Engineering Commons^™

Designing, Debugging, And Deploying Configurable Computing Machine-Based Applications Using Reconfigurable Computing Application Frameworks, Anthony Lynn Slade

Theses and Dissertations

Configurable computing machines (CCMs) offer high-performance application acceleration with custom hardware. They are also dynamically reconfigurable and give significant internal visibility. Such features are useful throughout the design, debug, and deploy stages of CCM-based application development. However traditional, monolithic design tools do not offer adequate support for all of these development stages. This thesis describes a specification for a reconfigurable computing application framework (RCAF) which is more suitable for CCM application development. It also describes an implementation of such an RCAF. This RCAF improves the efficiency of application design and debugging. It also establishes an application architecture framework which helps …

Shear Strengthening Of Rc Beams Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Laminates, Zhichao Zhang

Dissertations

Shear failure is catastrophic and occurs usually without advanced warning, thus it is desirable that the beam fails in flexure rather than in shear. Many existing reinforced concrete (RC) members are found to be deficient in shear strength and need to be repaired. Deficiencies occur due to several reasons such as insufficient shear reinforcement or reduction in steel area due to corrosion, increased service load, and construction defects. Externally bonded reinforcement such as Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) provides an excellent solution in these situations.

In order to investigate the shear behavior of RC beams with externally bonded CFRP shear …

Tools And Metrics For Evaluating Modular Product Concepts Based On Strategic Objectives, Matthew Bailey Strong

Theses and Dissertations

The design of modular products has recently become the focus of significant research in the area of design theory and methodology. This focus is the result of increased awareness of the potential power of modularity to achieve certain product objectives. However, there continues to be a gap between the results of academic research and industrial application. The refinement, consolidation, and extension of this academic research would help design teams who are charged with developing modular products to use these academic findings in real world, industrial applications. The research presented in this document focuses on developing design tools, based on past …

Design And Fabrication Of Finfets On Soi Substrates, Steven D. Kirby

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

A Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) is one of several novel devices that may be used in the future to minimize short channel effects. The FinFET is fabricated on silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate and uses basic integrated circuit processing techniques to obtain a double gate structure. The double gate structure helps to improve subthreshold characteristics and provides low leakage current. The objective of this project was to improve the FinFET device built at RIT. Functioning FinFETs were designed and fabricated previously at RIT. The new design and process changes will help in the understanding of issues found in previous …

Design, Simulation And Fabrication Of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (Igbt), Tejas K. Jhaveri

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

This project serves as a study to determine the feasibility of the current CMOS toolsets and processes available at Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL) for the fabrication of whole wafer power devices. Several designs and devices were explored. The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (~LGBT) is a device widely used for high power electronic applications and was selected for this study. This device has bipolar current flow and a MOS gate thus combining advantages of both the Double diffused MOS (DMOS) and Power Bipolar junction transistor. Prototypes consisting of transistors with varying densities, gate lengths and gate widths were fabricated …

An Interaction Initiative Model For Documentation, David G. Novick, Karen Ward

Departmental Papers (CS)

In this paper we propose a model of creation and use of documentation based on the concept of mixed-initiative interaction. In our model, successful single-initiative interaction is characterized by grounding of contributions, and successful mixed-initiative interaction is characterized by both grounding and agreement. Just as in spoken conversation, achievement of actual agreement depends on the intentions of both parties; agreement is achieved when the reader follows the documentation’s instructions. In fact, readers are not obligated to—and often do not—act according to the author’s intentions. By making these dynamics explicit, the model can aid authors in developing effective documentation. The paper …

The Development Of An Interactive Multimedia Based Professional Development, James New

Theses : Honours

The role of the teacher has changed over time such that teachers are asked to augment their own specialist knowledge with skills from other domains, for example information technology. This study has examined the perceptions and experiences of teachers and speech pathologists involved in the production of an instructive Interactive Multimedia (IMM) product to deliver Professional Development (PD). The individuals involved in this project were teachers from the High Valley Language School (HVLS) -a specialised primary school. The study used a social action research methodology, which allowed the researcher to build theories from emergent data. The data collection process consisted …

Design And Fabrication Of Polarization Filter Implementing A Wire Grid Array, Eric Poortinga

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

For decades optical lithography has continually been extended past the conceived limitations of the technology. By optimizing photoresist performance and stepper settings it is possible to image features smaller then the wavelength of light being used to image. This ability allows structures to be designed such that the optical properties of the material change from what would occur at larger scales. One such structure is the wire grid array consisting of parallel metal lines on a quartz substrate. A wire grid array with a period smaller then the wavelength of incident radiation acts as a polarizer. The Incident field perpendicular …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of Crystalline Silicon Source/ Drain Finfets, Jesse J. Siman

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

Crystalline silicon source/drain FInFET structures were designed, fabricated, and tested at the RIT Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL). Process development was completed using hand calculations, simulations, and similar processing techniques based upon mature RIT semiconductor manufacturing processes. The design under investigation is a dog-bone structure fabricated on SOT substrates. The crystalline silicon source/drain FinFETs exhibited a field effect behavior for all transistor sizes fabricated, however the smaller 1μm FinFETs were more susceptible to background noise. The smallest device, a 1x2μm FInFET yielded V_T=1.53V and a drive current of 510 μA with V_G=5V. The largest device, …

Analog Ic Design And Fabrication, James Tom

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

The purpose of this project was to test the performance of analog integrated circuits and to characterize the MOSFET SPICE parameters. The data that can be obtained from this testing can be helpful for further research in the area of Analog IC design. The Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL) is a constantly evolving facility, with equipment constantly entering and leaving the lab. The process technology used was the RIT Subμ-CMOS Process, a vehicle used to teach students about process integration, semiconductor manufacturing, and the effects of process technology and device operation. Therefore, the Sub-Micron process must adapt to changes …

Design And Fabrication Of A Micromechanical Pressure Sensor, Neal V. Lafferty

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

A Microelectromechanical (MEMS) pressure sensor was designed, fabricated, and tested. Photomasks were designed for the project and built in house at RIT. The masks included designs for three separate device designs: devices to be fabricated with a KOH bulk etch, devices to be fabricated with an Surface Technology Systems (STS) Deep Reactive Ion Etch (DRIE), and a third set of scaled device designs for use with the STS DRIE process. Devices were tested in house, and the ideal design was determined. The most sensitive device, which had a resistor L/W of 10, demonstrated a voltage differential of 39 mV.

A Simple, Robust, And On-Site Microwave Technique For Determining Water-To-Cement Ratio (W/C) Of Fresh Portland Cement-Based Materials, K. Mubarak, Karl Joseph Bois, R. Zoughi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Inspection and evaluation of cement-based materials such as concrete is of great interest to the construction industry. In particular, real-time and on-site evaluation of water-to-cement ratio (w/c) is an important practical issue, since the compressive strength of a concrete structure is significantly influenced by its w/c. Currently, there is no single real-time, on-site, relatively in-expensive, easy-to-implement, and operator friendly technique for evaluating this parameter. Microwave nondestructive testing and evaluation techniques have shown great promise when used for inspection and evaluation of the properties of cement-based materials. In this paper, the optimal design of a monopole antenna probe used to evaluate …

Resilient Modulus Of Kentucky Soils, Tommy C. Hopkins, Tony L. Beckham, Charlie Sun, Bixian Ni

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In recent years, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has recommended the use of resilient modulus for characterizing highway materials for pavement design. This recommendation evolved as of a result of a trend in pavement design of using mechanistic models, which are based on the theory of elasticity (layered elastic analysis) or linear and non-linear, finite elements (and finite difference methods), or a combination of both of those theoretical approaches. Although much progress has been made in recent years in developing mathematical, mechanistic pavement design models, results obtained from those models are only as good as the …

Design And Fabrication Of On-Chip Inductors, Robert K. Requa

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

An inductor is a conductor arranged in an appropriate shape (such as a conducting wire wound as a coil) to supply a certain amount of self-inductance. This passive device stores magnetic energy. Simple spiral planar inductors of varying geometry were designed and fabricated on a silicon substrate insolated by silicon oxide. The process chosen for fabrication of the devices was the copper damascene process. Line widths and spaces varied from 5μm to 20μm. Thickness of the copper wire was approximately 1.5 μm. The inductors were isolated from the silicon substrate by 0.5 μm of Si0² and wires were insolated …

Design And Analysis Of A Cmos Based Mems Accelerometer, Matthew A. Zeleznik

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

Traditionally, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have been fabricated using standard surface micromachining or bulk micromachining processes with prior or subsequent CMOS incorporation. Recently, a new hybrid technique known as CMOS enicromachining has been developed allowing for parallel fabrication of mechanical and electrical components. A single axis and dual axis accelerometer have been designed for submission for an ASIMPS alpha run using the CMOS micromachining process. Electrical and mechanical analysis and simulations for the single axis accelerometer have been performed. The sensitivity of the single axis accelerometer has been calculated to be 19.66mV/g neglecting the effects of parasitic capacitance. The released die …

Prototype Development For A Leak-Preventive Toilet Flush System- An Met Senior Design (Capstone) Project, Cheng Y. Lin

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

A senior design (Capstone) project for three mechanical engineering technology students at Old Dominion University is described. A prototype design is presented to perform the functional test of a leak-preventive toilet system. There are two major leaks in the toilet water tank. In the first case, leaking occurs when the seal in the water tank becomes aged. The leak is very easy to detect visually, since the outside of the tank and the floor becomes wet. In the second case, leak occurs when the flapper valve can't complete shut off the water, due to corrosion or damage of the rubber …

The Effects Of Patch Properties On The Debonding Behavior Of Patched Beam-Plates, Anette M. Karlsson

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The debonding characteristics of patched structures are investigated in this study by means of an analytical model. In particular, the effects the lay-up sequence and edge tapering of a carbon-reinforced epoxy patch, as well as the beveling of an aluminum patch, have on the initiation, stability, and extent of the debonding are considered. The results presented show that both the degree of edge-tapering and the patch properties must be carefully selected in order to optimize the patched structure. It is also shown that when designing a patched system, it is important to model the correct boundary and load conditions to …

Develop Design Data On Pressure Loss Of Large Pipe Fittings, Patrick Dent

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pressure loss coefficients were determined for large radius ells, large concentric pipe reducers, and expansions, as well as large pipe tees. The fittings tested were 12, 16, 20, and 24 inch forged steel weld. Forty individual fittings from four different manufacturers were tested to determine loss coefficient values. Each test fitting was examined at a specified range of pipe velocities to determine mean and variation of loss coefficients. Tees were also examined for mean and variation of loss coefficients over a range of flow distributions.

Currently no data exists for pipe fittings of these larger diameters. This study will provide …

Dc Power Bus Modeling In High-Speed Digital Designs Including Conductor And Dielectric Losses, Jun Fan, Hao Shi, James L. Knighten, James L. Drewniak

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Power bus design is a critical aspect in high-speed digital circuit designs. A circuit extraction approach based on a mixed-potential integral equation formulation is presented herein to model arbitrary multilayer power bus structures including vertical discontinuities associated with surface mount (SMT) decoupling capacitor interconnects. Both conductor and dielectric losses are incorporated, and included into the first principles formulation. The agreement of modeling and measurements demonstrates its effectiveness and utilization in power bus designs.

Design And Fabrication Of Ring Gate Surface Junction Tunneling Devices, Eliott R. Hughes

Journal of the Microelectronic Engineering Conference

Silicon based ring gate surface junction tunneling devices (SJT) were studied due to their promise of incorporating quantum functional devices with integrated circuits. SJT devices of various gate lengths ranging from 1 μm to 50 μm were designed using Mentor Graphics tools, and were fabricated using standard CMOS processes on S1MOX substrates. SIMOX wafers were used to help reduce bulk leakage and enhance the drain impurity profile. SIMOX mesa isolation also significantly reduced the process flow.

Pavement Design Guide: A Short Course, Kentucky Transportation Center

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The purpose of this short course is to provide information to the registered engineer (with no previous background in pavement design or pavement technology) on the structural design of pavements. Included in this course is a summary of background information on the materials used in pavement construction and on the history and evolution of pavement design. Included with this course is an updated Design Guide or catalog to be used for designing new pavements in Kentucky. The intent of the guide or catalog is to provide the road\\ a) designer with a simplified, straightforward methodology for developing structural designs of …

Ventilation System Design Parameters For Greenhouses For Tobacco Production, R. S. Gates, George A. Duncan

Agricultural Engineering Extension Updates

Methods for germination and initial growth of tobacco have changed rapidly in recent years, moving from outside float beds into double-layer plastic greenhouses. Typically, these "tobacco greenhouses" consist of sidewall curtains, which run the entire length of both sides of the house. They may also have modest mechanical ventilation.

Ventilation of greenhouse structures is a mature field, with engineering practices for proper design given by numerous organizations including ASAE. In this article we briefly outline the important features of ventilation of concern to tobacco greenhouse operators.

Finite Element Study Of Wellbore Stability, Karim Ibrahim Badawi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Experimental Study Of Domestic Charcoal Stoves, Simbo Kimario

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The demand of fuelwood for domestic cooking especially the charcoal fuel is increasing in the urban settlements due to the increase in population of low income class earners who are the main consumers Of this type of fuel. This paper is presenting rhe results Of experiments conducted on the popularly used domestic charcoal stoves in Tanzania. The results revealed some significant differences on stoves performances. The type of insulation materials and some design features incorporated into the combustion chambers of the stoves had positive impacts in relative charcoal fuel saving. About two tons of charcoal fuel could be saved by …

Analytical And Experimental Study Of Investment Casting With Laser Stereolithography Models, Wen-Long Yao

Dissertations

This dissertation presents an analytical and experimental investigation of ceramic shell cracking during the burnout process in investment casting with internally webbed laser stereolithography (SLA) patterns. Included in the consideration are the cracking temperature of the ceramic shell, the web link buckling temperature, and the glass transition temperature of the epoxy resin. The hypothesis is that shell cracking will occur when the cracking temperature is lower than the glass transition temperature and the web buckling temperature.

An analytical and experimental study has been conducted, with the cross-sectional area, the span length of the web structure, and the shell thickness being …

Dual Adaptive Recumbent Trike, Jason V. Eastman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The DART team's objective was to develop a tandem recumbent tricycle that would be economical, easy to build, and adaptable. This would involve designing, building and testing the tricycle.

Parameter Optimization For Curl Distortion In Building Parts Using 3-D Laser Stereolithography, Laurel A. Hanesian

Theses

The curl distortions in rapid prototyping using 3-D laser stereo lithography occur as the top layers shrink after being drawn and attaching to the bottom layers. The amount of curl is dependent upon the how much shrinkage the layer has finished prior to adhesion. It is also dependent on how deep the cure of the top layer amounts to as it adheres into the bottom layer. This thesis investigated the effect of build parameters on the distortions associated with the diagnostic 'Letter-H' shaped test part. The same parameters were also considered in a time optimization study, using calculated, predicted results …

A Study To Analyze And Improve Mechanical And Electro-Mechanical Designs Using Design For Quality Manufacturability (Dfqm) Technique, Bhavani P. Veerapaneni

Theses

The competitive nature of modern manufacturing demands that an innovative approach be used to build advanced and robust designs. Shortening the product development time, which is the period from initial design to full production, is a priority to most manufacturers today. Design for Quality Manufacturability (DFQM) is a methodology to address manufacturing / assembly quality issues during product design. As a consequence DFQM helps shorten the product development time.

The DFQM methodology addresses the issue of quality manufacturability (QM) - the likely hood that defects will occur during the manufacture of a product in a standard plant. The DFQM architecture …

Design And Design Centers In Engineering Education, Clive L. Dym

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

This paper is intended to be the opening salvo of the workshop, Computing Futures in Engineering Design (Dym, 1997). Thus, I want to take this privileged moment to ask you to think with me about the role of design in engineering. In particular, I want to reflect upon how design is articulated and how design is taught; about the role of design in engineering education and in the practice of engineering; and about the role that could be played locally and, perhaps, nationally by a center devoted to design education. Because I teach here at Harvey Mudd College (HMC), …

Designing A Higher Layer Protocol For Small Distributed Microcontroller Systems Using The Control Area Network Protocol, Long G. Nguyen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis is concerned with designing a Higher Layer Protocol (HLP) for small distributed microcontroller systems using a well-established network protocol: the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol which, currently, is widely used in the automation industries. Steps were taken to investigate three popular HLPs based on the CAN protocol: namely. Smart Distributed System (SDS), DeviceNet. and CAN Kingdom. Following the comparison of the three HLPs, the CAN Kingdom protocol was chosen for the task of designing the HLP in this project in order to satisfy the restrictions associated with small systems. Thus, the HLP (named the Small CAN Kingdom protocol) …