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The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

2017

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Design And Validation Of Pressure Based Flow Rate Soft Sensor For Freeze-Drying, Pasita Pibulchinda, Tong Zhu, Vaibhav Kshirsagar, Alina A. Alexeenko Aug 2017

Design And Validation Of Pressure Based Flow Rate Soft Sensor For Freeze-Drying, Pasita Pibulchinda, Tong Zhu, Vaibhav Kshirsagar, Alina A. Alexeenko

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Lyophilization or freeze drying is a process of removing water by sublimation. It is commonly used to extend the shelf life of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. Because the process is costly and time consuming, precise and efficient pressure, temperature control and drying time estimation are required. It is the goal of freeze-drying to run at maximum capacity while staying within the safe zone by carefully controlling the sublimation rate. Currently, real time estimation of sublimation rate is still challenging. The technique available called Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) is invasive, and requires major modifications. The current study focuses …


Parallel Computation Using Mems Oscillator-Based Computing System, Xinrui Wang, Ilias Bilionis, Salar Safarkhani Aug 2017

Parallel Computation Using Mems Oscillator-Based Computing System, Xinrui Wang, Ilias Bilionis, Salar Safarkhani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In recent years, parallel computing systems such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been of great interest. In these systems which emulate the behavior of human brains, the processing is carried out simultaneously. However, it is still a challenging engineering problem to design highly efficient hardware for parallel computing systems. We will study the properties of networks of Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) oscillators to explore their capabilities as parallel computing infrastructure. Furthermore, we simulate the time-variant states of MEMS oscillators network under various initial conditions and performance of certain tasks. Recent theoretical results show that networks of MEMS oscillators have some …


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 …


A Chronically Implanted, Continuous Ph Monitoring System For Rats, Ryan B. Budde, Pedro P. Irazoqui Aug 2017

A Chronically Implanted, Continuous Ph Monitoring System For Rats, Ryan B. Budde, Pedro P. Irazoqui

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Many body systems operate within a strict pH range, and any deviation can cause harm. pH measurement systems are used in many biomedical research fields. Measurement systems have been able to continuously record pH for a short period of time wirelessly, or over a long period of time with wires, but no system is currently capable of long term, wireless, continuous pH recording. This paper proposes a new pH measurement system that is capable of such measurement. The system is composed of inexpensive, micro-scale, and easy to manufacture pH sensitive and reference electrodes and a data acquisition and transmission module …


Assessment Of The Ecosystem Services Of Rain Gardens, Hannah M. Hawrot, Dr. Sara Mcmillan, Rachel Scarlett Aug 2017

Assessment Of The Ecosystem Services Of Rain Gardens, Hannah M. Hawrot, Dr. Sara Mcmillan, Rachel Scarlett

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces contributes to degradation of urban stream ecosystems. Impacts include increased flooding, water quality impairment, and disruption of habitats. Rain gardens are a type of green infrastructure designed to mitigate the adverse effects of stormwater runoff by promoting evapotranspiration, reducing peak flows, and retaining pollutants. Rain gardens can provide additional ecosystem services, defined as benefits that ecosystems provide to people. This includes, but is not limited to, increasing biodiversity by providing habitat, creating green spaces for recreation, and storing carbon. To date, little research has been done integrating these multiple services. My research measured water quality, …


A Novel High-Throughput, High-Content Three-Dimensional Assay For Determination Of Tumor Invasion And Dormancy, Mahera M. Husain, Theodore J. Puls, Sherry Voytik-Harbin Aug 2017

A Novel High-Throughput, High-Content Three-Dimensional Assay For Determination Of Tumor Invasion And Dormancy, Mahera M. Husain, Theodore J. Puls, Sherry Voytik-Harbin

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Metastasis accounts for most cancer deaths, while dormancy of tumor cells leads to unexpected cancer recurrence. These two aspects of cancer remain relatively untreatable in part because current two-dimensional (2D) methods of high-throughput drug screening cannot quantify outcomes related to these phenotypes. Three-dimensional (3D) in-vitro tumor models are a promising alternative because they better recreate the tumor microenvironment and relevant phenotypes. However, outcome measures for high-throughput screening of these systems are often limited to single measures such as metabolic activity using assays that are not standardized or optimized for 3D models. To address this gap, the objective of this work …


Comparative Analysis Of Impact Attenuation Properties From Soccer Headgear, Kevin G. Mciver, Goutham N. Sankaran, Justin J. Markel, Tom M. Talavage, Larry J. Leverenz, Eric A. Nauman Aug 2017

Comparative Analysis Of Impact Attenuation Properties From Soccer Headgear, Kevin G. Mciver, Goutham N. Sankaran, Justin J. Markel, Tom M. Talavage, Larry J. Leverenz, Eric A. Nauman

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Athletes suffering from long-term neurocognitive deficiency due to subconcussive impacts is a major concern for football and soccer players today. Football players wear helmets that can help reduce injury risks like skull fractures, and these helmets must meet standard criteria that determinines how well a functional helmet should reduce accelerations of the player’s head. Currently no standard exists for testing soccer headgear despite studies demonstrating soccer players experience similar magnitudes of impacts. In this study, a modal impact hammer was used in conjunction with a Hybrid III 50th percentile test dummy head to simulate impacts experienced by soccer players to …


Localized Immunosuppression Therapy For Islet Cell Encapsulation, Madeline Mclaughlin, Clarissa Stephens, Sherry Voytik-Harbin Aug 2017

Localized Immunosuppression Therapy For Islet Cell Encapsulation, Madeline Mclaughlin, Clarissa Stephens, Sherry Voytik-Harbin

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells necessary for managing a person’s blood glucose levels, affects 1.25 million Americans. A potential treatment for this disease is islet cell transplantation where Islets of Langerhans, containing the beta cells, are transplanted from a normal donor to a diabetic recipient to regulate blood glucose levels and provide insulin independence. Similar to whole organ transplantation, immune modulation through immunosuppression therapy is necessary for successful transplantation of islets without rejection. However, long-term systemic immunosuppression therapy can be toxic to the patient and the islets. Because …


Two-Color Polarization Spectroscopy Measurement Of Nitric Oxide, Ziqiao Chang, Aman Satija, Robert P. Lucht Aug 2017

Two-Color Polarization Spectroscopy Measurement Of Nitric Oxide, Ziqiao Chang, Aman Satija, Robert P. Lucht

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to smog and acid rain. Commercial combustion engines and turbines are significant sources of NO emission. Two-color Polarization Spectroscopy (PS) will be used to measure the collision-induced resonances of NO in gas mixtures. The effect of collision partners, such as He and Ar, on the line-shape of NO molecule will be studied. This experiment requires the use of two dye laser systems to generate 226nm beam from frequency mixing of 355nm and 622nm. This enhanced the scan range and improved the ease of operation. One dye laser will be used to …


The Effect Of Reinforcing Bar Bend Radius On The Strength And Behavior Of Knee Joints, Xitong Zhou, Christopher S. Williams, Hwa Ching Wang Aug 2017

The Effect Of Reinforcing Bar Bend Radius On The Strength And Behavior Of Knee Joints, Xitong Zhou, Christopher S. Williams, Hwa Ching Wang

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The strut-and-tie method (STM) is used by structural engineers to design discontinuity regions of reinforced concrete structures. Using STM, the stress distribution in a concrete member is expressed as a set of struts, ties, and nodes in a strut-and-tie model. These components are then proportioned and evaluated to develop an appropriate design. One type of node that appears in knee joints (i.e., frame corners) subjected to closing moments is referred to as a curved-bar node. Although curved-bar nodes represent a unique concentration of stresses in a structure, little research focused on curved-bar node design has been conducted. In response to …


Analytical Solution Of Microbes Interacting With Surfaces, Junyuan Li, Arezoo M. Ardekani Aug 2017

Analytical Solution Of Microbes Interacting With Surfaces, Junyuan Li, Arezoo M. Ardekani

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nowadays, there is a rising interest in studying the behavior of microbes and their interactions with flow and surfaces. In order to explore the velocity field, pressure and forces around the microbes, the solution of Stokes equations, which is called a Stokeslet, is used. This solution represents a singular velocity field due to a concentrated external force acting on fluid at a single point. This singularity could cause the expression of velocity not integrable. We use the Regularized Stokeslet Method and Method of Images to deal with this problem. The expression of force is replaced by a radially symmetric function, …


Additive Manufacturing Of High Solids Loading Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Stephen P. Johnson, Michael Baier, Ibrahim E. Gunduz, Steven F. Son Aug 2017

Additive Manufacturing Of High Solids Loading Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Stephen P. Johnson, Michael Baier, Ibrahim E. Gunduz, Steven F. Son

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Hybrid rocket motors offer many of the benefits of both liquid and solid rocket systems. Like liquid engines, hybrid rocket motors are able to be throttled, can be stopped and restarted, and are safer than solid rocket motors since the fuel and oxidizer are in different physical states. Hybrid rocket motors are similar to solid motors in that they are relatively simple and have a high density-specific impulse. One of the major drawbacks of hybrid rocket motors is a slower burning rate than solid rocket motors. Complex port geometries provide greater burning surface area to compensate for lower burning rates …


Development Of Portable Hyperspectral Imaging Device, Chenxi Li, Youngkee Jung, Iyll-Joon Doh, Euiwon Bae Aug 2017

Development Of Portable Hyperspectral Imaging Device, Chenxi Li, Youngkee Jung, Iyll-Joon Doh, Euiwon Bae

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Most of the conventional hyperspectral imaging devices require sophisticated optical components, occupy a large footprint, and requires an initial capital investment for laboratories which mostly suits for laboratories benchtop system. The requirement of shipping the sample and waiting an extended period of time to get the results are the main downsides of this traditional approach. Capitalize in many specific field applications and diagnosis, portable devices provide both convenience and on-site results which are desirable for government agencies and food safety inspectors. This project was aimed to develop a low-cost, portable hyperspectral device for food safety applications. A smartphone was used …


Improving The Accuracy For The Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-Thia) Model, Anqi Zhang, Lawrence Theller, Bernard A. Engel Aug 2017

Improving The Accuracy For The Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-Thia) Model, Anqi Zhang, Lawrence Theller, Bernard A. Engel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Urbanization increases runoff by changing land use types from less impervious to impervious covers. Improving the accuracy of a runoff assessment model, the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) Model, can help us to better evaluate the potential uses of Low Impact Development (LID) practices aimed at reducing runoff, as well as to identify appropriate runoff and water quality mitigation methods. Several versions of the model have been built over time, and inconsistencies have been introduced between the models. To improve the accuracy and consistency of the model, the equations and parameters (primarily curve numbers in the case of this model) …


Surface Tension, Interfacial Tension And Phase Behavior: Interactions Of Surfactant/Polymer Solutions With Crude Oil, Michael A. Steinerd, Jaeyub Chung, Bryan W. Boudouris, Nathan C. Schultheiss, Elias I. Franses Aug 2017

Surface Tension, Interfacial Tension And Phase Behavior: Interactions Of Surfactant/Polymer Solutions With Crude Oil, Michael A. Steinerd, Jaeyub Chung, Bryan W. Boudouris, Nathan C. Schultheiss, Elias I. Franses

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Advanced oil recovery techniques, beyond primary and secondary recovery, are required in order to produce additional oil in existing reservoir rock. Here, we evaluated a combination of polymer and surfactant aqueous solutions, in order to generate a working fluid capable of achieving high-performance enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In this recovery process, surfactant is added to the water flooding mixture in order to lower the interfacial tension between the oil and the water. If the interfacial tension can be decreased by ~1,000-fold, then the aqueous solution can mobilize and displace the oil. Moreover, a polymer is added to the aqueous solution …


Burning Surface Temperature Measurements Of Propellants And Explosives Using Phosphor Thermography, Ethan A. Whitaker, Alex D. Casey, Steven F. Son Aug 2017

Burning Surface Temperature Measurements Of Propellants And Explosives Using Phosphor Thermography, Ethan A. Whitaker, Alex D. Casey, Steven F. Son

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Temperature measurements of propellants and explosives are necessary to create accurate models which lead to better understanding of energetic characteristics such as burning rate. Previous attempts at measuring surface temperatures of burning propellants and explosives using thermocouples have suffered from large uncertainty. Thermographic phosphor thermography employs ceramic powders called phosphors whose spectroscopic properties can be used to remotely and nearly non-intrusively measure temperature. Improved methods were developed for application of this technique to energetic materials to yield more accurate, two-dimensional temperature measurements. In this study, zinc oxide doped with gallium, a thermographic phosphor, was mixed into HMX and RDX powder, …


Modeling The Aqueous-Phase Copper Ion-Exchange Behavior Onto Ssz-13 Zeolites, Brian N. Bayer, Rajamani Gounder, Trevor M. Lardinois Aug 2017

Modeling The Aqueous-Phase Copper Ion-Exchange Behavior Onto Ssz-13 Zeolites, Brian N. Bayer, Rajamani Gounder, Trevor M. Lardinois

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Copper-exchanged zeolites are utilized as catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides, which are atmospheric pollutants found in diesel engine exhaust. The total amount of copper ions and the types of copper species (Cu(II) or Cu(II)OH) exchanged onto a zeolite can be varied. Copper is exchanged onto SSZ-13 (an aluminosilicate zeolite with the chabazite topology) during a process known as aqueous ion exchange, where the zeolite is mixed in a copper-containing solution. The distribution of copper on SSZ-13 is influenced by exchange conditions, including the molarity, temperature, and pH of the copper solution. The effect of exchange conditions …


Comparative Analysis Of Nanoscale Ultrasound Contrast Agents, Elly Y. Lambert, Luis Solorio Aug 2017

Comparative Analysis Of Nanoscale Ultrasound Contrast Agents, Elly Y. Lambert, Luis Solorio

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Current ultrasound contrast agents utilize microbubbles as a blood pooling agent, but the size inhibits access to small capillaries. The development of nanoscale ultrasound contrast agents can enter small capillaries of tissues and aid in the detection of diseased states. However, current nano-formulations are flushed from the body over a short period of time. We developed a nanoscale ultrasound contrast agent with increased circulation time to allow for better detection of diseased states in the microvasculature of the body. Characterization (zeta potential, size, echogenicity and stability) and pharmacokinetic analysis were conducted on three nanoscale formulations: 1) Liquid based Bovine Serum …


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. …


Temporal Resolution Of Cell Death Signaling Events Induced By Cold Atmospheric Plasma And Electroporation In Human Cancer Cells, Danielle M. Krug, Prasoon K. Diwakar, Ahmed Hassanein Aug 2017

Temporal Resolution Of Cell Death Signaling Events Induced By Cold Atmospheric Plasma And Electroporation In Human Cancer Cells, Danielle M. Krug, Prasoon K. Diwakar, Ahmed Hassanein

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Cancer treatment resistance and their invasive and expensive nature is propelling research towards developing alternate approaches to eradicate cancer in patients. Non-thermal, i.e., cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and electroporation (EP) applied to the surface of cancerous tissue are new methods that are minimally invasive, safe, and selective. These approaches, both independently and synergistically, have been shown to deplete cancer cell populations, but the signaling mechanisms of death and their timelines of action are still widely unknown. To better understand the timeframe of signaling events occurring upon treatment, human cancer cell lines were treated with CAP, EP, and combined CAP with …


Comparison Of Pm-Hip To Cast Alloy 625 For Nuclear Applications, Alexander L. Bullens, Keyou Mao, Janelle P. Wharry, Esteban Bautista Aug 2017

Comparison Of Pm-Hip To Cast Alloy 625 For Nuclear Applications, Alexander L. Bullens, Keyou Mao, Janelle P. Wharry, Esteban Bautista

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

PM-HIP, or Powder Metallurgy and Hot Isostatic Pressing, metals have been a low cost alternative to forged and cast structural metals within various industries. The nuclear industry has recently developed interest in PM-HIP alloys, but further research needs to be done to quantify their mechanical properties and characterize the microstructure. Specifically, we must understand the mechanical and microstructural evolution of PM-HIP materials after long-term operation at the elevated temperatures that PM-HIP components will experience in service. We focus on Ni-base alloy Inconel 625, and compare the PM-HIP version to the cast version. Our methodology consists of annealing samples to various …


Radcool: A Web-Enabled Simulation Tool For Radiative Cooling, Yu-Wen Lin, Evan L. Schlenker, Zhiguang Zhou, Peter Bermel Aug 2017

Radcool: A Web-Enabled Simulation Tool For Radiative Cooling, Yu-Wen Lin, Evan L. Schlenker, Zhiguang Zhou, Peter Bermel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems can generate electricity from high-temperature heat sources via thermal radiation. However, the intense heating of a photovoltaic (PV) cell can greatly reduce the overall efficiency of the system. Therefore, it is critical to develop techniques to keep the PV cells close to ambient temperature without consuming energy. Radiative cooling is a passive technique that dissipates heat into remote space via thermal radiation. A simulation tool to predict the performance of radiative cooling systems would be particularly helpful in designing new experiments. The current TPV model simulation tool, TPVexpt, can calculate the theoretical performance of the TPV system. …


Thermodynamics Of Coherent Structures Near Phase Transitions, Julia M. Meyer, Ivan Christov Aug 2017

Thermodynamics Of Coherent Structures Near Phase Transitions, Julia M. Meyer, Ivan Christov

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Phase transitions within large-scale systems may be modeled by nonlinear stochastic partial differential equations in which system dynamics are captured by appropriate potentials. Coherent structures in these systems evolve randomly through time; thus, statistical behavior of these fields is of greater interest than particular system realizations. The ability to simulate and predict phase transition behavior has many applications, from material behaviors (e.g., crystallographic phase transformations and coherent movement of granular materials) to traffic congestion. Past research focused on deriving solutions to the system probability density function (PDF), which is the ground-state wave function squared. Until recently, the extent to which …


The Response Of Schwann Cells To Weak Dc Electric Fields, Alexander T. Lai, Jianming Li Aug 2017

The Response Of Schwann Cells To Weak Dc Electric Fields, Alexander T. Lai, Jianming Li

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Schwann cells are glial cells that serve the vital role of supporting neurons in the peripheral nervous system. While their primary function is to provide insulation (myelin) for axons, they also help regenerate injured axons by digesting severed axons and providing scaffolding to guide the regeneration process. This specific role of Schwann cells makes them highly important cellular targets following nerve injury. Although some efforts have been made to encourage Schwann cell migration after nerve damage, the use of electric fields to control cell responses remain unexplored; therefore, this experiment serves to characterize the behavior of Schwann cells to weak …


Fundamental Characterization Of Oxygen Nanobubbles, John Hamlin, Yi Wen, Joseph Irudayaraj Aug 2017

Fundamental Characterization Of Oxygen Nanobubbles, John Hamlin, Yi Wen, Joseph Irudayaraj

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

A hypoxic environment is created by tumors’ incredible growth rate. Hypoxia provides radioresistance to the tumors, thus making radiation treatment less effective. The issue is that increasing the radiation leads to increased side effects in patients. Our goal for the oxygen-filled nanobubble is to deliver oxygen to the tumor to lessen radioresistance and make radiation treatment more efficient. However, we need preliminary research to understand and improve the nanobubbles before further research and implementation. To do this, we synthesized different batches of nanobubbles to optimize the production method and find the best container and temperature to store nanobubbles. We measured …


Microstructure Evolution During Compaction Of Powder Blends, Ayush Giri, Marcial Gonzalez, Yasasvi Bommire Aug 2017

Microstructure Evolution During Compaction Of Powder Blends, Ayush Giri, Marcial Gonzalez, Yasasvi Bommire

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Powder compaction is a manufacturing technology used to transform powder particles into a solid material with unique anisotropic microstructure and low porosity. It is widely used by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture tablets with desired properties. These properties are the result of the microstructure obtained during the compaction process. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the mechanics underneath the constituent granular particles that eventually contribute to properties of the manufactured tablets. Computational simulation tools have been developed in the past to study powder compaction for pharmaceutical tablets. However, most of the already existing tools limit their scope to study individual particles …


Generation Of Inhomogeneous Acoustic Waves Using An Array Of Loudspeakers, Samuel E. Wonfor, Trevor A. Kyle, J. Stuart Bolton, Jeffrey F. Rhoads Aug 2017

Generation Of Inhomogeneous Acoustic Waves Using An Array Of Loudspeakers, Samuel E. Wonfor, Trevor A. Kyle, J. Stuart Bolton, Jeffrey F. Rhoads

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In previous studies it has been shown that pressure fields created by inhomogeneous sound waves (waves which decay in a direction perpendicular to their propagation direction) are able to transmit energy into objects more effectively than ones created by conventional sound waves. This behavior may be useful in the detection of hidden explosive threats. To explore this, a device capable of constructing inhomogeneous waves is being developed. The proposed device is an acoustic array consisting of several high-frequency speakers. The speakers are independently driven to construct a desired inhomogeneous pressure field on a target surface. Inhomogeneous pressure fields were reconstructed …


Localized Blood Occlusion Generation In An In-Vitro Circulatory Catheter System, Ryan D. Harris, Qi Yang, Hyowon Lee Aug 2017

Localized Blood Occlusion Generation In An In-Vitro Circulatory Catheter System, Ryan D. Harris, Qi Yang, Hyowon Lee

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Hydrocephalus is a debilitating neurological disorder that involves the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in a ventricle of the brain. The implantation of a catheter commonly treats hydrocephalus with drainage. These catheters have a short lifespan due to obstruction from biological materials. Shunt systems have an extremely high failure rate of more than 40% failed within 1 year and up to 85% failed within 10 years. Previously, polymer-based flexible implantable magnetic micro-actuators were developed to clean up the catheter by mechanical vibration. We have demonstrated clearing of bacteria attachment and are proceeding to examine clearing effects on larger clotting materials, such …


Irradiation-Induced Nanocluster Evolution, Didier Ishimwe, Matthew J. Swenson, Janelle P. Wharry Aug 2017

Irradiation-Induced Nanocluster Evolution, Didier Ishimwe, Matthew J. Swenson, Janelle P. Wharry

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Oxide dispersion strengthened steel (ODS) and commercial ferritic-martensitic (F-M) alloys are widely accepted candidate structural materials for designing advanced nuclear reactors. Nanoclusters embedded in the steel matrix are key microstructural features of both alloy types. Irradiation from nuclear fusion and fission affects the morphology of these nanoparticles, altering the performance of the alloys and potentially decreasing their usable lifetime. Thus, it is important to understand the effect of irradiation on these nanoparticles in order to predict long-term nuclear reactor performance. It was found that the evolution of nanoclusters in each material is different depending on the experimental irradiation parameters. The …


Pursuit Evasion With Multiple Pursuers : Capturing A Ground Vehicle On A Road Network With Multiple Drones, Blake Wilson, Shreyas Sundaram, Amritha Prasad Aug 2017

Pursuit Evasion With Multiple Pursuers : Capturing A Ground Vehicle On A Road Network With Multiple Drones, Blake Wilson, Shreyas Sundaram, Amritha Prasad

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have many military and civilian applications, one of which is monitoring a given area (such as a road network) for threats. An important question in this application is to determine the latest time to dispatch UAVs for the guaranteed capture of threats attempting to travel through the network. In this work, we consider a pursuit evasion scenario with multiple pursuers (UAVs) trying to catch a single evader (ground vehicle), where information about the evader’s path is provided by ground sensors. In this scenario, we consider the problem of finding the maximum delay with which the pursuers …