Conference Session

Instrumentation and Laboratory Systems

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roxanne Toto, Pennsylvania State University; Mark Wharton, Pennsylvania State University; John Cimbala, Pennsylvania State University; John Wise, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Computers in Education

PCs, butall allow the use of digital ink to generate new documents or annotate existing documents.Included software allows professors to write and problem solve as they would using traditionalpad/pencil using Journal™ or write directly on Word™ or PowerPoint™ slides, save the documentor slides including the notations, and provide them to students in electronic form. This combinesthe ease of digital presentations with the interactivity of the overhead/chalkboard. For example,professors can work out detailed solutions on the computer screen, project the solutions in realtime, and save solutions on the hard drive, all while facing the students. A brief overview ofTablet computing and its development can be seen in table 1. The 60’s

Conference Session

Technology in Classrooms - Construction Engineering Perspective

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ihab Saad, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Construction

view of the schedule, andallows for embedding additional files reflecting reasons for and amounts of delay,allowing for a better claim analysis, resulting in reduction in project disputes.The development of the layers followed a simple rule of thumb; 1-5-5-5-.., breakingdown each level to 5 subsequent levels, until the required level of detail (Activity or workpackage level) is reached. Upon project completion, the completed model serves as anas-built chronology of project execution, which can serve as an as-built documentation ofthe project.Historical BackgroundSeveral attempts were implemented to design a scheduling technique allowing for theplanning, monitoring, and control of the schedule during different phases of projectdevelopment

Conference Session

Software Engineering Teaching Methods and Practice

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martin Zhao, Mercer University; Laurie White, Mercer University

Tagged Divisions

Software Engineering Constituent Committee

integrate knowledge gained from the required core courses offered in afour-year period. According to CC2001 1, this course is supposed to cover software systemdesign, software processes, key activities in software development lifecycle, and software projectmanagement. The traditional approach to teaching a Software Engineering course, as reflected inclassical textbooks 11, 10, usually starts with an introduction to software process models, which isthen followed with discussions on highlevel activities in various phases of a generic softwarelifecycle template that can accommodate all possible programming paradigms. Although updatedmany times since their original editions, those texts are not well adapted to the latest paradigmchanges (such as object

Conference Session

Design in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jose Guevara, University of Puerto Rico; Ismael Pagan-Trinidad, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Didier Valdes-Diaz, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Eileen Pesantes, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; Francisco Maldonado-Fortunet, University of Puerto Rico; Miguel Pando, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

the creation of the company, the feasibility analysis of the selected site for the proposed use,and the development of conceptual drawings, preliminary drawings, and final drawings, along with a costestimate and specifications for the selected alternate solution. It must be pointed out that due to thelimited amount of time, the level of construction drawings are limited to a complete set of plan drawingsof the site plan, architectural, structural and transportation but without the level of detail and quality in thedrawings. The mechanical, electrical and plumbing drawings are limited also to the site information. Thespecifications are also limited to the architectural, site and structural.1. IntroductionFor the past years, the current

Conference Session

Sustainable Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Josh Goldowitz, Rochester Institute of Technology; Karl Korfmacher, Rochester Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Environmental Engineering

7079 housing units in the 10th Ward, only 1430were owner occupied as of 2000. In addition, the drop in population means very few new housesare constructed. Seventy three percent of the homes located within the 10th ward were builtbefore 1960, and greater than one in seven was vacant in 20001. Figure 1 shows vacantresidential and commercial properties in the Orchard Meadows Estates area of the 10th Ward. Figure 1. Vacant Properties in the Orchard Meadows Estates section of Sector 10SolutionOne asset possessed by the 10th Ward is a high level of community activism and organization.Among the community’s active organizations are: o The Marketview Heights Association, representing South Marketview Heights o The Coalition

Conference Session

Security

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yu Cai, Michigan Technological University; Guy Hembroff, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Information Systems

hands-on experience onInternet security, especially DDoS attack, detection and defense mechanisms.1. IntroductionNetwork security is a topic gaining tremendous interests in today’s Information Technologyworld. The increasing frequency and severity of network attacks in recent years reveal somefundamental security issues of Internet environment. Significant efforts from university andindustry have been made to improve computer and network security. It is vital to incorporatethe latest research results in higher education and academic programs to provide training andeducation to college students and cyber security professionals.College seniors in Computer Network & System Administration (CNSA) program [1] atMichigan Technological University

Conference Session

Approaches to Teaching Entrepreneurship

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

W. Andrew Clark, East Tennessee State University; J. Paul Sims, East Tennessee State University; Craig A. Turner, East Tennessee State University; Jon L. Smith, East Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Entrepreneurship & Engineering Innovation

1990, even after 20years of remarkable growth, U.S. companies accounted for only 33 percent of the world’stotal”1. A 1996 U.S. Department of Commerce report indicated that 90 percent of all newproducts fail within four years and less than 10 percent of the U.S. companies introduceda new product within the past ten years2. Several of the authors of this manuscript havespeculated that the Research and Development focus of numerous U.S. corporationsappear to be centered on continuous improvement projects where the probability ofsuccess is predictable and definable. Unfortunately, continuous improvement projectsresult in diminishing returns as the low hanging fruit is harvested and identification ofhigh yielding improvement projects becomes more

Conference Session

International Engineering Education I

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reza Sanati-Mehrizy; Curtis Welborn, Utah Valley State College; Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley State College

Tagged Divisions

International

and delves into how anorganization should operate its business.IntroductionBusiness rules are basic to what the business knows about itself. Rules must be explicit. No rulecan ever be assumed about any concept or fact7. Business rules can be divided into the followingthree types:1 structural assertions, action assertions, and derivations. Structural assertions areconcerned with statements that express an aspect or relationship about the structure of a business.To define structural assertions an organization may also need to define business terms and facts.Business terms are the actual terms an organization uses to define how the business is to operate.A business term should have a specific meaning to an organization. Facts define

Conference Session

ECE Laboratory Design

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andreas Spanias, Arizona State University; Ravi Chilumula, Arizona State University; CHIH-WEI HUANG, Arizona State University; Mike Stiber, University of Washington-Bothell; Philip Loizou, University of Texas-Dallas; Takis Kasparis, University of Central Florida

Tagged Divisions

Electrical and Computer

-linesimulations and web-based computer laboratories. J-DSP is based on an object-orientedprogramming environment that enables students to establish and run DSP simulations onthe internet. The initial version of J-DSP has been developed in the ASU MIDL lab andtested in a senior-level Electrical Engineering Digital Signal Processing (DSP) course(EEE 407). The J-DSP Version 1 (CD-ROM ISBN 0-9724984-0-0) is approximately42,000 lines of Java code. Papers on J-DSP addressing several DSP related areas havebeen published previously in archival conference proceedings and journals [1-15].This paper presents sponsored work aimed at developing, disseminating, and assessingseveral new J-DSP capabilities. The project involves five universities and includessignificant

Conference Session

International Exchange/Joint Programs in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Melany Ciampi; Claudio Brito, Council of Researches in Education and Sciences

Tagged Divisions

International

not be conclusive but they show the willing of scientific andtechnological community to foster Engineering Education in the Country. The educational policyof Brazilian government has played a decisive part in all these enterprises as well as educationalorganizations and societies both national and international.1. IntroductionIn recent years Brazil has inserted into international educational communities both in NorthAmerica and in Europe. The growth of quality level of Brazilian engineering standards ofeducation became an objective reality. Its active participation in the work of various conferencesand societies all over the world has considerably enhanced old educational traditions and formeda new generation of young engineers capable to

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Donald Elger, University of Idaho; Scott Metlen, University of Idaho; Robert Carson, University of Idaho; Tristan Utschig, Lewis-Clark State College; Dan Cordon, University of Idaho; Marie Racine, University of District Columbia; Steven Beyerlein, University of Idaho

distinguishing between assessmentand evaluation), (c) modeling of best practices by the facilitator, (d) ongoing collaboration be-tween participants throughout the workshop, and (e) schema that allowed participants to seecommonalities in different types of assessment. Since learning is a complex process, attentionshould be given to all design elements in order to produce an enriched learning environment.1. IntroductionIn education, there is an emerging revolution in learning. This revolution, driven by external re-alities such as globalization, sustainability, changing societal values, and economics, will be em-powered by research-based knowledge of “how people learn.” To characterize learning, we usethe concept of a learning environment. A learning

Conference Session

International Exchange/Joint Programs in Engineering

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jan Helge Bøhn, Virginia Tech; Manfred Hampe, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt

Tagged Divisions

International

(e.g., during summer semesters). However, in most cases, these study abroadexperiences are simply accommodated by postponing the original date of graduation.Given these challenges that face engineering students studying abroad, it is unreasonable toexpect that the number of engineering students studying abroad will increase noticeably withoutaccommodating programs being put into place. In Europe, the response has been to pursue whatis known as the Bologna process 1. The essence of this process, which was launched with acommon declaration on June 19, 1999, and which now has been committed to by more than 40European countries, is to standardize on a common higher education structure that facilitatestransparent, international mobility of students

Conference Session

FPD8 -- Systems, Nanotechnology & Programming

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helen Burn, University of Michigan; James Holloway, University of Michigan

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

industrial supporters, which exposed problems with student motivation in a required,first-year course in computing and programming. This paper describes the nature of aninstructional intervention designed by the lead instructor for the course aimed to increasestudents’ perception that computer programming and algorithmic thinking are (1) important and(2) useful to engineering majors. The conceptual framework for the study derives from Wigfieldand Eccles’10 expectancy/value model of student motivation. Multiple regression analysis ofstudent survey responses revealed that students in the treatment group were more likely thanthose in a comparable, untreated, group to believe it is important that engineering majors learn toprogram, which suggests that

Conference Session

Engineering in High School

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Meetu Walia, Polytechnic University; EDWIN YU, Polytechnic University; Vikram Kapila, Polytechnic University; Magued Iskander, Polytechnic University; Noel Kriftcher, Polytechnic University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

Sensors in High School Living Environment Labs: A GK-12 Project1. Introduction In a series of recent op-ed pieces in The New York Times and in his latest book The WorldIs Flat,1 Thomas Friedman points to an urgent need to develop a strong and technologicallytrained workforce to ensure the American leadership in scientific discovery and technologicalinnovation. This call to action has been joined by business and government advisory groups suchas the American Electronics Association,2 the National Innovation Initiative,3 and the NationalAcademy of Engineering;4 and reflected in the remarks delivered by industry captains such asBill Gates at the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools.5 In a recent letter6 to

Conference Session

Design Projects

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hansen Lukman, Bucknell University; Steven Shooter, Bucknell University; Fabrice Alizon, Bucknell University; Asli Sahin, Virginia Tech; Robert Stone, University of Missouri-Rolla; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech; Timothy Simpson, Pennsylvania State University; Soundar Kumara, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Design in Engineering Education

course in product dissection at StanfordUniversity (http://www-adl.stanford.edu/), and a similar course in product dissection wasdeveloped as part of the Manufacturing Engineering Education Partnership between Penn State,University of Washington, and University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez12. Product dissection hasalso been used, with varying degrees of success, in conjunction with multimedia case studies atBerkeley13, Stanford14, and Penn State15.Through dissection, students are able to identify firsthand how different companies haveresolved the inherent tradeoff between commonality and distinctiveness within a product familydiscussed in Section 1. There are many examples that can be used to illustrate when platformcommonality has created a

Conference Session

Back to Basics in Mechanics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Malmgren, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

examples thatfollow will illustrate the use of CAD-based graphical problem solution to faculty unfamiliar withCAD software to encourage CAD-based graphical analysis in student assignments as well asspark interest in its use for themselves.The first rudimentary example of using graphical analysis with CAD as the solution methodrepresents a typical problem found in Engineering Statics. This force analysis problem requiresfinding the tension in two cables supporting a 200 pound weight. One cable (A) is 45° from thehorizontal upward toward the left while the other (cable B) is 15° from the horizontal upwardtoward the right. From a Free Body Diagram (FBD) shown on the left side of Figure 1, we seethat we know the magnitude and direction of the weight

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Hinds, Michigan State University; Craig Somerton, Michigan State University; Robert Chalou, Michigan State University; Clark Radcliffe, Michigan State University; Gaile Griffore, Michigan State University

principal instructors and the associate chair for undergraduateprograms of the department. The instructors selected for the task force were those deemed mostwell suited to the development, implementation and delivery of freshman-level courses due totheir experience at that level and their expertise with the computer tools identified for the newcourses. One of the first tasks of this group was to develop a set of goals and objectives for theprogram. A draft set of goals and objectives were developed and distributed to the faculty forcomment. Following feedback from the faculty, the goals below were formalized:1. Introduce students to the mechanical engineering discipline and profession.2. Demonstrate how basic mathematics and science fits into

Conference Session

Novel BME Courses and Course Adaptations

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen Coyne, U.S. Army ECBC; Arthur Johnson, University of Maryland-College Park

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

intended to exhaustively cover physiology. Rather,sufficient physiology is included so that students can understand the models and equations usedto illustrate these mechanisms and processes. Quantitative models are used as much as possible,but conceptual models are included where necessary.Methods for Teaching the ClassTextbookThe book used for this course is “Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology,” by Arthur T.Johnson. The first edition is available on the world wide web at www.bre.umd.edu/johnson.htm.It is currently being rewritten for a second edition likely to be published later this year. It is thesecond edition that will be described. The book has five chapters: 1. Exercise Limitations 2

Conference Session

DB & Information Integration

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Reza Sanati-Mehrizy; Curtis Welborn, Utah Valley State College; Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley State College

Tagged Divisions

Information Systems

example that will be improved gradually through the paper.Capturing Business RulesFigure 1 is an Entity Relationship Diagram that depicts the following information about airplanemechanics. A mechanic is an individual with skills that allows him to maintain airplanes. Amechanic must receive specific types of training related to maintaining airplanes. There aremany different types of training that a mechanic can receive for maintaining airplanes, such astraining on landing gear, training on engines, training on electronics, and so on. In turn, thetypes of training that a mechanic receives are used to determine the types of maintenanceservices that the mechanic can perform on an airplane. A specific maintenance service mayrequire that a mechanic

Conference Session

Research in Minority Issues

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Turns, University of Washington; Angela Linse, Temple University; Tammy VanDeGrift, University of Portland; Matt Eliot, University of Washington; Jana Jones, Microsoft Corp.; Steve Lappenbusch, University of Washington

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

diversity statement exercise is only one ofthe topics explored by program participants in the eight-week program. Two research questionsabout the diversity statement exercise guided the analyses and results reported here: 1) does thediversity statement exercise show promise as a means of enabling participants to engage withdiversity issues in engineering education?, and 2) how prepared are engineering graduatestudents to grapple with issues of diversity and teaching? The remainder of this paper is organized into background, methods, results, discussion andconclusion sections. We provide background information about diversity in engineeringeducation. Next, we provide a brief overview of our work including descriptions of the portfolioprogram and the

Conference Session

Professional Development/Scholarship & Service Learning

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Guy Hembroff, Michigan Technological University; Yu Cai, Michigan Technological University; Scott Amos, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

search for ways toreduce their expenses in order to become or remain financially stable.Combining the challenge for higher-education to give students industry experience whileproviding a method for organizations to maximize their services with little or no fiscalexpenditures, results in a process called service-learning [1]. This term refers to educationalactivity in partnership with a public or non-profit agency, organization, or project within thecommunity. Service-learning from an academic viewpoint is normally completed in one of twoways. The first, curricular service-learning, is a process in which the project is integrated into anacademic course and carries academic credit. The second, co-curricular service-learning,complements academic

Conference Session

Best Zone Paper Competition

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nathan Klingbeil, Wright State University; Richard Mercer, Wright State University; Kuldip Rattan, Wright State University; Michael Raymer, Wright State University; David Reynolds, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Council of Sections

; Sinusoids and Harmonic Signals; Systems of Equations and Matrices; Basicsof Differentiation; Basics of Integration; Linear Differential Equations with ConstantCoefficients. The course structure is 5 credit hours (4 hours lecture, 1 hour lab), plus mandatoryrecitation sections. The course is taught by engineering faculty, with all mathematical topicsmotivated by their direct application in the core engineering courses. Moreover, course materialis emphasized by physical experiments in the classroom and laboratory, and is thoroughlyintegrated with the engineering analysis software MATLAB.A detailed outline of the EGR 101 course content over a period of one 10 week quarter isoutlined in Table 1 below

Conference Session

Collaborative & New Efforts in Engineering Education

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Melany Ciampi; Claudio Brito, Council of Researches in Education and Sciences

Tagged Divisions

International

states of the country,which have worked very well for many years. The Country has achieved and has built a solidreputation even abroad also creating generations of Brazilian scientists and educators. Thesepeople fortunately have refused to accept the ominous and narrow-minded neo-liberal policiesfor education having started a fighting to keep up the achievements already gotten and actionsthat help to maintain and to enhance the researches in every field of science and technology.1. IntroductionHistory shows that education for all is not enough; it has to be quality education. In superioreducation, this is a special issue because it is responsible for the formation of the minds that willbe in charge of the Country. In Engineering Education field

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Todd Kaiser, Montana State University; Stilson Applin, Montana State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

the instrumentation of the space. The results were a 500 square foot, class 10,000 facility. (See Figure 1) Once the laboratory was designed and the appropriate equipment was installed, a test run was completed to demonstrate the functionality of the equipment and laboratory design. The laboratory Figure 1. Clean Room Layout course material was adapted from similar programs at other larger universities1,2. After the laboratorywas effectively demonstrated, the course was offered to the

Conference Session

K-12 Programs for Recruiting Women

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Firouzeh Keshmiri, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Ann Bloor, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Mary Jo Wellenstein, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

impact on the vitality of the ruralcommunities.ReferencesAAUW Educational Foundation, Under the Microscope, Washington, D.C., March 2004Andrews, Christine, L., McCum, Sharon, Wilkens, Leslie, Women in Technology (WIT): AParadigm for Working Toward Systemic Change in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math(STEM) Education and Employment, IWPR 2003 Conference, Washington, D.C., June 2003Beeson, Elizabeth, Strange, Marty, Why Rural Matters 2003: The Continuing Need for EveryState to Take Action on Rural Education, Journal of Research in Rural Education, Spring 2003,Vo. 18, No. 1. 3-16Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science,Engineering and Technology Development, Land of Plenty: Diversity as America’s

Conference Session

Emerging Trends in Engineering Education Poster Session

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ken Vickers, University of Arkansas; Ron Foster, University of Arkansas; Greg Salamo, University of Arkansas

1 toan average of eighteen students over the last three Cohorts. In general, about two-thirds of thestudents in each Cohort enter in the fall semester. There is no negative curriculum impact to thestudents entering in January, so our history has been that about one third of the microEP studentsenter in the spring semester.This educational experiment was supported initially by a NSF small group research grant,followed by a 1999 NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) grantand a 2000 Department of Education Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education(FIPSE) grant. The microEP program has since won a three year NSF Research Experience forUndergraduate (REU) site and then five year extension, a five year NSF

Conference Session

Computer ET Projects and Applications

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yu Cai, Michigan Technological University; Guy Hembroff, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology

solving skills and learn “handson” programming. The new script programming course aims to provide students theopportunity to learn multiple scripting technologies, and gain hands-on experience onscripting.1. IntroductionA computer-related program named Computer Network & System Administration(CNSA) was introduced at Michigan Technological University in 2002 [1]. Thepurpose of this program was to serve the needs of industry by educating and trainingstudents to succeed in the field areas of systems administration and networkengineering. An integral part of the CNSA curriculum is the three-credit hour courseentitled Script Programming – SAT3400.Traditional script programming course usually concentrates on Unix Shell scriptingand / or Perl

Conference Session

Software and e-learning in the ME curriculum

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Frank Fisher, Stevens Institute of Technology; Constantin Chassapis, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

use of CAE tools andtheir relationship to the engineering fundamentals covered within the core undergraduatecurriculum. Learning supports embedded within these modules will explicitly reinforce basicengineering fundamentals and highlight how these principles relate to the types of engineeringproblems that are encountered in practice. Ultimately envisioned is a library of such moduleswhich would enable the seamless incorporation of CAE tools throughout the undergraduatecurriculum. These modules leverage two important characteristics of these CAE tools: 1) thevisualization capabilities of the CAE software, and 2) the ability to solve more complexproblems than those typically covered within a traditional lecture-based format. Such tools

Conference Session

International Engineering Education II

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Afsaneh Minaie, Utah Valley State College; Reza Sanati-Mehrizy

Tagged Divisions

International

. Tomake the decision, we did an international survey of computer science and engineeringcurriculums which is given in Table 1. The table includes the following: • The name of the universities • The country which they are located in • Whether they have a computer science or computer engineering departments • Whether a Robotics course is being taught in their computer science/engineering departments. • Whether a Project Course is being offered in their computer science/engineering departments. • The last column gives comments on different universities programsThis study shows that only a small percentage of programs in computer science/engineering havea course on Robotics in their undergraduate

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jahangir Ansari, Virginia State University; Yoon Kim, Virginia State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

acquisitiontechnology to be used for obtaining vibration characteristic of a bell shaped-structure.Experiment Setup and ProcedureThe system consisted of a Data Acquisition (DAQ) board installed on a PC, an accelerometer, animpulse hammer, and connection cables.LabVIEW 7.1 1 was used for experimental measurements of the first five natural frequencies andcorresponding mode shapes of a bell. The experimental modal parameters obtained by impacttesting are compared with corresponding results obtained by a finite-element analysis to verifythe accuracy of the experimental results.The experiment setup of impulse excitation for this study is illustrated in Figure 1. NationalInstruments’ LabVIEW 7.1 software and National Instruments’ PCI-4474 data aquisition board