Digital Commons Network^™

Privacy Preservation In Social Media Environments Using Big Data, Katrina Ward

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the pervasive use of mobile devices, social media, home assistants, and smart devices, the idea of individual privacy is fading. More than ever, the public is giving up personal information in order to take advantage of what is now considered every day conveniences and ignoring the consequences. Even seemingly harmless information is making headlines for its unauthorized use (18). Among this data is user trajectory data which can be described as a user's location information over a time period (6). This data is generated whenever users access their devices to record their location, query the location of a point …

Oxide Inclusion Evolution And Factors That Influence Their Size And Morphology, Obinna M. Adaba

Doctoral Dissertations

"The evolution of oxide inclusion size distribution and the shape of the distribution during steelmaking and casting and the process variables that influence the inclusion characteristics at different stages were investigated and documented. A statistical method for transforming the 2D size distribution to their actual 3D distributions and the application of a kinetic model to determine nucleation and growth mechanisms were tested. Finally, laboratory experiments were performed to study the effects of preexisting inclusions, steel active oxygen content, and supersaturation on the size and morphology of Al₂O₃ inclusions.

The inclusion size, composition, and morphology following steel deoxidation …

Using Lidar To Measure Subsurface Movement Of Slow-Moving Landslides And Study The Interaction Between The Soil And Lidar Scanning Targets, Chengxun Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technology has been used for predicting and researching geological hazards for two decades. This research focuses on using LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) to measure the slow-moving displacement of both surface and subsurface soil of landslides. Two kinds of computer simulation software, FLAC3D® and PFC3D® were used to simulate the landslide process to compare with the LiDAR scanning results.

The primary contributions from this research are as follows:

1. Several error tests were done to prove that the three-dimensional LiDAR scanner used in this research can precisely obtain the three-dimensional position, the displacement and the rotational …

Neuroengineering Of Clustering Algorithms, Leonardo Enzo Brito Da Silva

Doctoral Dissertations

"Cluster analysis can be broadly divided into multivariate data visualization, clustering algorithms, and cluster validation. This dissertation contributes neural network-based techniques to perform all three unsupervised learning tasks. Particularly, the first paper provides a comprehensive review on adaptive resonance theory (ART) models for engineering applications and provides context for the four subsequent papers. These papers are devoted to enhancements of ART-based clustering algorithms from (a) a practical perspective by exploiting the visual assessment of cluster tendency (VAT) sorting algorithm as a preprocessor for ART offline training, thus mitigating ordering effects; and (b) an engineering perspective by designing a family of …

Improvements In Digital Image Correlation And Application In Material Mechanical Test, Yunlu Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Digital image correlation (DIC) is a non-contact full-field optical measurement method. With the advantages of high accuracy, low cost, and simple implementation, it has been widely applied in the area of experimental mechanics. In this study, DIC algorithm has been improved in the aspects of the pixel-level searching method and reference frame update strategy. The feature matching based method is proposed to provide an initial guess for all points of interest with semi-subpixel level accuracy in cases with small or large translation, deformation, or rotation. The bisection searching strategy is presented to automatically adjust the frame step for varying practical …

Deep Neural Network Learning-Based Classifier Design For Big-Data Analytics, Krishnan Raghavan

Doctoral Dissertations

"In this digital age, big-data sets are commonly found in the field of healthcare, manufacturing and others where sustainable analysis is necessary to create useful information. Big-data sets are often characterized by high-dimensionality and massive sample size. High dimensionality refers to the presence of unwanted dimensions in the data where challenges such as noise, spurious correlation and incidental endogeneity are observed. Massive sample size, on the other hand, introduces the problem of heterogeneity because complex and unstructured data types must analyzed. To mitigate the impact of these challenges while considering the application of classification, a two step analysis approach is …

Fault Imaging Enhancement In Taranaki Basin, New Zealand And Rock Physics And Inversion Based Reservoir Characterization In The Central Gulf Coast Region Of Texas, Tianze Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Fault imaging technique and reservoir characterization based on rock physics analysis and pre-stack inversion has been widely used hydrocarbon exploration. For the fault imaging technique, the ant tracking has been widely used in fault interpretation. However, the reliability of the results is highly dependent on appropriately choosing a signal processing method and volume attributes. In our study area, which lies in the southern Taranaki Basin, we applied Graphic Equalizer as the processing tool and the Chaos attribute before running the ant tracking algorithm. Results show that the procedure provides a better result and can map both the major and minor …

Big Five Personality Traits In Learning Complex Information Systems: A Case Study, Bih-Ru Lea, Katherine Yu, Amanda Engelke, Carol Koob

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

This research explores the influence of personality traits on the performance of learning a complex information system. The personality traits studied are conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness and the complex information system is represented by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System. The preliminary results indicate Openness, the interaction of Openness and Agreeableness, the interaction of Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, the interaction of Openness, Agreeableness, and Extraversion, and the interaction Openness and Extraversion are statistically significant on influencing ERP learning performance.

Asphaltene Stability In Crude Oil During Carbon Dioxide Injection And Its Impact On Oil Recovery: A Review, Data Analysis, And Experimental Study, Sherif M. Fakher

Masters Theses

"Crude oils are usually associated with many compounds, some of which are favorable and others, which are not. One of the most unfavorable components of crude oil that pose severe operational problems and decreases oil production significantly are asphaltenes. These compounds are solids that are homogenized in the crude oil at room temperature but tend to separate from solution when agitated. They can deposit in the reservoir pores, wellbore, and transportation pipelines thus causing severe operational problems and oil recovery reduction.

Even though researchers have been studying asphaltenes for more than 100 years, there is still an ambiguity concerning asphaltene …

Amplitude-Preserved Processing Of The Blackfoot 10 Hz Seismic Data, Bader Mohammed A Algarni

Masters Theses

"The broadband 3C-2D seismic survey was acquired in the Blackfoot Field in southern Alberta. The single-component 10 Hz geophone data were reprocessed to increase vertical resolution and provide a better seismic image of the incised valley channel fill deposits in the Glauconitic Formation. The amplitude-preserved seismic processing of the data was followed by the Kirchhoff prestack time migration. The processing parameters and algorithms used were based on parameter optimization approach. Elevation statics and surface consistent residual statics were utilized to remove near surface delays in the data. Seismic noise, such as ground roll and air blast, were attenuated effectively by …

Archaeological Investigation Using Geophysical Methods To Locate Historic Byram's Ford Road, Marshall Seth Foster

Masters Theses

"Ground penetrating radar, a time domain electromagnetic metal detector and a frequency domain electromagnetic metal detector were used with the goal of locating a section of the Byram's Ford Road believed to be intersecting the historic Big Blue Battlefield in the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri.

Ground penetrating data were acquired at three sites, Site A, Site B, and Site C. The time domain EM metal detector was used to acquire data at Site A, where subsequent ground truthing was conducted using the frequency domain EM metal detector and an excavation tool. Significant anomalies were visible on both the …

Gel Composition And Brine Concentration Effect On Hydrogel Dehydration Subjected To Uniaxial Compression, Xinrui Zhao

Masters Theses

"Gel treatment is a process that injects the gel into a reservoir to control the conformance and improve the sweep efficiency of injection fluids. At a certain pressure gradient, the gel dehydrates in a reservoir due to mechanical forces. This work evaluates the effects of the gel composition and brine concentration on gel dehydration under uniaxial compression. A sodium acrylate-co-acrylamide based gel cross-linked with N, N'-Methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) was used for the study. The compression test is performed with a rheometer with a plate-plate geometry. The gel dehydration under pressure was measured to see how gel dehydration would be impacted by …

U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronology Of Paleozoic Clastics Of The Ozark Plateau: Implication For Sea-Level Fluctuations And Far-Field Tectonics, Chen Zhao

Masters Theses

"The Ozark Plateau of south-central Missouri is underlain by Ordovician to Pennsylvanian carbonate and clastic strata. Enigmatic, presumably Pennsylvanian 'filled sink' structures are common on the Ozark Plateau and remain a source of controversy. We present results for U-Pb ages of detrital zircons for 13 samples from the OP. We use U-Pb ages from other Paleozoic clastics and 'filled sinks' on the OP, to suggest: 1) FSS record a period of Middle Ordovician erosion and sedimentation and 2) document significant shifts in sediment provenance that reflect regional tectonic events affecting the North American Craton.

The KDE plots of normalized detrital …

Investigate The Rheological Behavior Of High Viscosity Friction Reducer Fracture Fluid And Its Impact On Proppant Static Settling Velocity, Mohammed Ba Geri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Andrey Bogdan, Lingjuan Shen

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recent and rapid success of using high viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) in hydraulic fracturing treatments is due to several advantages over other fracture fluids (e.g. linear gel), which include better proppant carrying capability, induce more complex fracture system network with higher fracture length, and overall lower costs due to fewer chemicals and less equipment on location. However, some concerns remain, like how HVFRs rheological properties can have impact on proppant transport into fractures. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence the rheological characterization of HVFRs have on proppant static settling velocity within …

Impulse Measurements Of Electric Solid Propellant In An Electrothermal Ablation-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster, Matthew S. Glascock, Joshua L. Rovey, Kurt A. Polzin

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electric solid propellants are advanced solid chemical rocket propellants that can be controlled (ignited, throttled and extinguished) through the application and removal of an electric current. These propellants are also being considered for use in the ablative pulsed plasma thruster. In this paper, the performance of an electric solid propellant operating in an electrothermal ablation-fed pulsed plasma thruster was investigated using an inverted pendulum micro-Newton thrust stand. The impulse bit and specific impulse of the device using the electric solid propellant were measured for short-duration test runs of 100 pulses and longer-duration runs to end-of-life, at energy levels of 5, …

Diffusion Kinetics In Promising Adsorbents For Gas Capture Processes, Teresa Gelles

Masters Theses

"This reports the results of experimental studies aimed at characterizing the transport properties of promising adsorbents for various gas capture processes by the "zero length column" (ZLC) technique. ZLC was used to measure the intracrystalline diffusivities of single and binary components of ethane and ethylene in powder and pellet samples of paraffin-selective adsorbents Ni(bdc)(ted)_0.5 (Ni-BT) and ZIF-7 for the purpose of olefin/paraffin separation. Results show that binary gaseous systems result in intracrystalline diffusion time constants slightly lower than those in single component gaseous streams due to coadsorption effects. It was also found that ethylene diffusion was affected by surface …

Coupling Path Visualization Based On Reciprocity Theorem, Yang Zhong

Masters Theses

"A new method to visualize coupling path is proposed to help solve EMI problems. Based on the reciprocity theorem and the concept of reaction, coupling coefficient (CC) is defined to characterize coupling power density. For two-port networks, surface integral of CC can represent coupled voltage on the open-circuited port or coupled power on the loaded port. For dipole-moment based systems, surface integral of CC can represent coupled field components. The calculated CC should be a complex scalar at each point. By properly adjusting the excitation phases, the imaginary part of surface integral of CC will be zero and thus can …

Passively-Coded Embedded Microwave Sensors For Materials Characterization And Structural Health Monitoring (Shm), Katelyn Rose Brinker

Masters Theses

"Monitoring and maintaining civil, space, and aerospace infrastructure is an ongoing critical problem facing our nation. As new complex materials and structures, such as multilayer composites and inflatable habitats, become ubiquitous, performing inspection of their structural integrity becomes even more challenging. Thus, novel nondestructive testing (NDT) methods are needed. Chipless RFID is a relatively new technology that has the potential to address these needs. Chipless RFID tags have the advantage of being wireless and passive, meaning that they do not require a power source or an electronic chip. They can also be used in a variety of sensing applications including …

Propagation Of Uncertainty Through Coning, Sculling, And Scrolling Corrections For Inertial Navigation, James Daniel Alan Brouk

Masters Theses

"This thesis investigates the propagation of estimation errors through generalized coning, sculling, and scrolling algorithms used in modern day inertial navigation systems, in order to accurately quantify the uncertainty in the estimation of position, velocity, and attitude. The corrections for coning, sculling, and scrolling algorithms have an often unaccounted for effect on documented and empirically derived error statistics for measurements used to predict the uncertainty in a vehicle's position, velocity, and attitude estimates. Through the development of an error analysis for these generalized algorithms, mappings of the measurement and estimation errors through the correction termare generated. Using the developed mappings, …

Small Satellite Earth-To-Moon Direct Transfer Trajectories Using The Cr3bp, Garrett Levi Mcmillan

Masters Theses

"The CubeSat/small satellite field is one of the fastest growing means of space exploration, with applications continuing to expand for component development, communication, and scientific research. This thesis study focuses on establishing suitable small satellite Earth-to-Moon direct-transfer trajectories, providing a baseline understanding of their propulsive demands, determining currently available off-the-shelf propulsive technology capable of meeting these demands, as well as demonstrating the effectiveness of the Circular Restricted Three Body Problem (CR3BP) for preliminary mission design. Using the CR3BP and derived requirements from NASA's Cube Quest Challenge, five different trajectory scenarios were analyzed for their propulsive requirements. Results indicate that the …

Changes In Fresh Properties Of Flowable Concrete Induced By Pumping And Composition Of The Lubrication Layer, Alexis Salinas

Masters Theses

"Pumping is an easy method to move concrete while keeping stability. It is worldwide accepted as one of the principal methods for concrete placement, as it accelerates construction. Typically, concrete acceptance in terms of fresh quantitative empirical properties (i.e. slump/slump flow and air content) are performed prior to the pumping process. However, empirical measurements have the drawback that they only measure 1 point. Rheology is better tool to evaluate the behavior of concrete. Pumping is a process that induces considerable shearing in the concrete that can impact its rheological properties. Therefore, the magnitude of these changes in fresh properties depends …

Near-Field Scanning Based Shielding Effectiveness Extraction For Board Level Shielding Cans, Harsh Shrivastav

Masters Theses

"The conventional definition of shielding effectiveness is well suited for calculating electromagnetic shielding in the far-field. However, in the near field, shielding effectiveness calculation is not so straight forward. In radio frequency interference problems, most of the field coupling occurs in near field. Having a well-defined method to calculate near-field shielding effectiveness is important for estimating the suppression of radio frequency interference using the shield cans. In this research, a method to extract the shielding effectiveness of board level shielding cans using near field scanning is developed. Shielding effectiveness is defined by modelling the shielded noise source as equivalent dipole …

Unmanned Aerial And Traversing Vehicle -- A Mobile Platform For Bridge Inspections, Clayton A. Fritsche

Masters Theses

“Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have been rapidly growing in popularity since their creation. This study aimed to create a robotic platform used to assist in the inspection process of the nation’s aging and deteriorating bridges. To this end, a multimodal inspection robot that utilized both flying and driving technologies, was designed, analyzed, and tested for aerial, traversing, and their transitional operability. The design, herein referred to as the “BridgeBot”, was evaluated both computationally and experimentally. A finite element model of the BridgeBot was established and analyzed under static loading scenarios to help determine stress distributions and …

Resonance Strengths For Kll Dielectronic Recombination Of Highly Charged Mercury Ions And Improved Empirical Z -Scaling Law, Zoltan Harman, Chintan Shah, Antonio J. Gonzalez Martinez, Ulrich D. Jentschura, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Theoretical and experimental resonance strengths for KLL dielectronic recombination (DR) into He-, Li-, Be-, and B-like mercury ions are presented, based on state-resolved DR x-ray spectra recorded at the Heidelberg electron-beam ion trap. The DR resonance strengths are experimentally extracted by normalizing them to simultaneously recorded radiative recombination signals. The results are compared to state-of-the-art atomic calculations that include relativistic electron correlation and configuration mixing effects. Combining the present data with other existing ones, we derive an improved semiempirical Z-scaling law for DR resonance strengths as a function of the atomic number, taking into account higher-order relativistic corrections, which are …

Self-Consistent Two-Gap Description Of Mgb₂ Superconductor, Hyunsoo Kim, Kyuil Cho, Makariy A. Tanatar, Valentin Taufour, Stella K. Kim, Sergey L. Bud'ko, Paul C. Canfield, Vladimir G. Kogan, Ruslan Prozorov

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

A self-consistent two-gap γ-model is used to quantitatively describe several thermodynamic properties of MgB₂ superconductor. The superconducting coupling matrix, vij, was obtained from the fitting of the superfluid density in the entire superconducting temperature range. Using this input, temperature-dependent superconducting gaps, specific heat, and upper critical fields were calculated with no adjustable parameters and compared with the experimental data as well as with the first-principles calculations. The observed agreement between fit and data shows that γ-model provides adequate quantitative description of the two-gap superconductivity in MgB₂ and may serve as a relatively simple and versatile self-consistent description of …

Melt Property Variation In Gese2-As2se3-Pbse Glass Ceramics For Infrared Gradient Refractive Index (Grin) Applications, Anupama Yadav, Andrew Buff, Myungkoo Kang, Laura Sisken, Charmayne Smith (Lonergan), Jason Lonergan, Cesar Blanco, Michael Antia, Megan Driggers, Andrew Kirk, Clara Rivero-Baleine, Theresa Mayer, Andrew Swisher, Alexej Pogrebnyakov, A. R. Hilton, Greg Whaley

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Melt size-dependent physical property variation is examined in a multicomponent GeSe₂-As₂Se₃-PbSe chalcogenide glass developed for gradient refractive index applications. The impact of melting conditions on small (40 g) prototype laboratory-scale melts extended to commercially relevant melt sizes (1.325 kg) have been studied and the role of thermal history variation on physical and optical property evolution in parent glass, the glass' crystallization behavior and post heat-treated glass ceramics, is quantified. As-melted glass morphology, optical homogeneity and heat treatment-induced microstructure following a fixed, two-step nucleation and growth protocol exhibit marked variation with melt size. These attributes …

Column Flotation Performance Prediction: Pca, Ann And Image Analysis-Based Approaches, Fardis Nakhaei, Mehdi Irannajad, Sima Mohammadnejad

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The flotation froth surface appearance includes remarkable information, which can be employed as a helpful index for the qualitative evaluation of the process efficiency. Image analysis is a practical technology for the sake of achieving process related information that can be employed in expert controllers in order to amend flotation performance. In this paper, the intelligent modelling of relationship between froth characteristics and the metallurgical performance in a pilot column flotation of iron ore was established. Column flotation tests were carried out at a wide range of operating conditions and the froth features along with the metallurgical performances were specified …

English 3302 -- The History And Structure Of The English Language, Sp 2019, Eric Shane Bryan

Resources

I summarize the outcomes of my Spring of 2019 implementation of the zero-cost textbook option for English 3302 course as very successful while also noting certain areas in which improvement may be made in future iterations of the course. This report will proceed in three parts: I) an overview of the process by which I developed the materials for this course, II) discussion of outcomes for the methods of assessments (per my A&OER grant proposal), and III) a discussion of challenges that occurred during the semester and plans for improving course materials in the future.

Final A&Oer Report: Psych 6700 Training And Development, Taught In Spring 2019, Nathan W. Weidner

Resources

No abstract provided.

Reprocessing And Comparison Of The 2 Hz And 10 Hz Vertical Component Seismic Data Of The Blackfoot 3c-2d Survey, Mete Sarikaya

Masters Theses

"The Blackfoot seismic 3C-2D data were obtained from the Consortium for Research in Elastic Wave Exploration Seismology (CREWES) Project in 1995. The seismic data acquisition was performed in the Blackfoot Field, which is around 15 km southeast of Strathmore, Alberta. The 4 Hz and 10 Hz vertical component data are reprocessed to increase the quality and resolution of the seismic images. The Glauconitic sand reservoir at approximately 1.1 s, and a strong reflection about at 1.5 s are the focuses of the study.

The processing procedure includes different parameters and methods to obtain the best seismic sections of 2 Hz …