Engineering Commons^™

Tidally Generated Internal Waves From Dual-Ridge Topography, Ian Derik Sanderson

Theses and Dissertations

Internal waves are generated in stratified fluids, like the ocean, where density increases with depth. Tides are one of the major generation mechanisms of internal waves. As the tides move water back and forth over underwater topography, internal waves can be generated. Topography slope and amplitude are major factors in the behavior of the generated internal wave field. In order to further understand the effects topographic shape plays, the effect of asymmetry on internal waves is investigated. This research investigates internal waves generated by dual-ridge topographies. Four cases of symmetric topographies, T, M, W, and W2, with three different peak …

Techno-Economic Sensitivity Analysis For Combined Design And Operation Of A Small Modular Reactor Hybrid Energy System, Daniel Hill, Adam Martin, Nathanael Martin-Nelson, Charles Granger, Kody Powell, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

With increasing grid-penetration of renewable energy resources and a rising need for carbon-free dispatchable power generation, nuclear-hybrid energy systems (NHES), consisting of small modular reactors, are an increasingly attractive option for maintaining grid stability. NHES can accomplish this with a minimal carbon footprint but there are significant uncertainties that are not fully understood. This work describes and demonstrates methods for analyzing the uncertainties of potential NHES designs, including uncertain design parameters and time series as well as variations in dispatch horizon length. The proposed methods are demonstrated on a sample system with 16 design parameters, 3 uncertain time series, and …

Meshless Large Eddy Simulation Of Propeller-Wing Interactions With Reformulated Vortex Particle Method, Eduardo Alvarez, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

The vortex particle method (VPM) has gained popularity in recent years due to a growing need to predict complex aerodynamic interactions during preliminary design of electric multirotor aircraft. However, VPM is known to be numerically unstable when vortical structures break down close to the turbulent regime. In recent work, the VPM has been reformulated as a large eddy simulation (LES) in a scheme that is both meshless and numerically stable, without increasing its computational cost. In this study, we build upon this meshless LES scheme to create a solver for interactional aerodynamics. Rotor blades are introduced through an actuator line …

Modified Transient Hot-Wire Needle Probe For Experimentally Measuring Thermal Conductivity Of Molten Salts, Brian N. Merritt

Theses and Dissertations

Molten salts are high-temperature heat transfer fluids intended for cooling and/or storage purposes in a variety of energy applications. The current work seeks to ultimately study the thermophysical properties of fluoride and chloride salts, which are commonly considered for use in advanced nuclear reactors. Thermophysical properties like thermal conductivity are fundamental to ensuring safe, efficient, and competitive designs for advanced commercial nuclear reactors. Measurement challenges with liquid salts such as electrical conduction, corrosion, convection, and thermal radiation have hindered traditional approaches in their attempts to accurately quantify these properties at high temperatures. Here, a needle probe is developed, which modifies …

Reliability Study Of A New Electromechanical Device Designed To Measure The Relative Dorsal Mobility Of The First Ray Of The Foot, Philippe Passeraub

Faculty Publications

Introduction: A new electromechanical instrument has been developed to measure relative dorsal mobility of the first ray in an objective and reliable way by simulating ground reaction forces during gait. This device equally applies a standardized, electronically controlled, and precise force under the first metatarsal head M1 as well as under the heads of the lesser metatarsals M2 to M5. The relative dorsal mobility between these two bearings is then measured. The purpose of this study is to assess the intra- and inter-examiners reliabilities of the measurements obtained with this device. Methods: The protocol included two examiners and 36 feet …

Reliable Mode Tracking For Gradient-Based Optimization With Dynamic Stability Constraints, Taylor Mcdonnell, Andrew Ning

Faculty Publications

In order to construct mode-specific flutter constraints for use in gradient-based multidisciplinary design optimization frameworks, mode tracking must be used to associate the current iteration's modes with the modes corresponding to each constraint function. Existing mode tracking methods, however, do not provide a method by which to ensure the accuracy of mode associations, making them unsuitable for use in situations where obtaining correct mode associations is critical. To remedy this issue, a new mode tracking method is presented which incorporates backtracking logic in order to maintain an arbitrarily high degree of confidence in mode correlations during gradient-based optimization and/or during …

Impact Of Zirconia Slurry In Steel Powder On Melt Pool Characteristics In Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Taylor Davis, Tracy W. Nelson, Nathan B. Crane

Faculty Publications

Purpose – dding dopants to a powder bed could be a cost-effective method for spatially varying the material properties in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) or for evaluating new materials and processing relationships. However, these additions may impact the selection of processing parameters. Furthermore, these impacts may be different when depositing nanoparticles into the powder bed than when the same composition is incorporated into the powder particles as by ball milling of powders or mixing similarly sized powders. This study aims to measure the changes in the single bead characteristics with laser power, laser scan speed, laser spot size and …

Experimentally Measured Lumbar Skin Strains During Activities Of Daily Living, Andrew Gibbons, Paul Mcmullin, Darian Emmett, Ulrike H. Mitchell, David T. Fullwood, Anton E. Bowden

Student Works

Introduction: When mechanical stimulation of the skin, post-surgery, is kept at a minimum, the risk for hypertrophic scarring is reduced. Therefore, surgeons have utilized different tools for optimal scar outcomes such as cutting along or perpendicular to the Langers lines or collagen fiber orientation^1,2. However, biomechanical strains induced in the skin during activities of daily living (ADL) are the primary mechanism for suture opening, and increased awareness of these strains may provide informative insights to both pre-operative incision planning, as well as post-operative counseling with the patient regarding specific activities that may lead to wound re-opening.

Methods: Data …

Improving Ideation Of User Actions Using A Novel Ideation Method, Thomas L. Ashworth

Theses and Dissertations

During early stages of the design process, ideation methods are used to generate a set of potential solutions based on a particular need. Solutions to design problems generally require both technology and user actions (or tactics) of some sort, although solution ideas may omit explicit mention of either technology or tactics. Previous research suggests that an explicit consideration of tactics in early-stage ideation enables design teams to improve the quantity, quality, variety, and novelty of their idea sets. In this paper, a novel ideation method known as the Random Prompts method is presented, and its performance is evaluated against a …

Tactics Ideation Experiment Data, Thomas L. Ashworth, Carl D. Sorensen

ScholarsArchive Data

This data includes the template worksheets, as well as filled worksheets that include ideas written by the participants in a research experiment. This experiment tested the effectiveness of a novel tactics ideation method (i.e., Random Prompts method) to a modified Brainwriting method. Transcribed copies of this data are also included.

Accompanying the data are experiment briefing presentations, Python code for rapid evaluation of the data (the evaluation methods themselves were also developed by the authors), a spreadsheet file with evaluation data (this is a necessary input to the code), and organizational trees (for team idea sets) associated with the evaluation …

Effects Of Rotor-Airframe Interaction On The Aeromechanics And Wake Of A Quadcopter In Forward Flight, Denis-Gabriel Caprace, Andrew Ning, Philippe Chatelain, Grégoire Winckelmans

Faculty Publications

From small drones to large Urban Air Mobility vehicles, the market of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is currently booming. Modern VTOL designs feature a variety of configurations involving rotors, lifting surfaces and bluff bodies. The resulting aerodynamics are highly impacted by the interactions between those components and their wakes. This has consequences on the aircraft performance and on the downstream wake. Studying the effects of those interactions through CFD can inform the development of cheaper numerical models. In this work, we focus on the interaction between rotors and bluff bodies based on the example of a generic quadcopter …

Li-Ion Electrode Microstructure Evolution During Drying And Calendering, Mojdeh Nikpour, Baichuan Liu, Paul Minson, Zachary Hillman, Brian A. Mazzeo, Dean R. Wheeler

Faculty Publications

The drying process of electrodes might seem to be a simple operation, but it has profound effects on the microstructure. Some unexpected changes can happen depending on the drying conditions. In prior work, we developed the multiphase-smoothed-particle (MPSP) model, which predicted a relative increase in the carbon additive and binder adjacent to the current collector during drying. This motivated us to undertake the present experimental investigation of the relationship between the drying rate and microstructure and transport properties for a typical anode and cathode. Specifically, the drying rate was controlled by means of temperature for both an NMC532 cathode and …

Optimizing Build Plate Adhesion Of Polymers In Fused Granule Fabrication Processes, Alex Schroeder, Jason Weaver

Faculty Publications

Perhaps the most crucial element of fused granule fabrication (FGF) is material adhesion; in order to achieve a successful product, the material being printed must adhere to the build plate. For optimal products, the material should only adhere to the build plate until the print is complete, then be easily removable. This paper examines the effects of different build plates, environments, and bonding agents on material adhesion during the FGF process in a CNC mill machine. The force to remove polycarbonate (PC) and polypropylene (PP) from build plates was tested with various bonding agents. Except in one case, the adhesive …

A Comparison Of Layer Deposition And Open Molding Of Petg By Fused Pellet Fabrication In An Additive Manufacturing System, Alex Gibson, Jason Weaver

Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing continues to offer new possibilities in both production and economics. The industry has quickly adopted it to rapidly produce parts that would be difficult or cost preventative otherwise. Recent innovation has expanded its capabilities, however there are still significant limitations. Most AM processes are restricted by materials available, in producing large parts, or by not achieving material deposition speeds to make certain products feasible. In addition, tight tolerances for features and surfaces cannot be produced without substantial post processing. High-speed Fused Pellet Fabrication (FPF) in combination with Hybrid Manufacturing (HM) offers expanded capabilities as additive and subtractive process …

Trade-Off Characterization Between Social And Environmental Impacts Using Agent-Based Models And Life-Cycle Assessment, Joseph C. Leichty, Christopher S. Mabey, Christopher A. Mattson, John L. Salmon, Jason Weaver

Faculty Publications

Meeting the UN’s sustainable development goals requires designers and engineers to solve multi-objective optimization problems involving trade-offs between social, environmental, and economic impacts. This paper presents an approach for designers and engineers to quantify the social and environmental impacts of a product at a population-level and then perform a trade-off analysis between those impacts. In the approach, designers and engineers define the attributes of the product as well as the materials and processes used in the product’s life cycle. Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) tools that have been developed to model the social impacts of products are combined with Life- Cycle Assessment …

A Spatial Long-Term Trend Analysis Of Estimated Chlorophyll-A Concentrations In Utah Lake Using Earth Observation Data, Kaylee Brook Tanner

Theses and Dissertations

We analyzed chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations in shallow, turbid Utah Lake using Landsat data from 1984 to 2021. Utah Lake is ~40 km by 21 km, has a surface area of ~390 km2, an average depth of ~3 m, and loses ~50% of inflow to evaporation. This limits spatial mixing, allowing us to evaluate impacts to smaller lake regions. We evaluated long-term trends at the pixel level and for areas related to boundary conditions. We created 17 study areas based on differences in shoreline development and nutrient inflows. We expected impacted areas to exhibit increasing chl-a trends, as population growth and …

Economic And Hydraulic Simulation Models For Evaluation Of Sediment Management In A Reservoir, Razieh Anari

Theses and Dissertations

Reservoir sedimentation is a serious problem that threatens the water storage capacities across the world. Extending a dam's life requires adopting a new design and operational paradigm that focuses on managing the reservoir and watershed system to bring sediment inflow and outflow into balance by including reservoir sediment management facilities in dam and reservoir. However, the cost of methods that remove the sediment from reservoirs is usually prohibitive and is a serious factor preventing sustainable sediment management. This thesis considered a case study, Paonia Reservoir in Colorado, to investigate two aspects of reservoir operation, sediment management and economic assessment. The …

Mechanical Actuation Via Resorbable Materials, Bethany Parkinson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Resorbable materials—or materials which diffuse into their surroundings—present a promising means of actuating mechanical systems. In current practice, such as in the realm of in vivo surgical devices, resorbable materials are often intended to perform a temporary function and completely dissolve when that function is completed (e.g. resorbable sutures). In this paper, resorbable materials are proposed for use in a different way: as a means for actuating mechanical systems. We create several prototypes which demonstrate that resorbable materials, combined with stored energy, can be used to actuate mechanical systems under several loading conditions and in various applications. We also present …

Field Based Study Of Gravel Liquefaction, Jashod Roy

Theses and Dissertations

Characterization and assessment of liquefaction potential of gravelly soil in a reliable cost-effective manner has always been a great challenge for the geotechnical engineers. The typical laboratory investigation techniques have proven to be ineffective for characterizing gravelly soil due to the cost and difficulty of extracting undisturbed sample from gravelly deposits. The traditional in-situ tests like SPT or CPT are not very suitable for gravelly soil because of interference with large size gravel particles which can artificially increase the penetration resistance. The Becker Penetration Test, well known for gravelly soil characterization, is cost-prohibitive for routine projects and is not available …

Analysis Of Using V2x Dsrc Equipped Snowplows To Request Signal Preemption, Samantha Kathleen Lau

Theses and Dissertations

Dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) systems, a form of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, were placed on Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) snowplows to request signal preemption. The study took place along five state routes in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Snowplows and intersections were equipped with the technology to communicate and process requests for signal preemption. Signal performance and vehicle performance analysis were performed to understand the impacts that snowplows requesting signal preemption had. Signal performance analysis was done to determine how snowplows with V2X systems using DSRC affected signals. Vehicle performance analysis was done to see if plowing and traffic …

Simulation Of Crystal Nucleation In Polymer Melts, Pierre Kawak

Theses and Dissertations

Semicrystalline polymers are an important class of materials for their prevalence in today's markets and their desirable properties. These properties depend on the early stages of the polymer crystallization process where a crystal nucleates from the polymer melt. This nucleation process is conventionally understood via an extension of Classical Nucleation Theory to polymers (CNTP). However, recent experimental and simulation evidence points to nucleation mechanisms that do not agree with the predictions of CNTP. Specifically, these experiments suggest a previously unrecognized role of nematic phases in mediating the melt"“crystal transtion. To explain these observations, several new theories of nucleation alternate to …

Large-Scale Testing Of Reinforced Lightweight Cellular Concrete Backfill For Mse Walls, Christian E. Lundskog

Theses and Dissertations

The basic mixture of lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) consists of cement, water, and a stable foaming agent. It is generally classified as having a density of less than 50 pounds per cubic foot (pcf), which is less than both traditional concrete and backfill materials. LCC has gained popularity in construction due to its lightweight, self-leveling, and ease of production and placement. These characteristics have made LCC a popular lightweight backfill material for mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. However, there has been relatively little research on the large-scale behavior of LCC as a MSE backfill. Therefore, large-scale test results defining failure …

Space-Time Block-Encoded 16-Apsk In Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry, Autumn Twitchell

Theses and Dissertations

The two-antenna problem in aeronautical mobile telemetry is created by the reception of two copies of the same RF waveform with different phases and time delays. Alamouti and Alamouti-like space time block codes can solve the two-antenna problem, but the decoder/detector needs to account for the different time delays between the signals received from the two transmit antennas. In this thesis, a comparison is made between the performance of Alamouti space-time block codes and time-reversed space-time block codes with 16-APSK to solve the two-antenna problem. The maximum likelihood decoder/detector for Alamouti-encoded 16-APSK is a sequence detector operating on a trellis …

Developing Ultra-High Resolution 3d Printing For Microfluidics, Kent Richard Hooper

Theses and Dissertations

Building upon previous research on Digital Light Projection (DLP) 3D printing for microfluidics, in this thesis I performed the detailed design and fabrication of a novel DLP 3D printer to increase resolution and device footprint flexibility. This new printer has a pixel resolution twice that of our group’s previous printers (3.8 μm vs 7.6 μm). I demonstrated a new state of the art for minimum channel width, reducing the minimum width to 15 μm wide (and 30 μm tall). This is an improvement over the previous smallest width of 20 μm. This printer also has the capacity to perform multiple …

Investigations Into Pressure Profile And Pressure Control In Wrist-Worn Health Monitoring Devices, Roger Mcallister Black

Theses and Dissertations

To aid in the design of future wearable health devices (WHDs), contact pressure between the distal forearm (wrist) and two different wrist-worn devices was investigated in this work. The first device included eight force sensors arranged in series along the length of a wristband to measure the pressure profile. The band also included a tensioner device for manually tightening the band while on a wrist. Testing was done on dummy wrists and the results were statistically significant supporting the hypothesis that areas of the wrist with lower radius of curvature will experience higher contact pressures generally and a faster rate …

Design And Characterization Of Phased Arrays For Uas Detection And Tracking, David Buck

Theses and Dissertations

This work continues the development of phased array radar for UAS detection and tracking. The earlier 1D scanning, 4 channel BYU SAA radar is improved upon and replicated to form a network of radars. These are shown to work together for higher level tracking across multiple fields of view. Additionally, a new phased array instrument is designed and constructed with 16 channels, 2D scanning, and improved signal processing algorithms. Preliminary metrics and field results show the operation of this sensor. A new technique for measuring array mutual impedances from embedded element patterns is developed here. This technique uses an antenna …

In-Situ Chlorine Gas Generation For Chlorination And Purification Of Rare Earth And Actinide Metals, Mark H. Schvaneveldt

Theses and Dissertations

Rare earth and actinide metals, critical to security, medicine, and the economy, have been processed through methods such as solvent extraction and electrorefining. To minimize radiological waste and improve yield, a 'chloride volatility' process--also known as the chlorination and volatilization process (CVP)--has been proposed and demonstrated for processing rare earths. The process takes advantage of the low vapor pressure of rare earth chlorides (<700 >°C), CaCl2 was added to LaCl3 to lower the melting temperature. LaCl3 electrochemical behavior has not previously been studied in CaCl2. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) were applied to LaCl3 salts in CaCl2-LiCl …

Optimization Of Solar-Coal Hybridization For Low Solar Augmentation, Aaron T. Bame, Joseph Furner, Ian Hoag, Kasra Mohammadi, Kody Powell, Brian D. Iverson

Faculty Publications

This work presents a process to determine the preliminary optimal configuration of a concentrating solar power-coal hybrid power plant with low solar augmentation, and is demonstrated on a regenerative steam Rankine cycle coal power plant in Castle Dale, UT, USA (average DNI of 542 W m⁻²). A representative plant model is developed and validated against published data for a coal power plant. The simplifications that lead to the representative model from a coal power plant model include combining multiple feedwater heaters, combining turbines, and using a mass-average calculation for extraction steam properties. Comparing net power generation and boiler …

Isogeometric Reconstruction And Crash Analysis Of A 1996 Body-In-White Dodge Neon, Kendrick M. Shepherd

Faculty Publications

Isogeometric analysis (IGA) has attracted attention from academia and industry because of its high-fidelity results, ability to represent geometry exactly, and potential to streamline the engineering design-through-analysis process. However, one of the greatest challenges limiting the scope of IGA is the ability to rapidly convert CAD geometry into a set of splines suitable for engineering analysis¾particularly for a wide set of shapes of industrial relevance. In this presentation, we describe a new, mathematically rigorous, potentially automatable framework using Ricci flow and subsequent metric optimization through which surface geometries can be rebuilt as sets of watertight, analysis-suitable, boundary-conforming semistructured NURBS patches. …

Precision Maritime Localization And Landing With Real-Time Kinematic Gnss, Alexander Jordan, Matthew Kent Rydalch, Tim Mclain, Michael Williamson Tabango

Student Works

This paper presents a highly effective method for UAV precision shipboard localization and landing using Real-time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System (RTK GNSS). To assess the feasibility of RTK GNSS for this use case we explicitly exclude vision-based localization techniques which are most often presented in the literature. Instead, the methods presented in this paper use only RTK GNSS with an inertial measurement unit aboard the landing pad to estimate the state of the boat and the relative position of the UAV with respect to the boat. We use a continuous-discrete extended Kalman filter combined with a complementary filter for …