Engineering Commons^™

Protecting Patient Privacy While Preserving Medical Information For Research, Gang Xiang, Jason O'Rawe, Vladik Kreinovich, Janos Hajagos, Scott Ferson

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Patient health records possess a great deal of information that would be useful in medical research, but access to these data is impossible or severely limited because of the private nature of most personal health records. Anonymization strategies, to be effective, must usually go much further than simply omitting explicit identifiers because even statistics computed from groups of records can often be leveraged by hackers to re-identify individuals. Methods of balancing the informativeness of data for research with the information loss required to minimize disclosure risk are needed before these private data can be widely released to researchers who can …

Solar Pv Power Generation Forecasting Using Hybrid Intelligent Algorithms And Uncertainty Quantification Based On Bootstrap Confidence Intervals, Donna Alhakeem

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis focuses on short-term photovoltaic forecasting (STPVF) for the power generation of a solar PV system using probabilistic forecasts and deterministic forecasts. Uncertainty estimation, in the form of a probabilistic forecast, is emphasized in this Thesis to quantify the uncertainties of the deterministic forecasts. Two hybrid intelligent models are proposed in two separate chapters to perform the STPVF. In Chapter 4, the framework of the deterministic proposed hybrid intelligent model is presented, which is a combination of wavelet transform (WT) that is a data filtering technique and a soft computing model (SCM) that is generalized regression neural network (GRNN). …

3d Printing Technology Using High Viscous Materials-Synthesis Of Functional Materials And Fabrication Of 3d Metal Structure, Seongik Hong

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the 3D printing technology, the research for using various materials has been performing. In this research work, 3D printable high viscous materials are suggested as one of the solutions for problems in the traditional 3D printing technology.

First, Cu-Ag coreshell was synthesized as a functional material. In terms of the reaction rate, reaction rate limiting step was defined as a fundamental research, and then prepared Cu-Ag coreshell was printed and analyzed. Second, the high viscous Cu paste was prepared and then metal 3D printed structure was fabricated by using new printing method.

In the synThesis of Cu-Ag coreshell, different …

Fused Deposition Modeling (Fdm) Fabricated Part Behavior Under Tensile Stress, Thermal Cycling, And Fluid Pressure, Mohammad Shojib Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Material extrusion based additive manufacturing (AM) technology, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), is gaining popularity with the numerous 3D printers available worldwide. FDM technology is advancing from exclusively prototype construction to achieving production-grade quality. Today, FDM-fabricated parts are widely used in the aerospace industries, biomedical applications, and other industries that may require custom fabricated, low volume parts. These applications are and were possible because of the different production grade material options (e.g., acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polyphenylsulfone (PPSF), etc.) available to use in FDM systems. Recent researchers are exploring other material options including polycaprolactone (PCL), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), …

Safety Measures For Trucks: A Comparison Between Eu And U.S., Jan Kapusta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Road transportation is playing an important role in almost all of the freight movements and contributes to the economy. It has the highest share in the modal division of transported goods. This situation is not about to change in next years to come. Therefore, it is necessary to change the current situation and create rules and regulations that would lead to decrease in number of accidents either in EU or in U.S. The goal of this research is to analyze selected parameters related to the safety of truck transportation in EU and in U.S. This thesis also identifies and compares …

Water Recovery From Silica Saturated Ro Concentrate By The Concentrate Enhanced Reverse Osmosis Process, Gautam Patwardhan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Membrane fouling due to silica precipitation during reverse osmosis (RO) continues to be documented as the most common challenge in attaining stable continuous operation of RO systems across water treatment plants (1). Silica scale precipitation is time dependent and involves multiple steps leading to aqueous polymerization, condensation of polymers to form colloids, and deposition onto a solid surface (2). Exceeding the solubility of silica, widely considered to be in the range of 100-140 ppm, under a pH of 8 at 25 °C by various researchers, results in the precipitation of silica on the membranes, thereby limiting water recovery. Once the …

Inkjet Bioprinting Of Solid Peroxides For Constructing Oxygen Generating Scaffolds To Improve Cells Viability And Growth Under Hypoxic Environment, Daniel Reyna Soriano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tissue engineering has emerged as an interdisciplinary field to overcome current challenges for tissue repair or replacement in the human body. In essence, it proposes new medical therapies customized to match the biology of specific patients. The potential benefits offered by tissue engineering have driven scientific inquiry to make it a clinical reality.

One of the current challenges in tissue engineering is to provide oxygen supply to thick tissues as oxygen diffusion is limited to 100 - 200 µm layer of viable tissue. Engineered vascular conduits are applied in vitro, providing pre-vascularization to tissues; however, host anastomosis is still a …

Characterization Of High-Purity Niobium Structures Fabricated Using The Electron Beam Melting Process, Cesar Adrian Terrazas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to the varied set of technologies utilized for the fabrication of complex 3D components from digital data in a layer-by-layer fashion. The use of these technologies promises to revolutionize the manufacturing industry. The electron beam melting (EBM) process has been utilized for the fabrication of fully dense near-net-shape components from various metallic materials. This process, catalogued as a powder bed fusion technology, consists of the deposition of thin layers (50 - 120µm) of metallic powder particles which are fused by the use of a high energy electron beam and has been commercialized by Swedish company Arcam …

Numerical Prediction Of Collection Efficiency Of A Personal Sampler Based On Cyclone Principle, Antara Badhan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A personal bioaerosol sampler is a self-contained, operation flexible, high-efficient device for indoor air quality (IAQ) and health risk exposure monitoring and measurement. Bio-aerosols such germ-laden viruses, microbial species, airborne microorganisms and volatile organic compounds (VOC) are sucked into the sampler and are deposited on the inner wall surface based on cyclone principal. The major concern with bio-aerosol samplers is the collection efficiency. In this study, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools to evaluate key design parameters, specifically the inlet tube angle and collection tube inner wall roughness. 3D incompressible turbulent flow was simulated using commercial software ANSYS FLUENT. …

The Study Of The Dielectric Properties Of The Endohedral Fullerenes, Shusil Bhusal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Dielectric response of the metal nitride fullerenes is studied using the density functional theory at the all-electron level using generalized gradient approximation. The dielectric response is studied by computing the static dipole polarizabilities using the finite field method, i.e. by numerically differentiating the dipole moments with respect to electric field. The endohedral fullerenes studied in this work are Sc3N@C68(6140), Sc3N@C68(6146), Sc3N@C70(7854), Sc3N@C70(7960), Sc3N@C76(17490), Sc3N@C78(22010), Sc3N@C80(31923), Sc3N@C80(31924), Sc3N@C82(39663), Sc3N@C90(43), Sc3N@C90(44), Sc3N@C92(85), Sc3N@C94(121), Sc3N@C96(186), Sc3N@C98(166). Using the Voronoi and Hirschfield approaches as implemented in our NRLMOL code, we determine the atomic contributions to the total polarizability. The site-specific contributions to the polarizability …

Evaluation Of A Torch Ignition System For Propulsion, Robert Ellis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years NASA has had a renewed interest in oxygen and methane as propellants for propulsion. The drive for this combination comes from several factors including ease of land- based storage, handling safety, in situ resource utilization, and a relatively clean burning process when compared with the widely used hypergolic propellants. This project is part of a larger goal of the Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) to better understand all aspects of using LOX/CH4 propellants to create future hardware that is specially optimized for these propellants. This paper discusses the literature background and reasons that led to …

Why Ricker Wavelets Are Successful In Processing Seismic Data: Towards A Theoretical Explanation, Afshin Gholamy Salehabady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many engineering applications ranging from engineering seismology to petroleum engineering and civil engineering, processing seismic data plays a key role. In processing seismic data, it turns out to be very efficient to describe the signal's spectrum as a linear combination of Ricker wavelet spectra.

In this Thesis, we provide a possible theoretical explanation for this empirical efficiency. Specifically, signal propagation through several layers is discussed, and it is shown that the Ricker wavelet is the simplest non-trivial solution for the corresponding data processing problem, under the condition that the described properties of the approximation family are satisfied.

Experimental Evaluation Of Flame Stability And Pollutant Emissions From A Multi-Tube Fuel Injector, Sarzina Hossain

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

According to US Energy Information Administration coal is predicted to be the dominant source of power production in the United States until 2035. With fifty percent of the electricity generated in the United States originating from coal, the US produces close to 2 billion tons of CO2 per year from coal-burning power plants. The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) offers a cleaner way to generate electricity-using coal. IGCC is a process where the feedstock is gasified and converted into to syngas (CO-H2) which can then be used as a fuel source to power energy-generating gas turbines. Compared to other hydrocarbons, …

3d Printed Electromagnetic Transmission And Electronic Structures Fabricated On A Single Platform Using Advanced Process Integration Techniques, Paul I. Deffenbaugh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

3D printing has garnered immense attention from many fields including in-office rapid prototyping of mechanical parts, outer-space satellite replication, garage functional firearm manufacture, and NASA rocket engine component fabrication. 3D printing allows increased design flexibility in the fabrication of electronics, microwave circuits and wireless antennas and has reached a level of maturity which allows functional parts to be printed. Much more work is necessary in order to perfect the processes of 3D printed electronics especially in the area of automation. Chapter 1 shows several finished prototypes of 3D printed electronics as well as newly developed techniques in fabrication. Little is …

Experimental Studies Of Lox/Ch4 Uni-Element Shear Coaxial Injector Geometry, Vanessa Dorado-Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Center for Space Exploration Technology Research (cSETR) has developed a set of shear coaxial injectors as part of a system-level approach to study LOX/CH4 combustion. This Thesis describes the experimental studies involved in the characterization of the effects produced by two design injection face plate variables: post thickness and recession length. A testing program was developed to study the injectors' atomization process using LN2 as a substitute for LOX in cold flow and the flame anchoring mechanisms in hot firings. The cold flow testing stage was conducted to obtain liquid core measurements and compare its behavior between the different …

Optimization Of Uv-Led Curable Printing Material For Applications In Direct Writing Systems: Inkjet, Reverse Offset, And Micro Dispensing Gpd, Ada Judith Ortega Varela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The quality of a product fabricated by direct writing methods will depend greatly on the properties of the printing material and its compatibility with the printing process. Although multiple advances in developing printing inks and pastes with novel properties are being made, the potential those can bring to electronics is hindered by their stability and performance during the printing process. In this study a UV-LED curable acrylic material was used to test the optimization of inks and pastes for three of the most common direct writing systems: Piezo-type Inkjet, Reverse Offset Roll to Plate, and Micro Deposition. The viscosity of …

Hydrogen Generation From Ammonia Borane And Water Through The Combustion Reactions With Mechanically Alloyed Al/Mg Powder, Daniel Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Finding and developing a safe and effective method for hydrogen storage is integral to its use as an alternative source of energy. The goal of the studies described in this Thesis was to investigate the feasibility of developing combustible hydrogen-generating compositions based on ammonia borane and novel energetic materials such as nanocomposite and mechanically alloyed reactive materials, recently obtained by Prof. Edward Dreizin's team at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Such compositions could be stored for long time and release hydrogen on demand, upon ignition. The first phase of the research included thermodynamic calculations for combustion of ammonia …

Master's In Electrical Engineering, Ricardo Xavier Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project is a focus on characterizing the process for actualizing three dimensional structures out of a carbon nanostructure composite via a direct print additive manufacturing process. Manufacturing parts additively enables for realization of geometrically complex shapes that often times cannot be manufactured any other way. The specificity of a material's properties have to be such, that the processing method can precisely place and bond material to itself in a highly repeatable manner. Commercial materials for additive manufacturing are have been optimized with these goals in mind and, therefore, often times lack the rigor and robustness for many applications.

The …

Effect Of Rhenium On Short Term Oxidation Of Niobium Based Alloys For High Temperature Applications, Ruth M. Sierra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The effect of adding Re to Nb-based alloys and is intended to analyze in depth the microstructures of Nb based alloys with Re, Si and Cr additions, in atomic percentages. The binary alloys (Nb-5Re, Nb-5Si and Nb-5Cr) reveal the formation of a single phase, NbSS, NbSS+ Nb3Si and NbSS+NbCr2 respectively. The formation of the single phase was confirmed by TEM studies for the Nb-5Re alloy. Addition of Re to form ternary alloys, has helped in the formation of Nb5Si3 and (Nb, Re) Cr2, in Nb-5Re- 5Si and Nb-5Re-5Cr respectively. Quaternary alloy Nb-5Re-5Si-5Cr has Nb5Si3, NbCr2 and NbSS. The oxidation behavior …

Modeling And Simulation Of A Lead-Free Active Structural Fiber For Multifunctional Composites, Linda Vera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Piezoelectric materials are widely used in a many areas of science and technology due to their unique electromechanical properties. The transformation of mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa caused by the piezoelectric effect has led to the development of piezoelectric sensor devices and actuators used in accelerometers, pressure and vibration meters, micropositioning devices, ultrasound generators, structural health monitoring, etc.

The most used piezoelectric material to this day is lead zirconate titanate PbZrO3-PbTiO3 (PZT) because of its high piezoelectric coefficient and Curie temperature, which allows it to be used in a more wide variety of applications. However, the commercial …

Design Optimization Of The Heat Transfer Model For A High Heat Flux Test Facility, Linda Hyemin Yoon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There are a variety of fuels that are utilized for space applications and in recent years, environmentally friendly fuels have been of interest. In the case of bipropellant rocket systems, hydrocarbon fuels have come to the attention of scientists and engineers. In particular, liquid methane was of interest in this study because of its physical and chemical advantages over other fuels, such as liquid hydrogen. Rocket engines rise to very high temperatures and to avoid catastrophic mechanical failure, a cooling system must be implemented within the engine to cool the walls. To get a better understanding of the fluid flow …

E-Quality Control Using 3d Reconstruction And 3d Measurement, Jun Zheng

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recently more and more industrial applications use image acquisition to improve product manufacturing. The observed growth in the last few years is mainly due to the great advances in acquisition devices which are now affordable for more industrialists. Moreover, the increasing demands in the quality requirements of the products are a great stimulus to apply vision tools which allow a better understanding of the impact of the manufacturing process on the product quality. Vision tools have been used in many industrial fields. But the traditional 2D vision is not as reliable as 3D measurement due to the limitations of the …

A Circuit-Based Algorithm For Two-Phase Flow At The Pore Scale In Porous Media, Todd Dorethy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Models of two-phase flow in porous media are of practical interest in many fields of science and engineering such as in oil recovery and hydrology. For this class of problem, an immiscible fluid is injected into a single-phase, porous medium to evict its valuable, native fluid. Because the aim is to amass as much of the indigenous fluid as possible, models attempt to output reliable flow regime patterns depicting how well the invading fluid displaces the native fluid.

Flow regime patterns generally depend upon the geometry of the domain, stimulation at the boundaries, and properties of the invading and native …

Characterization Of W-Ti-O Thin Films For Application In Photovoltaics, Amanda Patricia Christmas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Photovoltaic (PV) devices consist of the conversion of light energy into electricity. Nearly all PV technologies employ transparent conducting oxides (TCO) as an integral part of the de-vice structure so that the light can reach the semiconductor. The predominant transparent conducting oxide (TCO) that is currently being used in industry is indium tin oxide (ITO). However, Indium (In) is high in cost and becoming scarce in the world. This work is focused towards Titanium doped Tungsten oxide (WO3) for TCO application. The ultimate goal is making novel, cheaper, and efficient TCOs based on W-Ti-O films. Titanium will enhance the conductivity …

Geochemical Studies Of Backfill Aggregates, Lake Sediment Cores And The Hueco Bolson Aquifer, Anita Thapalia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation comprises of three different researches that focuses on the application of geochemistry from aggregates, lake sediment cores and Hueco Bolson Aquifer. Each study is independent and presented in the publication format. The first chapter is already published and the second chapter is in revision phase. Overall, three studies measure the large scale (field) as well as bench scale (lab) water-rock interactions influenced by the climatic and anthropogenic factors spans from the field of environmental geology to civil engineering.

The first chapter of this Dissertation addresses the chemical evaluation of coarse aggregates from six different quarries in Texas. The …

Nanometric Structure-Property Relationship In Hafnium Oxide Thin Films Made By Sputter-Deposition, Mirella Vargas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hafnium oxide (HfO2) is technologically an important material, which exhibits a unique set of properties such as a high dielectric constant (k~25) and wide band gap (~5.7 eV) which make this material attractive in the fields of microelectronics and optoelectronics. HfO2 has become the leading candidate to replace SiO2 dielectrics in gate oxides due to a higher permittivity and reportedly lower electron tunneling effects. HfO2 exhibits various polymorphs; the thermodynamic stability and phase existence depends on the temperature and pressure conditions. In addition, the controlled growth and manipulation of specific HfO2 crystal structures at the nanoscale dimensions is the driving …

An Intelligent System For High Resolution Radar Systems, Janette C. Briones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cognitive radio is a recent, novel approach that integrates machine perception software into wireless systems. The term cognitive radio was first used by Joe Mitola. The concept and the term cognitive radio quickly caught the attention and interest of many in the communications field. Cognitive radios are capable of making decisions and selecting or modifying the operating parameters of a radio. Given these capabilities, it is feasible to build a cognitive radar system as introduced by Simon Haykin in 2006. Cognitive radar, as described by Haykin, is an intelligent system that must be aware of its environment, uses prior knowledge, …

Natural Selectivity Of Nickel And Vanadium In Crude Oil, Olienka P. De La O Fernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nickel and Vanadium have always been found in crude oil all around the world. The metal content is found mainly in porphyrin structures in the asphaltene fraction of the petroleum. In order to determine the reason for this natural preference, a set of experiments testing thermodynamics, kinetics, and other factors were performed. Candidate metalloporphyrins containing Vanadyl, Chromium, Iron, Nickel, Copper and Zinc were analyzed through chemical reactions characterized using Silica Column Chromatography, HPLC, MS and UV-Visible. Theoretical analysis of the stability of metalloporphyrins was conducted using DFT/NRLMOL for computational calculation. The analysis of all factors leads us to conclude that …

An Explanatory And Comparative Analysis Of Freight Transportation In Eu And U.S. Highways, Luis Alberto Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis provides resources for data collection regarding road freight transportation in the Unites States and the European Union, as well as an explanatory description of data available at each source. Afterwards, individual analysis of the current state of affairs of the highway freight transportation systems in U.S. and EU are performed. Thereafter, an explanatory and comparative analysis between the two land freight transportation systems is performed in terms of regulatory authorities and associations, trucks volume flow, freight weight and volume flow, major issues affecting the system, infrastructure funding sources, and major logistics hubs. Besides, a correlation analysis was performed …

Alkali Promoted Molybdenum (Iv) Sulfide Based Catalysts, Development And Characterization For Alcohol Synthesis From Carbon Monoxide And Hydrogen, Belinda Delilah Molina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For more than a century transition metal sulfides (TMS) have been the anchor of hydro-processing fuels and upgrading bitumen and coal in refineries worldwide. As oil supplies dwindle and environmental laws become more stringent, there is a greater need for cleaner alternative fuels and/or synthetic fuels. The depletion of oil reserves and a rapidly increasing energy demand worldwide, together with the interest to reduce dependence on foreign oil makes alcohol production for fuels and chemicals via the Fischer Tropsch synthesis (FTS) very attractive. The original Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction is the heart of all gas-to-liquid technologies; it creates higher alcohols and …