Engineering Commons^™

Nanoengineered Templates For Controlled Delivery Of Bioactive Compounds, Nalinkanth Ghone Veerabadran

Doctoral Dissertations

The significance of any drugs, therapeutic proteins, or any bioactive compounds, is based not only on their effects on diseases but also on how specifically, how readily, how controllable and how prolonged their effects on the disease without having any side effects. Thus the techniques involved in the drug encapsulation and its controlled release for a longer duration of time form one of the important processes of drug reformulation. In recent years nanoparticles have created overwhelming attention for delivering drugs by nanoencapsulation. The smaller size of nanoparticles has longer circulation time and higher cellular uptake when compared with larger size …

A Simulation Of The Neural Action Potential Under The Influence Of Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors Modeled In The Neuromuscular Junction, Frank Jenkins

Doctoral Dissertations

The rise of terrorism has created an interest in better ways to detect when humans are exposed to neurotoxins, especially nerve gases developed for military use, most of which are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Many current methods of detection are based on mass spectrometry, a method that is cumbersome and not particularly robust when used as an early warning method. The detection of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors would benefit from a combined model of the processes occurring in the neuromuscular junction between the presynaptic action potential and the motor end-plate action potential that includes the kinetics of acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase in the synaptic cleft. …

Poly(Ethylenedioxythiophene) Based Electronic Devices For Sensor Applications, Jie Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Organic electronic devices, based on Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-Poly (styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT-PSS) as the active layer for sensor applications, have been studied. Two sets of sensors have been developed. In one case, sensors consisting of PEDOT-PSS resistors have been realized and demonstrated for soil moisture monitoring. The resistor model for the soil moisture sensor enables the sensor device to be fabricated at low cost and easily tested with a simple structure. Unlike the large dimension device used in Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), the sensors are small and are capable of capturing microscale behavior of moisture in soil which is useful for …

Nsf Career: Scalable Learning And Adaptation With Intelligent Techniques And Neural Networks For Reconfiguration And Survivability Of Complex Systems, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The NSF CAREER program is a premier program that emphasizes the importance the foundation places on the early development of academic careers solely dedicated to stimulating the discovery process in which the excitement of research enriched by inspired teaching and enthusiastic learning. This paper describes the research and education experiences gained by the principal investigator and his research collaborators and students as a result of a NSF CAREER proposal been awarded by the power, control and adaptive networks (PCAN) program of the electrical, communications and cyber systems division, effective June 1, 2004. In addition, suggestions on writing a winning NSF …

Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicles: Experiences In Research And Education, Mehdi Ferdowsi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper briefly describes the research and educational activities related to a current NSF CAREER grant titled "Vehicle Fleet as a Distributed Energy Storage System for the Power Grid". The PI, Dr. Ferdowsi, is an assistant professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST).

Questioning The Metrics For Performance Evaluation, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper is a summary of the author's presentation in the panel entitled "Publish or Perish: An Evaluation of the Quality, Quantity, Ethics and Review Process of IEEE/PES Publications" given at the IEEE Power Engineering Society 2008 General Meeting. This paper summarizes the publication metrics that are part of the academic performance evaluation of tenure track electrical and computer engineering faculty members at U.S. Institutions. In particular, the performance metrics are discussed relative to promotion criteria.

Effect Of Ph On Ptru Electrocatalysts Prepared Via A Polyol Process On Carbon Nanotubes, Li Ren, Yangchuan Xing

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper reports a study on the pH effects on the PtRu nanoparticles synthesized in a polyol process that were deposited on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by reducing metal salts using ethylene glycol at various pHs. It was found that the nanoparticle size, composition, and catalytic activity all were sensitive to pH. the nanoparticles decreased in size as the preparation pH increased from 1.6 to 10.0, with the largest size at 2.47 nm and the smallest at 1.13 nm. an exception was found for pH at 0.7, which resulted in an average size of only 1.01 nm. Preparation pH was found …

Damping Inter-Area Oscillations By Upfcs Based On Selected Global Measurements, Mahyar Zarghami, Yilu Liu, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces a method of using a selected set of the global data for controlling inter-area oscillations of the power network using unified power flow controllers. This novel algorithm utilizes reduced order observers for estimating the missing data the purpose of control when all the data is unavailable through frequency measurements in a wide area control approach. The paper will also address the problem of time-delay in data acquisition through examples.

Modeling, Analysis And Testing Of A Semi-Active Control System For Landing Gear Applications, David James Majko

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

There have been several recent studies on the potential benefits of controllable dampers. Controllable dampers can use a fluid with controllable properties, such as Magneto - Rheological fluid (MR fluid), or control the damping force by changing orifice size. For this project, controllable dampers were created using MR fluid. When exposed to a magnetic fluid, the viscosity of MR fluid can change significantly. By replacing the standard damper oil in an aircraft landing gear and exposing the system to an appropriate magnetic field, the damping coefficients of the system can be changed almost instantaneously to accommodate nearly any situation. This …

Performance Of Adaptive Wireless Systems With Feedback, Sirisha Koduri

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Future generations of wireless systems will employ versatile transmitters and receivers based on software defined radios that are capable of adapting in response to changes in the operating environment to meet the specified quality of service requirements. In adaptive wireless systems, transmitters use feedback from the receiver to update characteristics of the transmitted signal to changing patterns of interference. In this thesis, the performance of transmitter adaptation algorithms with limited feedback and the system performance as a function in which the interference information is quantized for transmission over the feedback channel are analyzed. The results of this thesis were presented …

Medical Image Modeling And Processing, Ramu Pedada

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

During the last few decades of the twentieth century, medical imaging has been playing a prominent role in many fields of biomedical research and clinical practice. Image modalities such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance images (MRI) have all been valuable additions to the radiologist's arsenal of imaging tools. Medical images assure quality diagnosis and patient safety by gathering valuable information without invading the human body. Apart from clinical diagnosis, medical images are used as tools for education where they are used for training individuals before operating on a patient. Many medical educators tum to simulation based training …

Immersive Active Learning For Virtual Laboratory Experiments, Swetha Punnandla

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A Laboratory Immersive Interactive Virtual Environment (LIIVE) for scientific experiments is developed using MAY A and Virtools. The LIIVE is used as a pre-lab practice module to familiarize the students with the equipment, procedure and parameters involved in a laboratory experiment. The system has been assessed for its effectiveness as a learning tool by administering a project and a quiz to each participant and conducting a structured observation during the actual laboratory experiment on the real equipment. The learning effect achieved by the LIIVE is compared to the learning effects obtained by the less immersive 2D virtual environment and the …

Image Pre-Processing Techniques For Hazard Detection In Poor Visibility Conditions, Girish Singh Rajput

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Runway incursion is a persistent problem that has resulted in some of the most devastating accidents in aviation history. With ever increasing air traffic and more passengers, runway safety is of utmost priority to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies concerned with aviation. As the issue of aviation safety becomes increasingly important, developing a consistent application that detects runway incursions in various visibility conditions is crucial for the aviation industry. This thesis presents a novel method for detecting runway hazards in poor visibility conditions using image processing techniques. The first step is to obtain images of a runway …

Robust Edge-Detection Algorithm For Runway Edge Detection, Swathi Tandra

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Fog and other such weather conditions hamper the visibility of runway surfaces and any obstacles present on the runway, creating a situation where a pilot may not be able to safely land the aircraft. Assisting the pilot to land the aircraft safely in such conditions is an active area of research. A new method is being investigated that combines non-linear image enhancement with classification of runway edges to detect objects on the runway. The image is segmented into runway and non-runway regions, and objects that are found in the runway regions are deemed to constitute potential hazards. For runway edge …

Detecting Portable Electronic Devices Onboard Commercial Aircraft, Randy Woods

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The need to detect unauthorized usage of intentionally transmitting portable electronic devices (PEDs) onboard commercial aircraft is growing while still allowing passengers to use selected unintentionally transmitting devices, such as laptop computers and CD players, during non-critical stages of flight. This thesis presents the development and testing of an installed system for detecting PEDs over multiple frequency bands. Additionally, the advantages of a fixed versus mobile system are discussed.

Data is presented to cover the frequency range of 20 MHz to 6.5 GHz with special attention given to the cellular and PCS telephone bands, Bluetooth, and the family radio service …

Development Of A Technique To Diagnose Subtalar Joint Instability, Ajaya Dhakal

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Most patients escape diagnosis of subtalar joint instability for years before treatment. Therefore, a clinically relevant technique to diagnose subtalar joint instability will improve its management. Towards this goal, a six degree of freedom positioning and loading device was developed to apply physiologic loads to the hindfoot. Because the ideal loading configuration to detect subtalar joint instability is unknown, the device was designed to apply rotational and translational forces simultaneously. Specifically, plantarflexion/dorsiflexion, inversion/eversion, and internal/external rotation can be applied individually or as coupled motions along with an anterior/posterior drawer. Kinematic data were collected from calcaneus, talus and tibia using a …

Nonlinear Flutter Analysis Of Curved Panels Under Yawed Supersonic Flow And At Elevated Temperatures Using Finite Elements, Satyajit Sudhir Ghoman

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

There are large number of papers dedicated toward the investigation of flutter analysis of flat plates in supersonic flow regime, but very few papers address the problem of flutter of curved panels. Furthermore, many of the panel flutter investigations including thermal effects, have dealt with liat plates. Scarce literature exists regarding the flutter of curved panels with thermal effects. Hence, the objective of this thesis is to develop, for the first time in the literature, a consistent finite element formulation and an efficient solution procedure to investigate nonlinear flutter of curved panels at yawed supersonic flow at elevated temperatures.

Panel …

Failure Repair Model For A Device Using Minor And Major Maintenance Strategies, Hrishikesh Raman Phadke

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The major objective of this research was to study the maintenance decision process for systems with economic dependency. A probabilistic model was developed according to the proposed Markov model. After determining the maintenance cost through the markov models, we introduced the other costs associated with the device like operating cost and capital recovery cost, to get the total cost of all the activities involved in keeping the device. The optimal equivalent uniform cost can be found to occur at a particular number of life stages in the system. The nature of the equivalent uniform cost curve is dependent upon the …

Multivariable Flight Control Design Tool Incorporating Gain And Phase Root Locus, Yong Ki Yoon

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A challenging problem in flight control system design for highly maneuverable aircraft is the coordinated control of the lateral-directional axes. Design goals are based on desired flying qualities giving an indication of whether the response to pilot inputs will be acceptable. Satisfying these closed-loop design objectives employing a computerized flight control system requires multiple feedback and crossfeed paths which operate in a well coordinated fashion. Contemporary control design tools, which close all loops simultaneously, have addressed this problem for several decades. Concerns associated with these strategies are the complicated mathematical relationships between the designer inputs and resulting closed-loop properties, and …

Fresh Self Compacting Concrete, A Shear Thickening Material, Dimitri Feys, Ronny Verhoeven, Geert De Schutter

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In Literature, the Rheological Properties of Concrete Have Been Investigated Thoroughly, resulting in a Simple Description, in Steady State, by Means of the Bingham Model. Self-Compacting Concrete Shows a Lower Yield Stress, Which in Some Cases is Very Close to Zero, or Can Even Appear to Be Negative When Extrapolating the Bingham Model. in the Latter Case, the Bingham Model is Not Valid and Other Solutions Must Be Found. in This Paper, the Non-Linearity - or Shear Thickening - in the Rheological Behavior of Fresh SCC is Described with the Modified Bingham Model, after the Elimination of Possible Measurement Artefacts. …

An Evaluation Of A Conservative Transmit Power Control Mechanism On An Indoor 802.11 Wireless Mesh Testbed, Karol Kowalik, Marek Bykowski, Brian Keegan, Mark Davis

Conference papers

Power control techniques for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks have already gained considerable attention. Such techniques are particularly attractive because they can improve various aspects of wireless network operation such as interference mitigation, spatial reuse in dense wireless deployments, topology control, and link quality enhancement. In this paper we propose a novel delivery ration based Conservative Transmit Power Control (ConTPC) mechanism. Our implementation is conservative when it comes to deciding if the transmit power should be reduced for a given link. This is because we do not want poor quality wireless links to further reduce their quality and be overwhelmed by …

Force Measurement Methods In Telerobotic Surgery: Implications For End-Effector Manufacture, Dean Callaghan, Mark Mcgrath, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Haptic feedback in telesurgical applications refers to the relaying of position and force information from a remote surgical site to the surgeon in real-time during a surgical procedure. This feedback, coupled with visual information via microscopic cameras, has the potential to provide the surgeon with additional ‘feel’ for the manipulations being performed at the instrument-biological tissue interface. This increased sensitivity has many associated benefits which include, but are not limited to; minimal tissue damage, reduced recuperation periods, and less patient trauma. The inclusion of haptic feedback leads to reduction in surgeon fatigue which contributes to enhanced performance during operation. Commercially …

A Force Measurement Evaluation Tool For Telerobotic Cutting Applications: Development Of An Effective Characterization Platform, Dean Callaghan, Mark Mcgrath, Eugene Coyle

Articles

Sensorized instruments that accurately measure the interaction forces (between biological tissue and instrument endeffector) during surgical procedures offer surgeons a greater sense of immersion during minimally invasive robotic surgery. Although there is ongoing research into force measurement involving surgical graspers little corresponding effort has been carried out on the measurement of forces between scissor blades and tissue. This paper presents the design and development of a force measurement test apparatus, which will serve as a sensor characterization and evaluation platform. The primary aim of the experiments is to ascertain whether the system can differentiate between tissue samples with differing mechanical …

Why Do School-Leavers Study Engineering In The Technological University Dublin And How Do They Get There: A Report Of A Survey Of 390 First Year Engineering Students In The Technological University Dublin And A Summary Of The Data Collected Since 2003., Eddie Conlon, Kathleen Murray

Reports

This report sets out the findings of a survey of 389 first year engineering students who commenced studying in the Technological University Dublin (DIT) in September 2007. The questionnaire was completed online using WebCT.

The background information on students is taken from DIT records.This data is based on the records of 525 students who were attending DIT courses in October 2007.

Evaluation Of Kentucky’S “Click It Or Ticket” 2008 Campaign, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this report was to document the results of the “Click It or Ticket” 2008 campaign in Kentucky. The campaign involved a combination of earned media, paid media, and enforcement. The earned media started about three weeks prior to Memorial Day 2008 and continued through the enforcement period. The paid media campaign was for the two weeks prior to Memorial Day while the enforcement period was a two-week period including the week before and the week of Memorial Day.

The evaluation of the campaign included documenting the activities associated with the program (publicity and enforcement) and evaluating the …

Structural Evaluation Of The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge – Element Level Analysis, Ching Chiaw Choo, Issam E. Harik

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The primary objective of the structural evaluation of the John A. Roebling Bridge is to determine the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (GVW) that can be carried by the bridge deck structural elements such as the open steel grid deck, channels, standard sections, or built-up sections. To achieve this objective, an “Element Level Analysis” is carried out. The maximum allowable GVW for different truck and bus types are presented for different levels of structural elements sectional loss. The loss or reduction in element sectional properties is due to rust, cracks, etc.

The critical member in the bridge deck is the …

Structural Evaluation Of The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, Ching Chiaw Choo, Issam E. Harik

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The primary objective of the structural evaluation of the John A. Roebling Bridge is to determine the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (GWV) that can be carried by the bridge deck structural elements such as the open steel grid deck, channels, standard sections, or built-up sections. To achieve this objective, four levels of analysis are carried out: "Element Level", "Sectional level 1", "Sectional level II", and "Global level" analysis.

The four levels of analysis yield a load envelope that encapsulates the maximum and minimum allowable loads. The maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (GWV) for different truck and bus types are …

Current Status Of Nanotechnology Consumer Products And Nano-Safety Issues, N Chuankrerkkul, S Sangsuk

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

This paper is divided into 2 parts to present a review on nanotechnology consumer products ('Nanotech' products) and a current status on 'Nano-Safety' issue. The first part focuses on up-to-date information of 'Nanotech' products that were already on the market as reported by Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. There are more than 500 products for a variety of applications, among which health and fitness products are the largest category. The products in this group consist of clothing, cosmetics and sunscreens. Silver is the most commonly used material, followed by carbon in the forms …

Effect Of Limestone Dust On The Properties Of Thai Pottery Sintering At Low Temperature, S Sangsuk, S Khunthon, S Saenapitak, S Nilpairach

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Limestone dust from a limestone crushing plant was used as an additive in pottery clay for this experiment. After the limestone dust was sieved through a 35 mesh stainless steel sieve, it was mixed with Angthong pottery clay at various contents. Samples with and without limestone dust were sintered at 600, 700, 900, and 1000o C. Because of limestone blowing for samples with limestone dust sintered at 900 and 1000o C, physical property measurement was performed only for samples sintered at 600 and 700o C. While sintering at low temperatures (600 and 700o C), physical properties of samples with limestone …

Morphology Controlled Calcium Ortho Phosphates Induced By Chemical Additions Under Hydrothermal Reaction, D P. Kashima, E Kongkul, T Daopradubwon

Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals

Morphology controlled calcium orthophosphates under hydrothermal reaction was achieved using saturated solution of monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (MCPM) as a starting material. MCPM saturated solution was hydrothermally treated at 180°C for 4 and 12 hrs. Citric acid as a chelating agent and a mixed solution of NaNO3 and NaF were individually added into the reactor. The morphologies, phases and microstructures of the obtained products were characterized by optical microscope (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. Irregular shape crystals were obtained when a saturated solution of MCPM was autoclaved at 180°C for 4 hrs. Though citric acid was …