Engineering Commons^™

The Effect Of Sample Size And Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag On Hydration Temperature In Hot Climates, Mariam Eissa Saeed Al-Harrasi

Theses

Heat of hydration of Portland cement mixes is of great importance to civil engineers. While there is great deal of work being carried out on the hydration temperature of OPC-slag mixes, there is a lack in the literature of research work on the effect of such materials in real hot climates. The current research examines the influence of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (ggbs) as a partial cement replacement on temperature evolution during hydration in winter and summer in AI-Ain (interior region of the United Arab Emirates). Evolution of temperature inside the concrete was recorded by the aid of a Labview …

New Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Harq) Scheme For 4x4 Mimo System, Based On The Extended Alamouti Quasi-Orthogonal Space-Time Bloc Coding (Q-Stbc), In Invariant And Variant Fading Channel, Jordi Ferrer Torras

Theses

A new Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) combining scheme for a 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system in invariant and variant fading channel conditions is proposed and analized. Based on the Extended Alamouti Quasi-orthogonal Space-Time Block Coding (Q-STBC), the use of the so-called Alternative Matrices for transmission, depending on the Channel State Information (CSI) received as feedback, is compared to other existing solutions.

Sign changes and permutations in the retransmission sequences allow reducing the interference while exploiting the spatial diversity to introduce some gain in the signal power. The best transmission order is selected by the Determinant Criterion, which …

Synthesis Of Polymeric Nanocomposites In Supercritical Carbon Dioxide, Hongta Yang

Theses

Supereritical carbon dioxide has been of great interest in various areas of chemical science and engineering during the last decade. In this thesis, the properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/silica nanocomposites with different surfactant and filler concentrations synthesized through in-situ polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide were investigated. In addition, ferromagnetic nano-particles were synthesized and functionalized for the preparation of nanocomposites. The thermal stability and surface morphology of PMMA/iron oxide nanocomposites synthesized in supercritical carbon dioxide were first studied in the work.

The scanning electron microscopy micrographs show that higher surfactant concentration results in higher number density of polymeric nanocomposite particles …

Dry Magnetic Assisted Impaction Mixing Of Sub-Micron Boron And Barium Chromate For A Time Delay Composition, Ryan Barrow

Theses

The objective of this investigation is to improve the mixture homogeneity of, Boron and Barium Chromate, a delay composition called T-10, using a novel dry mixing technique, , called the Magnetic Assisted Impaction Mixing (MAIM). Two additional mixing methods, ultra-sonic mixing and shaker mixing (dry and wet), were used for comparative analysis, to evaluate the mixing effectiveness of the MAIM which was also compared to two Navy mixed T-l0 samples. Characterization of the homogeneity is described by how well boron is effectively distributed throughout the mixture, which is a challenging task since the mixture's composition is 3% Boron versus 97% …

Osteogenic Differentiation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells On Thin Film Tyrosine Derived Polycarbonates, Tamunotoyne Briggs

Theses

Mesenchymal stem cells, harvested from adult bone marrow, are promising in the field of regenerative medicine because of the vast differentiation potential into various cell lines such as: osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and neurons. Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) could be an important tool in the treatment of orthopedic deficiencies such as bone defects. The extent of in vitro human mesenchymal stem cell growth, adhesion, motility and differentiation into osteoblasts is a function of the material surface chemistry which is mediated by protein adsorption onto the surface. A library of tyrosine derived polycarbonates allows the tailoring of material …

Auto Detection In Autism, Gayathri Chandar

Theses

Autism is a neurobiological disorder in which, certain regions of the brain are affected. The main features of autism are impairment in communication, social interaction, language and deficit in imitation and theory of mind. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), haemodynamic responses during a bilateral finger tapping task are analyzed for both autistic subjects and normal control subjects. fMRI is a noninvasive technique to image the activity of the brain related to a specific task. Generally, the active voxels in the IMRI images are detected using parametric or non-parametric statistical methods in which the fMRI response is assumed to have …

The Complex Behavior Of Poly(Dte) Carbonate And Its Blend Properties, Christopher George Elvin

Theses

Over the years a number of different polymers have been studied for bone applications. Polyesters such as the poly lactic acids (PLA), poly glycolic acids (PGA), and their copolymers have been studied intensely for bone regeneration purposes. Poly(DTE)carbonate has been found useful for bone regenerative purposes and is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of poly(DTE)carbonate when PLLA, PLGA, and P(LcoDL)LA was blended with it. The desired outcome was to produce miscible polymer blends or significant phase shift in the blended materials which will make them at …

Automatic Detection Of Qt And Related Intervals, Divya Gowdar

Theses

The objective of this thesis is divided into two main sections: The first section comprises of the development of the algorithm for the detection of the Q wave, Tmax afld the Tend to measure the intervals such as QT, QT corrected (QTc), RT, QT_max and RT_max respectively. The second section deals with the analysis of different variabilities including heart rate variability (HRV), QT, QTc, RT, QT_max and RT_max.

Using the R wave points as reference points, the Q wave was detected by using the Differential Threshold Method (DTH). The Tmax was detected by using a …

Location Estimation In A 3d Environment Using Radio Frequency Identification Tags, Adwitiya Akash Jain

Theses

RFID tag location estimation in a 3D environment is investigated. The location of the tag with unknown coordinates can be estimated with certain accuracy. However, accuracy can be improved using the knowledge based on measurement of additional reference tags with known location. This thesis studies the mathematical formulation and practical realization of location sensing using RFID tags.

Deviating from the standard use of RFID technology which employs one tag reader to identify the presence of tag, here multiple tag readers with known location are used to estimate the physical location of an individual tag, with/without the help of few reference …

Classification, Testing And Optimization Of Intrusion Detection Systems, Javier Leon

Theses

Modem network security products vary greatly in their underlying technology and architecture. Since the introduction of intrusion detection decades ago, intrusion detection technologies have continued to evolve rapidly. This rapid change has led to the introduction of a wealth of security devices, technologies and algorithms that perform functions originally associated with intrusion detection systems.

This thesis offers an analysis of intrusion detection technologies, proposing a new classification system for intrusion detection systems. Working closely with the development of a new intrusion detection product, this thesis introduces a method of testing related technologies in a production environment by outlining and executing …

Fabrication Of Aligned Nanofiber Yarns, Mats And Isolation Of Single Nanofiber In Electrospinning, Venkatesh T. Nathilvar

Theses

Electrospinning has been extensively used as an effective technique for the fabrication of submicron and nanometer scale polymeric fibers. In spite of technological advances in electrospinning, creating a highly aligned fiber structure is a tough target to be achieved because of the chaotic motion of the electrospinning jet. In this study, two different techniques have been adopted to form a highly aligned nanofibrous scaffolds. Using these methods highly aligned fiber yams and mats are produced from Cellulose Acetate (CA) in a mixed solvent of acetone and water. In both the techniques the nanofibers suspend over the gap in a highly …

Development Of A System To Measure Cardiac Function In The Drosophila Melanogaster Animal Model, Heather Anne Reinhardt

Theses

Previous studies have shown that several genes are evolutionarily conserved from lower organisms to man, where a number of genes have been directly linked to cardiac function and disease. The Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit Fly) has a genome similar to humans and therefore has proven to be an important animal model to study the role of genetics in cardiac function and disease development. Fruit flies are an important basic science model because of the ease with which genes can be manipulated and quickly expressed due to the short lifespan of the fly. Although standard techniques exist to affect the genome of …

Pda Based Ambulatory Pulse Oximeter, Arpita Shah

Theses

The main aim of the research was to develop an ambulatory pulse oximeter which can be used to monitor the SpO₂ heart rate (HR) and plethsymograph (PPG) waveform of a person. To achieve this, an algorithm was developed in LabVIEW 8.0 to extract the HR, SpO₂ and PPG data from a Nonin Xpod device, Nonin Medical, Inc. LabVIEW PDA software was developed to make it compatible with the PDA. LabVIEW software was also developed for sending the data to the PDA via Bluetooth Pulse Oximeter commercialized by Nonin Medical Company.

Using this algorithm, data was collected from three …

Performance Analysis Of Collaborative Hybrid-Arq Protocols Over Fading Channels, Igor Stanojev

Theses

Impairments due to multipath signal propagation on the performance of wireless communications systems can be efficiently mitigated with time, frequency or spatial diversity. To exploit spatial diversity, multiple-antenna technology has been thoroughly investigated and emerged as one of the most mature communications areas. However, the need for smaller user terminals, which results in insufficient spacing for antenna collocation, tends to limit the practical implementation of this technology. Without compromising terminal dimensions, future wireless networks will therefore have to exploit their broadcast nature and rely on collaboration between single-antenna terminals for exploiting spatial diversity.

Among cooperative schemes, Collaborative ARQ transmission protocols, …

Modification Of Clays With Ionic Liquids For Polymer Nanocomponents, Neung Hyun Kim

Theses

In attempts to prepare nanofillers with enhanced compatibility with a polymer matrix, cationic and anionic clays susceptible to exchange of their interlamellar ions with a variety of other cations or anions, were selected.

In order to treat cationic clay, montmorillonite, which contains sodium ions as interlayer ions, reagents having cations differing in size and structure included three ionic liquids ([EMIM]⁺ [Br]^-, [HXMIM]⁺ [Cl]^-, and [Epty]⁺ [BF4]^-). Results indicated that cationic exchange did occur from aqueous solution as confirmed by FTIR, EDX, WAXS, TGA, and elemental analysis. WAXS indicated a significant increase …

Electrochemical Corrosion Testing Of Boronized And Unboronized Steels, Kranthi K. Pallegar

Theses

Boronizing is a thermo-chemical surface coating technique with which surface properties of materials are enhanced substantially. One of these properties is corrosion resistance. Corrosion resistance testing has been performed in many ways right from the traditional weight loss methods to the latest electrochemical techniques. These electrochemical techniques are more reliable and less time consuming and hence are widely accepted for corrosion testing in the industry.

In the present work, direct current (D.C) corrosion testing studies of both boronized and unboronized steels have been discussed. Three types of steels, AISI 1018, AISI 4340 and AISI 304 stainless steel, were considered for …

Demarcation Of Coding And Non-Coding Regions Of Dna Using Linear Transforms, Krithika Venkat

Theses

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) strand carries genetic information in the cell. A strand of DNA consists of nitrogenous molecules called nucleotides. Nucleotides triplets, or the codons, code for amino acids. There are two distinct regions in DNA, the gene and the intergenic DNA, or the junk DNA. Two regions can be distinguished in the gene- the exons, or the regions that code for amino acid, and the introns, or the regions that do not code for amino acid. The main aim of the thesis is to study signal processing techniques that help distinguish between the regions of the exons and the …

Medical Equipment Planning And Construction Of A Interventional Neuroradiology Suite, Furqan Elahi

Theses

New York-Presbyterian Hospital is one of the most comprehensive university hospitals in the world, with leading specialists in every field of medicine. It is composed of two renowned medical centers, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The hospital's strategic planning group identified the need to expand the Interventional Neuroradiology service that the hospital provides. This brought upon the need to form a committee to plan the construction of an Interventional Neuroradiology. The problem statement of this thesis is to prepare a best practices guideline from a clinical engineering perspective on constructing the three …

Doppler Ultrasound Technique Used To Determine The Blood Flow Viscosity In The Middle Cerebral Artery Of A Canine Animal Model, Raj P. Ganpath

Theses

The cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery of an canine animal model was measured using the Doppler Ultrasound technique. A transducer was designed with a 20 MHz piezoelectric crystal and used for the application. An in vitro calibration system was designed and machined for the purpose of testing and calibrating every transducer before using it in vivo. Preliminary tests included experiments on the in vitro system and measurement of blood flow velocity in the human wrist artery (metacarpal artery). The effect of using different transmission media (agarose and gelatin) was determined through the many in vitro and …

Impact Of Missed Beats On Heart Rate Variability Using Time-Frequency Analysis, Kilbrom T. Hailu

Theses

ECG recordings, especially during an exercise stress test, are exposed to artifacts. The source of artifacts can be due to technical problems, biological events and errors in the automatic detection. As a result missed beats, extra beats and ectopic beats can occur. In this study analysis of missed beats is performed using time-frequency analysis. Some of the patient's data had missed beats.

Fourier spectral analysis was first applied to the missed beats during the resting state. The impact of missed beats using Fourier spectral analysis is significant, especially, when the missed beats are in a row. The Fourier spectral analysis …

Online Clustering With Single-Pass Topology Based Fuzzy Clustering Algorithm, Abhishek Jaiantilal

Theses

Online clustering is of significant interest for real-time data analysis. Generic offline clustering methods such as K-Means, C-Means and others are computationally expensive. The computational burden of these methods increases non-linearly with the size of the data set. In addition these methods usually require a good amount of supervised knowledge yielding a non-unique solution. For real-time data analysis, there is an important tradeoff between accuracy and computational efficiency. An unsupervised one-pass clustering method that efficiently adapts to data distribution and evaluation is proposed. This method, Topology-Based Fuzzy Clustering (TFC), uses the topology of data to discover clusters. TFC uses the …

New Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Harq) Combining With Space Time Block Coding (Stbc) In Invariant And Variant Fading Channel, Guillem Ernest Malagarriga Vilella

Theses

Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) combining for space time block coding Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system consisting of N transmit antennas and M receive antennas (NxM) in a time invariant channel and in a time varying channel is proposed and its performance is analyzed. Based on the measured channel matrix, the receiver chooses the best retransmission order and communicated it to the transmitter.

The scheme, where this algorithm is performed, is a combination of a precombining HARQ scheme and the Multiple Alamouti Space-Time Block Coding (MASTBC), which is suitable for more than 2 transmit antennas. The combination of this …

Non-Invasive Monitoring Of Bone Health Using Ultrasound, Nashit Jahan Meem

Theses

Bone fractures are estimated to afflict everyone at least once in his/her lifetime. Monitoring this becomes crucial especially when it comes to athletes in order for them to safely resume their regular activities as soon as possible. Technologies currently employed are either very expensive or use harmful radiation.

Ultrasound can monitor bone fractures in a non-invasive manner, as discussed in United States Patent # 5143069. Three transducers are mounted over the test specimen. A pulse generator excites the transmitting receiver. The second receiver is mounted next to the transmitter and acts as a reference receiver that displays the response across …

A Study Of Steganography And Steganalysis, Nisant Nalla

Theses

Steganography is the art of hiding the fact that communication is taking place, by hiding information in other information. Steganalysis is the study of methods to detect the presence of hidden messages. The Steganography and Steganalysis are very much interdependent. The people in the Steganography domain try to develop stronger methods to hide data in different media. This spurs the discovery of new steganalysis methods which can break these Steganography methods. This is vital for the development of these fields. The internet has been growing by leaps and bounds. There is an increasing need for information security. It has been …

Qt Variability Calculation Using A Template Matching Algorithm And Power Spectral Analysis, Theodore Sami Rizkalla

Theses

ECG interval measurement and variability analysis has proven to be a useful tool in investigating autonomic nervous system function. Traditionally, the R to R interval has been the thrust of research conducted in this field. QT variability is another topic on which little research has been done.

This thesis uses an algorithm proposed by Dr. Berger, published in 2003. The algorithm stretches the template in the time domain, and composes a sum-squared error function, which is minimized to find the scaling factor for that beat. These scaling factors are compiled into an array, and an interpolated signal is generated of …

Boron Induced Surface Modification Of Transition Metals, Raghasudha Vangaveti

Theses

Boronizing is a thermo-chemical surface treatment of metals in which boron atoms diffuse into the metal substrate and form hard metallic borides. As a result of boronizing, several properties such as hardness, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and high temperature oxidation resistance improve which make the metal substrate more suitable for industrial applications. These boronized parts are used in many industrial applications like ingot moulds, crucibles, biomedical implants, die-casting moulds, magnetic head applications, drawing dies etc.

The objective of this work was to investigate the influence of boronizing on the properties of transition metals. Three transition metals, tantalum, niobium and tungsten …

Direct Application Of The Least Action Principle To Solve (Human) Movement Dynamics Without Using Differential Equations Of Motion, Amitha Kumar

Theses

This thesis explores the numerical feasibility of solving motion 2-point boundary value problems (BVPs) by direct numerical minimization of the action without using the equations of motion (EOM) as an intermediate step. The proposed direct least action (DLA) approach using the downhill simplex method (DSM) is applied to both the single and double pendulum systems as beginning test problems. The solutions so obtained are compared to numerical solutions of the corresponding Lagrange BOM solved using a first order Euler algorithm for the same mechanical problems. The output path obtained by both of the methods essentially superimpose on each other.

Future …

Development Of A Service-Oriented Communication Platform For Heterogeneous Voice Over Ip Networks., Aisling O'Driscoll

Theses

As broadband services have become more widespread in recent years due to a variety of government initiatives and the establishment of Wireless Internet Service Providers, user requirements have evolved and the market has become more competitive. Whilst this is beneficial for consumers it means that Internet Service Providers must offer a more diverse range of services coupled with standard broadband packages to distinguish themselves from their competitors, generate new revenue and strengthen their competitive advantage. Therefore many providers are looking to Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs) to provide communication platforms, enabling services such as Voice over IP (VoIP) along with other …

A Low Noise Amplifier For An Ultra Wideband Receiver, Tomasz Waliwander

Theses

The Ultra Wideband Technology, although derives from the early works on time-domain electromagnetics, only recently attracted the attention of the research and industrial institutions, mainly thanks to establishing a proper frequency mask by Federal Communication Commission. The FCC regulations allocate the immense 3.1 - 10.6 GHz microwave band that has never been accessible in a one segment before.

The intrinsic features of the UWB radio such as low power, immunity to multipath fading and eavesdropping, high 3D resolution capability and ability of'seeing' through the solid obstacles with addition to achievable very high data rates, makes it very attractive for many …

Linux Based Pda Gateway For Wireless Sensor Networks, Áine Mccarthy

Theses

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the development and deployment of intelligent sensors and their use with a plethora of networking protocol technologies. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) can be used to monitor the environment, objects in the environment and the interaction of these objects with each other. Examples include environment and habitat monitoring, structural monitoring, disaster management and emergency response. The deployment of such large-scale WSN possess many challenges, the most important being scalability, portability, fault tolerance, adaptability and ubiquitous connectivity. There also exist many challenges when trying to establish communication with WSN. WSN can function as a …