Ethanol Purification Using Activated Natural Zeolite, Chandra Wahyu Purnomo, Nelliza Putri, Indra Perdana, Hirofumi Hinode

Makara Journal of Technology

Bio ethanol is one of the potential fuels in the future. However, ethanol in water mixture has an azeotropic concentration of 95.6 wt. %, which makes it difficult to purify further. The common method of purification is by using an azeotropic distillation column, which requires an intensive energy and an addition of specific solvent. In this study, ethanol purification is done using an adsorption column packed with zeolite Raschig rings. The natural zeolite ring was modified beforehand using the NaOH solution to enhance the material’s water adsorption performance. The ethanol purity can reach more than 99% with the modified zeolite …

Physical And Mechanical Properties Of Palm Kernel Oil-Based Polyester Polyurethane/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites, Khairul Anuar Mat Amin, Muhammad Alif Zailani, Nurul Nabilah Zulkifli, Khairiah Haji Badri

Makara Journal of Technology

In this study, polyurethane (PU) films from palm kernel oil-based polyester (PKO-p) incorporated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are prepared via a evaporative casting method. Nanoparticle fluid dispersions containing 0.02%, 0.03%, and 0.05% wt. of MWNTs are added into PKO-p based resin and mixed by digital probe sonicator for 30 min followed by mixing with isocyanate to produce PU-MWNTs composite films. The mechanical properties, swelling, water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and conductivity of the PU-MWNTs composite films are examined. Results show that the toughness (T) or flexibility, the tensile strength (TS), and Young’s modulus (YM) values of PU-MWNTs composite films increase …

Personality Trait Based Intervention For Workplace Accident Prevention, Yassierli Yassierli, Nurhayati Nurhayati, Marisa Anatasia, Shamsul Bahri

Makara Journal of Technology

Previous research has suggested that some traits may be useful as the predictors of risk behaviours behaviors. Therefore, personality traits seem to play a role in accident involvement. The purpose of this study is was to explore the relationship between the personality traits based on the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and worker accident experiences in order to elaborate personality traits based intervention for workplace accident prevention. A cross cross-sectional study was conducted among 173 workers in a cement company using a set of questionnaires consisting of respondents’ characteristics, BFI, and self-reported accident experience. The correlations were computed using Goodman Kruskal’s …

On-Chip Training Of Memristor Crossbar Based Multi-Layer Neural Networks, Raqibul Hasan, Tarek M. Taha, Christopher Yakopcic

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Memristor crossbar arrays carry out multiply-add operations in parallel in the analog domain, and so can enable neuromorphic systems with high throughput at low energy and area consumption. On-chip training of these systems have the significant advantage of being able to get around device variability and faults. This paper presents on-chip training circuits for multi-layer neural networks implemented using a single crossbar per layer and two memristors per synapse. Using two memristors per synapse provides double the synaptic weight precision when compared to a design that uses only one memristor per synapse. Proposed on-chip training system utilizes the back propagation …

Nanostructure Evolution Of Magnetron Sputtered Hydrogenated Silicon Thin Films, Dipendra Adhikari, Maxwell M. Junda, Sylvain X. Marsillac, Robert W. Collins, Nikolas J. Podraza

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) thin films have been prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The effect of hydrogen gas concentration during sputtering on the resultant film structural and optical properties has been investigated by real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). The analysis of in-situ RTSE data collected during sputter deposition tracks the evolution of surface roughness and film bulk layer thickness with time. Growth evolution diagrams depicting amorphous, nanocrystalline and mixed-phase regions for low and high deposition rate Si:H are constructed and the effects of process parameter (hydrogen gas concentration, total pressure and RF power) …

Realization Of A High Power Microgrid Based On Voltage Source Converters, Yusi Liu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microgrid concepts are gradually becoming more popular because they are expected to interface with renewable energies, increase end users’ reliability and resiliency, and promote seamless integration of distributed generators (DG) and energy storage units [1]. Most units are connected through power electronics interfaces, such as ac-dc, dc-dc, and dc-ac converters. The converter design and control are critical to the stability and efficiency of a microgrid.

A microgrid may operate in either gird connected mode or islanded mode [1]. In terms of stability, the grid connected mode is less challenging compared to the islanded mode of operation due to the nearly …

Iot Based Recipes For Enabling Senior Citizens: Stakeholders Views On How Integration Of Iot And Web Services Can Enhance Well-Being And Inclusion Of Older People, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry, John Mcgrory

Conference papers

The main body of research clearly highlights the world’s population is rapidly expanding. When this fact is combined with the increase in life longevity due to medical and social advances it alters the demographic balance in relation to age. Hence, the number of people aged 65 and over is constantly increasing. The potential of Smart Technologies and IoT-based devices to improve health has increased rapidly in the last few years and users are now in a position to contribute to the development of the interaction process and need to be properly trained on benefits of using new technologies. IFTTT (If …

Design & Evaluation Of A Hybrid Switched Capacitor Circuit With Wide-Bandgap Devices For Dc Grid Applications, Joshua L. Stewart

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

ABSTRACT

As technologies advance, the rate at which renewable power sources, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind, are being added to the power grid is increasing. Typically, PV power plants require large inverters for direct current to alternating current (DC-AC) power conversion, as well as large transformers to step up voltages to the grid voltage. Offshore wind farms and large PV power plants in remote locations often aggregate power on a DC bus in order to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of power conversion hardware within the energy complex. However, the power must still be converted to AC …

Real-Time Camera Tracking System Using Optical Flow Feature Points, Daniel D. Doyle, Alan L. Jennings, Jonathan T. Black

AFIT Patents

A new apparatus and method for tracking a moving object with a moving camera provides a real-time, narrow field-of-view, high resolution and on target image by combining commanded motion with an optical flow algorithm for deriving motion and classifying background. Commanded motion means that movement of the pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) unit is “commanded” by a computer, instead of being observed by the camera, so that the pan, tilt and zoom parameters are known, as opposed to having to be determined, significantly reducing the computational requirements for tracking a moving object. The present invention provides a single camera pan …

Mobile Cloud Computing And Network Function Virtualization For 5g Systems, Ali Al-Shuwaili

Dissertations

The recent growth of the number of smart mobile devices and the emergence of complex multimedia mobile applications have brought new challenges to the design of wireless mobile networks. The envisioned Fifth-Generation (5G) systems are equipped with different technical solutions that can accommodate the increasing demands for high date rate, latency-limited, energy-efficient and reliable mobile communication networks.

Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) is a key technology in 5G systems that enables the offloading of computationally heavy applications, such as for augmented or virtual reality, object recognition, or gaming from mobile devices to cloudlet or cloud servers, which are connected to wireless …

Ionic Thermoelectric Paper, Fei Jiao, Ali Naderi, Dan Zhao, Joshua Schlueter, Maryam Shahi, Jonas Sundström, Hjalmar Granberg, Jesper Edberg, Ujwala Ail, Joseph W. Brill, Tom Lindström, Magnus Berggren, Xavier Crispin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Ionic thermoelectric materials, for example, polyelectrolytes such as polystyrene sulfonate sodium (PSSNa), constitute a new class of materials which are attracting interest because of their large Seebeck coefficient and the possibility that they could be used in ionic thermoelectric SCs (ITESCs) and field effect transistors. However, pure polyelectrolyte membranes are not robust or flexible. In this paper, the preparation of ionic thermoelectric paper using a simple, scalable and cost-effective method is described. After a composite was fabricated with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), the resulting NFC–PSSNa paper is flexible and mechanically robust, which is desirable if it is to be used in …

Loss Model For Gallium Nitride Dc-Dc Buck Converter, Rushi P. Patel

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

In recent years, more research has been done on Enhancement Mode Gallium Nitride (eGaN) converters, as the world is moving towards more power efficient converters. Power converters play a major role in efficiently controlling and converting electric energy used by machines, systems, and everyday products. The process to make converters more efficient was complicated and slow in the twentieth century. One of the important aspects in power electronics is to evaluate different losses and minimize losses to achieve high efficiency of the converter. With help of simulation tools such as MATLAB and LTspice, this process has become much faster and …

A Hardware One-Time Pad Prototype Generator For Localising Cloud Security, Paul Tobin, Lee Tobin, Michael Mckeever, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

In this paper, we examine a system for encrypting data before storing in the Cloud. Adopting this system gives excellent security to stored data and complete control for accessing data by the client at different locations. The motivation for developing this personal encryption came about because of poor Cloud security and doubts over the safety of public encryption algorithms which might contain backdoors. However, side-channel attacks and other unwanted third-party interventions in Cloud security, probably contribute more to the poor security record history. These factors led to the development of a prototype for personalising security locally which defeats cryptanalysis. The …

Chaos-Based Cryptography For Cloud Computing, Paul Tobin, Lee Tobin, Michael Mckeever, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

Cloud computing and poor security issues have quadrupled over the last six years and with the alleged presence of backdoors in common encryption ciphers, has created a need for personalising the encryption process by the client. In 2007, two Microsoft employees gave a presentation ``On the Possibility of a backdoor in the NIST SP800-90 Dual Elliptic Curve Pseudo Random Number Generators'' and was linked in 2013 by the New York Times with notes leaked by Edward Snowden. This confirmed backdoors were placed, allegedly, in a number of encryption systems by the National Security Agency, which if true creates an urgent …

Autonomous Speed Control For Kia Optima, Andrew J. Combs, Kyle Fugatt, Kevin Mcfall

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

The standard method for speed control is the cruise control system built into most modern vehicles. These systems employ a PID controller which actuates the accelerator thus, in turn, maintains the desired vehicle speed. The main drawback of such a system is that typically the cruise control will only engage above 25 mph. The goal of this paper is to describe a system which we used to control vehicle speed from a stop to any desired speed using an Arduino microcontroller and a CAN BUS shield, from where autonomous features can be built upon. With this system, we were able …

Inkjet Printing Of Nano-Silver Conductive Ink On Pet Substrate, Skyler Jiang

Materials Engineering

Printing of conductive ink traditionally uses copper-based ink and was used on high temperature metal substrates due to the high curing and sintering temperature of copper. In this experiment, however, Metalon JS-B25P nano-silver conductive ink was printed using an Epson Stylus C88+ inkjet printer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) based Novele printing media made for low temperature applications. With silver’s lower sintering temperature, the nano-silver particles in this ink are desired to be able to sinter at a low enough temperature to be used on the PET substrate. The printed ink traces were cured with a temperature-controlled hotplate at 100℃, 120℃, …

Screen Printing Silver Stretchable Conductive Paste To High Density Synthetic Fabric, Allison Rose Tuuri, Wesley Graham Powell

Materials Engineering

This project investigated the viability of screen printing stretchable silver conductive paste directly onto fabric and how the resistance changed under cyclic mechanical loading. The paste tested was DuPont™ PE873 stretchable silver conductive paste, which forms a stretchable conductive path by suspending silver flakes in elastomer that can be elastically strained along with the underlying substrate. The silver pastes were printed directly onto two different high-density synthetic fabrics of different weaves. Other samples were prepared by first printing a base layer between the silver paste and the fabric. One base layer was a solvent-based dielectric (DuPont™ ME776) and a stretchable …

Logic Tiles, Andrew Wheeler, Tristan Lennertz

Computer Engineering

This project was originally conceived by Professor Andrew Danowitz as he considered the restructuring of the introductory digital design course at Cal Poly. As it stands now, students apply their knowledge of boolean algebra and combinatorial logic through the programming of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) using a Hardware Descriptive Language (HDL). While this is the industry standard for designing large, complex digital circuits, and is an fundamental skill to learn, there is a lack of actual circuit building in the process that can cause a disconnect from theory to application for students who have little-to-no experience with digital …

The Following Robot, Juan D. Cerda, Matthew S. Kwan, Vi M. Le

Computer Engineering

The objective of this project is to design, build, and test an autonomous robot with an associated Android application. The robot uses on board inertial measurement sensors (magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope) and coordinates itself through Bluetooth communication with the similar built­in measurement sensors on the Android phone to mimic and follow movement. The Following Robot incorporates the same basic movement functionality as a typical RC car. The robot follows the user’s phone through an application on one’s phone. This application accesses the phone’s accelerometer and gyroscope data and translates into appropriate conversions. Methods of tracking and calculating distance or angular displacement …

Design Of An Active Harmonic Rejection N-Path Filter For Highly Tunable Rf Channel Selection, Craig J. Fischer

Master's Theses

As the number of wireless devices in the world increases, so does the demand for flexible radio receiver architectures capable of operating over a wide range of frequencies and communication protocols. The resonance-based channel-select filters used in traditional radio architectures have a fixed frequency response, making them poorly suited for such a receiver. The N-path filter is based on 1960s technology that has received renewed interest in recent years for its application as a linear high Q filter at radio frequencies. N-path filters use passive mixers to apply a frequency transformation to a baseband low-pass filter in order to achieve …

Wireless Audio Bridge, Daniel L. Hodges

Electrical Engineering

Bluetooth, a wireless technology standard used to exchange data using radio transmissions, has made a significant impact on the audio technology industry, specifically the way people listen to music. This technology enables a wireless listening experience, eliminating the need for wires or cables between audio devices as previously required. Audio can transmit from a cellphone or laptop (an output device) to a pair of headphones or speakers (an input device) without any physical connection. Compared to alternative wireless listening solutions (i.e. FM transmitter, radio broadcast), Bluetooth offers greater reliability, audio fidelity, portability, and ease of use. To obtain this functionality, …

Hybrid Water Pump, Dylan W. Grant, Wei Chen Yeh

Electrical Engineering

This project seeks to use multiple sources to power a water pump. We will design a system which will combine inputs from solar and wind energy production to ensure the pump will have enough power to run. This will create a system powered by clean energy and will be self-sustained once completed. This will theoretically create a more sustainable source of power for the pump than only one of the sources. Because the power sources don’t require outside inputs (aside from sun and wind), the pump can be placed in a remote area. This could be very helpful in developing …

Dc House Energy Management System, Zachary L. Eldredge, Zoe M. Hay

Electrical Engineering

In this work, a previously completed proof of concept for an Energy Management System (EMS) for the DC House project has been revised and re-implemented. The implemented design changes will improve the performance and reproducibility of the system. This new design of the EMS replaces the two-separate buck and boost DC-DC converters with a single bidirectional DC-DC converter to reduce components and improve efficiency. Analysis of the bidirectional DC-DC converter shows high efficiency especially at larger load currents. The code of the previous work was updated for smoother operation as well as to accommodate an LCD capable of displaying more …

Automatic Standby Power-Saving Power Strip, Trung Nguyen

Electrical Engineering

The Standby Power Saving Power Strip improves on common power strip functionality. The project reduces the power loss from most electrical devices’ standby power mode, while retaining the convenience of leaving the devices plugged-in. The surge protector automatically recognizes when the plugged-in devices enter standby power mode. Then, it shuts off power to that device and automatically provides power back to the plugged-in devices, when turned on.

General-Purpose Digital Filter Platform, Michael Cheng

Electrical Engineering

This senior project provides a platform for high-speed, general-purpose digital filter implementation. EE 459 currently implements digital filters using reprogrammable digital signal processor boards. These aging digital signal processors serially calculate each difference equation term. Operating at 1 Mega-sample per second, the new general-purpose platform simultaneously processes at least ten digital filtering difference equation coefficients. The platform also features an audio jack input and BNC connectors for viewing input and output signals. The filter digitizes single channel audio signals at 44.1 kHz sampling rate with 16-bit precision or 1 MHz sampling at 8-bit precision. The new reprogrammable platform includes a …

Wireless Window Blinds, Cooper Laone, Niraj Morar, Zachary Malig, Jake Phillips

Electrical Engineering

The Internet of Things asserts that there exists a global need for all objects to connect easily and accessibly. Today, smartphones, tablets, laptops and smart watches makeup just a few of the interconnected devices by the greater population. As a result a growing need for wireless connection between personal devices like phones, and computers to everyday appliances exists. This idea extends directly to households, businesses and buildings, where a growing need for smart home or smart-business appliances has taken root. Many companies like Nest, ADT and Apple make products for automated home security and in home media control. The Wireless …

Adaptive Light Dimmer, Jonathan Sato, William Xiong

Electrical Engineering

This project, the Adaptive Light Dimmer for the DC House, senses a room's light content and adjusts a lamp's light intensity accordingly, thus regulating the room's light content. The device is designed to work with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy. This would be useful in less developed countries where AC electricity is not well spread and renewable DC, such as solar, can be better utilized. It functions by using the TSL2561 light sensor to sense light, ATTiny85 microcontroller to output PWM to the LED driver, LT3795 LED driver to output current to an LED and LT3014 …

Music Synthesizer Senior Project: Individual Report, Bryan Bellin

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Wax Bee Gone: A Safe, Effective Solution To Ear Wax Removal, Robert G. Shenon, Shanvir S. Dhinsa

Electrical Engineering

This project sought to combine conventional methods such as scraping and water pressure to removal ear wax, but with electronic automation to removal the potential for human error as much as possible. Through the use of a 9V battery, and Arduino microcontroller, DC motors, and other circuitry, this project has developed a prototype for a device that can properly remove ear wax without any discomfort or risk to the user. Much of this project involved learning how to properly manipulate and provide the necessary power requirements DC motors from an Arduino and a 9V battery. Additionally, creating a 3D printed …

Student Experimental Farm Smart Pathway Lighting System, Emily A. Whitaker, Vineal S. Singh, Edith Rodriguez

Electrical Engineering

This project works together with the Student Experimental Farm (SEF) and the DC House in order to install a smart lighting pathway system. This system will run off of DC power supplied by the solar panels connected to the DC House. This project tested and explored the group’s abilities to design and implement a full system run off of 48V DC. By installing this system it will greatly improve the ease for students to work at the SEF beyond daylight hours. The system will allow continuous dull lighting and will switch to full brightness once a person is detected. This …