Engineering Commons^™

Monitoring The Impact Of Groundwater Pumping On Infrastructure Using Geographic Information System (Gis) And Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (Psi), Kirsten Deprekel, El Hachemi Bouali, Thomas Oommen

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Transportation infrastructure is critical for the advancement of society. Bridges are vital for an efficient transportation network. Bridges across the world undergo variable deformation/displacement due to the Earth’s dynamic processes. This displacement is caused by ground motion, which occurs from many natural and anthropogenic events. Events causing deformation include temperature fluctuation, subsidence, landslides, earthquakes, water/sea level variation, subsurface resource extraction, etc. Continual deformation may cause bridge failure, putting civilians at risk, if not managed properly. Monitoring bridge displacement, large and small, provides evidence of the state and health of the bridge. Traditionally, bridge monitoring has been executed through on-site surveys. …

Revisiting The Paleomagnetism Of The Neoarchean Uauá Mafic Dyke Swarm, Brazil: Implications For Archean Supercratons, J. Salminen, E. P. Oliveira, Elisa J. Piispa, Aleksey Smirnov, R. I. F. Trindade

Michigan Tech Publications

The original connections of Archean cratons are becoming traceable due to an increasing amount of paleomagnetic data and refined magmatic barcodes. The Uauá block of the northern São Francisco craton may represent a fragment of a major Archean craton. Here, we report new paleomagnetic data from the 2.62 Ga Uauá tholeiitic mafic dyke swarm of the Uauá block in the northern São Francisco craton, Eastern Brazil. Our paleomagnetic results confirm the earlier results for these units, but our interpretation differs. We suggest that the obtained characteristic remanent magnetization for the 2.62 Ga swarm is of primary origin, supported by a …

Target Localization And Tracking By Fusing Doppler Differentials From Cellular Emanations With A Multi-Spectral Video Tracker, Casey D. Demars, Michael Roggemann, Adam Webb, Timothy C. Havens

Michigan Tech Publications

We present an algorithm for fusing data from a constellation of RF sensors detecting cellular emanations with the output of a multi-spectral video tracker to localize and track a target with a specific cell phone. The RF sensors measure the Doppler shift caused by the moving cellular emanation and then Doppler differentials between all sensor pairs are calculated. The multi-spectral video tracker uses a Gaussian mixture model to detect foreground targets and SIFT features to track targets through the video sequence. The data is fused by associating the Doppler differential from the RF sensors with the theoretical Doppler differential computed …

First Observations Of Volcanic Eruption Clouds From The L1 Earth-Sun Lagrange Point By Dscovr/Epic, Simon Carn, N. A. Krotov, B. L. Fisher, C. Li, A. J. Prata

Michigan Tech Publications

Volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions have been measured by ultraviolet sensors on polar‐orbiting satellites for several decades but with limited temporal resolution. This precludes studies of key processes believed to occur in young (~1–3 hr old) volcanic clouds. In 2015, the launch of the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) provided an opportunity for novel observations of volcanic eruption clouds from the first Earth‐Sun Lagrange point (L1). The L1 vantage point provides continuous observations of the sunlit Earth, offering up to eight or nine observations of volcanic SO₂ clouds in the …

Metabolism-Driven High-Throughput Cancer Identification With Glut5-Specific Molecular Probes, Srinivas Kannan, Vagarshak Begoyan, Joseph Fedie, Shuai Xia, Łukasz J. Weseliński, Marina Tanasova, Smitha Rao

Michigan Tech Publications

Point-of-care applications rely on biomedical sensors to enable rapid detection with high sensitivity and selectivity. Despite advances in sensor development, there are challenges in cancer diagnostics. Detection of biomarkers, cell receptors, circulating tumor cells, gene identification, and fluorescent tagging are time-consuming due to the sample preparation and response time involved. Here, we present a novel approach to target the enhanced metabolism in breast cancers for rapid detection using fluorescent imaging. Fluorescent analogs of fructose target the fructose-specific transporter GLUT5 in breast cancers and have limited to no response from normal cells. These analogs demonstrate a marked difference in adenocarcinoma and …

Spatial Dispersion Of Index Components Required For Building Invisibility Cloak Medium From Photonic Crystals, Saeid Jamilan, George Semouchkin, Navid Gandji, Elena Semouchkina

Michigan Tech Publications

The opportunities to use dielectric photonic crystals (PhCs) as the media of cylindrical invisibility cloaks, designed using transformation optics (TO) concepts, are investigated. It is shown that TO-based prescriptions for radial index dispersion, responsible for turning waves around hidden objects, can be dropped if the PhC media support self-collimation of waves in bent crystals. Otherwise, to provide prescribed anisotropy of index dispersion, it is possible to employ PhCs with rectangular lattices. It is found, however, that at acceptable cloak thicknesses, modifications of crystal parameters do not allow for achieving the prescribed level of index anisotropy. This problem is solved by …

Pressure Measurements Inside Multiple Cavities Of A Torque Converter And Cfd Correlation, Edward De Jesus Rivera

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A torque converter was instrumented with 29 pressure transducers. The pressure transducers were located in multiple cavities. The instrumented cavities included, four transducers mounted on the impeller shell, on the channel between blades. Six transducers mounted on the pressure and suction sides on the middle streamline of a turbine blade. Another seven transducers mounted on the pressure and suction sides of the core, middle and shell streamlines of a stator blade. Seven transducers mounted on the torque converter clutch cavity. Finally, five on the cavity between the pressure plate and the turbine shell. The torque converter was part of a …

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Salvage White Spruce, Tyler Hovde

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Knowledge of wood quality in dead standing trees is an important topic with recent increases in defoliation across North America. Obtaining wood quality information for defoliated trees would help stakeholders in the timber products industry sort and sell salvaged material for the highest possible value. This research investigates the ability to measure wood quality of white spruce (Picea glauca) after spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) attack using acoustic nondestructive evaluation. We compared stress wave velocities measured on standing trees to trees’ visual appearance. After harvest and processing of selected trees into bolts, standing-tree stress wave velocities were compared to bolt acoustic …

A Model To Predict Concentrations And Uncertainty For Mercury Species In Lakes, Ashley Hendricks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

To increase understanding of mercury cycling, a seasonal mass balance model was developed to predict mercury concentrations in lakes and fish. Results indicate that seasonality in mercury cycling is significant and is important for a northern latitude lake. Models, when validated, have the potential to be used as an alternative to measurements; models are relatively inexpensive and are not as time intensive. Previously published mercury models have neglected to perform a thorough validation. Model validation allows for regulators to be able to make more informed, confident decisions when using models in water quality management. It is critical to quantify uncertainty; …

Analyzing The Life-Cycle Of Unstable Slopes Using Applied Remote Sensing Within An Asset Management Framework, El Hachemi Y. Bouali

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An asset management framework provides a methodology for monitoring and maintaining assets, which include anthropogenic infrastructure (e.g., dams, embankments, and retaining structures) and natural geological features (e.g., soil and rock slopes). It is imperative that these assets operate efficiently, effectively, safely, and at a high standard since many assets are located along transportation corridors (highways, railways, and waterways) and can cause severe damage if compromised. Assets built on or around regions prone to natural hazards are at an increased risk of deterioration and failure. The objective of this study is to utilize remote sensing techniques such as InSAR, LiDAR, and …

Offline And Online Density Estimation For Large High-Dimensional Data, Aref Majdara

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Density estimation has wide applications in machine learning and data analysis techniques including clustering, classification, multimodality analysis, bump hunting and anomaly detection. In high-dimensional space, sparsity of data in local neighborhood makes many of parametric and nonparametric density estimation methods mostly inefficient.

This work presents development of computationally efficient algorithms for high-dimensional density estimation, based on Bayesian sequential partitioning (BSP). Copula transform is used to separate the estimation of marginal and joint densities, with the purpose of reducing the computational complexity and estimation error. Using this separation, a parallel implementation of the density estimation algorithm on a 4-core CPU is …

Intelligent And Secure Underwater Acoustic Communication Networks, Chaofeng Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Underwater acoustic (UWA) communication networks are promising techniques for medium- to long-range wireless information transfer in aquatic applications. The harsh and dynamic water environment poses grand challenges to the design of UWA networks. This dissertation leverages the advances in machine learning and signal processing to develop intelligent and secure UWA communication networks. Three research topics are studied: 1) reinforcement learning (RL)-based adaptive transmission in UWA channels; 2) reinforcement learning-based adaptive trajectory planning for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in under-ice environments; 3) signal alignment to secure underwater coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmissions.

First, a RL-based algorithm is developed for adaptive transmission in …

Generalizable Modeling Of Charge Transport In Single Electron Transistor Devices: Application To Thermal Sensitivity In Semiconducting Island Systems, Paniz Khanmohammadi Hazaveh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Electronic devices, especially MOSFETs, have been dimensionally scaled down to enhance operation of integrated circuits, addressing challenges such as current leakage, fluctuation of intrinsic semiconductor properties, and power dissipation. Reaching dimensions below 20 nm, there are fundamental limitations that are difficult to overcome, driving alternative device paradigms to be sought utilizing the quantum mechanical behavior of electrons. Single electron transistor (SET) devices are examples of a new generation of low-power transistors designed to transport information via single electron tunneling through one or more islands separated by tunnel junctions. Experimentally explored SET devices have shown that there are advantages to using …

Optimization And Control Of An Array Of Wave Energy Converters, Jianyang Lyu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study explored optimal configuration of both the array layout and the dimension of each WEC in the array. The array contains heaving buoys with full interaction and exact hydrodynamics. Optimization of dimension was done on each WEC in the array with a given optimal layout, and a higher q-factor was achieved. Both impedance matching optimal control and derivative control were employed, which provides both theoretical maximum energy and a more realistic case. Then the work was expanded to optimization of both the array layout and the dimension of each WEC in the array. An average of 39.21% higher q-factor …

Resource Optimization In Wireless Sensor Networks For An Improved Field Coverage And Cooperative Target Tracking, Husam Sweidan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There are various challenges that face a wireless sensor network (WSN) that mainly originate from the limited resources a sensor node usually has. A sensor node often relies on a battery as a power supply which, due to its limited capacity, tends to shorten the life-time of the node and the network as a whole. Other challenges arise from the limited capabilities of the sensors/actuators a node is equipped with, leading to complication like a poor coverage of the event, or limited mobility in the environment. This dissertation deals with the coverage problem as well as the limited power and …

Application Of Remote Sensing And Machine Learning Modeling To Post-Wildfire Debris Flow Risks, Priscilla Addison

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Historically, post-fire debris flows (DFs) have been mostly more deadly than the fires that preceded them. Fires can transform a location that had no history of DFs to one that is primed for it. Studies have found that the higher the severity of the fire, the higher the probability of DF occurrence. Due to high fatalities associated with these events, several statistical models have been developed for use as emergency decision support tools. These previous models used linear modeling approaches that produced subpar results. Our study therefore investigated the application of nonlinear machine learning modeling as an alternative. Existing models …

Wildfire Emissions In The Context Of Global Change And The Implications For Mercury Pollution, Aditya Kumar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wildfires are episodic disturbances that exert a significant influence on the Earth system. They emit substantial amounts of atmospheric pollutants, which can impact atmospheric chemistry/composition and the Earth’s climate at the global and regional scales. This work presents a collection of studies aimed at better estimating wildfire emissions of atmospheric pollutants, quantifying their impacts on remote ecosystems and determining the implications of 2000s-2050s global environmental change (land use/land cover, climate) for wildfire emissions following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B socioeconomic scenario.

A global fire emissions model is developed to compile global wildfire emission inventories for major atmospheric …

Implementing Write Compression In Flash Memory Using Zeckendorf Two-Round Rewriting Codes, Vincent T. Druschke

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Flash memory has become increasingly popular as the underlying storage technology for high-performance nonvolatile storage devices. However, while flash offers several benefits over alternative storage media, a number of limitations still exist within the current technology. One such limitation is that programming (altering a bit from its default value) and erasing (returning a bit to its default value) are asymmetric operations in flash memory devices: a flash memory can be programmed arbitrarily, but can only be erased in relatively large batches of storage bits called blocks, with block sizes ranging from 512K up to several megabytes. This creates a situation …

Evaluation, Improvement, And Application Of Models Of Environmental Fate And Transport Of Atmosphere-Surface Exchangeable Pollutants (Aseps), Tanvir Khan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Certain toxic, semivolatile chemicals, also known as atmosphere-surface exchangeable pollutants (ASEPs) are emitted into the environment from anthropogenic activities and natural sources. This dissertation focused on the (i) evaluation and improvement of dry particle deposition and atmosphere-surface exchange parameterizations of ASEPs for use in chemical transport models (CTMs), and (ii) application of a dynamic multimedia model to examine recovery of Lake Superior from historical inputs of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds (a class of ASEPs) contamination.

Current knowledge has been inadequate to propose quantitative measures of the relative performance of available dry particle deposition parameterizations. In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, …