Digital Commons Network^™

Additively-Manufactured Structure For Reactionary Processes, Fateme Rezaei, Ali Rownaghi, Shane Lawson

Patents

A method of additively manufacturing a structure for use in a reactionary process includes forming a material from metal or metal oxide particles, a dispersion solvent, and a binder. The method also includes depositing the material onto a build platform and curing the material to form a structure for use in a reactionary process. The structure includes the metal or metal oxide particles and is configured to provide a reaction when exposed to a reactant.

Unmanned Vehicle Having Flight Configuration And Surface Traverse Configuration, Genda Chen, Alec Reven, Bo Shang, Zenhua Shi, Liujun Li, Boyang Li

Patents

An unmanned vehicle includes a body, at least one power source coupled to the body, a flight propulsion system coupled to the at least one power source and configured to propel the unmanned vehicle through air, and a surface propulsion system coupled to the at least one power source and configured to propel the unmanned vehicle along a surface. The unmanned vehicle is configured to switch between a flight configuration in which the unmanned vehicle is propelled through air via the flight propulsion system, and a surface traverse configuration in which the unmanned vehicle is propelled along the surface via …

Energy Dissipation Using Negative Stiffness Shells, Mohamed El-Gawady, Yasser Darwish

Patents

A negative stiffness shell has a convex first position, but can transition or snap to a concave second position under a force applied to the exterior surface of the shell in the convex first position. During the transition, the shell exhibits negative stiffness that permits a large amount of energy to be absorbed. The negative stiffness shell can withstand a high initial force threshold prior to transitioning. In the second, concave position the shell can still resist force. Moreover, it is possible for the shell to revert back to the first, convex position with minimal plastic deformation for subsequent use. …

Large-Scale Carbon-Mineralization Through Oxalatization, Hongyan Ma, Wenyu Liao

Patents

The present invention is broadly concerned with mineralization methods that assist in permanent carbon storage. The methods provide a storage mechanism for oxalic acid generated by existing or future-developed carbon capture and conversion methods that convert CO2 to oxalic acid. That oxalic acid can be injected into a subsurface rock formation containing non-carbonate rock to form oxalates or oxalate hydrates. Alternatively, oxalic acid can be mixed with mine tailings, well drilling dirt, crushed rocks, etc., that contain desired non-carbonate rock minerals, to promote mineralization.

Nontoxic High Temperature Resistant Hydrogels, Thomas P. Schuman, Baujun Bai, Buddhabhushan Pundlik Salunkhe

Patents

Compositions of swellable non-toxic hydro gels and their use in conformance control are described herein. More specifically, the present invention generally relates to the hydro gels compositions that can be used to treat the oil reservoirs having high temperature and high salinity conditions. The compositions generally comprise a plurality of swellable particles having one or more crosslinkers interspersed within a polymer matrix. The compositions can also be used in biomedical, agricultural, fracking and similar applications wherein thermally-stable, nontoxic hydrogels are required.

Clea Labs For Planetary Astronomy Bottled For Silicon Macintosh, Yuktha Shetty, Hansika Reddy Bandela, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Project CLEA -- CONTEMPORARY LABORATORY EXPERIENCES IN ASTRONOMY -- develops laboratory exercises that illustrate modern astronomical techniques using digital data and color images.

These Labs were developed for Windows, but the authors have bottled them for Silicon Macintosh computers.

Communicating Policy Change Strategically: A Literature Review, Jestoni A. Olivo, Benjamin Randoc, Michael R. Cabalfin

Economics Department Faculty Publications

A critical component of public policy design and implementation is an effective communication strategy to support behaviour change among stakeholders in various public policy areas such as monetary policy, public health, environment and public transport. However, the literature provides diffused guidance for evidence-based communication designed for policymakers. This article reviews the literature on strategic communication and organizes the emerging principles and strategies under a framework with three practical actions: understanding the audience, timing the intervention and engaging with the relevant network of stakeholders. As a case illustration of the framework, the controversial Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program in the Philippines …

Looking Good And Moving Well: Aesthetic Labor Imperatives In Les Mills Instructors' Coaching Experiences, Manuel R. Enverga Iii

Economics Department Faculty Publications

This paper examines aesthetic labor in the context of Les Mills (LM) group fitness instruction, focusing on the embodied demands of sounding right and moving well as central coaching imperatives. While existing literature on aesthetic labor often emphasizes physical appearance and verbal polish, this study argues that vocal precision and kinesthetic proficiency are fundamental to effective coaching in LM classes. Drawing on interviews with LM instructors from a gym in Manila, the Philippines, the analysis shows that instructors integrate motivational vocal delivery with skilled movement execution to ensure participant safety, engagement, and enjoyment. Although a fit appearance contributes to an …

Synthesising Les Mills’ Five Key Elements: How Readiness-To-Hand Is Developed Among Group Fitness Coaches, Manuel R. Enverga Iii

Economics Department Faculty Publications

This paper examines the process by which Les Mills group fitness instructors in the Philippines develop a seemingly effortless coaching style. They simultaneously perform exercises alongside their participants, correcting and motivating them, while maintaining awareness of the music playing. Using ethnographic data from a local Philippine gym, pseudonymously referred to as The Fit Stop, it is argued that the apparent naturalness of their teaching develops through numerous stages of practice and feedback. Throughout the process, instructors gain mastery over what Les Mills calls the Five Key Elements of instruction: choreography, technique, coaching, connection, and performance. As they become more adept, …

Impact Of Team Power Disparity On Team Performance: The Role Of Team Power Legitimacy, Teamwork, And Team Power Distance, Yong Ren

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study explores the mechanism by which team power disparity affects team efficacy, specifically analyzing the impact of team power disparity on team performance through a sequential mediating mechanism, which consists of team members’ perceptions of power legitimacy first and then team cooperation. Moreover, this study examined the boundary moderating role of team power distance in the impacts of team power disparity on team power legitimacy, as well as its subsequent impact on team cooperation and team performance. Through analyzing multi-timepoint data collected from 76 teams, the study found that team power disparity negatively affected team power legitimacy, thereby reducing …

Merchant Guild Culture And Companies’ Sustainable Development: An Empirical Investigation Based On Esg Performance, Yi Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the context of global economic growth and growing emphasis on sustainable development, this study focuses on the impact of merchant guild culture, an important part of traditional Chinese culture, on the sustainable development of enterprises. Through an in-depth exploration of the historical evolution and cultural connotations of merchant guild culture, this paper systematically analyzes its potential influence on corporate behavior and sustainable development. Using a sample of A-share listed companies and applying regression analysis and other empirical research methods, this study finds that merchant guild culture facilitates the sustainable development of enterprises. Mechanism analysis reveals that merchant guild culture …

Technology As The Sovereign: A Dual-Path Model Of Managers’ Prioritization Of Technical Tasks, Hesheng Huang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Competitive pressures challenge managers to navigate a multitude of responsibilities. On the basis of Vancouver and colleagues’ (Vancouver et al., 2010; Ballard et al., 2016) multiple-task pursuit framework, Sherf, Venkataramani, and Gejendran (2019) theorized that when faced with competition between technical tasks (e.g., getting things done, meeting assigned goals, promoting quality or accuracy of work, satisfying customer demands, and fulfilling technical responsibilities) and justice tasks (e.g., evaluating employees’ performance, recognizing employees’ achievements, and allocating rewards), managers tend to prioritize technical tasks over justice tasks under high workload demands. On this basis, I aim to examine a model that encompasses the …

Hydrogen Permeation In Iron-Chromium-Aluminum (Fecral) Alloys And The Effects Of Microstructure And Surface Oxide, Nathan T. Gehmlich, Thomas F. Fuerst, Hanns Gietl, Chase N. Taylor, Joshua Rittenhouse, Haiming Wen, M. Nedim Cinbiz

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Iron–chromium–aluminum (FeCrAl) class alloys are candidates for use as cladding for accident-tolerant fuels and moderators. In this context, hydrogen isotope permeation in FeCrAl alloys is an important material property. In the present work, the apparent permeability, effective diffusivity, and apparent solubility of hydrogen in the FeCrAl alloys C26M and Kanthal D (KD) were measured with gas-driven hydrogen permeation. Permeation measurements were conducted at temperatures of 400 to 700 °C and at gas-driven pressures from 1 to 100 kPa. In particular, the effect of grain size on hydrogen transport was studied with KD samples with three different microstructures: nanocrystalline (NC), ultra-fine …

Dual-Bed Radioiodine Capture From Complex Gas Streams With Zeolites: Regeneration And Reuse Of Primary Sorbent Beds For Sustainable Waste Management, Krista Carlson, Brian J. Riley, Joshua Turner, David C. Cantu, Dev Chidambaram, Charmayne Lonergan, Jeffrey D. Rimer

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Degradation Of Radioactive Waste Encapsulation Of Bao−Feox−P2o5 Glass Evaluated From Electrical Conductivity, Kazuki Mitsui, Nobuyasu Nishioka, Hiromichi Takebe, Richard K. Brow, Akira Saitoh

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report on the electrical conductivity of barium iron phosphate glass, a candidate for radioactive waste encapsulating glass. The glass composition has been optimized for slow dissolution in hot water because the precipitation of a stable hydration layer of FeO(OH) on the glass surface enhances the water durability of the glass. The mechanism of electrical conductivity of the glass is assumed to be an electron hopping between the electronic energy levels of Fe (II) and Fe (III) ions, obeying the electron carrier generation of Fe (II) → Fe (III) + e−. The electrical conductivity of the base glass was ∼3.2 …

Understanding Heterogeneous Nucleation In Iron Alloys From First Principles: A Review And Discussion, Semen Naumovich Lekakh

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Heterogeneous nucleation during solidification plays a key role in structure formation of different types of iron-based alloys, including steels and cast irons. A review summarizes the novel theoretical methods which were used to understand the nature of heterogeneous nucleation in iron-based alloys. An ab initio simulation of atomic adsorption was used to predict the activity of heterogeneous nuclei, and the thermodynamic methods were applied to design conditions for desired precipitate formation in the iron melts. A high-resolution TEM study of individual nucleus and statistics of nuclei family, obtained from an automated SEM/EDX analysis, illustrates a possibility to design processes of …

Ground Testing Of A Magnetic-Electrostatic Separation System For Lunar Regolith Beneficiation, Peter Bachle, Charles Wood, Jeffrey Smith, Fateme Rezaei, David Bayless, William Schonberg, Daoru Han

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The separation of lunar regolith by mineral composition and size category is useful forin-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The research presented herein discusses the designing and development of equipment that has the potential to separate lunar regolith into aluminum, iron-titanium, and magnesium-iron ores. Along with the metal ore separation, this equipment shows the potential to separate regolith by size categories. The combined effect of these separation methods generates output that is valuable to subsequent use in metal and oxygen extraction, additive manufacturing, and regolith sintering processes. The designed equipment uses a dual-strength magnet system with N42 and N52 neodymium magnets for …

The Effect Of Carbon Equivalent And Nodularity On Multi-Axial Casting Wall Movement During Spheroidal Graphite Iron Solidification And Cooling, Noah J. Brack, Mingzhi Xu, Jingjing Qing, Simon Lekakh

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Spheroidal graphite iron, also known as ductile iron, is an iron–carbon casting alloy used in industry for its good castability, balanced mechanical properties, and low cost. Ductile iron consists of round graphite nodules in an iron matrix. During solidification and cooling, ductile iron castings experience dynamic volume changes due to the precipitation of graphite nodules and formation of austenite. These dynamic volume changes can distort external casting surfaces, causing swell and shrinkage porosity. A novel apparatus was custom-built to capture the casting wall movement in real time along three axes. This study found that casting expansion increased with carbon equivalent …

Controlling Nitrogen Pickup During Induction Melting Of Ultrahigh-Strength Cr-Ni-Mo-V Steels, Kingsley T. Amatanweze, Viraj A. Athavale, Mario F. Buchely, Laura N. Bartlett, Ronald J. O'Malley, Daniel M. Field

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nitrogen pickup during air induction melting can result in porosity and a loss of fracture toughness in ultrahigh-strength quenched and tempered steel castings. Nitrogen atoms are easily adsorbed into liquid steel upon exposure to the air, and argon shrouding alone has limited effectiveness. Previous studies have shown that proper charge sequencing and maintaining a high amount of dissolved oxygen in the melt prior to tapping and deoxidation can limit nitrogen pickup in the melt. In the current study, the effect of melt practice and charging procedure on nitrogen pickup was studied as a function of hold time in a series …

Zrc Particle Size Effect On The Mechanical Properties Of Spark Plasma Sintered 60–40 Vol% Zrc–Mo Cermets, Nathaniel Blatt, Jeremy Watts, Brian Taylor, Jhonathan Rosales, Gregory Hilmas

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cermet's of 60 vol% ZrC and 40 vol% Mo with different starting ZrC particle sizes were spark plasma sintered to full density at 1950 °C. Elastic moduli, Vickers hardness and fracture toughness were measured at room temperature and flexural strength was measured up to 1600 °C. Young's modulus was 365 ± 5 GPa, shear modulus was 149 ± 2 GPa, Poisson's ratio was 0.22 ± 0.01, and no significant difference was observed for the moduli with respect to the starting ZrC particle size. Room temperature flexural strength was affected by the ZrC particle size, measured as ∼524 and ∼598 MPa …

Parametric Analysis Of Water Jet Descaling Efficiency Of Reheated Continuously Cast Thin Slab, Tochukwu P. Ojiako, Mario F. Buchely, Simon Lekakh, Ronald J. O'Malley, Richard Osei, Taha Tayebali

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Efficient oxide scale removal is critical for maintaining surface quality and process efficiency in steel manufacturing. This study optimizes water jet descaling by evaluating the performance of flat and rotary jet nozzles under varying process parameters. Using a combined approach of experimental analysis and computational fluid dynamics, it investigates the influence of pressure (138–275 bar), lead angle (0°, 15°, 25°), working distance (50–100 mm), and spray angle (15°–25°) on descaling efficiency. Findings indicate that flat jet nozzles achieve superior performance at short working distances due to concentrated impact forces, while rotary jet nozzles sustain efficiency over extended distances through dynamic …

Effect Of Gating Design On Filling And Inclusion Control In An Al-Killed Cr-Mo-Ni Steel, Kingsley T. Amatanweze, Koushik Balasubramanian, Soumava Chakraborty, Viraj A. Athavale, Mario F. Buchely, Laura N. Bartlett, Ronald J. O'Malley, Daniel M. Field, Krista R. Limmer, Katherine M. Sebeck

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effect of gating system design on the inclusion population and size distribution in an aluminum-killed low-alloy advanced high strength steel casting was studied. A mold with four different gating systems: pressurized and non-pressurized with side risers, naturally pressurized with a side riser, and naturally pressurized with a top riser, was designed using computational fluid dynamics and solidification software. The design allowed inclusion populations in castings produced with each gating system to be compared during the same pouring event. Samples taken from different positions just below the top surface of each casting were analyzed using an SEM/EDS system with automated …

High-Temperature Performance Of Alloyed Cast Irons And Cr/Ni Austenitic Steels—An Overview And Discussion, Simon N. Lekakh, Mei Li, Larry Godlewski

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fe-based cast alloys, including cast irons and steels, have been used in service at a wide range of mechanical and thermal load in oxidizing environment. Special alloying practices can be used to improve high temperature performance of Fe-based cast alloys in an oxidizing atmosphere. At elevated temperatures, alloying elements can produce a protective interface layer which prevents oxidant penetration into the metal matrix. However, a combination of thermo-mechanical loads along with surface oxidation can decrease the materials integrity by destroying the stable protected interface limiting the range of working parameters and lifetime performance of the material. This overview aims to …

Ultrafast Belite (Β-C2s) Production Using Biofuel-Based Combustion Synthesis, Shubham Agrawal, Sayee Srikarah Volaity, Oluwadamilare Charles Adesina, Bryan K. Aylas-Paredes, Taihao Han, Srinivas Kilambi, Aditya Kumar, Narayanan Neithalath

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents a novel low-temperature, combustion synthesis (CS) approach for the rapid production of belite-rich cements. CS leverages the exothermic heat released from the combustion of biofuels such as lignin and/or biomass, intermixed with pelletized limestone and quartz. At an imposed furnace temperature of ∼700°C (as opposed to 1200°C–1300°C required in a conventional kiln), the source materials are rapidly transformed to belite, resulting in energy, emissions, and economic benefits. This work explores the influence of various process parameters, viz., fuel types and contents, airflow rate, porosity, holding temperature, and holding time on the efficiency of CS-based belite synthesis. Through …

Flexural Strength Of (Hf,Nb,Ta,Ti,Zr)B2–(Hf,Nb,Ta,Ti,Zr)C High-Entropy Dual-Phase Ceramics, Rubia Hassan, William G. Fahrenholtz, Gregory E. Hilmas, Jeremy Watts

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The room and elevated temperature flexural strengths were measured for (Hf,Nb,Ta,Ti,Zr)B2–(Hf,Nb,Ta,Ti,Zr)C high-entropy dual-phase ceramics. The fracture of ceramics originated from two distinct flaw populations that were either surface defects introduced during specimen preparation or volume defects introduced during processing. The average strength at room temperature was 638 ± 94 MPa with individual bars strengths as high as ∼800 MPa. At 1800°C, average strength increased to 786 ± 265 MPa with individual bar strengths as high as ∼1050 MPa. Above 1800°C, creep dominated resulting in deformation of the bars without fracture. The fracture mode changed from completely trans granular at room …

Roadmap To 100 Gwdc: Scientific And Supply Chain Challenges For Cdte Photovoltaics, B. Edward Sartor, Samantha B. Reese, Lorelle M. Mansfield, Ryan Muzzio, Chun Sheng Jiang, Eric Colegrove, John S. Mangum, Camden L. Kasik, Daniel Z. Shaw, James R. Sites, Ramesh G. Dhere, Alex B. Goldstone, Michael S. Moats

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This roadmap highlights pathways to expand the CdTe module manufacturing capacity per year to 100 GWDC by 2030 by improving Te extraction from existing supply chains, minimizing Te usage in modules by leveraging thinner absorbers, and focusing research efforts in key areas to improve module efficiencies. Both scientific and supply chain innovations will be necessary to maintain the high compound annual growth rate of the CdTe photovoltaic (PV) industry and cement its role as a key technology for multi-TW-scale PV deployment.

Ms-Yolo: Infrared Object Detection For Edge Deployment Via Mobilenetv4 And Slideloss, Jiali Zhang, Thomas S. White, Haoliang Zhang, Wenqing Hu, Donald C. Wunsch, Jian Liu

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Infrared imaging has emerged as a robust solution for urban object detection under low-light and adverse weather conditions, offering significant advantages over traditional visible-light cameras. However, challenges such as class imbalance, thermal noise, and computational constraints can significantly hinder model performance in practical settings. To address these issues, we evaluate multiple YOLO variants on the FLIR ADAS V2 dataset, ultimately selecting YOLOv8 as our baseline due to its balanced accuracy and efficiency. Building on this foundation, we present MS-YOLO (MobileNetv4 and SlideLoss based on YOLO), which replaces YOLOv8's CSPDarknet backbone with the more efficient MobileNetV4, reducing computational overhead by 1.5% …

Effective Approaches To The Dynamical Properties Of Two Distinguishable Bose Polarons, F. Theel, S. I. Mistakidis, P. Schmelcher

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We explore effective approaches for describing the dynamics of induced interactions among two noninteracting distinguishable impurities (Bose polarons) when their couplings to the host species are switched on. First, we evaluate the time-dependent characteristics of each polaron through reduced single-particle models. Their validity is ultimately judged by comparing them to observables obtained within a many-body variational approach. We argue that utilizing a time-dependent optimization process with the effective mass and frequency being fitting parameters leads to an accurate matching on the level of one-body observables with the prediction of the many-body method. Next, we construct two-body effective models, which, in …

Two-Component Droplet Phases And Their Spectral Stability In One Dimension, E. G. Charalampidis, S. I. Mistakidis

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We unravel the existence and stability properties of one-dimensional droplets arising in genuine two-component particle-imbalanced bosonic mixtures under the influence of a weak harmonic confinement. A plethora of miscible droplet phases is found with the majority component atoms in the vicinity of the minority ones assembling in a droplet configuration, while the remaining excess atoms are in the gas state. Our computations identify a transition from a bound to a trapped gas many-body state for increasing total atom number and fixed interactions, with the bound character being prolonged for stronger intercomponent attractions. The spectral stability of these two-component droplets is …

Momentum Imaging Of Electrons And Recoil Ions From Anion-Neutral Interactions In A Cryogenic Ion Storage Ring, F. Herrmann, W. Zhang, M. Schulz, D. V. Chicharro, A. Dorn, M. Grieser, F. Grussie, H. Kreckel, O. Novotny, F. Trost, A. Wolf, T. Pfeifer, C. D. Schröter

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We have momentum-analyzed electrons and recoil ions in triple coincidence with projectiles neutralized in 300-keV Si-+Ar collisions. The experiment was performed at a cryogenic ion storage ring with an in-ring reaction microscope. Differential momentum distributions for detachment with simultaneous target ionization were obtained. At more than 15% of the detachment-only rate the ionization rate is surprisingly large. A correlated two-electron channel is found to be dominant. This is also unexpected because the projectile energy is well below the threshold for the correlated process.