Engineering Commons^™

Enhancing Concrete Barrier Reflectivity With A Focus On Recycled Glass Aggregate Replacement, Regina Shklyan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Increased accident rates during the nighttime and wet weather conditions on the United States highways necessitate the enhancement of highway concrete barrier visibility. The visibility of these delineators is dependent on their reflectivity. Several methods are proposed that stand to increase the reflectivity of these concrete barriers, such as the use of white cement versus gray cement and the attachment of raised pavement markers to the side of the barriers. The incorporation of recycled glass into the concrete mixture is one of the proposed methods that was put through further laboratory study. The aim of the laboratory testing was to …

Seismic Energy Dissipation Of Steel Buildings Using Engineered Cladding Systems, Quan Viet Nguyen

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This research examines the seismic energy dissipation potential of steel structures by focusing on new types of specially engineered cladding-to-frame connections. Traditional connection details consist of rigid restraints of cladding panels, resulting in seismic design that only considers the panel self-weight with connection design left up to the precast fabricators and typical details. It is postulated that by considering these elements to actively participate in building response a more efficient and resilient structure could be designed which accurately captures the effects of non-structural cladding elements on building behavior. In this preliminary research, two mechanisms to dissipate seismic energy using engineered …

Optimal Adaptive Departure Time Choices With Real-Time Traveler Information Considering Arrival Reliability, Xuan Lu

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

When faced with an uncertain network, travelers adjust departure time as well as route choices in response to real-time traveler information. Previous studies on algorithm design focus on adaptive route choices and cannot model adaptive departure time choices (DTC). In this thesis, the optimal adaptive departure time and route choice problem in a stochastic time-dependent network is studied. Travelers are assumed to minimize expected generalized cost which is the sum of expected travel cost and arrival delay costs. The uncertain network is modeled by jointly distributed random travel time variables for all links at all time periods. Real-time traveler information …

Application Specific Customization And Scalability Of Soft Multiprocessors, Deepak C. Unnikrishnan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Soft multiprocessor systems exploit the plentiful computational resources available in field programmable devices. By virtue of their adaptability and ability to support coarse grained parallelism, they serve as excellent platforms for rapid prototyping and design space exploration of embedded multiprocessor applications. As complex applications emerge, careful mapping, processor and interconnect customization are critical to the overall performance of the multiprocessor system. In this thesis, we have developed an automated scalable framework to efficiently map applications written in a high-level programmer-friendly language to customizable soft-cores. The framework allows the user to specify the application in a high-level language called Streamit. After …

Development Of A Decision Tool For Green Energy Investment In The Pioneer Valley, Benjamin R. Ewing

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

We present the process followed to create a decision-aid tool for use in renewable energy and energy efficiency investment decisions. Our tool is targeted at home and small business owners in the Pioneer Valley. We begin with the development of two prototype tools. The first was created for the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, and is an Excel-based tool that allows users to select various combinations of technologies and instantly see the financial, environmental, and educational impacts of their choice. The second examines only two technologies, solar photovoltaics and combined heat and power, and uses a cost minimization approach. These …

Indexing Trace, Zachary E. Smith

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis aims to critically examine the relationship of digital technology and the modern art gallery in order to find the possible role of art galleries in the future. The integration of technology and the modern art gallery can change the way people experience art in built space.

In order to examine this, certain questions needed to be asked. The most important of these questions is authenticity and originality in a digital art gallery. What if, in order for the notion of originality to exist, it needs the notion of the copy; a kind of parasite. What if we don’t …

Drag Reduction In Turbulent Flows Over Micropatterned Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Robert J. Daniello

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Periodic, micropatterned superhydrophobic surfaces, previously noted for their ability to provide drag reduction in the laminar flow regime, have been demonstrated capable of reducing drag in the turbulent flow regime as well. Superhydrophobic surfaces contain micro or nanoscale hydrophobic features which can support a shear-free air-water interface between peaks in the surface topology. Particle image velocimetry and pressure drop measurements were used to observe significant slip velocities, shear stress, and pressure drop reductions corresponding to skin friction drag reductions approaching 50%. At a given Reynolds number, drag reduction was found to increase with increasing feature size and spacing, as in …

Implementation Of Data Path Credentials For High-Performance Capabilities-Based Networks, Kamlesh T. Vasudevan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Capabilities-based networks present a fundamental shift in the security design of network architectures. Instead of permitting the transmission of packets from any source to any destination, routers deny forwarding by default. For a successful transmission, packets need to positively identify themselves and their permissions to the router. A major challenge for a high performance implementation of such a network is an efficient design of the credentials that are carried in the packet and the verification procedure on the router. A network protocol that implements data path credentials based on Bloom filters is presented in this thesis. Our prototype implementation shows …

A Hardware Framework For Yield And Reliability Enhancement In Chip Multiprocessors, Abhisek Pan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Device reliability and manufacturability have emerged as dominant concerns in end-of-road CMOS devices. Today an increasing number of hardware failures are attributed to device reliability problems that cause partial system failure or shutdown. Also maintaining an acceptable manufacturing yield is seen as challenge because of smaller feature sizes, process variation, and reduced headroom for burn-in tests. In this project we investigate a hardware-based scheme for improving yield and reliability of a homogeneous chip multiprocessor (CMP). The proposed solution involves a hardware framework that enables us to utilize the redundancies inherent in a multi-core system to keep the system operational in …

Implementation Of Network Services Supporting Multi-Party Policies, Santosh C. Proddatoori

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Next-generation network architectures support complex services in the data-path of routers. A key challenge is the integration of multiple policy constraints from senders, receivers, and network providers when using such services. We introduce a multi-party service specification framework based on our “service socket” API. We illustrate the operation of this approach in an IPTV scenario that uses a video transcoding service implemented on a Cisco ISR platform.

An Uhf Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave Wind Profiler - Development And Initial Results, Iva S. Kostadinova

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The following work represents the research attempt of Dr. Frasier's group to develop a FMCW wind profiler for atmospheric boundary layer studies. The hardware development and integration are described in detail.

Patterned Well-Ordered Mesoporous Silica Films For Device Fabrication, Todd A. Crosby

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Developing effective methods of generating thin metal oxide films are important for sensing and separations applications. An obstacle to device fabrication is controlling the size and spatial orientation of domain level pores while retaining the ability to generate arbitrary device level patterns. Well-ordered hexagonally packed cylindrical pores were created by taking advantage of block copolymer self-assembly followed by selective condensation of silica precursors using supercritical carbon dioxide as the solvent. It was possible to control the pore size by choosing PEO-PPO-PEO (Pluronic® series) triblock copolymers of differing molecular weights.

These processes were then incorporated with conventional lithographic techniques to generate …

Computer-Assisted Emergency Evacuation Planning Using Transcad: Case Studies In Western Massachusetts, Steven P. Andrews

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Disasters, ranging from manmade events to natural occurrences, can happen anywhere on the planet, and their consequences can range from economic loss to catastrophic loss of life. Determining how the transportation system fares in the face of these disasters is important so that proper planning can take place before, rather than after, an event has happened. Modeling the transportation system gives operators the ability to discover bottlenecks, to determine the possible benefit of using lane reversals, and to find out the influence of evacuation speed on system efficiency. Models have already been created that are able to model some of …

Information Theoretic Identification And Compensation Of Nonlinear Devices, Sepideh Dolatshahi

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Breaking the anonymity of different wireless users with the purpose of decreasing internet crime rates is addressed in this thesis by considering radiometric identification techniques.

Minute imperfections and non-idealities in the different transmitter components, especially the inherent nonlinearity in power amplifiers, result in variations in their Volterra series representations which could be utilized as a signature.

For a two user scenario, signal processing algorithms based on generalized likelihood ratio test(GLRT) and the classical likelihood ratio test are introduced and the resulting receiver decision rules and performance curves are presented. These algorithms consider the high signal to noise ratio(SNR) case where …

Analytical Modeling Of Tree Vibration Generated During Cutting Process, Payman Karvanirabori

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

There are several ways to cut down a tree. The piece by piece cutting method is studied in this research. By modeling the cutting process into simple dynamic models and obtaining governing equations of motion of tree and cut piece in each model, the forces during cutting process were calculated. The method was then applied to a set of real data and tree vibrations were compared with field measurements. The study is very rare in the case of the variety of the topics it covers from dynamics and mechanics to finite element modeling of a biological system.

Reliability Assessment Of A Power Grid With Customer Operated Chp Systems Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Lokesh Prakash Manohar

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis presents a method for reliability assessment of a power grid with distributed generation providing support to the system. The distributed generation units considered for this assessment are Combined Heat and Power (CHP) units operated by individual customers at their site. CHP refers to the simultaneous generation of useful electric and thermal energy. CHP systems have received more attention recently due to their high overall efficiency combined with decrease in costs and increase in reliability. A composite system adequacy assessment, which includes the two main components of the power grid viz., Generation and Distribution, is done using Monte Carlo …

Developing An Evaluation Approach To Assess Large Scale Its Infrastructure Improvements: I-91 Project, Melissa Paciulli

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can include multiple technologies and applications combined to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation system or network. These applications are deployed with the anticipation that the desired project goals and objectives established by multiple stakeholders will be achieved. Once a system is deployed, the project goals and objectives should be evaluated. The evaluation can provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback to assess the impacts associated with the investment in building, designing and implementing these systems.

This research includes a methodology to evaluate large scale ITS infrastructure projects using the Interstate 91 (I-91) ITS …

System Performance Of Absolute Quartz-Crystal Barometers With Sub-Microbar Precision, Ganesh Kumar Subramanian Ananthanarayanan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In this thesis, the performance of absolute quartz-crystal barometers is presented, and their ability to measure, with sub-microbar precision, atmospheric pressure fluctuations with periods as short as a few seconds is demonstrated. The first observations of ocean-generated atmospheric infrasound with periods of about 5 s and sub-microbar amplitudes, called microbaroms, using single absolute barometers are presented. These barometers can measure microbaroms with amplitudes down to 50 nanobars and the 1-h estimates of microbarom amplitudes calculated from data collected independently with three collocated barometers differed by only a few nanobars. The observed microbaroms have amplitudes between 0.2 microbars and 1 microbar …

Design And Development Of A Ka-Band Interferometer For Cryospheric Applications, Harish K. Vedantham

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Topographic maps of the earth are essential to geographic and earth science studies. In particular, mapping and estimating physical parameters of the earth’s water and ice cover are critical to global climate studies. Among these, snow, ocean and fresh water topography, snow wetness and water equivalent are of immediate interest to the scientific community.

Challenges in the instrument development and deployment posed by these required measurements are twofold. Firstly, these measurements are required to have global coverage, yet maintain stringent spatial resolution and accuracy margins. Secondly, snow topography measurement requires minimal electromagnetic wave penetration through snow, hence requiring the use …