Engineering Commons^™

Video Partitioning By Temporal Slice Coherency, Chong-Wah Ngo, Ting-Chuen Pong, Roland T. Chin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present a novel approach for video partitioning by detecting three essential types of camera breaks, namely cuts, wipes, and dissolves. The approach is based on the analysis of temporal slices which are extracted from the video by slicing through the sequence of video frames and collecting temporal signatures. Each of these slices contains both spatial and temporal information from which coherent regions are indicative of uninterrupted video partitions separated by camera breaks. Properties could further be extracted from the slice for both the detection and classification of camera breaks. For example, cut and wipes are detected by color-texture properties, …

A Multi-Agent Framework For Supporting Intelligent Fourth-Party Logistics, Hoong Chuin Lau, G. Lo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A distributed intelligent agent-based framework that supports fourth-party logistics optimization under a web-based e-Commerce environment has been proposed in this paper. In the framework, customer job requests come through an e-Procurement service. These requests are consolidated and pushed to the e-Market Place service periodically. The e-Market Place then serves as a broker that allows intelligent agents to bid to serve these requests optimally in real-time by solving multiple instances of underlying logistics optimization problem. The resulting system was implemented based on the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform using distributed system technology for communication between objects.

Hydrogen-Induced Embrittlement Of Candidate Target Materials For Applications In Spallation-Neutron-Target Systems, Brendan O'Toole, Ajit K. Roy

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the effect of hydrogen on cracking of candidate target materials for applications in spallation-neutron-target (SNT) systems such as accelerator production of tritium (APT) and accelerator transmutation of waste (ATW). The test materials will undergo appropriate thermal treatments prior to being hydrogen-charged by potentiostatic cathodic polarization technique in a simulated aqueous environment at different temperatures of interest. The specimens, upon completion of testing, will be metallographically examined. Further, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) will be used to determine the extent and nature of cracking in the specimens tested. The thrust of the proposed …

Simulation Of Engineering Systems Described By High-Index Dae And Discontinuous Ode Using Single Step Methods, Marc Compere

Publications

This dissertation presents numerical methods for solving two classes of or-dinary diferential equations (ODE) based on single-step integration meth-ods. The first class of equations addressed describes the mechanical dynamics of constrained multibody systems. These equations are ordinary differential equations (ODE) subject to algebraic constraints. Accordinly they are called differential-algebraic equations (DAE).

Specific contributions made in this area include an explicit transforma-tion between the Hessenberg index-3 form for constrained mechanical systems to a canonical state-space form used in the nonlinear control communities. A hybrid solution method was developed that incorporates both sliding-mode control (SMC) from the controls literature and post-stabilization from …

Real-Time Travel Time Estimation Using Macroscopic Traffic Flow Models, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay, Antoine G. Hobeika

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

This paper presents the estimation of travel time on highways based on macroscopic modelling. The focus is on real-time values as compared to average or static values. The macroscopic models are used for distributed and time/space lumped settings and corresponding travel time estimation functions and algorithms are developed. The implications of these algorithms for the implementation of various incident management and traffic control strategies are also discussed.

Analysis Of A New Vehicle Scheduling And Location Problem, Ebru K. Bish, Thin Yin Leong, Chun-Lun Li, Jonathan W. C. Ng, David Simchi-Levi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We consider a container terminal discharging containers from a ship and locating them in the terminal yard. Each container has a number of potential locations in the yard where it can be stored. Containers are moved from the ship to the yard using a fleet of vehicles, each of which can carry one container at a time. The problem is to assign each container to a yard location and dispatch vehicles to the containers so as to minimize the time it takes to download all the containers from the ship. We show that the problem is NP-hard and develop a …

University Of Nevada, Las Vegas Advanced Accelerator Applications University Participation Program: Quarterly Report First Quarter (March-May 2001), Anthony Hechanova

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

This Quarterly Report is a primary deliverable from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) University Participation Program (UPP) director to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (DOE-NE) as defined in the UNLV AAA Proposal.

The foundation of the UNLV AAA University Participation Program started as a grassroots effort in the late 1990s among community members and local, state, and federal representatives to encourage research and development of technical alternatives to direct disposal of used nuclear fuel which had been targeted since the early 1980s for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. A …

43rd Rocky Mountain Conference On Analytical Chemistry

Rocky Mountain Conference on Magnetic Resonance

Final program, abstracts, and information about the 43rd annual meeting of the Rocky Mountain Conference on Analytical Chemistry, co-sponsored by the Colorado Section of the American Chemical Society and the Rocky Mountain Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy. Held in Denver, Colorado, July 29 - August 2, 2001.

Microcavity Surface Emitting Laser, Stewart Feld, John P. Loehr, James A. Lott

AFIT Patents

A three-dimensional waveguiding structure for a microcavity surface-emitting laser is described in which native aluminum oxide layers provide control of intracavity waveguiding and the laser optical mode structure of the emitted beam. Microcavity lasers described herein account for the blueshift of the emission wavelength as the laser lateral dimensions are reduced to or below the emission wavelength.

Aurora Working Group: Dsr Front End Lvcsr Evaluation — Baseline Recognition System Description, Naveen Parihar, Joseph Picone

Publications

In this document we describe the features of the baseline system to be used in the Distributed Speech Recognition (DSR) front end large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) evaluations being conducted by the Aurora Working Group of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). The objective of these evaluations is to determine the robustness of different front ends for use in client/server type telecommunications applications. As such, our experiments are designed to test the following focus conditions on the DARPA Wall Street Journal (WSJ0) corpus using a 5000-word closed-loop vocabulary and a bigram language model:

1. Additive Noise: six noise conditions …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 43 Number 1, Summer 2001, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

2 - 150TH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIES In honor of SCU's sesquicentennial year, alumni reflect on their Bronco experiences.

4 - "SHEN FU" LEARNED THE GRACE OF ANGER By Tennant Wright, S.J. A friend shares his memories of Philip Oliger, S.J., who taught him that "passion is the sign that we are alive."

14 - WINGING IT By Adam Breen. Professor Bill Stover is a volunteer pilot for The Flying Doctors, a humanitarian group that brings free basic health and dental care to underprivileged communities in Mexico.

18 - SAVING GRACE By Elizabeth Kelly Gillogly '93. Santa Clara University's 150 years come …

Feedback Correction Of Angular Error In Grating Readout, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee, Sundaram Ramachandran

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Angular and wavelength READ beam errors in holographic interconnection systems are often a recurrent problem. Several strategies have been proposed to minimize or eliminate such READOUT misalignments.

Some years ago, Chatterjee and co-workers proposed a method involving READ beam wavelength tuning to correct output angular errors. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using an acousto-optic (A-O) Bragg cell with optoelectronic feedback to dynamically correct the scattered beam for deviations in the incidence direction of the READ beam of a hologram. The concept here is based on an acoustic frequency feedback strategy used recently by Balakshy and Kazaryan for …

Pulsed Electron Heating Of Atmospheric Pressure Air Glow Discharges, Hisham Merhi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

By applying electric field pulses of short duration (compared to the time constant for glow-to-arc transitions) to a weakly ionized gas, the electron energy distribution can be temporarily shifted to higher energies. This effect causes a nonlinear increase in the ionization rate and consequently a larger electron decay time. This effect has been demonstrated using single pulse operation.³ In order to generate plasma with semi-continuous electron density, repetitive operation is required. As a first step towards repetitive pulsed electric field operation, the temporal development of the voltage across the plasma for two subsequent pulses was measured. The dual pulse …

Minimum Mean Square Error Spectral Peak Envelope Estimation For Automatic Vowel Classification, Jaishree Venugopal

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Spectral feature computations continue to be a very difficult problem for accurate machine recognition of speech. In this work, which focuses on vowels, a new spectral peak envelope method for vowel classification is developed, based on a missing frequency components model of speech recognition. According to the missing frequency components model, vowel recognition depends only on the spectral (harmonic) peaks. Smoothing and interpolation of the spectra, performed in the standard cepstral analysis method commonly used in automatic speech recognition, actually loses valuable information and results in reduced recognition accuracy. The new method for feature extraction presented in this thesis is …

Baseflow Separation Based On Storage-Outflow Modelling Of Streamflow Recessions, With Application To Semi- Arid Catchments In Tanzania, S Mwakalila

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Discharge in many rivers is Often fed by baseflow provided by drainage of the saturated zone in the shallow permeable soils. It is becoming clear that the outflow from this saturated zone is not linear proportional to storage as is commonly assumed in many algorithms. The objectives Of this study theretore, are first to explore the extent to which the assumption of linearity in storage-outflow relationships is valid and secondly to introduce an alternative approach to baseflow separation algorithms for estimating direct mnoff time series. Numerical analysis Of streamflow recessions from the semi-arid catchments of the Great Ruaha basin in …

Electrokinetic Cha Raci'erisation Of Colloidal A-Alumina, J Ntalikwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Electrophoretic mobility (uD is an important rneasurable parameter in studying the electrokinetic properties of a colloid dispersion. This parameter is Often convened into zeta potential (C) Which piays a great role in thc description Of the stability towards aggregation Of dispersed particles. In this paper, measurements of Of colloidal a-alumina dispersed in various concentrations of electrolyte arc reported. It was observed that, the isoelectric points (the pH at which us = O) occurred at 7.52 ± 0.32, 8.05 ± 0.11 and 7,95 ± 0.18 in Naci, KCI and NaNOs respectively. The isoelectric point was observed to be a function Of …

Comparative Analysis Of Rng K-E And 'Standard' K-C Models For Fluid Flow Around A Cylinder, A Temu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

A two-dimensional computational scheme for simulating fluid flow around a cylinder was investigated. RNG (Re-NOrmalisation Group) and 'standard' turbulent closure models were used. simulation was implemented with assistance OfFLOW-3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The governing equation Of fluid motion, in Eulerian form, included body forces as well as surface forces. The computational model predictions for fluid velocity showed good agreement between the two models. Comparison Of the viscosities showed a large deviation from the two models, with RNG k-E model giving a better approximation. Comparison Of the velocity around the cylinder, as obtained from RNG k-c model, with approximation …

Water Infiltration Study On Slopes, Tian Huat Low

Student Works (2000-2009)

Study was carried out in the field using infiltrometer and in the laboratory using “sprinkler model”. Studies on infiltration have always been part of hydrology and Irrigation engineering. Infiltration forms the link between surface and subsurface hydrology. Infiltrated water must be quantified and subtracted from the surface runoff in flood prediction studies and surface water management. Numerous researchers have actually incorporated infiltration into the slope stability analysis of the residual soils, e.g., Othman (1990), Affendi et. al.(1992, 1996) and Suhaimi and Abdul Rahman (1997). In most analysis of slope stability, the infiltration rate of the slopes is assumed uniform throughout …

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 17, Number 9, June 2001, 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.

Infopipes—An Abstraction For Information Flow, Jie Huang, Andrew P. Black, Jonathan Walpole, Calton Pu

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Building Object-Oriented Distributed Systems has been facilitated by Remote Message Sending (RMS) systems like Java RMI and implementations of CORBA. However, RMS systems are designed to support request/response interactions. Streaming applications, in contrast, are characterized by high-bandwidth, long-duration communication with stringent performance requirements. Examples of streaming applications include video-on-demand, teleconferencing, on-line education, and environmental observation. These applications transfer huge amounts of data and focus on distributed information flow rather than request/response.

To simplify the task of building distributed streaming applications, we propose a new abstraction for information flow—Infopipes. Using Infopipes, information flow becomes the heart of the system, not an …

Single-Sided Noninvasive Inspection Of Multielement Sample Using Fan-Beam Multiplexed Compton Scatter Tomography, Matthew A. Lange

Theses and Dissertations

As aircraft age, corrosion forms upon unobservable surfaces, particularly at the junction of the sheet aluminum and the steel rivets used to attach the sheets to the airframe, degrading the aircraft s airworthiness. Previous research developed a noninvasive technique for the evaluation of the material composition of aluminum surfaces, utilizing the information encoded in the energy spectra of Compton-scattered gamma emissions. The spectra are gathered by a six-element, high purity germanium detector array. A, first principles, deterministic computer code is used to reconstruct a two-dimensional map of the electron density of aluminum samples. Previous efforts, to image pure aluminum samples, …

Time-Resolved Photoluminescence Of Inas/Gainsb Quantum Well Lasers, Michael R. Mckay

Theses and Dissertations

In the world of semiconductor photonic device fabrication, one important objective may be to extract as much light as possible from the device. In these devices, photons are created when electrons recombine with holes by transitioning from a high-energy state to a lower one. Unfortunately, electron-hole recombination does not always result in the formation of a photon. There are three basic types of recombination: the first results in the formation of a photon and is called radiative recombination; and the second and third, known as Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger recombination, result in the heating of the device and do not produce …

Globally Convergent Approximate Dynamic Programming Applied To An Autolander, J.J. Murray, Richard Saeks, C.J. Cox, George G. Lendaris

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

A globally convergent nonlinear Approximate Dynamic Programming algorithm is described, and an implementation of the algorithm in the linear case is developed. The resultant linear Approximate Dynamic Programming algorithm is illustrated via the design of an autolander for the NASA X-43 research aircraft, without a priori knowledge of the X-43's flight dynamics.

Performance Of Proton Exchange Membranefuel Cell With Co/H2 Fuel, Hong-Mei Yu, Zhong-Jun Hou, Bao-Lian Yi, Ke-Wan Bi, Jing-Xin Zhang, Zhi-Yin Lin, Ming Han

Journal of Electrochemistry

Fuel of proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) mostly comes from reformatecontains CO which will poison the fuel cell electrocatalyst. The effect of CO on the performance of PEMFC was studied in this paper. The results of the experiment show that when CO is fed inPEMFC ,the cell voltage will be decreased violently,then it will become steady with some vibration. The poison will become more serious with higher CO content and weaker at higher temperature. The adsorption of CO on the electrocatalyst is reversible. The PtRu electrocatalyst is moresuitable for the electrocatalysis of CO/H₂ than Pt electrocatalyst.

Atmospheric Corrosion Of Steels In China, Cai-Feng Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Data of eight year atmospheric exposures of 17 steels at 7 sites in China were analyzed. The result showed that the most detrimental pollution is sulfur dioxide and chloride ion for corrosion of carbon steels and low alloy weathering steels. This is in accordance with the common knowledge.The effect of sulfur dioxide is serious in the first few years and becomes weak obviously in the later years. The environment factor of humid hot is much more important in long run than the ordinarily acknowledged humidity, pollution for non weathering steels,although it is not obvious in the beginning. If pollution were …

Properties Of Metallized Polyo-Toluididemembrane Modified Electrode, Li-Zong Dai, Yi-Ting Xu, Hui-Huang Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The platinum particles were electrodeposited on poly(o-toluidide), POT, modified electrode, and the surface configuration and crystal orientation of Pt particles were investigated by SEM and XRD. At the same time the oxidation of isopropanol on platinized POT modified electrode was studied. The results indicate that Pt particles deposite towards preferred-orientation; moreover the increase in polymer electroactivity due to proton doping affects the dimension and graininess of deposited Pt particles. At the metallized polymer electrode the oxidation of isopropanol can occur in POT electroactive potential region, however at the more positive than 0.70 V (SCE) potential where POT loses redox activity …

Galvanic Corrosion Of Tin-W Electro-Couple During Tungsten Chemical Mechanical Polishing, Xuan Cheng, Chang-Jian Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a process whereby mechanicaland chemical forces are combined to remove material from a wafer and polish it to a flatsurface. Tungsten CMP is an important prcess to gain the global planarity of siliconwafers with tungsten (W) plugs. Tungsten is actually deposited on a thin adhesive layerof titanium nitride (TiN) on silicon. When close to the final stage of polishing, TiN and W will be simultaneously exposed to the polishing chemistry, forming a galvaniccouple. The corrsion of TiN and W couple will result in different polish rate.

Electrochemical Behavior Of Tinicu Shape Memry Alloy In Simulated Body Fluid, Cheng-Hao Liang, Hong-Yan Sui

Journal of Electrochemistry

The study of TiNiCu shape memory alloys (SMA) in Hank's simulated body fluidwas carried out. The results showed that narrow passive range was found in acid environment andactive anodic dissolution was discovered at 100~150 mV vs SCE on anodic polarization cure ofTiNiCu SMA. Temperature had little effect on anodic polarization. With the decrease of pH andthe increase of Cl^- concentration ,pitting corrosion potential (E_b) shifted negatively. The electrochemical capability of TiNiCu SMA was inferior to that of TiNi SMA. Observations by means ofXRD and SEM indicate that TiNiCu SMA is not in single crystal structure, which caused …

Study Of The Oxidation Dynamics Of Tizro2 Metal-Ceramics, Wen-Chao Li, Li-Dong Teng

Journal of Electrochemistry

The oxidation dynamics of hot-pressed Ti-ZrO₂ metal-ceramics with the compositionof 50 vol.% Ti and 50 vol.% ZrO₂ has been studied.Thermodynamic analysis shows that Ticould react with O₂ but not with N₂ in the oxidizing process of TiZrO₂ composites at 0.1 MPa air. The oxidation dynamic behavior of Ti-ZrO₂ composites is analogous to that of pure Ti. Theactivation energy for the oxygen diffusion in Ti-ZrO₂ composites is higher than that in Ti solutions, for the presence of ZrO₂ restrains the oxygen diffusion in Ti-ZrO₂ composites. At early stagethe oxidation of Ti-ZrO_{2 …}

Preparation And Properties Of Separator For Lithium-Ion Battery, Xu-Mei Ren, Feng Wu, Chuan Wu, Han-Jun Li, Xue-Jie Huang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Lithium-ion batteries are well adapted to the new multimedia applications. PP/PE based microporous film is commonly used as separator in commercial lithium ion batteries. Herewe report a microporous film which is superior to the commercial available separator. The microporous PVDF polymer separators were prepared by the phase inversion process. The pore size of the separator is Φ 7 μm , and it's porosity is 75 %. The membrane in LiPF₆-EC/DEC showedhigh ionic conductivity (above 10^-3 S/cm at room temperature), and good mechanical properties(10³ kg/cm²). The half-cells consisted of Li/PVDF separator/MCMB showed excellent cyclingcharacteristics and …