Engineering Commons^™

Utilization Of A Piezoelectric Polymer To Sense Harmonics Of Electromagnetic Torque, Jason Neely, Steven Pekarek, Daniel S. Stutts, Philip Beccue

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, the use of a piezoelectric polymer material to measure the harmonics of electromagnetic torque produced by a permanent magnet synchronous machine is described. The advantages of the polymer include low cost, durability, and flexibility. In addition, wide-bandwidth sensors are relatively easy to design and couple to drive system hardware for harmonic evaluation or to use in feedback-based control. To illustrate the use of the polymer, the electrical and mechanical properties of three sensors are described. The results of time-domain simulation and hardware experiments are used to validate that the voltage obtained from the sensors is linearly related …

Dcim-Accelerated Smfma For Capacitance Extraction, L. (Lijun) J. Jiang, W. C. Chew, Y. C. Pan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new method to evaluate the SMFMA translators and near-field interactions for the capacitance extraction of the complicated structures in the multilayer medium is presented. As such, the spherical harmonic functions are extended into the complex plane to derive the closed forms of all multipole translators. This new technique can make the SMFMA setup stage one to two-orders faster compared to the old method. Moreover, it provides excellent accuracy with little computation costs.

One-Layer Neural-Network Controller With Preprocessed Inputs For Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, Sarangapani Jagannathan, Gustavo Galan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Navigating, guiding, and controlling autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are challenging and difficult tasks compared to the autonomous surface-level operations. Controlling the motion of such vehicles require the estimation of unknown hydrodynamic forces and moments and disturbances acting on these vehicles in the underwater environment. in this paper, a one-layer neural-network (NN) controller with preprocessed input signals is designed to control the vehicle track along a desired trajectory, which is specified in terms of desired position and attitude. in the absence of unknown disturbances and modeling errors, it is shown that the tracking error system is asymptotically stable. in the presence …

Modeling And Control Of Vinyl Chloride In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Michael Beardsley, Craig D. Adams

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In water distribution systems containing PVC pipe manufactured in the "early era" (prior to 1977), vinyl chloride can leach into drinking water resulting in vinyl chloride concentrations exceeding the 2 μg·L-1 maximum contaminant level. Field testing of dead-end segments of water distribution systems consisting of early-era PVC pipe was conducted to examine their initial intrapipe vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) concentrations based on a Fickian-diffusion-Based leaching model. the experiments showed a wide range of VCM concentrations within early-era PVC pipe ranging from less than 50 to more than 600 mg·kg-1. based on the diffusion modeling approach, a protocol was designed that …

Microburst Recovery For Jet Transport Aircraft: A Comparison Between Constant And Variable Pitch Guidance Trajectories, Mark Cadmus

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this research was to compare, in a simulator, the safety of a variable pitch strategy with the established constant pitch strategy in transitioning through a microburst during an abort maneuver in the approach to landing phase of flight. In numerous mathematical and computer studies of microburst penetrations, the variable pitch strategy provided a greater recovery altitude than the constant pitch strategy. A Boeing 737 level C aircraft simulator was employed to evaluate these findings in a dynamic environment. Three appropriately qualified subjects piloted 35 flights through a microburst, while computer generated data were collected. "Safety", defined as …

A Communications Modeling System For Swarm-Based Sensors, Brian A. Kadrovach

Theses and Dissertations

Today's information age has exploded the amount of data available to decision makers at all levels of the control hierarchy. The miniaturization and proliferation of sensor technology has enabled extensive detection and monitoring and advances in computational capabilities have provided for embedded data analysis and the generation of information from raw data. Additionally, with the miniaturization of mechanical systems it is possible to provide platforms for sensor suites that are capable of mobility and limited autonomy. Swarming or bio-emergent behavior problems, provides a robust scalable mechanism for organizing large numbers of mobile sensor platforms. However, the mobility dynamics of swarm …

Controlled-Stress Large-Area Pulsed Laser Deposition Of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, Paul C. Rounsavall

Theses and Dissertations

The US Air Force has need of parabolic-shaped membrane mirrors for surveillance satellites. The current polymer membrane technology has been unable to overcome shape deformation problems caused by intrinsic stresses from the membrane casting and mounting processes. One proposed solution was to coat the membrane mirrors with a stressed coating to compensate for shape deformations. Thus, the research presented in this dissertation produced controlled-stress large-area pulsed laser deposition (PLD) grown thin films on polymer substrates and investigated optical time-of-flight (TOF) sensor systems and Raman spectroscopy for control for the PLD process with respect to thin film stress. Initially, the PLD-grown …

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy And Hall Effect Studies Of The Effects Of Low Energy Electron Energy On Gallium Nitride (Gan), Kevin D. Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The nature of native donors in GaN, types and interactions of radiation-induced defects, and damage creation coefficients for 1.0 MeV electron irradiation have been ascertained by the concerted application of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and Hall effect measurements to virgin and electron-irradiated GaN epilayers. Samples produced via molecular beam epitaxy and hydride vapor phase epitaxy, both silicon doped and nominally undoped, were subjected to Van de Graff generator produced monoenergtic electron beams with total fluences of 10¹⁶- 10¹⁸ electrons/cm². Nitrogen vacancies are rejected as a possible cause of n-type conductivity in nominally undoped GaN due …

Cooperative Control Simulation Validation Using Applied Probability Theory, Christopher S. Schulz

Theses and Dissertations

Several research simulations have been created to support development and refinement of teamed autonomous agents using decentralized cooperative control algorithms. Simulation is the necessary tool to evaluate the performance of decentralized cooperative control algorithms, however these simulations lack a method to validate their output. This research presents a method to validate the performance of a decentralized cooperative control simulation environment for an autonomous Wide Area Search Munition (WASM). Rigorous analytical methods for six wide area search and engagement scenarios involving Uniform, Normal, and Poisson distributions of N real targets and M false target objects are formulated to generate expected numbers …

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (1998 – 2002), Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman, Monica L. Barrett, Eric R. Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 1998 through 2002. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of crashes were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These data can be used in Kentucky’s procedure to identify locations that have abnormal rates or numbers of crashes.

The other primary objective of this study was to provide data that can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s Annual Highway Safety …

Exchange Interactions And Curie Temperature Of Y–Co Compounds, Arti Kashyap, Ralph Skomski, Renat F. Sabiryanov, Sitaram Jaswal, David J. Sellmyer

Materials Research Science and Engineering Center: Faculty Publications

The Curie temperature of rare-earth Co intermetallics is investigated by self-consistent spin-polarized electronic-structure calculations on Y–Co compounds. The total exchange interaction of a given site with all other sites (J_o) is calculated by the linear-muffin-tin-orbital method using the local force theorem and employed to obtain mean-field Curie-temperature estimates. The theoretical predictions for YCo₃, YCo₅, and Y₂Co₁₇ are in fair agreement with the experimental Curie temperatures. For YCo₅, the variation of exchange interactions (J_ij) with distance is analyzed, and it is discussed how the presence of nonequivalent cobalt …

Thermal Properties Of La₀.₅Sr₀.₅Co₁₋ₓnixo₃-D Ceramics Using Photopyroelectric Technique, M. T. Sebastian, C. Preethy Menon, J. Philip, Robert W. Schwartz

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

La0.5Sr0.5Co1-xNixO3-delta (0<= x<= 0.6) ceramics were prepared using a conventional solid-state ceramic route. The thermal properties—thermal conductivity and heat capacity—of these ceramics were measured by the photopyroelectric technique. The thermal conductivity was found to increase with increasing Ni content. These materials were also found to exhibit a metallic-type variation of thermal conductivity with temperature, and no metal-insulator (M-I) transition was found to occur in any of the samples prepared by this route. However, a M-I transition was found to occur in La0.5Sr0.5CoO3-delta samples prepared by hot pressing. The difference is attributed to variations in oxygen content in the samples.

Vibration Based Crack Detection In A Rotating Disk: Part 1—An Analytical Study, Andrew L. Gyekenyesi, Jerzy T. Sawicki, George Y. Baaklini

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper describes the analytical results concerning the detection of a crack in a rotating disk. The concept of the approach is based on the fact that the development of a disk crack results in a distorted strain field within the component. As a result, a minute deformation in the disk’s geometry as well as a change in the system’s center of mass occurs. Finite element analyses were conducted concerning a notched disk in order to define the sensitivity of the method. The notch was used to simulate an actual crack and will be the method utilized for upcoming experiments. …

Modified Fast Inhomogeneous Plane Wave Algorithm From Low Frequency To Microwave Frequency, L. (Lijun) J. Jiang, W. C. Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new method, MFIPWA, is proposed to extend the traditional MLFMA and FIPWA into the low frequency range. It uses the evanescent-wave extrapolation and translation techniques to overcome the low-frequency breakdown problem. The accuracy can be well controlled over a broad frequency range.

Simulation Of Fixed– And Variable–Rate Application Of Granular Materials, John Patrick Fulton, Scott A. Shearer, Timothy S. Stombaugh, Michael E. Anderson, Thomas F. Burks, Stephen F. Higgins

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Research has shown that application errors exist with variable–rate technology (VRT) systems. Consequently, using prescription maps for economic and agronomic analyses can generate misleading results. The intent of this article was to develop and validate a spatial data model for generating “as–applied” maps to support the advancement of precision agriculture practices. Previous research modified ASAE Standard S341.2 to include a 2–D matrix of collection pans to assess fixed–rate and variable–rate (VR) deposition of granular fertilizers and agricultural lime from a spinner disc spreader. The “as–applied” spatial data model uses GIS functionality to generate “as–applied” surfaces by merging distribution patterns and …

Business Case For Implementing Two Ergonomic Interventions At An Electric Power Utility, Patricia Seeley, Richard W. Marklin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Ergonomics analysis of line workers in the electric power industry who work overhead on utility poles revealed some tasks for which less than 1% of the general population had sufficient strength to perform. During a 2-year study, a large Midwestern US electric utility provided a university with a team of represented workers and management. They evaluated, recommended, and monitored interventions for 32 common line worker tasks that were rated at medium to high magnitude of risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Two of the recommended ergonomic interventions—the battery-operated press and cutter—were selected by the team as having the greatest potential …

Comparison Of Process Identification Techniqies In The Time- And Frequency-Domains, Tony Kealy, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This paper describes ten methods to identify a mathematical model for a real process with a time delay. The process is the Process Trainer, PT326 from Feedback Instruments Limited. Six of the methods use step response data and one of the methods uses impulse response data for identification. Two of the methods use frequency response data and the final method uses information from relay-based experiments. The best results are obtained using a combined analytical and gradient method [6] in the frequency-domain and, in the time-domain, using the two-point algorithm [1] and a method proposed by Suganda et al. [5].

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Two Semi-Infinite Interfacial Cracks Between Two Bonded Dissimilar Elastic Strips, Xiangfa Wu, Yuris A. Dzenis, Tian-You Fan

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

The complex stress intensity factor and energy release rate are obtained for two semi-infinite interfacial cracks between two bonded dissimilar elastic strips with equal thickness under inplane deformations. During the procedure, by means of conformal mapping technique, the mixed boundary-value problem is reduced to a standard Riemann–Hilbert problem, which is further solved in closed-form. In some limiting cases, the present explicit solutions can cover the well-known results in the literature.

Impacts Of Columbia River Discharge On Salmonid Habitat: 1. A Nonstationary Fluvial Tide Model, David A. Jay, Tobias Kukulka

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This is the first part of a two-part investigation that applies nonstationary time series analysis methods and the St. Venant equations to the problem of understanding juvenile salmonid access to favorable shallow-water habitat in a tidal river. Habitat access is a function of river stage, tidal range, and the distribution of bed elevation. Part 1 models nonstationary tidal properties: species amplitudes and phases and tidal range. Part 2 models low-frequency river stage in the Lower Columbia River and reconstructs historical water levels, using the tidal model from part 1. To incorporate the nonstationary frictional effects of variable river discharge into …

Afci Quarterly Input – Unlv July Through September, 2003, Harry Reid Center For Environmental Studies. Nuclear Science And Technology Division

Transmutation Research Program Reports (TRP)

Quarterly report highlighting research projects and objectives of the Transmutation Research Program at the Nuclear Science & Technology Division, Harry Reid Research Center.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas supports the AFCI through research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel. The UNLV program has four components: infrastructure, international collaboration, student-based research, and management and program support.

Inside Unlv, Gian Galassi, Jennifer Vaughan, Carol C. Harter, Stephen Rosenbaum

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

A Novel Method For Measuring Induction Machine Magnetizing Inductance, Ana Vladan Stankovic, Eric L. Benedict, Vinod John, Thomas A. Lipo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a novel method for measuring the magnetizing inductance of an induction machine. The approach uses a static DC excitation technique which can be employed whenever the neutral of the machine is accessible. The proposed method measures only the magnetizing inductance and not the self inductance which normally includes the effect of the stator leakage inductance. Because this test uses a DC excitation, the iron losses in the motor are considerably reduced as well and minimally influence the measurement when compared to the traditional 60-Hz no-load test. By using the proposed method for measuring only the magnetizing inductance, …

Modeling And Control Of Vinyl Chloride In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, M Beardsley, Craig D. Adams

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In water distribution systems containing PVC pipe manufactured in the “early era” (prior to 1977), vinyl chloride can leach into drinking water resulting in vinyl chloride concentrations exceeding the 2 μg⋅L−1 maximum contaminant level. Field testing of dead-end segments of water distribution systems consisting of early-era PVC pipe was conducted to examine their initial intrapipe vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) concentrations based on a Fickian-diffusion-based leaching model. The experiments showed a wide range of VCM concentrations within early-era PVC pipe ranging from less than 50 to more than 600 mg⋅kg−1. Based on the diffusion modeling approach, a protocol was designed that …

Toward Building Conversational Spoken-Language Interfaces: Acknowledgment Use In American English And Mexican Spanish, Karen Ward, Tasha Hollingsed, Javier A. Aldaz Salmon

Graduate Student Papers (CS)

Should spoken-language interfaces incorporate human discourse phenomena? Acknowledgments, for example, are ubiquitous in human conversation but are rare in human-computer interaction. Are people unwilling to use this human convention when talking to a machine, or is their scarcity due to the design of current spoken-language interfaces? We found that, given a simple spoken-language interface that responded to acknowledgments, over two thirds of subjects used acknowledgments at least once, about the same number that used more traditional commands to control the interface. These results were consistent for both Mexican Spanish and American English versions of the interface, and they suggest that …

Adaptive Reflex Control For An Artificial Hand, Michele Flogheraiter, Giuseppina Gini, Marek Perkowski, Mikhail Pivtoraiko

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we illustrate the properties and the morphology of a human like neural reflex controller, used to set the stiffness and joint positions of an anthropomorphic artificial hand. In particular we explain, by simulations results, its ability to emulate the myotatic human reflex, and its capacity to learn in real time the best control strategy. We also present the dynamic model of the joints and of the artificial muscles used in Blackfingers, our artificial hand.

Autonomous Vehicle Technologies For Small Fixed Wing Uavs, Derek B. Kingston, Randal Beard, Timothy Mclain, Michael Larsen, Wei Ren

Faculty Publications

Autonomous unmanned air vehicle flight control systems require robust path generation to account for terrain obstructions, weather, and moving threats such as radar, jammers, and unfriendly aircraft. In this paper, we outline a feasible, hierarchal approach for real-time motion planning of small autonomous fixed-wing UAVs. The approach divides the trajectory generation into four tasks: waypoint path planning, dynamic trajectory smoothing, trajectory tracking, and low-level autopilot compensation. The waypoint path planner determines the vehicle's route without regard for the dynamic constraints of the vehicle. This results in a significant reduction in the path search space, enabling the generation of complicated paths …

Mobility Modeling And Management For Next Generation Wireless Networks, Woo-Jin Choi

Dissertations

Mobility modeling and management in wireless networks are the set of tasks performed in order to model motion patterns, predict trajectories, get information on mobiles' whereabouts and to make use of this information in handoff, routing, location management, resource allocation and other functions.

In the literature, the speed of mobile is often and misleadingly referred to as the level of mobility, such as "high" or "low" mobility. This dissertation presents an information theoretic approach to mobility modeling and management, in which mobility is considered as a measure of uncertainty in mobile's trajectory, that is, the mobility is low if the …

Ip Traceback With Deterministic Packet Marking Dpm, Andrey Belenky

Dissertations

In this dissertation, a novel approach to Internet Protocol (IP) Traceback - Deterministic Packet Marking (DPM) is presented. The proposed approach is scalable, simple to implement, and introduces no bandwidth and practically no processing overhead on the network equipment. It is capable of tracing thousands of simultaneous attackers during a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Given sufficient deployment on the Internet, DPM is capable of tracing back to the slaves for DDoS attacks which involve reflectors. Most of the processing is done at the victim. The traceback process can be performed post-mortem, which allows for tracing the attacks that …

Capacity, Coding And Interference Cancellation In Multiuser Multicarrier Wireless Communications Systems, Christian Ibars Casas

Dissertations

Multicarrier modulation and multiuser systems have generated a great deal of research during the last decade. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multicarrier modulation generated with the inverse Discrete Fourier Transform, which has been adopted for standards in wireless and wire-line communications. Multiuser wireless systems using multicarrier modulation suffer from the effects of dispersive fading channels, which create multi-access, inter-symbol, and inter-carrier interference (MAI, ISI, ICI). Nevertheless, channel dispersion also provides diversity, which can be exploited and has the potential to increase robustness against fading. Multiuser multi-carrier systems can be implemented using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), a …