Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Sensor Based Human Activity Data Using Time Series Segmentation To Determine Sleep Duration, Yogesh Deepak Lad

Masters Theses

"Sleep is the most important thing to rest our brain and body. A lack of sleep has adverse effects on overall personal health and may lead to a variety of health disorders. According to Data from the Center for disease control and prevention in the United States of America, there is a formidable increase in the number of people suffering from sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, hypersomnia and many more. Sleep disorders can be avoided by assessing an individual's activity over a period of time to determine the sleep pattern and duration. The sleep pattern and duration can be …

Evaluation Of The Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Marine Rivulariaceae., Jose Alberto Martinez Yerena

Masters Theses

Historically, the Rivulariaceae family has grouped all heteropolar, tapered and heterocitous Cyanobacteria, however recent description of multiple cyanobacterial populations with this morphotype using 16S rRNA phylogenies have reported that the populations with this morphotype are polyphyletic, and many new and old tapered and heteropolar genera (Cyanomargarita, Gloeothrichia, Rohoaltiella, etc.) have been classified and reclassified to different families than the Rivulariaceae. This is also the case of the main genera of the family (Rivularia and Calothrix), which have been repeatedly reported as polyphyletic, and whose separation to different families has been called for. In this project I carried out the evaluation …

Carbon Black Production, Analyzing And Characterization, Shadha Khalid Jebur

Masters Theses

"Carbon black (CB) plays a significant function in the development of the electrical and mechanical properties of high performance for a tough elastic polymeric substance such as rubber materials. Thus, CB is widely used to manufacture a massive number of products such as reinforcing and pigment phase in automobile tires due to its high ability to increase tire life by reducing the thermal damage. This material is also used in belts, hoses, and other non-tire rubber goods. Before use in valuable materials. CB should first be analyzed and characterized by different instruments to obtain its mechanical properties. A new thermal …

Advanced Process To Embed Optical Fiber Sensors Into Casting Mold For Smart Manufacturing, Raghavender Reddy Jakka

Masters Theses

"Optical fiber sensors embedded in metals with distributed sensing can sense temperature at multiple points with single fiber. This is useful for smart manufacturing like structural health monitoring in aerospace industry and smart molds in manufacturing plants. There is a huge difference in thermal coefficient of expansion for fiber and metal. This is the reason for the increase in sensitivity for embedded fiber sensors. However, at high temperatures, the stress on the fiber increases, eventually damaging the sensor. The fiber-metal interface determines the sensor performance. A tight interface results in high sensitivity and a gap in the interface enhances sensing …

Bifunctional Porous Polymeric Fiber As A Catalyst For N-Phenylglycine Synthesis And Carbonation Of Propylene Oxide To Propylene Carbonate, Ahmed Abdulghani Almuslem

Masters Theses

"In this study, development of a polymeric bi-functional porous catalyst that can be used in various applications such as batch, packed-bed, and continuous flow reactors and the formation of highly important chemicals that have many applications in the industry. With this material many homogenous reactions can be conducted in heterogeneous environment which is more efficient and profitable. The catalyst was formed by grafting hollow fiber with APS then immobilized with Br using 1,2-dibromoprobane (Br/APS/PAI-HFs). The formed catalyst was tested with BET and FTIR to confirm the immobilization of Br. A porous polymeric material Br/APS/PAI-HFs provides the ability for ring opining …

Fluid Flow In A Krogh Cylinder: A Model For A Single Capillary And Surrounding Tissue, Xianjie Qiu

Masters Theses

"A model describing the flow of plasma from the capillaries to the interstitial space in the extravascular tissue and back into the capillaries is constructed and solved. The flow through the tissue or the interstitial spaces is described by the Brinkman equation for porous medium, modified to account for the presence of cells considered as spheres. The flow of blood through the capillaries is considered to be that of a Newtonian fluid. The flow between capillary and tissue is coupled by the permeability of the capillary wall. The nature of flow and its magnitude was found to be highly dependent …

An Investigation Of The Economic Order Quantity Model With Quantity Discounts Under An Environmental Objective, Tiffanie Marie Toles

Masters Theses

"In a sustainable supply chain, retailers are the direct link between customers and products. Retailers play an important role by relaying feedback such as customer satisfaction, inventory improvement, or product improvement to the other key players in a supply chain. Their overall goal is to reduce supply chain costs, such as the cost of ordering product, transporting product, or holding product in inventory. Other costs associated in a supply chain can include environmental and operations costs. It is important to consider these costs due to the impact environmental operations play in the role of how sustainable a supply chain can …

Characterization Of Free-Radical Solution Polymerizations Of Acrylamide Initiated By Persulfate Initiator Systems, Yashu Chen

Masters Theses

”In order to reduce the water production and improve the oil recovery of mature reservoir, various conformance control technologies have been extensively developed. Preformed particle gel (PPG), a cost-effective plugging agent, has been successfully applied to block the high permeability zone and thus to displace the water to up-swept zone.

A common PPG based on polyacrylamide hydrogel have been wildly used. Identifying the parameters that affect gelation performance and understand how these parameters affect the performance is very useful to predict and manipulate the gelation time and to control the performance of gels.

The objective of this research is to …

Universal Wavefront Transmission Through Disordered Media, Jayson Robert Summers

Masters Theses

”When electromagnetic waves propagate through random dielectric media, they scatter in a predictable, deterministic way. The process is also fully reversible. If one sends an exiting wave backward through the same material, it will converge back to its original form and location in the same amount of time it took to originally propagate through the material. Due to this predictability, a great deal of research has went into studying these scattering processes in multimode fibers, diffusers, biological tissues, and other media. Scientists have turned random scattering material into focusing lenses, image transmitters, and highly transmitting media by controlling the impinging …

Reprocessing Of The 2 Hz P-P Data From The Blackfoot 3c-2d Survey With Special Reference To Multicomponent Seismic Processing, Onur Akturk

Masters Theses

"The 3C-2D multicomponent seismic survey was acquired in the Blackfoot Field, which is located 15 km southeast of Strathmore, Alberta. The 2 Hz vertical component data were reprocessed to better image the target reservoir, the Glauconitic sand formation at approximately 1150 ms. The zone of the major reflector at about 1550 ms was also taken into consideration to determine the better seismic section for further processing. The main characteristics of the converted wave processing, such as common conversion point (CCP), asymptotic binning, gamma ratios, receiver statics, rotation of the data, positive/negative offsets, and anisotropy, were also summarized in this study. …

Monobore Completion Design: Classification, Applications, Benefits And Limitations, Anwar Khaled Al-Fadhli

Masters Theses

"A monobore completion is a simple completion design that uses the same internal diameter from the bottom of the well to surface. This may be accomplished by cementing a string of casing in a well, or by having tubing stabbed into a polished bore receptacle on a casing liner the same size as the tubing. Monobore completions have been applied extensively in oil and gas fields around the world, both onshore and offshore, from very low reservoir flow to extremely high production rates, since the late 1980s. They have proven beneficial due to their simplicity and cost savings. This study …

Data Analysis Of Low-Salinity Waterflooding To Enhance The Oil Recovery In Sandstone Reservoirs, Nadia Ariani

Masters Theses

"The lack of a single reasonable general mechanism to describe how low-salinity waterflooding can improve oil recovery in both laboratory and field pilot projects has increased the interests of many researchers and stakeholders. There has not been observed the relationship of formation brine salinity and injected brine salinity to see how much salinity is reduced to produce the maximum enhanced oil recovery by LSWF. There is no guidance in what EOR stage the LSWF is best implemented. This work collects data from various published literature to develop a comprehensive data set regarding low-salinity waterflooding in sandstone reservoirs. The LSWF mechanisms …

New Wellbore-Integrity Classification For Gas Migration Problems And New Cement Formulations Using Graphene Nano Platelets To Prevent Gas Migration Through Cement, Mohammed Mousa M. Alkhamis

Masters Theses

"Gas migration, one of the primary problems related to the integrity of oil wells, is caused by cement failures. Gas migration can result in costly well repairs and may endanger personal, equipment, and result in severe operational difficulties and environmental issues. The ultimate objectives of this research were to provide a comprehensive review of the problem and to provide a solution to the problem using Graphene Nano Platelets (GNPs).

An intensive review was performed to understand the cement failures. The reasons behind these failures were analyzed and classified with respect to their locations in the wellbore. Recommendations and potential solutions …

A Novel Power Integrity Modeling Method Based On Plane Pair Peec, Siqi Bai

Masters Theses

"A low impedance power distribution network (PDN) is essential for high frequency integrated circuits. A novel modeling mothed, i.e. the plane pair PEEC method is proposed in this thesis to model the PDN of the multi-layered printed circuit board. The modeling results agrees favorably with full wave simulation and measurement. A PDN tool is develop based on this method"--Abstract, page iii.

Thermal Analysis And Control Of Small Satellites In Low Earth Orbit, Katelyn Elizabeth Boushon

Masters Theses

"Small satellites are becoming more popular in the space sector, primarily due to their lower cost and shorter development time. Much of the information available about satellite thermal analysis and control refers to larger spacecraft. Sorting through this information to find the practices specifically applicable for small satellites can be a daunting task, particularly for inexperienced engineers. This thesis study is intended to inform the reader about basic thermal control and analysis methods that relate specifically to small satellites in low Earth orbit. A case study involving a satellite designed by the Missouri University of Science and Technology Satellite Research …

An Integrated Method For Understanding The Fluid Flow Behavior And Forecasting Well Deliverability In Gas Condensate Reservoirs With Water Aquifer Drive, Abdulaziz Mustafa Em. Ellafi

Masters Theses

"Gas condensate reservoirs constitute a significant portion of global hydrocarbon reserves. In these reservoirs, as bottomhole pressure falls below the dew point, liquid develops in the pore space. This results in the formation of a liquid bank near the wellbore region that decreases gas mobility, which then reduces gas inflow. Some gas condensate reservoirs have bottom aquifer drive, which also negatively impacts gas production. This research used a field case study to demonstrate an integrated workflow for forecasting well deliverability in a gas condensate field in Libya. The workflow began with the interpretation of open-hole log data to identify the …

Computational Intelligence Methods For Predicting Fetal Outcomes From Heart Rate Patterns, Vinayaka Nagendra Harikishan Gude Divya Sampath

Masters Theses

"In this thesis, methods for evaluating the fetal state are compared to make predictions based on Cardiotocography (CTG) data. The first part of this research is the development of an algorithm to extract features from the CTG data. A feature extraction algorithm is presented that is capable of extracting most of the features in the SISPORTO software package as well as late and variable decelerations. The resulting features are used for classification based on both U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) categories and umbilical cord pH data. The first experiment uses the features to classify the results into three different …

Effect Of Variation Of Parameters On Biogas Production Using Aspen Plus & Dynamic Simulation Using Mimic, Shruti Shrikant Karambelkar

Masters Theses

"Design and management for Biogas production have gained significance in growing dependency on Renewable energy resources. This would need a detailed information on steady state and dynamic behavior of systems. In order to make this process environmentally ecofriendly, its needs a lot of improvisation on process simulation. Anaerobic digestion helps treat this inefficient water to be converted into water fit for effluent purposes.

Byproducts contain consists of organic, inorganic and wastes which lead to a high COD content and thus, cannot be discarded into the outlets. The anaerobic digestion process. A study of these effects with simulation need to be …

Models For High Dimensional Spatially Correlated Risks And Application To Thunderstorm Loss Data In Texas, Tobias Merk

Masters Theses

"Insurance claims caused by natural disasters exhibit spatial dependence with the strength of dependence being based on factors such as physical distance and population density, to name a few. Accounting for spatial dependence is therefore of crucial importance when modeling these types of claims. In this work, we present an approach to assess spatially dependent insurance risks using a combination of linear regression and factor copula models. Specifically, in loss modeling, observed dependence patterns are highly nonlinear, thus copula-based models seem appropriate since they can handle both linear and nonlinear dependence. The factor copula approach for estimating the spatial dependence …

Characterization Of Ionic Liquid Monopropellants For A Multi-Mode Propulsion System, Alex J. Mundahl

Masters Theses

"Multi-mode micropropulsion is a potential game-changing technology enabling rapidly composable small satellites with unprecedented mission flexibility. Maximum mission flexibility requires one shared propellant between the chemical and electric systems. A deep eutectic 1:2 molar ratio mixture of choline-nitrate and glycerol ([Cho][NO₃] - glycerol) is investigated as a fuel component in a binary mixture propellant for such a multi-mode micropropulsion. Specifically, binary mixtures of the novel ionic liquid fuel with hydroxyl-ammonium nitrate (HAN) and ammonium nitrate (AN) are considered and compared against the previously investigated propellant [Emim][EtSO₄]-HAN. Chemical rocket performance simulations predict this new propellant to have …

Cellulose And Sulfate Degradation In A Biochemical Reactor During Treatment Of Mine Drainage, Sweta Ojha

Masters Theses

"Seventy-two biochemical reactors were set up, and operated using a mixture of chip-bark, horse manure, and gravel as the biochemical treatment substrate. The simulated mine water containing sulfate (1000 mg/l) was pumped into each reactor at a flow rate of 0.5 ml/minute (approximate), giving an empty bed contact time of 8 days. The main idea is that the microorganisms present in horse manure would convert the cellulose in chip-bark into volatile fatty acids. The produced volatile fatty acid would enhance the metabolism of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) initially present in horse manure, which would degrade (and eventually remove) the sulfate from …

Controlling Phase Fractions Of 304l-Ss In Selective Laser Melting Using Cooling Rate, Eberechukwu Anthony Okoro

Masters Theses

"This study examines the thermal profile and the ferrite-austenite phase fractions upon heating and cooling of 304- stainless steel powder via Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Experiments were performed to validate the ABAQUS finite element model, while the phase transformation simulation was performed using MatCalc and ThermoCalc. A correlation between the thermo-mechanical changes in ABAQUS and the microstructural changes from MatCalc was obtained by matching their cooling rates. The result indicates that cooling rate has a significant effect on the phase fractions of FCC and BCC formed in 304L stainless steel via the SLM process. The results also indicate that for …

Cyber-Physical Security Of An Electric Microgrid, Prashanth Palaniswamy

Masters Theses

"Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) are physical systems that are controlled or monitored by computer-based systems. CPSs are a combination of computation, networking, and physical processes. As CPSs are a combination of various diverse components, they are vulnerable to several security threats. Moreover, there are many different security domains (not just high/low, nor necessarily hierarchical). This paper utilizes previously developed multiple security domain nondeducibility (MSDND) to uncover potential integrity vulnerabilities in an electric microgrid. Invariants are manually generated using the insights obtained through MSDND analysis and use linear regression to automate the generation of invariants. The vulnerabilities are then mitigated, to the …

Generalized Adaptive Variable Bit Truncation Model For Approximate Stochastic Computing, Keerthana Pamidimukkala

Masters Theses

"Stochastic computing as a computing paradigm is currently undergoing revival as the advancements in technology make it applicable especially in the wake of the need for higher computing power for emerging applications. Recent research in stochastic computing exploits the benefits of approximate computing, called Approximate Stochastic Computing (ASC), which further reduces the operational overhead in implementing stochastic circuits. A mathematical model is proposed to analyze the efficiency and error involved in ASC. Using this mathematical model, a new generalized adaptive method improving on ASC is proposed in the current thesis. The proposed method has been discussed with two possible implementation …

An Approach For Formal Analysis Of The Security Of A Water Treatment Testbed, Sai Sidharth Patlolla

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on securing critical infrastructures such as chemical plants, manufacturing units, and power generating plants against attacks that disrupt the information flow from one component to another. Such systems are controlled by an Industrial Control System (ICS) that includes controllers communicating with each other, and with physical sensors and actuators, using a communications network.

Traditional security models partition the security universe into two worlds, secure and insecure, but in the real world the partitions often overlap and information is leaked even through the physical observation which makes it much harder to analyze a Cyber physical system (CPS). To …

Fuel Burnup Simulation And Analysis Of The Missouri S&T Reactor, Joshua Hinkle Rhodes

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this work is to simulate the fuel burnup of the Missouri S&T Reactor. This work was accomplished using the Monte Carlo software MCNP. The primary core configurations of MSTR were modeled and the power history was used to determine the input parameters for the burnup simulation. These simulations were run to determine the burnup for each fuel element used in the core of MSTR.

With these simulations, the new predicted isotopic compositions were added into the model. New core configurations were determined, and the burnup corrected model was used to predict the excess reactivity and control rod …

Investigation Of The Information Provided By Light Touch For Balance Improvement In Humans, Anirudh Saini

Masters Theses

"This study investigates the information provided by Light Touch (LT) in improving human postural stability without mechanical assistance. Light Touch, an interaction force with a magnitude about 1 N, is known to improve postural stability in humans during quiet standing. However, the nature of the information from LT that helped improve balance is yet unknown. In this work, we hypothesized that LT provides information about one's body kinematics. We used a haptic robot to provide modulated, measurable light interaction force on the high back haptic location of humans to provide body kinematics-dependent information through LT. Standing balance experiments were performed …

Numerical Simulation Study Of Factors Affecting Production Well Gel Treatment Using Linear Models With Crossflow, Kewei Shi

Masters Theses

"Conformance control is an inevitable topic related to water-flooding. Polymer gel has been proved to enhance oil recovery by blocking the existing water-breakthrough channels. Water that is injected subsequently will be directed to the unswept portion of the reservoir, replacing part of the remaining oil and increasing the oil-recovery factor. Prior to pilot tests of polymer gel treatment, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations are used to design the tests. Understanding physical meanings of key parameters that affect polymer gel treatment and relating the parameters from lab data and the simulator benefit field operation design.

This thesis study tries to evaluate …

Cellular Hitchhiking Via Injectable Microparticles, Daniel Smith

Masters Theses

"Tissue engineering is a process of developing new tissues in a host. Tissue engineering draws upon revitalizing damaged tissues that otherwise would not heal completely from the body's natural response. To augment the body's natural response to impairment, cells can be transplanted to the afflicted area to boost the healing response. Implementing these cells onto scaffolds and transplanting them into the body improves the healing response dramatically. Tissue regeneration improves when a biodegradable scaffold is used in conjunction with cells to augment the body's healing response. Microparticles provide a surface that can mimic the environment cells perceive in vivo, …

Proppant Transport With Varying Injection Points And Its Impact On Proppant Development Inside A Fracture, Shail Janakbhai Soni

Masters Theses

"This study presents experimental work which examines the effect of perforation placement and density on proppant placement within a hydraulic fracture. The study also investigates the effect of proppant angularity.

Experiments were conducted with ceramic proppant injected in a fracture slot model consisting of three injection points at the bottom, middle and top of the fracture slot, and two outlets, at the bottom and top of the fracture model. The effect of single point injection height was investigated by injecting solely at the bottom, middle or top of the apparatus, for both bottom and top outlet conditions. Multiple injection points …