Engineering Commons^™

Very Low Power Cockcroft-Walton Voltage Multiplier For Rf Energy Harvesting Applications, Trace Langdon

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A device was required that could harvest the electromagnetic energy present in ambient radio frequency (RF) signals. A part of this device must convert the AC RF signal received by the antenna into a DC signal that can be used in an embedded application. Since the RF signal amplitude is small, it must first be amplified and rectified to become a usable signal. The Cockcroft-Walton voltage multiplier is a subsystem of the design which ideally converts a 100 mV AC signal coming from the antenna to a 350 mV DC signal. The output of the voltage multiplier is used to …

Designing A Solar Pv System To Power A Single-Phase Distribution System, Ana Guerra Vega

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Over the last decade, the costs of PV system components have dropped more than 70%. Additionally, green energy incentives like the 30% tax credit have been pushed forward. PV solar systems have become accessible to the general public. Companies are pledging to reduce their carbon emissions.

As part of their green initiative, the City of Fayetteville has requested a feasibility study for a PV system to be installed on the rooftop of the Facilities Management building, 115 S. Church Ave, Fayetteville, AR, 72701. This thesis shows the design process of this PV system and the return on investment estimation. While …

Comparing The Effects Of Fibroblast Growth Factors On Growth Rate Of Human Fibroblast Cell Lines, Tasha Repella

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Numerous studies have demonstrated the usefulness of growth factors in medium formulations to promote proliferation and viability of human fibroblasts in laboratory settings. However, due to the differences in the source and age of fibroblasts, the ability of growth factors like hFGF1 to promote proliferation varies. Equally difficult is the ability of hFGF1 to promote proliferation of diseased fibroblasts due to complexities associated with specific mitochondrial diseases. In this context, we decided to evaluate the potential for novel hyper stable growth factors super hFGF and hFGF1 (shFGF and hFGF1 respectively), to contribute to proliferation of different normal and diseased fibroblasts. …

Modeling And Validation Of Tissue Optical Properties In The Photon Transport Regime, Katelyn Heath

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Early detection of changes in epithelial cells, such as the development of neoplastic formations seen in epithelial dysplasia, can indicate regions of the epithelial tissue that are at a high risk for cancerous formation. Using concepts from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, a Monte Carlo model was developed to predict the reflectance measured by a detector at a small source-detector separation on a microendoscope. The Monte Carlo results were then used to calculate a mathematical relationship between the reflectance and distance that can be used to determine optical properties in a tissue sample. This model was validated with liquid phantoms of specified …

Investigating Virus Clearance Via Ph Inactivation During Biomanufacturing, Wenbo Xu

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the processing of biopharmaceuticals, viral clearance and viral safety are important for the development of monoclonal antibodies. Murine xenotropic leukemia virus (XMuLV) is one of the retroviruses, recommended by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a model virus for viral clearance via inactivation from therapeutics derived from Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). A robust and effective method was investigated to clear or inactivate endogenous viruses by low pH inactivation. The effects of different conductivity and inactivated time on XMuLV clearance was determined. Acetate buffer was prepared with different conductivity, and 2% XMuLV was spiked into acetate buffer. XMuLV virus …

A Bioinstrumentation Active Learning Educational Module: The Design Of A Working Temperature Sensor Using A Ntc Thermistor, Baylor Bush

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arkansas has continued to develop over the years, with more students enrolling in the program each year. Within the first biomedical engineering course, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering, various topics are introduced to students, and the topic of bioinstrumentation has been one of the most complex and difficult topics for students to comprehend through just a few lectures. In order to aid students in grasping these intricate concepts, an active learning module was developed in which students can work in groups to build a simple thermistor circuit as a temperature sensor. The …

Effect Of Polymer Composition Of Injectable Hydrogels On Programmable Release Of Methylene Blue, Mary Brandecker

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Temperature sensitive hydrogels have been used as injectable hydrogels because the polymer solutions can be liquid at room temperature and gel at body temperature. Injectable hydrogels have been used in biomedical applications to deliver drugs and other small molecules throughout the body. Methylene Blue was used as the drug in this study for its antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. PluronicⓇ F127 (PF127) is a copolymer consisting of repeating units of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide in the form PEO-PPO-PEO. PF127 in solution is a temperature sensitive hydrogel that transitions to a gel at body temperature at specific polymer compositions. A standard …

Comparison Of Induced And Parasitic Drag On Wings With Minimum Induced Drag, Sarah A. Abdel-Motaleb

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Minimizing the induced drag for steady level flight is a variational problem that requires solving for the optimum lift distribution given a set of design constraints. From lifting-line theory, minimizing the induced drag is, in part, achieved by varying the Fourier coefficients used to describe the section lift. The elliptic lift distribution minimizes the induced drag for a wing with fixed weight and wingspan by setting all but the first coefficient to zero. If wingspan is allowed to vary, a negative third Fourier coefficient is utilized to reach an optimum lift distribution that further reduces the induced drag for stress-limited …

Hybrid Long-Range Mid-Infrared Hyperbolic Phonon Polariton Waveguide Using Hexagonal Boron Nitride, Di Xiong

Theses and Dissertations

For any photonic-on-chip applications long propagation waveguides are critical. The use of plasmon polaritons for near-infrared and optical networks has been extensively studied for the purpose of achieving long propagation lengths, however, due to plasmonic polariton effects being negligible in mid- to long-wave infrared (IR) applications, phonon polaritons are required. In recent years, extensive research has been carried out on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and it has been found that h-BN has naturally occurring sub-range phonon volume-constrained hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs). The numerical results in this thesis show both the long-range and short-range phonon volume polaritons modes in h-BN. A …

Formal Trust Architecture For Assuring Trusted Interactions In The Internet Of Things, Milankumar Patel

Theses and Dissertations

The Internet of Things (IoT) has provided a flexible platform for a large number of heterogeneous devices to dynamically join and leave the network. This enhances the availability of a diverse range of services provided by a network. However, this dynamic expansion of the network with mobile IoT devices introduces a major challenge to security especially related to management of trust across the IoT platforms. Furthermore, IoT is open and distributed in nature, which allows the integration and registration of diverse entities. Thus arises the necessity for a mechanism that can ensure the selection of secure and trusted devices as …

Wildfire Smoke: Trends, Challenges, Unknowns, And Human Response, Mariah Dawn Fowler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wildfire smoke is a growing threat to human livelihood in the Western United States. The economic and the health burden of smoke is accelerating in response to a growing fire season and escalating fire activity. This study first evaluates the trends in air quality over Boise, Idaho and the entire Northwest (and Montana) to assess the impacts of wildfire smoke in the region. The Mann-Kendall trend analysis shows that there is a statistically significant trend in the average and maximum air quality index (AQI) during the fire season (July-August-September) in the Boise area. The AQI shows a decreasing trend, although …

Unicorn Framework: A User-Centric Approach Toward Formal Verification Of Privacy Norms, Rezvan Joshaghani

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In the development of complex systems, such as user-centric privacy management systems with multiple components and attributes, it is important to formalize the process and develop mathematical models that can be utilized to automatically make decisions on the information sharing actions of users. While valuable, the current state-of-the-art models are mostly based on enterprise/organizational privacy perspectives and leave the main actor, i.e., the user, uninvolved or with limited ability to control information sharing actions. These approaches cannot be applied to a user-centric environment since user privacy policies are dynamic because they change based on the information sharing context and environment. …

The Influence Of Heat Treatment On Corrosion Behavior Of Martensitic Stainless Steel Uns 42670, Armen Kvryan

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Ceaseless demand for lighter, faster, and more efficient aircraft has been one of the greatest driving forces behind bearing steel innovations. Recent studies demonstrate that corrosion is one of the leading causes of bearing failure in both military and commercial aircraft. High-performing bearing steels are available but are not being used in US military applications due to high cost and security issues when steels are produced outside of the continental United States. One approach to address this issue is to engineer steels that are cost-efficient and heat treated for corrosion resistance, long wear life, etc.

This dissertation presents information on …

Factors Affecting Patellar Mechanics And Bone Strain In Patients With Crouch Gait, Erika Ramirez

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Crouch gait is a musculoskeletal impairment that results in higher than normal stresses at the patellofemoral (PF) joint that can lead to instances of anterior knee pain and loss of ambulation. The impact of commonly implemented surgical procedures to correct for crouch gait can be quantified by evaluating stresses and underlying patellar bone strain during a gait cycle. The aims of this thesis work were (1) to analyze changes in PF mechanics and patellar bone strain between pre- and postoperative conditions; (2) to quantify the variability of predicted patellar strain due to different kinematic/loading profiles or patellar material properties; and …

Application-Specific Memory Subsystem Benchmarking, Mahesh Lakshminarasimhan

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Application performance often depends on achieved memory bandwidth. Achieved memory bandwidth varies greatly given specific combinations of instruction mix and order, working set size, and access pattern. Achieving good application performance depends on optimizing these characteristics within the constraints of the given application. This task is complicated due to the lack of information about the impact of small changes on the performance. Some information is provided by benchmarks, but most memory benchmarks are confined to simple access patterns that are not representative of patterns found in real applications.

This thesis presents AdaptMemBench, a configurable benchmark framework designed to explore the …

Additive Manufacturing Of High Performance Flexible Thermoelectric Generators Using Nanoparticle Inks, Tony Valayil Varghese

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Flexible thermoelectric devices are attractive power sources for the growing demand of flexible electronics and sensors. Thermoelectric generators have an advantage due to no moving parts, silent operation and constant power production with a thermal gradient.

Conventional thermoelectric devices are rigid and fabricated using complex and relatively costly manufacturing processes, presenting a barrier to increase the market share of this technology. To overcome such barriers, this work focuses on developing near ambient-temperature flexible thermoelectric generators using relatively low-cost additive manufacturing processes. A screen printable ink was developed for transforming nanoparticle ink into high-performance flexible thermoelectric generators with a peak thermoelectric …

Maximizing Space Utilization In Unit-Load Warehouses., Luis Felipe Cardona Olarte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a unit-load warehouse, products are stored and retrieved in pallet quantities. Examples include retail distribution centers (DC), third-party DCs, and transshipment hubs in freight transportation. Expenses related to space are a significant component of the operational cost of unit-load warehouses; therefore, maximizing space utilization is important. Moreover, the continuing revolution of retail e-commerce is changing the role and design of modern distribution centers (Boysen et al., 2018). An important trend with serious implications for design is the desire of many distributors to locate DCs in or near metropolitan areas in order to support same-day service or better (Thuermer, 2018). …

Evaluating The Water Quantity And Quality Performances Of Underground Gravel Filter Basins., Jihad A. Hallany

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Underground gravel filter basins (UGF basins) are subsurface structures that are used for detention, filtration, and infiltration of stormwater runoff in urbanized areas. The application of these structures is recommended in highly developed urban areas, where land is not available or it is too expensive for surface-level green infrastructures such as stormwater ponds, bio-retention, and infiltration trenches. Objectives of this study are to assess and analyze the effectiveness of two (2) UGF basins in reducing the stormwater runoff peak flow, and to assess water quality parameters in a high-density residential area. The experimental site is located at Red Mile Village, …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation Of Metal Complexes With Cancer Selective Anti-Proliferative Effects And Hydrogen Evolution Catalytic Properties., Nicholas Vishnosky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bis-thiosemicarbazones (BTSC) and their metal chelates have properties that are useful in several different scientific fields. These systems have already received attention in major fields of biology and engineering. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts need to be cheap and operate under minimal overpotentials with a long lifetime. The treatment of cancer requires, novel agents that have potent cytotoxic activity against cancer cells while displaying minimal side effects. In this dissertation the modular synthesis of these bis-thiosemicarbazone systems is utilized to regulate the redox chemistry for employment in the desired sector of chemistry. The ligand and metal chelates synthesized were characterized …

Student Perceptions And Persistence : Taking A Person-Centered Approach To Understand Undergraduate Engineering Retention., Brittany Flanery Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many students are leaving their engineering programs as early as the first semester of their undergraduate studies. Although some of the factors related to engineering retention are largely academic, others are tied closely to students’ beliefs or perceptions. Student perceptions data are useful, but often overlooked by researchers who wish to take a person-centered approach to uncover profiles of student beliefs, both adaptive and maladaptive, when it comes to understanding engineering retention. The sample consisted of full-time undergraduate engineering students (N = 834) in the first semester of their undergraduate engineering programs. I used latent transition analysis (LTA) to …

Receptive Fields Optimization In Deep Learning For Enhanced Interpretability, Diversity, And Resource Efficiency., Babajide Odunitan Ayinde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In both supervised and unsupervised learning settings, deep neural networks (DNNs) are known to perform hierarchical and discriminative representation of data. They are capable of automatically extracting excellent hierarchy of features from raw data without the need for manual feature engineering. Over the past few years, the general trend has been that DNNs have grown deeper and larger, amounting to huge number of final parameters and highly nonlinear cascade of features, thus improving the flexibility and accuracy of resulting models. In order to account for the scale, diversity and the difficulty of data DNNs learn from, the architectural complexity and …

Numerical Investigation Of Coalescence-Induced Self-Propelled Behavior Of Droplets On Non-Wetting Surfaces And Wedged Surfaces., Yan Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When small drops coalesce on a superhydrophobic surface, the merged drop can jump away from the surface due to the surface energy released during the coalescence. This self-propelled behavior has been observed on various superhydrophobic surfaces and has potential applications in areas related to the heat and mass transfer, such as heat exchangers, anti-icing and anti-frost devices, thermal management and water harvesting. The jumping velocity model was obtained based on published experimental data and the balance of various energy terms described in previous studies. However, the self-propelled mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, the self-propelled droplet phenomenon …

Clustering Heterogeneous Autism Spectrum Disorder Data., Mariem Boujelbene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Several studies have been conducted in the past years to develop a better understanding of the disease and therefore a better diagnosis and a better treatment by analyzing diverse data sets consisting of behavioral surveys and tests, phenotype description, and brain imagery. However, data analysis is challenged by the diversity, complexity and heterogeneity of patient cases and by the need for integrating diverse data sets to reach a better understanding of ASD. The aim of our study is to mine homogeneous groups of patients from a heterogeneous …

Ac Direct Drive Led Lighting Using Low Cost Analog Components, Miles Head

Master's Theses

This project explores the rapidly expanding area of AC direct drive for LED lighting. AC LED driving does not use typical DC-DC converter-based driving but uses semiconductor switches and a linear regulator to activate a number of LEDs proportional to the input voltage at any given time. This allows bulky, expensive magnetics to be eliminated from the system. The goal of this project was to design a scaled-down physical AC LED direct drive system to validate the conclusions of methods for improving efficiency from a previous investigation that found minimizing voltage across the linear regulating MOSFET led to higher efficiency …

Segmentation And Registration Based Automatic Cancer Proton Treatment Analysis, Yang Zhang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Due to its low side effects, proton therapy is rapidly developing around the world. However, the time and labor it takes to deliver the treatment have prevented widespread use in the clinic setting. For this reason, an automatic proton treatment analysis system is needed to improve efficiency during the treatment process.

The challenge lies in improving the accuracy and speed of the current proton treatment analysis system. The Range shifter correction factor is considered the same value under any given condition in our treatment system. This approximate algorithm limits the accuracy of the proton treatment analysis system. In addition, medical …

Multi-Segment Pile-Supported Bridge Approach Slabs For Control Of Differential Settlement, Ahmed Bahumdain

Theses and Dissertations

The roughness of the transition between the bridge and the roadway is a well-known issue that affects roughly 25% of the bridges in the United States. As soil underneath the approach slab settles, deferential settlement develops between the bridge and the approaching roadway. This may negatively affect the ride quality for travelers and result in substantial long-term maintenance costs. Because of the differential settlement, bumps could develop at the ends of the bridge when abrupt changes in slope (exceeding 1/125) occurs.

This study was aimed at mitigating the formation of bumps at the ends of the bridge through a new …

Model Predictive Control Design For The Secondary Frequency Control Of Microgrid Considering Time Delay Attacks, Zhengrong Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Fast depleting fossil fuels and growing awareness of environmental protection have raised worldwide concerns, aiming to build a sustainable and smart energy ecosystem. Renewable energy generation plays an important role in providing clean power supply. However, the integration of a bulk renewable generation system would also introduce new forms of disturbances and uncertainties to impact the power quality, threatening the secure operation of the distribution network. Microgrid, as an emerging technology, is quite appealing to be interfaced with distribution systems due to its potential economic, environmental, and technical benefits. The microgrid differs from the “smart grid” with different control strategies …

A Transactive Energy Framework For Multi-Energy Management In Smart Community, Jun Lei

Theses and Dissertations

Most community systems with large commercial buildings have heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In this case, EHs (energy hubs) can be formed in these communities in order to maximize the utilization of energy. The concept of energy hub was proposed to facilitate the synergies among different forms of energy carriers. Under the new electricity market environment, it is of great significance to build a win-win situation for prosumer and the hub manager at the community level without bringing extra burden to the utility grid. A set of economic and control mechanisms that allows the dynamic balance of supply and …

Using Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets (Pfs) In Multiple Criteria Group Decision Making (Mcgdm) Methods For Engineering Materials Selection Applications, Alaa Fouad Momena

Theses and Dissertations

The process of materials’ selection is very critical during the initial stages of designing manufactured products. Inefficient decision-making outcomes in the material selection process could result in poor quality of products and unnecessary costs. In the last century, numerous materials have been developed for manufacturing mechanical components in different industries. Many of these new materials are similar in their properties and performances, thus creating great challenges for designers and engineers to make accurate selections. Our main objective in this work is to assist decision makers (DMs) within the manufacturing field to evaluate materials alternatives and to select the best alternative …

A Viable Residential Dc Microgrid For Low Income Communities – Architecture, Protection And Education, Karthik Palaniappan

Theses and Dissertations

The availability of fossil fuels in the future and the environmental effects such as the carbon footprint of the existing methodologies to produce electricity is an increasing area of concern. In rural areas of under-developed parts of the world, the problem is lack of access to electrification. DC microgrids have become a proven solution to electrification in these areas with demonstrated exceptional quality of power, high reliability, efficiency, and simplified integration between renewable energy sources (principally solar PV) and energy storage. In the United States, a different problem occurs that can be addressed with the same DC microgrid approach that …