Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2005, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Atr-Ftir Spectroscopic Analysis Of Sorption Of Aqueous Analytes Into Polymer Coatings Used With Guided Sh-Saw Sensors, Yolanda K. Jones, Zhonghui Li, Michael M. Johnson, Fabien Josse, Jeanne Hossenlopp

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Attenuated total internal reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used for the investigation of sorption of aqueous solutions of analytes into polymer coatings. A series of simple model polymers, such as poly(dimethylsiloxane), poly(epichlorhydrin), and poly(isobutylene), and films and analytes, such as aqueous solutions of ethylbenzene, xylenes, toluene, and nitrobenzene, were used to evaluate the use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a screening tool for sensor development. The ratios of integrated infrared absorption bands provided a simple and efficient method for predicting trends in partition coefficients. Responses of polymer-coated guided shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) sensor platforms to the series …

Universal Geometric Camera Calibration With Statistical Model Selection, Chistopher Paul Broaddus

Masters Theses

We propose a new universal camera calibration approach that uses statistical information criteria for automatic camera model selection. It requires the camera to observe a planar pattern from different positions, and then closed-form estimates for the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters are computed followed by nonlinear optimization. In lieu of modeling radial distortion, the lens projection of the camera is modeled, and in addition we include decentering distortion. This approach is particularly advantageous for wide angle (fisheye) camera calibration because it often reduces the complexity of the model compared to modeling radial distortion. We then apply statistical information criteria to automatically …

Robust And Efficient Localization Techniques For Cellular And Wireless Sensor Networks, Haseebulla M. Khan

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Localization in wireless networks refers to a collection of tasks that, collectively, determines the location of a mobile user, striving to hide the effects of mobility from the user and/or application. Localization has become an important issue and has drawn considerable attention, as many applications including E-911, cargo tracking, locating patients, location-sensitive billing, etc., require knowledge of the location of user/objects. It was realized, quite a while back, that extending emergency 911-like services (E-911) to continually growing mobile population is one of the extremely important localization applications. The bulk of the proposed solutions to emergency location management in wireless environments …

Silicides And Composites Materials As Anodes For Lithium Ion Batteries, Jun-Mei Yan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The anode materials of Mg_(2)Si and MnSi were synthesized by mechanically activated annealing(MAA) techniques in this work and the in electrochemical performances were also studied.A series of composite materials of Mg_(2)Si and CNTs or CMS were prepared by ball-milling method respectively.The reversible capacities of the composites were higher than that of the pure Mg_(2)Si and pure carbon materials.The cyclic performances have been improved greatly by ball-milling of the Mg_(2)Si and carbon materials.Results show that ball-milling method is one kind of method to make alloy materials into practical use.

A Continuous Operation For Electroreduction Of Oxalic Acid To Glyoxylic Acid, Xiao-Hui Hu, Xiang-Fei Yan, Yu-Zhong Su, Jun Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

A simulative-continuous-operation approach was proposed to study the continuous operation for electroreduction of oxalic acid to gloxylic acid using a packed bed reactor and a parallel reactor with cooled cathode in order to solve the low productivity problem in current state by using traditional reactor.The effects of the concentration of oxalic acid and temperature on this process were also studied.Results showed that,after 30min of the reaction(residence time),the mass fraction of the produced glyoxylic acid in the catholic solution could reach 3.76% and 3.66% with respect to a saturated oxalic acid method and a step-temperature decreasing method.From this study,we conclude that …

The Electrocatalystic Investigation Of 3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic Acid On The Modified Multiply Wall Carbon Nanotubes, Ming-Qi Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical behavior of 3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid(DHBA)on modified multiply wall carbon nanotubes electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry(CV) and square wave voltammetry(SWV).Results show that in 0.1 mol/L HCl solutions the modified carbon nanotube electrode has an obvious electrocatalytic effect on the oxidation and deoxidization of DHBA.The oxidation current of DHBA is linear to it's concentration in the range of 4.0×10~(-6)～1.0×10~(-4) mol/L and 2.0×10~(-4)～8.0×10~(-4)1mol/L with correlation coefficient of 0.9995 and 0.9992.The detection limit is 1.0 ×10~(-6)mol/ L.

The Optimal Sulfonation Conditions Of Self-Doped Polyaniline Obtained By Using Experimental Strategies, Wen-Yar Li, Chi-Chang Hu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The optimal sulfonation condition of self-doped sulfonated polyaniline(prepared from leucoemeraldinebase;denoted as LEB-SPANI) with a high electronic conductivity was obtained by experimental strategies,includingthe fractional factorial design(FFD) and central composite design(CCD).From the FFD experiment,the self-doped LEB-SPANI prepared at a lowtemperature(4oC),a short reaction time(1 h),and a small volume of fumingsulfuric acid(10 mL) showed a better conductivity(ca.127 mS/cm).In the CCD study coupled with a confirmationtest,the highest conductivity(ca.141 mS/cm) of the LEB-SPANI film was obtained under a sulfonation temperatureof 4oC,a sulfonation time of75 minutes,and a volume of8 mLof30% fuming sulfuric acid.The textural cha-racter-istics of self-doped LEB-SPANI were characterized by Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy,four-pointprobe method,and X-ray …

Electrochemical Oxidation Of Organic Additives In Tin Plating Electrolytes, Yin-Mei Cheng, Lan-Kun Cai, Qiang Song

Journal of Electrochemistry

Cyclic voltammetry(CV) was used to characterize the voltammetric behaviours of organic additives,e.g.PSA(phenolsulfonic acid)、EN(ethoxylatedα-naphthol) and ENSA(ethoxylatedα-naphthol sulfonic acid),on the anode surface.In PSA solutions,an anodic peak was obtained and the peak potential was about 1.2V.In EN and ENSA solutions,two anodic peaks were obtained and the peak potentials were about(0.95V) and 1.3V.The products of galvanostatic electrolysis were separated by HPLC(high performance liquid chromatography) and analyzed by EI/MS(electron ionizing mass spectrometry).The mechnism of the electrochemical oxidation was also disussed.

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells-Materials And Prospects, Molenda Janina, Marzec Jacek

Journal of Electrochemistry

The paper summarizes and discusses the basic properties of solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) components(electrode materials and electrolyte) from the point of view of their essential functional parameters suck as chemicalstability,transport,catalytic and thermomechanical properties under operational conditions in a SOFC.An interrela-tion between the defect structure of these materials related to oxygen nonstoichiometry and their electronic propertiesand catalytic activity was shown.Single-chamber fuel cell concept was also presented.

A Study Of Overcharge Characteristic Of Lithium-Ion Cells, Jing Pang, Shi-Gang Lu, Sha Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The overcharge characteristics and effect factors of lithium-ion cells containing LiMn_(2)O_(4)cathodes were studied in detail.Overcharge testing of Lithium-ion cells with a systematic variation in the cell balance demonstrated that the overcharge characteristics of Lithium-ion cells was affected by the amount of cathode in the cells,which is independent of the amount of anode material.The rate of charge was found to be an important parameter,as electrolyte complete decomposition at low charge rates caused the end of overcharge testing,while high charge rates accelerated the rate of heat generation in the cells and the cell temperature increased as a result of insufficient heat dissipation.The …

The Deactivation Mechanism Of Metal Oxide Anodes Under Alternative Current Electrolysis Condition, Jun-Tao Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The metal oxide anodes coated on titanium used in seawater electrolysis were prepared by thermal decomposition.Their morphologies、compositions and phase structures were determined by scanning electron microscope(SEM)、energy dispersive X-ray detector(EDX) and X-ray diffraction(XRD).The electrochemical properties of the anodes were characterized by accelerated life test,cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.SEM、EDX and XRD showed that solid solution structures of(Ru,Ir,Ti)O_(2)and(Ir,Ti)O_(2) were formed after pyrolysis,the solid solution structures and active components were disappeared after the deactivation of the anodes.Electrochemical results indicated that the active area decreased and the coating resistance increased,which are resulted by active component falling off from the anode surfaces.Hence,the deactivation of the …

Using Ultrasonic Atomization To Produce An Aerosol Of Micron-Scale Particles, Thomas D. Donnelly, J. Hogan '03, A. Mugler '04, M. Schubmehl '02, N. Schommer '04, Andrew J. Bernoff, S. Dasnurkar, T. Ditmire

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

A device that uses ultrasonic atomization of a liquid to produce an aerosol of micron-scale droplets is described. This device represents a new approach to producing targets relevant to laser-driven fusion studies, and to rare studies of nonlinear optics in which wavelength-scale targets are irradiated. The device has also made possible tests of fluid dynamics models in a novel phase space. The distribution of droplet sizes produced by the device and the threshold power required for droplet production are shown to follow scaling laws predicted by fluid dynamics.

Terahertz Studies Of The Dielectric Response And Second-Order Phonons In A Gase Crystal, B. L. Yu, F. Zeng, V. Kartazayev, R. R. Alfano, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Partition-Based Interpolation For Color Filter Array Demosaicking And Super-Resolution Reconstruction, Min Shao, Kenneth E. Barner, Russell C. Hardie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A class of partition-based interpolators that addresses a variety of image interpolation applications are proposed. The proposed interpolators first partition an image into a finite set of partitions that capture local image structures. Missing high resolution pixels are then obtained through linear operations on neighboring pixels that exploit the captured image structure. By exploiting the local image structure, the proposed algorithm produces excellent performance on both edge and uniform regions. The presented results demonstrate that partition-based interpolation yields results superior to traditional and advanced algorithms in the applications of color filter array (CFA) demosaicking and super-resolution reconstruction.

Structured Object-Oriented Co-Analysis/Co-Design Of Hardware/Software For The Facts Powers System, Matt Ryan, Sojan Markose, Xiaoqing Frank Liu, Bruce M. Mcmillin

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

There are several approaches to the hardware/software design in embedded systems, ranging from the traditional sequential methods which focus on the determination of the hardware architecture prior to software design, to newer object-oriented approaches that attempt to apply software engineering methods to hardware design without a systematic process. This paper discusses a structured object-oriented methodology for the integrated co-analysis and co-design of hardware/software systems using an extended high order object-oriented modeling technique (HOOMT). This methodology offers a uniform method for hardware and software developers to jointly develop the specifications for and partitioning of the hardware and software components of a …

The Research Of Nano-Sized Nio Anode Materials For Lithium Ion Batteries, Jun-Mei Yan, Jing Zhang, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The nano-sized NiO materials were synthesized by solid phase method and sol-gel method. The synthesis conditions were optimized by DSC and TG techniques. The sol-gel method was optimized by changing the solvent and regulating the solution's pH for preparing NiO material. The structure and morphology of the materials were also characterized by means of XRD and TEM techniques, and the electrochemical performances of the materials were studied by the galvanostatically charge and discharge experiments.

Adsorption Of Polyaspartic Acid From Sulphur Acid Solution On Carbon Steel And Its Corrosion Inhibition, Rong-Jing Cui, Ning Gu, Chun-Mei Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The role of Polyaspartic acid in the corrosion inhibition of 45~(#) carbon steel in sulphuric acid solution has been investigated by polarization curve andelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The influences of the concentration and the temperature of PASP on the corrosion inhibition efficiency were determined. The results indicated that the PASP as the corrosion inhibitor mainly inhibitated the anode; within the experiment temperature, the inhibitor efficiency decreased with the raising of the temperature and PASP had a good inhibiting performance at 10℃, the corrosion inhibition efficiency of PASP for carbon steel increased with the increase of the concentration of PASP when …

Electrocatalytic Oxidation And Degration Of Active Red X-3b By Nanotubes Catalytic Electrodes, Yi Wen, Jian-Hui Fang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The catalytic splitting decomposition of carbon nanotubes isprocessed by dispersing with dilute nitric acid and thermal oxidation. Then well-proportionedphenolic resin is mixed in the carbon nanotubes. Then, the carbon nanotubesare made into electrodes by hot-press molding after the process of milling with high speed. The surface of the carbon nanotubes electrodes is analyzed by SEM. Active red X-3B simulated waster water is disposed by carbon nanotubes catalyticelectrode (anode) and stainless steel(cathode). The influencing factors of degradation by current density, concentrationof electrolyte, systemtemperature and pH are investigated. The experimental results indicated that acidiccondition is propitious tothe degradationreaction of organicdyestuff and wastewater …

Effect Of Sintering Temperatures On Synthesis Of Mgco_(0.4)Mn_(1.6)O_(4 ) Positive Materials In Magnesium Ion Battery, Xiu-Ling Gao, Li-Fang Jiao, Hua-Tang Yuan

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cathode material MgCo_(0.4)Mn_(1.6)O_(4 ) for magnesium ion battery was synthesized by sol-gel method. The TG-DTA and XRD analyses showed that the prepared samples has simple spinel structure. Effect of annealing temperature on electrochemical properties was researched.The result shows that the sample sintered at 700℃ has the best electrochemical properties.

Nafion Emulsion Method For Fuel Cell Membrane-Electrode-Assembly Preparation, Chao-Yang Xia, Lin Zhuang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A Nafion emulsion method for fuel cell membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) preparation was reported for the first time in this paper. 5 %(by mass) Nafion alcohol solution and non-polar solvent (e.g., cyclohexane) were ultrasonicallymixed to produce Nafion emulsion. The catalyst ink prepared using the thus-obtained Nafion emulsion can be directly cast onto Nafion membrane to make MEA. This method is simple in operation, and effectively preventsthe Nafion membrane swelling, hence is suitable for large-scale application. The MEA thus-prepared showed comparable catalyst efficiencywith respect to the popular transfer-method, and the preliminary performance in room-temperature H_(2)/O_(2 )fuel cell test was satisfying.

Research Progresses In A Flow Redox Battery, Quan-Feng Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

As a large scale electrochemical storage device, flow redox battery in which the active materials are flowing electrolytes is different from the common batteries employing solid or gas materials as an electrode. In this paper we introduced flow redox battery in brief, reviewed its development and actual state on (study). The main problem existed in the new device was discussed when viewed with its future developments.

Electrochemical Reduction Characteristics Of Nitrobenzene At The Copper Electrode, Jin-Hong Fan, Wen-Ying Xu, Ting-Yao Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical reduction characteristics and transition steps of nitrobenzene aqueous solution at the copper electrode, as well as its reduction mechanism were extensively investigatedby using the techniques such as cyclic voltammetry(CV) and linear scan voltammetry(LSV). The results showed that the reduction peaks of nitrobenzene at the copper electrode were located at 0.58 V and 1.32 V or so (vs. SCE), both acidity and alkalinesolutionsfavoredthe reduction of nitrobenzene. The adsorption of compounds followed by the reduction process, which is controlled by the mass transfer step at higher nitrobenzene concentration. In addition, the higher anaerobic degree led to faster reduction rate.

Investigation Of The Superconducting Properties Of Niobium Radio-Frequency Cavities, Gianluigi Ciovati

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Radio-frequency (rf) superconducting cavities are widely used to increase the energy of a charged particle beam in particle accelerators. The maximum gradients of cavities made of bulk niobium have constantly improved over the last ten years and they are approaching the theoretical limit of the material. Nevertheless, rf tests of niobium cavities are still showing some "anomalous" losses (so-called "Q-drop"), characterized by a marked increase of the surface resistance at high rf fields, in absence of field emission. A low temperature "in-situ" baking under ultra-high vacuum has been successfully applied by several laboratories to reduce those losses and …

Power Transmission Control Using Distributed Max-Flow, Bruce M. Mcmillin, Austin Armbruster, Mariesa Crow, Michael R. Gosnell

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Existing maximum flow algorithms use one processor for all calculations or one processor per vertex in a graph to calculate the maximum possible flow through a graph's vertices. This is not suitable for practical implementation. We extend the max-flow work of Goldberg and Tarjan to a distributed algorithm to calculate maximum flow where the number of processors is less than the number of vertices in a graph. Our algorithm is applied to maximizing electrical flow within a power network where the power grid is modeled as a graph. Error detection measures are included to detect problems in a simulated power …

Scene-Based Nonuniformity Correction Technique For Focal-Plane Arrays Using Readout Architecture, Balaji Narayanan, Russell C. Hardie, Robert A. Muse

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Spatial fixed pattern noise is a common and major problem in modern infrared imagers due to the nonuniform response of the photodiodes in the focal plane array of the imaging system. In addition, the nonuniform response of the readout and the digitization electronics, involved in multiplexing the signals from the photodiodes, causes further nonuniformity. In this paper, we describe a novel scene based nonuniformity correction algorithm that treats the aggregate nonuniformity in separate stages. Firstly, the nonuniformity from the readout amplifiers is corrected using knowledge of the readout architecture of the imaging system. In the second stage, the nonuniformity resulting …

The Navigation Potential Of Signals Of Opportunity-Based Time Difference Of Arrival Measurements, Kenneth A. Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This research introduces the concept of navigation potential, NP, to quantify the intrinsic ability to navigate using a given signal. NP theory is a new, information theory-like concept that provides a theoretical performance limit on estimating navigation parameters from a received signal that is modeled through a stochastic mapping of the transmitted signal and measurement noise. NP theory is applied to SOP-based TDOA systems in general as well as for the Gaussian case. Furthermore, the NP is found for a received signal consisting of the transmitted signal, multiple delayed and attenuated replicas of the transmitted signal, and measurement noise. Multipath-based …

The Effect Of Oxidant On Structure And Properties Of Pan/Ptfe Conducting Composite Membrane, Chang-Yuan Tao

Journal of Electrochemistry

The PAn/PTFE conducting composite membrane was prepared by means of in-situ permeating chemical polymerization, with (NH_(4))_(2)S_(2)O_(8) and Na_(3)VO_(4) being used as an oxidant respectively.The polymerization-growth behavior of the aniline by using different oxidant was compared. In addition, the oxidant effect on the structure and properties of conducting composite membrane was discussed. The results of SEM micrographs, pore size distribution and electrochemical methods suggested that using either oxidants could also induce the product with small pore size and dense pore structure. Compared with (NH_(4))_(2)S_(2)O_(8), using Na_(3)VO_(4 ) as an oxidant would induce the polyaniline with denser polymers in the membrane pores, …

Application Of Nickel Foam Electrode For Electroreduction Intermediate Of Purine, Hui-Wen Yang, Xi-En Hu, Xue-Jun Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nickel foam with weight uniformity, good porosity ,pore size and low resistivity as a three-dimensional cathode was used in a filter-press electrochemical reactor. The H_(2)SO_(4) as supporting electrolyte, separator of cation ion exchange membrane, and the lead plate as an anode were used. The cyclic system consisted of electroreduction reactor, pump, store tank and ampere meter. NAU was electroreduced in the cathode chamber of the reactor. Purine intermediate was synthesized with DAU, and the results were compared with those of iron powder reduction process. A peak current in the electroreduction process was detected. The current density of nickel foam increased …

Study On Synthesis Of M-Phenoxy Benzoic Acid By Electrolysis Oxidation Method, Wei Xu, Chong-Tao Zhao

Journal of Electrochemistry

The m-phenoxy benzoic acid was synthesized by oxidation m-phenoxy toluene using Cr(Ⅵ)as oxidation media, which was prepared by electrolysis oxidation of Cr(Ⅲ)in the electrochemical bath using Nafion 417 as a diaphragm, Pb-PbO_(2) as an anode and Pb as cathode. The effect factors on the electrochemical oxidation of Cr(Ⅲ)to Cr(Ⅵ)in this electrolysis were studied. Furthermore, the optimal conditions for electronic synthesis of m-phenoxy benzoic acid were also discussed.