Engineering Commons^™

Automation And Standardization Of Measuring Moisture Content And Density Of Soil Using The Technique Of Time Domain Reflectometry, Wei Feng, Chih-Ping Lin, Richard J. Deschamps, Vincent P. Drnevich

JTRP Technical Reports

The methodology developed by Siddiqui and Drnevich (1995) for measuring soil water content and density using Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) was extended for routine use in the quality control testing of compacted soils. The objectives of the study were to develop computer software to automate data interpretation and data reduction, develop prototype equipment for field use, compare the results of the TDR method with the sand cone and nuclear density methods on actual construction sites and develop draft specifications for ASTM and AASHTO. New prototype equipment was developed for compaction quality control testing. Waveform interpretation and data reduction were automated …

Usable Software And It's Attributes: A Synthesis Of Software Quality: European Community Law And Human-Computer Interaction., Ronan Fitzpatrick, Catherine Higgins

Conference papers

Strategic managers and IS professionals who are responsible for specifying, acquiring and producing quality software products are not supported by the endless flow of new international standards, legislation and user requirements. In order to clarify the current situation for everybody concerned with software quality, and especially those interested in usability, there is a need for a new review and evaluation of the various strands that contribute to software quality. By way of review this paper recalls the original software quality factors which were defined twenty years ago by McCall et al. and presents a methodical analysis and synthesis of three …

An Evaluation Of The Aws Entry Level Welder Training Program, John R. Rice

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program for Entry Level Welders and to provide this information to the American Welding Society (AWS), industry, and educators. The problem of this study was to evaluate the AWS Entry Level Welder Training Program (ELWTP) by obtaining the opinions of faculty members who taught the program and welders who had completed the program.

Two groups comprised the research population for this study. The first group consisted of faculty members who were actually involved in teaching the course at institutions accredited by the AWS to offer the curriculum. …

Few-Cycle Pulses In Two-Level Media, Lee W. Casperson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Techniques for producing, measuring, and applying ever shorter electromagnetic pulses are being developed for incorporation in a variety of modern high-speed systems. In many cases these pulses are at most a few cycles in length, and so-called half-cycle electromagnetic pulses are also widely employed. The interaction of such pulses with two-level media is considered here in detail, and these media are basic to many of the absorbing and amplifying configurations of optics and laser studies. Significant delays and distortion of the resulting polarization and population pulses can occur, and nonlinear optical effects are also revealed. The limitations of the parity, …

Exact Graph Coloring For Functional Decomposition: Do We Need It?, Marek Perkowski, Rahul Malvi, Lech Jozwiak

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Finding column multiplicity index is one of important component processes in functional decomposition of discrete functions for circuit design and especially Data Mining applications. How important it is to solve this problem exactly from the point of view of the minimum complexity of decomposition, and related to it error in Machine Learning type of applications? In order to investigate this problem we wrote two graph coloring programs: exact program EXOC and approximate program DOM (DOM cab give provably exact results on some types of graphs). These programs were next incorporated into the multi-valued decomposer of functions and relations NVGUD. Extensive …

Multi-Level Programmable Arrays For Sub-Micron Technology Based On Symmetries, Marek Perkowski, Malgorzata Chrzanowska-Jeske, Yang Xu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Regular layout is a fundamental concept in VLSI design which can have application in custom design for submicron technologies, designing new architectures for fine-grain Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Electrically Programmable logic Devices (EPLDs), and minimization of logic functions for existing FPGAs. PLAs are well known examples of regular layouts. Lattice diagrams are another type of regular layouts that have been recently introduced for layout-driven logic synthesis. In this paper we extend and combine theses two ideas, by introducing the multi-level PLA-like structures, composed from multi-output (pseudo) symmetrical lattice planes and other planes (multi-input, multi-output regular blocks). The main …

The Investigation Of The Relaxation Process In Antiferroelectric Liquid Crystals By Electro-Optic Spectroscopy, Yuri Panarin, O. Kalinovskaya, J.K. Vij

Articles

Electrooptic spectroscopy of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal is carried out over a range of frequencies from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. In the antiferroelectric SmCA phase two relaxation processes are found, one at the fundamental frequency of a mode and the second at twice the frequency of a different mode. A comparison of the results of the electro-optic spectroscopy with a theoretical study of the motion of the director of an antiferroelectric helix subject to a weak alternating field enables a determination of the origin of the relaxation processes in antiferroelectric phases. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Embankment Construction Using Shale, Tommy C. Hopkins, Tony L. Beckham

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Shales have been used extensively in the construction of highway embankments, and other earthen structures, because of the vast amounts of these materials located in many areas of the country and the lack of economical and alternate available materials. Because shales exhibit a wide range of engineering properties and behaviors, many problems have occurred. Numerous shale embankment failures have occurred generally some 1 to 10 years after construction. Settlements of 1 to 3 feet (0.3 - 0.9 m) have been observed in many old embankments and required numerous asphaltic overlays. Shale embankments that settle continuously have been observed to fail …

Kentucky Traffic Accident Facts 1998 Report, Kentucky Transportation Center, Kentucky State Police

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KENTUCKY’S TRAFFIC ACCIDENT FACTS report for 1998 is based on accident reports submitted to the Accident Unit housed in the Kentucky State Police Information Services Branch, Records Section. As required by Kentucky Revised statutes 189.635, “every law enforcement agency whose officers investigate a vehicle accident of which a report must be made...shall file a report of the accident...within ten days after investigation of the accident upon forms supplied by the bureau.” The stated purpose of this requirement is to utilize date on traffic accidents” for such purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the Commonwealth.” Data contained in …

Modeling Soot Derived From Pulverized Coal, Alexander L. Brown, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A semiempirical model has been developed for predicting coal-derived soot. The main feature of the model is a transport equation for soot mass fraction. Tar prediction options include either an empirical or a transport equation approach, which directly impacts the source term for soot formation. Also, the number of soot particles per unit mass of gas may be calculated using either a transport equation or an assumed average. Kinetics are based on Arrhenius rates taken from published measurements. Radiative properties are calculated as a function of averaged optical constants, predicted gas temperatures, predicted gas densities, and the soot mass fractions. …

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) …

Development Of A Quality Assurance Plan For A Microbrewery, Matthew J. Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Quality assurance (QA) has become a key factor to business success in the marketplace. Within Australia, companies normally approach QA by implementing formal systems which maintain the consistency of manufacturing processes, and hence, the quality of subsequent output. These systems have increasingly been based upon the international series of standards, ISO 9000.In the food industry, safety is a minimum requirement for food quality. As Governments and food authorities have endeavoured to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses, they have promoted the implementation of additional systems developed to a specific standard for food safety, namely Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). …

The Identification And Control Of Processes With Time Delay, Susan Carr, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

The identification of the frequency response and process model parameters of systems with time delay using frequency domain techniques is evaluated in this paper. The performance of both Fourier Transform and Power Spectral Density techniques is considered. The benefits of employing modern model based design and delay compensation techniques, based on the identified process data, are assessed.

A Corba-Base Integration Of Distributed Electronic Healthcare Records Using The Synapses Approach, Jane Grimson, William Grimson, Damon Berry, Gaye Stephens, Eoghan Felton, Dipak Kalra, Pieter Toussaint, Onno Weir

Articles

The ability to exchange in a meaningful, secure, and simple fashion relevant healthcare data about patients is seen as vital in the context of efficient and cost-effective shared or team-based care. The electronic healthcare record (EHCR) lies at the heart of this information exchange, and it follows that there is an urgent need to address the ability to share EHCR's or parts of records between carers and across distributed health information systems. This paper presents the Synapses approach to sharing based on a standardized shared record, the Federated Healthcare Record, which is implemented in an open and flexible manner using …

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Building Services Engineering

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Organically Deposited Metallic Films For Device Fabrication, Thomas J. O'Keefe, M. Stroder, Matthew O'Keefe

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advances in integrated circuit density, speed and complexity are dependent on lower resistance, finer line width on-chip interconnections. Methods for incorporating copper interconnects into IC fabrication processes have been developed which accomplish this objective but most of these methods use some form of blanket metal deposition that requires mechanical and/or chemical removal of excess material. To date, investigations into the selective deposition of conductor materials for device fabrication have met with limited success. A new process for selectively depositing metallic conductors using inexpensive, organic-based chemical solutions could potentially force a paradigm shift in the deposition of metals for microelectronic applications. …

Improving The Jar Slake, Slake Index, And Slake Durability Tests For Shales, Paul M. Santi

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study proposes modifications to three shale durability tests to improve reproducibility, reduce the level of effort required, and better correlate the test to actual slaking characteristics. Modifications to the jar slake test reduced test variability by one-third, offering a substantial improvement in consistency, with only a slight loss in the ability of the test to predict slake durability. Analysis showed that slake index test error could be reduced or at least pinpointed by testing groups of samples, rather than single samples. Furthermore, the wet-sieving procedure should be more carefully defined. Analysis of correlations between single- and multiple-cycle slake durability …

Robustness Analysis Of Hopfield And Modified Hopfield Neural Networks In Time Domain, Jie Shen, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A variant of the Hopfield network, called the modified Hopfield network is formulated. This network which consists of two mutually recurrent networks has more free parameters than the well-known Hopfield network. Stability analysis of this network is presented. The analysis is carried out in the time domain with an application of the Lyapunov method and robust control Lyapunov function. The current flow in the network is treated as a "control". This "controller" is shown to guarantee "a practically stabilizing control". Analysis of the Hopfield network is also included for completion.

Magnetoresistance Of Magnetic Tunnel Junctions In The Presence Of A Nonmagnetic Layer, Shi C. Zhang, P. M. Levy

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We find that electron propagation across a uniform nonmagnetic metallic layer di in a magnetically layered structure is coherent up to a critical length dc. This provides a possible explanation for the slow decay of the magnetoresistance of magnetic tunnel junctions when a layer of Cu or Ag is inserted between the magnetic electrode and the barrier. However, for many (most) structures the roughness of the interfaces breaks the coherence for di ≪ dc. While the loss of coherence is not fatal for the magnetoresistance of metallic multilayers, it is for tunnel junctions. The quantum well states arising from the …

Analysis Of The Value Of The Fe Examination For The Assessment Of Student Learning In Engineering And Science Topics, John L. Watson

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the results of a project, which investigated the potential of fully using previously unreleased data from the nationally normed Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination to assess learning in key engineering and science topics. In the past, very limited information was released by the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) for the eight hour FE examination, which is composed of 150-200 questions in ten morning and five afternoon topics. For the purposes of this project the NCEES agreed to release information to the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to permit the value of the FE data …

Evolution Of In Situ Refractories In The 20th Century, William E. Lee, Robert E. Moore

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A common theme over the past 100 years in refractories science and technology has been to generate a protective refractories layer in a high-temperature container, often by reaction of the refractory materials with the contents (glass, slag, or atmosphere). The history of refractories during the 20th century is used in this review to illustrate how techniques - such as slag splashing, in situ spinel generation in castables, magnesia dense layer formation in magnesia-carbon brick in steelmaking, clinker adhesion in cement kilns, and viscous boundary layer generation in glass tanks - have evolved to their present status.

Strength And Durability Of Concrete: Effects Of Cement Paste-Aggregate Interfaces, Part Ii: Significance Of Transition Zones On Physical And Mechanical Properties Of Portland Cement Mortar, Turng-Fang F. Lee, Menashi D. Cohen

JTRP Technical Reports

This research was based on a two-part basic research investigation studying the effects of cement paste-aggregate interfaces (or interfacial transition zones-HZ) on strength and durability of concrete. Part I dealt with the theoretical study and Part II dealt with the experimental. Part I, the theoretical part, illustrates the effect of ITZ on the concrete properties by assuming its elastic moduli to be varied continuously in the region. A four-phase composite model is employed and three functions are chosen to model the moduli variation in the ITZ. A theoretical solution for an n-layered spherical inclusion model is used to estimate the …

Strength And Durability Of Concrete: Effects Of Cement Paste-Aggregate Interfaces, Part I: Theoretical Study On Influence Of Interfacial Transition Zone On Properties Of Concrete Materials, Yiguo Zhang, Wai-Fah Chen

JTRP Technical Reports

This research was based on a two-part basic research investigation studying the effects of cement paste-aggregate interfaces (or interfacial transition zones-HZ) on strength and durability of concrete. Part I dealt with the theoretical study and Part II dealt with the experimental. Part I, the theoretical part, illustrates the effect of ITZ on the concrete properties by assuming its elastic moduli to be varied continuously in the region. A four-phase composite model is employed and three functions are chosen to model the moduli variation in the ITZ. A theoretical solution for an n-layered spherical inclusion model is used to estimate the …

Sr‐ And Ni‐Doped Lacoo3 And Lafeo3 Perovskites: New Cathode Materials For Solid‐Oxide Fuel Cells, Kevin Huang, Hee Y. Lee, John B. Goodenough

Faculty Publications

An improved cathode material for a solid‐oxide fuel cell would be a mixed electronic and oxide‐ion conductor with a good catalytic activity for oxygen reduction at an operating temperature T _op ≥ 700°C and a thermal expansion matched to that of the electrolyte and interconnect. We report on the properties of Sr‐ and Ni‐doped LaCoO₃ and LaFeO₃ perovskites that meet these criteria. Single‐phase regions were determined by X‐ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis measurements were used to obtain the temperatures above which oxygen loss, and hence oxide‐ion conductivity, occurs. The conductivity and Seebeck measurements indicate the coexistence of both …

All Agents Are Not Created Equal, Michael N. Huhns, Munindar P. Singh

Faculty Publications

As the technology advances, we can expect the development of specialized agents to be used as standardized building blocks for information systems. Two trends lend credence to such a prediction. First, software systems in general are being constructed with larger components, such as ActiveX and JavaBeans, which are becoming closer to being agents themselves. They have more functionality than simple objects, respond to events autonomously, and, most importantly, respond to system builders at development time, as well as to events at runtime. Moreover, there is a move toward more cooperative information systems, in which the architecture itself plays an important …

Femtosecond Photoemission Study Of Ultrafast Electron Dynamics In Single-Crystal Au(111) Films, J. Cao, Y. Gao, H. E. Elsayed-Ali, R. J. D. Miller, D. A. Mantell

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The energy-dependent relaxation of photoexcited electrons has been measured by time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy on single-crystal Au(111) films with thickness ranging from 150 to 3000 Å. It is found that the energy-dependent relaxation does not show any significant thickness dependence, which indicates that electron transport is a much slower dynamical process in the near-surface region than expected from bulk properties. Furthermore, lifetimes of the photoexcited electrons can be fitted well by the Fermi-liquid theory with a scaling factor plus an effective upper lifetime. This observation enables separation of electron-electron scattering, and to a lesser extent electron-phonon scattering, processes from electron-transport …

Macros By Example In A Graphical Uims, Dan R. Olsen Jr., Jonathan Turner, Stephen Bart Wood, John R. Dance

Faculty Publications

A macro facility that allows end users to extend interactive graphical applications is presented as part of a user-interface management system (UIMS). Such macros are expressed by example; that is, the end user programs the macro in the application's generated user interface. Problems with macros-by-example in graphical applications are explored, and requirements to accommodate such a facility are defined for the UIMS dialogue model. Existing UIMS models are reviewed relative to these requirements, and the unique facilities of the MIKE (menu interaction kontrol environment) semantics-based model are presented. The implementation of the macro-by-example system is discussed, as well as the …

Dsp Implementation Of A Quadrature Phase Shift Keying Transmitter, Andrew Phoon

Theses : Honours

The aim of this project is to develop a DSP implementation of a QPSK transmitter. This transmitter is to process digital signals in real-time and modulate it with sinusoidal and cosinusoidal signals to produce the required QPSK waveform. This thesis is mainly divided into three sections. The first section deals with the theory of modulation. Phase shift keying, in particular binary phase shift keying, is explained in some detail, with references to the generation of quadrature phase shift keying. In the second section, a brief overview of the SIMULINK package from MATLAB is given, as simulations of ideal and nonideal …

Integration Of Real-Time Air Pollution Parameters Into The Decision Making Process Regarding Highway Construction Work Zone Traffic Flow Requirements (Phase 1), Ouattara Fatogoma, Todd A. Premo, Robert Bertram Jacko

JTRP Technical Reports

The Midac Fourier Transform Infrared air monitoring system was used to measure real-time vehicular exhaust emission concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HCs) during the Purdue Vehicle Emission Monitoring and Modeling Project (PVEMP) conducted in spring and summer 1997. The experiments took place on the Borman Expressway, in Gary. Indiana and on 1-65, south of Lafayette, Indiana Concurrently, two speed-readings were acquired from the passing vehicles in the vicinity of the air monitoring system using a hand-held laser gun. The speeds were integrated to determine the speeds and accelerations of the passing vehicles at the spectrometer. An 8-mm camcorder …

Building A Secure Intranet, Fred J. Berryman

Theses

This thesis will explain the vulnerabilities of computers in a networking environment and demonstrate proper procedures for building a secure Intranet.

The Internet is built around the concept of open communication. Data is shared around the globe just as easily as it is from one office or cubical to the next. Corporations are skeptical about putting company data on such a public transport mechanism as the Internet, but the tools used on the Internet are exciting and everyone wants to use them. Out of a desire for the best of both worlds, the Intranet was born.

An intranet that has …