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Soft Robot Trajectory Generation: Enabling Soft Robot Arms To Reliably And Effectively Perform Real World Tasks Through Optimization, Haley P. Sanders Dec 2023

Soft Robot Trajectory Generation: Enabling Soft Robot Arms To Reliably And Effectively Perform Real World Tasks Through Optimization, Haley P. Sanders

Theses and Dissertations

The robotic platform presented in this thesis is underdamped with high inertia and can store potential energy in its compliant joints, making it ideal for many different types of real-world tasks for which traditional rigid-robots are ill-suited. Some real-world tasks suited to soft robots include high impact tasks like hammering a nail into a wall or moving heavy objects with other robot or human teammates while using relatively little power. Some of the same characteristics which make soft robots useful, such as their underdamped, highly compliant joints, also make motion planning and control for soft robots difficult. In this thesis, …

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Full Issue Dec 2023

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Special Thanks To Kirk Magleby And Ken Porter Dec 2023

Special Thanks To Kirk Magleby And Ken Porter

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Two hard-working FARMS officers have stepped down this month. Ken Porter, our Vice President in charge of Development, has recently accepted a mission call to serve with his wife, Ann, in England. Ann has also been working for FARMS as a secretary. We wish them great success!

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"Salamanders" And "Short-Hand Egyptian" Dec 2023

"Salamanders" And "Short-Hand Egyptian"

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The 1830 letter of Martin Harris to W. W. Phelps, published in the Church News in April, has already attracted national attention. In this letter, Harris describes an early spiritual appearance to Joseph Smith, stating that "the spirit transfigured himself from a white salamander in the bottom of the hole."

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Farms Finishes Three Major Projects In June Dec 2023

Farms Finishes Three Major Projects In June

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

June has been a productive month. Thanks to hundreds of volunteer hours, three significant projects have recently been completed. We think you will be interested in each of them.

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Leucine Lock: An Amplified Rapid Antigen Detection System, Matthew David Goff Dec 2023

Leucine Lock: An Amplified Rapid Antigen Detection System, Matthew David Goff

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19, influenza, and blood analytes currently have many drawbacks. They vary greatly in accuracy, are expensive to manufacture, and can be insufficiently sensitive to small antigen loads. Leucine lock is designed to rectify these issues that exist in current rapid diagnostics by creating a rapid antigen test with minimal background activity, tunable sensitivity, and low manufacturing cost. Leucine lock consists of a novel leucine zipper containing an intramolecular hairpin, an ScFv antigen binding domain, and a fluorophore reporter in a FRET combination. By altering the number of hydrophobic and electrostatic mismatches in the intramolecular hairpin, as …

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Drop Retention And Departure In Shear Flow On Structured Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Blake Morgan Lyons Dec 2023

Drop Retention And Departure In Shear Flow On Structured Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Blake Morgan Lyons

Theses and Dissertations

Water is often found adhering to surfaces in droplet form. Droplets can develop as a result of precipitation, condensation, or chemical reactions. Drops are retained or held on a surface due to a retention force exerted on the drop by the surface. This retention force is a function of the surface tension of the liquid, drop geometry, and the contact angle between the drop and the surface. When external or body forces exceed this retention force the drop begins to move. This thesis seeks to understand and quantify the forces present at the point of droplet departure once it begins …

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The Role Of Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2d In Beta-Cells: Implications For Glucose Homeostasis And Cell Survival, Jacqueline Elise Crabtree Dec 2023

The Role Of Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2d In Beta-Cells: Implications For Glucose Homeostasis And Cell Survival, Jacqueline Elise Crabtree

Theses and Dissertations

Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2D (Mef2D) is a member of the Mef2 family. As a transcription factor, Mef2D regulates the expression of genes that impinge on cellular viability, tissue development, and fuel metabolism. Interestingly, Mef2D function appears to be tissue dependent. The function of Mef2D appears to be tissue-specific, with differences in activity in the immune system, neuronal tissue, and muscle. Here, we review the published literature describing the role of Mef2D across tissues. Little is known about the role of Mef2D in the beta-cell. To determine the function of Mef2D in the beta-cell, we built overexpression and knockdown cell lines. …

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Development Of A Submerged Hydraulic Jump Prediction Method Using Documented Fatal Incidents At Low-Head Dams, Caleb Mccurry Dec 2023

Development Of A Submerged Hydraulic Jump Prediction Method Using Documented Fatal Incidents At Low-Head Dams, Caleb Mccurry

Theses and Dissertations

Low-head dams are known to be dangerous due to a recirculating current that, when formed, drowns recreationalists who become trapped in the current. Efforts to mitigate the hazard of low-head dams have led to the compilation of a database of low-head dams with proven fatalities. Additionally, flume-based experiments along with well-known hydraulic equations have been used to create a spreadsheet-based system for predicting the occurrence of the dangerous recirculating current, otherwise known as a submerged hydraulic jump. The premise of the spreadsheet is that if the normal depth calculated with the Mannings Equation for the downstream reach is between the …

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The Effect Of Percussive Massage On The Maintenance Of Skeletal Muscle Health During Limb Unloading, Mohadeseh Ahmadi Dec 2023

The Effect Of Percussive Massage On The Maintenance Of Skeletal Muscle Health During Limb Unloading, Mohadeseh Ahmadi

Theses and Dissertations

A period of skeletal muscle disuse leads to muscle mass and strength loss and compromised metabolic health. Several studies suggest that passive mechanical stimulation may protect against the detrimental effects of disuse in skeletal muscle. This study assessed the effect of the twice-daily application of percussive massage in mitigating the adverse effects of muscle disuse during ten days of leg unloading. Seventeen participants (7 women and 10 men; 18-35 yrs.) were randomly assigned to either control or massage groups, both undergoing leg unloading. The data revealed that both groups similarly experienced significant reductions in muscle strength (-14%±5.9; p<.0001), quadriceps volume (-4.2%±2.8; p<.0001), myofiber cross-sectional area (-8.2%±1.8; p<.0001), and maximal mitochondrial respiration (-20%±9.1; p<.0001). Fatty acid-supported respiration decreased in the control group (-30.4±18.5%; p= 0.0008) and remained unchanged in the massage group. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) flux normalized to oxygen consumption exhibited a significant interaction between group and time, particularly in the absence of ADP, where H2O2 flux increased only in the control group (control: 29.9±26.5%, massage: -13±22.6%; p=0.01). There was no change in the H2O2 flux after the addition of ADP. In conclusion, ten days of limb unloading resulted in diminished muscle size, strength, and mitochondrial respiration. Percussive massage was insufficient to prevent the loss of muscle mass, force production, or carbohydrate-supported respiration. However, it exhibited potential protective effects against the decline in mitochondrial fatty acid-supported respiration.

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Managing Behavior In Middle School Special Education Classrooms Using Cw-Fit Ms: A Single Subject Study, Kelsey Ann Johnson Dec 2023

Managing Behavior In Middle School Special Education Classrooms Using Cw-Fit Ms: A Single Subject Study, Kelsey Ann Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have the responsibility of managing the behavior in their classrooms. The positive effects of evidence-based classroom management methods, like Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), have been generalized to a variety of classroom settings, among a range of ages and types of classes; however, the literature on its efficacy in special education classrooms is scarce. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of CW-FIT in special education classrooms at a middle school. Two teachers of eighth grade special education math classes chose to participate in the study. One teacher alternated between using an audible and inaudible timer, …

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View Dependent Simplification And Tessellation For Real-Time High Quality Rendering Of 3d Meshes, Dallin M. Hagman Dec 2023

View Dependent Simplification And Tessellation For Real-Time High Quality Rendering Of 3d Meshes, Dallin M. Hagman

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing complexity of 3D meshes and growing disparity in performance between high and low-end hardware necessitates more efficient rendering techniques that do not sacrifice visual quality. To support as many hardware configurations as possible, producers of 3D content provide several resolutions of each mesh. Low-end hardware is typically restricted to low-resolution meshes to maintain performance similar to their high-end counterparts, sacrificing visual appeal. However, the presence of hardware tessellation in nearly all modern GPUs presents the opportunity to render high-resolution versions of simplified meshes on low-end hardware with little computational cost. Some research has been conducted into this opportunity, …

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The Effectiveness Of A Signature Strengths Intervention On Maternal Well-Being Among Mothers Of Children With Autism, Tawni Nicole Poole Dec 2023

The Effectiveness Of A Signature Strengths Intervention On Maternal Well-Being Among Mothers Of Children With Autism, Tawni Nicole Poole

Theses and Dissertations

Mothers of children with autism face unique challenges that can negatively impact their well-being. Frequently, these challenges require elevated amounts of time, energy, and money to address. In an effort to investigate a low-demand approach to improving well-being, this study employed a signature strengths intervention with mothers of children with autism. Thus far, research on signature strengths with this specific population is very limited. Five mothers of children with autism participated in the study. All were married and highly educated. Four identified themselves as white, one as Hispanic. They ranged in age from 25-44. Each mother had between one and …

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Understanding The Process Of Persistence In Non-Traditional Adult Education Students, Stephanie Nuttall Patton Dec 2023

Understanding The Process Of Persistence In Non-Traditional Adult Education Students, Stephanie Nuttall Patton

Theses and Dissertations

In the state of Utah, adult education students often leave their programs before 100 hours of instruction. This can leave students without the necessary academic knowledge, skills, and credentials to move forward with postsecondary education and training or employment opportunities. This phenomenological study examines the key factors of persistence in non-traditional students ages 25 and over in an urban adult education program who continued beyond 100 hours of instruction. Fourteen students were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol to identify factors that caused them to stay in an adult education program. The interviews with students examined dispositional, institutional, situational, and …

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Self-Efficacy, Locus Of Control, And Their Effect On Online Returning Students' Graduation, Matthew Dean Greene Dec 2023

Self-Efficacy, Locus Of Control, And Their Effect On Online Returning Students' Graduation, Matthew Dean Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to understand the factors that affect returning students' ability to complete their degrees through online degree programs. Logistic regression was used to determine which factors had a significant relationship with persistence to graduation and how they contributed to the odds of students graduating. The findings show that academic locus of control and academic self-efficacy had a significant positive relationship with returning student persistence to graduation, with the locus of control contributing to the odds of graduation more than self-efficacy. Additionally, the amount of time between the student's initial dropout and subsequent return to complete …

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Invisibility, Confusion, And Adjustment:Exploring The Grief Experience Of Grandmothers Supporting Their Bereaved Grandchildren, Jordan Robertson Dec 2023

Invisibility, Confusion, And Adjustment:Exploring The Grief Experience Of Grandmothers Supporting Their Bereaved Grandchildren, Jordan Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

Bereavement is painful at any time of life. For young children experiencing bereavement, grandmothers are often the first line of defense. Grandmothers are frequently called upon when their family members experience an out-of-order death, and while they are willing to provide care, grandmothers don't always know the best way forward. This qualitative study sought to learn more about the grief experiences of 22 grandmothers who had lost a family member prematurely through semi-structured interviews and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Findings suggest (a) grandmothers experience layered grief in that they grieve the loss of the family member, experience the pain of the …

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Brazili(Americ)An: Perception, Preservation, And Transmission Of Identity Among 1st Generation Brazilians Living In Utah And Salt Lake Valleys, Elisabeth Morris Dec 2023

Brazili(Americ)An: Perception, Preservation, And Transmission Of Identity Among 1st Generation Brazilians Living In Utah And Salt Lake Valleys, Elisabeth Morris

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to better understand how first-generation Brazilian immigrants to Utah’s Salt Lake and Utah Valleys perceive, preserve, and transmit their identity. With this purpose in mind, I hope to add to the previous studies and discussion of identity in the Brazilian diaspora in the United States. The study focuses on the question: How do first-generation Brazilians living in Utah and Salt Lake Valleys perceive their own identities? Additionally, it seeks to answer the following subquestions: How is identity preserved among first-generation Brazilian immigrants to Utah and Salt Lake Valleys and where and how is identity …

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Genomic And Proteomic Analysis Of Five Vi01-Like Phages Reveals Wide Host Range And Multiple Tail Spike Proteins, Evan Harris Dec 2023

Genomic And Proteomic Analysis Of Five Vi01-Like Phages Reveals Wide Host Range And Multiple Tail Spike Proteins, Evan Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The number of illnesses attributable to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections are on the rise. According to the CDC, by 2050, complications due to antibiotic resistant infections are set to become the most prevalent cause of death worldwide, overtaking both cancer and heart disease in number. We are required to look for supplements to aid antibiotics in the fight against bacteria because it's becoming increasingly clear that antibiotics alone will fail in the face of multidrug-resistant strains. Bacteriophages are natural killers of bacteria and can thus be weaponized to treat multidrug-resistant infections. When a phage is discovered, our databases need to …

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Pronouns On Resumes And The Perceived Hireability Of Transgender And Non-Binary Candidates, Seth Ririe Dec 2023

Pronouns On Resumes And The Perceived Hireability Of Transgender And Non-Binary Candidates, Seth Ririe

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Transgender and non-binary (TGNB) individuals are more likely to be in poverty and be unemployed than cisgender individuals. This study seeks to understand if placing one’s pronouns on their resumes creates a barrier to equal employment for the TGNB population. I do so through two means: surveying TGNB individuals (n=63) on their worries and experiences with placing their pronouns on their resumes and conducting an RCT (n=654). The RCT assigned participants to 1 of 8 pronouns which shared all information save the candidates’ name (either masculine or feminine) and pronouns (he, she, they, or no pronouns). I find that TGNB …

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Lack Of Quality Media Representation For Transgender Women, Seth Ririe Dec 2023

Lack Of Quality Media Representation For Transgender Women, Seth Ririe

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

“Transgender” is a term used to describe people whose gender identity is incongruent with their sex assigned at birth. This brief discusses transgender women (that is, transgender people whose gender identity is female) and their experiences with popular narrative media representation. Transgender women are improperly or under-represented due to a lack of transgender media creators, the American public opinion of transgender women, and audience fragmentation, which keeps media featuring transgender women away from wider audiences. As a result of the lack of quality media representation for transgender women, stereotypes surrounding transgender women become more prevalent and transgender women may experience …

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Evaluating A Video Peer-Modeling Intervention On The Acquisition And Maintenance Of Social Skills For Adults With Autism In A Transition Setting, Adam K. Hammond Dec 2023

Evaluating A Video Peer-Modeling Intervention On The Acquisition And Maintenance Of Social Skills For Adults With Autism In A Transition Setting, Adam K. Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the use of a peer video modeling and prompting intervention used to teach three adults with autism to give a specified verbal and physical response when greeted. This intervention used a six-step task analysis to verify correct completion of the target behavior. At baseline, each of the three participants gave little to no response when greeted but after the video modeling and prompting intervention all three had acquired at least five out of six (83%) of the target behavior steps. Follow-up probes demonstrated that all three of the participants had maintained at least 4 out of 6 …

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Characterizing Stress Granule Regulation By Pas Kinase, Ataxin-2 And Ptc6 And Investigating The Lifespan Of Covid-19 Virus On Currency, Colleen R. Newey Dec 2023

Characterizing Stress Granule Regulation By Pas Kinase, Ataxin-2 And Ptc6 And Investigating The Lifespan Of Covid-19 Virus On Currency, Colleen R. Newey

Theses and Dissertations

The protein Ataxin-2 is a known positive regulator of stress granules in humans, mice and yeast (known as yeast PBP1). Due to the role that stress granules play in diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and cancer, this thesis investigates the role of Ataxin-2 and its protein binding partners in stress granule development and its effects on various metabolic phenotypes of the cell. PAS kinase is a sensory protein kinase, conserved from yeast to man, which regulates respiration and lipid biosynthesis. Our lab discovered that PAS kinase phosphorylates and activates Ataxin-2 in yeast, and that PAS kinase overexpression enhances localization …

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A Series Of Improved And Novel Methods In Computer Vision Estimation, James J. Adams Dec 2023

A Series Of Improved And Novel Methods In Computer Vision Estimation, James J. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, findings in three areas of computer vision estimation are presented. First, an improvement to the Kanade-Lucas-Tomasi (KLT) feature tracking algorithm is presented in which gyroscope data is incorporated to compensate for camera rotation. This improved algorithm is then compared with the original algorithm and shown to be more effective at tracking features in the presence of large rotational motion. Next, a deep neural network approach to depth estimation is presented. Equations are derived relating camera and feature motion to depth. The information necessary for depth estimation is given as inputs to a deep neural network, which is …

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Soil Health In American Sports Fields, Miria C. Barnes Dec 2023

Soil Health In American Sports Fields, Miria C. Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Healthy soils are essential for sustaining the world's ecosystems and maintaining human lifestyles. The adoption of biological, chemical, and physical analyses to assess soil health is a relatively new concept with a paucity of scientific work assessing how these metrics are affected by field management in urban systems Soil samples (n = 110) were collected from a diverse range of sports fields and, for comparative purposes, golf courses, farm fields, non-sport urban, undisturbed forest, and non-vegetated sandy soils. The samples were then analyzed using biological, chemical, and physical metrics to determine if there were significant differences between sport/golf venues and …

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Interfacial Properties Of Hybrid Lipid-Polymer Bilayers: Applications In Drug Delivery And Biosensors, Keith L. Willes Dec 2023

Interfacial Properties Of Hybrid Lipid-Polymer Bilayers: Applications In Drug Delivery And Biosensors, Keith L. Willes

Theses and Dissertations

Amphiphilic block copolymers are unique macro-molecules capable of self-assembling into bilayers analogous to naturally occurring lipid membranes. When combined with lipids, these copolymers form hybrid membranes with unique and sometimes unpredictable properties, including increased chemical and mechanical stability. These synthetically enhanced biological structures represent a versatile platform suitable for a wide range of applications, from advanced biosensing devices to drug delivery systems. The realization of these advancements necessitates a deep understanding of material properties, including the ability to predict and control interfacial behaviors. It has been shown that in the case of pure lipid membranes, interfacial behaviors are dominated by …

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Effectiveness Of Intelligent Transportation Systems On Utah Roadways, Matthew Cline Davis Dec 2023

Effectiveness Of Intelligent Transportation Systems On Utah Roadways, Matthew Cline Davis

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the findings of a comprehensive research study conducted for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to evaluate the effectiveness of commonly deployed Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) treatments in Utah, with a focus on Variable Message Signs (VMS), traffic cameras, and Road Weather Information System(s) (RWIS) sites. The study aimed to determine the impact of these ITS treatments on mobility and safety for Utah's unique road conditions and configurations. Three primary analyses were performed: a diversion rates analysis to assess the effectiveness of VMS on Utah freeways during incidents; a weather analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of VMS …

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Twitch Chat Advertising: How Live Chat Valence Affects Consumer Advertising Perceptions, Austin W. Camper Dec 2023

Twitch Chat Advertising: How Live Chat Valence Affects Consumer Advertising Perceptions, Austin W. Camper

Theses and Dissertations

The streaming platform Twitch.tv, is a popular video streaming website where users can watch, communicate, and chat with streamers and other viewers live. Twitch and other live streaming websites typically offer viewers a chat window where the viewer can chat (in real-time) with the streamer and other viewers who are currently watching the stream. Research in live streaming platforms like Twitch and the effects of their various features are novel. The purpose of this study is to analyze how the sentiment of a live chat (positive or negative) and the stated or not stated disclosure of an advertisement posted in …

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Advancements In Levitated Optomechanics: Exploring Plasmon-Enhanced Light-Matter Interactions In Optical Trapping, Siavash Mirzaei Ghormish Dec 2023

Advancements In Levitated Optomechanics: Exploring Plasmon-Enhanced Light-Matter Interactions In Optical Trapping, Siavash Mirzaei Ghormish

Theses and Dissertations

Optical trapping of metallic nanoparticles investigates phenomena at the interface of plasmonics and optical micromanipulation. This thesis combines ideas from the optical properties of metals, originating in solid-state physics, with the force mechanisms resulting from optical trapping. I explore the influence of enhanced light-matter interaction due to the plasmon resonances of gold particles on their trapping properties. I present theories for trapping mechanisms of gold metallic particles and then verify these theories through experiments. Optical trapping of metallic nanoparticles is considered challenging, especially in air, as they are highly absorbing and reflecting at optical wavelengths. Yet the optical levitation of …

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Analysis And Simulation Of Nuclear Thermal Energy Storage Systems For Increasing Grid Stability, Jaron Wallace Dec 2023

Analysis And Simulation Of Nuclear Thermal Energy Storage Systems For Increasing Grid Stability, Jaron Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

With the growing capacity of renewable energy production sources, nuclear energy, once a mainstay of power generation, faces challenges due to its limited adaptability to fluctuating energy demands. This inherent rigidity makes it less desirable than the more flexible renewable sources. However, integrating thermal energy storage (TES) systems offers a promising avenue, enabling nuclear power plants (NPPs) to enhance their operational flexibility and remain competitive in an evolving renewable market. A comprehensive ranking methodology has been introduced, delineating the criteria and processes to determine the most synergistic TES/NPP design couplings. This methodology considers the unique characteristics of both current and …

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Investigating The Effects Of Unfused Powder Damping In Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Samuel Hao Teng Dec 2023

Investigating The Effects Of Unfused Powder Damping In Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Samuel Hao Teng

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes to fabricate 316L stainless steel beams with pockets of unfused powder for increased damping. Modal testing was completed to compare damping factors of beams with varying pocket geometries as well as number of pockets and pocket location. For the first three bending modes that were tested, an initial damping increase was observed when pocket height is greater than powder diameter. Following the initial increase there is a height threshold, which is mode dependent, that is required to achieve a statistically significant increase in damping.

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