Engineering Commons^™

Coordinating Tethered Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Towards Entanglement-Free Navigation, Abhishek Patil, Myoungkuk Park, Jungyun Bae

Michigan Tech Publications

This paper proposes an algorithm that provides operational strategies for multiple tethered autonomous underwater vehicle (T-AUV) systems for entanglement-free navigation. T-AUVs can perform underwater tasks under reliable communication and power supply, which is the most substantial benefit of their operation. Thus, if one can overcome the entanglement issues while utilizing multiple tethered vehicles, the potential applications of the system increase including ecosystem exploration, infrastructure inspection, maintenance, search and rescue, underwater construction, and surveillance. In this study, we focus on developing strategies for task allocation, path planning, and scheduling that ensure entanglement-free operations while considering workload balancing among the vehicles. We …

Vision-Based Online Defect Detection Of Polymeric Film Via Structural Quality Metrics, Nathir Rawashdeh, Paniz Hazaveh, Safwan Altarazi

Michigan Tech Publications

Nondestructive and contactless online approaches for detecting defects in polymer films are of significant interest in manufacturing. This paper develops vision-based quality metrics for detecting the defects of width consistency, film edge straightness, and specks in a polymeric film production process. The three metrics are calculated from an online low-cost grayscale camera positioned over the moving film before the final collection roller and can be implemented in real-time to monitor the film manufacturing for process and quality control. The objective metrics are calibrated to correlate with an expert ranking of test samples, and results show that they can be used …

Water-Soluble Saponins Accumulate In Drought-Stressed Switchgrass And May Inhibit Yeast Growth During Bioethanol Production, Sarvada Hemant Chipkar, Katherine Smith, Elizabeth M. Whelan, Derek J. Debrauske, Annie Jen, Katherine A. Overmyer, Andrea Senyk, Larkin Hooker-Moericke, Marissa Gallmeyer, Joshua J. Coon, A. Daniel Jones, Trey K. Sato, Rebecca G. Ong

Michigan Tech Publications

Background: Developing economically viable pathways to produce renewable energy has become an important research theme in recent years. Lignocellulosic biomass is a promising feedstock that can be converted into second-generation biofuels and bioproducts. Global warming has adversely affected climate change causing many environmental changes that have impacted earth surface temperature and rainfall patterns. Recent research has shown that environmental growth conditions altered the composition of drought-stressed switchgrass and directly influenced the extent of biomass conversion to fuels by completely inhibiting yeast growth during fermentation. Our goal in this project was to find a way to overcome the microbial inhibition and …

A Smart Parallel Gripper Industrial Automation System For Measurement Of Gripped Work Piece Thickness, Erik Kocher, Chukwuemeka George Ochieze, Ahmat Oumar, Travis Winter, Aleksandr Sergeyev, Mark Gauthier, Nathir Rawashdeh

Michigan Tech Publications

As part of the advanced programmable logic controllers (PLC) course at Michigan Tech, this class project is performed on a mechatronics system gifted by Donald Engineering, a Michigan-based supplier of industrial automation systems and components. This paper explores the functionality and ladder programming of the smart parallel gripper system to measure the width of components grasped with the gripper. In addition, details of the system’s components, operation, more advanced uses are discussed. On the automation line, this smart gripper can be used to measure the thickness of work pieces while handling them and classifying these as either acceptable, too large …

Gesture Controlled Collaborative Robot Arm And Lab Kit, Abel A. Reyes, Skylar Reinhardt, Tony Wise, Nathir Rawashdeh, Sidike Paheding

Michigan Tech Publications

In this paper, a mechatronics system was designed and implemented to include the subjects of artificial intelligence, control algorithms, robot servo motor control, and human-machine interface (HMI). The goal was to create an inexpensive, multi-functional robotics lab kit to promote students’ interest in STEM fields including computing and mechtronics. Industrial robotic systems have become vastly popular in manufacturing and other industries, and the demand for individuals with related skills is rapidly increasing. Robots can complete jobs that are dangerous, dull, or dirty for humans to perform. Recently, more and more collaborative robotic systems have been developed and implemented in the …

Mechatronics Bachelor Curriculum Development In Light Of Industry 4.0 Technology Needs: Contrasting Us And German University Curricula, Paniz Hazaveh, Aleksandr Sergeyev, Nathir Rawashdeh

Michigan Tech Publications

This study compares Mechatronics bachelor curricula at universities in the United States of America and German universities. Mechatronics education is relatively new in the United States, but has been common in Germany for over a decade. With the multidisciplinary nature of technologies required by the 4’th industrial revolution, a.k.a. Industry 4.0, composing an appropriate Mechatronics curriculum becomes a challenge and an opportunity. This paper studies how Mechatronics education can address the future needs of industry, while building on a specific university’s strengths and industry links. We have also analyzed the new undergraduate Mechatronics program at Michigan Technological University (MTU) and …

Operation Of A Controllable Force-Sensing Industrial Pneumatic Parallel Gripper System, Brian Piechocki, Chelsey Spitzner, Namratha Karanam, Travis Winter, Aleksandr Sergeyev, Mark Gauthier, Nathir Rawashdeh

Michigan Tech Publications

As part of the advanced programmable logic controllers (PLC) course at Michigan Tech, this class project was performed on a mechatronics system gifted by Donald Engineering, a Michigan-based supplier of industrial automation systems and components. This paper explores the functionality and application of a force-programmable and sensing pneumatic parallel gripper system. Force sensing is a critical part of many systems in modern automation systems. Applications such as prosthetics, robotic surgery, or basic manufacturing systems may rely on the ability to properly read and control forces applied to an object. This work evaluates the basic operation of the pneumatic force-sensing gripper …

An Industrial Pneumatic And Servo Four-Axis Robotic Gripper System: Description And Unitronics Ladder Logic Programming, Zongguang Liu, Chrispin Johnston, Aleksi Leino, Travis Winter, Aleksandr Sergeyev, Mark Gauthier, Nathir Rawashdeh

Michigan Tech Publications

As part of the advanced programmable logic controllers (PLC) course at Michigan Tech, this class project is performed on a mechatronics system gifted by Donald Engineering, a Michigan-based supplier of industrial automation systems and components. This paper explores the functionality and ladder programming of a four-axis robot enclosed in a cage with one side guarded by an optical fence. The robot has pneumatically actuated X-Y linear motion and a pneumatic gripper. Furthermore, the Z-axis motion and gripper wrist rotation are controlled by servo motors. A human machine interface (HMI) is also present, and it allows for easy manipulation and programming …

The Missing Link Between Standing-And Traveling-Wave Resonators, Qi Zhong, Haoqi Zhao, Liang Feng, Kurt Busch, Sahin K. Özdemir, Ramy El-Ganainy

Michigan Tech Publications

Optical resonators are structures that utilize wave interference and feedback to confine light in all three dimensions. Depending on the feedback mechanism, resonators can support either standing-or traveling-wave modes. Over the years, the distinction between these two different types of modes has become so prevalent that nowadays it is one of the main characteristics for classifying optical resonators. Here, we show that an intermediate link between these two rather different groups exists. In particular, we introduce a new class of photonic resonators that supports a hybrid optical mode, i.e. at one location along the resonator the electromagnetic fields associated with …

An Algorithm For Task Allocation And Planning For A Heterogeneous Multi-Robot System To Minimize The Last Task Completion Time, Abhishek Patil, Jungyun Bae, Myoungkuk Park

Michigan Tech Publications

This paper proposes an algorithm that provides operational strategies for multiple heterogeneous mobile robot systems utilized in many real-world applications, such as deliveries, surveillance, search and rescue, monitoring, and transportation. Specifically, the authors focus on developing an algorithm that solves a min-max multiple depot heterogeneous asymmetric traveling salesperson problem (MDHATSP). The algorithm is designed based on a primal-dual technique to operate given multiple heterogeneous robots located at distinctive depots by finding a tour for each robot such that all the given targets are visited by at least one robot while minimizing the last task completion time. Building on existing work, …

Integrating Deep Learning And Hydrodynamic Modeling To Improve The Great Lakes Forecast, Pengfei Xue, Aditya Wagh, Gangfeng Ma, Yilin Wang, Yongchao Yang, Tao Liu, Chenfu Huang

Michigan Tech Publications

The Laurentian Great Lakes, one of the world’s largest surface freshwater systems, pose a modeling challenge in seasonal forecast and climate projection. While physics-based hydrodynamic modeling is a fundamental approach, improving the forecast accuracy remains critical. In recent years, machine learning (ML) has quickly emerged in geoscience applications, but its application to the Great Lakes hydrodynamic prediction is still in its early stages. This work is the first one to explore a deep learning approach to predicting spatiotemporal distributions of the lake surface temperature (LST) in the Great Lakes. Our study shows that the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, …

3d Printing In Cardiology: A Review Of Applications And Roles For Advanced Cardiac Imaging, Ellen M. Lindquist, Jordan M. Gosnell, Sana K. Khan, John L. Byl, Weihua Zhou, Jingfeng Jiang, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

With the rate of cardiovascular diseases in the U.S increasing throughout the years, there is a need for developing more advanced treatment plans that can be tailored to specific patients and scenarios. The development of 3D printing is rapidly gaining acceptance into clinical cardiology.

In this review, key technologies used in 3D printing are briefly summarized, particularly, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), open-source tools like MeshLab and MeshMixer, and 3D printing techniques such as fused deposition molding (FDM) and polyjet are reviewed. The combination of 3D printing, multiple image integration, and augmented reality may greatly enhance data visualization …

Hydrochloric Acid Modification And Lead Removal Studies On Naturally Occurring Zeolites From Nevada, New Mexico, And Arizona, Garven M. Huntley, Rudy Luck, Michael Mullins, Nick Newberry

Michigan Tech Publications

Four naturally occurring zeolites were examined to verify their assignments as chabazites AZLB-Ca and AZLB-Na (Bowie, Arizona) and clinoptilolites NM-Ca (Winston, New Mexico) and NV-Na (Ash Meadows, Nevada). Based on powder X-ray diffraction, NM-Ca was discovered to be mostly quartz with some clinoptilolite residues. Treatment with concentrated HCl (12.1 M) acid resulted in AZLB-Ca and AZLB-Na, the chabazite-like species, becoming amorphous, as confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. In contrast, NM-Ca and NV-Na, which are clinoptilolite-like species, withstood boiling in concentrated HCl acid. This treatment removes calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, aluminum, and iron atoms or ions from the framework while leaving …

Characterizing Soil Stiffness Using Thermal Remote Sensing And Machine Learning, Jordan Ewing, T. Oommen, Paramsothy Jayakumar, Russell Alger

Michigan Tech Publications

Soil strength characterization is essential for any problem that deals with geomechanics, including terramechanics/terrain mobility. Presently, the primary method of collecting soil strength parameters through in situ measurements but sending a team of people out to a site to collect data this has significant cost implications and accessing the location with the necessary equipment can be difficult. Remote sensing provides an alternate approach to in situ measurements. In this lab study, we compare the use of Apparent Thermal Inertia (ATI) against a GeoGauge for the direct testing of soil stiffness. ATI correlates with stiffness, so it allows one to predict …

Origin Of Magnetism In Γ-Fesi 2 /Si(111) Nanostructures, Liwei D. Geng, Sahil Dhoka, Ilan Goldfarb, Ranjit Pati, Yongmei M. Jin

Michigan Tech Publications

Magnetism has recently been observed in nominally nonmagnetic iron disilicide in the form of epitaxial γ-FeSi2 nanostructures on Si(111) substrate. To explore the origin of the magnetism in γ-FeSi2/Si(111) nanostructures, we performed a systematic first-principles study based on density functional theory. Several possible factors, such as epitaxial strain, free surface, interface, and edge, were examined. The calculations show that among these factors, only the edge can lead to the magnetism in γ-FeSi2/Si(111) nanostructures. It is shown that magnetism exhibits a strong dependency on the local atomic structure of the edge. Furthermore, magnetism can be enhanced by creating multiple-step edges. In …

Antibacterial Properties Of Mussel-Inspired Polydopamine Coatings Prepared By A Simple Two-Step Shaking-Assisted Method, Pegah Kord Fooroshani, Elizabeth Polega, Kevin Thomson, Mohammad Saleh Akram Bhuiyan, Rattapol Pinnaratip, Mikhail Trought, Chito E. Kendrick, Yuesheng Gao, Kahryn Perrine, Lei Pan, Bruce P. Lee

Michigan Tech Publications

A simple two-step, shaking-assisted polydopamine (PDA) coating technique was used to impart polypropylene (PP) mesh with antimicrobial properties. In this modified method, a relatively large concentration of dopamine (20 mg ml⁻¹) was first used to create a stable PDA primer layer, while the second step utilized a significantly lower concentration of dopamine (2 mg ml⁻¹) to promote the formation and deposition of large aggregates of PDA nanoparticles. Gentle shaking (70 rpm) was employed to increase the deposition of PDA nanoparticle aggregates and the formation of a thicker PDA coating with nano-scaled surface roughness (RMS = 110 …

Spontaneous Selective Deposition Of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles On Graphite As Model Catalysts, Chathura De Alwis, Timothy Leftwich, Pinaki Mukherjee, Alex Denofre, Kahryn Perrine

Michigan Tech Publications

Iron oxide nanomaterials participate in redox processes that give them ideal properties for their use as earth-abundant catalysts. Fabricating nanocatalysts for such applications requires detailed knowledge of the deposition and growth. We report the spontaneous deposition of iron oxide nanoparticles on HOPG in defect areas and on step edges from a metal precursor solution. To study the nucleation and growth of iron oxide nanoparticles, tailored defects were created on the surface of HOPG using various ion sources that serve as the target sites for iron oxide nucleation. After solution deposition and annealing, the iron oxide nanoparticles were found to nucleate …

Assessment Of Post-Wildfire Debris Flow Occurrence Using Classifier Tree, Priscilla Addison, Thomas Oommen, Qiuying Sha

Michigan Tech Publications

Besides the dangers of an actively burning wildfire, a plethora of other hazardous consequences can occur afterwards. Debris flows are among the most hazardous of these, being known to cause fatalities and extensive damage to infrastructure. Although debris flows are not exclusive to fire affected areas, a wildfire can increase a location’s susceptibility by stripping its protective covers like vegetation and introducing destabilizing factors such as ash filling soil pores to increase runoff potential. Due to the associated dangers, researchers are developing statistical models to isolate susceptible locations. Existing models predominantly employ the logistic regression algorithm; however, previous studies have …

Revisiting The Paleomagnetism Of The Neoarchean Uauá Mafic Dyke Swarm, Brazil: Implications For Archean Supercratons, J. Salminen, E. P. Oliveira, Elisa J. Piispa, Aleksey Smirnov, R. I. F. Trindade

Michigan Tech Publications

The original connections of Archean cratons are becoming traceable due to an increasing amount of paleomagnetic data and refined magmatic barcodes. The Uauá block of the northern São Francisco craton may represent a fragment of a major Archean craton. Here, we report new paleomagnetic data from the 2.62 Ga Uauá tholeiitic mafic dyke swarm of the Uauá block in the northern São Francisco craton, Eastern Brazil. Our paleomagnetic results confirm the earlier results for these units, but our interpretation differs. We suggest that the obtained characteristic remanent magnetization for the 2.62 Ga swarm is of primary origin, supported by a …

Target Localization And Tracking By Fusing Doppler Differentials From Cellular Emanations With A Multi-Spectral Video Tracker, Casey D. Demars, Michael Roggemann, Adam Webb, Timothy C. Havens

Michigan Tech Publications

We present an algorithm for fusing data from a constellation of RF sensors detecting cellular emanations with the output of a multi-spectral video tracker to localize and track a target with a specific cell phone. The RF sensors measure the Doppler shift caused by the moving cellular emanation and then Doppler differentials between all sensor pairs are calculated. The multi-spectral video tracker uses a Gaussian mixture model to detect foreground targets and SIFT features to track targets through the video sequence. The data is fused by associating the Doppler differential from the RF sensors with the theoretical Doppler differential computed …

First Observations Of Volcanic Eruption Clouds From The L1 Earth-Sun Lagrange Point By Dscovr/Epic, Simon Carn, N. A. Krotov, B. L. Fisher, C. Li, A. J. Prata

Michigan Tech Publications

Volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions have been measured by ultraviolet sensors on polar‐orbiting satellites for several decades but with limited temporal resolution. This precludes studies of key processes believed to occur in young (~1–3 hr old) volcanic clouds. In 2015, the launch of the Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) provided an opportunity for novel observations of volcanic eruption clouds from the first Earth‐Sun Lagrange point (L1). The L1 vantage point provides continuous observations of the sunlit Earth, offering up to eight or nine observations of volcanic SO₂ clouds in the …

Metabolism-Driven High-Throughput Cancer Identification With Glut5-Specific Molecular Probes, Srinivas Kannan, Vagarshak Begoyan, Joseph Fedie, Shuai Xia, Łukasz J. Weseliński, Marina Tanasova, Smitha Rao

Michigan Tech Publications

Point-of-care applications rely on biomedical sensors to enable rapid detection with high sensitivity and selectivity. Despite advances in sensor development, there are challenges in cancer diagnostics. Detection of biomarkers, cell receptors, circulating tumor cells, gene identification, and fluorescent tagging are time-consuming due to the sample preparation and response time involved. Here, we present a novel approach to target the enhanced metabolism in breast cancers for rapid detection using fluorescent imaging. Fluorescent analogs of fructose target the fructose-specific transporter GLUT5 in breast cancers and have limited to no response from normal cells. These analogs demonstrate a marked difference in adenocarcinoma and …

Spatial Dispersion Of Index Components Required For Building Invisibility Cloak Medium From Photonic Crystals, Saeid Jamilan, George Semouchkin, Navid Gandji, Elena Semouchkina

Michigan Tech Publications

The opportunities to use dielectric photonic crystals (PhCs) as the media of cylindrical invisibility cloaks, designed using transformation optics (TO) concepts, are investigated. It is shown that TO-based prescriptions for radial index dispersion, responsible for turning waves around hidden objects, can be dropped if the PhC media support self-collimation of waves in bent crystals. Otherwise, to provide prescribed anisotropy of index dispersion, it is possible to employ PhCs with rectangular lattices. It is found, however, that at acceptable cloak thicknesses, modifications of crystal parameters do not allow for achieving the prescribed level of index anisotropy. This problem is solved by …

Wearete: A Scalable Wearable E-Textile Triboelectric Energy Harvesting System For Human Motion Scavenging, Xian Li, Ye Sun

Michigan Tech Publications

In this paper, we report the design, experimental validation and application of a scalable, wearable e-textile triboelectric energy harvesting (WearETE) system for scavenging energy from activities of daily living. The WearETE system features ultra-low-cost material and manufacturing methods, high accessibility, and high feasibility for powering wearable sensors and electronics. The foam and e-textile are used as the two active tribomaterials for energy harvester design with the consideration of flexibility and wearability. A calibration platform is also developed to quantify the input mechanical power and power efficiency. The performance of the WearETE system for human motion scavenging is validated and calibrated …

All-Dielectric Metamaterials: Irrelevance Of Negative Refraction To Overlapped Mie Resonances, Navid Gandji, George Semouchkin, Elena Semouchkina

Michigan Tech Publications

All-dielectric metamaterials comprised of identical resonators draw a lot of attention as low-loss media providing for negative refraction, which is commonly attributed to the double negativity of effective material parameters caused by overlapping of Mie resonances. We study dispersion diagrams of such metamaterials composed of dielectric rod arrays and show that bandwidths of positive and negative refraction and its type are irrelevant to the negativity of effective parameters; instead, they are unambiguously defined by the shape and the location of the second transmission branch in dispersion diagrams and thus can be controlled by the lattice constants.

Cross-Correlation-Based Structural System Identification Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles., Hyungchul Yoon, Vedhus Hoskere, Jong-Woong Park, Billie F. Spencer

Michigan Tech Publications

Computer vision techniques have been employed to characterize dynamic properties of structures, as well as to capture structural motion for system identification purposes. All of these methods leverage image-processing techniques using a stationary camera. This requirement makes finding an effective location for camera installation difficult, because civil infrastructure (i.e., bridges, buildings, etc.) are often difficult to access, being constructed over rivers, roads, or other obstacles. This paper seeks to use video from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to address this problem. As opposed to the traditional way of using stationary cameras, the use of UAVs brings the issue of the camera …

Effect Of Label Noise On The Machine-Learned Classification Of Earthquake Damage, Jared Frank, Umaa Rebbapragada, James Bialas, Thomas Oommen, Timothy C. Havens

Michigan Tech Publications

Automated classification of earthquake damage in remotely-sensed imagery using machine learning techniques depends on training data, or data examples that are labeled correctly by a human expert as containing damage or not. Mislabeled training data are a major source of classifier error due to the use of imprecise digital labeling tools and crowdsourced volunteers who are not adequately trained on or invested in the task. The spatial nature of remote sensing classification leads to the consistent mislabeling of classes that occur in close proximity to rubble, which is a major byproduct of earthquake damage in urban areas. In this study, …

Harmonic Distortion Minimization In Power Grids With Wind And Electric Vehicles, Ritam Misra, Sumit Paudyal, Oguzhan Ceylan, Paras Mandal

Michigan Tech Publications

Power-electronic interfacing based devices such as wind generators (WGs) and electrical vehicles (EVs) cause harmonic distortions on the power grid. Higher penetration and uncoordinated operation of WGs and EVs can lead to voltage and current harmonic distortions, which may exceed IEEE limits. It is interesting to note that WGs and EVs have some common harmonic profiles. Therefore, when EVs are connected to the grid, the harmonic pollution EVs impart onto the grid can be reduced to some extent by the amount of wind power injecting into the grid and vice versa. In this context, this work studies the impact of …

Property Analysis Of Exfoliated Graphite Nanoplatelets Modified Asphalt Model Using Molecular Dynamics (Md) Method, Hui Yao, Qingli Dai, Zhanping You, Andreas Bick, Min Wang, Shuaicheng Guo

Michigan Tech Publications

This Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation paper presents a physical property comparison study between exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets (xGNP) modified and control asphalt models, including density, glass transition temperature, viscosity and thermal conductivity. The three-component control asphalt model consists of asphaltenes, aromatics, and saturates based on previous references. The xGNP asphalt model was built by incorporating an xGNP and control asphalt model and controlling mass ratios to represent the laboratory prepared samples. The Amber Cornell Extension Force Field (ACEFF) was used with assigned molecular electro-static potential (ESP) charge from NWChem analysis. After optimization and ensemble relaxation, the properties of the control and …

Utilizing Vegetation Indices As A Proxy To Characterize The Stability Of A Railway Embankment In A Permafrost Region, Priscilla Addison, Pasi T. Lautala, Thomas Oommen

Michigan Tech Publications

Degrading permafrost conditions around the world are posing stability issues for infrastructure constructed on them. Railway lines have exceptionally low tolerances for differential settlements associated with permafrost degradation due to the potential for train derailments. Railway owners with tracks in permafrost regions therefore make it a priority to identify potential settlement locations so that proper maintenance or embankment stabilization measures can be applied to ensure smooth and safe operations. The extensive discontinuous permafrost zone along the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, has been experiencing accelerated deterioration, resulting in differential settlements that necessitate continuous annual maintenance to avoid …