Engineering Commons^™

Surface Reconstruction From Medical Imaging For Use In A Computer-Aided Design (Cad) Environment, Gregory M. Sturgeon

Masters Theses

A method was developed to create Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) models for bones of the human body utilizing medical imaging data. The human hand was chosen as the subject of the research.

Computed Tomography (CT) imaging was chosen to provide a volumetric data set. This data set was visualized through an isosurfacing technique utilizing the marching cubes algorithm. The original CT data set contained slices that were not aligned with the natural orientation or long axis of the bones. Transformation matrices and linear interpolations were used to generate a data set of slices oriented along the natural axis of the bones.

Contours …

Using Simulation Techniques To Evaluate Group Technology Heuristics: A Recommended Methodology For Comparison And Optimization, Ashley Nolen Akerman

Masters Theses

Machine cell formation is an important issue in industrial and manufacturing engineering. Properly assigned machine cells can improve manufacturing system efficiencies and decrease unnecessary material movement. To address the need for proper cell formation techniques a myriad of heuristics have been created that attempt to optimize the grouping of machines. Further, much industrial engineering research has been conducted on the application of simulation technology to manufacturing system evaluation.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the combination of traditional machine grouping heuristics with simulation technology and to create a generalized meta-model based upon this evaluation. This investigation analyzes the …

Carbon Nanotube Based Chemical And Biological Sensors, Srikanth Singamaneni

Masters Theses

Carbon nanotubes are among those wonderful molecules man has discovered by chance. Carbon nanotubes are sheets of graphite rolled up to form seamless cylinders. Their outstanding electrical, mechanical and thermal properties form the inspiration behind this work. This work investigates the possible application of carbon nanotubes as biological sensors for the detection of various biomolecules like Streptavidin and Mouse monoclonal Immunoglobulin-G. Electrical conductance changes of Carbon nanotubes for exposure to alcohol vapors were studied. This thesis demonstrates that these quantum wires can form highly sensitive biological and chemical sensors at molecular level. Although the main focus of the-research was chemical …

Prediction Of Crack Growth Rate And Load Interaction Effects Using Damage Accumulation Model, Virender Goswami

Masters Theses

In damage tolerant designs, it is important to know the crack growth behavior of a material, so that sudden failure of a component can be avoided by determining a safe life. There are numerous models available to predict the crack growth rate. Among them the "crack closure model" is most often used for predicting the crack growth rate for different R-ratios and load interaction effects. However recently, the crack closure model has come under criticism by many authors to be flawed and overrated owing to its inherent drawbacks.

Therefore, a mathematical model for the fatigue crack propagation based on damage …

Feature Detection Using Linear Structure Modeling And Pca, Kawshif Muhammed Riaz Ahmed

Masters Theses

An algorithm to extract features from digital images such as cracks in concrete bridges for automated inspection is developed. The algorithm is based on the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In general, PCA is used to reduce the dimensionality of a data set that consists of a large number of interrelated variables while retaining the variation present in the original data set. This ability of PCA will be used in this project to identify clusters using two training sets of images. Linear structure modeling is used to emphasize the image features (cracks) prior to applying PCA. Whole images processing …

Oxidation Of Titanium In Alpha-Calf Serum Solution, Ali Stait Ismailoglu

Masters Theses

Titanium and its alloys have been used extensively in orthopedic implants mainly because of its excellent biocompatibility. This biocompatibility is attributed to its surface oxide film (3-7 nm thickness) that forms immediately upon exposure of titanium to air. In the research, the oxidation of Ti-6Al-4V in alpha-calf serum solution was studied. Four different immersion times were tested. Characterization of surface topography and its chemical composition was examined using Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform-infrared radiation (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The AFM results clearly show the gradual change that occurred in the samples topography which is associated with more-rounded …

Acoustic Wave Based Biosensor, Aditya A. Vijh

Masters Theses

Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) have been widely used for detection of various chemical and biological species in liquid media. In this work an improved binding of Protein A and IgG molecules on QCM biosensors by modifying the gold surface of the quartz crystal with an ultra thin polystyrene film followed by an acidic treatment has been reported. Protein A and IgG immobilizations on quartz crystals with the polystyrene film represented a 65% increase and a 40% increase respectively when compared to immobilization done directly onto the crystals. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has been used to investigate and study the biomolecular …

Cross-Layer Design Of A Dynamic Resource Allocation Control For The Next Multimedia Wireless Generation 1xev-Dv Systems, Mohamed Bourouha

Masters Theses

1xEV-DV has been proposed as one of the standards of the next MultimediaWire- less Generation (MWG) systems, which adopts new techniques to enhance wireless data Quality of Service (QoS). Despite the recent research efforts in mapping QoS pa- rameters cross the different layers, there is still no cross layer QoS design that focuses in providing QoS assurances in the 1xEV-DV. Moreover, many possible combinations of resource parameters have been specified in the current standard. However, there are no specifications about the dynamic resource allocation. In this thesis, a suite of Cross Layer Multiuser Diversity Modules are proposed. These modules include …

Microwave Pretreatment Of Corn Stover For Anaerobic Digestion, Abhishek D. Saxena

Masters Theses

Anaerobic digestion is one of the several technologies used for biomass conversion to electricity or heat. This thesis focused on microwave irradiation of corn stover as a pretreatment for anaerobic digestion, and studies its impact on methane production.

The first run comprised three sets of stover soaked overnight in water, dilute sulfuric acid and dilute acetic acid, and each treated to three different levels of microwave irradiation. The results indicated a high variability in the data of the water set, which showed that there was no clear impact of microwave pretreatment on methane production. The dilute sulfuric acid and dilute …

Analysis Of Combustion Chamber Design Variables In Planetary Rotary Engine, Sathyanarayanan Arumugam

Masters Theses

This research entails examining the Hopkins Rotor Mechanism (HRM) for the perspective of commercial viability. Factors that were studied herein include basic operating characteristics, combustion effects, dimensional changes and behaviors unique to the HRM that may impose limits to commercial viability were also examined.

To compare specific characteristics of the HRM engine, in a comparable four-stroke mode, hypothetical 200, 400 and 600 cubic centimeter (cc) single cylinder reciprocating engines, each with compression ratio of 10, 15 and 20 were used as a basis for comparison. For similar outputs this resulted in the use of a 100, 200, 300 cc HRM …

Subcooled Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Using R113 On Flat Surface, Kamleshkumar J. Suthar

Masters Theses

Pool boiling experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of subcooling on boiling of R-113 using 25mm effective dia. flat surface copper heater. Pool boiling heat transfer measurements were taken for wide temperature range of 5 - 39^o C subcooling and investigated thoroughly. Variation in value of wall superheat of incipience boiling, from 27 to 34^o C and 7 to 11^o C temperature excursion observed. Noticeable effect of subcooling on boiling heat transfer is observed. Degree of subcooling was maintained constant by regulating pressure and keeping constant fluid temperature for each test run. Tests were conducted by …

Methodology To Predict The Instantaneous Friction Work In Non-Conventional Internal Combustion Engines, Ravishankar Thangavelu

Masters Theses

Non-Conventional Internal Combustion Engine (NCICE) may utilize a variety of contact surface shapes, where both sliding and rolling losses occur. This study develops techniques that allow the user to define the type of forces and the characteristics of the friction type to predict the instantaneous and over all friction work in a NCICE under user defined operating conditions. The characteristics include inertial effects, contour and surface effects, resulting contact surface changes and film thickness changes as a result of contact surface.

Modeling And Validation Of A Brake Hose, Jai Thomas

Masters Theses

Various computer aided design (CAD) softwares have the capability to depict rigid bodies in space accurately. However, the same is not true for the flexible components. This is because flexible components in an automobile are subject to large elastic deformations during the movement of the rigid components to which they are attached.

This research details the application of the principles of computation of the orientation of entities in a simplified coordinate system, vector mathematics, the file I/O features and structured C++ programming to view the rubber hose in CAD after modeling the hose using simulation software. Further validation of the …

Using Stiffeners For Improved Geometric Fidelity Of Flexible Elements, Ankit Kapoor

Masters Theses

Flexible hoses play an important role in safe operation of a transportation vehicle in automotive and aerospace field. Due to lack of accurate and efficient modeling techniques for such flexible elements with large deformation, most Computer Aided Engineering system do not address the problem in their solution methods.

In this thesis a method is presented to improve the geometric fidelity of flexible element models by using off-axis bi-linear stiffeners (spring) into a discrete linear beam model. Resulting deflection of a hose were compared with the digital scans of an actual deflection of the hose. Though the method is computationally expensive, …

Comparing Refractory Coatings On Shell Sand Utilizing Elevated Temperature And Collapsibility Testing, Suet Fong Cheah

Masters Theses

This research study examines the effects of refractory coatings on a shell sand using laboratory testing equipment as opposed to the more laborious and time consuming processes of molding, melting, filling, shakeout, and obtaining dimensions of actual castings. As of today, there have not been any such laboratory test methods. This research project focused on quantifying distortion, mass change, and impact strength found in refractory coated shell sand. The equipment used was the thermal distortion tester (TDT) and a modified impact tester. The thermal distortion curves (TDC), mass change, and impact strength are provided and compared for all systems studied. …

Structure And Spectroscopy Of Polymer Ultra Thin Films And Nanocomposites, Ramesh Chandra Kattumenu

Masters Theses

This research involves the study of structure and properties of polymer composite thin films. The intrinsic relation between the morphology and thickness of polymer thin films is the main idea behind this research. Polymer films with thickness in the range of 3nm to 600nm (comparable with the characteristic molecular length scale - radius of gyration) are studied for changes in morphology with temperature and thickness using Atomic Force Microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The study of very thin polymer films using Force Modulation technique with AFM and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy showed that polymers could be characterized with these techniques at …

Architecting Design Repositories To Support Design Knowledge Storage, Reuse And Design Tool Generation, Matt R. Bohm

Masters Theses

"This collection of works describes the transformation of an existing set of heterogeneous product knowledge into a coherent design repository that supports product information archival, storage, reuse and design tool generation.

Existing product information was analyzed and compared against desired outputs to ascertain what information management structure was needed to produce design resources pertinent to the design process. Methods of incorporating non-conventional functional representations of artifacts are explored, incorporated and standardized along side conventional functional representations. A review of automatic design model generation addresses shortcomings in product representations by comparing standard hand generated design tools to computer-generated design tools. By …

The Dependence Of The Overall Drying Time And Product Quality Of A Lyophilization Process On The Relative Position Of Vials On A Tray With Tray Sides And Without Tray Sides For Different Heat Input Control Policies, Kian Hui Gan

Masters Theses

"The dynamic behavior of the primary and secondary drying stages of the lyophilization process were studied when (a) single vials located at different positions on the tray were individually being dried, and (b) the vials on the tray are arranged in clusters of square and hexagonal arrays and all the vials on the tray are simultaneously being dried. For both cases (a) and (b), fast drying times and relatively more uniform distributions of temperature and concentration of bound water at the end of the secondary drying stage are obtained by heat input control that runs the lyophilization process close to …

Discerning Attributes Which Stimulate Performance In Quality Improvement Teams, Dwan Lamar Prude

Masters Theses

"Total quality management (TQM) can be summed up as people and the way they work. One key element of the philosophies of TQM is the heavy emphasis on utilizing quality improvement teams (QITs) and quality tools to effectively create high performance organizations. Specifically, this investigation asks the following questions: 1) What are the key attributes that contribute to performance in QITs? 2) What is the relationship between team communication and QIT performance? 3) What is the relationship between the number of quality tools utilized in a team and QIT performance? Participants for this study were 101 students from the University …

Tool Management In Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Ahmet Soylemezoglu

Masters Theses

"In this study, impact of cutting tool life and tool slot size on tool management in Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is investigated. A conceptual tool management framework, which has been proposed by Buyurgan, Saygin, and Kilic (2003), is modified and implemented in a simulation environment in order to assess its performance. This model, namely LS Model (LS stands for Life and Size), makes decisions by considering both tool life and tool slot size. An alternative tool management model that makes decisions based only on tool life, namely LO Model (LO stands for Life Only), is developed in order to make …

Transmission Line Pulser Construction And Magnetic Field Testing Of Timing Circuits, David James Carter

Masters Theses

"The ability to safely handle unexploded ordinance (UXO) is very important. The goal of the project, presented in this thesis, was to develop a test bed and testing procedures to evaluate the ability of specific UXO timing circuit to be reset through electromagnetic means. Two different platforms for testing were identified at the beginning of the research. One platform is used to expose the circuits to high electric field strengths inside of a TEM cell. The second platform will expose the circuits to high magnetic field strength inside of a Helmholtz coil. Particular specifications for the source of the electric …

Investigation Of Electrical Properties And Structure Of Vacuum Evaporated C60 Films, Angiras D. Pandya

Masters Theses

C₆₀ is an important electronic material and its properties can be tuned by thermal annealing process and solid phase crystallization process. These properties were investigated as a function of thermal annealing temperature and solid phase crystallization. However there is no systematical study on annealing effect and Solid Phase Crystallization of C₆₀ films. In this study, the effect of thermal annealing on formation of nanocrystalline C₆₀ thin films were investigated for annealed samples and solid phase crystallized samples. The C₆₀ films described here were prepared by vacuum thermal evaporation method. The structural properties of C₆₀ films …

Hot Melt Inks For Rotogravure-Formulation, Printability And Rheology, Hrishikesh Shreeram Bhide

Masters Theses

A new generation of "Hot melt inks for Rotogravure" was formulated. They melt during heating and reach printable viscosity between 75° C and 130° C, depending on formulation. After printing onto substrate, they solidify. Selections of the best formulations were done based on ink rheology, and print analysis. The formulated inks were also printed on the Moser sheet-fed proofing press .. The rheological data indicated that hot melt inks (without viscosity modifier) have viscosity in the range of 10°-10¹ Poise at 95°C. After printed on a laboratory gravure K-Proofer, the inks showed good reflective density (0.90 - Yellow, 1.30 …

Innovative Contracting Prequalification/Selection Model Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp), Saad J. Zidan

Masters Theses

Design-Build, Cost-Plus-Time, and warranty are the three innovative contracting methods that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) decided to fund. FHWA allowed the usage of these methods in federally funded projects if this will result in reducing time, improving quality, and saving tax payers' money. Prequalification is recognized as the best way of assuring that contractors do have the required qualifications to deliver projects successfully. Prequalification is even more critical when low-bid selection method is used with any of the innovative contracting, since incompetent contractors may get awarded for low-bids that are not based on valid assumptions.

This study presents a …

Mechanical Properties And Corrosion Resistance Of Ni-Sic Nano Composite Coatings On 2024-T3 Aluminum, Amit Jain

Masters Theses

Coatings of nickel with and without silicon carbide nano-particles were carried out on 2024-T3 aluminum alloy by the electrochemical process. The size of the silicon carbide particles was less than 50nm. Nickel coatings were done using a nickel sulfamate bath maintained at a constant temperature of 50° ± 5° C. Tensile specimens were prepared and studied to determine the Young's modulus of bare aluminum, with nickel coatings and with composite nickel and silicon carbide coatings. Wear samples of 1 inch² (6.45cm²) were prepared and studied for wear resistance. The residual stress measurements were done by the hole …

The Effect Of Non-Stoichiometry On The Structure Of La-Ni And La-Ni-Ga Alloys, Pertrice Auguste Wethey

Masters Theses

Non-stoichiometric samples of the AB₅ system defined by the formula La_1-yNi_5+2y and LaNi_5+2xGa_1-x were cast using an arc-melting furnace. The samples were then analyzed to determine their lattice parameters and phases present using XRD. They were then heat-treated to produce homogeneous compounds and quenched with the intention of retaining high temperature compositions. Following the heat-treatment, the alloys underwent XRD again as well as SEM/EDS. The XRD information was analyzed using Rietveld refinement and the elemental data derived from the EDS was used to ascertain the compositions were statistically akin to the weighed values. …

Color Management Of Desktop Input Devices: Quantitative Analysis Of Profile Quality, Xiaoying Rong

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates the color management principle and input device profiling. The input devices discussed in this thesis are flatbed scanners.

In this thesis, the human visual system, CIE L*a*b* color space, ICC profiles are reviewed, and the evaluation of profile quality is discussed. Grayscale and standard color targets of three primary suppliers are used to create profiles for a scanner. The quantitative analyses of the quality of different profiles, created by two primary commercial profiling software, are conducted according to the Delta-E of the CIE L*a*b* color space. Finally, the relationship of different color targets and profiles for desktop …

Evaluation Of The Distribution Of Taguchi's Signal-To-Noise Ratio And The Effectiveness Of The Signal-To-Noise Ratio For Detecting Changes In The Mean And/Or Variance, Jinsuk Lee

Masters Theses

The concept of parameter design developed by Taguchi to achieve robust engineering is widely promoted in industry as a means to design a product whose output is largely immune to noise in the system. Taguchi has used the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio to summarize measures over the noise factor settings at the parameter design and to allow control of the experiment.

The objectives of this investigation are: 1) to infer distributions of S/N ratios (lower-the-better S/N, higher-the-better S/N, and nominal-the-best SIN), and 2) to determine the effectiveness of the S/N ratio as a means for identifying changes in the mean and …

Texture And Residual Stresses On Nanocomposite Coatings, Hussam E. Aikhasawneh

Masters Theses

Nickel was electroplated on cold-rolled 2024-T3 aluminum. The coating was done with reinforcement by nanoparticles of y-alumina or silicon carbide. For comparison, nickel-only coatings were done too. Rectangular samples were coated in nickel sulfamate bath with no particles to determine the optimum coating conditions. The optimized parameters were the current density, time of coating, and agitation rate. After coating conditions were established, composite samples were coated using these conditions. The coated layer was characterized by measuring: thickness, residual stresses, and crystallographic preferred orientation. The coated layer was tested by SEM for evaluation of the quality of the coatings. The presence …

Effect Of Modified Clay-Zeolite Pigment On The Viscoelastic, Optical, And Printing Properties Of A Lwc Gravure Coating, Lokendra Pal

Masters Theses

This study investigates the influence of modified clay- zeolite pigment on the viscoelastic, optical, and printing properties of a LWC coating. Currently, lightweight, coated papers have experienced problems with mottle, distortion, fiber puffing and poor print quality when printed with water-based inks. However, water-based inks represent a proven solution to reducing volatile organic compound (VOCs) emissions. Poor wetting and ink spreading on the paper surface constitute the majority of print quality issues associated with the water-based printing of LWC papers.

Similar problems are encountered during the printing of ink jet papers due to high percentage of water contained in these …