Engineering Commons^™

Cargo Terminal Shift Setting And Manpower Supplying In Short-Term Operations, Shangyao Yan, Chung-Kai Chen, Chia-Hung Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this research, we develop two short-term manpower supply models from air cargo terminal perspectives. The models are expected to be effective tools for air cargo terminals to plan their manpower supplies and shift schedules. We first incorporate two flexible management strategies and the related operating constraints into the development of a mathematical programming model. By suitably modifying the model, we then construct a strategic model, involving different combinations of manpower supply principles, which can help air cargo terminals manage more effectively their terminal manpower supplies. To evaluate the models in practice, we perform a case study using real operation …

Development Of A Cost Effective Mini Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Chiu-Feng Lin, Chyuan-Yow Tseng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper describes the development of a cost effective mini autonomous underwater vehicle. The mini size of the vehicle is achieved by extracting the control module hardware out from the vehicle vessel and by reducing the on-board sensors. The control of the vehicle is conducted by a base station wirelessly telecommunicating with the vehicle. Furthermore, the reduction of the sensors also reduces the cost of the vehicle. For the purpose, in the vehicle, a single sensor featuring a CCD camera is mounted at the front of the vehicle. The images taken by this CCD camera are used both for obstacle …

A Damping Constant Limitation Design Of Power System Stabilizer Using Hybrid Differential Evolution, Yung-Sung Chuang, Chi-Jui Wu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper is used to investigate a novel design of lead-lag type power system stabilizers for a multi-machine power system. In the design procedures, the minimum damping constants requirements of all of electromechanical modes can be designated and several typical operating conditions can be considered at the same time. The hybrid differential evolution (HDE) method is used to tune the parameters of power system stabilizers. In the design procedures, a region in the left half complex plane bounded by a line with a given negative real value is given. Thus, at the final step of the HDE, all of electromechanical …

Development Of A Variational Part Model Using In-Process Dimensional Measurement Error, Shane A. Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

To improve the geometric accuracy of CNC machined parts, dynamic machining errors due to on-line disturbances (tool deflection, tool wear, heat deformation, etc.) should be accounted for in some manner. Unless these on-line disturbances are properly handled, it is obvious that a high degree of geometric accuracy is difficult to achieve. Many attempts have been made to compensate for these on-line disturbances such as the development of engineering models; however, the models are not adequate enough for reflecting the real phenomenon and are dependent on continuous process monitoring using a variety of sensors. Closed-loop process control is a scheme for …

Black Liquor Droplet Combustion And Modeling, Warren Benjamin Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Black liquor is an intermediate product of pulp production. Recovery boilers process black liquor to recover the inorganic material for recycling in the mill and to generate electricity and steam for the paper mill. Black liquor droplet combustion rates and mechanisms dictate many aspects of recovery boiler performance. This investigation documents new experimental data on single droplet pyrolysis and combustion in a laboratory furnace that mimics many of the essential features of commercial boilers (temperature, composition, droplet size, etc.). These experiments monitored single droplets placed on a thermocouple wire and suspended from a mass balance. Simultaneous video images and pyrometry …

Crystal-Liquid Crystal Binary Phase Diagrams, P Dayal, Ra Matkar, Thein Kyu

College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering

We propose a new theoretical scheme for the binary phase diagrams of crystal-liquid crystal mixtures by a combination of a phase field model of solidification, the Flory-Huggins theory for liquid-liquid mixing and Maier-Saupe-McMillan (FH-MSM) model for nematic and smectic liquid crystal orderings. The phase field theory describes the crystal phase transition of anisotropic organic crystal and/or side chain liquid crystalline polymer crystals while the FH-MSM model explains isotropic, nematic and smectic-A phase transitions. Self-consistent calculations reveal several possible phase diagram topologies of the binary crystal-liquid crystal mixtures. The calculated phase diagrams were found to accord well to the reported experimental …

Dissociation Of Automatic And Strategic Lexical-Semantics: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evidence For Differing Roles Of Multiple Frontotemporal Regions, Brian T. Gold, David A. Balota, Sara J. Jones, David K. Powell, Charles D. Smith, Anders H. Andersen

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Behavioral research has demonstrated three major components of the lexical-semantic processing system: automatic activation of semantic representations, strategic retrieval of semantic representations, and inhibition of competitors. However, these component processes are inherently conflated in explicit lexical-semantic decision tasks typically used in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research. Here, we combine the logic of behavioral priming studies and the neurophysiological phenomenon of fMRI priming to dissociate the neural bases of automatic and strategic lexical-semantic processes across a series of three studies. A single lexical decision task was used in all studies, with stimulus onset asynchrony or linguistic relationship between prime and …

Solution Chemistry Control To Make Well Defined Submicron Continuous Fibres By Electrospinning: The (Ch3ch2ch2o)4ti/Acoh/Poly(N-Vinylpyrrolidone) System, Gustavo F. Larsen, Maciej Skotak

Papers in Materials Science

The (CH3CH2CH2O)4Ti/AcOH/poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) system has been shown to yield suitable formulations for electrohydrodynamic (EHD) processing into continuous fibres and particles. The EHD processability of this, and generally most sol–gel-based formulations, into well defined fibres and particles with narrow submicron-range diameter distributions depends not only on the EHD process variables (electric field and flow rates), but also on the stability of key physical properties (e.g., conductivity, viscosity, surface tension, density and dielectric constant) of the sol over time. Sols that were almost certainly still undergoing hydrolysis and condensation reactions have been processed via EHD by many research groups to make materials with …

Bandwidth Enhancement Of Fabry-Perot Quantum-Well Lasers By Injection-Locking, Xiaomin Jin, Shun-Lien Chuang

Electrical Engineering

Theory and experiment for dc and small-signal electrical modulation of an injection-locked quantum-well (QW) Fabry-Perot laser are presented. Our experiment is realized by performing side-mode injection locking of a multiple-quantum-well (MQW) InGaAsP Fabry-Perot (FP) laser, which has the advantage of optical wavelength conversion. We first measure the dc characteristics and optical spectra of an injection-locked laser to define its locking range and linewidth enhancement factor. We then show experimentally that the bandwidth of an injection-locked semiconductor laser is 10.5 GHz, which is around twice the free-running electrical modulation bandwidth (5.3 GHz). The relaxation frequency of the injection-locked laser can be …

Apparatus And Method For Using Adaptive Algorithms To Exploit Sparsity In Target Weight Vectors In An Adaptive Channel Equalizer, Richard K. Martin, Robert C. Williamson, William A. Sethares

AFIT Patents

An apparatus and method is disclosed for using adaptive algorithms to exploit sparsity in target weight vectors in an adaptive channel equalizer. An adaptive algorithm comprises a selected value of a prior and a selected value of a cost function. The present invention comprises algorithms adapted for calculating adaptive equalizer coefficients for sparse transmission channels. The present invention provides sparse algorithms in the form of a Sparse Least Mean Squares (LMS) algorithm and a Sparse Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA) and a Sparse Decision Directed (DD) algorithm.

Poisoning And Sulfation On Vanadia Scr Catalyst, Xiaoyu Guo

Theses and Dissertations

Deactivation of titania-supported vanadia commercial SCR catalysts exposed to flue gases from both coal and coal-biomass co-firing boilers were investigated. BET surface area and average pore diameter measurements on both fresh and exposed commercial catalyst samples indicated pore plugging occurred to exposed catalyst samples. ESEM analyses showed fouling on catalyst surface, and poison deposition on both catalyst surface and inner pores. Activity assessments of commercial monolith catalysts with various exposures (time and fuel type) indicated that catalyst deactivation involves fouling, pore plugging, and poisoning. Different mechanisms may dominate depending on exposure time, catalyst properties, and combustion environment. Better controlled lab-scale …

Thruster Apparatus And Method, Lyon Brad King

Michigan Tech Patents

A thruster for use with an external power supply. The thruster includes a propellant that exists in a non-gaseous state at standard temperature and pressure and has a melting point T_m, a boiling point T_b, and an evaporation rate. The thruster further includes a reservoir adapted to house the propellant and selectively heated to a temperature greater than T_m and less than T_b, and a power control mechanism positioned to control the amount of power from the external power supply being deposited into the reservoir to control the evaporation rate of the propellant.

Value Engineering In Academic Buildings In Egypt, Ahmed M El-Adawy Nassef

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Value engineering is a systematic approach used in various industries and construction industry as well to remove the unnecessary costs without any sacrifice in function, safety or target quality.

This research studies the awareness and implementation of value engineering to the construction of university buildings in Egypt for the huge amow1ts of money spent in these projects. This was done by investigating twenty three fim1s which represents all the various parties involved in the construction of university buildings.

The questionnaire is designed and questions are put to serve the objectives of the research. The data collected in the research questionnaire …

Coversion Of Hexamine Dinitrate Into Dinitro Pentamethylene Tetramine: Follow-Up And Kinetic Model Selection, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical Engineering

Synthesis of cyclotetramethylene tetramine through the action of nitrating mixture formed of ammonium nitrate and fuming nitric acid on hexamine in presence of acetic acid, acetic anhydride and p-formaldehyde has been proven. The pathway is relatively long and hexamine dinitrate and dinitro pentamethylene tetramine (DPT) are two of the main intermediate compounds. The former was prepared, purified, and then characterized. Conversion of this compound into the latter has been followed up experimentally. Different kinetic models have been tested. The unreacted core model proved to be applicable and the surface reaction was found to be controlling.

High-Resolution Thin-Film Device To Sense Texture By Touch, Ravi F. Saraf, Vivek Maheshwari

Papers in Nanotechnology

Touch (or tactile) sensors are gaining renewed interest as the level of sophistication in the application of minimum invasive surgery and humanoid robots increases. The spatial resolution of current large-area (greater than 1 cm²) tactile sensor lags by more than an order of magnitude compared with the human finger. By using metal and semi conducting nanoparticles, a 100-nm-thick, large-area thin-film device is self-assembled such that the change in current density through the film and the electroluminescent light intensity are linearly proportional to the local stress. A stress image is obtained by pressing a copper grid and a United …

High-Resolution Thin-Film Device To Sense Texture By Touch, Vivek C. Maheshwari, Ravi F. Saraf

Ravi Saraf Publications

Touch (or tactile) sensors are gaining renewed interest as the level of sophistication in the application of minimum invasive surgery and humanoid robots increases. The spatial resolution of current large-area (greater than 1 cm²) tactile sensor lags by more than an order of magnitude compared with the human finger. By using metal and semiconducting nanoparticles, a ~100-nm-thick, large-area thin-film device is self-assembled such that the change in current density through the film and the electroluminescent light intensity are linearly proportional to the local stress. A stress image is obtained by pressing a copper grid and a United States …

A Market-Based Framework For Semiconductor Industry Growth The Reduced Ecological Impart, Dawood Sulieman Abugharbieh

Dissertations and Theses

Reducing the ecological impact of industrial development is an emerging trend that affords companies the opportunity to gain competitive advantage. Semiconductor manufacturers have specifically identified ecological impact as a strategic variable that presents a long-term challenge. The socioeconomic nature of the ecological impact construct increases decision-making complexity in a manner that is not typical in business-to-business contexts. To account for social and economic aspects, this study utilized a cognitive structure-based model. Such models have been successfully utilized in consumer and industrial markets as adaptable frameworks that can encompass social and economic constructs.

This research focuses on linking two ecological constructs …

Blind Deconvolution Of Anisoplanatic Images Collected By A Partially Coherent Imaging System, Adam Macdonald

Theses and Dissertations

Coherent imaging systems offer unique benefits to system operators in terms of resolving power, range gating, selective illumination and utility for applications where passively illuminated targets have limited emissivity or reflectivity. This research proposes a novel blind deconvolution algorithm that is based on a maximum a posteriori Bayesian estimator constructed upon a physically based statistical model for the intensity of the partially coherent light at the imaging detector. The estimator is initially constructed using a shift-invariant system model, and is later extended to the case of a shift-variant optical system by the addition of a transfer function term that quantifies …

Self-Similarity Of Mean Flow In Pipe Turbulence, Junke Guo

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Based on our previous modified log-wake law in turbulent pipe ‡flows, we invent two compound similarity numbers (Y;U), where Y is a combination of the inner variable y+ and outer variable , and U is the pure exect of the wall. The two similarity numbers can well collapse mean velocity profile data with different moderate and large Reynolds numbers into a single universal profile. We then propose an arctangent law for the buffer layer and a general log law for the outer region in terms of (Y;U). From Milikan’s maximum velocity law and the Princeton superpipe data, we derive the …

The Effect Of Physiological Cyclic Stretch On The Cell Morphology, Cell Orientation And Protein Expression Of Endothelial Cells, V. Barron, Claire Brougham, K. Coghlan, C. Stenson-Cox, D. O'Mahoney, P.E. Mchugh

Articles

In vivo, endothelial cells are constantly exposed to pulsatile shear and tensile stresses. The main aim of this study was to design and build a physiological simulator, which reproduced homogenous strain profiles of the tensile strain experienced in vivo, and to investigate the effect of this cyclic tensile strain on the cell morphology, cell orientation and protein expression of endothelial cells. The biological response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to a uniaxial cyclic stretch, in this newly developed simulator, was examined experimentally using immunohistostaining and confocal imaging and it was

found that the cells elongated and oriented at 58.9± …

Numerical Modeling Of Infill Rc Walls In Seismic Retrofit Of Rc Frames, Mohamed Mohamed Slah El-Din Darwish

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Columns designed and built according to older standards may be subject to damage due to seismic loading during earthquakes as a result of the lack of shear reinforcement and/or insufficient lap-splice length. An experimental program on the use of ifill RC walls in seismic retrofit of RC frames under cyclic loading was conducted in 2002. The output of this experimental work formed the basis for the validation of a numerical finite element model, in predicting forces and displacements. Subsequently the finite element model was used to perform a parametric analysis on the effects of the thickness, overall reinforcement and concrete …

Application Of Aspen Mads-Box Genes To Alter Reproduction And Development In Trees, Gopi Krishna Podila, Leland James Cseke, Banalata Sen, David F. Karnosky

Michigan Tech Patents

The present invention provides compositions and methods for producing a transgenic plant that exhibits altered characteristics resulting from over expression or under expression of a novel polypeptide PtM3 or its homolog PtM4. The altered characteristics resulting from over-expression include at least one of the ability to convert axillary mer- istem to floral meristem; to accelerate flowering i.e., early flowering; to increase fruit production; to increase nut production; to increase seed output; to increase branching; to increase flower production; to increase fruit yield; to increase flower yield and a combination thereof. The altered characteristics resulting from suppressed expression include at least …

Effective Modeling Of Mass Concrete Foundation Under Dynamic Loads, Ossama Salem Ali Ahmed

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Passivated Indium Antimonide, Catherine Ann Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Infrared absorption and photoluminescence measurements have been used to optically characterize bulk-grown, 680-μm thick, indium antimonide (InSb), both as-grown and after passivation by either anodization or a 700-Å layer of silicon oxide (SiOx). Spectra were obtained using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Results include the effects of sample temperature in the range of 10 to 300 K and 4.636 μm laser pump power in the range of 28 mW to 1.43 W for the photoluminescence spectrum.

Managing Bandwidth And Traffic Via Bundling And Filtration In Large-Scale Distributed Simulations, Roberto C. Sánchez

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that bandwidth can be a limiting factor in the performance of distributed simulations. The Air Force's Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC) periodically hosts one of the largest distributed simulation events in the world. The engineers at the DMOC have dealt with the difficult problem of limited bandwidth by implementing application level filters that process all DIS PDUs between the various networks connected to the exercise. This thesis examines their implemented filter and proposes: adaptive range-based filtering and bundling together of PDUs. The goals are to reduce the number of PDUs passed by the adaptive filter and to …

Imaging Breast Adipose And Fibroglandular Tissue Molecular Signatures By Using Hybrid Mri-Guided Near-Infrared Spectral Tomography, Ben Brooksby, Brian W. Pogue, Shudong Jiang, Hamid Dehghani, Subhadra Srinivasan, Christine Kogel, Tor D. Tosteson, John Weaver, Steven P. Poplack, Keith D. Paulsen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Magnetic resonance (MR)-guided near-infrared spectral tomography was developed and used to image adipose and fibroglandular breast tissue of 11 normal female subjects, recruited under an institutional review board-approved protocol. Images of hemoglobin, oxygen saturation, water fraction, and subcellular scattering were reconstructed and show that fibroglandular fractions of both blood and water are higher than in adipose tissue. Variation in adipose and fibroglandular tissue composition between individuals was not significantly different across the scattered and dense breast categories. Combined MR and near-infrared tomography provides fundamental molecular information about these tissue types with resolution governed by MR T1 images.

Effect Of Tricalcium Silicate Content On Expansion In Internal Sulfate Attack, Troy T. Whitfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the cementitious parameters and placement temperature that impact internal sulfate attack in concrete. Concrete structures make up a large percentage of the infrastructure and multifamily housing. Durability is very important. Cements can be formulated to reduce the impact of external environmental exposure such as high salinity from marine environments or high sulfate levels from soils or surface waters. Concrete is also subject to internal attack such as alkali aggregate reaction, (AAR), and delayed ettringite formation, (DEF). This study focused on some of the cement chemistry issues that determine susceptibility of cement to …

Investigation Of Particle-In-Cell Acceleration Techniques For Plasma Simulations, David D. Marshall, Douglas B. Vangilder

Aerospace Engineering

COLISEUM is an application framework that integrates plasma propagation schemes and arbitrary 3D surface geometries. Using Particle-in-Cell (PIC) schemes to model the plasma propagation high fidelity modeling of the plasma and its interactions with the surfaces is possible. In order to improve the computational performance of the Particle-in-Cell scheme with Direct Simulation Monte Carlo collision modeling (PIC-DSMC) within COLISEUM, AQUILA, acceleration techniques have been developed that significantly decrease the amount of CPU time needed to obtain a steady-state solution. These techniques have been demonstrated to decrease the CPU time from 3 to 24 times with little appreciable differences in the …

Investigation Of Corrosion Effects On Bond-Slip And Tensile Strength Of Reinforced Concrete Members, M. A. Shayanfar, Amir Safiey, M. Ghalehnovi

Publications

The corrosion effect on tensile strength of RC members is very important to region with high corrosion conditions. In this article a study on finding bond behaviour, crack pattern, crack spacing, and tensile strength of RC members is presented. For this purpose a comprehensive experimental program including reinforced concrete cylanders with different concrete covers and reinforcement ratios under various corrosion rates is conducted. The specimens are located in large tub containing water and salt (5% salt solution) with a devich for accelerated corrosion production. For each specimen, the variation of total tensile strength versus its average strain is plotted and …

A Lifting-Line Approach To Estimating Propeller/Wing Interactions, Doug F. Hunsaker, Deryl O. Snyder

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A combined wing and propeller model is presented as a low-cost approach to first-cut modeling of slipstream effects on a finite wing. The wing aerodynamic model employs a numerical lifting-line method utilizing the 3D vortex lifting law along with known 2D airfoil data to predict the lift distribution across a wing for a prescribed upstream flowfield. The propeller/slipstream model uses a blade element theory combined with momentum conservation equations. This model is expected to be of significant importance in the design of tail-sitter vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, where the propeller slipstream is the primary source of air flow …