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Direct Current Electrokinetic Particle Transport In Micro/Nano-Fluidics, Ye Ai

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Electrokinetics has been widely used to propel and manipulate particles in micro/nano-fluidics. The first part of this dissertation focuses on numerical and experimental studies of direct current (DC) electrokinetic particle transport in microfluidics, with emphasis on dielectrophoretic (DEP) effect. Especially, the electrokinetic transports of spherical particles in a converging-diverging microchannel and an L-shaped microchannel, and cylindrical algal cells in a straight microchannel have been numerically and experimentally studied. The numerical predictions are in quantitative agreement with our own and other researchers' experimental results. It has been demonstrated that the DC DEP effect, neglected in existing numerical models, plays an important …

Manipulating Particles For Micro- And Nano-Fluidics Via Floating Electrodes And Diffusiophoresis, Sinan Eren Yalcin

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The ability to accurately control micro- and nano-particles in a liquid is fundamentally useful for many applications in biology, medicine, pharmacology, tissue engineering, and microelectronics. Therefore, first particle manipulations are experimentally studied using electrodes attached to the bottom of a straight microchannel under an imposed DC or AC electric field. In contrast to a dielectric microchannel possessing a nearly-uniform surface charge, a floating electrode is polarized under the imposed electric field.

The purpose is to create a non-uniform distribution of the induced surface charge, with a zero-net-surface charge along the floating electrode's surface. Such a field, in turn, generates an …

Modeling The Contagion Effect Of Foreclosures Within The Real Estate Market By Use Of Agent-Based Modeling And Simulation, Marshall William Gangel

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Over the last several years, the US financial and real estate markets have experienced a significant recession. During this downturn, the number of real estate foreclosures rose drastically. Recent studies have empirically demonstrated a reduction in real estate values due to foreclosures. The observed reduction in the average value of real estate properties has been labeled the foreclosure contagion effect. The foreclosure contagion effect impacts healthy neighboring properties that surround the foreclosed property as a function of time and distance.

This study uses an agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS} approach to explore the contagion effect of foreclosures. For this research, …

Learning Feature Dependencies For Noise Correction In Biomedical Prediction, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The presence of noise or errors in the stated feature values of biomedical data can lead to incorrect prediction. We introduce a Bayesian Network-based Noise Correction framework named BN-NC. After data preprocessing, a Bayesian Network (BN) is learned to capture the feature dependencies. Using the BN to predict each feature in turn, BN-NC estimates a feature's error rate as the deviation between its predicted and stated values in the training data, and allocates the appropriate uncertainty to its subsequent findings during prediction. BN-NC automatically generates a probabilistic rule to explain BN prediction on the class variable using the feature values …

Identification Of ‘Carbon Hot-Spots’ And Quantification 1 Of Ghg Intensities In The Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid Lca And Structural Path Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Thomas Wiedmann, Kuishang Feng, Robert Crawford, John Barrett, Johan Kuylenstierna, Aidan Duffy, Lenny Koh, Simon Mcqueen-Mason

Articles

It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have, however, remained questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N2O emissions from fertiliser application. In this study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate …

Research On Coupled Human And Natural Systems (Chans): Approach, Challenges, And Strategies, Marina Alberti, Heidi Asbjornsen, Lawrence A. Baker, Nicholas Brozović, Laurie E. Drinkwater, Scott A. Drzyzga, Claire A. Jantz, José Fragoso, Daniel S. Holland, Timothy A. Kohler, Jianguo Liu, William J. Mcconnell, Herbert D. G. Maschner, James D. A. Millington, Michael Monticino, Guillermo Podestá, Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr., Charles L. Redman, Nicholas J. Reo, David J. Sailor, Gerald Urquhart

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding the complexity of human–nature interactions is central to the quest for both human well-being and global sustainability. To build an understanding of these interactions, scientists, planners, resource managers, policy makers, and communities increasingly are collaborating across wide-ranging disciplines and knowledge domains. Scientists and others are generating new integrated knowledge on top of their requisite specialized knowledge to understand complex systems in order to solve pressing environmental and social problems (e.g., Carpenter et al. 2009). One approach to this sort of integration, bringing together detailed knowledge of various disciplines (e.g., social, economic, biological, and geophysical), has become known as the …

Dynamics Of Hyporheic Flow And Heat Transport Across A Bed-To-Bank Continuum In A Large Regulated River, Katelyn E. Gerecht, M. Bayani Cardenas, Andrew J. Guswa, Audrey H. Sawyer, John D. Nowinski, Travis E. Swanson

Engineering: Faculty Publications

The lower Colorado River (LCR) near Austin, Texas is heavily regulated for hydropower generation. Daily water releases from a dam located 23 km upstream of our study site in the LCR caused the stage to fluctuate by more than 1.5 m about a mean depth of 1.3 m. As a result, the river switches from gaining to losing over a dam storage-release cycle, driving exchange between river water and groundwater. We assessed the hydrologic impacts of this by simultaneous temperature and head monitoring across a bed-to-bank transect. River-groundwater exchange flux is largest close to the bank and decreases away from …

Characterization And Genetic Analysis Of The Cellulolytic Microorganism Thermobifida Fusca, Yu Deng

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, one of the hurdles hindering efficient production of cellulosic biofuel is the recalcitrant nature of cellulose to hydrolysis. A wide variety of cellulase enzymes are found natively in microorganisms that can potentially be used to effectively hydrolyze cellulose to fermentable sugars. Thermobifida fusca is a high G-C content, thermophilic, gram-positive soil actinobacterium with high cellulolytic activity. The phenomenological and mechanistic parameters affecting cellulase activity were studied in T. fusca and two mechanisms have been found: 1) transcriptions of cellulase-related genes were not closely associated with measured differences in cellulase activity and 2) cellular energetics (intracellular ATP) correlated more closely …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Ethanol And Biopolymers, Adam J. Liska, Xiao Xue Fang

Adam Liska Papers

Conclusions

• Regulatory LCA is not likely to be used for non‐fuel chemicals alone in the near future

• Significant GHG emission credits for corn‐ethanol can be obtained by using only roughly 6‐9% of initial starch for production of biopolymers based on previous LCA theory

• Pay close attention to values in calculating credits per kg—these have to stand up in litigation to ensure the credit

• Credits are proportional to the mass of polymer produced

• Many theoretical issues are uncertain and credits will only be determined in conjunction with EPA

• Indirect emissions are uncertain and are a …

Poster Session, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Fate of Stable Isotope Label During Predation of 15N-Tagged Wild-Type Escherichia coli by Protozoa, Ashley Barton and Alan Fryar, Dept Earth and Environmental Sciences, UK
• Cane Run Watershed Assessment and Restoration – Phase One Accomplishments, Amanda Gumbert and others, UK Cooperative Extension Service
• Improving Water Quality: Riparian Edge versus River Channel, Renee Kirtman and Kristy Hopfensperger, Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University
• Microscopic Population Dynamics and their Relationships to the Activated Sludge Process in a 30 MGD Wastewater Treatment Plant, Maria Lundin and David Price, LFUCG Division of Water Quality
• Southern Region Down-Well Camera Project, Glynn …

Session 2d, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Water Quality Credit Trading Feasibilities for Kentucky, Marie Pelton and others, Dept of Agricultural Economics, UK
• Participation in Agricultural Governmental Cost Share Programs in the Kentucky River Watershed in the Context of Water Quality Trading, Pedro Fernandes da Costa and others, Dept of Agricultural Economics, UK
• Point Source Polluters in the Kentucky River Watershed and the Potential for Water Quality Trading, Ron Childress and others, Dept of Agricultural Economics, UK
• Nonpoint Source Abatement Costs in the Kentucky River Watershed, Zheng Liu and others, Dept of Agricultural Economics, UK

Session 2a, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Pollutant Removal Effectiveness of the McConnell Springs Stormwater Quality Wetland Pond and the Gainesway Pond Retrofit Project, Lexington, KY, David Price and Susan Plueger, LFUCG Division of Water
• Combined Sewer Separation: A Constructed Wetland Approach, Jonathan Nieman, CDP Engineers Inc., Lexington, KY
• Water Quality Retrofit Basin Selection Process in Louisville Kentucky, Eric Senn, Land Design and Development, Louisville KY
• Live Green Lexington: Water Partner Program, Darcy Everett and Joanna Isaacs, Bluegrass PRIDE

Session 1c, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Bush Honeysuckle Induced Aquatic Hypoxia, Stephanie Hayes and Richard Durtsche, Dept of Biological Sciences, NKU
• A Laboratory Scale, Continuous Flow Bioreactor for the Removal of Manganese in Water Supplies, Michael Snyder and Y.T. Wang, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK
• Flood Impact Due to Dam Failure: An Assessment of Current Studies and the Appropriateness of the Methodologies Applied to the Dix Dam, Allen Cantrell and Scott Yost, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK
• Development of a Comprehensive Sediment Transport Method in First Order Watersheds with Contour Coal Mining, Darren Martin and Jimmy Fox, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK

Session 1b, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Land-Use, Stream Channel Dynamics, and Macroinvertebrate Community Responses: A Northern Kentucky Case Study, Bob Hawley and others, Sustainable Streams, LLC
• Kentucky LiDAR Meets NAIP Multispectral Imagery: Toward Data Fusion in the Assessment of Watershed Change, Demetrio Zourarakis, Kentucky Div of Geographic Information, Frankfort
• Seasonal Variation in Water Quality and Dissolved Methane of Barren River Lake, John Loughrin and Carl Bolster, USDA-ARS, AWMRU, Bowling Green, KY
• Water Quality Investigation in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields, Lisa Underwood and Lisa Hicks, USACE and KY DOW

Proceedings Of 2011 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This conference was planned and conducted as part of the state water resources research annual program with the support and collaboration of the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Kentucky Research Foundation, under Grant Agreement Number 06HQGR0087.

The views and conclusions contained in this document and presented at the symposium are those of the abstract authors and presenters and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government or other symposium organizers and sponsors.

Bitten By The Science Bug (Nycsef 2011), Maribel Vazquez

Publications and Research

The invited keynote address to the participants of the final round of the 2011 New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSeF) at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).

Newsletter 44 Issue 1 - Spring 2011 - Nuts And Bolts

Friends of the Larsen Tractor Museum

No abstract provided.

Development Of Single-Chip Silicon Photonic Microcantilever Arrays For Sensing Applications, Weisheng Hu

Theses and Dissertations

Microcantilever arrays have been shown to be promising label-free nanomechanical sensing devices with high sensitivity. Two factors that affect the usefulness of microcantilevers in sensing scenarios are the sensitivity of the transduction method for measuring changes in microcantilever properties and the ability to create large compact arrays of microcantilevers. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that microcantilevers with an in-plane photonic transduction method are attractive because they maintain the sensitivity of the traditional laser beam reflection method while being scalable to simultaneous readout of large microcantilever arrays. First I demonstrate the integration of a compact waveguide splitter network with in-plane photonic …

A Proteolytic Process To Simulate The Mechanics Of Disc Dengeration In Bovine Cadaveric Tissue, Timothy A. Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The present work hypothesized that proteolytic dissolution of intervertebral discs could induce biomechanical change comparable to the change observed in natural disc degeneration. A method to do such could be utilized for in vitro research where intersample differences in geometry and chemical makeup render it difficult to compare and aggregate results into generalized conclusions.
Methods. Forty-one bovine coccygeal intervertebral discs were isolated with individual functional spinal units. Samples were loaded in three modes: compression/tension, flexion/extension, and axial rotation. The anulus fibrosus of each disc was injected with 200µl trypsin or fetal bovine serum (control) and incubated for an allotted …

Developing Methods To Assess The Potential Effects Of Global Climate Change On Deer Creek Reservoir Using Water Quality Modeling, Reed Earl Chilton

Theses and Dissertations

To evaluate the potential impacts of future climate change on a temperate reservoir, I used a calibrated water quality and hydrodynamic model validated using three years of data (2007-2009) from Deer Creek Reservoir (Utah). I evaluated the changes due to altered air temperatures, inflow rates, and nutrient loads that might occur under Global Climate Change (GCC). I developed methods to study GCC on reservoirs. I produced Average Water Temperature Plots, Stratification Plots, and Total Concentration Plots. Average Water Temperature Plots show the sensitivity of the water temperature to various parameters. Stratification Plots quantify stratification length and strength as well as …

Culvert Roughness Elements For Native Utah Fish Passage: Phase I, Lindsay D. Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Culverts can increase stream velocities as a result of reduced waterway areas and prevent upstream passage of small non-salmonid fish such as the Native Utah Leatherside chub (Gila copei) and Longnose dace (Rhinichthyscataractae). To mitigate this problem, current culvert design standards for fish passage match sustained fish swim speeds with average cross sectional velocity through the culvert. Such policies dictate relatively large barrels and do not recognize the role of reduced velocity zones near culvert boundaries. Obstacles and streambed substrate create turbulent regions with lower velocity zones that can increase upstream fish passage. A comparison of …

Ultrasensitive Biosensing On The Zepto-Molar Level, Yongki Choi, Siu-Tung Yau

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Detection of analytes on the zepto-molar (10^-^2^1M) level has been achieved using a field-effect bio-detector. By applying a gating voltage to enzymes immobilized on the working electrode of the detector, amplification of the biocatalytic current was observed. The amplification is attributed to the modification of the tunnel barrier between the enzyme and the electrode by the gating voltage-induced electric field which exists at the solution-electrode interface. The detection was demonstrated with the glucose oxidase (GOx)-glucose and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)-ethanol biocatalytic systems. Glucose at zepto-molar level was detected with zepto-molar detection resolution. Equivalently, 30 glucose …

Modeling Vertical Flow Treatment Wetland Hydraulics To Optimize Treatment Efficiency, David T. Roen Ii

Theses and Dissertations

An upward Vertical Flow Treatment Wetland (uVFTW) at Wright Patterson AFB designed to bioremediate contaminated groundwater exhibits hydraulic short-circuiting. Prior studies estimated that groundwater flowed through less than 50% of the wetland’s volume, and that the mean residence time was significantly less than the nominal residence time, which was calculated assuming flow through the entire wetland volume. The objective of this research was to investigate how uVFTW hydraulics affects treatment efficiency, and to propose design strategies to maximize treatment efficiency. A groundwater flow and contaminant transport model of a uVFTW that couples hydraulics and degradation kinetics was built and applied …

Characterization Of Graphite Composite Material Particulates From Usaf Aircraft Maintenance Operations, Richard E. Yon

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the benefits of their material properties, advanced composite materials (ACM) are increasingly being used as structural components on aircraft, especially within the United States Air Force. As a result, the potential exists for occupational exposures to structural maintenance employees while repairing and fabricating aircraft components. Two field studies were conducted for this thesis in order to characterize ACM aerosol size distribution, determine the feasibility of utilizing direct reading instruments (DRIs) in the field, and ensure workers are protected with adequate controls. In order to characterize exposure, traditional integrated air sampling and DRIs were positioned together near an ACM …

Sawdust Pyrolysis And Petroleum Coke Co2 Gasification At High Heating Rates, Aaron D. Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

Clean and efficient electricity can be generated using an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). Although IGCC is typically used with coal, it can also be used to gasify other carbonaceous species like biomass and petroleum coke. It is important to understand the pyrolysis and gasification of these species in order to design commercial gasifiers and also to determine optimal conditions for operation. High heating-rate (100,000 K/s) pyrolysis experiments were performed with biomass (sawdust) in BYU's atmospheric flat-flame burner reactor at conditions ranging from 1163 to 1433 K with particle residence times ranging from 23 to 102 ms. Volatile yields and …

Biological Investigation Of The Stimulated Flapping Motions Of The Moth, Manduca Sexta, Travis B. Tubbs

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Characterization And In Vitro Toxicity Of Copper Nanoparticles (Cu-Nps) In Murine Neuroblastoma (N2a) Cells, Sitao Veronica Brownheim

Theses and Dissertations

Nanomaterials, classified as materials within the 1 - 100 nanometer range, have seemingly endless applications. It is very important to the Air Force to increase the understanding of Cu-NPs and the possible health impacts from nanomaterial exposure prior to wide-spread industry and military use. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to thoroughly characterize the properties of three different copper samples upon suspension into aqueous solutions over time: Cu-NPs (Cu 25 nm), CuO-NPs (CuO 40 nm), and Cu-MSP (Cu 500nm). Additionally, this research seeks to observe in vitro effects upon murine neuroblastoma cells (N2A) by these three types of particles …

Repeatable Manufacture Of Wings For Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles Using Microelectromechanical System (Mems) Fabrication Techniques, David S. Dawson

Theses and Dissertations

While there have been great advances in the area of Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicles (FWMAV), prototype parts have been constructed with the objective of scientific discovery and basic research. There has been little effort to make parts that could be consistently and repeatedly manufactured. Until recently, there has been little, if any, focus on methods that could be used and verified by subsequent researchers. It is herein proposed that Microelectromechanical System fabrication methods will provide a fast, cheap, and highly repeatable manufacturing method for the FWMAV wings. The wings manufactured to demonstrate this process, bio-inspired by the Manduca Sexta, …

Small Internal Combustion Engine Testing For A Hybrid-Electric Remotely-Piloted Aircraft, Isseyas H. Mengistu

Theses and Dissertations

Efficient operation of a hybrid-electric propulsion system (HEPS) powering a small remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA) requires that a controller have accurate and detailed engine and electric motor performance data. Many small internal combustion engines (ICEs) currently used on various small RPA were designed for use by the recreational hobbyist radio-control (R/C) aircraft market. Often, the manufacturers of these engines do not make accurate and reliable detailed engine performance data available for their engines. A dynamometer testing stand was assembled to test various small ICEs. These engines were tested with automotive unleaded gasoline (the manufacturer's recommended fuel) using the dynamometer setup. Torque, …

Overcoming Pose Limitations Of A Skin-Cued Histograms Of Oriented Gradients Dismount Detector Through Contextual Use Of Skin Islands And Multiple Support Vector Machines, Jonathon R. Climer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a novel visualization method to analyze the impact that articulations in dismount pose and camera aspect angle have on histograms of oriented gradients (HOG) features and eventual detections. Insights from these relationships are used to identify limitations in a state of the art skin cued HOG dismount detector's ability to detect poses not in a standard upright stances. Improvements to detector performance are made by further leveraging available skin information, reducing false detections by an additional order of magnitude. In addition, a method is outlined for training supplemental support vector machines (SVMs) from computer generated data, for …