Engineering Commons^™

An Overview Of Bidirectional Electric Vehicles Charging System As A Vehicle To Anything (V2x) Under Cyber–Physical Power System (Cpps), Onur Elma, Umit Cali, Murat Kuzlu

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Nowadays, EVs are rapidly increasing in popularity, and are accepted as the vehicles of the future all over the world. The most important components are their battery and charging systems. The energy capacity of EVs’ batteries has a significant potential to supply different energy requirements. Therefore, EVs must be designed in accordance with bidirectional power flow, and Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) should be upgraded as Electric Vehicle Power Exchange Equipment (EVPE). This power exchange infrastructure can be called Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X). V2X will also be the key solution for energy grids of the future that will turn into a much …

Modification Of The Tumor Microenvironment Enhances Anti-Pd-1 Immunotherapy In Metastatic Melanoma, Guilan Shi, Megan Scott, Cathryn G. Mangiamele, Richard Heller

Bioelectrics Publications

Resistance to checkpoint-blockade treatments is a challenge in the clinic. Both primary and acquired resistance have become major obstacles, greatly limiting the long-lasting effects and wide application of blockade therapy. Many patients with metastatic melanoma eventually require further therapy. The absence of T-cell infiltration to the tumor site is a well-accepted contributor limiting immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy. In this study, we combined intratumoral injection of plasmid IL-12 with electrotransfer and anti-PD-1 in metastatic B16F10 melanoma tumor model to increase tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and improve therapeutic efficacy. We showed that effective anti-tumor responses required a subset of tumor-infiltrating CD8⁺ and CD4 …

Applications Of Blockchain In Business Processes: A Comprehensive Review, Wattana Viriyasitavat, Li Xu, Dusit Niyato, Zhuming Bi, Danupol Hoonsopon

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Blockchain (BC), as an emerging technology, is revolutionizing Business Process Management (BPM) in multiple ways. The main adoption is to serve as a trusted infrastructure to guarantee the trust of collaborations among multiple partners in trustless environments. Especially, BC enables trust of information by using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). With the power of smart contracts, BC enforces the obligations of counterparties that transact in a business process (BP) by programming the contracts as transactions. This paper aims to study the state-of-the-art of BC technologies by (1) exploring its applications in BPM with the focus on how BC provides the trust …

Using Strategic Options Development And Analysis (Soda) To Understand The Simulation Accessibility Problem, Andrew J. Collins, Ying Thaviphoke, Antuela A. Tako

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Simulation modelling is applied to a wide range of problems, including defense and healthcare. However, there is a concern within the simulation community that there is a limited use and implementation of simulation studies in practice. This suggests that despite its benefits, simulation may not be reaching its potential in making a real-world impact. The main reason for this could be that simulation tools are not widely accessible in industry. In this paper, we investigate the issues that affect simulation modelling accessibility through a workshop with simulation practitioners. We use Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA), a problem-structuring approach that …

Monocular Camera Viewpoint-Invariant Vehicular Traffic Segmentation And Classification Utilizing Small Datasets, Amr Yousef, Jeff Flora, Khan Iftekharuddin

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The work presented here develops a computer vision framework that is view angle independent for vehicle segmentation and classification from roadway traffic systems installed by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). An automated technique for extracting a region of interest is discussed to speed up the processing. The VDOT traffic videos are analyzed for vehicle segmentation using an improved robust low-rank matrix decomposition technique. It presents a new and effective thresholding method that improves segmentation accuracy and simultaneously speeds up the segmentation processing. Size and shape physical descriptors from morphological properties and textural features from the Histogram of Oriented Gradients …

A Comparative Performance Analysis Of The Novel Turboaux Engine With A Turbojet Engine, And A Low-Bypass Ratio Turbofan Engine With An Afterburner, Kaleab Fetahi, Sharanabasaweshwara A. Asundi, Arthur C. Taylor

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Presented herein is a comparative performance analysis of a novel turbofan engine with an auxiliary combustion chamber, nicknamed the TurboAux engine, against a turbojet engine, and a low bypass ratio turbofan engine with an afterburner is presented. The TurboAux engine is an adaption of the low-bypass ratio turbofan engine, but with secondary combustion in an auxiliary bypass annular combustion chamber for thrust augmentation. The TurboAux engine is envisioned with the desire to facilitate clean secondary burning of fuel at temperatures higher than in the main combustion chamber with air exiting the low-pressure compressor. The comparative study starts by analyzing the …

Emergence Of A Norm From Resistance: Using Simulation To Explore The Macro Implications Of Social Identity Theory, Khadijeh Salimi, Jesse T. Richman, Regina Karp, George P. Richardson, David Anderson

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

We usually hope that social norms discourage injustice. However, we are all witnesses to harmful norms enforced by governments, such as xenophobia, which need to be contested and changed. Previous studies have concluded that it is possible to change a harmful norm through contestation by powerless actors if suitable structural conditions exist. However, these structural conditions have not been sufficiently studied and, as such, are the focus of this paper. Our paper begins with a review of well-established micro-level theories of social identity theory (SIT), recast as a set of 42 discrete theoretical statements. These statements are then re-expressed in …

Undergraduate Engineering And Education Students Reflect On Their Interdisciplinary Teamwork Experiences Following Transition To Virtual Instruction Caused By Covid-19, Kristie S. Gutierrez, Jennifer J. Kidd, Min Jung Lee, Pilar Pazos, Krishnanand Kaipa, Stacie I. Ringleb, Orlando Ayala

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study explores undergraduate engineering and education students’ perspectives on their interdisciplinary teams throughout the rapid transition to online learning and instruction from a face-to-face to a virtual format. In this qualitative study, students’ reflections and focus groups from three interdisciplinary collaborations were analyzed using the lens of Social Cognitive Theory. COVID-19 created a dramatic change in the environment such that the most immediate and direct impact on students’ experiences was on the environmental aspects of Bandura’s triadic reciprocal determinism model, which then triggered behavioral and personal responses to adapt to the new environment. Subsequent evidence of reciprocal effects between …

Influence Of Defects On In-Plane Dynamic Properties Of Hexagonal Ligament Chiral Structures, Ning An, Xunwen Su, Dongmei Zhu, Mileta M. Tomovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Although the six-ligament chiral structure has many unique properties, due to its special structure, the stress concentration is prone to defects. In addition, additive manufacturing is also prone to defects. This paper studies the effect of defects, which is helpful for the better application of the six-ligament chiral structure. Several new six-ligament chiral structures with random and concentrated defects were designed to explore the effects of the defects on the in-plane dynamic properties. The structures were studied with the finite element ANSYS/LSDYNA numerical simulation and experimental methods. According to the defect-free six-ligament chiral structures exhibiting different deformation modes at different …

Compound Flooding In Convergent Estuaries: Insights From An Analytical Model, Ramin Familkhalili, Stefan Talke, David A. Jay

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We investigate here the effects of geometric properties (channel depth and cross-sectional convergence length), storm surge characteristics, friction, and river flow on the spatial and temporal variability of compound flooding along an idealized, meso-tidal coastal-plain estuary. An analytical model is developed that includes exponentially convergent geometry, tidal forcing, constant river flow, and a representation of storm surge as a combination of two sinusoidal waves. Nonlinear bed friction is treated using Chebyshev polynomials and trigonometric functions, and a multi-segment approach is used to increase accuracy. Model results show that river discharge increases the damping of surge amplitudes in an estuary, while …

Smart Manufacturing—Theories, Methods, And Applications, Zhuming Bi, Lida Xu, Puren Ouyang

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Smart manufacturing (SM) distinguishes itself from other system paradigms by introducing ‘smartness’ as a measure to a manufacturing system; however, researchers in different domains have different expectations of system smartness from their own perspectives. In this Special Issue (SI), SM refers to a system paradigm where digital technologies are deployed to enhance system smartness by (1) empowering physical resources in production, (2) utilizing virtual and dynamic assets over the internet to expand system capabilities, (3) supporting data-driven decision making at all domains and levels of businesses, or (4) reconfiguring systems to adapt changes and uncertainties in dynamic environments. …

Integrating Plcs With Robot Motion Control In Engineering Capstone Courses, Sanjeevi Chitikeshi, Shirshak K. Dhali, Vukica Jovanovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Robotic motion control methods and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are critical in engineering automation and process control applications. In most manufacturing and automation processes, robots are used for moving parts and are controlled by industrial PLCs. Proper integration of external I/O devices, sensors and actuating motors with PLC input and output cards is very important to run the process smoothly without any faults and/or safety concerns. Most traditional electrical and computer engineering (ECE) programs offer high level of motion theory and controls but little hands-on exposure to PLCs which are the main industrial controllers. This paper provides a framework for …

Construction Industry Cluster: An Investigation Of Its Existence In Pakistan, Muhammad Yanzar Sarim

2022 REYES Proceedings

Introduction: Clusters can be defined as a geographical concentration of industries and institutes that are unified and interconnected. These industries and institutes are not just physically close to each other but also gain some advantage from being near to each other.

Electrical Equipment Industry Cluster, Pragati Gautam

2022 REYES Proceedings

The growing collaboration between two or more industries in a specific region in which they work in a symbiotic relationship, providing benefits to each other and contributing in the overall development of the region, is what is popularly known as business clusters. Even though this concept is commonly known and implemented in the West, South Asian economies are unfamiliar with the advantages of this unique business strategy. There are, undeniably, many potential business clusters in these developing countries, which if tapped efficiently, could result into an industrial boom.

This research focuses on investigating the existence of a business cluster in …

Measuring The Rol Of Digital Engineering: It's A Journey, Not A Number, Tom Mcdermott, Kaitlin Henderson, Eileen Van Aken, Alejandro Salado, Joseph Bradley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Systems engineering as a discipline has long had difficulty providing quantifiable evidence of its value (Honour 2004); DE transformation provides an opportunity to better measure its value. Transitioning from a document-based to a model-based approach is expensive, and organizations want to know if the effort and cost to adopt MBSE is worth it.

Design And Commissioning Of An E-Beam Irradiation Beamline At The Upgraded Injector Test Facility At Jefferson Lab, Xi Li, Helmut Baumgart, Charles Bott, Gianluigi Ciovati, Shaun Gregory, Fay Hannon, Mike Mccaughan, Robert Pearce, Matthew Poelker, Hannes Vennekate, Shaoheng Wang

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab is a continuous-wave superconducting linear accelerator capable of providing an electron beam with energy up to 10 MeV. A beamline for electron-beam irradiation has been designed, installed and successfully commissioned at this facility, aimed at the degradation study of 1,4-dioxane and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater treatment. A solenoid with a peak axial magnetic field of up to 0.28 T and a set of raster coils were used to obtain a Gaussian beam profile with a transverse standard deviation of ∼15.0 mm at the target location. Monte-Carlo simulations using …

Runtime Energy Savings Based On Machine Learning Models For Multicore Applications, Vaibhav Sundriyal, Masha Sosonkina

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

To improve the power consumption of parallel applications at the runtime, modern processors provide frequency scaling and power limiting capabilities. In this work, a runtime strategy is proposed to maximize energy savings under a given performance degradation. Machine learning techniques were utilized to develop performance models which would provide accurate performance prediction with change in operating core-uncore frequency. Experiments, performed on a node (28 cores) of a modern computing platform showed significant energy savings of as much as 26% with performance degradation of as low as 5% under the proposed strategy compared with the execution in the unlimited power case.

Cu And Ni Co-Sputtered Heteroatomic Thin Film For Enhanced Nonenzymatic Glucose Detection, Brianna Barbee, Baleeswaraiah Muchharla, Adetayo Adedeji, Abdennaceur Karoui, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Aboubakr M. Abdullah4, Gymama Slaughter, Bijandra Kumar

Bioelectrics Publications

In this work, we report a wafer-scale and chemical-free fabrication of nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) heteroatomic Cu–Ni thin films using RF magnetron sputtering technique for non-enzymatic glucose sensing application. The as-prepared wafer-scale Cu–Ni thin films exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation with a 1.86 μM detection limit in the range of 0.01 mM to 20 mM range. The Cu–Ni film shows 1.3- and 5.4-times higher glucose oxidation activity in comparison to the Cu and Ni electrodes, respectively. The improved electrocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect of the bimetallic catalyst and high density of grain boundaries. The …

Foundations Of Plasmas For Medical Applications, T. Von Woedtke, Mounir Laroussi, M. Gherardi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Plasma medicine refers to the application of nonequilibrium plasmas at approximately body temperature, for therapeutic purposes. Nonequilibrium plasmas are weakly ionized gases which contain charged and neutral species and electric fields, and emit radiation, particularly in the visible and ultraviolet range. Medically-relevant cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) sources and devices are usually dielectric barrier discharges and nonequilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jets. Plasma diagnostic methods and modelling approaches are used to characterize the densities and fluxes of active plasma species and their interaction with surrounding matter. In addition to the direct application of plasma onto living tissue, the treatment of liquids …

Understanding The Mechanism Of Deep Learning Frameworks In Lesion Detection For Pathological Images With Breast Cancer, Wei-Wen Hsu, Chung-Hao Chen, Chang Hao, Yu-Ling Hou, Xiang Gao, Yun Shao, Xueli Zhang, Jingjing Wang, Tao He, Yanhong Tai

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

With the advances of scanning sensors and deep learning algorithms, computational pathology has drawn much attention in recent years and started to play an important role in the clinical workflow. Computer-aided detection (CADe) systems have been developed to assist pathologists in slide assessment, increasing diagnosis efficiency and reducing misdetections. In this study, we conducted four experiments to demonstrate that the features learned by deep learning models are interpretable from a pathological perspective. In addition, classifiers such as the support vector machine (SVM) and random forests (RF) were used in experiments to replace the fully connected layers and decompose the end-to-end …

Hsp90 Inhibitors Modulate Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein Subunit 1-Induced Human Pulmonary Microvascular Endothelial Activation And Barrier Dysfunction, Ruben Manuel Luciano Colunga Biancatelli, Pavel Solopov, Betsy W. Gregory, Yara Khodour, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused more than 5 million deaths worldwide. Multiple reports indicate that the endothelium is involved during SARS-Cov-2-related disease (COVID-19). Indeed, COVID-19 patients display increased thrombophilia with arterial and venous embolism and lung microcapillary thrombotic disease as major determinants of deaths. The pathophysiology of endothelial dysfunction in COVID-19 is not completely understood. We have investigated the role of subunit 1 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S1SP) in eliciting endothelial barrier dysfunction, characterized dose and time relationships, and tested the hypothesis that heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitors would prevent and repair such injury. S1SP …

4,6-O-Phenylethylidene Acetal Protected D-Glucosamine Carbamate-Based Gelators And Their Applications For Multi-Component Gels, Pooja Sharma, Guijun Wang

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The self-assembly of carbohydrate-based low molecular weight gelators has led to useful advanced soft materials. The interactions of the gelators with various cations and anions are important in creating novel molecular architectures and expanding the scope of the small molecular gelators. In this study, a series of thirteen new C-2 carbamates of the 4,6-O-phenylethylidene acetalprotected D-glucosamine derivatives has been synthesized and characterized. These compounds are rationally designed from a common sugar template. All carbamates synthesized were found to be efficient gelators and three compounds are also hydrogelators. The resulting gels were characterized using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, …

Development Of Guidelines For Collecting Transit Ridership Data, Hong Yang, Kun Xie, Sherif Ishak, Qingyu Ma, Yang Liu

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Transit ridership is a critical determinant for many transit applications such as operation optimizations and project prioritization under performance-based funding mechanisms. As a result, the quality of ridership data is of utmost importance to both transit administrative agencies and transit operators. Many transit operators in Virginia report their ridership data to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the National Transit Database (NTD). However, with no specific guidelines available to transit agencies in Virginia for collecting ridership data, the heterogeneous mixture of diverse data collection methods and technologies has often raised concerns about the consistency and quality of …

On The Use Of High-Frequency Surface Wave Oceanographic Research Radars As Bistatic Single-Frequency Oblique Ionospheric Sounders, Stephen R. Kaeppler, Ethan S. Miller, Daniel Cole, Teresa Updyke

CCPO Publications

We demonstrate that bistatic reception of high-frequency oceanographic radars can be used as single-frequency oblique ionospheric sounders. We develop methods that are agnostic of the software-defined radio system to estimate the group range from the bistatic observations. The group range observations are used to estimate the virtual height and equivalent vertical frequency at the midpoint of the oblique propagation path. Uncertainty estimates of the virtual height and equivalent vertical frequency are presented. We apply this analysis to observations collected from two experiments run at two locations in different years, but utilizing similar software-defined radio data collection systems. In the first …

Combining Green Metrics And Digital Twins For Sustainability Planning And Governance Of Smart Buildings And Cities, Casey R. Corrado, Suzanne M. Delong, Emily G. Holt, Edward Y. Hua, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

Creating a more sustainable world will require a coordinated effort to address the rise of social, economic, and environmental concerns resulting from the continuous growth of cities. Supporting planners with tools to address them is pivotal, and sustainability is one of the main objectives. Modeling and simulation augmenting digital twins can play an important role to implement these tools. Although various green best practices have been utilized over time and there are related attempts at measuring green success, works in the published literature tend to focus on addressing a single problem (e.g., energy efficiency), and a comprehensive approach that takes …

Simulation-Based Optimization: Implications Of Complex Adaptive Systems And Deep Uncertainty, Andreas Tolk

VMASC Publications

Within the modeling and simulation community, simulation-based optimization has often been successfully used to improve productivity and business processes. However, the increased importance of using simulation to better understand complex adaptive systems and address operations research questions characterized by deep uncertainty, such as the need for policy support within socio-technical systems, leads to the necessity to revisit the way simulation can be applied in this new area. Similar observations can be made for complex adaptive systems that constantly change their behavior, which is reflected in a continually changing solution space. Deep uncertainty describes problems with inadequate or incomplete information about …

Definition And Detection Of Hypervulnerabilities Using A Framework For Assessing Port Resilience, Katherine Smith, Rafael Diaz, Yuzhong Shen, Francesco Longo

VMASC Publications

Long term plans for maritime ports are identifying investments that will increase their capacity while decreasing their environmental footprint and operating costs. These changes are leading to increases in complexity at a time when leaner practices are driving investments to become more strategic. As such, this work proposes a generalized definition that allows a system or entity to be classified as exceedingly vulnerable by comparing it to other entities. This definition is developed from a set of definitions gathered from disparate fields. From this definition grounded in theory, the initial rules for complex system implementation are developed and demonstrated on …

Development Of A Framework To Support Informed Shipbuilding Based On Supply Chain Disruptions, Katherine Smith, Rafael Diaz, Yuzhong Shen

VMASC Publications

In addition to stresses induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chains worldwide have been growing more complex while facing a continuous onslaught of disruptions. This paper presents an analysis and extension of a graph based model for modeling and simulating the effects of such disruptions. The graph based model combines a Bayesian network approach for simulating risks with a network dependency analysis approach for simulating the propagation of disruptions through the network over time. The initial analysis provides evidence supporting extension to for using a multi-layered approach allowing for the inclusion of cyclic features in supply chain models. Initial results …

Human Ergonomic Simulation To Support The Design Of An Exoskeleton For Lashing/De-Lashing Operations Of Containers Cargo, Francesco Longo, Antonio Padovano, Vittorio Solina, Virginia D' Augusta, Stefan Venzl, Roberto Calbi, Michele Bartuni, Ornella Anastasi, Rafael Diaz

VMASC Publications

Lashing and de-lashing operations of containers cargo on board containerships are considered as quite strenuous activities in which operators are required to work continuously over a 6 or 8 hours shift with very limited break. This is mostly because containerships need to leave the port as soon as possible and containers loading and unloading operations must be executed with very high productivity (stay moored in a port is a totally unproductive time for a ship and a loss-making business for a shipping company). Operators performing lashing and de-lashing operations are subjected to intense ergonomic stress and uncomfortable working postures. To …

Challenges And Solutions For Designing A Covid-19 Vaccination Hub: A Simulation Approach, Antonio Cimino, Maria Grazia Gnoni, Francesco Longo, Rafael Diaz, Adriano Solis, Antonio Nervoso, Karen Althea Manfredi, Marika Diaco

VMASC Publications

It is the intent of the work to support experts in the organization process of Covid-19 vaccination hubs. An approach based on Modelling & Simulation (M&S) is proposed and in particular, a simulation model of a real vaccination hub, located in South of Italy, has been developed. The simulation model recreates, with satisfactory accuracy, the evolution over the time of the real system and it has been used to analyze the system behavior under several operative scenarios. The generation of the alternative operative scenarios comes from the variation of multiple design parameters that affect multiple performance measures. The quantitative evaluation …