Engineering Commons^™

Potential Uses Of Riverbank Filtration For Regulatory Compliance, Stig Regli

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

RBF may have its most general application for systems seeking compliance with the LT2ESWTR. On August 11, 2003, the USEPA proposed the LT2ESWTR and included provisions by which RBF could be used as one of the compliance options for providing Cryptosporidium removal credits (USEPA, 2003).While the USEPA has previously recognized (through guidance implementation decisions) that RBF is a technology that can achieve pathogen removal, the LT2ESWTR is the first United States drinking-water regulation that specifically recognizes RBF as a compliance technology option.

Test 1817: John Deere 7420 Powrquad Diesel 20-Speed, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA

The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data.

EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES

Purpose

The purpose of …

Safety Performance Evaluation Of Michigan’S 4x5 Portable Sign Support, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway, John R. Rohde, Dean L. Sicking

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A wide variety of traffic controlling devices are used in work zones, some of which are not normally found on the roadside or in the traveled way outside of the work zones. These devices are used to enhance the safety of the work zones by controlling the traffic through these areas. Due to the placement of the traffic control devices, the devices themselves may be potentially hazardous to both workers and errant vehicles. The impact performance of many work-zone traffic control devices is mainly unknown and to date limited crash testing has been conducted, under the criteria of National Cooperative …

Performance Analysis Of Welch Products Recycled Rubber Spacer Block, Bob W. Bielenberg, Ronald K. Faller

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The Midwest Roadside Safety Facility was contracted by Will Stein of the Iowa Department of Transportation to conduct dynamic bogie testing of a recyclable rubber guardrail spacer block manufactured by Welch Products, Inc. The scope of the work included the setup of both a standard, wood guardrail post blockout and the Welch Products recycled rubber blockout on a standard W150x13.5 steel post, as well as two component tests using a bogie vehicle. The bogie tests were conducted in accordance with previously accepted procedures to evaluate the performance of guardrail post blockouts made of non-standard materials.

Development Of Standards For Placement Of Steel Guardrail Posts In Rock, Jason Herr, John R. Rohde, Dean L. Sicking, John D. Reid, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway, Brian A. Coon, Karla A. Polivka

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A steel post W-beam guardrail system was developed for installation in rock-soil foundations. The guardrail system was constructed with a 2.66-mm (12-gauge) thick W-beam rail, 53.34 m in length. The W-beam guardrail was supported by twenty-seven W152x13.4 by 1,346-mm long steel posts, spaced at 1,905 mm on center. The posts were installed in drilled holes in concrete, constructed by drilling three 203-mm diameter holes on 165- mm centers to a depth of 610 mm. The drilled holes were backfilled with compacted ASTM C33 coarse aggregate, size no. 57.

One full-scale vehicle crash test, using a 3⁄4-ton pickup truck, was performed …

Protein Alignment Scoring - Pam And Blosum, Dan E. Krane, Michael L. Raymer

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Presentation prepared for Intro to Bioinformatics. The lecture comprises material from the text Fundamental Concepts of Bioinformatics.

Combinatorial Constructions Of 3- And 4-Secure Codes, Yeijing Wang, Jennifer Seberry, Beata J. Wysocki, Tadeusz A. Wysocki, Willy Susilo, Tianbing Xia, Ying Zhao, Le Chung Tran

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

In this paper, 3- and 4-secure codes are constructed from combinatorial designs. Both constant weight and non-constant weight codes are shown.

A Performance Study Of Dynamic Zone Topology Routing Protocol, Mehran Abolhasan, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

In this paper we present a simulation study of a hybrid routing protocol we proposed in our previous work. Our hybrid routing strategy is called Dynamic Zone Topology Routing protocol (DZTR). This protocol has been designed to provide scalable routing in a Mobile Ad hoc Networking (MANET) environment. DZTR breaks the network into a number of zones by using a GPS. The topology of each zone is maintained proactively and the route to the nodes in other zones are determined reactively. DZTR proposes a number of different strategies to reduce routing overhead in large networks and reduce the single point …

Increasing Performance Of Sqrd Decoding For Lst Systems, Phillip Conder, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

A number of decoding schemes have been proposed for Layered Space-Time systems, such as the Ordered Successive Interference Cancellation and the Sorted QR Decomposition. We describe here a new addition to that group, increasing the performance of Layered Space-Time decoding by using the Sorted QR Decomposition technique to construct a list of constellations to be passed to a Maximum Likelihood decoder. This paper shows that signifcant performance improvement can be obtained for symmetric systems, where there is an equal number of transmit and receive antennas. It shows that the proposed scheme, has a roughly linear increase in complexity compared to …

On The Effect Of Adjacent Sector Multiple Access Interference On Space Time Spreading Systems, Peter Vial, Ibrahim Raad, Tadeusz A. Wysocki

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Space Time Spreading systems are proposed as a method to enhance communications between the Base Station (BS) and Mobile Station (MS) by using multiple transmit antennas at the Base Station. This provides a form of transmit diversity when there are more than one transmitting antennas. Space Time Spreading systems have been shown to be efficient in their use of the limited number of orthogonal spreading sequences and to provide a diversity gain, which in the case of two transmitter antennas at the BS and one receiving antenna at the MS, is of order two. The paper looks at the effect …

Diet And Physical Performance, Scott J. Montain, Andrew J. Young

United States Army: Publications

This paper provides a historical summary of military nutrition research into the role of diet for sustaining soldier physical performance. Studies of underfeeding document that physical performance is preserved during several days of underfeeding provided sufficient carbohydrate and minerals are consumed to minimize the diuresis associated with semi-starvation diets and serial intake of carbohydrate is available to support metabolism during prolonged work. The Military Recommended Dietary Allowances, AR 40-25, currently recommends that when restricted rations are required, that the ration contain at least 1100–1500 kcal, 50–70 g of protein, and a minimum of 100 g of carbohydrate on a daily …

Application Of Dynamic System Identification To Timber Bridges, S T. Peterson, D I. Mclean, David Pollock

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

A method of global nondestructive evaluation for identifying local damage and decay in timber beams was developed in previous analytical studies and verified experimentally using simply supported beams in the laboratory. The method employs experimental modal analysis and an algorithm that monitors changes in modal strain energy between the mode shapes of a damaged structure with respect to the undamaged structure. A simple three-girder bridge was built and tested in a laboratory to investigate the capability and limitations of the method for detecting damage in a multimember timber structure. The laboratory tests showed that the method can correctly detect and …

On The Use Of Rigging Angle And Canopy Tilt For Control Of A Parafoil And Payload System, Nathan Slegers, Mark Costello

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Controllable parafoil and payload aircraft are controlled with downward deflection of left and right parafoil brakes. Lateral control is obtained by differential deflection while longitudinal control is created by collective deflection of the left and right side parafoil brakes. The work reported considers an alternative method to control parafoil and payload air vehicles by tilting the parafoil canopy for lateral control and changing rigging angle for longitudinal control. Using a nonlinear 9 degree of freedom simulation model, it is shown that canopy tilt provides a powerful lateral control mechanism and rigging angle provides a viable longitudinal control mechanism.

Can Quantum Computers Be Useful When There Are Not Yet Enough Qubits?, Luc Longpre, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

No abstract provided.

An Interaction Initiative Model For Documentation, David G. Novick, Karen Ward

Departmental Papers (CS)

In this paper we propose a model of creation and use of documentation based on the concept of mixed-initiative interaction. In our model, successful single-initiative interaction is characterized by grounding of contributions, and successful mixed-initiative interaction is characterized by both grounding and agreement. Just as in spoken conversation, achievement of actual agreement depends on the intentions of both parties; agreement is achieved when the reader follows the documentation’s instructions. In fact, readers are not obligated to—and often do not—act according to the author’s intentions. By making these dynamics explicit, the model can aid authors in developing effective documentation. The paper …

Hands-Free Documentation, Karen Ward, David G. Novick

Departmental Papers (CS)

In this paper, we introduce an analysis of the requirements and design choices for hands-free documentation. Hands-busy tasks such as cooking or car repair may require substantial interruption of the task: moving the pan off the burner and wiping hands, or crawling out from underneath the car. We review the need for hands-free documentation and explore the role of task in the use of documentation. Our central analysis examines the roles and characteristics of input and output modalities of hands-free documentation. In particular, we review the use of speech as an input modality, and then visual means and speech as …

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service 2003 Amendment To The 2000 Biological Opinion On The Operation Of The Missouri River Main Stem Reservior System, Operation And Maintenance Of The Missouri River Bank Stabilization And Navigation Project, And Operation Of The Kansas River Reservior System

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

In 1989, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) initiated consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) regarding operation of the Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System (See Figure 1). This consultation was conducted under the provisions of section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which requires Federal agencies to consult with the Service when the agency’s proposed actions may affect the status of species listed as endangered or threatened. For the Missouri River operations by the Corps, the species covered in the 1989 consultation were the endangered Interior least tern (Sterna antillarum), threatened Northern …

Using Psychotherapy Techniques To Reveal Misconceptions And Improve Learning, Paul Michael Santi, Michele M. Santi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

When students are aware that they do not understand a concept, the main impediment to developing an understanding is their willingness to ask questions of the instructor or of fellow students. When students think that they understand a concept, but really have some significant misconception lodged in their mental picture of the concept, they may not supplant this misconception for years, if ever. Both situations can be corrected if the students identify the need to ask questions, are brave enough to do so in the traditional academic settings, and if the answers adequately address the actual misunderstanding (which may be …

Software Development In The Grid: The Damien Tool-Set, Edgar Gabriel, Rainer Keller, Peggy Lindner, Matthias S. Müller, Michael M. Resch

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The development of applications for Grid-environments is currently lacking the support of tools, which end-users are familiar with from their regular working environment. This paper analyzes the requirements for developing, porting and optimizing scientific applications for Grid-environments. A toolbox designed and implemented in the frame of the DAMIEN project which closes some of the gaps and supports the end-user during the development of the application and its day-to-day usage in Grid-environments is then presented. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.

Effects Of Age-Related Gait Changes On The Biomechanics Of Slips And Falls, Thurman E. Lockheart, Jeffrey C. Woldstad, James L. Smith

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A laboratory study was conducted to examine gait changes associated with aging and the effect of these changes on initiation of slips and frequency of falls utilizing newly defined biomechanical parameters of slips and falls. Twenty-eight participants from two age groups (young and old) walked around a circular track at a comfortable pace wearing a safety harness. A slippery floor surface was placed on the walking track over the force plate at random time intervals without the participants’ awareness. Synchronized kinetic and kinematic measurements were obtained on both slippery and non-slippery walking surfaces. The results indicated that older participants’ horizontal …

Investigation On How To Improve Latent Semantic Analysis Performance, Thao Doan

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) is a matching technique capable of recognizing the semantic relationships of data that ordinary techniques such as string matching cannot. This is especially valuable for data integration applications, like those of Acxiom, where data items are usually related by context, rather than in a literal match. Even though it has been shown that LSA is 30% more effective in finding and ranking relevant pieces of information than existing string-by-string matching techniques (Deerwester et al., 1990; Dumais, 1995), the performance of the LSA seems to be affected by the presence of shared words, or “noise”, in data. …

Identifying Critical Knowledge For Projects, Timothy Kotnour, Rafael Landaeta

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This article is the result of an investigation of the challenge faced by project managers in identifying critical knowledge for projects. Five major areas of project knowledge are identified. The literature defines knowledge as information that has been given meaning.

The critical knowledge for projects was identified through the literature and by our experience as applied researchers. Managers of multi-project organizations can use this article as a guide for identifying the critical knowledge that is vital for their projects.

Parametrically Tunable Audio Shelving And Equalizing Ladder Wave Digital Filters, S. A. Samad

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

Parametrically tunable audio equalizers are conventionally realized using allpass digital filter networks. They consist of first-order shelving filters and second-order equalizing filters. In this paper, ladder wave digital filters (WDFs) with parametrically tunable coefficients are proposed as shelving and equalizing filters. Similar to the allpass realization, the transfer function power complementary property of WDFs is used to obtain efficient shelving and equalizing filters. However, unlike the allpass structures, the transfer function and the tunable parameters of the ladder WDF are derived from the analog filter equivalent of the digital shelving and equalizing filters. For the shelving WDF, the cut-off frequency …

Pid Compensation Of Time Delayed Processes 1998-2002: A Survey, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

A time delay may be defined as the time interval between the start of an event at one point in a system and its resulting action at another point in the system. Delays are also known as transport lags or dead times; they arise in physical, chemical, biological and economic systems, as well as in the process of measurement and computation. Methods for the compensation of time delayed processes may be broadly divided into proportional integral derivative (PID) based controllers, in which the controller parameters are adapted to the controller structure, and structurally optimised controllers, in which the controller structure …

Under The Plastic: A Quantitative Look At Dvd Video Encoding And Its Impact On Video Modeling, Wu-Chi Feng, Jin Choi, Wu-Chang Feng, Jonathan Walpole

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we examine the DVD encoding process and the implications this process has video modeling and network traffic analysis. We have assembled a system that allows us to extract the video data from the DVDs as they were encoded for distribution. Analyzing the resulting video trace data, we describe how DVD encodings have evolved over time. In addition, our findings show that the underlying video content is fundamentally different than those produced by basic consumer video capture boards. We demonstrate how this affects current video modeling proposals and their affect on network traffic characterization. This research is based …

Silica Coating Of Gold Nanoparticles, Milind Laxman Surve

Masters Theses

“Gold colloids have been homogenously coated with silica using silane coupling agents as a primer to make the gold surface vitreophilic. After adding active silica, the particles are transferred in ethanol for uniform silica coating by using the Stober method. Gold nanoparticles used for this study ranged from 5 nm up to 40 nm with mixed results. Silica condensation can be controlled to produce different silica thicknesses on gold. The main problem while coating smaller particles (5 nm and 10 nm) was the final coagulation or necking of silica after coating the gold surface. The possible causes for this effect …

Estimating Degradation Model Parameters From Character Images, Hok S. Yam, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper discusses the use of character images to determine the parameters of an image degradation model. The acute angles in character images provide information used to find the model parameters. Three experiments are conducted to evaluate the use of characters. In the first experiment, large quantities of corners from character images are used to investigate how their contribution affects the mean and the standard deviation of the parameter estimators. In the second experiment, we focus on the relationship between the angles of the corners used in estimation and the estimation results. In the last experiment, we examine how likely …

Speedup Of Optical Scanner Characterization Subsystem, Roger D. Clements, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Small image deformations such as those introduced by optical scanners significantly reduce the accuracy rate of optical character recognition (OCR) software. Characterization of the scanner used in the OCR process may diminish the impact on recognition rates. Theoretical methods have been developed to characterize a scanner based on the bi-level image resulting from scanning a high contrast document. Two bottlenecks in the naïve implementation of these algorithms have been identified, and techniques were developed to improve the execution time of the software. The algorithms are described and analyzed. Since approximations are used in one of the techniques, the error of …

An Industrial Food Processing Plant Automation Using A Hybrid Of Pi And Fuzzy Logic Control, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, D. Naidoo, P. Govender

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An industrial food processing plant consisting of nonlinear dynamics requires pressure and temperature controllers to be nonlinear. In this paper, nonlinear controllers are designed using fuzzy logic to augment the conventional pressure and temperature PI controllers for an industrial food processing plant. Simulation results are presented to show improvement in the plant response with the hybrid controllers.

Sequence Dependent Mobility Of Short Oligonucleotides In Free-Solution Electrophoresis, James D. Sterling, Eve F. Fabrizio, Ali Nadim

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.