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2014

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Articles 1051 - 1080 of 7238

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Analysis And Practical Considerations In Implementing Multiple Transmitters And Receivers For Wireless Power Transfer Via Coupled Magnetic Resonance, Rizal Johari Oct 2014

Analysis And Practical Considerations In Implementing Multiple Transmitters And Receivers For Wireless Power Transfer Via Coupled Magnetic Resonance, Rizal Johari

Open Access Dissertations

The technology to wirelessly power mobile devices has started to gain momentum especially in industry. Cables have started to become the thing of the past as both wireless power efficiency and communication speeds become viably attractive. The first part of this work gives analysis and practical considerations in implementing multiple transmitters for wireless power transfer via coupled magnetic resonance. Through the multiple transmitter scheme, there is an increase in gain and `diversity' of the transmitted power according to the number of transmit coils. The effect of transmitter resonant coil coupling is also shown. Resonant frequency detuning due to nearby metallic …

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Understanding The Rhetorical Engineer, Zachery W Koppelmann Oct 2014

Understanding The Rhetorical Engineer, Zachery W Koppelmann

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the development of the Purdue School of Mechanical Engineering Writing Enhancement Program and its definition of good engineering writing. Based on the work with the Mechanical Engineering Faculty and the Writing Enhancement Program, it was determined that good engineering writing is aware of its need to address specific rhetorical contexts and expectations. The Writing Enhancement Program was created to provide additional writing instruction to undergraduate mechanical engineering students Purdue University. Its development did not follow standard writing across the curriculum methods; it was developed following a modified writing center methodology. The modifications …

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Automatic Translation Of Non-Repetitive Openmp To Mpi, Fahed Jubair Oct 2014

Automatic Translation Of Non-Repetitive Openmp To Mpi, Fahed Jubair

Open Access Dissertations

Cluster platforms with distributed-memory architectures are becoming increasingly available low-cost solutions for high performance computing. Delivering a productive programming environment that hides the complexity of clusters and allows writing efficient programs is urgently needed. Despite multiple efforts to provide shared memory abstraction, message-passing (MPI) is still the state-of-the-art programming model for distributed-memory architectures. ^ Writing efficient MPI programs is challenging. In contrast, OpenMP is a shared-memory programming model that is known for its programming productivity. Researchers introduced automatic source-to-source translation schemes from OpenMP to MPI so that programmers can use OpenMP while targeting clusters. Those schemes limited their focus on …

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Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery In Automobile Exhaust Systems: Topological Studies And Performance Analysis, Sumeet Kumar Oct 2014

Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery In Automobile Exhaust Systems: Topological Studies And Performance Analysis, Sumeet Kumar

Open Access Dissertations

The demand for improved fuel efficiency in automobiles has placed an emphasis on exhaust system waste heat recovery as a 40% of the fuel's chemical energy is lost to the environment in modern spark ignition engines. To advance fuel economy, researchers are currently evaluating technologies to exploit exhaust stream thermal power using thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that operate using the Seebeck effect. Thermoelectric generators have the potential to recover some of this waste energy in the exhaust stream potentially improving fuel economy by as much as 5%. ^ Attempts are made to maximize the electrical power generation by optimizing the thermoelectric …

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Experimental Database, Analysis And Design Of Noncompact And Slender Concrete-Filled Steel Tube (Cft) Members, Zhichao Lai Oct 2014

Experimental Database, Analysis And Design Of Noncompact And Slender Concrete-Filled Steel Tube (Cft) Members, Zhichao Lai

Open Access Dissertations

Concrete-filled steel tube beam-columns are categorized as compact, noncompact or slender depending on the governing tube slenderness ratio. AISC 360-10 specifies the provisions for designing noncompact and slender rectangular and circular CFT members under axial compression, flexure, and combined axial and flexural loading. This research presents the development and evaluation of these design provisions. Available experimental databases of CFT members are reviewed, and a new experimental database of tests conducted on noncompact and slender CFT members is compiled. Detailed 3D finite element method (FEM) models are developed for noncompact and slender CFT members, and benchmarked using experimental results. The AISC …

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Functional Programming Abstractions For Weakly Consistent Systems, Sivaramakrishnan Krishnamoorthy Chandrasekaran Oct 2014

Functional Programming Abstractions For Weakly Consistent Systems, Sivaramakrishnan Krishnamoorthy Chandrasekaran

Open Access Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a wide-spread adoption of both multicore and cloud computing. Traditionally, concurrent programmers have relied on the underlying system providing strong memory consistency, where there is a semblance of concurrent tasks operating over a shared global address space. However, providing scalable strong consistency guarantees as the scale of the system grows is an increasingly difficult endeavor. In a multicore setting, the increasing complexity and the lack of scalability of hardware mechanisms such as cache coherence deters scalable strong consistency. In geo-distributed compute clouds, the availability concerns in the presence of partial failures prohibit strong consistency. …

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Investigation Of Optical Near Field Using Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, Yan Li Oct 2014

Investigation Of Optical Near Field Using Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy, Yan Li

Open Access Dissertations

Conventional optical imaging techniques have a fundamental resolution limit due to the diffraction limit of light. The advances of science and technology on the nanoscale demand a new tool for characterization. The Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM) has been developed to tackle certain aspects of this problem. The work presented here applies different types of NSOM to explore the near field distribution of metal plasmonic nanostructures.^ Ridge apertures with shapes like bowtie and C can be used to focus light into sub-diffraction limit spot with enhancement. This localization of the field near the exit of a bowtie aperture is …

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Material And Device Aspects Of Semiconducting Two-Dimensional Crystals, Han Liu Oct 2014

Material And Device Aspects Of Semiconducting Two-Dimensional Crystals, Han Liu

Open Access Dissertations

Two-dimensional (2D) crystals have attracted much attention in recent years due to their unique physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Semiconducting 2D crystals with van der Waals structures, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, are considered promising candidates for future device applications, as many have large band gaps, high carrier mobilities, and enable devices with immunity to short channel effects in addition to compatibility with silicon CMOS processes.^ In this thesis, the fundamental device implications of using semiconducting 2D crystals are investigated. This includes: 1) the optimization of device fabrication processing for better device performance, 2) comparing the device physics in 2D …

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Embodied Interaction With Visualization And Spatial Navigation In Time-Sensitive Scenarios, Yu-Ting Li Oct 2014

Embodied Interaction With Visualization And Spatial Navigation In Time-Sensitive Scenarios, Yu-Ting Li

Open Access Dissertations

Paraphrasing the theory of embodied cognition, all aspects of our cognition are determined primarily by the contextual information and the means of physical interaction with data and information. In hybrid human-machine systems involving complex decision making, continuously maintaining a high level of attention while employing a deep understanding concerning the task performed as well as its context are essential. Utilizing embodied interaction to interact with machines has the potential to promote thinking and learning according to the theory of embodied cognition proposed by Lakoff. Additionally, the hybrid human-machine system utilizing natural and intuitive communication channels (e.g., gestures, speech, and body …

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Theory For Diffusional Encounters In Heterogeneous Environments And Multivalent Electrolyte Screening Of Charged Interface, Ran Li Oct 2014

Theory For Diffusional Encounters In Heterogeneous Environments And Multivalent Electrolyte Screening Of Charged Interface, Ran Li

Open Access Dissertations

We develop a theory for encounter rates in a three-dimensional system of connected compartments. The model of connected compartments exhibits the length-scale dependent diffusion that is observed in many heterogeneous environments, such as porous catalysts and biological environments. We discovered a dimensionless number that is the dominant scaling variable and obtained, for the first time, an analytical expression for the encounter rate. The new theory generalizes the classic Smoluchowski diffusion limit to the case of heterogeneous environments. The new theory is tested using Brownian dynamics simulations.^ We also experimentally investigated the behavior of multivalent electrolyte near a charged solid-liquid interface. …

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Ultrasound Assisted Low-Temperature Synthesis Of Tib2 And Al3ti Particulates In Molten Aluminum, Zhiwei Liu Oct 2014

Ultrasound Assisted Low-Temperature Synthesis Of Tib2 And Al3ti Particulates In Molten Aluminum, Zhiwei Liu

Open Access Dissertations

In situ formed TiB2 and Al3Ti are two typical representatives of ceramic and intermetallic reinforcements in the in situ particulate reinforced Al composites. TiB2 particulates can be synthesized in molten Al via the mixed-salts reaction by adding mixed K2TiF6 and KBF4 salts into the Al melt at high temperatures. Al3 Ti particulates can be produced by the direct-melt reaction between solid Ti powders and liquid Al at high temperatures. Generally, a high reaction temperature is always needed to obtain both reinforcements. Some issues, however, such as high cost and burning loss …

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Nearly Orthogonal, Doppler Tolerant Waveforms And Signal Processing For Multi-Mode Radar Applications, Uttam Kumar Majumder Oct 2014

Nearly Orthogonal, Doppler Tolerant Waveforms And Signal Processing For Multi-Mode Radar Applications, Uttam Kumar Majumder

Open Access Dissertations

In this research, we investigate the design and analysis of nearly orthogonal, Doppler tolerant waveforms for diversity waveform radar applications. We then present a signal processing framework for joint synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indication (GMTI) processing that is built upon our proposed waveforms. ^ To design nearly orthogonal and Doppler tolerant waveforms, we applied direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) coding techniques to linear frequency modulated (LFM) signals. The resulting transmitted waveforms are rendered orthogonal using a unique spread spectrum code. At the receiver, the echo signal can be decoded using its spreading code. In this manner, …

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Trajectory Design In The Spatial Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem Exploiting Higher-Dimensional Poincare Maps, Amanda F. Haapala Oct 2014

Trajectory Design In The Spatial Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem Exploiting Higher-Dimensional Poincare Maps, Amanda F. Haapala

Open Access Dissertations

In this investigation, the role of higher-dimensional Poincaré maps in facilitating trajectory design is explored for a variety of applications. To begin, existing strategies to implement Poincaré maps for trajectory design applications in the spatial CR3BP are evaluated. New applications for these strategies are explored, including an analysis of the natural motion of Jupiter-family comets that experience temporary capture about Jupiter, and the search for periodic orbits in the vicinity of the primary bodies in the spatial problem. Because current strategies to represent higher-dimensional maps, generally, lead to a loss of information, new approaches to represent all information contained in …

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The Impact Of National Science Foundation Investments In Undergraduate Engineering Education Research: A Comparative, Mixed Methods Study, Jeremi Shavonda London Oct 2014

The Impact Of National Science Foundation Investments In Undergraduate Engineering Education Research: A Comparative, Mixed Methods Study, Jeremi Shavonda London

Open Access Dissertations

The U.S. invests billions of taxpayers' dollars in research tied to the national priorities that contribute to its competitiveness in a global economy. As the federal funding agency with an explicit focus on engineering education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) contains a portfolio of projects focused on improving the quantity of engineering graduates and the quality of engineering programs. Within the agency, the Division of Undergraduate Education invests approximately $190 million (FY 2012) annually on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education projects. Although the DUE portfolio includes a suite a projects with different foci supporting national initiatives and Principal …

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The Role Of Microstructure On The Combustion And Impact Behavior Of Mechanically Activated Nickel/Aluminum Reactive Composites, Benjamin Aaron Mason Oct 2014

The Role Of Microstructure On The Combustion And Impact Behavior Of Mechanically Activated Nickel/Aluminum Reactive Composites, Benjamin Aaron Mason

Open Access Dissertations

Metal-based reactive composites are a class of materials that consist of at least one metals, such as Ni/Al, that have high-energy densities and can produce significant energy output during exothermic reaction after thermal or mechanical initiation. However, conventionally these materials typically have slow reaction rates and are difficult to ignite at typical micron particle size ranges limiting their application. Therefore, mechanical activation techniques have been used to create materials with high surface areas and smaller characteristic dimensions in order to increase combustion velocity and ignition sensitivity. Their combustion and mechanical impact behavior is being studied to develop the understanding needed …

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Structural Characterization Of Multimetallic Nanoparticles, Vineetha Mukundan Oct 2014

Structural Characterization Of Multimetallic Nanoparticles, Vineetha Mukundan

Open Access Dissertations

Bimetallic and trimetallic alloy nanoparticles have enhanced catalytic activities due to their unique structural properties. Using in situ time-resolved synchrotron based x-ray diffraction, we investigated the structural properties of nanoscale catalysts undergoing various heat treatments. Thermal treatment brings about changes in particle size, morphology, dispersion of metals on support, alloying, surface electronic properties, etc. First, the mechanisms of coalescence and grain growth in PtNiCo nanoparticles supported on planar silica on silicon were examined in detail in the temperature range 400-900°C. The sintering process in PtNiCo nanoparticles was found to be accompanied by lattice contraction and L10chemical ordering. …

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Acrolein As A Novel Therapeutic Target For Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain, Jonghyuck Park Oct 2014

Acrolein As A Novel Therapeutic Target For Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain, Jonghyuck Park

Open Access Dissertations

Despite years of research, post-spinal cord injury (SCI) chronic neuropathic pain remains refractory to treatment and drastically impairs quality of life for SCI victims beyond paralysis. Although inflammation and free radicals contribute to neuropathic pain in SCI, the mechanism is not completely clear. We have recently demonstrated that acrolein, a product and catalyst of lipid peroxidation, induces a vicious cycle of oxidative stress, amplifying its effects and perpetuating oxidative stress and inflammation. In the current study, we have confirmed that acrolein is elevated significantly at least two weeks post-SCI which coincides with the emergence of hyperalgesia (mechanical, cold and thermal). …

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Advanced Iii-V / Si Nano-Scale Transistors And Contacts: Modeling And Analysis, Seung Hyun Park Oct 2014

Advanced Iii-V / Si Nano-Scale Transistors And Contacts: Modeling And Analysis, Seung Hyun Park

Open Access Dissertations

The exponential miniaturization of Si CMOS technology has been a key to the electronics revolution. However, the continuous downscaling of the gate length becomes the biggest challenge to maintain higher speed, lower power, and better electrostatic integrity for each following generation. Hence, novel devices and better channel materials than Si are considered to improve the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) device performance. III-V compound semiconductors and multi-gate structures are being considered as promising candidates in the next CMOS technology. III-V and Si nano-scale transistors in different architectures are investigated (1) to compare the performance between InGaAs of III-V compound semiconductors and …

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Structure-Functionality Relationship Of Collagen Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering, Seungman Park Oct 2014

Structure-Functionality Relationship Of Collagen Scaffolds For Tissue Engineering, Seungman Park

Open Access Dissertations

Tissue engineering is a promising technology that enables scientists to create artificial organs or replace damaged tissues using animal cells and other components. For successful tissue regeneration, many factors should be taken into account, however, three components are most crucial: cell, scaffold, and soluble factor(s). In order to check the functionality after regeneration of desired tissues, various approaches have been attempted, depending on the physical, biological, and chemical properties of the tissues. Recently, the importance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) microstructure is being considered to be important in this regard. The ECM is closely associated with various functional properties of …

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Effects Of Flow Orientation On Condensation In Tubes, Il Chung Park Oct 2014

Effects Of Flow Orientation On Condensation In Tubes, Il Chung Park

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the interfacial and heat transfer characteristics of annular condensation of FC-72 in vertical downflow, vertical upflow and horizontal flow as well as the effects of channel orientation on flow condensation. Two separate condensation test modules are employed, one for high-speed video imaging of the film interface and the second for heat transfer measurements. Condensation in both test modules is achieved by rejecting the heat to a counterflow of cooling water. The heat transfer measurements are obtained along the inner wall of an 11.89-mm i.d. and 1,259.84-mm long stainless steel tube. ^ For vertical downflow, the film at …

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Development Of A Static Bioactive Stent Prototype And Dynamic Aneurysm-On-A-Chip(Tm) Model For The Treatment Of Aneurysms, Lisa M. Reece Oct 2014

Development Of A Static Bioactive Stent Prototype And Dynamic Aneurysm-On-A-Chip(Tm) Model For The Treatment Of Aneurysms, Lisa M. Reece

Open Access Dissertations

Aneurysms are pockets of blood that collect outside blood vessel walls forming dilatations and leaving arterial walls very prone to rupture. Current treatments include: (1) clipping, and (2) coil embolization, including stent-assisted coiling. While these procedures can be effective, it would be advantageous to design a biologically active stent, modified with magnetic stent coatings, allowing cells to be manipulated to heal the arterial lining. Further, velocity, pressure, and wall shear stresses aid in the disease development of aneurysmal growth, but the shear force mechanisms effecting wound closure is elusive. Due to these factors, there is a definite need to cultivate …

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Non-Intrusive Two-Phase Flow Regime Identification And Transport Characterization In Microchannels Subject To Uniform And Non-Uniform Heat Input, Susan N. Ritchey Oct 2014

Non-Intrusive Two-Phase Flow Regime Identification And Transport Characterization In Microchannels Subject To Uniform And Non-Uniform Heat Input, Susan N. Ritchey

Open Access Dissertations

Direct integration of compact microchannel heat sinks is an attractive thermal management solution for the dissipation of high heat fluxes, specifically under boiling conditions that provide high rates of heat transfer at a uniform heat sink temperature. Under two-phase flow conditions, the heat transfer and pressure drop are a function of the local flow regime. Development of sensors that detect local void fraction and flow regimes may enable better understanding of the fundamental flow phenomena. ^ The void fraction in air-water two-phase adiabatic flow in a microchannel is measured in this work using a custom-designed impedance-based sensor with electrodes on …

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Power-Efficient High-Speed Interface Circuit Techniques, Elkim Felipe Roa Fuentes Oct 2014

Power-Efficient High-Speed Interface Circuit Techniques, Elkim Felipe Roa Fuentes

Open Access Dissertations

Inter- and intra-chip connections have become the new challenge to enable the scaling of computing systems, ranging from mobile devices to high-end servers. Demand for aggregate I/O bandwidth has been driven by applications including high-speed ethernet, backplane micro-servers, memory, graphics, chip-to-chip and network onchip. I/O circuitry is becoming the major power consumer in SoC processors and memories as the increasing bandwidth demands larger per-pin data rate or larger I/O pin count per component. The aggregate I/O bandwidth has approximately doubled every three to four years across a diverse range of standards in different applications. However, in order to keep pace …

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A New Passive Surface Water Flux Meter For Simultaneous Measurement Of Contaminant And Water Fluxes In Streams And Rivers, Stephen A. Sassman Oct 2014

A New Passive Surface Water Flux Meter For Simultaneous Measurement Of Contaminant And Water Fluxes In Streams And Rivers, Stephen A. Sassman

Open Access Dissertations

A passive surface water flux meter (PSFM) for measurement of contaminant concentration/flux in rivers and streams is described and tested. The novel PSFM design was developed for portability and ease of adaptability for a variety of contaminant classes. Although previous designs have been evaluated under constant flow conditions, the PSFM has never been used for measurement of pesticides or hormones and this is the first time that it has been tested under transient flow. Discharge through the PSFM is assessed by measuring miscible displacement of alcohol tracers from granular activated carbon (GAC). The tracer retardation factors (R) measured by miscible …

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Silica Nanoparticles As Vehicles For Therapy Delivery In Neurological Injury, Desiree Schenk Oct 2014

Silica Nanoparticles As Vehicles For Therapy Delivery In Neurological Injury, Desiree Schenk

Open Access Dissertations

Acrolein, a very reactive aldehyde, is a culprit in the biochemical cascade after primary, mechanical spinal cord injury (SCI), which leads to the destruction of tissue initially unharmed, referred to as "secondary injury". Additionally, in models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and some clinical research, acrolein levels are significantly increased. This aldehyde overwhelms the natural anti-oxidant system, reacts freely with proteins, and releases during lipid peroxidation (LPO), effectively regenerating its self. Due to its ability to make more copies of itself in the presence of tissue via lipid peroxidation, researchers believe that acrolein plays a role in the increased destruction of …

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Predicting Lubrication Performance Between The Slipper And Swashplate In Axial Piston Hydraulic Machines, Andrew T. Schenk Oct 2014

Predicting Lubrication Performance Between The Slipper And Swashplate In Axial Piston Hydraulic Machines, Andrew T. Schenk

Open Access Dissertations

Engineering of the sliding interfaces within swashplate type axial piston machines represents the most complex and difficult part of the design process. The sliding interfaces are subject to significant normal loads which must be supported while simultaneously preventing component wear to ensure long lasting operation. Proper lubrication design is essential to separate the solid bodies from each other, but the complexity of the physics involved makes this a difficult problem. This work focuses on lubrication and the resulting energy losses at the sliding interface between the slipper and swashplate. ^ To better understand the slipper lubrication performance, a numerical model …

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Theory Of Topological Insulators And Its Applications, Parijat Sengupta Oct 2014

Theory Of Topological Insulators And Its Applications, Parijat Sengupta

Open Access Dissertations

An important pursuit in semiconductor physics is to discover new materials to sustain the continuous progress and improvements in the current electronic devices. Traditionally, three material types are in use: 1) Metals 2) Semiconductors 3) Insulators. All the three material types are classified according to the energy gap between conduction and valence bands derived from band theory of solids. Recent theoretical predictions and confirmed by experimental observations have provided evidence that there exists materials which behave as insulators in the bulk but possess gapless conducting states on the surface. These new class of materials are called topological insulators (TI). In …

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Acquisition, Retention And Transfer Of Heavy Equipment Operator Skills Through Simulator Training, Chung Yin So Oct 2014

Acquisition, Retention And Transfer Of Heavy Equipment Operator Skills Through Simulator Training, Chung Yin So

Open Access Dissertations

Initiatives and collaborations among heavy construction equipment manufacturing companies and training technology firms to develop and employ simulators for varied training purposes are becoming commonplace. However, human factors research on simulator training for operators of construction equipment is still sparse. For simulator training to be effective, it is necessary to understand how skills are learned using the simulator, how those skills are transferred to other tasks, devices, and real scenarios, and how well skills are retained after simulator training. ^ This research is on skill development, specifically as it applies to operator training for two specific types of heavy construction …

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Structure And Activity Relationships Of Bimetallic Catalysts For Aqueous Phase Reforming And The Water-Gas Shift Reaction, Fred Gerald Sollberger Oct 2014

Structure And Activity Relationships Of Bimetallic Catalysts For Aqueous Phase Reforming And The Water-Gas Shift Reaction, Fred Gerald Sollberger

Open Access Dissertations

As the existing deposits of petroleum and non-renewable energy resources are exhausted, become more difficult to extract, and remain in politically unstable regions of the world, the search for long term alternatives for fuels and chemicals from renewable sources such as biomass continues. One promising process for the production of renewable hydrogen to use in conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals is aqueous phase reforming (APR) of cellulose-derived carbohydrates. In the first study Pt/MWCNT catalysts have been promoted by addition of transition metal promoters Cu, Ni, Co, Fe, Mn, Mo, W, and Re in Pt:M 1:1 atomic ratios to …

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Understanding Preferred Leg Stiffness And Layered Control Strategies For Locomotion, Zhuohua H. Shen Oct 2014

Understanding Preferred Leg Stiffness And Layered Control Strategies For Locomotion, Zhuohua H. Shen

Open Access Dissertations

Despite advancement in the field of robotics, current legged robots still cannot achieve the kind of locomotion stability animals and humans have. In order to develop legged robots with greater stability, we need to better understand general locomotion dynamics and control principles. Here we demonstrate that a mathematical modeling approach could greatly enable the discovery and understanding of general locomotion principles. ^ It is found that animal leg stiffness when scaled by its weight and leg length falls in a narrow region between 7 and 27. Rarely in biology does such a universal preference exist. It is not known completely …

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