Much research has been done on reducing the noise level within a honeycomb composite fuselage used in aircraft. The honeycomb composite fuselage has shown much promise for structural rigidity, but to reduce cabin noise, transmission loss and radiation efficiency of the honeycomb fuselage must be taken into consideration in the initial design stage. This thesis is a parametric study of a honeycomb composite fuselage for improving the acoustical performance by reducing transmission loss through the panel. Various models of honeycomb composite were modeled using HyperMesh, a modeling software. The structural model was validated statically with four-point bend-test data and by means of modal analysis, by correlation of composite panel analytical results to published benchmark results. The composite panel model was also validated by correlating the panel transmission loss results using vibroacoustic analysis using VA One software to the published benchmark results. Physical parameters, including length and thickness of the honeycomb panels, were varied and modeled. Geometric properties such as length, thickness, and material properties including Young’s modulus and shear modulus were selected for the validated model. A parametric study was then done to find an improved transmission loss by varying the core thickness, core cell size and core density, and by adding plies, limp material and noise-control treatments. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering / "December 2007."

Image registration is the process of integrating data from different coordinate systems into one coordinate system. It is of great interest in video surveillance because of its capability to combine images and generate a larger view of the area under observation, while retaining all the information in the images. This thesis proposes a novel method for registering images obtained from low resolution visual sensor networks by using change detection as a tool for image registration. Two sensors with overlapping fields of view are used to capture images at regular intervals. The images differences are found and significant change is identified using a random threshold. This significant change forms the basis of identifying control points. Once the control points are identified then, the reference image is transformed with respect to the base image using affine transformation. The transformed image and base image are stitched together to obtain the registered image. Experiments using the proposed scheme have shown that precise registration can be achieved. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Science Engineering / "December 2007."

This thesis presents an example for optimization of distribution maintenance scheduling of a recloser. It applies a risk reduction technique associated with maintenance of the equipment. Furthermore, this thesis examines how various distribution system designs, including distributed energy resources (DER), affect distribution reliability indices, System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI). / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering / "December 2007."

Response of a material impacted by projectiles especially bullets, or blast fragments, is extremely important in determining the range of impact it can sustain. As explicit finite element codes improve and advances material models become available, the hydrocodes find more widespread application in many industries. In this thesis, a study of ballistic response is implemented using simulation of thin metal targets in LS -DYNA. Parametric studies are conducted to study the effects of various factors on the damage process. Further in the study an attempt has been made to study the response of composite targets to the projectile impact. For the composite target, a finite element model is implemented with Chang-Chang failure criteria. Comparisons of the finite element simulations to the experimental data include general as well as the time history response. Results indicate that the residual velocities from the experimental tests correlate well with the ones from finite element validation. A parametric study is then conducted with the validated models. Parameters including as projectile velocity, projectile mass, projectile geometry boundary conditions, target thickness target yield strength, target failure strain and friction between the target and the bullet are considered, which affect the Ballistic Impact process. This study demonstrates the accuracy and effectiveness of the finite element simulation of the impact tests on thin metallic targets with the help of Finite Element softwares. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering / "December 2007."

Many manufacturers are using liquid composite molding (LCM) to manufacture composites because of its simplicity and cost effectiveness. This generic process includes techniques such as vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), resin transfer molding (RTM), and Seemann composite reaction infusion molding (SCRIM). VARTM is most commonly used due to its low tooling cost and ease of use. One of the most important factors that affect the manufacturability of composite parts is permeability. Permeability usually affects resin flow within fibers; hence, many researchers have placed importance on the measurement of this factor in various studies. Alternate test fluids such as corn syrup, silicon oil and motor oil are being used to calculate permeability, since they are cheaper, easy to clean, and are not volatile like resins. Permeability is generally affected by fiber sizing-test fluid interaction, fiber volume fraction, and fiber orientation. In the present study, permeability effects due to fiber chemical coating or sizing were investigated using VARTM. Experiments were conducted by inducing high- and low-viscosity corn syrup and silicon oil through uni-directional glass fibers, bi-axial glass fibers, and two types of uni-directional carbon fibers, with and without sizing. Darcy’s law was used to calculate permeability. Significant permeability differences found using fibers with and without sizing are reported. Separate saturated flow rate measurements for one of the uni-directional carbon fibers and uni-directional glass fibers, both sized and unsized, were carried out by infusing corn syrup and silicon oil with similar viscosities. It was found that, over time, corn syrup displayed a gradual decrease in flow rate for saturated fiber material for constant vacuum infusion. From previous research studies, the flow rate history in the RTM process showed two stages: initial rapid flow and steady-state flow. However, in the VARTM process, the cumulative mass vs. time plot was linear. The corresponding flow rate vs. time plot showed a high initial flow rate but was decreased with time when corn syrup was used for both uni-directional glass and carbon fibers, with and without sizing. This effect was not observed in the case of silicon oil. It was concluded that corn syrup should be used with caution as a test fluid for permeability measurements until further investigations can be made. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering / "December 2007."

The purpose of this research was to determine the catalyst for the enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment. A ‘top-down’ approach to women’s political history – an unconventional interpretation of woman suffrage from the vantage point of the government within the context of American political culture – illumined women’s enfranchisement. In order to ascertain the premise of American political culture, this research incorporated a vast temporal scope: investigating the political ideology that informed American constitutionalism was integral to discovering the reason why, ultimately, the federal government bestowed unto women the franchise. The decisions of the executive and legislative branches reflected the ideology inherent in the U.S. Constitution. The framers not only incorporated many of the rights found in the British common law and in Magna Carta, but also the vested rights premise found in feudalism. Reciprocity of rights and obligations between the government and the citizenry enabled government protection: a citizen had to prove his civic worth in order to earn the privilege of the franchise. This value system resonated throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In sum, because of the simultaneous historical occurrences of a diplomatic suffrage leader, Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, her active membership in the Committee on Women’s Defense Work of the Council of National Defense during the Great War, and a president, Woodrow Wilson, who was amenable to Catt’s methodology, women were enfranchised because of their invaluable contributions to the war effort. In this way, women’s war service proved their civic capacity to government officials which enhanced their standing for the franchise. Primary source materials from Wilson, government officials, and top military brass attest to this finding. / Thesis [M.A]: Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Science, Dept. of History / "December 2007."

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s lead and zinc mining became prominent in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. With no knowledge of the effects that would impact the future, the mining companies continued to strip the land. With the discovery of lead and zinc ores in southeast Kansas, southwest Missouri, northeast Oklahoma in the late 1800’s a way to process the ores in a cheap way was needed. Natural gas in locations like Iola Kansas helped led to cheap ore processing and smelting. After the cheap fuel for the processing began to diminish in the early 1900’s, the multitude of smelters began to decrease. With the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, concerns for the environment became a more than ever important issue. In the 1990’s, the EPA began to collect environmental impact data from areas potentially affected by mining, to access the effects of lead mining on residential areas in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri. Thus, the methods of residential lead sampling were created. In Iola, Kansas the Kansas Department of Health and Environment performed tests to measure the extent that environmental impact from the smelters had on human residents of the town. With this evidence, the EPA was asked to conduct more testing, and to perform a cleanup of residential sites to help protect the environment and human health. / Thesis [M.S]: Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Science, Dept. of Geology / "December 2007."

When it was first settled in 1877, Nicodemus, Kansas was not the only all-African American community west of the Mississippi, but it is the only one remaining today. While many rural communities founded in Kansas and the western United States in the aftermath of the Civil War perished for various reasons, Nicodemus continues to exist. This thesis examines why Nicodemus has been able to overcome adversity when other towns could not. I propose that there is an intangible characteristic found among the people of Nicodemus which stems from the determination of the ex-slaves who first settled the town that has led those who have followed to persevere in Western Kansas. In conducting the research on this project, I used the primary documents of Nicodemus residents that can be found in the Graham County Historical Society located in Hill City, Kansas, and I traveled to Topeka, Kansas to peruse the Kansas State Historical Society’s archives of nineteenth and early-twentieth century newspapers to ascertain a more public accounting of events in that community. Other sources, both primary and secondary, were easily located within Ablah Library on the campus of Wichita State University. / Thesis (M.A)-- Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Science, Dept. of History / "December 2007."

This study examined high school effectiveness through the use of multiple indicators of student performance, which was first studied by Rumberger and Palardy (2005). Data on Kansas high schools were taken from the Kansas State Department of Education’s public website. Analyses of variance were conducted to find differences in student achievement and dropout rates among schools based on size and location. Information on student characteristics was also included. Schools which were effective in terms of achievement were also found to be effective in terms of dropout rates. School effectiveness did vary according to school size and location, with small schools and rural schools being the most effective in terms of achievement and dropout rates. The results of this study supported the common view of the schooling process, which holds that all student outcomes are similarly influenced by school characteristics such as size and location. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and School Psychology / "December 2007."

The aim of this research was to study the behavior of a wheel-chaired occupant for different crash scenarios in a mass transit bus. Actual crash sled tests were carried out at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) crash laboratory facility and validated according kinematics and injury parameters. Setup of these crash tests was done by following various wheelchair restraint and tie-down standards. Other factors, such as wheelchair placement in a bus environment were taken into consideration while preparing the sled tests. The Hybrid III 50th percentile anthropometric test device (ATD) was used for all crash pulses, as it represents the weight and size of an average American. A detailed Computer-Aided design (CAD) model using CATIA V5 was created by applying a reverse engineering technique. This CAD model was then used to prepare a detailed finite element model (FEM) and a facet model which were used for carrying out simulations with the help of software such as MADYMO for multi-body dynamics and LS-DYNA for finite element analysis. These two models were then simulated for the same crash pulses as the actual sled tests to study the kinematics and injury parameters. To define correct material properties tension tests of the belt material were carried out to obtain the actual belt webbing characteristics. The detailed finite element model was developed and used to study the exact force-displacement relationship and to obtain the proper kinematics. Simulations were run using both software for all crash tests, and the kinematics and injury values were validated with the actual crash test values and kinematics. Validation was done using the Motion View software. The validation of the tests was studied to discern the various parameters responsible for the injury values of the wheel-chaired occupant. Further, a more detailed parametric study was carried out where these parameters were changed or modified to create combinations of restraint and securement systems, in order to provide an overview of the appropriate choice of restraint and securement system to reduce the potential injury to the wheel-chaired occupant. / Thesis (M.S)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering / "December 2007."