Engineering Commons^™

Anaerobic Digestion Of Wastewater: Effects Of Inoculants And Nutrient Management On Biomethane Production And Treatment, Jason Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to population expiation and the increased awareness of the impact on the environment by wastewater treatment, improved wastewater treatment systems are needed to treat municipal and agricultural wastewater. Treating wastewater with oxygen decreases carbon compounds at the expense of energy to move carbon and oxygen to be in contact with each other. Anaerobic digestion of wastewater can reduce the cost by utilizing microbes to treat high amounts of carbon in wastewater without the need for extensive oxygen requirement. With a proper balance of nutrients, microbes also produce methane, a renewable energy source.

It has been suggested that microalgae be …

Effects Of Computer Simulation And Animation (Csa) On Students’ Problem Solving In Engineering Dynamics: What And How, Seyed Mohammad Tajvidi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous studies have shown that in many fields, computer simulation and animation (CSA) improve students’ learning and problem solving. However, despite the massive body of research on the role of computers in education, little research has been conducted to qualitatively examine how they affect the learning of engineering students. The purpose of this study was to explore how learning and problem solving were affected by computer modules and what similarities and differences existed between computer representations and paper-based examples.

An analysis of collected data, observations of participants’ problem-solving activities, and interviews revealed that computers can enhance students’ analytical thinking, organizing, …

Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products In An Effluent-Dominated Stream: Seasonal Variability And Downstream Fate, Bradley R. Buswell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) consist of a large group of compounds including medicines, lotions, soaps, shampoos, and even flame retardants and insect repellants. After use, PPCPs often enter waste streams that are directed to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Due to inefficient removals in conventional wastewater treatment processes, WWTP discharges into streams and rivers are a major source of PPCPs to the environment.

The East Canyon Water Reclamation Facility (ECWRF) is a WWTP in Park City, Utah. After treatment, the ECWRF effluent is discharged into a small constructed wetland area before it enters East Canyon Creek. Due to …

Maximum Likelihood Temperature/Emissivity Separation Of Hyperspectral Images With Gaussian Distributed Downwelling Radiance, David A. Neal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hyperspectral images are made up of energy measurements at different wavelengths of light. The case is considered where these measurements are dependent on temperature, the self-emitted energy (emissivity), and reflected energy (downwelling radiance) from the surroundings. The process where the downwelling radiance is fixed and the temperature and emissivity are estimated is referred to as temperature/emissivity separation.

Due to the way these terms mix, for a given set of measurements, there exist many pairs of temperatures and emissivities that satisfy the model. This creates ambiguity in the solution that must be resolved for the result to have any significance.

A …

Alternative Treatment Technologies For Low-Cost Industrial And Municipal Wastewater Management, Alan J. Hodges

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Roughly the same volume of water that rushes over the Niagara Falls is produced as wastewater in North America. This wastewater is treated through a variety of means to ensure that it can be safely returned to the natural ecosystem. This thesis examines two novel means for this treatment, one biological and one physical-chemical in nature, namely, Rotating Algae Biofilm Reactor treatment and expanded shale augmented coagulation-flocculation.

Rotating algae biofilm reactors (RABRs) support biofilm algae growth, and in turn, the algae take up harmful contaminants from the wastewater. This system was tested in wastewater from petroleum refining operations. The efficacy …

A Study On Human Evacuation Behavior Involving Individuals With Disabilities In A Building, Nirdosh Gaire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The individuals with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to hazards. However, there is very little research inquiry focused on evacuation environments and the behavior of individuals with disabilities. The most widely applied computational method used to study how effective the built environment facilities emergency evacuations in individuals-based modeling. Current pedestrian evacuation models rarely include individuals with disabilities in their simulated populations due to there being very few empirical studies of the evacuation behavior of individuals with disabilities. As a result, the models do not replicate accurate patterns of pedestrian or evacuation behavior of a heterogeneous population, which results in the evacuation …

Evaluation Of Flux Correction On Three-Dimensional Strand Grids With An Overset Cartesian Grid, Dalon G. Work

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Simulations of fluid flows over complex geometries are typically solved using a solution technique known as the overset meshing method. The geometry is meshed using grid types appropriate to the local geometry in a patchwork fashion, rather than meshing the entire geometry with one type of mesh. The strand-Cartesian approach is a simplification of this process. While high-order accurate solvers on Cartesian grids are simple to implement, strand grids are usually restricted to second-order accuracy, resulting in poor quality solutions. Flux correction is a high-order accurate solution method, specifically designed for use on strand grids. The flux correction method on …

Characterization Of The Thermal Resistance Of Grain Boundaries Of Cerium Oxide, Jesse Spackman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many materials are made up of small crystals, or grains. Grain boundaries are the interfaces between two grains and affect the flow of heat through the material. These interfaces serve to interfere with the energy carriers by scattering or disrupting them. Because of the negative effect these interfaces have on these energy carriers, they inhibit heat flow and act as thermal resistors. The thermal boundary resistance between two grains of the same material is sometimes referred to as the Kapitza resistance, although this term is also used to describe the thermal resistance between solid/solid interfaces of different materials or solid/liquid …

Design Baseline Document: Mini Baja Frame, Michael Luke Scoggins

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Our objective as the Mini Baja Frame team is to design and implement a prototype vehicle frame that is both cost-effective and competitive in an all-terrain racing environment. This vehicle must be able to endure the trials of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Mini Baja competition. An effective frame will contribute to the complete Utah State University Mini Baja Team objectives by efficiently integrating the components produced by the drivetrain and the suspension engineers. In addition, this competition is a means for us as students to gain valuable, tangible experience in the engineering design process.

Design Of Logan City's Storm Water Conveyance System, Megan Gordon

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This report summarizes 10th West Engineers’ (10WE) storm water conveyance design for Logan City. The implementation of the design mitigates flood risk due to storm water discharge, helps improve local water quality, and uses infrastructure that would otherwise be abandoned. The system collects storm water discharged along 1000 West and transports the water to the holding pond located at approximately 2400 West 2200 North, Logan, Utah (see Figure 1).

Logan City is located in northern Utah’s Cache County. As development and redevelopment occur, storm water runoff quantities will decrease due to new regulations. However, Logan City’s storm water system does …

Pairing Of Anaerobic And Aerobic Treatment Of Petroleum Wastewater, Zachary Fica

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The objective of this project was to treat petroleum refinery wastewater using a combination of anaerobic and aerobic processes, namely an Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor paired with a Rotation Algae Biofilm Reactor (RABR), respectively, to produce a treated effluent. The treatment method developed needed to produce a cost-effective and efficient way to decrease nitrogen, phosphorous, total suspended solids (TSS), and COD concentrations to below State of Utah limitations. It was demonstrated that RABR treatment was capable of reducing effluent concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and TSS to State of Utah limitations. RABR treatment did not significantly reduce COD from …

Design Of Logan City's Stormwater Conveyance System, Kade Jacob Beck

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This report summarizes 10th West Engineers' (10WE) storm water conveyance design for Logan City. The implementation of the design mitigates flood risk due to storm water discharge , helps improve local water quality, and uses infrastructure that would otherwise be abandoned. The system collects storm water discharged along 1000 West and transports the water to the holding pond located at approximately 2400 West 2200 North, Logan, Utah (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Aerial Photo of the Area of Interest Current Conditions

Logan City is located in northern Utah's Cache County. As development and redevelopment occur, storm water runoff quantities will …

Autonomous Highway Systems Safety And Security, Imran Sajjad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis aims to address question of safety and security in autonomous highway systems. Chains of multiple self-driving vehicles (platoons) give rise to inherent vulnerabilities to attacks resulting from their control algorithms. These weaknesses can possibly result in collisions or decreased traffic flow.

This work first provides an overview of these vulnerabilities analyzed from a control systems perspective. The capabilities and extent of damage that an attack can cause are analyzed. Then some possible mitigation strategies are presented that can defend against these attacks.

Simulation results are provided to support the effectiveness of these controllers and an experimental validation is …

Comparing The Effect Of Carbon Sources, Lactate And Whey, On Biological Reductive Dechlorination Of Tce In Laboratory Flow Through Columns, Sarah M. Kissell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a chlorinated solvent most commonly used as an industrial degreaser for cleaning mechanical equipment. Historic improper management and disposal of TCE has resulted in contaminated soil and groundwater across the United States, including Hill Air Force Base in Utah. The abundance of TCE in the environment presents a public health risk because it is categorized as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

The purpose of this study was to improve the bioremediation techniques of biostimulation and bioaugmentation. A continuous flow-through column study was performed where columns packed with aquifer material …

Amending Phb With Algal Biomass To Enhance Biodegradability, Amanda R. Stoudt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Pollution due to petroleum-based plastic is a growing problem all over the world. Petroleum-based plastics that fill landfills and oceans take hundreds of years to degrade. One possible solution to this growing problem is to increase the use of bioplastics. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a widely studied bioplastic that is biodegradable in both soil and marine environments. However, PHB use is limited due to its poor mechanical properties. Past researchers have investigated the use of natural additives, primarily different types of plant fibers, to enhance both the mechanical properties and degradation rates of bioplastics. The purpose of this project was to …

Electrospun Spiderskin Bandage For Epidermal Protection And Recovery, Michael David Paskett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Spider silk is one of nature's most promising biomaterial s for a variety of applications, however, due to the inability to farm spiders, transgenic hosts are required for large-scale production. With the unique combination of strength, elasticity, and biocompatibility, spider silk has an incredible potential for use in the human body. This study was conducted to merge two major applications of spider silk for the creation of a novel bandaging product. Electrospinning technology was utilized to create a spider silk/polymer bandage matrix to be applied with an aqueous spider silk skin adhesive.

In designing the bandaging matrix , the mechanical …