Engineering Commons^™

An Overview Of U.S. Commuter Rail, Timothy J. Brock, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Planners view commuter rail as a means of managing urban sprawl, stimulating economic development and reducing the environmental impacts of transportation. Commuter rail systems, which use shared rights-of-way to connect suburban hubs with downtown urban centers, are beginning to have a large impact on the way people and freight move through US cities. Currently, there are 26 commuter rail systems operating in 29 major U.S. metropolitan areas. However, there is confusion among the general public and disagreement among transportation organizations as to what constitutes a commuter rail system and how to classify some rail systems. This research establishes a complete …

Multimodal Alternative Evaluation Us 60 (Versailles Road) Lexington, Ky: Final Report, Adam J. Kirk

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Versailles Road corridor is a major arterial into the heart of Lexington, KY, connecting the Bluegrass Airport, Keeneland, and the Bluegrass Parkway with downtown. In addition, the corridor serves as the most heavily used transit route within the city. Heavy pedestrian and bicycle usage also exist on the corridor making it one of the most vibrant and diverse multimodal corridors in the city if not the state. However, few improvements have been made for either automobile or other modes of transportation in recent years leading to a poor condition of some facilities and the need for improved and expanded …

Magnetic And Crystal Structures Of Sr2Iro4: A Neutron Diffraction Study, Feng Ye, Songxue Chi, Bryan C. Chakoumakos, Jaime A. Fernandez-Baca, Tongfei Qi, Gang Cao

Center for Advanced Materials Faculty Publications

We report a single-crystal neutron diffraction study of the layered Sr₂IrO₄. This work unambiguously determines the magnetic structure of the system and reveals that the spin orientation rigidly tracks the staggered rotation of the IrO₆ octahedra in Sr₂IrO₄. The long-range antiferromagnetic order has a canted spin configuration with an ordered moment of 0.208(3) μ_B/Ir site within the basal plane; a detailed examination of the spin canting yields 0.202(3) and 0.049(2) μ_B/site for the a axis and the b axis, respectively. It is intriguing that forbidden nuclear reflections …

Energy-Efficient Soft Real-Time Scheduling For Parameter Estimation In Wsns, Senlin Zhang, Zixiang Wang, Meikang Qiu, Meiqin Liu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), homogeneous or heterogenous sensor nodes are deployed at a certain area to monitor our curious target. The sensor nodes report their observations to the base station (BS), and the BS should implement the parameter estimation with sensors’ data. Best linear unbiased estimation (BLUE) is a common estimator in the parameter estimation. Due to the end-to-end packet delay, it takes some time for the BS to receive sufficient data for the estimation. In some soft real-time applications, we expect that the estimation can be completed before the deadline with a probability. The existing approaches usually guarantee …

An Probability-Based Energy Model On Cache Coherence Protocol With Mobile Sensor Network, Jihe Wang, Bing Guo, Meikang Qiu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Mobile sensor networks (MSNs) are widely used in various domains to monitor, record, compute, and interact the information within an environment. To prolong the life time of each node in MSNs, energy model and conservation should be considered carefully when designing the data communication mechanism in the network. The limited battery volume and high workload on channels worsen the life times of the busy nodes. In this paper, we propose a new energy evaluating methodology of packet transmissions in MSNs, which is based on redividing network layers and describing the synchronous data flow with matrix form. We first introduce the …

Poster Session, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• The New Kentucky Nitrogen and Phosphorus Risk Assessment Tool to Protect Water Quality, Tibor Horvath and others, USDA-NRCS, Lexington, KY
• Groundwater Phosphorus in Kentucky Relative to Karst, Groundwater Sensitivity, and Groundwater Physiographic Region, Caroline Chan, Kentucky Division of Water, Frankfort, KY
• Comparison of Irrigation Scheduling Based on Daily Water Use or Plant Water Demand of Container Grown Nursery Plants, Susmitha Nambuthiri and others, Dept of Horticulture, UK
• Arsenic Species in Broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus) Litter, Soils, Maize (Zea mays L.), and Groundwater from Litter-Amended Fields, Georgia Zeigler and others, Dept Plant and Soil Science, UK
• Cyberinfrastructure …

Session 2d, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• A Stability Index for Northern Kentucky Streams, Bob Hawley and others, Sustainable Streams, LLC, Louisville, KY
• The Gunpowder and Woolper Creek Watershed Initiatives, Local Cases of a National Problem, Mark Jacobs and others, Boone County Conservation District, Burlington, KY
• Watershed-Scale Model of Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles in Streams, William Ford and Jimmy Fox, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK
• Sensor Network for Suspended Sediment Monitoring, Robert Stewart and others, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK

Session 2c, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Mercury Bioaccumulation and the Impact of Stream Basin Characteristics on Susceptible Populations: Policy Implications for Kentucky, Caroline Chan, Kentucky Division of Water, Frankfort, KY
• Asian Carp in Kentucky Waters: An Ecological Disaster? Ron Brooks, Kentucky Dept of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, KY
• Effects of Streambed Sediments on the Fate of Selenium in Eastern Kentucky Watersheds Contaminated with Surface Coal Mining Operations, Edward Fisher and Yi-Tin Wang, Dept of Civil Engineering, UK
• Thermal Dependence of Solvation Geometries in Aqueous Nitrate Ion Solutions, Matthew Nee, Dept of Chemistry, WKU, Bowling Green, KY
• The Combined Effects of Atrazine and …

Session 2b, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Developing a Vegetation-Based Index of Biotic Integrity for Assessing the Ecological Condition of Wetlands in Kentucky, Tanner Morris and others, Dept of Biological Sciences, EKU, Richmond, KY
• Using Vegetation and Landscape Analysis to Validate a Wetland Rapid Assessment Method for Kentucky's Forested Riparian Wetlands, JohnRyan Polascik and others, Dept of Biological Sciences, EKU, Richmond, KY
• Improving Overall Stream Function Beyond the Channel (Opportunity Meets Necessity), Oakes Routt and Wanda Lawson, Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Louisville, KY
• The Effects of Prescribed Fire Restoration on Amphibian and Reptile Diversity, Robert Knopp and others, Murray State University, Murray, KY …

Session 2a: Developing Post-Incident Risk Communication Guidelines For Intentional Water Contamination Events, Pamela Cupp, Shari R. Veil, Timothy L. Sellnow, H. Dan O'Hair, Nicole Staricek, Katy Anthony, Laura Young, Chike Anyaegbunam, Charles B. Madinger, Anna Goodman Hoover

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This panel will discuss a US EPA-funded research project intended to improve risk communication for post-incident decontamination and clearance activities associated with intentional contamination of a water system. The study incorporates two complementary methods conducted in successive phases. The recently-completed first phase included robust case study analyses of risk communication related to recent and significant contamination incidents. The second phase, which is currently underway, will identify ways in which disparate stakeholder groups in a metropolitan area differentially perceive risk and subsequent risk communication efforts.

Session 1d, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Subwatershed Clustering Based on Geomorphic and Human Induced Landscape Modifications: The Commonwealth of Kentucky, Brian Lee and others, Dept of Landscape Architecture, UK
• Imperviousness and Greenness: Extracting Watershed Metrics from Bi-Temporal, Multispectral Aerial Imagery and LiDAR, Demetrio Zourarakis, Commonwealth Office of Technology, Frankfort, KY
• Landscape Scale Assessment of Soil Moisture Variability using Auxiliary Sensing Technologies and Multivariate Geostatistics, Carla Landrum and others, Dept of Plant and Soil Sciences, UK
• Field -Scale Bromide Leaching as Affected by Land Use and Rainfall Characteristics, Yang Yang, Dept of Plant and Soil Science, UK

Session 1c, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Engaging Partners in the Cane Rune Watershed, Carol Hanley and others, College of Agriculture, UK
• Water Quality Monitoring Results from the McConnell Springs Stormwater Quality Wetland Pond and Gainseway Pond Retrofit Project, David Price and Susan Plueger, Lexington-Fayette County Government, Lexington, KY
• Hydrologic Characterization of a Tree- and Shrub-Vegetated Rain Garden in Central Kentucky, John McMaine and Carmen Agouridis, Dept Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, UK
• Watershed Based Planning in the Urban Wolf Run Watershed, Steven Evans, Third Rock Consultants, LLC, Lexington, KY
• Estimating Load Reduction Costs for Assessing Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) Feasibility: A Case …

Session 1b, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Flowing Onward: Mapping New Program Directions for the Kentucky Geological Survey's Water Resources Section, Charles Taylor, KGS, UK
• The Presence of 17-β Estradiol and Fluoroquinolones in Kentucky's Surface Waters, E. Glynn Beck and others, KGS, Henderson, KY
• Mapping Karst Sinkholes Using LiDAR - A Pilot Study in Floyds Fork Watershed, Central Kentucky, Patrick Taylor and others, KGS, UK
• Changes in the Kentucky Groundwater Data Repository Search Engines, Bart Davidson, KGS, UK
• Groundwater Discharge at the Kentucky Horse Park KWIS Station, James Currens and Mike Farwell, KGS, UK

Session 1a, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

• Development and Testing of a New Phosphorus Index for Kentucky, Carl Bolster and others, USDA-ARS, Bowling Green, KY
• The New Kentucky Nitrogen and Phosphorus Risk Assessment Tool to Protect Water Quality, Tibor Horvath and others, USDA-NRCS, Lexington, KY
• Herbicide Transport Within Shallow Karst Groundwater on Kentucky's Pennyroyal Plateau Beneath Row Crop Agriculture, Chris Groves and others, Hoffman Environmental Research Institute, WKU, Bowling Green, KY
• Groundwater Tracing in the West Pennyrile Karst Region, Robert Blair and Jessica Moore, Kentucky Division of Water, Frankfort, KY

Proceedings Of 2013 Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

This symposium was planned and conducted as a part of the state water resources research institute annual program that is supported by Grant/Cooperative Agreement Number G11AP20081 from the United States Geological Survey. The contents of this proceedings document and the views and conclusions presented at the symposium are solely the responsibility of the individual authors and presenters and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USGS or of the symposium organizers and sponsors. This publication is produced with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for government purposes.

Method And System For Creating Three-Dimensional Spatial Audio, Jens Hannemann, Kevin D. Donohue

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Patents

A system and method for rendering a virtual sound source using a plurality of speakers in an arbitrary arrangement includes expanding a wave field of the virtual sound source and a composite wave field generated by the plurality of speakers into multi-pole expansions, and equating the multi-pole expansions to each other to form a continuous equation. A set of constraints is applied to the continuous equation that minimize an error in a sweet spot region resulting in a linear system of equations. The linear system of equations is solved using singular-value decomposition to arrive at a pseudo-inverse representing a multi-dimensional …

Simultaneous Measurement Of Deep Tissue Blood Flow And Oxygenation Using Noncontact Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy Flow-Oximeter, Ting Li, Yu Lin, Yu Shang, Lian He, Chong Huang, Margaret M. Szabunio, Guoqiang Yu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

We report a novel noncontact diffuse correlation spectroscopy flow-oximeter for simultaneous quantification of relative changes in tissue blood flow (rBF) and oxygenation (Δ[oxygenation]). The noncontact probe was compared against a contact probe in tissue-like phantoms and forearm muscles (n = 10), and the dynamic trends in both rBF and Δ[oxygenation] were found to be highly correlated. However, the magnitudes of Δ[oxygenation] measured by the two probes were significantly different. Monte Carlo simulations and phantom experiments revealed that the arm curvature resulted in a significant underestimation (~-20%) for the noncontact measurements in Δ[ …

System And Method For 3d Imaging Using Structured Light Illumination, Laurence G. Hassebrook, Daniel L. Lau, Henry G. Dietz

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Patents

A biometrics system captures and processes a handprint image using a structured light illumination to create a 2D representation equivalent of a rolled inked handprint. A processing unit calculates 3D coordinates of the hand from the plurality of images and maps the 3D coordinates to a 2D flat surface to create a 2D representation equivalent of a rolled inked handprint.

Comparison Of Models For Mixture Transport Properties For Numerical Simulations Of Ablative Heat-Shields, Hicham Alkandry, Iain D. Boyd, Alexandre Martin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effects of different models for calculating the mixture transport properties on flowfield predictions of ablative heat-shields. The Stardust sample return capsule at four different trajectory conditions is used as a test case for this study. In the first part of the study, the results predicted using Wilke's mixing rule with species viscosities calculated using Blottner's curve fits and species thermal conductivities determined using Eucken's relation are compared to the results obtained using Gupta's mixing rule with collision cross-section (CCS) data. The Wilke/Blottner/Eucken model overpredicts the heat transfer to the surface relative …

Investigation Of Turbulent Structure Modification By Momentum Injection Into Turbulent Flow Over A Rough Surface, Mark A. Miller, Huaibao Zhang, Alexandre Martin, Sean C. C. Bailey

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Utilizing a turbulent channel flow facility, experiments were performed to determine the modifications made to the temporal and spatial structure of turbulence over a sinusoidally rough surface due to momentum injection through the surface. As expected, when compared to the smooth-walled conditions, it was found that the surface roughness increased wall shear stress, decreased the turbulence energy content near the wall, and shifted that energy content to wavelengths on the order of the roughness elements. The addition of momentum injection was found to produce further modifications analogous to increasing the roughness height by increasing the wall shear stress and further …

Modeling Of Chemical Nonequilibrium Effects In A Charring Ablator, Alexandre Martin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Charring ablators remain the premium choice for space exploration missions that involve atmospheric re-entry. These type of ablative material are composed of a carbon matrix, usually made of fibers, which is then impregnated with a resin. During re-entry, the high heat flux produced by convective heating causes the material to chemically react. First, the resin pyrolyzes, and is vaporized into a gas that travels through the material, and is eventually ejected at the surface. Since the composition of the gas at the surface greatly affects the heat flux, and therefore the surface temperature, it is thus important to be able …

Monitoring Dairy Cow Feed Intake Using Machine Vision, Anthony N. Shelley

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The health and productive output of dairy cows can be closely correlated to individual cow feed intake. Being able to monitor feed intake on a daily basis is beneficial dairy farm management. Each cow can be addressed individually with minimal time required from those working with the animals. This is essential as time management is closely tied to resource management in a dairy operation. Anything that can save time and resources and increase profitability and herd health is a paramount advantage in dairy farming. This study examined the use of machine vision structured light illumination three-dimensional scanning of cow feed …

The John Zink Hamworthy Combustion Handbook, 2nd Edition, Volume 1: Fundamentals, Edited By Charles E. Baukal, Jr., Crc Press, Boca Raton, Fl, 2013., Payal A. Chandan

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

No abstract provided.

Gap Acceptance Parameters For Hcm 2010 Roundabout Capacity Model Applications In Italy, A. Gazzarri, Michael T. Martello, Antonio Pratelli, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper deals with the field data observation and successive application of estimation procedures in order to estimate follow-up headway and critical headway at roundabouts. Average follow-up headway and average critical headway are two key parameters in the new roundabout capacity model presented in the 2010 edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). The HCM 2010 capacity model was developed as an exponential regression model with parameter estimates based on gap acceptance theory. Gap acceptance models are strongly affected by driver behaviour and local habits. Follow-up headways can be field measured, while critical headway cannot be obtained directly. The paper …

Gis-Based Expert Systems Model For Predicting Habitat Suitability Of Blackside Dace, Benjamin L. Blandford, John Ripy, Ted H. Grossardt, Ryan Evans, Sara Hines

Kentucky Transportation Center Presentations

This study presents a GIS-based predictive habitat suitability model for the blackside dace, a federally-listed threatened species of the Upper Cumberland River basin in southeastern Kentucky. The model is a rules-based system which incorporates expert knowledge about habitat preferences for the species. The five habitat factors identified by experts and included in this model are stream gradient, canopy coverage, riparian vegetation type, riparian zone width, and stream order. Using GIS, the five habitat parameters were parameterized and combined across the entire stream network. Combinations were evaluated by blackside dace experts in terms of habitat suitability. The resulting model was tested …

Numerical Analysis Of The Thermodynamic Properties Of Various Gaseous Species, Addison Alexander

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

In the field of Fluid Mechanics, the determination of various thermodynamic properties of substances is of utmost importance. Many calculations require values for internal energy or specific heats. If experimental data does not exist to facilitate these calculations, an approximation must be made. This report analyzes three different approximation approaches to examine their relative strengths and weaknesses. The first approach, the Exact Method, uses NASA thermodynamic data to give a numerical interpolation. The second, the Summation Method, breaks up the total energy of the species into different contributions and performs an approximation based on thermodynamic theory. Finally, the Spectroscopic Method …

Materials Selection And Processing Techniques For Small Spacecraft Solar Cell Arrays, Naseem M. Torabi

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Body mounted germanium substrate solar cell arrays form the faces of many small satellite designs to provide the primary power source on orbit. High efficiency solar cells are made affordable for university satellite programs as triangular devices trimmed from wafer scale solar cells. The smaller cells allow array designs to pack tightly around antenna mounts and payload instruments, giving the board design flexibility. One objective of this work is to investigate the reliability of solar cells attached to FR-4 printed circuit boards. FR-4 circuit boards have significantly higher thermal expansion coefficients and lower thermal conductivities than germanium. This thermal expansion …

Diagnosis Of Systemic Inflammation Using Transendothelial Electrical Resistance And Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic Materials, William L. Mercke

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Systemic inflammation involves a complex array of cytokines that can result in organ dysfunction. Mortality remains high despite the vast amount of research conducted to find an effective biomarker. The cause of systemic inflammation can be broad and non-specific; therefore, this research investigates using transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements to better define systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/sepsis within a patient. Results show a difference in TEER measurements between healthy individuals and SIRS-rated patients. This research also displays correlations between TEER measurements and biomarkers currently studied with systemic inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-α, C- reactive protein, procalcitonin). Furthermore, this research also presents …

Location Of Cerium In Coal-Combustion Fly Ashes: Implications For Recovery Of Lanthanides, James C. Hower, John G. Groppo, Prakash Joshi, Shifeng Dai, David P. Moecher, Michelle N. Johnston

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Given the worldwide demand for rare earth elements (REEs) in modern electronics, all potential sources of the REEs should be investigated. Coal-combustion fly ash represents a potential source of REEs. Fly ashes, derived from the combustion of coals from Kentucky in the United States and Jungar in China, were examined by wavelength-dispersive spectrometry electron microprobe analysis of epoxy-bound polished pellets. From previous studies, it was known that the REEs did not show any enrichment relative to flue gas temperature at the point of collection or to the particle size, that is, external surface area, of the particles. Cerium, the most …

Chemical Partitioning And Mobility Of Trace Elements In Dry Disposed Weathered Ash Conditioned With High-Saline Effluents, S.A. Akinyemi, A. Akinlua, W.M. Gitari, R.O. Akinyeye, L.F. Petrik

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Weinvestigated the mobility of inorganic elements in the ash dump due to chemical interaction of weathered dry disposed ash conditioned with high-saline effluents and ingressed CO2 from atmosphere and percolating rainwater. Drilled ash core samples collected from dry disposed ash dump at a South African coal-burning power station were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses. A modified sequential extraction procedure was selected to determine the mineralogical association of the investigated elements in the 1-year-old drilled ash cores. Major mineral phases are quartz and mullite and other minor phases included hematite, lime, calcite, anorthite, mica, and enstatite. …