Engineering Commons^™

Automatic Object Recognition And Registration Of Dynamic Heavy Equipment Using A Hybrid Ladar System, Mengmeng Gai

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

It has been a challenging subject to recognize dynamic objects from a scattered work environment because large and complex 3D site data obtained by a laser scanner makes it difficult to process itself in real or near real time. This thesis introduces a model-based automatic object recognition and registration framework, Projection-Recognition-Projection (PRP), to assist heavy equipment operators in rapidly perceiving 3D working environment at dynamic construction sites. In this study, a digital camera and a hybrid laser scanner were used to rapidly recognize and register dynamic target objects in a 3D space by separating target object’s point cloud data from …

Spatiotemporal Capacity Management For The Last Level Caches Of Chip Multiprocessors, Dongyuan Zhan

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Judicious management of on-chip last-level caches (LLC) is critical to alleviating the memory wall of chip multiprocessors (CMP). Although there already exist many LLC management proposals, belonging to either the spatial or temporal dimension, they fail to capture and utilize the inherent interplays between the two dimensions in capacity management. Therefore, this dissertation is targeted at exploring and exploiting the spatiotemporal interactions in LLC capacity management to improve CMPs' performance. Based on this general idea, we address four specific research problems in the dissertation.

For the private LLC organization, prior-art proposals can improve the efficacy of inter-core cooperative caching at …

Dynamic Vulnerability Assessment Of Highway And Railway Bridges, Mehdi Mohseni

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Dynamic loads can cause severe damage to bridges, and lead to malfunction of transportation networks. A comprehensive understanding of the nature of the dynamic loads and the structural response of bridges can prevent undesired failures while keeping the cost-safety balance. Dissimilar to the static behavior, the dynamic response of bridges depends on several structural parameters such as material properties, damping and mode shapes. Furthermore, dynamic load characteristics can significantly change the structural response. In most cases, complexity and involvement of numerous parameters require the designer to investigate the bridge response via a massive numerical study.

This dissertation targets three main …

Applications Of Cobb-Douglas Production Function In Construction Time-Cost Analysis, Ashkan Hassani

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cobb-Douglas Production Function was widely used in economics and productivity studies across many sectors. The function’s quantitative modeling of resource inputs and production outputs is appealing to the research domain of construction management. In this thesis we explored this function’s application in construction schedule crashing and project risk analysis related to duration of construction projects. Existing research on construction time-cost tradeoff issues rarely explore the origin of the crashing cost which is defined as the cost needed to shorten the project to the desired duration. In the existing literature crashing cost function was either assumed without much justification, or came …

Three-Dimensional Indoor Rfid Localization System, Jiaqing Wu

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an information exchange technology based on radio waves communication. It is also a possible solution to indoor localization. Due to multipath propagation and anisotropic interference in the indoor environment, theoretical propagation models are generally not sufficient for RFID-based localization. In fact, the radio frequency (RF) signal distribution may not even be monotonic and this makes range-based localization algorithms less accurate. On the other hand, range free localization algorithms, such as k Nearest-Neighbor (kNN), require reference tags to be spread throughout the whole three-dimensional (3D) space which is simply not practical. In this work, a hybrid …

Conductive Concrete For Electromagnetic Shielding – Methods For Development And Evaluation, Aaron P. Krause

Department of Computer Electronics and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research investigates the development and evaluation innovative methods for the use of conductive concrete as an electromagnetic shield. New testing methods are developed to determine the best conductive components to use in the design of a concrete mixture for shielding that shows the best promise. The conductive concrete mixture has the potential to provide electromagnetic shielding that is cost-effective in terms of construction, operation, and maintenance compared to conventional approaches. Two testing methods, Small Sample Testing and Large Slab Testing, are developed based on standardized testing methods that have been modified for the testing of conductive concrete mixtures. As …

Application Of Response Surface Methodology And Central Composite Design For 5p12-Rantes Expression In The Pichia Pastoris System, Frank M. Fabian

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pichia pastoris has demonstrated the ability to express high levels of recombinant heterologous proteins. Protein expression is enhanced during fermentation at high cell density. However, the level of expression is mainly regulated by fermentation operation factors. This research is directed to investigate the effect of methanol growth rate, temperature and pH in the expression of the total 5P12-Rantes concentration, expression of active 5P12-Rantes and Specific yield using the response surface methodology and central composite design.

The response surface methodology, RSM, has been used successfully used by Zhang, W. and Ian, M. to optimize the cell density and fermentation process. The …

Acuta Enews December 2012 Vol. 41, No. 12

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Machining Stability Of Wire Edm Of Titanium, Farnaz Nourbakhsh

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This work presents an experimental investigation of wire electro-discharge machining (WEDM) of titanium alloy. The outstanding characteristics of titanium alloys such as their compatibility and noticeable physical, mechanical and biological performances has led to increased application of them in various industries especially in biomedical industries over the last 50 years. However, due to low thermal conductivity of titanium and its alloys and their reactivity with cobalt in most tool materials, there are some difficulties in machining titanium and its alloys by conventional machining. On the other hand, unconventional machining processes especially Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) are more appropriate techniques …

Energy Trapping Of Thickness-Shear And Thickness-Twist Modes In A Partially Electroded At-Cut Quartz Resonator, Huijing He, Guoquan Nie, Jinxi Liu, Jiashi Yang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The thickness-shear and thickness-twist vibrations of a finite and partially electroded AT-cut quartz resonator are investigated. The equations of anisotropic elasticity are used with the omission of the small elastic constant c56 . An analytical solution is obtained using Fourier series from which the free vibration resonant frequencies, mode shapes, and energy trapping are calculated and examined.

Seepage And Stability Of A Dam In An Artesian Setting, Sean A. Parks

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Willow Creek Dam is located in a unique region on the boundary of a confined aquifer, where artesian conditions exist. Recently, groundwater levels have exceeded the elevation of the downstream berm well above anticipated piezometric elevations. It was presumed from limited evidence that these high piezometric levels resulted from pressure in the aquifer rather than from seepage out of the reservoir. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relative contributions of the reservoir and the regional groundwater to observed piezometric levels and how these levels affect seepage exit gradients and slope stability of the dam.

Comparing the head …

Modeling Of Yeast Pheromone Pathway Using Petri Nets, Abhishek Majumdar

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is one of the most widely studied single celled organisms. Mating of yeast cells occur between cells of opposite mating types a and alpha. Pheromone secretion by a cell alerts the corresponding opposite type cell about its presence and eventually facilitates the process of mating between them. The details of how pheromones affect cells can be studied from the pheromone response pathway in a yeast cell. A response pathway typically depicts the chain of interactions that happens between the different proteins in the cells in response to the pheromone. In this thesis we model the …

Sustainability For Die Manufacturing: Comparative Study Of Wedm And Milling, Matthew S. Kalus

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sustainability is more important in today's culture due to the increasing demand for a more eco-friendly society. Concentrations in minimizing and reducing environmental impacts, energy and natural resources have been forthcoming in industry. The tool, mold and die industries are the most well known industries that machine harder materials using mills and WEDM. The objective of this thesis was to compare the sustainability differences in both of these machines utilizing the accepted standards for evaluating the manufacturing process performance for sustainability. These standards include the evaluation of the process parameters, raw materials, power, tools and fluids which all contribute to …

On The Importance Of Modeling Stent Procedure For Predicting Arterial Mechanics, Shijia Zhao, Linxia Gu, Stacey R. Froemming

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The stent-artery interactions have been increasingly studied using the finite element method for better understanding of the biomechanical environment changes on the artery and its implications. However, the deployment of balloon-expandable stents was generally simplified without considering the balloon-stent interactions, the initial crimping process of the stent, its overexpansion routinely used in the clinical practice, or its recoil process. In this work, the stenting procedure was mimicked by incorporating all the above-mentioned simplifications. The impact of various simplifications on the stent-induced arterial stresses was systematically investigated. The plastic strain history of stent and its resulted geometrical variations, as well as …

Microbiologically Enhanced Mixing Across Scales During In-Situ Bioremediation Of Uranium, Reinaldo E. Alcalde

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Production of nuclear fuels for weapons and electric energy has resulted in groundwater uranium contamination at Department of Energy (DOE) sites. Reduction of uranium by dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) is an effective approach for in-situ bioremediation of these sites. In this process, an organic electron donor is typically delivered through a well into groundwater in order to promote the biological reduction of soluble and toxic U(VI) to insoluble and less toxic U(IV). A key challenge is mixing the organic electron donor with U(VI) in groundwater where laminar flow conditions prevail. A potential solution is to enhance reaction beyond the scale …

In-Plane Shear Resistance Of Sustainable Structural Walls With Large Openings, Matija Radovic

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Shear walls are primary structural systems that support building against lateral loads (tornadoes and hurricanes). Even though concrete shear walls are the most efficient lateral resisting system, they are rarely used in a residential construction. The reasons for why contractors do not use concrete walls in residential construction were due to higher construction cost and slower construction paces. This study proposes building and testing residential concrete structural wall system that is energy efficient, cost competitive and structurally safe.

In order to decrease environmental impact of the residential construction process, this study proposed implementing sustainability concept while building residential structures. The …

Morphometric, Biochemical, And Raman Spctral Analyses Of Muscle Damage In Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease: Provising Objective Criteria For Diagnosis And Treatment Monitoring, Kim Cluff

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), which affects approximately 10 million Americans, is characterized by atherosclerosis of the non-coronary arteries. PAD produces a progressive accumulation of ischemic injury to the limbs that is reflected in a gradual worsening in the myofiber morphology and oxidative damage in the gastrocnemius muscle. In this study, we evaluated the hypothesis that quantitative morphological and biochemical parameters of gastrocnemius myofibers change in a consistent manner during the progression of PAD, provide an objective grading of muscle degeneration in the ischemic limb, and correlate to clinical stage of PAD. Myofiber morphometrics were determined precisely with mathematical equations that …

Determination Of The Maximum Mgs Mounting Height Phase Ii Detailed Analysis, Ramen D. Julin, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Mario Mongiardini

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Fatigued Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers -- A Preliminary Investigation, Aemal Khattak, Carrie Mohlman

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The goal of this research was to identify and correlate easily observable characteristics of drivers to different levels of fatigue, thus enabling state patrol officers to make more judicious decisions related to driver fatigue. A literature review was conducted pertaining to the characteristics of fatigued drivers. Next, a nationwide survey was administered to state patrol agencies to assess their practices regarding fatigue-involved driving. To explore relationships between state patrol agency practices and vehicular safety, data collected from the telephone survey were merged with data from different states on fatigue-involved vehicle fatalities and vehicle miles traveled. Analysis revealed that states with …

Cable Median Barrier Failure Analysis And Prevention, Dean L. Sicking, Cody S. Stolle

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Cross-median crashes have been identified as one of the highest injury or fatality risk crash types. Although crossmedian crashes account for only 2% to 5% of all median crash events, they are disproportionately represented in the number and frequency of fatalities on interstate roadways. Many states have utilized cable median barriers to reduce the risk of cross-median crashes, frequently with great success. However, cable median barriers are also fixed obstacles to errant vehicles. Cable median barriers can place occupants at increased risk of severe injury or fatality if the barrier fails to adequately contain and redirect errant vehicles, resulting in …

Dynamic Testing Of Mgs W6x8.5 Posts At Decreased Embedment, Robert W. Bielenberg, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid, Tyler L. Schmidt, Mario Mongiardini

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Environmental Impacts Of Bridge Deck Runoff, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Lauren Swadener, Ekizabeth G. Jones

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Bridges are located in very close proximity to receiving waters, and regulatory agencies often require specific stormwater control measures for bridge deck runoff. While there is some information available on roadway runoff, few studies have focused on bridge deck runoff. Currently, there is no information available regarding the impacts of bridge deck runoff on receiving waters in Nebraska. Due to the cost, maintenance, and design issues associated with implementing structural controls for bridge deck runoff, it is important to develop a better understanding of the relationship between bridge deck runoff and potential impacts to receiving streams. The objectives of this …

A Unifying Approach To Behavioral Coverage, Elena Sherman

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Developing methods for validating that a program works as intended is one of the key research areas in software engineering. Ideally a program P must exhibit its expected be- havior, or property, φ on all of its inputs, i.e., P |= φ. The software engineering community has developed various program analysis approaches to assess whether P |= φ. In general, these approaches can be partitioned into dynamic and static program analysis. The former execute P on a particular input and checks that the execution conforms to φ. The latter in- terprets the code of P and check that on all …

Video Detection Of Trains, Michael David Forsberg

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis discusses the use of video detection as a means for train detection. It reviews works done to increase safety at and near Highway-Rail Grade Crossings (HRGCs), discusses existing and past forms of technology and methods used in train detection and arrival time prediction, and provides summaries of investigations of other detection technologies used for vehicle detection. It then goes into depth on the use of radar and video detection with Autoscope Machine Vision Processing for train detection. This thesis provides a methodology of data collection, data analyses, results, and conclusions of video detection for train detection.

Data analyses …

Development And Evaluation Of Beat Management Practices (Bmps) For Highway Runoff Pollution Control, Daniel Edward Jones

Department of Environmental Engineering: Theses and Other Student Research

As non-point source pollution, storm water runoff is one of the main contributors to stream impairment in the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) requires Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) to obtain a permit under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to manage this pollution. Many municipalities and non-traditional MS4s such as the Nebraska Department of Roads are under federal regulations that require new developments or redevelopments of a certain size to capture (and treat) runoff from all new impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and so forth) onsite, instead of allowing it to run into …

Implementation Of Magnetic Resonance Elastography For The Investigation Of Traumatic Brain Injuries, Thomas Boulet

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a potentially transformative imaging modality allowing local and non-invasive measurement of biological tissue mechanical properties. It uses a specific phase contrast MR pulse sequence to measure induced vibratory motion in soft material, from which material properties can be estimated. Compared to other imaging techniques, MRE is able to detect tissue pathology at early stages by quantifying the changes in tissue stiffness associated with diseases. In an effort to develop the technique and improve its capabilities, two inversion algorithms were written to evaluate viscoelastic properties from the measured displacements fields. The first one was based on …

A Study Of Hdpe In High Pressure Of Hydrogen Gas: Measurement Of Permeation Parameters And Fracture Criteria, Sompong Prachumchon

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The permeation parameters of hydrogen gas in high density polyethylene (HDPE) system are sought by comparison with a diffusion model. The method of Green’s functions is used to obtain solutions for the diffusion model. Permeation parameters are found from transient experimented data during two processes; pressurization followed by depressurization. The mechanical compression of HDPE during the pressurization process resulted in lower diffusivity coefficient values and higher solubility values. The results show that the diffusivity coefficient value in the pressurization process is 37% of that during the depressurization process. At the start of the depressurization process, a short-duration fast flow rate …

Cable Median Barrier Failure Analysis And Remediation, Cody S.. Stolle

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

On divided roadways, cross-median fatalities are disproportionately overrepresented in fatal and serious injury crashes. Many state DOTs sought to mitigate cross-median crash risk by installing cable median barriers. Despite increased crash rates, studies evaluating crash rates before and after cable median barriers were installed indicated excellent improvement in overall safety.

Although cable median barriers are intended to prevent serious cross-median crashes, cable barriers can also contribute to serious injury and fatality crashes which would not have otherwise occurred, including penetration and rollover crashes. In order to reduce the frequency of undesirable penetration and rollover crashes occurring with cable median barriers …

Predicting Vehicle Dynamics For Roadside Safety Using Multibody Systems Simulations, Brett D. Schlueter

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Accurate means for predicting vehicle dynamics is required in the design and testing of roadside safety hardware. Past research has used finite element (FE) modeling to this end, but multibody systems (MBS) modeling may provide a more efficient way to solve these problems. MBS modeling using Adams/Car was investigated by first compiling an introduction to the program, then performing basic vehicle dynamics simulations using a supplied model. Next, a model of a 2270 kg pickup was created and validated against physical test data involving impact with a speed bump. Finally, pickup trajectories in 4H:1V and 6H:1V V-ditches were predicted for …

Modular Joystick Design For Virtual Reality Surgical Skills Training, Michael Head

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A modular control interface and simulated virtual reality environment was designed and created in order to determine how the kinematic architecture of a control interface affects minimally invasive surgery. A user is able to selectively determine how many, the type, and location of degrees of freedom they require for the specific surgical simulation through the use of modular joints and constraint components. Furthermore, passive locking was designed and implemented through the use of inflated latex tubing around rotational degree of freedom joints. It is believed these features will have the ability to effectively simulate a variety of surgical simulations and …