Today transit buses are an integral part of the national transportation system. According to National Transportation Statistics from 1990 to 2002, the number of transit motor buses in the U.S. has increased 30 percent. Although buses are one of the safest means of transportation, occupant injuries and fatalities in bus crashes do occur. Rollover strength has become an important issue for bus and coach manufacturers. Today European regulation “ECE-R66” is in force to prevent catastrophic rollover accidents. The Standard Bus Procurement Guidelines (SBPG) of the American Public Transit Association (APTA) also mentions the roof crush test for the assessment of bus superstructure and roof. This thesis discusses the development of a finite element (FE) model of a bus, and the analysis of its roof crush and rollover in LS-DYNA. The FE model was validated for the roof crush test carried according to the standard bus procurement guidelines (SBPG). ADAMS-View software was used to simulate the rollover of the bus. Bus accelerations, velocities, and its angle with the ground just before impact were measured in ADAMS and then used as input for the LSDYNA analysis. According to the ECE-R66 regulation, a passenger’s survival space is defined in the bus model to check whether there is any intrusion into the survival space during or after the rollover. This ensures that the bus structure has sufficient strength to avoid intrusions into the survival space. The effect of passengers’ weight on energy absorbed by the bus structures during rollover is also discussed. Development of the MADYMO bus model and its rollover simulations were also included in this research. Dummy kinematics and injuries sustained during rollover for various seated and standing positions were studied as well. / "December 2006." / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

This research attempts to develop and to study the effects of the change in the same type of belt models on the injury criteria. To study the effects, total of six MADYMO models with three different belt models are generated. The models consist of MADYMO generated belt segments, finite element belt, and finite element belt without belt joining buckle. These models are studied on the basis of the Federal Aviation Regulations FAR Part 25.562 general and emergency landing conditions. The Hybrid III 50th percentile FAA dummy is used for the study as it is more compatible than Hybrid III 50th percentile dummy for the aviation purpose. To create the belts, various types of software and approaches are used and their results then are compared with the mechanical test or standards written by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This research attempts to find out how the belt models affects the injury level of an occupant during frontal crash impact in aviation accident. To support the results in validation process, the data of four actual crash lab testing carried out at National Institute for Aviation Research is used. The validations are carried out on the basis of the statistical test and comparison of the dummy kinematics of the actual mechanical tests and simulation. The methods of correlation coefficient and peak value measurement of the acceleration, forces and moments experienced by the occupant are used to validate the models. The injury levels obtained by the simulation models are also compared with the critical values regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering / "December 2006."

The gender wage gap still exists, with women earning about 73% of what men earn. One factor that has been recently looked at as contributing to this earnings gap is household labor. Women are still completing the majority of household labor despite cultural trends otherwise. Traditionally, there have been three schools of thought in income determination. The Individual model argues that individuals make investments in human capital through education and experience which increases their productivity, and therefore their attractiveness to potential employers. Employers pay higher premiums for more valuable employees. The Structural model argues that there is a hierarchy of positions in the economic structure, each with a preset range of income. An individual's position in the hierarchy determines their income. Researchers from a Gender model of income determination argue that discrimination, harassment, and the unequal treatment of women workers force women into lower paying jobs. This study combines the three models of income determination into the alternative model of income determination, with household labor as a component of the Gender model. The 2004 American Time Use Survey (ATUS) was used to test hypotheses of income determination. The full alternative model explained 56% of the variance in income (adjusted R squared .562). Multiple regression results showed that household labor was not a major factor in the variation between men and women’s income, going against the bulk of the previous literature. Implications for findings were discussed. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology. / "December 2006."

This thesis presents a study on the effect of controllable process parameters in riveting (i.e., such as the sequence of riveting, distance between rivets (pitch) and gap between sheets) on the quality of riveted lap joint and formed rivet. The quality of a riveted lap joint is characterized by sheet metal bulging, sheet material growth, residual stress level on sheets and rivets, and post riveting clearance in the joint. The quality of a formed rivet is often determined by the geometry of its head formation. This study is to determine the best riveting sequence for riveted lap joint in sheet metal assembly with 1/8" nominal diameter of flat head tinner rivet on 0.064" thick aluminum sheet. The study is performed using finite element simulation of riveting process. Statistical design of experiment is employed to analyze the simulation data of riveting process along with the effect of individual factors, their interactions and relationship with the quality parameters of riveted lap joint in sheet metal assembly. A good combination of riveting process parameters is found that minimizes the residual stress in sheets and rivets, bulging and material growth in sheets and reduces the chance of post riveting clearance in riveted lap joint. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Historically left-handed people have had to cope with disparaging nicknames, sayings and misunderstanding about being left-handed. The age of hand dominance has been debated for decades with the consensus maintaining that at about 5 years old children begin to have stability in hand preference. In conjunction with hand dominance, the degree of dominance plays a significant role in the level of functioning. The impact of psychological well being during childhood is far reaching and could be life-long. Therefore, this study raised three hypotheses that could impact the future contact with students in regard to their hand preferences. Left-handed children would have significantly lower self-concept scores than right-handed children. Left-handed children would have higher anxiety levels. Left-handed children would use more external locus of control. Participants included 132 students from grades 4 through 6 from two Catholic Schools in the Wichita Diocese and one public elementary school in Reno County, Kansas. Of the 132 students 121 identified themselves as right-handed and 11 identified themselves as right-handed. To measure self-concept the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale was used. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire was used to measure anxiety. To measure locus of control the I-E Scale was used. Statistical results showed no statistically significant difference between left-handed and right-handed students in terms of anxiety and locus of control. Statistics revealed a statistically significant that lefthanded students have a statistically significant higher self-concept. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational, & School Psychology / "December 2006."

Is there good in garbage? This thesis assumes that while it might not always be economical, safe or immediately worthwhile to get to it, that there is good in garbage. People in the United States have been trying—sometimes without much notice, sometimes with plenty—for over one-hundred years to extract that good, using scientific means. Costs, bureaucracy, failures, safety, perceptions and politics have all been part of American’s attitudes towards resource recovery. This paper explores the history of the Waste to Energy movement in the United States from the Gilded Age until resource recovery was eclipsed by the popularity of recycling. It also looks at the unique trash situation in Wichita, Kansas, and the efforts of local inventor Bill Compton to build a pyrolysis pilot plant and to persuade the city to consider pyrolysis as a viable alternative to a new landfill. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History / "December 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 120-128)

An algorithm is developed and validated for automatic avoidance of restricted airspaces. This method is devised specifically for implementation with an advanced flight control system designed for general aviation application. The algorithm presented here implements two inputs to the aircraft; the bank angle, and the airspeed, while the control system always ensures coordinated maneuvers. Unlike collision avoidance systems, the current method is not designed to serve in an advisory role, but to assume complete control of the aircraft is necessary. It is demonstrated that in order to implement this technique, the aircraft must be assigned an immediate domain whose size would have to depend on the aircraft performance and flight conditions. The strategy is designed such that as the domain surrounding the aircraft approaches that of the restricted airspace, aircraft control would switch gradually away from the pilot and to the controller, which would initiate an evasive maneuver. The degree of relative control is made dependant on the level of the threat defined by the steepness of trajectory and the extent of the overlap between the aircraft domain and the restricted space. While the algorithm is formulated primarily for avoiding a single zone, its application to multiple zones is also explored. Application of the method on a light single-engine general aviation aircraft is demonstrated. Simulations are made using a six-degree of freedom model that includes the effects of wind. Results are presented for six cases involving single zones and one case involving of multiple zones. The aircraft is made to approach the restricted zones with various airspeeds and attitudes with and without crosswind. It is shown that the controller can effectively prevent the aircraft from penetrating the prohibited area, while leaving the pilot some level of control. Recommendations are made to refine the strategy by employing a more sophisticated switching strategy and by implementing a multi-variable optimization of the control inputs. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering

Construction of a mosaic image using a set of low resolution images taken at different zoom settings and at different angles was investigated in this thesis. The proposed reconstruction algorithm uses the zoom based super resolution technique, based on maximum likelihood estimate. A computationally less intensive point matching algorithm was introduced based on a known algorithm. The simulation results show that the implemented algorithm can find point correspondences of images successfully, even they are differently zoomed, that helps for image registration. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering / "December 2006." / Kansas National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCOR Program, First Award Grant KUCR #NSF32241

A composite is defined as a material that constitutes of at least two constituents, which are bonded together along the interface in the composite. Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) is a composite material in which one constituent is a metal or alloy forming at least one percolating network. The other constituent is embedded in this metal matrix. The particulate metal matrix composites when compared to metal alloys exhibit higher strength, wear resistance and stiffness. Because of their high plastic modulus, they exhibit higher buckling and compressive strength. They have high electrical conductivity, better thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion. More over their isotropic behavior and formability by conventional methods makes them good choice for low cost applications. Optimization of the design of structural joints leads to increase in their load carrying capacity, minimizing weight and cost. Extensive knowledge of multiple parameters that effect the behavior of the structural joints is required for reliable and effective design of joints. The aim of this research is to predict the stress concentration around the hole in the lap joint made of MMC and to investigate the effects of the different parameters on the stress around the hole. A three dimensional finite element model has been developed to study the effects of various design parameters on the structural performance of such joints. The model is validated by comparing the results with a closed form solution for a simple problem of determining the stress around the hole in a flat plat. The present study quantifies relationship between stress concentration around the hole and the bolt diameter; distance between the holes, Young’s modulus, fastener pre-tension and the axial load. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

In ad hoc wireless mobile networks, the mobility of wireless nodes plays a significant role in evaluating the network’s performance. As the nodes are mobile there is a frequent transition between the connections of nodes from up to down state. It is essential to know the likeliness of having a connection between different nodes and the parameters on which the connection probability depends in order to have a better performance of the mobile networks. This thesis presents such an approach to evaluate the likeliness of having connections amongst the nodes in ad hoc mobile network. In this study a mathematical model is proposed for evaluating one hop connection probability between nodes of different groups. The mathematical model is devised for a specific group mobility model, known as Reference Point Group Mobility model (RPGM) which can be used to simulate the networks where node co-ordinate with each other. The mathematical model is based on the results of ongoing research in the field of mobile ad hoc networks. It provides a relationship between different network parameters which sufficiently determine the connection probability in reference point group mobility model. This work demonstrates the impact of different parameters on connection probability. Furthermore, the graphical results are used to illustrate the behavior of connection probability in RPGM. It is found that connection probability of directly connected nodes of two different groups’ increases with decrease in the difference between mean locations of the two groups. Second observation is that as the mobile nodes move with higher velocity, the nodes break their intergroup connections quickly which result in lower connection probability and vice versa. The study also suggests that as range of nodes increases, the connection probability increases. The mathematical model developed in this thesis work can be used to determine the values of various network parameters for required connection probability in a mobile wireless network. The practical use of this thesis work can be found in determining the connection probability in real world scenarios like disaster recovery where two or more groups need to interact with each other. Another useful application is in military scenario where member are divided in different groups and they interact with each other. In such scenarios the devised model can be used to set values of different network parameters such as velocity of mobile nodes, transmission range etc. to have required connection probability in the network. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2006."