Digital Commons Network^™

A Versatile Carbon Nanotube-Based Scalable Approach For Improving Interfaces In Li-Ion Battery Electrodes, Lakshman K. Ventrapragada, Jingyi Zhu, Stephen E. Creager, Apparao M. Rao, Ramakrishna Podila

Publications

Resistive interfaces within the electrodes limit the energy and power densities of a battery, for example, a Li-ion battery (LIB). Typically, active materials are mixed with conductive additives in organic solvents to form a slurry, which is then coated on current collectors (e.g., bare or carbon-coated Al foils) to reduce the inherent resistance of the active material. Although many approaches using nanomaterials to either replace Al foils or improve conductivity within the active materials have been previously demonstrated, the resistance at the current collector active material interface (CCAMI), a key factor for enhancing the energy and power densities, remains unaddressed. …

A Review To Weigh The Pros And Cons Of Online, Remote, And Distance Science Laboratory Experiences, Emily Faulconer, Amy B. Gruss

Publications

The effectiveness of traditional face to face labs versus non-traditional online, remote, or distance labs is difficult to assess due to the lack of continuity in the literature between terminology, standard evaluation metrics, and the use of a wide variety non-traditional laboratory experience for online courses. This narrative review presents a representative view of the existing literature in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of non-traditional laboratories and to highlight the areas of opportunity for research. Non-traditional labs are increasingly utilized in higher education. The research indicates that these non-traditional approaches to a science laboratory experience are as effective …

Updated Guidelines, Updated Curriculum: The Gaise College Report And Introductory Statistics For The Modern Student, Beverly Wood, Megan Mocko, Michelle Everson, Nicholas J. Horton, Paul Velleman

Publications

Since the 2005 American Statistical Association's (ASA) endorsement of the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report, changes in the statistics field and statistics education have had a major impact on the teaching and learning of statistics. We now live in a world where "Statistics - the science of learning from data - is the fastest-growing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduate degree in the United States," according to the ASA, and where many jobs demand an understanding of how to explore and make sense of data. In light of these new reports and other …

Information Literacy And Mathematics Education Students: A Case Study In Library Instruction, M. H. Albro, K. Megan Sheffield, Anne Grant, Renna Tuten Redd

Publications

Prior to 2016 library instruction for mathematics courses was nonexistent at Shippensburg University. The hiring of the STEM librarian in August 2016 led to an initiative to engage the mathematics faculty and students in using resources and services offered by the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library. This outreach resulted in two sessions of the Fundamentals of Mathematics course coming into the library for instruction in the fall semester. These first sessions found that detailed instruction in how to search and identify articles related to key concepts from the desired journal type was particularly useful to the students; however, these sessions also …

An Asymptotic Analysis For Generation Of Unsteady Surface Waves On Deep Water By Turbulence, Shahrdad Sajjadi

Publications

The detailed mathematical study of the recent paper by Sajjadi, Hunt and Drullion (2014) is presented. The mathematical developement considered by them, for unsteady growing monochromatic waves is also extended to Stokes waves. The present contribution also demonstrates agreement with the pioneering work of Belcher and Hunt (1993) which is valid in the limit of the complex part of the wave phase speed c_i ↓ 0. It is further shown that the energy-transfer parameter and the surface shear stress for a Stokes wave reverts to a monochromatic wave when the second harmonic is excluded. Furthermore, the present theory can …

Stability Of Solitary And Cnoidal Traveling Wave Solutions For A Fifth Order Korteweg-De Vries Equation, Ronald Adams, S.C. Mancas

Publications

We establish the nonlinear stability of solitary waves (solitons) and periodic traveling wave solutions (cnoidal waves) for a Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation which includes a fifth order dispersive term. The traveling wave solutions which yield solitons for zero boundary conditions and wave-trains of cnoidal waves for nonzero boundary conditions are analyzed using stability theorems, which rely on the positivity properties of the Fourier transforms. We show that all families of solutions considered here are (orbitally) stable.

Fatigue Life Of Pitch- And Stall-Regulated Composite Tidal Turbine Blades, Ciaran R. Kennedy, Vesna Jaksic, Sean B. Leen, Conchúr M. Ó Brádaigh

Publications

Tidal turbine blades are subject to harsh loading and environmental conditions, including large thrust and torsional loadings, relative to wind turbine blades, due to the high density of seawater, among other factors. The complex combination of these loadings, as well as water ingress and associated composite laminate saturation, have significant implications for blade design, affecting overall device design, stability, scalability, energy production and cost-effectiveness. This study investigates the effect of seawater ingress on composite material properties, and the associated design and life expectancy of tidal turbine blades in operating conditions. The fatigue properties of dry and water-saturated glass fibre reinforced …

Numerical Simulation Of Energy Localization In Dynamic Materials, Arkadi Berezovski, Mihhail Berezovski

Publications

Dynamic materials are artificially constructed in such a way that they may vary their characteristic properties in space or in time, or both, by an appropriate arrangement or control. These controlled changes in time can be provided by the application of an external (non-mechanical) field, or through a phase transition. In principle, all materials change their properties with time, but very slowly and smoothly. Changes in properties of dynamic materials should be realized in a short or quasi-nil time lapse and over a sufficiently large material region. Wave propagation is a characteristic feature for dynamic materials because it is also …

Gw170817: Implications For The Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background From Compact Binary Coalescences, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, E. M. Gretarsson, B. Hughey, M. Muratore, J. W. W. Pratt, S. G. Schwalbe, K. Staats, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

The LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations have announced the event GW170817, the first detection of gravitational waves from the coalescence of two neutron stars. The merger rate of binary neutron stars estimated from this event suggests that distant, unresolvable binary neutron stars create a significant astrophysical stochastic gravitational-wave background. The binary neutron star component will add to the contribution from binary black holes, increasing the amplitude of the total astrophysical background relative to previous expectations. In the Advanced LIGO-Virgo frequency band most sensitive to stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), we predict a total astrophysical background with amplitude ΩGW(f=25  Hz)=1.8+2.7−1.3×10−9 with …

Aerodynamic Analysis Of Low Speed Wing Design Using Taguchi L9 Orthogonal Array, Kenneth Witcher, Ian Mcandrew, Elena Vishnevskaya

Publications

The study of aerodynamics has been preoccupied with understanding flight at increasing speeds and ultimately supersonic. Today, this pursuit has advanced the science for both Hypersonic and Transonic flight to near Mach 1 supporting economical commercial flight operations. This research presents the data from a Taguchi array on low speed with twin wing designs to establish the design parameters for their use in low speed and high altitude. Also presented is how aerodynamic advantages can be achieved through understanding the interactions of parameters and their use. This is compared to operational effectiveness when applied to remotely piloted aircraft that are …

Precise Ages Of Field Stars From White Dwarf Companions, M. Fouesneau, H-W. Rix, T. Von Hippel, D. W. Hogg, H. Tian

Publications

Observational tests of stellar and Galactic chemical evolution call for the joint knowledge of a star’s physical parameters, detailed element abundances, and precise age. For cool main-sequence (MS) stars the abundances of many elements can be measured from spectroscopy, but ages are very hard to determine. The situation is different if the MS star has a white dwarf (WD) companion and a known distance, as the age of such a binary system can then be determined precisely from the photometric properties of the cooling WD. As a pilot study for obtaining precise age determinations of field MS stars, we identify …

Adjunct Faculty Training, Mentoring And Evaluation At The Department Level, John Griffith

Publications

Improve the learning experience for students by improving performance of adjunct faculty. Learn the strategies and tools used by an award-winning university to support adjunct faculty.

All-Sky Search For Long-Duration Gravitational Wave Transients In The First Advanced Ligo Observing Run, B. P. Abbott, K. Gill, B. Hughey, J. W. W. Pratt, E. Rhoades, E. Schmidt, S. G. Schwalbe, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in the data of the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston second generation detectors between and , with a total observational time of . The search targets gravitational wave transients of 10–500 s duration in a frequency band of 24–2048 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. No significant events were observed. As a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. We also show that the …

Effects Of Data Quality Vetoes On A Search For Compact Binary Coalescences In Advanced Ligo's First Observing Run, B. P. Abbott, K. Gill, B. Hughey, J. Pratt, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

The first observing run of Advanced LIGO spanned 4 months, from 12 September 2015 to 19 January 2016, during which gravitational waves were directly detected from two binary black hole systems, namely GW150914 and GW151226. Confident detection of gravitational waves requires an understanding of instrumental transients and artifacts that can reduce the sensitivity of a search. Studies of the quality of the detector data yield insights into the cause of instrumental artifacts and data quality vetoes specific to a search are produced to mitigate the effects of problematic data. In this paper, the systematic removal of noisy data from analysis …

Estimating Discharge In Low-Order Rivers With High-Resolution Aerial Imagery, Tyler V. King, Bethany T. Neilson, Mitchell T. Rasmussen

Publications

Remote sensing of river discharge promises to augment in situ gauging stations, but the majority of research in this field focuses on large rivers (>50 m wide). We present a method for estimating volumetric river discharge in low-order (wide) rivers from remotely sensed data by coupling high-resolution imagery with one-dimensional hydraulic modeling at so-called virtual gauging stations. These locations were identified as locations where the river contracted under low flows, exposing a substantial portion of the river bed. Topography of the exposed river bed was photogrammetrically extracted from high-resolution aerial imagery while the geometry of the remaining inundated portion …

Metallic Mxenes: A New Family Of Materials For Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerators, Yongchang Dong, Sai Sunil Kumar Mallineni, Kathleen Maleski, Herbert Behlow, Vadym N. Mochalin, Apparao M. Rao, Yury Gogosti, Ramakrishna Podila

Publications

Wearable and flexible electronics warrant the development of self-powered devices to circumvent the limitations imposed by traditional energy storage devices. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) that convert waste mechanical energy from human motion into electric power offer a solution. Highly electronegative and conducting TENG materials that support the generation of both large potential differences and high currents are imperative for effectively harvesting electric power from human muscle movements. Here, we demonstrate that two-dimensional MXenes (e.g., titanium carbide Ti3C2Tx, where Tx stands for surface functional groups such as -O, -OH, and -F) are a family of electrically conducting materials that are triboelectrically more …

A Mean-Risk Mixed Integer Nonlinear Program For Transportation Network Protection, Jie Lu, Akshay Gupte, Yongxi Huang

Publications

This paper focuses on transportation network protection to hedge against extreme events such as earthquakes. Traditional two-stage stochastic programming has been widely adopted to obtain solutions under a risk-neutral preference through the use of expectations in the recourse function. In reality, decision makers hold different risk preferences. We develop a mean-risk two-stage stochastic programming model that allows for greater flexibility in handling risk preferences when allocating limited resources. In particular, the first stage minimizes the retrofitting cost by making strategic retrofit decisions whereas the second stage minimizes the travel cost. The conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) is included as the risk measure …

Exploring Practices Of Science Coordinators Participating In Targeted Professional Development, Brooke A. Whitworth, Jennifer L. Maeng, Randy L. Bell

Publications

This study describes how district science coordinators supported teachers and implemented professional development in their districts following participation in the Science Coordinator Academy. This qualitative descriptive case study comprised three district science coordinators from three districts in a mid‐Atlantic state, as well as principals and teachers from those districts. Data sources, including observations, surveys, artifacts, and interviews, were analyzed using the framework method (Gale, Heath, Cameron, Rashid, & Redwood, 2013). District context, science coordinator background, and collaboration were salient factors that influenced coordinator practices and coordinators’ abilities to impact teacher change. We hypothesize that the development of a coaching relationship, …

Monthly Paleostreamflow Reconstruction From Annual Tree-Ring Chronologies, James H. Stagge, David E. Rosenberg, R. J. Derose, Tammy M. Rittenour

Publications

Paleoclimate reconstructions are increasingly used to characterize annual climate variability prior to the instrumental record, to improve estimates of climate extremes, and to provide a baseline for climate-change projections. To date, paleoclimate records have seen limited engineering use to estimate hydrologic risks because water systems models and managers usually require streamflow input at the monthly scale. This study explores the hypothesis that monthly streamflows can be adequately modeled by statistically decomposing annual flow reconstructions. To test this hypothesis, a multiple linear regression model for monthly streamflow reconstruction is presented that expands the set of predictors to include annual streamflow reconstructions, …

Godunov-Type Upwind Flux Schemes Of The Two-Dimensional Finite Volume Discrete Boltzmann Method, Leitao Chen, Laura Schaefer

Publications

A simple unified Godunov-type upwind approach that does not need Riemann solvers for the flux calculation is developed for the finite volume discrete Boltzmann method (FVDBM) on an unstructured cell-centered triangular mesh. With piecewise-constant (PC), piecewise-linear (PL) and piecewise-parabolic (PP) reconstructions, three Godunov-type upwind flux schemes with different orders of accuracy are subsequently derived. After developing both a semi-implicit time marching scheme tailored for the developed flux schemes, and a versatile boundary treatment that is compatible with all of the flux schemes presented in this paper, numerical tests are conducted on spatial accuracy for several single-phase flow problems. Four major …

A Comparison Of Small- And Medium-Scale Gravity Wave Interactions In The Linear And Nonlinear Limits, C. J. Heale, J. B. Snively

Publications

A 2-D numerical model is used to compare interactions between small-scale (SS) (25 km horizontal wavelength, 10 min period) and medium-scale (MS, 250 km horizontal wavelength, 90 min period) gravity waves (GWs) in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere within three different limits. First, the MS wave is specified as a static, horizontally homogeneous ambient atmospheric feature; second, a linear interaction is investigated between excited, time-dependent SS and MS waves, and third, a fully nonlinear interaction at finite amplitudes is considered. It is found that the finite-amplitude wave interactions can cause SS wave breaking aligned with the phase fronts of the …

First Search For Nontensorial Gravitational Waves From Known Pulsars, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, B. Hughey, J. W. W. Pratt, E. Schmidt, S. G. Schwalbe, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

We present results from the first directed search for nontensorial gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for tensorial (plus and cross) modes only, a generic metric theory may, in principle, predict waves with up to six different polarizations. This analysis is sensitive to continuous signals of scalar, vector, or tensor polarizations, and does not rely on any specific theory of gravity. After searching data from the first observation run of the advanced LIGO detectors for signals at twice the rotational frequency of 200 known pulsars, we find no evidence of gravitational waves of any polarization. We report the first upper …

Asymmetric Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability At Jupiter's Magnetopause Boundary: Implications For Corotation-Dominated Systems, B. Zhang, P. A. Delamere, X. Ma, B. Burkholder, M. Wiltberger, J. G. Lyon, V. G. Merkin, K. A. Sorathia

Publications

The multifluid Lyon‐Fedder‐Mobarry (MFLFM) global magnetosphere model is used to study the interactions between solar wind and rapidly rotating, internally driven Jupiter magnetosphere. The MFLFM model is the first global simulation of Jupiter magnetosphere that captures the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability (KHI) in the critically important subsolar region. Observations indicate that Kelvin‐Helmholtz vortices are found predominantly in the dusk sector. Our simulations explain that this distribution is driven by the growth of KHI modes in the prenoon and subsolar region (e.g., >10 local time) that are advected by magnetospheric flows to the dusk sector. The period of density fluctuations at the dusk …

Unexpected Occurrence Of Mesospheric Frontal Gravity Wave Events Over South Pole (90°S), Pierre-Dominique Pautet, Michael J. Taylor, J. B. Snively, Christina Solorio

Publications

Since 2010, Utah State University has operated an infrared Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole station to investigate the upper atmosphere dynamics and temperature deep within the vortex. A surprising number of “frontal” gravity wave events (86) were recorded in the mesospheric OH(3,1) band intensity and rotational temperature images (typical altitude of ~87 km) during four austral winters (2012–2015). These events are gravity waves (GWs) characterized by a sharp leading wave front followed by a quasi-monochromatic wave train that grows with time. A particular subset of frontal gravity wave events has been identified in the past (Dewan …

Computer Program, System, And Method For Observation And Communication For Mobile Settings, Mobile Applications, And Wearable Mobile Devices, Jibo He, Barbara Chaparro

Publications

A system including at least first and second wearable mobile devices and optionally one or more smartphones or other computing devices for allowing a wearable mobile device wearer, an on-site observer, and a remote observer to research and test usability of products in mobile settings, mobile applications, mobile devices, and wearable mobile devices, desktop usability settings, and other settings and devices. The devices nm a software application for generating first-person video and third-person video, transmitting the video to the other devices, marking the videos with time stamps, and allowing the remote observer to send messages and other information to the …

Unexpected Occurrence Of Mesospheric Frontal Gravity Wave Events Over The South Pole (90 Degrees S), P.-D. Pautet, M. J. Taylor, J. B. Snively, C. Solorio

Publications

Since 2010, Utah State University has operated an infrared Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole station to investigate the upper atmosphere dynamics and temperature deep within the vortex. A surprising number of “frontal” gravity wave events (86) were recorded in the mesospheric OH(3,1) band intensity and rotational temperature images (typical altitude of ~87 km) during four austral winters (2012–2015). These events are gravity waves (GWs) characterized by a sharp leading wave front followed by a quasi-monochromatic wave train that grows with time. A particular subset of frontal gravity wave events has been identified in the past (Dewan …

Unmanned Aerial Systems: Research, Development, Education & Training At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Michael P. Hickey

Publications

With technological breakthroughs in miniaturized aircraft-related components, including but not limited to communications, computer systems and sensors, state-of-the-art unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have become a reality. This fast-growing industry is anticipating and responding to a myriad of societal applications that will provide new and more cost-effective solutions that previous technologies could not, or will replace activities that involved humans in flight with associated risks.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has a long history of aviation-related research and education, and is heavily engaged in UAS activities. This document provides a summary of these activities, and is divided into two parts. The first part …

Ten Years Of The Real World Design Challenge, Robert W. Deters, Brent Terwilliger, S.C. Kleinke, Ralph K. Coppola, Jeff Coppola

Publications

Preparing students to be successful in STEM careers is important to foster continued growth in the US and the world. The Real World Design Challenge is a high school design competition focused on the area of aviation. Students work in teams to solve a real world problem using professional tools. The 2018 challenge marks the tenth anniversary of this program. The first students to compete in this competition are now in the work force. This paper describes the background of RWDC, the different challenges that have been used throughout its ten years, the current precision agriculture challenges using UAS, and …

Annual Report 2018, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership

Publications

CBEP has been collaborating for over 25 years with a multitude of partners working hard to protect Casco Bay. 2018 brought us new and exciting collaborations.

The Casco Bay Nutrient Council, convened by CBEP, met for almost two years and produced a report that laid a path forward for all partners to tackle nutrient pollution.

CBEP worked closely with the EPA to establish the Casco Bay Monitoring Network, made up of over 20 member organizations, aimed at coordinating and upgrading monitoring in the Bay. The Network is currently updating the Casco Bay Monitoring Plan.

CBEP is an active participant in …

Supporting Elementary Teachers’ Enactment Of Nature Of Science Instruction: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Jennifer L. Maeng, Randy L. Bell, Tyler St. Clair, Amanda L. Gonczi, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

This embedded mixed method study used a randomised controlled⁠ trial design to examine two cohorts of upper (grades 4–6) elementary teachers’ classroom implementation of nature of science (NOS) instruction following their participation in a statewide professional development (PD). The treatment group (n = 145) was compared to a control group (n = 90), which received no PD. The PD included a summer institute that situated explicit NOS instruction within the context of problem-based learning (PBL). Data sources included videotaped classroom observations across four time points and teacher-generated descriptions of lessons preceding and following the observed lesson including learning …