Engineering Commons^™

Pltw Female High-School Students' Supports And Barriers In Choosing A College Degree, Lisa Lubin Rubin

Dissertations

Purpose:The purpose of this mixed-methods research study is to identify and describe the barriers and supports that PLTW female students encounter when pursuing a non-traditional female STEM degree upon graduation from high school.

Methodology:A mixed-method (qualitative-quantitative) research design was chosen for this study to explore barriers and supports of female high-school seniors in PLTW. The qualitative portion of the study was phenomenology. This study explored the supports and barriers of female high-school seniors in PLTW courses when choosing a college degree. The quantitative portion of the study was conducted via a hard-copy survey containing closed-ended five-point Likert scale …

Fluid Manipulations Using A Piezo Electric Transformer For Sensing And Spray Generation Applications, Zeinab Ramshani

Dissertations

A steady effort has been made on the development of fluid manipulation techniques for sensing and actuating systems. Conventional techniques of fluid manipulation for sensing and spray generation purposes, often need trained staff or high input power and they are complicated, time consuming and expensive. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new systems which can overcome these drawbacks.

In this dissertation, the author has developed piezoelectric-based systems for fluid manipulation. The focus of this dissertation involves novel approaches of enhancing the sensing and actuating systems using the piezoelectric devices. This includes designing a system, which theoretically can overcome the limitations …

Cellulose Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites By In-Situ Ring-Opening Polymerization, Shahab Kashani Rahimi

Dissertations

Over the past two decades, the increasing concern about the negative environmental impacts of synthetic materials has led to rising interests in utilizing renewable natural resources to develop polymer materials with comparable properties and performance to their synthetic counterparts. One of the major fields of interest is polymer composites where the replacement of synthetic fibers with bio renewable natural fibers is of great potential. However, the processing difficulties, in terms of fiber dispersion and thermal stability have limited the application of cellulosic fibers to polymers with low processing temperatures which are mostly hydrophobic polymers. As a result, the true reinforcing …

Study On The Dispersion Of Particles At A Fluid-Liquid Interface And Its Application In Hydrophilous Pollination, Naga Aditya Musunuri

Dissertations

This dissertation work describes the physics of particle adsorption and the spontaneous dispersion of powders that occurs when they come in contact with a fluid-liquid interface and its application in hydrophilous pollination of Ruppia Maritima, an aquatic plant. The dispersion of particles can occur so quickly that it appears explosive, especially for small particles on the surface of mobile liquids like water. PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) measurements show that the adsorption of a spherical particle at the interface causes an axisymmetric streaming flow about the vertical line passing through the particle center. The fluid directly below the particle rises upward, …

Mobile Cloud Computing And Network Function Virtualization For 5g Systems, Ali Al-Shuwaili

Dissertations

The recent growth of the number of smart mobile devices and the emergence of complex multimedia mobile applications have brought new challenges to the design of wireless mobile networks. The envisioned Fifth-Generation (5G) systems are equipped with different technical solutions that can accommodate the increasing demands for high date rate, latency-limited, energy-efficient and reliable mobile communication networks.

Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) is a key technology in 5G systems that enables the offloading of computationally heavy applications, such as for augmented or virtual reality, object recognition, or gaming from mobile devices to cloudlet or cloud servers, which are connected to wireless …

Fast Estimation Model Of Pressure-Temperature Response For Planning Focused Ultrasound Surgery, Tariq Mohammad Arif

Dissertations

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is becoming a widely accepted modality for extracorporeal non-invasive hyperthermia and surgical procedures. Since ultrasonic transducers need to operate in various challenging body locations, the arrangement of their array elements can be optimized to improve the capability of controlling focus intensity. In the first part of this dissertation, patterns of pressure field variations with several selected design variables (kerf, transducer element’s number and element’s width-height) are studied. These patterns indicate that there is a more suitable shape and arrangement of transducer elements in a specified area to achieve highest possible pressure. In order to obtain …

The Use Of Audio Stimulation To Affect Sensorimotor Learning, Gregory Nicholas Ranky

Dissertations

Sensorimotor learning for the hand and fingers can be conducted using both hardware and software components, but the training regime is also important. Using repetitive sequence tapping allows measurement of defined metrics in a controlled, safe environment, and therefore statistical indications for subject improvement.

The process of entrainment, when a subject’s own movements synchronize to an external signal, has been tested in prior studies for memorization and recognition, but has not been investigated for correlation with sensorimotor learning.

This is tested with selected custom isochronic audio tones, combined with sequential finger tapping on a standard computer keyboard.

Whilst there were …

Seepage Monitoring And Diagnosis Of Distresses In An Earth Embankment Dam Using Probability Methods, Seyed Mohammad Reza Mousavian

Dissertations

Failure of embankment dams may result in catastrophic consequences. Considering seepage and internal erosion are accounted as one of the major causes of failure in earth embankment dams, it is essential to detect any concentrated seepage and sources of distress at early stages. A number of investigation and monitoring methods exist for the detection of seepage, with varying degrees of technological and implementation complexity. This research, focuses on the Electrical Resistivity Monitoring Method (ERM), and develops a condition assessment process that allows 1) the identification of potential seepage areas and progress through visual observation and flow measurement, and 2) the …

Long-Term Management And Condition Assessment Of Concrete Culvert, Zhenting Zou

Dissertations

Infrastructure is the backbone of national security, economic growth, public safety and other aspects of the society. Nationwide, the condition of America’s infrastructure was graded as “D+” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2013.

Owners and responsible agencies have employed various cost-effective maintenance and repair methods as well as analytical tools to repair and extend the service life of the infrastructure. However, without a long-term plan, maintenance work can be delayed by lack of funds. Maintenance delay may cause significant reduction in condition state leading to premature failure of the infrastructure. Consequently, a long-term rehabilitation plan is …

Decision Models For Fast-Fashion Supply And Stocking Problems In Internet Fulfillment Warehouses, Jingran Zhang

Dissertations

Internet technology is being widely used to transform all aspects of the modern supply chain. Specifically, accelerated product flows and wide spread information sharing across the supply chain have generated new sets of decision problems. This research addresses two such problems. The first focuses on fast fashion supply chains in which inventory and price are managed in real time to maximize retail cycle revenue. The second is concerned with explosive storage policies in Internet Fulfillment Warehouses (IFW).

Fashion products are characterized by short product life cycles and market success uncertainty. An unsuccessful product will often require multiple price discounts to …

A Meta-Analysis Of Energy Savings From Lighting Programs In Michigan, Teryila Ephraim Amough

Dissertations

In order to fill the gap in aggregates savings, the challenges faced by electric utilities for the demand of lighting energy are addressed by lighting efficiency programs. The shrinking capacity and electrical grid reliability call for improved ways to evaluate energy saving programs with evaluation methods that are robust in determining the impact of lighting programs. This study employed meta-analysis as an evaluation method to determine energy savings, impact, emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), pollutants, and health effects from lighting programs in Michigan. The findings of the study showed the programs impact in Hedges’ g of 0.36 for the overall …

Fate Of Conductive Ink Pigments During Recycling And Landfill Deposition Of Paper-Based Printed Electronics, James Edward Atkinson

Dissertations

Printed electronics (PE) are being developed as an alternative to traditional electronics, due to the more efficient use of materials and lower cost of production. The overall goal of this study was to understand how metallic pigments in conductive inks in PE are partitioned during landfill disposal and paper recycling conditions. The purpose is to assess the potential environmental impacts of PE landfilling in terms of metal leaching and to help develop new strategies for sequestering metallic ink components while paper-based PE are subjected to conventional paper recycling methods. The objective of this research is to study the fate of …

Airspace Analysis For Greener Operations: Towards More Adoptability And Predictability Of Continuous Descent Approach (Cda), Emad Ali Alharbi

Dissertations

Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), also known as Optimized Profile Descent (OPD), is the advanced flight technique for commercial aircraft to descend continuously from cruise altitude to Final Approach Fix (FAF) or touchdown without level-offs and with- or near-idle thrust setting. Descending using CDA, aircraft stays as high as possible for longer time thereby expanding the vertical distance between aircraft's sources of noise and ground, and thus significantly reducing the noise levels for populated areas around airports. Also, descending with idle engines, fuel burn is reduced resulting in reduction of harmful emissions to the environment and fuel consumption to air carriers. …

A Novel Approach To Increase Upper Extremity Active Range Of Motion For Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Admittance Control, Madeline Catherine Corrigan

Dissertations

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 1 in 3,500-5,000 male births, results in progressive muscle weakness causing loss of independence and imposing the demands of costly and intrusive assistive support and personal care for daily living tasks. Upper extremity function begins to decline while ambulation is still possible and gradually progresses with time, playing a prominent role in loss of independence. Importantly, upper extremity functional limitations exist despite residual muscle strength that is insufficient to lift the arms against gravity. Presently, there exist a number of commercially available assistive devices aimed at augmenting upper extremity …

Investigation Into The Application Of Personality Insights And Language Tone Analysis In Spam Classification, Colm Mcgetrick

Dissertations

Due to its persistence spam remains as one of the biggest problems facing users and suppliers of email communication services. Machine learning techniques have been very successful at preventing many spam mails from arriving in user mailboxes, however they still account for over 50% of all emails sent. Despite this relative success the economic cost of spam has been estimated as high as $50 billion in 2005 and more recently at $20 billion so spam can still be considered a considerable problem. In essence a spam email is a commercial communication trying to entice the receiver to take some positive …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Cerium And Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes For The Protection Of Polymeric Epoxy Compounds In The Low Earth Orbit Environment, Jessica Miriam Piness

Dissertations

Low Earth orbit presents many hazards for composites including atomic oxygen, UV radiation, thermal cycling, micrometeoroids, and high energy protons. Atomic oxygen and vacuum ultraviolet radiation are of concern for space-bound polymeric materials as they degrade the polymers used as matrices for carbon fiber composites, which are used in satellites and space vehicles due to their high strength to weight ratios. Epoxy-amine thermosets comprise a common class of matrix due to processability and good thermal attributes. Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) have shown the ability to reduce erosion in polyimides, polyurethanes, and other polymers when exposed to atomic oxygen. The POSS …

Formation Of Nanostructured Epoxy Networks Containing Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (Poss) And Silica Nanoparticles, Amit K. Sharma

Dissertations

This dissertation is focused on structure-property-processing relationship studies based on well-defined polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) modified epoxy networks to present a comprehensive understanding of hybrid network behavior. In this research, a monoamine functional POSS molecule is incorporated into the epoxy monomer as pendant unit to mimic common epoxy structures and then crosslinked to form well-defined epoxy hybrid networks. The POSS cages behave as nanosized pendant unit in the epoxy matrices, while the mass fraction of POSS cages is varied and the effects on physical properties are examined with respect to changes in network architecture.

A novel continuous reactor method is …

Design And Synthesis Of Polymer Brush Surfaces With Complex Molecular Architectures And Morphologies, Wei Guo

Dissertations

The combination of surface-initiated polymerization (SIP) and postpolymerization modification (PPM) is a powerful technique for the fabrication of functional soft surfaces. Better understanding the influence of the aforementioned factors on the PPM effectiveness is valuable for fulfilling the potential of the PPM approach for the fabrication of functional soft surfaces. Specifically, by carefully balancing modification reactivity and limitation of mass transport, polymer brush with composition heterogeneity and gradient along the normal direction of the surface otherwise unattainable by methods of direct polymerization can be fabricated via the PPM approach which opens doors to new routes to polymer brush with complex …

Effect Of Chain Rigidity On Network Architecture And Deformation Behavior Of Glassy Polymer Networks, Kyler Reser Knowles

Dissertations

Processing carbon fiber composite laminates creates molecular-level strains in the thermoset matrix upon curing and cooling which can lead to failures such as geometry deformations, micro-cracking, and other issues. It is known strain creation is attributed to the significant volume and physical state changes undergone by the polymer matrix throughout the curing process, though storage and relaxation of cure-induced strains remain poorly understood. This dissertation establishes two approaches to address the issue. The first establishes testing methods to simultaneously measure key volumetric properties of a carbon fiber composite laminate and its polymer matrix. The second approach considers the rigidity of …

Polyisobutylene Telechelic Prepolymers By In Situ End-Quenching And Post-Polymerization Modifications, Bin Yang

Dissertations

This volume focuses on the development of telechelic polyisobutylene (PIB) prepolymers by combining end-capping of living carbocationic polymerization of isobutylene (IB) with suitable reactants and post-polymerization modifications. Alkylation kinetics of PIB tert-chloride with alkoxybenzenes using either TiCl₄ or AlCl₃ were investigated. Quantitative para-position end-capped products were only achieved if the alkoxybenzene/AlCl₃ molar ratio was greater than unity; while no such molar ratio is required for TiCl₄, but the alkylation rate was slower than AlCl₃ under the same conditions. Photopolymerization kinetics analysis of PIB triphenol tri(meth)acrylates with low and high M_ns, …

The Design And Optimization Of Cooperative Mobile Edge, Xueqing Huang

Dissertations

As the world is charging towards the Internet of Things (IoT) era, an enormous amount of sensors will be rapidly empowered with internet connectivity. Besides the fact that the end devices are getting more diverse, some of them are also becoming more powerful, such that they can function as standalone mobile computing units with multiple wireless network interfaces. At the network end, various facilities are also pushed to the mobile edge to foster internet connections. Distributed small scale cloud resources and green energy harvesters can be directly attached to the deployed heterogeneous base stations.

Different from the traditional wireless access …

Forensic Research On Detecting Seam Carving In Digital Images, Jingyu Ye

Dissertations

Digital images have been playing an important role in our daily life for the last several decades. Naturally, image editing technologies have been tremendously developed due to the increasing demands. As a result, digital images can be easily manipulated on a personal computer or even a cellphone for many purposes nowadays, so that the authenticity of digital images becomes an important issue. In this dissertation research, four machine learning based forensic methods are presented to detect one of the popular image editing techniques, called ‘seam carving’.

To reveal seam carving applied to uncompressed images from the perspective of energy distribution …

Design And Optimization Of An Explosive Storage Policy In Internet Fulfillment Warehouses, Sevilay Onal

Dissertations

This research investigates the warehousing operations of internet retailers. The primary physical process in internet retail is fulfillment, which typically involves a large internet fulfillment warehouse (IFW) that has been built and designed exclusively for online sales and an accompanying parcel delivery network. Based on observational studies of IFW operations at a leading internet retailer, the investigations find that traditional warehousing methods are being replaced by new methods which better leverage information technology and efficiently serve the new internet retail driven supply chain economy. Traditional methods assume a warehouse moves bulk volumes to retail points where the bulks get broken …

Multiprocessing Real Time Vision Based System For Condition Monitoring In Solar Panels, Moath Hashim Alsafasfeh

Dissertations

Enabling an algorithm to be executed in parallel on a multicore or a multiprocessor system has become a necessity for many real time applications. Multicore systems are widely used to improve performance and satisfy time and power demands. In this dissertation, solar energy, which has proved itself as the future clean source of energy, is also considered in real time. Optimum utilization of this energy propelled research efforts into many directions of the solar system components. However, while real time operations of Photovoltaic (PV) systems occur without any supervisory mechanisms, many internal and/or external obstacles can occur and hinder a …

Architecture, Simulation, And Implementation Of Commodity Computer Components In Software Defined Radio Systems, Amean Al-Safi

Dissertations

Radio communications have evolved through an extended history of theoretical and practical component development into modern devices most often envisioned as the ubiquitous smart phones found in almost everyone’s hand on a university campus. During this development, radios have evolved from analog devices operating at low frequencies into nearly all digital processing systems referred to as Software Defined Radio (SDR) operating in frequency bands over 1 Gigahertz. Although specific forms and types of communication are fiercely pursued by commercial communication companies and industry, there remain numerous concepts where further advancement is possible, and applications, possibly less commercially viable, where advancements …

An Investigation Of The Correlation Between Mental Workload And Web User’S Interaction, Joaquim Filipe Romero

Dissertations

Mental Workload, a psychological concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the usability of web sites by analysing the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied …

An Investigation Of The Correlation Between Mental Workload And Web User’S Interaction, Joaquim Filipe Romero

Dissertations

Mental Workload, a Psychology concept, was identified as being linked with task’s and system’s performance. In the context of Human-Computer Interaction, recent research has identified Mental Workload as an important measure in the designing and evaluation of web interfaces, and as an additional and supplemental insight to typical Usability evaluation methods. Simultaneously, web logs containing data related to web users’ interaction (e.g. scrolling; mouse clicks) have been proved useful in evaluating the Usability of web sites by levering the data tracked for hundreds of users. In order to study if the potential of logs of user interaction can be applied …

Online Algorithms For Content Caching: An Economic Perspective, Ammar Gharaibeh

Dissertations

Content Caching at intermediate nodes, such that future requests can be served without going back to the origin of the content, is an effective way to optimize the operations of computer networks. Therefore, content caching reduces the delivery delay and improves the users’ Quality of Experience (QoE). The current literature either proposes offline algorithms that have complete knowledge of the request profile a priori, or proposes heuristics without provable performance. In this dissertation, online algorithms are presented for content caching in three different network settings: the current Internet Network, collaborative multi-cell coordinated network, and future Content Centric Networks (CCN). Due …

Sparsity Based Methods For Target Localization In Multi-Sensor Radar, Haley H. Kim

Dissertations

In this dissertation, several sparsity-based methods for ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) random arrays are proposed. MIMO random arrays are large arrays that employ multiple transmitters and receivers, the positions of the transmitters and the receivers are randomly chosen. Since the resolution of the array depends on the size of the array, MIMO random arrays obtain a high resolution. However, since the positions of the sensors are randomly chosen, the array suffers from large sidelobes which may lead to an increased false alarm probability. The number of sensors of a MIMO random array required to …

Assessment Of A Hand Exoskeleton On Proximal And Distal Training In Virtual Environments For Robot Mediated Upper Extremity Rehabilitation, Kevin Abbruzzese

Dissertations

Stroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States with approximately 800,000 cases per year. This cerebral vascular accident results in neurological impairments that reduce limb function and limit the daily independence of the individual. Evidence suggests that therapeutic interventions with repetitive motor training can aid in functional recovery of the paretic limb. Robotic rehabilitation may present an exercise intervention that can improve training and induce motor plasticity in individuals with stroke. An active (motorized) hand exoskeleton that provides support for wrist flexion/extension, abduction/adduction, pronation/supination, and finger pinch is integrated with a pre-existing 3-Degree of Freedom (DOF) haptic …