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Articles 61 - 90 of 586

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Optimization Of A Fluidized Bed Reactor For The Production Of Styrene From Ethylbenzene, Gregory Espenan May 2022

Optimization Of A Fluidized Bed Reactor For The Production Of Styrene From Ethylbenzene, Gregory Espenan

Honors Theses

In order to optimize Unit 500, a styrene production plant, the Net Present Value (NPV) was used as the objective function to ensure every optimization strategy had a positive economic effect. To optimize a chemical plant, it is important to note efficiency, economics, product specifications, and production requirements. The goal of this project was to make changes to the base case of Unit 500 to minimize the cost to produce styrene for an upstream unit. PRO/II was used to simulate various points in different unit operations throughout the process. The NPV was measured after each unit operation was simulated to …


Design Of An Implanted Vascular Access Device With A Mechanical Septum, Mallory Ann Moffett, Katherine Rose O'Quinn May 2022

Design Of An Implanted Vascular Access Device With A Mechanical Septum, Mallory Ann Moffett, Katherine Rose O'Quinn

Honors Theses

As populations continue to age, their need for medical care continues to rise. This is seen by the large need for implanted vascular devices (IVADs). IVADs are essential for individuals with poor venous access and patients requiring long-term venous delivered drugs. This document will explore the existing IVADs, where they fall short, and where our device, the IrisPort system, works to solve the unmet needs of patients. The IrisPort system is a needle-less port system that allows for repeated venous access without the use of a non-coring needle. Prior art searches have shown that the IrisPort is a novel solution …


Molecular Dynamics Study Of Melting Behavior Of Planar Stacked Ti–Al Core–Shell Nanoparticles, Huadian Zhang, Yu Chen Su, Yiwei Han, Shan Jiang May 2022

Molecular Dynamics Study Of Melting Behavior Of Planar Stacked Ti–Al Core–Shell Nanoparticles, Huadian Zhang, Yu Chen Su, Yiwei Han, Shan Jiang

Faculty and Student Publications

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one of the most commonly used methods in additive manufacturing, due to its high prototyping speed and applicability to various materials. In the present work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study the thermodynamic behaviors of the planar stacked nanoparticles (NPs) model and explore the potential capability of the SLS process with nano-sized metal powders in the zero-gravity space environment. A multi-particle model of titanium–aluminum (Ti–Al) core–shell NP with a particle radius of 50 Å was constructed to investigate the characteristics of the melted pattern during sintering. Two patterns with different spatial densities were …


The Grate Solution: Simplifying Viking Oven Packaging Processes, Megan Jansen May 2022

The Grate Solution: Simplifying Viking Oven Packaging Processes, Megan Jansen

Honors Theses

The following report details work completed to improve the Viking Oven Corporation’s gas oven assembly line. The current state of the line hosts an unreliable system for packaging oven grates. Viking manufactures two types of gas ovens on the same line: open burner and closed burner. These different types require different prepackaged grates to be included in the final assembly area. Viking estimates that the wrong grates are sent to the customer ten percent of the time. The following report presents research, brainstorming, problem-solving techniques, and proposed solutions to the problem. The proposed solution would solve the problem at little …


A Molecular Dynamics Study Of The Laser Sintering Process And Subsequent Mechanical Properties Of Γ-Tial Nanoparticles, Eleanor Dickens Apr 2022

A Molecular Dynamics Study Of The Laser Sintering Process And Subsequent Mechanical Properties Of Γ-Tial Nanoparticles, Eleanor Dickens

Honors Theses

Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the laser sintering additive manufacturing process is investigated through the observation of γ-TiAl nanoparticles. This process is conducted using both uni-directional chain and stacking configurations. By mimicking the heating process and varying laser sintering parameters such as heating rater, sintering temperature, and particle orientation, the fusion behavior and resulting products are analyzed for both chain and stacking NP patterns. In of single chain cases, it is noticed that slower heating rates and higher melting temperatures yield larger neck growth between each individual particle and thus produce a more stable product. This leads to stronger mechanical …


Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling Of Flow Hydrodynamics And Cohesive Sediment Transport In Enid Lake, Mississippi, Xiaobo Chao, A. K. M. Azad Hossain, Mohammad Z. Al-Hamdan, Yafei Jia, James V. Cizdziel Apr 2022

Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling Of Flow Hydrodynamics And Cohesive Sediment Transport In Enid Lake, Mississippi, Xiaobo Chao, A. K. M. Azad Hossain, Mohammad Z. Al-Hamdan, Yafei Jia, James V. Cizdziel

Faculty and Student Publications

Enid Lake is one of the largest reservoirs located in Yazoo River Basin, the largest basin in the state of Mississippi. The lake was impounded by Enid Dam on the Yocona River in Yalobusha County and covers an area of 30 square kilometers. It provides significant natural and recreational resources. The soils in this region are highly erodible, resulting in a large amount of fine-grained cohesive sediment discharged into the lake. In this study, a 3D numerical model was developed to simulate the free surface hydrodynamics and transportation of cohesive sediment with a median diameter of 0.0025 to 0.003 mm …


Under-Oil Autonomously Regulated Oxygen Microenvironments: A Goldilocks Principle-Based Approach For Microscale Cell Culture, Chao Li, Mouhita Humayun, Glenn M. Walker, Keon Young Park, Bryce Connors, Jun Feng, Molly C. Pellitteri Hahn, Cameron O. Scarlett, Jiayi Li, Yanbo Feng, Ryan L. Clark, Hunter Hefti, Jonathan Schrope, Ophelia S. Venturelli, David J. Beebe Apr 2022

Under-Oil Autonomously Regulated Oxygen Microenvironments: A Goldilocks Principle-Based Approach For Microscale Cell Culture, Chao Li, Mouhita Humayun, Glenn M. Walker, Keon Young Park, Bryce Connors, Jun Feng, Molly C. Pellitteri Hahn, Cameron O. Scarlett, Jiayi Li, Yanbo Feng, Ryan L. Clark, Hunter Hefti, Jonathan Schrope, Ophelia S. Venturelli, David J. Beebe

Faculty and Student Publications

Oxygen levels in vivo are autonomously regulated by a supply–demand balance, which can be altered in disease states. However, the oxygen levels of in vitro cell culture systems, particularly microscale cell culture, are typically dominated by either supply or demand. Further, the oxygen microenvironment in these systems is rarely monitored or reported. Here, a method to establish and dynamically monitor autonomously regulated oxygen microenvironments (AROM) using an oil overlay in an open microscale cell culture system is presented. Using this method, the oxygen microenvironment is dynamically regulated via the supply–demand balance of the system. Numerical simulation and experimental validation of …


Evaluation Of The Carotid Artery Using Wavelet-Based Analysis Of The Pulse Wave Signal, Sameh El-Sharo, Amani Al-Ghraibah, Jamal Al-Nabulsi, Mustafa Muhammad Matalgah Apr 2022

Evaluation Of The Carotid Artery Using Wavelet-Based Analysis Of The Pulse Wave Signal, Sameh El-Sharo, Amani Al-Ghraibah, Jamal Al-Nabulsi, Mustafa Muhammad Matalgah

Faculty and Student Publications

The use of pulse wave analysis may assist cardiologists in diagnosing patients with vascular diseases. However, it is not common in clinical practice to interpret and analyze pulse wave data and utilize them to detect the abnormalities of the signal. This paper presents a novel approach to the clinical application of pulse waveform analysis using the wavelet technique by decomposing the normal and pathology signal into many levels. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) decomposes the carotid arterial pulse wave (CAPW) signal, and the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) creates images of the decomposed signal. The wavelet analysis technique in this work …


Evaluating Groundwater Storage Change And Recharge Using Grace Data: A Case Study Of Aquifers In Niger, West Africa, Sergio A. Barbosa, Sarva T. Pulla, Gustavious P. Williams, Norman L. Jones, Bako Mamane, Jorge L. Sanchez Apr 2022

Evaluating Groundwater Storage Change And Recharge Using Grace Data: A Case Study Of Aquifers In Niger, West Africa, Sergio A. Barbosa, Sarva T. Pulla, Gustavious P. Williams, Norman L. Jones, Bako Mamane, Jorge L. Sanchez

Faculty and Student Publications

Accurately assessing groundwater storage changes in Niger is critical for long-term water resource management but is difficult due to sparse field data. We present a study of groundwater storage changes and recharge in Southern Niger, computed using data from NASA Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. We compute a groundwater storage anomaly estimate by subtracting the surface water anomaly provided by the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) model from the GRACE total water storage anomaly. We use a statistical model to fill gaps in the GRACE data. We analyze the time period from 2002 to 2021, which corresponds …


Performance Of Xor Rule For Decentralized Detection Of Deterministic Signals In Bivariate Gaussian Noise, Xingjian Sun, Shailee Yagnik, Ramanarayanan Viswanathan, Lei Cao Jan 2022

Performance Of Xor Rule For Decentralized Detection Of Deterministic Signals In Bivariate Gaussian Noise, Xingjian Sun, Shailee Yagnik, Ramanarayanan Viswanathan, Lei Cao

Faculty and Student Publications

In this paper, we consider the performance of exclusive-OR (XOR) rule in detecting the presence or absence of a deterministic signal in bivariate Gaussian noise. Signals, when present at the two sensors, are assumed unequal, whereas the noise components have identical marginal distribution but are correlated. The sensors send their one-bit quantized data to a fusion center, which then employs the XOR rule to arrive at the final decision. Here we prove that, in the limit as the correlation coefficient r approaches 1, the optimum fusion rule for both parallel and tandem topologies is XOR with identical, alternating partitions (XORAP) …


A Framework For Estimating Future Traffic Operation And Safety Performance Of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (Rcut) Intersections, Amirarsalan M. Molan, Jonathan Howard, Mouyid Islam, Anurag Pande Jan 2022

A Framework For Estimating Future Traffic Operation And Safety Performance Of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (Rcut) Intersections, Amirarsalan M. Molan, Jonathan Howard, Mouyid Islam, Anurag Pande

Faculty and Student Publications

Background: Despite numerous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) intersection design, its implementation remains uneven and close to zero in some large states, including California. This paper provides a comprehensive framework to estimate the operational and safety performance of future RCUT designs. The framework is demonstrated for a geometrically constrained intersection located on a highspeed rural expressway. The operational evaluation relies on microscopic simulation models of existing TWSC and alternate RCUT designs used to estimate network-wide performance measures. Methods: Two approaches are demonstrated for future safety estimation; first, an HSM-prescribed Empirical Bayes (EB) approach that uses Safety …


Application Of Artificial Neural Network To Predict The Properties Of Permeable Concrete, Hatem H. Almasaeid, Donia G. Salman Jan 2022

Application Of Artificial Neural Network To Predict The Properties Of Permeable Concrete, Hatem H. Almasaeid, Donia G. Salman

Faculty and Student Publications

The structure of permeable concrete has been the primary reason for its use in construction. Permeable concrete is composed of water, cement, aggregate, and little-to no-fines resulting in the presence of a significant number of voids. This makes permeable concrete an ideal solution to water accumulation issues as it acts as a drainage system. This study employs a feedforward backpropagation artificial neural network model that combines experimental laboratory data from previous studies with appropriate network architectures and training techniques. The purpose of the analysis is to develop a reliable functional relationship, based on water-cement ratio, aggregate-cement ratio, and density parameters, …


Cascading Cmos-Based Chaotic Maps For Improved Performance And Its Application In Efficient Rng Design, Partha Sarathi Paul, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain, Barry Muldrey, Md Sakib Hasan Jan 2022

Cascading Cmos-Based Chaotic Maps For Improved Performance And Its Application In Efficient Rng Design, Partha Sarathi Paul, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain, Barry Muldrey, Md Sakib Hasan

Faculty and Student Publications

We present a general framework for improving the chaotic properties of CMOS-based chaotic maps by cascading multiple maps in series. Along with two novel chaotic map topologies, we present the 45 $nm$ designs for four CMOS-based discrete-time chaotic map topologies. With the help of the bifurcation plot and three established entropy measures, namely, Lyapunov exponent, Kolmogorov entropy, and correlation coefficient, we present an extensive chaotic performance analysis on eight unique map circuits (two under each topology) to show that under certain constraints, the cascading scheme can significantly elevate the chaotic performance. The improved chaotic entropy benefits many security applications and …


Graphene-Metal Metasurface For Cloaking Of Cylindrical Objects At Low-Terahertz Frequencies, Shefali Pawar, Hossein Mehrpour Bernety, Alexander B. Yakovlev Jan 2022

Graphene-Metal Metasurface For Cloaking Of Cylindrical Objects At Low-Terahertz Frequencies, Shefali Pawar, Hossein Mehrpour Bernety, Alexander B. Yakovlev

Faculty and Student Publications

Most of the theoretical studies involving graphene, typically assume an ultra-high mobility and/or high value of Fermi energy to achieve exciting functionalities such as polarization conversion, absorption, cloaking, among others. In practice, however, graphene with such high mobility is very difficult to realize, on account of the numerous flaws and impurities that inevitably are introduced during the graphene growth and transfer process. This severely compromises graphene's practical performance, despite the appeal of theoretical predictions. A novel design was presented in 'X. Wang et al., IEEE Trans. Antenna Propagat., vol. 67, pp. 2452-2461, 2019', wherein a graphene metasurface was devised to …


Design, Analysis, And Application Of Flipped Product Chaotic System, Md Sakib Hasan, Partha Sarathi Paul, Anurag Dhungel, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain Jan 2022

Design, Analysis, And Application Of Flipped Product Chaotic System, Md Sakib Hasan, Partha Sarathi Paul, Anurag Dhungel, Maisha Sadia, Md Razuan Hossain

Faculty and Student Publications

In this paper, a novel method is proposed to build an improved 1-D discrete chaotic map called flipped product chaotic system (FPCS) by multiplying the output of one map with the output of a vertically flipped second map. Two variants, each with nine combinations, are shown with trade-off between computational cost and performance. The chaotic properties are explored using the bifurcation diagram, Lyapunov exponent, Kolmogorov entropy, and correlation coefficient. The proposed schemes offer a wider chaotic range and improved chaotic performance compared to the constituent maps and several prior works of similar nature. Wide chaotic window and improved chaotic complexity …


A Proper Framework For Studying Noise From Jets With Non-Compact Sources, Woutijn J. Baars, Nathan E. Murray, Charles E. Tinney Dec 2021

A Proper Framework For Studying Noise From Jets With Non-Compact Sources, Woutijn J. Baars, Nathan E. Murray, Charles E. Tinney

Faculty and Student Publications

A quantitative assessment of the acoustic source field produced by a laboratory-scale heated jet with a gas dynamic Mach number of 1.55 and an acoustic Mach number of 2.41 is performed using arrays of microphones that are traversed across the axial and radial plane of the jet's acoustic field. The nozzle contour comprises a method of characteristics shape so that shock-related noise is minimal and the dominant sound production mechanism is from Mach waves. The spatial topography of the overall sound pressure level is shown to be dominated by a distinct lobe residing on the principal acoustic emission path, which …


A Multiwell Plate-Based System For Toxicity Screening Under Multiple Static Or Cycling Oxygen Environments, Ming Yao, Glenn Walker, Michael P. Gamcsik Dec 2021

A Multiwell Plate-Based System For Toxicity Screening Under Multiple Static Or Cycling Oxygen Environments, Ming Yao, Glenn Walker, Michael P. Gamcsik

Faculty and Student Publications

Tumor tissue contains a continuous distribution of static and dynamically changing oxygen environments with levels ranging from physiologically normal oxygen down to anoxia. However, in vitro studies are often performed under oxygen levels that are far higher than those found in vivo. A number of devices are available to alter the oxygen environment in cell culture, including designs from our laboratory. However, in our devices and most other designs, changing the media in order to feed or dose cells remains a disruptive factor in maintaining a consistent hypoxic environment. This report presents a novel 96-well plate design that recirculates the …


Metasurface Cloaks To Decouple Closely Spaced Printed Dipole Antenna Arrays Fed By A Microstrip-To-Balanced Transmission-Line Transition, Doojin Lee, Alexander B. Yakovlev Sep 2021

Metasurface Cloaks To Decouple Closely Spaced Printed Dipole Antenna Arrays Fed By A Microstrip-To-Balanced Transmission-Line Transition, Doojin Lee, Alexander B. Yakovlev

Faculty and Student Publications

In this work, we present a numerical study of 1D and 2D closely spaced antenna arrays of microstrip dipole antennas covered by a metasurface in order to properly cloak and decouple the antenna arrays operating at neighboring frequencies. We show that the two strongly coupled arrays fed by a microstrip-to-balanced transmission-line transition are effectively decoupled in 1D and 2D array scenarios by covering the dipole antenna elements with an elliptically shaped metasurface. The metasurface comprises sub-wavelength periodic metallic strips printed on an elliptically shaped dielectric cover around the dipole antennas and integrated with the substrate. We present a practical design …


Study Of Forward And Backward Modes In Double-Sided Dielectric-Filled Corrugated Waveguides, Pilar Castillo-Tapia, Francisco Mesa, Alexander Yakovlev, Guido Valerio, Oscar Quevedo-Teruel Sep 2021

Study Of Forward And Backward Modes In Double-Sided Dielectric-Filled Corrugated Waveguides, Pilar Castillo-Tapia, Francisco Mesa, Alexander Yakovlev, Guido Valerio, Oscar Quevedo-Teruel

Faculty and Student Publications

This work studies the propagation characteristics of a rectangular waveguide with aligned/ misaligned double-sided dielectric-filled metallic corrugations. Two modes are found to propagate in the proposed double-sided configuration below the hollow-waveguide cutoff frequency: a quasi-resonant mode and a backward mode. This is in contrast to the single-sided configuration, which only allows for backward propagation. Moreover, the double-sided configuration can be of interest for waveguide miniaturization on account of the broader band of its backward mode. The width of the stopband between the quasi-resonant and backward modes can be controlled by the misalignment of the top and bottom corrugations, being null …


Heteroacene-Based Amphiphile As A Molecular Scaffold For Bioimaging Probes, Tharindu A. Ranathunge, Mahesh Loku Yaddehige, Jordan H. Varma, Cameron Smith, Jay Nguyen, Iyanuoluwani Owolabi, Wojciech Kolodziejczyk, Nathan I. Hammer, Glake Hill, Alex Flynt, Davita L. Watkins Aug 2021

Heteroacene-Based Amphiphile As A Molecular Scaffold For Bioimaging Probes, Tharindu A. Ranathunge, Mahesh Loku Yaddehige, Jordan H. Varma, Cameron Smith, Jay Nguyen, Iyanuoluwani Owolabi, Wojciech Kolodziejczyk, Nathan I. Hammer, Glake Hill, Alex Flynt, Davita L. Watkins

Faculty and Student Publications

The challenges faced with current fluorescence imaging agents have motivated us to study two nanostructures based on a hydrophobic dye, 6H-pyrrolo[3,2-b:4,5-b’]bis [1,4]benzothiazine (TRPZ). TRPZ is a heteroacene with a rigid, pi-conjugated structure, multiple reactive sites, and unique spectroscopic properties. Here we coupled TRPZ to a tert-butyl carbamate (BOC) protected 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propanoic acid (bisMPA) dendron via azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition. Deprotection of the protected amine groups on the dendron afforded a cationic terminated amphiphile, TRPZ-bisMPA. TRPZ-bisMPA was nanoprecipitated into water to obtain nanoparticles (NPs) with a hydrodynamic radius that was comparison, TRPZ-PG was encapsulated in pluronic-F127 (Mw = 12 kD), a polymer surfactant …


Tracking The Amide I And Αcoo− Terminal Ν(C=O) Raman Bands In A Family Of L-Glutamic Acid-Containing Peptide Fragments: A Raman And Dft Study, Ashley E. Williams, Nathan I. Hammer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Dana N. Reinemann Aug 2021

Tracking The Amide I And Αcoo− Terminal Ν(C=O) Raman Bands In A Family Of L-Glutamic Acid-Containing Peptide Fragments: A Raman And Dft Study, Ashley E. Williams, Nathan I. Hammer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Dana N. Reinemann

Faculty and Student Publications

The E-hook of β-tubulin plays instrumental roles in cytoskeletal regulation and function. The last six C-terminal residues of the βII isotype, a peptide of amino acid sequence EGEDEA, extend from the microtubule surface and have eluded characterization with classic X-ray crystallographic techniques. The band position of the characteristic amide I vibration of small peptide fragments is heavily dependent on the length of the peptide chain, the extent of intramolecular hydrogen bonding, and the overall polarity of the fragment. The dependence of the E residue’s amide I ν(C=O) and the αCOO− terminal ν(C=O) bands on the neighboring side chain, the length …


Evaluating The Effect Of City Ordinances On The Implementation And Performance Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (Gsi), Liya E. Abera, Cristiane Q. Surbeck, Kristina Alexander Aug 2021

Evaluating The Effect Of City Ordinances On The Implementation And Performance Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (Gsi), Liya E. Abera, Cristiane Q. Surbeck, Kristina Alexander

Faculty and Student Publications

The replacement of natural pervious surfaces with impervious surfaces due to urbanization, construction, and development causes excess stormwater runoff and results in cities experiencing localized flooding events. The installation of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is one way of reducing flooding events and preventing downstream erosion and damage. In this study, computer rainfall-runoff simulations were performed to analyze GSI's effectiveness in mitigating stormwater runoff when applied to sites with different soil types and for which different design storms were established by regulation. A mixed-use development site was used as a hypothetical site on which to perform the analysis. The study applied …


Th2/Th1 Cytokine Imbalance Is Associated With Higher Covid-19 Risk Mortality, Ana B. Pavel, Jacob W. Glickman, James R. Michels, Seunghee Kim-Schulze, Rachel L. Miller, Emma Guttman-Yassky Jul 2021

Th2/Th1 Cytokine Imbalance Is Associated With Higher Covid-19 Risk Mortality, Ana B. Pavel, Jacob W. Glickman, James R. Michels, Seunghee Kim-Schulze, Rachel L. Miller, Emma Guttman-Yassky

Faculty and Student Publications

A major component of COVID-19 severe respiratory syndrome is the patient’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the consequential multi-organ inflammatory response. Several studies suggested a potential role of CD4+ T cells in COVID-19 severe respiratory syndrome. We first hypothesized that there is a type 2 helper (Th2)/type 1 helper (Th1) imbalance in older age, male, asthma, smokers, and high ACE2 expression phenotype in the airway of non-infected patients. Next, we hypothesized that a Th2/Th1 imbalance may predict higher mortality in COVID-19 infected hospitalized patients with and without patient reported current asthma. We first analyzed publicly available gene expression …


Microscopic Traffic Simulation As A Decision Support System For Road Diet And Tactical Urbanism Strategies, Bernice Liu, Amirarsalan Mehrara Molan, Anurag Pande, Jonathan Howard, Serena Alexander, Zhiliang Lou Jul 2021

Microscopic Traffic Simulation As A Decision Support System For Road Diet And Tactical Urbanism Strategies, Bernice Liu, Amirarsalan Mehrara Molan, Anurag Pande, Jonathan Howard, Serena Alexander, Zhiliang Lou

Faculty and Student Publications

Urban street networks in the United States have been primarily designed for automobile traffic with negligible considerations to non-motorized transportation users. Due to environmental issues and quality of life concerns, communities are reclaiming street spaces for active modes and slowing the speeds in their downtown. Moreover, tactical urbanism, i.e., the use of street space for innovative purposes other than moving automobile traffic, is becoming attractive due to reduced automobile travel demand and the need for outdoor activities in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study provides details of the modeling of an urban downtown network (in the City of …


Improving The 2d Numerical Simulations On Local Scour Hole Around Spur Dikes, Chung Ta Liao, Keh Chia Yeh, Yin Chi Lan, Ren Kai Jhong, Yafei Jia May 2021

Improving The 2d Numerical Simulations On Local Scour Hole Around Spur Dikes, Chung Ta Liao, Keh Chia Yeh, Yin Chi Lan, Ren Kai Jhong, Yafei Jia

Faculty and Student Publications

Local scour is a common threat to structures such as bridge piers, abutments, and dikes that are constructed on natural rivers. To reduce the risk of foundation failure, the understanding of local scour phenomenon around hydraulic structures is important. The well-predicted scour depth can be used as a reference for structural foundation design and river management. Numerical simulation is relatively efficient at studying these issues. Currently, two-dimensional (2D) mobile-bed models are widely used for river engineering. However, a common 2D model is inadequate for solving the three-dimensional (3D) flow field and local scour phenomenon because of the depth-averaged hypothesis. This …


Multi-Scale, Class-Generic, Privacy-Preserving Video, Zhixiang Zhang, Thomas Cilloni, Charles Walter, Charles Fleming May 2021

Multi-Scale, Class-Generic, Privacy-Preserving Video, Zhixiang Zhang, Thomas Cilloni, Charles Walter, Charles Fleming

Faculty and Student Publications

In recent years, high-performance video recording devices have become ubiquitous, posing an unprecedented challenge to preserving personal privacy. As a result, privacy-preserving video systems have been receiving increased attention. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving video algorithm that uses semantic segmentation to identify regions of interest, which are then anonymized with an adaptive blurring algorithm. This algorithm addresses two of the most important shortcomings of existing solutions: it is multi-scale, meaning it can identify and uniformly anonymize objects of different scales in the same image, and it is class-generic, so it can be used to anonymize any class …


The Great Equalizer Or A Modern Iteration Of Historical Inequality: Artificial Intelligence In Latin America, Santana Amaker May 2021

The Great Equalizer Or A Modern Iteration Of Historical Inequality: Artificial Intelligence In Latin America, Santana Amaker

Honors Theses

In recent years, governments across Latin America have taken steps to foster the development and implementation of artificial intelligence causing an expansion of the use of AI in the region. For instance, countries like Colombia and Argentina are using AI in their judicial systems. Superficially, the allure of AI in the judicial system stems from the thought that AI is an impartial entity that will pass fair and unbiased judgement. However, just like the programmers responsible for creating AI, algorithms used in AI system can be biased. The reason being AI is often trained to make predictions or decisions based …


Economic Feasibility Of A Methanol To Dimethyl Ether Production Process To Avoid Contract Failure Shortfalls From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Noll, Robert Wasson, Harrison Mckinnis May 2021

Economic Feasibility Of A Methanol To Dimethyl Ether Production Process To Avoid Contract Failure Shortfalls From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Noll, Robert Wasson, Harrison Mckinnis

Honors Theses

Our team entered the 2021 AVEVA Academic Competition, where teams of undergraduate senior chemical engineering students competed across the country. The competition was composed of two parts: the base case design and the optimization of a chemical process. As part of the competition, our team is acting as the Engineering team for a fictional company that has given us this project. Due to COVID-19, our methanol producing company has lost a contract with a customer, leaving 23,000 tonnes/yr of unclaimed methanol. We have two choices with this methanol: either sell the methanol on the market at the spot price for …


Feasibility Study Of Portable Solar Powered Blood Storing Refrigerator, Saroj Subedi May 2021

Feasibility Study Of Portable Solar Powered Blood Storing Refrigerator, Saroj Subedi

Honors Theses

This report is focused on the preliminary feasibility of portable solar-powered blood-storing refrigerators primarily based on calculations of energy required to maintain the temperature of the refrigerator, the electricity required throughout the day, calculating sufficiency of power supplied by the solar panel, and selection of battery for power storage. The method and the trend of a feasibility study involve the study of blood properties, separation of blood components after donation, and their storage conditions. Then, the portable size of the refrigeration has been proposed with three different compartments for storage of each blood component. The further methods involve the selection …


Epi-Mucosa Fixation And Autologous Platelet-Rich Fibrin Treatment In Medication-Related Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw, Antonio Cortese, Antonio Casarella, Candace M. Howard, Pier Paolo Claudio May 2021

Epi-Mucosa Fixation And Autologous Platelet-Rich Fibrin Treatment In Medication-Related Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw, Antonio Cortese, Antonio Casarella, Candace M. Howard, Pier Paolo Claudio

Faculty and Student Publications

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) frequently affects patients after treatments with bisphosphonates or denosumab, especially with high doses in patients with bone osteoporosis, neoplastic metastases, or possibly anti-angiogenic treatment for cancer. The aim of this article was to show a new treatment planning for stage 2 and stage 3 MRONJ using platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) at the surgical field to enhance healing in association with a new epi-mucosal fixation technique to prevent or treat mandibular fracture. Two cases were treated by epi-mucosa fixation and autologous PRF use for prevention of mandibular fracture risks related to necrotic bone resection or a …