Engineering Commons^™

Cooling Load Prediction For Different Building Types And Room Occupancy Detection Using Accelerometers, Mengfan Yang

Theses and Dissertations

There are two parts in this thesis: the first part was conducted at UWM, and the second part was conducted at Johnson Controls using the knowledge and skills that I learned throughout my time in the Master’s Degree program.

The primary purpose of my time at UWM was to compare different types of buildings with two popular machine learning regression algorithms, artificial neural network (ANN), supported vector machine regression (SVR) algorithms, and lastly to provide the results of my research to better help building managers make more informed decisions in regard to electrical utilities. The major objective is to use …

Algan/Gan Hemt By Magnetron Sputtering System, Roman Garcia Perez

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the growth of the semiconductor materials AlGaN and GaN is achieved by magnetron sputtering for the fabrication of High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs). The study of the deposited nitrides is conducted by spectroscopy, diffraction, and submicron scale microscope methods. The preparation of the materials is performed using different parameters in terms of power, pressure, temperature, gas, and time. Silicon (Si) and Sapphire (Al2O3) wafers are used as substrates. The chemical composition and surface topography of the samples are analyzed to calculate the materials atomic percentages and to observe the devices surface. The instruments used for the semiconductors …

Multi-Functional System For Biomedical Application Using Ac Electrokinetics, Rakesh Guduru

Theses and Dissertations

Manipulation of fluids in a small volume is often a challenge in the field of Microfluidics. While many research groups have addressed this issue with robust methodologies, manipulating fluids remains a scope of study due to the ever-changing technology (Processing Tools) and increase in the demand for “Lab-On-a-Chip” devices in biological applications. This thesis peruses the flow pattern of the orthogonal electrode pattern and circular electrode providing, examples of the flow patterns and the process micromixing. Characteristics of a multifunctional system were demonstrated using orthogonal electrode and circular electrode patterned device. Conductivity of the fluids were chosen such they reflect …

Mathematical Model And Experimental Verification Of Spatially Multiplexed System Using Ray Theory And Modified Laguerre Gaussian Beams, Saud Alanzi

Theses and Dissertations

Spatial/Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) is based on a channel spacing technique in optical fibers that has the potential to inspire a revolution in optical communications. This patented technique provides a method to launch, transport, and detect two or more optical channels that operate at exactly the same wavelength inside a single multimode optical fiber. In addition, the patented technique added a new dimension and a new degree of photon freedom to the existing fiber multiplexing techniques and complements Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM). As a result, the bandwidth of existing and new optical fiber systems maybe …

Vivado Design Interface: Enabling Cad-Tool Design For Next Generation Xilinx Fpga Devices, Thomas James Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

The popularity of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) has grown in recent years due to their potential performance advantages over sequential software, and as a prototyping platform for application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC). Vendors such as Xilinx offer automated tool suites that can be used to program FPGAs based on a RTL description. These tool suites are sufficient forgeneral users, but they usually don't provide the opportunity to integrate custom computer-aideddesign (CAD) tools into the regular design flow. Xilinx first offered this capability in their ISE tool suite with the Xilinx Design Language (XDL). Using XDL, a Xilinx design could be extracted …

High-Voltage Measurements Using Slab-Coupled Optical Sensors, Legrand Jared Shumway

Theses and Dissertations

This work highlights slab coupled optical sensors (SCOS) and their ability to measure high voltages. Although other high voltage measurement techniques exist, most of these techniques are electrical devices and are therefore more susceptible to stray ground currents and other electromagnetic interferences (EMI), which may cause signal distortion. Optical sensors are less susceptible to such interferences and these sensors, such as the Pockels cell, have been used in measuring high voltage. SCOS offer an alternative method of measuring high voltage optically. Consisting of an optical fiber and an electro-optic slab waveguide, SCOS have the advantage of being very small in …

Academic Packing For Commercial Fpga Architectures, Travis D. Haroldsen

Theses and Dissertations

With a few exceptions, academic packing algorithms for FPGAs are typically applied solely to theoretical architectures. This has allowed the algorithms to focus on the basic components of packing while abstracting away many of the details dictated by real hardware. As commercially available FPGAs have advanced, however, the academic algorithms and architectures have diverged significantly from their commercial counterparts. In this dissertation, the RapidSmith 2 framework is presented. This framework accurately reflects the architecture of Xilinx FPGAs and provides support for integrating custom tools into the commercial CAD tools. Using this framework, the RSVPack packing algorithm is implemented. The RSVPack …

Improved Leaky-Mode Waveguide Spatial Light Modulators For Three Dimensional Displays, Scott Alexander Gneiting

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis improves on the design of the leaky-mode spatial light modulator, LMW-SLM, presented by Dr. Smalley[1]. Improvements include: input coupling gratings, a pulsed laser input, output coupling gratings, and a 3D printed adjustable module for the stabilization of critical alignments. First, input coupling gratings reduce the cost of the LMW-SLM from $500 to around $2, a drop in cost of over two orders of magnitude. This enables multiple modulators to be used in a single display and allows for an inexpensive modular design to be created. Second, a pulsed laser input allows for image creation without the use of …

A Simple Multi-Core Functional Cache Design Simulator, Rano Mal

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a flexible multi-core cache memory simulator to design and evaluate memory hierarchies for general-purpose or embedded processors. The proposed simulator needs to work with Pin, which is an open-source dynamic instrumentation tool provided by Intel. The Pin intercepts the execution of instructions and generates a sequence code (traces) to feed into the simulator for any selected benchmark programs, such as SPEC2006, SPLASH2, or PARSEC. We have a plan to release this simulator as an open-source (like Pin) to support research and/or academic community for their simulation works. In addition, we expect more functions can be updated on …

A Graphical Representation Of Exposed Parallelism, Gustavo Enrique Rodriguez Villamizar

Theses and Dissertations

Modern-day microprocessors are measured in part by their parallel performance. Parallelizing sequential programs is a complex task, requiring data dependence analysis of the program constructs. Researchers in the field of parallel optimization are working on shifting the optimization effort from the programmer to the compiler. The goal of this work is for the compiler to visually expose the parallel characteristics of the program to researchers as well as programmers for a better understanding of the parallel properties of their programs. In order to do that we developed Exposed Parallelism Visualization (EPV), a statically-generated graphical tool that builds a parallel task …

A Battery-Operated Portable Standard Lead Ecg Monitor With Abnormal Heart Condition Detection System For Dogs, Zichen He

Theses and Dissertations

Long term monitoring the dog's heart condition is the best way to prevent being unable to treat the dog's heart failure in time when it occurs. Although, electro-cardio activity has been discovered by French scientist Mattencci in 1842, but there hasn't been any proper device developed so far for long term ECG (electrocardiogram) monitoring of cardiac dogs. Therefore, this paper has proposed an ECG monitor specially designed for dogs to fill this gap. The ECG monitor proposed is a 3-lead ECG monitoring system with diagnosis software that can detect heart failure, tachycardia, bradycardia, and arrhythmia according to dog's ECG signal. …

Flexible Micro-N-Line Probe And Apparatus To Characterize Electronic Conductivity Of Li-Ion Battery Electrode Films, Derek Van Clement

Theses and Dissertations

A key metric that affects Li-ion battery cell performance is the electronic conductivity of the electrode films. Previous research has found that the conductivity of electrodes is not homogeneous throughout the entirety of the deposited film area. To further characterize the non-homogeneity of the conductivity of electrode films, a micro-N-line probe and a micro-flex-line probe were developed to take micro-scale conductivity measurements of thin-film battery electrodes in a non-destructive manner. These devices have been validated by comparing test results to those of it's predecessor, the micro-four-line probe, on various commercial-quality Li-ion battery electrodes. Results show that there is significant variation …

Analytical Study Based Optimal Placement Of Energy Storage Devices In Distribution Systems To Support Voltage And Angle Stability, Yih Der Kuo

Theses and Dissertations

Larger penetration of Distributed Generations (DG) in the power system brings new flexibility and opportunity as well as new challenges due to the generally intermittent nature of DG. When these DG are installed in the medium voltage distribution systems as components of smart grid, further support is required to ensure smooth and controllable operation. To complement the uncontrollable output power of these resources, energy storage devices need to be incorporated to absorb excessive power and provide power shortage in time of need. They also can provide reactive power to dynamically help the voltage profile. Energy Storage Systems (ESS) can be …

Estimation Of Size And Rotations Of Icebergs From Historical Data Utilizing Scatterometer Data, Jeffrey Scott Budge

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the development and methodology of a new, consolidated BYU/NIC Antarctic Iceberg Tracking Database is presented. The new database combines data from the original BYU daily iceberg tracking database derived from scatterometers, and the National Ice Center's weekly Antarctic iceberg tracking database derived from mostly optical and infrared sensors. Using this data, interpolation methods and statistical analyses of iceberg locations are discussed. The intent of this database is to consolidate iceberg location data in order to increase accessibility to users.Active microwave remote sensing instruments are used to track tabular icebergs and provide a daily estimate of their positions …

A Survey Of Sparse Channel Estimation In Aeronautical Telemetry, Christopher James Hogstrom

Theses and Dissertations

Aeronautical telemetry suffers from multipath interference, which can be resolved through the use of equalizers at the receiver. The coefficients of data-aided equalizers are computed from a channel estimate. Most channels seen in aeronautical telemetry are sparse, meaning that most of the coefficients of the channel are zero or nearly zero. The maximum likelihood (ML) estimate does not always produce a sparse channel estimate. This thesis surveys a number of sparse estimation algorithms that produce a sparse channel estimate and compares the post-equalizer bit error rates (BER) using these sparse estimates with the post-equalizer BER using the ML estimate. I …

Effective Pv Output Fluctuation Smoothing Based On Frequency Analysis And Different Weather Patterns, Kuei Hsu Kuo

Theses and Dissertations

As the Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) has the advantages of both power-based and energy-based energy storage devices. It is suitable for a microgrid to smooth the power fluctuation. Analyze the power data of a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power station. This research considers grid-connected PV requirements to join the HESS and take advantage of the HESS charge and discharge characteristics to reduce the problems caused by light intensity and temperature change of grid-connected PV power output fluctuations. Using battery optimization control strategies to reduce power and capacity of the HESS configuration. This paper Analyze the effect evaluation when HESS rated …

Inductance Measurement Fixture And Mathematical Model Development To Support Ac Drive System Simulation Tools, Garry Jean-Pierre

Theses and Dissertations

Variable frequency drives generate high differential-mode (DM) motor voltages due to the reflected wave phenomenon. The common-mode (CM) voltage produced by a pulse width-modulated inverter changes rapidly, which results in high peak currents to ground. For low-power variable frequency drives in long motor leads application, this can present several issues. Some of these issues include cable charging current, capacitive coupling, DC bus pump-up and failure of the power module due to high instantaneous currents that are usually undetected. In this thesis work, existing drive output filters are used to obtain a mathematical model for the inductors used in these filters. …

Reliability Evaluation Of Active Distribution Networks And Wastewater Treatment Plant Electrical Supply Systems, Haodi Li

Theses and Dissertations

As energy demand increases in U.S. society, especially in terms of electricity and water, it becomes crucial for the operator to ensure the reliability and security of power distribution systems and wastewater treatment facilities. In the past, deterministic approaches were developed in evaluating the reliability of power supply systems. However, deterministic approaches lack the stochastic characteristic modeling, which makes it ineffective in modeling practical systems with increasing uncertainties. In this thesis, a set of probabilistic, quantitative reliability indices will be calculated for the active power distribution networks and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) electrical supply systems.

First, the probabilistic reliability evaluation …

Large Scale Integration Of Electric Vehicles Into The Power Grid And Its Potential Effects On Power System Reliability, Mingzhi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the potential effects of large scale integration of electric vehicles into the power grid are discussed in both the beneficial and detrimental aspects. The literature review gives a comprehensive introduction about the existing smart charging algorithms. According to the system structure and market mechanism, the smart charging algorithms can be divided into centralized and distributed method. With the knowledge of driving patterns and charging characteristics of electric vehicles, both the centralized and decentralized smart charging algorithms are studied in this research.

Based on the smart charging pricing and sequential price update mechanism, a multi-agent based distributed smart …

A Novel Distributed Control Method For Economic Dispatch In Islanded Microgrid, Haibo Xia

Theses and Dissertations

Microgrid (MG) is proposed to integrate the distributed generations and improve the energy efficiency. Economic dispatch is an important tool to obtain the economic operation in MG, which deals with the power in efficient ways while meeting the constraints of total load demand as well as the generator constraints. In research, a two-layer MG is proposed, where the top layer is a communication network for information transmission, while the bottom layer is the MG for power transmission. A fully distributed control method is proposed to obtain the minimum operation costs of the distributed generations by reaching the consensus of the …

Theory, Simulation, And Implementation Of Grid Connected Back To Back Converters Utilizing Voltage Oriented Control, Sean C. Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents a back to back converter topology with the ability to connect two power systems of different voltages and frequencies for the exchange of power. By utilizing indirect AC/AC conversion decoupling is achieved between the power systems with one of the three-phase, two-level voltage source converters performing the AC/DC conversion that maintains the required DC bus voltage level at unity power factor while the other converter operates in all four quadrants supplying/consuming active and/or reactive power with the other power system. The prototype implementation resides at UW-Milwaukee’s USR Building microgrid test bed facility. A possible application topology would …

Investigating Solutions For Peak Electrical Demand In Central Region, Saudi Arabia, Abdulhameed Mohammed Almaarik

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the electrical power challenges of the Central Region, Saudi Arabia. This includes a look into the geography of Saudi Arabia, to assess the lack of traditional power sources such as coal and hydroelectric. Next, a comprehensive look into the nature of demand in Riyadh, which include the demand types, and comprehensive data about the peak demand and the times associated with it. A problem of very high peak demand that is unique to the region is identified. Then, a study into current electric generation methods to meet this demand, and the associated technologies and fuel costs. This …

Fault Discrimination Using Sic Jfet Based Self-Powered Solid State Circuit Breakers In A Residential Dc Community Microgrid, Mengyuan Qi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis validates the use of ultra-fast normally-on SiC JFET based self-powered solid state circuit breakers (SSCBs) as the main protective device for a 340Vdc residential DC community microgrid. These SSCBs will be incorporated into a radial distribution system so that line to line short circuit faults and other types of faults can be isolated anywhere within the microgrid.

Because of the nature and characteristics of short circuit fault inception in DC microgrids, the time-current trip characteristics of protective devices must be several orders of magnitude of faster than conventional circuit breakers. The proposed SSCB detects short circuit faults by …

Hvdc Transmission System Reliability Evaluation Based On Condition-Dependent Failure Models Of Converters And Transformers, Zibo Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Wind energy, especially offshore wind energy, is the focus of policy for countries that want to make significant use of renewable energy. With the development of semiconductor technology, high voltage direct current (HVDC) technology is being widely used for the transmission of wind power from offshore windfarms to onshore power grids. The application of HVDC technology can benefit the power system in many ways, such as operation security, reliability performance and economy. With the increasing number of applications of HVDC, the reliability performance of HVDC plays an important role in the overall power system reliability. Although the reliability of HVDC …

Ground Fault Location Of Cable Using Wavelet In Dc Microgrid, Junyang Yu

Theses and Dissertations

As the proliferations of distributed generation and power electronic equipment in power systems, more and more researchers put focus on the DC microgrid. This study is based on cables in DC community microgrid. Single ground fault is considered in the cables connected hub garage and participating garages. With long length compared to other cables in the system, it is necessary to study the method to locate the ground fault when the fault happen in the buried cables.

Two approaches are studied. The traveling wave method is applied for analysis of transient process when the fault happens while the stable parameter …

Plug-In Grid Compatible Next Generation Power Converters, Qianqian Jiao

Theses and Dissertations

The utilization of the DC low voltage distribution opens new possibilities for network development. Community DC microgrid is considered as an efficient solution for providing clean energy for residential areas. The connection of the DC microgrid to the AC utility grid would need a power electronic based rectifier. Voltage Source Rectifier (VSR) and Current Source Rectifier (CSR) are considered as the two options for such application. This study compares the two topologies based on their power density and efficiency. Silicon Carbide (SiC) switches are used for designing the rectifiers to get better power density and efficiency. The proximity of the …

An Integrated Approach For Reliability Evaluation Of Electric Power Systems Considering Natural Gas Network Reliability, Jiayan Nie

Theses and Dissertations

With the rapid increase of demand for electric power and the growing complexity of the electric system, the reliable operation of electric systems is facing new challenges. Meanwhile, natural gas has been widely used in transportation, electricity generation, and heating. In addition, gas-fired turbines play a growing vital role in the generation of electricity. However, all the facilities in a natural gas network are subject to failures. The operation of gas-fired turbines will be affected by the status of natural gas network, and the insufficient supply of natural gas may cause the output of gas turbine units to reduce to …

Devices Selection And Topology Comparison For Medium Voltage Dc Solid State Circuit Breakers, Yihui Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

DC grid has been treated as a viable solution to solve green-house effect and reduce the cost of fossil fuels. Compared with AC grid, DC grid shows many inherent advantages, such as high efficiency power delivery, less expensive to deploy and no need for phase and frequency synchronization. However, over current protection for DC grid require fast response. To solve this problem, solid state DC circuit breakers need to be promoted.

In this thesis, thermal property was taken into consideration to find the most suitable semiconductor devices. Per unitized thermal resistance of the heat sink to the ambient was used …

Integration Of Massive Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles Into Power Distribution Systems: Modeling, Optimization, And Impact Analysis, Jun Tan

Theses and Dissertations

With the development of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, it is highly promising to use plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) as a new form of distributed energy resources. However, the uncertainties in the power market and the conflicts among different stakeholders make the integration of PHEVs a highly challenging task. Moreover, the integration of PHEVs may lead to negative effects on the power grid performance if the PHEV fleets are not properly managed.

This dissertation studies various aspects of the integration of PHEVs into power distribution systems, including the PHEV load demand modeling, smart charging algorithms, frequency regulation, reliability-differentiated service, charging navigation, …

Investigation Of Electric Water Heaters As Demand Response Resources And Their Impact On Power System Operational Reliability, Qian Wu

Theses and Dissertations

The electricity consumption has increased dramatically in past decades due to the improvement of people’s life standard and the increase of their incomes. Some uncertainties have occurred because of an increasing electricity consumption at the household level. As a result, the high power consumption of massive households will affect power system reliability. Recently, the traditional power grid is being transformed to the smart grid, which is an effective way to deal with these issues. The electricity utility could manage the demand side resources using different kinds of Demand Response (DR) methods. Residential resource is an important part besides industrial resource …