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Enhancing Surface Texturing Of Zirconia Toughened Alumina Ceramic Through Optimized Electric Discharge Machining Utilizing The Assistive Electrode Method, Yazan Eyas Tuffaha

Theses and Dissertations

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) is a durable and biocompatible ceramic material commonly used in prosthetic hip implants because of its excellent mechanical properties and wear/corrosion resistance. Surface texturing can improve the lubricity and longevity of hip implant bearing surfaces, but precision machining of ceramic materials such as ZTA is very difficult due to suboptimal surface integrity results of traditional machining techniques. This thesis explores the optimization of machining ZTA using electric discharge machining (EDM) - a process usually reserved for conductive metals - to machine holes into the ceramic to create surface textures. EDM is made possible through the assistive …

Mathematical Modeling And Reconstruction Of Porous Media To Understand Transport Phenomena For Electrochemical System Applications, Mitchell Sepe

Theses and Dissertations

Alternative power generation has grown significantly in the space of energy production over the last ten years. Development of new technologies to produce energy is vital to the growing need for electricity. Batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, and countless other renewable energy options have been deemed necessary to create an overall greener future. Fuels cells when combined with electrolyzer show a promising system for stationary power generation. Both technologies are comprised of multiple parts in contact that must work together simultaneously to create an ideal environment for catalytic reactions to take place. A crucial component to a properly functioning cell …

On The Use Of Cfd Modeling And Analytic Methods To Describe Pressure Drop In Highly Dense Structured Adsorbents In Gas Separation Processes And Fundamentals Of Adsorption, Ryan Timothy Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

The scope of this work can be divided into two main thrusts on topics found within adsorption. The first, and primary, topic is the use of CFD and analytical modeling to describe the flow of gas through a parallel, structured adsorbent channel which is described in Chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 1 establishes a non-experimental methodology based on using a 3D Navier-Stokes (NS) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model in lieu of experiments, for developing 1D axial pressure drop correlations for structured adsorbents with parallel channels. Chapter 2 utilizes the methodology established in Chapter 1 in order to develop a new …

Simultaneous Crack & Wave Propagation And Acoustic Emission Signal Modelling Using Peri-Elastodynamic, Md Mushfiqur Rahman Fahim

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents the use of Peri-Elastodynamic, a guided wave simulation method based on meshfree non-local Peridynamics theory. To model simultaneous crack and wave propagation simulation and its application on Acoustic Emission (AE) signal modelling, a new formulation is presented. The field of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) is slowly embracing the advancement in Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) for better and cost-effective assessment of structures and damage prediction. AI/ML can revolutionize the NDE/SHM field by automating the data collection and analyzing processes. However, the big challenge is that the model needs a sheer amount …

In-House Polydimethylsiloxane Microfluidic Device On Single Cell Trapping And Culturing Of Leukemia Cell Line: Comparison Between Conventional And Conventional With Centrifugal Methods, Alongkorn Pimpin, Sudchaya Bhanpattanakul, Tepparit Wongpakham, Chomkwan Tawatcharaporn, Thanawit Siha-Umphai, Mookdapa Sinsiriphan, Atikan Chalermchuang, Tewan Tongmanee, Attawut Thanomsridetchai, Thammawit Suwannaphan, Witsaroot Sripumkhaie, Pattaraluck Pattamang, Mayuree Chanasakulniyom, Praprudee Piyaviriyakul, Wutthinun Jeamsaksiri, Achariya Sailasuta, Theerawat Tharasanit, Theerayuth Kaewamatawong

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

To develop a suitable model to study biological and characterization of Cancer stem cells (CSCs), single cell trapping and culturing using microfluidic techniques have become a high-through put system that can manage and control microenvironment and practical intracellular analysis. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a microfluidic device for single cell trapping and culturing using the leukemia cell line as a cell model. Comparison between conventional and conventional with centrifugal methods was also analyzed. To compare trapping efficacy between these 2 methods, leukemia cell concentration of 1.5×106 cells/ml was loaded with a flow rate of 0.25 …

Fission Product Thermodynamics, Solubility, And Extraction In Molten Salts And Lead, Richard Lee Fitzhugh

Theses and Dissertations

Chemical behavior of fission products in systems relevant to two major advanced nuclear reactor systems, namely the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) and molten-salt reactor (MSR), has been studied with a heavy emphasis on thermodynamics. The behavior of fission products in molten salts is examined from a theoretical perspective, with an emphasis on the standard state used to define the thermodynamic activity. A standard state extrapolated from infinite dilution behavior, which is fairly common practice in electrochemistry, is found to facilitate faster, easier, and simpler analysis while retaining much of the accuracy of the complex Modified Quasichemical Model. Inductively-coupled plasma mass …

Void Formation During Liquid Composite Molding Under Varied Pressure With Mechanical Properties Validation, Neil Russell Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Composite materials have revolutionized products and how they are manufactured. Most large-scale aerospace companies utilize a carbon fiber pre-impregnated with a resin in conjunction with an autoclave to minimize voids, but it is very expensive and requires a great amount of space. The less expensive alternative to prepreg-autoclave processes is known as Liquid Composite Molding (LCM), in which the resin is brought into a mold via overpressure on the resin supply or by a vacuum in the mold. But this process is more prone to voids due to bubble formation. Voids are a critical issue as common failure modes such …

Faids: Artificial Intelligence Developmental Systems Framework For Predicting And Preventing Cyberattacks In Supply Chain Networks, Lordt Becklines

Research & Publications

Cyber threats and attacks disrupt and damages supply chain networks (SCNs), which are complex and interlinked. Current methods to predict and prevent cyberattacks are inadequate and ineffective. This research proposes an AI developmental systems framework (FAIDS) to protect SCNs from cyberattacks. The framework has four components: (1) an AI threat intelligence system; (2) an AI risk assessment system; (3) an AI decision support system; and (4) an AI learning and adaptation system. The framework is tested on a simulated retail SCN. The results show that the framework can predict and prevent cyberattacks and improve the network's resilience and security. The …

Coal Wettability: A Holistic Overview Of The Data Sets, Influencing Factors, And Knowledge Gaps, Muhammad Arif, Faisal Ur Rahman Awan, Haiyang Zhang, Mirhasan Hosseini

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Coal seams are naturally occurring geological media offering tremendous potential for gas storage. The wetting characteristics of coals at typical geological formations underpin a diverse array of processes spanning coal resource recovery, combustion, enhanced coal beneficiation, enhanced methane recovery, and CO2 storage for sustainable energy transition. An accurate characterization of coal wettability is thus crucial and remains an active area of research. The intrinsic heterogeneity of coal surfaces and the presence of multicomponent systems add layers of intricacy to wetting behavior. In particular, coal wettability characterization is challenging because it is a complex and multifaceted function of a range of …

Quiescent Condensation Heat Transfer On Vertical Cicnt Structured Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Clint Mach Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

This study experimentally investigates the impact of the subcooling magnitude, the carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotube (CICNT) diameter, the time duration of condensation, and amount of non-condensable gases on the nature of dropwise condensation and condensate removal, and heat flux and heat transfer coefficient measurements. Experiments were conducted in a vacuum chamber on a vertically oriented test CICNT surface. The CICNT diameter was varied between 15-120 nm and the subcooling ranged from 0.5-9 °C. Each test ran for a duration of at least one hour and video was recorded at 20-minute intervals. Three modes of condensation were observed: drop jumping, drop wetting …

Behavior Of Reinforced Lightweight Cellular Concrete Backfill For Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls With Welded Wire Reinforcements, Cole Max Larsen

Theses and Dissertations

Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) consists of a mixture of cement, water, and a pre-formed foam. The pre-formed foam entrains a high proportion of air voids into the cement water slurry at the time of casting, decreasing the product's overall weight. LCC is also a viable alternative when low native soil strengths prevent the use of traditional backfill methods through mitigating settlement and increasing strength. Due to these benefits, the use of LCC behind mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls is gaining popularity. Despite LCC gaining popularity behind MSE walls, the exact nature of the failure envelope is poorly understood. The pullout …

Catalytic Upcycling Of Waste Plastics By Induction Heating, Bernard Whajah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The development of plastics over the past half century has led to rapid technological advances; however, the long-term negative environmental impacts of these materials compel new depolymerization and upcycling strategies. Plastics are indispensable due to their unique physical and chemical properties and affordability, leading to a significant increase in production rates. However, their recycling rates lag far behind their production rates. Polyolefins like LDPE and HDPE, which are common plastics, decompose very slowly in the environment. Converting these plastics into useful products often requires high-temperature pyrolysis, resulting in undesired distributions of products.

To address this challenge, this study focuses on …

Tools For Planning Multi-Axis Vibration Qualification Tests, Marcus Edward Behling

Theses and Dissertations

Vibration qualification testing is necessary to ensure that components will endure vibration-induced damage in flight. Multi-axis tests have shown the potential for improvement over single-axis tests, though they require increased planning. This work focuses on planning three critical aspects of these tests: the amount of operational next assembly to include in the test, the size of shakers to use, and the number of shakers to use. Next assembly selection is studied by varying the amount of next assembly included in the lab test, performing physical tests, and comparing the accuracy of environment reconstruction in each test. In doing so, a …

Design For Pullout Resistance And Global Stability Of Metallic Reinforcements In Mse Walls With Lightweight Cellular Concrete Backfill, Joshua Curt Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) is a type of concrete that has reduced density and weight compared to traditional concrete. This is achieved by incorporating a large amount of air- filled cells or voids into the mixture. The resulting material is lighter, yet still possesses considerable strength and durability, making it suitable for a range of construction applications, especially in the case of retaining walls because of its reduced weight. Unlike traditional concrete, which can be extremely heavy and place significant stress on the supporting structure, lightweight cellular concrete reduces the pressure on the retaining wall, helping to prevent deformation and …

Utilization Of Sodium Flame Synthesis For The Formation And Deposition Of Pure Metal Materials For Applications In Additive Manufacturing, Zachariah Wargel

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Advanced material classes, such as high temperature alloys, ceramics, and refractory materials have become a key area of focus for expansion in the realm of additive manufacturing. Factors such as high melting points, material homogeneity, and physical properties such as ductility limit the application of popular additive manufacturing methods to these material classes. By utilizing sodium flame synthesis and deposition (SFD) technology, nanoparticle materials can be synthesized via combustion in a laminar co-flow diffusion burner and impacted such that the deposits can be used to manufacture designed components. By using the applicable precursor materials of metal chlorides and elemental sodium …

The Bioremediation Effect Of Microalgae On Wastewater: A Green Technology Approach, Mohamed Ahmed Reda Hamed Dr, Marwa Abdelfattah Abdallah Dr

Journal of Engineering Research

The present study lays an emphasis on the microalgae-based for simultaneous wastewater bioremediation using Chlorella vulgaris and Micrococcus luteus mixed algal cultures to remove its constituent pollutants, amazing green technology guarantees benefits with the decrease in the formation of dangerous solid sludge. Ten days of fully monitoring laboratory experimental program were performed in batch cultures to investigate the effect of various dominant mixing ratios for attaining wastewater concentrations and different governing temperature ranges on the performance of microalgae treatment. The results revealed that there is a significant impact of both wastewater concentrations and temperature treatment conditions on the capability of …

Demand Side Management Through Integrated Water Distribution Systems And Smart Irrigation Controllers, Nathan T. Lunstad

Theses and Dissertations

The innovation of electrical utilities in creating smart electrical grids has superseded that of water utilities in analogous efforts. While many water utilities are now using smart water technologies, they lack the virtual command center that allows for two-way communication for more effective forecasting, load balancing, preventive methods, emergency and master planning, and level of service delivery while ensuring environmental justice and enhancing the responsible use of resources. In this dissertation, I propose the idea of the Integrated Water Distribution System (IWDS) to overcome this challenge. IWDS coordinates management of water supply and demand in a way that benefits both …

Exploring Co-Manipulation Via A New Decomposition Of Interaction Force And An Exploration Of Signal Space In Multi-Agent Motion Primitives, Kody Blaine Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Co-manipulation is when two or more people work together to move an object. In this work, we consider the physical co-manipulation of objects that are large and heavy enough that they are more easily handled by two or more participants. We currently lack a fundamental understanding of how people perform such tasks together, both the basic signals they use to communicate and how those signals are mapped to actions and behaviors. This work builds upon the existing body of knowledge to improve our understanding of physical co-manipulation. Specifically, interaction forces are often considered a key method for information transfer in …

Tribological Analysis Of Heat Treatments On Medical Grade Cobalt Chromium Molybdenum Alloys, Samuel Edis Bowden

Theses and Dissertations

Cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) has many material properties that make it desirable as a medical hip implant. Due to the range of heat treatments available and the resulting material properties that are present in medical device manufacturing using CoCrMo, many implants are not able to withstand both the chemical and physical wear necessary as a hip replacement. This research looks to examine various heat treatments and their resulting properties to find a desirable heat treatment for CoCrMo in hip implant bearing surfaces. This study was accomplished by using five distinct variations of heat treatment on forged CoCrMo alloy that would …

An Exploration Of Dimensionality Reduction Of Dynamics On Lie Groups Via Structure-Aware Canonical Correlation Analysis, Wooyoung Chung

Master's Theses

Incorporating prior knowledge into a data-driven modeling problem can drastically improve performance, reliability, and generalization outside of the training sample. The stronger the structural properties, the more effective these improvements become. Manifolds are a powerful nonlinear generalization of Euclidean space for modeling finite dimensions. When additionally assuming that the manifold carries (Lie) group structure, this imposes a drastically stricter global constraint. The range of their applications is very wide and includes the important case of robotic tasks. We apply this idea to Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). In traditional CCA one constructs a hierarchical sequence of maximal correlations of up to …

Domain Specific Aspect Extraction For Product Design, Divyam Sobti

Master's Theses

As technology advances, computers become increasingly proficient at interpreting and translating human language into machine-understandable text. With the help of algorithms in natural language processing (NLP), machines can now translate textual data. These algorithms help identify and extract specific text components known as aspects. The aspects represent specific attributes or topics within textual data. For instance, an Amazon review states,“ This phone has good battery life but poor camera quality,” and attributes like ‘battery life’ and ‘camera quality’ represent aspects in the text. Aspect extraction is a pivotal process involving identifying and isolating key features or topics within text. This …

Exploring The Link Between Travel Behavior And Mental Health, Emily Kae Youngs

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the critical link between travel behavior and mental health, focusing on young adults who have expressed suicidal ideation. By analyzing how daily activities and movement patterns impact mental well being, the research aims to explore travel related mental health approaches for individuals. The importance of this work lies in its potential to improve the quality of life for individuals by informing more personalized and effective mental health strategies. Through comprehensive data analysis and statistical modeling, the research aims to uncover insights into how travel behavior influences motivation levels and mental well-being across different neurological and physiological groups. …

From Saving To Budgeting: Unpacking The Impact Of A Culturally Relevant Financial Literacy Summer Program- $Mart Money, Renee S. Gibert, Imani Adams, Sungwoo Kang

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is an educational framework that illustrates how to foster educational excellence through a focus on cultural competence, critical consciousness, and academic success, which aims to empower students by making education more applicable and responsive to their lived experiences (Ladson-Billings, Citation1995). This study elucidates the efficacy of CRP within financial literacy education, as implemented in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) summer enrichment program. Our objective is to explore the extent to which CRP influences student perceptions of their personal finances through an understanding of financial literacy. Employing a qualitative methods approach, we reviewed transcripts, …

Healthcare Assistance Challenges-Driven Neurosymbolic Ai, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Although Artificial Intelligence technology has proven effective in providing healthcare assistance by analyzing health data, it still falls short in supporting decision-making. This deficiency largely stems from the predominance of opaque neural networks, particularly in mental health care AI applications, which raise concerns about their unpredictable and unverifiable nature. This skepticism hinders the transition from information support to decision support. This presentation will explore neurosymbolic approaches that combine neural networks with symbolic control and verification mechanisms. These approaches aim to unlock AI’s full potential by enhancing information analysis and decision-making support for healthcare assistance.

A Measure Of Interactive Complexity In Network Models, Will Deter

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This work presents an innovative approach to understanding and measuring complexity in network models. We revisit several classic characterizations of complexity and propose a novel measure that represents complexity as an interactive process. This measure incorporates transfer entropy and Jensen-Shannon divergence to quantify both the information transfer within a system and the dynamism of its constituents’ state changes. To validate our measure, we apply it to several well-known simulation models implemented in Python, including: two models of residential segregation, Conway’s Game of Life, and the Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) model. Our results reveal varied trajectories of complexity, demonstrating the efficacy and sensitivity …

Engineering Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Biosensors For Point Of Care Use, Tyler Jordan Free

Theses and Dissertations

Diagnostic tests can dramatically improve and save lives. Survival rates and patient outcomes related to cancer and other diseases can be improved when routine testing guides personalized treatment. Highly accurate laboratory tests exist for thousands of biomarkers, including those of interest in this dissertation, but cost and complexity limit access to life-saving lab tests in many cases throughout the world. To fill this need and increase accessibility of diagnostics, in this report we report our engineering advancements towards portable biosensors for colorimetric detection of glutamine, endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC), and pathogenic RNA which are key biomarkers in cancer treatment monitoring, …

A Comparative Illustration Of Trip- And Activity-Based Modeling Techniques, Steven Hayden Atchley

Theses and Dissertations

Activity-based travel demand models are generally considered superior to their trip-based counterparts, as activity-based models (ABMs) explicitly model individuals in contrast to the aggregate nature of trip-based models. There have been a number of comparisons between trip- and activity-based models, but these comparisons focus almost exclusively on the technical ability of the two model types, while not considering the practical benefits an ABM may or may not have to a transportation agency. This research performs a more holistic comparison between trip- and activity-based models, focused specifically on the practical differences between model types, both in terms of usability and capability …

Deep Learning For Improved Data-Driven Modeling Of Soft Robots For Model Predictive Control, Daniel Gray Cheney

Theses and Dissertations

The field of soft robotics is a growing research interest due to the unique benefits of soft robots over traditional robots, such as durability, compliance, and low-cost. These benefits allow soft robots to perform a variety of tasks that would be difficult for traditional robots, such as throwing, hammering, or whole-body manipulation. However, there is a significant variety of materials, actuators, and designs used in soft robotics. While helpful for completing more tasks, this variety also makes efficient modeling and control of soft robots difficult. In this thesis, an open-source repository, Modeling for Learned Dynamics (MoLDy), is presented. This repository …

Green Synthesis Of Carbonized Chitosan-Fe3o4-Sio2 Nano-Composite For Adsorption Of Heavy Metals From Aqueous Solutions, Dalia A. Ali Eng, Rinad Galal Ali Eng.

Chemical Engineering

Water pollution with heavy metals owing to industrial and agricultural activities have become a critical dilemma to humans, plants as well as the marine environment. Therefore, it is of great importance that the carcinogenic heavy metals present in wastewater to be eliminated through designing treatment technologies that can remove multiple pollutants. A novel green magnetic nano-composite called (Carbonized Chitosan-Fe3O4-SiO2) was synthesized using Co-precipitation method to adsorb a mixture of heavy metal ions included; cobalt (Co2+), nickel (Ni2+) and copper (Cu2+) ions from aqueous solutions. The novelty of this study was the synthesis of a new

nano-composite which was green with …

Inspection Planning Of Subsea Pipeline Using Risk-Based Inspection, Ni Luh Triska Adelia, Badrul Munir, Johny Wahyuadi Soedarsono

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

Pipelines are an important tool in oil and gas exploration. Pipeline is a transmission and liquid collection lines, including their accessories, which transport fluids from one plant to another. In transmission and collection process, there is a possibility of failure which can have minor to major impact on personnel injury, the environment and interrupt the business process. To maintain safety and to prevent accidents, the source and cause of failure needs to be calculated. Risk-based inspection (RBI) is a method that can be used to calculate the risk and determine the inspection planning both schedule and method, by combining the …