Engineering Commons^™

State (Hydrodynamics) Identification In The Lower St. Johns River Using The Ensemble Kalman Filter, Hitoshi Tamura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a method, Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF), applied to a highresolution, shallow water equations model (DG ADCIRC-2DDI) of the Lower St. Johns River with observation data at four gauging stations. EnKF, a sequential data assimilation method for non-linear problems, is developed for tidal flow simulation for estimation of state variables, i.e., water levels and depth-integrated currents for overland unstructured finite element meshes. The shallow water equations model is combined with observation data, which provides the basis of the EnKF applications. In this thesis, EnKF is incorporated into DG ADCIRC-2DDI code to estimate the state variables. Upon its development, …

Failure Analysis Of Impact-Damaged Metallic Poles Repaired With Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites, Robert Arthur Slade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metallic utility poles, light poles, and mast arms are intermittently damaged by vehicle collision. In many cases the vehicular impact does not cause immediate failure of the structure, but induces localized damage that may result in failure under extreme service loadings or can promote degradation and corrosion within the damaged region. Replacement of these poles is costly and often involves prolonged lane closures, service interruption, and temporary loss of functionality. Therefore, an in situ repair of these structures is required. This thesis examines the failure modes of damaged metallic poles reinforced with externally-bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Several FRP …

X-Ray Radiation Enabled Cancer Detection And Treatment With Nanoparticles, Mainul Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant improvements in medical sciences over the last decade, cancer still continues to be a major cause of death in humans throughout the world. Parallel to the efforts of understanding the intricacies of cancer biology, researchers are continuously striving to develop effective cancer detection and treatment strategies. Use of nanotechnology in the modern era opens up a wide range of possibilities for diagnostics, therapies and preventive measures for cancer management. Although, existing strategies of cancer detection and treatment, using nanoparticles, have been proven successful in case of cancer imaging and targeted drug deliveries, they are often limited by poor …

Energy Savings And Peak Demand Reduction Of A Seer 21 Heat Pump Vs. A Seer 13 Heat Pump With Attic And Indoor Duct Systems - December 2011, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Cummings

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Experiments were run in an unoccupied 1600 ft2 house, the Manufactured Housing (MH Lab) at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), to evaluate the delivered performance as well as the relative performance of a SEER 21 variable capacity heat pump versus a SEER 13 heat pump. The performance was evaluated with two different duct systems: a standard attic duct system and an indoor duct system located in a dropped-ceiling space.

Vortex Tilting And The Enhancement Of Spanwise Flow In Flapping Wing Flight, Spencer Frank

HIM 1990-2015

In summary the tilting mechanism helps to explain the overall flow structure and the stability of the leading edge vortex.; The leading edge vortex has been identified as the most critical flow structure for producing lift in flapping wing flight. Its stability depends on the transport of the entrained vorticity into the wake via spanwise flow. This study proposes a hypothesis for the generation and enhancement of spanwise flow based on the chordwise vorticity that results from the tilting of the leading edge vortex and trailing edge vortex. We investigate this phenomenon using dynamically scaled robotic model wings. Two different …

Investigation On Interactions Of Unsteady Wakes And Film Cooling On An Annular Endwall, Matthew J. Golsen

HIM 1990-2015

In recent decades, greater interest in the effect of rotational wakes on gas turbine film cooling applications has produced increasing numbers of studies on these unsteady phenomena. Wakes are primarily shed from upstream components such as transition duct walls, stator vanes, and rotors. Studies have shown that in areas of unsteady flow, the best performing parameters in conventional steady investigations may not be the best for unsteady applications. One common method of modeling the unsteady wake interaction in subsonic flows is the use of spoke wheel type wake generators using cylindrical rods to produce the velocity detriment and local increase …

Context-Driven Agents In Computer Supported Cooperative Works, Brian D. Lichtman

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis describes a research project that investigates the level of contextualization needed to successfully build context-driven agents that can manage a cooperative project. Many times in industry, collaborators in a large project may be located vast distances from each other. It is for this reason that management of such projects can often be difficult. The purpose of this research is to design an agent that can take on the role of a project manager (PM) to assist the human project manager. Specifically, this thesis looks to give such project management agents full situational awareness. It is hypothesized that only …

Green Residential Stormwater Management Demonstration: An Integrated Stormwater Management And Graywater System To Reduce The Quantity And Improve The Quality Of Residential Water Discharges, Post Co Data Analysis, Ni-Bin Chang, Martin Wanielista, Manoj Chopra, Mike Hardin, Matthew Allen Goolsby

BMP Trains Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Nitrogen Transport And Transformation Beneath Stormwater Retention Basins In Karst Areas And Effectiveness Of Stormwater Best Management Practices For Reducing Nitrate Leaching To Ground Water In Marion County, Florida, Stormwater Academy

BMP Trains Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Florida Solar Atlas, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Cromer

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The direct beam and direct global solar resource values for any geographical location in Florida were found by using actual data taken at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) for 2010 and correlating those values against clearness values derived from NOAA geostationary satellite data. Using the correlations developed, eleven years of satellite data (2000 - 2010) were used to provide expected monthly average solar resource values for any location in Florida. These values as provided in watts per meter square per day, were matched to colors with the lowest values of the full range of average values representing the deepest …

New Construction Builders Challenge: Sealed Attic And High Efficiency Hvac In Central Florida: A Year In Review Monitored Prototypes - Springwater Homes, Florida Solar Energy Center, Carlos Colon

FSEC Energy Research Center®

In 2010 the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), with funding from the Building America program, was involved with a new Builders Challenge builder located in Rockledge, Florida -- Springwater Homes (see figure 1). The newly constructed home in March 2010, features a sealed attic with R-27 roof deck insulation (shown in figure 2). Selection of the HVAC system, an important aspect to achieve high efficiency levels in buildings, ended with one of the highest residential equipment systems available in the U.S., the Nutone IQ Drive (SEER 21). The house was confirmed with a HERS index of 53 using the EnergyGauge …

Integration Of Communication Constraints Into Physiocomimetic Swarms Via Placement Of Location Based Virtual Particles, Joshua J. Haley

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis describes a change to the Physiocomimetics Robotic Swarm Control framework that implements communication constraints into swarm behavior. These constraints are necessary to successfully implement theoretical applications in the real world. We describe the basic background of swarm robotics, the Physiocomimetics framework and methods that have attempted to implement communications constraints into robotic swarms. The Framework is changed by the inclusion of different virtual particles at a global and local scale that only cause a force on swarm elements if those elements are disconnected from a swarm network. The global particles introduced are a point of known connectivity and …

Assessing The Viability Of Sol-Gel Nimgo Films For Solar Blind Detection, Amber Scheurer

HIM 1990-2015

Wide bandgap semiconductors have been broadly investigated for their potential to detect and emit high energy ultraviolet (UV) photons. Advancements in deep UV optoelectronic materials would enable the efficient and affordable realization of many medical, industrial and consumer UV optical devices. The traditional growth method, vacuum deposition, is an extremely complicated and expensive process. Sol-gel processing dramatically simplifies facility requirements and can be scaled to industrial size. The work presented here involves a novel study of the ternary wide bandgap material Ni1-xMgxO. Films were developed by sol-gel spin coating for investigation of material and electrical properties. This method produced films …

Decolorization Of An Azo And Anthraquinone Textile Dye By A Mixture Of Living And Non-Living Trametes Versicolor Fungus, Christine M. Dykstra

HIM 1990-2015

Wastewater from the textile industry is difficult to treat effectively due to the prevalent use and wide variety of synthetic dyes that are resistant to conventional treatment methods. White-rot fungi, such as Trametes versicolor, have been found to be effective in decolorizing many of these synthetic dyes and current research is focusing on their application to wastewater treatment. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the ability of both living and nonliving Trametes versicolor to separately decolorize textile dyes, no studies were found to have investigated the use of a mixture of live and dead fungus for decolorization. This study …

An Experimental And Numerical Study Of Secondary Flows And Film Cooling Effectiveness In A Transonic Cascade, James C. Kullberg

HIM 1990-2015

Experimental tests on a transonic annular rig are time-consuming and expensive, so it is desirable to use experimental results to validate a computational model which can then be used to extract much more information. The purpose of this work is to create a numerical model that can be used to simulate many different scenarios and then to apply these results to experimental data.; In the modern world, gas turbines are widely used in aircraft propulsion and electricity generation. These applications represent a massive use of energy worldwide, so even a very small increase in efficiency would have a significant beneficial …

Arra Advanced Weatherization Training Center - Quarterly Report (January 2011-March 2011), Florida Solar Energy Center, Neil Moyer

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The 1st quarter of 2011 was the beginning of procurement for the training center. Two pieces of equipment, the insulation blowing machine and infrared cameras, were put out for quotes. Both have been selected and purchase orders created.

Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (Baihp Ii) Final Report Budget Periods 1-5, April 1, 2006 - November 30, 2010, Florida Solar Energy Center, Robert Abernethy

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report summarizes the work conducted by the Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP - www.baihp.org) during the final budget period (BP5) of our contract, January 1, 2010 to November 30, 2010. Highlights from the four previous budget periods are included for context.

BAIHP is led by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) of the University of Central Florida. With over 50 Industry Partners including factory and site builders, work in BP5 was performed in six tasks areas:

• Task 1: Building America System Research Management, Documentation and Technical Support
• Task 2A: Stage G1A: Integrated Solutions for Specific Climate Regions
• Task …

Short-Term Curtailment Of Hvac Loads - Executive Summary, Florida Solar Energy Center, Lixing Gu

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Rapidly increasing requirements placed on utilities to reduce peak loads has led to utility customer incentives to shift peak demand to non-peak times or reduce peak loads when notified by the utility that the grid is close to capacity. This study investigates methods used to reduce building demand during a fixed time window near a utilities on-peak period. The window was chosen to be 5-9 A.M. in winter and 2-5 P.M. in summer. The most common methods for reducing building peak demand were reviewed and categorized by their usefulness and wide-spread availability. These strategies were reductions in lighting power density, …

Arra Advanced Weatherization Training Center - Quarterly Report (September 2010-December 2010), Florida Solar Energy Center, Neil Moyer

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The 4th quarter of 2010 was the initialization of the contract with DOE. During this time period, there were two major events that occurred. First, representatives from UCF-FSEC attended the three day Atlanta Weatherization Training Center Grantee Training Workshop with DOE representatives and the various organizations that were awarded funding. Secondly, the project management plan (PMP) was finalized and submitted to the Project Manager.

Toward Increasing Performance And Efficiency In Gas Turbines For Power Generation And Aero-Propulsion Unsteady Simulation Of Angled Discrete-Injection Coolant In A Hot Gas Path Crossflow, Perry L. Johnson

HIM 1990-2015

This thesis describes the numerical predictions of turbine film cooling interactions using Large Eddy Simulations. In most engineering industrial applications, the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations, usually paired with two-equation models such as k-Greek lowercase letter epsilon] or k-Greek lowercase letter omega], are utilized as an inexpensive method for modeling complex turbulent flows. By resolving the larger, more influential scale of turbulent eddies, the Large Eddy Simulation has been shown to yield a significant increase in accuracy over traditional two-equation RANS models for many engineering flows. In addition, Large Eddy Simulations provide insight into the unsteady characteristics and coherent vortex structures of …

Heat Transfer And Friction Augmentation In A Narrow Rectangular Duct With Symmetrical And Non-Symmetrical Wedge-Shaped Turbulators, Michelle Valentino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need for cleaner and more fuel efficient means to produce electricity is growing steadily. Advancements in cooling technologies contribute to the improvements in turbine efficiency and are used for gas turbines and for power generation in automotive, aviation, as well as in naval applications, and many more. Studies introducing turbulators on walls of internal cooling channels, which can be applied to hot gas components and in recuperative heat exchangers, have been reviewed for their ability to promote heat transfer in the channel while observing pressure loss caused by adding the features. Several types of turbulators have been studied; ribs, …

Development Of A Cognitive Work Analysis Framework Tutorial Using Systems Modeling Language, Wilfred Henry Wells

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the present time, most systems engineers do not have access to cognitive work analysis information or training in terms they can understand. This may lead to a disregard of the cognitive aspect of system design. The impact of this issue is system requirements that do not account for the cognitive strengths and limitations of users. Systems engineers cannot design effective decision support systems without defining cognitive work requirements. In order to improve system requirements, integration of cognitive work requirements into the systems engineering process has to be improved. One option to address this gap is the development of a …

Harmony Oriented Architecture, Kyle A. Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents Harmony Oriented Architecture: a novel architectural paradigm that applies the principles of Harmony Oriented Programming to the architecture of scalable and evolvable distributed systems. It is motivated by research on Ultra Large Scale systems that has revealed inherent limitations in human ability to design large-scale software systems that can only be overcome through radical alternatives to traditional object-oriented software engineering practice that simplifies the construction of highly scalable and evolvable system. HOP eschews encapsulation and information hiding, the core principles of objectoriented design, in favor of exposure and information sharing through a spatial abstraction. This helps to …

Multilayered Planar Periodic Subwavelength Microstructures For Generating And Detecting Circularly Polarized Thermal Infrared Radiation, Samuel Lanning Wadsworth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Generation and detection of circularly-polarized (CP) radiation in the 8- to 12-μm band of the infrared (IR) spectrum is crucial for polarization sensing and imaging scenarios. There is very little naturally occurring CP radiation in the long-wave IR band, so that useful functionalities may be obtained by exploiting preferential radiation and transmission characteristics of engineered metamaterials. Conventional CP devices in the IR utilize birefringent crystals, which are typically bulky and expensive to manufacture. The operation of these devices is generally optimized at a single wavelength. Imaging in the long-wave IR is most often broadband, so that achromatic CP-device behavior is …

Optimal Attitude Control Management For A Cubesat, Michael James Develle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

CubeSats have become popular among universities, research organizations, and government agencies due to their low cost, small size, and light weight. Their standardized configurations further reduce the development time and ensure more frequent launch opportunities. Early cubesat missions focused on hardware validation and simple communication missions, with little requirement for pointing accuracy. Most of these used magnetic torque rods or coils for attitude stabilization. However, the intrinsic problems associated with magnetic torque systems, such as the lack of three-axis control and low pointing accuracy, make them unsuitable for more advanced missions such as detailed imaging and on-orbit inspection. Threeaxis control …

Enhancing Cnt-Composites With Raman Spectroscopy, Gregory J. Freihofer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have been the subject of intense research for their potential to improve a variety of material properties when developed as nano-composites. This research aims to address the challenges that limit the ability to transfer the outstanding nano-scale properties of CNTs to bulk nano-composites through Raman characterization. These studies relate the vibrational modes to microstructural characterization of CNT composites including stress, interface behavior, and defects. The formulation of a new fitting procedure using the pseudo-Voigt function is presented and shown to minimize the uncertainty of characteristics within the Raman G and D doublet. Methods for optimization of manufacturing …

Structural Health Monitoring For Damage Detection Using Wired And Wireless Sensor Clusters, Thomas Terrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sensing and analysis of a structure for the purpose of detecting, tracking, and evaluating damage and deterioration, during both regular operation and extreme events, is referred to as Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). SHM is a multi-disciplinary field, with a complete system incorporating sensing technology, hardware, signal processing, networking, data analysis, and management for interpretation and decision making. However, many of these processes and subsequent integration into a practical SHM framework are in need of development. In this study, various components of an SHM system will be investigated. A particular focus is paid to the investigation of a previously developed damage …

Virtualization And Self-Organization For Utility Computing, Mehdi Saleh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We present an alternative paradigm for utility computing when the delivery of service is subject to binding contracts; the solution we propose is based on resource virtualization and a selfmanagement scheme. A virtual cloud aggregates set virtual machines to work in concert for the tasks specified by the service agreement. A first step for the establishment of a virtual cloud is to create a scale-free overlay network through a biased random walk; scale-free networks enjoy a set of remarkable properties such as: robustness against random failures, favorable scaling, and resilience to congestion, small diameter, and average path length. Constrains such …

The Performance And Power Impact Of Using Multiple Dram Address Mapping Schemes In Multicore Processors, Rami Jadaa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lowest-level cache misses are satisfied by the main memory through a specific address mapping scheme that is hard-coded in the memory controller. A dynamic address mapping scheme technique is investigated to provide higher performance and lower power consumption, and a method to throttle memory to meet a specific power budget. Several experiments are conducted on single and multithreaded synthetic memory traces -to study extreme cases- and validate the usability of the proposed dynamic mapping scheme over the fixed one. Results show that applications’ performance varies according to the mapping scheme used, and a dynamic mapping scheme achieves up to 2x …

Design And Simulation Of Cmos Active Mixers, Allen Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper introduces a component of the Radio Frequency transceiver called the mixer. The mixer is a critical component in the RF systems, because of its ability for frequency conversion. This passage focuses on the design analysis and simulation of multiple topologies for the active down-conversion mixer. This mixer is characterized by its important design properties which consist of conversion gain, linearity, noise figure, and port isolation. The topologies that are given in this passage range from the most commonly known mixer design, to implemented design techniques that are used to increase the mixers important design properties as the demand …