Engineering Commons^™

Solid-State Electrolytes For Long Duration Molten Sodium Batteries, Ryan C. Hill

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Rechargeable batteries have become a staple of modern society, driving the development and expansion of portable electronics and electric vehicles. The long lifetime and high energy density provided by batteries have made them excellent candidates for use in the emerging field of long duration, grid-scale energy storage. However, traditional battery chemistries, such as Li-ion, are not an ideal solution for grid-scale storage, due to high-cost raw materials that are often sourced from volatile markets. Sodium-based batteries are a promising alternative for long duration storage, owing to the domestic abundance of raw materials and energy densities that nearly rival that of …

Optimal Spacecraft Guidance, Matthew W. Harris, M. Benjamin Rose

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This book is designed for a one-semester course at Utah State University titled MAE 6570 Optimal Spacecraft Guidance. The class meets for 75 minutes, twice per week, for 14 weeks. There are no prerequisites other than graduate standing in engineering. Proficiency in calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and computer programming is required. Students find that previous experience in space dynamics, linear multivariable control, or optimal control is helpful.

The goal of the book and course is for students to develop fundamental skills needed to do professional work in the area of spacecraft guidance. After working through the book, students should …

Pms And Gas Pollutants Removal By Electret Filter Media And Metal-Organic Frameworks (Mofs), Yu Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has been becoming a major concern worldwide because statistical data showed that the indoor concentrations of gas pollutants, e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matters (PMs) are often 2–5 times higher than that of outdoors. Especially, people spend 87% of their time indoors and increasing to more than 90% during COVID-19 pandemic. The high concentration of these indoor air pollutants is mainly due to the reduced air exchange rate for the design of energy-efficient building construction and the increased usage of furnishings, glues, paints, furnaces, etc., leading to VOC outgassing and particle emission. Evidence has …

Surface Modified Titanium And Doxycycline Loaded Pcl/Plga Nanofibers For Improved Cellular Interaction And Biocompatability, Dexter D. Kling

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Biomaterials play an important role in modern medicine through their complexfunctionalities, as implants, grafts, and drug delivery systems. The addition of dopants and biomolecules in biomaterials offers unique solutions to common issues and provides new methods of improving overall health. In our work, we examined osteoblast cell interactions with titanium (Ti) after alkali treatment and deposition of magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). We also studied the antibacterial properties of doxycycline loaded polymeric nanofibers produced via electrospinning. To study the biological properties of surface-modified Ti, we first prepared commercially pure titanium samples by grinding and polishing, then performed alkali treatment in …

Part Design Geometry-Driven Toolpath Optimization For Additive Manufacturing Energy Sustainability Improvement, David Kolawole Somade

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

One of the most promising new manufacturing technologies in the past three decades isadditive manufacturing (AM), also commonly known as three-dimensional (3D) printing or rapid prototyping. The energy consumption problem in AM can be significant when it is adopted at the industrial scale or used under resource-restricted conditions. The energy consumption of an AM process is influenced by several factors including bed heating, filament extrusion, material infill, component cooling, etc. All these factors are further determined by the equipment and the toolpath for a specific printing task. Build orientation and tool-path direction are frequently used to optimize part and process …

Mechanical Behavior Of Metallic Core-Shell Nanoparticles Under Compressive Loading, Phillip Tomich

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Core/shell metallic nanoparticles have been shown to be a promising material type for additive manufacturing in the aerospace and automotive fields. Within additive manufacturing they will be used to accurately make an array of nanoparticles within the grains of metal matrix composites. This in turn will help to strengthen the material while remaining ductility and light weight. In this study, copper/aluminum core/shell nanoparticles are compressed under [100], [110], [111], and [112] directions to showcase their anisotropic material properties. Models of their individual counterparts were also investigated. There are no previous works showing the deformation mechanisms of copper/aluminum core/shell nanoparticles. Molecular …

Artificial Intelligence And Multi-Physics Approach For Electrocoagulation Parameter Selection, Adam Cotton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Proper treatment of wastewater is crucial to maintain the health of the public and avoid pollution of the environment. Methods like filtering and chemical coagulation have been utilized to treat wastewater, but they have significant limitations such as inefficient treatment of micro-size pollutants, generation of secondary contaminants, and high operation and maintenance costs. The electro-coagulation system which generates coagulants from low-cost aluminum electrodes under the application of a current has received strong attention as a promising water treatment system. However, the EC system has not been fully utilized yet due to lack of understanding and operation guidelines.

In this study, …

Analysis Of The Effect Of Surface Roughness In Additive Manufacturing On Thermo-Hydraulic Performance By Ml Models Supported By Physics-Based Modeling, Kaylen A. Platt

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Heat exchangers (HX) are crucial components of thermal control systems which facilitate proper transfer of heat in systems such as nuclear reactors. This research focuses on the heat transfer-enhancing effect associated with turbulence in fluid flowing conduits. Turbulence can be induced at low flow rates when surface roughness is present on channel walls. Rough surfaces are typically regarded as a flawed product of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) process during the construction of Heat Exchangers. Machining surface finishes onto AM parts is a typical post-processing method used to remove the roughness. Thorough investigations have not yet been published on the effects …

Sampling Methods And Transportation Analysis Of Shipping Containers, Omar Roman-Sanchez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Biomass is a perpetually burgeoning commodity as a sustainable energy resource, but some of the consistent drawbacks are transportation and sampling. The efficiency of pick-up and delivery to conversion facilities needs to be sufficient to allow for longer transport distances. Concurrent work explores the viability of using 20 ft intermodal shipping containers by using a screw auger to pack biomass feedstocks (miscanthus and corn stover) in ¼-scaled containers, which resulted in dry matter packing densities exceeding 8 lb/ft3. Full analysis of compaction energy plus transportation needs was found to understand net positive energy return on investment. To enhance the sampling …

Studying And Troubleshooting Lubricity Test On Pressure Wire X Proximal And Distal Coatings, Usama A. Khan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Coatings of guidewires used in medical device manufacturing industry are one of the most important element aspects. It defines its efficiency to penetrate through tightest of canals and curves. Guidewires are put through controlled environment to accelerate its age and tested for its mechanical features. Pressure Wire X failed the lubricity testing after being tested by multiple operators and at alternate sites. A cause-and-effect diagram shows all potential causes of test failure. The human factor involved in the test failure was investigated through multiple Gage R&R and training records. Calibration error with the lubricity tester DL1000 was identified and solved …

Finite Element Analysis Of 3d-Printed Pcl Scaffolds, Ireolu K. Orenuga, Joao Soares, Phillip D. Glass, Daeha Joung Ph.D.

UROP Posters

Finite Element Analysis of 3D-printed PCL Scaffolds for Synergizing Cellular Micro-Environment and Mechanical Stimuli to Enhance Engineered Tissue Growth in Vitro

Ireolu Orenuga,1 Phillip Glass,2 Daeha Joung,2 Joao S. Soares1

1. Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University
2. Department of Physics, College of Humanities & Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University

Introduction: Tissue engineering aims to create viable and functional engineered tissues via biodegradable scaffolds and autologous cells. Scaffolds play an essential part in organizing the architecture of developing tissues and aid in the proper function of implants acutely by serving as mechanical support and long-term by …

Pore-Resolving Simulations Of Biomass Char Particle Combustion, Dongyu Liang, Simcha L. Singer

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Biomass char morphology affects combustion behavior at the particle scale for zone II conditions, in which both heterogeneous reaction and intra-particle diffusion govern the overall rate. Furthermore, particle-scale processes affect reactor-scale outputs, and reactor-scale simulations are sensitive to particle-scale models. However, most char particle combustion models employ coarse-grained, effective-continuum approaches, which treat all porosity at the subgrid-scale. Effective-continuum approaches are not valid or accurate in the presence of large, irregular pores which can approach the size of the particle. A 3-D, pore-resolving CFD simulation approach using real biomass char particle geometries obtained from X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is therefore used …

Context-Dependent Data-Envelopment-Analysis-Based Efficiency Evaluation Of Coastal Ports In China Based On Social Network Analysis, Yu Yu, Dai-Peng Ma, Guo-Ya Gan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

An emerging trend in performance evaluation is combining social network analysis methods with data envelopment analysis (DEA) models and using network centrality methods to distinguish DEA results. One study employed an input-oriented variable-returns-to-scale DEA model to address referent decision-making units and the corresponding lambda values to construct a network. This study referenced the literature and improved on the use of DEA weight sets to construct a network. We employed a context-dependent DEA model to delineate multiple effective frontier planes, aggregate the reference set relationships on each frontier plane to construct a network relationship matrix, and assess the influences of the …

Research On Improving The Salary Structure Of Port State Control Officers In Taiwan, Te-Yi Chang, Wen-Chih Ho, Chung-Ping Liu, Yung-Wei Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The implementation of port state control (PSC) has been challenging in Taiwan due to the lack of port state control officers (PSCOs), and foreign ships berthing at ports in Taiwan that cannot be effectively inspected. PSCOs of Taiwan are subordinate to the public service system and restrained by the number of personnel by the Executive Yuan. Compared with similar professions, their salaries are significantly different from those of the industry, making recruiting and retaining PSCOs a difficult task. Accordingly, this study improved the salary structure of PSCOs by conducting field interviews with existing PSCOs in Taiwan and applying the Fuzzy-AHP …

Numerical Analysis Of Silencer With A Coiled Tube And Straight Perforated Tube Using Fem, Min-Chie Chiu, Ho-Chih Cheng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Marine diesel engine is essential on a ship, but emits extremely loud noise harmful to human hearing. Therefore, it is mandatory to use silencers to reduce the venting noise of the marine diesel engine. An advanced silencer with a new acoustical element of a curved tube, along with perforated holes, is presented to suppress the noise wave. To predict the silencer's acoustical performance for high-order waves, a finite element model was built using COMSOL. The influence of the silencer's noise reduction ability was investigated by exploring sensitivity using acoustical simulations on COMSOL, regarding the silencer's geometric factors. The results proved …

Abundance And Distribution Of Fish Larvae In The Central Coast Of The Algerian Sea, Etsouri Mohamed, Khames Ghollame Ellah Yacine, Seridji Rabea

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study was conducted on a seasonal basis in five (5) stations along the central Algerian coast between April 2013 and April 2014 aboard professional fishing boats. Horizontal plankton tows with a WP2-type net were used to collect ichthyoplankton samples. At each station, temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a levels were measured. We identified the larvae of 18 species from 11 different families by sorting ichthyoplankton (Clupeidae, Engraulidae, Gobidae, Gonostomatidae, Mugilidae, Myctophidae, Scombridae, Sparidae, Carangidae, Labridae, Blennidae). Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to determine the relationship between the abundance of harvested larvae and environmental variables. The results show a clear dominance of …

Effects Of Direct Water Injection On The Nitrogen Oxide Emission Characteristics Of Marine Diesel Engines, Mahmoud Abdelnaser Saadeldin, M. M. Elgoharya, Maged Abdelnaby, Mohamed R. Shouman

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study examines the issue of diesel emissions from vehicles and vessels and their impact on environmental degradation with a focus on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and their contribution to air pollution-related deaths worldwide. The novelty of this work is the use of computational fluid dynamics simulations to investigate the effectiveness of water addition for reducing NOx emissions. This study considers two methods of water addition, i.e., injection of water and air into a combustion chamber and mixing of water with fuel before injection. Adding water to air systems at 10% and 20% ratios reduces NOx emissions by 5% and …

Predefined-Time Neural Sliding Mode Control Based Trajectory Tracking Of Autonomous Surface Vehicle, Han Xue, Shulin Li

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

With the progress and development of modern industry, it is urgent to develop a more general and mature predefined time control theory system for uncertain nonlinear systems and apply it to practical engineering systems. Therefore, a novel predefined-time sliding mode control is designed to improve the slow convergence speed of asymptotically convergent controllers and finite-time convergent controllers affected by the initial state of the system. The proposed control approach is proved to converge from the initial value to the balance position using Jensen's inequality and Liapunov theorem. The proposed control method can deal with the ship motion system having six …

Methanol As An Eco-Environmental Alternative Fuel For Ships: A Case Study, Samar K. Sallam, Mohamed M. Elgohary, Ibrahim S. Seddiek

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Global emissions of Green House Gases and air pollutants are significantly influenced by shipping. Diesel fuel use for energy production is primarily responsible for these emissions. The substitution of traditional marine diesel oil with methanol as a marine fuel is recommended in this study. Moreover, the methanol-diesel dual-fuel engine's environmental and financial benefits are investigated numerically. A cruise passenger ship named Costa Toscana has been evaluated as a case study. Based on the data, the suggested dual-fuel engine reduces emissions of CO2, NOx, SOx, and PM by 25.7%, 38.46%, 45%, and 45%, respectively, with a cost-effectiveness of 286.5, 6645, 268403.4, …

Collision Risk Prediction For Small Ships In South Korea Via Optimization Of Wireless Communication Period, So-Ra Kim, Myoung-Ki Lee, Sangwon Park, Dae-Won Kim, Young-Soo Park

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Since the emergence of COVID-19, there has been a global surge in demand for marine leisure activities. In Korea, the population using marine leisure has risen approximately 192% to 20,406 people, compared to 6,966 people in the year 2000, indicating a continuous growth over the past two decades.. Maritime transportation has become increasingly intricate worldwide due to the development of increasingly autonomous, larger, and faster ships. To effectively address potential hazards in such complex traffic environments, it is imperative to anticipate future scenarios and respond rapidly. However, small vessels account for the highest proportion of marine accidents, exhibit movements that …

Path Planning Of Uav Navigation Mark Inspection Using A K-Means Clustering Aca, Jiaqi Li, Weifeng Li, Wenting Zhang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

With increasing speeds and application of artificial intelligence in the shipping industry, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has been applied to navigation mark inspections to improve the inspection efficiency and safety. Aimed at the UAV path planning problem of navigation mark inspection, this paper proposes an improved K-means clustering ant colony algorithm (KCACA) to design the shortest route for UAV navigation mark inspections. First, the K-means algorithm and the UAV maximum flight distance were used to cluster the navigation marks, which were then split into several secondary clusters. Each cluster was regarded as an independent traveling salesman problem to be …

Coastal Traffic Safety Index Based On Marine Accident And Traffic Records, Joohwan Kim, Sang-Lok Yoo

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this study, a comprehensive index for evaluating the degree of coastal traffic safety by simultaneously considering marine accident frequency, severity, and traffic volume was considered. To do so, the concept of Equivalent Property Damage Only (EPDO), which is widely used in the road transportation industry, was benchmarked to assess both frequency and severity of accidents. In addition, the total sailing distance of ships was chosen as a variable to explain traffic volume. Finally, a composite performance indicator called "M-EPDO per nautical mile" was built up, enabling the safety performance score for each type of ships in three criteria: on-board …

Inventory Management In Supply Chains With Consideration Of Transportation And Green Technology Cost Under Progressive Carbon Taxation, Ming-Feng Yang, Min-Der Ko, Hung-Jen Tu, Mengru Tu, Jun-Yuan Kuo, Yen-Ting Chao, Shang-Wei Shih

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Reducing carbon emissions is an important issue in the global supply chain. Governments have formulated different carbon policies to achieve carbon neutrality or emission reduction, in particular, the carbon tax as a policy provides greater certainty about the potential cost to emitters. The Taiwan government is expected to implement the carbon tax policy in 2024 and does not rule out the inclusion of a progressive mechanism which is more effective than a single carbon tax in curbing high carbon emissions Recent studies have also confirmed that a high level and complete carbon tax could encourage companies to invest in green …

Geohash-Based Arrangement Of Live-Fire Exercise Areas Using Ais, Sang-Lok Yoo, Cho-Young Jung

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Live-fire exercise (LFX) areas at sea threaten the safety of ships, whereas, and indiscriminately abandoned unexploded bombs threaten the lives of fishermen. No statistical or scientific research has been conducted on the appropriate locations for LFX areas. Therefore, this study proposes a method for effectively arranging the LFX areas at sea that considers the safety of passing ships and national security. First, the proposed method classifies ship tracking data collected in the daytime based on the dawn and dusk times of the civil twilight phase. Second, the method uses a Geohash geocoding process to identify whether an LFX area coincides …

Assessing Hierarchical Corporate Sustainability Transition Practices Under Uncertainty: An Approach In The Port And Shipping Industry In Southeast Asia, Mei-Train Yeh, Feng-Ming Tsai, Taufik Kurrahman

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The port and shipping industry in Southeast Asia has experienced significant development in response to the increasing demand for maritime logistics and transportation services. However, this expansion has resulted in notable social and environmental impacts. Consequently, it is imperative for both scholars and practitioners to comprehend the concept of corporate sustainability transition (CST), which entails the establishment of shipping operations that effectively balance environmental, social, and economic considerations. Additionally, technologies that are used to facilitate the transition process must be investigated. Several studies have been undertaken to ascertain the attributes pertaining to sustainability transition. Nevertheless, there has been a lack …

Research On Risk Assessment Of Container Operation Process In Ports Considering Functional Areas, Chen-Yu Lin, Ming-Jiu Hwang, Tzu-Heng Yen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The risk management of container ports has drawn significant attention recently in part because of recent high-profile accidents in global container ports and in part due to the increasing focus on port safety as a key element in sustainable maritime transportation. This research presented a novel, two-layer container port risk assessment model by partitioning the container port into four areas based on the process of container transportation: loading and unloading, in-port container transportation, storage, and gate areas. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and quantitative risk analysis modeling were combined for each part of the process to evaluate the risk …

Artificial Intelligence In Prediction Of The Remaining Useful Life Of Wind Turbine Shaft Bearings, Jinsiang Shaw, B.J. Wu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Long-term periodic rotation and unstable load changes in wind turbines can cause unexpected damage to high-speed shaft bearings (HSSBs). In this study, after preprocessing of the HSSB vibration signal, four different models for predicting bearing degradation in terms of remaining useful life (RUL) in days were investigated: support vector regression (SVR), convolutional neural networks (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and CNN-LSTM. The experimental results revealed that the CNN achieved the best mean absolute error (MAE), at 0.44 days, based on frequency response plot using the fast Fourier transform (FFT), while that of the CNN-LSTM model predicted using the amplitude profile …

Impact Of Multiple Water Temperature Structures On The Behavioral Pattern Of Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus Keta) On The Coast Of The Shiretoko Peninsula, Xinyi Li, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Hokuto Shirakawa, Kenji Minami, Nobuhiko Sato, Yanhui Zhu, Yasuyuki Miyakoshi, Kazushi Miyashita

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

During the migration of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) towards the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan, the convergence of coastal currents results in the formation of intricate water temperature structures. However, the impact of this phenomenon on the behavioral tendencies of chum salmon remains largely unexplored. In 2012 and 2013, we conducted a study to document the vertical water temperature profiles and uninterrupted swimming patterns of homing chum salmon in the coastal waters surrounding the Shiretoko Peninsula. The results indicated that chum salmon exhibited a preference for avoiding thermoclines characterized by rapidly decreasing water temperatures. They were predominantly observed swimming either …

Research On The Collision Risk Of Ships Off Keelung Based On Ais Data, Shih-Tzung Chen, Ming-Feng Yang, Sheng-Long Kao, Mengru Tu, Jun-Yuan Kuo, Yen-Ting Chao, Huang-Kai Hsu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In previous literature, several computational methods have been proposed to analyze collision risks for vessels navigating at sea, most of which rely on the calculation of DCPA and TCPA between two vessels. However, this study adopts an enhanced version of the Vessel Conflict Ranking Operator (VCRO) to assess vessel collision risks. This approach not only considers the relative distance and relative velocity between two vessels but also takes their relative aspect into account. This methodology was applied to real-world vessels’ dynamic data collected through AIS. From a near-collision perspective, it identifies high-risk areas near Keelung water where commercial vessels and …

Cooling Performance Analysis For Mobile Vehicles By Thermal Resistance Network, Chia-An Yang, Jung-Chang Wang, Pi-Hsia Yen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper used CFD software to simulate the cooling situation of the engine space of a mobile vehicle. We used thermal resistance network diagram to calculate the heat flux at each position of the power system, and discussed the CFD simulation results. The error between the simulation results and the experiment was 10.07%. The thermal resistance network diagram proposed in this paper can reduce the time for numerical simulation by evaluate the heat flux at each position of the power system.