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Dual Mode Sensing With Low-Profile Piezoelectric Thin Wafer Sensors For Steel Bridge Crack Detection And Diagnosis, Lingyu Yu, Sepandarmaz Momeni, Valery Godinez, Victor Giurgiutiu, Paul Ziehl, Jianguo Yu

Faculty Publications

Monitoring of fatigue cracking in steel bridges is of high interest to many bridge owners and agencies. Due to the variety of deterioration sources and locations of bridge defects, there is currently no single method that can detect and address the potential sources globally. In this paper, we presented a dual mode sensing methodology integrating acoustic emission and ultrasonic wave inspection based on the use of low-profile piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS). After introducing the research background and piezoelectric sensing principles, PWAS crack detection in passive acoustic emission mode is first presented. Their acoustic emission detection capability has been validated …

Affirmative Action Plan 2012, Office Of Equal Opportunity, Ethics, & Access

Affirmative Action Plans

Illinois State University Affirmative Action Plan

China's Political Game Face, Fendy Yang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Foreigners have long been curious about the country that so fiercely safeguards the privacy of its internal affairs, but China’s historical reputation for manifesting an aloof and uninterested attitude towards others has left many outside scholars little choice but to study and examine the country from an external perspective. However, given the continuing controversy and speculation surrounding China’s rise over the past few decades, it is imperative for scholars in this field to become more well-versed in the foundations of China’s social and cultural traditions, to reorient their theoretical approaches to reflect a more relevant perspective in their studies. Of …

Dynamic Deformation And Mechanical Properties Of Brain Tissue, Yuan Feng

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Traumatic brain injury is an important medical problem affecting millions of people. Mathematical models of brain biomechanics are being developed to simulate the mechanics of brain injury and to design protective devices. However, because of a lack of quantitative data on brain-skull boundary conditions and deformations, the predictions of mathematical models remain uncertain. The objectives of this dissertation are to develop methods and obtain experimental data that will be used to parameterize and validate models of traumatic brain injury. To that end, this dissertation first addresses the brain-skull boundary conditions by measuring human brain motion using tagged magnetic resonance imaging. …

Aerosol Processes Enabling Solar Energy Applications, Woo Jin An

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Development of alternative energy sources is essential to satisfy future energy demands. While remaining fossil fuel resources may substantially meet these demands, anthropogenic carbon dioxide: CO₂) emissions from combustion processes will continue accumulating in the atmosphere and thus exacerbate climate change. There are a variety of carbon-free energy sources, including hydroelectricity, tidal energy, wind energy, biomass, and solar energy. Among those, solar energy would allow for a natural resolution to global energy problems if harvested effectively and used efficiently. Although solar energy can produce clean power in a renewable and sustainable manner, its expensive unit cost, which is …

Key Elements Of Poverty Influencing Language Development And Academic Achievement, Joanna L. Eggert

Honors Program Theses

This paper investigates central issues surrounding poverty and how it influences a child's language development and academic achievement. It examines the differences in amounts of language input in the home environments of children from varying socioeconomic statuses and how this shapes their language acquisition. The research also explores the exposure to prenatal teratogens in addition to environmental toxins associated with poverty that may play a role in disparities in development, such as lead exposure. Furthermore, the issue of unequal healthcare and educational access between individuals of differing income levels is addressed. Ultimately, the purpose of this research is to call …

Cursed: An Experiment In Gender Roles In Video Game Concept Art, Gillian Renk

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this project was to create a game concept, in the form of an art book, that featured characters who play somewhat nontraditional, reversed roles as an experiment in gender equality in video games. This was mainly done with a slant toward women, as women are becoming a larger part of the gaming community and, as such, may seek games that are more aligned with their own interests. Character designs were done with the individuals' roles in mind as well as how their appearances would make the player sympathetic toward them. For instance, as explained in an article …

The Grass Is Always Greener: Keystone Xl, Transboundary Harms, And Guidelines For Cooperative Environmental-Impact Assessment, Wyatt Sassman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

While general understanding of environmental harms has become more geographically sophisticated, environmental-impact assessment (EIA) law has lagged behind. Although nations now understand complex environmental processes and relationships that extend well beyond their borders, EIA law remains trapped in a domestic structure that is ill-prepared to assess harms outside its jurisdiction. By looking at the U.S. environmental assessment of the Keystone XL pipeline, this Note recasts the problem of transboundary environmental harms in EIA using recent, remarkable events. Key assumptions made in the Keystone XL assessment illustrate that the typical domestic structure of EIA law does not allow adequate assessment of …

Cost As A Sentencing Factor: Missouri's Experiment, Chad W. Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

In sentencing offenders, should judges take into account the different costs of possible punishments? In 2010, Missouri gave sentencing judges, in addition to information about the nature and severity of the offense and the criminal history of the offender, the price tag of various punishments: prison cost about $17,000 a year, compared to probation, which is much cheaper (about $7000 per year). Judges were allowed, even encouraged, to base their sentences on how much it each sentence would cost the state. The move was a subject of considerable national and local controversy.

This essay represents the first sustained look at …

The Mark Of A Resold Good, Yvette Joy Liebesman, Benjamin Wilson

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the past ten years, the Internet has revolutionized the resale market ― casual resellers have migrated from garage sales, swap meets, and classified ads, to eBay and Craigslist, turning hobbies into lucrative businesses. This has affected the sales of new goods and troubled manufacturers, who seek to curtail the growth of this secondary market.

Most of these on-line resales should be protected by the first-sale doctrine, a well-known defense to infringement claims that applies across patent, copyright, and trademark law. Simply stated, once a manufacturer sells a product, it may not interfere with secondary sales of that product. Yet …

The Bosnian War And The New Great Game: A Case Study In Strategy And Diplomacy, Sarah Maurizi

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Orders Of Magnitude Enhancement Of Optical Nonlinear Phenomena In Subwavelength Metal-Dielectric Gratings, Daniel Ironside

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Nonlinear optical materials give rise to a multitude of phenomena that have important applications in technology and science. Due to small nonlinearities in naturally occurring materials, large optical fields are necessary to realize measurable nonlinear phenomena. The necessity of high intensity sources severely limits its use in practical applications, especially in low-powered devices. Several methods for enhancement of nonlinearity have been proposed, including use of conjugate polymers, resonators, and metallic nanoparticles. In this thesis, the nonlinear enhancement properties of subwavelength metal-dielectric gratings are explored. Enhancement in nonlinearity by several orders of magnitude is achieved, with the enhancement entirely controlled by …

Redox Reactions Influencing Lead Concentrations In Drinking Water: Formation And Dissolution Of Lead(Iv) Oxide And Impact Of Galvanic Corrosion, Yin Wang

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Two approaches have been used to mitigate lead release to drinking water are optimizing water chemistry to form stable lead corrosion products and replacing lead service lines with lead-free materials. The present study investigated the effects of water chemistry on the formation and dissolution of the lead corrosion product lead(IV) oxide: PbO2). The impact of galvanic corrosion on lead release following simulated partial lead service line replacements: PLSLRs) was also determined.

The extent and identity of PbO2 formation was determined as a function of pH, the presence of dissolved inorganic carbon: DIC), and free chlorine concentrations with different lead(II) starting …

Stock Return Anomalies, Industry Risk And Capital Structure, Engin Kose

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My dissertation studies several topics related to the anomalous behavior of stock returns in the time series and cross section. It includes three parts. The first part investigates the relation between leverage and stock returns. First, we provide the first empirical evidence that this relation is masked by maturity: stocks with higher short-maturity debt earn significantly higher returns, but stocks with higher long-maturity debt earn lower returns. The opposite directions separated by maturity help explain why the relation between leverage and returns has been mixed. We further show that the positive short-maturity return spread is significant, persistent, and not explained …

Using Google Earth To Track Carnegie Steel From U.S. History, Tim Curnutte

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand that Carnegie Steel owned all facets of steel production and transportation, effectively cutting out the middle men, thus maximizing corporate profits.

Women War Correspondents And The Battles They Overcame To Succeed, Angela Ness

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

Women war correspondents have overcome gender bias to be able to perform the same work as men in their field. This thesis looks at the history of women war correspondents starting with Margaret Bourke-White during World War II through Christine Amanpour in the 2003 Iraqi War. Through tension with the military over censure and editors for rights to work, these women's work has withstood scrutiny over the years.

Proceedings Of The 124th Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2012], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Contents --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
EPIC-AIMS Reception --- 7
General Session I --- 8
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 9
Necrology --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Chairs and Vice Chairs for 2011-2012 --- 10
Symposium A --- 11
Symposium B --- 12
Symposium C --- 13
Speaker Biographies --- 14-17
Senior Poster Session Program --- 18-19
Social Hour --- 20
President's Banquet --- 20
General Session II --- 21
General Session III --- 22 …

The Status Of Statewide Subscription Databases, Karla Steege Krueger

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

This qualitative content analysis presents subscription databases available to school libraries through statewide purchases. The results may help school librarians evaluate grade and subject-area coverage, make comparisons to recommended databases, and note potential suggestions for their states to include in future contracts or for local purchase. All states had similar periodicals‘ indexing vendors; therefore, this study‘s focus was online subject reference databases. Results portrayed seventy-nine unique databases across thirty-three states analyzed. Most states studied (81 percent) had a wide variety of online reference subject content; twenty states (61 percent) included one or more general reference databases; seven states with no …

Iowa Academy Of Science 124th Annual Meeting [2012]: Advance Program, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2012 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.

Reconsidering The U.S. Patent System: Lessons From Generics, Molly F.M. Chen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Scholars and pharmaceutical industry representatives consider the United States a worldwide leader in pharmaceutical innovation. However, the recent expansion of the international generics market has threatened the strength of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The pressure has led to the U.S. market's overreliance on a patentability standard that blocks generics competition without contributing substantially to the state of the art. This Note contrasts the U.S. nonobviousness standard and patent linkage regime with those of generics giants India and Israel and considers the effects of these policies on the relevant national and international generics industries. This Note proposes that the United States …

Cooperation As A Service In Vanet: Implementation And Simulation Results, Hajar Mousannif, Ismail Khalil, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The past decade has witnessed the emergence of Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANET), specializing from the well-known Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) to Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) wireless communications. While the original motivation for Vehicular Networks was to promote traffic safety, recently it has become increasingly obvious that Vehicular Networks open new vistas for Internet access, providing weather or road condition, parking availability, distributed gaming, and advertisement. In previous papers [27,28], we introduced Cooperation as a Service (CaaS); a new service-oriented solution which enables improved and new services for the road users and an optimized use of the road network …

An Addendum To Cox And Posner: A Visa To 'Snitch', Eleanor Marie Brown

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Cox and Posner’s landmark contribution is the first article to have highlighted the challenges of information asymmetry in immigration screening. While Cox and Posner have undoubtedly made a significant contribution, there is a critical oversight in their framework: they do not discuss the importance of targeted ex post mechanisms of screening educational elites. This Essay is an attempt to remedy Cox and Posner’s omission. Why is this oversight so problematic? In the post-9/11 world, U.S. immigration policy currently finds itself on the horns of a dilemma. While immigrant educational elites are critical to U.S. economic growth, terrorist networks have stepped …

Law And Development As Anti-Comparative Law, Jedidiah Kroncke

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article asserts that during the twentieth century, American law has predominantly structured its relationship to foreign legal experience through a set of ideas and practices known as "law and development," which is irredeemably antithetical to the practice of comparative law. Centrally, law and development is built on the assumption that American law can be exported abroad to catalyze foreign legal development. The dismal record of such efforts has remained paradoxically popular while the field remains locked in repeating cycles of failure and optimism.

This Article demonstrates that the history of law and development's failures is far older than has …

Secular Crosses And The Neutrality Of Secularism, Marie E. Roper

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note discusses analogous themes in two religious public display cases, Lautsi v. Italy, recently decided by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and Salazar v. Buono, recently handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Broader critiques of ECHR religious jurisprudence are addressed in the context of the interpretation and application of the principle of neutrality and the argument that secularism is not a necessary postulate of this demand. It is this theme of the relationship between neutrality and secularism that is also prominent in the American discussion about the relationship between government and religion. …

Initial Swelling Mechanism Of Expansive Clays: A Molecular Dynamics Study, Lakshmikanth Srinivasamurthy

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Expansive soils are widely found in many parts of the world. Highly active smectite clay mineral Montmorillonite is the major constituent in these clays and can expand or contract up to 15 times of their original volume. Constrained swelling exert large amount of stress causing damage to structures, pavements etc. These clays are also used as barrier materials, Nano-materials in polymer clay Nano composites and drug delivery systems. Several factors influence the swelling potential such as water content, density, voids, electrolyte content and cation exchange capacity. However, molecular scale mechanisms that control swelling behavior in these clays need to be …

Functionality Of A Damaged Steel Truss Bridge Strengthened With Post-Tensioned Cfrp Tendons, Garrett Floyd Brunell

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This research program investigates the performance of a steel truss bridge when subjected to both localized web damage and a subsequent post-tensioned strengthening approach. The investigation utilizes a combined approach involving an experimental scale model bridge and a numerical computer model generated using the commercial finite element software RISA 3-D. The numerical model is validated using test data and further extended to parametric studies in order to investigate the theoretical load rating, strain energy, load redistribution, mode shapes and frequency of the bridge for control, damaged and strengthened states. The presence and severity of damage are found to significantly influence …

Alginate Encapsulated Nanoparticle-Microorganism System For Trichloroethylene Remediation, Sai Sharanya Shanbhogue

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) particles were encapsulated in calcium alginate capsules for application in environmental remediation. TCE degradation rates for encapsulated and bare NZVI were similar indicating no adverse effects of encapsulation on degradation kinetics. Microorganisms were separately encapsulated and used along with encapsulated NZVI and co-encapsulated in calcium alginate capsules. Batch experiments were performed to test the efficacy of the combined iron-Pseudomonas sp. (PpF1) system. The combined system removed 100% TCE over the first three hours of the experiment followed by 70% TCE removal post TCE re-dosing. Complete reduction of TCE was achieved by NZVI between 0-3 h and …

Safety Effectiveness And Safety-Based Volume Warrants Of Right-Turn Lanes At Unsignalized Intersections And Driveways On Two-Lane Roadways, Gom Bahadur Ale

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Disagreements regarding to what degree right-turn lanes improve or worsen the safety of intersections and driveways provided the motivation and the need for this study. The objectives of this study were to: a) carry out an in-depth study to determine the safety impacts of right-turn movements in different contexts, and b) develop safety-based volume warrants for right-turn lanes if safety indeed improves. Lack of adequate study on the applicability of past warrants and guidelines for the specific context of right-turn movements made from major uncontrolled approaches at unsignalized intersections, and particularly driveways, on two-lane roadways provided the scope for this …

Warm Mix Asphalt Processes Applicable To North Dakota, Arash Saboori

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) represents a group of technologies that allows production of asphalt mixtures at lower temperatures compared to traditional hot mix asphalt (HMA). This results in less fuel consumption and reduction in CO2 ¬and fumes emission. This research was conducted in order to provide North Dakota department of transportation (NDDOT) with a thorough study on state of the practice of WMA in USA and compare WMA performance with HMA. Extensive literature study was conducted, collecting reports and field experiment data from DOTs of states with climate similar to ND. Viewpoints of experts in the field were collected and …

Clay Fluid Interactions In Montmorillonite Swelling Clays: A Molecular Dynamics And Experimental Study, Md Zillur R. Patwary

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Swelling clays cause tremendous amounts of damage to infrastructure. For the effective prevention of detrimental effects of these clays, and to optimize the beneficial properties for industrial applications it is necessary to clearly understand the fundamental mechanisms of swelling of clays. In this study, we studied the effect of fluid polarity on swelling and flow properties of swelling clays using molecular modeling and experimental technique for bridging the molecular level phenomenon of these clays with microstructure change, particle breakdown and macro scale swelling and flow properties. A wide range of fluids (Dielectric Constant 110 to 2.4) were used, those are …