Engineering Commons^™

Extended Training Improves The Accuracy And Efficiency Of Goal-Directed Reaching Guided By Supplemental Kinesthetic Vibrotactile Feedback, Valay A. Shah, Ashiya Thomas, Leigh A. Mrotek, Maura Casadio, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Prior studies have shown that the accuracy and efficiency of reaching can be improved using novel sensory interfaces to apply task-specific vibrotactile feedback (VTF) during movement. However, those studies have typically evaluated performance after less than 1 h of training using VTF. Here, we tested the effects of extended training using a specific form of vibrotactile cues—supplemental kinesthetic VTF—on the accuracy and temporal efficiency of goal-directed reaching. Healthy young adults performed planar reaching with VTF encoding of the moving hand's instantaneous position, applied to the non-moving arm. We compared target capture errors and movement times before, during, and after approximately …

Relationships Among Shoulder Rotational Strength, Range Of Motion, Pitching Kinetics, And Pitch Velocity In Collegiate Baseball Pitchers, Janelle A. Cross, Austin William Higgins, Cody C. Dziuk, Gerald F. Harris, William G. Raasch

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Relationships among shoulder rotational strength, range of motion, pitching kinetics, and pitch velocity in collegiate baseball pitchers. J Strength Cond Res 37(1): 129–135, 2023—Throwing shoulder injuries are the most common type of injury experienced by baseball pitchers. Weakness in the shoulder musculature and insufficient throwing arm range of motion are both risk factors for developing a shoulder injury. The goal of this study was to determine correlations among shoulder rotational strength, range of motion, pitching kinetics, and pitch velocity in collegiate pitchers. Thirteen uninjured male college pitchers were evaluated. Clinical measures included shoulder internal and external rotation range of motion, …

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 …

Modeling Thermal Radiation In Combustion Environments: Progress And Challenges, Sandip Mazumder, Somesh P. Roy

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Modeling thermal radiation in combustion environments can be extremely challenging for two main reasons. First, the radiative transfer equation (RTE), which is the cornerstone of modeling radiation in such environments, is a five-dimensional integro-differential equation. Second, the absorption and scattering coefficients of molecular gases and particulates prevalent in combustion environments oscillate strongly with the wavenumber (or wavelength), i.e., the medium is strongly nongray, requiring the solution of the RTE for a large number of wavenumbers. This article reviews the progress that has been made in this area to date with an emphasis on the work performed over the past three …

When Intercepting Moving Targets, Mid-Movement Error Corrections Reflect Distinct Responses To Visual And Haptic Perturbations, Pablo Gonzalez Polanco, Leigh A. Mrotek, Kristy A. Nielson, Scott A. Beardsley, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We examined a key aspect of sensorimotor skill: the capability to correct performance errors that arise mid-movement. Participants grasped the handle of a robot that imposed a nominal viscous resistance to hand movement. They watched a target move pseudo-randomly just above the horizontal plane of hand motion and initiated quick interception movements when cued. On some trials, the robot's viscosity or the target's speed changed without warning coincident with the GO cue. We fit a sum-of-Gaussians model to mechanical power measured at the handle to determine the number, magnitude, and relative timing of submovements occurring in each interception attempt. When …

Utility And Usability Of Two Forms Of Supplemental Vibrotactile Kinesthetic Feedback For Enhancing Movement Accuracy And Efficiency In Goal-Directed Reaching, Ramsey K. Rayes, Rachel N. Mazorow, Leigh A. Mrotek, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Recent advances in wearable sensors and computing have made possible the development of novel sensory augmentation technologies that promise to enhance human motor performance and quality of life in a wide range of applications. We compared the objective utility and subjective user experience for two biologically inspired ways to encode movement-related information into supplemental feedback for the real-time control of goal-directed reaching in healthy, neurologically intact adults. One encoding scheme mimicked visual feedback encoding by converting real-time hand position in a Cartesian frame of reference into supplemental kinesthetic feedback provided by a vibrotactile display attached to the non-moving arm and …

Data-Integrity Aware Stochastic Model For Cascading Failures In Power Grids, Rezoan Ahmed Shuvro, Pankaz Das, Jamir Shariar Jyoti, Joana M. Abreu, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The reliable operation of power grids during cascading failures is heavily dependent on the interdependencies between the power grid components and the supporting communications and control networks. Moreover, the system operators' expertise in dealing with cascading failures can play a pivotal role during contingencies. In this paper, a dynamical probabilistic model is developed based on Markov-chains, which captures the dynamics of cascading failures in the power grid. Specifically, a previously developed Markov-chain based model is extended to capture the trade-off between the benefits of having a robust communication infrastructure and its vulnerability from data integrity (e.g., cyber-attacks). State-space reduction of …

Aortic Remodeling Kinetics In Response To Coarctation-Induced Mechanical Perturbations, Arash Ghorbannia, Mehdi Maadooliat, Ronald K. Woods, Said H. Audi, Brandon J. Tefft, Claudio Chiastra, El Sayed H. Ibrahim, John F. Ladisa Jr.

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA; constriction of the proximal descending thoracic aorta) is among the most common congenital cardiovascular defects. Coarctation-induced mechanical perturbations trigger a cycle of mechano-transduction events leading to irreversible precursors of hypertension including arterial thickening, stiffening, and vasoactive dysfunction in proximal conduit arteries. This study sought to identify kinetics of the stress-mediated compensatory response leading to these alterations using a preclinical rabbit model of CoA.

Methods: A prior growth and remodeling (G&R) framework was reformulated and fit to empirical measurements from CoA rabbits classified into one control and nine CoA groups of various severities …

Scan4façade: Automated As-Is Façade Modeling Of Historic High-Rise Buildings Using Drones And Ai, Yuhan Jiang, Sisi Han, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents an automated as-is façade modeling method for existing and historic high-rise buildings, named Scan4Façade. To begin with, a camera drone with a spiral path is employed to capture building exterior images, and photogrammetry is used to conduct three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and create mesh models for the scanned building façades. High-resolution façade orthoimages are then generated from mesh models and pixelwise segmented by an artificial intelligence (AI) model named U-net. A combined data augmentation strategy, including random flipping, rotation, resizing, perspective transformation, and color adjustment, is proposed for model training with a limited number of labels. As …

Assessment Of Narrow-Band And Full Spectrum Gas Radiation Methods In A Real Industrial Glass Furnace Configuration, M. Galtier, W. Woelffel, F. André, V. P. Solovjov, B. W. Webb, Somesh Roy

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This work is dedicated to a comparison of various methods of gaseous flame radiation in a three-dimensional configuration representative of a glass furnace studied at Saint Gobain Research Paris. For this purpose, several narrow band and full spectrum models of flame radiation are assessed against LBL calculations. Among narrow band models, the recently proposed l-distribution method is shown to be more accurate than the k-distribution method. Among global models, the RC-SLW technique provides a high accuracy and can be confidently used for radiative heat transfer calculations in three-dimensional high temperature configurations.

Automatic Concrete Sidewalk Deficiency Detection And Mapping With Deep Learning, Yuhan Jiang, Sisi Han, Dapeng Li, Yong Bai, Mingzhu Wang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Vertical displacement is a common concrete slab sidewalk deficiency, which may cause trip hazards and reduce wheelchair accessibility. This paper presents an automatic approach for trip hazard detection and mapping based on deep learning. A low-cost mobile LiDAR scanner was used to obtain full-width as-is conditions of sidewalks, after which a method was developed to convert the scanned 3D point clouds into 2D RGB orthoimages and elevation images. Then, a deep learning-based model was developed for pixelwise segmentation of concrete slab joints. Algorithms were developed to extract different types of joints of straight and curved sidewalks from the segmented images. …

Planar Compliance Realization With Two 3-Joint Serial Mechanisms, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, the realization of any specified planar compliance with two 3R serial elastic mechanisms is addressed. Using the concept of dual elastic mechanisms, it is shown that the realization of a compliant behavior with two serial mechanisms connected in parallel is equivalent to its realization with a 6-spring fully parallel mechanism. Since the spring axes of a 6-spring parallel mechanism indicate the geometry of a dual 3R serial mechanism, a new synthesis procedure for the realization of a stiffness matrix with a 6-spring parallel mechanism is first developed. Then, this result is extended to a geometric construction-based synthesis …

Simulation Of A Rapid Compression Machine For Evaluation Of Ignition Chemistry And Soot Formation Using Gasoline/Ethanol Blends, Musharrat Chowdhury

Master's Theses (2009 -)

With the projected decline of demand for gasoline in light duty engines and the advent of ethanol as a green fuel, the use of gasoline-ethanol blend fuels in heavy duty applications are being investigated where the primary mode of combustion is mixing controlled combustion. In mixing controlled combustion, a wide range of mixture conditions (equivalence ratio) exist inside the engine cylinder. The sooting tendencies of light fuels at richer conditions are not well understood. The goal of this research is to model the particulate matter emissions for gasoline/ethanol fuel blends, especially at fuel rich conditions. The computational models can then …

Impact Of Pipe Material On Microbial Communities In Biofilm Samples From Full-Scale Drinking Water Distribution Systems, San Marie Victoria Thomson

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The drinking water distribution system (DWDS) provides a habitat particularly supportive to biofilm-forming bacteria that can attach to pipe walls. These biofilms comprise the majority of bacteria in the DWDS, yet they have been understudied with respect to the pipe material on which they form. Biofilms can accelerate disinfectant decay, promote corrosion of pipes, and harbor opportunistic pathogens (OPs). The choice of pipe material could have a long-lasting effect on the characteristics of the biofilms formed in DWDSs. In this study, the impact of pipe material on biofilms residing in full-scale drinking water pipes was investigated by obtaining biofilm samples …

Development Of An In Vitro Model To Assess Endothelial Dysfunction From Coarctation Of The Aorta, Dylan James Schock

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a common congenital heart defect characterized by a stenosis of the descending thoracic aorta. Surgical treatment can alleviate the stenosis and restore physiologic blood flow; however, patients frequently develop cardiovascular morbidity with hypertension (HTN) being most common. Identifying the mechanisms involved with the onset of HTN in CoA patients is difficult due to confounding factors including the severity of coarctation, age of correction, and general lifestyle factors. To account for the variability seen in humans, a rabbit model of CoA and correction was developed previously. Microarray analysis of aortic samples from the model showed …

Comparison Of 3d Bio-Printed Ipsc-Cms Derived From Healthy Donors And Patients With Hlhs, Wei He

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is an extremely severe form of congenital heart disease, but current treatments are not adequate. In order to find more effective treatments, we need to reproduce in vitro the physiological characteristics of cardiomyocytes associated with HLHS. Such a tissue model could be of great help to current medical research, and 3D printing technology is an effective tool for this purpose. We print layer-by-layer cardiomyocytes from both healthy and HLHS patients with laminin-based bioink to form a three-dimensional model. With our 3D cell culture technology, this model can simulate the growth conditions of cardiomyocytes in vivo. …

Near Infrared Light Penetration In Human Tissue: An Analysis Of Tissue Structure And Heterogeneities, Paul Murray Koster

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Low level laser irradiation (LLLI) has been a controversial method of therapy due to a limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms that could cause the irradiation to provide its proposed benefits – increased blood flow, vasodilation, cell attachment, and wound healing. Near infrared (NIR) light appears able to function with nitrates and enzymes around the electric transport chain to allow biologically available nitric oxide to be released from hemoglobin and myoglobin. Nitric oxide has been shown to be a part of a mechanism that promotes blood flow, vasodilation, and wound healing.NIR penetration in biological tissue is not well described due …

Improving Char Combustion Models Using Micro-Ct, Automated Image Analysis, And Pore-Resolving Simulations, Dongyu Liang

Dissertations (1934 -)

Combustion of pulverized coal and biomass in furnaces and boilers involves millions of particles with a distribution of sizes and morphologies. Because char particles typically react under zone II conditions, in which pore-diffusion and heterogenous reaction both influence the rate of conversion, the morphology of the porous particles affects reactor-scale outputs. To understand the impacts of complex morphology, 3-D pore-resolving simulations employing real char geometries obtained from high-resolution X-ray microtomography are first used to study combustion of 150 coal char particles and 30 biomass char particles. Localized reactant penetration into the innermost regions of the particles is observed, facilitated by …

A Study On The Hierarchical Control Structure Of The Islanded Microgrid, Fahad Shumran Alshammari

Dissertations (1934 -)

The microgrid is essential in promoting the power system’s resilience through its ability to host small-scale DG units. Furthermore, the microgrid can isolate itself during main grid faults and supply its demands. However, islanded operation of the microgrid is challenging due to difficulties in frequency and voltage control. In islanded mode, grid-forming units collaborate to control the frequency and voltage. A hierarchical control structure employing the droop control technique provides these control objectives in three consecutive levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. However, challenges associated with DG units in the vicinity of distribution networks limit the effectiveness of the islanded mode …

Highly Sensitive Sensor System Using Composite Sensor Coatings For Identification Of Chemical Isomers, Nicholas David Post

Dissertations (1934 -)

Direct liquid-phase sensing of aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m-, p-, o-xylene (BTEX) is of significant interest in environmental monitoring applications due to their severe impact on human health, and their prevalence in the products of the petrochemical industry. Moreover, each of these chemicals, including each xylene isomer, is utilized for petrochemical applications for which there are not currently viable replacements or cost-effective substitutions. As a result, isomer-specific identification is an important process-control capability for a number of industrial chemical separations, a family of processes that amounts to approximately 15% of total global energy consumption. In this …

A Comprehensive Characterization Of Hollow Conductor Additively Manufactured Coils And Thermal Management System For A 250 Kw Spm Machine, Sina Vahid, Salar Koushan, Towhid Islam Chowdhury, Ayman El-Refaie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper provides an extensive and comprehensive analysis on characterization of additively manufactured coils and heat pipe based liquid cooling thermal management system, for a 250 kW and 5,000 rpm machine. AC and DC electrical tests at 140 Arms and 70 ADC are conducted on AlSi10Mg additively manufactured coils to extract their thermal and electrical characteristics. Heat pipes and liquid cooling test setups are described and discussed. The thermal discussion is concluded by experimental results showing the effectiveness of the thermal management system proposed in this paper. FEA are performed on the coils using ANSYS Maxwell to accurately predict the …

Continuous Myoelectric Prediction Of Future Ankle Kinematics And Kinetics For The Control Of Active Powered Prostheses, Erika Virginia Zabre González

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a continuous predictive model of gait that incorporates user intent, vis-à-vis surface electromyography (EMG) signals of the lower limb, to continuously predict future ankle kinematics and kinetics across multiple terrains and their transitions for the control of an active ankle-foot prosthesis. Continuously predicting variations in gait, particularly during transitions and noncyclic activities, is limited in lower limb prostheses. Despite performance improvements in active lower limb prostheses, there remains a need for robust and accurate control that incorporates direct user intent (e.g., myoelectric control) to limit physical and cognitive demands and provide more …

Mitigating Cascading Failures In Power Grids Via Markov Decision-Based Load-Shedding With Dc Power Flow Model, Pankaz Das, Rezoan Ahmed Shuvro, Kassie Povinelli, Francesco Sorrentino, Majeed M. Hayat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Despite the reliability of modern power systems, large blackouts due to cascading failures (CFs) do occur in power grids with enormous economic and societal costs. In this article, CFs in power grids are theoretically modeled proposing a Markov decision process (MDP) framework with the aim of developing optimal load-shedding (LS) policies to mitigate CFs. The embedded Markov chain of the MDP, established earlier to capture the dynamics of CFs, features a reduced state-space and state-dependent transition probabilities. We introduce appropriate actions affecting the dynamics of CFs and associated costs. Optimal LS policies are computed that minimize the expected cumulative cost …

The Relationship Between Cerebrovascular Reactivity And Cerebral Oxygenation During Hemodialysis, W. T. Richerson, Brian D. Schmit, D. F. Wolfgram

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Significance Statement

Patients with ESKD have a high burden of ischemic brain lesions related to decline in cerebral blood flow during hemodialysis. Preliminary studies in patients on hemodialysis noted impairment in cerebrovascular reactivity, a mechanism that regulates cerebral perfusion. We found that lower cerebrovascular reactivity was associated with greater decrease in cerebral oxygen saturation during hemodialysis, particularly when accounting for changes in systemic BP. These results suggest that testing cerebrovascular reactivity could be relevant to characterizing risk of cerebral ischemia during hemodialysis and the potential sequelae of brain injury and cognitive impairment over time.

Background

Patients with kidney failure treated …

Fluorescein Clearance Kinetics In Blood And Bile Indicates Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury In Rats, Joohyun Kim, Yongquiang Yang, Seung-Keun Hong, Jacek Zielonka, Ranjan K. Dash, Said H. Audi, Suresh N. Kumar, Amit Joshi, Michael W. Zimmerman, Johnny C. Hong

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Quantitative measurement of the degree of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is crucial for developing therapeutic strategies for its treatment. We hypothesized that clearance of fluorescent dye through bile metabolism may reflect the degree of hepatic IRI. In this study, we investigated sodium fluorescein clearance kinetics in blood and bile for quantifying the degree of hepatic IRI. Warm ischemia times (WITs) of 0, 30, or 60 min followed by 1 h or 4 h of reperfusion, were applied to the median and lateral lobes of the liver in Sprague-Dawley rats. Subsequently, 2 mg/kg of sodium fluorescein was injected intravenously, and blood …

Intergrader Agreement Of Foveal Cone Topography Measured Using Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscopy, Niamh Wynne, Jenna A. Cava, Mina Gaffney, Heather Heitkotter, Abigail Scheidt, Jenny L. Reiniger, Jenna Grieshop, Kai Yang, Wolf M. Harmening, Robert F. Cooper, Joseph Carroll

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The foveal cone mosaic can be directly visualized using adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO). Previous studies in individuals with normal vision report wide variability in the topography of the foveal cone mosaic, especially the value of peak cone density (PCD). While these studies often involve a human grader, there have been no studies examining intergrader reproducibility of foveal cone mosaic metrics. Here we re-analyzed published AOSLO foveal cone images from 44 individuals to assess the relationship between the cone density centroid (CDC) location and the location of PCD. Across 5 graders with variable experience, we found a measurement error …

Comparative Study And Design Optimization Of A Dual-Mechanical-Port Electric Machine For Hybrid Electric Vehicle Applications, Hao Chen, Ayman M. El-Refaie, Yuefei Zuo, Shun Cai, Libing Cao, Christopher H. T. Lee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new dual-mechanical-port (DMP) electric machine for hybrid electric vehicle applications, particularly in the power-split continuously variable transmission systems, is proposed in this paper. In order to comprehensively and quantitatively evaluate the pros and cons of the proposed machine, a comparative study of four DMP electric machines with different topologies is conducted. These four investigated DMP electric machines include a conventional DMP machine, a DMP machine with spoke-type permanent magnets, a DMP machine with reluctance rotor, and a DMP machine with open slots which is the proposed machine in this paper. Even though these four machines have similar topologies, they …

Reduced Chest Computed Tomography Scan Length For Patients Positive For Coronavirus Disease 2019: Dose Reduction And Impact On Diagnostic Utility, Sara Principi, Stacy D. O'Connor, Frank Luba, Taly Gilat Schmidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

This work aimed to retrospectively evaluate the potential of dose reduction on chest computed tomography (CT) examinations by reducing the longitudinal scan length for patients positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods

This study used the Personalized Rapid Estimation of Dose in CT (PREDICT) tool to estimate patient-specific organ doses from CT image data. The PREDICT is a research tool that combines a linear Boltzmann transport equation solver for radiation dose map generation with deep learning algorithms for organ contouring. Computed tomography images from 74 subjects in the Medical Imaging Data Resource Center–RSNA International COVID-19 Open Radiology Database data …

Impact Of Stormwater Infiltration On Rainfall-Derived Inflow And Infiltration: A Physically Based Surface–Subsurface Urban Hydrologic Model, Kun Zhang, Anthony J. Parolari

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The subsurface fate of stormwater infiltration enhanced by green infrastructure (GI) is unknown. GI redirects stormflows from the surface into the subsurface, which can be partitioned to evapotranspiration or baseflow, or be intercepted by buried infrastructure trenches. Stormwater that infiltrates sanitary sewer pipes is referred to as rainfall-derived inflow and infiltration (RDII) and represents a rapid pathway for infiltrated stormwater to reach receiving waters. To quantify the partitioning of infiltrated stormwater between slow and fast flows, a physically-based hydrologic model was developed integrating coupled surface–subsurface processes and urban sewer systems and applied to a sewershed near Milwaukee, WI. In this …

Molecular Arrangement And Fringe Identification And Analysis From Molecular Dynamics (Mafia-Md): A Tool For Analyzing The Molecular Structures Formed During Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of Hydrocarbons, Khaled Mosharraf Mosharraf Mukut, Somesh Roy, Eirini Goudeli

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Reactive molecular dynamics (RMD) simulations are becoming popular, with the recent developments in high-performance and efficient computing architecture, for investigating fundamental physico-chemical behaviors of reacting species. Due to the complexity of hydrocarbon systems, characterization of molecules formed during RMD simulations of hydrocarbons can be very challenging for simulations involving a large number of molecules. The novel post-processing utility “MAFIA-MD” – an acronym for “Molecular Arrangement and Fringe Identification and Analysis from Molecular Dynamics” – presented in this manuscript can analyze and perform molecular characterization of a large number of RMD trajectory files (.XYZ files) simultaneously. The utility will be useful …