Engineering Commons^™

Gimbaled Permanent Magnet-Based Attitude Control For Pico/Nano-Satellites, Rex Bair

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

As man-made satellites grow continually smaller and smaller, new, lower mass, volume, and power solutions must be devised to give these satellites the same performance capabilities as larger satellites. One subsystem that is especially difficult to shrink is the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADACS), which is used to position the satellite in a given orientation with respect to a specific reference frame. This paper explores a novel mechanism which combines both of these functions into one device. A permanent magnet is used in conjunction with the geomagnetic reference frame to provide magnetic torque to change the spacecraft's attitude. By …

A Finite Element Model For Coupled Deformation-Flow Analysis Of Unsaturated Soil-Structure Systems And Its Validation, Hadakopan Krishnapillai

All Dissertations

The unsaturated soil mechanics is one of the emerging fields that require extensive studies to understand its behavior under various loading and environmental conditions. Unsaturated soil consists of three bulk phases: solid, liquid and gas and three interfaces: solid-liquid, liquid-gas and gas-solid. It is generally accepted that the interaction among various bulk phases and interfaces has to be taken into account in the characterization of unsaturated soils. The behavior of soil-structure systems is complex and the complexity further increases when the structure is located in unsaturated soil. Numerical methods such as the finite element method are ideally suited for elucidating …

Application Of Nanotechnology For Targeted Delivery Of Antibacterial Enzymes And For Enzyme-Based Coatings On Medical Devices And Implants, Rohan Satishkumar

All Dissertations

The frequency of S. aureus infection and subsequent biofilm formation associated with vascular catheterization has been increasing in recent years and often begins as a local colonization at the site of the catheter insertion. Antimicrobial enzymes and peptides, which are effective against a broad range of pathogens and low rates of resistance, have attracted attention as promising alternative candidates in treatment of infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. The use of nanoparticles as carriers for enzymes, in addition to their size, charge, high surface area per volume etc. offers targeted delivery of enzymes to pathogenic bacteria. We proposed to use …

Energy Harvesting From Elliptical Machines Using Four-Switch Buck-Boost Topology, Alvin Jay Hilario

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the topic of using the Four-Switch Buck-Boost topology as a DC-DC converter for the Energy Harvesting from Elliptical Machines Project. The project works toward providing a modular synchronous power generation system. Due to the dynamic and sporadic output voltage and power characteristics of the Precor elliptical machine, the system requires a DC-DC converter as a voltage preregulator. The inherent wide input range, high efficiency, and low parts cost of this converter well suit the application. This paper further discusses other topologies and their shortcomings, as well as characterizes the Precor elliptical machine and Enphase Microinverter for interfacing. …

Performance And Policy Evaluation Of Solar Energy Technologies For Domestic Application In Ireland, Lacour Ayompe

Doctoral

The aim of this research is to investigate the techno-economic and environmental performance of domestic scale grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) and forced circulation solar water heating (SWH) systems in Ireland; and propose a new feed-in tariff designed using a large sample of high resolution electricity demand data in order to provide credible information for informed policy formulation. Detailed field trials of experimental installations of a 1.72 kWp grid-connected PV and two SWH systems (with 4 m2 flat plate and 3 m2 heat pipe evacuated tube collectors) were undertaken to collect data. The energy, economic and environmental performances of the systems was …

Adsorption Of Neodymium Experiment Design To Simulate Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing, Brian C. Froese

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The purpose of this project was to develop a laboratory experiment to be conducted by future Nuclear Engineering Track (NET) students that adequately demonstrates adsorption of the lanthanide neodymium, an extraction technique used in nuclear fuel reprocessing. Nuclear fuel reprocessing is the chemical separation of various elemental components in spent nuclear fuel. These components, once isolated, can be recycled or reused and ultimately minimize the volume of radioactive waste. There were several steps taken to accomplish this task. First, an independent study of Dr. Hyung Jun Park’s work on phosphorus based adsorbents was conducted. Research was also done on current …

Interactive Opengl Animation, Lusha Zhang

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This is an interactive animation created using C language, with support from the OpenGL, GLUT and the SDL frameworks. The concept behind this animation is to utilize the functions provided by OpenGL to achieve visual effects involving lighting, texture, motion, modeling and interaction.

Based on experiment and research on various libraries, the Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) framework was chosen to implement an audio frame buffer to play background music. The animation involved significant mathematical calculation in terms of motion and modeling. The animation is an underwater scene that contains randomly generated bubbles, a dolphin and a whale. Textures were applied …

Design And Calibration Of A Wind Tunnel Facility For The Study Of Active Flow Control On Wind Turbine Blades, Christopher Paul Walter

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Our group at Syracuse University has been working under Professor Mark Glauser as part of a wind consortium with the University of Minnesota and United Technologies Research Group. Our component of this project will be to develop a system which can be imbedded in an airfoil which can increase the efficiency of the airfoil. Along with developing this “intelligent blade,” we will also be characterizing the affect our control system will have on aerodynamic noise. To accomplish these goals, Syracuse University’s anechoic jet facility was remodeled to incorporate a wind tunnel within which we could run our experiments. Upon the …

Aerodynamic Performance Of Extended Formation Flight, Andrew Ning, Tristan Flanzer, Ilan Kroo

Faculty Publications

Close formation flight is of limited practicality for commercial aviation. Our concept of extended formation flight takes advantage of the persistence of cruise wakes by extending the streamwise spacing between aircraft in a formation. This allows the aircraft to fly at safe separation distances from each other, while still benefiting from the upwash of the upstream wake(s). In this paper we are interested in estimating the performance of these extended formations, and estimating some of the effects that limit the longitudinal extent of the formation. We consider the effects of wake rollup, vortex decay, vortex instabilities, vortex motion, and atmospheric …

Salen Mn Complexes Mitigate Radiation Injury In Normal Tissues, Rosalind A. Rosenthal, Brian Fish, Richard P. Hill, Karl D. Huffman, Zelmira Lazarova, Javed Mahmood, Meetha Medhora, Robert C. Molthen, John E. Moulder, Stephen T. Sonis, Philip J. Tofilon, Susan R. Doctrow

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Salen Mn complexes, including EUK-134, EUK-189 and a newer cyclized analog EUK-207, are synthetic SOD/catalase mimetics that have beneficial effects in many models of oxidative stress. As oxidative stress is implicated in some forms of delayed radiation injury, we are investigating whether these compounds can mitigate injury to normal tissues caused by ionizing radiation. This review describes some of this research, focusing on several tissues of therapeutic interest, namely kidney, lung, skin, and oral mucosa. These studies have demonstrated suppression of delayed radiation injury in animals treated with EUK-189 and/or EUK-207. While an antioxidant mechanism of action is postulated, it …

Showcase For The Advantages Of Asynchronous Vs. Synchronous Circuits, Justin Roark

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Synchronous circuits dominate the semiconductor industry, but asynchronous circuitry is becoming more popular and will continue to do so, as evidenced by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. Asynchronous circuits, when compared to synchronous circuits, display tolerance to supply voltage and temperature variation. The goal of this project is to demonstrate these two advantages. The project will compare two microcontrollers, a synchronous 8051 and an asynchronous 8031, which will both play a song under various stresses. Note that an 8031 and 8051 are the same, except for the 8051 includes an on-chip instruction memory, whereas the 8031's is off-chip. When …

Reducing Energy Usage Of Null Convention Logic Circuits Using Null Cycle Reduction Combined With Supply Voltage Scaling, Brett Sparkman

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The NULL Cycle Reduction (NCR) technique can be used to improve the performance of the NULL Convention Logic (NCL) circuit at the expense of power and area. However, by decreasing the supply voltage of certain components, the power of the NCR circuit can be reduced. Since NCR has increased performance, it could be possible to decrease the power while maintaining the original performance of the circuit. To verify this, the NCR circuit will be implemented using a 4-bit by 4-bit dual-rail multiplier as the test circuit. This circuit will be simulated in ModelSim to ensure functionality, synthesized into a Verilog …

Analysis Of Site-Specific Adjustment Applied To On-The-Go Soil Sensing Data For Agronomic Use, Allison K. Jonjak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Successful variable-rate applications of agricultural inputs such as lime rely on the quality of input data. Systematic grid soil sampling is the most common method used for creating variable rate prescription maps. The insufficient number of point measurements usually obtained using this method has been primarily responsible for the typical inaccuracies seen in lime prescription maps. To increase sampling density, on-the-go sensing technology was developed for the mapping of soil pH and other relevant attributes. In this study, five fields in eastern Nebraska were mapped using both on-thego sensing technology and systematic grid sampling. Ten calibration points per field were …

Carbon Nanotube Based Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor, Matthew Margis

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the subject of much research in the past two decades. Due to their extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties, CNTs are ideal candidates for various sensors and electronic device applications. The purpose of this research is to overcome the difficulties in separating and aligning CNTs so that they can be implemented in an ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET). A solution to the alignment process has been presented that involves cutting nano channels on a microelectrode chip with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) in order to nanomanipulate the CNTs into the nano channels. Upon successfully cutting …

Application Of Existing Appropriate Technology To Small Communities In Honduras's Opalaca Mountains, Adrian Beirise

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In a 2009 trip to the Opalaca Mountain region of Honduras, a need was identified for appropriate technology solutions to three key issues: housing improvements related to Chaga's Disease, indoor smoke reduction, and pure water. Through research regarding the problems, the local area, and candidate solutions, a set of three solutions was found. This includes corrugated steel roofing, vented or simple adobe rocket stoves, and solar disinfection.

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of Pdms Pneumatic Micro-Pumps And Micro-Mixers, Allison Byrum

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis details the design, fabrication, and testing of PDMS pneumatic micro-pumps and micro-mixer. Each micro-pump and micro-mixer was fabricated from two layers of poly(dimethlysiloxane) (PDMS) and two glass slides. The PDMS layers were realized through soft lithography using micro molds fabricated from thick SU8 photoresist. The packaged devices were tested for flow rates (micro pump) and rate of mixing (micro-mixer) on a custom-designed test platform. The test result indicated that the micro-pump failed to deliver a measurable flow rate, most likely due to insufficient diaphragm deflection. For the micro-mixer, a slight increase in mixing was detected when the mixer …

Tribological Behavior Of Lubricants With And Without Nanoadditives: A Compartive Study, Kevin Carlson

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Nano particle based additives have become a main focal point in the design of new lubricants, in order to better achieve reduction in both friction and wear. Previous research has led to the development of one such lubricant known as NanoGlide® by a company called NanoMech, Inc. The success of this initial lubricant design encouraged the research and potential development of new formulations of nano particle based lubricants by NanoMech, Inc. Using tribological testing, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), this research analyzed the behavior and performance of three new nano additives (NanoGlide 1, NanoGlide2, and NanoGlide3) in three different lubricant …

Spectral Characterization Of Venusian Surface Mineralogy, Johnathon Conley

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

While the atmospheric chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere has been characterized at length by probes and ground-based equipment, the surface mineralogy of Venus is not yet well understood. The extremely thick atmosphere of Venus shields the surface from direct observation. While radar imaging of the surface reveals surface morphology, surface composition is difficult to characterize at a distance. Observation is also difficult due to the intense temperature (approximately 480°C) and pressure (approximately 90 atm) found on the surface. This has prompted NASA and other institutions around the world to begin planning for new missions to land on the surface …

Continuous, Passive Liquid-Liquid Extraction And Emulsion Separation Within Microfluidic And Millifluidic Devices, Janet Tesfai

Master’s Theses

Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is a method used to separate compounds based on their relative activity in two immiscible phases. By significantly reducing the scale of liquid-liquid extraction to the micro- and milli-fluidic levels, this separation process can bemade suitable for low volume, high value materials.

An Asset Management Framework For Addressing The New Mutcd Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity Standards, Eric Hulme, Sarah Ml Hubbard, Grant D. Farnsworth, Alexander M. Hainen, Steve M. Remias, Darcy M. Bullock

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Technical Reports

The 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires that all agencies implement traffic sign management programs by January 8th, 2012. Most agencies are expected to adopt some type of systematic replacement policy based on life expectancy, augmented by visual inspection to identify signs with obvious damage. Several previous efforts have developed models based on average degradation of the retroreflective sheeting as the signs age. This paper develops a series of survival curves characterizing the percent of signs that pass the retroreflectivity standards for signs ranging from 0 to 20 years. The curves representing expected conformance with the retroreflectivity …

How Do Millennial Engineering And Technology Students Experience Learning Through Traditional Teaching Methods Employed In The University Setting?, Elizabeth A. Howard

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

The purpose of the study was to document and analyze how Millennial engineering and technology students experience learning in large lecture classrooms. To help achieve this purpose, perceptions Millennials have toward traditional teaching methods employed in large lecture classes were analyzed and discussed. Additionally, this study documented how Millennials experienced technology within large lecture classrooms. A learning model depicting how Millennials experience learning within the large lecture classroom was created based on the results of this study. This model employed three separate tools utilized within the large lecture classroom. These tools: Lecture, Technology, and Homework, work together to synthesize learning …

Cfd Modeling Of Entrance And Exit Geometries Of A Wind Speed Accelerator., David Russ

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current wind power technology is not economically feasible throughout most of the United States due to low average wind speeds. A design for a small-scale wind concentrator device suitable for use in areas of low wind velocity was tested using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Using a novel approach, the device seeks to accelerate incoming air above minimum velocities required for economical power generation. The novel approach employs a funnel shaped inlet with relief vents along the circumference, so as to alleviate backpressure. Both inlet and outlet sections utilize funnel shapes with both parabolic and hyperbolic regions. All geometry and mesh …

Combating Antibiotic Resistance Through Development Of A Novel Antimicrobial Delivery Vehicle, Alex Hatch

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A thermoreversible gel for antimicrobial agent delivery would provide a novel platform suitable for medical applications from persistent infections arising from localized biofilms. Thermoreversible gels could be used to coat medical implants, to inject for subdermal treatments, or to implement in topical applications. FDA approved Pluronics® form thermoreversible gels and certain Pluronics® display inherent varying degrees of antimicrobial activity. Pluronics® have been shown to affect efflux pumps, and reduce ATP levels within the bacterial cell. In combination with antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, Pluronics® have been used to sequester drugs and act as a delivery vehicle. With advances in nanomedicine, nanoparticles …

The Design, Development, And Optimization Of Variable And Fixed Orifice Dampers With Empirical And Experimental Testing For Implementation In The Railroad Industry, Charles K. Speck

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The work of this thesis details the experimental testing, development, and optimization of the spools and system of the variable orifice damper system. The fixed orifice system was developed from concept, tested, and then redesigned. The experimental testing for the orifice selection directed the optimization and final design for the fixed orifice damper system. The testing focused on the evaluation of pressure drops and flow rate for static testing. The dynamic testing evaluated the displacement rate and force loading. Design, testing, and optimization worked to achieve designed flow rates and pressure drops provided by Amsted Rail based upon simulations. When …

From Well To Wheel: A Comprehensive Comparison Of Traditional And Alternative Vehicle-Fuel Systems, Alexander Richard Saputa

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this project is to determine the advantages of the modern alternative fueled vehicles over traditional vehicles on a well to wheel basis. Alternative fueled vehicles are often lauded for their advantages during vehicle operation. This project evaluates vehicles according to their relative values on a broader scale. This project compares traditional, alternative fuel, and hybrid vehicles for use in the U.S. from the complete fuel cycle standpoint using points of comparison that include energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and the emission of five principal pollutants. GREET software used in this study was developed at Argonne National Laboratory …

Energy Efficiency's Role In A Zero Energy Building: Simulating Energy Efficient Upgrades In A Residential Test Home To Reduce Energy Consumption, Andrew Griffin Frye

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

With the steady rise in power consumption, automobile usage, and industrial production worldwide for the past century, countries have realized that meeting these ever-growing energy demands could potentially devastate the environment. In the United States, generating electrical power constitutes the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions and the majority of this power is used to electrify buildings both in the commercial and residential sectors. It is estimated that 21% of all electrical power generated in the United States is consumed by residential buildings. To reduce the total amount of electricity that need be generated (and therefore, the amount of pollution) …

Educational Applications Of Partial Reconfiguration Of Fpgas, Maysam Sarfaraz

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The use of partial reconfiguration (PR) in reconfigurable systems such as Field Programming Gate Arrays (FPGAs) has gained a lot of attention during the past ten years. Recently, Xilinx has released the first commercially available PR implementation for its FPGAs. However, there is a lack of educational tools for PR instruction. In addition, the design and implantation of PR on FPGAs can be beneficial compared with the current communications tools within academia. This thesis presents the design and simulation of several basic modulation schemes within Simulink and System Generator for educational applications in communications classes. In addition, the implementation process …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Non-Ideal Clamping In Microcantilever Resonant Frequency Estimation, L. Fadel-Taris, Cedric Ayela, Isabelle Dufour, Fabien Josse, Stephen M. Heinrich, D. Saya, O. Brand

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Among the most promising sensing platforms are resonating microcantilevers due to their high sensitivity and wide application range. A key parameter of the device implementation is the predicted value of the resonant frequency that depends on the modeling and considerations of relevant physical phenomena. In fact, the estimation based on the conventional, perfectly clamped, Bernoulli-Euler cantilever beam does not lead to satisfactory accuracy in certain cases. Hence this work investigates two system characteristics that may affect the re sonant frequency (a support effect and a so-called rim effect) and provides solutions for a straightforward estimation of rim dimension using resonance …

Damping And Mass Sensitivity Of Laterally Vibrating Resonant Microcantilevers In Viscous Liquid Media, Russell Cox, Jinjin Zhang, Fabien Josse, Stephen M. Heinrich, Isabelle Dufour, Luke A. Beardslee, Oliver Brand

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The effect of liquid viscosity and density on the characteristics of laterally excited microcantilevers is investigated and compared to transversely excited microcantilevers. When immersed into a viscous liquid medium such as water from air, the resonant frequency of laterally (in-plane) vibrating microcantilevers is shown to decrease by only 5-10% as compared to ~50% reduction for transversely (out-of-plane) vibrating microcantilevers. Furthermore, as the viscosity of the medium increases the resonant frequency of a laterally vibrating beam is shown to decrease at a slower rate than that of a transversely vibrating beam. The decreased viscous damping also leads to increases in the …