The evolution of bats is characterized by a combination of two key innovations - powered flight and biosonar - that are unique among mammals. Bats still outperform engineered systems in both capabilities by a large margin. Bat biosonar stands out for its ability to encode and extract sensory information using various mechanisms such as adaptive beam width control, dynamic sound emission and reception, as well as cognitive processes. Due to the highly integrated and sophisticated design of their active sonar system, bats can survive in complex and dense environments using just a few simple smart acoustic elements. On the sound emission side, significant features that distinguish bats from the current man-made sonar system are the time-variant shapes of the noseleaves. Noseleaves are baffles that surround the nostrils in bats with nasal pulse emission such as horseshoe bats and can undergo non-rigid deformations large enough to affect their acoustic properties significantly. Behavioral studies have shown that these movements are not random byproducts, but are due to specific muscular action. To understand the underlying physical and engineering principles of the dynamic sensing in horseshoe bats, two experimental prototypes ,i.e. intact noseleaf and simplified noseleaf, have been used. We have integrated techniques of data acquisition, instrument control, additive manufacturing, signal processing, airborne acoustics, 3D modeling and image processing to facilitate this research. 3D models of horseshoe bat noseleaves were obtained by tomographic imaging, reconstructed, and modified in the digital domain to meet the needs of additive manufacturing prototype. Nostrils and anterior leaf were abstracted as an elliptical outlet and a concave baffle in the other prototype. As a reference, a circular outlet and a straight baffle designed. A data acquisition and instrument control system has been developed and integrated with transducers to characterize the dynamic emission system acoustically as well as actuators for recreating the dynamics of the horseshoe bat noseleaf. A conical horn and tube waveguide was designed to couple the loudspeaker to the outlet of bat noseleaf and simplified baffles. A pan-tilt was used to characterize the acoustic properties of the deforming prototypes over direction. By using those techniques, the dynamic effect of the noseleaf was reproduced and characterized. It was suggested that the lancet rotation induced both beam-gain and beamwidth changes. Narrow outlet produced an isotropic beampattern and concave baffle had a significant time-variant and frequency-variant effect with just a small displacement. All those results cast light on the possible functions of the biological morphology and provided new thoughts on the engineering device's design. / Ph. D.

One key element of underwater transducer design is the acoustic baffle. Acoustic baffles isolate a structure, such as a submarine hull, from noise and vibration produced by the active elements of the transducer and vice versa. Baffle materials must meet many conflicting requirements such as the need to be lightweight while providing high acoustic isolation. Currently Syntactic Acoustic Damping Material (SADM) is widely used as the primary acoustic baffle material. However, SADM baffles have many undesirable characteristics such as high density, poor machinability, high lead content and depth dependent acoustical behavior. The study of baffle materials is an under-represented area of sonar design. Most sonar transducer research focuses on the electrically active materials and their response to a variety of conditions. Relatively fewer studies have been devoted to understanding the effects of the supporting and baffle materials. This work considers the effects of the entire hydrophone system on the response while developing a method for aiding in proper system material selection. This was accomplished by first developing a model for a transducer's response in a variety of conditions. The response was validated with numerical finite-element models and experiments. Next, a generic model was developed that allows any number of layers with any material to be analyzed. This generic model is applied in concert with a material optimization method to aid in the selection of materials that will improve the transducer's response. The tools are finally applied to a simple real world problem to illustrate its strengths and weaknesses. / text

Thesis--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.192-193).

No description available.

The application of the dynamical baffles in the mechanical systems, when the sources of stimulation are impossible to abolish, is one of the ways to fight against the harmful vibrations. The model of a dynamic baffle was applied for suppression of oscillations of the nonlinear mechanical systems. With the help of the baffle the system parameters were determined with the smallest possible amplitudes.

No description available.

Orientador : Tsunao Matsumoto / Banca: Roque Passos Piveli / Banca: Geraldo de Freitas Maciel / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo o monitoramento e avaliação da eficiência da Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto (ETE) na cidade de Santa Fé do Sul - SP, e a comparação dos resultados auferidos com ETEs da região. A Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto de Santa Fé do Sul investigada era composta de uma lagoa anaeróbia seguida por uma lagoa facultativa com 3 (três) divisores de fluxo (chicanas) paralelos, formando 4 (quatro) canais paralelos dentro da mesma, seguida por uma lagoa de maturação com apenas 1 (um) divisor de fluxo (chicanas) formando 2 (dois) canais paralelos, formando chicanas do tipo vai e vem. O monitoramento foi realizado no período de novembro de 2000 a junho de 2003. Os ensaios de investigação dos parâmetros de controle foram realizados em duas etapas, sendo a primeira etapa com quatro pontos de coletas realizadas quinzenalmente, no período de novembro de 2000 a junho de 2002, e a segunda etapa, com oito pontos de coletas com freqüência semanal, no período de março a junho de 2003. Os parâmetros investigados no monitoramento foram: DBO (mg/L), DQO (mg/L), OD, Temperatura (°C), pH, Sólidos Totais (mg/L), Sólidos Suspensos Totais (mg/L), Coliformes Totais (NMP/100mL) e Coliformes Fecais (NMP/100mL) das amostras coletadas em pontos de interesse ao longo das lagoas da ETE conforme etapas de investigação. Os parâmetros investigados e analisados na ETE durante o período de monitoramento foram animadores, apresentando valores de eficiência de remoção dos mesmos melhores em comparação as das ETEs da região. / Abstract: This work had as objective the accompaniment and evaluation of the efficiency of the Sewage Treatment Station of Santa Fé do Sul city, São Paulo state, Brazil, and the comparison of the obteined results with others stations of the same region. The station are composed with stabilization ponds. The first pond is anaerobic, followed by one facultative pond, with three parallel flow divisors (baffle), forming four parallel channels. This pond is followed by a maturation pond, with only one flow divisor (Baffle), forming two parallel channels. The accompaniment was accomplished in the period of november from 2000 to june of 2003. The chemical and bacteriological tests of investigation were accomplished in two stages. In the the first stage, the samples are collected in four different points every fifteen days, in the period of november of 2000 to june of 2002. In the second stage, the samples are collected in eigth different points every seven days, in the period of march to june of 2003. The parameters investigated in the acconpaniment were: Biochmical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Temperature (T), pH, Total Solids (TS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Coliforms, and Faecal Coliforms. The samples was collected in strategical points in the ponds, according to investigation stages. The investigated and analyzed parameters in station during the acconpaniment period were exciting, presenting better values of efficiency of removal of polluents in comparison with others stations of the region. / Mestre

Combined Cycle power plants have recently become a serious alternative for standard coal- and oil-fired power plants because of their high thermal efficiency, environmentally friendly operation, and short time to construct. The combined cycle plant is an integration of the gas turbine and the steam turbine, combining many of the advantages of both thermodynamic cycles using a single fuel. By recovering the heat energy in the gas turbine exhaust and using it to generate steam, the combined cycle leverages the conversion of the fuel energy at a very high efficiency. The heat recovery steam generator forms the backbone of combined cycle plants, providing the link between the gas turbine and the steam turbine. The design of HRSG has historically largely been completed using thermodynamic principles related to the steam path, without much regard to the gas-side of the system. An effort has been made using resources at both UK and Vogt Power International to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the gas-side flow path of the HRSG as an integral tool in the design process. This thesis focuses on how CFD analysis can be used to assess the impact of the gas-side flow on the HRSG performance and identify design modifications to improve the performance. An effort is also made to explore the software capabilities to make the simulation an efficient and accurate.

This thesis project is a stand-alone project with the goal to develop an optimized material suited for speaker cabinets, with the focus on acoustic abilities, production possibilities and environmental impact. And to further on design a high performance to price speaker, using the developed material properties and todays technology. The thesis is focused heavily on testing material, starting with research and thereafter creating and testing samples, to continue with find a material combination that would work for a product fit for the market. The final product should fulfill the demands of typical furniture handling, meaning it should be able to be moved around and withstand moderate abuse from daily events. The project results in a functional prototype for evaluation of material and the overall design. The project is based on design methods and design thinking.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003-10-31Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:17:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 takeuti_mrs_me_ilha.pdf: 1785772 bytes, checksum: 40aee906baf147862ac1f7e479a97ff5 (MD5) / Este trabalho teve como objetivo o monitoramento e avaliação da eficiência da Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto (ETE) na cidade de Santa Fé do Sul - SP, e a comparação dos resultados auferidos com ETEs da região. A Estação de Tratamento de Esgoto de Santa Fé do Sul investigada era composta de uma lagoa anaeróbia seguida por uma lagoa facultativa com 3 (três) divisores de fluxo (chicanas) paralelos, formando 4 (quatro) canais paralelos dentro da mesma, seguida por uma lagoa de maturação com apenas 1 (um) divisor de fluxo (chicanas) formando 2 (dois) canais paralelos, formando chicanas do tipo vai e vem. O monitoramento foi realizado no período de novembro de 2000 a junho de 2003. Os ensaios de investigação dos parâmetros de controle foram realizados em duas etapas, sendo a primeira etapa com quatro pontos de coletas realizadas quinzenalmente, no período de novembro de 2000 a junho de 2002, e a segunda etapa, com oito pontos de coletas com freqüência semanal, no período de março a junho de 2003. Os parâmetros investigados no monitoramento foram: DBO (mg/L), DQO (mg/L), OD, Temperatura (°C), pH, Sólidos Totais (mg/L), Sólidos Suspensos Totais (mg/L), Coliformes Totais (NMP/100mL) e Coliformes Fecais (NMP/100mL) das amostras coletadas em pontos de interesse ao longo das lagoas da ETE conforme etapas de investigação. Os parâmetros investigados e analisados na ETE durante o período de monitoramento foram animadores, apresentando valores de eficiência de remoção dos mesmos melhores em comparação as das ETEs da região. / This work had as objective the accompaniment and evaluation of the efficiency of the Sewage Treatment Station of Santa Fé do Sul city, São Paulo state, Brazil, and the comparison of the obteined results with others stations of the same region. The station are composed with stabilization ponds. The first pond is anaerobic, followed by one facultative pond, with three parallel flow divisors (baffle), forming four parallel channels. This pond is followed by a maturation pond, with only one flow divisor (Baffle), forming two parallel channels. The accompaniment was accomplished in the period of november from 2000 to june of 2003. The chemical and bacteriological tests of investigation were accomplished in two stages. In the the first stage, the samples are collected in four different points every fifteen days, in the period of november of 2000 to june of 2002. In the second stage, the samples are collected in eigth different points every seven days, in the period of march to june of 2003. The parameters investigated in the acconpaniment were: Biochmical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Temperature (T), pH, Total Solids (TS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Coliforms, and Faecal Coliforms. The samples was collected in strategical points in the ponds, according to investigation stages. The investigated and analyzed parameters in station during the acconpaniment period were exciting, presenting better values of efficiency of removal of polluents in comparison with others stations of the region.