Engineering Commons^™

Solvent And Method For Extraction Of Triglyceride Rich Oil, Shubhender Kapila, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, V. J. Flanigan

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The present invention relates to a solvent for use in extracting oil from an oil bearing material, such as soybeans, with the solvent resulting in the selective extraction of a triglyceride rich oil, which contains 95% or greater triglycerides and non-polar constituents, with the solvent comprised of a hydrocarbon, preferably hexane, and a fluorocarbon, so that the solvent has a viscosity less than 2.6 centipoise and a polarity of less than 0.1. The present invention also relates to a method of using the solvent to extract the triglyceride rich oil, with the method including preferably extracting the oil at a …

Wide Angle Achromatic Prism Beam Steering For Infrared Countermeasures Applications, Bradley D. Duncan, Philip J. Bos, Vassili Sergan

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

The design and analysis of achromatic doublet prisms for use in laser beam steering is presented. The geometric relationships describing the maximum steering angle are given, as are discussions of first- and second-order dispersion reduction. Infrared (IR) material alternatives and optimum IR material characteristics for wide-angle achromatic prism beam steering are also investigated. Sixteen materials in 120 different combinations have been examined to date. For midwave IR applications it is shown that the minimum dispersion currently achievable across the full 2 to 5 μm spectrum is 1.7816 mrad at an average maximum steering angle of 45 deg. This is accomplished …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 44 Number 4, Spring 2003, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - DREAMS REFLECT OUR WAKING WORLD By Kelly Bulkeley. A teacher of religious studies at SCU argues that dreams are much more than just personal - they reflect larger issues in culture, politics, and society.

12 - SCHOOL WORK By Jean Merl. High school students in South Central L.A. are gaining valuable job skills while they help pay for their private education. And SCU alumni are helping to make it all work.

18 - BELIEVING IN HEALTH By Thomas G. Plante. Research shows that religion may be good for your health, but that does not mean that doctors will …

Understanding Wavelet Analysis And Filters For Engineering Applications, Chethan Bangalore Parameswariah

Doctoral Dissertations

Wavelets are signal-processing tools that have been of interest due to their characteristics and properties. Clear understanding of wavelets and their properties are a key to successful applications. Many theoretical and application-oriented papers have been written. Yet the choice of a right wavelet for a given application is an ongoing quest that has not been satisfactorily answered. This research has successfully identified certain issues, and an effort has been made to provide an understanding of wavelets by studying the wavelet filters in terms of their pole-zero and magnitude-phase characteristics. The magnitude characteristics of these filters have flat responses in both …

Parallel Computation Of The Topological Skeleton Of Vector Fields, Thomas Wischgoll, Gerik Scheuermann

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Vector fields occur in many of the problems in science and engineering. In combustion processes, for instance, vector fields describe the flow of the gas. This process can be enhanced using vector field visualization techniques. Also, wind tunnel experiments can be analyzed. An example is the design of an air wing. The wing can be optimized to create a smoother flow around it.

To analyze such kind of datasets topological methods that clearly show the whole structure of the vector field in one picture are a very good tool. During the last years, many extensions were proposed for this method. …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 6, April 2003, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

An eight page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

A Study In Java Bytecode Engineering With Pcesjava, Martin R. Linenweber

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This thesis reports on experience with PCESjava, a collection of tools which we have developed for the purpose of aiding programmers. Particular applications optimize and instrument JAVA bytecode programs. Using these tools, we have successfully identified impediments to real-time performance in a popular JAVA collections object. Our approach here is based on automatic instruction to obtain traces that show paths whose execution time is not reasonably bounded. We also report on the application of our tool to reduce program footprint in JAVA programs by rewriting the bytecodes to occupy less space. Our transformations also improves the running time of set …

User Interface Improvement For Mlpq System, Shasha Wu

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis describes the experience of migrating the MLPQ constraint database system, a complex standalone Multiple Document Interface (MDI) application, to a server-based remote accessible application. Centralized, standalone MDI application is a common style for personal software products in Windows. For a database management system, server-based, thin-client computing is a more popular infrastructure. Migrating an existing standalone constraint database application to be a web accessible constraint database server is the main goal of this thesis. This migration process provides a method for the constraint database system to collaborate with other specific applications. We rebuild the desktop MLPQ constraint database system …

Parallel Implementation Of A Face Recognition [Sic] System Based On Modular Pca Approach, Rajkiran Gottumukkal

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis describes research in automated methods for the recognition of human faces. The research is driven by the need to design a method, which would ensure high accuracy under the conditions of facial expression, illumination and pose variations. The resulting method is able to cope with uncontrolled nature of facial expression, illumination and head rotations. The main novelty of this work is the idea that some of the local facial features do not vary even when the facial expression, illumination and pose vary. This idea is applied to the existing principle component analysis lPCA) method to arrive at a …

Output Analysis Of Configurable Port Simulation, Ravikiran Jogu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Configurable Port Simulation (CPortS) is a simulation of military cargo moving through a commercial seaport during a force deployment. CPortS simulates cargo at the individual entity level of detail. Simulation at the individual entity level generates huge amounts of output data making the output analysis difficult. To understand the reasons as to why bottlenecks occur in the process of cargo clearance, an analyst needs to be able to partition the data during analysis, not a priori. This makes the estimation of required graph generation impossible, which demands a very dynamic output analysis tool that can enable the analyst to …

Creating Enterprise Simulations Using High Level Architecture, Anton R. Lidums

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Despite an established need, there are two remaining roadblocks to building distributed simulations and enterprise simulation systems. First, commercial simulation packages and engineering modeling tools are not readily distributable across multiple computers and have traditionally had very little impetus for utilizing a distributable format. Second, although HLA simulations have been built and there are tools to facilitate those efforts, very little has been done or written that specifically describes a "non-standard" integration implementation in sufficient detail to make the process reusable or repeatable. This thesis introduces a proof of concept prototype that was developed to integrate simulations. The paper presents …

Automatic Speaker Identification Using Reusable And Retrainable Binary-Pair Partitioned Neural Networks, Ashutosh Mishra

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents an extension of the work previously done on speaker identification using Binary Pair Partitioned (BPP) neural networks. In the previous work, a separate network was used for each pair of speakers in the speaker population. Although the basic BPP approach did perform well and had a simple underlying algorithm, it had the obvious disadvantage of requiring an extremely large number of networks for speaker identification with large speaker populations. It also requires training of networks proportional to the square of the number of speakers under consideration, leading to a very large number of networks to be trained …

Analysis Of Ingaassb/Aigaassb Photodetectors For Applications At The 2.0 Micron Wavelengths, Phani Pendyala

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The study of an InGaAsSb-based heterojunction avalanche photo detector has been carried out for 2-μm applications. A separate absorption and multiplication structure was used because it minimizes the tunneling component of the dark current in the absorption region, and also provides single-carrier injection into the multiplication region. This is a well-known requirement for reducing the multiplication noise. The primary goal was to evaluate the potential of InGaAsSb-AlGaAsSb photo-detectors for photodetection at the two-micron wavelength.

InGaAsSb is a relatively new material, and, therefore, characterization and photodetector response analysis based on this material are not available in the literature. In this thesis …

Dynamics Of Phase Transitions On Low-Index Metal Surfaces, Bo Lin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The surface superheating and phase transitions at the low-index surface of metal were investigated using conventional continuous and 100-ps time-resolved reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Three metal surfaces, In(111), Au(110) and Pb(111), have been investigated in this work. The high temperature behavior of the In(111) surface was investigated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction with 100-ps temporal resolution. The change of surface vacancy density on In(111) is observed from 300 K to near the bulk melting point. The vacancy-formation energy of In(111) surface is estimated from experimental results. The surface vacancy density is observed to increase with temperature; however, the average random …

Field Emission Based Sensors Using Carbon Nanotubes, Changkun Dong

Physics Theses & Dissertations

A number of sensitive applications would be greatly benefited by the development of better cold cathodes that employ the electron field emission process. Among the many kinds of field emitters that could be tried, carbon nanotubes (CNT) have a number of distinct advantages because of their unique geometrical structure, chemical inertness, mechanical stiffness, and high thermal and electrical conductivities. This dissertation describes research in which CNT cathodes were fabricated and their emission characteristics were measured.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) were grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various substrates: Ni and Hastelloy gauze, 304 stainless steel (SS) plates, and Ni-coated …

A Combinatorial Technique For Face Detection Based On Color And Statistical Analysis, Harishwaran Hariharan

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Automatic detection of faces from video sequences is an important task in security applications. The number, location, size and orientation of human faces in a video frame are unpredictable and can vary from frame to frame. A face detection algorithm for color images in the presence of varying lighting conditions and complexity in background relying upon color and statistical analysis is presented in this thesis. The new method detects skin regions over the entire image and then classifies the skin regions as faces and non-faces. Segmentation of skin regions is performed by a novel color space merging procedure named Integrated …

Upper Spokane River Model In Idaho: Boundary Conditions And Model Setup For 2001, Scott A. Wells, Robert Leslie Annear, Chris Berger

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Spokane River in Idaho originates in Coeur d’Alene Lake (Figure 1 and Figure 2). The section of the Spokane River from Coeur d’Alene Lake to the Washington state line is the subject of a water quality study for the US Environmental Protection Agency. The objective of this study is to create a water quality and hydrodynamic model of the Spokane River in Idaho using CE-QUAL-W2 Version 3.1 (Cole and Wells, 2002).

Since the Spokane River is water quality limited, a hydrodynamic and water quality model for the Spokane River in Washington was developed by Portland State University for the …

An Iterative Loop Matching Approach To The Prediction Of Rna Secondary Structures With Pseudoknots, Jianhua Ruan, Weixiong Zhang

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Motivation: Pseudoknots have generally been excluded from the prediction of RNA secondary structures due to the difficulty in modeling and complexity in computing. Although several dynamic programming algorithms exist for the prediction of pseudoknots using thermodynamic approaches, they are neither reliable nor efficient. On the other hand, comparative methods are more reliable, but are often done in an ad hoc manner and require expert intervention. Maximum weighted matching (Tabaska et. al, Bioinformatics, 14:691-9, 1998), an algorithm for pseudoknot prediction with comparative analysis, suffers from low prediction accuracy in many cases. Here we present an algorithm, iterative loop matching, for predict-ing …

Stress Corrosion Cracking Of Type 422 Stainless Steel For Applications In Spallation-Neutron-Target Systems, Ramprashad Prabhakaran

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Introduction

• This research program is aimed at evaluating different types of environment-induced degradation of candidate target materials for applications in transmutation of spent nuclear fuels (SNF).

• Transmutation refers to the elimination of long-lived actinides and fission products from SNF.

Objectives

• Evaluate susceptibility of candidate target materials to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and localized corrosion (pitting and crevice) in neutral and acidic aqueous environments at ambient and elevated temperatures

• Determine the extent and morphology of cracking in tested materials as functions of experimental and environmental variables including pH, temperature, loading conditions and specimen geometry

• Develop mechanistic …

Characterization Of Chlorinated Solvent Degradation In A Constructed Wetland, Nathan D. Clemmer

Theses and Dissertations

Widespread chlorinated ethene contamination of aquifers coupled with high costs of current treatment technologies demand innovative remediation solutions. Wetlands, maintaining anaerobic and aerobic zones promoting the complete degradation of chlorinated ethenes such as Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), could be the answer. This thesis characterized the chlorinated solvent contamination levels in three strata of an upward flow constructed wetland. Analysis of samples was accomplished by purge-and-trap gas chromatography. Water quality parameters, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), pH, Conductivity, and Temperature, were also measured in monitoring wells with a water monitoring sonde. After removing data outliers caused by short-circuiting flow, PCE concentrations …

The Development Of Relationships Between Constituent Concentrations And Generic Hydrological Variables, Carmen T. Agouridis, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The collection and analysis of samples from storm events constitutes a large portion of the effort associated with water quality research. Estimating concentrations or loads from these events is often difficult. The equipment necessary to analyze the samples and the required laboratory resources are typically significant expenses incurred by the researcher. One potential method to reduce these costs is through the development of generic relationships between concentrations and easily measured variables such as dimensionless flow rate or time. The benefits recognized from such an effort include a reduction in the number of required samples, resulting in a reduction in cost. …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 19, Number 5, March 2003, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

An eight page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Dynamics Of Adsorbed Poly(Methyl Acrylate) And Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) On Silica, Frank D. Blum, Wuu-Yung Lin, Crystal E. Porter

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Deuterium NMR and modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) were used to probe the behavior of ultrathin adsorbed poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA). The spectra for the bulk methyl-labeled PMA-d3 were consistent with the motions of the polymer segments being spatially homogeneous. For the polymers adsorbed on silica, multicomponent line shapes were observed. The segmental mobility of the surface polymers increased with increased adsorbed amounts. In contrast to the behavior of the polymers in bulk, the adsorbed lower-molecular-mass PMA-d3 was less mobile than the adsorbed high-molecular-mass polymer. The presence of a polymer overlayer was sufficient to suppress the enhanced mobility of the more-mobile …

Pc–Based Data Acquisition For A Solid Substrate Cultivation Deep Bed Reactor, Mari S. Chinn, Sue E. Nokes, Richard S. Gates

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This work describes an instrumentation and data acquisition system designed for a deep bed reactor used to cultivate Trichoderma longibrachiatum on wheat bran. The system allowed on–line measurements of substrate temperature, oxygen concentration within the reactor headspace, relative humidity and temperature of the inlet air, and inlet airflow rates while maintaining aseptic conditions and without disturbing the cultivation process. An error analysis for the instrumentation and data acquisition equipment was completed and provided insight into the reliability of the sensor readings. The collected data provided quantitative information about the reactor system dynamics which can be used to evaluate and apply …

Density Of States Simulations Of Proteins, Nitin Rathore, Thomas A. Knotts Iv, Juan J. De Pablo

Faculty Publications

A modified version of a recently introduced algorithm that calculates density of states by performing a random walk in energy space has been proposed and implemented to study protein folding in a continuum. A united atom representation and the CHARMM19 [B. R. Brooks, R. E. Bruccoleri, B. D. Olafson, D. J. States, S. Swaminathan, and M. Karplus, J. Comput. Chem. 4, 187 (1983)] force field are employed for these simulations. This method permits estimation of the density of states of a protein via a random walk in the energy space, thereby allowing the system to escape from local free-energy minima …

Gaussian Mixture Reduction Of Tracking Multiple Maneuvering Targets In Clutter, Jason L. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of tracking multiple maneuvering targets in clutter naturally leads to a Gaussian mixture representation of the Provability Density Function (PDF) of the target state vector. State-of-the-art Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (MHT) techniques maintain the mean, covariance and probability weight corresponding to each hypothesis, yet they rely on ad hoc merging and pruning rules to control the growth of hypotheses.

Detection Of Special Nuclear Material With High Purity Germanium (Hpge) And Mercuric Iodide (Hgi2) Gamma Detectors, Michael B. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracted for two gamma radiation detectors: mercuric iodide (HgI₂) and electromechanically cooled (EMC) high purity germanium (HPGe) to support arms control inspection efforts. This project investigated whether these detectors could measure the quality and quantity of special nuclear material (SNM), particularly Pu-239 for the treaty verification mission. The project investigated two areas of detector capabilities: 1) HgI₂ and HPGe detector performance necessary to characterize the quality of plutonium and the presence of shielding materials and 2) HgI₂ and EMC HPGe detector performance degradation by high noise levels and EMC HPGe …

Quantum Mechanical Calculations Of Monoxides Of Silicon Carbide Molecules, John W. Roberts Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Modern semiconductor devices are principally made using the element silicon. In recent years, silicon carbide (SiC), with its wide band-gap, high thermal conductivity, and radiation resistance, has shown prospects as a semiconductor material for use in high temperature and radiation environments such as jet engines and satellites. A limiting factor in the performance of many SiC semiconductor components is the presence of lattice defects formed at oxide dielectric junctions during processing. Recent theoretical work has used small quantum mechanical systems embedded in larger molecular mechanics structures to attempt to better understand SiC surfaces and bulk materials and their oxidation. This …

Inquisitive Pattern Recognition, Amy L. Magnus

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense and the Department of the Air Force have funded automatic target recognition for several decades with varied success. The foundation of automatic target recognition is based upon pattern recognition. In this work, we present new pattern recognition concepts specifically in the area of classification and propose new techniques that will allow one to determine when a classifier is being arrogant. Clearly arrogance in classification is an undesirable attribute. A human is being arrogant when their expressed conviction in a decision overstates their actual experience in making similar decisions. Likewise given an input feature vector, we say …

An Economic Evaluation Of Binary Cycle Geothermal Electricity Production, Crissie D. Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. is heavily dependent on fossil fuels to produce electricity. Geothermal energy, the heat in the earth's crust, can provide an alternative source of energy for electricity production as well as reduce fossil fuel consumption. The economic analysis presented in this study focuses on binary cycle geothermal electricity production. Variables such as well flow rate, geothermal gradient and electricity prices were varied to study their influence on the economic payback period for binary cycle geothermal electricity production. Payback periods represent the amount of time (in years) necessary to recover initial costs of plant construction.