adaptation processes can often seem vague and concepts such as adaptability ill-defined. For land managers approaching climate adaptation independently can be difficult, particularly in the areas of goal creation and vulnerability assessment. Within frameworks where user-defined adaptation goals dictate whether or …

Investigation Of Long Term Pillar Stability In An Abandoned Gypsum Mine Based On Dissolution Models, Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The abandoned Domtar Mine in Grand Rapids, MI underlies Interstate I-196. The mine operated for over 140 years, mining a 30-meter-deep, four-meter thick gypsum seam. In 2000, the mine was abandoned with the removal of the mine’s dewatering pumps allowing groundwater to flood the mine. The initial flooding resulted in saturating the mine pillars along with some amount of pillar dissolution. Overtime, gypsum dissolution would cease as the water becomes saturated with the gypsum dissolution products. The mine, however, is located adjacent to the Grand River and has groundwater moving through the mine resulting in the potential for continuing dissolution. …

Approximation Of The Generalized Singular Value Expansion, Matthew Jacob Roberts

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Let $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ be real separable Hilbert spaces, let $T:X \to Y$ be a compact operator, and let $L:D(L) \to Z$ be a closed and densely defined linear operator. Then the generalized singular value expansion (GSVE) is an expansion that expresses $T$ and $L$ in terms of a common orthonormal basis. Under certain hypotheses on discretization, the GSVE of an approximate operator pair $(T_j,L_j)$, where $T_j:X_j \to Y_j$ and $L_j:X_j \to Z_j$, converges to the GSVE of $(T,L)$. Error estimates establish a rate of convergence that is consistent with numerical experiments in the case of discretization using piecewise …

Linking Historical, Field, And Satellite Data To Determine The Relationship Between Gas Emissions And Vegetation Change In The Puhimau Geothermal Area East Rift Zone Kilauea, Hawaii, Christie Torres Rosa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Puhimau geothermal area, located near the summit of the Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has been suggested to represent a ‘window’ into the East Rift Zone. The quantification of CO₂ and H₂S soil gas emissions improves our understanding of its gas emission mode- including total emission and spatial distribution and contribute to a more accurate estimation of total CO₂ and H₂S in the thermal area – and how these gas emissions relate to observed vegetation health from satellite data. The total emission of CO₂ and H₂S was interpolated by the sequential Gaussian …

Molecular Characterization Of Free Tropospheric Organic Aerosol And The Development Of Computational Tools For Molecular Formula Assignment, Simeon Schum

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Organic aerosol affects human health and climate. These effects are largely determined by the composition of the organic aerosol, which is a complex mixture of species. Understanding the complexity of organic aerosol is critical to determining its effect on human health and climate. In this study, long range transported organic aerosol collected at the Pico Mountain Observatory was analyzed using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Organic aerosol transported in the free troposphere had an overall lower extent of oxidation than aerosol transported in the boundary layer. It was hypothesized that the lower oxidation was related to a more viscous phase state …

Effects Of Invasive Watermilfoil And Seasonal Dynamics On Primary Production In Littoral Zones Of North-Temperate Lakes, Ryan R. Van Goethem

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Climate change and species invasion are two agents of global change altering aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Submerged aquatic macrophytes control lake ecosystem processes through their direct and indirect interactions with other primary producers, but how their interactions may be altered by species invasions or how they function over full seasonal cycles in temperate lakes is poorly understood. We first addressed whether the presence of invasive watermilfoil (IWM) altered standing crops and gross primary pro-duction (GPP) of other littoral primary producers (macrophytes, phytoplankton, attached algae or periphyton) in littoral zones of 6 Michigan lakes. We found no differences in primary producer standing …

Laser Induced Phase Transformations And Fluorescence Measurements From Nanodiamond Particles, Nick Videtich

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Nanodiamonds (ND) are an exciting topic of photonics research because of their controllable quantum optical behaviors. As a byproduct of their small size, they possess a relatively high surface to volume ratio, which in turn relates to their potential usefulness as carriers in biological applications. By using laser induced phase transformations to ultimately shrink the particles, a path toward bio-compatible quantum emitters is explored. Measured Raman scattering spectra clearly indicate that the reversible phase change of NDs occurs upon femto-second laser irradiations. ND with nitrogen vacancies can also be used as a stable room temperature quantum emitter. By coupling this …

Accessible Access Control: A Visualization System For Access Control Policy Management, Man Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Attacks on computers today present in many different forms, causing malfunction of operating systems, information leakage and loss of business and public trust. Access control is a technique that stands as the last line of protection restricting the access of users or processes to resources on computers. Throughout the years, many access control models have been implemented to accommodate security requirements under different circumstances. However, the learning of access control models and the management of access control policies are still challenging given its abstract nature, the lack of an environment for practice, and the intricacy of fulfilling complex security goals. …

High Order Bound-Preserving Discontinuous Galerkin Methods And Their Applications In Petroleum Engineering, Ziyao Xu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report contains researches in the theory of high-order bound-preserving (BP) discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method and their applications in petroleum engineering. It contains both theoretical analysis and numerical experiments. The compressible miscible displacements and wormhole propagation problem, arising in petroleum engineering, is used to describe the evolution of the pressure and concentrations of different components of fluid in porous media. The important physical features of concentration and porosity include their boundedness between 0 and 1, as well as the monotone increasing for porosity in wormhole propagation model. How to keep these properties in the simulation is crucial to the robustness …

Credit Risk Analysis Using Machine Learning And Neural Networks, Dhruv Dhanesh Thanawala

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A key activity within the banking industry is to extend credit to customers, hence,

credit risk analysis is critical for nancial risk management. There are various methods

used to perform credit risk analysis. In this project, we analyze German and

Australian nancial data from UC Irvine Machine Learning repository, reproducing

results previously published in literature. Further, using the same dataset and various

machine learning algorithms, we attempt to create better models by tuning available

parameters, however, our results are at best comparable to published results.

In this report, we have explained the algorithms and mathematical framework that

goes behind developing …

Development Of The Coil Volume Method For Time-Domain Simulation Of Internal Faults In Transformers, Elizaveta Egorova

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A power transformer is a very important and expensive asset for a utility. As for any other power equipment, the transformer is subject to internal faults. The extent of transformer damage depends on the fault duration. Therefore, the protective relays should provide for sensitivity, selectivity, and speed of operation to minimize the effects of damaging conditions. High sensitivity of the relay allows it to identify internal faults quickly. However, the relay should not jeopardize the normal operation of the transformer. To determine desirable relay settings, a transformer model for simulation of internal faults is required.

Transformer models, shown in the …

Perceptions Of Forest Change In The Governmental Region Of Kaffrine, Senegal, Rhiley E. Allbee

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Sénégal is a semi-arid West African country with a diverse ethnic makeup and a rapidly growing population that is largely rural, predominantly employed within the agricultural sector, and heavily reliant on the harvesting of forest products within state owned forests where populations have usufruct rights. The country experienced significant changes in land cover throughout the 20^th century due to a series of major droughts and large expansions in agriculture. These changes were partially concentrated throughout the region of Kaffrine, where the wooded savannas of the early 20^th century were systematically replaced by agriculture and converted to a shrub …

Enhancing The Resolution Of Imaging Systems By Spatial Spectrum Manipulation, Wyatt Adams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Much research effort has been spent in the 21st century on superresolution imaging techniques, methods which can beat the diffraction limit. Subwavelength composite structures called ``metamaterials" had initially shown great promise in superresolution imaging applications in the early 2000s, owing to their potential for nearly arbitrary capabilities in controlling light. However, for optical frequencies they are often plagued by absorption and scattering losses which can decay or destroy their interesting properties. Similar issues limit the application of other superresolution devices operating as effective media, or metal films that can transfer waves with large momentum by supporting surface plasmon polaritons. In …

Modeling And Control Of Maximum Pressure Rise Rate In Rcci Engines, Aditya Basina

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) is a combustion strategy that burns fuel at lower temperatures and leaner mixtures in order to achieve high efficiency and near zero NOx emissions. Since the combustion happens at lower temperatures it inhibits the formation of NOx and soot emissions. One such strategy is Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI). One characteristic of RCCI combustion and LTC com- bustion in general is short burn durations which leads to high Pressure Rise Rates (PRR). This limits the operation of these engines to lower loads as at high loads, the Maximum Pressure Rise Rate (MPRR) hinders the use of …

Aerosol-Cloud Interactions In Turbulent Clouds: A Combined Cloud Chamber And Theoretical Study, Kamal Kant Chandrakar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The influence of aerosol concentration on the cloud droplet size distribution is investigated in a laboratory chamber that enables turbulent cloud formation through moist convection. In chapter 2, moist Rayleigh-Bénard convection with water saturated boundaries is explored using a one-dimensional-turbulence model. This study provides some background about supersaturation statistics in moist convection. Chapters 3 - 7 discuss the experimental and theoretical investigation of aerosol-cloud interactions and cloud droplet size-distributions in turbulent conditions. The experiments are performed in a way so that steady-state microphysics are achieved, with aerosol input balanced by cloud droplet growth and fallout. As aerosol concentration is increased …

“Because We Have Chosen A Life Of Peace”: A Quantitative And Qualitative Study Of Vegan Food Narratives, Silke H. Feltz

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Restaurants, grocery stores, fast food chains, and companies all over the United States introduce the consumer to more vegan products, dishes, and services than ever before. The rise of veganism therefore offers a rhetorical platform that should be studied. This dissertation discusses the rhetoric of veganism by analyzing food narratives of vegans through a critical intersectional lens and consists of three research stages. The first research stage investigates the narratology of Glenn Scott Lacey’s documentary, Vegan: Everyday Stories(2016). In particular, this rhetorical analysis focuses on the evaluative belief system of vegan storytelling by applying narrative and ideological criticism. The …

Modeling Of Thermal Dynamics In Chevrolet Volt Gen Ii Hybrid Electric Vehicle For Integrated Powertrain And Hvac Optimal Operation Through Connectivity, Nehal Doshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Integrated thermal energy management across system level components in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is currently an under explored space. The proliferation of connected vehicles and accompanying infrastructure in recent years provides additional motivation to explore opportunities in optimizing thermal energy management in EVs and HEVs with the help of this newly available connected vehicle data. This thesis aims to examine and analyze the potential to mitigate vehicle energy consumption and extend usable driving range through optimal control strategies which exploit physical system dynamics via controls integration of vehicle subsystems.

In this study, data-driven and physics-based models …

Electro-Optic Antenna Elements For Passive Phased Array Radar, Evan Gawron

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Passive phased antenna arrays are utilized in military and civilian radar systems to determine the received signal origination. Phased array placement for optimal reception is challenging due to the required supporting electronic hardware and the associated coaxial cabling that typically accompanies each antenna channel. Low noise amplifiers and frequency conversion hardware add size and complexity, limiting possible positions for phased array placement. Eliminating required phased array electronic subcomponents without sacrificing function would allow placement onto smaller agile platforms, such as unmanned systems and rapid deployment networks. Electro-optic (EO) antenna elements utilize an optical waveguide embedded between the antenna and ground …

Development Of A 2d Scr Catalyst On A Diesel Particulate Filter Model For Design And Control Applications To A Ultra Low Nox Aftertreatment System, Venkata Chundru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research focuses on modeling and control of PM and NO_x in diesel engine exhaust using an SCR catalyst on a Diesel Particulate Filter (SCR-F). A 2D SCR-F model was developed that is capable of predicting internal states: 2D temperature, PM and NH₃storage distributions and filtration efficiency, pressure drop, PM mass retained in the PM cake and substrate wall and outlet NO, NO₂and NH₃concentrations. The SCR-F model was used to simulate a DOC + SCR-F + DOC + SCR ultra-low NOx system that can achieve > 99.5% NOx conversion efficiency.

The model was calibrated …

Estimation Of Multi-Directional Ankle Impedance As A Function Of Lower Extremity Muscle Activation, Lauren Knop

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between the mechanical impedance of the human ankle and the corresponding lower extremity muscle activity. Three experimental studies were performed to measure the ankle impedance about multiple degrees of freedom (DOF), while the ankle was subjected to different loading conditions and different levels of muscle activity. The first study determined the non-loaded ankle impedance in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse anatomical planes while the ankle was suspended above the ground. The subjects actively co-contracted their agonist and antagonistic muscles to various levels, measured using electromyography (EMG). An Artificial Neural Network …

Towards The Discovery Of Oligonucleotide Cross-Linking Agents, Bhaskar Halami

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Oligonucleotide cross-linking agents are expected to become a new class of antisense drugs. They function by first hybridizing with a complementary mRNA and then form a covalent bond to permanently link the mRNA to the oligonucleotide agent. Because of covalent cross-linking, this new class of antisense drugs are expected to have much higher potency than existing ones.

Some oligonucleotide cross-linking agents have appeared in the literature, but they have various drawbacks, which include slow cross-linking rate and reversible cross-linking. To address these problems, we designed a series of new cross-linking oligonucleotides with a range of different reactivities. These oligonucleotides were …

Networked Microgrid Optimization And Energy Management, Robert S. Jane

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Military vehicles possess attributes consistent with a microgrid, containing electrical energy generation, storage, government furnished equipment (GFE), and the ability to share these capabilities via interconnection. Many military vehicles have significant energy storage capacity to satisfy silent watch requirements, making them particularly well-suited to share their energy storage capabilities with stationary microgrids for more efficient energy management. Further, the energy generation capacity and the fuel consumption rate of the vehicles are comparable to standard diesel generators, for certain scenarios, the use of the vehicles could result in more efficient operation. Energy management of a microgrid is an open area of …

Statistical Methods For Mixed Frequency Data Sampling Models, Yun Liu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The MIDAS models are developed to handle different sampling frequencies in one regression model, preserving information in the higher sampling frequency. Time averaging has been the traditional parametric approach to handle mixed sampling frequencies. However, it ignores information potentially embedded in high frequency. MIDAS regression models provide a concise way to utilize additional information in HF variables. While a parametric MIDAS model provides a parsimonious way to summarize information in HF data, nonparametric models would maintain more flexibility at the expense of the computational complexity. Moreover, one parametric form may not necessarily be appropriate for all cross-sectional subjects. This thesis …

Emotional Affect In Mathematics, Eric Marshall

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Research indicates that a myriad of possibilities exist for why students perform poorly in mathematics and also suggests strategies that could help students be more proficient in mathematics. The possible factors that hinder performance in mathematics include perception of abilities, motivation and relevance, resilience in challenges, mathematics anxiety, and sense of belonging. These factors all have the underlying feature of emotional affect that hinder mathematical performance and are related to students’ emotions. Therefore, increasing emotional affect and forming methods for working through the emotions related to mathematics may help all students do better in mathematics as a whole. This requires …

The Solvation Energy Of Ions In A Stockmayer Fluid, Cameron John Shock

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The solvation of ions in polar solvents has been a long studied system since the early twentieth century. A common technique to calculate the energy associated with ion solvation is the Born Solvation energy equation. This equation assumes an ion is placed in an incompressible, homogeneous dielectric, which is not necessarily representative of a real system. In this work the Stockmayer Fluid Model is used in a molecular dynamics simulation through the software LAMMPS to check the quantitative correctness of the Born equation. It is also shown how solvation energies of ions placed in polymerized and non-polymerized solvents differ. It …

Magnetic Domain Structures In Fe-Ga Alloys, Matthew N. Tianen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Fe-Ga alloys, also referred to as Galfenol, have attracted great attention as new giant magnetostrictive materials for over fifteen years. They exhibit large magnetostriction, small hysteresis, good machinability, and high tensile strength, providing many advantages over other functional materials like magnetostrictive Terfenol-D, piezoelectric PZT, and magnetic shape memory Ni-Mn-Ga. In spite of the intense interest in Fe-Ga alloys, the domain phenomena that underlie their properties and functionalities are less known. Using the Bitter method, a systematic study of magnetic domain structures in Fe-Ga single crystals of different compositions and heat treatments has been performed. Our domain observation experiments reveal numerous …

Performance Improvement Of A Single Cylinder, Air-Cooled, Spark-Ignited Engine Utilizing 1-D Cycle Simulation, Chun Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study is about using a 1-D cycle simulation program (GT-Power) for improving the power of a multi-purpose engine to further extend its use.