Engineering Commons^™

Incorporating Germanium Oxide Into The Glass Phase Of Novel Zinc/Magnesium-Based Gpcs Designed For Bone Void Filling: Evaluating Their Physical And Mechanical Properties, Basel A. Khader, Omar Rodriguez, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The structural role of Germanium (Ge), when substituting for Zinc (Zn) up to 8 mol % in the 0.48SiO₂-0.12CaO-0.36ZnO-0.04MgO glass series, was investigated with respect to both the glass chemistry and also the properties of glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) manufactured from them. The Network connectivity (NC) of the glass was calculated to increase from 1.83 to 2.42 with the addition of GeO₂ (0-8 mol %). Differential thermal analysis (DTA) results confirmed an increase in the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the glass series with GeO₂ content. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed an increase in …

Generation Of Orbital Angular Momentum By A Point Defect In Photonic Crystals, Menglin L.N. Chen, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Wei E.I. Sha

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As an attractive degree of freedom in electromagnetic (EM) waves, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) enables infinite communication channels for both classical and quantum communications. The exploration of OAM generation inspires various designs involving spiral phase plates, antenna arrays, metasurfaces, and computer-generated holograms. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate an approach to producing OAM carrying EM waves by a point defect in three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals (PCs). Simultaneous excitation of two vibrational-defect states with an elaborately engineered phase retardation generates a rotational state carrying OAM. Through converting guided waves in a line defect to localized waves in a …

Process Mineralogy Of Iranian High Sulfur Iron Ore, Tonglin Zhao, Xiaoli Wang, Hongle Ai, Ahmed Sobhy

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Processing of Iranian high sulfur iron ore is problematic in minerals industry. The iron ores were studied by the means of polarizing microscopy, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction. The study shows that the iron ores have high grade of iron, and complex structures. XRD showed that the iron ore consists of metallic minerals such as magnetite with a small amount of hematite and limonite and non-metallic minerals as serpentine, chlorite, and talc. The average particle size of magnetite crystals is 0.182 mm. The ore contains 1.62% sulfur as harmful impurity in form of pyrite mineral. Due to the isomorphism of magnesium …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study On The Possible Factors Affecting Stability Of Ods Steel, M. Mustafa Azeem, Zhongyu Li, Qingyu Wang, Abid Hussian

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oxide-dispersed-strengthened (ODS) steel has excellent mechanical, thermodynamic and radiation resistant properties, which makes it an important candidate material for high-Temperature reactors applications. Radiation stability of oxide is very important to study at the atomic level. In present case molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to study stabilities of Y₂O₃ particles in ODS steel as a function of particle sizes. The size dependence is obvious for particle sizes larger than 2.8 nm. Furthermore, the stabilities depend on charges of Y and O atoms.

Design Of Lattice Structures With Graded Density Fabricated By Additive Manufacturing, Wenjin Tao, Yong Liu, Austin T. Sutton, Krishna C. R. Kolan, Ming-Chuan Leu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lattice structures fabricated by Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes are promising for many applications, such as lightweight structures and energy absorbers. However, predicting and controlling of their mechanical behaviors is challenging due to the complexity of modeling and the uncertainties exist in the manufacturing process. In this paper, we explore the possibilities enabled by controlling the local densities. A set of lattice structures with different density gradients are designed using an implicit isosurface equation, and they are manufactured by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process with 304L stainless steel. Finite element analysis and compression test are used to evaluate their mechanical properties. …

Seismic Performance And Retrofit Evaluation Of Hollow-Core Composite Bridge Columns, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Ahmed Gheni, Nicholas Colbert, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the seismic behavior of large-scale hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymerconcrete-steel (HC-FCS) bridge column. The HC-FCS column consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner thin-walled steel tube. The width-to-diameter ratio for the steel tube was 147. The column had an outer diameter of 24 inches and a height-to-diameter ratio of 4.0. The steel tube was embedded into reinforced concrete footing with an embedded length of 1.25 times the steel tube diameter, while the FRP tube only confined the concrete wall thickness and curtail at the top of the footing level. The …

Correction: Orbital Angular Momentum Generation And Detection By Geometric-Phase Based Metasurfaces [Appl. Sci., 8, (2018), (362)] Doi:10.3390/App8030362, Menglin L.N. Chen, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Wei E.I. Sha

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We, the authors, wish to make the following corrections to our paper [1]. We found that the literature we listed on page 2 has a mistake: "Afterwards, many other devices for OAM generation have been proposed, such as the cylindrical lens in 1993 [30], spiral phase plates (SPPs) in 1994 [31], q plates in 2006 [32]." We would like to give credit to the first phase rotor filter [2] and remove the year for the designs. Thus, the statement would be changed to: "In 1992, a phase rotor filter was devised to introduce the azimuthal phase term [30]. Afterwards, many …

Analysis Of Grapevine Gene Expression Data Using Node-Based Resilience Clustering, Jeffrey Dale, John Matta, Susanne Howard, Gunes Ercal, Wenping Qiu, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Powdery mildew is the most economically important disease of cultivated grapevines worldwide. In the agricultural community, there is a great need for better understanding of the complex genetic basis of powdery mildew (PM) resistance by delineating possible gene biomarkers associated with the plants' defense mechanisms. Machine learning techniques can be applied to analysis of gene expression data to aid knowledge discovery of disease fighting genes. In this work, we apply a data-driven computational model, utilizing a graph-based clustering algorithm - Node-Based Resilience Clustering (NBRClust), to analyze grapevine gene expression data to identify possible gene biomarkers associated with powdery mildew disease …

A Unified Analysis Framework For Tensor Metasurfaces, Bo O. Zhu, Xiaoyan Y.Z. Xiong, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tensor impedance metasurfaces have attracted much attention recently due to their ability to flexibly manipulate both propagating and surface waves. So far, the analysis of tensor impedance has not been fully supported by commercial electromagnetic simulation software. Also, the representation of formulas of penetrable tensor impedance for both propagating and surface waves is limited in the literature. Hence, a unified analysis framework is proposed for this purpose. It allows the calculation of wave reflection and transmission with arbitrary incident angles, or inversely, the calculation of surface impedance tensors given the desired wave propagation properties. It also allows surface eigenmode analysis, …

The Caching Broadcast Channel With A Wire And Cache Tapping Adversary Of Type Ii, Mohamed Nafea, Aylin Yener

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces the notion of cache-tapping into information theoretic models of coded caching. In particular, the wiretap II model with two receivers equipped with fixed-size cache memories is considered. The adversary chooses a set of symbols from cache placement, delivery, or both to tap into. The legitimate parties know neither whether cache placement, delivery, or both transmissions are tapped, nor the positions of tapped symbols. Only the size of overall tapped set is known. The strong secrecy capacity, i.e., the maximum achievable file rate while keeping the overall library strongly secure, is identified for the instance of two library …

The Caching Broadcast Channel With A Wire And Cache Tapping Adversary Of Type Ii: Multiple Library Files, Mohamed Nafea, Aylin Yener

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A wiretap model with two receivers equipped with fixed-size cache memories, and a type II adversary is considered. The adversary in this model chooses a subset of symbols to tap into either from cache placement, delivery transmission, or both phases. The legitimate parties do not know the fractions or the positions of the tapped symbols in either phase. For a library of size three files or more, lower and upper bounds on the strong secrecy capacity, i.e., the maximum achievable file rate while keeping the overall library strongly secure, are derived. The strong secrecy capacity is identified for the instance …

Identification Of Transportation Infrastructure At Risk Due To Sea Level Rise And Subsidence Of Land In Coastal Louisiana, Sanjay Tewari, Wesley Palmer

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The coast of Louisiana is under threat because of sea level rise and land subsidence. Sea water is encroaching deeper inland and as a result Louisiana is losing at an alarming rate. The combined effect of sea level rise and land subsidence is variable spatially. This paper focuses on this combined effect in identifying the transportation infrastructure that is at risk of getting affected by the sea-water inundation of the land.

This paper is an attempt of taking account of land elevation data monitored continuously at various locations along the coast of Louisiana and combining it with local sea level …

Repeated Loading Model For Elastic-Plastic Contact Of Geomaterial, Jian Wang, Qimin Li, Changwei Yang, Caizhi Zhou

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new nonlinear hysteretic model with considering the loading, unloading, and reloading processes is developed based on Drucker—Prager yield criterion and finite-element analysis. This model can be used for multiple repeated elastic—plastic normal direction contact problems between two identical spherical geomaterials. After examining the influence of material properties, strain hardening, and loading histories, we found that the hysteretic phenomena (represented by residual displacement and plastic work) become weak after the first cycle, and the subsequent cycles step into elastic shakedown state eventually. A critical number of cycles can be used to estimate the state of ratchetting, plastic shakedown, as well …

Holmium And Samarium Detectability In Post-Blast Residue, James Seman, Catherine E. Johnson, Carlos Henry Castano Giraldo

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The creation of an identification taggant that survives detonation and can easily be recovered would prove invaluable in situations such as a terrorist attack where the explosives have been detonated and need to be traced by law enforcement. This paper shows that traces of two elements, samarium (Sm) and holmium (Ho), can be identified from explosive post-blast residue. This is the first step to creating a viable taggant system that survives detonation. The two elements were introduced to the explosive before detonation, and the post-blast residue was analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA). These data indicate the presence of these …

Detonation Synthesis Of Alpha-Variant Silicon Carbide, Martin Langenderfer, Catherine E. Johnson, William Fahrenholtz, Vadym Mochalin

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A recent research study has been undertaken to develop facilities for conducting detonation synthesis of nanomaterials. This process involves a familiar technique that has been utilized for the industrial synthesis of nanodiamonds. Developments through this study have allowed for experimentation with the concept of modifying explosive compositions to induce synthesis of new nanomaterials. Initial experimentation has been conducted with the end goal being synthesis of alpha variant silicon carbide (α-SiC) in the nano-scale. The α-SiC that can be produced through detonation synthesis methods is critical to the ceramics industry because of a number of unique properties of the material. Conventional …

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Of Palladium Nanoparticles Supported On Copper Oxide In Aqueous Medium As An Efficient Catalyst For Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction, Hany A. Elazab, M. A. Sadek, Tamer T. El-Idreesy

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report here a reliable green method for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles supported on copper oxide as a highly active and efficient catalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The experimental synthetic approach is based on microwave-assisted chemical reduction of an aqueous mixture of palladium and copper salt simultaneously using hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent. The catalyst was fully characterized using various techniques showing well-dispersed palladium nanoparticles. The catalytic activity and recyclability of the prepared catalyst were experimentally explored in the ligand-free Suzuki cross-coupling reaction with a diverse series of functionalized substrates. The synthesized Pd/CuO catalyst shows many advantages beside its …

A Nonlinear Crack Model For Concrete Structure Based On An Extended Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method, Jian-Bo Li, Xin Gao, Xing-An Fu, Chenglin Wu, Gao Lin

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fracture mechanics is one of the most important approaches to structural safety analysis. Modeling the fracture process zone (FPZ) is critical to understand the nonlinear cracking behavior of heterogeneous quasi-brittle materials such as concrete. In this work, a nonlinear extended scaled boundary finite element method (X-SBFEM) was developed incorporating the cohesive fracture behavior of concrete. This newly developed model consists of an iterative procedure to accurately model the traction distribution within the FPZ accounting for the cohesive interactions between crack surfaces. Numerical validations were conducted on both of the concrete beam and dam structures with various loading conditions. The results …

Software For Peak Finding And Elemental Composition Assignment For Glycosaminoglycan Tandem Mass Spectra, John D. Hogan, Joshua A. Klein, Jiandong Wu, Pradeep Chopra, Geert Jan Boons, Luis Carvalho, Cheng Lin, Joseph Zaia

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) Covalently Linked to Proteoglycans (PGs) Are Characterized by Repeating Disaccharide Units and Variable Sulfation Patterns Along the Chain. GAG Length and Sulfation Patterns Impact Disease Etiology, Cellular Signaling, and Structural Support for Cells. We and Others Have Demonstrated the Usefulness of Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS 2 ) for Assigning the Structures of GAG Saccharides; However, Manual Interpretation of Tandem Mass Spectra is Time-Consuming, So Computational Methods Must Be Employed. in the Proteomics Domain, the Identification of Monoisotopic Peaks and Charge States Relies on Algorithms that Use Averagine, or the Average Building Block of the Compound Class Being Analyzed. …

Significant Improvement In Tio₂ Photocatalytic Activity Through Controllable Zro₂ Deposition, Xiaofeng Wang, Rajankumar L. Patel, Xinhua Liang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

ZrO₂ was deposited on anatase TiO₂ nanoparticles using 5-80 cycles of atomic layer deposition (ALD). The photocatalytic activity of all samples was evaluated based on the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution under UV light. The TiO₂ sample with 45 cycles of ZrO₂ deposition (45c-Zr/TiO₂, 1.1 wt% ZrO₂) was proved to be the most efficient catalyst with a degradation kinetic constant 10 times larger than that of the pure TiO₂ sample. All samples were characterized using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy …

Discontinuous Galerkin Time-Domain Modeling Of Graphene Nanoribbon Incorporating The Spatial Dispersion Effects, Ping Li, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Hakan Bagci

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

It is well known that graphene demonstrates spatial dispersion properties, i.e., its conductivity is nonlocal and a function of spectral wavenumber (momentum operator) q. In this paper, to account for effects of spatial dispersion on transmission of high-speed signals along graphene nanoribbon (GNR) interconnects, a discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) algorithm is proposed. The atomically thick GNR is modeled using a nonlocal transparent surface impedance boundary condition (SIBC) incorporated into the DGTD scheme. Since the conductivity is a complicated function of q (and one cannot find an analytical Fourier transform pair between q and spatial differential operators), an exact time-domain SIBC …

Enhancing Manual P-Phase Arrival Detection And Automatic Onset Time Picking In A Noisy Microseismic Data In Underground Mines, Charles Mborah, Maochen Ge

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurate detection and picking of the P-phase onset time in noisy micro seismic data from underground mines remains a big challenge. Reliable P-phase onset time picking is necessary for accurate source location needed for planning and rescue operations in the event of failures. In this paper, a new technique based on the discrete stationary wavelet transform (DSWT) and higher order statistics is proposed for processing noisy data from underground mines. The objectives of this method are to (i) improve manual detection and picking of P-phase onset; and (ii) provide an automatic means of detecting and picking P-phase onset time accurately. …

Inelastic Response Evaluation Of Precast Composite Columns Under Seismic Loads, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a non-linear finite element analysis of large-scale hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-thin walled steel (HC-FCS) precast columns under reversed cyclic loading. The HC-FCS columns provide an economical and efficient alternative to conventional concrete bridge columns. The precast HC-FCS column consists of a concrete shell sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner thin-walled steel tube. The steel tube diameter-to thickness (D_i/t_s) ratio was 254. The proposed FEA model was developed using LS_DYNA multipurpose software and was verified by experimental results performed in this study. The FE model was used to investigate some …

A Web Page Classifier Library Based On Random Image Content Analysis Using Deep Learning, Leonardo Espinosa Leal, Amaury Lendasse, Kaj Mikael Björk, Anton Akusok

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper We Present a Methodology and the Corresponding Python Library1 for the Classification of Webpages. the Method Retrieves a Fixed Number of Images from a Given Webpage, and based on Them Classifies the Webpage into a Set of Established Classes with a Given Probability. the Library Trains a Random Forest Model Built Upon the Features Extracted from Images by a Pre-Trained Neural Network. the Implementation is Tested by Recognizing Weapon Class Webpages in a Curated List of 3859 Websites. the Results Show that the Best Method of Classifying a Webpage among the Classes of Interest is to Assign …

Synthesis Of Cr, Cu, Ni, And Y-Doped 3d-Printed Zsm-5 Monoliths And Their Catalytic Performance For N-Hexane Cracking, Xin Li, Abdo Alslam Alwakwak, Fateme Rezaei, Ali A. Rownaghi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this work, chromium, copper, nickel, and yttrium-doped 3D-printed ZSM-5 monoliths were synthesized by doping the ZSM-5 zeolite paste with corresponding metal precursors. The physical and acid properties of the metal-doped 3D-printed ZSM-5 monoliths were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR), N₂ adsorption, temperature programmed reduction of H₂(H₂-TPR), and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH₃-TPD) techniques. The characterization of bare and metal-doped monoliths confirmed the presence of metal promoters within the zeolite matrix while their MFI frameworks were retained after doping and printing. It …

A Novel Hybrid 2d/Q-2d Finite Element Method For Power/Ground Plane Analysis, Ping Li, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang, Hakan Bagci

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

By realizing the TMz modal distribution property between the power/ground plate-pairs, the magnetic field actually has only azimuthal components while longitude component is zero. Thus, if the magnetic field wave equation is solved, only a Quasi-2D issue is considered. Furthermore, since the high-order modes are only located in the near region of the anti-pad, thus for the domain far-away from the antipad has only the TEM mode. Thereby, in this region, the magnetic field is invariable along the vertical direction, which consequently is a pure 2D domain. As a result, the conventional 3D computational domain is naturally transformed to a …

Climbing Robots For Steel Bridge Inspection And Evaluation, Hung La

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

Steel structures and steel bridges, constituting a major part in civil infrastructure, require adequate maintenance and health monitoring. In the U.S., more than 50,000 steel bridges are either deficient or functionally obsolete, which likely presents a growing threat to people's safety. The collapse of numerous bridges recorded over the past 16 years has shown significant impact on the safety of all travelers.

In this presentation, the design and implementation of two different climbing robots for steel structure inspection are reported. Based on the magnetic wheel design, the robot can climb on different steel surface structures (i.e., flat, cylinder, cube). The …

Laser Vaporization And Controlled Condensation (Lvcc) Of Graphene Supported Pd/Fe3o4 Nanoparticles As An Efficient Magnetic Catalysts For Suzuki Cross – Coupling, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Herein, a reproducible, reliable, and efficient method was reported for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles dispersed on a composite of Fe₃O₄ and graphene (Pd-Fe₃O₄/G) as a highly efficient active catalyst for being used in Suzuki cross–coupling reactions. Graphene supported Pd/Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Pd-Fe₃O₄/G) exhibit a remarkable catalytic performance towards Suzuki coupling reactions. Moreover, the prepared catalyst could be recycled for up to three times with high catalytic activity. The catalyst was prepared using LVCC synthesis; the prepared catalyst is highly magnetic which provides a platform to facilitate …

The Catalytic Activity Of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Towards Carbon Monoxide Oxidation Catalysis: Microwave – Assisted Synthesis Approach, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this research, we report a simple, versatile, and reproducible method for the synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles via microwave assisted synthesis approach. The important advantage of this catalyst is due to its important role not only in the low temperature oxidation of CO but also in potential applications in pharmaceutical and fine chemical synthesis. The results reveal that the copper oxide catalyst has particularly a remarkable high activity for CO oxidation catalysis as it was found that copper oxide (CuO) catalyst has 100% conversion of carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide at 175 oC. This also could be attributed to …

Joining Metallurgically Incompatible Metals, Wei Li, Frank W. Liou

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method for joining a second alloy material to a first alloy material where the two alloy materials are incompatible, comprising forming three successive interface layers over a substrate comprising the first alloy material, followed by forming a structure of the second alloy material over the interface layers, wherein the composition and deposition method for each of the layers is selected so that brittle intermetallics are not formed between elements of the adjacent layer compositions.

High Efficiency, High Performance Metal-Organic Framework (Mof) Membranes In Hollow Fibers And Tubular Modules, Sankar Nair, Kiwon Eum, Christopher W. Jones, Ali A. Rownaghi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A reactor cell for measuring gas and liquid permeation is disclosed. A hollow fiber is supported by and sealed into a first hole and a second hole of the reactor module. The first and second ends of the hollow fiber are sealed with a sealing solution. Methods for making and using the reactor cell are also disclosed. As made and used, the reactor cell further comprises a molecular sieving membrane that is uniform and free of defects grown on an inner bore surface of the hollow fiber.