Engineering Commons^™

Solid-State Transducer, System, And Method, Andrew Barnard

Michigan Tech Patents

The present disclosure includes solid-state transducers, a system, and a method. In one embodiment, a solid-state transducer includes a housing, a first end portion, a second end portion, a plurality of electrical conductors, and a thin-film resistive material. The thin-film resistive material is disposed between and in electrical communication with a plurality of electrical conductors. The thin-film resistive material is configured to receive one or more electrical signals from the plurality of electrical conductors, and generate thermal oscillations to create pressure waves in a medium in response to receiving the one or more electrical signals.

Ignition Process And Flame Lift-Off Characteristics Of Dimethyl Ether (Dme) Reacting Spray, Khanh Duc Cung, Ahmed Abdul Moiz, Xiucheng Zhu, Seong-Young Lee

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Advanced combustion systems that utilize different combustion modes and alternative fuels have significantly improved combustion performance and emissions compared to conventional diesel or spark-ignited combustions. As an alternative fuel, dimethyl ether (DME) has been receiving much attention as it runs effectively under low-temperature combustion (LTC) modes such as homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) and reactivity control combustion ignition (RCCI). Under compression-ignition (CI), DME can be injected as liquid fuel into a hot chamber, resulting in a diesel-like spray/combustion characteristic. With its high fuel reactivity and unique chemical formula, DME ignites easily but produces almost smokeless combustion. In the current study, …

Characterization Of Particle Size And Composition Of Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Lei Pan, Sean Golden, Shoeleh Assemi, Marc Freddy Sime, Xuming Wang, Yuesheng Gao, Jan Miller

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Respirable coal mine dust (RCMD) particles, particularly the nano-sized fraction (<1 >μm) of the RCMD if present, can cause severe lung diseases in coal miners. Characterization of both the particle size and chemical composition of such RCMD particles remains a work in progress, in par-ticular, with respect to the nano-sized fraction of RCMD. In this work, various methods were sur-veyed and used to obtain both the size and chemical composition of RCMD particles, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (S-TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AsFIFFF). It was found that the micron-sized fraction …

Me-Em Enewsbrief, March 2021, Department Of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Geophysical Observations Of Taliks Below Drained Lake Basins On The Arctic Coastal Plain Of Alaska, R. C. Rangel, A. D. Parsekian, L. M. Farquharson, B. M. Jones, N. Ohara, A. L. Creighton, B. V. Gaglioti, M. Kanevskiy, A. L. Breen, H. Bergstedt, V. E. Romanovsky, K. M. Hinkel

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lakes and drained lake basins (DLBs) together cover up to ∼80% of the western Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. The formation and drainage of lakes in this continuous permafrost region drive spatial and temporal landscape dynamics. Postdrainage processes including vegetation succession and permafrost aggradation have implications for hydrology, carbon cycling, and landscape evolution. Here, we used surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and transient electromagnetic (TEM) measurements in conjunction with thermal modeling to investigate permafrost aggradation beneath eight DLBs on the western Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. We also surveyed two primary surface sites that served as nonlake affected control sites. …

Moving Hands-On Mechanical Engineering Experiences Online: Course Redesigns And Student Perspectives, Jaclyn E. Johnson, Nancy B. Barr

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Hands-on lab experiences are essential for enabling students to be successful engineers, especially those who identify as kinesthetic learners. This case study describes how a Mechanical Engineering Practice course sequence was redesigned during the COVID-19 emergency transition to remote learning and examines how students responded to these changes. The remote course included videos of Graduate Teaching Assistants conducting data acquisition phases of the practice session to replace hands-on experiments. To understand student perspectives and performance, researchers reviewed approximately 400 reflective essays from Spring 2020 and compared assignment submissions between Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. Results suggest that some students perceived …

Local And Systemic In Vivo Responses To Osseointegrative Titanium Nanotube Surfaces, Erin A. Baker, Mackenzie M. Fleischer, Alexander D. Vara, Meagan R. Salisbury, Kevin C. Baker, Paul T. Fortin, Craig R. Friedrich

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Orthopedic implants requiring osseointegration are often surface modified; however, implants may shed these coatings and generate wear debris leading to complications. Titanium nanotubes (TiNT), a new surface treatment, may promote osseointegration. In this study, in vitro (rat marrow-derived bone marrow cell attachment and morphology) and in vivo (rat model of intramedullary fixation) experiments characterized local and systemic responses of two TiNT surface morphologies, aligned and trabecular, via animal and remote organ weight, metal ion, hematologic, and nondecalcified histologic analyses. In vitro experiments showed total adherent cells on trabecular and aligned TiNT surfaces were greater than control at 30 min and …

Oxidation Chemistry Of Catechol Utilized In Designing Stimuli-Responsive Adhesives And Antipathogenic Biomaterials, Rattapol Pinnataip, Bruce Lee

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Mussel foot proteins (Mfps) contain a large amount of the catecholic amino acid, DOPA, allowing the marine organism to anchor themselves onto various surfaces in a turbulent and wet environment. Modification of polymers with catechol imparts these materials with a strong, wet adhesive property. The oxidation chemistry and oxidation state of catechol are critical to the design of synthetic adhesives and biomaterials. In this Mini-Review, the effect of catechol oxidation state on adhesion, oxidation-mediated catechol cross-linking, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during catechol oxidation are reviewed. Finally, the tuning of catechol oxidation state in designing stimuli-responsive adhesives …

Spatially Variable Hydrologic Impact And Biomass Production Tradeoffs Associated With Eucalyptus (E. Grandis) Cultivation For Biofuel Production In Entre Rios, Argentina, Azad Heidari, David Watkins, Alex Mayer, Tamara Propato, Santiago Verón, Diego De Abelleyra

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Climate change and energy security promote using renewable sources of energy such as biofuels. High woody biomass production achieved from short-rotation intensive plantations is a strategy that is increasing in many parts of the world. However, broad expansion of bioenergy feedstock production may have significant environmental consequences. This study investigates the watershed-scale hydrological impacts of Eucalyptus (E. grandis) plantations for energy production in a humid subtropical watershed in Entre Rios province, Argentina. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was calibrated and validated for streamflow, leaf area index (LAI), and biomass production cycles. The model was used to simulate …

Economics Of Grid-Tied Solar Photovoltaic Systems Coupled To Heat Pumps: The Case Of Northern Climates Of The U.S. And Canada, Joshua M. Pearce, Nelson Sommerfeldt

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now a profitable method to decarbonize the grid, but if catastrophic climate change is to be avoided, emissions from transportation and heating must also decarbonize. One approach to renewable heating is leveraging improvements in PV with heat pumps (HPs). To determine the potential for PV+HP systems in northern areas of North America, this study performs numerical simulations and economic analysis using the same loads and climate, but with local electricity and natural gas rates for Sault Ste. Marie, in both Canada and U.S. Ground-mounted, fixed-tilt, grid-tied PV systems are sized to match 100% of electric …

Integration And Optimal Control Of Microcsp With Building Hvac Systems: Review And Future Directions, Mohamed Toub, Chethan Reddy, Rush D. Robinett Iii, Mahdi Shahbakhti

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are omnipresent in modern buildings and are responsible for a considerable share of consumed energy and the electricity bill in buildings. On the other hand, solar energy is abundant and could be used to support the building HVAC system through cogeneration of electricity and heat. Micro-scale concentrated solar power (MicroCSP) is a propitious solution for such applications that can be integrated into the building HVAC system to optimally provide both electricity and heat, on-demand via application of optimal control techniques. The use of thermal energy storage (TES) in MicroCSP adds dispatching capabilities to the …

Analysis Of Human Gait Using Hybrid Eeg-Fnirs-Based Bci System: A Review, Haroon Khan, Noman Naseer, Anis Yazidi, Per Kristian Eide, Hafiz Wajahat Hassan, Peyman Mirtaheri

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Human gait is a complex activity that requires high coordination between the central nervous system, the limb, and the musculoskeletal system. More research is needed to understand the latter coordination's complexity in designing better and more effective rehabilitation strategies for gait disorders. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) are among the most used technologies for monitoring brain activities due to portability, non-invasiveness, and relatively low cost compared to others. Fusing EEG and fNIRS is a well-known and established methodology proven to enhance brain–computer interface (BCI) performance in terms of classification accuracy, number of control commands, and response time. Although …

Catechol-Based Antimicrobial Polymers, Seyedehfatemeh Razaviamri, Kan Wang, Bo Liu, Bruce P. Lee

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Catechol is a key constituent in mussel adhesive proteins and is responsible for strong adhesive property and crosslinking formation. Plant-based polyphenols are also capable of chemical interactions similar to those of catechol and are inherently antimicrobial. This review reports a series of catechol-based antimicrobial polymers classified according to their antimicrobial mechanisms. Catechol is utilized as a surface anchoring group for adhering monomers and polymers of known antimicrobial properties onto various types of surfaces. Additionally, catechol's ability to form strong complexes with metal ions and nanoparticles was utilized to sequester these antimicrobial agents into coatings and polymer matrices. During catechol oxidation, …

Experimental Analysis Of Ultrasonic Multiple Scattering Attenuation Through The Air With Fine Dust, Ukyong Woo, Hajin Choi, Homin Song

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In this study, we experimentally evaluated the application of multiple scattering theory for measuring ultrasonic attenuation. Based on the independent approximation theory, the method adopted for calculating the attenuation of coherent waves through air with fine dust is discussed. To obtain a scattering wavefield, a unique ultrasonic scattering hardware was developed, and signal processing schemes were suggested. Four cases of standard particle doses (0, 0.004, 0.008, and 0.012 g) were investigated inside a chamber. The results obtained from the experiments demonstrate that the proposed signal processing approach successfully calculates the scattering attenuation, which correlates well with the applied doses of …

Management Of The Phosphorus-Cladophora Dynamic At A Site On Lake Ontario Using A Multi-Module Bioavailable P Model, Martin Auer, Cory P. Mcdonald, Anika Kuczynski, Chenfu Huang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The filamentous green alga Cladophora grows to nuisance proportions in Lake Ontario. Stimulated by high phosphorus concentrations, nuisance growth results in the degradation of beaches and clogging of industrial water intakes with attendant loss of beneficial uses. We develop a multi-module bioavailable phosphorus model to examine the efficacy of phosphorus management strategies in mitigating nuisance algal growth. The model platform includes modules simulating hydrodynamics (FVCOM), phosphorus-phytoplankton dynamics (GEM) and Cladophora growth (GLCMv3). The model is applied along a 25 km stretch of the Lake Ontario nearshore, extending east from Toronto, ON and receiving effluent from three wastewater treatment plants. Simulation …

Gas Measurement Device, Megan C. Frost, Weilue He

Michigan Tech Patents

A device including a first chamber, a second chamber, and a membrane permeable to neutral gases but impermeable to water that is positioned between the first chamber and the second chamber. The membrane includes a first layer including PVDF and PDMS, and the PVDF has a plurality of pores at least partially filled with at least some of the PDMS.

Concrete Delamination Depth Estimation Using A Noncontact Mems Ultrasonic Sensor Array And An Optimization Approach, Homin Song, Jinyoung Hong, Hajin Choi, Jiyoung Min

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In this study, we present a method to estimate the depth of near-surface shallow delamination in concrete using a noncontact micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) ultrasonic sensor array and an optimization-based data processing approach. The proposed approach updates the bulk wave velocities of the tested concrete element by solving an optimization problem using reference ultrasonic scanning data collected from a full-depth concrete region. Subsequently, the depth of concrete delamination is estimated by solving a separate optimization problem. Numerical simulations and laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed ultrasonic data processing approach. The results demonstrated that the depth of …

Numerical Analysis Of Ultrasonic Multiple Scattering For Fine Dust Number Density Estimation, Homin Song, Ukyong Woo, Hajin Choi

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In this study, a method is presented for estimating the number density of fine dust particles (the number of particles per unit area) through numerical simulations of multiply scattered ultrasonic wavefields. The theoretical background of the multiple scattering of ultrasonic waves under different regimes is introduced. A series of numerical simulations were performed to generate multiply scattered ultrasonic wavefield data. The generated datasets are subsequently processed using an ultrasound data processing approach to estimate the number density of fine dust particles in the air based on the independent scattering approximation theory. The data processing results demonstrate that the proposed approach …

2021 Civil And Environmental Engineering Department News, Department Of Civil And Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• CEEPAC
• Great Lakes Models
• Wastewater Treatment
• Enterprise
• Outreach
• Rail Program
• Alumni Feature
• Lifetime Giving

Mapping Michigan's Historic Coastlines, Ryan A. Williams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This five-year project, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is working to map how Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines have changed over the past 80+ years. Products of this project include publicly available digital, georeferenced, historic aerial photography datasets, as well as map layers depicting the locations of historic shorelines and bluff lines from 1938, 1980, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Additional products include bluff retreat risk areas, shoreline rate of change map layers, and tools to assist in the development of future Coastal Vulnerability Index projects for the Great Lakes. All products are available as …

Deformation Manifold Learning Model For Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Shashank S. Pathrudkar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Two-Dimensional (2D) materials are being studied widely by researchers due to their superior material properties over the bulk materials. Since the isolation of graphene in 2004, graphene has gained popularity amongst the 2D materials community. Graphene when rolled into sheets form Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) which possess excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Concentric stacks of CNTs yield Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) which are superior to CNTs in certain aspects. It has been well established that the deformation of CNTs and MWCNTs change their mechanical and electrical properties significantly. This has opened doors for CNTs into numerous applications and also piqued the …

A Combustion Model For Multi-Component Fuels Based On Relative Reactivity And Molecular Structure, Arash Jamali

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A reliable multi-component surrogate fuel model needs to be able to represent both physical properties and chemical kinetics of a real fuel. However, enhancing the fidelity of a model with detailed description of physical and chemical behavior of all fuel components found in real fuels is limited by the prohibitive computational load to calculate the combustion chemistry of the fuel. Hence, it is desirable to achieve computational efficiency by reducing the number of chemical surrogates at the minimum expense of prediction accuracy. The objective of this work is to develop a model that can simulate the oxidation of multi-component fuels …

Base Vibration Effects On Additive Manufactured Part Quality: A Study Of 3d Printing Onboard U.S. Navy Ships, Nick Jensen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The current landscape of manufacturing is evolving because of technology like additive manufacturing (AM). The mobility and compactness of AM are what make it desirable for many industry sectors. The U.S. Navy has shown interest in deploying AM on ships as it could alleviate their dependency on off-route docking to recharge supplies. However, the U.S. Navy's aspiration is currently hindered due to harsh ship-borne environments that degrade AM part quality.

This thesis focuses on vertical base vibration effects on AM part quality. An introduction is first given in Chapter 1 to familiarize the reader with the U.S. Navy's predicament. The …

Understanding The Weather- And Soil-Related Variability In Agricultural Water Footprints: Case Study Of Maize And Soybeans Grown In The St. Joseph Watershed, Karleigh M. Krieg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Introduced in 2002, the water footprint is a valuable tool for understanding the consumption of freshwater resources. The traditional approach to quantifying the water footprint is to sum the green, blue, and gray water footprint components. The green water footprint is the volume of water that comes from precipitation, is stored in the soil, and used by vegetation. The blue water footprint is the volume of surface or ground water that is withdrawn and applied to cultivated lands via irrigation. These components are based on the evapotranspiration of green and blue water resources, respectively. The gray water footprint is the …

Design And Implementation Of An Oxidation Catalyst For A Spark Ignited Two Stroke Snowmobile Engine, Noah Squires

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Spark ignited two stroke engines are under increasing pressure as emissions standards become stricter, making them a perfect candidate for a catalytic aftertreatment system. Yet several significant challenges to catalysis exist. Namely two stroke exhaust systems are very sensitive to back pressure changes and high emissions concentrations can make controlling the temperature of the catalytic reaction difficult. Therefore, it is imperative that a two stroke specific catalyst design process be developed. This project focused on beginning to develop such a design process. Key results of this work include finding a location for the catalyst in the exhaust system that offers …

Novel New Modeling Procedure For Industrial Machinery With Nonlinear Connections, Steven Whitican

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Given current timelines for rolling out production at volume, the ability to model portions of the production process is of paramount importance. To model production, high-fidelity models of production assets must be obtained. The production assets are comprised of linear and nonlinear structures. The linear structures are well understood and defined. Significant work has, and is, being done to understand the nonlinear components. This work focuses on developing and correlating a model of a nonlinear component. The component studied and modeled is a linear guide. Linear guides are bearings which facilitate translational motion of machine axes. An accurate model of …

Analytical Assessment Of Project Complexity: A Guide To Managing Projects Through Reduction Of Complexity, Christopher Vanarsdale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research discusses the characteristics that make projects difficult to manage. Project inefficiencies and failures can be attributed to the structure of a system. Developing a measurement for complexity based on the number and nature of interactions in the system can allow project complexity to be reduced while still meeting project objectives. Previous research has identified characteristics or markers of complex systems but does not address how to measure or how to reduce a system’s complexity.

The objective of this dissertation is to develop a metric for complexity that assists project and emergency managers in reducing project complexity either by …

Transient Maneuvers And Pressure Analysis On An Automotive Torque Converter, Abigail A. Hempy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This work involves an investigation of internal fluid behavior of an automotive torque converter in a front-wheel drive automatic 6-speed transmission. The fluid behavior is identified through 29 pressure transducers instrumented throughout the torus, acquired through IR Telemetrics multiplexed channels, and analyzed with custom MATLAB code. The main vehicle operating conditions studied in this research are back drive scenarios or low motoring torques. Findings showed speed and torque limits for open converter coast down conditions as well as pressure field behavior with negative input torque.

Development Of The Carbon Nanotube Thermoacoustic Loudspeaker, Troy Bouman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Traditional speakers make sound by attaching a coil to a cone and moving that coil back and forth in a magnetic field (aka moving coil loudspeakers). The physics behind how to generate sound via this velocity boundary condition has largely been unchanged for over a hundred years. Interestingly, around the time moving coil loudspeakers were first investigated the idea of using heat to generate sound was also known. These thermoacoustic speakers heat and cool a thin material at acoustic frequencies to generate the pressure wave (i.e. they use a thermal boundary condition). Unfortunately, when the thermoacoustic principle was initially discovered …

Multi-Level Analysis Of Atomic Layer Deposition Barrier Coatings On Additively Manufactured Plastics For High Vacuum Applications, Nupur Bihari

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

While hardware innovations in micro/nano electronics and photonics are heavily patented, the rise of the open-source movement has significantly shifted focus to the importance of obtaining low-cost, functional and easily modifiable research equipment. This thesis provides a foundation of open source development of equipment to aid in the micro/nano electronics and photonics fields.

First, the massive acceptance of the open source Arduino microcontroller has aided in the development of control systems with a wide variety of uses. Here it is used for the development of an open-source dual axis gimbal system. This system is used to characterize optoelectronic properties of …