Engineering Commons^™

An Optimization Tool For A Standalone Photovoltaic System, Johanes Kasilima

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Stand-alone photovoltaic systems (SAPV) are often used in remote areas where access to grid electricity is limited. This system depends on solar energy. However, Photovoltaic (PV) systems need a greater initial investment than conventional sources of energy, and their effectiveness is reliant on a number of environmental conditions such as the unpredictable solar radiation. One step in reducing the investment cost of a PV system is determining the optimal size of solar PV components that minimize costs. This paper presents a Particle Swarm based optimization tool for sizing Stand-alone PV systems. The optimization tool selects the optimal Levelized Cost of …

Design And Optimization Of An Azeotropic Distillation Pilot Plant For The Production Of Pure Ethanol, Samwel V. Manyele

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This study aimed to design an azeotropic distillation plant using Aspen Plus® V10 software and determine optimal process conditions for producing pure ethanol greater than 95% from pre-concentrated near-azeotropic ethanol-water solution. The non-random two-liquid Redlich-Kwong thermodynamic model was the base method for property analysis and performance prediction. Modelling and simulation of the converged process were conducted for fixed column variables (R = 5, N = 12 and p = 1 atm). Plant operating parameters were varied in the range of 0 to 1 for the pre-heater vapour fraction, 2 to 10 for the column feed plates (NFP), 2 to 6 …

Optimization Pump As Turbine Coupled To A Self-Excited Induction Generator Using Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm, Emanuel J. Nyirenda

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

As a way of accelerating the deployment of affordable and clean renewable energy generation technologies, applying a pump working as a turbine coupled to a self-excited induction generator is gaining popularity in various areas including energy recovery and micro hydro systems. However, it is currently challenging to predict the performance of the PAT-SEIG system and there is no agreed-upon rule on the selection of the appropriate system to be installed at a particular site. This paper has presented multi-objective optimization to select the best operating point of the PAT-SEIG system. The results show that the peak efficiencies for the PAT …

Effect Of Zr And W Doping On Microstructures, Transition Temperature And Solar Transmittance Modulation Of Thermochromic W/Zr Co-Doped Vo2 Thin Films, Haji F. Haji

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Thermochromic W/Zr co-doped VO2-based thin films with different concentrations of Zr were successfully deposited on soda lime glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering of V(99)W(01) alloy and Zr targets at a substrate temperature of 425 °C. The films were characterized by x–ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), two-point probe and UV/VIS/NIR spectroscopy. The film’s structural properties evolution was significantly influenced by Zr concentration in the films. The transition temperature and hysteresis loop widths of the films were found to decrease with increasing Zr concentration. For the Zr concentrations of 0.21 at.%, 0.23 at.% …

Evaluation Of Cybersecurity In Remote Working Settings For Mobile Network Operators, Victoria Mahabi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Cybersecurity has increasingly been a primary concern to people as technology advances and allows them to work remotely. This study thus evaluated the cybersecurity posture for organisations that have opted for remote working culture, whereas emerging cyber threats, practices to combat them, and appropriate guidelines for managing cyber threats were discussed. The study used a descriptive design with a quantitative approach from 118 information technology personnel working for Tanzania's three major mobile network operators (MNOs). SPSS analysed the collected data. The study revealed that predominant cyber-threats affecting MNOs in remote working include human errors, phishing attacks, malicious domains, denial of …

Sol-Gel Synthesis And Microstructure Characterization Of Nio-Tio2 Semiconductor, Godlisten N. Shao

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

NiO-TiO2 is a fascinating p-n semiconducting binary metal oxide with unique electronic and optical properties. The NiO-TiO2 has been synthesized using complicated preparation methods and expensive precursors that hamper their large-scale production. The present study reports the preparation of NiO-TiO2 semiconductor with improved physicochemical properties. NiO-TiO2 samples were prepared through one-pot sol-gel synthesis process followed by sintering of the as-synthesized materials at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1000 °C. The role of thermal treatment and NiO content on the microstructures was exquisitely studied. The microstructure of the NiO-TiO2 samples was examined by Raman spectroscopy, XRD, XRF, SEM-EDAX, high resolution TEM, …

Ultra-Sensitive Visible-Ir Range Fiber Based Plasmonic Sensor: A Finite-Element Analysis And Deep Learning Approach For Ri Prediction, Mohammad Al Mahfuz, Sumaiya Afroj, Afiquer Rahman, Md. Azad Hossain, Md. Anwar Hossain, Md Selim Habib

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this paper, a relatively simple and ultra-sensitive Photonic crystal fiber (PCF) based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor is proposed for detecting different analyte refractive indices (RIs) ranging from 1.33 to 1.43 over a wide range of wavelength spectrum spanning 0.55 μm to 3.50 μm. The comprehensive finite-element simulations indicate that it is possible to achieve remarkable sensing performances such as wavelength sensitivity (WS) and figure of merit (FOM) as high as 123,000 nm/RIU and 683 RIU^-1, respectively, and extremely low value of wavelength resolution (WR) about 8.13×10⁻⁷ RIU. A novel artificial neural network (ANN) model is …

Optimal Load Shedding During Service Restoration In Electrical Secondary Distribution Network Based On Reinforcement Learning, Rukia J. Mwifunyi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Increased stress in traditional power systems results in blackouts due to voltage instability attributed to a mismatch between available capacity and load demand, especially in distribution networks. Service restoration schemes are designed to return power supply to the affected parts of the networks. The availability of insufficient supply is a complex problem that requires operational experience or an automatic system. The stochastic nature of load demand significantly impacts service restoration as it results in increased restored demand in case a fault occurs during off-peak hours and helps reduce overload if the fault occurs during peak hours. The study adopts an …

Assessment Of Risk Factors Related To Body Pain Complaints In Tanzania Construction Industry, Fatma K. Mohamed

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The construction industry is associated with risks that can result in musculoskeletal diseases. Although young male workers who are presumed to be healthy dominate the industry in Tanzania, body pain complaints have been widely reported. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and causes of body pains in workers. A cross-sectional study involving 396 workers was conducted. A chi square test was used for testing association of independent categorical variables and binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors for body pain complaints. The results show that all study participants complained of at least one form …

Comparison Of Meteorological Drought Indices In Tanzania Using The Meteorological Drought Monitoring Software Package, Paul Ts Limbu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Low precipitation, substantial evaporation, and an unequal distribution of precipitation throughout the area are the characteristics of drought, a climatic abnormality. This study used the Meteorological Drought Monitoring (MDM) software and monthly rainfall data from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) to examine and compare the Deciles Index (DI), Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), Percent of Normal Index (PNI), Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI), Z-Score Index (ZSI), China-Z Index (CZI), and Modified China-Z Index (MCZI) for drought monitoring in Tanzania from 1988 to 2017. It was found that ZSI represented the dry years better than other indices, followed by DI, RAI, PNI, SPI, …

Synthesis Algorithm Of Control System Based On Neural Network For The Gas And Oil Process, Jasur Sevinov, Abdishukurov Maqsudovich Shavkat, A.Z. Shodiyorov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

Automatic control systems in the oil and gas processing are considered. After extraction of natural gas condensate, management of technological parameters plays an important role in its processing. Among the parameter of regulating algorithms, control based on neural network technology was considered. These control systems are created on the basis of algorithms of neural network technology. There are several structures of neural networks according to their structure. Differences in the process of information processing of these branching structures are considered.

Synthesis Of Local Control Systems For Underwater Units Cleaning Bottom Sediments In Reservoirs, Yuriy Gennadiyevich Shipulin, Zebiniso Akmalovna Zayniddinova

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The article discusses the issues of synthesizing local control systems for underwater units for cleaning bottom sediments in reservoirs. It is shown that the protection and rational use of natural reservoirs and the fight against their premature siltation is becoming an urgent task.

It is proposed to use small-sized underwater units, consisting of information and measuring devices, to carry out search work for cleaning bottom sediments under water; control systems; actuators and means of communication with humans.

It is shown that the task of controlling the loading of an underwater unit (UU) requires maintaining optimal performance while simultaneously taking into …

Dynamic Characteristics Of Magnetoelectric Linear Actuators Of Control Systems, Мakhmudjon Muxamedovich Аbdullayev, Rasul Ernazar Ogli Abdiev

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

This paper presents the results of studies carried out on magnetoelectric drives that carry out linear movement, models of drives are built and, on their basis, studies of the main indicators associated with the movement of a linear armature are carried out, such as: speed of movement, acceleration, current values, voltage and traction force of the armature. Also presented are the results of a study of magnetoelectric linear motion drives based on an analysis of graphs of their dynamic characteristics.

Farm Electricity System Simulator (Fess): A Platform For Simulating Electricity Utilisation On Dairy Farms, F. Buckley, J. Upton, R. Prendergast, L. Shalloo, Michael D. Murphy

Publications

The objective of this paper was to define, validate and demonstrate a model capable of accurately simulating dairy farm electricity consumption across varying herd and parlour sizes, to facilitate research investigating renewable energy systems (RES) and demand side management (DSM). The Farm Electricity System Simulator (FESS) was developed using grey-box modelling techniques utilizing empirical data for parameter tuning. Empirical data were gathered from nine spring calving, pasture based dairy farms located in the Republic of Ireland. A k-means clustering analysis was conducted, separating the farms into three, near homogenous groups, from which representative farms were selected. FESS was trained using …

Surface Treatments' Effects On The Capacitor's Dielectric Performance Under Electro-Thermal Stresses, Haider. M. Umran, Feipeng Wang

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Biaxial-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films are characterized by unfavorable aging behavior because of their poor susceptibility to high temperatures, humidity, and high electric fields. This makes them unqualified to withstand harsh operating conditions, such as in capacitor applications. This study investigates the impact of annealing BOPP samples at 100 °C for five hours after fluorination at different times (15, 30, and 60 minutes) on their electrical and mechanical performance under electro-thermal stresses. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images confirm that there is an increase in surface roughness and the formation of a dense layer of fluorine-containing groups monotonically with fluorination time. So, …

Electrochemical Advanced Treatment Of Desulfurization Wastewater From Coal-Fired Power Plants, Ju-Cai Wei, Juan Yi, Xu Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Zero-emission of desulfurization wastewater is one of the main demands for coal-fired power plants. As typical high salinity wastewater, it is hard to purify the desulfurization wastewater from coal-fired power plants through traditional physicochemical treatment or biochemical treatment, e.g., COD and Cl^–. A high concentration of Cl^– ion in desulfurization wastewater restricts wastewater reuse and zero-emission. Electrochemical technology is an attractive method for high salinity wastewater zero-emission, which provides a versatile, efficient, cost-effective, easily automatable, and clean industrial process. For advanced treatment of effluent after triple box process treatment in power plants, this paper reports an electrochemical …

Channel Prediction For Underwater Acoustic Communication: A Review And Performance Evaluation Of Algorithms, Haotian Liu, Lu Ma, Zhaohui Wang, Gang Qiao

Michigan Tech Publications

Underwater acoustic (UWA) channel prediction technology, as an important topic in UWA communication, has played an important role in UWA adaptive communication network and underwater target perception. Although many significant advancements have been achieved in underwater acoustic channel prediction over the years, a comprehensive summary and introduction is still lacking. As the first comprehensive overview of UWA channel prediction, this paper introduces past works and algorithm implementation methods of channel prediction from the perspective of linear, kernel-based, and deep learning approaches. Importantly, based on available at-sea experiment datasets, this paper compares the performance of current primary UWA channel prediction algorithms …

Spectrophotometric Device For Early Malaria Detection, Adrian Wasylewski, Christopher Faber, Victor Lin

Honors Thesis

Malaria remains a significant global health challenge, with millions of cases reported annually, particularly in resource-limited regions. Timely and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and disease management. Unfortunately, there are still significant challenges in existing testing procedures, which are often expensive, inaccurate, or impractical for mass testing. While spectrophotometry has been proposed as a detection tool for other tropical diseases such as dengue fever, no prototype has been made for any disease, including malaria. This report addresses this gap by presenting a spectrophotometric-based malaria detection tool that achieves high sensitivity at a low cost. The inclusion of a …

Study Of Interface Charges Between In-Situ Grown Dielectric And Gan/Algan Hfet Structure By Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Muhammad Hassan Tahir, Nifat Jahan, Md Ghulam Zakir

Faculty Publications

The integration of an oxide layer in metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MOSHFETs) plays a crucial role in minimizing gate leakage current and enabling wider gate voltage swings. In this study, we present the fabrication and characterization of GaN/AlGaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) capped with a Ga₂O₃ dielectric layer. The oxide was deposited via an in-situ process within a single MOCVD reactor without vacuum interruption. Our findings demonstrate that the in-situ capped HFETs exhibit a significantly lower interface charge density of 4 × 10¹² cm⁻² compared to 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻²·eV⁻¹ observed in ex-situ grown counterparts. These results highlight the …

Study Of Indium-Silicon Co-Doped Gallium Oxide For Effective N-Type Doping, Muhammad Hassan Tahir, Nifat Jahan, Md Ghulam Zakir

Faculty Publications

We present the research efforts to achieve effective n-type doping in gallium oxide (Ga2O3), an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor, grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The application of semiconductors for power electronics requires wide and ultrawide bandgap materials that can be doped to create higher electron (n-type) or hole (p-type) densities. Ga2O3, with a bandgap of 4.9 eV, is an emerging and promising material. The bandgap of Ga2O3 is much higher than other wide bandgap material that have been adopted by or in the process of adoption by the industry for power electronics. However, the doping of Ga2O3 has some …

Gallium Oxide Based Avalanche Photo Detector, Muhammad Hassan Tahir Mr, Nifat Jahan, Md Ghulam Zakir

Faculty Publications

Gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃), an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 4.6 eV and a high critical electric field of 10.3 MV/cm, offers strong potential for high-performance avalanche photodetectors (APDs). This project explores the design and characterization of a Ga₂O₃-based APD featuring doped and undoped epitaxial layers optimized for high electric field generation and low thermal conductivity, enabling stable operation in high-temperature environments. Simulation results show a uniform electric field of 1 MV/cm under a 100 V applied bias, while material characterization confirms excellent surface smoothness with a mean roughness of ~1.1 nm and an electron mobility of 21.7 cm²/V·s …

Transformer Based Deep Learning Model For Sign Language Recognition, Ganzorig Batnasan

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Sign language recognition research aims to develop systems and tools that can interpret and translate sign language into text or spoken language. During the past two decades, the challenges faced in this domain are multifaceted. This thesis on sign language recognition aims to address some challenges through various approaches. The foremost challenge addressed in this thesis is reduction in accuracy that uses transformer based deep learning architecture in addition to preprocessing steps that include augmentations and transformations. The augmentations and transformation helped increase the data size. Specifically, in-house signs were generated using different persons for initial results. The video frames …

Reducing Glass Loss During Transportation And Storage, Abdulaziz Muzafarovich Qurbanov, Mirzaabdullayev Jaxongir Baxtiyorovich

Technical science and innovation

The article discusses the processes of transportation and storage of sheet glass in the production of protective glass for cars. The experience of organizing the transportation and storage of glass in developed countries of the world was analyzed in order to study the problems of losses of raw materials during the transportation and storage of laminated glass, as well as to develop and approve a regulatory and technical document. in this field. The supplies of various brands of polished laminated glass used in the production of protective glass for cars to Avtooina LLC from different addresses, from different manufacturers were …

Applications, Challenges, And Research Issues For Enabling A Uav Swarm, Jennifer Hahner

Senior Honors Theses

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms have the potential to be useful in numerous applications due to their versatility and ability to operate without human intervention. However, this promising technology still requires further investigation, research, and testing before UAV swarms can be implemented extensively. The level of human intervention needed to control the system determines the differing levels of autonomy for UAV swarms. For swarms to become more independent, efficient algorithms for task and path planning are essential. In addition, accurate communication is essential for swarms to be able to coordinate and accomplish tasks successfully. This paper seeks to provide a …

Sparse Ensemble Networks For Hypserspectral Image Classification, Rakesh Kumar Iyer, Okan Ersoy

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technical Reports

We explore the efficacy of sparsity and ensemble model in the classification of hyperspectral images, a pivotal task in remote sensing applications. While Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Transformer models have shown promise in this domain, each exhibits distinct limitations; CNNs excel in capturing the spatial/local features but falter to capture spectral features, whereas Transformers captures the spectral features at the expense of spatial features. Furthermore, the computational cost associated with training several independent CNN and Transformer networks becomes expensive. To address these limitations, we propose a novel ensemble framework comprising pruned CNNs and Transformers, optimizing both spatial and spectral …

Disturbance Observer-Based Control For Pmsg-Based Wind Turbine Considering Unbalanced Grid Conditions, Moayad Maher Alanani

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

A typical permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind turbine system consists of an electrical generator, machine-side converter (MSC), grid-side converter (GSC), dc-link capacitor, and a passive filter such as L filter or LCL filter to connect the GSC to the host grid. When the wind turbine operates under unbalanced grid voltages, a negative sequence component is introduced to the system. This negative sequence voltage can pose challenges for classical controllers to ensure an efficient control of the PMSG-based wind turbine system. On one hand, when the control objective is to ensure injecting sinusoidal and balanced three-phase currents to the grid, …

Low Impedance, Durable, Self-Adhesive Hydrogel Epidermal Electrodes For Electrophysiology Recording, Naiyan Wu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Traditional electrodes used for electrophysiology recording, characterized by their hard, dry, and inanimate nature, are fundamentally mismatched with the soft, moist, and bioactive characteristics of biological tissues, leading to suboptimal skin-electrode interfaces. Hydrogel materials, mirroring the high water content and biocompatibility of biological tissues, emerge as promising candidates for epidermal electronic materials due to their adjustable physicochemical properties. However, challenges such as inadequate electrical conductivity, elevated skin impedance, unreliable adhesion in moist conditions, and performance decline from dehydration have significantly restricted the efficacy and applicability of hydrogel-based electrodes. In this thesis, we report a high-performance hydrogel epidermal electrode patch for …

Emerging Technologies For Automation In Environmental Sensing: Review, Shekhar Suman Borah, Aaditya Khanal, Prabha Sundaravadivel

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article explores the impact of automation on environmental sensing, focusing on advanced technologies that revolutionize data collection analysis and monitoring. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) defines automation as integrating hardware and software components into modern analytical systems. Advancements in electronics, computer science, and robotics drive the evolution of automated sensing systems, overcoming traditional limitations in manual data collection. Environmental sensor networks (ESNs) address challenges in weather constraints and cost considerations, providing high-quality time-series data, although issues in interoperability, calibration, communication, and longevity persist. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), particularly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), play an important …

Plasma Diagnostics For Anode Cathode Plasmas And High Energy Density Physics On A Linear Transformer Driver, Robert Beattie-Rossberg

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

A twelve-brick air insulated linear transformer driver (LTD) was characterized by charging to voltages ranging from 30 to 70 kV and delivering energy to two separate resistive loads. Various plasma diagnostics were built and fielded with an emphasis on the design, implementation and analysis of a Mach Zehnder interferometer, a moiré deflectometer and a spectroscopy system providing information on the temporal evolution of plasma electron density and atomic composition. Rogowski coils, XRD radiation detectors, framing camera images and time integrated DSLR images are used to further understand load conditions where current data, x ray radiation data, velocity data and instability …

Arkansas Tech University Modular Robotics Training System, Andrew L. Hilsdon, Jacob L. Crawford, Luke C. Hartman, Samuel E. Allen, Anthony W. Knudson, Kyle B. Mcmillan

ATU Scholars Symposium

Arkansas Tech University Modular Robotic Training System (ATUM RTS) project aims to combine two existing systems: The Georgia Tech Robotarium and the Micromouse maze-solving competition. The goal of ATUM RTS is to incorporate the challenge and excitement of maze-solving robots with the cloud-based learning system of the Robotarium. We intend to develop an automatic maze table with future remote capabilities to further student learning and engagement. By being able to create custom mazes with ATUM RTS, students will have access to a resource that will allow them to practically apply what they are learning in the classroom. The ATUM RTS …