Engineering Commons^™

"Green" On-Chip Inductors In Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuits, Umamaheswara Rao Tida, Varun Mittapalli, Cheng Zhuo, Yiyu Shi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Through-silicon-vias (TSVs) are the enabling technique for three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). However, their large area significantly reduces the benefits that can be obtained by 3D ICs. On the other hand, a major limiting factor for the implementation of many on-chip circuits such as DC-DC converters and resonant clocking is the large area overhead induced by spiral inductors. Several works have been proposed in the literature to make inductors out of idle TSVs. In this paper, we will demonstrate the effectiveness of such TSV inductors in addressing both challenges. Experimental results show that by replacing conventional spiral inductors with TSV …

Advances In Sca And Rf-Dna Fingerprinting Through Enhanced Linear Regression Attacks And Application Of Random Forest Classifiers, Hiren J. Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Radio Frequency (RF) emissions from electronic devices expose security vulnerabilities that can be used by an attacker to extract otherwise unobtainable information. Two realms of study were investigated here, including the exploitation of 1) unintentional RF emissions in the field of Side Channel Analysis (SCA), and 2) intentional RF emissions from physical devices in the field of RF-Distinct Native Attribute (RF-DNA) fingerprinting. Statistical analysis on the linear model fit to measured SCA data in Linear Regression Attacks (LRA) improved performance, achieving 98% success rate for AES key-byte identification from unintentional emissions. However, the presence of non-Gaussian noise required the use …

Hyperfine Interactions In The Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectra Of Point Defects In Wide-Band-Gap Semiconductors, Eric M. Golden

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to acquire definitive experimental data on predominant point defects in three important wide-band-gap semiconductors. Hyperfine interactions in electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were used to characterize the neutral nitrogen acceptor in zinc oxide, to identify a silicon interstitial impurity in titanium dioxide, and to determine the electronic structure of the singly ionized sulfur vacancy in stannous hexathiohypodiphosphate (SPS). Research on the basic properties of these technologically important materials plays a crucial role in the development of advanced optical and electronic systems. Zinc oxide is an electro-optic material with the potential to produce high performance electronics …

Convective Heat Transfer With And Without Film Cooling In High Temperature, Fuel Rich And Lean Environments, Nathan K. Greiner

Theses and Dissertations

Modern turbine engines require high turbine inlet temperatures and pressures to maximize thermal efficiency. Increasing the turbine inlet temperature drives higher heat loads on the turbine surfaces. In addition, increasing pressure ratio increases the turbine coolant temperature such that the ability to remove heat decreases. As a result, highly effective external film cooling is required to reduce the heat transfer to turbine surfaces. Testing of film cooling on engine hardware at engine temperatures and pressures can be exceedingly difficult and expensive. Thus, modern studies of film cooling are often performed at near ambient conditions. However, these studies are missing an …

A Comparison Of Afghanistan, Yuma, Az, And Manufactured Sands Melted On Eb-Pvd Thermal Barrier Coatings, Nathaniel P. Opie

Theses and Dissertations

Sand ingestion into military aircraft turbine engines from desert environments have tested the performance and life of the engine. In particular, turbine section blades and nozzles are coated with a molten glass when the sand is heated to melting temperatures. This molten glass attacks protective coatings on the surface of these parts. Further research is needed to understand the sands behavior on thermal barrier coatings (TBC) when heated to melting temperatures. Also, further research is needed with manufactured sand used in current engine testing to understand the sand ingestion discrepancies between test engines and operational engines. In this study natural …

A Hybrid Privacy-Preserving Mechanism For Participatory Sensing Systems, Idalides Jose Vergara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Participatory Sensing (PS) is a new data collection paradigm in which people use their cellular phone resources to sense and transmit data of interest to address a collective problem that would have been very difficult to assess otherwise. Although many PS-based applications can be foreseen to solve interesting and useful problems, many of them have not been fully implemented due to privacy concerns. As a result, several privacy-preserving mechanisms have been proposed. This dissertation presents the state-of-the-art of privacy-preserving mechanisms for PS systems. It includes a new taxonomy and describes the most important issues in the design, implementation, and evaluation …

Cutaneous Electrode Positioning, Jeffrey Hargrove, Susan R. Briggs

Mechanical Engineering Patents

A device and method for positioning a cutaneous electrode for delivery of electrical stimulation to a subject's head. A harness is worn on a subject's head with a first band of the harness worn in a closed loop around the subject's head and around a desired contact location on the subject's head. A tensioning strap of the harness is worn across the desired contact location and connected at spaced-apart attachment locations of the strap to spaced-apart attachment locations of the harness such that an electrode disposed over the desired contact location on the subject's head is held in place by …

Method And Apparatus For Surface Chemical Functionalization Of Powders And Nanoparticles, Mary Gilliam, Susan Farhat, Graham Garner, Michael Magyar

Chemical Engineering Patents

A method and apparatus is provided for the modification of the surface chemistry of solid nano- and micro-particles in order to tailor the properties and functions of these particles. The method generally involves the generation of an atmospheric plasma glow discharge and energetic species that undergo chemical reaction with the surface of the primary particles. The process includes the generation of energetic species to initiate reaction, optional delivery of a precursor fluid, optional delivery of chemical species for grafting, and delivery of separated and de-agglomerated particles into the plasma discharge exiting the plasma generation chamber.

Development Of Experiments Involving Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Principles, Alexander Struck Jannini

Theses and Dissertations

Laboratory experiments were developed to incorporate pharmaceutical engineering concepts into Freshman-level engineering courses. The goal is to increase the interest of pharmaceutical engineering in students and provide the necessary background for more advanced courses in the field. The experiments can be used on an individual basis, or to be grouped into themes for more focused learning objectives. The laboratory experiments are available at the pharmaceutical knowledge and training website www.PharmaHUB.org under the Teaching Resources tab.

Design Of A Frequency-Selective Surface Strain Sensor, Edward C. Kinzel

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) have long been used in the RF/microwave community to control radar cross-section. The scattering parameters of the FSS form a signature which is a function of the frequency, element size and spacing, as well as the local electromagnetic environment. This paper considers a FSS as a strain sensor on the surface of a structural element. By interrogating the FSS with a series of polarized far-field measurements in a bistatic configuration the biaxial plane strain, including shear, can be resolved.

Calderón Preconditioned Pmchwt Equation For Layered Medium Problems, Yongpin P. Chen, Lijun Jiang, Sheng Sun, Weng Cho Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electromagnetic scattering by dielectric objects in the presence of a layered medium is investigated by applying the Poggio-Miller-Chang-Harrington-Wu-Tsai (PMCHWT) equation combined with the layered medium Green's function. Due to the electric field integral equation (EFIE) operator involved, the spectrum of the PMCHWT equation is also undesired. When the surface is densely discretized, the condition of the resulting matrix is extremely bad. An effective Calderón preconditioner is developed in this paper to improve the convergence. Different from its free space counterpart, the Calderón identities for inhomogeneous medium need to be re-derived. It is shown from numerical examples that the convergence of …

Augmented Equivalence Principle Algorithm For Domain Decomposition Method For Low Frequency Scattering, Circuits, And Casimir Force Calculations, P. R. Atkins, Z. H. Ma, L. E. Sun, M. K. Li, L. (Lijun) J. Jiang, M. S. Tong, W. C. Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A broadband integral-equation-based domain decomposition method (DDM) using augmented equivalence principle algorithm (A-EPA) is introduced for solving large scale electromagnetic scattering, circuits, and Casimir force problems. The root cause of the low frequency breakdown problem of EPA algorithm without augmentation technique is analyzed. Numerical examples validate the method for various applications in scattering, circuits, and Casimir force calculations.

The Contour Deformation Method For Calculating The High Frequency Scattered Fields By The Fock Current On The Surface Of The 3-D Convex Cylinder, Yu Mao Wu, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Weng Cho Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, the Fock currents on the convex cylinders are comprehensively studied. The contour deformation method is invoked to calculate the highly oscillatory Fock currents. The computational process is frequency independent in workload. Then, quadratic phase approximation is proposed to efficiently solve the highly oscillatory scattered field. Numerical results for the high frequency scattered far fields on the convex cylinders are given to validate the efficiency of the proposed method. Furthermore, the contour deformation method for computing the Fock currents offers a clear high frequency wave physical picture.

Analysis Of Scattering By Pec Objects In Layered Medium With Calderón Preconditioner, Yongpin P. Chen, Min Meng, Sheng Sun, Lijun Jiang, Weng Cho Chew

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electromagnetic scattering by perfect electrically conducting (PEC) objects in a layered medium is studied in this paper. The layered medium Green's function is adopted as the kernel of the electric field integral equation (EFIE) so that the effects from the multilayered background can be accounted for automatically. However, the spectrum of the EFIE with this kernel, is unfortunately undesirable. This leads to slow convergence of the iterative solution. To improve the convergence, the Calderón identities are derived and leveraged to precondition the EFIE. By utilizing Buffa-Christiansen (BC) basis function in discretizing the preconditioning operator, the preconditioner can be made completely …

Differential Forms Inspired Finite Element Discretization For Waveguide Eigenvalue Problems, Qi I. Dai, Weng Cho Chew, Lijun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A differential forms inspired finite element based discretization scheme for waveguide eigenvalue problems is presented. Naïve discretization of the governing variational expression involving only transverse fields with edge elements renders the discretized eigen-equation unsolvable. Motivated by differential forms, in the proposed scheme, electric and magnetic fields are discretized with curl-conforming basis functions on the primal and dual grids, respectively. Meanwhile, magnetic flux density and electric displacement fields are discretized with divergence-conforming basis functions on the primal and dual grids, respectively. Matrices in the resultant eigen-equation is well-conditioned and easy to solve, which is validated by several numerical examples.

Developing Professional Skills In Stem Students: Data Information Literacy, Lisa Zilinski, Megan R. Sapp Nelson, Amy S. Van Epps

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Undergraduate STEM students are increasingly expected to have some data use skills upon graduation, whether they pursue post-graduate education or move into industry. This project was an initial foray into the application of data information literacy competencies to training undergraduate students to identify markers of data and information quality. The data consumer training appeared within two courses to help students evaluate data objects, including databases and datasets available on the Internet. The application of the Data Credibility Checklist provides a foundation for developing data reuse competencies. Based upon the initial presentation of the content, it became obvious that students need …

Experimental Uncertainty Associated With Traveling Wave Excitation, Geofrey S. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research produces the experimental techniques required to evaluate mistuning in any rotor. Within operation, a rotor is subjected to a unique pattern of frequencies acting to excite the rotor. Utilizing traveling wave excitation, a rotor's critical frequencies and the respective excitation pattern are reproduced. Individual rotor blade frequency response functions are evaluated and statistically analyzed. The experimental results serve to not only verify the degree to which a rotor is mistuned, but also to provide an indication of the forced response amplification the mistuning induces. Within the experiment, definitive specifications were developed to ensure peak rotor responses. Numerical …

Optimal Control Of Fully Routed Air Traffic In The Presence Of Uncertainty And Kinodynamic Constraints, Christopher D. Arendt

Theses and Dissertations

A method is presented to extend current graph-based Air Traffic Management optimization frameworks. In general, Air Traffic Management is the process of guiding a finite set of aircraft, each along its pre-determined path within some local airspace, subject to various physical, policy, procedural and operational restrictions. This research addresses several limitations of current graph-based Air Traffic Management optimization methods by incorporating techniques to account for stochastic effects, physical inertia and variable arrival sequencing. In addition, this research provides insight into the performance of multiple methods for approximating non-differentiable air traffic constraints, and incorporates these methods into a generalized weighted-sum representation …

Open-Source Syringe Pump Library, Bas Wijnen, Emily J. Hunt, Gerald C. Anzalone, Joshua M. Pearce

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Publications

This article explores a new open-source method for developing and manufacturing high-quality scientific equipment suitable for use in virtually any laboratory. A syringe pump was designed using freely available open-source computer aided design (CAD) software and manufactured using an open-source RepRap 3-D printer and readily available parts. The design, bill of materials and assembly instructions are globally available to anyone wishing to use them. Details are provided covering the use of the CAD software and the RepRap 3-D printer. The use of an open-source Rasberry Pi computer as a wireless control device is also illustrated. Performance of the syringe pump …

Phytomonitoring Of Chlorinated Ethenes In Trees: A Four-Year Study Of Seasonal Chemodynamics In Planta, Matt A. Limmer, Amanda J. Holmes, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) of Groundwater Remedial Projects is Costly and Time-Consuming, Particularly When using Phytoremediation, a Long-Term Remedial Approach. the Use of Trees as Sensors of Groundwater Contamination (I.e., Phytoscreening) Has Been Widely Described, Although the Use of Trees to Provide Long-Term Monitoring of Such Plumes (Phytomonitoring) Has Been More Limited Due to Unexplained Variability of Contaminant Concentrations in Trees. to Assess This Variability, We Developed an in Planta Sampling Method to Obtain High-Frequency Measurements of Chlorinated Ethenes in Oak (Quercus Rubra) and Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Trees Growing above a Contaminated Plume during a 4-Year Trial. the Data Set Revealed …

Information Technology News, Georgia Southern University

Information Technology: News & Publications (2012-2023)

• Charleston Defense Contractors Association – 4th Annual Mobile App Competition

A Complex Social Network Analyses Of Online Finanical Communties In Times Of Geopolitcal Military And Terrorist Events, James Usher

Dissertations

Given the advances in technology the field of social network analysis has very much hit the forefront in recent years. The information age harnesses the use of social network analysis for multiple industries and for solving complex problems. Social network analysis is an important tool in the world of the military and counter intelligence, whether it’s the capture of Osama Bin Laden or uncovering hidden Al Qaeda terrorist networks, the world around us is built on networks, be that hidden or otherwise. Online social networks give new information in the world of intelligence agencies similarly online financial communities such as …

Long-Lasting Effect Of Initial Configuration In Gravitational Spreading Of Material Fronts, ‪Nadim Zgheib, Thomas Bonometti, S. Balachandar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

We present the results from laboratory experiments and fully resolved simulations pertaining to finite-release turbulent density flows with a non-axisymmetric initial shape. First, we demonstrate that the effects of the initial shape influence the current’s evolution well into the long-time phase which would corresponds to the inertial self-similar phase in the case of planar or axisymmetric configurations. Then, we identify the physical mechanisms responsible for this dependence and propose a new model capable of capturing the dynamics of such releases. Finally, we show that this dependence on the initial configuration is robust for various types of gravity currents over a …

Effect Of Placement Characteristics On Scc Lateral Pressure Variations, A. F. Omran, Y. M. Elaguab, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete on vertical formwork systems controls significantly the design of the formwork systems. Several factors including, material properties, placement conditions, and formwork characteristics can affect formwork lateral pressure. This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental work aimed at studying the influence of concrete temperature (10-32 °C), casting depth (up to 13 m), placement rate (2-30 m/h), waiting period between successive lifts, as well as concrete thixotropy on lateral pressure characteristics. The increase of concrete temperature is shown to accelerate the stiffening rate of the concrete leading to reduction in initial lateral pressure. For …

Uncertainty Quantification Of Em-Circuit Systems Using Stochastic Polynomial Chaos Method, Ping Li, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Uncertainties in realistic lumped and distributive circuit systems are of great importance to today's high yield manufacture demand. However, evaluating the stochastic effect in the time domain for the hybrid electromagnetics (EM)-circuit system was seldom done, especially when Monte Carlo is too expensive to be feasible. In this work, an adaptive hierarchical sparse grid collocation (ASGC) method is presented to quantify the impacts of stochastic inputs on hybrid electromagnetics (EM)-circuit or EM scattering systems. The ASGC method approximates the stochastic observables of interest using interpolation functions over series collocation points. Instead of employing a full-tensor product sense, the collocation points …

Effective Roughness Dielectric In A Pcb: Measurement And Full-Wave Simulation Verification, Tracey Vincent, Marina Koledintseva, Antonio Ciccomancini, Scott Hinaga

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Surface roughness topography of printed circuit boards (PCBs) needs to be included in SI simulations in order to accurately predict the insertion loss of the structure. An effective roughness dielectric (ERD) model can be used to substitute an inhomogeneous interface between copper foil and laminate dielectric in a PCB. Herein, this approach is tested for verification using 3D full-wave numerical simulations. These effective roughness dielectric layers with the appropriate complex permittivity are included in the modeling of strip line examples. The parameters of an ambient laminate dielectric free of conductor roughness effects in the strip line are determined using differential …

Epoxy Catalyzed Sol-Gel Method For Pinhole-Free Pyrite Fes2 Thin Films, S. Kment, H. Kmentova, A. Sarkar, R. J. Soukup, N. J. Ianno, D. Sekora, J. Olejnicek, P. Ksirova, J. Krysa, Z. Remes, Z. Hubicka

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The uniform pinhole-free iron disulfide (FeS₂) pyrite thin films were fabricated. In the first step the FeO(OH)_x xerogel solution was synthetized by means of a novel epoxy catalyzed sol-gel method and next spin-coated onto various substrates to form the thin films. In the second step the xerogel coatings were annealed to yield hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) films, which were transformed into pyrite by chemical sulfurization. Among the main deposition parameters studied were the temperature of xerogel-hematite transformation and the optimal sulfurization temperature and duration. It has been observed that 15 min sulfurization at the temperature …

A Paper-Based Calorimetric Microfluidics Platform For Bio-Chemical Sensing, Benyamin Davaji, Chung Hoon Lee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this report, a paper-based micro-calorimetric biochemical detection method is presented. Calorimetric detection of biochemical reactions is demonstrated as an extension of current colorimetric and electrochemical detection mechanisms of paper-based biochemical analytical systems. Reaction and/or binding temperature of glucose/glucose oxidase, DNA/hydrogen peroxide, and biotin/streptavidin, are measured by the paper-based micro-calorimeter. Commercially available glucose calibration samples of 0.05, 0.15 and 0.3% wt/vol concentration are used for comparing the device performance with a commercially available glucose meter (electrochemical detection). The calorimetric glucose detection demonstrates a measurement error less than 2%. The calorimetric detection results of DNA concentrations from 0.9 to 7.3 mg/mL …

Approaches For Studying Fish Production: Do River And Lake Researchers Have Different Perspectives?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Nicholas A. Heredia, Brian G. Laub, Christy S. Meredith, Harrison E. Mohn, Sarah E. Null, David A. Pluth, Brett B. Roper, W. Carl Saunders, David King Stevens, Richard H. Walker, Kit Wheeler

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Biased perspectives of fisheries researchers may hinder scientific progress and effective management if limiting factors controlling productivity go unrecognized. We investigated whether river and lake researchers used different approaches when studying salmonid production and whether any differences were ecologically supported. We assessed 564 peer-reviewed papers published between 1966 and 2012 that studied salmonid production or surrogate variables (e.g., abundance, growth, biomass, population) and classified them into five major predictor variable categories: physical habitat, fertility (i.e., nutrients, bottom-up), biotic, temperature, and pollution. The review demonstrated that river researchers primarily analyzed physical habitat (65% of studies) and lake researchers primarily analyzed fertility …

Applying Data Mining Tools To Archaeological "Big Data", Michael Polczynski, Mark Polczynski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.