Engineering Commons^™

Designing Web-Based Adaptive Learning Environment : Distils As An Example, Lilian Cao

Dissertations

In this study, two components are developed for the Web-based adaptive learning: an online Intelligent Tutoring Tool (ITT) and an Adaptive Lecture Guidance (ALG). The ITT provides students timely problem-solving help in a dynamic Web environment. The ALG prevents students from being disoriented when a new domain is presented using Web technology. A prototype, Distributed Intelligent Learning System (DISTILS), has been implemented in a general chemistry laboratory domain.

In DISTILS, students interact with the ITT through a Web browser. When a student selects a problem, the problem is formatted and displayed in the user interface for the student to solve. …

Performance Analysis And Resource Allocation In Cdma Wireless Networks For Multimedia Services, Sebnem Zorlu

Dissertations

The proliferation of Internet and demand for wireless services necessitate large increases in capacity and data rates in order to support different multimedia services. Wireless systems will be required to support sources with a variety of traffic characteristics and quality of service requirements. This requires algorithms for admission control and resource allocation at the session, burst and packet levels. The purpose of this research is to develop and analyze optimal resource allocation strategies to maximize throughput of wireless systems with integrated services. Given the multimedia user requirements, the problem addressed can be formulated as a constrained optimization problem. The objective …

Immobilized Liquid Membranes For Facilitated Transport And Gas Separation, Anjaneya Sarma Kovvali

Dissertations

Separation and purification of gas mixtures is a major area of activity in chemical engineering. Gas separation using facilitated transport membranes has been the subject of considerable research for many years. Immobilized liquid membranes (ILMs) are an important class of facilitated transport membranes. Despite their potential to provide superior performance, they could not achieve commercial success so far due to their instability. Recent research addressed the issue of stability of ILMs by replacing water as the solvent successfully with glycerol. In the present thesis, the relevance of glycerol as an ideal solvent for developing stable ILMs is demonstrated using the …

Buffer Management And Cell Switching Management In Wireless Packet Communications, Jongho Bang

Dissertations

The buffer management and the cell switching (e.g., packet handoff) management using buffer management scheme are studied in Wireless Packet Communications.

First, a throughput improvement method for multi-class services is proposed in Wireless Packet System. Efficient traffic management schemes should be developed to provide seamless access to the wireless network. Specially, it is proposed to regulate the buffer by the "Selective- Delay Push-In (SDPI)" scheme, which is applicable to scheduling delay-tolerant non-real time traffic and delay-sensitive real time traffic. Simulation results show that the performance observed by real time traffics are improved as compared to existing buffer priority scheme in …

Microporous Polymeric Membranes Via Melt Processing, Chaiya Chandavasu

Dissertations

Novel ultraporous and microporous membranes from immiscible polymer blends were produced via melt processing and post-extrusion treatments. Polystyrene (PS)/polypropylene (PP) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/polypropylene (PP) blend systems with different rheological properties were studied. The blends were first compounded in an intermeshing co-rotating twin-screw extruder and subsequently extruded through a sheet die to obtain the precursor films. These were post treated by uniaxial or biaxial deformation (100-500%) with respect to original dimensions to induce a microporous structure. The porosity is induced by drawing the precursor film at a temperature below the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the minor …

A Software System For Large-Scale Structural Optimization, Keith M. Macbain

Dissertations

This work is driven by recent developments in mathematical programming, the state-of-the-art of structural optimization, the spectacular performance of linear programming algorithms, and computer hardware developments which imply that applications of structural optimization might be used commonly in engineering design. Currently, there are few general purpose optimization routines available to the structural engineer and much of the work has addressed specific classes of problems. Further, there is little widespread use of the available routines, partly due to the large amount of familiarity one must have with the specific details of both the problem and the optimization method. In response, it …

Force And Effort Analysis Of Unfastening Actions In Disassembly Processes, Manuela Sonnenberg

Dissertations

Fastening is the process of connecting one or more parts together with the aid of fastening elements. Unfastening, the reverse of fastening, is the process of separating components from each other by removing or detaching fastening elements. So far, the unfastening process is not well understood, and the analysis about it is not very extensive.

However, the need for disassembly is currently increasing. First, parts have to be taken apart for service and repair, and secondly, for the recycling process. Therefore, there is a need to consider unfastening during the design process in order to enable efficient disassemblies.

The purpose …

Design Of Traffic Shaper / Scheduler For Packet Switches And Diffserv Networks : Algorithms And Architectures, Surong Zeng

Dissertations

The convergence of communications, information, commerce and computing are creating a significant demand and opportunity for multimedia and multi-class communication services. In such environments, controlling the network behavior and guaranteeing the user's quality of service is required. A flexible hierarchical sorting architecture which can function either as a traffic shaper or a scheduler according to the requirement of the traffic load is presented to meet the requirement. The core structure can be implemented as a hierarchical traffic shaper which can support a large number of connections with a wide variety of rates and burstiness without the loss of the granularity …

Re-Injecting Innovationinto Thespace Test Process: A Mission For Payload Brokering, Brian Horais

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Brian Horais titled "Re-injecting Innovationinto theSpace Test ProcessA mission for payload brokering" from May 31, 2001.

Characterization Of The Dependant Pile Capacity In Glacial Deposits By Dynamic Load Tests, Upendra L. Karna

Theses

A study of the effects of time on axial pile capacity in glacial deposits is presented in this report. The dynamic and static load database test results of the Route 21, Viaduct Replacement project are studied and analyzed. In this project two sizes (18-inch and 24-inch dia.) of closed end pipe piles varying in length 100 to 150 feet driven through highly variable glacial deposits were utilized. Within a small reach the subsurface conditions and the behavior of pile capacity with time varied considerably. About 112 piles were tested dynamically by Pile Driving Analyzer. Restriking was performed on fifty-nine piles …

Structures, Intramolecular Rotation Barriers, And Thermodynamic Properties Of Methane And Ethylene Carbons Bonding To Two Unsaturated Groups : Ethylene, Acetylene, Phenyl And Carbonyl, Manish H. Gurbani

Theses

Enthalpy, ΔH_f°₂₉₈, entropy, S°₂₉₈ and heat capacities C_p(T) (300 ≤ T/K ≤ 1500) are determined for Methane, bi-phenyl (CCB2H2); Methane, phenyl-vinyl (CCBCDH2);Toluene, 1-formyl (CCBCOH2), Propyne, 3-phenyl (CCBCTH2); 1,4-pentadiene (CCD2H2); Propene, 3-formyl (CCDCOH2); Methane, di-formyl (CCO2H2); Propyne, 3-formyl (CCOCTH2); Methane, di-ethynl (CCT2H2); Ethene, bi-phenyl (CDCB2); 1,4 Butadiene, 3-phenyl (CDCBCD); Ethene, I-ethynl-l-phenyl (CDCBCT); 1,4 Butadiene,3-vinyl (CDCD2); 1,4 Butadiene, 2-ethynl (CDCDCT) and Ethene, 1,1di-ethynl(CDCT2) using density functional B3LYP/6-31G(d) calculation method. Molecular structures and vibration frequencies are determined at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) density functional calculation level. Evaluation of data from the isodesmic reactions results in ΔH_f° …

A Cad-Mlca Interface For Next-Generation Dfe Tools, Jun He

Theses

Environmental concerns and rising product disposal costs have pressed manufactures to make more environmentally friendly products and customers to use and dispose of them in an environmental responsive way. Thus the practice of Design for Environment (DFE) is becoming essential in today's industrial environment. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides different ways for the environmental assessment of products. One critical step in performing lifecycle assessment of any product design is to collect design-related data. The common way based on manual input for traditional DFE tools is not only cumbersome and time-consuming but also error-prone.

This thesis presents the characteristics of a …

Silicon Based Ir Filters, Prakash Mokashi

Theses

The design and fabrication of silicon based IR (Infrared) filters for high-speed optical communication systems are the topic of this thesis. Its novelty is in two aspects: 1) Use of silicon wafers as an optical guiding medium; 2) Use of wafer bonding technique to attach two optical elements together.

The structure consists of two optical waveguides, the bus waveguide and the drop channel waveguide. A ring on top of these waveguides couples them in such a way that only one narrow spectral line is removed from the bus waveguides which propagates in the dropchannel waveguide. The assembly is fabricated using …

Optical Properties Of Photonic Crystals, Anand G. Shenoy

Theses

The ability to confine light in three dimensions has important implications for quantum optics and quantum-optical devices. Photonic crystals, the optical analog of electronic crystals, provide us a means of achieving this goal. This analogy has motivated a whole new series of experimental and theoretical searches for elusive photonic band-gap structures. Combinations of metallic and dielectric materials can be used to obtain the required three-dimensional (3D) periodic variation in the dielectric constant. This could pave the way for photonic crystal structures that have widespread applications.

The working of 3D photonic crystals into the wavelength regimes where most optoelectronic devices operate, …

Propagation And Scattering Of Collimated Beam Wave In Vegetation Using Scalar Transport Theory, Michael Yu-Chi Wu

Theses

The scalar time-dependent equation of radiative transfer is used to develop a theory of pulse beamwave propagation and scattering in a medium character ized by many random discrete scatterers which scatter energy strongly in the forward scattering direction. Applications include the scattering of highly collimated millimeter waves in vegetation and optical beams in the atmosphere. The specific problem analyzed is that of a periodic sequence of Gaussian shaped pulses normally incident from free space onto the planar boundary surface of a random medium half-space, such as a forest, that possesses a power scatter (phase) function consisting of a strong, narrow …

Partial Characterization Of Extruded Collagen Tubes With Varied Material Deposition And Orientation Based On Rotation Rate And Linear Draw Speed, Richard Peter Hoppe

Theses

This study established protocols for extrusion of collagen tubes from an extruder made by the ZOKO Corporation of Czechoslovakia. Using a viscous collagen base material, collagen tubes can be formed with changes in rotation rates from 0 rpm to 260 rpm and linear draw speeds from 383 mm/min to 1270 mm/min with a constant extrusion rate of 50 cm²/min. These tubes, with further research and treatment, can be used for various medical applications including vascular implants and nerve conduits.

Post-extrusion, chemical crosslinking of the collagen increased the cohesiveness and mechanical integrity of the tubes. Microscopic photographs confirmed higher …

A Novel Approach Towards Usability Studies For Visual Search Tasks In Graphical User Interface Applications Using The Activity Theory Approach, Tirthankar Sengupta

Theses

The field of Human Computer Interaction still strives for a generalized model of visual search tasks (icon search, menu search, text search, label search, search through hypertext and feature recognition). The existing models of visual search, in spite of being impressive, are limited under certain perspectives due to lack of generality. The thesis tries to provide a holistic approach for the modeling of visual search tasks in graphical user interfaces from the Activity Theory (AT) perspective with the aim of rendering a theoretical bridge between HCI and Psychology. A detailed review of literature from the variegated discipline contributing to the …

A Laboratory And Field Study Of The Attenuation Of Sound Intensity Using A Whistle As The Sonic Generator, Navneet Kumar

Theses

This study investigated the attenuation of sound intensity using a whistle as the sonic generator along with the detailed analysis of all the previous studies. Attenuation of sound in air studies were performed in Otto H. York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Sound attenuation through air was measured by doubling the distance for each of five whistles. It was concluded that Whistle No.5 gives the highest sound intensity of 140.54 dB at a distance of 0.75 ft , the closest distance used for measurement, at a air flow rate of 7.5 SCFM. These …

Simulation Modeling For Integrated E-Supply Chain Management, Pornsarun Wirojanagud

Theses

E-supply chain management is an emerging area of interest as companies begin to explore the Internet's potential to restructure supply chain relationships. The environmental impact of e-supply chain management is a critical issue towards sustainability. This thesis discusses and models an integrated e-supply chain network accounting for material and information flows throughout the supply chain in order to analyze the environmental implications and tradeoffis with other system characteristics. The network structure has complex interactions between various entities. In order to understand and analyze dynamic performance, a discrete-event simulation approach is utilized. An integrated tool was developed using the Arena simulation …

Anisotropy In The Electronic Screening Of Oxygen Lattice Modes In Yba2cu3o6.95, R. J. Mcqueeny, T. Egami, J.-H. Chung, Y. Petrov, M. Yethiraj, M. Arai, Y. Inamura, Y. Endoh, C. Frost, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Inelastic neutron scattering data from a twinned single-crystal of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 are presented that show a distinct a-b plane anisotropy in the oxygen vibrations. The Cu-O bond-stretching type phonons are simultaneously observed along the a and b directions due to a 4 meV splitting arising from the orthorhombicity. The present results show the bond-stretching branch along b (parallel to the chain) has a continuous dispersion, while the branch along a is discontinuous, suggesting a possibility of short-range cell-doubling along a. Furthermore, the LO mode along a is split in en ergy from its TO partner at …

Proactive University Satellite Program, Robert J. Twiggs

Robert "Bob" Twiggs STEM Education Collection

A PowerPoint Presentation created by Professor Bob Twiggs titled "Proactive University Satellite Program" and presented at the 2001 Ride Share Conference on May 30, 2001.

Observation Of Magnetic Moments In The Superconducting State Of Yba2⁢Cu3⁢O6.6, Herbert A. Mook, Pengcheng Dai, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Neutron scattering measurements for YBa_2⁢Cu_3⁢O_6.6 have identified small magnetic moments that increase in strength as the temperature is reduced below T* and further increase below T_c. An analysis of the data shows the moments are antiferromagnetic between the Cu-O planes with a correlation length of longer than 195 Å in the a-b plane and about 35 Å along the c axis. The origin of the moments is unknown, and their properties are discussed both in terms of Cu spin magnetism and orbital bond currents.

Observation Of Magnetic Moments In The Superconducting State Of Yba2⁢Cu3⁢O6.6, Herbert A. Mook, Pengcheng Dai, Fatih Dogan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Neutron scattering measurements for YBa_2⁢Cu_3⁢O_6.6 have identified small magnetic moments that increase in strength as the temperature is reduced below T* and further increase below T_c. An analysis of the data shows the moments are antiferromagnetic between the Cu-O planes with a correlation length of longer than 195 Å in the a-b plane and about 35 Å along the c axis. The origin of the moments is unknown, and their properties are discussed both in terms of Cu spin magnetism and orbital bond currents.

Determination Of Statistical Characteristics Of Isotropic Turbulence, Tatiana A. Andreeva, William W. Durgin, F. J. Weber, Hamid Johari

Office of the Provost Scholarship

Ultrasonic flow measurement technology has the potential to significantly improve flow measurement accuracy beyond that presently achieved. However, current applications fail to achieve theoretical accuracies because of turbulence effects on ultrasonic wave transit time. Herein, the ultrasonic flowmeter equation is reconsidered, where the effects of turbulent velocity and sound speed fluctuations are included. The result is an integral equation for the corresponding correlation functions. In this paper experimental velocity data are used to solve this integral equation analytically. As a result, some statistical characteristics of the turbulent flow are developed and can explain the limitations of measurement accuracy observed in …

Ultrasonic Beam Propagation In Turbulent Flow, William W. Durgin, F. J. Weber, Hamid Johari

Office of the Provost Scholarship

A study was conducted to examine how a coherent sound burst, such as those used in an ultrasonic flowmeter, crosses a turbulent flow field. Many ultrasonic flowmeters use a time of flight method to determine the mean flow. This measurement method sends sound waves at some angle across a velocity field between two transducers, and the time required for the sound burst to cross this distance is measured on the order of nanoseconds. The system then reverses so that the sound wave burst is sent in the opposite direction. Knowing the distance traveled, the local average sound speed, and the …

Ultrasonic Assessment Of Stabilized Soils, Nazli Yesiller, James L. Hanson, Mumtaz A. Usmen

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The feasibility of using ultrasonic testing, in particular P-wave velocities, to evaluate stabilized soils was investigated. A high-plasticity clay soil that was stabilized with lime, cement, and lime - fly ash mixtures was used in the study. The testing program consisted of determination of P-wave velocities and compression characteristics of the stabilized soils immediately after compaction and subsequent to 7 days and 28 days of curing. Variation of velocity with stabilizing agent, curing time, and also with the compression characteristics of the soils was investigated. It was observed that P-wave velocities were higher for samples stabilized with cement compared with …

Stress-Temperature Effects On Peat Compression, James L. Hanson, Tuncer B. Edil, Patrick J. Fox

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Laboratory and field tests have shown that accelerated compression of peat soils occurs in response to moderate heating and an effective overconsolidation is produced on subsequent cooling. This phenomenon has been termed thermal precompression. In this study, long-term laboratory and field tests were conducted to investigate secondary compression behavior of peat as a function of stress and temperature. Stepstress and step-temperature compression tests were conducted on two peat soils. Dramatic effects were observed upon heating and cooling. A field test site in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA was constructed to test the thermal precompression concept for in situ peats. The site contained …

Performance Of Proton Exchange Membranefuel Cell With Co/H2 Fuel, Hong-Mei Yu, Zhong-Jun Hou, Bao-Lian Yi, Ke-Wan Bi, Jing-Xin Zhang, Zhi-Yin Lin, Ming Han

Journal of Electrochemistry

Fuel of proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) mostly comes from reformatecontains CO which will poison the fuel cell electrocatalyst. The effect of CO on the performance of PEMFC was studied in this paper. The results of the experiment show that when CO is fed inPEMFC ,the cell voltage will be decreased violently,then it will become steady with some vibration. The poison will become more serious with higher CO content and weaker at higher temperature. The adsorption of CO on the electrocatalyst is reversible. The PtRu electrocatalyst is moresuitable for the electrocatalysis of CO/H₂ than Pt electrocatalyst.

Atmospheric Corrosion Of Steels In China, Cai-Feng Liang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Data of eight year atmospheric exposures of 17 steels at 7 sites in China were analyzed. The result showed that the most detrimental pollution is sulfur dioxide and chloride ion for corrosion of carbon steels and low alloy weathering steels. This is in accordance with the common knowledge.The effect of sulfur dioxide is serious in the first few years and becomes weak obviously in the later years. The environment factor of humid hot is much more important in long run than the ordinarily acknowledged humidity, pollution for non weathering steels,although it is not obvious in the beginning. If pollution were …

Properties Of Metallized Polyo-Toluididemembrane Modified Electrode, Li-Zong Dai, Yi-Ting Xu, Hui-Huang Wu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The platinum particles were electrodeposited on poly(o-toluidide), POT, modified electrode, and the surface configuration and crystal orientation of Pt particles were investigated by SEM and XRD. At the same time the oxidation of isopropanol on platinized POT modified electrode was studied. The results indicate that Pt particles deposite towards preferred-orientation; moreover the increase in polymer electroactivity due to proton doping affects the dimension and graininess of deposited Pt particles. At the metallized polymer electrode the oxidation of isopropanol can occur in POT electroactive potential region, however at the more positive than 0.70 V (SCE) potential where POT loses redox activity …