Engineering Commons^™

Conversion Of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Mask To Open Source Powered Air-Purifying Particulate Respirator For Fire Fighter Covid-19 Response, Benjamin R. Hubbard, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To assist firefighters and other first responders to use their existing equipment for respiration during the COVID-19 pandemic without using single-use, low-supply, masks, this study outlines an open source kit to convert a 3M-manufactured Scott Safety self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) into a powered air-purifying particulate respirator (PAPR). The open source PAPR can be fabricated with a low-cost 3-D printer and widely available components for less than $150, replacing commercial conversion kits saving 85% or full-fledged proprietary PAPRs saving over 90%. The parametric designs allow for adaptation to other core components and can be custom fit specifically to fire-fighter equipment, including …

Distributed Manufacturing Of Open Source Medical Hardware For Pandemics, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Distributed digital manufacturing offers a solution to medical supply and technology shortages during pandemics. To prepare for the next pandemic, this study reviews the state-of-the-art of open hardware designs needed in a COVID-19-like pandemic. It evaluates the readiness of the top twenty technologies requested by the Government of India. The results show that the majority of the actual medical products have some open source development, however, only 15% of the supporting technologies required to produce them are freely available. The results show there is still considerable research needed to provide open source paths for the development of all the medical …

Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Modeling Over The Maritime Continent: A Review, Pengfei Xue, Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli, Jun Wei, Elfatih A.B. Eltahir

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Maritime Continent (MC) plays a vitally important role in the Earth's climate system from both oceanic and atmospheric perspectives. While the critical role of ocean-atmosphere coupled dynamics over the MC has long been recognized, development of two-way coupled regional climate models for this region is still in its early stages. In this work, the authors review recent progress in two-way coupled ocean-atmosphere regional climate modeling. Development of coupled models and their applications in the MC are summarized. Model performances are discussed with a focus on regional oceanic and atmospheric characteristics. Through a critical review of modeling advances and limitations …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, June 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Log Truck Value Analysis From Increased Rail Usage, Sangpil Ko, Pasi Lautala, Kuilin Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Over the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service laws. The industry is interested in the possibility to shift more logs back to the railway but the impact of such a shift on truckers has not been investigated. This study attempted to quantify the impact of such a change on the operations of log truckers by calculating time efficiency (percentage of daily hours …

Mechanical Properties Of Boehmeria Nivea Natural Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Matrix Composite Prepared By Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion Molding, Fabio Da Costa Garcia Filho, Fernanda Santos Da Luz, Lucio Fabio Cassiano Nascimento, Kestur Gundappa Satyanarayana, Jaroslaw W. Drelich, Sergio Neves Monteiro

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Natural lignocellulosic fibers and corresponding fabrics have been gaining notoriety in recent decades as reinforcement options for polymer matrices associated with industrially applied composites. These natural fibers and fabrics exhibit competitive properties when compared with some synthetics such as glass fiber. In particular, the use of fabrics made from natural fibers might be considered a more ecient alternative, since they provide multidirectional reinforcement and allow the introduction of a larger volume fraction of fibers in the composite. In this context, it is important to understand the mechanical performance of natural fabric composites as a basic condition to ensure ecient engineering …

Sparse And Random Sampling Techniques For High-Resolution, Full-Field, Bss-Based Structural Dynamics Identification From Video, Bridget Martinez, Andre Green, Moises Felipe Silva, David Mascareñas, Yongchao Yang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Video-based techniques for identification of structural dynamics have the advantage that they are very inexpensive to deploy compared to conventional accelerometer or strain gauge techniques. When structural dynamics from video is accomplished using full-field, high-resolution analysis techniques utilizing algorithms on the pixel time series such as principal components analysis and solutions to blind source separation the added benefit of high-resolution, full-field modal identification is achieved. An important property of video of vibrating structures is that it is particularly sparse. Typically video of vibrating structures has a dimensionality consisting of many thousands or even millions of pixels and hundreds to thousands …

Open Source High-Temperature Reprap For 3-D Printing Heat-Sterilizable Ppe And Other Applications, Noah G. Skrzypczak, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Thermal sterilization is generally avoided for 3-D printed components because of the relatively low deformation temperatures for common thermoplastics used for material extrusion-based additive manufacturing. 3-D printing materials required for high-temperature heat sterilizable components for COVID-19 and other applications demands 3-D printers with heated beds, hot ends that can reach higher temperatures than polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) hot ends and heated chambers to avoid part warping and delamination. There are several high temperature printers on the market, but their high costs make them inaccessible for full home-based distributed manufacturing required during pandemic lockdowns. To allow for all these requirements to be met …

Nonlinear Power Flow Control For Networked Ac/Dc Microgrids, David G. Wilson, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Wayne Weaver, Steven F. Glover

Michigan Tech Patents

A method for designing feedforward and feedback controllers for integration of stochastic sources and loads into a nonlinear networked AC/DC microgrid system is provided. A reduced order model for general networked AC/DC microgrid systems is suitable for HSSPFC control design. A simple feedforward steady state solution is utilized for the feedforward controls block. Feedback control laws are provided for the energy storage systems. A HSSPFC controller design is implemented that incorporates energy storage systems that provides static and dynamic stability conditions for both the DC random stochastic input side and the AC random stochastic load side. Transient performance was investigated …

Parametric Nasopharyngeal Swab For Sampling Covid-19 And Other Respiratory Viruses: Open Source Design, Sla 3-D Printing And Uv Curing System, Nicole Gallup, Adam Pringle, Shane Oberloier, Nagendra Gautam Tanikella, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Access to nasopharyngeal swabs for sampling remain a bottleneck in some regions for COVID19 testing. This study develops a distributed manufacturing solution using only an open source manufacturing tool chain consisting of two types of open source 3-D printing and batch UV curing, and provides a parametric fully free design of a nasopharyngeal swab. The swab was designed using parametric OpenSCAD in two components (a head with engineered break point and various handles), which has several advantages: i) minimizing print time on relatively slow SLA printers, ii) enabling the use of smaller print volume open source SLA printers, iii) reducing …

Chlorine Removal From U.S. Solid Waste Blends Through Torrefaction, Zhuo Xu, Josh W. Albrecht, Shreyas Kolapkar, Stas Zinchik, Ezra Bar Ziv

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The amount of solid waste generated annually is increasing around the world. Although the waste has a high calorific value, one major obstacle that may prevent it from becoming a feedstock for power applications is the existence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which causes corrosion and emission issues after combustion due to its high chlorine content. Torrefaction is known to release hydrochloric acid; thus, it has been applied in this study for the reduction of chlorine from potential waste feedstocks. Fiber-plastic (60-40%) waste blends, with different chlorine content levels, as well as PVC were used in the current study. Torrefaction was …

Antibacterial And Anticancer Activity Of Hydrothermally-Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials Using Natural Extracts Of Neem, Pepper And Turmeric As Solvent Media, C. Abinaya, R. Manjula Devi, P. Suresh, N. Balasubramanian, N. Muthaiya, N. D. Kannan, J. Annaraj, V. Shanmugaiah, Joshua Pearce, P. Shanmugapriya, J. Mayandi

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

A novel and simple wet chemical hydrothermal synthesis method was employed in the preparation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using neem (N), pepper (P) and turmeric (T) extracts as solvent media. The structural and optical properties as well as the antibacterial and anticancer properties of all the samples (ZnO, N/ZnO, P/ZnO, T/ZnO and NPT/ZnO) were characterized and analyzed. Solvent media was found to have an effect on both the size and the morphology of the nanoparticles, which in turn effected their optical and cytotoxic properties. The colony forming unit (CFU) assays were done for E. coli, S. aureus and S. …

Faculty Instruction Face Shield Project, David Holden, John Schneiderhan

Michigan Tech 3D Designs

Early in the spring of 2020 project contributors David Holden and John Schneiderhan began test printing a variety of open source Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)/Covid related items that could help protect or prevent the spread of the emerging virus. With assistance from Pete Baril of the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) approval was obtained for the face shields to be used in the health care and nursing homes in the area. With the support and approval from university and library administration efforts were coordinated with Dr. Joshua Pearce and the students from the MOST lab to concentrate on the …

Ammonia Fiber Expansion (Afex) Pretreatment Of Lignocellulosic Biomass, Shishir P. S. Chundawat, Ramendra K Pal, Chao Zhao, Timothy Campbell, Farzaneh Teymouri, Josh Videto, Chandra Nielson, Bradley Wieferich, Leonardo Sousa, Bruce E Dale, Venkatesh Balan, Sarvada Chipkar, Jacob Aguado, Emily Burke, Rebecca Garlock Ong

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lignocellulosic materials are plant-derived feedstocks, such as crop residues (e.g., corn stover, rice straw, and sugar cane bagasse) and purpose-grown energy crops (e.g., miscanthus, and switchgrass) that are available in large quantities to produce biofuels, biochemicals, and animal feed. Plant polysaccharides (i.e., cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin) embedded within cell walls are highly recalcitrant towards conversion into useful products. Ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX) is a thermochemical pretreatment that increases accessibility of polysaccharides to enzymes for hydrolysis into fermentable sugars. These released sugars can be converted into fuels and chemicals in a biorefinery. Here, we describe a laboratory-scale batch AFEX process to …

Energy Storage Power And Energy Sizing And Specification Using Hsspfc, Mehrzad M. Bijaieh, Wayne Weaver, Rush D. Robinett Iii

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The intermittent nature of renewable sources requires the integration of Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) with appropriate power and energy densities. One of the applications of Hamiltonian Surface Shaping and Power Flow Control (HSSPFC) is to size ESSs for power and energy densities by employing them as sole actuators of Microgrid (MG) systems. This Article provides a comprehensive yet simplified example of utilization of HSSPFC to size ESSs of inverter-based three-phase MG systems under hierarchical control. Here, the distributed Hamiltonian controller is expanded for control of parallel ESSs and power sharing metrics are defined to distribute power between hybrid storage systems …

Electric Vehicle-Grid Integration With Voltage Regulation In Radial Distribution Networks, Chong Cao, Zhouquan Wu, Bo Chen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In this paper, a vehicle-grid integration (VGI) control strategy for radial power distribution networks is presented. The control schemes are designed at both microgrid level and distribution level. At the VGI microgrid level, the available power capacity for electric vehicle (EV) charging is optimally allocated for charging electric vehicles to meet charging requirements. At the distribution grid level, a distributed voltage compensation algorithm is designed to recover voltage violation when it happens at a distribution node. The voltage compensation is achieved through a negotiation between the grid-level agent and VGI microgrid agents using the alternating direction method of multipliers. In …

Paleomagnetic Evidence For Modern-Like Plate Motion Velocities At 3.2 Ga, Alec R. Brenner, Roger R. Fu, David A.D. Evans, Aleksey V. Smirnov, Raisa Trubko, Ian R. Rose

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The mode and rates of tectonic processes and lithospheric growth during the Archean [4.0 to 2.5 billion years (Ga) ago] are subjects of considerable debate. Paleomagnetism may contribute to the discussion by quantifying past plate velocities. We report a paleomagnetic pole for the ~3180 million year (Ma) old Honeyeater Basalt of the East Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, supported by a positive fold test and micromagnetic imaging. Comparison of the 44°±15° Honeyeater Basalt paleolatitude with previously reported paleolatitudes requires that the average latitudinal drift rate of the East Pilbara was ≥2.5 cm/year during the ~170 Ma preceding 3180 Ma ago, a …

Energy Conservation With Open Source Ad Blockers, Joshua M. Pearce

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Internet-related electricity consumption is rising rapidly as global Internet users spend more than 6.5 h per day online. Open source ad blockers have the potential to reduce the time and thus electricity spent using computers by eliminating ads during Internet browsing and video streaming. In this study, three open source ad blockers are tested against a no-ad blocker control. Page load time is recorded for browsing a representative selection of the globally most-accessed websites, and the time spent watching ads on videos is quantified for both trending and non-trending content. The results show that page load time dropped 11% with …

The Effect Of Waste Engine Oil And Waste Polyethylene On Uv Aging Resistance Of Asphalt., Chao Peng, Chong Guo, Zhanping You, Fang Xu, Wenbo Ma, Lingyun You, Tianjun Li, Lizhen Zhou, Shifan Huang, Hongchao Ma, Li Lu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Waste engine oil (WEO) and waste polyethylene (WPE) are two common wastes, which are easy to pollute the environment. As the primary material in road construction, natural asphalt is a non-renewable energy source and asphalt is vulnerable to ultraviolet (UV) radiation during the service life. It results in degradation of asphalt pavement performance. In this paper, 22 wt % to 82 wt % of WEO and WPE were used to modify asphalts and the UV aging simulation experiment was carried out. The physical parameters of asphalts before the UV aging experiment show that the asphalt containing 42 wt % WPE …

Porosity Prediction Of Granular Materials Through Discrete Element Method And Back Propagation Neural Network Algorithm, Yu Liu, Miaomiao Li, Peifeng Su, Biao Ma, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Granular materials are used directly or as the primary ingredients of the mixtures in industrial manufacturing, agricultural production and civil engineering. It has been a challenging task to compute the porosity of a granular material which contains a wide range of particle sizes or shapes. Against this background, this paper presents a newly developed method for the porosity prediction of granular materials through Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) and the Back Propagation Neural Network algorithm (BPNN). In DEM, ball elements were used to simulate particles in granular materials. According to the Chinese specifications, a total of 400 specimens in different gradations …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2020, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Electrocoagulation: A Promising Method To Treat And Reuse Mineral Processing Wastewater With High Cod, Gaogui Jing, Shuai Ren, Yuesheng Gao, Wei Sun, Zhiyong Gao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Mineral processing wastewater contains large amounts of reagents which can lead to severe environmental problems, such as high chemical oxygen demand (COD). Inspired by the wastewater treatment in such industries as those of textiles, food, and petrochemistry, in the present work, electrocoagulation (EC) is applied for the first time to explore its feasibility in the treatment of wastewater with an initial COD of 424.29 mg/L from a Pb/Zn sulfide mineral flotation plant and its effect on water reuse. Typical parameters, such as anode materials, current density, initial pH, and additives, were characterized to evaluate the performance of the EC method. …

Fracture Toughness Analysis Of Epoxy-Recycled Rubber-Based Composite Reinforced With Graphene Nanoplatelets For Structural Applications In Automotive And Aeronautics, Alaeddin Burak Irez, Emin Bayraktar, Ibrahim Miskioglu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This study proposes a new design of lightweight and cost-efficient composite materials for the aeronautic industry utilizing recycled fresh scrap rubber, epoxy resin, and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs). After manufacturing the composites, their bending strength and fracture characteristics were investigated by three-point bending (3PB) tests. Halpin-Tsai homogenization adapted to composites containing GnPs was used to estimate the moduli of the composites, and satisfactory agreement with the 3PB test results was observed. In addition, 3PB tests were simulated by finite element method incorporating the Halpin-Tsai homogenization, and the resulting stress-strain curves were compared with the experimental results. Mechanical test results showed that …

Publisher Correction: Evaporation Of A Sessile Droplet On A Slope., Mitch Timm, Esmaeil Dehdashti, Amir Jarrahi Darban, Hassan Masoud

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Extending Complex Conjugate Control To Nonlinear Wave Energy Converters, David G. Wilson, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Giorgio Bacelli, Ossama Abdelkhalik, Ryan Coe

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper extends the concept of Complex Conjugate Control (CCC) of linear wave energy converters (WECs) to nonlinear WECs by designing optimal limit cycles with Hamiltonian Surface Shaping and Power Flow Control (HSSPFC). It will be shown that CCC for a regular wave is equivalent to a power factor of one in electrical power networks, equivalent to mechanical resonance in a mass-spring-damper (MSD) system, and equivalent to a linear limit cycle constrained to a Hamiltonian surface defined in HSSPFC. Specifically, the optimal linear limit cycle is defined as a second-order center in the phase plane projection of the constant energy …

Characterizing Meteorological Forecast Impact On Microgrid Optimization Performance And Design, Robert Jane, Gordon G. Parker, Gail Vaucher, Morris Berman

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

A microgrid consists of electrical generation sources, energy storage assets, loads, and the ability to function independently, or connect and share power with other electrical grids. Thefocus of this work is on the behavior of a microgrid, with both diesel generator and photovoltaic resources, whose heating or cooling loads are influenced by local meteorological conditions. Themicrogrid's fuel consumption and energy storage requirement were then examined as a function of the atmospheric conditions used by its energy management strategy (EMS). A fuel-optimal EMS, able to exploit meteorological forecasts, was developed and evaluated using a hybrid microgrid simulation. Weather forecast update periods …

Tra-1-60-Positive/Cd45low Cells Found In The Peripheral Blood Of Prostate Cancer Patients With Metastatic Disease – A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Claudia Schäfer, Yawen Ju, Youngbin Tak, Cesar Vazquez, Sangyoon J. Han, Edwin Tan, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Purpose

Over 90% of all cancer related deaths are due to metastasis. However, current diagnostic tools can't reliably discriminate between invasive and localized cancers.

Patients and methods

In this proof-of-concept study, we employed the embryonic stem cell marker TRA-1-60 (TRA+) to identify TRA + cells within the blood of prostate cancer patients and searched for TRA + cells in men with metastatic and localized cancers. We isolated whole peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 26 metastatic prostate cancer patients, from 13 patients with localized prostate cancer and from 17 healthy controls. Cells were stained for DAPI, CD45 and TRA + by …

Goodd, A Global Dataset Of More Than 38,000 Georeferenced Dams., Mark Mulligan, Arnout Van Soesbergen, Leonardo Sáenz

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

By presenting the most comprehensive GlObal geOreferenced Database of Dams to date containing more than 38,000 dams as well as their associated catchments, we enable new and improved global analyses of the impact of dams on society and environment and the impact of environmental change (for example land use and climate change) on the catchments of dams. This paper presents the development of the global database through systematic digitisation of satellite imagery globally by a small team and highlights the various approaches to bias estimation and to validation of the data. The following datasets are provided (a) raw digitised coordinates …

S-Nitroso-N-Acetyl-D-Penicillamine Modified Hyperbranched Polyamidoamine For High-Capacity Nitric Oxide Storage And Release, Sean Hopkins, Megan C. Frost

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Synthetic nitric oxide (NO)-donating materials have been shown to have many beneficial effects when incorporated into biomedical materials. When released in the correct dosage, NO has been shown to increase the biocompatibility of blood and tissue contacting materials, but materials are often limited in the amount of NO that can be administered over a period of time. To address this, hyperbranched polyamidoamine (HPAMAM) was modified with the S-nitrosothiol, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-D-penicillamine, and nitrosated to form a controlled, high-capacity NO-donating compound (SNAP-HPAMAM). This compound has the potential of modifying polymers to release NO over long periods of time by being blended into a …

Engineered Three-Dimensional Scaffolds Modulating Fate Of Breast Cancer Cells Using Stiffness And Morphology Related Cell Adhesion, Samerender Nagam Hanumantharao, Carolynn Que, Brennan Vogl, Smitha Rao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Goal: Artificially engineering the tumor microenvironment in vitro as a vital tool for understanding the mechanism of tumor progression. In this study, we developed three-dimensional cell scaffold systems with different topographical features and mechanical properties but similar surface chemistry. The cell behavior was modulated by the topography and mechanical properties of the scaffold. Adenocarcinoma (MCF7), triple-negative (MDA-MB-231) and premalignant (MCF10AneoT) breast cancer cells were seeded on the scaffold systems. The cell viability, cell-cell interaction and cell-matrix interactions were analyzed. The preferential growth and alignment of specific population of cells were demonstrated. Among the different scaffolds, triple-negative breast cancer cells preferred …