Engineering Commons^™

Conical Indentation Of A Viscoelastic Sphere, J. K. Phadikar, T. A. Bogetti, V. N. Kaliakin, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Instrumented indentation is commonly used for determining mechanical properties of a range of materials, including viscoelastic materials. However, most—if not all—studies are limited to a flat substrate being indented by various shaped indenters (e.g., conical or spherical). This work investigates the possibility of extending instrumented indentation to nonflat viscoelastic substrates. In particular, conical indentation of a sphere is investigated where a semi-analytical approach based on “the method of functional equations” has been developed to obtain the force–displacement relationship. To verify the accuracy of the proposed methodology selected numerical experiments have been performed and good agreement was obtained. Since it takes …

Data Driven Feed Forward Adaptive Testing, Chaitrali Santosh Chandorkar

Dissertations and Theses

Test cost is a critical component in the overall cost of the product. Test cost varies in direct proportion with test time. This thesis introduces a data driven feed forward adaptive technique for reducing test time at wafer sort while maintaining the product defect level. Test data from first insertion of wafer is statistically analyzed to make a decision about adaptive test flow at subsequent insertions.

The data driven feed forward technique uses a statistical screen to analyze test data from first probe of wafer and provides recommendations for test elimination at second insertions. At the second insertion dies are …

Equivalence Checking For High-Assurance Behavioral Synthesis, Kecheng Hao

Dissertations and Theses

The rapidly increasing complexities of hardware designs are forcing design methodologies and tools to move to the Electronic System Level (ESL), a higher abstraction level with better productivity than the state-of-the-art Register Transfer Level (RTL). Behavioral synthesis, which automatically synthesizes ESL behavioral specifications to RTL implementations, plays a central role in this transition. However, since behavioral synthesis is a complex and error-prone translation process, the lack of designers' confidence in its correctness becomes a major barrier to its wide adoption. Therefore, techniques for establishing equivalence between an ESL specification and its synthesized RTL implementation are critical to bring behavioral synthesis …

Phase Change Material In Automated Window Shades, Quinlan Adler, Jake Gallau, Alexander Zatopa, Ali Nash

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

The purpose of this report is to detail the development process for a phase change material window shading system, which stores solar thermal energy and later releases it indoors to provide nighttime space heating. To do this, wax-filled louvers with thermally absorptive front faces were developed and outfitted with a control system, which utilized historical weather data to orient the louvers to specific solar azimuthal angles, thus maximizing the thermal absorption. The system was tested against other common window treatments in a pair of thermally comparable testing structures, and was found to provide energy savings as high as 50%.

A Cfd Study Of Gas-Solid Separation In A Downer Pyrolysis Reactor: An Eulerian-Eulerian Approach, Xi Yu, Yassir Makkawi

BioEnergy IV: Innovations in Biomass Conversion for Heat, Power, Fuels and Chemicals

No abstract provided.

Secondary Vapor Phase Reactions Of Lignin Derived Oligomers Obtained By Fast Pyrolysis Of Pine Wood, Shai Zhou, Brannan Pecha, Armando Mcdonald, Sascha Kersten, Roel Westerhof, Manuel Garcia-Perez

BioEnergy IV: Innovations in Biomass Conversion for Heat, Power, Fuels and Chemicals

No abstract provided.

Mixing And Operability Characteristics Of Mechanically Fluidized Reactors For The Pyrolysis Of Biomass, Valentina Lago, Roel Westerhof, Cedric Briens, Franco Berruti

BioEnergy IV: Innovations in Biomass Conversion for Heat, Power, Fuels and Chemicals

No abstract provided.

Distributed Microwave Pyrolysis Of Domestic Organic Waste, Jamal Chaouki

BioEnergy IV: Innovations in Biomass Conversion for Heat, Power, Fuels and Chemicals

No abstract provided.

Low Temperature Co-Pyrolysis Of Polypropylene And Coffee Wastes To Fuels, Paolo Canu, Elena Zanella, Micol Della Zassa, Luciano Navarini

BioEnergy IV: Innovations in Biomass Conversion for Heat, Power, Fuels and Chemicals

No abstract provided.

On Electric Conduction Of Amorphous Silicon Carbonitride Derived From A Polymeric Precursor, Yaohan Chen, Fuqian Yang, Linan An

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

A long-existing problem that the conductivity of amorphous silicon carbonitrides derived from polymeric precursor increases significantly with pyrolysis temperature is investigated. We show that the conductivity exhibited an Arrhenius dependence on pyrolysis temperature, with the activation energy of ∼3.41 eV. Structural analysis using Raman spectroscopy reveals that the free carbon within the material undergoes a sp³-to-sp² transition as pyrolysis temperature increases, with the activation energy of ∼3.6 eV. We conclude that the pyrolysis-temperature induced increase in the conductivity is mainly due to the increase in the conductivity of the free carbon. A simple model is proposed to …

Glass-Ceremics For The Innovative Secondary Batteries, Tsuyoshi Honma

Functional Glasses: Properties And Applications for Energy and Information

No abstract provided.

Rating Low Levels Of Ambient Noise In Performing Arts Facilities, Lily M. Wang, Brent A. Kraay

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Previous studies have indicated that common indoor noise rating metrics, such as Noise Criteria NC and Room Criteria RC, do not best correlate to human perceptions of annoyance and distraction in typical office environments. Based on investigations conducted at the University of Nebraska using noise levels between 30 – 60 dBA, the author has proposed that an effective indoor noise rating method should begin with a rating of level (either dBA or sones), then an assessment of spectral quality, tones, and fluctuations. How well would such a system work at very low levels of ambient noise, though, as found in …

Quantifying The Just Noticeable Difference Of Reverberation Time With Band-Limited Noise Centered Around 1000 Hz Using A Transformed Up-Down Adaptive Method, Matthew G. Blevins, Adam T. Buck, Zhao Peng, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

This study seeks to quantify the just noticeable difference (JND) of reverberation time (RT) using band-limited noise. ISO 3382-1 lists the JND of reverberation metrics at 5% based on work by Seraphim (1958). However, others have found the JND of RT to be higher from 6% to 39%. Many of these studies utilized band-limited stimuli, e.g. speech, music motifs and bandlimited noise. A previous study by the authors conducted on 30 subjects using white noise demonstrated a JND of RT at 22%. To further verify these results and investigate potential upward frequency masking, the present study was conducted following the …

Structural Design Of The 2013 Santa Clara University Solar Decathlon 'Radiant House', Katherine Mckenzie, Mey-Ling Leon

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The Structural Team for the Santa Clara University Solar Decathlon 2013 Radiant House achieved the task of designing a structurally operative, yet efficient, innovative, and sustainable house that satisfies the needs of everyone from Team Radiant House. The loadings to be considered in the structural design were: dead load, live load, wind load, seismic load, and roof load. The house design implements a classic system of joists, beams, studs, and shear walls to transfer loads to the piers, and finally to the foundations, in combination with a steel framing system to direct loads, increase stiffness and simplify connections for ease …

Anatomical Loading On A Uwb Antenna For Shoe Toe Box, Domenico Gaetano, Patrick Mcevoy, Max Ammann, C Brannigan, Louise Keating, Frances Horgan

Conference Papers

A UWB 6.0-8.5 GHz monopole antenna for mounting on the toe­box area of footwear is designed using a detailed model of a running shoe and a foot-shaped phantom. Variation of anatomical features between individual people gives rise to different proximity and permittivity loads on the antenna. To take account of environment, the antenna design optimization considers different proximity distances for impact on the reflection coefficient and on the radiation efficiency.

A Meaningful Housing Policy Would Deal With Defautling Landlords And At-Risk Tenants, Lorcan Sirr, Tom Dunne

Media

No abstract provided.

Errors In Climate Model Daily Precipitation And Temperature Output: Time Invariance And Implications For Bias Correction, Edwin P. Maurer, Tapash Das, Daniel R. Cayan

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

When correcting for biases in general circulation model (GCM) output, for example when statistically downscaling for regional and local impacts studies, a common assumption is that the GCM biases can be characterized by comparing model simulations and observations for a historical period. We demonstrate some complications in this assumption, with GCM biases varying between mean and extreme values and for different sets of historical years. Daily precipitation and maximum and minimum temperature from late 20th century simulations by four GCMs over the United States were compared to gridded observations. Using random years from the historical record we select a "base" …

The Blue Plug : A Power Consumption Regulation System, Loquen Jones, Sahil Verma

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Our goal is to develop a system that reduces peak grid loads by 60%, which saves consumers and businesses money as well as protecting the environment by eliminating the use of fast start up generators. We accomplish this by implementing Arduinos --which are versatile microcontrollers-- equipped with networking technology that allows communication between houses in a neighborhood. Through this communication, we can schedule when appliances are used to avoid everyone using their appliances at the same time and we can eliminate the need for such exorbitant energy usage during peak hours. Our work implements ongoing research that is looking into …

Ceas E-News 06.07.2013, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

Student and Faculty Awards, MDOT Grant

Low Rank Approximation Method For Efficient Green's Function Calculation Of Dissipative Quantum Transport, Lang Zeng, Yu He, Michael Povolotskyi, Xiao Yan Liu, Gerhard Klimeck, Tillmann Kubis

Birck and NCN Publications

In this work, the low rank approximation concept is extended to the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) method to achieve a very efficient approximated algorithm for coherent and incoherent electron transport. This new method is applied to inelastic transport in various semiconductor nanodevices. Detailed benchmarks with exact NEGF solutions show (1) a very good agreement between approximated and exact NEGF results, (2) a significant reduction of the required memory, and (3) a large reduction of the computational time (a factor of speed up as high as 150 times is observed). A non-recursive solution of the inelastic NEGF transport equations of a …

Strategic Evaluation Of University Knowledge And Technology Transfer Effectiveness, Thien Anh Tran

Dissertations and Theses

Academic knowledge and technology transfer has been growing in importance both in academic research and practice. A critical question in managing this activity is how to evaluate its effectiveness. The literature shows an increasing number of studies done to address this question; however, it also reveals important gaps that need more research. One novel approach is to evaluate the effectiveness of this activity from an organizational point of view, which is to measure how much knowledge and technology transfer from a university fulfills the mission of the institution. This research develops a Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) to measure the contribution …

Icarus : Aerial Recording System, Jim Cochran, Nick Xydes, Jimmy Erskine, Audrey Kocmond

Mechanical Engineering Senior Theses

The goal of Project ICARUS is to create an aerial videography system that is easy to set up, inexpensive, portable, and highly adaptable to any situation. This is accomplished by using a balloon mounted camera rig that is grounded by a number of winches. This system is able to obtain a higher altitude than similar systems and is much more cost effective because the system can be applied to a number of circumstances such as sporting events, disaster relief, wildlife videography, and aerial monitoring, to name a few. The ICARUS system allows the user to control the position of an …

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Survey Stats), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Sheet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Booklet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Website), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Eventify : An Android-Based Planning Application, Bryson Lam, Jeff Matsunaga, Matt Tu

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

One of the common problems with social networking is the ability to plan out an event. Many applications available today simply provide for a broad or narrow audience of invitees. These tools also have the additional problem of being flooded with spam, and content with little interest to its users. To remedy this issue, we devised a new tool, Eventify. Eventify is an Android based application that potentially will make creating events and bringing groups of people together more feasible. We built this application with two main design constraints in mind: The application runs solely via text messaging, without a …

Muve : A Web Tool To Digitize Books, Elysia Chu, Victoria Hall, Maya Hough, Urvashi Urvashi

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

Many Santa Clara University students have the luxury of having access to devices such as iPads and eBook readers which support many applications that make our lives easier. The numerous ways to read digital books today has significantly lowered the cost of gaining access to educational material. However, in rural developing communities in countries like India, this is not the case. Currently in India, people in some developing communities have basic mobile phones called feature phones which can perform basic functionalities such as texting, calling, and browsing the web. Feature phones are affordable and very popular in developing communities. There …

Materials Collection Creation And Administration: A New Role For Libraries (White Paper), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

The Problem/Opportunity: To define, identify, and guide design-based materials collections in academic settings and foster community among those with existing collections and/or those considering creating and supporting one.

Contents and topics:

1. What is a materials collection?
2. Why have a materials collection?
3. Acquisition strategies
4. Organizational approaches
5. Programming possibilities
6. Symposium summary
7. Resources

Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide)-Based Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering Applications, Pamela Kubinski

Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of this work is to investigate the potential of poly(Nisopropylacrylamide)- based scaffolds in tissue engineering applications, specifically spinal injury and nucleus pulposus replacement. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), denoted PNIPAAm, is a synthetic polymer with hydrophilic properties at room temperature, but above 32C the chains become hydrophobic and entangle to form physical crosslinks. This thermoresponsive property enables PNIPAAm to be implanted as a free-flowing solution at room temperature and collapse into a gel in physiological conditions. However, as a homopolymer, the hydrophobicity of PNIPAAm in vivo causes the hydrogel to expel water and exhibit inelastic properties that do not mimic those …