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- All Subjects: Mathematical Modeling
- Creators: School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
- Creators: Chakraborty, Partha
- Resource Type: Text
This thesis details the design process of a variable gain amplifier (VGA) based circuit which maintains a consistent output power over a wide range of input power signals. This effect is achieved by using power detection circuitry to adjust the gain of the VGA based on the current input power so that it is amplifier to a set power level. The paper details the theory behind this solutions as well as the design process which includes both simulations and physical testing of the actual circuit. It also analyses results of these tests and gives suggestions as to what could be done to further improve the design. The VGA based constant output power solution was designed as a section of a larger circuit which was developed as part of a senior capstone project, which is also briefly described in the paper.
The honors thesis presented in this document describes an extension to an electrical engineering capstone project whose scope is to develop the receiver electronics for an RF interrogator. The RF interrogator functions by detecting the change in resonant frequency of (i.e, frequency of maximum backscatter from) a target resulting from an environmental input. The general idea of this honors project was to design three frequency selective surfaces that would act as surrogate backscattering or reflecting targets that each contains a distinct frequency response. Using 3-D electromagnetic simulation software, three surrogate targets exhibiting bandpass frequency responses at distinct frequencies were designed and presented in this thesis.
In this project we focus on COVID-19 in a university setting. Arizona State University has a very large population on the Tempe Campus. With the emergence of diseases such as COVID-19, it is very important to track how such a disease spreads within that type of community. This is vital for containment measures and the safety of everyone involved. We found in the literature several epidemiology models that utilize differential equations for tracking a spread of a disease. However, our goal is to provide a granular look at how disease may spread through contact in a classroom. This thesis models a single ASU classroom and tracks the spread of a disease. It is important to note that our variables and declarations are not aligned with COVID-19 or any other specific disease but are chosen to exemplify the impact of some key parameters on the epidemic size. We found that a smaller transmissibility alongside a more spread-out classroom of agents resulted in fewer infections overall. There are many extensions to this model that are needed in order to take what we have demonstrated and align those ideas with COVID-19 and it’s spread at ASU. However, this model successfully demonstrates a spread of disease through single-classroom interaction, which is the key component for any university campus disease transmission model.