Engineering Commons^™

Xr In Aviation Training: Insight From Academia, Industry, And Non-Profit Institutions, Stephanie G. Fussell, Robert L. Thomas, Bejamin Kwasa, James Birdsong, Kurt Reesman, Lori Brow, Joel Scharlat, William T. Ballo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on education and training. Institutions that relied heavily on face-to-face instruction suddenly needed alternative modalities to keep students on course, forcing educators and trainers to employ a variety of educational techniques via technologies that they may not have had experience with. This shift has brought the advantages – and disadvantages – of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality technologies (collectively, extended reality or XR) for education and training into sharp focus. Programs were quickly assembled, and not always with consideration of learning theories. As learning and training were resumed in in-person settings, academics and …

Evaluating System Usability, Workload Suitability, And User Experience Of Game-Based Virtual Reality In Spaceflight Education And Training, Lana Laskey, Joseph Keebler

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Game-based instruction and immersive virtual reality are enhanced pedagogical methods beneficial in training environments involving complex disciplines, ranging from medical applications to construction engineering technology. This study investigated the use of game-based virtual reality (GBVR) when applied to the complex discipline of spaceflight education and training. As modern society places increasing demand on space-based amenities, the need for proficient satellite operators will also increase, requiring more accessible and more advanced training options. Spaceflight training scenarios, immersed in the GBVR environment, were developed and deployed to university student participants. Multiple validated scales were used to measure the GBVR system regarding three …

Creating The Next Generation Of Aviation Professionals: Creating Diversity In The Next Generation, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Covid-19, mandatory retirement age, the 1500 Hour ATP rule and lack of future aviation professionals has lead to a global industry crisis. With the boom of the 1990’s, 9/11, the Great Recession, Covid-19, the lack of younger individuals dedicating themselves to the study of aviation has led to a current crisis of a lack of aviation professionals ready to serve the industry currently and in the future. Lorenzon will trace how the work force shortage started well over twenty years ago. Boeing and Airbus both predict that over 2.2 million new workers including over 600000 pilots will be needed. Yet …

A Call For Research: Ethical Dilemmas Of Autonomous Vehicle Manufacturers, Remy Harwood

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

While autonomous vehicles accounted for about 31.4 million vehicles on the road in 2019 (Placek). They have continued to flood the market and have a projected growth to 58 million in just 8 years from now (Placek) As well as a market cap in the billions of dollars. Even the comparatively new AV company Tesla has over 3 times the market cap value of the leading non AV brand Toyota (Market Cap) who are also working toward AVs as well, like their level 2 teammate driver assistance. Following Moore’s Law, as technology continues to improve, their social impact and ethical …

Ethical Concerns In Self-Driving Cars, Victoria Shand

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Automobiles have been in existence since 1672 and only went up from there. Self-driving cars are a fantastic piece of technology; they can self-park, laser ranger finder, and near vision; they can map the road in advance, understand road signs, and, in some cases, handle certain variables on the road.

When talking about any form of technology, the possibilities are endless technology is a continuously evolving idea. When discussing self-driving cars, they have some fantastic and encouraging benefits and ideas. Some ideas would be that vehicles could communicate with each other, we could eliminate the need for traffic lights, and …

A Brief Review Of Dns, Root Servers, Vulnerabilities And Decentralization, Mallory Runyan

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

Since the 1980’s and creation of the World Wide Web, Internet utilization is a common and arguably, necessary, part of daily life. The internet is young and still relatively new, but as of 2016, 3.4 billion people were online, and that number has since grown [1]. This is a significant number, but as such a common part of daily life, how elements of the internet or its infrastructure work is complex. The world would very likely be thrown into dark ages if DNS or any other significant aspect of the internet's infrastructure were to succumb to an attack. The Colonial …

Commercial Airliner Winglet Design Optimization – A Case Study, Anthony Gutierrez

Symposium of Student Scholars

The objective of this research is to determine the effect on aerodynamic performance due to changes of winglets design variables found of the Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The various winglet types studied in this research include the blended, canted, wingtip fence and split scimitar. The variables include height, sweep angle, taper ratio, and the inclination angle. These variables are altered in 5% increments from -15% to +15% of their original baseline values. Each altered winglet design only changes one variable at a time while keeping all other variables constant. The altered models are compared to the original by finding the aerodynamic …

Actively Guided Cansats For Assisting Localization And Mapping In Unstructured And Unknown Environments, Cary Chun, M. Hassan Tanveer

Symposium of Student Scholars

When navigating in unknown and unstructured environments, Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) can struggle when attempting to preform Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) operations. Particularly challenging circumstance arise when an UAV may need to land or otherwise navigate through treacherous environments. As the primary UAV may be too large and unwieldly to safely investigate in these types of situations, this research effort proposes the use of actively guided CanSats for assisting in localization and mapping of unstructured environments. A complex UAV could carry multiple of these SLAM capable CanSats, and when additional mapping and localization capabilities where required, the CanSat would …

Nanocomposites For Applications In Ultracapacitors Based Energy Storage Systems, Duy Pham, Jake Ivirn, Jacob Dileonardi, Ben Mckinney, Ashish Aphale

Symposium of Student Scholars

Electrochemical capacitors also known as ultracapacitor is a potential technology for modern energy storage due to their high performance of charge capacity and fast charge-discharge rates. The superior performance of ultracapacitors will help to meet demands for energy systems in applications such as transportation. Ultracapacitor device consists of electrodes, a polymeric separator, and an electrolyte. Under the applied voltage, the migration of ions between two porous electrodes from the bulk of the electrolyte governs the performance of such devices. In this work, we present experimental research on the synthesis of different electrode materials using atomically thick graphene and conducting polymers. …

Unmanned Aerial System Design For Civil Engineering Operations – A Vip Study, Ezra Robles, Harrison Vicknair, Derek Price, Logan Westra, George Pitcock, Joshua Diamond, Bhuvan Saraswat, Jeremiah Prayor, Fon Saliki

Symposium of Student Scholars

Unmanned Aerial System Design for Civil Engineering Operations – A Case Study

The objective of the project is to design and build a modular Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) that meets the specifications set forth by United Consulting – a local civil engineering company. These specifications are achieved through three unique missions. In each mission, data is collected using different methods. These missions include land surveying, bridge structure inspection and manhole probing. The key requirements of the drone are to maintain a minimum flight time of 30 minutes and the ability to receive and transmit telemetry, photographic and video data from …

Development Of Electrochemical Sensors For The Detection Of Trace Contaminants, Quang Lam, Ashish Aphale, Duy Pham

Symposium of Student Scholars

Several industrial processes, such as stainless steel fabrication and textiles, produce heavy metal byproducts such as chromium. These heavy metals have detrimental effects on the surrounding environments and humans. Recently, electrochemical-driven sensors have been studied and show great potential in miniaturization while still providing measurements at a low cost. In addition, atomically thin allotropes of carbon, graphene, and graphene oxide have shown remarkable results in producing a highly responsive and selective sensor platform. These results are due to their excellent electrical conductivity, high surface area for utility, and physicochemical stability. The existing challenge for electrochemical-driven sensors is understanding the molecular …

Impacts Of Thermally Conductive Coating On Super Coiled Polymers, Lakshay Battu, Siddharth I Sanghav, Mitchell Karwisch, Brandon Yang, Charles Brubaker

Symposium of Student Scholars

In this research, we created supercoiled polymer with a nylon fishing line, conductive thread, silver paste, graphite, and graphene. The silver paste was used for conductive properties on crimping joints to allow electrical connections. Graphite and graphene help stimulate heat dissipation, resulting in quicker muscle motion, contraction, and elongation. Supercoiled polymer (polymer coil) actuators have many uses and are inexpensive compared to other actuators as they can be made of cheap materials such as sewing threads and fishing lines. Compared with recent actuators consist of memory shape alloys for their unique crystal structure, however they are expensive to produce, and …

A Low-Cost, Low-Power, Scada Testbed Solution For Secure Remote Monitoring, Connor Berger

Symposium of Student Scholars

Similar to software application systems adopted by companies and businesses for product logging, payroll, human resources, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems control the distributed processes with multiple components located on different machines that communicate and coordinate actions in order to appear as a single coherent system. SCADA systems severely lack the appropriate security and hack prevention measures. We propose a low cost, low power SCADA testbed solution for secure remote monitoring. The goal of this research is to implement and test the testbed’s security by emulating attack vectors on both hardware components and communication channels to probe the …

Small-Separation Speckle Contrast Optical Spectroscopy For Intraoperative Assessment Of Parathyroid Glands Viability During Thyroid Surgery, Connor Berger

Symposium of Student Scholars

The parathyroid glands (PTGs) are often damaged during thyroid surgeries due to a lack of methods identifying PTGs and assessing their viability. Damage to PTGs can cause hypocalcemia, a deficiency of calcium in the body. This complication can lead to detrimental consequences with economic burden. The surgeon’s current method of viability assessment is qualitative and subjective. Our technical solution is to employ an optical technique called speckle contrast optical spectroscopy (SCOS) that noninvasively quantifies the blood flow index (Db) of biological tissues at deep tissue levels (>1cm). The goal of this project is to verify SCOS at small source-detector-separation …

Stochastic Approach To Hydrological Dam Safety In The Framework Of The New Dam Safety Standards In Spain, Iván Gabriel-Martin, Francisco J. Caballero, Álvaro Sordo-Ward, Luis Garrote

Protections Conference

The approval of the Technical Safety Standards for dams and reservoirs in Spain in 2021 increased the hydrological safety requirements, being necessary to check if measures have to be implemented in dams designed according to the prior standards. Some of these dams have scarce instrumentation and lack of hydrometeorological data. This work proposes a simple but sounded fully-stochastic methodology for assessing the hydrological safety of dams within this situation, potentially applicable outside academia. The methodology has been applied to a case study based on a real dam, and compared the results obtained to those of the standard deterministic procedure. We …

Wirewall A Follow Up: Labratory And Field Measurements Of Wave Overtopping, Tim Pullen, Jenny Brown, Margaret Yelland, Robin Pascal, Richard Pinnell, Chris Cardwell, David Jones

Protections Conference

At the Protections 2018 conference, the WireWall wave overtopping research project was introduced. WireWall uses recent advances in high frequency capacitance wire technology that can measure overtopping data. Wave overtopping has now been measured in the laboratory and in the field using the WireWall system. Here we provide an update on the validation of the system in flume tests and results from the first field measurement campaign.

Before deployment in the field, an extensive set of tests were carried out in one of the 2D wave flumes at HR Wallingford. These tests simulated known wave conditions from a buoy near …

Methodology For Calculating The Response Of Porous Media For Evaluating Grass Response To Overtopping Loads, Myron Von Damme, Dennis Den Ouden-Van Der Horst

Protections Conference

Grass covers offer a level of erosion protection against hydrodynamic loads induced by overtopping waves. The development of an accurate failure criterion for grass covers has been hampered by the lack of understanding of how grass fails. Methods have been developed to predict the hydrodynamic loads that act on the levee surface and consequently are transmitted to the porous grass cover and subsoil. However, it is unknown how these hydrodynamic surface loads on the soil are distributed amongst the pore water pressures and effective stresses, thereby offering a significant challenge for engineers to simulate the transmission of stresses into the …

Hydraulic Computations For Stepped Concrete Overlays Of Embankment Dams, Tony L. Wahl, Sherry L. Hunt, Kem C. Kadavy, Henry T. Falvey

Protections Conference

One method for rehabilitating and modernizing embankment dams is the addition of a concrete overlay that protects the embankment and allows floods to pass safely over the dam. Roller compacted concrete is commonly used, which makes it practical to use a stepped construction that also enhances energy dissipation. Analysis of flow conditions over such structures requires computation of aerated flow and its effects on flow depth, training wall design, and energy dissipation. This paper describes Spillway Pro, an energy-based water surface profile calculation tool for smooth spillway chutes (Wahl et al. 2019), recently improved to also analyze stepped chutes. The …

Quasi-Prototype Size Testing Of Wedge-Shaped Block For Armoring Embankment Dams And Levees, Francisco Javier Caballero, Miguel Ángel Toledo, Rafael Moran, Javier Peraita

Protections Conference

A series of tests of wedge-shaped blocks intended for armoring embankment dams and levees was carried out in a new experimental facility (‘Hydraulic Experimentation Facility—Luis Ruano’) under quasi-prototype conditions. This unique facility is located in the canal leading to the Laverné reservoir (Zaragoza, Spain) with a maximum vertical drop of 7 m and discharge up to 9 m³s ⁻¹. The aim was to conduct experimental research on technologies to protect embankment dams and dikes against overflowing erosion under quasi-prototype conditions. The results of the tests demonstrate the ability of the WSBs to withstand high unit …

Riprap Protection Exposed To Overtopping Phenomena: A Review Of Laboratory Experimental Models, Théo Dezert, Geir Helge Kiplesund, Fjóla Guðrún Sigtryggsdóttir

Protections Conference

There are increasing demands from dam safety regulations and guidelines to upgrade the rockfill dams, especially in Norway where over 180 large rockfill dams are present. To protect the hydraulic structure against overtopping events or leakages, it is important to use defence mechanisms such as a protective layer of riprap on the downstream slope. In this article, we display 9 experimental setups of riprap, conducted at the hydraulic laboratory of NTNU (Trondheim) and subjected to overtopping phenomena with increasing water discharge, until the complete failure of the model. These tests were performed on models with dumped and placed riprap, with …

Overflow Tests On Grass-Covered Embankments At The Living Lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder: An Overview, André R. Koelewijn, Stephan J.H. Rikkert, Patrik Peeters, Davy Depreiter, Myron Van Damme, Wouter Zomer

Protections Conference

In regions with a temperate climate, a well-maintained grass sod on a clay layer is considered a reliable protection for dams and dikes. In the Living Lab Hedwige-Prosperpolder, on the left bank of the Scheldt river straddling the border between Belgium and the Netherlands, a series of 27 overflow tests with a purpose-built overflow generator has been executed to determine the strength of the protective layer against erosion at various conditions. The goal of this paper is to inform on the executed test program and the initial results. From the results, it was concluded that in general, a high-quality grass …

Field Testing Of The Overflow Erosion Of Rhone River Levees, Christophe Picault, Fabrice Campette, Stéphane Bonelli, Sylvie Nicaise, Naim Chaouch, Faustine Byron, Yves Gremeaux, Alexis Doghmane, Mathys Garoui, Jordan Herbeck, Frédéric Golay

Protections Conference

It is important to quantify the soil resistance against erosion caused by the overflow of dikes and levees. Small-scale tests are not recommended, as they do not provide a correct representation of the actual soil in place and do not take into account the geometry of the structure. For this reason, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) developed an on-site overflow device in 2015. The procedure followed is based on ASTM-D6460 standard. Two tests were performed in May 2022 on a Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) dike near Avignon (France). The dike is 6.2 m high; …

Recent Case Histories Of Cascade Failures And Overflowing Events Of Embankment Dams, Alexius Vogel, Jean-Robert Courivaud, Katarzyna Jarecka

Protections Conference

Excessive rainfall and extensive flooding within the context of a changing environment show the fact that resistance to overflowing erosion of embankment dams needs to be better assessed because of the increasing number of dam failures caused by overflowing, implying the necessity of a reaction to this kind of challenges. Better understandings of the embankment failure processes and the dominant parameters affecting these kinds of failures are necessary for predicting and modeling the breach processes. Acquiring this better understanding of the physical processes and a numerical prediction capability requires progressing in parallel in laboratory and field test investigations of embankment …

Energy Dissipation Of Highly Convergent Chutes In Stilling Basins Of Concrete Dams, Rafael Morán, Miguel Ángel Toledo, Jaime I. Masides

Protections Conference

This article presents the results of a combination of experimental and numerical research on the performance of stilling basins of spillways with highly convergent chutes (HCC). The comparison between the energy dissipation of the stilling basins with flat slab and baffle blocks shows that the latest are more efficient. Because of that, the cost savings of using such blocks can be significant. The results obtained could be applied in different cases such as increasing the capacity of existing spillways and protecting dams against overtopping. The application of HCC spillways in new dams could lead to a reduction in the cost …

A Novel Computational Method To Compute Rock Scour Due To Dam Overtopping, Erik F. R. Bollaert

Protections Conference

Flood events generating potential risk for dam overtopping may become more frequently in the future, especially because of increasing climate change. Crest overflows at arch dams generally impact the downstream rock mass very close to the dam foundation. As such, any scour of the rock mass generated by this phenomenon may potentially endanger the stability of the dam and its appurtenant structures. Hence, pertinent assessment of this scour formation through space and time is becoming increasingly relevant to dam safety. This paper presents a novel computational method for detachment of prismatic rock blocks from their mass when impacted by high-velocity …

Bedrock Erosion In Swedish Spillways - A Methodology For Assessing Design Pore Pressures Aimed For Design Of Erosion Mitigation Via Reinforcement Of The Rock Mass, Per Eriksson, Jonas Persson, Carol-Oscar Nilsson

Protections Conference

This article presents a collection of literature and data that enables calculations of hydraulic pressures inside a structurally simplified rock mass. The causation between the pressure in the rock mass and the near plane-parallel turbulently flowing waters on natural surfaces of igneous rock is expressed. The article is mainly aimed at rock reinforcement calculations given magmatic rock types with high durability and large block size.

Erodibility Evaluation Of An Unlined Rock Spillway: Comparison Between The Erodibility Index Method And A New Method Based On Block Theory, Michael George, Cole Christiansen, Ariel Rickel, Benjamin Israel, George W. Annandale

Protections Conference

Following the 2017 events at the Oroville Dam spillways that prompted evacuation of nearly 200,000 downstream residents and resulted in over $1B USD repair costs, there is highlighted focus on evaluation of spillways (both lined and unlined) at dams across the USA. In the case of unlined channels, flow conditions are often complex which presents several challenges for erodibility evaluation given methods are often based on idealized circumstances. High-resolution data available for the site (both in terms of 3D point cloud geometry data for the rock mass and 3D CFD model simulations of flow conditions) permitted a more detailed analysis …

Hydro-Geotechnical Rock Scour Assessment At Petit-Saut Dam, Seven E. Pells, Fanar Al-Qassab, Felicia Weir, Anaïs Faivre, Thierry Leturcq, Benoit Blancher

Protections Conference

This paper presents a recommended design procedure for assessment of rock scour which is illustrated for the case study of Petit-Saut Dam in French Guiana. The methodology, referred to as a “hydro-geotechnical scour assessment”, promotes a multi-discipline approach, applying expertise in both rock mechanics and hydraulics, and guides the diagnosis of scour and response to risk by application of currently available scour assessment techniques.

Failure Thresholds For Rcc Crest Caps, Tony L. Wahl, Bryan J. Heiner, Jacob F. Kepler

Protections Conference

Overtopping protection using roller-compacted concrete (RCC) overlays is a common improvement made to address hydrologic deficiencies at existing small- to medium-height embankment dams. Overlays allow floods to pass over the dam while preventing erosion of the original embankment. The United States has many examples of such projects on both private and public dams, including many associated with federal agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. For one project modified with an overlay in 1993, deterioration of the RCC and poor bonding between lifts has caused concern for stability of the 0.3-m (1-ft) thick RCC lifts that cap the …

Raman Scattering Measurements And Analyses Of Gan Thin Films Grown On Zno Substrates By Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition, Zane Mcdaniel, Zhe Chuan Feng, Kevin Stokes

Symposium of Student Scholars

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is a popularly used method of growing thin films of GaN on ZnO (GZ) substrates, which pair well due to their structural and characteristic similarities. In this research, optical characterization of the surface quality of GZ sample films is measured by analyzing Raman scattering (RS) using a Renishaw inVia spectrometer fitted with a 532nm laser. Samples were grown in an improved double injection block rotating disc reactor. Multiple samples' spectra show broad peaks that correspond with the E2 (high) and A1 (LO) branches of GaN, and nicely fitted curves are observed for the characteristic E2 …