A direct connect, supersonic solid fuel combustor with a cavity is explored in the context of understanding characteristics related to ignition, regression rate, combustion, and flow fields for application in advancing solid fuel scramjet research. 3D printed, polymethylmethacrylate fuel grains are loaded into both fully enclosed and optically accessible combustors. The ignition characteristics are investigated by systematically varying the internal geometry of the fuel grain to develop a flammability map with respect to non-dimensional geometric parameters. Results reveal that a longer and larger flameholding cavity creates favorable conditions for ignition and sustained combustion. The inlet temperature is also systematically varied to extend the available literature on the supersonic combustion of solid fuels to lower temperature operating conditions and show that a higher inlet temperature is conducive to sustained combustion and higher regression rates. The regression rates of the fuel grains are measured to determine a concentration of regression in the flameholding cavity along the angle of the downstream side of the cavity. Ignition and sustained combustion rely heavily on the fuel in the flameholding cavity. A decreasing regression rate is observed as the fuel regresses by measuring the regression rate at discrete time intervals during a firing of the optical combustor. The optical combustor is also subject to various high-frequency imaging techniques. Shadowgraph imaging shows the changes in density of the flow field and finds a normal shock in the constant area section. CH* chemiluminescence imaging provides novel observations of the concentrated areas of combustion along the fuel grain wall by highlighting the heat release from combustion. A high intensity of CH* radicals is in the upstream section of the flameholding cavity. When considered in the context of the concentration of regression, this indicates that the recirculation zone pulls fuel from the downstream section of the cavity, combusts it in the upstream section of the flameholding cavity, then expels the higher enthalpy gas into the core flow. Additionally, observing the flow provides insight into the flow dynamics of opposing cavities in a supersonic flow field. The symmetry of the flow field is found to be reliant on the stability of the flameholding cavity length to depth ratio. / Master of Science / A solid fuel scramjet has the potential to be the simplest and most cost effective method of achieving hypersonic flight. A liquid fuel scramjet has been demonstrated in free flight, but liquid fuels present many issues involving safety and storage that can be eliminated by introducing solid fuels. Supersonic combustion, or burning fuel in an air flow moving faster than the speed of sound, is a complicated subject due to the irregularity of flow fields and the requirement of combustion to occur at a high rate. The research within this thesis presents many novel technologies that have never been presented in published literature in the context of the supersonic combustion of solid fuels. By conducting ground testing of a solid fuel scramjet, characteristics of the combustion can be studied to expand the available literature in the field to new fuel geometries and inlet conditions. The ignition and sustained combustion of a solid fuel scramjet is extremely reliant on the initial geometry of the fuel and the initial temperature of the flow. This research advances the field of supersonic combustion of solid fuels by developing an optically accessible combustor using quartz windows. These characteristics of supersonic combustion are investigated using highspeed video recording. The results of these techniques provide insight into favorable fuel geometries and inlet conditions. Additionally, patterns observed in the flow field explain concentrations of combustion and fuel consumption.

Horizontal curves are a contributing factor for numerous deaths on roadways. The curve characteristics dictate the severity of the curve and require the driver to be more attentive while driving. To address this issue, advisory speeds are posted on horizontal curves to warn drivers to slow down for their safety. There are six main procedures to assign advisory speeds. This paper focuses on two of these methods, finds a connection between the two, and develops an Android Application that can be used to determine an advisory speed for a curve. In this work, a brief summary of the six existing methods for advisory speed assignment are discussed. Pros and cons are included for each for comparison purposes. Next, two of these methods are highlighted by applying them in the field. Data is collected and a relationship between them is determined. Using this relationship, an Android Application is created and the various details of the design process are described. This Application, called CurveAdvisor, allows the user to assign the appropriate advisory speed on a desired horizontal curve. An analysis is then conducted to test the effectiveness of CurveAdvisor. Results indicate that CurveAdvisor is successful in many cases. Finally, contributions and suggestions for future work are included. / Master of Science

Study design is among the most fundamental factors influencing collection and interpretation of data. The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of design choices by evaluating gait mechanics in healthy control participants using three primary objectives: 1) determine the repeatability of marker placement, 2) determine the effect of set versus self-selected walking speed, and 3) examine the correlation between gait asymmetry and motor variability. Ten and fifty-one healthy control participants were recruited for aim 1 and aims 2/3, respectively. Reflective markers were placed on lower-extremity bony landmarks and participants walked on an instrumented treadmill while 3D motion capture data was collected. For aim 1, this procedure was repeated at two time points 30 minutes apart. For aims 2 and 3, participants completed set and self-selected speed trials. JMP Pro 13 was used to compare joint kinetics and gait kinematics for all aims. Marker placement was repeatable between time points. Participants walked slower in the self-selected walking speed trial, which resulted in both kinematic and kinetic gait mechanics alterations. Gait asymmetry was significantly correlated with motor variability for both spatial and temporal measures. Current study findings reiterated the importance of walking speed when evaluating gait symmetry, joint kinetics, and kinematics. The decision regarding whether to utilize a set or self-selected speed condition within a study design should be made based on whether the measures of interest are independent of walking speed. Gait asymmetry and motor variability are related and should not be treated as independent components of gait. / Master of Science / This study aims to evaluate gait mechanics in healthy young adults by evaluating the impact of multiple study design choices and relationships between different aspects of gait (walking). Loading and movement walking data was collected from a total of sixty-one participants. This data was then used to calculate several measures of gait including symmetry between limbs, joint ranges of motion, and variability of movement. The potential impact of study design choices including setting walking speed for all participants and evaluating loading asymmetry and movement variability independently are discussed based on the findings of the current study.

Sensitivity Sⁱ_p is defined as the ratio of the fractional change of gas ionization current to the fractional change of gas pressure. A maximum obtainable sensitivity was calculated, Sⁱ_p]_max = -0.309 A/B V, where A, B are constants for a given gas within a particular range of field-to-pressure ratio. Experiments were conducted to investigate the sensitivity of air and krypton under different combinations of voltage, electrode separation and primary electron source strength. A curie of tritium placed on the central portion of either electrode produced a constant initial emission current and a high sensitivity. Sensitivity could be increased by using a stronger current source, higher voltage and a larger electrode separation. Observed values of Sⁱ_p for high voltage at larger separation are greater than those expected even when breakdown occurs at a (pd) quite larger than the one for Sⁱ_p]_max. The fractional pressure change, Δp/p, is independent of the initial pressure, p, and is greater for a heavier gas subject to the same acceleration, a fact which suggests the use of a heavier gas to obtain a higher fractional current change for the same sensitivity. Krypton behaves in a similar way as air in the system. Operating current level may be higher than 10⁻⁵ ampere if stronger source is used. There is a limit in the separation for a given source configuration. Further increase in Sⁱ_p and current level may be achieved through better design of the configuration and location of the current source between the electrodes. The fractional current change, Δi/i, depends more on Δp rather than on the initial operating pressure, p. From the experiment performed, it appears that a gas system will perform satisfactorily as a transient velocity gauge. / M.S.

The theory of soft variable structure control, which produces robustness to parameter variation and fast transient response, is discussed in this thesis. The digital implementation techniques are presented in the aspects of sample rate, prefilter design, hardware selection, and microprocessor arithmetic operation. Simulation and experimental results showed good performance in negative speed range, but this controller created unwanted high armature current fluctuation in positive speed range. The reasons turned out to be the limitation of sample rate, noise from the tachometer, and high gain at positive speed. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

The straight line calm water performance of stepped planing hulls has been studied experimentally, by prediction method, and numerically. A model test was conducted to provide a systematic understanding of the effects that displacement and step location have on the performance of a stepped planing hull. Ten different step configurations were tested at three different displacements and over a range of four different speeds in calm water. Seven of these configurations were tested at two different Longitudinal Center of Gravity (LCG) locations. Of all the configurations tested, the stepped hull configurations showed reduced resistance compared to the unstepped hull. The configurations with the largest step height aft showed the least amount of resistance over the speed range tested. Increasing displacement and shifting LCG had similar effects on craft performance for both stepped and unstepped hulls. The current stepped hull prediction method was expanded to include a three dimension wave profile and the ability for the stagnation line to cross the step. Using previous model test data and existing two dimension wave profile equations, a single equation was developed to predict the three dimension wave profile aft of a step. Formulations were added to Savitsky's planing prediction method to include very high speed craft and chines dry conditions. Lastly, two simulations were performed using two computational fluid dynamics numerical tools, OpenFOAM, and NFA. The results of these simulations were compared to the experimental test results to assess each code's relative strengths and weaknesses for use in detail design of stepped planing craft. / Ph. D.

The following is the architectural narrative of a slow meal. Slowness is rich with meaning and expectations. I sought to explore slow not in terms of speed or a measured passage of time, but in terms of the passage of opportunity. Slow is the seizing of an opportunity - a pause for pleasure in the mundane. Architecture is fast, constantly engaging all our senses. It is through a deliberate pause that I find pleasure in thinking, drawing, and experiencing. Good taste is the wisdom that pleasure must be seized; the Latin sapor "taste" and sapiens "a wise man." I intend to explore slow in architecture through taste. Taste and architecture are uniquely linked to place. They both immediately establish place by engaging all senses simultaneously. Knowledge of the qualities of an ingredient or material, both seen and the unseen, inform drawing and building just as they do cooking and the meal. A recipe does not mean that a result is prescribed. An imprecise precision exists in drawing and cooking that varies every time it is done, allowing new discoveries to be made. I seek to discover how the act of making is evident in a drawing, a building, and a meal. The pleasure in making and the memory of the hand is a continuous narrative. I explore this narrative through a culinary school, restaurant, chefs residence, and a meal set on the Potomac River waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia at the terminus of Prince Street, south of Waterfront Park. / Master of Architecture

Pretesting prior to a study session has been shown to benefit memory for pretested information compared to traditional study. While previous research has not found a detriment to non-pretested but related material, it is possible that taxing attention by increasing the playback speed of presented material could reveal such impairments. The current study (N = 239) compared multiple-choice learning from educational videos at 1x, 1.5x, and 2x speeds. Three videos (one at each speed) were presented after a pretest, for which half of the tested material was pretested, and half was not (non-pretested related). Another three videos were presented without a pretest (non-pretested). Benefits from pretesting and impairments associated with increased playback speed were observed, but no evidence of impairments to non-pretested related information were observed even at an increased playback speed. These results are inconsistent with an attentional account of the pretesting effect.

The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of audio feedback from an electromyograph on reading speed and comprehension. The subject reduced as much audio feedback, and thus laryngeal tension, as possible, thus permitting more efficient reading. After baseline, the subject received twelve half-hour practice sessions, six ten-minute testing sessions on easy, or light, material and six ten-minute testing sessions on difficult material. A post-test without feedback was given after training and a follow-up test, without feedback, was given. This method of training permits a higher rate of reading speed, while allowing the subject to process complex information and maintain a constant level of recall.

High speed railway and promote the economic development of the city. So the operation of high-speed railway in Ningbo to Hangzhou, Ningbo’s opportunity and challenge, tourism, transportation, business, industry, real estate industry, headquarters economy, financial, cultural and creative industries, attract talent. Although short-term high iron research is very difficult to see effect, but through some research can guess and judge the impact of high-speed rail industry of Ningbo city and some Suggestions put forward the Ningbo, Hang-Yong high-speed railway.