Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Saeid Moslehpour, University of Hartford; Greg Cloutier, University of Hartford; Matthew Brown, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

methods for determining surface roughness have also beendeveloped. All of these methods operate under the principle that a reflection of a surface carriesinformation about that surface1. An example is shown in the figure. Figure 1 Reflected laserThere are many variations of using light to perform non-contact surface roughness measurement.One apparatus capable of accomplishing this has been developed by the EngineeringApplications Center at the University of Hartford. This design uses a solid state red laser toprovide a monochromatic collimated light source which is aimed perpendicularly to the surfacein question. The backscatter or diffuse reflection2 from the surface is reflected coaxially backtowards the

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurement: Innovative Courses

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gurinder Singh, Future Technology Devices International Ltd. (USA); Lakshmi Munukutla

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

at the Polytechnic campus and Future Technology DevicesInternational (FTDI) Ltd. are partnering to provide venues for both education and training classesfor ASU students and FTDI customers respectively. The classes will aim to provide adequateunderstanding of emerging technologies.1. IntroductionTraditionally connecting peripherals to PC required cumbersome process of setting jumpers,interrupt requests (IRQs), installing additional hardware and software. USB provides a fast, bi-directional, low-cost and dynamically attachable serial interface. The plug-n-play feature of USBand the support for different communication classes and speeds has led to growing popularity ofUSB to the extent that today USB is truly a universal connection

Conference Session

Contemporary Instrumentation Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Robertson, Arizona State University; Barbara Rampel, Arizona State University; James Edwards, Raytheon

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Page 13.672.2number of case studies were undertaken. They are drawn from the activities of acombined industry-academic team that oversees the scope, content and outcomes of aseries of industry short courses on instrumentation 1. The purpose of this paper is topresent the outcomes of three use-cases, to infer skills and techniques that need furtherdevelopment and to show how the conclusions are being used to shape the content andpriorities of a degree program.To answer the question posed in the title of the paper, measurement productivity hasincreased by many orders of magnitude over the past two decades. The effort to make ameasurement can now be assessed in units of “nano-engineers”. There have been fewdramatic breakthroughs but each new

Conference Session

Contemporary Instrumentation Poster Session

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mustafa Guvench, University of Southern Maine; Joshua Ward, Fairchild Semiconductor; Robert N. MacKinnon, Yarmouth Water District

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

forinterfacing, communication, data acquisition and control between a personal computer andthe test setup via the GPIB bus and the USB and serial ports. The LabView programwritten controls the injection time of the gas to be sensed, monitors the flow rate, measuresand controls the temperature of the chip and monitors and records the frequency of theelectro-mechanical oscillations generated in the MEMS resonator. The development of thetest system was done by a team of students as a part of their undergraduate senior designprojects in electrical engineering at USM.1. IntroductionThe project reported here comprises the design and development of a computer-controlled testsystem to measure and characterize the responses of MEMS-based resonant sensors to

Conference Session

Instrumentation Division Business Meeting

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kayode P. Ayodele, Obafemi Awolowo University; Olutola Jonah; Olusoji Ilori, Obafemi Awolowo University; E.O.B. ajayi, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; Oladipo O. Osasona, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

architecturesthat are suited to such low-bandwidth scenarios is the Batched version of the MIT iLabArchitecture 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The iLab Batched architecture is referred to as “iLab-B” in this paper todistinguish it from the iLab Interactive architecture. The iLab-B architecture separates thevarious parts of a VL in such a way that only a very small amount of data needed to configurethe remote system under test needs to go through the low-bandwidth uplink, while all other datalab-related activities are done locally. As a result, the MIT iLab-B architecture was an idealplatform upon which to base the development of a new Operational Amplifier virtual laboratory(“OpAmp Lab”) hosted at Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.II. Architecture OverviewOpAmp Lab

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas Dadds, USNA; Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, U.S. Department of Defense

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carlin Shaodong Song, USNA; Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, U.S. Department of Defense

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

is 1.30psi. Given this pressure range,we sourced for a pressure sensor available in our laboratory that was functional over asimilar range. A strain gage pressure sensor with a range of 0 – 13psi fit our needs best.This pressure sensor which requires a supply of 13 – 28VDC is internally conditioned togive an output range of 0 – 10 VDC. Page 13.579.2 Fig.2.1: Photo of Pressure Sensor. 1 Although this output range is large enough, the output will subsequently be attached to a signal conditioning circuit to improve the resolution of the sensor

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurement: Innovative Courses

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Marshall, University of Southern Maine

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

solvers and knowledgeable decisionmakers. “The activities of problem solving and decision making are closelyintertwined”,1 and both skills can effective be learned through project based capstonecourses. Industrial partnering has enabled the development of a state-of-the-art powerand automation curriculum and project based problem solving learning environment forour students and also for the communities beyond campus.The laboratory based problem solving learning environment is organized into clusters.These clusters are equipped with components such as computers, printers, programmablelogic controllers, sensors, pneumatic valves and actuators, mechanisms, rotary indextables, hydraulic cylinders, electric motors, and vibratory feeder bowls. In the

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Liping Guo, Northern Illinois University; Recayi 'Reg' Pecen

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

solutions to real needs 8-10.Students were expected to complete an extensive PLC design project based on the topicscovered in the PLC course11-12. The project involves a proposed problem and solutionwith programming of ladder logic program. The final project technical report format andprofessional class presentation include the following contents:1) A brief description and purpose of the project.2) Plans, literature search, illustrations, schematic drawings and simulations3) A written summary of the activities performed to complete the project4) A power point based professional presentation and discussion in the class5) Results, conclusions, and recommendations.The design project started with a project proposal. The project proposal explains

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Byron Newberry, Oklahoma Christian University of Science and Arts

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

herein demonstrates the link between the inertia properties and the dynamicresponse of the rigid body; in as much as the dynamic response can actually be used to determineunknown inertia. The project is part of a junior-level course entitled Experimental Mechanicstaught at Oklahoma Christian University. The course focuses on experimental investigationsdirectly related to the theory learned in Strength of Materials and Dynamics (both prerequisites tothis course).Project OverviewThe students are assigned the simple objective of determining the inertia properties of a rigid bodyanalytically, computationally, and experimentally. Figure 1 shows a typical rigid body sampleused within the course. Each sample is fabricated from wooden building blocks

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurement Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joshua Schwartz, Western Carolina University; Mequanint Moges, University of Houston; Xiaojing Yuan, University of Houston; Driss Benhaddou, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

applications in embedded control design providing both enhanced designrevision capability and component count saving for lesser board space and energy use.The technology behind PSoC includes three main components: the core, configurable analog anddigital blocks and the programmable routing and interconnect as shown in Figure 1. The core is abuilt-in microcontroller unit with flash memory and SRAM link to resources including internaland external crystal oscillator for clocking and sleep and watchdog timers. It also has MAC forfast multipliers and decimators for digital signal processing applications. For applications thatuse full speed USB interface, it has I2C functionality for implementing I2C slave or master. Thesecond component which includes the

Conference Session

Instrumentation in Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Asad Yousuf, Savannah State University; Yan Zeng, Savannah State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

passed through the emission filter. The pinhole in the imageplane blocks any fluorescence light not originating from the focal region. Afterwards, thelight is focused onto the detector, preferably a photomultiplier with single photonsensitivity. Future plan is to incorporate this research experience into our SummerUndergraduate Research Training Program (SURTP) for our students.IntroductionSpectroscopy (1) is originally the study of the interaction between radiation and matter asa function of wavelength. In fact, historically, spectroscopy referred to the use of visiblelight dispersed according to its wavelength. Later the concept was expanded greatly tocomprise any measurement of a quantity as function of either wavelength or

Conference Session

Instrumentation in Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jimmy DiTraglia, Middle Tennessee State University; Xiaojing Yuan, University of Houston; Mequanint Moges, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

the fourth section. Conclusion and future works is presented finally.Sensor Network TestbedOur sensor network consists of 17 MICAz motes manufactured by Crossbow Technology7.While the sixteen motes make up the sensor network, one mote is configured as a base station/gateway to receive data sent from the sixteen motes. We now briefly review the hardware andsoftware structure of these motes.HardwareThe MICA platform is based on a single central microcontroller that performs all the sensing,communication, and computation tasks. These motes use the ATmega 128L processormanufactured by Atmel8 as shown in figure 1. The RF module is composed of an RFMonolothics 916.50 MHz transceiver (TR1000). It can be externally controlled by a potentio-meter to

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Xiaojing Yuan, University of Houston; Heidar Malki, University of Houston; Gangbing Song, University of Houston; Consuelo Waight, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

campus serving under-represented student population. Within a month, wereceived a diverse set of applications from which eleven students were selected. Figure 1 showsthe distribution of gender and demographics of the applicants (left column) and participants(right column). Page 14.799.2 1 Figure 1 Demographic Distribution of Students Applicants and Participants.In order to accommodate eight students from outside of the Houston area, we contacted thehousing program at the University of Houston (UH) and arranged a 10-week stay for students inthe

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mysore Narayanan, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

, 2007 & 2008).Four Features of Learning:Scholars have identified four features that clearly separate a problem-based curriculumfrom a traditional, topic-based curriculum (Narayanan, 2007 & 2008). Page 14.255.2[http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/principles/learning.html] 1. Learning must be cumulative: The subject matter is not learned by the student in great depth at one long stretch. On the contrary, the topics are introduced gradually and repeatedly. Furthermore, the level of complexity of subject matter should increase with the progression of time. 2. Learning must be integrated: The subject matter is must not

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carmine Polito, Valparaiso University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

: Page 14.173.3 Figure 1: Cyclic Resistance Curve (after Mulilis, Chan and Seed1)1. Several cyclic triaxial tests are performed at different cyclic stress ratios (CSRs). The cyclic stress ratio is the ratio of the applied shearing stress to the effective confining stress. In a cyclic triaxial test, the applied shearing stress is one-half of the applied deviator stress. Therefore the cyclic stress ratio is simply the ratio of the applied deviator stress to twice the initial effective confining stress.2. The CSR applied in each test is then plotted against the number of cycles of deviator stress required to cause liquefaction in that test. This process is repeated for several cyclic stress ratios and a cyclic resistance

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Saleh Sbenaty, Middle Tennessee State University; Stan Mitchell, LogicForce Consulting, LLC; Hugh Berryman, Middle Tennessee State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

evidence iscollecting it in a way that does not alter it. Computer forensics involves the preservation,identification, extraction, and documentation of digital evidence in the form of magnetically,optically, or electronically stored media (J.P. Craiger 2005). Therefore, law enforcement agentsnowadays face a new challenge; they must be familiar with the proper procedures of seizing andsecuring digital evidence.1. Computer ForensicsComputer forensics may be defined as the retrieval and analysis of data from a seized computeror any other electronic media performed in such a manner that the results are reproducible byanother examiner who, by following the same steps, reaches the same conclusions. Computerforensics has also been described as an

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dale Litwhiler, Pennsylvania State University, Berks; Barbara Lombardi, Universidad Simón Bolívar

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

acarbon monoxide gas sensor. The TGS 5042 is also a carbon monoxide gas sensor.TGS 4161The TGS 4161 is a solid electrolyte CO2 sensor. The TGS 4161 has a range of carbon dioxidedetection of 350~10,000ppm. The CO2 sensitive element consists of a solid electrolyte formedbetween two electrodes, together with a printed heater (RuO2) substrate. By monitoring thechange in electromotive force (EMF) generated between the two electrodes, it is possible tomeasure CO2 gas concentration.2 Figure 1 shows a photograph and cutaway diagram of the TGS4161 sensor.The TGS 4161 was powered from the LabJack data acquisition unit that also measured its outputvoltage after being amplified by a gain of three to help improve resolution.2 Figure 2 shows thesensor and

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gurinder Singh, Future Technology Devices International Ltd. (USA); Lakshmi Munukutla, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

classroom USBproject is also explored in this paper. 1. IntroductionUniversal Serial Bus (USB) is an input/output port standard for computers and digital equipmentthat allows easy transfer of data at high speeds via a direct connection or cable. A USBconnection is always between a host or hub at the "A" connector end, and a device or hub'supstream port at the other end. Typically, personal computer implements the USB host controllerand has built-in hub to provide multiple USB ports. In embedded applications, a micro-controllerunit (MCU) with built-in host controller or a discrete USB host controller module is used toprovide connectivity for USB devices. In the application design presented in this paper VinculumHost Controller is used along with a

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kamala Mahanta, State University of New York, Oneonta

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

equipment on the grant for LG beamshave made this feasibility study a successful venture that leads to future possibilities worthpursuing. An educational outcome of this project has been undergraduate student research8and contribution to a DOE/NYNBIT summer camp organized by SUNY Institute ofTechnology on the foundations of nanotechnology for selected high school seniors andteachers10.IntroductionLimits of shrinking devicesThe serious limitations experienced in the miniaturization of devices with the current-switchparadigm of turning the current “on” and “off” giving binary digits 0 and 1 include theinability to turn the current on and off cleanly, needing longer time to charge the interconnectlines between devices, presence of large statistical

Conference Session

Novel Measurement Experiments

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amit Nimunkar, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Silas Bernardoni, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Tyler Lark, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Andrew Watchorn, National Instruments; John Webster, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Engineering curriculum as it teaches thestudent how to select appropriate devices for electronically measuring the biomedicalphenomena. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, two courses in bioinstrumentation areoffered on an annual basis. BME 310, Introduction to Biomedical Instrumentation is a required, Page 14.734.3core course in the undergraduate Biomedical Engineering program geared towards sophomorestudents, while BME/ECE 462, Medical Instrumentation is an advanced course intended forseniors and first-year graduate students 1-2. BME 310 is offered to around 40 students eachspring, while BME/ECE 462 is offered to around 20 students each fall

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gary Mullett, Springfield Technical Community College; Yakov Cherner, ATeL, LLC; Edward Bigos, Springfield Technical Community College; Ted Sussmann, Springfield Technical Community College

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

14.77.3health and safety. Applications are limitless!On a global level, the NSF has been calling this “grand convergence,” cyberinfrastructure. Onemay find many references to this concept, forecasts of potential future applications, reports on in-progress test projects such as HPWREN, NIMS, and ROADnet, and potential research fundingopportunities on the NSF’s Web site[1] . However, most of this current, enthusiastic attention andpromotion of cyberinfrastructure by the NSF is aimed at senior, graduate-level researchinstitutions. Not surprisingly, most of the NSF’s recent Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in thisarea have been targeted at basic research about wireless sensor networks and systems andapplications of these systems to infrastructure and

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurement Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angel Gonzalez-Lizardo, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico; Carlos Serrano-Salvat, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

CapabilitiesIntroductionPolytechnic University of Puerto Rico (PUPR) Plasma Engineering Laboratory (Figure 1)features a plasma machine built to study RF and microwave heating of steady-state plasmas.The Plasma Laboratory also features an interdisciplinary undergraduate research programsponsored by NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium, to give engineering and sci-ence students a first experience on experimental research. This program receives studentsof all branches of the engineering and sciences. Hence, many of those students are totallyuntrained in using measurement equipment. To study the confinement, stabilization, pro-duction losses, macro and micro instabilities, and other plasma phenomena, it is necessaryto diagnose the plasma density (n), electron temperature (Te

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mohamad Mustafa, Savannah State University; Rossmery Alva, Savannah State University; Asad Yousuf, Savannah State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Page 14.894.4numeric, string, Boolean, list, graph sub-palettes and etc. Function palette is used to buildblock diagram. Each option in the palette displays a subpalette of top-level icons. If thefunctions palette is not visible, you can open the palette by selecting Show FunctionsPalette from the windows menu. Functions palette may consist of structures, Boolean,numeric, string, file I/O, instrument drivers, select a VI, and etc11.Physical and Simulation ModelsThe physical model that is used in the summer undergraduate research project is themodel that is developed by PASCO Engineering in cooperation with Professor MattOhland at Clemson University. The model consists of: 1. Beam (1m long) with attachment screws for the force sensors. The

Conference Session

Instrumentation in Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, U.S. Department of Defense; Jeremy Joseph, United States Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

Tsunamis can be caused by meteors, underwater volcanoes, underwater landslides, andunderwater earthquakes [1]. Underwater earthquakes are the most frequent cause of tsunamis.During an underwater earthquake, a large amount of water is displaced and an enormous amountof energy is added by the motion of the tectonic plates. The energy must dissipate, so it travelsaway from the epicenter in all directions. In the deep ocean, the presence of a tsunami is notapparent. The sea level rises on the order of inches. As the tsunami approaches land, the depthof water decreases. This fact causes the massive amount of energy to push the water upward intoan enormous wall of water [1]. The speed of the tsunami decreases as it approaches land becausesome of the

Conference Session

Developing New Instrumentation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Akram Hossain, Purdue University, Calumet; Vijay Mahajan, Influx Software Solutions

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

protocol.Unlike wired network, where the signal interference is minimal, wireless network and morespecifically mesh networks are susceptible to a few external effects. Such as interference withother RF networks operating in same frequency band. Other limitations are: it can hold singlecommunication at a given time. This means that in a single radio ad hoc mesh network, the bestit can do is (½)n at each hop. So in a multi hop mesh network, the maximum available bandwidth(Bandwidth means rate of data transfer, throughput or bit rate, measured in bits per second)degrades at the rate of ½, ¼, ⅛. Thus by the time it makes four hops it degrades to 1/16 of the totalavailable bandwidth.2This WMN based data acquisition system we have developed, will provide

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurement Innovation

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Farid Farahmand; Leela Mohan Kesireddy, Central Connecticut State University; Mark Lynch, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

functionalities. Finally, students areasked to implement a design project using the provided tools.Table 1 lists the details of each class lecture as scheduled. Note that we introduced theexperiment in the middle of the semester, around the 6th week. As noted in the table, thefirst and second introductory lectures include a brief introduction to data acquisitionsystems and description of basic sensor technologies. In particular, we discuss theunderlying technologies in designing accelerometers and temperature sensors. Practicaltopics, such as analog-to-digital converters, sampling rate, and acquisition time were alsobriefly covered in these lectures. The third and forth lectures focused on introducing LabVIEW5 and its applications. Wecovered basic

Conference Session

Instrumentation and Measurements: Innovative Course Development

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Farrow, University of Tennessee-Martin

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

• Sampling rate theory and Fourier transform • Significant figures and rounding • Uncertainty Analysis • Strain gages and Wheatstone bridges • Transducers for mechanical measurement (position, velocity, acceleration, and force) • Analysis of variance (ANOVA)These are essentially chapters 1-5, 7, and 8 of Wheeler and Ganji, which are supplemented bythe lab experiences, which were developed by the author/instructor. Report writing isemphasized in the lab section, and report formatting and grading issues are discussed in a latersection of this paper.Course content delivery, student deliverables, and examsThe lecture portion of the course meets twice a week for 50 minutes, during which aconventional lecture is delivered which

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

El-Sayed Aziz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Sven Esche, Stevens Institute of Technology; Constantin Chassapis, Stevens Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

infeasible using the realequipment. For example, students use a real beam setup (see Figure 1), apply a sequence ofgiven forces at the free edge of the beam through a graphical user interface (GUI), and submitthe request to a Web server10,11,12. They then receive the experimental results delivered back tothe client side. Figure 1: Remote Beam ExperimentWith the development of the virtual laboratories described in this paper, the students furthermorehave the ability to change the beam dimensions, the beam material, and the location along thebeam axis or laterally besides the hole where the strain is to be determined. These parameterswere included into the simulation model, and their effects can thus be demonstrated with

Conference Session

Modern Software Measurement Techniques

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Neuman, Queensborough Community College; David Lieberman, Queensborough Community College; Don Engelberg, Queensborough Community College; Alex Flamholz, Queensborough Community College; Paul Marchese, Queensborough Community College; George Tremberger, Queensborough Community College; Tak Cheung, Queensborough Community College

Tagged Divisions

Instrumentation

well documented 1, 2, 3, 4 . Computation andprogramming for a lecture setting was also reported 5. Various independent projects usingLabVIEW were well documented in many publications 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. It is accepted that the useof LabVIEW is invaluable in general but is limited to hands-on intensive situations13. Ourexperience in using LabVIEW in our laser engineering technology program is consistent 14:LabVIEW’s virtual instrumentation and internet remote access features are not effective forhands-on intensive lab exercises.The teaching of introductory engineering physics lab exercises can be enhanced with LabVIEW.The virtual instrumentation and computational capabilities are incorporated into the laboratoryexercises. The virtual