Engineering Commons^™

Building A Better Computer For The Aging Generation, Gretchen Baird, Boryeon Kwon, Dylan Lasner, Parker Swensen, Zane Ross, Adrik Gurganus

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

The problem which we have ventured out to solve is that the aging community does not have easily accessible computers and technologies.

The Smart Clock, Cory Koehler, Addison Loda, Hannah Posey-Scholl, Isak Rask

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

Modern technology continues to change and improve constantly as people find ways to make things faster, smaller, and better - but these changes often leave the elderly behind. This year’s Innovation Challenge asked groups to focus on how to create and improve technology geared towards the aging generations. For our initial research, the Grant High School team and mentors visited an elderly care center and interviewed a few of the residents, asking what types of technology currently improve their lives, and what types of technology could potentially improve their lives.

The Problem: After the interviews, we were able to identify …

Making Way For Clearer Sound, Barbara Little, Jacob Stearn, Jake Elsewhere

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

Problem: Hearing aids are posing difficulties for the elderly using them because of several factors. One of these factors is the filtering of background noise. Many affordable hearing aids on the market today do not produce quality sound because of inferior filtering of background noises.

Opportunity: Our team didn’t understand why this is still a problem since we have the technology currently that is capable of solving this. For instance, we have microphones and speakers that filter out background noise by removing or lessening it. After some research we found that Google Glass is working on a prototype of something …

Lifebrace: The Advanced Health Tracking Wristband, Jeremy Ferrando, Dylan O'Brien, Daniel Ortiz, Jonah Paivarinta

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

Over 28 million Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Every 33 seconds someone dies of heart disease, claiming more lives than AIDS and all forms of cancer combined. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non fatal injuries to elderly people.

These problems require constant supervision and frequent treatments to keep a patient stable, and they all become more serious with age. People with diabetes, heart conditions, or other debilitating conditions need frequent check-ups, and are always in danger of accidents. They also often need frequent doses of medicine.

The only way that these conditions can be monitored properly is …

Tech For Arthritis, Alex Gaiovych, Anna Velikoretskikh, Ephraim Lee, Karl Stephenson, Kevin Wu, Miguel Campos, Veyda Campos

PSU High School Innovation Challenge

In an era where technological advances are made on almost a daily basis, there are still many people who aren’t able or are scared to use modern technology. While computers and phones get smarter and more powerful, they are also getting smaller and more precise. Trying to push a tiny button, either real or virtual, can be a real problem for those who suffer from arthritis.

According to www.arthritis.org, over 50 million people are diagnosed with arthritis, most of which are senior citizens. Many of these seniors don’t use technology to its full potential because they simply can’t. For some, …

Modeling Historic Columbia River Flood Impacts, Lumas Helaire, Andrew Mahedy, Stefan A. Talke, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Lower Columbia River Estuary (LCRE) has undergone extensive modifications since the 19^th century. Construction of dams, installation of jetties and dikes, dredging of the navigation channel and filling in of tidal wetlands have all contributed significantly to alterations in tidal dynamics and the flow regime, with consequences for habitat inundation and salinity intrusion. In this talk we discuss the development and implementation of a 19^th century flow model for the LCRE, using a digital elevation model based on historic bathymetry. The model has been calibrated with recently rediscovered and digitized tide data from the 19^th century. …

Increasing Storm Tides In New York Harbor, 1844–2013, Stefan A. Talke, Philip M. Orton, David A. Jay

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three of the nine highest recorded water levels in the New York Harbor region have occurred since 2010 (March 2010, August 2011, and October 2012), and eight of the largest twenty have occurred since 1990. To investigate whether this cluster of high waters is a random occurrence or indicative of intensified storm tides, we recover archival tide gauge data back to 1844 and evaluate the trajectory of the annual maximum storm tide. Approximately half of long-term variance is anticorrelated with decadal-scale variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation, while long-term trends explain the remainder. The 10 year storm tide has increased …

Anisotropy Of The Reynolds Stress Tensor In The Wakes Of Counter-Rotating Wind Turbine Arrays, Nicholas Michael Hamilton

Dissertations and Theses

A wind turbine array was constructed in the wind tunnel at Portland State University in a standard Cartesian arrangement. Configurations of the turbine array were tested with rotor blades set to rotate in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise sense. Measurements of velocity were made with stereo particle-image velocimetry. Mean statistics of velocities and Reynolds stresses clearly show the effect of direction of rotation of rotor blades for both entrance and exit row turbines. Rotational sense of the turbine blades is visible in the mean spanwise velocity W and the Reynolds shear stress -[macron over vw]. The normalized anisotropy tensor was …

Small-Scale Minimal-Maintenance Anaerobic Digestion Of Food Waste For Solids Reduction And Methane Production: Feasibility Study, Leland C. Scantlebury

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Six gallons of food waste was anaerobically digested for 76 days in two small-scale digesters sitting by a lab window. The main difference, besides waste sources, of these digesters was substrate processing: chopping versus blending. An effort was made to minimize the maintenance of the digesters, however, after 45 days of overly acidic (pH

Modelling Rainwater-Harvesting System Reliability Based On Historical Precipitation Data For Portland, Mrinali Mathur

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Rainwater harvesting can ease the water availability problems for many parts of the world where water is not easily available. It is also a solution for minimizing stormwater runoff and better managing sewers by preventing combined sewers to overflow. The goal of this project is to calculate the reliability of rainwater harvesting systems and provide optimum size of the storage tank using historical records for Portland specific rain pattern. A simple water balance approach for historical data is used to calculate the reliability by which rainwater harvesting system can be used as a means of irrigating gardens in Portland. The …

Benchtop Minimal-Intervention Anaerobic Digestion Of Vegetarian Food Waste For Ph And Methane Production: Conceivability And Control Study, Emily J. Heleva-Ponaski

Civil and Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cities around the world transport large quantities of waste to landfills at a great expense to their residents, infrastructures, and environments. The objective of this study was to run an anaerobic food waste digester with minimal interference or maintenance. One specific goal of this research was to evaluate the relationship between anaerobic food waste and pH. Two benchop digesters were started with vegetarian food waste collected from the Portland State University campus. Measurements were collected over the course of the digestion process. Due to low pH and lack of biogas production, the digesters were buffered with sodium carbonate and seeded …

Identification Of Markov Process Within A Wind Turbine Array Boundary Layer, Matthew Scott Melius, Murat Tutkun, Raúl Bayoán Cal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Markovian properties within a wind turbine array boundary layer are explored for data taken in a wind tunnel containing a model wind turbine array. A stochastic analysis of the data is carried out using the mathematics of Markov processes. The data were obtained using hot-wire anemometry thus providing point velocity statistics. The theory of Markov process is applied to obtain a statistical description of longitudinal velocity increments inside the turbine wake. Comparison of two- and three-scale conditional probability density functions indicates the existence of Markovian properties in longitudinal velocity increments for scale differences larger than the Taylor microscale. This …

An Analysis Of Bicycle-Vehicle Interactions At Signalized Intersections With Bicycle Boxes, William Robert Farley

Dissertations and Theses

A before-and-after analysis was performed at eleven intersections where a bike box was installed in Portland, Oregon to explore the safety effects of the treatment. Video data were gathered prior to installation at 14 intersections where a bike box installation was planned by the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Cameras were set up to capture three full twenty-four hour days (72 hours) of data for each intersection from Tuesday through Thursday. Of the 14 original selected intersections, 11 intersections actually received the bike box treatment. Video data were again gathered for these intersections after the installation of the bike box for …

The Design, Implementation, Assessment, And Evaluation Of A Power Systems Protection Laboratory Curriculum, Jennifer Ferris

Dissertations and Theses

Over the last the last three decades, there has been a significant and documented decrease of power engineering curriculum within U.S. electrical engineering programs. Development of lifelong learners capable of critical and independent thinking is required to replace the large number of upcoming retirees from the industry and to prepare for the engineering challenges new technologies, laws and regulations are bringing to the electrical power system. In response to these challenges, Portland State University redesigned its BSEE and MSECE power engineering programs in order to create a launching pad for successful power engineering careers. A course series on power system …

Zno Nanosheet Arrays Constructed On Weaved Titanium Wire For Cds-Sensitized Solar Cells, Cuncun Wu, Lin Wei, Yitan Li, Chang Liu, Jun Jiao, Yanxue Chen, Liangmo Mei

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ordered ZnO nanosheet arrays were grown on weaved titanium wires by a low-temperature hydrothermal method. CdS nanoparticles were deposited onto the ZnO nanosheet arrays using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method to make a photoanode. Nanoparticle-sensitized solar cells were assembled using these CdS/ZnO nanostructured photoanodes, and their photovoltaic performance was studied systematically. The best light-to-electricity conversion efficiency was obtained to be 2.17% under 100 mW/cm/cm² illumination, and a remarkable shortcircuit photocurrent density of approximately 20.1 mA/cm² was recorded, which could attribute to the relatively direct pathways for transportation of electrons provided by ZnO nanosheet arrays as …

Cds Quantum Dot-Sensitized Solar Cells Based On Nano-Branched Tio2 Arrays, Chang Liu, Yitan Li, Lin Wei, Cuncun Wu, Yanxue Chen, Liangmo Mei, Jun Jiao

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nano-branched rutile TiO2 nanorod arrays were grown on F:SnO2 conductive glass (FTO) by a facile, two-step wet chemical synthesis process at low temperature. The length of the nanobranches was tailored by controlling the growth time, after which CdS quantum dots were deposited on the nano-branched TiO2 arrays using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method to make a photoanode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs). The photovoltaic properties of the CdS-sensitized nano-branched TiO2 solar cells were studied systematically. A short-circuit current intensity of approximately 7 mA/cm2 and a light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 0.95% were recorded for cells based on …

Bicycle Facilities And The Uptake Of Air Pollution By Active Travelers, Alexander Y. Bigazzi, Miguel A. Figliozzi, James F. Pankow, Wentai Luo, Lorne M. Isabelle

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Outlines the research of urban bicyclists' facilities and the uptake of air pollution by active travelers in urban Portland, OR. Outlines the research goals, beginning data collection methods, intake/uptake, modeling results, conclusions and the next steps for future work with the collected data set of direct uptake measurements.

Assessing The Impact Of Water Filters And Improved Cook Stoves On Drinking Water Quality And Household Air Pollution: A Randomised Controlled Trial In Rwanda, Ghislaine Rosa, Fiona Majorin, Sophie Boisson, Christina Barstow, Michael Johnson, Miles Kirby, Fidele Ngabo, Evan A. Thomas, Thomas Clasen

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diarrhea and respiratory infections remain the biggest killers of children under 5 years in developing countries. We conducted a 5-month household randomised controlled trial among 566 households in rural Rwanda to assess uptake, compliance and impact on environmental exposures of a combined intervention delivering high-performance water filters and improved stoves for free. Compliance was measured monthly by self-report and spot-check observations. Semicontinuous 24-h PM2.5 monitoring of the cooking area was conducted in a random subsample of 121 households to assess household air pollution, while samples of drinking water from all households were collected monthly to assess the levels of thermotolerant …

Experimental Study On Influence Of Pitch Motion On The Wake Of A Floating Wind Turbine Model, Stanislav Rockel, Elizabeth Camp, Jonas Schmidt, Joachim Peinke, Raúl Bayoán Cal, Michael Höllimg

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wind tunnel experiments were performed, where the development of the wake of a model wind turbine was measured using stereo Particle Image Velocimetry to observe the influence of platform pitch motion. The wakes of a classical bottom fixed turbine and a streamwise oscillating turbine are compared. Results indicate that platform pitch creates an upward shift in all components of the flow and their fluctuations. The vertical flow created by the pitch motion as well as the reduced entrainment of kinetic energy from undisturbed flows above the turbine result in potentially higher loads and less available kinetic energy for a downwind …

More Urban Form, Fewer Auto Trips, Kelly J. Clifton

TREC Project Briefs

Trip generation refers to the number of vehicle trips that are predicted to originate in a given zone. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) publishes standard trip generation rates for various land use types, but these rates are primarily measured in low-density suburban areas. There is national interest in building data that expands upon the existing ITE trip generation rates to include sites located in a multi-modal context.

In areas that have a more compact urban form, better access to transit and a greater mix of land uses, fewer vehicle trips may be generated there than ITE rates indicate. However, …

Time-Variable Refraction Of The Internal Tide At The Hawaiian Ridge, Edward D. Zaron, Gary D. Egbert

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The interaction of the dominant semidiurnal M₂ internal tide with the large-scale subtidal flow is examined in an ocean model by propagating the tide through an ensemble of background fields in a domain centered on the Hawaiian Ridge. The background fields are taken from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) ocean analysis, at 2-month intervals from 1992 through 2001. Tides are computed with the Primitive Equation Z-coordinate Harmonic Analysis of Tides (PEZ-HAT) model by 14-day integrations using SODA initial conditions and M2 tidal forcing. Variability of the tide is found to occur primarily as the result of propagation through …

Characterization If Li-Air Batteries Influence Of Cathode Degradation: Demonstration Of Progress, Claudia Torres Garibay, Jeremiah Deboever

TREC Project Briefs

Li-air batteries are attractive candidates to be used in electric vehicles (EV) due to their high theoretical capacity, which results in an improved range, a requirement to make EV competitive against fossil fuel powered vehicles. However, Li-air battery technology is considered to be far from commercialization, due to its short lifespan. The decomposition of the electrolyte and its effect on cyclablity has been widely studied, no so much the cathode. The presence of undesirable reaction by-products at the cathode that affect the battery performance has been quantified through XRD and SEM. This work will make use of recently reported novel …

Project Nano: Will Allowing High School Students To Use Research Grade Scanning Electron Microscopes Increase Their Interest In Science?, Leslie Teneyck Smith

Dissertations and Theses

In this study, one AP Biology curriculum unit and one general Biology curriculum unit that included tabletop Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technology provided by Project NANO, a grant-funded, collaborative initiative designed to integrate cutting-edge nanotechnology into high school classrooms were implemented at a public high school in rural Oregon. Nine students participated in the AP unit and 52 students participated in the general Biology unit. Each student completed an opinion-based pre and post survey to determine if using the SEM as a part of the curriculum unit had an impact on his or her interest in science or in nanoscience. …

The Small Volume Autonomous Water Sampler (Svaws): An Innovative, Cost- Effective, Adaptable Protocol, Nicholas B. Fitzgerald

Dissertations and Theses

As of 2007, U.S. pesticide use stood at 1.1 billion pounds with 80% of all usage in agriculture. Such realities pose a potentially dangerous threat to our surface water bodies. This research provides a detailed analysis of the design, operation and field testing of a prototype water sampler, the Small Volume Autonomous Water Sampler (SVAWS). The research includes a discussion of the design and construction of the SVAWS. Seven USGS employees operated the SVAWS in a number of different states and conditions in order to collect samples for pesticide analysis. Field-testing outcomes of the SVAWS were measured through a Participant …

Mobile Robot Localization Based On Kalman Filter, Omar Q. Mohsin

Dissertations and Theses

Robot localization is one of the most important subjects in the Robotics science. It is an interesting and complicated topic. There are many algorithms to solve the problem of localization. Each localization system has its own set of features, and based on them, a solution will be chosen. In my thesis, I want to present a solution to find the best estimate for a robot position in certain space for which a map is available. The thesis started with an elementary introduction to the probability and the Gaussian theories. Simple and advanced practical examples are presented to illustrate each concept …

Occurrence Of Synthetic Amino-Polycarboxylate Chelating Compounds In Oregon Surface Waters, Nathan A. Hersey

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Cation sequestering compounds are contained in many industrial, commercial and personal care products. The most widely used chelating agents, EDTA and DTPA, are commonly found in natural and industrial settings. When chelating compounds are present, the activity and transport of metal cations in the environment and the uptake of metals in natural systems can be affected. Surface water samples from across the United States were analyzed, as well as local collection and analysis of surface waters and wastewater treatment plant effluent from around Northwest Oregon. Results indicate presence of synthetic chelating compounds in areas with human activity, and absence in …

Seismic Retrofitting Of Existing Structures, Cetin Sahin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

This research project will give a brief presentation about earthquake resistant design and the methodology about seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of existing structures. It also provides certain aspects of computer software modeling against seismic loads and shows the necessity of seismic upgrading in a steel moment-frame building.

The seismic evaluation process consists of investigating if the structure meets the defined target structural performance levels. The main goal during earthquakes is to assure that building collapse doesn’t occur and the risk of death or injury to people is minimized and beyond that to satisfy post-earthquake performance level for defined range of …

Making Bridges Outlast Rising Waters, Daniel Cox

TREC Project Briefs

During Hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Katrina in 2005, at least 11 highway and railroad bridges along the U.S. Gulf Coast were damaged by wave forces. The spans of these bridges typically rested on bent column supports, and were attached to the supports by a variety of connection methods. Failure of these connections caused bridge spans to be washed away when the water rose high enough to lift them off. To build bridges that can withstand such forces, engineers must be able to estimate the effects the forces will have.

Investigator Daniel Cox of Oregon State University has conducted wave …

A Comparative Assessment Of Crowded Source Travel Time Estimates: A Case Study Of Bluetooth Vs Inrix On A Suburban Arterial, Fahad Fasha Alhajri

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Travel time is one of the most widely used measures of traffic performance monitoring for the transportation systems. It is a simple concept that refers to the time required to traverse between two points of interest. Travel time is communicated and used by a wide variety of audience such as commuters, media reporters, and transportation engineers and planners. Recent developments within the wireless communication area made it possible to collect travel time data at a relatively low cost. These emerging technologies include mobile phone based technologies, in-vehicle navigation technologies and automatic vehicle identification technologies. Although these technologies offer a great …

A Comparative Study Of Reservoir Computing For Temporal Signal Processing, Alireza Goudarzi, Peter Banda, Matthew R. Lakin, Christof Teuscher, Darko Stefanovic

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reservoir computing (RC) is a novel approach to time series prediction using recurrent neural networks. In RC, an input signal perturbs the intrinsic dynamics of a medium called a reservoir. A readout layer is then trained to reconstruct a target output from the reservoir's state. The multitude of RC architectures and evaluation metrics poses a challenge to both practitioners and theorists who study the task-solving performance and computational power of RC. In addition, in contrast to traditional computation models, the reservoir is a dynamical system in which computation and memory are inseparable, and therefore hard to analyze. Here, we compare …