Engineering Commons^™

The Influence Of Mesa Activities On Underrepresented Students Nsf Dr K-12 Proposal 1020019, C. Hailey, Chandra Austin Stallworth, Cameron Denson, Daniel L. Householder

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) outreach programs are partnerships between K-12 schools and higher education in nine states. MESA efforts introduce integrated experiences in science, mathematics and engineering to K-12 students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM disciplines. This exploratory study examined the influence of selected MESA activities on students' self-efficacy, their perceptions of engineering, and their interest in engineering and other STEM fields. Field trips, guest lecturers, design competitions, hands-on activities and student career and academic advisement were of specific interest in this survey. The project also investigated the relationship between student engagement in MESA and …

Spatio-Temporal Prediction Of Root Zone Soil Moisture Using Multivariate Relevance Vector Machines, B. Zaman, Mac Mckee

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

oot zone soil moisture at one and two meter depths are forecasted four days into the future. In this article, we propose a new multivariate output prediction approach to root zone soil moisture assessment using learning machine models. These models are known for their robustness, efficiency, and sparseness; they provide a statistically sound approach to solving the inverse problem and thus to building statistical models. The multivariate relevance vector machine (MVRVM) is used to build a model that forecasts soil moisture states based upon current soil moisture and soil temperature conditions. The methodology combines the data at different depths from …

Friction Coefficients For Dried Distillers Grains On Eight Structural Surfaces, G. C. Nyendu, S. Pflum, P. Schumacher, C. J. Bern, T. J. Brumm

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Static and dynamic coefficients of friction on structural surfaces play important roles in the power requirements and material selection for equipment used in handling and storing agricultural commodities. However, friction data on dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) is limited. Further, lack of a standardized method for determining friction coefficient on grain handling materials presents a challenge. This article describes studies carried out to determine the static coefficient of friction (•_s) and dynamic coefficient of friction (•_d) for corn DDGS at 10%, 8.2%, and 6.5% moisture content (all moistures are % wet basis) on eight structural surfaces: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), …

Water Resources Systems Analysis: A Bright Past And Challenging But Promising Future, David E. Rosenberg, Kaveh Madani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The field of water resources systems analysis is now experiencing one of its most exciting eras where scientists, decision makers, and funding agencies want to apply systems approaches to solve varied, complex, uncertain, and interdisciplinary resource management problems. Solving these problems presents great opportunities for us to engage in complex, real-world decision-making and make positive changes. However, to capitalize on these opportunities, we as a field must also overcome several large challenges related to problem identification, integration, blind use of systems tools, a focus on optimality, and harnessing big data. To overcome, we must look back to find what we …

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2013, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Pyrolysis Of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (Abs) Under High Heat Flux Conditions, James R. Wilson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is a common industrial plastic that is widely used for structural and piping applications. Additionally, within the past decade ABS has become the most popular material used in a type of rapid prototyping known as fused- deposition modeling (FDM). Within the past three years, ABS plastic blends have also been investigated as a potential fuel for hybrid- and solid-propelled rocket systems, exhibiting promising results. Because the use of ABS as a rocket propellant is very recent, a pyrolysis database, describing how ABS will burn, at the temperatures and heating rates experienced by rocket systems does not exist. Previous …

An Analysis On Soil Properties On Predicting Critical Hydraulic Gradients For Piping Progression In Sandy Soils, Tammy Jacobson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Piping is a form of internal erosion in which soil particles are eroded at a seepage exit location due to the forces imposed on the particles by seeping water. Laboratory testing was performed on a variety of soils in order to assess a correlation between unit weight, angle of internal friction, grain size, gradation, and void ratio and the critical hydraulic gradient at which piping initiates and progresses. A multi-variable regression analysis was used to form equations to predict critical hydraulic gradient based upon each of these soil parameters. Variations in the accuracy of these equations are thought to be …

Computer Self-Efficacy, Cognitive Actions, And Metacognitive Strategies Of High School Students While Engaged In Interactive Learning Modules, Harry Budi Santoso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate high school students’ computer self-efficacy, cognitive actions, and metacognitive strategies in a self-regulated learning (SRL) framework while utilizing an interactive learning module. The researcher hypothesized that computer self-efficacy is correlated positively with cognitive actions and metacognitive strategies while the students are engaged with interactive learning modules. This research used a mixed-methods approach to answer the research questions. Two research questions guided this research: (1) How is students’ computer self-efficacy related to cognitive actions and metacognitive strategies while using interactive learning modules?; and (2) How do students plan monitor their cognitive actions, and …

Design And Construction Of An Omni-Directional Soccer Ball Thrower, Andrew James Marquette

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Introduction

We are ODST the Omni-Directional Soccer Ball Thrower team which designed the soccer ball launching machine. Working in direct correlation with the project sponsor John Meade from Athlonic Sports this is the report outlining the soccer ball thrower. John from Athlonic Sports came up with the overall project and initial project vision. There are soccer ball launching machines on the market but lacking mobility, not amiable and are heavy. The design needed to be mobile, amiable, lightweight, and have a soccer ball capacity incorporated into the machine. This will allow coaches to repeatability place the soccer ball in certain …

Impacts Of Climate Change On Water Resources And Corresponding Adaptation Strategies Of The Nam Ngum River Basin, Laos, Dumindu Lasitha Jayasekera

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Nam Ngum River Basin (NNRB) in Laos has received attention of foreign investors due to high hydropower development potential and low per capita electricity consumption. The NNRB is rapidly developing due to its hydropower generation potentials while water demands will increase for agricultural and domestic purposes due to population increase and land-use changes. Water availability conditions will be affected with the increasing water demand and climate change may worsen the water availability conditions. Climate is often defined as the weather averaged over time whereas weather describes atmospheric conditions at a particular place and time in terms of air temperature, …

An Algorithm To Recognize Multi-Stable Behavior From An Ensemble Of Stochastic Simulation Runs, Eduardo Monzon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthetic biological designers are demanding tools to help with the design and verification process of new biological models. Some of the most common tools available aggregate multiple simulation results into one “clean” trajectory that hopefully is representative of the system’s behavior. However, for systems exhibiting multiple stable states, these techniques fail to show all the possible trajectories of the system. This work introduces a method capable of detecting the presence of more than one “typical” trajectory in a system, which can also be integrated with other available simulation tools.

Alternative Steel Reinforcement In Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Walls, Daniel T. Pond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mechanically Stabilize Earth (MSE) is a method in which soil tensile strength and shear resistance is increased by using reinforcement. The traditional forms of reinforcement include bars, galvanized strips, welded wire mats or steel grids, and geosynthetics.
When steel is used as reinforcement in MSE walls, it gets corroded or decayed. Certain shapes of reinforcement will have less corrosion because less surface area is exposed. Pullout resistance is the ability to resist a tensile force. This can be affected by the design and shape of the steel. This study simulates different overburden depths or pressures for pullout resistance and evaluates …

Development Of A Coupled Fluid And Colloidall Particle Transport Model, Scott Ripplinger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A colloidal system usually refers to when very small particles are suspended within a solution. The study of these systems encompasses a variety of cases including bacteria in ground water, blood cells and platelets in blood plasma, and river silt transport. Taking a look at these kinds of systems using computer simulation can provide a great deal of insight into how they work. Most approaches to date do not look at the details of the system, however, and are specific to given system. In this study a program called OpenFOAM is used as a basis to build a computer simulation …

Conventional And Catalytic Pyrolysis Of Pinyon Juniper Biomass, Bhuvanesh Kumar Yathavan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pinyon and juniper are invasive woody species which has occupied more than 47 million acres of land in Western United States. Pinyon juniper woodlands domination decreases the herbaceous vegetation, increase bare lands which in turn increases soil erosion and nutrition loss. Thus, The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has focused on harvesting these woody species to make room for herbaceous vegetation. The major application of harvested pinyon-juniper (PJ) is low value firewood. Thus, there is a need to develop new high value products from this woody biomass to reduce the cost of harvesting. In this study pyrolysis was carried …

Evapotranspiration Modeling And Forecasting For Efficient Management Of Irrigation Command Areas, Roula Bachour

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It has become very crucial to manage water resources to meet the needs of the growing population. In irrigation command areas, and in order to build a better plan to manage service delivery from canals and reservoirs, it is important to build appropriate knowledge of water needs on a field basis. There is often a lag between the order and delivery of water to the field. Knowledge of the crop water requirement at the field level helps the decision maker to make the right choices leading to more efficient handling of the available water. The purpose of this study was …

Calibration Method For Texel Images Created From Fused Lidar And Digital Camera Images, Scott E. Budge, N.S. Badamikar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The fusion of imaging lidar information and digital imagery results in 2.5-dimensional surfaces covered with texture information, called texel images. These data sets, when taken from different viewpoints, can be combined to create three-dimensional (3-D) images of buildings, vehicles, or other objects. This paper presents a procedure for calibration, error correction, and fusing of flash lidar and digital camera information from a single sensor configuration to create accurate texel images. A brief description of a prototype sensor is given, along with a calibration technique used with the sensor, which is applicable to other flash lidar/digital image sensor systems. The method …

Water Resources Planning - Fall 2013 - University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Richard Palmer

All ECSTATIC Materials

Water Resources Planning course taught by Richard Palmer offered in Fall 2013 at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Course materials include lecture slides on specified topics (.ppt and .pdf) and 8 exercises:

Exercise 1 - Fairweather planning (Exer1-2013.pdf)

Exercise 2 - Developing a team (Exer2-2013.pdf)

Exercise 3 - Problems, Opportunities, and Goals Revisited (Exer3-2013.pdf)

Exercise 4 - Defining the Status Quo (Exer4-2013.pdf)

Exercise 5 - Shared Vision Models (Exer5-2013.pdf)

Exercise 6 - Formulating Alternative Plans (Exer6-2013.pdf)

Exercise 7 - Measures of Performance (Exer7-2013.pdf)

Exercise 8 - Selecting Among Alternatives (Exer8-2013.pdf)

Materials also include an example student final report (NOFAWAC_FINAL-Planning Report.pdf)

Water Resource Economics And Management - University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Greg Characklis

All ECSTATIC Materials

Graduate course in water resources economics and management offered at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Fall 2013.

Environmental Systems Modeling And Management - University Of Virginia, Charlottesville, Teresa Culver

All ECSTATIC Materials

Grad/Undergrad course in environmental systems modeling and management offered at University of Virginia, Charlottesville in Fall 2013.

Water Resources Planning And Management - Michigan Technological University, Houghton, David Watkins

All ECSTATIC Materials

Graduate course in water resources planning and management offered at Michigan Technological University, Houghton in Fall 2013.

Water Resources Management - University Of California, Davis, Jay R. Lund

All ECSTATIC Materials

Graduate course in water resources management offered at University California, Davis in Fall 2013.

Deterministic Optimization And Design - University Of California, Davis, Jay R. Lund

All ECSTATIC Materials

Undergraduate course in deterministic optimization and design offered at U.C. Davis.

Infrastructure Systems Analysis - George Mason University, Mark Houck

All ECSTATIC Materials

To introduce the concepts of systems analysis and systems engineering within the domain of civil and infrastructure engineering To introduce/review a variety of tools and methods used in the analysis of infrastructure systems To prepare students for continued study in civil, environmental and infrastructure engineering. Course taught at George Mason University.

Water Resources Planning - University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Richard Palmer

All ECSTATIC Materials

Course taught at University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Hydroshare: Advancing Collaboration Through Hydrologic Data And Model Sharing, David G. Tarboton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ozone Photochemistry In A Natural Gas Basin During Winter: Simulations Of Results From The 2012 Utah Basin Winter Ozone Study, P. M. Edwards, K. J. Akin, J. Degouw, W P. Dubé, J. Gillman, D. Helmig, J S. Holloway, B. Lener, R. Mclaren, D. D. Parrish, J. Peischl, J. M. Roberts, T. B. Ryerson, Randy S. Martin, C. Warneke, E. J. Williams, C. J. Young, S. S. Brown

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah, a region of intense oil and gas extraction, experienced ozone (O3) concentrations above levels harmful to human health for multiple days during the winters of 2009–2010 and 2010–2011. These wintertime O3 pollution episodes occur during cold, stable periods when the ground is snow-covered, and have been linked to emissions from the oil and gas extraction process. The Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS) was a field intensive in early 2012, whose goal was to address current uncertainties in the chemical and physical processes that drive wintertime O3 production in regions of oil and gas …

Response Of Stream Ecosystems To Climate Change (Iii): Characterizing And Predicting Ecologically Relevant Flow Regimes, David G. Tarboton, Sulochan Dhungel, Yi He, J.J. V. Laan, Ryan A. Hill, Jiming Jin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Using Building Information Modeling In Structural Engineering, Cesar Augusto Hunt

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper explores how the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) can be a beneficial platform for structural engineers. The current state of BIM is analyzed, giving a general overview on how architectural; engineering and construction firms are applying it on their projects. The applicability of BIM to structural engineering is discussed, and how it impacts the structural design and its workflow. The benefits of using BIM in structural engineering are then analyzed, in the areas of productivity, coordination, and visualization, and a case study is developed to test the interoperability between BIM software and structural analysis software. The findings …

Functional Ontologies And Their Application To Hydrologic Modeling: Development Of An Integrated Semantic And Procedural Knowledge Model And Reasoning Engine, Aaron Range Byrd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In hydrology we straddle the domains of science and engineering. As hydrologists our goal is to predict the movement and volume of water. As scientists we seek to improve our understanding of water-related processes and how to model them. As engineers we seek to be able answer specific water-related questions to provide protection and an essential resource for the people we serve. Underlying all of our work is a body of knowledge that we have developed and continue to develop. This knowledge involves many aspects, such as the role of various hydrologic processes, how to obtain data, computational models that …

Geosynchronous Earth Orbit/Low Earth Orbit Space Object Inspection And Debris Disposal: A Preliminary Analysis Using A Carrier Satellite With Deployable Small Satellites, Derick A. Crockett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

From communication to weather prediction, to national security, geosynchronous satellites play an important role in our society. Geosynchronous satellites are about 35,786 km (22,236 miles) from the surface of the earth. Getting a satellite to this altitude is very expensive, making geosynchronous satellites highly valued assets. Ground-based observation of these satellites is very limited and provides little insight when failures or anomalies occur. To provide detailed images and information of these critical satellites, highly functioning smaller satellites can be employed. This study explores the potential benefits of using these smaller satellites to perform on-orbit proximity inspections of geosynchronous satellites. The …