Engineering Commons^™

Computation Of Heat Transfer In Turbine Rotor Blade Cooling Channels With Angled Rib Turbulators, Guy Austin Flynt

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The effects of rotation and Reynolds number on heat transfer in rotating two-pass square and rectangular channels with smooth walls and walls with 45 degree angled and V-shaped rib turbulators were investigated numerically using an unstructured, incompressible, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver. The influence of 45 degree angled ribs and channel orientation on the local Nusselt number ratios for leading and trailing surfaces in a two-pass square channel (AR=1) are compared to experimental data for Reynolds numbers from 5,000 to 25,000 and dimensionless rotation numbers from 0.0 to 0.118. The influence of V-shaped ribs and channel orientation on the local Nusselt …

Fast Bus Protection Using Iec 61850, Cassandra Ha Goff

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61850 is the latest technology that allows electric power utilities to build low cost digital substations. Because limited objective information is available, electric power utilities desire independent evaluations of IEC 61850 from end users. The objective of this study was to compare the IEC 61850 method to the hardwired method to find an optimal solution for the fast bus protection scheme. System disturbance clearing time, engineering and construction costs, and interoperability between multivendor microprocessor-based relays were used as the criteria for the evaluation. This research measured the protection speed of the hardwired method and the IEC …

Machine To Machine Communication For Physical Security, Mark Bryan Goff

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this study was to research the core principles of Machine to Machine (M2M) communications methodology and create a framework that can be used to lower the total cost of ownership for a system. The second objective was to demonstrate an M2M communications application for physical security using an array of interacting machines. This study also demonstrates that M2M communication framework can be used to bring cost savings to the consumer. In the designed application, the individual machines were stitched together to coordinate with the subscribers by using wired and wireless sensors, wireless personal area networking (WPAN), and …

Reliability Assessment Of Smart Distribution System And Analysis Of Automatic Line Switches, Sudip Manandhar

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Electric Power reliability is a major concern of any utility company. Although the distribution system is getting advanced, reliable energy at a cheaper cost is still a big concern. Power utility companies are trying to provide reliable energy through many possible ways. One of the possible solutions is use of automatic switches. Power utility companies are using automatic switch called IntelliRupter® for automatic fault detection, isolation and service restoration. It has been the biggest achievement in improving reliability so far. However, such automation is very costly. It needs proper planning for installation of such devices so that the utility company …

Pavement Management Analysis Of Hamilton County Using Hdm-4 And Hpma, Trisha Sen

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

According to the 2009 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, Tennessee roadways have received a B- due to lack of funding. This thesis focuses on the optimal utilization of available funds for Hamilton County using PMS. HDM-4 and HPMA are used to assess the existing pavement conditions and predict future conditions; estimate fuel consumption; calculate road agency costs and user costs; determine cost-effective maintenance treatment; and suggest optimum utilization of funds. From this study, fuel consumption is higher at peak hours due to reduced traffic speeds. User cost is higher on the state route than the interstate due to stop-and-go motion. Road …

Study On The Trade Off Between Throughput And Power Consumption In The Design Of Bluetooth Low Energy Applications, Hafiz Ahmed

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is an emerging technology that is considered a breakthrough in the field of wireless communications due to its very low power consumption property. One of the issues of the current practical implementations of BLE is throughput. The theoretical throughput of BLE is around 260 Kbps but the current practical implementations have much lower throughput values. In this work, the effect of important parameters related to the BLE connection and the Generic Attribute Profile (GATT) protocol on the throughput and power consumption of the system has been studied based on practical laboratory experiments. The throughput was found …

Real-Time Simulation Of A Doubly-Fed Induction Generator Based Wind Power System On Emegasim® Real-Time Digital Simulator, Nasir Abdulai Boakye-Boateng

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The growing demand for wind power integration into the generation mix prompts the need to subject these systems to stringent performance requirements. This study sought to identify the required tools and procedures needed to perform real-time simulation studies of Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) based wind generation systems as basis for performing more practical tests of reliability and performance for both grid-connected and islanded wind generation systems. The author focused on developing a platform for win d generation studies and in addition, the author tested the performance of two DFIG models on the platform real-time simulation model; an average SimpowerSystems® DFIG …

Impact Of Plug In Electric Vehicle Battery Charging On A Distribution System, Sharmila Kumari Bunga

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) battery chargers are mostly connected to the low-voltage grid for charging, hence their increased penetration coupled with uncoordinated charging could impact the distribution system in terms of voltage unbalance and transformer overloading. Although PEV battery charging is increasing, impact on the distribution system is not fully understood. This study focuses on voltage unbalance caused by uneven distribution of PEV penetration among the phases. Using real data provided by utility, a distribution system has been modeled and tested using MATLAB-SIMULINK. PEV penetration level at 10-80% is studied, voltage unbalance is calculated and transformer overloading is analyzed. In …

An Analysis Of Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (Slam) Algorithms, Megan R. Naminski

Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Honors Projects

This paper provides an introduction to two Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms: EKF SLAM and Fast-SLAM. SLAM allows an autonomous robot to accurately map an unknown environment as well as locate itself within the environment. These algorithms work iteratively, by moving about the environment and extracting and observing various landmarks in the environment. EKF SLAM and Fast-SLAM solve the SLAM problem by using probabilities to control for errors in the robot's sensors. This paper provides a discussion of these two algorithms and compares their run times and the accuracy of the maps they produce.

Floatovoltaics: Quantifying The Benefits Of A Hydro-Solar Power Fusion, Abe Mckay

Pomona Senior Theses

To slow climate change, humans should take immediate and widespread action. One way to slow climate change is by switching to switch to renewable power plants such as solar fields. Recently, pioneering companies have built solar fields on water bodies. This study found that such a pairing of water and solar could increase production efficiency by 8-10% through panel cooling, save millions of liters of water from evaporation, and produce energy with under-utilized space.

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Hydraulic Conditions Required To Not Move Unconsolidated Surface Material Located Within Feedlots, John E. Gilley, Gregory D. Boone, David B. Marx

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Beef cattle feedlots contain unconsolidated surface material that accumulates within feedlot pens during a feeding cycle. Runoff from feedlot surfaces is diverted into settling basins. The storage capacity of the settling basins will be substantially reduced if large quantities of solid material are transported in runoff from the feedlot surfaces. The objective of this study was to identify the hydraulic conditions that will not move unconsolidated surface material located within feedlots in order to minimize sediment transport. Selected sizes and a composite sample of unconsolidated surface material were placed within 0.75 m wide by 4.0 m long metal frames. Flow …

Two-Dimensional Blood Flow Velocity Estimation Using Ultrasound Speckle Pattern Dependence On Scan Direction And A-Line Acquisition Velocity, Tiantian Xu, Gregory R. Bashford

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

We have previously investigated the change of apparent lateral speckle size caused by the direction and spatial rate of scanner A-line acquisition (scan velocity). An algorithm which measures the lateral component of blood flow velocity was developed based on the increase in speckle size resulting from relative motion between moving scatterers and the scan velocity. In this paper, the change of the apparent dominant angle of the speckle pattern in a straight vessel was investigated and a new method of two-dimensional blood flow velocity estimation is introduced. Different scan velocities were used for data acquisition from blood flow traveling at …

Towed Water Turbine Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis, Robert G. Maughan

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Computational fluid dynamics can be used to predict operating conditions of towed water turbines which are used in long distance sailing applications to meet electrical demands. The design consists of a turbine fastened to a shaft which is attached to a generator by a rope. The turbine is pulled in water behind a sailboat and torque is transmitted through the rope to turn the onboard generator and produce power. Torque curves from an alternator, generator, and from computational fluid dynamics were used to determine the operating spin rate and output power of the system. On-water tests were conducted to determine …

Miniature Wire Boom System For Cubsat Application, Keith R. Bradford

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Small satellites and especially CubeSats are becoming more widely used to study the space environment. The Ionosphere is one region of particular interest, more specifically the altitude region of 85 km to 600 km. Small satellites are particularly useful for studying this region of the Earth’s atmosphere since the effects of aerodynamic drag on a CubeSat are much less than those on a larger more traditional satellite, thus the lifespan of a CubeSat in this region is much longer. In order to observe the electric field in space, the electric potential between various points needs to be measured. These measurements …

Systems Engineering Of The Double-Probe Instrumentation For Measuring Electric-Fields Cubesatellite, Steven M. Grover

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This report presents the general mission overview of the Double-probe Instrumentation for Measuring Electric-fields (E-fields) (DIME) program. The Lessons learned from a previous program are summarized, and the subsequent changes to the main science instrument and overall satellite bus design are presented. The trade-studies, design, and systems engineering of the Double-probe Electric Field (E-field) science instrument is described. This report also outlines the overall mechanical design of a 1.5U CubeSatellite and its deployable mechanisms for use on the DIME program.

Optimization Of Polyhydroxybutyrate Production In Recombinant Escherichia Coli Through Metabolic Modeling And Simulation, Yoshitaro Heshiki

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The objective of this study is to optimize the growth media and genes to maximize PHB production computer simulations, and to evaluate the simulation results through experiments. In order to achieve this objective, the metabolism of E. coli that produces PHB was modeled using the existing E. coli genome-scale metabolic networks. To identify the best additional nutrient for PHB production, carbon sources, minerals, amiano acids, nitrogen sources, and sulfur sources were examined by production potential analysis. Strain design was conducted to find the unwanted reactions to overexpress PHB synthesis pathway.

Power Efficient Restart-Capable Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene-Based Arc Ignition For Hybrid Rocket Motors, Nathan R. Inkley

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Hybrid rocket ignition has historically involved either dangerous energetic materials or inefficient and failure-prone plasma sources. The vast majority of such systems cannot sup- port multiple restart cycles, thus limiting the applicability of hybrid rockets–especially for in-space propulsion. During research investigating its use as a fuel for hybrid rockets, it was discovered that Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic possesses unique electrical breakdown characteristics. During a properly designed breakdown event, application of a strong electric field induces a high-temperature arc along the surface of the ABS, concurrent with rapid production of hydrocarbon vapor. This behavior forms the basis of a novel …

Study And Development Of Blind Equalization For Demodulation Of Dynamic Ionosphere Cubesat Experiment Satellite Data, Ravi Kant

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The project presented in this report is for combating the narrowband interference present in the downlink data of Dynamic Ionosphere Cubesat Experiment (DICE) satellites. The interference prevents the Phase Locked Loop (PLL) and timing synchronization loops from performing efficiently and the data is not demodulated properly. The samples are corrupted and correct decisions about the signal constellation cannot be made. Here, blind equalization techniques are used to tackle this problem. In this thesis, Constant Modulus Algorithm (CMA) and Multi-Modulus Algorithm (MMA) algorithms are extended to offset- Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation and then implemented. When applied to simulated and real …

Cationic Starch Synthesis, Development, And Evaluation For Harvesting Microalgae For Wastewater Treatment, Renil John Anthony

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Microalgae are the preferred crop for the production of biodiesel. Microalgae are microplants that have the ability to harness sunlight more efficiently than other plants and store 20-80% lipids per g of dry algae in their cells. Microalgae have the extraordinary ability to grow in brackish water or wastewater. Microalgae can be grown in municipal wastewater to uptake phosphorus and nitrogen and remediate the wastewater of these nutrients. Microalgae thus cultivated accomplishes a dual role of wastewater treatment and provides a sustainable feedstock for biofuels and other bioproducts.

This study focused on efficiently harvesting microalgae from water using modified starch. …

Laboratory Modeling Of Erosion Potential Of Seepage Barrier Material, Nathan E. Braithwaite

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Earthen dams and levees often use seepage barriers to reduce the flow of water through their foundations and embankments. A seepage barrier is a wall of less porous material built inside an embankment or its foundation. High water pressures and stresses during the curing of seepage barriers have been observed to cause the seepage barriers to crack. These cracks decrease the barrier’s effectiveness in reducing seepage flow and may lead to serious seepage problems. The purpose of this study is to determine, given highly porous soils and high water pressures, whether or not cracks in seepage barriers will erode and …

Catalytic Decomposition Of Nitrous Oxide Monopropellant For Hybrid Motor Ignition, Matthew D. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), a commonly-used industrial gas, is also often used as a rocket motor oxidizer. It has been used in both hybrid rocket motors (using a solid fuel and a liquid oxidizer) and liquid rocket engines (using liquid fuel and oxidizer).

As a liquid form, nitrous oxide is highly stable, but in vapor form it can be decomposed, releasing large amounts of heat as it dissociates into nitrogen and oxygen. This project investigates using the energy from decomposing nitrous oxide to ignite a hybrid or liquid rocket. Such a system would be practical in rocket …

Enhance Variational Asymptotic Method For Unit Cell Homogenization (Vamuch) For Real Engineering Structures And Materials, Zheng Ye

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The applications of heterogeneous materials and other materials with engineered microstructures growth rapidly in all industries to achieve better performance. These materials and structures are defined such as composites and nanotube. With the increasing of computing power, though the well-established commercial finite element analysis (FEA) has the ability to analyze such material of a small portion. It is not feasible for the structure level, since the computing requirements of a finite element model can easily exceed the bearable time in analysis or the capability of the best mainstream computers. To reduce the computational efforts, an efficient way is to use …

Tower Of Babel: A Crowdsourcing Game Building Sentiment Lexicons For Resource-Scarce Languages, Yoonsung Hong, Haewoon Kwak, Youngmin Baek, Sue. Moon

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the growing amount of textual data produced by online social media today, the demands for sentiment analysis are also rapidly increasing; and, this is true for worldwide. However, non-English languages often lack sentiment lexicons, a core resource in performing sentiment analysis. Our solution, Tower of Babel (ToB), is a language-independent sentiment-lexicon-generating crowdsourcing game. We conducted an experiment with 135 participants to explore the difference between our solution and a conventional manual annotation method. We evaluated ToB in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfactions. Based on the result of the evaluation, we conclude that sentiment classification via ToB is accurate, …

Energy-Neutral Scheduling And Forwarding In Environmentally-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks, Alvin Cerdena Valera, Weng Seng Soh, Hwee-Pink Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In environmentally-powered wireless sensor networks (EPWSNs), low latency wakeup scheduling and packet forwarding is challenging due to dynamic duty cycling, posing time-varying sleep latencies and necessitating the use of dynamic wakeup schedules. We show that the variance of the intervals between receiving wakeup slots affects the expected sleep latency: when the variance of the intervals is low (high), the expected latency is low (high). We therefore propose a novel scheduling scheme that uses the bit-reversal permutation sequence (BRPS) – a finite integer sequence that positions receiving wakeup slots as evenly as possible to reduce the expected sleep latency. At the …

Distributed Gibbs: A Memory-Bounded Sampling-Based Dcop Algorithm, Duc Thien Nguyen, William Yeoh, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Researchers have used distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOPs) to model various multi-agent coordination and resource allocation problems. Very recently, Ottens et al. proposed a promising new approach to solve DCOPs that is based on confidence bounds via their Distributed UCT (DUCT) sampling-based algorithm. Unfortunately, its memory requirement per agent is exponential in the number of agents in the problem, which prohibits it from scaling up to large problems. Thus, in this paper, we introduce a new sampling-based DCOP algorithm called Distributed Gibbs, whose memory requirements per agent is linear in the number of agents in the problem. Additionally, we show …

Demand Forecasting Using A Growth Model And Negative Binomial Regression Framework, Cally Yeru Ong, Murphy Choy, Michelle L. F. Cheong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we look at demand forecasting by using a growth model and negative binomial regression framework. Using cumulative sales, we model the sales data for different wristwatch brands and relate it to their sales and growth characteristics. We apply clustering to determine the distinctive characteristics of each individual cluster. Four different growth models are applied to the clusters to find the most suitable growth model to be used. After determining the appropriate growth model to be applied, we then forecast the sales by applying the model to new products being launched in the market and continue to monitor …

Implementation Of Slowly Changing Dimension To Data Warehouse To Manage Marketing Campaigns In Banks, Lihui Wang, Junyu Choy, Michelle L. F. Cheong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Management of updating and recording campaign leads in data warehouse of any banking environment is complex especially with multiple campaigns are active simultaneously. As a way to avoid overly contacting customers for sales-based marketing contacts, the concept of Recency Frame is introduced to “lock” the customers who are targeted in Sales-based campaign for a specified time period. During this Recency Frame, the customer cannot be targeted by other Sales-based campaign under the same channel. This approach increased the difficulties of managing the customers’ data with proper data updating and storing and procedures have to be placed and made sufficiently robust …

Efficient Extraction Of Json Information In Sas Using The Scanover Function, Murphy Choy, Kyong Jin Shim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

JSON, otherwise known as JavaScript Object Notation, is a popular data interchange format which provides a humanreadable format. It is language independent and can be read easily in a variety of computer languages. With the riseof Twitter and other unstructured data, there has been a move to incorporate such data as a way of disseminatinginformation. Twitter currently provides a simple API for users to extract tweets using JSON format. While SAS doesnot currently have a direct way of reading JSON, the SCANOVER function in SAS data step provides user with asimple and effective approach to getting JSON information into SAS …

Master Physician Scheduling Problem, Aldy Gunawan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We study a real-world problem arising from the operations of a hospital service provider, which we term the master physician scheduling problem. It is a planning problem of assigning physicians’ full range of day-to-day duties (including surgery, clinics, scopes, calls, administration) to the defined time slots/shifts over a time horizon, incorporating a large number of constraints and complex physician preferences. The goals are to satisfy as many physicians’ preferences and duty requirements as possible while ensuring optimum usage of available resources. We propose mathematical programming models that represent different variants of this problem. The models were tested on a real …