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Study Of Particle Movement In The Nearshore Region Of Lake Superior With Radioisotope Tracers, Yingtao Chai

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Biogeochemical processes in the coastal region, including the coastal area of the Great Lakes, are of great importance due to the complex physical, chemical and biological characteristics that differ from those on either the adjoining land or open water systems. Particle-reactive radioisotopes, both naturally occurring (²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po and ⁷Be) and man-made (¹³⁷Cs), have proven to be useful tracers for these processes in many systems. However, a systematic isotope study on the northwest coast of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior has not yet been performed.

In this dissertation research, field sampling, laboratory measurements and …

Remediation And Stabilization Of Soils Contaminated By Lead Resulting From The Removal Of Paint From Bridges, M. K. Banks, A. Paul Schwab

JTRP Technical Reports

Lead-based paints are commonly used for painting steel bridge structures. Soils in the immediate vicinity of older bridges have been contaminated with Pb as a result of normal weathering and peeling of the paint coupled with removal prior to repainting. The objectives of this project were to assess the extent of lead contamination near highway bridges and to evaluate phytoremediation and immobilization as means of remediation. We examined soils in the vicinity of approximately 20 bridges in Indiana that had been repainted recently and were know to have been painted originally with Pb-based paint. We found only three bridges in …

A Reference Guide To Smith Predictor Based Methods For The Compensation Of Dead-Time Processes, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

An extensive literature exists on the compensation of time delayed processes. These compensation methods may be broadly divided into parameter optimised controllers, in which the controller parameters are adapted to the controller structure (the most common such controller is the proportional integral derivative, or PID, controller), and structurally optimised controllers, in which the controller structure and parameters are adapted optimally to the structure and parameters of the process model. Important structurally optimised compensator strategies are the Smith predictor and its variations. The purpose of this paper is to extract the essence of the developments in design, tuning and implementation of …

A New Microsensor System For Plant Root Zone Monitoring, Chang-Soo Kim, Sandeep Sathyan, D. M. Porterfield

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The objective of this work is to develop a new microsensor system that can monitor dissolved oxygen and hydration environment at the plant root zone. A miniaturized plant growth system is prepared including the root zone layer, either a porous ceramic tube or porous ceramic wafer on which the plant is grown, and an underlying fluidic channel to deliver nutrients and water to the root zone. We demonstrate the feasibility of using a flexible microsensor array for dissolved oxygen detection, and a four-electrode impedance microelectrode for wetness detection on the surface of a porous tube nutrient delivery system. The unique …

An Efficient Method For Supporting Multiple Types Of Services On Smart Server, Chang-Soo Kim, Yu-Hyeon Bak, Seung-Joe Bae, Jin-Mee Kim, Sang-Min Woo, Seung-Hyup Jeon, Won-Jae Lee, Hag-Young Kim

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Wetting Kinetics Of Films Containing Non-Adsorbing Polymers, S. Saritha, Xianzhong Zhang, Partho Neogi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Kinetics of wetting by a polymer solution have been studied theoretically for a film pinned to a slot. The fluid mechanical equations have been solved using a numerical scheme. The role of polymers appears in the disjoining pressure in the model. The spreading kinetics are observed to follow a power law: a power of (1/4) is observed at short times due to the Laplace pressure, and (1/2) at large times under the Hamaker part of the disjoining pressure at very large times and with no equilibration. It is argued and demonstrated that techniques which have low resolutions such as microscopy …

Relative Effectiveness Of Interposed Abdominal Compression Cpr: Sensitivity Analysis And Recommended Compression Rates, Charles F. Babbs

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Interposed abdominal compression (IAC)-CPR incorporates alternating chest and abdominal compressions to generate enhanced artificial circulation during cardiac arrest. The technique has been generally successful in improving blood flow and survival compared to standard CPR; however some questions remain. Objective: To determine "why does IAC-CPR produce more apparent benefit in some subjects than in others? and "what is the proper compression rate, given that there are actually two compressions (chest and abdomen) in each cycle?" Method: Computer models provide a means to search for subtle effects in complex systems. The present study employs a validated 12-compartment mathematical model of the human …

Assessing The Impact Of University Technology Incubator Practices On Client Performance, Thomas O'Neal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is designed to distinguish and describe or explain incubator practices that affect the performance of incubator clients of university technology incubator programs. The research focuses on understanding which practices significantly contribute to increasing job creation for the firms located in university based technology incubators. An increasing number of communities are embracing economic development strategies that target the high tech sector with high wage, high value jobs as a way to diversify their economies and boost local and regional economies. New economic development strategies include the notion of a creation strategy or "growing your own" instead of relying on …

Advances In The Opto-Mechanical Design And Alignment Of The Hehsi Imaging Spectrometer Based On A Sagnac Interferometer, Michael Stuart Schreiber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The High Efficiency HyperSpectral Imager (HEHSI) is a Fourier Transform hyperspectral imager based on a Sagnac interferometer. This thesis research concentrates on the design upgrade and calibration of HEHSI from a proof of concept instrument to a prototype field instrument. Stability is enhanced by removing degrees of freedom and alignment is enhanced by providing for in-situ adjustments. The use of off the shelf components allows for reduced development time and cost constraints. HEHSI is capable of multiple configurations to accommodate sensors and optics with specialized capabilities for multiple wavelength ranges and viewing conditions. With a spectral response of 400 to …

Its Strategies For Minimization Of Fine Particulates, Ahmed S. Soliman, Robert Bertram Jacko, Barry K. Partridge

JTRP Technical Reports

The purpose of the study was to quantify the impact of traffic conditions such as free flow and congestion on local air quality. The Borman Expressway in Northwest Indiana is considered a test-bed for this research due to the high volume of class-9-truck traffic traveling on it, as well as the existing and continuing installation of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve the traffic management along the highway stretch. An empirical Traffic-Air-Quality model (TAQ model) was developed to estimate the PM2.5 emission factors (g/mi) based solely on the measured traffic parameters such as average speed, average acceleration and truck …

The Tribological Role Of Energy Efficiency Within Society, Matthew Siniawski

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Electromechanical Characterization Of Poly(Dimethyl Siloxane) Based Electroactive Polymers, Wrutu Deepak Parulkar

Theses and Dissertations

The main objectives of this thesis are 1) to evaluate the effect of cross-linking polar cyano phenyl (CN) groups on poly (dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) and 2) to characterize the electromechanical properties of the resulting CN-PDMS blend as an electroactive actuator. Materials responding to an external stimulus are referred to as electroactive materials. There are several phenomena, which govern the mechanism in these materials, such as piezoelectricity, Maxwell's effect, ferroelectricity, electrostriction to name a few. These electroactive materials can be employed in several applications such as biomedical devices, robots, MEMs, aerospace vehicles, where the application is governed by the specific mechanism. …

Nano-Coatings On Carbon Structures For Interfacial Modification, Rajasekhar Venkata Pulikollu

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Surface modification of materials is a rapidly growing field as structures become smaller, more integrated and complex. It opens up the possibility of combining the optimum bulk properties of a material with optimized surface properties such as enhanced bonding, corrosion resistance, reactivity, stress transfer, and thermal, optical or electrical behavior. Therefore, surface functionalization or modification can be an enabling step in a wide variety of modern applications. In this dissertation several surface modification approaches on carbon foam and carbon nano-fibers will be discussed. These are recently developed sp 2 graphitic carbon based structures that have significant potential in aerospace, automotive …

Real Time Frequency Analysis Of Signals From Lasso Catheter For Radiofrequency Ablation During Atrial Fibrillation, Prashant Yadav

Theses and Dissertations

Real time spectrum analysis of signals obtained through lasso catheter during radiofrequency ablation of pulmonary vein was performed to determine the channel with dominant frequency. Threshold algorithm was used for signals which could be classified as type I and type II AF. Type III AF Signals which were highly fractionated or differentiated were evaluated for frequency content by performing Fast Fourier Transform. Data from Seven patients was collected and an episode of 180 ± 40 seconds was recorded and analyzed for each pulmonary vein that showed electrical activation. Frequency spectra for one second segment of signal for each channel were …

A Novel Role For Gadd45Β As A Mediator Of Mmp-13 Gene Expression During Chondrocyte Terminal Differentiation, Kosei Ijiri, Luiz F. Zerbini, Haibing Peng, Ricardo G. Correa, Binfeng Lu, Nicole Walsh, Yani Zhao, Noboru Taniguchi, Xu-Ling Huang, Hasan H. Otu, Hong Wang, Jian Fei Wang, Setsuro Komiya, Patricia Ducy, Mahboob U. Rahman, Richard A. Flavell, Ellen M. Gravallese, Peter Oettgen, Towia A. Libermann, Mary B. Goldring

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

The growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible 45β (GADD45β) gene product has been implicated in the stress response, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Here we demonstrated the unexpected expression of GADD45β in the embryonic growth plate and uncovered its novel role as an essential mediator of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) expression during terminal chondrocyte differentiation. We identified GADD45β as a prominent early response gene induced by bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) through a Smad1/Runx2-dependent pathway. Because this pathway is involved in skeletal development, we examined mouse embryonic growth plates, and we observed expression of Gadd45β mRNA coincident with Runx2 protein …

Phased-Array Design For Biological Clutter Rejection: Simulation And Experimental Validation, B.L. Cheong, Michael Hoffman, R.D. Palmer, Stephen J. Frasier, F.J. Lopez-Dekker

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper highlights recent results obtained with the Turbulent Eddy Profiler (TEP), which was devel- oped by the University of Massachusetts. This unique 915-MHz radar has up to 64 spatially separated receiving elements, each with an independent receiver. The calibrated raw data provided by this array could be processed using sophisticated imaging algorithms to resolve the horizontal structures within each range gate. After collecting all of the closely spaced horizontal slices, the TEP radar can produce three- dimensional images of echo power, radial velocity, and spectral width. From the radial velocity measure- ments, it is possible to estimate the three-dimensional …

Biological Opinion On The Operation Of The Missouri River Main Stem System, Missouri River Bank Stabilization And Navigation Project, And Operation Of The Kansas River Reservoir System

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) prepares an annual report for interested parties in accordance with reporting requirements of the "Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project (BSNP), and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System" prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) dated November 30,2000 and the Amendment, thereto, dated December 16,2003.

This annual report documents the Corps threatened and endangered species conservation activities to comply with the provisions of the 2000 BiOp and the 2003 Amendment to …

Self-Assembly Of Nanoparticles On Live Bacterium: An Avenue To Fabricate Electronic Devices, Ravi F. Saraf, Vikas Berry

Papers in Nanotechnology

Recently, hybrid structures of microorganisms with inorganic nanoscale moieties have received great interest owing to their potential in fabricating electronic systems. The electronic properties of metal nanoparticles, as a result of the singleelectron transport of current,[1] make them ideal materials for nanodevices. Concomitantly, the nanostructure of microorganisms such as bacteria,[2] viruses,[3, 4] and yeast[5] are attractive scaffolds for the templating of metal nanoparticles through the interactions of the former with surface charges and the affinity of certain metals for specific biological molecules.[2–7] However, the key challenges in building hybrid devices are 1) to pattern nanostructures without destroying the biological construct …

Evaluating Livestock System Environmental Performance With Whole-Farm Nutrient Balance, Richard K. Koelsch

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

As a part of the USEPA’s concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) final rule, all CAFOs are required to develop and implement a nutrient management plan (NMP). The USEPA’s emphasis on better management of nutrients appropriately targets a critical environmental issue associated with animal production. The concentration of animals in livestock feeding operations, often separate from feed grain production, requires importing of substantial quantities of feed nutrients. Due to the inefficiencies of nutrient utilization in livestock production, quantities of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in manure greater than can be utilized in local crop production often result. With the focus of …

Improvement Of Tractor Performance, K. U. Kim, Leonard L. Bashford, Brent T. Sampson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Improvement of agricultural tractor performance was analyzed using the data from 926 diesel tractors tested at the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory from 1959 through 2002. The performance analysis included the specific volumetric fuel consumption, power per unit weight, traction coefficient, maximum torque rise, and sound level. They were evaluated based on the PTO power level and chassis type of tractor. Some of the results are: (1) The average specific volumetric fuel consumptions for the maximum PTO and drawbar powers increased by 20.5% and 23.4% to 3.47 kW•h/L and 3.01 kW•h/L, respectively, from 1959 through 2002. (2) The average maximum PTO …

Takagi–Sugeno Fuzzy Modeling Of Skin Permeability, Deepak R. Keshwani, David D. Jones, Rhonda M. Brand

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The skin is a major exposure route for many potentially toxic chemicals. It is, therefore, important to be able to predict the permeability of compounds through skin under a variety of conditions. Available skin permeability databases are often limited in scope and not conducive to developing effective models. This sparseness and ambiguity of available data prompted the use of fuzzy set theory to model and predict skin permeability. Using a previously published database containing 140 compounds, a rule-based Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model is shown to predict skin permeability of compounds using octanol-water partition coefficient, molecular weight, and temperature as inputs. Model …

Extraction Of Lipids From Grain Sorghum Ddg, L. Wang, Curtis L. Weller, K. T. Hwang

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Soxhlet and recirculated solvent extraction methods were used to extract lipid materials from grain sorghum DDG. The lipid content in DDG with a moisture content of 6.7% (dry basis) was as high as 9.32% of the dried DDG as determined by Soxhlet extraction with n-hexane. There was a slight increase in the lipid yield from 9.21% to 9.68% when the moisture contents increased from 2.1% to 17.4% (d.b.). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed that the sorghum lipids were composed of triacylglycerols, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty aldehydes, free sterols, wax esters, and steryl esters. A bench-scale recirculated extraction system was …

Finite Element Modeling And Experimental Validation Of Cooling Rates Of Large Ready-To-Eat Meat Products In Small Meat-Processing Facilities, A. Amézquita, L. Wang, Curtis L. Weller

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A two−dimensional axisymmetric transient heat conduction model was developed to simulate air chilling of large ready−to−eat meat products of ellipsoidal shape. A finite element scheme, using 1,600 linear triangular elements with 861 nodes, was implemented in Matlab 6.5 to solve the model. The model considered a variable initial temperature distribution and combined convective, radiative, and evaporative boundary conditions. Predicted values agreed well with experimental data collected in actual processing conditions. Validation of model performance resulted in maximum deviations of 2.54°C and 0.29% for temperature and weight loss histories, respectively. The maximum temperature deviation (2.54°C) occurred at the surface; however, for …

Policosanol Contents And Compositions In Wax-Like Materials Extracted From Selected Cereals Of Korean Origin, Keum Taek Hwang, Ji Eun Kim, Curtis L. Weller

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Policosanols. long-chained alcohols. have been reported to have beneficial physiological activities. Content and composition of policosanols in wax-like materials extracted from selected cereals of Korean origin were determined. Wax-like materials were extracted using hot hexane. Yields of wax-like materials from unpolished grain sorghum, polished grain sorghum. brown rice. purple rice, wheat, and maize were 223, 37, 33, 61, 10, and 10 mg/100 g of dry kernels, respectively. Policosanol contents, as determined using HPLC, in the wax-like materials from the cereals were 33, 29, 6.0, and 2% (w/w, db), respectively. Major alcohols in the policosanols from grain sorghum were octacosanol and …

Modeling Of Bubble Growth Dynamics And Nonisothermal Expansion In Starch-Based Foams During Extrusion, Lijun Wang, Girish M. Ganjyal, David D. Jones, Curtis L. Weller, Milford Hanna

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A mathematical model was developed to describe expansion phenomena in starch-based foams during extrusion. The model was divided into three parts to describe the microbubble growth dynamics, to couple bubble growth with extrudate expansion, and to describe the macrotransport phenomena in the extrudate, respectively. The differential equations involved in the model were solved by finite element schemes. For validating the model, the predicted radius, density, and residual moisture of final extrudate were compared with experimental data. Standard deviations between the predicted and experimental radius, density, and residual moisture of final extrudates were 16.7%, 11.2%, and 39.3%, respectively. The model was …

Root Zone Temperatures Of Viburnum Odoratissimum Grown In The Multipot Box System And Conventional Systems: Measurement And Analyses Of Temperature Profiles And Predicting Root Zone Temperatures, Suat Irmak, D. Z. Haman, Ayse Kilic, J. W. Jones, B. Tonkinson, D. Burch, T. H. Yeager, C. Larsen

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

This research study evaluates the effectiveness of a recently introduced irrigation- plant production system, multipot box system (MPBS), for moderating root zone temperature (RZT) compared with the conventional nursery containers. The study also deals with the development, calibration, and validation of a series of models that can be used to predict maximum (max) and minimum (min) RZTs using commonly available input variables. The Viburnum odoratissimum (Ker.-gawl.) was used as the test plant. Models were calibrated in the fall growing season and validated during the summer. The RZT was used as the dependent variable while the max and min air temperatures …

Evaluation Of Toxic Agent Effects On Lung Cells By Fiber Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy, Pierre Lucas, David Lee Coq, Christophe Juncker, Jayne Collier, Dianne E. Boesewetter, Catherine Boussard-Pledel, Bruno Bureau, Mark R. Riley

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Biochemical changes in living cells are detected using a fiber probe system composed of a single chalcogenide fiber acting as both the sensor and transmission line for infrared optical signals. The signal is collected via evanescent wave absorption along the tapered sensing zone of the fiber. We spectroscopically monitored the effects of the surfactant Triton X-lOO, which serves as a toxic agent simulant on a transformed human lung carcinoma type II epithelial cell line (A549). We observe spectral changes between 2800-3000 cm-1 in four absorptions bands, which are assigned to hydrocarbon vibrations of methylene and methyl groups in membrane lipids. …

Evaluation Of Methods For Estimating Daily Reference Crop Evapotranspiration At A Site In The Humid Southeast United States, R. E. Yoder, Lameck O. Odhiambo, Wesley C. Wright

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Estimated daily reference crop evapotranspiration (ET_o) is normally used to determine the water requirement of crops using the crop factor method. Many ET_o estimation methods have been developed for different types of climatic data, and the accuracy of these methods varies with climatic conditions. In this study, pair−wise comparisons were made between daily ET_o estimated from eight different ET_o equations and ET_o measured by lysimeter to provide information helpful in selecting an appropriate ET_o equation for the Cumberland Plateau located in the humid Southeast United States. Based on the standard error of the …

Modeling Sediment Trapping In A Vegetative Filter Accounting For Converging Overland Flow, M. J. Helmers, D. E. Eisenhauer, Thomas G. Franti, Michael G. Dosskey

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Vegetative filters (VF) are used to remove sediment and other pollutants from overland flow. When modeling the hydrology of VF, it is often assumed that overland flow is planar, but our research indicates that it can be two-dimensional with converging and diverging pathways. Our hypothesis is that flow convergence will negatively influence the sediment trapping capability of VF. The objectives were to develop a two-dimensional modeling approach for estimating sediment trapping in VF and to investigate the impact of converging overland flow on sediment trapping by VF. In this study, the performance of a VF that has field-scale flow path …

Salmon At River's End: The Role Of The Estuary In The Decline And Recovery Of Columbia River Salmon, Daniel L. Bottom, Charles A. Simenstad, Jennifer Burke, Antonio M. Baptista, David A. Jay, Kim K. Jone, Edmundo Casillas, Michael H. Schiewe

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The continued decline of Columbia River salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) populations has long focused concerns on habitat changes upriver, particularly the effects of large hydroelectric dams. Increasing evidence that ocean conditions strongly influence salmon production, however, has raised questions about the importance of the estuarine environment to salmon and whether the hydropower system has affected estuarine-rearing habitats. In response to Northwest Power Planning Council recommendations, we initiated a review of what is known about the effects of the hydroelectric system on the hydrology, habitats, and ecology of the Columbia River estuary. Our goal was to develop recommendations for improving estuarine conditions …