Engineering Commons^™

Development Of A Radar Pulse Modulator, Eckard Friedrich Natter

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This report summarizes the design of a 25kW peak power pulse modulator for an airborne medium--range weather radar. It is the purpose of the modulator to collect and store energy over a certain time period and to form this energy into a short, high-power pulse. The modulator is required to drive a coaxial magnetron with a pulse of 5kV at 5A. System considerations make a pulse width of 3.5us and repetition rate of 99Hz necessary. The pulse is generated in a line-type pulse circuit which utilizes an SCR as a switching device. It is shown that a solid-state modulator can …

A Simplification Of Underwater Acoustic Equations, Morris G. Middleton

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This Research Report presents some of the equations of underwater acoustics that relate to the signal excess noise received by a transducer. The basic structural equation is developed, as are defining equations for each term in that equation. An analysis is performed utilizing typical values to ascertain if the elements of the structural equation can be simplified. Results delineate that several terms of that equation can be neglected while maintaining a relative high degree of accuracy.

Development Of A Sixteen Line Multiplexer, James H. Stangel

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This report explains the development of a telephone line multiplexer to be used with a computer based personal paging system. The large geographical area coverage made possible by computer processing results in many calls having to cross telephone tariff boundaries. Since system users cannot be expected to pay long distance charges, dedicated lines which cross tariff boundaries must be leased. Multiplexing applied to those leased lines reduces the cost of data transmission, and is, therefore, justified. The design of the multiplexer proceeds from a specification set which is derived from user response requirements. Fundamentally, the response consists in advising the …

Construction Systems For Detached, Single-Story Concrete Block Houses In Florida: Current Practices, Costs And Potential Innovations, Randolph Deshields Mcdonald

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Concrete block single-story detached homes are popular residences in Florida, but construction materials and methods must undergo changes to combat rising prices and material shortages. Those systems with the greatest pressure of price or material shortage will change first. When current costs and methods are examine, it is found that two systems, roof and exterior walls, have the greatest need for changes in the immediate future; and one system, thermal insulation, needs an empirical study. The roof is of materials which are in short supply and rapidly increasing in cost. The study concludes that, with present cost trends, metal frame …

Computer Solution Of Linear Programming Problems Using The Decomposition Algorithm, Walter Paul Kraslawsky

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Water Softening, James Burr Aton

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic modeling is proposed in this paper as a method of developing a computer model to simulate a water softening treatment unit. Information on water softening economics and ion exchange are examined. The development of a dynamic model is oriented toward uniform effluent water quality and operational flexibility. Several methods are presented to determine the reaction rate used in the completely mixed flow reactor's dynamic model. Based on preliminary data the proposed dynamic model would calculate removal rate similar to those found in an existing plant.

Experimental Analysis Of V-Belt Tensile Loads, John Mark Wiesehan

Masters Theses

"An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the magnitude of v-belt stresses in automotive drive situations. A constant tension belt test apparatus was designed and fabricated using a variable speed cradled D.C. motor for power and two automotive alternators for absorption.

Free span stresses on the dynamic torque loaded belt drive were determined from the equations governing a pivoted drive system. Centrifugal stress was determined by a theoretical analysis of belt motion. Bending stresses were obtained from a static test employing strain gages mounted on the top of belts with exposed cord layers. The variation in load stress around the …

Initial Flow Calibration Results From The Florida Technological University Four-Inch Supersonic Wind Tunnel, James K. Beck

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Finite Element Grid Optimizations, James G. Ladesic

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Any structural analysis which gives stresses and displacements for some predefined structure is governed by some physical domain of loading, geometry and boundary conditions. Let this domain be called the structures "problem space." In applying finite element analysis, the solution to any one problem space may be one of many admissible solutions all of which satisfy some given set of boundary conditions. Admissibility is determined by the stated problem with its boundary conditions along with computer storage capacity considerations. Obtaining the most exact approximate solutions is one of major concern to insure adequate results. This problem has been approached from …

A Solid State Vhf Single Sideband Transmitter, Ermi Roos

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This research report investigates a unique method of generating single sideband power, which is particularly useful in transistorized transmitters operating at VHF frequencies. Radio frequency power id developed by class C amplifiers, rather than conventional class A or B amplifiers. Currently, VHF power transistors are not well adapted for use as linear amplifiers, and will function far better in the class C mode. A prototype VHF transmitter which develops single sideband power with nonlinear amplifiers was designed and constructed. The transmitter characteristics were measured and analyzed to establish the feasibility of the new design.

Permeability Determination For Landfill Studies, Joel George Smith

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This report reviews the state of the art with respect to permeability determination and sanitary landfills. Characteristics of the soil which determine the permeability are given. Processes which can change the permeability are discussed. Darcy's Law, the mathematical basis of permeability and its validity are discussed. Laboratory and field methods for determining the permeability are also discussed. Applications of determined permeability for design and management of landfills are also indicated.

Planning Programming Budgeting Study Of The City Of Winter Park, Alfred T. Sawicki

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The report examines the applicability of Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System to the City of Winter Park. After briefly describing the character of the city, the goals are identified, the means by which they may be achieved and measure of evaluating progress toward them are given. To show how such an effort might be implemented, specific programs, objectives and effectiveness criteria are provided. These are followed by three examples in which the existing system is described and from which problems are revealed. Next, a brief analysis is performed to pinpoint the difficulty and a solution is proposed. The examples are …

Parameter Identification Applied To Linear Quadratic Differential Games, John D. Corrigan

Doctoral Dissertations

"A two player zero-sum linear quadratic differential game is investigated for the case in which one of the players has incomplete a priori knowledge of the parameters of his opponent's dynamic system. This incomplete system parameter information game is shown to be playable since the ignorant player can make limiting estimates of the unknown parameters from the relative controllability condition for the game. Performance from the ignorant player's point of view is suboptimal.

It is also shown that parameter identification techniques can be applied by the ignorant player in order to directly identify the smart player's closed-loop parameters in the …

The Application Of System Dynamics Techniques To War Game Modeling, G. Vincent Amico

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Military War Gaming has developed from the chess-like games to the elaborate computer simulations of today, using high-speed, general-purpose, digital computers. This Research Report will briefly review modern war-game developments with emphasis on real-time training systems. The application of system dynamics techniques developed by Jay W. Forrester to war-game modeling is explored. A simple destroyer versus submarine model is developed. Results indicate that the system dynamics modeling technique is a powerful and effective tool. However, the Dynamo language could be substantially improved by a more powerful logical statement capability.

A Feasibility Study Of Aircraft Mechanics Program And Flight Training At Spokane Community College, Kenneth Gaylord Brown

All Master's Theses

This paper was designed to study the flight-training program of the aviation department at Spokane Community College and its relationship to mechanics employability. Questionnaires were designed to sample the mechanic-employer relationship in regard to mechanics with flight experience to determine whether this experience was an advantage or detriment to the aircraft mechanic seeking employment.

Recommendations proposed were expansion of the existing flight program at Spokane Community College and the practicality of adoption of flight training by similar schools.

A Digital Simulation Of A Single Articulated Rotor Helicopter, Joseph William Klahs Jr.

Masters Theses

"The investigation was concerned with the development of a complete digital computer simulation of a single articulated rotor helicopter. The simulation program was executed on an IBM model 360-50 digital computer.

The main rotor was analyzed by the consideration of a continuous rigid blade at six azimuth stations, while the airframe aerodynamics were treated in the conventional manner. The differential equations of motion of the airframe were solved in a step-wise fashion by approximating time dependent functions with cubic interpolation polynomials.

The study concluded that there was strong evidence that suggested the possibility of treating main rotor flapping as a …

A Comparison Of Three Urban Hydrology Models, Richard F. Astrack

Masters Theses

"Three models, the British Road Research Laboratory Hydrograph Method, the Hydrocomp Simulation Program, and the HEC-1 Flood Hydrograph Package, are applied to the Boneyard Creek basin. Comparing the ability of these models to reproduce the observed peak discharge, time of the peak, and the first runoff volume determines the accuracy of these models"--Abstract, page iii.

A Highway Rest Area Design Based On A Use Study In Outstate Missouri, Dimitris Peter Perandakos

Masters Theses

"The limited number of rest areas in the State of Missouri does create a major problem for the motorist travelling in this state.

The author became more aware of this problem from personal experience and decided to investigate it. For that he interviewed over one thousand motorists on the only rest area that is located on 1-44, near the city of Stanton. He also took traffic counts to determine the average daily traffic volumes of Highway 1-44 and of the rest area stated above.

The data collected from the above steps was used for the design of a new rest …

A Multivariable Sampled-Data Model Of An Automobile Driver, Jose A. Bermudez

Masters Theses

"In this thesis, a multivariable system model of driver performance in the basic driving tasks is presented. The driver model described acts as a serial-process, priority-accessed, time-sharing computer. This model processes the input or output task which currently possesses the highest priority. Input tasks are represented by continuous signals sampled intermittently according to priority laws. Output tasks are modeled as simple analog processes operating on the last few intermittently generated output controls. An individual priority rule is constructed for each input and output task.

The performance of the driver in the lateral control task involves a feedforward pattern which is …

A Formal Description Of The Nova-800 Computer In Computer Design Language, Ronald Lee Engelbrecht

Masters Theses

"This paper presents a formal description of the operation of the NOVA 800 in Computer Design Language (CDL). For simplicity, the description does not include specific input/output devices, the multiply/divide option, or data channel operations. The description is intended to be used as a supplement in a basic course in computer organization, and an example of its use is included"--Abstract, page ii.

Interior Noise In Military Helicopters, Charles E. Perez Jr.

Masters Theses

"The Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) or temporary hearing loss caused by excessive interior noise in military helicopters results in a critical degradation of the acoustically unprotected infantryman's ability to detect the existence or the approach of the enemy by hearing under combat conditions. The overall problem of noise reduction in helicopters consists of: (1) identifying the various noise sources, and (2) employing appropriate noise control techniques. Identification of the source is accomplished by the frequency correlation of 1/10-octave band analysis of the interior sound levels measured within the helicopter cabin with near-field sound generated by the sound sources. Reduction of …

A Study Of The Ability Of Water Treatment To Remove Trace Organics, Daniel Lee Oliver

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this investigation was to study the ability of water treatment processes, especially coagulation and chlorination, to remove trace organic materials from raw river water. Trace organic concentrations were determined using the Organics-Carbon Adsorbable (O-CA) technique, a miniaturized Carbon Adsorption Method (CAM).

Missouri River raw and treated water, obtained on 3 different dates at the Jefferson City, MO, water treatment plant, was used. The effect of various treatment steps, including settling, softening with lime, coagulating with copperas or alum over a range of doses, and chlorinating at the dose necessary to give a free residual of 2 mg/1 …

The Simulation Of A Production Control System, Steven Craig Weis

Masters Theses

"In an attempt to simulate a production system a typical company was assumed, and mathematical models of its functions were structured to form a total model. This model was programmed into an IBM 360/50 computer. A program which included seasonal trends and random requirements for various departments was designed that would evaluate all the available alternatives and output the two best production schedules such that operating costs would be minimized and the company labor force would remain nearly constant. These schedules detail the manpower requirements by week, department, line, job and shift.

To accommodate the seasonal trends, various forms of …

Design Of An Analog-Temperature Control System For An Expansion Cloud Chamber, Andrew C. Tebelak

Masters Theses

"This thesis describes the design, construction, and application of an analog control system for the temperature control of an expansion cloud chamber. During the expansion, the sample gas and the chamber walls are cooled at the same rate so as to maintain adiabaticity. The control system measures the wall temperature with transistor temperature sensors, calculates the gas temperature from the gas pressure using the adiabatic gas law, and generates a control signal proportional to their difference. The control precision is sufficient to allow the chamber to be used in the study of atmospheric phenomena.

The chamber is a ten-sided right …

A Study Of Rf Induction Heating And Float Zone Refining Of Silicon, John Allen Reynolds

Masters Theses

"Float zone refining using simultaneous RF induction heating and electromagnetic levitation has proven to be the best technique for producing high purity silicon for the semiconductor industry.

A study of the power requirements for floating molten zones, of load to source impedance matching, and of considerations for RF heating coil design was conducted to determine possible methods of improving the technique. It is shown that the power requirements are within reason, that impedance matching can be improved by varying network parameters, and that certain vital items must be assured in the design of different RF heating coils.

It is believed …

Ideal Filter Approximation And Synthesis, Patrick Shu Yau Ho

Masters Theses

"Several methods are currently used for approximating the ideal low pass filter. Generally, those approximations relate only to the amplitude or phase characteristic of the ideal filter. A class of filters has been proposed as approximating both the amplitude and phase characteristics of the ideal filter. The characteristics of the first ten members of the proposed class are considered in this paper. The results indicate a much improved approximation to the ideal filter has been achieved"--Abstract, page ii.

Driver-Vehicle-Roadway Interaction Model, Mark E. Jaeger

Masters Theses

"A non-trivial simulation model has been developed which combines driver and vehicle dynamics with the roadway into one system. The model was successfully simulated on a portion of an existing roadway with the dynamic response and performance of the simulator being subjectively realistic. By implementing the idea of the interaction of variables, a much more detailed and representative response is obtained as compared to previous models based solely upon a single-factor-effect approach. By analyzing a simulated vehicle's velocity and trajectory, it is felt that an increase in driver "look ahead" distance or a decrease in vehicle velocity tends to improve …

Statistical Analysis Of Critical Flashover Voltage And Standard Deviation Of Switching Surges And Lightning Impulses, Gurdip Singh

Masters Theses

"In order to analyze critical flashover voltage methods a set of experimentally determined data has been used. This data was supplied by the A. B. Chance Company. The data presents the flashover probability as regards to impulse voltage. The various correction factors have been applied to get the corrected impulse voltage, thus eliminating the effect of atmospheric conditions such as temperature, pressure, and humidity. The experimental observations have been analyzed by the application and use of the method of moments, regression analysis, graphical analysis with iterative techniques and maximum likelihood method. From the results, it was found that the maximum …

Design And Construction Of An Electronic Pressure Altimeter For An Atmospheric Data Acquisition System, Larry Wayne Berkbigler

Masters Theses

"This thesis describes the design, construction, and application of an altimeter which was developed as part of the data acquisition system of a small aircraft used to study atmospheric conditions. The altimeter provides a digital readout and interfaces with analog and digital recorders. It can also provide an audio indication when a predetermined altitude is reached. The altimeter is powered by 12 volts dc, has resolution to 10 feet, and a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet. Its maximum theoretical error is ±78 feet ±0.77% of true altitude, which is an error of ±194 feet at 15,000 feet.

Since the unit …

Management Of Passive Countersurveillance In The R & D Environment, James Ronald Carney

Masters Theses

"Existing management procedures that are pertinent to research and development activities within the Government are presented. The main focus of this effort is on the Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center’s Countersurveillance and Topographic Division, and highlights the relevant plans, documents, programs, and reporting systems utilized by the Army and the Department of Defense. An in-depth examination is made on the need for Countersurveillance in the Army. The Army’s existing Countersurveillance research and development missions and programs are reviewed.

A detailed investigation and analysis is performed on current management concepts and techniques that are utilized in research and development endeavors. …