Engineering Commons^™

Cr9000 Measurement And Control System Pcmcia-Ata Software Device Interface, Ryan Jon Soulier

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Many industries have a need for high speed data collection of a large amount of data. For example, the auto industry extensively tests vehicles for resistance to stress, temperature, and moisture. Campbell Scientific, Inc. (CSI) has built the CR9000 measurement and control system that fills this need by being able to measure up to 252 separate sensors at a sustained rate of up to ten thousand samples per second.

The CR9000 system lacks efficiency because it has only a small, fixed amount of memory and is capable of recording data only for a short period. Older devices designed by CSI …

Predicting Resistance And Stability Of Vegetation In Floodplains, David E. Werth Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To calculate flow or depth in a waterway, it is necessary to accurately determine the flow resistance. Past research has made considerable progress in predicting the roughness of nonvegetated uniform channels based on both theoretical and experimental investigations. However, to determine the flow resistance associated with vegetated compound flow channels and floodplains, the effects of the vegetation must be considered.

Recent advancements have led to greater understanding of the effects of partially submerged uniform vegetation in a waterway. However, to accurately determine flow resistance, it is imperative that the effects of both submerged and partially submerged vegetation be taken into …

Evaluation Of Two-Dimensional Hydraulic Modeling In A Natural River And Implications In Instream Flow Assessment Methods, Karl L. Tarbet

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Logan River was used as a study site to assess the capabilities of two-dimensional depth-averaged hydraulic modeling in the x-y plane of a natural river for use with instream flow studies. Data were collected to spatially represent the study reach with depth, velocity, northing, easting, elevation, and substrate values using a total station and electronic velocity meter. Computational finite element meshes were generated using four different density levels of geometry data to examine the relationship between field data density and computational mesh on geometry errors. Geometry errors were found to be related to smoothing effects, which removed complex channel …

Super-Heterodyne C-Probe Design And Implementation, Scott A. Heritsch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Modern advances in chip design and implementation have provided atmospheric scientists with the tools needed to advance the evolution of atmospheric probes, especially the impedance probe. The impedance probe measures the in-phase and out-of-phase components of the antenna's current with respect to the applied sinusoidal steady-state voltage. Through the integration of super-heterodyne circuitry with previous impedance probe designs, I was able to transfer the in-phase and out-of-phase components of an antenna's impedance in a plasma from 3 MHz to 23.25 KHz. By reducing the frequency of the information signal, it was easier to detect the in-phase and out-of-phase components. The …

Us/Remax Manual Vs. 2.7, Richard C. Peralta, Alaa H. Aly

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

US/REMAX is designed to assist water managers in developing optimal groundwater and/or surface water strategies for a wide range of management problems. US/REMAX uses the response matrix method, which assumes that physical system response to stimuli is linear. However, US/REMAX can also address nonlinear systems via cycling. In one application, astrategy computed using US/REMAX required 40% less pumping than one obtained via a normal simulation model. US/REMAX also easily computes tradeoffs for multiobjective problems.

Streamflow Simulation: A Nonparametric Approach, Ashish Sharma, David G. Tarboton, Upmanu L. Lall

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper kernel estimates of the joint and conditional probability density functions are used to generate synthetic streamflow sequences. Streamflow is assumed to be a Markov process with time dependence characterized by a multivariate probability density function. Kernel methods are used to estimate this multivariate density function. Simulation proceeds by sequentially resampling from the conditional density function derived from the kernel estimate of the underlying multivariate probability density function. This is a nonparametric method for the synthesis of streamflow that is data-driven and avoids prior assumptions as to the form of dependence (e.g., linear or nonlinear) and the form …

A New Method For The Determination Of Flow Directions And Contributing Areas In Grid Digital Elevation Models, David G. Tarboton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A new procedure for the representation of flow directions and calculation of upslope areas using rectangular grid digital elevation models is presented. The procedure is based on representing flow direction as a single angle taken as the steepest downward slope on the eight triangular facets centered at each grid point. Upslope area is then calculated by proportioning flow between two downslope pixels according to how close this flow direction is to the direct angle to the downslope pixel. This procedure offers improvements over prior procedures that have restricted flow to eight possible directions (introducing grid bia) or proportioned flow according …

Feasibility Considerations Of An Optimal Pumping Strategy To Capture Tce/Pce Plume At March Afb, Ca, Mohamed A. Hegazy, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

TCE/PCE contaminated groundwater from March AFB has reached off-base supply wells. Further migration of the contaminants can endanger other downstream water supply wells.

Historical Water Use Backcasting Study Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, Mohamed A. Hegazy, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this report is to present historic (backcast) water use for Luke Air Force Base (LAFB), Arizona for 1941 through 1961. Historic water use (including system losses) from LAFB records can be used as groundwater pumping amounts because groundwater extracted from the underlying aquifer was the sole water source. Historical water use amounts were derived primarily using regression analysis and the Installation Water Resources Analysis and Planning System - Air Force (IWRAPS-AF). IWRAPS-AF is a computer software package designed to forecast or backcast water use and assess the effectiveness of conservation measures at Air Force Installations (Willett et. …

The Fate And Disposition Of Metolachlor And 2, 4-D Under Irrigated Corn And Turf, Ghassan R. Musharrafieh, Richard C. Peralta, Robert W. Hill, Howard M. Deer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A field lysimeter experiment was conducted during the summers of 1993 and 1994, at the River Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. The intent was to study the fate and disposition of metolachlor and 2,4-D in a one dimensional soil system. Metolachlor was applied to corn and 2,4-D was applied to turf. The mobility, persistence, and degradation of these herbicides were investigated in the field lysimeters using four irrigation treatment levels on corn and two irrigation levels on turf. The four irrigation levels applied to corn were 0, 30, 60, and 120 percent of potential evapotranspiration. The two irrigation levels …

Laser Profilometry Of Polymeric Materials, Eduard A. Kulik, Patrick Calahan

Cells and Materials

Unlike the mechanical stylus profilometer, the laser profilometer does not damage the surface of soft materials. However, the accuracy of autofocusing of the laser profilometer is not always sensitive enough to discriminate the material/air interface from subsurface structures of semitransparent polymers. In the present study over ten polymeric surfaces were gold coated in order to investigate the effect of gold coating on the readings of a laser profilometer. Surface profiles of some polymeric materials became much smoother even if a very thing gold coating was applied to increase the reflection from the surface. It was concluded that a thin gold …

Image Analysis Of Primary Bone-Derived Cells On Different Polystyrene Surfaces, R. M. Shelton, G. Landini

Cells and Materials

The aim of the present study was to examine whether two different cell populations could be discerned using image analysis of a variety of morphological parameters on bacteriological and tissue culture polystyrene surfaces. Rat periosteal and osteoblast cultures were established on both polystyrene petri dishes and examined using phase contrast microscopy after one and two weeks before capturing digital images which were stored on a personal computer. The digital images were processed to identify the cell margins or perimeter, from which seven different morphological parameters were calculated using a program developed (by GL) for both the cell populations on the …

Corrosion Of Metal Hip Arthroplasties And Its Possible Role In Loosening, H. K. Koerten, J. J. A. M. Van Raay, J. J. M. Onderwater, F. P. Bernoski, P. M. Rozing

Cells and Materials

Tissue removed with human hip arthroplasties during revision surgery of 45 patients was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy and X -ray microanalysis (XRMA). The results show that microscopic and submicroscopic particles are abundantly present in the tissue at the tissue/implant interface. XRMA of individual particles shows that the chemical composition of a portion of the particles was in agreement with that of the retrieved implants. Regularly, particulates with a dissimilar chemical composition were found. Sometimes, these particles could be recognized as filler particles of the cements used. Other particles could partly or completely be composed of the chemical elements that …

Macrophage Response To Polymethylmethacrylate Particles, Stephen M. Horowtiz

Cells and Materials

This paper reviews studies performed by this laboratory involving the macrophage response to implant particles. Through the development of a tissue culture model, we have studied the events which occur following macrophage phagocytosis of bone cement particles, the released mediators and cell interactions which may ultimately lead to bone resorption, and the inhibition of this process with the use of pharmaceutical agents. This is divided into the following sections: Histologic response of macrophages to cement particles I toxicity I and mediator release, the effects of particle size and composition on mediator release by macrophages, macrophage I osteoblast interactions, macrophage I …

Biological Response To Particulate Debris: In Vitro And In Vivo Studies, A. S. Shanbhag, J. E. Dowd, J. J. Jacobs, D. M. Tramaglini, T. T. Glant, J. Black, H. E. Rubash

Cells and Materials

In this study, we compared the results of a human monocyte in vitro model and a canine in vivo model, to evaluate the response to different types of particulate wear debris. Both the in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that titanium-6 aluminum-4 vanadium (TiAIV), ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and other particulate wear debris are stimulatory to macrophages and elicit release of several identifiable mediators involved in periprosthetic inflammation and bone resorption. Further, in the in vivo studies, these same particles initiated the formation of interfacial membranes which were histologically and biochemically similar to those seen in clinically failed …

Sintered Carbonate Apatites As Bone Substitutes, Yutaka Doi

Cells and Materials

Sintering of carbonate apatites was investigated and the usefulness of sintered specimens as bone substitutes was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Osteoclasts appeared to be capable of resorbing sintered carbonate apatite, which was as soluble as deproteinated bone and much more soluble than sintered hydroxyapatite in weak acids. In skull defects of Wistar rats, sintered carbonate apatite particles resorbed to an appreciable extent, but the rate of resorption did not exceed that of new bone formation. At 4 weeks after implantation the defects were filled almost completely with new bone that compared favorably with the host bone. These …

Detachment Of Human Endothelial Cells Under Flow From Wettability Gradient Surfaces With Different Functional Groups, T. G. Ruardy, H. E. Moorlag, J. M. Schakenraad, H. C. Van Der Mei, H. J. Busscher

Cells and Materials

In this study, the position bound adhesion, spreading and detachment under flow of human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVEC) was studied on a dichlorodimethylsilane (DDS), dimethylocta-decylchlorosilane (DOCS) and tridecafluor-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl-1-dimethylchlorosilane (TFCS) wettability gradient on glass. Gradient surfaces were prepared by the diffusion method and characterized by the Wilhelmy plate technique for their wettability and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for their chemical composition. Quantitative analysis of the cellular response on the wettability gradient surfaces showed that the position bound cellular response was influenced by wettability for each type of gradient in a different way. On DDS-wettability gradients, cells withstood flow best …

Heat-Treatment Behavior Of High-Palladium Dental Alloys, Qiang Wu, William A. Brantley, John C. Mitchell, Stanley G. Vermilyea, Jianzhong Xiao, Wenhua Guo

Cells and Materials

Four high-palladium dental alloys were cast, quenched following solidification, and heat treated at temperatures ranging from 200° to 1,800°F. The Vickers hardness of each alloy was measured, and microstructural changes were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Phase transformations were investigated by thermomechanical analysis (TMA). Heat treatment at 1,600° and 1,800°F significantly decreased the hardness of one Pd-Cu-Ga alloy, compared to the as-cast condition, as did heat treatment at 1,800°F for the other Pd-Cu-Ga alloy and one Pd-Ga alloy, and yielded fine-grained microstructures of the palladium solid solution. There were generally no significant changes in the hardness of the other …

A Quantitative Method Of Measuring Cell-Substrate Adhesion Areas, R. G. Richards, G. Rh Owen, B. A. Rahn, I. Ap Gwynn

Cells and Materials

Variability in measurements of the 'cell adhesion strength' of fibroblasts to substrates using mechanical disruption techniques causes difficulty in determining precisely the position, in the cytoskeleton-focal adhesion-matrix -substrate interface, where failure has occurred. In the present study, a quantitative in vitro procedure for measuring the total area and percentage of fibroblast adhesion to biomaterials, using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), is described. The amount of adhesion ofL929 and Balb/c3T3 fibroblasts to discs of stainless steel, commercially pure titanium, and polyethylene terepthalate (Thermanox) was quantified. Cells were fixed, stained with heavy metals, dehydrated and embedded in resin. The resin blocks were …

Beta-Tricalcium Phosphate Resorption By Monocytes In Biphasic Calcium Phosphate: An In Vitro Study, Wolf Bohne, Jean A. Pouëzat, Dorothea Pouëzat, Guy Daculsi

Cells and Materials

A macroporous biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) of 60.7% carbonated dense non-porous hydroxyapatite (HA)/39.3% dense microporous ß-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) was immersed during 15 days in a supplemented a-MEM (minimal essential medium) solution with and without dog bone marrow cells obtained by punction. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the time-related changes in the BCP fractions by means of X -ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and to investigate the cell populations. The HA/ß-TCP ratios varied according to immersion duration and cell presence. If any, there was a slight preponderance of ß-TCP …

Transmission Electron Microscopical Study Of Fibroblast Attachment To Microtextured Silicone Rubber Surfaces, E. T. Den Braber, J. E. De Ruijter, H. J. E. Croes, L. A. Ginsel, J. A. Jansen

Cells and Materials

Cellular attachment has been suggested to be highly influenced by the micromorphology of the substratum surface. To test this hypothesis, smooth and microtextured silicone substrata were produced, which possessed parallel surface grooves with a groove and ridge width of 2.0 (SilD02), 5.0 (SilD05), and 10 µm (SilD10). Groove depth was approximately 0.5 µm. After culture of rat dermal fibroblasts (RDFs) on these substrata for 3 and 5 days, the samples were prepared and sectioned for transmission electron microscopy with a specially developed preparation technique. On the SilD02 and SilD05 surfaces, it was found that the RDFs attached to …

Mechanism For Formation Of Lamellar Constituents In Grain-Refined Pd-Cu-Ga Dental Alloys, William A. Brantley, Zhuo Cai, John C. Mitchell, Stanley G. Vermilyea

Cells and Materials

Grain-refined Pd-Cu-Ga dental alloys solidify with a lamellar microstructural constituent that affects a variety of clinically relevant properties. While formation of this constituent has been attributed to eutectic solidification, an alternative mechanism of discontinuous precipitation has been proposed. Using a representative grain-refined Pd-Cu-Ga dental alloy, casting procedures involving two different rates of solidification were used: (a) A standard thin-walled coping configuration for a metal-ceramic restoration was cast into a room temperature mold, followed by rapid quenching into an ice-water mixture. (b) A thin plate specimen was cast into a standard elevated-temperature mold, with the same subsequent rapid quenching procedure. Neither …

Biofilms In Dental Unit Waterlines: Ultrastructural And Cytochemical Analysis, J. Barbeau, C. Avezard, E. Faucher, S. Zalzal, A. P. Prévost

Cells and Materials

Dental unit waterlines are heavily colonized by bacteria which contaminate the water used to perform intra-oral, and sometimes invasive, procedures. There is little information on the nature of the biofilm colonizing the flexible plastic tubing used to supply water to the different handpieces. We have therefore undertaken quantitative microbial analysis and ultrastructural studies of these biofilms by direct counting with the epifluorescent filter technique and by transmission and scanning electron microscopy after staining with ruthenium red and periodic acid-thiosemicarbazide-silver proteinate to visualize the composition and the distribution of exopolysaccharides and intracellular polysaccharides. The biofilm was revealed as a non-uniform structure …

Surface Modifying Additives Reduce Thrombogenicity: An In Vitro And Clinical Evaluation, H. T. Spijker, J. Haan, R. Graaff, P. W. Boonstra, W. Van Oeveren

Cells and Materials

To improve the biocompatibility of biomaterials a new surface treatment has been described based on the addition of polysiloxane containing copolymers to the base polymer resin (surface modifying additives). In an in vitro and a clinical study, we compared the thrombogenicity of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to PVC with these surface modifying additives (SMA).

In the in vitro study, adsorption of thrombin and fibrinogen, binding of platelets and platelet release were measured on the tubing and were found reduced on SMA-PVC.

For the clinical study, we examined tubing material and blood collected after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Onto the tubing, the binding …

Osteoclast Differentiation In Cocultures Of Chondrogenic Cell Line Rcj 3.1c5.18 And Mouse Or Rat Bone Marrow: Dependence On Culture Substrate And Association With Alkaline Phosphatase Positive Marrow Stromal Cells, G. I. Anderson, J. N. M. Heersche

Cells and Materials

We investigated the formation of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase positive (TRAP+) colonies and multinucleated cells (MNCs) in rat and mouse marrow cultures alone and cocultured with the chondrogenic cell line, RCJ3.1C5.18 on different substrata. In mouse marrow cultured in 35 mm dishes, few TRAP+ MNCs developed, while in rat marrow cultures, many TRAP+ MNCs, which possessed calcitonin receptors and resorbed bone, developed. In both rat and mouse cultures, TRAP+ MNC first appeared at Day 4 and grew in number up to Day 8. When both marrows were cocultured with RC3.1C5.18 cells, TRAP+ colony numbers increased relative to marrow alone. In marrow …

Ultrastructural Observations Of Peri-Implant Mucosa Morphology Around Different Types Of Abutment In Humans, C. Piacentini, P. Lanzarini, R. Rodriguez Y Baena, S. Rizzo, C. Brusotti

Cells and Materials

Scanning electron microscopy (SFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the morphological aspects of peri-implant mucosa around abutments of differing geometry (biconical and cylindrical) and of differing surface micromorphology. The samples were taken from seven patients who had undergone implant surgery at least one year prior to the study. In samples from biconical abutments, SEM of the sulcular epithelium showed that it consisted of flattened polygonal cells with a surface resembling a honeycomb. Superficial desquamation was rarely found. In contrast, in the samples from cylindrical abutments, the sulcular epithelium showed extensive desquamation and surface irregularity, but not …

Fractals, Surface Roughness, And Fracture Toughness Of Dental Composite And Unfilled Resin Fracture Surfaces, James L. Drummond

Cells and Materials

The intent of this project was to evaluate whether or not there exists a correlation between fractal dimension, surface roughness, and fracture toughness of an unfilled resin and a filled composite. The fracture surfaces of the unfilled resin and the filled composite were examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a surface roughness measuring device. The specimens examined were aged in distilled water or air at 37°C for up to 12 months. Line scans of 1.4 µm for the atomic force microscope and 0.25 mm for the surface analyzer across the fracture surface were conducted on each specimen. Comparisons …

Bone Marrow Cell Colonization Of, And Extracellular Matrix Expression On, Biodegradable Polymers, C. E. Holy, M. S. Shoichet, J. E. Davies

Cells and Materials

Poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide)s (PLGAs) have been proposed as substrata for bone tissue engineering. In the experiments reported herein, we sought to identify the optimum lactide to glycolide ratio, from the series 85:15, 75:25, 50:50, or poly-(DL-lactide) (PLA), for the elaboration of bone matrix by cultured rat bone marrow cells (RBMC) on two-dimensional substrates. Having identified PLGA 75:25 as the optimum for bone matrix elaboration by RBMC, we produced three dimensional foams from this copolymer. For the two dimensional substrata, glass coverslips were spin-coated with one of the PLGAs, or PLA. Cultures were maintained for two weeks. We employed a new technique to …

American "Kaizen" - A Perspective On American Management Theories, Kurt Henry Becker, J. Snow

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Alloy Oxidation And Porcelain Fused To Alloy Interaction In Noble Alloy Systems, M. S. Bapna, H. J. Mueller

Cells and Materials

The oxidation and porcelain fusion characteristics of noble alloys containing a variety of minor oxidizable elements, including Cu, Sn, In, Ga, Mn, and Fe were investigated. Four porcelain alloys systems: a Pd-base alloy (Naturelle}, two Pd-Ag-based alloys (Jelstar and Acclaim}, and a high Au-alloy (SMG-3) were examined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy after being heat treated and after being fused with porcelain. Internal oxidation of minor alloying elements occurred within several micrometers from the surface in all four alloys. Surface nodules as detected by other investigators for a Pd-Ag alloy were also detected in this study. Evidence …