Engineering Commons^™

Turbine Passage Design Methodology To Minimize Entropy Production-A Two-Step Optimization Strategy, Paht Juangphanich, Cis De Maesschalck, Guillermo Paniagua

School of Aeronautics and Astronautics Faculty Publications

Rapid aerodynamic design and optimization is essential for the development of future turbomachinery. The objective of this work is to demonstrate a methodology from 1D mean-line-design to a full 3D aerodynamic optimization of the turbine stage using a parameterization strategy that requires few parameters. The methodology is tested by designing a highly loaded and efficient turbine for the Purdue Experimental Turbine Aerothermal Laboratory. This manuscript describes the entire design process including the 2D/3D parameterization strategy in detail. The objective of the design is to maximize the entropy definition of efficiency while simultaneously maximizing the stage loading. Optimal design trends are …

Road Scholar Core Course #1 - Asset Management, Pat Conner P.E.

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Conference Proceedings

This course provides a detailed overview of the concepts of asset management and how to apply these concepts to the planning and operations of a local public agency. This course will also provide detailed information on the LTAP Data Management System (DMS) and the tools and resources available to assist in your Pavement Asset Management Plan (PAMP) preparation.

While several components can make up a transportation asset management plan, this course will focus on pavement management and how to identify the condition of existing road networks. Attendees will also be presented effective methods for establishing priorities and developing policies and …

Engineering Technology Undergraduate Students: A Survey Of Demographics And Mentoring, Anne M. Lucietto, Elizabeth Dell, Elaine M. Cooney, Lisa Ann Russell, Emily Schott

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

A report published by a group of engineering technology practitioners and others interested in engineering technology called “Engineering Technology Education in the United States” was released in early 2017. The report provided recommendations of areas for further study related to engineering technology students to increase our understanding of the population. These specifically suggested focusing on the students in comparison to other students in similar and different fields of study. Following these recommendations, a team of engineering technology education researchers has been collaborating to gather information in these areas. The team obtained institutional approval and distributed two surveys throughout the United …

An Investigation Into The Value And Benefits Of The Solidworks Certification Program, Joseph Rudy, Rustin Webster

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This descriptive research study explores the perceived value and benefits of the SOLIDWORKS certification program for students and working professionals. In the last decade, computer-aided design (CAD) certifications have grown in availability and popularity, and CAD software vendors and resellers have made bold claims concerning their value. However, minimal evidence-based research has been conducted to explore the actual value gained from obtaining such a certification. This study involved the use of an online survey given to a cross-sectional sample of certified SOLIDWORKS professionals located in the western region of the United States. Students, educators, and SOLIDWORKS employees and resellers were …

Diversity In Engineering Technology Students, Eliabeth Dell, Anne M. Lucietto, Elaine Cooney, Lisa Russell, Emily Schott

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In the US, there are two academic pathways to a career in engineering: Engineering and Engineering Technology (ET). Engineering Technology attracts more African American and Latin American students than traditional engineering programs. Nationally, African American students are more than twice as likely to enroll in an ET program versus Engineering. We suspect it may be due to traditional Engineering programs’ requirement of higher levels of math and science classes, often lacking in under-privileged or underserved urban or rural high schools. Recently published research by the New York Equity Coalition supports this supposition. Understanding the reasons for the higher representation of …

Construction Management Technology Students Choice Of Major, Anthony E. Sparkling, Anne M. Lucietto, Aayushi Sinha, Trenton Thomas Hasser

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

This study explores the following research questions: 1) What are the common attributes of college students that decide to pursue CM degrees; and, 2) What key motivational drivers that encourage students to remain in STEM majors? The study population considered were those students enrolled in CM undergraduate degree program in the United States (US). Over 100 students participated in an online survey to assess their backgrounds and experiences. Results illustrate early career decisions and other underlying motives shape students’ decisions to pursue CM undergraduate degree programs. Key drivers such as family background, personal interests, and role models/mentors are related to …

Engineering Technology Graduates: A Survey Of Demographics And Mentoring, Anne M. Lucietto, Elizabeth Dell, Elaine M. Cooney, Lisa Ann Russel, Emily Schott

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Early in 2017, a team of engineering technology practitioners along with others interested in the state of engineering technology published a report entitled “Engineering Technology Education in the United States.” This report garnered a list of recommendations and things that needed to be investigated to further our understanding of this student population; specifically focusing on the students and how they relate to other students studying both similar and different material. A team of like-minded engineering technology education researchers have been working together to ascertain the answers to the findings. They prepared two surveys, obtained institutional approval, and distributed it throughout …

Breakage Modeling Of Needle-Shaped Particles Using The Discrete Element Method, Rohit Kumar, William Ketterhagen, Avik Sarkar, Jennifer S. Curtis, Carl Wassgren

School of Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper models the breakage of large aspect ratio particles in an attrition cell using discrete element method (DEM) and population balance (PB) models. The particles are modeled in DEM as sphero-cylinders. The stresses within each particle are calculated along the particle length using beam theory and the particle breaks into two parts if the stress exceeds a critical value. Thus, the size distribution changes with time within the DEM model. The DEM model is validated against previously published experimental data.

The simulations demonstrate that particle breakage occurs primarily in front of the attrition cell blades, with the breakage rate …

Color Transparency From Motions Of Backgrounds And Overlays, Zhehao Huang, Qasim Zaidi

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Computations Of Top-Down Attention By Modulating V1 Dynamics, David Berga, Xavier Otazu

MODVIS Workshop

The human visual system processes information defining what is visually conspicuous (saliency) to our perception, guiding eye movements towards certain objects depending on scene context and its feature characteristics. However, attention has been known to be biased by top-down influences (relevance), which define voluntary eye movements driven by goal-directed behavior and memory. We propose a unified model of the visual cortex able to predict, among other effects, top-down visual attention and saccadic eye movements. First, we simulate activations of early mechanisms of the visual system (RGC/LGN), by processing distinct image chromatic opponencies with Gabor-like filters. Second, we use a cortical …

Virtual Eye: A Spatial-Temporal Bottom-Up Eye Sensitivity Model, Todd Goodall

MODVIS Workshop

Video quality and compression models use the

spatial contrast sensitivity function (CSF), which is solved

based on a linear system approximation. This function measures

the eye’s sensitivity to sinusoid gratings, ignoring the subtle

connectivity and inhomogeniety of cell density across the

visual field. Non-linear aspects of the eye, such as the change

in frequency sensitivity with changing illumination, are not

captured by this simple approximation. We propose Virtual

Eye, a bottom-up approach that models the spatio-temporal

dynamics of the eye across the visual field. Each functional

retinal cell layer in the eye is modeled using non-uniform spatial

cell responses, which …

Quantified Measurement Of The Tilt Effect In A Family Of Café Wall Illusions, Nasim Nematzadeh Dr., David Martin Powers Prof.

MODVIS Workshop

This abstract explores the tilt effect in a family of Café Wall illusions using a Classical Gaussian Receptive Field model (CRF). Our model constructs an intermediate representation called edge map at multiple scales (Fig. 1) that reveals tilt cues and clues involved in the illusory perception of the Café Wall pattern. We investigate a wide range of parameters of the stimulus including mortar width, luminance, tiles contrast, and phase of the tile displacement (the stimuli in Fig. 2). We show that this simple bioplausible model, simulating the contrast sensitivity of the retinal ganglion cells, can not only detect the tilts …

An Observer Model Version Of General Recognition Theory, Fabian Soto Phd

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

The Challenge For Vision Of Fluctuating Real-World Illumination, David H. Foster

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

A Cooperative Overlay Approach At The Physical Layer Of Cognitive Radio For Digital Agriculture, Abdul Salam, Umit Karabiyik

Faculty Publications

In digital agriculture, the cognitive radio technology is being envisaged as solution to spectral shortage problems by allowing agricultural cognitive users to co-exist with noncognitive users in the same spectrum on the field. Cognitive radios increase system capacity and spectral efficiency by sensing the spectrum and adapting the transmission parameters. This design requires a robust, adaptable and flexible physical layer to support cognitive radio functionality. In this paper, a novel physical layer architecture for cognitive radio based on cognition, cooperation, and cognitive interference avoidance has been developed by using power control for digital agriculture applications. The design is based on …

Twitter And Disasters: A Social Resilience Fingerprint, Benjamin A. Rachunok, Jackson B. Bennett, Roshanak Nateghi

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Understanding the resilience of a community facing a crisis event is critical to improving its adaptive capacity. Community resilience has been conceptualized as a function of the resilience of components of a community such as ecological, infrastructure, economic, and social systems, etc. In this paper, we introduce the concept of a “resilience fingerprint” and propose a multi-dimensional method for analyzing components of community resilience by leveraging existing definitions of community resilience with data from the social network Twitter. Twitter data from 14 events are analyzed and their resulting resilience fingerprints computed. We compare the fingerprints between events and show that …

Evaluating Small Uas Operations And National Airspace System Interference Using Aeroscope, Ryan J. Wallace, Kristy M. Kiernan, Tom Haritos, John Robbins, Jon M. Loffi

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

A recent rash of near mid-air collisions coupled with the widespread proliferation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) raise concerns that integration is posing additional risk to the National Airspace System. In 2016, sUAS sighting reports by manned aircraft pilots averaged 147 per month. In the first three quarters of 2017, sUAS sightings jumped to 188 per month. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sUAS operator behavior to determine potential interference with aviation operations. While previous research has indeed yielded findings about operator behavior, such studies were generally based on data derived from Aviation Safety Reporting System filings …

2019 Directory Of Indiana State, County, City And Town Officials Responsible For Road And Street Work, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Directory

Contact information for agency officials and employees responsible for Indiana’s local road infrastructure.

Urban Underground Infrastructure Monitoring Iot: The Path Loss Analysis, Abdul Salam, Syed Shah

Faculty Publications

The extra quantities of wastewater entering the pipes can cause backups that result in sanitary sewer overflows. Urban underground infrastructure monitoring is important for controlling the flow of extraneous water into the pipelines. By combining the wireless underground communications and sensor solutions, the urban underground IoT applications such as real time wastewater and storm water overflow monitoring can be developed. In this paper, the path loss analysis of wireless underground communications in urban underground IoT for wastewater monitoring has been presented. It has been shown that the communication range of up to 4 kilometers can be achieved from an underground …

Collaborative Product–Service Approach To Aviation Maintenance, Repair, And Overhaul. Part Ii: Numerical Investigations, Cassio Dias Goncalves, Michael Kokkolaras

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This two-part paper proposes a new collaborative approach to airframe maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). A quantitative model is introduced in Part I to represent the business relationships between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and MRO enterprises. In Part II, the presented model is used to assess potential financial benefits obtained by each of these stakeholders as a result of the collaboration.

The quantitative model is built to capture the main dependencies between an independent MRO operating in South America and its interactions with three major airframe OEMs. Interviews were conducted with MRO and OEM professionals to identify the most impactful …

An Underground Radio Wave Propagation Prediction Model For Digital Agriculture, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Underground sensing and propagation of Signals in the Soil (SitS) medium is an electromagnetic issue. The path loss prediction with higher accuracy is an open research subject in digital agriculture monitoring applications for sensing and communications. The statistical data are predominantly derived from site-specific empirical measurements, which is considered an impediment to universal application. Nevertheless, in the existing literature, statistical approaches have been applied to the SitS channel modeling, where impulse response analysis and the Friis open space transmission formula are employed as the channel modeling tool in different soil types under varying soil moisture conditions at diverse communication distances …

Rheo-Physical Characterization Of Microstructure And Flow Behavior Of Concentrated Surfactant Solutions, Eduard Caicedo Casso, Jason E Bice, Lisa R. Nielsen, Jessica L Sargent, Seth Lindberg, Kendra Erk

School of Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Processing-relevant relationships between the microstructure and flow behavior of concentrated surfactant solutions were determined by a combination of basic rheological experiments, rheo-flow velocimetry tests, and flow birefringence measurements. The most common surfactant microstructures found in liquid soaps and other consumer care products—spherical, worm-like, and hexagonally packed micelles and lamellar structures—were recreated by varying the concentration of sodium laureth sulfate in water from 20 to 70 wt% and adding salt in some cases. It was found that common features of flow curves, such as power-law shear thinning behavior, resulted from a wide variety of material responses including shear-induced wall slip in …

Physical Constraints On Accuracy And Persistence During Breast Cancer Cell Chemotaxis, Julien Varennes, Hye-Ran Moon, Soutick Saha, Andrew Mugler, Bumsoo Han

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Directed cell motion in response to an external chemical gradient occurs in many biological phenomena such as wound healing, angiogenesis, and cancer metastasis. Chemotaxis is often characterized by the accuracy, persistence, and speed of cell motion, but whether any of these quantities is physically constrained by the others is poorly understood. Using a combination of theory, simulations, and 3D chemotaxis assays on single metastatic breast cancer cells, we investigate the links among these different aspects of chemotactic performance. In particular, we observe in both experiments and simulations that the chemotactic accuracy, but not the persistence or speed, increases with the …

The Relationship Between Engineering Identity And Belongingness On Certainty Of Majoring In Engineering For First-Generation College Students, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin

School of Engineering Education Graduate Student Series

This paper seeks to understand the factors that support first-generation college students’ certainty of majoring in engineering. Data used in this study came from thirty-two four-year ABET- accredited institutions across the United States which has a total sample of 790 first-generation college students. We used the frameworks of engineering role identity and sense of belonging to understand the factors that influence first-generation college students’ certainty of majoring in engineering. Certainty is referred to as the degree of confidence or decisiveness an individual has with regard to their chosen occupational plans. First, we examine how first-generation college students’ engineering role identity …

General Aviation Hypoxia And Reporting Statistics, Timothy Holt, Jacqueline Luedtke, Jennah Perry, Michelle Hight, Claire Schindler, Pamela Ward

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Hypoxia is defined as a lack of oxygen throughout the body, which can be caused by several factors at any altitude. General aviation (GA) pilots may argue that most GA aircraft cannot attain the required altitudes where one might be more affected by hypoxia, but it is exactly that attitude that may makes pilots more susceptible to hypoxia. The impact of this hazardous attitude is even more apparent if one considers that out of the 590,038 certificated pilots in the USA, a little over 30% of them are GA pilots (FAA, 2015). The problem is that unlike airline pilots or …

Underground Environment Aware Mimo Design Using Transmit And Receive Beamforming In Internet Of Underground Things, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

In underground (UG) multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), the transmit beamforming is used to focus energy in the desired direction. There are three different paths in the underground soil medium through which the waves propagates to reach at the receiver. When the UG receiver receives a desired data stream only from the desired path, then the UG MIMO channel becomes three path (lateral, direct, and reflected) interference channel. Accordingly, the capacity region of the UG MIMO three path interference channel and degrees of freedom (multiplexing gain of this MIMO channel requires careful modeling). Therefore, expressions are required derived the degrees of …

(Poster) A Bird's-Eye View Of What Learners Like And Dislike About Stem Moocs Using Topic Modeling, Abigail Gentry

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are offered for many different subject areas such as STEM, Arts, Medicine, and Business, with differences in each subject area. In this study, we focus on STEM MOOCs and their unique challenges. In order to design better MOOCs to encourage engagement, it is important to understand learners expectations and preferences based on the subject area by analyzing end-of-course evaluation surveys of STEM MOOCs. We analyzed open-ended learner feedback for two post-survey questions for 110 unique STEM MOOCs (some with multiple re-runs) with a total of 8100 responses, offered on the FutureLearn platform. The end-of-course survey …

(Poster) Freshman Engineering Student Engagement Through Sport’S Data Analytics, Adam Tennant

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Instructors of engineering for the last quarter of a century have attempted to engage undergraduates through project based learning. Often these topics can fall short due to a lack of interest by the students. Faculty-lead student research experiences addressing pop-culture topics of interest can often stimulate student engagement and have the possibility to positively impact student-retention rates. This presentation reports on the preliminary findings of a sport’s data analytics approach for faculty-led student investigations and increased engagement. Freshman engineering students will rank teams or individuals through the PageRank algorithm creating a model of the complexity of sports. The specifics of …

(Poster) Deepening Engineering Design Experience: A Novel Approach To Senior Design, Donald Peterson, Mansour Tahernezhadi, Abul Azad

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

This poster advances a new framework for the senior design course in order to deepen engineering design experience for engineering students. The proposed framework for the new senior design course while retains the traditional topics such as problem identification, conceptual design and analysis, prototyping and the preparation of a work schedule required to carry out the project, it fosters an early in the cycle start, typically after week 6, towards the design conceptualization and prototyping in the first academic semester. This is in stark contrast with traditional practices where the design conceptualization and prototyping largely takes place in the second …

Refining An Instrument And Studying Elementary Teachers’ Understanding Of The Scope Of Engineering, Jacob Pleasants, Joanne K. Olson

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

To effectively incorporate engineering into their instruction, K–12 teachers need sufficient knowledge of the engineering discipline. An important component of teachers’ engineering knowledge is their understanding of the nature of engineering: what engineers do, the epistemological underpinnings of engineering, and the relationships between engineering and other fields of study. In this study, we present a quantitative tool that was developed to assess teachers’ knowledge of a particular nature of engineering dimension: the scope of engineering, which describes the demarcation between engineering and non-engineering. This tool was used to assess the knowledge of teachers and engineering graduate students, before and after …