Engineering Commons^™

Generating Muscle Driven Arm Movements Using Reinforcement Learning, Alex S. Broad

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This project focuses on using Reinforcement Learning to optimize arm dynamics through muscle control for desired trajectories. The goal of this project was to create a tool that can be used to gain a better understanding of the arm’s muscles and collect information that is useful in many other disciplines such as biomechanics, anthropology, medicine and robotics. I developed biologically realistic models of primate arm's using Stanford’s SimTK software, an open-source tool for modeling musculoskeletal structures. I then made use of Differential Dynamic Programming in order to generate novel movements from first principles and optimize motion over a specified trajectory. …

Design And Analysis Of A Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array And Its Feed Network, John Ashmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an ever increasing need for smaller, lighter, more efficient antennas for commercial and military applications. One such antenna that meets these requirements is the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA). In recent years there has been an abundance of research on the utilization of the DRA as a radiating element. However, its practical application - especially pertaining to DRA arrays - is still considered to be at its infancy. The purpose of this work is to present a systematic process to be used in the design, simulation, optimization, fabrication, and testing of a cylindrical DRA array including its associated feed …

Co2 Adsorption On Solid Sorbents, Bingyu Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sorbent-based CO2 capture technology is considered as one of the potential scientific techniques for mitigating greenhouse gas emission. Major advantages of sorbent based adsorption are its low regeneration energy coupled with the elimination of corrosion and equipment degradation characteristic of amine based solvent CO2 capture systems which are the preferred industrial methods. Different CO2 capture configurations, processes, and operational parameters for different sorbents were revieand summarized. Efficient industrial applications for CO2 capture require that solid sorbents possess an adsorption capacity between 1000-2000µmol/g or more together with a long-term regeneration capacity. Economical consideration necessitates that the cost of CO2 sequestration be …

Substrate Integrated Waveguide Horn Slot Antenna Array, Saritha Muguti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) is a rectangular dielectric-filled waveguide, which is synthesized in a planar substrate with arrays of metallic vias to realize bilateral side walls and its transitions with planar structures. These vias act as walls of the waveguide supporting current flow, thus allowing for waveguide mode propagation. Substrate integrated waveguide is suggested for low-loss, low-cost and high density integration applications. SIW preserves the advantages from both the traditional rectangular waveguide and microstrip for easy integration. It is used in designing passive circuits such as resonators, couplers, filters, power dividers, circulators, and antennas. Here, full wave analysis is used …

Improving Sample Collection Of Trace Particles Of Mock Explosive On Nano Coated Sensor, Daniel Woldemichael Yebo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In protection against explosive-based terrorism, development and mass deployment of miniature sensors can play a tremendous role. In trace explosive detection, one of the challenges is bringing explosive vapor samples from the environment to the sensor element. Such collection of a selective and sufficient amount of air sample will enable the device detect the explosive at lower concentration. This can be done by adsorption of the explosive vapor on a substrate. This research implements the idea by developing a nano coated sensor on a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) substrate. The effects of varying the amount of polyethyleneimine in the nano …

A Field Validation Of Dam Indexing Methods In Mississippi, Steven Thomas Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indexing methods are applied to dam inventories throughout the United States to assist in prioritizing resources to maintain aging dam structures. Three published indexing methods and one proposed method were applied to 24 dams through Mississippi. The majority of dams in Mississippi have little to no information concerning the performance records or design specifics of a given dam. Field assessments were conducted to determine the physical condition of each dam, identify potentially deficiencies at dams, and calculate a consequence in the event of a dam failure. The results of the four indexing methods will be compared and advantages and disadvantages …

Voice Call Capacity Over Wireless Mesh Networks, Pradeep Gunda Bhat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to understand the voice call carrying capacity of an IEEE 802.11b/e based ad hoc network. We begin with the modelling of conversational speech and define a six state semi-Markov voice model based on ITU-T P59 recommendation. We perform a theoretical analysis of the voice model and compare it with results obtained via simulations. Using a Java based IEEE 802.11 medium access layer simulator, we determine the upper-bound for the number of voice calls carried by an ad hoc network. We use a linear topology with the ideal carrier sensing range and evaluate the number …

Effects Of A Heated Turbulent Boundary Layer On Surface Pressure Fluctuations, David William Rich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent work has shown that spatial correlation of surface pressure fluctuations in a fully turbulent atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) can give information about the velocity field and turbulence. This is of particular importance to the future of wind energy to predict the incoming velocity flow field of wind turbines so as to actively control them for peak operating efficiency and damage reduction. All of the environmental effects on the surface pressure fluctuations need to be fully understood before a suitable flow prediction algorithm can be constructed. One such environmental effect which has not been previously studied is the effect of …

Freeze-Thawing Of Polyester/E-Glass As An Evaluation Of An Astm International Test Standard Proposal, Stefan Mauritz Strandlund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) reported in 2009 that the four major sectors currently utilizing fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are construction, corrosion, marine, and transportation in descending order of total FRP shipped. All of these sectors are known to be billion dollar industries and they are all involved with applications subjected to freezing and thawing. FRP encompass many characteristics that are beneficial to these sectors and also in resisting this exposure. ASTM International has yet not developed a standard to test FRP materials resistance to freeze-thaw (FT) cycling exposure. The D20.18.02 committee of the ASTM is in the process of …

Lt Code Equations, Stanley Truitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The LT Code equations describe the process of encoding input symbols into an error correcting code that requires no feedback from the receiver. The mathematical process involved the development of LT Codes is important. This thesis address the issue of improving the understanding of the LT Code equations presented in the original paper. This task is accomplished by inserting the mathematical details when possible, providing graphical results to the equations, and comparing the equations results against random computer generated simulations results. This thesis will improve the understanding of how LT Codes equations related to actual results.

Development Of An Astm Draft Standard For The Elevated Temperature Moisture Conditioning Of Pultruded Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites, Tunji Adejumo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Variable Block Size Motion Compensation In The Redundant Wavelet Domain, Ahmed Abdelgadir Suliman

Dissertations

Video is one of the most powerful forms of multimedia because of the extensive information it delivers. Video sequences are highly correlated both temporally and spatially, a fact which makes the compression of video possible. Modern video systems employ motion estimation and motion compensation (ME/MC) to de-correlate a video sequence temporally. ME/MC forms a prediction of the current frame using the frames which have been already encoded. Consequently, one needs to transmit the corresponding residual image instead of the original frame, as well as a set of motion vectors which describe the scene motion as observed at the encoder. The …

The Fev Frontend: A Terrain And Water Simulation Client, Donald Brent Sharrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The FEV (Flood Emergency Visualizer) Frontend is a Java and OpenGL-based 3D vi- sualizer of flood simulation results in real-time. Simulations can be recomputed based on user-defined terrain edits made directly on the rendering surface. The frontend is the client software of the FEV system that includes a backend for solving water flow equations using CUDA. To render large datasets, level-of-detail and other optimizations are needed to render terrain and water surfaces with interactive frame rates.

Quantification Of An Ultrasound Test Apparatus And Its Potential Use To Control Nuisance Species In Commercial Aquaculture Settings, Bradley T. Goodwiller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As one step in the investigation of using acoustics to improve aquaculture production, work was pursued on the possible use of ultrasound to control the Bolbophorus trematode in commercial catfish ponds. The trematode population can be controlled by eliminating the host ram's horn snail via exposure to high amplitude ultrasound. Initial laboratory tests indicated that a commercially available sonicator (operating at 20 kHz) is capable of killing individual snails in fish tanks. More thorough testing indicated efficiency rates of approximately 35% on batches of 10 snails. In addition to the snails killed immediately, there was evidence that the sonication technique …

Characteristics Of Different Focusing Antennas In The Near Field Region, Shaya Karimkashi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Focusing antennas are of interest in many application including microwave wireless power transmission, remote (non-contact) sensing, and medical applications. Different kinds of antennas such as array antennas, reflector antennas and Fresnel zone plate (FZP) antennas have been used for these applications. Here, first, a new scheme in designing focused array antennas with desired sidelobe levels (SLLs) in the near field region is presented. The performance of the large focused array antennas is predicted based on the knowledge of the mutual admittances of a smaller array. The effects of various focal distances on the near field pattern of these antennas are …

Reduced-Order Equivalent-Circuit Models Of Thermal Systems Including Thermal Radiation, Serap Karagol

Dissertations

We established a general, automatic, and versatile procedure to derive an equivalent circuit for a thermal system using temperature data obtained from FE simulations. The EC topology was deduced from the FE mesh using a robust and general graph-partitioning algorithm. The method was shown to yield models that are independent of the boundary conditions for complicated 3D thermal systems such as an electronic chip. The results are strongly correlated with the geometry, and the EC can be extended to yield variable medium-order models. Moreover, a variety of heat sources and boundary conditions can be accommodated, and the EC models are …

Cross-Language Mobile Communication And Pervasive Language Learning Using Multimedia Cellular Phone Messaging And Online Translation, Daniel Valencia

Theses

Today within the US there is a gap between cultures, mainly Spanish speakers and English speakers. Communication is the main barrier and learning each other’s language would be a solution. With this being said, the question is “How can technology be implemented to create a solution?” The proposed system is offered that allows people with different native languages to communicate using cell phones. Besides communication, learning is also a goal. This system implements the 3 most common styles of learning which are; visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning. These learning styles are aided by the ubiquitous and mobile learning paradigms. The …

Computational Modeling Of Low Velocity Impact Loading Of Composite With And Without Electrospun Nanofiber, Abu Hasnath Rasel

Theses

The objective of this work is the computational study of composite laminates under high velocity impact loadings. Even with the blessings of modern technology, manufacturing and testing of composites do not always seem to be cost effective. To keep pace with the fast moving global market, a new tool is absolutely necessary that can give reliable results quickly. Over the last decades computational study became a strong and effective tool for the researchers for testing composite materials in a virtual world. The virtual model and the material system of the test specimen can be built in a computer using different …

Development And Human Performance Evaluation Of A Ground Vehicle Robotic Force-Feedback Tele-Operation System, Ankur Saraf

Wayne State University Theses

ABSTRACT

DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF A GROUND VEHICLE ROBOTIC FORCE-FEEDBACK TELE-OPERATION SYSTEM

by

ANKUR SARAF

May 2011

Advisor: Dr. Abhilash K. Pandya.

Major: Electrical Engineering.

Degree: Master of Science.

Modern tele-operation systems are trying to take into account haptic and audio information in addition to visual data to provide as feedback to the tele-operator.This research emphasizes on the development of hardware and software architecture to enhance the tele-operation capabilities of omni-directional inspection robot (ODIS). The system enhances the tele-operation capabilities by introducing force-feedback to the tele-operators. The conventional joystick is replaced with Novint Falcon haptic joystick which gets …

Control Of A Single Ground Vehicle Using Aerial And Onboard Camera Views, Vishal Lowalekar

Wayne State University Theses

Controlling a ground vehicle using only onboard and aerial camera views, can be a tedious task, as it is challenging for the operator to estimate information about the robots location and orientation using only these view. However the visual data can be sufficient for computerized calculation of this information even in the absence of other sensors. This approach is of interest to the military because the use of passive sensors instead of active sensors (e.g. LIDAR) would be easier and more reliable and would not give off detectable signatures.

The goal of this research was to control a ground vehicle …

An Extended Fuzzy Discrete Event System For Hiv/Aids Treatment Regimen Selection, Kiattisak Wongsopanakul

Wayne State University Dissertations

HIV/AIDS is a global problem. Its treatment is dependent on the physician experts' opinion. A system which is capable of supporting the treatment decision will be desired. Recently, the HIV/AIDS treatment regimen selection system appeared in literature that utilized theory of fuzzy discrete event system (FDES) to capture the meaning of experts' knowledge; a form of consensus involving estimated points and type-1 fuzzy sets. The goal was to assign exact matching regimens as close as possible to those regimens preferred by the experts for patients. The system performance was 80% of satisfaction level with the 35 retrospective patients. Extracting experts' …

Locating And Extracting Acoustic And Neural Signals, Na Zhu

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation presents innovate methodologies for locating, extracting, and separating multiple incoherent sound sources in three-dimensional (3D) space; and applications of the time reversal (TR) algorithm to pinpoint the hyper active neural activities inside the brain auditory structure that are correlated to the tinnitus pathology. Specifically, an acoustic modeling based method is developed for locating arbitrary and incoherent sound sources in 3D space in real time by using a minimal number of microphones, and the Point Source Separation (PSS) method is developed for extracting target signals from directly measured mixed signals. Combining these two approaches leads to a novel technology …

The Fourier Spectral Element Method For Vibration Analysis Of General Dynamic Structures, Xuefeng Zhang

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Fourier Spectral Element Method (FSEM) was proposed by Wen Li on the vibration of simple beams (Li, 1999), and was extended to the vibration of rectangular plates (Li, 2004). This dissertation proposes a revised formulation on the vibration of rectangular plates with general boundary conditions, and extends the FSEM on the vibration of general triangular plates with elastic boundary supports. 3-D coupling formulation among the plates and beams is further developed. A general dynamic structure is then analyzed by dividing the structure into coupled triangular plates, rectangular plates, and beams. The accuracy and fast convergence of FSEM method is …

Ceg 233: Linux And Windows, Prabhaker Mateti

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

This is a freshman-level 4 credit hour course conducted in a 10-week term. Its goal is to develop in the minds of students an effective operational model of computer systems running either Linux or Windows. This course is lab-oriented.

Ceg 210: Pc Networking I, Jerry Hensley

Computer Science & Engineering Syllabi

Introduction to networking technologies including infrastructure and architectures, standards, protocols and directory services, administration, security and management. Integrated lecture and lab

Study Of Turbulence-Chemistry Interaction In Hypersonic Turbulent Boundary Layers, Lian Duan, M. Pino Martín

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Studies of the turbulence-chemistry interaction (TCI) are performed in hypersonic turbulent boundary layers using direct numerical simulation (DNS) flow fields under typical hypersonic conditions representative of blunt-body and slender-body hypersonic vehicles, with super catalytic and noncatalytic wall conditions in pure air. Nondimensional governing parameters, 'interaction' Damk̈ohler number and relative heat release, are proposed to measure the influence of TCI on flow composition and temperature. Both a priori and posteriori studies are performed to assess the effect of TCI on chemical production rates and mean and turbulence flow characteristics. In addition, an effective approach (called PDF-TS) to estimate the intensity of …

Use Of Bio Ethanol The Key Solution For A More Sustainable Road Transport, Alberto A. Boretti

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of alternative transportation fuels clearly shows the advantages of reducing the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels vs. renewable synthetic and biologic novel fuels to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. Being based on the natural or synthetic recycle of carbon dioxide through the use of renewable energy sources, use of these renewable fuels does not imply depletion of natural resources and is therefore sustainable in the long term. Renewable fuels and advanced internal combustion engines and powertrains are the technologies that in addition to be the most likely to produce benefits in term of carbon balance …

Alternative Crankshaft Mechanisms And Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems For Improved Fuel Economy Of Passenger Cars, Alberto A. Boretti, Joseph Scalzo, Houshang Masudi

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The paper presents a novel design of a variable compression ratio advanced spark ignition engine that also permits an expansion ratio that may differ from the compression ratio therefore generating an Atkinson cycle effect. the stroke ratio and the ratio of maximum to minimum in-cylinder volumes may change with load and speed to provide the best fuel conversion efficiency. the variable ratio of maximum to minimum in-cylinder volumes also improves the full load power output of the engine. Brake specific fuel consumption maps are computed for a gasoline engine 2 Liters, in-line four, turbocharged and direct injection showings significant fuel …

Negative Pressure Characteristics Of An Evaporating Meniscus At Nanoscale, Shalabh Maroo, J N. Chung

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - All Scholarship

This study aims at understanding the characteristics of negative liquid pressures at the nanoscale using molecular dynamics simulation. A nano-meniscus is formed by placing liquid argon on a platinum wall between two nanochannels filled with the same liquid. Evaporation is simulated in the meniscus by increasing the temperature of the platinum wall for two different cases. Non-evaporating films are obtained at the center of the meniscus. The liquid film in the non-evaporating and adjacent regions is found to be under high absolute negative pressures. Cavitation cannot occur in these regions as the capillary height is smaller than the critical cavitation …

Development Of A Novel Methodology For The Identification Of Voc Emission Sources In Indoor Environments Based On The Material Emission Signatures And Air Samples Measured By Ptr-Ms, Kwanghoon Han

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Dissertations

One of the recent important challenges in the research field of indoor air quality is the identification of indoor Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission sources to clearly pinpoint the sources of concern in a field condition. This study represents the first attempt in developing a new technique to find the sources that may be invisible or hidden based on the inspection even of experts when a building with problems of indoor air quality is suspected. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine VOC emission signatures specific to nine typical building materials by using an on-line analytical monitoring device, …