Engineering Commons^™

Unsaturated Column Studies Of Silty Sand Using A Conservative Tracer, Canagasabapathy Nallianathan

Theses

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the flow and mass transport of a conservative tracer in the unsaturated phase. For this purpose, a relatively "large-scale" cylindrical column(12 in. O.D. x 4 feet long) was fabricated and equipped with tensiometer and psychrometer sensors.

The soil used in the study was a New Jersey based silty sand compacted to an average dry density of 93 lb/ft³. The soil was permeated with a 0.5 M NaCl solution infiltrated at the top of the column using a perforated spiral tube assembly. The permeant was applied at a constant rate of approximately …

Anaerobic Biodegradation Of Trichloroethylene By Activated Carbon Fluidized-Bed, Jiunn-Horng Chern

Theses

The synthetic wastewater containing trichloroethylene (TCE) was anaerobically degraded with glucose using activated carbon fluidized-bed.

The range of TCE concentration from 26 ppb to 10.8 ppm was examined. The ratio of glucose to TCE in the influent wastewater was ranged from 26 to 805, while the TCE loading ranged from 0.025 to 1.510 mg/hr-L.

The TCE removal efficiency under these treatment conditions was found to be of 99.4%. However, the reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) decreased when the TCE loadings was over 0.38 mg/hr-L.

High-Energy, Curable Polycyclopentadiene Binder For Solid Rocket Propellants, Jian Guo Ning

Theses

Diels Alder polymerization of cyclopentadiene ( CPD ) has been carried out at 170°C under inert atmosphere. The resulted polymer has a low bulk viscosity, 7.4 cps, and a number average molecular weight M_n up to 3000. This liquid Prepolymer is curable with maleic anhydride. With ammonium perchlorate, aluminum, and maleic anhydride, a high energy solid propellant has been formulated with this polymer. Via bomb calorimeter, Instron, and density measurement, it was found that this propellant has a better heat of combustion, tensile strength, and solid loading than that of the commercial rocket propellant based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene.

A Study On The Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)/Flouropolymer Blends, Chyan-Nin Chiu

Theses

The rate of crystallization of Polyethylene terephthalate) (PET) can be improved by blending it with polyethylene co chlorotrifluoroethylene) (ECTFE; tradename Halar) so that it can be suitable for injection molding. The special advantage of this method is that molecular weight of the blend will not decrease so much as by adding nucleating agents. That is to say, the mechanical strength of the blend will not decrease very much compared with that of virgin PET.

Determination Of Aromatic Amines By Diazonium Salt, Hong-Hue Hsu

Theses

There are many analytical methods used in the identification of aniline by the production of various colors upon treatment with certain reagents. In this work a new inexpensive, easy and sensitive methods to quantitate aniline is developed. The change of absorbance is large enough to measure with a difference of only 1 ppm in the aniline concentration.

In this method, the reagent (2,4-dinitrodiazonium sulphate) which reacts with aniline produces a yellow color. Formation of this color (which absorbs at 486 nm) indicates the presence of aniline. The amount of aniline can be determined by measuring the absorbance at 486 nm. …

Finite Element Method In Turbo Pascal, Tingwang Kuo

Theses

A finite element program FEM2D in FORTRAN language by J.N. Reddy has been translated into TURBO PASCAL and several features such as interactive input, mesh generation for a rectangular plate with a circular hole at the center of the plate and graphical display of the meshes and node numbers have been implemented. Four examples including potential flow and plane stress problems have been tested successfully. It is concluded that the PASCAL language on a microcomputer can he used to write a finite element program and is easier to give graphical display than FORTRAN language. The maximal number of nodes that …

Development Of A Novel Dentin Bonding Agent And Testing For Mechanical Properties, Mircroleakage And Toxicity, Sanjay V. Odak

Theses

In this study a dentin bonding agent based on Tolylene diisocyanatc with o chlorophenol as a blocking agent was tested. Bond strength with dentin was determined using a clinically relevant test method. A comparison was made using commercially available bonding agents and restorative resins. A simulation of microleakage around restorations was performed using a "Silver staining technique". Microleakage was quantified using digital image analysis, and a method was proposed to compensate for the loss of the third dimension during image analysis. Layer-by-layer curing of restorative, and an acid etching technique was used to improve bonding to dentin. The oral LD50 …

Computer Analysis Of The Electrocardiogram Using Hardware Digital Signal Processing, Mohammad Ashfaque Shaikh

Theses

A system based on the microcomputer IBM PC-AT has been realized to acquire and filter the clinical electrocardiogram (ECG) data in real time. The system program further detects and analyzes the ECG signals for possible cardiac arrhythmias.

This research is based on work done by previous researchers and achieves significant goals towards achieving on-line arrhythmia detection using a microcomputer. The system uses the hardware and software package ASPI 320/PC from Atlanta Signal Processors Inc. This hardware configuration uses a special purpose instrumentation microprocessor ( TMS32010 from Texas Instruments) to coprocess the ECG signals. Coprocessing the signals with the ASPI 320/PC …

Learning System, Bhavesh T. Adani

Theses

Many rule-based learning systems have been implemented which generate and update rules/facts from illustrative examples provided by the user. But very few of them have succeeded in achieving the efficiency and accuracy of an ideal system.

The approach made here is to continuously update the hierarchical structure of rules/facts of a knowledge-base so that efficient and accurate solutions to any query can be achieved easily and immediately from the many possible solutions to the query. As the rule-based systems deal with a very large knowledge-base, it is sometimes necessary to apply a learning technique that finds optimum solutions efficiently.

The …

An Intelligent Computerized Pulse-Duplicator For The In-Vitro Evaluation Of Prosthetic Heart Valves, John F. Andrews

Theses

A computerized data acquisition system is presented for the in-vitro determination of the hydrodynamic performance of prosthetic heart valves. High speed data acquisition and ensemble averaging techniques are employed to minimize error and provide a standard for data collection and analysis across a wide range of simulated physiologic conditions. Processing algorithms automatically divide the cardiac cycle into phases based on landmarks in the pressure and flow waveforms, with minimal variability and without operator intervention. The contributions of valve resistance, regurgitation, ejection, leakage, and power loss to hydrodynamic performance are isolated for investigation. Phasic power loss analysis is reviewed as a …

Waveform Analysis And Application To A Model Of The Egg Waveform, Eu-Rune Chang

Theses

The purpose of thesis is to describe and investigate a model of electroglottogram waveform. At the beginning, we generate a set of sine waveform models to analyze by using Fourier transform theory. Then, according to the electroglottogram is conjectured to be related to the area contact between the vocal folds, we assume a simple model of vocal fold vibratory motion is used to estimate the vocal fold contact area as function of time. Therefore, we modified and developed the mathematic EGG waveform model by using personal computer program computation to become a set of realistic EGG waveform models, which are …

Analysis And Design Of A Surface Microengineered Silicon Humidity Sensor, Uei-Yanq Chen

Theses

This thesis details the design for a solid-state humidity sensor which utilizes state-of-the-art silicon technology. The sensor design utilizes a microengineered surface which includes a polysilicon airbridge structure as heater and sensor element in an integrated device.The operation of this device depends upon the small variation of thermal convection coefficient which effects the temperature of the heated element within the device. The temperature of the polysilicon bridge is monitored by means of a resistance bridge. In one design(sensor I) a single polysilicon airbridge is used for both the heater and resistance sensing element. Also a second inferior design (sensor II) …

Optimal Cache Size In Microprocessor-Based Multiprogramming System, Charalambos Stephanou Christou

Theses

The Motorola 68020 microprocessor, its paged memory management unit MC68851 and cache memories are rigorously studied. The simulation model of this uniprocessor, multiprogramming system was constructed and tested to determine the optimal physical cache size.

The parameters varied in the model are the cache size, the degree of multitasking, the loop count and size, the cache algorithm and the time slice given to every task. A number of simulations have been conducted and the results are examined.

Development Of A Rock Model Testing Capability At The New Jersey Institute Of Technology And Testing Of Plane Stress Models Possessing A Central Circular Opening With A Nearby Horizontal Discontinuity, David R. Good

Theses

This thesis had three main objectives. They were to develop a rock model testing capability at N.J.I.T. by (1) developing and building a load testing frame for rock models, including all necessary appurtenances and load measuring devices, (2) developing a rock modelling material and quantifying its properties, and (3) applying the capabilities described in items 1 and 2.

A high capacity load test frame was constructed from structural steel members. Heavy screw rams were utilized to apply load and specially constructed proving rings were employed to accurately measure load. Additionally, load platens and other support equipment were constructed.

The model …

The Strategic Planning Dilemma In American Manufacturing, James Andrew Kiray

Theses

The decline of American manufacturing competitiveness is a highly publicized and controversial issue. This publicity has led to a panacea of solutions being offered to this problem. As a result, many conflicting viewpoints have emerged, which have aided in making any solution to this problem extremely difficult. Top executives have been inundated with recommendations for change, causing confusion at all levels of management.

In an effort to define the underlying problems existing within the American strategic planning process, this author has selected current literature which supports his own views, and has expended upon these views.

Once these underlying problems are …

Formation Of Light Hydrocarbons And Soot In The Pyrolysis Reactions Of Chloro, Dichlorobenzene, Acetylene And Benzene In An Atmosphere Of Hydrogen, Larry Jiyuan Zhu

Theses

The kinetics of thermal decomposition of chlorobenzene and dichlorobenzene in a hydrogen and helium atmosphere were further studied to investigate formation of soot and light hydrocarbons. The experiments were performed at atmosphere pressure with residence times rangeing from 0.2 to 1.2 seconds, and the temperature ranges of 850°C to 925°C for chlorobenzene and 870°C to 910°C for dichlorobenzene. Flame ionization detectors, which were connected to GC columns, were utilized for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the reaction products. A methyl silicone capillary column was used analyzing of heavy aromatics and a Carbosive G was used to analyze light hydrocarbons. …

Computerized Analysis Of Gastrointestinal Spike Burst Activity, Karthik Krishnan

Theses

This thesis describes a computer algorithm for locating gastrointestinal spike bursts. The algorithm also finds the the number of spikes within each spike burst, the average duration, and average amplitude of each spike burst. The algorithm was applied to the automation of the analysis of the Migrating Colonic Complex.

The algorithm detects the spike burst using threshold, time interval and frequency criteria. The computer program is implemented on a PDP 11/73 digital computer. The operation of the algorithm was tested on animal models to detect the spike bursts, before and after the inducement of certain drugs to alter the colonic …

Arithmetic Pipline Scheduler, Chun-Ta Pan

Theses

A schedule is used to determine which stages of an arithmetic pipeline are active at any particular time. It can determine when another process can be introduced into the pipeline so no more than one set of data will use the same stage at the same time. The Arithmetic Pipeline Scheduler (APS) is a software tool used to analyze schedules for different operations and determine greedy schemes for introducing data into the pipeline. The user can use APS to process up to ten arithmetic equations. The user also can use APS to define different configurations of stages. Besides, APS can …

Kalman Filtering Applied To The Analysis Of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials, Chong An Qian

Theses

The objective of this thesis is to detect the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) using lower numbers of averages than at present, by using an optimal smoothing method which is based on the Kalman Filter.

By using this method, the wave V latency of the BAER which is useful in testing for hearing loss can be detected with as low as 500 averages, while the traditional signal averaging method requires at least 2000 averages. Thus the time required for a hearing loss test can be reduced from one hour to approximately 20 minutes.

Also several other methods for detecting BAER …

Development Of A Knowledge-Based System For Human Error Analysis, Bang-Chiang Sung

Theses

Human Factors is one of several essential issues in a discussion of system productivity. Its consideration must be included in the design, development, operation, and maintenance of any human-machine system. In order to maximize the system productivity, humans must perform with their maximum possible efficiency. To achieve this, all human-related activities must be evaluated to determine their possible causes of errors and the consequences. Then, if unable to completely remove, the causes of human errors must be minimized.

This thesis integrates a knowledge of expert system into an analysis of human errors. Its objective is to develop a knowledge-based system …

Clinical Base Station For Portable Patient Monitoring Equipment, Silin Kuang

Theses

In today's clinical environment, where it is not always desirable to have a computer terminal present, a microcontroller-based biomedical system with multi-purpose features is needed. The present work offers an approach for a clinical based desktop workstation that provides the physician with record files, general management of his patient group, and specific algorithms for patient or group analyses. The workstation has the capabilities to acquire a large number of data from a portable patient monitoring device, generate a hard copy graphic record, create a patient cardfile and an . office personnel loggin file, and check patient's appointment and emergency list. …

Istemcr : Integrated System For Truck Engine Monitoring Via Cellular Radio, Tse-Shan Pan

Theses

The study presented is aimed at the application of the Data Acquisition to The Truck Engine as the source of all the signals, with the mobile telephone Cellular Radio system.

A Word Based Data Compression Using Arithmetic Encoding, Christopher Dean Peckham

Theses

It is usually difficult to compress data from a statistically unknown source and yield a good compression ratio. Using the fact that words are the fundamental basis of the written language, a data compression scheme based on words should yield high compression ratios. Discussed here is a compression scheme that gathers words from the source stream and places them in a dictionary, or word list, to use later in the coding, thereby becoming adaptive to the words in a given file without prior knowledge of the source. When a word is in the word dictionary, it is encoded by its …

Implementation Of A Cross Coupled Phase Locked Loop System With Closed Loop Amplitude Control, Behzad Sadeghi

Theses

A system was designed, to demodulate an FM signal in presence of an interfering signal whose frequency was very close to the desired signal, this system was implemented and tested based on the theory of cross coupled phase locked loop systems, originaly proposed by (1).

This system included two phase locked loops for the purpose of demodulation, two low pass filters and two integrators, for the purpose of amplitude estimation. Two additional phase locked loops were designed to act as a 90° phase shifter. The following is the result of the theory, design procedure and some tabulated data for this …

Oxidation Of Toluene, Benzene And P-Xylene In A Photoreactor, Shiey-Shiun Horng

Theses

A new photoreactor was designed with stainless steel to oxidize refractory chemicals found on the EPA priority list. This new system was investigated by conducting experiments with three three model compounds, namely, toluene benzene and p-xylene. While toluene and benzene reactions are similar, they are faster with UV/ozone than UV/H₂O₂ and p-xylene reacts even faster with UV/ozone than UV/H₂O₂. The experimental data obtained were analyzed by GC and used to interpret the reaction kinetics from proposed models. The rate constants and mass transfer coefficients were found by using the Rosenbsrock Hillclimb optimization algorithm. …

Simulation Of Aids Patient Detoxification By An Extracorporeal Device And Related Experimental Studies, Mansoor Yusuf Kapadvanjwala

Theses

A simple numerical simulation of an AIDS patient detoxification by an extracorporeal device for the removal of virus has been designed. The mathematical model accounts for healthy white cells (W) attacking and destroying the virus (V), while at the same time the virus attacks and infects certain white cells. The infected white cells (W_i) serve as a site for viral growth, and finally the cell is lysed, releasing a large number of viruses in the blood stream. This model can be used to predict concentrations over a given period for the patient.

The device incorporates an antitwister mechanism …

A Productivity Measurement System For Human Resources Management, Vivian C. Keenan

Theses

A Productivity Measurement System was designed to meet the needs of a company's Human Resources management. This thesis presents the design, testing, and implementation of this system.

During the design stage, the jobs and main activities were identified and the key volume indicators were established. Data was collected using time studies, work sampling techniques and historical data. Time studies and historical data were used primarily to measure the information for the activities. Work sampling techniques proved to be very effective in obtaining measurements for personal time and unavoidable delays.

The data was analyzed and time standards were set for the …

Data Extraction And Analysis In Glucose Monitor, Chang Qian

Theses

For the purpose of building a workstation to read and analyze data from hand-held, home use glucose monitor, a new high performance Digital Oscilloscope Peripheral (DOP) for PC is used to easy sample and store data, and it is described here. The new features of DOP are discussed and some application software packages for different purpose are described here in detail.

Since the sampled data from the hand-held, home use glucose monitor is irregular and in random form, the Least-Square Polynomial Modeling Method is used to produce a fit curve line, which best goes through most data points. Using the …

Estimation Of In-Situ Compression Index Of Contaminated Clays Using The Electrical Method, Prasanna Ratnaweera

Theses

For contaminated clay soils, it has been found that current testing methods to determine compressibility characteristics do not truly identify the physico-chemiral interaction present in the soil-pore fluid-electrolyte system. Most methods are virtually impracticable due to various reasons such as evaporation of pore-fluid, difficulty of handling toxic chemicals, etc. Also, destructive test methods may not maintain in-situ conditions while testing.

The electrical properties of soils, the dielectric dispersion in particular is considered to represent the amount of physico-chemical interaction present in the soil-pore fluid-electrolyte system. For uncontaminated soils, correlations between the dielectric dispersion and the slope of the isotropic consolidation …

Research, Development, And Evaluation Of A Solid State Transformer, Robert Michael Joseph Wozniak

Theses

The analysis and design of a solid state step down transformer is presented as part of a research study which reviews novel approaches to the development of high frequency power magnetic apparatuses and applies available theory to produce a solid state counter part. The resulting circuit exhibits the potential for efficiency as high as 85%, low output ripple, regulation that is comparable with other modes of power conversion and the ability to provide localized on-board power.