Engineering Commons^™

Efficiency Of Linear-To-Circular Polarization Conversion For Light Reflection At The Principal Angle By A Dielectric-Conductor Interface, R. M.A. Azzam, A. Alsamman

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The efficiency ηLC of linear-to-circular polarization conversion when light is reflected at a dielectric–conductor interface is determined as a function of the principal angle ϕ¯ and principal azimuth ψ¯ . Constant- ηLC contours are presented in the ϕ¯ ,ψ¯ plane for values of ηLC from 0.5 to 1.0 in steps of 0.05, and the corresponding contours in the complex plane of the relative dielectric function ϵ are also determined. As specific examples, efficiencies ⩾88% are obtained for light reflection by a Ag mirror in the visible and near-IR (400–1200nm) spectral range, and ≥40% for the reflection of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) …

Anti-Tamper Method For Field Programmable Gate Arrays Through Dynamic Reconfiguration And Decoy Circuits, Samuel J. Stone

Theses and Dissertations

As Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) become more widely used, security concerns have been raised regarding FPGA use for cryptographic, sensitive, or proprietary data. Storing or implementing proprietary code and designs on FPGAs could result in the compromise of sensitive information if the FPGA device was physically relinquished or remotely accessible to adversaries seeking to obtain the information. Although multiple defensive measures have been implemented (and overcome), the possibility exists to create a secure design through the implementation of polymorphic Dynamically Reconfigurable FPGA (DRFPGA) circuits. Using polymorphic DRFPGAs removes the static attributes from their design; thus, substantially increasing the difficulty …

Experimental Evaluation Of The Nightcool Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept: Annual Performance Assessment In Scale Test Buildings, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

An experimental evaluation has been conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates. The system uses a sealed attic covered by a highly conductive metal roof (a roof integrated radiator) which is selectively linked by air flow to the main zone with the attic zone to provide cooling--largely during nighttime hours. Available house mass is used to store sensible cooling. Additional dehumidification is done during the evening hours as warranted by interior conditions.

An initial report describes a detailed simulation model of the relevant night cooling phenomenon, examining …

Optimization Of The Metamorphic Development Process Via The Genetic Algorithm, Keith Daniel Joseph Goren

Theses and Dissertations

This main investigation of this thesis was the integration of the metamorphic development process with a genetic algorithm in order to optimize the metamorphic development process. Since the origin of the metamorphic development process, there has been a need for the user to input parameters in order to coax structural development to obtain an optimum structure. By utilizing the genetic algorithm to manipulate this input information, this new marriage of the metamorphic development process and the genetic algorithm can save time and computation for the user of the program. It was found that the genetic algorithm with the metamorphic development …

Construction And Testing Of Broadband High Impedance Ground Planes (Higps) For Surface Mount Antennas, Bora Cakiroglu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to design and build appropriate broadband high impedance ground planes for surface mount antennas. Broadband, low-profile antennas, such as spirals, log-periodics, and bow-ties, suffer substantially in gain and bandwidth performance when they are brought close to a conducting surface. Thus, when standard broadband antenna designs are conformally placed on vehicle bodies, they can no longer achieve the high data rates required by modern communication. A simple remedy for this has been to place an absorber lined cavity behind the antenna to preserve some bandwidth, at the expense of reduced gain. However, recently introduced high …

Surgical Camera Robot: United States Patent No. Us 7,339,341 B2, Dmitry Oleynikov, Shane Farritor, Mark E. Rentschler, Stephen R. Platt, Jason Dumpert

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The present invention is a miniature camera robot which can be placed entirely within an open space such as an abdominal cavity. The instant camera robot has pan and tilt capabilities, an adjustable focus camera, and a support component for supporting the robot body. In particular embodiments, the camera robot further contains a light source for illumination and a handle to position the camera robot. A system and method for using the instant camera robot are also provided.

Improvement Of Ecm Techniques Through Implementation Of A Genetic Algorithm, James D. Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

This research effective effort develops the necessary interfaces between the radar signal processing components and an optimization routine, such as genetic algorithms, to develop Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) waveforms under a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HILS) architecture. The various ECM waveforms are stored in an ECM library, where an operator selects the desired function to use against a particular system. This optimization works with modular components, compared to previous research that embedded a genetic algorithm into the Range Gate Pull-off (RGPO) waveform optimization loop, which can be interchanged based upon the operator's desired hardware/ software testing setup. The ECM library's first entries contain the …

An Integrated Approach To The Teaching Of Numerical Methods To Engineering Students, Garrett Keane, Michael Carr, Patrick Carroll

Conference papers

In Technological University Dublin, historically, numerical methods were taught to engineering students using a format of traditional mathematics lectures, to a large class group consisting of students from five different engineering disciplines, complemented by small class tutorials. Assessment was by a single, written exam only.

In order to improve the overall effectiveness of the students’ learning experience, it was deemed beneficial to also introduce practical computing classes in which the students would be required to apply the general mathematical methods covered in lectures to discipline-specific examples.

Three different practical computing assignments were devised for the students to undertake, and 20% …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Algan/Gan Hemts To Process Variation, Adam J. Liddle

Theses and Dissertations

A sensitivity analysis of AlGaN/GaN HEMT performance on material and process variations was performed. Aluminum mole fraction, barrier thickness, and gate length were varied ± 5% over nominal values to determine how sensitive simulated device performance was to changes in these 3 parameters. Simulated data was generated with the Synopsys TCAD software suite using a physics-based HEMT model. To validate model performance, simulated data was correlated with experimental data, which consisted of wafer epilayer characterization data as well as DC and small-signal RF device performance data from 1-26 GHz. Trends were observed in the experimental data due to variations in …

Induction Machine Broken Bar And Stator Short-Circuit Fault Diagnostics Based On Three Phase Stator Current Envelopes, Aderiano M. Da Silva, Richard J. Povinelli, Nabeel Demerdash

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new method for the fault diagnosis of a broken rotor bar and interturn short circuits in induction machines (IMs) is presented. The method is based on the analysis of the three-phase stator current envelopes of IMs using reconstructed phase space transforms. The signatures of each type of fault are created from the three-phase current envelope of each fault. The resulting fault signatures for the new so-called ldquounseen signalsrdquo are classified using Gaussian mixture models and a Bayesian maximum likelihood classifier. The presented method yields a high degree of accuracy in fault identification as evidenced by the given experimental results, …

Automatic Generation Of Plc Code Based On Net Condition Event Systems, Natalia Sandberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An important consideration in discrete event dynamic systems control theory is the selection of a suitable modeling formalism that can capture the complex characteristics of the system and the capability to automatically synthesize a controller based on the system model. Net condition event systems are well suited for modeling complex discrete event dynamic systems owing to their input and output structure, which effectively captures the behavior of the physical devices to be monitored and/or controlled. To date, net condition event systems control models have not been extensively applied to highly automated manufacturing systems and there are few guidelines on how …

Comparing Discrimination And Cfa For Selecting Tracking Features, Damian M. Lyons, D. Frank Hsu

Faculty Publications

The ability of a tracker to isolate the foreground target from the background of an image is crucially dependent on the set of features selected for tracking. Collins & Liu [2] propose an on-line, adaptive approach to selecting the set of features based on the insight that the set of features that best discriminate between target and background classes is the best set to use for tracking. In previous work [10], we have proposed an approach based on Combinatorial Fusion Analysis for selecting features for Real-Time tracking. We discuss the relative merits of the two methods and motivate their combination …

Acuta Enews March 2008, Vol. 37, No. 3

ACUTA Newsletters

!n This lssue

From ACUTA Headquarters..........................Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Director

Nominate Now for ACUTA Board of Directors

Board Report..................... Riny Ledgerwood, San Diego Stale Univ., ACUTA Sec./Treasurer

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Wording Emergency Messages

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Check lt Out: RFls/RFPs, Job Postings, Press Releases

Welcome New Members

Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Over Rubblized Pcc, James Crovetti

Transportation Reports with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation

This report has presented findings of research conducted to determine the viability of constructing Portland cement concrete pavements over rubblized PCC. Rubblization of aged PCC pavements is a common technique for in-place recycling of these pavements. For the vast majority of applications, the rubblized PCC layer is surfaced with hot mix asphalt (HMA). The use of Portland cement concrete as a surfacing material offers designers another option which may provide good performance and be cost-effective under certain conditions.

The current concrete pavement design procedures utilized by WisDOT allow for the incorporation of a rubblized PCC base layer and an increase …

Tailoring Metallodielectric Structures For Superresolution And Superguiding Applications In The Visible And Near-Ir Ranges, Domenico De Ceglia, Maria Antonietta Vincenti, M. G. Cappeddu, Marco Centini, Neset Akozbek, Antonella D'Orazio, Joseph W. Haus, Mark J. Bloemer, Michael Scalora

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We discuss propagation effects in realistic, transparent, metallodielectric photonic band gap structures in the context of negative refraction and super-resolution in the visible and near infrared ranges. In the resonance tunneling regime, we find that for transverse-magnetic incident polarization, field localization effects contribute to a waveguiding phenomenon that makes it possible for the light to remain confined within a small fraction of a wavelength, without any transverse boundaries, due to the suppression of diffraction. This effect is related to negative refraction of the Poynting vector inside each metal layer, balanced by normal refraction inside the adjacent dielectric layer: The degree …

Climate Change Scenarios For The California Region, Daniel R. Cayan, Edwin P. Maurer, Michael D. Dettinger, Mary Tyree, Katharine Hayhoe

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

To investigate possible future climate changes in California, a set of climate change model simulations was selected and evaluated. From the IPCC Fourth Assessment, simulations of twenty-first century climates under a B1 (low emissions) and an A2 (a medium-high emissions) emissions scenarios were evaluated, along with occasional comparisons to the A1fi (high emissions) scenario. The climate models whose simulations were the focus of the present study were from the Parallel Climate Model (PCM1) from NCAR and DOE, and the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory CM2.1 model (GFDL). These emission scenarios and attendant climate simulations are not “predictions,” but rather are …

Everything Is A Matter Of Degree: A New Theoretical Justification Of Zadeh's Principle, Hung T. Nguyen, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

One of the main ideas behind fuzzy logic and its applications is that everything is a matter of degree. We are often accustomed to think that every statement about a physical world is true or false -- that an object is either a particle or a wave, that a person is either young or not, either well or ill -- but in reality, we sometimes encounter intermediate situations. In this paper, we show that the existence of such intermediate situations can be theoretically explained -- by a natural assumption that the real world is cognizable.

Towards An Optimal Algorithm For Computing Fixed Points: Dynamical Systems Approach, With Applications To Transportation Engineering, Ruey L. Cheu, Gang Xiang, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In many practical problems, it is desirable to find an equilibrium. For example, equilibria are important in transportation engineering.

Many urban areas suffer from traffic congestion. Intuitively, it may seem that a road expansion (e.g., the opening of a new road) should always improve the traffic conditions. However, in reality, a new road can actually worsen traffic congestion. It is therefore extremely important that before we start a road expansion project, we first predict the effect of this project on traffic congestion.

When a new road is built, some traffic moves to this road to avoid congestion on the other …

Efficient Peer Assignment For Low-Latency Transmission Of Scalable Coded Images, Xiao Su, Tao Wang

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we propose efficient peer assignment algorithms for low-latency transmission of scalable coded images in peer-to-peer networks, in which peers may dynamically join and leave the networks. The objective of our algorithm is to minimize the transmission time of a requested image that is scalable coded. When an image is scalable coded in different bit rates, the bit stream encoded in a lower bit rate is a prefix subset of the one encoded in a higher bit rate. Therefore, a peer with the same requested image coded in any bit rate, even when it is different from the …

Experience Learned: Incorporating Industry Supported Project In Power Electronics Course To Improve Learning, Taufik

Electrical Engineering

One approach to enhance students’ learning in practical engineering design issues is to expose students to real world projects using real world components. In introductory power electronics course at Cal Poly, this approach has been implemented through industry’s involvement in the final hardware design project. This paper describes experience learned from incorporating this industry sponsored hardware design project. Results to assess this approach through survey conducted by students will be presented.

Electric Motor Efficiency Under Variable Frequencies And Loads, Charles M. Burt, Xianshu Piao, Franklin Gaudi, Bryan Busch, N. F. N. Taufik

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This paper details a study performed by the Irrigation Training and Research Center to determine motor performances under varying speeds [induced by a variable frequency drives (VFD) controller] and loads. A further goal of the study was to provide sufficient information to designers so that they could estimate total pumping plant power usage with a VFD-controlled installation. Motors were tested with a VFD as well as across-the-line. On average, the relative efficiency of the electrical system with a VFD may be approximately 8% lower than the relative efficiency of a properly designed, full-load across-the-line system. If one considers actual field …

How To Reconcile Physical Theories With The Idea Of Free Will: From Analysis Of A Simple Model To Interval And Fuzzy Approaches, Julio C. Urenda, Olga Kosheleva

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Most modern physical theories are formulated in terms of differential equations. As a result, if we know exactly the current state of the world, then this state uniquely determines all the future events -- including our own future behavior. This determination seems to contradict the intuitive notion of a free will, according to which we are free to make decisions -- decisions which cannot be determined based on the past locations and velocities of the elementary particles. In quantum physics, the situation is somewhat better in the sense that we cannot determine the exact behavior, but we can still determine …

Now Hear This! What All Environmental Engineers Should Know About Noise Control, Harold M. Cota, Mark Bastasch, Roger Wayson, Tracy Thatcher

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Noise is an is an that affects almost everyone. And even though environmental engineers are often called on to deal with noise-related problems, most of them receive little or no academic training in noise control. This primer suggests why all environmental engineers should know something about noise control, what they need to know, and where they can find the necessary information.

Active And Attentive Ladar Scanning For Automatic Target Recognition, M. Mamanakis, R.R. Fullmer, R.T. Pack, Scott E. Budge

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In this work we examine the dynamic implications of active and attentive scanning for LADAR based automatic target/object recognition and show that a dynamically constrained, scanner based, ATR system's ability to identify objects in real-time is improved through attentive scanning. By actively and attentively scanning only salient regions of an image at the density required for recognition, the amount of time it takes to find a target object in a random scene is reduced. A LADAR scanner's attention is guided by identifying areas-of-interest using a visual saliency algorithm on electro-optical images of a scene to be scanned. Identified areas-of-interest are …

A New Approach For Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis Of Reinforced Concrete Structures With Corroded Reinforcements, Mohsen A. Shayanfar, Amir Safiey

Publications

A new approach for nonlinear finite element analysis of corroded reinforcements in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is elaborated in the article. An algorithmic procedure for producing the tension-stiffening curve of

RC elements taking into consideration most of effective parameters, e.g.: the rate of steel bar corrosion, bond-slip behavior, concrete cover and amount of reinforcement, is illustrated. This has been established on both experimental and analytical bases. This algorithm is implemented into a nonlinear finite element analysis program. The abilities of the resulted program have been studied by modeling some experimental specimens showing a reasonable agreement between the analytical and experimental …

Resistance To It Change In The Aec Industry: An Individual Assessment Tool, Kirsten Davis, Anthony D. Songer

Construction Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Numerous IT adoption studies within the AEC industry identify issues with individuals resisting IT changes. Current change models often only look at organizations and tasks and frequently neglect the individuals involved. The limitations in existing change models and the criticality of people issues in the successful implementation of change necessitates the investigation of individual resistance to IT change.

Change management theory and attitude-behavior connections provide a framework to study variables associated with impeding/promoting the use of technologies. Data collected from a 50-person sample of the AEC population allowed reductions of the attitudes, fears, and beliefs variables. Reducing the variables indicative …

The Genome Of Laccaria Bicolor Provides Insights Into Mycorrhizal Symbiosis, F. Martin, A. Aerts, D. Ahren, A. Brun, E. G. J. Danchin, F. Duchaussoy, J. Gibon, A. Kohler, E. Lindquist, V. Pereda, A. Salamov, H. J. Shapiro, J. Wuyts, D. Blaudez, M. Buee, P. Brokstein, B. Canback, D. Cohen, P. E. Courty, P. M. Coutinho, C. Delaruelle, J. C. Detter, A. Deveau, S. Difazio, S. Duplessis, L. Fraissinet-Tachet, E. Lucic, P. Frey-Klett, C. Fourrey, I. Feussner, G. Gay, J. Grimwood, P. J. Hoegger, P. Jain, S. Kilaru, J. Labbe, Y. C. Lin, V. Legue, F. Le Tacon, R. Marmeisse, D. Melayah, B. Montanini, M. Muratet, U. Nehls, H. Niculita-Hirzel, M. P. Oudot-Le Secq, M. Peter, H. Quesneville, B. Rajashekar, M. Reich, N. Rouhier, J. Schmutz, T. Yin, M. Chalot, B. Henrissat, U. Kues, S. Lucas, Y. Van De Peer, G. K. Podila, A. Polle, P. J. Pukkila, P. M. Richardson, P. Rouze, I. R. Sanders, J. E. Stajich, A. Tunlid, G. Tuskan, I. V. Grigoriev

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Mycorrhizal symbioses—the union of roots and soil fungi—are universal in terrestrial ecosystems and may have been fundamental to land colonization by plants. Boreal, temperate and montane forests all depend on ectomycorrhizae. Identification of the primary factors that regulate symbiotic development and metabolic activity will therefore open the door to understanding the role of ectomycorrhizae in plant development and physiology, allowing the full ecological significance of this symbiosis to be explored. Here we report the genome sequence of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Laccaria bicolor (Fig. 1) and highlight gene sets involved in rhizosphere colonization and symbiosis. This 65-megabase genome assembly contains ~20,000 …

Towards More Adequate Representation Of Uncertainty: From Intervals To Set Intervals, With The Possible Addition Of Probabilities And Certainty Degrees, J. T. Yao, Y. Y. Yao, Vladik Kreinovich, Paulo Pinheiro Da Silva, Scott A. Starks, Gang Xiang, H. T. Nguyen

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

In the ideal case of complete knowledge, for each property Pi (such as "high fever", "headache", etc.), we know the exact set Si of all the objects that satisfy this property. In practice, we usually only have partial knowledge. In this case, we only know the set Si- of all the objects about which we know that Pi holds and the set Si+ about which we know that Pi may hold (i.e., equivalently, that we have not yet excluded the possibility of Pi). This pair of sets is called a set interval.

Based on the knowledge of the original properties, …

Estimating Variance Under Interval And Fuzzy Uncertainty: Parallel Algorithms, Karen Villaverde, Gang Xiang

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Traditional data processing in science and engineering starts with computing the basic statistical characteristics such as the population mean E and population variance V. In computing these characteristics, it is usually assumed that the corresponding data values x1,...,xn are known exactly. In many practical situations, we only know intervals [xi-,xi+] that contain the actual (unknown) values of xi or, more generally, a fuzzy number that describes xi. In this case, different possible values of xi lead, in general, to different values of E and V. In such situations, we are interested in producing the intervals of possible values of E …

How To Measure A Degree Of Mismatch Between Probability Models, P-Boxes, Etc.: A Decision-Theory-Motivated Utility-Based Approach, Luc Longpre, Scott Ferson, W. Troy Tucker

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Different models can be used to describe real-life phenomena: deterministic, probabilistic, fuzzy, models in which we have interval-valued or fuzzy-valued probabilities, etc. Models are usually not absolutely accurate. It is therefore important to know how accurate is a given model. In other words, it is important to be able to measure a mismatch between the model and the empirical data. In this paper, we describe an approach of measuring this mismatch which is based on the notion of utility, the central notion of utility theory.

We also show that a similar approach can be used to measure the loss of …