Engineering Commons^™

Fast Sphere Decoder For Mimo Systems, Praveen G. Krishnan

Masters Theses

"This work focuses on variants of the conventional sphere decoding technique for Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO) systems. Space Time Block Codes (STBC) have emerged as a popular way of transmitting data over multiple antennas achieving the right balance between diversity and spatial multiplexing. The Maximum Likelihood (ML) technique is a conventional way of decoding the transmitted information from the received data, but at the cost of increased complexity. The sphere decoder algorithm is a sub-optimal decoding technique that is computationally efficient achieving a ;symbol error rate that is dependent on the initial radius of the sphere. In this thesis, …

Fine Particle Classification Using Dilute Fluidized Beds, Rajasekharan Pillai Annapoorneswari

Masters Theses

"The main objective of this project is to classify spherical soda-lime glass particles based on their size using a dilute fluidized bed system. The influence of inclined plates in the column, plate separation, plate inclination, and number of plates on the overall separation efficiency of particles will be investigated. The effect of column shape on the classification efficiency will also be assessed"--Introduction, page 3.

Characterization Of Noise On Pdn And Electromagnetic Shielding, Sandeep K. R. Chandra

Masters Theses

"Modern FPGA and microprocessor have complex logic inside them, which draw current from the Power Distribution Network (PDN). This current drawn from the PDN creates disturbance on the PDN, which then propagates to other IC in different places on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB), and appears as a noise voltage. Ability to predict noise voltage at any point on the PCB gives a greater ability to carefully design the board and the PDN. In order to accurately predict the noise, it is important to accurately predict the current drawn and the transfer impedance from the source to the victim point. …

Ph Effect On Adsorption Of Saxititoxin On Powdered Activated Carbon, Jie Ding

Masters Theses

"The presence of algal toxins, or cyanotoxins, in surface water has been increasingly reported. These highly hazardous toxins are potential threat to both human health and animals by contaminating drinking water sources over the world. In this study, the removal efficiency of saxitoxin from water using powered activated carbon was tested at different pH values for deionized water and natural surface water. The results of this study showed that pH has a strong impact on removal efficiency of saxitoxin using powdered activated carbon. Specifically, the removal efficiency of saxitoxin is significantly increased at higher pH from 5.7 to pH 10.7. …

Synthesis, Characterization And Application Of Pd-Pt Bimetallic Nanoparticles And Carbon Nanotubes Supported Nanocomposites, Guoqiang Ren

Masters Theses

"A study on the synthesis of Pd-Pt alloy nanoparticles and composition evolution of the alloys was reported. The synthesis followed a hot organometallic route, with Pd and Pt acetylacetonate as the metal precursors and trioctylphosphine as the solvent. The size of the Pd-Pt nanoparticles narrowed down with time and reached a final size of 3.5 nm in about 10 min. The alloy compositions evolved with time and reached the preset Pd to Pt ratio of precursors in 120 min. An atomic exchange process between the Pt-TOP complex and the Pd atoms at the nanoparticle surface was proposed to elucidate this …

Analysis Of Soil Erosion Based On Soil Properties, Preetha Veeraraghavan

Masters Theses

"The objectives of this research were to identify the major soil parameter(s) that affect the erosion rate of soil and to estimate the erosion rate based on those soil parameters. Both prepared samples and natural samples were used in this research. The soil properties analyzed were the water content, unit weight, Atterberg limits, and soil cohesion. The erosion rate was determined using a rectangular flume and a linear relation between the erosion rate and shear stress was established from the flume experiment. The slope of the linear relation was a good indicator of the soil's erosion rate. The erosion rate …

Adhesion-Delamination Mechanics Of Linear And Axisymmetric Film At Film-Substrate Interface, Ming-Fung Wong

Masters Theses

"This thesis is to characterize the thin membrane adhesion-delamination phenomena which occur in biological cells and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) operation. The delamination of a thin film adhered to a rigid substrate is subjected to the coupling effects of tensile residual stress and interfacial adhesion energy. The adhesion-delamination mechanics is derived using the classical linear elasticity and thermodynamics energy balance. The membrane deformation is here dominated by a mixed plate-bending and membrane-stretching, while the concomitant stress is neglected. An 1-dimensional model is first investigated where a pre-stressed rectangular film clamped at both ends delaminates from a rigid punch of the same …

Artificial Immune System Based Algorithms For Optimization And Self-Tuning Control In Power Systems, Mani Hunjan

Masters Theses

"Artificial immune systems (AIS) are new computational intelligence methods inspired by various mechanisms of the biological immune system. AIS are adaptive systems inspired by theoretical immunology and its functions, principles and models. The work depicted in this thesis centers on the applications of AIS based algorithms for optimization and self-tuning control in power systems. The optimization is carried out using an algorithm based on the clonal selection principle and the self-tuning characteristics of control for parameters are inspired by the humoral immune response of the human body. The work in this thesis is written in two papers as follows: Paper …

Selective Laser Sintering Of Stearic Acid-Coated Alumina Ceramic, Jason J. Nolte

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this research is to develop a process that will enable a Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) machine to create geometrically complex green parts of various sizes that become strong, dense ceramic parts after sintering. This will be applicable to SLS systems already operational in industry, and may offer a more cost-effective, more time-efficient method for producing high-temperature ceramic rapid prototype parts. Alumina was the chosen ceramic for the developmental stage of this research. Fine alumina powder (average particle size of 0.4 µm) was coated with stearic acid, which served as a binder. Green parts were made from this …

Bio Inspired Techniques For Simultaneous Design Of Multiple Optimal Power System Stabilizers, Tridib Kumar Das

Masters Theses

"Bio-inspired techniques are fields of study that are inspired from topics of connectionism, social behavior and emergence. Researchers have ventured into the intricacies involved with the techniques and devised algorithms based on their study. Such techniques are the focus of this thesis. The two bio-inspired techniques used for simultaneous design of power system stabilizers (PSSs) in this study are - Particle Swam Optimization (PSO) and Bacteria Foraging Algorithm (BFA). The work in this thesis is presented in three papers as follows: Paper 1 -This paper introduces an improved PSO called Small Population based PSO (SPPSO) with less number of particles …

Detection Of Flash In Dermoscopy Skin Lesion Images, Radhika Nagane

Masters Theses

"Dermoscopy images of skin lesions are often acquired by covering the skin with mineral oil, alcohol, another liquid or a gel and illuminating the area at a low angle of incidence from all directions before taking the photograph. Deeper pigment patterns are more visible in this type of image than in a clinical image because the liquid immersion and structured light effectively make the upper layers of the skin more transparent. Flash regions are the small, high reflectance areas in the image where direct reflections of the illumination source(s) cause undesirable bright spots in the image. These flash regions may …

Applications Of Solar Energy To Power Stand-Alone Area And Street Lighting, Joshua David Bollinger

Masters Theses

"A stand-alone solar-powered street or area lighting system is designed and operated completely independent of the power grid. The equipment and maintenance costs associated with a stand-alone solar-powered system are compared with the cost of using electricity to run grid connected street lights. The project focused on the viability of using solar energy to power the lights in the area surrounding St. Louis, Missouri. The results had to be consistent to warrant converting new areas to independent solar powered lighting. A prototype system is constructed from equipment available on the market for the purpose of gathering data on different lighting …

Impact Of Ammonia On The Leaching Characteristics Of Mercury From Coal Fly Ash, Harmanjit Mallhi

Masters Theses

"Approximately half of the electricity produced in the United States is generated by coal-fired power plants. Coal combustion products (CCPs) such as fly ash, bottom ash, flue gas desulphurization (FGD) material, boiler slag are either disposed in landfills or impoundments, or beneficially used...It has been long known that fly ash contains many trace elements (As, Se, Hg Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu,Co, etc.) that can be of environmental concern. Mercury is of special interest since it is a known carcinogen and has the ability to bio-accumulate. The primary objectives of thesis research were to understand the leaching behavior of mercury …

Manufacturing And Characterization Of Soy-Based Pultruded Polyurethane Composites, Rama Bhadra Raju Vuppalapati

Masters Theses

"In the recent past, composites have been finding various applications in civil infrastructure, marine, transportation, automotive and non-automotive applications by replacing metals in structural components. Pultrusion is considered to be a cost effective method for manufacturing composite materials.

Polyurethane resin systems form a good alternative to the conventional styrene based systems in pultrusion due to their better physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Polyols derived from soybean oil along with isocyanates produce polyurethanes that can match in many aspects with one derived from the petrochemical polyols. Even though, polyurethanes have good properties there are lots of challenges like designing unique material …

Damping Controllers For Power System Oscillations Using A Static Var Compensator, Sandhya R. Jetti

Masters Theses

"Damping of power system plays an important role in not only increasing the transmission capacity but also in stabilizing the power system, especially after critical faults. Static Var Compensator (SVC) is a shunt FACTS device which has capability of fast and continuous capacitive and inductive reactive power supply to the power system. SVCs are widely used for voltage stability but studies show that they are also effective in providing damping to the system. In this thesis, three types of SVC damping controllers are designed. The first damping controller is an optimal linear controller in which the parameters of a damping …

Manufacturing Of High Performance Composites Using Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding, V. G. K. Menta

Masters Theses

"The objective of this research is to establish and enhance the existing Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process to manufacture high performance composite parts usable in the aerospace industry.

Flat, hat, pi and multi stiffened panels have been manufactured by the VARTM process using AS4-5HS and AS4-8HS carbon fabric, and SI-ZG-5A low viscosity epoxy resin. Silicone-based reusable molds have been designed and developed to manufacture stiffened panels. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments of the SI-ZG-5A resin system were conducted to determine the storage modulus, loss modulus, and the glass transition temperature. The density and …

Dynamic Modeling And Simulations Of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells For Grid-Tied Applications, Nagasmitha Akkinapragada

Masters Theses

"As energy consumption rises, one must find suitable alternative means of generation to supplement conventional existing generation facilities. In this regard, distributed generation (DG) will continue to play a critical role in the energy supply-demand realm. The common technologies available as DG are micro-turbines, solar photovoltaic systems, fuel cells stack and wind energy systems. In this thesis, a dynamic model of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is presented. Fuel cells operate at low voltages and hence need to be boosted and inverted in order to be connected to the utility grid. The interconnection of the SOFC with a DC-DC converter …

Design And Implementation Of A Hardened Distributed Network Endpoint Security System For Improving The Security Of Internet Protocol-Based Networks, William Dee Atkins

Masters Theses

"This thesis proposes a distributed approach to securing computer networks by delegating the role of a conventional firewall to a collection of nodes and controllers placed throughout the networks they are intended toprotect from attack. This distributed firewall system is a specific application of a generalized distriubted system framework that is also proposed in this thesis. The design and implementation of both the generalized framework and the application of the framework in creating a distributed firewall system for use on Ethernet-based networks that rely on the Internet Protocol are discussed. Conclusions based upon the preliminary implementation of the proposed systems …

A Guide To The Establishment Of A University Satellite Program, Abbie Marie Stewart

Masters Theses

"The UMR SAT team was formed at the University of Missouri-Rolla to design and build microsatellites. The team competed against ten other universities in the Nanosat 4 competition hosted by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. This document, written by the Chief Engineer, is a description of the process used by the UMR SAT team to develop a successful satellite program. Included in the document are methods based on systems engineering for developing a mission, a discussion of team organization and recruitment, and lessons learned during …

Reinforcement-Learning Based Output-Feedback Controller For Nonlinear Discrete-Time System With Application To Spark Ignition Engines Operating Lean And Egr, Peter Shih

Masters Theses

"A spark ignition (SI) engine can be described by non-strict feedback nonlinear discrete-time system with the output dependent upon on the states in a nonlinear manner. The controller developed in this thesis utilizes the inherent universal approximation property of neural networks (NN) to simplify the design process and solve the non-causality problem inherent with traditional designs. It also exploits a long-term performance index called the strategic utility function to minimize and assist in updating of the NN weights; therefore, an optimal controller can be realized. Finally, through Lyapunov equations, the controller guarantees stability"--Abstract, page iv.

Towards A Methodology For Integrated Freeform Manufacturing Systems Development With A Control Systems Emphasis, Jacquelyn K. Stroble

Masters Theses

"A variety of fully integrated Freeform Fabrication (FFF) systems have been developed, a selected group for research and several for commercialization. The design methodology behind most of them is not documented, standardized, or rational. It is important to understand that the final product from any integrated system is affected not only by the unit manufacturing processes themselves, but also by the extent the individual units are assimilated into an integrated process. Thus, a scheme consisting of eight steps and the salient five elements necessary to create or retrofit an existing system to achieve an Integrated Freeform Manufacturing System (FFMS) is …

35-45 Giga Hertz Transceiver System For Phase And Magnitude Detection, Aman Aflaki Beni

Masters Theses

"Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is the science and practice of examining an object in a way that the object's usefulness is not adversely affected. Different types of NDE methods exist but this thesis is based on microwave and millimeter wave NDE using imaging techniques. Microwave NDE is based on illuminating the object under test with a microwave signal and studying the various properties of the reflected signal from the object. This reflected signal contains some information about the inner structure of the object under test. This information may be contained in several parameters including the phase and magnitude of the reflected …

Age Strengthening Of Gray Cast Iron: Alloying Effects And Kinetics Study, Thottathil Viswanathan Anish

Masters Theses

"Age strengthening of gray cast iron has become a critical issue with metal casters trying to optimize their process for the closest conformance to properties. This necessitated more robust and precise methods to predict age strengthening. Most foundries use age strengthening behavior to cast at hight carbon equivalents to facilitate smaller gating systems. Also, it is well known in the casting industry that the tool life improves with aging. Hence these foundries require a model to predict aging behavior and accelerate the mechanism from days to hours. This research focuses on the methods of composition adjustments to control aging properties, …

Equivalent Circuit For Transient Conduction And Convection Systems, Bassam Sabry Mohammad Abdelnabi

Masters Theses

"Transient response of a natural convection system is investigated by numerical simulation using FLUENT code. An Integrator Circuit analogy was recently proposed for natural convection system. The proposed analogy was further confirmed by these recent simulations. New simulation results also suggest that a natural convection system acts as a "Low Pass" filter for transients. Transient transmission/attenuation factor was found to be a function of both fluid properties and the flow characteristics. Transmission/attenuation factor was also found to be a strong function of fluctuation frequency"--Abstract, page iv.

Development Of A Liquid Injection Propane System For Spark-Ignited Engines Via Fuel Temperature Control, Brian Charles Applegate

Masters Theses

"This work describes the development of a thermally controlled liquid propane injection system...A liquid fuel system, as described in this work, offers power gains over vaporized fuel introduction due to the ability to use the heat of vaporization from the vaporizing fuel to cool the intake charge and improve the volumetric efficiency of the engine. This system uses temperature to control the state of the fuel in the fuel system"--Introduction, page 1.

Mechanical Properties And Microstructure Study For Direct Metal Deposition Of Titanium Alloy And Tool Steel, Yaxin Bao

Masters Theses

"This thesis is focused on the research about DMD (Direct Metal Deposition) which is an additive manufacturing process and used in various engineering applications such as producing fully dense and net shape productions in difficult-to-machine materials. In this study, the microstructure was analyzed through optical microscopy and some mechanical properties were tested with different equipments such as SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) and micro-hardness tester...In summary, this thesis validated that DMD process can be improved through surface treatments and is capable of repairing molds for die casting industry"--Introduction, page 1.

Vapor Phase Uptake Of Volatile Organic Contaminants By Hybrid Poplar Trees, Sally Rebecca Breite

Masters Theses

"Phytoremediation, the use of plants to immobilize, degrade or remove contaminants from the environment, shows great promise as a remediation technique for many contaminated sites. Phytovolatilization in particular is of great interest for sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of which are recalcitrant to biodegradation. Hybrid poplar trees have been shown to uptake, translocate and volatilize numerous aqueous-phase VOCs, however vapor phase uptake of such compounds has only recently been observed and for only one contaminant, tetrachloroethylene (PCE). One semi-volatile and five volatile compounds were dosed to poplar trees in aqueous and vapor phase …

Barriers And Best Practices For Material Management In The Healthcare Sector, Carlos Callender

Masters Theses

"For many years, the primary focus of the healthcare sector has been to provide patients with the best quality of care. Recently, with the escalating cost of supplies and the severe competition among healthcare providers, the pressure on material managers to operate more cost-efficiently without compromising the high patient care standards has significantly increased. While other sectors have experienced success through the deployment of supply chain management practices, the healthcare sector has not seen major improvements in this area. However, in spite of the uniqueness and complexity of the healthcare supply chain, opportunities for improvements are plentiful. Thus, this thesis …

Transient Performance Of Closed Loop Thermosyphons Incorporating Thermal Storage, Kyle S. Benne

Masters Theses

This thesis considers a unique application of a thermosyphon to a conventional thermal storage deice. In such an application, the dynamics of the thermosyphon are coupled with the condition of the storage volume. This thesis specifically focuses on the transient energy addition or charge process, where heat accumulated within the storage volume continuously decreases the driving buoyant force and volumetric flow rate"--Abstract, page iv.

A Real Time Operating System Based Test-Bed For Autonomous Vehicle Navigation, Pravin Dhake

Masters Theses

"Research and experiments on ... Autonomous Navigation Schemes and Algorithms need an efficient test-bed for objective performance analysis. These algorithms often require sensor inputs from the systems such as the speed and steering sensors to apply feedback control action. An efficient test-bed provides status of all sensors and records of all previous sensor values is very desirable. This work involves developing for such a test-bed to support research on Autonomous Navigation schemes and Algorithms involved in these applications. Different approaches are analyzed and an optimum approach to design test-bed is implemented"--Abstract, page iii.