Engineering Commons^™

The Evaluation Of The Impact Of Reducing The Domestic Wastewater Phosphorus On The Algal-Related Water Quality Of The Hudson/Raritan Estuary And Northern New Jersey's Coastal Waters, Ron Gautreau

Theses

An investigation was undertaken to examine the planktonic algal-related water quality of the Hudson/Raritan Estuary and northern New Jersey's coastal waters with respect to quantifying the relationship between the amount of phosphorus loading to the planktonic algal-related water quality responses. Recreational and commercial uses of northern New Jersey's coastal waters have at times been impaired by excessive growth of planktonic algae. Using population equivalents and export coefficients the amount of domestic wastewater and land runoff derived phosphoruscontributed to the Estuary was estimated. The P load contributed to the Estuary via the discharge of New York and New Jersey domestic wastewater …

Three Dimensional Study Of Macromolecular Leakage Patterns Using Video Image Analysis, Nikhil V. Khimani

Theses

It has long been known that blood - tissue transport of macromolecules in the microcirculation is driven by diffusion. Although two dimensional models fit the experimental data well, the diffusion process is three dimensional.The objective of this research was to establish a three dimensional unsteady state mathematical model for intravascular transport of macromolecules, and suppoi t the theoretical establishment by experimental results.

Three dimensional diffusion of macromolecules through the interstitial space in the hamster cheek pouch was studied, with intravital fluorescence microscopy. After application of bradykinin, the movement of Fluorescein isothiocynate (F.I.T.C.) - labeled Dextrans of average molecular weight 150,000 …

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 …

Artificial Intelligence And Mechanical Engineering, Efthimios Papayianis

Theses

Many artificial intelligence programs have been developed to assist engineers in their search for solutions. Most of them are designed to assist with a specific type of problem and they usually take the form of an expert system. However one may also use the concepts of artificial intelligence to solve a problem for which an expert system is not yet available.

Three expert systems were developed with Prolog to demonstrate how artificial intelligence can help solve problems in mechanical engineering. The first expert assists in the design of simply supported beams. The second expert assists in the design of thick …

Netexpert, An Expert System For Computer Network Management, Sailen Patel

Theses

Data Communications systems consist of distributed software and hardware components executing concurrently a number of communications functions. The logical framework for these functions is called data communication architecture and is layered hierarchically according to the OSI model. The protocol defines the syntax and semantics of the communications between entities of the same layer. NETEXPERT: An Expert system described here contains a set of formal specifications corresponding to different abstractions level of the protocol. On the highest level there is a specification of the service provided by this protocol. On the consecutive lower levels there are successive refinements of this specification …

A Dynamic Model Of Fill-And-Draw Reactor Utilizing An Inhibitory Substrate, Yun-Fei Ko

Theses

A dynamic model of a fill-and-draw reactor has been developed, which includes a number of operational parameters, the fraction of total cycle time devoted to fill, reaction and draw, and the concentration of the toxic substance in the feed to the reactor.

Operating diagrams have been generated, from which one can choose suitable operating parameters.

The model has been solved numerically for Andrews kinetics ( substrate inhibition ), and tested experimentally, using a 5-liter fill-and-draw reactor with phenol as sole carbon source and a pure culture of Pseudomonas putida. Results compared very well to the model predictions.

Implementation Of A Robotic Workcell, John J. Rogers

Theses

This thesis is intended to provide the reader with some insight into the implementation of robotics technology into an organization. A seven step approach to implementing robotics into an organization was used. The seven steps consist of the following:

1) Initial familiarization with the technology.

2) Plant survey to identify potential applications.

3) Selection of the application.

4) Selection of the robot.

5) Detailed economic analysis.

6) Planning and engineering the installation.

7) Installation.

These steps were applied in an actual organization, the IBM Corp. Real-life processes and operations were utilized in proceeding with the seven step approach. Included in …

Microcomputer Control Of An Ac Induction Motor Using A Pwm Computational Intensive Method, Luther William Schnug

Theses

A three-phase microcomputer based AC Inverter has been developed using a computational intensive PWM algorithm that generates the output bridge switching patterns in real time. This approach utilizes the on-board capabilities of an advanced microcontroller, (a 16-bit 8097 from Intel), to eliminate most of the external hardware, and demands on memory size, required in other designs. This algorithm implements in software the Triangular Modulation Method of PWM generation, and utilizes a trapezoidal approximation to the sinusoidal reference waveform. Brassboard tests have shown that this approximation produces 5th and 7th harmonics that degraded performance, at low speeds. An enhanced algorithm, utilizing …

The Path Method In Power System State Estimation, Fareed A. R. Shirazi

Theses

A new method for Power System State Estimation (PSSE), the 'Path Method', is developed and studied. In this method the state (voltage magnitude and angle) of one node is calculated at a time, using only the local measurements. This procedure is repeated to calculate the state of all nodes in the system, following a predefined path to determine the next node whose state is to be calculated. In the process, more measurements are used whenever available and possible. Results obtained for this method are comparable and close to those of the Line-Flow Only (LFO) method. An advantage of the Path …

Lf Pulse Magnetic Field Generation And Uniformity Studies, Shun-Wen Tan

Theses

This thesis dealt with the design and construction of a pulsed magnetic field (PMF) generation circuit. The spatial variations of the generated PMF are also studied The generated PMF is intended to be used for two purposes (a) in hospitals, for its healing effect of broken bones, and (b) to study the effects of PMF on industrial bacteria and their activity in transforming toxic waste to benign waste

A square coil made of two sections is constructed and the associated circuitry for the PMF generation is designed and built The circuitry is divided into two parts. the control circuit and …

An Application Of Bit Level Systolic Arrays On Digitized Adaptive Array Processes, Shin-Hwa Tsai

Theses

This thesis has concentrated on some aspects of adaptive arrays, i.e., the data type as well as the calculating processes under an optimized version. An adaption of a modified bit-level array is described on the control structure for processes like correlation matrix, Q-R decomposition and solution of triangular linear systems. In short, an implementation of SMI(Sample Matrix Inversion) under a parallel systolic array process is consider5ed. Also an application of utilizing systolic array on a matrix inversion is derived. As a result, it could be predicted that a VLSI chip implementation for small adaptive arrays is feasible in the near …

Co-Metabolism Of Pentachlorophenol With Glucose Using Two-Stage Anaerobic Activated Carbon Fluidized Beds, Zen Wang

Theses

Abstract - Detoxification of pentachlorophenol by using a two-stage anaerobic biological activated carbon fluidized bed has been investigated. Glucose was introduced as a cosubstrate to determine the relationship between the glucose/PCP ratio and the extent of PCP detoxification in such a system. This system has been proved to be effective in the removal of both PCP and COD. Ratio of glucose to PCP predominates the performance of the system throughout the whole course of this experiment. At a glucose/PCP ratio of 0.33, the system has a highest reduction of both PCP and COD. Addition of glucose to the highly PCP …

Effects Of Compliance And Machining Prameters On Robotic Grinding/Deburring, Kung-Le Chang

Theses

A theoretical model for robotic grinding/deburring has been developed and compared with experimental results. Various grinding parameters such as depth of cut, feed rate, surface profile and roughness, grinding forces, and robot stiffness, have been experimentally investigated in this study. It was observed that the depth of cut is a function of specific grinding energy, force, and robot compliance. The observed roughness and waviness are directly proportional to depth of cut and feed rate and, in addition, to the robot compliance and the encoder quantization error. Other effects of the robot system for grinding performance are also addressed.

Charge Transfer Inefficiency Of Buried-Channel Charged Coupled Device Registers For Low Temperature Operation Of Ptsi Infrared Image Sensors, Benjamin Benjamin Esposito

Theses

Buried channel charge coupled devices used as readout registers in PtSi Schottky-barrier detector infrared image sensors were investigated to characterize factors that influence charge transfer efficiency at low temperatures ranging from 38 to 80K. These factors included frequency of operation, background signal, gate voltage, signal level, gate length, and temperature. It was found that increased gate voltage and decreased gate length are most effective in reducing charge transfer efficiency. This was attributed to increased fringing fields between the potential wells involved in charge transfer. As temperature was decreased from 50K to 38K progressively larger trapping losses were observed due to …

Decontamination Of Contaminated Clay Soils By Thermal Treatment, Chandrakanthi Weerasinghe

Theses

An experimental investigation on the desorption of contaminated clay soils by thermal treatment was performed. This study was carried out on two clay soils (kaolinite and bentonite) sorbed with three liquid organic compounds (phenol, chlorophenol, and chlorobenzene). The study consists of two different phases, the adsorption and desorption. The results on batch equilibrium adsorption were correlated with different isotherm models of which the Freundlich isotherm model was found to be best fit in predicting adsorption capacities of kaolinite, and that for bentonite was found to be the linear isotherm model.

A thermal desorption study followed the equilibrium adsorption study. A …

Degradation Of Dichloromethane, Trichloromethane & Carbon Tetrachloride In A Photoreactor, Sanjay Wadhwa

Theses

A SS 304 photoreactor has been designed to study the degradation of EPA priority pollutants. This newly designed system was used to study the kinetics of degradation of dichloromethane, trichloromethane and carbon tetrachloride under O₂/UV, O₃/O₂/UV and H₂O₂/UV schemes. These compounds have been found to exhibit similar kinetics. The experimental data obtained was. analyzed for pollutant concentration using gas chromatography. The rate constants and mass transfer coefficients were found using a mathematical model to fit the experimental data. A computer program based on the Rosenbrock Hillclimb method in conjunction with …

An Automated System For Optimal Synthesis Of Planar Linkages, Daming Wang

Theses

This thesis addresses the fundamental weakness of the current CAD capabilities and develops a new CAD system with optimization capability. A computer-aided mechanism design system is developed for general problems of optimal kinematic synthesis of planar four-bar mechanisms. The new system is made as user-friendly as possible and it is unique in that it combines Graphics capability, general Analysis capabilities, and Optimization capability into one system. Related background theory in IMP, optimization and optimal synthesis of mechanisms are discussed. The problems and methods in developing the new system are addressed. New routines and modifications made to the original systems are …

A Cmos Circuit Generator Using Differential Pass Transistors For Implementing Boolean Functions, Rabe'eh Mahooti

Dissertations and Theses

This study uses differential pass transistor methodology for implementing and evaluating Boolean functions. The main goal is investigation of CMOS and nMOS approaches in pass transistor logic design. Pass-transistor logic is most effective in the implementation of Boolean functions when the vectors are in the same format. It has been demonstrated that nMOS pass transistor logic driven by a control signal voltage above the V_dd level offers a significant improvement in speed. nMOS pass transistorsalso offer less area consumption in comparison to the CMOS approach.

The philosophy developed here has been used in the design of a program for …

A Volume Integral Formulation For Electromagnetic Scattering From Homogeneous Dielectric Bodies, Mark Joseph Povinelli

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science – Theses

In recent years, printed circuit antennas have become very useful in conformal and planar phased array antenna systems. Of particular interest is the radiation and scattering performance of stripline and microstrip printed circuit antenna array-elements used in these systems. These ele­ments are generally made up of a complex three-dimensional distribution of dielectrics and con­ductors, which can include microstrip or stripline feed circuitry on a dielectric substrate. Figure 1 shows the geometry of a typical multilayer printed circuit stripline-fed flared slot antenna, used as an array-element in a multioctave planar phased array antenna. This antenna element design also incorporates a stripline …

Energy Considerations In Stock Preparation Refining Modified By Recycling, Rajendra D. Deshpande

Masters Theses

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of refining on virgin fibers as well as on recycled fibers. Interaction effects of recycling and type of treatment of virgin fibers on characteristics of secondary fiber were studied. A significant reduction in drainage properties of the furnish for both hardwood and softwood pulps were observed. This reduction in properties was found proportional to the amount of refining. It is necessary to achieve required strength properties at higher freeness values, if fibers are to be recycled. This can be done by improvement in uniformity or homogeneity of refining and by gentler and less …

A Lagrangian For A System Of Two Dyons, Rainer Georg Thierauf

Dissertations and Theses

Maxwell's equations for the electromagnetic field are symmetrized by introducing magnetic charges into the formalism of electrodynamics. The symmetrized equations are solved for the fields and potentials of point particles. Those potentials, some of which are found to be singular along a line, are used to formulate the Lagrangian for a system of two dyons (particles with both electric and magnetic charge). The equations of motion are derived from the Lagrangian. It is shown that the dimensionality constants k and k*, which were introduced to define the units of the electromagnetic fields, have to be equal in order to avoid …

Gas-Phase Reactions Of Methylene Chloride And Methylene Chloride-Trichloroethylene Mixture With Methane In Tubular Flow Reactor And Atmospheric Pressure, Javad Tavakoli-Attar

Dissertations

Reactions of methylene chloride diluted in methane and Argon and a mixture of methylene chloride + trichloroethylene diluted in methane and argon are studied in three flow reactors of different surface to volume ratios 4, 10.5, and 16 mm ID , atmospheric pressure and over a temperature range of 750-1000 °C. Experiments were conducted isothermally, ±5 °C over central 80% of oven length using a three zone oven. Argon was added as a diluent in order to limit carbon (s) formation. The concentration ratios of methylene chloride/methane/argon and methylene chloride/trichloroethylene/methane/argon was held constant at 1:4:10 and 1:1:40:40 respectively, throughout the …

A Structured Light Method For Sensing Alignment During Automated Truss Assembly, Jayesh K. Champaneri

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A new method using structured light is proposed to obtain visual feedback information for aligning two cylindrical beams. For a robotic system employed to perform alignment operations in real time it is essential that the accompanying vision system does not pose a heavy burden on the computing machinery and reduce the overall speed of operation. The method proposed here involves two stripes of light projected on each cylinder. One picture frame is sufficient to completely determine the position of the cylinder in space. An experiment was conducted to demonstrate the principle of this method. Results showed that the errors involved …

An Arrayed Hot-Film Sensor For Detection Of Laminar Boundary-Layer Flow Disturbance Spatial Characteristics, Michael S. Wusk

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An arrayed hot-film sensor has been developed for use in laminar boundary-layer research for the detection of crossflow or Gortler vortices. This sensor has been developed to detect spatial variations in heat transfer and velocity perturbations which are characteristic of crossflow or Gortler vortices. The sensor is ultimately intended for flight research applications. This thesis describes the sensor, its principles of operation, signal analysis techniques, and experimental results illustrating the spatial detection capabilities of this specialized hot-film device. Discretely placed spheres placed in the boundary layer created alternating regions of undisturbed and disturbed laminar flow over a prototype sensor. Flow …

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 …