Engineering Commons^™

Mitigate Or Adapt?, Graham T. Reader

Thriving Through Climate Change and Pandemic 2021

Any changes in climate prior to the 19th century are attributed to natural causes, largely due to external factors. However, since 1992 such natural climate changes have been defined as climate variabilities by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Modern changes in climate, using the same framework, are presumed to be caused by human activities, especially from the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) generated from the combustion of fossil fuels. Subsequently, instead of humans finding ways to adapt to changes in climate by such measures as migration, precipitation harvesting, flood prevention, and irrigation, mitigation has become the ...

Potential Effects Of Single Use Plastics Ban On Ontario Manufacturers, Faranak Sadeghitabar, Beth-Anne Schuelke-Leech

Thriving Through Climate Change and Pandemic 2021

During the past few decades, plastics pollution has become a global concern. Governments are striving to find the best way to reduce plastics consumption and waste. The Government of Canada has proposed a ban on single-use plastics to be implemented in 2021, a potentially disruptive public policy. Many studies have been conducted on the environmental impacts of plastics and the benefits of a plastics ban, but little has been written about the potential effects of these policies on plastics manufacturers. An economic model was developed to analyze the effects on Ontario single use plastics manufacturers. Results of the model show ...

Project Alien, Rebecca Mccallin, Madelyn Hoying, Alex Evans, Matthew Nestler, Karli Rae Sutton, Garett Craig, Lucia Secaia Del Cid, Alexander Guy, Rachel Fernandez, Amanda Trusiak, Paige Aley, Ingabire Gakwerere, Nina Dorfner, Maria Mosbacher, Mary Flavin, Selvin Hernandez, Audrey Steen, Benjamin Kazimer

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Project ALIEN is a comprehensive plan to send humans to Mars to look for life on the Martian surface while exploring the viability and adaptability of terrestrial microbes in Martian atmospheric conditions. ALIEN will use a ballistic capture trajectory to get to Mars and stay in aerostationary orbit for a 30-day surface mission, during which two surface crewmembers will perform a variety of experiments to achieve the mission’s goals of Martian microbial discovery within brines of the Gale Crater and terrestrial microbe adaptability and viability to Martian conditions. Experimentation is based on the presumption that Martian microbes are metabolically ...

Bioprinting Alginate Structures Using The Fresh Method, Amanda Pellegrino

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Three-dimensional bioprinting is a tissue engineering and regenerative medicine technique that utilizes biomaterials to print clinically relevant scaffolds. These scaffolds are used for tissue repair and to treat disease, such as end-organ failure. The main problem with 3D bioprinting is its inability to print soft biomaterials, which collapse due to gravitational forces. In addition, the materials that can be used do not mimic native tissue’s mechanical properties and texture. To combat this, Dr Feinberg’s laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University developed the freeform reversible embedding of suspended hydrogels (FRESH) method. The FRESH method allows for soft biomaterials to be ...

Developing A Multimedia Interface For Electrical Biosignal Interpretation, Christopher Cox

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

In the last ten years, a great deal of interest has been generated around the practice of using plants’ electrical signals to create sound or music. In order to render biosignals capable of producing sound electronically, some kind of interface is necessary that converts a plant’s natural electrical signals into data that a computer can understand. Existing commercial interfaces cost at minimum $3001,2 . Worse yet, two popular off-the-shelf interfaces conform their output signals to stereotypical human notions of what a plant might “sound like”. In this project we fabricated a simple but high-performance interface for less than $5 ...

Understanding The Effect Of Adaptive Mutations On The Three-Dimensional Structure Of Rna, Justin Cook

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are variations in the genome where one base pair can differ between individuals.¹ SNPs occur throughout the genome and can correlate to a disease-state if they occur in a functional region of DNA.¹According to the central dogma of molecular biology, any variation in the DNA sequence will have a direct effect on the RNA sequence and will potentially alter the identity or conformation of a protein product. A single RNA molecule, due to intramolecular base pairing, can acquire a plethora of 3-D conformations that are described by its structural ensemble. One SNP, rs12477830, which ...

Sedan Performance/Economy Rear Diffuser, Jacob Boucher Koris

Thinking Matters Symposium

This project consists of designing in SolidWorks a model of the performance/fuel economy diffuser. The design is modeled with an Ahmed body (recommended shape for CFD testing vehicles) and the diffuser will be applied to the bottom of the rear bumper of the car. After this is done the model will be imported into ANSYS for CFD testing. Testing entails importing the model, then creating a mesh around the model, and then setting up the program to run analysis for calculating the coefficient of drag. Then building this SolidWorks model as a full working prototype for actual road-testing purposes ...

Nitinol Robotic Arm, Brandon Cousino, Connor Sweatt

Thinking Matters Symposium

The goal of our project is to create a remotely controlled robotic arm using a nickel-titanium alloy (Nitinol) that exhibits “shape memory” tendencies and a 9-lumen tube. The arm must be able to move in all for directions (forward, left, right, backwards) with the control of a joystick and return to an upright position upon halting user input (thus requiring a two-way shape memory ability). The final product must operate without any unwanted twisting of the arm, crosstalk between the different nitinol wires due to heating, and be easily manufacturable. Easy replacement of the arm from the main mechanism is ...

Design, Simulation And Testing Of Biomimetic Directional Acoustic Sensors, Brendan Francis

Thinking Matters Symposium

The Ormia ochracea, a species of parasitic fly, has become the focal point in sound localization research because of its finely tuned hearing abilities. The female of this species uses its super highly directional hearing to pinpoint the call of a host cricket, with hypersensitivity of frequency and phase difference, to reach and dispose of its eggs on the host. The goal of this study was to further the research of a previous Project in Professor Guvench’s group which implemented MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System) technology on a chip to replicate these abilities. In this iteration, however, some commercially available ...

Shape Memory Alloy Deployable Device For Cubesat Satellite, Nicholas Loftis, Adam Lapointe

Thinking Matters Symposium

The purpose of this project was to design and create a release mechanism for a cubesat satellite with the use of shape memory alloys. The goal of the project was to design and create a lightweight, reliable, and simple release mechanism to deploy stowed solar arrays attached to the exterior of a Cubesat satellite. The design and creation of this mechanism is intended to further USM’s goal of creating and launching a Cubesat satellite into low orbit to expand the university into space exploration. The Cubesat project was created by the California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University’s ...

Investigating The Heat Release From A Single-Cylinder Diesel Engine, Sarah Payne, Scott Eaton Phd

Thinking Matters Symposium

This project develops a dynamic measuring processes and filtering technique to acquire accurate engine thermodynamic data using LabVIEW. A single-cylinder Kohler diesel engine (model KD440) is instrumented with an in-cylinder pressure monitoring transducer to obtain cylinder pressure and volume data as a function of crank angle position. From this data, several calculations will be made using thermal analysis to understand the engine's performance. An additional objective of the project is to increase the efficiency of the engine's air intake system by modifying the current configuration. We show that the monitoring software accurately measures real-time engine efficiency and combustion ...

Husky Hand: A Low-Cost Electro-Mechanical Prosthetic Arm For The Underprivileged, Adam Robert

Thinking Matters Symposium

A continuation of a low-cost prosthetic upper limb prototype design which was investigated in EGN 301. The prosthetic is specifically designed for the needs and requirements of under privileged individuals in the Dominican Republic with upper limb amputations. The project focuses on the creation of an open-source computer aided prosthetic hand/arm model. The design allows consumer-grade fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3-D printers to be used. The improved design allows for the integration of the PQ-12 linear actuator for grasp and finger control. This simplifies the assembly, while, also reducing the size and mass of the whole unit. Producing a ...

Finite Element Analysis Of Impact Resistant Composites Inspired By Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Nandati Shrestha

Thinking Matters Symposium

The fist-like club of the peacock mantis shrimp, a 5-inch marine crustacean, can strike its prey with speed faster than a .22-caliber bullet with an impact force more than 1,000 times its own weight. Although these creatures punch so fast that it even boils the water, they don’t take any damage. This incredible insusceptibility is due to the arrangement of mineralized fiber layers in which each fibrous layer is laid at a slightly rotated angle to form a helicoidal structure that acts as a shock absorber for the club. The goal is to perform a finite element analysis ...

Design Of A Constant Volume Combustion Chamber, John Bono, Collin Gould, Scott Eaton

Thinking Matters Symposium

This project designs a high-temperature, high-pressure fuel injection chamber for the visualization of diesel fuel injection spray patterns. The study and characterization of diesel fuel spray is important for the development of new engine designs and adoption of alternative fuels. In addition, the chamber can be used to support teaching research projects at the University of Southern Maine. A 3-D SolidWorks model is developed to meet visual accessibility and operating temperature and pressure requirements. Three experimental imaging techniques will be compared, with an emphasis on schlieren photography and videography. Data acquisition and controls systems will be developed including digital imaging ...

App Development For Wearable Sensors, Connor Pittman, Christopher Chappie, Patrick A. Tetreault

Thinking Matters Symposium

The objective of this research project was to create a wearable device that monitors bodily functions for the user to view on their smartphone. Sensor data is processed using the Arduino Nano 33 BLE microcontroller. The sensors used in this project include: proximity, temperature, humidity, heart rate, pressure, and skin impedance. This project takes advantage of the Arduino's Bluetooth low energy (BLE) capabilities so that all the data can be transmitted to a smartphone. This presentation shows the challenges faced during the project and how they were overcome. Some of these challenges include: programming, how heart rate sensors work ...

Mems Directional Acoustic Sensors, Colby Damren

Thinking Matters Symposium

The purpose of my project is to test and verify two Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) microphones. The two MEMS devices are biomimetic microphones that imitate the eardrums of the Ormia Ochracea, a parasitic fly that listens for host crickets to lay their eggs. The MEMS microphones mimic the eardrum spacing of the Ormia Ochracea with a spacing of 1000um. This is roughly twice the opening of the Ormia Ochracea. The microphones will be tested for directionality inside a wooden box. This box will be lined with beveled foam to prevent any echo or outside noise from interfering with the results. These results ...

Mapping Renewal: How An Unexpected Interdisciplinary Collaboration Transformed A Digital Humanities Project, Elise Tanner, Geoffrey Joseph

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Funded by a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Foundations Grant, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture’s “Mapping Renewal” pilot project focused on creating access to and providing spatial context to archival materials related to racial segregation and urban renewal in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954-1989. An unplanned interdisciplinary collaboration with the UA Little Rock Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) has proven to be an invaluable partnership. One team member from each department will demonstrate the Mapping Renewal website and discuss how the collaborative process has changed and ...

Simulation Of Optical Properties Of Dielectric Layers From Visible To Near Infrared Spectral Range, Andrew Cochran, Cory Conkel

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Optical properties of dielectrics play a critical role in various applications including the design and manufacture of optical components & devices such as detectors, filters, imagers, lenses, optical coatings, photonic crystals, sensors and waveguides, and solar cells. Radiative properties of varying thicknesses of different dielectrics such as Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3), Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Magnesium Fluoride (MgF2) and Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) have been simulated and compared in the range of visible to near infrared by mathematical modelling using MATLAB simulations. The results of the evolution of the radiative properties, as a function of dielectric material thickness, on silicon ...

Student Academic Conference, Caitlin Brooks

Student Academic Conference

No abstract provided.

Modeling A Novel Method To Diminish Covid-19 Transmission In A Hospital Room, Reid Prichard, Wayne Strasser

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

Preliminary Analysis For A Campus-Wide Energy Prediction Strategy At Liberty University, Bethany Matsick, Hector Medina

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

Integrating Temperature Dependence Into A Microstructure-Sensitive Fatigue Model For Titanium Alloys, Jared Darius, Marcos Lugo

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

Groundbreaking Self-Breathing Ventilator Investigation, Hayley Yukihiro, Wayne Strasser

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Three Minute Thesis

Implementing Gasification Of Organic Matter In Developing Countries, Nicholas Veeder, Wayne Strasser

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Three Minute Thesis

From Waste To Power: Efficient Conversion Of Human Waste To Usable Energy, Daniel Wilson, Wayne Strasser

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

Developing Smart Simulations For Computational Fluid Dynamics Studies, Eric Turman, Wayne Strasser

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

Anti-Roll Bar Fatigue Analysis And Redesign, Jared Darius, Daniel Kenney, Marcos Lugo

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Testing Dielectric Elastomers In Uniaxial Tension, Carolyn Haase, Hector Medina

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Applied

Design Of Player Specific American Football Helmets To Protect The Brain, Tate Fonville, Mark Horstemeyer

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Drones And Spatial Artificial Intelligence For Improving Crop Yield, Carson Farmer, Hector Medina

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Applied