Engineering Commons^™

Feasibility Of Neural Networks For Maritime Visual Detection On A Mobile Platform, Robert Goring

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Object detection through computer vision has traditionally been difficult to reliably implement due to various lighting conditions caused by weather and time of day. Any changes in conditions can be detrimental to the detector’s ability to accurately identify objects. A modern approach implements deep learning techniques to classify and train a neural network. While highly effective, this approach can be cumbersome and computationally intensive. This project will investigate the feasibility of using deep learning to detect, classify, and track objects in near real-time while being processed on a mobile platform. I will investigate the feasibility of these processes on a …

Development, Characterization, & Implementation Of Phase-Change Material Cold Plates For Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Battery Systems, Kevin Cwiok

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Due to the regulations on internal combustion engine vehicles, there is a large demand of hybrid and electric vehicles with large battery packs as Energy Storage Systems (ESS) capable of long ranges and decreased emissions. These battery packs output large heat loads during charge-depletion mode and currently require active cooling to keep the batteries within operating conditions. The current systems relied onto achieve this are the air and liquid cooled thermal managements systems. A recent alternative approach to current cooling for ESS thermal management is the use of phase-change materials (PCMs). PCMs regulate the temperature of the ESS by leveraging …

Investigation Of Communication Constraints In Distributed Multi-Agent Systems, Zhaoyang Fu

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Based on a simple flocking model with collision avoidance, a set of investigations of multi-agent system communication constraints have been conducted, including distributed estimation of global features, the influence of jamming, and communication performance optimization. In flocking control, it is necessary to achieve a common velocity among agents and maintain a safe distance between neighboring agents. The local information among agents is exchanged in a distributed fashion to help achieve velocity consensus. A distributed estimation algorithm was recently proposed to estimate the group’s global features based on achieving consensus among agents’ local estimations of such global features. To reduce the …

An Approach To Automotive Electrification And Testing, Christopher Rowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In order to compete in the EcoCAR 2 competition, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has redesigned the Powertrain of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. This endeavor was made possible by the EcoCAR 2 competition sponsored by the Department of Energy, General Motors, and Argonne National Laboratory. The Powertrain was changed from a conventional internal combustion engine with a start/stop capability, to a fully electric Powertrain, with a diesel generator, and plug in charging capability. This paper will cover the electrical work performed on the vehicle during the summer prior to year three of the competition, EcoCAR 2 …

Aircraft Detection And Tracking Using Uav-Mounted Vision System, Yan Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

For unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to operate safely in the national airspace where non-collaborating flying objects, such as general aviation (GA) aircraft without automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), exist, the UAVs' capability of “seeing" these objects is especially important. This “seeing", or sensing, can be implemented via various means, such as Radar or Lidar. Here we consider using cameras mounted on UAVs only, which has the advantage of light weight and low power. For the visual system to work well, it is required that the camera-based sensing capability should be at the level equal to or exceeding that of human pilots. …

Hybrid Electric Power System Validation Through Parameter Optimization, Hasnaa Khalifi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Battery models can be developed from first principles or from empirical methods. The work presented in this thesis is semi-empirical, the model was validated using test data through parameter optimization. Simulink Parameter Estimation toolbox was used to identify the battery parameters and validate the battery model with test data. Experimental data was obtained by discharging the battery of a modified 2013 Chevrolet Malibu hybrid electric vehicle. The resulting battery model provided accurate simulation results over the validation data. For the constant current discharge, the mean squared error between measured and simulated data was 0.26 volts for the terminal voltage and …

Experimental Validation Of A New Distributed Cooperative Control Algorithm For Multi-Agent Systems With Switching Communication Topologies And Time-Delays, Junzhen Shao

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In this thesis, we present practical experimental results to demonstrate a control law for consensus of multiagent systems with switching topologies and time delays. The nonlinear control law utilizes discontinuous cooperative control gains and uses contraction mapping to achieve consensus of multiagent systems. The testing platform we used consists of a number of mobile robots and software simulations both in Matlab and Microsoft Studio C++. We present the effectiveness of the control law design by Aria mobile robots with applications in distributed cooperative formation control. Computer simulations and hardware experiments presented include point consensus control and formation control, both with …

Characterization Of Electron Number Density Of Rocket Exhaust Plumes Through Microwave Transmissions, Jorge Torres

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Charged rocket plumes generally exceed the length of their source vehicles, and offer lightning a favorable path to ground. Rocket plumes enhance the induced transient currents in flight electronics, and increase the risk of vehicle failure. The affinity of lightning to the plume can be associated with the plume's electrical properties, which are coupled to plasma characteristics including the electron number density. However, the electron number density of rocket plumes is not well-known. In this study, the electron number density is characterized through data from static rocket firings. A model of the plume in finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations …

Reduction Of Near-Field Grating Lobes In Sparse Acoustic Phased Arrays, Dylan Rudolph

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Acoustic phased arrays with inter-element spacings of greater than one half-wavelength will produce grating lobes that decrease the usefulness of the array. With many array configurations, the near-field and far-field character of these lobes is significantly different -- an optimization of the array configuration to reduce grating lobes in the far-field can have little bearing on the performance of the array in the near-field.

The focus of this thesis is the reduction of grating lobes in the near-field by iterative optimization. Genetic algorithms are employed to choose inter-element spacings which are able to reduce the magnitude of grating lobes at …

Estimating Cell Capacity For Multi-Cell Electrical Energy System, Iman Ahari Hashemi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

A Multi-Cell Electrical Energy System is a set of batteries that are connected in series. The series batteries provide the required voltage necessary for the contraption. After using the energy that is provided by the batteries, some cells within the system tend to have a lower voltage than the other cells. Also, other factors, such as the number of times a battery has been charged or discharged, how long it has been within the system and many other factors, result in some cells having a lesser capacity compared to the other cells within the system. The outcome is that it …