Digital Commons Network^™

Interdisciplinary Graduate Experience: Lessons Learned, Steve Eugene Watkins, V. M. Eller, Josh Corra, M. J. Molander, Bethany Konz, Richard H. Hall, K. Chandrashekhara, Abdeldjelil Belarbi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Engineers interact in the workplace with technical peers in other disciplines at all stages of design, development, and application. Awareness of the constraints and needs of the other disciplines can be key in many situations. Such interdisciplinary activity and the associated communication are facilitated if the all participants have a solid knowledge of discipline-specific terminology and an understanding of connecting concepts. Consequently, experience relating to interdisciplinary teamwork is a necessary component of engineering education. The Smart Engineering Group at the University of Missouri-Rolla was established to conduct interdisciplinary research and to create interdisciplinary educational resources. The topical interest area is …

Synthesis And Magnetic Properties Of Copt–Poly(Methylmethacrylate) Nanostructured Composite Material, Jiye Fang, Kevin L. Stokes, Jibao He, Weillie L. Zhou, Charles J. O'Connor, Daniela Caruntu

Physics Faculty Publications

We have prepared nanometer-sized CoPt particles dispersed in a poly~methyl methacrylate~PMMA!matrix, as a novel nanostructured magnetic plastic, through a soft chemical processing route. In this work, CoPt nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from a solution phase reduction system in the presence of capping ligands and stabilizing agents at high temperature. The CoPt nanoparticles were annealed at 400 °C for 3 h, and were subsequently re-dispersed inmethylmethacrylate~monomer! . The polymerization was induced by a UV source and the hardness of final product was adjusted by varying the amount of monomeric cross-link agent. Annealed bare CoPt nanoparticles as a ‘‘core’’ material and CoPt–PMMA …

Surfactant-Induced Relative Permeability Modifications For Oil Recovery Enhancement, Subhash C. Ayirala

LSU Master's Theses

Surfactants have been considered for enhanced oil recovery by reduced oil-water interfacial tension. However, these surfactants may enhance oil recovery via wettability alteration as well. This study experimentally determines the influence of surfactant type and concentration on oil recovery, oil-water relative permeabilities and wettability in reservoir rocks. Several coreflood experiments were conducted using Yates reservoir fluids in Berea rocks and two types of surfactants (nonionic and anionic) in varying concentrations. A coreflood simulator was used to calculate oil-water relative permeabilities by history matching recovery and pressure drop measured during the corefloods. These relative permeability variations were interpreted using Craig's rules-of-thumb …

Utilization Of Rice Bran By Pythium Irregulare For Lipid Production, Hui Zhu

LSU Master's Theses

This research investigated the feasibility of utilizing rice bran as feedstock for submerged fermentation of Pythium irregulare to produce fungal lipids, which contain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) including arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4n6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n3). The fungal nutrient requirements, temperature characterization and growth modeling were determined in glucose-yeast extract media. Sixteen media combinations based on a 24 factorial design with four levels of glucose and yeast extract ranged from 1% to 4% and 0.25% to 1%, respectively, and corresponding carbon/nitrogen ratio (C/N) ranged from 4 to 64, were examined. The suitable C/N for Pythium irregulare growth ranged from …

Fecal Coliform Concentration In Surface Runoff From Pastures With Applied Dairy Manure, Alyson Kristine Bertges Hubbs

LSU Master's Theses

This study examined the magnitude of release of fecal coliform indicator bacteria in surface runoff from pasture amended with dairy manure. The experiment was conducted at Southeast Research Station in Franklinton, Louisiana between March and June, 2001. The experiment was designed to compare the effects of two methods of manure application on fecal coliform release. Manure application simulating natural deposition by cattle (Treatment A) was compared to that of land application of manure as fertilizer (Treatment B). Application of inorganic fertilizer was used as the control. Each Treatment was applied to three field plots. Simulated rainfalls were conducted on plots …

Modeling Adsorption Of Cane Sugar Colorant In Packed-Bed Ion Exchangers, Hugh Anthony Broadhurst

LSU Master's Theses

The removal of cane sugar solution colorant by packed-bed ion exchangers was modeled using a linear driving force (LDF) adsorption model. Adsorption of colorant is of interest to the developers of the White Sugar Mill (WSM) process as it is a complex subject. The problem is that color is an indiscrete mixture of many components making it difficult to measure and even more challenging to model. Colorant formation was investigated using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with the objective of developing a method to define pseudo-components representative of cane sugar solution colorants. WSM is a process for producing white sugar directly …

Mobile Home Security With Gprs, Duy Nguyen

Theses : Honours

This thesis presents the results of an honours project on the development of a security system for use on mobile devices. Mobile Home Security (MHS) is a prototype system that aimed to fully investigate a potential use of the wireless high-speed technology General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in transmitting video from a static location. This thesis Mobile Home Security with GPRS describes in detail the design and developmental stages for the system. The research focused on the sending of video from a security capture device over a high speed radio network. The first stage of the research involved the design …

Trusted Autonomy, Michael N. Huhns, Duncan A. Buell

Faculty Publications

We describe how agents are the right building blocks for constructing trustworthy systems. Robust software and trusted autonomy represent the future for agent technology and software engineering.

Agents As Web Services, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

Web services are extremely flexible. Most advantageously, a developer of Web services need not know who or what will use the services being provided. The paper discusses current standards for Web services, directory services and the Semantic Web. It considers how agents extend Web services in several important ways.

Agent Societies: Magnitude And Duration, Michael N. Huhns

Faculty Publications

If you only need agents to search the Web for cheap CDs, scalability is not an issue. The Web can support numerous agents if each acts independently. In short order, however, billions of embedded agents that sense their environment and interact with us and other agents will fill our world, making the human environment friendlier and more efficient. These agents will need not only scalable infrastructures and communication services, but also scalable social services encompassing ethics and laws. Research projects are under way around the world to develop and deploy such services. The author takes a look at the critical …

Sunsmart Community Partnerships: Summary And Lessons Learned Report, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jennifer Szaro

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Through a working partnership with the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF), and FMEA member utilities, the SunSmart program offers a unified, low-cost solution to providing municipal electric customers with a solar energy option. It also provides its member utilities with a high level of technical and administrative support to alleviate concerns about working with an unfamiliar electric generation technology. It relies on a core team to develop a standardized marketing and public outreach plan which can be utilized by all participants, and …

High Definition Manufacturing Cell Model, Wayne Wakeland, Leupold & Stevens, Inc.

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose was to study the capacity, staffing requirements and alternative equipment configurations. This presentation provides a preview of the results.

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction Of Lipids From Raw And Bioconverted Rice Bran, Rohit Badal

LSU Master's Theses

Rice bran is often discarded despite its nutritional value because the oil in rice bran easily becomes rancid. This has necessitated the search for a method for utilizing the rice bran. The present study involves the application of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and bioprocessing (microbial growth on rice bran media) for increasing the value of the rice bran to produce products of high value (nutraceuticals) with superior health benefit. This study was focused on determining the effect of particle size (>48 mesh and 16-48 mesh) and biotreatment on the yield and quality of rice bran oil. SFE technique (40°C, …

Wavelength Assignment In All-Optical Networks For Mesh Topologies, Prabhulaiah Bijja

LSU Master's Theses

All-Optical Networks employing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) are believed to be the next generation networks that can meet the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth of the end users. This thesis presents some new heuristics for wavelength assignment and converter placement in mesh topologies. Our heuristics try to assign the wavelengths in an efficient manner that results in very low blocking probability. We propose novel static and dynamic assignment schemes that outperform the assignments reported in the literature even when converters are used. The proposed on-line scheme called "Round-Robin" assignment outperforms previously proposed strategies such as first-fit and random assignment schemes. …

The Effect Of Periodic Operation On Biofilters For Removal Of Methyl Ethyl Ketone From Contaminated Air, Charles William Norman

LSU Master's Theses

In recent years, biofiltration technology has been used at numerous locations worldwide as an air pollution control technology for treating gases contaminated with low concentrations of biodegradable volatile organic compounds (VOCs). At the same time, there have been many reports in the literature of contaminant emissions from biofilters during transient loading conditions. There is currently a need to develop methods for controlling such emissions. Periodically operated bioreactors have been used successfully in treatment of wastewater and soils for several decades to mitigate the effects of uncontrolled unsteady-state loading on waste treatment systems. Such operating strategies have only recently been applied …

Slab-Geometry Molecular Dynamics Simulations: Development And Application To Calculation Of Activity Coefficients, Interfacial Electrochemistry, And Ion Channel Transport, Paul S. Crozier

Theses and Dissertations

Methods of slab-geometry molecular dynamics computer simulation were tested, compared, and applied to the prediction of activity coefficients, interfacial electrochemistry characterization, and ion transport through a model biological channel-membrane structure. The charged-sheets, 2-D Ewald, corrected 3-D Ewald, and corrected particle-particle-particle-mesh (P3M) methods were compared for efficiency and applicability to slab-geometry electrolyte systems with discrete water molecules. The P3M method was preferred for long-range force calculation in the problems of interest and was used throughout.

The osmotic molecular dynamics method (OMD) was applied to the prediction of liquid mixture activity coefficients for six binary systems: methanol/n-hexane, n-hexane/n-pentane, methanol/water, chloroform/acetone, n-hexane/chloroform, methanol/ …

Advances In Space Radiation Shielding Codes, John W. Wilson, Ram K. Tripathi, Garry D. Qualls, Francis A. Cucinotta, Richard E. Prael, John W. Norbury, John H. Heinbockel, John Tweed, Giovanni De Angelis

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

Early space radiation shield code development relied on Monte Carlo methods and made important contributions to the space program. Monte Carlo methods have resorted to restricted one-dimensional problems leading to imperfect representation of appropriate boundary conditions. Even so, intensive computational requirements resulted and shield evaluation was made near the end of the design process. Resolving shielding issues usually had a negative impact on the design. Improved spacecraft shield design requires early entry of radiation constraints into the design process to maximize performance and minimize costs. As a result, we have been investigating high-speed computational procedures to allow shield analysis from …

Compostability Of Degradable Plastics And Its Use In Solid Waste Disposal / Putri Nadzrul Faizura Bt Megat Khamaruddin., Putri Nadzrul Faizura Megat Khamaruddin

Student Works (2000-2009)

Plastic waste generation and quantity generated is a growing concern in many countries including Malaysia. Plastic waste contributes the third highest waste volume in Malaysian municipal solid waste (MSW) next to putrescible waste and paper. ln the year 2000, plastic waste in MSW of Kuala Lumpur was 24.4% by weight from the MSW and most of the plastic waste was dumped into landfills. Landfills in Malaysia are reducing in its useful life as the amount of waste generated is growing every year by 2% and they have become an undesirable option of getting rid of plastic waste because of the …

Remediation Of Trapped Free-Phase Lnapl, T. M. Whitworth, Andrew Curtis Elmore

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Free-phase light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) may be trapped in certain stratigraphic and structural features near or at contaminated sites due to seasonal or other variations in the water table elevation. The purpose of this article is to point out particular subsurface conditions that are conducive to trapping of free-phase LNAPLs and to suggest approaches to remediating LNAPL-contaminated sites exhibiting similar subsurface geometry and stratigraphy. To trap free-phase LNAPL, a structure must have, in addition to closed contours, an upper boundary with pores small enough so that the LNAPL will not enter them. This boundary usually consists of clay-rich sediments. …

Presented Antigen From Damaged Pancreatic Beta Cells Activates Autoreactive T Cells In Virus-Mediated Autoimmune Diabetes., Marc S. Horwitz, Alex Ilic, Cody Fine, Enrique Rodriguez, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

The induction of autoimmunity by viruses has been attributed to numerous mechanisms. In mice, coxsackievirus B4 (CB4) induces insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) resembling the final step of disease progression in humans. The immune response following the viral insult clearly precipitates IDDM. However, the molecular pathway between viral infection and the subsequent activation of T cells specific for islet antigen has not been elucidated. These T cells could become activated through exposure to sequestered antigens released by damaged beta cells, or they could have responded to factors secreted by the inflammatory response itself. To distinguish between these possibilities, we treated mice …

Symmetrically Coated Pellicle Beam Splitters For Dual Quarter-Wave Retardation In Reflection And Transmission, Rasheed M.A. Azzam, Fadi A. Mahmoud

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

A trilayer pellicle that consists of a high-index center layer that is symmetrically coated on both sides by a low-index film can be designed to produce differential reflection and transmission phase shifts of ∓90° at oblique incidence and equal throughput for the p and the s polarizations. Such a device splits a beam of incident linearly polarized light into two orthogonal circularly polarized components that travel in well-separated angular directions. Examples of infrared dual quarter-wave retarders that use a symmetrically coated Ge pellicle at 77° angle of incidence are presented. A 50–50% splitter requires a symmetric pellicle with at least …

Angular Range For Reflection Of P-Polarized Light At The Surface Of An Absorbing Medium With Reflectance Below That At Normal Incidence, R. M.A. Azzam, Ericson E. Ugbo

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The range of incidence angle, 0 < φ < φ_e, over which p-polarized light is reflected at interfaces between transparent and absorbing media with reflectance below that at normal incidence is determined. Contours of constant φ_e in the complex plane of the relative dielectric constant ε are presented. A method for determining the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index, ε^1/2 = n + jk, which is based on measuring φ_e and the pseudo-Brewster angle φ_pB, is viable in the domain of fractional optical constants, n, k < 1.

A Physically Based Two-Dimensional Infiltration Model For Furrow Irrigation, Christopher J. Skonard, Derrel L. Martin

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Presentations and White Papers

A two-dimensional physically based infiltration model was developed for furrow
irrigation. Infiltration was simulated using the Green-Ampt infiltration method. The Green-Ampt infiltration parameters are available from numerous sources, unlike the Kostiakov infiltration parameters. Simulation tests showed the two-dimensional model capable of estimating cumulative infiltration volume within 8% compared to simulated infiltration using the finite element model, Hydrus-2D. Application of the two-dimensional model in a surface irrigation advance model allows irrigation performance parameters to be predicted without extensive soil experiments.

Anodic Behavior Of Ti In Koh Solutions: Ellipsometric And Micro-Raman Spectroscopy Studies, A. Prusi, Lj. Arsov, Bala Haran, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

Anodic formation of oxide films on titanium surfaces, in various concentrations of aqueous KOH solutions, have been studied using ellipsometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy. By in situ ellipsometric measurements the coefficient of film thickness growth and indexes of refraction of anodic oxide films have been determined. The voltage at which the oxide film breaks down is strongly dependent on the KOH concentration. Further, the solution concentration strongly influences the potential at which the oxide film is transformed from the amorphous state to crystalline form. Using micro-Raman spectroscopy four crystalline forms of titanium oxides, namely, anatase, brookite, corundum, and rutile, have been …

A Unified Theory On Residual Oil Saturation And Irreducible Water Saturation, Nick P. Valenti, R. M. Valenti, Leonard Koederitz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In many mature fields, there is a growing debate as to how much of the remaining oil is mobile in the unswept regions versus immobile in the swept regions. Log measured oil saturations behind the flood front are substantially lower than the residual oil saturations measured from special core analysis. In order to explain this contradiction, data from several fields is analyzed with special emphasis on capillary pressure. The concept of irreducible water saturation, connate water saturation, residual oil saturation and "critical water saturation" are discussed. The conclusions which are supported by experiment and theory, have substantial commercial implications concerning …

Kalman Filtering With State Equality Constraints, Daniel J. Simon, Tien Li Chia

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Kalman filters are commonly used to estimate the states of a dynamic system. However, in the application of Kalman filters there is often known model or signal information that is either ignored or dealt with heuristically. For instance, constraints on state values (which may be based on physical considerations) are often neglected because they do not fit easily into the structure of the Kalman filter. A rigorous analytic method of incorporating state equality constraints in the Kalman filter is developed. The constraints may be time varying. At each time step the unconstrained Kalman filter solution is projected onto the state …

Analysis Of Diagnostic Testing Of Sustained Casing Pressure In Wells, Rong Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over 8,000 wells in the Gulf of Mexico exhibit sustained casing pressure (SCP). SCP is defined as “any measurable casing pressure that rebuilds after being bled down, attributable to cause(s) other than artificially applied pressures or temperature fluctuations in the well”. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) regulations consider SCP hazardous and, in principle, require its elimination. In some cases the agency may allow continuing production at a well with SCP by granting a temporary “departure” permit. The departure permits are based on diagnostic tests involving pressure bleed-down through a 0.5-inch needle valve followed by closing the valve and recording pressure …

Extensible Data Storage And Presentation Technology For An Ophthalmology Electronic Patient Record, Markus H. Heinrichs

Theses

The Electronic Patient Record (EPR) is a central element of practice systems used in ophthalmology. It acts as a repository for multi-media patient care data as well as billing information, serving healthcare providers and ultimately their patients. The aim of this thesis is to create both a data structure and a flexible on-screen representation of an EPR for an ophthalmology practice, and to provide an XML-based experimental prototype as a “proof of concept” which could ultimately be used as an replacement for an existing DOS- based solution. The medical background and requirements for this system will be described. The state-of-the-art …

Computer Forensics: The Issues And Current Books In The Field, Gary C. Kessler, Michael Schirling

Publications

Computer crime investigation is a multidisciplinary profession and almost no one today has been trained purely as a computer forensic analyst. Toward that end, investigators need professional reference guides and texts that cover the major points of computer forensics. In this article, we discuss some broad issues related to forensic computing and include a review of four texts on the subject:

• Computer Forensics: Incident Response Essentials, Warren G. Kruse II & Jay G. Heiser
• Computer Forensics & Privacy, Michael Caloyannides
• Cyber Forensics: A Field Manual for Collecting, Examining, and Preserving Evidence of Computer Crimes, edited by Albert J. …

Reactive Hot Pressing Of Alumina-Molybdenum Disilicide Composites, William Fahrenholtz, Ronald E. Loehman, Kevin G. Ewsuk

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Al₂O₃-MoSi₂ Composites Were Prepared by Reactive Hot Pressing using Molybdenum, Aluminum, and Mullite Powders as Precursors. the Gibbs Free Energy Was Highly Negative for the Composite-Forming Reaction, Which Indicated that the Products Were Stable Relative to the Reactants. after the Reaction, the Composites Had High Relative Density, ∼96%. based on the Composite-Forming Reaction, the Composites Should Have Contained 18 Vol% MoSi₂ in an Al₂O₃ Matrix. Scanning Electron Microscopy Revealed that the MoSi2 Inclusions Were Elongated, with an Average Thickness of ∼5 Μm and Inclusion Lengths that Ranged from 5 to 50 …