Engineering Commons^™

Use Of Feedforward Neural Networks For Machine Vision Calibration, Mark B. Lynch, Cihan H. Dagli, Mahesh Vallenki

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Machine vision calibration is an important step to obtaining usable measurements in inspection and automation operations. Conventional calibration techniques require the development of elaborate mathematical models and have prior knowledge of many parameters. Creating a suitable model and obtaining reasonable values for some calibration parameters is often difficult and error prone. In this article, a neural network approach is presented as an indirect non-linear optimization method to machine vision calibration. This approach does not require a mathematical model be developed nor any prior knowledge about the setup or calibration parameters. A universal calibration approach is developed and utilized in various …

Routing And Scheduling I/O Transfers On Wormhole-Routed Mesh Networks, Bhagirath Narahari, Sunil Shende, Rahul Simha, S. R. Subramanya

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper studies the problem of routing and scheduling parallel I/O operations to minimize the time required to transfer data between processors and I/O devices. In particular, a 2-dimensional mesh architecture is considered in which routing is performed using wormhole switching and I/O nodes are placed on the periphery of the mesh. Two broad classes of data transfer mechanisms are examined: schedules with blocking (SB), in which packets may be temporarily blocked during transit, and schedules with no blocking (SNB), in which packets are never blocked in the network. For both classes, optimal scheduling is shown to be NP-complete, and …

Evaluation Of Lead Anode Reactions In Acid Sulfate Electrolytes. I. Lead Alloys With Cobalt Additives, Pu Yu, Thomas J. O'Keefe

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lead alloys, such as lead-calcium-tin and lead-silver, are the primary insoluble anodes used in the electrowinning of metals. While some difficulties are encountered in their use, there is no obvious replacement that is economically and technically competitive. Two of the specific problems with lead include decreased cathode purity due to incorporation from corrosion products and the relatively high overpotential which increases cell voltage. To gain an improved understanding of the fundamental behavior of lead anodes, the polarization behavior of six different alloys in sulfuric acid was evaluated. Some tests were also made with Co(II) in the acid sulfate electrolyte. Notable …

Destructive And Non-Destructive Testing Of Bridge J857 Phelps County, Missouri : Strengthening And Testing To Failure Of Bridge Decks, Tarek Alkhrdaji, Antonio Nanni, Genda Chen, Michael G. Barker

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Concrete bridges are conventionally reinforced with steel bars and/or prestressed with steel tendons. When subjected to aggressive environments, corrosion of the reinforcing and prestressing steel occurs and eventually leads to premature structural deterioration and loss of serviceability. In addition, the increasing service loads as well as seismic upgrade requirements result in a need to strengthen many of these bridges. The use of externally bonded steel plates for flexural and shear strengthening of concrete members is well established. However, corrosion related problems have limited the use of this technique for outdoor application. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are corrosion resistant and …

Magnetic And Mössbauer Spectral Study Of Mixed Valent La₀.₂Sr₀.₈Cu₀.₂Fe₀.₈O2.68 And Related Perovskites, Gary J. Long, Dimitri Hautot, Amitabh Mohan, Ingeborg Kaus, Harlan U. Anderson, Fernande Grandjean

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The La_0.2Sr_0.8Cu_1-xFe_xO _3-δ perovskites are important because they are mixed electron and oxygen anion conductors and thus are able to serve as dense oxygen separation membranes. In order to better understand the mechanism for this separation a Mössbauer spectral study has been carried out to determine the ratio of iron(III) to iron(IV) in these mixed valent compounds. The Mössbauer spectra of La_0.2Sr_0.8Cu_0.2Fe_0.8O _3-δ obtained between 4.2 and 78 K reveal that its Néel temperature is ~75 K and the two well-resolved magnetic sextets observed …

Activated Carbon Produced From Agricultural Residues, Daniel W. Armstrong, V. J. Flanigan, William Joseph James, Jui-Lung Li, Kimber L. Rundlett

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

A process for producing activated carbon from agricultural residues by heating the residues to a temperature in the range of about 250° C. to about 550° C. to volatilize organic compounds in the residues and to carbonize the residues and further heating to activate the carbonized residues. Activated carbon produced from agricultural residues.

Monotonic And Cyclic Tests Of Long Steel-Frame Shear Walls With Openings, Alexander J. Salenikovich, J. Daniel Dolan, W. Samuel Easterling

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

No abstract provided.

Preparation Of A Zro₂-Al₂O₃ Nanocomposite By High-Pressure Sintering Of Spray-Pyrolyzed Powders, Rajiv S. Mishra, V. Jayaram, B. Majumdar, C. E. Lesher, A. K. Mukherjee

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

ZrO2-Al2O3 powders were synthesized by spray pyrolysis. These powders were sintered at 1 GPa in the temperature range of 700Ç1100 ÉC. The microstructural evolution and densification are reported in this paper. The application of 1 GPa pressure lowers the crystallization temperature from ~850 to 700 ÉC. Similarly, the transformation temperature under 1 GPa pressure for <>g ê a Al2O3 reduces from ~1100 to 700Ç800 ÉC range, and that for t <>ê m ZrO2 reduces from ~1050 to 700Ç800 ÉC range. It was possible to ob-tain highly-dense nanocrystalline ZrO2-Al2O3 composite at temperatures as low as 700 ÉC. The effect of high …

Ccfss Technical Bulletin February 1999, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Technical Bulletins (1993 - 2020)

No abstract provided.

Ccfss News February 1999, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Newsletters (1999 - 2008)

No abstract provided.

Band Gap Energy In Nanocrystalline Zro2:16%Y Thin Films, Igor Kosacki, Vladimir Petrovsky, Harlan U. Anderson

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The results of optical absorption measurements on nanocrystalline ZrO2:16%Y thin films are presented. Dense 0.7 μm thick films with 1-300 nm grain size have been obtained on sapphire substrate using a polymeric precursor spin coating technique. The relationship between the energy gap and microstructure of ZrO2:16%Y has been determined and discussed. The quantum confinement effect was observed at the grain size lower than 100 nm with the band gap energy shift of 0.25 eV when the microstructure was changed up to 1 nm. Some limitation of the model has been observed and discussed. The band gap energy of 5.62±0.05eV has …

Effects Of Dissolved Organic Matter And Ph On Heavy Metal Uptake By Sludge Particulates Exemplified By Copper(Ii) And Nickel(Ii): Three-Variable Model, Jianmin Wang, C. P. Huang, Herbert E. Allen, Ira Poesponegoro, Haryanto Poesponegoro, Luis R. Takiyama

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) and pH are important factors affecting heavy metal uptake by sludge particulates. Copper(II) and Nickel(II) uptake behavior by primary and secondary sludge particulates was studied under various pH and DOM conditions. A three-variable model, incorporating effects of pH and DOM, was developed to describe heavy metal uptake. Results show that heavy metal uptake by sludge particulates can be better described by the three-variable model than by the modified Langmuir model in a wide pH range.

Online Identification And Control Of Aerospace Vehicles Using Recurrent Networks, Zhenning Hu, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Methods for estimating the aerospace system parameters and controlling them through two neural networks are presented in this study. We equate the energy function of Hopfield neural network to integral square of errors in the system dynamics and extract the parameters of a system. Parameter convergence is proved. For control, we equate the equilibrium status of a "modified" Hopfield neural network to the steady state Riccati solution with the system parameters as inputs. Through these two networks, we present the online identification and control of an aircraft using its nonlinear dynamics.

Crippling Capacity Of Web Elements With Openings, Roger A. Laboube, W. W. Yu, S. U. Deshmukh, C. A. Uphoff

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Commonly used cold-formed steel sections utilized as either wall studs or floor joists contain web holes. The web holes may be factory punched or field cut. Because the Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members does not address the potential impact that a web hole can have on the structural integrity of the cold-formed steel member, research was necessary. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Rolla have explored the behavior of a flexural member that possesses a web hole. The scope of the UMR research includes flexure, shear, web crippling, and combinations thereof. The present paper will summarize the …

Hardware-Software Co-Verification In An Undergraduate Laboratory, Hardy J. Pottinger, Daryl G. Beetner

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Skills in hardware-software co-design are quickly becoming critical to product development in high-technology computer industries. Systems-on-silicon typically include a considerable amount of software as well as custom hardware and are increasingly difficult to develop using traditional techniques. To satisfy a growing demand in industry, students in electrical Engineering; computer Engineering; and computer science should be introduced to concepts of hardware-software co-design at the undergraduate level. This paper examines a new laboratory at the University of Missouri-Rolla in which students in Electrical and Computer Engineering are exposed to modern system design concepts through the use of hardware-software co-simulation. Key tools used …

Design, Optimization, And The Prototyping Of A Small Tuning-Fork Ultrasonic Piezoelectric Linear Motor, Daniel S. Stutts, James R. Friend

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The design, optimization, and properties of a prototype small traveling-wave ultrasonic piezoelectric linear motor design are described. A method for optimizing the geometry of the motor to maximize its mechanical output for a given electrical input is described, as is the inherent properties of the design to maximize the motors durability and utilization of the piezoelectric material. Results from testing the motor demonstrate the design and indicate a maximum speed of 2.5 cm/s with a preload of 16 g due to an applied voltage of 80 V/RMS/ at an applied current of 15 mA.

Analysis Of A Novel Four-Level Dc/Dc Boost Converter, Keith Corzine, Sonal K. Majeethia

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, novel two-quadrant buck/boost and one-quadrant boost four-level DC/DC converters are introduced. The primary application for these converters is that of interfacing a low voltage DC source, such as a fuel cell or battery, to a high-voltage four-level inverter. One important feature of the four-level DC/DC converters proposed herein is the ability to perform the power conversion and balance the inverter capacitor voltages simultaneously. With the capacitor voltage balancing, it is possible to obtain the full voltage from the inverter. For the boost converter, the steady-state and nonlinear average-value (NLAM) models are developed. The NLAM is verified against …

Dynamic Re-Optimization Of A Fed-Batch Fermentor Using Heuristic Dynamic Programming, Donald C. Wunsch, M. S. Iyer

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Traditionally, fed-batch biochemical process optimization and control uses complicated theoretical off-line optimizers, with no online model adaptation or re-optimization. This study demonstrates the applicability, effectiveness, and economic potential of a simple phenomenological model for modeling, and an adaptive critic design, heuristic dynamic programming, for online re-optimization and control of an aerobic fed-batch fermentor. The results are compared with those obtained using a heuristic random optimizer

Neurocontrol Of Turbogenerators With Adaptive Critic Designs, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Donald C. Wunsch, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the design of a neuro-controller for a turbogenerator using a novel technique based on adaptive critic designs (ACD). This adaptive critic design based neuro-controller augments/replaces the traditional automatic voltage regulator (AVR) and the turbine governor of the generator. Simulation results are presented to show that neural network controllers with the ACD have the potential to control turbogenerators when system conditions and configuration changes.

X-Ray Absorption, Neutron Diffraction, And Mössbauer Effect Studies Of Mnzn-Ferrite Processed Through High-Energy Ball Milling, D. J. Fatemi, V. G. Harris, Mingxing Chen, Satish K. Malik, William B. Yelon, Gary J. Long, Amitabh Mohan

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

MnZn-ferrite has been prepared via high-energy ball milling of elemental oxides MnO, ZnO, and α-Fe₂O₃. Neutron diffraction measurements suggest a high density of vacancies in a spinel structure. The spinel phase appears to comprise 99.8 wt % of the material in the sample milled for 40 h, with the remainder attributable to unreacted α-Fe₂O₃. The x-ray absorption near-edge structure was analyzed to provide an understanding of the charge state of the constituent Fe ions. This analysis reveals about 2/3 of Fe cations to be trivalent, increasing to about 3/4 after a 5 …

Functional Interdependence And Product Similarity Based On Customer Needs, Daniel A. Mcadams, Robert B. Stone, Kristin L. Wood

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, related product functions are determined for a group of approximately 70 consumer products. Using customer need data, a new matrix approach is introduced to identify these relationships. Techniques are then created for determining product similarity. These techniques are clarified and validated through three case studies, including beverage brewers and material-removal products. The results of these case studies are argued to have significant impact on design-by-analogy procedures, benchmarking methods, mass customization strategies and modular design. The paper concludes with a discussion of applications and related procedures for product development.

Nonuniformity Correction Of Infrared Image Sequences Using The Constant-Statistics Constraint, John G. Harris, Yu Ming Chiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using clues from neurobiological adaptation, we have developed the constant-statistics (CS) algorithm for nonuniformity correction of IRFPA's and other imaging arrays. The CS model provides an efficient implementation that can also eliminate much of the ghosting artifact that plagues all scene-based nonuniformity correction (NUC) algorithms. The CS algorithm with deghosting is demonstrated on synthetic and real infrared (IR) sequences and shown to improve the overall accuracy of the correction procedure.

Frequency Domain Robustness Analysis Of Hopfield And Modified Hopfield Neural Networks, Jie Shen, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A variant of Hopfield neural network, called the modified Hopfield network, is formulated in this study. This class of networks consists of parallel recurrent networks which have variable dimensions that can be changed to fit the problem under consideration. It has a structure to implement an inverse transformation that is essential for embedding optimal control gain sequences. Equilibrium solutions of this network are discussed. The robustness of this network and the classical Hopfield network are carried out in the frequency domain using describing functions

Influence Of Chemical Reactions In Magnesia-Graphite Refractories: I, Effects On Texture And High-Temperature Mechanical Properties, Carmen Baudín, Carlos Alvarez, Robert E. Moore

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Four formulations of magnesia-graphite-aluminum metal (antioxidant) bricks were prepared from the same raw materials, using the standard commercial practices. Chemical analysis and determination of room-temperature modulus of rupture and Young's modulus, as well as a complete microstructural characterization of the as-received materials, were performed. For high-temperature modulus-of-rupture and Young's modulus data, test samples of the four brick compositions were heated to 1000°, 1200°, and 1450 °C in flowing argon (< 1000 ppm oxygen at 1000 °C) and then loaded mechanically in flexure. Modulus-of-elasticity values ranged from 3.7 to 16.2 GPa and reflected strong effects of aluminum-metal concentration and treatment temperature. Young's modulus evolution with temperature was determined by the evolution of the micro-structure in the bulk of the specimens. Modulus-of-rupture values ranged from 6 to 21 MPa, and their evolution with temperature was determined by the evolution of the micro-structure in the bulk of the specimens at the lower testing temperatures (T≤1200 °C) and by phase assemblages in the surface regions of the specimens - essentially by the presence of the dense MgO zone - at 1450 °C.

Modeling The Dielectric Response And Relaxation Spectra Of Relaxor Ferroelectrics, Huh Tswen Lin, David C. Van Aken, Wayne Huebner

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A multi-Debye relaxation model that is based upon the Boltzmann superposition principle has been used to determine the frequency-dispersion behavior of Pb (Mg_1/3-Nb_2/3)O₃ (PMN) and Pb_0.88La_0.08 (Zr_0.65Ti_0.35) O₃ (PLZT 8/65/35) relaxor ferroelectrics. For PMN, relaxation times on the order of seconds contribute to the dispersive character of the dielectric properties. A defect-relaxation mechanism that involves Mg cation hopping in a structure that is composed of interpenetrating 〈111〉 chains of ordered Pb (Mg_1/2Nb_1/2) O₃ is proposed for PMN. Motion of the Mg cations …

Copper Nucleation On Titanium For Thin Film Applications, A. J.B. Dutra, Thomas J. O'Keefe

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Copper nucleation and growth on titanium substrates from concentrated acidic copper sulfate solutions was studied at 45 and 65 °C and high cathodic potentials. Electrochemical experiments allied to SEM examination were performed to characterize the mechanism of nucleation and its evolution with time. Particular emphasis was given to the influence of potential and agitation on the initial stages of nucleation and growth. Results indicated that most of copper nucleation on titanium from a 83 g dm-3 Cu2+ solution, at 65 °C, is achieved in a matter of milliseconds. As expected, the initial stages of the copper nucleation and growth is …

Stability Analysis Of Nonlinear Machining Force Controllers, Robert G. Landers, Yen-Wen Lu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Model parameters vary significantly during a normal operation, thus, adaptive techniques have predominately been used. However, model-based techniques that carefully account for changes in the force process have again been examined due to the reduced complexity afforded by such techniques. In this paper, the effect of model parameter variations on the closed-loop stability for two model-based force controllers is examined. It was found that the stability boundary in the process parameter space can be exactly determined for force control systems designed for static force processes. For force control systems designed for first-order force processes, it was found that the stability …

The Hygrothermal Response And Physical Aging Of Polymer Matrix Textile Composites, Natalie L. Dixon

Masters Theses

"Woven graphite/epoxy composite laminate is one type of composite currently being investigated for use in aircraft engine components. However, polymers tend to become brittle with age, especially when exposed to elevated temperature. It is necessary to understand the physical changes in a material during the aging process in order to predict the long-term behavior.

In addition to aging, materials used in aircraft will be exposed to a wide variety of temperatures and relative humidity levels. Variations in temperature and moisture content affect both the physical and the mechanical properties of composites.

Experimental methods are described for hygrothermal testing of a …

Short-Term Generation Asset Valuation, Chung-Li Tseng, G. Barz

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present a method for valuing a power plant over a short term period using Monte Carlo simulation. The power plant valuation problem is formulated as a multi stage stochastic problem. We assume there are hourly markets for both electricity and the fuel used by the generator, and their prices follow some Ito processes. At each hour, the power plant operator must decide to run or not to run the unit so as to maximize expected profit. A certain lead time for commitment decision is necessary to start up a unit. The commitment decision, once made, is subject to physical …

A Biologically Inspired Connectionist Model For Image Feature Extraction In 2d Pattern Recognition, Cihan H. Dagli, Raymond K. Chafin

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new edge detection method is presented which borrows from recent research into primate vision biology, and offers improved noise performance over classical methods. Beginning with spatio-temporal shunting models for retinal cones, horizontal cells, bipolar cells, and retinal ganglions, a set of simplified steady-state solutions are developed which lend themselves to efficient computation on standard computer equipment. The retinal model output is found to be nominally equivalent to the classical edge detector, but is produced differently. A simplified model of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) has been produced. Taking the output of the retinal model, the LGN simple cell and …