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Title: THE THERMODYNAMICS OF PLANETARY ENGINEERING ON THE PLANET MARS.
Creator: Barsoum, Christopher, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Mars is a potentially habitable planet given the appropriate planetary engineering efforts. In order to create a habitable environment, the planet must be terraformed, creating quasi-Earth conditions. Benchmarks for minimum acceptable survivable human conditions were set by observing atmospheric pressures and temperatures here on Earth that humans are known to exist in. By observing a positive feedback reaction, it is shown how the sublimation of the volatile southern polar ice cap on Mars...
Show moreMars is a potentially habitable planet given the appropriate planetary engineering efforts. In order to create a habitable environment, the planet must be terraformed, creating quasi-Earth conditions. Benchmarks for minimum acceptable survivable human conditions were set by observing atmospheric pressures and temperatures here on Earth that humans are known to exist in. By observing a positive feedback reaction, it is shown how the sublimation of the volatile southern polar ice cap on Mars can increase global temperatures and pressures to the benchmarks set for minimum acceptable survivable human conditions. Given the degree of uncertainty, utilization of pressure scale heights and the Martin extreme terrain were used to show how less than desirable conditions can still produce results where these benchmarks can be met. Methods for obtaining enough energy to sublimate the southern polar ice cap were reviewed in detail. A new method of using dark, carbonaceous Martian moon material to alter the overall average albedo of the polar ice cap is proposed. Such a method would increase Martian energy efficiency. It is shown that by covering roughly 10% of the Martian polar ice cap with dark carbonaceous material, this required energy can be obtained. Overall contributions include utilization of pressure scale heights at various suggested settlement sites, as well as polar albedo altering as a method of planetary engineering. This project serves as a foundational work for long term solar system exploration and settlement.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFH0004540, ucf:45225
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004540

Title: PERCOLATION STUDY OF NANO-COMPOSITE CONDUCTIVITY USING MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONPERCOLATION.
Creator: Bai, Jing, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: A Monte Carlo model is developed for predicting electrical conductivity of carbon nanofiber composite materials. The conductive nanofibers are models as both 2D and 3D network of finite sites that are randomly distributed. The percolation behavior of the network is studied using the Monte Carlo method, which leads to the determination of the percolation threshold. The effect of the nanofiber aspect ratio on the critical nanofiber volume rate is investigated in the current model, each of the...
Show moreA Monte Carlo model is developed for predicting electrical conductivity of carbon nanofiber composite materials. The conductive nanofibers are models as both 2D and 3D network of finite sites that are randomly distributed. The percolation behavior of the network is studied using the Monte Carlo method, which leads to the determination of the percolation threshold. The effect of the nanofiber aspect ratio on the critical nanofiber volume rate is investigated in the current model, each of the nanofibers needs five independent geometrical parameters (i.e., three coordinates in space and two orientation angles) for its identification. There are three controlling parameters for each nanofiber, which includes the nanofiber length, the nanofiber diameter, and the nanofiber aspect ratio. The simulation results reveal a relationship between the fiber aspect ratio and the percolation threshold: the higher the aspect ratio, the lower the threshold. With the simulation results obtained from the Monte Carlo model, the effective electrical conductivity of the composite is then determined by assuming the conductivity is proportional to the ratio of the number of nanofibers forming the largest cluster to the total number of nanofibers. The numerical results indicate that as the volume rate reaches a critical value, the conductivity starts to rise sharply. These obtained simulation results agree fairly with experimental and numerical data published earlier by others. In addition, we investigate the convergence of the current percolation model. We also find the tunneling effect does not affect the critical volume rate greatly. We propose that the percolation model is not scalable as well.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002644, ucf:48230
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002644

Title: Pressure Image Based Attitude Controller for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
Creator: Thompson, Kenneth, Xu, Yunjun, Gou, Jihua, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As technology improves, small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAV) have been identified for their utility in a variety of applications in which larger unmanned craft may be incapable of accomplishing mission objectives. These aircraft with their small size and long flight durations are ideal for hazardous inspection and long duration surveillance missions. One challenge preventing the widespread adoption of these systems is their instability to abrupt changes in the flow field around them due to...
Show moreAs technology improves, small unmanned aerial vehicles (SUAV) have been identified for their utility in a variety of applications in which larger unmanned craft may be incapable of accomplishing mission objectives. These aircraft with their small size and long flight durations are ideal for hazardous inspection and long duration surveillance missions. One challenge preventing the widespread adoption of these systems is their instability to abrupt changes in the flow field around them due to wind gusts or flow separation.Currently, traditional rigid body based sensors are implemented in their flight control systems, which are sufficient in higher inertia aircraft for accurate control.However, in low inertia SUAV applications during a flow event, often, the inertial sensors are incapable of detecting the event before catastrophic failure.A method of directly measuring the flow information around the SUAV in order to generate control commands will improve the stability of these systems by allowing these systems to directly react to flow events.In contrast, established inertial based control systems can only react to changes in vehicle dynamics caused by flow events.Such a method is developed utilizing a network of pressure and shear sensors embedded in the wing and used to create (")flow images(") which can be easily manipulated to generate control commands.A method of accurately calculating the aerodynamic moment acting on the aircraft based on the flow image is also developed for implementation of flow image-based control in real world systems.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007417, ucf:52722
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007417

Title: A Smart UAV Platform for Railroad Inspection.
Creator: Debevec, Ryan, Elgohary, Tarek, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Using quadcopters for analysis of an environment has been an intriguing subject of study recently. The purpose of this work is to develop a fully autonomous UAV platform for Railroad inspection The dynamics of the quadrotor is derived using Euler's and Newton's laws and then linearized around the hover position. A PID controller is designed to control the states of the quadrotor in a manner to effectively follow a vision-based path, using the down facing camera on a Parrot Mambo quadrotor....
Show moreUsing quadcopters for analysis of an environment has been an intriguing subject of study recently. The purpose of this work is to develop a fully autonomous UAV platform for Railroad inspection The dynamics of the quadrotor is derived using Euler's and Newton's laws and then linearized around the hover position. A PID controller is designed to control the states of the quadrotor in a manner to effectively follow a vision-based path, using the down facing camera on a Parrot Mambo quadrotor. Using computer vision the distance from the position of the quadrotor to the position of the center of the path was found. Using the yaw controller to minimize this distance was found to be an adequate method of vision-based path following, by keeping the area of interest in the field of view of the camera. The downfacing camera is also simultaneously observing the path to detect defects using machine learning. This technique was able to detect simulated defects on the path with around 90% accuracy.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007623, ucf:52555
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007623

Title: Optimal Attitude Control Management for a Cubesat.
Creator: Develle, Michael, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Chew, Phyekeng, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: CubeSats have become popular among universities, research organizations, and government agencies due to their low cost, small size, and light weight. Their standardized configurations further reduce the development time and ensure more frequent launch opportunities. Early cubesat missions focused on hardware validation and simple communication missions, with little requirement for pointing accuracy. Most of these used magnetic torque rods or coils for attitude stabilization. However, the...
Show moreCubeSats have become popular among universities, research organizations, and government agencies due to their low cost, small size, and light weight. Their standardized configurations further reduce the development time and ensure more frequent launch opportunities. Early cubesat missions focused on hardware validation and simple communication missions, with little requirement for pointing accuracy. Most of these used magnetic torque rods or coils for attitude stabilization. However, the intrinsic problems associated with magnetictorque systems, such as the lack of three-axis control and low pointing accuracy, make them unsuitable for more advanced missions such as detailed imaging and on-orbit inspection. Three-axis control in a cubesat can be achieved by combining magnetic torque coils with other devices such as thrusters, but the lifetime is limited by the fuel source onboard. To maximize the missionlifetime, a fast attitude control management algorithm that could optimally manage the usage of the magnetic and thruster torques is desirable. Therefore, a recently developed method, the B-Spline-augmented virtual motion camouflage, is presented in this defense to solve the problem. This approach provides results which are very close to those obtained through other popular nonlinear constrained optimal control methods with a significantly reduced computational time.Simulation results are presented to validate the capabilities of the method in this application.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004099, ucf:49102
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004099

Title: Design and Optimization of a Wave Energy Harvester Utilizing a Flywheel Energy Storage System.
Creator: Helkin, Steven, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Gordon, Ali, Raghavan, Seetha, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis details the design and optimization of a buoy used to collect renewable energy from ocean waves. The proposed buoy is a point absorber(-)a device that transforms the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of surface waves into electrical energy. The focus of the research is on the mechanical system used to collect the energy, and methods to improve it for eventual use in an actual wave energy harvester. A flywheel energy storage system was utilized in order to provide an improved...
Show moreThis thesis details the design and optimization of a buoy used to collect renewable energy from ocean waves. The proposed buoy is a point absorber(-)a device that transforms the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of surface waves into electrical energy. The focus of the research is on the mechanical system used to collect the energy, and methods to improve it for eventual use in an actual wave energy harvester. A flywheel energy storage system was utilized in order to provide an improved power output from the system, even with the intermittent input of force exerted by ocean waves. A series of laboratory prototypes were developed to analyze parameters that are important to the success of the point absorb mechanical system. By introducing a velocity-based load control scheme in conjunction with flywheel energy storage, it was seen that the average power output by the prototype was increased. The generator load is controlled via a relay switch that removes electrical resistance from the generator(-)this sacrifices time during which power is drawn from the system, but also allows the buoy to move with less resistance. A simulation model was developed in order to analyze the theoretical wave absorber system and optimize the velocity threshold parameters used in the load control. Results indicate that the power output by the system can be substantially improved through the use of a flywheel energy storage control scheme that engages and disengages the electrical load based on the rotational velocity of the flywheel system. The results of the optimization are given for varying-sized generator systems input into the simulation in order to observe the associated trends.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004118, ucf:49113
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004118

Title: CFD Analysis of a Uni-directional Impulse Turbine for Wave Energy Conversion.
Creator: Velez, Carlos, Ilie, Marcel, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Qu, Zhihua, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Ocean energy research has grown in popularity in the past decade and has producedvarious designs for wave energy extraction. This thesis focuses on the performance analysis of auni-directional impulse turbine for wave energy conversion. Uni-directional impulse turbines canproduce uni-directional rotation in bi-directional flow, which makes it ideal for wave energyextraction as the motion of ocean waves are inherently bi-directional. This impulse turbine iscurrently in use in four of the world...
Show moreOcean energy research has grown in popularity in the past decade and has producedvarious designs for wave energy extraction. This thesis focuses on the performance analysis of auni-directional impulse turbine for wave energy conversion. Uni-directional impulse turbines canproduce uni-directional rotation in bi-directional flow, which makes it ideal for wave energyextraction as the motion of ocean waves are inherently bi-directional. This impulse turbine iscurrently in use in four of the world's Oscillating Wave Columns (OWC). Current research todate has documented the performance of the turbine but little research has been completed tounderstand the flow physics in the turbine channel. An analytical model and computational fluiddynamic simulations are used with reference to experimental results found in the literature todevelop accurate models of the turbine performance. To carry out the numerical computationsvarious turbulence models are employed and compared. The comparisons indicate that a lowReynolds number Yang-shih K-Epsilon turbulence model is the most computationally efficientwhile providing accurate results. Additionally, analyses of the losses in the turbine are isolatedand documented.Results indicate that large separation regions occur on the turbine blades whichdrastically affect the torque created by the turbine, the location of flow separation is documentedand compared among various flow regimes. The model and simulations show good agreementwith the experimental results and the two proposed solutions enhance the performance of theturbine showing an approximate 10% increase in efficiency based on simulation results.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004173, ucf:49049
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004173

Title: The Effect of Magnetic Bearing on the Vibration and Friction of a Wind Turbine.
Creator: Vorwaller, Mark, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Raghavan, Seetha, Gou, Jihua, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Demands for sustainable energy have resulted in increased interest in wind turbines. Thus, despite widespread economic difficulties, global installed wind power increased by over 20% in 2011 alone. Recently, magnetic bearing technology has been proposed to improve wind turbine performance by mitigating vibration and reducing frictional losses. While magnetic bearing has been shown to reduce friction in other applications, little data has been presented to establish its effect on vibration and...
Show moreDemands for sustainable energy have resulted in increased interest in wind turbines. Thus, despite widespread economic difficulties, global installed wind power increased by over 20% in 2011 alone. Recently, magnetic bearing technology has been proposed to improve wind turbine performance by mitigating vibration and reducing frictional losses. While magnetic bearing has been shown to reduce friction in other applications, little data has been presented to establish its effect on vibration and friction in wind turbines. Accordingly, this study provides a functional method for experimentally evaluating the effect of a magnetic bearing on the vibration and efficiency characteristics of a wind turbine, along with associated results and conclusions.The magnetic bearing under examination is a passive, concentric ring design. Vibration levels, dominant frequency components, and efficiency results are reported for the bearing as tested in two systems: a precision test fixture, and a small commercially available wind turbine. Data is also presented for a geometrically equivalent ball bearing, providing a benchmark for the magnetic bearing's performance. The magnetic bearing is conclusively shown to reduce frictional losses as predicted by the original hypothesis. However, while reducing vibration in the precision test fixture, the magnetic bearing demonstrates increased vibration in the small wind turbine. This is explained in terms of the stiffness and damping of the passive test bearing. Thus, magnetic bearing technology promises to improve wind turbine performance, provided that application specific stiffness and damping characteristics are considered in the bearing design.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004452, ucf:49326
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004452

Title: Decentralized Consensus-based Control Allocation For Some Dynamical Systems.
Creator: Mark, August, Xu, Yunjun, Gou, Jihua, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this dissertation, three separate studies, wherein techniques from graph theory and consensus control are used to address control allocation problems, are presented. In the first study, a decentralized allocator is presented for synthetic jet actuators and control surfaces onboard a small unmanned aerial vehicle to cooperatively generate desired aerodynamic moments. First order linear dynamics are assumed for both the synthetic jet actuators and control surfaces. A weighted consensus...
Show moreIn this dissertation, three separate studies, wherein techniques from graph theory and consensus control are used to address control allocation problems, are presented. In the first study, a decentralized allocator is presented for synthetic jet actuators and control surfaces onboard a small unmanned aerial vehicle to cooperatively generate desired aerodynamic moments. First order linear dynamics are assumed for both the synthetic jet actuators and control surfaces. A weighted consensus algorithm with limited feedback is used for the aerodynamic moment contribution allocator considering constraints. In the second study, the same allocation problem as in the first study is considered, but the actuator dynamics are now assumed to behave according to second order nonlinear dynamics. In the third study, a spray allocator is presented for an array of nozzles used to cool a large heated surface in order to address the local disagreement in surface temperature within sprayed sections. Within each study, the stability of each system is proven, and the performance of each allocator is demonstrated via simulations.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007496, ucf:52636
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007496

Title: Spray Deposition Modeling of Carbon Nano-Inks.
Creator: Sparkman, John, Gou, Jihua, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Carbon nanopaper (CNP) exhibits qualities that are desirable for a number of applications such as flame retardancy, lightning protection, and flexible printed circuit boards. CNP has become a desired engineering material in many important sectors of industries such as space, automotive, aviation, and military. However the production of consistent thicknesses and dispersion remains a challenge for practical use. Most of the standard methods of production do not allow for continuous...
Show moreCarbon nanopaper (CNP) exhibits qualities that are desirable for a number of applications such as flame retardancy, lightning protection, and flexible printed circuit boards. CNP has become a desired engineering material in many important sectors of industries such as space, automotive, aviation, and military. However the production of consistent thicknesses and dispersion remains a challenge for practical use. Most of the standard methods of production do not allow for continuous applications or digital fabrication of the CNP. In this work, CNP is produced two different ways that allows for continuous production and digital fabrication. The continuous CNP making technique uses vacuum infiltration along with air atomization and a continuous drive belt system to produce a continuous roll of the CNP. This system is able to produce an 11 (&)#181;m (&)#177; 2 (&)#181;m CNP at 6 inches per min with an electrical resistivity of 59 ? per square. The major advantage of this production process is the ability to mass manufacture the CNP. Spray deposition modeling (SDM) is a digital fabrication process that uses a 12 array bubble jet nozzle attached to a digital control x-y plotter combined with a heated substrate which induces evaporation. This process is able to produce paper with variable thicknesses in defined locations. The maximum thickness of the CNP produced is 10 (&)#181;m with a resistivity of 95.7 ? per square. A strong advantage of this CNP production method comes from the ability to digitally print images. The controllable thickness and selective location printing presents an effective alternative to costlier methods and provides a solution to many geometrical CNP issues.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0006231, ucf:51073
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006231

Title: Development of 3D Vision Testbed for Shape Memory Polymer Structure Applications.
Creator: Thompson, Kenneth, Xu, Yunjun, Gou, Jihua, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As applications for shape memory polymers (SMPs) become more advanced, it is necessary to have the ability to monitor both the actuation and thermal properties of structures made of such materials. In this paper, a method of using three stereo pairs of webcams and a single thermal camera is studied for the purposes of both tracking three dimensional motion of shape memory polymers, as well as the temperature of points of interest within the SMP structure. The method used includes a stereo...
Show moreAs applications for shape memory polymers (SMPs) become more advanced, it is necessary to have the ability to monitor both the actuation and thermal properties of structures made of such materials. In this paper, a method of using three stereo pairs of webcams and a single thermal camera is studied for the purposes of both tracking three dimensional motion of shape memory polymers, as well as the temperature of points of interest within the SMP structure. The method used includes a stereo camera calibration with integrated local minimum tracking algorithms to locate points of interest on the material and measure their temperature through interpolation techniques. The importance of the proposed method is that it allows a means to cost effectively monitor the surface temperature of a shape memory polymer structure without having to place intrusive sensors on the samples, which would limit the performance of the shape memory effect. The ability to monitor the surface temperatures of a SMP structure allows for more complex configurations to be created while increasing the performance and durability of the material. Additionally, as compared to the previous version, both the functionalities of the testbed and the user interface have been significantly improved.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005893, ucf:50860
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005893

Title: Deposition Thickness Modeling and Parameter Identification for Spray Assisted Vacuum Filtration Process in Additive Manufacturing.
Creator: Mark, August, Xu, Yunjun, Gou, Jihua, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: To enhance mechanical and/or electrical properties of composite materials used in additive manufacturing, nanoparticles are often time deposited to form nanocomposite layers. To customize the mechanical and/or electrical properties, the thickness of such nanocomposite layers must be precisely controlled. A thickness model of filter cakes created through a spray assisted vacuum filtration is presented in this paper, to enable the development of advanced thickness controllers. The mass transfer...
Show moreTo enhance mechanical and/or electrical properties of composite materials used in additive manufacturing, nanoparticles are often time deposited to form nanocomposite layers. To customize the mechanical and/or electrical properties, the thickness of such nanocomposite layers must be precisely controlled. A thickness model of filter cakes created through a spray assisted vacuum filtration is presented in this paper, to enable the development of advanced thickness controllers. The mass transfer dynamics in the spray atomization and vacuum filtration are studied for the mass of solid particles and mass of water in differential areas, and then the thickness of a filter cake is derived. A two-loop nonlinear constrained optimization approach is used to identify the unknown parameters in the model. Experiments involving depositing carbon nanofibers in a sheet of paper are used to measure the ability of the model to mimic the filtration process.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005974, ucf:50788
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005974

Title: Approximated Control Affine Dynamics Mode For an Agricultural Field Robot Considering Wheel Terrain Interaction.
Creator: Menendez-Aponte, Pablo, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Moslehy, Faissal, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: As populations and the demand for higher crop yields grow, so to does the need forefficient agricultural wheeled mobile robots. To achieve precise navigation through a fieldit is desirable that the control system is designed based on an accurate dynamic model. Inthis paper a control affine model for a custom designed skid-steer differential drive wheeledmobile robot is found. The Terramechanic wheel terrain interaction is adopted and modifiedto consider wheels with a torus geometry. Varying...
Show moreAs populations and the demand for higher crop yields grow, so to does the need forefficient agricultural wheeled mobile robots. To achieve precise navigation through a fieldit is desirable that the control system is designed based on an accurate dynamic model. Inthis paper a control affine model for a custom designed skid-steer differential drive wheeledmobile robot is found. The Terramechanic wheel terrain interaction is adopted and modifiedto consider wheels with a torus geometry. Varying slip ratios and slip angles are consideredin the terrain reaction forces, which is curve-fitted using a nonlinear least squares approachsuch that the achieved model is control affine. The parameters in the proposed model isidentified through an extended Kalman filter so that the state variables in the model arematched. Both simulation and experiments in a commercial farm validated the proposedmodel and the identification approach.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006480, ucf:51410
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006480

Title: Geolocation of Diseased Leaves in Strawberry Orchards for a Custom-Designed Octorotor.
Creator: Garcia, Christian, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Kauffman, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In recent years, technological advances have shown a strive for more automated processes in agriculture, as seem with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with onboard sensors in many applications, including disease detection and yield prediction. In this thesis, an octorotor UAV is presented that was designed, built, and flight tested, with features that are custom-designed for strawberry orchard disease detection. To further automate the disease scouting operation, geolocation, or the...
Show moreIn recent years, technological advances have shown a strive for more automated processes in agriculture, as seem with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with onboard sensors in many applications, including disease detection and yield prediction. In this thesis, an octorotor UAV is presented that was designed, built, and flight tested, with features that are custom-designed for strawberry orchard disease detection. To further automate the disease scouting operation, geolocation, or the process of determining global position coordinates of identified diseased regions based on images taken, is investigated. A Kalman filter is designed, based on a linear measurement model derived from an orthographic projection method, to estimate the target position. Simulation, as well as an ad-hoc experiment using flight data, is performed to compare this filter to the extended Kalman filter (EKF), which is based on the commonly used perspective projection method. The filter is embedded onto a CPU board for real-time use aboard the octorotor UAV, and the algorithm structure for this process is presented. In the later part of the thesis, a probabilistic data association method is used, jointly with a proposed logic-based measurement-to-target correlation method, to analyze measurements of different target sources and is incorporated into the Kalman filter. A simulation and an ad-hoc experiment, using video and flight data acquired aboard the octorotor UAV with a gimballed camera in hover flight, are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm and UAV platform.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006305, ucf:51597
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006305

Title: Mission Analysis for Pico-Scale Satellite Based Dust Detection in Low Earth Orbits.
Creator: Belli, Jacob, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Bradley, Eric, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: A conceptual dust detection mission, KnightSat III, using pico-scale satellites is analyzed. The purpose of the proposed KnightSat III mission is to aid in the determination of the size, mass, distribution, and number of dust particles in low earth orbits through a low cost and flexible satellite or a formation of satellites equipped with a new dust detector. The analysis of a single satellite mission with an on-board dust detector is described; though this analysis can easily be extended to...
Show moreA conceptual dust detection mission, KnightSat III, using pico-scale satellites is analyzed. The purpose of the proposed KnightSat III mission is to aid in the determination of the size, mass, distribution, and number of dust particles in low earth orbits through a low cost and flexible satellite or a formation of satellites equipped with a new dust detector. The analysis of a single satellite mission with an on-board dust detector is described; though this analysis can easily be extended to a formation of pico-scale satellites. Many design aspects of the mission are discussed, including orbit analysis, power management, attitude determination and control, and mass and power budgets. Two of them are emphasized. The first is a new attitude guidance and control method, and the second is the online optimal power scheduling. It is expected that the measurements obtained from this possible future mission will provide insight into the dynamical processes of inner solar system dust, as well as aid in designing proper micro-meteoroid impact mitigation strategies for future man-made spacecraft.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004813, ucf:49728
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004813

Title: MECHANICAL AND THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CONTINUOUS FIBER-REINFORCED PYROLYSIS-DERIVED CARBON-MATRIX COMPOSITES.
Creator: Lui, Donovan, Gou, Jihua, Raghavan, Seetha, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Maturity of high-temperature polymer-reinforced composites defer to conventionally expensive and intensive methods in both material and manufacturing aspects. Even traditional carbon-carbon, aerogel, and ceramic approaches are highly limited by difficult manufacturing techniques and are subject to sensitive handling throughout their processing and lifetime. Despite their utility in extreme environments, the high costs of existing high-temperature composites find limited practical...
Show moreMaturity of high-temperature polymer-reinforced composites defer to conventionally expensive and intensive methods in both material and manufacturing aspects. Even traditional carbon-carbon, aerogel, and ceramic approaches are highly limited by difficult manufacturing techniques and are subject to sensitive handling throughout their processing and lifetime. Despite their utility in extreme environments, the high costs of existing high-temperature composites find limited practical applicability under high-performance applications. The development of continuous fiber-reinforced pyrolysis-derived carbon-matrix composites aim to circumvent the issues surrounding the manufacturing and handling of conventional high-temperature composites.Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have a number of attractive properties including light weight, high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios, ease of installation on the field, potential lower system-level cost, high overall durability and less susceptibility to environmental deterioration than conventional materials. However, since PMCs contain the polymer matrix, their applications are limited to lower temperatures. In this study, a pyrolysis approach was used to convert the matrix material of phenolic resin into carbon-matrix to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites. Composite material consisting of basalt fiber and phenolic resin was pyrolyzed to produce basalt-carbon composites through a novel method in which the pyrolysis promoted in-situ carbon nanotube growth to form (")fuzzy fibers("). The carbon phenolic composites were pyrolyzed to produce carbon-carbon composites. Several types of composites are examined and compared, including conventional phenolic and carbon-matrix composites. Through Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the composition of materials are verified before testing. Investigation into the improvements from in-situ carbon growth was conducted with an open-flame oxyacetylene test (ASTM-E285), to establish high-temperature thermal behavior, in addition to mechanical testing by three-point bending (ASTM-D790), to evaluate the mechanical and thermal properties of the pyrolyzed composites.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005654, ucf:50196
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005654

Title: Bio-Inspired Cooperative Optimal Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Vehicles.
Creator: Remeikas, Charles, Xu, Yunjun, Kassab, Alain, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: With the recent trend for systems to be more and more autonomous, there is a growing need for cooperative trajectory planning. Applications that can be considered as cooperative systems such as surveying, formation flight, and traffic control need a method that can rapidly produce trajectories while considering all of the constraints on the system. Currently most of the existing methods to handle cooperative control are based around either simple dynamics and/or on the assumption that all...
Show moreWith the recent trend for systems to be more and more autonomous, there is a growing need for cooperative trajectory planning. Applications that can be considered as cooperative systems such as surveying, formation flight, and traffic control need a method that can rapidly produce trajectories while considering all of the constraints on the system. Currently most of the existing methods to handle cooperative control are based around either simple dynamics and/or on the assumption that all vehicles have homogeneous properties. In reality, typical autonomous systems will have heterogeneous, nonlinear dynamics while also being subject to extreme constraints on certain state and control variables. In this thesis, a new approach to the cooperative control problem is presented based on the bio-inspired motion strategy known as local pursuit. In this framework, decision making about the group trajectory and formation are handled at a cooperative level while individual trajectory planning is considered in a local sense. An example is presented for a case of an autonomous farming system (e.g. scouting) utilizing nonlinear vehicles to cooperatively accomplish various farming task with minimal energy consumption or minimum time. The decision making and trajectory generation is handled very quickly while being able to consider changing environments laden with obstacles.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005053, ucf:49978
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005053

Title: Synthesis, Processing and Characterization of Polymer Derived Ceramic Nanocomposite Coating Reinforced with Carbon Nanotube Preforms.
Creator: Yang, Hongjiang, Gou, Jihua, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Ceramics have a number of applications as coating material due to their high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, and the ability to withstand high temperatures. Critical to the success of these materials is the effective heat transfer through a material to allow for heat diffusion or effective cooling, which is often limited by the low thermal conductivity of many ceramic materials. To meet the challenge of improving the thermal conductivity of ceramics without lowering their performance...
Show moreCeramics have a number of applications as coating material due to their high hardness, wear and corrosion resistance, and the ability to withstand high temperatures. Critical to the success of these materials is the effective heat transfer through a material to allow for heat diffusion or effective cooling, which is often limited by the low thermal conductivity of many ceramic materials. To meet the challenge of improving the thermal conductivity of ceramics without lowering their performance envelope, carbon nanotubes were selected to improve the mechanical properties and thermal dispersion ability due to its excellent mechanical properties and high thermal conductivity in axial direction. However, the enhancements are far lower than expectation resulting from limited carbon nanotube content in ceramic matrix composites and the lack of alignment. These problems can be overcome if ceramic coatings are reinforced by carbon nanotubes with good dispersion and alignment. In this study, the well-dispersed and aligned carbon nanotubes preforms were achieved in the form of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) and Buckypaper. Polymer derived ceramic (PDC) was selected as the matrix to fabricate carbon nanotube reinforced ceramic nanocomposites through resin curing and pyrolysis. The SEM images indicates the alignment of carbon nanotubes in the PDC nanocomposites. The mechanical and thermal properties of the PDC nanocomposites were characterized through Vickers hardness measurement and Thermogravimetric Analysis. The ideal anisotropic properties of nanocomposites were confirmed by estimating the electrical conductivity in two orthogonal directions.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005446, ucf:50385
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005446

Title: Vision-Based Sensing and Optimal Control for Low-Cost and Small Satellite Platforms.
Creator: Sease, Bradley, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Bradley, Eric, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Current trends in spacecraft are leading to smaller, more inexpensive options whenever possible. This shift has been primarily pursued for the opportunity to open a new frontier for technologies with a small financial obligation. Limited power, processing, pointing, and communication capabilities are all common issues which must be considered when miniaturizing systems and implementing low-cost components. This thesis addresses some of these concerns by applying two methods, in attitude...
Show moreCurrent trends in spacecraft are leading to smaller, more inexpensive options whenever possible. This shift has been primarily pursued for the opportunity to open a new frontier for technologies with a small financial obligation. Limited power, processing, pointing, and communication capabilities are all common issues which must be considered when miniaturizing systems and implementing low-cost components. This thesis addresses some of these concerns by applying two methods, in attitude estimation and control. Additionally, these methods are not restricted to only small, inexpensive satellites, but offer a benefit to large-scale spacecraft as well.First, star cameras are examined for the tendency to generate streaked star images during maneuvers. This issue also comes into play when pointing capabilities and camera hardware quality are low, as is often the case in small, budget-constrained spacecraft. When pointing capabilities are low, small residual velocities can cause movement of the stars in the focal plane during an exposure, causing them to streak across the image. Additionally, if the camera quality is low, longer exposures may be required to gather sufficient light from a star, further contributing to streaking. Rather than improving the pointing or hardware directly, an algorithm is presented to retrieve and utilize the endpoints of streaked stars to provide feedback where traditional methods do not. This allows precise attitude and angular rate estimates to be derived from an image which, with traditional methods, would return large attitude and rate error. Simulation results are presented which demonstrate endpoint error of approximately half a pixel and rate estimates within 2% of the true angular velocity. Three methods are also considered to remove overlapping star streaks and resident space objects from images to improve performance of both attitude and rate estimates. Results from a large-scale Monte Carlo simulation are presented in order to characterize the performance of the method.Additionally, a rapid optimal attitude guidance method is experimentally validated in a ground-based, pico-scale satellite test bed. Fast slewing performance is demonstrated for an incremental step maneuver with low average power consumption. Though the focus of this thesis is primarily on increasing the capabilities of small, inexpensive spacecraft, the methods discussed have the potential to increase the capabilities of current and future large-scale missions as well.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005249, ucf:50603
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005249

Title: Navigation of an Autonomous Differential Drive Robot for Field Scouting in Semi-structured Environments.
Creator: Freese, Douglas, Xu, Yunjun, Lin, Kuo-Chi, Kauffman, Jeffrey L., Behal, Aman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In recent years, the interests of introducing autonomous robots by growers into agriculture fields are rejuvenated due to the ever-increasing labor cost and the recent declining numbers of seasonal workers. The utilization of customized, autonomous agricultural robots has a profound impact on future orchard operations by providing low cost, meticulous inspection. Different sensors have been proven proficient in agrarian navigation including the likes of GPS, inertial, magnetic, rotary...
Show moreIn recent years, the interests of introducing autonomous robots by growers into agriculture fields are rejuvenated due to the ever-increasing labor cost and the recent declining numbers of seasonal workers. The utilization of customized, autonomous agricultural robots has a profound impact on future orchard operations by providing low cost, meticulous inspection. Different sensors have been proven proficient in agrarian navigation including the likes of GPS, inertial, magnetic, rotary encoding, time of flight as well as vision. To compensate for anticipated disturbances, variances and constraints contingent to the outdoor semi-structured environment, a differential style drive vehicle will be implemented as an easily controllable system to conduct tasks such as imaging and sampling.In order to verify the motion control of a robot, custom-designed for strawberry fields, the task is separated into multiple phases to manage the over-bed and cross-bed operation needs. In particular, during the cross-bed segment an elevated strawberry bed will provide distance references utilized in a logic filter and tuned PID algorithm for safe and efficient travel. Due to the significant sources of uncertainty such as wheel slip and the vehicle model, nonlinear robust controllers are designed for the cross-bed motion, purely relying on vision feedback. A simple image filter algorithm was developed for strawberry row detection, in which pixels corresponding to the bed center will be tracked while the vehicle is in controlled motion. This incorporated derivation and formulation of a bounded uncertainty parameter that will be employed in the nonlinear control. Simulation of the entire system was subsequently completed to ensure the control capability before successful validation in multiple commercial farms. It is anticipated that with the developed algorithms the authentication of fully autonomous robotic systems functioning in agricultural crops will provide heightened efficiency of needed costly services; scouting, disease detection, collection, and distribution.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007401, ucf:52743
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007401

CubeSat (2)	+ -
Ocean Energy (2)	+ -
Optimal trajectory design (2)	+ -
attitude control (2)	+ -
optimal control (2)	+ -

robust control (2)	+ -
trajectory planning (2)	+ -
virtual motion camouflage (2)	+ -
A Smart UAV Platform for Railroad Inspection (1)	+ -
Aerodynamics (1)	+ -
Agriculture (1)	+ -
Airship (1)	+ -
Analysis of manipulators (1)	+ -
Analytical solution (1)	+ -
Attitude Determination (1)	+ -
Autonomous ground vehicle (1)	+ -
Bio-inspired method (1)	+ -
Bio-inspired motion strategies (1)	+ -
Buckypaper (1)	+ -
Buoy (1)	+ -
CFD (1)	+ -
CNP (1)	+ -
Closed-form solutions (1)	+ -
Computer Vision (1)	+ -
Consensus (1)	+ -
Control Allocation (1)	+ -
Data Association (1)	+ -
Decentralized (1)	+ -
Disease Detection (1)	+ -
EKF (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (30)	+ -
Honors Collection (1)	+ -

Lin, Kuo-Chi (31)	+ -
University of Central Florida (31)	+ -
Xu, Yunjun (20)	+ -
Gou, Jihua (9)	+ -
Bai, Yuanli (4)	+ -

An, Linan (3)	+ -
Behal, Aman (3)	+ -
Das, Tuhin (3)	+ -
Kassab, Alain (3)	+ -
Raghavan, Seetha (3)	+ -
Bradley, Eric (2)	+ -
Cho, Hyoung (2)	+ -
Defterli, Sinem (2)	+ -
Kauffman, Jeffrey (2)	+ -
Kauffman, Jeffrey L. (2)	+ -
Mark, August (2)	+ -
Qu, Zhihua (2)	+ -
Song, Sang-Eun (2)	+ -
Thompson, Kenneth (2)	+ -
Zheng, Qipeng (2)	+ -
Al-Joubori, Ahmed (1)	+ -
Bai, Jing (1)	+ -
Barsoum, Christopher (1)	+ -
Basset, Gareth (1)	+ -
Belli, Jacob (1)	+ -
Challapalli, Suryanarayana (1)	+ -
Chew, Phyekeng (1)	+ -
Debevec, Ryan (1)	+ -
Develle, Michael (1)	+ -
Elgohary, Tarek (1)	+ -

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