Honors Projects for Engineering

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    An Evaluation of the Oahu Transportation Study Land Use Model
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Young, Steven ; Bauman, Richard ; Engineering
    The Oahu Transportation Study (OTS) Land Use Model occupies a central role in transportation planning for the island of Oahu. Developed by Ronald Graybeal of the Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, University of California, Berkeley, it has been used extensively since its completion in 1967 - from the initial Oahu Transportation Study to the recent Preliminary Engineering Evaluation Program (PEEP) of Honolulu's rapid transit project. Yet, the crucial question of whether or not the model works has never been answered. The model has never been validated. Although the process of validation is necessarily constrained by the availability of actual data to which the model can be checked, it was perhaps the attitude of acceptance in the model as a "black box" that was most responsible for the failure to even attempt validation of the model. This attitude is directly attributable to the lack of documentation of the model. Graybeal authored the only written description of the land use model in its entirety. In it he discussed the basic concept of the model and outlined the equation system of each of the model's submodels: Hotel, Residential, Commercial and Public/Industrial. However, as neither the functional form nor the coefficients of some of the equations are specified, it is at best an overview.
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    Detector Capabilities of On-Chip Graphene
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Hayashi, Cody ; Ordonez, Richard ; Engineering
    The discovery of graphene production in the past decade has sparked thousands of research projects—and for good reason. Graphene, or mono-layered carbon, possesses many unique characteristics that offer boundless potential. This research aims to develop a better understanding and characterization of graphene’s electrical properties. Graphene has zero bandgap, allowing for high carrier mobility and low noise. In addition, graphene exhibits effective photon-absorption qualities at low frequencies as shown below in Figure 1. These features open an endless array of possibilities for integrated circuits (IC) use. Therefore, in addition to developing a better understanding of graphene, this research aims to incorporate graphene in high sensitivity, low-frequency sensors. An IC that has been used to test the graphene was fabricated in the summer. The low-frequency detector consists of the IC integrated with graphene. The transfer of graphene onto the IC, as well as the testing of the detector device, has been completed over the past two semesters. The experiments thus far have proven graphene’s ability to be incorporated into a low-frequency detector.
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    A Distributed Wavelength Optical Narrow Band Interference Filter Integratable with Silocon: Designs for Performance Improvements
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Sze, Wah Wai ; Engineering
    A distributed wavelength optical narrow band interference filter integratable with silicon that give high, homogeneous transmission over the visible spectrum is designed as proposed by Dr. Holm-Kennedy. Filter designs are simulated in this report starting from the most fundamental design to an acceptable design step by step as proposed by Dr. Holm-Kennedy. The final design uses seven thin film layers altogether. For a maximum transmittance of about 50%, the wavelength bandwidth is 20 nm. For a maximum transmittance of about 70%, the bandwidth is 38nm. This design is versatile in that it can be used as it is at 50% maximum transmittance with excellent rejection. Or the disign can be significantly improved by adding additional layers.
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    An Audible Calculator
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Sumida, Stephen ; Engineering
    The design of an audible calculator is the topic of this paper. That is, a device which, when given an arithmetic expression via a keyboard, audibly echoes each entry and announces the answer. The basis for the calculator is provided by an Intel 8080 microprocessor controlling a cassette tape player. The calculator 'speaks' by having the microprocessor (and associated logic circuitry) select words from a pre-recorded vocabulary on cassette tape. This calculator turns out to be slightly impractical from the user's point of view. The reason for this is the low rate of feedback; in other words, it is not able to •talk' fast enough. A brief discussion of possible solutions to this problem and other possible improvements is presented.
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    The Feasibility of Low-Polluting and Non-Polluting Potential Power Sources for Passenger Vehicle Application in Hawaii... a Beginning
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Simmons, Thomas ; Engineering
    "The Feasibility of Low-Polluting and Non-Polluting Potential Power Sources for Passenger Vehicle Application In Hawaii... A Beginning" is just what the title implies, a beginning. t is to serve as a prelude to determining a solution to the problem of air pollution, to which automotive emissions are among the principal contributors.
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    Application of IC Implemented Phase-Locked Loop System to Recover Information from Noise
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Scott, Douglas ; Engineering
    This paper describes the design and operation of a practical IC implemented phase-locked loop system capable of indicating phase changes in a noisy slowly varying DC signal of period, T = 18 sec., by providing a logic compatible square or triangular wave output which is locked in phase with the input signal. The results of tests indicate that the practical PLL system performed satisfactorily under normal operating conditions. The extremely low average phase error of +5 degrees between the noisy input and the PLL output signals, which is well within the desired limit of +/- 10 degrees, indicates the high degree of accuracy made possible with the use of the highly stable IC implemented PLL design. This shows that a practical IC implemented phase-locked loop can be designed and used to accurately track and clean up a low frequency noisying input signal to recover information from noise.
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    Implementing a Spectrum Analyzer with the 2920 Analog Signal Processor on a Chip
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Sasaki, Galen ; Engineering
    A spectrum analyzer system that implement Intel Corporationa's 2920 Analog Signal Processor chip will be described. The 2920 is used as a spectrum calculator, where we define a spectrum calculator as a device that generated frequency spectrum data. This data is displayed via a microcomputer system, which houses the 2920. The frequency spectrum is plotted on either the microcomputer's terminal screen or on paper through a printer.
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    Digital Signal Processing - Realization of General Nth-Order Signal Processors
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Patel, Kirit ; Engineering
    In this paper, we acutally realize general Nth-order digital processors on two different types of computers. Both of the computers,. one an IBM 360/65 system of the Statistical and Computing Center and the other an HP 2114B (mini-) computer of the Electrical Engineering Department are at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
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    UHC-2, An Educational Micro-Computer
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Pang, Barry ; Engineering
    Contained in this thesis is a design for a parallel micro-computer of 64 word capacity, 8-bit/word, and with a repertoire of 11 basic in­ structions (ADD, STORE, BRANCH, PRINT, READ, STOP, CLEAR, COMPLEMENT, SHIFT RIGHT, and two SKIP instructions). The operations SUBTRACT, SHIFT LEFT and other SKIP instructions can be performed with subroutines. The computer is intended to be built by students using commercially availa­ ble logic modules which will permit a visual display of the UHC-2's in­ ternal functions during computation. The UHC-2 is composed of Control, Arithmetic, I/0, and Memory units. A detailed design for each section is included.
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    A Study of WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexed) Optical Ring Network Routing Algorithms
    (University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2014-01-15) Kwan, Mays ; Engineering
    Efficiency, speed, and bandwidth are very important in the design of networks. Network cables and equipment used in existing networks need to be continuously updated to meet increasing demands. WDM (wavelength division multiplexed) technology is capable of increasing the network efficiency by using existing optical fiber cables and replacing end network equipment. In the development and updating of optical networks network designers need to be concerned with how changes to the configuration affect the efficiency of the network. NetSimulator is a program developed to simulate WDM optical ring networks with various network parameters and routing algorithms. This tool takes the input network parameters, simulates the specified network, and gives the results of network performance. NetSimulator has a set of defined routing algorithms that allow the comparison of algorithms using no wavelength conversion vs. full/ limited wavelength conversion techniques and the use of tunable vs. fix-tuned transmitters in a network. This study will compare the results from Net Simulator to show what parameters and routing algorithms will yield the most efficient WDM optical ring network.