Engineering Dissertations and Theses: Recent submissions
Now showing items 941-960 of 1055
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Optimization of the Cathode Catalyst Layer Composition of a PEM Fuel Cell Using a Novel 2-Step Preparation Method
(University of Kansas, 2009-03-05)For good performance and high durability PEM fuel cells run at high water saturation levels. However, excess liquid water generated by the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode can block pores in the catalyst layer so ... -
A Comprehensive Study of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for Building Walls Applications
(University of Kansas, 2009-03-09)In this dissertation, the working environment of the PCMs, PCMs' thermal behavior, the effects of mixing PCMs with cellulose insulation, and the impact of exposition to ambient air were studied. The performance of PCM-enhanced ... -
Service Oriented Architecture for Monitoring Cargo in Motion Along Trusted Corridors
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-10)This thesis describes a system called the Transportation Security SensorNet that can be used to perform extensive cargo monitoring. It is built as a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) using open web service specifications ... -
Combating the Class Imbalance Problem in Small Sample Data Sets
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-07)The class imbalance problem is a recent development in machine learning. It is frequently encountered when using a classifier to generalize on real-world application data sets, and it causes a classifier to perform ... -
Practical Considerations for Radar Embedded Communication
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-01)This thesis expands on the previous work done in the area of intra-pulse radar embedded communication by examining some of the practical aspects of the waveform design. Communication waveform mismatches between the tag and ... -
Discovering Domain-Domain Interactions toward Genome-Wide Protein Interaction and Function Predictions
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-30)To fully understand the underlying mechanisms of living cells, it is essential to delineate the intricate interactions between the cell proteins at a genome scale. Insights into the protein functions will enrich our ... -
Heat Transfer Reduction Across the Walls of Refrigerated Van Trailers by the Application of Phase Change Material
(University of Kansas, 2009-03-13)The purpose of this thesis is to present the results obtained by incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) into the conventional insulated walls of commercial refrigerated van trailers (herein referred to as "refrigerated ... -
Identifying Vision Disorders Using Pupil Color Analysis
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-31)Amblyopia is a neurological vision disorder that studies show affects two to five percent of the population. Current methods of treatment produce the best visual outcome if the condition is identified early in the patient's ... -
Knee's Motion Path Relative to the Passive Coupled Kinematic Envelope
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-15)Laxity assessments are done before, during, and after intervention of knee injuries to assess potential outcomes. Study objectives were to create a method to define the passive kinematic limits, without artificially ... -
A Voltage Controlled Oscillator for a Phase-Locked Loop Frequency Synthesizer in a Silicon-on-Sapphire Process
(University of Kansas, 2009-05-22)Engineers from a government-owned engineering and manufacturing facility were contracted by government-owned research laboratory to design and build an S-band telemetry transmitter using Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit ... -
CHARACTERIZATION OF BCl₃, SF₆, and BCl₃/SF₆ PLASMAS USING LANGMUIR PROBE MEASUREMENTS
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-15)A Langmuir probe study in BCl3, SF6, and mixtures of BCl3/SF6 capacitively-coupled plasmas is presented. In this study, energy distribution functions, electron temperatures (and average electron energy) and electron, ... -
Compiler Transformations to Generate Reentrant C Programs to Assist Software Parallelization
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-16)As we move through the multi-core era into the many-core era it becomes obvi- ous that thread-based programming is here to stay. This trend in the development of general purpose hardware is augmented by the fact that while ... -
Transition between single and multiple stepping strategies in forward fall recovery
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-05)Background. Following a balance disturbance, one or more steps are often taken. Studies have shown that older adults are more likely than young adults to take multiple steps, and that number of steps is a predictor of fall ... -
Tolerable Strains for HMA Overlays over Concrete Pavements
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-10)Materials from two Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) projects', namely 089 C-4318-01 (Mix 1) and 56-29 KA-1087-01 (Mix 2), were used for the laboratory study. Considering typical overlay thicknesses used in Kansas, ... -
Development of a 6DOF Nonlinear Simulation Model Enhanced with Fine Tuning Procedures
(University of Kansas, 2008-12-18)This document describes the study of a conventional parametric modeling technique to be used for aircraft simulation in support of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) development program for glacial ice research funded by the ... -
A Computational Study of Icing Effects on the Performance of an S-Duct Inlet
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)The performance of a diffusing S-duct inlet (M2129) is computationally studied for the effects of inlet icing. Different ice accretion shapes, predicted by numerical analysis in the literature reviewed, are simulated on ... -
Assessment of Bridge Inspection and Maintenance in the United States
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)Bridge inspection and maintenance is extremely important to the country since it is the economic lifeblood of the United States business and people relying upon them to do business and get to work. Although bridge disasters ... -
Wideband Channel Sounding Techniques for Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)In recent years, cognitive radio has drawn extensive research attention due to its ability to improve the efficiency of spectrum usage by allowing dynamic spectrum resource sharing between primary and secondary users. The ... -
Deriving Atmospheric Density Estimates Using Satellite Precision Orbit Ephemerides
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)Current atmospheric models are incapable of properly modeling all of the density variations in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Precision orbit ephemerides (POE) are utilized in an orbit determination process to generate ... -
Enhancing the Spontaneous Imbibition Process in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs through Wettability Alteration Using Surfactants: Mechanistic Study and Feasibility of Using Biosurfactants Produced from Agriculture Waste Streams
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)Naturally fractured reservoirs are characterized by having low-permeability matrix blocks surrounded with fractures of high hydraulic conductivity. Waterflooding process in such reservoirs is successful if the matrix blocks ...