Student Works
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Research papers, presentations, projects, and other works by students at Virginia Tech. For dissertations, masters theses, and undergraduate theses, please see the Virginia Tech Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD) collection. Additionally, some student works are in Honors College collections.
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Browsing Student Works by Content Type "Master's project"
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- Academic programming for the high school student-athleteLeeson, Billy Lee (Virginia Tech, 1990-01-15)An athletic scholarship can assist the parents of high school student-athletes tremendously with the financial burden by allowing their children the opportunity to receive a college education. However, many parents and high school student-athletes find out too late that academics play a vital role in securing an athletic scholarship. The intended use of this Academic Programming Manual was designed to enlighten parents and high school student athletes in reaching their goals in obtaining an athletic scholarship and also understanding the importance academics play in the role of athletics.
- ACT++ 3.0: implementation of the actor model using POSIX threadsKhare, Arjun (Virginia Tech, 1994-07-15)The actor model provides a framework for writing concurrent programs. ACT ++ is an implementation of the actor model in C++, allowing concurrent programs to be written in an object-oriented style. In ACT++, each actor is an object possessing one or more independent threads of control. Version 2.0 of ACT ++ uses the PRESTO threads package. As PRESTO threads are available only for certain architectures and operating systems, its use does not meet one of the goals of ACT ++, namely portability among a variety of architectures. To facilitate portability, ACT++ 3.0 is written using the IEEE POSIX 1003.4a standard for threads (Pthreads). This project deals with the implementation of ACT++ 3.0, the testing of the implementation, and its performance.
- Actor systems platform design and implementation of the actor paradigm in a distributed object-oriented environmentJoshi, Nandan (Virginia Tech, 1993-08-05)This project was undertaken as part of an effort to explore the design of object -oriented systems that are distributed, concurrent, real-time and/or embedded in nature. This work seeks to integrate the concurrency features of the actor model in a distributed, object oriented environment, ESP. The integrated system, called the Actor Systems Platform (ASP), provides a platform for designing concurrent, distributed applications. The actor model provides a mechanism for expressing the inherent concurrency in an application. The concurrency in the application can be exploited by the distributed features available in ESP. The actor abstraction in ASP is provided by a application-level class hierarchy in ESP. The message passing semantics of the actor model are implemented by using special operator overloading in C++. Cboxes are implemented to provide a synchronization mechanism and a means of returning replies. In a concurrent system, simultaneous execution of an object's methods can cause its state to be inconsistent. This is prevented by providing a method locking mechanism using behavior sets. While integrating the concurrency features of the actor model in an object-oriented environment, differences were encountered in determining the invocation semantics of the actor model and those of inherited methods. The problem is investigated and a taxonomy of solutions is presented.
- Administration position description update for Virginia Tech athleticsEdwards, Angelique S. (Virginia Tech, 1994-06-17)The topic of this project is employee job descriptions within an athletic department. This project involves Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Athletic Department's top eight administrators. The job descriptions were reviewed and updated to ensure compliance with federal and state governments, university personnel office, and governing organizations. Since the ratification of Title VI many organizations have had to update their systems to comply with the Title VI legislation. In 1964, when Title VI of the Civil Rights Act was passed, many organizations found that they were not in compliance.
- An advanced system for quantifying the effects of radiological releases following a major nuclear accidentBurnfield, Daniel L. (Virginia Tech, 1994-04-15)Although the use of nuclear power has several advantages over the burning of fossil fuels, it has several disadvantages also. The inherent danger of a nuclear accident at a power plant is one of these disadvantages. Although the probability of an accident is very low in comparison to other risks we normally encounter, the consequences are significant. Thousands of local citizens could be exposed to radiation levels more than the normal background levels. It is the responsibility of the State to make the necessary decisions regarding the evacuation of its citizens. To make the best decision possible, it is necessary to obtain a large amount of information regarding the concentration of radionuclides being released and to quickly make projections of the exposure to ionizing radiation of the neighbors of the plant.
- Agroforestry opportunities and constraints in the Água de Gato Watershed, Santiago, Cape Verde IslandsDelgado, Orlando Jesus (Virginia Tech, 1996-08-23)The objectives of this study were to determine the opportunities, constraints, and willingness of the inhabitants and non-resident landowners to adopt a new land-use system in the Agua de Gato Watershed, to determine the degree of agroforestry technical support available to farmers in the watershed, and to determine suitable agroforestry systems which can be adapted to the watershed according to its biological and physical conditions. A random group of farmers of the Agua de Gato Watershed and a group of technicians working on the island of Santiago were interviewed in order to get individual and general information about the farms the and practice of agroforestry in the watershed. Only 56% of the technicians knew or had some knowledge about agroforestry, and the farmers think that they do not have enough technical support for better development of agriculture in the watershed. Although most of the farmers had a small piece of land, averaging 1.1 ha, most of them, 92%, were willing to adopt an agroforestry system as a new land use system for their farms.
- Aircraft carrier anti-air self defense system design and analysisDeligne, William J. (Virginia Tech, 1995-01-05)U.S. Navy ships are highly susceptible to the threat of high-speed cruise missiles. Aircraft carriers are no exception. These ships must be deployed with an effective anti-air self-defense system to ensure the survivability of the ship and enable it to meet its mission. Based on a predetermined threat scenario and various performance requirements, this report selects various radar and weapons systems from existing assets to form an integrated anti-air self-defense system. The report is broken down into two sections: concept design and preliminary design. Concept design consists of defining the requirements and establishing the basic combat systems functions necessary to perform anti-air self-defense. Also, a maintenance philosophy is discussed which will assist in defining the type of maintenance facilities required aboard ship. Preliminary design looks at the various assets available that would enable us to design a system that would meet the stated requirements. Preliminary design develops a topside arrangement consisting of the major sensors, missile systems, and gun systems as well as a below deck arrangement of the major command and control facility necessary to run the combat system. In preliminary design the integrated performance of the anti-air self-defense system is determined with respect to system coverage, kill probabilities, overall system reliability, and availability. The results of the report show that in order to meet the required kill probabilities a four-tier anti-air self-defense system is required consisting of standard missile, NATO seasparrow missile, rolling airframe missile and close-in weapon system (25mm gun system). The report also shows that in order to meet the overall system reliability and availability required to simultaneously engage and defeat high altitude missiles, low altitude missiles and conduct flight operations, four air surveillance radars are required: SPS-52 and SPS-49 for high altitude missile and TAS and SPS-67 for low altitude missiles.
- Airplane dynamic modeling and automatic flight control designWolfe, Douglas E. (Virginia Tech, 1990)This Systems Engineering project report discusses the design and implementation of automatic flight controls. The general airplane equations of motion are developed and used to calculate transfer functions for a Cessna 172 airplane. Automatic controllers were designed for four common autopilot modes (pitch control, altitude hold, roll control, and heading hold). Implementation of a flight control design was accomplished using single degree of freedom roll equations for a model airplane wing. The feedback compensation design was ground tested in a simulated wind tunnel and met performance requirements. All the elements of automatic flight control design are described in this report.
- AIvian: Birdwatching Android AppMolin, Brendan; Suddala, Suchith; Khan, Rehan; Bokhari, Rayaan; Pereira, Conrad; Majumdar, Aritra; Yang, Fan (2022-12-04)Our mobile application, AIvian, is a user-friendly application which leverages AI and provides the tools to allow any bird watchers, especially novice and casual users, to recognize and learn about birds in North America. In addition to providing guidance and information to beginners, the social networking aspects of our application will also connect users from a wide range of skill levels to enhance the bird watching experience through community participation and crowdsourcing.
- Algae control in bentgrass (Agrostis palustris) with DC5772 and ProfileMcBane, Scott J. (Virginia Tech, 1997)Despite efforts at both cultural and chemical control, the growth of surface algae in fine turf has become a problem for golf course managers nationwide. Most turfgrass management problems with algae occur during the summer when excess irrigation and warm temperatures are combined with high light intensities (2). When the population level is high, algae form a mat of dark green to black slime layer on the soil surface. This mat will cause problems with aesthetics, playability, and cultural conditions. Chemicals presently labeled to manage algae in turf do not meet acceptable control levels. Alkoxysilanes are used for the control of algal growth in water intended for domestic and industrial uses (3). This compound has also been found to exhibit algicidal activity while chemically bonded to a variety of substrates (1,3). This investigation was designed to test the hydrolysis product of an alkoxysilane compound, 3-(trimethoxysily)-propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride (Si-QAC), chemically bonded to a porous ceramic soil modifier, Profile™, to control algae in fine turf. Both field trials and laboratory experiments were conducted. The field experiments were set up at two locations and were rated visually. Four rates of Si-QAC (0.0%, 0.01%, 0.1%, 1.0% a.i.) dried to Profile™ were compared against two fungicides, Daconil Weather-Stik™ and Fore™, and two rates of Algaen-X™. Mist chamber experiments were also conducted in which experimentally treated Profile™, was inoculated with a suspension of algal cells. A chlorophyll analysis was performed as a means of quantifying the algae present in each treatment. Field research demonstrated the Profile™ treatments out performed the liquid fungicide treatments in controlling surface algae. However, there was little statistical separation between the Profile™ treatments indicating Profile™ alone may possess some degree of algae control. Mist chamber studies showed that amended Profile™ was able to delay the colonization of algae. It was also noted the 1.0% a.i. caused the Profile™ to become hydrophobic. Management practices which promote a dry soil surface coupled with a preventative fungicide/algicide program are the only means available to combat surface algae as long as environmental conditions favor their development. 1. Isquith, A.J., E.A. Abbott, and P.A.Walters. 1972. Surface-bonded antimicrobial activity of an organosilicon quaternary ammonium chloride. Applied Microbiology. 6:859-863. 2. Mets, S.P., and P.F. Colbaugh. 1995. Evaluation of Natural Products for Algicide Activity Using a Laboratory Bioassay. Texas Turfgrass Research Reports. 83-85. 3. Walters, P.A., E.A. Abbott, and A.J. Isquith. 1973. Algicidal activity of a surface bonded organosilicon quaternary ammonium chloride. Applied Microbiology. 2:253-256.
- Alternative methods of determining the orientation of a stellar cameraRae, Scott M. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1987)Stellar photography has found use in the calibration of mapping cameras and in determining the orientation of the stellar cameras serving as attitude sensors, e.g. the lunar mapping cameras on the NASA Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. The equations used to relate the image measurements to the attitude of the camera are the collinearity equations of photogrammetry. These require initial approximations to the unknown attitude angles and the use of an iterative Gaussian correction algorithm. Simpler methods are described which do not require initial approximations to the unknown angles. Two of the methods are modifications of the Church method of space resection and the third is based on the mathematical formulation of a rotation transformation about a single axis. The methods require only two images for a solution. Modifications are given for using the methods with aerial and terrestrial photographs when the camera position is known and two or more control points are imaged on a photograph.
- Aluminum Fatigue: A literature review covering its influence on engineering from design to end of serviceFarmer, Stephen M. (Virginia Tech, 2022-12-20)This article is an examination of the field of fatigue research on aluminum alloys. It covers the historical development of the field of fatigue from its creation in the 1830s to modern times. The remainder of the paper is a survey on aluminum fatigue and research that covers the entire span of the design process. This includes research into the effects of manufacturing methods on the fatigue of parts and alloys. This is followed by analysis on methods of monitoring fatigue damage while a system is in service including sensors, methods of inspection as well as structural health monitoring systems and how they contribute to the understanding of fatigue or the mitigation of its effects. Additionally, methods of maintenance and repair are examined with focus the mechanisms they exploit to retard crack propagation and extend the fatigue lifetime of the part or system. Overarching themes of analysis across all areas covered include the motivation of the research as to whether it is meant to advance the understanding of the mechanisms of fatigue or to compensate for the lack of understanding of these mechanisms.
- AMCROSS message traffic analysisWegner, Douglas Michael (Virginia Tech, 1996)The American Red Cross (ARC) provides many valuable services. One such service is to provide 24-hour emergency communications for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families worldwide. AMCROSS is the communications network supporting this service. AMCROSS is managed by EMERCOMM, a unit of the Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) branch of the ARC. Due to tightening Department of Defense budget constraints, subsidies received by AFES are shrinking. This situation deems it necessary to evaluate the existing operations for possible enhancing modifications. This project conducts performance analysis and system modeling to quantitatively understand important characteristics and patterns involving AMCROSS message flow. This understanding helps define an origin from which performance benchmarking and system improvement can evolve. The performance analysis quantitatively describes the message activity flowing in, out, and through the AMCROSS system, thus, establishing several viable message-handling metrics. The system modeling focuses on incoming telephone operating margins. The operating margins are determined with a mathematical model applying multi-channel queuing theory. The modeling results showed adequate telephone resources exist for current peak-hour conditions; however, increased caller traffic could leave customer service below acceptable standards. Model sensitivity analysis identifies potential cost savings for shortening the time required for an operator to receive a caller's message.
- Analysis and design of a triangular cross section truss for a highway bridgeDurfee, Robert Huntington (Virginia Tech, 1983-12-05)A review of the available literature on past and present uses and advantages of a triangular cross-section truss was made. A span length of 150 feet was selected for study of a truss to carry two-lane traffic over a 30-foot wide roadway. The structural analysis program TRUSS1, written by the author, was used for preliminary analysis of various truss configurations. Several primary bracing, sway bracing, and truss depth configurations were analyzed, and final selection for design was based on least weight criteria. The final design conformed to the AASHTO Bridge Specifications. The design dealt with member selection considering buckling and stress constraints, joint design, deflection critiera, bearings, and secondary stress considerations. The structural analysis program STRUDL was used to check the final design and verify the accuracy and results of the TRUSS1 program. The paper cited 80 references.
- Analysis and implementation of software reuse measurementTerry, Carol G. (Virginia Tech, 1993)Software reuse has been shown to increase quality and productivity [Card et al 86] [Browne et al 90] [Frakes 91] [Agresti and Evanco 92]. As researchers and development organizations begin to recognize the potential benefits of systematic reuse of software, formal measures of the amount of reuse in a given system or subsystem are needed. A formal measurement of software reuse will provide software developers and managers with the necessary data to track reuse progress. This project and report describe such a measurement of parts-based reuse, building upon the reuse level metric and the rl software tool as described by Frakes in [Frakes 90] and [Frakes 92]. This paper reviews the current research literature in the areas of software reuse and software reuse metrics. The reuse metrics proposed by Frakes are extended to include reuse frequency and a reuse complexity weighting. The metrics are formally defined. Results from extensive testing of rl are reported and correlated with program size. The enhancements made to the rl program include: Specification of the reuse frequency metric, An additional call graph abstraction for reuse measurement, Weighting of software components for complexity, Allowing the user to specify the number of uses of a software element which indicate reuse, And providing multiple choices for abstraction entities.
- Analysis and redesign of a library electronic reference areaSwain, Roy E. (Virginia Tech, 1991)The Electronic Reference Area (ERA) at the Virginia Tech Newman Library is analyzed from a systems engineering perspective. The ERA provides library users with access to computerized bibliographic indices to serial and other literature, and to a variety of self-contained statistical and full-text databases. Advances in hardware technology have outpaced those in software sophistication, resulting in widespread problems in usability and effectiveness. Even so, an ERA remains "a flagship or showpiece program for the entire library" (O’Leary, 1990b, p. 33). In Section II, the Newman ERA is thoroughly described and ERA usage and users are defined, partially on the basis of two surveys conducted as part of this project. The user task of information retrieval is described and a new, comprehensive model is presented. In Section III, 10 problem areas are identified; 7 are discussed in detail while 3 are mentioned briefly in Appendix B. For each of the seven main problem areas, an objective measure of performance is stated and evidence for the importance of the problem is presented based on the literature and on local investigations. In Section IV, 24 recommendations are presented in five groups: Expand the Network: Extent and Access, Improve the Facilities and Equipment, Adopt New Procedures for Selecting Vendors and Databases, Expand User Assistance and Training, and Manage the ERA Using Performance Objectives. In the concluding section, an optimistic vision is presented for the future of library automation. Appendix D contains a description of "AutoLibrary,” a prototype library user interface of the type that I hope will be part of that future.
- An analysis for total productive maintenance implementationOlafsson, Sveinn V. (Virginia Tech, 1990)This report constitutes an evaluation of the effectiveness and cost of a maintenance program for a discrete parts manufacturing company. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is an integrated life-cycle approach to factory maintenance operations introduced by the Japanese. The main objective is to study the concepts and techniques of TPM. Details are provided on applicability, the establishment of goals, and the steps involved in TPM implementation. It was determined that an early prerequisite for TPM implementation within the company, is the development of a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) for collecting and recording the appropriate data for TPM implementation. Therefore, a brief discussion of CMMS goals and techniques is also included.
- Analysis of cruise missile vulnerability within the context of the Systems Engineering ProcessWilk, Thomas M. (Virginia Tech, 1996)Anti-shipping cruise missiles are likely to pose a serious threat to U.S. Naval forces in any future conflict. In order to adequately defend their assets, the U.S. Navy needs to develop the means to defeat these systems. To do this, it needs to define and exploit any vulnerabilities associated with them. The Systems Engineering Process is used to define the vulnerability of a generic cruise missile system. Initially, the requirement for a vulnerability analysis is established. The functions associated with cruise missile systems are presented, to a level in which components are identified. Existing systems are then compared, providing a means in which a "typical" system can be identified. The failure modes for this system are then defined. Finally, a computer model of the missile is constructed and analyzed, leading to numeric values for the measures of vulnerability to fragmenting warheads.
- An analysis of database design transformations as applied to the Advanced Education Database SystemQuarles, April Michelle (Virginia Tech, 1993)This paper presents an analysis of a database design using three different database methodologies. The database system used as a case study for analysis is the Advanced Education Program Database System. This system is designed using the Formed-Based, Relational, and Object-Oriented approaches to database design. Once these different logical structural designs have been completed, the report presents a series of transformations that can occur between the different design methodologies. Several examples of the transformation techniques are provided to show the variances that exist in the converted designs. A summarization is then made as to the feasibility of using the various transformation techniques that exist.
- Analysis of decision maker preferencesBurkard, Anita M. (Virginia Tech, 1991-05-06)Decision making is required daily in our lives, whether it be selecting produce at the grocery store, deciding where to live or work, or designing a weapon system for military applications. Most decisions require the Decision Maker (OM) to examine multiple alternatives which most typically are defined by multiple, conflicting criteria. The objective is to select the alternative which minimizes the tradeoffs between attribute levels in order to determine which alternative is "best". This selection of "best" is based on the subjective viewpoint of the DM, that is, the DM's values and preferences directly influence his or her final alternative selection. A comprehensive analysis of the preferences of the OM in order to systematically structure a decision problem should invariably assist the OM in making the "best" choice from the list of available alternatives. This comprehensive analysis of decision maker preferences is the subject of this project/report.