Engineering Commons^™

Traffic Signal Control With Ant Colony Optimization, David T. Renfrew

Master's Theses

Traffic signal control is an effective way to improve the efficiency of traffic networks and reduce users’ delays. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a metaheuristic based on the behavior of ant colonies searching for food. ACO has successfully been used to solve many NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems and its stochastic and decentralized nature fits well with traffic flow networks. This thesis investigates the application of ACO to minimize user delay at traffic intersections. Computer simulation results show that this new approach outperforms conventional fully actuated control under the condition of high traffic demand.

The Next Generation Router System Cooling Design, Garrett A. Glover

Master's Theses

Advancements in the networking and routing industry have created higher power electronic systems which dissipate large amounts of heat while cooling technology for these electronic systems has remained relatively unchanged. This report illustrates the development and testing of a hybrid liquid-air cooling system prototype implemented on Cisco’s 7609s router. Water was the working fluid through cold plates removing heat from line card components. The water was cooled by a compact liquid-air heat exchanger and circulated by two pumps. The testing results show that junction temperatures were maintained well below the 105°C limit for ambient conditions around 30°C at sea level. …

A Rapid Prototyping Method For Constructing A Complex Three-Dimensional Substrate, Kathryn Jacoba Hart

Master's Theses

Cell culturing on three-dimensional structures has increased the possibilities in tissue engineering and bioreactor research. These structures enable cells to differentiate, proliferate, mobilize, and function in a conformation that more accurately mimics in vivo conditions. Computer generated models aid in development and rapid alteration of three-dimensional cell substrates, defining their internal structure as well as their external morphology. The rapid transition from substrate design to a viable culture is imperative to quickly advance research in biomedical and tissue engineering applications.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the feasibility of a rapid prototyping process by selectively cross-linking and assembling …

Aerodynamic Performance Enhancement Of A Naca 66–206 Airfoil Using Supersonic Channel Airfoil Design, David Michael Giles

Master's Theses

Supersonic channel airfoil design techniques have been shown to significantly reduce drag in high-speed flows over diamond shaped airfoils by Ruffin and colleagues. The effect of applying these techniques to a NACA 66-206 airfoil is presented. The design domain entails channel heights of 8-16.6% thickness-to-chord and speeds from Mach 1.5-3.0. Numerical simulations show an increase in the lift-to-drag ratio for airfoils at Mach 2.5 at a 35,000-ft altitude with a 12% channel height geometry showing a benefit of 17.2% at 6-deg angle of attack and a sharp channel leading edge. Wave drag is significantly reduced while viscous forces are slightly …

Wireless Data Acquisition For Photovoltaic Power System, Makbul Anwari, Arief Hidayat, M. Imran Hamid, Taufik

Electrical Engineering

This paper presents a wireless system for monitoring the input and output of the array in a photovoltaic generation plant. The system comprises of sensors, data acquisition system, wireless access point and user computer that enable the users to access the array parameter wirelessly. Description and function of set up equipment are presented as well as the application program that supports the system.

Work In Progress - Role Of Faculty In Promoting Lifelong Learning, Jonathon Stolk, Susan M. Lord, Candice Stefanou, John Chen, Katharyn E. K. Nottis, Michael J. Prince

Mechanical Engineering

Students’ development of self-directed and lifelong learning capacities is vital for their success in today’s engineering environment. Instructors play a critical role in influencing outcomes related to self-directed learning (SDL) through their design of courses that support students’ transitions from controlled to autonomous learning behaviors. Yet there is a critical lack of research examining how instructor choices promote self-directed (and eventually lifelong) learning development in undergraduate engineering students. In this work in progress, we introduce a project that explores how instructor choices affect a range of student outcomes related to their development as self-directed and lifelong learners. Drawing on existing …

Workshop - Feminist Engineering Education: Building A Community Of Practice, Alice L. Pawley, Donna Riley, Susan M. Lord, Trevor S. Harding

Materials Engineering

As a result of a series of papers and special sessions held at FIE between 2004 and 2008, a community of CSET educators interested in exploring feminist pedagogies has formed at FIE. Past participants in these sessions have expressed a desire to learn more about what makes a set of pedagogies "feminist." At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of research papers at FIE that draw on feminist research methods or topics. This workshop is designed to meet the needs of members of the FIE community who have some experience with feminist pedagogies or research …

Nutrient Removal & Greenhouse Gas Abatement With Co2 Supplemented Algal High Rate Ponds, Ian Woertz, Laura Fulton, Tryg Lundquist

Civil and Environmental Engineering

High rate algae ponds fed clarified domestic wastewater and CO₂-rich flue gas are expected to remove nutrients to concentrations similar to those achieved in mechanical treatment technologies, such as activated sludge. However, the energy intensity of wastewater treatment with CO₂-supplemented high rate ponds (HRPs) would be less than that of mechanical treatments. In conjunction with anaerobic digestion of algal biomass and co-substrates, the algae-based system would produce a substantial excess of electricity. Greenhouse gas abatement from such CO₂-HRP/digestion systems would stem mainly from energy conservation and the offset of fossil fuel electricity with biogas-derived …

Biogas Production From Algae Biomass Harvested At Wastewater Treatment Ponds, Michael Salerno, Yakup Nurdogan, Tryg J. Lundquist

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Waste-grown microalgae are a potentially important biomass for biofuel production. However, most of the 7,000 wastewater treatment ponds systems in the US do not use algae harvesting. Those that do, typically return the biomass to the ponds, where it decomposes on the pond floor, releasing methane to the atmosphere and degrading water quality. Instead, the algae biomass could be processed in anaerobic digesters. Algae typically yield less methane than wastewater sludge (~0.3 vs. 0.40 L CH4/g volatile solids introduced). Ammonia toxicity and recalcitrant cell walls are commonly cited causes of the lower yields. Ammonia toxicity might be counteracted by co-digesting …

Leed Certification Workbook For Eco-Charrette Process Improvement At The Boeing Company, Wesley R. Fromm

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Companies across the globe are greening their portfolios. In an effort to define green construction, the United States Green Building Coalition (USGBC) has developed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification. LEED provides a means for measurement and accountability in sustainable design. However, the volume of information to be processed when considering a building's candidacy is daunting. The LEED Certification Workbook for Eco-Charrette Process Improvement at the Boeing Company takes on this task. By utilizing observations from Boeing's Shared Services Group in Seal Beach, California, the designed solution meets the requirements for an effective gathering of stakeholders in the …

Harmonic Analysis Of Input Current Of Single-Phase Controlled Bridge Rectifier, Michael Mccarty, Taufik, Andre Pratama, Makbul Anwari

Electrical Engineering

Harmonic analysis of input current of single phase uncontrolled rectifier is widely known. However, little has been known about harmonic of the input current of single phase controlled or thyristor rectifier. This paper presents such an analysis using the bridge configuration for the controlled rectifier circuit. Results obtained from mathematical derivation, computer simulation, and hardware measurements will also be discussed.

Material Properties Are Related To Stress Fracture Callus And Porosity Of Cortical Bone Tissue At Affected And Unaffected Sites, Rachel C. Entwistle,, Sara C. Sammons, Robert F. Bigley, Scott J. Hazelwood, David P. Fyhrie, Jeffery C. Gibeling, Susan M. Stover

Biomedical Engineering

Stress fractures are overuse injuries of bone that affect elite athletes and military recruits. One response of cortical bone to stress fracture is to lay down periosteal callus. The objectives of this study were to determine if material properties are different among bones with different stages of stress fracture callus, at both a callus site and at a distal site. Cortical specimens were mechanically tested to determine their stress–strain response. Material property differences were examined using nonparametric and regression analyses. At the callus site, material properties were low during the earliest stages of callus, higher with increasing callus maturity, but …

Numerical Solutions For The Cawapi Configuration On Unstructured Grids At Usafa, United States, Scott A. Morton, David R. Mcdaniel, Russell M. Cummings

Aerospace Engineering

No abstract provided.

Lessons Learned From The Numerical Investigations On The Vfe-2 Configuration, Willy Fritz, Russell M. Cummings

Aerospace Engineering

The Second International Vortex Flow Experiment provided a variety of experimental data for a 65° delta wing with sharp and blunt/rounded leading edges. Flow measurements including forces and moments, surface pressures, Pressure Sensitive Paint measurements, and off-surface flow variables from Particle Image Velocimetry were made available for comparisons with computational simulations. A number of test cases were chosen for simulation by seven numerical groups, and a summary of their results is presented here. The ability of computational fluid dynamics to predict such flow features as the dual primary vortex system found on the blunt leading edge configuration and a shock/vortex …

Efficiency Performance Analysis Of Series Loaded Resonant Converter, Michael Mccarty, Taufik, Andre Pratama, Makbul Anwari

Electrical Engineering

Series Loaded Resonant (SLR) converter is a well known topology typically used in kilowatt-range power supplies. The topology may operate in either continuous or discontinuous conduction modes whose switching properties are covered in many power electronic text books. However, information related to the actual converter’s efficiency for each conduction mode is lacking and thus will be addressed in this paper. The development of a lab scale SLR converter will be described along with results of computer simulation. Efficiency performance from hardware results for each conduction mode when output power and switching frequency are varied will also be discussed.

Warehouse Redesign Of Facility Layout, Racking System And Item Classification At Sunrize Tackle, Inc, Tobiah R. Master

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This report presents the warehouse redesign of Sunrize Tackle Inc's main facility. Located in Santa Barbara, California, Sunrize Tackle is a manufacturer of premium swimbaits and other fishing tackle. They currently face a problem as their product is undergoing an alteration in packaging, and will not fit into the current space available. The objective is to develop an alternative layout and plan for the facility that improves flow of product and employees, reduces inefficiencies in daily operations, and can adapt to fluctuations in demand and sales. The current layout and operations were reviewed, and three major components which affect the …

Shock Effects On Delta Wing Vortex Breakdown, Lucy A. Schiavetta, Okko J. Boelens, Simone Crippa, Russell M. Cummings, Willy Fritz, Ken J. Badcock

Aerospace Engineering

It has been observed that delta wings placed in a transonic freestream can experience a sudden movement of the vortex breakdown location as the angle of incidence is increased. The chapter reports on the use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to examine this behaviour in detail. The study shows that a shock-vortex interaction is responsible. The balance of the vortex strength and axial flow, and the shock strength, is examined to provide an explanation of the sensitivity of the breakdown location. Limited experimental data is available to supplement the CFD results in certain key respects, and the ideal synergy between CFD …

Numerical Solutions For The Vfe-2 Configuration On Unstructured Grids At Usafa, United States, Russell M. Cummings, Andreas Schϋtte

Aerospace Engineering

The numerical simulation of the flow for the VFE-2 configuration with rounded leading edges is presented. For the numerical simulation the Cobalt Code was used, which uses a cell-centered unstructured hybrid mesh approach. Several numerical results are presented for the steady RANS equations as well as for DES and DDES hybrid approaches. Within this paper the focus is related to the dual primary vortex flow topology, especially the sensitivity of the flow to angle of attack and Reynolds number effects. Reasonable results are obtained with both steady RANS and SA-DDES simulations. The results are compared and verified by experimental data, …

Custom Design Rack Mount System For Ftp Server, Himanshu Parmar

Electrical Engineering

For a very long time now I have been quite interested in having my personal web server. Senior project gave me the perfect opportunity to explore and to custom design web server that would fit my future storage/web needs.

There are multiple aspects of the project that I worked on to custom design the web server. The list and brief description of each of these categories is given bellow.

1. Ftp Options: There are several ftp options available, so I researched these options and found the client service that would work best with my requirements.

2. Number of Users: One …

Compliance Calibration For Fracture Testing Of Anisotropic Biological Materials, J. A. Creel, S. M. Stover, R. B. Martin, D. P. Fyhrie, S. J. Hazelwood, J. C. Gibeling

Biomedical Engineering

The compliance technique has been used to monitor crack length during fracture and fatigue testing of materials. Difficulties arise when this technique is applied to anisotropic biological materials such as bone. In this tutorial, two different methods of analyzing compliance calibration data are described: the standard ASTM method and a new approach developed by the authors specifically for anisotropic materials. An example is given showing how data from equine cortical bone can be analyzed. In this example, calibration tests were conducted on thirty-six three point bend specimens machined from the middiaphysis of six pairs of equine third metacarpal bones. Cracks …

A Nonlinear Constituent Based Viscoelastic Model For Articular Cartilage And Analysis Of Tissue Remodeling Due To Altered Glycosaminoglycan-Collagen Interactions, Gregory C. Thomas, Anna Asanbaeva, Pasquale Vena, Robert L. Sah, Stephen M. Klisch

Mechanical Engineering

A constituent based nonlinear viscoelastic (VE) model was modified from a previous study (Vena, et al., 2006, “A Constituent-Based Model for the Nonlinear Viscoelastic Behavior of Ligaments,” J. Biomech. Eng., 128, pp. 449–457) to incorporate a glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-collagen (COL) stress balance using compressible elastic stress constitutive equations specific to articular cartilage (AC). For uniaxial loading of a mixture of quasilinear VE constituents, time constant and relaxation ratio equations are derived to highlight how a mixture of constituents with distinct quasilinear VE properties is one mechanism that produces a nonlinear VE tissue. Uniaxial tension experiments were performed with newborn bovine AC …

A Biomechanical Comparison Of Locked Plate Fixation With Percutaneous Insertion Capability Versus The Angled Blade Plate In A Subtrochanteric Fracture Gap Model, Brett D. Crist, Afshin Khalafi, Scott J. Hazelwood, Mark A. Lee

Biomedical Engineering

Objectives: The angled blade plate has been the historical standard in fixed-angle extramedullary subtrochanteric femur fracture fixation, but it requires an extensile lateral approach to the femur. Little formal evaluation exists for specifically designed percutaneous extramedullary implants. The purpose of this study was to compare 3 locked plating constructs, all with percutaneous insertion capability, with the standard 95-degree angled blade plate to determine whether specifically designed fixed-angle extramedullary implants for subtrochanteric femur fractures were biomechanically comparable to the angled blade plate.

Methods: Forty composite adult femurs were divided into 4 equal groups. The constructs evaluated included a 95-degree angled blade …

Effect Of Manufacturer's Joint Fastening Techniques On Compression Strength Of Corrugated Fiberboard Boxes, Jay Singh, A. Attema, Eric Olsen, Keith Vorst

Industrial Technology and Packaging

A flat piece of corrugated fiberboard, which has been cut, slotted and scored, is often referred to as a box blank. For several box styles, in order to convert the box blank into a box, its two ends must be fastened together with tape, staples or adhesives such as water soluble glues. The location at which the two ends meet is known as the manufacturer's joint. There are several variations within the three fastening techniques mentioned with most corrugated box manufacturers following their own protocols for fastening the manufacturer's joints. This study explored the compression and tensile strengths of RSC …

Optimization Of Two-Way Post-Tensioned Concrete Floor Systems, Gaelyn B. Krauser

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates a parametric study of a flat plate floor system designed using post-tensioning. The load balanced by the post-tensioning, the slab depth, and the strength of concrete were varied to create the parametric study of a hotel/condominium grid layout. In order to perform the parametric study, research was conducted on the development of post-tensioning, methods of analysis for two-way slab design, and post-tensioning methods of analysis. Design was conducted by hand through a series of Excel spreadsheets and compared to results found using the computer analysis program, ADAPT-PT. The designs found in the parametric study were then used …

Regression Analysis Of Fracture Toughness For Secondary Osteons Located In Human Cortical Bone, Chase A. Fetzer

Master's Theses

An experiment was carried out in order to locate and quantify osteon types within a sample of cortical bone taken from a human tibia. This was done using a microscope-camera assembly and the BioQuant computer software. The results of this were correlated with a previous experiment’s results on fracture toughness so that an analysis could be run on the data in order to determine the factors that most affect the value of fracture toughness of this cortical bone. Results were examined closely and the analysis repeated until the author was satisfied that the best possible model for fracture toughness had …

Power Quality Analysis Of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System With Adjustable Speed Drives, M. Anwari, M. Imran Hamid, M.I. M. Rashid, Taufik

Electrical Engineering

This paper presents power quality analysis of a distributed generation system consisting of Photovoltaic (PV)-Inverter system as the renewable source connected to a network of Adjustable Speed Drives (ASDs) as the load. A small-scale laboratory consists of Photovoltaic, Inverter, ASDs and loads system was setup. Two power supplies from PV and grid were connected to two ASDs which powered two separate induction motors. Load of motor 1 was fixed while load of motor 2 was varied. In the experiment, both energy supplies from the grid and photovoltaic system were connected to the loads. Measurements have been done at both side …

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Of An Extreme Aspect Ration Hale Uav, Bryan Morrisey, Robert A. Mcdonald

Aerospace Engineering

Development of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft systems is part of a vision for a low cost communications/surveillance capability. Applications of a multi payload aircraft operating for extended periods at stratospheric altitudes span military and civil genres and support battlefield operations, communications, atmospheric or agricultural monitoring, surveillance, and other disciplines that may currently require satellite-based infrastructure. The central goal of this research was the development of a multidisciplinary tool for analysis, design, and optimization of HALE UAVs, facilitating the study of a novel configuration concept. Applying design ideas stemming from a unique WWII-era project, a "pinned wing" HALE aircraft …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Error Reduction For Complex Systems, Robert A. Mcdonald

Aerospace Engineering

The cost-benefit tradeoff of analysis fidelity in complex systems analysis has been posed as an optimization problem providing quantitative guidance for investment in improving analysis. A nonlinear constrained optimizer to solve this problem has been integrated into an error tradeoff environment providing an intuitive tool for the decision maker to consider investment in fidelity at the same time as design decisions are considered. An example demonstrates the efficacy of the improved interface to enable fidelity improvement investment decisions.

Work In Progress - A Mixed-Methods Approach To Developing An Instrument Measuring Engineering Students' Positive Ethical Behavior, Mathew A. Holsapple, Cynthia J. Finelli, Donald D. Carpenter, Trevor S. Harding, Janel A. Sutkus

Materials Engineering

Ethics education and the drive to produce ethical professional engineers is an important focus of one body of research on engineering education. This research often defines the positive outcome of ethics education as students and professional engineers choosing not to engage in unethical behavior. This paper discusses a portion of a larger research project and details efforts to identify and validate a definition of ethical behavior that includes the decision to engage in a positive behavior, defined as a service to a larger community. Through a series of interviews and focus groups with engineering administrators, faculty, and students, the authors …

A Modification To The Group Delay And Simulated Annealing Technique For Characterization Of Peripheral Nerve Fiber Size Distributions For Non-Deterministic Sampled Data, Robert B. Szlavik

Biomedical Engineering

The ability to determine the characteristics of peripheral nerve fiber size distributions would provide additional information to clinicians for the diagnosis of specific pathologies of the peripheral nervous system. Investigation of these conditions, using electro-diagnostic techniques, is advantageous in the sense that such techniques tend to be minimally invasive yet provide valuable diagnostic information. One of the principal electro-diagnostic tools available to the clinician is the nerve conduction velocity test. While the peripheral nerve conduction velocity test can provide useful information to the clinician regarding the viability of the nerve under study, it is a single parameter test that yields …