Engineering Commons^™

Brain-Computer Interfaces In Medicine, Jerry J. Shih, Dean J. Krusienski, Johnathan R. Wolpaw

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) acquire brain signals, analyze them, and translate them into commands that are relayed to output devices that carry out desired actions. BCIs do not use normal neuromuscular output pathways. The main goal of BCI is to replace or restore useful function to people disabled by neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, or spinal cord injury. From initial demonstrations of electroenceph-alography-based spelling and single-neuron-based device control, researchers have gone on to use electroenceph-alographic, intracortical, electrocorticographic, and other brain signals for increasingly complex control of cursors, robotic arms, prostheses, wheelchairs, and other devices. Brain-computer interfaces …

Signals From Intraventricular Depth Electrodes Can Control A Brain-Computer Interface, Jerry J. Shih, Dean J. Krusienski

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is a device that enables severely disabled people to communicate and interact with their environments using their brain waves. Most research investigating BCI in humans have used scalp-recorded electroencephalography (EEG). We have recently demonstrated that signals from intracranial electrocorticography (ECoG) and stereotactic depth electrodes (SDE) in the hippocampus can be used to control a BCI P300 Speller paradigm. We report a case in which stereotactic depth electrodes positioned in the ventricle were able to obtain viable signals for a BCI. Our results demonstrate that event-related potentials from intraventricular electrodes can be used to reliably control the …

Optical Detection Of Melting Point Depression For Silver Nanoparticles Via In Situ Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, S. A. Little, T. Begou, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Silver nanoparticle films were deposited by sputtering at room temperature and were annealed while monitoring by real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The nanoparticle dielectric functions (0.75 eV-6.5 eV) obtained by SE were modeled using Lorentz and generalized oscillators for the nanoparticle plasmon polariton (NPP) and interband transitions, respectively. The nanoparticle melting point could be identified from variations in the oscillator parameters during annealing, and this identification was further confirmed after cooling through significant, irreversible changes in these parameters relative to the as-deposited film. The variation in melting point with physical thickness, and thus average nanoparticle diameter, as measured by SE …

In Situ And Ex Situ Studies Of Molybdenum Thin Films Deposited By Rf And Dc Magnetron Sputtering As A Back Contact For Cigs Solar Cells, K. P. Aryal, H. Khatri, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Molybdenum thin films were deposited by rf and dc magnetron sputtering and their properties analyzed with regards to their potential application as a back contact for CIGS solar cells. It is shown that both types of films tend to transition from tensile to compressive strain when the deposition pressure increases, while the conductivity and the grain size decreas. The nucleation of the films characterized by in situ and real time spectroscopic ellipsometry shows that both films follow a Volmer-Weber growth, with a higher surface roughness and lower deposition rate for the rf deposited films. The electronic relaxation time was then …

Growth Analysis Of (Ag,Cu)Inse2 Thin Films Via Real Time Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, S. A. Little, V. Ranjan, R. W. Collins, S. Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In situ and ex situ characterization methods have been applied to investigate the properties of (Ag,Cu)InSe₂ (ACIS) thin films. Data acquired from real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) experiments were analyzed to extract the evolution of the nucleating, bulk, and surface roughness layer thicknesses. The evolution of these layer thicknesses suggests a transition from Volmer-Weber to Stranski-Krastanov type behavior when Cu is replaced by Ag. The complex dielectric functions of ACIS at both deposition and room temperature as a function of film composition were also extracted from the RTSE data, enabling parameterization of the alloy optical properties.

Ballistic Imaging Of Sprays At Diesel Relevant Conditions, Jason M. Porter, S. P. Duran, T. E. Parker

Faculty Publications

Diesel engines are an important aspect of our transportation infrastructure, whose performance is greatly affected by the characteristics of the spray from their injectors. Characterization of the injector’s spray is therefore tantamount to clean-running efficient diesel motors. In this study, a ~15 ps pulsed Leopard D-10 laser is used along with an optical Kerr Cell to realize ballistic images of high-delivery-pressure dodecane sprays injected into a quiescent air environment at elevated temperature and pressure. Using CS2 as the Kerr switching media and by optimizing the overlap of the gate and imaging beams, an effective high speed shuttering effect is obtained. …

Measuring And Filtering Microwave Radiations Using Frequency Selective Surface Through Energy Saving Glass, Irfan Ullah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis presents the results of our investigation into the measurement and filtering of microwave radiation, and the subsequent development of a microwave reduction solution for modern building architecture utilising Energy Saving Glass (ESG), in conjunction with Frequency Selective (FSS) surfaces through which useful signals can be filtered. In the investigation, radiation power density levels arising from the three common microwave sources (radio base stations, mobile phones, and microwave ovens) were measured, and the results were compared with the standards provided by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. For the radio base stations, the relationship between radiation intensity …

Temperature Profiling Of Reflow Oven Used At Sscg Site 2 Automotive Department Of Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc., Kristoffer Jun B. Haguingan

Undergraduate Theses

The Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. is one of the leading electronic manufacturing service provides in the country. The key features of the company are its flexibility, discipline and devotion to provide customer satisfaction. They maintain a high level of quality in their products.In their surface mount assembly lines, the use of reflow soldering is very dominant. Almost all lies use reflow ovens. Due to this matter, their profiling procedure should be well-organized and systematic. The profiling is done to arrive at an oven profile that will yield optimum level of solder quality at the same time minimizing production cost. By studying …

Geostatistical Methods For Estimating Iron, Silica And Alumina Grades Within The Hardcap Of The Section Seven Iron Deposit, Tom Price, Philip John Savory

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many iron ore deposits have a weathered zone (Hardcap) near the surface which is highly variable in grades. Estimating the amount of ore grade material (HG) in this zone is difficult as a result of this variability. The Section Seven Deposit at Tom Price is largely mined out and has production data available in the form of grade blocks that were marked out during mining as HG and non- HG. Hardcap domains and a block model representing them were created and estimates were made from original exploration data using Ordinary Kriging, Global Change of Support, Indicator Kriging and Median Indicator …

Modeling And Control Of Discrete Event Systems Using Finite State Machines With Variables And Their Applications In Power Grids, Junhui Zhao, Le Yi Wang, Zhong Chen, Feng Lin, Hongwei Zhang

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Control theories for discrete event systems modeled as finite state machines have been well developed to address various fundamental control issues. However, finite state machine model has long suffered from the problem of state explosion that renders it unsuitable for some practical applications. In an attempt to mitigate the state explosion problem, we propose an efficient representation that appends finite sets of variables to finite state machines in modeling discrete event systems. We also present the control synthesis techniques for such finite state machines with variables (FSMwV). We first present our notion and means of control under this representation. We …

An Assessment Of Phosphorus Recovery From Dairy Wastewater, Éanna Kelleher

Theses

Phosphorus is an important nutrient for plant and animal life. It is one of the three essential nutrients required for plant growth; Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. It plays a vital role in the quality and structure of plants. In animals it is essential for the transfer of energy around the body and for the development of the skeleton. Phosphorus is mined from deposits of phosphate rock and is mainly used to produce fertiliser which is applied to agricultural land to improve plant growth. However, phosphorus is a finite resource and, similar to oil, is expected to peak during this century. …

Shear & Torsion Behaviour Of Hollow-Core Pre-Stressed Concrete Slabs, Cian Twomey

Theses

Research Aim The aim of this study is to carry out research on shear and torsion behaviour of hollow-core slabs.

Research Objectives The objectives of the research are: • carry out a review of research literature published to date • carry out physical laboratory testing • generate and calibrate Unite element models • expand finite element models to model shear and torsion behaviour of hollow- core slabs • carry out a comparison and discussion of the findings

Development Of A Low Cost Instrument For Tidal Flow Measurement, Thomas Daly

Theses

This project examines current technology for the production of energy from wave and tidal sources and the pros and cons of the different types of technology available. It also looks at the possibility of producing energy from tidal streams on a micro scale for local use. It identifies some of the barriers to this and attempts to solve one of those barriers by developing a low cost instrument which would be capable of assisting in the surveying of possible sites for micro tidal energy production in a cost effective way.

As part of this process an off the shelf marine …

The Structural Performance Of Timber Connections, Daniel Coleman

Theses

This thesis sets out to assess the behaviour of mechanically fastened timber-to-timber connections. The design aspects of timber connections are described in detail, with particular emphasis on nailed connections. The effects of inherent variations in timber properties on joint behaviour are also described.

The two types of connections considered were:

■ Corbel (cantilever);

■ Splice.

For each connection type, different nail configurations, nail diameters and shaft lengths were used. Testing undertaken was conducted to investigate the influence of a number of nail configurations on a connection’s initial stiffness. The test results, presented using moment- rotation curves are also used to …

Numerical Modelling Of The River Bandon, Stephen Finn

Theses

Numerical modelling involves the use of data from the physical environment and mathematical equations to achieve predictive solutions to many engineering problems including for river engineering. The field data is surveyed, sampled, recorded and tested before it is entered into the numerical modelling program for analysis. The numerical modelling program contains various mathematical equations that solve the data that has been entered. Numerical modelling is an important tool for predicting the consequences of future events. It can be used for predicting the damage of a 1 in 100 year flood event in a river system. Numerical modelling is used by …

Theoretical And Experimental Analysis Of Mems Ohmic Switch Design And Control For Reliability Improvement, Cuong Do

Theses

MEMS devices are micromechanical components fabricated using semiconductor fabrication technologies. With advanced functionalities and miniaturization, MEMS devices are being employed in a wide variety of applications, especially in mobile networks. The MEMS ohmic switch is one of the most promising MEMS devices and has the same principle of a mechanical moving switch to manipulate an electrical signal. Due to the existence of mechanical movement, and its compactness, reliability issues have been observed as the main barrier to commercialisation.

This thesis addresses the key issue of reliability in the rapidly expanding area of MEMS. In particular, MEMS ohmic switches are considered. …

A Service Provisioning Architecture For Next Generation Wireless Sensor Networks - The Wsn Cloud, Muhammad Sohaib Aslam

Theses

The relentless demand for pervasive computing in our everyday lives has led to and will continue to drive the roll out of large scale embedded systems in the form of Wireless Sensor Networks or WSNs in our environment. This in turn drives the need for reusable, flexible and manageable WSN infrastructures. To simplify system operation and maintenance as well as to reduce costs, WSNs must become an infrastructure that is capable of providing services to multiple end users concurrently rather than having to roll out individual infrastructures for specific purposes as is typical nowadays. This thesis presents the concept of …

Wireless Sensor Networks: Empowering Reliable, Realtime & Resource Efficient Communication For Cyber-Physical Applications, Jasvinder Singh

Theses

Since their inception, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been successfully employed as low-rate data gathering networks in numerous monitoring applications. Recently, a new domain of WSNs applications, known as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) has started attracting significant attention world-wide. In these applications, monitoring only the state of the physical system (process or environment) is not sufficient, the system must respond to the sensed events/data within certain time constraints by performing actions upon the physical entity. It is expected that in approaching years, WSNs will be integrated in a myriad of CPS applications, for example high confidence medical systems, assisted living, traffic …

Modeling Carbon Sequestration In Transition Zone To Optimize Storage Potential, Fang Yang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Shallow aquifers are potential candidates for carbon sequestration because of their wide distribution and low injection cost. Injected CO₂ in a shallow region segregates into two zones according to CO₂ phases within the initial reservoir pressure and the maximum bottom hole pressure: gas zone and transition zone. Transition zone is a better option because of favorable CO₂ properties. This work investigated the CO₂ storage potential in transition zone using the compositional simulator CMG-GEM and a design of experiment software iSIGHT. First, it addressed the basic characteristics of CO₂ sequestration in transition zone, and then modeled CO₂ injection with simultaneous water …

Nitrification Performance Of Activated Sludge Under Low Dissolved Oxygen Conditions, Guoqiang Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The combined effects of solids retention time (SRT) and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on nitrification, nitrifying bacterial communities, and aeration needs in the activated sludge process were studied. Nitrification was almost completed in the 10, 20, and 40-day SRT reactors with a minimum DO of 0.37, 0.25, and 0.16 mg/L, respectively. Under long-term low DO conditions, the endogenous decay of nitrifiers was slowed down and then nitirfier biomass concentration increased, thereby reducing the adverse effect of low DO on nitrification. Under long-term low DO conditions, the oxygen affinity of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) increased significantly and as a result, NOB became …

A Preliminary Study On The Potential Of Manuka Honey And Platelet-Rich Plasma In Wound Healing, Scott A. Sell, Patricia S. Wolfe, Andrew J. Spence, Isaac A. Rodriguez, Jennifer M. Mccoll, Rebecca L. Petrella, Koyal Garg, Jeffery J. Ericksen, Gary L. Bowlin

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine the in vitro response of cells critical to the wound healing process in culture media supplemented with a lyophilized preparation rich in growth factors (PRGF) and Manuka honey. Materials and Methods. This study utilized cell culture media supplemented with PRGF, as well as whole Manuka honey and the medical-grade Medihoney (MH), a Manuka honey product. The response of human fibroblasts (hDF), macrophages, and endothelial cells (hPMEC) was evaluated, with respect to cell proliferation, chemotaxis, collagen matrix production, and angiogenic potential, when subjected to culture with media containing PRGF, MH, Manuka honey, …

Development Of A Robotic Platform For Upper Limb Rehabilitation, Stephen Curran, Nigel Kent, David Kennedy, James Conlon

Conference Papers

The aim of this project is to develop a rehabilitation robot intended for use in a non-specialised or domestic setting. Robots have been shown to have a positive effect on limb rehabilitation and developing rehabilitation robots for use outside of specialist rehabilitation centres could be beneficial in terms of access to, intensity and cost of treatment. The device is intended for the rehabilitation of the shoulder/elbow region of the upper limbs. The design requirements for such a device mean that it must be low cost, portable, robust and have a detailed focus on safety. Other areas of interest pertaining to …

Mathematical Modelling Of A Low Approach Evaporative Cooling Process For Space Cooling In Buildings, Medhi Nasrabadi, Donal Finn, Ben Costelloe

Conference Papers

This paper describes a mathematical model of a low approach open evaporative cooling tower for the production of high temperature indirect cooling water (14-16°C) for use in building radiant cooling and displacement ventilation systems. There are several potential approaches to model evaporative cooling, including: the Poppe method, the Merkel method and the effectiveness-NTU (ε-NTU) method. A common assumption, applied to the Merkel and ε-NTU methods, is that the effect of change in tower water mass flow rate due to evaporation is ignored, which results in a simpler model with reduced computational requirements, but with somewhat decreasedaccuracy. In this paper, a …

Regeneration Of Electrospun Bioresorbable Vascular Grafts: A Phenomenon Associated With Vascular Graft Properties And Macrophage Phenotypes (M1/M2), Koyal Garg

Theses and Dissertations

Macrophages (MФ) and mast cells are important cell types in the context of tissue remodeling and regeneration. Mast cells participate in the early stages of wound healing and modulate the acute inflammatory responses to biomaterials. Mast cells can secrete a myriad of different cytokines by the process of degranulation; the process of regulated secretion in which preformed contents stored in their granules are rapidly released by exocytosis. Some of these cytokines such as IL-4, IL-13 and TNF-α can modulate the MФ phenotype. Macrophages (MΦ) are innate immune cells, crucial for tissue homeostasis, presentation of foreign and self-antigens following infection/injury, pathogen …

Novel Fluorous Hybrid Surface Modification Characterized By Wetting Dynamics, Morphology And Nanomechanics, Sithara Nair

Theses and Dissertations

The surface response of a polymer substrate to external stimuli such as initial wetting is controlled by the outermost molecular layer. Thus, changes on the nanoscale may be engaged to control macroscale wetting behavior. Our work has predominantly focused on surface modification of conventional polyurethane coatings (HMDI-BD-PTMO). Studies on network constrained phase separation and facile polydimethylsiloxane surface functionalization led to the discovery of a simpler one-step and more general approach to functional polymer surfaces that we have designated as “Bottle-Brush Nanoglass” (BB-NG) after the two principle components: (a) a polyoxetane soft block “spine” with side chain “A” bristles and triethoxysilyl …

Effects Of Strain On Dielectric Properties Of Ferroelectric Ba0.5sr0.5tio3 Films, Hongrui Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Owing to the large electric-field-dependent permittivity, ferroelectric thin films have attracted a great deal of attention on applications in miniature tunable microwave components with high performance and cost reduction, such as phase shifters, tunable oscillators, delay lines, and antennas. These tunable devices require large change in the dielectric constant with applied field and a low loss at microwave frequencies. As one of the promising ferroelectric materials, barium strontium titanate thin film, especially Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) films, have raises great research interests due to its high dielectric constant, which is tunable in an external electric field, combined with relative low loss at …

Kinect Hand Recognition And Tracking, Alex Drake

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

he goal of this research project was to be able to identify and track a hand using the depth image from a Microsoft Kinect. The ability to do this would have uses in sign language recognition, rehabilitation, and gesture recognition amongst others. The Microsoft Kinect is currently capable of identifying and tracking whole bodies. Our approach was to follow the method that Microsoft used but apply it to detailed hand recognition instead of the body. The basic strategy they used was to take a large amount of labeled depth data and build a decision tree to identify which part of …

Early Warning System: Relay Sensor Deployment & Network Reliability Analysis, Zhicheng Yang

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In this project, we continued Dr. Chipara's study, which developed an early warning system (EWS) to detect the vital signs of patients in order to help doctors to intervene in time [1]. Since the number of wards increased, the environment our system faced with became more complicated and our network became more sensitive. This project focused on finding reasons on the relays that didn't work and doing a reliability analysis on the network in one ward our study covered.

Limitations And Solutions For Real-Time Local Inter-Domain Communication In Xen, Sisu Xi, Chong Li, Chenyang Lu, Christopher Gill

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

As computer hardware becomes increasingly powerful, there is an ongoing trend towards integrating complex, legacy real-time systems using fewer hosts through virtualization. Especially in embedded systems domains such as avionics and automotive engineering, this kind of system integration can greatly reduce system weight, cost, and power requirements. When systems are integrated in this manner, network communication may become local inter-domain communication (IDC) within the same host. This paper examines the limitations of inter-domain communication in Xen, a widely used open-source virtual machine monitor (VMM) that recently has been extended to support real-time domain scheduling. We find that both the VMM …

Multi-Party Multi-Period Supply Chain Coordination, Thin Yin Leong, Michelle Lee Fong Cheong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We apply combinatorial auction as a coordination mechanism to smooth demands placed on suppliers' limited production capacities, allowing several manufacturers to share common suppliers effectively. Products are bidders bidding for parts from suppliers, consuming their capacities in different time periods. The fourth party logistic (4PL) provider acts as the auctioneer to coordinate bids and perform price iterations. We leverage on the strong links between the Lagrangian relaxation method and combinatorial auction, where the Lagrange multipliers serve as the supply capacity reserve prices, to balance the demand and supply of capacities. To prevent cyclic behaviour and to increase convergence speed, we …