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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Extra-Terrestrial Habitat Systems: Safety, Reliability, And Resilience, Jory C. Lyons Jr., Amin Maghareh, Audai Theinat, Shirley Dyke, Antonio Bobet Aug 2018

Extra-Terrestrial Habitat Systems: Safety, Reliability, And Resilience, Jory C. Lyons Jr., Amin Maghareh, Audai Theinat, Shirley Dyke, Antonio Bobet

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Developing a resilient extra-terrestrial habitat with regards to long-term reliability and safety from hazards including radiation, meteorites, and quakes is necessary to ensure human survival during interplanetary exploration. The objective of this study is to examine conventional aerospace safety and reliability analysis techniques to investigate whether they are sufficient to achieve resilience in extra-terrestrial habitats. These results will be obtained to complete a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of compiled techniques to design a sustainable habitat system. Failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) with their past applications will be assessed to provide …


Purdue Air Sense: A Methodology For Improving The Accuracy Of Ambient Aerosol Mass Concentration And Size Distribution Measurement With Low-Cost Optical Sensing Techniques, Rishabh Ramsisaria, Satya Sundar Patra, Brandon Emil Boor Aug 2018

Purdue Air Sense: A Methodology For Improving The Accuracy Of Ambient Aerosol Mass Concentration And Size Distribution Measurement With Low-Cost Optical Sensing Techniques, Rishabh Ramsisaria, Satya Sundar Patra, Brandon Emil Boor

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

There is a global lack of a means for monitoring air pollutant levels at a local level due to expensive and bulky instrument requirements. It is important to monitor toxic gas levels, as well as particulate matter levels, in the atmosphere to study their effects on human health and to further develop city- and community-level air pollution solutions. In this study, with the means of a Raspberry Pi, low-cost Alphasense Optical Particle Counter and gas sensors, and methodical calibration techniques, we built a portable 3-D printed module powered by clean electricity generated by an on-board Voltaic solar cell that measures …


High Performance Mortar With 100% Recycled Aggregate Using Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles, Molly Schrager, Vito Francioso, Arjun Kadakia, Mirian Velay-Lizancos Aug 2018

High Performance Mortar With 100% Recycled Aggregate Using Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles, Molly Schrager, Vito Francioso, Arjun Kadakia, Mirian Velay-Lizancos

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Concrete and mortar are materials commonly used in construction. Their main compounds are cement, aggregates (sand and gravel) and water. In an effort to increase the sustainability of these materials, the idea of using recycled aggregates from ground old concrete and using it to make mortar and concrete has gained more interest. It has two advantages: it reduces the need to mine for raw materials and lessens the amount of old and defective concrete that is typically put in landfills. But, the use of recycled concrete aggregate lowers the strength of mortars and concretes because the residual compounds in the …


Indoor Premise Plumbing: The Relationship Between Water Stagnation, Chlorine Decay, And Total Organic Carbon Levels, Emerson M. Ringger, Andrew J. Whelton, Tolulope Odimayomi, Maryam Salehi Aug 2018

Indoor Premise Plumbing: The Relationship Between Water Stagnation, Chlorine Decay, And Total Organic Carbon Levels, Emerson M. Ringger, Andrew J. Whelton, Tolulope Odimayomi, Maryam Salehi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Drinking water safety is critical to the health of populations worldwide, and modern plumbing infrastructure can influence drinking water chemical characteristics. Inside residential and commercial buildings however, water use and contact with different plumbing components can vary. For example, water can endure lengthy stagnation periods and residual disinfectant agents like chlorine can decay, leaving the water vulnerable to microbial growth. Plastic cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes have become popular and have shown to influence water quality. While several studies have been carried out on chemical leaching from PEX piping, none were found that examined the role of pipe diameter in relation …


Determining The Optimal Traffic Opening Time Using Piezoelectric Sensors, Adlan Amran, Yen-Fang Su, Na Lu Aug 2018

Determining The Optimal Traffic Opening Time Using Piezoelectric Sensors, Adlan Amran, Yen-Fang Su, Na Lu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) requires a reliable method of determining the early age quality of concrete to improve traffic opening time. We propose to develop an in-situ method that enables an accurate, efficient, and non-destructive health monitoring of concrete using the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique coupled with a piezoelectric sensor named Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT). The test was conducted by mounting a PZT sensor on mortar samples. The PZT sensor was then excited by a voltage to track the strengthening of samples. The data obtained from the EMI technique was refined using the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) …


Load Distribution Of Adjacent Prestressed Concrete Box Beam Bridges, Luis F. Urrego, Ryan T. Whelchel, Robert J. Frosch, Christopher S. Williams Aug 2018

Load Distribution Of Adjacent Prestressed Concrete Box Beam Bridges, Luis F. Urrego, Ryan T. Whelchel, Robert J. Frosch, Christopher S. Williams

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

One of the most common bridge types is the adjacent prestressed concrete box beam bridge because the system is economical and simple to build; over 43,000 are currently in service within the US. However, they are highly susceptible to strand corrosion and concrete deterioration which can result in early loss of load capacity. Therefore, an experimental program sponsored by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) was initiated to determine the behavior of deteriorated beams and develop recommendations for load rating and design of this bridge type. Displacement sensors were installed on a bridge in service to measure its deformation under …


Real-Time Non-Contact Road Defect Detection Using Inexpensive Sensors, Zhao Xing Lim, Mohammad Jahanshahi, Tarutal Ghosh Mondal, Da Cheng, Shutao Wang, Mohammad K. Sweidan, Aanis Ahmad, Omar Hesham Abouhussein, Xi Chen Aug 2018

Real-Time Non-Contact Road Defect Detection Using Inexpensive Sensors, Zhao Xing Lim, Mohammad Jahanshahi, Tarutal Ghosh Mondal, Da Cheng, Shutao Wang, Mohammad K. Sweidan, Aanis Ahmad, Omar Hesham Abouhussein, Xi Chen

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Road defects such as potholes, humps, and road cracks have become one of the main concerns for road and traffic safety worldwide. Pavement defect detection is crucial to ensure road safety. However, current solutions to this problem are either too time-consuming or too expensive to be employed large-scale. We propose a novel approach which has the ability to autonomously detect potholes in real-time using cost-effective sensors. Inexpensive sensors are mounted on a vehicle and a deep learning algorithm is used to identify road defects. The detection system is paired with a GPS and positional sensors to map the location of …


Performance Of Mud Mortar Walls Under Seismic Loading, Christian L. Berneking Vi, Santiago Pujol, Prateek Pratap Shah, Lucas Laughery Aug 2017

Performance Of Mud Mortar Walls Under Seismic Loading, Christian L. Berneking Vi, Santiago Pujol, Prateek Pratap Shah, Lucas Laughery

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The inherently brittle nature of unreinforced masonry structures results in poor performance during earthquakes, presenting major hazards to communities. Many of these structures found in Nepal were severely damaged or destroyed during two earthquakes in 2015. The purpose of this project is to test the effect on seismic response of several modifications to stone and mud mortar structures. These structures are common in many areas of Nepal. Two T-shaped stone and mud mortar masonry walls are constructed. The first wall has no modifications and represents current building practices. The second wall uses steel wire mesh as external reinforcement. Each wall …


Buckling Of Cylindrical Shells Under Wind Loading, Tianlong Sun, Eyas Azzuni, Sukru Guzey Aug 2017

Buckling Of Cylindrical Shells Under Wind Loading, Tianlong Sun, Eyas Azzuni, Sukru Guzey

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Cylindrical shells such as aboveground steel storage tanks are widely used to store gases, chemicals and fuels. Stiffener rings are introduced to prevent cylindrical shells from buckling due to wind loads. The current top wind stiffener design rules used in the USA for such cylindrical storage tanks are specified in API 650. However, the design methodology of top stiffener rings is overly conservative. Therefore, relaxation of the design rules for the top stiffener is investigated in this study. The API 650 mandated top stiffener size was reduced to the same size as the mandated intermediate stiffener ring in this study. …


Full-Water Column Turbulence Parameterization Of Stratified Waters In Southern Lake Michigan, Kyla A. Prendergast, Cary D. Troy, David Cannon Aug 2017

Full-Water Column Turbulence Parameterization Of Stratified Waters In Southern Lake Michigan, Kyla A. Prendergast, Cary D. Troy, David Cannon

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Full water column mean flow and turbulence structure was characterized at two stratified locations in Lake Michigan (a. Muskegon, MI; b. Michigan City, IN) in order to better understand the filtration potential of invasive quagga mussels. Invasive quagga mussels in Lake Michigan are filter feeders and can dramatically alter clarity as well as the biological/chemical characteristics of the water column. This filtering capacity is highly contingent on turbulence characteristics throughout the water column, which is poorly understood in the Great Lakes. Using velocity, temperature, and turbulence data collected from these locations, the structure of the water column turbulence was modeled …


Purdue Airsense: An Affordable Way To Measure And Study Air Pollution, Stephane Junior Nouafo Wanko, Shadi Tariq Azouz, Ruihang Du, Brandon Boor, Greg Michalski Aug 2017

Purdue Airsense: An Affordable Way To Measure And Study Air Pollution, Stephane Junior Nouafo Wanko, Shadi Tariq Azouz, Ruihang Du, Brandon Boor, Greg Michalski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Air pollution is a major health hazard worldwide, accounting for one-eighth of all deaths in 2012 (World Health Organization). Globally, there is a severe lack of ground-based spatiotemporal monitoring of gaseous and particulate air pollutants, particularly in Africa, South and Central America, and the Middle East. This is in great part due to the high costs of air quality instrumentation that meet accuracy and reliability criteria set by monitoring agencies. The air quality data that is available is often not presented to the public in a user-friendly manner. Taking advantage of recent developments in low-cost sensing technologies, an integrated sensor …


Evaluation Of Radiation And Design Criteria For A Lunar Habitat, Hayley E. Bower, Daniel Gomez, Antonio Bobet, Julio A. Ramirez, Shirley J. Dyke, H. Jay Melosh Aug 2017

Evaluation Of Radiation And Design Criteria For A Lunar Habitat, Hayley E. Bower, Daniel Gomez, Antonio Bobet, Julio A. Ramirez, Shirley J. Dyke, H. Jay Melosh

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Extraterrestrial habitation has long been the object of science fiction, and experts in the fields of science and engineering have proposed many designs for a lunar base. The research conducted has focused on either structural stability, radiation protection, or meteorite-impact vulnerabilities, but rarely have these been considered together. The Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats (RETH) project aims to design a lunar habitat from a hazards perspective, considering general degradation, meteorite impacts, seismic activity, radiation exposure, thermal extremes, and geomagnetic storms in addition to the physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects of astronauts living in such a habitat. Several members of the RETH team …


Hazard Assessment Of Meteoroid Impact For The Design Of Lunar Habitats, Herta Paola Montoya, Shirley Dyke, Julio A. Ramirez, Antonio Bobet, H. Jay Melosh, Daniel Gomez Aug 2017

Hazard Assessment Of Meteoroid Impact For The Design Of Lunar Habitats, Herta Paola Montoya, Shirley Dyke, Julio A. Ramirez, Antonio Bobet, H. Jay Melosh, Daniel Gomez

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The design of self-sustaining lunar habitats is a challenge primarily due to the Moon’s lack of atmospheric protection and hazardous environment. To assure safe habitats that will lead to further lunar and space exploration, it is necessary to assess the different hazards faced on the Moon such as meteoroid impacts, extreme temperatures, and radiation. In particular, meteoroids pose a risk to lunar structures due to their high frequency of occurrence and hypervelocity impact. Continuous meteoroid impacts can harm structural elements and vital equipment compromising the well-being of lunar inhabitants. This study is focused on the hazard conceptualization and quantification of …


Electrochemical Removal Of Lead In Water With Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube Filters, Benjamin M. Stryker, Sol Park, Zhi Zhou Aug 2017

Electrochemical Removal Of Lead In Water With Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube Filters, Benjamin M. Stryker, Sol Park, Zhi Zhou

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Heavy metals, such as lead, are highly toxic and typical removal techniques are costly for household applications; causing serious public health risks and economic burdens. Previous studies using electrochemical filtration showed that singe-wall carbon nanotube membranes (SWCNTs) were effective at removing lead, but the use of less expensive multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) has not been fully explored. Therefore, there is a critical need to determine if MWCNTs are cost-effective for the removal of lead in water. The removal efficiency of lead(II) ions in an aqueous solution was evaluated in a flow-through filtration system over 50 minutes at 1.5 mL/min. Calcium …


Development Of A New Nanohub Simulation Tool: Coarse Graining Of Crystalline Nano-Cellulose., Kuo Tian, Mehdi Shishehbor, Pablo Zavattieri Aug 2016

Development Of A New Nanohub Simulation Tool: Coarse Graining Of Crystalline Nano-Cellulose., Kuo Tian, Mehdi Shishehbor, Pablo Zavattieri

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Crystalline Nano-cellulose (CNC) is a general molecular structure obtained from acid hydrolysis of native fiber. They are often very short (100 to 1000 manometers) and the mechanical properties of CNC varies depend on length scale. Due to defect formation of the structure, the mechanical properties of the material composed of such CNC may vary drastically. This study was to provide a numerical tool to integrate a few valid modules and to better understand the mechanical properties of CNC and the overall performance of the bio-inspired material composed of CNC. Our focus is mainly on two type of composite structure [1] …


Strength Of Reinforced Concrete Beams With High-Strength Steel, Brian C. Rogers, Aishwarya Puranam, Santiago Pujol Aug 2016

Strength Of Reinforced Concrete Beams With High-Strength Steel, Brian C. Rogers, Aishwarya Puranam, Santiago Pujol

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Structures are commonly made of reinforced concrete, which is a composite material made of concrete and steel reinforcement. Using high-strength steel, with yield stress larger than 100 ksi, could help reduce the quantity of steel required in structural members, thus reducing costs and improving constructability. The hypothesis being tested is that smaller quantities of high-strength steel reinforcement (HSSR) can be used in place of conventional steel in reinforced concrete beams while maintaining similar strength and deformation at failure. Two reinforced concrete beams with two different types of longitudinal steel reinforcement were constructed. The beams were 18 in. wide, 30 in. …


Infant Exposure To Resuspended Particles From Carpeted Flooring: Experimental Chamber Study With A Simplified Mechanical Crawling Infant, Manjie Fu, Brandon E. Boor Aug 2016

Infant Exposure To Resuspended Particles From Carpeted Flooring: Experimental Chamber Study With A Simplified Mechanical Crawling Infant, Manjie Fu, Brandon E. Boor

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Airborne particles of biological origin – bioaerosols – are present everywhere, including the indoor environment where people spend considerable amounts of time, and exposure to such materials via inhalation can have a number of health implications. Bioaerosol dynamics can occur through a variety of mechanisms, among them resuspension of deposited particles due to human activity. Because the breathing zone of infants is at a much lower height than that of adults, there is reason to suspect that infants are exposed to greater concentrations of bioaerosols resuspended from the floor, though knowledge in this specific area is limited. To investigate, a …


High Strength Steel In The Reinforced Concrete Structures: Serviceability, Alan Kanybek, Aishwarya Puranam, Santiago Pujol Aug 2016

High Strength Steel In The Reinforced Concrete Structures: Serviceability, Alan Kanybek, Aishwarya Puranam, Santiago Pujol

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The use of high-strength steel (yield stress larger than 100 ksi) in reinforced concrete structures can provide an effective alternative to using conventional steel (yield stress up to 80 ksi). The goal of this study is to investigate if slabs with reduced quantities of high-strength steel reinforcement meet the serviceability criteria. Instantaneous and long-term deflections in slab specimens with conventional steel and reduced amounts of high-strength steel (as compared with conventional steel) were studied. Two sets of two reinforced concrete slabs, each 14 ft. long, 30 in. wide, were built. The depth, quantity, and type of longitudinal reinforcement were varied …


Approach To Increasing Indiana Rural Road Safety On Intersections, Ammanuiel A. Kebede, John E. Haddock Aug 2015

Approach To Increasing Indiana Rural Road Safety On Intersections, Ammanuiel A. Kebede, John E. Haddock

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In 2009, there were more than 17,000 reported fatal crashes in rural areas of United States which accounted 56 percent of total fatal crashes. This number has not declined in a significant amount since 2009. Studies are undergoing on these rural area roadways, including intersections, to identify the major causes and take the necessary countermeasure. By using previous intersection related fatal and injury crash data, it is possible to identify high-risk intersections to point out and make the appropriate improvement. Five year fatal and injury crash data was collected (2008-2012) for three Indiana rural counties that had the highest frequency …


Phase Transforming Cellular Materials (Pxcms) Design And Assembly, Nadia N. Aljabi, Pablo Zavattieri, David Restrepo Aug 2015

Phase Transforming Cellular Materials (Pxcms) Design And Assembly, Nadia N. Aljabi, Pablo Zavattieri, David Restrepo

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

We introduce a new class of phase transforming cellular materials (PXCMs) based on locally bistable or metastable unit cells that form periodic microstructures, where the thermomechanical behavior of each unit cell exhibits snap-through type behavior. We propose to explore the capabilities of these new materials to improve structural resistance to damage caused by natural hazards including PXCM in structural members. The main benefits of this material are that it can absorb energy and is reusable. During the first part of this work, a fabrication method for PXCMs based on the assembly material slotted stripes was explored. The 1D unit cell …


Influence Of Warping On Stress For Restrained Concrete Slabs: For Application To Crcp, Corey M. Beck, W. Jason Weiss, Nathan T. Todd Aug 2015

Influence Of Warping On Stress For Restrained Concrete Slabs: For Application To Crcp, Corey M. Beck, W. Jason Weiss, Nathan T. Todd

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Continuously-reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) is widely used in transportation system because of its low maintenance requirement. However, the need for large volumes of steel creates a high cost for new construction. The Illinois Tollway is preparing to substantially renovate highways in and around Chicago and this work seeks to understand how concretes of varying mixture designs can be made thinner by reducing the amount of built-in stress. The experiment examines warping in beams subjected to various degrees of restraint, in an effort to assess effectiveness at reducing warping in continuously reinforced concrete pavements. Value added methodologies such as internal curing …


Role Of Soil Parameters On Loading Of Buried Structures, Xiao Zhang, Mark D. Bowman, Rafael R. Armendariz Briones Aug 2015

Role Of Soil Parameters On Loading Of Buried Structures, Xiao Zhang, Mark D. Bowman, Rafael R. Armendariz Briones

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Load rating is the process to evaluate and explore the structural capacity of bridges as much as possible within safety range. As a balance between economy and safety, proper load ratings save money and keep public safe. Knowing the contribution and interaction of each different soil parameter on the loading can significantly reduce the amount of work when load rating those structures. However, for buried structures without plans, such contribution or interaction is never known. This parametric study explores how much each soil parameter of three types of soils can affect the loading of buried structures without plans. An existing …


Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Of Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings In Kathmandu, Nepal, Prateek Pratap Shah, Santiago Pujol Aug 2015

Seismic Vulnerability Assessment Of Low-Rise Reinforced Concrete Buildings In Kathmandu, Nepal, Prateek Pratap Shah, Santiago Pujol

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In seismically active cities like Kathmandu, there often exists a need to assess the seismic vulnerability of a large number of poorly designed buildings within a short period of time. Traditional analysis techniques do not work because they require building data that are either inaccurate or unavailable. One alternative to traditional analysis techniques is to use simple correlations like the Priority Index. This index uses basic building information such as floor area, column area, and wall area to estimate the seismic vulnerability of a building. Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 146 low-rise reinforced concrete buildings were surveyed in Kathmandu, Nepal. …


Examining The Hydration And Mechanical Properties Of Cement Paste Containing Cellulose Nanocrystals, Yvette Valadez-Carranza, Charles Y. Chiu, W. Jason Weiss, Pablo Zavattieri, Jeffrey P. Youngblood Aug 2015

Examining The Hydration And Mechanical Properties Of Cement Paste Containing Cellulose Nanocrystals, Yvette Valadez-Carranza, Charles Y. Chiu, W. Jason Weiss, Pablo Zavattieri, Jeffrey P. Youngblood

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are a nano-scaled particulae material that has been shown to improve strength in cementitious pastes. One advantage of CNCs compared to other nano-materials is that CNCs are renewable and sustainable. The objective of this investigation is to investigate the influence of additional alkali content on the behavior of CNCs in cement paste. This work evaluates flexural and compressive strength as a function of heat of hydration—which measures the extent of reaction. Previous mechanical tests on cement paste containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have shown CNCs to improve the flexural strength of cement paste by approximately 30%. Isothermal calorimetry …


The Influence Of Lightweight Aggregate On Internal Curing And Its Impact On Autogenous Shrinkage Of High-Performance Concrete, Neil J. Hartman, Timothy J. Barrett, Jason Weiss Aug 2014

The Influence Of Lightweight Aggregate On Internal Curing And Its Impact On Autogenous Shrinkage Of High-Performance Concrete, Neil J. Hartman, Timothy J. Barrett, Jason Weiss

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In bridge deck construction high performance concrete is often desirable, however in practice it is generally susceptible to early-age shrinkage cracking resulting in an overall reduction in service life. This research seeks to assess the potential for reducing early-age shrinkage in new bridge deck construction through the use of internal curing, a process in which internal reservoirs supply water to the hydrating cement paste during the early stages of cement hydration. In North America, internal curing is typically achieved by replacing a portion of the normal fine aggregate with an expanded fine lightweight aggregate (LWA). For this study, the free …


Roundabout Maintenance Manual, Emily A. Bonini, Pat Conner P.E., John Haddock Phd, P.E., Yu Tian Aug 2014

Roundabout Maintenance Manual, Emily A. Bonini, Pat Conner P.E., John Haddock Phd, P.E., Yu Tian

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In recent years, roundabouts have been rapidly growing in popularity. As a result, many communities are installing them in their roadways; however, they are encountering difficulties in maintaining them. Uneducated workers can cause damage to roundabouts and to themselves, costing cities time and money. This project aims to create a guide for communities new to roundabouts in order to reduce damages and unnecessary maintenance costs. Data was gathered by determining the most common maintenance questions and problems along with what information was already available on roundabout maintenance. Next, agencies most experienced with roundabouts were surveyed on the best maintenance practices. …


A Wind-Derived Upwelling Index For Lake Michigan, Stephen B. Davis, Rebecca Essig, Cary Troy Aug 2014

A Wind-Derived Upwelling Index For Lake Michigan, Stephen B. Davis, Rebecca Essig, Cary Troy

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Coastal upwelling is a phenomenon that occurs along coastlines throughout the world, and has been shown to be strongly correlated with large fish populations in these areas. Coastal upwelling occurs when strong coastal winds drive water transport away from the coast, causing colder, often nutrient-rich water to upwell in its place. While coastal upwellings can be detected with satellite imagery or in situ temperature measurements, these datasets are neither continuous nor long-term. A wind-derived upwelling index was created for Lake Michigan to continuously quantify upwellings over multiple decades, and to allow for further understanding of the impact of upwelling in …


Comparison Of The Accuracy Of Traffic Counting Devices, Rodrigo Netto De Souza, Laura Slusher ,P.E. Aug 2014

Comparison Of The Accuracy Of Traffic Counting Devices, Rodrigo Netto De Souza, Laura Slusher ,P.E.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Traffic counting devices are commonly used by governmental agencies and private companies in order to assess traffic patterns and the level of occupancy of roadway networks. The data provided by these devices normally encompasses traffic volumes, vehicle classes and vehicle speeds, and are used by traffic engineers in the planning, design and operations of transportation systems. An evaluation of the accuracy of these devices is of great importance because traffic management decisions are compromised without qualified data. This research evaluated the performance of two different models of traffic counters, Jamar Technologies’ Radar Recorder and Vaisala’s Traffic Analyzer NC-200, both commonly …


Crystalline Cellulose – Atomistic Modeling Toolkit, Mateo Gomez, Pablo Zavattieri Dr. Oct 2013

Crystalline Cellulose – Atomistic Modeling Toolkit, Mateo Gomez, Pablo Zavattieri Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nature has created efficient strategies to make materials with hierarchical internal structure that often exhibit exceptional mechanical properties. One such example is found in cellulose, in fact it is eight times stronger than stainless steel and advantage is that cellulose incredibly cheap, because processing is obtained from purified wood pulp (it is environmental friendly). The most prevalent modeling technique to study the fundamental mechanical behavior of the crystalline cellulose has been Molecular Dynamics (MD). As a predictive tool, MD allows us to study the behavior of crystalline cellulose at the atomic level, and as such, it accurately predicts the crystalline …


Semi-Active Structural Control Of A 2-Story Shear Building, Alana K. Wilbee, Shirley Dyke Oct 2013

Semi-Active Structural Control Of A 2-Story Shear Building, Alana K. Wilbee, Shirley Dyke

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

With continuing urban development across the world, it is becoming ever more important to provide increased structural safety against events such as earthquakes and strong winds. The field of structural control has recently been growing to meet these challenges through the use of semi-active control methods, such as the Magnetorheological (MR) Damper. However, due to the non-linearity of the device, the knowledge base surrounding the MR Damper and its various control algorithms still needs to be strengthened before large-scale implementation of this control method can occur. To address these issues, this study will examine a two story benchmark structure using …