Engineering Commons^™

Atomic Force Microscopy Used To Determine The Young's Modulus Of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells, Samuel C. Lieber

Theses

The Young's modulus of cultured mouse and rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) was measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM can image the three-dimensional structure of biological cells in a physiological environment enabling real-time biochemical and physiological processes to be monitored at a resolution similar to that obtained for the electron microscope (EM). Cellular mechanical properties were determined by indenting the cell's body, and analyzing the indentation data with classical infinitesimal strain theory. This calculation was accomplished by modeling the AFM probe as a cone. as well as a blunted cone. The blunted cone geometry fits the …

Crystallographic Structure And Mechanical Properties Of Tantalum Coatings On Steel Deposited By Dc Magnetron Sputtering, Charanjeet Singh Paur

Theses

Tantalum metal exhibits excellent erosion and corrosion resistance property. Hence, tantalum coatings are investigated for protection of steel surface exposed to mechanical stresses, high temperature, and corrosive environment. Such conditions exist inside large army gun barrels. The goal of this work was to contribute to the development of technology for tantalum coating of steel, which would replace the presently used electrochemical chromium deposition. A DC magnetron sputtering process was used to deposit tantalum coatings on steel substrates. In sputtering, tantalum is deposited in two phases: ductile, body-centered cubic (bcc) phase (a-phase) and a metastable, brittle tetragonal ß-phase. Only a-phase of …

Quantitative Assessment Of Reflex Blood Pressure Regulation Using A Dynamic Model Of The Cardiovascular System, Tanha Patel

Theses

A quantitative understanding of the changes in coronary, pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic variables and their effects on the regulation mechanism is important to the better postoperative management of patients with impaired cardiac function. The arterial baroreflex plays a key role in blood pressure homeostasis, and its impairment may result in exaggerated blood pressure fluctuations and an increased risk of cardiovascular morbid events.

The objective of this work was to construct a mathematical model of the cardiovascular system, which will allow us to simulate the effects of the baroreceptor reflex regulation on sudden changes in blood pressure, caused by sudden changes …

Crystallization Kinetics, Structural Parameters And Optical Properties Of Some Semiconducting Oxide Glasses Doped With Rare Earth And Transition Metal Ions, Khawlah Mohammad Ahmad Al-Yahyaei

Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis, Characterization And Applications Of Some Conducting Polymers, Fatma Yousif Mohamed Balhey

Theses

Conducting polymers emerged as a new class of materials by the end of the sixties. Since then many efforts have been made to put these materials to

industrial use. Among the achievements are their applications in the semiconductor industry, medical field, chemical and biological sensors, etc. A

different track that alleviated the prospects of the application of conducting

polymers is the modification of the polymer film, namely through the inclusion of metallic moieties for specific target usage. In this thesis the candidate aimed

to synthesis well established and extensively studied class of electrically conductive polymer, 3-methylthiophene. The polymer was then …

Low Salinity Flooding In A Selected Carbonate Reservoir: Experimental Approach, Mohamed Yehia Mohamed Mahmoud

Theses

Low-salinity water flooding LoSal^TM has been used to improve oil recovery for many decades. Historically, the mechanisms behind this improvement in oil recovery were attributed to the pressure maintenance and displacement of oil by injected water, i.e. physical mechanism. Recently, evidence from laboratory and field tests indicated that water flooding also involves chemical processes and that modifying of the injection brine salinity and its ionic composition can significantly impact the oil recovery. Several theories regarding the mechanism of LoSal^TM flooding have been discussed in the literature. These include interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration (cation exchange), change in pH …

Experiments With A Galton Board, Christopher Oshman

Theses

Galton boards have been used for over a half-century as a tool to illustrate the formation of Gaussian shaped distributions as well as the Central Limit Theorem. Here, the Galton board was used to study the spontaneous percolation of a particle through an ordered array of rigid scatterers. The apparatus that was designed and fabricated provided a means to release 1/8" diameter spheres one at a time in a controlled and precise manner at any location on the board. The three experimental variables used in these experiments were the particle material, the release height, and the board tilt. angle. The …

Absorption Of Co2 Through Hollow Fiber Membranes Using Aqueous Solutions Of Various Absorbents, Praveen Babu Kosaraju

Theses

Absorption behavior of CO₂ was studied in different hollow fiber membrane modules fabricated using Celgard (polypropylene) and poly(4-methylpentene-1) microporous hollow fibers. Pure water, aqueous solutions of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer of generation zero and monoethanolamine (MEA) were used as the absorbent; the absorbent solution flowed through the fiber bore, the gas mixture of C02 and N2 flowed countercurrently on the shell side. The system consisted of absorption in one module and stripping with Helium in another module of the same fibers. The absorption characteristics of the dendrimer solution and the MEA solution were studied in the modules built of Celgard …

Development Of A Method To Examine Shear Stress On Cardiomyocytes, Dhawal Desai

Theses

Cardiac hypertrophy is the remodeling or enlargement of the heart exhibited by individuals suffering from heart disease. Cardiac hypertrophy involves two mechanisms, mechanical stresses and humoral changes in the cardiac tissue. One such humoral change involves the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS). The primary fimction of RAS is maintenance of hemodynamics of the body mediated through an effector protein, Angiotensin 11. However, RAS has been shown to play a significant role in the pathophysiology of the heart; contributing to hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial infarction. RAS acts through binding of Angiotensin 11 at its receptors. The two forms of Angiotensin 11 …

Current Requirements By Electro Hydrodynamic Filter Systems Under Shipboard Operation Conditions, Ravi Shankar Attri

Theses

An experimental study was performed to determine the current required by an ElectroHydrodynamic (EHD) filter system to clean contaminants from Diesel Engine Lubrication Oil under normal shipboard operation conditions. The amount of current at a set predetermined voltage, which together means Power, was needed in order to anticipate the power required to perform a Shipboard Site Test Evaluation of the EHD filter.

The filter uses the effect of dielectrophoresis to separate contaminants from the lubrication oil. The filter operates at two thousand volts (2KV ac-rms) and thus requires substantial current to energize its electrodes. This type of Power is not …

Flexible Manufacturing System Utilizing Computer Integrated Control And Modeling, Yahia Mohammed Al-Smadi

Theses

In today's fast-automated production, Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) play a very important role by processing a variety of different types of workpieces simultaneously. This study provides valuable information about existing FMS workcells and brings to light a unique concept called Programmable Automation.

Another integrated concept of programmable automation that is discussed is the use of two feasibility approaches towards modeling and controlling FMS operations; the most commonly used is programmable logic controllers (PLC), and the other one, which has not yet implemented in many industrial applications is Petri Net controllers (PN). This latter method is a unique powerful technique to …

Determination Of Phase Composition Of Sputtered Tantalum On Steel Substrates By Resistivity Measurements, Younes Abbassi

Theses

The objective of this thesis was to develop a method of distinguishing between alpha and beta phases of tantalum films on steel substrates, using the four-point probe resistivity measurements. While there is a large difference between resistivities of the two Ta phases, the problem is challenging because the measurements are influenced by the low resistivity of steel.

For reference, the resistivity measurements of tantalum coatings (1-20 μm) on silicon and silicon dioxide substrates were conducted first. The measured resistivities were related to the crystallographic phase composition of Ta, which has lower resistivity in bcc form, α-phase, (13.5 to 42 μΩcm), …

Stereo Matching Algorithm By Propagation Of Correspondences And Stereo Vision Instrumentation, Peerajak Witoonchart

Theses

A new image processing method is described for measuring the 3-D coordinates of a complex, biological surface. One of the problems in stereo vision is known as the accuracy-precision tradeoff problem. This thesis proposes a new method that promises to solve this problem. To do so, two issues are addressed. First, stereo vision instrumentation methods are described. This instrumentation includes a camera system as well as camera calibration, rectification, matching and triangulation. Second, the approach employs an array of cameras that allow accurate computation of the depth map of a surface by propagation of correspondences through pair-wise camera views.

The …

A Computational Model Of Spasticity Based On A Decoupling Of The Alpha And Gamma Efferents, Bruno A. Mantilla

Theses

It is generally accepted that spasticity results from changes in the excitability of the stretch reflex. This change lowers the threshold of the motoneurons of the spinal cord where the integration of a signal from velocity/position sensors is processed and then fed back to the contracting muscle (alphaextrafusal and gamma-intrafusal fibers). The stretch reflex depends on the initial length of the muscle, the stretch velocity and voluntary activity. The exact sequence of the triggering events remains unknown, is poorly understood and as a result is controversial. The clinical classification scales are mainly subjective and by definition, inaccurate.

This computational model …

Dry Particle Coating And Granulation In Rotating Fluidized Beds, Madhuri Kolli

Theses

The practicability of using rotating fluidized bed as dry particle coater and granulator is investigated in this study. Dry particle coating, in which fine guest particles are coated onto bigger host particles in the absence of binders or solvents, is studied for various systems of host and guest particles. Coating results are explained by considering the collisions between the host and guest particles and among themselves. Balance between collisional energy and adhesion energy is suggested to be the limiting condition for the adhesion and hence the coating of guest particles onto host particles. It is observed that the experimental and …

Impact Of Truck Regulation And 65mph Speed Limit On Truck Accidents In New Jersey, Rajat G. Rajbhandari

Theses

The state of New Jersey enacted two regulations with significant importance to the highway operations: 65 mph speed limit and truck restriction on the National Network. The speed limit of 65mph was used on limited sections of interstate system highways with an objective to reduce energy consumption by vehicles and truck restriction was used on the interstate system and other state highway system to reduce large truck accidents and thereby increase truck safety. In this research, the safety impacts of these two regulations on truck crashes were studied.

The research focused on monthly truck crashes along the highway sections where …

Recent Advances In Silicon Light Emitting Diodes, Aravind Balakrishnan

Theses

A silicon based light emitting diode (LED) is a new gateway for combining optoelectronics with CMOS integrated circuits. The choice of silicon is limited due to its indirect band gap nature. There are new approaches for improving emission efficiencies in Si-LED to nearly 1% at room temperature. Boron implantation has been employed to introduce dislocation array and as a p-type dopant to form p-n Junction in an n-type Si substrate. The device operates as a conventional LED under forward bias. The temperature dependence of radiative recombination rate is addressed by Varshni empirical formula. The difference between the energy at which …

Investigation Of The Electronic And Optical Properties Of The Strained Cdte/Znte (001) Superlattices, Amna Abdulla Ahmed Al-Zarouni

Theses

Semiconductors are distinguished among all materials by having a non-vanishing energy band gaps. They are often used in industry in the form of alloys or heterostructures in order to tailor energy gaps suitable for the desired applications. In general, semiconductor materials have broad applications in industry, ranging from micro-electronic devices, to light emitters and detectors, to laser and solar cells. In the last two decades, particular attention has been given to the II-VI semiconductor heterostructures because of their suitability as photoelectronic devices covering from the infra-red to the ultra-violet spectral ranges. The scope of this thesis belongs to the field …

Mechanical Properties And Stress-Strain Behavior Of High Performance Concrete Under Uniaxial Compression, Pornchai Jiratatprasot

Theses

Many recent innovations in advanced concrete materials technology have made it possible to produce concrete with exceptional performance characteristics. High performance concrete (HPQ is defined as concrete that meets special performance and uniformity requirements that cannot always be achieved routinely by using conventional materials and normal mixing, placing, and curing practices. The importance of HPC to structural engineering is unquestionable. However, HPC is a relatively new material. Some results of research on conventional concrete are not entirely applicable. In this experiment, the main mechanical properties of HPC including compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and Poisson's ratio were investigated and compared …

Qos Routing Source Routing Problems And Solutions, Ye Tian

Theses

The notion of Quality-of-Service has been proposed to capture qualitatively or quantitatively defined performance contracts between the service provider and the user applications. Integrated network services are designed to support Quality-of-Service (QoS). One of the primary goals for the integrated network services is to find the paths that satisfy given QoS requirements, namely QoS routing. The challenging issue in this area is to route packets subjected to multiple uncorrelated constraints because the problem is inherently NP-complete. This thesis studies the source routing heuristic approaches that bring the time complexity down to the polynomial-time for the multi-constrained path (MCP) problem. A …

Study Of The Trajectories Of Visually Guided Movement Of Unimanual And Bimanual Tasks, Deepthi Anand

Theses

Restitution of upper limb mobility following stroke is one of the major challenges facing clinicians in the country today. The complexity of performing skilled tasks with fine movements makes restitution of mobility all the more complex for rehabilitation specialists. Although several techniques have been evolved for, limited success with transfer of training from the clinical environment to functional performance clearly indicates a need for research and development in the area of upper extremity rehabilitation.

Bimanual coordination has recently surfaced as a novel and effective way to fast and lasting recovery. The success of bimanually coordinated training encourages a better understanding …

Thermochemistry Of Vinyl Alcohol And Vinyl Ether Radical And Kinetic Analysis Of Neopentyl Radical Reaction With Molecular Oxygen, Chol-Han Kim

Theses

Vinyl alcohols and ethers are important intermediates in low-temperature combustion processes, such as in the initial stages of combustion and in the atmospheric photochemical oxidation of hydrocarbons. Knowledge of the thermodynamic parameters for these species is central to understanding and predicting their reaction pathways, rate constants, and equilibrium constants. The rapid interconversion of conformers and the instability of vinyl alcohols and ethers lead to complexities in studies of these species.

In this work, enthalpy,ΔH°f 298, entropy, S°298, and heat capacities, Cp(T), are determined for vinyl alcohol and vinyl methyl ether and the radicals corresponding to loss of a H atom …

Introduction On Intrusion Detection Systems : Focus On Hierarchical Analysis, Ratna Bajaj

Theses

In today's fast paced computing world security is a main concern. Intrusion detection systems are an important component of defensive measures protecting computer systems and networks from abuse. This paper will examine various intrusion detection systems. The task of intrusion detection is to monitor usage of a system and detect and malicious activity, therefore, the architecture is a key component when studying intrusion detection systems. This thesis will also analyze various neural networks for statistical anomaly intrusion detection systems. The thesis will focus on the Hierarchical Intrusion Detection system (HIDE) architecture. The HIDE system detects network based attack as anomalies …

Attack Visualization For Intrusion Detection System, Mohammad A. Rabie

Theses

Attacks detection and visualization is the process of attempting to identify instances of network misuse by comparing current activity against the expected actions of an intruder. Most current approaches to attack detection involve the use of rule-based expert systems to identify indications of known attacks. However, these techniques are less successful in identifying attacks, which vary from expected patterns. Artificial neural networks provide the potential to identify and classify network activity based on limited, incomplete, and nonlinear data sources. Presenting an approach to the process of Attack visualization that utilizes the analytical strengths of neural networks, and providing the results …

A Real Time Frequency Analysis Of The Electroencephalogram Using Labview, Rupal Patel

Theses

The use of the Electroencephalogram (EEG) for diagnosis of brain related diseases is becoming a popular technique in the clinical and research environment. To achieve accurate reading of EEG, signal representation and classification becomes extremely important. The goal of this project was to develop a basic software program for acquiring and online processing of the electrical activity recorded from the brain. A program was developed using the LabVIEW programming software by National Instruments. Basic hardware components recorded the EEG signal and a software component divided the data into delta, theta, alpha and beta bands in the frequency domain. Emphasis was …

An Infrared Device To Measure The Eyeblink For The Study Of Classical Conditioning, Alka Patel

Theses

The classically conditioned eyeblink response is studied by various groups to study neurological functions. This is a form of associative leaming that has many features to help diagnose and learn about neurological diseases. Electromyogram traditionally is used to detect eyeblinks for this experimentation in human. However, EMG can be expensive and difficult to use. It involves the utilization of electrodes and produces only an indirect measure of eyelid closure. The goal of the project was to develop an infrared device to detect eyeblinks and replace the EMG. The project involved two major components, a hardware and a software component. The …

Hyperbolic Position Location Estimator With Tdoas From Four Stations, Sreeram Potluri

Theses

This thesis presents a detailed derivation of a set of equations needed to locate the three dimensional position of a mobile given the locations of four fixed stations (like a global positioning system (GPS) satellite or a base station in a cell) and the signal time of arrival (TOA) from the mobile to each station. From these derived equations, a synthesizable VHDL model was developed and simulated using IEEE numen*c_std package. All the inputs and outputs were described by 32 bit vectors. From the simulations, it was observed that in the best case the mobile position was off by I …

Shear Behavior Of Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams Strengthened With Cfrp Laminates, Jon Erik Moren

Theses

Considerable research has been performed using CFRP plates bonded to normal reinforced concrete beams, the objective being to improve shear and flexural strength. However, very few tests have been performed on reinforced concrete deep beams with CFRP as shear reinforcement. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the behavior of the deep beam in shear with various arrangements of Sika CarboDur laminates bonded to the sides. The beams were designed to be shear deficient with stirrups omitted, except at the supports and directly under the load. In total eight beams were tested, four with one-point loading and four with …

Active Noise Control Using Adaptive And Advanced Control Techniques, Michael O'Brien

Theses

The theory and application of Active Noise Control to remove irritating acoustic pollution from a variety of sources has and continues to receive significant attention from both theoreticians and practitioners.

While a classical acoustic noise problem is the rejection of acoustic tonal disturbances with the most common solution employed being the celebrated filtered-X LMS algorithm, this thesis shows that the presence of non-linearly induced harmonics at multiple frequencies of the original tone often results in poor performance of this algorithm. It is further found that the noise reduction at these problematic harmonics can be improved in a number of ways, …

Design And Analysis Of Radio Frequency Deployment Algorithms For Gsm, Mónica Pérez-Carbonell

Theses

Due to the growth of the subscriber base and the introduction of new services, mobile communications networks’ demand for wireless resources is increasing. This has resulted in an increasing need to change the frequency allocation of a network in order to adapt the cellular network to new frequency demands.

Currently, a planning tool generates a new frequency plan, which is. then deployed to cell sites. The deployment should ideally be carried out with minimum disruption to network operation, which makes this deployment process a critical undertaking as any errors during or after the deployment can leave the network with poor …