Engineering Commons^™

Ergonomics Study Of A Helmet-Mounted Augmented Reality System For Coal Power Plant Workers, Ashley M. Toll

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that combines real and virtual information presented to the user in an interactive way in real time. The Microsoft HoloLens and RealWear HMT-1 are two common types of head-mounted AR available to industrial field workers. These two AR systems were tested on how they affected indicators of eye strain and forces of the neck and shoulder muscles for electric utility power plant operators while they performed five routine inspection tasks using coal burning equipment. The inspection tasks were conducted under three conditions: HoloLens, HMT-1, and absence of AR (normal). The duration of the inspection …

Improved Reliability Of Stormwater Detention Basin Performance Through Water Quality Data-Informed Real-Time Control, Sazzad Sharior

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The objective of stormwater detention basins is to capture stormwater runoff to reduce and delay peak flow and to improve the water quality. These objectives can be improved upon by actively controlling the outflow of the basins rather than traditional passive outflow structures. There are studies demonstrating the performance of the active controls that respond in real-time to basin hydraulics, detention time, and rainfall forecasts. We hypothesize that the performance of these active controls can be improved upon by incorporating real-time water quality data streams into the control algorithm. Furthermore, we hypothesize that performance of these active controls also depends …

Computational Characterization Of The Cellular Origins Of Electroencephalography, Shane Hesprich

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive technique used to measure brain activity. Despite its near ubiquitous presence in neuroscience, very little research has gone into connecting the electrical potentials it measures on the scalp to the underlying network activity which generates those signals. This results in most EEG analyses being more macroscopically focused (e.g. coherence and correlation analyses). Despite the many uses of macroscopically focuses analyses, limiting research to only these analyses neglects the insights which can be gained from studying network and microcircuit architecture. The ability to study these things through non-invasive techniques like EEG depends upon the ability to …

Impact Of Electrocoagulation Pretreatment On E. Coli Mitigation Using Electrooxidation, William Mcgregor Lynn

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Small drinking water systems serve approximately 20% of the US population, but they can struggle to comply with the Total Coliform Rule and the Disinfectant and Disinfection Byproduct Rule. Issues with insufficient funds to effectively treat the water and difficulties with the transportation of required chemicals can affect compliance. Electrochemical processes may offer an alternative approach for small water systems as they have demonstrated some advantages over traditional treatments, such as reduced handling and storage of chemicals and cost effectiveness. Sequential electrochemical processes have yet to be tested for the treatment of E. coli in drinking waters. In this study, …

Parametric Study Of Hypoplasticity Constitutive Model For Granular Media Via The Discrete Element Method, Yufei Zhou

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Granular media, as a general definition, includes a large class of materials, such as cereal grains; pharmaceutical tablets and capsules; geomaterials, such as sand; and the masses of rock and ice in planetary rings. Alternatively, a granular material could consist of highly fractured rock masses regarded as cracked elastic solids. In all cases, a very important property of granular media is their ability to yield, that is, exhibit irreversible deformation properties. Because the granular elastic modulus ‘G’ is the key relevant stress parameter, there is an interesting and nagging question as to the microscopic origins of the stress scales assumed …

Profile Synthesis Of Prismatic-Prismatic Variable Joints For Use In Reconfigurable Mechanisms, Ryan Daniel Callahan

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Reconfigurable mechanisms provide increased flexibility in machine design and can be used in a variety of applications. Variable joints in reconfigurable mechanisms allow for machine designs that better optimize space and resources. This thesis uses a configuration space analysis to determine the motion profiles of Prismatic-Prismatic higher variable joints. Prismatic-Prismatic variable joints have never been analyzed or synthesized. In addition, no variable joints of any type have been considered with two-dimensional contact points. Variable joints enable the creation of Type II Mechanisms with Variable Topology, mechanisms whose topology changes due to changes in joint geometry. The goal of this synthesis …

Power Divider Miniaturization With A Variable Load, Amanda Jensen

Master's Theses (2009 -)

A 3 Tesla (127.72 MHz) Magnetic Resonance system is able to scan with both the body coil and surface coil at the same time due to a technology called simultaneous acquisition, which uses a 4-port power divider, typically a quad hybrid. This functions at 127.72 MHz. The goal is to replicate this function at 1.5 Tesla field strength (63.86 MHz), but to do so would require the power divider to double in size. This space is not available, so methods of miniaturizing the design were investigated. It was found that slow wave structures cannot shrink the quadrature hybrid design enough …

Lumped Parameter Modeling And Parameter Investigation Of An Electrohydraulic Crimping Hand Tool, Eric Norquist

Master's Theses (2009 -)

A lumped parameter model of a hand-held electrohydraulic tool was developed. The tool modeled was a Milwaukee Tool M18 12 Ton Crimper. First principle approaches were used to develop state-space models for each of the subsystems in the tool. The included subsystems were the tool motor and gear train, pump, return valve, and cylinder. The subsystem models were combined into a comprehensive eleventh-order nonlinear dynamic tool model. The tool model has two inputs and three outputs. The model inputs were the motor voltage and opening the return valve. The outputs were the motor current, application time, and retraction time. Each …

Bayesian Estimation Of Transient Engine Exhaust Composition From Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy Measurements, David Hilton Wilson

Dissertations (1934 -)

Mobile sources comprise a substantial portion of anthropogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions worldwide. Many research efforts have sought to elucidate the relationships between VOC emissions and engine operating conditions, which are largely transient in real-world scenarios. However, the literature remains dominated by steady-state data and batch measurements of total emissions over entire driving cycles. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a promising technique for obtaining instantaneous, time-resolved VOC measurements. However, FTIR measurements of chemically evolving samples are biased due to sample recirculation and signal non-stationarity. To extract accurate emissions profiles from biased FTIR measurements of transient emissions, an Unscented …

Thermodynamically-Constrained Computational Modeling Of Lung Tissue Bioenergetics And The Effect Of Hyperoxia-Induced Acute Lung Injury, Xiao Zhang

Dissertations (1934 -)

Altered lung tissue bioenergetics is an important and early step in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury (ALI), one of the most common causes of admission to medical ICUs. A wealth of information exists regarding the effect of ALI on specific mitochondrial and cytosolic processes in isolated mitochondria, cultured endothelial cell, and intact lungs. However, the interdependence of lung cellular processes makes it difficult to quantify the impact of a change in a single or multiple cellular process(es) on overall lung tissue bioenergetics. Integrating bioenergetics data from isolated mitochondria and intact lung is necessary for determining the functional significance of …

Passive Compliance Control Of Redundant Serial Manipulators, Jacob J. Rice

Dissertations (1934 -)

Current industrial robotic manipulators, and even state of the art robotic manipulators, are slower and less reliable than humans at executing constrained manipulation tasks, tasks where motion is constrained in some direction (e.g., opening a door, turning a crank, polishing a surface, or assembling parts). Many constrained manipulation tasks are still performed by people because robots do not have the manipulation ability to reliably interact with a stiff environment, for which even small commanded position error yields very high contact forces in the constrained directions. Contact forces can be regulated using compliance control, in which the multi-directional elastic behavior (force-displacement …

Disaggregation: Inferring Daily Gas Flow From Billing Cycle Data, Maral Fakoor

Dissertations (1934 -)

Local natural gas distribution companies rely on accurate forecasts of daily demand to buy gas and deliver it to their customers. To forecast consumption, mathematical models with inputs such as weather and historical daily demand are considered. Many needs exist in the energy industry where the frequency of measurement is different from demanded. When the needed forecast frequency is higher than the measurements, disaggregation approaches are needed. We built multi-parameter linear regression models using monthly data. Several decoration methods in the disaggregation process are developed to improve the model accuracy. Prior-day weather adjustment is used to capture the daily fluctuation …

Multi-Scale Traction Dynamics In Obliquely Impacted Polymer-Metal Targets, Peter Anthony Sable

Dissertations (1934 -)

The characterization of polymer behavior at high strain-rates is a criticalarea of research driven by their use as adhesives, structural components, or evenas binders for energetic systems. Current experimentation has been limited to eitherlow strain-rate mechanical testing or plane strain (uniaxial) impact testing.As such, more complicated loading conditions at high strain-rate have remainedunexplored. Particularly of interest include the rate dependencies of polymerstrength as well as interface traction behaviors like adhesion and dynamic frictionphenomena. To investigate these characteristics, fully dense, high durometer,polyurethane (PUR) and epoxy were subjected to combined pressure-shear loadingvia oblique …

Iron-Enhanced Mitigation Of Viruses In Drinking Water, Joseph Aiden Heffron

Dissertations (1934 -)

Waterborne viruses are ubiquitous in the environment and present a global threat to public health. Previous research has suggested that iron-based water treatment has promise as a low-cost, non-toxic means of virus mitigation. In particular, zero-valent and ferrous iron have shown evidence of inactivating bacteria and viruses. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the relationship between iron oxidation and virus inactivation and determine if iron-based inactivation can enhance two water treatment processes, electrocoagulation and electrooxidation, for virus mitigation. This research first investigated bacteriophage inactivation due to ferrous oxidation in batch tests using ferrous chloride salt. Ferrous iron oxidation …

Advanced Silicon Carbide Based Fault-Tolerant Multilevel Converters, Ramin Katebi

Dissertations (1934 -)

The number of safety-critical loads in electric power areas have been increasing drastically in the last two decades. These loads include the emerging more-electric aircraft (MEA), uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), high-power medical instruments, electric and hybrid electric vehicles (EV/HEV) and ships for military use, electric space rovers for space exploration and the like. This dissertation introduces two novel fault-tolerant three-level power converter topologies, named advanced three-level active neutral point clamped converter (A3L-ANPC) and advanced three-level active T-Type (A3L-ATT) converter. The goal of these converters is to increase the reliability of multilevel power converters used in safety-critical applications.These new fault-tolerant …

Analysis Of Operational Parameters, Reactor Kinetics, And Floc Characterization For The Removal Of Estrogens Via Electrocoagulation, Emily K. Maher, Kassidy N. O'Malley, Joe Heffron, Jingwan Huo, Brooke K. Mayer, Yin Wang, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Estrogenic compounds can cause human and ecological health issues and have been detected in surface and drinking water. In this research a reactor analysis determined the impact of operational parameters, the best fit kinetic model for the removal of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) using a bench-top iron electrocoagulation reactor, and characterized the floc generated in-situ. The parameters investigated were current density, conductivity, stir rate, and polarity reversal. Estrogen removal correlated well with an increase in current density, while conductivity did not impact removal but did reduce potentials. High stir rates and frequent polarity reversal …

Geometry Based Synthesis Of Planar Compliances With Redundant Mechanisms Having Five Compliant Components, Shuguang Huang, Joseph M. Schimmels

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, a geometric approach to the passive realization of any planar compliance with a redundant compliant mechanism is presented. The mechanisms considered are either simple serial mechanisms consisting of five elastic joints or simple parallel mechanisms consisting of five springs. For each type of mechanism, realization conditions to achieve a given compliance are derived. The physical significance of each condition is identified and graphically interpreted. Geometry based synthesis procedures to achieve any given compliance are developed for both types of mechanisms. Since each realization condition imposes restrictions solely on the mechanism geometry, the procedures allow one to choose …

Partial Pressures And High-Temperature Thermodynamic Properties For The Germanium-Tellurium System, Robert F. Brebrick

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Our earlier optical density measurements over Ge-Te compositions are reanalyzed. Spectral characteristics of the GeTe(g) spectrum are determined from measurements with a 1 at.% Te sample near 1200 K. Beers law constants for GeTe(g) are established by requiring consistency between spectroscopic results for the dissociation of GeTe(g) into Ge(g) and Te₂(g) and our description in terms of the partial pressure of Te₂ and the partial optical density of GeTe over Ge saturated GeTe(c). Between 870 and 997 K the partial pressures over Ge saturated GeTe(c) are ln P(Te₂,atm) = − 24,800/T + 17.600 and ln …

Testing Photovoltaic Pavers For Roadway Applications, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., David Newman, James Crovetti, Ashish Kumar Mishra, Mohiuddin Munna, Allyssa Delbridge-Ramos, Julie Brusaw, Scott Brusaw

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Concrete and asphalt are the primary materials used to construct roadways for motor vehicles, bike paths for pedestrians and bicyclists, and runways for aircraft. Solar Roadways®, Inc. (SR) in Sandpoint, ID, proposed using robust, Solar Road Panels (SRPs) as an alternative roadway material due to the potential for creating a modular, multi-functional infrastructure product with cost-savings, user-safety, power-generation, and a better alternative in terms of environmental sustainability when compared to contemporary pavement materials. Typical roadway construction materials, on average, need to be replaced every 10-15 years while also requiring regular annual maintenance to maintain proper safety standards. SR’s novel roadway …

Cerebellar Source Localization Using Event-Related Potentials In A Simple Motor Task, Efrain Torres, Scott A. Beardsley

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to characterize the temporal patterns of electrical activity, primarily associated with neocortex. Traditionally, the sensitivity of EEG to cerebellar activity has been considered limited with the electrical potentials assumed to stem from cortical pyramidal cells. This study leverages recent work examining the structure, organization, and synchrony of purkinje neurons to promote local field potentials measured by EEG. In conjunction with high fidelity EEG recording and source imaging analysis we examined the feasibility of using current EEG systems to characterize cerebellar function in a series of simple motor tasks. Distributed source imaging analysis revealed consistent task-related …

Adsorption Of Organic Micropollutants Onto Biochar: A Review Of Relevant Kinetics, Mechanisms And Equilibrium, Yiran Tong, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

As an alternative to activated carbon, biochar has been considered for removal of organic micropollutants from water and wastewater via adsorption. This review elaborates on the fundamental basis of adsorption kinetics, mechanisms, and equilibrium with respect to biochar-based adsorption of micropollutants. The objectives include: 1) linking biochar surface properties with adsorption abilities, 2) categorizing the kinetics of adsorption of aqueous-phase organic compounds onto biochar, 3) categorizing the molecular-scale interactions between organic micropollutants and biochar, and 4) reviewing existing quantitative methods for characterizing adsorption equilibrium of organic micropollutants from water onto an adsorbent surface. To fulfill these goals, the relationships among …

Statistical Algorithm For Nonuniformity Correction In Focal-Plane Arrays, Majeed M. Hayat, Sergio N. Torres, Ernest Armstrong, Stephen C. Cain, Brian Yasuda

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A statistical algorithm has been developed to compensate for the fixed-pattern noise associated with spatial nonuniformity and temporal drift in the response of focal-plane array infrared imaging systems. The algorithm uses initial scene data to generate initial estimates of the gain, the offset, and the variance of the additive electronic noise of each detector element. The algorithm then updates these parameters by use of subsequent frames and uses the updated parameters to restore the true image by use of a least-mean-square error finite-impulse-response filter. The algorithm is applied to infrared data, and the restored images compare favorably with those restored …

Hybrid Field Oriented And Direct Torque Control For Sensorless Bldc Motors Used In Aerial Drones, Kellen Carey, Nathan M. Zimmerman, Cristinel Ababei

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this study, a sensorless hybrid control scheme for brushless direct current (BLDC) motors for use in multirotor aerial vehicles is introduced. In such applications, the control scheme must satisfy high-performance demands for a wide range of rotor speeds and must be robust to motor parameter uncertainties and measurement noise. The proposed controller combines field-oriented control (FOC) and direct torque control (DTC) techniques to take benefit of the advantages offered by each of these techniques individually. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme over a wide range of rotor speeds as well as good robustness against parameter …

Computationally Efficient Strand Eddy Current Loss Calculation In Electric Machines, Alireza Fatemi, Dan M. Ionel, Nabeel Demerdash, Dave A. Staton, Rafal Wrobel, Yew Chuan Chong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A fast finite element (FE) based method for the calculation of eddy current losses in the stator windings of randomly wound electric machines is presented in this paper. The method is particularly suitable for implementation in large-scale design optimization algorithms where a qualitative characterization of such losses at higher speeds is most beneficial for identification of the design solutions that exhibit the lowest overall losses including the ac losses in the stator windings. Unlike the common practice of assuming a constant slot fill factor s _f for all the design variations, the maximum s _f in the developed method is …

Freelabel: A Publicly Available Annotation Tool Based On Freehand Traces, Philipe A. Dias, Zhou Shen, Amy Tabb, Henry P. Medeiros

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Large-scale annotation of image segmentation datasets is often prohibitively expensive, as it usually requires a huge number of worker hours to obtain high-quality results. Abundant and reliable data has been, however, crucial for the advances on image understanding tasks recently achieved by deep learning models. In this paper, we introduce FreeLabel, an intuitive open-source web interface that allows users to obtain high-quality segmentation masks with just a few freehand scribbles, in a matter of seconds. The efficacy of FreeLabel is quantitatively demonstrated by experimental results on the PASCAL dataset as well as on a dataset from the agricultural domain. Designed …

Shattered Rim And Shelling Of High-Speed Railway Wheels In The Very-High-Cycle Fatigue Regime Under Rolling Contact Loading, Tao Cong, Jianmin Han, Jianmin Han, Joseph P. Domblesky, Xiaolong Liu

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Due to the improvement of the wear property, rolling contact fatigue including shattered rim and shelling are the main failure causes of the high-speed railway wheels. In this paper, shattered rim and shelling occurred on the service wheels of the China Railway High-speed (CRH) trains were systematically investigated. The recorded data of the last ten years CRH operation indicated that all shattered rims and shelling were detected with serving >10⁶ km (corresponding to the fatigue life 10⁷–10⁹ cycles) which is very-high-cycle fatigue (VHCF). The crack initiationregion of shattered rim located at the depth of 10–25 mm …

Inactivation Of The Bacterial Pathogens Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius And Acinetobacter Baumannii By Butanoic Acid, G. M. Kennedy, M. Y. Min, J. F. Fitzgerald, M. T. Nguyen, S. L. Schultz, M. T. Crum, Jeffrey A. Starke, M. A. Butkus, D. D. Bowman, M. P. Labare

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Aims

This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of butanoic acid against bacterial pathogens including Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.

Methods and Results

Vegetative bacteria were exposed to butanoic acid in vitro and log reduction was quantified using viable count assays. The maximum (8 and 9) log inactivation was determined by qualitatively assaying for growth/no-growth after a 48-h incubation (37°C). Membrane integrity after exposure to butanoic acid was determined by propidium iodide staining, scanning electron microscopy, membrane depolarization and inductively coupled plasma analysis. Cytosolic pH was measured by 5-(6-)carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester.

Conclusions

Inhibitory concentrations of butanoic acid ranged …

Analysis Of The Forming Characteristics For Cu/Al Bimetal Tubes Produced By The Spinning Process, Kai Jin, Qiwei Yuan, Jie Tao, Joseph P. Domblesky, Xunzhong Guo

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Tube spinning technology represents a process with high forming precision and good flexibility and is increasingly being used in the manufacture of bimetal composite tubular structures. In the present study, a forming analysis of clad tube and base tube in spinning process was conducted through numerical simulations and experiments. There was an equivalent stress transition on the interface since the stress transmission was retarded from clad tube to base tube. The yield strength became a main consideration during a design bimetal composite tube. Meanwhile, the strain distributions in axial direction, tangential direction, and radial direction were also investigated to determine …

A Bidirectional Soft-Switched Dab-Based Single-Stage Three-Phase Ac–Dc Converter For V2g Application, Dibaker Das, Nathan Weise, Kaushik Basu, Rohit Baranwal, Ned Mohan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In vehicle-to-grid applications, the battery charger of the electric vehicle (EV) needs to have a bidirectional power flow capability. Galvanic isolation is necessary for safety. An ac-dc bidirectional power converter with high-frequency isolation results in high power density, a key requirement for an on-board charger of an EV. Dual-active-bridge (DAB) converters are preferred in medium power and high voltage isolated dc-dc converters due to high power density and better efficiency. This paper presents a DAB-based three-phase ac-dc isolated converter with a novel modulation strategy that results in: 1) single-stage power conversion with no electrolytic capacitor, improving the reliability and power …

Toward A Sustainable More Electrified Future: The Role Of Electrical Machines And Drives, Ayman M. El-Refaie

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This article provided an overview of the broad range of applications in which advanced electrical machines and drives play a key role. There are many applications that require steep change in the performance of electrical machines and drives. In addition to novel topologies and design optimization, a broad range of enabling technologies, including advanced materials and thermal management, will play a key role in meeting the ever-growing requirements of the aforementioned applications. Judging by the breadth of the applications and the very demanding requirements in terms of system footprint, efficiency cost, and reliability R&D efforts in the area of advanced …