Engineering Commons^™

Improving Concept Learning In Green Building By Addressing Students' Learning Styles And Prior Knowledge, Sreelatha Chunduri

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In green building there is a requirement for the collaboration of students from different disciplines in order to solve challenging problems. Successful collaboration depends on the establishment of a common understanding of the subject matter among those involved. To gain common understanding concept learning is critical. A concept learning process may be improved when factors affecting it are addressed. Prior knowledge and learning styles of the students may influence the way they learn concepts. This thesis is focused on studying the relationship between a concept learning process and prior knowledge and learning styles of students. An experiment was conducted by …

Modified Predator-Prey (Mpp) Algorithm For Single-And Multi-Objective Optimization Problems, Souma Chowdhury

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this work is to develop an algorithm that can solve multidisciplinary design optimization problems. In predator-prey algorithm, a relatively small number of predators and a much larger number of prey are randomly placed on a two dimensional lattice with connected ends. The predators are partially or completely biased towards one or more objectives, based on which each predator kills the weakest prey in its neighborhood. A stronger prey created through evolution replaces this prey. In case of constrained problems, the sum o f constraint violations serves as an additional objective.

Modifications of the basic predator-prey algorithm have …

A Capability Maturity Model To Assess Supply Chain Performance, Heriberto Garcia

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an overcapacity world, where the customers can choose from many similar products to satisfy their needs, enterprises are looking for new approaches and tools that can help them not only to maintain, but also to increase their competitive edge. Innovation, flexibility, quality, and service excellence are required to, at the very least, survive the on-going transition that industry is experiencing from mass production to mass customization. In order to help these enterprises, this research develops a Supply Chain Capability Maturity Model named S(CM)2. The Supply Chain Capability Maturity Model is intended to model, analyze, and improve the supply chain …

Development Of Lead-Free Thick Film Resistor, Xudong Chen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Thick film resistors (TFRs) are widely used in hybrid microelectronics. Currently most of the resistor paste products contain lead, which is potentially a major problem to the environment resulting from electronics disposal. The purpose of this study is to develop a lead-free thick film resistor that is compatible to the typical industry thick film processing and has comparable electrical properties as the lead bearing counterpart. The research started from and focused on evaluation and selection of suitable lead-free glass material, which is one of the most important ingredients in a thick film resistor. The fired resistors were characterized in terms …

Biohazard Neutralization Based On Lipid Technology, Edelmira Bosques

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A rapid detection and neutralization method for biowarfare agents would be a great biodefense in war times. With this purpose, liposomes were developed following the lipid film formation, rehydration, and extrusion procedure as the production method. MgOCl2 was encapsulated in the liposomes and it was tested with three different bacterium B. cereus; B. thuringiensis; and B. subtilis. For specificity, the liposomes were modified with a polyclonal antibody against B. cereus and B. subtilis. The liposomes were characterized using a Malvern Zetasizer Instrument, and the study revealed stability of the liposomes stored at 4°C for a …

Mechanical Properties Of Self-Consolidating Concrete With Pozzolanic Materials, Indra Prasad Chapagain

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Self-consolidating concrete has been described as the most revolutionary development in concrete technology in several decades with the ability to flow freely through closely spaced reinforcements, expel entrapped air and self compact without vibration. Since it was first developed in Japan in the early 1980's, major development in the chemical admixture technology has made SCC more viable.

An experimental study was conducted to identify the mechanical properties of SCC by optimizing the use of pozzolanic materials and local aggregates with some proposed statistical models. The research was focused to investigate compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and drying …

Modified Continuous Ant Colony Algorithm For Function Optimization, Alexandre Aidov

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many classical as well as modern optimization techniques exist. One such modern method belonging to the field of swarm intelligence is termed ant colony optimization. This relatively new concept in optimization involves the use of artificial ants and is based on real ant behavior inspired by the way ants search for food. In this thesis, a novel ant colony optimization technique for continuous domains was developed. The goal was to provide improvements in computing time and robustness when compared to other optimization algorithms. Optimization function spaces can have extreme topologies and are therefore difficult to optimize. The proposed method effectively …

Synthesis And Investigation Of Highly Conductive Cu-Cr-Mwcnt Composites, Puneet K. Singh Gill

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is great demand for contact materials with superior electrical and thermal conductivities and mechanical strength, for use in Vacuum Circuit Breakers (VCB). Copper (Cu) and chromium (Cr) alloy, developed in the 1970’s [1] has been the most common contact material in VCBs. Although Cu-Cr alloys possess good conductivity and mechanical properties, 50% of Cr (a strategic metal) in the alloy is resource prohibitive. A reduction in Cr usage without compromising desired properties is desirable.

Previous researchers focused on developing Cu-Cr alloys with fine and uniform microstructure to enhance their physical properties. This investigation focused on the development of a …

Bme Annual Report 2007-2008, Department Of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University

Biomedical Engineering Department Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Predicting Delay Reductions From Freeway Traffic Diversion For Incident Management, Jie Bian

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traffic incidents are a major source of traffic congestion on freeways. Freeway traffic diversion using pre-planned alternate routes has been used as a strategy to reduce traffic delays due to major traffic incidents. However, it is not always beneficial to divert traffic when an incident occurs. Route diversion may adversely impact traffic on the alternate routes and may not result in an overall benefit.

This dissertation research attempts to apply Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) techniques to predict the percent of delay reduction from route diversion to help determine whether traffic should be diverted under given …

Synthesis Of Copper Carbon Nanotube Composite And Its Electrical Conductivity Measurement, Sushma Amruthaluri

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The matrices in which Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) are incorporated to produce composites with improved electrical properties can be polymer, metal or metal oxide. Most composites containing CNTs are polymer based because of its flexibility in fabrication. Very few investigations have been focused on CNT-metal composites due to fabrication difficulties, such as achievement of homogeneous distribution of MWCNTs and poor interfacial bonding between MWCNTs and the metal matrix. In an effort to overcome poor interfacial bonding for the Cu - MWCNT composite, silver (Ag) and nickel (Ni) resinates have been incorporated in the ball milling stage. Composites of MWCNT …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Signal Timing Optimization Based On Microscopic Simulation Evaluation, Patricio Alvarez Mendoza

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The optimization of the timing parameters of traffic signals provides for efficient operation of traffic along a signalized transportation system. Optimization tools with macroscopic simulation models have been used to determine optimal timing plans. These plans have been, in some cases, evaluated and fine tuned using microscopic simulation tools. A number of studies show inconsistencies between optimization tool results based on macroscopic simulation and the results obtained from microscopic simulation. No attempts have been made to determine the reason behind these inconsistencies. This research investigates whether adjusting the parameters of macroscopic simulation models to correspond to the calibrated microscopic simulation …

Development And Evaluation Of A Catheter Deliverable Artificial Aortic Heart Valve Prosthesis And Delivery System, Thomas Edward Claiborne Iii

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, malfunctioning heart valves are replaced via highly invasive and costly open-heart procedures. A new alternative approach is a catheter deliverable or percutaneous heart valve. Current PHV prototypes utilize fixed animal tissue as valves. This research investigated the feasibility of an artificial PHV and the development of a delivery system. A left hea11 simulator and a tensile tester were used to characterize the hydrodynamics and mechanics of a novel artificial PHV. Test results showed equal or better in vitro hydrodynamic performance when compared to a St. Jude mechanical valve and an Edwards-Sapien PHV, with a mean pressure drop of <15 mmHg and a mean regurgitation of <5%. The PHV's exceeded requirements for fixation and radial force. The 24 F delivery system successfully delivered and deployed a PHV. The work described herein proves the feasibility of an artificial PHV and delivery system and justifies further investigation into its design and function.

Investigating The Origin Of Pm2.5 In Baltimore Using Highly Time-Resolved Organic Molecular Markers Measured During The Baltimore Pm-Supersite, Anna R. Bernardo-Bricker

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The detailed organic composition of atmospheric fine particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) is an integral part of the knowledge needed in order to fully characterize its sources and transformation in the environment. For the study presented here, samples were collected at 3-hour intervals. This high time resolution allows gaining unique insights on the influence of short- and long-range transport phenomena, and dynamic atmospheric processes. A specially designed sequential sampler was deployed at the 2002-2003 Baltimore PM Supersite to collect PM2.5 samples at a 3-hourly resolution for extended periods of consecutive days, …

Integrated Electromyogram And Eye-Gaze Tracking Cursor Control System For Computer Users With Motor Disabilities, Craig A. Chin, Armando Barreto, J. Gualberto Cremades, Malek Adjouadi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This research pursued the conceptualization, implementation, and testing of a system that allows for computer cursor control without requiring hand movement. The target user group for this system are individuals who are unable to use their hands because of spinal dysfunction or other afflictions. The system inputs consisted of electromyogram (EMG) signals from muscles in the face and point-of-gaze coordinates produced by an eye-gaze tracking (EGT) system. Each input was processed by an algorithm that produced its own cursor update information. These algorithm outputs were fused to produce an effective and efficient cursor control. Experiments were conducted to compare the …

Adaptive Eye-Gaze Tracking Using Neural-Network-Based User Profiles To Assist People With Motor Disability, Anaelis Sesin, Malek Adjouadi, Mercedes Cabrerizo, Melvin Ayala, Armando Barreto

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This study developed an adaptive real-time humancomputer interface (HCI) that serves as an assistive technology tool for people with severe motor disability. The proposed HCI design uses eye gaze as the primary computer input device. Controlling the mouse cursor with raw eye coordinates results in sporadic motion of the pointer because of the saccadic nature of the eye. Even though eye movements are subtle and completely imperceptible under normal circumstances, they considerably affect the accuracy of an eye-gaze-based HCI. The proposed HCI system is novel because it adapts to each specific user’s different and potentially changing jitter characteristics through the …

Attack Distributionmodeling And Its Applications In Sensor Network Security, Xiangqian Chen, Kia Makki, Kang Yen, Niki Pissinou

Telecommunications and Information Technology Institute

Defending against attack is the key successful factor for sensor network security. There are many approaches that can be used to detect and defend against attacks, yet few are focused onmodeling attack distribution. Knowing the distribution models of attacks can help system estimate the attack probability and thus defend against them effectively and efficiently. In this paper, we use probability theory to develop a basic uniform model, a basic gradient model, an intelligent uniform model and an intelligent gradient model of attack distribution in order to adapt to different application environments. These models allow systems to estimate the attack probability …