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University of Vermont

2023

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Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Traffic Safety Toolbox - Addressing Speeds: Final Report, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould May 2023

Traffic Safety Toolbox - Addressing Speeds: Final Report, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

Reducing speeding and aggressive driving is one of seven critical emphasis areas identified in the Vermont Highway Safety Plan, which targets reductions in major crashes on Vermont highways. Vermont towns recognize the need to discourage speeding and implement countermeasures that will bring speeds down to posted speed limits, especially in transition zones from high-speed rural highways to low-speed village streets. Vermont’s villages and towns often lack the resources and capacity needed to select and implement speeding countermeasures that will be effective and appropriate for a particular context. There is a need for targeted, digestible guidance to assist these municipalities. This …

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Effectiveness Of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (Rrfbs) In Small And Rural Communities, Dana Rowangould, James Sullivan, Parsa Pezeshknejad Mar 2023

Effectiveness Of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (Rrfbs) In Small And Rural Communities, Dana Rowangould, James Sullivan, Parsa Pezeshknejad

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

Ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in rural and small communities is becoming increasingly important as planners seek to encourage active travel and eliminate traffic-related injuries and fatalities, consistent with Vision Zero. One area of focus is the protection of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, who face a significant risk of injury or death in a traffic collision. The risks to pedestrians are particularly high when crossing roadways in high-risk areas such as high-speed and low pedestrian-volume rural roads and between intersections where drivers may not expect them. One concern in rural communities is that pedestrians may face …

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Data-Driven Reachability Of Non-Linear Systems Via Optimization Of Chen-Fliess Series, Ivan Perez Avellaneda Jan 2023

Data-Driven Reachability Of Non-Linear Systems Via Optimization Of Chen-Fliess Series, Ivan Perez Avellaneda

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A reachable set is the set of all possible states produced by applying a set of inputs, initial states, and parameters. The fundamental problem of reachability is checking if a set of states is reached provided a set of inputs, initial states, and parameters, typically, in a finite time. In the engineering field, reachability analysis is used to test the guarantees of the operation’s safety of a system. In the present work, the reachability analysis of nonlinear control affine systems is studied by means of the Chen-Fliess series. Different perspectives for addressing the reachability problem, such as interval arithmetic, mixed-monotonicity, …

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The Role Of Information And Education On Modifying Support For Gas Tax Alternatives Using An Informed Choice Questionnaire, Clare Nelson, Gregory Rowangould Jan 2023

The Role Of Information And Education On Modifying Support For Gas Tax Alternatives Using An Informed Choice Questionnaire, Clare Nelson, Gregory Rowangould

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

In the United States, transportation fuel excise taxes commonly referred to as the “gas tax” provide a large share of funding to state agencies for transportation maintenance and construction projects. The revenue generating capacity of the gas tax is threatened by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency, electric vehicles adoption and inflation. Alternative funding schemes are necessary, but public acceptance of tax changes is low. We surveyed residents of Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire to gauge understanding of and support for a mileage-based user fee and a flat fee as potential replacements for the current gas tax and the potential to modify …

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Traffic Safety Toolbox: Speeding Countermeasures Toolbox For Vermont, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould, Erica Quallen, Danica Dytioco Jan 2023

Traffic Safety Toolbox: Speeding Countermeasures Toolbox For Vermont, James Sullivan, Dana Rowangould, Erica Quallen, Danica Dytioco

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

Reducing vehicle speeds is an important strategy for reducing the risk and severity of collisions and ensuring the safety of drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, especially in transition zones, where rural highways with higher posted speeds (typically 50 mph) enter a village or town center. This Traffic Safety Toolbox (“Toolbox”) of speeding countermeasures is intended for use by Vermont towns with posted speeds that are not widely adhered to by drivers, whether in a transition zone entering a village or town center (roads with speed limits of 35 mph and above and functional classifications of 3 or 4), or within the …

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“That Means Nothing To Me As A Normal Person Who Doesn't Know About Patents”: Usability Testing Of Google Patents And Patent Public Search With Undergraduate Engineering Students, Graham Sherriff, Molly Rogers Jan 2023

“That Means Nothing To Me As A Normal Person Who Doesn't Know About Patents”: Usability Testing Of Google Patents And Patent Public Search With Undergraduate Engineering Students, Graham Sherriff, Molly Rogers

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Patent searching is an important research tool for undergraduate engineering students, yet it requires special topic knowledge to conduct successfully. Patent database websites have the ability to alleviate or add to the complexity of patent searching, depending on their usability. Prompted by the launch of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Public Search (PPS) website in early 2022, the authors investigated the usability of PPS and Google Patents. The study's objective was to gain insights into the ways in which the websites of commonly-used patent databases support undergraduate students’ patent searching activities. The study examined students’ performance of typical …

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Effects Of Morphology On Genetic Assimilation Of Learned Behavior, Natalie L. Tolley Jan 2023

Effects Of Morphology On Genetic Assimilation Of Learned Behavior, Natalie L. Tolley

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The Baldwin effect is an evolutionary theory regarding the assimilation of ontogenetic changes into a population's genome via selection pressure to entrench beneficial phenotypes discovered through learning. In evolutionary computation, the incorporation of learning into non-embodied agents allows them to navigate otherwise rough fitness landscapes by allowing for local exploration at particular points in that landscape. Prior work investigating the specific mechanisms by which learned behavior is genetically assimilated is almost entirely limited to non-situated, non-embodied simulations such as bitstring manipulation. However, recent research has demonstrated that genetic assimilation can be observed in embodied agents. Learning more about the ways …

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Applications Of A Wearable Sensor Platform For Remotely Monitoring Impairment In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Brett Matthew Meyer Jan 2023

Applications Of A Wearable Sensor Platform For Remotely Monitoring Impairment In Persons With Multiple Sclerosis, Brett Matthew Meyer

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Multiple sclerosis is an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system that commonly results in impaired sensory function, balance, coordination, and fatigue. Persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) experience high rates of falls, with over half experiencing a fall in any three-month period. Presently, fall risk is assessed at biannual office visits, but symptoms are known to fluctuate and it is not clear that these assessments provide an adequate picture of a patient’s fall risk. Remote monitoring of a patient’s balance and mobility with wearable sensors may provide a way to better characterize fall risk, but technologies for making these measurements …

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Investigation Of Silane Coating Treatments On Phynolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator For Mars And Future Planetary Exploration, Ian Ballou Jan 2023

Investigation Of Silane Coating Treatments On Phynolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator For Mars And Future Planetary Exploration, Ian Ballou

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The atmospheric reentry of hypersonic vehicles causes extreme compression of the gas surrounding the hypersonic vehicle due to the extremely high velocities. These compressed gases create a high enthalpy plasma environment at the surface of the vehicle and transfer thermal energy through heating to the surface of the vehicle. An ablative heat shield is used as a thermal protective systems (TPS) for many hypersonic vehicles to mitigate the effects of excessive surface heating. An example of such a TPS material for NASA Mars and Titan missions is Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA).On production vehicles, a commercially available NuSil coating is …

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Intelligent Wide-Area Monitoring Systems Using Deep Learning, Mustafa Matar Jan 2023

Intelligent Wide-Area Monitoring Systems Using Deep Learning, Mustafa Matar

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Scientific advancements based on the wide-area measurements as a way to monitor systems, are fundamental in reliable operation of different types of complex networks. These advanced measurement units capable of real-time wide-area monitoring, which enables capture system dynamic behavior. Therefore, advanced technology is urgently necessary to analyze substantial streaming data from these networks and handle system uncertainties. As an example, uncertainties in power systems due to renewable energy and demand response. Power system operation, and planning have become more complex and vulnerable to extreme weather and natural disasters. Thus, increasing power system resilience has gained more attention.Machine Learning (ML), and …

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Surface Temperature Measurement Fidelity In High Enthalpy Plasma Test Facilities, Owen Plante Jan 2023

Surface Temperature Measurement Fidelity In High Enthalpy Plasma Test Facilities, Owen Plante

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The classification and study of thermal protection systems (TPS) relies heavily on the accurate measurement of surface temperature. The best way to measure surface temperature in ground test facilities is through optical pyrometery due to the non intrusive nature of this method. Optical pyrometric devices use the emission of a greybody curve to calculate temperatures. These devices are left susceptible to parasitic radiation coming from the plasma generated in ground test facilities. The parasitic radiation comes from the emission lines of the test plasma in the investigation region of the devices. The parasitic radiation from the plasma and short comings …

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Roles Of Mtorc1 And Mtorc2 In Epilepsy And Network Changes Induced By Pten Loss, Erin R. Cullen Jan 2023

Roles Of Mtorc1 And Mtorc2 In Epilepsy And Network Changes Induced By Pten Loss, Erin R. Cullen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Gene variants that hyperactivate the mTOR signaling pathway are a major cause of treatment-resistant epilepsy. The mTOR pathway influences neuron function through two distinct complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2. Pten loss of function (LOF) hyperactivates both mTOR complexes, and is thus a useful model for testing the effects of independent mTORC1 or mTORC2 hyperactivity on epilepsy and underlying neuropathology. Here, we evaluated the impact of genetic inactivation of the mTOR complexes in two mouse models of Pten LOF-driven epilepsy. In a germline GFAP-driven Pten LOF model targeting neurons in the dentate gyrus and cerebellum, a mild epilepsy phenotype was not rescued …

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Encapsulation And Culture Of Plant Protoplasts In Hydrogel Microspheres Using Droplet Microfluidics, Matthew Grasso Jan 2023

Encapsulation And Culture Of Plant Protoplasts In Hydrogel Microspheres Using Droplet Microfluidics, Matthew Grasso

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Plant morphogenesis requires the coordinated growth between cells and their neighbors. This coordination is regulated by internal and external signals that are both physical and chemical. It is understood that both mechanical and molecular signals are involved in the regulation of plant morphogenesis however, how mechanical signals induce molecular signals and vice versa is not. This is due to a lack of research tools for manipulating and measuring the mechanical environment of growing plant cells. Such tools would ideally provide individual plant cells with mechanically tunable physical microenvironments. This may allow changes in the cells physical environment to be linked …

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Tools To Measure Dispersion Descriptors From Polymer Nanocomposites, Kevin Dimas Zuniga Cuellar Jan 2023

Tools To Measure Dispersion Descriptors From Polymer Nanocomposites, Kevin Dimas Zuniga Cuellar

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

MaterialsMine is a new open-source data resource with the goal of supporting faster nanocomposite and metamaterials discovery and design. One goal of MaterialsMine is to provide tools that help researchers gain a better fundamental understanding of nanofiller behavior. While it is well known that the dispersion of nanofillers in nanocomposites critically controls properties, there is limited quantitative data. This thesis develops a methodology for quantitatively measuring the dispersion of polymer nanocomposites quickly and within the MaterialsMine data framework. The method processes transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images from MaterialsMine. TEM images are first pre-processed and transformed into binary images. Then the …

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Silicon Carbide Fabric Catalysis Assessment In An Inductively Coupled Plasma Facility, Christopher Michael Nolan Jan 2023

Silicon Carbide Fabric Catalysis Assessment In An Inductively Coupled Plasma Facility, Christopher Michael Nolan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Flexible thermal protection systems (FTPS) are being considered as they allow for atmospheric reentry of larger payloads. Current rigid aeroshells struggle to achieve this as they are limited by the shroud of the rocket being used. One promising material candidate for these flexible heat shields is a Hi-Nicalon silicon carbide (SiC) fabric. By utilizing the UVM 30 kW Inductively Coupled Plasma Facility, an array of experiments were performed to explore the chemical response to plasma in a variety of atmospheric conditions. The main goal of this thesis is to better understand gas surface interactions, mainly through two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF) …

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Surface Volatilization Investigation Of Graphite, Mitchell Stern Jan 2023

Surface Volatilization Investigation Of Graphite, Mitchell Stern

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The re-entry vehicle posseses enough kinetic energy that it becomes hypersonic while passing throughthe upper atmosphere. This kinetic energy is quickly transferred into thermal energy as the quiescent atmosphere turned hypersonics with reference to the vehicle suddenly stagnates. Furthermore, the high energy process of generating plasma also ablates the leading edge surfaces, causing reactions between the charged gasses and the solid material composing the thermal protection system (TPS) of the aircraft. These reactions can be exothermic an d pose an additional mode of heat transfer into the body of the aircraft. Learning more about the interactions within the boundary layer …

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Metagenomic Insights Into The Full-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Of Cow Manure And Pre-Treated Food Waste, Amy Camille Decola Jan 2023

Metagenomic Insights Into The Full-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Of Cow Manure And Pre-Treated Food Waste, Amy Camille Decola

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Anaerobic digestion provides many benefits, such as diverting organic waste from landfills, promoting nutrient recovery, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and producing renewable energy. A complex community of microorganisms is responsible for the anaerobic digestion process that converts organic matter into biogas, a renewable energy source. The start-up phase of an anaerobic digester is considered a crucial point in solidifying the core microbial community that will ensure a stable anaerobic digester. A full-scale anaerobic digester that co-digests cow manure and pre-treated food waste from a hydrolysis tank was studied from start-up through stable performance in order to better understand the dynamics …

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Sars-Cov-2 Surveillance And Assessment Of Oscillating Electric Field-Assisted Phosphorus Recovery And Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli In Wastewater, Kamruzzaman Khan Jan 2023

Sars-Cov-2 Surveillance And Assessment Of Oscillating Electric Field-Assisted Phosphorus Recovery And Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli In Wastewater, Kamruzzaman Khan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Clean water is one of the most essential substances for life on earth. However, human activities generate wastewater containing nutrients, pathogens, and other pollutants. The wastewater must be treated to specific standards before discharging into a natural body of water. Wastewater treatment is already a challenging task, and it is becoming more challenging due to increased human activities and pollutants of emerging concern. To address these challenges, a unique electric field-assisted method has been developed to complement existing treatment techniques to enhance the efficacy of wastewater treatment. There are two main parts to this work. The first part of the …

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Development Of A Portable Device For Quantifying Internal-External Rotational Laxity Of The Knee In Vivo, Haley Kuralt Jan 2023

Development Of A Portable Device For Quantifying Internal-External Rotational Laxity Of The Knee In Vivo, Haley Kuralt

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of mobility-related disability. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a form of OA that occurs after an acute injury to the affected joint. In the case of the knee, rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most common acute injury. ACL injury occurs in sports that involve cutting and pivoting motions, such as soccer, football, and skiing. Many patients opt to undergo ACL reconstructive surgery (ACLR) so that they may return to their sport with restored knee stability and function. Unfortunately, ACLR does not completely restore the knee to its original state, resulting in …

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