Engineering Commons^™

An Analysis Of The Barriers To And Drivers Of Green Public Procurement In Achieving A More Sustainable Construction Industry, Myles Keaveney, Paul Butler

Conference papers

The public sector in Ireland possesses enormous purchasing power which has the strength to affect production and consumption trends in all market sectors. Environmental purchasing tools such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) are seen by many as the solution to greener purchasing decisions in order to obtain and maintain not only a more sustainable construction sector but also a more sustainable economy. The purpose of this research is to determine and examine the key barriers to and drivers of implementing GPP in public procurement departments in order to reduce the effect construction works have on the environment. There was limited ...

3d Bionic Arm, Anny Baez Silfa

Publications and Research

Previous work had been done on what was an adaptation of a robotic arm for Roboqueen, which is a persistent research project of the Department of Computer Engineering Technology. This robotic arm consisted of removing the cardboard hands from the Roboqueen and being replaced by 3D printed fingers and wrists to add functionality that did not exist before. Servo motors connected to Arduinos hidden in the forearm will be used to move the fingers and pick up and hold objects in the hand. Currently, the Finger Myoware is an update of the robotic arm in order to understand how prosthetic ...

Online Parameter Estimation Under Non-Persistent Excitations For High-Rate Dynamic Systems, Jin Yan, Simon Laflamme, Jonathan Hong, Jacob Dodson

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Publications

High-rate dynamic systems are defined as systems experiencing dynamic events of typical amplitudes higher than 100 g_n for a duration of less than 100 ms. They are characterized by 1) large uncertainties on the external loads; 2) high levels of nonstationarity and heavy disturbance; and 3) generation of unmodeled dynamics from changes in mechanical configuration. To fully enable these systems, feedback capabilities must be developed. This includes computationally fast software and low latency hardware. This paper presents a pure time-based online parameter estimation algorithm for high-rate dynamic systems with real-time applicability. The algorithm is based on a model reference ...

Array-Based Guided Wave Source Location Using Dispersion Compensation, Andrew Downs, Ronald A. Roberts, Jiming Song

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

An important advantage of guided waves is their ability to propagate large distances and yield more information about flaws than bulk waves. Unfortunately, the multi-modal, dispersive nature of guided waves makes them difficult to use for locating flaws. In this work, we present a method and experimental data for removing the deleterious effects of multi-mode dispersion allowing for source localization at frequencies comparable to those of bulk waves. Time domain signals are obtained using a novel 64-element phased array and processed to extract wave number and frequency spectra. By an application of Auld’s electro-mechanical reciprocity relation, mode contributions are ...

Predicting The Spatiotemporal Exposure Of Aquatic Species To Intrusions Of Fire Retardant In Streams With Limited Data, Chris R. Rehmann, P. Ryan Jackson, Holly J. Puglis

Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Publications

Because fire retardant can enter streams and harm aquatic species including endangered fish, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must estimate the downstream extent of toxic effects every time fire retardant enters streams (denoted as an “intrusion”). A challenge in estimating the length of stream affected by the intrusion and the exposure time of species in the affected reach is the lack of data typically available on the stream's geometry and flow characteristics. Previously, the USFS estimated the affected reach length assuming instantaneous mixing of the retardant over the reach; however, this approach neglects key river ...

Motivation Dynamics For Autonomous Composition Of Navigation Tasks, Paul B. Reverdy, Vasileios Vasilopoulos, Daniel E. Koditschek

Departmental Papers (ESE)

We physically demonstrate a reactive sensorimotor architecture for mobile robots whose behaviors are generated by motivation dynamics. Motivation dynamics uses a continuous dynamical system to reactively compose low-level control vector fields using valuation functions which capture the potentially competing influences of external stimuli relative to the system's own internal state. We show that motivation dynamics 1) naturally accommodates external stimuli through standard signal processing tools, and 2) can effectively encode a repetitive higher-level task by composing several low-level controllers to achieve a limit cycle in which the robot repeatedly navigates towards two alternatively valuable goal locations in a commensurately ...

Towards Smallholder Food And Water Security: Climate Variability In The Context Of Multiple Livelihood Hazards In Nicaragua, Christopher M. Bacon, William A. Sundstrom, Iris Stewart-Frey, Edwin P. Maurer, Lisa C. Kelley

Environmental Studies and Sciences

Climate variability and change affect both food and water security, as do other hazards, such as shifting food prices, plant pathogens, and political economic changes. Although household food and water insecurity affect billions, most studies analyze them separately. This article develops a relational approach to explaining household access to food and water in a multi-hazard context. We identify pathways linking hazards to livelihood vulnerability and assess the relative importance of climate-related hazards. Analyzing longitudinal data collected from two surveys of the same 311 smallholder households in northern Nicaragua, conducted in 2014 and again in 2017, we find that peak seasons ...

Dynamic Planning Networks, Norman Tasfi, Miriam A M Capretz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

We introduce Dynamic Planning Networks (DPN), a novel architecture for deep reinforcement learning, that combines model-based and model-free aspects for online planning. Our architecture learns to dynamically construct plans using a learned state-transition model by selecting and traversing between simulated states and actions to maximize information before acting. DPN learns to efficiently form plans by expanding a single action conditional state transition at a time instead of exhaustively evaluating each action, reducing the number of state-transitions used during planning. We observe emergent planning patterns in our agent, including classical search methods such as breadth-first and depth-first search. DPN shows improved ...

Stream Sediment Monitoring In Morehead Kentucky, Kristopher Krolikowski, Jen O'Keefe

2021 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Oral Presentations

Sediment loads in stream systems play a big role in how overall runoff behaves. Streams naturally transport sediment at various ratios depending on precipitation. When vegetation is removed in upstream environments, sediment loads on streams increase. Sudden increases of sediments in streams can cause many issues, such as flooding or stream re-direction. In Morehead, KY, large-scale logging operations on the ridge above Knapp Avenue and on the ridge above the north end of Allen Avenue have caused increased sediment load in a small stream called Oxley Branch. This stream flows south parallel to Knapp Avenue and along the eastern property ...

Integrated Mixing Machine For Sulfur Concrete Production, Maisa El Gamal, Khaled El-Sawy, Abdel-Mohsen O. Mohamed

All Works

The production of sulfur concrete (SC) from its ingredient materials requires controlled heating and mixing conditions at a temperature level of 130°-150 °C. Although this process considered to be common and applicable at the industrial level, it is difficult at the laboratory/research level. This paper presents the design and manufacturing details of a relatively inexpensive laboratory machine for heating and mixing sulfur concrete. The different components of the machine are described in detail to help researchers to produce high-quality sulfur concrete. In this work, the quality of the machine is verified through experimental testing of the physical and ...

Waste To Phosphorus: A Transdisciplinary Solution To P Recovery From Wastewater Based On The Triz Approach, Anna Jama-Rodzeńska, Andrzej Białowiec, Jacek A. Koziel, Józef Sowiński

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications

Phosphorus (P) is a limited yet essential resource. P cannot be replaced, but it can be recovered from waste. We proposed the TRIZ approach (Teoria reszenija izobretatielskich zadacz - Rus., Theory of Inventive Problem Solving - Eng.) to identify a feasible solution. We aimed at minimizing the environmental impact and, by eliminating contradictions, proposed viable technical solutions. P recovery can be more sustainable based on circular economy and 4Rs (reduction, recovery, reuse, and recycling). The TRIZ approach identified sewage sludge (SS) as waste with a large potential for P recovery (up to 90%). Successful selection and application of SS management and P ...

Characterization Of Time-Variant And Time-Invariant Assessment Of Suicidality On Reddit Using C-Ssrs, Manas Gaur, Vamsi Aribandi, Amanuel Alambo, Ugur Kursuncu, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Jonathan Beich, Jyotishman Pathak, Amit Sheth

Publications

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S (1999-2019). However, predicting when someone will attempt suicide has been nearly impossible. In the modern world, many individuals suffering from mental illness seek emotional support and advice on well-known and easily-accessible social media platforms such as Reddit. While prior artificial intelligence research has demonstrated the ability to extract valuable information from social media on suicidal thoughts and behaviors, these efforts have not considered both severity and temporality of risk. The insights made possible by access to such data have enormous clinical potential - most dramatically envisioned as a trigger ...

Using An Integrative Machine Learning Approach To Study Microrna Regulation Networks In Pancreatic Cancer Progression, Roland Madadjim

Computer Science and Engineering: Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research

With advances in genomic discovery tools, recent biomedical research has produced a massive amount of genomic data on post-transcriptional regulations related to various transcript factors, microRNAs, lncRNAs, epigenetic modifications, and genetic variations. In this direction, the field of gene regulation network inference is created and aims to understand the interactome regulations between these molecules (e.g., gene-gene, miRNA-gene) that take place to build models able to capture behavioral changes in biological systems. A question of interest arises in integrating such molecules to build a network while treating each specie in its uniqueness. Given the dynamic changes of interactome in chaotic ...

Identification Of Emergent Collaborative Behaviors In Multi-Agent Systems, Bryson Howell

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Identification of Emergent Collaborative Behaviors in Multi-Agent Systems

Bryson Howell

Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) has been used to allow groups of autonomous agents to perform complex cooperative tasks. When MARL methods such as the Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (MADDPG) algorithm [1] are used to train teams of agents in cooperative tasks, it has been observed that the actions of individual agents are significantly influenced by the actions of their teammates [2]. Additionally, prior work has shown that teams of agents trained independently of one another under identical conditions display a variety of behaviors [3]. Since these teams have been ...

Designing And Testing Of A System For Aerosolization And Recovery Of Viable Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus (Prrsv): Theoretical And Engineering Considerations, Peiyang Li, Jacek A. Koziel, Jeffrey J. Zimmerman, Steven J. Hoff, Jianqiang Zhang, Ting-Yu Cheng, Wannarat Yim-Im, Myeongseong Lee, Baitong Chen, William S. Jenks

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infections cause significant economic losses to swine producers every year. Aerosols containing infectious PRRSV are an important route of transmission, and proper treatment of air could mitigate the airborne spread of the virus within and between barns. Previous bioaerosol studies focused on the microbiology of PRRSV aerosols; thus, the current study addressed the engineering aspects of virus aerosolization and collection. Specific objectives were to (1) build and test a virus aerosolization system, (2) achieve a uniform and repeatable aerosol generation and collection throughout all replicates, (3) identify and minimize sources of variation, and ...

Prediction Of Stocks And Stock Price Using Artificial Intelligence : A Bibliometric Study Using Scopus Database, Priyanka Tupe-Waghmare, Priyanka Tupe-Waghmare

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Prediction of stocks and the prices of the stock is one of the most crucial points of discussion amongst the researchers and analysts in the financial domain to date. Every stakeholder and most importantly the investor desires to earn higher profit for his investment in the market and try to use several different strategies to invest their money. There are numerous methods to predict and analyse the movement of the stock prices. They are broadly divided into – statistical and artificial intelligence-based methods. Artificial intelligence is used to predict the futuristic prices of stocks and use wide range of algorithms like ...

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research in Agronomy and Horticulture

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a portion ...

Device Development For Long-Term Systemic Oral Biologic Drug Delivery, Benjamin Wankum

Mechanical (and Materials) Engineering -- Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A biologic drug is a drug that is produced by a living organism. Biologic drugs are used to treat various medical conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, or certain forms of cancers due to their high potency and high selectivity of action. Drawbacks of biologics include their poor stability in the gastrointestinal tract and their poor absorption. In effect, this gives the drugs very low bioavailability and short therapeutic half-lives. To combat these obstacles, current delivery methods include subcutaneous injections at home or intravenous or intramuscular injections in a medical facility.

The overall scientific goal of the research was to utilize ...

Water Exchange Rate Across The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Associated With Csf Amyloid-Β 42 In Healthy Older Adults, Brian T. Gold, Xingfeng Shao, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Gregory A. Jicha, Donna M. Wilcock, Elayna R. Seago, Danny J. J. Wang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We tested if water exchange across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), estimated with a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychological function.

METHODS: Forty cognitively normal older adults (67–86 years old) were scanned with diffusion‐prepared, arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL), which estimates water exchange rate across the BBB (k_w). Participants also underwent CSF draw and neuropsychological testing. Multiple linear regression models were run with kw as a predictor of CSF concentrations and neuropsychological scores.

RESULTS: In multiple brain regions, BBB kw was positively associated ...

Artificial Intelligence And The Ethics Behind It, Isaac Johnston

Senior Honors Theses

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a widely used buzzword for the past couple of years. If there is a technology that works without human interaction, it is labeled as AI. But what is AI, and should individuals be concerned? The following research aims to define what artificial intelligence is, specifically machine learning (ML) and neural networks. It is important to understand how AI is used today in cars, image recognition, ad marketing, and other areas. Although AI has many benefits, there are areas of ethical concerns such as autonomous cars, military applications, social media marketing, and others. This paper helps ...

On The Use Of Hybrid Cfie-Efie For Objects Containing Closed-Open Surface Junctions, Jinbo Liu, Jin Yuan, Wen Luo, Zengrui Li, Jiming Song

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

To effectively solve the electromagnetic scattering or radiation properties from the perfect electric conductor (PEC) objects containing closed-open surface junctions, how to establish the hybrid combined field integral equation-electric field integral equation (CFIE-EFIE) is studied, which is different with the existing scheme for the objects where the closed and open parts are separate. Further, it is found that when the integral equation is solved using the method of moments (MoM), if the widely used RWG basis functions are employed to expand the induced surface current, the CFIE-EFIE may give inaccurate numerical results for the objects containing fine structures. The numerical ...

How Structural Engineers Find Errors In Analysis And Design Results. Practice Periodical On Structural Design And Construction, James Hanson

Faculty Publications - Civil Engineering

Errors in structural analysis and design are inevitable, but finding them early in the design process saves time and money. Knowledge of the broad causes of errors and how experienced engineers identify the presence of errors can inform training for structural engineers thus empowering them to find their own errors early in the design process. Therefore, this study presents 145 pieces of information about errors in structural analysis and design compiled from structured interviews with 35 structural engineers. The strategies used to find errors have been classified into eight categories: Comparison, Rule of Thumb, Information Check, Visualization, Extreme Value, Previous ...

Inspection Of Electronics Components For Cryogenic Temperature Operation, Navaneeth Poonthottathil, Frank Krennrich, Amanda Weinstein, Jonathan Eisch, Leonard J. Bond, Dan Barnard, Zhan Zhang, Lucas Koester

Aerospace Engineering Publications

Electronics operating at cryogenic temperatures play a critical role in future science experiments and space exploration programs. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) uses a cold electronics system for data taking. Specifically, it utilizes custom-designed Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). The main challenge is that these circuits will be immersed in liquid Argon and that they need to function for 20+ years without any access. Ensuring quality is critical, and issues may arise due to thermal stress, packaging, and manufacturing-related defects: if undetected, these could lead to long-term reliability and performance problems. This paper reports an investigation into non-destructive evaluation ...

Atomic Layer Deposition Of Sodium Fluoride Thin Films, Sara Kuraitis, Donghyeon Kang, Anil U. Mane, Hua Zhou, Jake Soares, Jeffrey W. Elam, Elton Graugnard

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The need for advanced energy conversion and storage devices remains a critical challenge amid the growing worldwide demand for renewable energy. Metal fluoride thin films are of great interest for applications in lithium-ion and emerging rechargeable battery technologies, particularly for enhancing the stability of the electrode-electrolyte interface and thereby extending battery cyclability and lifetime. Reported within, sodium fluoride (NaF) thin films were synthesized via atomic layer deposition (ALD). NaF growth experiments were carried out at reactor temperatures between 175 and 250 °C using sodium tert-butoxide and HF-pyridine solution. The optimal deposition temperature range was 175–200 °C, and the ...

Teachability And Interpretability In Reinforcement Learning, Jeevan Rajagopal

Computer Science and Engineering: Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research

There have been many recent advancements in the field of reinforcement learning, starting from the Deep Q Network playing various Atari 2600 games all the way to Google Deempind's Alphastar playing competitively in the game StarCraft. However, as the field challenges more complex environments, the current methods of training models and understanding their decision making become less effective. Currently, the problem is partially dealt with by simply adding more resources, but the need for a better solution remains.

This thesis proposes a reinforcement learning framework where a teacher or entity with domain knowledge of the task to complete can ...

Reactive Planning For Mobile Manipulation Tasks In Unexplored Semantic Environments, Vasileios Vasilopoulos, Yiannis Kantaros, George J. Pappas, Daniel E. Koditschek

Departmental Papers (ESE)

Complex manipulation tasks, such as rearrangement planning of numerous objects, are combinatorially hard problems. Existing algorithms either do not scale well or assume a great deal of prior knowledge about the environment, and few offer any rigorous guarantees. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid control architecture for achieving such tasks with mobile manipulators. On the discrete side, we enrich a temporal logic specification with mobile manipulation primitives such as moving to a point, and grasping or moving an object. Such specifications are translated to an automaton representation, which orchestrates the physical grounding of the task to mobility or ...

Development Of An Intraperitoneal Catheter Placement Device For Use On The Battlefield, Riley Reynolds

Mechanical (and Materials) Engineering -- Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The objective of this project was to simplify peritoneal cavity access so an Airforce field medic can safely infuse oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) into the intraperitoneal space for the emergency treatment of hypoxia due to lung damage. To solve this problem, we created an intraperitoneal catheter placement device for use on the battlefield. The three common methods and some of the most common devices for peritoneal cavity access were reviewed. Injury frequencies for each of the three methods were analyzed. The results showed that each of the access techniques gives a similar rate of iatrogenic injury.

The battlefield conditions where the ...

Environmental Impacts Of Overdesign In Small Community Water Resource Recovery Facilities, Andrew Pham

Environmental Engineering Theses and Graduate Student Research

Although water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) reduce environmental impacts related to water quality, their construction and operation result in negative environmental impacts in other categories. Past research into Nebraska WRRFs investigated variables determining energy intensity, opportunities and barriers for energy efficiency improvements, and environmental impacts of the construction and operation phase. This leads to the research question of what design practices can be considered to reduce the environmental impacts.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to evaluate and compare the inventory and environmental impacts of nine small WRRFs, most of which are serving slow growing or declining populations ...

Evaluation Of Flared Approach Guardrail Transitions And Mash 2270p Ram Vehicle Model Improvements, Ryan F. Bickhaus

Mechanical (and Materials) Engineering -- Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The objective of this research study was to use computer simulation to identify the critical flare rate for flaring approach guardrail transitions (AGTs) away from the primary roadway. AGTs installed with a flared configuration result in a length of need (LON) reduction as well as an increase in the clear zone area in front of the barrier, which would reduce both installation cost and crash frequency. The research focused on the determination of the maximum allowable flare rate that could safely be utilized with 31-in. (787-mm) tall thrie-beam AGTs without concrete curbs that utilize the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) upstream ...

Analyzing Speech Recognition For Individuals With Down Syndrome, Yingying 'Yuki' Chen, Franceli L. Cibrian, Deanna Hughes, Vivian Genaro Motti

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

With the increment of voice assistants, speech recognition technologies have been used to support natural language processing. However, there are limitations on how well the technologies perform depending on who the users are. They have been predominantly trained on “typical speech” patterns, leaving aside people with disabilities with unique speech patterns. More specifically, people with Down Syndrome are having trouble using speech recognition technology due to their differences in speech. To develop a more accessible voice assistant, this project aims to characterize the speech recognition from individuals with Down Syndrome. To accomplish this aim, we analyze the quality of transcripts ...