Engineering Commons^™

An Automated Stepper Motor-Driven System For Angular Sampling Of High Scattering Angles, Tyler Daynes, Jair Gonzalez, Jeremy Tait, Josh Jumper, Vern Hart

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Survival rates for most cancers have increased steadily over the past few decades as new technologies have led to better treatment outcomes. However, this process often relies heavily on the detection of cancer in its earliest stages, before symptoms occur or a tumor is visible in a CT or MR image. This is particularly true for diseases such as pancreatic cancer that exhibit almost nosymptoms until very late stages and have extremely low survival rates as a result. Even somecommonly treatable diseases, such as breast cancer, become far more problematic in later stages.As such, any efforts to improve cancer treatment …

Atmospheric Modeling Of Brown Dwarfs, Brayden Roberts, Joshua Lothringer

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Brown dwarfs are celestial bodies outside the solar system that are more massive than planets, but less massive than stars. Since they are less massive than stars, they do not fuse hydrogen in their core, but rather cool slowly over time. However, brown dwarfs still emit light. We can measure this light by taking its spectra. From this spectra, we can learn many characteristics and properties of brown dwarfs, such as their temperature, chemical composition, and much more. Brown dwarfs can be categorized by their spectra into M,L,T and Y spectral types.

Hollow Hair And How Its Structure Helps Big Game Animals Thermoregulate, Taylor Millett, Wendy Schatzberg, Samuel Tobler

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Pronghorn antelope is the animal known to have hollow hair strands among hunters and conservationists, yet no one seems to know what it actually looks like on the inside. In this study we examined what a hollow hair strand looks like under a microscope and how it helps with an animal’s thermoregulation. Thermoregulation is the ability to regulate body temperature within a livable range even when external temperatures fluctuate. We studied animals like Mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, and Pronghorn antelope, as well as other big game animals, as they exhibit this trait in a unique manner. These animals …

Acoustical Measurements Of The Space Launch System Artemis-I Launch, Carson Gardner, Zachary Hendry, Bradley Mclaughlin, Kent L. Gee, Grant Hart, Mark Anderson, Logan Matthews, Carson Cunningham, Levi Moats, Taggart Durrant, Matthew Yancey

Utah Space Grant Consortium

No abstract provided.

Cosmic Ray Muons & True Random Numbers, Ryan Gardner

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Earth is under a constant barrage of high-energy protons that smash into upper-atmospheric nuclei, such as oxygen and nitrogen, triggering a chain reaction of subatomic particles that rain down onto the planet’s surface. This process is entirely random with a high degree of entropy – a perfect system for harvesting true random numbers.

Measuring Solar Activity With Cosmicwatch Muon Detectors, Jade Marchant

Utah Space Grant Consortium

To expand upon the knowledge gained from the construction of the CosmicWatch detectors, we conducted an experiment that had specific aims to measure the correlation between muon detection and current solar activity. This was done by taking daily muon count measurements and comparing it to daily sunspot and solar flare activity data retrieved from various space weather agencies. This experiment allowed us to test the capabilities of the detectors while also exploring fascinating astrophysical phenomena. Our results indicate that muon detection through the CosmicWatch detectors does not correlate with changes in daily solar activity.

Are They Really Muons: Determining The Viability Of Cosmicwatch Muon Detectors In ‘Coincidence Mode’, Matt Wilkinson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Our project went forward in two stages, the first stage being the building and testing of the detectors and the second being the primary experiment to test the detectors in their coincidence modes. Experiences with the build phase, particularly with the setting of thresholds for the detectors, lead to the interest in determining the statistical significance of these values.

Rover Propulsion In Frozen Environments, Kyler Ingles

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The goal of this study is to find the optimal propulsion system for a rover on snowy terrain. The purpose of the study is to test multiple methods of driving a rover in deep fresh snow to later be used when designing a rover intended to traverse steep snowy terrain on other planets. The exploration of this topic is important for our study of other celestial bodies. A significant portion of the planets and moons in our solar system has a surface covered in frozen substances like carbon dioxide, methane, and oxygen. This research will help create a rover to …

Optimization Of Nozzle Profiles To Achieve Higher Thrust Performance And Lowering Manufacturing Costs, Chandler Taylor

Utah Space Grant Consortium

With the growing popularity in high-powered rockery the question of cost and performance is on every rocketeer’s mind. Then paired with the interest of flying higher and breaking records for armature rocketry flight the question is proposed, how does one make a rocket motor to increase its performance and lower its costs? In this we intend to answer that question. We will design a test for ammonium perchlorate motors and define methods to increase the performance and lower the cost. The way we can achieve this is testing in computer simulations with focused being on nozzle and materials optimization. Computer …

The Influence Of Mycorrhizal Associations On Monoterpene And Isoprene Emissions In Plants, Luis Valdez, Lane Law

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The Purpose of this research is to determine the extent of the influence of AMF symbiosis can exert on the VOC emissions profiles of plants, particularly whether AMF symbiosis has a positive or negative effect on isoprene and monoterpene emissions.

Development Of A Nano-Encapsulation Platform With A Novel Antioxidant Indigoidine For The Mitigation Of Space Radiation, Kyle Jackson, Jie Ren, Jixun Zhan, Yu Huang

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Space includes many hazards to the human species, one of the most detrimental to us is the biological damage from radiation. Loading an astronaut's immune system with free radical scavenging molecules as a potential shield from this damage is one method to prevent biologically relevant damage that has only been slightly explored. Unfortunately, the pharmacological potential of many antioxidants is severely restricted because of their low solubility/absorption. Here, I characterize a powerful delivery system that can deliver many different hydrophobic antioxidants to the cell, increasing their bioavailability. The novel antioxidant Indigoidine has been explored in this delivery system. It has …

Magnetically-Stabilized Let Joints For Origami-Based Space Arrays, Hunter Pruett, Spencer Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A review of surrogate folds is presented. From said review, a concept set of surrogate folds is generated and concept selection criteria are generated. The surrogate fold concept set is refined and the LET array is selected with justification. Novel stress considerations are presented for LET arrays seeking to minimize panel thickness and be as proximate as possible in the stowed state. The MaNO hinge is introduced, and the MaLDO, MaLO, and MaNO hinges are successfully incorporated into LET arrays demonstrating viable options for actuation and stabilization of origami-inspired mechanisms and arrays.

Ultra-Low Power Adcs For Space Sensors And Instruments, Shea Smith, Wood Chiang

Utah Space Grant Consortium

A 28nm 0.1V 10-bit 20kS/s time domain ADC with 225Hz bandwidth is proposed. This design opens the doors to both low supply and low power space sensors and instruments. Due to the stringent voltage supply, unique challenges arise that are met with innovation in the sample switch and the quantizer design. These components of the ADC architecture are aggressively optimized to perform successfully at a 0.1V supply with a sample rate suitable for most sensor applications.

Preliminary Exploration Of Approaches To Increase The Stability Of Flat-Foldable Origami-Adapted Designs In The Open, Flat State, Collin Ynchausti, Spencer Shirley, Larry L. Howell

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Deployable spacecraft-based systems are benefitted from origami-adapted systems because they can be folded compactly and then deployed to larger areas. This unfolding motion must be stopped and held in specific configurations. In the case of reflectarrays, the panels need to deployed to flat and be kept there. Strain energy can be utilized to stabilize these systems. This works shows three ways, based on three different thickness accommodation techniques, that strain energy may be used to stabilize the systems in their deployed, flat positions. Additionally, each technique shown creates co-planar top surfaces to benefit reflectarray antenna design cases.

Advances In Noninvasive Urine Oxygen Monitoring For Detection Of Acute Kidney Injury, Lars Lofgren, Kai Kück, Natalie Silverton

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of cardiac surgery that is associated with increased hospital length of stay and mortality risk. The most common diagnostic criteria come from the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes Guidelines. These criteria rely on detecting changes in serum creatinine relative to a baseline measurement and decreased urine output. These markers are meant to capture a decrease in the overall filtration rate. However, the filtration rate may or may not change depending on the baseline health of the individual patient and the type and severity of the injury. In addition, these markers are influenced …

Notes Of Black Holes, A. B. Chanson

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Fully leveraging Analysis onto physics proves fruitful, as a number of results are displayed; in particular, emergent symmetries are, generally, categorized as information symmetries; together with Noether’s theorems, these laws are found dual to the Laws of Thermodynamics as well as the Three Isomorphism Theories (alongside the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra). Most remarkably, the fine structure constant is analytically derived (using monodromy techniques), the cosmological hierarchy problem is resolved (using thermodynamic techniques), and a new duality between quantum information, celestial holography, and black holes is exhibited and exploited to resolve the Arrow of Time.

Aerodynamic Effects Of Phase Offset Between Synchronized Propellers In Hover, Nathan Welker, Daniel Maynes

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Emerging advances in electric-propulsion technology are enabling aircraft to use distributed electric propulsion (DEP) to increase performance and maneuverability. Distributed electric propulsion can also provide unique take-off and landing abilities which are not commonly found on traditional aircraft. The implementation of DEP effectively decreases the spacing between propellers, introducing complex aerodynamic interactions that are not well understood. This study aims to present the findings of the effects of phase offset on the flow fields of synchronized propellers at close-proximity using a particle image velocimetry system. The tip vortex locations and peak vorticities were tracked and plotted for various phase offset …

Steering Colloids Using Chemical Gradients And Model Predictive Control, Mark N. Mcdonald, Cameron K. Peterson, Douglas R. Tree

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Creating the next generation of dynamic colloidal materials that change their structure based on external stimuli may require the capability to precisely manipulate colloidal particles. Colloidal particles can be manipulated using a variety of forces, such as electric, magnetic, and optical, but so far chemical reactions have been neglected. We consider here a novel paradigm for using chemical gradients to precisely manipulate colloidal particles in a microfluidic device. Specifically, we show in simulation that model predictive control can be applied to a set of spatially localized chemical reactions to move a small number of colloidal particles on a circular trajectory.

Modeling The Effects Of Space Travel On The Cardiovascular System Using A Bio-Mimetic In Vitro Hagfish Protein Model Of The Myocardium, Emilee Rickabaugh, Elizabeth Vargis

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Long-term space travel is a harsh experience for the human body. Astronauts exposed to the effects of space travel often experience bone and muscle loss, as well as an increased risk of diseases, including heart disease[1]. While the human heart has shown an impressive ability to adapt to spaceflight, many of the long-term effects on cardiovascular health are unknown [2]. To plan for missions requiring longer flight durations, understanding these effects is neccessary to assess the risk to the astronauts undertaking these missions. However, evaluating these risks is difficult due to the lack of a sufficiently accurate model. While animal …

Using Landsat And Sentinel To Investigate Drivers Of Algal Growth In Utah Lake, Kaylee B. Tanner

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Earth observation satellites provide a valuable opportunity to study spatial and temporal water quality trends in ways that are not possible with research based on in-situ water sampling. We used data from Sentinel 2 and the Landsat missions to analyze algae blooms on Utah Lake, a large, shallow, freshwater lake in Utah that is experiencing water quality challenges. We found that algae blooms mainly occur in the shallow bays and along the eastern shoreline of the lake, and are correlated with water temperature and turbidity. Our results suggest a need for further research and use of remote sensing data to …

Principles And Categorization Of Compliant Surrogate Folds For Deployable Origami-Inspired Mechanical Systems, Ivyann O. Running, Phebe Ramsdell, Spencer Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Origami principles, patterns, and thickness accommodation techniques have been explored and tested for engineering applications in many fields. Two of the main difficulties of transferring a design from folded paper to thicker, stiffer materials are accommodating thickness and replicating folding motion with surrogate folds. While literature reviews exist for thickness accommodation, it is difficult for a designer to survey and assess work that has been on the subject of surrogate folds. Currently, many engineering origami instances limit themselves to using pin hinges, adjusting all other design parameters to accommodate pure revolute motion. The possibilities for origami design and application are …

Venturi Adapters – Feedback Control And Dynamic Modeling Simulation, Trey Blackwell, Joseph Orr

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Administration of CPAP in moderate sedation medical procedures has been shown to reduce the risk of oxygen desaturation. Venturi adapters provide a more cost-efficient and logistically feasible alternative to non-invasive ventilators for administering CPAP. Flow-to-pressure tables provided with commercially available CPAP Venturi adapters do not account for inherent variables such as mask leak flow and inhalation flow rate. A dynamic model was developed to describe the pressure and oxygen behavior of a CPAP system utilizing a Venturi adapter. The model was evaluated to reflect system behavior with reasonable accuracy but high computational expense. PID and sliding mode controllers were implemented …

Multiscale Damage Modelling Of Notched And Un-Notched 3d Woven Composites With Randomly Distributed Manufacturing Defects, S.Z.H. Shah, Juhyeong Lee, P.S.M. Megat-Yusoff, Syed Zahid Hussain, T. Sharif, R.S. Choudhry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This work proposes a stochastic multiscale computational framework for damage modelling in 3D woven composite laminates, by considering the random distribution of manufacturing-induced imperfections. The proposed method is demonstrated to be accurate, while being simple to implement and requiring modest computational resources. In this approach, a limited number of cross-sectional views obtained from micro-computed tomography (µCT) are used to obtain the stochastic distribution of two key manufacturing-induced defects, namely waviness and voids. This distribution is fed into a multiscale progressive damage model to predict the damage response of three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal woven composites. The accuracy of the proposed model was …

Augmented State Linear Covariance Applications For Nonlinear Missile Engagements, Jeffrey Scott Clawson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Sustained actuator saturation is a common occurrence for missile engagements. The saturation nonlinearity creates some difficulty for high-fidelity linear analysis methods. This dissertation investigates three methods of modeling actuator saturation in an advanced linear analysis. The linear covariance tools from this dissertation run extremely fast and provide several advantages over other linear missile engagement analysis methods. First, a simulation is developed and validated for a target engagement scenario without actuator saturation. Next, saturations are introduced to the problem, along with the first analysis method: statistical linear covariance analysis. This method combines the augmented state linear covariance framework with the statistical …

Physical Model Of Rainwater Along Roadway Filter Strip, Ryan C. Eberhard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate infiltration rates of rainwater into a roadside filter strip. The findings of this study were intended to be used by the Utah Department of Transportation in their design of stormwater retention. A testing apparatus was designed and constructed to simulate rainfall and infiltration on an inclined slope during the 80^th percentile 24-hour rainstorm event in Utah. The model was used to test six different surface soil configurations at three slope inclinations. Each test was subjected to a simulated storm event of ½ inch of rain over a 2-hour period. The variation …

High Efficiency Angles-Only Space-Based Approaches For Geosynchronous Orbit Catalog Maintenance With Sparse Information, Louis M. Tonc

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The thesis of this dissertation proposes a novel filter algorithm to improve tracking and catalog maintenance of uncooperative satellites and other Resident Space Objects (RSOs) in Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO). Tracking can be supported by space-based tracking from observer satellites (OBSs). Practical limitations can lead to long time gaps between measurement updates when tracking RSOs from an OBS, which may induce a loss of fidelity or divergence of the estimation algorithm. The Extended Kalman filter (EKF) is commonly used for tracking RSOs but it diverges as a consequence of nonlinearity in the dynamics and nonlinearity in the optical measurements from …

An Integrated Experimental And Modeling Approach To Design Rotating Algae Biofilm Reactors (Rabrs) Via Optimizing Algae Biofilm Productivity, Nutrient Recovery, And Energy Efficiency, Gerald Benjamin Jones

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

Microalgae biofilms have been demonstrated to recover nutrients from wastewater and serve as biomass feedstock for bioproducts. However, there is a need to develop a platform to quantitatively describe microalgae biofilm production, which can provide guidance and insights for improving biomass areal productivity and nutrient uptake efficiency. This paper proposes a unified experimental and theoretical framework to investigate algae biofilm growth on a rotating algae biofilm reactor (RABR). The experimental laboratory setups are used to conduct controlled experiments on testing environmental and operational factors for RABRs. We propose a differential-integral equation-based mathematical model for microalgae biofilm cultivation guided by laboratory …

Historic Downtown Streetscape Plan Price City, Utah, Patricia Beckert

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

The idea of a small-town Main Street has profound meaning within the American culture that has prevailed for the past two centuries. Historically, Main Street serves as the beating heart of a community, a place where economic, social, cultural, and civic activities are centered (Francaviglia, 1996; Main Street America, n.d.). Since the beginning of the 19th century, many factors have led to the decline of Main Streets, and despite a variety of efforts from different stakeholders, that decline has only intensified in recent decades (Isenberg, 2008; Orvell, 2014 Howard, 2015). In 1980, after a three-year project conducted by the National …

Mission Concept User Guide: University Nanosatellite Program (Unp), Space Dynamics Laboratory

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

This guide is specific to the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) Mission Concept Program and focuses heavily on mission design and initial systems engineering processes. Additional information covering mission design, systems engineering processes, detailed design, assembly, integration, and testing is available in the UNP Nanosatellite User Guide and other associated UNP resources. This guide assumes the reader has entry-level familiarity with engineering, space, and satellite concepts such as mechanical and electrical calculations and terms, orbits, and CubeSats. UNP provides much of this information during the Kickoff and Mission Design presentations.

Markov Chain Analysis Comparison, Thomas Robert Prouty

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This Honors Capstone was proposed as a method to develop a greater understanding of modern model-checking tools. To do this the student chose to analyze and compare the results of the tools Prism, Storm, and Stamina. To evaluate the effectiveness of each tool, comparisons were made of the results for running each tool on a simplified communication network.

The simplified communication network model used was a CTMC (Continuous-Time Markov Chain) model that employed correct signal transitions and erroneous bit flipping transitions. This was done in an effort to simulate possible errors and faults that can occur between a provider and …