Engineering Commons^™

Dsrc Performance Analysis In Foggy Environment For Intelligent Vehicles System, Mostafa El-Said, Samah Mansour, Alexander Arendsen

College of Computing Peer-Reviewed Articles

Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is one of the fastest growing areas in the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Research efforts has focused on developing a driver assistant alert system to warn driver in foggy environment. However, there is a lack of which effective V2V/V2I communication technology would be the best to extend and disseminate this information to nearby vehicles. In this paper, we examine the use of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) as a V2V communication mechanism to share the foggy conditions to nearby vehicles. The study also investigates the effect of changing the fog/air density on the DSRC performance …

Segmental Kinematic Analysis Of Planovalgus Feet During Walking In Children With Cerebral Palsy, Karen M. Kruger, Katherine A. Konop, Joseph Krzak, Adam Graf, Haluk Altiok, Peter A. Smith, Gerald F. Harris

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Pes planovalgus (flatfoot) is a common deformity among children with cerebral palsy. The Milwaukee Foot Model (MFM), a multi-segmental kinematic foot model, which uses radiography to align the underlying bony anatomy with reflective surface markers, was used to evaluate 20 pediatric participants (30 feet) with planovalgus secondary to cerebral palsy prior to surgery. Three-dimensional kinematics of the tibia, hindfoot, forefoot, and hallux segments are reported and compared to an age-matched control set of typically-developing children. Most results were consistent with known characteristics of the deformity and showed decreased plantar flexion of the forefoot relative to hindfoot, increased forefoot abduction, and …

Short-Circuit Protection For Low-Voltage Dc Distribution Systems Based On Solid-State Circuit Breakers, Sharthak Munasib

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proper short-circuit protection in dc distribution systems has provided an austere challenge to researchers as the development of commercially-viable equipment providing fast operation, coordination and reliability still continues. The objective of this thesis is to analyze issues associated with short-circuit protection of low-voltage dc (LVDC) distribution systems and propose a short-circuit protection methodology based on solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) that provides fault-current limiting (FCL). Simulation results for a simplified notional 1-kVdc distribution system, performed in MATLAB/SIMULINKTM, would be presented to illustrate that SSCB solutions based on reverse-blocking integrated gate-commutated thyristors (RB-IGCT) are feasible for low-voltage dc distribution systems but requires …

Temporal Evaluation Of Corn Respiration Rates Using Pressure Sensors, Gagandeep Singh Ubhi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High respiration rate of a grain indicates faster degradation of its dry matter. Proper grain management requires chronological and precise measurements of carbon dioxide evolved from grain respiration during the postharvest storage duration. Therefore the main goal of this research was to develop a new technique that evaluates temporal corn respiration rate using pressure sensors. It was based on measuring pressure drop associated with the grain respiration in a closed container and using it to calculate the grain respiration rates.

Dry corn (Zea Mays L.) was procured from a local farmer and stored at 4ºC. Corn rewetting technique was applied …

Linear Quadratic Optimal Control For A Cascaded Converters-Based Microgrid, Amlam Niragire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a constant transformation of the electric grid due to an ongoing interest in the deployment of renewable energy resources and electric microgrid formation. This transformation, though advantageous in many ways, poses great challenges for the energy industry and there must be a constant improvement in modeling, simulation, analysis and control techniques in order to characterize and optimize the system design and operation. In this light, the scope of this thesis is focused on developing a linear model, analyzing the stability and designing an optimal linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for a microgrid system. The microgrid system used is inspired …

Infrared Energy Conversion In Plasmonic Fields At Two-Dimensional Semiconductors, Gregory Thomas Forcherio

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conversion of infrared energy within plasmonic fields at two-dimensional, semiconductive transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) through plasmonic hot electron transport and nonlinear frequency mixing has important implications in next-generation optoelectronics. Drude-Lorentz theory and approximate discrete dipole (DDA) solutions to Maxwell’s equations guided metal nanoantenna design towards strong infrared localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Excitation and damping dynamics of LSPR in heterostructures of noble metal nanoantennas and molybdenum- or tungsten-disulfide (MoS2; WS2) monolayers were examined by parallel synthesis of (i) DDA electrodynamic simulations and (ii) near-field electron energy loss (EELS) and far-field optical transmission UV-vis spectroscopic measurements. Susceptibility to second-order nonlinear frequency …

Morphology Controlled Synthesis Of Copper Based Multimetallic Nanostructures And Their Electrocatalytic Properties For Methanol Oxidation Reaction, Leanne Elizabeth Mathurin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the development of shape-controlled synthesis of Cu NM, Cu-based bimetallic and trimetallic nanostructures, and their electrocatalytic properties for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Copper nanomaterials (Cu NM) with specific surface facets can tailor their catalytic activity. Understanding reagents responsible for Cu NM growth is important for morphology-controlled synthesis of the nanostructures. This research studies the halide influence on Cu NM growth and morphology in an oil-based synthesis. The morphology of the Cu NM varies with the halide type (i.e., Cl-, Br-, I-), and the halide concentration. Additionally, the type of Cu precursor also influenced the morphology of …

Development Of An Oxygen Saturation Monitoring System By Embedded Electronics, Manikandan Venkatesan Gomathy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Measuring Oxygenation of blood (SaO2) plays a vital role in patient’s health monitoring. This is often measured by pulse oximeter, which is standard measure during anesthesia, asthma, operative and post-operative recoveries. Despite all, monitoring Oxygen level is necessary for infants with respiratory problems, old people, and pregnant women and in other critical situations.

This paper discusses the process of calculating the level of oxygen in blood and heart-rate detection using a non-invasive photo plethysmography also called as pulsoximeter using the MSP430FG437 microcontroller (MCU). The probe uses infrared lights to measure and should be in physical contact with any peripheral points …

Modeling And Validation Of 4h-Sic Low Voltage Mosfets For Integrated Circuit Design, Shamim Ahmed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Silicon Carbide is a promising wide bandgap material and gradually becoming the first choice of semiconductor for high density and high efficiency power electronics in medium voltage range (500-1500V). SiC has also excellent thermal conductivity and the devices fabricated with the material can operate at high temperature (~ 400 ⁰C). Thus, a power electronic system built with SiC devices requires less cooling requirement and saves board space and cost. The high temperature applications of SiC material can also be extended to space exploration, oil and gas rigging, aerospace and geothermal energy systems for data acquisition, sensing and instrumentation and power …

Development Of A One Pass Microwave Heating Technology For Rice Drying And Decontamination, Deandrae Lynette Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An industrial microwave (MW) system operating at 915 MHz frequency was used to dry high moisture content (MC) (23% to 24% wet basis) medium-grain rough rice samples (cv. Jupiter). The rice beds were contained in a modified tray that accommodated up to 9 kg of rice separated by thin fiberglass mesh in 3 kg increments. Each layer of rice was fitted with fiber optic sensors connected to a real time data logger during MW treatments. It was determined that drying rice to a MC of 14% to 16% was feasible with the application of MW specific energy at 600 kJ/kg-grain …

Design And Test Of A Gate Driver With Variable Drive And Self-Test Capability Implemented In A Silicon Carbide Cmos Process, Matthew Barlow

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Discrete silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have long demonstrated abilities that outpace those of standard silicon (Si) parts. The improved physical characteristics allow for faster switching, lower on-resistance, and temperature performance. The capabilities unleashed by these devices allow for higher efficiency switch-mode converters as well as the advance of power electronics into new high-temperature regimes previously unimaginable with silicon devices. While SiC power devices have reached a relative level of maturity, recent work has pushed the temperature boundaries of control electronics further with silicon carbide integrated circuits.

The primary requirement to ensure rapid switching of power MOSFETs was a gate …

Exploiting Hardware Abstraction For Parallel Programming Framework: Platform And Multitasking, Hongyuan Ding

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the help of the parallelism provided by the fine-grained architecture, hardware accelerators on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) can significantly improve the performance of many applications. However, designers are required to have excellent hardware programming skills and unique optimization techniques to explore the potential of FPGA resources fully. Intermediate frameworks above hardware circuits are proposed to improve either performance or productivity by leveraging parallel programming models beyond the multi-core era.

In this work, we propose the PolyPC (Polymorphic Parallel Computing) framework, which targets enhancing productivity without losing performance. It helps designers develop parallelized applications and implement them on FPGAs. …

Plasmon-Mediated Energy Conversion In Metal Nanoparticle-Doped Hybrid Nanomaterials, Jeremy Dunklin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change and population growth demand long-term solutions for clean water and energy. Plasmon-active nanomaterials offer a promising route towards improved energetics for efficient chemical separation and light harvesting schemes. Two material platforms featuring highly absorptive plasmonic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are advanced herein to maximize photon conversion into thermal or electronic energy. Optical extinction, attributable to diffraction-induced internal reflection, was enhanced up to 1.5-fold in three-dimensional polymer films containing AuNPs at interparticle separations approaching the resonant wavelength. Comprehensive methods developed to characterize heat dissipation following plasmonic absorption was extended beyond conventional optical and heat transfer descriptions, where good agreement was …

Investigation Of Fes2 Nanoparticles For Use In Optoelectronic And Thermoelectric Applications, Rick Tefal Eyi Nkoghe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Iron pyrite (FeS2) is the most abundant sulfide material on earth. This material has been widely investigated by researchers because of its optical properties. However, it has been difficult to produce High efficiency FeS2 based solar cells. This is due to many different impurities that arise when making the materials. The ability to synthesize pure pyrite FeS2 material is therefore critical for applications.

Pure Iron pyrite nanocrystals were synthesized using hot injection by mixing sulfur with an iron precursor in the presence of an amine. To improve the stability, shorter ligands replaced the native amines ligands. The stability of the …

Reduction In Recombination Current Density In Boron Doped Silicon Using Atomic Hydrogen, Matthew Garett Young

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The solar industry has grown immensely in recent years and has reached a point where solar energy has now become inexpensive enough that it is starting to emerge as a mainstream electrical generation source. However, recent economic analysis has suggested that for solar to become a truly wide spread source of electricity, the costs still need to plummet by a factor of 8x. This demands new and innovative concepts to help lower such cost. In pursuit of this goal, this dissertation examines the use of atomic hydrogen to lessen the recombination current density in the boron doped region of n-type …

Controlled Synthesis And Utilization Of Metal And Oxide Hybrid Nanoparticles, Cameron Cowgur Crane

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reports the development of synthetic methods concerning rationally-designed, hybrid, and multifunctional nanomaterials. These methods are based on a wet chemical, solution phase approach that utilizes the knowledge of synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry to generate building blocks in solution for the growth of nanocrystals and hybrid nanostructures. This work builds on the prior knowledge of shape-controlled synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals and expands into the challenging realm of the more reactive first row transition metals. Specifically, a microemulsion sol-gel method was developed to synthesize Au-SiO2 dimers as precursors for the synthesis of segmented heterostructures of noble metals that …

A Novel Time-Domain Method Of Fault Diagnosis In Induction Motors, Bryan J. Davis

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper introduces a novel time-domain method for detecting the four major types of induction motor faults without requiring complex signal processing or additional sensors other than those already in place for closed-loop motor control. This method artificially modulates the motor current feedback signal with a perturbed frequency that oscillates about the characteristic frequency of the fault in question. After filtering out the unwanted frequency components that result from the modulation, the selected fault-indicative component is a very slow sinusoid that is only present when the fault is present. The method looks for this fault-indicative component by monitoring the time …

Predicting A Quarterback's Fantasy Football Point Output For Daily Fantasy Sports Using Statistical Models, Nicholas Aaron King

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Theses - Archive

In the new age of daily fantasy sports (DFS), fantasy football has become an enormous revenue generator for DFS sites, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Both companies are valued over \$1 billion. However, previous analysis done by popular DFS site Rotogrinders has shown that only the top players are consistently winning, the top 10 players much more frequently than the remaining 20,000 players. Using complex statistical models they're able to identify top athletes and value picks (based on an athlete's draft `salary') that the average player might not be aware of. There is a need to evaluate which methods and …

Synthesis Of Graphene Oxide Membranes And Their Behavior In Water And Isopropanol, Ashish Aher, Yuguang Cai, Mainak Majumder, Dibakar Bhattacharyya

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Graphene oxide (GO) membrane has been synthesized on commercial polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes (Pore size: 17 nm) using the drop casting method followed by baking at 90 C for 24 h. Baking resulted in the reduction of GO and removal of bulk water intercalated in the GO sheets. Deposited GO film showed high stability under shear stress variation. This work shows that water adsorption on the GO membrane determines its permeation performance. Despite the higher viscosity of isopropyl alcohol (IPA), its permeability was 7 times higher than water through the baked (“dry”) GO membranes, which were never contacted with water. However, …

A Multi-Period Facility Location Model For Service Organizations Operating In A Competitive Environment., Sven W. Brose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops a multi-period, mathematical programming location model for facilities operating in a competitive environment. The objective is to maximize the profit in a variable demand environment. The solution of the problem can either be done in a robust or in a dynamic manner. A robust solution methodology forecasts the demand for all the periods in the planning horizon and provides a robust solution that may be suboptimal for any given period, but optimal when all the periods are taken into consideration. A problem with this approach is that it requires accurate forecast of demand for multiple periods into …

A Tool To Evaluate Sustainability Of Pavement Maintenance Projects., Yibo Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pavement maintenance activities are widely regarded to be critical elements during pavement life cycle, different maintenance techniques have been used to restore or extend the service lives of pavements. However, the existing maintenance practices on pavement system have problems that impair the economic benefits, disturb the natural environment, and somewhat ignore the needs from stakeholders. To minimize these negative impacts, sustainability is an ideal way because it addresses the problems under Triple Bottom Line (TBL, refers to economy, environment, and society). Sustainability analysis within transportation or pavement industry has been studied in different countries, but the concept of sustainable pavement …

The Effect Of Role Assignment And Personality Subtypes In Simulation On Critical Thinking Development, Situation Awareness, And Perceived Self-Efficacy Of Nursing Baccalaureate Students., Dustin Travis Weiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have evaluated the effectiveness of high fidelity patient simulators (HFPS) on nursing training. However, a gap exists on the effects of role assignment and student personality subtypes in simulation scenarios. This thesis explored the effects of role assignment and personality on critical thinking, situation awareness, and self-efficacy in baccalaureate-level nursing students. Using researcher-developed tools and altering previously validated tools to fit the simulation scenario, the effects of role assignment and personality were determined. Role assignment and personality were found to have a significant effect on critical thinking and self-efficacy, but not situation awareness. It was determined that roles …

Development And Evaluation Of A Biocompatible Electroactive Sensor For Continuous Blood Pressure Measurement., Scott D. Cambron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Piezo-active composites have been implemented for sensing and transduction for decades. The 0-3 ceramic/polymer composite is one of the most common composite types used for sensing applications, owing to their tailorable properties of the two-phase composition, consisting of a three-dimensionally connected polymer/rubber matrix (inactive phase) with a dispersion of isolated piezo-ceramic particles (active phase). This thesis describes a method to develop novel biocompatible perivascular band comprised of a two-phase piezo-active composite to be fabricated using simple manufacturing processes. Biomaterials such as tissue scaffolds comprised of silk fibroin (SF) and chitosan (CS), and biocompatible soft rubbers will be implemented as the …

Development And Degradation Analysis Of Novel Micro And Nanostructured Transition Metal Oxide (Tmo) Anodes For Aqueous Sodium Ion Batteries., Santanu Mukherjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the primary motivations driving battery technology research is the need to develop cleaner and more efficient energy storage systems. The portable electronics industry has developed exponentially, especially over the last couple of decades and therefore the importance of efficient electrochemical energy storage systems cannot be overstated. Li-ion batteries have been the predominant rechargeable energy in use, however, they have their own particular drawbacks viz. flammability of the electrolyte, expensive mining of the Li metal etc. This is where the importance of Na-ion batteries lie. This research focuses on using existing transition metal oxides (TMOs) and tuning their crystal …

Vehicle Make And Model Recognition For Intelligent Transportation Monitoring And Surveillance., Faezeh Tafazzoli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vehicle Make and Model Recognition (VMMR) has evolved into a significant subject of study due to its importance in numerous Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), such as autonomous navigation, traffic analysis, traffic surveillance and security systems. A highly accurate and real-time VMMR system significantly reduces the overhead cost of resources otherwise required. The VMMR problem is a multi-class classification task with a peculiar set of issues and challenges like multiplicity, inter- and intra-make ambiguity among various vehicles makes and models, which need to be solved in an efficient and reliable manner to achieve a highly robust VMMR system. In this dissertation, …

Uncovering Exceptional Predictions Using Exploratory Analysis Of Second Stage Machine Learning., Aneseh Alvanpour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nowadays, algorithmic systems for making decisions are widely used to facilitate decisions in a variety of fields such as medicine, banking, applying for universities or network security. However, many machine learning algorithms are well-known for their complex mathematical internal workings which turn them into black boxes and makes their decision-making process usually difficult to understand even for experts. In this thesis, we try to develop a methodology to explain why a certain exceptional machine learned decision was made incorrectly by using the interpretability of the decision tree classifier. Our approach can provide insights about potential flaws in feature definition or …

Using A Multi Variate Pattern Analysis (Mvpa) Approach To Decode Fmri Responses To Fear And Anxiety., Sajjad Torabian Esfahani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed fMRI responses to fear and anxiety using a Multi Variate Pattern Analysis (MVPA) approach. Compared to conventional univariate methods which only represent regions of activation, MVPA provides us with more detailed patterns of voxels. We successfully found different patterns for fear and anxiety through separate classification attempts in each subject’s representational space. Further, we transformed all the individual models into a standard space to do group analysis. Results showed that subjects share a more common fear response. Also, the amygdala and hippocampus areas are more important for differentiating fear than anxiety.

Novel Iii-V Alloys For Unassisted Water Splitting., Alejandro Martinez-Garcia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Direct conversion of solar energy to fuels by photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been identified as a promising route for sustainable power generation and storage. However, semiconductor materials with suitable opto-electronic properties have yet to be identified. In this dissertation, band gap engineering of III-V alloys, tuning the light sensitivity of GaP and GaN nitride through alloying Sb, is investigated for developing new semiconductor alloys with appropriate opto-electronic properties and their performance with overall water photoelectrolysis. In addition to III-V materials, copper oxide (Cu₂O) electrode was investigated for p-type semiconductor material. The new III-V alloy anodes were studied …

Non-Contact Based Structural Damage Assessment Using Stochastic Subspace Identification And Finite Element Model Updating., Li Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research proposed and verified an innovative method to identify and locate structural damage using only the response of operational vibration, that is the displacement acquired by a non-contact optical method. The most efficient and economical way to detect damage within the structure is to monitor its structural health while in operation. However, the uncertainties and the randomness of ambient vibrations due to the operation and environments cause a challenge in conducting the operational analysis. Current technology limits the ability to collect data on the properties of the structure without the interruption of operation. Frequencies and mode shapes have been …

Peeking Into The Other Half Of The Glass : Handling Polarization In Recommender Systems., Mahsa Badami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is about filtering and discovering information online while using recommender systems. In the first part of our research, we study the phenomenon of polarization and its impact on filtering and discovering information. Polarization is a social phenomenon, with serious consequences, in real-life, particularly on social media. Thus it is important to understand how machine learning algorithms, especially recommender systems, behave in polarized environments. We study polarization within the context of the users' interactions with a space of items and how this affects recommender systems. We first formalize the concept of polarization based on item ratings and then relate …