Engineering Commons^™

Pesticide Fact Sheet: Mammalian Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (Gnrh) [Gonacon]

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Available data provide adequate information to support the conditional registration of GnRH as a tool for management of nuisance white-tailed deer.

White-tailed deer have been classified by EPA as a public health pest because they are a host for blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), more commonly known as deer ticks, which are a carrier of Lyme disease.

In many urban and suburban areas white-tailed deer populations have become over abundant and are considered a year-round nuisance causing many human-wildlife conflicts such as destruction on gardens, landscapes and golf courses as well as a cause of numerous vehicle accidents. According …

Temporal Data Classification Using Linear Classifiers, Peter Revesz, Thomas Triplet

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Data classification is usually based on measurements recorded at the same time. This paper considers temporal data classification where the input is a temporal database that describes measurements over a period of time in history while the predicted class is expected to occur in the future. We describe a new temporal classification method that improves the accuracy of standard classification methods. The benefits of the method are tested on weather forecasting using the meteorological database from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Dielectric Nanocomposites: An Inside-Out Approach To Storing Electrostatic Energy, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

The ability to achieve high-energy densities is the central challenge in energy storage and recovery. A promising strategy for increasing energy storage is to use highperformance dielectric materials, such as highly polarizable nanoparticles or polymers, or nanocomposites of the two. In this issue, Kim et al. use a molecular coating and clever chemistry to combine oxide nanoparticles with a polymer matrix, thereby producing an improved nanocomposite dielectric. Some advantages and challenges of using nanocomposites as improved dielectric materials are presented in this Perspective.

Exploiting Set-Level Non-Uniformity Of Capacity Demand To Enhance Cmp Cooperative Caching, Dongyuan Zhan, Hong Jiang, Sharad C. Seth

School of Computing: Technical Reports

As the Memory Wall remains a bottleneck for Chip Multiprocessors (CMP), the effective management of CMP last level caches becomes of paramount importance in minimizing expensive off-chip memory accesses. For the CMPs with private last level caches, Cooperative Caching (CC) has been proposed to enable capacity sharing among private caches by spilling an evicted block from one cache to another. But this eviction-driven CC does not necessarily promote cache performance since it implicitly favors the applications full of block evictions regardless of their real capacity demand. The recent Dynamic Spill-Receive (DSR) paradigm improves cooperative caching by prioritizing applications with higher …

Polarization Diversity For Indoor Wireless Communications, Tadeusz Wysocki, Jason Uher, Beata J. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

As the demand for high wireless data rates in indoor environments grows, we must find new ways to increase the performance of wireless links in multi-path fading. One common way to do this is to add diversity in the form of spatial or temporal diversity through the application of space-time block codes (STBCs). Recently, a method for combining STBCs with polarization diversity has been presented that allows for modeling the changes in polarization with quaternion numbers, introducing space-time-polarization block codes (STPBCs). This presentation shows some results from an initial investigation into the quality of cross polarized channels as compared to …

On The Issue Of Decoupled Decoding Of Codes Derived From Quaternion Orthogonal Designs, Tadeusz Wysocki, Beata Wysocki, Sarah Spence Adams

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Quaternion orthogonal designs (QODs) have been previously introduced as a basis for orthogonal space-time polarization block codes (OSTPBCs). This note will serve to correct statements concerning the optimality of a decoupled maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding algorithm. It will be shown that when compared to coupled decoding, the decoupled decoding is only optimal in certain cases. This raises several open problems concerning the decoding of OSTPBCs.

Effect Of Sample Timing On Ls Channel Estimation, Jason Uher, Tadeusz Wysocki, Beata Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

As block coding and intelligent receiver combining in multi-antenna systems moves from the theoretical into the physical domain, it is necessary to apply robust analysis to the problems encountered with the development of real radio systems that are often overlooked during theoretical development of methods and processes. One such problem is the lack of synchronization between the transmitter and receiver sampling clocks. This text attempts to analyze the significance of poorly correcting for differences in the transmit and receive sample clocks by simulating the BER of an Alamouti space-time coded system under a variety of sample rates and clock offsets. …

Program Of The 3rd International Conference On Signal Processing And Communication Systems, Omaha, Nebraska, 28-30 September 2009

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

10 sessions; 2 poster sessions.
Schedule and Table of Contents.

Pre-Filtering Of Self-Encoded Spread Spectrum In Dense Multipath Channels, Won Mee Jang, Lim Nguyen

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

We present pre-filtering methods of self-encoded spread spectrum (SESS) in dense multipath channels. SESS eliminates the need for traditional transmit and receive pseudo noise (PN) code generators. In this paper, we propose multipath management of SESS in dense multipath urban environments. We propose a transmitter pre-filtering method that retains only good paths that contribute to the data decision positively at the receiver, and eliminates undesirable paths. The proposed technique significantly improves the system performance while increasing the transmit power moderately.

Ergodic Capacity Of Cooperative Networks Using Adaptive Transmission And Selection Combining, Bao Q. Vo-Nguyen, Trung Q. Duong, Nguyen N. Tran

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Closed-form expressions for ergodic capacity of repetition-based cooperative networks under adaptive transmission with selection combining are derived. According to the changing channel conditions, the source adapts its rate and/or power level while the relays simply amplify and then forward the received signals. Specifically, three different adaptive techniques are investigated under the assumption of independent Rayleigh fading channels: optimal simultaneous power and rate adaptation (OPRA), constant power with optimal rate adaptation (OPA) and channel inversion with fixed rate (TIFR). Among them, for an arbitrary number of relays, TIFR gives the worst channel capacity; OPRA gives the best channel capacity and ORA …

Steady-Periodic Heating Of A Cylinder, Kevin D. Cole, Paul E. Crittenden

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Steady periodic heating is an important experimental technique for measurement of thermal properties. In these methods the thermal properties are deduced from a systematic comparison between the data (such as temperature) and a detailed thermal model. This paper addresses steady-periodic heat transfer on cylindrical geometries with application to thermal-property measurements. The method of Green’s functions is used to provide a comprehensive collection of exact analytical expressions for temperature in cylinders. Five kinds of boundary conditions are treated for one-, two-, and three-dimensional geometries. For some geometries an alternate form of the Green’s function is given, which can be used for …

Selection Of Switching Sites In All-Optical Nework Topology Design, Shivashis Saha, Eric D. Manley, Jitender S. Deogun

School of Computing: Technical Reports

In this paper, we consider the problem of topology design for optical networks. We investigate the problem of selecting switching sites to minimize total cost of the optical network. The cost of an optical network can be expressed as a sum of three main factors: the site cost, the link cost, and the switch cost. To the best of our knowledge, this problem has not been studied in its general form as investigated in this paper. We present a mixed integer quadratic programming (MIQP) formulation of the problem to find the optimal value of the total network cost. We also …

Design Of An All-Optical Wdm Lightpath Concentrator, Shivashis Saha, Jitender S. Deogun

School of Computing: Technical Reports

A design of a nonblocking, all-optical lightpath concentrator using WOC and WDM crossbar switches is presented. The proposed concentrator is highly scalable, cost-efficient, and can switch signals in both space and wavelength domains without requiring a separate wavelength conversion stage.

Development Of Guidelines For Deformable And Rigid Switch In Ls-Dyna Simulation, Ling Zhu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

LS-Dyna simulations have been widely used in research and design to reduce fiscal and time costs. In order to improve the simulation’s efficiency, the components which experience negligible deformations are usually modeled as rigid bodies. However, the use of rigid bodies is always restricted. Though the use of more rigid bodies can save computing resources for a particular simulation, less rigid bodies are preferred for building a model in order to broaden its applications. Meanwhile, if a simulation task has multiple events, the application of rigid bodies in the particular simulation is always minimized so that it can satisfy all …

Acuta Enews August 2009, Vol. 38, No. 8

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From the President..................Harvey "Buck" Buchanan, Florida State Univ., ACUTA President

Tech Talk: Technology and the Death of the Vacation............... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

DC Update...................... Dove Ostrom, Washington State Univ. (retired)

ACUTA Online Learning Community Opportunity

Financial Crisis Activity in Washington Newsetter

Deadline for Video Relay & lP Relay Service Users

lnfo Links ................. Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern lowa

Board Report.......................George Denbow, Univ. of Texas-Austin, ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

Catt for Presentations: Blaze New Traits in 2010

Getting the lCT Staff on the Same UC Page.........................Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc.

Welcome New Members

Check lt Out: Press Releases...Job Postings...RFls/RFPs...Special …

The Effects Of Combined Compression And Aging On The Properties Of Glassy Polycarbonate, Kyle W. Strabala

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Physical aging and plastic flow are known to cause changes in the properties of glassy polycarbonate (PC). Although the individual effects of physical aging and plastic flow have been studied, the combined mechanical and thermal effects have yet to be evaluated for PC at large plastic strains. This work is the first characterization of the combined effects in PC of large plastic flow followed by thermal (physical) aging. To conduct this study, samples were prepared with different extents of plastic compressive strain, up to approximately 50% engineering strain, followed by thermal aging up to 135 °C, with various …

Acuta Enews July 2009, Vol 38, No. 7

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From ACUTA Headquarters: IRS/Cell Phone Issues Heat Up............ Jeri Semer, CAE, Exec. Dir

Bring the Conference or UC Summit to Your Desktop

Tech Talk: Preventing Data Leaks Is Better than Plugging............... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

DC Update................ Dave Ostrom, Washington State University (retired)

Info Links............... Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern Iowa

Board Report, June.......... George Denbow, The Univ. of Texas at Austin

"Financial Crisis Activity in Washington" Newsletter for ACUTA Members

Conficker and Swine Flue Viruses Cross Paths........... Brian Allen, Washington Univ. in St. Louis

In Memory: Tim World

Welcome New Members

Check It Out: RFIs/RFPs, Job …

Department Of Biological Systems Engineering Newsletter, Volume 5, Number 1, July 2009

BSE Department Magazine

No abstract provided.

Polarization Switching Kinetics Of Ferroelectric Nanomesas Of Vinylidene Fluoride-Trifluoroethylene Copolymer, R. V. Gaynutdinov, O. A. Lysova, S. G. Yudin, A. L. Tolstikhina, A. L. Kholkin, V. M. Fridkin, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

The polarization switching kinetics of ferroelectric polymer nanomesas was investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. The nanomesas were made by self-organization from Langmuir–Blodgett films of a 70% vinylidene fluoride and 30% trifluoroethylene copolymer. The polarization switching time exhibits an exponential dependence on reciprocal voltage that is consistent with nucleation-type switching dynamics.

Multiscale Modeling Of Glass Fiber Reinforced Viscoelastic Polymers Subjected To Impact Loads, Victor Ferreira Teixeira

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

New applications for polymer composite materials are occurring at a rapid pace today. These include structural components in the energy, transportation, and biomedical fields.  Many if not all of these new applications will require that part performance is insured with some degree of sustainable damage.  With the growth in the use of composite structures comes the necessity of improved methodologies that can predict more accurately the life and serviceability conditions of composite parts. Damage mechanics in two-phase composite materials is a very complex problem that has challenged researchers for many years. However, most of the available models perform only a …

Flexible Electronics Using Ion Implantation To Adhere Polymer Substrate To Single Crystal Silicon Substrate, Terry L. Alford, Douglas C. Thompson Jr., Hyunchul Kim, Michael A. Nastasi, James W. Mayer, Daniel Adams

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

An electronic apparatus uses a single crystalline silicon Substrate disposed adjacent to a flexible substrate. The electronic apparatus may be a flexible flat panel display, or a flexible printed circuit board. The flexible substrate can be made from polymer, plastic, paper, flexible glass, and stainless steel. The flexible substrate is bonded to the single crystalline substrate using an ion implantation process. The ion implantation process involves the use of a noble gas Such as hydrogen, helium, Xenon, and krypton. A plurality of semiconductor devices are formed on the single crystalline silicon Substrate. The semi conductor devices may be thin film …

Force Chains And Resonant Behavior In Bending Of A Granular Layer On An Elastic Support, Kitti Rattanadit, Florin Bobaru, Konlayut Promratana, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

In this paper we investigate the interaction between a granular layer and an elastic foundation using a coupled Discrete Element Method-Finite Element Method (DEM–FEM) computational model. We use this dynamics code to simulate quasi-static bending of the granular layer and we observe the changes taking place in the structure of the force chains for two cases: with and without rolling resistance. A reversal of the arches formed in the force chains leads to a bending resistance similar to that observed in dynamic experiments on resonant behavior under bending of a layer of sand in a container with an elastic bottom. …

Development Of Gis-Based Chemical Distribution Maps From Sprayer Performance Data, Joe D. Luck, Santosh Pitla, Rodrigo S. Zandonadi, Scott A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Pesticide application is an essential practice on farms in Kentucky where glyphosate resistant crops and no-till farming strategies are becoming more popular. Off-rate pesticide application errors are the result of incorrect concentrations applied to an area of the field and may result from velocity changes along the spray boom while the sprayer is turning, pressure changes across the width of the spray boom, and changes in effective boom height due to undulating terrain. In an attempt to estimate potential errors resulting from sprayer turning movements, a method was developed to compare the differences in application areas between control sections across …

Reinventing An Innovation Ecology With New Models For Research And Research Parks, Robert G. Wilhelm, Barry L. Burks

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

A novel effort to reinvent the innovation ecology of the Charlotte region is described. The methods and approaches are particularly relevant for restarting both local and global economies. Addressing requirements for faster innovation and more diverse innovation cycles, the research enterprise of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Charlotte Research Institute, the University Research Park, and a diverse collection of partners are working together to recast university research models and research park paradigms. Best practices are discussed for technology transfer based on interdisciplinary applied research. A novel collaboration model developed by the Charlotte Research Institute is described. Guiding …

Development Of Field Data For Effective Implementation Of Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Procedure, Atorod Azizinamini, Nima Ala, Mohammad Ajmal Stanigzai

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Editorial: Advances In The Dynamics Of Granular Materials, Florin Bobaru, J. S. Chen, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

Granular materials exhibit a complex array of phenomena which makes the prediction of their behavior extremely difficult. Granular materials are strongly dissipative and show collective (heap formation, jamming) and size segregation phenomena, and can propagate surface waves. They display fluidization and convective motion, and under certain vibration regimes, they tend to mix when they would otherwise segregate, and segregate when they might otherwise mix. The wide range of behaviors that granular materials can display has been one of the main factors for which the development of predictive models has continued to remain an open problem.
The papers in this Special …

Cut Crop Edge Detection Using A Laser Sensor, Santosh Pitla, Joe D. Luck, Scott A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

An off-the-shelf low cost laser sensor was tested and evaluated both in laboratory and field conditions. The sensor identified the angular and straight edges of the laboratory test surface and replicated the straight edge profile with an error of 4%. In field conditions, the sensor identified three types of cut crop edges (wheat, alfalfa and corn) and replicated distinct shapes (triangle, curved and rectangular edges). The sensor was tested at two sensor path offset distances and three tractor/sensor speeds (3.2, 6.4 and 9.6 km/h). In all test runs the sensor detected the cut-crop edges. Standard deviations and RMSE values in …

Evaluation Of A Terrain Attribute Model For Locating Areas Suitable For Grassed Waterways In Agricultural Settings, Joe D. Luck, Adam C. Pike, Santosh Pitla, Tom Mueller, Scott A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

Grassed waterways placed in high water flow zones substantially reduce erosion in agricultural fields. A recent study proposed a statistical model for waterway planning for a farm in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic region of Kentucky. The logistic regression model identified where channel erosion was likely to occur based on elevation-derived terrain attributes. The objective of this study was to test their model in fields located in the Western Coal Fields physiographic region where soils differ substantially. Model predictions corresponded well with known areas of concentrated flow (i.e., maps of existing waterways, surface drains, and observations of erosion). The geographic inference …

Guidance Directrix Generation Using Laser Sensors, Santosh Pitla, Joe D. Luck, Scott A. Shearer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

A sensor array consisting of two laser sensors was utilized to determine the guidance directrix (offset distance-d, heading angle-ø) that are required as reference inputs for an automated guidance system. The sensor array was evaluated in both laboratory and field conditions. Under laboratory conditions the sensor array replicated the physical profile of the target surface with a 4% error in determining the heading angle. Field tests were conducted in two types of crops; corn and alfalfa. The sensor array identified the cut-crop edge profile ahead of the tractor and replicated distinct shapes of the cut-crop edge. RMSE values in determining …

Actual And Reference Evaporative Losses And Surface Coefficients Of A Maize Field During Nongrowing (Dormant) Periods, Christopher H. Hay, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Effective water resources planning, allocation, management, and use in agroecosystems require accurate quantification of actual evapotranspiration (ET_c) during growing and nongrowing (dormant) periods. Prediction of ET_c for a variety of vegetation surfaces during the growing season has been researched extensively, but relatively little information exists on evaporative losses during nongrowing periods for different surfaces. The objectives of this research were to evaluate ET_c in relation to available energy, precipitation, and grass and alfalfa-reference ET (ET_o and ET_r) for a maize (Zea mays L.) field and to analyze the dynamics of surface coefficients …