Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Professional Skills In Engineering Education: A Phenomenographic Study Of Faculty Conceptions, Una Beagon, Brian Bowe

Articles

Abstract Background Globalization and socially complex problems will greatly affect the way engineers work in the future. Therefore, efforts to transform engineering education must focus on professional skills and engagement of faculty as key change agents.

Purpose/Hypotheses For engineering programs to address the needs of society, graduates must have the skills to tackle future challenges. Transformation will only be successful if faculty fully engage in all curriculum design aspects; however, little is known about how faculty view professional skills. This understanding is critical if we wish to support and encourage their participation in the transformation effort. This novel study reveals …

Investigation Of Oleic Acid As A Dispersant For Hydroxyapatite Powders For Use In Ceramic Filled Photo-Curable Resins For Stereolithography, Brendan Kennedy, Eamonn De Barra, Stuart Hampshire, Maura Kelleher

Articles

Stereolithography allows production of porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds for bone regeneration but is limited by the challenging rheology of ceramic filled resins. Oleic acid, a natural fatty acid, was applied in concentrations of 0.0–0.3 wt% to improve the rheological properties of HAp resins for the fabrication of solid cylinders and scaffolds by digital light processing (DLP) printing in a wiperless system. Bonding by chemisorption was confirmed by FTIR analysis. The powders were then incorporated into a photo-curable resin of 1–6 hexanediol diacrylate at 18–30 vol%. The shear viscosity and sedimentation rates of photocurable resins containing HAp powder decreased with increasing concentration …

A Coupled Source Panel, Actuator Line, And Viscous Vortex Particle Method In An O(N) Scheme, Ryan Anderson, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

Wake interactions play a significant role in aerodynamics. However, common modeling approaches are either expensive or lack fidelity, making them unreliable or difficult to use in the design process. The vortex particle method can capture the relevant physics effectively, but imposing boundary conditions with solid surfaces in a computationally efficient way is challenging. We explore two possible methods of imposing solid surface boundary conditions of vortex particle simulations. The first, a novel variation on a pure particle approach, is easy to implement but is moderately expensive, and suffers from some numerical instability. The second, source panels accelerated with a fast …

Pro-Environmental Diversification Of Pasture-Based Dairy And Beef Production In Ireland, The United Kingdom And New Zealand: A Scoping Review Of Impacts And Challenges, Maria Markiewicz-Keszycka, Aileen Carter, Donal O'Brien, Maeve Henchion, Simon Mooney, Paul Hynds

Articles

Grass-fed dairy and beef products are valued by consumers for their unique nutrient profile, enhanced animal welfare and lower environmental footprint compared to conventional produce derived from animals reared indoors on higher volumes of concentrate feeds (O'Callaghan et al., Reference O'Callaghan, Vázquez-Fresno, Serra-Cayuela, Dong, Mandal, Hennessy, McAuliffe, Dillon, Wishart, Stanton and Ross2018; Moscovici Joubran et al., Reference Moscovici Joubran, Pierce, Garvey, Shalloo and O'Callaghan2021). For the current study, pasture-based production of dairy and beef is defined as a system within which cattle graze freely outdoors on green pasture for ≥6 months per year, using grazed grass as the primary feed …

Selection And Characterization Of Bacteriocinogenic Lactic Acid Bacteria From The Intestine Of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus Aurata) And Whiting Fish (Merlangius Merlangus): Promising Strains For Aquaculture Probiotic And Food Bio-Preservation, Sarah Cheriet, Sana Lenglitz, Amel Romdhani, Paul Hynds, Mohamed Salah Abbassi, Taofik Ghrairi

Articles

This study sought to evaluate the probiotic properties and the food preservation ability of lactic acid bacteria isolates collected from the intestines of wild marine fishes (gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) (n = 60) and whiting fish (Merlangius merlangus) (n = 40)) from the Mediterranean sea in the area of Mostaganem city, Algeria. Forty-two isolates were identified as: Enterococcus durans (n = 19), Enterococcus faecium (n = 15), Enterococcus faecalis (n = 4), Lactococcus lactis subp. lactis (n = 3), and Lactobacillus plantarum (n = 1). All isolates showed inhibition to at least one indicator strain, especially against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus …

Wind Energy Harvesting And Conversion Systems: A Technical Review, Sinhara M. H. D. Perera, Ghanim Putrus, Michael Conlon, Mahinsasa Narayana, Keith Sunderland

Articles

Wind energy harvesting for electricity generation has a significant role in overcoming the challenges involved with climate change and the energy resource implications involved with population growth and political unrest. Indeed, there has been significant growth in wind energy capacity worldwide with turbine capacity growing significantly over the last two decades. This confidence is echoed in the wind power market and global wind energy statistics. However, wind energy capture and utilisation has always been challenging. Appreciation of the wind as a resource makes for difficulties in modelling and the sensitivities of how the wind resource maps to energy production results …

Fostering Spatial Ability Development In And For Authentic Stem Learning, Caiwei Zhu, Chloe Oi-Ying Leung, Eleni Lagoudaki, Mariana Velho, Natalia Segura-Caballero, Dietsje Jolles, Gavin Duffy, Gunter Maresch, Marianna Pagkratidou, Remke Klapwijk

Articles

Empirical interdisciplinary research has explored the role of spatial ability in STEM learning and achievement. While most of this research indicates that fostering spatial thinking in educational contexts has the potential to positively impact students’ enrollment and performance in STEM subjects, there is less agreement on the best approach to do so. This article provides an overview of various types of effective spatial interventions and practices in formal or informal educational contexts, including targeted training of STEM-relevant spatial skills, spatialized curricula embedded in schools, integrated STEM practices addressing students’ use of spatial skills, and spatial activities in informal STEM education. …

Simulation And Analysis Of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images, Jonathan Blackledge

Books/Book chapters

The principal model for an image, generated by the interaction of an incident wave field with an inhomogeneous medium, is based on the ‘weak scattering approximation’. This approximation forms the basis for image processing, analysis and image understanding associated with applications over a broad range of frequencies. The physical limitations of such a model are typically overcome by introducing an additional stochastic field term that takes into account those effects that do not conform to the weak scattering approximation, coupled with background ‘system noise’. In this chapter, a solution to the scattering problem is presented, which is based on an …

An Experimental-Numerical Study Of Heat Transfer Enhancement In A Minichannel Using Asymmetric Pulsating Flows, Parth S. Kumavat, Sajad Alimohammad, Seamus M. O'Sullivan

Articles

The development of current and next-generation high-performance electronic devices has led to miniaturization in more densely packed spaces. The increasing power levels have resulted in ever-increasing heat flux densities which necessitates the evolution of new liquid-based heat exchange technologies. Implementation of single-phase cooling systems using pulsating flow is viewed as a potential solution to the problems involving high energy density electronics. This work involves a combined experimental and numerical analysis of pulsating flows in a rectangular mini channel undergoing asymmetric sinusoidal flow pulsation formats. The mini channel design includes a heated bottom section approximated as a constant heat flux boundary …

Auditing With Data And Analytics: External Reviewers’ Judgments Of Audit Quality And Effort, Scott A. Emett, Steven E. Kaplan, Elaine G. Mauldin, Jeffrey Pickerd

Faculty Publications

Audit firms hesitate to take full advantage of data and analytics (D&A) audit approaches because they lack certainty about how external reviewers evaluate those approaches. We propose that external reviewers use an effort heuristic when evaluating audit quality, judging less effortful audit procedures as lower quality, which could shape how external reviewers evaluate D&A audit procedures. We conduct two experiments in which experienced external reviewers evaluate one set of audit procedures (D&A or traditional) within an engagement review, while holding constant the procedures’ level of assurance. Our first experiment provides evidence that external reviewers rely on an effort heuristic when …

How Do Renewable And Non-Renewable Co-Move? Fresh Evidence From The European Energy Market Via Arji-Garch Copula Model, A Agosto, L Dalla Valle, Giuli Me De

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The global energy crisis and rising climate concerns are encouraging the transition to a more sustainable economy. Monitoring energy prices has become increasingly important for analysts, policymakers and businesses to tackle the current situation by increasing the integration of renewable energy sources, strengthening the resilience of the energy system to price shocks and reducing its dependence on fossil fuel imports, as well as improving the affordability of energy for consumers. We set up a copula-based ARJI-GARCH model to investigate the timevarying and non-linear dependence between renewable and non-renewable asset prices in the European energy market. Our results show that the …

Experimental Study Of A Floating Two-Body Wave Energy Converter, D Li, Sanjay Sharma, Alistair G.L. Borthwick, Heao Huang, Xiaochen Dong, Y Li, Hongda Shi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

A novel floating two-body wave energy converter (WEC) is tested in regular waves. The WEC consists of a streamlined conical outer buoy that surrounds an elongated inner buoy, with a hydraulic power take-off (PTO) system and an optimized mooring system. Free decay tests quantify the natural frequency characteristics of two-buoy system. A parameter study characterizes the multi-degree-of-freedom coupled motion response of the system dynamics in regular waves. It is found that the two-body system with two resonant frequencies broadens the motion frequency band and possesses stability and survivability attributes that enhance energy capture performance. By quantifying the peak energy, the …

Interconnection Schemes In Modeling And Control, Pablo Borja, Joel Ferguson, Der Schaft A Van

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Interconnection schemes are ubiquitous in physical systems. For instance, in multi-domain systems consisting of interconnected subsystems from different physical domains. Furthermore, the interconnection of two or more systems has also been exploited to analyze and control dynamical systems, especially passive ones. To this end, the most common interconnection structure is the negative feedback interconnection. However, this approach is unsuitable to directly couple the states of the subsystems in the overall system’s energy as customarily occurs in physical systems. This letter provides two interconnection approaches that overcome this issue. Notably, it is shown that these interconnection structures are suitable for decomposing …

Developing A Maritime Cyber Safety Culture: Improving Safety Of Operations, Rory Hopcraft, Kimberly Tam, Palbar Misas J Dorje, Kemedi Moara-Nkwe, Kevin Jones

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

A rise in catastrophic loss-of-life events as a result of poor safety management (e.g., the capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise and the Costa Concordia) has driven the maritime sector to improve its safety management practices. This paper will explore the vital role of the human element within safety management, and why, as part of that safety management, organizations must foster a safety culture. This development must be achieved if organizations are to make a significant step forward in preventing similar catastrophes in the future. It is important to note that the development of safety cultures is not new …

New Code-Based Cryptosystems Via The Ikkr Framework, Terry Shue Chien Lau, Fedor Ivanov, Muhammad Rezal Kamel Ariffin, Ji Jian Chin, Timothy Tzen Vun Yap

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

One main construct for code-based public key cryptosystems is the McEliece framework that hedges upon the hardness of decoding arbitrary linear codes. Based on Goppa codes, the original McEliece cryptosystem however, suffers from having very large public keys. To alleviate this problem, we define a new problem that is NP-complete and use this assumption of the intractability of the decisional problem to construct a IND-CCA2-secure code-based public key encryption scheme. We consider generalized Reed–Solomon codes in our public-key cryptosystem and show that it resists Sidelnikov and Shestakov’s key recovery attack. Our generalized Reed–Solomon code encryption scheme achieves optimal public key …

Modelling And Evaluation Of Driving Simulator For Driving Education In Malaysia, Y-Q Cheng, Sarina Mansor, J-J Chin, Md Mushfiqur Rahman, Karim H Abdul, Kw Ban

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Driving simulator has been widely used as one of driver training tools because it provides a safe environment which does not expose drivers to hazards. However, Malaysia has yet to adopt the driving simulator in the driving course. In this paper, a cost effective and modular driving simulator prototype integrated is designed and developed based on the Malaysian Ministry of Transport’s Standardised License Test. Seven modules which correspond to five practical syllabus circuit tracks and two on-the-road theories are created using a real time development tool named “Unity” and integrated with some off-the-shelf hardware namely a steering wheel, gear shifter …

Life Cycle Assessment Research Trends And Implications: A Bibliometric Analysis, Badr Moutik, John Summerscales, Jasper Graham-Jones, Richard Pemberton

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Acknowledging the importance of sustainability and implementing measures to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 represent a holistic approach to promoting peace and prosperity for the planet and its inhabitants. LCA is a valuable tool for organisations to enhance sustainability and reduce environmental impact. There has been a notable increase in LCA research subjects, indicating a recognition of its significance in promoting sustainability. The field has experienced a significant expansion in the past decade, with a 30% annual percent growth rate in LCA publications since 2010. In the most recent 4 years alone, 47% of all …

Black-Odorous Water Bodies Annual Dynamics In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation In Guangzhou City, China, Bing Liu, Haojun Xi, Tianhong Li, Alistair G.L. Borthwick

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Black-odorous water (BOW) in urban areas has brought detrimental ecological effects and posed a threat to the health of surrounding residents. Identifying BOWs in urban areas is difficult because they are usually small in area, and discontinuous in spatial distribution. The efforts to adapt to climate change in cities have a direct connection to urban environment and may affect the dynamics of BOWs, but their relationship has seldom been addressed in previous research. This research builds a new urban BOW detection model using Gaofen (GF) images and ground-level in-situ water quality data to detect the spatiotemporal dynamics of BOWs in …

Trade-Off Between Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency And Specific Nutrient-Acquiring Extracellular Enzyme Activities Under Reduced Oxygen, Ji Chen, Irene Cordero, Daryl L. Moorhead, Jennifer K. Rowntree, Loraé T. Simpson, Richard D. Bardgett, Hayley Craig

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

• Reduced oxygen increased microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2). • Reduced oxygen enhanced microbial specific C-, N- and P-acquiring enzyme activity. • Reduced oxygen increased microbial C relative to N and P limitation. • Reduced oxygen increased microbial N relative to P limitation. • Specific enzyme activity was positively related to qCO2 under reduced oxygen. Mangroves are one of the most ecologically sensitive ecosystems to global climate change, which have cascading impacts on soil carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycling. Moreover, mangroves are experiencing increasing N and P loadings and reduced oxygen availability due to intensified climate change and …

Security Implications Of A Satellite Communication Device On Wireless Networks Using Pentesting, Jordan Gurren, Avanthika Vineetha Harish, Kimberly Tam, Kevin Jones

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The notion that ships, marine vessels and off-shore structures are digitally isolated is quickly disappearing. Affordable and accessible wireless communication technologies (e.g., short-range radio, long-range satellite) are quickly removing any air-gaps these entities have. Commercial, defence, and personal ships have a wide range of communication systems to choose from, yet some can weaken the overall ship security. One of the most significant information technologies (IT) being used today is satellite-based communications. While the backbone of this technology is often secure, third-party devices may introduce vulnerabilities. Within maritime industries, the market for satellite communication devices has also grown significantly, with a …

Evaluating The Risks Of Human Factors Associated With Social Media Cybersecurity Threats, Fai Ben Salamah, Marco A. Palomino, Maria Papadaki, Matthew J. Craven, Steven Furnell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Human behaviors and attitudes play a significant role in cybersecurity. However, studies to quantify the impact of such behaviors and attitudes are scarce, and they are not always considered when developing mitigation strategies. To compensate for this, we have looked into a large sample of employees with different levels of expertise and backgrounds across a variety of industrial sectors and organizations. We have found that age and job role constitute the main human factors associated with social media cybersecurity risks. We can confirm that the youngest employees are the most risk prone within an organization, and the employees working in …

A Two-Dimensional Double Layer-Averaged Model Of Hyperconcentrated Turbidity Currents With Non-Newtonian Rheology, Yining Sun, Ji Li, Zhixian Cao, Alistair George Liam Borthwick

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Hyperconcentrated turbidity currents typically display non-Newtonian characteristics that influence sediment transport and morphological evolution in alluvial rivers. However, hydro-sediment-morphological processes involving hyperconcentrated turbidity currents are poorly understood, with little known about the effect of the non-Newtonian rheology. The current paper extends a recent two-dimensional double layer-averaged model to incorporate non-Newtonian constitutive relations. The extended model is benchmarked against experimental and numerical data for cases including subaerial mud flow, subaqueous debris flow, and reservoir turbidity currents. The computational results agree well with observations for the subaerial mud flow and independent numerical simulations of subaqueous debris flow. Differences between the non-Newtonian and …

Medical Diagnostic Value Of Digital Pcr (Dpcr): A Systematic Review, Sophia Nazir

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is an emerging technique for the absolute quantification of target nucleic acids. dPCR got attention as a precise quantification tool in preclinical research, particularly when used to detect genetic mutations and result in highly precise measurements. In dPCR, the statistic of Poisson distribution was followed for the random distribution of molecules in different partitions, which is essential for dPCR quantification. Amplified target sequences in different partitions are identified by fluorescence and each partition functions as a separate PCR microreactor. Without the need for calibration, the percentage of PCR-positive partitions is sufficient to estimate the concentration …

Biosensor For Rapid And Accurate Detection Of Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Progress And Prospects In Biosensors, Sophia Nazir, Rabail Azhar Iqbal

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The primary cause of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease (CVD), which has a considerable mortality rate. It is essential to identify cardiac biomarkers and heartbeat signals early to lower mortality. Conventional CVD examinations require costly hospital equipment for standard CVD examinations and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, both of which take time and are inconvenient. Recently, interest in developing biosensing technologies for rapid CVD marker screening has increased. As a result of advancements in nanotechnology and bioelectronics, novel biosensor platforms are being created to achieve quick detection, precise quantification, and continuous monitoring during disease progression. Research is being done on chemical, electrochemical, …

Recent Progress Of Molecular Diagnosis Via Crispr Cas-Based Biosensors And Bioassays, S. Nazir

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

The immune systems of bacteria and archaea served as the inspiration for CRISPR/Cas technology, which won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for its achievements in genetic manipulation. Because of its enormous value globally, molecular diagnostics emerged as a fresh wave of diagnostic technologies. A growing number of studies have demonstrated the compatibility of CRISPR/Cas technology with biosensors and bioassays for molecular diagnostics. As highly precise, sensitive, easily programmable, and device-independent sensors, CRISPR-based detection has received a lot of interest. One of the most precise and sensitive diagnostic techniques is nucleic acid-based detection. It has the potential for detecting other …

Investigating The Security And Accessibility Of Voyage Data Recorder Data Using A Usb Attack, Avanthika Vineetha Harish, K Tam, K Jones

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) or 'black boxes' for ships hold critical navigational and sensor data that can be used as evidence in an investigation. These systems have proven extremely useful in determining the cause of several previous shipping accidents. Considering the importance of the VDR and the increasing number of cyber-attacks in the maritime sector, the likelihood of it being attacked is high. This paper examines the security and accessibility of VDR data through a malicious USB device. A USB device is used after a series of tests, detailed in this paper, found it to be a viable way to …

Mega-Reservoir Regulation: A Comparative Study On Downstream Responses Of The Yangtze And Yellow Rivers, Xiao Wu, Yao Yue, Alistair G.L. Borthwick, Louise J. Slater, Jaia Syvitski, Naishuang Bi, Zuosheng Yang, Houjie Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Large reservoirs can considerably alter the water-sediment dynamics and morphology of alluvial rivers. Here we review the effects of two mega reservoirs operated with different regulation modes. The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) on the Yangtze River has a typical anti-seasonal regulation mode, while the Xiaolangdi Reservoir (XLDR) on the Yellow River undergoes a swift drawdown process shortly before the flood season through the Water and Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS). We examine the influence of these regulation schemes on downstream water-sediment dynamics and find that vast sedimentation occurred in both the TGR (128.4 Mt./yr) and XLDR (210.2 Mt./yr). The two rivers …

P-Sati-D Shape Regulation Of Soft Robots, Pietro Pustina, Pablo Borja, Cosimo Della Santina, Luca A De

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Soft robots are intrinsically underactuated mechanical systems that operate under uncertainties and disturbances. In these conditions, this letter proposes two versions of PID-like control laws with a saturated integral action for the particularly challenging shape regulation task. The closed-loop system is asymptotically stabilized and matched constant disturbances are rejected using a very reduced amount of system information for control implementation. Stability is assessed on the underactuated dynamic model through the Invariant Set Theorem for two relevant classes of soft robots, i.e., elastically decoupled and elastically dominated soft robots. Extensive simulation results validate the proposed controllers.

Dead-Zone Compensation Via Passivity-Based Control For A Class Of Mechanical Systems, Carmen Chan-Zheng, Pablo Borja, Jacquelien M.A. Scherpen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This manuscript introduces a passivity-based control methodology for fully-actuated mechanical systems with symmetric or asymmetric dead-zones. To this end, we find a smooth approximation of the inverse of the function that describes such a nonlinearity. Then, we propose an energy and damping injection approach — based on the PI-PBC technique — that compensates for the dead-zone. Moreover, we provide an analysis of the performance of the proposed controller near the equilibrium. We conclude this paper by experimentally validating the results on a two degrees-of-freedom planar manipulator.

Waterbodies Thermal Energy Based Systems Interactions With Marine Environment — A Review, Amir Bordbar, Konstantinos Georgoulas, Yong Ming Dai, Simone Michele, Frank Roberts, Nigel Carter, Yeaw Chu Lee

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Waterbodies’ thermal energy potential, as a green, renewable, and limitless source of energy, can be exploited in response to the growing energy demands of islands and coastal cities. Up to now, the technologies that have been developed for this purpose include seawater air-conditioning, surface water heat pump, and ocean energy thermal conversion systems or their combinations, which are presented here as Waterbodies Thermal Energy Based Systems (WTEBSs). The growth and development of these technologies raise concerns regarding their potential impacts on sustainability of the marine environment. The present work provides a comprehensive review of the available literature and state-of-the-art technologies …