Engineering Commons^™

A Cmos Agc-Less If Strip For Bluetooth, Vladimir I. Prodanov, George Palaskas, Jack Glas, Vito Boccuzzi

Electrical Engineering

This paper presents an IF chain suitable for Low-IF fully-integrated GFSK receivers. The circuit performs amplification and channel selection (including image rejection). A five-pole Gm-C polyphase filter forms the core of the IF strip. The filter is current driven and has transimpedance gain of ≃ 120 kΩ. The filter is architectured so that GFSK signals with dynamic range exceeding 50dB can be decoded without the need of any automatic gain control. This AGC-less IF strip was fabricated in standard 0.25 µm CMOS process. It draws 6.2 mA from a 2.5 V supply and has better than 4.8 nA rms input …

Length Selectable, Hardware Efficient Pseudorandom Code Generator, John F. Brendle Jr., James P. Stephens Sr., Michael A. Temple, Robert S. Parks

AFIT Patents

A method and device for generating a pseudorandom electrical signal for enabling spread spectrum communication scrambling by directing data entry into pseudorandom number generator integrated circuit chip controlling registers using a length selectable feedback logic data sequence and either computer programmable selector means or manual selector means to communicate the logic data sequence characters to buffers. The logic data sequence characters are clocked to a pseudorandom number generating register of an integrated circuit chip and the pseudorandom electrical signal is generated by selectively tapping a signal code therefrom. The method and device features a pseudorandom electrical signal length varying capability …

Method For Removal Of Ammonia From Fly Ash, Jiann-Yang Hwang

Michigan Tech Patents

A method for removing ammonia and ammonia compounds from fly ash and other combustion by-products is provided. The method may be performed with raw or processed fly ash, or it may be performed in conjunction with a wet beneficiation process. The method involves mixing the ammonia-contaminated fly ash with water and then filtering and/or drying the solution to remove the ammonia and water. The method produces fly ash having an ammonia content of less than about 60-80 ppm, which allows the fly ash to be utilized in a number of applications.

Traditional Signal Pattern Recognition Versus Artificial Neural Networks For Nuclear Plant Diagnostics, Shahla Keyvan

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces a new tool based on a traditional noise analysis technique for monitoring reactor components' signal condition. It also presents the performance of artificial neural networks for pattern recognition to the same set of reactor signals and provides a comparison of these two techniques. Reactor pump signals from the Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-II) are utilized here. Collected signals such as pump power, pump speed, and pump pressure are obtained from already installed sensors in the reactor. The signals utilized are collected signals as well as generated signals simulating the pump shaft degradation progress. From the study of time …

Indium-Silicon Co-Doping Of High-Aluminum-Content Algan For Solar Blind Photodetectors, V. Adivarahan, Grigory Simin, G. Tamulaitis, R. Srinivasan, J. Yang, M. Asif Khan, M. S. Shur, R. Gaska

Faculty Publications

We report on an indium–silicon co-doping approach for high-Al-content AlGaN layers. Using this approach, very smooth crack-free n-type AlGaN films as thick as 0.5 μm with Al mole fraction up to 40% were grown over sapphire substrates. The maximum electron concentration in the layers, as determined by Hall measurements, was as high as 8×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and the Hall mobility was up to 40 cm²/Vs. We used this doping technique to demonstrate solar-blind transparent Schottky barrierphotodetectors with the cut-off wavelength of 278 nm.

Evaporative Cooling Availability In Water Based Sensible Cooling Systems, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Conference Papers

Recent developments have prompted a review of evaporative cooling technology as an effective means of cooling modern deep plan buildings. Prominent among these developments is the success of high temperature sensible cooling systems, such as chilled ceilings, which require a supply of cooling water at 14 to 18°C. Crucial to the success of evaporative cooling technology, as a significant means of cooling in modern applications, is the ability to generate cooling water, in an indirect circuit, at a temperature which closely approaches the ambient adiabatic saturation temperature or wet bulb temperature. Recent research in this area has shown that it …

The Effect Of Low Levels Of Zirconia Addition On The Mechanical Properties Of Hydroxyapatite, Mark R. Towler, I. R. Gibson

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effect of low levels of zirconia addition on the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite was analyzed. Optimum amount of zirconia required to prevent decomposition of hydroxyapatite during sintering was determined. The particle size, morphology and surface area were measured and calcium to phosphorus ratio and trace element impurity content were determined by x-ray fluorescence. Low level addition of zirconia resulted in composites with better mechanical properties and minimum levels of decomposition.

Process For Making A Lubricating Composition, Stephen J. Miller, Gerald P. Huffman, Naresh Shah

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Patents

The invention includes a process of making a lubricating oil composition including: a process for making a high VI lubricating oil composition including the steps of (1) contacting a waste plastics feed including mainly polyethylene in a pyrolysis zone at pyrolysis conditions, whereby at least a portion of the waste plastics feed is cracked, thereby forming a pyrolysis zone effluent including 1-olefins and n-paraffins; (2) passing the pyrolysis zone effluent, including a heavy fraction and a middle fraction, the pyrolysis effluent middle fraction including 1-olefins, to a separations zone; where the pyrolysis effluent heavy fraction portion is separated from the …

Characterization Of Two-Dimensional Finite-Aperture Wire Grid Polarizers By A Spectral-Domain Technique, Michael A. Jensen, Gregory P. Nordin

Faculty Publications

We investigate the transmission characteristics of perfectly conducting two-dimensional wire grid polarizers fabricated in finite and infinite apertures using a rigorous spectral-domain mode-matching method. Specifically, the transmission coefficient for both transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic polarizations, extinction ratio, and diffraction pattern are characterized for a wide variety of geometric and material parameters including aperture dimension, conducting wire fill factor, wire spacing, polarizer thickness, material dielectric constants, and incident wave arrival angle. The results indicate that the transmission behavior is largely insensitive to aperture dimension.

Experimental Investigation Of Moisture Migration In Concrete, R. P. West, Niall Holmes

Conference papers

The ability to be able to predict the state of dryness of a concrete floor slab is a practical need in the construction industry. Current popular methods, including the surface hygrometer and vapour emission tests, only indicate surface dryness, with consequent uncertainties in the quantity of residual moisture deep within the slab. This paper describes the variation in moisture condition with depth for a number of slabs under different drying conditions, as established using a new probe which can reliably determine the relative humidity at any depth. From this it is concluded that results from the conventional tests need to …

Proceso De Evaluación Rápido (Rap) Y Comparación Con El Patrón De Referencia (Benchmarking): Explicación Y Herramientas, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Este documento WORD [RAP Documento en Español] provee una explicación del Proceso De Evaluación Rápido (RAP), como también una breve explicación de la Comparación con el Patrón de Referencia como también de los datos que deben ser recolectados para ambos esfuerzos. Este documento también provee una explicación de los archivos en EXCEL que son usados durante el RAP. Una planilla de cálculo en EXCEL (con 13 hojas de trabajo internas) es provista dos veces:

1. RAP en Español – EN BLANCO.xls

2. RAP en Español – EJEMPLO.xls

Como lo sugieren sus nombres, el EJEMPLO tiene datos previamente ingresados de manera …

Flight Physician - September, 2001, Civil Aviation Medical Association

Browse all Civil Aviation Medical Association Newsletters

A fourteen page newsletter of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. The newsletter provided news about civil aviation medicine and information related to the organization.

Acuta Enews September 2001, Vol.30, No. 9

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Conference Highlights

ACUTA EVENTS

DC Updates

Board Report

ACUTA Plans Audio Seminar on Taxes, Surcharges, and Fees

Welcome New Members

Positions Available

Hyperbolic Approach To Fuzzy Control Is Optimal, Hung T. Nguyen, Vladik Kreinovich, Michael Margaliot, Gideon Langholtz

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In a series of papers and a book, M. Margaliot and G. Langholz proposed a hyperbolic approach to fuzzy control, in which they apply a certain hyperbolic non-linear transformation to the original variables. In this paper, we consider all possible non-linear transformations of this type and show that this hyperbolic transformation is indeed optimal.

Public Perceptions Of The Midwest’S Pavements - Iowa - Phase Iii, David Kuemmel, Richard Robinson, Robert J. Griffin, Ronald C. Sonntag, James K. Giese

Transportation Research Center: Public Perception of Midwest Pavements

There are several objectives to this report. The first objective is to describe the sample with regard to the physical pavement data and three measures of driver satisfaction. In this section, the proportion of respondents who are satisfied with pavements on two-lane, rural, state highways will be examined and the distribution of pavement condition and roughness indices will be presented.

The second objective will be a short description of the highway segments and any differences in satisfaction found between regions and pavement types. This was done in Phase II in each state and a letter sent showing the results in …

Internet Media In Technological Risk Amplification: Plutonium On Board The Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft, Christine M. Rodrigue

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

The author discusses how the Cassini controversy demonstrates the power of the Internet, particularly listservs and Usenet groups, and how this resource offers political activists an opportunity to affect the agendas of risk management policy decision-makers.

Preliminary Evaluation Of Energy-Efficiency Improvements To Modular Classrooms, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The objective of our investigation is to evaluate innovations that would enable modular classroom builders to improve the energy performance of their classrooms. We investigate improved insulation, better windows, daylighting, cross-ventilation, sensible and latent heat recovery of ventilation air and light colored surfaces and radiant barriers for cooling dominated climates. The tasks associated with this work are as follows:

• Create a simulation software.
• Establish a baseline reference building using a standard modular classroom building.
• Parametric evaluation of the impact of ventilation and school schedule on energy use.
• Determine the feasibility of improving insulation and envelope systems.
• Determine the feasibility of …

On Misorientation Distribution Evolution During Anisotropic Grain Growth, Elizabeth A. Holm, Gregory N. Hassold, Mark A. Miodownik

Physics Publications

In order to study the development of texture and boundary character during annealing, three-dimensional grain crystallography and crystallographically mediated grain boundary properties were incorporated into a finite temperature Monte Carlo model for grain growth. Randomly textured microstructures evolve normally, with growth exponent n=0.96. While texture remains random, the steady-state boundary misorientation distribution favors low-angle boundaries. To first order, low-angle boundaries increase by lengthening, not by proliferating. In contrast, microstructures with a strong single-component texture develop four-grain junctions and highly curved grain boundaries, which alter evolution. The boundary misorientation distribution narrows and shifts to low angles, and no steady state …

Logic-Motivated Choice Of Fuzzy Logic Operators, Pratit Santiprabhob, Hung T. Nguyen, Witold Pedrycz, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Many different "and"- and "or"-operations have been proposed for use in fuzzy logic; it is therefore important to select, for each particular application, the operations which are the best for this particular application. Several papers discuss the optimal choice of "and"- and "or"-operations for fuzzy control, when the main criterion is to get the stablest control (or the smoothest or the most robust or the fastest-to-compute). In reasoning applications, however, it is more appropriate to select operations which are the best in reflecting human reasoning, i.e., operations which are "the most logical". In this paper, we explain how we can …

Discrete (Set) Derivatives And "Algebraic" Fuzzy Logic Operations, Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier, Hung T. Nguyen, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

We propose a new way to generalize logical operations from the discrete classical logic to a continuous fuzzy logic; namely, we propose to define derivatives for discrete case, and then to use these derivatives to derive the continuous operations. We show that this natural approach leads to "algebraic" fuzzy operations a*b and a+b-a*b.

Evaluation Of Geomembranes Using An Ultrasonic Method, Nazli Yesiller, Sevil Sungur

Civil and Environmental Engineering

An ultrasonic testing procedure was developed to evaluate geomembranes. The pulse-echo inspection technique was used on the surface of geomembranes without disturbing the material. The equipment required consists of a P-wave transducer, a pulser-receiver, and a signal acquisition system. Travel time of ultrasonic waves and waveform energy are measured to evaluate the condition of geomembranes. Laboratory tests were conducted to assess the effectiveness of the method. Defects that simulate installation damage and various in-service degradation conditions were induced on samples. The defects were identified with the ultrasonic method at a success rate higher than 98%. Changes in the thickness or …

Hfco2 Laves Phas Intermetallics - Part I: Solubility Limits And Defect Mechanisms, Katherine C. Chen, Eric J. Peterson, Dan J. Thoma

Materials Engineering

Solubility limits and constitutional defects in Laves phase intermetallics are investigated with the C15 HfCo₂ system. Several binary alloy compositions based on HfCo₂ are characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron microprobe analysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and density measurements. Rietveld refinements of XRD scans are used to determine lattice constants, anisotropic strain parameters, and atomic occupancies. Compositional trends are compared against predicted or calculated trends due to an anti-site substitution or vacancy defect mechanism. Geometric models and atomic size factors are used to establish solubility limits and to give insight into defect mechanisms. Results from …

Hfco2 Laves Phase Intermetallics - Part Ii: Elastic And Mechanical Properties As A Function Of Composition, Katherine C. Chen, Fuming Chu, Paul G. Kotula, Dan Thoma

Materials Engineering

In efforts to establish and understand structure–property relationships in Laves phase intermetallics, elastic and mechanical properties are studied as a function of composition in the C15 HfCo₂ system. Elastic constants and Debye temperatures are determined by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) at room temperature. A maximum near the stoichiometric Laves composition is revealed with the Young's modulus, bulk modulus, and Poisson's ratio. In addition, a slight drop in shear modulus is found with Co-rich compositions, and the Debye temperature increases with Co-content. Room temperature Vickers indentation is performed to assess the microhardness and fracture toughness of the HfCo₂ alloys. …

A Nonlinear Motion Cueing Algorithm With A Human Perception Model, Robert J. Telban

Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation and Training Fellowship Reports

The objective of a motion system, when used in conjunction with a visual system, is to stimulate the pilot so that he can perceive the required motion cues necessary to fly the simulator within the same performance and control activity as the aircraft. An example of a motion system is the six-degree-of-freedom hexapod shown in Figure E.l. Platform motion allows the pilot to react more quickly to simulated aircraft motion as compared to visual stimuli alone, thus enabling him to co1Tect (and reduce the magnitude) of any deviation sooner than having to wait for the information visually. Without motion cues …

Compressive Behavior Of Concrete With Vitrified Soil Aggregate, Shane M. Palmquist, Daniel C. Jansen, Christopher W. Swan

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The compressive behavior of portland cement concrete with vitrified soil coarse aggregate is the focus of this paper. A total of 10 batches of concrete were examined at four different coarse aggregate volume fractions with three different combinations of vitrified and natural coarse aggregates. For comparison purposes, the ratios of cement, water, and fine aggregates were held constant. The stress-strain curves, modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, and Poisson's ratio are examined as a function of coarse aggregate content. Results show a decrease in compressive strength as the volume fraction of vitrified soil aggregate increased. Moduli of elasticity for concrete with …

Rapid Appraisal Process And Benchmarking, Charles M. Burt, Stuart W. Styles

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This WORD document [Rapid Appraisal Process (RAP) and Benchmarking] provides an explanation of the Rapid Appraisal Process (RAP), as well as a brief explanation of Benchmarking and the data that must be collected for both endeavors. This document also provides an explanation the EXCEL documents that are used by persons during the RAP. An EXCEL spreadsheet (with 12 internal worksheets) is provided twice:
1. Rapid Appraisal and Benchmarking BLANK.xls
2. Rapid Appraisal and Benchmarking EXAMPLE.xls
As the names suggest, the EXAMPLE has data in it so that users can examine an example before entering data in a blank spreadsheet.

Simplified Analysis Of Asymmetric Structures With Supplemental Damping, Rakesh K. Goel

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This study investigated the effects of neglecting off‐diagonal terms of the transformed damping matrix on the seismic response of non‐proportionally damped asymmetric‐plan systems with the specific aim of identifying the range of system parameters for which this simplification can be used without introducing significant errors in the response. For this purpose, a procedure is presented in which modal damping ratios computed by neglecting off‐diagonal terms of the transformed damping matrix are used in the traditional modal analysis. The effects of the simplification are evaluated first by comparing the aforementioned modal damping ratios with the apparent damping ratios obtained from the …

A New Derivation Of Centroid Defuzzification, Mourad Oussalah, Hung T. Nguyen, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

We describe a new symmetry-based derivation of centroid defuzzification.

Slab Drawing Layout: A Study To Develop A New Information Technology Package To Aid Those Involved In The The Manufacture Of Pre-Stresed Hollow Core Plank Flooring, Joe Parker

Masters

Manufacture of pre-stressed hollow core flooring (from here on referred to as (‘slabs’) can be traced through a number of steps. These steps can generally be arranged in the following order; 1. Receipt of a drawing indicating the area that the client requires to be floored. 2. Production of a new drawing showing the layout of individual slabs over the proposed floor area. 3. Production of design calculations to B.S. 8110 (or other design specification) that adequately covers each slab within the floor layout drawing according to its individual design criteria. 4. Production of sheets for manufacture of slabs showing …

Nutrients In Runoff Following The Application Of Swine Manure To Interrill Areas, John E. Gilley, Bahman Eghball, B. J. Weinhold, Phillip S. Miller

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The P content of swine manure can be reduced through the addition of feed supplements or the use of selected corn hybrids. This study was conducted to compare interrill runoff losses of P and N from three soils following the application of swine manure obtained from selected diets. The soils used in this investigation included a Hersh sandy loam, Pierre silty clay, and Sharpsburg silt loam. Simulated rainfall was applied during both initial and wet runs to a soil pan on which swine manure produced from low phytate corn (LPC), phytase added to the diet (PHY), or a traditional corn …