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Articles 7741 - 7770 of 7975

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Integrating Multidisciplinary Design In An Undergraduate Curriculum, Russell M. Cummings, H. Jo Anne Freeman Sep 1996

Integrating Multidisciplinary Design In An Undergraduate Curriculum, Russell M. Cummings, H. Jo Anne Freeman

Aerospace Engineering

Multidisciplinary design and analysis has become the normal mode of operation within most aerospace companies, but the impact of these changes have largely not been reflected at many universities. In an effort to determine if the emergence of multidisciplinary design concepts should influence engineering curricula, NASA has asked several universities (Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Clemson, BYU, and Cal Poly) to investigate the practicality of introducing the concepts within their undergraduate curricula. A multidisciplinary team of faculty, students, and industry partners evaluated the aeronautical engineering curriculum at Cal Poly. A variety of ways were found to introduce multidisciplinary themes into the …

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Calcium Buffering Is Required To Maintain Bone Stiffness In Saline Solution, M. B. Gustafson, R. B. Martin, V. Gibson, D. H. Storms, S. M. Stover, J. Gibeling, L. Griffin Sep 1996

Calcium Buffering Is Required To Maintain Bone Stiffness In Saline Solution, M. B. Gustafson, R. B. Martin, V. Gibson, D. H. Storms, S. M. Stover, J. Gibeling, L. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

This work determined whether mineral dissolution due to prolonged testing or storage of bone s~'imens in normal salint: would alter Lheir elastic modulus. In one experiment, small pieces of equine third metacarpal bone were soaked in normal saline supplemented with varying amounts of CaCI1. Changing Ca ion concentrations in the bath were monitored and the equilibrium concentration was determined. In a second experiment, the elastic moduli of twenty 4 x 10 x 100 mm equine third metacarpal beams were determined non-destructively in four-point bending. Half the beams were then soaked for 10 days in normal saline, and the other half …

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In Vitro Fatigue Behavior Of The Equine Third Metacarpus: Remodeling And Microcrack Damage Analysis, R.B. Martin, V.A. Gibson, S.M. Stover, J.C. Gibeling, L.V. Griffin Sep 1996

In Vitro Fatigue Behavior Of The Equine Third Metacarpus: Remodeling And Microcrack Damage Analysis, R.B. Martin, V.A. Gibson, S.M. Stover, J.C. Gibeling, L.V. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

We studied remodeling and microcrack damage in specimens of Thoroughbred racehorse third metacarpal bone that had been subjected to monotonic or fatigue failure. We asked three questions. What effects does mechanical loading have on histologically observable microcrack damage? Are there regional variations in remodeling of the equine cannon bone, and do these variations correlate with mechanical properties? To what extent are remodeling and microcrack damage age-dependent? Machined beams from the medial, lateral, and dorsal cortices were loaded to fracture in four-point bending monotonically, or cyclically at a load initially producing 10,000 microstrain. Specimens were then bulk-stained in basic fuchsin, and …

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Improving The Performance Of Cellular Manufacturing By A Dynamic Part Assignment Approach, Hamid Seifoddini, Manocher Djassemi Sep 1996

Improving The Performance Of Cellular Manufacturing By A Dynamic Part Assignment Approach, Hamid Seifoddini, Manocher Djassemi

Industrial Technology and Packaging

In this paper, a simple dynamic part assignment (DPA) procedure is introduced and its effects on the performance of cellular manufacturing systems is evaluated. In this procedure rerouting of parts among machine cells is allowed for better machine utilization. Three data sets are used to compare the performance of manufacturing systems under job shop and cellular manufacturing when DPA is employed. The results of simulation runs indicate that the proposed DPA method improves the performance of cellular manufacturing significantly by reducing the congestion in machine cells with long waiting lines.

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Real-Time Range Image Segmentation Using Adaptive Kernels And Kalman Filtering, Fred W. Depiero, Mohan M. Trivedi Aug 1996

Real-Time Range Image Segmentation Using Adaptive Kernels And Kalman Filtering, Fred W. Depiero, Mohan M. Trivedi

Electrical Engineering

Segmentation is a fundamental process affecting the overall quality and utility of a machine vision system. Range Profile Tracking (RPT) is a systematic approach for stable, accurate and high speed segmentation of range images that is based on Kalman filtering. Tests of RPT have produced stable decompositions of second order surfaces bounded by jump and crease discontinuities, having a volumetric error of a few percent, in under 6 sec. for a wide variety of conditions. Results from over 900 tests on synthetic scenes and 150 real range images are presented.

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Simple Rail-To-Rail Constant-Transconductance Input Stage Operating In Strong Inversion, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green Aug 1996

Simple Rail-To-Rail Constant-Transconductance Input Stage Operating In Strong Inversion, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green

Electrical Engineering

A CMOS op-amp input and gain stage suitable for low voltage operation are introduced. The input stage operates in strong inversion and has common-mode range beyond rail-to-rail. It uses two complementary differential pairs connected in parallel. The common-mode dependent current biasing employs only four transistors, does not require additional voltage references, current switches and/or current mirrors and does not increase the minimum required supply voltage. The variation of the net transconductance is approximately 15% over the entire common-mode range. The gain-stage has constant output resistance. In addition it reduces the variation of the net transconductance due to variations in μn/μp …

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Osteonal Structure In The Equine Third Metacarpus, R. B. Martin, V. A. Gibson, S. M. Stover, J. C. Gibeling, L. V. Griffin Aug 1996

Osteonal Structure In The Equine Third Metacarpus, R. B. Martin, V. A. Gibson, S. M. Stover, J. C. Gibeling, L. V. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

In studying the flexural fatigue properties of the equine third metacarpal (cannon) bone, we previously found that the dorsal region was weaker monotonically, but more fatigue resistant, than the lateral region. Fatigue resistance was associated with fracture surfaces which demonstrated that secondary osteons had “pulled out” of the surrounding matrix; this never happened in lateral specimens. We therefore became interested in the osteonal structure of this bone, and began to study its birefringence patterns in circularly polarized light. We found that the predominant type of secondary osteon was one in which only the outermost few lamellae were circumferential, with the …

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Solute Nucleation And Growth In Supercritical Fluid Mixtures, Gregory T. Smedley, Gerald Wilemski, W. Terry Rawlins, David B. Oakes, Prakash Joshi, William W. Durgin Jul 1996

Solute Nucleation And Growth In Supercritical Fluid Mixtures, Gregory T. Smedley, Gerald Wilemski, W. Terry Rawlins, David B. Oakes, Prakash Joshi, William W. Durgin

Office of the Provost Scholarship

This research effort is directed toward two primary scientific objectives: (1) to determine the gravitational effect on the measurement of nucleation and growth rates near a critical point and (2) to investigate the nucleation process in supercritical fluids to aid in the evaluation and development of existing theoretical models and practical applications. A nucleation pulse method will be employed for this investigation using a rapid expansion to a supersaturated state that is maintained for ≈ 1 ms followed by a rapid recompression to a less supersaturated state that effectively terminates nucleation while permitting growth to continue. Nucleation, which occurs during …

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Source Reduction And Recycling Programs At A Joint Venture Automobile Assembly Plant, Stuart E. Rupp, Samuel A. Vigil Jun 1996

Source Reduction And Recycling Programs At A Joint Venture Automobile Assembly Plant, Stuart E. Rupp, Samuel A. Vigil

Civil and Environmental Engineering

New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) is a vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California. NUMMI began operations in 1984 as ajoint venture of General Motors Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. In 1995, NUMMI produced 94,280 Geo Prizms, 135,112 Toyota Corollas, and 123,257 Toyota Tacoma trucks. NUMMI conducts its manufacturing operations using the Toyota Production System (TPS). A key element of TPS is the elimination of waste. This includes wasted energy, space, labor, and production materials. Waste reduction, i.e., source reduction, is part of NUMMI's corporate culture and every team member is encouraged to continuously seek out new waste reduction opportunities. …

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Modeling Of Macroscopic/Microscopic Transport Phenomena In Zeolite Crystal Solutions Under Microgravity Conditions, Andreas Alexandrou, Nikos A. Gatsonis, William W. Durgin, Albert Sacco, Jr. Jun 1996

Modeling Of Macroscopic/Microscopic Transport Phenomena In Zeolite Crystal Solutions Under Microgravity Conditions, Andreas Alexandrou, Nikos A. Gatsonis, William W. Durgin, Albert Sacco, Jr.

Office of the Provost Scholarship

Crystals grown from special liquid solutions find important industrial applications. Most often the physics and chemistry of the growth processes are not well understood due to complex microscopic chemical and thermo-fluid phenomena. Microgravity could help elucidate these phenomena and allow the control of defect concentration and crystal size. We are proposing to study zeolites grown in silica solutions as a typical crystal growth system. By using macroscopic fluid dynamics, coupled with first-principle microscopic fluid physics and advanced particle simulations, we will study: (a) the effect of transport phenomena and nutrient flow under microgravity conditions along with (b) the nucleation process …

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Analysis Of The Elements Of Drag In Three-Dimensional Viscous And Inviscid Flows, Russell M. Cummings, M. B. Giles, G. N. Shrinivas Jun 1996

Analysis Of The Elements Of Drag In Three-Dimensional Viscous And Inviscid Flows, Russell M. Cummings, M. B. Giles, G. N. Shrinivas

Aerospace Engineering

This paper examines the analytical, experimental, and computational aspects of tlie determination of the drag acting on an aircraft in flight, with or without powered engines, for subsonic/transonic flow. Using a momentum approach, the drag is represented by an integral over a cross-flow plane at an arbitrary distance behind the aircraft Asymptotic evaluation of tlie integral shows tlie drag can be decomposed into three components corresponding to streamwise vorticity and variations in entropy and stagnation enthalpy. These are shown to be related to tlie established engineering concepts of induced drag, wave drag, profile drag and engine power and efficiency. This …

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Graph Matching Using A Direct Classification Of Node Attendance, Fred Depiero, Mohan Trivedi, Steve Serbin Jun 1996

Graph Matching Using A Direct Classification Of Node Attendance, Fred Depiero, Mohan Trivedi, Steve Serbin

Electrical Engineering

An algorithm has been developed that finds isomorphisms between both graphs and subgraphs. The development is introduced in the object recognition problem domain. The method isolates matching subgraphs, finds a node-to-node mapping and reorders nodes, thus permitting a direct comparison to be made between the resultant graphs. The algorithm is of polynomial order. It yields approximate results, maintaining a performance level for subgraph isomorphisms at or above 95% under a wide variety of conditions and with varying levels of noise. The performance on the full size comparisons associated with graph isomorphisms has been found to be 100/100, also under a …

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Sizing Of Header And Flushing Manifolds For Row Crop Drip, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles May 1996

Sizing Of Header And Flushing Manifolds For Row Crop Drip, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

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A New Grouping Measure For Evaluation Of Machine-Component Matrices, Hamid Seifoddini, Manocher Djassemi May 1996

A New Grouping Measure For Evaluation Of Machine-Component Matrices, Hamid Seifoddini, Manocher Djassemi

Industrial Technology and Packaging

The machine-component matrix is the main input to most machine-component grouping models used in cellular manufacturing. A number of measures have been developed for performance evaluation of machine-component grouping algorithms. In this paper, the relationship between these measures and the performance of the corresponding cellular manufacturing system is evaluated and a new grouping measure is developed which is more consistent in predicting the suitability of a manufacturing system for cellular manufacturing.

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Determination Of Iron Colloid Size Distribution In The Presence Of Suspended Cells: Application To Iron Deposition Onto A Biofilm Surface, Waihung Lo, Yarrow M. Nelson, Leonard W. Lion, Michael L. Shuler, William C. Ghiorse Apr 1996

Determination Of Iron Colloid Size Distribution In The Presence Of Suspended Cells: Application To Iron Deposition Onto A Biofilm Surface, Waihung Lo, Yarrow M. Nelson, Leonard W. Lion, Michael L. Shuler, William C. Ghiorse

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Transport and deposition of colloidal Fe, Mn and Al oxides play key roles in the cycling of toxic transition metals in aquatic environments because these colloids strongly bind transition metals. Further, attachment of biological cells and biofilm growth on surfaces can indirectly affect toxic metal distribution by influencing the deposition of colloidal oxides to surfaces. To elucidate the mechanisms governing these processes, deposition of colloidal oxides onto surfaces must be evaluated in the presence of suspended and adherent bacterial cells. Both particle size and concentration are expected to influence deposition. An experimental protocol was developed to determine the size distribution …

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Status And Needs Assessment: Survey Of Irrigation Districts - Usbr Mid-Pacific Region, Charles M. Burt, Kris O'Connor, Stuart W. Styles, Mike Lehmkuhl, Chad Tienken, Robert Walker Apr 1996

Status And Needs Assessment: Survey Of Irrigation Districts - Usbr Mid-Pacific Region, Charles M. Burt, Kris O'Connor, Stuart W. Styles, Mike Lehmkuhl, Chad Tienken, Robert Walker

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

ITRC gathered data from 61 agricultural districts in the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation's (USBR) Mid-Pacific Region by interviewing irrigation district personnel and studying their Water Conservation Plans. These districts comprise about 90% of the irrigated acreage in the Mid-Pacific Region. Data were analyzed to determine general demographic information, the degree of water delivery flexibility provided to farmers, and the extent of existing and planned district modernization.

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Pc Windows Finite Element Modeling Of Landfill Gas Flow, Stephen R. Mull, Robert L. Lang, Samuel A. Vigil, Harold M. Cota Mar 1996

Pc Windows Finite Element Modeling Of Landfill Gas Flow, Stephen R. Mull, Robert L. Lang, Samuel A. Vigil, Harold M. Cota

Civil and Environmental Engineering

A two dimensional demonstration program, GAS, has been developed for the solution of landfill gas (LFG) flow problems on a personal computer (PC). The program combines a Windows™ graphical user interface, object oriented programming (OOP) techniques, and finite element modeling (FEM) to demonstrate the practicality of performing LFG flow modeling on the PC. GAS is demonstrated on a sample LFG problem consisting of a landfill, one gas extraction well, the landfill liner, cap, and surrounding soil. Analyses of the program results are performed for successively finer grid resolutions. Element flux imbalance, execution time, and required memory are characterized as a …

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Testing Of Concrete Under Closed-Loop Control, Ravindra Gettu, Barzin Mobasher, Sergio Carmona, Daniel C. Jansen Mar 1996

Testing Of Concrete Under Closed-Loop Control, Ravindra Gettu, Barzin Mobasher, Sergio Carmona, Daniel C. Jansen

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Closed-loop testing systems provide the ability to directly control the deformation of the loaded specimen. This considerably enhances the precision, stability, and scope of the experiments. Closed-loop machines can be used to determine the stable response of test specimen or structure by monitoring and controlling the physical quantities that are sensitive to its behavior. The importance of the various components of the closed-loop controlled system and the test configuration is reviewed in the paper. The most critical aspect of designing the test is the choice of the controlled variable. With appropriate controlled variables and good system performance, several interesting and …

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Comparison Of Load Restriction Timings Determined Using Fhwa Guidelines And Frost Tubes, Nazli Yesiller, Craig H. Benson, Peter J. Bosscher Mar 1996

Comparison Of Load Restriction Timings Determined Using Fhwa Guidelines And Frost Tubes, Nazli Yesiller, Craig H. Benson, Peter J. Bosscher

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) method and frost-tube measurements are used in Wisconsin to determine the timing and duration of spring load restrictions. In both methods, depth of freeze or thaw is used to determine when to apply load restrictions and to determine their duration. Average daily air temperatures are used in the FHwA method to predict the start and end of freeze and/or thaw. Frost tubes are used to directly determine depth of freeze and/or thaw. An analysis is conducted to compare these two methods using air-temperature data (for the FHwA method) and frost-tube data obtained in Wisconsin. The …

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Cmos Current Mirrors With Reduced Input And Output Voltage Requirements, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green Jan 1996

Cmos Current Mirrors With Reduced Input And Output Voltage Requirements, Vladimir I. Prodanov, Michael M. Green

Electrical Engineering

A CMOS current mirror with lower than VDS(sat) input voltage requirement is presented. It is shown that the structure can be modified to provide cascode-type output resistance for output voltages even lower than 2 VDS(sat). The topology of the proposed current mirror allows low distortion operation from a single 1.5V supply, which makes it attractive for low-voltage applications.

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Armature Position Sensor For A Relay, G. Stephen Perreira, Richard L. Kutin, Lanny V. Griffin Jan 1996

Armature Position Sensor For A Relay, G. Stephen Perreira, Richard L. Kutin, Lanny V. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

A sensor for use with high-power solenoid-actuated relays, and for detecting and signalling relay armature position and hence the actuation state of the relay. The sensor is external to a sealed chamber in which the relay contacts and armature system are positioned, and includes a permanent magnet, the flux path of which includes the relay armature and base. Armature movement to close the relay alters the flux path to operate a reed switch adjacent the magnet, and the condition of the reed switch signals the unactuated or actuated state of the relay.

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Incorporation Of Reservoirs Into Irrigation Supply Systems To Simplify Flexible Operations, John L. Merriam, Stuart W. Styles Jan 1996

Incorporation Of Reservoirs Into Irrigation Supply Systems To Simplify Flexible Operations, John L. Merriam, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.

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3-D Computer Vision Using Structured Light: Design, Calibration, And Implementation Issues, Fred W. Depiero, Mohan M. Trivedi Jan 1996

3-D Computer Vision Using Structured Light: Design, Calibration, And Implementation Issues, Fred W. Depiero, Mohan M. Trivedi

Electrical Engineering

Structured light (SL) sensing is a well-established method of range acquisition for computer vision. We provide thorough discussions of design issues, calibration methodologies, and implementation schemes for SL sensors. The challenges for SL sensor development are described and a range of approaches are surveyed. A novel SL sensor, PRIME, the PRofile Imaging ModulE recently has been developed and is used as a design example in the detailed discussions.

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Assessment Of The Compositional Influences On The Toughness Of Ticr2-Base Laves Phase Alloys, Katherine C. Chen, Samuel M. Allen, James D. Livingston Jan 1996

Assessment Of The Compositional Influences On The Toughness Of Ticr2-Base Laves Phase Alloys, Katherine C. Chen, Samuel M. Allen, James D. Livingston

Materials Engineering

Systematic studies of alloys based on TiCr, have been performed in order to improve the toughness of Laves phase intermetallics. The extent to which alloy compositions and annealing treatments influence the toughness was quantified by Vickers indentation. The single-phase Laves behavior was first established by studying stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric TiCr,. Next, alloying effects were investigated with ternary Laves phases based on TiCr2. Different microstructures of two-phase alloys consisting of (Ti,Cr)-bcc+TiCr2, were also examined. Various toughening theories based on vacancies, site-substitutions, crystal structure (C14, C36, or Cl5) stabilization, and the presence of a …

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Buried Drip Irrigation On Pistachios Study - Munger-Poonian Land And Farming Co., Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles Jan 1996

Buried Drip Irrigation On Pistachios Study - Munger-Poonian Land And Farming Co., Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

A multi-year study and technical support were conducted on commercial fields of pistachios, apples, table grapes, wine grapes, and blueberries in central California. The learning curve required by growers, and energy and irrigation efficiencies was documented. (Note: Appendices 1-6 are not included in this document.)

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Hazardous Waste Management, Harold M. Cota, David Wallenstein Jan 1996

Hazardous Waste Management, Harold M. Cota, David Wallenstein

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Hazardous waste management is a broad and evolving field. Applicable state and federal regulations comprising over 60,000 pages are continually being updated. Many of these regulations overlap and are subject to differences in interpretation that often lead to court rulings. Regulations, economic pressures and public perception are forcing companies to rapidly change the way they manufacture products in order to minimize hazardous waste generation. Over 200 million tons of solid hazardous waste are generated annually in the United States. Huge quantities of hazardous waste deposited in landfills, ponds, fields, and other locations require removal or in situ treatment. Common hazardous …

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Artifactual Nonlinearity Due To Wear Grooves An Friction In Four-Point Bending Experiments Of Cortical Bone, L. V. Griffin, J. C. Gibeling, V. A. Gibson, R B. Martin, S. M. Stover Jan 1996

Artifactual Nonlinearity Due To Wear Grooves An Friction In Four-Point Bending Experiments Of Cortical Bone, L. V. Griffin, J. C. Gibeling, V. A. Gibson, R B. Martin, S. M. Stover

Biomedical Engineering

Experiments and analyses were performed to determine th e cause of a nonlinear force-deflection response observed in four-point flexural fatigue of beams ofcortical bone machined from the mid-diaphysis of the equine third metacarpus. Observable grooves which formed on the beam surface at supports and load noses were found to be the primary cause of the nonlinearity. An additional geometric nonlinearity at large deflections revealed by finite element modeling may be minimized by using the smallest diameter supports and load noses recommended in ASTM 790. However, frictional constraint of the beams at the load noses and supports can occur at low …

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Ultrasonic Nondestructive Testing Method For Evaluation Of Annular Seals, Nazli Yesiller Dec 1995

Ultrasonic Nondestructive Testing Method For Evaluation Of Annular Seals, Nazli Yesiller

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

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Fertigation Techniques For Different Irrigation Methods, Charles M. Burt Nov 1995

Fertigation Techniques For Different Irrigation Methods, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

- The irrigation method influences whether or not chemicals must be injected at a constant rate.
- The irrigation method influences the optimum duration of chemical injection.
- Chemical injection rates may inadvertently vary during an irrigation set for many reasons: improper mixing, system flow rate fluctuations, and system pressure fluctuations
- Drip systems must account for the disposal of filter flush water.

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Fatigue Behavior Of The Equine Third Metacarpus: Mechanical Property Analysis, V.A. Gibson, S.M. Stover, R.B. Martin, J.C. Gibeling, N. H. Willits, M.B. Gustafson, L.V. Griffin Nov 1995

Fatigue Behavior Of The Equine Third Metacarpus: Mechanical Property Analysis, V.A. Gibson, S.M. Stover, R.B. Martin, J.C. Gibeling, N. H. Willits, M.B. Gustafson, L.V. Griffin

Biomedical Engineering

This is the first in a series of experiments to study the fatigue properties of equine cannon (third metacarpal) bone specimens from Throughbred racehorses. Monotonic and fatigue tests to failure were performed in four-point bending on diaphyseal specimens in a 37°C saline bath to answer three initial questions. (a) Will a linear variable differential transducer yield the same elastic modulus as strain gauges? (b) Will fatigue results depend on whether the periosteal or endosteal side of the beam is in tension? (c) Are there regional variations in the monotonic and fatigue properties of the cannon bone midshaft? Eighteen left-right pairs …

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