Engineering Commons^™

Pulse Train™, A Novel Digital Control Method, Applied To A Discontinuous Conduction Mode Flyback Converter, Mark Telefus, Anatoly Shteynberg, Mehdi Ferdowsi, Ali Emadi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pulse Train^TM, a new digital control technique for DC-DC converters is introduced and applied to a Flyback converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). In contrast to the conventional analog control methods, the principal idea of this new algorithm is to use real time analysis. The proposed technique is appropriate for any converter operating in DCM. However, this work mainly focuses on Flyback converter. In this paper, the main mathematical concept of the new control algorithm is introduced and simulations as well as experimental results are presented.

New Full Wave Theory For Plane Wave Scattering By A Rough Dielectric Surface - The Fictitious Current Method, Byung-Tae Yoon

Dissertations

A new full wave method for scattering of plane waves from a rough dielectric surface is developed. This new theory begins by postulating a zero-order field solution which does not satisfy Maxwell's source-free field equations. The zero-order field, however, is made to satisfy Maxwell's source equations. This is done by introducing a fictitious volume current distribution. Since the original problem does not possess a volume current distribution, its introduction represents a measure of the error in the postulated zero-order solution. To improve this solution, the fictitious volume current distribution is cancelled by the introduction of a second fictitious current distribution, …

Time-Frequency Investigation Of Heart Rate Variability And Cardiovascular System Modeling Of Normal And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Copd) Subjects, Douglas Alan Newandee

Dissertations

A study has been designed to add insight to some questions that have not been fully investigated in the heart rate variability field and the cardiovascular regulation system in normal and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) subjects. It explores the correlations between heart rate variability and cardiovascular regulation, which interact through complex multiple feedback and control loops. This work examines the coupling between heart rate (HR), respiration (RESP), and blood pressure (BP) via closed-loop system identification techniques in order to noninvasively assess the underlying physiology.

In the first part of the study, the applications of five different bilinear time-frequency representations …

Design And Evaluation Of Processes For Fuel Fabrication: Quarterly Progress Report #7, Georg F. Mauer

Fuels Campaign (TRP)

The seventh quarter of the project covered the following:

• Mr. Richard Silva continued the development of a simulation model with a Waelischmiller hot cell robot. Rich will continue to develop detailed 3-D process simulation models as his M.Sc. thesis project.

• Mr. Richard Silva presented a paper on hot cell robotics at the ANS student conference in Berkeley, CA.

• Concepts and Methods for Vision-Based Hot Cell Supervision and control, focusing on rule-based object recognition (Ph.D. Student Jae-Kyu Lee)

• Undergraduate student Jamil Renno, developed better control algorithms, and created simulations of pick and place actions for the hot …

Improving The Process Of Laser Retinal Eye Surgery Using Electro Static Micro Mirrors, Narashiman Chakravarthy

Theses

This thesis describes an improved system for laser eye surgery. The system incorporates hardware based image matching and MEMS micromirrors for feedback control of laser positioning on the eye. Many benefits are described in this thesis, such as nulling out eye movement, tracking laser firing history, enabling precise control of laser firing locations and preventing firing accidents. The aim of this work is to frame this improved laser surgery concept and prove the principle of various components of the system. A featured accomplishment is the modeling and simulation of a prototype microcontroller using VHDL that may be incorporated as part …

Characterization And Mapping Of Crystal Defects In Silicon Carbide, Ejiro Emorhokpor

Theses

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor with attractive properties, such as a wide bandgap (3. 26 eV), high dielectric strength, and high thermal conductivity that make it suitable for high power, highspeed electronic devices. A major roadblock to its wider application is the presence of defects, particularly micropipes and dislocations, in SiC wafers produced today and decreasing density of these defects is the most important challenge of the industry. The goal of this thesis was to design, build and test a system for detection and analysis of the defects in SiC wafers. The system is based on the reflection optical …

Sparse Matrix Product Implementation On Field Programmable Gate Arrays (Epgas), Amit Mahendra Sheth

Theses

If dense matrix multiplication algorithms are used with sparse matrices, they can result in a large number of redundant calculations, as numerous elements in sparse matrices are zero valued, thus available resources and time may be wasted. The algorithm discussed here aims to take advantage of the sparseness of the matrices by multiplying only nonzero elements.

The NIOS development board from Altera is used for implementing the above algorithm. First a sequential program in the C programming language is downloaded onto the FPGA and run by the NIOS soft-processor. Then the same board is also used for a parallel implementation …

Spatio-Temporal Correlation Models For Indoor Mimo Channels, Kaustubha Raghukumar

Theses

Accurate modeling of the spatio-temporal cross-correlation between the subchannels of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel is an important prerequisite of multi-element antenna system design. In this thesis, a new model for indoor MIMO channels is proposed, and a closed form expression for the spatio-temporal cross-correlation function is derived. This new analytical correlation expression includes many physical parameters of interest such as the angle-of-arrivals at the base station and the user, the associated angle spreads, and other parameters, in a compact form. Comparison of this model with narrowband indoor MIMO data collected at Brigham Young University exhibits the utility of the …

Low-Power Transceiver Design For Mobile Wireless Chemical Biological Sensors, Harshavardhan Reddy Sripuram

Theses

The design of a smart integrated chemical sensor system that will enhance sensor performance and compatibility to Ad hoc network architecture remains a challenge. This work involves the design of a Transceiver for a mobile chemical sensor. The transceiver design integrates all building blocks on-chip, including a low-noise amplifier with an input-matching network, a Voltage Controlled Oscillator with injection locking, Gilbert cell mixers, and a Class E Power amplifier making it as a single-chip transceiver. This proposed low power 2GHz transceiver has been designed in TSMC 0.35~lm CMOS process using Cadence electronic design automation tools. Post layout HSPICE simulation indicates …

High Resolution Wind Retrieval For Seawinds On Quikscat, Jeremy Blaine Luke

Theses and Dissertations

An algorithm has been developed that enables improved the resolution wind estimates from SeaWinds data. This thesis presents the development of three key portions of the high resolution wind retrieval algorithm: Compositing individual σ-0 measurements and Kp, Retrieved wind bias correction, and ambiguity selection for high resolution winds. The high resolution winds produced by this algorithm are expected to become a useful resource for scientists and engineers studying the ocean winds. The high resolution wind retrieval algorithm allows wind to be retrieved much closer to land than is available from the low resolution winds estimated from the same scatterometer by …

Polar Sea Ice Mapping For Seawinds, Hyrum Spencer Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the scientific community has expressed interest in the ability to observe global climate indicators such as polar sea ice. Advances in microwave remote sensing technology have allowed a large-scale and detailed study of sea ice characteristics. This thesis provides the analysis and development of sea ice mapping algorithms for the SeaWinds scatterometer. First, an in-depth analysis of the Remund Long (RL) algorithm for SeaWinds is performed. From this study, several improvements are made to the RL algorithm which enhance its performance. In addition, a new method for automated polar sea ice mapping is developed for the SeaWinds …

Oxidation Behavior Of Zr-Cu-Al-Ni Amorphous Alloys In Air At 300～500℃, H. H. Hsieh, W. Kai, T. G. Neih, Y. Kawamura

Journal of Electrochemistry

The oxidation behavior of the Zr- based bulk amorphous alloy (BMG; Zr-30Cu-10Al-5Ni in at.%) was studied in dry air over the temperature range 300～500 ℃. The kinetic results indicated that the amorphous alloy oxidized linearly at 300 ℃, while the parabolic oxidation was observed at 350～425 ℃, and the oxidation behavior at 500 ℃ was irregular and complicated. In general, the scales formed on the surface of the amorphous alloy were temperature-dependent, consisting of tetragonal-ZrO₂ at 300 ℃, and of mostly tetragonal-ZrO₂ as well as minor amounts of monoclinic-ZrO₂ and CuO at T ≥ 350 ℃.

Electrochemical Monitoring On The Deactivation Of A Metallic Oxide Anode, Li-Kun Xu, Shi-Zhe Song, Ting-Yong Wang, Guang-Zhang Chen

Journal of Electrochemistry

The process of accelerated life test of an IrO₂/Ta₂O₅ coated titanium anode was monitored using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The vatiation with electrolysis time of anodic voltammetric charge Q^*, the double layer capacitance C_dl,the oxide film resistance R_f and the charge transfer resistance R_ct for oxygen evolution was measured. A deactivation mechanism was proposed based on the observation results.

Synthesis And Electrochemical Characteristics Of Nickel-Based Complex Oxide LiANi0.78Co0.2Cd0.02O2, Rong-Zhong Yuan, Mei-Zhen Qu, Zuo-Long Yu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The nickel-based complex oxide Li_aNi_0.78Co_0.02O₂ cathode materials for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries was synthesized by the improved solid-state reaction method with LiOH·H₂O, ball-like Cd-doped Ni(OH)₂ and Co₂O₃ as raw materials. The analysis ICP-AES proved that the as-prepared compounds were near the stoichiometric form. The XRD, SEM and electrochemical characteristics testing were also carried out. The results showed that the complex cathode material Li_aNi_0.78Co_0.2Cd_0.02O₂ has layered structure, homogeneous surface distributions,uniform particles with good crystal morphology as well as stable electrochemical …

Conductance Properties For Electrolyte Of Lithium Ion Battery At Low Temperature, Jing-Li Han, Yan-Mei Yu, Jian Chen, Chun-Tong Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The system of LiPF₆-ethylene carbonate (EC)-methy1 acetate (MA) was studied. The conductivities of this system were measured under various composition and various salt concentrations at temperature range of 20～-50 ℃. The optimum composition of this system was selected. The tests of cyclic voltammography and charge-discharge were carried out. This system was compared with commercial electrolyte solution.

Perfluorinated Sulfonic Acid Lithium Conductivity Humidity Sensor, Hong-Feng Xu, Jing Liu, Li Wan

Journal of Electrochemistry

Treat carbon paper with 3% PTFE solution and dried in 340 ℃ for 40 minutes to enhance its intension, and level off the surface of the carbon paper with a mixture of XC-72 carbon black and PTFE solution. With those treated carbon paper as electrodes, recast Nafion thin film from 5% Nafion solution as humidity sensitive material, a solid polymer electrolyte humidity sensor was prepared on a thin PET film. Take the relative humidity data from several saturated salt solutions, the relationship between conductivity response and relative humidity was studied at different relative humidies .The results showed: when the polymer …

Corrosion Prediction Of Carbon Steel In Concentrated Lithium Bromide Solutions At High Temperature Using Bp Neural Network, Nai-Bao Huang, Cheng-Hao Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Neutral network model has been developed for the computation of corrosion rate of carbon steel in LiBr solutions.The results indicate that the model is capable of reproducing the effects of changes in alkalinity, temperatures, LiBr and Na₂MoO₄ concentrations on the rates of general corrsion and good agreement between calculated and experimental corrosion rate is obtained. The model can be used to satisfactorily predict the corrosion rate of carbon steel in different concentrations of LiBr solutions containing different inhibitors at different temperatures. It also provides a novel method for corrosion monitoring of metals used in LiBr absorption chiller.

Mechanisms Of Photoluminescence From Silicon Nanocrystals Formed By Pulsed-Laser Deposition In Argon And Oxygen Ambient, X. Y. Chen, Yongfeng Lu, Y. H. Wu, B. J. Cho, M. H. Liu, D. Y. Dai, W. D. Song

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

We have investigated the different mechanisms of photoluminescence (PL) of silicon nanocrystals due to the quantum confinement effect (QCE) and interface states. Si nanocrystals were formed by pulsed-laser deposition in inert argon and reactive oxygen gas. The collisions between the ejected species greatly influence the morphology of the Si nanocrystals and cause a transition from a film structure to a porous cauliflower-like structure, as the ambient gas pressure increases from 1 mTorr to 1 Torr. The oxygen content of the Si nanocrystals increases with increasing O₂ ambient pressure, and nearly SiO₂ stoichiometry is obtained when the O_{2 …}

Yscat Backscatter Distributions, Benjamin E. Barrowes

Theses and Dissertations

YSCAT is a unique ultrawideband microwave scatterometer developed to investigate the sea surface under a variety of environmental and radar parameters. The YSCAT94 experiment consisted of a six month deployment on the WAVES research tower operated by the Canada Center for inland Waters (CCIW). Over 3500 hours of data were collected at 2Γ 3.05Γ 5.3Γ 10.02Γ and 14 GHz and at a variety of wind speeds, relative azimuth angles, and incidence angle.

A low wind speed "rolloff" of the normalized radar cross section (σ°) in YSCAT94 data is found and quantified. The rolloff wind speedΓ γΓ is estimated through regression …

An Implementation Of Field-Wise Wind Retrieval For Seawinds On Quikscat, Andrew S. Fletcher

Theses and Dissertations

Field-wise wind estimation (also known as model-based wind estimation) is a sophisticated technique to derive wind estimates from radar backscatter measurements. In contrast to the more traditional method known as point-wise wind retrieval, field-wise techniques estimate wind field model parameters. In this way, neighboring wind vectors are jointly estimated, ensuring consistency. This work presents and implementation for field-wise wind retrieval for the SeaWinds scatterometer on the QuikSCAT satellite.

Due to its sophistication, field-wise wind retrieval adds computational complexity and intensity. The tradeoffs necessary for practical implementations are examined and quantified. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm for minimizing the field-wise objective function is …

Multisensor Microwave Remote Sensing In The Cryosphere, Quinn P. Remund

Theses and Dissertations

Because the earth's cryosphere influences global weather patterns and climate, the scientific community has had great interest in monitoring this important region. Microwave remote sensing has proven to be a useful tool in estimating sea and glacial ice surface characteristics with both scatterometers and radiometers exhibiting high sensitivity to important ice properties. This dissertation presents an array of studies focused on extracting key surface features from multisensor microwave data sets. First, several enhanced resolution image reconstruction issues are addressed. Among these are the optimization of the scatterometer image reconstruction (SIR) algorithm for NASA scatterometer (NSCAT) data, an analysis of Ku-band …

A Field-Wise Retrieval Algorithm For Seawinds, Stephen L. Richards

Theses and Dissertations

In the spring of 1999 NASA will launch the scatterometer SeaWinds, beginning a 3 year mission to measure the ocean winds. SeaWinds is different from previous spaceborne scatterometers in that it employs a rotating pencil-beam antenna as opposed to fixed fan-beam antennas. The scanning beam provides greater coverage but causes the wind retrieval accuracy to vary across the swath. This thesis develops a filed-wise wind retrieval algorithm to improve the overall wind retrieval accuracy for use with SeaWinds data.

In order to test the field-wise wind retrieval algorithm, methods for simulating wind fields are developed. A realistic approach interpolates the …

Calibration Of And Attitude Error Estimation For A Spaceborne Scatterometer Using Measurements Over Land, Clarence J. Wilson Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) was launched August 20, 1996 aboard the National Space Development Agency of Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Spacecraft (ADEOS). NSCAT's primary mission was to measure radar backscatter over the world's oceans. These measurements are used to generate estimates of ocean wind speed and direction. Scatterometers must be calibrated before their measurements are scientifically useful. However, the calibration of NSCAT must be done in orbit. A new methodology for selecting land regions for use in extended target spaceborne scatterometer calibration is first developed. Next, a summary of the calibration technique used in this thesis is presented. While the …

Azimuth Modulation Of The Radar Backscatter At Near-Normal Incidence, Andrew D. Greenwood

Theses and Dissertations

Radar observations of the ocean surface are becoming increasingly important. Common applications are wind retrieval and global weather forecasting and characterization. Because of the common use of ocean radar measurements, it is important to understand the sensitivity of the backscatter to both radar parameters and surface parameters.

At near-normal incidence angles, it has been assumed that the radar backscatter exhibits little or no azimuth dependence (Colton, 1989). However, recent data taken by the BYU YSCAT radar system suggests that this is not the case. At an incidence angle of 10°, the YSCAT radar data shows from a fraction of a …

The Phase Gradient Autofocus Algorithm With Range Dependent Stripmap Sar, James S. Bates

Theses and Dissertations

The Phase Gradient Autofocus (PGA) algorithm is widely used in spotlight mode SAR for motion compensation. The Maximum Likelihood PGA (ML PGA) algorithm has been shown to be a superior autofocus method. The PGA is restricted to high altitude aircraft. Since lower altitude SARs have significant range dependencies that cannot be ignored, the PGA could not be used. This thesis eliminates the high altitude restriction and extends the PGA for use with all spotlight SARs. The new algorithm is tested with three images. Each image has a unique quality. A desert image provides a low signal to clutter ratio with …

Studies To Improve Estimation Of The Electromagnetic Bias In Radar Altimetry, Justin Dewitt Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In May of 2000 Jason-1, a joint project between NASA and the French space agency CNES, will be launched. Its mission is to continue the highly successful gathering of data which TOPEX/Poseidon has collected since August of 1992. The main goal of Jason-1 is to achieve higher accuracy in measuring the mean sea level (MSL). In order to do so, the electromagnetic (EM) bias must be estimated more accurately because it is the largest contributing error. This thesis presents two different studies which add to the knowledge and improve estimation of the EM bias, and thus assists Jason-1 in achieving …

Uncertainties In Oceanic Microwave Remote Sensing: The Radar Footprint, The Wind-Backscatter Relationship, And The Measurement Probability Density Function, Paul E. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Oceanic microwave remote sensing provides the data necessary for the estimation of significant geophysical parameters such as the near-surface vector wind. To obtain accurate estimates, a precise understanding of the measurements is critical. This work clarifies and quantifies specific uncertainties in the scattered power measured by an active radar instrument.

While there are many sources of uncertainty in remote sensing measurements, this work concentrates on three significant, yet largely unstudied effects. With a theoretical derivation of the backscatter from an ocean-like surface, results from this dissertation demonstrate that the backscatter decays with surface roughness with two distinct modes of behavior, …

A Methodology For The Design Of Spaceborne Pencil-Beam Scatterometer Systems, Michael W. Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

Spaceborne scatterometer instruments are important tools for the remote sensing of the Earth's environment. In addition to the primary goal of measuring ocean winds, data from scatterometers have proven useful in the study of a variety of land and cryopshere processes as well. Several satellites carrying scatterometers have flown in the last two decades. These previous systems have been "fan-beam" scatterometers, where multiple antennas placed in fixed positions are used. The fan-beam scatterometer approach, however, has disadvantages which limit its utility for future missions. An alternate approach, the conically-scanning "pencil-beam" scatterometer technique, alleviates many of the problems encountered with earlier …

Using Space Borne Microwave Sensors To Track Large Antarctic Icebergs, Jarom James Ballantyne

Theses and Dissertations

Studying Antarctic icebergs can provide insight into climatic changes of the Earth's frozen continent. Antarctic icebergs are regularly formed by the separations of massive sections of ice from ice shelves and glaciers.

The National Ice Center (NIC) is playing a major role in sea ice analysis and forecasts. As a part of its mission the NIC is using a variety of satellite sensors to track many large Antarctic icebergs. The NIC reports iceberg positions every 15-20 days. However, there are limitations in the NIC's iceberg tracking techniques. The areas covered by the images used by the NIC are limited to …

Evolutionary Algorithms For Beginners, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation offers a detailed introduction into the concepts and applications of evolutionary ideas in computing, adapted from genetics and evolution.