Engineering Commons^™

Optimizing Compression Efficiency With Adaptive Quantization Bit Depths, Carson Sisk

All Theses

Large-scale scientific instruments and applications generate massive amounts of data, lead- ing to significant challenges in data transfer and storage for analysis. This constitutes a major

bottleneck to workflow efficiency and scientific throughput. Lossy compression offers a solution to

these storage challenges in increasingly complex systems and services. Error-bounded lossy compression allows users to limit the error introduced during the compression process according to a user-defined metric and achieves significantly higher compression ratios than lossless compression for floating-point data. However, certain data types and compression configurations hinder the attainment of large compression ratios. To address the need for improved compression …

Life Cycle Assessment Approach For Energy Usage In Animal Rendering Plants, Abel Binoy Mathew

All Theses

The animal rendering industry plays a crucial role in transforming waste products from livestock production and meat processing facilities into valuable and economically beneficial products, promoting both resource efficiency and sustainability. This study uses a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions in animal rendering plants, focusing on electricity and natural gas as the main energy inputs for plant operation. This research examines three distinct rendering facilities, each processing different raw materials, to quantify the environmental impacts of rendering operations. Site visits, data collection, and real-time monitoring were used to capture energy use across …

Pressureless Sintering Of Sic - Oxide Multiphase Ceramics For Protective Coating Applications, Reilly Boros

All Theses

For hydrogen-fueled combustion, there exists a demand to improve coating materials that are capable of protecting SiC_f/SiC CMC turbine material. Promising coating materials must be able to shield from harsh oxidation while working at extremely high temperatures. The work presented in this thesis aims to expand the understanding of two promising material systems for integrated environmental barrier coating (EBC) – thermal barrier coatings (TBC) by fabricating bulk composite ceramic samples and performing characterization to further understand their sintering behaviors. In this study, a processing procedure to consistently produce dense composite ceramics of PDC SiC – Y₂Si …

Field Evaluation Of Transverse Post-Tensioning And Latex Modified Concrete On Bridge Load Distribution, Paige Waters

All Theses

The Airport Road Bridge (ARB) over Rocky Creek in Greenwood, SC is one of 377 channel bridges in South Carolina currently load-posted, limiting vehicle weight and potentially restricting access to vital services. The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) seeks a cost-effective method to strengthen these bridges and enhance their load-sharing capacity.

Through live load field testing, this research seeks to use two retrofitting techniques – transverse post-tensioning (PT) and latex modified concrete (LMC) overlay – to determine whether or not channel bridges can be improved. Direct tension testing was also performed to evaluate the substrate-overlay bond of the LMC …

Learning To Represent Temporal Dynamics And Generative Factors For Intelligent Visual Navigation, Sahand Khoshdel

All Theses

Visual navigation systems are crucial in various applications, including autonomous driving, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and industrial automation. For these systems to operate efficiently in dynamic environments, they must not only interpret complex surroundings but also anticipate changes over time. Temporal prediction—forecasting environmental changes like moving obstacles or shifting lighting conditions—enables navigation systems to act proactively, enhancing both safety and performance. This dissertation investigates representation learning methods both as a backbone feature extractor for RL agents as well as a proxy for systems oriented for Explainable AI (XAI). Two main projects are presented as case studies to achieve the aforementioned …

Fault Detection And Location In Renewable-Fed Distribution Systems Using Low Voltage Sensors, Bushra Farhat

All Theses

The penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) into the Electric Power System (EPS) is increasing. These (DERs) are mostly inverter-based resources (IBRs) that are integrated into (EPS) at the distribution level. Therefore, it has become necessary to leverage the integration of (IBRs) for both commercial and residential distribution systems through the deployment of Microgrid (MG). However, existing distribution systems that use fuses for sensing and isolating faults are not equipped to handle protection of microgrids where fault currents are fed from multiple sources and can flow downstream or upstream. Bulk of the protection schemes proposed in literature are heavily dependent …

Understanding The Challenges To Robotic-Assisted Surgery Adoption From The Perspectives Of The Human-Robot Interaction, Built Environment, And Training, Patrick A. Fuller

All Theses

Introduction: Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) is a form of minimally invasive surgery that is increasing in both its adoption and development due to many perceived advantages such as tremor reduction and motion scaling. However, RAS is still relatively new and there are a variety of novel barriers and challenges to the adoption of these platforms. Objectives: This study aims to understand how the integration of RAS platforms impacts the interactions and outcomes of interactions between surgical team members to explore the barriers from three aspects critical to facilitating Robotic-assisted-surgery (RAS) adoption: the human-robotic interaction, built environment, and RAS training. Future …

Exploring Healthcare Chatbot Information Presentation: Applying Hierarchical Bayesian Regression And Inductive Thematic Analysis In A Mixed Methods Study, Samuel Nelson Koscelny

All Theses

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. While contributing to over 691,000 deaths in 2021 alone in the United States (U.S.), it also imposes immense economic burden on the healthcare system, costing approximately $131 billion annually. One way to address this issue is for increased self-care behaviors and medication adherence, both of which require sufficient health literacy. Despite the importance of health literacy, 90% of U.S. adults struggle with health-related subjects. Overcoming the issues associated with health literacy requires addressing the …

Understanding The Microstructure And Tribological Performance Of Cocrfeni-Based High Entropy Alloys, Ali Azarmi

All Theses

Due to their higher wear resistance compared to conventional alloys, high entropy alloys (HEAs) are now being considered as candidates for parts undergoing sliding contact during their lifetimes. While the engineering field has built some knowledge related to the performance of selected high entropy alloys, such as the CoCrFeNi alloy, more research is needed to determine if (how) expansions from four to five principal alloying elements alter the performance compared to the initial alloy. In this study, we started this research effort by investigating the relative performance of CoCrFeNiMn and CoCrFeNiTi with respect to CoCrFeNi. The two primary alloying elements …

Local Charge Distortion Due To Cr In Ni-Based Concentrated Alloys, Jacob Fischer

All Theses

Due to the presence of multiple elements consisting of a range of atomic radii, local lattice distortion (LLD) is commonly observed in concentrated (and high entropy) alloys. However, since these elements also have diverse electronegativities, recent works show that atoms can have a range of atomic charges. In this work, using density functional theory (DFT), we investigate electronic charge distribution in face centered cubic (FCC) Ni-based alloys and find significant charge-density distortion in HEAs. Specifically, Cr atoms have large charge density distortion that results in a wide range of bond lengths, atomic charges, and electronic density of states in Cr-containing …

Trust: The Inertia Taxonomy Of Trust And Learning Outcomes Of Trust Building Exercises, Ann B. Lyons

All Theses

This study investigates United States construction professionals’ view of trust in the workplace. In particular the focus is on building trust through trust building exercises. In order to accomplish this, a literature review was conducted focusing on trust in the worldwide construction industry. This was followed by interviews with US construction professionals who focus on team building. These interviews informed a survey sent to a wide variety of US construction professionals. The survey had two sections of content questions, 1. view of trust indicators and 2. perception of trust building exercises. Finally, experts in the field of construction team building …

Hyperspectral Image Classification Of Bacteria Using A Deep Convolutional Neural Network, Bruce S. Vogelsberg Jr

All Theses

Hyperspectral imaging is a non-invasive imaging method capable of collecting both spatial and spectral information. However, because of the large volume of data collected, much of it is redundant or not useful for classification. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses artificial neurons in a multilayered structure to learn representations from data. One of the main advantages of deep learning is the powerful feature extraction capabilities, which allow the model to learn both high- and low-level features. Convolutional neural networks are a type of deep learning model that have alternating convolutional and pooling layers capable of extracting …

Predicting The Ductility Of Tungsten Based Bcc Refractory High Entropy Alloys: A Computational Science Driven Study, Akshay Korpe

All Theses

Bcc refractory high entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively new category of metallic alloys that promise excellent irradiation resistance and strength retention at high temperatures but exhibit brittle behavior at room temperatures limiting their formability. Understanding the deformation mechanisms and predicting their ductility at room temperature is a topic of interest in contemporary research.

In this work, multiple independent ductility criteria for quantifying the ductility of these HEAs were studied, calculated and compared using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and continuum mechanics frameworks. These ductility parameters were calculated for various W-Ta-Cr-V alloys and the trends were analyzed for each criteria …

Developing An Assessment Tool For Ideation Effectiveness: A Survey-Based Approach For The Shah’S Method Of Design Space Exploration, Venkat Jaya Deep Jakka

All Theses

The research is focused on creativity in engineering design. The goal is to understand if creativity in engineering design can be assessed using a less resource-intensive approach, specifically a survey, compared to design exercises. The survey builds on the metrics established by Shah and colleagues. The four metrics are Novelty, Quality, Variety and Quantity. The metrics are measured with the help of a design activity that is deployed to the participants. These metrics have been used in comparative analysis to assess treatments such as new design methods and personality types. However, the downside of the metrics is that they require …

Expandable Tissue-Engineered Living Surgical Pulmonary Heart Valve For Pediatric Patients, Jacob M. Lautenschlager

All Theses

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of mortality in developed countries, with 607.74 million cases globally in 2020.^1,2 Advances in medicine have changed the current demographic suffering from heart valve disease into an aging population suffering from degenerative heart valve disease, creating a growing population treated by surgical or transcatheter intervention.^3-6 Current treatments of valvular heart disease are therefore directed toward valve replacements for the adult population, leaving a treatment gap for pediatric patients suffering from heart valve disease.^7-10

Congenital heart defects are defined as structural abnormalities of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels and are …

Training Uav Teams With Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Towards Fully 3d Autonomous Wildfire Response, Bryce Hopkins

All Theses

As climate-exacerbated wildfires increasingly threaten landscapes and communities, there is an urgent and pressing need for sophisticated fire management technologies. Coordinated teams of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) present a promising solution for detection, assessment, and even incipient-stage suppression – especially when integrated into a multi-layered approach with other recent wildfire management technologies such as geostationary/polar-orbiting satellites and CCTV detection networks. However, there remains significant challenges in developing the necessary sensing, navigation, coordination, and communication subsystems that enable intelligent UAV teams. Further, federal regulations governing UAV deployment and autonomy pose constraints on real-world aerial testing, creating a disconnect between theoretical research …

A Benchtop Analysis Of Pressure Offloading Associated With Custom Socket Inlays In Transtibial Prostheses, Sarah G. Hill

All Theses

Approximately 78% of people with lower limb amputations are dissatisfied with the comfort of their prostheses (Quintero-Quiroz & Perez 2019). In the case of lower limb amputations, the residual limb tissue bears far more weight than it was before the amputation. The pressure put on the soft tissue of the residual limb causes discomfort (Brown et al. 2021). In previous work, custom inlays were created, which fit inside the prosthesis and offload pressure, with the goal of helping to increase the comfort and satisfaction of the prosthesis user (Brown et al. 2021). In this project, a benchtop prosthetic socket loading …

Impact Of Nitrogen Species On Algal Carbon Capture, Lauren J. Todd

All Theses

Increasing global carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and the resulting detrimental effects of climate change have created a need for atmospheric carbon drawdown. Biological-based carbon capture not only sequesters carbon dioxide (CO₂) but also provides a sustainable source of biomass for biofuels and biomaterials. Thus, the aim of this research was to examine freshwater green algal growth with total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) and nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) sources at high pH for improving carbon capture potential. The following objectives were accomplished: nitrogen uptake was identified as simultaneous or sequential, the effect of TAN and NO_{3 …}

Proportioning And Performance Of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (Uhpc) For High Friction Surface Treatment (Hfst) On Pavement And Bridge Decks, Adam R. Biehl

All Theses

High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) is a roadway remediation technique used to improve pavement’s coefficient of friction, to enhance roadway safety. The application of HFSTs has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce crashes in both wet and dry conditions. Typically, epoxy-resins and calcined bauxite aggregate are used in HFST treatment. However, the high material costs and scarcity of calcined bauxite render this form of HFST an expensive and limited option for roadway rehabilitation. Therefore, the identification of alternative binders and HFST aggregates is needed for broad scale implementation. One potential alternative binder is Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC), a specialty cementitious …

Hydrogen Isotope Exchange On Diffusion Pump Oils, Carson G. Allen

All Theses

The extent of isotopic exchange of deuterium and tritium with protium atoms in hydrocarbon pump oil was investigated as a means to quantify the chemical stability of a mineral oil, a silicone oil, and a polyphenyl ether oil as candidates for implementation in a diffusion pump. In its target application at a fusion power plant, a chemically stable and radiation hard oil offers substantial reductions in tritium inventory, electrical consumption, and operational pump expenses over alternate solutions for vacuum induction. Select oils were introduced to deuterium and tritium isotopes in a high temperature environment, analogous to an operating vacuum pump. …

Using Efficient Vision Transformers To Improve Perception Systems In Autonomous Off-Road Vehicles, Adam S. Pickeral

All Theses

The development of autonomous vehicles has become one of the greatest research endeavors in recent years. These vehicles rely on many complex systems working in tandem to make decisions. For practical use and safety reasons, these systems must not only be accurate, but also be quick to make decisions. In Autonomous Vehicle research, the environment perception system is one of the key com- ponents of development. The environment perception system allows the vehicle to understand its surroundings using cameras, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and other sensor systems or modalities. Deep learning computer vision algorithms have shown to be the …

Advancing Unmanned Ground Vehicle Path Planning With Quantified Map Uncertainty, Israel Afriyie

All Theses

This thesis addresses the complex challenge of path planning for Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) in areas where traditional navigation systems are inadequate, such as unstructured or off-road military zones. Recognizing the limitations of current path planning algorithms, which primarily focus on optimizing for the shortest path and often fail to account for variability and risks, this research proposes an enhanced Hyperstar algorithm. This approach not only considers the fastest route but also integrates maximum delays and visibility risks into its computation, ensuring a balance between swift mission completion and concealment from adversaries.

Utilizing terrain maps and incorporating uncertainties in map …

Engineering The Properties Of Magnesium Aluminate Spinel Through Solid State Solutions, Robin Conner

All Theses

Magnesium aluminate spinel solid state solutions were prepared via the coprecipitation method and calcined in air at 900 °C for 2 h. The manipulation of magnesium aluminate spinel’s microstructure through the formation of solid state solutions with zinc and gadolinium substituting for magnesium was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) confirmed the formation of a single cubic crystalline phase. The luminescence properties were investigated by radioluminescence (RL) under X-ray excitation and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements. In the case of zinc, all concentrations of the solid state solutions showed similar luminescence with bands at …

Genetically-Encoded Optical Barcodes For Single-Cell Analysis, Daniel Pritko

All Theses

Cell barcodes are capable of being used to answer many different biological questions. They have been used to track the lineage of cells to identifying the function of a gene. While there are multiple different methods to creating cell barcodes, they are limited in their scalability and application. In a previous publication we propose and computationally prove an optical single-cell barcoding method that bridges fast and scalable readouts with the benefits of genetic encoding. In this approach fluorescent proteins (fps) are combined to form fluorescent barcodes that can then be analyzed using a spectral flow cytometer. Here, we test the …

Degradation Products And Microbial Communities Associated With The Conversion Of Five Long-Chain Fatty Acids Relevant For Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Fog With Sludge, Claire Funk

All Theses

Anaerobic digestion is a technology that allows wastewater treatment plants to convert sludge to energy by recovering the biogas produced during the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Furthermore, adding fats, oils, and greases (FOG) through co-digestion with wastewater sludge can increase energy production as lipids have a higher methane yield than proteins and carbohydrates. However, adding FOG can also lead to operational problems in the digester due to the potential accumulation of certain long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Current research is limiting in the degradation pathways of prominent LCFAs in FOG and the microbial communities responsible for their degradation

The …

Extraction Of Neutron-Gamma Irradiated Diffusion Pump Oils, Cooper L. Tillman

All Theses

This work successfully demonstrates solvent extraction methods for separation of oil from the by-products when two commercially available vacuum pump oils were exposed to an intense neutron and gamma-ray radiation environment. Nuclear fusion power at a commercial scale has accelerated the need for radiation resistant vacuum technology, such as oil-based diffusion pumps. Polyphenyl ether and aromatic silicone oils were irradiated at the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center (RINSC) up to MGy absorbed doses with neutron and gamma-ray radiation. Solvent extractions were performed using hexane and isopropanol to characterize the oil extraction as a function of total absorbed dose. The by-products …

Engineering Sustainable Bridge Deck Rehabilitation: Evaluating Mechanical And Electro-Chemical Properties Of Rapid-Set Patching Materials And Their Influence On Repair Durability, James Roberts

All Theses

As the state of the US infrastructure continues to deteriorate over time, a prominent issue especially in the field of reinforced concrete structures has been the ability to properly rehabilitate and extend the design service life of these structures. A majority of our existing reinforced concrete bridges were built in the construction boom during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and were originally designed with a service life of approximately 50 years, thus showing that many structures are close to or have already exceeded their intended service life. Additionally, with a poor history of government infrastructure funding, it is seen to …

Application Of An Information Gain Model In A Motor Learning Task: An Application In A Laparoscopic Surgical Skills Task, Matthew Ball

All Theses

Psychomotor skills are comprised of physical movements and mental adaptations of movements to complete a task, generally using complex tools or components. Laparoscopic surgery training tasks are a prime example of tasks requiring psychomotor skills due to their demand for both fine hand movements and constant mental adaptation to the changing environment of the human body. A typical evaluation of these skills can be accomplished using learning curves, a graphical representation of skill growth in which a performance metric is plotted over a time experience metric. Previously, in the literature, several learning curves have been generated from the performance within …

Efficacy Of Virtual Reality-Based Simulations In Training Aviation Maintenance Technicians On Maintenance Procedures, Gayatri Anoop

All Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic forced institutions of higher education (IHEs) to halt in-person classes and transition to online platforms. Given the intricate process of adapting hands-on experiments to the online environment, this transition seemed particularly challenging for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) labs. The abrupt nature of this transition added to the difficulties, given that the IHEs were inadequately prepared for seamless continuity during the pandemic. In the first phase of this project, a literature review was conducted to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on education. Specifically, the review explored the challenges that institutions of higher education faced, …

Investigation Of Domain Formation During Phase Separation In A Mixture Of Flexible And Rigid Biopolymers, Steven Huntley

All Theses

Complex fluids and heterogenous mixtures composed of multiple types of polymers are found throughout industrial and biological fluid systems. For example, extrusion based additive manufacturing systems pass dense mixtures of polymers through the extrusion heads to deposit composite polymeric materials. In cells, active and complex mixtures of biopolymers self-organize into assemblies that perform critical physiological functions.

Polymers in dense solutions undergo phase separation as a result of differences in physiochemical properties. A few examples of these properties include charge, structure, rigidity, and hydrophobicity. We observe the formation of polymer domains composed of rigid and a flexible biopolymer species that phase …