Engineering Commons^™

Recommendations For Maximizing Battery Life In Photovoltaic Systems: A Review Of The Lessons Learned, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Dunlop

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report contains notes, observations and recommendations about the use of batteries in small stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems. The conclusions of this work are based on the results of more than a decade's worth of battery testing at the Florida Solar Energy Center and related work with Sandia National Laboratories, the PV industry and user groups. The most critical findings were the relationship between battery state-of-charge and battery life and the importance of an adequate PV array-to-load ratio.

High-Tensile Wire Or Cable Tobacco Field Curing Structure, George A. Duncan

Agricultural Engineering Extension Publications

Producers are rapidly adopting field curing structures, and several variations in construction methods and materials exist to achieve low cost or low maintenance and long life. One of the construction methods, pioneered by a producer and now being used by others in the state, uses high-tensile wire strands or cable to support the tobacco sticks.

Evaluation Of Trimarc Procurement Procedures (Interim Report), Monica L. Osborne, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Innovative practices in construction contracting techniques have become more frequent and necessary in recent years. These practices benefit the transportation industry by experimenting with methods different from the traditional methods. This allows for growth and the adoption of procedures that provide higher quality and a better benefit to cost ratio.

An Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), referred to as TRIMARC (Traffic Response and Incident Management Assisting the River Cities), was installed in the Louisville, Kentucky and southern Indiana area. A system integrator approach was used for the installation, operation, and maintenance of this system. Special Experimental Project No. 14 (SEP-14) …

Management Information System For Iso 9000, Reem Mahmoud Abdel Motaal

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Closely Supervised Reactive Control Of An Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle, Roy G. Glassco

Theses and Dissertations

Closely Supervised Reactive Control is an alternative control method for uninhabited aerial vehicles that incorporates some of the benefits of both manual and autonomous operations. Utilizing an onboard camera, an operator can control a UAV by manually choosing desired targets. The flight path of the uninhabited vehicle is determined autonomously from the camera gimbal angles. The operator of the payload (i.e. camera), has close supervision of the aircraft. The aircraft, using an onboard computer, is given autonomous control to alter flight path to fly towards a target and at a specified range, loiter over the target. In the basic mode …

A Needs Assessment And Technology Evaluation For Roadside Identification Of Commercial Vehicles, Jennifer R. Walton, Joseph D. Crabtree

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Throughout North America, selected public agencies have been assigned the responsibility for monitoring commercial vehicle traffic to make sure the commercial vehicles operating on public roadways are in safe operating condition, have proper registration and operating authority, are within legal size and weight limits, and have paid all appropriate fees and taxes. To accomplish this goal, all 50 States have established roadside monitoring and enforcement programs.

With limited resources and increasingly heavy truck volumes, roadside enforcement officers must continually make decisions about which trucks to check and which to allow to proceed. This process of selecting some trucks for closer …

A Report On County Road Program Finance (Fiscal Year 1997-98), Patsy Anderson, Kris Koehler

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report reflects the findings of a study of county road finance in Kentucky. Statistics contained in the report were derived from financial statements submitted by the counties to the Kentucky Department of Local Government.

Wright State University College Of Engineering And Computer Science Bits And Pcs Newsletter, Volume 15, Number 6, June 1999, College Of Engineering And Computer Science, Wright State University

BITs and PCs Newsletter

An eight page newsletter created by the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science that addresses the current affairs of the college.

Revision Of The Rainfall Intensity Duration Curves For The Commonwealth Of Kentucky, Bernadette S. Dupont, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this study was to revise and update the existing Rainfall Intensity- Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curves for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The nine curves that currently govern Kentucky are based on data from First-Order Weather Stations in and around Kentucky. However, the new curves only utilize data from within the State. The data was gathered from both First Order and Co-operative Weather Stations. In accordance with Bulletin 71, the new curves reflect the climatological zones located within the state, thus producing only four IDF curves.

Evaluation Of Retesting In Kentucky's Driver License Process, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman, Michael Ridgeway

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objectives of this research were to first evaluate the existing practices regarding driver license renewal, driver retesting, and medical review board procedures and then identify and recommend methods that would improve these processes. The analysis of the Medical Review Board process indicated that, while it operates at an acceptable level in major urban areas, it is almost non-existent in most areas of the state. A brochure describing the process was developed for distribution to physicians. There is a universal agreement among researchers that vision has a significant role in driving performance and that visual abilities deteriorate with age. It …

Artimis Telephone Travel Information Service: Current Use Patterns And User Satisfaction, Jill Clemons, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Sarah T. Bowling

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report summarizes the results of a phone survey which evaluated the user satisfaction of the telephone traveler information service, ARTIMIS, in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. Information was also gathered on the users preference for a 3 versus 7 digit access number, use patterns, and user characteristics. The sample was obtained by intercepting calls to the service during Winter 1999. Users rated the service high. Common suggestions for improvements included longer hours of operation and coverage of more roads suggesting the service is valuable to its users. The travelers perceived that they benefited most by avoiding traffic problems, saving time, and reducing …

Grain Oriented Crystallization, Piezoelectric, And Pyroelectric Properties Of (Baxsr₂ - X)Tisi₂O₈ Glass Ceramics, Jianping Zhang, Burtrand I. Lee, Robert W. Schwartz, Zhenya Ding

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polar, nonferroelectric (BaxSr2 - x)TiSi2O8 glass ceramics with highly oriented crystallites were prepared by a gradient temperature heat treatment technique. The crystallization mechanism and microstructures of (BaxSr2 - x)TiSi2O8 glass ceramics were investigated by means of differential thermal analysis, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, and the dielectric, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties were investigated for various compositions. The results show that polar (BaxSr2 - x)TiSi2O8 glass ceramics have a low dielectric constant and a high hydrostatic figure of merit dh × gh = ~ 2500. This high hydrostatic figure of merit, along with other unique characteristics, such as no aging …

Development Of A Curved Layer Lom Process For Monolithic Ceramics And Ceramic Matrix Composites, Donald A. Klosterman, Richard P. Chartoff, Nora R. Osborne, George A. Graves, Allan Lightman, Gyoowan Han, Akos Bezewredi, Stan Rodrigues, Sung Pak, Gary Kalmanovich, Leon Dodin, Song Tu

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel rapid prototyping technology incorporating a curved layer building style was developed. The new process, based on Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM), was designed for efficient fabrication of curved layer structures made from ceramics and fiber reinforced composites. A new LOM machine was created, referred to as Curved Layer LOM. This new machine uses ceramic tapes and fiber prepregs as feedstocks and fabricates curved structures on a curved-layer by curved-layer basis. The output of the process is a three dimensional "green" ceramic that is capable of being processed to a seamless, fully dense ceramic using traditional techniques. A detailed description …

Media Coverage Of Epa's Draft Dioxin Reassessment Report, Sharon M. Friedman, Megan A. Fitzpatrick, Brenda P. Egolf

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using content analysis, the authors examine the utility of news media in democratic decision making.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Moving Transportation Toward Sustainable Development: The Need For A Paradigm Shift, Bahador Ghahramani, Stephen A. Raper

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Despite progress in controlling exhaust emissions, the increase of cars on the road will surpass progress in emission control technology. The automobile is currently responsible for 50% of world fossil fuel consumption, 15-20% of CO₂ emissions worldwide and overwhelming particulate air pollution in many urban centers. Current efforts in emissions control have been focused on improving the efficiency of fuels and automobiles and their emissions. However, as a mode of transportation, the automobile is one of the most inefficient, both in environmental and economic costs. Even the most efficient cars developed today will still significantly contribute to the amount …

Oxygen And Phosphorus Coordination Around Iron In Crystalline Ferric Ferrous Pyrophosphate And Iron-Phosphate Glasses With Uo₂ Or Na₂O, C. H. Booth, P. G. Allen, J. J. Bucher, N. M. Edelstein, D. K. Shuh, G. K. Marasinghe, Mevlüt Karabulut, C. S. Ray, D. E. Day

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fe K-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure (XAFS) measurements were performed on glass samples of (Fe3O4)0.3(P2O5)0.7 with various amounts of Na2O or UO2. Near-edge and extended-XAFS regions are studied and comparisons are made to several reference compounds. We find that iron in the base glass is ~25% divalent and that the Fe2+ coordination is predominantly octahedral, while Fe3+ sites are roughly split between tetrahedral and octahedral coordinations. Also, we measure roughly one FeñOñP link per iron. Substitution of Na2O or UO2 up to 15 mo1% primarily affects the first FeñO shell. The results are compared to data from the related material Fe3(P2O7)2.

Biodegradation Of Thermoplastic And Hermosetting Polyesters From Z-Protected Glutamic Acid, R M. Tadros, Hossein Noureddini, Delmar C. Timm

Papers in Biomolecular Engineering

In a previous article,1 the development and molecular characterization of three polyesters from N-carbobenzyloxy-L-glutamic acid (ZGluOH) were reported. The polymers were a linear, heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and ethylene glycol), a crosslinked heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of 1,4-butanediol), and a crosslinked, heterochain aromatic polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A). In this manuscript, results of biodegradation studies are reported. The three polymers hydrolyzed to low molecular weight oligomers similar to the monomers with lipase. When exposed to a mixed culture of micro-organisms, the first two resins degraded to biomass and respiratory gases. The crosslinked heterochain aromatic polyester resisted …

Parallel Digital Signal Processing On A Network Of Personal Computers Case Study: Space-Time Adaptive Processing, Fernando Silva

Theses and Dissertations

Network based parallel computing using personal computers is currently a popular choice for concurrent scientific computing. This work evaluates the capabilities and the performance of the AFIT Bimodal Cluster (ABC); a heterogeneous cluster of PCs connected by switched fast Ethernet and using MPICH 1.1 for interprocess communication for parallel digital signal processing using Space Time Adaptive Processing (STAP) as the case study. The MITRE RT_STAP Benchmark version 1.1 is ported and executed on the ABC, as well as on a cluster of six Sun SPARC workstations connected by a Myrinet network (the AFIT NOW), and on a IBM SP for …

Dual Channel Matched Filtering And Space-Time Adaptive Processing, Scott D. Berger

Theses and Dissertations

We propose a dual channel matched filtering system that addresses two key challenges in the practical implementation of a single channel matched filtering system: secondary data support and computational cost. We demonstrated that the dual channel system requires half the secondary data to achieve nearly the same signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) as an equivalent single channel system. The key to the dual channel system is the block diagonalization of the interference plus noise correlation matrix with a fixed transformation. We investigated the application of this dual channel concept to the problem of space-time adaptive processing (STAP), referring to the …

Intellicranes – A Neural Network-Based Crane Selection System, André T. Mund

Masters Theses

Due to the central role of cranes in construction operations, specialists in the construction industries have cooperated in the development of structured methods and software for crane selection. Most of these software tools are for crane model selection and query the user for the type of crane to be used. Although research produced some fuzzy logic and expert system-based methods for crane type selection, no integrated systems that handle both crane selection phases are available.

IntelliCranes, a prototype integrated crane selection tool, assists in both crane type and crane model selection based on a set of inputs describing the construction …

Flow Separation Prevention On A Turbine Blade In Cascade At Low Reynolds Number, James P. Lake

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of flow separation from a low pressure turbine blade was investigated. The operating conditions under which the separation occurred were documented through measurement of surface pressure coefficients, boundary layer velocity and turbulence profiles, total pressure loss coefficient and wake velocity momentum deficit. Three different means for reducing the losses associated with the flow separation were also investigated. A boundary layer trip, dimples, and V-grooves were studied as passive means requiring no additional energy to reduce the separation losses. The boundary layer trip was only successful for an inlet and axial chord Reynolds number of 50k with a reduction …

Timed Safety Automata And Logic Conformance, Frank C. D. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Timed Logic Conformance (TLC) is used to verify the behavioral and timing properties of detailed digital circuits against abstract circuit specifications when both are modeled as Timed Safety Automata (TSA) with real-valued clocks. TLC is a bisimulation-style partial order relationship defined over TSA state space. In contrast to timed simulation, Calculus of Timed Refinement, and time-abstracted bisimulation, TLC defines when one system is an acceptable implementation of another by asymmetric action-matching requirements for specification inputs and implementation outputs. TLC intuitively and pragmatically supports writing abstract specifications and verifying them against implementations. TLC scales up by substituting verified specifications for implementations …

Wind Tunnel Investigation Of Joined Wing Configurations, Jennifer Corneille

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Research Laboratory's Munitions Directorate is looking to extend the range of its small smart bomb. One proposed idea is to retrofit the bombs with a wing kit, particularly a joined wing configuration. A typical joined wing configuration is one where the wings are positioned in such a way that they form a diamond in both plan and front views. The purpose of this study is to conduct low speed wind tunnel testing of the joined wing configuration to help determine if the joined wing is more beneficial than a single wing configuration. Configurations with differing sweep angles …

A Performance Analysis Of A Low Earth Orbit Satellite System, Korkut A. Ercakar

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a performance analysis of the TELEDESIC® Low Earth Orbit Satellite System. It analyzes the system's performance to meet the real-time communications constraints with a full satellite constellation. Computer simulation results are the sources to evaluate delays associated with packets transmitted from source to destination earth stations. The simulation is run at low, medium and high loading levels with two different, uniform and non-uniform, traffic distributions. The evaluated results are end-to-end packet delays and packet rejection rate. The results show that the TELEDESIC® satellite system network is capable of meeting the real-time communication requirements with delay values much …

Bistatic Radar Cross Section (Rcs) Characterization Of Complex Objects, Robert L. Eigel Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses some phenomenological aspects of bistatic scattering from a complex object with an emphasis on specular, shadowing, dihedral, and cavity effects. Five targets are investigated for their simplicity and ability to highlight certain scattering phenomena. Direct measurements of scattered electromagnetic energy and simulation data is gathered for a frequency bandwidth of 6-18 GHz. Both ray tracing and scattering center approaches are used to describe the bistatic mechanisms. An appraisal of the effectiveness and utility of the monostatic-to-bistatic equivalence theorems (Kell's and Crispin's) and several commercial scattering prediction codes is also accomplished. Simulation data is generated from two different …

Synthesis And Experimental Testing Of A Nonlinear Optimal Tracking Controller, Timothy Mclain, Randal W. Beard, Christopher A. Bailey

Faculty Publications

This paper presents a novel approach for developing tracking controllers for nonlinear systems. The approach involves the numerical solution, by Galerkin approximation, of the time-varying Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and results in a nonlinear controller approximating the optimal tracking control law for a specified desired trajectory and cost function. Experimental results are presented for a nonlinear pendulum system.

Detection Of Changes In Lung Tissue Properties With Multiple-Indicator Dilution, David L. Roerig, Said H. Audi, John H. Linehan, Gary S. Krenz, S. B. Ahlf, W. Lin, Christopher A. Dawson

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We evaluated the potential utility of a group of indicators, each of which targets a particular tissue property, as indicators in the multiple-indicator dilution method to detect and to identify abnormalities in lung tissue properties resulting from lung injury models. We measured the pulmonary venous outflow concentration vs. time curves of [¹⁴C]diazepam, ³HOH, [¹⁴C]phenylethylamine, and a vascular reference indicator following their bolus injection into the pulmonary artery of isolated perfused rabbit lungs under different experimental conditions, resulting in changes in the lung tissue composition. The conditions included granulomatous inflammation, induced by the intravenous injection of …

Adaptive Interference Cancelation Techniques For Multicarrier Modulated Systems, Matthijs A. Visser

Dissertations

Current wireline systems and wireless broadcasting systems employ multicarrier modulation (MCM). This includes the high-rate digital subscriber line (HDSL), digital audio broadcasting system (DAB) and the digital terrestrial television broadcasting system (dTTb). Multicarrier modulation is also envisioned for high-speed indoor wireless local area networks (WLAN). Additionally, multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), a hybrid of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and CDMA, is proposed for the downlink (base-to-mobile) of a 3rd generation wireless system as part of the IMT-2000 standardization process.

The performance of an MC-CDMA system--similar to a direct sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA) system--is limited by the presence of multiple …

Chemical Reactions And Mass Transport In Emulsion Liquid Membrane, Huifang Fan

Dissertations

Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) systems are an important technique for wastewater cleanup. For this purpose, emulsion globules are dispersed in wastewater (external phase), each emulsion globule consisting of many tiny aqueous droplets (internal phase) enclosed in oil (membrane phase). Hazardous chemicals in the wastewater are transported into the internal droplets by mass transfer mechanisms.

Since Li first invented an ELM system in the 1960s, much research effort has been devoted to experimentally finding the optimal conditions for ELM recovery of various chemicals. Such studies would have benefited greatly from the guidance of mathematical models, especially those that provide analytical predictions. …