Engineering Commons^™

Multi-Agent Cooperative Combat Simulation In Naval Battlefield With Reinforcement Learning, Ding Shi, Xuefeng Yan, Lina Gong, Jingxuan Zhang, Donghai Guan, Mingqiang Wei

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Due to the rapidly-changed situations of future naval battlefields, it is urgent to realize the high-quality combat simulation in naval battlefields based on artificial intelligence to comprehensively optimize and improve the combat effectiveness of our army and defeat the enemy. The collaboration of combat units is the key point and how to realize the balanced decision-making among multiple agents is the first task. Based on decoupling priority experience replay mechanism and attention mechanism, a multi-agent reinforcement learning-based cooperative combat simulation (MARL-CCSA) network is proposed. Based on the expert experience, a multi-scale reward function is designed, on which a naval …

Voltage And Reactive Power Combinational Evaluation Of Regional Power Grid Based On Ewm-Ahp-Bp Neural Network, Yuqi Ji, Huan Xie, Shaoyu Shi, Ping He, Nan Jin, Huili Wang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: In order to quantitatively evaluate the influence of renewable energy access on voltage and reactive power operation, a combinational evaluation method of voltage and reactive power based on EWM-AHP-BP neural network is proposed to carry out the multi-objective evaluation weight calculation. Considering voltage qualified rate, voltage fluctuation, power factor qualified rate and reactive power reserve, the comprehensive evaluation model is established. The operation data of renewable energy and power load are clustered to divide the typical scenarios and the evaluation model under multiple scenarios is scored by the combination method of entropy weight method and analytic hierarchy process. The …

Research On Workshop Logic Modeling And Simulation Based On Finite State Machine, Mingyuan Liu, Jiaxiang Xie, Hao Wu, Jianlin Fu, Guofu Ding

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Discrete manufacturing is common in aircraft, ships, electronic equipment, automobile and other manufacturing industries. To ensure the correctness and flexibility of the modeling and simulation process of discrete manufacturing workshops, a logical modeling and simulation method for the production process of discrete manufacturing workshop is proposed. Based on the theory of discrete event dynamic systems and finite-state machines, the attributes and behaviors of the key elements of the discrete manufacturing workshop are abstracted into a unified logic model, and the function of various elements are realized through inheritance. A production process simulation algorithm is designed for the unified model …

Construction Technology Of Hand Posture Dataset Based On Virtual Simulation Method, Jiaxin Chen, Guohui Zhou, Jianbai Yang

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Hand posture is an important carrier of human-computer interaction, and the acquisition and recognition of posture information largely depends on the hand posture dataset. Existing datasets can be divided into two categories, real datasets and synthetic datasets. As real data is limited by equipment, environment, and other factors, the classification of hand posture is insufficient and the annotation is mixed with a lot of manual errors. The existing synthetic data can solve the data scale problem of real data, but the synthetic hand posture volume is limited and with some unreasonable kinematic postures of which the data form are …

Deficit Irrigation Management For Irrigated Corn In Nebraska: Economically Viable?, Lia Nogueira, Cory Walters, Emily O'Donnell, Wesley Peterson, Suat Irmak

Cornhusker Economics

In this study we determine the economic value of deficit irrigation management using both technological and methodological advancements. The use of soil moisture probes represents the technological improvement. We provide improvements in the methodology as follows. Regarding data, we employ a field-size study, instead of plots, where the irrigation decision is determined by the moisture level in the soil measured through a soil moisture probe. Regarding the understanding of the yield response to water, although we examine the commonly used quadratic function, we improve upon this specification by also examining an alternative response function, the linear response stochastic plateau. Our …

Mitigating Inaudible Ultrasound Attacks On Voice Assistants With Acoustic Metamaterials, Joshua S. Lloyd, Cole G. Ludwikowski, Cyrus Malik, Chen Shen

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Voice assistants play an important role in facilitating human–machine interactions and have been widely used in audio consumer electronic products. However, it has been shown that they are susceptible to inaudible attacks in which the malicious signals are in the ultrasound regime and cannot be heard by human ears. In this study, we show that a judiciously designed acoustic metamaterial filter can mitigate such attacks by modulating the received signals by the microphones. The metamaterial filter is composed of rigid plates with individual holes which exhibit local resonance phenomena that suppress incoming waves at specific frequencies. The effectiveness of the …

Understanding The Role Of A Putative Type I Polyketide Synthase In Chlorflavonin Biosynthesis, Ammar Mussaji

Student Research Symposium

Flavonoids are an important class of plant secondary metabolites with a variety of biological functions in the development processes of hosts. These molecules have also shown health-benefiting properties such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. As such, they are commonly used as pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. In plants, flavonoids are assembled through a type III polyketide synthase (PKS) and associated tailoring enzymes such as hydroxylase and glycosyltransferase. Some filamentous fungi also produce flavonoids, such as chlorflavonin from Aspergillus candidus. Chlorflavonin is a novel halogenated flavonoid found in nature reported to possess antifungal and anti-tuberculosis activity. Unlike plants, the biosynthetic process of flavonoids …

Does Diet Effect The Brain?, Janna Hart

Student Research Symposium

Short-chain fatty acids are biomolecules produced from bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber in the gut. Short-chain fatty acids are used in the gut to supply energy and reduce inflammation but are also believed to have effects on the brain. While we do not know how short-chain fatty acids affect the brain and behavior, recent research has led to the idea of using dietary changes as a treatment for mental health disorders. In my research, we aimed to visualize where short-chain fatty acids act in the brain with a particular focus on neural immune cells called microglia and the neurons that …

Glycosylation Of Anti-Tb Agent Chlorflavonin For Combating Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Jie Ren

Student Research Symposium

More than two billion people were infected by the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in 2020. However, during the past 50 years, the first-line (isoniazid, delamanid, and rifampicin) and second-line (capreomycin, streptomycin, and cycloserine) therapies have remained unchanged with disadvantages such as long treatment periods and severe side effects. The slow development of anti-TB drugs cannot combat the fast development of drug resistant M. tuberculosis strains from multidrug-resistant (MDR) into extensively drug resistant (XDR), which further hinders the World Health Organization’s goal to end the global TB pandemic by the year 2035. Flavonoids are a type of natural product with …

"Challenging The Known." 16th Annual Research Week: Event Proceedings, University Of The Incarnate Word

Research Week Archived Proceedings

Presentations of completed and ongoing research activity conducted by graduate students, undergraduate students, and faculty at University of the Incarnate Word. Includes poster, podium, visual arts, interactive demo, and creative and performing arts presentations. Coordinated and presented by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

One-Dimensional And Two-Dimensional Simulations Of Helical Homopolymers: A Comparative Analysis Of Energy Stabilization And Efficiency, Matthew Hooks, Nathan Roberts, Matthew Williams Ph. D.

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

The purpose of our work is to analyze the results of a two-dimensional parallel tempering simulation of a coarse-grained helical homopolymer. We aim to measure the efficiency of the simulation and apply this efficiency to the theoretical protein free energy landscape.The stable states for helical homopolymers will be analyzed using the folding funnel theory of free energy landscapes for given polymer configurations. The genesis of each simulation is defined by a randomly configured polymer; as time progresses, the energy of each structure decreases until equilibrium is reached. Data collected after equilibrium is reached is used to understand polymer behavior for …

Application Of An Empirical Density Law Via Python For Aqueous Plutonium Nitrate Systems, Tara L. Robertson

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

A predictive density tool has been developed to reduce bias and uncertainty in nuclear criticality safety calculations for aqueous plutonium nitrate systems. Multiple methods to calculate the density were reviewed and an empirical method was selected for use. The selected method was then implemented into a Python tool to calculate the solution density and the atom densities for an MCNP6.2 input file.

The Python tool has been validated and verified against the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments to predict densities within ± 2.6%. The capability to calculate and utilize densities from this tool is a large improvement …

Network Economics-Based Crowdsourcing In Online Social Networks, Natasha S. Kubiak

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This thesis addresses the challenge of user recruitment by various competing marketing agencies (MAs) in Online Social Networks. A labor economics approach, following the principles of contract theory, is devised to enable MAs to reveal the potential of each participating user to contribute a personalized level of quality and quantity of information to the crowdsourcing process. The MAs objective is to maximize their personal benefit, i.e., total utility obtained, given its budget. The latter optimization problem is formulated as a Generalized Colonel Blotto (GCB) game among the MAs, where each MA aims at incentivizing each user to report its information. …

Development Of Novel Electrodes And Electrolytes For Safer Aqueous Ammonium Ion Batteries With Enhanced Performance., Shelton Farai Kuchena

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Lithium-ion battery (LIBs) system has dominated the battery market because of its superior energy and power density. Problems related to LIBs such as safety, scarcity of cobalt and lithium have led researchers to explore alternative battery systems. NH₄⁺ ion is a nonmetal charge carrier with lower molar mass (18 mol g^-1) and smaller hydrated ionic size (3.31 Å) which results in excellent electrochemical properties. Furthermore, NH₄⁺ ion has a tetrahedral structure that has no preferred orientation as compared to spherical metal ions giving a different intercalation chemistry based on hydrogen bonding. These properties …

Structural Testing Of Concrete Walls On-Edge With Combined Axial And Out-Of-Plane Loading, Salam Al-Rubaye, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Full-scale testing of structural components can be time consuming and difficult. The design of full- scale slender concrete walls is highly influenced and controlled by second-order and out-of-plane bending loads. Previous experiments on out-plane bending of slender walls and insulated walls have been performed with bending in the direction of gravity (with or against). Additionally, most of the research considering out-of-plane bending does not include an axial load and suffers from inaccurate results due to not simulating the actual loading and constraining conditions or safety issues. This testing method was developed expressly for the determination of slender wall behavior in …

Influence Of Henna Extracts On Static And Dynamic Adsorption Of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate And Residual Oil Recovery From Quartz Sand, Mohd Syazwan Mohd Musa, Priveqa Yaashini Gopalan, Nurudeen Yekeen, Ahmed Al-Yaseri

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The application of surfactant flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) promotes hydrocarbon recovery through reduction of oil-water interfacial tension and alteration of oil-wet rock wettability into the water-wet state. Unfortunately, surfactant depletion in porous media, due to surfactant molecule adsorption and retention, adversely affects oil recovery, thus increasing the cost of the surfactant flooding process. Chemical-based materials are normally used as inhibitors or sacrificial agents to minimize surfactant adsorption, but they are quite expensive and not environmentally friendly. Plant-based materials (henna extracts) are far more sustainable because they are obtained from natural sources. However, there is limited research on the …

The Intersection Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy And Engineering Design In Secondary Stem, Mariam Manuel, Jessica Gottlieb, Gina Svarovsky, Rebecca Hite

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The instructional practices of the engineering design process and culturally responsive pedagogy have each garnered national attention and multiple decades of research. Findings from the respective literature bases call for educators and policymakers to integrate these two pedagogical approaches into K-12 classroom instruction. Scholars have argued that this integration would improve student engagement and academic achievement. There is a significant amount of research that supports the positive student outcomes associated with each approach, yet there remains a dearth of literature that addresses the integration of these two practices into the science and mathematics content areas. The movement around educational reform …

Improved Experimental Validation Of An Electromagnetic Subcell Model For Narrow Slots With Depth, Michael Anthony Illescas

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The coupling of electromagnetic (EM) energy into a system can disrupt operation of essential electronics present within it. Metal enclosures are used to shield these systems from potentially harmful electromagnetic interference (EMI). Seams and gaps in such metal enclosures are minimized but unavoidable for reasons such as maintenance and repair. These seams and gaps create an entry point for EM energy to couple into the system. Entry points are often modeled by EM analysts as narrow slots defined by their length, width, and depth. The depth of these slots can become significant compared to the wavelength, introducing resonances associated with …

Effects Of Lead Contamination On Macro-Water Retention And Micro-Structural Evolution Of Loess, Shao-Jie Wen, Wen-Chieh Cheng, Wen-Le Hu

Rock and Soil Mechanics

The physical and chemical reactions between heavy metals in landfill leachate and soil may change the microstructure of soil, then the diffusion and migration of heavy metals and other toxic substances, threaten human health and surrounding environment. In order to investigate the effects of heavy metal contamination on macroscopic water retention and microstructure of loess, the soil-water characteristic curves of Pb-contaminated loess were measured by axial translation technique. Characterization of mesoscopic structure changes was clarified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury injection (MIP), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Zeta potential. The results show that the air-entry values of Pb-contaminated loess decrease …

Efecto Del Humo De Tabaco En La Película Lagrimal En Fumadores Activos Y Pasivos: Revisión De Tema, Mayra Jessica Tapia-Vargas, Mitzi Lorea Rodríguez De La Torre, Aranza Valeria García-Figueroa, Amabile A. Velo-Silvestre

Ciencia y Tecnología para la Salud Visual y Ocular

Fumar tabaco de modo habitual, así como estar expuesto prolongadamente al humo del tabaco, son factores de riesgo para el desarrollo de diversos problemas en la superficie ocular; entre ellos, las alteraciones en la lágrima. El objetivo de esta revisión de tema es sintetizar la evidencia disponible sobre los diversos cambios que puede presentar la película lagrimal por la exposición del humo de tabaco. Para ello, se incluyeron estudios clínicos publicados entre los años 2016 y 2021, La búsqueda se realizó en tres bases de datos: PubMed, Web of Science y Science Direct, mediante las siguientes palabras clave: “tear film” …

Comparación De Las Manifestaciones Oculares Durante El Contagio Por Covid-19 Y Después De La Vacunación, Luisa Fernanda Aguilar Serrano, Daniel Sebastián Cruz Mendoza, Nicolle Daniela Hernández Pacheco, Diana Valeria Rey-Rodríguez, Laura Nathaly Rojas Sánchez

Ciencia y Tecnología para la Salud Visual y Ocular

El objetivo del presente estudio es identificar la frecuencia de manifestaciones sistémicas y oculares en pacientes diagnosticados con COVID-19, y analizar los síntomas asociados a la vacunación. Como metodología, se diseñó un cuestionario de 15 preguntas sobre manifestaciones oculares asociadas a la SARS-CoV-2 y síntomas tras la vacunación. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo, incluyendo el uso de porcentajes y frecuencias para variables cualitativas. Se realizaron análisis bivariados según la relación existentes entre las variables de interés. En el estudio participaron 270 personas en los siguientes porcentajes según edad: menores de 18 años, 10,7 % (29 personas); de 18 a 30 …

Model Test And Finite Beam Element Solution Of Cyclic Lateral Characteristics Of Piles In Sloping Ground, Wen-Zhe Peng, Ming-Hua Zhao, Chao-Wei Yang, Heng Zhao

Rock and Soil Mechanics

To reveal the cyclic lateral characteristics of piles in sloping ground under the combined influence of slope effect and cyclic weakening effect, one-way cyclic lateral loading tests with different cycle numbers, load amplitudes and slope angles were carried out, and corresponding lateral static loading tests were conducted as a comparison. The variation trends of pile head deflection, bending moment and subgrade reaction were revealed. Then, the element stiffness matrix was improved by considering the second-order effect and pile-soil interaction to develop the finite beam element solution. Finally, the theoretical predicted curves were compared with measured curves and results calculated by …

An Improved Overload Limit Equilibrium Method Of Rock Blocks, Guo-Feng Xiao

Rock and Soil Mechanics

The lifting mode is one of the failure modes of finite movable blocks proposed by block theory. Although direct collapse is the most common failure mode in underground engineering, there is still a lack of suitable quantitative stability analysis methods, resulting in the scarcity of necessary theoretical support for the excavation and reinforcement design of underground engineering. To this end, an improved stability analysis method for rock blocks considering progressive damage is proposed. Main improvements include: introducing overload base and overload direction to quantify the reserve load; proposing two options of overload base which are Tan and Scal; and setting …

Evolution Characteristics Of Meso-Cracks In Expansive Soil Under Desiccating Conditions, Hao-Dong Gao, Ran An

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Desiccation is the key factor causing the initiation and expansion of cracks in expansive soil. The evolution of cracks has a significant influence on the integrity of soil structure and the long-term stability and safety of the foundation. In order to investigate the evolution characteristics of dry-shrinkage cracks in expansive soil, micro-CT scanning tests were carried out on undisturbed soil samples. The 2D/3D images and characteristic parameters of soil mesocracks were obtained by using image processing technology, and the evolution of dry-shrinkage cracks was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results showed that the volumetric shrinkage characteristics of expansive soil in …

Simplified Analytical Solution For Horizontal Seismic Response Of Single Piles To Vertically Incident S Waves, Chang-Jie Zheng, Yi-Qin Cui, Chen Wu, Tong Luo, Lu-Bao Luan

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Based on the continuous medium model and the pile-soil interaction, the horizontal seismic response of a single pile subjected to vertically propagating S waves was investigated by regarding the single pile as a one-dimensional linearly elastic beam. The time-harmonic displacement of bedrock was introduced as the vertically propagating S waves, and the horizontal dynamic impedance function of the soil was derived by the governing equations of the plane strain model. Analytical solutions for the seismic response of the single pile subjected to vertically propagating S waves were obtained by subsuming soil impedance into the governing equation of the single pile …

Experimental Study On Liquefaction Resistance Characteristics Of Fine-Grained Coralline Soils, Ping-Shan Chen, Wei-Qing Lü, Xiao-Cong Liang, Hong-Xing Zhou, Jing Wang, Jia-Jun Ma

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Coralline soils are the emerging preferred geomaterial for island-reef engineering and harbor engineering in tropical regions, and wide gradation is the main feature of their structural composition. The liquefaction resistance of coralline soils is gaining attention due to the high seismic risk of related engineering projects. In order to investigate the liquefaction resistance of coralline soils containing fine grains, the saturated undrained dynamic strengths of three groups of representative graded samples with designed relative compaction of 0.4–0.8 and two groups of samples without fine grains were measured by large-scale dynamic triaxial liquefaction test based on an actual site of coralline …

Experimental Research On The Shear Characteristics Of The Composite Liner Consisting Of Wrinkled Geomembrane And Needle Punched Geosynthetic Clay Liner, Hai Lin, Yi-Fan Zeng, Chuang-Bing Zhou, Ping-Xiao Dong, Jian-Yong Shi

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Wrinkles in geomembrane are common among anti-seepage engineering. However, the wrinkling effect has been neglected in most of the current studies on the interface shear properties of geomembrane. The composite liner consisting of a textured geomembrane (GM) and a needle punched geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) was taken as the research object, and the hydration deformation tests confirmed that the two-step hydration method was effective in accelerating the hydration of the wrinkled GM+GCL composite liner. The shear properties of the wrinkled GM+GCL composite liner was studied by a large-scale temperature-controlled submerged direct shear apparatus. The shear characteristic of the wrinkled GM+GCL …

Refined Monitoring Of The Dynamic Process Of Soil Desiccation Cracking Using Ert, Jun-Zheng Zhang, Chao-Sheng Tang, Xue-Peng Gong, Qi-You Zhou, Qing Cheng, Shi Bin Lü Chao

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Desiccation cracking of soil affected by actions of climate is a common phenomenon in nature. The presence of cracks can dramatically weaken the engineering properties of soil and cause many geotechnical and geological engineering problems. In this study, a refined monitoring method of the dynamic process of soil desiccation cracking using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) was proposed to determine the development of the cracking networks in clayey soil. The model test and in-situ test were carried out to monitor the process of soil cracking separately. Self-developed resistance measuring system was applied to continuously collecting the current-potential difference data. The data …

P-Wave Velocity Tomography And Acoustic Emission Characteristics Of Sandstone Under Uniaxial Compression, Guang Zhang, Shun-Chuan Wu, Shi-Huai Zhang, Pei Guo

Rock and Soil Mechanics

Pillar burst is one of the most frequent dynamic disasters in deep mining, which poses a serious threat to safe and efficient mining. In this study, the failure mechanisms and precursors of pillar burst are investigated by active ultrasonic survey and passive acoustic emission (AE) monitoring in uniaxial compression tests on Zigong red sandstone. Combining active and passive AE monitoring data, a P-wave velocity tomography inversion is performed to analyse the temporal and spatial variations of P-wave velocity structure during the sample failure. Results show that the velocity structure of the sandstone sample is highly heterogeneous during loading, and a …

Automated Sensing Methods In Soft Stretchable Sensors For Soft Robotic Gripper, Prosenjit Kumar Ghosh

Electrical Engineering Theses

A soft robot is made from deformable and flexible materials such as silicone, rubber, polymers, etc. Soft robotics is a rapidly evolving field where the human-robot-interaction and bio-inspired design align. The physical characteristics such as highly deformable material and dexterity make soft robots widely applicable. A soft robotic gripper is a robotic hand that acts like a human hand and grasps any object. The most common applications of soft robotics grippers are gripping and locomotion in sensitive applications where high dynamic and sensitivity are essential. Nowadays, soft robotics grippers are used without any sensing method and feedback as it is …