Engineering Commons^™

Solar Powered Picnic Table For Charging Cellphones And Other Small Devices, Casey B. Potts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solar panels are used in many different applications for generating sustainable energy. Many countries use solar power as a power generation method. It is also, an excellent option for getting power to difficult areas. There are three main systems used when generating solar power: grid-tied, battery banked, and direct driven systems. Most systems use a combination of grid-tied and battery banked so any unused power can be fed back into the main grid for compensation. The solar power application suggested in this thesis will provide USB power to a picnic table enabling students to charge cellphones and other small devices …

The Effects Of Transcutaneous Electrical Neurostimulation On Analgesia And Peripheral Perfusion, Leah I. Schafer

Master's Theses

Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) affects 8 to 12 million Americans over the age of 50. As the disease progresses, arterial occlusions arising from atherosclerotic lesions inhibit normal metabolic vasodilation in the peripheries, resulting in limb ischemia and claudication. Pharmacological and surgical treatments currently used to treat both the hemodynamic and pain symptoms associated with PAOD can involve adverse and potentially life-threatening side effects. Thus, there is a need for additional innovative therapies for PAOD.

Neurostimulation has a known analgesic effect on both acute and chronic pain. Although the exact mechanisms remain under investigation, local vascular tone may be modulated …

Operational Analysis Of Traditional Access Management Strategies & Demand-Responsive Access Control On Arterials, Joshua Mitchell

All Theses

Arterials are typically characterized by closely-spaced signalized intersections, high driveway density, and high traffic volumes. These characteristics contribute to congestion, as well as crashes. Access management strategies can address both operational and safety issues on urban arterials. This research focuses on the operational impacts of access management with two objectives: (1) quantify the impacts of ‘traditional’ access management strategies and (2) quantify the impacts of demand-responsive access control. To satisfy Objective 1, four traditional access management strategies were tested – (i) access spacing, (ii) corner clearance, (iii) access restriction, and (iv) raised median implementation. These were analyzed in four respective …

Analysis And Synthesis Of Effective Human-Robot Interaction At Varying Levels In Control Hierarchy, David Spencer

All Theses

Robot controller design is usually hierarchical with both high-level task and motion planning and low-level control law design. In the presented works, we investigate methods for low-level and high-level control designs to guarantee joint performance of human-robot interaction (HRI). In the first work, a low-level method using the switched linear quadratic regulator (SLQR), an optimal control policy based on a quadratic cost function, is used. By incorporating measures of robot performance and human workload, it can be determined when to utilize the human operator in a method that improves overall task performance while reducing operator workload. This method is demonstrated …

Design And Analysis Of Foundation For Onshore Tall Wind Turbines, Shweta Shrestha

All Theses

Wind turbines play a vital role in producing sustainable and clean energy to fulfill the growing energy needs. Energy generated from wind turbines being more sustainable and cost effective, many countries have taken a major step to develop wind turbines with large capacity. There has been a significant reduction in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) since the 1980’s from the development of larger wind farms and from consistent performance improvements of wind turbine components. The power generation capacity of wind turbines has increased significantly over the years with the use of taller towers. When the tower height increases, the …

Detection And Recovery From Camera Bump During Automated Inspection Of Automobiles On An Assembly Line, Shawn Mathew

All Theses

This thesis details the steps taken to detect and compensate for camera bumps while per- forming part identification using VI at the BMW manufacturing plant and on the simulation testbed. For the system presented here to work, the user is required to record a video from the camera before the camera is bumped and one after the camera has been bumped. The premise behind the method suggested here is that the transformation between the background in the pre- and post-bump video will be equal to the transformation in the foreground. A Background extraction program is used to generate a background …

Condition Assessment Of Clemson University's Parking Network And Development Of A Framework To Support Pavement Management, Yazurved Sai Vishwaksen Aravalli

All Theses

The concept of pavement management system for Clemson University parking network provides a rehabilitation programming strategy for parking and transportation services department at Clemson University. The department invests funds to keep parking lots in good condition which pays large rewards in terms of savings for both Clemson University and parking lot users. Clemson University Pavement Management System (CU-PMS) will provide quality information for better decisions to ensure the funds invested gets the best value. This project consists of developing a useful and efficient network-level PMS for Clemson University parking lot network. The study area includes all the parking lots in …

On Reliability Of Smart Grid Neighborhood Area Networks, Shengjie Xu, Yi Qian, Rose Qingyang Hu

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

With the integration of the advanced computing and communication technologies, smart grid system is dedicated to enhance the efficiency and the reliability of future power systems greatly through renewable energy resources, as well as distributed communication intelligence and demand response. Along with advanced features of smart grid, the reliability of smart grid communication system emerges to be a critical issue, since millions of smart devices are interconnected through communication networks throughout critical power facilities, which has an immediate and direct impact on the reliability of the entire power infrastructure. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of reliability issues …

Background Differences In Baseline And Stimulated Mmp Levels Influence Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Susceptibility, Matthew A. Dale, Melissa K. Suh, Shijia Zhao, Trevor Meisinger, Linxia Gu, Vicki J. Swier, Devendra K. Agrawal, Timothy Greiner, Jeffrey S. Carson, B. Timothy Baxter, Wanfen Xiong

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Objective: Evidence has demonstrated profound influence of genetic background on cardiovascular phenotypes. Murine models in Marfan syndrome (MFS) have shown that genetic background-related variations affect thoracic aortic aneurysm formation, rupture, and lifespan of mice. MFS mice with C57Bl/6 genetic background are less susceptible to aneurysm formation compared to the 129/SvEv genetic background. In this study, we hypothesize that susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) will be increased in 129/SvEv mice versus C57Bl/6 mice. We tested this hypothesis by assessing differences in aneurysm size, tissue properties, immune response, and MMP expression.

Methods: Mice of C57Bl/6 or 129/SvEv background underwent AAA induction …

Force Transducer For Inventory Management, Trever Hoye, Austin Adee

Electrical Engineering

Inventory management for small parts such as electronic components remains time consuming and costly to implement, yet required for efficient business operations. Currently there exists no solution to this problem that is both automated and inexpensive. This project provides a solution by developing an accurate and wireless force transducer for automated inventory management systems. The device works by laying on the bottom of an inventory storage container and measuring the total weight of the items. The device then wirelessly transmits this weight to a receiver where it is stored in a database. Afterwards, the database compares the most recent weight …

Platform For Environmental Sensing Of Algae, Alex Wu

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Aerodynamic Trade Study Of Compound Helicopter Concepts, Julian Roche

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The relative performance attributes of compound helicopter concepts have been examined, including their potential for meeting the requirements of several challenging mission profiles. For each concept, which included lift and/or propulsive compounding, a suite of aerodynamic performance models was developed using energy methods. In the case of a lift-compounded concept, an aerodynamic model representing the force interaction effects of the main rotor wake with the wing was also developed. Models of a conventional helicopter and of a tiltrotor were implemented as well, and the results used as a datum for comparison. In each case, the predictive capabilities of the model …

Electrolyte Optimization Study For Tio2 Nanotube Electrode In Sodium Ion Batteries, Richard Wendel Cutler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Batteries are ubiquitous in daily life. Sodium-ion batteries have the potential to become inexpensive alternatives to the current market products such as Lithium-ion batteries. TiO₂ nanotubes have proven potential as an anode for Na-ion batteries. Electrolytes made by NaClO₄ salt and carbonate-based solvents make up commonly used electrolytes in sodium ion battery research. We used electrochemical and physical characterization tests to evaluate the optimum electrolyte for this anode material in the Na system. We determined that the ClO₄^- ion decomposes at the TiO₂ surface and promotes the formation of an unstable solid electrolyte interphase. A …

Mega Wall Block Welded Wire Mesh Connection, Tyler B. Loertscher

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

Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls restrain hillslopes to unnatural gradients using reinforced soil. Traditional MSE walls are constructed of large reinforced concrete panels bolted to steel strips for soil reinforcement. Segmented Retaining Walls (SRWs) are a form of MSE walls composed of precast concrete modular blocks that incorporate geosynthetic soil reinforcement. In comparison, traditional MSE walls have faster construction times and are typically stronger, but SRWs have increased in popularity because they are much cheaper to build.

There are many precast companies that produce different SRW block designs, these blocks have facing areas that range from 1 to 13.75 sq. …

Object Detection And Tracking In Wide Area Surveillance Using Thermal Imagery, Santosh Bhusal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The main objective behind this thesis is to examine how existing vision-based detection and tracking algorithms perform in thermal imagery-based video surveillance. While color-based surveillance has been extensively studied, these techniques can not be used during low illumination, at night, or with lighting changes and shadows which limits their applicability. The main contributions in this thesis are (1) the creation of a new color-thermal dataset, (2) a detailed performance comparison of different color-based detection and tracking algorithms on thermal data and (3) the proposal of an adaptive neural network for false detection rejection.

Since there are not many publicly available …

Fast Transient Digitizer And Pcb Interface, Kevin Thomas Buck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis outlines the design, layout and characterization of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and a printed circuit board (PCB) designed to discretize an input signal and read out the data at a user desired interval to replicate the input signal at a lower frequency or pulse rate with no quantization error. The ASIC for this task utilizes 128 individual capacitive storage cells to capture data at approximately 200 ps intervals, thus the chip can capture approximately 25 ns of an input signal. The read out rate can be adjusted to the desired rate by the user by changing …

Study Of Machine Learning Methods In Intelligent Transportation Systems, Vishal Jha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Machine learning and data mining are currently hot topics of research and are applied in database, artificial intelligence, statistics, and so on to discover valuable knowledge and the patterns in big data available to users. Data mining is predominantly about processing unstructured data and extracting meaningful information from them for end users to help take business decisions. Machine learning techniques use mathematical algorithms to find a pattern or extract meaning out from big data. The popularity of such techniques in analyzing business problems has been enhanced by the arrival of big data.

The main objective of this thesis is to …

Compression Of Climate Data Through Artificial Neural Networks, Astha Puri

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lately, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of climate monitoring

stations in various parts of the country producing abundant climate data. Among climate data parameters, humidity and temperature are the two parameters influencing hydrological and agricultural processes, weather monitoring, and having critical effect on living organisms. As more data is being generated over time, there is a strong need to develop compression methods for efficient transfer and storage of this data.

The main goal of this thesis is to perform compression of humidity and temperature

data via prediction. As these are critical components of climate, it is …

The Comparison Of Two Supine Manikins And The Use Of A Shock And Vibration Isolation System For Litter Patients In Air Medical Transport, Karina Karlui Saenz Acosta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies show that repeated shock and vibration during aero medical and ground transport are causing patient pain and may be adversely affecting patients’ medical outcome. Patients with spine and head injuries and other severe neurological injuries are the most vulnerable to repeated shock and vibration exposure caused by the vehicle. It is crucial to minimize the effects of these forces on patients during air and ground medical transport. The development of new medical evacuation platforms creates a need to better understand the effects of human exposure to shock and vibration. The use of human subjects to measure whole body vibration …

Alkali-~Activated Fly Ash Binders: Feasibility As A Sustainable Alternative To Ordinary Portland Cement For Pre-~Cast Systems, Kimberly Sierra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fresh, load-dependent, transport, and durability properties of alkali-activated fly ash mortars were studied. The influences of activator concentration, solution-to-binder ratio, curing condition, activator type, and sodium silicate-to-total solution ratio on the properties of the studied alkali-activated mortars were examined. This study was divided in two phases. The first phase dealt with the use of sodium hydroxide as the sole activator. The second phase of the study was divided into two parts, both of which used a combination of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate as the activator solution. Part I of phase II used elevated temperature curing conditions, whereas part II …

Crystalline Phase Change In Steel Alloys Due To High Speed Impact, Muna Slewa

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The effect of hypervelocity projectile impact on the crystalline grain structure near the target impact location of A36 steel has been studied. A36 steel is a mostly single phase body centered cubic material (BCC). Impact velocities ranged from 3.54 to 6.70 km/sec. Target materials were studied before and after impact to determine if these impact conditions result in a phase change of the A36. Scanning electron microscopy, electron back-scatter diffraction, and x-ray diffraction methods were used to investigate deformation, lattice defects, twinning, and phase transformation. A limited number of impacted targets made from 304L and HY100 steels were also examined. …

Performance Analysis Of Hybrid Algorithms For Lossless Compression Of Climate Data, Bharath Chandra Mummadisetty

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Climate data is very important and at the same time, voluminous. Every minute a new entry is recorded for different climate parameters in climate databases around the world. Given the explosive growth of data that needs to be transmitted and stored, there is a necessity to focus on developing better transmission and storage technologies. Data compression is known to be a viable and effective solution to reduce bandwidth and storage requirements of bulk data. So, the goal is to develop the best compression methods for climate data.

The methodology used is based on predictive analysis. The focus is to implement …

College Students' Perceptions Of Sustainability: A Regional Survey, Michael Myung Jeong, Younghan Jung, Dan Daehyun Koo

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Understanding college students’ perception of sustainability is paramount as today’s students will soon be driving our economy and taking on the responsibility of maintaining a sustainable society. This study conducted a survey of college students attending two regional universities in the United States to capture their current experience levels, expectations, and perceptions with regard to various aspects of sustainability utilizing a questionnaire consisting of structured questions about sustainability knowledge/familiarity levels, green product purchase behavior, attitude-behavior relationship, and sustainability education. The results reveal useful insights into the students’ views on these topics and the demographic data collected were further analyzed to …

Synthesis And Functional Evaluation Of Peptide Modified Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) Nanoparticles To Inhibit Porphyromonas Gingivalis Biofilm Formation., Paridhi Kalia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Periodontal disease is an oral inflammatory disorder that afflicts roughly 46% of the adults in the U.S. Currently, treatment of periodontal disease involves the removal of plaque from the gingival pocket (with possible antibiotic treatment) and if necessary, gingival surgery. To our knowledge, no therapeutic approach exists that promotes host-biofilm homeostasis by limiting pathogen recolonization of the oral cavity after prophylaxis or treatment. The interaction of the pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis with commensal streptococci is critical for initiation of periodontitis and represents a target for limiting P. gingivalis colonization of the oral cavity. Previous studies showed that a synthetic peptide …

New Visible Light Absorber For Solar Fuels : Ga(Sbx)N1-X Alloys., Swathi Sunkara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Solar energy conversion to fuels via photoelectrochemical water splitting is one of the most important technological directions toward meeting the global energy and environmental challenge. However, till date, there are no suitable semiconductor materials available that can absorb visible light, possess right kind of band edge energetics and are stable in aqueous environments. In this work, a new III-V alloy material Ga(Sbx)N1-x with dilute antimony concentration is proposed and developed for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Experimental studies were conducted first to synthesize the proposed alloy materials to understand structure-property relationships and compare them to those obtained using first principles computations. Finally, …

Spare Parts On Demand Using Additive Manufacturing : A Simulation Model For Cost Evaluation., Stefan Jedeck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the impact of additive manufacturing in the spare part supply chain. A few studies are available, but they focus on specific parts and their applications only. A general model, which can be adapted to different applications, is nonexistent. This dissertation proposes a decision making framework that enables an interested practitioner/manager to decide whether using additive manufacturing to make spare parts on demand is economical when compared to conventional warehousing strategy. The framework consists of two major components: a general discrete event simulation model and a process of designing a wide range of simulation scenarios. The goal …

Evaluation Of Two-Phase Evaporation Pressure Drop Correlations For Low Refrigerant Mass Flux., Anna Fenko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to evaluate three currently popular two-phase pressure drop models for extremely low velocity refrigerant flow through smooth circular evaporators in household refrigeration systems. Experimental data was taken at mass fluxes under 70 kg/m²s for two refrigerants, R134A and R600A, internal diameters of aluminum evaporators ranging from 0.186 to 0.317 inches, U-bend internal radii ranging from 0.342 to 0.750 inches in horizontal and vertical orientations of evaporators. The geometry of the samples closely resembled a commonly used serpentine shape with multiple U-bends experiencing both, up- and down-flow of the refrigerant. Two empirical models, Müller-Steinhagen & …

Medical Image Registration Using Artificial Neural Network, Hyunjong Choi

Master's Theses

Image registration is the transformation of different sets of images into one coordinate system in order to align and overlay multiple images. Image registration is used in many fields such as medical imaging, remote sensing, and computer vision. It is very important in medical research, where multiple images are acquired from different sensors at various points in time. This allows doctors to monitor the effects of treatments on patients in a certain region of interest over time. In this thesis, artificial neural networks with curvelet keypoints are used to estimate the parameters of registration. Simulations show that the curvelet keypoints …

Construction Of An Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (Icvd) Reactor And Deposition Of Polytetrafluoroethylene (Ptfe) Thin Films Using Perfluoro-1-Octanesulfonyl Fluoride As The Initiator, Edgar Kiprop Kosgey

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) is a surface polymerization technique that is different from other traditional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. iCVD is carried under a vacuum without the use of solvents, therefore eliminating contaminations. An initiator and a monomer are metered into a vacuum reactor chamber. Inside the reaction chamber is an array of resistively heated filaments and a cooled substrate stage. Monomer species adsorb on to the cooled substrate surface underneath the filament array. The thermal energy from the resistively heated filaments breaks the bonds in the initiator molecule, generating free radicals. These generated free radicals chemisorb to …

Dual-Input Dc-To-Dc Converter Topologies And Control Schemes, Shaun Alan Stickel

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Dual-input DC-to-DC converters are power supplies that draw power from two sources simultaneously and deliver power to a single load, the ratio of power drawn from each source and be held constant with changes in the load. Applications for dual-input power supplies are computer systems, mobile systems using energy harvesting, and systems needing redundant power supplies. This writing covers the operation and control of dual-input DC-to-DC converters that implement a non-inverting buck-boost function and utilize only a single power path.

Traditionally, a dual-input power supply is created by placing two standard power paths in parallel. This adds considerable control complexity …