Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating The Role Of Magnetic Materials In Mediating The Abiotic Degradation Of Chlorinated Ethenes At Tcaap-A Using A C14-Assay, Olivia Dunn

All Theses

Among the most challenging sites to remediate are those where the groundwater is contaminated with large, dilute plumes of tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), dichloroethene isomers (cDCE, tDCE, 1,1-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) by abiotic processes may be a viable strategy, but it can be difficult to document. The overall objective of this project is to develop a deeper understanding of the role of magnetic materials in mediating abiotic degradation of low concentrations of chlorinated ethenes in aquifers. Authentic core aquifer sediment has been collected from Site A at the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) …

Using Immersive Technology To Improve Mechanical Design: Use Cases, A Review Of Current Technology, And An Experiment In Requirement Elicitation In Virtual Reality, William Hawthorne

All Theses

There has been a growing trend in the use of immersive technologies within engineering design. This research is focused on understanding how Virtual Reality (VR) technologies support design reviews. Modern tools including virtual reality hardware and software were tested for current capabilities and challenges. In a review of literature, two key gaps are identified: the rapid advancements of VR and AR technology and limited formal studies to determine the costs and benefits of immersive technology within engineering design reviews. This research has resulted in three key outcomes. First, use cases of immersive reality technologies are identified, through the lens of …

Considerations Of The Impacts And System-Level Mitigation Of Electric Vehicle Charging On The Integrated Resource Planning Process, Grant Wollam

All Theses

Electric vehicles (EV) are growing in popularity and therefore adoption rate. Best estimates predict a 6.2% EV adoption rate by 2035 in the southeastern United States. With this level of EV adoption, utility planners must begin to consider the impact that EVs will have on the power grid. This paper aims to help predict these EV impacts on the power grid. Specifically, an urban-commercial feeder is analyzed in detail to provide worst-case and most-likely results of varying levels of EV impact. Results show that a 26.2% peak increase is the most likely result for this feeder in 2035.

Mitigation techniques …

A Predictive Analysis Of The Influence Of Thickness And Length On The Curvature Of Square Bistable Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite Laminates, Stephan Terry

All Theses

This thesis presents a predictive analysis of the stability of square bistable carbon fiber reinforced composite laminates under various loading conditions. The stability of these laminates is essential to their performance and longevity and is influenced by factors such as thickness and length. Analytical and numerical techniques are used to model the behavior of these laminates, and experimental tests are conducted to validate the models. The findings of this research have implications for the design and optimization of square bistable carbon fiber reinforced composites.

The study investigates the relationships between the side length and thickness of square laminates for bistability. …

Student Barriers To Taking The Fundamentals Of Engineering Exam, Cornelius Walker

All Theses

The primary goal of the thesis was to identify barriers that hinder students from taking the Fundamental of Engineering (FE) exam. The secondary goals were to determine the most prevalent barriers and compare the difference in knowledge about the FE between senior and sophomore students. The FE exam is a computer-based exam with questions based on undergraduate-level courses and is an early step in the process of becoming a professional engineer. Data for the thesis came from interviews and surveys. Interviews were done by twenty seniors, while surveys were given to forty-one senior and eighty-six sophomore civil engineering students. Interviews …

Quantum Artificial Intelligence Supported Autonomous Truck Platooning, Pronab Kumar Biswas

All Theses

Truck platooning can potentially increase the operational efficiency of freight movement on U.S. corridors, improving commercial productivity and economic vibrancy. Predicting each leader vehicle trajectory in the autonomous truck platoon using Artificial Intelligence (AI) can enhance platoon efficiency and safety. Reliance on classical AI may not be efficient for this purpose as it will increase the computational burden for each truck in the platoon. However, Quantum Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used in this scenario to enhance learning efficiency, learning capacity, and run-time improvements. This study developed and evaluated a Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTM) model and a hybrid quantum-classical …

Analyzing The Influence Of Stale Data On Autonomous Intelligent Transportation Systems, August St. Louis

All Theses

Intelligent transportation has been at the forefront of recent technological advancement. Individuals have developed a number of algorithms intended to automate and improve essential intelligent transportation functions. New developments include the incorporation of vehicle platooning and path planning algorithms within a number of use cases. Data perturbation can affect both algorithms significantly. We define data perturbation as any natural or unnatural phenomenon that causes the data to be skewed in any way. Perturbations within either system can cause its respective algorithm to operate with stale or incorrect data. This can significantly affect performance. This paper conducts a fault injection campaign …

Procedural City Generation With Combined Architectures For Real-Time Visualization, Griffin Poyck

All Theses

The work and research of this paper sought to build upon traditional city generation and simulation in creating a tool that both realistically simulates cities and their prominent features and also creates aesthetic and artistically rich cities using assets that combine several contemporary or near contemporary architectural styles. The major city features simulated are the surrounding terrain, road networks, individual buildings, and building placement. The tools used to both create and integrate these features were created in Houdini with Unreal Engine 5 as the intended final destination. This research was influenced by the city, town, and road networking of Ghost …

Force Coefficients And Wind Loads For Wide Flange Section And Retrofitted Pipe Racks, Sovanroth Ou

All Theses

While relatively rare, the failures of steel structures occasionally occur due to extreme wind events such as hurricanes and tornadoes. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) provides well-defined guidelines for determining wind loads for regular buildings; nonetheless, the actual wind loads for complex open-frame steel structures are not as clearly understood by practicing engineers. Pipe bridges and pipe racks are open-frame structures, commonly used in many petrochemical plants. Over the years, additional pipes are often added to existing pipe racks or pipe bridges to accommodate changes in the operation needs of the petrochemical plant. The objectives of this study …

Mapping Information Flows That Support Adaptive Capacity In The Sterile Processing Department (Spd), Jacob Hionis

All Theses

The Sterile Processing Department (SPD) is the part of the hospital that is responsible for decontaminating, assembling, and sterilizing surgical trays for use in the Operating Rooms (ORs). Errors in the SPD can lead to delayed surgeries or patient harm. The SPD is a complex system, with multiple interconnected subdepartments and roles. Complex systems require coordination between stakeholders. This study aims to discover how an organization can adapt to scale, and how information flows support these adaptations. In this study, observations, semi-structured interviews, and on-the-job interviews were conducted with members across the SPD and OR to elicit pressures, adaptations, and …

Fatigue Performance Of Flexural Retrofits For Precast Slab Bridges, Ian Stewart

All Theses

This thesis discusses flexural and cyclic load testing of two potential retrofits for pre-cast slab bridges. These slabs came from South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) decommissioned bridges as a part of an ongoing project with SCDOT. The first is a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plate (CFRP) retrofit where four CFRP plates were adhesively bonded to the bottom of a slab. The second is a steel plate that was mechanically attached to the bottom of a slab using bolted connections. The bolts were cast into grouted holes in the slab. To better understand the failure mode of these retrofits and their …

Impacts Of Preferential Flow On Tc-99and Np-237 Vadose Transport In Soils At The Savannah River Site, Josh Parris

All Theses

Since the 1950s, the United States has produced approximately 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) (Office of Nuclear Energy, 2022); however, no long-term storage solutions are available. Technecium-99 and neptunium-237, two fission products found in SNF, readily form highly mobile species in oxidizing conditions (Hu, 2008; Bondietti, 1979) and have respective half-lives of 2.13 x 10⁵ and 2.14 x10⁶ years (Hu, 2010). Considering these characteristics, ⁹⁹Tc and ²³⁷Np are two risk-driving isotopes found in SNF storage. The process of macropore-facilitated preferential flow, transport through cracks within a soil matrix, has been recognized to increase …

A Study Of A Monolithic Pulsed Fiber Laser With High-Peak And Average Power, Mark Mihalik

All Theses

Fiber lasers with high peak power, pulse energy and average power have numerous industrial applications. This project aimed to build a Master Oscillator Power Amplification fiber laser using commercial components and specialty fiber designed by Clemson University to exceed the power and energy targets of a previous Q-switched fiber laser design. The specialty fiber has a low numerical aperture of 0.028 and a unique geometric core design to minimize amplified spontaneous emission and reduce nonlinear effects in order to produce a high-peak power and high per pulse energy. The two stage, monolithic design targets 3.1 mJ per pulse, average power …

The Characterization Of Atmospheric Turbulence And Its Effect On Laser Beam Propagation, Michael Cox

All Theses

Having a controlled environment to measure atmospheric turbulence is essential to understanding its effects on different laser beam characteristics. The Clemson Variable Turbulence Generator (VTG) has the capability to propagate a laser beam up to 100 m and be able to dial many turbulence settings up to a heat flux of 357 W/m². A high-speed camera, power detector, and high-resolution temperature probes characterize the VTG with theoretical turbulence spectrums. The exponent associated with the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) temperature structure constant equation is studied. Two different laser beam profiles are used throughout this work: Gaussian and Asymmetric Perfect Vortex (APV). …

Laser Inscribed Graphene Aptasensor For Detection Of Apple Stem Pitting Virus, Yifan Tang

All Theses

Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) is a latent RNA virus that could cause significant loss to apple production; early-stage field diagnosis could reduce the economic loss caused by ASPV infection. Biosensor is a promising user-friendly detection tool that could transduce biological or chemical interactions into electric signals. Among various types of biosensors, aptasensor, which use aptamers as recognition elements show potential as a high throughput, in-field test. The goal of this thesis is to develop an electrochemical aptasensor testing system for ASPV detection. The quality control study of laser inscribed graphene (LIG) based working electrode of the biosensor was conducted …

Assessing Key Factors Influencing Fire-Induced Spalling Of Concrete Using Explainable Artificial Intelligence (Xai), Mohammad Khaled Gazi Albashiti

All Theses

This thesis adopts eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to identify the key factors influencing the fire-induced spalling of concrete and to extract new insights into the fire-induced spalling phenomenon. In this pursuit, an XAI model was developed, validated, and then augmented with two explainability measures, namely, Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME). The proposed XAI model not only can predict the fire-induced spalling with high accuracy (i.e., >92 %) but can also articulate the reasoning behind its predictions (as in, the proposed model can specify the rationale for each prediction instance); thus, providing us with valuable insights …

Assessing Hardware Security Threats Posed By Hardware Trojans In Power Electronics, Quinn Kinzie

All Theses

This study investigates the threat of hardware Trojans (HTs) in power electronics applications, a rising concern due to the growing demand for cost-effective embedded solutions in power systems. With the supply chain for electronic hardware devices expanding globally, particularly to low-cost foundries in foreign locations, there is an increasing risk of HT attacks. While there has been extensive research on HTs in computer applications, little consideration has been given to their threat in power electronics. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a power electronics HT by implementing a novel HT design into a gate drive circuit. Additionally, the research proposes …

Investigation Of Geopolymer Based Soil Stabilization Methods For Expedient Airfield Pavement Surfaces, Brett Albertson

All Theses

The United States Air Force (USAF) has the unique capability of being able to interdict superior airpower anywhere, at any time. However, superior airpower is only as effective as the amount of time an aircraft can spend in a particular area. The closer an aircraft can get to the mission need, the more time that can be spent in the air, or the less time that must be spent moving in and out of the operational area. Through the use of skilled and experienced men and women, the USAF is able to apply expedient and unsurfaced airfield paving techniques that …

Mysteerio: Multi-Regional Environmentally Extended Input-Output Model For United States, Yash Srivastava

All Theses

This research work titled My State Environmentally Extended Regional Input-Output (MYSTEERIO) is based on the concept of multi-regional environmentally extended input-output (MREEIO), which is a combination of lifecycle thinking and economics principles. Numerous studies have highlighted the advantages of using this methodology to determine the environmental impacts associated with economic activities for a region. However, no prior attempt has been made to conduct a state-level analysis for the US. This research work thus tries to estimate the impacts embodied due to the consumption of goods and services at the state level by using the MREEIO principles. Extensive coverage of the …

Iron Phosphate Glass For The Immobilization Of Dehalogenated Salt Waste, Matthew Aaron Page

All Theses

Electrochemical reprocessing can be used to recycle presently stored nuclear fuel and consists of dissolving that used fuel in molten salt and the waste produced from these processes is a small amount of a high-level salt waste. Vitrification has been selected as the primary means of safely disposing high and low level radioactive waste. This is due to glass’ ability to incorporate many elements within its matrix, and it is chemically durable with the addition of network formers and other glass forming chemicals. With over 90,000 tonnes of nuclear waste in the United States, the avoidance of additional steps required …

Koopman Operator Theory And The Applied Perspective Of Modern Data-Driven Systems, Alex Krolicki

All Theses

Recent theoretical developments in dynamical systems and machine learning have allowed researchers to re-evaluate how dynamical systems are modeled and controlled. In this thesis, Koopman operator theory is used to model dynamical systems and obtain optimal control solutions for nonlinear systems using sampled system data. The Koopman operator is obtained using data generated from a real physical system or from an analytical model which describes the physical system under nominal conditions. One of the critical advantages of the Koopman operator is that the response of the nonlinear system can be obtained from an equivalent infinite dimensional linear system. This is …

Performance Based Design And Machine Learning In Structural Fire Engineering: A Case For Masonry, Deanna Craig

All Theses

The volatile and extreme nature of fire makes structural fire engineering unique in that the load actions dictating design are intense but not geographically or seasonally bound. Simply, fire can break out anywhere, at any time, and for any number of reasons. Despite the apparent need, fire design of structures still relies on expensive fire tests, complex finite element simulations, and outdated procedures with little room for innovation. This thesis will make a case for adopting the principles of performance-based design and machine learning in structural fire engineering to simplify the process and promote the consideration of fire in all …

Optical Control System For Atmospheric Turbulence Mitigation, Martyn Lemon

All Theses

Propagation of laser light is distorted in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. This poses an issue for sensing, free-space optical communications, and transmission of power. With an ever-increasing demand for high-speed data communications, particularly between satellites, unmanned vehicles, and other systems that benefit from a point-to-point link, this issue is critical for the field. A variety of methods have been proposed to circumvent this issue. Some major categories include the manipulation of the light’s structure, an adaptive scheme at the optical receiver, scanning mirror systems, or a transmission of simultaneous signals with a goal to improve robustness.

There is an …

Multiple Objective Function Optimization And Trade Space Analysis, Yifan Xu

All Theses

Optimization can assist in obtaining the best possible solution to a design problem by varying related variables under given constraints. It can be applied in many practical applications, including engineering, during the design process. The design time can be further reduced by the application of automated optimization methods. Since the required resource and desired benefit can be translated to a function of variables, optimization can be viewed as the process of finding the variable values to reach the function maxima or minima. A Multiple Objective Optimization (MOO) problem is when there is more than one desired function that needs to …

Effects Of Surface Noise On Printing Artifacts: An Artistic Approach To Hiding Print Artifacts, Samuel New

All Theses

This research focuses on improving the quality of Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing by using fractal noise to mask certain print artifacts (e.g. layer lines and stair-stepping). The use of textures is quite common in digital sculpting for aesthetic reasons. This study focuses on finding specific textures that minimize visible 3D print artifacts.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Vo2 Thin Films On Piezoelectric Substrates, Samee Azad

All Theses

Polycrystalline VO₂ thin films synthesized on two piezoelectric substrates (AT-cut quartz and GaN/AlGaN/GaN/Si) using low pressure direct oxidation technique have been characterized and compared to VO₂ grown on traditional non-piezoelectric substrates sapphire and SiO₂/Si. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy characterization performed on the as grown films confirmed high quality of the VO₂ films grown on both the piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric substrates. Changes in material properties associated with the semiconductor metal transition (SMT) of the VO₂ films were investigated through resistivity and transmitted optical power changes measured across the SMT. It was observed that …

Supporting Us Army Next-Generation Ground Vehicle Simulation Modeling Using An Integrated Ontology Suite, Edward Louis

All Theses

The development of the US Army’s next-generation of ground vehicle systems is supported by simulations that predict vehicle performance and inform engineering design choices in the design and acquisition process. In this paper, we describe the development of an Integrated Ontology Suite to support modeling and simulation of next generation military ground vehicles. The ontology suite is intended to address model reuse challenges and increase the shared understanding of ground vehicle system simulations. It is intended to function in a Model Library structure that stores, documents, assembles, and executes vehicle simulations. The ontology suite consists of four domain ontologies: Vehicle …

Effects Of Polymer Side-Group Size On Interfacial Mechanics Of Graphene-Polymer Nanocomposites, Grace Brokaw

All Theses

Graphene-reinforced polymer nanocomposites possess excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, which make them promising candidates for various applications. Favorable interfacial interactions and mechanics between graphene sheets and polymer matrices are often essential to achieve superior mechanical properties. Nevertheless, it remains largely elusive how molecular features of polymer systems, particularly the side-group size of polymer chains, affect the interfacial mechanics between graphene sheets and polymer matrices, primarily due to challenges in well controlling these features in experiments. On the other hand, exploring their roles in the mechanical properties of graphene-polymer nanocomposites is very expensive to study with all-atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) …

Flexural Testing Of Precast Reinforced Concrete Bridge Slabs, Evaluation Of Deterioration And Strengthening Applications, Alyssa Leaman

All Theses

This thesis investigates the strength of flat precast concrete slabs that were taken from decommissioned South Carolina bridges. The specimens tested spanned 14 ft (4.3 m) or 15 ft (4.6 m), were 5 ft (1.5 m) or 5.5 ft (1.7 m) wide, and 8.25 in (210 mm) thick. In South Carolina, there are approximately 3000 similar bridges that use these slab members. Testing was conducted to determine the flexural capacity of “typical” slabs and the residual strength of slabs having visible deterioration of both the rebar and the concrete. For the slabs that were load rated below the new standards, …

Utilizing Systematic Design And Shape Memory Alloys To Enhance Actuation Of Modular High-Frequency Origami Robots, Jessica M. Den Haese

All Theses

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) describe a group of smart metallic materials that can be deformed by external magnetic, thermal, or mechanical influence and then returned to a predetermined shape through the cycling of temperature or stress. They have several advantages, such as having excellent mechanical properties, being low cost, and being easily manufactured, while also providing a compact size, completely silent operation, high work density, and requiring less maintenance over time. SMAs can undergo sold-to-solid phase transformations, and it is because of these phase transformations that they can experience shape memory effect (SME); or the ability to recover from a …