Engineering Commons^™

Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers And Scientists Association (Oceesa) Report, Dec 2016., Yung-Tse Hung, Wen-Chi Ku, Lawrence K. Wang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association (OCEESA) report is 2016 Directory of Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association (OCEESA), Report number: OCEESA/JL-2016/33D1, December 2016, ISSN 1072 -7248. This report was prepared by Yung-Tse Hung, Permanent Executive Director, OCEESA. This report includes OCEESA contact information, list of OCEESA Directors, list of OCEESA past presidents, OCEESA membership data, constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (5 November 2000 edition), constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (14 February 2006 edition), constitutions and by laws of OCEESA (27 October 2013 edition), membership application form, letter from Wen-Chi Ku to confirm Yung-Tse Hung …

Response Of A Doublet To A Nearby Dc Electrode Of Uniform Potential, Christopher L. Wirth, Sri Harsha Nuthalapati

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

The electric-field-assisted directed assembly of spherical colloidal particles near an electrode has been studied for nearly three decades. Recently, focus has shifted to the electric-field-assisted assembly and propulsion of nonspherical (i.e., anisotropic) particles. This paper describes calculations and results for a doublet of asymmetric ζ potential and size responding to a dc electric field. The doublet experienced a net vertical force that depended on both the asymmetry in ζ potential and lobe size. In addition, the doublet experienced a net lateral force perpendicular to the applied electric field. The lateral force depended on the difference in ζ potential of the …

Human-Like Rewards To Train A Reinforcement Learning Controller For Planar Arm Movement, Kathleen M. Jagodnik, Philip S. Thomas, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Michael S. Branicky, Robert F. Kirsch

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

High-level spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans causes paralysis below the neck. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology applies electrical current to nerves and muscles to restore movement, and controllers for upper extremity FES neuroprostheses calculate stimulation patterns to produce desired arm movement. However, currently available FES controllers have yet to restore natural movements. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a reward-driven control technique; it can employ user-generated rewards, and human preferences can be used in training. To test this concept with FES, we conducted simulation experiments using computer-generated ``pseudohuman{''} rewards. Rewards with varying properties were used with an actor-critic RL controller for …

Google Flu Trends Spatial Variability Validated Against Emergency Department Influenza-Related Visits, Joseph Jeffrey Klembczyk, Mehdi Jalalpour, Scott Levin, Raynard E. Washington, Jesse M. Pines, Richard E. Rothman, Andrea Freyer Dugas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Influenza is a deadly and costly public health problem. Variations in its seasonal patterns cause dangerous surges in emergency department (ED) patient volume. Google Flu Trends (GFT) can provide faster influenza surveillance information than traditional CDC methods, potentially leading to improved public health preparedness. GFT has been found to correlate well with reported influenza and to improve influenza prediction models. However, previous validation studies have focused on isolated clinical locations.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to measure GFT surveillance effectiveness by correlating GFT with influenza-related ED visits in 19 US cities across seven influenza seasons, and to …

Methodological Considerations Of Electron Spin Resonance Spin Trapping Techniques For Measuring Reactive Oxygen Species Generated From Metal Oxide Nanomaterials, Min Sook Jeong, Kyeong-Nam Yu, Hyun Hoon Chung, Soo Jin Park, Ah Young Lee, Mi Ryoung Song, Myung-Haing Cho, Jun Sung Kim

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated on the surfaces of nanomaterials are important for understanding their toxicity and toxic mechanisms, which are in turn beneficial for manufacturing more biocompatible nanomaterials in many industrial fields. Electron spin resonance (ESR) is a useful tool for detecting ROS formation. However, using this technique without first considering the physicochemical properties of nanomaterials and proper conditions of the spin trapping agent (such as incubation time) may lead to misinterpretation of the resulting data. In this report, we suggest methodological considerations for ESR as pertains to magnetism, sample preparation and proper incubation …

Walking Simulator Mechanism, Titus Lungu, Igor Tachynskyy, Omri Tayyara

The Downtown Review

This paper presents the design, simulation, and kinematic evaluation of a mechanism aimed at simulating both the motion and ground reaction forces produced by a human foot while walking. Such a mechanism can be used to test the durability of shoes through life cycle analysis. In attempting to mimic the physical motion of the human foot as closely as possible, the forces experienced by the human foot were also accurately replicated through the incorporation of a non-stationary testing platform. As is shown in the paper, this testing environment allows for simple adjustments to be made in order to simulate different …

An Efficient Approach To Reliability-Based Topology Optimization For Continua Under Material Uncertainty, Mehdi Jalalpour, Mazdak Tootkaboni

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This contribution presents a computationally efficient method for reliability-based topology optimization for continuum domains under material properties uncertainty. Material Young’s modulus is assumed to be lognormally distributed and correlated within the domain. The computational efficiency is achieved through estimating the response statistics with stochastic perturbation of second order, using these statistics to fit an appropriate distribution that follows the empirical distribution of the response, and employing an efficient gradient-based optimizer. Two widely-studied topology optimization problems are examined and the changes in the optimized topology is discussed for various levels of target reliability and correlation strength. Accuracy of the proposed algorithm …

Sensitivity Of Neural Stem Cell Survival, Differentiation And Neurite Outgrowth Within 3d Hydrogels To Environmental Heavy Metals, Sameera Tasneem, Kurt Farrell, Moo Yeal Lee, Chandrasekhar R. Kothapalli

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. We investigated the sensitivity of embryonic murine neural stem cells exposed to 10 pM-10. μM concentrations of three heavy metals (Cd, Hg, Pb), continuously for 14 days within 3D collagen hydrogels. Critical endpoints for neurogenesis such as survival, differentiation and neurite outgrowth were assessed. Results suggest significant compromise in cell viability within the first four days at concentrations ≥10. nM, while lower concentrations induced a more delayed effect. Mercury and lead suppressed neural differentiation at as low as 10 pM concentration within 7 days, while all three metals inhibited neural and glial differentiation by day …

Advancing Concrete Strength Prediction Using Non-Destructive Testing: Development And Verification Of A Generalizable Model, Kamran Amini, Mehdi Jalalpour, Norbert Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Accurate prediction of concrete compressive strength is imperative for investigating the in-situ concrete quality. To avoid destructive testing, developing reliable predictive models for concrete compressive strength using nondestructive tests (NDTs) is an active area of research. However, many of the developed models are dependent on calibration and/or concrete past history (e.g. mixture proportion, curing history, concrete mechanical properties, etc.), which reduces their utility for in-situ predictions.

This paper develops predictive models for concrete compressive strength that are independent of concrete past history. To this end, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and rebound hammer (RH) tests were performed on 84 concrete cylindrical …

Jainism And Nonviolence: From Mahavira To Modern Times, Lana E. Sims

The Downtown Review

The research contained in this paper focuses on the religion of Jainism, its main principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence, and how that philosophy has evolved over the years, eventually inspiring today’s nonviolent movements. First, a look will be taken at the origin of Jainism, with a brief explanation of its most important principles and beliefs. Then, ahimsa is explained as it has been traditionally perceived by Jains. The recent evolution of the meaning of ahimsa and its impact on modern nonviolence movements is discussed, with a focus on the influence of second-generation Jains in the United States on the …

How Much A Quarter Cost: Allegory Of A Coin And Other Stories, Grant C. Gallo

The Downtown Review

The philosophical theories of Baruch Spinoza and George Berkley were described, compared, and contrasted. Various examples and metaphors were used to help fully illustrate their respective metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical positions. The relevance of their theories to current philosophical discourse was discussed; showing that even in today’s technologically advanced society, seemingly antiquated ideas may still provide useful knowledge. In the end, Spinoza and Berkley’s apparently conflicting paradigms are rectified through a multiplexual, relativistic lens.

Cascade Control Of A Hydraulic Prosthetic Knee, Xin Hui

ETD Archive

A leg prosthesis test robot with hydraulic knee actuator is modeled and tested with closed loop control simulation. A cascade control architecture is designed for the system, the outer loop is controlled by a robust passivity-based controller (RPBC) and the inner loop is controlled by an optimization method. The control algorithm provides knee angle tracking with an RMS error of 0.07 degrees. The research contributes to the field of prosthetics by showing that it is possible to find effective closed loop control algorithm for a newly proposed hydraulic knee prosthesis. The simulations demonstrate the efficiency of RPBC's ability to control …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Multifunctional Nanoparticles Of Elastin-Like Polypeptides For Theranostic Applications, James T. Cole

ETD Archive

Theranostics is a promising field that aims to combine therapeutics and diagnostics into single multifunctional formulations. This field is driven by advancements in nanotechnology and specifically in the creation of multifunctional nanoparticles capable of providing the necessary functionalities. Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) are a class of environmentally responsive biopolymers that are known to undergo a transition in response to various stimuli. The organic nature of ELPs along with the ability to control their design at the gene level and the aforementioned responsive behavior make them a promising candidate for use in theranostic systems. The system presented here is one of the …

Development Of Robust Control Techniques Towards Damage Identification, Ryan J. Madden

ETD Archive

Robust control techniques have enabled engineers to create uncertain models which are able to describe any differences between the model and experimental system with uncertainties defined as a combination of exogenous inputs and plant perturbations. Subsequently, robust model validation techniques arose to provide a guarantee that the uncertain model is able to recreate all observed experimental data. As a result, the complete model set is robust to any model inaccuracies or external noise. At the same time, the technique of model-based identification was developed in the robust control framework to identify the dynamics resulting from unmodeled or under-modeled components in …

Pure And Binary Adsorption Of Methane And Nitrogen On Silicalite, Prahar S. Vaidya

ETD Archive

Separation processes comprise a large portion of the activity in the chemical and petrochemical industries. For the chemical, petroleum refining, and materials processing industries as a group, separation processes are considered to be critical. Almost all the applications of chemical industries involves mixtures, so innovation in separation technology not only enhances productivity and global competitiveness of U.S. industries, but is also critical for achieving the industrial energy and waste reduction goals. Traditionally, air separation to produce nitrogen and oxygen and to separate nitrogen from methane was practiced by cryogenic distillation, which involved expensive high pressure units and large requirement of …

Decitabine-Loaded Nanogel Treatment To Reverse Cancer Drug Resistance, Samantha A. Cramer

ETD Archive

Cancers in which epigenetic changes, such as hypermethylation of DNA, lead to drug resistance cause the cancer to become unresponsive to existing chemotherapeutic treatments. The epigenetic drug – 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (decitabine, DAC) – is a potent hypomethylating agent, but its effect is transient due to its instability. Previous studies have shown that loading DAC into nanogel significantly enhances its antiproliferative effect (compared to DAC in solution) in drug-resistant breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ADR). Further, the previous studies demonstrated changes in the membrane lipid profile of resistant cells following treatment with DAC either as solution or in nanogels. The objective of the present …

Intelligent Voice Activated Home Automation (Iva), Mrunal Dipakkumar Bhatt

ETD Archive

This thesis presents the design of an original Intelligent Home Automation Architecture. My work was divided in two phases. The first portion was dedicated to acquiring a thorough understanding of the most successful and diffused Home-Automation commercial architectures. During this phase, I intended to gain a deep appreciation for the variety of organizations, capabilities, limitations, and potential areas of growth of the existing Home-Automation leading systems. In order to acquire this knowledge, I had to use a reverse engineering approach. The reason for using this methodology arises from the fact that all the products considered in this study are commercially …

Experimental Investigation Of Turbulent Flow Induced By New-Generation Wind Fences With Multi-Scale Fractal Structure, Sarah M. Mcclure

ETD Archive

Understanding and controlling atmospheric boundary-layer flows with engineered structures, such as porous wind fences or windbreaks, has been of great interest to the fluid mechanics and wind engineering community. Previous studies found that the regular mono-scale grid fence of 50% porosity and a bottom gap of 10% of the fence height are considered to be optimal over a flat surface. Significant differences in turbulent flow structure have recently been noted behind multi-scale fractal wind fences, even with the same porosity. In this study, wind-tunnel tests on the turbulent flow and the turbulence kinetic energy transport of 1D and 2D multi-scale …

Assembly Level Clock Glitch Insertion Into An Xmega Mcu, Nigamantha Gopala Chakravarthi

ETD Archive

This thesis proposes clock-glitch fault injection technique to inject glitches into the clock signal running in a microcontroller unit and studying its effects on different assembly level instructions. It focusses mainly on the effect of clock glitches over the execution, sub-execution and pre-execution cycles of the test instructions and also finds the delay between the actual position of glitch insertion and the trigger being set for the glitch insertion. The instructions used in this work are provided by Atmel which classifies them according to their type of operation. These instructions are here further grouped depending on the number of clock …

State Estimation Of Glucose And Insulin Dynamics, Morgan Nicholas Miller

ETD Archive

Process simulation and state estimation have very important applications in chemical engineering as well as the biomedical field. Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease in the United States with 29 million people already diagnosed. The estimation of glucose and insulin concentration in patients is necessary in order to effectively treat diabetes. The Bergman Minimal Model is a popular process model that is used to simulate glucose and insulin dynamics. A simulation of this model was created based on estimated parameters for the model from historical data. This thesis investigated the estimation of glucose concentration, insulin concentration, and effect of active …

Field Observation Of Installation And Performance Of Repair Materials, Larisa Diana Susinskas

ETD Archive

The state of Ohio is in a region that commonly experiences drastic changes in weather. States with similar climates are susceptible to pavement cracking and failures due to the frequent or extreme freeze-thaw cycles. Freeze-thaw cycles, paired with de-icing chemicals that are frequently placed on roadways during the winter months will most likely lead to pavement cracks and failure. Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) routinely repairs and replaces sections of concrete roadways and bridge decks. Therefore, ODOT is seeking durable, cost-effective materials to repair smaller pavement failures.

The purpose of this study is to determine which high performance repair materials …

Specification Recommendation For Use Of High Performance Repair Material, Jennifer Woods

ETD Archive

The State of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) have sought out ways to extend the life of the repair materials used by their construction crews, specifically, using high performance repair materials for the purposes of patching worn down or cracked sections of highways and bridge decks. Ohio is known for its frequent changes in weather, with freeze-thaw cycles occurring multiple times throughout the year. These cycles affect the lifespan of the repair material and create more maintenance for the DOT. Products that combat this problem were chosen, installed and examined over a year period to determine which …

Effects Of Digestate, Magnesium Sulfate, And Dipotassium Hydrogen Phosphate/Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate On Microalga, Scenedesmus Dimorphus, Zhuohui Joe He

ETD Archive

Digestate (D), the remaining substance after anaerobic digestion of a biodegradable feedstock, is rich in inorganic contents, which makes it a good candidate for growing algae for biofuel production. Previous studies showed digestate at around 1.25% to 1.75% (v/v) dilution is suitable for algae growth. In this study, magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate/potassium dihydrogen phosphate (K-P) were added to diluted digestate growth media. Two sets of experiments were conducted in batch reactor mode to identify the digestate (D), magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate/potassium dihydrogen phosphate (K-P) concentrations that would optimize the algae growth. Algae growth parameters, …

The Response Of An Ellipsoidal Colloid Particle In An Ac Field, Cornelius Adebowale Obasanjo

ETD Archive

The quest for new smart materials with engineered properties and desired functionalities has driven scientists into the domain of nanotechnology over the past 30 years. Particles with anisotropic properties as a result of their geometry, chemical patterning or surface functionality have been envisioned as building blocks for advanced materials. By tuning the anisotropic interactions engendered by anisotropic particles, one potentially could manipulate the dynamic pathways for assembly.

The work described in this thesis considers the response of an ellipsoidal colloid particle to a nearby AC electrode polarized at ~0.1 – 4 kV/m and ~0.1 – 3 kHz. The ellipsoidal particle, …

The Behavior Of Simply Supported Plates Under Extreme Shear Loading, Mhd Ammar Hafez

ETD Archive

Steel plates are planar structural elements with one dimension significantly smaller than the others. These elements may fail due to either material yielding or buckling. Buckling is a sudden failure mode, which is not desirable in structural engineering applications. Buckling is called an “elastic buckling” when it happens before material yielding, and is termed as “plastic buckling” if it happens after material yielding. The focus of this thesis is on shear plates, which are plates that are primarily subjected to shear loads. Several studies were conducted to increase the elastic buckling capacity of plates by adding stiffeners to plates. However, …

A Simulation And Experimental Study Of Active Disturbance Rejection For Industrial Pressure Control, Xiaoxu Li

ETD Archive

The quality of control loop is very important in hydraulic machineries, where pressure must be accurately regulated in the presence of various disturbances. Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control has dominated the industry for a long time and it is by far the most popular general purpose controller for pressure control. The purpose of this study is to conduct a simulation and experimental study comparing PID with an emerging new technology, namely active disturbance rejection control (ADRC). For the purpose of this study, an experimental testbed similar to those used in industry settings is used; its mathematic model is derived and used in …

Characterization Of Performance Of A 3d Printed Stirling Engine Through Analysis And Test, Julie Vodhanel

ETD Archive

This thesis involves the fusion of two technologies, Stirling engines and additive
manufacturing. The project began by building a Stirling engine primarily out of 3D printed parts. Methods to measure the power output were designed and built with a combination of 3D printed and off the shelf parts. The Stirling engine was tested to see if there was a correlation to analysis results, and a regenerator was installed to determine the effect on performance for this relatively low temperature engine. Finally, variations in test operation and the use of heat sinks were used to find a combination that will allow …

Design And Production Of A Hydrogel Forming Polypeptide: Engaging High School Students In Protein Design, James K. Deyling

ETD Archive

Bioinks are a class of hydrogel that have the potential to be the ink used in the creation of printed organs, connective tissue, and other important structures within the body. One class of material that may be a suitable bioink hydrogel is elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs), which are synthetic biopolymers inspired by the naturally existing connective tissue elastin. ELPs consist of a repeat pentapeptide sequence (GXGVP)n, where X is any of the 20 naturally existing amino acids other than proline. These biomolecules are capable of exhibiting environmental responsiveness when exposed to certain stimulus such as salt concentration, temperature, and pH, depending …

Designing Genes That Encode Proteins For Biomedical Applications, Isaiah Traben

Undergraduate Research Posters 2016

DNA is a crucial component of all known life. It encodes in genes the structure of the proteins necessary to perform many of the functions in a cell. Proteins are biological polymers consisting of a chain of amino acids. The specific sequence of the amino acids determines the structure and therefore function of the protein. The sequence of the amino acids of a protein is coded in DNA via triplets of the nucleotide bases known as codons, which each can represent only one amino acid. However, an amino acid can be represented by more than one codon, so there are …

Computing Human Arm Stiffness For The Purpose Of Robotic Simulation, Nicholas Gehler, Philip Sesco

Undergraduate Research Posters 2016

To replace a human during experiments, we've calculated the endpoint stiffness of a human arm to be simulated on a robot. The model used to calculate arm stiffness includes gravitational, short-range muscle, and muscle force-moment arm stiffnesses. The parameters of this model were estimated using data from the open source musculoskeletal MATLAB model, Dynamic Arm Simulator. The model will be used by a Barrett Proficio robot to simulate the stiffness of a human arm. The purpose of this human arm simulation is for experimentation during the development of a force sensing feedback system for functional electrical stimulation (FES). A robot …