Engineering Commons^™

Upqc For Power Quality Improvement In Dg Integrated Smart Grid Network: A Review, Shafiuzzaman Khadem, Malabika Basu, Michael Conlon

Articles

Quality of power supply has become an important issue with the increasing demand of Distributed Generation (DG) systems either connected to the grid through some power electronics grid-tie inverters or to work in isolated (microgrid) mode towards the development of a smart grid network. In this paper a technical review of Integration of Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) in Distributed Generation Network has been presented. Though the primary task of UPQC is to minimize the grid voltage and load current disturbance along with the reactive and harmonic power compensation, additional functionalities like compensation of voltage interruption and active power transfer …

Structure And Polymorphism Of Biaxial Bent-Core Smectic Liquid Crystal, S. Sreenilayam, M. Nagaraj, Yuri Panarin, J. K. Vij, A. Lehmann, C. Tschierske

Articles

The mesomorphic properties of a homologous series of achiral bent-core compounds are studied by polarizing optical microscopy, electro-optics and polarization measurements. Induction of a new orthogonal smectic phases with the increase of alkyl side chain length was observed. One of the compounds exhibits a unique phase transition between four non-tilted smectic phases (SmAPA–SmAPAR-SmAPR-SmA). The uniaxial but antiferroelectric nature of SmAPAR phase was confirmed by POM, current response, the 2nd harmonic electro-optic response and polarization measurements. The structure of SmAPAR phase was studied theoretically by Next-Nearest-Neighbor model and was identified as SmAPα.

Effects Of Visual Interaction Methods On Simulated Unmanned Aircraft Operator Situational Awareness, Brent A. Terwilliger

Publications

The limited field of view of static egocentric visual displays employed in unmanned aircraft controls introduces the soda straw effect on operators, which significantly affects their ability to capture and maintain situational awareness by not depicting peripheral visual data. The problem with insufficient operator situational awareness is the resulting increased potential for error and oversight during operation of unmanned aircraft, leading to accidents and mishaps costing United States taxpayers between $4 million to $54 million per year. The purpose of this quantitative experimental completely randomized design study was to examine and compare use of dynamic eyepoint to static visual interaction …

High Tech High Touch: Lessons Learned From Project Haiti 2011, Yan Tang, Marc Compere, Yung Lun Wong, Jared Anthony Coleman, Matthew Charles Selkirk

Publications

In this paper, we will share our experiences and lessons learned from a design project for providing clean water to a Haitian orphanage (Project Haiti 2011). Supported by funds from a renewable energy company and the university president’s office, five engineering students and two faculty members from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University successfully designed and installed a solar powered water purification system for an orphanage located in Chambellan, Haiti. This paper discusses the unique educational experiences gained from unusual design constraints, such as ambiguity of existing facilities due to limited communication, logistics of international construction at a remote village location, and cross-cultural …

Multi-Disciplinary Hands-On Desktop Learning Modules And Modern Pedagogies, Bernard J. Van Wie, David B. Thiessen, Marc Compere, Ximena Toro, Jennifer C. Adam, Et Al.

Publications

Our team’s research focuses on fundamental problems in undergraduate education in terms of how to expand use of well researched, yet still “new”, teaching pedagogies of ‘sensing’ or ‘hands-on’, ‘active’ and ‘problem-based learning’ within engineering courses. It is now widely accepted that traditional lectures ARE NOT best for students – yet that is what the community almost universally does.

To address this issue we are developing new Desktop Learning Modules (DLMs) that contain miniaturized processes with a uniquely expandable electronic system to contend with known sensor systems/removable cartridges, as well as, unknown expansions to the project. We have shown that …

Long-Term Follow Up Of Van Nes Rotationplasty For Congenital Proximal Focal Femoral Deficiency [Proceedings], Haluk Altiok, Jeffrey D. Ackman, Ann Flanagan, Mary Peer, Adam Graf, Joseph Krzak, Sahar Hassani, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

INTRODUCTION: Proximal focal femoral deficiency (PFFD) is a congenital anomaly that presents challenges for orthopaedic and prosthetic management. The Van Nes rotationplasty is one treatment in which the extremity is surgically rotated to utilize the ankle and foot as a functional knee joint in a prosthesis. The purpose of this study is to determine the long-term functional and quality of life (QOL) outcomes for individuals who have undergone rotationplasty surgery for congenital PFFD compared to age and gender matched controls.

METHODS: This prospective study had 12 prosthetic participants (PFFD Group: 8 M, 4F, age range 16-57 years) average 31.6±13.5 years …

New Perspective On Passively Quenched Single Photon Avalanche Diodes: Effect Of Feedback On Impact Ionization, David A. Ramirez, Majeed M. Hayat, Graham J. Rees, Xudong Jiang, Mark A. Itzler

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are primary devices in photon counting systems used in quantum cryptography, time resolved spectroscopy and photon counting optical communication. SPADs convert each photo-generated electron hole pair to a measurable current via an avalanche of impact ionizations. In this paper, a stochastically self-regulating avalanche model for passively quenched SPADs is presented. The model predicts, in qualitative agreement with experiments, three important phenomena that traditional models are unable to predict. These are: (1) an oscillatory behavior of the persistent avalanche current; (2) an exponential (memoryless) decay of the probability density function of the stochastic quenching time of the …

Assessing Spinal Motion At Different Fusion Levels In Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis, Sahar Hassani, Adam Graf, Joseph Krzak, K. Hammerberg, P. Sturm, P. Gupta, M. Riordan, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Including Aortic Valve Morphology In Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations: Initial Findings And Application To Aortic Coarctation, David C. Wendell, Margaret M. Samyn, Joseph Richard Cava, Laura M. Ellwein, Mary M. Krolikowski, Kimberly L. Gandy, Andrew N. Pelech, Shawn C. Shadden, John F. Ladisa

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations quantifying thoracic aortic flow patterns have not included disturbances from the aortic valve (AoV). 80% of patients with aortic coarctation (CoA) have a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) which may cause adverse flow patterns contributing to morbidity. Our objectives were to develop a method to account for the AoV in CFD simulations, and quantify its impact on local hemodynamics. The method developed facilitates segmentation of the AoV, spatiotemporal interpolation of segments, and anatomic positioning of segments at the CFD model inlet. The AoV was included in CFD model examples of a normal (tricuspid AoV) and a …

Empirical Performance Analysis Of High Performance Computing Benchmarks Across Variations In Cloud Computing, Sindhu Mani

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High Performance Computing (HPC) applications are data-intensive scientific software requiring significant CPU and data storage capabilities. Researchers have examined the performance of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) environment across several HPC benchmarks; however, an extensive HPC benchmark study and a comparison between Amazon EC2 and Windows Azure (Microsoft’s cloud computing platform), with metrics such as memory bandwidth, Input/Output (I/O) performance, and communication computational performance, are largely absent. The purpose of this study is to perform an exhaustive HPC benchmark comparison on EC2 and Windows Azure platforms.

We implement existing benchmarks to evaluate and analyze performance of two public clouds spanning …

Foot And Ankle Motion Analysis Using Dynamic Radiographic (Fluoroscopic) Imaging, Benjamin Mchenry, Jason T. Long, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

A Database For Estimating Organ Dose For Chest And Head Ct Scans For Arbitrary Spectra And Angular Tube Current Modulation, Franco Rupcich, Andreu Badal, Iacovos Kyprianou, Taly Gilat Schmidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a database for estimating organ dose in a voxelized patient model for coronary angiography and brain perfusion CT acquisitions with any spectra and angular tube current modulation setting. The database enables organ dose estimation for existing and novel acquisition techniques without requiring Monte Carlo simulations. Methods: The study simulated transport of monoenergetic photons between 5 and 150 keV for 1000 projections over 360◦ through anthropomorphic voxelized female chest and head (0◦ and 30◦ tilt) phantoms and standard head and body CTDI dosimetry cylinders. The simulations resulted in tables of normalized dose …

Multisegmental Foot And Ankle Motion Analysis After Hallux Valgus Surgery, Karl Canseco, Jason T. Long, Thomas Smedberg, Sergey Tarima, Richard Marks, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Gait changes in patients with hallux valgus, including altered kinematic and temporal-spatial parameters, have been documented in the literature. Although operative treatment can yield favorable clinical and radiographic results, restoration of normal gait in this population remains unclear. Segmental kinematic changes within the foot and ankle during ambulation after operative correction of hallux valgus have not been reported. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in multisegmental foot and ankle kinematics in patients who underwent operative correction of hallux valgus. Methods: A 15-camera Vicon Motion Analysis System was used to evaluate 24 feet in 19 patients with …

High Contrast Tandem Organic Light Emitting Devices, Baofu Ding, Xiao-Yuan Hou, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

A high contrast-ratio organic light emitting device (OLED) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The OLED is implemented by stacking two organic phase tuning (PT) layers between composite metal layers and optimizing their thicknesses. Such a tandem device can increase the current efficiency by 98%, and reduce the operating voltage by 1.04 V, in comparison to conventional high contrast OLEDs. Measured reflection spectra validate the high-contrast capability of the OLED, and demonstrate experimentally an average reflectivity of 6% under ambient light illumination. This is the lowest reflectivity reported to date for OLEDs employing organic phase tuning layers.

High-Contrast Tandem Organic Light-Emitting Devices Employing Semitransparent Intermediate Layers Of Lif/Al/C60, Baofu Ding, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

The use of a black cathode with a metal-organic-metal structure is an attractive approach to achieving a high-contrast organic light-emitting device (OLED) for future-generation flat panel displays. However, the large reduction in OLED power efficiency is currently restricting the use of the black cathode for industrial applications. In this paper, a high-contrast, high-efficiency tandem OLED employing a black cathode is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The OLED is implemented by stacking two organic phase tuning layers between a composite intermediate layer of LiF/Al/C60 and LiF/Al and optimizing their thicknesses. Electroluminescence spectra and brightness-current measurement reveal that the phase tuning layer emits …

Multi-Wavelength Laser Sensor For Intruder Detection And Discrimination, Kavitha Venkataraayan, Sreten Askraba, Kamal E. Alameh, Clifton L. Smith

Research outputs 2011

An intruder detection and discrimination sensor with improved optical design is developed using lasers of different wavelengths to demonstrate the concept of discrimination over a distance of 6 m. A distinctive feature of optics is used to provide additional transverse laser beam scanning. The sample objects used to demonstrate the concept of discrimination over a distance of 6 m are leaf, bark, black fabric, PVC, wood and camouflage material. A camouflage material is chosen to illustrate the discrimination capability of the sensor. The sensor utilizes a five-wavelength laser combination module, which sequentially emits identically-polarized laser light beams along one optical …

A New Wsn Paradigm For Environmental Monitoring And Data Collection, Eric Dines, Hasanain Al-Majeed, Asanka Fernando, Mutaz Abdalla, Jaydeepsinh Gohil

Research outputs 2012

Data collection of environmental phenomena has traditionally been a very manual process. Even the advent of electronic data logging instruments has not significantly reduced the workload for managing instruments in the field. Recently however, low-cost microcontroller systems with wireless connectivity, called wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been developed. With the proliferation of low-cost sensing elements, WSNs should be transforming environmental monitoring, but certain shortcomings in the current WSN paradigm have conspired against widespread field deployment. These are: battery capacity limitations; specialised wireless protocols that exclude WSNs from direct integration into existing data networks; and closed rather than open and extensible …

Fuzzy Logic For Smart Utilisation Of Storage Devices In A Typical Microgrid, Thair Mahmoud, Daryoush Habibi, Octavian Bass

Research outputs 2012

Efficient utilisation of Storage Devices (SD) among multiple sources of dispatch within a typical microgrid have a substantial impact on reducing the economic and environmental generation costs in that particular microgrid. Eventually, managing the multiple sources that supply energy simultaneously is a big engineering challenge. The complexity rises due the uncertainty of demand, generation cost, availability of renewable energy sources and (charging/discharging) time and price for the installed SD. This paper introduces a utilisation method that makes the SD more efficient in supplying the electricity within a typical medium size enterprise microgrid. The method is simply targeting the dynamic charging …

Modeling Of Low Coherence Interferometry Using Broadband Multi-Gaussian Light Sources, Paul Jansz, Steven Richardson, Graham Wild, Steven Hinckley

Research outputs 2012

Using a low coherence interferometry (LCI) model, a comparison of broadband single-Gaussian and multi-Gaussian light sources has been undertaken. For single-Gaussian sources, the axial resolution improves with the source bandwidth, confirming the coherence length relation that the resolution for single Gaussian sources improves with increasing spectral bandwidth. However, narrow bandwidth light sources result in interferograms with overlapping strata peaks and the loss of individual strata information. For multiple-Gaussian sources with the same bandwidth, spectral side lobes increase, reducing A-scan reliability to show accurate layer information without eliminating the side lobes. The simulations show the conditions needed for the resolution of …

Finite Element Analysis Of Laterally Loaded Piles In Sloping Ground, Vishwas Sawant, Sanjay Shukla

Research outputs 2012

The available analytical methods of analysis for laterally loaded piles in level ground cannot be directly applied to such piles in sloping ground. With the commercially available software, the simulation of the appropriate field condition is a challenging task, and the results are subjective. Therefore, it becomes essential to understand the process of development of a user-framed numerical formulation, which may be used easily as per the specific site conditions without depending on other indirect methods of analysis as well as on the software. In the present study, a detailed three-dimensional finite element formulation is presented for the analysis of …

Intelligent Analysis Of Utilization Of Special Purpose Machines For Drilling Operations, Majid Tolouei Rad

Research outputs 2012

Drilling and drilling-related operations constitute more than 60% of all machining processes in manufacturing industries. Consequently, it is important to know how to perform these operations properly. With availability of many machining processes capable of performing drilling operations sometimes it is difficult to decide which process would result in a higher profit or a lower unit cost for a given task. Due to increasing global competition, manufacturing industries are now more concerned with their productivity and are more sensitive than ever to their investments with respect to flexibility and efficiency of production equipment (Boothroyd and Knight, 2005, Wecka and Staimer, …

Biomedical Image Signal Processing For Reflection-Based Imaging, Paul Jansz, Steven Richardson, Graham Wild, Steven Hinckley

Research outputs 2012

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), ultrasound and other reflection based biomedical imaging technologies involve image signal processing that is primarily a filtering, digitizing and summing process so that the tissue cross-section can be visualized. In particular, in OCT, a series of adjacent one dimensional in-vivo axial interferograms (A-scan) are summed to form a two dimensional (B-scan) reflection map or reflectogram. Further graphical combinations can add adjacent B-scan together to form three dimensional C-scans. A physician can make a subjective interpretation and evaluation from the B and/or C-scans that may lead to actions impacting on the patient’s prognosis. More objective information can …

Load-Bearing Capacity Of A Footing Resting On The Fly Ash Slope With Multi-Layer Reinforcements, K Gill, A Choudhary, J Jha, Sanjay Shukla

Research outputs 2012

In several parts of the world, the disposal of waste materials like fly ash is a challenging task. The applications of fly ash as structural fills in foundations is one of the best solutions to disposal problems, because they can be used in large volumes in such application. There may be difficulty due to poor load-bearing capacity of fly ash, especially when footings rest on the top of the fly ash fill slope; but inclusion of polymeric reinforcements as horizontal sheets within the fill may be advantageous in improving the load-bearing capacity of reinforced fly ash slope. The aim of …

Polymer Hot Embossing With Soft Stamps, Devendra Maurya, Sasikaran Kandasamy, F Lapierre, Kamal Alameh, Y Zhu

Research outputs 2012

Microfluidic channels are fabricated in thick polycarbonate (PC) substrates by hot embossing using soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps. The embossing force is in the range of 2.5-3 kN for a 4-inch diameter substrate, and the embossed microchannel is 70 μm deep. We investigate the influence of soft stamp precursor and curing agent mix ratio, and post thermal treatment on embossing conditions. Experimental results show that a soft stamp fabricated with 5:1 mix ratio and post-annealed at 150c results in better embossing properties than conventional un-annealed stamps.

Microfluidic Channel Fabrication In Lithium Niobate Using Focused Ion Beam, M Sridhar, Devendra Maurya, J. R. Friend, L. Y. Yeo, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

Microfluidic channels are fabricated in lithium niobate (LN) by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling. 127.68° axis rotated Y-cut (SAW grade) and Z-cut LN wafers are used. Material removal rate is 0.34±0.02 µm3/nC for Y-cut sample and 0.30 ± 0.02µm/nC for Z-cut sample. Experimental results show that the material removal rate decreases at high ion doses and high aspect ratios due to the increased significance of material deposition at these conditions. We also demonstrate the suitability of FIB-milled nanochannels for micro/nanofluidic applications.

Droplet Manipulation Using Zno/Sapphire Based Saw Devices, S Kandasamy, Devendra Maurya, R T Tjeung, J. R. Friend, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

The hybrid ZnO/Sapphire material is selected to exploit the collective benefits of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and sapphire for the development of a high performance Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) device. The microfluidic applications of ZnO/Sapphire layered surface acoustic wave devices are discussed. In addition, acoustic streaming in droplets is investigated using a custom-made ZnO/Sapphire layered device. Experimental results show that a maximum acoustic streaming of ~600 µm/s is achieved when the device is operated at 158 MHz.

Garnet Nanocomposite For Use In Magnetic Photonic Crystals Prepared By Composition Adjustment In The Bi₃Fe₃O₁₂–Bi₂Dy₁Fe₄Ga₁ O₁₂ Material System, Mohammad Nur E Alam, Mikhail Vasiliev, Viatcheslav Kotov, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

RF co-sputtered nanocomposite (Bi3Fe5O12-Bi2Dy1Fe4Ga1O12) thin films are prepared using composition adjustment approach, implemented by varying the RF powers at each sputtering target. A new MO nanocomposite material is obtained by means of applying optimized annealing crystallization process to these as-deposited garnet layers. The optimally annealed garnet nanocomposites exhibit a significant red shift of the main MO transitions and show strong Faraday rotation of about 8.8°/μm at 532 nm simultaneously with having a high MO quality and magnetization direction perpendicular to the film plane.

Effect Of Substrate Temperature On The Magneto-Optic Properties Of Bi1.8lu1.2fe3.6al1.4o12 Garnet Films Prepared By Rf Sputtering, Mohammad Nur E Alam, Mikhail Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

In this paper we present a study conducted on RF sputtered garnet films of composition type Bi1.8Lu1.2Fe3.6Al1.4O12 prepared by using low and high substrate temperatures during the deposition process inside the vacuum chamber of sputtering system. Comparatively low coercive force is achieved in garnet films prepared at high substrate temperature of 680°C simultaneously with high MO quality and almost in-plane magnetization direction, which are the properties desired in various MO sensing, switching and imaging applications.

Polymer Chain Distribution Reorganization For Improving The Power Conversion Efficiency Of Polymer Solar Cells, Baofu Ding, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

We investigate the influence of the post solvent evaporation time delay on the performance of polymer solar cell (PSC) devices employing a bulk heterojunction photoactive polymer layer of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) as electron donor and polymer [6,6]-thienylC61 butyric acid methyl ester as an electron acceptor. Characterization of the fabricated solar cell devices clearly demonstrates balanced transport of electrons and holes in the blend and confirms increased surface roughness and crystallinity of the films when post solvent evaporation time delay is optimised. An optimum device performance is obtained with 72 hours of post solvent evaporation time delay, achieving a power conversion efficiency …

High Contrast Tandem Organic Light Emitting Devices Employing Transparent Intermediate Nano Metal Layers And A Phase Shifting Layer, Baofu Ding, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2012

A high contrast-ratio organic light emitting device (OLED) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The OLED is implemented by stacking two organic phase tuning layers between composite metal layers and optimizing their thicknesses. Such a tandem device can increase the current efficiency by 120%, and reduce the operating voltage by 1.1 V, in comparison to conventional high contrast OLEDs. Measured reflection spectra validate the high-contrast capability of the OLED, and demonstrate experimentally an average reflectivity of 6% under ambient light illumination. This is the lowest reflectivity reported to date for OLEDs employing organic phase tuning layers.