Engineering Commons^™

Water Allocation Challenges In Rural River Basins: A Case Study From The Walawe River Basin, Sri Lanka, D. K. Neelanga Weragala

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation evaluates the water allocation challenges in the rural river basins of the developing world, where demands are growing and the supply is limited. While many of these basins have yet to reach the state of closure, their water users are already experiencing water shortages. Agricultural crop production in rural river basins of the developing world plays a major role in ensuring food security. However, irrigation as the major water consumer in these basins has low water use efficiency. As water scarcity grows, the need to maximize economic gains by reallocating water to more efficient uses becomes important. …

Transmitter Localization Using Autonomous Robotic Swarms, Joshua S. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research is to design a proof of concept system that is capable of locating a hidden radio transmitter and to investigate methods of multi-agent formation control with a specific interest in the effectiveness of these methods on the overall objective of locating this transmitter. A system is proposed and developed in which autonomous agents work together to locate this transmitter and their responsiveness is analyzed while using formations based both on a behavioral system and a system derived from centroidal Voronoi tessellations. Many software adaptations to the existing MASnet program are required, as well as some …

The Utah Pilot Bridge, Live Load And Dynamic Testing, Modeling And Monitoring For The Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Steven M. Petroff

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of the Federal Highway Administration's Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Live Load and Dynamic tests were conducted. A long-term monitoring plan was developed and presented for the Utah Pilot Bridge based on Live Load and Dynamic tests. As one of seven pilot bridges, the Utah Pilot Bridge is one of the first bridges used to initiate the LTBP Program. A formal permit approval process, with the Utah Department of Transportation, was followed to gain permission to conduct the tests and install long-term instrumentation. Analysis provided good results for each test completed, with a summary of test results presented. A …

A Study Of Cause And Effect Relationships Of Snowmelt-Induced Movement For The Skunk Hollow Landslide, Brent P. Randall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Skunk Hollow Landslide (located 1 mile north of Mantua, UT along US-89) was instrumented with an automated monitoring system to aid in the determination of the triggering mechanism of slow moving landslides. Data was transmitted wirelessly through telecommunications to allow year-round, real-time monitoring of the site. Measurements were recorded and analyzed for the first season of landslide movement (fall 2009 to spring 2010) to better understand the correlations between snowmelt and movement initiation. Based on the first year of data, it appears that the Skunk Hollow Landslide is controlled by water infiltrating into the slide mass through cracks and …

Nutrient Utilization From Anaerobic Digester Effluent Through Algae Cultivation, Shantanu Wahal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nutrients present in digested animal waste can be utilized for algae cultivation under suitable conditions. Algal growth, however, depends on the chemical forms and speciation of these nutrients. In this study a chemical equilibrium model was first used to describe nutrient speciation and predict conditions that enhance the solubility of nutrients in anaerobic digester effluent. Dilution with water and separation of large particulates greatly improved nutrient availability and light penetration - conditions favorable for algal cultivation. Algae growth was tested using three strains - Scenedesmus dimorphous (UTEX # 417), Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX# 265), and an algal isolate (designated as LLAI …

Optimal Sensing And Actuation Policies For Networked Mobile Agents In A Class Of Cyber-Physical Systems, Christophe Tricaud

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main purpose of this dissertation is to define and solve problems on optimal sensing and actuating policies in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs). Cyber-physical system is a term that was introduced recently to define the increasing complexity of the interactions between computational hardwares and their physical environments. The problem of designing the "cyber'' part may not be trivial but can be solved from scratch. However, the "physical'' part, usually a natural physical process, is inherently given and has to be identified in order to propose an appropriate "cyber'' part to be adopted. Therefore, one of the first steps in designing a …

A Synthetic Biological Engineering Approach To Secretion- Based Recovery Of Polyhydroxyalkanoates And Other Cellular Products, Elisabeth Linton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The costs associated with cellular product recovery commonly account for as much as 80% of the total production expense. As a specific example, significant recovery costs limit commercial use of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which comprise a class of microbially-accumulated polyesters. PHAs are biodegradable compounds that are of interest as a sustainable alternative to petrochemically-derived plastics. Secretion-based recovery of PHAs was studied to decrease PHA production costs. Type I and II secretory pathways are commonly used for the translocation of recombinant proteins out of the cytoplasm of E. coli. Proteins were targeted for translocation using four signal peptides (HlyA, TorA, GeneIII, …

Improved Framework For Fast And Efficient Memory-Based Frame Data Reconfiguration For Multi-Row Spanning Designs On Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Rohan Sreeram

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Reconfigurable computing is an evolving paradigm in computer architecture where the ability to load different designs onto a field programmable gate array (FPGA) at execution time has proven useful in adapting FPGA prototypes to a wide range of applications. Reconfiguration techniques can be primarily categorized as Partial Dynamic Reconfiguration (PDR) and Partial Bitstream Relocation (PBR). PDR involves reconfiguring a single Partial Reconfiguration Region (PRR) with a partial bitstream, while PBR is targeted at reconfiguring multiple PRRs on the FPGA with a partial bitstream. Previous techniques have primarily focused on using either slower off-chip memory or on-chip memory-based solutions to store …

Minimum Symbol Error Rate Timing Recovery System, Nagendra Bage Jayaraj

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis presents a timing error detector (TED) used in the symbol timing synchronization subsystem for digital communications. The new timing error detector is designed to minimize the probability of symbol decision error, and it is called minimum symbol error rate TED (MSERTED). The new TED resembles the TED derived using the maximum likelihood (ML) criterion but gives rise to faster convergence relative to MLTED. The new TED requires shorter training sequences for symbol timing recovery. The TED operates on the outputs of the matched filter and estimates the timing offset. The S-curve is used as a tool for analyzing …

Effects Of Temperature And Humidity On Glass-Reinforced Nylon Rotating Bands, Marc D. Raby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Certain 30mm munitions used in various military applications are configured with a glass-reinforced nylon band that acts as a firing ring or rotating band. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether storage environments compromise the strength and integrity of the glass-reinforced nylon rotating bands by researching the environmental factors that will degrade nylon and by performing tests to investigate if these factors will embrittle nylon composites. Moisture and temperature are found to be the environmental factors that will have an effect on the rotating bands in their respective storage environments. Absorbed moisture is found to increase the impact …

A Finite Domain Constraint Approach For Placement And Routing Of Coarse-Grained Reconfigurable Architectures, Rohit Saraswat

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Scheduling, placement, and routing are important steps in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) design. Researchers have developed numerous techniques to solve placement and routing problems. As the complexity of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) increased over the past decades, so did the demand for improved place and route techniques. The primary objective of these place and route approaches has typically been wirelength minimization due to its impact on signal delay and design performance. With the advent of Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), the same place and route techniques were applied to FPGA-based design. However, traditional place and route techniques may …

Experiment And Simulation On The Dynamics Of A Slug Of Liquid Oxygen Displaced By A Pulsed Magnetic Field, Jeffrey C. Boulware

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A magnetic fluid system could potentially replace mechanically moving parts in a satellite as a means of increasing system reliability and mission lifetime, but rather than a standard ferrofluid with magnetic particles, liquid oxygen (LOX) may be a more adequate working fluid. As a pure paramagnetic cryogen, LOX is already heavily used in space, but still requires basic research before being integrated into system development. The objectives of the research conducted were to verify LOX as a magnetic working fluid through experiment and establish a theoretical model to describe its behavior. This dissertation presents the theoretical, experimental, and numerical results …

Metamaterial-Inspired Miniaturized Multi-Band Microwave Filters And Power Dividers, Alper Genc

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Integration of more communication standards in one microwave wireless device created a demand on developing compact, low-cost, and robust multi-band microwave components. This dissertation presents three studies for designing miniaturized and multi-band circuits that can be used for multi-band radio frequency (RF) front-ends. These three studies are the design of dual-band and tunable bandpass filters as well as dual- and triple-band equal-split power dividers/combiners. The dual-band filter is based on split ring resonators and double slit complemantary split ring resonators. A dual-band prototype three-stage Chebyshev filter, with a fractional bandwidth of 2% at 0.9 GHz and a fractional bandwidth of …

Bio-Inspired Distributed Constrained Optimization Technique And Its Application In Dynamic Thermal Management, Saranya Chandrasekaran

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The stomatal network in plants is a well-characterized biological system that hypothetically solves the constrained optimization problem of maximizing CO₂ uptake from the air while constraining evaporative water loss during the process of photosynthesis. There are numerous such constrained optimization problems present in the real world as well as in computer science. This thesis work attempts to solve one such constrained optimization problem in a distributed manner by taking a cue from the dynamics of stomatal networks. The problem considered here is Dynamic Thermal Management (DTM) in a multi-processing element system in computing. There have been several approaches in …

The Hypericum Perforatum Herb As An Antimycobacterial Agent And Its Implications As An Additional Tuberculosis Medication, Trent W. Mortensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An immediate demand exists for new tuberculosis (TB) antibiotics due to the ever-increasing spread of drug-resistant strains. The drug-development process goes through four phases, the first (Phase 0) of which is to demonstrate and investigate drug effectiveness and toxicity. This research investigated the effectiveness of the Hypericum perforatum herb (commonly St. John's wort (SJW)) in its growth inhibition of mycobacteria and its viability effect on human lung cells.

Organic-solvent SJW extracts were effective at inhibiting every nonpathogenic genetically sequenced Mycobacterium isolate currently available (six isolates) in preliminary studies. Quantitative studies of five Mycobacterium isolates showed an order of concentration sensitivity …

Micronetworking: Reliable Communication On 3d Integrated Circuits, Andres A. Contreras

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The potential failure in through-silicon vias (TSVs) still poses a challenge in trying to extend the useful life of a 3D integrated circuit (IC). A model is proposed to mitigate the communication problem in 3D integrated circuits caused by the breaks at the TSVs. We provide the details of a low-complexity network that takes advantages of redundant TSVs to make it possible to re-route around breaks and maintain effective communication between layers. Different configurations for the micronetwork are analyzed and discussed. We also present an evaluation of the micronetwork's performance, which turns out to be quite promising, based on several …

Integrated Solar Panel Antennas For Cube Satellites, Mahmoud N. Mahmoud

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis work presents an innovative solution for small satellite antennas by integrating slot antennas and solar cells on the same panel to save small satellite surface real estate and to replace deployed wire antennas for certain operational frequencies. The two main advantages of the proposed antenna are: 1) the antenna does not require an expensive deployment mechanism that is required by dipole antennas; 2) the antenna does not occupy as much valuable surface real estate as patch antennas. The antenna design is based on using the spacing between the solar cells to etch slots in these spaces to create …

An Exploration Of Formal Methods And Tools Applied To A Small Satellite Software System, Russell J. Grover

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Formal system modeling has been a topic of interest in the research community for many years. Modeling a system helps engineers understand it better and enables them to check different aspects of it to ensure that there is no undesired or unexpected behavior and that it does what it was designed to do. This thesis takes two existing tools that were created to aid in the designing of spacecraft systems and creates a layer to connect them together and allow them to be used jointly. The first tool is a library of formal descriptions used to specify spacecraft behavior in …

Micro Electro Mechanical Systems Integrated Frequency Reconfigurable Antennas For Public Safety Applications, Hema Swaroop Mopidevi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis work builds on the concept of reconfiguring the antenna properties (frequency, polarization, radiation pattern) using Radio Frequency (RF) Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). This is a part of the overall research performed at the RF Micro/Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (μN∈MS) Laboratory at Utah State University, which includes design, microfabrication, test, and characterization of μN∈MS integrated cognitive wireless communication systems (Appendix A).

In the first step, a compact and broadband Planar Inverted F Antenna (PIFA) is designed with a goal to accommodate reconfigurability at a later stage. Then, a Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna …

Fatigue Life Analysis Of T-38 Aileron Lever Using A Continuum Damage Approach, James D. Gyllenskog

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In a recent investigation conducted by the United States Air Force, the mechanical failure of the aileron lever, manufactured from 2014-T6 aluminum, caused the fatal mishap of a T-38 trainer aircraft. In general the locations of cracks are unknown and must be determined by simulation. In this study we propose to use a continuum damage modeling approach to determine the degradation and damage in a material as the number of cycles of loading increases. This approach successfully predicts the location of crack initiation, propagation path, and propagation rate. A stress-based model in conjunction with the successive initiation technique is utilized. …

Comparative Studies On Oxygen Mass Transfer For The Design And Development Of A Single-Use Fermentor, Kristan L. Sorenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accurate experimental oxygen mass transfer coefficient, a measure of how quickly oxygen travels from a gas bubble to the bulk liquid, is important for comparing performance and for evaluating the oxygen transfer capability of a fermentor. Delays in probe response and changing gas volumes upon start-up of gassing affect the accuracy of oxygen transfer measurements. To mitigate these inaccuracies, a standard correction procedure for oxygen mass transfer data was established for highly oxygenated, well-mixed fermentation systems. Probe response time correction was generated by applying a second-order response model to dissolved oxygen probes and shown to be effective within 4%. By …

Comparison Of Agricultural Area Source Ammonia Gas Concentration And Flux Measurements, Emyrei Reese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was conducted in order to compare and evaluate a variety of ammonia (NH₃) measurement techniques for determination of ambient gas phase concentration and evaluation of system fluxes. This was accomplished by measuring NH3 emitted from area sources within two dairies, one located in south-central Idaho and another in central California. The measurement techniques utilized included: an array of passive diffusion samplers, a single annular denuder system, a single or paired Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(s) (FTIR), a paired (upwind and downwind) set of differential optical absorption spectrometers (DOAS), and a portable wind tunnel in conjunction with a …

Data Collection And Analysis Methods For Two-Zone Temperature And Solute Model Parameter Estimation And Corroboration, Quinten Glen Bingham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water temperature directly affects biological and chemical processes of fresh water ecosystems. Elevated instream temperatures are commonplace in the Virgin River of southwestern Utah during summer due to a hot desert climate and high water demands that result in low stream flows. This is of concern since the Virgin River is home to two endangered species, the Virgin River Chub (Gila seminuda) and Woundfin (Plagopterus argentissimus). Efforts to model instream temperatures within the Virgin River have been undertaken to help mitigate elevated instream temperatures including the development of a two-zone temperature and solute (TZTS) model. This …

Pullout And Tensile Behavior Of Crimped Steel Reinforcement For Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Walls, Oscar Ernesto Suncar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many research studies made on hundreds of MSE walls have shown that in order to get lower values of lateral earth pressure coefficients from an active condition on the backfill soil, thus lower exerted loads and stresses on the reinforcement, the wall needs to yield. This is typical of extensible polymer-based wall systems, such as geosynthetics. Steel systems, on the other hand, are very rigid and do not allow enough deformation on the wall to generate the active condition.

For this research, steel reinforcement for MSE walls that behaves similar to geosynthetics was developed. This was done by using crimps …

Characterizing Ecologically Relevant Variations In Streamflow Regimes, Kiran J. Chinnayakanahalli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Maintaining the ecological health of streams is vital for sustainable water resources management. Streamflow is a primary factor influencing the structure and function of ecological communities. A quantitative understanding of how stream biota respond to variation in streamflow is required for stream bioassessment. This dissertation focuses on quantifying relationships between streamflow regime and stream macroinvertebrate richness and composition. The contribution comprises statistical models that predict stream macroinvertebrate class from streamflow regime and predict streamflow regime from watershed attributes, and a tool that helps derive watershed attribute variables used in these models.

The dissertation is a collection of three papers. In …

Characterization And Physicochemical Modifications Of Polymer Hollow Fiber Membranes For Biomedical And Bioprocessing Applications, Benjamin R. Madsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) formed through phase inversion methods exhibit specific physicochemical characteristics and generally favorable surface and mechanical properties, supporting their use in diverse applications including ultrafiltration, dialysis, cell culture, bioreactors, and tissue engineering. Characterization of, and modifications to, such membranes are important steps in achieving desired characteristics for specific applications.

HFMs subject to gas, irradiation, and chemical sterilization techniques were characterized based on several analytical techniques. It was revealed that these common sterilization techniques can cause inadvertent changes to HFM properties. While these changes may cause detrimental effects to HFMs used in filtration, the methods of sterilization are …

Reliability-Based Underseepage Analysis In Levees Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Lourdes Polanco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A new method for assessing the potential for unsatisfactory levee performance due to underseepage is presented. Specifically, the method assesses the potential for the initiation of piping (the internal backward erosion of the foundation or embankment caused by seepage). Current assessment methods consist of deterministic seepage analyses and simplified reliability methods. Deterministic methods produce either a maximum hydraulic exit gradient or a Factor of Safety against piping but they do not account for high levels of uncertainty in soil properties and subsurface geometry that are inherent to many levee analyses. The most common simplified reliability approaches that are currently being …

Internal Design Of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Retaining Walls Using Crimped Bars, Bernardo A. Castellanos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current design codes of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) Walls allow the use lower lateral earth pressure coefficient (K value) for designing geosynthetics walls than those used to design steel walls. The reason of this is because geosynthetics walls are less rigid permitting the wall to deform enough to work under active pressures instead of at rest pressures as in steel walls.

A new concept of crimped steel bars was recently introduced. This new type of bar was tested for tension and pullout behavior. Results on tests made on crimped bars show that putting those crimps in the steel bar will …

Increased Functionality Of Floodplain Mapping Automation: Utah Inundation Mapping System (Utims), Brian K. Stevens

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Floodplain mapping has become an increasingly important part of floodplain management. Floodplain mapping employs mapping software and hydraulic calculation packages to efficiently map floodplains. Modelers often utilize automation software to develop the complex geometries required to reduce the time to develop hydraulic models.

The Utah Inundation Mapping System (UTIMS) was designed to reduce the time required to develop complex geometries for use in floodplain mapping studies. UTIMS reduces the time required to develop geometries used in floodplain management studies. The automated geometries developed include: flood specific river centerlines, bank lines, flow path lines, cross sections, and areal averaged n-value polygons. …

Ultimate Shear Capacity And Residual Prestress Force Of Full-Scale, Forty-One-Year-Old Prestressed-Concrete Girders, Parry Osborn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The ultimate shear capacity of prestressed concrete beams is difficult to predict accurately, especially after being in service for an extended period of time. The Utah Department of Transportation asked researchers at Utah State University to experimentally determine the existing shear capacity of 41-year-old prestressed, decommissioned concrete bridge girders and then provide recommendations on how to increase that ultimate shear capacity. This thesis presents the research findings that relate to the existing shear capacity of the prestressed concrete girders.

Eight AASHTO Type II bridge girders were tested up to failure by applying external loads near the supports to determine their …