FATIGUE AND QUAI-STATIC PERFORMANCE OF 3M VHB …



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FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

ABSTRACTS

CAPSTONE PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

AUTUMN SEMESTER 2007

BROADWAY CAMPUS

Thursday 28th JUNE 2007

9:00am – 5:30pm

Configurable Case-Study Engine (12cp)

Youssef Abawi - S06-164

Supervisor : David Lowe

Assessor : Zenon Chaczko

Major: Software Engineering

An online case-study can be an excellent mechanism, by which students are able

to learn by way of practical means, the underlying theme of study. The problems many case-studies have are that they are not delivered in a systematic way. The crux of the capstone project looks at how the information contained within a case study can be delivered so that it allows users to browse through content in a structured way; the deliverable will be a web-based case-study engine that will be configurable to all case-studies.

Apart from delivering a case-study engine, the capstone also looks at several areas of web engineering. The capstone will look at the advantages and disadvantages of eXtreme programming and assess its effectiveness in managing the deliverable and the software process. The capstone will look at the benefits of AJAX in developing rich internet applications and how it has been applied to this project. And finally, the capstone looks at the power XML based configurations have in web development.

The intent of the capstone is that it be applied to a real-life case-study. Associate Dean of Engineering at UTS, Professor David Lowe, is currently working with acclaimed Software Engineering author Roger Pressman on new book titled "Web Engineering– a Practitioner's Approach" which uses a case-study example to illustrate how a web system can be engineered. The case-study will be hosted at .

COMPACT FLASH MP3 PLAYER (12cp)

Juan Aguero - S06-149

Supervisor : Peter McLean

Assessor : Venkat Ramaswamy

Major: Electrical Engineering

Due to the rapid increase of digitalised music, the industry has been inundated with handheld portable devices. As the market for products and services within the audio entertainment grows and the popularity of MPEG-1 Layer III (MP3) audio files increases, this capstone project endeavours to provide the industry with an alternative.

This capstone project explores the idea of an MP3 player designed to be permanently installed within either the home or car. It involves the design of both hardware and software, from the initial concept design stage to a working prototype.

During the first stage of this project, research into component selection and hardware design was conducted. This included reviewing all possible component options and selecting the most appropriate prototyping hardware. The outcomes of this stage were detailed schematics and printed circuit board files ready to send for manufacturing.

In the second stage of the project, construction and testing began on the manufactured hardware. During the testing stages modifications had to be carried out to the hardware to ensure a stable platform. This included changes to the components used and also to printed circuit board routing.

A software solution to control the embedded system was also developed in line with the hardware testing stages. The software has been designed to read the compact flash card for a FAT16 partition, control the data sent to the MP3 decoder and interact with the user through push buttons and an LCD.

Technologies used to implement the solution include –

• PIC Micro-controller

• MP3 Decoding hardware

• Compact Flash Storage Card

• USB Protocol devices

The result of this capstone project is a functional proof of concept prototype that enables the user to listen to audio files stored within a Windows compatible compact flash card. Software functionalities for a basic user interface have also been established to demonstrate some of the potential features of the MP3 player.

Project Managers, Conflict and its Resolution (12cp)

Andrei Angelin - A07-020

Supervisor : David Eager

Assessor : Catherine Killen

Major: Electrical Engineering

Project Management is a discipline of organising and managing limited human, capital and physical resources in such a way that they used to deliver all work required to complete a specific project. The human resources are used to manage, and create an environment and culture, whereby they feel their comfortable spending countless hours in their workplace. A culture where there is trust, no overbearing bosses that push in overbearing manner, or set a bad example. It is a project manager’s duty to ensure that their employees are happy because without their employees the business is nothing. When an employee is happy efficiency is up, and the work environment has a culture by which employees are happy to work in.

This capstone aims to investigate how project managers create a balance of work and the right amount of leisure to keep their employees happy and working at a high efficiency through areas of workplace culture, communication methods, trust, leadership, relationships and employee surveillance.

Conflict is a common problem in the professional workplace, and if left unresolved can cause damage to a company’s operation. This capstone further defines conflict, and explores methods where project management is the vital element in solving the puzzle of conflict.

Primary research was used to collect information through via workplace surveys that were distributed out amongst a variety of professional disciplines. The primary research linked the theory of workplace conflict and the practice-based findings.

This capstone shall form the basis for future investigation which can be undertaken by future

Capstone students. Any further study should aim to further investigate the implication of project managers in relation to their employees and workplace culture.

SALES FUNNEL CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (12cp)

Nathan Banks - A07-53

Supervisor : David Davis

Assessor : Zenon Chaczko

Major: Computer Systems Engineering

A sales funnel is a metaphor for a type of process used to convert sales prospects into clients. An organisation will input any potential clients who may have a use for their product or service into the top of the funnel. Once a prospect is in the funnel the organisation uses various sales processes to convert them into clients, such as, product demonstrations, phone calls and meetings. Some prospects will decline the organisation’s services, but the remainder filter through to the bottom of the funnel and become clients. The basic premise is to select a wide range of prospects and filter them through the funnel to maximise the number of conversions.

Due to the large numbers of prospects that may enter a sales funnel, data management can become an issue. The Sales Funnel CRM Software System aims to model a sales funnel through the implementation of a web based management system. It provides all necessary information a sales person needs to contact prospects and track them, as they progress through the sales funnel. This system features contact management, lead analysis, activity planning for employees and robust reporting that includes detailed reports and forecasting. Other features include intelligent lead assigning and sales process customisation.

This capstone report details the development life cycle of the Sales Funnel CRM System, from project planning to requirements analysis, architecture, design, implementation, and testing. All aspects of the project have been diligently calculated and documented to ensure a high quality, easily maintainable software product.

DEMAND DEPENDENT ACTIVE SUSPENSION – SYSTEM CONFIGURATION AND PROTOTYPING (12cp)

Michael Behrens - S06-109

Supervisor : Nong Zhang

Assessor : Chris Chapman

Major: Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Studies have shown that the severity of injuries sustained during motor vehicle accidents increases significantly if one or more of the vehicles roll. A variety of active systems for improving vehicle roll resistance are currently available to car manufacturers, however, due to high component or manufacturing costs many of these systems are not widely utilised. The aim of this capstone project is to investigate and develop an effective and economical system to increase the roll resistance of a motor vehicle subject to extreme conditions. If this project is successful it will provide a great benefit to the community through an increase in vehicle safety and a corresponding reduction in road trauma and associated financial and social costs.

A functional proof of concept prototype has been developed and installed on a test vehicle for the purpose of concept validation. It improves roll resistance by applying a restoring moment to the sprung mass of the vehicle via pairs of double acting hydraulic cylinders. Hydraulic power is controlled using a closed loop controller and innovative valving network. The valving is designed to allow future expansion to include both pitch and bounce control. The prototype utilises standard double acting cylinders installed in parallel with the existing spring and damper assembly. If the concept proves feasible, these double acting cylinders will be incorporated with the existing damper to form a hybrid damper-actuator.

Initial results are promising and suggest that further investigation be undertaken to reduce manufacturing costs to acceptable levels. If this is successful then the DDAS system will prove to be an attractive option for improving roll resistance in mainstream motor vehicles.

POP-UP CAMPER FOR TRAY BACK UTILITY (12cp)

Michael Butler - S06-053

Supervisor : Terry Brown

Assessor : John Dartnell

Major: Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering

Self-sufficient camping is a very popular pastime for many Australians and it is rapidly increasing in popularity. With this has evolved many different ways to make camping more comfortable and easy. One such way is a utility back pop-up camper. This style of camper has many advantages over others such as caravans or camper trailers, particularly where 4 Wheel Driving is involved and traveling to remote areas of Australia.

There are currently about 6 manufacturers of pop-up utility back campers in Australia and none of these manufacturers make a camper that meets my needs and applications (there are probably many others with this same problem). They also are very expensive. I did a lot of research into the current market and came to the conclusion that designing and building my own utility back camper would be the ideal project for my Capstone.

I believe I have designed a camper that is superior to the currently available models in many ways. The camper compares to the most up market campers currently available and it contains only the latest and best products available to make it a leading design in utility back campers. It is designed to suit me, and probably many others that have similar interests to me.

Along with the design of the camper, a very detailed “building of the camper” documentation is included and could possibly be marketed as a “Build your own utility back camper” DIY book.

Object Relational Mapping Framework (12cp)

Nigel Castelino - S06-161

Supervisor : David Davis

Assessor : Zenon Chaczko

Major: Software Engineering

Facilitation of storage and data transfer is central to most software intensive applications. Handling the transfer of data between an application and an SQL-enabled data storage unit often involves cumbersome, expensive development of a data access layer, commonly called a wrapper. Wrappers utilizing SQL become application specific, which reduces the vaunted feature of reusability imposing unnecessary costs to future applications. An alternate to using SQL-enabled relational databases is an object oriented database or a hybrid which combines both features (Post-Relational Database). Because of dependencies on legacy, SQL-Dependent relational databases means, object and/or hybrid databases are not considered to be viable alternatives. To resolve this, the next best alternative is to use an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) framework which allows for object oriented access as a reusable wrapper to any SQL-enabled relational database.

This capstone outlines and details theoretical aspects of data access with a particular focus on Object Relational Mapping by reviewing known techniques for mapping objects to tables, caching strategies, background information on standard database interfaces and data providers; and object-based query languages.

This capstone shows that one of the main problems of Object Relational Frameworks is failing to provide the flexibility to completely specify a database implementation of object-table mappings (e.g. inheritance). This capstone provides a new ORM framework which addresses three major issues:

• Flexibility in specifying an object-table mapping pattern to use in circumstances where multiple database implementations exist.

• Ability to extend the framework to support any SQL data organisation.

• Provide object filtering utilising an Object-based Query Language

• Provide a simple structure for mapping class properties to table columns (As opposed to utilising complex XML mapping files).

This capstone applies this new ORM framework to a case study, with results conclusively addressing the four main issues shown above.

DESIGN OF A STEERING GEAR FOR A FORMULA SAE CAR (12cp)

David Cauchi - S06-084

Supervisor : Terry Brown

Assessor : Nong Zhang

Major: Mechanical & Mechatronic Engineering

A rack and pinion steering gear was designed for the 2007 UTS Formula SAE race car. The steering gear plays a critical role to the performance of the race car as all inputs from the driver at the steering wheel act through the steering gear and rotate the front wheels about their king pin axis. It is also important that the steering gear provides feedback from the road wheels to the drive so that the driver can feel the grip level of the circuit and utilise the maximum grip available from the tyres.

The rack and pinion gear set incorporates variable ratio rack teeth, which has continuously changing pressure and skews angles resulting in the rack gain in mm per pinion revolution, increasing as the pinion moves away from the on centre position. One of the main advantages for using variable ratio in this design was to reduce the amount of steering lock required to manoeuvre the car around the smaller radius turns that can be seen in the Formula SAE competition.

Having variable ratio rack teeth means that advanced milling processes need to be used during manufacturing which requires significant expertise and process control. This design fully utilises the world class manufacturing know how of Bishop Manufacturing Technology and Bishop Innovation Limited.

Milling of the rack teeth enables Titanium to be used so that the weight of the steering gear can be kept to a minimum which is a key design requirement. Other light weight materials such as Aluminium are used throughout the design.

Advanced computer aided mechanical design tools are extensively used to ensure that all design requirements are met and the steering gear will perform to a very high standard.

Complete engineering drawings of each component of the steering gear as well as assembly drawing are included.

Self Reliance – The secret to quenching China’s oil dependence (12cp)

Trent Jin-Yat Chan - S06-018

Supervisor : Deepak Sharma

Assessor : Ravind Bagia

Major: General

China’s insatiable thirst for oil has forced it to become increasingly dependent on the global economy. In recent times, it has forged foreign relationships to secure much needed oil supplies. This, and China’s recent initiatives to integrate into the world economy – argue some – suggests that China has abandoned its traditional cultural tenet of self reliance. This thesis questions this viewpoint. This questioning is assisted by a review of two of China’s recently adopted strategies, namely, entering into tactical partnerships with oil supplying nations in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Russia; and increased levels of investments in oil exploration domestically, and the acquisition of oil assets globally. These initiatives are expected to provide China with a greater certainty over oil supply. The review conducted in this project suggests that self-reliance remains a ‘core’ strategic tenet underpinning Chinese’ government policy thinking. By pursuing the strategic initiatives noted above, China aims to become an oil secure nation, not an oil independent nation. This is indeed a reinforcement of its faith in the tenet of self-reliance!

SUITABILITY OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL HYDRAULIC MODELS FOR RAINFALL RUNOFF ROUTING (6cp)

Kristen Clark - A07-128

Supervisor : James Ball

Assessor : Jaya Kandasamy

Major: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Prediction of direct runoff flow hydrographs through rainfall-runoff routing techniques in Australia traditionally has been undertaken using lumped rainfall-runoff hydrologic modelling software; an example of lumped rainfall-runoff hydrologic modelling software is the Watershed Bounded Network Model (WBNM) (Boyd, 2007). Recently, however, there has been an increase in the availability of two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic modelling software and hence there has been a desire to apply this software for the task of direct runoff hydrograph prediction. While the application of these 2D hydraulic models has the potential to provide a more detailed representation of the development of direct runoff, there has been limited research to-date enabling an assessment of the robustness and reliability of these models for this purpose. Investigated in this project is the performance of 2D hydraulic models when used for prediction of the direct runoff.

The traditional approach applied with hydrologic models is the representation of the catchment as a series of conceptual storages with the rainfall being routed through these storages to the catchment outlet. This approach requires input of only a limited number of parameters with the majority of these parameters not being directly measurable. In comparison, 2D hydraulic models endeavour to route rainfall from the point where it falls on the catchment to the catchment outlet using the physical characteristics of the catchment together with hydraulic theory relevant to the motion of water. This 2D approach requires a greater volume of input data and the estimation of significantly more parameters with a significant number of these parameters being directly measurable from the local catchment characteristics. Importantly, the 2D hydraulic modelling approach relies on various assumptions regarding runoff behaviour at a localised level.

For this project, two 2D hydraulic models (TUFLOW (WBM Pty Ltd, 2006) and SOBEK (Delft Hydraulics, 2007)) and a traditional rainfall runoff model (WBNM) were applied to the problem of predicting the direct runoff from a catchment. The performance of each of the 2D models is compared to the performance of the WBNM model of the catchment through a comparison of the corresponding predictions. As part of this comparison, the effect of different parameters on the 2D model predictions were examined; parameters investigated included the timestep, the value of the Manning’s ‘n’ roughness coefficient, the grid cell resolution and the wetting threshold depth.

It was found that the predicted direct runoff flow hydrographs from both TUFLOW and SOBEK were highly sensitive to parameter values and that the predicted direct runoff flow hydrographs from both of the models varied significantly from those predicted using WBNM. Consideration of these results suggests that further work is needed before models of the type of TUFLOW and SOBEK can be used reliably for prediction of the catchment response to storm bursts through rainfall-runoff routing. This is particularly the case for design flood hydrology.

ENABLING COLLABORATION IN AN ENTERPRISE MODELLING TOOL (6cp)

Peter Collins - S06-081

Supervisor : Tim O’Neill

Assessor : John Leaney

Major: Software Engineering

Many modelling tools that are available to help organisations record and keep track of their infrastructure, people and processes are geared towards single user operation (be it for initial model population, maintenance, or evaluation). Often the enterprise being modelled is sufficiently large such that no single person is able to populate and then maintain the entire model.

This project is concerned with enabling the collaboration of multiple users in an enterprise modelling tool, in this case Avolution’s “ABACUS” software. Currently ABACUS supports a single user working on a file at a given time. An “Enterprise Edition” of ABACUS will enable collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on the same file at the same time, thereby having the most appropriate people working on the part of the model relevant to them.

A prototype will be constructed in order to fulfil some of the functionality and initial requirements of an Enterprise Edition, but with the primary function of providing feedback and enabling the elicitation of requirements for the ABACUS Enterprise Edition. As a result, only a subset of requirements for the Enterprise Edition will be needed in the prototype.

The Enterprise Edition will attempt to address the requirements for effective and efficient multi-user collaboration with ABACUS. This will involve an accurate recording of changes made by users, the propagation of changes to other users, and prevention or resolution of conflicts between the changes made by different users.

The engineering community can benefit from the work undertaken in this project by being shown the value of collaboration in the workplace, and an example of how a typical single-user application can be converted to support multiple users.

Procedure for the Analysis of a Carbon Fibre Yacht Mast (6cp)

Mark Elphinston - A07-052

Supervisor : Terry Brown

Assessor : Garry Marks

Major: Mechanical Engineering

This project develops a procedure for the analysis of the structural integrity and performance of a carbon fibre yacht mast and it’s rigging. The procedure aims to provide users with the background knowledge of mast design and manufacture. Further, it guides users through the steps involved in a detailed analysis of a carbon fibre rig. The need for such a procedure is due to the complex nature of designing a yacht mast, where many loads are assumed, and the operating conditions are difficult to accurately quantify and model.

The analysis details the four general stages of the procedure:

1. Measurement of the rigging loads whilst sailing.

2. Modelling the mast and its rigging in a Finite Element Analysis package.

3. Assessing the solved model to determine the mast’s integrity and performance level

4. Performing a fatigue analysis of the rigging.

This procedure focuses primarily on the analysis of a carbon fibre mast, however many of the principles could be applied to Aluminium masts. The analysis contained within this project is based on the mast of the Swan 45 Tulip, located at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. The analysis makes assumptions on the mast’s materials, dimensions and load state, which were not released by the manufacturer. With this in mind, the procedure would best be used when approached by a mast designer or manufacturer with access to detailed data on a mast’s dimensions, materials and specifications.

With the aid of a rig design code, a decision can be made if the mast or rigging is under designed and unsafe, or over designed at the expense of performance. This judgement would of course depend on function of the yacht.

Education and Communication in Developing Countries through a Digital Medium (6cp)

Guy Havenstein - A07-037

Supervisor : Keith Willey

Assessor : Tim Aubrey 

Major: General

This Capstone discusses the issues in regards to the delivery of education and the provision of worldwide near real time two-way communication to developing countries via the internet. The implementation issues, including technical and socio-economic factors, are explored to give an all encompassing view of the difficulties faced when delivering such services to remote and rural communities. The need and practicality of such implementations are also explored, drawing a link between education, technology and poverty reduction.

A practical case study has been partaken to provide further insight into the implementation issues faced with such projects. The case study reports the establishment of an education centre, consisting of a computer room and satellite internet connection, in Tanzania. This implementation is a remote village called Hanga, situated in the south west of Tanzania. This site provides a great incite into the challenges faced by developing countries in establishing an education centre and the difficulties to break the poverty cycle.

The report delivers a detailed implementation analysis, discusses issues faced in the reported case study implementation and suggests possible solutions. This information should prove of great benefit to other projects intending to provide communications similar to that discussed in the Hanga case study. This analysis will not only improve the development and efficiency of future installations, but help to address concerns and reservations people may have as to whether such installations can be provided successfully.

THE COMPETITIVE NATURAL ADVANTAGE: SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING

A BUSINESS IMPERATIVE (6cp)

Anntonette Joseph - A07-118

Supervisor : Peter Pastars

Assessor : David Eager

Major: Civil & Environmental Engineering

Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Climate change, water shortages and energy are important environmental issues that have a significant impact on society, and in which businesses play a strategic role, now and into the future.

Key stakeholders such as shareholders, employees and financial institutions want businesses to be responsible, accountable and transparent. Sustainable development reporting – the evaluation of corporate performance in environmental, social and economic terms can assist organisations achieve this in a manner that makes ‘good business sense’.

Competitive advantage and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. There is a strong link between corporate environmental governance and financial performance. Organisations realise that resource inefficiencies in their businesses are often indicators of a much greater waste occurring in areas from product design to overall plant design and operation. Financial savings can be made through becoming more eco-efficient such as reduction in energy and water usage, which can result in lower greenhouse emissions and reduced waste to landfill.

Sustainability reporting has become the new complete health check of a business. The advantages go beyond financial incentives and include sound risk management, the attraction and retention of talented human capital and the creation of brand equity. It unlocks doors to innovation, prompting opportunities for market capitalisation.

Government programs and incentives available today are indicators of future regulation. Businesses need to stay abreast of these changes to ensure long-term survival. To complement this, there are a number of reporting frameworks available to assist a business towards a path of sustainable development.

The new business paradigm places a premium on good corporate governance. For a business to have a competitive advantage, sustainability reporting is a business imperative.

Design, construction and testing of a SQUID-based flux-locked loop, using a hybrid analogue/digital feedback structure. (12cp)

Christopher Lewis - A07-104

Supervisor : Hung Nguyen

Assessor : Ben Rodanski

Major: Electrical Engineering

This thesis describes the development of a new, more flexible, flux-locked loop (FLL) architecture for d.c. superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers based on a digital/analogue hybrid feedback system. This architecture is intended to be used as a flexible platform for evaluating various signal processing and feedback schemes that cannot be easily implemented in purely analogue electronics. This will provide an enabling technology for several CSIRO scientific and commercial projects.

Macroscopic quantum mechanical effects are very sensitive to disturbance and extremely low r.f. noise levels will suppress the quantum interference signal generated by a SQUID device. The incorporation of high speed digital signal processing elements into the design therefore requires particular attention in the design phase to ensure that digital noise does not enter the SQUID device.

The completed design integrates several subsystems including a very low noise amplifier to measure the SQUID signal, a fast A/D converter (10 bits and 80 MS/s), a digital loop controller (incorporating all the needed modulation and demodulation functions) and an extremely high dynamic range D/A converter to drive the feedback coil. The digital loop controller is implemented on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) which allows the entire signal processing chain to be reconfigured simply by reprogramming the FPGA’s memory. To achieve the required dynamic range for the feedback coil (~120 dB and 100 kHz bandwidth) a digital / analogue hybrid was developed where a high speed DAC (14 bits and 10 MS/s) drives an integrator which in turn drives the feedback coil.

Initial performance tests indicate the system performance goals are achievable. The amplifier has a noise performance of better than 500 pVrms/√Hz over a bandwidth of 2 MHz. The full scale range of the amplifier and 10 bit analogue to digital converter is 50 μVp-p. The digital signal processing chain, including the analogue to digital and the digital to analogue conversions, has a latency of 400 ns. Testing of the system using a d.c. SQUID device yielded similar results to a commercially developed analogue system using the same SQUID. Unlike conventional systems the new system can easily be reprogrammed to measure other Josephson junction based devices.

24-HOUR CONTINUOUS SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR USE IN EDUCATION (12cp)

Michael James Lucas - S06-103

Supervisor : Zenon Chaczko

Assessor : Stephen Murray

Major: Software Engineering

In globalised economies, we have seen a huge increase in communication capacity made possible through standardisation of communication networks and huge investments in communications infrastructure. The challenge now is to use this capacity to increase productivity. One way to do this is to leverage human resources more effectively through distributing project work across the globe to temporally and geographically spaced sites. The process, called continuous collaborative development (or chase-the-sun engineering) is designed to reap the obvious advantages of working twenty-four hours each day rather than eight.

Education is one sector where project collaboration has historically been limited to small groups working within a single geographic location. To effectively prepare our students to work in global 24/7 corporate environments, the principles of continuous collaborative development needs to be taught and practiced within the curriculum. Software projects are ideal for demonstrating collaborative development due to the non physical nature of the intermediate and end products.

A collaborative framework has been developed to support project management between geographically dispersed teams working across multiple time zones. It is specifically tailored to use in educational institutions. The framework addresses such issues as projects being time limited to a teaching semester or trimester and where semester session times vary between regions and countries. The processes are lightweight so that they do not impact on the true focus of a given educational project.

There is a shortage of useful tools geared towards supporting such 24-hour processes and none of these are lightweight enough to be utilised effectively in an educational project. The software system, Global Project, was developed as part of this Capstone and implements the collaborative framework. It is aimed at having minimal training requirements and will only add a low overhead to the teaching process.

Type 2 Fuzzy Classification & Correlation of Blood Pressure Parameters. (12cp)

Usman Mahmood - A07-117

Supervisor : Dr Adel Al-Jumaily

Assessor : Dr Ahmed Al-Ani

Major: Electrical

In treatment of various diseases, doctors need continuous monitor of patient’s blood pressure, so they suggest patients to measure blood pressure at home at various times in a day. Available self measurement devices give only crisp readings of blood pressure parameters, which are hard to understand by patients. Though crisp values convey accurate information, but linguistic information can convey more understandable information to general public than would a crisp value. For example, the use of linguistic word “Normal” about blood pressure of any individual creates much better understanding, compared to describing a crisp value.

The classification of blood pressure with respect to bivalent set theory is not appropriate due to its limiting feature of having mutually exclusive set membership. The opinion whether blood pressure reading of 99/59 is low or normal is highly controversial, because change in one millimeter of mercury will cause transition of blood pressure from 'Low' to 'Normal' or vice versa. Fuzzy set theory successfully overcomes such issues by offering partial set memberships. Accurate measurement of blood pressure is a highly sensitive task, because even breathing can cause variation as high as 10Hgmm in accurate reading of blood pressure. Due to presence of high level of uncertainty, linear model for blood pressure classification is not appropriate. Fuzzy logic systems are capable of producing precise solutions from vague, incomplete, or approximate information just like human brain, by accommodating the ambiguities of real-world, human language and logic.

This project aimed to design a fuzzy logic system which can output crisp values of blood pressure parameters along with their appropriate linguistic description. In first stage of this project, a type-2 fuzzy logic system for the classification and correlation of blood pressure parameters was used. In second stage of the project, proposed model was implemented in Matlab. Matlab testing verified that designed fuzzy model for the classification of blood pressure parameters gives more realistic results than its linear model.

The outcome of this project is a Matlab based graphic user interface which takes crisp value of heart rate as an input and generates crisp reading of blood pressure along with its appropriate classification, e.g., normal, low, or high etc. Linguistic classification of blood pressure along with its crisp reading would provide more clear information to the general public about their cardiac health. The system has been tested and provides encouraging results.

An Alternative Aircraft Wiring Architecture (12cp)

Marton Andrejs Marosszeky - S06-047

Supervisor : Tim Aubrey

Assessor : David Davis

Major: Electrical Engineering

Aircraft wiring systems, or Electrical Wiring Interconnect Systems (EWIS), have come under increasing scrutiny in the past decade. This has been due to some high profile accidents, notably TWA 800 and Swissair 111 – both commercial airliners which crashed, killing all aboard, due to EWIS failures.

The author is a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionics) with Qantas Airways, and his personal experience of the challenges of troubleshooting and repairing large commercial aircraft EWISs has been the motivation behind this Capstone topic.

Until now, aircraft EWISs have generally be designed to last the life of the aircraft – without much consideration given to the maintainability the system. The amount of wiring in large commercial airliners is in the range of hundreds of kilometers. Much of this wiring is run in large “bundles” – wires, run along the same path, secured together. Many of the areas these bundles run through are environmentally harsh, but also difficult to access – so wiring inspection and ease of repair are not facilitated.

Additional problems are generated by the contradictory fact that general visual inspections of wiring are unlikely to reveal much, apart from obvious damage. To do detailed inspections involves separating wire bundles – and this can itself, lead to damage. So for adequate inspections to be carried-out, the wiring must (almost) inevitably be damaged.

Shortcomings of current metal-based EWISs are discussed, with a list of shortcomings generated. The many proposed solutions to these problems are discussed, and shown to either not address the core problems – or to be overly onerous.

An alternative involving high bandwidth media and enabling technologies is proposed. The various high bandwidth media are compared, with optical fibres being chosen as the best candidate to provide a solution to the list of EWIS shortcomings.

A general, high-level architecture for a generic aircraft is proposed, and shown to provide a theoretical solution. To show that such a system is a realistic proposal, a real-world implementation is designed for the systems contained in the left-hand wing of a Boeing 747-400 aircraft: Specifications are listed, and the fibre-based design is shown to meet all regulatory, environmental and system bandwidth requirements – whilst avoiding the problems inherent in the EWIS it is replacing.

A discussion of new-technology aircraft (particularly the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787), and their EWIS implementation shows that many of the design solutions being advanced in this thesis are already being implemented, but to nowhere near the extent advocated.

PLATFORM DESIGN AND TESTING FOR AN AUTONOMOUS SANDBLASTING SYSTEM (12cp)

James Medlin - S06-086

Supervisor: Dikai Liu

Assessor: Ray Clout

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Various steel bridges constructed before the late 1980’s are coated in paint containing toxic materials (mainly asbestos and lead). The presence of these toxins in the paint makes traditional methods of paint removal problematic. They prove to be both significantly costly and difficult to remove due to the potential impacts on bridge maintenance staff and the environment.

An autonomous robotic sandblasting system has been selected as a solution for the safe removal of such paint. The use of this robotic system requires a platform to be designed, built, and tested for use in the development of the autonomous sandblasting system. The aim of this thesis is to design and test a prototype platform which is capable of automated movement along the length of the bridge.

The mechanical design of the platform was realized with the use of three dimensional computer aided design software. The platform consists of a lightweight welded square-tube aluminium chassis which is powered by air vane motors. The platform runs on a lightweight, modular rail system, which was designed for its ease of installation and configurability. The platform has pneumatic clamps which serve to positively locate it on the rail system during the sandblasting operation.

The platform is controlled through the use of a data acquisition module. Part of my project was to program the movement of the platform using the digital input and output capabilities of the module using C++ programming language. The program and its functions allow the platform to either be controlled by a remote operator or at a higher level by another program.

The correct functioning of the control program was conducted on a test bench using a digital multimeter. After these initial tests were completed and passed satisfactorily, further tests were conducted using the working platform. The final platform is a success, and will continue to be used as a testing bed for the autonomous sandblasting system.

SUSPENSION DESIGN OF A SUPERSPORTS RACECAR (12cp)

Rodney Mark McCarley - A07-057

Supervisor: Guang Hong

Assessor: Matthew Low

Major: Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this paper is to provide a tool for the design of high-performance vehicle suspension systems through the detailed analysis and design of such a system for a modern racecar as a practical example.

Background information on vehicle dynamics and suspension types is presented to provide an understanding of the functions and requirements of racecar suspensions. Areas that have been identified as being critical to a good design are the purpose and mechanics of the tyre; load transfer and the effects on lateral and longitudinal grip; optimising suspension geometry to maximise the use of the tyre; spring and damper requirements to provide vehicle control; and chassis torsional rigidity.

The derivation and examination of vehicle dynamics phenomenon has not been carried out in great detail as this is well covered in other texts, but critical ideas and calculations have been used and organised in such a manner as to facilitate the design of a vehicle suspension.

Several tools have been developed to aid in the analysis, including a spreadsheet to calculate load transfers and a simple 2D parametric model to visualise the performance of different suspension geometries. A flowchart is also included that can assist design decision making processes for other suspension developments.

The design, analysis and simulation of racecar suspension systems, especially at an amateur or semi-professional level, will only produce a partially resolved solution. Once a design has been optimised to a certain degree of performance on paper or computer, further tuning and adjustment must be carried out after manufacture. This paper provides tools and methods, and gives some direction to those wishing to design a suspension system that will function predictably and with the required performance.

STEEL CREW PILES: USES AND ABUSES (6cp)

Mathew Mikhail - A07-022

Supervisor : Dr Hossein A. Taiebat

Assessor : Dr Ali Saleh

Major: Construction Engineering

In the current building industry, engineers and contractors alike are continually looking for more efficient, reliable and cost effective methods of installation of footings and foundations for various size structures. Also, the performance and fitness for purpose of these foundations are of major importance, as engineers seek to reduce costs while maintaining structural and engineering integrity and safety standards.

As a developing country, Australia has and is still undergoing exceptional growth, particularly in the housing and development industry. Over the last 15 to 20 years, the market has shown that in the five major states in Australia (NSW, Vic, QLD, WA and SA) that housing and development figures are approximately 13,000 a month. With this constant high demand, contractors have been looking at cheap, fast and reliable ways of meeting the desire for the development of dwelling units across Australia.

Steel screw piles have been found to be an adequate tool for meeting the demands of the fast paced construction industry for small to medium developments. The Dictionary of Civil Engineering defines a screw pile as ‘A spiral blade fixed on a shaft screwed into the ground…’ Screw piles are relatively easy to install and, depending on the depth and sub-surface properties, has the capacity to be installed at a rate of 20-30 piles a day.

This document details the use of steel screw piles in medium rise residential developments in homogenous sandy soil layers and some inconsistencies in theoretical determination of its structural capacity. It identifies some weaknesses in the ability of steel screw piles to support its design load due to some structural incapacities and weaknesses which may be experienced with this pile type. Two case studies will be reviewed in order to provide support to arguments raised in this document. An investigation and analysis of results from data obtained in these case studies will be presented in this document. These are actual test data obtained from static load testing on steel screw piles provided thanks to Douglas Partners.

In essence this document should give the reader an understanding of the limitations and uncertainties in the ultimate capacity of steel screw piles in geotechnical applications which stem from its structural features.

LEAN SIGMA – AN INVESTIGATION AND APPLICATION OF CONTEMPORARY PROCESS IMPROVEMENT METHODOLOGY (12 CP)

Jeffrey Michael Morris - S06-019

Supervisor : Garry Marks

Assessor : Hasan Akpolat

Major: Mechanical Engineering

In an increasingly demanding marketplace, ensuring customer satisfaction while reducing costs associated with the development and manufacture of goods and services can be considered key to the success of any organisation. To this end, modern customer-centric quality improvement strategies such as Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma have enjoyed universal acclaim in helping deliver these objectives where others have failed. In combination, these two alternately derived but complimentary theories aim to reduce process variation and waste through the implementation of rigorous and well defined methodologies targeting only activities guaranteed to add value to the customer.

With the support of an extensive literature review, this project provides a comprehensive review of the tools and techniques used during the planning and execution of Lean Sigma projects. This has involved establishing a common framework aimed at providing structure and guidance for the effective consolidation of Lean and Six Sigma theory, whilst outlining constraints, implementation strategies and critical-to-success factors affecting their practical implementation. In addition, to demonstrate the applicability of this process improvement paradigm, a case study analysis has been conducted to investigate the process and measurement of aircraft punctuality within the airline line maintenance environment.

In support of these outcomes, recommendations resulting from this analysis have been proposed for Qantas Engineering senior management to review and action, with the aim of identifying opportunities that exist for improving dispatch reliability performance of the Qantas 747 fleet. These recommendations centre on structural changes to the planning and scheduling of maintenance activities conducted on routes identified as performing below the agreed service level commitment targets with its primary customer, Qantas Airlines.

SOFTWARE PATTERNS AND SOFTWARE SYSTEM QUALITIES (12cp)

Duy Thai Nguyen - S06-114

Supervisor : David Davis

Assessor : Zenon Chaczko

Major: Software Engineering

This Capstone explores the relationship between software patterns and system qualities and how system qualities are enhanced by use of software patterns. In order to understand software patterns and software system qualities, this Capstone briefly discusses the origin of programming languages, software engineering life cycles and various principles that guide the process of analysis and design.

In software engineering, there are a number of software development life cycle models and software development processes. There is confusion in the literature about the exact definition of these terms. This Capstone uses the IEEE approach in choosing a software life cycle and development processes. Software development process models and processes or activities that relate to the usage of software patterns are also discussed.

Again, exact activities involved in the process of software analysis and design are not generally agreed upon and discussion is made on the activities of analysis and design, including software patterns that could be used.

Software engineering is a discipline concerned with knowledge and tools applied through out a software project life cycle. This Capstone reviews major publications that embody the knowledge of software design and its organisation. These include historical design principles of coupling and cohesion, and the criteria and rules for modularization.

This Capstone reviews different categories of software patterns and how these categories relate to one another, proposing a categorization of patterns by levels of primitiveness and abstraction. Software patterns are a re-useable solution to different problems, which have a basic structure. Discussion is made on the most basic structures of software patterns called ‘Fundamental design patterns’, which exists and promotes certain system qualities when used. Usage of these basic structures, in different categories of software patterns, are also shown.

MobileBlaster – An interactive mobile game using the Wireless Application Protocol (12cp)

William Nguyen - A07-045

Supervisor : Zenon Chaczko

Assessor : Tim Aubrey

Major: Software Engineering

MobileBlaster is a multiplayer mobile phone game which was created as an interactive demonstration of the capabilities of a flexible communication framework.

The primary objective of this capstone was to develop a communication framework which can provide connectivity between mobile devices, whilst also being expandable to cater for other communication technologies including Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) or BlueTooth®.

The communications framework created used a combination of existing technologies such as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The use of WAP in this framework provides a point of contact, where mobile devices are able to exchange the required information to locate other users. Following the WAP exchange, the TCP/IP protocol is used to connect players directly, achieving an increased efficiency in communication.

WAP and mobile device connections speeds are dependent on telecommunications providers such as Telstra, Optus, or Vodafone. The optimum results that can be achieved from WAP and mobile device connections are vastly influenced by the choice of providers.

The project is developed in compliance with the MIDP 2.0 specifications. This ensures that any mobile device which supports MIDP 2.0 will be able to run applications developed with the framework. Extensibility and portability has been integrated into the design of the framework during design.

Due to financial constraints MobileBlaster and the framework has only be tested on the J2ME Wireless Toolkit midlet emulator and Nokia mobile phones connected to the Vodafone network.

There are plans to extend the framework to cater for BlueTooth or WiFi connectivity and porting onto other device platforms for games and applications in the near future.

DEMAND DEPENDANT ACTIVE SUSPENSION – DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID SHOCK ABSORBER / ACTUATOR (12cp)

Carl Peterson - S06-006

Supervisor : Nong Zhang

Assessor : Chris Chapman

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Vehicle suspension systems play an important role in the safety of most people in today’s society and continual advancement of these systems is important to promote better, and safer, vehicle handling capabilities. Active suspension is one such advancement which is currently unused for the majority of vehicles due to high production costs. The Demand Dependant Active Suspension (DDAS) hydraulic system implements innovative design concepts to overcome this restriction. Direct application of force through a Hybrid Shock Absorber / Actuator (HSAA), coupling of these forces, and a hydraulic circuit that allows separate control of different vehicle motions give DDAS the potential to advance active suspension to an affordable, main-stream level. The purpose of this project is to validate the concept through physical testing on an existing vehicle as well as complete conceptual design work on the critical HSAA component.

The suspension system relies largely on the HSAA component to provide the active function in an inexpensive manner. Several concept designs for the HSAA have been established and analysed. Each concept performs the function of both a reactive shock absorber (suspension damping) and an active actuator and have advantages and disadvantages. The concepts have been compared with various design considerations including ease of manufacture, setup requirements, and functionality. For the concept testing/prototyping, standard double acting hydraulic cylinders were installed on a vehicle in parallel to the existing spring and damper assembly to achieve the required function. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made for continuing work on this project based on both the early design work done and the physical concept testing. Further development is needed as great potential has been found for the concept.

CULTURAL DIMENSIONS FOR ENGINEERS: IS THERE A NEED FOR CULTURALLY COMPETENT ENGINEERS? (12cp)

Vanessa Rathborne - A07-039

Supervisor : Pam Hazelton

Assessor : Anne Gardner

Major: Telecommunications Engineering

Globalisation has internationalised the engineering profession and the skills that modern day engineers need must reflect these changes. The underlying assumption made is that cultural misunderstandings can potentially lead to failures in engineering projects and or poor performance of an engineer. Many of these failures and negative experiences could be avoided if engineers had a better understanding of different cultures and if they were equipped with intercultural skills. These intercultural skills are an integral part of the “social awareness” that Professional Engineering Bodies, such as Engineers Australia, identify as apart of an engineer’s key competencies. Intercultural competency can be achieved through three phases; cultural awareness, intercultural communication skills and simulation and application.

Two prominent cultural dimensions theories are presented and critically analysed, namely Hofstede’s dimensional model and Trompenaars’ dilemmas model. These provide a framework for analysing characteristics of different cultures and lay the foundation for the first phase; cultural awareness. The second phase involves training in intercultural communication skills. This report provides a sample intercultural training guide for engineers. The third and final phase involves simulation and application of the skills learnt, this is achieved through a comparative cultural analysis between Eastern and Western cultures, Japan and Australia. This analysis highlights the key cultural differences not only in a generic societal context, but also in an engineering context. From this indepth analysis several examples of simulation and application exercises for engineers are provided.

Non-technical skills may be viewed within engineering circles as less important, however, in light of the internationalisation of the profession there is strong evidence that indicates that cultural competence is also a critical factor for successful completion of engineering projects.

PORTABLE IMPACT TEST RIG FOR USE IN EVALUATING PLAYGROUND SAFETY (12cp)

Jonathan S. Riley - S06-118

Supervisor : David Eager

Assessor : Christopher Chapman

Major: Electrical Engineering

The purpose of this project is to produce a stand alone portable playground undersurfacing impact test rig that is easily operated by non technical people. Two other primary design constraint are that the tester would be priced at an appropriate level for the market and that the tester calculates readings generally in compliance with AS/NZ4422 to an accurately of approximately +/-10%.The scope of this project is to design and implement the electronics within the impact tester used for the acquisition and computation of data to determine accurately if a playground meets the surfacing requirements of AS/NZ4422 and display these results.

For many years UTS has been at the forefront of research into children’s playground safety. The university has developed a rig to test playground undersurfacing for compliance to the Australian and New Zealand standard AS/NZ4422. This standards focus is on reducing the incidences of permanent brain damage arising from playground incidents.

The current impact test rig has a number of drawbacks which make it unsuitable for use by operators, maintainers and installers of playgrounds. The device requires a skilled operator, is complex, has an inhibitive price and requires a sophisticated computer program to evaluate results.

The electronics of the stand alone portable impact test rig are advanced and involve a powerful microprocessor based system to control the field test instrument. The device has multiple circuit boards within it and contains high-tech component including a touch-sensitive handle, surface mount accelerometers and switches with no moving parts.

The scope of the project includes the multi-aspect-tidal nature of engineering a new product including the design of a device which meet the requirements, testing, implementation, future advances and its effect on stakeholders.

Given the alarming rate of child injuries and litigation associated with playground injuries a large market exists for the stand-alone portable headform.

USING VOICE RECOGNITION TO CONTROL HOME APPLIANCES - 6cp

Alexander Rodriguez - A06-101

Supervisor : Prof Joe Zhu

Assessor : Peter McLean

Major: Electrical Engineering

Interfacing with home appliances, computers and other technologies is generally done by tactile means. Such means include keyboards, mouse, buttons, switches, knobs and dials. These methods of control can be quite tedious and even potentially cause arthritic problems such as Repetitive Straint Injury (RSI) which is caused by constant typing on a keyboard. People with disabilities may find it particularly difficult to get up and turn a light on, or change channels on the T.V. By using speech control, such difficulties can be overcome.

Although still in its infancy, speech recognition technology is now at a stage where it can be implemented into homes and used to control home appliances with a 98% accuracy rate. Many other applications of speech recognition are being tested and implemented. The telecommunications industry has integrated speech recognition into mobile phones where by saying the name of the person to be called, the mobile phone will automatically dial the number. A prototype of a voice controlled wheelchair has been built which will improve movement control for paraplegics. Some automobile companies are also integrating this technology into their vehicles which increases road safety as the driver can control the radio, phone etc by speaking and thus maintaining constant sight of the road.

This capstone project details speech recognition and is split into two components. First is the thesis which explains the theory of speech recognition and different speech models used such as the Hidden Markov Models (HMM); how sound and speech is created by human beings and different language models. Second is the actual construction of a speech recognition controller and the manual containing all the technical information of the controller.

RECTENNA SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTION (12cp)

Amanda Schilling - A07-009

Supervisors: Mike Ford and Ben Rodanski

Assessor: Ananda Sanagavarapu

Major: Electrical Engineering

Worldwide energy demands are increasing rapidly. Energy sources such as fossil fuels are decreasing and damage the environment. The need for a clean and renewable source of energy is becoming more and more urgent. Solar energy has been identified as one such energy source, however conventional photovoltaic technology is limited by the materials band gap and must improve in cost and efficiency.

A rectenna designed to couple to light frequencies could be a solar energy device alternative. A rectenna contains an antenna that absorbs the incident radiation and a rectifier to convert the AC power from the antenna output into DC power which is delivered to a load. Rectenna’s have been used widely in microwave transmission and efficiencies of over 85% have been achieved.

Classical electromagnetic theories state that an antenna can be scaled to couple with any frequency. However, the antenna required for light frequencies would be of the order of a few hundred nanometers. At the nanolevel, classical theories which describe conductors are no longer accurate as surface and quantum effects become dominant. There are many other problems associated with the size of such a device including low output power of the antenna, impedance matching of antenna and rectifier, rectification ability of nanosized diodes and nanoscale fabrication techniques. In addition, light is a complex waveform which is randomly polarized and is contained in a wide bandwidth.

This thesis report provides a literature review which details the progress of the rectenna from the early uses in microwave frequencies to more current applications in the solar spectrum. It aims to outline the key problems thus far with fabricating an efficient device. It provides a discussion of the quantum effects of conductance and other conductor properties at the nanolevel. Finally the report provides some preliminary design recommendations for an improved rectenna.

An Extensible Simulator for Microprocessors (12cp)

Paul Subotic - S06-049

Supervisor : Kit Ka Fung

Assessor : Steve Murray

Major: Software Engineering

Processor simulators are useful for debugging and developing low level software such as device drivers and micro-kernels. This type of software development often requires testing on several processor architectures and often with very limited debugging support. Furthermore, processor simulators are used to explore new processor architectures when the hardware is not available. However this requires constant “recoding” of the simulator something which is error prone and time consuming.

Despite the fact that there are a variety of simulators available for specific popular architectures, there is a lack of simulators that can support a wide range of architectures as well as user defined architectures.

This capstone looks at the design and implementation of an extensible processor simulator that can support various popular processor architectures as well as user defined architectures. Several approaches to extensibility are examined including extensibility using a code abstraction approach with a domain specific language (DSL).

Finally a prototype is presented that can support the simulation of a wide range of processors and virtual machines with a uniform level of fidelity. The domain specific language ensures that there are reduced errors and defects when retargeting to other architectures as well as faster and simpler reconfiguration. Currently this prototype has been used to simulate an ARM Central Processing Unit and a MIPS Central Processing Unit. Several programs have been successfully debugged using this simulator.

IMPLEMTATION OF ACTIVE SHAPE MODEL FOR LIP TRACKING (12cp)

Ngoc Thuy Than - S06-058

Supervisor: Ahmed Al-Ani

Assessor: Adel Al-Jumaily

Major: Telecommunications Engineering

While mainstream speech recognition research has concentrated almost exclusively on the acoustic speech signal, it is well-known that humans use visual information of the talker’s face (mainly the lip movements) in addition to the acoustic signal for speech perception purpose. Lip reading is also used by hearing-impaired to understand frequently spoken speech.

In order for a machine to perform lip-reading, it first needs to implement a lip-tracking mechanism, which is the topic of this project. There have been a number of tracking algorithms which are used to track the moving object in general and movement of human’s lip in particular. The thesis first reviews several well-known algorithms, their relative advantages and disadvantages with respect to lip tracking. Based on the analysis on human’s lip characteristics and the nature of lip movement, the available software and tools, and the video files, the Active Shape Model (ASM) is chosen to track lip movement. The focus of this thesis is to successfully implement Active Shape Models and use it to track lip movement in MPEG extension files. To use ASM to find the exact location of the lip in frames, first an initial estimate of the location of lip is required. To estimate this location, a rough estimate of the location of the face for the first frame in the video is calculated. Then, an initial lip shape is placed in location inside the face area which most matches with the actual lip in the video. Next, Active Shape Model is used to find the location of the lip in the first frame of the video. To perform lip tracking, the found position of the lip in the previous frame is used as the estimate of lip location for the next frame. Testing in two MPEG files shows that Active Shape Model can be used for accurate modeling and tracking of lip shape and gray level appearance. Although the model has much less dimensions as compared to the original shape data it can still allow for considerable amount of variability while at the same time being specific to the class of objects or structures to be represented.

A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION INTO THE ENGINEERED SAFETY AND INJURY PREVENTION CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPRINGFREE TRAMPOLINE (6cp)

Qing-Ling Tran - A07-027

Supervisor : David Eager

Assessor : Christopher Chapman

Major: Telecommunications Engineering

This Capstone project is a preliminary investigation into the effects of the engineered safety and injury prevention characteristics of SpringFree trampolines purchased for domestic use. The purpose of this project was to ascertain whether the unique design features of this domestic trampoline were reflected in the injury data collected via a survey investigation.

This investigation was constrained to sampling a subset of the SpringFree customer database by conducting 200 telephone surveys of the SpringFree models SF40E and SF90E in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. There were 50 surveys per trampoline model per state, totaling to 100 per trampoline model and 100 per state. A survey was designed and ethics approval was sought and gained from the UTS Human Research Ethics Committee to conduct this survey. The data obtained from the survey was collated and categorised by injury type, treatment, place of treatment, cause of injury, usage frequency, clearance distance, surface type, average number of children in a household owing a SpringFree trampoline, and perceived potentially dangerous behaviour on the trampoline.

The analysis was performed using Excel on the data collected against model type, metropolitan and regional areas, and age group (0 to 4 year-old, 5 to 9-year old, 10 to 15 year-old and 16 and over). It was noted that metropolitan areas had a higher injury rate, where overall, children in the 0 to 4 year-old age group were more likely to be injured. The most common injury was a “bump to the head” that can be most often attributed by colliding with another user. This investigation presents the findings and discusses the results and draws conclusions based on its findings on whether the engineered safety and injury prevention characteristics improvements embedded within SpringFree trampolines translated to lower injury rates.

EFFECTIVENESS OF SYNTHETIC JET ACTUATORS FOR CONTROLLING FLOW SEPARATION WITH AN ADVERSE PRESSURE GRADIENT (12cp)

Paul Walker - A07-091

Supervisor : Guang Hong

Assessor : Phuoc Huynh

Major: Mechanical Engineering

This project aimed to investigate the effect of a micro synthetic jet actuator (MSJA) on controlling separated flow developed in a boundary layer with an adverse pressure gradient. This dependency of this control effect on the position of the synthetic jet actuator, and the forcing frequency and amplitude was examined. Intensity of disturbance was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the MSJA. It has been demonstrated that both the position of the jet and the actuation frequency play a significant role in separation control. Where the correct position will prevent dissipation of momentum into the flow, and the correct frequency will enhance the flow disturbances significantly. The role of actuation amplitude is secondary to these parameters, it will affect the momentum added from the jet, but it will not have a significant effect on achieving separation control once the critical size of the jet has been achieved. There has been demonstration of two mechanisms that work together to achieve complete separation control, where the addition of momentum to the flow will collapse the upstream end of the bubble, but the flow instabilities enhanced by the forcing frequency are responsible for the collapse of the remainder of the separation bubble. Furthermore, it has also been demonstrated that not only is intensity of disturbance an acceptable method of achieving separation control, it can be used to identify the mode of control achieved. Results have shown that through the use of appropriate forcing frequency a micro synthetic jet actuator should be capable of successfully achieving separation control.

TAS Shielding Wedge Motion Control System (12cp)

Burhan Widjaja - A07-028

Supervisor: Quang Ha

Assessor: Steven Su

Major: Electrical Engineering

OPAL is Australia's new world-class, multi-purpose research reactor and the centrepiece of the facilities at ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation), Lucas Heights Sydney. OPAL features a 20 megawatt pool reactor which uses low enriched uranium fuel and is cooled by water. It is one of the most performance-efficient research reactors in the world.

Triple Axis Spectrometer (TAS) is one of the eight Neutron Beam instruments of the OPAL nuclear reactor at ANSTO. TAS is an instrument that measures the energy spectrum and interprets it in terms of atomic dynamics or how the atoms move. This allows us to understand how materials change their structure. These materials could be blood cells, plastic, paper, chocolate, aircraft components, etc. The neutron generated in the reactor are scattered in the material being probed. The scattering pattern reveals the sample’s molecular structure, upon which scientists can study the material characteristics.

There are three mobile shielding wedges inside the TAS main assembly. The purpose of these shielding is to protect the surrounding area from radiation produced by the neutron beam. In normal operations, these shielding wedges are movable by a positioning Arm Actuator. The direction and location where the wedges will be controlled and the Arm’s movements are automated and monitored by a motion control system.

In the motion control system, a Galil controller acts as the brain of the motion control system. A Zeta Drive compumotor is used as an amplifier and converts the control signal from the Galil controller into step and direction pulses to drive the actuator using an Empire Magnetic stepper motor. SSI (Synchronous Serial Interface) absolute encoder and limit switches are instrumented as sensors and feedback devices. A MicroPLC processes the momentary signal activated by the limit switches and sends output signals to the Galil controller.

The work involved in this capstone project includes setting up the motion control system, writing a Wedge Shuffle Routine program for the Galil controller and a ladder diagram for Micrologix 1200 Micro-PLC, designing and wiring a control panel for interfacing between the Galil controller, Micro-PLC and the magnet arm activation, testing the program in real-time operations with limit switches, and configuring the resolver and encoder. Following the system description, the project development will be detailed in the thesis. Some conclusions will be withdrawn from this capstone project together with an outline of future work on this interesting motion control system.

Universal Rail Fastening Plate for Tangential Turnouts (12cp)

Daniel Yeung - S06-098

Supervisor : Garry Marks

Assessor : John Dartnall

Major: Mechanical Engineering

The Universal Tangential Base Plate project was carried out with the support and guidance from Kenneth Blomqvist, Pacific Rail Engineering and Garry Marks, University of Technology Sydney, during Spring 2006 and Autumn 2007.

There are currently twenty eight base plate assemblies found in tangential turnouts. These assemblies are located in the forged switch region in the stock rail and switches. The Universal Rail Fastening Plates was developed to replace these existing base plate assemblies in order to simply the manufacturing process and reduce production time. Through the adoption of a new fastening system and cast design, this eliminates the need to weld and each base plate accommodates for a range of sizes. As a result this reduced twenty eight different variations down to eight assemblies and has also reduced production time by approximately 60%.

The development of this product followed strict engineering procedures and adhered to all relevant stakeholder specifications and Australian standards. The following phases have been executed- planning, analysis, design, testing, and installation procedures which have all been documented in the appropriate manner.

A prototype was produced to allow PRE to verify this model would work in the actual assembly and ensured that dimensional and structural checks were performed prior to the approval for manufacture. These were all found to be within allowable tolerances and to material specifications.

This project was primarily carried out by Daniel Yeung, with the contributions and responsibilities of the other team members documented. Individual reflections are also included with the difficulties encountered and the lessons learned.

System Modelling of Cardio-respiratory Response (12cp)

Yunjia Yu - A07-082

Supervisor : Steven Su

Assessor : Hung Nguyen

Major: Electrical Engineering

The aims of this study are to investigate the cardio-respiratory behavior of human beings during moderate activity. This capstone project proposed a multivariable ARX model well described the cardio-respiratory response of moderate exercises based on reliable experimental data. Specifically, the model is to determine the relationship between body movement and heart rate variation with oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production during exercises.

Two types of MIMO ARX models are introduced. Initially, treadmill speed together with heart rate variation is used to model oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production. Desired estimation results are obtained. In order to achieve fault tolerance of sensor failures, the outputs of triaxial accelerometers (TA) are employed to replace treadmill speed signal to predict energy expenditure based on gas analyser. Compatible estimation results are achieved. This provides an efficient way to implement analytical fault tolerant for automated sports training equipment.

All the laboratory sessions were experimented in the Biomedical Systems Laboratory of University of New South Wales. In the experiment a range of cardio-respiratory responses were measured. They are heart beat rate, breath volume, breathe frequency and gas concentrations of each breath. The analysis of the cardio-respiratory response has practical usage as an indicator of physiological impairment in unhealthy subjects.

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