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Articles 2401 - 2430 of 11503

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Magnetic Navigation Using Online Calibration Filter Analysis, Jonnathan D. Bonifaz Mar 2022

Magnetic Navigation Using Online Calibration Filter Analysis, Jonnathan D. Bonifaz

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic navigation using the Earth’s magnetic anomaly field has proven to be a promising alternative that can provide coverage for a navigation system. This research demonstrates a magnetic navigation system using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to aid an aircraft’s inertial navigation system (INS). Traditional magnetic anomaly navigation uses a “static calibration method,” which takes post-processed data to calibrate, obtaining the Tolles-Lawson coefficients needed for magnetic anomaly navigation filter compensation. These coefficients are constant and may cause drifts in the navigation filter if not re-calibrated. The online calibration method continuously updates the Tolles-Lawson coefficients as a filter state, reducing the …

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Improving Task-Operator Analysis For Training Through The Integration Of Human Learning Taxonomies And Systems Engineering Models, James M. Earley Mar 2022

Improving Task-Operator Analysis For Training Through The Integration Of Human Learning Taxonomies And Systems Engineering Models, James M. Earley

Theses and Dissertations

Training is a critical part of force sustainment, but the life-cycle cost of recurring training can be quite high. Further, the promotion of the Multi-Capable Airman (MCA) concept leads to questions on how best to train airmen on tasks outside of their core career field. The MCA concept, coupled with continued increase of technology effectiveness, incentivize the replacement of formerly in-residence-only training with distance training that enables Just-in-Time (JIT) learning. However, effective implementation of the MCA concept may also require adaptive training which considers the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) developed by a trainee within their core career field when …

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Quantifying Project Complexity To Resource Project Managers, Jereme R. Henrard Mar 2022

Quantifying Project Complexity To Resource Project Managers, Jereme R. Henrard

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops a multi-criteria decision analysis model to quantify project complexity and inform decision-makers in resource-constrained organizations with the Tyndall Program Management Office (PMO) as a case study. The complexity score is used as a risk metric to determine the appropriate number of skilled or novice project managers to effectively manage the PMO portfolio to mitigate cost and schedule overruns. The research provides an innovative approach to consider manning levels at the PMO and other project management-focused organizations/sections.

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Ground Vehicle Navigation With Depth Camera And Tracking Camera, Hongseok Kim Mar 2022

Ground Vehicle Navigation With Depth Camera And Tracking Camera, Hongseok Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this research is to provide autonomous navigation of a 4 wheel vehicle using commercial, off-the-shelf depth and tracking cameras. Some sensitive operations need accuracy within a few inches of navigation ability for indoor or outdoor scenarios where GPS signals are not available. Combination of the Visual Odometry (VO), Distance-Depth (D-D), and Object Detection data from the cameras can be used for accurate navigation and object avoidance. The Intel RealSense D435i, a depth camera, generates depth measurements and the relative position vector of an object. The Intel RealSense T265, a tracking camera, generates its own coordinate system and …

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Climate Change Risk To Coastal Airfield Stormwater Systems, Jedidiah R. Langlois Mar 2022

Climate Change Risk To Coastal Airfield Stormwater Systems, Jedidiah R. Langlois

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is resulting in rising sea levels and increased rainfall, posing new challenges to stormwater management, particularly along coastlines. The airfield stormwater systems of Tyndall Air Force Base discharge directly into an interior bay of the Gulf of Mexico through tidal canals and ditches, creating a risk of system inundation from high tidewater conditions from sea-level rise (SLR). This study explores the performance and consequences of an inundated stormwater system from SLR during rainfall events using the EPA’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM). One hundred and fifty-three combinations of SLR and return year storms were applied to a model of …

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System Phasing And Schedule Growth Analysis, Daniel A. Long Mar 2022

System Phasing And Schedule Growth Analysis, Daniel A. Long

Theses and Dissertations

Software development research, once a priority for the DoD, has received less focus in recent years. What research that has occurred has focused on size and cost prediction of software. Generally lacking in these studies is analysis on phase distributions and schedule. Putnam (1978) showed that there were measurable effects between early program management and final schedule growth, but these relationships have not been explored using the 2001-2021 DoD Software Resources Data Report (SRDR) database. Additionally, industry software development guidance provides rules of thumb for effort allocation, but a comparison of the rules to DoD software projects is nonexistent. This …

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Characterizing Complex-Valued Neural Network Model Approximations Of 4-Input 4-Output Complex-Valued Reference Block Models, Larry C. Llewellyn Ii Mar 2022

Characterizing Complex-Valued Neural Network Model Approximations Of 4-Input 4-Output Complex-Valued Reference Block Models, Larry C. Llewellyn Ii

Theses and Dissertations

System simulation models are often decomposed and abstracted as a collection of interconnected subsystem block models to facilitate system understanding, design, and analysis. Each subsystem block model contains mathematical functions that receive, process, and transmit signals that are modeled as real numbers, complex numbers, and/or logic values. This dissertation evaluates the use of a single two-layer complex-valued neural network model to approximate 4-input, 4-output subsystem reference block models in terms of accuracy, performance, and error. The research is novel in that it uses a neural network for continuous function approximation instead of data categorization; it uses a neural network designed …

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Developing An Adaptable Best Value Contractor Selection Tool For Federal Construction Projects, Robert B. Kitson Mar 2022

Developing An Adaptable Best Value Contractor Selection Tool For Federal Construction Projects, Robert B. Kitson

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is no Air Force-wide best practice or standard for using an other-than lowest price source selection process for construction projects. Installations often award contracts using Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) because of perceived cost and time savings. However, a heavy reliance on LPTA often leads to long-term decreases in quality and value. To allow the Air Force to receive the best value for its construction funding, a simple and adaptable tool was developed that allows installations to pursue contractor selection for construction projects by other-than lowest price methods. This research conducted a systematic literature review to obtain a …

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Development And Assessment Of A Model-Based Framework On User Toolkits, Brandon J. Koury Mar 2022

Development And Assessment Of A Model-Based Framework On User Toolkits, Brandon J. Koury

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) has a limited number of resources to accomplish a variety of missions which involve deploying personnel to support and maintain aircraft operating throughout the world. The DoDs maintenance structure codes maintainers to perform maintenance on specific airframes. This structure limits the flexibility of maintainers and leads to deploying resources in a reactionary manner to address capability gaps in deployed environments. The Just-In-Time Multi-Mission Airman (JIT MMA) concept aims to resolve these issues. Currently, the necessary technologies are unknown, but user toolkits are a concept to consider. A user toolkit is a concept that allows users …

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A Scientometric Analysis Of Smart Sensors In Facility Management And Applications In Air Force Operations, Joseph-Thomas H. Lehotsky Mar 2022

A Scientometric Analysis Of Smart Sensors In Facility Management And Applications In Air Force Operations, Joseph-Thomas H. Lehotsky

Theses and Dissertations

To investigate the areas which smart sensors can be implemented to assist facility managers to optimize limited resources, this research consists of a scientometric analysis to identify the areas of research quantitatively and qualitatively. Existing literature related to smart sensors in facility management operations were compiled and trends were analyzed to determine the ways in which researchers have been applying this technology. The title, abstracts, and keyword were used to perform frequency, networking, and clustering analysis. This research effort serves to provide ways in which Air Force installations can implement smart sensors in a way which fulfills the initiatives posed …

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Investigation Into Engineering Change Order Costs And Appropriate Rules-Of-Thumb, Kaiana M. Miller Mar 2022

Investigation Into Engineering Change Order Costs And Appropriate Rules-Of-Thumb, Kaiana M. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Engineering Change Orders (ECO) are technical requirements changes to existing contracts. To account for the potential increase in contract costs stemming from ECOs, current acquisition practice is to estimate a dollar value to hold in management reserve (MR) in case of ECO occurrence. Estimators often rely on rules-of-thumb when developing these estimates. Specifically, estimators use a 10% rule-of-thumb for estimating MR contract costs in the Development life cycle phase and a 5% rule-of-thumb for contracts in the Production or O&S life cycle phase. However, no empirical data supports or validates these 10% and 5% figures. Using a new data source, …

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A Post-Disaster Construction Portfolio Optimization Framework For Tyndall Afb Rebuild Post Hurricane Michael, Andre J. May Mar 2022

A Post-Disaster Construction Portfolio Optimization Framework For Tyndall Afb Rebuild Post Hurricane Michael, Andre J. May

Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and extreme flooding cause severe social and economic disruptions. Restoration of social and revenue-generating services often requires extensive reconstruction, from the facility to the campus scale. For multi-facility portfolios, decision-makers must prioritize post-disaster reconstruction activities appropriately to ensure facilities and infrastructure are restored. In addition, any expansion or new construction initiatives are ideally completed in order of decision-maker and community preference. Most post-disaster optimization and decision framework research consider a single stakeholder as guiding decisions related to a project portfolio. However, these portfolio prioritization frameworks ignore the effect of multiple stakeholders and competing …

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Efficiency Mapping And Determination Of Reliability, Resiliency And Vulnerability Of Atmospheric Water Generators In The United States, Erica F. Sadowski Mar 2022

Efficiency Mapping And Determination Of Reliability, Resiliency And Vulnerability Of Atmospheric Water Generators In The United States, Erica F. Sadowski

Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) extract water from the air using one of three available technologies: refrigeration, sorption, and fog harvesting. A refrigeration device works like a dehumidifier and works best in conditions above 60% relative humidity. A sorption device utilizes a desiccant to extract the water vapor from the air and works in very low humidity levels. A fog harvesting device utilizes a mesh to capture the water vapor from the air and requires 100% relative humidity. In this research, I analyze two refrigeration-based devices and one sorption-based device and their efficacy in providing supplemental water supply. Due to climatological …

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Persistence And Mitigation Of Pfas Within Concrete Stormwater Drainage Infrastructure, Jason R. Mcdonald Mar 2022

Persistence And Mitigation Of Pfas Within Concrete Stormwater Drainage Infrastructure, Jason R. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The persistence, fate, and transport of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, which have been shown to have adverse effects on human health, have been previously studied in environmental media such as soils and groundwater. This study investigates concrete, a medium that is rarely studied but frequently present in instances where PFAS originating from AFFF releases and spills have occurred. Used heavily throughout aviation firefighting, AFFF poses environmental hazards due to the length of PFAS degradation and toxicological implications, thus its classification as a forever chemical. From the very limited reports to date, studies have suggested very slow release from concrete, potentially …

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A Decadal Analysis Of Shifts In Engineering Manufacturing Development Factors For Dod Assets, Michael J. Smith Mar 2022

A Decadal Analysis Of Shifts In Engineering Manufacturing Development Factors For Dod Assets, Michael J. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This research involves the analysis of standard parametric factors by decade within the development stage of acquisitions. Analysts use factors to develop budgets, create a baseline for measuring project progress, or as a crosscheck to the other estimating techniques. This research analyzed data from 408 1921s across seven decades and eight work breakdown structure (WBS) elements. It further analyzed these decades by commodity type, contract and contractor type, and service branch. The statistical tests used in this research determined which decades within our categories were dissimilar and drew conclusions about the impact of those differences. These tests determined that factors …

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Application Of Machine Learning Models With Numerical Simulations Of An Experimental Microwave Induced Plasma Gasification Reactor, Owen D. Sedej Mar 2022

Application Of Machine Learning Models With Numerical Simulations Of An Experimental Microwave Induced Plasma Gasification Reactor, Owen D. Sedej

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to contribute to the future development of this technology by providing an in-depth literature review of how this technology physically operates and can be numerically modeled. Additionally, this thesis reviews literature of machine learning models that have been applied to gasification to make accurate predictions regarding the system. Finally, this thesis provides a framework of how to numerically model an experimental plasma gasification reactor in order to inform a variety of machine learning models.

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Natural Infrastructure Alternatives Mitigate Hurricane-Driven Flood Vulnerability: Application To Tyndall Air Force Base, Kiara L. Vance Mar 2022

Natural Infrastructure Alternatives Mitigate Hurricane-Driven Flood Vulnerability: Application To Tyndall Air Force Base, Kiara L. Vance

Theses and Dissertations

Hurricane frequency and magnitude intensification are expected over the remainder of the twenty-first century. Uncertainty in future projections requires that coastal communities approach adaptation decisions with caution. Traditional approaches are costly and inflexible. Soft policy adaptations are largely unenforceable. Hard, natural adaptations have emerged as an opportunity to partially mitigate the growing risk of extreme flooding, without the large investments required for traditional approaches, where natural infrastructure already exists. Existing literature for natural adaptations has not leveraged intensification expectations for hurricane events. This research uses multihazard damage evaluation software and spatial analysis to investigate placement of dredged sediment as a …

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Satellite Tt&C For Cubesats With Applications For Grissom-1, Michael J. Bittle Mar 2022

Satellite Tt&C For Cubesats With Applications For Grissom-1, Michael J. Bittle

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the assessment and analysis performed to characterize the communication subsystem used for command and telemetry transmission in support of the Grissom-1 Mission (GM1). The GM1 is unique in that it represents the pathfinder for a standardized 6U bus that serves as the basis for future CubeSat missions to host a variety of technical and scientific payloads, as prioritized by the Department of Defense, requiring flight demonstration or access to the orbital environment. Lab-based testing within an anechoic chamber provided link margin data required to characterize the command and telemetry links of the GM1. Experimental data describing the …

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Design And Testing Of A Composite Compressor Rotor, Mauro Noel V. De Leon Mar 2022

Design And Testing Of A Composite Compressor Rotor, Mauro Noel V. De Leon

Theses and Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) and molding are manufacturing methods known for building representations or replicas of conceptualized engine components, but was considered impractical for manufacturing operating engine components. More recent technology has rendered composite materials (combining high-temperature polymers and fiber reinforcement) capable of withstanding the temperature and structural requirements to compete with conventional turbomachinery metals. This study explores the application of several high-temperature polymers (ULTEM 9085, Onyx-Carbon fiber, and Epoxy-Carbon fiber) and their survivability in the operating conditions of a P400 Engine compressor. The tests conducted for this study determined their viability as compressor materials. This study required conducting tensile specimen …

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Leveraging Xgeo Orbits For Cislunar Space Domain Awareness, Jay Laone Mar 2022

Leveraging Xgeo Orbits For Cislunar Space Domain Awareness, Jay Laone

Theses and Dissertations

With recent interest in using cislunar orbits for a variety of missions, it is more important than ever to also have cislunar space domain awareness. This thesis aims to bridge the gap between traditional LEO/GEO architectures and the new cislunar orbit architectures with orbits higher than GEO but still within the Earth sphere of influence, called xGEO. This research effort first explores the feasibility of xGEO orbits by examining the errors that the two-body assumption builds over time. Findings suggest that the two body assumption can be used to varying degrees depending on the orbit radius. This study has found …

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Investigation Of Additively Manufactured Molybdenum-Tungsten-Rhenium Alloys, Randolph T. Abaya Mar 2022

Investigation Of Additively Manufactured Molybdenum-Tungsten-Rhenium Alloys, Randolph T. Abaya

Theses and Dissertations

The process of creating metal components through additive manufacturing is changing the way different industries can avoid the shortcomings of traditional metal production. Metals such as tungsten, molybdenum, and rhenium have many advantages for different applications, especially when alloyed together. In this study, an additively manufactured alloy containing 70% molybdenum, 25% tungsten, and 5% rhenium (70Mo-25W-5Re) is tested for its strength, ductility, hardness, and porosity. The 70Mo-25W-5Re alloy is printed through Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) under different conditions such as printing speed and printing atmosphere. Additionally, the effects of post printing heat treatment are conducted to understand the advantages …

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Effects Of A Nitrogen And Hydrogen Build Atmosphere On The Properties Of Additively Manufactured Tungsten, Dana C. Madsen Mar 2022

Effects Of A Nitrogen And Hydrogen Build Atmosphere On The Properties Of Additively Manufactured Tungsten, Dana C. Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

Additively manufactured tungsten was printed in pure nitrogen, nitrogen-2.5% hydrogen, and nitrogen-5% hydrogen atmospheres as part of a 2^3 full factorial designed experiment and subjected to room temperature and high-temperature three-point-bend testing, chemical analysis, hardness testing, and microstructural imaging techniques. The pure nitrogen specimens exhibited the highest strength and ductility at both high temperature and room temperature. Chemical analysis showed a 2-8x reduction in compositional oxygen relative to unprocessed powder. Hardness values for all samples was between 306.8 and 361.5 HV1. It is proposed that adding hydrogen into the build atmosphere reduced the available energy density for tungsten melting by …

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Thermal Relaxation Of Shot Peen Induced Residual Stresses In A Nickel-Base Superalloy, Bryce E. Van Velson Mar 2022

Thermal Relaxation Of Shot Peen Induced Residual Stresses In A Nickel-Base Superalloy, Bryce E. Van Velson

Theses and Dissertations

Shot peening induces compressive residual stresses in components that positively influence fatigue life. Thermal and mechanical loading causes those residual stresses to relax. The hole drilling method and xray diffraction is used to measure the thermal relaxation of residual stresses in the nickel-base superalloy ME3.

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Implementation And Characterization Of Ahr On A Xilinx Fpga, Andrew J. Dittrich Mar 2022

Implementation And Characterization Of Ahr On A Xilinx Fpga, Andrew J. Dittrich

Theses and Dissertations

A new version of the Adaptive-Hybrid Redundancy (AHR) architecture was developed to be implemented and tested in hardware using Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). The AHR architecture was developed to mitigate the effects that the Single Event Upset (SEU) and Single Event Transient (SET) radiation effects have on processors and was tested on a Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages (MIPS) architecture. The AHR MIPS architecture was implemented in hardware using two Xilinx FPGAs. A Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) based serial communication network was added to the AHR MIPS design to enable inter-board communication between the two FPGAs. The …

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Optimization Of A Multi-Layered Target For A Pulsed Power Neutron Source, Zachary D. Bretz Mar 2022

Optimization Of A Multi-Layered Target For A Pulsed Power Neutron Source, Zachary D. Bretz

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to create neutron environments is critical fora wide variety of applications including national security, materials science, and medical research. It is also helpful in medical, material, and other research. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Washington, DC, is interested in leveraging their pulsed-power facilities to produce an in-house, relatively inexpensive neutron source. NRL’s facilities produce 2 MeV (from Gamble II) and 5 MeV (from Mercury) protons and deuterons. This research explored combinations of target materials to produce the most neutrons in the forward direction. Models of the reactions involved were first validated against literature experiments, then target designs …

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Performance Assessment Of Navigation Using Carrier Doppler Measurements From Multiple Leo Constellations, Michael J. Hartnett Mar 2022

Performance Assessment Of Navigation Using Carrier Doppler Measurements From Multiple Leo Constellations, Michael J. Hartnett

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this work is to characterize a novel navigation method which uses carrier Doppler shift measurements from LEO satellites. An ever-growing reliance on the GNSS has coincided with an increase in ways it can be degraded or denied, whether naturally occurring or man-made. These potentially disastrous threats to traditional navigation and timing have necessitated new technologies to augment GNSS in the case of an outage. LEO constellations, whose size and higher signal power make them potentially useful for navigation, are one technology that has been explored. The navigation algorithms detailed in this research use Doppler measurements from 8 …

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Double Cone Flow Field Reconstruction Between Mach 4 And 12 Using Machine Learning Techniques, Trevor A. Toros Mar 2022

Double Cone Flow Field Reconstruction Between Mach 4 And 12 Using Machine Learning Techniques, Trevor A. Toros

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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Capability Development For Advanced (N,X) Nuclear Data Measurements, Brian G. Frandsen Mar 2022

Capability Development For Advanced (N,X) Nuclear Data Measurements, Brian G. Frandsen

Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear reaction data are the heart of radiation transport calculations, models, and simulations. Unique approaches are required to improve the measurement capability for many reactions where data are inaccurate or do not exist. First, the newly developed Gamma Energy Neutron Energy Spectrometer for Inelastic Scattering (GENESIS) provides the ability to measure neutron inelastic scattering cross sections on different targets. An initial experiment measuring the 16O(n,n’��) reaction calculated the count rate from the second excited state using the full energy and escape peaks. Second, a set of photocurable scintillator resin formulations capable of neutron-gamma discrimination were developed to support light-based …

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Neutron Spectral Effect On Microelectronic Performance Response, Wade Kloppenburg Mar 2022

Neutron Spectral Effect On Microelectronic Performance Response, Wade Kloppenburg

Theses and Dissertations

Response of 2N2222 bipolar junction transistors to neutrons from a pulsed thermonuclear or pulsed fission source are researched. Measurements used for comparing performance included the base-collector junction current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics and device gain degradation. Little change was detected in steady-state operation of the base-collector junction, but evidence in the dynamic and capacitance measurements establish effects based on environment. Experimental results are compared to literature results and parameters are explored using a device model simulation code.

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Formulation And Characterization Of Fast-Curing Plastic Scintillators With High-Z Loading, Theodore W. Stephens Mar 2022

Formulation And Characterization Of Fast-Curing Plastic Scintillators With High-Z Loading, Theodore W. Stephens

Theses and Dissertations

Development of novel fast-curing plastic scintillators is highly advantageous due to their potential to be manufactured via 3D printing. Several formulations were developed that exhibit enhanced photon sensitivity, producing modest but discernible photopeaks at an incident gamma energy of 122 keV. The photon sensitivity is achieved via bismuth high-Z loading; however, this practice typically results in diminished light yields. Subsequent formulations, which varied the photoinitiator concentration and curing time, demonstrated successful curing with sufficient plastic hardness, reduced purple discoloration, reduced heat buildup during curing, and resulted in less cracking during the curing process, all of which were correlated with lower …

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