Engineering Commons^™

Integration Of Utility Engineering, Coordination, And Highway Design, Tim Taylor, Roy Sturgill, Kenny Franklin, Jeff Jasper, Shani A. Montes Victorio

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

State transportation agencies (STAs) strive to deliver highway projects on time and on budget. Utility relocations are frequently cited as a primary reason for delays. This report describes a new approach for enhancing the alignment of utility coordination and design. Researchers crafted this new approach based on the findings of a literature review, an evaluation of how utility coordination milestones and project development milestones are currently aligned at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), and the experiences of other STAs. KYTC should use this guidance to facilitate implementation of the new approach and an associated Utility Coordination Training and Certification Program. …

On The Design Of Coreless Permanent Magnet Machines For Electric Aircraft Propulsion, Damien Lawhorn, Peng Han, Donovin Lewis, Yaser Chulaee, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

This paper presents design and prototyping studies for coreless and slotless permanent magnet (PM) machines, which have the potential for high power density and efficiency, and discusses their feasibility for electric aircraft propulsion. The emphasis is on axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machines with printed circuit board (PCB) stators that have advantages over their wired counterparts in terms of design flexibility, coil accuracy, manufacturing process reliability, and heat dissipation. Detailed electromagnetic finite element analysis models were developed and employed alongside analytical sizing equations to evaluate the performance of two dual-rotor single-stator coreless AFPM designs employing wave and spiral PCB winding …

Combined Use Of Ev Batteries And Pv Systems For Improving Building Resilience To Blackouts, Huangjie Gong, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

Californian residencies face increased risk of blackout. The state depends more on imported electricity that may not always be available to fill the gap between renewable generation and demand. For buildings with PV panels, storing the surplus solar power to support the load during a blackout can be achieved with a large energy storage system (ESS). The electric vehicle (EV) provides potential solutions as it can expand the energy capacity of the residential ESS with its battery. In this paper, a reference house in California was modeled in EnergyPlus. The building resilience for a house with different load percentages were …

Understanding And Efficiently Managing Right-To-Take Challenges In Kentucky, Pam Clay-Young, Steve Waddle, Bryan Gibson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Executive Summary

Kentucky constitutional and statutory law requires that a fair process be in place to let a property owner challenge a condemnor’s right to acquire private property, including a right to appeal the initial decision. Property acquired by a condemnor must be for public use, and property owners have the right to an immediate and expedited hearing on right-to-take. Two of these requirements will remain in place regardless of statutory revisions: the requirement that property must be needed (i.e., not arbitrary) for public use, and the right to one appeal. Only an amendment(s) to the Kentucky Constitution would alter …

Analysis Of Truck Weight Limit Regulations, P. Gayle Marks, Jon Wilcoxson, Bryan Gibson, Chris Van Dyke, Jennifer Walton, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In the United States vehicle weight limits are set by laws and regulations enacted at the state and federal levels. On interstates the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight is 80,000 lbs. States use different rules for permitting overdimensional and overweight (OD/OW) vehicles, and most have carve outs that exempt specific commodities from standard weight limits. This results in a complex legal and regulatory landscape that enforcement personnel can find difficult to negotiate. This report discusses strategies that can be adopted in the state of Kentucky to improve enforcement and mitigate infrastructure damage caused by OD/OW loads. After presenting a thorough …

Investigation Of Workflow Processes And Best Practices In Kentucky’S Cdl Program, Valerie Keathley-Helil, Andrew Martin, Brian Howell, Jennifer Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky’s Division of Driver Licensing maintains the driver history records for all licensed drivers in Kentucky. It serves as the state driver licensing agency and is the locus for meeting the federal CDL requirements under 49 CFR 384. Kentucky relies on FMCSA’s Commercial Driver’s License Program Implementation (CDLPI) grant funding to subsidize salaries for Federally Funded Temporary Labor (FFTL). FFTLs verify and process documents as well as field phone calls from customers. DDL administrators say they cannot meet the CDL reporting timeframes without FFTL labor, but the agency is not able to fund temporary or full-time staff members on its …

Evaluation Of The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’S Maintenance Rating Program, Bryan Gibson, Rachel Catchings, Vinh Dao, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) relies on its Maintenance Rating Program (MRP) to systematically measure conditions on state-owned roads and rights of way. Every year, the Cabinet evaluates 300-400 road segments in each of its highway districts. Segments receive aggregate scores ranging from 0 to 100, with the target score being 80. This report appraises the MRP and discusses potential strategies for its improvement. Compared to asset management programs established at other state transportation agencies, KYTC’s performs quite well. Between 1999 and 2019, MRP data show that scores improved across all road types. In 2011, the average score for all …

Updating Congestion Performance Measures For Shift 2022, Mei Chen, Xu Zhang, Eugene Antwi Boasiako, Fahmida Rahman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Executive Summary

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has adopted a data-driven decision-making process to allocate funds for highway improvement projects. This process — Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) — requires that candidate projects be scored on five critical metrics: safety, asset management, congestion, economic growth, and benefit/cost analysis. The congestion metric is vehicle hours of delay (VHD), which was first developed for the SHIFT 2020 cycle (1). For SHIFT 2022, VHD is estimated using probe speed data acquired for 166,527 directional miles of Kentucky highways.

This report summarizes analyses performed using 2018-2019 HERE speed data, and …

Economic And Environmental Benefits Of A Reduced Roadside Mowing Program For Kentucky Highways, Chris Van Dyke, Candice Wallace, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A growing number of state departments of transportation (DOTs) are introducing conservation mowing programs that aim to reduce the frequency of roadside mowing while expanding the footprint of pollinator habitat. Wanting to get a better handle on the utility conservation mowing, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) funded this study to explore the economic and environmental benefits that accrue from mowing less often. This report presents a synthesis of best conservation mowing practices based on a review of landscape management policies, programs, and procedures in use at 15 state DOTs. Most agencies divide the roadside into discrete management zones. While they …

Centralized Thermal Stress Oriented Dispatch Strategy For Paralleled Grid-Connected Inverters Considering Mission Profiles, Luocheng Wang, Tiefu Zhao, Jiangbiao He

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the major failure causes in the power modules comes from the severe thermal stress in power semiconductor devices. Recently, some local control level methods have been developed to balance the power loss, dealing with the harsh mission profile, in order to reduce the thermal stress. However, there is not any specific system level strategy to leverage these local control level methods responding to the multiple inverters situation. Besides, the impacts of these methods on the thermal cycle and lifetime of the power modules in the long-term time scale have not been evaluated and compared yet. Hence, in this …

Water Exchange Rate Across The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Associated With Csf Amyloid-Β 42 In Healthy Older Adults, Brian T. Gold, Xingfeng Shao, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Gregory A. Jicha, Donna M. Wilcock, Elayna R. Seago, Danny J. J. Wang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We tested if water exchange across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), estimated with a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychological function.

METHODS: Forty cognitively normal older adults (67–86 years old) were scanned with diffusion‐prepared, arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL), which estimates water exchange rate across the BBB (k_w). Participants also underwent CSF draw and neuropsychological testing. Multiple linear regression models were run with kw as a predictor of CSF concentrations and neuropsychological scores.

RESULTS: In multiple brain regions, BBB kw was positively associated with CSF amyloid …

Analysis Of Covid-19 Concerns Raised By The Construction Workforce And Development Of Mitigation Practices, Makram Bou Hatoum, Ali Faisal, Hala Nassereddine, Hadi Sarvari

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The coronavirus outbreak has created a global health crisis that has disrupted all industries, including the construction industry. Following the onset of the pandemic, construction workers faced and continue to face unprecedented safety and health challenges. Therefore, construction employers established new safety precautions to protect the health and safety of the workforce and minimize the spread of the virus. The new precautions followed the advice and guidelines offered by different health and safety agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). With construction projects …

Integrated Ac To Ac Converters For Single-Phase Input To Two-Phase Output Motor Drives, Yibin Zhang, Damien L. Lawhorn, Peng Han, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

The single-phase to two-phase converters have become attractive for low-power motor drives due to the full electromagnetic isolation between phases of two-phase motors. One of the commonly used topologies is the ac/dc/ac pulse width modulation (PWM) converter which contains twelve active power semiconductor switches and a common dc link. To minimize the system cost and size for low power applications, an integrated ac/ac converter with a single-phase input and a two-phase output which reduces the switch count to six is proposed in this paper. Additionally, modulation scheme and filters for the proposed converter are developed and modeled in details. In …

Integrated Modular Motor Drives Based On Multiphase Axial-Flux Pm Machines With Fractional-Slot Concentrated Windings, Peng Han, Greg Heins, Yibin Zhang, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

The integrated motor drive (IMD) concept with possible modularization has attracted much attention in a broad spectrum of applications ranging from low-power general-purpose industrial drives to high-power electric propulsion. This paper presents the feasibility study and performance evaluation of using common axial-flux permanent-magnet (AFPM) machines with fractional-slot concentrated windings in IMDs, with the same diameter and a minimum increase in its axial length. Different winding configurations are compared in terms of the torque/power capability and fault tolerance without changing the winding current rating. The possibility of further torque improvement is discussed from the perspective of making full use of the …

Analysis Of Torque Production In Axial-Flux Vernier Pm Machines Of The Magnus Type, Murat G. Kesgin, Peng Han, Damien Lawhorn, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

The paper presents a study of the torque production in a novel vernier-type axial-flux permanent magnet (PM) machine topology named MAGNUS. Two computational methods are employed, one based on the 3D FEA Maxwell stress calculations on individual stator and rotor components and one based on the analytical derivation of the air-gap flux density harmonics. Examples are provided for a design with a 40-pole spoke-type PM rotor and two stators, one active including a 3-phase winding with 6 concentrated coils wound around main teeth in a single layer arrangement and a second stator that has neither coils nor main slots and …

Project Management Research Support, Bryan Gibson, Jeff Jasper, Robin Baskette, Christopher Van Dyke, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Like many state transportation agencies, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) faces unprecedented challenges related to project development and management. Staff losses due to attrition and retirements have resulted in the loss of institutional knowledge. Early- to mid-career project managers (PMs) shoulder more responsibilities than ever while being expected to deliver over 600 successful projects each year. To improve the efficiency of project management, PMs must be able to access effective project management concepts, tools, and strategies which are field validated. Recognizing the importance of strengthening its project management capabilities, the Cabinet asked the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) to provide ongoing …

Application Of Eh-Ph Diagrams On Acid Leaching Systems For The Recovery Of Rees From Bastnaesite, Monazite And Xenotime, Peijia Lin, Xinbo Yang, Joshua M. Werner, Rick Q. Honaker

Mining Engineering Faculty Publications

Bastnaesite, monazite and xenotime are rare earth minerals (REMs) that are typical sources for rare earth elements (REEs). To advance the understanding of their leaching and precipitation behavior in different hydrometallurgical processes, Eh-pH diagrams were constructed and modified using the HSC 9.9 software. The aqueous stability of rare earth elements in H₂O and acid leaching systems, i.e., the REE-Ligands-H₂O systems, were depicted and studied based on the Eh-pH diagrams. This study considers the most relevant lixiviants, their resulting equilibrium states and the importance in the hydrometallurgical recovery of rare earth elements (REMs). A literature review was …

Polymers And Solvents Used In Membrane Fabrication: A Review Focusing On Sustainable Membrane Development, Xiaobo Dong, David Lu, Tequila A. L. Harris, Isabel C. Escobar

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

(1) Different methods have been applied to fabricate polymeric membranes with non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) being one of the mostly widely used. In NIPS, a solvent or solvent blend is required to dissolve a polymer or polymer blend. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethylacetamide (DMAc), dimethylformamide (DMF) and other petroleum-derived solvents are commonly used to dissolve some petroleum-based polymers. However, these components may have negative impacts on the environment and human health. Therefore, using greener and less toxic components is of great interest for increasing membrane fabrication sustainability. The chemical structure of membranes is not affected by the use of different solvents, …

Detecting Recent Crop Phenology Dynamics In Corn And Soybean Cropping Systems Of Kentucky, Yanjun Yang, Bo Tao, Liang Liang, Yawen Huang, Christopher J. Matocha, Chad D. Lee, Michael Sama, Bassil El Masri, Wei Ren

Geography Faculty Publications

Accurate phenological information is essential for monitoring crop development, predicting crop yield, and enhancing resilience to cope with climate change. This study employed a curve-change-based dynamic threshold approach on NDVI (Normalized Differential Vegetation Index) time series to detect the planting and harvesting dates for corn and soybean in Kentucky, a typical climatic transition zone, from 2000 to 2018. We compared satellite-based estimates with ground observations and performed trend analyses of crop phenological stages over the study period to analyze their relationships with climate change and crop yields. Our results showed that corn and soybean planting dates were delayed by 0.01 …

Suppressing Bias Stress Degradation In High Performance Solution Processed Organic Transistors Operating In Air, Hamna F. Iqbal, Qianxiang Ai, Karl J. Thorley, Hu Chen, Iain Mcculloch, Chad Risko, John E. Anthony, Oana D. Jurchescu

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Solution processed organic field effect transistors can become ubiquitous in flexible optoelectronics. While progress in material and device design has been astonishing, low environmental and operational stabilities remain longstanding problems obstructing their immediate deployment in real world applications. Here, we introduce a strategy to identify the most probable and severe degradation pathways in organic transistors and then implement a method to eliminate the main sources of instabilities. Real time monitoring of the energetic distribution and transformation of electronic trap states during device operation, in conjunction with simulations, revealed the nature of traps responsible for performance degradation. With this information, we …

Free Vibration Analysis Of Rotating Beams Based On The Modified Couple Stress Theory And Coupled Displacement Field, Alireza Babaei, Masoud Arabghahestani

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Research

In this paper, transverse vibration analysis of rotating micro-beam is investigated based on the modified couple stress theory. The simply-supported micro-beam is modeled utilizing Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories. The system is rotating around a fixed axis perpendicular to the axial direction of the beam. For the first time, displacement filed is introduced as a coupled field to the translational field. In other words, the mentioned rotational displacement field is expressed as a proportional function of translational displacement field using first (axial), second (lateral), and third (angular or rotational) velocity factors. Utilizing Hamilton’s approach as a variational method, dynamic-vibration equations …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of The Effect Of Integration Of A Flooded-Bed Scrubber Into A Longwall Shearer On Airflow Along A Coal Mine Longwall Face, Sampurna Arya, Thomas Novak, Joseph Sottile

Mining Engineering Faculty Publications

Dust control is one of the most difficult challenges for underground coal mine operators, especially longwall mine operators. The most widely used dust control technologies at a longwall section are ventilation air and water sprays, whereas a continuous miner section has the added advantage of having a dust scrubber built into the continuous miner. To test the potential benefits of integrating a flooded-bed scrubber into a longwall shearer, the authors designed and built a dust scrubber system for a full-scale mock-up of a longwall shearer. The mock-up was installed in the longwall test gallery at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) …

A Demand-Supply Matching-Based Approach For Mapping Renewable Resources Towards 100% Renewable Grids In 2050, Loiy Al-Ghussain, Adnan Darwish Ahmad, Ahmad M. Abubaker, Mohammad Abujubbeh, Abdulaziz Almalaq, Mohamed A. Mohamed

Mechanical Engineering Graduate Research

Recently, many renewable energy (RE) initiatives around the world are based on general frameworks that accommodate the regional assessment taking into account the mismatch of supply and demand with pre-set goals to reduce energy costs and harmful emissions. Hence, relying entirely on individual assessment and RE deployment scenarios may not be effective. Instead, developing a multi-faceted RE assessment framework is vital to achieving these goals. In this study, a regional RE assessment approach is presented taking into account the mismatch of supply and demand with an emphasis on Photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine systems. The study incorporates mapping of renewable …

Intersection Redesign For Network Resilience And Safety, Antonio Pratelli, Pietro Leandri, Rosaria Aiello, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper describes a procedure for improving the resilience of roadway networks. A methodology is outlined that develops a time-dependent and performance-based resilience index. This methodology was applied to an Italian road, with the aim of optimizing intersections that are critical due to inadequate baseline capacity. The methodology uses a calibrated microscopic traffic model (using Aimsun™) whereby average delay at intersection approaches are estimated by an analytical model. From the simulation, average speed over time is obtained for each approach. These values in turn are used as inputs for calculating each intersection’s resilience index. The procedure allows the identification of …

Modeling Fate And Transport Of Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) Inside Sewer Systems, Mohammadyousef Roghani, Ying Li, Nader Rezaei, Ariel Robinson, Elham Shirazi, Kelly G. Pennell

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Hazardous waste site investigations have shown that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be transported via sewer pipes and migrate into indoor spaces. Despite field data confirming the presence of this exposure pathway, there is lack of context-based numerical models that provide guidance to characterize and predict VOCs concentration in sewer gas at vapor intrusion sites. Particularly, this poses a challenge when assessing and mitigating risks associated with these exposure pathways. Therefore, a numerical model has been developed to simulate the concentration of VOCs in sewer gas in different stages throughout the sewer lines. The developed model considers various input parameters, …

Usgs 104b Grant Program: Kentucky’S Annual Report Fy 2019, Emily Koyagi, Steve Evans, Lindell Ormsbee

KWRRI Annual Technical Reports (USGS’s 104b Grant Program)

The Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute (KWRRI) is one of 54 Water Resource Research Institutes or Centers located throughout the United States and its territories. The state water resources research institutes are authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-379 codified at 42 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) through the Water Resources Research Institutes Program administered by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and organized as the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). NIWR cooperates with the US Geological Survey (USGS) to support, coordinate and facilitate research.

The KWRRI administers several state-level USGS grant programs for water research …

Multi-Objective Optimization For Aircraft Power Systems Using A Network Graph Representation, Damien Lawhorn, Vandana Rallabandi, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

Today, the electrification of flight is more popular than ever, creating a wide array of concept aircraft and associated power system topologies. In order to gain insights into benefits of these varying architectures, this paper introduces the development of a framework for electric aircraft power system (EAPS) optimization. The proposed framework accepts inputs from a designer in the form of component parameters and desired flight mission characteristics. A collective graph representing many possible architectures is formed, from which, subgraphs that describe power system topologies meeting the flight requirements are extracted and analyzed. Optimal EAPS architectures with respect to goals of …

Laboratory Determination Of Coal Dust Cleaning Efficacy Of A Fibrous Filter For Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber, Neeraj Gupta, Ashish Ranjan Kumar, Steven Schafrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Publications

Fibrous-type dust filters are used in flooded-bed dust scrubbers to capture dust from underground room and pillar mining atmospheres. They have 10–30 layers of finely woven strands that trap particles through the interception and impaction process. A full-cone water spray is installed upstream of the filter, which floods the screen. A scrubber’s efficacy is usually measured and reported in terms of reduction in gravimetric dust concentration at a known location in a mine. This paper reports the particle-size-dependent dust removal efficiency of a fibrous filter obtained from an instrumented test-set up. A variable frequency drive and an inline flow control …

Possibilities Of Using Silicate Rock Powder: An Overview, Claudete Gindri Ramos, James C. Hower, Erika Blanco, Marcos Leandro Silva Oliveira, Suzi Huff Theodoro

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

This study evaluates the on use of crushed rocks (remineralizers) to increase soil fertility levels and which contributed to increase agricultural productivity, recovery of degraded areas, decontamination of water, and carbon sequestration. The use of these geological materials is part of the assumptions of rock technology and, indirectly, facilitates the achievement of sustainable development goals related to soil management, climate change, and the preservation of water resources. Research over the past 50 years on silicate rocks focused on soil fertility management and agricultural productivity. More recently, the combined use with microorganisms and organic correctives have shown positive results to mitigate …

On The Impact Of Gravity Compensation On Reinforcement Learning In Goal-Reaching Tasks For Robotic Manipulators, Jonathan Fugal, Hasan A. Poonawala, Jihye Bae

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Advances in machine learning technologies in recent years have facilitated developments in autonomous robotic systems. Designing these autonomous systems typically requires manually specified models of the robotic system and world when using classical control-based strategies, or time consuming and computationally expensive data-driven training when using learning-based strategies. Combination of classical control and learning-based strategies may mitigate both requirements. However, the performance of the combined control system is not obvious given that there are two separate controllers. This paper focuses on one such combination, which uses gravity-compensation together with reinforcement learning (RL). We present a study of the effects of gravity …