Engineering Commons^™

Theoretical Evaluation Of The Break Off Test For Concrete, Arjuna Priyara Ranasinghe

Dissertations

Strength of concrete is normally measured using the standard cylinder or cube. The measured strength is used for design. The accuracy of concrete strength is frequently challenged, particularly in large concrete structures where size effect of the test specimens is attributed for the differences. Many nondestructive tests were developed to evaluate concrete strengths. In recent years, it was obvious that these tests are unreliable. As the infrastructure decays, more nondestructive tests are required to evaluate the existing structures.

The Break Off Test is a recently developed nondestructive test. Although substantial amount of experimental investigations have been carried out on this …

Particle Dynamics Modeling Of Vibrating Granular Beds, Yidan Lan

Dissertations

Particle dynamics modeling is done to study the behavior of granular beds subjected to vibrations imposed by a plane boundary which oscillates sinusoidally about a zero mean speed. Significant differences between the lower and higher shaking acceleration regions are found for the granular temperature and solids fraction depth profiles, which characterize the effectiveness of the boundary in fluidizing the beds. When higher accelerations are applied, the temperature is maximum at the vibrating floor and attenuates through the depth, while the solids fraction profiles exhibit a maximum at some intermediate depth. At lower acceleration values, most of the mass is located …

Oxidation Of Pollutants In A Batch Recirculation Bioreactor With Immobilized Microorganisms, Jongtai Jung

Dissertations

The purpose of this work was to study bio-oxidative destruction of several substrates in an immobilized cell batch bioreactor in recirculation configuration. This system was used in three cases: a series of substrates usually used as monomers, ethylene glycol and its tetramer, and phenol under magnetic irradiation. In addition, kinetic studies were performed and experimental versus predicted results compared.

The substances styrene, methyl methacrylate (MMA), and β-hydroxybutyric acid (HBA), common monomers, were biologically treated using an acclimated mixed microbial community immobilized in calcium alginate gel. A comparison of biodegradation rates (3.3, 9.4, and 15 ppm/hr for styrene, MMA, and HBA, …

Motion Estimation Using Optical Flow Field, Jingning Pan

Dissertations

Over the last decade, many low-level vision algorithms have been devised for extracting depth from intensity images. Most of them are based on motion of the rigid observer. Translation and rotation are constants with respect to space coordinates. When multi-objects move and/or the objects change shape, the algorithms cannot be used.

In this dissertation, we develop a new robust framework for the determination of dense 3-D position and motion fields from a stereo image sequence. The framework is based on unified optical flow field (UOFF). In the UOFF approach, a four frame mode is used to compute six dense 3-D …

Adaptive Nonlinear Control Using Fuzzy Logic And Neural Networks, Shu-Chieh Chang

Dissertations

The problem of adaptive nonlinear control, i.e. the control of nonlinear dynamic systems with unknown parameters, is considered. Current techniques usually assume that either the control system is linearizable or the type of nonlinearity is known. This results in poor control quality for many practical problems. Moreover, the control system design becomes too complex for a practicing engineer. The objective of this thesis is to provide a practical, systematic approach for solving the problem of identification and control of nonlinear systems with unknown parameters, when the explicit linear parametrization is either unknown or impossible.

Fuzzy logic (FL) and neural networks …

Removal Of Vapors From Air By Selective Membrane Processes, Junseok Cha

Dissertations

The behaviors of different membrane modules for the selective removal and recovery of water vapor and some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from N₂ have been studied. For the selective permeation-based removal of water vapor from N₂, a polymeric water-swollen gel membrane in the form of Cuprophan hollow fiber was employed. A thin film composite type rubbery membrane module was studied for the selective removal of VOCs like toluene or methanol from N₂ by permeation. The usefulness of pore-condensation phenomenon-based removal of toluene or xylene from N₂ was explored using a microporous ceramic tubular membrane.

The …

Estimation And Cancellation Of Friction In Control Systems, Sofia Mentzelopoulou

Dissertations

The research reported in this dissertation concerns the estimation and cancellation of friction in control systems. For purposes of analysis, the Coulomb friction model, the "extended" Coulomb friction model as well as dynamic friction models are used. In addition, for systems with multiple degrees-of-freedom, a general matrix representation of friction is presented.

For the design of the friction estimators, the theory of nonlinear observers is applied. In particular, for a system with multiple degrees-of-freedom, holonomic constraints, and multiple friction sources, three different observers are presented to estimate the friction force or torque. The first (Generalized Coulomb Friction Observer) is designed …

Investigation Of Paraelectric Ptl Thin Films Using Reactive Magnetron Sputtering, Hyun Hoo Kim

Dissertations

The study of methods to prepare paraelectric perovskite PLT (Pb_1-xLa_xTi_1-x/4O₃; x=0.28) thin films has been important because thin films of this high dielectric strength material are required to make high density capacitors for dynamic random access memory. In this research, paraelectric PLT thin films were prepared on multi-layer (Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si) and MgO substrates in a unique way by the reactive magnetron sputtering method using a multi-component metal target. The individual control of each metal area on the sputtering target had considerable influence on the stoichiometry and electrical properties of the thin …

Engineering Analysis Of A Packed-Bed Biofilter For Removal Of Volatile Organic Compound (Voc) Emissions, Zarook M. Shareefdeen

Dissertations

This study dealt with removal of VOC emissions from airstreams using an evolving new technology which is known as biofiltration. The basis of this technology is biodegradation of VOCs in biofilms formed around porous solids which are placed in packed-bed reactors.

A detailed model describing steady state biofiltration of single and mixed VOCs was developed, and experimentally validated. The model takes into account biodegradation kinetics, the effect of oxygen, kinetic interactions among structurally similar compounds, and mass transfer from the gas phase to the biolayer. It was found that oxygen (a factor neglected in all previous studies) plays a very …

Biological Denitrification : Fundamental Kinetic Studies, And Process Analysis For Sequencing Batch Reactor Operation, Jun-Hsien Wang

Dissertations

This study dealt with a detailed investigation of biological denitrification of nitrate and nitrite by a pure culture of Pseudomonas denitrificans (ATCC 13867), under anaerobic conditions.

In the first part of the study, the kinetics of denitrification were studied in serum-bottle experiments. It was found that reduction of both nitrate and nitrite follows inhibitory expressions of the Andrews type. It was also found that when nitrite is present at levels above 15 mg/L, nitrite and nitrate are involved in a cross-inhibitory, non-competitive, interaction pattern. Analysis of the kinetic data has shown that the culture used has severe maintenance requirements, which …

Heart Rate Variability Study Using Phase Response Curve, Peizhuan Zhang

Dissertations

A noninvasive phase resetting experiment on human subjects was investigated. The phase response curve was estimated and was used to demonstrate cardiac phase resetting due to a vagal input. The estimated running phase response curve showed that the cardiac cycle resetting depended on the time and the amplitude of the vagal stimulation. The phase response curve was then studied using time circle analysis, topological analysis and nonlinear dynamics analysis. Also phase entrainment and stimulus frequency dependence of the phase response were evaluated. Further, the Van Der Pol model, Generalized Additive model and Knight and Peskin's model were used to simulate …

Blind Detection In Channels With Intersymbol Interference, Raafat Edward Kamel

Dissertations

In high speed digital transmission over bandlimited channels, one of the principal impairments, besides additive white Gaussian noise, is intersymbol interference. For unknown channels, adaptive equalization is used to mitigate the interference. Different types of equalizers were proposed in the literature such as linear, decision feedback equalizers and maximum likelihood sequence estimation. The transmitter embeds sequences with the data regularly to help the equalizer adapt to the unknown channel parameters.

It is not always appropriate or feasible to send training sequences; in such cases, self adaptive or blind equalizers are used. The past ten years have witnessed an interest in …

Fast Adaptive Algorithms For Signal Separation, Robert A. Manzo

Theses

LMS and RLS type algorithms are suggested for decorrelation of multi-channel systems outputs. These algorithms act as signal separators when applied to unknown linear combinations of the inputs. The performance of the suggested algorithms is compared with that of the conventional LMS and RLS algorithms that minimize the mean square error. It. is shown that the correlation matrix eigenvalue spread associated with the LMS decorrelator is always smaller than the eigenvalue spread corresponding to the conventional LMS. resulting in faster convergence speed for the decorrelator. A new RLS type decorrelator algorithm is suggested. The RLS decorrelator is shown to be …

Narrow-Band Interference Rejection In Spread Spectrum Using An Eigen Analysis Based Approach, Aparna Vadhri

Theses

A new adaptive technique is suggested for rejecting narrow-band interferences in spread spectrum communications. When data is coded using a pseudo-noise code, the received signal consists of a wide-band signal with almost white spectral properties, thermal noise, and correlated narrow-band interferences. A new approach is proposed which exploits the statistical properties of the received signal via eigenanalysis of the received data. While the energy of the wide-band signal is distributed over all the eigenvalues of the signal autocorrelation matrix, the energy of the interference is concentrated in a few large eigenvalues. Hence, the eigenvectors corresponding to the large eigenvalues are …

Derivation Of Respiration From Electrocardiogram During Heart Rate Variability Studies, Lingeng Zhao

Theses

A method was developed to derive the respiration signal from the ECG signal based on the observation that the body-surface ECG is influenced by electrode motion relative to the heart and that fluctuations in the mean cardiac electrical axis accompany respiration. S-Plus programs were developed to calculate the changes in the value of the mean cardiac electrical axis during respiration from a two lead ECG signal and to generate a continuous ECG-derived respiratory signal from the angle information.

Data were taken from 9 healthy subjects during rest, paced breathing and exercise. The respiration was derived from the recorded ECG signals. …

Programmable Microstrip Dipole Antenna Design, Jing Zhu

Theses

The narrow bandwidth of microstrip dipole antennas is a major limitation for many applications. A method to increase the microstrip dipole antenna bandwidth is illustrated in this thesis. The proposed method utilizes micromechanical actuators to adjust the electrical length of the dipole antenna. The length change is realized by the activities of several microactuators arranged on both arms of the antenna. The radiation pattern and input impedance, as well as the microactuator mechanisms are detailed in this thesis. A programmable microstrip dipole antenna including the microactuators has been designed with the feedline taken into consideration. The fabrication techniques for this …

A Study Of The Biofiltration Process Under Shock-Loading Conditions, Helen Androutsopoulou

Theses

Biofiltration is a new technology for treating airstreams contaminated with emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It employs porous particles which are placed in reactors, in packed-bed configurations, after appropriate microorganisms have been immobilized on the solid support.

Biofiltration involves complex processes, and is not yet well understood. In this thesis the response of biofilter units to quantitative and qualitative changes in the inlet airstreams was examined. Steady state data were also analyzed through the use of an existing detailed model.

Experiments were performed with two small-scale biofilters, and with ethanol and butanol as model compounds. Each biofilter was dedicated …

An Interactive Computer Graphics Based Off-Line Avail Programming Environment For Coordinate Measuring Machines, Nayanesh B. Bhandutia

Theses

Productivity can be increased by providing computer aided off-line program development environment to operate direct computer controlled Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM). Such an environment not only results in reduced operational downtime of the CMM but also eliminates the need for the operators to learn and debug the complicated CMM programming language.

An application software was developed to provide a computer based graphical environment for on-the-screen CMM inspection simulation and AVAIL part program development. A comprehensive, menu driven front-end was developed as a foundation for this software. Algorithms were designed and coded to read and interpret CAD software part design information …

Deterministic And Adaptive Routing Algorithms For Mesh-Connected Computers, Yikui Cai

Theses

The two-dimensional mesh topology has been widely used in many multicomputer systems, such as the AMETEK Series 2010, Illiac IV, MPP, DAP, MasPar MP-1 and Intel Paragon. Its major advantages are its excellent scalability and simplicity. New generation multicomputer uses a switching technique called wormhole routing. The essential idea of wormhole routing is to advance a packet directly from incoming to outgoing channel without sorting it, as soon as enough information has been received in the packet header to select the outgoing channel. It has advantages of low latency and low error rate. The problems addressed by this thesis are …

Performance Analysis Of The "Fiber Distributed Data Interface (Fddi) Network" Using Petri Nets And Spnp Software Package, Savvas Eteoclis Christodoulou

Theses

The main purpose of this thesis is to model a "Fiber Distributed Data Interface" (FDDI) Network using Petri Nets, and to analyze its performance with the help of the SPNP software package. The verification of a communication protocol, by modeling it as a discrete-event system using Petri Nets is a new approach.

The correlation between the throughput rate, voice and data throughput, and the parameters of the system, such as the network load and the network speed are investigated. An overview of the "Fiber Distributed Data Interface" is provided, along with its network protocol and the limitations of its operating …

Processing, Structural And Electrical Properties Of Sic, Mark Farhad-Garousi

Theses

Cubic silicon carbide films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on silicon substrates typically have n-type conductivity at 300 °K dominated by a heavily compensated donor with a binding energy in the < 20 meV range. Binding energies <20 meV are not expected in SiC for isolated donors because the shallowest expected binding energy for an electron bound to an isolated donor is approximately 47 meV. The work done on this topic by a few group of scientists has been studied.

Characterization Of Lightning Induced Voltages On Overhead Power Lines, Wen-Ta Hsiao

Theses

The transient voltage surge caused by lightning is the major source contributed to the disturbance on power systems. The calculation of induced voltages, which is the propagated voltage surge on overhead power lines due to indirect lightning strokes, has been the subject of theoretical and experimental studies. The objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive numerical method to study the induced voltages on an overhead power line caused by a lightning return stroke with arbitrary shapes, for examples inclined lightning, zigzag lightning, etc.

A finite-length lightning channel of any direction in 3-D space has been modelled and closed-form …

Multi-Disk Subsystem Organizations For Very Large Databases, Zhiyi Huang

Theses

This thesis investigates efficient mappings of very large databases with non-uniform access to its data. to a. multi-disk subsystem.

Two algorithms are developed to distribute the database across multiple disks, possibly with replication, in order to minimize latency and maximize throughput. These algorithms are compared with respect to the amount of replication overhead incurred to achieve desired throughput.

A simulator is developed to simulate these two mapping algorithms and investigate the efficiency of these two mappings.

Remediation Of Contaminated Sites Using Hot Gas Injection, Sanjay Jayabal

Theses

Remediation of contaminated subsurface sites at lower cost and time than currently used technologies are being demonstrated for a systems concept using new technology developed at the Hazardous Substance Management Research Center at New Jersey Institute of Technology. A technique for pneumatic fracture is employed to "open" subsurface passages to enhance vacuum extraction of contaminants. Economical and environmentally sound destruction of these contaminants is then accomplished using catalytic oxidation followed by scrubbing to remove air pollutants. The hot gas from this phase of the process is then injected into the subsurface formation after being used to preheat the fuel/air mixture …

Implementation Of Continuous Flow Manufacturing In United States Industries, Rohit P. Patel

Theses

Continuous Flow Manufacturing (CFM) is one of the key strategies to enable the United States industries to adapt to any volume increase and rapidly changing requirements of the market place. CFM is an on-going analysis and improvement activity used to optimize the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of any process. The two basic goals of CFM are to reduce cycle time to less than customer order leadtime and to eliminate inefficiencies from the overall manufacturing processes.

The thesis will describe reasons for the scarcity of CFM in United States industries. The methodology applied was a detailed six page questionnaire sent to …

Motion Compensation Using Correlation-Feedback, Zebiba Shifa

Theses

Motion compensation is widely used for exploiting temporal redundancies in the coding of image sequences. Accurate estimation of motion information in image sequences is important in motion-compensated coding. Different approaches have been used to estimate motion to obtain the motion-compensated frame difference signal.

This work uses the correlation-feedback approach to estimate the velocity or the optic flow of the moving image pixel. After the motion of the pixel is estimated. the motion-compensated frame difference signal is found by subtracting the current. frame from the predicted frame.

This correlation-feedback approach estimates the true motion vector of moving image accurately. Consequently, the …

Automatic Feature Extraction From Conventional Cad Model To Support Feature-Based Design Approach For The Sheet Metal Stamping Industries, Dipak P. Thakar

Theses

Despite the continuing improvement in computer aided design (CAD) systems and improvements in computer aided manufacturing (CAM), the process planning activity has still not been completely integrated into the CAD/CAM cycle. Particularly in sheet metal stamping industries human interpretation of CAD data is required to extract the geometry and technological information of a component. As a result most CAD systems are used as advanced drafting and drawing management tools by designers. Thus the responsibility for interpreting the design data required for extracting the manufacturing part features still resides with the process planner. Which has increase possibilities of entering errors with …

Interference Cancellation By Time Adjustable Sampling, Josko Zec

Theses

The problem of improving the frequency response of linear arrays is addressed in this thesis. The improvement is measured in the level of rejection of the undesired sources. A new, simple, and practical method is suggested. It is based on adjusting the sampling time in selected channels. Interference cancellation for finite bandwidth signals is accomplished only at, or close to, the carrier frequency. Wideband cancellation requires additional hardware and computational complexity. Conventional way of the wideband interference cancellation utilizes tapped delay line adaptive filters in each channel.

The Time Adjustable Sampling (TAS) method achieves a part of the tapped delay …

Simulation Analysis Of Fddi Network Using Network Ii.5 Software Package, Anastassis A. Lazarides

Theses

In recent years, one of the most exciting advances in media has been the use of fiber optics in LANs. The bandwidth provided by Fiber Optic Technology has drastically increased the number of new applications that can be supported by communication networks. In order to support a variety of services, in 1986, the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X3, and the ASC X3T9.5 Task Group developed a new standard; the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) [1]. This is a high speed (100 Mbps) optical communication network based on a token passing mode of operation. The Medium …

A Novel Beam-Assisted Thickness Measurement Technique For Nanostructures, Luis Manual Casas

Theses

A novel method for measuring thickness of thin films has been developed. This method is straightforward, quickly accomplished, and offers resolution of device layers approaching that given by transmission electron microscopy. Ion beam bombardment of a multi-layer structure forms a crater in which the crater sidewalls are beveled at a very shallow angle, revealing various layers within the sample at a high degree of magnification. Beveled film thicknesses are measured by scanning Auger electron spectroscopy. Depth profilometry is used to measure the shallow beveling angle. Through knowledge of the beveled layer thickness and the bevel angle, actual film thicknesses are …