Engineering Commons^™

Mri Applications In Tissue Engineering, Shadi Othman

Science Seminar Series

Shadi Othman of the School of Engineering and Computer Science Bioengineering Program, will speak on his research on MRI applications in tissue engineering.

Method For The Production Of Substituted Polysaccharides Via Reactive Extrusion, Milford Hanna, Pratik Bhandari

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A reactive extrusion process for the production of substituted polysaccharides, in particular, cellulose acetate, starch acetate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carboxymethyl starch.

The present application claims the benefit of PCT/ US20111059785 filed on Nov. 8, 2011, which claimed the benefit of U.S. provisional application 611411,521, filed on Nov. 9, 2010, U.S. provisional application 611411,992, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, and U.S. provisional application 611472, 748, filed on Apr. 7, 2011, each of which is which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The production of substituted polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose acetates and carboxymethylated starches and celluloses have typically …

An Exact Analysis For Four-Order Acousto-Optic Bragg Diffraction Which Incorporates Both Incident Light Angle And Sound Frequency Dependencies, Adeyinka Sunday Ademola

Electrical Engineering Theses

This thesis extends the prior work which produced an exact solution to the four-order acousto-optic (AO) Bragg cell with assumed fixed center frequency and with exact Bragg angle incident light. The extension predicts the model that incorporates the dependencies of both the input angle of light and the sound frequency. Specifically, a generalized 4^th order linear differential equation (DE), is developed from a simultaneous analysis of four coupled AO system of DEs. Through standard methods, the characteristic roots, which requires solving a quartic equation, is produced. Subsequently, a derived system of homogeneous solutions, which absorbs the roots obtained using …

Studies In Mesoscopics And Quantum Microscopies, Zhenghao Ding, Gabriel C. Spalding

Honors Projects

This thesis begins with a foundational section on quantum optics. The single-photon detectors used in the first chapter were obtained through the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA), which brokered reduced cost for educational use, and the aim of the single-photon work presented in Chapter 1 is to develop modules for use in Illinois Wesleyan's instructional labs beyond the first year of university. Along with the American Association of Physics Teachers, ALPhA encourages capstone-level work, such as Chapter 1 of this honors thesis, which is explicitly designed to play the role of passing on, to a next generation of physics majors, …

Design & Analysis Of Cycloconverter To Run Split Phase Induction Motor Using Pwm Control, Iftakher Ahmed

Student Theses and Dissertations

Frequency drive is playing an important role for ever growing demand of industrial applications. Cycloconverter is one such device which generates variable frequency depending on the load. Semiconductor switching devices like Thyristor, Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) make it possible to control the output frequency according to the requirement. Because of energy efficient characteristics, single phase induction motors are widely accepted in industrial sectors. To control the speed and electromagnetic torque of a motor for the particular frequency a Cycloconverter is used to increase the system frequency with a technique known as pulse width modulation (PWM) control. To drive varying …

Effects Of Bioengineering Scaffolds Releasing Neurotrophins And Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training On H-Reflex After Spinal Cord Injury, Jaclyn Ann Witko

Theses and Dissertations

Changes in monosynaptic reflex, often used to study spasticity, has been tested through the H-reflex in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients after rehabilitation training, such as body weight support treadmill training or cycling. The combinational effects of rehabilitation training and a bioengineered scaffold on spasticity in SCI animal model have not been studied. We used a clinically relevant animal model of spinal cord moderate contusion at T9/T10 with BWSTT and the bioengineered scaffold PNIPAAm-g-PEG loaded with the growth factors BDNF/NT-3 to measure the efficiency of the combinational bioengineered approach to treat spasticity. Five animal groups were included in the study: …

Testing And Evaluation Of Mash Tl-3 Transition Between Guardrail And Portable Concrete Barriers, Robert W. Bielenberg, Jessica L. Lingenfelter, Justine E. Kohtz, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Three full-scale vehicle crash tests were conducted according to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 3 (TL-3) safety performance criteria on a transition between the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) and a portable concrete barrier (PCB) system. The transition system utilized for test nos. MGSPCB-1 through MGSPCB-3 consisted of a standard MGS that overlapped a series of F- shape PCB segments that approached the MGS at a 15H:1V flare. In the overlapped portion of the barrier systems, uniquely-designed blockout holders and a specialized W-beam end shoe mounting bracket were used to connect the systems.

In test no. MGSPCB-1, …

Analysis Of Field And Force Calculation Of Multiple Rayleigh Scattering, Misuk Saha

Student Theses and Dissertations

Rayleigh approximation is one of the basic methods of studying electromagnetic (EM) scattering of light for spherical particle. We consider a large sphere consisting of many small Rayleigh particles, and then calculate the electric and magnetic fields of that large sphere. We simulate the field patterns of electric and magnetic field of a large sphere using discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method and compare the field patterns with Mie theory. We calculate the total numerical force acting on the sphere considering scattering and gradient force and calculate the same force using Chu stress tensor and Mie theory. We also figure out …

Implementation Of Range Autofocus For Sar Radar Imaging, Nicholas J. Testin, Philip Davis

KSU Journey Honors College Capstones and Theses

The range calculation for an FMCW radar depends on accurate linear modulation. In some circumstances, linear modulation may not be available and must be corrected for. This paper describes an autofocus technique used to correct for phase error due to non-linearities in the components of a FMCW radar. Also described here is the algorithm used in calculating the phase error and application of the phase correction with triangle modulation. Known errors were calculated at certain distances and applied to correcting the phase of data taken at similar distances. The results given were generated using a SAR working outside linear ranges.

Erratum To: Supplemental Vibrotactile Feedback Control Of Stabilization And Reaching Actions Of The Arm Using Limb State And Position Error Encodings, Alexis Krueger, Psiche Giannoni, Valay Shah, Maura Casadio, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The original article contained omissions mistakenly carried forward by the Production department handling this journal; these omissions related to missing ‘λ’ symbols throughout the article body, thus inaccurately representing the meaning of the associated text.

The article has now been updated to include these symbols in the appropriate sections of text to accurately reflect the conveyed implications.

Supplemental Vibrotactile Feedback Control Of Stabilization And Reaching Actions Of The Arm Using Limb State And Position Error Encodings, Alexis Krueger, Psiche Giannoni, Valay Shah, Maura Casadio, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Deficits of kinesthesia (limb position and movement sensation) commonly limit sensorimotor function and its recovery after neuromotor injury. Sensory substitution technologies providing synthetic kinesthetic feedback might re-establish or enhance closed-loop control of goal-directed behaviors in people with impaired kinesthesia.

A Constraint Programming Approach For The Team Orienteering Problem With Time Windows, Ridvan Gedik, Emre Kirac, Ashlea Bennet Milburn, Chase Rainwater

Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Faculty Publications

The team orienteering problem with time windows (TOPTW) is a NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. It has many real-world applications, for example, routing technicians and disaster relief routing. In the TOPTW, a set of locations is given. For each, the profit, service time and time window are known. A fleet of homogenous vehicles are available for visiting locations and collecting their associated profits. Each vehicle is constrained by a maximum tour duration. The problem is to plan a set of vehicle routes that begin and end at a depot, visit each location no more than once by incorporating time window constraints. …

Vulnerability Of Coastal Connecticut To Sea Level Rise: Land Inundation And Impacts To Residential Property, Rebecca Andreucci, Can B. Aktas

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Vulnerability indices at the global or national scales require considerable data aggregation where local economic and social impacts remain unnoticed. The goal of this study was to analyze the extent of inundated land from sea level rise and its economic impacts to residential property in coastal communities. Geographic data were integrated with economic and social data at parcel level resolution through GIS. Cumulative land inundation in seven coastal municipalities was calculated as 15 and 25 km², while direct economic costs to residential property was estimated to be $1.3 billion and $2.2 billion for 1 and 2 m sea …

Comparing Multiple Turbulence Restoration Algorithms Performance On Noisy Anisoplanatic Imagery, Michael Armand Rucci, Russell C. Hardie, Alexander J. Dapore

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, we compare the performance of multiple turbulence mitigation algorithms to restore imagery degraded by atmospheric turbulence and camera noise. In order to quantify and compare algorithm performance, imaging scenes were simulated by applying noise and varying levels of turbulence. For the simulation, a Monte-Carlo wave optics approach is used to simulate the spatially and temporally varying turbulence in an image sequence. A Poisson-Gaussian noise mixture model is then used to add noise to the observed turbulence image set. These degraded image sets are processed with three separate restoration algorithms: Lucky Look imaging, bispectral speckle imaging, and a …

Improving Automatic Content Type Identification From A Data Set, Kathy T. Dai

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Data file layout inference refers to building the structure and determining the metadata of a text file. The text files dealt within this research are personal information records that have a consistent structure. Traditionally, if the layout structure of a text file is unknown, the human user must undergo manual labor of identifying the metadata. This is inefficient and prone to error. Content-based oracles are the current state-of-the-art automation technology that attempts to solve the layout inference problem by using databases of known metadata. This paper builds upon the information and documentation of the content-based oracles, and improves the databases …

Gis Internship At Tighe And Bond, Yuanting Qu M.S.

Sustainability and Social Justice

I started working as GIS Intern at Tighe and Bond Worcester Office on May 11, 2016. I was given a multitude of civil engineering related projects to edit, verify, do analysis and process data. I was able to apply my computer programming skills to help the GIS team develop a useful script tool set that will improve efficiency work. This internship provided me insight into how GIS operate as a part of engineering project on a day-to-day basis. Working background, my responsibilities and what I have learned from this internship is discussed in this report.

Music Feature Matching Using Computer Vision Algorithms, Mason Hollis

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper seeks to establish the validity and potential benefits of using existing computer vision techniques on audio samples rather than traditional images in order to consistently and accurately identify a song of origin from a short audio clip of potentially noisy sound. To do this, the audio sample is first converted to a spectrogram image, which is used to generate SURF features. These features are compared against a database of features, which have been previously generated in a similar fashion, in order to find the best match. This algorithm has been implemented in a system that can run as …

Generation And Analysis Of A Social Network: Hamlet, Preston Evans

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the generation and analysis of a social network produced from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. An XML file of Hamlet was parsed to extract the characters within the play and also identify when the characters appeared within the same scene. After parsing the speakers and the connections between characters, a network graph was generated that displayed all the characters in Hamlet, represented by nodes, and edges that represented the connections between characters as measured by their scene co-appearance. The results of the network graph were then compared to a published social network for Hamlet created by hand. The two …

Project Pradio, Trigg T. La Tour

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the design and manufacturing of a device that allows two or more users to share a wireless audio stream. Effectively, this allows a group of people to listen to the same audio in a synchronized manner. The product was unable to be completed in the allotted time. Regardless, significant progress was made and valuable insight into the circuit board design process was gained.

Enhancing An Extensible Interpreter With A Syntax Macro Facility, Xin Wan

Theses and Dissertations from 2017

This thesis builds a syntax macro facility for an extensible interpreter, which enables the developer to extend the base language at run time, without knowing the details of the interpreter. In the enhanced extensible interpreter, each grammar rule is represented by a distinct class that inherits from Instruction class, which contains all the information necessary for scanning, parsing, and interpreting the corresponding construct. The macro facility is implemented by a special class Macro, which also inherits from Instruction class. Each macro rule is associated with a unique Macro instance. With the new extensible interpreter strategy, the syntax macro facility does …

Improving Flow Measurement Accuracy Using A Portable Irrigation Turnout Calibration Unit, Stuart Styles, Kyle Feist, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Relatively accurate flow measurement at irrigation district water delivery points is an important component of volumetric billing and equitable service. In California, this has often occurred with conversions to pressurized irrigation systems which commonly include the installation of pipeline flow meters as part of the on-farm system. However, a large portion of irrigation turnouts in the western US continue to operate via gravity and fall into one of the following categories: (a) a metergate, or similar structure was installed without adherence to standard construction requirements or (b) the structure was never intended for flow measurement.

For these and other scenarios, …

Using Electricity Consumption To Estimate Water Volumes Pumped From Wells, Charles M. Burt

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of California has led some organizations to want access to documentation of the volumes of groundwater pumped by individual wells. Many well pumps already have flow meters installed that provide an accurate measurement of both instantaneous flow rate and the cumulative volume pumped. For wells that do not have flow meters, it has been proposed for many years that pumped volumes can be accurately estimated by simply using the total power consumption, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Ultrasonically Responsive Tissue Engineering Scaffolds For The Temporal Control Over Osteo-Inductive Growth Factor Delivery, Catherine Linh

Senior Honors Projects

In 2012, approximately 6.8 million people in the United States were diagnosed with orthopedic injuries or diseases. Over 500,000 people in the United States underwent bone grafting procedures, which cost 2.5 billion dollars per year and can result in complications. Polymer-based grafting scaffolds can facilitate 3D bone tissue growth in a localized, sustained manner. However, bone regeneration requires the orchestration of a sequence of events. Current scaffolds based on degradation and diffusion cannot provide sequential deliveries. We aimed to design a polymer scaffold that can release one payload diffusively at early time points, followed by ultrasonically triggered release of a …

Development Of Intermediate Band Solar Cell Through Ingan Quantum Well Structures, Kelly Mckenzie

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the search for high-efficiency solar cells, In_xGa_1-xN has come under scrutiny as a unique material with high potential. This is due to characteristics including an easily tunable bandgap, large range of potential bandgap values, and high heat resistance. However, one factor limiting its adaptation is the high density of crystal defects. In this thesis, the qualities of InGaN are discussed and the intermediate band solar cell structure is introduced. Additionally, the growth and characterization of two sets of InGaN-based solar cell devices are reported and evaluated.

A Study Of Activation Functions For Neural Networks, Meenakshi Manavazhahan

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Artificial neural networks are function-approximating models that can improve themselves with experience. In order to work effectively, they rely on a nonlinearity, or activation function, to transform the values between each layer. One question that remains unanswered is, “Which non-linearity is optimal for learning with a particular dataset?” This thesis seeks to answer this question with the MNIST dataset, a popular dataset of handwritten digits, and vowel dataset, a dataset of vowel sounds. In order to answer this question effectively, it must simultaneously determine near-optimal values for several other meta-parameters, including the network topology, the optimization algorithm, and the number …

Compositionally Graded Indium Gallium Nitride Solar Cells, Christopher Matthews

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

For the past several decades, methods to harvest solar energy have been investigated intensively. A majority of the work done in this field has been on solar cells made with silicon – the most mature semiconductor material. Recent developments in material fabrication and processing techniques have enabled other semiconductor materials to attract practical interest and research effort as well. Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) is one such material. The material properties of InGaN indicate that solar cells made with it have the potential to achieve much higher power density than a standard silicon solar cell. High power density InGaN solar cells …

Simulating Foodborne Pathogens In Poultry Production And Processing To Defend Against Intentional Contamination, Silas B. Lankford

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

There is a lack of data in recent history of food terrorism attacks, and as such, it is difficult to predict its impact. The food supply industry is one of the most vulnerable industries for terrorist threats while the poultry industry is one of the largest food industries in the United States. A small food terrorism attack against just a single poultry processing center has the potential to affect a much larger population than its immediate consumers. In this work, the spread of foodborne pathogens is simulated in a poultry production and processing system to defend against intentional contamination. An …

Exploring The Association Between Patient Waiting Time, No-Shows And Overbooking Strategy To Improve Efficiency In Health Care, Cam Tu M. Nguyen

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many primary care clinics are using overbooking as a strategy to mitigate the negative impacts on operations and performance caused by patient nonattendance of appointments, also known as “no-shows”. However, overbooking tends to increase patient waiting time and worker overtime. It is also acknowledged that patient waiting time is associated with no-show behavior, yet there is a lack of observational study to quantify the relationship. The overall goal of this research is to explore the relationships between patient waiting time, no-show behavior and overbooking strategy in terms of clinic performance. Arena® simulation software is used to create a discrete-event simulation …

Design Of A Folded Cascode Operational Amplifier In A 1.2 Micron Silicon-Carbide Cmos Process, Kyle Addington

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis covers the design of a Folded Cascode CMOS Operational Amplifier (Op-Amp) in Raytheon’s 1.2-micron Silicon Carbide (SiC) process. The use of silicon-carbide as a material for integrated circuits (ICs) is gaining popularity due to its ability to function at high temperatures outside the range of typical silicon ICs. The goal of this design was to create an operational amplifier suitable for use in a high temperature analog-to-digital converter application. The amplifier has been designed to have a DC gain of 50dB, a phase margin of 50 degrees, and a bandwidth of 2 MHz. The circuit’s application includes input …

On The Simulation And Mitigation Of Anisoplanatic Optical Turbulence For Long Range Imaging, Russell C. Hardie, Daniel A. Lemaster

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We describe a numerical wave propagation method for simulating long range imaging of an extended scene under anisoplanatic conditions. Our approach computes an array of point spread functions (PSFs) for a 2D grid on the object plane. The PSFs are then used in a spatially varying weighted sum operation, with an ideal image, to produce a simulated image with realistic optical turbulence degradation. To validate the simulation we compare simulated outputs with the theoretical anisoplanatic tilt correlation and differential tilt variance. This is in addition to comparing the long- and short-exposure PSFs, and isoplanatic angle. Our validation analysis shows an …