Engineering Commons^™

High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery Characterization For Vehicular Applications, Sazzad Hossain Ahmed

Masters Theses

A lithium-ion battery is one of the key research topics in energy storage technologies. Major characterization tests such as static capacity, open circuit voltage (OCV), hybrid pulse power characterization (HPPC) have been conducted on two different chemistries, LiMnNi and LiFePO₄, high capacity lithium-ion batteries over a wide range of temperatures from 50ºC to -30ºC. Detail analysis of temperature effects on battery capacity and simple models of direct current resistance (DCR) increment and power decrement over temperatures have been proposed using the test results. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests have been performed to find out the dominant internal resistances …

Fabrication Of Printed Substrate For Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Ali Eshkeiti

Masters Theses

A novel surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate was successfully fabricated on a silicon wafer using inkjet printing and on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using gravure printing. Silver (Ag) nanoparticle (NP) based ink, was used for roughening of the surface of silicon and PET. A thickness of 400 nm was measured for the printed Ag NP printed film on silicon and the thickness of the single and double layered films on PET were measured as 340 nm and 680 nm, respectively by using vertical scanning interferometry. The Ag NP printed SERS substrate was tested for application with heavy metal compounds like …

Computational Analysis Of A Wing Oscillator, Ryne Derrick Radermacher

Masters Theses

An analysis of a newly proposed wind power extraction device called a wing oscillator was performed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A wing oscillator is a device that consists of two airfoils attached to a central pivot by means of a frame or shaft. Oscillatory motion is produced by controlling the angle of attack of the airfoils as a fluid flow is passed over the device. A robust mathematical scheme was developed to investigate the performance of the wing oscillator and was hooked to the CFD software package FLUENT through User Defined Functions (UDFs). Using the dynamic meshing analysis methods …

The Influence Of Coating Structure On Sheet-Fed Offset Ink Setting Rates, Ting Chen

Masters Theses

Much attention has been paid to the study of quickset ink setting as a complex ink-coating interaction. Offset ink setting rates are typically measured as ink splitting forces versus time and the slope of the regression line obtained from a plot of these measured values is reported, but scant attention has been paid to the deviations from that straight line. An initial slow ink setting rate is desired to minimize back-trap mottle, carryover picking and piling and enhance ink gloss; then a faster ink setting rate during sheet delivery to the pile is desired to reduce the likelihood of ink …

Absorber Geometry Optimization For A New Wave Energy Converter, Rachel A. Durren

Masters Theses

Alternative energy technologies are on the forefront of research due to the rising costs of oil and natural gas. One relatively under development source of energy is ocean waves. In order to make the use of ocean waves economically viable, the amount of energy absorbed by wave energy converters (WEC) must be optimized. The research within presents a new conceptual design, "Aqua Fly", for a WEC with emphasis on maximizing the amount of energy absorbed. The energy absorption component of the "Aqua Fly" was isolated and a small scale 2-D study of energy absorption. First, the amount of energy in …

Statistical And Numerical Integrated Approach For Detecting Onset Of Prefabricated Bridge Component Connection Deterioration, Cem Mansiz

Masters Theses

Bridges are the substantial part of the transportation infrastructure. Most recent report shows that of the 605,086 bridges in the United States, 67,526 (11%) are deemed structurally deficient, and 76,363 (13%) are declared functionally obsolete (FHWA, 2011). Deck is the shelter of a bridge that is subjected to severe loads due to exposure and traffic. Importance of detecting deck deterioration is further highlighted with the introduction of accelerated bridge construction (ABC) where prefabricated components are brought to the site, assembled, and connected using field cast joints. However, durability performance of field cast connections is not encouraging. Hence, continuous monitoring of …

The Reduction Of Glycerol Flow In A Porous Medium Through A Barrier Coating Application, Thomas Tran

Masters Theses

Coatings for paper are categorized into two groups: pigmented or functional. Functional coatings provide functionality in addition to the normal coating properties. Functional coatings can be used for friction control, release properties, abrasion resistance, and barrier properties. A coating that is designed to control barrier properties can be categorized into a sub-group of functional coatings called barrier coatings.

Barrier coatings can retard or eliminate the flow of fluids thru a coated substrate. The barrier can be effective in repelling or resisting the transmission rate of numerous fluids including moisture, oil, oxygen, grease, and glycerol. Barrier coatings have many useful applications …

An Improved Custom Development Process Utilizing Lean Methods And Tools, Lisa Gay Smith

Masters Theses

Works have been written on the applications of lean principles and methods to product development, manufacturing, and the office. However, works written on the applications applied to research and development and custom product development processes have been exclude because of the inherent variability in the product design process. This work applied lean principles and tools to custom product development processes. A furniture company with $1.3 billion in annual sales, custom product development process was studied and lean principles, behaviors, and tools were applied using a traditional six step approach mixed with nontraditional practices as well. Within the six steps, the …

Benchmarking Of A Single-Cylinder Engine Toward The Development Of A Direct Fuel-Injection System, Michael J. Nienhuis

Masters Theses

In this study, the performance and efficiency of a single-cylinder gasoline, fourstroke cycle engine was benchmarked in support of the Formula SAE student project. The development of an engine test stand, instrumentation, data acquisition, and test plan is described in detail. Experimental results in the areas of engine performance and efficiency are discussed. Physical test data were used to refine a previous model of a single-cylinder, gasoline, direct-injection engine. Results from this effort are discussed and compared to those obtained in a preliminary study. The current work advances the development of more efficient power-train technologies for application in small displacement …

Regression-Based Prioritization And Data Modeling For Customized Civil Engineering Data Collection, Omar Kanaan

Masters Theses

Civil engineers frequently face the challenges of acquiring sufficient data to satisfy the informational needs of various decision making scenarios having time, budget, and resource constraints. This thesis focuses on exploring how statistical analysis of historical data sets can be used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of future data collection activities in transportation engineering and construction project control. Pearson's correlation, multiple regression, Akaike information criterion, and Bayesian information criterion are applied to two cases of data collection and analysis to understand the relative importance of various parameters within each case. Case I analyzes National Bridge Inventory (NBI) data to …

Structural Health Monitoring Of A Bridge Structure Using Wireless Sensor Network, Cheekian Teng

Masters Theses

Bridge Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has rapidly become one of the main interests in civil engineering field. Inexpensive and efficient SHM method utilizing Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is helping to facilitate the selection of the bridges that require maintenance. The changes to structural properties (i.e. stiffness) caused by damage (i.e. corrosion) will change the structural responses (i.e. acceleration responses) to ambient motions. Modal analysis algorithms applied to the vibration responses acquired through WSN provide the modal properties (i.e. natural frequency, modal shape and damping ratio) that will change with the changes in stiffness indicating possible existence of damage. Three output-only …

Design Of A Catenoidal Shaped Anechoic Termination, Kyle Myers

Masters Theses

An analytical model is developed in this thesis to predict the reflection coefficient of an anechoic termination consisting of a catenoidal horn connected to a tube lined with absorbing material. The theoretical predictions are compared to experimental measurements on a prototype. Comparisons are made for a variety of arrangements, including, an open horn, and a horn connected to absorbing terminations of two different lengths. The absorbing terminations are either open or closed to the environment and the analytical model can account for both these scenarios. The results indicate that the new model can accurately predict the reflection coefficient for each …

Refinement Of The Cast Microstructure Of Hypereutectic Aluminum-Silicon Alloys With An Applied Electric Potential, Alexander Joseph Plotkowski

Masters Theses

Hypereutectic aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) alloys are widely used in the aerospace and automobile industries because of their low density, excellent wear and corrosion resistance, low coefficient of thermal expansion, good strength, and excellent castability. They are used in applications that typically require a combination of light weight and high wear resistance, such as liner-less engine blocks, pistons, and pumps. However, the performance of these alloys depends on the fineness of their cast microstructure, especially dendrite cell size, primary and eutectic silicon particles. In this study, the effects of applied electric current on the cast microstructure of Al-13 wt.% Si and Al-20 …

Investigating The Effects Of Internally Trapped Residuals On The Performance Of A Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (Hcci) Engine, Aaron David Attebery

Masters Theses

"Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion introduces great opportunity for decreased emissions along with greater engine efficiencies. Implementing an innovative combustion mode such as HCCI presents a great challenge for the engine research community. One such challenge is controlling the innate cyclic variability from this chemical kinetics controlled auto-ignition event when transitioning to or from a SI operating mode. This work includes the study of cycle-to-cycle dynamics that occur within the partial burn regime of an HCCI engine as it approaches the misfire limit. Within this regime there are many successive incomplete combustion events that will impact the next cycle …

A Decentralized Fault Diagnosis And Prognosis Scheme For Nonlinear Interconnected Systems, Deepthi Shreeya Lathamaheswari Raja

Masters Theses

"Today's systems are getting more complex with a significant number of variables to be monitored for information processing to aid in fault diagnosis and prognosis. Centralized diagnosis and prognosis schemes are not preferred for such complex systems as they lead to delayed or missed alarms and possibly catastropic [sic] failures. Instead, this thesis addresses a decentralized fault diagnosis and prognosis scheme both in continuous and discrete-time for nonlinear complex systems which can be divided into smaller subsystems. Such complex systems are referred to as a large-scale interconnected nonlinear system. This thesis is presented in the form of two papers first …

Force Sensing Of An Asymmetric Dielectric Barrier Discharge Using Mechanical Resonators, Mark Dawson Emanuel

Masters Theses

"Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are of great interest in flow control research and application. DBD plasma actuators are low-cost, lightweight, high voltage devices that have the capability of generating small amounts of thrust on the order of a few tenths of a gram. The thrust is created by rapidly pulsing plasma discharges which correlate to the frequency of the applied alternating current waveform, in the low kilohertz range.

Plasma actuators experience a reactant force generated by the pulsed plasma charging and then expelling air away from the charged surface. This force fluctuates with time as the plasma is …

Structural Analysis Of Microsatellites, Yezad H. Anklesaria

Masters Theses

"Satellite design, development, fabrication, testing and entry into service is a complex process. Each step of this process involves intricate steps to achieve the desired objective. This thesis summarizes a study relating to the area of development and testing of microsatellites to support qualification and eventually preparing a spacecraft for spaceflight. Students in the Space Systems Engineering laboratory (SSE Lab) in the Aerospace Engineering Program are in the process of developing a pair of microsatellites for a technology demonstration in space.

After the initial design of the spacecraft is completed in the design phase a significant amount of time is …

Optical Coherence Tomography For Biomedical Imaging, Edward Henry Pienkowski

Masters Theses

"Two projects are presented in this thesis; 1) a hollow core, concentrically symmetric beam splitting Michelson interferometric probe for optical coherence tomography and 2) the imaging of bioactive ceramic scaffolds using swept source optical coherence tomography. The key component of the interferometer is a compact, small diameter probe composed of a collimating lens, hollow core beam splitting tube, and a focusing lens intended to be used for endoscopic imaging. The beam splitting tube was created by sputter coating the distal endface of a finely polished thick wall capillary tube with a highly reflective gold layer. Part of the light travels …

Investigation Of Drillstring Vibration Reduction Tools, Mohammed Fayez Al Dushaishi

Masters Theses

"Drilling related problems such as drillstring vibration is an important cause of premature failure of drillstring components and drilling inefficiency. The vibration of drillstring interferes with measurement collected while drilling. In severe cases, drillstring vibration will lead to wellbore instability that will result in an increase in the operation cost. In the late 1980's, a lot of studies and techniques were developed to mitigate drillstring vibration and downhole vibration measurements were introduced to the industry in two forms; real time measurements and memory devices measurements

A study of drillstring vibration of three different wells located in the Norwegian North Sea …

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output System On A Spinning Vehicle With Unknown Channel State Information, Aditya Muralidhar

Masters Theses

"This thesis work presents the investigations into the performance of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with its transmitters on a spinning vehicle and no available channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter or the receiver. The linear least squares approach is used to estimate the channel and the estimation error is measured. The spinning is simulated based on a sample radiation pattern of a patch antenna. The antenna gains at different angles are obtained from this pattern and are used to model spinning. Spinning gives rise to a periodic component in the channel which can be estimated based on the …

The Use Of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (Ert) To Delineate Water-Filled Vugs Near A Bridge Foundation, Jeremiah Chukwunonso Obi

Masters Theses

"A structural support was needed to strengthen the load-bearing capacity of an unnamed bridge foundation in Laclede County in South-Central Missouri due to increasing traffic volume and age of the bridge. This area is characterized by karstic features such as losing streams, underground caves and sinkholes. During the construction of a drilled shaft for the substructure, a few feet north of the north footing of the pier, voids were noted beneath a roughly 2 foot thick cap of dolomite rock. Because of this, there were concerns about the integrity of the rock beneath the existing bridge foundation. Consequently, subsurface investigation …

Identification Of Starry Milia-Like Cysts In Seborrheic Keratoses And Malignant Melanomas Using Image Processing Techniques, Viswanaath Subramanian

Masters Theses

"Seborrheic keratoses are the most common benign tumors found in older individuals. Seborrheic keratoses are normally benign in nature, but sometimes in a large lesion area of seborrheic keratoses, secondary tumors, or squamous cell carcinoma in situ or malignant melanoma may occur. It has been found that seborrheic keratoses have a few features that distinguish them from melanomas. Milia-like cysts, comedo-like openings and network-like structures are the most prominent features found in seborrheic keratoses. Comedo-like openings are pigmented structures and are mostly oval yellowish, brown or black in appearance. They can also be observed in melanocytic lesions and melanomas. Milia-like …

Trace Element Accumulation In Rice :Effects Of Soil Arsenic, Irrigation Management, Phosphate Application And Iron Oxide Amendment, Eric Michael Farrow

Masters Theses

A concern is growing over the accumulation of trace contaminants in rice, a plant which has been estimated to supply 50% of the caloric intake to the world's population. Contamination with arsenic (As) and other trace elements have been shown in many areas including the U.S. and rice intake poses a potential risk to human health. This research investigated the accumulation of selected trace elements including arsenic (As), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo) and cadmium (Cd) in as many as six rice cultivars and two control soils common to the south central U.S. A field study was completed to evaluate the …

Depth Profiling Of Pahs Treated With Activated Carbon Using In-Situ Spme, Ryan D. Stringer

Masters Theses

"Novel and efficient methods to measure the bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in contaminated sediments will play an important role in the acceptance of alternative sediment remediation strategies. In this project, solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers, protected in perforated steel tubes, were used as in situ passive samplers to measure the treatment of activated carbon (AC) in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated sediment. Contaminated sediment was treated with two modes of AC waterjet amendment. In the first treatment, a single 2-min injection was shot into the center of a test vessel and in the second treatment, multiple 7-sec injections …

Chemical Risk In Early Design, Carlton Ashley Washburn

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to present a methodology to identify risks in the chemical product development process, including fortification of the failure mode taxonomy by including chemical failures. This work will enable comprehensive risk analysis in technology-based products that have a chemical based subsystem, such as those used in the lithography process in the semiconductor industry. This research broadened the failure mode taxonomy by identifying chemical failures from publications in the semiconductor industry. These failures were analyzed to determine the rudimentary failure modes in each case. The newly identified failure modes were added to the failure mode taxonomy. …

Development Of Kinectᵀᴿ Applications For Assembly Simulation And Ergonomic Analysis, Chinmay Prakash Daphalapurkar

Masters Theses

"Marker-less motion capture technology has been harnessed for several years to track human movements for developing various applications. Recently, with the launch of Microsoft Kinect, researchers have been keenly interested in developing applications using this device. Since Kinect is very inexpensive (only $110 at the time of writing this thesis), it is a low-cost and a promising substitute for the comparatively expensive marker-based motion capture systems. Though it is principally designed for home entertainment, numerous applications can be developed with the capabilities of Kinect. The skeleton data of a human being tracked by a single Kinect device is enough to …

Process Planning And Control Of Functionally Graded Parts Using Freeze-Form Extrusion Fabrication, Bradley Kenneth Deuser

Masters Theses

"Freeze-form Extrusion Fabrication (FEF) is an additive manufacturing technology that is capable of fabricating complex three-dimensional parts. FEF works by depositing an aqueous-based colloidal ceramic or metal paste in a layer-by-layer fashion below the freezing point of the aqueous medium as to rapidly freeze the paste. The FEF machine in the present study is equipped with three syringes and is capable of mixing each paste in a desired composition ratio by using an inline static mixer. Compensation for the transport delay caused by the static mixer is necessary; therefore, an algorithm was developed to apply a one-dimensional (1D) composition gradient …

Analysis Of Optimal Control Derivations For Aerial Defense, Andrew John Friedrichs

Masters Theses

"Optimal control will be used to derive four guidance laws for the purpose of defending an aircraft from incoming missiles. The dynamics of the defending missile, and the overall engagement are used in these derivations. They are evaluated first in two degrees of freedom, then in six degrees. The guidance objective is to move a defending missile between the aircraft and the attacker. Optimal control is used to derive different commanded accelerations. Utilizing small changes in the cost functions, four applications will be derived. Triangle Guidance is used for inspiration, and initially a direct approach is attempted. In the course …

Automatic Detection Of Annular-Granular Patterns In Melanoma In Situ Dermoscopy Images, Parivash Hajiyani

Masters Theses

"Early detection of malignant melanoma greatly benefits patients, as the overall success is dependent on finding these melanomas before they reach the invasive stage. Dermoscopy is a non-invasive skin imaging technique that studies have shown can improve the diagnostic accuracy of dermatologists by as much as 30% over clinical examination. In this project machine vision and image analysis techniques are used to detect annular granular areas in dermoscopy images automatically. The proposed algorithm utilizes the luminance ratio between annular and granular areas within the darkest 30% of the lesion. All points whose luminance value are less than 30% of the …

Coaxial Cable Bragg Grating, Jie Huang

Masters Theses

"In order to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of various civil structures, such as dams, bridges, and buildings, in situ strain monitoring is of great importance, especially for structures that may experience large strains. A new coaxial cable Bragg grating (CCBG) is developed as a strain sensor and the sensor's capacity for large range strain measurement is demonstrated for the first time. The sensor device is comprised of regularly spaced periodic discontinuities along a coaxial cable. The discontinuities are fabricated using a computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine to drill holes in the cable. Each discontinuity generates a weak …